Confused

It's almost been a year since I wrote about the lovely daffodils of 2013.  Unfortunately, I'm ready to write about the daffodils of 2014 and it's only January.  Yikes!

The poor plants aren't quite sure what season it is.  Our last rainfall was December 7th and it's been quite pleasant since then.  In fact, it's felt more like Spring than Winter.

I noticed some plants popping up in our front yard a few weeks ago.  I didn't remember any being in that specific spot when we moved in so I was anxious to see what they'd be.  Sure enough, they were daffodils.

We've only had one bloom but there are a few others that are just about ready and several more that will appear in the next week.

While I was busy snapping photos, The Lime was busy picking me flowers.

Or weeds.  Either way, the gesture warms my heart.

He also found a little ladybug to play with.

And now to really throw the living things off, we were blessed with rain yesterday and will hopefully receive more showers over the next few days.  It was music to my ears as I listened to the drops fall on our patio yesterday.  Heavenly Father has heard our prayers.

So while The Lime and I enjoyed wearing our t-shirts to play baseball and went on numerous walks and bike rides, and I love seeing the dainty daffodils in our front yard, I'm even more excited that Winter might actually be here.

And that the air is clean enough to have a fire.

Compare and Compete

When I was in the 8th grade, I tried out for the volleyball team and surprisingly made it.  I think the fact that my mom worked at the same school might have played a part in my acceptance.  Especially because I had zero skills.

Anyway, apparently I wasn't the only one with zero skills.  We didn't win a single game and it infuriated some of the girls.  They'd come into the locker room  after the game swearing, and then blame it on so and so.  Maybe a bit of competitiveness could have helped me out but I had more of an attitude like, "Eh...you win some, you lose some.  Or in our case, we just lose."

Little has changed as I've grown up.  I had the same attitude when I was on the gymnastics team in high school, when I play Scrabble with my mom or LaVor, or actually when I play anything against LaVor.  In fact, we went bowling for The Lime's birthday and I won the first round.  That never happens!

I'm okay that I lose 99.9% of the time.  I don't need to be the "best" or have the "best" to feel validated.

I was at a friend's house last week and admired her poster she and her family made for Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  They made a list of their dreams and one in particular caught my eye.  And while I can't remember it word for word, it was along the lines of valuing the non-material things more than say the house, car, or toys.

I appreciated this dream and wish that more people had the same mentality.

"You can't take it with you when you're gone" is something that makes its way through my mind often. The house will still be here, someone else will be driving our cars and wearing our clothes, life in the city we lived in will still go on, the money will be in the bank account. It's the feelings I felt raising The Lime in our home that I'll take with me, the memories of the trips we took in our car that I'll always have, the thoughts of, "I wore this when we _________" that will carry on. The size of the house won't matter, the price of the car won't matter, the brand of the clothes won't matter.

It's still early to tell but I don't think The Lime inherited my non-competitive nature. We're doing our best to teach him good sportsmanship and to have a good attitude. But I hope I can also teach him to appreciate all he has, no matter if it's considered the "best" or not. I want him to acknowledge his blessings even when they're entangled in a trial. I don't want him to compare himself to others.

I want him to see the good in all things. Because there is good in all things, even if it's not the "best".

Tally Mark 48 - Part 2

-Still sleeps in a crib, even though he can climb out. Buying him a bed is the next thing on our list.
-Also still takes a nap every afternoon for at least 2 hours.
-Is still addicted to soda and will drink it whenever he can.
-Has started saying plural words without an "S" at the end but rather an "E". As in, "I like to read booke." No clue where this came from.
-Has to follow me outside, no matter what. And we always have to race back to the house.
-Says that driving on the freeway makes his stomach hurt but only at night.
-Sleeps with a trillion blankets, which makes things fun when he wets the bed.
-Sucks on his tongue when he sleeps or is in a daze/relaxed. It makes a clicking sound when he does it at night which makes for lots of fun when you have to sleep in the same room as him.
-Takes forever to eat his dinner, no matter if it's a favorite food or not.
-Hates when LaVor watches football.
-Wishes he could take his pink cat, Lucifer, everywhere we go. It stays in the car, especially when we're at church.
-Is the tallest kid in his primary class.
-Likes to brush his teeth by himself but always has me check them to make sure they're nice and clean.
-Wants to be in a rock & roll band.
-Has no problem telling me when I don't look cute, when he doesn't like my hair, or when I stink.
-But he also has no problem asking for snuggle time or telling us how much he loves us.

Tally Mark 48 - Part 1

To my sweet boy,

I don't know how we're celebrating another birthday for you! You were just born and we just celebrated your first, second, and third birthdays. And you're already talking about when you'll be five. Ahhhhhhh!

For weeks now, every time we would talk about your birthday you would say you didn't want to grow up and you wanted to stay little forever. I'm not sure where you got those ideas (sarcasm). I just put you down for your nap but prior to taking you to your room, I snatched you up in the hallway and told you I wanted you to stay little forever. You wrapped your little arms around me and told me that you wanted to be big and that I shouldn't be sad.

This has been a good year for you; lots of changes but you've grown so much. We moved to our new house and I got to stay home with you every day! I have loved this opportunity SO much! For the most part, we have a lot of fun together and we've had some neat adventures. Like this week, when we started going on bike rides on the trail near our house. When we left our house on Thursday, I was walking behind you as you were scooting along on your bike. I had the overwhelming feeling of gratitude come over me. I'm so lucky and thankful that I get to be your mom and your best friend!

