Bead you to the punchline!

I signed up for a bead swap. I'm not entirely sure what that entails, but I'm super excited to stretch out my creative beady muscles.  I will definitely keep you posted once I'm given a partner and something new and random to play with! Rock on!

Beware Of Parrot

Today I discovered yet another humbling aspect of children. Toddlers, specifically. They repeat EVERYTHING they hear that sounds "fun" to them. Fun to them apparently means anything said with emotion and emphasized. No!, Stop chasing the dog!, Don't wipe that on your sister!, I'm not your napkin!, Ewww! and so on. Also, toddlers are gross. Moving on. They struggle with sh, ch, st, ck, etc. type sounds as they just got their teeth and haven't quite figured out how they work in speech and where the tongue comes in. It's fun. Especially with words like stick...where the st becomes sh and the ck becomes t...and we all giggle under our breath trying not to make a big deal out of it and praying there are no sticks to be found at church...

They also repeat things you didn't realize were said and/or heard. Today was one such instance. I have a big dog (Pyrenees) who laments being apart from me from time to time (daily). If I put him in the field to play with his brother and mom he has fun for a bit then howls endlessly wanting to be reunited with his human family. Once he gets started all the others join in. It's kinda funny and kinda sad. I admit, I have a little less time for him than I did pre-kids, but I do try to make my time with him count. I miss my time with him, too. He has a very soothing, calming, nature to him. Anyway...He started up this morning with the others joining in. All of the sudden my 21 month old, golden curled, blue eyed blessing of a child (you know... as much as a two year old wannabe can be. HA!) said "SHUT UP!" Three times. I've been adamant about others not saying that around her, to her, to her sister, etc. knowing that wasn't how I wished to raise my girls. Hush would suffice. Nope. Apparently she heard it from someone. Who knows, in my sleep deprived state one morning it could have been me. It got me thinking. Hard.

How many things do you say out loud that you shouldn't? Even if no one is around to hear them...or you think no one is. It doesn't have to be cursing. It can just be something judgmental, some prejudice, anything negative, sarcastic (I do love my sarcasm...), apathetic, etc. Now, I don't believe we live in a world full of sunshine and rainbows, but I do wish to create a safe space at home for my girls, my husband and myself to come and semi-escape the anger, bitterness, negativity, etc. of the outside world for a while. I'm even trying to come up with a code word for when my girls are feeling down/attacked/weary from all things around them that they can say and it automatically shifts our gears into a different mindset to give them that peace for a moment. Be it a hug, prayer, some alone time, music, art, etc. Whatever it takes to  bring us back to each other in a loving way. If it is an argument, misunderstanding, etc. we can come back to it after we've taken a "moment" so we can approach it in a rational, loving way. Do I think I will always be successful? No way, but with prayer, God's help, teaching them this from the start and knowing my husband has my back I think we'll have a pretty decent shot at it.

So be thinking about what comes out of your mouth and how you say it. There are always ears close enough to hear you and hearts that are being affected by your attitude. That's frighteningly sobering for me. How about you?

They done me wrong!

One of the very best smells in all the world? Cookies baking in the oven. With a 19 month old and a 2 month old, homemade just ain't happening. I chose to bake the "break and bake" kind as I had a hankering for cookies and milk this afternoon. 

My 19 month old always gets "SNACK!!!" (she cannot say it without screaming it, as food is one of her very favorite things). Usually it's crackers, fruit or a combination of the two. Today, after her fruit cup I thought perhaps today was the day to share my love of cookies and milk. I presented her with a sippy cup of cold milk and two tiny, yet glorious, chocolate chip cookies. Oh her eyes lit up after the first bite. It was love. Big love. Her eyes shone as she grinned through her chocolaty smeared face. I know that look all too well. I get that way over certain things, too. Usually food. That's my girl. 

Then the unthinkable happened. My sweet, blue eyed, golden curled child became something else. Something non-human. A monster unlike any other. She was horrible for the rest of the day. She was into EVERYTHING. Wrecking what little calm I still had after the 2 month old's nightly escapades. I was getting used to being tag-teamed by the two of them. I was getting used to the older one knowing only how to run from the time she woke until bedtime. I was getting used to her being smart enough to get out of any baby gate she encountered. I was used to the extra energy fruit gave her. 

