Today was difficult. It was blazing hot today, a real first look at summer, which limited the places we could go today. What to do with a toddler on a day that's really too hot to handle? The map of our day, in order: Denny's for breakfast (WIN), church to visit VBS (WIN), home in an attempt to catch nap time (fail), Target (WIN), home to drop off groceries, an outdoor plaza - which included fountains, ducks, plenty of shade, and a Starbucks (WIN!!), home to play (fail), the eye doctor to drop off Grandma, and back home for dinner, bath, bottle, and bed (a mixed bag).
Friends, trust me when I say that I'm tired. And you'd think Little Monkey would be too. But the truth about little monkeys is that they are never really predictable and my Little Monkey took too many sleeptime attempts today with very little results.
So here is the 1, 2, 3 of the day as quickly and concisely and with as much heart as I can currently muster.
1. The fails. Not to be Negative Nancy but in reflecting on the day, here's what went horribly wrong. I mistook Little Monkey's whininess around 10am to be nap time whines, thinking that we had already been out for a while that he might have gotten tired early when instead, he was probably just hungry for a morning snack. My bad. Lesson learned - offer snack first before assuming sleep for this one. I also got absolutely nothing done today. I meant to do laundry and clean my bedroom and do dishes and actually take a short nap during nap time. Unfortunately, because Little Monkey opted to only sleep for about 30 minutes, I didn't get to completing the above activities. Oh, and in the second attempt at his nap, I dropped a glass in the sink and pieces of glass were shattered into my garbage disposal. Total fail. Bed time was also a total fail. It took dear husband and I about 5 tries and three hours to get the overtired toddler to sleep tonight! Ugh.
2. The WINS. Getting to enjoy Little Monkey and Mommy Time over breakfast was wonderful! Seeing my little one walk into the church nursery all by himself and comfort another crying toddler with a toy was such a huge WIN and spoke so clearly of the kind and soft heart of my son! In addition, instead of cleaning the disaster that is the kitchen, I chose to discipline my child today as consistently as possible. This meant a lot of time outs. A LOT. Four time outs in four hours actually. However, things started paying off when I went to issue yet another warning about "using listening ears", and Little Monkey went straight to the time out mat on his own. This is probably because the process was pretty fresh from the first two time outs. I probably won't remember the condition that my kitchen was in, but we will all end up reaping the benefits of said discipline in the long run. It's like a long term investment!
3. What Really Matters. I found my kairos moments today. Watching Little Monkey play wearing nothing but a diaper, I became increasingly aware of all of his little developing muscles and was able to take a moment to praise God for how healthy he is. He can walk and run and concentrate, and roll over and laugh and feel and smile. What a huge blessing that is! I also found another kairos moment, but it didn't involve my son. It was when my husband and I were talking about his work day and he told me that he apologized to a coworker today after a tense situation. I realized that I am so blessed to have married a man who has the wisdom to discern a tense situation, the humility and grace to apologize for his own actions, and the courage to move forward in a positive way with his coworker. I married a good man. Kairos.
Well, that's all I've got. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted.
Here's a shout out to all the full-time mommies out there! You guys rock at holding the line at home all day! I can barely make it through a few days of summer - shows you what a wimp I am. But the beautiful thing is that I get to try again tomorrow!
- D
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Adventures in Target
Target is a very dangerous place. I have this addiction to home decor and nothing but Target can soothe the itch I have to systematically re-do every room in my home. I'm on to my bedroom now. We have all of this furniture that we've had since practically college, and I think it's time that we re-vamp it. So today, I bought lamps. The problem was that reading in bed next to a puny nightstand light was like trying to read next to a nightlight. It called for a serious investment in better quality lamps, and I must admit, they're much chic-er. I am now very excited to make my bedroom look like a page from Pottery Barn. I told my husband that I found a dresser that I really wanted and that I wanted to get a new headboard that shows over the European pillowcases I now have. His reponse? "Whatever you want, honey. 'Happy wife, Happy life'..."
I married a good man.
We went to see World War Z today - you know, that new Brad Pitt movie that has to do with the zombie apocolypse? Yeah, that one. I didn't think it was going to be too scary, but after seeing all of the previews for horror movies that preceded the actual movie, I started to second guess myself. It was scary. Not slasher-horror scary; more sudden movements and jolting music scary. The film itself was well done. And I have to say, I'm not sure we give make up artists enough credit - there was some amazing work in this production!
