Pocket Books

I have these little books I call pocket books. They're about being a mommy. They're by Harry Harrison, Jr. He has a lot of books and I wish I had them all. My favorite one so far is 1001 Things it Means to be a Mommy. I love to share little excerpts from them. Tonight I'm sharing from Mother to Daughter, Shared Wisdom from the Heart. Hope Mr. Harrison doesn't mind. Here are a few of my favorites from the book.

Okay, so the books start with 5 keys. I usually don't share these, but I'm going to this time. As I read this book, not only am I thinking of my relationship with my own daughter, I'm reminded of my relationship with my mother. A mother to 5 daughters! I may add some personal notes.

1.Be her mother, not her best friend.
2.Let her live her own dreams. Don't try to make her live yours.
3.Be a strong, confident woman.
4.Be a good wife. You are shaping her future relationships with men.
5.Be aware that your goal is not to be the center of her life forever, but to work your self out of a job.

Get ready for the most intimate, explosive, loving relationship you'll ever had. Except for the one you had with your mom. (AMEN!)

Accept the fact that she is Daddy's little girl. She knows this in the cradle already. (My daughter blinks her eyelashes at her Daddy to get what she wants.)

Keep in mind that all she wants to be doing - for the greatest part of her young life - is to be doing what you're doing.

Know the names of her dolls and stuffed animals. (And which ones she needs on her bed at bedtime.)

Be prepared. Little girls' emotions surprise even their mothers. (Amen!)

Agree to let her brush and style your hair. And Dad's hair. This will pass in a couple of years. (And let her paint your nails. It will really make her day if you wear like that all day)

Remember, the traditions you establish now will be passed on to her daughter.

Watch while she talks to her dolls. You'll learn how you're talking to her. (And how she sees you talk to other people!)

Check little brothers and pets regularly for glued on sequins, stars, glitter, or lipstick. (This one made me giggle. My youngest son has definitely worn his fair share of makeup thanks to his sister.)

Crank up the stereo and show her how to boogie!

Don't think doing everything right will eliminate confrontations, tears, accusations, and emotional outbursts. In fact, these often mean you are doing everything right.

Go on a picnic together, just the two of you, even if it's just in the back yard. (I LOVE my one on one with my girl)

Take her to work with you every once in a while so she can see what you do. (During the summer I take my kids to work with me one at a time. They get excited about their day with Mommy)

Keep in mind that she's always watching you. How you care for your family. How you worship. How you handle life. (Mine is laying in bed with me watching me right now.  :)

When she's about 7 years old she'll start noticing what people have. Teach her to pay more attention to what people are. (Oh, that's a good one!)

Take her shopping for pretty, special occasion outfits. Resist the urge for matching dresses! (LOL, my girl won't have this!)

Encourage her to spend time with her Grandmother. For some strange reason they'll get along just fine.

Understand that with girls, independence usually starts with hair. Ask yourself how important it is really, if it's blue. (Just letting my 6 year old do her own ponytail and not "fixing" it is difficult enough. Blue hair?!)

Make sure she and Dad spend time together. They need each other.

Remember if a TV and computer are not in her bedroom she'll find it easier to study, and sleep. (I think this goes for ALL kids!)

There are advantages to playing chauffeur. Teenage girls talk nonstop in the backseat. About everything.

Keep hugging her!!!!

Insist she take part in family traditions. Happily!

When your clothes start disappearing you'll be pleasantly surprised that they were cool enough to be borrowed.

Make your house the hang out house. (This has always been my goal! I'm currently failing miserably with my 14 year old son.  :(

Teach her that no man is worth betraying another woman. (AMEN!)

Teach her how expect to be treated by a man. So she'll know when she's not being treated well and refuse to tolerate it.

Encourage her to invite he boyfriends over for dinner.

When a boy breaks her heart, curiously, you'll find yours in pieces too.

Don't confuse your dreams with hers. Maybe she doesn't want to be a cheerleader.

It's perfectly normal to lie awake at 1am after she decides not to try out for the high school drill team despite ten years of private dance lessons and wonder, "What did we pay for?" You kept her active, graceful, and in good health.

Teach her to shop the sales. (oh yeah!)

If she says all her friends are carrying a $450 purse and she wants one too,s mile, hug her, and hand her the want ads.

Teach her to find 10 blessings a day. 20 on bad days.

Let her see you give of yourself unselfishly. Not just your money, but your time, your patience, and your love. (Me REALLY likey this one! SO SO true. Children learn by what you do, not by what you say!)

Teach her NEVER to get in a car with a drunk boy or girl. She can always call you to come pick her up. No questions asked!

Teach her to change a tire, use a drill, to mow the lawn. She should never have to depend on some guy to do it for her.

Those problems she's telling you about. The best way to help her is to just listen.

Recognize that for all the pulling away and moods and arguments and words, there will be times when she wants nothing more than to talk to her mother. (This still holds true. Even Mommies need their Mommies.)

Oh I so enjoyed that read. I got lost in it a few times and forgot to share. Guess you'll just have to read it yourself.
My mom came into my life when I was a little older. I was being raised by a single dad of 3 until my parents married when I was 14. That's a tough age for mothers and daughters. I am now a 30something mother and my Mommy is one of my very best friends. I love that we can relate to each other as adults, wives, mothers, daughters. She's a shoulder for me when I need it. The voice of reason when I need it. When appropriate she will side with me, stay out of it, tell me I'm wrong, or tell me to put my big girl panties on! I so hope I can have  such a great relationship with my daughter when she's grown.

