Brace Yourselves

Our little Jayme Love was quite the challenging infant. She was born 3 weeks early weighing a bitty 5lbs. Not the smallest baby by any means, but she was still so so tiny compared to her 7lbs8oz brother. She woke up countless times during the night during her first months. And her colic was unbelievable. We made it through with a small sliver of our sanity left.

At first, she could put herself to sleep, no problem. She refused to sleep in anyones arms unless she was just completely exhausted. Then, this brilliant mother [notice the heaping sarcasm here] decided she missed having a baby sleep on her chest. Fail. Epic Fail. Because of my brilliance, for months, getting her to sleep, nap time or bed time, took an enormous amount of bouncing and rocking. [the reasoning behind my killer thighs]. We finally got her to put herself to sleep for naps and bed time, even though she wasn't exactly thrilled with it. After more sweat and tears than I ever thought possible, our precious princess has made quite the turn around.

Brace yourselves. I still don't quite believe it myself.

Now, when she gets sleepy, she grabs my hand, walks me to her bedroom, toddles over to her crib, points and grunts. I put her in. Give her the Beloved Binky. She lays down. I cover her up and turn on Violet for "10 minutes of bed time music." She sleeps for a good hour and a half at least. And wakes up a happy little munchkin.

I was telling Sara [very calmly] about our newest accomplishment and realized "Woaaaah!!! My 15 month old is putting herself down for naps!!!"

I'm not going to lie. I squealed a little...and maybe danced a bit [but don't tell].

When I think of her first year, although filled with laughs, giggles, and love, I just want to sit in the corner rocking myself and weeping quietly. I'm so glad that part is over. I miss her tiny infant antics, but I'm also so very thrilled with the toddler she's becoming.

Lets Call it a Day, Folks!

[I can laugh now, but earlier, none of this was funny.]

Today was quite the whirlwind. Although, it was really a lovely day too.

Since it's Good Friday, Jon had today off from work, so he watched the kids while I got up early, went by the office, and went for a run. I haven't gone running in the morning for awhile now. And last time, it was 'brr cold!!' There is just something so serene about running in the cool of the morning. But, half way through I realized I'd forgotten to take my thyroid pill. Fail - so I've been jittery and in a weird mood all day. I'm not a fan. 

After my glorious run, the kids and I went to The Zoo with Sheraline and her girls, while Jon did some yard work undisturbed. I really thought he was just doing yard work and not digging up the whole yard [more on this later]. The Zoo was quite eventful. Chasing 4 very excited children around = 2 very exhausted mommies. 

So we took a little break. 

We saw the two beautiful male peacocks chasing each other around and didn't think anything of it. Just doing their territorial thing. You know...whatever. Then Isaiah started squealing and making this obnoxious new noise he's come up with. I turned around to see both peacocks chasing him. Uhm...excuse me!! That's my child you're messing with! Back off! With a little yelling and arm flapping they went their merry way. Crisis averted. 

It was a little toasty out, so we decided to let the kids cool off a little. We took their shoes and socks off, rolled up their pants, and let them dip their feet in the little pond by the buffalo statues. Well - Isaiah has this nasty habit of taking off his clothes when they're wet...even just a tiny bit wet. 

Yes, I think you know where this is going. 

I had pulled Jayme out to put her shoes back on so we could see a few more animals. Sheraline starts giggling and says "Hey! Look in front of you!" I looked up to find Isaiah butt naked. Uhm...sir. First of all, thanks for the embarrassment. Second, how the frick did you get those off so quick!?!? And third, we DO NOT take off our clothes in public!! Oy!!!

So we quickly redressed him and went on our own merry way without making eye contact with any onlookers. Awkward.

The rest of our Zoo trip went on with out a hitch. We even saw a baby elephant up close. The kids were super excited about that, especially!

On the way home, Isaiah fell asleep, of course. Nothing unusual about that. And he has been doing super good with the whole potty training thing. I'm not just saying that. Anyway, he peed on the way home. Sigh. So once I got him inside and all settled, I took his seat apart so I could wash it. I stuck it in the washer with the load that was waiting, put the detergent in and pulled the knob for the water. No water. What? Why? Noooo!!!!! 

