when you're a mom

When you're a mom, you spend hours making an alligator box for Valentine's Day.

 When you're a mom, you spend hours (the next night) making cakes that look like rockets for pack meeting.

When you're a mom, you're happy when your 8th grader receives lots of Valentines from junior high girls, (but you're not sure how you feel about the one that says, "I love you sooo much.")

When you're a mom, you giggle when you see notes like this on the kitchen counter.

And when you're a mom, your heart melts when you receive notes like this.

grateful

This Thanksgiving season, I'm thankful for lots of things.  Of course, the gospel and my family top the list.  Good health, wonderful friends, our home, and Ben's job are also right up there at the top.  But there are also tons of little things that pop into my mind every day that I'm grateful for.  Of course, these change on a daily basis, but here are a few that come to mind right now ...

the sound of my boys laughter when they're playing together

the toys that are strewn across the basement after an afternoon of imaginative play

game nights and movie nights

a husband and boys that make me laugh

the turkey sandwich at The Dodo

vacations

peanut m&ms and Dr. Pepper

and I'm really thankful that our front yard now looks like this ...



The backyard is another story.  Lots of dirt and weeds.  Maybe next year!

a mother's growing pains

I’m not sure that I want my boys to grow up.  Is that wrong?

Sure, I look forward to seeing the men they will eventually become.  I have all kinds of questions about their futures … Where will they go to college?  What will they study?  What career path will they choose?  Who will they marry?  Etc., etc.  I know they will be good men, husbands, fathers … because they are good boys, sons, friends.

But, it’s just that I really like who they are now.  They’re at such great ages.  Not too big, not too small.  And, more importantly, they’re still “mine.”  I thoroughly enjoy being with them, listening to their thoughts, jokes, ideas, problems, concerns.

I love all the activity around our house … all the playing, the action.  I don’t always love the wrestling and rough-housing, but I’m sure in time I’ll wish our home was still filled with all that boyish energy.  I love that I (almost) always know exactly where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing.  I love that they can go from playing ping pong, to playing the Wii, to playing football together … all in the space of an hour.  And, I especially love that when I sneak into their rooms every night after they’re asleep and lean down to kiss them, I can still smell everything that they were up to that day.  That special scent of a little bit of sweat mixed with a little bit of outdoors … the smell that tells me they played hard that day … just like boys should.  The scent that belongs to boys, and only boys.

Things are good right now.  Yes, our lives are busy and there’s hardly an evening without a practice or a game or a lesson or a meeting of some sort.  But I know over the next few years our lives will get even busier.  Jobs, more friends, dates, more sports … all of these things are a normal part of life, but they are things that will take these great boys away from me.  And I’ll really miss them.

A friend of ours recently received his mission call to a very far away, somewhat dangerous, and quite remote place.  When I heard about his call, I thought to myself, “Boy, I’m so glad my sons aren’t old enough to go on missions yet.  I’d sure be worried if I were his Mom.”  But, the truth is, time passes too quickly, and before I know it, it will be my sons receiving mission calls.  Which I know will be exciting and wonderful and without question the right thing to do, but, still.  I’m their Mom.  And I’m already afraid for them to leave.

After their missions, they’ll be all grown up.  They will be men.  And they’ll have places to go and things to do and people to see.  They’ll go to school and have jobs and girlfriends and eventually wives, and then they’ll have kids of their own.  And, deep down, I know this will all be fantastic and I’ll still love my boys as much as I do now, and I’ll love their wives and their darling kids, too.  But … I’ll miss being able to kiss them every night when they’re sleeping and smell that special sweaty/outdoorsy scent that belongs to boys and only boys.  It seems like it would be so much easier if things could just stay how they are right now.

Although, I must admit that my boys seem to be getting more and more fun to be with the older they get.  I enjoy them more now than I did a few years ago.  I like the conversations we have, the insight they give me, and the outlooks they provide.  So I guess there’s hope.  If this continues, then everything will be just fine and I’ll find new things to cherish about them with each passing year.  But I still really like the way things are now.

random thoughts on laundry

Yes, I'm writing a post about laundry.  Why?  Two reasons ... first, because laundry is a huge part of my life.  And, second, because I'm avoiding the four loads of laundry that are waiting to be folded right now.  Anyway, here's the deal.  Laundry and I have some issues.  I'm really good at the washing and the drying part, but for some reason I'm terrible at the folding and the putting away part.  It's a vicious cycle, because the longer I avoid folding it, the bigger and bigger the pile gets, and I want to fold it even less!  Plus, it really doesn't help that between all the regular clothes, plus trying to keep all the soccer and baseball uniforms clean right now, and the clothes they wear to all their practices, I feel like I'm doing laundry constantly!  (And I only have three kids, I can't even imagine the amount of laundry in families with more!)

I'm always surprised at the things I find in the washing machine that have come out of my kids' pockets.  Most common items:  candy wrappers, golf tees, money.  (Where in the world are they getting all that candy in the first place?)  Anyway, those things don't bother me too much because they don't make a mess.  Other things give me grief, so I'm making some new "laundry rules."  This little number will be posted on my fridge until it sinks in ...

I don't think these rules will make me any better at folding and putting everything away, but they might make it a little easier when I do get around to it!

quesadillas

Some of the conversations I have with my children amaze (and humor) me.  It's interesting that the things that are important to them are often things that I wouldn't necessarily think twice about.  But I love to hear what's on their minds. 

Since Emery is in junior high, he often wants to talk about people, relationships, concerns, grades.  Depending on the season, he also asks a lot of questions about sports.  He just finished a session of basketball and lately he's been very focused on improving his shot and technical skills.  I suspect that in the next few months we'll spend a lot of time discussing baseball, golf and tennis.  Then, as usual, in the fall the topic will be football.  I love how determined he is to always do his best.  

Conversations with Sam can be quite entertaining.  He loves to "re-enact" certain football or basketball moves he performed during an intense game at recess.  Frequently he'll come home from school and excitedly show me (in either real-time or slow-motion) some fabulous play or move he pulled off that day.  Lately, recess has been filled with trading baseball, football and basketball cards, so Sam usually wants to tell me about the great trades he made that day.  Last week as I was driving Sam to one of his basketball games, the subject of quesadillas came up.  Sam told me his "top three favorite quesadillas" are:  Cafe Rio's, mine, and El Matador's.  I was happy to have my quesadilla among the top three.  He then went on to rank them in order.  As it turns out, his favorite quesadilla is the one I make, then Cafe Rio's, then El Matador's.  What an enlightening conversation.  

Luke likes to come home from school and show me what great project he completed or what he learned that day.  Yesterday he came home and said, "Mom!  I'm an illustrator!"  Then he showed me that had illustrated his own version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  He's also interested in hearing about what we're having for dinner, so that's usually one of the first questions he asks after school.  Actually, Luke is full of questions.  The other day, he asked us when he could get a new "hampster" to put his dirty clothes in.

I'm so glad these cute boys want to talk to me about anything and everything.  I love to hear what they're thinking about, concerned with, and interested in.  What great conversations!