What You Don't See

I love, love, love this article by Tiffany Gee Lewis. I saw it on a friend's blog and thought it's worth sharing.
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What you don't see, when we all march into church on Sunday morning, is the chaos of the morning that happened just 10 minutes earlier.

What you don't see, when you look at my four little boys in their suits, is that the 7-year-old is wearing Dad's socks because we couldn't find his. And they go all the way up to his knees.

What you don't see, when I pull out the lovely quiet book I made a few years back, is that below it, in my church bag, are five baggies of smashed raisins because I haven't cleaned out the bag for months.

When you enter my house, with its shining entryway, you don't see the three loads of laundry dumped on my bed. Or the dirty pots I stashed in the oven. And you will never see the interior of my minivan, not until I find the time to vacuum it out.

When you admire the hand-sewn pajamas I made for all the kids, we don't talk about the three nights I got no sleep to make those.

If you look on my blog, you will see pictures of homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. You won't see my confession to popping in a frozen pizza THREE times last week for dinner.

Or the night we ate Cheerios for dinner, dry, because we were out of milk. There is a zoom on my camera for a reason. There is a delete button for a reason.

I don't think we're all playing a part. We naturally want to put our best selves forward, so that is what other people see. They don't see what's going on behind the scenes. I like to think that good parenting is like a duck on the water. What you see is the gentle, almost effortless gliding, not the furious paddling that happens underneath.

I keep a mental list of about ten people I want to stalk by camera, from morning to night, to see how they do it all. Are they up at 4 a.m.? Can they survive on three hours of sleep? Do they have a housekeeper? Because I drop balls just as fast as I can grab them. My intentions are of pure gold, but they come out as tinkling brass, at best.

I started a blog last fall. I dragged my feet into it for many reasons. One of the main reasons I hesitated was I didn't want to be another contributor to the cyberspace guiltosphere out there. Especially where mothers are concerned, do we need one more reason to feel guilty?

Because from the looks of things, other families are happier, their houses are cleaner, their marriages are better, their clothes are more stylish and their craftiness is even more crafty. Their lives are perfectly lovely, while my kids are running around screaming in their diapers.

My worst fears were confirmed last week when I got an e-mail from a friend who asked, "How do you do it all? Your column, your blog, all the things you do with your children? You're amazing!"

I looked around at my house, at the six bins of winter clothes waiting to be transported to the garage, at the sewing projects stacked against the wall, at the state of the toothpaste crusted to the sink ... I let things go, a lot of things.

A spanking-clean house is not a high priority for me. I'm a big believer in mud and its importance in a child's life. The time I take to write is time away from scrubbing that bathroom sink. I would rather read with my kids than shop at the mall, so I am certainly not up-to-date on the latest styles. I've been listening to the same music for 20 years because I can't seem to keep up with the latest music scene. And I require a lot of sleep.

We all have priorities. For some, it is keeping a spotless house, and they are good at it. For others, it is writing, or exercising, or serving others. And yes, there are some who seem to do it all, the Benjamin Franklins of the world. I tell myself I don't have to be them. And also, Benjamin Franklin was not much of a family man. Even he let things go.

What we don't see, when we look at each other on Sunday, or on blogs, or in our shiny kitchens, is that we all have different talents and unique situations. I tell my kids all the time: Life is not a race. The only person you are competing against is yourself.

What we forget to see, when admiring others, is our own personal finish line.

Find article here.http://www.mormontimes.com/article/1856/What-you-dont-see

Mason's Blessing

We blessed Mason this past Sunday, and it was so awesome!! I am so blessed and lucky to have such an amazing husband, that is always worthy to give us blessings at any time. Mason's was so special and I was reminded of what a strong, valiant little spirit we've been sent. I get overwhelmed sometimes when I think of what a sacred calling it is to be parents..and to raise them and guide them in a way that will help them fulfill their callings and bring them back to their Heavenly Father. The children we're raising are so much stronger than we are, and they're going to have to face so many things that we never had to deal with. I'm amazed each day by my children and the sweet spirit they have. I am truly so blessed and lucky to be their mother. After the blessing, we came back to our apt and had a brunch with everyone, and took pictures. Thank You to everyone that came, we really appreciated it!

