When I'm a Mom I'll Never...

I think that many moms out there would agree that before they were moms they were the "best" mom.  We would look at other moms, or parents, and witness their faults as they "gave in" to their children, and think..oh, when I'm a mom, I will never do that!  I won't use bribery, yell, let my child get so filthy, etc. And then...and then, we give birth, and we realize that this whole mothering thing is quite difficult.  We knew that it would be "hard", but did we really truly know that it would be freakin' crazy hard!!! Sometimes when I see pregnant women out and about I want to pull them aside and warn them, give them insider information.  But who am I kidding?!  They are so blissfully excited and cute.  Why would I want to pop that bubble?  And please don't get me wrong, there is reason to be blissfully excited (and scared out of your mind), but the journey that these soon to be mothers are about to embark on can only be experienced for ones self.  I have joked with other moms that we are all part of a club...we are in "the know".  And then when you add another baby to the mix and become a mom of more than one child, you join another club.  Sadly, but for good reason, this new club looks slightly down on the members of the previous club.  You start to think that you had it "easy" when you only had one child to chase, worry about, feed, bathe, read to, teach....love.  I will admit that I have had these thoughts.  But I know my limits and I want to remain a member of this club.  I have told my friends who are mothers of more than two that they are saints, a special breed, members of a club that I do not wish to join.  Instead I will look to them with admiration and awe. 

I had many friends with children before I myself became a mother.  I tried to limit the amount of things I told myself I would or would not do as a mother.  Mainly because I did not want to eat my own words.  Of course there are some "big" ones that I will try to stick to...I will not eat or sell my young (although at times tempting), I will do arts & crafts with my children every day (who are we kidding), I will feed my children healthy and nutritious food (come on, just eat the broccoli and salmon).  I have found, and continue to learn, that I must "pick my battles".  And really, they don't have to be "battles".  I have learned, that my job as a stay-at-home mommy, is to learn my children.  Each day I learn more about their personalities, quirks, likes, dislikes, moods.  When I step back and take a deep breath (or 4), I see that they are teaching me how to "mother" them.  And what an honor it truly is!   

 I will never let my child eat something gooey and sticky in their carseat (mm mmm, peanut butter!)

Busy Day to Start off the Long Weekend

So to start off our long weekend we had a very busy day!  Early in the week our neighbors invited us to join them up the coast riding their ATV.  A little less then an hour from here is a place that is a sort of "Mecca" to ATV owners.  The dunes at Pismo beach are quite the attraction...and on the first day of Memorial Day weekend that is not said lightly!  I am not quite sure how to explain it for anyone who has not experienced this before.  You drive your vehicle, preferably 4WD, onto the beach and find a spot amongst all of the other hundreds of people there to have fun.  The last time I was on an ATV was probably when I still had baby teeth, so my first ride was not solo.  Each of us took a ride or two while the kids played in the sand.  It was quite amazing to visit this city of sorts.  There were trucks driving up and down the beach offering all sorts of services- firewood for sell, snacks, water for your motor home, waste water removal from your motor home (yuck), towing service for when you get stuck, parts, etc...  We ended up packing it up a little sooner than expected because the wind and the cold got to be too much.  It was a fun morning with our neighbors, but I have to admit that I felt a little guilty for contributing to the destruction of this part of nature.

After the sand dunes we headed up the coast a bit to a place called Avila Valley Barn.  This is where we picked our pumpkins at Halloween and got our Christmas tree.  They offer a couple stores to buy produce, sweets, and ice cream.  They also have an array of farm animals to feed.  Nathan kept telling me that they smelled bad...which was true.  You can also take a hayride to pick whatever is in season....today it was peaches and apricots.  I have to admit that the allure of a field of peach and apricot trees inspires me to bake, bake, bake...and maybe can a little.  The trick is to keep that inspiration once you've hauled your 20 pounds of peaches home.  Okay, I didn't really get that much.  It was fun to wander through the fields and pick fresh fruit.  I had to limit the intake on the way home though, which is fun to explain to a 3 year old.  After being in the hot fields we splurged on a bit of ice cream.  Being at the picnic tables and watching my little guys get messy with chocolate ice cream was a great ending to a fun day!  It is in these moments that I ask the universe to please let me remember this...this yummy, messy, sticky goodness that is the love I have for these beings that I helped to create.

