Motherhood and Beyond

To be a mom is the most rewarding job in the whole world. But it can also be the most difficult. Motherhood and Beyond is peeping into the world of being a mom, but at the same time a wife, a friend and much more. Life doesn't always go easy and some may not know it now, but there is nothing more precious than life. So I welcome you to join us. Follow in our daily routines, our special activities and just enjoy the ride!! TO MOTHERHOOD AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Why Blog?

Why the blog?
 
 
Some people have asked me why I blog. Sometimes I tell them just because I feel like it.  But when they ask me why I don't just journal where it stays private, I don't ever have a response.   Honestly, I think it is laziness. I don't like to write. I can type mega fast so I can do a blog entry in less than 10 minutes sometimes and not have to work my hands all that much. I can blog from the road, blog from work. I don't have to restrain myself from just journaling. I can talk on many subjects and touch the minds of others.
 
 
I had to resetup the blog because of events that led to a bit of drama. I worked on that blog for almost a year. I saved all of it of course and plan on putting it all together into a sort of journal/diary to save for the kids to read when they are older and I am gone. I want them to know me, not just as their mother, but as a person. Someone who not only cared about what they ate, when they took a bath or how they did on their homework. I want them to see me with a soul and baring it to the world, unafraid and ready to take on whatever comes my way.
 
 
I have made sure that up until this point, they are leading lives different than what mine was.  And I don't do that because I am ashamed of my past, the past is what made me into the person I am today. But I do that because every parent wants better for their children.  I hope I never have to come home to a crying child because someone at school made fun of them for not having name brand clothes or not being able to go to something because there wasn't money to do so. I want to give my children the world. I want to teach them about life and love, I want their education to not be just school related, I want them to learn about nature, religions, people, life in general. A school can only teach a child lessons put into a book.  It takes someone to care to teach things about life. I hope to be the type of mother who can be trusted and not feared. I want my kids to come to me about things, I don't want them to run to someone else. I want them to ask me questions not be scared of how I will answer. I want them to trust me and respect me, but I also want to be able to trust and respect them.
 
So blogging is my way of showing my children, the  past, but today.  I want them to be able to read these and remember me. The way I ramble, the way I talk about one subject and move onto something so different in just 2 sentences and the way I thought. I want them to read this after I am gone and be able to hear my voice speaking the words.  My children are my love.  I blog for them. 
 
But I also blog for me. When I was  younger I kept a diary. Though with three other siblings and two protective parents, I am sure that it was read daily by someone other than me.  I love to write and recording the things that I think, help  my mind clear. Its almost a mini therapy session without the costly couch. So by blogging I am able to freely think, show the world the inside of my head without feeling like I am venting on any one person in particular.  And if people follow, I shall continue to write. If nobody follows, I shall continue to write. For I don't write for them. I don't write for the audience.  I write for me.

Handing you Life

Life hands you things that you think you can't handle. But as I sit here and ponder, if we work past the situation handed to us, doesn't that make us stronger?  What life would you rather live, the one where you free ride it all the way through, or the one where you prove to yourself and others around you how strong you are.  Personally, I used to think that a free ride through life would be great. Just going at my own pace, no structure or rules.  But after the last few years of my life, I think that the road less traveled is the way I will go.
 
So when something is thrown at me, I know that I can take what is given to me and make it into something that I can not only handle, but come out on top.  Sometimes things won't be perfect, but nothing in life is exactly "perfect".
 
When you are handed something you think you can't handle, step back and think about it. Why can't you handle it? Does your mind automatically go into the mode that you aren't strong enough to handle it?  You may have been handed every thing you think possible, but there is always something worse that could happen. Be grateful for what you do have. Don't just sit back and let life pass you by without a fight.
 
Most of the time, the situations that are thrown our way, are the situations that we create, whether or not you think you do.  And not everything, obviously if you are dealt with an illness, you didn't create the illness, it just happened. Unless you are a smoker and you get lung cancer or something like that, but otherwise with illness, you can't blame yourself. Stuff happens like that.
 
But in my case, I created my own situation. I knew the consequences and at the time, didn't think beyond my actions. Which for me, is totally out of character, because normally I am the one overthinking the situation. But for once, I acted immaturely and for that I am currently paying. I put everything on the line and lost so much in such a short period of time.
 
Instead of retreating, closing the doors and hiding within, this time, I stood up, accepted the consequences and I am now trying to heal and mend those who I hurt.   Too many times in my life I have retreated inside myself, making excuses and hiding behind lies. But this time I refuse to do that. This time I am a different person. I will not go back to that person I was a year ago.  I didn't like that person then and I really hate who I was now.  But I can't change the past, nobody can.    I can't change what I did and I can't fix the problems I had.  But what I am going to do is be there for the person I hurt the most, try and take time to heal myself and most importantly never stop letting my children have access to their mother.
 
Christmas is upon us. Take the time to release the demons. Let go of everything over the next few weeks so that when New Years Day is here, you can literally start fresh. Don't worry about what you can't fix, you aren't going to be able to fix everything. You may not like the consequences that come with your demons coming out, but sooner or later they will escape.  And it will be a lot easier to deal with everything now, then have it slam into you while you are living life to the fullest. You never know what you can lose until it is already gone.
 
Life is just that. Life.  You can take the easy road, lay flat and never have anything come of your life. Or you can take the road less traveled, have stories to tell along the way and learn things from those you never expected to teach.  I think I will stick with the second choice.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Celebrating the season part one

Celebrating the season.....
 
