Yesterday I was with the kids at Target and we were walking through the dog food isle (our biggest joy in shopping because Frankie and Joey both love to look at the doggy faces on the boxes and bags and squeeze the chew toys), when Joey found and picked up a toy car that was left in the wrong section of the store. It was a little Hot Wheels car - a new obsession of Joey's - and he felt he had to have it.
We have never had any problems while shopping of Joey wanting something and begging for it, or making a big scene about not buying something. His tantrums have never been related to wanting a toy and not being able to get it. However, he was fixated on this car - a little Snoopy and the Peanuts 'Winter Wonderland' car with red skis painted on top. He asked me if we could get it, and I told him no and that we had plenty of cars at home and even some Hot Wheels, and he should be thankful for everything that he has. "But," I told him, "You can hold it the whole time we shop!" As he held the car, his intense love for it grew and he began incessantly badgering me to buy it for him.
"I'll make you a deal." I told him. "We will go take the car to a special box that will tell us the price. If the car costs one dollar or less, we can buy it. If it costs more than a dollar, we won't buy it."
"Where's the box?"
"We'll find it along our shopping trip. We're not going to go now. You just hold onto it until we get there."
"Where's the box?"
"If you ask me where the box is one more time, you can't hold the car anymore."
*wiggling around, dying to ask me when we're going to the box*
I almost passed the red 'scan item' box, but was reminded by the look in Joey's eye that we needed to do this, and SOON!
"Ah, here's the box." I said. "Hand me the car and let's check together."
--------$5.50--------
"The car costs $5.50. That's much more than $1.00. Daddy and I didn't plan to spend money buying a car this day, especially one that costs so much of the money daddy earns at Nvidia. I'm sorry that it was more than $1.00. We can't buy the car today."
Joey, thoughtful, looks up at me hopefully and says, "But, mommy! Counting to five is SUPER fast. It's not hard. It's really really easy. Watch! I'll show you. 1,2,3,4,5. There! Five! Now we have five!"
"Counting and having money are two different things. I know you can count to five quickly, but that's not what money is."
"But, it is fast."
"Yes, Joey. It is fast."
"Why can't you spend your money on this car? It's only five!"
"When we spend daddy's money, mommy tries to be careful about what we spend it on. We want to spend it on things that will benefit our whole family, not just one person - things like food, medicine, our new van, and gas. Things that are only for one of us are for special occasions like birthdays. Maybe you can ask for this vehicle for your birthday! That would be special."
"Ya. But, I just want to have it right now."
"I know, buddy."
"I can just hold it until we leave."
"That sounds good."
When we got to the till, Joey put the car on the conveyor belt with a mischievous look in his eye.
He motioned for me to move in closer and put his face close to mine.
"Mommy, don't tell the woman that the car is on the conveyor belt. Don't tell her. Just leave it there, okay?"
"I can leave it for now, but we're going to have to take it off and tell her that we're not going to be buying it when it's our turn."
"No. No, mommy. Mommy. Just don't tell her and then she'll get it for us! She won't know!"
"Joey," (laughing) "That's not how it works! She scans our items right here (as I show him a bar code of one of the things we're buying) and it comes up with a price on her computer. Then, mommy pays for it all at the end."
"Ya, but if you don't tell her, maybe she'll just put it in the bag! I think she will! She's going to do it! OHhhh! I think she's going to doooo it!!!!"
"Joey, it's not going to work! It doesn't work like that."
"Mommy. Mommy. Just leave it, okay? Just leave it on there. She'll get it for us. She won't even see it! I don't think she's even going to see it! Ohhhh! She doesn't see it!!!"
When it was our turn, I told the lady that we're not going to be purchasing that car and Joey put his hands on his head, "Ahh! Mommy! She wouldn't have seen it. You shouldn't have said anything."
It was soooo funny.
We decided to put it on his birthday wishlist when we got home.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Friday, May 5, 2017
Lately
Ah! it's been months since I wrote a blog post. I'm gonna start with some things Joey says/has said to try to remember themmmm.
"Mommy, have you ever had an adult in your tummy?"
"No, that sounds uncomfortable! Have you?"
"No. Mommy? Is the baby girl going to be a mommy?"
"Probably some day! We don't know yet!"
"I can't wait for the baby to be my mommy!"
*wakes up out of a dead sleep*
"Mommy! I know what I need! I know exactly what I want!"
