This is the week I go back to work.
I’m sad.
I’m anxious.
Actually, I feel exactly like I did last time.
But this time, even though I’m going through the same emotions, something is different.
I’ve been around this block before.
Will there be tears? Of course.
Will we be fine? No.
We’ll be better than that.
Bring it on.
Source: Southern Living
BigSIS and I had lunch together today while theBOY worked and lilBRO napped.
I’m really going to miss lunching with her when I return to work next week. Some of our best conversations happen at lunch.
Take today’s, for example.
I finished before her (as usual), and turned to check out our kitchen set-up.
“What you doing, Mom?” she asked.
“I’m thinking, honey.”
We usually forget that our 26-month old is 26 months old, so I continued.
“I”m trying to figure out how to make a dishwasher fit in here.”
The next question reminded me that she is, in fact, two years old.
“What’s a dishwasher?”
Then the conversation went something like this…
It’s the thing at your grandma’s house that washes the dishes. You know, you get to push the button to start it. Everyone else we know (except one other poor soul and friend of mine) has one. Yada. Yada. Yada.
I turned from her again.
“What you thinkin’ about now, Mom?”
(Yes, she recently started calling me “mom” instead of mommy. I’m not worried about it, though, because this comes after a stint of calling me “mama” for days on end.)
This time I didn’t turn back to answer.
“I’m still thinking about the dishwasher,” I replied. “And if we should get one.”
“We have a sink.”
We have a sink, she said.
Yes, we do, don’t we?
We have a sink.
She’s watched me wash dishes in our sink for months. She’s even helped me wash dishes in that sink. And? She loves it.
In that moment, her two-year-old mind pointed out what my 30 {something} year old mind often forgets.
We have a sink. And not just a sink.
We have a home, two cars, warm beds, enough food, puh-lenty of toys.
See, I get wrapped up in what we DON’T have. But bigSIS doesn’t know what we don’t have (yet).
She doesn’t know there’s a whole world of stuff we don’t have.
Stuff we don’t need.
Today, I wished I didn’t know the stuff we don’t have. Because we obviously don’t need it. We’re doing just fine.
Yes, we have a sink.
And, for today, that’s enough.
What is it that you don’t have and, just maybe, don’t need today?
~theGIRL
I do not love mornings.
I am not a get-up-and-go kind of girl.
I like 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
And after that perfect night of sleep, I like to lay in bed awake for at least 15 minutes to mentally prepare for the cold floor, the bright light and the chaos of the day ahead.
I like lazy mornings.
Who’s with me? I need some back-up here. theBOY hops out of bed like he’s got an extra spring on his side. So annoying.
When I became a mom, I lost all control over when or how I would get out of bed.
When the baby cries, you get up and go.
That may have been my biggest challenge when bigSIS arrived.
I’m not kidding. Remember this?
With two years of motherhood under my belt, I think I’m pretty good at getting up in the morning.
Most days I’m not bitter about it. I greet my kids with a genuine smile. And I don’t feel sorry for myself anymore.
Maybe my memory of those glorious, lazy mornings is starting to fade – or maybe I’m just used to getting up when the alarm kids ring now.
Yes, I’m pretty good at get-up-and-go mornings.
Now a whole new challenge.
Just before the new year I stumbled upon Inspired to Action and the Hello Mornings Challenge.
The point? Getting up for your day/children instead of waking up to your children.
What does that look like? Getting up and ready for your day before the babies wake.
Quiet time? Check.
Exercise? Yep.
Showered and dressed? You know it.
What a difference it makes! Brilliant!
Now, a little note. I must be ready for my day before the kids wake when I go back to work in two short weeks, so this is just a jump-start for me. What I’m really learning now is to get up and spend time reading, studying and praying {because, as my pastor recently said, you can’t know God if you don’t know the Bible} and to get my exercise in first thing in the morning {because a worked out me is a happy me} in order to set myself on the right path for the day.
So, this past Monday I jumped in with both feet (which actually looks more like dragging both feet to the ground at 6 a.m.).
My goal? To remember how good this habit is when the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. on February 1.
Say a prayer for me, will ya?
