The doctor said not to walk and to rest my feet this week, and I really like it.

Is that funny that I like it? Am I not supposed to? Does that make me sound lazy? I’m not lazy. I’m quite industrious here on my sofa. Yes, I do admit to spending way too much time reading Facebook yesterday. Way too much time, but that aside, I’ve been productive. According to my Fitbit, I still managed to get 4,000 steps yesterday. Maybe this is what it’s like to have a desk job instead of being a homemaker.

I have blogger friends who do this everyday. They work on their writing, promotions, and blog work all day long, and they are far more successful than I am with their websites due to their consistency. Maybe I should do this more often. I love it.

What do I do all day?

For this entire week, I am sitting on my sofa doing things on my computer.

First, I get the boys off to school. The middle schoolers don’t need anything from me, but I chat with them while I drink my coffee. Then we wake up the younger two. I fix their breakfast, boss them around, and then I walk them to the bus stop. No one ever told me when I was just a 6-year-old bossy know-it-all-little-girl that I could use that for my motherhood gig. Ha!! I’m kidding. I direct the children. Does that sound nicer?

Then I come home and eat breakfast while I check the messages and see if there’s anything new and interesting on social media. I’ll call my mom or text my husband. I look over my checking account and pay the bills.

Once my feet get too cold to sit any longer, or my sciatica kicks in from the sitting, I get up and do a few chores while I listen to a podcast. My current favorite is the Thankful Homemaker. She’s a little older than me, and her stuff is so wise and Biblical.

Then back to my sofa I go to create pins for Pinterest, read other people’s blogs, and work on writing new content and fixing up old posts as well. Today I learned that broken links are bad for search engine optimization. Yipe. This website goes back to 2014. I have about a billion broken links, especially since Top Mommy Blogs shut down, which I was a very active member of.

At 3, the boys come home. I do more chatting, and we work on studying and homework. Caleb has been walking down to the bus stop and picking up the younger two for me while I’m down. Around 5 or 5:30, I whip together a dinner. Alan comes home around 6 or 6:30, and we usually all eat together. Then we wind down and spend two hours getting our kids to bed. I know that’s crazy long, but I like to read with them.

Do you know what this week taught me?

God provides exactly what we need. This has forced me to sit down and work on something that I actually love to do. It’s a gift. Too often I don’t work on it because I feel guilty to be blogging when there are bathrooms I could be scrubbing, and even … well… I hate to admit this. I judge people for doing this very thing…. There are still blanket Christmas lights on three bushes outside in my front yard, and here it is already January 15th!! Alan took down all the lights that were up high, but he left the ones on the bushes for me to do, and I haven’t done them. At least I did unplug them around January the 5th.

So see, there’s always something, with a house full of people, that needs to be done, but this has forced me off of my feet and onto my laptop. I couldn’t walk around all day if I wanted to. It hurts too much.

It’s funny how our disadvantages can become our blessings.

That’s how it is with my sore feet. Here is this unexpected free pass to stay home and write and edit to my heart’s content, and so for that I am thankful. Yep. I am thankful for bad feet!

What are you thankful for today?

*Linking up with Finish the Sentence Friday on tamaracamerablog.com.*

The post It’s funny how our disadvantages can become our blessings. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Was I ever good at the actual housewife part of the stay-at-home-mom life?

Ehhhh. It didn’t matter too much. I didn’t feel like that was my real job. My job was caring for the kids and cooking dinner. So long as the children were well taken care of, towels and underwear were clean, the dishwasher was run every night, and everyone got to eat, I was a smashing success.

Then last year they all went to school, and it began to dawn on me that all “that junk” is actually my main job all day long. Grocery shopping, school supply providing, cooking, and cleaning— that’s my job. Blehhhhhh. I never wanted to do any of that mess. How did this happen?

So what did I do? I decided to mainly give myself a year to chill, and also I bought a dog. Then we got orders to move, so I spent most of that year unpacking and re-packing our stuff up.

I’ve gotten somewhat skilled at un-packing and re-packing a room.

Unpacking is finished now, so I spent a couple of months wallowing around the house. I was sad about things, unmotivated, lonely, bored with my housekeeping job, and watching out the windows as soon as it was time for the kids to get home. Being around people is important to me!

Thankfully, I am happy to report that I am past the sad, homesick phase of the move. No more wallowing.

Having three sets of company come and stay with us was a badly needed jolt. I couldn’t let them see me all pathetic. I must get my act together, so with all the gusto I could muster, I set to putting my house in order.

