Lately, I've been struggling with religion in my life and bringing it into the children's lives. So, I joined a Mom 2 Mom group. This group is going to be run like a book club. I'm hoping this helps me get through a book as well as figure out where I stand on religion. The first book is going to be Raising Responsive Children. Wish me luck. Maybe this will also give me inspiration to finish the three others I've got going.
I can't seem to finish a book lately, and I'm not talking about smut. It's not because I'm not interested, it's because I'm too interested. I really think I need to be in a book club. I find that I read about 15 pages and feel the need to discuss it. Well, there's no one to discuss it with so I'm left to mull it over myself. I literally spend a couple weeks thinking over certain concepts the book talks about. I try to figure out exactly what I can do in my everyday life to incorportate those concepts. Some of them require Husband to be on board, too. However, there's very little time for book discussions with him, so usually, I just go back to the book and then realize I can't implement things without having a discussion. So that leads me to not finishing books. I've currently got three, that I'm loving, but they are taking me forever because I really want to change how I do things and need time to soak it all in.
Lately, I've been struggling with religion in my life and bringing it into the children's lives. So, I joined a Mom 2 Mom group. This group is going to be run like a book club. I'm hoping this helps me get through a book as well as figure out where I stand on religion. The first book is going to be Raising Responsive Children. Wish me luck. Maybe this will also give me inspiration to finish the three others I've got going.
0 Comments
I'm a sucker for propaganda. I am well aware of how advertising works and I know exactly what companies are trying to do and who they are targeting, yet, for some reason, I get sucked in. It is true, Diet Dr. Pepper does taste more like regular Dr. Pepper. I see commercials (which I don't see many of since I don't watch live TV anymore) and my mind is taken over by the ad agencies. The thing that gets me the most are things that will save me time. Yeah, right. Deep down, I KNOW these things won't work. They won't save me time or energy. I'm so tired all the time though that some part of me keeps thinking, "What if this one really works?" I can't tell you how much crap I've bought that's supposed to save me either time or energy. Latest being the new Dawn Power Clean. This product is supposed to work like soaking dishes overnight, but in 5 minutes. I don't even use Dawn. I'm a Seventh Generation or Method type of girl when it comes to my dishes. So, why I needed to buy this product, I can't quite figure out. A couple of days go by and suddenly, I have a pan that needs to be soaked. Husband made eggs for breakfast and we immediately went to soccer and then straight to hiking after. That meant the pan was sitting, dirty, on the stove for about 3 hours. Came home for lunch. Tried just rinsing and a little scrubbing. Those eggs were really stuck. Then I remembered the Dawn Power Clean. Whoo hoo! I'd be able to get that pan clean in no time. I put some Dawn on the pan and then fill it up with scalding hot water. We then had lunch and naptime, so I didn't get to the soaking pan for about an hour or so. From the commercials, I'm expecting this stuff to just slide right off after soaking so long. Not even close. It was like I did nothing. There's another product on the list of purchases that just didn't make my life easier.
