11/11/11

My wishes:

That Tommy stays healthy this winter with no sinus or ear infections

That Sam completes the training for his job

That I get restful sleep each night and wake up without back pain

That our extended families stay healthy and happy

Books, books, and more books

Writing prompt for today:

Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is your secret (or not-so-secret) passion?

Reading. I'm addicted to it.  I could give up music, movies, and even *gasp* chocolate before I could give up reading.

When I was a kid I read all the time. I read in the morning before school, I read on the bus, I read in class when the teacher was boring (yeah, got in trouble for that a lot). I read at lunch and recess, I read on the way home, I read before dinner, I read after dinner (would have read during dinner if Mom had let me). I read before bed, and I read when I was supposed to be asleep (flashlights don't do good things for your eyes). I read at church - it was a running joke that I could walk down the hall from Sunday School to service with my nose in a book while walking around people. I read during service (got in trouble for that one too, till I learned to read my Bible instead of other books).

When I got older I kept reading. I went through library books like crazy. In high school I developed motion sickness when I read on the bus, but that didn't always stop me from reading. Many days I'd arrive at school with an upset stomach from reading on the bus, but it was worth it if I could read a couple more chapters. In college I didn't have as much time to read, but I snuck it in when I could. In my freshman lit class I read all the assignments by the end of the first month. Then I read them over and over in class when I got bored (I got bored in school a lot).

After college I had more time to read. I loved going on vacation with my family. Everyone brought books and we read on the beach, by the pool, in the pool - had to be careful with that one. I loved flying because I could read in the airport and on the plane (no motion sickness there!).

After I had my son reading fell by the wayside. It's hard to read a book with one hand. At night when he went to bed I was too tired to read, and during the day I just didn't have time.

Enter Kindle. I love it! My husband got a Kindle, and I was able to download the free app on my iPhone. It was amazing - I now had a book with me everywhere I went. Waiting at the doctor, holding Tommy, stuck in line at the grocery store, in between patients at work, waiting for the light to turn green (ok, that might have been taking it too far). I had rediscovered reading. I went through a book a day. I started having to look for free books from Amazon so I didn't spend all our money on ebooks. This past summer I got my own Kindle reader, since reading so much on my little iPhone screen started giving me headaches. Not quite as convenient as my phone, but I love that I can sync the devices and read the same book on both of them - so I'm still never without a book!

So, that's my not-so-secret passion. This is probably why I'm so into this blogging project - I'm able to read so many other people's blogs. There's so many good blog writers out there, and I'm really enjoying all the good reading material. So, thanks everyone for enabling my addiction :)

The cool house

I'm not sure when I realized that my parents were the cool parents. I'm sure that sometime when I was growing up I thought my parents embarrassed me, but sometime in junior high or high school I knew that my parents were the cool parents. The ones my friends secretly wished their parents were like. It wasn't that they spent a lot of money on us, or that they didn't have any rules for us, or that let us have wild parties - that wasn't the case at all. It was that they were always there for us, and for our friends.

My parents were at everything when I was growing up. My dad coached neighborhood baseball while my mom kept score and ran the concession stand. My mom helped put together the yearbook in elementary school. They carpooled for after-school athletic practices or play rehearsals. For school athletics they helped drive and kept score. They let us have friends over on the weekends when we were younger. In high school they let us have parties on Friday nights, and sometimes our friends stayed over till Saturday. They were involved, and I loved it. People asked if our parents could chaperone trips. They piled into our van on road trips even if there was more room in other vehicles.

My parents knew some of the kids at school better than I did. My friends loved to come over to our house because they knew it was a safe place, my parents would always be there for us, there was always good food, and we could have fun without breaking rules. They never allowed alcohol, smoking, or drugs at our house. If someone was causing trouble they had to leave, but that rarely ever happened.

We didn't have a big house, and we didn't have a big yard, but that didn't stop people from coming over. I remember numerous Friday nights when we had a basketball game going in the back yard, people talking in the kitchen, movie watching going on in the den, guitar playing on the second floor, and a foosball game happening in the basement. Mom kept us stocked up with M&Ms, Reese's cups, Doritos, pop, and veggies and dip. People parked up and down the street, since our driveway was pretty small.

I recently had a chance to go back and visit my parents at my old house. It was great to be on familiar territory and back with my family. I relived lots of great memories, and I got to make new ones.

Too Early?