Brody's Story

Today is my second oldest's birthday. He is 8! I can't believe it! It took us almost 3 years to get him and those years seem like they took FOREVER, but I blinked and now 8 years have passed. I sometimes refer to Brody as my handfull child. He is SO full of energy, but it's one of the things I love about him. He is alwasy such the comedian, even tho his timing can be way off. He's just so full of joy! He brings us so much joy. All my children hold a special place in my heart and have their own special story. Here's Brody's.

My husband and I were married almost 11 years ago. As a matter of fact it will be 11 years on Friday, July 1st! We knew we wanted to add to our family as soon as possible and became pregnant on our honeymoon. Unfortunatley that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. As difficult as that was, we found comfort in the fact that we believed we would one day meet that child. We decided for whatever reason it just wasn't the right time and we would have to wait a while longer. 

The next few years were tough. After some drug therapy, lots of tests, and a minor surgery, we were finally pregnant! It was Oct 27 when we found out. We were 4 days away from our first appointment at the infertility clinic. When you're trying to get pregnant EVERYONE tells you to stop thinking about it. It got to the point where I wanted to punch people in the face when they said that. But I have to admit that I think that's the key. Once my doctor pretty much gave up and sent us to the infertility clinic I think we quit thinking about it. We had decided that we just weren't going to be able to do it on our own. Then voila!

So I was really nervous for a couple of months, but everything seemed to be fine. We were super happy! We were finally going to get to meet the child we'd waited so long for.

Once we found out it was a boy the name game began! My husband was named after Bart Maverick. So we knew we wanted to name him Maverick. We already had an Eric tho so we made that the middle name. Not sure where we got Brody, but it fits him perfect! Brody Maverick.

I was scheduled to be induced on June 27th, but 2 hours before we were to leave for the hospital my water broke. It was time!

A few hours into labor we had a huge scare! The baby was in distress. They kept moving me around and down playing it. My wonderful husband was freaked out but stayed so calm and kept me from freaking out. Turns the baby's cord was around his neck. Luckily everything turned out okay.

I spent EVERY day of his life with him until he started school. EVERY SINGLE DAY! Brody is such a wonderful little boy. He is such his own person and I love all his little quirks. He has become quite the artist and is always trying to be Mr. Funnyman. I just love him so much, as  I do all my kids of course. I've already got one kid that has outgrown cuddling and I know that Brody is getting close, so I squeeze him extra tight when he lets me. 

He's an 8 year old little boy and can definitely play the part. He can get mouthy, bossy with the younger ones, he argues, etc. On the other hand he can be so sweet and helpful, and here lately he's been doing what he's supposed to with no argument. Like brushing his teeth and getting in bed at bedtime. He just does it now. It's quite refreshing!

So today I took off work and we had a special lunch and went bowling. Afterwards it was dinner and shopping with G-Ma and G-Dad. The dinner and shopping is a tradition my parents started a few years ago. Next to the party it is the kid's favorite part about their bday. They start asking weeks in advance when they'er going. They get to pick where to eat and where to shop. It's good times!

So Happy Birthday to my Brody Wody! I love you SO SO much!

Painting My Room

I love, love, love things that my children make! I go beyond hanging it on the fridge. I hang it on kitchen cabinets and frame it and put it in the living room. The problem is that I have 4+ kids and a not so big house. So my solution was to scan their work in and then I could get rid of it but still have it to look at. The problem with that is that I seldom sit at my computer to flip through artwork. So the kids and I have come up with a new way to display their artwork. We are painting my bedroom with it!

It is SO awesome! The kids are helping decide where to hang stuff and we've worked on it when we've had a few minutes here and there. My husband and I lay in bed looking at and talking about their wonderful artwork. I LOVE it! My favorite ones are the drawings they've done of me. I have lots of different looks!

The kids are enjoying it too. They come in and talk about it and compare pictures. One of our favorite places to hang out is Mommy and Daddy's bed. Now it's an even cooler place to hang and chat!

Yard Sale

We had a yard sale on the compound this weekend. I've discovered I have a love/hate relationship with yard sales. Also known as garage sales, tag sales, rummage sales, or whatever.

I love to go to them. I love finding that perfect something that I didn't even know I was looking for. It is a rare occurance now that I even get to go. You know with the kids, and work, and ball schedules and everything. I guess I could go more often if I wanted to have kids in tow, but that would zap all the fun!

After this weekend I've discovered that I hate having one. It's A LOT of work! So much so that when I was asked a few weeks ago if I wanted to do one I said no. But then I found out there was oging to be one anyway, so I got some stuff gathered up and tagged to go in it. We did okay, but I'm SO glad I didn't put that much effort into it, AND I think I've decided I don't want to participate in one again! Okay, I still would, but it sure would be nice if I felt like you got a little pay back for all the work.

Having that said, and not to seem to crabby, but since when do people not like free stuff? We decided after the end to just give it all away. NOT ONE TAKER! We posted on FB even! Lots of good stuff, working tvs, baby clothes, grown up clothes, furniture, all kinds of stuff for FREE!!!

Anyhooo.....that's what's on my mind tonight....

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer!