On Mothering School Aged Kids

I have been thinking about this for a while. Where are all of the blogs for the moms with school aged kids? There are loads of baby and toddler blogs. There are loads of teenager blogs. Where are the elementary aged blogs at? Are we all just drowning and have no idea what we are doing? I don’t know what I’m doing. Give me two under two all day every day, and I can handle it. Give me three under 4.
Seven, Six, and Three? What am I doing? What year is it? Where am I?
I know that these ages are fun and exciting. I am so thankful that I had these girls so close together. They fight like cats and dogs, but they are also best friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love the independence that we are getting to enjoy. I can take the girls for a walk without chasing down all three of them. I still put Harper in a stroller most of the time because she is safer that way. People don’t slow down in this neighborhood.
Yesterday, I was telling the girls that we’d go for a walk when Scott got home from work. We had school outside because the weather was gorgeous. We ate lunch outside. We played outside. We were pretty much outdoors from 11 until dinner at 6.
We live within walking distance of a popcorn and candy shop. It’s fun to go in there and look around. It’s also complete chaos.

We did let the girls pick out a lollipop or candy stick because life is too short to not get a cheap piece of candy during a spending freeze!

stroller // snack tray

Chloe picked the bubble gum flavor. Addi picked the bacon flavored candy stick, and I really wanted to sneak a taste. ha! I got a picture of Harper without her knowing, and she yelled “MOMMY, YOU DIDN’T TAKE A PICTURE ME!” So, I had to stop and get this adorable gem.
This age is delightful. In the middle of the huge waves that knock me down, there is a lot of joy. This age is hard, too. But, if we focus on that, we are going to miss out on so much.
We took Addi to finally spend her birthday money and she picked out this cool hat (pictured above) and a notebook. Seeing her so thoughtfully add up the cost to see if her $4 would cover what she wanted was so fun. I’m also thankful that she picked something nice, and not junk that would end up in the garbage. I love seeing them learn and grow.
We couldn’t do simple things like this a few years ago without a lot more chaos and frustration. It’s so much nicer at this age to be able to just go whenever the weather is nice without much extra thought. Although, I know I’m crazy, I do miss packing a diaper bag for a baby and toddler.
I want to encourage you to look for the good. Every season of motherhood brings hard things with it. There are days (sometimes weeks and months) when you feel like there is such thick fog you may never get through it. Try to find 10 things today that you can be thankful for. It will help shift your mindset so much when you are looking for the GOOD instead of focusing on the hard.
Happy Tuesday, friends!! Don’t forget to go enter the giveaway for a pair of earrings!