Bad hair days, no more!

If you have met our daughter, you might notice something about her.  Her hair!  Bless her heart, she has callicks, a mullet, and she even has a chunk missing from when she tried to remedy her hair herself.  She's had hair cuts before, but just for trims and such.  Somehow the hair on the back of her head grew 10 times faster than the rest of her hair and Geoff and I didn't know how to fix it.  The only thing to do was cut it.  I mean really cut it.  I'm big on longer hair, so I really didn't want to cut all of my little girl's hair off.  But I also don't want her to come to me one day and say, "Mom, why would you let me go through my childhood years with a mullet?  How could you do that to me?".  So I finally sucked it up and said, "It's time". 

The last time we took her for a hair cut, she screamed when we put her in the chair.  She wouldn't let that poor lady near her!  We ended up leaving, dreading the day that we would have to attempt this feat again.  Well, today was that day.  I was working her up for it too.  "Lorelai, aren't you excited to sit in the big, cool chair? Don't you want the nice lady to cut your hair and make it pretty?"  "Yeah...." was her answer in this long, drawn out, almost whiny voice.  But before she went to bed last night, she wouldn't stop talking about getting her hair cut.  "Nice lady cut Lorelai's hair, make it pretty!"  She seemed genuinely excited for this event.  Geoff and I went to bed hopeful that this would work.

The same excitement followed her when she woke up, and we crossed our fingers.  When we got there, she said hi to everyone and was in a great mood.  Then her name was called.  I picked her up to carry her to that dreaded "big, cool chair" that I had tried to prep her for.  There was a quiet whiny yell, and I thought to myself, "I might as well turn around right now and take her home".  But I kept going forward.  The stylist let her sit on my lap and gave her a spray bottle of water.  That was all it took!  That stylist was in like cake at a birthday party!  I told her we needed to get rid of the mullet, so I knew what was coming.  A giant lock of hair was about to fall off of her head.  But when it came time for the cut, I held my breath and watched with utter sadness that my baby's hair was gone.  Anyone who has been in this position knows what it feels like.  I knew it was for the better though, so I held back the tears - at least until we had gotten back in the car!  In the end, she came out looking like the big kid that she is and it's beautiful!  Now I just have to figure out how to style it.  Any ideas??

Thinking, Thankful

I think this blog should start with a disclaimer.  Warning - reading this blog might make you think. 

One of my dear friends works at our hospital in the oncology unit.  Being there, you get used to seeing people battle cancer, and either with the grace of God become fully healed, or courageously move on.  Being the wife of a cancer survivor and the granddaughter of one as well, I sometimes forget that not everyone survives this hideous disease.  Today someone will lose their hard-fought battle.  Today someone will finally feel no pain and be able to rest in peace.  Today is her last day.

Let's call her "Jane".  We went to school together, but we weren't friends.  I'm not sure that we ever even said "Hi" to each other, so I'm not going to sit hear and say that I'm going to miss her.  But on her last day, without even realizing it, she has made me think.  Think about how truly blessed my life is.  

My husband survived cancer!!  And we have two beautiful girls together that we were told we would never have.  Do you know how huge that is?!  I used to.  But over the years I've forgotten.  Today, on her last day, Jane helped me remember.  And I thank her for that.  I am able to be with my family and enjoy our everyday lives.  I get to wake up in the morning to Lorelai coming in our room saying, "Momma, night night all done!".  I get to feed Scarlett and look at her looking up at me with this sense of security and comfort.  I get to kiss my husband when we meet up again after a long day.  I get to go to bed every night next to Geoff, with our two girls sound asleep and dreaming in their beds knowing that I have been blessed to have this day with my family.  Jane has helped me remember that not everyone is as lucky as I am.  I can see that better today than perhaps I ever have.

I pray for Jane and her family.  For the child, the sister, the friend that they will say goodbye to for now.  I pray that Jane passes peacefully and that her family is also able to be at peace knowing that she is no longer in pain.   I pray for the rest of us, that we will be thankful, and I mean truly thankful for the day to day blessings that we have.  And I pray that we stop and think about this more often than we do.  

Peace.

Making Changes

With each new year comes the dreaded resolution.  I actually kept mine last year for the first time - be more "green".  We started using glass containers instead of plastic, using reusable water bottles, changed all the light bulbs, and finally started recycling.  I can honestly say that throughout my day I think about if I'm making the best sustainable choice.  It feels good to know that not only am I doing something good for the planet, but I'm doing something good for me.  I'm proving to myself that I can make changes in my life and the lives of my family.  