Dinner on the Beach

A few days ago I decided to do something a little different for dinner.  We changed up our dinning location and added a little sand to the mix....literally!  Here on base there are a couple beaches.  To many people they are mainly known for the wind, which is quite often present, but it is still the beach...the beautiful, peaceful, awesome ocean.  I packed us a simple dinner, threw some sand toys and towels in the car, picked up Jerry after work, and we headed to Wall Beach.  The evening was not elaborate by any means, but my boys had fun playing and getting covered in sand.  We ate our dinner, a little crunchy from the boys spreading sand everywhere, and then played some more.  I have to say that it is these simple moments that I love sharing with my 3 boys.

His First Shiner

Last Monday Nathan was unfortunately visited by a stomach bug (which he also had the previous Tuesday).  So the day was spent at home taking it easy, for Nathan at least, with towels and trash cans at the ready.  During this "calm" Griffin, our daredevil, got his first black eye.  He stepped onto a small block, slipped, and smacked his eye into the very corner of our coffee table.  As he fell down I was so scared to pick him up in fear that there would be blood everywhere.  Thankfully the skin was not split open!  He did have a bit of a dent though, and by the end of the day he had a black eye.  It seems that with a semi-new walker I have new bruises and scrapes to explain when daddy gets home at the end of each day.  The bumps and bruises that our babies get as they grow are a sort of "right of passage", but it is still so difficult to watch them get banged up....and explain the bruises to the sweet old ladies at the grocery store!

Chatter Bug

He is talking away!  Our "little" Griffin is becoming quite the talker.  As least his proud parents think so!

Griffin's talking has been a change for us from Nathan at the same age.  Nathan had very few words by the time he was 15-16 months old.  Griffin isn't quite 14 months old and probably has around 15-20 words that he will say...and when in the right mood he will try almost all words we ask of him.  The funny thing is though....he still rarely says "mama", he usually calls me baba.  Some of his words include- dada, up, cup, duck, quack, baby (VERY clear), dog, that, cat, bath, diaper, pickle, thank you, and some animal sounds.  He tries to day brother and Nathan, but only mommy understands those ones at this point.  This evening I taught him to say "me".  I ask him, "Griffin, whose the baby?"  and he says (with a huge grin) "ME!".  It still baffles me how much they are learning and growing constantly!

Garden of.....death?!

In our quest to have a beautiful and bountiful garden I am beginning to fear that we are going to destroy more than create...

I suppose it started with all of the perfectly fine grass that I dug up for our garden's plot.  In this process there were also some wonderful worms who I unfortunately severed with the shovel.  Then after our garden was in the slugs arrived.  There is also a small army of baby snails in slow movement across our back patio.  We have also had birds and squirrels arrive to the party, which I am not trying to kill- just detour.  Yesterday when I was in the garden I noticed a suspiciously fresh pile of dirt...this time something was digging up into the garden.  When Jerry got home he stuck a garden hose into the hole (another hole was in the middle of our yard) and the culprit came out wet and muddy.  I am not sure if it was a gopher or a mole.  He scurried away out of our yard.  I fear that today he'll be back with friends?!

I don't want to kill things that are just doing what they know how to do so that we can have a garden.  However, I do want to have this garden.  Can peace be found between nature and the Phillips family?! 

Birthday & Mother's Day Weekend

This last weekend was a bit of a whirlwind for us.  On Saturday I turned another year older (really just a day older at that point, but that sounds a little silly).  We took a day trip up the coast and drove up the 1 to the small coastal town of Cambria.  It is a beautiful "artsy" town with cute shops, restaurants, and places we'd love to go back and visit sans-kiddos.  We had lunch there and then headed up the coast a bit more to Hearst Castle.  When Jerry and I were dating we tried to go to Hearst Castle (6 years ago), but we arrived too late and the gates were closed.  I remember seeing the castle at the top of the hill wishing we could see inside.  This go around we didn't plan a tour because we thought the kids couldn't go.  We were wrong though and we were able to do a tour.  Unfortunately when we got to the top of the hill after the 5 mile bus ride with about 50 other people, we realized that Griffin was in much need of a diaper change, but our diaper bag was back in the car.  The guides quickly took us to a restroom in the castle for families, which is usually stocked with such necessities.  They only had size 1 diapers though, which Griffin grew out of when he was about a month old.  I was trying to mentally figure out how to create a diaper for him from what was available, but a father there with young children graciously saved us!!  We were returned to our tour a much happier and less smelly family.

