Porcupine

The toddler's newest word? Porcupine.

By the way, you should check out How Do You Hug A Porcupine? by Laurie Isop. It's a really cute book!

Moments Like This

Last night was one of those times where I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry or rip my hair out.

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My husband was on call until 7:00 PM. "That's fine, but remember that I'm meeting my Bible study girls for dessert at 7:30," I told him.

Around 6:00, I knew I needed to take a shower and get ready. I'm going to have to backtrack for a moment to explain something to you. The toddler hates/despises/loathes/detests when I am in the shower. He pitches a fit that would make you think he was dying. I am in no way exaggerating. He hits the shower door with his hands, screams until he's purple in the face, and periodically throws himself facedown on the floor.

Yeah.

Since I really didn't want to deal with that, I decided to try something new: putting him with me in our microscopically small shower. At first, it was awful because Bear-Bear couldn't come in the shower (his lovey that he cannot live without). But after a while, he decided that if I was holding him and he could play with the shower scraper (this thing that the hubbs uses to clean the shower), he would behave. So, yes, I did have to wash my hair, my face, and my body with a 16 month old attached to my hip who was swinging around an instrument that might have taken out an eyeball.

Nonetheless, we prevailed. And I somehow managed to get dressed, do my hair, and put on my makeup (small miracles, in and of themselves)...

...only to receive this text at 7:11..."On call till 11. Will have Friday night off though."

Hm. To scream or not to scream? That is the question.

So, now it was late and I was starving and the little one needed to be in bed. I decided that cooking was out of the question and that I was going to get Chik-fil-a for dinner.

As soon as the guy handed my food to me, the toddler went crazy. "BITE! BITE! BITE! BITE!" He even threw in "PLEASE!!!!" which usually gets him what he wants (since we've been working on that magic word).

By the time I made it home, a quarter of the food was gone. While I was trying to get the toddler, my purse, my milk shake, and my bag of food into the house, the toddler was going crazy. "MOMMA! BITE! BITE! BITE! PLEEEEASE!!"

"Okay! Okay! I'll give you a bite! Momma needs to turn the alarm off! Just one second!"

So, then the toddler decides that what he really wants is my vanilla milk shake. All of it.

At this point, I'm just about ready to lose it. So after he sucks down some of the shake, I pick him up and walk him back to his room. I put him down in his crib where he continued screaming, while I tried desperately to enjoy what small portion of the day belongs to me. After I shoved the rest of my dinner down, I went back in his room. He was standing in his crib crying his little eyes out.

My heart broke.

"Momma?" He managed to get out between sobs.

"Yes, baby, what is it?"

"Dada?"

I gave him my same-old, same-old line: "Dada's at work."

Heart broke again.

I picked that sweet angel up and rocked him until he was fast asleep in my arms. Then I sat there, kissing his forehead, remembering (dangit!) that I forgot to brush his teeth, and smelling his clean, soft hair. After the insanity of the last couple of hours, I soaked up the silence--the quiet that nowadays so rarely comes. Although crazy has become the new normal around here, it is in these moments that God reminds me to stop and just enjoy my child--to pray for him, to love on him, and to be so very grateful that although there is chaos, this life we lead is a blessed one.

Changing and Laughing

One of the main comments that you hear when you're pregnant with your first child is: "You'll never have it figured out. As soon as you think you do, they'll do something that completely changes everything."

Words of wisdom, as every mom knows.

I knew he was getting close to doing it for weeks now, but the toddler officially knows how to...


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open doors!!

Oh my.

I have learned that some of the things I swore I would never do, I now do all the time. And I laugh about it.

For instance, my mom used to button every other button on Oxford shirts when she did the laundry. It drove me crazy. I swore I would never, ever do it. Now, I do it every time I pull an Oxford out of the dryer. I also swore I would never be that person who changed into comfy clothes as soon as she was finished with her day. That just makes me laugh now. Come by my house at 6:00 PM, and I can promise you that I'm in a sweatshirt, pj bottoms, and an apron.

