Today I'm thankful for...
1. Diggers and Dump Trucks. Our neighbors are having work done on their driveway. A big backhoe is digging a deep hole and dumping the dirt in the back of a dump truck parked next to it. When Lillian first heard the trucks working, she looked out the window and exclaimed, "LOOK! Everyone come look!" We all gathered round the window to see, and Liam pointed and shouted, "Guck, guck!" [translated: truck, truck!] over and over. The window view soon lost its excitement, so we went outside to watch from the front porch. The kids sat and watched like they were at the movie theater, and Sydney kept asking if she could get down and watch from the driveway. Her cautious mother said no every time she asked. I'm not that into trucks and tractors [definitely not as much as my two boys are-- Bobby and Liam], but I have to admit that it's always neat to watch them work. The construction vehicles are still parked in the driveway, so we have tomorrow to look forward to more work and easy entertainment! :)
2. Bribery. Liam has reached the age of comprehending a good bribe...an important developmental milestone in my opinion. Meal time now often consists of a conversation as follows:
Me: Liam, eat your green beans. [raise the fork with two green beans stabbed on the end toward his mouth]
Liam: No. [clamps his mouth shut tight with his lips pouting out and turns his head away and to the side, making a repulsed face]
Me: Liam, do you want a COOKIE!? [trying to sound as excited as possible]
Liam: [Big smile] Oooh, yah! [Reaches for cookie]
Me: You have to eat your green beans first, ok? [Raise fork with green beans again]
Liam: Ok.
Me: Eat some green beans.
Liam: No.
Me: Do you want THIS? [hold up cookie]
Liam: Yah.
Me: Eat some green beans first [hold up green beans] and then you can have the cookie, ok? [hold up cookie again for emphasis and temptation].
Laim: Ok. [mouth opens, insert green beans, remind him to chew and swallow them, then proceed to give him his cookie reward. Repeat process until green beans are all gone. And just to clarify, I don't give him a WHOLE cookie for each green bean he eats...he gets a little piece of cookie, size depending on how big of a green bean bite he takes]. :)
3. Sydney's fancy hair. Lillian coerced Sydney into letting her do her hair this morning. She said she was doing it a "super fancy way." After a few minutes she gave up and asked me to give her two pigtails. To my surprise Sydney agreed, and she kept them in all morning, which is a long streak in her book. She looked so cute, and it reminded me of when she was younger and her hair was in pigtails a lot more.
4. Liam's words. Here are a few:
Ya-Ya: Lilly
Nee-Nee: Sydney
Guck: Truck
Bee-Bo: Bellybutton (thanks to Sandra Boynton and her "Belly Button Book")
No: No translation needed
Et GO!: Let's GO!
Wawa: Water
Deuce: Juice
Assdint: Accident
Wide: Ride
5. Water. Tonight when I was making dinner I accidentally set a paper towel on fire. I tried blowing it out a few times, but to no avail. In fact, I think it only fed the flames more. Before the heat could get to my fingertips, I dropped the flaming paper towel into the sink and ran water over it. It all happened in a split second, but the girls were at the table watching. When it was over, and impressed Sydney said, "Wow, Mom, you're a fire fighter!" Lillian sort of scoffed and said something about me being a fire starter. What a smart aleck she is....but I was thinking the same thing. :)
6. Good advice and support. I've been struggling lately with the possibility of getting a job to supplement our income. Our budget is so tight and credit cards are making ends meet for us right now. Neither Bobby or I like the idea of accruing credit card debt, so the only way to make things work is to increase our income. I don't see any way we can decrease our spending enough to make up the difference. There's nothing more Bobby can do at the moment, so it would have to come from me. Do I pursue something related to my degree (that I earned six years ago and don't have any 'professional' working experience with...and that would take me away from home and the kids a lot)? Do I try to find some kids to babysit so I can at least be home with my own kids, too? Do I maybe start up a little preschool gig at home- but who do I know who has enough money to spare to make it worth it (but maybe someone does, I don't know, I haven't explored the idea too much)? Do we just keep using the credit cards so I can stay home and we'll worry about paying them off in a few years when income increases? I posed this question to a group of ladies who are in similar financial and life-stage situation as I am. All of their responses were different, but all were supportive and helpful. I'm appreciative to these women who offered their insights and advice. And I'll take any good advice you might have, too! I still haven't decided what I'm going to do, but I have a lot of options to consider and I'm feeling better about it already.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
The Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked, and Walked, and Walked, and Walked.........
