Hello 2011!

Figures that my last post was mid-October.  What’s more, is that I totally skipped NaBloPoMo (national blog posting month) in November–the challenge there is to post daily.  Then, I wasn’t sure if to back-date my posts and play catch up in some spots or if to just start from the present and move onward (retelling past stories, of course). 

And that’s the one thing that gets me delayed in blogging.  When I fall behind, do I back-date or do I just keep on going??  That’s always been my struggle.  Need to change that for this year.  Time to make a choice.  I’m going to opt to move forward and just retell whatever’s important.  I can’t go back in time to recapture the true essence of the moment.  And I can’t hold myself back by wanting to go back and rehash the past either.

So, welcome January 1, 2011.  There are many new things in store for this year.  Some obvious–hello Bébé 3 (due to arrive around Jan 20 ish).  There are some new things in store that are beyond my imagination–new minivan/SUV, new computer, fitness.  All those are needs, none of which I can accomplish on my own.  There are lessons to learn and many more to teach to my little people. 

2010 was…well….rough.  The kids (mostly Jamayia) were sick nearly monthly for the first half of the year.  Colds, ear infection, pneumonia, whopping cough.  Interestingly enough, that all slowed down once I’d stopped volunteering at the school…  Hmm.  There was one big family vacation abroad, and then a “reunion” of sorts, locally, when my sister got married.  My exercise routine was going splendidly, until I started feeling quite out of sorts and unwell.  Turns out there’s a cure–it’s called childbirth.  I can resume again about 6-8 week after I’ve hatched.  Playdates, grocery store trips, watching the girls grow, car issues, great books, the list goes on and on.  The financial?  Too scary to type here.  But let me also quickly say that God is good and truly faithful.

The best part of 2010 has to be the reconnection.  Reconnecting with a couple good friends.  “Sisters” who are also looking to grow spiritually and look to include God in their lives daily.  And the highlight–rediscovery with God.  I’ve learned a ton more about Him this past year.  Thank you God for internet church too, because that’s played a big part.  Not only have I learned, but I’ve been working on applying too.  No sense in learning lots if you’re never going to use it somewhere.

I am  looking forward to new things this year.  Fasten your seatbelts–the Driver, though extremely safe, can be known for high speeds and taking curves quite quickly. 

Let’s go!

No Time For Playing

I did say that October was going to be busy.  Who has time for playing?  No one here over the age of 4 yrs, that’s for sure!  What’s been going on? My last post, which seems so long ago but was really only last week, sparked the beginning on continual movement here. 

Friday was Jhyelle’s birthday.  She’s two!  Eeek—where does the time go??!!  As if I have a toddler & preschool & fetus on my hands now.  Yikes!  We didn’t have time or energy to do too much for this birthday.   Lunch with family, the following day, after church was the plan.  Some interesting convo followed, as the evening went on.  Hmmm, I think that someone was playing too much… 

Sunday kicked off with an early morning meeting.  Followed by some r&r for me, and then a family Thanksgiving dinner.  We also do our dinner on the Sunday. 

Monday was bread baking extravaganza.  Sixteen loaves.  Yes, 16.  I think I need to start selling them for some extra income around these parts.  And I’ve gotten rave reviews on my bread.  People would buy it. 

Tuesday was back to the grind.  Helped with children’s program at church in the evening.  We had thirteen kids.  Exciting!  Exhausting!  Yet, so worth it. 

Wednesday–hair washing day, for me.  The evening was a repeat of Tuesday.

Thursday–break day.  It was time for this momma to chillax a wee bit before heading into the busy weekend.

And hello Friday!

Yeah, that’s alright.  It may not seem like much, but it surely felt like plenty.  And the quality of what was done was of high caliber.

Sleepy time.  Hopefully this headache won’t play and stop bugging me!!

October’s Theme: Play

The people at NaBloPoMo have picked “play” as the theme for October.  Lots of potential for this word.  Let’s hope I have the time for playing around with this theme…ha ha! 

This month is gonna be a busy one.  We’re a series at church for the next couple of weeks, and I’ve signed on to help with the children’s program.  No time for me to play around there–those kids keep you on your toes.  It’s ages 5-12 yrs, and sadly, they’re not all little angels.  It is interesting to watch, however, how children feed off each other and the subtleties of peer pressure.  While no one was really outwardly pressuring them to misbehave, they would still copy poor behaviour patterns.  Hmmm….I’ve got a lot of work to do in the child rearing department in my own home.

