Hmmm...

Sometimes daddys parent differently from mommys. And that's ok.

Someone told me about this blog called the Mommy Revolution where these two Christian moms talk about motherhood and I've been reading a little bit of it. This is their manifesto.

We believe that:

• Both mothers and children should thrive in the parent/child relationship.
• A women doesn’t stop having dreams when she starts raising children.
• Women need emotional support from other women.
• Mothers can do anything we want to, but we don’t have to do everything well.
• There is something good to found even in the most difficult parenting stage.
• Motherhood is not as all-important as we think it is. We are one of the many factors that shape our children. We need to be the best moms we can be while recognizing that we are not the center of the universe.
• Parenting is collaborative, not competitive. None of us can—or should—do it alone.
• Life is not all about you, but it’s not all about your kids, either.
• Only mothers get to define what our motherhood looks like.
• Motherhood changes who we are, but it doesn’t define who we are.
• There is more than one way to parent well.
• Motherhood is just part of a whole and integrated life.
• A good mom provides food, shelter, clothing, love, support, encouragement, and all the honesty, wisdom and kindness she can. Everything else—rides the to mall, attendance at soccer games, participation in endless rounds of Pretty Pretty Princess—is gravy.

We want to create a culture of motherhood in which:

• Women make decisions that feel right for us and our families.
• Good fathers are part of the parenting equation. That means they get credit for the work they do and the unique presence they have in the lives of our children. It means we stop believing they can’t parent as well as we can. Being revolutionary moms means making room for revolutionary dads.
• Women support each other instead of critique each other.
• The fact that we have children doesn’t lead to assumptions about we are or what we do.
• Our decisions are driven by the emotional and physical well-being of every member of the family–not just the kids and not just the parents.
• Our children are one of the many gifts we give to the world.
• It’s okay to miss the way we lived before we had children.
• Women are encouraged to figure out what we are passionate about and supported by our families and friends as we live out those passions.

I think it's helping me work through the decision about whether or not to work part time in the fall. Right now I'm still praying about doing what God wants for me, what He thinks I can handle and what would honor Him and my family the most.

little miss smarty pants

On Saturday we went to Costco to get some pullups after making the fatal error of thinking she could go one night without one when we realized that we were out at 8pm on Friday night. Cut to me washing two sheets, one comforter, one mattress pad, one mattress protector, one princess nightgown, one pair of princess underwear, two security blankets and approximately 10 stuffed animals, all at 4 in the morning. Apparently this girl pees standing up while flying in a circle. Anyway.....back to the story. We decide to eat dinner there even though I had stuff to make dinner at home and we're trying to save money by not eating out. We sit down to eat (the cafe's outside) at 5:45 pm and Ben says that we should order an ice cream bar before they close at 6. Then he says that maybe he should check to see if costco is closing. I tell him that I am CERTAIN that the store's open until 8 on Saturdays so he lets it go and we finish eating. We get up to go inside at 6:05 and the doors were closed. Needless to say, after the previous nights adventures I was exhausted and generally pissed off at myself. Here's the general conversation that followed:

Me: I am so stupid! Why didn't I just let you check? How can I be such an idiot!

Ava: Mama God is mad at you.

Me: Why?

Ava: Because you are not treating yourself nice and God thinks you are beautiful.

Now when did my three year old get better theology than me?

Big boy shoes!

I found these robeez at Marshall's for $10! I actually considered buying all 50 of them and starting my own business on ebay but figured Ben wouldn't be too thrilled. I couldn't resist getting him the next size up also. I love baby shoes!

my little man :)

childrens museum

When we lived in Chicago it cost about $150-200 to get a membership to the children's museums. And then we had to pay $19 for parking. Needless to say, this was not in our budget. Luckily Chicago had this great thing called the museum pass. You could check it out from your library and keep it for a week. The problem was finding one. I would inevitably get out the phone book and go through all the libraries in the city. I would drive all over to save the $20 admission. Anyway, when we moved out here we bought a membership to the children's museum because it was only $50. But this year our library got a museum pass so we've been checking it out. You only get to keep it for the day but it's always available. Sometimes it's nice to not be in a big city. Here's some photos from our trip today.

Ian woke up as we were leaving

clay creations

our hands

my little artist

Her strange mind...

Ava: Mommy I'm going to go upstairs and get dressed and then come downstairs and do this (hands on hips, big fake smile).

Me: Ohhhh....Kaaaayyyy....Why?

Ava: Because I love you soooo much!

(about 15 minutes later...see photo below)

springtime

So while the rest of the country has been buried in the snow, we've been enjoying unseasonable warm temperatures and very little rain. I actually really like the rain because I don't feel guilty for staying in my pj's, baking all day and napping. When it's sunny I feel like I have to constantly be outdoors. But I have tried to take advantage of the great weather and get a few walks in. Last week, in one of my (few) supermom moments, we grabbed the camera and the stroller and documented the advent of this beautiful season. Ava took some great pictures and we talked about all the changes in our neighborhood. We got the pictures developed at Costco and then made a book from a collage of the photos and Ava dictating what she remembered. Here are some of the photos we took.