Today's prompt is to write about something traumatic that has happened to me. I'm not going to do that today, but if you're interested in reading about my experience with the April 27th tornadoes in Alabama I wrote about it here.

Instead, I have a confession to make.


There's a station here in town that plays Christmas music 24 hours a day around Christmas. The past 2 years they've started up their Christmas time earlier and earlier, and this year it started the morning of Halloween. I was annoyed. Who wants to hear Christmas music on Halloween?


Me.


That's right. I admit it. I listened to it. Just a song or 2, but I did. And it made me happy.


And I listened to it again the next day, and the next, and the next.....


I listened to it again today. And it made me happy again. And I made my son listen to it also.


I blame it on the radio station. They make it so easy, it's right there. It brings good feelings, feelings of Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, seeing family, eating Christmas food, drinking cider, attending Christmas Eve services, singing carols.......


I admit it, I'm a Christmas music junkie.


The problem is, I'm afraid I'm going to overdo it. If I listen to too much now, before Thanksgiving even, by Christmas I may be tired of it. I may overdose on Christmas music before it's even time for Christmas.


So I should stop. I should reset my presets so I'm not tempted. I should only play my son's childrens' music cds in the truck. I should not listen to Christmas music right now!


Well, maybe just one more song...


:)

Balance

Wow, this is the prompt from NaBloPoMo today:

Monday, November 7, 2011
Making family time is important to me. How do you balance your children, relationship, and work life?

I really wish I had a good answer for that. Many times I'm unbalanced. It's hard to be a wife, mom, and working woman all at the same time. There are only so many hours in a day. On a typical day, here is how I break it down:

5:45-6:30 - Me time. I get up before anyone else, and after I get dressed I can do my devotions, check my email, start coffee, and do any leftover dishes from the night before.

6:30-8:00 - Mommy time. This is when my husband and I work together to get Tommy dressed and fed, and we get in the truck to head to daycare. Sometimes there's a little wife time in there, as I discuss the day with my husband and kiss him goodbye, but it's mostly Mommy time.

8:00-5:50 - Vet time. When I'm at work I'm in vet mode. Sure, I may answer a text from Sam from time to time, but most of the time Mommy and Wife me are not around during this time.

5:50-8:00 - Wife/Mommy time. I pick up Tommy and we head home to see Sam. Then it's time to eat, talk about our day, play a little, and get Tommy ready for bed.

8:00-10:00 - Wife time. Time to watch TV, talk about any pressing issues, clean up, do laundry, and anything else we might be interested in doing after Tommy goes to bed.

10:00-5:45 - Sleep....zzzzzzzzzz

Then I get up and start all over. Sure, sometimes Tommy wakes up at 4am (thank you, daylight savings) and Mommy time starts early. Sometimes I can get an early lunch and meet Sam for a quick bite to eat. On my off days Mommy me is around much more, and if Tommy takes a nap (which he doesn't like to do), Wife me gets to come out more often. Sometimes if work is slow I get some time to myself to catch up on email, read my Kindle, or chat with some of the girls at work.

It's hard to balance my life and make time for family. Work me pretty much takes care of herself. I have set hours I need to spend at work. I treat my patients, get my charts done, talk to the owners, and plan out the next day. When I'm there I'm pretty focused, and (for the most part) I can leave my job when I leave work.

Mommy me is a little harder. Tommy spends more waking time at daycare than he does with me. I'm thankful that he has excellent teachers who he loves, and he learns so much more from them than he could learn at home with me. But that's still difficult to accept. My mom didn't work when we were little. She taught us what our colors were, how to read, and how to tie our shoes. I'm not my mom. I don't know how she did it, but I'm glad she did. I hope Tommy is happy with the choices we've made for him. I try to make all the available Mommy time count. We play in the backyard, go on walks to the park, watch silly shows (with hidden educational value) on TV, chase each other around the house, spin until we fall down, dance until we fall down, tickle until we fall down (Tommy likes falling down). Overall I guess I think I'm pretty happy with Mommy time. Tommy knows I love him, and I know he loves me in that "Mommy can do anything" kind of way that lights up his face when he sees me.

