FAMILY TIME

So I really have slacked at this blog thing! I have kept a journal of things I want to write about but I never seem to find the time or most recently, energy, to sit down and do it, as if sitting takes a lot of energy! Nonetheless here I am with keyboard at hand and so I shall write SOMETHING!

Family Time Challenges:  Our family activities have changed over the years.  It used to be kiddy puzzles, (which they mastered faster than I did...spatial issue comprehension problem) various craft/creative masterpieces courtesy of Summer's unique way of using recycled anything, and the standby "dolls" or "guys" and my personal favorite, dress-up.  They would play together really well being content to just being silly and creative without any preconceived ideas of each other, yet.  Now as they are preteen and teen the story is a tad different.  Gone are the days of sibling bliss and quick forgiveness and in it's place something a little more challenging...ATTITUDE (which around my house we affectionately call "tood")  

This tood creeps in most every situation and setting, especially when it comes to family time.  No one can seem to agree on what game to play or whose turn it is to play the drums on Rock Band or what song to play, but the point still being playtime together.  Despite the tood and raised voices of discourse, they are still attempting to get along and the need for family time is still important to them and that makes me very  happy indeed!

GOD/PRESIDENT CONFUSION

As everyone knows yesterday our nation welcomed in Obama as our new President, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to explain what the President does and represents to our country to my 5-year old. I thought he got it as I put it in pretty basic terms appropriate to his age. Later when I was watching the inauguration he came in the room, looked at the TV and said, "So has God came on yet?" I could take this a few ways. Maybe I failed to explain it right, maybe I slipped in the word God somewhere (not likely), or just maybe his little 5-year-old brain translated my various explanations (leader of the country,helper of the United States, a man to help our world get healthy) into something only God could do! Some of you may be thinking that is the case. Maybe my 5-year-old has a point, no I don't believe Obama is God, but maybe it is that kind of faith and hope that Americans need to have to help build our country up again. As one announcer stated, we are on the precipice of hope and change. As I stated before I hope for a positive change in the country for my children's future and I believe with a good leader and/or "God/Obama" I think we have a pretty excellent chance!

"MILK DAY"

It is funny what our brains do with words sometimes and this is a great example, but fortunately it is not my own jumble, at least this time. It is my hubby's mix up, which he has a funny habit of combining two words to make one weird word, but not on purpose and he has come with some crazy ones, but this time as he was taking Bryton to school he saw on a sign on the door that read "No School Monday on MILK Day". MILK and little kids go hand in hand so I could see the connection, but alas on Monday it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which obviously has nothing to do with milk, but I hope you take a moment to think about what he symbolized for this country, especially now with our President-elect Obama.

I am not one to get into politics too much but I really have hope for our country's future. As parents/mommies we need to hope and believe that our world has a brighter future for our children. It has been worse in our country and it has been better, so maybe we are somewhere in between. I guess it is all about how you view the glass, half full (of MILK) or half empty, yeah I did manage to wrap the MILK/MLK thing around.

Pillow Talk

Christmas Eve we had all the family over which include baby William who is my "great nephew" and it turns out he kinda likes me. He especially likes my "pillows", so for all the complaining I have done about my "pillows" they sure were a point of comfort for this sweet little boy.

So the wisdom here is that my oversize, complained about, back pain "pillows" gave me a very special moment with him that melted my heart and gave me a new appreciation for my oversize "pillows"

DIVINE IN 09'

Hopefully divine in 2009!

I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions as I believe you can chose to make a new start every day, but the beginning of a new year is a new day, so of course I have thought about a few! I actually reflect more on my life's achievements/failures on my birthday in November so I have a head start on these! Not in order of importance, since I can be rather random at times they are:

1. The oh so popular, yet rarely accomplished "loose weight this year", how many people out there have "gain weight" as a goal?...maybe I could try that one and the opposite would happen, ok maybe not, just a thought.

2. To have my internet marketing business take off, in the right direction of course and hopefully on the faster path.

3. To embrace anything that comes my way with patience and an open mind, sounds good huh?..thought I would throw something slightly philosophical/touching in there.

4. To pay attention to those little moments with my children where they teach me something and to record and share those weird and wacky tidbits of wisdom on my blog!

http://www.littlebusybrains.com/

WINTER FUN

Snow is always high on the Christmas wish list and this year we got an early gift. Of course the snow days off from school are an added benefit for the kiddos! So we took a few sledding adventures with Bryton braving the very top of the hill and barely missing a serious face plant and the two big kids tried out their skills on the snowboards (without the bindings) on the small parts of the hill. I decided to give it a try as well and I did fall but without injury, at least that time. I did forget that my body is not as youthful and accident proof as it used to be and in an attempt to try a semi-running jump onto the sled, yeah I know real smart, and planted my left ankle, shin and knee right onto the edge of the sled. I traumatized my family as it appeared at first that I seriously hurt myself, but I fortunately was just left with some colorful bruising and a really sore knee.

So the mommy wisdom here is yes it is important to live in the moment but don't live in the moment of denial! I really wanted to believe that it would only hurt a little but it really, really hurt and I am paying for it today. So, as if you needed this weird advice, don't take a running jump onto a child size plastic sled head first unless you have really good insurance, plenty of sick time at work and you pad yourself with layers of bubble wrap!

Despite my bruised ego and body I really did have fun and it makes for a great memory!

Make some safer indoor memories and check out this site for some really classic yet unique educational toys and games and discovery tables and toys: http://www.littlebusybrains.com/

DISCOVERY/SENSORY

Sand between the toes! It brings different feelings for different kids. This was the first sand experience for my youngest and he loved it. It was a cold, wet day and we ended up taking shelter in some nasty public restroom that happened to have an even nastier feminine product on the cold, dirty concrete floor, talk about a gross sensory experience for us, but it created a memory. Experiencing those sensory moments and exploring the world are essential to a child's learning experience. Some products that focus on sensory, fine motor, problem solving, etc are found at: http://www.littlebusybrains.com/