Thursday, March 28, 2013

Spring has Sprung?



With our volatile weather lately I hesitate to even post this.  Going from temperatures in the seventies one day to snow the next has me in a whirlwind.  However, these shots were taken a few weeks ago when the weather was warm and pretty!  Maybe if I post them the warm weather will come to stay.  Maybe?  Oh well, Kentucky spring I guess. I won't complain too much because I know we will snap our fingers and it will be 90 and I'll be wishing for cooler temps.

This post is going to give a shout out to my wonderful friends at Creekside Creations and Crafts.  (www.creeksidecreationsandcrafts.blospot.com) or you can find them on facebook.  These ladies are so so sweet and talented.  They keep my girls in stylish duds for all seasons and are so patient with me even when I can't make up my mind and Annie is "shopping" and disassembling their shop.  Not to mention that sweet Natalie is a life long friend of my hubby's.  They go way back and I might have some video of them singing together at senior banquet...but that's a story for another day. 

Anyway, if you are an addict for custom clothing and monogrammed items like I am it would benefit you greatly to give these ladies a visit.  They are located in Chalybeate next door to Creekside nursery. 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Finding out who "They" are

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner (www.kellyskornerblog.com).  I have never done this so we'll see how it goes.  However, she and some other mommy bloggers are doing a series that I feel passionate about so here goes.

The series this week is about playing with your kids.  As a mom of three, my playtime with my kids has evolved over the years.  The good Lord above saw fit to give me a sweet son as my first baby.  This was nine years ago.  I spend hours dreaming about the books we would read, the art projects we would do and the places we would go.  Fast forward a couple of years and I found out my rough and tumble boy wanted nothing to do with Mommy's quiet books and educational games.  What he did want was someone in the floor playing barn, tractors, cowboy, etc.  Then he wanted to be outside.  All the time, outside.  Hot, cold, dirty, wet.  He didn't care.  He thrived outside.  I'd never been an outside girl, but I learned how to be.  This experience taught me, as much as anything, that this little person was not a mini me.  He, however young, was a unique person who had preferences, likes and dislikes.  It was my job as a Mom to facilitate him to becoming who "he" was.  Not a recreation of myself in him.  That was a big lesson to learn.

Fast forward a few years and I've been blessed with two daughters.  At last, the time had come for quiet games and girly stuff.  Trust me, that happens.  But they also want to play dirt, mud, water, mess.  Is it from having a big brother?  Maybe, but maybe it's just the exposure to the world that they need to see it's a fun, huge, sometimes scary place.

I will be the very first to admit, sometimes I don't take the time to set aside play time with my kids.  I am focused on the house, the laundry, my business and when I get a free minute many days I want to sit down with a cup of coffee and a book.  Not a Barbie doll.  However, I realize, as much as I realize anything, that my time with these sweet people is limited.  There are a limited number of years when the most important request to them is to play Candyland with me.  I am still striving to learn to live in the moment.  The moments I have with them. 

As I thought about this series I thought back on my memories of playing with my mom.  My mom is outdoorsy.  She is active.  But guess what? My memories of playing with my mom are reading books for hours. My mom doesn't read much now.  We played school.  We played office.  We played "quiet" games that to me were loads of fun.  It has taken me 32 years to realize that she let me play what I wanted.  She was a young mom and didn't have access to "mommy blogs" to give her ideas about "centers" and "busy bags".  She took the cue from her child and went with what I wanted to do.  I can't recall anything elaborate or expensive toys.  But I can vividly remember spending hours playing with her and I never remember thinking she was bored or wanted "time to herself".  As a mom myself, I realize she probably did want time to herself and probably got tired of spending hours playing school.  But I never knew it.  I knew that I was loved and my mom was my best friend and wanted to play with me.

If I can give my three children any of these memories....then I will have done something right. 

My Beloved

Once upon a time I had maybe six regular readers who have all since become majorly disenchanted with my lack of updating this blog.  Forgive me.  I would promise to do better but that's probably um a LIE.  I will not even attempt to catch up on the family things...birthdays, Christmas, etc.  Just know it's been fun and it's been busy.  Busy being the operative word here.  But really in a household with three kids a dog, two cats, a husband and wife....well you get the picture.

One thing that you should probably know is that due to my lack of spare time I have enrolled full time in WKU to finish my degree.  Yes because I am crazy.  In all seriousness, it has haunted me for a long time that the chapter of my life then was left "unfinished".  Would I change a thing now?  NO.  Working as a hairdresser and then opening a photo studio allowed to me be a stay at home mom for 9 years.  I have been present for every important event of my kids lives and I wouldn't change a thing.  Looking back on Noah's toddlerhood, before we found out the severity of his health issues, if he hadn't been close to me, it's very possible he wouldn't be with me today.  And for that I am thankful.  For nine years my family has been commited to me staying home with the kids.  This entailed me doing the mom thing all day, while Trav was the engineer.  He came home at 4:30 at which time I turned parenting duties over to him and I either went to the salon or the studio.  It worked.  For a long time it worked.  But now 2/3's of my kids are in school and I feel pulled to BE HERE for them at night.  For suppers.  For baths.  For talks about their friends.  For questions.  I feel in every cell of my being they need me here.  Just as much as they needed me at home when they were babies.  So to make a short story longer, I am trying my best to finish my teaching degree.  The advent of technology is allowing me to do the bulk of my work at home via the internet and attend class on campus one full day a week. Yes it is hectic.  Yes I drink a lot of coffee.  But at the end of the day, I feel like it is the best for my family.  I love to do hair.  I love to be in the studio.  But the reality is that those are jobs that people depend on after THEY get off work and on Saturdays.  The other reality is that we are living in a fragile economy and I need some stability that doesn't require being self employed. 

Am I dead set on getting a full time job when I graduate?  Not sure.  At that time all of my littles will be in school.  So maybe.  But maybe I will sub.  I don't know what the future holds.  We shall see.