Raise your hand if you ever get frustrated with your children who have toys and activities out their ears and just follow you around like a puppy asking if you'll play with them! {This mama!}
I seriously have developed this mom-guilt complex for always feeling like I say "not right now" to Em when she asks if I'll play with her. She is so social and she seems to make really poor choices when she isn't engaged in something. {i.e. Jumping off the couch onto Piper... coloring on the walls with chalk... dragging little sister by feet across the room...}
And I am just simply not going to buy more toys. That is not the solution. We have toys. And I am simply not going to stop what I'm doing all day every day to play. I can't. I am her mom. And a wife. And a housemaid. And a cook. And though being a stay-at-home mama does allow me to be able to do that every once in awhile, it is not good for her if I am always halting her imagination and ability to play alone by jumping in.
{Do I sound like I'm justifying?? Sometimes I feel that way. But seriously. I do believe this is best. And healthiest.}
So insert the "solution" to part of this problem. Tot trays.
Our worst time of the day is right after Em wakes up from her nap in the afternoon. She is crabby and needs some space, but awake and wanting to "do something." To be honest? This is usually when I resort to an episode of Daniel Tiger. But I hate that. She just woke up. She needs time to wake up her creativity again. Not shut it down.
So my goal is to create some sort of Tot Tray that is simply on the table when she wakes up. She loves these, they are engaging, she doesn't need to talk, and they just simply look inviting and fun. My favorite part of this idea is that they are made with 97% of things we have at home. Begging to be used. And this is in a controlled environment. And they take 4 minutes to assemble.
Here is an amazing resource if this interests you:
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html
And here are a few of the ideas I've come up with to get us started:
(This list is simply for my reference, sorry if you don't follow my thought process or see my vision - feel free to ask for clarification if you see something especially interesting!)
1. Blank paper, glue stick, googly eyes, markers
2. Mini muffin tin, kid friendly tweezers, Pom Pom balls, 1 clothes pin
3. Play doh, small dowels, penne pasta (colored in food dye if time!)
4. Lacing string, wagon wheel pasta, circle cereal
5. Pool noodles cut in circles, paint, paper
6. Black paper with simple shapes drawn in white crayon, small bowl of small rocks
7. Tub of water with pool noodle boats
8. Black bean sensory bin with seed packets, gardening gloves, shovels, and pretend veggies
9. Color by number
10. Coloring page - pick your own tool
11. Do-a-dot page with tweezers and small Pom-Poms or stickers or daubers
12. Glue in cup, q-tip, small shapes, blank paper
13. Kumon workbook cutting pages
14. Shape/color/size sorts
So there! Tot trays start tomorrow!
Can't wait to see her fine motor skills, imagination, creative play, etc. develop!
Monday, August 4, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
3.
I'm sitting in the hotel room in Pueblo while Jordan returns the car we were borrowing from a buddy. HGTV (for company) and Pinterest (for inspiration) are my buddies as I'm planning Emberly's third birthday "bash."
We are going simple - just our own little family and lots of fun. {Jordan gets home the DAY before!} But I'm all about memory making and starting traditions, so I want to have a plan.
But seriously, in the midst of deciding what we will eat for breakfast and how I will incorporate sensory play and what interview questions I'll ask her, it just occurred to me that she will be THREE. I almost have a three year old. Three. {insert gulp here}
She is so grown up already.
I kinda love her. A lot.
We are going simple - just our own little family and lots of fun. {Jordan gets home the DAY before!} But I'm all about memory making and starting traditions, so I want to have a plan.
But seriously, in the midst of deciding what we will eat for breakfast and how I will incorporate sensory play and what interview questions I'll ask her, it just occurred to me that she will be THREE. I almost have a three year old. Three. {insert gulp here}
She is so grown up already.
I kinda love her. A lot.
Friday, August 1, 2014
5 Years Ago Today...
Three year ago today this little blog was born. I'm reminiscing. You can read my first post here if you'd like to be sentimental with me.
