The Mighty Henry

My little guys is 22 months today. Can you believe it?

In two shakes he'll be 2. Unbelievable.

I supposed I should be better about journaling his monthly milestones. Not so much for the general public but for myself. For being a lover of writing, I'm not very good at writing all those little tidbits down.

April is actually a good month to write about what's going on in the life of Henry (as if the facebook status updates aren't enough for you) becaue April has been the month that Henry as decided to finally talk.

He's saying real words......that I can understand. I'm just a little excited. It makes communicating a whole lot easier, let me tell ya. He still babbles that cute baby babble. The kid has  a lot to say. It was probably really frustrating to him that nobody had a clue what he was saying.

One day, the light bulb went off. He said, "cars" while playing with his cars. I did a double take.

Than came shoes, J J (our dog Jackson), nana (banana) and baby. He had only been saying mommy, daddy, hello and bye.

So the new one lately is "cracker". Today he blew me away with "cheese". He was trying to say "waffle" this morning. I know other kids his age have been talking for months. But this mama is very proud and excited that we can have these little convos now. (That's my cool lingo for conversation!)

April was also the month we moved him out of his crib and into a bed.

"Why so early?" you may ask.

We couldn't keep the little monkey in his crib, that's why. It was rough going at first; but he actually caught on to this new concept quicker than I thought. We never actually find him in his bed when we check on him later in the evening; but he goes to sleep pretty quickly and has, for the most part, quit knocking on his door to get out.

So 22 months has been monumental. I was kinda hoping he'd have more hair by now; but oh, well. At least he doesn't look completely bald anymore. My goal is to give a two year old update which means I better go write a five year old update for Lily, since she turned five about four months ago.

Now what would an update be without some super cute pictures?

She Did A Real Hack Job!

Let me start off by saying.......A green thumb I am not. My dad can attest to the fact that I can kill just about anything......and have! Let's not even talk about the two beautiful Japanese Maples I killed a few years ago simply becaue I never watered them. Horrid, I know.

Really it's not hard. Dirt. Plant. Water. Sun. Nature takes care of most of it. Plants don't water themselves, though.

When we moved into our house almost a year ago we were pleasantly surprised by all the mature plants and flowers it had. It also had not been taken care of in three years so it was a bit jungly. I was immediately happy to see eight rosebushes in my front yard. Only a few had blooms. Half of them were a pretty good size and the other half were pretty sad looking.

I enjoyed the blooms that summer and watered them occasionally. Fall and winter came and everything died.

"Oh well," I thought. The roses were nice while they lasted. We were debating on just pulling them out and doing something else in that space.

Then something very unexpected happened. My neighbor from two doors down, Sheila, who I hadn't met before, walked up to me one day as I was getting Henry out of the car. She just came out and said, "Can I prune your roses for you?"

I wanted to hug her. Yes! I knew I needed to do something with them; but just didn't know what.

She got her tools and pruned away.

I learned something about pruning roses. I had been doing it all wrong. I hadn't pruned back nearly enough. As she cut and snipped away, I was surprised at how much she was cutting off. She went on to tell me that you should really prune your rosebushes back in January and if we had, she would have cut back even more!

A few weeks ago, I noticed several blooms on 4 of my bushes. Not just 3 or 4. A lot. Recently, the bush with the most buds, began to bloom. I have bright pink roses coming in. They are gorgeous and ridiculously huge!

I was a bit giddy when I saw that pink bloom; but when Sheila was hacking away at the bushes, I wasn't so sure. It seemed like she was cutting way too much. There was almost nothing left.

I could not help but think that that is how God has been pruning in my life and how the refining process works in our life as Christians. If God just did a little snip here and a gentle cut there; there wouldn't be much to show for it later. Oh, I'm sure we'd be blessed and could very well be happy; but we'd be missing out on so much more.

If Sheila had just snipped back my roses a little, as I had been doing, the rose bushes would still be alive; but there would be few or no blooms. Just a little shrubby plant, dying a little more each year. She hacked away at them, though. Now I have bushes overun with buds ready to burst open.