You're developing so many talents! You listen to all of the advice that Daddy gives you regarding baseball and take it all very seriously. You are my big helper in the kitchen and you made your own pizza this week. You are a fan of musical instruments and have an excellent singing voice. You're taking after Daddy and are able to take things apart and put them back together. It's very exciting to watch and I can't wait to see what you do with it all.

There is one thing that has been bothering me lately. I'm not sure where you heard it or how it got into your head but you've been saying you're weird. Mainly when you can't do something on your own. It makes Daddy and me so sad when you say things like that about yourself. Yes, you can be silly at times and do funny things but I never want you to think you're weird or stupid or anything else negative.

You are loved and so very special. You are unique, creative, and imaginative. You're smart, adventurous, and quite the whipper snapper. You are an essential part of our family and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect little boy. You bring us so much happiness and we love you to pieces.

Happy birthday, Freddy! You are the best!

Love,

Mommy

The Devil

I was watching "The Chew" last week and saw a recipe I knew I had to make.

Surprisingly, it was Daphne Oz that came up with the recipe.  She's better known for her green smoothies and flax seed.  

I had seven out of the ten layers in my cupboard and threw around the idea of waiting until I could get to the store to get the remaining layers before making the dessert.  But all the homemade chocolate chip cookies were eaten up by Wednesday and I needed a treat so I decided to make do with what I had.  After tasting the final product, I can't imagine how much more guilty I'd feel with the pretzels, vanilla wafers, and chocolate chip cookie crumbs.

Seriously, I feel like I'm committing a huge sin when I take a bite.  Yet, I've managed to eat 1/4 of the pan in 24 hours.  And I don't know what it is that keeps drawing me in; the graham cracker crust, peanut butter, Nutella, pecans, sweetened condensed milk, potato chips, chocolate drizzle, or the coconut I added.  

Whatever it is, it's bad and I can feel every ounce settling on my hips.  

Yet they're good, oh so good.

It's That Time Again!

Most people are anxious for the new year to start because of resolutions or the high hopes they have for what's ahead.

I, on the other hand, look forward to the first of the year so we can start our taxes!

All year long, I try to keep our files in order so come tax season, I have everything I need at my fingertips.  I get a little excited when I go to grab something and it's right there.  No shuffling or searching.  Except for the paperwork from our move.  I didn't know I'd be able to deduct those charges so I had to go on a hunt through old statements.

I've always done our taxes and find the process fun and simple.  You really can't beat the programs they have nowadays, nor the prices.

One thing I also learned this year is that I need to keep better track of our medical expenses.  I threw around the idea of deducting them last year but didn't want to mess with the hassle of adding everything up.  I changed my mind this year.  We had been to the doctor quite a bit (including The Lime's ER visit) and I decided to put forth the effort.  It took a while to gather all the information, as I'm not sure I've received every EOB I was supposed to, but I got everything added up.

That was yesterday.

Today, I made a spreadsheet to keep track of this year's medical expenses so it'll be a little quicker this time next year.

There's just something about numbers and organization that get me going.  Which is why I also love balancing the checkbook. 

Sweet Annie

A few months back, we were all driving in the car together when a song came on the radio. "My favorite song!" LaVor said. Since then, every time we hear it, we all sing along and it's now become our family's favorite song.



The Lime and I were driving home from meeting LaVor for lunch and the song came on. "I wish Daddy was here with us," he said. Holy macrol. Totally melted my heart. He's been watching my lips and listening intently to the lyrics, slowly but surely learning them.

Today, he whipped out his "microphone" (our tripod) and his guitar, and gave me a little show, trying his darndest to get every word.  (My video won't upload...arg!)  Although the music on the iPad was much louder than The Lime, I could hear his sweet little voice singing along.

Just prior to this song coming out, Zac Brown Band was in town for a concert.  We kicked ourselves for not going.

Thankfully, we have our own Zac Brown lookalike and a sweet little sidekick to suffice for now.

The Best

We didn't have much planned during the holidays which ended up being a good thing. We all took turns being sick before, during, and after Christmas and ended up sleeping a heck of a lot.

The Friday after Christmas was a real doozy. The Lime wasn't himself and I started getting another migraine shortly after dinner. I immediately took some medicine and went to lay down, hoping I could stop it in its tracks like on Christmas Eve. LaVor had spilled some spaghetti sauce from dinner on his new shirt so he immediately threw it in the washer. Shortly after I went to bed, we heard the most horrendous sound coming from the laundry room. Our washer was having the same kind of day as everyone else and was on the fritz. "What is that?!" I yelled from my room. By the time I poked my head out the door, LaVor was on his phone trying to figure out what it was.

Have I ever mentioned that he's the best?

He spent the rest of the night researching what it could be and taking the whole thing apart. When I woke up the next morning (with what felt like a hangover...how can people drink?!) he was just getting off the phone with the parts store. He said there were two parts he could buy; one was over $200 and the other was $15. If he was able to repair one part on his own, he'd only have to buy the $15 one.

And he did just that.

That afternoon, our washing machine was as good as new, as was everyone else.

I really do admire LaVor's talent of being able to fix anything. I don't have the patience for such things, nor does my mind even function that way. My abilities only go as far as replacing the bag on our vacuum cleaner. And that's only because there are about two steps and they include pictures.

But LaVor, he can do anything. And that's one of the many reasons why I snatched him up.