Whoa!!!

Where did the time go?  I didn't think that it had been quite so long since my last post! 

The other day, I was thinking about all the changes that our family has gone through over the past year.  My return to a Monday to Friday job has certainly been a big adjustment and continues to be in some ways, but I suddenly feel like this is normal.  I feel like I have found my groove and I am not berating myself so much for the things that I forget or the mistakes I make.  I am just doing the best that I can do.

There are many things that I miss about being a stay at home Mom.  I miss the time that I used to have to get things done during the day so I could spend more time enjoying the kids.  The other day, I spend the night playing with the kids and I didn't think about my "to do list" more than a couple of times.  (I will admit that I did think about it, but I didn't do anything from it!)  The kids and I were laughing and having such a great time and I realized that I do not take this time very often any more.  In addition to my day job, I also have a part time job that I absolutely love, but all of these things keep me hopping.

Since then, I have tried to make a conscious effort to be in the moment with the kids when we are playing.  We have also started to schedule one-on-one time together.  Last weekend, my oldest and I went our for lunch, then to our local Conservatory.  We skipped over to a small gallery afterwards and picked our our favorite paintings. The next day was my youngest daughter's turn.  She chose going out for dessert and baking cookies together. (She has a bit of a sweet tooth!!)

I am realizing that, what once came naturally, needs to be worked on at this point.

Conservatory