Random Thoughts

Well hello there... long time no posts. What can I say, time and life have gotten away from me.

So today as I was driving back from a fun filled day at The Adventure Science Center here in Nashville I found myself itching to write. Write what? Heck if I know. But here I go.

Where do I start? What can I say? How about an update or some background. I am a wife and mother of four. We home school and love it, yes we drank that kool-aid. Life for us is what most would call crazy but let's be honest life is insane. When you have four children life can become a zoo very quickly but when one of your four is special needs life takes on a whole new perspective. We find ourselves away from home more times than not, shuffling between appointments, therapy, church, friends, family, and whatever else that may come our way. But this is our life and we are happy. I wear many hats and juggle more balls that I would like to admit. Let me rephrase that, I drop more balls than I juggle. Hahahaha!!! I have a tendency to laugh at myself more than I probably should... it keeps the craziness at bay.

How do I handle it all you might wonder. I drink, just kidding. There are days when I don't handle it I simply lose myself in a book and forget that I have clothes to wash, dishes to do, and all the other million things on my to do list. Then there are days when I am cursing myself for my days of reading and ignorance because there are all those things that MUST get done. It is usually quite comical to see myself on the days when everything MUST get done and there is by no means enough time to get it all completed. I run around like a mad women from room to room demanding that they be cleaned, attempting to whip everyone into shape all while the baby is behind me destroy any attempts at cleaning in the room we just left. Have you had those days? A day where you just need a cup of coffee, some quietness, and a name change? "MOM, mom, MOM, mom... Hey Mom!!"

I have really learned to cut myself some slack over the past few years and realized that those things on my to do list aren't going anywhere but that my kids are... They are getting bigger and bigger every day. They are outgrowing the clothes we just bought them a few months back, eating more food than I can even imagine, and preparing themselves to leave the nest. So who cares if my laundry is a mountain taking over the love seat and the dishes in the back of the fridge look like a science experiment, which it could be since we home school *wink wink*. The moments I have with them are precious and limited. Why not throw the to do list to the wind and run in the sprinklers for a few hours. Screw the fact that they have on nice clothes and go enjoy some Popsicles on the porch. I tell my kids everything is washable even them so go be a kid, get dirty, enjoy this time. I can worry about stains another day.

Another thing I have learned is that if my husband is happy and if his needs are met then all is well. Let's face it his needs are sex, sandwiches or food in general, and sleep. If he is getting these needs met he forgets about the fact that the love seat has been buried under a pile of laundry for over a week or that the counter top has papers spread across it with no end in sight. I have to laugh at how much easier it was to cut myself some slack once I made sure his needs were met first because if he didn't care how the house looked then neither did I.

Happiness for some is found in organization, beds neatly made, floors swept daily, empty kitchen sinks, and clean babies. Happiness for me is found is the laughter of my children who have caught a toad in the yard, piles of Lego's that show their attempts at building an imaginary city. It is enjoying a movie on the couch with my husband knowing that he will fall asleep before we make it halfway through and probably snore. Happiness is watching my 10 month old unroll an entire roll of toilet paper and think it is the best thing in the world. While he was enjoying himself so thoroughly I was thinking "Thank You God that the toilet is flushed and has been cleaned recently." I wasn't thinking about the big pile of toilet paper on the floor that he is tearing to shreds and trying to eat... He will only be little once and entertainment can only be that cheap for a small window of time.

What do you find happiness in? What moments make you stop and think that this is a moment you don't want to forget? Enjoy those moments, write them on your heart!!! Maybe share a few of your special moments with me, I would love to read them.

God Bless and Good day!!