Reading with children

As most of you are aware, I am a pretty voracious reader, and have been for the majority of my life. I have been excited to try and pass this on to my children and have therefore been waking my 1st grader up earlier than in needed so that I can read to him. He was really not into it at first, but as we have gotten more into the story, he is becomming more and more excited--even giving up his Nintendo time occasionally to have the story read to him. The story that we have been reading is the Harry Potter series. I know that there are those out there who are critics of JK Rowling's work, but I felt that the series was incredible, and I appreciate her providing me with this oppurtunity to bond with my son. The series has opened up a new world to him, and has helped me to share something that is improtant to me. I look forward to each morning's read as does he and am glad that we are sharing this.

My daughter has decided that when she starts kindergarten, she should be able to choose her own story to have read to her. What book does she want you ask? She is calling it "Jean Valjean Book". I'm not sure that Les Miserables is quite suited for a five year old, but what can you do?

Defeat is always momentary...

I have been feeling defeated of late. There is so much that is required of me, and I feel that I am failing in so many ways. I have been wanting to raise the white flag and surrender myself to whatever force is winning the battle in my life. I have, however, found some comfort in a quote that I once heard regarding defeat, and that is "Defeat is always momentary." I have decided that no matter the loosing battle that I may be fighting, there can even be hope in defeat--for no one is ever permanently defeated.

My Little Buttercup....

Did you know that my husband has this side to him? I know that a lot of you see my husband as this serious guy who does not fit with my personality, but you are wrong..we are acutally exactally what the other needs, and our sense of humor is the same. It just takes a while for him to be comfortable enough around people to show his craziness. Those of you who have seen it will vouch for his craziness.

The People of Late

At present, the kids are involved in a ton of things...

Ethan is anxiously awating his guitar. Bry ordered it online, and it should be here sometime this week. Ethan is excited as he has the soul of a rocker, and has since he was a baby. We did officially decide today that a fauxhawk is better than an actual mohawk on the grounds that a mohawk necessitates bic-ing of the head two to three times per week, and therefore, the fauxhawk is better.

Eliza is doing fantastic in gymnastics! She is really close to moving up to the next level. She is going two times a week and has really caught the gym bug. It makes me so happy to see her so excited about something. She is also involved in soccor and will begin t-ball this week. She is the only five year old I know with definition in her arms and calves, and a six-pack.

Isabelle is growing so fast. She is really into princesses of late and has decided to be a ballerina when she grows up. I would love to put he into a little dance class, but I'm concerned that she is a little young for that. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Is three too young to start classes of this nature?

The whole family is really excited to be going to Disneyland in May. I Bry and I have not been since we were teenagers, and the kids have never been. If anyone has any great tidbits of info to share on how to make our trip a success, please share.

Bad Mommy Days

Do you ever have those days where you wonder why you chose to become a mother? There are the times where I feel that my children would have been better suited to live with another, more patient and knowledgable parent than I. I guess the question is, Is there anyone who ever really feels up to the task of motherhood? I would love to meet a woman who does, because I have some questions for her. I just cannot believe all of the things that one must do to be a "good" mother, and if you choose one over the other, there is inevedibly someone who will classify you as a "bad" mother for it. And these are for the reasonable things..let alone the times where I loose my temper, or am at a loss as to what I should be doing. I am also continuously suprised at the times when women want to put down another's mothering--are we really all so self-consious about our parenting that we really must put another down so that we feel adequate? Sadly, the answer must be yes, as I see no other explanation for this behavior. I think that the sooner we realise that we are all doing the best with what we are given, and that we all feel unequal to the task, we can help strengthen each other and be there for one another, as I think that we all need support. And if our peers are not our strength, then who is? Motherhood is hard, and anyone who says differently is lying to you. I have enough pressure worrying that I am doing right by my own children without feeling judged by every other female on the plannet. Is there ever a way to stop comparing and to start supporting?

Unless one of you is a perfect mother--and then I would gladly hand my children over to your more than capable hands, as I am at a loss sometimes as to how to help them. It's hard to love someone so much that you want to do a perfect job for them, and somehow still come up short--or be at a loss as to what is the best solution to a problem. I just hope to convey to them that I wanted to do a perfect job as a mother--and know that perfection is what they deserve--and I hope every day that my best is somehow sufficient--albeit flawed.

Venting at Home Depot

Today I looked for some incecticide at Home Depot. It was to be a brief errand on the way to my daughter's gymnastics class, but somehow things seem to take longer at Home Depot than is reasonable. The incecticide had to be specific--it needed to be safe for citrus trees (as this is where I would be placing said incect poison) and needeed to kill mealybugs and their eggs (as this is what is currently infesting my lime tree). I knew what I had and what must be done because of a man named John who talked to me for probablly 45 minutes on the phone the other day about my problem--which was very nice as he does not know me-nor did I purchase my tree from his establishment. But I digress--the wall on which the incecticides were located was emmense, and there were mulitple types to choose from, however, after reading the labels of five or so, decided that my time was too precious, and my children's patience wearing too thin to stay and read all of the lables. I could not locate an employee of the store anywhere, so I walked to the Customer Service counter, where two young women promptly turned their backs to me and began talking. I said, "Excuse me, is there a way that I can have someone help me over by the incecticides? I have a few questions." One of the girls paged someone, and resumed her conversation about who had never called her back last night. I walked back to the isle, where no one came, so I started reading again. After another five minutes or so, I located my Holy Grail of incecticide--one that was not only safe for citrus, but destroyed both my mealybugs and their eggs. So I took the bottles and headed for the checkout counter--all the while watching to see if anyone answered the apparent page for customer assistance. Does it suprise you that no one ever came?

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

The title for this blog may be confusing to some. I don't know how many of you are famililar with John Mayer and his music, but a lot of what he has to say to the world reflects my own thinking and beliefs about the world, and this is the reason for the title of the blog. In his song to which this blog owes it's name, he examines how one should see the world in the present and not continuously look for ways to capture a single moment in time--for in the capturing, one frequently misses the moment altogether. I believe that there is something beautiful in each moment, and that one would do well to find joy in each moment--if for nothing else than to rejoice in the life that you are given. This is the reason for the title.

Giving it a try

Is this thing on...hello? Testing, testing.......uh-hem.....