It has been a while since my last blog. I don't think I was put on this world to be a blogger. I don't have the drive to keep up with it. I don't think my life is exciting enough to have a story every day to tell. Plus, I believe we all have stories to tell. Instead of reading page after page of what I'm doing, we should live our own lives. It is one thing to post photos and little anecdotes about what the kids are doing on Facebook or Twitter, it is another to write a four page report about every move we make.
For the past few months of being at home full time, I have begun to make my cocoon. I eat, sleep, work and breathe within these walls of our home. It is not sparkling clean, it is not 100% organized and it is definitely not the Cleaver or the Brady home. But, it is our home. I have tried to make it a place we want to be, where we can hang out and spend time. It is not just somewhere that we drop our things and go do other things. We are homebodies and we like it. There have been awesome Sundays where we never leave the house or change out of pajamas.
This is my little life and I like it. I am not sure what the future holds for the Dulas. Maybe I don't want to know what it holds. Maybe it could lead to too much wishful thinking. Right here and right now is all I am concerned about. It is all I have room on my plate for.
Soon I will no longer be PTA president for our elementary school. Thank goodness. It has ruled my world for the past three years. In those three years, so much has changed. Claire got her cerebral palsy diagnosis, she had spinal surgery, went to preschool and is now in kindergarten with an IEP. Alex got his ADHD diagnosis, started meds, had a grand mal seizure, diagnosed with epilepsy, figured out his meds to stop the seizures, and accepted into WINGS this year. All of it while very few were stepping up to volunteer to help out at the school. Being president meant that if no one does it then it is your responsibility. UGH. I did it for the kids, I really did, but the parents made it difficult to do it with a smile on your face.
I am starting to volunteer for the things that make me happy. I started volunteering at the school library. Being the daughter of a 20+ year librarian, I have the Dewey Decimal system in my blood. I love books and want to share that with the kids.
I am not the best mother out there, I am not the best couponer out there, basically I am not the best at anything in particular, so why should you read my blog. I have no wisdom to add and no great insight to put forth. I am filling the internet with words. Words said by others that don't need to be repeated. I am going to be there for my children, husband, family and friends but the masses will have to read another blog for entertainment and information about the everyday trials and tribulations of the All American Housewife.
Now excuse me, I have a load of laundry in the dryer and dishes in the sink.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Gratitude - How many of us really have it? I have been struggling with this since Christmas with one 8 year boy. After receiving an overwhelming amount of gifts on Christmas morning, by the evening of the same day, he was telling us he was bored. I went through the roof. What right did he have to turn up his nose at the gifts he had received.
But I paused, and had to reflect on myself. I was the one raising him. Did I give him this sense of entitlement? Had he done anything to earn the things he received. What could I do to change the situation that I had clearly created? Did I create the monster that would just assume everything would be given to him on a silver platter. Yes, indeed I had. I have lots of excuses. I have low self esteem and I use gifts as a way to buy affection. He has epilepsy, so I feel sorry for him and buy him things. What good does that do me to make excuses. He doesn't see the excuses, he just sees the end result of the gifts brought to him like holy sacrifices.
Now that I am a stay at home parent, money is very tight. It is a decision that I don't regret. It has been better for me to not have as much stress in my life. Our home has been more organized and our lives with a little more order. But you can not give an eight year old order and relaxation as gifts under the Christmas tree and not have them look at you cross-eyed.
As a result of the Christmas fiasco, I have been doing quite a bit of soul searching. I myself must admit to a feeling of entitlement. I think anyone who has a roof over their head, food in their belly and clothes on their back and is not grateful should have a reality check. Some in this world do not have those basic elements of life. Thanks to Netflix, I have been watching many documentaries about those less fortunate then myself. From the starving of the world to the senseless killing of people at Auschwitz. I recommend the next time you are complaining about the petty things in life, watch them and take note. Be thankful and not just at Thanksgiving, but everyday that you get to kiss your kids goodnight or having running water in your kitchen. Heck, if anything be thankful for your flushing toilet.