Giving this noble thing a try

I vowed to turn this thing around. There’s no excuse for my house to be messy anymore. I DO have time to clean it, and I DO have time to do all sorts of things, like writing on the calendar, baking, and even dusting.

What I’ve been missing was the want to. The want-to is surprisingly important.

But right before Nonna and DaddyO’s visit, energy, motivation, and optimism all showed up. Yep. I used my Fly Lady skills, my Fitbit stopwatch, and set to work.

First, I went down to the basement and dug out more fall decorations and replaced spring silk flowers with fall ones. Yes, I use silk flowers, mostly from Big Lots and Hobby Lobby. This makes it impossible for me to kill the plant.

I set my Fitbit stopwatch. If I promise myself I only have to clean up a room for 10 minutes, it makes it way more doable. Confession: I gathered up 7 pairs of shoes from the office and hauled them up to my closet. Yes, I am the kind of person who takes her shoes off exactly where she’s sitting and leaves them there. 17 years of complaints from Alan has failed to change this about me, so you might as well accept this flaw.

What do other people do about shoes?

You are sitting on your sofa, want to kick your feet up, and so you take of your shoes. Then later you forget about said shoes. You need to run to the bus stop to pick up the kids, so you grab a different pair of shoes and repeat the vicious cycle an hour later.

Isn’t it funny how when you finally attack the giant tower of papers on the kitchen counter it turns out to be 90% recycling? I mean that’s what happens when you don’t empty book bags straight into the recycling bin.

This post is rambling, so I’ll spare you all the details of the 4 rooms of cleaning I did. You should just know that I have the most surprisingly high feeling of accomplishment, and guess what. This is the most amazing part:

At the end of the day, our six-year-old came inside and said, “Oh, great job cleaning today, Mom!”

That felt like sunshine and joy. Someone noticed my work!!!!

“I am going to do this again tomorrow I vowed!” This high pace of accomplishing things was kept up for quite a few days until I came down with some sort of laryngitis/cold.

Until I do enter the workforce again, and who knows how long that will be as we still have many summers and military moves to get through, this is my job. My goal here is to take it seriously again, even the oh-so-mundane house-cleaning part. I’m even going to write things down in the Google calendar, send out Christmas cards on time, and declutter on the regular. I mean it!

Why am I blogging about this?

Well, I’ve had many fits and starts before and never stuck with it much. I don’t want to end up spending the days walking and reading Facebook. A clean house and fresh baked goods at least give me something to show for my days, so I want to stick with this.

It’s really just a matter of deliberately finding joy in my work and purposing to do it better. The moving slump has been dealt with for all of us here, and life is getting good again.

Plus, Christmas is coming, so life will NOT be all vacuums and dishes. I’m trying to take housekeeping more seriously, but let’s not get carried away. The fun is still important too!

The post Goal: To Take Housekeeping Seriously (But Not Too Seriously) appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

10 Truths About My New Stay at Home Mom Life

(with 4 kids in elementary & middle school)

Disclaimer: This is a totally different existence than staying at home with preschoolers in your house all day. I’ve waited 12 years for this.

#1. I had this ENORMOUS lists of things I thought I’d accomplish once all my kids finally started school.

I called it my “Back to School Bucket List.” You can read it if you like, but I will warn you. That list is so very me. How? Well, I had about 20 different things I thought I was going to accomplish. It’s a highly ambitious and idealistic list because that is simply how I roll. There’s no fixing it.

…..And instead I mostly blog and go to the grocery store.

Seriously. I do an outing. Collapse on the sofa. Do the chores  some of the chores. Collapse on the sofa. It’s all over surprisingly quickly.

#2. I’m relishing this quiet house.

All I can hear is the air conditioner (because this is the summer that never ends… Die summer, die) and the sound of my fingers typing.

Is it as wonderful as I thought it would be? Oh yes, honey, that part is heavenly. Literally I could take a nap right this second.

#3. Somehow someone needs something from the store every single day.

I’m not actually going to the store every day, but there are enough needs/wants/requests that I could. I told Alan this morning, “Look, I can’t keep buying groceries 3 times a week. The budget can’t take that.”

There has to be a way to streamline the store thing. Inevitably, I always miscalculate just how much we eat.

#4. There are no more excuses to not exercise.

This part is irritating. Not a single excuse will do. No one is distracting me. I do have the time. It was raining today, but I have a small collection of workout DVDs as well as YouTube. We even have a free gym membership on post.

