Vacations

Dear Kids,
Oh the great fun and memories of family trips!  We just got back from a few days in a log cabin in the woods - what fun.  I felt like we were living a miniature Little House on the Prairie life (if you ignore the electricity and all those minor details).  How simple it was and yet so beautiful.  We learned about sharing a bathroom (one bathroom for 7 people is a challenge - but at least it wasn't an outhouse).  We learned about all the kids sharing a room - what a great exercise that was in working together.  I think it was grand.  What I loved most was the quiet there - once night fell it was just quiet.  No cars. No city sounds.  Just quiet - bugs, wind.  That is what real peace and quiet means.  No internet.  No phones.  Bliss.  I also like to remember that family trips are made of the good times and the squabbles are forgotten - but on this trip the nice part was that I really don't think there were many squabbles - once I made my little shpiel on the first night about getting along and working things out - I don't really think people fought - and that probably made me the happiest of all.  I love to see my kids get along - it makes me feel like I'm doing something right and they will eventually really appreciate having eachother (I hope you can even now appreciate how nice it is to be part of the unit you are in).
Ok, this is one tired mom but I had to share that with you all.  Love you!

On Surprises and Being Oh So Hot

Hi guys, been a while like usual - here I sit in a very hot house, so hot I've taken many cold showers to cool down.  Our AC broke (and funny enough it happened during a record breaking heat wave) - so now on Day #3 of intense hot house, they are replacing the system.  Funny how these things happen.  You all left because the heat was too much to bear and I would join you except for the fact that strangers are in and out of our house trying to get the new system in place.  So time for a little blogging while I pass the time - because Lord knows I can't do anything practical in this heat - I tried laundry and clean up but ended up so hot I was ready to collapse. 
So my philosophy on this whole thing - well I have learned a few things:
1. When life gives you lemons, deal with it even if you can't make lemonade - its never fun to have some huge unexpected expense or anything else - surprises are only nice if they are good ones and not every surprise will be good - but if you take a good attitude, you can get through it.
2. Appreciate what you have - sometimes we think its normal to have good stuff (like air conditioning) and we don't realize how lucky we are til its taken away for a bit and we suffer - and then we realize how nice it is to have life's little luxuries.  Just imagine how many poor people live without it all the time -what an awful way to live each day in hot and humid environments.
3. Find ways to make the unpleasant bearable - like in this case, cold showers got us through - in every situation there are probably ways to make things a little less hard.
Ok, can't wait to welcome you all back home - I've missed you today!!
Love,
Mommy

Time Away From It All

May 20, 2011
Well life's been so busy, again, and too much time has passed since I have written to you guys.  We were busy, that's for sure, we did our kitchen, have lived at Grama's for the past 3 months, and somehow I turn around and its May.  Right now I'm in L.A. for the weekend - Abba's been out here on a trial for almost 3 weeks now and me and you guys made it on our own while he worked here.  Now I came for his last weekend to be with him since there was no way he could make it back - and then I am bringing him back home!  The time on our own taught me a lot - mostly that I have to be more patient and I can't rely on anyone to make sure I'm a good Mom to you guys - but I have to do it on my own and then whatever added help I get (in the form of Abba taking over) is a nice bonus.  I also learned that I do need some time to myself - something I never thought I needed in the past.  I love being with you guys all the time - but I saw that when I took no down time at all I was a bit too cranky of a Mommy (sorry!) and when I took just a little time to breathe I did much better with the meltdowns that came. I think most people probably do best and act their best when they have a bit of time to relax here and there.  Now comes the real post idea - time off.  Yes, daily time off or weekly is important, extremely important, but once in a while you need some real time off.  Time away.  This weekend I'm having some time away.  I miss you guys like crazy - everything I see around me, I think "this kid would like this" or "wow, I gotta tell the kids about this" but at the same time - I'm just taking some time to really be on my own (or with Abba, same difference in our case) - last night, we went out to eat and walked back through the streets of L.A. - very pretty, so different than back home.  Cool air.  Nice breeze.  Kind of perfect weather.  Just some time off and I am thinking it will make me a better mom when I get back.  Calm.  Relaxing.  Today I'm going to the beach and just going to walk and see what is there.  Sit and read.  Strange concept, I know.  I miss you guys and know that this time off is probably as good for you as it is for me - even if you think its not good for you while I'm away, I think you'll realize when I'm back that its better because I am better than I was.  That's what a good vacation does to you.  Even if it is short and sweet like this one - they are all good.  When the hands of time move and its your turn to be the moms and dads, remember this!!! Love you all!

Always takes me a while...kitchen is underway guys

Well it always takes me a bit to get back to the computer, between broken keyboards (the story of my other laptop) and the house renovations (our kitchen is currently underway) things have been busy.

Life has been fun, though, redoing the kitchen is a whole experience in and of itself.  An experience in adventure, the unknown, and in lots of picking and choosing.  You get to a point when you don't care anymore about the choices, you just want them made.  It related to life in a lot of ways actually.  In life sometimes you think things over and over and consider all the possibilities but when it comes down to it you don't take the time and effort at the end to do it right.  Other times, you can see it through and finish the decisions the way you want to.  It is always best to see it through and not lose steam (but of course that is the harder way to do things).  Here we are with the kitchen, we were down to faucets, lights and handles.  We have made so many choice, cabinets, floors, counters, sinks, etc, etc, etc.  So coming to the nitty gritty got to be so much - but then I realized, don't just choose any handle - there will be so many of them and they will be all over the kitchen and if you don't like them because you didn't take the time to pick something you really want then you are going to be staring at something you don't like EVERYWHERE!

