Wake Up Sun

In our apartment we have great windows which face East over the University. It is one of the reasons I chose it. This morning Quint and I were up eating breakfast. A great sunrise filled the sky with red, orange and yellows. I pointed it out to Quint and said "look at the sunrise Quint!" He said, "I don't see it". I think he was looking for the sun, which makes sense...

I said "the sun is coming up, it is not here yet."

He responded "Wake Up Sun!"

He voice was so confident that it was the appropriate thing to say at the moment. I just love how children help us see things in such a different light. No pun intended:)

I have decided, if I am up the sun better be too. Tomorrow, if I am up early...I think I will say "wake up sun too!"

Russell will give me the gray hair

Raising Russell is like dodging bullets. He is a big guy, who loves to climb but is not very coordinated. It is not a very good combination, especially in the toddler years. Any day you will look at him and see bumps and bruises, on his forehead. BK likes to say Russell believes his head is a fifth apendage. Its true. He bulls into things, dives off things, and despite my best efforts to keep him safe he is a walking injury.

Thank God he is also tough. He can take a hit and keep going. If he cries for more than a minute I think he might need to go to the ER. Most the time he gets up, brushes himself off, and keeps trucking.

I love him, but seriously most days I think I gain more gray hair.

Crash caused by a: flying drink cup?

Today we were on a run. Quint and Russell packed in the jogging stroller. I always bring a lot of extras in case of a melt down. It can get rough if you are a mile or two from home and a melt down occurs.

Today, there were no meltdowns, but Quint nearly caused a crisis for others....

Quint asked for his juice cup just as we were about to cross an overpass. As we approached the bridge which crosses a fairly busy road I saw him look miliciously at his juice cup. Then he raised it up, and I stopped abruptly and grabbed it. I knew that look.

It was my instinct to stop him, but then i realized I just prevented a flying juice cup.

You always hear stories of kids throwing rocks off overpasses...well I could just see it. The juice cup flies off the bridge and hits a car, causing an accident! Maybe he would have missed, or it would have just landed in the road, but either way it could have been a mess.

I don't always catch it before the crisis, but this time I am very glad I did!

If you are driving under an overpass and you see a joggy stroller up above...be on the look out, a juice cup, paci, or snack cup could be coming!

too bumpy

We moved Quint's seat to the way back of the car because we had company coming. He loved it, but it was so funny when we were driving on a rough road he yelled from the back "too bumpy!" It took me a second but it made a lot of sense. Again, he alerted me "mommy its took bumpy!" Just like the back of the bus, the back of Lexi is much more bumpy:)

I think he is getting used to it...plus I think he feels special having the row to himself!

Snow....Seriously!

It snowed today. It is hardly October. The good news is some older people told Krissy that if it snows early in October and then it warms up, it means it will be a warm winter. I guess when it snows this early, we have to hold on to whatever we can.

Even if it is a old wives tale, its something.

Failure and Triumph

I know mommy life is full of failure and triumph. But, sometimes I feel like the failure is overcoming me. In these moments I find myself questioning, can I really do this?

I find myself thinking:

"I am not cut out for this"

"If they live to 18 it will be a miracle"

" I am not __________ enough to be a good momma"

I usually fill that blank with anything from patient, organized, focused, loving, selfless.

Which statement I profess to myself in my negative self-talk just depends on the day. I am pretty confident it is not just me who feels this way. But today, I was feeling especially inadequate and thought I should blog about this. Just in case, there is another momma feeling the same way.

So, to all the mommas feeling like their moments of failure out weigh the triumphs, you are not alone.

definitely a fish

My moment: swimming under-water doing triple kick breast stroke. As I glided through the water I thought to myself...if I were an animal I would definitely be a fish. I love floating through the water, twisting around, no direction, no time frame, just looking up at the sky or bright lights from beneath the water.

It is so peaceful.

Then I thought it would not be peaceful if there was a bigger fish trying to eat me. So, I amended my choice, either a fish that nobody likes to eat, or one in a very big fancy fish tank. This way I would be able to swim around carefree all day, just like when I am gliding under water in the pool.

If I had to pick a third fish life option, I would be one of the fish who swims in a school, so I would have lots of friends to swim around with. We could get eaten, but we would be small, quick and sneaky. We would hide in the coral, and jam around to our secret places. That would be a good choice too:)

So, a question for you: what animal would you be? If its a fish, what kind?

Can we do it? Yes we can!

Today we were out the door at 815 am. Two boys, feed, dressed, clean diapers and shoes. Two bags packed. One package for the post office. As we made our way to the garage, I thought back to the summer. This summer we were so blessed to have BK around a lot. We became very accustom to having him around. When we would pack up to go somewhere it was a very good ratio, one to one. I remember thinking, how did I do this alone last year? Then immediately I thought, how will I do this alone in the fall?

