A goal in moderation

Every one in our family has a goal right now, some of which require a little more determination than others. Occasionally a hilarious incident, or stupid action has brought on a laugh and even a tear. Allow me to share.........

First, Cooper. Now, he has entered the REAL period of toddlerhood. We're seeing sides of Cooper that we hadn't seen before and some are just too funny not to mention. When he hurts himself, he gets so angry with himself. He pulled a rope tied to a truck the other day and whacked his little eyebrow. By the sound of the crack we knew it hurt, but he was having none of mommy and daddy trying to kiss it better. Instead, he stomped his feet, slapped himself in the head, went behind the couch and started punching it. He was so stinkin' mad at himself. He hops out of carts in the grocery store. And, oh I love this one, he throws his dish full of food on to the carpet out of anger when we don't respond to him fast enough. I know, surely this sounds like he's out of control. But, really, he's just trying to do his best, and for the most part he's the most perfect, well behaved little boy I know. It's just funny to point out the not so great things for humor's sake! Coop's goal: Get through toddlerhood with as many memories, good and bad, that he can create.

Katie will be going into middle school this year. She is a little nervous, and has a lot of self esteem issues to overcome. First of all, she has a little bit of a speech impediment - She can't say her "R's" very well. So, when Kate talks people hear "woad" instead of "road". She is actually much, much better now, but she is still very self conscious about this. She hopes that this year she can overcome this little thing holding her back and not be worried about how she speaks. Second, she's really tall, and, she sometimes feels like she doesn't fit in. She's always been astronomically tall for reasons unknown, and we have tried to find the humor in it for her sake. We'll tell her "You get to look down on everyone and see who has dandruff!" Or, "You can be the one to reach for things on the top cupboard for mom!" Still, she's about 5 or 6 inches taller than most of the friends she has, and she just feels like she's not fitting in as well. Unfortunately, there's no fix for that one. Katie's goal: Stop growing and say "road."

The twins are something else. They look nothing alike. They act nothing alike. They cry nothing alike. In fact, the only thing of likeness they have is their poop....But that's cause I feed them identical food. Poor Mackenzie laid predominantly on one side of her head for the first couple months of life causing her skull to form around that flat spot. So, at the moment, she has a very crooked head...Kind of a rhombus shape. We're doing some physical therapy and stretching to help her reconstruct that little head of hers into a normal, round, baby head. 7 weeks left to go until we find out if she has to get a helmet to do the job. We're hoping she doesn't have to have it. But, if she does, the worst part will be the fight Corey and I have about how we're going to decorate it: Flames or flowers. haha.
Rayla is just a cute little round person. In fact, her nickname at the moment is shortround for obvious reasons. She's shorter than Mac by a couple of inches, and she truly is about as round as a person can be! She doesn't seem to want to roll over and has no inclination to even rock towards one side. You would think that her "roundness" would make this super easy. But, movin' as such obviously has nothing to do with body shape and everything to do with will and drive. Mackenzie's goal: Round out the head and stay out of the helmet for the sake of avoiding flames! Rayla's goal: Rock and Roll, baby!

Corey has been through quite a bit this year on many levels. This cherry harvest has proved to be the most difficult that he has ever had to work through. Between the growers who refuse to listen to his well supported ideas and recommendations, to the long industrious hours he puts in 7 days a week to get the job done, he's just about as spent as one can be. I'm fairly certain that his brain is fried, his shoes worn down and his body is tired. He's worked so hard the past few weeks that he's dropped nearly 30 pounds. For that, I'm proud of him. Don't worry, he hasn't done it unhealthily. In fact, for some reason, we have found ourselves eating a little better over the past couple of months, and it shows. Corey's goal: Never look at another cherry for the rest of the year and take a vacation from it all. (He'll get a mini vacation next week, if all goes well!)

And, then there's me. Funny how I always write about myself last when talking about the family, but I guess that's the way it should be. Over the past couple of months I have gone through every emotion, every feeling and every facial expression that I think I have. First off, a couple weeks after I had the girls, I went on the Depo Provera......I will never, ever, ever, under any circumstance, recommend that to anyone. From about 2 days after the injection I began to get daily headaches that, over time, grew to daily migraines. I put back on 10 pounds. I was moody, emotional, angry, judgemental, and short fused. That was not the person I was, or that I wanted to be. Of course, being an injectable, the damn medicine was in my system until it was due to run out: 12 WEEKS after injection. Ugh. So, Corey saw many a side of me that I am sure he hopes never reappears again. After an unsuccessful attempt at an IUD, I am happily the wearer of an implant. It's called Implanon, and it's been the best thing for me so far. I have not had a headache since 3 days after I received the implant, have lost 10 pounds and have gained my happy go lucky self back. And, of course, have several years of baby blocker. I have invested in a triple jogging stroller which has been absolutely fantastic for walking with the kids. That, too, has assisted with my weight loss. Part of what was making me sad for so many weeks was that I was feeling a little lonely - Yeah, lonely with 4 kids. That's funny, huh? But my loneliness was more from my friends. I miss going out to lunch. I miss hanging with friends. I miss having friends over for movies, or just to chat. I know, these things change over the years, but I've decided I want some of that back. Even if it includes the kids, I'm going to make an effort to spend more time getting to know my friends, and maybe even having them get to know me. I've made some great connections lately, and I'm going to reap the benefits. I have ideas, and I'm hoping to implement them. I have friendship and I'm going to share it. Cara's goals: Lose LOTS more weight, do happy things and enrich my life with all the great friends I have.

It's funny that when I think about it now, much of our lives is about goals. Get up, get coffee, get kids ready, do this, do that, don't forget this and don't forget that. Goals, goals goals. Some of life's best memories didn't start out as a goal, but ended up being some of life's greatest accomplishments. If I'm gonna talk the talk, I should walk the walk. So for a week, at least, I'll make less goals, and more coffee. The caffeine just might make me do something great!