"What's that, sweetie?"
"I teeny, tiny. like the smallest red truck. Sooo small. Really, really small. That's all I want."
"Did you see one somewhere? Or were you just thinking about it?"
"I was just thinking about it."
"How small is small?"
*holds fingers sooo close together so there's the tiniest gap of air possible and squints eyes*
"This small. This is how small I want it. Just as tiny as it can be."
J: do you want an owie Frankie?
F: Ya
J: Are you sure? They hurt
F: Ya
J: They hurt and you'll have them for your whole life
There are SO many more awesome things that Joey says on, like, a daily basis, but alas I haven't written even one of them down, so I only remember the ones that stick out from the last two days. I need to start writing down more because I know they'll be so fun for him to look at when he's older.
Also, lately he's been acting SO grown up with just the way he talks. For instance, I asked him if he wanted to play a game with me and he replied,
"Ya, sure. Which game were you thinking of?"
"I was thinking we could play Zingo."
"Sure. I mean, if you really want to, we could play that game." (with hand gestures and a slightly furrowed brow)
"We don't have to play that. Did you have something else in mind?"
"I would prefer to play Uno."
It just felt like I was talking to a way older kid and not a three year old who cries over me not watching him put his pants on and it was sooo weird. I feel like that's a conversation I'll never forget, not because it was remarkable in any way, but because it was the first time I saw Joey as growing up into a kid and not being a toddler anymore.
What else is new with my Joey? He's into trying new things all the time at the park, like climbing to the top of things and he's really observing older kids and trying out things that they're doing. It really amazes me because he's a really cautious kid. He'll try to do a flip over a bar when he sees an older kid do it (like a realllly sad attempt over and over), and ask the kid how they did it and if they can show him again. He's becoming way more outgoing in that way. He'll tell kids things about himself and ask them their names and stuff without me nudging him. It's a totally new experience and I love watching him grow socially! I'm so impressed with his new-found social skills!
Him and Frankie have been fighting a little more lately as she rolls on into the almost two year old age of wanting things her way, independence, and a little bit of attitude. She's so stinkin' cute. It's unreal how sweet and cute she is. And the things she says! And the way she says things with her little raspy voice! She's Joey's little parrot! If he says that blue doggy did something funny and describes it to me, Frankie will chime in and tell me all about what pink bunny did in the exact same way. She's forever wanting to be included in everything Joey's doing and always pats her chest with both hands, saying, "Me, too! Me, too!"
She's the ultimate bedtime staller. Stuart and I FINALLY have a handle on it (I think...) but, it was bad for a couple weeks there. Like, she would scream and freak out at bed time for LITERALLY HOURS and NOTHING we would do would satisfy her because she was just... well, not wanting to go to bed and that's really what her issue was. There was nothing actually wrong. Completely opposite of Joey, she HATES going to bed. Like, ever.
I thought the funniest thing ever was, after being frustrated on and off for hours, I had caved and rocked her to sleep and was just putting her limp, asleep body in bed, when she deliriously raised her hand, started to cry, and said, "Hang nail, mommy! Hang nail!" hahahahahahaha! Joey's OBSESSED with having hang nails, so she figured it would be a good excuse to get out of bed. ohh my gosh, it was really hilarious. I like actually started laughing out loud.
Annnnnnd - what else? We've been doing lots of fun things lately outdoors. I LOVE spring/summer here. There's always so much to do with your kids! Lots of REALLY cool parks that literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and are amazing, free, and open to the public, and a bunch of great water places to take your kids (the beach OBVIOUSLY being the number one).
Here are some pics of me and the kids lately:
"Mommy, have you ever had an adult in your tummy?"
"No, that sounds uncomfortable! Have you?"
"No. Mommy? Is the baby girl going to be a mommy?"
"Probably some day! We don't know yet!"
"I can't wait for the baby to be my mommy!"
*wakes up out of a dead sleep*
"Mommy! I know what I need! I know exactly what I want!"
"What's that, sweetie?"
"I teeny, tiny. like the smallest red truck. Sooo small. Really, really small. That's all I want."
"Did you see one somewhere? Or were you just thinking about it?"
"I was just thinking about it."
"How small is small?"
*holds fingers sooo close together so there's the tiniest gap of air possible and squints eyes*
"This small. This is how small I want it. Just as tiny as it can be."
