Our daughter is a very vivid dreamer. Not only that, but she can remember very minute details of her dreams for days and talks about them quite a bit. She gets that from me. Even as a kid I can remember having very realistic dreams where I would mull over them for days. To this day I remember quite vividly dreams I have or have had in the past. According to my parents I had horrible night terrors and while I haven't seen evidence of this in our daughter I am concerned that she might be headed that way. She talks a lot in her sleep and has often woken up, or seemingly woken up, crying and disoriented.
This morning she came into our room and woke me up. She told me that she loved me and would always take care of me. I didn't know where this was coming from other than that is something I tell her quite often. She then proceeded to tell me that yesterday I was broken and she had to pick me up in the hallway and glue me back together but that she was scared she wouldn't be able to fix me and then she'd have to have a new mommy and she didn't want a new mommy, she just wanted her "old, regular mommy."
After assuring her that I was fine and that I'd always be her mommy and no one else would ever have the pleasure of being her mom I thought all was well. However, she spent the remainder of the day telling anyone and everyone who would listen (thankfully, only family members) that her mommy was broken yesterday and she had to glue me back together. It's been interesting to say the very least. I'm sure as with all things at this age it will pass, but I just wish I could get inside their heads sometimes.
Anyone else experience anything like this before?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Holiday Season is Upon Us
Well, today started out like any other normal day. My husband went to work and the kids and I played at home for most of the day. When the day began I had no intention of fully preparing for Christmas. I thought we'd take some walks, play in the backyard, visit my grandmother, and call it a day. However, this evening we went out to run some errands, do a little grocery shopping, and pick up some odds and ends for my daughter's ballet recital. Then we saw it. A Christmas tree lot. It was as if it were calling to me. My daughter saw it too and was instantly drawn. We couldn't resist. My husband and I looked at each other like, "Should we?". The answer was "yes, we should."
For the past month we have talked about just getting a little tree this year. Something just for the kids...like a 4 footer. It would be so much easier to decorate and toss too. That was the plan. Yet, strapped to our car on the way home was a 7 foot tree (in our defense the price difference between the two was only $5 which seemed a little weird to me).
Our plan was to simply put the tree in the stand and decorate it and the rest of the house tomorrow. However, once my husband set it up I couldn't resist. Out came the new LED lights (old school bulb style too....that's how we roll), followed by the decorations, stocking holders and stockings. Then I dug out the Christmas books I read to the kids only during the month of December. By the looks of our house you would think it was Christmas tomorrow. We are ready. The only thing missing are the gifts, which (gasp) I have yet to wrap. (I'm a little behind schedule this year).
In any event, now all we have left to do is to decorate our front yard and if my daughter's excitement is any indication it will be completed tomorrow. I love Christmas time for a variety of reasons, but mostly I love to see how excited my children get over little things like Christmas lights, or a Nativity scene, or Santa Claus. The unabashed excitement by both my son and daughter tonight was priceless and well worth the effort of decorating on the fly.
For the past month we have talked about just getting a little tree this year. Something just for the kids...like a 4 footer. It would be so much easier to decorate and toss too. That was the plan. Yet, strapped to our car on the way home was a 7 foot tree (in our defense the price difference between the two was only $5 which seemed a little weird to me).
Our plan was to simply put the tree in the stand and decorate it and the rest of the house tomorrow. However, once my husband set it up I couldn't resist. Out came the new LED lights (old school bulb style too....that's how we roll), followed by the decorations, stocking holders and stockings. Then I dug out the Christmas books I read to the kids only during the month of December. By the looks of our house you would think it was Christmas tomorrow. We are ready. The only thing missing are the gifts, which (gasp) I have yet to wrap. (I'm a little behind schedule this year).
In any event, now all we have left to do is to decorate our front yard and if my daughter's excitement is any indication it will be completed tomorrow. I love Christmas time for a variety of reasons, but mostly I love to see how excited my children get over little things like Christmas lights, or a Nativity scene, or Santa Claus. The unabashed excitement by both my son and daughter tonight was priceless and well worth the effort of decorating on the fly.
Snapshots of My Weekend
My son and daughter hugging each other on Thanksgiving morning. 
Me, my daughter, and my parents' dog on their deck waiting for family photos to be taken.
My son did not like the snow falling into my hair. He spent the evening furiously trying to pick it all out.
Friday, November 28, 2008
What up Cuz
The other day I invited my almost 3 year old niece over to play with my daughter for a few hours. They get along great and I figured it would be a nice change of pace for my daughter. Sure enough they played together fantastically. In fact, they went into my daughter's room, closed the door and proceeded to play in her play kitchen and her Rose Petal Cottage for the next two hours.
Every time I would peek in to check on them my daughter would sigh and say, "Mom, please get out" and then close the door in my face. Likewise she would not let her brother in (which in this case is fine because she does need her own playtime with her own friends). They finally came out because they were hungry.
So, tonight we went to a local outdoor shopping mall because they manufacture fake snow and blow it out of huge machines to give the impression that it is snowing as you walk around. My sister, brother-in-law and their children came as well and my daughter and niece spent the entire night walking hand in hand. When it was time to leave my niece went and asked her mom if my daughter could spend the night (which she hasn't done before) and when the answer was no my daughter then came to ask if her cousin could come over "for just a little bit" tonight. Again, the answer no.
I swear the way they asked and then reported back to each other sounded like sixteen year olds exasperated with their parents for not allowing one to spend the night at the others. I wonder what it will sound like when they are actually sixteen....like, oh. my. gosh.
