{What The Baby Books Don't Tell You} A Guest Post at Life ReArranged

When Jeanett first asked me to write this post I thought she was cray cray.  ME? The girl who hasn't blogged since...ahem December? And then I heard a small voice say, yes You.  You have something to impart to other Moms. And then another voice began to argue with that voice. A back and forth discounting worth and wisdom. It's a game I like to play.  It's called talk yourself out of anything that temps the boundaries of your comfort zone. I purposefully have yet to read the other contributions, because I knew I would lament about whether or not I measured up to these other Moms. Moms who I've journeyed with for years.  Some knowingly some unknowingly.  I've mourned with, prayed for, laughed til I cried, jumped with joy, all the while carrying them in my heart.


So as I pondered this concept Jeannett proposed, What The Baby Books Don't Tell You, my first thought was oh no what in the world do I talk about.....I never read those books.  You see my husband and I were welcomed into parenthood by a beautiful baby boy as teenagers and unmarried.  He 18 and I 20, were young and in love and barely able to manage a check book.  Okay let's be honest, we couldn't do that, so why in the heck were we bringing another human being into this world? What I've learned over the last twelve years of mothering is His plan is greater no matter the decisions we make to muck it up.  He is good, all the time, no matter what.

Finish reading my post here.

I'm giving away two great books on Jeanett's blog, details to follow my post.

But the awesome Wendy Hagen also provided a copy of her awesome & signed book 'Totally Desperate Mom' to provide for one of my readers!  

And because you rad readers have stuck around throughout my ridonkulous hiatus, it's up for grabs to you!  Here is how to win:

1) Leave a comment on THIS post.  (1 entry)
2) Share this post via Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest…there’s even buttons down below to make it easy!  (1 entry max.)
3) DONATE to Life ReArranged's fundraiser for Charity Water.  (1 entry per dollar.  Unlimited entries!)
One winner will be chosen and announced by next, Monday, June 4th.

Giveaway closed.

Daisy Fuentes Dronen you won, Wendy Hagen's Totally Desperate Mom!

{Servant's Heart}

I have a great pair of french doors with inlay shutters at the back of my house.  Perfect for watching the kids frolic fight in the backyard.

Last week, I used those windows to watch my hubby teach my son a sweet lesson of how to love and serve his future bride well.

Shortly after dropping my SIL and I at the airport back in March for Creative Estates, my Hubs with kids in tow made their way to my FIL's house.  He lives a good hour and half from us and we don't nearly get enough time to visit regularly. Because my FIL works from home, it was a perfect chance to catch him before they headed home.  My in-laws had recently pulled up several bricks from their backyard patio.  Being ever so resourceful the Hubs offered to take the bricks off his hands.  We have a compact car and an old truck that might make it 30-45 miles from home.  This was going to be a long term commitment.  My father-in-law offered his truck and so began the trek home...back and forth to get it all home.  Quite the ordeal since we all got up around 4am!

He was so excited to show me the fruits of his labor when I got home.  He designed a brick slab to set our backyard swing on.  Not finished, but the gesture was worth it's weight in gold. He took the initiative to use some free time while I was gone to do something sweet for me.  This week he has finally had enough of a lull in his busy schedule to set to work at leveling the ground and preparing to make it a permanent slab.

I watched as my son handed his Daddy each brick.  Precision to ensure the work was done according to plan.  I watched as my son eagerly looked to his Dad for direction, willing to help.  I watched as sweat poured down on my Hubby's brow to complete this labor of love.

To most people, a brick slab doesn't evoke heart palpitations, but to me it is swoon worthy.  My hubby and I love to swing on the swing in breezy summer evenings, dreaming and reminiscing.  It's our special spot.  A year earlier he transformed the swing my parents gifted us by replacing the worn fabric cushions with more permanent wood seating.  I love how he values this sweet spot to continue to approve upon it.

More than the makeover on our special spot, I love the legacy he is weaving for our children.  I love that my son will value investing in his marriage.  I love that he will learn how to serve his wife.  I love that he longs to be the man his Father has become.

I am blessed to have an amazing husband who is an equally amazing Father.  So thankful that he willing serves me and builds up our marriage in ways I never knew I needed.

Thankful.

oh. my. word.

I fumed.  I cried.  I laughed.  I learned.  All today...being a Mommy is funny like that. 

Some weird coincidences have been happening.

