My kids are NOT perfect

I have noticed, through different online communities and some of my kid's classmates, that a lot of parents are striving for their kids to BE perfect. There are some parents that want their kids to be the BRIGHTEST and BEST at everything they ever try their hand at. Some parents are pushing their kids so far that they are losing out on the true magic of childhood. I am here to tell you...I am not one of those parents!


Take Isaac for example: While it's true that he is a math whiz and his reading comprehension skills ROCK the house--the truth of the matter is that he's NOT a pure genius at everything he tries. I know-- shocking right?!?! But it's true. His handwriting is barely legible. His last Social Studies test tells me that that isn't his forte. He couldn't ice skate to save his life!! He doesn't like to admit when he's wrong. He is demanding and a bit hard to please. He's stubborn as all get out!! He's a procrastinator. He is bossy when it comes to his brother and sister-thinking they should do and be and act exactly as he wants them to. He's very good at baseball, it's his passion!! But he isn't the best player on the field and he's certainly not going to grow up to play for the major leagues.  

Maia is AWESOME!! Everyone that meets her says it's true. She's sweet and empathetic and smart as a whip. What does that saying mean anyway, smart as a whip? Are whips smart? I may need to look into that further. But I digress, Maia isn't perfect either!! She is struggling a bit with her multiplication tables. Her teacher thinks she knows them, but I see her counting on her fingers (and sometimes toes) when she thinks no one is looking:) I know exactly what she is doing because...well...I do the same thing! She is also just a smidge impatient. Wanting what she wants RIGHT NOW! She could possibly also get that from me...shhhh, don't tell anyone:) She has ZERO coordination. She can't do a handstand or a cartwheel! She has fun trying though. The girl CAN'T sing. For realz. She can't:) She likes to sing though. She does it and she does it loud. But she'll NEVER get a golden ticket to Hollywood per American Idol.

Asher is a genius!!! Well according to Andy anyways. We haven't actually had him tested or anything important like that! He may actually just be average:) He is doing very well in Kindergarten so far though sooooo you never know!! I tend to side with my husband on all things important, so we're gonna just go with his opinion of genius here:) Asher is also a bit melodramatic. He can turn anything into a very very big deal. He doesn't have a lot of confidence in himself and he worries way way too much about what others think of him (sigh...not unlike someone else that I happen to be very familiar with). The truth is though that Asher is still so young. I have no idea where his talents really lie. I think I have a couple of really good ideas but things can change quickly at this age. I also have no real idea of where he will be not quite so talented. Only time will tell.  

The point is is that I won't push Asher or Maia or Isaac to be anything other than who they are. They won't be great at all things...and I think that's okay!!  Isaac is NEVER going to be a skater. We have friends who are AWESOME skaters but Isaac just isn't.  Maia is never going to have a great singing voice. I'm not going to force her to take voice lessons so she can better herself in that area. I'm never going to make Asher play a sport or instrument if he doesn't want to. I will make him find SOMETHING that interests him but it'll be something that interests him...not something that interests me.

Don't get me wrong. I think extracurriculars are very very important. I think it's a fabulous idea to keep kids busy so that they don't get involved with the wrong crowd. I think it's my job to help my kids develop any natural talent that God has graced them with. I think it's insanely important to be actively involved in my kid's schoolwork. We go over Maia's multiplication tables every. single. night. But I'm not going to punish her for not being a math whiz either. I'm not going to put too much pressure on any of them to be something that they're not. I'm not going to drive them all over town making them take every lesson under the sun until they're so burnt out that they can't just be kids. I know that sounds ridiculous but I have SEEN it.  That is not the life I want for my kids.

I want my kids to come home from school and to play. I want them to set up Army men in the basement and act out battles. I want them to spend hour upon hour building Lego bases so that they can make stop motion shorts. I want Maia to imagine herself in a time period with her American Girl dolls. I want them to run in the sun and to climb trees. I want to hear them giggling as they jump on the trampoline. Of course I want to them to develop their talents. That's why we pay for piano lessons and baseball clinics!! That's why we study and read books with them every night. But I don't want them thinking that they have to PERFECT at everything they ever do. If we were ALL good at everything we EVER did then NO ONE would be UNIQUE. We'd all be like perfect little robots with NOTHING special to add to the World. Nope, I'll take my imperfect kids--because I think their imperfections make them PERFECTLY THEM :) And I love them JUST as they are!!

