Why God Made Men

My lower back has been bothering me so I (finally) decided to put cold or heat or something on it.  I put a cold pack on the first day, which was nice, but after talking to my husband about it he recommended I use heat.  The next day I put a warm rice bag on the area for twenty minutes and started feeling better.  The next day (because I can only manage to heat my back  once a day - twenty minutes is a long time for a mom of little ones!!) I put the warm rice bag on again and could feel a real difference.  So I stopped.  The pain wasn't terrible anymore so the twenty minutes disappeared.

Anyway, today my back started really hurting again so my 3 year old daughter asked if I wanted the rice bag.  I said thanks and helped her to put it in the microwave flat.  I told her to turn it on for 45 seconds then we would turn it over and push the 45 and start again.

She tried and tried and started to get frustrated that it wouldn't work.  She normally doesn't have any trouble pushing the buttons on the microwave so I went over to help.  She had successfully entered "45" but the "start" button wouldn't push.  I tried several times and couldn't get it to work either.

I took the rice bag out of the microwave and told her it was broken and we'd have Daddy look at it when he got home.

My daughter diligently told him about the problem when she saw him and when he came in from farm duties he immediately went to start working on the microwave.

It wasn't even 2 seconds later that he had the microwave happily humming away!

I was astonished!  How on earth had he managed it?

The Importance of Fathers

Last month my husband was out of town for a few weeks.  Of course I missed him but for the first time I saw beyond my missing my best friend and beyond the extra chores that fell upon me in his absence.  I saw the absence of the father of my children.

He wasn't there to wrestle with Milton, to snuggle with Maeva, to read books and play outside.  He wasn't there during bathtime or to give goodnight kisses. 

In fact, while he was gone Milton, who's been potty-trained for a year, started having accidents (yes, that is plural - I probably should have made it a capital S!) and Maeva, woke up screaming with night terrors several times. 

Mornings At My House

My household (other than my husband!) usually wakes up between 8 and 9 in the morning.  I am not a morning person and so I normally sleep in until the kids wake me up leaving my "quiet time" for night.  But this morning I was awake before 7 am.

I decided to surprise my husband and have breakfast and spend some time with him before he went to work.  I was thwarted as he had to go in early and I just missed him.  As I came downstairs, he drove off.  So I had some toast and read my Bible.  The house was quiet; the deck was cool; it was lovely.

Then at 7:30 am Maeva started fussing so I got in bed with her and snuggled down.  She was sweet and we both fell back asleep.  I felt like this waking up early thing had some potential.

Remembering Mother's Day

Lizzi: We just celebrated Mother's Day this past Sunday.
How many years have you celebrated it, as a mother?

Maude: 4 years

Esther:  2 or 3.  Three years if you count being pregnant.

Lizzi: And mine is 3!

Maude: I didn't do anything when I was pregnant - I figured I would celebrate as my last Mother's Day not being a mother instead! Because I will never not be a mother again!

Lizzi: That's a good idea!

Esther:  Haha! So true!

Maude: I like to celebrate all sorts of things! Anything I can, really!

Lizzi: I have recently heard friends say that what they'd like for Mother's Day is to have hubby take the kids and get to spend the day alone. (Relaxing with a book, maybe a day at the spa, etc)
Do you agree? What is your idea of a great Mother's Day gift?

The Most Important Job

"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."

My sisters have both written on motherhood this week - I guess their minds are focused on it from the celebration of Mother's Day last weekend but that isn't what I mean to write about.  Not exclusively, anyway.

Of course, as the above quote implies, it is about those people who are raising up children.  Those people who are impacting the next generation each hour, each day of their lives.  I want to celebrate mothers but also fathers, grandparents, babysitters, whoever is pouring themselves into children on a daily, usually hourly, basis.  Whoever the primary caregivers are.

I know of kids being raised by gransparents, aunts and uncles, or foster parents.  I know of a particular young single woman who has become a foster parent en lieu of the as-yet-future family she wants for herself.  She is taking the opportunity to give love and care to someone else's child for whom she holds no responsibility - what a blessing she is being to that child.

I am convinced that these people have the most important job on earth.

Climbing the Mommy Ladder

I am a mommy. I have been for over three years now. My mommy has been a mommy for 38 1/2 years. (I'm not 38. Just to clarify in case you were wondering.) Wow! When I put it in those terms it really highlights the difference in our amount of experience. If motherhood required an application and hiring process, my mom's resume would be at the top of the pile. Or, maybe she would be the one doing the hiring since she would know what would make a stellar candidate. She would certainly be at the senior management level, helping to train and establish a new generation of mothers.

In fact, that's just what she's doing. I live faraway, so I can't "drop by," but I call her repeatedly with questions upon questions, and I fill her in on silly happenings that only Gramma could care about. Mom will answer potty training and sleeping questions, brainstorm about eating issues, and share creative learning activities from her plethora of knowledge. Actually, I'm not really sure why I'm writing this blog instead of her! She could put hundreds of "new recruits" at ease with her warm and easy manner, wise and patient advice. Hmmm... that's a thought.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

Okay, I am not going to talk about the obvious difference here!!  I just mean the differences any mother of both sexes can tell you.  It is fascinating.

