Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Is Christmas Here Yet?

I don't like it when life leaves me no time to blog. It means it's way too crazy busy. You know it's bad if you have to wake up at 5:30 am to have time to sit on the computer.

Now that I average one or two blog posts a month, I feel like I need to really put some thought into what I blog and make it a good one, since I don't know when the next one might happen. I had a great post brewing in my head the last few weeks about the 12 Days of Christmas (or at least, my version of it), but that didn't happen. I was going to take a picture of my Charlie Brown Christmas tree that my wonderful sister Amy bought me that has become my absolute favorite Christmas decoration, but that didn't happen. I was going to do a very deep, pensive piece on my thoughts about Christmas, but that didn't happen. I was going to do another Christmas Wish List post like I did last year, but that didn't happen either.

So instead I'll brief you on the happenings of the last few weeks:

  • lots of Christmas shopping
  • worked on Christmas cards
  • watched the "Holiday Program" at kids' school
  • had a fun progressive dinner with my parents and siblings and their families
  • hole in my garage door
  • worked on Christmas cards
  • got released as Primary Secretary (sniff), new calling TBA
  • Christmas shopping
  • big annual Mathews Family Christmas Dinner
  • got early Christmas present in Yakima
  • read my own words on a book in Barnes & Noble
  • helped at school class parties
  • more cards
  • more shopping
  • saw New Moon two more times
  • finished and mailed cards (yippee!)
What is not on the list? Wrapping presents. I have yet to wrap a single one. Now you know what I'll be doing all day today.

T minus 2 days and counting!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Open Position for New Carpooler

So, apparently I hand out Mom Awards too freely. I guess I spoke too soon. I'm not sure I would have chosen someone for my list that was going to put my son in her car the next day and then promptly DRIVE INTO MY GARAGE DOOR!!!

Look closely at the left side.


Good thing I didn't need to go anywhere today. Or tomorrow. Or next week.

On the bright side, we've been looking for ways to go green. Natural light in our garage now. Perfect.

Rachael, all I'm sayin' is, you're just lucky I'm not handing out any Good Driver Awards!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

True, Authentic Mom

I haven't been tagged in...I don't know how long, but this is one tag I am happy to do. My sister tagged me as a True Authentic Mom and I seriously feel so honored. This is what she said about me:


Alicia- She worries more than anyone I know that she isn't doing her best at being a mom. This alone makes her good at what she does. Often when I call in the middle of the day she is playing a board game with her kids or taking fun trips to McDonalds.


I don't know if taking my kids to a noisy, germ-infested playland to eat greasy, fatty food so I can sit and chat with friends qualifies me as a True Authentic Mom, but she'll never know what her words meant to me. Thanks, Amy!

I'm supposed to pick five things about myself that I think make me a True, Authentic Mom. (I think this is so great to force us moms to think about the good things we do instead of always focusing on our inadequacies, which I am a pro at.)



1. I am a TV/Movie Nazi. I am the strictest person I know when it comes to what I feel kids should watch. To the point of getting made fun of, which I am perfectly fine with. My kids are just now starting to watch "real people" kid movies instead of just cartoon ones, and only after I have scoured kidsinmind.com for every bit of content in it. So what if people raise their eyebrows when my kids announce they aren't allowed to watch Arthur or Spongebob. They have the rest of their lives to watch things with questionable content. They only keep this sweet innocence for a very, VERY short time.



2. I like my music LOUD. When me and the kids are driving anywhere, we are rocking out. They. Love. It. I think back to when I was growing up and the easy-listening music on the radio at barely-can-hear-it volume that played in our mini van and laugh. Not this chick. Music sounds better loud, and my kids agree.

3. Most of you know there's nothing on this earth that scares me more than throwing up. This was a big fear of mine about having kids: Kids throw up. But my kids' entire lives, I have been right there when they've gotten sick, cleaning up the mess and holding them when they needed Mommy, even knowing I was probably infecting myself. Personally, I think that deserves Mom of the Century award. (No picture for this one. You're welcome.)



4. Like Amy mentioned, I play games with my kids. Don't for a second think I'm this super mom who sits and plays with my kids all day. This is the beauty of board games. There is a start and a finish. I cannot do the playing dolls or action figures thing. Apparently I lost my ability to pretend when I gave birth. But I can play games with rules and concrete ideas, and I love it. Our games of choice are Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Checkers, Macy'sopoly, and Go Fish (with Star Wars character cards of course.)


5. Like Amy also mentioned, I worry like it's going out of style, specifically that I'm not doing a good enough job for my kids. I worry I'm inadvertently causing some unseen damage that will come out later in their adult therapy sessions. I worry that we don't do enough fun things, like bake cookies together or do crafts. I worry that I haven't taught them enough about the gospel. I worry that they eat Top Ramen for dinner too often and don't get enough vegetables. But I am fully aware that the fact that I worry is because more than anything in this world, I want to be the best mom for these precious kids and raise them to be happy, healthy, spiritually strong adults. And that definitely makes me a True, Authentic Mom. Because every time I worry, I try a little bit harder the next day.

Thank you so much for this Amy. I needed it, big-time. Here are 5 women I think are True, Authentic Moms:

Rachael- Rachael comes instantly to mind because she does do all that fun stuff with her kids that most moms only dream about, like leaving little treasures from Leprechauns on St. Patricks Day and stringing popcorn at Christmas. She and her sisters are always taking their kids to the Children's Museum and other fun places and she is very, very protective of her kids.

Kim- Kim taught me about always being your child's advocate, no matter what. She always, always puts her kids' wants and needs and feelings first, even when it it's hard to do. She cares so much about her kids and always makes them her very first priority.

Shayla- Amongst the millions of things Shayla and I have in common, the thing we seem to share the most is how sometimes it seems like everything is harder for us than most, especially being a mom. But despite this, Shayla never ceases to amaze me at the wonderful mother that she is. Even when she is having a horrible, horrible week, she still gets her kids dressed and out the door with a homemade lunch, hair fixed, smiles on their faces. And she never lets anything stand in the way of making wonderful memories for them, taking them trick-or-treating or going on class field trips when she really didn't feel like leaving the house. She is such an example to me.

Alissa- Alissa is an amazing mom. If you asked her to tell you how she felt about her daughter, she would probably start to cry and admit there are no words to describe it. Alissa is totally that mom we all thought we'd be, sitting and reading to her toddler all day long, and playing games, and teaching her. Her little girl is the most important thing in the world to her and she definitely deserves an award for her mothering!

Brenda D.- Brenda is expecting her fifth child (another boy!) and does such a great job with the four she already has. She is the most laid back, easy-going mom I know. She doesn't get upset or worked up about the little things that don't matter, shrugging or laughing them off. She has raised her kids strong in the gospel and makes sure they are surrounded by good influences.

Okay moms, you've been tagged. You have to do this, because you all deserve to focus on why you're True, Authentic Moms!