Lessons

I’ve always wanted to write – for years I’ve said that I need to write a book. This year when I moved to Florida to live with my youngest daughter and family, I started posting some Mimi lessons on Facebook (I’ve added a few to this blog for now…) and in the process I’ve come to realize that everything I AM is based on lessons and experiences I’ve had and my reactions to those situations. I also discovered that part of me is also the result of not learning from those experiences… but I do find that as I get *slightly* older I’m more intentional in looking for the lessons in each situation and more thoughtful about my actions in response.

So, welcome to my new place to share some thoughts… I’m hoping that you’ll find my posts funny, insightful or just plain interesting. If not, I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come into your world in such a way that you can easily turn off my posts. (Isn’t social media wonderful? 🙂) If my views bother you, or you decide that my thoughts are not what you need to read, I won’t take offense… You are welcome to choose not to visit here or to unfriend me on Facebook.

If you feel the need to leave a negative comment, then you are in the wrong place. My daughters have always reminded me to be positive when I get too sour, angry or resentful. Collectively they are the best cheerleaders I’ve ever had, and am so grateful to have learned many of the aforementioned lessons from them.

I have learned over my years on this planet that negativity has never gotten me what I need or want. It is physically and mentally exhausting and does not serve your body well. Life is too damn short for such shenanigans, as I learned this past year when I lost my oldest daughter, Kristina. Definitely the most painful thing I’ve ever endured… Some of the funniest stories will come from her collection of adventures.

Above all, I’d love to hear from you if you enjoy reading… I’m not sure how regularly I’ll post – this has been a long time coming and part of me is terrified of putting my thoughts “out there”. It can be a little scary in this skull sometimes…(trust me on this).

However, if at the end of the day, I’m able to bring a smile, share some insight, or just encourage some ideas, thoughts, or inspiration, my job on this earth is complete for the moment 🙂

As I begin my 60th year on this earth, I want to wish everyone health, happiness and more joy that your heart can contain so that it begs to be shared freely! I am beyond grateful to share this earth with the wonderful humans I have in my life…

Please understand that these posts are my own creation, and as such, may not be used without my permission. Enjoy…

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The things we don’t want to talk about…

Today is Halloween 2021, one year ago today I got to see my oldest daughter in the hospital, she was non-responsive, on life support, and I believe her spirit had already left this world… But I got to hold her, kiss her, and tell her that I loved her. It was what I needed…

Part of the struggle this past year has been that we still have questions… The universe has chosen not to reveal the answers yet, and I must learn to be patient for the right time… But we did get to see her before we had to say goodbye, and for that I am eternally grateful.

This week has been heavy, but I looked back through her facebook page and the things she posted over the years and I found myself laughing… I loved her sense of humor and sarcasm, she was never mean about it, but man did she get her point across! It has lightened my day and given me great memories of telling our silly ‘family’ jokes and how some of them still make me laugh until I cry…

With everyone I have communicated with after her death, there has been one theme that runs through the memories, and that is that Kristina always made you feel heard. She always wanted to know what made you “YOU”. She had this incredible way of drawing out the most crazy stories in a person’s past, and always making you feel okay about it.

She always wanted to encourage the gifts of anyone she came across, she propped them up – made them feel good about themselves. She was truly a bright light for anyone that knew her and I am so grateful to have been her mom, I am convinced that she taught me more about life that I taught her.

The one date that is important to me is her birthday: November 10th… the day she made me a mom, the day she came into our lives and brought joy and light to anyone that knew her. I will look forward to that day always with happy memories. Thank you for letting me share…

Where did I go?

The other day 6/22 when I posted the first blog in many months, I realized just that: I had disappeared from this venue and basically had shut down socially, mentally and physically… (Warning: personal sharing follows.)

Some of you know, most don’t – I fell at the end of January. It was a painful awakening, and I have to admit, a hard realization of the fact that I am not 30 (or even 40) anymore… The fact that I wasn’t able to catch myself, and ended up face first into the sidewalk, scared the bejesus out of me. I visited the new primary care doctor the next morning and after neck x-rays; was given several basic rules to take care of myself and be patient that “at my age” aches and pains can seem more severe and that I’ll take longer to heal. (HUMPH!) I was too sore to argue and went home with my ego bruised as well.

