From Rags to Riches

It all began at the new church we visited on Sunday. I pulled the guest form from the bulletin, tearing along the perforated line, proceeding to fill it out. Closer to the bottom, the form inquired about our age range. As I scanned the options, my eyes fell on the bracket covering our ages, 30-45. 30-45? 30-45?! Sure, we just recently entered this age range, but Good King Winceslas, when in the world did we get to the point where we qualified for an age category shared with people in their 40's? No offense to all of you people in your 40's or beyond that even. I leaned over and tapped the hubs on the leg showing him the form where I had checked the doomed 'age' box. He looked up and said "Yeah, it's true." 30-45. Blech. What a nasty after taste.

My reason for bringing this up, aside from torturing myself, is that it got me thinking about the fact that although it's unfortunate that I'm now in my thirties, I feel like I've only just begun living. In my early twenties, I was an emotional wreck, silly, irresponsible, and probably a little too carefree. I wasn't serious about much other than college and I thought that I had all the time in the world. Now, I'm stable, practical, responsible, carefree without even the slightest hint of wrecklessness, serious when necessary, and carrying with me a healthy dose of reality in the fact that life is incredibly short and that every moment must be cherished. In all honesty, without taking into consideration my sheer disgust in qualifying for the age range of 30-45 and actually seeing it on paper, I breathe a sigh of relief in the comfort that I am where I am today and not, in fact, back in my twenties, lost and alone.


This brings me to the inspiration for this post. Last night, the hubs looked a little down. When I asked him what was wrong he said something to the effect of, "I wish I made more money and was able to do more for you guys." Us guys meaning me and the munchkins. I tried to explain to him that we don't need more money--we're happy. Yes, we are a single-income family with three kids, but we're happy. Sure, we can't be frivolous with our finances; we can't always go out to dinner or do expensive things and when I go grocery shopping it's only after mapping out the trip with meal plans and coupons in hand, but we're happy! I assured him that he could stop worrying because this happiness is all that we need.

In the transition from my twenties to my thirties, I feel as though I have gone from having the proverbial rags to sitting on top of riches. I am rich beyond belief with a phenomenal husband who makes me happier than I have ever been in my life who works hard each and every day so that I can be a stay-at-home mother to our three fantastic children. We enjoy doing things as a family, even simple things like taking a walk or just having dinner together. You've read our quotes and conversations--we laugh like crazy people when we're spending time together. We're happy. How many families, rich or poor, can truly say that?

I'll admit that we may not have a lot of extra money, but if you ask me, I'll tell you that I'm the richest woman alive.

Eat your heart out, Oprah.

True Mom Confessions

There's a regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine titled "Blogger," where the editors find a different blog post to feature each month by women who are wives and/or mothers. Personally, I love these blogs because they are raw and true, many times relating to my own life. I was cleaning out my magazine stash, going through last year's issues tearing out recipe's and reading any interesting articles that I may have missed. Here is the "Blogger" feature from May of 2011 by Kyran Pittman who released a book last year titled Planting Dandelions: Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life. I think we can all relate some of these...

True Mom Confessions
I don't make my kids eat things they don't like--and other lapses of a "good enough" mom

I've always loved that quote from the Earl of Rochester: "Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories." I didn't have any theories about parenting before I actually became a parent myself; I had rigid, non-negotiable certainties. Mercifully, I'm a quick study--it took only three children to kick me off my high horse regarding the kind of mother I set out to be. That is, a perfect one. A few of the innumerable ways in which I've (happily) fallen short:

- Sometimes I nod and make noises like I'm listening to my kids when I am not. Especially before 9am.

- I gave up on giving daily baths--or getting them--after the second baby was born.

- I don't have a one-bite rule; a peanut butter sandwich is always on the menu; and I could never send a child to bed hungry.

- I like to be near my kids when they're playing or doing homework, but I don't really want to join in (unless they need me).

- I'm not a "baby" person. I couldn't wait for them to be old enough to have conversations and play board games.

- On more than one occasion, I've forgotten to pick up a child on time. My youngest still brings up "that day you forgot about me."

- I readily admit: playgoup was really for the mommies.

- I am neither organized enough nor solvent enough to pay a regular allowance, but sometimes I resort to bribery. I am full prepared to negotiate with terrorists.

- At one time or another, I've fallen back on tactics I swore I would never use on my children, including guilt, yelling, and threats to call the North Pole.

- In 12 years or parenting, I've never spanked, but I do remind them it's strictly a "one day at a time" abstinence program.

- Our toothfairy is notoriously unreliable.

- Sometimes I just vacuum up the LEGO's.

Glad that's off my chest. May I have my breakfast in bed now?

P.S. I can actually add to this list--is that terrible?? I'm also guilty of putting Ryleigh--because she's younger and doesn't know any better yet--to bed as early as 7pm just to get some extra peace and quiet. The extra sleep couldn't hurt her either. I'm also guilty of taking every opportunity available and twisting it to my advantage. This sounds like a horrid act, but hear me out. For example, recently Ryleigh had a Dr.'s appointment an hour away on a day that the kids only had half a day in school. The evening before, the hubs and I decided that we weren't going to send them to school just so the morning wouldn't be quite as hectic because they would already be home. I made my way to the second floor to tell the kids that if they cleaned their rooms REALLY good then they could stay home from school, but if not, they would have to go. They were so excited, they cleaned the rooms--in record time, mind you--and then even begged me to come look at them afterwards! Sure, we were going to let them stay home regardless, but they didn't know that. And hey, we got the cleanest rooms out of them that we'd ever seen. Everybody won :)

Around The Dinner Table

We're a family that eats together. Even if we've all had a bad day and are collectively giving each other the silent treatment, we always sit down at the table and have dinner together. These are special times for us. Times to share, to laugh, to enjoy good food, and to be together. Some of the greatest moments that occur in our home, quotes and chats included, happen while we're sitting around the table...






This week the hubs starts evening shift. Now, only two days out of the week, when Lewis is off, will we be able to have dinner around the table as a family. While I will certainly miss this nightly routine, this will make those two dinners during the week that we do get together that much more special. Here's to many more cherished memories to come...