Today I'm thankful for . . .
1. More songs. I'm in the process of trying to get Liam to sleep. He had a long, late nap this afternoon, so he's not very interested in going to bed right now. I laid him down in my bed, hoping it would calm him down and lull him to sleep better. I tucked him in and sang him a short song. I started to leave when he started saying something that my Mommy brain translated into "temple." He wanted me to sing the "Temple Song," or "I Love to See The Temple," which I usually sing to the kids at bedtime. So I sang him the song and told him to close his eyes and go to sleep. But he started saying something else and when he got his hands free from under the covers, his little fingers were furiously going back and forth making the "more" sign. He wanted more songs!! I couldn't refuse, so I sang him another song. Again, he asked for more. This time I told him that if he could lay in bed quietly with his eyes closed then I would come back and sing him another song. He shut his eyes tight and said, "Ok," in his deep, little man voice. I tiptoed out of the room, heard him cry once, and haven't heard him since. He's such a cute little guy. Love him!
2. Pioneer Day. Last Wednesday, July 24th was Pioneer Day, which commemorates the day that the Mormon Pioneers finally made it to the Salt Lake Valley after traveling nearly 1500 miles from Nauvoo, IL. It's an official state holiday and a big, huge deal in Utah...not so much here on the East Coast, but we celebrated anyway. The kids and I read a story about a pioneer girl who got lost from her wagon train [and then found again...happy ending], making whirly-gig toys out of paper plates, making paper bonnets, and playing pioneer games outside like Shadow Tag, Leap Frog, Blind Man's Bluff, Hopscotch, and Birdie in My Cup. We were going to extend the celebrations today by making ice cream, but I didn't have the right ingredients, so we made paper quilts instead. The girls cut squares out of scrapbook paper and glued them to cardstock. Then Lillian had the idea to laminate them and make them placemats! (She always wants to laminate every.single.art project that she does, which I usually say no to, but this time it was a great idea!!) Their pioneer quilted placemats are so cute, and they used them for dinner tonight!
3. Balloon popping! We took down all of Lillian's birthday decorations, which included a lot of balloons hanging from the ceiling. All three kiddies had a blast popping them. They sat on them, poked them, and cut them with plastic knives. Liam cracked up laughing every time one of them exploded with an ear-deafening pop. The girls bounced endlessly on balloon after balloon until they popped underneath of them. Liam couldn't stop retelling the fun they had; he kept repeating, "bum, bum! POP!!"
4. Long walks. It wasn't too hot this morning and I was dying to get outside for some fresh air. I told the kids we were going for a walk, so we got our tennis shoes on and headed out the door. Sydney and Lillian brought their scooters to ride. A few blocks later Sydney was tired of riding her scooter, so she joined Liam in the stroller. Lillian was still going strong, so I decided to head in the direction of Bobby's hospital. I didn't think we would make it the entire way since it's nearly a mile, but before long we were just a block away. We stopped to rest and play at a fountain in a small park and I called Bobby to see if he was available...he was finishing up a case on a guy who got hit by a car last night. He was done, but there were three other people in the ER that he needed to see. He had a few minutes, though, so he met us outside and brought us to the cafeteria for lunch. The girls were SO excited to dine at "Daddy's Hospital," and I didn't mind because it was pretty cheap. While Bobby reset someone's broken ankle in the ER we ate chicken nuggets and french fries in the cafeteria overlooking the river and watched ospreys fly overhead. The girls chose a table for two in the corner and Liam was my date at a nearby table. Bobby joined us for his lunch before he had to rush off again to take care of someone else. We made the mile trek back home in the heat. My stroller was heavier with three kids and two scooters, but it was still a pleasant walk. We cooled off in our air conditioned apartment and ate ice pops on the porch. Our little adventure this afternoon was fun!
