The Joke's On You, MOM!

Yesterday Carter learned a new trick... he learned how to march. He was copying me as I marched around the house saying "MARCH, MARCH, MARCH" and he would say "MAR, MAR, MAR." I won't lie, it was really stinking cute.  I used this to get him to come out of our room without crying, which is a big success for Mommy.  For some reason our bedroom is my little man's favorite room and the only room he's not at allowed in at any time (and yes, I know these two facts are related), so normally getting him out is a fight.  Not while mar-ing. I was very proud of this accomplishment and was so excited to show my husband when he got home from work. Finally the time came to show off this new skill that we had been perfecting all day, and nothing. I'm mar-ing around the living room, very exaggerated mar-ing I might add, and he stands there perfectly still. So Ben, being the supportive husband he is, starts mar-ing as well. Carter just stands motionless and laughs at us. This got me thinking... how often does this brilliant little 18 month old dude make me do things just so he can laugh at me? We came to a conclusion at that moment that babies are a lot smarter than we think they are. I just have a feeling that in his head he's saying, "Man, my parents look like idiots right now.  You guys think I'm going to join in? You've got to be kidding me! Not going to happen!" He might not be able to say this yet... but he's thinking it. Makes me wonder if he's going to have a nice little file cabinet of Stupid Mom Moments stored away in that brain of his that he's going to whip out when he's older to embarrass me.  Try it little Carter man! Lucky for you, you have two parents who will not hesitate to reciprocate the embarrassment! Just wait until you start liking girls... I'll whip out something like this:

'Tis the Season to be Thankful

I had planned on writing a very light-hearted and entertaining post today, but when I got on Facebook this morning (like most of you do as soon as you wake up, let’s be honest), I was moved to change my approach. After reading a few “thoughts” or “announcements” I felt like I needed to go in a different direction.  The first thing that inspired this change comes with a back-story:

Though I live in Illinois now, I grew up in Indiana in a small interstate town about 30 miles from Indianapolis. I love it there. The town is great; the people are great… it’s just an awesome, tight-knit community. I’m sure by now you’ve all heard of the tragedy that struck during the Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair this past August.  When my mom told me what had happened, I was a bit panicked.  Living in a small town, entertainment is limited, so when something like this concert comes around, a good percentage of the town attends… including many friends and a lot of my family. Luckily (and a bit strangely) I found out right away that no one in my family went to this particular concert. What I did find was that many friends were at the fair grounds waiting to see this country duo rock out that night. People kept posting “I’m alright!” or “Scared but not injured!” or something along those lines to keep everyone from worrying… but not everyone.  It came up about an hour later that a girl that I went to high school with was still missing. It turns out Andrea had been hit with a steel beam that crushed her skull. To be quite honest with you, and her family has said this themselves, she should not have lived.  She suffered a traumatic brain injury and is still in the hospital today.  SO many things about her recovery, her family, and our little town have been more than inspiring over the past few months, and I could fill page after page of stories that make me so proud of her and of my hometown, but I won’t right now.

 

I did not know Andrea incredibly well. She was a senior when I was a freshman. I remember the summer before my freshman year, her and her best friend, Kendra, took me and a friend of mine out to lunch… ALL THE WAY IN INDIANAPOLIS! This is a big deal when you’re 14 and you’re in a car with other teenagers for the first time! They were incredible to us and we had a blast… and of course I thought I was super cool. Honestly, as I learned 3 years later, is this how a senior wants to spend a summer afternoon? Taking two incoming freshmen out to lunch? No, but that’s the kind of people these two were, and still are. Everyone else comes first.  I’m incredibly blessed to have this memory with these two people. I ended up running track that year with Andrea and she became like my “big sister” on the team. Some people just have a way about them that encourages you to strive for more, and that's Andrea. I remember thinking that I wanted to be like her when I was an upper-classman. I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

ANYWAY… throughout this ordeal, Andrea’s brother has shared update after update to the hundreds, maybe thousands (no lie) of people that have in one way or another been touched by Andrea or her family, and every update, from day one, has been filled with faith, hope and joy. She is now awake, alert, talking, walking… it’s all a miracle. This morning she had another surgery and her mother’s post was, “Andrea is in surgery. She was smiling all the way down the hall.” A lot of my Facebook friends are posting what they are thankful for this month and all of this made me realize how much I have for which to be thankful.  Andrea has a 4 year old daughter and a husband who she hasn’t been able to be home with for months now, an injury that she has had to fight every second of every minute since that night in August, and she had surgery this morning to replace a part of her skull that had to be removed, and she’s smiling. That thought put a lot of things in perspective for me.