   The castle was built in the 20's and 30's, but most of the decor was purchased from England post WWI...very Gothic and dark.  The boys did pretty well considering this tour must have been very boring for them both.  

After the Castle adventure we wanted to go up the coast a little more.  We were going to go to a nearby lighthouse, but the winds that afternoon were a little too strong.   So instead we headed back to Cambria for a wonderful dinner. 

 At La Purisma Mission

On Mother's Day my boys (all 3) let me sleep late...which is always difficult for me because I am used to getting up early.  However, I forced myself back to bed and enjoyed some extra shut-eye!  They all surprised me with some nice treats and gifts.  In the afternoon we went to La Purisma Mission State Park which is less then 10 minutes from our house.  The boys and I went there in January when Jerry was in Texas, but it was nice to go back as a family.  The park is great for history, picnics, and hiking. (I sound a little like I am selling it, but if you can go, I do recommend it!) 

We all had a nice dinner together to finish off a nice weekend as a family.

New Visitor

So the past 2 days have brought along a new "visitor" to our garden.  A squirrel!!!  We are getting a little nervous that by the time all of our deterrents are up for various intruders, we won't have a garden left to enjoy.  I sprinkled a little cayenne last night, but I didn't have a lot.  We'll see if the little bugger prefers spicy veggies.

Hello?

Just a quick little check to see if we are being read about...  I am enjoying writing about us when I have a chance, but am interested to know if you are reading?  So, please give me a little comment just so I know my thoughts aren't going out into the web world unloved :-)

It's Growing!

Our garden has now been planted for a few weeks and we are seeing progress in most areas, a few losses elsewhere. We have been able to pick 2 strawberries so far, there is a cucumber growing, and there are buds on the tomatillo, and a few of the tomato plants, as well as pea shoots. This weekend I planted some bell pepper starters, lettuce, kale, and spinach seeds, and potted some herbs. I also added some flowers for a little more color. Jerry is putting in a drip system so that our watering is better regulated. Nathan loves to turn the water on and off as a "helper". We just need to teach him when to do this. He is also learning that we only pick the red strawberries.
We are having nighttime visitors in the garden resulting in nibbled leaves. Last night Jerry went out with a flashlight and saw 3 slugs feasting on our eggplant. So we are trying eggshells to get rid of them right now. If they are there tonight they will get a nice salt treat. A few of the leaves on our strawberry plants and our cucumber look a little burned, so we need to figure that out. If anyone knows what we should try, please let us know!

Wind, wind GO AWAY!

I do not want to complain much about the weather here in our new home (considering our past alternative)....but I will complain just a bit.

Over the past week we have had winds that would drive a windmill crazy. The main reason that this is annoying is two-fold.

First-it is deceiving to the kids. The sun will be gloriously shinning and inviting us outside to play, but then BAM, we step outside and are hit with "knock you over" winds that have dropped the temperature drastically.

Second- our garden! I am not sure of the garden can handle the insane gusts, day after day. We were trying to install a drip system and plant a few more items this afternoon, but the wind would not let up.

So, I am done venting. I know that friends and family were hit with lots of snow this week in Montana. I am EXTREMELY grateful to be living where we live!! the wind just drives me a little batty...

Midnight Visitor

In the dark quiet of our home a new habit has begun.....

Typically between midnight and 3am a certain "Little Bear" quickly brings himself down the dark hallway to Mommy & Daddy's bed. As my side of the bed is closest to the door I am the one who hears the quite..."mommy..." as he tries to climb up into the bed. It is not said in the form of a question, more in the form of a quiet announcement, as he is sure we were awaiting his arrival.

It really isn't so much that we mind this midnight visitor in our bed, however....we have a queen size bed, and a 3 year old takes up the space of 2 grown men! Being greeted with a foot in the head isn't always pleasant. We know that this isn't going to last though, so we aren't too stressed about it. We only wonder how much space will be left in the bed when the other little man is able to bring himself down that same dark hallway?!

I cannot deny the temptation of wanting to occupy the empty full size bed down the hall...