things i’m proud of

ok, this heat and the state of things at my house has put me in a depressed mood today…so i need to think of things to lift my mood.

gonna list things i’m proud of that i’ve accomplished in my life, mostly recent stuff. just the things i feel the best about right now so i can get my focus on the positive and away from the negative, which gives me a stomach ache.

ok, so lets see…

in no particular order:

• my daughter is an amazing reader and bookworm now (she’s 8 and a half). yesterday she was reading words at the gas station that i had no idea she could read, much less with no effort whatsoever! this is a girl who just a year ago really didn’t enjoy reading much (she could do it, just didn’t enjoy it so didn’t have a lot of experience yet because it was still such a chore to her)…and *I* taught her how to read! ok, i used a book to do so and the rest she did on her own, because really, she did all the hard work. but i got her moving in that direction! i’m so proud of that! and when i’m feeling hard on myself for our homeschooling experience, i remind myself of this. my view is that as long as they can read, they can truly do anything.
• my son is FINALLY fully potty trained! he just turned 4. i swear i thought he’d never be potty trained! he really fought it. did the same for weaning, but he’s been weaned since last october, so i’m proud of that too. he’s just becoming such a big boy and i tell ya, i’m happy to see it happen. i enjoy how cute they are when they are little, but it sure is nice to not have to do EVERYTHING for them anymore.
• the learning village–my brainchild. its something i needed for me and my kids and i’m proud to be founding it, with the help of some wonderful families. as the president and executive director…i feel very proud to have put the wheels in motion and continue to move things forward. we are so close to being officially open. paperwork should be finished at this point, just need to go over it one last time to make sure i didn’t leave anything out.
• the fresno babyfest–i’m proud to have founded this and helped to successfully run it for 6 years. i’m also proud of myself for being able to finally let it go.
• the discovery force, at the discovery center–volunteer group i’m forming (already have team leaders and moving forward in many ways) to kick butt at bringing the discovery back to the public eye.
• fresnofamily.com–my local family resource website…even though i don’t work much on it these days, i am still very proud of what i have there and how so many people benefit from it.
• the fresno AP mommies group–another group i founded (back when maeven was a baby), and even though there aren’t any regular activities happening anymore, the egroup is still hopping and there are still people finding it on a regular basis. its a great resource for local AP moms.
• my children’s birthday parties–i seriously love doing parties for my kids…and i always do them big. sure sometimes the preparations can get to be a drag, but once things are well underway, i really enjoy it. and i think i do some kick butt parties, i tell ya. i recently went through old pics and was reliving parties from the past and was impressed with what i had done! i had forgotten so many of the details…but i rock at parties, man! LOL!! i really enjoy making memories for my kids and the kids at the parties. i even did it on a budget this year! 🙂 got a great idea that maeve and i are working on for her birthday this year already too! can’t wait to see how it goes!
• our financial situation–i’m very proud that adam and i have gotten out of debt, other than the mortgage. we do owe some to our credit card right now due to some unforeseen circumstances but his next check he gets (from a side job) is going to pay that bit off and we will be back to being debt-free again. this took a lot for us to get to this point and i’m VERY proud of both of us for maintaining it. its very tempting to think about going into debt again for different things but we’ve resisted. and along the same lines, i’m very proud that we are doing so well financially. sure, things keep happening that make it hard to stay on top of things and very difficult to get ahead…but despite having about 8months of living off of 10% less income (from adam’s pay cut) and despite how everything is horrid in the economy right now…we are actually doing quite well. we are not at all drowning in things. we are doing quite well and i think we will continue to do so because we have our focus on the right things. we are not interested in having all sorts of new things all the time…just when things bust, basically…oh sure i’d LIKE to get more new things, but realize that realistically it ain’t happenin. so we’re doing good and i’m proud of us for that. and all this on one income. my websites bring in very very little, so it really is all adam that supports us. bless his heart…and with that i will add…
• i’m so very proud of adam, my sweetheart, for busting his ass to provide for his family, every day. often extra days and nights, with his extra work. i tend to dwell on his faults and this is one time that i want to toot my horn for him that he is an AWESOME provider and really cares about his family first and foremost. he doesn’t like to do anything that takes away from us, and he does this of his own volition…not because of me guilting him into it. i don’t have to. he truly prefers to spend time with us and do things with us than anything else in the world and that’s, i think, how it should be. so i am VERY PROUD of my wonderful husband. 🙂
• i’m also proud of myself for being a good mom. because even though i doubt myself and criticize myself regularly…i know deep down that i truly am a GOOD MOM. i don’t yell and scream at the kids all the time (not saying never, because i’m not perfect), i don’t ever hit them (not that i’ve not been tempted, i tell ya! but i am adamant that it is NEVER ok to hit a child, and both my husband and i are in agreement on this and are firm on never faultering on that.) …i am proud that the phrase “i love you” is, as it was in my family when i was growing up, the most used phrase heard in our house. not only us parents to the kids, but the kids to each other. tyren has been known to say to maeven “but i just love you SO much!” …i’m proud of the things i decided early on to take a stand on…and am still firm on. the no-violent-toys/games/shows rule, for one…i still believe strongly in this and am proud of myself for this.

there are other things that i also feel proud about, but my kids are needing me now, methinks…as i hear some squabbling happening. time for me to go be a mommy again! i am feeling better now after listing those things and i am going to come back and read this again when i feel down again. sometimes you just have to remind yourself why life really IS good, ya know? 🙂