I was going to give you a full recap on what we have been up to the past four months, but figured if you follow me on either Facebook or Instagram you probably already know that stuff. So for this period of time I am going to use blogging as my virtual journal to share some heart things that you might not be able to see through my daily pictures.
We have been having a really sweet summer. I have been learning to say no to some things so I can say yes to others. I have trouble just being still, so I try to pack in a million things and it usually ends up stressing me or the kids out and then no one has fun. Saying no, even to good things like play dates or mom's nights out, allows me to say yes to playing dress up or jumping in the bounce house or even cleaning my bathrooms and floors (something which adds to the chaos and stress for me if I go too long without doing it).
This point was driven home for me last week while we were in Chicago. Phil had to work in Chicago for a couple of days so we thought it would be fun for the girls and I to join him and have our first family hotel experience. I had these thoughts of grandeur of going into the city and doing all sorts of sight seeing with the girls during the day while Phil worked. Phil told me he thought the girls would love just swimming in the hotel pool and jumping on the beds in the room. My girls (okay Emrie) said they wanted to watch a movie on the hotel t.v. But what did they know...I am the mom, and I know that we needed a LARGE adventure, like going into the city. So I drove into the city through annoying amounts of traffic only to pay $33 for two hours of parking in a garage. When I started pushing the girls in the stroller through the busy streets, Emrie kept covering her ears and shouting, "Mom, it's so loud. There are too many people. It's so loud." We got to Millennium Park where we did have fun playing with The Bean and jumping in the water at Crown Fountain...for about 30 minutes. Then I got freaked out by a family who was taking way too much interest in my kids and we left abruptly. The whole way back to the car Emrie cried because now she wasn't ready to leave. As I got turned around three times on the expressways I nearly started crying because my GPS was NOT picking up where I was on my phone was almost dead which scared me to be lost in a big city with no phone. Once I knew we were finally going in the right direction toward the hotel and we were just sitting (literally at a dead stop) in traffic I reminded myself that this is exactly why I need to say no sometimes. Even if it just means saying no to my lofty expectations. The next day we ate hotel breakfast, did makeovers in the room, jumped on the couch cushions, swam in the hotel pool, napped in the fluffy beds (yes, I napped too), read lots of books, drank hot chocolate at Starbucks and tried on jewelry at JC Penny and had a GREAT, SIMPLE TIME!!!!
I AM LEARNING TO SAY NO, EVEN TO GOOD THINGS!
I am learning (I am a VERY slow learner) to slow down, think through my commitments, as simple or as fun as they might seem, and weigh the affect my yes has on my family and myself. I will always be an adventure seeking, activity doing, busy body...but I am trying to be better at limiting how many of those things I say yes to so that I can fully enjoy the ones I am experiencing!
In the meantime, here are some fun pictures from our trip!
Double Rainbow was a fun way to end the trip!
