Mothering Many

So, guess who’s a daughter, as well as a mother? Well, that would be ME! And being a daughter is part of why there wasn’t a post here yesterday. I got only one done before I headed out with my folks to Myrtle Beach for some intense shopping. We avoided the jewelry stores, because we weren’t looking for Hublot watches or pearls or any such nonsense as that, but we did hit a lot of shoe stores, LOL!. Perfume for me, and three pairs of shoes for me (yes, I am spoiled), and a sweater for me. Also, some toys for the kiddos, but really, it was all about me, and I am still Daddy’s girl at 40.

Lest you think I am all about the material goods, I’ll confess that spending the afternoon with my folks was more fun that getting the stuff. I haven’t been able to do that for a very long time, because Daddy has had a crazy work schedule for most of the year, and it was most enjoyable.

Go see what blessings others are blogging about this weekend!

Have I mentioned that it’s been a while since we vacuumed around here? Well, it has. In fact, I think it’s been close to three weeks, because the last time I tried to vacuum, smoke and stench came from the motor and then sparks started flying, so I decided maybe clean floors were not as high on the priority list as I had previously thought they were. So here I sit, looking over my domain, and there are little bits of trash everywhere. In fact, I am sure that I could lose a small furry animal in here with not much effort at all, if I could have animals in the house.

I am so behind in everything, and I have been for weeks. No months. The broken vacuum and dirty carpet are symbolic of my whole life right now. So I stopped right in the middle of this whining post and picked up the living room. It took 10 minutes with the kids picking up their own junk. If it only took 10 minutes to clean, why did it ever get in such a mess to begin with? I’m having to place the blame for this squarely on my own shoulders. And it’s not just the house either, Our relationships within the family are pretty messy, too, with plenty of snapping and sniping and being selfish, not nearly enough laughing and loving and being cooperative.

It doesn’t matter how busy I am, how tired I am, how sick I am, how giving or selfish or greedy or lazy or anything else I am, when the rubber meets the road the children take their cue from me. This is maybe a weird post for blog your blessings, but today, I am grateful that I can affect change in my house and in my children. I’m also praying I can stick with it long enough to make a real difference. See, I know why things are falling apart around me, and it’s my own fault. I must make time to spend time with the Father. I know that when I do, He will be there waiting on me, and that is also a blessing.

As for the Christmas planning part of this post’s title, there hasn’t been any to speak of. I was totally unprepared for the realities of football season, I have at least one more week of cheer season left, and then we’ll see what else is going on. I should also note that my mom has surgery the first week of December. After that, the Holidays will be on top of me, and I better have a clue.

Lately, dh has been taken everyone but Dababy with him to practices, and today, he took them again to the afternoon/evening games. We have a bag with the equipment in it (and I really should throw a few medical supplies in there, just a couple of bandaids and an ace bandage, maybe one of those new fangled ice packs) and he just grabs it and they take off. I have had a houseful for so long that playing mom to one is …. interesting.

It’s quieter, and I get to spend time snuggling and watching and being with just her. It’s frustrating because she’s used to a houseful of company, and a lot of stimulation, so she demands a lot of attention. It’s really cool, because when she sleeps, as she did TWICE yesterday, I can do other stuff, like sew. BTW, she has totally claimed the quilt I am working on. OTOH, if she needs help, there’s not another set of hands here, so it’s all on me. Different days, different seasons. Just different.

So that’s my blessing this week … time with just one.

I feel so …..funny many weeks when I post a short little post about my blessings. I am so richly blessed in so very many ways, and yet, I never say much. I’m afraid the trend will continue, because it is now late and I am tired.

This week, I am thankful for a renewed passion for sewing, a smoothly running school schedule and a really good hairdresser. And also, properly groomed eyebrows. Call me crazy, but I’d rather have nice looking brows than a dozen roses. Unless of course, my brows are freshly done, then I am all about the flower delivery. Call me fickle. I can take it!

Today, I am blessed by Batman, who’s birthday it is. Here he is at his first ever football game.

And I am also blessed because I finally finished the lesson plans, and I can take today to enjoy the family. You can expect the rest of the posts from that to come out this week.

Today I am blessed to report that I got a griddle very similar to the one I showed you for just $27 on clearance. I used it last night to make grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s mighty fine!

Today I am blessed that the folks at church were happy with the website stuff I set up for them. w00t!! The week has flown by in a whirlwind, and I have much more to be thankful for than that, but it is a big relief.

I’m going to Carowinds tomorrow. I’m leaving right after church today. Diva and Country are going, too. Yep, she got her room clean. We’re going with the church youth group. It will be great to spend some fun time with them.

I was blessed this week with a couple of epiphanies, detailed here and here. I was also incredibly blessed by my girls this week as we shopped together. It was a fun time for all of us.

I am blessed this week in that I have spent more time with my children, and less time at the computer. I made myself a schedule of sorts, and I’m sticking to it, and things that should be done are finally getting done. How cool is that?

And there is also this:

Spidey’s scout leader and called and said a guy he works with had collected food for a family who refused it. He wanted to know if we would take it, and I said yes, if he couldn’t find someone who needed it, because we were fine in the food department. He called Friday evening to say he was on his way, and I expected a few bags of staples. Umm, wow. There were staples alright. And also, meat, eggs, milk, and toilet paper. Overwhelming does not even begin to describe how this feels.