* In case you're wondering, Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice does NOT satisfy a craving for the real, greasy chicken fried rice from a more than likely sub-par Chinese restaurant. Trust me, I know.
* Although I'm tired, my most favorite time of day to clean the house (except vacuuming) is at night when all three kids are in bed and asleep. I like that my efforts aren't completely negated by six little hands, three slobbery mouths and dozens of toys, small nicknacks and random droppings of food. Based on that description would you say I'm raising children or wild animals?
This is a typical "Me-at-the-end-of-the-day" look. Tired, messy hair, make-up-less, and trust me, there are stains on the shirt:
* Did you know you can make homemade pudding?? I'm sure you already knew that, but for some reason it never occurred to me that pudding could be made not from a box. Sad, but true. I gave chocolate pudding a whirl on Monday and this evening I tried my hand at vanilla. I can't believe how easy it is! I may never buy another box of pudding again!
* Tonight, in an effort to get Juliana to stop fussing about going to bed and having to stop playing with Everett, I reminded her that tomorrow we're going to The Magic House, the children's museum here in St. Louis, with some new friends. The result? Everett started to cry about missing it because of school and Juliana went to bed excited and happy. So basically, it was a wash. Suffice it to say, definitely not my brightest parenting idea.
* The other night I started reading a blog of someone I sort of know. She's friends with a couple of mutual friends, we were both at BYU at the same time, and I think she moved into my old ward the semester after I moved out. Anyway, I got caught up in her last few blog posts and came away feeling like a big, untalented waste. I despise that about blogging! Like my friend said, " i hate blogs. i hate them so much sometimes. i love personal history, but reading about another happy family spending endless time and money together in jamaica makes me want to throw things." It amazed me how quickly I got into a funk thinking about all the things I don't do well, or don't have, or opportunities I wasted, etc. That's always the way, isn't it? Something small and seemingly innocent like someone talking about their house and that sets me off. It's a lesson I always seem to be re-learning: Don't compare your weaknesses with someone else's strengths. Or vice versa.
* I'm really enjoying St. Louis. Even more than I thought I would. We've only been here since April, but it felt like home almost immediately. That's not to say we don't miss our families or dear friends in Atlanta or wherever they may be, but this is a wonderful place to be.
Ok, the rugrats are asleep, I'm off to clean!
8 comments:
Great post Natalie! Made me chuckle. I went through that with Brandon and still do sometimes when he knows we are going to go do something fun while he's at school. I wish we could go with you to the magic house. We have been passing around a REALLY BAD virus for a week and all three kids are so sick. So, I haven't called or anything. Let's catch up soon!
I only have two kiddos but could relate! And I hate that about blogs too. I stopped reading a lot of blogs for that reason! But I've kind of realized that most people aren't totally truthful on their blogs anyway... (at least that is what I tell myself to feel better!)
I am relearning that lesson for about the bazillionth time right now. It's amazing to me how our feelings and insecurities can so quickly dictate our moods, and really, our happiness or lack thereof. I hear ya sister. thanks for the thoughts.
I love that I can relate to everything in this post :)
About the blogging -- a long time ago someone went off on me saying how they hated reading my blog, they hated my 'bragging' and basically hated everything about it. It really affected me and I found myself not blogging about what I really wanted to. Anyway, it took me realizing that I need to blog for MYSELF and no one else (thus the reason my personal blog is protected). Also, you have to realize that people usually only blog about the good stuff. I'm sure we all don't want to blog about the argument we had with our husbands the day before, ya know? Blogs are a very skewed perspective. Only the memories we truly want to remember.
On the flip side, I have read plenty of blogs that 'bugged' me and I quickly learned to stop reading them. The good side effect of this is less time wasted on blogs and more time to do other things :) Just thought I'd share my experience on the matter.
p.s. your blog doesn't bug me. haha. i really like it.
what a wise friend you have.
i'm so glad you blog. you keep it real. i'm reminded about everything i like about you. i'm going to do a blog post exactly like this today. you are inspirational.
I LOVED this post! Everything you said, I have felt. And, I love your writing, always real and always clever.
I wish we could hang out in our stained shirts together with our pack of wild animals tagging along.
What's your recipe for homemade pudding?
And knowing that you clean every night after the kids go to sleep makes ME feel guilty. I just watch 24 and eat ice cream.
love this post. and so glad you are back to blogging, i feel like our friendship as *renewed" now. hahahah
and you are such a lovely and talented woman and mother.
lylas (love ya like a sister)
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