Start Your Engines!!!

It's Derby time again!!!!  

  

This is our car from last year. We worked extra hard on it. We planned for weeks. We cut it out and sanded it. Painted and lacquered it. We paid extra special attention to the weights and wheels. When Derby day came it was very exciting!! All the cars were lined up one by one. Each scout walked down the line and voted for their very favorite car. Then it was time for the main event!! Our car raced down the track at least 50 times. We yelled and jumped up and down when our car came in first. And it came in first quite a few times!! Enough times to win us 2nd fastest car in our den. See that trophy up there^^?? The other trophy is for people's choice. Out of all the cars there, and there were a lot, Isaac's was the favorite design. Pretty exciting stuff!! I took video and everything.

So now it's Derby time again. See that block of pinewood down there? Yep. That's our "car" this year!! Needs a lot of work right? I know!! I've been nagging my boys for a month to get to work on this thing. They have no design. No grand plans. So different from last year. When is the Derby you ask? This Saturday!!! Very first thing in the morning. Less than 48 hours. Not even enough time for the paint to dry!! I'm betting they can't pull this off. This chunk of Pinewood will remain just that...a chunk of wood. But alas, I am DONE nagging.

             I think they are going to regret their lack of motivation come Saturday. Do you think they can pull it off? We shall see I guess. I'll keep you updated :)

Lazy Weekend

We aren't doing too much around here this weekend. Just a lazy couple of days trying to stay warm! It is freezing outside.

Maia had an Upward Basketball game yesterday and that is seriously, the only thing we left the house for! Her game went well. They didn't win but each girl on the team is improving every week. I LOVE it because it is Christ centered. The kids earn stars for verse memorization:) And they...wait for it...PRAY before every game!! Plus, they make a really big deal out of all the players. The kids get to run through a tunnel of fans and have their names called out over the loudspeaker!! When you add in strobe lights and loud entrance music it definitely makes the kids feel like SUPERSTARS!!  Even the spectators get a devotional during halftime.

Today we went to church and came straight back home. Considering we've been cooped up here for the last 4 days, I am definitely feeling some cabin fever. We have kept ourselves busy baking and doing some crafts. I think I'll share some of that on my "MY Busy Hands" blog later today. It'll be my first post there. I used to have a scrapping blog but decided to expand it to all my craft and baking endeavors.

I think the rest of the afternoon will be spent with a good cup of coffee, the weekly grocery ads and a pile of cookbooks. I need to sit down and make a major grocery list/meal plan. Isaac is working on some stop motion film prep. Maia and Asher are telling me they're bored. I think I'm gonna dig out the paints for them!  We might head out to the library for a bit, and then this evening, Isaac and Maia will be going to 2:52 Kids at church. We lead an exciting life around here people!!

How quickly we're forgotten

So I have been reading this book series, Shenandoah something or other by Emilie Richards. It's just a light, fluffy novel, not much thinking required --nothing fantastic but the story has kept me interested. It's kind of neat because there is a story within the story. The story within the story is actually what has kept me most fascinated. It's like a flashback to the ancestors of the characters in the book.


It struck me that the ancestors that the stories are about, are not all that far removed from the present day characters. Yet these characters know next to nothing about them. Which made me think about my own family. My great grandparents were a VERY important part of my life. In fact, I have been very blessed to know and love ALL of my GREAT grandparents. Yet, my kids know NOTHING about them! Not even their names. They may remember little snippets of stories that I tell, but probably nothing of significance really sticks with them. My 3 will grow up and probably only have vague memories of me telling them stories of a farmhouse that held the most wonderful people ever. People full of lovely stories of 1 room schoolhouses and naughty antics with their siblings. People who loved and spoiled me beyond reason. It makes me so sad that all these wonderful memories will probably die with me. Our lives are so fleeting!! And 2 generations later we're barely a memory in someone else's mind.


