How do you eat your yogurt?

Like this?

How about your sweet potatoes?

Get them in your eye much?

Ordinary Pleasures

Life as a stay-at-home mom is...well, interesting to say the least. One minute I'm ready to give my kids away, change my name, and move to Mexico. The next I'm lovingly looking at my kids and wondering how I got to be so blessed. It's funny how ordinary pleasures of everyday life can seem so extraordinary when the moment is right. Here are a few of mine:


Little man outfits...


Impromptu lunch-time birthday celebrations and a gift that will further my attempts at domesticity.....


Little boys after their baths....


Little boys' faces after rice cereal.....


Looking forward to days when I can use my new stroller and get started on my athletic ambitions....

Walking with your hands in your pockets.....

Awesome aunts and uncle......

Pianists......

Riding side saddle.......

Oh, yeah, that rice thing again.....

And cell phone cases that hook to your belt (or pajamas, in this case.......get it? case?)

Isn't life grand?

Resolved

It's a lazy Sunday Afternoon. Why Chad is the one taking a nap when I'm the one who hasn't slept through the night in over four months is a conundrum. But since I'm awake I thought I'd share the fact that I actually made New Year's resolutions this year and I actually wrote them down.

Here are a few:

1. Eat treats only 1-2 times a week instead of that many times or more a day.
2. Participate in a triathlon
3. Go on as many vacations as we can possibly afford. Camping counts and Chad and I will make it to California for our 5-year anniversary without our children (do or die on that one).
4. Buy a house (we hope!) or at least get out of this cramped apartment.

Let the games begin! And here are a few new pictures of my super cute kids. This first one of Russell is my most favorite I've ever taken of him so far.

Revelation

It’s peacefully quiet in my house. For the second day in a row, Lydia has taken a nap—and willingly. We’ve had major struggles with this lately. And it isn’t just that she won’t nap. It’s that missing her nap makes a complete difference in everything about her, her health, her attitude, her eating, and her night sleep.

It all came to a head last Sunday when she refused to nap. She was an unbearable wreck by 5:00 pm. She fell asleep in my arms at 6:30 and we put her in bed though it was an hour early. But she woke up at 2:30 in the morning and refused to go to bed. She didn’t just defy us, but she let out ear-splitting screams that left us with nothing to do but get her up—angrily.

All that night, I pondered on what I could change in our lives, in the way I take care of her, that would help her sleep. You can’t just sit down with a two-year old and explain why she needs to sleep.

And then it came: the revelation.

Lydia needed attention. I needed to fill her love tank. If you are familiar with The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, then you know what I am talking about. We all have a love language and we need to be spoken to in that language to feel loved. Lydia’s language is Quality Time. So is mine. You’d think that would work out perfectly, but it doesn’t. You see, my quality time means I just need you around, but I don’t necessarily need your attention. Just be in the same room with me and we’re good. Lydia on the other hand needs 100% of your attention. When you give it to her, she might as well be in Care-a-Lot surrounded by all that is perfect and loving.

So I’ve made it a point to give her an HOUR of my undivided attention each morning. We go in her room and I am all hers. Granted, it isn’t as easy as it sounds mostly because Russell hasn’t quite got the knack of a “schedule” down. But I’ve made it work so far. It’s hard not to want to reach for my cell phone, go change the laundry, or whatever else is on my to-do list. But I make the effort and we just play. And so far, it is working!

I realized that I needed to change my focus. I needed to make my day about my kids. And not about me taking care of kids. I’ve savored the peace and quiet that has come from this. I hope it lasts.