Thursday, December 12, 2013

My thoughts on

I have 5 girls.  Five wonderfully amazing girls who I adore to the moon and back.  As I have gone through this mom thing there's a few  a million things that I learned along the way.  Some are small and simple like if you leave the cookies within reach they won't last as long.  Some though I consider life lessons and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to live them and learn them.

As Christmas (yes I said Christmas and not the stupid 'h' word) is upon us I have been doing a lot of thinking.  Most of my thoughts are triggered by conversations I have with others or things I've noticed.  We recently had a conversation in our parent preschool class about Christmas and we got onto the topic of people in need at Christmas.  The question was asked

Why are people so needy at this time of the year when they know it comes at the same time every year - can't they plan better?

My first thought was YES, yes they can and should.  I certainly do.  It took me back to a quote I used to have in my office when I was an administrator for a University Learning Resource Centre full of 500+ students.


"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine" 


Wooooooow there cowgirl (k, so I'm not a cowgirl but I've ridden a horse before so it counts).  Seriously?  Here I sit in judgement of these people when I have been blessed beyond measure, including the blessing of being somewhat organized and a planner?  Do I fully know their situation and even if I do (or in most cases "think I do"), is it still my place to call judgement????  

ABSOLUTELY BIG FAT NO!!!

Not only did I remind myself of that very important lesson but it started that thinking wheel in my head again.  I can't imagine the pressure that some families must feel at this time of year, and we're all partially to blame for this.  Think for a minute.  How many of us race out there to get our kids the latest and greatest (regardless of the cost), how many of us conform to 'social norms' and buy our kids things because that the 'cool' thing to have this year.  "Everyone has one" so my kid's going to have one too.  Shame on us.  Shame on us for creating such a society.  I'm not saying that we shouldn't buy gifts or want to give nice gifts but shame on us in thinking that that's what it's all about.  

  • Do my kids have nice things?  Yes.  
  • Do I race out and buy them the latest and greatest just because their friends have one?  No.  
  • Is it a money issue?  No.
  • Do they survive?  Absolutely.
  • Are they better for it?  I believe they are.
  • Are they happy?  Yes.  

The pressure that families must feel to not only get a gift for their child but get the 'right kind' of gift.  It's a real shame.  I have seen my kids eyes light up when they unwrap a little tub of playdough or a pack of crayons from the dollar store just as much as they have when they unwrap that Barbie Dreamhouse!  Then of course next year I gotta do even better!  When does it end?  We're creating a society of spoilt, indulgent children that will grow into teenagers and adults with huge sense of entitlement issues.  

I'm not perfect in this, so don't get me wrong.  I just think we could all take a step back and think for a minute about how we approach Christmas.  

Back to my initial thought (the one about giving to the less fortunate) - we will continue to give, just as we have always done in the past.  It's not my place to judge.  If there's a need I will help as much as I can.  If that means that we go without, that's ok, I'd rather my girls learn sacrifice over indulgence.  



Friday, December 6, 2013

c-c-c-c-c-c-COLD!

Like seriously cold!  I'm talking driving the kids to school in -46 with the windchill COLD!  All week, this is silly, it's been cold ALL WEEK!

I'm beginning to wonder if I live in Canada cause this picture is looking all too familiar.  





I love this beautiful country that I live in but let's get real, this is just

  completely obnoxiously rude.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The blogger guilt

You know what I'm talking about (I hope), you leave it so long that you feel guilty you left it so long so you avoid it which only leads to leaving it longer.....such a vicious circle!

Anyway - I'm here now, again.  Trying to do better and that's what counts right?

This year has been a great one for our family.  We have laughed, cried, done some fun stuff, some not so fun stuff, been scared but all the while loving our life and those around us.

Here's a few pics of some of our highlights:

We baptized



We birthday'd



We adventured



We accomplished


We surgery'd



We everything in between'd


Life hasn't been perfect, we aren't perfect but we live each day loving each other and making the best out of what life has for us.  I thank you for being a part of our lives.  I am blessed, I am grateful, I am living a life I always hoped to be blessed to live.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Massive Mother's Day Giveaway!

It's almost that time of year again when we celebrate being a mom and all the moms out there!  Enter to win this fantastic prize that celebrates being a mom!!!!!  http://www.kinseyholt.com/blog/



Good luck and happy mom day everyone!!!!!