All that to say, if the zombie apocolypse (Zom-pocolypse) were to take place, I think I'd hit up a Target first. Either that or a Home Depot...plenty of 2x4s there.
Target, you will have my heart forever - and unfortunately for me, my wallet as well.
-D
I married a good man.
We went to see World War Z today - you know, that new Brad Pitt movie that has to do with the zombie apocolypse? Yeah, that one. I didn't think it was going to be too scary, but after seeing all of the previews for horror movies that preceded the actual movie, I started to second guess myself. It was scary. Not slasher-horror scary; more sudden movements and jolting music scary. The film itself was well done. And I have to say, I'm not sure we give make up artists enough credit - there was some amazing work in this production!
All that to say, if the zombie apocolypse (Zom-pocolypse) were to take place, I think I'd hit up a Target first. Either that or a Home Depot...plenty of 2x4s there.
Target, you will have my heart forever - and unfortunately for me, my wallet as well.
-D
Monday, June 24, 2013
Adventures Before 11am
This morning, we woke up to surprising weather for June - a rainy and overcast morning. Unfortunately, this weather cancelled out our plans to go to the park and play in the water and sand. Bummer. (Although, being homebodies today gave me the best excuse ever to stay in my yoga pants. But who are we kidding, it's summer! Why would I be in anything BUT yoga pants?!)
Little Monkey decided it would be a great idea to hand Daddy the end of the toilet paper roll while Daddy was in the kitchen. It really only took a few seconds of unsupervision to do this:
Just so you know, the kitchen is around the corner. Not like our home is huge or anything, but I was a little impressed by how far he carried it without the TP ripping!
In other news, if nothing but disaster comes of today, I've found my kairos moment for the day:
In a rare demonstration of calm initiative, my little one took a book and sat inside his Cars tent to look at the pictures. It only lasted a minute or two before he tore through the tent King Kong-style in an attempt to wrestle with me, but it was a sweet minute.
He's napping now, which is an even sweeter minute. He didn't sleep much last night. In fact, dear husband went into his room to cover him with his little blanket and realized that the Little Monkey was just standing in his crib staring at him! To quote dear husband, "It was a little creepy." Anyway, I'm hoping for a bit of a longer nap than usual today. He needs the rest and I think we do too. We'll see what the rest of the day holds for us!
To the Post-Nap Adventures!
- D
Little Monkey decided it would be a great idea to hand Daddy the end of the toilet paper roll while Daddy was in the kitchen. It really only took a few seconds of unsupervision to do this:
Just so you know, the kitchen is around the corner. Not like our home is huge or anything, but I was a little impressed by how far he carried it without the TP ripping!
In other news, if nothing but disaster comes of today, I've found my kairos moment for the day:
In a rare demonstration of calm initiative, my little one took a book and sat inside his Cars tent to look at the pictures. It only lasted a minute or two before he tore through the tent King Kong-style in an attempt to wrestle with me, but it was a sweet minute.
He's napping now, which is an even sweeter minute. He didn't sleep much last night. In fact, dear husband went into his room to cover him with his little blanket and realized that the Little Monkey was just standing in his crib staring at him! To quote dear husband, "It was a little creepy." Anyway, I'm hoping for a bit of a longer nap than usual today. He needs the rest and I think we do too. We'll see what the rest of the day holds for us!
To the Post-Nap Adventures!
- D
Friday, June 21, 2013
The Screaming Noodle Adventures
I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond today. Yes, it's another one of my happy places. So many fun kitchen things! And I swear I could always use another carafe or wall hanging or frame set. But today, I wasn't there for me. I was there with my mom and my sister to help my sister pick out a new comforter set because, well, the one she doesn't have isn't chic enough. My sister is the queen of fashion. Really. I call her My Stylist because during the school year, I take pictures of my outfits and text her early in the morning to find out what I should wear that day. It's very helpful, though I doubt how much she actually enjoys receiving texts really early because she's currently a college student...
So it's around 4:15 when my son decides that he no longer wants to sit in the cart. That's fine. He can walk and even help me push our cart around. It's when he lets go of the cart in favor of running like a wild man through the crowded aisles of the store that I begin to get worried. He thinks it's a game when I start trying to corral him towards our shopping cart. Then he starts pushing other peoples' carts because, hell, why not? It's very exciting for a little kid. "Big carts. I can move them!" When he starts rolling around on the floor, I've just about had enough. So I sweep him up, because I still can, and vainly attempt to put him back into the kid seat of the cart. He does not want to go.