I ran to the kitchen sink. No water there either...and no water anywhere. I stuck my head out the back door to discover that Jon had ran a trencher around the whole back yard. So I have a 2 foot moat waiting for the irrigation system he's putting in. Okay - so...he turned off the water and didn't tell me. Fine, Whatever. No big deal. I'll just have him turn it back on as soon as he gets home. I figured I would check my e-mail and what not since I didn't do that this morning. 

Yeah - No. My internet wasn't working. I did the usual things Jon has showed me to do. Disconnect. Connect. Check router. Reset router. Restart computer. Blah blah blah...so on and so forth. Nothing worked. When Jon got home, I spilled on him our days adventures and how I really needed the water back on so Isaiah's car seat could be cleaned, and how I felt severely disconnected without internet and asked him to fix it. 

The water was no big deal. Just turn the knob out by the street. Tada!! However, he discovered he had cut the internet cable while he was running the trencher. Fail. Thank goodness for his experience in the telecommunications world. He had that cable spliced, and repaired in no time. 

We met my family for dinner and some park time. Lovely. That was pretty uneventful, aside from losing our brand new $11.00 Frisbee in a tree. Fail...again. After about 20 minutes of trying to rescue the poor Frisbee we gave up and played soccer for awhile. Daddy and I, apparently can't beat the boys on the soccer field like we used to be able to on the basketball court. It was fun anyway. 

And that, my lovely friends, is a wrap. 

I'm ready for some serious sleeping.

Day 14

Come on!! Seriously?!?! Today makes 14 days of having sick kids in the house. First, we all had colds. As we were getting over colds, Isaiah got Croup. Eww. The last of Isaiah's cough is fading, and now Jayme has a ridiculous fever and her right eye is all red, puffy and leaky. I've washed all the bedding and towels, used Lysol on all the doorknobs and toys. They don't share cups. They're both on pro-biotic's and kefir. And this mama is about to go insane. Both kids know it and are trying my patience like nothing else. Come on, babies! Get well, and stay that way!

Check-In, Please.

The last couple weeks I've felt a bit stuck in a rut. Not a bad rut. Every day is just the same old thing, over and over and over again. Life is by no means boring, but I do get bored of the routine. I feel a bit like a robot, like I've checked out.

Between doing bookkeeping (which has been pretty light lately), taking care of the kids, keeping the house in order, which is suddenly a whole lot more challenging now that we're here most of the time, I'm worn out. Not tired, exactly. Just worn out.

Steven Covey has a lot to say about sharpening your saw. Maybe I should listen to him.

Last night I was so out of it, I fell asleep in my clothes. I woke up this morning wearing exactly what I'd put on yesterday morning [minus the jeans - I apparently had just enough energy to pull those off.]. Not cool.

Now there's some variation a couple days a week. Play Dates and Grocery Shopping give some relief from the mundane every day thing, but still...really?

And guess what? I do it to myself. I let myself check out.

Nice job, Mary. Nice Job.

I get up in the morning and pay no attention to those that mean the most to me...well besides the attention I have to pay to keep my children from screaming...because them screaming means I go insane. I don't cuddle with the hubby before pealing my butt out of my oh so cozy bed. Oh no...that affection is saved for my coffee pot. I don't even give myself enough attention. Eye liner and concealer is all I get. Deodorant, if I'm smelling like feet and feeling too lazy to shower. Wow. Just Wow.

Yes, I realize I may be over analyzing.

And no, being a stay at home mom gives you no reason to stay in your pajamas all day, or neglect yourself.

And guess what? Being a person takes effort. Huh! Imagine that.

I secretly...well, sometimes not so secretly make fun of those people out and about that look like they just rolled out of bed, pulled on whatever was on the floor in the bathroom, and walked out their front door. I looked in the mirror, yesterday (granted I wasn't going anywhere), but I looked like one of 'those people.'

