Not enough time for us

 

  It's what he said to me the other night. After we fought about stuff. Work stuff. Time stuff. Us stuff. And that's when he said there is never enough time for us.   He's right you know. Our days are filled with mothering, work, kids, dinnertime, bath time. Weekends spent at Costco, Target, birthday parties, laundry. And lately our nights have been invaded by sudden co-sleepers. It's hard to talk, and have real conversations when you have little ears listening.   So while we spent Valentine's Day with our girls, we have no regrets. A quick dinner at Panera Bread with two giggling girls was soothing to our parenting souls. Our browse through Target was fun and stress free. And that night bedtime wasn't a struggle.   But it still wasn't enough time for just us. The us we used to be before kiddos. The us who used to stay in bed watching TV on Saturdays until dinnertime. The us who used to stay up until 3 am listening to music on YouTube. The us who occasionally would go eat dinner out on a weeknight. That us is way too busy now.   So what about us? Now we watch and listen to YouTube on the iPad in bed with the promise to go to bed after just one more. We have learned to talk in code. We cheat at the bedtime game and let them fall asleep in our bed, while we watch Hot Tub Time Machine or Gangs of NY in the living room. Letting the kiddos blissfully snooze unaware that we have gone. He will do me one solid and watch the latest episode of Scandal. I'll do him one solid and watch Moneyball (again!). And I've promised him an overnight trip or two just for us this year. Something I haven't done since Mac was born.   Because for there to be an us, I have to let go a little. I have to remember that before I was a mom I was a wife. And before we were a family. We were an Us.     Linking up with Kristine for Love Is...

All you need is love {LifeLately}

  I find it ironic that it took something as obvious as Valentine's Day to show me that all I really need is love.  The love of my family.  The love of friends.  The love of kindergartners, who know nothing of real love, other than in it's most simplistic form.  This year there wasn't anything I wanted for happy heart day.  I wanted to be with my girls and the hubbs.  Who are more precious than diamonds, more beautiful than flowers, and who, dare I say, I love more than my iPhone.  It's true though.  Lately, all I really need, desire, and pray for is love.  Happy love.  Simply, wholly, faithfully.   I'm finding that in motherhood, and in parenthood, the days are long, the nights short, and the ability to stop time and really savor the moments are fleeting.  There will always be tomorrows, but I hesitate to plan or look too far forward.  Because when you do, you miss out on everything that is happening now.  I will always have clean laundry to put away, entertainment centers to dust, and toys to put away and reorganize.  But I won't always have babies this age.  I won't always be in this season of my life.  And I know that I won't appreciate it's challenges, misgivings, and blessings until they are just a memory.    

 

Happy girls on Valentine's Day. 

I want them to be this happy on Valentine's Day ten years from now.

Hopefully I can find a way to always provide those kinds of smiles.

I think that's why celebrating as a family is important to me.

Because no matter who got more valentines, we will always have each other.

 

 

A somewhat staged photobomb.

It's nice to know we all smile the same.

Mouths open like deranged muppets!

 

 

My beauty with her first valentine from a boy.

So happy with her purple heart, which is her favorite color.

Which said boy knew, and picked out himself, according to his mom.

Swoon.  Times a thousand.

 

 

Caitlin ran for class president.

Our hardest lesson to date is about losing and getting only 2 votes.

Although she did vote for herself, which is something I never did.

We told her win or lose, she is still Caitlin, and still a champ.

 

 

On Friday Caitlin brought home a 2nd valentine from a boy.

This time a heart shaped box of chocolate and a teddy bear.

We've been told to get used to this.

But do you ever really get used to it?

 

  Somewhere along the line, Mac grew up. Maybe I blinked. Maybe I still see her as a baby. But this picture isn't of my baby, but of my almost 3 year old. THREE.   Fleeting. My heart says slow down, my eyes try not to blink, but to stop time...   Hopelessly impossible.     Joining in my favorite link up. Life Lately.

