Set your goals high but not your expectations. ~Dove

Monday, January 31, 2011

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton

It's a new favorite book in our house.  Dinosaurumpus!  It's quite fun to read too.  My 2 year old boy asks for me to read this daily.  Sometimes we read it multiple times a day, and I don't mind.  It's that fun.

The words are colorful and it's hard not to bounce in your seat while you read the story.  And if your kid isn't into Dinosaurs, don't worry, the story isn't too archaic.  Although you do learn about the names of the dinosaurs, and you do learn what it would be like if you saw these dinosaurs dancing.  It's quite silly if you ask me. 

In the words of my son: DINOSAUR-RUMPUS!!!

The Birds

The Birds sit outside their window and the class of children become giddy.  It's just a hole in the brick wall, really, how many birds can fit in there?  It's that small, but it's enough to thrill the children and have big discussions about these birds that live outside their window. 

Where could have the birds gone?

They're too high and we can't reach them.

I can't reach them!  As one boy hangs onto the window's ledge.

Perhaps they went to find some food?  I ask one of the boys.  His eyes widen and I can see he's trying to imagine The Birds out gathering their breakfast.  They'll be back I say.  That seems to calm his fears of not seeing The Birds again.

Just a thought.

Just a thought about the shoes I bought.
These shoes are sneakers and they're made to go far.
How far will they go? 
What will they show me?
Who would've thought these sneakers would give me strength.
They guide me and allow me to push past my fears.
Those fears are gone and all that's left inside
Are notes of glitter in my eyes
As I peer down the road that will lead me
To the pace I set for myself and I circle around
Inside my head these thoughts and visions come to no end.
It's just a thought about the shoes I bought.

To Snow... Or Not To Snow...?

Well... It looks like it's going To Snow.  Again.  Not just a dusting or a few inches.  The prediction is 15-20 inches.  Yup.  This is how our week is looking here in NH.  As much as I don't mind the snow, and don't mind driving in the snow... I think we've had our fair share of the snow.

Ice fishing, snow shoeing, and sledding, are just the few winter activities that families are gearing up for or have been doing for the past few weeks.  Unfortunately we haven't had much winter fun lately.  We do spend our time outside, my son loves to take walks in our neighborhood while pulling his sled.  He hasn't really learned how to enjoy riding in the sled.  I'm okay with that since most times he's asking to pull me along.  But he does enjoy pushing a shovel around in the yard and watch us clean up the driveway.

Most of our time is spent doing indoor activities.  Since my husband and I work full time during the week, we tend to look for low key activities with our kid.  He doesn't mind it that much either.  He particularly loves any sort of project. 

Painting is one of his favorites and loves to smear all the colors into a big blob in the middle of the paper.  Coloring with markers is his second favorite and that can usually hold his attention for quite a while.  We've tried watching some movies with him, of course they're age appropriate since he's 2.  But it seems any type of Pixar flick seems to hold his attention.  He recently enjoyed Meet the Robinson's.  I try not to use the tv as a babysitter with him, so we do try to do other things while the tv is on. 

He's getting really good with doing puzzles, the real kind and not the board pieces with knobs.  Those have started being too easy for him.  We have a few 24 piece puzzles that incorporate different Disney themes.  Of course they're from many popular movies: Toy Story 3, Mickey's Clubhouse, and Cars.  He loves them so much and they're really easy to do, considering the box doesn't show you what the puzzle should look like. 

One of his favorite puzzles is of animals, 2 pieces each, one is heads the other is tails.  The pieces are very large and easy for him to manipulate.  He learned how to 'do a puzzle' with this particular puzzle. 

Other than that, we may attempt to back or cook something fun.  But again, we haven't done much of that over the course of the winter, particularly because we don't spend much time at the grocery store.  But I'd love to rummage through the cupboards to see what could make a fun treat.  We have used my ice cream maker and have made eggnog chocolate chip ice cream, which was fantastic, if you like egg nog.  We then made regular chocolate chip ice cream.  My son doesn't seem to love ice cream as much as I do, but that's okay... I secretly want more for myself anyways.  He's more of a Popsicle boy. 

