Wednesdays

Normally I hate Wednesdays. I feel like I hit the mid week wall and I have a hard time adjusting. Today was not the case! My wonderful hubby took Zeke to work today. That meant that I only had one boy to look after, which meant I had a quiet day. Then after being spoiled by being a one child mom today we went to Costco and bought food and a few extras. Now it is almost eleven at night and Michael and I are sharing some spring rolls and just having a quiet night.
Maybe I will give Wednesdays another chance after all!

Planet Mom

This year's MOPS theme is "Together on Planet Mom". This morning I was spending some time praying for all the ladies at my table when I started thinking about what the theme really means to me.
The thought of when I was younger and I was the little martian on my mom's planet sprung into my head. My mom was a christian school principal and as a staff of the school they met together every morning for a time of worship, devotion and prayer. Being the kids of the principal we were required to get to the school at the crack of dawn... okay maybe not that bad but it was early. To make matters worse we lived twenty minutes with no traffic away from the school. However where in San Diego is there no traffic? So basically we lived an hour sometimes more away from the school. Are you getting the point? We as kids had to wake up early and get everything together to get in the van and get to the school in time for the staff devotion time.
Those morning drives were often spent catching up on homework that, oops we forgot to do at night, or sleeping, or as three sisters often did... bicker!
My mom's little blue Toyota Previa van strolled down highway 15 every morning with some sort of noise. If my mom had it her way it would have been in silent meditation as she prepared for what devotion she was going to share with her staff. As kids we had other plans! One morning sticks out in my head so vividly as if it were yesterday. Being that I am the oldest I always got shot gun and my two younger sisters had to sit in the back. My sisters were bickering, somethings never change! Being the little mom that I was because I was seven years older I joined in the noise and began yelling at them to shut-up. My mom, I believe had hit her limit and very loudly shouted, "Shut-up and praise the Lord!" Then proceeded to blast the worship tape that was playing. A few seconds later all four of us just starting busting out laughing. Mom grew a little pink in the cheeks and then I guess came to her senses and turned the worship music down.
I will admit to this day we still harass my mom about what she said. Now being a mom I find myself on the verge of saying, "Just shut-up and praise the Lord." So often as moms I think we have this perception of what life should be... our husbands are space men that drop by our planet occasionally, they take a few steps and then vanish. Our children are martians that we try to wrangle and have behave like humans when others look on. That leaves us - moms, trying to hold everything together for fear of a cosmic disaster.
My mom's van was her little planet every morning and evening. She drove it from place to place with her own three martians and often added some other mom's martians to it as well. All in all - my mom's little planet spun on a decent axis but with three martians it got askew but she always seemed to right it... maybe not with the words of a Proverbs woman, but with words of a frazzled mom living on planet Earth trying to control her very own planet.
Life is crazy but every day is a blessing!

Marker Emergency

I sent Zeke to the bathroom because he has been playing outside in the backyard for quite some time. Zeke went into the bathroom and I went back down stairs were I was folding laundry. I was down stairs for a while and I saw that Zeke was standing near the bathroom door and I thought he was needing some help getting his pants back up. So I came up stairs to find my little artist with a black permanent Sharpie in his hand and very proudly standing next to his art work. For some reason my little artist thought that the bathroom door was the perfect canvas for his impromptu artwork. Ahhhh! I frantically grab the pen from his hand run to the kitchen and grab a hot soapy sponge to try and clean up the mess, to no avail! Michael jumps on to the internet and types in "Permanent marker on wood door". Next thing I know Michael is concocting some paste substance in the kitchen and then goes to the bathroom door and starts scrubbing. Baking soda and water was the miracle paste that cleaned away the artwork that our little artist drew on our rental home bathroom door. I simply chuckle and ask Michael, "What did parents do before the internet?" All I have to say is thank GOD!

Struggles

So last night I was up with a sick little Ki. The whole time I was praying that the Lord would make him better and take his fever away. While this was taking place I was comforted by the words, "The Lord never gives us more then we can handle." Yes, I realize that Ki being a little feverish is not a huge deal but the words rang so true and comforting to my soul that I started thinking of all the things in my life that I have come through and He was there every step!
I think of the simplest things, a long work day; to some of the bigger things, being paralyzed... from the day to day to the year to year. I am confident that my God does not fall asleep, He does not slip off the throne, He does not turn a deaf ear.
Whatever the day holds know that our Lord sees you fit to handle it. Of course we want to handle it gracefully and come out with perfect looking hair, however sometimes struggles knock us to the floor and we cannot even stand after coming through on the other side.
Some of our struggles may look like mountains, some like a desert, and some like a heavily treed forest. We often stand on one side of that struggle thinking, "There is no way to summit, cross, and no way to survive." Rest and know that our Heavenly Father is there and He is confident that the mountain, desert or forest will not kill you but make you stronger.

