The ones who keep me on my toes

Rainy Days

Recently, my daughter and I were on spring break at the same time. If any of you were in the Topeka area for this recess, you know that it rained for a better part of the week. My challenge for that week was to keep my children entertained in the house for four days of rain, and somehow keeping my sanity. This is usually done with arts and crafts, or some kind of games. But, when you have that many days in a row, you have to get creative beyond the crafts. So, during this rainy spring break we went beyond and decided to take advantage of the weather instead of shunning it. Since we both like scary movies, we watched them with the lighting and rain coming down. Our front porch became a great viewing spot to watch the birds get worms, and how other creatures react to the rain. We also told fictional stories to each other at bedtime, rather then reading a book. We turned on one of the music channels on T.V for a day and danced around the living room. Although, I think the best part for my daughter was just taking a break from school work, and getting to spend time with her mommy. That was my favorite part too.

The simple things

2 year old learning to ride a bike

This is a simple thing that almost all kids learn how to do, but it makes a parent proud to know that the child has accomplished it. Especially when they can teach their friends how to do it too!

"Done"

  Today was one of those days where I knew it was going to be challenging. I told myself this, and even though you prepare your mind for it as much as possible, it doesn't come close to what actually goes on. I was in charge of the kids all day because my significant other had to work the overnight shift. Which means he didn't get home until 7 am. That's about the time that my daughter wakes up IF she knows I'm up. I wasn't, so I got to sleep in for about a half hour. In mom time, that's not bad at all. I then proceed to try and get my math homework done, and then the little one wakes up. So, after breakfast is served, I manage to get one section of math completed, thanks to my daughter helping out with her brother.
   The little one decided to take a morning nap, (YAY!)  so that left me some time to get things accomplished. Dishes, laundry, sweeping, housework to be exact. That's the easy part of my day if you can believe that. I don't HAVE to do it, but it gives my mind a break, even if it is only for 10 minutes some days. I like being able to escape from time to time.
   My day was finally "done" around 10 pm today. The reason done is in quotation marks is because I now understand what my own mother was trying to tell me when she said her day was never really done. When you have children, school to attend, homework and housework, the day is never really through. Time management is an important skill you pick up as a parent. You learn to pick your priorities, and see what you can actually accomplish, and what needs to come first. It's not something I would have wanted to pick up at an early age, but I'm glad I did. Thanks to my daughter.

The child side

  I have two wonderful kids. They keep me young or old, depending on the day I'm having. My girl is almost 9, my boy is 14 months. They are one of the reasons I'm going back to school. The other reasons are for personal fulfillment. My children have a way of making me look at things from another point of view. I always see the adult side first, but I can look through the eyes of my kids and try to see things how they would.