As a very young girl, I had many books that I attached myself to and treasured dearly for various reasons. (I’m sure many of you did too!) One book in particular was the original Christian Mother Goose Book of Nursery Rhymes. It’s smart rhymes and unique illustrations always stood out in my mind.
Fast forward 15 or so years, and I meet a young man (and promptly fall in love, but that is not necessarily part of this story.) After a few months of dating, I’m introduced to his wonderful family, including his brilliant grandmother, who, low and behold is the author of these wonderful books that I grew up with! As you may have guessed, I am now privileged to call her my grandmother-in-law, and every time I see her, I look forward hearing her many inspirational stories and the sharing of much wisdom. As she lives several states away, we do not often get to see each other, but there is good news for me and for you, because she has started her very own blog, where she can share her thoughts on many issues that concern us all. If you are in need of some good inspiration, go check it out!

The art show went well, and I was successful enough to at least pay for another round of classes. I have plenty of pieces that didn’t sell, so I will be placing them in my new store as soon as I get around to taking decent photos of them all!
I really enjoyed myself at the show, and was surprised at how nervous I was the morning of. I’m not much of a sales person, so I was worried about “schmoozing” with possible buyers. It turns out that my excitement for pottery easily bubbled over, and it was easy to chat with people about different pieces without feeling like I was one of those pushy sales-people. It was very much a delight to watch someone pick up a piece of mine they were pleased about, and then in turn pay for it. As I told my husband, it was much more rewarding to have someone enjoy my creation than the small sum of money I receive for it. My little shift was over before I knew it, and I found myself wishing I could stay all day. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Saturday and Sunday, myself and several other artists will be selling our wares at The Gallery Bed and Breakfast. We’ll be open from 8 to 4 on Saturday and 12 to 4 on Sunday. And don’t fret my internet readers, I will be offering many pieces for sale soon on my very own Etsy site!

I have something to confess: (although I suspect I’m not the only one) I sometimes lose it with my kids. Meaning I scream at the top of my lungs to get their attention and let them know I’m none too pleased with whatever it is they are doing or just did. This usually occurs when I’m stressed due to hormonal or emotional issues, or I’m depressed. Yes, unfortunately, when I’m depressed it tends to surface as anger. I hate it. It’s a vicious circle too. When I’m on edge, it puts my kids on edge as well, who in turn act out, which puts me even more on edge…and the cycle continues.

Today was no exception. I been having a touch of depression which I believe has been triggered by hormonal malfunctions (because seriously… my body is not working right at this time!) Add to that all the stress of what’s been going on in my life lately, and you’ve got me: on edge.
Well, today it’s a beautiful fall day and the temperature is up and the boys wanted to go play outside, so I said sure, thinking this will get them out of my hair for a bit and get them some fresh air and vitamin D… you know. Well… unbeknownst to me, there were two cans of almost completely used paint sitting out by the freshly painted skate ramp… without lids. (I don’t know why my husband didn’t dispose with them, he’s usually very good at things like that!) So I’m sitting there eating my lunch, dinking around on my computer, a.k.a. not paying close enough attention. The boys had left the sliding door open about 6 inches. Selah fit through just fine. I realize that she is not in the house and dash outside to discover all three of them hovering over the paint cans. Selah and Beau both have paint on their fingertips and on various parts of their clothes. I pick Selah up, as I’m yelling at the boys for even thinking that it was okay to play with all this stuff and discover that she also has paint in her hair. I’m pretty certain Beau has put it there. By this time I’m rushing to the bathroom and turning on the water while yelling at Beau to get in there and also for putting the paint in Selah’s hair. It’s a mess. The rest of this day has not been a whole lot better. We’ve had decapitated angels figurines that I made (thank you again, Beau.) Drew arguing with me every time I tell him to do something, and when he quits “arguing” he pulls guilt trips. Yeah, fun. Selah has been getting into my potted plants as well. So yeah, I’m thinking it’s not such a great day to head to the store with these three hoodlums. Sigh…

Glad to have that off my chest.

