Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Appearances

I give this topic a lot of thought; probably more than is necessary. Not so much my personal outward appearance, but more the thought of what me, my family, my home, my life look like to the outside world. Now, some would stop me there and say "Who cares what people think?" And, to that I would agree. I'm not sure I care (in terms of how they judge it) but more I'd love to know just what they see. This is on my mind because I've recently made a new friend and she's awesome. She's from church and what comes across to me about her is her ability to be totally authentic. She's one of those real people. By real I mean open, honest, easy to talk to, kind... Here's the thing; that got me thinking about how real I am (if I am) and how that comes across to people who are getting to know me. Everyone of us "adults" puts on a facade to try and hide behind so that no one gets too close. From the clothes we wear (and the importance we place on them), to the car we drive, etc. To me, both of the aforementioned are only nominally important. I do really try to live a life that is real and imperfect and faithful. I wonder how that comes across? Does anyone ever think like this and if so, how do you think you come across?

Friday, July 24, 2009

Monday, July 20, 2009

Baby Pool Party


Here are a few pictures from the very successful Baby Pool Party yesterday afternoon. The girls had a blast and visiting with the puppies was awesome too! The puppy that Gabe is holding is Olivia. She is the biggest one of the bunch! Enjoy :)

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Weekend

Just realized it's been a long time since I signed in and blogged. So, things around here are generally the same. Grace is really working on walking and part of that means that she keeps waking around 11pm to "visit" Gabe and I and practice her bipedal skills. Good thing we are still up at that time, so it's really no big deal. Maddie is working on her potty skills. Sometimes successful, often not. But, trying nonetheless and in turn we're trying to keep that in perspective.
No real plans for the weekend. Maybe having Gabe's cousin and girlfriend for brunch on Sunday after church (Gabe's already planning the menu :) Maybe some swimming, grilling, etc. I had so dreaded summer and now that we are in the middle of it, I've realized that not only has it flown by, but I'm enjoying it. Being with my girls and watching them grow up before my eyes is pretty special. Sometimes it feels mundane, the day in day out stuff, but if I take the time to reflect on what I'm really doing, I remember that it's amazing. Not me, but the service of raising & guiding little girls. I'm so thankful that I can do it...

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Motherhood

You never know what kind of mom you're going to be until you have a baby. You can dream, idealize, and even ponder what motherhood will be like, but you cannot really know. I knew that because I had been a teacher who really believed in boundaries and discipline, I would probably want to parent that way. Because of that background, disciplining has come pretty naturally to me. I've read several books, blogs and articles on the subject and when Maddie came into the world, I felt I had a good grasp on the kind of mom I was going to be. But now she is 2 and a half; actually more like 2 and three fourths and the ways in which I think about parenting her have changed. It doesn't have to do with her age as much as it has to do with the fact that she now has a 10 month old sister in the mix (Happy 10 month birthday to Grace yesterday!). You see, we had one of those mornings. You know the type. Where it feels like the day has been sooooooo long and you look to see that it's only 8:14am. Where you wish that coffee were injectable because it would be a fast shot of caffeine to your system. Where the only toy that each wants is the one the other was playing with so happily before it was snatched out of their hands. That's the day I'm speaking of. This morning we had an incident. The short version is that Maddie was annoyed (her fav mood these days) at Grace for following her up the stairs. Grace was on the 4th step, Maddie was at the top telling me to "get Gracie Mommy." As I was walking to get Grace, Maddie came bouncing down the stairs, placed her hand squarely on Grace's forehead and with a small amount of force proceeded to push Grace down the stairs. First things first. Grace was fine. Didn't even cry, landed rather Gracefully (excuse the pun) and was content to be in my arms. Maddie looked shocked, and fearful at the same time. Me? My blood was boiling. If you are a mom, you know the feeling. My first instinct was to put her in a time out, in her crib, in her room with the door closed. So, that's what I did. Let's just say that I put her in her crib with a little bit of force (was trying to be unemotional but felt very EMOTIONAL). I then went to call Gabe. I asked him what to do. I told him that even though we have chosen not to spank our kids, this was one of those times where I thought a spanking was in order. We agreed on her punishment (left her in there for a while, had her apologize to Grace, kept her nigh-nigh from her for a while until she could treat her sister nicely) and I calmed down. It was that mother bear instinct that came up. The one where you protect your young from anything...even your other young.
The point here is that before I was a mom of course I thought about spanking. Would I do it? It had been done to me and I turned out fine. Was there another way to discipline? Etc. I've come to believe that not only is motherhood/parenting individual, it's also fluid. It can change depending on the circumstances. I have to say that I'm proud that I didn't spank Maddie today. There I was trying to teach her to love, to be kind and gentle to her sister; how would that translate if I taught her that by hitting her? Doesn't make sense. So, in all the reason I kept my head was because of God and because of the fact that I've given this some thought ahead of time. I'm grateful that no one was hurt this morning (both physically or emotionally). Motherhood is tricky, but if you do your best I believe there will be great rewards.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th to everyone and of course a Happy, Happy Birthday to my Mom ;) Here's a collage of the past week or so. Maddie and I made a 4th of July cake as you can see, I had to capture her curls, Grace is busy and happy as usual, and Dan visited & huzzled the Madster, and Gabe and Maddie had movie night on Thursday! So much fun, so many pic's... Hope your 4th is happy, healthy and safe!