The Unbalanced Chronicles: Relying

I am a self described self starter.

I am self motivated (except when it comes to donuts).

Even when I was a wee little gal, I was making plans no one knew about or cared to ask.

When I was in high school, I tried my hardest to challenge myself and take as many advanced placement classes as I could, even though I really had no way of going to college at the time.

I typed all my papers on a typewriter because I was the only senior in class without a computer. One high school teacher told me that I worked hard but wouldn’t make it because of my lack of resources.

I have worked full time at a job since I was 20.

While my friends were at college frat parties, I was configuring, balancing my weak checkbook, planning laundromat times, and computer lab visits so I could get everything in on time.

No one every pushed me or set goals.

I had a lot of people that helped, loved, and encouraged...

but no one guided my plan.

I was a bit of a loner with my game plans.

To this day, I set daily goals and list of things to do, even for things like cleaning my house.

If I were a movie, I would be called Fast and Furious.

I like to lead, plan, and go. NO time to waste.

Basically, Reliance is not an easy word in my vocabulary.

So you can image my surprise when I ran out of some of that gas after having children.

The thing with having a baby is that you can’t control the plan. I’m like, hello can someone give me an app? a palm pilot? a blue print? a book? a fortune cookie? God? Can you give me a burning bush here? help.

These little boogers have challenged everything I thought I knew about myself.
Being a self starter, I’ve read all the parenting books and detailed plans out there. I was determined to figure out the plan by myself.

All I really gained was a schizophrenic parenting technique, and on top of that I lost 19.95 per book.

Parenting brought out a new skill in me called- Reliance.

Parenting has made me rely on many, many things, but most important is God and a close second is The Dad- Darren.

There are a lot of parents out there fighting the good fight alone, and I have so much admiration and awe for those parents. I don't know if I could do it.

I can’t wait for Darren to walk through the door. I don’t give him five minutes before I ask his advice, tell him a story, or ask him to please handle a situation with one of the kids.

I rely.

Darren is just one of these abnormally normal people (with no bad habits or mental issues), but like the rest of us he still searches for what he is meant to do and be in life, and one of those things he has found is being dad to C. and C.

He brings the fun, he brings the straight talk, he brings the joy. He doesn’t over think it like me. He just goes by instincts. For an only child, he has some pretty good instincts.

Just a few of the things the children have learned from The Dad....

Connor-

-modified racing (and NOT to shoot the straight finger), football, and the fine art of standing while riding on a bike

-wrestling techniques and phrases (to be the man you got to beat the man, whooo) from the 80s

-how to care for a dog (and in my opinion borderline make out with a dog)

-how to act in public (still working on that one)

-how to serve in church

-how to treat your mother

For Carlee,

-dad picked out her crib, and painted her nursery in mint green and pink (it looked great)

-how to eat watermelon

-when dad had to get a box fan for Carlee's room, he came back with a bright purple fan (she might like the color)

-brought home a rubber ducky with a crown for bathtime

-blow dry and brush her hair after giving her a bath (so her head won't be cold)

-fix her breakfast and watch country music videos every morning

We are very lucky to RELY on such a great Father!

Happy Father’s Day

You are doing a great job!

(Besides if you weren’t here, who knows where the kids would be right now, but the words Ringling and Brothers come to mind.)

Images from Father's Day:

For Father's Day, we visited mema

(aka. Great Mema) at her new digs.

Either this picture would be awesome if Carlee wasn't picking her nose,

or it is awesome because Carlee is picking her nose

Darren is wearing his brand new shirt he got for Father's Day here, Carlee is wearing mom and Aunt S. jewelry, and as usual I don't know what Connor is doing.