Monday, August 30, 2010

He Did It!

Before:
After:
The first photo was taken in early Janurary of 2009. Just yesterday I took the second photo when David laid down the last pieces of sods.

David has been working for months on this major addition to our home. It is a grueling task for a one man job. My david is not 'a claimer' so I am going to brag for him. I am soo proud of him. He has worked so hard. The goal of the addition was to add a screened porch, build a shed underneath, a deck and a retaining wall to level off the backyard. Doing this has been no easy task. David's work schedule has been so crazy this last year that the only time he has had to work on the addition has been in the very early morning hours. He would get up some mornings before 5 am and make it to his office to begin his work day at 7:30 am. If he didn't get any work done then late at night after the kids go to bed he would go into the garage and start working with his power saw. To say he was determined is an understatement. This project has been huge to David. Being with him at times to help whenever I could, I then realized that this is just more than wood and screws. It is the symbol of working hard for and achieving a goal.

This all sounds so crazy but for me to see the person I love the most in this world achieve something he worked so incredibly hard for was amazing.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sunday Morning




Forrest's last Sunday before preschool starts. The kids woke up early and went out to dance on our back deck "stage" in their jammies. I love Forrest's monkey band jammies. Forrest was playing the guitar while Summer was pretending to be on the microphone. We didn't have any music on but they sure danced to their hearts content.

Forrest will be starting preschool this Wednesday. He is holding up three fingers... can you tell he is excited? While the kids danced, I started cooking a special breakfast for Forrest. Our breakfast menu ended up being: cinnamon bread, scrambled eggs with cheese and shredded chicken and juice. We toasted our glasses to a wonderful school year for our Forrest. We had a really fun morning.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Summer

Summer is my mama's girl. She loves to hang out with me (which I LOVE). Whenever we go to the beach, she always ask me to play with her. The last time we went she wanted me to dig in the sand with her and make a mermaid tail with her legs. Summer loved it so much that when she got home from the beach she announced that she is going to be a mermaid for Halloween.

Lots of changes around here with Summer starting Kindergarten. I was laying in bed with her as she was dozing off this evening. We were nose to nose and she was hugging me. So there we were laying in the dimmed room and she said, "When I go to school I miss you... Thank you for being my mommy". With that sentence my eyes started to well up. There are days I question myself if I am doing the right thing. I know I am not the world's best mom but I do think I am the best mom for my children.

To my Summer, thank you for being my daughter.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Beach Party



David was so thoughtful and planned an amazing evening trip to the beach for my birthday. He rearranged his busy work schedule and took us to my favorite spot on Wrightsville Beach. We packed homemade lasagna and cake, along with our usual beach stuff, on the wagon. I loved every minute of our time. Our whole getaway was less than 3 hours but it was well worth it. I love you... Summer, Forrest and David. Thanks for making me feel special on my birthday and everyday throughout the year.

Monday, August 23, 2010

33

Today is my 33rd birthday. We woke up to sunshine after the rain last night which was the best gift ever. I love the sunshine. David and Forrest are out running errands and Summer begged me to go outside with her this morning before taking her to school. The start to a great day for sure.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Love Him


I took these pictures of my little boy this morning. I couldn't find him in the house so I looked out back and he was just like this... only in shorts and covered in sand from head to toe. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Mom, I'm making tracks". He was climbing the sand in our backyard and inspecting the car tracks he had made. I LOVE this little boy.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Homemaker

I really, really love my job as a homemaker. I recently had to fill out a form and it asked me for my occupation. I immediately circled "Homemaker". I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wonderful mom who taught me so much and loved me. Not until you have children do you realize how much your parents really love you. It is an amazing thing how much love our hearts can hold for our children. I had David take this picture of me when we went to the lake last week. I love this picture because it shows who I am, my happiness with my children (in the background playing on a purple float) and my David. I feel so blessed to be a mom, more specifically, Summer and Forrest's mom. I have always known what an amazing gift being a mother is. I feel blessed that I understand that even though somedays seem monotonous, they are not meaningless. As mind numbing as unloading the dishwasher AGAIN can be or breaking up a fight, I still get the bigger picture. There really is nothing more important that I could be doing right now than raising our kids. Yes, I get burned out. In fact, David texted the other day and I was really quiet... he said, "Hey, where are you?" I didn't know if I should start laughing or crying but I texted back, "I am sitting in our garage on the floor... I needed a break and I am drinking a Coke". Yes, I have days that seem like they last for months but when I look at the kids asleep in their little beds, they are growing up too quickly! I feel blessed that I can stay at home with them and hug them and hold them tight when they are sad or happy. There is an amazing essay on motherhood from the author, Anna Quindlen, which I read recently. This quote from the essay has been on my mind lately.

