Loving Consistently

  The leaves are falling and we don't have a rake - oh yah...or time. Sunday night almost all of the leaves from our big tree in the front fell into our yard...Zac left Monday morning to work straight through to Friday (coming home at 9 pm every night) and I have no rake. I guess we'll just be "that house" on the street. You know the one...lawn rarely mowed, no landscaping...leaves piled up in the yard...we'll see if we hang Christmas lights or not.

  I've pushed the kids outdoors as much as possible the last two days - tomorrow is a high of 41 degrees brrrrrr!!!!!

  Finn even escaped outside without any pants on - he's so very clever. Finn is quite the little handful at present...giggling one moment, throwing things the next. He's so full of energy and can climb up EVERYTHING. He has this really funny habit he's started lately. If he hears me open the pantry door he runs to the table and climbs up in a chair...and just looks over his shoulder watching me and waiting for a goodie. I feel bad for him when I'm not actually serving snack. :)

  Other times he enjoys cuddling on the couch watching Baby Einstein or Cedarmont Kids Bible Songs. He loves imitating the sounds of the instruments ...I like his "bell" noise the most.

  So, we are going to have to content ourselves with lots of indoor activities these next few days. We made homemade play doh yesterday after Brady came home from school and the kids had a blast with that.

  The kids love the way the homemade playdoh smells when you color it with Kool Aid. Trinity's was cherry so she promptly fashioned a pie and served Tristan a big slice.

  As for MY indoor projects I have SEVERAL I'm working on. I downloaded a copy of 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine. She is the author of the blog Money Saving Mom and I have loved her advice over the years. Anyways, lately I've been having a really hard time feeling motivated or it seems when I begin ANYTHING I feel like it always gets undone in the next 3 minutes (you know, laundry...cleaning the kitchen...organizing the fridge) and I spend so much time cleaning up after littles that I have no time left for things that I really WANT and NEED to get done. Anyways, so I uploaded the book and the first assignment was to find one small project to complete today (I chose to clean off the top of the book shelf) and then to choose one MEGA project to work on over the next 21 days - doing a little each day for 21 days. I decided that project is going to be getting my extended families Christmas together...presents wrapped and boxed and Christmas cards made. That way I should be done by the end of November. Yes indeed...I like the idea of wrapping one gift at a time instead of spending 3 hours one day at the last minute. I also started working out today and I'm hoping to do this at least 3-4 days a week, and I'm going to be reading the book Hope for the Weary Mom. Anyhoo...so sorry to bore you but I'll probably blog about my goals and what I actually accomplish and if I actually finish the books I say I'm going to read. Girl needs some accountability.

  I've been enjoying the kids so much the last few days. I know what you're thinking "what? You don't enjoy them ALLLL of the time?!" In a word - NO. I always love them, but there are some times...especially when I forget the PURPOSE of mothering well ...that I start not enjoying them. Sure, it's okay to get tired sometimes and need a little coffee run or a chat with a friend or a shower...but I don't think it's okay to routinely need to escape, at least for me. It's like deciding that you want to return the very best gift you could ever be given...or at least give it away for awhile. I know how crazy I am about my blanket (Mr. Cozy) and I would NEVER give him away and the only time I need a break from him is in the summer...and even then I keep him in the living room to just appear "cozy." My vague point being...I shouldn't enjoy my blanket more then my kids. Or maybe...kids are cozy too? Never mind.
 Yes, mothering well is definitely a goal of mine. I've realized that I've lost touch with really really enjoying my kids, delighting in them. God has given mothers this awesome challenge of training up kind, considerate, well mannered , hard working individuals that LOVE HIM and seek to LOVE the world because of Him. They can't do that if I don't have time for them. They won't be kind to others if I scowl at them. They won't be unselfish if I am selfish. They won't be even tempered if I am full of anger. They won't love others first if I don't love them FIRST.

  And with that said...I loved them tonight by baking my first sweet potato casserole of the season for them to snack on...half with marshmallows and half with crumble topping. I read stories and made tea and drew warm bubble baths. I stopped several arguments WITHOUT raising my voice, I explained and reexplained and reexplained simple manners and ways to socialize with others (as you know, one...errrr...a couple of my littles have challenges in this area) - I even had to be firm with my Finn and he eventually got the message that it's NOT okay to scream and throw his cup when he doesn't want to be put to bed. That was a little sad for me but then again a victory because I was calm, he learned - and I now can confirm that babies that are 18 months can be trained to obey. Love sometimes can also be hard.

 After two bowls of sweet potato casserole he wasn't complaining much - took one for the team don't ya know? Anyways, it was a lovely day my dear readers...the kids are in bed and I'm about to go dish up a bowl of soup for myself.
And wouldn't you know it?
It's snowing.