That's the thought of the day.  Love you all.

Midterms

Well things have been busy here lately, as usual, some of you had break already and some are about to have it, rooms are being updated (beautiful painting job, my artist) and a lot of books are being read. 
 
Speaking of books and reading, I have been thinking a lot about learning lately - learning as an adult, when there is no school to force you into it.  I was thinking - "Wow, it is hard to believe I am old enough to have a kid taking midterms" -that is a big thing for me - I remember taking them myself not so long ago.  Amazing how life goes so fast and before you know it you are big and your kids are big!  And you are out of school and not learning anything in text books and only learning from living.  And then suddenly you miss learning.  I know that may be hard to believe, but it is true.  Recently I've been reading this book about cells (it is a story about a woman's cells that scientists used without her knowing and they created a cell revolution and tons of medical breakthroughs) and I've learned so much about science (a subject I hated in school) and I've enjoyed it.  I have been reading things about medical students and their process and learning about that.  It is fun to stimulate your mind.  As kids you are probably reading this and saying "mom's nuts" but the great thing in life is - you'll see when you get to this point.  When it isn't a given and you aren't forced to do it you may see you like it very much (I hope you do).  So for now, try your best to enjoy some of what you learn and know that it gets better as you get older.

Community Service

Ok guys - some real meat and potatoes here - we have to talk about community service.  I'm not talking about doing a good deed here and there - I'm talking about really getting involved.  I grew up in a house where there was real community service - my parents did for the community in so many ways.  They were young people in a fairly young and new community and every need that arose, it seems, they got involved and helped out.  Sometimes it is easy to sit back in a more established community and think that you don't need to do much because it is so big and so many people are involved and what difference can you make - but that's not true.  There is so much to do and as a community grows larger, the needs are greater.  Not only that, more people are sitting back saying the community is running itself and the same people are often doing the majority of the work needed.  That is not how it should be.  Every person should find their niche and help with the best of their strengths and their abilities.  Sometimes there is little glory in it - actually a lot of the time it is mostly about hearing people's complaints about what you do and not the positives - but you can't let that deter you.  You can make a difference and you should. 

That being said, balance is key.  If you do too much and neglect your own house and your own family and your own needs that isn't ok.  Your family comes first but they need to learn how to give you space to do both.  I have seen families where communal needs are #1 and familial are #2, that is not ok in my opinion.  You need to pick your communal work selectively, don't say yes to everything if you want to really give your things your all and be there for your family.  Once you pick your things, run with them - do great things - make sure your kids/husband/self understands that these things will take time - but don't let it be so much time that you are taking away from the things you should be focusing on.

Ok, that's heavy enough for a post!

Good Response

Well it is always nice for a mom when they get a good response. So after hearing from my daughter that she likes when I blog for them, here I go again. In truth, moms (and probably lots of other people as well) love positive feedback. In fact, I think positive feedback is one of the best gifts we can give to people - and it is absolutely free. Imagine how good it feels when you work hard on something and someone actually takes notice. Sure, we have that feeling of self-satisfaction when we do something and it comes out well - but it feels so much better when it is noticed. I know I love when someone comes in after I have cleaned up and tells me how clean it looks (cleaning is one of my pet peeves) - it makes it so much more worth the effort. I think everyone should make an effort to give positive feedback once or twice a day and see how it changes them - I think it may make them more positive without them realizing it. Life can get draggy at times, when we are in a routine and going about day to day without thinking or feeling or paying much attention to anything - and then boom - something comes out of the blue and shakes us up - not necessarily something big and bold - but just something that hits us in the right way and we wake up a bit, get out of the old habits and the "routineness" of life and start putting more thought into things. Maybe it is just me, the housewife, speaking and other people don't think this - but I sometimes get to feel like things are routine, over and over doing the same things - clean up, cook, shop and then I forget that there are things that are not routine and there are things that take thought and effort! And along comes a nice comment and that was my boom - wake up - someone noticed - and I'm glad they did :-)

Hi Again

As usual guys life got in the way of me doing any extra things but I figured I'd write and see how often I can get back to this. So what should we discuss today? I think maybe bedtime is a good one - I'm learning how different bedtime can be at different stages in a child's life- when they are small, you have to be firm and set a time and stick to it - routine is really good. Then comes the in-between age - not big yet but not really small anymore - at that time, you have to have a basic schedule but not be completely tied to it - make exceptions. Then comes the tween age - once you are teenagers I don't think there is any way to make you get the sleep you need - but tweens have to have a very flexible time - it has to depend on your mood, your day, your exhaustion level, and things like that. And the time between little kids bedtime and big kids bedtime has to be the greatest time of day - where there can be big kid things going on - games, reading, studying (not always the most fun but useful) and things like that. Ok, that's a thought for the day.