Because we are trying to sell our house, all my time is spent focused on the house. Is it clean? Does it smell nice? Do the dishes. Do the laundry. Mop the floors.
But pile on top of that, make breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day from scratch. Take care of a two month year old. (Diapers, feeding, smiles). School is on pause; but my daughter is doing an awesome job reading her books from Nana.
But within all of this, I rarely have time to just play with my kiddos. Or even just watch them play.
But a big part of anyone’s childhood is to be read a bedtime story. Even when my mom was crazy busy, she would read us Indian in the Cupboard series. (Great books). But she made time. But for me, I don’t know where my time goes every day. By the time bedtime rolls in I’m tired and my body hurts, that I just was to be in bed.
It happens occasionally when my husband is home at night, and he can hold the little one. But with his schedule , and him being exhausted all the time, that’s slim.
So mom’s out there. Read books with your kids. Play imaginary games too. They are only little once. But also, if you have more kids, you might not have lots of free time in the future.
But also it will give your kids memories they keep forever. Because I have no idea how little I was when my mom read to me, but I can still remember.
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.
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.
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!!
This is tough. I guess it would all depend on what time in the year is it? Because it’s it supposed to be Spring and it still snowing; Nope I’m definitely Not a fan!
But if it Summer and you have been slowly melting. Like you feel like your face has melted down to your shoulders. And the only relief you feel is the cold shower before bed; then yes! I’m excited about the cold coming.
Just where we live I would only wish it would stay in its designated months.
Like one year. (I was dumb, and impatient.) I had planted a massive amount of seeds inside. Because I wanted a huge garden. And since it doesn’t start to warm up until mid May I had to keep everything inside since January.
But seriously enough was enough! It looked like a green house in my enclosed patio. That needed space was no longer accessible.
So. It was around the 2nd week of May and it had been sunny and rainy for most of it. I had been told to wait until after Memorial Day, but I was impatient. So I spent almost 8 hrs transplanting all the plants. Tomatoes, Lettuce, Onions, carrots, cilantro, potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, cucumbers, etc. Everything you could think of I had started from seed. But importantly from heirloom seed.
But so I transplanted everything. And it was all fine. Everything was happy to have more sun and way more space!!
Only to have a night frost happen 2 days before Memorial Day and kill almost everything. I think 2 of the 13 tomato plants survived. All the green beans froze and shriveled. Everything above ground perished. I was so sad. Because we had been planning on having our vegetables covered for at least a few months.
But I was impatient and I suffered the consequences. Our harvest that year was so sad.
All this to say. I like cold, but not when it springs up from no where and ruins all your hard work. Because I had been told by several different local people that the frost was over; that it should be fine to plant outside. But that’s what I get for not listening to the year-round farmers in the area. They are the ones to listen to, because it’s their livelihood is at stake.
So to answer the question it would be yes. I like the cold after the hot hot Summer. But also no; if it has not departed in a timely manner.
I miss Spring. Anywhere else, Spring is my favorite season.
Enjoy your Monday. 🌸
I did not have a relaxing Sunday like I had hoped. Instead my kiddos decided to have meltdowns all day, since their daddy is away on a trip. We miss him dearly. I miss being sane.
So a shout out to all the good husbands out there! Your help is always wanted. You keep us, moms, at bay from insanity! Give your husband a hug today. Just randomly. I’ll give mine a virtual one. 😊
Photo By: emily2jane 5-19-24
My daughter picked me so many wildflowers!! We are going to plant some today.
I’ve never actually truly broken a bone. I’ve been hurt. Severely hurt, but it’s never been broken.
I can think back through my childhood and remember sprains and deep bruises, and torn muscles. But no broken bones.
I wore roller blades in the house without a helmet on the second story, and fell down the stairs. But miraculously I was okay.
I tried the “sledding” when on a skateboard with my dog towing me, and she went so fast I fell off the skateboard and scraped almost all my skin off my limbs but no broken bones.
