In a sense you should be proud of yourself. Your pride should be there because you take pride in the type of leader you are. Prideful leaders are always around. But you want the right kind of prideful leaders. Not ones that are proud to be in charge. But ones that are proud to be a role model in their place of leadership. That’s always a hard thing for people in power. Sometimes the power goes to their heads.
When I was on the swim team I was consider the leader for a small amount. But I always tried to be fair, honest, strong, and be someone that I myself would follow.
I struggled with being non biased and confidence. I would sometimes choose winning over wanting to include everyone. I’ve always struggled with confidence. Not when it was about just myself, but when I had to decided for other teammates. I would sometimes question myself. Being the leader is hard. But knowing what you struggle with, is the first step.
Being the swim coach was less stressful. In a strange way. I had more confidence in my decisions because I knew what my swimmers were capable of. Also being non biased was easier as a coach. Because winning races were part of being a team. So I had to put swimmers in races that could win first. But then also spread out the swimmers so we could place in multiple races. So I had to be diligent in my decisions. To win, but get as many swimmers in each race for points.
But these are just my experiences with being the leader. Others have didn’t ideas of what a good leader should be. Everyone is allowed their own idea.
Another is in our household. I am the leader of my kiddos unless daddy is home. And then he is the big leader. As my daughter says, “Daddy is the big boss, Mommy is the medium boss, I am the small boss, and brother is the Tiny boss. Sister is just a cute ball of love for now.” So I’m the medium boss; which I prefer. Now that I have so many different responsibilities; I prefer to know I don’t have to make the big decisions. My husband still discusses them with me, but ultimately it’s his decision.
Medium boss now must figure out dinner…maybe I’ll make my husband decide. I really dislike choosing. He does too, but he is the big boss, so Mwahahahahaha!!
I don’t see it as clutter. It’s just that our house is too small for us. We are in a two bedroom one thousand square foot house. Which was fine when we only had one kiddo and we didn’t know if we could have more kids. But now have three kids.
I was good at fitting two kids into this house. I just had to get clever with storage.
But now with our newest addition I’m struggling to find space for her things. And newborns have so much stuff! That I’m surprised I was able to fit things in various places.
But I have no more dresser space. I’ve got all my clothes hung up in the closet. More things in bins. My dresser space is now one drawer newest baby, and three drawers my son.
But you would be surprised and impressed with how much I’m able to fit into this house and make it seem empty.
The house we are dreaming about for the future is going to be about six thousand square feet, that’s a bit better right? Haha! But believe me when I say we have enough things to fill that size house up. But what will be nice, is we will have enough space to spread it all out.
But we shall see. We are ready to start a new chapter in life.
So to me it’s not cluttered, it’s just poorly organized.
My love of elephants has never faded. I had a book called Emily Elephant; and it was my favorite book. I still have it; and I read it to my daughter.
But strangely enough my love of elephants never extended outwards. I didn’t have elephant stuffed animals or elephant on my clothes. But I did truly love them.
When we would go to the zoo I loved to watch the elephants.
Whenever there was a cute picture of baby elephants and mama elephants on Facebook I would take a screenshot. I had several elephant pictures.
I wonder if that’s why I was never a huge fan of the Elephant’s Child audio book. We would listen to books as kids at bedtime. And we either listened to Peter and the wolf, which was terrifying, or Elephant’s Child. The elephant was so annoying and there was a crocodile. I really dislike crocodiles. But I wonder if that’s why…?
When I was a teenager, I drew out my family as animals. I can’t remember what everyone was. My younger brother was a snake. One of my sisters was an owl. My mom was a happy fluffy mama bear. But I know I was a baby elephant. I could even draw that elephant right now, as if it was yesterday.
Something like this. I am holding a sleeping 3 week old at the moment.
But elephants are so happy. Baby elephants follow their mamas. Mama elephants protect their babies. I love them still. So much so that both of my daughter’s baby showers were both pink elephants themed. My eldest daughter likes elephants; so I’ll have to see if I passed on the love for elephants to my newest daughter.