1. More songs. I'm in the process of trying to get Liam to sleep. He had a long, late nap this afternoon, so he's not very interested in going to bed right now. I laid him down in my bed, hoping it would calm him down and lull him to sleep better. I tucked him in and sang him a short song. I started to leave when he started saying something that my Mommy brain translated into "temple." He wanted me to sing the "Temple Song," or "I Love to See The Temple," which I usually sing to the kids at bedtime. So I sang him the song and told him to close his eyes and go to sleep. But he started saying something else and when he got his hands free from under the covers, his little fingers were furiously going back and forth making the "more" sign. He wanted more songs!! I couldn't refuse, so I sang him another song. Again, he asked for more. This time I told him that if he could lay in bed quietly with his eyes closed then I would come back and sing him another song. He shut his eyes tight and said, "Ok," in his deep, little man voice. I tiptoed out of the room, heard him cry once, and haven't heard him since. He's such a cute little guy. Love him!
2. Pioneer Day. Last Wednesday, July 24th was Pioneer Day, which commemorates the day that the Mormon Pioneers finally made it to the Salt Lake Valley after traveling nearly 1500 miles from Nauvoo, IL. It's an official state holiday and a big, huge deal in Utah...not so much here on the East Coast, but we celebrated anyway. The kids and I read a story about a pioneer girl who got lost from her wagon train [and then found again...happy ending], making whirly-gig toys out of paper plates, making paper bonnets, and playing pioneer games outside like Shadow Tag, Leap Frog, Blind Man's Bluff, Hopscotch, and Birdie in My Cup. We were going to extend the celebrations today by making ice cream, but I didn't have the right ingredients, so we made paper quilts instead. The girls cut squares out of scrapbook paper and glued them to cardstock. Then Lillian had the idea to laminate them and make them placemats! (She always wants to laminate every.single.art project that she does, which I usually say no to, but this time it was a great idea!!) Their pioneer quilted placemats are so cute, and they used them for dinner tonight!
3. Balloon popping! We took down all of Lillian's birthday decorations, which included a lot of balloons hanging from the ceiling. All three kiddies had a blast popping them. They sat on them, poked them, and cut them with plastic knives. Liam cracked up laughing every time one of them exploded with an ear-deafening pop. The girls bounced endlessly on balloon after balloon until they popped underneath of them. Liam couldn't stop retelling the fun they had; he kept repeating, "bum, bum! POP!!"
4. Long walks. It wasn't too hot this morning and I was dying to get outside for some fresh air. I told the kids we were going for a walk, so we got our tennis shoes on and headed out the door. Sydney and Lillian brought their scooters to ride. A few blocks later Sydney was tired of riding her scooter, so she joined Liam in the stroller. Lillian was still going strong, so I decided to head in the direction of Bobby's hospital. I didn't think we would make it the entire way since it's nearly a mile, but before long we were just a block away. We stopped to rest and play at a fountain in a small park and I called Bobby to see if he was available...he was finishing up a case on a guy who got hit by a car last night. He was done, but there were three other people in the ER that he needed to see. He had a few minutes, though, so he met us outside and brought us to the cafeteria for lunch. The girls were SO excited to dine at "Daddy's Hospital," and I didn't mind because it was pretty cheap. While Bobby reset someone's broken ankle in the ER we ate chicken nuggets and french fries in the cafeteria overlooking the river and watched ospreys fly overhead. The girls chose a table for two in the corner and Liam was my date at a nearby table. Bobby joined us for his lunch before he had to rush off again to take care of someone else. We made the mile trek back home in the heat. My stroller was heavier with three kids and two scooters, but it was still a pleasant walk. We cooled off in our air conditioned apartment and ate ice pops on the porch. Our little adventure this afternoon was fun!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Birthdays, Teeth, and Smiles
It's been two months to the day!