And one thing I swore we would never have all over our house were these:

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I give you the essence of tacky. Ew. Ew. Ew.

Nonetheless, I really don't want my son drowning in the toilet bowl or flipping into the tub just because I turned my back to unload the dishwasher.

Sigh.

So yes, we are those people with their Oxfords hanging up without every button pulled through, who lounge in their comfies when the busyness of the day is over, and who will soon have those kitschy doorknobs all over the place. :)

Meeting Ella

This morning at Bible study, I experienced two seemingly-conflicting things. One, I kept tearing up at everything. And two, I was so anxious to leave that it took every ounce of self control to not duck out early.

As soon as Bible study was out, I tore out of the church parking lot. I then raced a woman into Tropical Smoothie (sorry, ma'am!) so I could get in front of her (poor lady was just ordering a smoothie). And then, I nearly got in a car accident.

Why all the rush?

My very best friend from childhood had her baby yesterday, and I was going up to the hospital to visit her. (Yes, for the record, this is my third friend to have a child in the last two weeks.) Of course, as soon as I walked into the room, I started crying. It's emotional to be on the labor and delivery floor. It brings back memories of the not-so-long-ago when my son was born there. It also made me so happy to see my dear friend with her beautiful, tiny daughter. (Did I mention that little Ella Grace is my future daughter-in-law? It's already been agreed upon.)

She was perfect, just perfect. Tiny. Warm. Very much asleep and content. And the best part? I got to hold her for an hour and a half!

Heaven.

Those Good Old Baylor Days

Every year, during Baylor's homecoming, I really, really miss my alma mater.

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My years at Baylor were amazing. I met my best friends there, I fell in love there, and I "grew up" there. It's a tradition in my family to attend Baylor, and I felt an ubiquitous comfort that my grandfather had walked in those buildings, my mom had, my cousins had, and so forth.

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I miss my time in South Russell and in Brooks Flats. I miss sitting in Carrol Science in old, wooden desks with enormous windows that overlooked stretching green lawns and trees older than the university (which, by the way, is the oldest university in Texas). I miss eating at Penland. I miss Dia Del Oso. I miss studying for hours in the enormous libraries when finals crept up. I miss working at the Institute for Oral History, where I discovered that I wanted to be an editor. I miss my Law classes, my English classes, and my Philosophy classes. I miss going to football games and tailgating with my friends. I miss rushing the football field in the Baylor Line. I miss Christmas on 5th Street. I miss Dr. Pepper Hour. I miss staying up late without a worry in the world.

I know I'm setting myself up for a huge withdrawal from my bank account when I do this, but every night, I sing my son That Good Old Baylor Line:

That good old Baylor line!

That good old Baylor line!

We'll march forever down the years,

As long as stars shall shine.

We'll fling our green and gold afar

To light the ways of time,

And guide us as we onward go;

That good old Baylor line!



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Crazy Good

Today was a crazy day. First, we had a playdate with one of the toddler's best buds.

Then, we went home and I tried frantically (and unsuccessfully, I might add) to finish my work for the day. In between the laundry, cleaning the house, and work, I was also cooking a beef stew and cheesecake brownies for my dear friends, the Hobbs, who just welcomed their third little angel into the world.

I was so excited! It was heavenly getting to hold her. I joked with Tessa that I could have sat there all night rocking that sweet baby girl (Tessa, I'm guessing that in about 3 hours, you'll wish you had taken me up on that, huh?).

And then it was off to On The Border to meet one of my closest friends for dinner and margaritas....our favorite pastime.

Now here it is, nearly midnight, and I'm thinking these things:

1. I still haven't finished my work for the day.

2. I need to run at least 2 miles before going to bed.

3. I'm exhausted.

4. Work will probably go undone and run will probably go unrun. :)

5. Most importantly: I have a really crazy life, but it's crazy good. Just the way I like it.

First Fire

Today was a picturesque autumn day. We sat outside, watching the clouds rush across the sky, casting cold shadows and revealing glimpses of piercing sunlight. The toddler ran around with his two pieces of chalk, chalking up the driveway, the pumpkins, the (poor) front door.

