The last few days have been hard for me. I have been impatient, rude, harsh towards the kids and Max. I have overreacted, yelled, "blown my top" if you will, more than I want to admit.
I want to blame it on the weather - the gray days and rain that's kept us inside the house, as opposed to playing out in the fresh air. I want to blame it on the lack of a car - since Max usually takes it to work, which means we are "stuck" at home. I want to blame it on my hormones or my emotions or my lack of sleep.
But that's not fair or right. It's me. The only person responsible and held accountable to how I've been acting and treating my family is myself. It doesn't matter the weather or the circumstances or my feelings - I can still control my attitude, set my tone, choose my words and reactions. I can still choose joy and patience and kindness.
What an attitude check!
I have been thinking a lot about how as a mama, I have great influence over the "tone" of our home. How my attitude affects the attitudes of those around me, and therefore, affects the attitude of our home. I have the ability, the privilege, of "setting the tone". And what have I been doing the last few days? Setting a negative, harsh tone, instead of creating the safe, comforting, loving space that I desire to have.
I know I'll have hard days - that's inevitable - but it's my choice as to how I will deal with them, and how I will deal with my responses to the people around me on the hard days and the easy days.
I want my kids and husband to know I am for them, that I love them, that they are my people. And in order to do that, I need to learn to seek and choose joy, to find my strength in Jesus, to lean on His grace upon grace upon grace, even in the tough moments that feel too hard for this mama.
I can choose my attitude.
I can choose joy.
I can set a different tone.
I promise the blog won't be all about Georgie all the time.
But I just can't resist the cuteness...
Here's what I call a Georgie overload.
You're welcome.
Where's Georgie?!
Oh! Found him!
Evie walking Georgie // he fell asleep watching a movie // Max & a sleeping Georgie
Kids in the window // Ezra and the pooch // Georgie monitoring snack time
Peanut butter chocolate craisin oatmeal cookie. Try saying that ten times fast! A few weeks ago, I wanted cookies, and pulled out the monster cookie recipe I use frequently. I made some modifications and these cookies happened. I made them again yesterday, and think they are quite good. Peanut butter oatmeal cookies filled with chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate!) and craisins. They are delicious, and I like to think they are more "healthy" as I cut the sugar down a lot!
PB Chocolate Craisin Oatmeal Cookie
(makes about 3 dozen)
3 eggs
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz peanut butter
1/2 c butter
4 1/2 c oatmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c craisins
Preheat oven to 350º. In large bowl, cream eggs and sugars together. Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in oatmeal, baking soda, chocolate chips, and craisins. Drop by spoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, and then remove to cooling rack.
Enjoy :)
I suppose this really should be titled 'Fresh air & outings & Evie'! It's been hard to snap pictures of the older two lately, because they are always on the move and don't sit still for much - unless it's to lay by Georgie and pet him ;)
I am convinced fresh air can help turn a lot of moods around, so last week, we tried to get out of the house as much as possible - taking walks around the block, meeting friends for playdates, hanging out in the front yard, digging in the backyard, going to the park - anything to get us out of the house and moving outside, soaking up the fresh air, and helping the kids burn off excess toddler energy!
Walking back home after a playdate down the street, all hands on deck!
Evie finds Ezra's helmet and plops it on her head, then finds the bike and sits on it like she is the biggest girl ever. She doesn't actually move anywhere, but she is so proud of herself.
Last week, we were starting to go a little stir-crazy after being in the house for days on end due to colds/etc, so the day we had the car, we were super excited to get out! We went with some friends, to a local place that was basically a mini-children's museum - it was perfect for the kids to play and explore and adventure. They had a great time and it was so good to get of the neighborhood for a few hours!
At the museum - Evie dressed up like a firefighter, driving the truck. Ha!
Hanging out on the porch, watching the big kids bike and run and dig, soaking up the sunshine and fresh air. As long as it's not super chilly or raining, most days after naps, we head outside for awhile before dinner, and wait for Daddy to get home. Eliana has gotten really good at riding her "big girl Princess" bike, and rides around and around the circle in front of our house. Ezra spends a lot of time dragging his bike up the hill, then riding it down, super fast, with his feet off the pedals! He comes screeching down that hill, scaring me half the time - but at least he wears his helmet ;)
Speaking of all that fresh air time, I hear Evie up from her morning nap, the kiddos just finished watching 'The Fox and the Hound', the sun is shining, and we have some time to burn before lunch - outside we go!
Our hearts may have melted a little yesterday, when we met the newest addition to our household. The kids named him George (no idea where they got it from, but they were adamant about it), and most of us now call him Georgie. He's a little roly-poly ball of chocolate Lab, and he'll most likely grow up to be quite a big boy.
A few years ago, we got a puppy named Lucy, and had her just over a year. I never really talked about it on my blog, because I felt so guilty, and like we had failed, but we re-homed her while we were still living in NC. She was adding so much negative stress to our house, amongst other issues, and after months of debating, we found her a new family. She is happily living with an older woman who adores her and all her quirks (and taught her to climb a set of stairs into bed!) - plus, there are no little kiddos in the house, which I think is just what Lucy needed. In the end, we knew it was the right thing to do for us, and for Lucy. We still hear about her occasionally, and are happy to know she is doing so well in her new home.
We have been talking about getting another dog for quite some time. We had been thinking we would adopt an older dog. And then I stumbled upon lab puppies in the area. And my heart melted. When I was growing up, I socialized a yellow Lab named Matti, to be a Leader Dog for the Blind, and have always had a love for Labs. I saw those puppies and quickly realized that it was something I wanted to consider.
I know it may be crazy that we got a puppy, with 3 toddlers, but it felt like the right time for us to bring a puppy home. The kids and I are home literally all the time, so we can spend a lot of time with a pup while they are little and learning what they need to learn. We are fairly certain (it can always change, because it's the military and that's just how things roll...) where we'll be stationed next, and it's not overseas. And we are ready for the time and work and commitment a canine member of the family will entail. I also realized as I thought about dogs, that I liked the thought of having a puppy that would grow up with our kids, learning to respect them as kiddos, and to deal with all things toddler/baby/toys/crazy-whirlwind.
Georgie is just a doll // he'll go-go-go for about 15-20 minutes and then just crash, it's adorable
waiting by the gate for the kids // my little shadow/buddy
We are all pretty excited about our new friend, Georgie. He is sweet, playful, super cute, and he loves the kids. He is doing great so far - eating and drinking and going potty like a champ. The first night of him being home was a little rough, so here's hoping it gets better soon ;)
I think we'll be busy these next few weeks teaching Georgie about life, but we are all very excited.
Welcome to the family, little fella.