God's been hacking away at me lately. He's been asking me to step out in faith in a few areas of my life. In one area, especially, He has been asking me to have Huge faith! It's been uncomfortable and I don't know what the outcome is going to be. It's making me seek Him more, though. It's causing me to ask what God's will is for my life right now, for my family. It's requiring me to make some really hard choices. It's causing me to turn down roads I never thought I'd venture down. I have been learning what it means to rest in Him because left to my own devices, well...... I'd just be freakingn out.

So, with each hack, with each uncomfortable stretch, He is in it. I know it's for my good. I know that what is best for me is what He wants for me. I might feel, at times, like the rosebush that's pruned back in January to almost nothing; but I know that pruning will produce amazing blooms and blessings in my life come spring.
 
Trust.

When you can't see what's around the corner.

It's hard.

Though I have a good idea what my roses will look like by the end of spring, I have no idea what my life will look like when I step out in faith. Thankfully, as a family, we can step out in faith together. Change can be uncomfortable. (That is probably a huge understatement!) Yet the change will be as God has always intended. It's never a surprise to Him.

Why I Blog

Wow, I have been MIA lately with the ol' blog. Honestly, I'm blogging all the time, in my head. If only I could immediately transmit what I'm thinking I want to blog about directly from my brain to my computer! I would be the blogging queen.

But alas, the kids, the dog, the dishes, the grocery shopping, life, gets in the way.

Just so you know, it's 9 p.m. and my dishwasher has not yet been emptied, the sink is full of dishes, toys are strewn across my livingroom floor and the decorations from a baby shower I threw TWO DAYS AGO are still neatly piled on my dining room table. Let's not even talk about the laundry spilling over the hamper. Nope, not even going to go there.

I'm ignoring all of it. I am going to write. Then I'm going to bed with a clear conscience, knowing I did something really productive.

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I like to blog/write and why I love to read blogs. Why do I enjoy reading about the lives of perfect strangers (Though, some are not strangers.) Why do I feel the need to share my life happenings with other people?

I think sometimes why I don't blog more often, besides the lack of time, is that I second guess why I blog. I question why on earth anyone would want to read about my boring life anyway?

The other reason, I'm coming to realize, is that I want to be completely honest when I write; but I'm afraid.

Why?

Oh, there's a million and one reasons.

You really put yourself out there when you speak your heart, share your fears, admit your failings, recount those little moments in life that make you laugh. You are there for others to either adore or criticize. Or even worse, ignore. Oh, and you can't take it back. Once it's out there, it's out there. In black and white. No takebacks.

But here's the thing. The blogs I love to read and go back to over and over again are exactly what I fear people won't want to read. The heart speaking, fear sharing, flop failing, funny moments of life. Whether I know you personally or not, I relate. I connect. I know someone else is going through the same stuff. And even if I read a blog where someone's life is completely different than mine, I love that too.

So......if I like to read blogs like that, I can write a blog like that.

There's a little more to it, though. Since I was very young, I loved to write stories. I loved to daydream and make up all sorts of scenarios in my head. I still do. When I was in the 6th grade my teacher gave us the black and white marbled composition book. That was the beginning. My love of writing sprouted and has been growing ever since. Oh, there have been some times where my writing has been all but dormant. For awhile I even thought I had forgotten how to write. God has given me a desire to write, though. That's the best reason to do it, don't you think?

So I will write about my family. (What I love to talk about the most.)
I will write about being a mom with all the joys and frustrations that make up mommyhood.
I will write about what God is teaching me; what He is showing me. I think about this subject all the time. I should be writing about it!
I will write about how an elementary teacher with almost no homemaking skills to speak of has a become a stay at home mom who is now into all things homemaking, with a beginning garden and sewing machine!!
I will write to encourage others.
I will write to connect with others.
I will write to journal about this amazing life God has given to me.
I will write because I love to write. As simple as that.

Happy Easter

I love Easter! I love Easter dresses, Easter baskets, and the Easter morning service at church.

This morning, I was thinking about how important Easter is. If you asked me what my favorite holiday is, I'd say Christmas hands down. If you asked me what the most important holiday is, though, I'd say Easter.