J: do you want an owie Frankie?
F: Ya
J: Are you sure? They hurt
F: Ya
J: They hurt and you'll have them for your whole life
There are SO many more awesome things that Joey says on, like, a daily basis, but alas I haven't written even one of them down, so I only remember the ones that stick out from the last two days. I need to start writing down more because I know they'll be so fun for him to look at when he's older.
Also, lately he's been acting SO grown up with just the way he talks. For instance, I asked him if he wanted to play a game with me and he replied,
"Ya, sure. Which game were you thinking of?"
"I was thinking we could play Zingo."
"Sure. I mean, if you really want to, we could play that game." (with hand gestures and a slightly furrowed brow)
"We don't have to play that. Did you have something else in mind?"
"I would prefer to play Uno."
It just felt like I was talking to a way older kid and not a three year old who cries over me not watching him put his pants on and it was sooo weird. I feel like that's a conversation I'll never forget, not because it was remarkable in any way, but because it was the first time I saw Joey as growing up into a kid and not being a toddler anymore.
What else is new with my Joey? He's into trying new things all the time at the park, like climbing to the top of things and he's really observing older kids and trying out things that they're doing. It really amazes me because he's a really cautious kid. He'll try to do a flip over a bar when he sees an older kid do it (like a realllly sad attempt over and over), and ask the kid how they did it and if they can show him again. He's becoming way more outgoing in that way. He'll tell kids things about himself and ask them their names and stuff without me nudging him. It's a totally new experience and I love watching him grow socially! I'm so impressed with his new-found social skills!
Him and Frankie have been fighting a little more lately as she rolls on into the almost two year old age of wanting things her way, independence, and a little bit of attitude. She's so stinkin' cute. It's unreal how sweet and cute she is. And the things she says! And the way she says things with her little raspy voice! She's Joey's little parrot! If he says that blue doggy did something funny and describes it to me, Frankie will chime in and tell me all about what pink bunny did in the exact same way. She's forever wanting to be included in everything Joey's doing and always pats her chest with both hands, saying, "Me, too! Me, too!"
She's the ultimate bedtime staller. Stuart and I FINALLY have a handle on it (I think...) but, it was bad for a couple weeks there. Like, she would scream and freak out at bed time for LITERALLY HOURS and NOTHING we would do would satisfy her because she was just... well, not wanting to go to bed and that's really what her issue was. There was nothing actually wrong. Completely opposite of Joey, she HATES going to bed. Like, ever.
I thought the funniest thing ever was, after being frustrated on and off for hours, I had caved and rocked her to sleep and was just putting her limp, asleep body in bed, when she deliriously raised her hand, started to cry, and said, "Hang nail, mommy! Hang nail!" hahahahahahaha! Joey's OBSESSED with having hang nails, so she figured it would be a good excuse to get out of bed. ohh my gosh, it was really hilarious. I like actually started laughing out loud.
Annnnnnd - what else? We've been doing lots of fun things lately outdoors. I LOVE spring/summer here. There's always so much to do with your kids! Lots of REALLY cool parks that literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and are amazing, free, and open to the public, and a bunch of great water places to take your kids (the beach OBVIOUSLY being the number one).
Here are some pics of me and the kids lately:
Sunday, January 15, 2017
What's New?
Now in the mornings instead of writing in my blog, I've been reading the bible. BUT, I still want to blog! It's just way more of a challenge to find the time/energy to do it at a different point in the day.
I'm so happy that I've started reading the bible again on a consistent basis. I feel like even just the act of doing this is a good discipline for me and I'm trying really hard not to have regret for not doing it more consistently earlier on. Regret is pointless. So, I'm just trying to look forward and think how happy I am to have made this choice now instead of in 20 years when my kids are out of the house and I 'have time'.
What's new in my pregnancy? Let's see! I'm 23 weeks pregnant today and still feeling great. The only time that I feel not-so-great is when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep at night. And I know it's only going to get harder. I totally forgot about this and it's super annoying, but sleeping with a pillow between my legs is helping a bit. The only thing about doing that is, when I unconsciously move in the night, I always get woken up because the massive pillow between my legs gets shifted into a weird position and needs to be adjusted.
