Living the Legend

Happy eighth birthday to my little man who is a lover of all things mechanical and robotic that require assembly. Actually, "happy" may be an understatement, because we threw a Bionicle bash that only his eight-year-old imagination could have concocted, and that over-indulged his appetites for fun and sugar. The play-by-play goes a little something like this:

1. Craft project resulting in fabulous Bionicle masks for one and all (Complete with photo shoot).
2. Consumption of Bionicle cake - designed, crafted and decorated by birthday boy.
3. Massive ravaging of gift packages to retrieve most beloved presents.
4. A good go-around of the candy bar game.
5. Bionicle treasure hunt for party favors (All clues must first be decoded!).

What a fun group of rowdy boys and a great day. Thanks for coming, friends!

Hanna really had no place at a party like this. I thought about sending her away to a friends house. Then I decided to just put her in a party dress and let her try to blend in.

She did just fine.

Stolen Inspiration

My friend Toria posted this little piece of wisdom and I fully agree so I thought I'd share:



Being A Mom

sometimes I get a complex about my talents, my goals, my ambitions.
I feel capable of so much, and clueless of how to do so many things.
I recognize my talents
as well as my weaknesses
and sometimes I get what John so appropriately calls the "jack of all trades, master of none" complex
and it makes me kinda down
so to perk me up, I think about all the things I am good at, kinda good at, interested in, or proficient at and wonder which one I want to become really good at.
which one I should focus my energy on.
and
I.
can't.
decide.
so I start thinking about how to focus on multiple things.
what job would allow me to do this, with the freedom and flexibility to do that?
and then I wonder:
should I be diagnosed with A.D.D?
or maybe I should take one of those career placement test things so I can have someone (or thing) who doesn't know me tell me where to focus my energy?
and why didn't I do that in college?
why didn't I really feel like I had something mastered when I graduated?
maybe I should go back to school?
but what will I study?
I like this.
I'm pretty good at that.
I wonder if there's a program for....?
what job would allow me to do a little of everything?
and all of the sudden a light bulb turned on.
I thought, "I bet if I put in my talents, and interests and aspirations..."
"...the job that would fit me best would be being a mom"

(if it's possible to think/feel "duh" and "wow" at the same time, that's what happened)

I mean, I've heard all the poems and stories about how moms do it all.
and it's not that I was just seeing it fit together in that way for the first time.
it was just the first time that I realized that
I am meant for motherhood AND motherhood is meant for me
being a mom and doing the "mommy" things is fun to me.
it fits.
I enjoy it.
I mean, not that I don't have bad moments or not so exciting moments,
but I really
like
motherhood.
and I think by liking it, I'm pretty good at it.
and can become better at it.
I like exploring different talents and interests (often in the name of doing it for the kids)
I like that I can be a party planner/ cake decorator and a nurse/ health educator or a designer/ seamstress.
I can dabble in this and that and the other thing
and embrace my ADD.
I will learn to be ok with the idea that to everyone else, I may be a "jack of all {or some} trades, master of none."
and I will strive to be the master of one.
the one job I already have and that fits my skill set.

being their Mom.

which is no easy task and not something I can attain overnight
but it's do-able
and exciting.