Sorry to say, but I'm going away...
Oliver and I are going on a road trip. To Ohio. Dayton. Anna. I am so excited! We're driving out with my cousins, Megan and Nicole, so the company is exceptional. We are sure to redefine words like 'zany' and 'weary.' I'm trying to imagine just how ridiculous we four will be... An adventure is about to unfold.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
"Words like 'thither,' 'mischance,' 'felicity'..."
So the reason I haven't blogged in a while is because I've been reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. It has had me 'in raptures'! It's so unbelievable...not a single sentence that would be used this side of the twentieth century. I'll quote a little regarding Elinor, the oldest of three sisters, as she reminds me so much of my dearest cousin Megan: "[Elinor] had an excellent heart; -her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught." Language. Brilliant. Cunning. Love. (Megan took a quiz on Facebook as to which of Miss Austen's heroines she would be, and Elinor Dashwood was the lucky lady.)
Changing the subject of this post, yet adding to my entertainment -- Oliver. He's a walking machine! It's amusing to see him waddle around the house, so unsure of himself and his ability. He usually has this look on his face like, "What am I doing? This is some kind of miracle. Look, Mom and Dad!" And yet, despite his unstable hobble, there is a bit of confidence, too... mixed with insecurity: he starts out so sure of himself, then stumbles, recovers, and wonders at what he's doing. I tried just now to take a picture of him. I guess the third of his photogenic problems (the first and second being looking away or closing his eyes), is the bucky factor. He was being such a little bear when I attempted to catch him in the act of walking, all I could get was a look that conveyed this was his least favorite activity of all. Arrr. He went straight to bed after this was taken.
And these are the trials and joys of the day. Adding to the joys of course is the sun which is melting the snow which is cheering us all. Praise the Lord. The baby and I may just venture out for a sled ride. Yes!
Changing the subject of this post, yet adding to my entertainment -- Oliver. He's a walking machine! It's amusing to see him waddle around the house, so unsure of himself and his ability. He usually has this look on his face like, "What am I doing? This is some kind of miracle. Look, Mom and Dad!" And yet, despite his unstable hobble, there is a bit of confidence, too... mixed with insecurity: he starts out so sure of himself, then stumbles, recovers, and wonders at what he's doing. I tried just now to take a picture of him. I guess the third of his photogenic problems (the first and second being looking away or closing his eyes), is the bucky factor. He was being such a little bear when I attempted to catch him in the act of walking, all I could get was a look that conveyed this was his least favorite activity of all. Arrr. He went straight to bed after this was taken.
And these are the trials and joys of the day. Adding to the joys of course is the sun which is melting the snow which is cheering us all. Praise the Lord. The baby and I may just venture out for a sled ride. Yes!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Triumph
As brought to my attention by my dear husband, my blogging has not been as clever lately as it was in the beginning, when excited energy filled my fingers as I wrote. A pang of frustration and reality hit my heart. The moment he revealed this, I knew it was true -- oh where has all the quick-wit gone? Though there isn't an extremely large population tuning in ..ahem, 'logging-on'.. to read what I have going through my head, I don't want to disappoint even a small audience. Truth: my life is far from boring. This busyness causes a constant hum in my head -Dad, you can relate- and in addition to the melancholy feel of our February/March climate I think a good all-encompassing word for my state of mind would be POOPED.
Something definitely the opposite of dull happened just Saturday and although it may not promote happy feelings, I'll share. First you must know that Oliver hates getting his diaper or clothes changed. I could skip my daily regimen of Pilates in exchange for one diaper and clothes fight, it's that intense. I should make a fitness video for moms... Anyway, Saturday I was feeling exhausted and willing to do whatever Oli wanted in order to prevent a fight. He opted to play with one of the clean diapers in the basket. Great! After refreshing his pants, I let him play with his new toy which he actually thought was a hat. There he was trying to get the diaper on his head, while testing his sweet and shaky walking skills. Then I watched in horror as he fell, hands above his head, right on his poor little face! You know those bad dreams when you can't find your voice to warn of trouble and you can't run from it because you're totally paralyzed? My worst nightmare came true. There I sat, silent, as he crashed directly onto his forehead producing a hickey-like red mark that outlasted the weekend. His nose was bloody and he was crying. (I had to stay strong for him or I would have been crying as well.) I have a feeling there is much more of this to follow...
And so I admit that the content of my posts have been somewhat lackluster (excluding that last paragraph). I guess being a mom is becoming more of an all-consuming challenge than even I had until now realized. I love it, though. It's worth the late nights and near heart attacks. It's worth the countless lessons in humility. It's worth my sanity. Well...
So in answer to the question, "Isn't being a mom the greatest..most of the time?" I say YES. I still can't believe God chose me, but I'm sure glad He did.
Something definitely the opposite of dull happened just Saturday and although it may not promote happy feelings, I'll share. First you must know that Oliver hates getting his diaper or clothes changed. I could skip my daily regimen of Pilates in exchange for one diaper and clothes fight, it's that intense. I should make a fitness video for moms... Anyway, Saturday I was feeling exhausted and willing to do whatever Oli wanted in order to prevent a fight. He opted to play with one of the clean diapers in the basket. Great! After refreshing his pants, I let him play with his new toy which he actually thought was a hat. There he was trying to get the diaper on his head, while testing his sweet and shaky walking skills. Then I watched in horror as he fell, hands above his head, right on his poor little face! You know those bad dreams when you can't find your voice to warn of trouble and you can't run from it because you're totally paralyzed? My worst nightmare came true. There I sat, silent, as he crashed directly onto his forehead producing a hickey-like red mark that outlasted the weekend. His nose was bloody and he was crying. (I had to stay strong for him or I would have been crying as well.) I have a feeling there is much more of this to follow...