My daughter's best friend happens to be my best friend's daughter.  My best friend mentioned the other day that her daughter hasn't had a chance to email my daughter back.  Bella participates on an online community with stuffed animals called Webkinz and she emails her friends (she/we knows all of them in real life) back and forth.  We monitor her time on the kid's computer that's in her room and it has a filter and is password protected.

I have a facebook account and randomly get invites from people I don't know. Being the people pleaser I am and wanting to insure I don't avoid a long lost friend if I am unsure of who it is I'll send them a quick email to inquire on their identity.

Two things happened.  First a picture less facebook user showed up in my friends suggestion list with my daughter's name on it.  I investigated.  I find several people with that name and the picture less user has no identifying info, so I forget it.  Then another facebook user, again picture less asks to be my friend who conveniently has my first name and my sister's last name.  Hmmm, email sent...who are you?  They reply saying they went to my high school.  Annoyed that it was probably a joke from someone I know, I ignore it and decline the request.

This morning when I logged into Blogger I noticed a new follower. (I did not get all excited, because that doesn't matter to me...no, not me.)  Only to find the new follower is someone who happens to have the same name as my daughter.  I am of course so annoyed that someone is messing with me.  I click on the user to see who they are following.  Umm, just so happens said person is following my sister-in-law and another local home schooler's blog.  Really, this is not happening.

Long story short, after a bit of lying...yes LYING she, as in MY daughter admitted to having an email account and that she used it to open a FACEBOOK ACCOUNT and a BLOGGER account.

Ya'll SHE was the person emailing me saying that she went to my high school!

She created a pretty cute blog and had ALREADY posted a blog post!

Say what?

So, then I start looking at her email account and she has emailed several accounts with her name as the email address'.  This child...when it was all said and done...had created SEVEN email accounts, THREE Facebook accounts and ONE blogger account.

Let's just say she is grounded from all things media and digital for the rest of her life an undetermined amount of time.

Before I get reamed, I have already played the blame game.  We have gone to the trouble of securing her computer, that I never imagined she would sneak and use mine!  I also want to explain on behalf of my friend, that we had discussed opening the kiddos an account to work on their typing skills, spelling, letter writing, etc. so she just assumed I was aware.

Sadly, while it was a very frustrating situation I found myself wondering if I should be angry or impressed.  I was floored that she knew that much about the computer to do all that!  In the end it was a sobering moment as a Mommy to remember that I can't protect them from everything.  I am so THANKFUL that she didn't share any personal information.  Please let this serve as a lesson that we all need to be oh so careful with our kiddos, especially when dealing with the internet.

Now, if you'll excuse me Calgon is calling my name.  Tomorrow is another day, tomorrow is another day, tomorrow is another day!

Mommy Time Out

I love the funny quotes from the back of Parents Magazine.  Typically I flip straight to the back to read them. August's issue had one that jumped out at me and sure applies today.

Tone Cold

I was reading a book to my kids and got to a part where I read, "And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy."  My three year old, Bryce, said, "Oh, like you, Mom?"

Crissy Maurer; Potalnd, Oregon

Ha, ha...but not really. So here's how it applied to today.

I lost it.  Vacation is over, Daddy returned to work, and reality set in.

How can my children love each other so much and yet be so ugly to one another?  Nothing gets me more upset with my kids than when they hit one another.  They immediately blow up and lash out.  What is that about?

Fast forward to the mirror God is holding in front of my face.  Oh, that's right, I set the example.

When I immediately  let my emotion takeover and parent in anger I will always come up short and in turn be anything BUT the example of Christ.  The beauty is that God's grace is sufficient and he's not done with me yet.  Yet, I still hate that after being a Mommy for nearly eleven years I still battle my temper on a daily basis.  And I still apologize to my babies on a daily basis.  I don't want to be that do as I say, not as I do parent.  I want my life to be the example of how to behave, not how not to.

So, how do I get from here to there.  I don't know for sure, but repenting, praying, and giving it to Jesus sound about right.  So here we are again God. Shape me to look less like me and more like you.  Make me to love with compassion, understanding, and grace like you do.  Mold me to be the Mommy you intended me to be and give me the patience for it to happen in your timing.

Maybe then I will hear more of, "Your the best Mommy in the world.", rather than to see eyes filled with hurt.  Better make the best of Mommy time out and pray while they are napping.