The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this (being a mom). I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of my children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less".

I try to whisper in my kids' ears throughout the day, "I love being your mommy". I said it to Summer the other night as I was putting her to bed. I thought she was asleep. She signed back to me, "I love being your Summer". Those are the moments that I will hold on to forever. That is what being a mom is all about. I adore these sweet little angels that I was given to care for. I dreamed that I would be their mom from the day they were born.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Fancy Nancy


Summer's very favorite book is called Fancy Nancy. She LOVES it. She asks me to read it every day and refers to Nancy as if she is a real person. Nancy is Summer's personal heroin. If Summer had a personal motto, it would be, "What would Fancy Nancy do". Nancy is a little girl who loves all things "fancy". Some things Summer has learned from this book: gold is fancier than yellow, patent leather is fancier than regular leather, Nancy gets everything with sprinkles on top because it is well, just fancier! Dresses are fancier than pants and the more bows in your hair the better. Summer frequently tries to get me to put matching bows in my hair to look fancier when we leave the house. Her favorite thing to do is to play dress up and to dance. We turn on the computer in the family room and crank up the music.

Summer went to a Fancy Nancy themed birthday party today. She was sooo excited! The invitation said to come dressed as Fancy Nancy. We got creative and used things she had in her closet. Her leotard was from her ballet class and her tutu from her ballet recital. Her very favorite part was her hair... with three fancy bows and the most fancy headband she owns. She thought that was pretty darn fancy.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Summer the Orator

Summer was assigned to give an oral report on "All About Me" for her social studies class. I know... oral report when you are only five years old?? However, she did LOVE doing it and even loved the poster that we made. Her number one request was that it have glitter on it and let me just say, she was sure to point that out to her class several times. Her teacher said she did a great job. This is the first of many school projects I am sure and we were so proud of her.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

All Mine




Mister Forrest is growing up too fast as far as I am concerned. With Summer at school, Forrest and I now have time together each day when it is JUST the two of us. It has actually been a lot of fun for both of us. I think we both needed this special time with each other. There are so many little things about him that i never want to forget. I love how much he loves books and how he walks over to me with one and just plants himself in my lap. I love how he dances with just his left foot on its tippy toes and turns around in circles. I love how he carries around as many legos as he can in his arms for no reason. I love how I can completely understand everything he says. I love that when he really wants me to see something he says, "Mom" and grabs my chin to turn it in the direction he wants me to look. I love that I can comfort him better than anyone when he is having one of his meltdowns. I love that he waves at every person we pass while sitting in the cart as we stroll through the grocery store. I love that his favorite game in the world is to stand at the end of the hallway and for me to yell, "Forrrrreesssst" as he runs full force into my arms only to turn around and do it all over again. I love that even when he's naughty and has to sit on the stairs for time-out he actually stays on the stair until I tell him it's ok to get up. I love that when he wakes up in the middle of the night all that he needs is for Daddy to quietly walk into his bedroom and hold his hands. I love how he laughs hysterically when we do funny faces. I love his hugs when he wraps his little arms so tightly around my neck that I can't breathe. I love, love, love his contagious laugh and huge grin. I love that my kisses make his owies feel better. I love that no matter how old he gets I will always be his mom. I love every quirky little thing about him. Quite simply I just love him and I love that he is all mine.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Boogie Board


Forrest and Summer spent a lot of their day on a boogie board when we went to the beach this weekend.  
They informed me that a fun mom would boogie board WITH them. 
They are amazingly talented in the art of competition.
I want to be a fun mom... It made me second guess my decision until I felt how clumsy I was. 
I just couldn't do it. So now it's official...
Joy Schultz is NOT a "fun mom".

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Wrightsville Beach


I found this polaroid picture of me with my sister, Hope, the other night. We were living in Chapel Hill at that time and had come to Wrightsville Beach on a vacation. I am in the aqua blue bathing suit running to my sister and then hugging her... So excited to see the ocean. I remember this moment and feeling so happy. I hope my kids felt as happy to be on Wrightsville Beach as I did 26 years ago.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Summer Days


We have been spending a lot of time on the lake this summer. I absolutely love it. It is so quiet. Summer and Forrest love spending time on the sunfish with their daddy. When they are not sailing, they played for hours in the sand with their friends and never once told me they were bored. That is heaven. How cute are these two little sailors without a care in the world? Forrest comes across looking so serious in this picture but he is quite the opposite in "real life". He is really funny. Very talkative and really animated. The kids have a quite busy schedule each time we go to the lake... which includes walking back and forth on the pier, jumping into the water from the sailboat "toy boat" over and over again, oyster collecting, waving to the boat every time it passes by and of course the frequent runs to the clubhouse kitchen for treats. This is what summer is all about.