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Full Hands

“you sure have your hands full”

At the grocery store yesterday we started with the baby in his carrier on the front of the cart. The girls were in the BLUE car on the front of the cart (it had to be blue, I’m just happy they both agree on the color). We head into the produce section, the girls are happily “steering” and the baby is cooing to his toys.

30 minutes later, we’re finishing up with our last couple of things from the frozen section, I’m carrying the baby so he doesn’t cry, steering the car cart with one hand (which is almost impossible, because of the car I can’t grab the front of the cart and just pull it behind me like I would do with a regular cart), explaining to the girls that I can’t steer the cart if they’re both hanging on the outside of it, and some dear sweet lady has the audacity to say “you sure have your hands full”.

Why yes, I DO have my hands full, a baby in one, a cart in the other, and two kids hanging on. Were you referring to the fact that it is physically impossible to hold anything else in my hands? Were you commenting on the fact that I have 3 kids, and you think that ‘s a lot? Do you think it’s not appropriate for my children to be hanging on the outside of the cart (they could be running around the store instead)? Could you think of nothing else to say?

Or the guy that commented “you have your hands full” as I’m trying to walk through the Wal-Mart parking lot with 3 kids. He also felt the need to strike up a conversation about their ages and such as I’m trying to direct them around traffic. Um, yes, I have my hands full, why are we still talking?

It seems like I can’t go anywhere these days without hearing that statement at least once. I just smile and say “yes I do” 🙂 Because, I indeed do have my hand full, literally, I can’t hold anything else. Not that I mind, it just seems like a statement of the obvious to tell me.

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The Pursuit of Perfection

Saw this on a friends facebook feed the other day.

“A real woman always keeps her house clean and organized. She’s always well-dressed and hair done. She behaves gracefully in all situations and circumstances. And no matter what, she never swears. She has more than enough patience to take care of her family, always has a smile on her lips, and a kind word for everyone.”

Initial reaction, “yep, something to aspire to”… 2 seconds later “who has time to keep a house always clean?”… 4 seconds later “this is totally unrealistic”… 6 seconds later “they forgot cook gourmet dinners, keep the kids clean and well dressed and polite, …”

So, what is it that makes me think I can do it all? I somehow expect that I should be able to keep my house perfectly clean, look great every day, always know how to react/respond in every situation, run a small business, and chase 3 little kids all day. And, when I reach the end of my day, I’m frustrated because I didn’t finish the laundry, there’s a few dirty cups on the counter, and why oh why can I not get my shower before 10 pm!

Pride, probably, I think I can do it all on my own. Unrealistic expectations, definitely, there’s not enough hours in a day for this!

First of all, I’m not saying that I shouldn’t try to clean the house, look good, or maintain a good attitude. But to expect all of this every day is just not realistic. I have to leave time for the kid’s art messes (yes, folks, painting all the baby dolls faces with poster paints is a mess! To their credit, they did later get out the hose and give their baby’s baths, thus, eliminating the need for me to do any cleaning)…, time to spend with the kids, time to teach them to enjoy cooking (I love cooking, so we spend a lot of time in the kitchen doing creative things with food, sometimes successful, sometimes not.), and many other memory making opportunities.

The truth is, if I get the laundry done, I don’t have time for the kitchen; if I make a big dinner, I don’t have time to clean bathrooms; if the baby’s cranky, I don’t have time to take a shower; if we do an art project, my house looks like a tornado of glue, glitter, and paint swept through; if the kids help in the kitchen, it was an icing and chocolate tornado this time; if I’m making memories, we’re making a mess.

So, what’s more important, my perfectly clean house, well kept appearance, perfect kids, and a pretend great attitude, (I still think if i try really hard I can get this) or happy kids, sticky projects, honesty, and the classic jeans & t-shirt  with a ponytail look (it is a classic look, very fashionable,…).

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TruMoo Sweepstakes

Don’t forget to enter your milk caps for an entry in the TruMoo sweepstakes. You’ll get a $2 coupon off any Goosebumps DVD and an entry into their sweepstakes for a Haunted Hollywood Vacation.

My kids had so much fun drinking the new Vanilla Orange Milk. Thanks Bzzagent for the free half gallon! Then I got my coupon and entered the sweepstakes. Orange milk would be a great addition to your child’s Halloween party!

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A Mother’s Heart

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

Luke 2:51b “…And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.”

As a mother, I find these verses to be very precious. The first verse comes right after the shepherds visited Jesus and the second verse is right after Mary and Joseph lost Jesus and found him in the temple after searching for him for days.

There are just things your children do, things people say, things that happen, and things I feels as a mother that I just “store” in my heart. I know I’ll use them later, or at least remember them later. They affect how I interact with each child and it’s not always something I can explain, It’s just something I know. Some of this stuff gets written down in their baby books, if I can figure out how to put it into words. I want them to know it when they’re older.

Each child has their own unique birth story and their own unique life and I constantly look forward to the next special thing to add to who they are as I see them.

