Since Saturday evening, I have been "back home" in Upstate New York. I have enjoyed being here. I have been here to attend a funeral service for my 91 year old Grandmother. She passed away last October and we were all able to spend time celebrating her life over Memorial Day weekend, which was one of her favorite holiday's. Other than the funeral, I was able to spend time with other family that also lives here.
Tomorrow though it is time to get back to Idaho, and my life there, and my family. I have called my kids each night, right before their bed time, and I don't know who that call is harder for, me or them. They ask me if I am at the airport yet, and my Robyn tells me about the pictures that she is drawing for me, and Anna tells me she misses me, and want's me to come home right then so we can snuggle. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough. I hope that all will go well during the travel.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Testing the Boundaries...
The worst of my kids that is doing this right now, is actually my teenager. Well, she is barely that anymore, she is 18, and she thinks and expects me to treat her like she is 30 or so. But instead she acts like she is two, with the temper tantrums, and the "silly" decisions that she makes and such. One major thing here is that currently she does not have a job. One part of that that drives my husband nuts is that she shows no real gumption to get one, to follow through with those she has "supposedly" applied for, etc. For me, the bothersome part of that is, she is receiving cash gifts from family and friends, well, MY family and friends, but she is blowing that. On food, for herself and her friends, and gas to drive around, just because, and goodness knows what else. She even bought a graduation "dress" last night. I knew that it was going to be bad, when the first phrase out of her mouth when she walked in the door started with, "My friend is going to let me borrow a pair of leggings..." The dress falls about mid-thigh. What is she thinkng, it is a semi-long shirt, NOT a dress.
The bad thing, I know what she is doing. I have tried this same tactic myself. You push your parents to see how far you can until they argue with with you, and you can reply, "I am 18, and an adult, you can't tell me what to do." To that the parents say, "As long as you live under my roof, you will abide by my rules..." We all know the drill, right.
The sad part with all this, and what I have been saying to my husband for about a week now is that, I did not raise her this way. I do not wear tight fitting clothes, I do not show my butt cheeks off to people by the shorts I wear, or wear tank tops with my bra strap showing and no shirt. I am proud to say that I wear modest clothing, I am covered, and still manage to look stylish. On Friday, prior to the graduation ceremony, we are having a few friends and family over for cake to celebrate her graduation, and I am dreading their responses with all honesty. Some of my friends who will be here are, our ward's Bishop and his wife, who are dear, dear friends, my Visiting Teaching Companion, and her husband, who was just release as a Stake High Councilman, another friend and her husband who are teaching the Temple Preparation class, and he is currently a Stake High Councilman, not to also mention my parents, my husband's Mother, my Ex and his wife, my brother, and siser-in-law, and numerous children.
I know that her choices are not mine, but I am worried what my friends will think when they see her dressed in clothing that leave little to their imaginations. Will that be a reflection on me?
The bad thing, I know what she is doing. I have tried this same tactic myself. You push your parents to see how far you can until they argue with with you, and you can reply, "I am 18, and an adult, you can't tell me what to do." To that the parents say, "As long as you live under my roof, you will abide by my rules..." We all know the drill, right.
The sad part with all this, and what I have been saying to my husband for about a week now is that, I did not raise her this way. I do not wear tight fitting clothes, I do not show my butt cheeks off to people by the shorts I wear, or wear tank tops with my bra strap showing and no shirt. I am proud to say that I wear modest clothing, I am covered, and still manage to look stylish. On Friday, prior to the graduation ceremony, we are having a few friends and family over for cake to celebrate her graduation, and I am dreading their responses with all honesty. Some of my friends who will be here are, our ward's Bishop and his wife, who are dear, dear friends, my Visiting Teaching Companion, and her husband, who was just release as a Stake High Councilman, another friend and her husband who are teaching the Temple Preparation class, and he is currently a Stake High Councilman, not to also mention my parents, my husband's Mother, my Ex and his wife, my brother, and siser-in-law, and numerous children.
I know that her choices are not mine, but I am worried what my friends will think when they see her dressed in clothing that leave little to their imaginations. Will that be a reflection on me?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
More to Life than Folded Laundry...
I know that there is more to life than folded laundry, I know it, but when there is a knock at the door, there is sheer panic that rises up within me that cannot be calmed. There are a few other things too:
1. Dusty Furniture - my Grandma always told me that if her dusting was done then she felt as though the rest of her house was clean. No matter the piles of other things that needed attention. I don't happen to agree with that logic, but there was no arguing with a 90+ year old woman.
2. Dishes - I always try and clean the dishes right after my husband leaves for work, and keep them going throughout the day. Well, at least I try to unload and reload the dishwasher. My sister use to cover the sink with a towel if she knew people were coming over, which made no sense to me then, we all knew what was under the towel.
