our beautiful life

My mini me is starting Pre-K! Her official first day of school will be this Monday, but on wednesday we had orientation. She got to meet most of her classmates and of course her teacher.
So, this called for the 

"first day of school" photos ;)! 

My prayer for her this year:

That you will have peace in your everyday school life and Gods voice will be loud in your heart. That you make great friendships & that you are a leader and know who you are in Christ. I pray that you will be respectful to your teacher and have good listening ears. I pray you will learn lots and make lots of great memories. That you will be confident and excited for what the day has in store for you. Make the best of every situation and be kind to others & that others are kind to you. That you will be happy, joyful & always trust Jesus & know he is beside you all the time. That you will remember that YOU are kind, smart, funny, loyal, loving, forgiving and you make a great friend! Amen. 

This is the last year that Summer wont be in full time kindergarten so I am eating up as much daily time with her as I can. Next year, I will be a wreck.
NOT looking forward to her starting kindergarten. 

Off to school we go.

Being a SAHM is not a luxury. It is hard work, the hardest work I know. 

We don't get paid, we don't get sick days, holidays, time off. We don't get a lunch break & when we do get lunch its normally when we are already past the point of hungry and we first need to feed other little mouths. We get about 5-10 mins to eat and its never quiet and just "sit and enjoy your lunch", ha!
We do not get a bathroom break,  some people get to pee in peace during the day, us? no, never, not ever ever..
 We don't get to grab a cup of coffee and drink it when its hot (normally for me its lukewarm by the time I drink it) . We don't have adult conversations throughout the day & I am never up to date on the "news". If its not on Disney Junior, or PBS kids then don't expect me to know whats going on with the world unless my husband tell me.

 I am not here to argue the point of who works harder, the stay at home mother or the mom who works outside the house. They both work hard.  

But I know first hand just how hard the SAHM works. 

Yes, we are lucky to be able to be SAHM. But luxury is a nonessential item, an indulgence.

 What I do is essential and certainly not indulgent.

Being a SAHM is hard.

Don't get me wrong, it is also incredible rewarding & I love it and I wouldn't change being home with my kids for anything. 

Lots of things in life are hard, but those things are usually the things that are worth the

 hard work & investment. 

I posted a little "venting post"  last week about my day. 

Here is that post. 

Honestly I left out a lot ;). 

I left out that London hit Summer with a toy, (a few times, not by accident, I must add) London pulled out a huge chunk Of Summers hair, she climbed on the kitchen table (not safe) to bite into a LEMON, after eating 3 markers. I gave her crayons because she wouldn't let the argument go, she then took the whole tub of crayons & dumped them all over the kitchen floor, and didn't think a thing about it.  She also found the red nail polish Summer left in reach and started to paint her toes / feet (actually while I was starting to write a blog post) so I VERY calmly & slowly walk over to her and said "oh pretty" while taking it away so she didn't freak out and chuck the whole thing, which would obviously be a huge disaster. She doesn't seem to be fazed by a time out, and gives me a guilty look every time I give her a (gently but firm) spank to her bum. This kid, she is something else. 

She stands at the top of the stairs putting her toes over just enough to give me a heart attack. She thinks this is funny, so she then laughs & in doing so practically sends herself tumbling down the steps. Good thing I'm always right there. She is still learning what "gentle" means, or so she "pretends"...our poor dog. 

I am starting to get the sense that some people think my kids are perfect little angels, at least for the most part, and I have it all together.. FYI, no, no they aren't and no I do not. 

I do post lots of pictures to my instagram and facebook that may make it seem that way, but, they

 (& I) have our days. Not everyday is picture perfect as a photo may lead. I will say, I do try to focus on the best parts of our days though. I try to not complain or vent about my hard days and about my kids being naughty. In doing so I may give people the sense my kids are really well behaved.
(& my eldest, Summer, well, she is pretty close to "the perfect child") ,
but lets be real. they are kids.

