Ten things

A friend suggested that I write a post about all the things I love about me. Most days that's a pretty short list. I definitely struggle with feeling worthy, especially as of late. Why is it that in my head, I could quickly compose a list of ten, no twenty, no more... things I don't like? Why is it that those are the thoughts that come to mind?

 

 

Hmm...

1. I love that I'm a good mom. My kids mean the world to me. They are healthy and smart and cared for and bathed at least once a week. They usually have clean clothes to wear and sometimes use manners.  

 2. I love that I'm funny. At least I think I'm funny. Honestly, most days, I think I'm hilarious. I even laugh at myself and my own stories.

 3. I love that I am a good storyteller. Sure, I might embellish and stretch details a little, but it's usually mostly true. Like, did I ever tell you about that time when I walked into the room and Chris was sleeping with an oscillating fan in his arms, and it was running? No? That's a good one.

 4. I love that I am a loyal friend. I love fiercely and I don't give up or walk away easily. Friendships can be hard for me, but I'm always willing to make time for others who do the same for me. I like checking in with random texts, or buying little gifts, or dropping off food.

5. I love that I am strong-willed, committed and dedicated. When I make my mind up, I can do anything and not be swayed. Follow a strict diet? Sure. Run a half marathon? Why not? Make 19 wedding cakes in one summer? Absolutely! Now if only I could decide to be the "Queen of the Laundry" or the "Girl Whose House is Always Clean."

6. Okay, enough with the deep stuff. Onto the fluffy stuff. (Mostly because I've run out of the deep). I love my nails. I like their shape. Is that weird? I like having them painted. Right now, they are painted with such a ridiculous sparkle polish that it's almost tacky. That's right, I said almost.

7. I love my smile and my teeth. I've got a thing for straight teeth and I am so thankful that my parents spent the gazillion dollars to give me such perfect teeth. I had an under bite and an off centre alignment and too many teeth in my mouth and crooked teeth... Oy vey. But alas, after my parents forked over enough cash to renovate a dentist's office three times over, I can smile pretty. Like this.

8. Yikes, after looking at that picture I could post about how I'm not loving my hair right now, but I'm supposed to focus on the positives. Let it go, lady... I love that I have a passion for reading that I'm passing down to my children. There's nothing better than getting into a good story. Oh wait - hearing Chelsea read is amazing. She keeps blowing me away with all that she knows.

Oh baby crying, guess you'll all have to settle for a mere eight things I love.

Who am I kidding? I was running out of ideas anyways!

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

So, around here, we have a rule that you have to stay in bed until 7:00. After that, Chris usually gets up with the kids, turns on the tv, and they watch cartoons and eat breakfast while he sleeps on the couch. It's a great system, especially for me.

 

The other morning, Chelsea came into our room at 6:30 and we sent her back to bed. This happens sometimes - no big deal.

 

So the day goes on with me dragging myself out of bed in time for Chris to go to work. The kids are happily playing and a friend drops her daughter off. All of a sudden, I stop and look at Chelsea. Something is off with her hair - really off. She has... bangs? What's going on?

 

I pull her over and start inspecting and it is bad. I am trying to stay calm because she has a friend over but inside I am freaking out. I ask her to show me the hair and this is what I find in the garbage can.

Yikes. Now I am really freaking out. She tells me that she didn't go back to sleep at 6:30 but rather decided to comb her hair. She figured it would be easier to cut the comb out rather than confess that she was out of bed when she shouldn't be. Apparently I wouldn't notice.

I sent a panicked text to a friend who managed to squeeze Chelsea in for a hair cut. She did the best she could to kind of blend in the blunt chunk missing. If you look closely, you can see a shorter blunt cut with a few layers over top.

Chelsea was so quiet during the hair cut. She was petrified that the stylist was going to cut her hair short like a boy. It's definitely not as bad as it could have been. But until it grows longer, you can expected lots of braided bangs, clips and headbands.

Lately...

1. Since coming home from Florida, I've been a bit of a homebody - okay, wait, a HUGE homebody. I rarely go out and have even stopped calling and asking people to go out. Eli got pretty sick with super high fevers when we got back and I lost a lot of sleep. Considering I was already exhausted from Florida, I feel like I'm playing major catch up. 

 2. A lot of people have been asking about Gavin's health since returning from Dr. Fuller's. We are super excited to say that everything is great. His rash is all cleared up, he has no more tummy issues, his nose isn't stuffed up, he has more energy and he is eating all normal food. He has even started sleeping with his mouth closed and that's unheard of. We are all feeling so good. The trip was definitely worth it!

3.  I feel like there's so much to do every day. I feel like I spend my whole day in the kitchen - making breakfast, cleaning up, making lunch, cleaning up, supper, etc. I feel behind on the housework and laundry constantly. My house is never tidy. We have a lot of fun everyday and that's the most important thing, right?

4. Valentine's Day came and went. I definitely didn't go overboard this year. Maybe next year I'll join the bandwagon and decorate the house a bit and spend time making handmade valentines. This year, we handed out store bought cards and Chelsea took her favourite cookie dough pops to school for the party. Chris and I tucked the kids into bed and watched a movie at home. Perfect.

5. I have been blown away by Chelsea's reading lately. It's like suddenly, overnight, she can read. She even read me a new Robert Munsch book the other day. I'm proud. We've had a rough week this week together, so it's nice to have some positives to focus on. She threw the mother of all tantrums the other day. It honestly left Chris and I speechless and it went on for a long, long time. Then a few days later, she got a comb stuck in her hair and decided to cut it out. (More on that later). Thankful for new beginnings and waves of grace every morning.

I'll leave you with that for now. Not interesting at all really, but just a quick update on what's going on over here.

I just had to.

I've never dressed my kids in matching clothes. I tease people who do.

 

But I just couldn't resist this photo set up.

Gavin and Eli at 6 months.

Gavin really was a tank! (Pardon the bad picture of Gavin - I was taking a quick picture of a picture in a frame.)

6 months of Eli

This guys just cracks me up.

He is the sweetest, happiest boy ever. He adores his siblings and is so easy to make smile.

Technically, he was 6 months on January 10, but I'm a little bit behind. I can't believe it's already been six months.

Right now my happy guy isn't so happy. We are on day three of super high fevers. He is NOT a happy camper. Actually he's downright miserable and so am I. I miss my happy guy. Please pray for a quick recovery. We want EY back!