Summer lemonade stand & we survived the first week of school!

With the craziness of back to school, I haven't had a chance to write about our first lemonade stand! Mariam and Layla had been asking me all summer and I kept pushing it back until I realized summer vacation was about to be over. We did it the Saturday before school started and they killed it. Sold out of everything! It wasn't just fresh squeezed lemonade, homemade chocolate chip cookies were also sold.

We were out there for a few hours and the weather seemed questionable at times, and Ava made me carry her a lot, but it was worth it. At night when I peeled off my shirt to shower and my arms were sore and I realized how physically tired I was, I thought about how we as mother's sacrifice so much for their children. It was me who squeezed all the lemons and baked all the cookies, but all the glory went to them and it was 100% worth it. The pride they had when they sold everything and the excitement of reaching their goal was a great feeling for me. With their earnings they bought something quite special that they are soooo excited about and have been wanting for awhile. I'll be sharing what it is soon!

How cute are these treat bags from Target!

We had a cooler with ice under the table and more cookies that we would refill. So fun!

Onto school this week. It was a great first week! I'm so relieved Mariam who started kindergarten didn't give me a hard time at all! 

2nd grade

10th grade

Kindergarten

Have a great weekend!

Thoughts on mothering

The girls and H are coming back from Texas tonight. Spending the past 5 days with just Ava here was really good for me. Sure I had to be her all day entertainer but there was a lot of down time to just breathe, to be, to reflect on mothering. Parenting 4 children is harder than I ever imagined! I don't always know what I'm doing, but I try my best and I work myself to the ground for them. Case in point, that sometimes is the problem and I have to remember to not drown in my own storm.

The initial reason I decided to stay back with Ava because I know the progress she had made with sleep could regress. All of my friends tell me that when they've gone on vacation with their toddlers and come back, they've needed to re-sleep train them a bit again. The second reason I stayed back even though I did want to see all the family is because I needed to be a little bit selfish....if it's even considered selfish. I needed to take care of me and I needed this break. I do think I have a healthy balance of getting out with H, or my friends and the junior league and I have a community of wonderful neighbors, and my identity isn't just wrapped up into being a mom, because I'm also a creative and an entrepreneur, but still. I was getting pretty burnt-out. It is some consolation that it's summer and most stay at home moms are literally losing their minds. Ha! 

The issue these days has been that I've been doing and doing...and doing, going through all the motions of what a good mother is supposed to do, but my attitude towards it--my mood, left much to be desired. I was plain tired and overworked. I was getting easily irritated, impatient and short with the girls, and it wasn't good. I even felt bad because I remember there was a time when this was all I ever wanted in life. "God, if I could just be H's wife and have children." How could I be so frustrated when this was all I ever wanted? My neighbor and I were recently talking about happiness in life and she made an interesting point when she mentioned that life isn't always going to bring happiness. It can, but in the ordinary days, it's up to you to create your own happiness.

Contrary to what some people might think, I don't always have it together all the time--nobody does. Life can be hard, messy, disappointing, and stressful. This goes for everyone, and if you're a mother, it's even harder because you not only have to worry about yourself, that worry is doubled, quadrupled, or more. Children don't come with a handbook and I'm a work in progress. I may have 4 children, but I'm no expert because every personality is different! I've gone through the same milestones with my girls, yes I have some experience with children, but my girls are all different! Their moods are different, their way of thinking is different than the other. What I think I may have figured out for one may not necessarily work for the other. The important thing is that I try my best and it's always good to vent to a few caring friends or family. I'm so thankful I also have my faith to see me through and I'm never alone. I truly am blessed with my 4 girls and a loving husband. 

Hello August!

Summer

At this point it's been like almost a month since I've blogged. Every week I have all these intentions to jot down some thoughts, and every week it doesn't happen. I remember at the end of the school year right before summer started I was like, "I'm going to have so much more time to dedicate to my business, and to also find time to relax a bit, blog more." Errr yeahhhh.....that hasn't quite happened. If anything I've had less time to dedicate to my business. I've pretty much just been able to fit in the bare minimum, but it is what it is. I'm still happy with the way things are and I trust in God's timing. Right now my kids need me most, and we've been busy most of the summer working on our sunroom renovation which turned out to be a much bigger project than anticipated. 

My nephew and my brother were also here in July, Serena's been busy with her volunteering and I've had a few Junior League commitments. I've been trying to keep the girl's busy with fun activities outside the house and also trying to stay sane while in the house if you know what I mean. I've pretty much reached that "end of the summer" breaking point where I need some of these kids to get back to school. Haha! With that being said Hank and the girls (minus Ava) just left to Texas this morning. It's just going to be me and miss Ava for the next 5 days! A rambunctious 2 year old can be tough sometimes, but I'm so excited about relaxing more, having the house stay neat, and not cook for 6 people! Also looking forward to getting some quality one on one time with Ava.

Sunroom Renovation

Here is the most current picture as of yesterday and a few from before. So before we started this project the whole point of it was just to change the floor because we had leftover flooring in the attic, and scrape the popcorn off the ceiling because of an old leak. Two things. That was supposed to be it! It turned into sooooo much more than that, and I will explain everything in a separate post because it's a long laundry list of things that had to be done and still need to be done. 

I've been sharing a lot of updates on my instagram stories @itsapinklifefj if this is your sort of thing. H and I are very much DIY people so it's been fun, but also a little frustrating at times. We found a handyman who has been doing the custom millwork to fit the doors and sidelights in. Who would of thought it would be so complicated and it's getting a little expensive, but it looks like we only need him to come twice more some time next week, though there is still a lot to be done. He'll help Hank with some finishing touches on the doors and rewire the electricity so we can put a nice light in. 

Have a great weekend!