I have made it my goal this year and for every year to have a sense of gratitude and to find a way to pass that on to my children. I don't want to scare them into it. I need to find ways of making them see it through their own eyes and knowing that it is the right way to live. Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
But I paused, and had to reflect on myself. I was the one raising him. Did I give him this sense of entitlement? Had he done anything to earn the things he received. What could I do to change the situation that I had clearly created? Did I create the monster that would just assume everything would be given to him on a silver platter. Yes, indeed I had. I have lots of excuses. I have low self esteem and I use gifts as a way to buy affection. He has epilepsy, so I feel sorry for him and buy him things. What good does that do me to make excuses. He doesn't see the excuses, he just sees the end result of the gifts brought to him like holy sacrifices.
Now that I am a stay at home parent, money is very tight. It is a decision that I don't regret. It has been better for me to not have as much stress in my life. Our home has been more organized and our lives with a little more order. But you can not give an eight year old order and relaxation as gifts under the Christmas tree and not have them look at you cross-eyed.
As a result of the Christmas fiasco, I have been doing quite a bit of soul searching. I myself must admit to a feeling of entitlement. I think anyone who has a roof over their head, food in their belly and clothes on their back and is not grateful should have a reality check. Some in this world do not have those basic elements of life. Thanks to Netflix, I have been watching many documentaries about those less fortunate then myself. From the starving of the world to the senseless killing of people at Auschwitz. I recommend the next time you are complaining about the petty things in life, watch them and take note. Be thankful and not just at Thanksgiving, but everyday that you get to kiss your kids goodnight or having running water in your kitchen. Heck, if anything be thankful for your flushing toilet.
I have made it my goal this year and for every year to have a sense of gratitude and to find a way to pass that on to my children. I don't want to scare them into it. I need to find ways of making them see it through their own eyes and knowing that it is the right way to live. Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Christmas Break
It has been awhile since my last post. This will be short and sweet as I am nursing a horrible head cold. Anyone have homemade remedies for getting rid of it? The kids are on their fifth day of Christmas vacation. Right now they are hanging with family, but soon (on Thursday) we will be on our own, just the three of us while Dan's at work. We are planning trips to the library and recycling center. We have a ton of cardboard boxes that need to go away. It seemed liked everything they got for Christmas was packaged in cardboard and needed batteries. AA and AAA for everything, we even needed a 9 volt for good measure. If anyone has suggestions for things to do the rest of the week, let me know. We can always add to the fun. I'll let you know how it goes.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sweepstakes:how and where
Where I find the sweepstakes I play and win.
For the last week I have received prizes in the mail, by Fed Ex or UPS. They consisted of $50 from McDonalds, a blanket, a liquor chiller, a matching t-shirts for a person and a dog, dog treats, holiday rug, mechanical pencils, coupons for free products, etc. I take about an hour to bring up the list and enter them. I do this instead of playing games that don't result in free stuff like Farmville, Bejeweled, etc.
I also enter text contest through the local radio stations and stores. I can have 1500 texts a months with my phone plan so I am not worried about there being a cost. Local contests are easier to win then nationwide. I win tickets to local events and movies with local contests.
You'll notice alot of the sweeps are through Facebook. That is the way things are going lately. You usually have to like the company before you can enter the sweepstakes. No worries, just go back and unlike them when the contest is over.
You may want to make sure you have the autofill turned on with your browser. This will make it so much easier to fill out forms with your information. Even if you do have autofill, you may still have to fill some out manually, it just depends on the website.
Last piece of advice, create an email address just for use with coupons and sweepstakes. This way you are not getting junk mail in the email you use for everyday or professional reasons. Hotmail, gmail and yahoo all offer free emails. It can be as simple as sweepssmith or couponjones.
Hope this helps you get started. Have fun and win big. Let me know if anyone wins anything exciting.
Week before Christmas.
