Deck the Halls with Boughs of Kleenex

I am thinking some of my stock market investment should include Kleenex.  Kid #4 has had a runny, sniffly nose for so long now I KNOW I should be part owner in the company.  She keeps her chin up through it all, but it has got to be aggravating to have a constant drip and sneezing attack.  The doctor is on the agenda after the holiday to see if it is allergies, or something more.  But until then.....Fa La La La La, La La Achoooooo!!! 

I hope everyone has a great holiday, whatever holiday it is you celebrate.  We celebrate Christmas in our household.  To hear kid #4 speak of being thankful for God and her family tells me wonderful hubby and I must be doing something right.  Now if I could only get the mean ladies in the store to quit pushing me out of the way or cutting eyes at me because I got to the Kleenex first, life would be grand!! (And yes this really did happen the other day)

Day Late and A Dollar Short

So, this weekend we went searching for our Christmas tree.  Not far from home is a new tree lot in an old long ago abandoned post office.  The couple selling the trees were following us making small talk as we studied and decided on a tree (I was very happy with the tree by the way).  They proceed to tell us how they are converting the place into a new store for all things locally made.  Are you kidding me????  I have had that thought as a business concept.  There have been quite a few ideas I have had for a business venture and they end up coming to fruition, just not by my own hands.  I have got to learn to just quit thinking so much and act on my instincts.  Now, to just come up with that next great thing now that all my old ideas are taken....

I am the Walrus!

Okay, so maybe not the walrus, but I think I am the auction hunter!  Went to my first auction this weekend, and let me tell you, I think I got bitten by the bug.  That was so much fun.  A local farm here has an auction every year, and basically you can consign anything you want.  There were holiday crafts, old farm equipment, animals.  You name it, it was auctionable (is that even a word?).  I ended up getting into a bidding war with a woman over some Adirondack chairs and matching table.  I WON!!  I ended up getting two chairs when I thought I was bidding on one, so there was an oops on my part.  It was like a scene right out of the show, and I was the star!!  Quite cool, in my humble opinion.

So there you have it!  Maybe I have found my niche.  In my quaint little corner of the world, maybe I can make a few dollars buying dirty old storage units and reselling what I can.  I am going to head out and start looking at storage units to see if it is worth it.  I am not opposed to doing a little dirty work when needed.  I mean if I can handle messy diapers and vomit, I think I can handle a dusty unit with a few cobwebs.

The holiday season is upon us!!!

Back by popular demand.......THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!  So starts the whole frenzy of holiday mayhem and cheer.  I am going to take a break from the whole career search thing that I have been doing this year and focus on my family more.  This is the time of year to show thanks and cherish what you have.  Kid #4 has had a bit of a rough time the past couple of weeks.  She is hanging with me and going thru this process with grace and patience that I clearly don't have.  So I give thanks for my children and my husband.  They each bring something to my life that keeps me balanced.  When I lose my way, my husband is the one that somehow steers me back to the calm, cool, collected person he knows I am.  Otherwise I would be known as the crazy lady of the county (and I may already have that title...not entirely sure!).

Holiday time is also a time for us parents to shift into teaching mode more so than usual....in my humble opinion anyway.  It is our job to take this opportunity to allow our children to enjoy the fun and happiness of the season with all the gifts and parties, etc.  But we also have to use this time to teach them the true meaning behind the holidays.  Why Thanksgiving is so highly celebrated.  Why Christmas is so important.  The time to teach our children to not pass judgement on others for their differences.  Now I know some are saying we should be doing that already.  And you are right, but I feel like the holiday season is a good time to really hone in those values of judgement because of all the different ways the holiday is celebrated by the different cultures, etc. 

This is what I think....if we would all teach a little more tolerance at this time of the year, wouldn't we all feel less stress to be something other than what we are....ourselves.  We are humans, we are not perfect, but I can take a little of the bad with the good in people.  What I cant tolerate is when my turkey comes out overcooked and the mashed potatoes are lumpy beyond all getout.  There is my line in the sand!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Trick or Treat