3. Cluttered Counters - in our home practically everyone comes through the back door and straight into my kitchen, where there is a large counter/seating area which seems to become a catch all for all kinds of books, clothes, socks, papers, mail, and any form of anything else that I need to find a place for.
4. The Toy "Corner" - Yes, "Corner". You see, we use to have a large bucket where we would put all of the little girls toys, and ideally they would play with a toy or two and then put it back in the bucket. Over time they would dump the toys out of the bucket, and play with the bucket. So, a corner in our living room became their corner. Which is typically okay when the toys remain in the corner, but more often that not the toys creep out into the rest of the living like the mixture of a school volcano project. Another downfall of this corner full of toys happens to be why most everyone goes to our back door. Their toy corner is right in front of our front door, and if we have to for some reason answer the front door, it takes forever to get to the door and then wretch it open from lack of use.
5. Vacuuming - Growing up this was a OCD thing for my Dad. In his mind the floors were not clean if you, well if he could not visibly see the lines from the vacuum cleaner. Hence the reason we would wait until about 10 p.m. and vacuum the entire house right before bed, so that when he got home from work at almost midnight the floors were freshly cleaned. For a long time after I moved out and took care of my own house this was an issue. If someone called and said they were coming over I would pull out the vacuum and madly put fresh vacuum lines on my carpets. That issue has lessened for me as the years have gone by and the number of children has increased in our home. Now with three active girls, I am happy if the toys are picked up and I can follow a path from one room to another. I promise, most days it is not that bad, but there are times it feels that way.
7. The Dreaded Laundry - This is now my panic inducing chore. I usually fold the laundry on our dining room table, this chore can last anywhere from 1-2 hours for a few small loads, to an all day marathon event, as things were yesterday. By the end of the afternoon, there were tall piles of each clothing item for each person, waiting to be put away.
I get so antsy when the dogs bark for a little longer than normal, waiting for the knock on the door, signally someone, whom I may want to see, and visit with, but if I still have to do any of the above mentioned chores, please be prepared to hear, "I am so sorry for the mess, but we actually live here."
1. Dusty Furniture - my Grandma always told me that if her dusting was done then she felt as though the rest of her house was clean. No matter the piles of other things that needed attention. I don't happen to agree with that logic, but there was no arguing with a 90+ year old woman.
2. Dishes - I always try and clean the dishes right after my husband leaves for work, and keep them going throughout the day. Well, at least I try to unload and reload the dishwasher. My sister use to cover the sink with a towel if she knew people were coming over, which made no sense to me then, we all knew what was under the towel.
3. Cluttered Counters - in our home practically everyone comes through the back door and straight into my kitchen, where there is a large counter/seating area which seems to become a catch all for all kinds of books, clothes, socks, papers, mail, and any form of anything else that I need to find a place for.
4. The Toy "Corner" - Yes, "Corner". You see, we use to have a large bucket where we would put all of the little girls toys, and ideally they would play with a toy or two and then put it back in the bucket. Over time they would dump the toys out of the bucket, and play with the bucket. So, a corner in our living room became their corner. Which is typically okay when the toys remain in the corner, but more often that not the toys creep out into the rest of the living like the mixture of a school volcano project. Another downfall of this corner full of toys happens to be why most everyone goes to our back door. Their toy corner is right in front of our front door, and if we have to for some reason answer the front door, it takes forever to get to the door and then wretch it open from lack of use.
5. Vacuuming - Growing up this was a OCD thing for my Dad. In his mind the floors were not clean if you, well if he could not visibly see the lines from the vacuum cleaner. Hence the reason we would wait until about 10 p.m. and vacuum the entire house right before bed, so that when he got home from work at almost midnight the floors were freshly cleaned. For a long time after I moved out and took care of my own house this was an issue. If someone called and said they were coming over I would pull out the vacuum and madly put fresh vacuum lines on my carpets. That issue has lessened for me as the years have gone by and the number of children has increased in our home. Now with three active girls, I am happy if the toys are picked up and I can follow a path from one room to another. I promise, most days it is not that bad, but there are times it feels that way.
7. The Dreaded Laundry - This is now my panic inducing chore. I usually fold the laundry on our dining room table, this chore can last anywhere from 1-2 hours for a few small loads, to an all day marathon event, as things were yesterday. By the end of the afternoon, there were tall piles of each clothing item for each person, waiting to be put away.
I get so antsy when the dogs bark for a little longer than normal, waiting for the knock on the door, signally someone, whom I may want to see, and visit with, but if I still have to do any of the above mentioned chores, please be prepared to hear, "I am so sorry for the mess, but we actually live here."
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Pancake Picnic
The little girls are wanting to go outside so badly right now, but we are experiencing a large amount of cold wind, so I decided that they could have their breakfast, consisting of chocolate chip pancakes and syrup in the house, but to make it more fun, I laid down their lady bug fleece blanket on the floor in the living room. Hence the pancake picnic...complete with bugs...ha, ha, ha!
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