Joy in the Journey

I love memes, but I don't like this one:
I don't like it because it implies that you are only "killing it" as a mom if you have it all together. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of the days that she describes as "not killing it". Actually, it pretty much describes every day of mine. And that is ok. Because, whether I am "killing it" or not, I am a GOOD mom. I do like this one:

Mothering is a delicate balance. It's a balance in so many ways. And a lot of time I find myself teetering on the edge of loosing balance. But that's ok. And that's normal. Because there is enough grace to cover all my mistakes. And all of your mistakes, too. Most days aren't going to be picture perfect.

You are a good mama. You are making a difference. You are amazing. YOU ARE KILLING IT.

Way to go, mama.

Love,
Lee

Have you had those moments were your brain in so full you don't even know what your thinking? Or when your feeling three things at the same time but are not sure where those feelings are coming from?

I get that way. I get overwhelmed with thoughts, plans, concerns, decisions, and feelings! I was feeling this way just the other day. My brain had been flooded with information, pressure, and thoughts that day. At bedtime I knew I couldn't go to sleep yet.
I needed to write. I needed to brain dump!
I got out my journal and started to unload the piles of thoughts that had been churning around in my brain all day. I identified three main things I was feeling and then wrote out thoughts on each. After several pages of putting my thoughts down on paper, I felt lighter. I could see why I felt overwhelmed. I understood where my feelings were coming from and it helped so much!
I wanted to share with you Mamas, how I do my Brain Dumps in case it might help give you a new tool when you are fee…

Some women are amazing at keeping their house together. I'm not that kind of girl...


I video chat with a friend quite often, and I must say, she is a stellar house keeper (kudos, my friend!). The fact that she is minimalist helps a lot, I'm sure, and she has sent me a video of a messy kitchen before, but most of the time she is really good at keeping things in tip-top shape. My mother-in-law is like that. But me? Well, let's just say that my hubby did not marry his mother...
It's not that I'm a slob or lazy. The first thing I did when my hubby and I became friends was help him clean his very bachelor apartment (he had science experiments growing in dirty dishes all over the place and in many rooms there were just trails through his stuff, haha!). I did not marry a neat freak. 
I think I am somewhere in the middle. I feel like I am very good about doing my daily chores and making my kids do their chores, but not so much that we sacrifice having fun times, too. I kn…

I'm riding the Struggle Bus.

It's been a rough couple of weeks. The baby has been fussy a lot and as I've struggled to get things done while I have a little one screaming and pulling at me.
I feel like the mom from Mom's Night Out "I just want to sit down to a nice meal with out little people CLAWING ALL OVER ME!"

Then there's my preteens...
UG!!!!!

My oldest is doing pretty good. She has days were she's pretty mad about everything Dad and I do and we get a lot of "Your not LISTENING to me!" If we disagree with anything she wants or says... But she's doing pretty good over all.
It's my second child... Who has just hit the full on slot of hormones and changes that went from feisty but fun, to down right MAD about nearly everything in life.
I'm struggling. 
I'm struggling to enjoy motherhood. I'm struggling to keep heart. I'm struggling with having anything left to give after I deal with difficult behaviors and a fussy baby all…

I had "a moment" today...

A bad moment.

The day had gone great. Nothing out of the ordinary. My middle child was sick with a cold that made her feel kind of crummy but we still had a normal day. School, chores, walk the dog, and met a friend at the park.

All was going well...

UNTIL...

I noticed that my daughter's reading book, that had been BORROWED, had puppy chew marks all over it!

"Oh no!" I said, "What happened?"

My daughters response: Immediate denial followed by lame excuses like "I don't remember" and "I don't know what happened." Her sister ratted her out saying she saw the whole thing (and honestly, I vaguely remember it as well). The book had been on the coffee table, the dog had got a hold of it. My daughter said "No Zena!" grabbed the book and put it up. I thought nothing of it.

"I don't remember the dog getting my book? WHY would the dog chew the book? When? What day did she eat the book?" My da…

Have you ever had a near death experience?