When things don't go as planned

I'm a planner. Always have been and probably always will be. Before having kids, I had it all planned out. It was going to be awesome! All of it. I had all of these amazing adventures planned out in my mind - fun ways we'd spend our days, places we'd go to frequently [going into Boston on the train was one of those things and it hasn't happened once... you can see where this is going...], my kids would nap whenever and wherever I needed them to and if they didn't nap, it'd be ok, they'd be fine we'd get through the day seamlessly and they would just go to bed earlier that night.  I was going to have playgroups and play dates alllllll the time, my kids would always obey, eat any and all fruits or vegetables I put in front of them, only drink water, only watch one tv show a day... I had it all planned out.

Then I had kids.

I should have known things weren't going to go as planned from the very beginning. I had a wonderful birth plan written out and none of it was followed. Not a single thing. The completely natural birth that I had hoped for turned out to be the farthest thing from it. Pitocin, epidural, laying flat on my back, vacuum extractor, you name it. It wasn't in my plan. I think it was just the little preview of our life with Curly Girl.

Things don't go as planned with kids when they're young. They just don't. It's been a tough pill to swallow for someone like me, but I feel like 4 years into this parenting thing, I'm finally starting to accept it and not let it get the best of me. I'm trying to just go with the flow and let it be what it will be. Easier said than done for sure, but I'm working on it.

I've started to realize and understand that it's not my plan anyways. It's God's plan. He's got our life planned out and He's the one who determines what will happen to us. I've got to just follow His plan. He's led us through so many twists and turns with these two little gingers, but we are learning so much about ourselves and Him.

So, my plan (haha!) with this blog was to share pictures more frequently and be somewhat up to date with them. That doesn't always happen. But there are a few that I want to share that depict the true reality of our life these days.

Easter Sunday this year. Ginger Boy came down with a nasty little cold the day before, so I decided he shouldn't share it with the other little ones in the nursery at church. I said I'd stay home with him while Curly Girl and Darling Daddy had a date to church.  This was the best picture I could get of her moving little body before they went to church. [Dress made courtesy of the oh-so-talented Gaga in Maine!] 

 

 

Ginger Boy got to try his first Peep while they were at church. Did I ever think I'd allow my 2 year old to have a Peep? No. Did grandparents provide them in the Easter baskets they gave the kids? Yes.

When Curly Girl & Darling Daddy came home from church, Darling Daddy suggested that I go to the second service. I honestly hadn't even thought of that, so I wasn't really dressed for it in the jeans and sweater I was wearing, but I headed off. I arrived a bit late, so I sat in the back row, alone. Not really how I ever pictured church on Easter Sunday. When I came home we got Ginger Boy into his Easter outfit and tried to take pictures. Taking pictures of the two of them is always a challenge. Here are our best three pictures. The plan was to be able to see their entire outfits and maybe have some Easter baskets in the picture. But, as I've learned over and over, things don't go as planned with my kids :)

Then came Mother's Day. I'm not big on gifts, so I really wasn't expecting much. They got me a beautiful hanging plant for the front porch. Perfect. Curly Girl wanted to have a picnic lunch. Great idea! I told Darling Daddy what I wanted to eat, he got me a wonderful salad from Whole Foods. He made the other lunches and we had a great picnic together.

Then the one thing I asked the kids for, the ONE thing I wanted on Mother's Day was to take a nice picture together sitting among the tulips. These were the best we got. 

Not my plan. One wouldn't take their hat off or look at the camera, the other just wouldn't cooperate at all [I blame the red hair gene!] This photo session ended in screams and everyone going inside for early naps. 

Things just don't go as planned these days, and that's ok. I'm coming to terms with it more and more with each passing day. Someday I'll be able to plan again, but until then I'm enjoying these crazy days with the little gingers.