Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Cute
I wish I had a photo to show you how Tim fell asleep last night. Since he was born, we've been putting him to bed awake, but sleepy. He's never given us much trouble unless he was still hungry or had a diaper that needed changing...until recently, that is.
Now that he can crawl and pull up to standing in the crib, he crawls to the edge, stands up and screams. We have to go in occasionally and lay him back down, tuck him in and leave the room. After two or three times, he'll settle down and go to sleep.
Last night was the same as it's been for the past two weeks. I put him in bed knowing he was tired and then went to read Ryan the new books we took out of the library. Tim was okay for a bit, but could hear us reading so he started crying. I finished one book and went to put Tim down again (Adam was upstairs talking with his parents). We were interrupted while reading the other two books quite frequently, but Tim refused a bottle and did not need a new diaper.
Then Adam came down and dealt with Tim while Ryan and I finished books nine and 10 (since they were new we had to test them all out...after the first night he has his favorites and we just read those over and over again for the week). Tim settled down and so did Ryan.
When I walked Ryan to his bed, I didn't see Tim. Of course, it was dark, except for the dim night light, so I walked closer to see where Tim was hiding in the crib. I couldn't find him and started to panic a little. He really couldn't get far right? I looked a little closer at the blankets and discovered that Tim was asleep sitting up... head on lap, thumb in mouth. He looked just like the rest of the crumpled up blanket that he sleeps with.
I called Adam over so he could see, and then gently pushed him back on his side and tucked him in again.
Like I said, I wish I had a photo to show you....it was cute.
Now that he can crawl and pull up to standing in the crib, he crawls to the edge, stands up and screams. We have to go in occasionally and lay him back down, tuck him in and leave the room. After two or three times, he'll settle down and go to sleep.
Last night was the same as it's been for the past two weeks. I put him in bed knowing he was tired and then went to read Ryan the new books we took out of the library. Tim was okay for a bit, but could hear us reading so he started crying. I finished one book and went to put Tim down again (Adam was upstairs talking with his parents). We were interrupted while reading the other two books quite frequently, but Tim refused a bottle and did not need a new diaper.
Then Adam came down and dealt with Tim while Ryan and I finished books nine and 10 (since they were new we had to test them all out...after the first night he has his favorites and we just read those over and over again for the week). Tim settled down and so did Ryan.
When I walked Ryan to his bed, I didn't see Tim. Of course, it was dark, except for the dim night light, so I walked closer to see where Tim was hiding in the crib. I couldn't find him and started to panic a little. He really couldn't get far right? I looked a little closer at the blankets and discovered that Tim was asleep sitting up... head on lap, thumb in mouth. He looked just like the rest of the crumpled up blanket that he sleeps with.
I called Adam over so he could see, and then gently pushed him back on his side and tucked him in again.
Like I said, I wish I had a photo to show you....it was cute.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Done with winter
It's official. I am ready to be done with winter. The snow was fun in December, but it's not so fun now. I'm ready for the big thaw. I want spring flowers. I want lots of warm days spent playing at the park with the boys. But this is Maine and I'm afraid it will still be snowing in April.
On Sunday when I went to work it was raining. I was okay with that. An hour into my shift it was snowing big wet snowflakes and were sticking to the ground and piling up. Two hours into my shift I was one of two cashiers left in the store. And three and a half hours later I was being sent home since I was the cashier who lived the farthest from the store.
I made my way out to the car in what seemed to be about 6 inches of snow and started cleaning off the car. By the time I was done there was snow on the parts I'd already cleaned... quite a bit of it actually. I took a photo on my cell phone and sent it to Adam (I'd already called him and told him I was on my way home in almost white-out conditions).
It took an hour to drive what normally takes about 20 minutes. That's an hour of me in a silent car (when it's snowing I don't turn the radio or my mp3 player on) with super white knuckles attempting to see the road and hoping to get home safely. It was slow going.... like 20 -25 mph slow. There was one car off the road (there had been reports of two cars that had flipped over on route 4, but I was going in a completely different direction) and the police and a tow truck were working to get it out of the ditch. At times, I couldn't see which direction the road was going.... that wasn't fun at all. But I made it home safely.
To think of more snow next Sunday night doesn't make me happy at all. It's so cold we can't really enjoy playing in it, so that means I'm done with it.
Spring, please do your thing and make an early appearance this year!
On Sunday when I went to work it was raining. I was okay with that. An hour into my shift it was snowing big wet snowflakes and were sticking to the ground and piling up. Two hours into my shift I was one of two cashiers left in the store. And three and a half hours later I was being sent home since I was the cashier who lived the farthest from the store.
