It's Tuesday.
I think maybe the video I meant to put in my last post, doesn't show up when you pull the page up. Figures. This is why it's imperative that I stick with words.
It is 23 degrees outside. Before Thanksgiving. I am 27 shades of bitter about it.
I've been up since 4 a.m. with my favorite little puker. Her stomach is a hot mess. I have no idea if it's a bug (there is one going around) or her reflux. My bet is on reflux, and I'll spare you the details of what makes me think so. You're welcome.
I'm happy to report Drew and I both survived his first ever school project. You would be so proud of how non control-freaky I was! We both had so much fun. Nothing says nerds like a mom and a son who love a good school project.
For this project, Drew had to choose his favorite song, research it and make a poster out of it. He chose the song "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman. I did not make suggestions or try to get him to pick this song. It truly is one of his favorites. A few days before his project was due, the kids in his class started talking about the songs they had chosen. It was a this point Drew figured out he was the only one who chose a "church song". I could tell by his face when he was telling me about it- he was struggling. A debrief was in order.
After some talking I came to the conclusion that the main issue he was having was "no one" knew the song he picked. I tried to encourage him by telling him how awesome it was that he chose a song that honors God. I reminded him that his faith is important to him, and it's ok to tell other people. I told him there might be someone in his class who needs to hear this song.
This is what happens when your kids goes to a preschool where they are serious about growing your child's faith. They thing everyone's favorite song is "10,000 Reasons". Why wouldn't it be?
Finally, Big Dan talked with him and shared about a time he chose to share a story from the Bible in a class during high school. It was a story I hadn't heard, and it was so sweet to hear them talking about it. Whatever Big Dan said, they were the magic words. Drew was excited to work on his poster.
Y'all. I did not even mention one thing when he glued all of his text boxes to one side of his poster. But, I did breathe a huge sigh of relief when he drew some music notes on the other side, because, balance.
He was very proud of his poster. I was proud of him. His report at the end of the day was that actually a few more kids did know the song. One kid even got the song stuck in his head, apparently!
It's a tough thing to watch your oldest child's bubble of innocence start to burst. I am only praying that these small moments will fortify his faith. I want to point him to the Lord in a way that helps him really believe all the things God believes about him.
I can't wait to remind him of this story some day!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Just, Whatever Man
Have you seen this yet?
Sidenote: Look how fancy I am posting a video up in here!
This video made me laugh and laugh and laugh. Why? Because the time change SUCKS. Apparently, I'm like a little baby toddler. My body cannot get adjusted to a ONE HOUR time change. #grandmamoses.
I am ready to climb in bed as soon as I put my kids down. You know, at SEVEN. Because here, in Nashvegas, we live right on the line of the time zone change. This means it gets dark here by 4:30 p.m. Like, DARK, dark. Which means the sun starts setting by about 3:45. No wonder I'm exhausted by 7. If I stay up to, you know, complete a chore. I feel like I'm pulling an all nighter. It is utterly ridiculous. My hatred for the time change began when I had a baby. The malice has only grown since then.
Clearly.
We've had all manner of happenings around here. I hosted an after school play date for Emily today. She has a current friend that she is obsessed with. It's a boy. He's adorable. He was in my class a couple of years ago, and I loved him to pieces then. When Emily came home and told me with certainty she was going to marry him (and live in our house, but not with me and Big Dan, but with their kids) I didn't even get nervous. He's delightful. They have both been asking me for a play date forever. I had a lot on my plate for a couple of weeks, but once I cleared off some space, we made it happen.
Most of the kids who go to our preschool live near the preschool. We, however, do not. So, it can make it tough to play together regularly. My Emily? Major extrovert. I'm not AT ALL versed in extroversion, but I'm trying to seek out ways to fill her little bucket. This was definitely one way. They had the best time. We settled on cheese pizza for dinner (fake cheese for princess no-dairy) and Wild Kratts for entertainment. It was especially cute.