Wife me is where the balance falls off. Sure, Sam and I are home at the same time, but we're not exactly spending time together. In the morning we chat while brushing teeth, packing bags, feeding the animals, and getting Tommy ready to leave. After we get home it's not much better. While we eat we're both making sure Tommy isn't throwing his food on the floor or smearing it on the table. After dinner one of us is getting Tommy ready for bed while the other is catching up on housework. Only after he goes to bed do we have time alone, and all to often we're too tired to do much more than watch TV, catch up on emails, and go to bed. This is an area where I need to conscientiously make an effort to do better. Lunch dates are too few and far between, they could happen at least 2-3 times a month if not weekly. We should line up babysitters more often to go out and spend some time together as adults, even if it's just to eat some fast food, go shopping, or even go away for a weekend. Wife me needs a V8.

So, I sure don't have it all figured out. Some days are better than others. I need to keep working on keeping the balance, or at least keeping things as even as possible.

Jonah, the rest of the story...

Today's lesson at church was from the book of Jonah. Now, many people know the Sunday school version of Jonah. God told him to go talk to the Ninevites. Jonah didn't want to so he got on a boat going the other way and fell asleep. Then God sent a storm to stop the boat, and all the people on the boat were scared. Eventually Jonah told them to throw him overboard, and after they did the storm stopped. Then a big fish swallowed Jonah up. He stayed trapped in the fish for 3 days, then after he called out to God the fish spit him out on dry land and he went to Nineveh.

That's where the story stops for most people, but that's not really the end of the story. That makes it seem like Jonah learned his lesson. The truth is, he didn't. Yes, he learned that running away from God lands you in the belly of a yucky fish, but it didn't turn him into an obedient man of God. See, Jonah had a chip on his shoulder. The reason he ran from his assignment in the first place wasn't because he was scared of the Ninevites and what they would do to him, he ran because he knew that God was a God of mercy and he was afraid that if the Ninevites heard the message he had to deliver they would repent and God would forgive them and spare his wrath. And that's what happened. As soon as they heard Jonah's message of doom they repented and humbled themselves before God. They were spared because they took God seriously and turned from the evil they were doing.

So now you'd think Jonah was glad that his message had been received and the people had turned to God. But no, Jonah tells God he's disappointed. He wanted to see the wrath of God poured out on this evil city, even if they repented. Then he goes up on a hill to pout. While he's looking down over the city the sun is beating down on him. God provides a plant that grows up and gives him some shade. Then God sends a worm to kill the plant and the shade is gone. Jonah is so upset over the loss of the plant that he says he wants to die. He cared more about the plant that he did nothing to cultivate than the thousands of people in Nineveh.

Talk about missing the big picture. Jonah had a chance to be part of something big. He had been given a second chance by God, but he didn't take advantage of it. He could have turned to God, helped the people of Nineveh, and been part of something big. Instead, his story ends on a hill, complaining about a dead leaf.

So, who are we going to be? Will it take something big like a smelly fish to get us to follow God? Are we more interested in our version of justice than God's plan? Do we care more about our own comfort than the lives of other people?

"My Best Friend Mommy"

I have the most adorable child ever. No really, I do, and no one can convince me otherwise. You want proof? Here are a few examples then.

I'll start with today. We're trying to do the potty training thing. We recently started putting Cheerios in the potty for him to aim at. He loves this. Not because he likes to actually hit them with his TT, but because he likes to talk to them. This afternoon, after we put 7 of the little Os in the potty, he knelt down and counted them, then I heard "Hello, Cheerios. I'm Tommy Frederick." This is the first time I've even heard him say our last name, much less use it as his own, and I just about lost it laughing when I heard him introduce himself to cereal that was floating in the toilet bowl.

Not convinced yet? OK, this one's from a few days ago. Tommy had a second set of tubes put in his ears. We had to leave the house at 5:30am to get to the hospital on time. It went well and we were home by about 8:45. Despite the early rise time, and the anesthesia and surgery, Tommy was not tired all day long. There was no napping to be done. Then we left to go pick up Daddy at work. He wanted to wear his Alabama hat, so he put it on backwards and headed to the car. Five minutes down the road I looked in the rear-view mirror and he had turned it back around, pulled it over his eyes, and was fast asleep. The next red light I stopped at I just had to take a picture of the cuteness.

Still not a believer? Here's the big gun. For the past two years I've been trying to get Tommy to say "I love you." We say it to him and each other all the time. He'd give hugs, but only occasionally would say the words. Then, about a month ago, he was eating a snack in the kitchen while I was doing something in the other room. I heard him call for me and I went in to see what he needed. He wrapped me up in a huge hug and said "My best friend, Mommy. I love you!" I just about started crying there in the kitchen. I know that as he gets older I'll be replaced as best friend, but for now, I'm soaking it up. At least once a day now I'm dubbed "Best Friend Mommy" instead of just regular Mommy, and I love.