So I stopped walking for a while – okay quite a while… I was recuperating for what seemed like forever, only I didn’t. My aches and pains were not getting better, I was still in pain, and my shoulders/upper back felt stiff. Over the next month and into March, I started to notice that my eyesight was changing, I was having trouble seeing to drive at night. My close-up vision seemed okay – but peripheral and distance seemed to be getting worse. I made an appointment with the eye Dr only to find that my eyes had changed an entire diopter in 6 months!

In addition, I noticed over the previous few weeks that anytime I drank alcohol I was severely limited the following day. Whether I had 1,2 or more, I was feeling like I’d drank all night and felt it the next morning. April 1, was the last of those shenanigans… too funny, I just realized it was April fool’s day… the universe has a funny sense of humor!

On top of all that, I started to get headaches and seemed much more irritable around the family, I thought it was from the physical aches and pains and discomfort of the headaches, but something felt so off. I went to a chiropractor, went regularly to the massage therapist, and started Acupuncture. Loud noises started getting unbearable – remember that I live in a house with three youngsters- and I started to have more grief bursts and depressive episodes.

Thinking that this had to be in my head now, I thought I needed more of a ‘head/mental’ approach. I had been given the name of a psychologist after Kristina’s death by my primary and I found the card, called and surprisingly got in the next day when she had a cancellation. She felt certain that it was a TBI (traumatic brain injury) from the fall, and explained that yes, all of those physical symptoms/effects could have resulted from a TBI and also cause more depression and difficulty managing my emotions.

I felt like a veil had been lifted and I cried when I realized that I wasn’t losing my mind, so grateful for the hope and the realization that I could have done some REAL damage to myself and thanked God for another day. After the visit, while doing some self-analysis, I realized how much I had retreated into myself. I stopped going to Trivia, Al-anon, and other venues, and spent a great deal of time in my room and probably had been a pretty different person for a couple of months.

I kept up the self-care with massages, even took a couple of trips to see family, tried to feed my soul, and basically just laid low and tried to keep the business going. I finally went back to my primary with the TBI diagnosis… and told him about the past few months. He recommended a visit to the Neuropsychologist (NP) to see if there was any cognitive damage, and to follow up after I’d been tested.

Fast forward to today: I saw my primary on Tuesday and explained that I’ve been to the eye doctor 6? times now to try to get the prescription corrected – the optometrist is being patient but we’re not there yet… I went through an all-day NP assessment, which I passed… Great news is that there is no sign of cognitive impairments, and currently no sign of dementia or Alzheimers – which had been something I was concerned about considering family health. Next step is an MRI and possibly some treatment for depression. Much more to come 🙂

I thought I would pass on some fascinating information I’ve found while spending time self-diagnosing on the internet (insert eyeroll!) I’ve discovered that I’m CLEARLY not the only one googling TBI and found it is a fascinating area of research and discovery.

TMS therapy This has been used by my NP for 10 years with great success.

The Mind-eye Institute Hopefully won’t need this… but great to know it’s an option – and the testimonials are amazing.

So, that’s where I’ve been… recuperating, and I’m getting there!

“I can’t hear you, you’re too loud…”

Sitting at the table the other night, middle child was shouting to Mom and Mom very calmly turns to him and says “I can’t hear you, you’re too loud…”

Now, let me explain a little – since birth, the middle child, Remi, has had an extraordinary way of making himself heard… We have tried many different things, including ‘use your inside voice’ or ‘time to be quiet’ or practicing whispering, which usually just ends up in giggling….

To my utter amazement, he turns to mom and lowers his voice and repeats his request very quietly! I almost fell off the chair. My head is saying ‘why didn’t you ever try that????’ The adults just about lost it and the child, looking totally confused, repeated it quietly again as if no one heard him…

It doesn’t work all of the time, but more than not, and truthfully has been the most successful of attempts so far. Mimi will definitely be using that going forward!

Too Loud to Ignore…

Today was the tipping point, the universe is sending messages that I really need to share this stuff… Wish I could make it up, but the three-year-old is doing that for me.