Swimming, I hit someone in the head with my thumb so hard they got a huge bruise, and my thumb throbbed, but no broken bones.
I ran into a teammates shoulder (with my face) and got my lip pressed into my braces. Lots of blood but nothing broke. Not even the braces.
I punched myself in the face with a paint scraper. Gave myself a minor concussion and lost some blood. An Ambulance had to come and take me to the hospital because I passed out while standing. But no broken bones.
I hurt my back enough that it stopped my swimming career, but the doctors couldn’t find the culprit.
There’s several more things. I know I sprained the same elbow more than four times. But it was never enough to break any bones.
Probably why my kids are so resilient. Their bones are strong like their mama.
I guess the only time it might have counted was when I was really little. I don’t know exactly what age…eight…ten…? Something like that. Just imagine two brothers and one sister. Plus two hula hoops over lapped. The brothers were on the outside, the sister (me) in the middle. The brothers begin to play tug-o-war. The sister trips and falls, and the brothers fall on top of her. Which causes the sister to bust up her lip and twist and chip a tooth. So much blood.
I still have it to this day. I could get it capped but it doesn’t bother me. It also has memories. Yes, some bad memories, but also I remember playing with my brothers. That day was almost twenty years ago. Wow. Time does fly.
So I guess I did break something. One tooth. I’m doing pretty good for being a adventurous child. I did so many dumb things in the past.
Enjoy your Sunday!! I will be having a quiet peaceful Sunday with my kiddos. ❤️ Also!
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
Mr. Pinky!!
I got a big pink bear for my first Christmas. My mom says I fell into him and gave him snuggles instantly!!
I don’t know why my giant pink bear became a boy bear but that’s what’s his name was and still is.
Yep! I still have him. My kiddos play with him now. I also have pictures of my kiddos giving Mr. Pinky hugs and kisses.
He still looks good for being so old. He has dirt marks that I guess I couldn’t get clean. Lipstick marks because when I was little I would find a lipstick smear it all over my face and give Mr. Pinky extra big kisses. Haha!
But he also is slowly falling apart at some seams so I sacrificed a pair of my shorts and he now has shorts on. It was kind of disturbing to me that the shorts fit him perfectly… I’m the same size as my giant bear…not cool.
But we will have to see how long he is around. Maybe he will get snuggles and kisses from grand babies in the future. I don’t know what is the final plan for Mr. Pinky. But he will stay with me as long as possible. Or unless one of my grandkids in the future desperately needs him. We shall see.
A 2010 bright orange mustang. I actually have a picture of me standing next to one; when I was 17! I was determined to have one. Orange was my favorite color!
Instead, my first vehicle wasn’t until I was 27. And… I got an efficient car. At least it was cherry red. That’s somewhat close to orange… right?
Also a mustang would have impossible with kids. Folding over in half to put a baby in…Nope! Not happening.
So I didn’t get my dream car, but I love Jams. (That’s what I’ve named my car) Jams’ is awesome! We got Jams because of the gas mileage. A full tank of gas can go over 400 miles! And when we got Jams is was about $12 to fill up. Now, it more like $30; but that tank of gas will last me 1-2 months.
Look at me…bragging about my Jams. Haha 😂 but definitely Jams is now my dream car. So much so, I wish I could gift one to my mama. 🩷
And if you were curious…
The name Jams comes from the live action Aladdin movie. The scene with all the jams. If you’ve seen it, you know!
Well. My dream car was just that. A dream. But my reality car is perfect for me, my life, and family.
Obviously, my husband would be an easy answer. He has great impacted my life for the better. But I think I want to use this time to say my older brother.
My older brother had a great influence in my life. He was always the role model of a strong man in my life. As you all know, my dad was not someone in my life and I had no desire for him to be present either. So to me my older brother filled that role. If I needed help, he was the one I went to.
