children, gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

The Right Kind of ‘Yes’

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If you actually complete all your ‘to-do’ lists on a daily basis during the holiday season, it is easy to lose yourself.  Sure, you may have all your presents bought and started addressing your holiday cards, but where is the love?

It is so easy to get swept up in the momentum of holiday madness.  You say ‘yes’ to your child’s classroom teacher, you say ‘yes’ to buying more presents, you say ‘yes’ to giving all that you are and then some.

Maybe ‘no’ is something worth considering.

What if we all said ‘no’ a little bit more this season and focused our ‘yesses’ on the people we cherish most in this world?

I certainly am thinking of three guys that I would love to hang out with more as Christmas and the New Year approaches.

Who would your ‘nos’ make room for?

children, eyesight, gratitude, happiness, health, humor, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Eye(mazing)

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boys play matchbox cars to pass the time at the ophthalmologist's

We are seated in the tiny eye exam room.  I am so beyond stressed that I actually feel kind of calm.

These visits to the pediatric ophthalmologist are not without uncertainty.

Will Full Speed test well?

Is T.Puzzle in a cooperative mood?

I try to convince myself it’s no big deal.  I mean only the future of my children’s vision is at stake here.

We wait for the eye doctor.

She breezes into the room with grace and confidence.

She clearly adores my boys.

This helps.

Full Speed is an unexpected rock star of vision testing.

He tests 20/40 in his right eye and 20/30 in his left.

I almost faint.

He then proceeds to read a line of print so teeny-tiny, I’m positive that only someone with superhuman eyesight could read it (no, it’s not that I’m old in the least and had to squint to read the line myself).

I almost faint again.

I get goosebumps on top of my goosebumps.  My heart fills with immeasurable gratitude.

It hardly phases me that T.Puzzle is mostly uncooperative.  He holds steady at 20/50 and 20/70.

I’ll take it.

During this arduous process of eye surgeries, doctor’s appointments and visits to the ophthalmologist, I have learned that I cannot control the level of vision that each of my boys will attain.

All I can control is how I feel about it.

And today for the first time in my life, I feel absolutely amazing about their vision.

This is one of the best days ever.

children, gratitude, happiness, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Happy Birthday, T.Puzzle

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T.Puzzle turns four today!

My baby is now officially in big boy territory.  Let’s hope like his brother before him, this increases his awesomeness tenfold.  Let’s leave the terrible ones, twos and threes behind us forever.

The birth of a child is always a vivid memory.  T.Puzzle’s stands out because I went into labor (after a solid month of miserably contracting for no reason) on the night of our third wedding anniversary.  I was in complete denial.  I can even remember the clothes I was wearing in great detail.  That’s mainly because I was so huge (T.Puzzle ended up being a healthy 9lb 7oz), I only had one semi-dressy maternity outfit that fit me reasonably well.  Black pants, with a huge amount of stretch no less, and a long-sleeved black tunic with red and white dots to top off this stylish ensemble. Pregnancy is certainly not about the fashion.

When I realized that the Braxton Hicks I was having were actually closer to the real deal, we went to the hospital where I continued to deny I was in labor.  I even got to watch an episode of Sex and the City on TBS as we waited to see if I dilated more.

Eventually, I couldn’t deny it any longer.  T.Puzzle came into this world and screamed louder than any newborn I have ever known.  I remember thinking, ‘baby, you’re suppose to be my easy one,’ and this only seemed to increase his volume.

Easy or not, he is the best second kid anyone could hope for.

Happy  birthday, T.Puzzle.  I love you!

children, health, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Full (Speed) of Hot Air

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Children and gastrointestinal issues go hand in hand.  Mad Dog and I have witnessed this firsthand.

When Full Speed shared that his ‘tummy hurt’ and then proceeded to turn a sickly pale color, we changed our dinner plans.  Nevermind that we had only seconds before pulled into the restaurant parking lot and were ready to exit the car and head inside.

We weren’t in a gambling mood.

Instead we decided to grab some food at a drive-thru and eat at home.  That way if Full Speed had any issues, we would be out of the public’s always watching eyes and have access to cleaning products if the need should arise.

We couldn’t figure out if Full Speed was really ill.  He was pale and restrained one moment, then hyper and happy the next.

After we picked up our food and had it spread out on our kitchen table, a low rumbling noise began deep in the bowels of Full Speed.  It went on and on a rose with a vengence and a long-winded burp escaped from his lips (you could have spelled Mississippi fourteen times before it was over).  An embarrassed smile spread across his face as he smirked out the words, “Excuuuuse meeeee!”  Mad Dog and I could tell he instantly felt better as the color returned to his cheeks.

Aha!  Full Speed’s stomach ailment was solved.

If only all mysterious child illnesses and behaviors could be dissected so easily.

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, life in pictures, mommy cliques, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Trees

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Mad Dog and I had a date night planned so we could Christmas shop for the boys.  While at Super Target, Mad Dog lobbied for a miniature version of our Christmas tree for the boys’ room.

Full Speed and T.Puzzle were fast asleep when we returned home.  Mad Dog silently placed the small tree in their room. We tiptoed out and anxiously anticipated a big reaction once the tree was discovered in the morning.

They boys were dazzled.

There was much animated discussion on how the tree came to be in their room.  The idea that made the most sense were elves of course.

Later that morning T.Puzzle tried to explain to his teacher about the mysterious tree.

“Who do you think put it there?” she asked.

“I think it was robbers,” he suggested his eyes wide with certainty.

I love a good thief.  Not only did this ‘thief’ not steal a single item from our home, he or she left it beautifully decorated.

I guess crime does pay.