Last night I attended an evening for moms called Dips and Drinks. As I left my car and walked to the building it dawned on me that I was carrying a bottle of wine in my diaper bag. This struck me as quite humorous. I guess I needed five extra minutes at home to switch to a proper purse, but after making lunches for Robbie and Olivia I was already 25 minutes late. I enjoyed a glass of red, had nice conversations, and returned to find Robbie asleep on our bed with an old glaucoma study guide on his chest. This brought back many memories from fellowship year in Oklahoma when he studied so much before board exams. His ophtho books were like sleeping pills for him. I watched my darling husband sleep, and I thought about how far we've come. Now he's about to write a test for the residents he will teach, and I'm so happy for him.
The baby woke up making all kinds of talking sounds. She was chattering away happily. She's been stringing Da and Ma, and I love this phase. She's such a happy baby girl. I love how plump she is, and I attack her underarms and cheeks with kisses. She squeals, and grabs my face. I love that her happiest faces are the ones she shows her mommy. What a treat.
Today Olivia returned from school with an art project made out of some kind of dough. Before any of us knew what was happening Henry grabbed part of her mountain and ate it. He then started spitting, and Olivia said, "He ate my art project. It had GLUE on it. He just ate glue!!" I laughed and caught the chewed up black dough. Only Henry could get into mischief that quickly.
In our van this morning he climbed to my area and got Chapstick. He smeared it all over his upper and lower lips, and THEN SOME. He looked like he had a clown mouth. When I told him I thought he had enough Chapstick, he put some on the tip of his nose. It was cherry, so he was tinted red. Silly boy.
He's so funny at dinner. When he makes the sign of the cross he moves his hand from shoulder to shoulder as fast as he can about six times in a row. He looks like some kind of baseball coach giving hand signs to a batter. I'm sure God smiles as Henry prays before meals.
After school drop off I met a friend at her house at 8 am for a walk in the brisk morning air. Vivian was strapped to my chest, and she kept looking up at the trees overhead. She was so cute. Her eyes got heavy, and she fell asleep against me. I'm so in love with her. Later, Emily and I enjoyed a gorgeous fall day at the helicopter park. We had it to ourselves for a good long while. The babies smiled at each other. We chatted and watched Evelyn, Henry, and Josie play well together. Evelyn decided to swing, and she pumped her legs and soared toward the sky. The sun was in her golden hair, and her face looked so happy. She was a picture perfect child on a swing. It was so special to share that time with our friends, and I'm so thankful to be home with my children and able to enjoy them like that.
Today we celebrated the anniversary of Olivia's baptism. We learned after a recent homework assignment last week that the date was approaching, and she requested a special dinner and dessert on the 28th. She's been asking me to have Kenna over for dinner for three weeks now, so we finally did it. We had a lovely evening. The kids played outside after dinner, then came in to play Wii Just Dance. They looked so cute with their moves.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Love Is the Most Important Thing
We have a routine in our family where the children share their school day high and low points once we reunite. I love listening to them share things about the time we spent apart. Sometimes Robbie and I share ours over the dinner meal, and the children enjoy listening. To prove that Henry listens to all that goes on in our house and vehicle, I have a story. We recently put Henry into Children's Church. This gives us time to go to mass while he interacts with other children his age, hears a bible story, and plays. We really, really like Children's Church. We're all about it! Now, the flip side this peace brings is that I must lead Children's Church as a parent volunteer several times a year. Sunday was my first day, and the other mom and I barely survived. We had 13 one and two-year-olds, and several cried....all at once, then stopped, then took turns for over an hour. It was AWESOME!!!!!! That's another story. My story today is about my first reunion with Henry after he was in that room recently. I said, "Did you have a wonderful morning?" He said, "I tell you my high point?!" Be still my heart. He wanted to be like his big sisters and share news about his day. However, he responded, "I not like Children's Church. I cry for my mommy." I told him that was his low point. He then said he got to play with cars, and we talked about how fun that must have been.
