Had to record this conversation for posterity, or just to remind myself why I am going crazy. Enjoy.
So Alaina I ran into Whole Foods today and while at the meat counter, Alaina notices some words painted on the floor. Like the good mother that I am, I encouraged her to try to read the words, they said something to the effect of "It's time to get food for the game" with a big giant basketball painted as a background. So here is the conversation.
Alaina: "Why do you have to get food for basketball?"
Me: "There are a lot of basktball games being played."
Alaina: "You mean here at Whole Foods?"
Me: "No, there are a lot of colleges that have basketball games this time of year all around the country."
Alaina: "And they are going to play basketball HERE at Whole Foods?"
Me: "No! People are going to watch the games on TV and they want to get food for the game."
Alaina: "So everyone here is getting food for a basketball game?" (It was SUPER crowded)
Me: "No, I mean, some of them might be, but when the game is on they may want to eat snacks while they are watching it."
Alaina: "Are they watching the game right now?"
Honestly, I don't remember where the conversation went from there. I just remember laughing to myself as I hurried her through the masses of old people that had shown up for the free food sampling for the Passover Food demonstrations they were having. Good times.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Busy, busy!
We are absolutely in full swing with the three kid lifestyle and let me tell you, it is B-U-S-Y. Mainly good busy, but there is a learning curve in balancing this kind of busy, so we are certainly still in process.
Little energizer bunny over here. He is like a dog over water. Whenever you hold him over the ground, his legs move at about 148 mph. He is on the move at all times and LOVES exploring the house now that he is able. Today he found himself in an impromptu fort.
He thought it was so fun. I was just glad that his head cleared every surface so there was no head bumping and falling during this escapade. After all, with baby #3, one tends to let them explore more on their own (so I may or may not have walked the handyman outside to the back fence to talk about a project, with Conner and Alaina following, only to realize a few minutes later that I had left Zane inside by himself). Learning independence is healthy, right? : )
Meanwhile, these two seemingly sweet children, have been really testing the waters around home with attitudes, arguments and behaviors that are challenging!
But, no worries. I go into "Screamfree" mode, talking calmly and giving natural consequences in love. Or I just take this perspective...
No, they are sweet. No really, they are. ; ) They are great with Zane and honestly, make having a baby much more fun! They way they react and are starting to communicate it too cute. And quite loud. Alaina was in the bath tonight and Zane stood a the tub screaming at her. Then she would scream back, he would laugh, then scream at her again, then she would scream, he would laugh, and, well......you get the picture.
Other happenings include another Daddy date for Alaina where they went and saw Snow White at the Raleigh little theater and then went for ice cream afterwards.
The hope is that Keith treats her so good on the dates that she will never settle for less than being treated like the best. : )
It was so cute seeing Alaina get all dressed up and then how she special she thought it was that her Daddy got super dressed up (i.e. no jeans). He opened doors for her and even let her sit in the front seat which she thought was the best experience of her life. She woke up the next morning singing about her "Daddy date" and then wrote about it at school. So sweet.
Speaking of writing things at school. At Alaina's school conference this week, I found out Alaina is doing great in kindergarten and on track to meet all kindergarten goals by the end of the year. It was then that the teacher said, "Oh, Alaina told me she is taking karate! How cool!". Uh, yeah. It would be cool if she was taking karate but SHE ISN'T.
It really is funny to hear what comes out of her mouth and from her imagination. I mean, look at that picture. What are the two big circle things on the left? (Not to mention what looks like a sumo wrestling thong thing on one of those people. ha!)
And the one that I got the biggest kick out of:
Speaking of busy.....
Little energizer bunny over here. He is like a dog over water. Whenever you hold him over the ground, his legs move at about 148 mph. He is on the move at all times and LOVES exploring the house now that he is able. Today he found himself in an impromptu fort.
He thought it was so fun. I was just glad that his head cleared every surface so there was no head bumping and falling during this escapade. After all, with baby #3, one tends to let them explore more on their own (so I may or may not have walked the handyman outside to the back fence to talk about a project, with Conner and Alaina following, only to realize a few minutes later that I had left Zane inside by himself). Learning independence is healthy, right? : )
This busy boy will be 9 months old tomorrow!
Meanwhile, these two seemingly sweet children, have been really testing the waters around home with attitudes, arguments and behaviors that are challenging!
But, no worries. I go into "Screamfree" mode, talking calmly and giving natural consequences in love. Or I just take this perspective...