As I read these verses I’m always reminded of how my children were born, how I felt at that moment, and what affect it has on me and how I relate to them.

My mother’s first child was a stillborn so my entire first pregnancy I was pretty worried. I tried hard not to worry because there’s really nothing that worrying can do for me but still, I worried. So, when I went into labor and had the report from my midwife that she had a good heartbeat, I was relieved. Somehow, I held it together when my water broke and it was green (my mom’s was green with her first), but we still had a heartbeat so I knew it was ok. I can’t even describe the relief and joy of holding my first child, hearing her cry, and just knowing that she was healthy. To this day, she’s still extra special to me, and I’m just so grateful that God gave her to me.

My second child was just very unhappy to be born. I don’t know if she disliked the birth process or was just hungry after my whole 2 hour labor but I just remember her crying and crying the minute she took her first breath. I held her close to me and she cried, and cried, and cried some more. I was almost in tears. Finally I fed her and she was happy. To this day, I just can’t take it when she cries. My husband teases me about it, but there’s just something inside of me that melts when she cries, just like the day she was born.

At about 30 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child I had this crazy dream about his birth. I never could remember the exact details of the dream, I just woke up and remembered 3 things, he was born early, he was perfectly healthy, and he was the most adorable baby ever. Which may explain why I was the calmest of the 3 adults present when he was born 5 minutes before the midwife arrived. He was completely healthy, and he’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Maybe my feelings were stronger from the rush of delivering my own baby, but I’ll never forget how I felt just holding him for the first time and looking at him and thinking just how precious and adorable (and cute!) he was.

My children are all young, so I just store these things up, ponder them at times, and wait for the day when it all makes sense.

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Goosbumps Sweepstakes

First, thanks to bzzagent.com I (and the kids of course) got to try Orange colored milk for free! My kids thought this was awesome! Seriously, who doesn’t just love orange milk! I mean, what kids doesn’t like orange milk? It was a little sweet for me, being as it’s vanilla flavored – I almost feel like I’m drinking a candy corn. But, if you have trouble getting the kids to drink milk, orange milk might just do the trick 🙂 And if your kids just love milk, they’ll think you’re an awesome parent for serving them orange milk!

Maybe TruMoo can make green milk for Christmas – or not, I don’t think I could drink green milk (but you know, if it tasted like McDonald’s shamrock milkshake I would drink the whole half gallon myself). Red milk might be fun, and yellow milk for easter – oh, wait, milk is already yellow…Colored milk is just so much fun!

What’s even better, if you buy a gallon or half gallon of TruMoo’s halloween themed milk they have a code on the cap. You can enter a sweepstakes to win a Goosebumps Haunted Hollywood Vacation. I don’t know about your kids, but mine would love it! And, when you enter the sweepstakes, you get a printable coupon for $2 off any Goosbumps DVD.

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Finding Balance

Wow! It’s been a long time since I posted! I guess I do have an excuse in the form of a tiny baby that keeps me really busy! Also, my oldest child started school this year. Where did the time go! I’m entering a whole new world of activities and learning. So much fun!

My last month has been completely crazy! I’ve helped a relative move and entered full steam into the business of a school year. Every week I look at my calendar and it’s just intimidating. I also have a couple of work projects going (yes, folks, I freelance from home with the kids – some days I think I must be crazy). In fact, I’m typing this blog post and multitasking over to a website I’m getting some images posted on. I’m really hoping I can finish both before the baby wakes up!

So, how do I find time for everything that I need to do? So far, I’ve determined that I need to hire a maid and a chauffeur and then I might have time for everything. Honestly, I’m at least considering a house cleaning service twice a month. I almost have my laundry done for the week – since it’s Friday I guess I should hurry up and finish it. But I’m way behind on the kitchen and bathrooms and as soon as I get caught up on those it’ll be time for laundry again.

Now, I can’t figure out how to upload images to the website I’m working on…

Oh, and I just heard the baby…

These days for me, finding balance means I take one day at a time, get done what I can, and spend as much time as possible with the kids. (and hope I don’t forget something important).

I guess the pictures will get uploaded later, and I’ll post again when I get a few minutes,  I need to go feed the baby.

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Chamomile Tea

I gave my baby chamomile tea for the first time last night. I had read somewhere that chamomile was good for colicky babies. Now, I don’t have a colicky baby (far from it) but he had a really rough day yesterday and his tummy was obviously upset, so I looked up chamomile tea since I always have that on hand – my 5yr old loves to drink it when she’s sick.

According to what I read, you make a weak cup of tea and give the baby 1 to 3 teaspoons of the tea and it’ll settle the baby’s stomach. So I gave it a try. I put it in a bottle for the baby, of course, since this was his first experience with a bottle he had no idea what to do with it but he still drank a teaspoon or two.

Chamomile is fairly sweet on it’s own so even though the baby wasn’t familiar with it, he still liked it. And, he settled right down in 15 minutes. Then nursed and finally went to sleep.