The whole clan

Chris and I with my parents

Chris's awesome parents with Mason

Sneak Peek

our new lawn mower

I had to run some errands today, and my parents were kind enough to watch Addy for me. She helped Grandpa mow the lawn while I was gone - I thought it was the cutest thing to see her out there with him on the mower.

our growing little boy...he looks bigger than he is in this picture since his outfit is 3-6 month to fit his long torso..but I loved his big bright eyes!


My birthday cake...and yes it tasted as good as it looks:)

Video

This was a few weeks ago when she was learning how to "gump!" Her "j's" come out "g's." She does make it off the ground now:)

Pictures

Addy with "silly Grandpa" (that's what she calls him)






He's finally starting to love bathtime


She loves to give him bottles and play with his hair


She didn't think it was very funny that we put him in her bed:)

the big 25, and 6 weeks!

How did I get to be 25 and Mason 6 weeks already!?!? I can't believe how fast time flies...25 has hit me as getting old. But I'm so happy and content with where my life is at this stage. I wouldn't change a thing. I have the best husband in the world and the most adorable, sweet children that just fill me up with so much joy each day. The Roses had a big combined May birthdays party a couple weeks ago, then we had a birthday dinner with my parent's on Sunday. Chris had my birthday off, so we took advantage and spent the day together alone. My amazing mom watched the kids for us in shifts. First we went to Sam's Club, which I know sounds lame - but it was so much fun to go shopping alone. Then we went to lunch and then out to my parent's to put the kids down for a nap so my mom could go into town. After their naps, my mom watched them again while we went to Red Lobster in Pocatello. We had a gift card and I had never been there. I probably won't ever go there again either. We're not fish lovers and neither of us have had lobster before, so we figured we had to try it this once. It didn't taste bad, but we didn't like the texture and won't eat it again. Luckily we tried it in a combo with steak, which was really good. Then we hurried home to pick up the kids, and make it home in time to watch the Bachelorette and make yummy shakes:)

I can't believe my baby boy is getting so big..he's lost his newborn look - at least to me. He's growing like crazy, (which explains his appetite) - his torso is insanely long..making him wear 3-6 month in onesies just to fit his length, but they'll drowned him width-wise, and on his legs . He's high maintenance when it comes to sleep. He LOVES to be held all the time and will sleep great in your arms, but the second you lay him down he wakes right up. He's been doing better this past week, but I can't wait till he starts sleeping longer at night. I'm still in zombie mode from lack of sleep. He's starting that cute stage of cooing and responding to you, which I can never get enough of:)

I have started loving Addy's age lately. She still has her occasional tantrums which just make me laugh, but she is so much fun and keeps me laughing all day with things she says and does. She's become my little puppy since she'll go get stuff for me when I ask. When I'm changing Mason she'll go get his diapers and wipes for me, then when I'm done she picks up his diaper and throws it away. I love it!! Here's an example of some of the funny things she says...Chris and I were taking a nap during their naps the other day and when she woke up, this is what we heard her yelling from down the hall:
" Honey, I poopy....Honey....Honey, I poopy!!" and she just kept saying it till I went in there. I call her Honey sometimes, so she'll call me that randomly. I thought it was hilarious:)

Then the other day she went into our room looking for Chris, and he came out of the shower with his towel on, and she says: "There Daddy is... Daddy naked shower!"

I wish I could just video tape her all day to remember everything. She's so sweet and has grown up so much since Mason has come. She's the perfect big sister.

We've had some amazing blessings lately - Chris's scholarships came through, so this upcoming year will be paid for. He got promoted to Book Manager at his work, allowing him to quit the second job he had picked up and just stay full-time with a set day-time schedule at Hastings. This also came with a raise that we so badly need right now. He'll do this for the summer and then cut back to part time when school starts again in August. Then he'll graduate next August!! YAY!

This was a couple weeks ago when Mason started following you wherever you go and making eye contact. He's a Daddy's boy:)


Addy helping me blow out my candles


Chris and I on my birthday


Mason at 5 weeks!