These two girls are trying to figure the other out. One afternoon when Thomas was sleeping the Littlest and Biggest girls had some alone play time. Elin thinks it is pretty cool that she can get around and check out this big puppy! She is particularly fond of Stella’s paws and ears.
Elin’s got 2 new teeth and has been exploring them like crazy!
Stella loves Elin and Elin loves Stella
We have been taking some pretty epic naps…
Thomas fell at the park and re scraped open his knee, OUCH!
Thomas loved on Stella…
We spent a morning at the zoo…
Stella missed Thomas when he was at play group and anxiously awaited his return…
Elin flashes one of her many smiles….
Thomas shows you sour face…
I got to spend lots of time rocking this teething lil peanut…
Elin loves frozen bananas…
There are moments, moments a pure beauty between Thomas and Elin. Moments that make me excited for every memory they will have together, good bad or indifferent. Thomas is so proud of his little sister and is a wonderful big brother. He has his fair share of moments where he gets rough, wants just his own time and doesn’t want to share. However, he is learning that he gets to be the teacher and show her how to play and learn and he thinks that is pretty cool. This particular Monday he was all about showing her his new truck on loan from the neighbor boys. Elin thinks that Thomas is the greatest thing in existence and just can’t stop smiling and laughing at his every move.
These are the mornings that I can’t get enough of and make me extra grateful to have them. Even when they start earlier than I’d like!
There are no pictures to document this occasion, if I did have any they would be comical to say the least. I am sure that every woman in the dentist’s office was was sweating, I know I was.
I had a tooth that had chipped so I also had to have the dentist check things out. So I went first to show Thomas it wasn’t anything to be nervous about. As soon as I left Elin’s sight (they needed to get an x-ray), from her car seat, she started to scream. Now this is not a little scream this is a high pitched ear piercing scream letting you know she is mad and means business. The dental assistant scooped her us, had her and Thomas looking at me, and then handed her to me as soon as the x-ray was taken. Screaming done there. This whole time the dental hygienist is trying to bribe Thomas to smile at her; toys, candy you name it she tried it and he wasn’t even budging.
Then it was time for the dentist to come in. She checked my teeth, all looked well. Will have to get the tooth fixed, but at least I wasn’t screaming (back in the day I would have been). Then it was Elin’s turn, she semi cooperated she smiled and showed off her 2 bottom teeth. Then came Thomas. So off Elin went to the hygienist, instantly screaming. The dentist had her mask on, glasses, and gloves. Thomas was not impressed and was not cooperating. No bribe was helping him think this was an ok situation. After telling him he at least needed to smile or Mommy was going to help the Dentist see his teeth. So in my fingers went, the dentist said all looked well and that was that. He doesn’t need to go back to the dentist for a year, unless something changes, relief. Whew, time for a shower because pretty sure my shirt was soaked.
Lesson’s learned. ALWAYS TAKE A CHILD TO A PEDIATRIC DENTIST. This woman is a fine dentist and knows her stuff and I appreciate her, in fact she has been great to both Mike and I. BUT until this exact moment I didn’t realize she had ZERO kid sense, or no idea how to appease a terrified toddler for a few seconds before she wanted to get in his business. (I should note here Thomas is a tough little stink, he has yet to willingly open his mouth for any doctor or dentist). She didn’t even talk to the poor guy before he was suppose to perform for her. Looking back on it, it will be a LESSON LEARNED. Mike and I will continue to see her and the next check up will be at a completely different place. Lets hope this wasn’t enough to totally turn him off from dental care. His parents are working on being better examples too. Feel free to leave any tips if you have them.
We spent all day cooking up this pork butt on Mike’s new smoker. I forgot to take a picture of our dinner, but it was yummy! We made a homemade coleslaw to go along with our pulled pork sammies. Needing to be around the smoker also made getting the house, yard and garage neat and tidy possible! What a great fall Saturday!
Thomas has been in the parent and tots gymnastics class, but as the class went on it was apparent that his skills were ahead oh the kids in his class. The class has kiddos 18 months to 3 years so for some who were just starting to walk, it was a lot for Thomas to wait and wait and wait in lines. Most of the class he would start to run circles while he waited and I would be constantly running interference trying to occupy his down time.
We knew we needed to get thought this class to get “graduated up” to the class without parents and the next level. I guess his gymnastics coach saw the same thing I did and after about his 4th class asked if I would be willing to switch days and times and try him in the Big Kid Bees class. This class would be taught by here and have 4 kids without parents.
Thomas was pretty excited and Mike and I were very proud he was getting this opportunity. This is a video I took at the second class! Check out his amazing balance, the kid is just growing up so fast!
Bullies have been around for as long as I can remember. Heck, I was bullied and will admit that when my “friends” were nice to me I was a part of the group that then left someone else out. Those were the days, you honestly couldn’t pay me to go back to those years for millions of dollars. Well, maybe for a million, I did come out of it on the other side right?! Nonetheless, those memories still stick with me and it has taken many years for me to move past them. For that reason, I know that it is my job as a parent to raise an emotionally sensitive and intact child. So that they too one day can see right from wrong and be like their father who said he was the one who was always sticking up for those left out.
