First stitches

J got his first stitches this week. His head met the metal blade of a shovel. Three stitches across his forehead. Luckily we were all home so I didn't have to drive, as I totally lost it. Because I was holding the shovel he decided to look into. We were playing catapult the snow, and he thought he should look into the shovel after he loaded it. I saw bone. It is still awful and turns my tummy to think about it. At least the man of the house was able to drive like they do on TV when a woman is in labor. My baby is doing well, and should get the sutures out in three days. And since that time he got hit with a baseball above the eye, hit behind his ear on the corner of the futon, and bit through his lip after tripping. I think this kid has hit his self destruct button.

29 days of giving

My plan is to update this post through the month to total 29 days of giving gifts. Inspired by the book 29 Days of Giving, I was challenged to follow through with this task. I am trying to go beyond my usual giving. I will probably fall back on some of my standards. I am also struggling to focus on what people need instead of what can I give, moving the attention from myself to others. My main focus is to work toward being able to give forgiveness, baby steps at a time. 1.A kiss to my mom 2.Hot Pockets for Co worker 3.Chai Tea for Co worker 4.a donation to honor a passed friend, plus a hug to a crying teacher I don't really know 5.clean closet floor for hubby 6.gave hubby hot cup of coffee before 8 am class 7. made dinner so it would ready when hubby got home from his 14 hr day 8.a box of tissues to the babysitter 9.read an extra story to the boys 10 . told a friend I missed him 11. Apologies to hubby 12. Flowers to teachers 13. Flowers to friends 14. Cookies to neighbors 15. Weekday playroom slumber party 16. Hugs and sweets to my injured boy 17. Hubby a neck/head rub 18. Sent off a book, delayed since October & handed it's mate to a teacher met in the hall 19. Gave J the gift of changing his mind 3 times of where he wanted to stay at the Y 20. Gave J exactly what he wanted for dinner 21. Hubby foot rub 22. Welcomed a new neighbor via play date & cupcakes 23. 2 bags of clothes to Co worker 24. Pile of books to Children's Hospital 25. Sent hubby to study when he felt guilty 26. Extra play time at the quickly planned party at the Y 27. Ice cream cone for friend from out of town 28. Host dinner for friend to help with her budget 29. Dinner for a friend who needs to company

2016 Goal

After much internal back and forth, and deciding my true goal isn't really feasible, my 2016 goal has been decided! I will continue with my previous goals, as they are now a part of my daily routine and who I am. My goal for 2016 is..... To write a daily note. Usually on twitter or facebook. I want to be able to have a place to easily find my reflections on why I am so happy with my life. Because I am, and I enjoy the moments. , but want to be able to remember them when things get hard. I also want to focus on me, and not others. So, happy 2016. My first missive has now been penned.

Good bye 2015

I just put 2015 in the trash. I am pretty excited about that. NYE last year I had no clue a year awaited me. That included international travel with my mother, participation in history in Sainte Mere Eglaise, and finding and cultivating the elusive true friends. I am more comfortable in my own skin. I am stronger physically and emotionally. I know who I am, and I like her. I share love with so many people. There, of course, was pain. I look forward to healing in 2016. I am ready to growand nurish. This stage of my life is full of challenges, and I am as ready as can be to meet them head on and come out the other side with my head held high, knowing I did my best.