There’s just no excuse at all. Except “no energy.”  But the sad thing is that you have to give energy to get energy, so again, no excuse at all.

Does that mean I exercised today? Well, according to my Fitbit I got 25 minutes of cardio in already by going to the grocery store. That probably won’t work for most of you though. It only worked for me today because I forgot to take my heart pill, and when I do that my heart beats too fast, convincing my Fitbit that I’m in “cardio.”

Our sofa is oh so cushy cozy comfy.

#5. I cannot tell a lie. My sofa is seeing a lot more of me than it used to.

I like to sit here and use my computer. Maybe I need to drink more coffee and sleep more so I can make myself do less of this. But I’ve waited 12 years for this!!!

#6. My kitchen and living room are still tidier just because they get a 7 hour break from the children.

It still doesn’t look perfect. I mean my entertainment center hasn’t been dusted in a few weeks, and there are already stains on this rug that was brand new in May, but guess what. There are no stacks! Say what!

Okay there’s still stacks downstairs on the desk, but it doesn’t count because #6 is about the kitchen and the living room.

Yes, there are bags of groceries sitting in the kitchen at this moment. I put up all the cold stuff. The rest can wait until my next energy arrives.

#7. I do need to get more social interaction.

The hermit thing that I do sometimes is starting to happen. I’ve had multiple people in the neighborhood say to me, “Hey! You’re out! I never see you.”

I DO want to see my friends, but John David (my 5-year-old) always insists that I leave every social function early. Plus, I’m lazy about initiating outings. Add this item to my back to school bucket list: go see friends.

#8. You would think I would be cooking and baking more.

That’s another thing perhaps I don’t have an excuse with. Why am I not cooking more? I don’t know the answer to that. It gets in the way of my blogging time on my couch?

#9. I haven’t gone into town even once yet.

I said I was going to ride the train into town and explore D.C. on my own, and it was going to be such a fun adventure. Four weeks later, and I mostly only go to the Commissary or Target.

Sometimes I have to get up from the left side (my favorite spot) of the sofa and go sit on the right side because that’s where my computer charger is. That’s my level of adventure this week.

#10. Walking the kids to school and back is my best exercise, and it’s exhausting and sometimes impossible.

I am a serious advocate of walking or biking to school when you live with a school right in your neighborhood. It’s the best. According to my Fitbit, I now log about 300 active minutes a week. Back when we lived in Georgia, I was only logging 50-100.

It’s healthy for the kids too, so we enjoy doing it. If only the weather would cooperate!! Yes, I’m whining here when I say this, but 90 degrees has been the average temperature at 3:15pm for the past 4 weeks, and it has been BRUTAL. Most days I needed to change clothes 3 times and take 2 showers a day. I didn’t actually take 2 showers a day, but it was bad enough that I could have.

When it wasn’t scorching it was raining, and our house is 0.75 miles from the school, going at a kindergarten walking pace because I do have a kindergartener.

So here’s what a typical day actually looks like.

-Oversleep.

-Get the boys ready for school, complete with snacks, one lunch box for Daniel (who saves me so much money), 3 water bottles, and all papers signed.

-Put John David’s shoes on for him because 4th babies are insanely spoiled.

-Spend 3 minutes standing in the yard deciding if we can handle the walk in this weather today.

-Pick up a friend on the way to school.

-Arrive at school 20 minutes later. Convince John David to walk into the school building.

-Walk home.

-Collapse on the sofa.

-Read my Bible. Answer emails.

-Pinterest time.

-Do the dishes.

-Brush teeth and put on my contacts.

-Sweep a room.

-Collapse on the sofa.

-Blog.

-What! It’s 3pm already!?

-Rush out the door to get kids.

And that’s my truth. Tell me I’m not alone. Ha! This phase is far easier than those years of preschoolers. Man, those years were hard core. Yet, I still never feel like I’m doing enough (a lie from the devil).

I do miss cuddling with babies. So much!!  I miss babies, but at the same time I’m okay, you know? This phase is just a different kind of good.

The post 10 Truths About My New Stay at Home Mom Life appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Only three weeks of summer are left.

Three measly weeks. I’m ready and excited about this because this enters a new phase of life for me. I’ve never had ALL FOUR kids in school before.

That’s right. The baby is going to kindergarten.

People keep asking me what I’m going to do with my new free time.

The answer: Whatever I want!! haha! Sort of… I have several different ideas.