Oh, and if I learn any good early morning tips in the process, I’ll be sure to share them for my other non-morning people out there.
Now I must go to sleep. Morning comes really early these days.
~theGIRL
PS – If you follow me on Twitter and notice some funny hashtags, it’s probably me checking in with my Hello Mornings group!
Today I have a fun {easy} project to share – chalkboard painted wine glasses!
I first saw this idea on Pinterest. Where else, right?
I knew it would make the perfect Christmas gift, so I went right to Michael’s and {using my 50% off coupon} bought Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint.
This was seriously so simple! First, wash and dry your wine glasses. Then, mask off the stems with tape. I used {hard to photograph} scotch tape because it was the first I found. I didn’t worry about taping off the whole stem because I figured I could control the spray paint pretty well.
I applied two thin coats of paint to the base of the wine glasses. According to the can, a coat of Krylon Chalkboard spray paint only takes 12 minutes to dry, so this project only took 30 minutes from start to finish {while the babies napped, of course}.
And the final product? So fun!
These would make great place settings, or you can let your guests get creative with chalk themselves!
So tell me, did you make anything fun to give as gifts this past Christmas?
I’m linking up at Tatertots & Jello this week!
I planned to share a fun project today, but it’s a cold winter day and I feel like writing about my family instead.
I hope you don’t mind.
I haven’t shared much about our new family member and how he’s changed things. So here goes.
First things first – he’s brought about the need for me to change how I refer to my kiddos at GGU. From here on, my firstborn will be known as “bigSIS” and my sweet baby boy as “lilBRO.” (And just in case you’re new here, I’m theGIRL and my cute husband is known as theBOY.)
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s discuss the addition of lilBRO to our family. Here are the highlights.
Speaking of healthy kids, is anyone else super touched by all the commercials for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this time of year?
Or is it just a result of my hormonal state?
The tagline tugs at my heartstrings every time I hear it.
“Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.”
I’m giving thanks. I’m also wondering how to give to those “who are not.” (Besides financially. I get that. It just doesn’t seem like enough.)
So that’s that. I hope your first week of 2012 is going well.
Thanks for indulging me today.
~theGIRL
*A “good” baby is one who nurses until he’s finished and only takes 10 or 15 minutes to do so. He sleeps for four hours at a time at night the first night home and only increases his night sleep from there. He is content in his bouncy seat, his swing or laying on the floor. He doesn’t require endless rocking to fall asleep at night. He’s attentive and smiles during his alert period and yawns when he’s ready for a nap. Yes, I have myself a dream baby. I’m fully aware and grateful for it. So grateful. Oh, and I’m trying not to worry about him losing his angel wings…which I know will happen. He has to grow up, right?
I planned to share a fun project today, but it’s a cold winter day and I feel like writing about my family instead.
I hope you don’t mind.
I haven’t shared much about our new family member and how he’s changed things. So here goes.
First things first – he’s brought about the need for me to change how I refer to my kiddos at GGU. From here on, my firstborn will be known as “bigSIS” and my sweet baby boy as “lilBRO.” (And just in case you’re new here, I’m theGIRL and my cute husband is known as theBOY.)
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s discuss the addition of lilBRO to our family. Here are the highlights.
Speaking of healthy kids, is anyone else super touched by all the commercials for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this time of year?
Or is it just a result of my hormonal state?
The tagline tugs at my heartstrings every time I hear it.
“Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.”
I’m giving thanks. I’m also wondering how to give to those “who are not.” (Besides financially. I get that. It just doesn’t seem like enough.)
So that’s that. I hope your first week of 2012 is going well.
Thanks for indulging me today.
~theGIRL
*A “good” baby is one who nurses until he’s finished and only takes 10 or 15 minutes to do so. He sleeps for four hours at a time at night the first night home and only increases his night sleep from there. He is content in his bouncy seat, his swing or laying on the floor. He doesn’t require endless rocking to fall asleep at night. He’s attentive and smiles during his alert period and yawns when he’s ready for a nap. Yes, I have myself a dream baby. I’m fully aware and grateful for it. So grateful. Oh, and I’m trying not to worry about him losing his angel wings…which I know will happen. He has to grow up, right?