How often to we take for granted what we have? Personally, I know I do quite often, so today I’m thankful for my life. I’m thankful for my adorable, healthy baby boy whose smile and laughter can cure anything; for my husband, the love of my life, who loves us both so dearly and works so hard to take care of us; my family who gave me this amazing life and made me who I am today through their never ending love and support; for the opportunity to spend an evening at home with friends; for health, happiness, and love; for the chance to get up today and document this crazy life and knowing that tomorrow, Lord willing, I’ll be able to do the same. Things aren’t always easy. Money gets tight, our babies get annoyingly fussy, we fight with those closest to us, but if that’s the main cause of stress in our lives, man are we lucky. Shortly after having Carter, someone told me something that I have never forgotten… The days may be long but the years fly by, so cherish every moment. I hope I never forget that. So thank you to you for taking time out of your day to read this novel of a blog, and I pray that today you are able to be thankful, and not take for granted the many ways in which we have all been blessed.

***This is just a tiny tiny glimpse at the amazing story of Andrea, her family, and a tiny town that has rallied behind one of their own through prayer, fundraising events, and lots and lots of pink. To read more, please visit www.fortheloveofandrea.com.

That!

My son is very smart. I know most mothers say that, but I'm serious! He has always had phenomenal problem solving skills from a young age. For example, when he was about 8 months old, crawling and pulling himself up to a stand, he and I would go into the infant nursery during church. When Daddy got done with worship team, he would come in there with us until it was time to get back on stage. Carter always hated the moment that Daddy had to leave, so one day he crawled over to the door, knocked the trash can over, pushed it up to the door, crawled on top of it, and pulled himself up to standing so that he could reach the door nob! After all that was the magical handle that Daddy pulled to disappear, so in order to find him again, little man had to pull it too. It obviously never worked but it's the thought that counts, right? This became a weekly occurrence.

Another example of his superior intelligence is that he managed to figure out the one word in the entire English language that would allow him to communicate with us without having to learn any more words... "THAT!" Well, it's more like "DAT!" This one syllable, accompanied with a finger point, enables him to tell us anything... And he knows it. Because of this, he refuses to say any other words. He says the typical Dada, Mama, baba, wow, Boom (that's what he calls my dad), and more, but DAT is used most often. I try and try to get him to use the correct word in order to get what he's "asking" for but he just gives me this ornery, knowing smile and says DAT! If that doesn't work, he knows how to play me and will give me a hug or a kiss until I give it. It works every time, I'm an admitted softy. He understands what we are saying and is able to follow commands and answer questions, he's just stubborn and thinks he's funny. He gets that from Boom (the thinking he's funny part)... And maybe his Mama, just a little bit.

Has anyone else had issues getting their little one broaden their vocabulary? I read to him multiple times a day, point out the pictures, use real and full sentences with him almost all of the time... Any other advice? I know he's secretly laughing at me and one day when I ask him what he wants to do he's going to whip out, "Today I'd really like to do something more thrilling, Mother. Perhaps the zoo or an art museum if the weather is poor."

Confessions of a blog-aholic?

