The Speed of Life

 

The days go by slowly but the years go by fast.  Oh how true this is!  Each day can sometimes be agonizingly slow to survive, especially when it's winter time.  But when I stop to look at the progress of my kids, how they've grown, all that they can do, everything they have learned, it is absolutely astounding.  I've been at this job now for more than five years, and sometimes it seems like it has just happened in the blink of an eye.  I am so thankful to God for giving me this opportunity to be a mom. No other job could afford the great "privilege" of giving your all for another person, so sacrificially, so completely.  And oh, what this kind of sacrifice can teach a person, if they will only stop to see their own progress and growth.

Yes, things do move fast.  It's hard at times to keep up with the constant motion and list of demands in a busy home. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all yesterday while shopping with Carter and Reese.  At the first store, I was about to leave and realized I had something in the cart that I hadn't paid for.  This has happened twice this week already.  So I had to put that back on the shelf before leaving.  In the second store, I made it all the way to the checkout line and realized I hadn't grabbed the grocery item I needed to make a recipe waiting at home.  Old age??  Dementia??  Lack of sleep??  Oh but apparently it's not that.  Here is a conversation at the dinner table last night:

Carter: "I know what I want to be for Halloween....an Angry Bird." 
Derrick: "Really, which one?"
Carter: "I want to be the Eagle bird from Space Angry Birds or the Dragon from the other Angry Birds.  Or I want to be Mario, or Yoda, or Puss in Boots."
Reese: I want to be the Black Angry Bird.  Mama, what are you?
Me: I'm a tired Mama.
Reese:  But you don't need any sleep!

Seriously, we are planning for Halloween already!?!  Those sound like some SUPER easy costumes to make too.

Oh, and here's another all too familiar conversation:

Derrick (at dinner table): Carter, do you want anything else to eat?
Carter: No I can't eat another bit.  (He gets up and puts his plate in the sink, then turns around and asks) Dadda, can I have a cupcake???

Comfort Food

Well if there's one thing that depresses me more than ANYTHING else, it is the month of February.  Sorry for all you winter-lovers, those with February birthdays or those who live for Valentine's Day.  For me...I'd just assume it got wiped from the calendar.  It might help if I lived in a warm and sunny place, not Western PA...but I don't.  It might also help if I hadn't gotten sick...yet again.  I am soooooo done with winter and cloudiness and cold!  And February. 

OK, done ranting.  I've been trying to bring some warmth into my life in the last few weeks by trying a few new recipes out and here's what I've found. 

This Pumpkin Apple Soup (weight watchers!!!) is SOOO good.  I made a big pot of it today and both of my kids loved it.  That makes it 5 Stars in my book.  Reese even had three helpings!!!  I had some canned pumpkin in the fridge to use, so I used about 1 lb. of that and 3 lb. of butternut squash I'd cubed and frozen last fall.  It tasted REALLY good.

I made this quinoa pilaf yesterday, minus the chicken.  The coconut oil gives it a nice flavor.

These pork chops were also very yummy and very easy to make.

And winter must be almost over because Derrick started planting our garden last weekend.  And there are already some plants coming up.  A sure sign of spring on the way...can't wait!!!

Childbearing Years

I was thinking about the phrase, "the childbearing years" this week and how there is a lot more meaning behind those words than just the ability to bear (give birth to) children.  To bear children is one thing....and quite a "thing" it is for any mom who's been through childbirth.  But we put so much emphasis on childbirth that we sometimes fail to even realize that bearing children involves SO much more than just having them.  Anyone can have a baby...but it is the hours, and days and months and years that you then must spend raising them afterwards that is the full reality of bearing children.  We must bear the financial changes of having an extra mouth to feed and clothe.  We must bear the added strain on our aging bodies...of sleep deprivation and the rough and tumble years of toddler-hood, playing on playgrounds, tag in the backyard, wrestling them into the bath at night, playing horsey in the family room.  We must bear the weighty responsibility of raising them with morals and an understanding of how to live harmoniously with our fellow man.

There are so many times...even multiple times a day on a bad day that I am tempted to resent my children for the way they behave or the way they suck so much out of me.  It's easy to get frustrated with them...to blame them for taking away all my freedom, free time, and sanity.   But then you have a moment like I had tonight, where Carter smiled at me and gave me a pat on the shoulder and said to me, "Good job, Mama."  Yep, that just makes it all worth it.  (Now, this was in reference to my finishing in 1st place in a Mario Kart race...but what the heck, to receive any praise from your 5-year-old son is noteworthy!!)

Swimming

 Derrick had a great idea to take the kids to a pool today to try and get them moving and do something a little different.  Well, it was great for Reese, but Carter kept complaining that his stomach hurt and wouldn't put one toe in the water.  UGH!  Sienna was a bit scared at first but seemed to like it for a few minutes at least.

