And then I got all introspective~

The table after undecorating the house.

I had a post ready to go for this morning. A lighthearted, cook-with-the-kids, extremely-yummy-cookie post. (Which I promise to post tomorrow.) But then I got all introspective...and since this is my first post of the new decade, I thought to myself that perhaps being all introspective is a nice way to ring in the new year.

It started innocently enough.


Mr. Two is my talker. If you have more than one kid, chances are one of them is the talker. Not that the others don't talk...but this one talks more. A lot more. You know what I mean. The one that follows you around chattering on about whatever pops in his little head at the moment. Luckily, Mr. Two is funny. I mean really funny. So he is easy to listen to.




This morning he was chatting away about what color his heart is...."Mommy is my heart pink, or red, or black?"


"Pink," was my immediate and not very well thought-out answer.


"How do people know what color hearts are, mommy?" and then immediately, "doctors know because they can look at them, right?"


"Right." That answer worked as well as any for me...and saved me from having to think up something better.


Then he continued without missing a beat. "I want to be a doctor and a dinosaur and a astronaut when I grow up, mommy."


"That's wonderful!" I enthused. I'd heard that he wanted to be a dinosaur and an astronaut, but I appreciated the addition of being a doctor. I'm nothing if not practical.


But then came the question that tilted my morning on its side, and sent my mind spinning through my life...the past, the present, the future. The lives of my children.


He looked at me and asked, "But mommy, do you really turn into what you want to be when you grow up?"


I was staring at the computer screen when he asked, so I looked up and studied his earnest little face.


"Ask Mommy again." I wanted to be sure I heard him right.


"Mommy, do you really turn into what you want to be when you grow up?"



"You can be anything you want to be if you try hard enough." I replied, but suspecting he REALLY wants to be a dinosaur, I added, "I don't think you can really turn into a dinosaur though."



"Then I'll be a doctor and a astronaut, mommy."


"Good idea." I smiled.



"But I really want to be a dinosuar," he frowned just a little.


"Maybe you can." I smiled again.



And that was the end of our conversation. He skipped off to play with his toys in his bedroom, and I sat there, my mind in a twist.



Am I what I hoped to be when I grew up?



Partially, I guess.



I'm a mother. I always wanted to be a mother. I'm working on becoming a designer. I've always loved that....from the time I was tiny. I don't think I was one of those kids that had a specific dream...well maybe being a dancer...but really, I was quite fickle in the what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up department.



So, in my case, at least, I think the question is "Am I following a path that makes me happy and is fulfilling? Am I following my bliss?" Not "Have I arrived?" And I think the answer to that is "yes."




For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you know that 2010 was a very difficult year for my family. My husband was in a car accident that nearly claimed his life at the end of August. The day after his accident, my contracted job ended. Needless to say, nursing my hubby back to health, with neither of us working, things have been difficult this year. Thankfully, we have had wonderful support, and a bit of retirement money to live off of, but I can safely say that I am not sad to see 2010 go.

2011 holds promise for me. I am starting to work again. The hubby has been working a bit here and there, and is almost well enough to really get our photography business running again. I get to come here and visit with you all on this blog. I love writing this blog. It is my bliss. It is what I want to do when I grow up. And I get to. I get to chase my dreams. Designing, blogging, writing, being a mom.

I read a quote the other day that said it all....

"She went out on a limb, had it break off behind her, and realized she could fly."
Kobi Yamada

So here's to going out on a limb and chasing dreams in 2011.

And here's to my 5-year-old that cuts through all the fluff and makes his mom really think.

Happy New Year!

xoxo
Wendy

My obsessive-need-to-organize-everything-in-my-house-and-life phase~

Normally, my obsessive-need-to-organize-everything-in-my-house-and-life phase hits about mid-January. But this year, it started about mid-December. I don't know if it's because 2010 was a very rough year in our family and I was just ready to cleanse our life... or exactly why it started early, but I have been on an organizational rampage for the past few weeks.



This is good, because I have already accomplished some of my New Year's goals and it isn't even the end of December...and because it is going to give me a lot of blog content for you all in the upcoming weeks, but also because I have started to feel the satisfaction of life-control that organization brings. Do you know what I mean? Or am I the only one who feels more competent and in control when things are in their places?

via The Lettered Cottage


For example, I have already oganized my pantry cupboards. I have my new mudroom area 3/4 of the way finished. Here's a little sneaky-peek of the bench in it's almost-before state (I had actually started to prime it in this pic.) Wait until you see the after!




I have also almost completed the living room. I have gone through the kids rooms with them and organized. It's almost like a nesting phase...except that there are NO new little Hydes on the way. Let me repeat that...NO new little Hydes on the way. ;-)


Of course, there are lots of things still on the to-do list. There always are. Not the least of which are health-related. The hubby and I are entirely revamping our diet. With three little boys that have Alpha-1, and with the fact that we aren't getting any younger, we felt like it was high time that we took inventory of our food intake, and changed it for the better.


Are you still there? Bored yet?? Hope not.

Because along with all of the changes around our house and in our lives, I have been obsessing over the direction I want to take this here little old blog in the new year. Don't worry, it will still feel basically the same. After all, it is me....albeit a digital, edited version of me. ;-) But I have some fun ideas that I have been wanting to implement for a while, and I think that the new year is the perfect time for that. So look for a few FUN changes to be coming your way here on the blog. Things that will make it a little bit more me.

via Southern Living

Okay, if you actually read all of my rantings, you are a wonderfully loyal reader and you deserve a star on your forehead. If you just couldn't get through all of that, then you're not reading this sentence...but you are a wonderful reader too. ;-)

Coming your way tomorrow....my two Christmas presents....and how they changed my living room for the better. One of them rhymes with Bar Pet and the other rhymes with Toffee Mable...and I'm super excited to share them both...so y'all come back now, ya hear?

xoxo

Wendy

Happy New Year~

Happy 2010 Everybody~

I'm really looking forward to this new year.

A new place to live,

New experiences

New adventures

New rooms to decorate! (ah, bliss)

Happy New Year~

Here's wishing you all health, happiness, and prosperity in 2009!

Happy New Year from the Shabby Nest!!