Simply Your Life

The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life WRITTEN by JOSHUA BECKER · “Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” —Thomas Kempis Simplicity brings balance, freedom, and joy. When we begin to live simply and experience these benefits, we begin to ask the next question, “Where else in my life can i remove distraction and simply focus on the essential?” 1. Your Possessions - Too many material possessions complicate our lives to a greater degree than we ever give them credit. They drain our bank account, our energy, and our attention. They keep us from the ones we love and from living a life based on our values. If you will invest the time to remove nonessential possessions from your life, you will never regret it. For more inspiration, consider Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life. 2. Your Time Commitments – Most of us have filled our days full from beginning to end with time commitments: work, home, kid’s activities, community events, religious endeavors, hobbies… the list goes on. When possible, release yourself from the time commitments that are not in line with your greatest values. 3. Your Goals – Reduce the number of goals you are intentionally striving for in your life to one or two. By reducing the number of goals that you are striving to accomplish, you will improve your focus and your success rate. Make a list of the things that you want to accomplish in your life and choose the two most important. When you finish one, add another from your list. 4. Your Negative Thoughts – Most negative emotions are completely useless. Resentment, bitterness, hate, and jealousy have never improved the quality of life for a single human being. Take responsibility for your mind. Forgive past hurts and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. 5. Your Debt – If debt is holding you captive, reduce it. Start today. Do what you’ve got to do to get out from under its weight. Find the help that you need. Sacrifice luxury today to enjoy freedom tomorrow. 6. Your Words – Use fewer words. Keep your speech plain and honest. Mean what you say. Avoid gossip. 7. Your Artificial Ingredients – Avoid trans fats, refined grain (white bread), high-fructose corn syrup, and too much sodium. Minimizing these ingredients will improve your energy level in the short-term and your health in the long-term. Also, as much as possible, reduce your consumption of over-the-counter medicine – allow your body to heal itself naturally as opposed to building a dependency on substances. 8. Your Screen Time – Focusing your attention on television, movies, video games, and technology affects your life more than you think. Media rearranges your values. It begins to dominate your life. And it has a profound impact on your attitude and outlook. Unfortunately, when you live in that world on a consistent basis, you don’t even notice how it is impacting you. The only way to fully appreciate its influence in your life is to turn them off. 9. Your Connections to the World - Relationships with others are good, but constant streams of distraction are bad. Learn when to power off the blackberry, log off Facebook, or not read a text. Focus on the important, not the urgent. A steady flow of distractions from other people may make us feel important, needed, or wanted, but feeling important and accomplishing importance are completely different things. 10. Your Multi-Tasking - Research indicates that multi-tasking increases stress and lowers productivity. while single-tasking is becoming a lost art, learn it. Handle one task at a time. Do it well. And when it is complete, move to the next. Credit to http://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-10-most-important-things-to-simplify-in-your-life/ So, what have I been able to? 1. remove some possessions. Less stuff in the drawers and closets to push around. It has been freeing. I have passed along at leasr 365 items this year to new homes (which sometimes is the trash heap). Really, you should try it. I have failed in kids toys with this though. I don't plan to work on that though for awhile. 2.) reduce time commitments. Best thing ever! 3.) Reduce my goals. Yup. I feel more focused with this too. 4.) Reduce negative thoughts. Working on this every day. 5.) Debt. Well, our only debt is house and Rob's school, to which we are adding. Opps. 6.) I have stopped blogging to avoid gossip. When everything I want to say falls in the 'not nice' category, I just shut up. 7.) Healthy living through real food. Hum, I try. And success depends on the season when living in Ohio. 8.) We did this a long time ago, and the time for other activities is great. I am so confused by people being ruled by the tv. 9.) I quit my message board, and love it now. Not to be judged by those women. And what is better, I don't feel the burden of when I would judge them. Plus more time to read under developed stories. 10.) I am stil, working on this. Focus on th boys is my new goal for 2016.

Baby D, 6 years old

6 years old, ok, sweetie I am sorry this post is an after thought. I thought maybe you were getting too old for this sort of thing. I will try to write this reflecting what things were like when you turned 6. It has been awhile, so I don't remember the actual numbers, and you are prohibited too old to care. However your height and weight was a little over 50th percentile. You are a healthy little boy. You started school just a few days after your birthday, and have loved almost every minute. This was your first year without a birthday party, and did well with the transition. You are such a reasonable child. Except when it comes to Zombies and Monsters. Your fear of these things confuses me. You are smarter than any one person has the right. You are kind to everyone and everything. You are strong, and don't let the opinion of another bother you. (My Little Pony zipper pull on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle book bag and a Spider-Man lunchbox inside is all you, my sweet boy) My words to describe you are friendly, empathetic, smart, sensitive.

Sweet Baby J is 3 years old

My little guy is big for his age, a strong little guy. He was measured at 38.5 inches tall at 3 and 39 inches a 3 years 1 month. Different people, so did he really grow 1/2 inch in a month? He was 36 lbs. Clothing is in between a size 3 and size 4. Shirts a size 4 fits, but the pants are a bit long. Now, it must be shared that he is the happiest little guy in the world. He is almost always laughing. He doesn't understand how any of his choices could be wrong, and it breaks his little heart to pieces to have a time out. He loves so much, almost everyone. He doesn't care for the little girl at day care who 'use not nice words'. He called her Esma this week which I certainly enjoy being a fan of animated cartoons. He loves hard. Griffin Kitten keeps coming back for whatever reason although all he wants to do is hug her and carry her. He chases his brother to give him apology hugs which end in more fights. He hugs and kisses me so much, I am floored by his emotions. Right now he is learning to make his basic shapes and starting to identify his letters. He makes o often and thinks he has written his name. His favorite number is 8. The big academic achievement is counting to 10 with 1:1 correspondence, which he has been able to do for a few months. He is so movement oriented, and I am surprised he has yet to climb the bookshelves and our tall boy dresser, he has climbed every other piece of furniture we have. He can, of course, ride a bike and a scooter. He doesn't understand why I won't let him ride on our long family bike rides down the main street. He loves to move, but books are pretty great too. His favorite right now is Turkey Trouble. He does not like listening to his brother's audiobooks. E-books are great fun, and Veggies with Wedgies is a favorite. My words most frequently used to describe him are independent, creative, energetic, loving.