Life is Good

I am in the kitchen putting away groceries, unloading/loading the dishwasher, wiping counters, folding laundry...you know the routine. All of sudden I hear James fly through my bedroom door and breathe almost panicky. I come out of the kitchen and look up on the walkway upstairs. He gives me a panicked look while grabbing at his pants. I know what that means...he has to pee. He runs down the hallway to the bathroom by his room and quickly goes to the bathroom. Why am I telling all of this? Because I never want to forget some of the few reasons why I love that little guy. First of all, he chooses the bathroom furthest away from him and he waits until the very last second to go to the bathroom. Then while he is peeing, he swipes his brow and says in a Dutchy voice, "Phew, that was a close one!". Then when all is done, he comes out of the bathroom and says, "Mom! The good news is I didn't pee in my underwear. The bad news is...it stopped snowing outside.".

I LOVE it! It makes me smile to think that in his world, that is his good news and bad news. It makes me smile when he runs to the bathroom with such urgency like he doesn't know if he is going to make, as though we have been on a road trip for hours with no bathrooms in sight. The look on his face is priceless. On top of all that, he innocently wipes his brow, speaks sweetly, and then tells me good news/bad news that is so simple and yet so big that is leaves you almost speechless that this tiny little boy of all three years old could in just a matter of minutes, make you realize that life is precious. Life is innocent. Life is simple. Life is good.

Rinse and Repeat

Recently I just had a conversation (argument) over how many time you can repeat yourself before your response comes out in a loud, irritated, and (as my husband would say) nagging voice? For instance, and I will not exaggerate, I was having a conversation with my husband. He was in the shower and just to clarify, we have no door on our shower. I would say a sentence...he would ask me to repeat it...I would repeat...he would answer. This happened three times in a row. Finally I asked him to wait until I got in the shower. When I got in, he got out. I thought to myself, "Okay, so I thought we were going to have a conversation, but that's fine.". So I tried to continue the conversation because, after all, he was out of the shower, away from the running water on his face. He should be able to hear me now. Well, turns out he couldn't. So another three sentences were send and each time I had to repeat them. So finally my last response was loud and with a tone that says, "Come On!! Listen to Me already!!". As a result of my tone, I got a verbal lashing. Our conversation ended. My husband is now mad at me. I am the bad guy and apparently a nag. Boo Hoo.

Is it really too much for me to ask for a little attention? All I wanted was a conversation with my husband. The kids are asleep in bed. It is our time now. I get it that he couldn't hear me while he was in the shower. I understand that. It was irritating but I understand that. However, when he is out of the shower and already dried and dressed and not more than ten feet away from me, why do I still have to repeat everything that I say? Maybe he still had shampoo in his ears. Of course I was told that I was exaggerating, over reacting, disrespectful, and that I sounded like a nag. (lovely) I guess if he thinks I was exaggerating then he really must have not been listening to me. So I ask my fellow readers...how much patience and repeating do we need to give? Is it too much to ask for listening respect? Can we just have a conversation?! Apparently not tonight.

The Best Ever!!

Have you ever wondered if you ever just experienced the best ever of something? For instance, I had lobster in March that was delicious. What if that was the last, best lobster I have and will ever have? Did I appreciate it? The other night the sky was gorgeous. Was that the prettiest sunset I have ever seen? If it was then is it sad that I have experienced the prettiest I will ever see in my life and from here until I die I will not see another one as pretty? You can go on like this. Think about any topic...food, travel, holiday, sex, laughter. What if you are living the best there is now? Would you appreciate it better or would you be sad that you knew this was the best of the best and tomorrow will never live up to now. It is really interesting to think about.

I say live the best now...everyday. Live like every moment and every event is the best. If you can remember a better time, then vow next time you do that thing it will be better. Appreciate God's gift everyday!!!!

