Another Perspective

While I was putting my preschooler to bed last night, my toddler decided to do this! Apparently, he decided to go into our pantry, take out our baking soda nad pour it everywhere!









Of course, I should have cleaned it up immediately. But, instead, shortly thereafter, I laid down with said toddler and fell asleep. Needless to say, the mess was still awaiting me in the morning. But, during the night, my hubby received one of these pics I had taken before we went to sleep (he is at work for a couple weeks at a time and I like to send pics to him.)

Thinking he'd find it a little funny and irritating as I did, he had a totally different perspective. He said, "Looks like he just made an opportunity to help clean. SEE I CAN CLEAN UP!" What an interesting thought...

At least my toddler tried, lol!, because I didn't even consider it until mid-morning.

new skill

Our new fence around the back yard surrounding the house in order to keep the kiddos contained safely....$3200.



The caribiners that lock the handles of the gates so the kiddos can't escape....$10.



The excitement in my preschooler's voice as he explained how he and his younger brother slithered under the fence like a snake through the hole he made....priceless.

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
- Helen Keller


I have little tips that refresh on my homepage on my computer. I try to read them when I logon each day. I just read this one and thought it was relevant to what I did today. I had been procrastinating doing certain things: scheduling a well check-up for my toddler, calling an attorney to do my will (and other documents), and getting that gigantic pile of clothes folded and put away. I did all those tasks today and it felt great.

I took the kiddos to the park a couple days ago and we played until it got dark, and then continued playing. Everyone had gone except us and we could run up and down the hills and be as loud as we wanted. ..Here's a couple of pictures I took while we were there. I felt like a kid too as we ran around and had a picnic in the grass.

Hiking

We went hiking yesterday and walked a long time. That is, for little toddler legs, it was a long, long time. We explored a lot along the way. Afterwards, we were extremely hungry and went to a Chinese restaurant and gulped down their egg drop soup. We all had a nice long nap afterwards as well.

While hiking, we found deer tracks.



And laid down in the soft sand.



My preschooler carried his backpack with our drinks for when we go thirsty.



My toddler had my camera for a while and took this picture. We were in an area full of these pine trees. I imagine that if I were his height, I'd be looking up at a lot of these too.



And, my preschooler took this one of myself and my toddler.

A 'thank you' to my older brother

My older brother is five years older than I am and we've always been close. He has even lived close to me for many many years, making it very convenient for each of us to ask for assistance, if needed. We're getting prepared to replace our porches to our house (front and back) and bought some plywood to prime (both sides) before painting before replacing the old ones. Without hesitation, when being asked to come help, he was over within minutes and painted the all.




Even with all the extra supervisory help from everyone around as well as the free labor from four little hands, he continued to paint until it was dark until he finished.



And, when cleaning up, he still had a sense of humor. My hubby (on left) and brother (right) make my life easy and comfortable. My brother has been my confidant, my partner in crime, my babysitter and the one who helps make me when my hubby is out of town (like make me chocolate pudding when I'm sick.) I don't know what I'd do without him. He's also become our camping partner and we always have to have him and his kiddo when we go camping. Thanks Mike for being a great brother!

Happy Valentines Day!

We have always given something to our kiddos but as parents, didn't really celebrate this holiday. Occasionally, we exchange cards or go out to eat together. This year, as I watched the kiddos as he slept in, I signed a card and prepared for him a huge bag (that took at least two enormous bags) of hersheys with almonds kisses (which he loves.) Since the kiddos like getting up before the crack of dawn, I was a little sleepy so after he got up, I laid back down for a while. When I got back up after a nice LONG nap, I woke up to this. The last sentence reads: "We love you and show this with the small token of fresh picked flowers." Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the world had at least one person who loved them! I am blessed with many.

My second pedicure.

I got a pedicure a couple of years ago. I always wondered what one felt like and, since I was 9 months pregnant at the time and thought it would be a luxury...it was. Fast forward a couple years and, after a long stress-filled week with kids with way too much energy, I wanted to escape for a little while. And I did.