Every time I would peek in to check on them my daughter would sigh and say, "Mom, please get out" and then close the door in my face. Likewise she would not let her brother in (which in this case is fine because she does need her own playtime with her own friends). They finally came out because they were hungry.
So, tonight we went to a local outdoor shopping mall because they manufacture fake snow and blow it out of huge machines to give the impression that it is snowing as you walk around. My sister, brother-in-law and their children came as well and my daughter and niece spent the entire night walking hand in hand. When it was time to leave my niece went and asked her mom if my daughter could spend the night (which she hasn't done before) and when the answer was no my daughter then came to ask if her cousin could come over "for just a little bit" tonight. Again, the answer no.
I swear the way they asked and then reported back to each other sounded like sixteen year olds exasperated with their parents for not allowing one to spend the night at the others. I wonder what it will sound like when they are actually sixteen....like, oh. my. gosh.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Let It Snow, Please...
Last year we took our children on a train ride called The Polar Express. I think I have mentioned this trip before. Anyway, Santa comes aboard and gives every child a bell and then hot chocolate and a cookie and then you ride the train for about an hour or so while looking at lights and displays all the way to the North Pole where you then see all the little elves furiously wrapping presents to load on Santa's sleigh. My daughter loved it and has talked non-stop about it since. (We are Christmas fanatics in our household; this is merely the tip of the iceberg).
As Christmas has approached she has been telling her brother all about the train ride and what happens and he nods and claps in excitement as if he too remembers, despite being only 6 months old at the time last year. Well, one of her favorite aspects of the trip was the snow. We live in Arizona so we don't see much snow. But Flagstaff, a city to our North, gets plenty of snow during the winter time. We went a week before Christmas last year and arrived a few days after their first snow. There was a ton of snow on the ground. It came up to my knees and we had a great time playing in the freezing cold.
We are going on the train ride again next weekend and while she is jazzed about Santa and the bell and the train itself, she is equally stoked about the snow. One problem: it probably won't be snowing yet. I have not had the heart to break this news to her yet in the hopes that snow will soon fall, but it appears to be unlikely. I've turned into an old person constantly checking the weather forecast for any possible changes or to see if there is a chance a storm front might move it. I even have the NOAA site bookmarked and am getting weather alerts on my phone (I know, a bit obsessive).
Regardless of the snow I am sure we will have a great time, but it really would be nice to have some snow for the holidays. We don't have many opportunities to bundle up (pretty much only the month of January) so I feel that I have to take advantage whenever I can.
On that note, hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow.
As Christmas has approached she has been telling her brother all about the train ride and what happens and he nods and claps in excitement as if he too remembers, despite being only 6 months old at the time last year. Well, one of her favorite aspects of the trip was the snow. We live in Arizona so we don't see much snow. But Flagstaff, a city to our North, gets plenty of snow during the winter time. We went a week before Christmas last year and arrived a few days after their first snow. There was a ton of snow on the ground. It came up to my knees and we had a great time playing in the freezing cold.
We are going on the train ride again next weekend and while she is jazzed about Santa and the bell and the train itself, she is equally stoked about the snow. One problem: it probably won't be snowing yet. I have not had the heart to break this news to her yet in the hopes that snow will soon fall, but it appears to be unlikely. I've turned into an old person constantly checking the weather forecast for any possible changes or to see if there is a chance a storm front might move it. I even have the NOAA site bookmarked and am getting weather alerts on my phone (I know, a bit obsessive).
Regardless of the snow I am sure we will have a great time, but it really would be nice to have some snow for the holidays. We don't have many opportunities to bundle up (pretty much only the month of January) so I feel that I have to take advantage whenever I can.
On that note, hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Time To Be Thankful
With so many struggling it seems like a strange time to be thankful. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and the lives they have built. As with a lot of families we, too, have had to make changes to our lifestyle: some subtle and some drastic. Our generation is in unchartered waters. Most of us weren't affected by past recessions because we were either not born or too young. It's easy to lose sight, when things are seemingly going so wrong, of the blessings we have been granted. There are many things I am thankful for.
I am thankful that I have a family that I love and that loves me. I am thankful that we are all healthy (knock on wood). I think of parents who watch their children die, struggling to figure out a way to pay for treatment. I think of mothers fighting terminal cancer knowing that they will never see their children grow up and it just about kills me. I think of families who have loved ones overseas fighting in a war, not knowing if they will ever see them again. I think of those with no families, no support system and wonder how they get by, how they function.
With Thanksgiving just a few days away it seems to me to be a good time to reflect on all that is good in our lives. Even those in the midst of despair or on the verge of losing everything have at least one thing to be thankful for, I would bet.
What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
I am thankful that I have a family that I love and that loves me. I am thankful that we are all healthy (knock on wood). I think of parents who watch their children die, struggling to figure out a way to pay for treatment. I think of mothers fighting terminal cancer knowing that they will never see their children grow up and it just about kills me. I think of families who have loved ones overseas fighting in a war, not knowing if they will ever see them again. I think of those with no families, no support system and wonder how they get by, how they function.
With Thanksgiving just a few days away it seems to me to be a good time to reflect on all that is good in our lives. Even those in the midst of despair or on the verge of losing everything have at least one thing to be thankful for, I would bet.
What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?
The Fat Girl
This is me on Christmas Day 2007 (the fat one). Pictures don't lie and it's depressing to see I really was that fat.
This is me on October 2008 (30 pounds lighter). I think I still need to lose another 10-15, but at least I'm not the fat girl anymore...not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is nice to fit into smaller sized clothing and be in better shape and lead a more active lifestyle.
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