Thankful Thursday

My family is the tops.

Seriously.

T-O-P-S, tops!

I've been the recipient of much good service and sacrifice from my family this week.

My brother and sister in law are taking on the task of caring for the boys while Bret and I attend an out-of-state wedding.

My dad and brother heeded the extremely-last-minute call to come celebrate Jonz' birthday with us.

My dad also stepped right in to help Bret when someone else canceled last minute.

Just last week, Bret was left stranded on a business trip and my oldest brother and his wife came to his rescue.

My mom dropped by for a quick visit last night before she left for the weekend. Any visit with Mom is uplifting!

I love my family. I love knowing I have so many fantastic people that have my back and hope they know they can count on me, too. I love being related (by blood and by marriage) to such an amazing group of people.

I am so thankful to be part of this family and that it has grown and will grow over the years.

What are you thankful for today?

A moment, a moment, we have a moment

Here's some of the random special moments had 'round here lately:

Looking out the back door and seeing the peas growing up strong. In ROWS! Not sporadically and sickly looking like last year:)

Watching Goose's eyes light up when he put Jonz' baseball helmet on and picked up the bat.

Getting a big hug from Bret after a long day.

Hearing the excitement in Jonz voice when he found out the large, mysterious packages that arrived via the UPS truck were for his birthday.

Seeing all three boys dancing and jumping around and on our ABC train puzzle while singing the ABC's.

Al put the baseball mitt on the wrong hand (he's looking like a lefty) and it was such a cute picture.

And looking at the clock and seeing how close it is to bedtime right now;)

Life is so full of wonderful moments! Have you had any you care to share?

Thankful Thursday

It's been a strange week.

On Monday, I kept thinking it was Saturday.

Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday. Wednesday felt like Friday. And I kept thinking today was Tuesday.

Not so! Time to sneak in a Thankful Thursday post!

Tonight I am thankful for music and for Relief Society.

We had a Stake RS dinner/program tonight. It was so wonderful. The dinner was fun. The speakers at the program were amazing. And the music was superb.

I love singing with groups. I love listening to groups sing. My favorites are singing with the RS and/or Young Women and listening to the men and Young Men sing together. And the Primary kids; my oh my, those sweet Primary kids.

Tonight I sang with my fellow sisters in the RS. That always presses on tender heartstrings.

There was a special musical number offered by one sister that was phenomenal. The kind of singing that you just close your eyes and let it wash all over you. It was like paying to hear a professional it was so beautiful!

One speaker's topic also reminded me of something I had learned through a Primary song, which I would like to share one of these days.

Music is a blessing. Relief Society is a blessing.

Life is a blessing.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter season! What are you thankful for today?

Toe, cross, or leap over the line?

There's this thing that moms do with each other.

We talk about how hard it is to be a mom. We talk, chat, and blog about specific events or tasks that are just downright difficult.

And I like that.

It helps me to realize that I am not alone in many of my trials. That there are people I can relate to. That I'm not crazy or abnormal.

But there is a fine line between saying, "This is hard," and complaining, "This is hard."

Far too often I'm finding moms crossing that line. And more and more often I'm finding that moms are leaping over that line.

The way this happens most often is by trying to drag down other moms.

I read a blog today that called me a liar. Flat out. Along with every other woman who doesn't own up to inwardly cheering when the kids leave for school. Because all moms who say they miss their kids at school (or anytime they're apart) must be lying.

Wait...I've never even met this woman. Why in the world is she calling me a liar? She has no idea how I feel about being with or without my kids. Why is her opinion only right if I'm a liar?

Ouch.

This was one of the few times I've been driven to the comments section to see how other readers felt. I saw there were many who felt like I do. But there were more who said, "Right on!" and "Hilarious!" and "I'm so sick of those moms who pretend that life with their kids is perfect. Clueless Jerks."

But here's why I'm writing about it: All the comments that said in some fashion (including one from the author), "Sheesh, ladies! It's a JOKE! Get a sense of humor or stop reading!" in response to the "um, don't call me a liar" comments.

I haaaaaaaate that.

The whole "oops-better-say-I-was-joking-to-save-face-and-make-them-look-like-idiots" tactic. It's like saying something snotty and tacking an lol on the end as if to say, "I'm only kidding, silly." Like Mother Gothel in "Tangled!" Um, no. You're not joking. Sure there were funny and sarcastic things in the post, but the liars thing obviously wasn't.

I know motherhood is often rough. But moms! Don't wallow in it! Don't make the ones who seek for the good in it out to be hoity toity liars. Yes, there are hoity toity lying moms. But I doubt those are the ones who are saying they miss their kids when they're gone.

Please don't insult my intelligence or my honesty.

In a few weeks, I'll be leaving my kids for the weekend to go to a wedding with my husband. I am SO excited! And I am already starting to miss my boys. I will enjoy the weekend with Bret, but my mind will often be traveling back to home and wondering what the boys are doing. Not lying.

I'm sorry there are so many moms who find motherhood a complete drudgery. They miss out on so much. And I wish they wouldn't try to peg me as a liar. It hurts a bit because they don't know me, but it hurts more thinking that there are moms they DO know who they think are lying. Makes me wonder how many moms I personally know who consider me a liar. Don't really want to think about that.

