Catch-up Time

Look at that...once again it's been way too long since I've posted anything.  So I guess it's time to play catch-up again.

First day of  8th grade.

The kids have done really well in their new schools.  Lizzy did the school play last spring, The Seven Brides of Dracula.  It was cute and she had fun, but decided to do the technical side of theater this year.  She was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last spring too.  This year she is taking Pre-AP English, an art class that she gets high school credit for, and is planning on taking a trip to Washington D.C. in June.   She is becoming such an amazing young woman.

Cast of The Seven Brides of Dracula.

First day of 5th grade.

Alex is doing better academically than he ever has (other than standardized testing, but I've got opinions about that).  We're working with a doctor and a therapist to help him learn to better manage his moods/emotions/actions.  He got a Pokémon club started at the school this year. We're so proud of him for planning and doing all the work needed to get it going. He also just joined the 4/5th grade choir.

First day of 3rd grade.

Garret is thriving. School seems to come fairly easy for him.  He's actually in the Gifted and Talented program. He's another reader, which I love.  This year he's read most of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. 

First day of 1st grade.

Keri is...beautiful, feisty, inquisitive, loving...pretty much the same little sassafras she's always been.  She seems to really like school and has lots of friends there (though she can't remember about half of their names).











I'm doing pretty well.  After 7 years of discomfort and nausea, I finally found a doctor who would remove my nasty gallbladder.  It's amazing the difference it's made!  I'm still working on the whole "housewife" thing. It's hard to stay on top of housework, though, when there are books to be read and yarn to be knitted. LOL  I recently finished my first commissioned work.  A friend paid me to knit a temple shawl for her.  It was exciting! She loved the finished product too, so that made it even better.

Ben has been busy at work, as always.  He's also VERY close to finishing his Associate's and has plans for his Bachelor's. Yay!

Overall, life just keeps on going. We bought our first house and have lots of plans for things we'd like to do, but haven't gotten to them yet (time and money are limited).  We adopted a dog named Eris.  She is a Belgian Malinois mix (what she's mixed with is up for debate) and quickly became a member of the family.  One of the kids favorite things that we've done is buy annual passes to Sea World.  We all LOVE it!!!  We took an unexpected trip to Washington to say goodbye to Gramma Marge.  It was not the circumstances I wanted, but it was wonderful to see everyone and Gramma is reunited with Grandpa now.  We also had the chance to visit with Ben's brother and his family in Utah on our way to and from Washington.  My sister and her kids came down here for a visit too.  I love family time!

The kids love their 4-legged sister.

Garret's Birthday and Baptism

As I mentioned in a previous post, Garret had to celebrate his birthday in transit. He was a little bummed that he didn't get to have a party with his friends, but we tried to still make it special for him. He got to choose dinner that night, so we ended up at Chuck E. Cheese (Yay for being back in the States!) for pizza and games. After we got to San Antonio, we took him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out a couple of presents for himself.

A new Skylander figure for the Wii.

 

Pokemon cards

Because of the move, we weren't able to have Garret's baptism until the middle of November.  It was a great day and we were able to share it with some wonderful people. Ben's parents, and his brother Jake and his family came over from Houston for the weekend. Ben's cousin Sophie and her family also drove across town to be there. Garret also got to share the day with his friend Asher, who also got baptized.

With Daddy before the baptism. :)

Afterward, the family all came back to the house for food and visiting. It was great to catch up with everyone after two-and-a-half years.

Confessions of a Guilty Mom

I love my children. They are four of the best things in my life, and I would give up that life to protect them without a second thought. They make me laugh. They make me look at life in a whole new way. They make my life infinitely more interesting and meaningful. But...

They also drive me crazy. They're noisy, and messy, and can't seem to get through an entire day without fighting with each other (quite often over the silliest things). I have days when I want to pull my hair out. Occasionally I have moments where I have to scream...not words, not yelling at them about something (although that happens too)...primal, wordless screams. It just builds up and comes out, and then I feel better.

Alex asked me this morning if I get lonely when they're all at school. I told him honestly that I don't. I enjoy the time to myself. After dropping them off (I drove the younger three since Keri is still recovering from pneumonia) I thought about it and realized (again) I'm not THAT mom. I don't volunteer in classrooms. I used to tell myself that once I didn't have little ones at home I would, but I don't. I am SO ready to send them back to school after summer break, or winter break, or even a long weekend. I had a friend a few years ago that was always doing little crafts with her preschoolers. I tend to let my kids do their own thing while I do mine (read, knit, etc.).

This fact causes a certain amount of "Mommy Guilt". I see posts on Facebook from friends who are LOVING spending time with their kids and wish school holidays were longer, and I think "Why don't I enjoy my kids more? Is there something wrong with me?" Mommy Guilt. That voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough. When it hits me, I try to remember this:

I don't know where it originated from, but I love it. Someone came up with this which means that IT'S NOT JUST ME! 

I think that too often I focus on the negative and forget the positive. My kids are relatively happy, I'm frequently complimented on what good kids they are, and they think that I'm the best mom ever (at least most of the time). I may not be THAT mom, but I'm THEIR mom and that is a pretty sweet blessing. I may not volunteer in their classrooms, but I smother them with hugs and kisses (when I can catch them). I may not be constantly engaged with them, but we have some pretty epic tickle fights. And we DO play games together, even if its not on a regular basis. I don't think they've ever doubted that I love them. And really...isn't that the most important thing? So, I'm going to try harder to stop comparing myself to other moms. I leave you with a quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: