2012 Year End Review

At the end of each year, I try to come up with a list of things I’ve learned or gleaned some sort of knowledge or humor from.  In random order, here’s what made the list.

My 2012 Year End Review

-You may be getting too attached to your morning news show when you feel betrayed by seeing one of  your favorite field reporters on another network.

-We are attracted to water. We do recreation in it, on it, and around it. People want to build their homes by it. People build ponds to enjoy it. It’s as if we are drawn toward it like metal to a magnet. Perhaps it has something to do with how we all started off in amniotic fluid.

-There are a lot of hurting people out there. Many are out there hurting others. Some don’t even know it. Hurt people- hurt people.

-A smile goes a long way. Further than just from ear to ear.

-Toddlers don’t digest kiwi seeds. You should know this before you have a moment of freaking out over what seems to be bugs in your child’s diaper.

-A great place to hide things is under the couch. Apparently I don’t clean under there often.

-Give a child a toy, he will play for a minute. Give a child a box and he we play for an eternity.

-I should listen to Christmas songs year round.  Perhaps I would be more accustomed and desensitized so I wouldn’t cry at every song I hear from Nov-Dec.

-Definition of nap- “A short sleep during the day.” I have no idea what this means.

-If wanting a bunker makes me a crazy prepper, I’m in trouble.

-Sometimes there’s a fine line between a toddler kiss and a bite.

-Wet forgotten laundry in the washer not only sours, it breeds.

-If an epiphany, a great workout, or a dinner with friends fail to make anyone’s Facebook page, did they really happen?

-Sometimes people use large words to feel smart. Really, who throws out “Dichotomy” in casual passing?  You’re smarter than me. I get it.  (Ashley, this isn’t referring to you)

-Your child may be constipated when his diaper falls to the floor, during a diaper change, and your friends hear a thud in the other room. Prunes, Anyone?

-Once you get a vehicle with a third row,  you have officially left your “younger years” behind.  If you are totally okay with that, you have officially entered “maturity.”

-Remember those paper origami fortune things we made as kids? They were the kind that you moved with your thumbs and pointer fingers and had several layers that predicted your future? They don’t work. I didn’t marry a New Kid on the Block, have 10 kids, live in a mansion, or drive a Ferrari. I did way better.

-#TTLOT.  Caring for the suffering of the world will change your life for the better. Give it a try.

-Now that my child actually watches cartoons, I’ve realized they just don’t make cartoons like they used to. By that, I’m referring to The Get Along Gang, Shirt Tales, Rainbow Bright, and The Monchhichi’s.

-Singing WITH my cuddly son while he falls asleep AND hearing my husband and son giggle while playing don’t just top my 2012 list of coolest things. It may top the coolest things ever.

-You may be in an exercise rut when you see a sale on Spanx and your heart flutters.

-Seeing my husband try to get his foot out of a stirrup of a bucking horse might have been one of the most frightening things I’ve seen in a while. Ironically enough, it’s just plain funny now.

-Air travel with a baby/toddler is hard.

-A friend’s terminal cancer disappearing because of thousands of prayers lifted up from all over the world? Powerful. Life Changing. Blessing to witness.

-I don’t know why, but sometimes when the world doesn’t make sense, watching the sunset puts things into perspective.

-It’s awesome my parents have a dog they love. It’s not awesome they want me to treat her like a sibling. It makes me feel weird.

-Sarcasm- my family’s “go to” coping mechanism.

-Different doesn’t equal bad. Change equals growth.

-Silent prayers whispered in the deep recesses of your heart are heard and answered. Don’t think for a second they aren’t.

The Great Outdoors Birthday Party

We had fun celebrating our son's 1st birthday. Since he loves being outdoors, I thought an outdoor theme would be lots of fun. Here are pictures from the big day!

You Might Have a Toddler If:

-You have ever scooped dog food out of your child’s mouth more than once in a day.

-You go down the childproofing aisle just to see if they have come out with anything new to help you since you were there yesterday.

-Your friends ask you if you got your hair done recently and you reply, “No, I just stopped fixing it.”

                          

-You cringe at opening the cable bill for fear your child has ordered new channels via the remote when you weren’t looking.