But, on a bright note, my energy and mood are high and I've been eating super healthy and really enjoying this stage of pregnancy. AND, Joey is so excited that there will be a new baby sister in the house. When he plays, sometimes he makes one of his cars 'baby sister car'. It's sooo cute. And when we pray, if I forget to mention baby sister, he'll say, 'And baby sister!!!' It's sooo sweet.
What's new with my Joey? He's started to get better at writing letters. It seems to have happened very recently that he can stay on course when he's following the dotted lines on a practice worksheet of, for instance, the letter 'G' on a fairly small practice line. So, that's pretty cool. And I've noticed that when we are working on the worksheets, he can focus for a longer period of time. Oh! And he can color in the lines now (but, he's not really into coloring). As far as crafts go, I'd say he's more into gluing and painting, although he's not eager to do either.
Joey LOVES activities where he can build things. He got a model car that has a bunch of plastic screws that you can drill out (with a toy drill) and take all the pieces apart and rebuild and he can now spend a significant amount of time on that task by himself and independently build the car. He also got a train that does the same thing, except with a manual screw driver, that he has perfected. I find it so interesting how into these kinds of activities he is (and how good he is at them!). It's not surprising though, now that I think about it because he was enjoying doing fairly complicated (25 piece) puzzles independently at two and a half.
What's new with my Frankie? She is saying SO many words now and really tries to say things conversationally that just comes out like nonsense and it's super cute. Sometimes, when Stuart and I are talking, I can see the wheels turning in her little brain as she listens to our conversation and language. She knows all the names of Joey's cars and the Paw Patrol gang figurines.
One thing she loves to do lately is put her stuffed animals to sleep in a little box by laying them inside with a blanket. And in the morning after a few sips of her bottle, she'll try to give her stuffed animals the bottle. So cute! She REALLY likes dog figurines. She lines them up, or puts them in her little house, or a box, or her toy microwave, or tries to put them on top of cars. When I was a little girl, I loved little figurines, too! It's so cute how much she likes them!
She's started to sit nicely during Next Step and now does actions to songs! Joey still isn't into participating in this and never has been. So, it's fun to have a kid that likes participating in this kind of thing because I never got to see it with Joey at her age and it's so adorable.
What's new with sibling dynamic? Joey and Frankie are becoming closer buddies all the time. Sure, there's a little sibling rivalry, but they are two tight little friends. Joey's always asking Frankie to play with him at home. Sometimes they play separately, but sometimes Joey will invite Frankie to play with him in his room and she'll doddle off behind him and the two will play cars together on his road mat.
In their beds in the morning, I'll hear Joey asking Frankie questions or telling her that she's not allowed to yell, or just to be patient for mommy. And she listens to him! It's so cute. At bed time, Stuart has started to put Frankie beside Joey in his tiny bed and the two lay there together nicely while Stuart tells them a bedtime story that he makes up. After the story is over lately, Joey will ask Stuart if Frankie can sleep in his bed with him. SO CUTE!!! When Joey has a bigger bed and Frankie doesn't need the crib anymore, I'm guessing these two little amigos will sleep in the same bed more often than not.
--- that's all for now because my kids are awake! ---
I'm so happy that I've started reading the bible again on a consistent basis. I feel like even just the act of doing this is a good discipline for me and I'm trying really hard not to have regret for not doing it more consistently earlier on. Regret is pointless. So, I'm just trying to look forward and think how happy I am to have made this choice now instead of in 20 years when my kids are out of the house and I 'have time'.
What's new in my pregnancy? Let's see! I'm 23 weeks pregnant today and still feeling great. The only time that I feel not-so-great is when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep at night. And I know it's only going to get harder. I totally forgot about this and it's super annoying, but sleeping with a pillow between my legs is helping a bit. The only thing about doing that is, when I unconsciously move in the night, I always get woken up because the massive pillow between my legs gets shifted into a weird position and needs to be adjusted.
But, on a bright note, my energy and mood are high and I've been eating super healthy and really enjoying this stage of pregnancy. AND, Joey is so excited that there will be a new baby sister in the house. When he plays, sometimes he makes one of his cars 'baby sister car'. It's sooo cute. And when we pray, if I forget to mention baby sister, he'll say, 'And baby sister!!!' It's sooo sweet.
What's new with my Joey? He's started to get better at writing letters. It seems to have happened very recently that he can stay on course when he's following the dotted lines on a practice worksheet of, for instance, the letter 'G' on a fairly small practice line. So, that's pretty cool. And I've noticed that when we are working on the worksheets, he can focus for a longer period of time. Oh! And he can color in the lines now (but, he's not really into coloring). As far as crafts go, I'd say he's more into gluing and painting, although he's not eager to do either.
