We're Still Parenting Rookies

We woke early (and blissfully unaware) in happy moods. It is Friday which for Reuben means the last day of work before a nice weekend off, and for me, on this particular Friday, means getting to go to my local MOPS group. We rolled over in bed and gazed adoringly into each other's eyes and then got up to shower and dress before the kids awoke.

As we hit the hallway, however, we both stopped and scrunched up our noses. "What is that smell?" I whispered, looking around for perhaps a dead rodent or live skunk. "Ugh," Reuben nodded in agreement. "I don't know." He began a thorough search of the upstairs bathroom and two guest rooms while I raced downstairs to see if I could smell it down there. Thoughts of backed up sewage pipes and dead mice in my heating vents popped into my head. Oh- we were so unawares.

I came back up to report that the awful smell was only detectable upstairs. Reuben reported that he couldn't find the source of it. Not wanting to be late to MOPS, I showered, dressed, nursed our now awake son and mused over what the scent could be. Reuben finally concluded that it had to be coming from our daughter's room.

"Just suddenly out of nowhere?" I asked him, believing he was wrong. "Well, maybe it's her diapers." He insisted. "We have a diaper genie." I insisted. He shrugged and left the room to take a shower. After a few moments I agreed that I should at least rule out my daughter's room, but because she was still asleep I was hesitant to go in and risk waking her up. I put my son in his bassinet and opened her door ever so slightly. I was immediately smacked in the nostrils with the pungent smell, now stronger and unrestrained. I opened her door fully and spied with my two eyes:

one vomit covered toddler (oh yeah, the hair, too)

one vomit covered crib sheet

and

three vomit covered teddy bears 

Without hesitation, I swung into concerned mama/damage control mode, kicked my husband out of the shower and bathed and washed the hair of my little girl-TWICE- while Reuben ran water in the washing machine (after drying off and dressing of course) and threw the contents of the crib into the wash. The rest of the morning was a whir of temperature taking, a phone call to the doctor, saying goodbye to Reuben while momentarily wishing we could trade places, trying to figure out how to nurse a hungry baby and hold a crying/sick toddler at the same time, cursing the baby swing for running out of battery power on this particular morning, and, finally, getting two children to sleep at the same time.

What I can't figure out is: WHY DID IT TAKE US SO LONG TO REALIZE THE SMELL WAS VOMIT?

We are still such rookies in our parenting. I'm sure seasoned vets would have smelled "that smell" and instantly known what it was and how to proceed. Perhaps they have "vomit clean up kits" stationed conveniently around the house or have practiced drills for this type of thing. We? We were so unaware. Preparing for MOPS and looking for dead mice.

I hate to say that we'll be better informed for the next time because that implies that there will be a next time. But I guess I'm not too much of a rookie to know that "next time" is inevitable. (Sigh.)

Not-So-Much

Yeah, remember yesterday's post? All the love and joy and excitement about sharing my love of books with my daughter? All the dreams she will realize, all the doors that will be opened to her? 

Yeah, so, here's how she felt about all of that:

So...yeah.

 I guess, not so much.

*Note- I did not actually just casually take pictures while she destroyed a book. I took these pictures after she destroyed the book. I tried to rescue the book, but was to late.  Just to let you know.

Literacy Rich

I took Naomi (and Lincoln of course) to Toddler Time at the library this morning. I love toddler time! The teacher is so nice and great with the children. She reads a story, sings songs, and does some learning activities with finger play or the felt board. I love watching Naomi interact with the other children, participate in the songs, and grow in her love of books.

I love books, I love reading, I love words. Part of the reason I became a teacher was to share my love of reading with my students. As a teacher, I worked hard to make my classroom a literacy rich environment. I made books, magazines, even comic books easily accessible to my students, posted label word cards on items in the classroom (when I taught younger grades). I read aloud to my class each day and also gave my students time to personal read, and I discussed the importance of reading and using reading strategies with my students. I also tried to share my passion for reading! Reading opens up a new world to a child. Not only can knowledge be easily accessed through reading, but reading also expands a child's imagination, problem-solving abilities, introduces them to new situations and experiences, and increases their confidence as they learn to read, learn new words and learn new reading strategies. Children decide to be authors after reading a great book, or poets, or artists. They are inspired to be better people after reading biographies, or want to try a new recipe or start a club after reading a book that inspires them. I could go on and on and share stories of students I've worked with whose entire lives changed as they learned to read or were impacted by books read to them.