-You are practicing your “Poop is not Finger Paint” lecture because you have a feeling you will be preaching it soon.

-The Sound of Silence only makes you nervous. Silence = They are in to something they know they shouldn’t be in to.

-You fight the urge to not laugh during a scolding because they are so stinking cute

 -You are convinced your child will be an astronaut, disease curer, professional athlete, or anything else super cool because you think he is exactly that…super cool.

 -Fun games like chase are way more fun now than they ever were when you were a kid. And let’s face it, they were pretty fun back then.

-You savor cuddles when you get them because they don’t happen as often as they used to.  

-You are blown away each day at how something so little can take up such a big part of your heart. 

Letting the Conscience Win

I think of it when I’m tempted to leave my grocery cart in the grassy knoll in the parking lot instead of walking a half -mile to the nearest cart holder. I think of it when I change my mind about buying something at Target, and want to put my unwanted beauty product on the shoe shelf in front of me. Who walks to the other side of the store to put it back where it came from?  Let’s face it; the trek from Beauty to Shoes is a journey. But then a stereotypical image of a worn out cart boy or a tired stock clerk pops into my mind. “Treat people how you want to be treated,” bounces off the walls of my head as I try to ignore it. "Not now. I’m in a hurry, Conscience. Come back later when I’m in a do-gooder mood." Ultimately, the conscience usually wins out and I pout my way to doing the right thing.

It’s not exactly the cheerful giver attitude I’d be proud to have, but I’m a work in progress like everyone else. Treating people how we would want to be treated, paying it forward, and doing unto others as you would want them to do unto you is a revolutionary idea. It takes a certain amount of removal of self to do it though. Who wants to do that? Most days, not I.

Maybe that’s the problem.  Most of us, most days are playing out that “not I” mentality even though we know from experience we always feel better if we decide to listen to that inner conscience. Could it be that the world would have less violent crimes, theft, abuse, and even loneliness if we could all embrace the concepts of love, kindness, and the value of treating others how we would want to be treated?

So many blame guns for violence, media for laziness, poor laws for crime, and government for the condition our society is in. What about us? Are we not to blame? Imagine a freeway with less road rage, passive aggressive-less (I’m aware that’s not even a word) arguments with loved ones, a hate-less society, and a world where everyone looks out for their brother instead of constantly looking over their shoulder.  I realize the reality of this is slim other than it playing out in a Disney movie on the big screen.  But maybe it could start in our own home, our own city block, our own workplace, or even just at our local grocery store.  It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and in the wake of a time of so many terrible things going on, maybe a spark here and there could actually make a difference.

Call me idealistic, (You wouldn’t be the first) but I have hope. Although we are all self-centered, I do believe there is an innate sense of doing good and ability to love in us all. After all, we were born with it, and it’s why we were created, to love and be loved in return.   

“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

Top Ten Signs Your Child is Teething in Random Order

1.   Your child is trying to chew odd things…like the floor

2.   Sore gums have caused cranky fits that leave everyone involved needing a bath after dirty diaper changings.

3.   You lift them up and ask them to give you a kiss and instead you get drips of luke warm drool    showering your lips.

4.   You find YOURSELF taking Tylenol before each feeding

5.     Your dog isn’t chewing on your slippers nearly as much as your child is

6.    You feel like throwing a party when you feel something hard poking through their gums

7.   You have said “Mommy doesn’t want you to chew her toes” more than once in a day

8.   You purchased almost everything in the teething relief isle at Walgreens just out of desperation

9.   "Please help a tooth pop through his gums soon” is on your daily prayer list

10. You just figured out those strange crescent moon shape marks on the chair ottoman are bite marks

Lord of the Fruit Flies

A few weeks ago I realized we had a rotten lemon in the bottom of our fruit bowl on the counter.  The first missed sign was a few fruit flies in the kitchen.  Side note- I HATE fruit flies. I assumed that if I got rid of the lemon, the flies would go away. No such luck.  In fact, after all the fruit was eaten out of the bowl, the flies remained.  Around this time, we were headed out of town on vacation. There was no food on the counter. All the garbage cans in the house were emptied, etc.  I just knew when I came back from our trip, the flies would be gone. They would have to die if they had nothing to eat for two weeks, right? Wrong. 