He turns into a noodle.
My toddler son has mastered The Noodle. He goes all limp and does this whiny thing. Sometimes he picks his nose like he's just chillin' while noodling. It's not pretty. But today, I got The Screaming Noodle. Yes, the Noodle can scream while being completely limp. Arms up, back arched, mouth wide open, face red, and crocodile tears streaming. It's quite a sight, I must admit. Well, I just about had it and did the one thing I knew would remedy the situation...I handed him over to my mom. My mother has a way with children. She's brilliant. Sometimes I wonder if magic powers actually seep from her skin to calm babies down. I wish I had that. I don't.
She distracted him enough and we were able to complete our search for "the perfect bed spread".
I learned a few things today.
1) I must be home before 4:30 so my child doesn't turn into a pumpkin.
2) My mother is a saint and I will never take that for granted.
3) People are generally understanding of screaming toddlers. However, I think on the inside, they're all thanking God that they are not the parents of The Screaming Noodle.
Oh, and I changed a poopy diaper in the trunk of my little Honda Civic today. I'm sure I'm not the first person to open the trunk of the car and lay out a changing pad, but I'm pretty sure my trunk will never smell the same.
Hanging in there,
- D
So it's around 4:15 when my son decides that he no longer wants to sit in the cart. That's fine. He can walk and even help me push our cart around. It's when he lets go of the cart in favor of running like a wild man through the crowded aisles of the store that I begin to get worried. He thinks it's a game when I start trying to corral him towards our shopping cart. Then he starts pushing other peoples' carts because, hell, why not? It's very exciting for a little kid. "Big carts. I can move them!" When he starts rolling around on the floor, I've just about had enough. So I sweep him up, because I still can, and vainly attempt to put him back into the kid seat of the cart. He does not want to go.
He turns into a noodle.
My toddler son has mastered The Noodle. He goes all limp and does this whiny thing. Sometimes he picks his nose like he's just chillin' while noodling. It's not pretty. But today, I got The Screaming Noodle. Yes, the Noodle can scream while being completely limp. Arms up, back arched, mouth wide open, face red, and crocodile tears streaming. It's quite a sight, I must admit. Well, I just about had it and did the one thing I knew would remedy the situation...I handed him over to my mom. My mother has a way with children. She's brilliant. Sometimes I wonder if magic powers actually seep from her skin to calm babies down. I wish I had that. I don't.
She distracted him enough and we were able to complete our search for "the perfect bed spread".
I learned a few things today.
1) I must be home before 4:30 so my child doesn't turn into a pumpkin.
2) My mother is a saint and I will never take that for granted.
3) People are generally understanding of screaming toddlers. However, I think on the inside, they're all thanking God that they are not the parents of The Screaming Noodle.
Oh, and I changed a poopy diaper in the trunk of my little Honda Civic today. I'm sure I'm not the first person to open the trunk of the car and lay out a changing pad, but I'm pretty sure my trunk will never smell the same.
Hanging in there,
- D
The Naked Face Adventures
I ran into a colleague in Target yesterday. I frequently visit Target because it's one of my happy places. Unfortunately, I tend to run into a lot of people I know at Target, and they're usually students.
Anyway, so I ran into a colleague yesterday. A really pretty colleague. Super cute, super pretty, totally put together. Basically a relatively new mom's worst nightmare. After a few moments of chatting, we parted ways. And then I realized that I had absolutely NO make up on. Not a lick of it. None. #insecuregirlproblems
Then I consoled myself with the fact that she doesn't have kids and can take the time to actually run a brush through her hair and spend time picking out a really cute outfit for the day instead of picking through the pile of clothes on the edge of her bed, looking for something that doesn't have applesauce or peanut butter plastered to it. #bravemomrational
Then things got a bit awkward when I saw a student out of the corner of my eye. I tried not to make eye contact, mostly because my face feels so naked when I'm not wearing make up! Seriously nude. Now, I'm not one to plaster the "war paint" on, as my dear husband refers to it. But it's nice to have a little bit of coverage. I have freckles. Horrible, all-over, not-fading-any-time-soon freckles. So it's nice to cover them up and at least pretend that my freckles are a dusting of angel kisses like my mom used to tell me. At the same time, I think there's something valid about letting ourselves go a bit.
