2016: Days 2-4

This season feels a bit odd--I vacillate between feeling ahead of the game for Christmas (cards are ordered! pajamas are acquired! A's presents have been purchased!) and dreadfully behind. I can't believe it is coming so fast or that there are still 3 weeks left.

I may need to step up my elf game. I'm not interested in messy antics but ours are pretty boring.



On Friday we attempted to put up the felt tree to decorate but apparently when I "tidied" office supplies this spring, I must have donated every tack in our house. A's kindness task of the day was to give all of her family a hug. This was obviously easy for our cuddle monster. I also dropped off the gifts for the families in the local family crisis shelter.

On Saturday, A's task was to give Madeline a bit of extra love. Poor Madeline is often ignored so she definitely enjoyed the gifted attention.

We went to Breakfast with Santa at the Community Center, which was a bit of a mad house. The staff had made really yummy homemade cinnamon rolls, served with sausage and orange juice. We got to color and decorate a cool ornament. We stood in line to meet Santa, Mrs. Clause, and Elf Gwen (also known as Ms. Gwen at A's school). However, once it was our turn, A wasn't having it. She was not even interested in considering getting near them. Once she calmed down a bit and realized that I would not make her sit with them, she asked to put on Gwen's hat. However, for the rest of the day, she insisted that she did not want to talk to anyone but me and Chad. She was mostly good to her word, with a brief respite from silence during lunch. Otherwise, she ignored all attention directed at her (and even complained later that she didn't want to talk to anyone during lunch and was sad she did--??). 

At home, she was her usual chatty self, declaring herself the Queen of America.

On Sunday, A's task was to write a note to someone who needs it. That will need to happen a different day because I think we both forgot about it. We went to lunch with friends but played a lot at home. Our lucky girl also got a really fun message from Santa, which she wanted to hear over and over again. 

The Scientist

It's so true that kids are little sponges, absorbing all of the knowledge around them. These days, A loves to investigate all kinds of things. Given that today was International Women's Day, these recent investigations seemed like an appropriate topic for the blog. (And a couple of throw backs to her early investigator days!)

On Sunday, she collected lots of flowers (ahem, weeds) from our lawn and waited to see how long it would take them to wither. We also looked at if they lasted longer in water or not. Maybe she will be a botanist.

We also went to the botanical gardens for further investigation (unfortunately the fun ended prematurely when our little scientist decided to run off after one warning).

Tonight we opened her Clifford kitchen science kit for the first time. She had fun playing with the test tubes and identifying all of the equipment.

 Tonight was the always impressive vinegar +  baking soda reaction. Maybe she will be a chemist.

She was so excited about the reaction, that she said she wanted to show Chad when he got home. I'm so proud that like any good scientist, she knows the importance of replication.

And still gets excited by significant results. 

We are having lots of fun these days! :) She told me today that it had been awhile since she had been to work with me so we will have to remedy that soon.

Mother's Day

I know that a lot of people don't like Mother's Day. I totally get it. It's overcommercialized, a Hallmark holiday. It reinforces the idea that a woman's life purpose can only be fulfilled if/when she becomes a mom (& it shortchanges dads as well since Father's Day receives far less pomp & circumstance). It is a very hard day for those who've lost their moms, those who've lost a child, those who have not yet been able to have a child, and those whose family don't appreciate them enough (daily or yearly). There are lots of thought-provoking, well-written, and "that's a great point" blogs that I've seen posted about these issues and I tend to agree with them.

But this year Mother's Day has hit me a little differently. I'm all for the idea that people should celebrate the ones they love year round; this week has just given me a new view about what motherhood means to me and how I can use this day to count my blessings and evaluate my perspective. We are so fortunate to have such a sunny little girl who radiates enthusiasm and joy. Every day she gets more fun and her love for us grows leaps and bounds. She now says "I love you" unprompted and full of fierce passion and it knocks the wind out of me every time. 

I have always had the perspective that A is a little person. I know some people feel like babies aren't really like people for years, but that was never me. Her personality seemed to shine through fairly early (like most babies, I imagine) but this is hitting me really hard this week. Her growth has really made me realize how much fun I have with my little buddy and how (fast forwarding one and a half decades from now) one day she will move away and that she won't always think I'm her best friend.