Almost Perfect Tacos {Resolutions In Motion}

  Yes, almost perfect tacos. Because my hubby said they would be better if I skipped a step in the process. No bother. At least Caitlin liked them too. I planned on making them again this week, but life got away from me. Oh, well, maybe next week.   I got the inspiration for these tacos on Twitter via Ashlee. She said they were on her pinterest board, so I did a little pin-stalking. I proceeded to pin them, and make them, to ho-hum reviews. The idea for this recipe is genius. It's so easy and you can have dinner on the table in just under a half an hour. Ashlee said her family loved them. Guess my family is just picky.   Almost Perfect Tacos: Originally Oven Tacos  

source / pin

Check out the recipe at it's original home and you will be amazed how easy you are going to make dinner tonight.  The hubbs felt that by baking them, they got a little soggy.  I may, or may not have filled the shells a little too much.  Hence, possible sogginess.  Also, the picture above is just the beginning.  After they are baked to cheesy, melty, goodness, you can then fill them with your favorite taco toppings, like shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and avocado.  Whatever makes you happy.  In the future, since the hubbs wasn't totally impressed, I will not bake them, but serve them right off the stove top.  If you skip the baking step, you can literally have dinner on the table in 15 minutes, provided that your taco toppings have been prepared in advanced.  Which in my house means, cutting some avocado, opening a tub of sour cream, a jar of salsa, and lettuce shreds out of a bag.  See, simple, easy, and delicious.         Linking up with my gal Kristine  

I heart this {MugSwap, pinterest}

  Happy Valentine's Day readers and friends! If you haven't linked up to the Bloglovin' Hop, what are you waiting for? If you have, can't wait to check out your bloggy.   I had some really great plans for this Valentine's Day. A wreath, some hair bows for the girlies, fabulous homemade valentines courtesy of Pinterest. It's not how it worked out. Caitlin would rather have store bought Monster High and Angry Bird valentines. I never did settle on a wreath idea I liked. And bows, well they are the bane of my current mothering existence. No matter. There are tons of other fabulous things to love this Valentine's day.   Like this someecard that the hubbs is getting with some chocolate!

featured in Friday Funnies / source

  Or this Valentine's Day inspired outfit.

source

    Or these pink rice krispie treats with convo hearts!  Swoon!!

source

  But for now my favorite surprise is my new mug!

 

The best thing about mug swaps is making new friends!

Sarah has a great blog and she cracks me up with all her coffee drinking antics.

Plus she went the extra mile and included nail polish (awesome),

and chocolate chip Lara Bars (rad)!

Check out what I got her at the Mug Swap Linky Party.

I'm hoping she liked it!

As you can see I loved mine!

 

 

For now it's my favorite Valentine's Day surprise. Until the Hubbs gets home and surprises me with whatever. Is it sad that all I really want for Valentine's day is for someone else to worry about dinner? Oh, and a mani/pedi would be grand.   It's a day for love have a great one and love someone!!     Linking up here!

Sometimes being a mom...

  It is the hardest job that didn't require a resume, license, or interview. It's the only job without vacation days, sick days, or mental health days. It's the only job that pays in love, trauma, and most definitely tears. It's the only job you'd never trade for another.   Motherhood. Sometimes it's bliss. Sometimes it sucks. Mostly it's what good living is all about.  

 

Being a mom is awesome when your kids are getting along.

Even if it's just for a few minutes.

Case in point, just moments after this picture was uploaded to Instagram,

they fought over boundary lines of the chair.

Sister love that was short lived.

 

 

Being a mom is great when your kid will try new food.

Like Mac eating spaghetti squash.

Smiles included.

 

 

Being a mom is great when your kid falls asleep in the car.

Easy nap time.

Then again being a mom is tough when said kid wakes up when ejected from seat.

Damn.

 

 

Being a mom sucks when your kid is sick.

Like a fever that won't go away.

Being a mom is great when sick kiddos color and smile anyway.

And have amazing bed head.

 

 

Being a mom, or being a parent is best when your kid makes you

answer the "remote" phone.

Because she is calling you and it's important.

Being a mom is awesome when your spouse asks your kid if she

"needs more cowbell" for her fever!

 

  Being a mom equally sucks and is equally awesome when this happens. Big mommy fail when mom and dad are watching a movie and not watching the kiddo. Being a mom is more awesome when you realize one of those markers is permanent.   The same moments that test your patience are the same moments that you will always cherish. I think that's pretty much motherhood in a nutshell.   Sometimes being a mom is the best lesson life can give.     PS: John says that in the last picture Mac looks like a sad clown. I laughed so hard while typing this. I think she looks like Kiss or Alice Cooper. We used wipes and make up remover wipes. Finally it all came off in the bath.