I just want to polish my nails!

After getting the divas cleaned up for bed I gave them some water and put on one last DVD to wind them down.  But little miss Miranda insisted on getting up and causing chaos so I just shut everything down.

Mary was already sleeping and Madicyn and Miranda were still hanging on in there. Being that they are the oldest, I figured that they would be okay in the room by themselves for 20 minutes without me having to come in and regulate. But I was wrong!

As I finished polishing my right hand during my at home manicure, I had to run into the room and throw in some discipline-(with only one hand available for use)- to enforce the new sleeping schedule. Then back to my manicure, finishing the left hand, I had to repeat the process once again-( but now with two hands barely dry or complete).

To end it all I seperated everyone by rooms and cut off all of the lights and "tah-dah" like magic it worked. I waited for about 15 minutes just to make sure that nobody was playing possum...they were really sleep. So I continued with my me time, and began touching up my nails.

But that is when Mary decided to wake up and put mommy back at square one. I changed her diaper, gave her a bottle and looked at the ceiling while  thinking.

"I just want to polish my nails!"

As a mom the simplest things can mean the world when you spend so much of your time taking care of everyone else's needs, and so little tending to your own.

Still a Mess:)

School Dilemma

My daughter Madicyn is really smart. I teach her a lot from home more now than ever since she is too young to go to school. Here in Texas, your child must be 4 or 5  by September 1st of that school year in order to go to pre school or kindergarten. Madicyn's birthday is December 1st, so instantly she misses the deadline by a  matter of months.

Paying for school/daycare is really expensive especially when the rates vary by age and (in our case) we have to multiply the total by three. So public school is the ideal option for my family, but until any of the children are old enough we must seek an alternative.

Our alternatives are:

1. Daycare/Private School
2. Local Head Start Program

As mentioned before schooling expenses can be costly and that wouldn't be the best financial option for our family. The local headstart program is free but the space is limited. Due to the fact that there is currently a waiting list, the earliest that Madicyn will be able to join that program will be next school year.

So, that leaves us with no choice but to educate her from home until she meets the age requirements for public school. Back in Michigan, the age deadline for the school year was December 1st, ( which is Madicyn's birthday), so it worked out perfectly.

 But as auntie often tells me, we are not in Michigan anymore:) 

Go to SLEEP already!

Our latest challenge has been getting all three of the girls to sleep simaltaneously. As you can imagine this is difficult with three small children. Being that Mary is a newborn she sleeps most of the day away and now since her days and nights are in order, she's no problem to put down. After talking to Madicyn and explaining to her that it's time to go to sleep she goes in her room and goes to sleep without a problem.

Now Miranda on the other hand is the wild child. She does what she wants to do, when she wants to do it. Taking her to sleep is a huge challenge for me and Brandon.

Miranda (1)
December 2010

By 7:30pm I'm putting the girls down and we start the "go to bed" process, but Miranda is our rebel and she will stay up as late as 3am some nights. We've tried a number of different methods-(warm milk, waking her up earlier in the morning, no juice or snacks by 5pm,etc.)  to improve her transition from day-to-night, but nothing seems to be working.

I honestly can't remember if this was that difficult with Madicyn when she was Miranda's age, but this is a habit  I am determined to break prior to my return to the end of my maternity leave.

Pics of My Family

Madicyn(3) & Miranda (1)
July 2010

Me,Miranda(3mos), Madicyn(2), Brandon
August 2009

Me & Mary (newborn)
December 2010

What is Success?

As a kid I was taught that success is defined differently for every individual, but I seemed to have forgotten that lesson in this roller coaster ride called life. Now as an adult I am starting to realize that  the true meaning of success is  defined by  where you are in accomplishing the goals that you have set for yourself.  Like many of us, I have been guilty of comparing my life to the lives of other people-(in my case, relatives or old college friends)-who may fall into the same category as me due to age, or other distinct similarities. It's natural for us to do, but it's an unhealthy exercise that distracts us from the reality in every individual's situation.

For instance,my reality is that it's more than just me in my equation. With a family of five (me,my husband & three daughters) the decisions that I make must work in the best interest of eveyone in my family, not just me. The reality for someone else maybe the complete opposite, they may not have a family to consider when making any decisions. Though the two are drastically different, we sometimes lose sight of the factors that lead to the position of someone else, in comparison to our own.

Final Thought:

 "Having a clear definition of who you are and what you want, is the best way to 

          acquire your success."