It's OK

Or atleast that's what I tell myself when I look around and see mess after mess after mess.  I never thought I'd live in a house where anything was out of place or stayed messy longer than the moments it took to clean up shortly after the mess was made.  {But I don't think I thought about having 4 children in 6.5 years within these same thoughts either.}

Dirty dishes past the meal they were dirtied - never.  Laundry still in a basket days after the items were worn - never.  Floors not mopped atleast once a week - never.  Baseboards not freshly painted every few months (I have a thing for clean baseboards) - never. Couches not vacuumed weekly - never.  Never seems to be the new always during this season of my life.  As soon as I clean up one mess, there's another behind me - always!

I could quickly miss out on this "little people" stage if all I did was stayed up on the house chores, after all there's so much more fun to be had than cleaning up all day long.  Soon enough in this life of mine I'll clean up a mess and it will actually stay clean for a day or so.  Until then I'm all for the mess, the fun memories and the calm that comes from not worrying about it all.

Here's one of my favorite little inspirational messages from a wonderful woman, Marjorie Hinckley:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.” 
― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

The strength of our WILLpower

A friend shared this quote with me today:

Successful people replace the words "wish", "should" and "try" with "I WILL".

It's true that wish, should and try may not get us very far.  With a little WILLpower we can accomplish and strive for our personal best indeed!

Disobedience is funny... sometimes!

I love all of the time I have with my four little cuties (disclaimer), but there are times I need to get a couple things done.  Often during those times my children have learned that I don't always focus 100%  on what they are actually asking or what they are doing.  I mean as long as I can hear their voices I feel pretty comfortable that they are breathing and within a few hundred square feet of my interference if needed.

Here's an example... Kaia found chocolate, a little bag from an Easter basket and a little container of glitter bonbons that I love.  She asked if she could have one. "Only one Kaia."  

Each time she came back to where I was working I noticed there was a little more chocolate on her face.  I may have possibly lost track of how many "only one's", and I probably should have taken the stash.

And at this point she was probably eating her umpteenth piece.

Figured it was time to get up from what I was doing and start parenting again, locate the stash and try to save her from a belly ache.  

I could hear the giggles - camera video in hand, here's what I found: 

I like how you initially hear Reef telling her not to eat anymore and then he cheers her on to "eat it".

My "resort to lackadaisical parenting skills when needed" made for a funny moment if nothing else.

A day with Reef

To spend just a few moments with Reef is to L.O.V.E. Reef.  

He is the coolest boy I've ever met.  

 It is impossible to capture his coolness completely, I would love to follow him around with a camera every single day just so I don't forget all of his super fabulous little Reef'isms.  One of my favorite Reef'isms is when he's super loud, you ask him to be quiet, and he says "that wasn't me it was the cat".

 

 

Seriously, I am smitten!

I will never forget all of the times he comes up to me out of the blue, puts his hands on my cheeks, stares me in the eyes and starts singing "You are so beautiful... to meeeeeeeeeeeee".

I love that I get to spend my days with this little guy!! 

Rockin'

One of my favorite things to do - EVER!

I've spent well over 3,000 hours rocking in this chair, no exaggeration.

It first started with Mekena, we rocked every day, many times a day...

And then Kirra, 

And then Reef, 

And then Kaia... well Reef and Kaia. 

{Reef has yet to give up his rockin' time with mama.}

Kaia says "rock you" until I swoop her up and then follows buddy.  

They get cozy, Reef holds Kaia's hand, Kaia twirls in our hair until she falls asleep, 

... and sometimes I fall asleep too

It's a little challenging transferring them into their own beds when they're both asleep, 

can't say I haven't dropped someone once or twice, but then we just rock a little more, 

back to sleep they go and the transfer is successful.

Not many nights have passed over the last 8 years that I haven't rocked...

I will miss this when no one wants to "rock you" 

No cage for me!

I was making a left hand turn in an intersection and let's just say the light was orange'ish (maybe a little more towards the red color of orange) and as I looked in my rear view mirror, there he was, protector of the streets.  "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" I said.  Ah and then he turned, off the hook.  Woo-hoo!!

Reef asked "mommy why are you saying that?"  (yes mom the kids were in the car while I was making a poor driving choice)  I told him there was a police car and I'd made a turn that I shouldn't have and if he came to our car he would give mommy a ticket.

"Oh, mom that would be so bad and then if you went to jail on Valentine's Day that would not be fun, you're suppose to play with your family on Valentine's Day, you don't want to be in a cage on Valentine's Day.  Mommy you should not do that turn again."

Dear Reef - mommy will not do that again, because you are right, I don't want to be in a cage on Valentine's Day or any day for that matter.

Nothing BIG, just SOMETHING!

Mac and I were hanging out designing events this evening, listening to a little R&B on Pandora and a commercial came on.  All I caught was this...

"You don't have to do something big, you just have to do something"

... and instead of designing stage sets I found myself replaying that thought over and over again in my mind.  And then I began pondering the simple truths found in that great statement. 

In the busy world with all of the pulls for our attention how easily we forget we are here for a purpose.  Meandering day to day with no real intention can't possibly be our individual mission.  Getting caught up in all the busy, at the end of each day, what did we really do?

How we spend our time definitely shows what we value.  And what we value may be where our "something" happens.  Here's to a year of something, not necessarily something big, but something special and meaningful.