Yard Sale

Just putting some preschoolers to work.  Learning how to clean a yard-sale purchase is a pretty important life-skill in this house.  Love having these little helpers around.

 

Dear Husband

Dear Husband,
Please come back.  Seriously I think it every time you go out of town.  I don't know how people do this on their own.  Taking care of 3 littles without you is hard.  We're fine.  We're making it.  I'm not pulling my hair out yet.  But the house may not survive. 
When little boys don't nap and there's no daddy to take them outside to play so mommy can catch up.  This is what we end up with.

A very dirty house that I'm blogging about instead of cleaning because after finally getting them all tucked in I'm completely wiped.  We have also borrowed a guard dog for the weekend.  She's pretty ferocious.


Oh and your daughter is sleeping in your shirt.
We miss you!

for the 3 yr old

Sweet little man,
This post is three months late, but I figure you'd rather I write this three months late than skip it.  And trust me.  You are such a delight at 3 years old that you will want this post included in the way we remember you as a child, and you are also such a busy little guy that you will need this post as a warning because if your children take after you they will make you incredibly happy and proud and very very tired.

Kyler - how dearly loved you are.  You gave us a run for our money in your twos.  Quite literally, as you often took off running as fast as you could until you were halfway down the block before we caught up with you.  Often without pants on.  When you were caught you'd immediately turn, smile and come barreling toward us as though your cuteness would win us over and you could avoid discipline.  That tactic actually does work with many of the other adults in your life.  Because you are so dang cute.

Your memory is incredible.  It scares me actually.  You will reenact entire scenes from movies with your toys and will often quote lines from tv shows or movies you've seen if you can find a way to relate them to what's going on around you (you get that from your dad).  At three years old you can read dozens of words, not because you understand phonics or how words work, but just because you memorized them while we were teaching your sister.  And now it's impossible to read to you without interruption as you insist on pointing out every word you know.

We still often find you sleeping in peculiar places.  On your floor, under your mattress, under your bed, or most recently, in your laundry basket.  I think you just play hard.  Really hard. Until you crash.  

You are so funny.  I love how your vocabulary is growing and the craziest things come out of your mouth.  When you turned 3 you were just getting the hang of potty training, but putting your underwear and pants on was another story.  You'd often come walking out of the bathroom saying. "These in trouble. These in trouble" when you couldn't get your legs through the right parts of your clothes.  The other day you yelled to your dad that "My underwear is disobeying!  It's being disrespectful!!!"  Seriously, I love you.

You're in a superhero phase.  Anything with a cape and a mask and you're sold.  Your first words of the day are typically "Is my batman shirt dirty?"  if I try to put anything else on you.  At this point you have several superhero shirts that you rotate between, but the Batman shirt is your favorite.  We got you Batman rain boots for Christmas and you literally wear them almost every day.  I don't think you've ever seen a Batman cartoon or show, or any superhero show for that matter, but still you're obsessed.  I think Superhero obsession must be hidden in male genetic code.

You're afraid of car washes and I'm always afraid the workers are going to think I'm hurting you from the way you scream in terror when we drive through.  But you've recently started something new: you shut your eyes real tight while we go through and then after we're out you ask us if you were brave and we tell you that you were and you smile.  Now you ask to go to the car wash just so that you can prove to us how brave you are.

I love the way every time you see a flower or a weed or even a long piece of grass next to us you pick it up and say "This flower is for YOU."  But you've started pretending like you don't like kisses from me and pushing me away if I try in public.  But I steal them anyway and you giggle.  Because you're not allowed to be too old or too cool for Mommy's kisses yet.  

You are so busy little one.  Your mind never stops and you never stop and everyone who knows you comments on your 'energy.'  You are passionate.  Oh so passionate and you feel your emotions strongly.  You cry hard and you laugh hard.  Actually if you start laughing too hard we have to stop everything and make you stop laughing because you will literally laugh until you throw up.  You're persistent and when you get your mind set on something you are very slow to give up.  Hold on to that son, it exhausts your parents now, but that will be a strength that will serve you well when you are a grown man.  You are rough and tumble and always dirty and into something.  Just the way little boys should be.

We love you buddy.

 

Centerpieces & the trouble with Pinterest

There is a reason this is not a crafty blog.  I enjoy creating things with my hands (especially if it's cheaper to make it than to buy it) and I love doing projects with my kids.  (see evidence below)

Carson really just ate the cheerios the whole time.  But he was there. :)

BUT it's not the kind of thing I do every day, and still somehow I am responsible for providing tablecovers and centerpieces for Darby's preschool party tomorrow.  The tablecovers I'm fine with, though I confess I did not follow the suggestion to call the mom in charge of napkins to coordinate colors, so if this is a brown & maroon Easter party we're in trouble.
But centerpieces?  For 4 yr olds? 

I went to the party store hoping to find reasonably priced tablecovers and some magical easy CHEAP Easter-themed item for the tables. 

{Tangent Warning} :)
While we were there I decided to see if they had any 'Rapunzel' plates for my soon-to-be 5 yr old who has requested a 'Rapunzel' themed party.  I felt a twinge of guilt as I picked up some pre-made 'Rapunzel' invitations.  Hadn't I seen some super-cute handmade, personalized invites on pinterest?  Where a braided string of yarn wraps around the tower invitation?  Who even buys store-bought invitations anymore?  Only lazy failure moms.  As I stood there in the aisle, this thought came to my mind: "Who are you trying to impress with this party?"  Will my almost 5 yr old care or even remember what her invitations look like? 


The introduction of pinterest has upped everyone's game.  We're not limited to our own ideas, now all of our parties can be just as awe-inspiring, and birthday parties are far more involved and crafty than they used to be.  But here's my question - who are we doing it for?  Is it for our kids?   Or am I really just trying to impress the other moms?

For me, that's what it is.  Trying to impress other moms.  With my kids' birthday party.  It's sad really.  I turned tootsie pops into super-heroes for Kyler's party, complete with fancy bubble stickers with the first letter of their name on the cape.  His party was at a bounce house so that was the only crafty thing I did.  Do you know how long that took me?  H O U R S.  Do you know what Kyler remembers from his party?  Bouncing.  His friends.  And his batman cake that we ordered from Target.

Now, I have some friends that really just love this stuff.  They love being creative and crafty and take a great deal of pleasure in hand-drawing little ninja eyes on each cupcake and making fruity fake sushi (Hi Candace!).  It's therapeutic and fun for them.  That's awesome.  Go for it.  Your kids are only small for a time so live. it. up.

But for me -  It's not about fun and too often I find myself stressed out just trying to keep up.  As if somehow my love for my kids and my own worth as a mom is directly related to how 'cool' their party is.   For me, the desire to throw the perfect pinterest party is not about blessing my kids with a great party.  It's not even about a creative outlet and fun. 
It's about me. 
It's about trying to find approval from everyone else and putting my identity and value in being the perfect party-throwing super-balanced mom instead of where it should be found: in Jesus, who lived and died and rose again.  For me.  The imperfect, disheveled mom who just can't get it right and buys store-bought invitations. That's going to have to be enough.  And He is.


So back to the (unnecessary) Easter centerpieces.  Here's what I came up with.  Maybe it's lame.  Ok it is a little lame.  But it was cheap.  It took about 5 minutes and puts the Easter focus where it belongs, I hope. (that's a $2 place-card holder from the party store and I cut the cross shape out of a paper plate)