Speaking of home, I’ve recently read a neat book:  The Duggars: 20 and Counting!  On top of great insight into this family (they really aren’t crazy), recipes, tips & some sound advice are included.  The main theme I appreciated the most was their love and reliance on God.  Many of the families showcased on a number of tv shows claim to have some level of Christianity in their lives–but it’s not always visible or eagerly discussed.  The fact that the Duggars–kids included–are not afraid to speak of their love for Christ was refreshing.  I certainly am not that outspoken about my own spirituality.  Reading this book certainly got me thinking about a lot of things in my own home.  Not ready to play catch up to their twenty children, mind you!  But there are some other familial things that I can apply here.

Go to your local library and borrow it.  You won’t regret it.

The Art of Refreshment

Not the food kind of refreshment though.  I’m referring to the honest presentations that are currently being delivered by Dr. Matthew Gamble.  This guy is cool.  He has quite the life story, which he’s eager to share with anyone, not just an audience. What makes him cool?  Jesus.

This man has a passion for Jesus and it’s so refreshing to see and hear such honest and boldness in his presentations.  Everything that he’s presented is from the Bible, which hopes that his audience will want to get to know Jesus (or know him better) for themselves. 

There are a few nights left for his presentations–he was only here for about eight days.  You can catch him at the Lighthouse of Hope Church, each night at 7 pm.  His last presentation will be Saturday, Sept 25. 

If Jesus isn’t really your thing, come anyways and just listen.  If He’s still not your thing, that’s your choice.  But at least check it out for yourself and see if you don’t find yourself intrigued in the slightest.

Am I Artsy?

Since the NaBloPoMo theme this month is “art”, let’s continue on with a random discussion of the topic, shall we?

I had no clue what to say tonight.  Yet, I knew that something needed to be said.  So, am I artsy? 

Most of me wants to assume NO.  I lack creativity in many aspects.  I live in a house and would like to see it beautifully decorated–like magazine-worthy.  Yet, I have no clue how to pick a style and go with it.  I spend enough time watching the Food Network channel, yet am still heavily recipe dependent.  It just tastes that much better if I have a correct mix of ingredients and whatnot…like someone else’s idea.  I like some stylish clothes, yet my current closet in no way reflects that. 

On the other hand, a small part of me wants to say “yes”.  Yes, I do have my artsy moments.  I like blogging.  I like editing, whether it’s a church bulletin announcement, an email or an article.  I kinda like baking desserts.  I can help with the basic setup of a room, food table or dressing my kids so that they all appear simple yet looking good.  I can doodle well enough that my kids recognize my drawings.  I can carry a tune and appreciate a wickedly awesome urban gospel beat.  I can comb my preschooler’s hair and have people compliment me on it. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that yes, I am artsy.  I will in no way identify myself as an artist, in any genre, but I do have some artistic tendencies.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I’m quite satisfied–sounds like I’ve learned something new about myself.

The Art of Inspiration

After starting off September quite well, blog-wise (or so I thought…ha!) there was some silence for about a week.  The thing is this:  I’d be thinking of what to say in a post, but not actually posting what I was thinking.  I was letting fear get in the way. You know, fear that I’d be boring.  Fear that no one will care, not even half a penny’s worth.  Fear that no one would find it funny.  Fear that I’d get some negative feedback.

But forget fear.  And forget waiting for the “right” moment to blog.  I’ll just have to make specific time, and not give blogging my leftover time.  Who has time leftover, right?

I found this post tonight that I thought was cool.  It’s kinda inspirational, in an honest way.  Enjoy!


http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2010/09/ten-important-things-ive-learned-about-blogging/

September = Art?

What, you didn’t now either?  Ha ha!  Art is the suggested blogging theme from the people at NaBloPoMo (aka National Blog Posting Month).  I did their challenge back in November 2007–and made it through the entire month, blogging daily.  I haven’t since reentered, mind you.  But, on a monthly basis, I do receive an email from them with their suggested theme.

Art.  The best place to start?  Dictionary.com of course.  The definition is: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or more than ordinary significance.  Even the definition sound artful.  Funny how a definition seems to be open ended and broad.  By whose aesthetic principles am I to subject my art to?  Makes you wonder.

Anyways, there you have it.  We’ll see how long I can last into September.

I’m Entered…

Into a blogging contest.  I saw the ad on the Today’s Parent website and decided to enter.

