We took a mini vacation (by mini I mean short, like way short) to Great Wolf Lodge this past weekend. We got up early Saturday and headed to Cincinnati to spend the night. We met up with Amanda and her family.
We have been on quite a few trips as a family in the short time we have become a blended family. Day trips, weekend trips, week long trips...we have really gotten to expereince a lot together. I am very thankful and appreciative for that. I want to cram in as much as we can before the bigger kids get too big to want to hang around us.
I will say this is one of the first trips we went on where all 4 kids had the best time (minus the lake house, who doesn't have fun at the lake??!??). In my opinion everyone (minus a few moments here and there -- melt down from Sloane about the music, a Kailyn moment about her hair) had a good time and really allowed themselves to have fun.
As you have read (if you have read) my son has an aversion to allowing himself to have a good time. Not this last weekend. The boy had a blast. He was brave and helpful and fun and flexible. He was perfect in so many ways. It made my heart feel so good knowing how happy he was.
I never worry about Sloane or Kailyn having fun because they really do make the best of the situations they are in. Aiden and Bailey like to know what is expected and what things will look like and both of them had a blast.
I was really thankful that we got to have this weekend together with very little technology and a lot of fun times. There was something for everyone! I am so glad that I have friends like the Larners' who love to do things like this! I did learn something about Amanda that I will never forgive (she will go to a public bathroom in a water park without shoes on....unforgivable) but I still love her (I think). Oh, that AND her husband bought a pair of crocs (I think he secretly likes them).
Once again, I have a really good life! Love that!
Monday, February 24, 2014
overwhelming
I look at my kids and feel an overwhelming amount of love. There is something about being a mom that fulfills my life. I can look at my kids and just be overcome with happiness. It is amazing.
There are times when I am overcome with anger too, but I like to focus on the good times.
There are times when I am overcome with anger too, but I like to focus on the good times.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
It's the Litte Things
It is really the little things in my life that make it great....
- reading the kids books each night
- watching Sloane sing along and dance to each song on the radio
- Kyle starting my car in the morning because Indiana weather is for the birds
- Aiden asking for a huggy and kissy for no reason
- the little emoticons you can download on iPhones (yeah, I just wrote that...and I meant it)
- having friends live close by
- having a mom who loves my kids like her own (I think more so)
- sitting at the pool
- making rice cripy treats
- playing outside
- riding bikes
- watching Sloane pick out her clothes
- listening to Aiden play with his toys
- watching Bailey and Kailyn play volleyball (a very new found sport for me)
- the way my kids love being around other kids
- my job's hours and schedule
- singing a long to your favorite songs of the week
- listening to Sloane sing
- watching Kailyn cross her legs everytime she is on the bench during a bball game
- flowers
- spring
- summer
- health
- cherry 7Up
- watching Aiden play bball
- transforming our small living room into a basketball court
- conversations with Sloane
- eating dinner with Kyle
- playing Farkle
- coloring
Monday, February 3, 2014
Technology is taking over
I know, I know...everyone talks about how they need to put the technology down and be more IN THE MOMENT and not worried about what everyone else is doing.
I grew up in a society (through high school) where we had very little technology...nothing that was outrageously exciting. My parents got a computer when I was in 5th grade, it was exciting, but all it did was type documents. As we got older we got the good old dial up internet....it sucked. I had a pager in high school (I was not a drug dealer, but I was clearly very important). When I was a freshman in college my dad got me a cell phone. We realized how difficult it was to get a hold of people when we were so far apart so a cell phone really seemed to help our cause. Also my cousin died a few months prior in a car accident and I think the communication needed during that time would have been so much better if I had, had a cell phone (being in college, I was never home) so Merry Christmas to me I got a phone! Now that WAS exciting. But here's the thing, it didn't do anything but take and make phone calls, yet it was still so exciting!
I think I miss those days. I miss having a phone that just communicated with other people. Now my phone is a mini computer. I can do anything, send anything, say anything, play anything, social media anything, watch anything...it is pretty magical. It is magical, but it is addicting. I feel like I am glued to my phone at all times. Checking my email. Checking instagram. Checking facebook. Checking news. Checking weather. Watching a video. Reading an article. Googling something (clearly something I NEED to know NOW). I don't want to miss a text or a phone call. I don't want to not respond or call back somebody that obviously DESPERATELY needs me. I also don't want someone else to ignore my requests of desperation when I call or text them.
We live in an instant gratification society. If I need to know something I have the world at my fingertips. I am raising my kids like this too. If they want to know what a brown-recluse spider looks like (yes, this happened yesterday) then I look it right up and away we go. There is no patience for looking it up in a book. There is no patience for waiting until we get home. I have my phone, I am here to save the day!
I hate it. I don't like that if I am sitting there playing a game with the kids and I am waiting on their turn I will just slide my phone on and check the news or take a picture or check what other people are doing. Why do I do that? Why do I need to see what is going on in the world, my world is whatever is right in front of me.
I use the excuse that when I don't have the kids I need my phone on me in case they need me. Is that a valid excuse? I say yes, but let's be honest the answer is probably no.