Now normally I wouldn't remember a blogiversary, but the reason I do is because today is our 5th wedding anniversary, and I started writing on our second. We were at this adorable little bed and breakfast in MN. I was as pregnant as all get out, just waiting for Emberly to make her appearance into the world. Impatiently waiting. And life felt so slow. Just kind of leisurely crawling along. Relaxed even.
And then there's today. I don't remember what slow even feels like. We have two amazing little girls who bring everything but leisure to our lives. We are in transition as Jordan is completing the necessary steps to become a UAV pilot. We are in the middle of the second 8-week stretch of him being away while the girls and I hold down the fort at home. We are anticipating a move to Texas and New Mexico for the next almost year. I've resigned as a classroom teacher twice so that I could be at home with the girls... and started wearing a mom, wife, teacher, cook, driver, nurse, and maid hat in its place.
Sometimes it is easy to forget my initial role as a wife as I cling to the desire to offer the best for my children, but I'm reminded again and again why the Lord desires my husband be first in my heart (after the Lord). It is a daily struggle, especially while Jordan is away and then returns. But when life is uncomfortable and change is inevitable, I can see the Lord working sometimes more visibly than when we seem to be stuck. Wrenching my own desires out of my hands and replacing them with His best. Best I don't deserve, but am offered every day.
And on days that our lives seem to be stuck on home repairs and planting grass and doing laundry and feeding little mouths... I am more convinced there is nobody else in the whole wide world I'd rather be doing this with. Fighting with. Moving with. Parenting with. Playing with. Disagreeing with. Creating with. Learning with. Just doing life with.
Only for this man would I wake up at 4am and hop on an airplane to Pueblo, CO for a whirlwind weekend of being together. Seriously. There are FOUR people on my connection flight to Pueblo. The size of the plane is appropriate to the number of people on board. We are just about to take off and I'm just a little nervous (and/or petrified). Jordan is convinced he will take me flying once he gets his pilot license when this is all said and done. And I am absolutely convinced of the opposite. For the record.
So five years. It feels kinda like a big deal. There is this little part of me that feels like we should be proud. And yet, there is no part of this marriage that is held together by us. It is through prayer and more prayer that we are where we are. Thank you Lord, for bringing us through so much in so little. And as we keep moving forward, our prayer is that we only hold tightly to the fact that He is in control and we are not.
{PS - Apparently we need to take more pictures, as this ridiculous one of us 4-wheeling is the only one I could find in 1000 pictures of our photo stream...}
Now normally I wouldn't remember a blogiversary, but the reason I do is because today is our 5th wedding anniversary, and I started writing on our second. We were at this adorable little bed and breakfast in MN. I was as pregnant as all get out, just waiting for Emberly to make her appearance into the world. Impatiently waiting. And life felt so slow. Just kind of leisurely crawling along. Relaxed even.
And then there's today. I don't remember what slow even feels like. We have two amazing little girls who bring everything but leisure to our lives. We are in transition as Jordan is completing the necessary steps to become a UAV pilot. We are in the middle of the second 8-week stretch of him being away while the girls and I hold down the fort at home. We are anticipating a move to Texas and New Mexico for the next almost year. I've resigned as a classroom teacher twice so that I could be at home with the girls... and started wearing a mom, wife, teacher, cook, driver, nurse, and maid hat in its place.
Sometimes it is easy to forget my initial role as a wife as I cling to the desire to offer the best for my children, but I'm reminded again and again why the Lord desires my husband be first in my heart (after the Lord). It is a daily struggle, especially while Jordan is away and then returns. But when life is uncomfortable and change is inevitable, I can see the Lord working sometimes more visibly than when we seem to be stuck. Wrenching my own desires out of my hands and replacing them with His best. Best I don't deserve, but am offered every day.