To be fair, my ‘morning’ started somewhere between 11:30pm and 12:00am… Remi, (aforementioned three year old) knocked on my door, which I’ve been locking as he’s now taken to getting out of bed and coming into my room. I was good until I heard “Mimi I need help” – then I gave in… I opened up the door and we went to the potty and I got him back in bed. Unbeknownst to me, he got up at 12:30am and went to Mommy’s room… At 3am he came in to snuggle with me – I had forgotten to lock the door after the first visit, again we got him settled back into bed, i remembered to lock the door and thought we’d have a ‘great sleep’. Which, honestly, is all we want…

I opened my eyes around 6:00 ish to hear something going on but checked the phone and had no messages that Chelsea had gone to work out, so I thought things were good… About 3 minutes later I bolted out of bed as I heard water running into the tub, lights and fan were on, and the sound of water when you’re dozing is never good… I noticed that the door to the infant’s room was wide open but she didn’t appear to be awake – how unusual… At the exact same time I realized I didn’t have my glasses on, my nose was assaulted by a strong puke/cheese smell.

As I cursed to myself, trying not to gag, I got my glasses, only to have the following scene come into focus: Water running into the tub, Remi (with poopy butt) naked in the tub, the brand new parmesan container open on the closed toilet, parmesan ‘sprinkled’ on the rug next to the tub, and Remi exclaiming that he’s ‘going to take a bath’…

Once panic subsided, I checked on the baby to find that she (and mom) had gone to work out… (I later reminded youngest daughter to text me when that happens… ) With the water temperature corrected, parmesan put away… I then proceeded to wash the child and attempt to get him dressed. Chelsea and I have commented lately on the value of 3-year-old energy and that if we could bottle/sell it, we’d be sitting pretty on some beach… (WAIT – we do live at the beach! tee hee hee). I tempted him with a banana muffin and blueberries – got him settled and began the task of guiding the 7 year old to move…

Suffice to say, Mimi’s patience was running a little thin this morning and we came very close to time outs… Somehow Remi pulled it together in time. Mom made it home, Mimi got dressed, scooped up Remi, hugs and kisses to Mom, however, Remi refused to say good bye to Cam… We successfully avoided several puddles on the way to the car (much to his disappointment) to only have him remember that he didn’t give Cam a hug and kiss which he realized as Mimi is pulling out of the driveway… (Remember patience is still thin, so I kept driving.) This lead to a full blown tantrum that continued to daycare.

I have NO IDEA how childcare givers do their job… they are angels in human clothing. I felt like the worst Mimi on earth, and the look on the lady’s face that held the door for me, said it all…

I’m human, he’s human, we’ll be okay… and yes, thank you for the lessons, Remi, I love that little bugger. *** Now to clean the bathroom, and maybe a nap? ***

The ‘not-so’ little things…

Do you remember the commercial (maybe a Virginia Slims cigarette commercial – yuck) that had a slogan about ‘you’ve come a long way baby’? That’s how I feel today… If you read one of my first posts about living with my daughter and her family, you would know that initially I struggled greatly in the morning with the two boys and getting them to do what needed to be done in a reasonable time frame.

Well – today, I’m so proud of me 🙂 I was up on time (5:25am) and by the time Cameron had to get on the bus (6:09am), all THREE children were dressed, fed, and when mommy was ready to go, off they went!!! AND might I had we didn’t have ONE argument as to who was going to do what, no ‘discussion’ about ‘why’ they needed to get ready… Go Mimi!!! I guess I do have super-powers after all 😉 It’s these little wins each day that help keep me motivated!

Then I got to watch the sunrise and enjoy my tea and oatmeal… so grateful!

Wishing you an AMAZING day, and sending hugs and love for all of the little wins in your life today and always :-).

This little human…

Bear with me for a second, I haven’t posted about Aléa in a little bit and I honestly can’t believe she is now 5 months (plus a few days). In the past month she has learned to roll over, sit in the walker and kind of scoot around, and is starting to find her voice. We’re in big trouble… she already as a ton to say and I’m sure will be as vocal as the other females in the family 😉 Her biggest competition will probably be her middle brother who can out-voice everyone in the house right now! I thought you may enjoy some of the tummy time pictures we just took, and listen to our future orator… She has mastered going from front to back and is working on back to front, but her little belly is getting in the way!

A carnivore’s take on the Daniel Fast.