I hate facebook, but love it all at the same time. I love seeing pictures of people's lives...the problem is MOST of the 400+ (I am so popular) "friends" I have are in fact NOT my friends. We don't hang out. We don't talk on the phone. We don't text. I see you in the grocery store and I hide. I hide like I have seen the boogey man. We don't have things in common. We weren't really "friends" before facebook and in fact you probably hated me in high school (I don't know why, I was so friendly). But I don't have the balls to "unfriend" these people because what if it hurts their feelings....we are acquaintances for God's sake so they NEED me in their life like I NEED them in my life. I need to know what they are doing for dinner and where they went last weekend. I need to feel validated by them "liking" a picture I post. I need to make sure that I get lots of likes or else I will regret ever posting that picture.
Here's the deal. I use facebook FOR everyone else. Not me. I use it to show off my kids and my life. Why do we do that? We never did it before. We never felt like we needed to document every single thing we were doing. I never took a picture of me taking Sister (my dog) on a walk and showed it to my friends....I never took a picture of a cupcake and got it printed to show my friends what I had for dessert. I never took a picture of myself sitting by the pool just so I could show you what it looked like. But here's the thing, I really think people want to see these pics. I like seeing pictures of my friends kids. I like seeing pics of a "girls night out" or "family trip" .... I want to know what everyone is up to. Even though we aren't actually friends I enjoy seeing your life. Generally your pictures make me wish we were friends (not always folks, not always.....I think anybody that takes Selfies--take note court---needs to have a little redirection).
Here is the true problem, we don't know when to quit. I truly don't know how to disconnect myself from social media. I don't want to miss out on anything....even though almost ALL of that "anything" that is posted has absolutely nothing to do with me. I don't want for people to not like something I post.
I want a break. I want my family to see that my phone is not my world. They are. Their phones (one day) will not be their world. I HAVE TO INSTILL this in them. It is my job.
But first, I need to check facebook ;)
I grew up in a society (through high school) where we had very little technology...nothing that was outrageously exciting. My parents got a computer when I was in 5th grade, it was exciting, but all it did was type documents. As we got older we got the good old dial up internet....it sucked. I had a pager in high school (I was not a drug dealer, but I was clearly very important). When I was a freshman in college my dad got me a cell phone. We realized how difficult it was to get a hold of people when we were so far apart so a cell phone really seemed to help our cause. Also my cousin died a few months prior in a car accident and I think the communication needed during that time would have been so much better if I had, had a cell phone (being in college, I was never home) so Merry Christmas to me I got a phone! Now that WAS exciting. But here's the thing, it didn't do anything but take and make phone calls, yet it was still so exciting!
I think I miss those days. I miss having a phone that just communicated with other people. Now my phone is a mini computer. I can do anything, send anything, say anything, play anything, social media anything, watch anything...it is pretty magical. It is magical, but it is addicting. I feel like I am glued to my phone at all times. Checking my email. Checking instagram. Checking facebook. Checking news. Checking weather. Watching a video. Reading an article. Googling something (clearly something I NEED to know NOW). I don't want to miss a text or a phone call. I don't want to not respond or call back somebody that obviously DESPERATELY needs me. I also don't want someone else to ignore my requests of desperation when I call or text them.
We live in an instant gratification society. If I need to know something I have the world at my fingertips. I am raising my kids like this too. If they want to know what a brown-recluse spider looks like (yes, this happened yesterday) then I look it right up and away we go. There is no patience for looking it up in a book. There is no patience for waiting until we get home. I have my phone, I am here to save the day!
I hate it. I don't like that if I am sitting there playing a game with the kids and I am waiting on their turn I will just slide my phone on and check the news or take a picture or check what other people are doing. Why do I do that? Why do I need to see what is going on in the world, my world is whatever is right in front of me.
I use the excuse that when I don't have the kids I need my phone on me in case they need me. Is that a valid excuse? I say yes, but let's be honest the answer is probably no.
I hate facebook, but love it all at the same time. I love seeing pictures of people's lives...the problem is MOST of the 400+ (I am so popular) "friends" I have are in fact NOT my friends. We don't hang out. We don't talk on the phone. We don't text. I see you in the grocery store and I hide. I hide like I have seen the boogey man. We don't have things in common. We weren't really "friends" before facebook and in fact you probably hated me in high school (I don't know why, I was so friendly). But I don't have the balls to "unfriend" these people because what if it hurts their feelings....we are acquaintances for God's sake so they NEED me in their life like I NEED them in my life. I need to know what they are doing for dinner and where they went last weekend. I need to feel validated by them "liking" a picture I post. I need to make sure that I get lots of likes or else I will regret ever posting that picture.
Here's the deal. I use facebook FOR everyone else. Not me. I use it to show off my kids and my life. Why do we do that? We never did it before. We never felt like we needed to document every single thing we were doing. I never took a picture of me taking Sister (my dog) on a walk and showed it to my friends....I never took a picture of a cupcake and got it printed to show my friends what I had for dessert. I never took a picture of myself sitting by the pool just so I could show you what it looked like. But here's the thing, I really think people want to see these pics. I like seeing pictures of my friends kids. I like seeing pics of a "girls night out" or "family trip" .... I want to know what everyone is up to. Even though we aren't actually friends I enjoy seeing your life. Generally your pictures make me wish we were friends (not always folks, not always.....I think anybody that takes Selfies--take note court---needs to have a little redirection).
Here is the true problem, we don't know when to quit. I truly don't know how to disconnect myself from social media. I don't want to miss out on anything....even though almost ALL of that "anything" that is posted has absolutely nothing to do with me. I don't want for people to not like something I post.
I want a break. I want my family to see that my phone is not my world. They are. Their phones (one day) will not be their world. I HAVE TO INSTILL this in them. It is my job.
But first, I need to check facebook ;)
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