Now that I am home and not teaching in a public setting, my home is now my classroom and my children are my now pupils. I still feel just as strongly about the importance of creating a literacy rich environment in my new classroom setting so we read every day, no matter how busy or tired we are. We sing songs with books, talk a lot about what's going on in our environment, and look for daily opportunities to build vocabulary. It's not really that much of an effort because Naomi is such a sponge at this age, and its so worth it. And when I see my darling toddler loving story time my momma/teacher heart just jumps! I get so excited for the journeys she will take, the lessons she will learn, the problems she will solve, the characters she will love and hate, and "oh the places she will go" through a great book, or magazine article, comic book, or even newspaper story. I get excited for the doors that will open for her just because she can read and realizes the importance of reading.

When I look at her I remember being a young girl, staying up late nights with my mom who also shares a love of reading. We'd each be sitting on a different couch, next to a lamp, turning our pages eagerly. One particular school night, I was up way past my bedtime because I couldn't put my book down. Mom had a book out, too, that she was equally enthralled with.  Finally she said, "Trice, we need to get to bed. It's late." I begged for one more chapter and she confessed she wanted to read one more, too.  3 chapters later we finally went to bed. Tired and happy for our love of reading.  I can't wait to share some similar moments with my little ones!

Ha! Right after nap time is not the best time to take pictures for a blog. She looks super interested in this book right now!

Life's too Short to be Living for the Weekends

It's Monday. Mondays don't have a great rep. as far as days of the week go. It's the day after the weekend. Weekends mean freedom for most people. They don't have to work. They gather with friends and family. They get to do what they want to do. A lot of us live for the weekends.

One day, a while back, I found myself in the middle of a week, in the middle of that particular day (maybe it was a Wednesday? I don't know), with my toddler throwing major tantrums and my newborn crying inconsolably. Exasperated, tired, and fed-up, I wished out loud for 6:00, when my husband would be home. Then I could have help, then I could take a break, then I could rest. Oddly though, I felt a slight conviction when I made this wish.

What I had really wished was that time would magically speed up. That the remaining 3 or 4 hours before 6:00 would go by at warp speed. I wished for a fast forward. Have you seen the movie Click? Adam Sandler is given a remote control to fast forward through the parts of his life that seem boring or mundane to him, even the parts that cause him stress or that he just doesn't feel like dealing with. What he gets at the end of his life is not what he expected though- he hardly knows his children, his wife divorced him for not being involved enough, and he could barely remember the last 50 years of his life.

I wonder what we miss when we long for the weekend or wish that time would fast forward? When we look at the clock at 10:00 and wish it was 1:00 so we can put the kids down for nap, or go on break at work? I wonder what life we miss out on living when we coast on cruise control Monday through Friday and don't take the scenic route till Saturday?  I wonder what we lose when we look forward instead of stay in the present, even if the present is hard or boring or just not where we want to be? Sure, some of you will say that you'd "miss" that super long and boring meeting at work, or that 30 minute melt down your 3 year old had in Walmart, or that long and awkward talk with that woman in the cube across from you or, etc. etc. But what you're really missing is your life. And in reality, you can't fast forward through it. Do you really want to?

The truth is, life is too short to live for tomorrows. I'm thankful I have life and breath today. That I get to hold my crying baby and witness my toddler's tantrums. Cause it will be tomorrow and my baby will be 17 and my toddler will be moving out to college.  This Monday is a day, just one day in my life. But I want this day. And I want all that God has for me this day- the things I would choose and the things that just come as a part of life. I'm not guaranteed another Monday so I'm sure not going to spend this one wishing it was over.

So happy Monday everyone! Live it up!

"This day is beautiful. I've never seen it before."- The great Maya Angelou

What are your greeting cards really saying?

Today is Reuben's birthday. Earlier this week (because I am an excellent wife and I plan ahead), I bought him a birthday card.  It is this card that leads to today's soapbox:

Is it really necessary that the price of a card be printed right on it? Why is it there? What does this communicate about a) the card or b) the person who bought you the card? Isn't this in direct violation of the adage that "it's the thought that counts"?

I feel like the price posted directly on the back of the card not-so-subtly whispers a secret, not-so-hidden message.  Here's what you think the flowery and cute 99 cent "Get Well Soon" card you sent to your Grandma last week said:

"Get Well Soon Grandma. Sorry you're sick and I love you!"