Today I'm thankful for:
1. Three rounds of birthday celebrations. Lillian has been basking in birthday fun. While on vacation last week with my family we had mini cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday in a large ski resort lodge while the wild bears ran through the backyard. Yesterday was Lilly's actual birthday, so we went to the Salisbury Zoo with some new friends, then had chocolate cupcakes together. Tonight we partied with Bobby's side of the family and had fun with loads of cousins, aunts, and uncles. We're all cup-caked out, but we are so happy to have Lillian in our family and to celebrate her 6th birthday with her!!
 |
| Cupcakes during Barker vacation in Jimtown |
 | ||
Cupcakes with friends!!
|
3. Sydney's smile. It melts my heart every time.
4. Silly string!! We had a silly string fight on Lilly's birthday- it was the best 3 bucks I ever spent!
5. Lillian's first missing tooth! It's been lose for about 4 months and it finally popped out yesterday- literally! Bobby was flossing her teeth and she told him that she wanted him to try to pull it out. When he did, it popped right out and flew across the room! She was a brave girl and she's still beaming about it. Now she talks with a little lisp and she sticks her tongue through the little window in her mouth. So cute! The tooth fairy was generous to her, since it was her first tooth AND it came out on her birthday. Lillian missed her baby tooth so much in the morning that she bargained with the tooth fairy and got it back to keep. :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Joys
Today I'm thankful for...
Rain- it cooled everything off and it thoroughly watered my new hibiscus plant that probably would have shriveled up and died due to my neglect.
Little artists- Lilly and Syd painted some pretty awesome pictures today. A colorful array of rainbows, self-portraits, kangaroos, and birds' nests. I'm glad their creative juices were flowing.
A clean air conditioner- it took me three days, but I managed to scrub, vacuum, and bleach all of the dust and mold out of it, just in time for the weather to cool off! I'll feel much better about breathing in the air it'll be blowing out the next time I turn it on.
My friend Tara- she always makes me feel better, even when she isn't trying to.
Prayer- spilling out all my worries and anxieties to my Heavenly Father helps me feel so much better.
Mani-Pedi parties- the girls and I soaked our feet in warm water with fizzing soap balls, then I gave them foot massages with fancy lotion and painted their toes and fingers. It was a belated Mother's Day activity- a 'thank you for letting me be your mom' celebration. Fun!
Liam's lost ba-boos- he has two pink ones left and we couldn't find them anywhere all day yesterday. I found them both last night, but since he and I survived a 24-hour time period without one, I decided to just keep the trend going. Might as well get the inevitable over with as soon as possible. Day 2 went well also. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Hopeful reminders- I like it when friends finish their residency programs, become board certified, move into fellowships, or enter the world of attending physicians. It helps me remember that residency won't last forever and that there is a light at the end of this [long, sometimes dark and lonely] tunnel. I know it'll go by fast and that someday, somehow I'll actually miss these years.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Christmas and Halloween in May
Liam just finished crying himself to sleep...poor guy. Tonight is a good night to list what I'm thankful for, so here goes:
1. The small, pink flower petals that keep falling off the trees and whirling all around when the wind blows. Everyone's yard is a carpet of pink petals and the sidewalks are lined with piles of little pink confetti. The girls like to pick up handfuls of petals, toss them in the air, and watch them fly around and land in their hair. They squeal with delight each and every time. It's kind of magical to see pink petals falling all around like snow. Love it!