I watched Oprah while working out this afternoon and the episode was about weight loss. Bob Greene was on and he made a statement that made me think. He said, "Weight is a symptom of something that needs to change. You wake up and it's really a decision you have to make each day of your life." I thought about that for a little while. Since having children, my weight has got up and down several times. I know I need to lose at least 30 pounds. My best weight is 155. My most awesome weight is 145 but I like some curve in my body so if I could make it to 155, that would be AMAZING!! I have been working out a lot lately and have been trying to lose weight and I am not really losing that much. I tried to think , what is the symptom that needs to change? After much reflecting, I think the symptom is I need to find time for me and I need to find my new identity. Before children, it was easy. I was a speech pathologist and that was my identifying marker. I was a career women with a higher degree education. I liked how people looked at me. I felt smart and successful. Now that I am a stay at home mom, I am struggling with feeling smart and successful with that title. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom. In fact, I am not for sure I really want to go back to being a speech pathologist. Maybe I want to go back to school and be an audiologist, or get a business degree, or just do something fun, like work at Pottery Barn Kids. Maybe I want to be known as a volunteer. I don't know but I think that not knowing, and the stress of raising a young family, has me eating the wrong foods and keeping weight on that I don't want on. It is time to start focusing on the symptom.

LIttle Pink Houses

I keep having this crazy thought in my head and I finally am finding time to blog about it. I have actually had lots of things to say but just haven't taken the time to write. Anyway, not quite two years ago my husband and I moved into this awesome 6000 square foot home on a golf course. The yard is just under a half acre but since it is on the golf course it feels much bigger. That is clearly a bonus because the golf course is always maintained and our yard just blends right in with it. Now that we have this great house with almost everything in it that we were wanting in our dream house, all I keep thinking about is selling it. Silly, huh? I just have this great desire to move to a small house where my kids have to share a room together. I want the house to have lots of land with a nice shed or small barn on it. I want goats and sheep. I want to be able to send my kids outside without worrying if they are playing in the front yard or bothering the golfers or too close to the street. I want them to know that just because you might be able to afford the nice things in life, that doesn't mean you have to buy them. That's a good lesson to learn.

News with the Two's

I didn't realize it has been almost a month since I have posted. I can tell you why...it is because I have been kicking the Terrible Two's in the butt (not literally). Since my dear husband was basically gone most of November, I took that time to say, "Enough is Enough!". I decided to take the approach that you can cry all you want but this is the way it is and that's that. You know what? It worked! I can say I threw away about 4 cups, 3 puzzles, and a basket of McDonald's toys, plus about 4 pairs of socks. I was just tired of repeating myself and no one listening. I was also tired of the whole morning crying spell by our lovely 2 year old (see one of my previous post for the song and dance of the morning). It took about a month but now, if James or Sophia want something done a certain way, they are sure to tell me before it is too late. For instance, if they want to pour the milk, they better tell me before I do it. If they want the green cup today, they better tell me before I get out a different cup. Once I do it, it is done. Life has gotten better as a result. Praise God!

In other news, we had thought that James was colorblind. I was almost convinced that he was. He definitely knows blue, black, pink, and purple. He always confuses red and green. However, I had James match M&M's into color piles. I was told that if he was colorblind he would have a hard time doing this. Well, James did it perfectly and quickly. Guess his matching skills are good and he is apparently not colorblind. Now, if he would just get his colors!

Hey Look! Oprah's On

I have noticed that since my lovely second child goes through the 'terrible twos', I have become more snippy and impatient. I yell when I don't really need to yell, I sigh like my mother did when she was annoyed by us, and I find myself acting like my two year old. I mean, come on, anyone with more than one child will identify with me that going through the two's with the second child is much much worse than the first.

That being said, at times I like to pretend like I'm on Oprah. Kind of like a reality TV show of sorts or maybe she is doing a show on Real Life in the Midwest with a Typical Mom. Anyway, I started to think, "I would be totally embarrassed if my neighbors or friends saw me behave like this just to get my two year old to respond." I remember seeing my sister act like this with her children and I was embarrassed for her at the time and I told myself not to do the same thing when it was my turn. So I was surprised when I found myself getting angry at the same things she did. Then I thought, "Maybe I should just pretend like someone is watching, like on Oprah." I tried it and I have to say, it was actually fun. I had a little more boost in energy. I laughed at my kids more, counted to ten more, paused before I said something, and cleaned the kitchen a little faster so I can go play with the baby (instead of cleaning slowly just so I can have more 'me' time). I even thought at times, "I bet Oprah and Gayle would think this was funny." This may sound completely crazy to you. I realize this. But try it. Being on Oprah is a mental boost to your system. Come on, you know you would like to be featured on Oprah too.