Two weekends ago I went on a Girl Scout overnight with Olivia. We slept in cabins, and there were 16 girls and about 9 moms. It was really fun. I loved watching my daughter interact with her peers, and I felt so proud of her for the way she conducted herself. Olivia is a good little girl. After dinner she ran up to me and whispered some outrageous news. "Mommy, the girls are lined up behind our cabin, and they are looking at a man take a shower....NAKED. They're using binoculars." I trotted right over there and found about 9 girls lined up for a turn at spying. We discussed the reason the activity was wrong...his privacy was being invaded, and the binoculars were put into safe keeping. They are seven and eight!!!!
Over the weekend Robbie watched a lot of football. At one point he called out, "Come on!! Are you kidding me?" Henry copied him and said, "Come on!! Are you kidding me, football guys?" We exchanged sweet smiles. Luckily, appropriate language abounds in our home.
Finally, this morning at 4 am Miss Vivian woke up hungry. She got off schedule with her nursing and solid food meal last night, and I knew that would happen. I rocked her and nursed her, and Henry stood up in his bed. He whimpered ever so softly, but he didn't say anything. He stood and stood and waited. After almost 20 minutes I finished feeding baby and carried her to Henry for a kiss. He kissed her silently, and I put her into her bed. I went back to Henry's crib, and he whispered, "I need to go to the potty." I took him to my dim bathroom, and I complimented him on how sweet he had been to baby Vivian by staying quiet and waiting patiently. I said, "You're such a nice little boy, thank you, Henry." He said so incredibly softly and sweetly, "You're welcome, Mommy." He pottied, and then he went right back to his bed, snuggled into position with Elmo and teddy, and went back to sleep. That was one of those amazing child-parent moments when you have the perfect interaction. What a treasure.
The girls and I are reading Abel's Island. It is a story of a mouse who gets swept away during a hurricane, and it has great vocabulary and beautiful descriptions. We're enjoying it. I love how we snuggle together in my bed as we read at night. However, last night the word defecate was used by the proper mouse, and this sent the girls into giggles. On our way to school I reinforced the fact that their teachers would not be impressed with their use of intelligent potty talk, since it was still potty talk. They giggled some more. I love taking the opportunity to stop while reading and say, "Do you know what that means?" However, never before has my answer been, "That is a fancy word for poop or bowel movement." That D word is not in Fancy Nancy's ABC book.
Finally, today I had the pleasure of hearing a great speaker, Debi Stack, at Mothers of Preschoolers. She seemed to have written her talk for me alone, and I really enjoyed it. Here are a few points to ponder...
- Every day is brand new with no mistakes in it.
- Love is the most important thing.
- This time in my life as a mother of young children is one in which I will have the highest expectations for myself, yet likely experience my lowest productivity.
-Don't rake up ways the children fell short. Avoid the tendency to overcorrect, and focus on positive affirmation of what they do right.
- If I want these things for my children...patience, respectfulness, compassion, faith, humor, joy, confidence, good health, generosity, happiness....then I need to have them. One can't give what one doesn't have.
Vivian just woke up. Her cries come first. More blog later...
Two weekends ago I went on a Girl Scout overnight with Olivia. We slept in cabins, and there were 16 girls and about 9 moms. It was really fun. I loved watching my daughter interact with her peers, and I felt so proud of her for the way she conducted herself. Olivia is a good little girl. After dinner she ran up to me and whispered some outrageous news. "Mommy, the girls are lined up behind our cabin, and they are looking at a man take a shower....NAKED. They're using binoculars." I trotted right over there and found about 9 girls lined up for a turn at spying. We discussed the reason the activity was wrong...his privacy was being invaded, and the binoculars were put into safe keeping. They are seven and eight!!!!
Over the weekend Robbie watched a lot of football. At one point he called out, "Come on!! Are you kidding me?" Henry copied him and said, "Come on!! Are you kidding me, football guys?" We exchanged sweet smiles. Luckily, appropriate language abounds in our home.