And on days that our lives seem to be stuck on home repairs and planting grass and doing laundry and feeding little mouths... I am more convinced there is nobody else in the whole wide world I'd rather be doing this with. Fighting with. Moving with. Parenting with. Playing with. Disagreeing with. Creating with. Learning with. Just doing life with.
Only for this man would I wake up at 4am and hop on an airplane to Pueblo, CO for a whirlwind weekend of being together. Seriously. There are FOUR people on my connection flight to Pueblo. The size of the plane is appropriate to the number of people on board. We are just about to take off and I'm just a little nervous (and/or petrified). Jordan is convinced he will take me flying once he gets his pilot license when this is all said and done. And I am absolutely convinced of the opposite. For the record.
So five years. It feels kinda like a big deal. There is this little part of me that feels like we should be proud. And yet, there is no part of this marriage that is held together by us. It is through prayer and more prayer that we are where we are. Thank you Lord, for bringing us through so much in so little. And as we keep moving forward, our prayer is that we only hold tightly to the fact that He is in control and we are not.
{PS - Apparently we need to take more pictures, as this ridiculous one of us 4-wheeling is the only one I could find in 1000 pictures of our photo stream...}
Piper is ONE
We'll hello there little blog! I've missed you!
I must admit that I was really quite determined to blog all about life with two littles after Piper was born. And here we are, an entire year after she joined this crazy thing we call life, and I've hardly any documentation to show for it. I mean, it's just a really good thing our doctor's office keeps track of her immunizations... and other than the fact that she's growing, I don't know much about her percentiles and all that jazz. I am hardly sure if I'm coming or going someways, let's be for real.
But sitting here in a quiet airport, sans children, I'm suddenly able to reflect a little. Maybe even put together a complete thought or two... {although I was up at 4am and am battling a cold, so don't get your hopes up too much!}
So. Piper.
She turned ONE almost a month ago. How did that even happen? She is so full of motion and life, and she keeps me on my toes... (Oh does she ever.)
She isn't walking yet, but she is a climber. Yesterday I walked around the corner to find her ON TOP OF Emberly's chalk table. Just sitting there. Eating chalk of course. She puts everything in her mouth. Dust, dirt, crumbs, leftovers, feet, the rubber stoppers on the door stops, me... Everything.
She communicates SO well already. She does a lot of the "eh! eh! eh!" thing while pointing, but she also signs all.the.time. She signs milk, eat, more, please, water, drink, outside, shoes, all done, and sleep on a daily basis... Among many others that come out here and there. She also verbally communicates dada, mama, Emmy (sounds like Emma), more, all done, oof oof (puppy), maaah (goat), ooo ooo (monkey), and many others that I'm spacing out at present. Her favorite, however, is "mama" and though it is flattering, it is also difficult to understand what she wants when everything she needs comes through in a nice little whiney "mama!" tone. :)
She isn't much of a snuggler anymore. Too. Dang. Busy. If I try to rock her before nap or bed she leans toward her crib and tells me "in." Yup.
She is still rocking the formula. I just can't seem to transition her. She is totally offended by anything cold, and I originally thought she had a dairy sensitivity... but this week I've mixed 1/3 whole milk 2/3 formula and she hasn't had any issues. So... Maybe it's in my head. Who knows!
Hmmm... What else?! She and Emberly love to giggle and make faces and noises at each other in the car especially. I think this is probably because Emberly cannot be sitting on her or tickling her face or attacking her in some other big sister way. Those moments make me smile, though they do feel few and far between!
A few of her favorite things:
- being outside
- green beans
- pasta
- climbing
- swinging
- Emberly and all things big kids
- sandbox
And so many more.
She hit 20 lbs on the nose fully clothed at the doctor the other day. I *think* that is the 35th percentile or something like that. She's still rocking mostly 9 month clothes.