Even if my arrogant observation isn't accurate, I refuse to get to the point where I just don't care.

So here's to my checking back in. Here's to my putting forth more effort towards myself, my babies, my husband, and the rest of you beautiful people I'm blessed enough to call family, friends, and acquaintances.

How Many Names Can I Use to Explain...

I Need A Saviour is another song that gives me goosebumps. And if it catches me at the right moment the tears start flowing too. 


I've never been quite sure of what or how I believe when it comes to 'Religion'. It seems a bit ridiculous to label myself at all. 


I believe in God. I believe he created this magnificent universe and all of its contents. I believe he sent Jesus to die on the cross to unify us with Him, once again. I believe we are all His Children, regardless of any 'sin' we've ever committed. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. I believe strongly that everything happens for a reason. Good or bad. Evil or righteous. There is always a reason. We may not understand that reasoning, and it might not make any sense whatsoever. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we wish upon wish that things were different. And sometimes we're completely satisfied and content with everything. God brings purpose to all of it. 


I believe God is always there. Always. Standing. Waiting with open arms and more love than we could ever comprehend. He's ready to comfort, encourage, and claim all our heartbreak as His own. 


Yes, I truly believe that He loves me that much. 







How many names
Can I use to explain
The love of my Jesus
The life that He gave
And so many times
Will I praise You today
I lift up my life
Cause You're always the same
And my offering
To you I bring

Your name is Jesus
Your name is Jesus
You're the wonderful, counselor, my friend
You're what I hold on to
I know that You brought me through
All the days of loss and to the cross, You knew
That I'd need a Savior

How many songs
Can I sing to proclaim
Your wondrous love
Oh and beauty so great
Oh and, What would I say
If You brought down the rain
And everyday I walked through the pain
My heart would still say…


Your name is Jesus
Your name is Jesus
You're the wonderful, counselor, my friend
You're what I hold on to
I know that You brought me through
All the days of loss and to the cross, You knew
That I'd need a Savior

All the days of loss, and to the cross You knew,
That I'd Need a Savior Well, I'd need a Savior....woah
You're what I hold onto, I know that You brought me through
 the days of loss and to the cross You knew,
That I'd need a Savior
I'd need a Savior,
I need You Savior.

It's Better Than Chocolate...

...if that's even possible.


We're born to do it. A smile is one of the most basic, biologically uniform expressions of all humans. Paul Ekman, the world's leading expert on facial expressions, discovered that smiles are cross-cultural and have the same meaning in different societies. 3-D ultrasound technology shows that developing babies appear to smile even in the womb. The mood-boosting power of a smile is unfathomable. Studies show that one smile can provide the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 chocolate bars. Yet, unlike lots of chocolate, lots of smiling can actually make you healthier. :-)


I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.
- Mother Teresa

Mmmmilk!

Isaiah pronounced Milk 'gulk' for the longest time. When people started thinking he was asking for coke we figured we had better work on his pronunciation. Every time he would ask for 'gulk' we told him we had no idea what he was asking for. He finally picked up 'Milk'. He just puts extra emphasis on the 'm'. So, Jayme does it too. She also squats like it's taking all the effort she has. It's quite adorable.

You Have Mail!

"Life is hard sometimes-
Crazy, mixed-up, messed up.
And there you are,
in the middle of it all,
just doing your thing...
being strong and 
brave and
beautiful 
like it's no big deal.


But let me tell you, girl,
It is!
Not everyone can do
what you can do.
not everyone can handle
things the way you can.
While you wonder sometimes
if you're doing okay...
the rest of us are just watching in 
Wonder."


"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the lord. Psalm 31:24"


Today, I got a card in the mail reading the above message. With it, came a Starbucks gift cards with a note.

"Have a cup or two on me."

This touched me. Very much. I'm not going to lie...I teared up a bit.

You're probably thinking "Wow. This chick really loves coffee!"

No. No. No. (Well...yes. I do love coffee...but that's beside the point)

It touched me because someone took the time to go out of their way to be encouraging. I'm so blessed to have people like this in my life.

Thank you. (You know who you are.)