And so I admit that the content of my posts have been somewhat lackluster (excluding that last paragraph). I guess being a mom is becoming more of an all-consuming challenge than even I had until now realized. I love it, though. It's worth the late nights and near heart attacks. It's worth the countless lessons in humility. It's worth my sanity. Well...
So in answer to the question, "Isn't being a mom the greatest..most of the time?" I say YES. I still can't believe God chose me, but I'm sure glad He did.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Quotable moment
"Careful when you pray for humility. You might get pregnant."
- Me
(Not now, but with Oliver. I'm in the process of realizing that there is nothing as humbling as being pregnant, giving birth, and being a mom.)
- Me
(Not now, but with Oliver. I'm in the process of realizing that there is nothing as humbling as being pregnant, giving birth, and being a mom.)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A day in the life
This morning I woke up feeling fresh and refreshed from a solid night of sleep. Whoa!! Well, I did have my slumber disturbed not long after I had fallen asleep last night around 11:30 because Oliver needed to be cuddled back to sleep...then again at 5:30am because Oliver needed to be cuddled back to sleep...but other than that we all slept through the night!!! (With Daddy being the true all-night sleeper and not stirring once, of course. And yes, I have resorted to calling anything over 4 hours of sleep "through the night".)
Olives and I had a 10:15 appointment this morning, so we got ready quickly (which to the average human would appear to be not so quickly, but getting someone ready who is dead set on doing the opposite -aka a battle of the wills- blurrs the line of fast and slow). I went out to start the Jeep with time to spare, leaving some cushion in case Jeep thought the morning air was a little too chilly to go driving. Bingo! I calmly called Andrew and said to him, "'Uh-oh, the Jeep won't go!'" This is from one of our favorite children's books "Sheep in a Jeep" by Margot Apple, and I was hoping the phrase would never be applicable to my real life....dangit. Still no reaction from Jeep.
At lunch time today I found myself wiping my spaghetti sauced fingers on my pants (something I get on Andrew for doing because it's so childish), and thought, "Wow, I've fully crossed over into the world of Mommy." It's all about duty, not beauty, as my cousin Julie would say.
The most recent surprise from Oliver is his ability to walk. It's not that he's walking everywhere he goes (which would be too wonderful since it would mean not crawling through the muddy sidewalk water by the door), but he does take a few steps. It's like he's had it in him all the time, too...as if he's just been hiding it or denying it, and is now ready to embrace his talent. Here we go again...
Now Daddy surprised us by coming home early and Oliver is whispering animatedly ( is that possible?), "hi! hi!" Oh I love my family. There is no way I could have come up with this smash hit of characters -including our extended families- on my own! God is so amazing and good, doing "exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20. Amen and amen.
--Side note: in one of my favorite movies, Little Women, Laurie makes a comment about Amy's art being, "a mediocre copy of another man's genius". I don't want to be that person, so I try to tell myself that a real artist can recognize genius when they see it and expound on someone else's originality, therefore making it original again. I'm noticing all my quotations hoping that it's art...not mediocrity...
Olives and I had a 10:15 appointment this morning, so we got ready quickly (which to the average human would appear to be not so quickly, but getting someone ready who is dead set on doing the opposite -aka a battle of the wills- blurrs the line of fast and slow). I went out to start the Jeep with time to spare, leaving some cushion in case Jeep thought the morning air was a little too chilly to go driving. Bingo! I calmly called Andrew and said to him, "'Uh-oh, the Jeep won't go!'" This is from one of our favorite children's books "Sheep in a Jeep" by Margot Apple, and I was hoping the phrase would never be applicable to my real life....dangit. Still no reaction from Jeep.
At lunch time today I found myself wiping my spaghetti sauced fingers on my pants (something I get on Andrew for doing because it's so childish), and thought, "Wow, I've fully crossed over into the world of Mommy." It's all about duty, not beauty, as my cousin Julie would say.
The most recent surprise from Oliver is his ability to walk. It's not that he's walking everywhere he goes (which would be too wonderful since it would mean not crawling through the muddy sidewalk water by the door), but he does take a few steps. It's like he's had it in him all the time, too...as if he's just been hiding it or denying it, and is now ready to embrace his talent. Here we go again...
Now Daddy surprised us by coming home early and Oliver is whispering animatedly ( is that possible?), "hi! hi!" Oh I love my family. There is no way I could have come up with this smash hit of characters -including our extended families- on my own! God is so amazing and good, doing "exceedingly more than all we ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20. Amen and amen.
--Side note: in one of my favorite movies, Little Women, Laurie makes a comment about Amy's art being, "a mediocre copy of another man's genius". I don't want to be that person, so I try to tell myself that a real artist can recognize genius when they see it and expound on someone else's originality, therefore making it original again. I'm noticing all my quotations hoping that it's art...not mediocrity...
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