If you don’t already know, we live in Colorado, not as far as you can get from the tropics (hello Wyoming, Montana and Canada!) but still pretty far! This seemingly random statement does have a point, keep reading…

Recently, we had some concrete work done in the front of our house, and this afternoon we noticed a couple of hand prints on it (not deep in the cement, but somebody had touched it, and it showed.)
I hear Drew (my 5 year old) exclaim, “An animal walked across our cement!” Expecting to see some little animal prints, I walked over and surveyed the area, no animal prints, just a couple of hand prints.
“Those are human prints,” I tell Drew, to which he replies very seriously, “They could be a monkey’s.” I look down at him with a bit of a chuckle and say, “Do you honestly think a monkey was on our front porch?” And Drew very gravely and matter-of-factly nods his head in affirmation.
I think the boy is a wee bit confused about where we live in the world…

This post is fully inspired by Lisa over at The Need For Hope, who gave me the idea to do a few “Top Five” posts… This will probably not be the first…

1. This is going to sound counterproductive, but you must plan and take time for yourself! Once a week, for an hour or two, go do something that is fun for you, without your kiddos. It is a great time for you to rejuvenate and replenish yourself. Not only is this good for you in many ways, but in the long run it is better for your family as well, because you are a more calm and fulfilled person and are better able to give of yourself that way.

2. Recognize the good things you do for your children, and keep it up! Nothing will get you down about your parenting skills quicker than focusing on all the places where you blew it. It’s important to point out to yourself (and sometimes others) where you are going right, and pat yourself on the back daily.

3. Learn to apologize to your children and admit when you were wrong. Let’s face it, we all have moments when we spectacularly fail at being the cool and even parent. It happens to all of us, but the best way to deal with it is to admit it. “I’m sorry I yelled at you like that, I shouldn’t have done that, will you forgive me?” Not only does this rectify the problem rather quickly, but it is a great example for teaching your kids how to forgive, and how to ask for forgiveness.

4. Spend time doing significant things with your kids. Whether it’s baking cookies, rough housing, or playing video games together, don’t resist that urge to play with your kids, even if it’s only for 15 minutes. You’ll never regret that time spent together.

5. Sing your kids praises to them. When they do something awesome, compliment them. Ask them for a “high five”, or give them a hug. I am not a natural verbal affirmation giver, so this is something I really have to think about. The kids really respond to encouragement and excitement about whatever it is that they’re doing, and when I remember to affirm, I don’t feel like I’ve missed and opportunity.

These are just scratching the surface here. I’d love to hear your ideas for beating mommy guilt as well. Feel free to share in comments or on your own blog!

I am doing okay. I’m not great, but I’m not horrible either. Life has been super busy and crazy and unsure as of late. Last week was kind of difficult, but it had some good aspects as well. My grandmother had surgery on Election day to have her gallbladder taken out, which is not really such a huge deal, but it was certainly made into one. Later in the week she ended up back in the hospital due to dehydration (a complication from anesthesia, but mostly her refusal to drink enough water.) My mother was down here for the whole week to take care of her. Let me tell you, dealing with the aspects of my mom and my grandmother’s relationship can be anxiety producing. (My mom already knows this… hi mom!) My mediator self wants to step in and make them both understand each other better, but that is not for me to do, so I have to try my best to understand my mom and make sure she and I don’t end up the same way 20 years from now.
Friday night, I threw a little baby shower for my sis, (Due Christmas Eve) and that went off very well, and was actually enjoyable. If you know me at all, you know I’m not a fan of baby showers, or large gatherings consisting mostly of women. We all had a good time and I left feeling rejuvenated and light hearted. Saturday, my grandma was having issues with dehydration again. Fortunately, my sister who is a nurse, gave her a call and told her what to do to take care of herself and this time she listened! Another hospital trip averted, yay!
This week I am buried under a pile of housework that keeps growing larger, and the desire to do other things with my time, like fun crafty projects, and art pieces, and reading good books. I am suffering from housewife guilt. Oh well, and sigh.
How are you doing?