So what else is it that I've bought that hasn't worked? Where to do I even begin? How about we start with the Swiffer Duster. Great idea. How simple. Fast, easy to use. Problem? It may take me half as long to dust, but I have to dust twice as often. Then there's Pledge Multi-Surface (this was before my all natural route in cleaning). One product to do everything. Works GREAT on my bay window seat, and horribly on everything else. It leaves such horrible streaks that I have to reclean. Who can forget about the Shark Steamer? Luckily, this one I only borrowed! Commercials show grout just turning white in an instant, and it does....in milimeter sections. That means it take about 20 minutes to clean on 10" line of grout. I can scrub my whole floor clean in that amount of time. To go along with that, there's spray grout sealer. Don't bother. It takes more time to spray, wipe excess, let dry, reapply, wipe excess, let dry again than it does for the grout to get dirty again. We did it because the wonderful people who lived here before us never sealed the white grout on the kitchen floor! Of course we also have an issue with the caulk on our bathtub getting mildew behind it and coming through. Tilex Mildew Root promises to fix that for me in about 5 minutes. Not so much. And shall we move on to the laundry. There are a whole list of products that don't work there, but I'll go with the most recent Tide Stain Release. I honestly should have know better than to even have tried this. Two little packets in my wash can really get out my set in stains? Too good to be true. Plus, every load was 2 packets, so really, you're only getting half the amount of product in the package. I'm really not sure where people are testing these products, but it's apparently not my house. So what are my tried and trues? OxiClean is one. It may not save time, but it saves clothes. If I soak clothes that have been stained, even if they have gone through the dryer, for about a week, stains come right out. However, I would skip the liquid OxiClean and the gel stick. Neither of those work as well as the powder or spray. Then there's Dreft. I love Dreft. I would not have made it through my children's baby years without it. Dreft spray gets out everything, as long as you get to the stain while it's fresh. If you don't get the stain fresh, you have to move on to OxiClean. But, Dreft detergent is one of the only things my son isn't allergic to. I use all the free and clear, eco-friendly products, yet those irritate his skin. Dreft isn't an issue. For mildew? A mixture of water, white vinegar and Purification oil *tea tree would work also, but Purification was designed for molds*. Simple, cheap, and it smells good. You can actually use this mixture for everything. However, if you have a husband like mine, he still can't get his head around that the vinegar is a natural antimicrobial, so for him, we buy Method's Antibac. Best product ever. But really, you can't go wrong with anything Method. I also couldn't live without my steam mop. I'm not sold that it's the best one out there, so I'm going with pretty much any steam mop would be great. There there is the number thing that gets our family through winters. It's not really a product that makes cleaning easier, but it makes life easier because I SWEAR it works in helping keep my kids healthy, Thieves Essential Oil. One drop on the bottom of the kids feet (and mine) and it helps boost their immune systems. We've done it for two years now and *knock on wood* my kids have not gotten really sick. Little colds, but nothing serious. When we do have colds in this house, I diffuse Thieves to boost the rest of our immune systems. So, there you have it because I know you were all at the edge of your seats to find out what products I love and hate. If I can save anyone time and money in trying products that don't work, I've done my job With all my "craftiness" going on lately, I've decided to tackle what I would call a sewing project this weekend. I'm going to make Monster and Sunshine matching shirts. Dorky, yes, but completely appropriate. Here's what I'm going to do. Now, I know this isn't really sewing, but it ranks right up there with it for my skill level in this kind of thing. Wish me luck. Jo-Anns, watch out, I'm coming tomorrow!
**As a side note I would like to add that the playgroup books and Randsom box are done. Yay, me! It's amazing. It's like my kids knew I just posted about sleep last night. Last night was a little hectic here due to lack of planning on my part. So, bedtime was a little later, not incredibly, but about 20 minutes. Those 20 minutes made all the difference though. I'm sure it didn't help that someone's security system started going off at 5am today and Husband freaked out that it was his truck alarm, even after I told him it wasn't. Little Miss Sunshine was up at 5:20. She called for Daddy. Since Daddy is wrapped around her little finger, he went in and sweetly tucked her back in and gave her a kiss. Funny thing about this is that when Monster was Sunshine's age, Husband would have just poked his head in Monster's door and told him to go back to sleep, or, let him keep calling (and Monster would have called for Mommy and not Daddy) until he realized no one was coming. Sunshine has not gone back to sleep. Monster was up at 6:00. He, too, has not gone back to sleep. So, I'm arming myself with patience and hoping for the best but prepared for meltdowns. On the plus side, we can do early bedtime tonight because I'm actually already prepared for the day, and it's only 6:30am!
Sleep is a touchy subject with me. Not only do I require a lot of it, but my kids do as well. Husband requires very little, which drives me insane. So, it really annoys me when people make judgmental comments on how my kids go to bed so early. Yes, they go to bed early, but they need it. They go to bed and sleep a solid 12 hours, sometimes more. If I put my kids to bed at 9:00 and then had to wake them up at 7:00, they'd be wrecks. As it is, come about an hour before bedtime and you can really see how exhausted they are. When I see people who keep their kids up super late, I wonder how they can function. However, I don't judge. I figure that their kids need less sleep than mine. That's why it gets me so mad when people make comments about how I'm a mean mom for sending my kids to bed at 7:30. They don't have to deal with the breakdowns my kids have from being overly tired, I do. Sleep begets sleep. That is what my pediatrician always told me, and I have found it to be so true. Whenever Monster didn't nap when he was younger, nights would be rough. It's the same with Sunshine. Days she doesn't nap, she doesn't sleep at night. That makes for a tired and crabby Sunshine and a tired and crabby Mommy. My sleep is just as important because if Mommy's not happy, ain't nobody happy!