Next up on the docket this week is helping Drew complete his first ever major project. He's excited about it. He does not enjoy input from me. We had to have a long discussion about the "writing process" and a "rough draft" tonight. Don't you wish you were my kid?? True to form we have not budgeted our time wisely for this project. I'm just patting myself on the back that we didn't leave the whole thing until tomorrow night. #winning
You can be sure after an extra play date AND a project I'll be down for the count all weekend. Have I mentioned the super special polar cyclone of doom has settled over the region? If you need me I'll be under four blankets, most likely asleep.
Sidenote: Look how fancy I am posting a video up in here!
This video made me laugh and laugh and laugh. Why? Because the time change SUCKS. Apparently, I'm like a little baby toddler. My body cannot get adjusted to a ONE HOUR time change. #grandmamoses.
I am ready to climb in bed as soon as I put my kids down. You know, at SEVEN. Because here, in Nashvegas, we live right on the line of the time zone change. This means it gets dark here by 4:30 p.m. Like, DARK, dark. Which means the sun starts setting by about 3:45. No wonder I'm exhausted by 7. If I stay up to, you know, complete a chore. I feel like I'm pulling an all nighter. It is utterly ridiculous. My hatred for the time change began when I had a baby. The malice has only grown since then.
Clearly.
We've had all manner of happenings around here. I hosted an after school play date for Emily today. She has a current friend that she is obsessed with. It's a boy. He's adorable. He was in my class a couple of years ago, and I loved him to pieces then. When Emily came home and told me with certainty she was going to marry him (and live in our house, but not with me and Big Dan, but with their kids) I didn't even get nervous. He's delightful. They have both been asking me for a play date forever. I had a lot on my plate for a couple of weeks, but once I cleared off some space, we made it happen.
Most of the kids who go to our preschool live near the preschool. We, however, do not. So, it can make it tough to play together regularly. My Emily? Major extrovert. I'm not AT ALL versed in extroversion, but I'm trying to seek out ways to fill her little bucket. This was definitely one way. They had the best time. We settled on cheese pizza for dinner (fake cheese for princess no-dairy) and Wild Kratts for entertainment. It was especially cute.
Next up on the docket this week is helping Drew complete his first ever major project. He's excited about it. He does not enjoy input from me. We had to have a long discussion about the "writing process" and a "rough draft" tonight. Don't you wish you were my kid?? True to form we have not budgeted our time wisely for this project. I'm just patting myself on the back that we didn't leave the whole thing until tomorrow night. #winning
You can be sure after an extra play date AND a project I'll be down for the count all weekend. Have I mentioned the super special polar cyclone of doom has settled over the region? If you need me I'll be under four blankets, most likely asleep.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
World's OKest Mom
Today's blog title is brought to you by a friend of mine in book club who introduced me to this phrase. I have not stopped laughing about it yet. She's a hilarious person and I really wish we had more time to spend together. That list? Of people I need more time with? It's long.
This week I washed my son's Pokemon cards in the washer. Don't panic! You did not accidentally time travel back to the mid-90s. It turns out Pokemon cards are popular again. At least in my little corner of the world. And, I don't need to hear from you if you think Pokemon cards are from the devil or Illuminati or whatever. I can promise you my kid does not believe pocket monsters are real. Nor does he believe that Pokemon powers are real. We've covered it. We even discussed some bad theology in the Pokemon cartoon theme song. I wish I were kidding.
ANYWAY. Let's just cut to the chase and I'll tell you that I am a terrible pocket checker. Heaven knows it is all I can do to get the clothes clean and dry. Do not try to add any steps like checking pockets. It does not even cross my mind, ever, to check a pocket when I'm doing laundry. And I realize this is like playing the laundry roulette every time. I wish I was more conscientious. But I'm not. Therefore, my child's entire stash of Pokemon cards went through the wash cycle.
When I realized what I had done, I was calm and rational. No, wait. It did not go that way at all. I freaked totally out. And then I hid them. All the mangled, faded, sad, curled up cards got stashed out of sight. I have no idea why I didn't just throw them out. I could not bring myself to tell him what happened, so I kept mum.
In the meantime, he was not mentioning his cards. And, I can't be sure, but I think it's because he thought they were lost and was afraid I would be mad about him losing them. So, he hid.