Once again, time has flown by so fast I cannot believe it has been so many days since I last posted.  Also I cannot believe it is Halloween and the holiday season is starting!  At this point in the game I only have one kid that does the Halloween thing....kids #4.  The cute six year old that is being a ballerina, that's her.  The long steeped family tradition of trick or treating with the kids may be winding down soon for us.  She is the last of the children to want to wander in the dark of the evening looking for candy that I could very easily just buy at the local drug store.  I am at that point in life wondering why we do these things?  It is chilly outside.  It is dark and drivers don't always pay that close attention to all the little ones and big ones running around the streets looking for that perfect candy to get thrown in their bucket.  And being as old as I am and being on kid #4 doing this, I am just ready to retire from the trick or treating thing.  Maybe I can bribe her by just buying her a bag of her favorite candy and calling it done next year!  LOL  Of course I jest.  I would never NOT do for kid #4 that I have done for the other three.  I am just ready to move on to the next level of parenting with kid #4.  That and the fact that Halloween has never been my favorite holiday may have something to do with it also.  I would much rather exert my energy on the rest of the holidays that are upcoming.  They are more meaningful than this one in my opinion.  I will save all my rantings on the rest of the holidays for later posts.  For now, I must venture into the depths of the evening to search for that elusive perfect piece of sugar for a very special six year old!

Time flies when you are having fun!

I can not believe, six years ago tonight I was on the verge of having my baby girl.  She is now in elementary school, playing soccer, longing to play basketball, and ballet, gymnastics.  The list goes on and on of what she wants to do and it is my job to try and make as much of that happen as I can.  Limitless ambition is what she seems to have and while some days it is a bit trying, I can not hold back that type of personality trait.

This weekend also is important because it is homecoming weekend for kid #2 and kid#3.  Now kid #2 is a sophomore so that is old habit for him.  Kid #3 is a freshman so this is her first big high school event.  Kid #2 is very much an athlete, social outgoing type, and a good-time charlie.  He can walk into a room and just start chatting with whoever is there and have a good time.  Kid #3 is a bit more reserved.  So I am really excited for her because I think she will be stepping out of her comfort zone a bit.  She is my creative hippy.  Artistic flare abounds in this child. 

Time flies by so quickly.  All my kids I have very specific memories of each of them at different moments in life.  The one that really sticks out at this moment is when all four were together for the very first time six years ago.  That is a very specific moment that wonderful hubby and myself will never forget and no one can take it away.

Where is my paycheck???

You know, I have been debating about doing this segment for awhile now.  But I think it just needs to be said or vented, however you want to take it.  I have something I have to admit to.  I am a........Stay At Home Mom!!!  THERE....I said it.  Now let the shock and horror wear off then continue reading.  The comments and statements made to me when I state I am a Stay At Home Mom are.....I don't know whether to laugh at them or be offended by them.  Since when is being a Stay At Home Mom a bad thing??  A scarlet letter on my jacket (right next to the food and mucus stains)? 

Now in the art of full disclosure, I was not always a Stay At Home Mom.  I did have a career before having kids.  In fact when I had my first child, I only got to stay home for the first two years then HAD to go to work.  I did not WANT to go to work then, but necessity called for it.  When will someone give me a valid reasoning as to why I SHOULDN'T be home raising my own kids, my own way, with my own values, and not the values and quirks of a stranger???  Now I am not knocking working moms.  As I have said I HAD to work as a mom.  But my wonderful hubby affords me the opportunity to be able to stay home and raise all our children, why shouldn't I take advantage of this opportunity?  I get told things like "I would go insane staying home"....or...."I want my own career".....or....."what do you do at home?"  Really????  A lot of people in my generation had their moms home growing up.  Didn't you like knowing Mom was there waiting for you with your snacks and eager to hear how your day went?  I did.  Wouldn't you like having those daytime hours to get your regular household chores done and then have your weekends to yourself to do what you truly would LIKE to do and not what you HAVE to do? 

Again, I will admit, I am currently trying to figure out a career path or opportunity to make money at home.  Yep, I am.  I do like having money to spend.  Don't we all?  But I have a higher value to my family being home to get all the kids to where they need to get to so that my wonderful hubby and the kids' other parents can work and not have to worry about taking time off from their job to get whichever kid to whichever appointment or practice.  Its covered by the.......Stay At Home Mom.  Do I miss conversing with other adults.....most definitely.  Do I miss the intelligent conversation.....yep.  You know what though, my day will come where I will be back out there working.  But I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to watch my children grow up with my own eyes. 

So this is what I think.  I think my paycheck currently comes from watching my children become the people they are going to be.  My paycheck is not a monetary one, but definitely a spiritual one.  I value every moment I get to have with my kids, because the path to having kids was not an easy one for me.  And maybe the powers that be did that on purpose to make me appreciate them just that much more.  Being a mom has been really the only thing I wanted out of life.  I already feel that if it is my time to leave this earth I get to leave having fulfilled my dream.  I will feel like I have a full life.  I will now step off my soapbox and get back to scrubbing the juice stains out of the carpet next to the dog prints made to mud!.