Today begins the week of school before Christmas. This should be a fun and exciting time, but wow can it be stressful. But it is the littlest things that we get stressed over. Church Christmas programs, school holiday parties, teacher gifts, stocking stuffers and even the cookies we leave out for Santa. When did it all have to be perfect.
You are always going to have kids who pick their noses or flashes the audience at a Christmas program, why stress. The kids just want the candy in their gift bags and to act crazy during school hours, why stress. Teachers just want to be told that they are appreciated, why stress about which scent of cute little hand gels to give them. I feel like I make the holidays way to complicated for my own good. I should be laid back and relaxed, instead I feel like I should be Martha Stewart and Donna Reed all rolled into one. Ugh. At least I don't wear the dress and pearls.
I do get some relief from the mandatory gift giving with something my brother, sister in law, husband and I started doing last year. We do a thrift store christmas for each other. There is a $10 limit. Everything has to be purchased at a thrift store. You have to really know the person,be very creative and have a sense of humor with your selections. Last year I gave Mike an authentic Hawaiian hula dancer for his dashboard. I got an enormous book on crafts. I am looking forward to seeing what they have picked out this year. I think the kids have more fun seeing what the grownup get for each other than their toys, but only for a moment.
While I was still working at the law firm, my nickname was the cruise director. I always had to be in control of parties and social events. They would hear about my planning of vacations and would joke about how organized I had to be. I think because I am a chronic worrier, I want to be planned so nothing will go wrong, but something always does. I have tried to be laid back and let things roll, but that is not how I roll. I like to know everything that is going to happen and when. I am not a spontaneous person unless my husband is around. We are a good ying yang to each other.
Let's hope that for everyone around me this week that I just relax, go with the flow and roll with the punches. I am planning a kindergarten holiday party for Thursday and should know now that it will not go as planned. It will not run as smoothly as I have pictured in my head, but if the kids leave for Christmas Break with a smile on their face and goodies in their hands then it was a successful party.
I'm hoping to make Claire some fun Christmas themed lunches this week. I'll make sure I post them for everyone to see.
You are always going to have kids who pick their noses or flashes the audience at a Christmas program, why stress. The kids just want the candy in their gift bags and to act crazy during school hours, why stress. Teachers just want to be told that they are appreciated, why stress about which scent of cute little hand gels to give them. I feel like I make the holidays way to complicated for my own good. I should be laid back and relaxed, instead I feel like I should be Martha Stewart and Donna Reed all rolled into one. Ugh. At least I don't wear the dress and pearls.
I do get some relief from the mandatory gift giving with something my brother, sister in law, husband and I started doing last year. We do a thrift store christmas for each other. There is a $10 limit. Everything has to be purchased at a thrift store. You have to really know the person,be very creative and have a sense of humor with your selections. Last year I gave Mike an authentic Hawaiian hula dancer for his dashboard. I got an enormous book on crafts. I am looking forward to seeing what they have picked out this year. I think the kids have more fun seeing what the grownup get for each other than their toys, but only for a moment.
While I was still working at the law firm, my nickname was the cruise director. I always had to be in control of parties and social events. They would hear about my planning of vacations and would joke about how organized I had to be. I think because I am a chronic worrier, I want to be planned so nothing will go wrong, but something always does. I have tried to be laid back and let things roll, but that is not how I roll. I like to know everything that is going to happen and when. I am not a spontaneous person unless my husband is around. We are a good ying yang to each other.
Let's hope that for everyone around me this week that I just relax, go with the flow and roll with the punches. I am planning a kindergarten holiday party for Thursday and should know now that it will not go as planned. It will not run as smoothly as I have pictured in my head, but if the kids leave for Christmas Break with a smile on their face and goodies in their hands then it was a successful party.
I'm hoping to make Claire some fun Christmas themed lunches this week. I'll make sure I post them for everyone to see.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Fun Lunch
Peanut butter and jelly house with cheese trees and orange slices sun. I love the Easy Lunchboxes containers.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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