the best mom ever

I know it's never a good thing to compare yourself to others, but I honestly just can't help it. And it's not that I'm comparing myself, but my actions. I get worn out just by reading or hearing the happenings of what other moms do for their kids. "We went to so-and-so museum, then we took the train to this monument, and from there we hiked 314 miles to see the world's largest candy factory."

REALLY?

"Oh and I forgot to mention, we made 852,671 valentines for all of our friends, family, co-workers, hair dressers, grocery store clerks, and we even gave one to all the homeless shelters in the area."

WOW.

I really need to manage my time better. Because all I did was go to the commissary, pick up a pre-made box of valentine's for O's class, a few Valentine's for the boys {including the big one}, and set them out after school. {truth be told, O didn't like the ones I picked so we printed out STARWARS on card stock and he spent the evening coloring them for his classmates.}

And it's not just a day like yesterday. It's every day. Maybe it's because I am selfish with my time. Maybe I need to borrow one of the busy mom's schedules just to see how they do it. {Are there any takers out there willing to share how you do it?}

I haven't ever been really good at time management. I was always a procrastinator in school, staying up until 4am to get projects done. This is one trait that I would have hoped that I didn't pass along to the boys, but I think T has already picked it up. Yes, inheritly, I am guessing, since my mom is one as well.

Come to think about it... O is too.

But if I get something like this every Valentine's Day, done at 7pm over at the neighbors...

 I would be happy if he procrastinated his whole life, just like his momma.

After all, I AM the BEST mom EVER!

be blessed

t

do you feel the same way, too?

our neighbor asked if I would take some photos of little miss E.
she's making valentines that you can find right here.

i'm not quite certain this is the face that her mom was hoping for.
do you feel the same way too?

have a fantastic weekend!

be blessed.

t

ramblings

i haven't blogged in over a week.

my gumption is about as lost as it can get.

we didn't get the house we put an offer on. (foreclosure)

we are looking in several different places.

which probably is frustrating to our agent.

but it's going to be OUR house, not his.

where is the magic button?

i started a diet.

like hardcore diet, so it would seem to anyone i talk to about it.

it's only day 2, so i am hoping for some real progress by day 26.

keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

be blessed,

t

last minute visitors

saturday night fights were on.

an hour before they were televised, J invited NJ & Co. over to our house.

with nothing baked, or stocked up in my cupboards, T and i quickly got something mixing.

but not without a hitch, of course.

i didn't have the correct butter, so i switched recipes.

then, when i went to put in the last little bit of oil i DID have,

i didn't shut off the mixer, and the attachment hit the measuring cup, and oil flew everywhere.

i think that was a sign i should NOT have been making sweets at 730 at night.

but i did anyway.

and these little munchins loved every bit, even the homemade whipped cream.







their older brother became jealous, and wanted in on the action, too.

and before you knew it...

someone else was jealous too.

so we got one of him lookin nonchalant. (we must have taken a photo like this several times to get the 'hanging out, looking cool' framed perfectly for him.

and this one didn't want to hear what momma had to say. he hammed it up pretty good.

so silly and scary faces continued on for a better part of an hour.

Momma was happy because they never hugged in front of the camera before, and they did it all on their own.

it was nice to have last minute visitors sharing the evening with us.

i miss having little ones in the house, and it was made perfectly clear i could have them anytime i wanted.

be blessed,

t 

missing smiles

i don't miss black eyes.

i don't miss getting spit on.

i don't miss endless hours of paperwork.

i don't miss room searches.

i don't miss restraints.

i don't miss working on a wing by myself.

i don't miss the heartbreak when you lose a resident.

i don't miss shitty parents.

i don't miss packing lunches for kids on home visits, knowing it's the only nourishment they will get all weekend.

i don't miss runaways.

i don't miss broken bones.

and what i do miss....

seeing the smiles that are created from the difference you've made in someone's life.

O's friend reminded me of that this weekend as he opened up about his family.

our children are truly blessed!

be blessed

t

that's life

rain. rain. go away.

enjoy the weekend.
it's supposed to rain here.
it might be a long one!
i guess that's life.

be blessed,

t