deep thoughts....and one of my favorite books

I was having some deep thoughts the other day about raising kids.....not anything profound, of course.  We have lived in this area for almost 11 years now so all four of our kids have been raised here and through the course of their "growing up" thus far, I have gotten to share a lot of the same experiences with each of them.  For instance, I was at the children's museum last week with Eli and was having flashbacks of taking Jordan there when he was the same age nearly a decade ago.  Needless to say, I have been there a lot.  I think I have every exhibit nearly memorized and could probably rattle off quite a few historical facts from memory.  It is funny to think of how many hours of my life have been spent there, or at the park, the pool, the library, etc... And more recently, the baseball fields/soccer fields/gymnasiums/dance classes/school classrooms, and so on.  

I have to admit, it is a challenge not to get tired of doing the same things over and over.  I have no idea how moms with more kids than I have do it.  I know that everyone says to hold on to these days because they will be over so quickly but I guiltily enjoy glimpses of life without carseats and pull-ups.  

So, while I may feel like poking toothpicks through my eyes at the thought of another visit to the amusement park, I do cherish these times spent with my kids.
I suppose it is the same challenge for all parents to find "joy" in the journey.  Lately I have just felt so completely overwhelmed with life and attempting to keep our house and family in order that I haven't had any energy to share anything here.
I used to take a lot of pride in the amount of time I spent reading books to my kids when they were littles.  But, I have to admit that lately it has been something I have struggled to find the "joy" in.  It is just hard to stop what I am doing and sit down when there are so many things to be done around the house.  I have been trying to do better lately so that Eli will hopefully have the desire to be literate in the future......

Luckily for the both of us, I found one of my all time favorite books hiding under our bed.  I grew up with this book and remember reading it to my younger siblings over and over and over.  And, when Jordan was born I found a copy on eBay and have continued the tradition with my own kids.

I will never get tired of reading this book.  I know every story word for word and it has been fun to rediscover it with Eli.  I was lucky to grow up with a mom who didn't believe in reading the "words" in childrens' books.  Instead, she made up her own stories that were usually much more entertaining than the ones that were written.  I have followed suit when I read books with my kids but I make exception for this and any other Richard Scarry book.  The written words are exactly what I would say:)

So bear with me in my little nostalgic moment.  It was a much needed reminder to fit in the important stuff with the kids, no matter how many times it has already been done before.

We pulled out a few more books from the collection.  I have to recommend all of these and any others by Richard Scarry.  They can be hard to find but are much more tolerable than a lot of the other stuff out there.  Hope I'm not the only one who is struggling to keep things fresh with our "caboose".
I think the biggest challenge comes from having such a wide range of ages and trying to be there in the right capacity for each one.  Any tips would be much appreciated:)