Finally, this morning at 4 am Miss Vivian woke up hungry. She got off schedule with her nursing and solid food meal last night, and I knew that would happen. I rocked her and nursed her, and Henry stood up in his bed. He whimpered ever so softly, but he didn't say anything. He stood and stood and waited. After almost 20 minutes I finished feeding baby and carried her to Henry for a kiss. He kissed her silently, and I put her into her bed. I went back to Henry's crib, and he whispered, "I need to go to the potty." I took him to my dim bathroom, and I complimented him on how sweet he had been to baby Vivian by staying quiet and waiting patiently. I said, "You're such a nice little boy, thank you, Henry." He said so incredibly softly and sweetly, "You're welcome, Mommy." He pottied, and then he went right back to his bed, snuggled into position with Elmo and teddy, and went back to sleep. That was one of those amazing child-parent moments when you have the perfect interaction. What a treasure.
The girls and I are reading Abel's Island. It is a story of a mouse who gets swept away during a hurricane, and it has great vocabulary and beautiful descriptions. We're enjoying it. I love how we snuggle together in my bed as we read at night. However, last night the word defecate was used by the proper mouse, and this sent the girls into giggles. On our way to school I reinforced the fact that their teachers would not be impressed with their use of intelligent potty talk, since it was still potty talk. They giggled some more. I love taking the opportunity to stop while reading and say, "Do you know what that means?" However, never before has my answer been, "That is a fancy word for poop or bowel movement." That D word is not in Fancy Nancy's ABC book.
Finally, today I had the pleasure of hearing a great speaker, Debi Stack, at Mothers of Preschoolers. She seemed to have written her talk for me alone, and I really enjoyed it. Here are a few points to ponder...
- Every day is brand new with no mistakes in it.
- Love is the most important thing.
- This time in my life as a mother of young children is one in which I will have the highest expectations for myself, yet likely experience my lowest productivity.
-Don't rake up ways the children fell short. Avoid the tendency to overcorrect, and focus on positive affirmation of what they do right.
- If I want these things for my children...patience, respectfulness, compassion, faith, humor, joy, confidence, good health, generosity, happiness....then I need to have them. One can't give what one doesn't have.
Vivian just woke up. Her cries come first. More blog later...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Want What You've Got
"It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got."
Yesterday as I drove with the children, Sheryl Crow's fun song, "Soak Up the Sun" played on the radio. I cranked up the volume, sang loudly to the children, and reflected on the line above. I think God was winking at me. We have a very little house, but it is a cozy home to our family of six. I think we are going to be in it for more than a few years ahead. My closest friend and neighbor gave me a shock last week when she said they plan to move. I'm quite heartbroken. Our families have grown together. I've walked with my friend for too many miles to count over the last six years. We've shared eggs and cans of tomatoes and baby equipment. More importantly, we've listened with our hearts and provided validation about the challenges of mothering. I just can't imagine making my little house "work" with my four children without my dear friend across the yard. Big bummer.
What I love...
I love that my children bundled up on this crisp morning to play outside. I loved looking out the window and spying their three little tushes side-by-side on a wooden stool made by my father. They were eating bananas. They looked adorable.
I love the crazy scale difference between baby Vivian's chubby thighs and her extra small feet. Olivia commented on it lovingly just this week.
I love that my kind neighbor made four matching crocheted hats for us girls before our photography session last weekend.
I love that Olivia, Evelyn, and their friend Grace call a male biker who we see on our way to school most mornings, "School Handsome." He is kind of handsome. He wears a postal service uniform, and he pedals really fast. We laugh each time we see him.
I love that I'm finished with my major Mothers of Young Children enrollment and directory project, and that I have my darling husband to thank for his contribution to improving the way it was made. He took over care of our children and dinner prep two weekends ago while I slaved away on the computer for hours on end all weekend long. He took part of his Friday afternoon off to print and copy my master set of directory pages so that they'd be ready for me to turn into a booklet in the church office. He's amazing, and he's the biggest blessing in my life. From our love we have our children, another incredible blessing of joy. I recently read Loving Frank about Mamah Cheney's relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright. She was married and left her children in order to seek her heart's true love. As I read I kept thinking that I was so fortunate to have married a man as good as Robbie. I want nothing to do with the trials Mamah experienced on her journey for love and happiness. That story ended horribly!
