Day two: Cleaning House

I made it! Not really much to post today as I am in cleaning mode and must take advantage of that while I can, but first I wanted to recomend a really great movie that is just now out on DVD...

It is called Fireproof and let me tell you it has a wonderful message. If you have time to curl up with your honey for some popcorn and a show this one is worth the time!

And now for the cuteness... then off to clean,

Can you belive the weather... One day it is all sunny, then all ice, and now all sunny again talk about chaos! Here is my guy enjoying a warmer day!Miah is also enjoing a bike ride... Finally almost a year later she can reach the pedals!

Day One: Battles and LOs

I am off to a good start. Day one of thirty and here I go...

I am up or at least I think I am up in time... Until I realize that the alarm clock has never gone off and it was a dream. I just hate that , now I am in a rush this morning and have the jitters since I jumped up as soon as I saw my rebellious clock reading thirty minutes later than I thought. My son is NOT a morning person and so I must tread lightly to avoid a fight and rushing him is OUT of the question or we are talking total melt down mode, and I have not got the patience nor the time first thing in the morning for that. So the balancing act begins.

It took me a while to figure out that when mom my told me to "pick my battles" she was right.

I mean I am the mom and he is the child so he should do what I say right?? Well just because he should does not mean he will . In fact just like every child he has his moments and refuses to listen or be obedient, so I am learning to read HIM and make sure I do not start a fight over the small stuff that really is not that important. In other words I try not to set him up. This has been hard for me, when I was little I was a very compliant child. I never asked why and rarely tried to go against anything my mom said. I hated conflict... still do, and I was trying to parent James in that way ... expecting him to be like me and just do what I say. He is not me and I can not parent him the way I was parented... Wow, as a parent you must be flexible... You know "pick your battles".

So what might that look like? For starters, if I am in a hurry in the morning I let James make a choice on what he wants for breakfast instead of just choosing for him like usual. See in this home you eat what you get and are happy to have it or you do not eat. James will not eat if he feels rushed in the morning. BIG BATTLE! To me it is not worth fighting him to eat what I give him first thing in the morning if we are in a hurry so if I let him choose then he feels empowered with the choice and does not fight me. I feel that he has a good start to the day and a full belly. WIN, WIN!!!

I know, simple concept huh?? Well it took me a while to figure out that parenting can be flexible and still have structure. Do not get me wrong, I am not a drill Sergent or anything like that, but I did feel like if I did not have complete obedience I was doing something wrong or that if I do not nip it in the bud now that as he became a teenager he would never listen to me. I know now that listening and watching his needs and learning style gets me far greater respect with him and then when it is time to put my foot down he knows that I mean it. We still have battles but they are ones that I feel are important life lessons. Weather he has oatmeal or a cereal bar?? That is not as important as weather he has a decent breakfast to get him through the day.

Now for my secound goal... I finished not one but two LOs yester day!!! So fun!

This is my mom and Miah and some of my favorite pictures! Here I sanded down the pink paper to give it an uneven rough look... Great for taking out a little frustration!

This is James in January of 05! Just 3 1/2 years old... My little buddy!

Going on

Well here I am again posting for the first time in a long while. So I thought I would challenge myself... For the next thirty days I plan to blog once a day. Now mind you it may not be note worthy to any one else but at least I will be blogging and hopefully get myself back in the habit!

So today I am blogging about scrapbooking and another challenge for me to complete... I want to get 10 pages done in the next thirty days and boy that is going to a hard one for me. So here I go .... Oh but before I do let me leave you with a picture of my darlings!

With the little snap of actual winter weather here in Tx and no school my two kidlets have had some extra playtime together and I would haft to say that a great deal of that time I am wanting to pull out my hair as they scream, fight, chase each other around the house and are just generally loud and bouncing off the walls. However the little moments like this cuddle session make it all worth it and bring the biggest smile to my face. James invited Miah to get a little warmer under his coveted blanket as they watched a little tv together. He almost could not get her close enough.... How darling are they!!

Now on to scrapbooking, I have let it get way out of hand. Yep I am so far behind that I will never get caught up if I try and do it the way I had my mind set on doing it. So I am changing my strategy.... I am going to go back and scrap at least one page from each month of the last several years for James and the last two years for Miah. Instead of trying to scrap every thing I will limit myself to my favorite photo or to a special memory for each month up until now. Seeing as I already have some pages done for certain months I am not going to allow them to be placed in my catch up.... No I am starting two new chronological albums for the kids and when they are done I will just add on from there. Now I know me and I LOVE to scrap my latest favorite photo so I will allow myself to do one "new" Photo for every four older Photos and that will keep me motivated. So here is hoping my challenge will get me started in the right direction and I will keep you up to date on how well I do... till then here is one of my latest pages....

Craigs List Post ** Blog friends Please Excuse

This is a post I am doing on Craigs list to try and unload all of Miahs old clothes as they are taking up to much space!!

Need a new wardorobe for your little Princess, but not wanting to pay an arm and a leg... This is for you.There are 87 pieces of gently used mostly 18 month (eception would be one or two 12 month gymboree items that will fit an average child wearing 18 month clothing) clothing. Dresses, overalls, Shorts, skirts PJs and shirts, it is all here and Brands are Gymboree,Childrens Place, Oshkosh, Old Navy, Carters,and then a few from Kohls, Target and Walmart. Not all items are shown in the pictures... They just would not fit but they are pants and Pjs. They come from a smoke free home and I am willing to meet you in Little Elm or Frisco if need be. I accept CASH only, NO exceptions, Please do not ask. Also my price is FIRM, you will be getting a great deal as each piece of clothing comes in at .58 cents each.If you are intrested and/or have any questions please contact 99999999999. Thank you for looking.
To get a better look at the clothes please go to http://www.miahmiahmiah.blogspot.com/

Referral Day Two years come and gone

Two years ago today I sat with much anticipation for the call of a lifetime. I remember clearly all the hope and dreams that hung on that call and what is more what that call would mean. After waiting almost two years I would finally know... Know who my daughter was, where she was and what she looked like. It was the most important phone call I have ever received!!! The moment I heard the words " You have a daughter" my life was changed forever. Now as Miah is sleeping in her room it seems like the wait was just a dream and the pain of it has gone, BUT I know that there are many moms and dads who are just barley hanging on with the wait. It has gotten longer and longer and the finish line for them is ever changing and more often than not getting further away instead of closer. My heart and prayers are with you and I want to encourage you to hold on. The day WILL come and your phone WILL ring. The pain of the wait will someday be a distant heart ache and you will be taking pictures and changing diapers, fixing up boo boos and reading stories to that little angel your waiting for now. I remember seeing Miah for the first time and boy was my heart stolen then, funny thing is now she stills it on a daily basis and I am amazed at all the wonderful and not so wonderful things this little girl can come up with. She is really a treasure and OH SO WORTH THE WAIT! This was taken a few days ago.... My little Fairy tale come true!



Here is the first photo I saw of my darling little angel!

Happy New Year

Christmas morning came and went in a flash. I loved seeing the kids so excited and having a blast. Miah really had it down this year and not only did she want to open all her gifts, but mine as well, such a huge diffrence from last year! We spent the morning with the kids and then took off traveling to grandparents houses. It was a very busy day but a great one! Hope your holiday was as nice and We wish you a very happy new year too.