Joey LOVES activities where he can build things. He got a model car that has a bunch of plastic screws that you can drill out (with a toy drill) and take all the pieces apart and rebuild and he can now spend a significant amount of time on that task by himself and independently build the car. He also got a train that does the same thing, except with a manual screw driver, that he has perfected. I find it so interesting how into these kinds of activities he is (and how good he is at them!). It's not surprising though, now that I think about it because he was enjoying doing fairly complicated (25 piece) puzzles independently at two and a half.
What's new with my Frankie? She is saying SO many words now and really tries to say things conversationally that just comes out like nonsense and it's super cute. Sometimes, when Stuart and I are talking, I can see the wheels turning in her little brain as she listens to our conversation and language. She knows all the names of Joey's cars and the Paw Patrol gang figurines.
One thing she loves to do lately is put her stuffed animals to sleep in a little box by laying them inside with a blanket. And in the morning after a few sips of her bottle, she'll try to give her stuffed animals the bottle. So cute! She REALLY likes dog figurines. She lines them up, or puts them in her little house, or a box, or her toy microwave, or tries to put them on top of cars. When I was a little girl, I loved little figurines, too! It's so cute how much she likes them!
She's started to sit nicely during Next Step and now does actions to songs! Joey still isn't into participating in this and never has been. So, it's fun to have a kid that likes participating in this kind of thing because I never got to see it with Joey at her age and it's so adorable.
What's new with sibling dynamic? Joey and Frankie are becoming closer buddies all the time. Sure, there's a little sibling rivalry, but they are two tight little friends. Joey's always asking Frankie to play with him at home. Sometimes they play separately, but sometimes Joey will invite Frankie to play with him in his room and she'll doddle off behind him and the two will play cars together on his road mat.
In their beds in the morning, I'll hear Joey asking Frankie questions or telling her that she's not allowed to yell, or just to be patient for mommy. And she listens to him! It's so cute. At bed time, Stuart has started to put Frankie beside Joey in his tiny bed and the two lay there together nicely while Stuart tells them a bedtime story that he makes up. After the story is over lately, Joey will ask Stuart if Frankie can sleep in his bed with him. SO CUTE!!! When Joey has a bigger bed and Frankie doesn't need the crib anymore, I'm guessing these two little amigos will sleep in the same bed more often than not.
--- that's all for now because my kids are awake! ---
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Being a Mom/Wife/Housekeeper
Wanna know something?
It legit is a big job to have 2 kids home all day and be pregnant while taking care of the house and everyone's needs. It really is! I've never quite felt it the way I do these days and it's probably because as my pregnancy is progressing I'm getting more and more tired.
This morning I got woken up by my beautiful children. Joey takes off his night time diaper, wipes himself, and puts his own underwear on now which is a life changer (amazing!) while I change Frankie's diaper. Then it's off to the living room for play time. I hold Frankie while heating up a bottle for her in the microwave and then she sits in the corner of the couch with a big blanket on her and her bunny by her cheek drinking while I remind Joey 3000 times that I would love to play with him, but first need to start brewing my coffee and get fruit ready for him and Frankie.
I shovel fruit into the kids mouths and play with them until I hear the heavenly beep of the coffee maker and tell Joey that mommy needs five minutes to read the bible at the kitchen table. As I read, he stands beside me and asks me to read to him. I read it to him and he has no idea what it means, but he keeps standing there because he likes to be beside me.
Following my five minutes of not-so-quiet time, I feel guilty that I have taken that time and play with the kids on the floor for another 20 minutes or so before going to the kitchen to clean up the tornado of dishes that were left from the previous night when I was too exhausted to clean them up at the end of the day.
I tell Joey that I'm going to go wake up daddy and I sit in the quiet bedroom with Stuart for 1 minute, drinking lukewarm coffee and enjoying the quiet until Joey and Frankie come lumbering in. Breakfast time.
I make a smoothie for Stuart and I and in the midst of it, sneeze coffee out of my mouth and all over the wall. Joey thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen.
We all sit down to breakfast together. Joey now feeds himself (finally!) so, all I have to do now is put a bowl of cereal in front of him and remind him to keep eating. Frankie tries to do things on her own, but needs help and insists on mostly doing things independently.