Breakfast in Bed

I am a truly blessed woman! This morning I was graced with pancake breakfast in bed at 7:30am. That meant that I was able to sleep in and Michael took care of Zeke for an hour while I slept. Ahhh - life is good. Now we are just having a relaxing day... still jammie clad and loving it!

Simple Joys

An unexpected love note text from my hubby
Quiet lunch with Zeke
Ki sleeping on my shoulder
After nap snuggles with Zeke
Kiss requests from Zeke
Little giggles from Ki as he watches Zeke
Watching Michael look at his boys - the little grin of admiration
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First sip of tea that warms my insides
Secret milk and cookies snack
First bite of a craved food
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Phone call from a friend
Drop by visit from an unexpected guest
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Warm flannel sheets
Cozy robe
Early morning snuggles with hubby

Library

Why had I not thought about going to the library until today? I picked up Zeke from preschool, the three of us went to the park for a picnic lunch then we went to the library and got some books. New Curious George books - I needed new material! I can pretty much read every one of our Curious George books without even looking at the book. I guess that is a good thing for those days that I am trying to juggle feeding Ki and getting Zeke down for his nap. However we went to the library and got three new Curious George books and a Bob the Builder DVD. Very exciting stuff here - new Curious George books. Kind of makes me chuckle at what excites me as a mom - never thought I would be so ecstatic over children books.

Heavy Heart

Before you begin know that I have been really contemplating a lot of things and so the flow of this is not going to be in any order... just a lot of thoughts!
Memory maker versus memorabilia keeper...
Today I met with a women that is getting rid of a three car garage packed full of baby, toddler, and young child things. As I walked into the garage I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that was there. I begin sifting through the items on the search for a few very specific items. As I am searching I glance over at the woman and I see that there are tears in her eyes as she is lovingly folding an infant item. I ask her what has brought on the sale of all of these things. She looks at me with tears and says, "The conclusion of therapy."
Come to find out she was blessed with one child and after many miscarriages has given up hope. The statement "given up hope" rang so loudly in that garage at that very moment I became almost sick to my stomach. This three car garage was full of not "things" as I first stated but a reminder of lost babies, shattered dreams, and the very real constant reminder that only one child would be hers. Each toy, blanket, coat, baby item was not the purging of things, but the release of what clearly seemed to be hope. Not wanting to minimize her feelings but wanting to acknowledge her emotions I simply said, "I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that there are seasons for everything."
After spending a few more minutes with her I left her home. As I was driving home I realized a few things. First I realized that so often as moms we place our worth in our children. We are good moms if we have two or more happy, healthy, well behaved duplicates of our spouses and ourselves. Secondly, as women we tie our memories and emotions to things as they are reminders of what was. Thirdly, we see road-blocks in life as the end rather then an opportunity to grow, change, and take a detour.
The mornings events reminded me of a brief conversation that I had with a friend yesterday. I had a friend come over to my house yesterday for a play date. As our toddlers played I gave her a tour of my house. She looked at me in disbelief at the order in my home and jokingly said, "I have not seem the floors in my bedroom in months and the kids rooms - another crazy spot." I simply said, "I thrive in order and therefore often throw things out because they may cause clutter." That statement was no sooner out of my mouth before I followed with, "I am not one to keep things... first hair cut, whatever, didn't make a big deal about it."
I guess this all brings me in a circle again. I am not a "things" collector. I am a mom that loves and treasures every moment I spend with my two children, that are nothing less than God's gracious love.
How as a woman can I be a "things" collector as well as a memory maker? My thought is that memories won't clutter my house, but will decorate my mind and the minds of my children. Is it possible to still be a good mom without collecting every scrap of paper my children doodle on, or save every outfit my babies wear in a moth proof box? I guess I know the answers but am heavy hearted over the intricate details of what makes a mom a good one!

Snow...

This morning I was awaken by rain - kind of a nice surprise as we normally only get rain in the afternoons. Well that rain turned into snow by 10am this morning... what snow? Yes you read that correctly! Snow! I called my dad in San Diego to ask what the weather was like there and he said that it was down to about 79 degrees he was in Rancho Bernardo at the time. I told him that it was snowing - not sticking here in town but snow none the less. Oh goodness are we in for a WINTER.

Just one of those days

Today has been just one of those days where I am in complete awe at how great life is! We woke up this morning and went to first service where Pastor Bill was on fire, he is preaching through 1 Kings - the sermon series is Wise Among Fools. There are so many great little tid-bits throughout the series. After church we came home and the boys and I played in the backyard. Ki hung out in his Johnny Jumper and Zeke and I played baseball. Michael came out and joined us outside for a little while and played with Zeke so I could hang out with Ki. Then we ate our lunch outside, nice weather to enjoy before fall sets in too much! I got both the boys down for their naps and now I am just enjoying - enjoying the slight breeze that is billowing the curtains, enjoying the stillness of the house - enjoying life!