I’ve heard you can use chamomile daily for colicky babies but I’ve never tried it since I’ve been blessed with happy babies. Though, I am tempted to give him a teaspoon every night before bed since he slept 10 hrs last night – Don’t worry, I won’t, he’s been sleeping longer and longer at night already. Though, I had forgotten what a full night’s sleep feels like, I almost didn’t need my coffee this morning!

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The Hiding of the Spider

Today I introduced my 5yr old to a family tradition that I started when I was her age.

Meet the family pet spider. I got this spider from the treasure box in my class when I was 5 or 6. I remember seeing it in there and just hoping the kids picking before me didn’t get it, I really wanted the spider. I’m sure some mother was only too happy to donate it to the class treasure box, hoping that her child didn’t bring it back home.

In case you can’t tell from the picture, it’s about the size of my hand, squeaks when squeezed, and has an elastic string that’s lost all it’s bounce.

I had great plans for this spider, when I got home I hid it under my dad’s pillow. And like any small child, I eagerly waited for my dad to get home, greeting him with a demand that he look under his pillow. After which ensued many years of hiding the spider.

I finally learned to not tell him where the spider was. And I found many fun hiding places, some favorites being under the fitted sheet on his bed (surprising mom instead of dad when I hid it on the wrong side of the bed), his chair at the table, and in his suitcase when he would go on a trip.

The rule was, whoever found the spider got to hide it next. It makes its rounds from one sibling or parent to the next. Showing up in dresser drawers, couches, and even in the shower.

It’s been over 20 years since I picked that spider from the treasure box and I had completely forgotten about it. I thought it was lost years ago. Until it turned up in my suitcase at my most recent visit to my parent’s house.

I got home ,unpacked, and placed it on my dresser, planning which family member will get it next. Tonight, my 5yr old saw it on my dresser and with the same excitement I remember feeling the first time I saw it, exclaimed, “what’s this!”. I was only too happy to show her how to hide it under her dad’s pillow, and as I expected, it didn’t take long for her to insist that he look under his pillow.

I think we’re going to have a fun couple of months hiding the spider around here until I decide where some unsuspecting parent or sibling will find the spider next. And who knows, maybe in a few years it will cycle back to me again.

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Hose Nozzle

I’m reviewing these Hose Nozzles for a friend. She gave me two to try, but since I only have one hose, I ended up trying one and giving the other to my brother-in-law to use for his hose. (The nozzles come in a pack of two which is why she gave me two)

So far, I’m very pleased with this product. First of all it’s made in the USA, and I always like buying products that are made in the USA.

Next, it’s nice and sturdy, actually a tad heavy so I feel like I’m using something high quality when I water my garden or wash my car.

And, true to what it advertises on amazon, it doesn’t leak, which is so nice! (and I have really powerful water pressure at my house)

I also love the twist on and off because it makes it easy for my kids to use the spray. Before we had just had a grip handle sprayer and my littlest child isn’t strong enough yet to be able to squeeze the handle and get water out, so this works great for her. And I’m all about letting the kids water the garden and wash the car while I supervise!

This hose nozzle is so easy to use, has great reviews on Amazon, and is very sturdy. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality hose nozzle.

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Summer Grilling with Kroger

My latest Kroger campaign from Bzzagent was lots of fun.  For this one, I got to try Kroger brand free frozen slider patties, slider hamburger buns, chips, ice cream, and Big K Soda.

Sliders : I usually buy Kroger hot dog and sandwich buns and the slider buns were just as good as the larger hamburger buns. The sliders were the perfect size for my kids to eat, which was great for grilling with them! However, the slider patties themselves were a little greasier than the rest of Kroger hamburger patties (I’ve tried a lot of pre-made hamburger patties and Kroger is my favorite brand) so I was a little disappointed with them. I’ll definitely continue to purchase and grill with the full size hamburger patties but I’m not sure that I’ll purchase the sliders again unless they come out with a leaner variety.

Chips : I’ve tried store brand potato chips before and just hated them so I wasn’t really excited about trying the Kroger brand. I was really surprised. The chips are delicious! I tried wavy, BBQ, cheddar, and sour cream & onion. I liked all of them (so did my guests). Since these are much cheaper than Lay’s the Kroger chips are going to be my new favorite chip brand.

Ice Cream: Kroger ice cream is good, not as good as blue bell or graeters but it’s still good ice cream and terrific for keeping on hand for the kids.

Big K Sodas: I think Coke will always be my favorite softdrink but Big K Sodas are pretty good, and cheaper. And they have some fun varieties that the kids love. We tried blue raspberry soda first, not my favorite, but the kids think it’s great because it’s blue! Orange creme soda was good too, the orange was a little stronger than I expected, but still good. Vanilla cola is my favorite so far, and the black cherry soda is pretty good as well.

All in all, a fun campaign, with tasty food, and more ways to save money on my grocery bill!