Dirt: Friday

Seems that I should change my blog to 5 things on Friday...

Literally never seem to have time to blog for me. My work blogs are always going through my head and I have not even been able to get them done like I should. I am working on a new thing in my life...TIME BLOCKING.

A new concept? No! Just a new form of a list, which I love. Sunday, I am going to make two time block weeks. One for work and one for my personal time. Working out, blogging and friends are my top priority.  I need more of all three in my personal life.

On that note, it is the end of school which means all parents all over the country are scheduled to their eyeballs in watching their precious children  perform, compete and just create. The end of year marathon I like to call it. My family has been to a musical, May Day,  a concert, a lacrosse game and tonight, a Spring Chorale Concert. Fancy way of saying " your kid sings, come  hear her.".  Luckily, both of my girls are in the fancy concert tonight. The rare Two For One!

I love that my kids are so involved. We are lucky to have happy, healthy outgoing kids. However the end of year marathon is not for the faint of heart, or the slow eater as we have to gulp our food down to get our kids to the next event.


Have a great weekend! 

Whatever: Almost grown

One of my new year's mental plans was to remember that my family is almost grown up.

We are finally at that age where we can all do fun things TOGETHER.  All those days of extra crap gear being toted are gone. The girls in my family are all the same size and dare I say it, I am now the smallest and possibly the weakest. I am fine with that. (sorta).

What that means is now we can do really fun stuff. Like bike trips and hiking. For real hiking. The epiphany came last week when I realized we could trade my barely used road bike in for a new bike for one of the girls. And take a bike trip.

Dirt: Childhood is fleeting

Dirt: I'm a little controlling...

* Warning:This is a little preachy and defensive...


 I catch a whiff of how I am viewed by other moms occasionally.

I am sometimes shocked at how rigid they see me. I am "the mom with no junk food in her house" "the mom who does not allow American Dad to be watched"  "the mom who grows her own food". 

These are all true, at least in part. I don't buy a lot of junk food as my family lacks the ability to ration. "These people" include me.I believe television is for entertainment and I personally love it. But I believe kids internalize what is "okay" by watching shows. Hence ICarly and Caillou were also banned. (If you don't know why, watch an episode.) I am also a "organic gardener" meaning I grow basil and and tomatoes.

Sad tomatoes.

One mom recently recalled my child refusing to watch something at her house because she was in 3rd grade and  not allowed. She initially said it was  Spongebob (which I know was an exaggeration, because I love Spongebob). Her point was made, however. I am the overprotective mom. And I am. When it comes

 to junk, I am. Brain junk, food junk, junk mail, I am reluctant to just set my kids free. (My daughter just reminded me I bought a copy of Teen Vogue and read it cover to cover before I bought a subscription for her.) I will admit, I am a little controlling.

But my feelings, no, my belief is this. You can always give more, it is much harder to take it back. Putting your kid on a diet? Heartbreaking. Removing a fact learned about sex or drugs before someone is truly mature enough to handle it? Impossible. Taking back is really hard.

We have made numerous mistakes along the way. Hearing the rudest things come out of our kids mouths after hours of watching television. The casual treatment of things given at too early an age. The over-indulgence on the junk foods which are chemically created to encourage just that.

My kids are not living in a bubble by any means. We are lovers of junk. 

Up until we had kids, we watched television with abandon, including while we ate dinner. 

We still "treat" ourselves to weekly Italian ice, popsicles, ice cream and more.(Sunday's at the farmer's market are a free for all of Italian Ice and corn dogs).My kids love Walking Dead and never miss an episode. My oldest child, like me, swears like a sailor.

Junk, junk, junk.

My youngest would live on a diet of boxed macaroni and cheese, processed chicken "nuggets" and ice cream, if allowed. However, as a parent and guide, it is my job to make sure they don't find their way without help.

I know I am not alone in this.  There are so many parents, most smarter and better educated than me ( Laura Ingalls Wilder, You Had the Right Idea ), who are invested in what is going on with their kids. I wonder if they are shocked when they get a glimpse of how they are perceived?

Dirt: We Are Almost There

My life the last few weeks has been a little bit weird with me getting used to working and the girls getting back in a routine.  We are almost there. I am getting my feet under me and with the exception of dogs marking rugs and me having to mop and disinfect my entire room and bed, I am getting things done in the evenings when I get home.

 

The girls are staying busy with school, homework and extra circular activities.One is playing two sports AND singing in a choir AND holds a student government office AND has a social life. My head spins. The other one is almost as busy, but middle school holds you back just a little. So at least she does not have to be driven hither and yon.

Steve and I had a conversation the other night that we have gotten to that spot where we are alone as much as we are with our kids. Weird. But a good weird. 

This weekend is our last outdoor concert weekend. The summer was a great one for music. 

 We have tickets to see the Lumineers in October. I feel September will be a little drought like musically. Although I am hoping to get tickets to see Dwight October 3rd, which is almost September. That would be awesome. I love him, mostly because he's great, but also because my Memaw, who died when she was just 13 years older than I am now, thought he was hot.
That is all it takes for me.

Dirt: My job

It is pretty amazing being a mom.

My life is so different than I thought it would be. If I had actually given it any thought, or had someone giving me direction, I would have been a writer or gone into marketing. 

Instead, I studied anthropology, became a restaurant employee, a very mediocre auditor for a retail company, and then a mom.

I am struggling with what my next step is. My kids are at that crucial moment when they need advice and guidance and independence. The hand holding is mostly over. They can cross streets, cook food, dress themselves, and both are learning to drive cars.  

I have been a good mom. There is no doubt about that.

Gratituesday: Swimming

This summer, I have watched both my girls swim. 

 

I love to watch them swim in meets. Not because they win (which they both do sometimes) but because they are doing something, well. Something that I am not good at in the least. 

My girls are my heroes.

One goes to practice when she can, making the most of practices and often demanding that her coach make them harder.The other has been going twice a day, at first by my choice, but now by her own.

 

I am so grateful for swimming. The skill to swim along with the skill  to push oneself through the next level of ability are priceless lessons. 

PS These are photos of past years...this year I have taken exactly NO photos of my swimmers, with the exception of a quick instagram photo here and there...because I am too involved in actually watching them. It's been great.

Cooking: Hurdles of childrearing

We ate fancy yesterday. 

Smoked pork shoulder and chicken, homemade jalapeno slaw, spinach salad with strawberries and walnuts, red potatoes with mustard vinaigrette and for dessert, grilled pound cake with strawberries and whipped topping. When I was telling my girls what we were going to eat for dinner as we headed out to watch the US Cycling Championship Race, my oldest remarked, " We eat so well in the summer. "  I was in heaven! With the exception of the potatoes (of which we barely ate any) that was a meal at which most kids would balk. We seemed to have jumped a hurdle in child rearing.