Now I fear I'm rambling... So I'll quit. If you ever want to borrow her for an hour or two, let me know. :) {keeping her alive is pretty much what I do all day every day...}
I must admit that I was really quite determined to blog all about life with two littles after Piper was born. And here we are, an entire year after she joined this crazy thing we call life, and I've hardly any documentation to show for it. I mean, it's just a really good thing our doctor's office keeps track of her immunizations... and other than the fact that she's growing, I don't know much about her percentiles and all that jazz. I am hardly sure if I'm coming or going someways, let's be for real.
But sitting here in a quiet airport, sans children, I'm suddenly able to reflect a little. Maybe even put together a complete thought or two... {although I was up at 4am and am battling a cold, so don't get your hopes up too much!}
So. Piper.
She turned ONE almost a month ago. How did that even happen? She is so full of motion and life, and she keeps me on my toes... (Oh does she ever.)
She isn't walking yet, but she is a climber. Yesterday I walked around the corner to find her ON TOP OF Emberly's chalk table. Just sitting there. Eating chalk of course. She puts everything in her mouth. Dust, dirt, crumbs, leftovers, feet, the rubber stoppers on the door stops, me... Everything.
She communicates SO well already. She does a lot of the "eh! eh! eh!" thing while pointing, but she also signs all.the.time. She signs milk, eat, more, please, water, drink, outside, shoes, all done, and sleep on a daily basis... Among many others that come out here and there. She also verbally communicates dada, mama, Emmy (sounds like Emma), more, all done, oof oof (puppy), maaah (goat), ooo ooo (monkey), and many others that I'm spacing out at present. Her favorite, however, is "mama" and though it is flattering, it is also difficult to understand what she wants when everything she needs comes through in a nice little whiney "mama!" tone. :)
She isn't much of a snuggler anymore. Too. Dang. Busy. If I try to rock her before nap or bed she leans toward her crib and tells me "in." Yup.
She is still rocking the formula. I just can't seem to transition her. She is totally offended by anything cold, and I originally thought she had a dairy sensitivity... but this week I've mixed 1/3 whole milk 2/3 formula and she hasn't had any issues. So... Maybe it's in my head. Who knows!
Hmmm... What else?! She and Emberly love to giggle and make faces and noises at each other in the car especially. I think this is probably because Emberly cannot be sitting on her or tickling her face or attacking her in some other big sister way. Those moments make me smile, though they do feel few and far between!
A few of her favorite things:
- being outside
- green beans
- pasta
- climbing
- swinging
- Emberly and all things big kids
- sandbox
And so many more.
She hit 20 lbs on the nose fully clothed at the doctor the other day. I *think* that is the 35th percentile or something like that. She's still rocking mostly 9 month clothes.
Now I fear I'm rambling... So I'll quit. If you ever want to borrow her for an hour or two, let me know. :) {keeping her alive is pretty much what I do all day every day...}
Monday, July 21, 2014
Food, mess, clean up, repeat
Dear Life,
My life as a stay-at-home mom is many things. All kinds of awesome and rewarding while alternately being frustrating and draining, exhausting and overwhelming.
But today all I feel like I do all.day.long is feed little people, clean up the mess (and there's always a lot, even with the most basic snack... seriously. How do these children make a 4 foot wide mess with dry crackers?!? And Lord forbid I give Piper avocado or black beans or fruit! Ok I'm off topic...) and then I repeat.
And these little people don't have very big tanks. So to avoid the hangries (hungry/angry)... we eat all day long. Or so it seems. Breakfast. Morning snack. Lunch. Afternoon snack. Dinner. Bedtime snack. Sleep. Repeat.
I'm losing it, people. I'm kind of asking for advice. But I'm realizing there may not be an easier solution... It's just kind of part of the job. But. If I'm wrong and you are thinking to yourself, "I wonder if she's tried..." Or, "she should feed them..." Blah blah blah. Tell me :) please. For the sake of my sanity.
That's all.
