Smiling Through the Rain

Paisley somehow managed to make it through a whole year at Mothers Day Out before I got the much-dreaded, yet very expected, bad report from school. It read, "Paisley is having an issue with naptime.  She won't stay on her mat and bothers the other kids.  After telling her multiple times, she was sent to Ms. Kim's office." She hasn't taken a nap there again since that day and they've stopped sending me notes because I guess my lack of reaction must make them realize that it's a waste of their time. Instead of taking a walk of shame with my note in hand, I got a chuckle out of it and put it in her baby book.  I did talk to her about not bothering the other kids, but I don't see any need in punishing her over this.  Well, now they are worried because Graham only wants to nap for 20-30 minutes.  Duh.  That's all he ever naps at home.  When I try to explain that to the three women who all address it with me every time I pick up, I'm met with blank ...

Last week, the kids started Mother's Day out for the summer session.  They like to call it Children's Day Out to make it sound less like parents are just dumping off their kids for a few hours of sweet freedom, but let's call it what it is.   Paisley has been there for a year now, but Graham is just now old enough.  She has loved it and I feel like she has learned a ton.  And let me tell you how amazing it has been to have two days a week to do my errands, work out, catch up at the clinic, pee alone, etc.   I drop those two off without a second glance, dodge the other parents in the hallway, and peel out of the parking lot headed for alone time.  You can hear me giggling with glee and celebrating victory.   Yesterday, I went to the gym for an hour then mowed our front yard.  I showered alone, ate lunch with my husband, and ran a ton of errands.  All in 5 hours time.  With kids, it would have taken... Until the end of time.  Lets fac...

Anyone have a child that they are pretty sure is unique compared to...well, everybody else on the planet?   Paisley is my one of a kind.  She marches to her own drummer.  Carves her own path.  Whatever you want to call it. She did her first 5k race with my mom and I last night and loved it.  But she had to pee towards the end and was happy to do it on the side of the track as people passed.  And then at a princess party tonight while the other kids are doing horse rides, she takes her cute fairy costume off in the pasture and streaks all over the pasture. It's weekends like this that make all the hard work worth it.  And remind me why I'm so exhausted!!!

Are most parents born with some kind of endless source of patience and never ending love for being the provider (also known as personal assistant/slave) to their kids?  I feel like there are women who always love being a mom.  You know the ones that say, "being a parent is the best thing I've EVER done" and "I wish there were more hours in the day to spend with my kids!"   And I so wish that I could agree excitedly with these women but I find myself looking at them like they're from outer space.  I search their eyes for signs of deceit or even insanity.  They look honest and heartfelt.  So then I try to decide what I lack to make me feel less excited. I have stay-at-home friends who can't imagine why I would ever return to being a PA.  Maybe because its my career and something I love doing.  Maybe because I like to contribute financially to this family.  Maybe because I love going somewhere all alone. I have days where this is awesome.  ...

We just took a much needed trip to Great Wolf Lodge, the Dallas Zoo, the Dallas Aquarium and to see several of our college friends who live in Dallas.  It was great and the kids were fantastic as usual!!!

My husband is a vet as many of you know, but his true hobbies are fish and tortoises. We had a great time the other day in our backyard when Paisley got to take a ride on one. It's amazing how strong they are. It could actually walk around with her on its back!

This post is actually quite premature as the true aftermath will last for years. The grief, healing, and rebuilding phases will continue long after most people remember that this tornado even happened to Moore, Oklahoma. But I thought I'd let people know what it's like to live in an area affected. We live in a neighborhood that has been destroyed on the north end. We luckily built our house on the south end. A walk through the neighborhood last night with the kids shows that every street gets worse than the one before it. It starts with debris filled streets and then slight roof damage and then trees down. Until you get to the street about 9 away from ours. It is like walking into a third world country. The houses are destroyed. We walked by one house that the whole front is ripped off and you can see an intact china cabinet untouched. There is no front door or windows but a hanging basket with flowers still hangs on the "porch". There are cars parked i...