I love that Henry has pooped the last five consecutive times he has sat on the potty. I even love that this morning when he pooped his "baseball panties", stepped in the mess with his sock, fell over and rubbed his poop butt on my arm, then stepped on the rug, that I could laugh!!
I love that my family and friends supported the girls' magazine sale at school so that Ev could win a motion detector alarm that blares with a siren. A man's voice says, "Warning! Warning! Security Alert. You are entering a restricted area. Repeat. You are entering a restricted area. Touch nothing. Turn around and walk out. Please leave now. Repeat. Leave NOW! All your moves are being watched. The authorities have been notified." The best part is that Henry and Evelyn thought the guy was saying, "Good morning! Good morning!" Olivia and I laughed so hard about their misunderstanding. We could have used the alarm recently...
The other day as I made dinner I heard Robbie's voice go up as he said, "Henry, What are you doing!" Henry is obsessed with "Yaya's cleats". They are size 13, and he's 2 years old, so you can imagine the clown shoes look he sports when he clops around in them. Robbie found Henry with Olivia's top bunk bed ladder. He had moved it across the room, leaned it into the closet, and he had climbed to the top rung. He was reaching toward the top shelf to get the Nike box with the much coveted cleats. Robbie said the ladder was suspended by one hanger. God help Henry. He was on the top step. He is too busy.
The other night my son called to me seconds after I'd tucked him into his bed and said he had to go poopy. Mind you, he'd taken a potty break right before bedtime, and he only peed. We'd been through this the night before, and he did it at naptime too. Stalling. That's exactly what my smart son was doing. After I told him he'd already had his chance to potty, he began screaming. I complained to Olivia, and she said, "Well, Mommy. You know why he's doing that, don't you? You let him get out of bed once to try to poopy again, so now he thinks you'll do it again." Smarty pants. He also learned that M&Ms are the reward for potty success. However, now that he has mastered control in the pee pee area I have changed the reward for #2 alone. This made him mad. He called to me around 5 am last week. In the darkness he said, "I need to go pee pee." I took him. He then said, "I want MM." Naturally, I explained that M&Ms are only for poopy. He started screaming, "I want MM! I want MM!! I want MM!!!" I hope my consistency works in my favor when I don't yield to screaming youngsters making demands for chocolate in the wee hours of the morning.
I love that Evelyn made a book and wrote a story for her friend. The title was Anna Who Let Out the Peanut. The witching hour has become quite challenging, as if it weren't before. The baby was crying. Henry was into the cupboard pantry. Evelyn was calling out, "How do you spell Anna?" "How do you spell peanut?" "What does a p look like?"...and on and on for a whole book. I was trying to cook dinner, and Olivia was asking about her math homework. That was one of those top of the curve moments when I want to pull out my hair or take a mommy time out. Thank goodness life cycles, and we have plenty of lovely moments.
I love reading to my children curled up in our favorite chair. Their hair smells fresh and wonderful from bathtime, and I could just smother them with kisses. Henry will say to me, "You want to read with me?" Of course!
I think it is time for mama to get some fresh air and enjoy a long walk. Hopefully, Emily can join me.
Yesterday as I drove with the children, Sheryl Crow's fun song, "Soak Up the Sun" played on the radio. I cranked up the volume, sang loudly to the children, and reflected on the line above. I think God was winking at me. We have a very little house, but it is a cozy home to our family of six. I think we are going to be in it for more than a few years ahead. My closest friend and neighbor gave me a shock last week when she said they plan to move. I'm quite heartbroken. Our families have grown together. I've walked with my friend for too many miles to count over the last six years. We've shared eggs and cans of tomatoes and baby equipment. More importantly, we've listened with our hearts and provided validation about the challenges of mothering. I just can't imagine making my little house "work" with my four children without my dear friend across the yard. Big bummer.