Making our way to the garage, I was reminded of the Bob the Builder's catch phrase. I am embarrassed to admit I know this, but he always says "can we build it? Yes, we can!"

This summer I was doubting my ability to get out the door with both boys, to make it through the grocery store without a meltdown. But, as we made our way out the door today, I was feeling confident: "can we do it? Yes we can!"

I altered it a bit, but I think it is a great way to think...whenever you are doubting yourself just think of what Bob the Builder would say:

"Can I do it? Yes I can!"

Master of the play structure!

Russell has wanted to climb the ladder to the play structure for a while now. He can make it up the slide but has not been able to get up the ladder.

Today that all changed!

Russell is now a master of the play structure!

I found him trying to make his way up the ladder, and I went to help him. Typically I lift him a little while he climbs up, but today I thought, maybe he is ready to learn. I guided his foot to the next step and he did it. He made it up the two rungs he needed to heave his belly up on the platform and wiggle his way all the way on. He stood up and looked victorious! He immediately slide down to try again. This time, he made it up successfully without my guidance. I love watching him plop his belly, and wiggle till he is all the way on the platform. He could just do one more step and it would be much easier, but he just leads with his belly. It is adorable. We love watching our little Russell grow.

Move it, Dig it, Do it!

Today BK and Quint went to a special event at the fair grounds where they bring a bunch of cool vehicles for kids to check out and sit in. I knew Quint would love this, but Russell was a bit young. So, BK took Quint for a man outing. BK took a lot of pictures and I will post them soon on the other blog.

I stayed home with Russell, but my moment was when they got home. I saw them pulled in so I ran to meet them. Quint was glowing. He was holding a plastic construction hat and held it up and said "look mommy!" "Construction Hat!" He was so excited and for the next few minutes he told me all about the cement truck, city bus, bucket-loader, and combine. He could not even get the words out fast enough. It was awesome.

Its 5 AM

Its just after 5 AM. It is also Saturday. I know my full-time mom status does not usually distinguish weekends, but we did stay up later than normal because it was "Friday".

So, when Russell was bouncing in his crib like it was morning a few minutes ago, I immediately thought "any chance he will just go back to sleep?"

NO.

So, I am awake. We are eating dry cereal as I eagerly await the beep of my coffee maker. Russell is having a grand time playing. It doesn't seem to occur to him that it is dark outside!

I know we are generally early morning people, but this is even rough for me. I have come to the conclusion, once a baby joins the family, solid blocks of sleep are never guaranteed. But, that will not keep me from trying! Well, if you are on the awake and see this post, feel free to give me a call. I'm up:)

GOOD MORNING!

Why are we going this way?

Quint never ceases to amaze us. Today we were driving in the car and we were headed home. We had to make a quick stop at a friend's house in our neighborhood. We passed the turn to our house and a few blocks down the road Quint said "why are we going this way?"

Seriously! We had not even mentioned the stop off, Quint must have noticed that we missed our turn. BK and I looked at each other in shock. He is so observent (didn't get it from me!)

I am sure that all parents think this, but seriously, our boys are geniuses:)

Why I love sunglasses

Today we were driving in the car and it was sunny. I was wearing my big sunglasses and I thought, why do I love sunglasses so much?

I determined, for me they represent sunshine. Most of the time when I reach for my sunglasses it is very sunny. In the last few years I have lived where the sun does not shine for half the year. It taught me that I love sunshine. Thus, my love for sunglasses.

But, I have to admit sunshine is not the only reason I love huge sunglasses, ironically it is the opposite. They are perfect for days you don't feel sunny at all.

The best way to describe it is to us a Gray's Anatomy reference. Don't judge me, I like it. One of the characters often describes herself as dark and twisty. This is the perfect description of how I feel at times. In these moods, sunglasses are the best. They turn the world just a bit darker shade, which matches my mood. They also hide your eyes, which I believe are the entrance to your soul. For those days I don't want anyone to see in, I can just bust out my huge sunglasses. They protect my dark and twisty thoughts, until I can flip my mood around.

"Hey Russell"

Today I had to work at the gym at 3 pm. This can cut close to nap time. Russell was awake, so I loaded him and our bag into the car before waking Quint. When I ran into wake him, he was not happy. Quint is very slow to wake up. I carried him to the car, and he was upset. As I put him in his seat he looked over and saw Russell just chilling in his seat. He immediately stopped fussing, and said in a very casual way "hey Russell". I couldn't believe it. I was ready for a war, but when Quint saw Russell he was calm. No war needed.

I felt like he was saying to Russell "well, I guess this car trip is ok, if you are here too".

It was awesome.