The other day I was vaccuuming after we had finished working on a creative project and there were some sticky foam circles under the table.  I asked Maeva to come over and pick "some things up for me"  she picked up the circles as well as a chunk of cookie that she found on the floor and threw it away.   If I had asked Milton to pick them up he would have either picked up every miniscule little crumb in an effort to be helpful or would have wanted more precise instructions of what I wanted.

Events Worth Noting

Today is a holiday, even if we don't get out of work or school to celebrate it. Many people don't even observe May Day, simply treating it as any other day of the year. I guess I am really one of those people. However, growing up, we would prepare some kind of gift basket or baked good and then drive around to various friends' houses to leave it on their doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run so that they found the treat, but not us. Some years we would call ahead and drop it by, staying to visit after we surprised our dear one with our goodies. It was a lot of fun and a good lesson for us kids in remembering to treat others with kindness and love. I don't know if you do anything special for May Day, but I also wanted to use this opportunity to bring to light two other events going on this week.

The first is Screen-Free Week, which actually began yesterday and goes until May 6th. Its purpose is to encourage children and families to turn off all electronic screens and spend time together doing other fun activities. If you click on the link above you will see the wide array of organizations participating in Screen-Free Week, and that is because our children (and us, too!) spend a horrendous amount of time watching TV and using other electronic forms of entertainment. (Yes, that does include the computer, and thus, our blog.) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age two watch NO television (that's right- zip, nada, zero) and that children over age two (no age specification) watch only 1-2 hours per day.

The second event I wanted to highlight is The National Day of Prayer, taking place on Thursday, May 3rd. This is an annual event in which the focus is lifting our nation up in prayer to God Almighty. If you aren't sure how to get involved, here is a list of ways. Most importantly, use this event as a reminder of the importance to regularly pray for our country and its leaders.

Sunshine, Showers, and Flowers

Who doesn't know that "April showers bring May flowers"? However, I'm thankful that it is not just the showers that cause pretty flowers to grow. This past weekend we had beautiful seventy-degree, sunshine-y days and it was exhilarating. My husband biked 50 miles on Saturday and afterward the boys and I met him at an outdoor musical playground to play for awhile. We made lots of noise and sat in the sun. It was nice. Sunday afternoon my husband biked 27 miles and still had energy left over! So, we took the boys for a hilly walk to a nearby park. They both ran around, climbed, slid, and swung. I hopped on the swing, too, and while I loved it, I couldn't believe that as I soared I also got a little nauseated. I am old. We played for a couple hours and made the trek back downhill. It was perfect weather for the weekend.

It's A..... (boy/girl)?

Well, we are finally here.  Just the other day I had my ultrasound! 

It felt like I had to wait forever because according to my dates I should be two weeks farther along than I am but according to the baby's measurements I am just now at 21 weeks.  So it'll feel like 42 weeks of pregnancy to me (if baby arrives on time and not late!).

Thankfully, the doctor said that everything they could check on the baby came out healthy so that was wonderful which only left the mystery of the gender of my little blessing.

Going in to the ultrasound I thought that the little one was a boy, my husband thought it was a girl, and each of the kids thought it was the same sex that they were.

Two of us were right.

Drumroll please.
It's a .....

Stay-at-Home Mom's Response to Ms. Rosen

I'm sure you've all heard about Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney on Thursday, April 12th. By now it is old news so it may even be hard to find the original story, but her comments clearly showed her disdain for women who choose to stay home to care for their children. I know that she tried to clarify, implying that it was Ann Romney's wealth that kept her from being an "expert on women and the economy" but we all know the truth. Hilary Rosen would have had no problem with Ann Romney being an expert on the economy (and women!) if she was a wealthy "working" woman. (Well, at least if she was a liberal wealthy working woman.)  Leftist feminism wants every woman to  have a choice, as long as the woman's choice lines up with their ideology.

Brothers Together

We are four days into a new sleeping routine with our boys: shared bedroom. Our oldest has been experiencing fears and wanting "someone with him" for some time now, and usually when we lay him down to sleep either my husband, or myself, stay upstairs (in our room) until he is asleep. It seems that just knowing we are down the hall helps him to fall asleep peacefully. It started out innocently enough, but eventually became a problem (especially at night) because we'd come down, only to have a few minutes before we had to head up to bed ourselves. (Yes, he was taking that long to fall into a deep sleep.) I know many of you parenting experts are chiding us right now, but it's really a hard choice when you're in the midst of it, you know? Anyway, when my mom was here, she helped us to come downstairs by sharing with him that the distance downstairs really is about the same distance as "down the hall" and instating a special sign to share when we went down. Worked great. The problem, though, was that he knew Gramma would be sleeping in his room later that night, and he had that to look forward to. Well, after Gramma left we were back at square one. And so we decided that our younger son was sleeping well enough through the night at this point to attempt the transition.