So, moms- here's a plea: Please continue to talk to me and blog about the less than glamorous times. But don't let yourself get so caught up in the hard times that you start to misjudge the others around you.

Please can't we all just follow the Golden Rule?

Thankful Thursday

It's been a super long day full of tired, whiny boys who oddly enough are tip-toeing around their room and whispering instead of sleeping...If it were me, I'd be o-w-t OUT!

It was a welcome break to head out to Jonz' little league baseball game early this evening.

Little league-ers sure are hilarious.

There's the boy doing cartwheels in the outfield. The one who can't seem to hold on to the bat. The one who spins like a ballerina every time he swings at the ball. The one who runs willy-nilly around the field looking for the bases. The one who stands on the bases looking wistfully off into the clouds while coaches, parents, and teammates yell for him to run to the next base. The one who hits it foul and his focus can't be broken until he's rounding second. The one who gets a slammin' hit, darts to first, loses his shoe after two steps, gets almost to first before turning back and sauntering back to his shoe while everyone yells for him to get back to the base- then STILL making it to first safely because the ball is being juggled between five teammates.

That last one is my boy. Time for some new shoes:)

And the parents can be funny, too!

Like the one helping the other team on the field picking up a boy and tossing him onto second to make the out on time. Not cool, but funny. And the cheering and coaching from parents in the bleachers is comical. I take part in it, too.

Thanks, Little League Baseball, for the laughs today. I needed that!

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful to be at this point in my life.

My hours are full of caring for three independent boys and the house that tries to contain them without falling apart:)

Not so different from three-ish years ago. I was doing the same thing. But the youngest two of the three only interacted with me by screaming or crying. The oldest ran around with endless energy and only seemed to understand a third of what I said. I remember looking at Al when he was very new and wondering what he would be like when he was Jonz' age and longing for a time when he would interact with me.

We're there.

I realized that today when I looked in Al's eyes (those eyes are amazingly beautiful and deep) as he looked up at me and pleaded, "Can you holds me, peas?"

Al talks to me and tells me he "luhz" me. He loves to "do school" like his big brother. He fights passionately, talks passionately, and laughs from the gut.

Goose puts on a ridiculous outfit and tries to jump down the stairs proclaiming to be a bird. Then wails while I break it to him that he can't fly and try to keep him from tumbling down the stairs almost exactly a year from the day he fell down the stairs and ended up with stitches in his forehead. He is the most expressive child I've ever seen.

Jonz is learning to channel his boundless energy and is a fantastic big brother. He's learning how to read his math story problems and do them completely by himself. He loves learning and growing up while still fighting for the joys of playing all day.

I love this time. My children are wildly independent, but still need me constantly. Before I know it they won't hardly need me at all. My home is full of music and constant sound effects from imaginative boys. The adventures in our home continue to amaze me. My husband is a handsome, hard-working, heart-warming hunk:) And Easter is approaching.

While there are currently many unsettled aspects of our family's life and I often feel inadequate and struggle, this is a wonderful time!

I cherish being here and now.

What are you thankful for today?

On the job 24-7

Goose was sick all night between Saturday and Sunday. Throwing up sick:(

Call me crazy, but I think there's something they put in their food at Wendy's that doesn't agree with Goose's stomach. This isn't the first time he's been violently ill after eating food from Wendy's...

Anyway, it was one of those nights when I didn't get any sleep. Like...any. I never pulled an all-nighter in college. I've only done one or two because there was too much fun to be had with friends to consider sleeping. The rest have been all-nighters with sick kids. Thankfully, those are rare, too.

Goose got some sleep. Not a lot, but some. So why couldn't I sleep when he did?

I tried. Really I did.

After the first two episodes I tried to catch some z's in my bed only to lay there listening for any whimpers signaling a need to jump out of bed and grab the bucket. I was convinced that the second I started to drift he'd wake up and need help.

I was right:) But only because I'd spend thirty minutes or so staring at the ceiling before letting my eyes droop.

Once I went into the boys' room (after stubbing my toes and tripping over my shoes and into the door; so much for trying to let Bret sleep!) and was shocked to find Al was the one screaming.

A perfect night for nightmares to return.

I ended up laying down on the floor of the boys room, alternating between a sick Goose and a scared Al.

Oddly enough, neither of them ever woke the other up. And Jonz was clueless the next morning.

I finally went to bed at 7:50 and my wonderful husband let me sleep right up to the beginning of General Conference when he sent my sweet five year old up to whisper, "Mommy...conference is starting."

Why do I tell you all this? Because it was a night full of special moments.

Jonzy's whispered wake up call in the morning. Telling Al that no "scary stuff" could hurt him and he was safe in his bed and him replying with a sleepy, "okay," in typical Al fashion and saying, "I luhz you, Mom," through his fingers as he went back to sleep. Goose telling me that he wanted to "rock in the chair with my blanket," and playing with his hair while we rocked. Sitting on the floor of the boys' room and listening to their steady breathing while watching their sweet faces.

Beautiful moments throughout the rough night to remind me that the peace and joy found in the moments was more than enough to keep me happy without any sleep.

I love my 24/7 job! (especially when I can get a few hours of sleep:))

Have you had any moments lately that you'd like to share?