After breakfast, I frantically get the kids dressed, prepare a healthy snack for Stuart (blueberries, strawberries, cut up celery, carrots, and grapes), a snack for the kids and I, and try to gather my gym clothes together, remember a couple diapers for Frankie, and assign Joey the task of finding his and Frankie's water cups (something that almost never happens with less than 5 reminders). I realize, while I'm doing this, that I have to ask Stuart a question. NoooOOOooOOOooOOOooo. While I'm asking Stuart a question about his Visa, or at least trying to ask it, Joey has a problem with his shoes that he's incredibly stressed about, and, as a result, is flailing and yelling for me to fix it. Stuart is now asking me a question about the question I asked him, we're late, and I need an answer before we head out the door. I snap at Stuart, I snap at Joey, and ask everyone to stop talking to me please. Once we're in the car, everything is peaceful and great again. We made it.
(that series of events was over the span of 2-2.5 hours)
At the gym, I bring the kids into kids club and make small talk with the employees. If there's one thing that I've learned is that if you want childcare workers to treat your kids super well, you have to be nice to them and tell them how much you appreciate them. Makes sense, right?
I set Frankie up at a table with some coloring so she doesn't get sad while I'm gone and Joey is so independent that he's off doing his own thing the minute we set foot in the place.
I usually take my workout time to speed walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes and listen to a sermon, but today my friend is there that I don't want to have to feel obligated to talk to, so I decide to do my power walk outside and call my mom because I hadn't talked to her in a while.
After a chat with my mom and a good pregnancy workout, I hit the sauna for 5 minutes of quiet before needing to go pick up the kids for Joey's 'Next Step' class.
When I arrive back to Kids Club, Joey RUNS to the door (something he never does) and he looks so red and sweaty and they told me for the past 20 minutes he's been running around in circles. As soon as he gets close enough to me, he blurts out, "MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO WEE WEE REALLY BAD!" I don't know why he never wants to tell the kids club workers, but it's always a frantic event when he has to pee at the Y. I quickly (with Frankie in tow) take him to the bathroom and we all head up to Next Step. A bunch of my friends are there today and we have a really nice time, as we all haven't seen each other since the holidays.
One of my friends and I decide to go to Costco after and have lunch with the kids and grocery shop. It's super close to nap time, but we badly need gas and milk, so we go. Lunch actually goes surprisingly smoothly with all of the kids, including the one year old's, sitting nicely at the table (a HUGE accomplishment) and the two of us and the four kids all go shopping afterward together. When we leave in the pouring rain, Joey says, "Mommy! I had such a fun time at Costco today!"
When we get home, I change Frankie's diaper and rock her, singing songs to her until she's ready to be put down to sleep, gather up all of Joey's stuffed animals, blanket, and pillow, and put them into our bedroom for nap time.
I make Joey a small snack and he and I cuddle up on the couch and read a story, head to the bedroom, say the Lord's prayer and sing two songs before I close his bedroom door.
I make myself a snack and watch 7th Heaven. Now, it's time to wake Joey up, clean the kitchen once again that looks just as bad as it did this morning with all the snack/smoothie making/breakfast dishes, play cars, clean the floor and gather up all the clothes that have been thrown around, and make two different dinners because Stuart has decided to try being vegetarian for a week and Joey, Frankie and I have not decided that. Then, it's toy clean up, read the bible, watch five minutes of Bob the Builder, brush the kids teeth, and put them to bed. Thennnn clean the kitchen all over again from making two meals for 4 people and briefly talk to Stuart, watch a show, and pass out in bed because, oh ya! I'm five months pregnant. *yawns*
It legit is a big job to have 2 kids home all day and be pregnant while taking care of the house and everyone's needs. It really is! I've never quite felt it the way I do these days and it's probably because as my pregnancy is progressing I'm getting more and more tired.
This morning I got woken up by my beautiful children. Joey takes off his night time diaper, wipes himself, and puts his own underwear on now which is a life changer (amazing!) while I change Frankie's diaper. Then it's off to the living room for play time. I hold Frankie while heating up a bottle for her in the microwave and then she sits in the corner of the couch with a big blanket on her and her bunny by her cheek drinking while I remind Joey 3000 times that I would love to play with him, but first need to start brewing my coffee and get fruit ready for him and Frankie.
