My sweet boy

“Mommy, I was not a good listener today, I was a bad boy.” 

These are the words that come out of my three year olds mouth nearly every day now.  They break my heart.  His misbehavior confirmed by his daycare provider, and now I am apparently, that mom.  The mom who has the defiant kid that makes you wonder if there is any discipline in their home.  The mom who has the kid who is acting up, and constantly in trouble at daycare.  I know she was exaggerating, but apparently today my sweet boy had "150 timeouts".

I tell my sweet boy that he is always a good boy, he just made the bad choose to not listen today.  He promises me that he will listen and choose to be good tomorrow.  Somehow I think we will repeat this conversation nearly everyday for the next long while.

I wish I could help him understand as he is searching for his independence, that not following instructions can be dangerous. 

I wish he could understand the cool things he misses out on when he misbehaves.

I wish that I could help him understand that willing submission to the right authority is a good thing, and it makes our lives better.

How in the world do you make that a tangible concept to a three year old?

For now, we just try and bribe reward him, when he makes the right choice, we praise him when he willingly chooses do the right thing.  Pray for him, and try and help him understand that sometimes you get to do what you want, and sometimes you have to follow others.

I think he has too much of me in him.

We may be in serious trouble.

You see, I so often choose to not listen to God.  I, even though I know full well he has my best interest at heart, choose to go my own way, and not listen.

Yet somehow, He is still patient with me, and lets me learn, and makes me remember...willing submission to the right authority (His all-knowing, all-powerful perfect authority) is a good thing, and it makes our lives better.

May the Lord grant me patients as I learn this concept and try and teach it to my son.

The Kid's Room - The beginning

I am going to attempt to catch you all up on some of the changes I have slowly been making to my home the last few months, starting with the kids room.  My poor kids.  Their room has been my nightmare for a very long time.

Two kids, two beds, toys for two, books galore, clothes everything everywhere.  I would spend half a day cleaning it only to find the contents dumped everywhere shortly after.

See, I really don't exaggerate.  I had just finished putting all of the laundry away, and my sweet boy thought that this would be a fun game.

NO MORE!

Over the last few months, I have done a MAJOR revamp of the kids stuff, and I am thrilled to say, that for the most part, their room has stayed CLEAN!!!

To start, I got these lid containers at JoAnn's that are perfect for the toys the kids like to carry out into the living room and play with.

Followed by these sweet green baskets from the Dollar Tree, you really can't beat the price!


We were able to contain the toys and books to the shelving unit in their room.  We also had saved my old dresser for Max, which we fit nicely into the closet, to open up more play space for the kids.


We also got rid of the crib, and put baby girl in a toddler bed.

And then we also got rid of the nursery furniture.  It was hard to see it go, but it was a needed step.  I also taught my three year old to make his bed.  Not to bad for a 3 year old!

This is only the beginning of the changes to this room.  I can't wait to show you the other changes we have made!

Improvements

I would say that overall in the last year, my homemaking skills have improved.  I say this with the dishes from last night still littering the kitchen, (and breakfast dishes still on the table) because overall, it is true.  Noticeable improvements have been made, things have been drastically decluttered.  However it is still something I struggle with every day.

Homemaking never stops, as long as you have a home to make.  Even when you are firing on all cylinders desperately trying to get everything done.  Crossing off all of the things on your to-do list seems impossible, and all you want to do is rest.  Even if you choose to sit and "take a break" for a few minutes, you don't get to enjoy it because your head is simply going through the unending list in your head of things you "should" be doing, instead of resting.

I know that this sounds crazy, but I think I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that, in this stage of life, it will never be done and it is ok.  Our home, may be slightly cluttered, and littered with toys, laundry and dishes, but it is evidence of the life being lived in that home.  It does NOT qualify us to be on an episode of Hoarders.  It is simply life being lived.

I constantly see fun plaques and quotes around pinterest, that make me feel like I'm not alone in this.  Here are a few of my favorites:

You can see my whole homemaking quote board here, it will keep growing I'm sure!

I hope that some of you ladies can understand the business that comes with running a home, having a 3 year old a 21 month old, working 40+ hours per week and trying to get it all done.

That is honestly where I am right now.  I also now FINALLY have a computer.  I am so excited!  It means I can now return to blogging more regularly and I don't have to worry about my entire posts, and photo's that I am editing vanishing when my computer magically turns off!

I do have a question for you all.  What type of posts would you like to see more of?

What type of posts would you like to see more of?
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	Faith
	Family Life
	Home Management
	Recipes
	Kids
	Finances
	Encouragement
	Mom Stuff
	Other (please comment below)
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Thanks for your feedback!  It will greatly help as I move forward with this blog.