2. The way Liam wrapped his little arm around my neck when I held him and sang bedtime songs tonight.
3. The Free Library. I love, love, love getting books from the library. We walked to the local Philly branch after Lilly got off the bus today. We originally went to get a movie for our "movie night," but I ended up with a bag-load of books as well. Walking into the children's section is like an addiction for me. I see one book, then another, and then another and I just can't resist putting it in my bag and taking it home for three weeks. I'm so grateful that it's a free service (even though I often pay my dues in the form of late fees...although I'm doing much better this year!!) I can't wait for the day when I can afford to stock my own home library full of wonderful children's literature. I'm so thankful for the talented writers and illustrators who share their talent and enrich my family's life with wonderful stories and beautiful art.
4. Preschool. There's nothing like herding together four 3-4 year olds for a fun topic about days of the week, months of the year, and the number 2. It was a whirlwind this morning, but super fun to watch them learn and explore!
5. My wonderful neighbors. Many of them know that Bobby hasn't been around much. I was chatting with one of the other moms this afternoon and as we were leaving to go back into our houses she said, "By the way, you are my super hero." When I asked her why she said that I always seem so calm and patient with my kids even though Bobby is gone a lot. It was very nice of her to say, but I hardly feel like a super hero. My house is basically trashed with dishes, toys, laundry, and a dirty bathroom. We've been having movie nights almost every week (even on school nights!!) and the kids have had a lot of pizza, chicken nuggets, pancakes, mac 'n cheese and hot dogs for dinner the past couple of weeks. We're sort of on survival mode, but we're surviving pretty well. In fact, if it weren't for the kids to keep my company and give me something to focus on, then I know I would be much lonelier and a lot worse off. Bobby's schedule definitely stinks, but I know plenty of people whose husbands have to be a lot farther away for a much longer amount of time. I feel pretty lucky to have him only a couple hours away, to see him (either here or there) every weekend, to have awesome friends and neighbors, and also to have supportive extended family close by. I told my neighbor that if I can find joy in this part of our journey, then I'll be that much more capable of finding joy at other points in our journey as well.
6. Eyelashes. I'm sitting here at my [cluttered] desk and in front of me on the wall is a bulletin board tacked with a few of Lillian's works of art that she made for me. As I've been staring at them, I noticed that Lillian has given everyone in the drawings amazingly long eyelashes! Look closely and you'll see purple eyelashes on the butterfly, pink eyelashes on the blonde girl [Lillian] at the bottom, and neon orange lashes on the girls on the purple card [which Lillian made for me during 'play time' at school today...my second card in two days, I feel so loved!] I love Lillian's artistic style and attention to detail...everyone's eyes are blue, too!
7. Daddy's stuffed ducky. A long time ago I gave Bobby a stuffed animal duck. I can't even remember when or why I gave it to him...I'm sure he remembers. Anyway, he took it with him on his two-year mission to Riverside, California and he had it with him every day. It's had a lot of lovin' wear and tear over the years and now it's starting to lose some of its stuffing and it's missing an eyeball. Irregardless, Sydney has taken a special liking to it. She carries it around with her and cuddles with it at night. Daddy must've recently talked to Sydney about his duck, because almost every day this week she has told me, "When I miss Daddy I can cuddle with his ducky because he had it with him every day on his mission." The way she says it in her sweet, tender little voice is so cute. I'm glad Bobby held onto it for so long.
8. I was about to publish the post when I read the title and realized I never explained why it was Christmas and Halloween in May!! Lillian picked Barbie's Christmas Carol for our movie night selection, then she chose a Diego book about bats saving a Halloween party. We had a full range of seasons and holidays today. Thankfully, both the movie and the book are from the library and will have to be returned soon (another perk about the library). ;-)
1. The small, pink flower petals that keep falling off the trees and whirling all around when the wind blows. Everyone's yard is a carpet of pink petals and the sidewalks are lined with piles of little pink confetti. The girls like to pick up handfuls of petals, toss them in the air, and watch them fly around and land in their hair. They squeal with delight each and every time. It's kind of magical to see pink petals falling all around like snow. Love it!