Do you see what happened here? I could see it all along. Hiding the truth because I didn't want to deal with the emotional reaction. And, to strip it down even more? I didn't want him to be disappointed in me. He didn't tell me the truth because he didn't want me to be disappointed in him.
Pokemon cards are no big deal. But our reactions were a big deal. I definitely do not want this to be our pattern of reacting. Because one day the stakes will be much higher.
I spend a lot of time trying to keep from kids from experiencing pain. I think there is good in this. I think it is instinctual. Babies survive because mothers have an innate drive to keep them alive. Part of that includes keeping them from harm. This is important. But, the truth is, pain will come. This is the way of life. Sometimes they will be forced to face things they should not. What we do in these moments matters most.
I only have one answer for this. The only thing I know to do when my kids are facing any kind of hurt, big or small, is teach them to turn to God. When I experience pain, am I honest with them about how I feel? Do I hide? Or do I let them watch some of the process-the crying, the praying, the turning to God. Not in the trite way of turning to God, but in that way you do when you don't know what else to do. I want my kids to know that facing pain is a normal part of life. But, we are not left to do it on our own.
I am kinder to myself when I realize I'm going to blow it with my kids. Probably multiple times a day. World's OKest Mom is a title I will proudly bear. I will remind myself with each misstep that I am giving my kids the chance to rely on God a little more each day!
This week I washed my son's Pokemon cards in the washer. Don't panic! You did not accidentally time travel back to the mid-90s. It turns out Pokemon cards are popular again. At least in my little corner of the world. And, I don't need to hear from you if you think Pokemon cards are from the devil or Illuminati or whatever. I can promise you my kid does not believe pocket monsters are real. Nor does he believe that Pokemon powers are real. We've covered it. We even discussed some bad theology in the Pokemon cartoon theme song. I wish I were kidding.
ANYWAY. Let's just cut to the chase and I'll tell you that I am a terrible pocket checker. Heaven knows it is all I can do to get the clothes clean and dry. Do not try to add any steps like checking pockets. It does not even cross my mind, ever, to check a pocket when I'm doing laundry. And I realize this is like playing the laundry roulette every time. I wish I was more conscientious. But I'm not. Therefore, my child's entire stash of Pokemon cards went through the wash cycle.
When I realized what I had done, I was calm and rational. No, wait. It did not go that way at all. I freaked totally out. And then I hid them. All the mangled, faded, sad, curled up cards got stashed out of sight. I have no idea why I didn't just throw them out. I could not bring myself to tell him what happened, so I kept mum.
In the meantime, he was not mentioning his cards. And, I can't be sure, but I think it's because he thought they were lost and was afraid I would be mad about him losing them. So, he hid.
Do you see what happened here? I could see it all along. Hiding the truth because I didn't want to deal with the emotional reaction. And, to strip it down even more? I didn't want him to be disappointed in me. He didn't tell me the truth because he didn't want me to be disappointed in him.
Pokemon cards are no big deal. But our reactions were a big deal. I definitely do not want this to be our pattern of reacting. Because one day the stakes will be much higher.
I spend a lot of time trying to keep from kids from experiencing pain. I think there is good in this. I think it is instinctual. Babies survive because mothers have an innate drive to keep them alive. Part of that includes keeping them from harm. This is important. But, the truth is, pain will come. This is the way of life. Sometimes they will be forced to face things they should not. What we do in these moments matters most.
I only have one answer for this. The only thing I know to do when my kids are facing any kind of hurt, big or small, is teach them to turn to God. When I experience pain, am I honest with them about how I feel? Do I hide? Or do I let them watch some of the process-the crying, the praying, the turning to God. Not in the trite way of turning to God, but in that way you do when you don't know what else to do. I want my kids to know that facing pain is a normal part of life. But, we are not left to do it on our own.
I am kinder to myself when I realize I'm going to blow it with my kids. Probably multiple times a day. World's OKest Mom is a title I will proudly bear. I will remind myself with each misstep that I am giving my kids the chance to rely on God a little more each day!
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