Friday, January 18, 2013

The Perspective of a 3 Year Old

I was having a conversation with Cecilia today and it eventually came around to Uncle Scott, Aunt Mary, and Baby Gloria--Cecilia LOVES to remind me that Uncle Scott is HER Godfather.

Me:  Well, maybe when everybody gets a little bigger, we can go out to Colorado and visit them.
Cecilia:  Yeah, we can go once Cyril is asleep!
Me:  Ummm...it's a really long trip so we won't be able to go during Cyril's nap. Maybe we
Cecilia (cutting me off):  Hey!  Can we go to the beach house and get our bathing suits?
Me:  That would be fun but probably not this year.
Cecilia:  Not this year?  Why?
Me:  Well, we don't go every year because it cost a lot of money.
Cecilia:  We have a lot of money!
Me (confused):  We do?
Cecilia (insistent):  Yes we do!
Me:  Really?  Where is it?
Cecilia:  In the kitchen!
Me (really curious about our stash):  Really?  Where?
Cecilia runs into the kitchen desk, points, and says "Right there!  That is A LOT of money!"

Proud of her find!
I think that we may have to settle for a lot of car washes.  :)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Can I Get a Resolution Over Here?

As I sit here and write this, I can hear my younger daughter hacking like she's been smoking a pack a day since birth.  Every time that one of our children comes down with a new virus, I think "This is it!  We will be out of the woods after this virus."  And then some other bug finds it's way into our house.  And they're mocking me--it always happens when the kids are doing better, the house is freshly sanitized, and all sheets are clean.  And they're kicking my butt--I'm Ex-Haust-Ed!  I tell you all of this to better understand my 2 month hiatus from updating this blog.  (as opposed to my typical one month increments.)

Anyhow...this is no secret to people who know me but I don't do New Year's resolutions.  I figure that I'm making resolutions all of the time--every day/week/month is New Year's over here!  But, this time of the year does generally make you reflect at least a little and think about what you want to do or improve.  I think that it has to do with the gluttony of the holidays.  Even if you do NOT overindulge, for some reason, you feel like you do.  It's like your body and mind need a cleanse.

So, I've decided to try to add specifics to my not-resolution-resolutions.  For instance, I would like to eat better--doesn't everybody?  Specifically, I want to continue to cook more from scratch so that I know what is actually going into our bodies and can modify recipes to make them better.  It seems like a lot of work and sometimes it is.  But, I find that most things just taste better when freshly made.

Also, I would like to work on my patience with my kids and do better at teaching by example.  It's not that I am TERRIBLE but it amazes me daily what these kids absorb.  One day, Cecilia asked to eat standing up and I was like, "What???  Where would she get that from?"  Oh yeah....I do that sometimes.  This is a harmless example and I will continue to eat standing up if I need to but you get the idea.  I'm not into passive parenting but I do find that if I make the extra effort to show my kids more attention and love, they are generally better behaved and happier.  Some days, it's just hard.  It's those days that I want to improve.  Instead of blowing off my child because I'm dusting/sweeping/peeing when they want to show me something, I want to turn to them and give them my attention.  Well, maybe not if I'm peeing....  Otherwise, I may miss silly memories like this:


Here's to a happy and healthy 2013!  Maybe our resolution should be just to love life a little more...like a three-year-old!