Feeling Grateful!

Life can be so overwhelming at times. I'm so very thankful to have someone in my life to share the load, listen to me whine and fill my gas tank when I'm nearing empty. Thanks babe for always knowing what to do to make me smile; even when you don't realize it ;-)

On this day...he recruited the "team" to help wash my car - Grateful!

Sibling Rivalry

The other evening I ran across a photo album with pictures of my son dating back to his birth in 2007 to about 2010 or so. We captured every milestone imaginable - in pictures and on VIDEOTAPE (LOL @ the thought of having media <still> on videotape)! To take it a step further...I blogged about our life and his from about January 2008 to around February 2011. Yes - "WE" were THAT proud! It was all captured here => Party of 3 Daddy, Mommy and Me!

Anyway, as I reminisced on the pictures that I found and thought about how much our life has changed...I was taken aback when I realized we TOTALLY missed "that" mark when it came to our daughter! All of the fanfare, all of the pictures, all of the videos - there aren't nearly as many. I know, I know...I swore that that wouldn't happen if we were blessed with more than one kid <insert all finger-pointing, oooohhhing, aahhhhhing, and "I can't believe you's" here> sigh...

Please tell me though...

Does our lack of daughter inspired memorabilia mean she will grow up with the..."my brother was the favorite" complex like I hear so many other siblings talk about? Will she be the kid who blames her parents for her shortcomings because we didn't capture her first time walking on videotape? Or that we love her less because she can't go grab a memory book detailing her first couple of years of life? <gasp> I certainly hope not! How in the world will we ever be able to convince her otherwise if she does?

Hit me up in the comments!

Oh and for the record...I did "attempt" to blog about memorable events in my daughter's life here => And Then There Were 4! It matters not that it only lasted a couple of months...right? LOL!

You did good!

Yesterday...I found out, my son had been making his bed for several days without being told. And when it really hit me that HE had been doing it "willingly", I appreciated his efforts even more. I literally almost broke the kid's neck hugging him and kissing him as if he had just won an Academy Award! If that wasn't enough, I verbally thanked him over and over; letting him know that I was pleased. (Kinda' over-the-top 'eh? lol)

As the day progressed, though, it got me to thinking...When does praise and/or appreciation become too much for a kid and how or when do they learn to "humbly" accept it and keep it moving? Not looking for the next opportunity to have someone squeeze the life out of them?

It's funny because...my reaction to what my son did was so well received, he decided to not only make up HIS bed today, but OURs too LOL! #WINNING

All jokes aside, though...I do hope my son learns that his "good" efforts won't always be received the way I showed him on yesterday and if they're not - that's ok. But at least he knows for now...if no one else appreciated his bed making efforts - I DID :-)

Sleep is so totally Overrated!

A typical day in our household begins (for me) between 5 and 5:30 a.m.; depending on how many times I hit the snooze button on my phone AND depending on how long it takes for the Hubster to wake me up to let me know my alarm is going off (he's such a Keeper :-))! The goal each morning is to be out of the house by 6:30 if I'm getting to work "on time."  And pending the day goes off without a hitch, the evening routine begins about 6:30 p.m. And somewhere/somehow between 6:30 p.m. and about 12:30 a.m. I try to accomplish EVERYTHING it takes to prepare for the next day; only to wake up and do it all over again. <insert a few yawns, Coffee, Coke and an occasional glass of wine or two here lol>

Statistics say, as adults, we are supposed to get between 7 1/2 to 9 hours of sleep per night in order to function at our BEST! Yep, that's right 7 1/2 to 9 hours!!! How in the world does that happen? And who participated in that study? Does my lack of Zzzzz's mean my family isn't getting my best efforts? My job? My friends? Me? I would certainly hope not!

Inquiring minds want to know...how much sleep do you average per night? And do you feel like you are performing sub-par most days? If you are averaging the recommended hours of sleep per night, how do you "Get it ALL in?" Do share...

The Public School vs Private School "STRUGGLE"

Like most parents, the hubster and I want the best education possible for our children. Until now, school choices haven't been that difficult to make. For we knew early on that our son needed structure and discipline and felt like private school/daycare would be the better fit. So at a year old, he started his private school journey - growing in knowledge; testing his limits (and ours) whenever he could. Lil' Dude was well on his way to becoming the next brain surgeon and/or the best chef this side of Texas! See some special moments in his life here: Party of 3...Daddy, Mommy and Me

Fast forward to today...

The boy child is now five years old and we've reached a cross-road (cue Bone Thugs-N-Harmony right here) - do we continue to allow him to matriculate in the small, intimate private school setting or do we send him to the wolves public school? Now don't get me wrong...both my husband and I are products of the public school system and so are our parents, but so much has changed since then. Never mind the fact that our son started reading at 4, doing 2-digit math and holding conversations with adults like he's been here before. Heck...I don't think I started reading until 1st grade! < HUGE sigh> ...

Why is it such a big deal and a huge difference between the two (at least to me it is...Hubs' feel like I'm over-reacting)? Costs, quality of education, etc.? Shouldn't every kid be granted the same opportunities in either environment? What say you party people? Which "system" did your parents decide for you? Do you think their decision has made any impact on the person that you've become?

Hit me up in the comments!