Wednesday, August 19, 2015

......bloom where you are today.......

.....I have always loved big adventures with my children. Some of my greatest memories of NYC when we just had three little ones, was corralling together a bunch of neighbors and we'd go grand.....We'd throw all of our gear in our double strollers, strap on back packs, load our real cameras to get awesome photos and we were off.....most people looked at us as if we were crazy......usually it was a minimum of 5 children, sometimes more......that number of little people sure seemed like a lot to us back then......today, I had 6 children in my house for several hours and I hardly batted an eye........until I found glue all over my brand new furniture......
....but those NYC adventures......
......we'd bounce our strollers down subway stairs, push ourselves onto trains and travel to far away places on the island.....we explored old bridges and tunnels, we traveled to neighboring boroughs, we toured museums like visitors, and we hit the top rated playgrounds in NYC no matter where they were.......we showed our children Fleet Week, Lady Liberty and every ferry ride around the island that was possible......all of those adventures were hard, but at the end of the night I was so, so full with gratitude and adventure......
....today was not crazy adventurous like the NYC days, but it was an amazing adventure with my little tribe......stress of our fall schedule and back to school to do lists are starting to nip at me.....my Beachbody business is incredibly busy right now......but all I can think about is that I don't have much of this summer left with my children......in a week and half, this summer will be over and as so many mamas know, there are a lot of mixed emotions that go with that......
.....so we packed up and drove to the fruit fields......we picked apples and peaches and fed a ton of dirty animals at the petting zoo.....we had the entire field of fruit trees to ourselves......Mae sat in the grass and studied each of the many apples she devoured.......Elsie and I found trees that had the best hidden fruit......Callie and I held hands in the shade.......Brody begged for more quarters and I gladly obliged just so I could hear him giggle again when the llama or the goat licked his hand full of corn meal......it was a perfect day......there were beautiful moments weaved in between the girls cat fighting and Brody crying over the heat; all while I changed a dirty diaper on my lap, balancing on one leg in the parking lot......I would do these types of days that require a lot of effort any day of the week, because as my children get older, they get harder to plan......and that has me longing back to those NYC days when we complained about how hard it was to have small children in the city......
.....savor where you are because some day, you will wish you were right back where you are today.......







Wednesday, August 12, 2015

......the last IT.......

Just having a moment of mama reflection tonight.

.....do you ever look at your child and wonder when "it" will be the last time?......."It" can come in many forms or fashions......."it" can be the last time that you are on your hands and knees cleaning food off the kitchen floor because sooner or later, your child does stop throwing food......it can be the last time you nurse your baby, the last time you strap your baby into a bucket seat or the last time you get to push your toddler on the swing..........because one day you wake up and that little baby has grown immensely over night and no longer fits in the bucket.......just as one day, your 3 year old hops on the swing to show you that they can pump themselves into a high soar on the play ground alllll byyyyy themselves......

.....there have been countless moments for me as a mother when I had no idea that "it" was my last.....

......I had forgotten this until this past summer......most recently, my "it" was Mae's wave......she does the cutest hello and goodbye wave......she waves vertically, instead of horizontally......she thrusts her little hand up and down, up and down......and it can stop me in my tracks......I can be stressed, tired, or ridden with anxiety about something I shouldn't be worried about; but when I see that wave, I am engulfed with endearment and laughter......

......days and weeks passed and each day I said to myself that I needed to capture it on video because I wanted to archive this little gesture of hers for the years to come......so I went to capture it on video while we were in Texas, begging her to wave to her cousins and you know what?.....she waves the "correct" way now.......no more vertical shimmy......no more up and down jostling.....no more stopping me in my tracks to laugh with her about the cutest wave I had ever seen......

......and the last time she did that sweet little wave, I had no idea it would be "the last time".......

.....all the mamas of the world can be worn down by summer........there is a lack of schedule, bedtimes are off, the days can be long, the children all seem to have boundless energy and we can get tired, fatigued, and weary......so weary that we have thoughts of summer needing to end quickly and desires of getting back to a school schedule, opposed to a lack of one......

......try this perspective......look at your babes in a different light.....recognize something they do today that they may not do in a week, a month, 6 months from now or next year......focus on it, inhale it, cherish it, love it and love them.......they are changing by the second and once that second has past, we won't get that moment back because it will have been the last of "it"......

.....and then you'll be wishing for the days of summer to be back again.....

Xx