Free Range on Fairview

This boy. This sweet, sweet boy.  Oh my first born son, how smart and friendly and awesome he is. Oh how he had me so frustrated yesterday. I was not going to yell. I spent the day doing household stuff, grocery shopping, hanging out with the little ones, watching The Chew and pouring out into a blog post and I was feeling lighter. Maybe fresher, a new start for the day. Then Dylan got home from school and we all made snacks. Things were fine and normal when suddenly the whiney monster came out. Dylan spent the good part of an hour in and out of his room for whining about every.little.thing. His legs hurt, he had too much homework, his brother wouldn't let him have a moment to himself, he couldn't play the Wii, he didn't get to help make the Cranberry Bog Bars. I was seriously on the verge of losing it and I couldn't figure out what was actually wrong or why he was having such a hard day, but he was. Eventually with time he calmed down and helped me make dinn...

Lately I have been struggling with well, everything. I feel like I haven't been the kind and encouraging wife I want to be. I feel like I am a crumby homemaker, no pun intended. I feel like I am a disconnected and selfish friend. And above all I feel like I have been a grumpy, awful mom. I know these things aren't true but that is where my mind has been going. Finally coming out of the fog of sleep deprivation (it was like having a newborn for 11 months!) has made me feel alive again. I am able to have sane conversations with Shane again. I am making playdates and realizing that I need to use my MOPS time as a ministry rather than just something I do. I am taking care of my body and starting to feel it. And I am seeing that my time of less-than-perfecting mothering is starting to come out in the kids. I don't want them to become yellers or be angry at one another. I read this amazing blog post and hope to some day have the same outcome the writer did. Some day. For now...

Wow, we've come a long way in one year! This time last year we had a brand spanking new baby, Danielle just moved back in with us and was getting ready to graduate, Dylan was finishing up the school year and I was getting ready to take over as a co-coordinator of MOPS. Stress was sky high, life was busy but full of love. I've definitely went through quite a few months of the baby blues but I am finally feeling like I am getting my act together and feeling a bit better about everything in general. I can tell because I'm actually planning ahead with freezer meals, getting cute outfits on in the morning, making playdates with friends, and getting out in the yard and doing some gardening (which I haven't had any desire to do it what seems like years! I'm even trying harder to get back to blogging regularly but not quite like I thought I wanted to do before.  At his one year check up Warner's head was in the 75% - which is apparently common in all my children, 50%...

So far, Dylan is my only kid in school and what I have learned from him is that since I have the opportunity to be present in his life most of the time, I should and can, make many moments teaching moments. He got a homemade science kit for Christmas and one Saturday when his little brother was taking a surprise nap (oh thank God!) he wanted to try his hand at making Elephant Toothpaste . He read the instructions, got all the supplies out of his kit and was ready for me to help. Fortunately I am trying to be the kind of mom that allows the kids to be a little more independent and learn for themselves so instead of taking over I only helped with disaster was eminent. Dylan was so proud of himself! The experiment wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting (maybe we didn't use the fancy beauty supply peroxide so it wasn't as potent?) but it was still pretty cool. He even wrote up a description of what happened and drew a picture to take in to school and show his teacher. Wh...

Ok so this picture is adorable. Warner has amazing blue eyes and is getting the cutest little hair do... but I mean seriously, who lets their kid play with a wooden spoon constantly? Who lets their kid wear a bat man shirt, farmer hat and clip on tie for a walk through the neighborhood? Who lets their kid dress themselves and put their entire outfit on backwards? Usually the shoes are on the wrong feet too, but I think he got it right this time. At least he's wearing a helmet. This mom, that's who. If they like something and it's not causing a problem, I'm learning to just let things happen. Giving over control will help me win wars not battles. Kids want to be in control of their lives and letting them make safe choices is one of the best ways for them to learn. Just finished up a course through Love & Logic and I definitely recommend looking into it!

Yep, both of these pictures were on the same day, just before I had Lincoln. I thought it was Warner when I started posting this and then realized we wouldn't have been swimming in the lake in April around here. Oh well still funny to see old pictures downloaded from Shane's phone to remind how fast my babies grow up. Mothering - the things we do to our bodies! Yikes Warner is almost one! My baby is moving into the toddler stage and it makes me a little sad. Don't get me wrong, I am SO grateful that he started sleeping through the night this last week, and he's finally not going through as much separation anxiety, and he can self feed most things and follow his brothers around, but he is walking and responding to me and turning into a big boy right before my eyes! These boys sure have me on my toes.  Laughing with Sissy the last time she was in town. So happy to be eating - sent this to my brother - I <3 my Uncle bib from when I had Dylan. Holdi...