And so I have been missing from the blog world for an entire month and I decided I should check in. It's gotta be the weather, or the incessant sickness that continues to plague our house, or maybe it's the fact that in just five days, my baby boy is going to be six months old, but I'm feeling a bit antsy and wanting to simplify and change some things around here. Ever get those feelings?
I am learning that the key to sanity at this point is to just say no. Over the past two weeks, I have cut out a few different time consuming projects, have stayed home a few extra days to finish up some upfinished business, gotten up a few minutes earlier to hit some of the extra laundry, and enjoyed the fact that I can take a note from school asking for a volunteer to do this or that and I have just simply tossed it.
I am a control freak by nature. I think that if I have the luxury of staying home with my kids, then I should be super mom and volunteer and participate in every event. Guess what? I am not going to be volunteering at every little thing. I have recently taken on the motto, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." And it's true. Just because I can do lots of extra crafty things for 26 kids in preschool who don't care, doesn't mean I'm going to.
Tucker celebrated his half birthday at preschool last week. And I have never agreed with the half birthday thing at school....I had a summer birthday, I didn't get recognized, and I'm just fine. But they think that every kid needs a crown, so we had to bring treats. And you know what? We made some muffins and sent a gallon of milk, with no decorations, and nothing extra. And Tucker was pleased and I was a lot less stressed.
And this week, when I was asked to bake a dessert for a funeral dinner at church? I made package brownies and I sent them on a Christmas plate covered in foil. And everybody was probably relieved to see just a basic brownie on the table. And it felt wonderful.
And just becuase I have three birthdays this month that I would normally make hand made cards, I didn't. I bought cards at the store and put my energy into working on scrapbooks for my kids.
And this week my sweet baby turns six months. He's already sitting up, already pushing up and rocking, trying to crawl, desperate to join in the chaos. And I just want to hold him and rock him and enjoy because I know this is it and I have learned through the chaos to slow down and enjoy. These moments are fleeting. The housework will still be there, the laundry never goes anywhere, but this baby is leaving me. Turning into another kid, another love, but never going to be that same precious newborn again.