Without Easter, Christmas is just a fun, feel good holiday. It's just a time to get together with family, eat lots of cookies, spend money on presents and  watch holiday movies.

Without Christ dieing on the cross and, most importantly, rising on the third day, the birth and life of Jesus would just be an interesting historical tale.

Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son to take my place and pay the price for my sins, for giving me the hope and promise of heaven, with you, forever.

Oh, and did I mention I just love to take family pictures on these special days? Because they always turn out so well! Ha!

Happy Easter! He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed.

I Drowned my Sorrows in Tator Tots

When you are first starting to lose weight and you are really focused and trying your darnedest, it's very disheartening to go a week and not lose weight, to stay the same. It's even more demoralizing when you actually gain weight!!!

That was me, last week.

My weigh in day is on Sunday. I weighed in and to my horror (No, I'm not being dramatic!) I had actually gained a pound. Sad face.

Here goes my tale of woe. I'll try not to go on and on. Maybe you can relate, though. Maybe you are going through the same thing.

And maybe I just need to get this off my chest.

If you remember, I told you about my cheat day last week. I decided the cheat day was not for me. Occasions where I might want to have a piece of cake or some Maui Onion Chips may not fall on a Tuesday.  A whole day of eating crappy food and hence feeling crappy is not really my idea of a lifestyle change. And I never toot my own horn when it comes to cooking (because I'm quite mediocre at it), but the next day I made the most amazing stew. It wasn't a low calorie recipe (It was  Pioneer Woman recipe, enough said.); but I had to make it. Yes, had to. Once I saw a picture of it, my mouth began to immediately water.

Other than that, I stayed under my calorie goal and Zumba'd EVERY DAY.If you don't know what Zumba is, just know that it makes you move and it makes you sweat. I may do a post on Zumba one of these days.

So, after a week of really watching what I ate and exercising every day, I expected to see those numbers drop even if by just a little. Drop, yes. Maintain, maybe. Gain, No!

I've only been on this journey for a little over a month and to me, it is a journey. It's not a sprint to the finish line and then I can go back to way the life used to be and eat whatever I fancy. I knew I couldn't throw in the towel. I knew one little setback shouldn't get me so down. But, it did. I wanted to quit. I was kind of ticked that I had worked so hard and got no reward.

I agree this is a little dramatic. I'm just being honest.

So I did what any disappointed girl would do, who had been saying no to fried, fatty food and sugary treats. I cooked myself up a bunch of tator tots. Yea, I went there. I love the tots. Not so good for you, but good tasting. Oooooh.........so good.

"Take that, stupid diet," I mumbled under my breath while popping the tots into my mouth.

I won't lie, the tots were awesome. But after I had simmered down, had my little pity party and counted up the calories, I decided to go back to my eating plan for the rest of the day. I knew the tots were a slippery slope. No matter how mad or bummed I was, I had to remember why I was trying to lose weight. It's not just about the weight.

I thought about the last 5 weeks. I feel better. I really do. I'm exercising. I wasn't doing any physical activity before except for the occasional walk with the kids. I'm getting stronger. I don't want to go back to how I felt before.

What to do next? If something isn't working, you can't just do that thing again and again and hope you get better results. I looked back at what I did that last week and what I ate and  found some areas where I could change. I decided I needed to drink much more water, due to the suggestion from a fellow buddy trying to lose weight also.

I feel like this week has been going well. I've felt like I have been making good food choices. More fruits and veggies. A lot more water. Have I had my occasional dove chocolate and a second slice of pizza? Yes, but I have said no a lot more than I have said yes to foods that aren't good for me.

Here's to more water and less tator tots!

The Cheat Day

Let me start this post by saying two things: Numero Uno:  I am "dieting" so to speak, but I desperately need to make a lifestyle change. So as most diets end, that's not what I'm going for here.  Numero Dos: I've lost a good chunk of weight before. About 7 years ago (way before kids), I joined Weight Watchers and lost 24 pounds. Yeah, pretty awesome, right? So while I do know how to lose the weight, it's the making it stick that I have struggles with. In some ways, I feel like I'm figuring it out all over again.