But what the $.99 posting on the back of the card said was: "Oh, only $.99 huh? Well, this grandchild obviously doesn't really want you to get well and it's possible she may not even love you. Not for $.99 she doesn't. The person who bought you the  $3.49 'Hope You're Up and Hoppin' Soon' card with the special additional flap inside and the freakishly large smiling bunny on it not only really wants you up and hopping, but also genuinely loves you. Leave all of your riches to this card giver in your will."

Conversely, the $3.29 singing birthday card you bought for your friend that you were sure he'd be really impressed with really only said, "She bought you the $3.29 singing card because she didn't get you a gift but was hoping you wouldn't notice after listening to this stupid song over and over."

So, what you are probably wondering is: what is Reuben's birthday card really telling him?  It's saying, "The person who bought you this card lives with you. She knows you will read this and voice all of the appropriate "ooh's" and "that was so sweets" and "thank you so much babes", and then you will leave it lying around the house that she cleans until she is sick of seeing it around the house that cleans and then, while mumbling about how you don't appreciate all the effort she goes through to buy you nice cards and keep your house clean, she will throw it away."

50 cents.

Blessed and Highly Favored

She has this amazing laugh. So contagious, so wild and free. And the things she laughs about! A game of chase with Daddy. A game of pretend with Mommy. Seemingly nothing at all. Her name means "My Joy, My Delight, Precious One". She is.

He's got the sweetest face I've ever seen. Smiles with his wide brown eyes and nestles into me. I want to keep him just like this all day long. He's already growing so quickly and I cherish the time spent but know all too well that all too soon he'll be running and jumping and won't have time for nestling. I never knew my heart could stretch enough to fit so much love in. It can.

And he's the best partner a girl could ever want. Works all day and then all night. Surprises me at lunch time with ice cream and extra hands to help with little hands for a little while. He's patient when I'm unsure and loving when I'm too tired to be thoughtful. I loved him just a little while after meeting him. Still do.

And He's the One that keeps us all moving, keeps us cycling, keeps us together. It's Him pulsing through our hearts and our joys and delights and fears and uncertainties. It's Him we sing to, and laugh with, and cry to and seek more of. And He has blessed me and highly favored me for when I think of them what else could I say except that I am blessed and highly favored? I am.

And I am so grateful.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Thank you readers for your input from yesterday. Daniel, even though you weren't serious (and I am debating putting you on probation for your sarcastic comments) :) it would be fun to have some kind of trivia every now and again. That would definitely bring out the teacher in me!  And Lindsey! I was thinking of something just like that! You've inspired me, so stay tuned for the first ever Memory Monday this upcoming Monday! Mindee, thank you for your suggestion of putting off blogging until we all get more sleep, but can you tell me when that will be? You have children. When will I sleep again? Because even the toddler does not yet sleep through the night every night. And if we add more to this quickly growing family I don't plan to sleep for a very long time. So I will plough through. It's just that some days you all won't hear from me. Those will be the days I choose sleep over blogging or there just isn't anything coherent to say.

On Wednesdays I want to try either a Less-Words Wednesday or a Warm n' Fuzzy Wednesday where I will share a warm and fuzzy moment from the week. Today is Warm n' Fuzzy Wednesday and here is the Warm n' Fuzzy Moment:

Yesterday after feeding my sweet little 7 week-old boy, I laid him face up on my lap and stared into his handsome face. He looked back at me and smiled the widest, cutest smile. I laughed and smiled back, and then felt a warm sensation on my leg. Ah- warm n' fuzzy pee all over my brand new jeans and my leg. Motherhood.

End Moment.

Oh, and tomorrow I am beginning my quest for the perfect homemade pancake. If you've got a favorite pancake recipe, box mixes included, or a great pancake making technique, let me know. I am TERRIBLE at making homemade pancakes. But I have a great love affair with pancakes, so I must persist until I find the perfect combo of technique and recipe. Tomorrow we are trying Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix for dinner because Thursday is our breakfast for dinner night! I'll let you know how they turn out (because I know you care and will be waiting on pins and needles to hear all about it).

I Need Your Help!

Oh friends, I am tired today. Sorry about the lack of posts this and last week. I'm not sure why I started a blog with a newborn at home. I operate on his schedule, not mine. And his schedule is highly, highly fickle. And then there's the tiredness. Oh the extreme, can't get used to it no matter how hard you try tiredness. You know, all the parents who had gone before us (into parenting I mean), warned us about the tiredness. But I shrugged it off. How bad could it be? I mused. After all, we'll have this adorable little baby. Who can feel tired with an adorable little baby around?

