Journal-random thoughts

This is more for my family journal than anything but there are some fun stories about the kids and perhaps you can relate to a few of these instances as well.  


August 4th:
It always amazes me how our home will be clean, and then look like it hasn't been cleaned in days within a matter of hours... sometime even a matter of minutes.  I just keep reminding myself that one day I will long for those toys and fingerprints to be in and around my home.  I guess that's where grandchildren come into play.  I try not to get too worked up about it but I am definitely one who accomplishes much more and is much more happy in a clean environment.

I finally got organized!  No more small papers everywhere or not knowing where to put things  (Cory is grinning from ear to ear about that one I'm sure!)  I went to DI and purchased some nice office baskets, and file holders.  Thanks to Mind Organization for Mom's and THIS awesome website for Mom's!  I feel really good about the changes.  So far so good.  Just takes some time to get used to the routine but I can see the benefit!

A few days ago the boys went to the storage unit with me to see if they could find Briggs halloween GI Joe costume.  We did, and Briggs has been wearing that while Ethan sports the Packers Football jersey (also found in storage) or his Wolverine costume.  Those boys crack me up!  Today they rode their bikes to play at their friends house in full costume... no shame!  I'll have to get a photo.  And Ethan had no problem running a few errands with me tonight in full wolverine costume (less his mask).  Brooklyn also likes to wear her princess outfit when the boys are in costume!

Briggs learned a lesson today about telling small fibs.  He broke my mop and because he chose to only tell part of the truth... and not the WHOLE truth until later when Brooklyn tipped me off to the fishiness of his story as she simulated what really happened while she was playing.  He has to replace the mop with his hard-earned money (and he doesn't earn money that often, so he works hard when he gets the opportunity).  I feel bad that he has to do that but I feel like it is the only way for him to learn.  Had he told me up-front what happened, and that it was an accident, instead of blaming others, than I wouldn't have had a problem replacing it myself.  It is a hard lesson for him, but i know that if we don't teach him... I think we know who will.  Briggs is a great boy, and we've hardly had problems with him in this area so I am hoping that a few small course corrections will help him along the way.

Brooklyn is hitting the terrifying 3's with a BANG!  Boy has she got ATTITUDE!  She has graced the time-out corner more this past week than she ever has.  When she gets mad she pinches (usually Ethan), screams, hits (the wall in time-out, which she learned from Ethan or she hits Ethan), and slams doors (also learned that from Ethan).  I'll be sure to remind Ethan of his contribution to my craziness when he has a few kids of his own that do that to him ;-) This morning she was upset that I sent her to her room to wait out some serious whining.  When Cory walked by her door he asked her if she was making good choices and she shouts, "DON'T even talk me about it!"  Oh, boy!  If that doesn't sound like a 3 year old going on 16 I don't know what else does.  But when she's sweet, she's ooohh so sweet!

She is also our nice monitor.  If everyone is being nice she'll be sure to point it out but if their not she'll try to put them in their place by saying something like, "Mom, you have to be nice to me."  She also is into her toy kitchen these days and playing with the boys.  The other day she picked up two dinosaurs in the garage and said that one was Yoda and the other was Optimus Prime.  She definitely learns from those boys!

She is starting to get taller.  It seems that over night she great 2 inches.  Well at least within the last month!  She is thinning out and loosing all that cute little toddler/baby thickness that we loved about her!  Kind of makes me sad.  I was looking through some photos of the boys back in 2009 and my heart just stopped a little as I look at my little boys and their full cheeks and as I just sat and remembered.  Boy, if only we could go back for a few moments in time and hug those sweet little boys and really relish those times with them again.  Time has a way of moving so quickly and before we know it it is gone.

I can hardly believe that August is already here.  When I think of the boys starting Kindergarden and 1st grade in a few weeks I feel a little sad that they aren't going to be home all-day everyday (especially Briggs being gone all day), but I know that we also do better sometimes with a set routine (at least I do).  I am grateful and glad that I still have Brooklyn and Sterling to hang out with at home!  I am also glad that I didn't decide to put Brooklyn in Joy School.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with her this year and holding off on pre-school.  After all she'll be in school for the next 13 years after she turns 5!  For now they get to be ALL mine!

My goal this coming week is to be more present in my kids life and to just stop and be. (it seems like I always have that goal, perhaps I'm hard on myself, but it often seems to fall by the wayside with the all the things that "have" to be done).  So this week I really want to stop and enjoy those moments with my kids; I'm taking the Monkey Bread Challenge.  I want to be the best mom that I can be and live up to my potential as a wife, a woman, a friend, a daughter, a sister and more importantly as a mother... to truly make a positive change in my kids and families lives... like I'm sure we all want to do.