Category: Kids

Elizabeth

Charity Reset by Vomit

Kids

I got an unexpected “blessing in disguise” this week: My two preschoolers had a stomach bug. And Justin went out of town for work before it was over. Stay with me. I know it sounds awful. And….it was….but….it was also a good Reset for me.

Lately, I have found myself being a “hurry up and do what I said” mom more often than I’d like to admit. I said to do X, so do it right now. Don’t finish your picture first. Don’t get a book to bring with you. Just do it. 1….2….3….4….

*sigh*

That’s not really the kind of mom I want to be….

Elizabeth

How to Make a Baby Laugh

Kids

Baby giggles are among the most delicious sounds known to mankind.

Some of my other favorites include tires driving over wet pavement, toddlers singing Jesus Loves Me, and the sound of a child’s breathing just as he falls asleep.

But the baby giggles—I’m pretty sure—universally make humans smile. Once they start, you just want to keep them going. Am I wrong? …

Elizabeth

Overdue Week

Keeping House, Kids

Going overdue with my recent pregnancy gave me time to…keep up the family tradition! My mom, sister, and I are now ten for ten on overdue babies. Cheers to consistency!

During the 39th week of pregnancy, I was so optimistic that “the baby could come any minute now!” When I got to the week before the due date, however, realism set in and I resigned myself to going overdue again. Surprisingly, this mental shift actually gave me more energy and will to do other things besides wait for labor. I opened up my Nesting List…

Elizabeth

Birth Story, #3

Kids

Pregnancy is over! My baby is here! I got more than five hours of sleep last night! Hurray! Here’s a picture of my now two week old precious darling baby girl, Cecily Germaine: At risk of oversharing, here is the birth story. If you’re not into body function details, maybe skip it. If you love birth stories, have a listen. Background: With Miryam, I was induced one week overdue. Luke came on his own two days overdue. I had the epidural with both of them. I almost didn’t get the epidural with Luke, because I felt I was managing

Elizabeth

PJ Masks and Humility

Kids

A scene from last week.

I’m 39 weeks pregnant and in full-on Nesting Mode. Also, Luke wakes up by 7:00am no matter what time he ends up falling asleep at night. So, it’s time to finally hang curtains in the kids’ bedrooms, to block early morning sunlight. We already have curtains available, brought from our other house and still in a box nearly 11 months later, but we left the old curtain rods mounted in the old house. Justin needs to go to Staples anyway, and Target is right across the highway. Let’s all go—I probably need the movement anyway, if you’re willing to walk at my waddling pace…

Elizabeth

Texas. Summer. Third Trimester.

Kids

Nuff said.

I hesitated to even write this post, because its content is in direct conflict with the title of the blog. Other than kicks reminding me my little babe is alive and quite well, there is almost nothing felicitous about the third trimester, especially if it’s above 65 degrees in my immediate vicinity. So, as of Tuesday night:

Right now, I’ve been “too hot” for hours. If I turn the thermostat down any further, I’ll probably freeze my children out of their beds. By the way, Miryam still isn’t asleep yet at a quarter past nine. She went to bed…

Elizabeth

Frozen is the New Dumbo

Kids

…for me. In the tears department.

Let me begin with an illustration. Justin is putting a new door handle on the front door, the kids are running in circles “trying to catch Elsa,” and I’m on the couch trying to read Jane Eyre but being distracted by the movie on screen. Half an hour earlier, I tried to sing “Let it Go” along with Elsa and Miryam, but tears were rising to my eyes and I couldn’t get the lyrics out. And now, I have a lump in my throat again watching the reprise of “First Time in Forever;” it’s over…

Elizabeth

I’ll have the routine, please.

Kids

I began the thoughts on this post the last time I took a 10-day road trip with the kids. It’s now the second time in four months that I’m doing so, and I’m pondering the same thoughts again.

It starts like this.

I want to go see new places, visit my people, have fun experiences, leave room in the plan for spontaneity, and live in the moment. Including for and with my kids.

But I also want to keep the routine.

Why are kids so dependent upon routine? One would think that if a kid is tired, and it’s dark outside…

Elizabeth

Miryamisms (age 3)

Kids

My girl, Miryam, turned four earlier this week! So, here’s a fun little compilation of some of the hilarious and thought-provoking things she uttered as a three-year-old. (The ones I remembered to write down at the time, anyway.)

As a side note, if you have a child close to you in your life, I highly recommend keeping a running google doc or “Note”–something you can access from your phone at a moment’s notice–to jot down the funny and profound things they say, right away. I can usually remember the gist later, but…