I don't care what anyone says, my little man is the most adorable child ever. I'll end today's blog with more pictures to prove my point.

 

NaBloPoMo

I'm a horrible blogger, it's true. It's not that the posts I write are horrible, but they're few and far between. I keep telling myself that I'll do better. I'll write once a week, OK maybe every 2 weeks, or monthly, every other month...and then 4 months go by and I haven't written anything (well, other than comments on other people's blogs).

So, this month I'm going to do better. I'm signing up to blog every day. Through NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) I'll get prompts Monday through Friday with writing topics. Then on the weekend it's my chance to come up with topics. I doubt that I'll actually write every day, and some days may not be very good, but at least I'll get in the habit of writing more often. And maybe, just maybe, that will translate into more blogs after November is over.

So, since I'm coming to this game a little late, I have some catching up to do. I'll start with the prompts that were give already this week.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
What is your favorite part about writing?

I like several things about writing. I like seeing my thoughts on the screen. It helps me sort through them and analyze them if I can see them in front of me, and not just in my head. I like the freeing feeling that getting things out through writing give me. Whether I'm venting about a stressful situation, sharing happy news, or just asking for advice with a problem I can't solve, getting it out there just feels good.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011
If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

Hm, I like so many foods. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried okra, and cornbread would be at the top of the list. My mom's pot roast with potatoes and carrots is pretty high up there too. Both are foods that make me feel happy when I eat them, and bring back lots of good memories.

Thursday, November 3, 2011
Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

Most of the time, yes. Sometimes I need a little background noise to relax and get my thoughts organized. If the music is really loud or rocky it can be too much of a distraction, but for the most part I like to write with something playing in the background. There's no music playing right now, but there is background noise: the sound of my husband and mother-in-law playing with my son while NASCAR coverage is on TV. Now that's actually music to my ears :)

Friday, November 4, 2011
When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

Definitely a computer. I have horrible handwriting. If I write on paper, many times I have trouble reading what I wrote. When I'm trying to get things out in a hurry, my handwriting gets even worse. Ever since high school I've done better typing than writing. Even when I have to go back and fix words that I've typed wrong things flow more smoothly on a keyboard than with pen and paper. When I was younger I did keep a journal, but if I ever tried to go back and read what I'd written at a later date I'd have trouble following the emotion and thought train because I'd be too focused on figuring out what the words actually were. So, I'm really glad that the personal computer was invented (and super glad that spell check was invented also, since I'm also a terrible speller)!

OK, so there's 4 short blogs taken care of. Since there is no prompt for today I'll end this blog here, and I'll spend some time to think of a blog to write later today.

Creativity Challanged

When I saw that the theme this month on MomColoredGlasses is creativity I had a sinking feeling. How was I ever going to come up with a post on this topic when I am one of the least creative people I know? I did not receive the "crafty gene" in my DNA makeup.

There are multiple factors involved in my "uncraftiness" which make it hard for me to be creative. For starters, I'm a by the book kind of person. Give me a recipe, some directions to follow, or a schematic to look at and I'm fine. I was great with connect the dots and paint by number when I was a kid. Give me a blank piece of paper and I was lost. I need some direction to make something original.

Then there's the time thing. I work 10 hour days 4 days a week, then I work 3 out of 4 Saturday mornings. My weekday off-day is usually full of doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, or playing outside. That doesn't leave much time for me and Tommy to do crafty things (or so I thought).

And lastly, Tommy isn't much for sitting still. Unless he's at the table eating, he's constantly moving. He doesn't even stay in one spot for long when watching his favorite movie - which is Cars, and is currently playing right now, while he is running around the living room playing with his Cars characters as they come on screen. The thought of glue, glitter, and small pieces of crafty items around my Tasmanian devil sends shivers down my spine.

So, I figured I wouldn't have anything to share this month. Then I wondered about the other moms like me. The ones who don't have much time, who have kids with short attention spans, who couldn't make a nice looking craft without step by step instructions. And I thought there must be things for us. So I looked around my house, and I found the things that Tommy and I do that can be considered creative.