Some of you know that Chelsea and her family do a 21 day Daniel Fast at the beginning of each year. Since I’m the primary ‘cooker’ in the family, I decided to support them and join in. Basically the food goal is to eliminate processed foods, sugars, and meat and dairy. In addition, this is a period of reflection and allowing God to come into our lives through fasting and prayer. This is new to me as we never practiced a regular ‘religion’ although I do believe in a higher spirit and find there are many things that can’t be explained by science… But that is for another time and place 😉

I don’t do well with diets, never have… However, now that I’m gluten free and I try to be dairy free, I thought this would be a piece of cake to stick with it. The nice thing is that we’re not limited to specific quantities of foods, which drives me crazy and I don’t have the patience to measure, weigh, calculate calories etc that goes into all of that. In addition, I’m a grazer, so I want to eat when I want to eat, simple as that.

We have some standard recipes that they use each year, and to be honest, I wasn’t over the moon about trying some of them, but the first week I went along with the prepping. We had some great successes and some “meh” meals. What I’ve discovered during the second week is that there are a lot more choices than I realized, and even some of the items I normally would not have paired together really enhance each other.

Do not try to get fancy, this diet is for sustenance and not satisfying any cravings. That said, making my own almond flour tortillas and chips was fun and I love the fact that if I want to have chips and hummus, I can 🙂 I haven’t really missed the meat, I was thinking that I would, but I am missing the dairy a bit, no butter, sour cream, and my favorite topping, cheese. The other item I miss is eggs, I’m a huge breakfast person and could eat eggs daily. This has been a great lesson in experimenting with different breakfasts, I’m loving the home-fries that Chelsea makes! Otherwise, I’m eating non-dairy yogurt with homemade granola with some cayenne pepper, it’s really yummy! My banana bread missed the mark greatly, but to be fair, we only tried one recipe, and for me, without the butter, I can do without it.

Tonight we had Moroccan Baked sweet potatoes. Both adults loved it and the seven year old ate most of his. The two year old didn’t love it, but that was more for us 🙂 This is one of the easiest meals we’ve had and very satisfying! We made our own spice mix and the yogurt drizzle to put on top, definitely adding to the regular menu.

More to come! Enjoy your Sunday and I hope you get to spend it with those you love.

Weekend Shenanigans…

Again, it’s the weekend and we’ve already been up several hours… During that time, we’ve gone to work and returned, fed and changed/dressed children, did dishes, started laundry, napped (infant), prepped breakfasts for the week, and prepped dinner! All of this taking place during a sibling confrontations, negotiating a truce, and restarting the day after removing TV and replacing with music.

While cooking pancakes this morning, with the smell of cinnamon wafting from the stove, the sun rose and came into the kitchen window. I was again reminded of how very blessed and grateful that I am to have yet another day and feel the sunshine on my face. I will definitely be looking for a house with a kitchen window facing east!

As usual, the universe allowed me to be the receiver of multiple lessons this week, and I’ll share a few 🙂

When looking for a ‘good’ recipe online (not something I’m used to doing) pay attention to the number of reviews and stars… Just because a cottage cheese pancake recipe is simple, looks good, and “seems like the one mom used last time” it clearly was not… So we now have a large stack of cottage cheese crepe-like pancakes – fortunately these kids are awesome about not complaining about flat pancakes!
Mimi discovered this week that Maple syrup is NOT an early breakfast friendly condiment – this time I added a little into the batter – hopefully that will speed the trip out the door in the morning.
Potty training is a complicated system and if you think you’ve got it figured out – you’re wrong… Just after pinpointing the exact time the 2 year old ‘usually’ goes all week, he throws a curve ball and waits until the next day – surprise, surprise!
Everyone deserves a DO-OVER… so after the screaming, arguing, frustration and sibling competition – they both got an opportunity to make up and try again.
Little sister is now on the move in her little walker-like-thing… She hasn’t exactly figured out how to get where she wants to go – but is loving the fact that she can be part of the action in the room with everyone else. She’s becoming quite verbal and has a good set of lungs on her. The boys will have some competition very soon.
We’re anticipating another tooth being pulled soon, but the new tooth is actually pushing it sideways, so it will be interesting to follow.
I’m learning a lot about personality tests, if you haven’t taken it yet, try this… https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test I’m an eight. I found it enlightening and apparently there are songs created for each one also. I plan on learning more about this 🙂

I don’t remember my life with small children as being so busy, but that may be part of my repressed brain memories. I firmly believe there’s a reason that your brain helps you to forget the crazy/painful/unbearable moments such as childbirth or losing a parent or a child.

