Mother's Day 2019

Unlike past Mother's Days, I have decided to fully embrace my happiness and gratitude in being a mother this year, instead of provoking my usual guilt-riddled conscience to continue pointing out all the things that are wrong with the way I parent(ed) or am parent(ing). I realize this is not a revelation for most, but for me, this year, it is. It is the start of the seed of Daring Greatly 2.0.

Yes, the height difference is real with those twins! 

 The twins made me mother's day cards and some humerous questionnaires at the YMCA this weekend, little D made that beautiful little mixed media piece, A made me a little cement hand thing and Drew got me my favorite ice cream (that is only around for 6 weeks a year!) with some heath bars.

 Not to mention I took A out to see Captain Marvel (as a reward for no longer getting a second breakfast at the school cafeteria secretly each morning, haha!) and when I got back Drew had tackled the laundry for me and put most of it away! BEST gift ever.

We spent the evening talking with both our moms and I just feel so grateful that we both have our moms, because I know it will not always be that way.

THEN...

With Drew's help, I left before the big kids woke up for school to drive up to Ohio for the day and have lunch with my parents and see my grandma. We will see them in two weeks again but I really felt this pull to see them since they were relatively so close for Mother's Day. The tablets dying on the way home made it a difficult ride back but I am so glad I did it.

2017 Resolutions

One of the nice things about blogging is that when you make resolutions (as I always try to do), it keeps you accountable because it is easy to look back on. Don't knock on me for loving the newness and "fresh-start"ness of January 1.

The word I picked this year was DISCOVER. (Last year's was SIMPLIFY, 2015 was "To accept myself unconditionally right now" (I couldn't think of a simpler word that summed it up, but it was truly a lifesaver, what with spending 1/3 of the year pregnant with twins then the next 2/3 of it dealing with a VERY different and difficult postpartum body than I have ever had to deal with), 2014 was STRONGER).

A couple of things I plan to DISCOVER:
1. Joy in motherhood and in being a wife.
2. The Old Testament. I have found an institute study guide to help me study the body of scripture I tend to have the most amount of difficulty understanding (and to be honest, I started studying it about a month ago). I am loving what I am learning and look forward to it almost every day.
3. My Core. I am done comparing my body to how it was before babies (and especially before the twins!), and most importantly, I am ready to start fresh and just focus on getting my best, healthiest body ever. The stronger my core has gotten over the last 20-ish months, the better I feel (but I still have a long way to go!).
4. Gratitude, not just in the good in my life but in EVERYTHING.
5. Myself. I don't have any clear direction on what this entails right now, but since it is the first year since 2009 (that's EIGHT years, if you're keeping track) where I will not have to spend (at least not that I am planning on, knock on wood) at least part of the year pregnant or breastfeeding, I figure I needs to learn more about what "Ruth" is all about, something I started trying to do late last year. I am hoping #1-4 (as well as continuing to cut out time wasters that don't make me feel better) will help enlighten me along the way, or at least make for a good start.

A few things I have found to help me keep my resolutions is to write it down in a few places (here, my phone home screen, my bathroom mirror, etc) where I can see it and be accountable to it. I usually mull over ideas for the whole month of December, and whatever sticks in my mind come Jan 1 is what I end up going with.

Let's do this.