Friday, June 14, 2013

Seven Quick Takes vol. 46


My sole blogging contribution in a week. Surely I can muster the super 7?

Hi Jen!


{one}



I haven't blogged all week only because I feel like I have nothing to say. I feel stuck in blog inertia. I figure even though blogging seems a fairly self-centered pursuit most days that I should at least have something, anything, to say in order to actually post. Or maybe I'm just lazy? Either way I feel as if anything I could contribute is being said and being said better by much more interesting people than I these days. 
C'est le vie.

{two}


In even more random non-news I feel as if I ticked off some errands that I've been letting hang for a month or two off the long list of life this week. Why does that give me such a sense of accomplishment?? I think that's one thing that is a stay at home mom principle, finding a sense of accomplishment in small things. Only because raising children has so few literal and visible signs of accomplishment in the everyday! Or at least signs that give that same sense of having gotten things done. There is no daily check-list of child-acquired skills in a day that we can check off and not feel as if we're going to have to do the exact same thing the next day. I've been thinking about that lately...



{three}


I have spent the week cleaning up a lot of mud though! Its rained most every day and Max continues to be a mud magnet. Which I can't really begrudge him. He's adorable even when he's muddy. Plus the whole purpose of childhood is to enjoy mud. I have to admit that seeing muddy children kinda gives me a mom boost even though its completely unrelated to my mothering skills, but a sweet kid having fun and enjoying mud for its sheer mud-ness is remarkable. I must be doing something right! 

{four}



Another thing I never add up to accomplishment is cooking. I never think of it as important thing I do everyday for some reason. And yet every meal during the week I usually cook, fairly healthily and mostly from scratch. Using my patented "pantry/freezer/30 minute meals/anti-menu planning" plan that I like to call "How to survive when you live 30 minutes and 20 miles from the closet grocery store that doesn't even sell fresh parsley". Its sorta like an episode of Chopped except the strange ingredients are whatever is in my freezer and pantry combined with using up the fresh veggies in the fridge. So far we've survived. I really haven't cooked "fancy" or according to actual cookbooks for the last two years or thereabouts which is how I usually like to cook. Everything fairly simple, fast, but tasty. And enough for all of us and my husband's lunch because he works where he can't even get anywhere that sells food and he won't eat sandwiches. 

{five} 

Did I mention I slept a full 7 hours uninterrupted last night for the first time in at least 3 months!! I couldn't believe it when I saw the clock say 5 am! Nora's been my sleeping champion and I'm not afraid to say that even in front of her siblings because there were some really awful sleepers who didn't sleep at all when it was dark out until they were 4 months old! And it seems nights where Nora sleep a 4 or 5 hours solid Max will wake up between times so someone's always awaking. But uninterrupted people!!! Uninterrupted. That is priceless.

I feel like this is bragging. But don't worry I'm sure I just jinxed myself!

{six}

I have to admit that I had a flash of my parental failure yesterday. I had let the kids play outside in front of the house for maybe 20 minutes while I cleared up the house a little without constant pestering for food and water and ya know...bathroom stuff. I could see them outside playing around with bikes and balls but I had to run out and grab Max from picking up mud and rubbing it in his hair and Gemma and Dom started talking about bird eggs. When I asked what they were doing they said they had found bird eggs and they broke them. I sorta freaked out and made them show me where they had broken two little robin's eggs on the gravel. Out on the gravel were the shattered blue eggshells and what was obviously little birds in some stage of embryonic growth. It was fairly gruesome. But what really got my dander up was how not one of my children seemed to understand they had killed little birds. I have to admit I felt like a person who was raising conscience-less sociopaths for a couple minutes. I made everyone (well, just Gemma and Dom because I figured they at least knew they destroyed something) sit on the time-out step for awhile. Then I went back out a few minutes later and tried to explain that they killed little birds who were growing in those eggs, that God had made those little birds and that He doesn't want us to hurt things He made to live. I had no idea if it was sinking in at the time I was lecturing. But Gemma did seem pretty cut up about it later this afternoon, now I'm hoping I didn't traumatize her by telling her she killed something. Modern parenting dilemma! Definitely not fit to photograph!

{seven}


I have the paltry-est of plans for my dear husband, the greatest of daddys to my babies, for Sunday. I'm sure I'll muster a meal or something, but he'll probably refuse some daddy alone time because he's so great, and I ordered his gift only a couple days ago so that won't be here in time either! I'm so thankful I married someone who makes an even greater dad than I thought he would be. I can say gratefully that he works as hard or harder (who am I kidding) than I do taking care of our kids. And our kids are really a full time job for not just one person but two and so I'd really be up the creek if he wasn't so awesome.  

Its also my wonderful dad's birthday today-so I wish him a happy weekend! 

And for having nothing to say this turned out extremely wordy. 
Have a lovely weekend!










6 comments:

  1. Oh, poor baby robin... Your kids aren't conscious-less sociopaths, they're just kids and this was a sucky but necessary parenting moment. One of those moments they never tell you about where you are mad at your kids and mad at yourself and nobody is happy at the time. But your kids are better off in the long run because you sat them down and explained why that was a bad thing.

    Chin up! You're a good Mama! Think of all the happy muddy kids you have!

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  2. I have been waiting all week, hooray! More bloggy content from a momma much further into the game than me!
    Chil'ren with Dad photo...adorable!! I have nothing, alas, nothing planned for my husband. I'm baking yeast rolls for his company lunch today. Can that count for anything? Gosh I hope so. El budgeto does not have room for a gift. Serisously... $7.45 unaccounted for this month. Trip to dollar tree? Maybe so, but I hate that the whole store is "Made in China."
    Sigh Sigh sigh...if he liked plants I could buy him an herb, but no, that won't fit. I'm the gardening and cooking and baking type, and hello chumm! Fly by the seat of my pants here too. I love LMLD Leila suggestion to meal plan and it used to work but now, with two in two years (how you manage, God bless your soul!) I am just grateful to get a tasty meal on the table at night...meal planning at it's quickest.
    Anyway, happy weekend to you!

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  3. Isn't sleep great? I slept 6 straight hours last night which was HEAVENLY. My little one also is just waking up from a two hour nap right now. I really think The No Cry Sleep Solution is working...

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  4. All of your kiddos are so stinkin cute sitting on that couch with their Dad! Happy Father's Day to your family.

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  5. They say playing in the mud made children brainer, so you could tick off on your 'list' brain development;)

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  6. Your husband doesn't eat sandwiches? Just . . . wow.
    And I am super duper duper jealous of your sleep. My 10 month old still gets up twice a night and before she was born, my middle child wasn't yet sleeping through the night so it has been years -- YEARS -- since I have had 7 hours in a row. Enjoy it!!!

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