So when I saw this news anchor standing up for herself to a man who did not know her, I was so very proud of her. She is a role model to me because she spoke up, and did not allow this man to quantify her by a number on a scale. This sparked my own experiences from the past, and made me ask myself once again what makes people feel like it is O.K. to tell someone something so mean, cruel and hurtful. When did our society loose empathy? Heart? Kindness? How to we reteach a society that seems like it is getting so out of touch with the Internet, gun violence and on and on and on.
Boy am I afraid for my children and will do anything I can to protect them from hurt or from hurting others. Even with a watchful eye, my parents were there picking up my pieces more than we all would like to remember. There are several experiences that stick out, a couple more than others. Like the time I was walking home from elementary school and a group of “friends” relentlessly threw snowballs at me, at home I was a mess. Soaked, freezing and snotty tears rolling down my face my mom comforted me as I sat their drenched emotionally and physically shaking.
There was another time on my birthday that all my “friends” told me that they were not in fact my friends and I couldn’t sit at “the table” any longer. In middle school, the table was everything and I was apparently the black sheep that day, and most for that matter. I was never really invited to many parties, my “friends” a lot of the time turned their back on me and I a lot of the time sat in the counselors office or in my mom’s office (she was a middle school teacher) hiding. There were other things that happened, but you get the point, middle school pretty much stunk off and on.
High school got better, I have some great memories and friends still from that time, but I still didn’t find myself until college. It actually maybe was beyond college when I was 25. I had been though all of my shit, to the bottom and back, when I finally said I am outta here, moved to Colorado to start fresh and get my self together. Hundreds of miles away I picked up my pieces. Although life hasn’t always been easy since then, I have a wicked inner strength and many experiences that have made me who I am today. So strong in fact that when I met Mike, I was able to say point blank, this is what I want and don’t, my heart was not ready for any further hurt. Probably the best thing I ever did, and thankfully he didn’t run the other direction when it was done, guess fate works like that.
Now at 30 the pieces really all feel “in place.” Do I still want more from life, yes, but hell I have made it! I am really proud of who I am today. I am a giving, compassionate and wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I am strong, so very strong and I have so much to offer, IF you are willing to let me. I have found a husband who loves everything about me, friends who have stood by my side through thick and thin, and a family that has carried me through the years. These people are my circle and my strength. For without them, I would not be who I am and where I am today.
So now I challenge you, just like I challenge myself to be empathetic, treat others with kindness, don’t look down upon anyone. Ultimately look yourself in the mirror at night and ask if you were the person you wanted to be today. If you can go to bed every night confident you did the above, you too like me will start waking up everyday so very thankful for all the good in your life. Life is not a guarantee and it is to fragile to take for granted. Be careful with your thoughts and words, once said they are said. Teach compassion, do the little things that matter, use your manners, be grateful, LOVE, teach kindness, when your wrong say “I am so sorry” and “can we start again.” Own it, know you can’t change the past, but you can own the present and future.
We didn’t have any big plans over the weekend, so why not start a totally huge garden project? For as long as we have lived here, the front side flower bed has bugged me. It what you see first as you leave the house and was a semi hodge poge from the previous owner and us. Mike and I are still learning a lot about gardening, more specifically gardening where things grow like crazy, with the exception to the grass. We have had a serious dry spell over the summer and with the soil being very sandy to handle the fall/winter rain the grass didn’t stand a chance. Anyway back to this little plot of land between our house and the neighbors, and it bothering me. There is a huge grass in her yard that is totally out of control growing onto our yard, and the grass was dead and very patchy. Friday I got a wild idea that we get after fixing this eye sore. I sent Mike an email with a schematic drawn up….can we pretty please get started this weekend was my next question.
Thankfully my workers decided it was a good idea too! It was a fun weekend for Thomas, playing with the neighbor boys, digging in the dirt, and getting to ride with Daddy in the truck to do “guy things.” Elin and I helped when we could, or when she was sleeping. On Sunday when we were just about finished she cut her nap short and hung out in the stroller so we the last few flowers, bulbs and mulch in. I am in love with the new flower bed and can’t wait to see it as it grows next year. Right now the roses are all cut back and small, next spring summer everything should come to life. Stay tuned…
Tuesday I got a phone call to notify me that our planter box had won 3rd place in the companies contest. When we got our planter box in the mail, enclosed was a flyer notifying us to send in a picture and let them know how we changed our curb appeal with their product. Looking at last years winners, I thought we might have a chance, and turns out we did. Mike and I were pretty excited about winning, we really enjoy all the hard work that we put into the yard. We also love that we get to enjoy its beauty year round. It is part stress and part stress reliever for both of us! Check out the official page here.
