Hi there!
Its been a little while since i have blogged, and alot has changed with the "houts"hold. So where to begin?
Last time i blogged we were still living in the trailer park.... well SO LONG trailer park, its now town home living and I have to say .... Its amazing.
Its great to be living in a home with stairs again. We have places to go to actually get away from one another, and that my friends, is peaceful. The kids have to share a room, but they really dont mind. They play well together (for the most part) and i think they find comfort in being in a room together at nighttime. The house is 3 levels, and what i am most excited about, is starting my studio in the basement. Lights are going to be purchased soon and i will be having my first in home studio shoot next month! We live right on the busy T.A.R.T trail of traverse city, and since we are in the "walk zone" at the elementary, it makes life a little easier when biking to school. We also have a garage and since we own a bike store (might as well) its nice to have a place to actually put them.
Speaking of school, alot is going on with that as well! Brian will be graduating next semester with his associates! he will then still be venturing for his bachelors. He is working on his commercial license, and he is almost there. He is still working at the airport and putting in hefty hours between school, flying and work. Slades started first grade and absolutely LOVES IT! his teacher is so great, and i think having a male teacher in first grade is pretty awesome. I couldnt have hand picked a better school for my kids to go to.... i LOVE it. Such down to earth, teachers whom work there! kendal also started school, she is in the pre-school program and she too, loves it! she has 3 amazing teachers and she goes for 4 hours a day, 4 days a week. It was hard the first week to adjust, but i am now learning to love my time alone and embrace it.
Slade finished his BMX season, and i am a tad sad !! it was so fun to have an activity to go to with him, and watch him progress. He is pretty darn good at it. He won himself 4 second place trophies, and 1 first place. What a great community we found in BMX. (quite pricey too). My business is his sponser so not only does he race and look cool, i get my name out there as well!
Since i mentioned my business, i will talk about that for a minute! Though it is hard to start your own business, and its very frustrating also, but its rewarding knowing that you started this from the ground up. I am establishing clientel, i have had a few people come back more than once and i have a montly little girl that i do, which is so great! i have shot 2 weddings, so i am gettting that expirience in. Extremely hard, but extremely rewarding!
Last i blogged i had 2 jobs, i am down to one again. Just bath and body works, and my business is keeping us afloat. I am pretty tired most of the time, and getting lazy when i actually have a day off. Cleaning isnt as much of a priority as it used to be, and its hard for brian to understand that. I love that he thinks so highly of me, but i wish he would lower the bar a little bit. He is spoiled rotton and has it far better than some people. He has a hot meal waiting for him when he gets home, laundry done, house tidied, food in the cupboards, clean kids, ya know, all of that. He still has all his needs met, but not to the high standards i used to hold them, and i think that gets to him a bit. Sometimes there are crumbs on the floor, and i look at it and say "meh...." then turn the other way.... when he gets home and sees those crumbs on the floor, he thinks i havent done a darn thing all day, when in reality i have done 2 loads of laundry, dusted, sent the kids off to school, made lunch, fed lunch, put ken to nap, and edited photos, when i could have sat on my ass all day and let him tend to everything else, but thats not how it works. Crumbs can be on the floor Love, its okay. Besides, if i sweep them up NOW or 2 hours from NOW, I WILL be the one to do it, so let it be.
Now lets not get this twisted, I am not dogging my husband, and i dont have a filthy house. But its not emaculate 100% of the time, but i have happy kids and that is ALL that matters! I am learning slowly, that its okay not to have each and everything in its place at all times. Choose your battles wisely.
So, we havent had cable/dish in over a year and i absolutely LOVE not being glued to the tv. We are always outside playing. We are ALWAYS with the kids every chance that we get! and it shows! kendal is 3 and she is already riding a bike without training wheels. We take a bike ride or 2 every day and the kids are lucky if they get 1/2 hour of tv during the day. So i got stunned when we had this calender sent home from school that TELLS you what to do with your kid! since when is a parent suppossed to be told that kids need to be played with? isnt this common sense? why do you have to be rewarded to play with your kids? The school gets paid for the minutes you spend playing with your kids. I am baffled. shocked. I dont quite understand it! On this said calender, it tells you when to play with your kid and how to make believe with them. Now call me crazy but isnt that just second nature? Shouldnt a parent WANT to play with their kid? I dont find it okay that there has to be seminars on teaching parents how to be parents...... You mean its not okay just to turn the tv on, feed them zebra cakes while they stare at the box all evening? Get serious people, your kids are only this small for a short period of time.... soak in every moment you can with them and breathe fresh air together! I cringe when slade asks to play the wii...... so he gets timed. I hate when he pulls out his DS and just stares at it ( no we didnt buy it, it was a gift and i wish i could shatter it into a million pieces!)...... I just dont understand. Growing up with my parents we were always outside, always roller blading, playing basketball, doing something, and this is what my kids do. But i dont feel i should be rewarded for it, its my job, i signed up for it and i enjoy every second of it.
Slade is at a level 8 in reading! he is supposed to be at a 4..... he is ahead of the game. But we read to him almost every night. We do spelling words and homework!! I take pride in him loving school, i would like to say that i have some part in how much he learns. Take responsibilty, and initiative to help out your kids. Take for instance, we had a first grade meeting... the teacher asked all the parents to be at the school last thursday night for a stinking half hour... and out of 20 kids, 4 parents showed up! that is PATHETIC!!! just awful. ..... i feel bad for some of those children...... i understand if you couldnt get off of work, but its a half hour...... I dont understand. its not fair to those children, and its selfish.
I know i am ranting, but i dont apologize for it. Kids need love, kids need discipline. and if you arent doing that, you arent doing your duties. The way my kids smile at me, i know i am doing atleast something right. I am not perfect, and i dont try to be, but i am trying to do my part as a parent, as a wife, and as a human being. Its just that simple!
Now i have to go wake my daughter up so i can take her to pick up bubby from school and then make dinner :) have a wonderful evening everyone. and LOVE THOSE CHILDREN OF YOURS~
