Stuff of Life
Doing this document a week in the life project has totally got me realizing just how busy our lives are right now. I'm also realizing that maybe I'm not such a bad mother after all (yes, I question myself about this issue on a regular basis). I see through my own eyes with help from the camera that my kids have it pretty good. So here is a boast list of ten things that I've noticed this week that make me a good, no a GREAT mother to these little pumpkins of mine:
1) My house is a mess - not a call-the-inspector-and-have-this-place-quarantined kind of mess, but the kind of mess that indicates that productive play happens al the time, everywhere and with all kinds of toys that aren't really toys.
2) There are kiwis on my window sill, which indicates that we've got the bases covered when it comes to eating healthy and feeding our kids healthy food.
3) I've scrapbooked, sewed (sewn?), worked on my course assignments and blogged this week, which shows I'm taking care of myself at least a little bit, so I'm ready to take care of my kids.
4) I think my kids are just about the cutest ever... forget "just about". They ARE the cutest kids ever. Every mother should think that about their kids, right? I can't stop taking pictures of their perfect faces, and it's painful deleting the photos (which i must or i might as well buy a video camera for all the shots I get!)
5) We have so much laundry that I don't just categorize it by lights, darks, and reds... we also have in addition to these towels/receiving blankts, greens and blues, yellow/orange/beige, diapers, and sheets. Oh, and the darks load is usually a double. What's so great about that? The fact that my kids don't wear the same clothes day after day, despite the HUGE temptation!
6) So far this week my kids have played with chestnuts (which do NOT taste good roasted on an open fire by the way), leaves, our van, measuring spoons and cups, nursing pillows, laundry baskets... oh, and on occasion toys. I'm raising creative kids and nurturing this in them by encouraging atypical play things.
7) I read to my kids every day, usually two or three times with many many books, including my most despised "spot the dog" series and P.B. Bear (which was hidden under the couch but with the rearranging of the livingroom has reappeared - rats!)
8) I am cheap, not just thrifty - I am on the look out for a deal when it comes to, well, everything I buy, I don't buy impulsively (well rarely anyways), and I don't buy excessively. That means our kids aren't spoiled and there's also more cashola for things like swimming, classes, special outings, and savings.
9) I am trying to let my kids be who they are, not who I want them to be. They have a lot of freedom around here to do what they want to do (within reason - no you can't play with the garbage can, Finny) and experiment and explore.
10) I know I am not perfect. This is a fine balance because knowing my imperfections is healthy when I look for positive change but unhealthy when I mope about it. I'm not a perfect person, and I'm not a perfect mother, but I'm getting better!
So there you go. I'm a great mother, even if that doubtful voice inside my head (again with the disembodied voice!) tells me I'm a failure every once in a while. This little look into our daily lives for a week is a good remind that we're muscling through the challenges and embracing the good times when we find them - which is more often than you'd think!
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