I witnessed two shooting stars tonight! These always cause me to pause and make a "wish". But tonight, as I paused, I didn't know what to wish for. A wonderful husband? God already gave me that. A healthy baby? I have two. Happiness? A house in the suburbs? Prosperity? What could I possibly wish for? God has given me everything I could ever ask for. And I'm not bragging. But that's truly how I feel. My family is happy and healthy and truly, truly blessed. Not lucky, because I don't believe that luck has anything to do with it. Not deserving because I know that I don't deserve any of it. But blessed. Truly just blessed by God. I am an undeserving soul that has been blessed with so much in life. So tonight I "wish", or rather pray for another woman to feel as blessed as I feel right here, right now.
Like most, my dad often asks me how I'm doing. Sometimes when I respond 'good' or 'fine' or some other stereotypical response, he'll pin me down and ask: "Honestly, how are you? How would you rate your life today?" Of course some days are 10's and others are 6's, but overall I can't complain. I love this impromptu question because it really causes me to evaluate my life. What matters most? It causes me to put things in perspective. Was my 'laborious' day really that bad? What validity is there behind my complaints? After a quick prioritizion, if my 'life rating' is ever below what's acceptable to me, then I try to see what I can do to make it better. Shift my priorities? Count the blessings I have rather than focusing on what I don't or can't have? Whether through prayer, motivation, or some form of action, I believe that we should all seek a resolution because this life is too short to accept a mediocre rating!
Disclaimer: My last name isn't Cleaver & I'm not claiming to have the 'perfect' life! But tonight I'm choosing to count my blessings instead of misfortunes. Trust me, there are days (like yesterday!) that I'll have to refer back to this posting to remind myself that life's not all that bad! :)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
A recipe for high blood pressure!
Being a parent means planning ahead. For anything. And everything. You almost have to have an imagination to be a parent, because you have to imagine what could possibly happen.
So before leaving the house to pick Brooklyn up for school today, I changed Bryson's diaper and made sure he was fed, because we had errands to run and I wanted to make absolutely sure that he'd be a happy little guy for a couple hours. Off we went. To the bank: check! Gas station: check! To pick up Brooklyn: check! Both kids in tow, we unload at Babies R Us for a quick return. Mission complete! With only one more place to go, I hear Bryson stirring in the back seat. Hmm...what's a mom to do? We're coming up on Nona's exit, so I call. Yes, we can stop by for a quick diaper change & bottle feeding. Load back up (after a bottle & several kisses from Missy!), and we're off for our last errand: Wal-mart. Just a few things on the list. Should be in and out.
Five minutes in, Brooklyn's hungry (only because we're in the snack aisle & she sees potential!). Out comes the blankie. Uh-oh. Now Bryson's crying. Out comes the paci. Okay, we're good! For another aisle. Then serious wails come from the carseat. And the empathetic tears from big sister. Scramble like a mad woman to grab the miscellaneous groceries a mother and wife need to maintain her family, and we're off to the check-out line! But the wails grow in intensity. Before I realize it, I'm sweating as I unload the groceries onto the black belt. SMASH! Crackers and candy bars fly across the floor and Brooklyn flashes her innocent smile in my direction. Cashier asks "How are you, ma'am?" 'Can't you see?!', I say in my mind as I kindly reply "Good, and you?" Wailing continues. Paci is recovered and replaced. Unload a few more things. Paci comes out. Paci goes in. And comes out again. We pay just in time for more wailing. From both children. And we're done! Phew! It's then, as I close the driver's side door, that I realize that all the chaos made me forget how bad I had to pee before we even entered the store.
That was an hour of a day of this mom with two in diapers. Mothers of multiples: how, oh how do you do it?! With my admiration, that's for sure!
So before leaving the house to pick Brooklyn up for school today, I changed Bryson's diaper and made sure he was fed, because we had errands to run and I wanted to make absolutely sure that he'd be a happy little guy for a couple hours. Off we went. To the bank: check! Gas station: check! To pick up Brooklyn: check! Both kids in tow, we unload at Babies R Us for a quick return. Mission complete! With only one more place to go, I hear Bryson stirring in the back seat. Hmm...what's a mom to do? We're coming up on Nona's exit, so I call. Yes, we can stop by for a quick diaper change & bottle feeding. Load back up (after a bottle & several kisses from Missy!), and we're off for our last errand: Wal-mart. Just a few things on the list. Should be in and out.