I stay home ALL DAY EVERYDAY and we all reach our limits.

when I get asked "what r u doing today" , "what are your plans for the week". 

Well, I will be home, all day, sweats or yoga pants, no makeup, hair in a bun, & having my house destroyed, this will be on repeat for at least 5 days. 

I do leave my house on occasion and do fun things like the Zoo or....well as far as "places" go, the zoo is about it.

(besides a park and staying around home of course)

 I may brave and try to go out to Target to get a few things but it always ends with a whole lot of crying from miss london and always right when we hit the checkout lane, which for some reason seems to take a lifetime while they scan each and every thing.  While we grocery shop, its like a race! Go get fruit and veggies, then go get a cookie which normally buys me about 7 to 8 mins of "kinda" quietness. Then, try to get as many groceries and possible before L takes her last bite. Make sure you have plenty of interesting snacks in your purse, juice and her lovie.  Who cares if your purse now weighs 15 pounds. If it keeps the peace for most of the shopping trip, its worth it. 

Also, do not walk by the toys, candy or things of this nature.

I need to make it clear, that while being a SAHM makes me feel like I am close to being put into an insane asylum at times, I wouldn't change my life for anything, & I truly mean it. Call me crazy.

Yes, my house gets destroyed every second of the day and I am constantly cleaning up, I mean constantly (because I cant stand clutter) picking up food, crumbs from under the table, spills, sippy cups, dog food that London has spread across the house, clothes, diaper changing, laundry, meals, and the list could go on. Kids are professional mess makers, you cant just take out a few toys, clean up and move onto the next one...are you crazy?! 

But, they are making their childhood memories. They are using their imagination, playing and pretending, and sometimes even keeping themselves entertained for a short period and playing together, giggling, so really, it is a beautiful thing. 

This is not just my house but their house too. It is not just my day but their day too.

With all the stressful, frustrating, hard, and LOOOONG days that seem to sometimes never end and seem to never give you a break, the cuddle you get at nap, the kisses you get randomly , and the 

"your the best mommy" you hear from your oldest  make it all worth it.

From one SAHM to another, You can do it!! Hard days come, sometimes more then you would like, But good days come too and the good days ALWAYS trump the bad. 

Always focus on the good of the day. 

Remember the things they learned today, the imagination they used, the games they played, the things you helped them overcome, the memories they made, the fun things they played, the books you read to them. That sounds like a pretty good for them if you ask me.

[This post is not just for the SAHM. It is however geared at the SAHM. But being a mom in general is hard, but good work. & hopefully you can take something from this posting that apply's to you and can help you or give you some encouragement.]

Just remember, you are the #1 person in their life. You are the one there for them 24/7 morning, noon and night. You are the one they love with all their little hearts

 (even when it doesn't seem like it in the moment). 

You are the one they call for in the middle of the night. You stop the crying, you make hard days better for them, you teach them and you show them new thing, new adventures, & love. 

You are raising little hearts and there is no other job as important as that. I promise. 

So when you are having those days where all you want to do is go lock your self in your room 

(like I do), its ok, don't feel bad. We all want to do that sometimes. Just strive to be the best mom you can be for your kids and that is all that matters. 

At the end of the day, when it has been hard for you, just think, it has been a pretty darn good day for them. They never intend to make your day hard or to push your buttons. They are children, and frankly its their job, so to speak. Being a good parent is work, & it is the best thing to "work" on. 

If you work on hard at anything let it be this, being a GREAT mom.

Even when the littlest naps, I still have 1 more child who loves to use her imagination & in doing so this happens.  

(here she is along side her cousin Rylen. Together they are THEE WORLDS greatest mess makers ;))

- this post has taken me a whole 5 days to write. After reading I know you'll understand why ;)

Side note- Mommies, put your phone down (out of reach even), turn off thee electronics & spend quality time with your kids. 

Nothing on social media, or on the news (its mostly crap anyways) is as important as your child.

Go spend quality time with them and invest into their little hearts. no amount of toys, cartoons, or money is as important as your undivided attention to them.