I tend not to make resolutions for the new year. I'm crap at keeping them and I know it, so I save myself the guilt and agony and just don't make any.
Having said that, I tend to keep promises, so here are the ones I'd like to keep in 2011 and beyond:
1. Yell less, giggle more.
2. Facebook less, read more.
3. Run a half marathon in November
4. Make exercise and proper eating a priority. (See: 3)
5. Dream less, write more.
6. Learn to knit.
7. Come Spring, plant a garden.
8. Take my Mum for an overnight "Mother-Daughter" getaway.
9. Put laundry away, which is another way to tell my husband that I love him.
10. Attend Mass at least once a month.
I am not overly sentimental as each year becomes another. Not usually, anyway. But this year, I appreciate the "new beginning" for many reasons - some of which surprise me. I'm excited to see what 2011 will bring.
Praying for peace, love and magic for everyone.
Blessed be, all.
Love,
Bellymonster
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Letters to God...
Matthew: Mummy, after we die, do we get to be someone else?
Me: I don't know, Matthew. What do you think?
Matthew: I think I'll come back as someone else after I die. Just once more, though. Will you be my Mummy?
Me: I would LOVE to be your Mummy again. Do you think we get to choose?
Matthew: I don't know. Let's ask God. If we ask nicely, I bet He'll say yes.
Dear God,
Please let me be Matthew's Mummy next time, too. I promise that there will be less yelling. I have so much to learn and he has so much to teach me - I think we're gonna need another lifetime together.
Love,
Mummy
Every day, this incredible little boy forgives me for all the things that I am not. And every day - every, single day - he shows me who I want to be.
Thank you, Matthew, for choosing me.
Twice.
Me: I don't know, Matthew. What do you think?
Matthew: I think I'll come back as someone else after I die. Just once more, though. Will you be my Mummy?
Me: I would LOVE to be your Mummy again. Do you think we get to choose?
Matthew: I don't know. Let's ask God. If we ask nicely, I bet He'll say yes.
Dear God,
Please let me be Matthew's Mummy next time, too. I promise that there will be less yelling. I have so much to learn and he has so much to teach me - I think we're gonna need another lifetime together.
Love,
Mummy
Every day, this incredible little boy forgives me for all the things that I am not. And every day - every, single day - he shows me who I want to be.
Thank you, Matthew, for choosing me.
Twice.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Letters to Santa 2010
From Matthew:
Dear Santa,
Okay. I want a bowling set...hmm...let me think what else...two walkie-talkies for me and Luke when we play Batman and Robin. And a new toy sword and a toy cell-phone. I already got a toy phone, but I don't have a toy CELL-phone. A Batman costume, please.
I would like a new Christmas decoration for me. One to hang on the tree. Let me see here...a ladder to climb, to go with my fixing stuff. And I don't know what else. Mummy might know.
Okay. Where do you put your sleigh? Be safe on Christmas Eve on your sleigh.
Love,
Matthew
When Luke was asked if he'd like to write a letter to Santa, this was his reply:
Noooooooooooooo!! I want Daddy! I want to sit with Daddy and eat pizza.
Dear Santa,
Okay. I want a bowling set...hmm...let me think what else...two walkie-talkies for me and Luke when we play Batman and Robin. And a new toy sword and a toy cell-phone. I already got a toy phone, but I don't have a toy CELL-phone. A Batman costume, please.
I would like a new Christmas decoration for me. One to hang on the tree. Let me see here...a ladder to climb, to go with my fixing stuff. And I don't know what else. Mummy might know.
Okay. Where do you put your sleigh? Be safe on Christmas Eve on your sleigh.
Love,
Matthew
When Luke was asked if he'd like to write a letter to Santa, this was his reply:
Noooooooooooooo!! I want Daddy! I want to sit with Daddy and eat pizza.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Moments of Grace
Watched "Evan Almighty" last night - by accident. Both Mark and I got sucked in, the way it often happens when we're already tucked into the couch and it's so warm and cozy there...
In any case, it was a good movie and a timely one. Especially this one quote from God (Morgan Freeman. Whoever cast him as God is a genius - I absolutely believed.)
God: "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prays for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prays for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"
So, three weeks before Christmas, lost in the hustle and bustle and the giant commercialization of a Blessed Event, we stumbled across a timeless truth and wonderful wisdom.
A moment of hope.
God's grace.
In any case, it was a good movie and a timely one. Especially this one quote from God (Morgan Freeman. Whoever cast him as God is a genius - I absolutely believed.)
God: "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prays for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prays for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"
So, three weeks before Christmas, lost in the hustle and bustle and the giant commercialization of a Blessed Event, we stumbled across a timeless truth and wonderful wisdom.
A moment of hope.
God's grace.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Operation No-Yell: "And on the seventh day, Mummy...."
yelled.
You were expecting something different, perhaps?
Ha!