I went back to the same place I previously went. I let them know what I wanted and picked out the color of nail polish I wanted. I then causally mentioned that I hadn't been there in two years. The lady said she would let my feet soak longer then (and so my feet sat in a warm footspa with little jets moving the water around.) I wondered how often other people had pedicures done. I definitely didn't mind and was excited that I would be able to finish my book that I started this week.

At some point, while my feet were enjoying so much attention, the lady asked if I wanted a foot massage. I nodded and said yes. What I wanted to say was....YES!!! She was professional, efficient, and my feet were feeling wonderful! Because it was cold and raining outside, I sat a little longer after my nails dried while watching the end of a program on the tv (because I had just finished my book.) It was nice knowing I could just sit and not worry about rushing home (my hubby was watching the kiddos and nothing was planned for the rest of the day.) It was $29 well spent.

in the waiting room...

...where it seems that you wait forever, I enjoyed the time away from home because I brought a book from my bookshelf that had been begging to be read but I never found the time. Thinking I'd only have about half an hour, I waited with my adult daughter for at least an hour before she was called back for her ultrasound, and then another thirty minutes.

After an acquaintance found out she had breast cancer after finding a lump in her breast two months ago, I demanded my daughter have her own lump checked out (as she had been procrastinating for many months and never really did anything about it.) Since her dad's side of the family have lots of breast cancer, there shouldn't have been any delay, in my mind, that is. But...it's difficult to insist when there is a lot of hesitation when you don't have any control. She doesn't live with me and hasn't for many years. Luckily, she gave me permission to set it all up and I paid for it as well. Better safe than sorry. Preliminarily, she was told that it looked like dense tissue so it doesn't hint of tumor which makes me feel less stressed.

While reading and barely noticing others talking around me or the noise of whatever gameshow that was on the television in the room, I realized that my daughter had fallen asleep and her head lay on my arm as she tried to get into a comfortable position in her chair. It reminded me of when she was very young and had done that so many times. I felt very calmed......it was a great feeling, probably for the both of us.

What was that you said?!?

Yesterday, we were trying to get out the door and run some errands. We waited a long while because the toddler decided to take a wonderfully long nap (of course, on the one day we actually had plans!) At the point we were finally leaving, my preschooler had a motivational issue happening....that or amnesia. He just wasn't putting on his shoes as quickly as I preferred.

I had to tell him a few times to get his shoes on, even though he was wanting me to assist him. I just didn't want to because I was doing other things. On the way out, I noticed his dad helping him (he got his way!)

But then he said something and it took a couple seconds for me to comprehend exactly what he said........he said, "You just missed the privilege of helping me get my shoes on."

What?!?!?! I have no idea where he got that from (I've never used that phrase.) It sounded uniquely cute!

Yes, I guess I did... :)

Weaning...

I'm in the process of weaning my toddler. I didn't really plan on it per se, but I'm looking forward to the possibility of not having to be home at naptime and each night all night with him. It's just happening without any planning so I'm going with it...because it seems he's more ready for it than I am. Anyway, I've been trying to fill up his tummy especially around lunch and dinner to compensate for what he's missing. It's difficult actually to do that since he has such a limited variety of food that he really likes. He loves soups but only the creamy white kind (potato or new england clam chowder.) However, with that being said, it's just the soup he likes, not, for example, the potatoes or clams. So....I will usually try to remove those bigger chunks from his soup when possible. Today, we went to a Red Lobster for that reason (soup for him right before lunch.) We went to visit MIL at her ALF and it's situated right behind the restaurant. Messy indeed! I should have kept my camera in my purse to take a picture...soup was everywhere! I forgot his spoon at home so he tried to use the oversized one they had. And this cute kid that fell asleep in the car seat on the way home (full, content and with a soup soaked shirt) was simply precious!