So Thankful

Even though it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, I wanted to share how Thankful I am.

I'm especially thankful right now for my Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma generously offered to take me shopping to buy new clothes for my kids. 

Initially I thought we'd be okay, but as the cold season approached, and my kids were evidently taking lessons on how to grown out of clothes quickly, I decided to take her up on her offer.

Looks can be deceiving. 

It doesn't look like much, but it was A TON!

It was like Clothing Christmas!

The best part of it all was I got to buy what I KNEW my kids would love and wear, not what was the cheapest.  

And I was smart enough to have the kids actually try on each and every piece of clothing.  Because holy cow.....they both went thru a growth spurt!

Josh is in a 6 and Macey is in a 4T.  

I thought those sizes would be too big, but no, they were just right!

So after a while, the kids got fussy.  And I've said it before and I'll say it again, a good parent bribes to get good results.

After they tried on a piece of clothing, they would come to me or Chad, have it looked at, then get a Skittle.

Yep. 

Thats how we got thru it.


Rock on good parents.  Rock on.

And thanks Rockin' Grandparents!

Painting Pumpkins

This year, I bought some Tempera Paint to keep at home.   

I thought I'd start doing more art with the kids.

They LOVE to do art.  

And like typical kids....the messier the better.

So this year, when my wonderful Sister-In-Law took me to "THE BARN SALE", I bought some small pumpkins.   Three for $1!  

If I'd have know how much fun the kids would have painting them, I'd have bought $5 worth!

So one day, when I was in a fabulous mood, the kids were both home, and the stars aligned....they painted.

Notice how the OCD mom had to have each color have their own paint brush.  And she even drew little squares as to where they should be placed when not in use.  (I eventually just had to leave the room and let them be artistic!  Couldn't take it!)

They loved it!

Eventually, there wasn't enough blank pumpkin left, so we elevated them on coffee mugs.  White ones no less.

They had more fun than I'd even hoped.

And even though it didn't last long because they're fast painters (and messy painters go faster), they still enjoyed every minute of it!

I even bought 4 more pumpkins to do!

Happy Halloween!

Future Shirt for Chad

This would make an excellent Christmas present for Chad in about 10 years.......

Purpose

So lately I've struggled with purpose. 

I know I'm where I'm supposed to be.

Wiping butts, noses, cleaning, and most importantly-shaping the future.

I'm so lucky to be a stay-at-home mom.

Chad and I worked H-A-R-D to get here.  

We saved, scrimped, did a trial run financially to make sure we could make it.

We W-O-R-K-E-D to have me be home.  It wasn't easy, but we're here.

So....somedays can be overwhelming. 

Overwhelming because my life is 3 little ones.  

The only adult interaction I get is with Chad and Dog the Bounty Hunter on TV.

So somedays it's easy to focus on the here-and-now.  

The kids that are loud and wake up the baby.  The kids that won't play more than 10 feet from me.

The baby who refuses to go back to sleep at 3:30 like she's going to miss something.

The baby who has decided that 4:20 she'll cry for no good reason.

It's easy to lose sight of why it was important for me to be home.

I ran across this blog.  

http://teachmetobraid.blogspot.com/2014/09/if-my-child-marries-yours.html

The post about "if my child marries yours" had me in tears.

It was great to have another mom, in the trenches with me, give me more purpose and focus. 

It was refreshing.

I'm ready for those loud, clingy, crying kids that I love.

Bring it!