And everyone knows what one must do on such a perfectly autumnal day, such as today.

Stick the brownies in the oven.

And of course you'll want to make a cup of hot cocoa. In your favorite mug. With extra marshmallows (because not even Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers will cut it).

Prepare the fireplace.

Get ready. Get set.

And enjoy that warm, inviting fire with your 16 month old, who will of course find it literally inviting and will have to be threatened with stern voices and repeated no-no's to stay away from the flames; and consequently, it will not be such a peaceful fire, but the first fire of fall nonetheless.



Not Ready for Bed

Halloween

I love Halloween--always have. Are you kidding me? I get to dress up in whatever costume I want, eat a bunch of candy, stay up late, and watch a scary movie? Uh, yes please. :)

This year, I made hot dog mummies.

I also made bloody monster toes.

And my precious, creative momma made Frankenstein cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Yuuum.

Last night, the toddler was a little surgeon at Boo at the Zoo, and tonight he was an Irish soccer player. His costume is actually from Ireland (where my husband's family is from)!

The hubbs was Rafael Nadal, and I was a bat (not, ahem, to be confused with batty).

The little man was so excited to go trick-or-treating. He would run up to the doors shouting, "Bucket! Bucket!" And then, as soon as a person would put a piece of candy in his bucket, he would take a piece of candy out and try to give it to the person. (We've been working on sharing lately.) Such a sweetie. :)

I'm glad that the toddler isn't at the age yet when he wants to (or can) eat his candy. The hubbs and I have happily chowed down on it for the past two years. (Yes, that's right, we did take our four month old trick-or-treating last year.)

When we got back home, the toddler had fun throwing all the candy out of his bucket and then carefully putting it all back in. Over. And over. And over. Preciousness.

And one of the best things about today was that I finished all my work by 2:00 PM, so after we put the little dude to bed, I ate Halloween candy and watched Night of the Living Dead until I remembered that there was a new episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Zombies from the sixties or watching fabulous, ridiculous kajillionaires on Bravo? No contest.

Happy Halloween! Boo, y'all! :)

Fire-tee

Today, my precious angel got to fulfill his greatest dream: being inside of a "fire-tee." He obsesses over fire, firetrucks, sirens, the color red, drawing fire, candles, fireworks, eating at Firehouse Subs, and reading books about firetrucks. I'm gunna' give it to you straight: My son is a bit of a pyro, and I may or may not be a bit concerned. ;)

Of course Bear Bear was invited along for the adventure. Duh.

And how did he celebrate this momentous experience? The same way everyone in my family celebrates: with food. He gobbled down some of my corndog, and I gave him a couple bites of cotton candy (don't judge). What a big dude! :)

The Pumpkin Patch

If I said this was our first trip to a pumpkin patch this autumn, I'd be lying. The truth is that I've been all over the place checking out playdate places for my book. But today was laid-back family pumpkin patch day. And it was perfect. We went with some of our closest friends (who we went to the pumpkin patch last year with as well). Here is a picture of the boys one year ago.

And here are some pictures of the boys today.

What a difference a year makes! Last year when we went, I was breastfeeding, exhausted, and it was a million degrees outside. Today, we just let the boys run around in the very cold weather and enjoyed chatting. It was much more fun, considering last year when we left, I was hauling a screaming infant, a stroller I didn't yet know how to work, and (what seemed like) a million other things.

We got two cute pumpkins to add to the three that we already have on our front step. One we will carve, and one we will have for decor.

Overall, we had such a fun time! The toddler was surrounded by rocks, dirt, pumpkins, and tractors. What more could a little boy want!?

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What is your favorite pumpkin patch in Arkansas?