Baby3 is making me more daring.  Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m getting older too.  Maybe it’s a combo of both.  The coolest thing–to win.  The uncool–to not win.  Of course it depends on the large number of applicants, etc.  I need to spiff up my own blog too, in the meantime, because it will be checked out by readers near and far.  Hopefully some other women out there in the vast land of Internet will be able to identify with me.

Or at least find my blog pure entertainment and worth visiting (and adding to their own blogroll) on a regular basis.

But it would be fun to win.  Just the challenge I need to get my writing back into habit. 

But What About The Children??

A friend & I were chatting this evening.  She was venting (mostly) about the situation with her 6-month old and both sets of his grandparents.  Poor Momma is being smothered and overrun by these eager grandparents.  She’s grateful that they’re there in her son’s life.  She’s happy that that her son is surrounded by a ton of love.  But her annoyance–the adults seem to lack discretion when it comes to boundaries.

They second guess many of her parenting choices and decisions.  Sometimes they show up to the house, unannounced (they have their own key), looking to spend time with the grandson, with no regard to his schedule.  Momma may be trying to put him down to sleep and they start to question why he’s sleeping (because he shouldn’t be tired yet, for some unknown reason) or if he’s too hot/cold, if he’s being fed enough, and just want to keep holding and playing with him.  By this time, he’s overly fussy.  So, Momma takes him up to sleep….and the eager grandparents follow, this time wanting to watch him sleep. 

At what point can she say something to them?  She wants to be kind, yet firm.  She also needs to have her wishes respected and doesn’t want to be viewed as insulting or ungrateful.

**sigh**  I had no answers.  This situation resurfaces over and over, across the vast spectrum of culture and generations.   And this very issue is a major source of contention among numerous parent vs grandparent relationships.  While the kids usually come out okay in the end, its the adults who are often left scarred and resentful.  The safer thing is for one group to step up and “be the bigger man”, so to speak–to lovingly put a stop to things and work on repairing the relationship.  Ironically, that’s also viewed as a weakness, almost as if you’re caving in.

The other reason why I had no easy solution is because I don’t have the same issue.  I thank God that my children’s grandparents are reasonable people.  They do not overstep their boundaries.  They are grandparents and are glad for that role.  Child-rearing is long behind them.  It’s my turn now to do my best.  Of course, they’re there for me whenever I have questions or need advice or someone to watch the girls.  If they don’t agree with something I’m doing, they tell me later–privately, away from the ears of their precious grandbabies.  They may not comprehend my every action/choice/decision, however they do their best to show respect.  But part of parenting is knowing when to let go and watching your children take off.  All you can do is stand back and pray that all goes well. 

If I could, I’d probably tell pushy grandparents this:

Dear eager, yet pushy grandparents;


We appreciate you, truly.  We’re thankful for the way you’ve raised us and the many life lessons and values you’ve instilled in us from childhood.  Now we have a chance to pass on this knowledge and love to our own child(ren).  This is the point where you can ease back from child-rearing.  You’ve done your job, now let us do ours.  Please stop questioning our choices and decisions that we make as parents.  We do have the best interests of our young one at heart, as you once did years ago with us.  Our son/daughter needs to grow up respecting us and our authority. Should you have questions/concerns, please remember to bring them up to us privately and not in front of the child(ren).  As parents, we need to develop our own methods in life, which may involve the occasional flub.  You’re welcome to visit, after calling first.  We want our son/daughter to have their own special relationship with you on their own.  We do not want their childhood memories to always consist of mom, dad & grandparents looking over their shoulders.  Babies sense tension and can feel when the atmosphere isn’t right in their little environments.  We know you love your grandchild and want the best for him/her.  When you look to put the child(ren) ahead of yourselves, we trust that you’ll make the right choice and give us the room we need to grow. 


Thank you for respecting our wishes,
Love Your Son & Daughter

My fellow Momma–keep your head up.  Keep trying with the grandparents.  Your son will learn lots from watching your reaction to his grandparents. 

If there’s no progress soon, change the locks to your house.  That’ll buy you some time.

Perhaps I Had My Signals Crossed?

After this post, from back in May, about a *ahem* “clear message”, I’m still kinda laughing.  I thought I was on a role with helping in the Kindergarten class at church.  But hello Baby3!  Maybe it’s just as well that I didn’t know about the pregnancy at the time of the meeting. I may have backed down from helping out or lightened my load in some way, shape or form.

I’m still on board for helping…for a short amount of time.  Come January, things will change for me.  And that’s okay to.  It just goes to show that my own control over life is very limited.

If only a minivan would arrive in as much of a surprising manner as Baby3….