Daily Hankes Mischief

Fathers day week/weekend we spent some time in the beautiful mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia with my in-laws. We don't vacation much, but when we do we appreciate every bit of it! I got to wake up every morning and sit on the back porch with a hot cup of coffee, listening to the birds sing, breathing in the crisp mountain air, and watching the kids play. We hiked to a gorgeous (and freezing) waterfall, spent an afternoon in town looking in all the old shops and having lunch at a new place, had smores in the backyard of our cabin, shot BB guns, tubed down the river while Silas slept on me the whole time, made crafts, played games after the kids went to bed, and best of all spent a lot of time laughing with family. It's always a good time with the Hankes'.

It is the first day of June, and today was one of those "everyone decided they were going to grow up on me" days. And I'm not even exaggerating-- literally both of my children reached another milestone! First and foremost, Ryen graduated kindergarten with flying colors and an excellent report card. I just keep asking myself, "can this really be happening? Is this day really here?" I swear life seems to slip right through my hands sometimes. How on earth have I been a mother for almost 6 years, when I feel like my baby, who is now a first grader, was a chunky little newborn making gaga eyes at me just yesterday? I was able to go to his class this morning, where his baby brother and I watched him receive an award for having the brightest ideas in his class. I watched and listened as his teacher read the children their very last book of the school year, and I'm almost certain it was probably the quietest her group of "kids" had been all year. Almost as if they knew, summer will be fun, but their first teacher will be missed and one to remember! I also got a great idea from a dear, sweet friend of mine to fill up a couple balloons and get ribbon to decorate the backseat of my car with, as a nice fun surprise for Ryen to jump into after finishing his last day.

As for my other wild boy, at two and a half years of life he has finally discovered his legs are long enough to climb out of the crib with. His dad and I thought maybe it was a one time thing, but after putting him down for a nap this afternoon and him following not too far behind me as I left the room on THREE different occasions, I knew it was time. The transition has started for naps so far, because for some reason it only seems to be during daytime nap times, and not at bedtime. After a few attempts, he got the hint and stayed in the big boy bed by himself quietly, and within five minutes, passed out. Hoping tomorrow is just as easy.

My husband and I found this day to be so joyous, mixed with many emotions-- mainly for me because, as much as I enjoy my children growing and learning and becoming such amazing human beings, I just cannot stand how fast time seems to go. And every year I swear it just goes faster. I know how much I am going to miss all of this. I know the days will come all too soon, when I will be saying, "remember when our kids were in kindergarten" and it kind of saddens my soul. I want the time to slow down for just a moment, but because I know it won't, I am learning to live in the moments, hug my kids tighter, stop looking down and look up. Be more present with them, more patient, and love them more and more.

I want to grow old knowing I am the reason they grew into beautiful, sweet souls. I want them to always know that their father and I have more love for them than they will ever, EVER know! I will always pray that my kids remain original, and grow up making the right choices, being eager to learn and grow in the Lord. And that they will never forget how proud we are of them. Here's to another year, more milestones, and much more growing together as a family.

Now if I could only raise my cat up in the right ways, so that he would quit pushing every object off of my kitchen counters, bathroom sink, and bedroom dresser, I think I could have this parenting thing down pat.

This past week, was one for the birds. Kids were wild, husband got sick, and I just had one too many moments of frustration and impatience. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one struggling to feel better about myself as a mother, and a wife. Especially in the moments where I want to pull my hair out more than anything else.

Then I stop and think to myself, I can't be the only one. There's no way I'm the only one with kids who decided to fight more than play nice, on the day daddy gets sick. I can't be the only one who repeats myself more than a broken record player, because every "please do not touch that" or "please stop jumping on the couch" goes in one ear and out the other, only in the matter of a split second. Am I the only one cleaning up spilled cereal all over the floor at 7am because it was "too close to the edge"--as my five year old told me, and again cleaning up spilled juice because he wanted to do it himself? I just know I am not the only one having days filled with ample amount of timeouts (sometimes more needed for me than the children) and having picked up toys that were spewed all over the living room floor for the 13th time in what seemed like only an hour.

I told Ryen to stop jumping from couch to couch at least 10 times one day, and then he hit his head and started crying. It may sound bad, but I almost couldn't feel bad for him because if he just would have listened the first time (and there goes my mother coming out of my mouth) then he would not have gotten hurt. But, then I'm reminded of something-- I remember my mother telling me multiple times not to do something over and over again, and I just wouldn't listen. Maybe it's true when they say we just have to learn for ourselves?

So, there may be days where I'm constantly doing dishes, and picking up clothes and dirty underwear--because they just couldn't make it to the laundry basket for some odd reason, and saying "no" "please don't hit your bother" "just listen the first time" "because I said so" + "get that out of your nose/mouth" more times than I would like to admit. But, as much as I ask myself if I am the only mother going through this, I know that I'm not. Somewhere out there is another mom stomping to her room and shutting the door behind her, just so she can collect herself and maybe even scream into the pillow on her bed, because she doesn't want to loose her patients. There is always another mom working non stop to keep up with her day-to-day life, making sure everyone is happy. I am not the only one. As much frustration as some days can bring, I know that just like me, there are other mothers so filled with joy and happiness because of the love their children bring them. If you are the mom who thinks you are failing, you're not! All the good days, and the adventure of being a mom, make up for the sometimes crappy days-- and that's more than I could ever ask for.

Life is this brilliant thing filled with so much chaos, mistakes, and ups and downs. But, it's also filled with a lot of love, happiness, and adventure, and I refuse to dwell on the frustrating days. Rather, I want to stop and take a deep breath and remind myself that tomorrow is a new day. And because today is Saturday, and I love Saturdays.

So, here's to you moms. The ones who make mistakes, and think they've failed. The ones who love their kids more than anything this world could bring. All of you, are doing it right. Don't forget to give yourself some credit.

St. Augustine has become one of Matt + I's favorite places to travel to. We went just as a couple last year, and stayed at an intriguing bed and breakfast in Old Town. So this year, we decided to take a day trip as a family, exploring with our boys. We went to Castillo de San Marcos (the fort) to watch the canons blast. Ryen got to see all the old tools they used in medicine and crawl through to the powder room. We walked for a couple hours through the shops, and took the kids to the chocolate shop, where Ryen received what he called, "the best ice cream ever" at. There was also a lady doing some beautiful painting on the street, and there was an old man sitting on the street making music with his cool dog wearing sunglasses. Regretting I didn't go back for a cool picture. We stopped at Mojo's, or what I would call the BEST place on earth, or heaven in your mouth, BBQ. We walked along the water, saw some beautiful boats and pirate ships, horse drawn carriages, and did a lot of people watching. The best part about this day, was being able to experience history with my three favorite guys. I am one lucky lady.