I remember having those moments as a teacher, when someone would comment how there was a full moon. I would nod my head, look back on the week, and say "OH YEAH! That totally makes sense now." During full moons, kids are crazy. Crazy in the sense where things are just not right and you can't quite figure out what is making them behave so irrationally. Yes, some may say it's just the way kids act. But honestly, follow the full moon and follow the way your kids act and it all makes sense in some bizarre-out-there way. Ask any teacher or parent, they know!!
I had one of those moments this week. Except it was with MY own children. The full moon was this past Friday and unfortunately I was reaping it's strange influence on my kids a few days early. I seriously wanted to just fly the chicken coup. Leave town. Or maybe just lock myself in a closet and listen to some calming music. Now, don't get me wrong. My kids are not horrible. And usually I can diffuse the situation or change the mood. This past week was different. It lasted more than a few hours and it was hard to see any good in what was happening at my house. It just seemed like there was a bit more bickering, a bit more whining, and a bit more I-don't-want-tos. Enough to drive me over the edge. I should mention that my husband has golf on Wednesdays, so I am with the kids all day. From morning until night. Now I know that some of you are not-so lucky and your husbands have jobs that keep them away for days. I feel for you. I honestly do. And maybe you become accustomed to that? But I am used to having just a day or so without my hubby. I can handle that. Except when there are full moons.
Timeouts, switching activities, and many other distractions did not help. SO, I thought to myself, where can my sanity be found? And it dawned on me. THE CAR. I'm sure most of you can relate. The feeling of relief when you finally get your lovely children ready, in the car, and lastly, BUCKLED. They can't move, bicker (mine are still young--I know in time this will change), and are completely stuck in ONE place for a moment. What could I do in the car? Off the top of my head, I came up with a car scavenger hunt. Mallory helped me think of objects we could put on our list and I drew big pictures and labeled them on a large piece of paper. I exaggerated to them both how much fun we were going to have playing this scavenger hunt. Both were instantly hooked. And I was already pleased. I gave Mal a marker and the paper and we quickly got ready and headed out to the car. After buckling them in, I instantly felt better. My diet Pepsi beside me, the radio playing some kid bop, and BOTH kids buckled in behind me put me at an even greater ease. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier??? We left around 5:45 PM and tooled around our country neighborhood for about an hour. I had Mallory tell me what direction to turn and we got lost. We traveled down MANY dirt roads and even ended up in Lawrence, a nearby town. It was hilarious hearing Mal explain all of her findings. She had me put on our list a fence with a dog behind it which ended up being a hard one to find. We are in the COUNTRY here people. We never ended up finding a cat, but we did find horses, cows, chickens, pigs, and dogs. Both kids were extremely entertained and QUIET. Except for when something was found!:o) I had a moment of I'm-being-selfish due to the price of gas. But honestly, a babysitter would have cost MORE or any other activity would have been the same. My rationalizing! Clay ended up falling asleep for the last 15 minutes or so. It was nice to observe with Mal and listen to nature. It is truly amazing what I can do in my car to entertain my kids!!:o)
After we got home, I was collected. Back to power mom and not I'm-going-crazy mom. And of course I had to pat myself on the back because I'm getting it. After three or so months of being home, I'm feeling great with where I am at and how I am taking in and adapting to staying home. AND I love it. AND I don't miss school. Although if you would have asked me last Wednesday if I had wanted to join in on the Professional Development at school....I probably would have jumped at the chance!!! Because of that darn FULL MOON!!
This week's Top 10:
10. Monthly Meal Plan. I saw this on Pinterest and did it for August and I LOVED it. At the beginning of each month, I plan out our dinner meals for the whole month. Sounds daunting. But it's easier in the long run and I feel like I"m getting a better variety for us.
9. Helping others. I love helping others and it seems I am able to do more now that I am home. I rope my kids into helping as well and it just makes me feel great.
8. Not stressing. No need to say anything more.
7. Time for myself. Rare but there. And even better now that I don't fret over being gone so long. I am with them ALL week so what's a few hours:o)
6. Summer. Coming to an end. I'm okay with that. In fact, my sis-in-law tells me the fall is the BEST time of year to be home. I love fall and am excited to do "fall things" with the kiddos. Goodbye Summer, HELLO Fall!!
5. Jay's Birthday. Sorry Jay, you made #5:o) We had a great day celebrating with just us and then his whole extended family. I finally felt I could give him more attention (due to it usually always being the weekend before school starts) and I actually was relaxed and not thinking about other things! LIKE school!
4. Bible Study. An old-far away friend asked me to do a bible study with her. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was HUGE for me. I've been rekindling my faith and trying to figure my new life (not sure that's the word) and having her ask me--makes me believe even more!! So excited to start.
3. ZUMBA love. A friend of mine hooked me on Zumba. It's so addicting and such a great workout that doesn't even feel like a workout! I enjoy my once a week (hopefully, twice a week) time by myself that makes me sweat!! A LOT!!
2. LOVE from my old staff. I have to admit that I think I was the most worried about my friendships with school people. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to stay in contact or maintain the relationships I have with my teacher friends. Boy was I wrong! On Tuesday, the first day of PD, I had one friend call me at 4:00, another call me at 4:30, and another I saw at Zumba that night! I'm feeling the love ladies! Thank-you!
1. Mal's FIRST day of Preschool. I already blogged about this so I won't go into details but this was definitely number ONE on my list this past week. What a great chance to witness my baby growing up. I will never forget that day and how excited I was to be home to share it with her. (I'm still tearing up writing about this!)
***Our anniversary is September 8th. We are leaving to go up to Traverse City this Friday (thanks to Jay planning it!). SO excited to get away with my hubby and NO kids for three days!!! WOOHOO!!****
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