What I love...
I love that my children bundled up on this crisp morning to play outside. I loved looking out the window and spying their three little tushes side-by-side on a wooden stool made by my father. They were eating bananas. They looked adorable.
I love the crazy scale difference between baby Vivian's chubby thighs and her extra small feet. Olivia commented on it lovingly just this week.
I love that my kind neighbor made four matching crocheted hats for us girls before our photography session last weekend.
I love that Olivia, Evelyn, and their friend Grace call a male biker who we see on our way to school most mornings, "School Handsome." He is kind of handsome. He wears a postal service uniform, and he pedals really fast. We laugh each time we see him.
I love that I'm finished with my major Mothers of Young Children enrollment and directory project, and that I have my darling husband to thank for his contribution to improving the way it was made. He took over care of our children and dinner prep two weekends ago while I slaved away on the computer for hours on end all weekend long. He took part of his Friday afternoon off to print and copy my master set of directory pages so that they'd be ready for me to turn into a booklet in the church office. He's amazing, and he's the biggest blessing in my life. From our love we have our children, another incredible blessing of joy. I recently read Loving Frank about Mamah Cheney's relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright. She was married and left her children in order to seek her heart's true love. As I read I kept thinking that I was so fortunate to have married a man as good as Robbie. I want nothing to do with the trials Mamah experienced on her journey for love and happiness. That story ended horribly!
I love that Henry has pooped the last five consecutive times he has sat on the potty. I even love that this morning when he pooped his "baseball panties", stepped in the mess with his sock, fell over and rubbed his poop butt on my arm, then stepped on the rug, that I could laugh!!
I love that my family and friends supported the girls' magazine sale at school so that Ev could win a motion detector alarm that blares with a siren. A man's voice says, "Warning! Warning! Security Alert. You are entering a restricted area. Repeat. You are entering a restricted area. Touch nothing. Turn around and walk out. Please leave now. Repeat. Leave NOW! All your moves are being watched. The authorities have been notified." The best part is that Henry and Evelyn thought the guy was saying, "Good morning! Good morning!" Olivia and I laughed so hard about their misunderstanding. We could have used the alarm recently...
The other day as I made dinner I heard Robbie's voice go up as he said, "Henry, What are you doing!" Henry is obsessed with "Yaya's cleats". They are size 13, and he's 2 years old, so you can imagine the clown shoes look he sports when he clops around in them. Robbie found Henry with Olivia's top bunk bed ladder. He had moved it across the room, leaned it into the closet, and he had climbed to the top rung. He was reaching toward the top shelf to get the Nike box with the much coveted cleats. Robbie said the ladder was suspended by one hanger. God help Henry. He was on the top step. He is too busy.
The other night my son called to me seconds after I'd tucked him into his bed and said he had to go poopy. Mind you, he'd taken a potty break right before bedtime, and he only peed. We'd been through this the night before, and he did it at naptime too. Stalling. That's exactly what my smart son was doing. After I told him he'd already had his chance to potty, he began screaming. I complained to Olivia, and she said, "Well, Mommy. You know why he's doing that, don't you? You let him get out of bed once to try to poopy again, so now he thinks you'll do it again." Smarty pants. He also learned that M&Ms are the reward for potty success. However, now that he has mastered control in the pee pee area I have changed the reward for #2 alone. This made him mad. He called to me around 5 am last week. In the darkness he said, "I need to go pee pee." I took him. He then said, "I want MM." Naturally, I explained that M&Ms are only for poopy. He started screaming, "I want MM! I want MM!! I want MM!!!" I hope my consistency works in my favor when I don't yield to screaming youngsters making demands for chocolate in the wee hours of the morning.
