No no Daddy.....

It wasn't a long time ago

It was the day after yesterday!!!!!!!

Dude (says the Daddy)

The day after yesterday is today.

Some Musings from the Middle

So - I have this middle child.

Any family that has a middle knows that the middle can be....

stubborn and sensitive and very quiet and remarkably loud and incredibly easy and unbelievably hard

all at the exact same time.

Well - I decided to honor our middle with this post today of funny things that she has said - literally all in the last two days.

From the Middle Bowhead Age 6

Scene set up: bedtime, rain beginning, thunder rumbling gently, Daddy finishing up his goodnights, Mommy coming in to begin hers.....

"Mom - Daddy says that thunder is just the angels in Heaven bowling."

I say, "oh really?"

She says, "yes - I really wish they would pick a quieter way to have a good time."

Scene set up: The opportunity for her to talk on the phone with a BFF from Texas alone in the car with Mom driving down the road. The BFF has apparently relayed some story about helping her little brother....

"oh yes but you see if you have a bigger sister and a littler brother than the bigger sister has to help the littler brother do everything and you don't have to do anything. It's Awesome."

Same phone conversation

"I don't know, friend in Texas, I have really only been here a short time and I really don't know all the answers yet."

In the same phone conversation, every time that she wanted to ask me a question or move in her seat she would very carefully hold her hand up to the phone to cover it and say primly,

"Hold Please"

Scene set up: Mom running errands and lets everyone know that there is only one more and it is a quick one.

"Yes but Mommy - sometimes you say that and it really isn't so quick. Sometimes I worry about you and the clock in your head."

I love that Middle. Couldn't have a beginning and an end without the middle!

A post about teaching the children

So - when you have a huge life change - like say...

moving from one state in the middle of the country to another state at one of the ends

You get a little side tracked from day to day life. I have been so busy with the move and the houses and sort of well

surviving

That I feel like I am finally getting back to what is most important

My KIDS

I am blessed to be a stay at home Mom. I genuinely like staying home and while I will one day, possibly, maybe, depending on where life takes me, teach again. For now, I stay home.

Now - remind me because I will go OFF on my soapbox about being "THAT Mom" as well as my soapbox about the stay at home Mom VS working Mom "debate".

I will not step onto either one of those soapboxes at this moment because - hey - I need to spread out my blogging material where I can.

Anyway - I digress

As usual

Long story short - I stay home - I like it. Period.

Soooo - Husband and I have been talking a lot about teaching our kids. This is a competitive world that we live in and every time I turn around I am being tempted to drop hundreds of dollars (times 3 for me) on

pianotennisviolinswimguitarsoccertromboneadvancedcompetitivewrestling....

lessons

(You get my point)

Now don't get me wrong - I see the value of these things and I am willing to pay for them when called for but Husband and I are also realizing something

There is A LOT that we can teach them. A LOT!

I do not have to sign my son up for cooking lessons - I am teaching him how to cook every time I make cookies and let him help.

I do not have to sign my kids up for fitness classes - I can go out back and play with them.

I do not have to sign my daughter up for beginning piano. I can read basic music and follow an elementary piano book and grind my teeth while watching my life slowly pass before my eyes every bit as well as the piano teacher can.

Will there come a day when I need a more advanced piano teacher for her - maybe. But especially starting them - we can teach them.

Now - I am not a perfect parent and I do not pretend to tell you how to parent. The reason that I feel compelled to tell you this (beside from the fact that it is filling up a blog post) is this is my blog. Mostly I just try to remember this time in my life. I will not lie to you dear readers - if you have made it this far into the post you know that I will go to great lengths for a laugh but that is not the reason for this long winded post.

I think that there is so much that we can learn from one another in this community of parenting. I am constantly seeing or hearing things that other parents are doing and reminding myself to try that so here goes - try this.......

Tomorrow - teach your children something. Slow down and teach them. Show them how to do something that they don't know how to do.

Now some of you might say, "psshhh Holly - I am constantly teaching my kids all the time. Heck we just wrapped up our advanced studies in Latin as our bedtime story." But some of you will look back over this day and you will remember pick up and drop off and activities and playdates and telling them to do their homework and brush their teeth but

Did you teach them anything?

Try it tomorrow - slow down and show them how to do something. Even if it is as simple as how to start a load of laundry or where a stamp should go on a letter.

Slow down and try it - it is like broccoli with cheese - I promise you will like it.

A blogging lag

Ok so I a little bit think that blogging is like exercising or mowing the lawn or matching up socks - if you get out of the habit of doing it - it is hard to get started again.

I think it is one of those - so much to say - don't know where to start kind of things......

So - here goes

First off - we lost a dog this week. Penelope Anne the Pug died quite suddenly and it was actually very upsetting and to be perfectly honest - I don't want to talk about it. I did feel the need to mention it in the ol' bowheads blog because I have been blogging about her since we got her. I also think she is part of the reason that I have been stuck with the blogging. The whole - feel like I should say something - don't know how to say it thing.

Anyway - enough said on that subject.....

Frank the pug got a perfect bill of health from the vet yesterday - phew! (He did have to switch to diet treats and has been trying to figure out a way to stage a non violent protest.....)

The weather here is crazy - we did not get out of the 50's today. In 20 years I have not spent an entire day in June in jeans and a sweater and guess what - that is what I did today. I am not complaining mind you - that Texas heat is so rough and I am sure I will have plenty to complain about come winter so for now all I can say is - the weather here is awesome.

We went strawberry picking last week and I have been making myself strawberry smoothies and let me just say - so so so good.

For those of you that have followed since the cupcake weight loss days - I have started phase two of cupcake weight loss. I am calling this phase - the cupcake on skis phase because I figure I better be as light as possible when I start careening downhill this winter.

I am obsessed with pinterest and cannot stop pinning things. I get the best ideas and I love love love love that I can keep them all in one place.

Now I am rambling so that is good - the blogging juices are flowing - hopefully I will be able to come up with something witty and charming and wildly interesting for tomorrow......

Well - one can only hope.

;)