Air Soft War

Steve went off for an weekend war using air soft guns. There is a group of boys who he regularly plays war with and everyone always has a good time. Saturday, I received a phone call from Steve informing us that his tooth had been shot off. His left front incisor. O happy day! (note the sarcasm dripping from that expression.)

When the boys got into air soft guns we talked about safety. Simple rules like "don't shoot someone in the face", "shoot from a safe distance", "wear safety glasses." As the guns got more powerful we added the rule of always wearing their safety helmets. Steve found that he couldn't read the sights on his sharp shooter if he wore his safety helmet. We argued. He said that he would wear a cloth mask. I thought a cloth mask wouldn't provide enough protection. Mike over-ruled my decision.

We now have a VERY expensive dental bill 1 month before the on-slought of Christmas and 3 birthdays. We want to move in January and still need to purchase flooring for the entire house. One adult in this household is unhappy. She's biting her tongue and won't say "I told you so" to her wonderful husband. But a discussion on air soft safety will be coming and before anyone goes off to play air soft war again.

Selfish Mom-time

Today, a friend invited me over for coffee in the middle of the afternoon. My oldest was tutoring her older three children, so I left Kate in charge and spent a lovely afternoon enjoying adult conversation, herbal tea, and decaf coffee with Toffee Stevia. YUM!

We talked about sewing projects, home decorating ideas, diet plans, and summer plans. Our children were not a topic of conversation. I enjoy hearing about her kids and sharing homeschooling ideas, but it was so nice to have a few hours without dwelling on our experiences as moms.

One of the benefits when I was working part-time last year was that I had an interest in which mom-hood was not a pre-requisite. Motherhood is the best job in the world and there are many benefits. Sharing time and experiences with my children are wonderful blessings. My organizational skills are constantly being challenged. Listening to my children laugh and play together makes me smile.

Sometimes though, I feel that I no longer exist, except as a mom. Television, society, and advertising all stress that being a mom is not enough to fulfill a woman. A woman who stays at home with her kids is uneducated and unable to get a decent job is the message heard on talk shows. Deep down I know that these opinions are flawed, but they undermine the premise that teaching, loving, and guiding children is important. Maybe it is because I don't get paid for my time and energies. A public school teacher is supposed to teach, love, and guide his/her students. Teachers are respected for their efforts, why can't mom's get the same respect?

Anyhow, it was lovely to dress in decent clothing, put on make-up and take some time for myself today. The children were all still alive when I got home and the house was still standing. I'm going to selfishly do this again sometime..........fairly soon.

Diet Update and Mom Only Time

Well I didn't make my first goal of 14 pounds. I ended up losing 11.5 pounds for the first 7 days. Tremendous strides were made in the amount of exercise I can complete in one hour. Two inches were lost from my waist and 2 inches from my hips.

The down side of all this exercise is that I'm tired. The children and I swim from 10-10:30am and then I work out in the gym. After we get home and I shower, I am wiped out. The kids have been doing a great job getting up early to complete the bulk of our school work by 10:00 am. It's good that they are so happy to check off their completed assignments each day, because I am not as on top of school as I should be. Today, I even took a short nap.

There has been a lot of talk on a homeschool email loop that I belong to about moms needing time to themselves. This is the first time in 21 years that I have taken time to do something by myself almost every day. I'm dropping my two youngest children off at daycare for 1 hour each day. I listen to music that I enjoy and am not interrupted with little children wanting to hug me or get on the treadmill with me. Part of me feels guilty about taking this time. Time that I should spend teaching Latin verbs or reading stories to the younger girls or ironing shirts for my husband to wear to work. On the other hand, I really need to take better care of myself. I didn't get regular exercise for many years, my blood pressure was high, I am overweight. All things that deplete my energy, make me crabby, and don't allow me to do all the things I need to do. Is it sinful to take this time away from my vocation as wife and mother?

My older and younger children have positive experiences while I workout. My children enjoy going to daycare. They like playing with more children. My older children thrive on the extra time at the library. I'm also playing tennis with the older children on a regular basis. None of us are great players, but we chase balls, volley the ball back and forth, and laugh together a lot. Should I try to get all of my exercise with the children? Probably. But for now, I will use the Y center membership to get myself back into good physical condition and continue to incorporate more family sports.