Summer Inspiration

In the past few weeks with Mother’s Day and Vin’s first birthday passing I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our year and thinking about our near future. Last Friday was Vin’s last day of daycare and so just as I finally adjusted to it – it’s over. Looking back I can see that sending a 3 month old is quite different than sending him now. When he began he was immobile so all his time was spent in a swing or in his crib. Now he spent his entire day playing with the other kids. Nevertheless, he’s now home with me for the summer. We have several trips planned to Llano and Spearman but will also spend a lot of time in the backyard, in our pool, at the library and the park. I am anxious about filling our days but excited to see him experience summer for the first time.

Each morning at our house we turn on the Today Show. I love watching this or at least I thought I did… Lately the segments on children’s health and safety make me concerned about issues that don’t even apply to us. I learned this lesson quickly with parenting magazines too, if you read the entire issue there are stories covering pregnancy to teenagers and it gets way too overwhelming.
In the media lately I’ve noticed there are two motherhood camps out there 1) The “motherhood is hard camp” which has gotten a lot of press lately. There are confessional websites where mothers can vent their frustrations with their children. They say things like – I didn’t teach my child to tell time so I could better control bedtime or some say that they pushed their child down when they were learning to walk so they wouldn’t have to chase them around as often. There is even a T.V. show based on these stories. I understand that we all need a sounding board and a place to compare stories however I am much more inspired by mothers who see creative possibilities in their children and with their families.

There is an entire world of Mommy bloggers whose focus is on inspiring creativity and getting back to basics. I am so excited about implementing some of these ideas into our daily life. First on the list was “unplugging” last week from the computer. Teri had 5 days off and I’ve got a short break before summer school begins. It seemed like the perfect time to shut off the computer and disconnect for a while. To be totally honest, I did periodically check my email but it was nothing like the time I usually spend on the computer. Once summer school starts I’ll be teaching 5 online classes so disconnecting just isn’t an option.

Some people I’m creatively inspired by lately are:

Teri – first let me say that the woman has worked wonders with Vin’s sleep. She implemented Vin “sleep training” last week and allowed me a 3 night escape to Rick & Yvette’s. During the 5 days that she was off, she completely turned him around. He had been waking up every 2 to 3 hours through the night. For the past two nights he’s only woken up a few times and he’s sleeping at least 12 hours a night. I think he and I are both in sleep shock because we seem to be more tired now than we were before. I guess we have a year’s worth of catching up to do.
She has also been making him some wonderful meals. I’ll post more on that later in the week.

Wendy – she’s declared a TV free summer and is always doing something fun with her kids. Also, she’s hand making the cutest fabric gift bags for birthday’s, but if you know Wendy you know she has always had a thing for gift wrap.

Tina – the job she did on Vin’s birthday cake was beautiful and then to top it off she handmade him a stuffed doll and a drawstring fabric backpack.

Lourdes – Sienna’s tutu was adorable

Ashley – Finley’s cupcake tree was so cute

As for me here are a few things I’m excited about this summer
· Hanging a clothes line
· Starting a vegetable garden
· My flower bulbs sprouting in the front bed
· Swimming & sprinkler play
· Family meals in our café
· Sewing our Christmas stockings
Ok, I think that’s it for now. Geez… you’d think I hadn’t blogged in a week :)