As we so blissfully head into a three-day weekend, I’m ready to keep my eyes open to new possibilities, fun, opportunities to improve and give to others. I wish you peace this week ahead!

Bike riding…

I am beyond amazed at how fast time flies right now… it seems like we make it through the week and the weekend is over in a blink of an eye and we’re back to the 6am bus stop. Sleeping in really isn’t a thing in this house…

Our 6 month tax ‘season’ has finally ended for now just in time to get ready for year-end prep! Head’s up to my clients – I’ll be emailing you soon with reminders

In the meantime, I’m loving the cooler weather here now and have been able to get some gardening done in the front of the house…We’ve been passing some nasal/cough/icky funk back and forth between the kids and adults and I’m hoping that this week is the last of it! We are all super tired lately.

I took Aléa to her two month visit – WHAT?? and the little (not so little) angel now weighs in at a healthy 10 1/2 lbs – she’s really growing sooo fast.I got baby snuggles this am while mom made breakfast for the boys… Then Remi came in as a monster… he does that a lot lately

But I have to admit the highlight of the week was teaching Cam how to ride his bike The first attempts were painful and we will spare you those videos – but the look on his face was the BEST when he realized he finally got it! Today Mimi even ran while he rode his bike around the ‘block’. (NO – there are no pictures/video of that – thank goodness…)

And the Mimi lessons still keep coming…

No matter how many times I get to hold/feed Aléa I still forget to get a burp cloth first… My outfits are great at catching liquids
NEVER start a question with ‘Would you like to….” For these boys, it’s “Now it’s time to…”
Remi can now open the bathroom door **Ahem** and the refrigerator – of course the latter is more important for Remi…

I can’t believe we’re half way through October… the goal is to stay safe and healthy for the rest of the year!! Rest assured, more stories to come

When life has other plans…

Things don’t always go the way I have planned out, but there is always a lesson or opportunity to learn if you pay attention. I know I’m here for a reason right now, working on making myself better: re-learning patience, trying to get healthier, it will all come together eventually… I still have so much to learn. In the meantime, I’m still being given reminders that even at my best, I don’t know it all, and never will…

Here are this week’s lessons for Mimi:

DO NOT – UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, microwave the sacred comic-strip-hero mug… the shiny, reflective images on the mug ARE actually metal. It WILL create sparks, not only the in the microwave, but in the eyes of the owner as well…
DO stay OUT of the kitchen on food prep days… I consider myself an ‘expert’ of sorts in food preparation for multiple people, however, I bow to the lady of this house when it comes to prepping, measuring, packaging, labeling, sorting, organizing and planning for food for a family of 5 (4 that eat chewable food) for the week. I was totally overwhelmed by the tools/patience/skill/space involved and have promised myself to give her kitchen back to her on ANY day she wishes to prep and make myself scarce…
Be ever so grateful that we can spend time out together, the boys behaved so well at the restaurant, ate their food, no complaining or whining, so proud to be their mimi… (The adults behaved well also, we can let them come with us again.)
Always be prepared to be caught off guard by these two boys (if that’s possible) – Cam will most certainly be leaning toward the debate club in school and Remi will be the comic in the talent show. It is highly advisable that you: do not try to argue with someone much younger than you, you’re the one that ends up frustrated and feeling stupid….or laugh out loud when the smaller one is trying to get away with something, which does not bode well with the parents.
Always be prepared with a snack, drink or pbj sandwich just in case the middle child has an urge for something… and whatever you do – do NOT presume to know what he wants, just have it ready…
Tonight I got double hugs and kisses (bonus!) and I’ll take it

Good night all! Sweet dreams

Time flies…

Well – it’s been a while since I did a “Mimi” post, so for everyone that’s been waiting on the edge of their seats (both of you…) I apologize. There’s way more to share, but my mimi brain tends to let go of the day-to-day ups and downs and I try to focus on the positive side…

I just can’t believe that the infant is now 4 weeks old – HOLY SMOKES – HOW did that happen???? She’s as cute as ever, but now her cheeks are starting to fill out and although she still has frog legs (we’ll NEVER mention that to her as a teen…) she’s already using them like crazy and trying to stand up!

