Not Me, Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday. Once again, it's time to confess all those crazy, silly, and downright funny things we have done in the past week. Our good virtual friend, MckMama leads us always in our endeavor. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

Confession is so good for the soul!

I did NOT try to "buy more time" by leaving Caleb in his crib almost 45 minutes after he woke up. I did NOT think of countless ways to keep him occupied (in his crib) with books and toys so that I could extend some cleaning/organizing time for myself. Nope! I always get him up right away and do all sorts of fun activities to stimulate and develop his mind.

I did NOT stay up until after 1:00 a.m. and spend three hours making this...


and this.


Nor was I SUPER impressed with myself with decorating my very first birthday cake.

At Caleb's birthday party, I most certainly did NOT think Caleb and his little friends were SO CUTE eating with their shirts off. And I did NOT take several pictures of these cute little men.


I did NOT call my husband...while taking a nap in bed...and beg him to come back inside (he was reading out on our deck) and get Caleb because I was too tired (and lazy) to walk about 5 steps to Caleb's bedroom and get him up myself. Who does that?

Happy Not Me, Monday!

MckLinky Blog Hob

My good friend, Gianna introduced me to this morning's post. It's called MckLinky blog hop, brought to us by MckMama and her friend, Brent.

The first entry is an introduction about myself and my blog. Enjoy!

My name is Jenny, and I am first and foremost a daughter of the King. I am His redeemed child and His beloved one. And He is the reason for who I am.

I also happen to be wife to Brad...who is a youth pastor...a mother to Sammy and Caleb; a friend to many; a cook to our youth group students; a (traditional) scrapbooker; a obsessive compulsive women when it comes to tidyness, organization, and to-do lists; a MOPS and BSF attender; a play date organizer; a singer; a strategy game "gamer"; a mentor; an English teacher; a runner (wannabe); a best friend to my husband; a National Park lover; an adventure seeker; a blogger; a Facebook(er); a Survivor and Amazing Race addict; a maid (dishwasher, toilet cleaner, spill wiper...); and despite this long list, is a women who still struggles with who she really is. Go figure!

I started this blog because I wanted an outlet to write, journal, keep family and friend updated and connect with other stay at home moms. It really is all about my journey...as a mother, wife, believer in Jesus Christ...and my struggles, joys, and triumphs.

Who is next?

Friday Fave Five...it's been awhile!

Join me for Friday's Fave Fives, brought to us by Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

It's a time to reflect on the past week and count the many blessings we have in our lives!

1. Playdates at the park. Even though Monday was a little chilly...note the sweatshirt and long sleeved shirts below...it was a wonderful day to meet with friends and let the kiddos "hang out"...


slide...

play with trucks...

and play with rocks. This picture was taken just moments before Caleb decided that rocks make a great mid-morning snack!


2. Saving at the grocery store. I LOVE saving money...and getting free stuff...and getting deals at garage sales...you get my point. This week I spent $32.27 at my local grocery store and saved $31.87! That's right! I got $64.14 of groceries for $32.27! That totally made my day!

3. Couples date night at Kart Kountry. Brad and I are in a GREAT "life group" at our church. It's made up of a lot of people our age (some with and some without children) who love to get together and have fun. On Wednesday, we all left our kids at home and went go-carting for TWO HOURS! It was so much fun! I'm not sure if I enjoyed racing next to Brad more or laughing SO HARD when people got spun out! A good time was had by all!

4. Playing with my kids. I cannot tell you what a joy it has been to play with my kids this week. I am very thankful that my parents took such good care of them for us last week, but man, is it good to have them home! We have had a ball playing everything and anything...especially Mr. Potato Head!


Don't you love where he put Mr. Potato Head's teeth!


5. Getting more projects done around the house. We were able to tackle a lot of projects last week when my kids were with my parents, but we were not able to get to staining our deck or wooden swingset due to rain. But I was able to finish staining the swingset and get a start on the spindles and railing on our 24 x 14 foot deck. It's may take me until the end of the summer to finish the deck, but at least it's been started!

Not Me, Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday. It's a chance to laugh at ourselves as we confess all the crazy things we have done in the past week. Our good virtual friend, MckMama leads us always in our endeavor. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

Confession is so good for the soul!