So easiest daily prompt for me, favorite animal….Elephants!!
Photo from Facebook 2018Screenshot from Facebook 2017
Not thinking recently. Like back in my childhood. I have trouble remembering the driving part of trips. I remember the destination, but not the driving bit. I’m sure my mom remembers. Haha!
But I can’t remember where we were going. I think to a beach. But we would always get to a part of the drive and have to hand crank our windows up as fast as possible or the smelly duck farm smell would waft into the car and never go away.
There was another time that we were I think going to a different beach and we had to drive by a tall tower. Now I know it was a Catholic Church bell tower, but back then I asked my big sister what that was…thinking she would give me a normal answer. Instead she tells me that it’s a place where they burn dead people. That as you drive you have to roll up your windows quickly or the car would be filled with dead bodies particles. So of course more than half of my life I believed her and would roll up my windows quickly to avoid the dead particles. Haha!
There was another memorable one. By a different beach. One of my first times driving my friends to the beach, I went around my very first roundabout. And yes, I went around it a few times. Four times to be exact! Haha!
Funny how the different things I remember was when we were going to the beach. We went several different places. But I guess we went to beaches the most. Makes sense. You pay to park and then the day is free.
I’m going to try and remember the drive not just the destination.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Not really magical, like Harry Potter. I would love to live in a place that all my family would love to live. But it’s not realistic.
My husband and I are very much country type people. Lots of open space. Tractors, chickens, cows, dirt, less people, and good strong Christians. We are that typical country song.
I know some of my family are country too. But I know some of them are more city people. Less busy, hustle and bustle city; and more like suburbs. Like they like having people around and all the amenities.
Because let me tell you. When you live about 45min from a city with all your shopping stores; you learn to live without something until you are planning to go back. Or like me; you learn to make everything from scratch. You want tacos…you don’t have tortillas…you make them. You are craving a delicious burger and French fries…you make it yourself. It’s a lot of work to change to be this type of person, but so worth it.
But back to my family. I know my mom would come and my brothers (maybe). I haven’t had talks with them in a long time; so I don’t actually know who my brothers are anymore. Which is sad to say, but that’s what happens when you live far away and you keep getting pregnant.
But then my sisters would be left where they are. And that doesn’t seem fair. I would be happy to have my family near me once again!! But my sisters wouldn’t have their family near them.
That’s why I want to live somewhere magical. Somewhere where we all could get what we want. I know of a place, but it’s just a dream. Because moving away to a new state is hard. Especially if you have always lived in the same place. You would leave your good friends, your surroundings, and sometimes family.
That’s what my husband and I did, over seven years ago. Wow. It’s been seven years!!
So the only way to answer this prompt is: I want to live in a magical place where everyone wants to live. But I can’t just ask them to move closer. Because that would just me asking for selfish reasons. That I miss my family so much that I wish they would all just move closer for me. Also the thought that my kids would know their cousins; that would be an added perk.
Have a wonderful Friday. Let it be filled with your dreams of what ifs. Mine: what if my family were closer?? I would be the happiest person in the whole world. 🥰
My daughter’s newest painting. She is painting paintings for all of her family for Christmas presents. So proud of her.
I paint at the same time on paper, and she paints on a canvas board. We go step by step. She is doing fantastic!! I am so happy to have a painting buddy. Almost 3 done, only 8 more to go. And we are running out of time. Not just cause Christmas is coming, but I’m getting bigger and bigger pregnant. So my days are slowly getting more filled with more naps.
Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).
Haha! I was going to say house or car. But since that’s not an option, then…a dress.
It was around the time I was coaching high school swimming. Turned out they needed more chaperones for prom night. I jumped at the opportunity!
I was homeschooled; so I had to be asked by someone who went to a public school to experience prom. I was. My friend’s brother at the time. The getting ready was the best part of prom. But then once there, I was left at a table where I ended up playing Jin rummy all night long with another guy that was left at the table. It was still fun, but I afterwards felt that I never got to experience prom.