Aléa has a super healthy appetite, and mom has been able to stockpile a wonderful supply of breastmilk in the freezer, which Mimi (during a moment of frustration) yanked on the door and sent 45-50 bags of frozen milk all over the kitchen floor. Fortunately for my toes, I had shoes on… Unfortunately someone (probably me) will have to re-organize the packages by date… Guess I know what I’m doing tomorrow morning

Speaking of toes… WHY is it that the designers of the little bouncy seats, high chairs, ladders NEVER consider the humans’ toes in their design? Last time I visited here over Thanksgiving, I literally broke my toe on the child’s seat – this time it’s been tested several times by the highchair, ladder, and just basic stuff on the floor. I know… some of you are saying, “wear shoes”!!! Well – I have an answer for that, it’s Florida! the rule is flip flops in Florida! and I don’t care what anyone says – they don’t protect your toes very well, so I might as well just go barefoot… (yes, I’m done complaining about that).

Just as my three daughters all have different personalities, these three are very different also… the only thing that they have in common is that they SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! I don’t know what Chelsea did, but jeeze if I could have done that – I wish someone had told me! Right now, we’re just all grateful – mostly mom and dad – that baby girl is going 6 hours at a stretch at night!!!

So back to the fact that they’re so different – obviously Aléa hasn’t had enough time to develop much of a personality except when she has gas… this little girl burps like a champ once you get it up there – but mostly she’s just exhausted from being so cute all day….When “the book” comes out – these two boys will each get their own chapter…

Two year old has developed a fierce independent streak that rivals that of any middle child…”I do it” – “it’s mine…” – “let me” – followed by the inevitable melt down when Mimi had just tried too hard to ‘help’. I’m waiting for the “leave my ‘lone”… The most comical thing is when he is so polite… everything is followed by yes ma’am (mom/mimi/dad). We’re working on the yes ma’am daddy part…. He already knows that if he smiles and tips his head ‘just so’ he’s going to make an adult crack up (probably me) and ruin the seriousness of the moment – I’m learning that I’m useless when it comes to that stuff!

Cameron has been bringing home ‘all green’ reports – meaning that he follows instructions, is helpful and most of all a ‘joy’ to have in class! WHOO HOOOO! (This is WONDERFUL news this year – parents are thrilled and GRATEFUL!!!) The biggest challenge for this fella is trying not to run the world… sometimes he feels it’s his job to keep the 2 year old in line, which as you can imagine, doesn’t sit well with the child in question… He had the world in the palm of his hand for 5 years and now in a mere flash he has to compete with 2 siblings – to say it’s been an adjustment is an understatement, but honestly he’s doing extremely well with it… As he says: “you know mimi, it’s really hard being a big brother sometimes…” I totally agree, being the oldest child!

He also has a pretty independent streak himself, like if I double check for the mask in the back pack, I get the eye roll and ” I can’t believe you would think that I would forget THAT look”… and yes, fortunately they do have paper ones at school – thank goodness!!!

Overall, we’re getting into the swing of things and I have to tell you that I’m loving the hugs and love these two boys are so willing to give – unless it’s meal time, snack time, tv time, reading a book time, or play time

Overall – the lessons this week were (in no particular order… unless you’re the middle child)

Do NOT – and I mean do NOT serve food separately to the middle child… the only way to make sure everything is eaten is to mix it together, like a taco salad for example… otherwise you end up with meat, and the tomatoes, sour cream, chips are gone.
When you introduce an activity to calm the child (it happens to be watching aquarium fish on the laptop with soothing music in the background – try it…) be prepared to be reminded that the fish are in the computer and they must appear daily. My fish are doing an awful lot of sleeping lately… I think they have narcolepsy.
BE STRONG when it comes to keeping your word – good or bad… as much as you want to give in, do NOT allow them to get away with it, and the old saying is true, it DOES hurt me more than it hurts him… and they remember EVERY time they got away with it…DANGIT
DO NOT SAY DANGIT… it will haunt you for weeks…
In the end, forgive it all, and start the day over, even if it’s noon, everyone deserves a ‘do over’ once a day…

Have a wonderful week ahead!! No pictures of Remi today – he’s so dang fast and getting him to sit still is hard!!