I was not, however, prepared for the cookie high. I had never been so wronged by a baked good. I felt so betrayed. How?! How could something so delightful become so venomous?!  I knew sugar rushes. Or so I thought. I had never before factored in the toddler coefficient. That's a monumental game changer, folks. If I were a drinker, I would be schnockered tonight just trying to recover from my nightmare. Alas, I'm not - so instead, you get blogged. Pray for me people. Pray that she will awaken tomorrow as her delightful self. Pray that I will awaken less zombie-esque. Pray that I NEVER forget this moment. 

One last thing, my peoples. If anyone offers my beloved children sugared candy, cookies, etc.,...we may no longer be friends. I may even go so far as to collect a gaggle of toddlers, sugar them up hard and lock you in a minivan with them... 

I'm not even playing.

Can you smell that?!

Did you know that scent is one of the most powerful forces to the human mind? It is. Think of your childhood. Ever caught a scent on the breeze that reminded you of home? A special meal? A season? Scent memory is so powerful. As are pregnancy hormones. Crazy combo, let me assure you. I have the nose of a bloodhound right now. NOTHING escapes my notice...which is not always a good thing.

Anyway, Christmas is coming and I NEED the smell of Christmas. I need my daughter to know the smell of Christmas. She won't possibly be able to remember the toys she gets (aside from the 12,000 pictures of them), the songs sung or even the decor - but she will remember the smell of Christmas...IF, that is, we provide it for her. That means a REAL Christmas tree. Yes! Now, I dearly love my mom and dad. I love the memories I have of Christmases past, but I find an increasing hatred of their beloved fake tree. I've put this tree together, from it's home crammed in a box in the attic soooo many times. I cannot do it this year. I cannot abide the sad, pokey tree - all plastic, fake and shameful in it's attempt at the grandeur of a God-made tree. I just can't do it. I cannot move past it's musty, plasticy smell. I just cant. This year, there must be a real tree. It doesn't have to be big, just real and smell divine.

I must say, I cannot remember being this excited about Christmas since I was a kid. My daughter's first Christmas. I don't care if I ever get another gift again in my life - I just want to live through her Christmases, her excitement and her wonder of it all for as long as I can.

Bring on Christmas, music and live trees. We have the wonder of a child to watch.

Yes, please!

It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine!

Okay, perhaps it's not the end of the world. It is, however, the beginning of some heavy duty stress. With my beloved baby girl, Moira, reaching 9 months of age - I now have another one on the way. We're super happy about that, by the way. I have yet to figure out how to factor in another child. Moira is quite the handful and takes up the majority of my day. Add in the "sleeping sickness" (as my mom calls it) of the first trimester fatigue and I am one tired camper. Still, we're so happy to be blessed so extravagantly by God. 

 I am trying to walk a little more each day, stretch a bit more each day and eat good things. For those of you who don't know me, I have some food allergies. Okay, a lot of food allergies. Pregnancy requires a restrictive diet, too. I'm also still nursing my daughter and have to avoid certain things for her until I stop nursing. All of that equals a very difficult time trying to figure out how and what to eat. 

Current favs include: avocado  tomato and Italian dressing together, popcorn, sweet potatoes and...heaven help me, I could kill for Captain D's. I bought a box of battered cod to bake in the oven thinking it was the same. I gagged on the first bite. This baby SPECIFICALLY requested Captain D's...  I hope this baby likes disappointment... 

On a fun note, we went to the zoo today. For free! Had so much fun. My man and I decided we needed more family outings. We have some great parks nearby. Picnics are great, so we'll definitely be doing that again soon. Even if it's not the zoo - it's still family and being outside. 

Sorry for the randomness and the serious lack of updates for 9 months. As I've said before, Moira is a handful. Not an excuse - just a reason. Have a great week folks! 

When are you due?!