So when I heard they needed help at prom, In a heartbeat, jumped at the opportunity. I was told to dress up so that I would blend into the students. So I got to experience everything again!!
I went out to buy a new dress. New prom, new dress. Made sense in my brain. The theme of the prom was Great Gatsby. So of course, sparkly or beaded.
Safe to say I wasn’t paying attention to the price of the dress. I tried it on, and it fit like a glove!
Yeah….it was $300.00! I was shocked. So I had to call my mom first.
“Mom. I found the perfect dress. But it’s $300. Is that too much?”
“That’s a bit much, but if you believe you will wear it more than once the quality of the dress will be worth the amount. It’s your decision. I’m excited to see whatever you decide when you get home.”
‘Neither yes, or no. Had to be my decision. Learning lesson’ “Okay thanks mom.”
I course told myself I would wear it more than once! So they rang me up and my card was denied. ‘What!!’ I knew I had more than enough money to buy the dress. I was currently working two jobs and I was still at home. So I again had to call my mom. Turned out I had a limit on my card of $50 as a precaution. So you can see that I rarely used my card. So as soon as I figured everything out the dress was mine.
Prom was just as exciting. I got to walk around the museum. Look at all the exhibits. I saw some of my swimmers dancing. They were surprised I was in dress. Normally I wore pants or shorts to coach. Some of my swimmers didn’t know who I was until someone called out “Coach!”
But all around it was a fun night. And it made up for my previous prom.
And I did. I wore it once more. So two wears for $300 is more like two dresses for $150, right? That sounds better.
And I took care of the dress. Proper cleaning and storing. But either I’ll wear it again. Or my daughters will have a dress ready and waiting for them when they need one. But my true goal is to shrink back down and fit into it again. My husband will have to take me somewhere if that happens.
$300. That was my big splurge on one personal item. After that I stayed in my safe price range for dresses. $50-$100 a dress. $100 had to be something I was going to wear several times. But usually I stuck to the $50 range. Where I felt more comfortable. Or I would shop in the clearance section. Saving money gives me an energy.
Which is probably why I’m still that way, but also not. I make do. If I want something, I really dwell on if we really need it or not. For weeks. And usually I decide I don’t NEED it. But sometimes I get the urge to shop. And the urge won’t go away. But luckily we have a great thrift store in town. $1 for each item. So I go in there and spend $10-$20. And I get some things for me, for my kids, for the kitchen, for school, for storage. Usually I only spend $10. That’s enough.
That is enough to suffice my urge to spend money. My husband is okay with me spending $10 once every couple months. However, I really can’t wait until we have an allowance again!! Because I also get an energy from saving actual money. If I have a jar and actual hard cash in my hand it goes into the jar. I once saved up $500 and that was $40 twice a month. Needless to say I get competitive with myself. “One more day! One more day!”
Usually I don’t even spend the money on me. I spend it on my husband, my kiddos, my mom. It makes me happy to buy things for others. But this time around I’m going to try and think about spending some on me. Like set aside at the end of saving about $200. That I have to spend on myself. Because when we go on trips or to different places I occasionally find something I want to buy and I’ve spent my allowances already. So I’m going to try; and believe me it’s going to be difficult. Or maybe I won’t, and I’ll save up until Christmas and buy everyone presents. I like the sound of that plan!
So yeah. I’ve changed. I was once someone who would go to Ross, on a Saturday, and spend $300-$500 dollars on a whole new wardrobe. To now, someone who gets a drive from saving money or spends $10 every two months when I need to buy something.
Have a great day!!
The dress…kind of.
I realized it’s been over 10 years since I wore the dress. So I don’t have the original picture on my phone. But I had edited a photo of the dress and this is the best I could do. It was a steely blue. Completely beaded. Floor length. A classic. But heavy!! So even in 10-15 more years it will still be in style.
