I love being a mom. Becoming a mom was the single-most life-changing event in my life so far. I've whined recently that my son is almost twelve years old, and he's changing. He's stretching his wings and requiring more independence and freedom. And I'm lost. I'm not sure where I fit in these days, so I'm having to do a bit of letting go so he can grow, and its the hardest thing I've had to do.
This weekend The Little Guy is going camping with his faj. Actually, they may even be hunting hogs.
(Sidenote: wild hogs... aren't they very aggressive and can come charging at my son at any minute???) My son is sooooo excited about this weekend. Then Monday will kick off his Spring Break. I had wanted him to go on a Boy Scout retreat with Hubby, but The Little Guy's faj had other ideas, and it is the faj's week to have The Little Guy, so I don't have much of a leg to stand on.
The Little Guy keeps telling me he's going to be just fine. Hubby keeps telling me the same thing. My paranoid mind keeps seeing accidents and ambulances and all things uncool. That's how my mind works most days. I should probably take up yoga or meditation to help soothe those frantic ideas, but I haven't committed to such things as of yet. I'm better at staying stressed out.
(Matter of fact my dentist just told me on Tuesday to relax my jaw and I had the hardest time doing that.) So, being a mom these days is full of trying to keep that strong facade visible to my family, while in my heart and in the small silent stretches of each day I'm fighting back tears and worry.
I would love some advice from those of you who've been through the pre-teen years and can offer some words of wisdom. I'm open to ideas for emotional survival. I know that sounds dramatic since I will survive this time and the roller-coaster years beyond that. But, any help you ladies can offer about fending off the overly hormonal emotions that I keep finding myself buried in would be greatly appreciated.
Now, back to side-tracking myself with work. Isn't it funny how that can be a reprieve from familial realities sometimes?
I thought it would be a nice touch to get a fire pit. We've wanted one for over a year and have never splurged, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity, especially with the nighttime temperatures staying in the 50's. The guys were on board with my idea!
But, fortunately for my stomach there were no s'mores. While we were at Lowe's we picked up a new Rosemary plant that we are hoping to not kill this year.
And here is a peek into our little garden that we planted a couple of weeks ago. We finally put one in! (We've only been talking about doing this for three years now.) I'm telling you that this little garden kit (also sold at Lowe's) is the way to go if you don't have a ton of yard space or if you don't want to rent a tiller. We literally had a garden in one hour's time! The boards hook and lock together, we put some ground cover in the bottom, then added soil, and before we knew it the plants were in the ground. We are so excited that we have tomato blooms already in place, and lettuce ready to eat!
Speaking of gardens, go here to see what I won today. I love winning things! A huge thanks to The Royal Sisters for their amazingly cute design that I can't wait to make.
This is my little Sushi Bear. She's getting pretty old. We're talking about 100 in doggy years. 
Another holiday is fast approaching and I am once again not ready for it. I keep hearing myself saying in my head, "This time last year I told myself that I would have x number of holiday crafts already prepared." And do I have any number of Easter crafts visible in my home?
This started out as a computer cabinet with sliding shelves which were perfect for reaching a keyboard or printer. Then we used it in our bedroom for a tv cabinet for awhile. After we remodeled our bedroom it became my sewing cabinet/unorganized craft storage facility.
Since we share the same work room, and we are trying to keep it as nice looking as possible, I told him I wanted one of the same cabinets for my craft storage. The black canvas bins on top are also from Ikea, and they have a nice zipper around the top to keep everything enclosed. My batting and poly fill stuffing is stored in them. You may not be able to see the pull tabs on the bottom, but it helps Shortys like me to get my things down from that high shelf.
I still need to get some uniform containers to organize my supplies better, which will most likely all be clear so I can see what is inside. So, eventually the interior of the cabinet will look more tidy. Until then you can see that I'm not completely finished with this project.
Up at seven, sipped some coffee, began the weekend laundry, and listed out the errands that needed running.
A big thanks to FutureGirl for sharing her story and letting me in on this little secret. Look at this great little coaster she made!
Now my only problem is getting some plastic bags. We take our own canvas bags to the store about 95% of the time, so I rarely have any on hand. At least now I know what to do with them the next time I have some on hand.
If you haven't noticed already, please take a second to look at my banner and the button link on my sidebar. My blog designer, Lyndsay Johnson, has boosted my blog alter ego with a bit of an update. My banner used to read 'Presenting Securityville... a place for all things secure and insecure' and now it reads 'Shorty's Securityville... a little place for my creations.'