The idea of a cheat day when you are dieting is sooooo appealing to me. Eat sensibly and deny yourself those daily "bad for you" cravings, (Okay, who am I kidding, the hourly cravings.) and then have one day a week to indulge in whatever you like. The idea being that you are eating healthier; but you aren't saying no forever to your Maui Onion Chips or your Cookies and Cream ice cream.

I get it. Living life in the real world does mean the occasional ice cream cone or brownie. Mmmmm brownies........ Sorry, I'm focused now. Because really, when someone tells me I absolutely, positively cannot have something. That is the one thing I cannot stop thinking about. It's the one thing I want more than anything else. Isn't it true that as soon as you start trying to lose weight, you constantly think about food?

Well, I had a cheat day earlier this week. I also had one the week before, on Tuesday to be exact. So Tuesdays seem to be the day to cheat. And speed and get pulled over by the police. And get into the 15 items or less line at Safeway with 50 + items. Yeah, I had stellar day that day.

Actually, it's Andy's cheat day, so it just made sense to cheat on the same day. After 2 cheat days I'm not so sure it's the way to go. As I said at the beginning of this post, I'm just figuring things out. I want this weight loss to stick this time and as I continue this journey I'm sure I'll make many mistakes and have some bad food days.

So I really thought about how I felt at the end of my cheat day. First I'll tell you what I ate. I know you are dying to know!

Breakfast: Coffee and croissant at Starbucks (This is actually party of my weekly date with Lily.) Not too terribly bad.

Lunch: Turkey and mustard on a sourdough roll with Maui Onion chips and ice tea. This probably does not sound like a cheat meal to most; but these are two foods I love!! Normally, I wouldn't eat the sourdough roll (lots of white flour) or the chips, because chips=fat.

Dinner: 2 pieces of pizza and a rather skimpy salad. Again, not so horrible; but I pretty much muscled the second piece down. I totally would've been fine with one. I guess, what put me into the "I feel crappy" zone was the McFlurry from McDonald's on the way home from pizza.

I was full but it was my cheat day and this was my one chance to eat the sweet stuff before my next cheat day.

Did I really need to fill my entire day with fatty foods and basically no fruits or vegetables??????? I have to give a resounding NO! So do I throw the whole cheat day out all together? Or maybe I need to pick just one meal to splurge instead of three. I'm working this one out and trying to figure out what will help me get to my ultimate goal. I guess I'll let you know come next Tuesday.

Here's what I do know. And I'm basing this on how I felt at the end of the day. I felt full, too full. I used to feel like this all the time and I don't like it. It's one of the reasons I said, "Enough is enough. I need to stop eating like this!!!" Also, my stomach just felt how it feels when you eat fatty foods all day. That's all the detail I'm going to give on that. There is such a thing as TMI.

So in the spirit of limiting TMI, this post is done!

Peeing In The Closet. Yup, I Said Peeing In The Closet.

For some reason, Henry has now decided that he no longer wants to wear clothes. No shirt, no pants, no diaper. He desperately tries to take them off, all the while making the "please" sign. Well, not the actual please sign. It's just the one he made up for please. When I tried to teach him "please" in sign language, he would just get angry. I mean, he was quite put off. I was like, "Chill out, buddy. I'm just trying to help you out since you can't talk yet. But hey, whatever floats your boat." His unique sign for please let me know he was hungry. Then it just became the sign for please when he wanted anything. Which makes it kind of hard to figure out what he wants sometimes. Gosh, I just want him to talk already!

So what was I saying now? Oh yes, he doesn't want to wear clothes. Especially not his diaper.

The other day I had changed his diaper, I left him in the living room to run somewhat free and sans clothing. His diaper was  on. I skipped on over to his room to toss his clothes in his hamper and get his fresh clothes for the day from his closet. As I was taking some clothes off the hanger I looked down and there was H standing next to me.

Completely nude.

Peeing into the closet.

No look of mischief, no look of sheepish shame. It was as if I let him pee in his closet every day!

You better believe me this is coming up in conversation the first time he brings a girlfriend over the house. Oh, yeah. I'm tucking this one away in the mental file folder labeled "embarrassing my kids."