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
I’ve always wanted to be at this point. Not have a smart phone, a computer for media, etc. but it’s too realistic in todays world. Because as much I would love to live simply; there are reasons I need a way to stay connected.
Like my family. We all live apart. FaceTime has been a game changer. My kids know their grandma, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We only see each other in person maybe once or twice a year. But my mom can still watch her grand babies grow up in real time. This one is hard to change. But I suppose I could go back to writing letters with pictures included.
Another is recipes. I use the internet most to find new recipes. Even though I’m constantly trying new things; we get to a point that feels like I’m just in a cycle of recipes. So I find a few more to add into my cycle. I’m constantly doing this. But this one I could switch over to getting cookbooks.
This blog. When I get a moment to write down something; it means I’m still using my creativity side of my brain. Just because I’m so busy, I don’t want to loose that side of me. This one, I could just switch to a journal. This blog is a digital journal.
Media. I really want to get to the point where our entertainment watching is just DVDs or Blu-ray’s. Because then I know what my kids are watching. And with all the things happening in the entertainment industry I’ve stopped watching new things. I have favorites and I just watch them over and over. I’ve never been someone to watch something new. I have to be in the mood. This one is easy to solve if you have unlimited money. Since everything is going digital, dvds and Blu-ray’s are getting to be more expensive. So I have to just slowly add movies to our collection.
Photos. This one is difficult. I don’t want my pictures digital, especially with AI becoming more and more meddling in our lives. I don’t want pictures of my kids to be used elsewhere… so I want to switch. But the convenience of capturing a moment on your phone in an instant is so…I can’t think of the word. But it’s hard to stop. Also I can receive photos of my nephews and nieces. I get to watch them grow up so conveniently. so again this one probably tied into the letter writing. Also scrap booking. Just think that takes time, that I barely have time for.
So I’m at war with this topic. I would love to ditch my digital world. But I don’t know if I will ever get to. Time will tell.
“Dare to go through the tunnel into a different way of life?“
Yes. There are two skills I would love to learn. One is unrealistic for me currently. But the other is possible.
The first one is be able to build anything I can think of. Carpentry skills. I have so many ideas that I would love to be able to just make them. But currently I’m pregnant. And I have so many other jobs to do when taking care of a family and household. That when I do magically have free time I don’t want to do anything productive. And that magical free time is going to dwindle away as the next baby comes.
But I’m so happy I’m married to a man who has over fifteen years of carpentry experience that he can bring my ideas to life. (If he had the time) but he can at least make them a reality.
The second skill is small, but I wish I knew how to spin the pizza dough in my hands like professionals do. I still use a rolling pin. But I would love to learn that skill. But I don’t want to waste the dough by trying. So unless some true master of pizza came to our house I’ll just stick with my way of making pizza.
The master would at least be impressed that now I make my pizza sauce from scratch. So I might impress them with my skills of making things from scratch.
This skill would be useful because my family seems wants to eat pizza at least once a week.
And I will say, even though I can’t build things. My husband says I’m a great helper when he is building. I’m good at helping. Helping is easier when I have no idea what’s going on. I just hold things when they need to be held, or give things when things are needed. So I am helping to build my ideas. The construction plan is him, but I’m helping with the inspiration and execution.
In case anyone is looking for a great pizza sauce recipe.
I don’t really know the answer to this question except like the simple answer of: my quiet time at bedtime.
But today I spent the early morning doing a puzzle with my daughter; and it was relaxing. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. It’s probably because we are on a vacation. So there’s no dishes, laundry, or cleaning.
So maybe vacations relax me; which is the purpose of a vacation. To relax.
So yeah, I don’t really have an answer…
Maybe playing solitaire. I’ve been playing solitaire at night to fall asleep. Because watching a movie or show keeps me awake.
Since I’m a stay at home mom I’m with my kids all the time. 24/7! Especially since I’m going to homeschool, it will be more so.
It’s why my husband works so hard; he wants me to be home. He wants to know what his children are learning. So he does the hard job, for me to stay home and do my hard job.