I made my way out to the car in what seemed to be about 6 inches of snow and started cleaning off the car. By the time I was done there was snow on the parts I'd already cleaned... quite a bit of it actually. I took a photo on my cell phone and sent it to Adam (I'd already called him and told him I was on my way home in almost white-out conditions).
It took an hour to drive what normally takes about 20 minutes. That's an hour of me in a silent car (when it's snowing I don't turn the radio or my mp3 player on) with super white knuckles attempting to see the road and hoping to get home safely. It was slow going.... like 20 -25 mph slow. There was one car off the road (there had been reports of two cars that had flipped over on route 4, but I was going in a completely different direction) and the police and a tow truck were working to get it out of the ditch. At times, I couldn't see which direction the road was going.... that wasn't fun at all. But I made it home safely.
To think of more snow next Sunday night doesn't make me happy at all. It's so cold we can't really enjoy playing in it, so that means I'm done with it.
Spring, please do your thing and make an early appearance this year!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
On Marriage
Today I was browsing Facebook when I got a message from an old friend. It said she needed to talk with me right away. She'd left her husband.
My heart sank.
Since we've been in touch over the last few months she's told me about how her marriage of seven years hasn't been all that she dreamed it would be. Now, I don't consider myself a marriage expert at all. All I really know is that it takes work by both people. At times it takes a lot of effort and at other times it just is right and easy.
Of course, I am just getting one side of the story from this friend and there are always two sides to a story. From what she tells me her husband is stuck in the 1940s or 50s where the wife does all the work and he sits in his favorite chair and watches the news or game. But it's not the 1940s and generally, both husband and wife work. When both people work it makes a wife feel like she's doing it all. Working, doing the household stuff and taking care of the kids. That's a lot on one person's plate.
Of course, I am a stay-at-home mum. I just work two days a week for maybe 10 hours total in a week. I do a lot around the house, but I consider that my full-time job. When we both worked, things were split down the middle as best as it could be. We both helped with washing and putting away the dishes, we both did the laundry and we both shared the cleaning of the house. Then there were things we did separately. Adam mowed the lawn and shoveled the driveway (while I can shovel the driveway, I can't start a lawn mower to save my life). I cooked the dinner and ironed the clothes. I've also always been the bookkeeper.
Then when I came to stay at home, things changed. Probably the only things Adam still does is mow the lawn, shovel the driveway and help put the dishes away. I do the rest. Like I said, I consider that my full-time job these days and I don't mind. When I really need help, I ask and I get it.
Before we got married we always said divorce was not an option. There is counseling, things can be worked out. We'd sort of laid out this plan, too. It was THE PLAN and in the original PLAN, I wasn't supposed to work at all while staying home, but things change and you adapt.
Now, all that said, things haven't always been all roses. There have been times I've been so frustrated with Adam and his idea of the floor being a "low shelf" on which he stored clean and dirty laundry that I wanted to scream at him. But I didn't. I'm sure he's been annoyed many a night when he comes home and finds that I haven't bothered to cook dinner and suggest he have a hot dog or sandwich. And I'm sure he's been annoyed on days when he goes to get dressed for work and can't find a shirt or pair of pants. But he's always been gentle with me, even to the point of wearing wrinkled clothes, much to my pure horror.
That said, it's not like we've never yelled or fought, but we have always been able to resolve things. In fact, our first fight about a dust pan being in the sink is now the biggest joke between us.
So it breaks my heart to know that my friend has given up. But I get that she's been talking to a wall for over seven years. I just hope things will sort themselves out. I want the best for both her and her husband and their little boy.
While the distance separates us, I am glad she was able to talk to me. I just hope I was a source of encouragement.
So after our conversation yesterday, I had this song running through my head. "Can you reach my friend, you're the only one who can. Lord, I know that you love her, help her understand...."
My heart sank.
Since we've been in touch over the last few months she's told me about how her marriage of seven years hasn't been all that she dreamed it would be. Now, I don't consider myself a marriage expert at all. All I really know is that it takes work by both people. At times it takes a lot of effort and at other times it just is right and easy.
Of course, I am just getting one side of the story from this friend and there are always two sides to a story. From what she tells me her husband is stuck in the 1940s or 50s where the wife does all the work and he sits in his favorite chair and watches the news or game. But it's not the 1940s and generally, both husband and wife work. When both people work it makes a wife feel like she's doing it all. Working, doing the household stuff and taking care of the kids. That's a lot on one person's plate.
Of course, I am a stay-at-home mum. I just work two days a week for maybe 10 hours total in a week. I do a lot around the house, but I consider that my full-time job. When we both worked, things were split down the middle as best as it could be. We both helped with washing and putting away the dishes, we both did the laundry and we both shared the cleaning of the house. Then there were things we did separately. Adam mowed the lawn and shoveled the driveway (while I can shovel the driveway, I can't start a lawn mower to save my life). I cooked the dinner and ironed the clothes. I've also always been the bookkeeper.