I shovel fruit into the kids mouths and play with them until I hear the heavenly beep of the coffee maker and tell Joey that mommy needs five minutes to read the bible at the kitchen table. As I read, he stands beside me and asks me to read to him. I read it to him and he has no idea what it means, but he keeps standing there because he likes to be beside me.
Following my five minutes of not-so-quiet time, I feel guilty that I have taken that time and play with the kids on the floor for another 20 minutes or so before going to the kitchen to clean up the tornado of dishes that were left from the previous night when I was too exhausted to clean them up at the end of the day.
I tell Joey that I'm going to go wake up daddy and I sit in the quiet bedroom with Stuart for 1 minute, drinking lukewarm coffee and enjoying the quiet until Joey and Frankie come lumbering in. Breakfast time.
I make a smoothie for Stuart and I and in the midst of it, sneeze coffee out of my mouth and all over the wall. Joey thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen.
We all sit down to breakfast together. Joey now feeds himself (finally!) so, all I have to do now is put a bowl of cereal in front of him and remind him to keep eating. Frankie tries to do things on her own, but needs help and insists on mostly doing things independently.
After breakfast, I frantically get the kids dressed, prepare a healthy snack for Stuart (blueberries, strawberries, cut up celery, carrots, and grapes), a snack for the kids and I, and try to gather my gym clothes together, remember a couple diapers for Frankie, and assign Joey the task of finding his and Frankie's water cups (something that almost never happens with less than 5 reminders). I realize, while I'm doing this, that I have to ask Stuart a question. NoooOOOooOOOooOOOooo. While I'm asking Stuart a question about his Visa, or at least trying to ask it, Joey has a problem with his shoes that he's incredibly stressed about, and, as a result, is flailing and yelling for me to fix it. Stuart is now asking me a question about the question I asked him, we're late, and I need an answer before we head out the door. I snap at Stuart, I snap at Joey, and ask everyone to stop talking to me please. Once we're in the car, everything is peaceful and great again. We made it.
(that series of events was over the span of 2-2.5 hours)
At the gym, I bring the kids into kids club and make small talk with the employees. If there's one thing that I've learned is that if you want childcare workers to treat your kids super well, you have to be nice to them and tell them how much you appreciate them. Makes sense, right?
I set Frankie up at a table with some coloring so she doesn't get sad while I'm gone and Joey is so independent that he's off doing his own thing the minute we set foot in the place.
I usually take my workout time to speed walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes and listen to a sermon, but today my friend is there that I don't want to have to feel obligated to talk to, so I decide to do my power walk outside and call my mom because I hadn't talked to her in a while.
After a chat with my mom and a good pregnancy workout, I hit the sauna for 5 minutes of quiet before needing to go pick up the kids for Joey's 'Next Step' class.
When I arrive back to Kids Club, Joey RUNS to the door (something he never does) and he looks so red and sweaty and they told me for the past 20 minutes he's been running around in circles. As soon as he gets close enough to me, he blurts out, "MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO WEE WEE REALLY BAD!" I don't know why he never wants to tell the kids club workers, but it's always a frantic event when he has to pee at the Y. I quickly (with Frankie in tow) take him to the bathroom and we all head up to Next Step. A bunch of my friends are there today and we have a really nice time, as we all haven't seen each other since the holidays.
One of my friends and I decide to go to Costco after and have lunch with the kids and grocery shop. It's super close to nap time, but we badly need gas and milk, so we go. Lunch actually goes surprisingly smoothly with all of the kids, including the one year old's, sitting nicely at the table (a HUGE accomplishment) and the two of us and the four kids all go shopping afterward together. When we leave in the pouring rain, Joey says, "Mommy! I had such a fun time at Costco today!"
When we get home, I change Frankie's diaper and rock her, singing songs to her until she's ready to be put down to sleep, gather up all of Joey's stuffed animals, blanket, and pillow, and put them into our bedroom for nap time.
I make Joey a small snack and he and I cuddle up on the couch and read a story, head to the bedroom, say the Lord's prayer and sing two songs before I close his bedroom door.