So, as a warning, if you want to make a comment on how my kids can skip a nap or go to bed later, please know that I'll be calling you at 1am when they aren't sleeping. A little bit ago, I came across a blog in which the person did 35 "random" acts of kindness for her 35th birthday. I loved the idea of this. It goes right along with my whole thing about Christmas being a time for giving and not getting. It goes right along with my ideas of charity and generosity. Then I stopped and thought about it. Why did it have to be just one day? Each day I try to do something kind for complete strangers as well as people I know. Whether it be letting a person in line in front of me or smiling at a neighbor, those are acts of kindness. I think that people feel like if they do an act of kindness it has to be some sort of grand gesture. It doesn't. Kindness comes in many forms. Saturday, Monster and I were uptown and there was a lady trying to get coffee. Her dog was tied up outside and kept jumping on people. She had to keep getting out of line to apologize and check on her dog. Monster and I were in no hurry, so we offered to help her out. We told her we'd stay and puppy sit while she got her coffee. You know what, it made everyone feel good. Monster and I were happy we could help someone, she was happy to not have to worry about her dog, and the puppy was happy because she got a ton of attention and pets. Chances we will ever run across that person again? Slim to none. Does it matter? No. We didn't do it for recognition. We did it because it was nice. That same day, we also stopped to thank a policewoman for keeping our street safe. It's the little things.
Monster and I have been talking about acts of kindness a lot lately. He loves helping people and being kind. Each day, we try to do something nice for people we don't know as well as something nice for people we do. There's not always a lot of time to stop and truly help someone like we did Saturday, but even a smile can brighten someone's day. Thanking a cashier for her hard work. Leaving a little note for your mail person letting them know you appreciate their service. Writing a short message to a friend to just say, Hi. It doesn't take much. Imagine if everyone did just a little every day. Our world would be a much happier place. That all being said, I am going to implement the idea of birthday kindness acts in addition to what we do in our daily lives. I think it would be a great tradition for our family. It would be planned out and the children can choose who they do something nice for and what they do. Husband's birthday is coming up quickly, so we'll get started and report back. It's that time of year. Time when everyone starts asking what we want for Christmas. I can't stand this. I am forced to think of crap that people can get my kids, and even worse, Husband and myself. It's not that I'm ungrateful because I do appreciate the thought and generosity behind the gifts. The problem is, the amount of stuff my kids has is amazing. Granted, it's a lot less than most people's kids, but it's more than I want in my house, especially when they play with the same 5 toys all the time. And clothes, well, my kids could clothe a small country thanks to the generous hand me downs we get. So what does that leave? Not a whole lot. Monster needs some jammies and snow boots. Sunshine could use some toothpaste. For Husband and myself, it's a whole lot worse. We are the type of people who go out and get what we want, not sit around and wait and hope someone buys it for us for a holiday. Also, now that we're older, most of our wants coinside with our needs. I need new shirts? I get them. Husband needs jeans? I get them. We would like a new fridge. Not in the budget. Anyone going to get that for us? Probably not. We need a new air conditioner. Same issue. It can't go on the Christmas list. These aren't things people want to buy as gifts. People seem to want to give things that can be opened and ooooh'd and aaaah'd over.