Weekends

It’s becoming apparent that weekends are made for Mimi lessons…

– Playing in the rain is encouraged by the parents as the children are occupied, safe and getting cleaner, despite mimi’s concern of ‘catching a cold’ – heck it’s FLORIDA for goodness sake Mimi… not Massachusetts

– Remember that 2 year olds are little tape recorders and will come back with ‘DANGIT’ a few days after you say it… causing the parents to question who he’s been around, and then having to confess to becoming frustrated with the 7 year old…

– There is nothing quiet about children – not eating, dressing, bathing, playing… did you know that even putting a puzzle together requires singing or ‘beatboxing’ (yes, I had to look it up)..

– Taking pictures of the new tooth erupting is ‘cool’!

– Sometimes discipline is harder on the parents/mimi than it is on the child… it’s okay to let them know it hurts you too

– Small humans can create more decibels per lb than an adult human ever thinks of or can absorb…

– When you have a headache and are doubting your sanity, GO FOR A WALK… don’t question it – just go! (Make sure there’s another adult watching the kids first…)

– and somehow through it all, the automatic vacuum just keeps going, and going, and going… just like the energizer bunny!

– and the infant sleeps through all of the chaos (until 2am)…

Family of Six…

I had an epiphany this morning (well, about a minute ago…) Being in a household with 5 other humans has made me realize that I’m in a time warp, three parallel ‘time perceptions’ going on at the same time…

Child’s perspective:

silent/quiet play – CANT EVEN TIME IT – ALWAYS WAY TOO LONG…
2 mins in ‘time out’ is the longest 2 min IN THE WORLD AND I’M SURE I’M GOING TO DIE… (We even witnessed the dying on the floor yesterday for no reason – Middle child of course, nod to Nicole)
65 minutes at the beach is the SHORTEST TIME EVER!
morning tv and breakfast is NEVER LONG ENOUGH
story time: 3 stories are NEVER LONG ENOUGH
bath time – always never enough time until someone gets soap in their eyes
waiting to eat dinner… (Particularly the two year old) WAY TOO LONG!
How can it be bedtime ALREADY???

Parents’ perspective – from my viewpoint of course:

Thank GOD there are two/now three of us as there’s not enough time in the day…
You’re up?? how can that be? We JUST went to sleep?
Life is timed between laundry loads and dishwasher loads…
Dinner? We’ll find something… oh yes, that’s what comes before pj’s, teeth, books and BED!!!
Is it bedtime yet???
NOW we can breathe…

Mimi’s perspective:

Everything I intend to do takes 8 times longer than I planned…
The shortest time on earth is from when I go to sleep and children get up…
Is it bedtime yet? Bedtime hugs are the BEST!!!

Yet another reminder that I’m in a different phase of my life this year… grateful for another lesson to be flexible and be appreciative for everything/one around me!

Week by week…

Well, we have survived the first full week with the new infant more pictures of Aléa and the boys at the beach in the very near future when I can figure out what the deal is with the funky picture uploading issue…hopefully they will load!

I was also gently reminded today that I’ve been slacking on the Mimi lesson posts. As luck would have it, I was provided with several examples over the past few days…

Asking a two year old to be patient is just asking for trouble… just tell them you will get to A after you do B then be prepared to answer questions about B for the next Z minutes.
Running to Walmart to get bleach with the 7 year old somehow requires an entire tour of the store to ‘make sure we don’t need any toys’… (we didn’t)
being a kid is ‘tough’; especially a big brother…
Sharing an apple with a two year old at the beach can be kind of icky, crunchy, and leave sand in your mouth…
the distance that a two year old can run over the sand chasing the helicopters is vastly greater than the distance an adult can run on the sand and the softer it is, the farther away the child gets…
While explaining to a 7 year old that a pelican catches a fish to eat, be prepared to explain how it ‘kills’ it’s prey – apparently swallowing doesn’t count as killing…
With respect to the infant, she is coming up with all of her own rules – nursing is not really ‘eating’ – it’s just the quick version of waking up starving, then sleeping on and off just so she can have the milk pumped for her, then is fussy less than a hour later because she’s hungry??
Infant poop is so much less offensive than 2 year old poop – sometimes I wonder what he eats??
I am forever amazed at how cute adorable and wonderful they can be!
probably the best thing ever: When the 7 year old decides that YOU! (ME?) are the person that gets to pull out his first tooth!!!!