Me.

My husband.

All the time.

Okay, not all the time. But often.  You learn to work through it. At some point. But learning to blog through it is a completely different matter. I do not have many coherent thoughts when I am tired. It is futile to post non-coherent thoughts on my blog for the world to see. (Yes, the WHOLE world reads my blog.)  I could lose credibility (assuming I have some). I could lose readers- You! My faithful readers.  And so I do not post when there is no time or when I can't pull my eyelids up* long enough to log in to post.

*Case in point: I first typed "pull my eyelids apart". That doesn't make any sense. Why would I pull my eyelids apart? That sounds really painful and is not at all what I meant to say. Non-coherent.

So there. I'm doing this for your own good. For the good of the whole world.

But- in order to help me stay more consistent, I am playing around with the idea of a few theme days that would guide what I blog about that day. Have any ideas? Let me warn you that I am a HUGE fan of alliteration. HUGE. So the theme must follow that pattern. For example: Wordless Wednesday or Thankful Thursday.

On Wordless Wednesday (which I actually call Less-Words Wednesday, because- uh- have you met me? I am seldom wordless. Okay, I'm never wordless.) I would post some pictures following a theme with captions. On Thankful Thursday I would post about something I'm thankful for. Those are just a couple thoughts. Come on- whose got an idea to share?  I have a few, but I want to hear from you first.

I operate very well with structure, so hopefully this will help me be more consistent.

Have a wonderful, non-tired day, and I look forward to hearing from you!

The Pink-Eye Tree

In the month of December, the Christmas tree is like your high school crush. You can't wait to see it. You spend time near it each day, fantasizing about how great it will make your life. It ushers in all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings and you can't imagine life without it. But in January, it miraculously turns into the kid with chronic pink-eye and bad breath. All of a sudden you can't even bear to look at it and you just want it gone.

We have an artificial tree, and as much fun as it is putting it up each year, it is a real pain to take down. All of the little artificial bristles poke and stab while I take the lights off. Then I have to flatten each little branch down just right in order for it to fit back into any kind of storage container. I loathe taking it down. So still it stands. To be fair, I did move it from it's December spot in the living room a couple days ago. I dragged that sucker (dropping and breaking one ornament because I didn't feel like taking the time to remove them first) from the living room to the dining room, which is one room closer to the basement where it will ultimately be stored. So, that's progress.

Four days ago my husband asked me when we were going to take the Christmas decorations down. He said "we" even though he meant "you" (me) because he has been married five years. To me. And he knows "me" and he knows that "I" would not have wanted to be told when "I" needed to take the decorations down, so he said "we".  He will, however, not lift a finger to take any of the decorations down. This is because I won't let him. This is because he will do it wrong. (Aka, not my way.) When he asked when "we" were going to take the decorations down, he already knew this as well. Marriage can teach us a lot.

So today, my friends, I WILL take the tree down. I have dragged it's large storage container from the basement. I have removed the lights and the ornaments and the garland. I have put on a long-sleeved sweater to protect my arms from artificial bristles. I have stalled and blogged instead of actually taking down the tree. And now there is nothing more to do than to take it down.

Look for it tomorrow and you shall not find it here.

P.S. My fall decorations are still on my front porch.

Winter Wuv

With the "Holiday Season" over, winter is getting a little annoying. If I don't have Christmas music or Christmas decorations or Christmas food to look forward to, I really don't see what the purpose of being all cooped up inside is. I'd rather be at the lake or running in sprinklers or tiring the toddler out at the park. Instead we are...home. Just...home. Blah.

I know that there are many practical reasons for winter, and I don't deny the spiritual reasons for it either. I'd never appreciate a spring if I hadn't had to live through winter first. And yes, the first snowfall is fun and beautiful and I love taking pictures of it or watching it from my window as I sip hot chocolate. But in all practicality, as a mother of small children (one who needs to move and run and tire herself out so mommy can have a LONG quiet rest during her nap), I do not LOVE winter.

It is, however, unavoidable at this time. We are not snowbirds. We will not travel to warm weather to live out the winter months. We will not relocate to a house in Hawaii or take a Caribbean cruise. We do not own a winter home in the tropics or have a timeshare to some beach resort. We are, in fact, stuck here. In Nebraska. In winter.

