Friday, September 30, 2011

The world is changing..


I am so excited for this season in my cute little neighborhood! We decided to have a halloween party with some family and friends followed by some trick or treating! October is jam packed with "fallish" activities..  Bates Nut Farm, Pumpkin Carving and comfort food galore!





 The old earth is changing;
The seasons turn round.
The autumn leaves flutter
Their way to the ground.

My own world is changing;
The seasons conspire
To grant me the peace
Of a rest by the fire
~Melissa Pinol~

Lake Arrowhead









We were feeling a little overwhelmed after being sickies for weeks on end... so we figured we needed a little fun, and some fresh mountain air. We booked a midweek trip at the Lake Arrowhead Resort, and mannn was it nice! I grew up in Lake Arrowhead, so it has always been the place that i feel the most "at home". Bryan was trying to convince me to move up there for a year to slow down our minds and have some time away to rethink life. I'm not completely sold on the idea, but i do feel like in all of the hustle and bustle sometimes we forget what truly matters. I am reminded every time that I start getting  sucked in to trying to fit myself in to the world, that i am such a stranger*. 
I feel it all the time really... You know... That feeling that you got in Jr. High when you're trying your best to fit in but you know you just don't? There is a story about an eagle who was raised by chickens. One day he sees an eagle flying above her and her heart stirs. "I can do that!" she whispers. The other chickens laugh, but she knows better. She was born different. Born with belief. I was too. My world suspends beyond the barnyard of time. I was born for something more than just shopping and shallow conversation. I don't want live for what's temporary. I know i don't have to live in Lake Arrowhead to make my life matter, but I think God used the beauty of his creation in Arrowhead to show me how much i miss him, how much i need him, and how much i want more than anything to live for him.


*Im not inferring by "stranger" that I'm an alien... but i might be...

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Potty Training

It's about that time to start the wonderful process of potty training!

There is an exhaustive amount of literature on the subject of potty training... it doesn't seem that hard?? I liked Baby Center's potty training articles because it seemed the least strict of everything I've read. Do parents not have patience?? There are all of these articles about how to potty train your child in a week, some people actually pay ladies to come potty train their kids,  children have been killed because of parents rage during potty training. HOLY MOLY! why??!! I'm a little nervous but I'm also not in some terribly big rush. I know I'm just starting this process, but here are my two cents.


*Understand that its a process

*There WILL be accidents, don't ever get upset at them for it... it's not their fault

*Don't pressure your child to sit on the toilet for five hours until he has to go to the bathroom,  they will just learn to hate the toilet

*Make it fun!

*Be an example "how fun is this Marley? Watch mommy going potty! Want to flush the toilet??"

*Provide books for them to read [ Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi, is a perennial favorite, as well as Uh Oh! Gotta Go! and Once Upon a Potty, ]

 These are my favorite potties, but i cant choose which one i should get!
 Boon makes a simple little potty bench with a side tray for toilet paper. Customers said their kids loved this toilet because of the "secret" side compartments for their books and toys, its the perfect height and kids actually beg to use it!
Prince Lionhart developed a potty that is all the rage with parents, i swear i can't find a bad review on this potty!

This Hoppop doughnut potty is rated well by consumers because its easy for children to sit on, comfortable, and its wide stance prevents it from toppling over.


Which of these three should i get?? Here goes!! 







none of us really know...

After a long week of fighting colds, fevers and teething, Marley and I are exhausted. There was a time when she had close to six hours straight of crying under her belt. [When i say crying I mean... on the floor, passionate screaming, floods of tears, a swollen face and violent rolls or kicks.] It was the moment she became too tired to stand, fell flat on her face and gave herself a bloody nose that I felt as though i was watching this woman that I’ve become from above. She is familiar in so many ways, and vastly different in others. Its moments like these ones, when I have done all that I can possibly think of and more to help Marley, that i often feel this tickle of doubt and a stifling cloud of fear overwhelm me.
What am I doing?
The truth is, I ask myself that question on a regular basis. What am I doing? Am I not doing enough? Am I doing too much? What should I be doing differently?
Becoming a parent has shifted every single facet of my life. The goals I have for myself and my life, the things that are important to me, the decisions I make, my definition of happiness… all of these things and more have taken on a completely different viewpoint for me in such amazing ways.
But the fear and doubt that comes with managing the day in and day out experience of being a good mom and wife, keeping a clean home and nurturing my career sometimes gets the best of me. I know I'm not the first mom to ever wonder what the heck I'm doing and the truth is... none of us really know... and i guess that's the beauty of it all. There is no right way. That is the scariest statement ever, but also the most reassuring. My example of Christ and the best of my parents parenting is all that i have to work with... and let me tell you... i'm workin' it :)

I know that one day my children will be out in the world, perhaps even learning the same lessons I am now. And I will be missing these days so much. I will wish more than anything that i could be the one to hold Marley when she cries. The very moments that I sometimes try to wish away now will be the very ones I will long for. One day I will long for the high pitch squeal of a little girl’s laughter in my ears, for her snot from crying alllll over my clothes, for the weight of her tiny body when she dream in my arms.

These are the best days of my life: may i never let a single moment pass me by.












 

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