Five minutes in, Brooklyn's hungry (only because we're in the snack aisle & she sees potential!). Out comes the blankie. Uh-oh. Now Bryson's crying. Out comes the paci. Okay, we're good! For another aisle. Then serious wails come from the carseat. And the empathetic tears from big sister. Scramble like a mad woman to grab the miscellaneous groceries a mother and wife need to maintain her family, and we're off to the check-out line! But the wails grow in intensity. Before I realize it, I'm sweating as I unload the groceries onto the black belt. SMASH! Crackers and candy bars fly across the floor and Brooklyn flashes her innocent smile in my direction. Cashier asks "How are you, ma'am?" 'Can't you see?!', I say in my mind as I kindly reply "Good, and you?" Wailing continues. Paci is recovered and replaced. Unload a few more things. Paci comes out. Paci goes in. And comes out again. We pay just in time for more wailing. From both children. And we're done! Phew! It's then, as I close the driver's side door, that I realize that all the chaos made me forget how bad I had to pee before we even entered the store.
That was an hour of a day of this mom with two in diapers. Mothers of multiples: how, oh how do you do it?! With my admiration, that's for sure!
No, no, no...
Brooklyn loves her 'Signing Times' DVD's, and has been watching them for a few months now. (Don't worry; I don't plug her in daily; she's lucky to watch an hour of TV every other day!) Well, one of the signs on the video is 'No'. Really? Was that necessary? To encourage our kids to learn 'no'?! Don't they already learn that one pretty easily? Not only is it a sign that they teach visually, but it's accompanied by this lovely song appropriately entitled 'No, No, No'! (I can't type the title without singing it in my head.) So wouldn't you know that shaking her head is her new favorite thing to do!! It's non-stop. And hilariously adorable, I might add!! She brings her chin into her neck and rapidly shakes her head left to right, with a very serious face. In attempt to counteract this negative action, I've been working with her to learn how to say 'Yes!'. She's having difficulty with this one, though. Problem is that her head doesn't rock. It becomes as stiff as a board. "Do you want oranges?" No, no, no. "Bananas?" No, no, no. "Muffins?" And she rocks her knees and bottom back and forth, back and forth, saying 'yes!' Funny how she interprets some of our non-verbal cues. Nodding of the head somehow turned into rocking her midsection. And she's invented some of her own signs, too. Somehow pulling on her ears means apple. Slapping her wrist means cracker. And grabbing her tongue is a request to brush her teeth! Of course she's verbally telling you what she needs with every sign. Only problem is that it usually sounds like 'mama'. :)
Joking aside, I can honestly say that she has quite a vocabulary. She's just decided not to say them the same way we do. Maybe one day she'll entertain us with conformity. But for now, only a select few can crack her code.
Joking aside, I can honestly say that she has quite a vocabulary. She's just decided not to say them the same way we do. Maybe one day she'll entertain us with conformity. But for now, only a select few can crack her code.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Cutie pie
Thought this was just too cute not to share!
Here she is surfin the web just like Daddy...
...and then begging to go outside, where she'd rather live full time. 
How can you resist this smile?!
Gender differences
Two words every baby boy mama needs to know about:
Pee-pee teepee for the sprinkling wee-wee!
I love it!!! Hahaha...
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Day 4
The sun is setting on the fourth day of Bryson's life, as his big sister enjoys chewing on her blankie.
some serious diaper duty (both day and night), and an obscene amount of eating (seems to be his favorite past time), but most importantly he's been adding lots of joy to our world.
Brooklyn's got nothing but love for her new sidekick! She plays with him (surrounding him with toys), eats with him (placing her food to his lips), picks flowers for him, brushes his hair, and even cries with him. The first empathetic tears poured down her cheeks last night when I changed his diaper and caused him to wail. The next session occurred this morning when I was changing his outfit. He's not into changing clothes and doesn't hold back his discontent. This spurred a nasty glare from her to me. 'How dare I torture him?', her scolding eyes asked. Seems as if I have someone to answer to these days...and that's quite alright with me! I'm just pleasantly surprised and proud of her performance in her new role as Big Sister.
What's he been up to, you ask? A lot of sleeping (during the day),
some serious diaper duty (both day and night), and an obscene amount of eating (seems to be his favorite past time), but most importantly he's been adding lots of joy to our world.
Brooklyn's got nothing but love for her new sidekick! She plays with him (surrounding him with toys), eats with him (placing her food to his lips), picks flowers for him, brushes his hair, and even cries with him. The first empathetic tears poured down her cheeks last night when I changed his diaper and caused him to wail. The next session occurred this morning when I was changing his outfit. He's not into changing clothes and doesn't hold back his discontent. This spurred a nasty glare from her to me. 'How dare I torture him?', her scolding eyes asked. Seems as if I have someone to answer to these days...and that's quite alright with me! I'm just pleasantly surprised and proud of her performance in her new role as Big Sister.
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