Ardenism

Arden says...
"Just once I wish I had a Mom who didn't bring me yummy cranberry bread and who would let me decorate the house with Christmas lights!"

I only have a few house lights every year because I hate to waste energy and she dreams of a Griswald Christmas house... and apparently I'm now an embarrassing Mom when I bring homemade snacks to soccer practice.

She said "You're just too good of a Mom"...

so I said "OH SHUT UP!"in a mean Mom voice! ( something we are not allowed to say in our house)

pause... a look of shock... and then we both laughed!

fish update

So when I started this blogging thing I wrote a little about our poor pathetic abused and neglected fish that just won't die no matter how bad we treat it. Well just a quick update...

The water was dark orange, murky and down to about an inch and a half and the poor thing practically had to swim on his side so I decided It was about time I dealt with it. I filled up a pitcher with water and let it sit all day so it could get to the same room temp. as the tank water. That evening I asked Logan to take the pitcher (sitting on the kitchen counter) and add it to the tank. simple enough...
He and his 13 year old half listening brain couldn't understand that I meant the pitcher with WATER in it and thought I meant the coffee pot 3 inches from the WATER pitcher. He asked "this one right here mom?" and me not looking just said yes.
Next thing I know he is yelling " there is coffee in here mom!" OH ya... that would be because it IS a coffee pot Logan...
Anyway we spent the next 15 or 20 minutes trying to rescue the fish who now was barely moving. I had to put him in fresh water and hope that the temp. change wouldn't do him in but hopefully revive him from his caffeine overdose.
It wasn't looking good for the fish but it was for me, if you know what I mean. Could it finally be over for this 9 year old fish?
Sure enough he is alive and swimming still this morning.

TIME

Life is finally getting back to "manageable"
I went to sleep last night with a smile on my face and was very conscience of the fact that that hasn't happen in a long while. The stress of this last year has been exhausting.
Most of you know by now that Mamaisms is no more. You know the saying " too much of a good thing is still just too much" ? Well that has been my life this last year. It was all good, just too much. It seem silly to even complain about it when there are so many people struggling with far greater issues, but it has been hard.

I read a book once about "how to have it all". I got it when my kids were young and my life felt completely out of control . I thought it might help me get organized. HA! I did get a few good organizational tips , but mostly it made me so much busier and therefore more neurotic and in the end just plain NUTS trying to do it all.
I know now you CAN'T have it all. You can't have too much that you are unable to devote the right amount of time to do any one thing well. Does that makes sense?
If I'm running around trying to have a perfect life I end up missing ... well... LIFE!
And right now the one thing I want to do well now is parent my kids the best that I can while I still can. Time with them is slipping away and while I completely believed in the Mamaism theory, the Mamaism company was making me a not so good Mom!

This past year I've miss so much of life. All the things that make me happy. Time with my husband and kids, reading, gardening, volunteering, cooking, laughing, exercising, painting, friendships,journals, sleeping ( I haven't slept in a year!) and just plain "Being". When was the last time you just sat and did nothing?... It's one of my favorite things to do ( Arden caught me doing it last night before bed and thought I was crazy ) it doesn't take long, just a few minutes once in a while and it's so refreshing! Try it! Teach it to your kids! and maybe even your husbands! :)

Mamaisms has taught me so many things.
I know I am competent enough to do anything I put my mind to.
I learned a lot about computers and business.
It showed me that the world is still open to positive messages.
It's taught me who my true friends are (thank you all for your amazing support!)
and brought me some great new friends.

But mostly it has reminded me of what I've always known. That NOBODY loves and supports me more than my husband and nothing is more important to me than Paul, Logan and Arden and the kind of life that we have built together. A life that we actually make the time to enjoy each other.

This year has also brought many sad reminders that time runs out for us all. Lives end, people move away, kids grow up and leave their mamas! And so I leave you with one last "mamaism" "Be Happy with What You Have"
I know I am!