You're Gonna Miss This

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

by: Trace Adkins

I have been stressed (again). Nothing major, Spencer has been teething and for the first time since he was born I have felt sleep deprived. For all those with kiddies, you know that functioning on little to NO sleep is NOT a good thing. Life still goes on and you can't call out "sick" So, needless to say. I have been a BIG, grouchy mess.

I don't know whether to scream or cry. The constant upkeep of EVERYTHING is overwhelming and magnified ten fold with no sleep. The last thing I want is for people to say is, "Don't worry it gets better" that doesn't make me feel any better. I'm trying to live for TODAY and this is what my life is like TODAY.

I needed a minute (aka time out for myself) and I left the kids for...3 minutes. Nicolas finds me and he has no diaper on. His shirt has poopie smeared across the front and both hands are covered with poop. He exclaims, "I'm dirty." He was frowning which meant he didn't think this was fun and that was a relief to me. So, my "time out" was over and it was back to being Mom. I cleaned him up and had to banish his brother and sister to their rooms for jumping on my bed. Blankets and pillows all a mess. Spencer was screaming his head off because when Nic found me I was trying to get Spencer down for a nap but had to put him down to clean Nicolas. Cry or scream?

Before all this, I was driving to basketball this morning, and this song by Trace Adkins came on. At first, I thought, you are singing to the wrong Sister because I am NOT going to miss this. But, I glanced back in my rear view mirror and saw three of my four kids, happy and peaceful at that very moment. And for that moment, I said, yes, I am going to miss this. If only I had some way to capture that single, solitary moment to replay in my mind when I am feeling in over my head, depleated, washed out, run over, and at the end of my rope... to help me regain that proper perspective.

I just read this by Elder Ballard yesterday, to help recharge my batteries:

"We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult."

"First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction."

This is true. May the Lord help me be a good mother to my children.

Camp Cole 2008

Another great find... create a tradition to strengthen relationships with cousins who are living far away.

My sister lives in Frederick and while that is only less than an hour away, we still do not see one another as often as we would like. Our children don't get to spend as much time together as we would like either. So... we have instituted "CAMP COLE".

Camp Cole 2008 was a day camp (one day) and it was a success! The kids all sat around the "kid" table for breakfast a.k.a. waffles and orange juice. They ran around the house while I packed snacks for our surprise outing and then we made ourselves name tags. We traced each child's hand onto construction paper and wrote "CAMP COLE 2008" in the palm then made the hand print a necklace with some yarn and there you go!



We all piled into "Lucy Lou" our suburban and headed for the SCIENCE CENTER! Even though we frequent this establishment we have never been with the cousins so it was a whole new, glorious experience. The kids had a great time and so did we watching them explore together.

After returning home, we put the kids in their swim suites (it was 97 degrees outside) and let the kids play in the wading pool on the deck. My mom bought pizza and so we were set! The kids played themselves out! It was great. We also had a coloring session. I bought a Giant coloring book and new crayons (Back to School Sale) and we sat at the table coloring Diego - Animal Rescue pictures.

WHAT A FUN DAY!



Added Note: My Niece and Nephew call me Aunt Cole and that is where Camp Cole gets its name. Third week in July of every year. Next year we'll extend the fun to TWO days!

Son Son Day

Well, naturally if we have Daughter's Day, there must be a "Son Son Day". The last Sunday in June is now Son Son Day. The name comes from a city term that Darrel has used with our boys. I am not fond of city lingo and Darrel likes to teach the kids certain (appropriate) terms so they can retain their father's second language, "Ya mean" (translation: you know what I mean).

The two special things I chose for the boys were: Balloons and Matchbox Cars.



We had invited friends over to celebrate and all the boys and our one girl had a grand time. Balloons make any party fun. My boys love the cars, Corey especially. He sleeps with them and carries them around the house with him. We also had chocolate cupcakes and all our favorite snacks.

Daughter"s Day

The last Sunday in May has become Daughter's Day. I read about this idea in the Family Fun magazine. This was our first year celebrating and it was a lot of fun. I choose two special things that Daryl loves. This year those two things were: a pink Rose and Marshmallows.



Several months ago I was experiencing one of "those" days. Darrel came home to find me pretty exhausted and otherwise depleted. He offered to run to the store for me and when he returned he came bouncing in with a red rose. That's all it took and my worries melted away. Daryl Cinnamon saw this great act of service and exclaimed, "Where is my flower?" She was pretty upset that she did not receive one as well. I sat down with her and said, "One day your husband will bring you a flower too." Some how that was enough and she smiled and went on her way. The next morning she awoke and the first thing she said was, "Mom, where is my husband?" "Is he going to bring me a flower?" I guess I have set the standard for my future son-in-law.

We read stories about Daughters and had pink frosted cupcakes with marshmallows on top. It was a fabulous day!

Pocahantas!

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?