Am I sad? Only a little, and really only when I can’t get a single one of our children to come sit in my lap. Having a baby in my lap has been a great joy that I will miss!!! I do adore a chubby little bubby to cuddle with.

But I’m also ready for this. At least, I think I am. Only time will tell.

Will I run out and get a full-time job?

Eh…I don’t know, you guys. Do you know how long it has been since I left the work force? 13 years!!! 13.

The preschool mom phase has lasted for 12 1/2 years for me. We had four babies in 7 years. At one point, there were actually 3 preschoolers. I can honestly tell you the hardest parts (for me) were going from 1 to 2 and going from 3 to 4. Having both a 2-year-old and a baby was always quite the juggling act.

It was hard, but I loved it.

Us, 10 years ago

Us, 4 years ago

I see moms doing what I used to do, out pushing strollers, wearing a baby, looking all sleep deprived and carrying a diaper bag, and I just think, “How did I ever do that? I did it, but how???”

Young moms, do NOT be offended when people comment with offers of help or, “Oh, you have your hands full!” They aren’t annoyed by you, at least most of them. Most people have been there too, and they are just sympathizing with you, I promise. They are recognizing that you deserve a medal. Choose to see it that way!

Even though the babies brought me so much joy, life lessons, pure hard work, and adventure, I’m at peace with moving on to the next phase.

But a full-time job? You know we move like every two years, right? That doesn’t make me the most desirable employee. Also, there’s summer. Sure, I have no kids for 9 months from 8-3, but where do I find childcare for 3 children that would be covered by the cost of whatever returning-to-work-after-a-decade level of pay I would make?

No, it’s not quite time for that. I’ll keep working the blog. Maybe I’ll take the time to pick up some other online writing, do a little freelancing. I did that once before.

Instead, I’m excited about the possibility of quiet! And I have ideas! So many ideas, which of course, I must share with you below.

My Bucket List for this New Phase of Life:

#1. Ballet Lessons

I looked into it. They offer adult dance classes, even for beginners, not too far from my house! This is something I wanted to do when I was a kid and never go to, so why not now?

Quit laughing. 😉  It might be fun!

#2. Get a library card and gradually return to checking out books.

We’re ready now. The library problems of the past are behind us, I promise.

#3. Fix up Pinterest pins for my best blog posts.

While I was on a blogging break, Pinterest exploded my traffic for the posts I wrote about homeschooling. The better looking the pin, the more traffic I got. I want to comb through and fix up the images for my other posts that are still relevant.

#4. Keep a more organized house.

I won’t lie. It’s hard to get excited about that. Bleh. Housework.

Last year I did do a far better job of keeping house though, while John David went to preschool. Therefore, my high hopes in this area are not unfounded.

#5. Decorate the playroom better.

Basically, my only plan is to add curtains and tidy it up more. Oh, and finally run that corner full of junk to the Goodwill.

#6. Go to downtown Washington, D.C. and just walk around, exploring.

This is so fun to me! It’s a beautiful city.

#7. Clip coupons and go to the store ALONE

Finally! I will have the brain space at the store to open my purse and dig out coupons. Also, in Virginia, they actually drop the coupons off in my driveway, no newspaper subscription required. Pretty awesome.

#8. Catch up on all my doctor and dentist appointments I’ve been skipping all summer.

I have to do another cardiac MRI. Fun, fun, fun. And I will not admit to you how long it’s been since I visited the dentist. Don’t even ask. I refuse to say.

#9. Print the 50 billion photos I’ve taken over the last 4 years into photo albums.

#10. Play my Jeopardy app. Oh yeah, I love that thing.

#11. Study the Bible BETTER.

I keep buying these excellent books of archaeology Bible stuff, but I rush through my Bible time. Now I can slow down and let it sink in.

#12. Walk MORE

I’m passionate about getting my walks in already, but now I can take longer ones!!

#13. Sign up for some regular volunteering activity.

When you’re new in town, this takes a while to figure out where you fit to volunteer, but it makes you feel SOOOO much more fulfilled and connected.

It took me at least 6 months after the last move to find a place to plug in, but then I found several. I enjoyed teaching a girls’ Sunday school class, shelving books at the library, and serving on the MOPS leadership team.

#14. Meet Alan for lunch some time.

After all, Alan, everything I read says that workers work better when they leave their work building for lunch.

#15. Just keep blogging. Just keep blogging. That’s what we do. We blog, blog, blog.