Parenting is hard.

Of course, all of this has given me new perspective on how difficult it is for my family that I had to move so far away and don't visit often. I can understand why my mom wants me to call her every day because I feel like I would want to talk to A every minute of the day. 

This post has become sadder than I expected but it fits with the melancholic air I've been breathing this week. My musings have also went to things that I appreciate about my own mom. There are lots of things I am grateful for, like her unconditional love, her generosity, that she isn't judgmental, and she always believed in us and our abilities. What stands out to me the most, though, is her courage, ambition, and intelligence that led her to leave southeastern Kentucky to get her degree. She went to school when my brother and I were little. Her family really did not want her to leave and had difficulty understanding why she would want to go to college. I remember going to class with her when I didn't have school, reading through her textbooks, and the day that she graduated from pharmacy school. I was 9 and my brother was 5. I can't even imagine that tenacity but she and my dad wanted us to have a better life and she had the guts to follow her dream. I am fiercely proud of her for that. She made me value my education and showed me that a woman can be a mom and have a career. I often wonder what A will take from me as she grows and what she will be most proud of and thankful for.

Chad works tomorrow so he already gave me my Mother's day gifts (technically I ordered the prints because I've been wanting to make this set since forever). He finally finished the corner bookshelf for our cookbooks and got me a beautiful hanging plant. I hear there is talk of doughnuts for breakfast before he goes to work and pizza when he comes home. Sounds good to me.

Thankful to be home

I haven't mentioned much about the Kind Spring challenge I'm participating in but today's seemed worth mentioning. Today's challenge was to "List 10 things you are grateful for."

"Research shows that individuals who regularly take the time to practice gratitude experience more positive emotions, sleep better, and express more compassion and kindness towards others. The simple act of writing down what we are grateful for is a powerful way to practice acceptance and honor life's blessings. "

I've done the gratitude posts in the past and as always, I am thankful for my family and friends and that I have such a good life (I still fight the urge to say blessed here).

1. My immediate family

2. My extended family and getting to live near my niece 

3. Getting to go to cool places through work. Albuquerque was really beautiful and the sun was so bright. 

4. Having really amazing colleagues. I've said a lot in the past about my current department and how happy I am in my program. However, I have really great colleagues, mentors, and friends around the country. Going to conferences gives me a chance to catch up with some of them and hear the amazing things they are doing. It also gives me a opportunity to hear their advice on various research and career decisions.  

5. Our house and being somewhere safe, with a short commute, and being close to A's awesome school. I am very happy to be back home and really enjoyed my day with A.

6. That things are calming enough that I'm cooking again. My favorite new recipe is creamy chicken and wild rice soup (as I've said before but seriously, everyone should make it. This week. You can use rotisserie or poached chicken. The lemon is not optional. I add mushrooms.). 

7. Beautiful skies and warm January weather

8. E-library. Have I mentioned this one enough? This week I downloaded an audiobook to listen to back/forth from the airport. I checked out an audiobook from my phone. Downloaded for free. From my public library. Months later and I'm still amazed by this.

9. Good students

10. Weekends. It has taken me awhile to be thankful for weekends again but this morning I sat quietly coloring with A while she prattled on about random things and was quite thankful.

The first video reminds me of something you would see on America's Funniest Home Videos. 

Fall Family Friday

Tonight we went back to Rockin' Star Farms for their fall opening. Along with the rest of Stillwater. ;) It was pretty busy but we had fun. We met another family from Kentucky (go Big Blue!) and it turns out that both of the children go to A's school. Small world.

Baby A got two mini pumpkins and she talked about them all the way home. We still need to hit up a "real" pumpkin patch. We had heard the food trucks would be out there so we invited Kris, Neil and Avery to come down. Unfortunately, almost all the trucks were in OKC. A new one was out there but we opted to go out after the girls had enough playing.

It's so funny to compare these photos to last year. The year went by fast, as they often do...