I did NOT go on a date with my husband less than 90 minutes before we were supposed to be leaving on the our senior high camping trip...and leave the other youth pastor and his wife to finish getting ready. We would NEVER be that inconsiderate or be that incredibly selfish to milk every opportunity we had to go to Famous Dave's while we still had no children.

I did NOT stay up until almost 3:00 a.m. one night when Brad was still with our students because I was scared to be alone in my house. I did NOT wait until I could barely keep my eyes open just long enough to crawl into bed. I did NOT check the doors and windows twice to make sure they were locked. Nope, only a crazy person would do that!

My husband and I did NOT run a million errands (because getting kids in and out of car seats is NO fun), go out on one final date, take a long bike ride, and stay up late watching a movie the night before picking up our children.

I was NOT completely giddy the entire drive to Fargo to see my children after being apart of them for so long.

After running to my parent's van to see my kids, I was NOT upset in the least when Caleb saw me and said, "Dada?"

I also did NOT feel one bit frustrated when Sammy called me "Grandma" at least three times on the ride home.

I did NOT say over and over and over again to my husband that we have THE cutest kids ever!




On Saturday night, I did NOT allow my kids to continue to play in their kiddie pool (even as I watched the approaching storm clouds) until it actually started raining.




I did NOT let my children watch a 45 minute Dora video until past bedtime so that I could clean up my house. Nope, I NEVER, especially after not seeing them for TWELVE days, allow them to watch a video instead of playing with and enjoying them.

I am NOT the bit concerned that we have spent (just in the last 2 weeks) our entire "marriage enrichment" budget for the NEXT TWO MONTHS. Oh well, no more dates until August!

And I most certainly am NOT staying up until almost midnight writing this post instead of going to bed with my husband.

Nope, NOT me!

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go...

Two weeks ago, I left my children in North Dakota...about 5 1/2 hours away...with my parents for TWELVE DAYS!

That's right...almost TWO weeks!

I can hear you already...what was I thinking?

We had started talking to my parents a couple of months ago about having the kids for 5 or 6 days this summer, but because of the exact timing, other obligations on our part, and my brother's kids' schedules, it turned into 12 days.

And I DID NOT like the idea at all!

We had left our kids last summer for 7 days while Brad and I took a trip to Colorado. They were 2 1/2 and 1 at the time...actually, I think we left ON Caleb's first birthday...was that wrong?

Before you call social services on me, we did have his first birthday party the week before.

Anyway, that week was so refreshing to our marriage and our souls, but it was a terribly long time to be away from our children.

This time was no less hard leaving my kids...even though Sammy kept asking us when mommy and daddy were going to be leaving and telling EVERYONE she met that she was going to stay at Grandma and Papa's house for many, many days.

Separation anxiety? Nope. Neither of my children has that.

(I do truly love this, but once in awhile, a few tears from my kids would be nice!)

So while my husband and I were doing house projects, hanging with our youth group students, watching movies and playing games until the wee hours of the morning (since we actually could sleep in), driving each other crazy because of unmet expectations (one of the biggest issues in our marriage...will blog about that another time!), spending way too much time at Menards, etc., our kids were having a SMASHING good time at Grandma and Papas...despite all my worry, loss of sleep, and almost daily anxiety about their safety and well-being.

Sammy and Caleb's vacation from Mommy and Daddy included...


trips to the Dakota Zoo,


visits to Great-Grandpa,


lining up ALL of Grandma's toy trucks,


playing dress up with the two rocking horses,


hanging out with the cousins,


spending hours outside in a play house,


eating nutricious North Dakota soil,

and my PERSONAL favorite...


frolicing in the tall prairie grass of North Dakota.

Even though I spent a great deal of time beating myself up for allowing them to be gone for so long, I know that this time being apart from them was so healthy for my marriage, for me as a full-time stay at home mom, for my children, and for my parents.

I think they had so much fun that I'm not quite sure they actually had time to miss us. While selfishly, I hope they did, I'm also quite relieved that someone other than me can love, care for, and enjoy my children as much as I do.

Because isn't it my job to help them become independent from me? Don't I need to rely on others to help me parent and raise these children? Isn't it good for them to bond with their grandparents?

Yes, yes, and yes...but it is SOOOOOOO good to have them home!