 
Away in a manger..............
 
 
God rest ye merry gentlemen...............
 
 
 
Silent Night, Holy Night.........
 
 
Christmas is almost here. My mixed feelings on this holiday make it one of the toughest holidays to celebrate in a way.  Growing up as a strong Catholic,  Christmas was always something special. We went to church, did all the stuff that goes along with being a Catholic at Christmas time, including the candles and all of that. I remember standing up with my class choir singing some of the above songs.
 
But as an adult I sit and wonder......what really happened?  Many people have said that Jesus was not even born at this time of year and have proof that shows the truth.  I know that people make think I am a follower when I say that I believe them. But there are many things that point the way to the truth.  So why is it such a big deal in regards to his birth being celebrated? His birth isn't even in the Bible!  Something as important as the virgin birth isn't even located in the bible. WHY?
 
The answer really is simple. Many can't understand....they believe what they have always been told and they don't question those answers.  But I believe what happened was that Christianity was becoming the new growing religion. People were becoming followers by the hundreds. They were flocking to the one they called Christ. Hearing stories of his healings and his preaching.  I think rulers at the time seen a political step that would change the world forever.   I believe that at the time, the leaders did setup the holidays of the Christian church to sync with the old religious paths of those living in the regions they were taking over.  Spring Equinox and Eostoer became Easter. Samhain became All Saint's Day.  Yule/Winter Solstice became Christmas.   This made transforming those who were practicing with the ways of the Earth to easily transition over to Christianity without really changing many things. The times of the year stayed the same, and some of the practices even came with it.  Yule log is not a Christian item that came with Christmas. A yule log came with Yule. I mean duh... how can you get more plain than that? 
 
Most traditions of any major Christian holiday was some how passed down from other religions. They added in their story of Christ and made it their celebration. 

So for me celebrating Christmas turned from a religious holiday to a commercial celebration. We buy the tree and decorate the hosue. I send xmas cards and enjoy christmas music.  I bake lots of goodies for friends and family. We have multiple gift giving celebrations where we eat lots of yummy food and enjoy family. We tell the kids about Santa and let them play in the fantasy of that.  But we don't bring up the birth of Christ. We don't celebrate him at all in our house. We are not Christian. I will not explain any of this until the children are a bit older. I do not believe in shoving religion down children at a young age. I believe at 4 and 6 their minds are not developed enough to understand faith and religion.  In a few years when their friends at school start going to church and talking about it, then we will sit and talk about our religious choices and what the kids want to do. If they chose to attend a church service or class with a friend, I will allow it so he can learn. But I will not stand by and watch them change my son by sending him messages that he can be "saved".  There is no such thing as saving someone. You can change their mind, you can help them through tough times. You can save a person from destroying their life, and maybe that is what people think when they use that term. Maybe they are in a dark place unsure of what to do and they are brought to faith and religion
 

Thursday, December 10, 2009

First Snowstorm of the Year

The first snowstorm of the season has hit.  It has the house on lockdown pretty much. Damon and Lili are home from school. I am home from work.  The wind is blowing like crazy! The snow is pouring out of the sky. Drifts are feet high against some buildings.
 
I am happy to say we are all safe.  I tried to head to work, but failed. So Ryan had to come get me. The kids were excited to have mom home. We had chicken noodle soup for supper with grilled cheese sandwiches. I made a pan of cheesecake brownies for them to snack on. I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa after the kids went to bed. We watched the movie with Ben Stiller and the Smithsonian Museum. It was a good movie. All four of us were laying in our king sized bed enjoying the movie and staying warm.  Later in the evening they cancelled school so I knew the kids could sleep in.
 
So this morning we all slept in and then we got up and had eggs and toast for breakfast. Then all hell broke loose and I remember why I love having my children go to school. They fought over EVERYTHING!  We started playing PS3 and Damon got mad cause Lili doesn't know how to play and he screams at her and then hits her. So we shut it off and he sat in time out.  Lili dumped her moon sand she had gotten as a gift all over the dining room floor..not once but twice. And ground it in the rug because she was walking around in her boots.  But they both ate a nice lunch of mac and cheese and chicken strips and were good the rest of the day. Lili even took a nice long nap.  I was able to get some laundry done and some dishes.
 
Ryan had to come home and shovel us out. Poor man is beat right now. He said he is ready for bed so the kids are going to bed early so he can get to bed himself.  I made it to work no problem. There were some spots that were touchy, but NOTHING even close to last night.  Hopefully my drive home is okay tonight. I am glad we invested in cell phones cause they have already helped us out big time.
 
I'm glad that we live in a small town, with the comfort of knowing everyone and what not, but Iowa sucks this time of year! I hate driving in this stuff and part of me is ready to get the heck out of the snow range.  Ryan said he if goes anywhere it will be south enough to where there is no snow. I said what Florida? He said sure..I was like uh no, they have hurricanes, not gonna happen. I would be happy in like South Carolina. Warm enough where there isn't blizzards like this, but there can still be snow every few years and that way the kids can still play in the snow. But I know that is just a dream.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

New Blog

Due to recent "events" the original blog has been LOCKED DOWN!


So I am starting a new blog. This blog will not have names that can be google searched, hopefully it doesn't show any of my information. I am deleting the other blog so they are not connected.  After today the other one will no longer be accessible.

I hope that those who followed before will now follow here. Thanks for sticking by me!!!