this week in summer news

Our second week of summer has been very low key.  

After camping all weekend I needed some down time.  Hayden is having a pretty bad eczema outbreak right now, so he needed to rest.  The dogs were both exhausted and slept for a few days straight and mostly I needed some time to catch up on laundry!

It has been good to relax and veg out.  I was so lazy I didn't even make it to the grocery store.  We were eating whatever we could find here.  

I think Layla has ants in her pants.  She loves to go go go!  I know it's good for her to scale back her days a bit because we are so busy all school year long.  We headed to the grocery store today and I made a few other stops.  While heading to Hobby Lobby the kids saw a Fuddruckers.  They were dying to go eat a burger, but I said no way, not without dad.  Layla said, "If this place had a Whataburger it would be perfect!"  She is my daughter y'all!!  I miss Whataburger so much!  

While we were exploring Hobby Lobby the kids were loving all the home decor.  Hayden found a few manly items he wanted to put in his room and Layla had already redecorated her room walls in her mind.  HA!  Her second best quote of the day was, "I could buy everything in here!!"  See....she's mine!  Whataburger AND Hobby Lobby!!  

We ended the day with crispy tacos and building model cars.  The kids talked me into buying them each their own model car to build from Hobby Lobby.  I was thrilled to buy them because it seemed like something they could do over a period of a few days.  I like when they stay busy, but nope.  They were done tonight!  My fast little builders.  

Here's too keeping my little people busy for the rest of summer, or not.  I'm happy to relax and veg out because before long it'll be time for back to school!

Oh and P.S.  Layla reminded me frequently today that her bithday is in exactly one month!

One month until the big double digit day! #10

My two cents for today

Do you ever get sucked into pinterest?

I love pinterest quotes.  They make me happy.  When I find myself in a stressful situation I turn to reading, even if that reading is as silly as pinterest.  It makes me feel refreshed and revived.  
I won't post a ton about my personal feelings for now, but I will say moving from a big city to a small town is very different socially, as you can imagine.  It is exactly the town in which I want to raise my kids, but it is most certainly different than Fort Worth in the drama department ... if you know what I mean.  
All the experiences we encounter make us stronger.  They also make my children stronger because we all learn how to deal with personalities different from ours.  In closing, even if we as individuals feel scared or week or bullied at school, we come home to our safe place and bond as a family.  Our family unit is all that matters in the end.  
{All that being said, we are fine, just learning and growing and that is the best and most important part of life!  My job as a parent is to give my children "Roots and Wings."  They will see how I choose to deal with social situations and they will grow and learn by example.}

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

my 2 cents for today

you do what you do and they do what they do

As the mom of two beautiful kids I have learned to not compare kids.  It was not easy and sometimes I slip up, but for my sanity it had to stop.  I try not to compare my kids to each other and I try not to compare my kids to other kids.  

My kids are completely different.  

For example: Layla was a great baby.  She was easy to sleep train, she was an early talker but physically she was lazy.  Hayden was a cry baby.  He cried for the first 6 months of his life.  When he wasn't sleeping, which he actually loved to do, he was crying.  He hardly ever said a word but lifted his head up 2 days after we brought him home from the hospital.  

He was completely different than his sister.  

Another example:  Layla drank formula until she was 12 months old.  Hayden hated formula and was drinking regular milk and eating solids at 6 months old.  He stopped crying all the time when he got 'real' food.

Why am I telling you this?  

As a mom of 2 kids, ages 6 and 3, I have learned you can't compare the two children.  I think it is human nature to compare kids.  

I also think it is human nature to compare moms to each other and to other moms....

Why don't I look like her?  Why is her house so clean?  Why does she drive that car?  Why do her kids sleep and mine don't? 

Why are we wasting the effort comparing ourselves to one another?  

We are who we are and God has us in this stage of life for a reason.  There will be lows and highs.  We all need to realize that.  I have let go of so much stress simply by NOT comparing myself to another mother or person.

It is hard for some of us to see the neighbor down the street that has a 4000 square foot home.  If we aren't in the same financial status as them, do we want the mortgage they pay?  Just because their house looks nice and big doesn't mean their life is any better.  Just because they have a Lexus parked in the driveway doesn't mean they are rich.  They may be struggling to pay for that gorgeous car and their marriage may be suffering because the husband is always at work to pay for that car.

Source: stumbleupon.com via Angie on Pinterest

We shouldn't compare our lives to the lives of someone else.  We just don't know what is going on inside their lives.  Let's focus on ourselves!

I think being confident in who we are and what we are doing comes with age.  

As a brand new mom I spent time when Layla was really little comparing her to another baby boy her age.  I didn't know any better.  I thought she should be doing the same things HE was doing.  Today both kids are great.  They are excelling in school and I feel silly thinking back to the wasted time I spent worrying about her development.  I totally stressed myself out worrying about why she wasn't walking when he was.  Those days of worry could have been days no stress, but I was wearing myself out with worry.

All this said for a reason... 

Source: fashionetal.blogspot.com via tasha on Pinterest

I have learned to focus on my family.  The four people in my house need my attention.  I need to be stress free and worry free so I can focus on our family.  I don't need to be worrying about things beyond my control.  I try not to worry about things that aren't my business.  When I am weak I say a prayer.  I pray that God reminds me to live in the moment and understand this is all happening for a reason and soon my "now" will be tomorrow. Life goes my so fast.  Be happy!


Andddd I am stepping down from my soap box now.

Source: etsy.com via Angie on Pinterest

Have a great Monday!

This is all I have for today, but I think it is enough.  

I think this is one of the most powerful quotes I have read in my entire life. 

 I pinned it onto my quotables board in Pinterest.

Have a great Monday!