I love that Evelyn made a book and wrote a story for her friend. The title was Anna Who Let Out the Peanut. The witching hour has become quite challenging, as if it weren't before. The baby was crying. Henry was into the cupboard pantry. Evelyn was calling out, "How do you spell Anna?" "How do you spell peanut?" "What does a p look like?"...and on and on for a whole book. I was trying to cook dinner, and Olivia was asking about her math homework. That was one of those top of the curve moments when I want to pull out my hair or take a mommy time out. Thank goodness life cycles, and we have plenty of lovely moments.
I love reading to my children curled up in our favorite chair. Their hair smells fresh and wonderful from bathtime, and I could just smother them with kisses. Henry will say to me, "You want to read with me?" Of course!
I think it is time for mama to get some fresh air and enjoy a long walk. Hopefully, Emily can join me.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Roadtrip
What do a green grass skirt, soccer shin guards, a baseball cap, and soccer cleats 5 years too large (on the wrong feet) all have in common? Henry. He's a mess with his outfits. This morning I decided to let him try to wear his baseball undies instead of a diaper. Just as Robbie announced that our wonderful breakfast was ready, Henry said, "I poopied." I looked down, and it was even on his socks. Honestly, that was the most outrageous poopy pants disaster that I have ever experienced in my seven years of parenting. He's not even 2 1/2. Maybe we need to wait a good long while before we try real undies again.Robbie was so helpful today. I'm up to my ears in paperwork for Mothers of Young Children enrollment. Our group is over 100 women strong, and I have a big job going on right now. Robbie took over with our children to allow me to work on it the entire day. God bless him. He said that Henry stood outside our back door yelling, "Mommmy!!!" When Robbie opened the door Henry was without a diaper. I put him straight into shorts and a belt to solve that problem when he did it again later in the living room.
New tricks...Olivia is reading with beautiful fluency. She had her first soccer game today. Evelyn's printing is better than Uncle Anthony's, and it is small for a 4-year-old. She said, "I don't know why they (her classmates) write so HUGE!" Today she used little letter magnets to try to spell words independently. Vivian can roll, roll, roll. She also only wants me. Not even Daddy will do. She wants me. Henry is very in tune with all of my mothering roles. Sometimes he'll ask me, "Did you nurse her on that side?" as he points to one breast. The two share a room, and he is happy when I nurse the baby in the glider while he talks to me nonstop about Lightning McQueen and Sally. He's a verbal little guy.
We stayed in the Hotel Bothwell recently, and all four children shared a room of the family suite. Henry talked and talked to his big sisters when he was supposed to be falling asleep. The next morning as I French braided Olivia's hair he jumped off the bed head first and backwards. I caught him upside down by the ankle. Later, I loaded Vivian into the sling and put all of our luggage on a cart. Robbie was at work, so the girls pushed the cart while I held onto Henry. We had to go through the hotel, down an elevator, outside, down the sidewalk, and up into a parking lot toward the van. We got stuck. I couldn't manage it all, so I was thrilled when a woman appeared and answered my call for help. Our trip to Illinois went well. The first leg was tough because Henry stated over and over and OVER and OVER that he wanted to see cows and horses. He did this for 90 straight minutes, and I almost couldn't stand it. Leg two was better. All of the children fell asleep, and Robbie and I got to enjoy grown up conversation. The purpose of our trip was my father's Vintage Times Street Rod Club car show at Lincoln Park in Springfield, IL. He put my children in the back of his 1937 Studebaker coupe. Henry sat on his cousin's pink potty chair, because my little brother posed for a similar picture in the early 80s. Anthony actually surprised all of us by flying in from Dallas the night before the car show unexpectedly. My trustworthy husband knew, and he didn't tell. Dad and I were thrilled to see Anthony, and my children attacked him with running hugs.
Vivian and Henry slept in the room with my brother's turtle. Anthony won it when he was 2 years old. Tommy is still kicking. Anthony will soon turn 30. The turtle knocks around in his aquarium, and Henry would say, "I don't want to see the turtle's eyes!!!" We often heard through the monitor, "Ka-CHOW!!" That is what the main car says in the movie Cars. Henry always makes us laugh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)