My children have had the same blessing in their lives and they each have special relationships with their own great grandparents. I really need to get it together and start scrapbooking/journaling again. That way my kids will be able to share their own special memories with future generations. No one should be forgotten! Most especially, a crabby grandma that used to run and jump across hotel beds to wake sleeping children up!! Or a grandma that makes the best food ever, and always has time to pull out her stash of toys to play with you.

Missy May threw her daddy for a loop!

So Missy May is 9 years old now. She has always been the sweetsest, most compliant little thing. Always willing to help when needed. She has always seemed mature beyond her years, but yet still very innocent and naive. She still plays with Littlest Pet Shop toys and of course American Girl dolls! She'll tell you herself that she is not ready to grow up yet. But she has gotten a bit of sass to her lately!


She was spending the day with one of her many bff's last week. We specifically told her to NOT even ask to spend the night because we had some family plans that she needed to be here for. We also told the bff's parents the same thing...but that's a whole nother story! So Missy May calls an hour after we dropped her off to ask, wait for it, if she could spend the night!! You knew that was coming right:) She proceeded to call several more times throughout the 8 hours that she was there. At that point we had had enough and Andy went to pick her up. She knew he was at the door. And she HID! Poor guy stood outside, in freezing January temps, for over 15 minutes!! Where were bff's parents you may wonder? Again, whole other story there. When Andy Finally got into the house, Maia begged and pleaded--she wanted to know why in the world she COULD NOT stay. Andy said she was relentless. Now this is where the loop comes in. In the car, on the way home, She started crying and asked Andy WHY IN THE WORLD HE HAD WAITED SO LONG TO PICK HER UP!! He was baffled. I think he was stunned into silence.


When they got home he related the whole story to me and I decided I had to know what was going through my girl's precious little head. She admitted that she really really wanted to know WHY she wasn't allowed to spend the night. But, in truth, she really didn't WANT to spend the night. In fact, she was quite upset that we LET her stay as long as we did! But yet, she REALLY REALLY wanted an answer as to why we WOULDN'T let her stay.


When I explained it to Andy he got a kind of  confused expression and then that sideways head tilt that says "HUH?!?!?!...I don't get this". So I explained it more in depth. I said "Congratulations Daddy...you have a GIRL!!!".

Giving Them Wings

Well. Here I am. Starting over. My old blogger account, which consisted of 4 blogs, is impossible for me to access. I am so incredibly sad. I have had that journal for 4 years now. Much of my family's life has been documented there. There is no way for me to log in now though and Blogger said they have done all they can do. Which wasn't much. Let's face it though, the two blogs that were public? Have been like a forgotten wasteland for over a year now. Maybe it was time to start over?


My family is in a new season of life. Sadly, the baby years are behind us now. My mothering role has changed a bit since I started that first blog. Don't get me wrong--much of my everyday life is staying the same. I haven't drastically changed things up. But my kids are changing--growing. As much as I want to hold on to them with all my might, it's time to let them grow wings. Someday, they're going to need those wings to fly solo. It's my job to prepare them for that day. It may seem like the day when they leave the nest is far off in the future--but if I've learned anything this past 11 years, it's that life happens fast. Before I know it they'll be heading out the door without a backward glance.


That's where the wings, or life experience, comes in. I've got to make sure that when they go, they know how to make wise decisions and how to take care of themselves. That they know how to follow and worship the Lord. That they know how to take personal responsibility. Of course I've been doing all of these things all along, but now it's time to add more purpose into the mix. For all of my mothering life I have been so focused on giving my kids roots, which I am still going to be making a huge priority, that I may have neglected their wings just a bit. I have probably been in denial--thinking that they would just stay with me forever and never need their wings to fly solo. But that's not really God's purpose for us is it? He specifically tells us to "leave our mother and father". As much as I want them to stay little-they're going to grow up! They are going to go out and start their own lives. I want them to be successful. I think that means that I may need to start letting them fail a bit now. Fall down so that they can learn to pick themselves back up again. It means not rushing to their aid at every bump in the road. But instead, being there to offer guidance, support and many many prayers. My kids are still young. I'm not going to give them too much freedom quite yet, but I do need to widen their cage some. Give them more room to grow.  That way when the day comes that they do fly solo--they won't be flying blind.


If you were a follower of my old blog, this one is going to look much the same. Just a journal of my little flock's day to day journeys.