My life as a stay-at-home mom is many things. All kinds of awesome and rewarding while alternately being frustrating and draining, exhausting and overwhelming.
But today all I feel like I do all.day.long is feed little people, clean up the mess (and there's always a lot, even with the most basic snack... seriously. How do these children make a 4 foot wide mess with dry crackers?!? And Lord forbid I give Piper avocado or black beans or fruit! Ok I'm off topic...) and then I repeat.
And these little people don't have very big tanks. So to avoid the hangries (hungry/angry)... we eat all day long. Or so it seems. Breakfast. Morning snack. Lunch. Afternoon snack. Dinner. Bedtime snack. Sleep. Repeat.
I'm losing it, people. I'm kind of asking for advice. But I'm realizing there may not be an easier solution... It's just kind of part of the job. But. If I'm wrong and you are thinking to yourself, "I wonder if she's tried..." Or, "she should feed them..." Blah blah blah. Tell me :) please. For the sake of my sanity.
That's all.
Monday, June 30, 2014
8 weeks. Unedited.
I probably shouldn't blog when I'm crabby... but it seems like someone should know how miserable I'm feeling. And well... the internet seems like a safe someone to complain to a little at the moment.
I printed off some calendar pages this morning and started marking down all of the "stuff" we are going to do to occupy ourselves while Jordan is gone Round 2. He leaves on Monday. This second round hasn't bothered me as much because I keep reminding myself that he is only gone six weeks instead of eight like last time. That's 14 whole days shorter. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong.
I started counting out the days, and it is in fact 8 weeks that he is gone again. Eight. Again. Exactly the same as last time to the day. How did I miss this before??
Anyway. I did and I am crabby and I just want this part to be over.
End Rant.
So Jordan leaves on Monday for 8 weeks. He'll get home the day before my baby turns 3. :) Then we will have about 3 weeks to pack up all things we deem necessary for living for 10ish months and drive to Texas. We will live in a one bedroom {yes, ONE bedroom} apartment until February-ish and then move to New Mexico for some sort of other arrangements... who knows what they'll be. {This is the military after all, let's not get too ahead of ourselves...}
In this time we will learn flexibility like none other. We will no doubt be stretched far beyond our regular limits. We will get to see new things and meet new people. The girls will learn to share a bedroom. We will learn to trust the Lord in a way that we wouldn't have to in the comfort of our own home with space and things and supplies and such. We will start a homeschool preschool curriculum.
Part of me is really excited.
Part of me is a little terrified. I just can't quite wrap my head around the whole 22 hour drive to Texas thing with a one-year-old and three-year-old. I need some help with this one. The longest "road trip" we've ever taken was to Bismarck. I kid you not. That is not even 3 hours away.
And if I can't even wrap my head around the drive down there, how could I possibly envision living there for 5 months?
OK people. If you made it this far, I give you a gold star. Because I've been kind of whiny, even after promising my rant was over. So you must be a good friend to have read this far, and that means I need your help. I need some tips, tricks, ideas, etc. for traveling with my two bambinos for a million hours in the car. Snacks. Activities. Movies. Anything. Please help. We own maybe 2 DVDs and Emberly is scared of movies that have any sort of action or plot. We intend to buy a car DVD player... would love suggestions. I wish we could check out DVDs from the Library, but alas, the whole returning them thing will be kind of tricky.
I'm rambling. You get the picture.
Feel free to comment or PM me! :)
I printed off some calendar pages this morning and started marking down all of the "stuff" we are going to do to occupy ourselves while Jordan is gone Round 2. He leaves on Monday. This second round hasn't bothered me as much because I keep reminding myself that he is only gone six weeks instead of eight like last time. That's 14 whole days shorter. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong.
I started counting out the days, and it is in fact 8 weeks that he is gone again. Eight. Again. Exactly the same as last time to the day. How did I miss this before??
Anyway. I did and I am crabby and I just want this part to be over.
End Rant.