In my defense, Mr. Super-Sassy-Pants and Mr. I'm-Not-Listening-Nah-Nah-Boo-Boo had it coming.
It's 6:30 pm, a full half hour before their bedtime and they are in bed, lights off. Matthew didn't get a story and even though neither boy has brushed his teeth, I am not going back up there.
Weirdly, I don't feel TOO badly about the yelling. What a change from the beginning of this week!
During the past seven days, I have reached a number of interesting conclusions about parenting, the nature of discipline and myself:
MOST of time, if I'm yelling, it has nothing to do with the children and everything to do with me. I am learning to recognize that and correct it before the vocal fireworks begin and all around, things are much better.
My children respond much better to praise and quiet voices than to hollering and anger. Huh. Go figure, eh?
Everyone has a opinion about Operation No-Yell. Some roll their eyes, some nod sagely, others want to know every detail of the past week, eager to either learn from my experience or to tear it all to bits. I am both thin AND thick-skinned about this: I know that I am good mother - my changing how I parent (or attempting to) is not an admission of defeat - it is an effort to be better. To be MORE.
To be better more often.
Not surprisingly then, I bristled at the assumption that I am trying to Super Mom, or that I am most concerned with being friends with my children instead of their guardian and protector and teacher. After chewing, bristling and spluttering indignantly, I realized an important truth:
I am not attempting to be anything more than the kind of mother that I am absolutely meant to be and more importantly, the kind of mother that my children deserve.
I feel empowered and invigorated by this realization. I don't think that there is any shame in admitting that I need help or guidance. A friend of mine is horrified that I blog about my failings (perceived or otherwise) and can't understand why I feel compelled to reach out to the world at large - leaving myself open to criticism and judgement.
What I know for sure is this:
,
I reach out because that is who I am. I overshare, too. I feel too deeply, talk too much and seldom stop to think before I speak, emote or act. I reach out because I trust that those who know me best will understand and support me. I trust that those who don't know me will be drawn to my honesty and imperfections. I hope that they will recognize something of themselves in me and feel comfort. Kinship.
I write about who I am - as a wife and as a mother I am a work in progress.
I write about who I want to be: more often than not, a better wife and mother.
These parenting waters are tricky to navigate and as the boys grow into themselves, they take me into uncharted territory. Seems to me that by reaching out and admitting that I am lost, I stand a better chance of being found. Or of someone handing me a map.
Thanks to all of you for being part of the journey!
You were expecting something different, perhaps?
Ha!
In my defense, Mr. Super-Sassy-Pants and Mr. I'm-Not-Listening-Nah-Nah-Boo-Boo had it coming.
It's 6:30 pm, a full half hour before their bedtime and they are in bed, lights off. Matthew didn't get a story and even though neither boy has brushed his teeth, I am not going back up there.
Weirdly, I don't feel TOO badly about the yelling. What a change from the beginning of this week!
During the past seven days, I have reached a number of interesting conclusions about parenting, the nature of discipline and myself:
MOST of time, if I'm yelling, it has nothing to do with the children and everything to do with me. I am learning to recognize that and correct it before the vocal fireworks begin and all around, things are much better.
My children respond much better to praise and quiet voices than to hollering and anger. Huh. Go figure, eh?
Everyone has a opinion about Operation No-Yell. Some roll their eyes, some nod sagely, others want to know every detail of the past week, eager to either learn from my experience or to tear it all to bits. I am both thin AND thick-skinned about this: I know that I am good mother - my changing how I parent (or attempting to) is not an admission of defeat - it is an effort to be better. To be MORE.
To be better more often.
Not surprisingly then, I bristled at the assumption that I am trying to Super Mom, or that I am most concerned with being friends with my children instead of their guardian and protector and teacher. After chewing, bristling and spluttering indignantly, I realized an important truth:
I am not attempting to be anything more than the kind of mother that I am absolutely meant to be and more importantly, the kind of mother that my children deserve.
I feel empowered and invigorated by this realization. I don't think that there is any shame in admitting that I need help or guidance. A friend of mine is horrified that I blog about my failings (perceived or otherwise) and can't understand why I feel compelled to reach out to the world at large - leaving myself open to criticism and judgement.
What I know for sure is this:
,
I reach out because that is who I am. I overshare, too. I feel too deeply, talk too much and seldom stop to think before I speak, emote or act. I reach out because I trust that those who know me best will understand and support me. I trust that those who don't know me will be drawn to my honesty and imperfections. I hope that they will recognize something of themselves in me and feel comfort. Kinship.
I write about who I am - as a wife and as a mother I am a work in progress.
I write about who I want to be: more often than not, a better wife and mother.
These parenting waters are tricky to navigate and as the boys grow into themselves, they take me into uncharted territory. Seems to me that by reaching out and admitting that I am lost, I stand a better chance of being found. Or of someone handing me a map.
Thanks to all of you for being part of the journey!
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