How have other families enjoyed their winter days?  Or are you enjoying summer instead?  If so... I'm jealous!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Pound the pavement

In an attempt to balance my mind and my soul, I've decided to dust off my running sneakers and hit the roads.  Although, the roads are completely covered in ice, salt, sand, and snow.  Luckily I do have a treadmill collecting dust in my basement.  I've missed being able to pound the pavement, but over the past four years, a lot has been going on. 

Four years ago I accomplished my first and only 5k road race.  It was quite exhilarating, and I haven't really experienced anything like it since. 

So what's been going on in four years?  I got married, bought a house, had a kid, and have been trying to find my new balance in life.  I'm not one to exercise daily, weekly, or at all.  I go with the flow.  It's not the best course of action for my health and wellness.  My doctor is clearly aware of how immobile I am.  My two year old keeps me quite busy for the moment, and that seems to have been doing fine for me lately.  But now, I need something more.

I need something for my sanity.  Something that can help me focus on one thing and one thing only.  I have tried Yoga, but that doesn't really get me focused like others say it does for them.  My mind wanders too much.  So when I run, excuse me... when I jog, it's different.  I am forced to focus on my breathing.  I know that for every two strides, I am exhaling and inhaling.  My feet hit the pavement and I'm in a trance.  One two, breath in, one two, breath out.  Honestly, if I don't focus on my breathing, I have a bad habit of holding my breath, or losing track of my breathing.  So badly that I get horrible, painful stitches in my sides to the point where I have problems catching my breath.  I don't want to over exert myself, so this is why I start my runs with complete concentration on my breathing.  After some time, I don't even notice it and it becomes second nature to me.   But I know what I need to do.  It's just a matter of doing it.

I recently learned about a program for people like me.  It's called: couch 2 5k.  It's a 9 week program and you work on it 3 days a week for 30 minutes.  I think I can do that.  So I looked at the detailed schedule and it actually seems doable, and since I have a treadmill it's even more inviting that there is a treadmill routine.  Perfect!  So I've printed the schedule and I'm excited to start ASAP.

Eventually I'd like to tackle a 5k again.  I'm interested in doing a couple, but my goal is to do at least one.  So for now, I have 9 weeks of prep work to do.  I'll let you know how it goes.

What about you?  Are you an avid runner or walker?  Have you registered for a race before?  Or is the idea too overwhelming? 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I want my Mommy...

I usually hear this around the time my son wakes up from a nap or very early in the mornings.  Either I or my husband will stumble upstairs to check on him.  Usually he needs help with his blanket and he's back to sleep.  But every time I hear I want my Mommy, my heart aches.  Literally.  Those four words make my chest ache.

My son is going through a Mommy phase.  My husband and I took a weekend vacation a couple of weeks ago and ever since we've been home I keep hearing those four simple words.  It's a simple request.  The kid just wants his Mommy.  Just my presence in the room is reassuring for him.  He's only 26 months old and as often as he tells me to leave him alone, he needs me just the same.

I'm sure it's healthy for him to go through this phase.  But how do you move through this fear that's embedded in his brain?  I take every chance I have to spend quality time with him.  I have even notice he wants to snuggle with me more, or find me down the hall in another room.  The first few days from being back from our vacation, he wouldn't let me out of his sight, and even sat on a stool in the bathroom while I took a shower.  He didn't mind.  He was with his Mommy.  And he waited very patiently while I finished showering too.  Surprisingly, I'm learning the amount of patience he has for me.  However, there are a few boundaries considering he goes to daycare everyday and every morning when I say 'See you soon!' he's standing there sobbing.

So how do I move forward?  Simple.  Just live today like everyday, and hope that tomorrow will get easier.  But those four simple words would be forever etched in my heart.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

"Your OWN soap!"

"WOW, you have your OWN soap now!"

He was sooo excited.  He's been asking for his own soap for a while.  Since Mommy and Daddy each have their own bar of soap, my son decided he would like to ask for his own bar of soap.  So how could I tell him No? 