So Jordan leaves on Monday for 8 weeks. He'll get home the day before my baby turns 3. :) Then we will have about 3 weeks to pack up all things we deem necessary for living for 10ish months and drive to Texas. We will live in a one bedroom {yes, ONE bedroom} apartment until February-ish and then move to New Mexico for some sort of other arrangements... who knows what they'll be. {This is the military after all, let's not get too ahead of ourselves...}
In this time we will learn flexibility like none other. We will no doubt be stretched far beyond our regular limits. We will get to see new things and meet new people. The girls will learn to share a bedroom. We will learn to trust the Lord in a way that we wouldn't have to in the comfort of our own home with space and things and supplies and such. We will start a homeschool preschool curriculum.
Part of me is really excited.
Part of me is a little terrified. I just can't quite wrap my head around the whole 22 hour drive to Texas thing with a one-year-old and three-year-old. I need some help with this one. The longest "road trip" we've ever taken was to Bismarck. I kid you not. That is not even 3 hours away.
And if I can't even wrap my head around the drive down there, how could I possibly envision living there for 5 months?
OK people. If you made it this far, I give you a gold star. Because I've been kind of whiny, even after promising my rant was over. So you must be a good friend to have read this far, and that means I need your help. I need some tips, tricks, ideas, etc. for traveling with my two bambinos for a million hours in the car. Snacks. Activities. Movies. Anything. Please help. We own maybe 2 DVDs and Emberly is scared of movies that have any sort of action or plot. We intend to buy a car DVD player... would love suggestions. I wish we could check out DVDs from the Library, but alas, the whole returning them thing will be kind of tricky.
I'm rambling. You get the picture.
Feel free to comment or PM me! :)
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Forward Motion
I've been absent. I think I've literally been trying to soak up every possible moment with Jordan home that I can before he has to leave again.
We just spent the weekend at the lake. We got home this afternoon after half-naps in the car and my children started detoxing from the grandparent high. Parents know what I'm talking about. Where your children are so used to being held, talked to, played with, spoiled (in the very best and most sincere of ways)... and then you get home to bedtimes and rules and food that comes in the "take it or leave it" variety... it's harsh.
But it's 7:15 and Emmy has been freshly plunked into bed, and I'm currently rocking a very passed out Piper. It's like medicine to my weary soul. Sometimes being a mom is just plain hard.
You know, I think parenting looks kind of crazy to people on the outside. You choose to have these needy, helpless, crazy kids who do their very best to just suck the life out of you one demand, cry, whine at a time. They don't see the love behind it all. Let's be honest, sometimes I don't even see the love behind it all. I'm thankful for this picture though, it reminds me how I look to Jesus, offering absolutely nothing in return for His love... and yet I have it anyway. It is insanely humbling.
Anywho. Currently Piper crawls at crazy fast speeds and is literally all movement and no brains. She pulls herself up on just about anything and hurts herself getting back down just about half of the time. She sits at my feet with her hands raised in the air, whining for me to pick her up, and then as soon as I do, she digs her feet into my stomach (the one I have from carrying two bambinos for 9 months each, thank you very much), and cries and begs to be put down.
Emberly is just a bundle of emotion, motion, and words. She never stops singing or talking and she is always telling me about why some owie is hurting or why a rule that we are enforcing is making her "so very sad." She bounce-runs wherever she goes, and is day-time potty trained minus #2. Sigh, #2. I have literally never talked so much about bowel movements and urination in my life.
I feel a little bit like the day-to-day is on repeat. Like when you're listening to a good song on a CD so you hit the "repeat song" button and listen to it again and again. And pretty soon that song you loved is getting ordinary. Maybe even kind of frustrating or annoying. And I hate that. Because these little miracles are the farthest thing from ordinary.
Must be time to change the CD and ask the Lord for new perspective. I just plain forget sometimes. But looking at these beautiful faces, how is that even possible?
What do you do when you need new perspective?
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