Here's the deal, I thought I would get up and clean the house for a bit that morning, which I did. But then I never got around to putting make up on after showering because my little one was hungry. After I fed him, I had to do the dishes, and then my husband took Little One out to play so it was the perfect time to clean the kitchen floors without a little person (or a big person) tracking in footprints or drips of mystery substance or crumbs. Then I did laundry because, that's what you do after cleaning the floors, and then I went to Target. So really, it was all downhill after my shower. Our bachelor friend stopped by that morning though and complimented me on how good my face looked without make up. It was nice.
Maybe on the inside, I thought I could pull it off. I don't know. Maybe all of us girls should try something new and not wear any make up at all for like a week. And the family camping trip doesn't count. But seriously, what if a bunch of us banded together and in the name of all that is feminine and womanly, we just decided to abandon make up for a week? How would we feel? What would we do? Would we like it? Hate it? I think I'd hate it if I did it by myself. But if other women joined me, it might feel more uniting than anything. Maybe my freckles wouldn't stick out as much. Maybe we'd stop judging each other based on looks and start standing together based on principle, soul, and heart. I'd like to try it. Let me know if you'd like to join me. We could get it on the calendar.
Just something to think about I guess.
Here's to the Naked Face Adventures!
- D
Anyway, so I ran into a colleague yesterday. A really pretty colleague. Super cute, super pretty, totally put together. Basically a relatively new mom's worst nightmare. After a few moments of chatting, we parted ways. And then I realized that I had absolutely NO make up on. Not a lick of it. None. #insecuregirlproblems
Then I consoled myself with the fact that she doesn't have kids and can take the time to actually run a brush through her hair and spend time picking out a really cute outfit for the day instead of picking through the pile of clothes on the edge of her bed, looking for something that doesn't have applesauce or peanut butter plastered to it. #bravemomrational
Then things got a bit awkward when I saw a student out of the corner of my eye. I tried not to make eye contact, mostly because my face feels so naked when I'm not wearing make up! Seriously nude. Now, I'm not one to plaster the "war paint" on, as my dear husband refers to it. But it's nice to have a little bit of coverage. I have freckles. Horrible, all-over, not-fading-any-time-soon freckles. So it's nice to cover them up and at least pretend that my freckles are a dusting of angel kisses like my mom used to tell me. At the same time, I think there's something valid about letting ourselves go a bit.
Here's the deal, I thought I would get up and clean the house for a bit that morning, which I did. But then I never got around to putting make up on after showering because my little one was hungry. After I fed him, I had to do the dishes, and then my husband took Little One out to play so it was the perfect time to clean the kitchen floors without a little person (or a big person) tracking in footprints or drips of mystery substance or crumbs. Then I did laundry because, that's what you do after cleaning the floors, and then I went to Target. So really, it was all downhill after my shower. Our bachelor friend stopped by that morning though and complimented me on how good my face looked without make up. It was nice.
Maybe on the inside, I thought I could pull it off. I don't know. Maybe all of us girls should try something new and not wear any make up at all for like a week. And the family camping trip doesn't count. But seriously, what if a bunch of us banded together and in the name of all that is feminine and womanly, we just decided to abandon make up for a week? How would we feel? What would we do? Would we like it? Hate it? I think I'd hate it if I did it by myself. But if other women joined me, it might feel more uniting than anything. Maybe my freckles wouldn't stick out as much. Maybe we'd stop judging each other based on looks and start standing together based on principle, soul, and heart. I'd like to try it. Let me know if you'd like to join me. We could get it on the calendar.
Just something to think about I guess.
Here's to the Naked Face Adventures!
- D
New Beginnings
Greetings Blogging World!
I am starting this blog called, "Summer Stillness", because that is exactly what I'd like to do this summer. I'd like to find some stillness. I'd like to find some peace and, what my friend Glennon calls, kairos.
I'd also like to record some of the fun memories that I'm going to make with my currently 17 month old son and husband. Being a teacher, I'm usually so busy during the school year, so summer is a really important time to connect with my family and relish my freedom for a bit.
Here's to summer and all the adventure it holds!
- D
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