How do you have time to train for a marathon? How do you homeschool and babysit? I get these questions a lot. Other moms of small children often wonder how I can do some of these things when I have the same amount of hours in a day as they do.

My answer is priorities. Homeschooling is something I am passionate about as well as running the marathon this October. Making these two things happen is high on my priority list.  The babysitting just falls into our daily rhythm. It's tough at times, but these are all things that mean a lot to me right now, so I make them work.

Some of you moms work full time. I've been there, and it's hard! I figured up one time that my daycare provider had 40 waking hours with SG each week while I only had 37. I hated that, but my paycheck had to be a priority at that time in my life. You make it work.

Others of you can only function with a clean house, so you make that a priority. I honestly have never been there. Haha! But I do heed my Grannie's advice by trying to always keep my front room and bathroom clean (or at least decluttered...if you look closely you will see dusty furniture and floors that need a good mopping). But if I have visitors, I want them to feel comfortable and not think I am a dirty person (smile). Truth be told though, if they would just take a peek into my bedroom, the breakfast nook or the basement, they would immediately assume that I need to be on the TV show "Hoarders." One of these days, those areas will look normal (at least for a little while anyway).

So really, I don't "get it all done" at the end of the day. There are PLENTY of things that need attention. But I'm okay with a little dust and cobwebs around the house, clean laundry begging to be put away and not just left in the "clean" basket :),  a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded and loaded again, paper work that needs to be sorted and filed, and my list can go on and on and on and on. At least the beds get made every day (or almost everyday). I am learning to fit the house cleaning in. It's hard for me, but I am getting there. I would just rather fill my day with other things. I feel great after a morning of homeschooling when I see that light bulb go off in SG's head, an afternoon of wonderful playtime (and sometimes fight times) with SG, Huck and their friends, and I really feel great when I accomplish an amazing run with my husband.

We all have our priorities, and it's perfectly fine if yours are different than mine. I won't judge you if you won't judge me. :)

I miss my simple life. This summer, the kids and I really slowed things down around the house. We would make sure to have easy mornings and lots of play time throughout the day. I miss those days.

It's not that I hate how we do things now, but things are just different. And I don't think we have all adjusted yet. I still try to have a slower morning, but we always end up rushing at some point. We have "school" from around 8:30 to 11, then we clean up and go pick up Aidan and Catie (the kids I care for every weekday afternoon). It really isn't that bad of a schedule, but I think I set myself up for the worst with my perceptions.

I have noticed that in the last year, I have become much more cynical and negative than I used to be (I've always had a bit of a "worst case scenario" mentality...blame my mother...hahaha). But lately, I have just been awful.

So last night I fessed up to Robert about all of this horrible negativity that I have been carrying around. I decided that today I will be positive! Whew...it's harder than I thought it would be. (Especially tending to a very rambunctious 2 yr old!) I know that if I can get back to the more upbeat and chipper Cheyenne, that these days will seem easier and  much less stressful.

Robert told me last night I needed to read my cousin's blog posts (jonathan foster's blog) on "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." Wow! Those 4 posts on being positive really struck a cord with me. I am writing some of the quotes and scriptures he used on post-it notes and sticking them all over the house! This way, I will be reminded to keep my chin up and think positively!

So here we go...off to conquer my world with optimism! :)

So I have begun the weaning process with Huck. Yes, he is 27 months old and still nursing. That's how we roll. :) Shiloh-Grace weaned herself at this same age, but Huck isn't quite ready to just cut himself off the way she did.

I was working when Shiloh-Grace was 2, so she was away from me about 3 or 4 days per week. One day she didn't ask to nurse, and I didn't offer it. This happened for a few days, and then when she finally did ask, I distracted her, and that was it. She weaned. I was a little sad because that meant less mommy/baby time and more independence for her. But in some ways it was nice to not be needed so much.

I'm not planning on weaning Huck completely at this time, but to be honest, I am ready for him to stop nursing 2-3 times a day. So for the last 4 days, he has only nursed before bedtime. That means his mornings and naptimes have been "B" free (his nickname for nursing). No clue where he got "B" from since SG and I have always called it "maji" (mah-jee, which is swahili for water). Anyway, He isn't really protesting much. He has whimpered a little at naptime, but after a couple of lullabies while swaying back in forth in my arms, he is ready to lie down and sleep.

This is good timing, since Robert and I have the marathon coming up. See here for more on that, and then click on the World Vision button on the right of this page and sponsor me. :) It is only 3 1/2 weeks away now. Whew! That's a bit overwhelming, but I am ready for it to be over with. We  have our 20 mile run coming up on Sunday. These long runs take so much time. And then when the run is over, you just want to sleep the rest of the day away.

Two weekends ago, I ran 18 miles (in 3 hrs and 23 min...really excited about that! haha) with Team World Vision, and I was absolutely exhausted that afternoon! Robert was out of town, so it was just me and the kids...ugh! Thankfully my neighbors invited SG over to play while Huck and I took much needed nap. So this coming weekend, Robert and I will have to tag-team-parent after our 20 miler.

With the marathon being downtown Chicago, Robert and I will most likely stay the night down town or get up and leave our house around 4 am. I am crossing my fingers that my mother-in-law will come up and stay with the kids. But if not, they will spend the night with friends.

What does all of this have to do with weaning? Well, if Huck is not nursing as much, he will do much better without me at home with him. So my mom-in-law will have a much easier time taking care of him. I am sure she or whomever keeps him will be very thankful for this. :)

Weaning is sort of like trick or treat...it's great but not so great. I hate knowing that this time is coming to a close. It is such a wonderful experience. But like all good things, it must come to an end. And it just means that we will have to keep having babies so I can keep on nursing...hahaha...you okay with that Robert? :) I'm only slightly joking...