Ok so the name needs work, but I'm going to make Fridays my confession blog days. This confession is something I just realized a few days ago while running errands with my little man. You know those moms that you see at the store in the mornings who have their little one in tow and they look like a picture out of a magazine? Flawless makeup, not a hair out of place, and every item on their bodies, including the diaper bag and spit up, matches and fits perfectly? I hate them. Not because I think they're bad people and not because I'm jealous, but because I always thought that would be me! You know when you're pregnant and you picture what your life will look like once you enter mommyhood? That's what I pictured for me. I was also going to be back in shape in 6 weeks... I'm still working on that 18 months later, but that's beside the point. I thought I would be out and about daily looking adorable at all times. NEVER HAPPENS! I spend a lot of my time in sweats, and I love it. My little dude is a constant mover, never slowing down for a second, so I figure if I'm going to be on the move with him, I should at least be comfy, right? If I'm having a good day I'll throw on a pair of jeans with my hoodie to go to the store! :-) I guess it makes those days in which I actually do get dressed up a lot more exciting! I'm proud to be a comfy mommy!!

TOUCANS!

Funny story….

So one of Carter’s favorite pastimes is to sit on my lap facing me, and learn the names of the strange things protruding off my face.  He can now point to both his and my nose, eyes, mouth, ears, feet, and of course, bellybutton (which is his favorite) on command. He loves to life up his shirt and point to that interesting hole type thing and I think it’s cute.  What isn’t cute is that he’ll now lift up either my husband’s shirt or mine and point to ours.  I’m just waiting for that awkward moment when he does this in public or in front of company.

ANYWAY yesterday we were playing this little game. He’d point to his nose, I’d say nose.  He’d point to my mouth, I’d say mouth.  You get the point.  He then started venturing out from the normal… I’m guessing he was bored with facial features. He started pointing to my neck and chin and shoulders and belly… and then… somewhere else.  Well I don’t really want to teach my 18 month old a word for that part of the female anatomy yet so I looked down and realized that I was wearing a souvenir t-shirt my mom had brought me from their favorite vacation eatery, Toucans. There happened to be a picture of a toucan and the word Toucans written right where he was pointing, so I said TOUCANS! Then the game continued… neck, chin, shoulder, belly, TOUCANS! Dear Future Carter, I’m sorry if this moment somehow affects you later in life.

Have any other moms out there had similar… “moments”?

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Even though my son is only 18 months old, I can promise you that when he gets older, he’s going to be a very hard working man.  I think employers should be lining up at our door now offering top dollar to hire the Carter of his 20’s. When he finds a job that needs done, he gets very serious and works with no distraction until completion. No matter what’s going on around him, which Veggie Tales episode you turn on, he is all business until business is done. It’s actually quite entertaining. The only problem is that these jobs he finds are not exactly helpful. His favorite is to come into our bedroom and get all of the toothbrushes and toothpaste out of the drawer (we have a vanity in our room, we don’t just randomly keep these items in a bedside table, I promise) and take them, one at a time, into the living room where he places them in his toy box with the rest of his prize possessions.  He also likes to take each of my curlers into the kitchen and hide them in his highchair. It makes me wonder what is going on in his head while he is doing this. Why does a hair curler belong where he eats? I think he saw the hole in the bottom and has decided that’s the perfect place to secretly store the food that he doesn’t want to eat (vegetables!), which is why I’m sure to remove them before mealtime.

My favorite use of his skills was yesterday after we got home from the grocery store.  I usually do one large shopping trip each month and this was that trip!  There was bag after bag lined up on the floor.  Most of the time I have to wait until he’s napping to put everything away because for some reason my being in the kitchen is an automatic cue to scream… who knows. Yesterday was different! He didn’t mind at all that I was in the kitchen without him putting the groceries into their oh-so-organized (HA!) cabinets. He wanted to help. We have a galley kitchen so I could see him coming and taking items out of the bags and walking away, but I couldn’t see where he was going or what he was doing with them when he got there.  I decided to keep on going without checking for fear of testing my “he’s not screaming” luck. When I finished I walked into the living room and found a bunch of items lined up neatly on the coffee table. The amazing part? Only HIS food was on the table, the rest of it was against the wall on the floor. Coincidence? Probably, but I prefer the “genius baby” explanation.