No, they are sweet. No really, they are. ; ) They are great with Zane and honestly, make having a baby much more fun! They way they react and are starting to communicate it too cute. And quite loud. Alaina was in the bath tonight and Zane stood a the tub screaming at her. Then she would scream back, he would laugh, then scream at her again, then she would scream, he would laugh, and, well......you get the picture.
Other happenings include another Daddy date for Alaina where they went and saw Snow White at the Raleigh little theater and then went for ice cream afterwards.
The hope is that Keith treats her so good on the dates that she will never settle for less than being treated like the best. : )
It was so cute seeing Alaina get all dressed up and then how she special she thought it was that her Daddy got super dressed up (i.e. no jeans). He opened doors for her and even let her sit in the front seat which she thought was the best experience of her life. She woke up the next morning singing about her "Daddy date" and then wrote about it at school. So sweet.
Speaking of writing things at school. At Alaina's school conference this week, I found out Alaina is doing great in kindergarten and on track to meet all kindergarten goals by the end of the year. It was then that the teacher said, "Oh, Alaina told me she is taking karate! How cool!". Uh, yeah. It would be cool if she was taking karate but SHE ISN'T.
"I can do karate. I do karate with my friend. I have a friend today."
It really is funny to hear what comes out of her mouth and from her imagination. I mean, look at that picture. What are the two big circle things on the left? (Not to mention what looks like a sumo wrestling thong thing on one of those people. ha!)
And the one that I got the biggest kick out of:
The question posed is "What's better than gold?", and Alaina writes, "I love cookie cake at the end of the rainbow. It has icing on it."
That's my girl! Nothing is better than a good dessert, not even gold!
Not to be outdone, Conner brought home a graded project from school which involved writing poetry.
He got a 98 on this. The two points taken off were taken from the points counted toward the poem "making sense". Conner said he kind of agreed with the teacher.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I never want to forget Moments like this.
Maybe it is because he is baby #3.
Maybe it is because I am getting older and with maturity (I do use that work lightly here) you realize that there are few moments of pure joy in life.
Maybe it is because Zane is so happy about life, thinking every new thing, even just looking your own hand moving, is joyful.
Maybe because experiencing love, TRUE love, for your child is heart wrenching in the most wonderful way imaginable. How can a baby waving make one want to cry with love? Imagine how our Father feels about us if we feel this way about our child!!
Maybe because life is hard. It is busy. It is stressful and overwhelming and moments like this erase all of it and allow me to be in the moment. Even if it is just for a moment. : )
Maybe because I know these moments are going to be gone soon. That this sweet baby will soon be a boy, the a big boy, then a "bigger than me" boy, and then a Man.
Who knows why, but moments like this just define what life is all about.
Be in the moment. Push your limits. Find joy in little thinks. Laugh.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Stepping off the merry go round for a moment.
Wow. Things have been CA-RAZY, as opposed to just plain crazy. Yes, there is a difference and I am here to report about it. I am going to do so with my new God given attitude of gratitude sans complaining. And good thing I did not come on the blog before God brought me to my knees to change my complaining ungrateful heart, because it would have just been a whine fest! Something that sparked this "awakening" was this article. I have found some great blogs lately that focus on two things that I myself am trying to focus on, well, maybe three. God, whole food eating, and being on a budget. This one has great recipes, of which I have made two this week and this one has great inspiration and recipes as well.
So. Onto the latest happenings.
Zane is crawling and crawling fast. Just this morning, Conner turned to me excitedly and said "Zane is REALLY crawling now". Meaning that his legs are moving before you place him down so when he does make contact with the floor he launches forward on his mission. He has really been focused on crawling over to things so he can stand. This has kept him out of getting into "trouble", i.e. pulling things down, going for breakables, the stairs, etc. That said, there has been one (or several) instance where I thought one of the kids was in the living room with him and I heard that all to familiar scary, gut wrenching noise that alerts every Mom that something terrible has happened. The terrible sound of silence. When I heard the silence I immediately went to the living room to find Zane tangling himself in the media cords he had pulled out from under the bookshelf. : ) You can "hear" silence, right?
When downstairs, Zane is pulling up on his play table, the ottoman, the dining room chairs, the bottom of the highchair, and even the dishwasher. He LOVES to stand and just this morning I noticed that he has discovered how to comfortably squat down while still holding on so he can "get down" from where he is standing. And he thinks he is big stuff too. Oh how I wish I would have the camera out more these days, but with the blessed chaos that has been ensuing, it just hasn't happened. These are literally the only pictures I have over the past few weeks.
