Trying to simplify...

I have debated for the last year about keeping my family blog and my crafting blog as 2 separate things. After some consideration, I realized that my life has never, will never, nor do I want it to be compartmentalized. I love that I am home with my kids and they get excited about the projects I am working on.  Thus I am combining my blogs and will no longer try to pretend that there is a tiny part of  my life that isn't complicated and a little crazy!

You will notice a few blog posts, I really tried to figure out how to just download them from my other site, but couldn't do it!  I didn't want to lose them so they all got posted today!

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Don't miss out! (Feb. 26, 2013)

    

While Sunday has always been an exhausting day for me, it has gotten a little trickier since now our space is minimal. This Sunday was like most others, it was 4pm and we had exhausted every puzzle, art project, quiet reading time, and even an uplifting movie...Now what?
    I knew we had to get out of the house, but every part of me wanted to put on another movie and crawl into bed and read a book. I knew deep down inside that  it wouldn't work, I would have bickering kids and a wild preschooler bouncing off the walls within 30 minutes. So I gritted my teeth and said, "shoes on everyone!".  Amidst complaints, and whining about the "no bikes on Sunday" rule, I just hung in there. We started walking towards the bay, past the park without tears, and slowly but surely everyone got into the swing of the moment and here we were enjoying ourselves. My exhaustion melted away and I found myself sitting on a bench having one of those epiphany moments.....
     You don't have to be a perfect mom, Angel, you just have to keep DOING it. One foot in front of the other, and every once in awhile heaven will shine down on you and you will get to see the  "angels" for who they really are,  not the ones who always masquerade as quarreling siblings.
Thank you Heaven for shining down on me today!
-Angel

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If ya can't say anything nice... (Feb. 21, 2013)

     Well it's been a few weeks since I have posted, sorry for neglecting y'all.  In my defense the last month has been very busy! The kids and I traveled back to Las Vegas to pack up our stuff, BTW we have way too much stuff, even after four trips to goodwill.  10 days was a pretty tight schedule but somehow we managed to homeschool and  pack up, not going to lie there were a couple of moments when I didn't think I would survive. Without my pretty amazing friends (you know who you are!) who kept my kids on multiple occasions  I would not have met the deadline.  After we left Vegas we headed to Utah with all our stuff. We then spent a nice week at Grandma & Grandpa's homeschooling and finding a contractor to help us build our new house in Utah.  Done and Done!

     Back to the title... So we came home and got back to normal.  I sat down to write several times and all I kept thinking was  if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all!
Well every time I sat down to write I just couldn't think of anything wonderful and uplifting to write. I think I felt that everyone else felt sheer joy at the thought of spending so much quality time with their kids, I just never seemed to feel the sheer joy. Don't get me wrong most days  are pretty good and I think to myself " I'm getting the hang of this.", and then usually within 3 minutes everything crashes down around me. Typically it's quarreling kids, or the terrorizing 3 year old,  and usually it happens the moment I walk into the tiny cubicle we call the bathroom. 
     I had an epiphany this morning when one of the busy mother's I totally look up to complained of a stressful week and having to deal with problems with her kids. I do feel bad for her, but I am truly grateful for her honesty this morning. It brought me a ray of hope, hope that my kids are normal. That it's okay for siblings to fight, 3 year olds will be naughty, and it's not because I am a bad mom--it's just a part of growing up.  Something I forget, because I didn't grow up with my siblings I was 10 years behind my brother, I was more of an only lonely kiddo with no one to quarrel with. I always dreamed of someone close to my age so I could have a friend, now I just don't empathize with my kids and their constant bickering. They have what I dreamed of and they just don't appreciate it.
I am learning and beginning to see that it's normal for them to argue, still don't like it, but I learning to tolerate it. I just need to thank those of you who have kids, and did grow up with brothers and sisters, thanks for reassuring me that my kids are normal, and I am not the worst mom ever!

So now I've gone and done it... I said a bunch of not so nice things about my kids. I do love them and I am enjoying this opportunity to be their teacher, but I am grateful that our life in this tiny little home won't be forever.
     Thanks for listening,
                              Angel

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Week one! (Jan. 14, 2013)

Well week one was full of highs and lows. There were moments when I felt completely fulfilled and excited about educating my kiddos, but there were definitely more moments when I felt stretched beyond what one person is capable of accomplishing. One of me and four of them, can feel a bit overwhelming at times. We had lots of learning moments and a couple of field trips in the first week so it was an easy beginning to this new world of homeschool. Our first field trip was on Tuesday,  we picked up my niece from the airport and since we a few hours to kill we visited the San Jose children's museum. So many things to do there, it was a great find! I forgot to bring my nice camera (I got a few pics on my phone) but, I promise to take it next time and make a post just about the museum, it was VERY fun! The following two days were cold, soggy, and gray;  this made for a few moments that were a bit discouraging and crazy...but I knew a break was coming so we plugged on through.

            We then took Friday off to meet my sister and her family for a bit of snowboarding fun up at China peak resort near Fresno, CA. The big kids took lessons and it was great. Ty was pretty sad to miss out due to his broken foot, but enjoyed playtime with his awesome Auntie and Uncle. After several hours of snowboarding fun I was truly grateful they shut the lifts down at 4pm, I don't think I could have gone on one more run.  My body is still complaining about our weekend activities making me feel a little old and out of shape, but It was definitely worth it. I hope we can fit a few more trips to the snow in this season the kids really enjoyed this and it was a good reminder that I don't have to give up things just because I'm a mom. Bonus: I think it gave me a little bit of "cool" factor in my kids eyes!
         We are now onto week 2 with no major diversions in the plans for this week, but next week we will be heading back to Nevada for a week or two to finalize a few things. I am being blessed with many opportunities to practice patience, I just pray that I will pass more of these "tests" than I fail.  It was great to get back to church yesterday I know that it helps to fill my bucket and keep me going through even the craziest of weeks. I wish you a great week and to all my friends in Vegas... I can't wait to see y'all!
Enjoy each day,
Angel

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