On occasion I have been told, I am stubborn. I like to think of it as persistent. Either way, I was not about to let those flies get the best of me or my house. I wanted to find a way to get rid of the fruit flies  for good, and without spraying chemicals around the house.  Was there such a way?  Yes!  I did a little research and read that if you put fruit in a bowl and cover it with cling wrap with a few small holes, you can create a trap for the flies.  I adapted this plan to something a little fancier.  Sick, but I wanted to see the trap from a 360 degree view and be able to count those little buggers when they did get trapped.  I put two small clear plastic cups together with a few pieces of fresh fruit.  I taped around the seam with packing tape to secure it. Then, I went out to my husband’s tool box and found what best describes it as a dental tooth pick. (I’m positive this is NOT what it is used for but it gives you an idea of how big it was). I wanted something that would poke a few really small holes.  The trap is supposed to work by attracting the fly and allowing it in the cup but not back out.

I put it all together and left it on the kitchen counter.  A few hours later, I checked on it, and no flies were there.  Bummer. So I thought. After another few hours, one fly fell for my trap. Then another. Within 24 hours, I had caught all the flies.  The flies were all officially caught and now gone.  Thought I’d pass along this chemical free way to get rid of one of the most annoying little bugs. Cheap, Easy, and maybe even a little ego boosting too.

What I Admire

I didn’t realize how much I would admire my child. I mean, I know everyone says you learn more from your children than you could ever imagine. I’ve been told to beware that they will teach me more about myself than we can teach them about anything. One thing I didn’t expect is to admire his personality as much as I do and so soon. He is just over seven months old and already has me captivated. Yes, he’s cute, and of course I think he is brilliant at just about everything as most parents do (and should). However, there are a few things that really stand out.

He loves music. He especially loves the worship music at church. Once the music starts (and sometimes in anticipation just before it starts) he begins dancing. I don’t mean a head bobble or rocking back and forth. He dances with everything in him. Every part of him is moving, and you can feel the energy pouring out of him. Every ounce of him dances. His little heart beats so fast, you can feel it pounding in his chest when he takes a break to catch his breath. His arms flail about as if they are wings of a bird and about to take flight. If you aren’t careful, he will literally dance right out of your arms. He dances so hard he eventually crashes into your arms and sleeps after three or four songs. Wouldn’t you know it, he can actually keep a beat with the music! I wish I had a passion and carefreeness about me for things like that. I admire it. I wish I had a zest for life to where I would leave inhibitions behind to a point where I crash because I danced so hard. There’s such innocence about it. He doesn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders…yet. I only wish I could protect him in a way that he will always feel that carefree.

He smiles and smiles BIG. When this little guy smiles, it’s not from ear to ear. It’s more like nose to chest. He opens his mouth wide open, and it’s the cutest thing ever. It’s as if he is taking all the happiness in. We recently took him on his first plane ride. He was pretty excited and smiling…big.

He tries new things. So far we haven’t found a food he won’t eat. Sure, we have foods he doesn’t like as much as others. I’ll put it in his mouth, and he will make a face of disgust. Then this sweet little boy will open his mouth for more, even though he doesn’t like it. What a brave little man to keep eating it!  Turns out that if you keep tasting something you don’t care for, after a while you acquire a taste for it. I think I knew that already but it took him to affirm it in person. Let's face it, when a child models good behavior, it's the best way for us parents to learn.

I’m quick to talk. Shocking, I know for the people who knew me in my former “shy” life. My little guy slowly takes things in and observes. Like a sponge, he soaks it in and lets it permeate. In a new place or situation, he is usually quiet. Then when we are all alone in the car, he talks. Oh how I long to be still and observe before jumping to conclusions, judging harshly without the full story, and speaking when I should just sit quiet! I’m a work in progress.

The list of what I have learned could go on further than I have room or time to write about. These are just a few. It’s amazing how much you can admire a wise person when they are so very young. Maybe it’s because I’m his Mother and probably a little bias. Or maybe, just maybe, this kid is on to something about how to live life. I pray that is the case and he never loses the many things I love and admire about his personality. This world is a harsh and dark place at times. May you always be a light in this world my sweet and precious boy. You will make a difference in this world, I can see it already.