A Style All Her Own

My little Lex has quite the eye for style, something that I love madly about her, in addition to her helping spirit, her impromptu concerts and performances, and the way that she talks with her hands almost incessantly (even in her sleep--no joke). She basically refuses to wear anything but leggings and skirts, and coordinates them by aligning like-colors even when the patterns don't really go together. ("What? Pink, pink, and pink. It matches!") She is never without accessories--candy necklaces, lip gloss rings, witch hats, headbands, and high heels, just to name a few--and, where possible, carries a cell phone with her in case she gets any important calls...which of course, happens quite often.

A more princessy princess you will likely never meet. Man alive, I love this girl!

On to April

I almost can't believe that it's April already. Being that it's my birthday month (what, don't you celebrate your birthday for a whole month?) I am usually ready to jump ahead and fill out my lovely wipe-off calendar the minute it's legitimately April. That's right, folks. I watch the clock intently on the last day of March, dry erase marker in hand, and I'm all over that bad boy the second the oven clock changes from 11:59 pm on March 31st to 12:00 am on April 1st. 

Okay, so not really, but I'd be a whole lot cooler if I did. The truth, though, is that I normally have no issue whatsoever of erasing March's events and immediately filling in the promise of April, starting, of course, with the Very Important Date of my birthday. And yet this month, I will admit to dragging my feet until almost the second week of the new month, not because of a silly issue with aging or anything vain like that, but because I don't want to erase and thus obliterate the requisite validation I've gotten used to from seeing "5k!!" staring at me from March 8th's snug little box. It's been good for me, I tell you, to be reminded me that yes, I actually do do some things that don't involve making unpopular dinners or cracking down on teeth brushing or picking up other people's messes.

I guess I'll have to start wearing my medal around my neck. And maybe stick my college diploma on the front of the fridge. And while I'm at it, I should probably pin my Writing Celebration Certificate of Merit from the 3rd grade to the front of my shirt, too, just for good measure.

Just don't be surprised at my bulky new accessories the next time you see me.

A Day Like Today

On a day like today, when my stores of patience are at a monthly low, when I am feeling slightly defeated about the child who conned me into staying home from school because she had a stomachache (and then later threw such a hairy fit about going in late that I eventually gave in and just let her stay), when I am questioning my motherly kindness after a different child's hour-long crying session about having to pare down her stuffed animal collection to a paltry 30 items, when it took me almost all day to get to the remainder of dirty dishes leftover from a large family party, when my hair is in the same sloppy ponytail I threw it into the first thing this morning, when I am coming to understand why on earth I grind my teeth so badly in my sleep that I get to wear an incredibly attractive night guard to bed, when I fed the kids instant oatmeal for dinner because I didn't have it in me to make anything else, I need to remember messages like this:

"Let the sunshine into your [life]. Don't be hard on yourself, and don't let other people be hard on you, either. Give yoursel[f] credit for the good things you do. If you make a mistake, give yourself credit for trying. Laugh a lot. Catch yourself singing...If you only do half of what you wanted to do, or only do it half as well as you'd like, pat yourself on half your back. But lighten up!"
                                                                                               
                                                                                                       ~Cheiko N. Okazaki

Somehow it's so much easier for me to focus on my failures rather than my successes, so it's time to reprogram my brain, and focus on the fact that I did not lose my temper once during the multiple-child fit-having today. That I washed and dried five loads of laundry today. That I averaged just under ten minutes a mile on my 3.1 mile run today. That I uploaded new pictures onto the computer, blogged, swept, showered, vacuumed, took the trash out, did two puzzles with Alexa, and loved on Spencer, and brushed my teeth after every meal. That I can recognize all of the wonderful things in my life.

Here's to small victories. Consider half my back patted.

Joy Amidst the Grumbling

Given our incredibly early spring this year, I am finding myself already grumbling about the warmer weather and the impending summer in which I will be relegated to elevated electric bills, sweat-stained shirts, and 6 long months spent trying to avoid stepping foot outside. (Yes, Friends Who Used to Live in Phoenix, insert chuckle here as your nice weather is about to start just as ours is ending.) 

But, in the meantime, I promise to get all of the joy that I possibly can from our deliciously cool mornings, our beautiful, breezy evenings, and the gorgeous sunsets to be seen and savored on our family walks. 

It's not all bad, right?

Some Days I Feel More Brave Than Others

I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes the thought of going to the grocery store with my kids is enough to give me anxiety. I mean, generally speaking, my two youngest ones are actually really good shoppers, but the requisite multi-tasking involved--shopping for what I need whilst feeding Spencer snacks and making sure he doesn't eat my grocery list (yes, this has happened on more than one occasion), whilst directing Lexa where to go and simultaneously trying to not run her over with the shopping cart, all the while trying to fit hundreds of items into that cart without breaking any eggs or smashing whole loaves of bread--is sometimes just a tad more than I actually want to deal with. 

Whew. Puts me out of breath just thinking about it.

The sun shone down on Lexa this week, though, on a day when I happened to feel like I could conquer the world (or at least the local Fry's), and I offered to let her bring her own little shopping cart along for our trip to the store. (I had a relatively short list that day, so I figured it would be a good day to put some miles on that bad boy without having to be at the store for two hours.) Lex was a total champ, staying right by me and filling the cart to her heart's content with all of our produce and then pushing it around the store like she owned the place. It took more time than it would have otherwise, obviously, but her little smile and her willingness to help (not to mention the cute confidence with which she emptied the contents of her very own cart onto the conveyor belt) made it totally worth it. 

up for the task

This photo brought to you by Tostitos brand tortilla chips. And Post cereal.
And your local 4-year-old.

Mr. Ham didn't help but he sure is cute

Mommy, why? Why can't I eat your grocery list? Why?

I'm so glad I felt brave this week. Just long as Alexa comes out of the experience knowing that this is a sometimey thing that isn't going to happen on every single trip to the store...