Change feels good, no matter how small it might be.  I'm ready for more change.  This year I'm actually going to make a list of what I want to accomplish this year.  I never make lists (except for the occasional grocery list) and often times don't complete what I want to.  No one's fault but mine, I know.  But this year I'm determined to make things happen.  


With that, I'm going to take some time to make this list exactly what I want it to be.  No messing around and listing nonsense items.  They will each be meaningful to me and my family.  


Now to make that list.........

My Photographer

So I sent Lorelai on an artistic assignment this morning. I gave her the camera and told her to take pictures of anything and everything she wanted to! And boy did she have a blast! It was so much fun to watch her look at her world through a camera lens. It was pretty inspiring for me to see her capture her own little moments. Here are some of her shots!

This is our new fish tank. I love how you can see her fingers in the reflection.

One of our fish. Geoff named him White Lightening!



More of White Lightening

Our sleeping Scooter. She has a bit of an evil eye here!

And Cooper, relaxing as well.

Looking up at our ceiling and wall.

She really did have so much fun! I'm definitely going to have to do this again. I can't wait to see what other images her little eyes capture!


Peace.

Did that just happen?!

Attention! I have some amazing news (for those of you that care, that is!). So, I said earlier that we were making pizzas tonight. Well mine was quite delicious. Spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella all on a whole wheat flat bread. Yum. I try not to make a separate meal from Lorelai even if I'm certain she won't eat it. I at least want her to try what we're having. Well guess what, folks?! She ate it and loved it!!!! Every bit!!!! I couldn't believe it, she has never and I mean NEVER eaten and enjoyed any of the items on the pizza. Well, she likes mozzarella, but who doesn't. I couldn't have been happier and more surprised tonight! We might be having pizza more often. I'm not going to expect her to eat these things again any time soon, but what a blessing it was tonight!

Peace.

Crazy, crazy day

Ahhh, a breather!! I'm not sure what happened today, but it felt like Kansas in my house! Get it, Kansas, tornado - no? Oh well. Anyway, I honestly think that someone snuck into my house and gave Lorelai an IV of sugar water! I've never seen such a little person have that much energy! So when Geoff got home (late, might I add. Thanks hun!), I sent him and Lorelai out to the market! Momma needs to catch her breath! Certainly there are some groceries that we need, right?! Well Geoff had the brilliant idea of making pizza tonight, so I'm very excited about that.

So you're all interested to know what a tornado is like? I can't even begin to describe it. There was running up and down the hall, throwing herself in the couch, squealing, singing at the top of her lungs, changing her clothes several times, and I don't even know what else. She's usually a pretty calm girl, so it really caught me off guard. But as nuts and out of control as she was, she was pretty darn adorable! At one point she wanted to do my hair, so she got her play spatula and used it as a curling iron! Well, let's see what tomorrow will bring - say a prayer for me!

Peace.

So, my little Scarlett is a bit of a magician.....

Swaddle still intact, yet one leg has managed to escape! Brilliant!!

Maybe she has a future in Vegas?! Or better yet, hopefully not....

Peace.

Sleeping baby. Eating baby.

Now that I'd finally gotten Scarlett down for her nap it was time to attempt lunch time for Lorelai. Anyone with a two year old will agree that this can be rather challenging! Now considering that Geoff and I are pretty adventurous with what we eat, I thought that our children would "automatically" be that way. Needless to say, I was wrong! Getting my darling daughter to eat something other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch is often impossible. Now, I know that children eat what you feed them, so I suppose this is mostly my fault - right? Well, in my mind, I say that I'd rather her eat something than nothing at all. If all she's going to eat is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich then it's going to be the BEST sandwich possible! Whole wheat bread, check. All natural peanut butter, check. Homemade jelly, check. Granted the jelly has what some would consider to be a heck of a lot of sugar, but at least I know what's in it! Now it may be time to make my own bread and peanut butter too! Perhaps I'll start with the bread.

Well, today I thought that I'd attempt to get more/different protein in her. First thought, chicken. What kid doesn't like chicken? Mine. But hey, most kids want ketchup with their chicken, right? Well, since I'm trying to make this a healthier lunch, I decided to make a honey mustard dipping sauce. Not the best, but at least the honey is a natural sweetener! I got Lorelai in the kitchen with me to help make it and she did great and had fun doing it. But I bet you can figure out what happened next.....she only wanted to eat the sauce, no chicken. Oh well, perhaps I should look at the bright side - maybe I can raise a vegetarian. I'm trying to be one myself, although I'm not perfect by any means. Now the next battle - try to get her to like vegetables!

Really?

Wow, did I really just create a blog? I'm not really sure what came over me, but nonetheless, here it is! I suppose I will use this as a means to chronicle my journey as a wife, mother, and individual. Wish me luck, and enjoy!!