Yesterday I took the kids for a long bike ride, stopping at two different parks along the way. On our way home, the sun was starting to go down, and the air was getting cool, so we hurried back on the route home without stopping. Aria, who was a passenger on my bike, sitting in the child seat behind me, suddenly yelled, “THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!” and then reach up and hugged my back, squeezing tightly, and said, “I love you, mommy!” I’m thinking that in her three-year-old mind, flying down the street with the wind in her face on the back of a bike being driven by her mommy was just about as good as it gets. And she exclaimed her joy at the top of her lungs, because she felt like doing so. Anyway, it just about melted my heart, hearing her suddenly shout that out. A definite mommy-moment that I’ll never forget.
I’ve been a Bad Blogger lately. I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve put up a new post. But I’ve got a few of excuses, and you bet I’m going to use them:
1) It was our first FULL week of school last week, and I needed the time to adjust.
2) It was our first FULL week of school last week, and I fell completely behind in the housework.
3) It was our first full week of school last week, and at the end of the night when all kids went to sleep…I did, too!
3) it was our first FULL week of school last week, and I tried to stay off the computer as much as possible.
Speaking of staying off the computer…
Do you ever feel like your kids sometimes take a back seat to the computer? I do. And I feel terribly guilty about that. Lately I had been feeling as if I’m always sitting in front of the computer. But I’m not just surf’n the net for fun. No No No. Everything – and I mean EVERYTHING in my life is communicated through emails. I have 5 kids in soccer. Their schedules and games and weekly updates and practice changes are sent through the email. I have one child in baseball, and the same goes for his team’s communications. The kids’ playdates are communicated through emails. The kids who are in school have class email updates. We are doing two refinances right now, and all communications for those are sent through email. My banking. My church group. Rich’s work. I could name many more things, but you get the idea. And when I’m on the computer, the kids come to me for my attention…..
Can you open this?
What does this word say?
I’m hungry.
I don’t get my math.
She won’t let me in our bedroom!
I’m hungry.
He’s not sharing!
I can’t find my soccer cleats.
You’re always on the computer! (ouch!)
I need a Band Aid
Are you taking me to practice?
I have to go potty.
I’m hungry.
Will you play with me?
It’s the “will you play with me” that tugs at my heart strings. Can’t ever say NO to that, because oh my gosh they aren’t going to ask me to play with them much longer, you know? My 16 year old never asks me to play with her anymore. Just say’n. This playing-with-mommy desire is a time-sensitive thing. I need to enjoy it while I can. The computer cannot and must not stand in the way of me playing with my kids!
So last week I sort of went unplugged as much as I could so that I could give my full attention to all those who call me mom. And it was a good thing. I had many “good mommy” moments last week. It felt good. I wish all days could be unplugged.
As much as I’d like to keep my days computer free, the fact remains that our lives sort of depend on the internet. I’m stuck now as to when I can make time for all my online things, including this blog, without it effecting my time with the kids. No one takes naps anymore, so I get no break there. They are aren’t all in school, so no break in the day for me. When the evening hour comes, it’s dinner, bath and to bed at about 8:30 or 9:00, and then I spend an hour or so cleaning up after the crazy-busy day. When 10:00pm comes around, I’m too tired and just want to read and go to sleep. I guess I could start waking up at 5:30am before the house wakes up. That would give me an hour.
An hour? Really?
There’s just not enough time in my days.
Oh well. Now you can understand why it might be a few days, even a week at times, before new post comes out. I’m working on a solution to this, because I do enjoy blogging very much. But, truth be told, I enjoy my kids more. So they need to come first.
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Last week me and my four Homeschooling Homies when to my favorite place….
Aria found things that she wanted on practically every shelf. It’s so hard to tell her, “No, put that back…” because she is always so. darn. cute.
Aislynn and Andrew had fun picking out new pencils.
See, now I see this shelf and I get goosebumps of excitement. New curriculum books! So many to choose from!
I could spend hours in this store, I swear.
I think I was meant to be a teacher. Maybe that’s why I like homeschooling so much. It let’s me play “teacher” to those I love the most.
When I was younger, I was always playing “school” with my younger sister, teaching her on the chalk board all I had learned that day in Kindergarten and first, second grade. My sister is 5 years younger than me, went to college and got her Master’s. I think my early schooling of her had something to do with that 
A.J. wanted to get the globe. “Please, Mom??” he kept asking me. But the last globe we had was used as a basketball. It’s so not happening again. We can use the World Maps that we have on the wall, so – No, put that back.
At the end of our shopping spree, everyone got to take home a little something that made them happy.
And now we are ready to start a new school year!
Following you back from the Mom blog hop! I don’t know how you do it with so many kids…I feel overwhelmed sometimes with just two! I hope to learn from you
http://brittlebyscorner.blogspot.com/
a bike ride?! by yourself with the kiddos?! you’re a brave momma! i’m a scaredy cat when it comes to stuff like that. what if i get a flat tire, what if someone poops their pants, what if i get lost, what if it’s too hot, what if it starts to rain. i’m a loser.
glad aria was able to tell you what a great day it was!
i love lakeshore, we don’t have one here so I don’t get to go very often.
i sometimes blog from my phone. i like to call them “tweets” even though they are not on twitter nor do I have an account. you can set it up by clicking on the envelope on your dashboard. it’s just an email address you stick in your phone and then write your email/blog and hit send. i only do this if it’s something short and sweet that i want to write. and you can add a picture from your phone too.
i’ve seen a globe turned into a lamp on pinterest. you just take it apart so it’s two halves and you’ve got two lamps you can hang from the ceiling. not sure if that makes sense.
whenever i’m on the computer which is really not that much, morgan always wants me to read to her. sometimes if it’s something important i’m doing like homework, i have to turn her down and it breaks my heart. but i seriously read 10 books to her per day probably. she loves to read. so even though i feel guilty, i know she’s getting enough books in everyday
hope school is going smoothly for everyone!