Not sure I did an Eight Month post (pretty sure I did not come to think of it) so here is his eight month run down. Eating three meals a day, all table food, but not feeding himself yet. This week I have had fed him what we eat at every dinner which is nice not having to fix an extra meal. He is babbling quite a bit, lots of ba-ba-ba repeated over and over and over (and over). He continues to be really happy when he is rested and full and will play alone or with the kids. He really is as good as it gets. : ) The boy does love his crib for naps and naps GREAT there, however, being the third, it has been lots of cat naps in the car or carrier which is not good for baby nor Mama, but what can you do?
On other fronts...for the sake of time, it's bullet time!
So. Onto the latest happenings.
Zane is crawling and crawling fast. Just this morning, Conner turned to me excitedly and said "Zane is REALLY crawling now". Meaning that his legs are moving before you place him down so when he does make contact with the floor he launches forward on his mission. He has really been focused on crawling over to things so he can stand. This has kept him out of getting into "trouble", i.e. pulling things down, going for breakables, the stairs, etc. That said, there has been one (or several) instance where I thought one of the kids was in the living room with him and I heard that all to familiar scary, gut wrenching noise that alerts every Mom that something terrible has happened. The terrible sound of silence. When I heard the silence I immediately went to the living room to find Zane tangling himself in the media cords he had pulled out from under the bookshelf. : ) You can "hear" silence, right?
When downstairs, Zane is pulling up on his play table, the ottoman, the dining room chairs, the bottom of the highchair, and even the dishwasher. He LOVES to stand and just this morning I noticed that he has discovered how to comfortably squat down while still holding on so he can "get down" from where he is standing. And he thinks he is big stuff too. Oh how I wish I would have the camera out more these days, but with the blessed chaos that has been ensuing, it just hasn't happened. These are literally the only pictures I have over the past few weeks.
Not sure I did an Eight Month post (pretty sure I did not come to think of it) so here is his eight month run down. Eating three meals a day, all table food, but not feeding himself yet. This week I have had fed him what we eat at every dinner which is nice not having to fix an extra meal. He is babbling quite a bit, lots of ba-ba-ba repeated over and over and over (and over). He continues to be really happy when he is rested and full and will play alone or with the kids. He really is as good as it gets. : ) The boy does love his crib for naps and naps GREAT there, however, being the third, it has been lots of cat naps in the car or carrier which is not good for baby nor Mama, but what can you do?
On other fronts...for the sake of time, it's bullet time!
- House was supposed to go on the market March 1st, but we had a
huge and horribly inconvenient an expensivesmall mishap with the dining room double window which has delayed it. - Been busy getting all things looking right in the house from landscaping, mulching, sanding, painting, new carpet installed, house cleaned, etc. Please Lord, let us sell this house quick!
- Alaina is busy still learning to read and required nightly one on one reading time. She continues to keep us all on our toes, making us laugh and challenging us continuously throughout the day. She has a "daddy date" tonight and she is SO EXCITED. She was prancing around the living room singing "Daddy date, daddy date" all morning. : ) Keith is such a good Dad.
- Conner is reading four books at a time, maybe five. Literally. Love that he loves reading! His homework keeps him busy and the project his week in his class of creating a "store" in their current "economy" has made him very exctied!
- Conner recently lost media for a week, we are on day 5, and last night he said "Ya know Mom, I really like not doing media" and I responded, "I like when you don't do it too, I feel like you are around more and it is more fun". He looked at me and smiled and I feel like we had a moment there. He meant it from his heart and I love that he can at least begin to recognize the value of taming the temptation to be "hooked up" all the time. Don't we all need that lesson?
- Keith has been working hard at work, doing overtime and keeping up with house projects and being an awesome one on one Dad. I seriously have not heard of a Dad that takes his personal relationship with his children so seriously. Lucky me. Correction, blessed me.
- Me? I was busy walking around saying "woe is me" as I tried to keep up with school/work emails, laundry, dishes, decluttering for the sell, house projects, appointments, bills, errands, meal planning, carpooling, etc. Luckily, as I reference above, God reigned me in and I am now adjusting my glasses to see each and every moment as a blessing. One day at a time, right?
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