Thanksgiving 2006

9pm on Thanksgiving Day. We've driven from my Nana's house for lunch to Bryan's Grandma's for late lunch then back to my Granny's for dinner and finally home. 3 Thanksgiving feasts with family that I love. No, I'm not complaining about being tired & busy & overscheduled. I am so thankful that loved ones are near & still want to gather even though my family brings chaos & messes to each home. And, can I just say how thankful I am for my husband. Bryan is amazing. I am constantly surprised at his parenting - he's really good with the boys. And a great husband too. I am so blessed. I won't go into all the other stuff that I'm feeling thankful for right now, like my country and my church, my brothers & their wives & parents, and for friends, like the ones who drive 10 hours to spend time with us (Thanks Robin & JD). I'll just end with "I'm thankful for Thanksgiving" because we all need a day to reflect on what God has blessed us with. Now, back to my leftover potato salad.

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Nate & Henry dressed as Batman & Superman! They did a fine job of watching over the neighborhood last night, and still managed to gather a few pounds of candy! Please note their costumes, created by Joy, a mere 6-7 hours of frustrating needlework.

Sometimes people ask, "now, what is it you do?" and of course I answer, "I stay home with my boys." Being a stay-at-home mom.... Why don't I feel like I'm doing enough? Why do I feel like I need to be doing more? Why do I feel like I need to explain that I flew with Delta before I had Nate & I am planning on going back to work selling real estate one day. Being a stay-at-home mom doesn't impress anyone. Why do we women feel like we have to impress by balancing careers, marriages, families and still stay in perfect shape, cook dinner every night, have great skin & wear cool clothes? I've been struggling with this the past few weeks and I've decided that I don't have to do all that. I really think that the media (TV, magazines, etc) give us an unrealistic ideal to try to live up to. So, I've decided that my priorities should be 1- my relationship with Christ, 2- my husband and 3-my children. Now, just trying to implement this is the next step. And besides, look at these 2 boys. They are a gift from God. I don't think I'm wasting any time devoting the next 20 years to them.

Preschool

My boys started preschool last week. 3 days a week, 3 hours each day. When I dropped them off this morning, they were both crying hysterically. I'm talking, the kind of crying that has snot all over your face & you're snubbing, they kind in a mother's bad dream. It takes every ounce of strength I have to walk out the door. I call a few minutes later and they're okay. So, I'm sure they have fun once mommy is gone. In fact, Henry walked out of school on Friday wearing a macaroni necklace. Anytime noodles end up around your neck, you've gotta be having fun!

We have this incredible worship service at my church (Welcome Wesleyan) called "The Flame." It's on Sunday nights. My boys love it. This isn't your ordinary worship service now. It's dark, loud, electric guitars & drums, lights & a cutting edge "sermon/message"that is a multimedia experience. Sounds exciting, huh? Anyway, Pastor Matt heads this up. He always has a message that's pertinent to our life given from a stool, not a pulpit, in flipflops, not black shinys. The music, led by Dustin & Hannah (who by the way are a great match both on stage & off) is contemporary & those exciting drums - played by Thom Wood- are just so intriguing!!! If Thom only knew..... So now, we have 2 sets of "little boy drums" that stay on my screened porch (so I can close the door). Nate & Henry have played them so much that they've busted 2 of the smaller drums. They actually think that one great day, they will get to play drums with the Flame band. Watch out Thom, they're getting pretty good!
By the way, Sophia is dead & Dorothy has diarrhea. I am hoping she may join her roommate in a few days. These fish are starting to give me the creeps! I can handle baby poop a lot better than fish poop!

Sophia & Dorothy!

The much anticipated reward for successful potty training has been realized! We are now the proud owners of 2 goldfish - Sophia & Dorothy! Nate & Henry are thrilled & so far are responsible pet owners. The fish tank stays in the bathroom because these fish just love to watch the boys brush their teeth! I am actually growning quite fond of the "girls." They're low maintenance & don't talk back! Oh yes, for those of you considering getting goldfish, I just want to let you know that they prefer eating fish food to spaghetti noodles!

How would you like to drive this bunch around for a few days?
Wow, just recovering from a great visit from my dear friend, Robin. She flew to SC, with her 2 young children, and stayed for 5 days. Yes, she is still alive, flying alone with 2 babies didn't do her in. And, we had a great time. Here you see us in the car going to watch the movie "Cars" at the theater. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful friend who would actually go to all the trouble to come visit just so our children would know each other. And now that they're all gone, my house feels so lonely. So, what did I learn from 5 days with 4 children all 3 and under?
Well, #1, When young babies go to bed at 10 and get up at 6:30, they really do need a nap. So do their mommies. Enough said!
#2, Grilling is an art. Bryan had to work late & I was planning a cookout with another friend who flew with us at Delta. I wanted to bbq chicken on the grill. I didn't even know how to light the grill, first of all. Or, clean it. Or cook on it. To summarize, more chicken ended up stuck to the grill than was served. Next time, I'm leaving any food cooked outdoors to the man in my life, Bryan.
#3, our babies are only babies for such a short time. And even though life is sometimes really tiresome & frustrating, I have to remember that this moment will only last such a short time. One day I may wish for the days when my babies cried out for me during the night & argued over who would get to sit in my lap.
and finally #4, friends are so precious & worth all the effort of staying in touch when life gets busy. I'm so thankful for my friend.

