Marcus

Marcus!

He's my baby.

He never sleeps.

He never eats.

He drinks a lot of milky milk.

He is always running, jumping, and flipping.

He loves music, especially the song Dynamite.

He loves his sister Jillian the very best.

When I come home from anywhere he says, "Mom I missed you"

He is really picky about his clothes.

He loves Buzz and Woody.

He wants to play with his cousin Nathan every day.

He loves his moose jammies.

When he has to go the bathroom he says, "I have to go potty really bad"

He spends a lot of time in his room throwing tantrums.

He loves to cuddle with Mom and watch Pink Panther on his itouch.

He is so sweet when he wants to be.

He is three.

Boys Adrift

I got this book from the library, yesterday.

I haven't even cracked the cover.

For some reason just having it in my house

makes me feel like I am moving in the right direction.

I have no idea if it will help but I am hopeful.

My oldest is stressing me out.

(I am for the most part, not someone who stresses.)

I am a pretty calm laid back Mom.

I don't freak out if I don't know exactly where one of my kids is.

I don't panic if my kids fail their spelling tests.

I rarely lose sleep over a disobedient child,

but my 11 year old is really stressing me out.

He seems to be looking for my freak out buttons

and then systematically pressing them over and over again.

He has not done anything major,

just little things,

like lighting matches in the basement,

opening a facebook account without permission under a fake name,

obsessing over Eminem,

little things like that.

Nothing that should really make me overly concerned,

except I am!

I have a feeling.

I have a bad feeling.

I have a really bad feeling that he is going to be just like me.

I'm not saying I was all bad, or even mostly bad, or even really bad at all, but I was a follower.

I had trouble with the "having a mind of my own" thing.

I think he is lot like me in this area.

I am praying,

I mean really praying,

that he will find some good friends that will help him grow and become who he wants to be.

Not necessarily who I want him to be,

but who he really wants to be.

(I wouldn't be sad at all if that lined up with who I want him to be!)

I love him,

but I am scared for him,

and for me.

They are 10!

It's my twins birthday today.

They are 10.

I can't believe it.

I have spent 10 years enjoying them.

I don't remember a lot of the first few years.

You make think I am over exaggerating, but I'm not.

I really don't remember.

I really wish I did.

I remember that Riley was harder than Jillian.

I think it was because she was into more things because she was always exploring.

Her little brain couldn't get enough.

Jillian was somewhat more docile in that respect.

She was neat and tidy.

Riley was always a mess. Riley was patient and she was fine to wait her turn.

That meant Jillian was always fed first, dressed first, and the like.

As they have grown they have continued to be very different.

Jillian is graceful, beautiful, dramatic, and smart.

She loves to dance and move and get her way.

Riley is spunky, pretty, dramatic and smart.

Riley loves to sing and perform.

She loves to be the center of attention.

Jillian would sooner die.

She hates it, except when she's dancing and then she wants everyone to see only her.

Riley spends a lot of time making herself stand out and is confident with who she is.

These two girls are so different and yet both so fun!

I love them and I am so jealous that they get to spend every day with their very best friend.

I hope they remain friends but also remain as different as they are.

They are so fun to watch!

I can't wait to watch them both soar.

Who knew? Cherries...

Cherries...

They really are so good. These totally cute cake stands came from my sweet friend Tara's ETSY sight. Aren't they so cute? I love them. I haven't found just the right place for them yet in my home but I will. Right now they are residing on my island because I want to see them all the time. I'm sure they won't stay there though, since I am certain that if they do, one of my children will break them.

As you will notice there is also a bag of dried cherries in the picture. I had no idea how much I loved those until the other weekend when I went to Bear Lake. Jodi, my friend, brought trail mix on the trip. She thought it would be a good snack for us to put in our pockets while we skied /sat in the lodge and read. These cherries were in the trail mix along with cashews, almonds, peanut butter m&m's, and guittard chocolate chips. This was the BEST trail mix in the whole entire world. I have not made it since I have gotten home because I know that I would just eat it all day long and gain 50 lbs. but the other day when I was at Target I bought this bag of cherries. They are divine.

Start to Finish

I bought fabric for a new bedspread. I am so excited. I have never really done that before. Actually gone to a fabric store and bought everything I need for a quilt. Start to finish. I want to work on it really bad but I have way too much to do today. Maybe I can work on it on Sunday during the Super Bowl, since I really only like the commercials anyway.

The science fair

My son won a spot in the 6th grade district science fair. I am a proud Mom. This project was a lot of work on all our parts. He and I and my husband spent a lot of time on it. It was definitely a group effort which I think it needs to be. An average 6th grader is not capable of putting together a project like this on his own. That being said, I think he learned a lot. He did all of the teeth brushing and a lot of the typing and compiling of data. He spent a lot of time on it and I think he was really proud of the result.

He was also really excited to tell me about the other kids experiments. I think he finds all of this really interesting, which is great because it just proves more and more that he doesn't take after me. That is a good thing especially when it comes to education.

I'm better...for a minute anyway

I'm headed to Bear Lake with some friends for the weekend. I'm excited to have this time away from my everyday to relax and learn more about me and what I like and how I like to spend my time. It's funny. I love my job as a mom and my life as a wife and mother and caregiver but I relish this time away to just be me. I think I am different when I am away. I know that I think more, just about life and what I want for my kids and my family. I think about what I want to accomplish and how I can be a better homemaker, mother and wife. Somehow, when I am away anything seems reasonable. I think I can do everything. (See previous post, I know that I can't). I always come home with goals and ways to implement things to make life better. I'm not sure any of it ever happens but I know that when I get back I am better at just about everything for at least 1 hour. That's better than nothing, right?

Have a great weekend!