Crepes

Ever since we went to Arizona the first week of August I have been craving crepes. We went to VI and I got crepes with Nutella spread, bananas, strawberries, and whip cream. I have been wanting that ever since then. It was the first time I had ever had crepes. My thought has always been - why get crepes when I can get pancakes that fill me up - the same thing right? Oh goodness, not the same at all. Being that we are Good Eats fans (a cooking show by Alton Brown on Food Network) we saw that he had a crepe recipe. So Michael being sick of listening to me beg to go back to VI to get crepes - he decided to make some for us today! Let me tell you - they are so stinking good! We are sitting here and trying different fillings and toppings - so far we have tried jelly, honey, and caramel with chocolate. I think that we are headed to the store to get more fillings and toppings to try more for tomorrow as I think crepes will be the new Saturday morning breakfast request!
Interested in the recipe? Check out Good Eats on Food Network - it is great!

The Crud

Oh blasted crud! Please go away and never come back!
The joys of preschool germs have bestowed itself on our household. We are all feeling the effects of the crud. Zeke woke up Friday morning with a runny nose and it has only gotten worse and reproduced itself in Ki then Michael and then this morning myself.
Needless to say Tylenol, Vicks vapor rub, and Kleenex have taken a mainstay in our home. In my weary attempts to get Zeke to rest I have employed the help of Pixar Cars. I could almost repeat the entire movie for you - oh joy!
I am eagerly awaiting the departure of this cursed crud so that we can go on enjoying life.
Cough, Sniff, Cough!

Cookie Monster

So this afternoon Zeke, Ki and I got home from running a few errands and I was getting ready to make Zeke lunch but Ki needed some attention (diaper change) so I took Ki upstairs to get him changed. I came down stairs and I couldn't find Zeke any where. I checked in the backyard, the basement and then went back upstairs to check the bedrooms - no luck! I started hollering his name and I heard some laughing coming from my pantry. Let me paint the picture of the size of my pantry... it is probably two feet deep with shelves that are probably about a foot and half wide leaving a very small space between the shelves and the closing bi-fold doors. I open the pantry doors to find my little cookie monster Zeke sitting on the floor with Oreos in his lap and black all around his mouth. He looks up at me very innocently and says, "Me eat cookies." Like, "Hello mom I was starving here and you made me eat them!" Oh goodness! What is a mom to do with this one?

My boys, my life!

Today I woke up in complete awe that of all the parents in the world for my boys, God chose me and Michael! All day I was in the mind set of complete gratitude! I know that there are times that we will fail our boys and times that we will let them down but God knows that the four of us make a good team. Life would not be the same without our boys in our lives.
Zeke has a way of making me laugh even when I want to scream. He has this gentle little spirit to encourage even with his limited vocabulary. When he is not around, yes my house is quiet but it just does not feel right! Today when I picked him up from school his teachers noted how smart he is but also just how friendly he is - it is always neat when others see what you see in your child!
Ki, although really young has a way of capturing my heart. He has started this new thing of pretend coughing and then laughing - where he got that from I am not sure but it makes me laugh every time. Just today Ki became acquainted with the baby in the mirror and it was the funniest thing to watch. One thing that makes me laugh every time - he laughs so hard that he gets hiccups and then his little laughs are between catching his breath and hiccuping - too funny!
Pastor Rays' words have been on my mind all day today, "God is good... All the time. All the time... God is good." Amen! We are a truly blessed family.

Discipline...

So my very cute and strong willed Zeke this morning was getting into something that I have told him a zillion times to leave alone. I swatted his hinney and then asked him, "What am I supposed to do with you?" He very confidently held out his arms and said, "Kiss me!" Then proceeded to point to his forehead, cheek and lips and said, "'Ere, 'Ere, and 'Ere." Suggested the very specific places for me to place the kisses. How can I not laugh and do just as he asked and lay some big mommy smooches on him? Goodness I have my hands full!

Figuring this thing out!

So after many hour I think that I have finally figured out how this "blog" world works. A day of being lazy and playing on the computer has left me wide awake. I am normally fast asleep by this time of night however with Michael gone I am wide awake.
Thankfully this morning I was productive, I swept and mopped my floors and made two loafs of banana bread. A day spent loafing around followed by an evening of laundry to keep up with my little one who is attempting this whole potty training thing. I don't think I have ever done so much laundry in all my life - loads are as little as two couch cushions, a blanket and underwear. Ahhhhh!

Type A to the MAX

Okay, how pathetic am I? I have spent the last like three hours trying to figure out how to make my blog fun and colorful... needless to say at this point - to no avail! Good thing I suppose that I declared today a "lazy day". Since Michael is out of town today and tomorrow I decided that today could be a jammie day, yes you read that correctly, I am still in my jammies from last night! Gross maybe but more just lazy. So basically I sent out a "help me" request to my friend that suggested this darn blog thing in the first place. Hopefully she will be able to help me!

Let's Try This

Okay so a friend of mine suggested that I try to blog rather then stress about being such a slacker in not getting my "family update" emails out! So for the family that is not on Facebook and gets all my glorious updates there is another quick and easy way for me to update y'all.