Then when I came to stay at home, things changed. Probably the only things Adam still does is mow the lawn, shovel the driveway and help put the dishes away. I do the rest. Like I said, I consider that my full-time job these days and I don't mind. When I really need help, I ask and I get it.
Before we got married we always said divorce was not an option. There is counseling, things can be worked out. We'd sort of laid out this plan, too. It was THE PLAN and in the original PLAN, I wasn't supposed to work at all while staying home, but things change and you adapt.
Now, all that said, things haven't always been all roses. There have been times I've been so frustrated with Adam and his idea of the floor being a "low shelf" on which he stored clean and dirty laundry that I wanted to scream at him. But I didn't. I'm sure he's been annoyed many a night when he comes home and finds that I haven't bothered to cook dinner and suggest he have a hot dog or sandwich. And I'm sure he's been annoyed on days when he goes to get dressed for work and can't find a shirt or pair of pants. But he's always been gentle with me, even to the point of wearing wrinkled clothes, much to my pure horror.
That said, it's not like we've never yelled or fought, but we have always been able to resolve things. In fact, our first fight about a dust pan being in the sink is now the biggest joke between us.
So it breaks my heart to know that my friend has given up. But I get that she's been talking to a wall for over seven years. I just hope things will sort themselves out. I want the best for both her and her husband and their little boy.
While the distance separates us, I am glad she was able to talk to me. I just hope I was a source of encouragement.
So after our conversation yesterday, I had this song running through my head. "Can you reach my friend, you're the only one who can. Lord, I know that you love her, help her understand...."
Monday, February 16, 2009
Mommy workouts and cute Ryan sayings
So this mommy wants to know how other moms find time to work out. I can never seem to find a good time. I'll take any advice I can get. It's like 9 p.m. and I am just now getting done all the stuff that I do. Ryan didn't nap today so there was no time for that. I'd love to take a walk outside, but it's too cold. So, how do you workout in the winter inside when you are always with the kids?
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Ryan asked to read The Hungry Caterpillar before bed tonight. We have nine other books we've checked out from the library, but each time we check this one out, we read it a lot. So, tonight we were going through the book and I was letting Ryan fill in the pauses in my sentences. "He ate through one...." and Ryan says, "apple." "He ate through two...." and Ryan says, "Mushrooms!" (if you've never read the book, the pictures are of pears. I couldn't stop laughing. Ryan laughed, too.
Then we get to the part of the book where he eats through everything under the sun. The second to last picture is of a muffin and what does Ryan say? You guessed right: mushroom! At least I could get how he could get a mushroom out of that one. What a funny kid.
**********************************************************************************
Ryan asked to read The Hungry Caterpillar before bed tonight. We have nine other books we've checked out from the library, but each time we check this one out, we read it a lot. So, tonight we were going through the book and I was letting Ryan fill in the pauses in my sentences. "He ate through one...." and Ryan says, "apple." "He ate through two...." and Ryan says, "Mushrooms!" (if you've never read the book, the pictures are of pears. I couldn't stop laughing. Ryan laughed, too.
Then we get to the part of the book where he eats through everything under the sun. The second to last picture is of a muffin and what does Ryan say? You guessed right: mushroom! At least I could get how he could get a mushroom out of that one. What a funny kid.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Da Boys
I love that you can see Tim's eyelashes really well in this photo!
Ryan always wants to take baths with Tim. He's getting better at playing with him in there rather than rushing me to get him out. Tim loves to splash at the drain.
Tim's official eighth month photo... almost a month late uploading it here.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Random things
- The other day a older guy with a white beard was dressed in a red ski suit. He looked like Santa. It was funny.
- WM: "Save Money. Live Better while our associates work themselves to death." (I'm not so happy with WM these days, if you couldn't guess. Adam is working himself silly because one of his associates has cancer, which is really sad, and is out indefinitely and they won't temporarily replace them. There are more projects on the way too. I'd like to see my husband this year.)
- I can't believe how big Tim is getting. We recently had to move him from a baby car seat to the "big boy" one. He loves it!
- I am ready for spring. I'm done seeing dirty snow.
- Ryan cracks me up. He makes me laugh out loud a lot. I love that he has a great imagination and uses it to create stories and play games.
- Tim now has a passport. It makes me want to pack up and go home to my parents for a month. I know Adam would miss us, but I'd like to see the sun and no more snow.
- I have lots of photos to post. I'll try to do that soon.
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