My least favorite example of his organization? PACIFIERS!!!  I HATE PACIFIERS!!! He finds hiding spots and puts ALL of them in this secret location when we aren’t looking. Then, without fail, something will happen that makes him cry. Pacifiers have always been instant relief to almost any tragedy.  Knowing this I instantly start scanning the room to find one, only to realize that he’s hidden them… again. SO FRUSTRATING! He’s good too, because once we have found his secret spot, he doesn’t use it again. You have to understand, that we live in a small, two-bedroom condo. It consists of two bedrooms (obviously), one bathroom, a living room, and an eat-in kitchen (kind of)… that’s all. I love it, I’m not complaining, my point is that there are theoretically few places that these magical objects could be. Sometimes it will take HOURS to find them! I’ve found them in drawers that we thought he couldn’t reach, in the window behind the curtain, behind the couch, in the bottom of his stuffed animal basket, in the bottom of a giant vase, and once, yes, in the toilet. These things need a tracking device.  I’m currently working on this and will let you know when it makes me rich! (This is published with a date, so consider that my copyright.  If you steal my idea, I’ll come after your earnings.) 

It’s funny how daily tasks change when you go from working wife to stay at home mom. A few years ago I was worrying about the success of our products and companies in China and now I spend my days searching for pacifiers and putting bathroom items back in their correct location… the bathroom. It’s certainly more fun and more rewarding than any other job on the planet… if only the pay were a little better!  In all honesty, I wouldn’t change a thing!

Why, oh why, would I do this?

So the question bouncing around in my head at the moment is "Why start a blog?" Honestly, I don't know! I don't think I really have any interesting thoughts, nor do I have worthwhile stories that strangers would care to read.  I'm not a particularly entertaining person (well... on purpose anyway), and I CERTAINLY wouldn't consider myself an expert at any one thing... especially parenting, which is the topic of this new venture of mine. So why? I have found that anytime I look online for another mother's words to help solidify a particular choice of mine, or just to make me feel like I'm not completely alone in this clueless world of mommyhood, all I find are mothers who I feel are far superior to me.  They have read book after book after book and have being a mommy down to a science.  Their kids are perfect, they eat perfect things, they have perfect diapers, and I picture their house to look like a perfect picture out of some sort of home magazine in which no toy is EVER out of place.  I envy these moms and their orderly lifestyle, but that is not now, nor will it ever be, me.  Those posts never make me feel better. Actually they have the opposite effect. So here I am, entering into this unknown and scary world of blogging, in hopes that other "not-so-perfect" mommies out there will feel comforted knowing that they are not alone. 

A little bit of my mommy back-story:

My husband and I had been married 2.5 years when we decided we wanted to start a family. I was 25 and he was 27. A lot of people were shocked by us coming to this decision so early, but we wanted to be young parents and have been so incredibly happy that we did.  Our little man, Carter Joseph, came into this world in May of 2010 and we were forever changed.  Who knew that this one, itty bitty, slimy, and beautiful creature could create so much love and happiness?  He came out smiling and has been a pretty happy baby ever since. (As I’m writing this he is screaming in the other room thinking I should come rescue him from his crib, so not all of the time.) 

Carter is ALL boy.  From the time he could crawl it has been go go go! Everyone says that when babies start to walk, everything changes.  Either that’s a lie or we had an expert crawler because there wasn’t one thing that he started doing after becoming a two-legged creature that he couldn’t do on all fours.  He’s exhausting at times, but there is nothing more fun than watching him explore and try to figure out this huge unknown world on his own. Our little guy has brought so much joy and laughter into our lives and we feel incredibly blessed to be his parents.

Now that all of the introductions are out of the way, I will be able to start writing “The True Tales of Mommyhood.” I will share stories, questions, and thoughts as a fellow mom, not an expert.  My goal isn’t to teach others the correct way to parent (sure, there might be advice here and there, but I’m warning you now that anything I offer I learned on my own and have no education to back it up), I just want to connect us all through real life parenting experiences. The glorious struggles, embarrassing moments, joyous successes, and stressful days of being a mom are felt by every single mother, perfect or not, so let’s share, laugh, learn, scream, smile, and cry together.