While we were still getting ready to leave, we told the kids were were going somewhere secret that we could swim but didn't elaborate.  Reese took this to mean that we were going to the beach and proceeded to go upstairs and pack her bag for the trip.  When she brought it down she was quite distraught because she said, "My Bible won't fit in this bag."  (It was a very small bag)  What she had packed was her rash guard shirt, a sweater, some doll clothes, socks, a little cosmetic bag with her hair "pretties" and the other books we read before bed, a Paddington book, two animal books and her prayer book.  It was too cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

5 Months and Memories

 I can't believe my baby girl has already crossed the 5 month mark.  Time is just flying by...and it ain't because we're having fun.  hahaha

No things haven't suddenly gotten any easier.  Today I felt like I was up to my elbows in...well...poop, to keep it G-rated.  Sienna had three leaks, Reese had to poop at least 4 times and tonight Reese peed her pants...no idea where that even came from.  But seriously...do they all coordinate these events?  Like, on Wednesday, let's all triple team Mama whenever we need to use the bathroom.  UGH!!!

But, in all seriousness ...time really is flying.  Kindergarten registration is in just a few weeks and I can hardly believe I'll be sending my first "baby" off to school this fall.  I feel like I literally blinked my eyes and he grew up overnight.  I find myself looking at Sienna during our middle-of-the-night feedings and thinking...this was Carter just a few years back, where did the time go?  I was in his room the other night and looking at a little shelf on his wall that has a pair of his baby shoes and a bank that is a baby bottle thinking...oh my gosh, where did my baby boy go?  For all the difficulties and frustrations, tears and sleepless nights, I'd do it all over again in a second.  I can't believe how fast it all flew by...can't believe sometimes that I survived it not once, not twice, but now working on my third go-round.  And it seems to pass by more quickly with each child.



The days that are the most difficult are so easy to take for granted...but now looking back, I'd do the hardest days over again just to keep my babies little for one day longer.

Tall Tales

I love to see how the kids interpret things...they can really spin some pretty incredible tales sometimes and it always keeps me laughing.  This morning, Reese told me very matter-of-factly,
"Carter knows how to drive now.  Dadda taught him to yesterday.  He took me for a drive."

I guess Derrick letting them sit in the car while he washed it yesterday counted as a driving lesson.  Who knew??


We were trying to explain to the kids the difference between a morning person and a night person.  We were telling them that Carter is a night person because he likes to stay up late and Reese is a morning person because she likes to get up earlier and is super cheerful in the morning.  Carter didn't agree though.  He said, "I'm a morning person.  When I wake up I'm ready to go....to the toy store."  hahaha


After I returned from running a few errands the other day, the kids were excitedly telling me about sledding in the backyard.  Apparently Sienna also was in on the action.  Carter told me that "Sienna almost sled all the way out into the street."  Wow, that's quite impressive for a 4 month old.

Bathing Beauty and Basketball Boy

 Reese must really be holding out for a beach vacation still. Yesterday she was wearing not one, but two bathing suits around the house.  I guess for some added warmth?  Brrrrr!

I visited Carter's basketball class today and he was so cute.  He really loves basketball...finally a sport he will play!  Don't you just love his headband too?  Santa brought it on the firetruck back before Christmas and he wears it every week.

To da beach!

I guess our kids are vacation deprived.  Yesterday Reese decided to "pack" her clothes to take on vacation.  When I asked where she was going she said, "To Nani and Pop Pop's house at the beach." And boy did she pack.  With a little help from big brother (who was probably more the instigator of this brilliant plan) they managed to completely empty ALL of her drawers and her entire closet of clothes and toys and "pack" them in these brown paper bags.  I was actually not all that thrilled to deal with the aftermath of this "fun" game.  When I asked her if she was ready to help me clean up, she said, "No, I'm going away for a few days, then I will unpack."  Needless to say, Reese's wardrobe is very organized now...

 Sienna went for her first "sled ride" yesterday...she LOVES to be outside, even in this cold snowy weather.   Two days ago she had another first...I was getting her ready for a bath and she laughed for the first time.  Music to my ears, especially after hearing so much crying.  OK, so we laugh...we roll...we sled....how about "WE SLEEP?????"  Isn't it about time already???

Some fun V-day crafts we found and tried on Pinterest so far...

Heart Stampers

Owl Cards (whoooo loves you?)

And I love this idea for incorporating the Biblical description of love into a sort of Valentine's Day advent calendar.  She has it all ready to print for free...so easy.  We started doing it today...very cute!

TGIF!

 Another week finished....no germs to speak of.  We'll take all the progress we can get!

I need to take an official poll...should I trim the combover??  It hangs down in her eyes already.  Isn't there some universal baby law about cutting their hair when they are only 4 months old though?  My babies are certainly blessed in the hair department.