#16. Buy a houseplant and keep it alive.

There are some houseplants that even clean the air in your house. I’d like to have a plant that a.) we remember to water and b.) prevent my husband and children from OVER watering.

These are decent goals, right?

I do realize that being a stay-at-home mom is an amazing privilege, one that many women never get to experience. My mission is to cherish the year, make the most of every opportunity, continue to shine my light and encourage the boys to shine their lights as well.

I’m a person who LOVES space and quiet. I thrive on it. Sometimes, when I allow myself too much alone time, I actually become reluctant to make contact with other humans….There’s this hermit side of me. But then I’m also a person who needs regular social interaction too. I need both! In order for this work-at-home plan to work out, I’m going to still need to see friends often!

We have plans for new things we’re going to do WITH the kids too. It’s going to be a fun year. There is no doubt we will all learn many new things, hop over countless hurdles, fall a few times, and that’s okay. We’ll get back up again. Bring on the new school year!

What are your goals for this school year? Did you ever send all your kids to school and do the stay-at-home mom thing? I’d love to hear about it.

The post The Back to School Bucket List for My New Phase of Life appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

A peacock, who sits on his feathers, is just another turkey.

Life is so much more fun when you quit worrying about what others think of you. It’s not about “me” anyway.

The other week I sang a solo at church. It used to make me ridiculously nervous.

Why does it make us nervous to do something we love in front of other people?

Because there are people! And they are watching! And what if your hair is messed up, or there’s lipstick on your teeth, or you miss a note?

But what if you don’t? What if you just stomp on all of those thoughts, embrace the very soul inside yourself, and just do it!

That’s what I did the other week. I had all these doctor appointments and mystery health problems hanging over my head, and something about it all pushed me over that selfish ledge that has eluded me. I managed to hop that fence, you know, the one that stands between caring and not caring about what anyone else will say.

Plop! There I was on the other side of that fence, and it felt amazing! I stood there, it was the most empowering thing to just not worry, and I sang my heart out to Jesus, just as if I were in my very own shower.

I was not nervous because it wasn’t about me anymore.

Who cares if someone out there chuckles about me? Good. Glad they got a laugh. Serving isn’t about me. It’s about giving what I have.

Have fun with life!

Ha! I bet some of you wonder why I’m always sharing my crazy crap on the internet.

It’s worth it, y’all. Do what you love, and shamelessly share it. It may even turn into income for you. I turn away work now all the time because I’m still too busy with all of my children to take on outside work, but I’m still here, writing and sharing, maintaining what I enjoy. Income opportunities can be taken care of later, when I have time for that.

I believe in not putting pressure on yourself to “have it all.” Maybe you can have it all throughout your lifetime, but why stress yourself out going for all of it at once? Where’s the fun in that?

I wish I could go back to the sweet, timid, 23-year-old me. I would tell her, “Who cares if you don’t have a job and don’t know what you want to be? You’re happy being a wife and cooking and keeping house. Master that, and don’t worry about what anyone else says. There will be so much time to work a career and raise children in due time.”

Life is too short to impress people who won’t be impressed anyway.

I’m going to spend this weekend praising and thanking God for this beautiful life that I have been given. We are going to hang out as a family, going to birthday parties and basketball games. I’ll probably eat and talk too much and accomplish precious little. The kids will be loud. John David will follow me around. People will always be asking me, “What about dinner?” It will be glorious.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  Galatians 1:10

Romans 12:6-8 

 

We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in agreement with the faith. 7 Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has the gift of encouraging others should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy.

The post Life gets really fun once you get over yourself. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Being a mom these days feels sort of like trying to accomplish the impossible. Clean the house, feed the people wholesome well-rounded meals, wash the clothes, make fun and elaborate lesson plans, teach the children, exercise, and still look beautiful for your husband when he gets home. Or maybe those are just my issues…

As a stay-at-home mom, one can even be tempted to think that she must do all of this for herself, by herself. “I have no job outside the home, so that means I have to do it ALLLL. This place should look like a magazine, even while children are running all over it.”

Well, that makes no sense whatsoever. Children are exhausting. Toddlers are especially so. They are wonderful and adorable, and I love them so much that we had four of them, on purpose. However, by 3pm everyday, I sometimes look like a pile of emotionally wrought mush, sitting on my sofa, saying things like, “Okay! Who wants to watch a movie!!??? Pick a long one…”

Then I feel guilty when my husband arrives home, and I practically fly out the door to go take a walk by myself.  There’s this one lady I see on my walk, every time, outside playing with her three little boys. What a great momma. She probably thinks I don’t have a clue. Ha! I am so with you, sister! You just only see me when I’m escaping!!! I would tell you that, but I am surprisingly shy.