2. The way Liam wrapped his little arm around my neck when I held him and sang bedtime songs tonight.
3. The Free Library. I love, love, love getting books from the library. We walked to the local Philly branch after Lilly got off the bus today. We originally went to get a movie for our "movie night," but I ended up with a bag-load of books as well. Walking into the children's section is like an addiction for me. I see one book, then another, and then another and I just can't resist putting it in my bag and taking it home for three weeks. I'm so grateful that it's a free service (even though I often pay my dues in the form of late fees...although I'm doing much better this year!!) I can't wait for the day when I can afford to stock my own home library full of wonderful children's literature. I'm so thankful for the talented writers and illustrators who share their talent and enrich my family's life with wonderful stories and beautiful art.
4. Preschool. There's nothing like herding together four 3-4 year olds for a fun topic about days of the week, months of the year, and the number 2. It was a whirlwind this morning, but super fun to watch them learn and explore!
5. My wonderful neighbors. Many of them know that Bobby hasn't been around much. I was chatting with one of the other moms this afternoon and as we were leaving to go back into our houses she said, "By the way, you are my super hero." When I asked her why she said that I always seem so calm and patient with my kids even though Bobby is gone a lot. It was very nice of her to say, but I hardly feel like a super hero. My house is basically trashed with dishes, toys, laundry, and a dirty bathroom. We've been having movie nights almost every week (even on school nights!!) and the kids have had a lot of pizza, chicken nuggets, pancakes, mac 'n cheese and hot dogs for dinner the past couple of weeks. We're sort of on survival mode, but we're surviving pretty well. In fact, if it weren't for the kids to keep my company and give me something to focus on, then I know I would be much lonelier and a lot worse off. Bobby's schedule definitely stinks, but I know plenty of people whose husbands have to be a lot farther away for a much longer amount of time. I feel pretty lucky to have him only a couple hours away, to see him (either here or there) every weekend, to have awesome friends and neighbors, and also to have supportive extended family close by. I told my neighbor that if I can find joy in this part of our journey, then I'll be that much more capable of finding joy at other points in our journey as well.
6. Eyelashes. I'm sitting here at my [cluttered] desk and in front of me on the wall is a bulletin board tacked with a few of Lillian's works of art that she made for me. As I've been staring at them, I noticed that Lillian has given everyone in the drawings amazingly long eyelashes! Look closely and you'll see purple eyelashes on the butterfly, pink eyelashes on the blonde girl [Lillian] at the bottom, and neon orange lashes on the girls on the purple card [which Lillian made for me during 'play time' at school today...my second card in two days, I feel so loved!] I love Lillian's artistic style and attention to detail...everyone's eyes are blue, too!
7. Daddy's stuffed ducky. A long time ago I gave Bobby a stuffed animal duck. I can't even remember when or why I gave it to him...I'm sure he remembers. Anyway, he took it with him on his two-year mission to Riverside, California and he had it with him every day. It's had a lot of lovin' wear and tear over the years and now it's starting to lose some of its stuffing and it's missing an eyeball. Irregardless, Sydney has taken a special liking to it. She carries it around with her and cuddles with it at night. Daddy must've recently talked to Sydney about his duck, because almost every day this week she has told me, "When I miss Daddy I can cuddle with his ducky because he had it with him every day on his mission." The way she says it in her sweet, tender little voice is so cute. I'm glad Bobby held onto it for so long.
8. I was about to publish the post when I read the title and realized I never explained why it was Christmas and Halloween in May!! Lillian picked Barbie's Christmas Carol for our movie night selection, then she chose a Diego book about bats saving a Halloween party. We had a full range of seasons and holidays today. Thankfully, both the movie and the book are from the library and will have to be returned soon (another perk about the library). ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
