Shifting

Summer is upon us! For many, that means an entire shift in schedules and trying to figure out what in the world to do with the kids who are used to being in school all day. For us, it means more of the same. As I am still in the phase of having my kids home with me, my "schedule" won't be changing much and I am still quite accustomed to having them with me the majority of the time. I am quite grateful for this, especially as I realize that I can only say this for a short time longer. It's frightening, actually, to consider how close we are to sending our baby girl off to school. I'm already so sad about this that I've been strongly considering home schooling. There are a great many things that I think would be absolutely wonderful about home schooling (I'm not delusional, of course-- I also know that it would be quite difficult) and we will continue to prayerfully consider the option. At this point though, I suspect that in a little over a year, we'll be watching that sweet girl walk timidly into her classroom, with a backpack full of supplies and a heart full of both fear and (hopefully) excitement. My heart just sank. Oh my gosh, I can't handle it!

Was this not just yesterday??

What this summer will mean for us, I've decided, is a shift. It's more of a shift for me, but it will affect all of us. While I would say that I have been largely immersed in motherhood these last 4 years and 4 months, I have not been "all in". I confess that I've held on to more selfishness than I care to consider. The world tells us that we need to be sure to make time for ourselves and that we'll be better mothers for it. I don't disagree that we need our own pursuits and interests, and well-deserved breaks every once in a while, but I worry that our sense of entitlement over-powers our sense of enjoyment. I spent plenty of time to myself before getting married and am grateful to have been able to pursue various interests. Throughout all of that time, I could not wait for the time when I could spend my days with my husband and my children. Now, as much as I enjoy these little beings, I waste precious time on the computer or cleaning the house or obsessing over my own personal goals. None of these things are inherently bad, but there is a lack of balance. My goal now is to shift into a better balance and to center my life more fully on enjoying my children- on teaching them, playing with them, explorying with them, and just loving the heck out of them! They are such amazing little creatures and I am just so fortunate to get to spend my days with them. I am also fortunate to have a husband who cares only that we are all happy. He can come home to a complete disaster of a house (which he often does) and absolutely rejoice in the fact that we've spent the day playing together. He'd eat tacos night after night (again, which he often does!) with no complaint if it meant that the time I didn't spend preparing a meal was spent dancing with the girls in the living room or playing at the park. Of course, this doesn't mean that spending time with the girls has to exclude keeping a tidy home and tasty meals, and that's where that whole balance thing comes in. ;)

So, back to the shift! For the summer, I plan on just playing. We'll be at the pool and parks, the museum, and maybe even a sweaty trip to the zoo or two. We'll take Lacey to a ballet performance this weekend and a performance of Cinderella at CATS Theater in Arlington later in the month, and hope to find more things like this to expose her to the arts. I'm going to work on getting crafty (not something I'm a natural at, but thank goodness for Pinterest!) and explore new recipes in the kitchen with the girls. Meanwhile, I plan to work on building up a pre-k curriculum to begin with Lacey in the fall. Given that the thought of homeschool has crossed my mind, I thought it might be a good idea to test it out with preschool and see how that goes. If nothing else, it will help to prepare her for kindergarden and what could be bad about that? If I'm very good (ha!), I'll share things here on my blog as I go along for anyone who might be interested in what we're up to. Because I plan to spend far less time on the computer, don't expect daily updates... but I think I could commit to once a week.....

I will not be completely sacrificing my own goals as I feel that they are still important. Fitness is something that I will continue to be focused on, but not obsessed with as I have been. Nutrition is very important to us and certainly a worth-while endeavor in raising our children, so I will continue to work on that and maybe even share some of our recipes and things here. Heck, maybe I'll just transform this blog completely and have handy tabs and such to keep it all organized.... if I can ever figure out how to do all of that!

Above all else, our family will be centered on Christ, and that is what I will endeavor to make our number one priority. I am always looking for ways to teach the Gospel to young children and I love seeing their understanding grow as they get older. We are an eternal family and I am so grateful to have that foundation in our lives. (If you happen to be reading this and are not familiar with what Latter-Day Saint believe, check out http://www.mormon.org/.)

So stay tuned for more and please, SHARE your ideas! I'm still quite new to this whole mommy thing and can use all the help I can get! :)  But before I go, just look at those beautiful faces....