Attitude.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

I absolutely love that quote. Something very similiar used to hang on my refridgerator during my high school years and I think I am going to print this one out and hang it on my refridgerator to help me through these mommy years..

So it's no secret that being a military spouse and living a country away from family is anything but easy. I think I have done exceptionally well but it is still very hard at times and I think it plays a huge role in my attitude and the way I view my life. In the past week I have had a real eye opener: I am a very lucky mom! Yes, I may have some very active boys but that's who they are and I should never look down upon that. If I recall correctly I was an extrememly active little one myself (Shea, you can second that). My boys are happy and healthy! They each sleep 11-12 straight through the night (with the exception of Tyler waking up usually once to wee-wee) and Dylan still takes 1 or 2 naps a day (3-4 hours total). Sure, Tyler wakes up before the roosters but there is nothing I can do about that so I need to accept it.

I love my children and I love my life. The end.

Feeling ungrateful. :/

So I really try not to post negative and ungrateful updates but lately I have been really questioning the hand of cards I have been dealt...

I'm currently watching two kids, a brother and sister, and it makes me sad inside to see how well behaved and loving towards each other they are.. I don't know if it's a boy/age thing, or just a Meade thing, but my boys are not at all affectionate with one another. Dylan steals everything Tyler is playing with and in return Tyler is aggresive with him. It's a constant, exhuasting battle. I was a believer that God only gives us what he knows we can handle but lately I'm not too sure... I'm hoping that by posting this I will look back on it in a year or so and remember how I felt and feel even more grateful about my 'cards'..

Home is where the heart is.

So I have remained home for the past two days (those of you

who know me well know that's rare for me) and I am discovering that I

actually do enjoy being home, and having the boys with me.

Kyle is back on day shift (for the next 10 weeks and then it's

swings for 10 then mids for 10, repeat) and slowly but surely I am finding

little things here and there to make my day and life easier..

I put in a load of lundry sometime in the evening and make sure to

place it in the dryer before we fall asleep.. then I fold in immediately after

I wake up (between 6 and 7 am), while Tyler is watching cartoons or playing.

And now that Dylan is almost* on Tyler's schedule, things have gotten easier

as far as meals go. For the last two weeks or so I have been on a kick

where I actually really enjoy planning out their meals for the week, and

trying to make them as nutritious as possible- easy for Dylan, not so much

for Tyler. I usually allot about an hour for each meal so I can prepare it

and then patiently sit with them and engage in concersation, while trying

to get Tyler to try and eat new things.

I haven't exactly changed my social status though- I have atleast one playdate

everyday this week; two on two of the days.. but almost all of them are coming

to our house, or we are meeting at a park. I realized after having short of a mental

breakdown last weekend that I go out of my way too often to please other

people. I agree to events I know only spell disaster to make them happy and

almost everytime leave in tears. I've got to start being more selfish, as

bad as that sounds.. So heres to hoping we having a week full

of fun instead of stress...

My physical health is on its way up as well. I have been enrolled in

Kickboxing for almost a month now; going twice a week. I run around

base and try to squeeze in some arobic tapes every

chance I get. I know it's going to take some time, but I am most certainly

looking for results. When Dylan turned one, as happy as I was, I also realized that

he was one and I still have X amount of pounds to lose. No more "I

just had a baby ___ months ago" excuse. Time to get my ass into gear!