Coloring - you can't get more basic than coloring. And Crayola has this wonderful line of washable and color magic products. The washable crayons allow me to sit Tommy at the table with coloring books or paper and let him scribble to his heart's content. If he gets the crayons on the table they wash off with a couple swipes of a wet paper towel. Sometime I'll draw shapes and he'll tell me what the shapes are and then color in them. One of my favorite memories of him is when I drew a stop sign and he told me it was an "oc-a-gon." The color magic markers are even more wonderful. They only draw on special paper. You can buy special coloring books or blank paper for these markers. They even have color magic finger paints if you really want to go wild. We actually took these markers and coloring books on our last trip. He used them on the plane, in the airports, and at the vacation home and I didn't have to hover over him the whole time worrying that he'd make a mess. That let me relax and let him be creative.

One of his other favorite creative toys is the Fisher-Price Pro Doodler. It uses a magnetic pen and 4 shape magnets to draw on a blank screen. Some days he just wants to fill the whole screen in, clear it, and do it again. Other days he draws various lines and scribbles and then tells me that they're rhinos or elephants. He has a small Doodler for the car that just has the pen. Sometimes I'll write his name on it and he'll read off the letters, say his name, then scribble over it and make birds, tractors, or big trucks- they just look like lines to me, but in his imagination he's drawing masterpieces. The great thing about these toys is there is no mess, and you can easily clear them and start over. You can't hang them on the fridge or give them to Grandma, but they're quick and easy and still creative.

We also like to be creative with music. When we're at his grandmother's house he loves to "play" the piano and sing. In the bathtub he has a floating xylophone he bangs on. He also has a plastic drum filled with kid sized percussion items. He likes to use the funky colored drumsticks, hit the ant sleigh bells, and shake the eggs to make fun sounds.

One thing that can get a little messy involves sidewalk chalk. He loves to draw on our patio. Some days he just takes the colors and scribbles. Some days I draw shapes and letters and he tells me what they are. Then we hose them off (or the rain does) and we can start all over again.

So, even if you don't have a lot of time, or you don't have the crafting skills that other moms have, you can still have creative play time with your kids. You may not be making craft sale worth projects, but you'll still be having fun, creating memories, and helping your little one use their imagination.

Where has my little Tommy gone?

Indoor playground time at the McWane Center

Tommy has turned into such a big boy, and I'm not sure when it happened. My cute little baby has disappeared, and an independent little man has taken his place. I love this new Tommy, but I have to admit I miss my baby. I miss him falling asleep in my lap, I miss his cute little "uh-oh" when something fell, I miss being able to put him in adorable little one piece outfits. Here are some of the new Tommyisms:

He has to walk to and from the car by himself (holding my hand) and won't let me carry him. He also has to climb into the carseat by himself, but he does let me buckle him.

He says "Thanks" instead of his cute little "tank-q."

He has to wear rugged little boy clothes because he climbs and digs and gets really messy at daycare.

At bedtime he has to sit in the chair, and he tells me to sit on the "ground" while he reads me a book. Then he gets down and crawls into bed by himself. He does let me cover him with a blanket and give him a kiss at least.

He sings me songs. If I try to start singing, he often says "No Mommy" and then sings it himself. Sometimes he lets me sing along, or help him remember the words if he forgets. He does let me sing Old McDonald, although he tells me which animal to use.

This new (improved?) Tommy is a lot of fun. He loves to play outside, and watching him in the sprinkler always makes me laugh. His favorite food is "peanut butter candy" (Reese's cups). He still loves Mickey Mouse, although Jake and the Pirates is giving Mickey a run for his money these days. He knows lots of colors, tons of animals, basic shapes, all his letters, and can count to 12 (and to 20 if you don't need the numbers in order). He knows that TOMMY spells his name. He knows what Mommy and Daddy's real names are. He loves to swing, especially when we push him high. His favorite activity in the truck on the way to work is spotting the tractors (lots of construction going on). He says "I love you" a lot now, although sometimes he's talking about swinging, or Cheezits, or tractors, or whatever has his attention at the moment. Most of the time he says it to us, and it's usually followed by a big hug and sloppy kiss.

He does not want to be potty trained, but we've got plenty of time for that later.

So, my baby Tommy is gone. This new little boy Tommy is a lot of fun, and can be quite sweet when he wants to. I'll enjoy this new phase as long as I can, because I know that before too long he'll be moving on to a new one.

Enjoying some down time with Hank and the froggie boots