We buy our soap from a local farmer.  I've posted other bars of soap that I've used from their farm, and I'm kind of addicted to their style.

So I told my son he could go to the goat farm and pick out his own bar of soap.  How cool is that?! He was quite the excited 2 year old boy!

Unfortunately I was not able to take him to the goat farm, however, I arranged for his Nana to take him one afternoon recently.  It was quite cold and windy, but they saw the goats.  My son was brought inside the farmers store and was able to pick out his very own bar of soap.  WOW!  You have no idea how special that made him feel.

A no nonsense bar with no fragrance or color for the most delicate skin. Lots of avocado oil added to make it the most gentle soap you can use.



Ingredients: our own goat milk, olive oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, soybean oil, sodium hydroxide.

 
 
He uses his soap every night during tubby time.  It's actually become his new toy and has very little interest in the large crate of toys he already owns.  He enjoys tossing the soap to make big splashes, hiding it under his legs and says: Where'd it go?  Or he starts scrubbing his body getting it squeaky clean.
 
In any case, it was a simple treasure for him and also has ingredients that are a lot safer than many you'd find in your local stores.  Not to mention we are supporting our local neighbors!  I know he'll be looking forward to a future visit to the goat farm.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Small Moments

Enjoying small moments doesn't mean you have to capture everything on camera.  Although, it would be nice to maybe strap a camera to my head and if I want to capture a moment, I could blink really hard.  Or something like that.

I feel like I've been trying to capture small moments lately.  I got a new phone, you see.  So I've been experimenting and playing around with the gadgets, widgets, and apps.  I feel there are way too many options for what I need.  It wasn't too long ago when I decided I need to live in the moment, not create more moments.  Apps can have that crazy affect.

But over the course of the past week, I've been living in the moment.  Capturing moments.  No matter how big or small.  So with my small, new phone and camera, here are the little moments I've captured.

I got to experience the Magic Kingdom this past Sunday night...

I had some wine in Paris (Epcot) on Sunday


I had a 'snow day' with my 2 year old son...

 
And we got to get some 'safe' fun done around the house...

So as my days move forward, I do try to live in front of the camera, but with a new phone and camera readily available, I will also be capturing those fun, small moments that seem to creep up unexpectedly.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A New Year

It's been a year since I started this blog.  I'm still not sure if I have much direction with my blogging.  But it is what it is, and it's me.  Sometimes I'm all over the place, and this blog will justify that.  So a new year begins and I've taken a small leave of absence from the blogging world.  I haven't read any blogs, posted any comments, or updated in a while.  I'm okay with that.  I'm enjoying our holidays, and the new year.  But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about those other blogger's, those who blog every day.  I have thought about them, almost daily and look forward to catching up on what they've been up to. 

But for now, I'm living in the moment.  I suppose that's my New Year's resolution.  Although I don't believe in resolutions, but if I were to have something on my list, that would be it.  Living in the moment is important to me.  Sometimes it means putting the camera down and enjoying a morning with my 2 year old son.  Sometimes it means leaving the computer off and shutting my phone off.  Even if it's for a day, it's important to me to reconnect with myself. 

I don't connect with my self very often because I'm finding I'm too busy, being me.  Scattered, forgetful, yet constant and reliable.  My New Year is a time to reflect on what matters most.  We spend so many days at the end of the year planning to do this, and to do that, it's hard to see what is happening now.

I had a week off from my job, and I took it one day at a time.  Sure I had plans, but they were light plans and anything could have changed if it needed to.  But the life of work was put on hold.  I needed that moment to pause and enjoy the minutes I had to rest, laugh, eat, and play. 

It won't be long until my days are in full swing with my old routines.  But for now, I feel like I'm still on vacation.  I'm definitely not ready to jump in head first with the New Year, because I'm committed to remembering what matters most to me.  Taking one day at a time will help me through that.  So for now, I purposely waited on writing my first post of the New Year until now.  I'm working on nurturing my soul and if you need me, that's where you can find me.  Now off to get another cup of tea! =)

What were your New Years resolutions?  Do you make any?

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