I thought about this guilt thing yesterday morning, as I was still in bed, and yet I could hear my amazing husband, returning from the gym, and getting John David out of his crib….at 5:30am.  Sometimes I wonder. Is Alan just a way better person than me with infinity more energy than I have?

He exercises at 5 am. Sometimes JD or Daniel, or even both, wake up that early, and Alan puts them in the double jogger, and takes them with him.

Why can’t I do that? Will you ever see me out jogging at 5 am, with two babies in a jogging stroller?

Don’t hold your breath.

Then Alan comes home and even makes those little ones breakfast! Okay, I’m starting to feel super lazy…  But do you know what Alan DOESN’T have to do?

He does not stay home with them all day long every day. After all, someone around here really should go to work… 😉 He does not have to mediate their every dispute. From morning until evening, he is free of diaper duty and meal supervision. He does not have to write their lesson plans. He does not have to teach them reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Nor does he have to make them say “An element is a basic chemical substance defined by its atomic number (number of protons) and atomic mass.”

Daddy does not have to listen to four children take turns crying, falling, whining, or complaining all day long. Oh, that might make my darlings sound bad. They are NOT bad. They are FANTASTIC, lovable children, but they ARE children. Children are not miniature adults. They are more like larvae. They have lots and lots and lots of needs, and whoever spends all day trying to meet those little larval needs will 100% guaranteed be very wiped out by the end of the day.

That’s right. Hug your childcare provider. Seriously. It’s draining.

This is why there are two parents. Some people aren’t that lucky. Many times you can’t help it. There’s only one parent, and you do the best you can do to get by in that situation. That is insanely hard. Every single time Alan deployed, leaving me alone with our children for months on end, I packed my kids up and lived close to family. That whole village thing is no joke. No one should have to raise children alone.

So ideally, there are two parents, and that is by design. We are not polar bears.

What am I talking about with the polar bears?

Well, my first-born son obsessed over all things animals for several years. We watched these two polar bear documentaries over and over. I can tell you with great confidence, “Be glad that we are not like polar bears.” Polar bear cubs are raised exclusively by their mothers. The fathers are too mean. They steer clear of the father. If they don’t, he could actually attack the cubs, so it’s important to just stick with mama. Mama Bear does it all.

People aren’t like that. Mama shouldn’t do it all. That’s why Daddy is there. It’s a shared job. I’m so thankful I married an especially great one. I was so extremely careful about who I even dated, for that very reason.

Alan cooks breakfast every morning for whoever is up early with him. Alan gets the laundry started many days. He packs his own lunch. He cleans up in the kitchen. He earns allll of OUR money.  When Alan comes home at the end of the day, he knows that I will probably have supper made, but he also knows that I will be desperate to get out and go for a walk, just to have a little silence. Alan is our number one boy hair comber and toothbrushing supervisor. He is also better at keeping up with Caleb’s medication than I am. We take turns cleaning up after supper. We take turns on a lot of things. We put the kids to bed together, every single night, and we always have.

I’m SO thankful that I have Alan. Taking care of babies and toddlers is a special kind of exhausting. Thankfully, that’s getting a little easier here. Daniel is almost 4!!!  JD is 18 months and is sleeping a little better lately.

Mothers of little ones, hang in there. Enjoy those hugs and cuddles as much as you possibly can, and never feel guilty about your need to hand over those little ones and have alone time. Seize it! What we are doing is something that is bigger than ourselves. It is a selfless but necessary job, and it is so incredibly important.

No one person can do everything. I figure it’s more important to be happy than to do every single thing that “needs” to be done. I guess it’s easy for me to say that since I am not really much of a perfectionist. Writing is something I’ve done for therapy since I was eight years old. Find your therapy. Cling to every bit of good that you can find in your life.

Before you know it, those little ones will be big ones. My oldest is nine now, and he doesn’t need me all the time anymore. He’s actually a pretty good helper. All that work is starting to pay off for me!

Here comes Dan. He still needs me about every 5 minutes. He decides when my fun time is over….yeah, it’s over. Oh well, I suppose I should cook supper too. Let me go see if I can find Alan…. 😉

The post We are not polar bears. Don’t struggle alone. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.