We talked up the move and they both seemed excited. They "helped" Daddy move the crib and set it up in big brother's room. Now the trouble was figuring out a compromise: Our oldest had started sleeping with a night light on and the blinds up in his room, and our youngest was used to a blackout curtain over the closed blinds. We decided to start with the blinds closed (especially with increasing daylight rapidly approaching!) and leave the night light for a little while. Well, now that we are four days in, I don't know why I worried about the night time! They fall asleep pretty quickly because they are so worn out from partying during nap time!

Creativity at Work

My mother always brings out the creative spirit in me. Actually, she is just fun and creative herself, and I trail behind, enjoying her ideas and the end result they display. The first day she was here, she pulled out a goody bag filled with beads, stickers, pipe cleaners, foam shapes, balloons, and more.

Egg Mobile

Memory Monday: Coloring Easter Eggs

Today, we colored Easter eggs. Gramma is still here, so she made the food coloring/vinegar dye and we set to work. It was my first year to attempt coloring eggs with my son. (We did it during naptime for my 14-month old.) He turned three recently, and so it seemed a good year to begin this tradition. In years past I knew I would be the only participant, so I had no desire to begin until he could fully enjoy it himself.

Susan Sarandon

I am afraid I do not keep up with celebrity lives which is why it took me 3 years to hear that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have broken up their non-married relationship after 23 years.  Somewhere I saw a quote that Susan Sarandon gave and I thought, "How very sad.  At 63 years old, she is single again and trying to substantiate her relationship theories that clearly haven't worked after (at least) 3 "serious" relationships. 

I am not a fan of Susan Sarandon except that her first (and only) husband was Chris Sarandon who played Prince Humperdinck in the Princess Bride (how cool is that?!).  Then she had a daughter with a director, Franco Amurri, and then was with Tim Robbins for 23 years and had 2 sons.  So, she has had 3 significant relationships that didn't last - probably not the person to take relationship advice from. 

A Special Visit

Right now at my house, Gramma is visiting. We have had a wonderful time and my boys have eaten up each moment they have gotten to spend with her. I have also enjoyed the continual conversation we've filled the days with. Our thoughts may be interrupted constantly by, "Excuse me, Gramma..." or, "Ahhhhh!!" (a blood-curdling scream) but somehow we have managed to piece together where we left off and even continue on into hours and days of contented chatting.

Saint Patrick's Day

We had a lovely Saint Patrick's Day and after talking about it in Friday's Chat I wanted to follow up with one little picture!

We played Tape the Hat on the Leprechan and I cut out a bunch of three leaf clovers and they had to find the one four leaf clover in the bunch.  Milton and I enjoyed making the leprechan and the Happy St. Patrick's Day sign.  I did splurge and buy them each a St. Patrick's Day shirt but I did it around midnight the night before so I got them both for reduced price (I am NOT a bargain shopper so I was pretty proud of that!).

We had green waffles for lunch and Shepherd's Pie for dinner with root beer in bottles.  We watched Darby O'Gill and the Little People (we hid eyes and fast-forwarded the part with the banshee!).  We listened to Irish music and danced around a bit.  And before bed I sang some of their favorite Irish lullabies while we cuddled.

I really love holidays and St. Patrick's Day is especially fun with little ones.  They are thrilled by the littlest things (like green waffles).  I said to my husband that when they are teens they will probably be harder to please - they will think green waffles are silly and below them yet will be upset by the break in tradition.  I am very happy with where we are at now - and I do have ten years to get ready for being the mother of a teenager (thank goodness!).

Anybody have a Theory?

On Sunday, our pastor shared a quote during his sermon that I thought was hilarious. Hilarious, and true. I don't remember it verbatim, and I don't remember the author of it, but the gist went like this, "Before I had kids, I had six theories about raising them. Now, I have six kids and no theories." That sure made me laugh.

I have certainly been guilty of theories. Theories mixed in with the certainty that I was right about every one of them, before I had any experience on which to base those theories! Before I was married, I had lots of theories about marriage and about being a wife. Before I had kids, I had lots of theories about parenting. It's funny how those theories tend to fall away the longer I am within these roles! Every situation is just too unique to place a black-and-white stamp on it.

My son: by Andrew Beard

This morning my husband (Andrew) and I were talking about our little man and all the crazy things he does, says, and how badly we want to know what he thinks.  We wonder what he will be when he grows up, who he will be more like in personality, how he will spend his spare time and where he might live.  It is fun seeing him begin to grow into a little boy and out of the baby; one day this boy of mine will be a man.  But, for right now he is just a little man, a baby turning into a mischievous kid.   Here is what my husband came up with if what our little man is up to these days.

Tomorrow is my (our) Mama's birthday!

My Mama and I

Tomorrow is my Mother's birthday.  I am thankful for her in so many ways.  Some of you may not know my Mother. Let me tell you a little bit about her:

• She gave birth to ten children and loves every single one of her children.
• When I think of my Mom I think of sacrifice. How much my Mother sacrificed for her children over the years. 
• Mom is compassionate, always reaching out to help and serve.