aside. . .

This entry is sort of an "aside" to the life of a mom. . . although it doesn't feel like an aside in my life.

Yesterday was the first Ray Palmer Legacy Foundation golf tournament. Some of my dad's friends that he golfed with (some of them he's been friends with for years, way before golf came on his radar) got together and decided that his life was special and important, and that somebody so extraordinary needed to be acknowledged in an extraordinary way. They developed the Ray Palmer Legacy Foundation. The foundation has started two scholarships presented to students at two different schools. The first is presented in EVI, where my dad last taught (on the island). It goes to a student who has overcome adversity and is involved in technology and likes to share technology with others. The second is presented at Dorset Collegiate (since GBS has changed and no longer has grade 7 - 9 students) and goes to a student who has overcome adversity and is involved in physical education and likes to share physical education in a positive way. In order to fund the scholarships, they have developed a golf tournament in which people pay money to play, and company's can sponser holes and donate money.

On friday, the first award was presented to a student at EVI by a member of the committee and myself. I went there thinking that I was strong and could handle it, but as soon as my dad's picture was placed on the screen, the emotions started. I don't know if it was the picture, if it was because I've been feeling it even more lately than before, or if it was the reaction of the school (students and staff) when THEY saw the picture. . . it may have been a combination of both. Anyhow, I did manage to go up there and present the scholarship to the boy who won. At first I wasn't impressed because the student was a grade 7 student who would have never met my dad. But then, he came up and he was SO sweet and seemed so THANKFUL. . . he seemed to understand the significance and importance of being chosen for the scholarship. I felt somehow ok with it, and was happy to see him get the award. The second scholarship will be presented in Dorset in the fall. . .

The tournament was yesterday, which was crazy hard for me. I didn't go golfing, but went to the "social" afterwards. I ended up having to play with Isaac and avoid pictures/stories/etc. I'm so happy that people could do that, that people are affected by my dad's death. . . I guess I'm happy that people are sad and emotional, it seems like the whole world should be crying. It's not everyday that somebody as fantastic as my dad leaves the world. He was literally an extraordinary person and should be acknowledged for that!

Anyhow, that's all of the aside I get because I now have a child crying for me. . . sometimes I'm very thankful that my children keep me so busy!

The Runaway Mom

Ok, so I am obviously having one of those days. You know, the kind where you feel like you might just run out the door at any moment and never look back? The kind of day where your children take EVERYTHING that you have and try every part of your patience. . .

The morning was wonderful, Andrew slept for a lot of it and Brad was home to help out. I got a chance to clean the bathroom and do the floors, so I thought I was having a pretty good day.

Then Brad has to leave for a lunch meeting.

Isaac decides to get tired and need a nap.

Andrew wakes up.

I put Andrew in his swing, where he was content for the time being and decided to try to Isaac to go down for a nap. That would free up a couple of hours, and after I fed Andrew I would have some time to myself and be able to get some things done around the house.

Isaac's eyes were HEAVY, I brought him in the room under his fan (he was warm) and sort of walked/sang/shook him until he was asleep. I, happily, placed him on his bed thinking I'd head out to Andrew and get him situated. As I was putting Isaac on the bed, he started BLARING and CLINGING to me for dear life! I thought, OK, he wasn't asleep enough. Took him up, and started the process all over again. In the middle of the "process", Andrew decided to have a huge poop and start crying to be changed. When Isaac was dead weight in my arms and breathing pretty steadily/heavily, I tried once again to put him down so I could go take care of my other screaming child. I went to put him on his bed and, much to my dismay, the SAME THING happened!

Andrew needed to be changed so I put Isaac down and let him cry and spit and snot until I got Andrew's bum changed. Then I put Andrew back in his swing and tried Isaac again. I waited longer this time, but once again he freaked out when I tried to put him down. I took him up and once again Andrew started crying as well, needing to be fed. So, I came out on the couch, got Andrew out of his swing. At this point, I had Isaac in one arm and Andrew in the other, using the same hand that was holding Andrew to feed him, and Isaac was getting mad because he could lay down in my arms.

After a while, Isaac gave in and went to sleep upright. I got excited and decided, once Andrew had enough milk, to try him again. Guess what happened. . .

Anyhow, Andrew was content to I layed him on the couch where he could see me and brought Isaac out and held him in my arms while I sat next to Andrew trying to entertain him. Isaac once again went to sleep and I, in my stubborn way, decided that I needed to try to bring him in to his bed again. I held my breath, prayed to the dear Lord for mercy, and brought him into his room.

HE STAYED!!!

I then came out, got Andrew and rocked/finished feeding him, and HE WENT TO SLEEP AS WELL! So, I have had about 5 minutes of peace, and since I started writing this have calmed down a bit. I no longer feel like running away, I now feel like staying forever :)

Just an average day in my house. . .

An introduction to. . .

I have started this blog on the suggestion of my lovely sister, who is an avid blogger herself. She has suggested that I blog about our sleeping rituals in my house. I have decided, however, to make this an account of my life as a mother (and wife). When you're a mother, there are lots of lovely, exciting things that happen throughout the day.

For example, this morning, my oldest child (who, mind you, is still only 16 months old) was standing next to the swing holding his little brother and was kissing and talking to him. I thought, how sweet, he loves his little brother so much! I then look at the floor adn see a huge puddle. I think, where in the world did that come from? Since my children both wear diapers, I thought Isaac must have gotten into some water or something. Unfortunately, upon further investigation, I discover that my hypothesis was incorrect. Unfortunately, the puddle was pee. Isaac's diaper obviously could not hold up after all night. I made Brad clean up the pee, haha. . .

So, I guess for those of you who are reading this and may not know me. . . I am a 27 year old mother of two. My oldest child is 16 months old, my youngest is 2 months old (tomorrow, in fact). They are fantastic children, for the most part. I won't give away too much information, because my blogs will be based on them and you'll get to know them as I write in the future. My oldest child is named Isaac, and my youngset child is named Andrew (in case you need to know that for future reference). I am married to Brad, who has just switched careers from Pastor to Insurance Salesman. We have just moved and are trying to settle into a new town.

I am a teacher. At least, I am trying to be one. I have applied for jobs for September and had an interview this morning. I am hoping that I'll get at least a part time job for September (in fact, a part time job would be ideal with my boys being so young). I love children and teaching, I have enjoyed my time substituting. However, I feel that it is now time to have my own classroom and to have my own group of students to invest in.

My life has been a roller coaster the past couple of years, and so I am trying to get myself back in order and to get a sense of normalcy in my life. I suppose this blog can be considered a therapy for me, or at least a way for me to organize my thoughts in a productive way.

Stay tuned. . . there will be much more interesting (or boring, depending on your perspective) and specific blogs to come. . .