Now that I am living miles and miles away from my old home; I am realizing how much time I spent with my older brother. During my early teenage years, I would spend time watching him play the piano; Sometimes I would chime in and sing if a song I knew came up. Strangely I felt comfortable enough to sing in front of my brother, but never for anyone else. I would sit and watch him play World of Warcraft; it was incredibly boring, except for the beautiful colors and the imaginative creativity that they had to design the game. We would play board games together. That became a normal thing; my brother had game nights with his buddies over the years, and I was cool enough to tag along.
I have to say it is pretty amazing that I was able to tag along, because when I was a child i tormented my brother. I am amazed that we had such a strong relationship as I grew up; because I know at one point, he probably wanted to strangle me.
But even when I went through the stupid dating experience too young; I remember my brother coming up to me saying, “If you need me to do anything I’m there for you.” I felt so protected in that moment. My older brother was always a shy introvert like me; so, to know he would step up and be my protector made me swell with pride for him.
I even had thought that I wanted my husband to ask my brother for permission to marry me, but it was my mom’s role. But my brother would have been the second person in line.
I also had thought about having my brother give me away at my wedding. Again, I had always seen my mom give me away, but again my brother would have been my next choice.
I can’t really label what in my life has been influenced by him, because to me without him I probably would have seen men different. If life had just been us leaving a verbally abusive dad without a strong male example for me; I’m scared to think who I would have become. I have to thank my brother so much!
I feel like I wasted a few hours binge watching a show. It was a current modern show. About a girl finding love young. 16. And she made so many mistakes. I don’t know if it’s because I’m older, or I was 16 once, but I couldn’t enjoy the show. That as I watched it I was hoping she would change. But she kept making mistakes.
And then when she was at the crossroads moment; she calls her mom for advice and her mom says, “I want you to have several loves before settling on the one”…wow. The mom could have done some good parenting and helped her daughter, but instead gave her the worst advice. My advice would have been, “don’t decide anything now. You are still young. Just leave it alone and just live life dating free, until you figure out who you are and what you want.”
Is that so difficult. Maybe I’m naive. I know I didn’t listen to my mom’s advice when I was 16. But as a mama now, I would tell my daughter the deep hard stuff. Even if all she wants is a pat on the back. Because to me that’s not good parenting.
When I started the show I had this thought. “Maybe I’ll use this show as an example to my daughter in the future.” Show her that you don’t need to date at 16. That it is better to wait. I wish I had. I wish my husband had been my first love. He was my first real true love.
But that thought is gone. As the show continued the girl kept going against my views on life. Now it just makes me worried about the future. But I have to trust that my husband and I will continue to do good parenting. That my daughter will know what is important in life.
Also for my son. The boys in the show were not the greatest. But they too didn’t have great parenting. I want to parent my son so that he knows how to treat women in his future.
I’m terrified of them growing up. Also them growing up in today’s world. The world is going crazy! But I will continue to educate my kiddos on morals and character.
But I have a piece of hope for them. My kiddos are strong-willed, stubborn, intelligent, but still warm with love. And I hope they continue to be that way. Because they will not be bullied into changing their points of views. I know that may come back to bite me, but I want them prepared for whatever their world will look like.
This is just a worried mama post. Haha! Enjoy your weekend. I’m going to be staying away from new shows. They always disappoint me. This was the first new thing I’ve watched since 2017. That was the last time I saw a movie in a theater. I’ll just stick to what I like and watch the same things over and over again.
Another random question to think about. I saw a short video on someone asking this question. “What was the last movie you saw in theaters that the entire audience applauded?”I can only remember 2 movies; they left a strong impression on me. Spoilers.
#1 Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The moment Luke Skywalker dusts off his shoulder. That moment was epic. The audience erupted!! It was a moment to remember. This was the last movie I saw at a theater.
#2 Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2. The audience erupted at the start. I went opening night. It was amazing!! But then also when He Who Must Not Be Named (trying to not spoil) died. The moment it happened everyone screamed or WHOO! at the screen. Again epic!
But that is the last time I remember it happened. As you read in a previous post I like a wide range of movies. But it’s been a while since I was wowed!!
emily2jane 