Nothing Truly Prepares You for Adulthood

It doesn't matter if you were raised by two parents, one parent, grandparents, or if you grew up in poverty or wealth, nothing truly prepares you for adulthood.  Nothing really gives you the answers to the hard questions or solutions for the difficult situations you have to deal with as an adult.  Eventually you realize everyone, no matter what their age, is still learning how to handle life.  About 6 years ago I thought I had it all figured out. I had two sweet boys, two loving dogs, and the best husband in the world. We were the perfect little family and being a mom was so easy! Now....well I've realized that I don't have anything figured out.  Now I have twice as many kids, we've added another dog to the mix, and our loving dogs are slowly making their exit from life.  I'm dealing with a child with high intelligence but speech issues, a child who is getting bullied at school, and our dog who can't use his back legs as he approaches the end of his life.  Guiding my kids through all this leaves me emotionally and physically drained. My kids have more questions than I can answer yet in their eyes I'm supposed to know everything.  Parenting is hard! I know that is so over said, but oh how true it is.  As a mom I'm constantly questioning myself, wondering if I'm screwing them up, and hoping they will learn the right lessons from me.

All I know is I will continue to parent out of love, and teach my kids to love above all else even when it seems like the world doesn't love them back.

~Peace, Love & Equality for all

Hooray for school!

Sound the trumpets! The day finally arrived! The first day of school! We met our teachers the night before and landed some great teachers so this year looks like it'll be a great one!  Of course there will be ups and downs, but I truly believe this year will end on a positive note. 

My oldest, we'll call him Doodle, is in 3rd grade this year.  Doodle loves cows, farming, nature, science, and aspires to be an astronomer when he grows up. He was elated when he found out 3rd grade would be switching classrooms for different subjects.  He said he felt like a college kid.. too cute! 

My second boy, we'll call him Dopey, is in 2nd grade this year.  Dopey loves Dopey the dwarf, baseball, soccer, video games, and extreme sports.  When he grows up he wants to be a professional baseball player! He landed the same teacher Doodle had for 2nd grade, so he thought it was awesome to follow in his brothers footsteps. 

And my youngest son, we'll call him Bluey, is in Kindergarten this year.  Bluey loves his bluey (blue blanket), trucks, cars, puzzles, patterns, dolphins, and horses. When Bluey grows up, he wants to be a dolphin trainer and make a book of the language of dolphins.  Bluey was excited to get the teacher he wanted for Kindergarten and is also thrilled to be starting his speech classes!

The start of the year has been awesome! Although to be honest, I am a little nervous for today. It is the second day of school today, and my oldest, Doodle is bringing his brand new lunch box and water bottle to school.  Both are hot pink.  He tried to pick out a hot pink lunchbox with me and his grandmother earlier in the month and his grandmother wouldn't let him get it.  (She was paying for it.)  I handled it wrong and tried to explain what his grandma meant, but it ended up sounding like I was taking her side. Finally to just end things I told him I'd take him shopping later where he could get whatever lunchbox he wanted. And that's just what my husband and I did.  We went out and let him pick whichever one he wanted. All the boys got to.  Bluey got a red lunch box with an orange water bottle, Dopey got a camo lunchbox with a star wars water bottle, and Doodle got a hot pink/orange lunchbox with a hot pink water bottle. He was so happy and at peace with it. Carrying it proudly up to the front to pay for it.  My husband and I smiled at each other because we knew we'd done the right thing by letting him get whatever made him happy.  It doesn't matter. It's just a lunch box. I hope he will always know exactly what he wants and never be ashamed of it.

I'm excited to watch my kids grow and blossom more this year because they truly are the most awesome kids in the world :)

Back To School.... Again!

It's that time of year again! I've been busy buying school supplies and trying to get the kids ready for school.  With all the rain here in Georgia, it's felt like we didn't even get a summer! Luckily for me, though, my kids are excited to go back to school. I think secretly they crave the structured setting and time away from each other.  I know I can't wait for school to start! I will have 3 in the elementary school, and my youngest will be doing home school preschool with me!

Happy Back To School Everyone!

Love this song! Mat Kearney - Closer To Love

Happy 4th of July!

I know I'm a little late with this post, but I hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July! It was rainy here in Georgia ;( So all the fireworks were  cancelled. Big Bummer. But being the crazy parents we are, we just decided to have one of our awesome house parties complete with indoor camping, movie screen fireworks, 4th of July treats, crafts, and even a lesson on the Declaration of Independence!

~Peace, Love and Equality to all!

We started the day with a true Independence Day Breakfast!

Red, White & Blue Pancakes with "Sparkler" Orange Juice!

4th of July Cocktails!

Adult:
Blue Curacao, Sprite, Vodka, and Grenadine

Kids:
Cranberry Juice, Sprite, and Gatorade!





Indoor camping was the highlight of our day!

The kids played card games, read books, and played wii in the tent!

And when it stopped raining for 10 minutes, we "tie dyed" tees with squirt bottles mixed with rit dye and water.  The shirts turned out pretty awesome  and the kids had a blast making them!

We ended the night watching fireworks projected onto our tent! My kids have a pretty awesome dad who came up with the idea!

I found this poem about love, and what can I say? I absolutely LOVE it!