I make myself a snack and watch 7th Heaven. Now, it's time to wake Joey up, clean the kitchen once again that looks just as bad as it did this morning with all the snack/smoothie making/breakfast dishes, play cars, clean the floor and gather up all the clothes that have been thrown around, and make two different dinners because Stuart has decided to try being vegetarian for a week and Joey, Frankie and I have not decided that. Then, it's toy clean up, read the bible, watch five minutes of Bob the Builder, brush the kids teeth, and put them to bed. Thennnn clean the kitchen all over again from making two meals for 4 people and briefly talk to Stuart, watch a show, and pass out in bed because, oh ya! I'm five months pregnant. *yawns*
Thursday, January 5, 2017
New Year - New Hope
Wanna know what I love? I love the new year. Everyone is so hopeful and so excited for change. It's like spring on steroids. I think the falling away of a year and the bringing forth of a new year is a great time to reflect on your life in a profound way. I used to think new years resolutions were stupid and cliche and a waste of time because peoples hopes for self improvement never seem to stick past the first few weeks. But, my thoughts have changed!
It's a beautiful thing to want to be better and do better. I think that the problem a lot of people run into is that the either set unrealistic goals for themselves (ie after never touching a vegetable deciding that they're only going to juice from now on) or setting vague goals that have no concrete destination (be kinder, eat healthy, etc.) I think that a strategy in becoming this better person is training your brain to think differently. When you think differently, you act differently.
If you have thought and felt one way about something for an extended period (for instance a negative thought about a family member), your brain forms a pathway straight to that negative thought and feeling whenever you think of that person. We can train our brains to form new pathways with positive thoughts until thinking positive things kind of becomes an 'automatic' in our brains. The same can go for making healthy choices when it comes to food. If you're always thinking, 'I'm gross and fat. I'm craving a burger so bad,' you'll obsess about the burger and feel bad about yourself until that burger is in your mouth and offers you a little bit of relief from your negative thought pattern. But, if you replace that thought with, 'My body is a vessel. I want to treat it well.' You will likely make a healthier choice that coincides with that thought pattern.
Changing your thought pattern isn't an easy task, but it's one that I've been working on for the past few days and though outwardly I'm the same, I feel a daily sense of contentment inwardly that wasn't there before. It's biblical and since I was young I've loved the verse, 'Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be renewed by the transforming of your mind.' I always knew there was something deeply profound about this idea, but never really explored how to put it into practice until now.
If you want to make any kind of change, go to the root of your issue: your mind; your thoughts. Your views, opinions, self-talk, and ideologies deeply affect your actions in all areas of life. Once you adjust your thoughts and attitudes (something that requires tremendous amounts of discipline and focus, and probably a lot of reading and prayer) you can start being a light. Without that, you'll never improve the way you'd hoped you would.
New year = new hope. And I think that's a beautiful thing.
It's a beautiful thing to want to be better and do better. I think that the problem a lot of people run into is that the either set unrealistic goals for themselves (ie after never touching a vegetable deciding that they're only going to juice from now on) or setting vague goals that have no concrete destination (be kinder, eat healthy, etc.) I think that a strategy in becoming this better person is training your brain to think differently. When you think differently, you act differently.
If you have thought and felt one way about something for an extended period (for instance a negative thought about a family member), your brain forms a pathway straight to that negative thought and feeling whenever you think of that person. We can train our brains to form new pathways with positive thoughts until thinking positive things kind of becomes an 'automatic' in our brains. The same can go for making healthy choices when it comes to food. If you're always thinking, 'I'm gross and fat. I'm craving a burger so bad,' you'll obsess about the burger and feel bad about yourself until that burger is in your mouth and offers you a little bit of relief from your negative thought pattern. But, if you replace that thought with, 'My body is a vessel. I want to treat it well.' You will likely make a healthier choice that coincides with that thought pattern.
Changing your thought pattern isn't an easy task, but it's one that I've been working on for the past few days and though outwardly I'm the same, I feel a daily sense of contentment inwardly that wasn't there before. It's biblical and since I was young I've loved the verse, 'Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be renewed by the transforming of your mind.' I always knew there was something deeply profound about this idea, but never really explored how to put it into practice until now.
If you want to make any kind of change, go to the root of your issue: your mind; your thoughts. Your views, opinions, self-talk, and ideologies deeply affect your actions in all areas of life. Once you adjust your thoughts and attitudes (something that requires tremendous amounts of discipline and focus, and probably a lot of reading and prayer) you can start being a light. Without that, you'll never improve the way you'd hoped you would.
New year = new hope. And I think that's a beautiful thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)