And it is. It is a hard job. A typical day:
Wake up at 7:00am. Because that’s when my son wants to be up. We snuggle on the couch for maybe 10min then we wake up sis sis. Then by 7:30 I’m making breakfast. Either pancakes, waffles, egg sandwich, etc. everything homemade. Also while I eat breakfast I clean up the kitchen. Hand wash dishes, load the dishwasher, clear counters. (Only if I didn’t do it the night before.)
Next: School time. I spend about 20min on a reading lesson, writing lesson, and comprehension. She only seems to have a short attention span. And even 20min is difficult.
Next: we go outside to water garden and flowers. It takes a good amount of time. A two year old makes everything take longer.
Now it’s 9am. So usually I spend time cleaning the house or doing laundry. Both my son and daughter “help”. I tell my daughter to do things and she procrastinates until I’m annoyed. My son likes to help mama, but sometimes it’s more work for me.
By now it’s 11am. I’m hungry. Being pregnant, I get hungry early. So I begin to prepare lunch. It’s usually leftovers from dinner. And if the food was tolerable to my daughter then lunch takes a while for her to eat. My son is already a vacuum cleaner. Haha! Everything is gone!
1pm: since I’m pregnant I take a nap at this time. And thankfully my son still takes naps and he takes one with me. My daughter just has her own quiet time. She does puzzles, drawing, reading, etc. Or I turn a movie on for her and she watches it over and over until we wake up. Kind of depends on how she is doing that day.
3pm: I try to do a fun activity with them. Either playing a board game to work on math, Art time, or cooking lesson. But depending on how she is behaving by this point; I tend to get her started on her chores. She has 3. Clean her room, rinse a load of dishes or put away dry dishes, and sweep kitchen/ dining room floor. And normally she procrastinates. I will usually start to prepare dinner and then continue dishes or laundry. Those two things never seem to be done.
4:30. Daddy gets home!! All the built up chaos erupts from the kiddos. I’m preparing dinner at this point and my husband has to just soak up time with his babies.
It usually takes me about 1-2 hours to get dinner done. Depends on what I’m making. But remember it’s 100% from scratch. Like tonight we are having steak burritos. Like something from chipotle. And I have to make the tortillas tonight.
But after dinner. It’s about 7pm. I have “cleaned” the kitchen. I’ve gotten to a point that my husband can make his breakfast in the morning without tripping up. Sometimes I get the kitchen clean; especially if the dinner was easy to make, but I tend to gravitate towards difficult recipes.
I finally get to sit down around 7:30pm. By then my feet are swollen. I’ve been on my feet for over the past 4 hours. A long time as a pregnant woman. But sitting is not long. Not long after my kiddos want some stories and I’m walking to my daughters room. Reading a handful of books.
8pm. Bedtime starts. Not always. Bedtime is not a set in stone time for me. If they are rambunctious still I let them get their wiggles out. So I should say usually I let them play another hour.
9pm bedtime. Showers and brushing teeth. Then we say goodnight to sis sis first. She tends to not go to sleep until much later. She is just not allowed to leave her room, unless for potty time. Next my son hangs out with my husband; they watch the show Expedition Unknown. (I don’t watch it…I should though; it would be a great way to fall asleep.) But after a while my son falls asleep and I lay with him in his bed until I know he is 100% asleep. Then I climb into my bed finally!! Usually around 10:30. And sometimes I fall asleep. But lately I’ve been so tired I can’t sleep; so I wait for my brain to turn off.
…
That’s a typical day. And I do that pretty much everyday. The only changes would be if I want to bake something. Like bread or cookies, brownies, honey buns, donuts, etc. I like to bake yummy things.
But I’m with my kids all the time. And yes I feel like I’m about to go insane sometimes but then I remember that I’m not having to do a job. Like a normal job. Like my husband. I didn’t mind working; I just love to be home more. It’s a fun exhausting job!!
emily2jane 