Sure, I've been MIA for a while, but I'll address that later. Today I want to discuss due dates. What exactly IS a due date? What does it all mean? I will answer that in 3 time frames. Shall we? Yes! Let's...

Newly knocked up:
Oh my goodness, how exciting?! You find out you're pregnant!!! Doctors confirm and calculate your due date. In my case, they had to calculate 2x. They first thought I was further along than I was, so the first was Dec 7th... You know, the day that will live in infamy? Pearl Harbor Day. Incidentally, my grandfather was AT Pearl Harbor that day. Clearly he made it out, thus my ability to blog. ;) The second due date, after my first ultrasound, became January 13th, which is indeed tomorrow - and a friday the 13th. Why not?! You don't really "FEEL" pregnant, so the due date is sort of a badge of "proof" that you are, indeed, knocked up. A date that seems forever away and almost unattainable, but something to provide hope and a finish line.

Mid to late knocked up:
Are we there yet? It's taking FOREVER!!! Of course, there are still a zillion things to do and finally you have some energy to do them...kinda... The due date becomes a deadline. As the months count down and your girth ramps up, you realize how very real it all is. By now you feel the little bugger kicking the crap out of you and putting demands on your food intake, bathroom needs and nearly ever other facet of your life and she isn't even OUT yet. Though there is so much excitement as you look ahead, there's also a bit of fear. If she controls so much now, what is she going to be like once she's here?! Doesn't matter now, does it?! It's done and it's ON! And so you sail ever closer to that iceberg hoping you stay afloat and you've got enough time to get all that you need to do, done. Deeeeep breath. Take a lot of them. You're going to need them.

Game time:
You're going to the doctor ALL the time now, it seems. You have never been so excited to see a pee cup in your life until this stage when you show up for your appointment. Your only fear is overflowing it. That's not fun for anyone involved... Fetal monitors, ultrasounds, personal violations to check for possible dilation, attempts to speed the process along, etc... Week after week, something invasive and sometimes unwelcome. I'm thankful that my folks know to do first, explain later and apologize during. Especially the super unpleasant things. Due date? Tomorrow. What does that mean? Freakin' nothing. At all. Its at this stage you realize that the "due date" is a rough generalization, an average, that really has very little bearing. What you saw as a finish line, was merely a "good luck, you'll probably go later...sorry". Seems first births take a bit longer. The 40 weeks that you're told are how long a pregnancy takes...it's an average between the shortest average and the longest average. What you thought was a finish line...it's not. I'm constantly being told that I can't be pregnant forever, but I'm not sure Moira accepts that information. She is a touch on the stubborn side... I'm blaming her father for that. HA!!!

Well, if nothing happens between now and my appointment on Monday, I believe we'll be inducing. So FINALLY an end in sight. Watch her wait til the last possible moment to start something... Precious little heifer of mine.

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting...

...or at least Moira has been the last day or so. We switched from flutter to kung fu in a matter of moments. If I press in, she kicks back in defiance of the invasion of her space. Granted, she doesn't have a lot of space to do much and it's certainly going to decrease as she increases. What started my beloved Jackie Chan wannabe off right? Jubala's hot chocolate. She was already stretching and such, but it took some of the best hot chocolate around to get her going. Truly a girl after my own heart. Chocolate saves lives....other people's lives. :)

I have definitely begun to experience the "you should expect this" shortness of breath recently. You can just do a normal walk around a grocery store then all of the sudden you have to stop because you're having issues breathing and your heart is racing. Super fun...or not. A friend at work keeps reminding me that I'm running a marathon on the inside to grow my little, picky girl. Having experienced Asthma for many years, it feels somewhat like that minus the panic involved in closing airways. I think it's probably a good thing that I can recognize the difference or the ER folks would be mighty sick of me by now. HA! I just stop, slow my breathing and wait. It all settles down in a few minutes.

On the upside, Moira is a little less demanding on food right now. That's a huge relief. I know she'll pick back up and it's not like I still can't dismember half a chicken in a few short moments - still, a tiny reprieve is a welcome change. Even if only for a few days. I'll take it. Who knows...maybe I'll only need one breakfast today... ;)