swing of things

I bet you are all sick of looking at that goofy pic of D and I. I know I am tired of looking at it. Yes, I compulsively check my own blog. I’m not ashamed.

I am working on a new banner since Christmas is officially over. It was a great Christmas this year, but I am ready to get life all back to normal. I took down the Christmas stuff (although it hasn’t quite made it into the attic yet.) And Derek took down the outside lights. We had a conversation about when outside decorations turn from holiday cheer to tackiness. I think thye would definitely need to come down by next weekend, but my preference is right after New Year’s. D doesn’t think it’s tacky until the end of the month! Am I the only one who thinks that is really funny? I think maybe he got accustomed to our neighborhood in California where it was quite normal to have Christmas decorations up year round. And it was also normal to have a huge wooden nativity scene on the roof because the yard is too small. And it’s normal to have graffiti spray painted on your house….ahh, the memories.

Anyway, life back to normal. Connor goes back to school tomorrow. There have been times when I couldn’t wait for him to go back, and also times when I thought I would really miss my boy. I mean, look at this cutie?

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But let me just say that when he and D are involved in a power struggle lasting an hour and a half…he is not so cute. The past two days, there have been moments straight out of Super Nanny. Any prayers for patience and wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I don’t like to get on here and complain about Connor’s behavior much. Because we have times that are embarrassing and awful and make me feel like a complete failure as a mother. You know that book The Strong Willed Child? Yeah, I am reading it. For the third time. Strong willed doesn’t even begin to describe Connor at times. The older he gets, the more complicated he becomes. Just when I think I have something figured out, he changes. I start to even entertain the idea of possibly adding to our family in the future, and I have a day that reminds me I have a lot of work to do with the ones I’ve already got. I hate not feeling like I am doing a good job as their mother. It’s the most important job in the world. It’s the only job I’ve ever really wanted.

Anyway, enough about that.

For New Year’s Eve, Derek and I rented Little Miss Sunshine. It was so good! Sometime during our 11 years together, we started watching movies on New Year’s Eve. Maybe it all points back to New Year’s eve of 1995 when Derek said he loved me for the first time right in the middle of The Fox and the Hound. So sweet. Love that memory. Back to LMS. If you haven’t seen it, go rent it. It will make you laugh. And cry.

Two other movies that are now officially on my list of top movies are Love Actually and Garden State. I watched Love Actually 5 times this holiday season. The monologue at the beginning gives me chills. The first 10 minutes always make me tear up. I get giddy when the little boy runs through the airport to catch his girl. I love that movie.

And Garden State. Zach Braff. Need I say more? I can’t figure out what I like so much about him, but he is definitely my crush of the moment. I love him! What I love about Garden State, besides Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, and just the fact that it is funny and makes me cry too, is that every time I watch it I notice another little detail. I love movies like that.

So if you haven’t seen Garden State or Love Actually, go see them.
And have a happy Thursday.

7 Replies to “swing of things”

  1. Mary Beth’s cousin de-lurking and chiming in here…(hope you don’t mind!) My son will be four on Tuesday, and we have gone through MANY of those same power struggles. In fact, he went a stage a few months ago that was REALLY difficult, much worse than ever. But then almost overnight, he seemed to really mature and the past month or so has been amazingly better, almost a 180. I wish I could say that it was something we did, but I think a little maturity took over and maybe something hit home. ?? (Knock on wood, I’m probably jinxing myself for even thinking this!)

    My mom has Dobson’s “Strong-Willed Child” first edition (late-70s, lovely retro cover) thanks to me and she graciously passed it on to me. When I tell people that I was a very strong-willed child, they can’t believe it. Maybe I’m just more passive-agressive now :o)

    Well, enough rambling, no real words of advice here, sorry. Just someone out there going through the same thing! I can already tell that my eight-month old daughter is going to cause me to wear out the cover on that book! I should go re-read it again now! By the way, The New Dare to Discipline is helpful too. My wise grandma (who now keeps my kids while I work) has always said, “you raise your teenager from birth to three.” (or four..or five…it’s not a hard and fast rule, I hope ;o)

    Love your scrapbooking, by the way! Good Luck and Hang in there!

  2. Ahh, the memories of Christmas in Pasadena…I definitely don’t miss the graffiti! The taggers should have at least spray painted Christmas trees or angels during the holidays 🙂

    We’re big Zach Braff fans too and I agree Garden State is a good movie. But my dream date is Colin Firth…if I hadn’t fallen in love with Ryan I would probably be stocking Colin.

  3. Megan, you are doing a great job as a mother! We all have moments where we doubt ourselves. We all make mistakes since kids don’t come with an instruction manual. As you know with Logan, they are all different and respond differently, but you’ll manage to handle him. All kids go through these stages where they have to test their limits. Just hang in there! It’ll get better.

  4. You are the second one to recommend “Little Miss Sunshine.” Guess it is a must-see now! Thank you for posting…..the picture was really getting to me. Just kidding!!

    (I also check my own blog a million times a day if that makes you feel any better)

  5. Hey Meg,
    So we were at the video store a night or so ago… and we saw LMS… and … we pondered it and … we passed it up!! We’ll for sure have to get it the next time we ponder. Happy New Year!

  6. I’m making a list of your movie suggestions!!

    Now…go and get a marker and a piece of paper and write in all capitol letters…”I AM A WONDERFUL MOM”. Now go and tape it to your bathroom mirror!!!!! It’s not easy raising a “strong-willed” child! You are doing a great job! None of us will ever be the perfect parent! He knows you love him, not only because you tell him and hug him and care for him, but because you do discipline him. It will get better and you will be the better for having gone through it!!!
    p.s. I’m going to check your bathroom mirror the next time I visit!! 🙂

  7. Meg, Like I said before I really enjoyed our time together. I was so glad to be able to talk about and share in our struggles/challenges as mothers of boys. I want you to remember that we talked about how these times are challenging, embarrassing, not fun at all, but we need to enjoy them just the same. This is all a part of the raising of our children to know God and serve Him. These times are character-building for us and for them. There have been times recently that I have wondered how I can feel so mad at or want to have nothing to do with Wade at times. It’s because I let Satan control my temper rather than the Spirit of Christ. I have to take a step back and remember that with Christ as my head I can accomplish anything! Even disciplining a child who doesn’t seem to respond to any form of discipline what-so-ever! He turns 7 tomorrow and I fully intend to spend the day in praise to our Father for this precious gift He has given to me. When it is difficult to be around him, I plan from now on to look back at the wonderful child he is and spend time in prayer praising God and thanking Him for my son! Sorry for the long comment, I’ve just been thinking about this a lot lately and wanted to share. I love you girl, and you know that you can call me anytime you need me.
    JB

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