Myrtle Beach Days

Ahhh, returning from a week long vacation in Myrtle Beach. The most fun I've had in years believe it or not! I think I actually relaxed a little. Let's see... last year, Henry was an infant, the year before, I was pregnant. The year before Nate was a baby and the year before, I was pregnant. So, this year, I wasn't pregnant, Henry and Nate were old enough to play together on the beach & Bryan and I enjoyed being a family with our boys.
I am just realizing how uptight I have been since Nate was born. I have been way too protective & constantly worry about "potential" dangers & accidents. I can always envision the worst case scenario & panic that one of my boys may become dinner for a shark or be struck by lightening during a storm.
So I (along with Zoloft) am trying to relax a little and stop worrying about what might happen. I am also trying to turn all these little things over to the Lord, who I know is in control of all the sharks, can settle thunderstorms, and even calm me down when I am panicking about freakish accidents & unlikely sicknesses (like bird flu). Have you been worried about it too?

As the summer begins, I wish you all relaxing vacations with family & friends, lazy days at home with the one you love & great memories that you will cherish forever. I will try to enjoy this wonderful life God has blessed me with and quit stressing over all the little things.

Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day, a day when we all rush out to buy the cutest cards for our moms, grandma's, aunts, sisters, and anyone else who has shown us any type of "motherly love." I do it too, although I go to Dollar Tree where cards are only 50 cents! This year I tried not to go overboard with gifts, I let the boys create something at Paint It Purple Pottery for their grandma's, while great-grandma's (and my boys are fortunate enough to have 3) got a birdhouse painted entirely by Nate (Henry contributed very little).
Because I know exactly what I would love to get from my boys when they are adults, I knew just what to give my mom on Mother's Day (& dad on Father's Day): a thank you note. I know, we all hate writing them, but this one is different. Now, I sort of see just what they sacrificed, tolerated & debated when I was a child, and I want to thank them for it. I want to thank them for brushing my teeth every night when they were too exhausted to brush their own, and for teaching me how to pray, for making me go to church when I tried to convince them I was sick, and for getting "takeout" on Friday nights instead of going out so I could watch Little House on the Prairie.
Lately I have asked myself if I have what it takes to raise 2 Godly men (that is my goal). I realized, I don't have what it takes. I will need a lot of help (strength, patience & direction) from God, I will have to pray a lot more than I ever planned on praying. I will get less sleep than my body needs & my toenails will never looks as good as they used to. (they used to always be painted Revlon Red with no chips) But, each day I'm going to give it my best, and know that I am making a difference in 2 little lives.
So, thank you Mama for making a difference in my life. For praying for me everyday (probably 1,000 times a day) and for never giving up on me. I have seen firsthand just how a Christian mother lives & I am thankful for your example. Happy Mother's Day!

Henry - how can one little boy survive on so little sleep? I am not kidding when I tell you that Henry has never slept more than 3 consecutive hours. By the time he was 1 year old, he was drinking 4 bottles of formula during the night. Now he wakes up almost hourly yelling "tea" or "coke," possibly "juice." If I give him water he throws the cup and says "no!"

Nate - how can one little boy survive on so little food? This guy can go days without eating much more than a few bites of brown rice and some broccoli. The "self-proclaimed vegetarian" is what his doctor refers to him as. I'm sure he'll outgrown this and start eating chicken nuggets & fries about the time I'm wanting him to eat a little healthier.

Interesting, huh? You take two fairly normal parents, who like to sleep and really love to eat and you get 2 completely different kids. I suppose that's what is so exciting about meeting your child. You never know what you're gonna get. But I don't think any mom or dad is ever disappointed.

My neighbors are probably asking themselves, "why are her children playing in the sprinkler, completely naked with a box of powdered sugar donuts." Actually, I am asking myself the same question. I am trying some new ideas in "discipline" which include not saying "stop doing that" or "No No" all day long. If I see they are in danger or about to destroy something very important then I stop them with 1- a warning, 2- a timeout then the dreaded 3- spanking.
So when they decided to stomp on donuts in the water, I couldn't find a logical reason why they shouldn't.
Oh, my sweet boys! I do love them.

After graduating Clemson University with a degree in Business Management, I went on to sell real estate at Powell Real Estate in Walhalla. Feeling like the walls were closing in on me, I searched for other careers and finally discovered Delta Air Lines. I went to work as a flight attendant in 1997 and Bryan & I enjoyed many exciting trips such as a safari in South Africa, a tour of Italy, a weekend in Aruba and my least favorite, a long weekend with food poisoning in Cabo.
Finally, the day came when we decided a "baby" was what we needed. Little did we know that God would send us ... Nate and 21 months later we would meet Henry!

Welcome to Joybellsduncan! I'm so glad you're visiting. My blog is created to share my daily trials, struggles & triumphs of being a "stay-at-home mom."
Bryan - my wonderful husband of 7 years works with Duke Energy at the Oconee Nuclear Station. We have 2 boys, Nate (3 years old) and Henry (18 months).