I think this all makes me upset for two reasons. Reason 1: we live on a very tight budget and I don't want to waste my money getting things people don't want. When I ask for a list, it's because I seriously want to know what is wanted or needed. If that's laundry detergent, then great! I'll buy that. I don't care as long as it's something that is appreciated. Don't waste my time or money sending me to get unwanted, expensive junk, please. Reason 2: It makes me mad that Christmas has become about presents and not togetherness and charity and giving from the heart. My kids love picking out gifts for the giving tree and Toys for Tots. They would be just as happy getting $5 to go spend on something to donate to the Children's Center or buy books for the library. That's how they are. That's how we are. We give gifts to our friends because we want to and the kids pick them out. They love making other people happy. I want to continue that. I want to foster that. Lately Christmas seems more like an obligation. We need to get people gifts because it's polite, not because we really care. Homemade gifts? Forget about it. Those aren't appreciated. Why? Why has it become so materialistic? What do my kids really want for Christmas? To spend time with people they care about. What do Husband and I want for Christmas? A break. Since those won't happen, I'd be content with some Ecos Laundry Detergent and a bottle of Captain Morgan's Private Stock. There are days I forget. I forget how wonderful my life is and how fortunate I am. Yesterday was starting to be one of those days. It was hard. Sunshine has taken to not sleeping through the night again. It took until she was 22 months for her to get to sleeping through the night and now, at 29 months, she's back to no sleep. She's not napping either. This makes for one sleep deprived Mommy and one not so sunny, Sunshine. So with that, I wasn't feeling very thankful for anything. Then, my bathroom sink clogged. It was so bad that three rounds of Liquid Plumber didn't even work. I got very little accomplished the majority of the day. It's funny though how things happen to make you stop and look at how great life really is.
The thing that happened was lawn mowing. Yes, lawn mowing. I enjoy mowing the lawn. It seems to give me peace. I don't listen to music. I don't have the kids around. It's just me and my thoughts. So, as I was mowing, I thought about how lucky I was that I have a husband who doesn't come home and instantly go and work in the yard, or on a car, or some other project, or just sit and do nothing. Husband came home, walked in the door as I walked out and told him what the kids should have for dinner. And you know what? He didn't complain at all. He loves spending time with his kids. Husband doesn't mind cooking the kids dinner, getting them in the bathtub and ready for bed while I have some me time. Heck, he wouldn't mind if I decided to take a weekend trip someplace and leave the kids with him. I am so fortunate for that. I know way too many wives whose husbands can't, or won't, do what mine does. I find it amazing when I come across people and they say that their husbands can't get their kids to bed. The only time I put mine to bed is when Husband is traveling. I also find it amazing when wives say their husbands can't watch their kids because they're too much work. Too much work? Isn't raising kids BOTH parents' responsibility? Anyway...I'm thinking of how fortunate I am that my husband loves to be with his kids. Then I was thinking about how fortunate I am that my kids love being active. We've never been that family that runs errands all weekend. Yes, we need to get those done, too, but we divide and conquer so our kids can have time to enjoy life instead of sitting in a car going from store to store. That led me to the thought of how fortunate I am to live where I live and have such awesome people in my life. Tuesday, a friend told me to just bring Sunshine over for a bit so I could do some alone shopping while Monster was at school. It is wonderful to have friends like that. Today was another really hard day. So I stopped, looked around and took a breath. I have so much in my life to be thankful for. My husband and kids are the best. I couldn't have better friends. We are all relatively healthy. We live comfortably. We've got great neighbors (the ones behind us don't count). I love my job, even on the really tough days. Life is good and I'm grateful. My son went off the diving board for the first time today. I was a nervous wreck. I was so proud, yet at the same time, I wanted to be there holding his hand and letting him know he was safe. He did great. He was so proud of himself and I was so happy for him. It never ceases to amaze me what a wonderful child he's growing up to be. Monster has always been a good kid with a kind heart. He's always been cautious about new adventures. Now, he's really coming into his own. It's so wonderful to see him venturing out and diving in to new challenges. It hurts my heart just a little because I know soon enough he'll be off on his own and won't need me as much, but I know he's on his way to becoming an incredible man.
Dear Mom,
Now I get it. I completely understand why you always put the freshly laundered clothes under the clothes currently in the drawers. My children have clothes I have never seen them wear. Husband has shirts he hasn't worn in a year. Me, I dig through my drawers to find what I want, which is why I never saw a point to what you did. So, now, I'm taking a tip from you and rotating the clothes in Husband and children's drawers. Hopefully that means people will start seeing "new" things on my family. Love, Your Daughter |
Categories
All
Archives
March 2023
|