So, we are getting creative. Of course there are always the fallbacks: pack up the toddler and the infant and take a morning trip to the Children's Museum. We visit the library either Tuesday or Wednesday morning for toddler story time. We could hit one of the indoor playgrounds or take a winter walk (if it's not too cold for the infant). But these are special occasion trips, not everyday happenings. So while we are cooped up indoors we are thinking of fun things to do to pass the time, get out some energy, and try to LOVE winter. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. Music and Move Time- we play silly songs (or just sing our own) and dance! Or we watch a Nick Jr. show that encourages this and play along (Jack's Big Music Show and Yo Gabba Gabba are two of our favorites).

2. Water Play in the kitchen sink- pretty self explanatory and loads of fun for my little girl who loves playing in water.

3. Tag or Pillow Fights- the toddler's favorite games by far!

4.  Quiet Music and Book Time- we play soft instrumental or worship music and read books or do puzzles. (This is helpful if the kids are getting too wound up or if Mommy wants quiet time.)

5. Color or Paint- we got our little girl an art desk for Christmas and she loves coloring and painting at it! She doesn't do it very long, but its great for her fine motor skills and still a fun activity.

We also have designated T.V. time during the day. Not to make sure we watch T.V. during that time, but to make sure we DON'T watch T.V. during the other times. During winter it's hard to get motivated to do...anything, and it's very tempting to be couch potatoes. So I set a schedule that our entire family follows, with only two blocks of T.V. time during the whole day for a total of one and half hours of T.V. a day. And this is only if we end up watching T.V. during the times blocked off! I need the challenge to stay active and creative with my kids during these winter months, especially with the toddler who is like a little sponge- soaking in all of the world around her.

So, what are some of your favorite things to do in the winter?

Revolution

New Year's Day never actually feels like a new year to me. It's just as cold is it was the day before, just as dark, just as busy.  In fact, it doesn't really hit me until I am required to sign some document with the date when I inevitably sign the previous year and then realize a new year has begun.  But there is no denying that every year, a new year comes. God designed it that way. Our earth revolves around the sun and completes one revolution in 365 days. After 365 days, it starts anew- the same path, seemingly, but always with different results. The weather is rarely exactly the same on the same day year after year. Although the sun takes the same path, it always sees different results: perhaps cloud coverage here, perhaps a winter storm there, perhaps rain this day last year but drought this year. Its path seems predictable, but no one really knows what it will encounter or cause on the journey. We just know it will take 365 days to complete. A year. One full revolution.

Our paths our similar to the sun's, don't you think? I mean, there are some things we know for sure about this upcoming year. There will be four seasons, the sun will rise in the East every morning and set in the West every night. It will rain some, snow some, be dry, be wet. In spring, flowers will bud and bees will wake. In fall, these same things will slumber. There are some things we just know. Yet, there is still so much we don't know. For instance, we don't exactly know, right now, when the sun will rise and set each day. We don't know exactly when the first snowfall or rainfall or thunderstorm will hit. We can't be sure what day the bees will wake and what night the bears will start to hibernate. We just know they will happen at some point along the way. These things are consistent and familiar, even if we can't predict everything about them right now.

I am thankful for some familiarity and consistency in this world of knowns and unknowns. Mostly, I am thankful for the familiar and consistent God who makes things this way. He is reliable and trustworthy. He is consistently faithful and familiar. I know Him. No, not everything about Him- my little mind can't handle all of that knowledge and experience. But here's what I do know: "*because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning...".    His compassions never fail and just as the morning is new each day- it is consistent and familiar- so is God's compassion for us- consistent, familiar. Just as we have a guarantee that God will raise the sun each morning, we have a guarantee that God will be compassionate and loving towards us EVERY. DAY. When we know the morning will come but don't know all it will hold, we can know this: it will hold the love and compassion of the Lord. Always. Every day of these 365.  And it is because of Him that no matter what our days hold we "are not consumed" on this revolution of our lives.

Your journey may look the same to you as you face it anew this morning. Maybe your stuck in the dreariness of winter, or perhaps you're lost in fears or grief. Maybe you feel hopeless as this new year begins because you feel like things never change. Or maybe you are hopeful, this new year, as you put sorrow or pain or disappointment from last year behind and hope to write a different story in this new year. Wherever you are, whatever troubles you face or recall- there is a familiar and consistent God on the throne Who is compassionate and loving towards you every day. I know it doesn't always seem like this is true, but maybe this new day, this new year, every year, is a reminder of just that. No matter where you are or what you're going through, even when you are dealing with something so big and so hard you feel like the whole world should stop and take notice- it doesn't. 365 days, each day, the journey continues. God continues. With you.

Expect Him.