BIG joys and {little} sorrows

{Small} in the grand scheme of things sorrow... I have a headache.

During naptime. 

On Friday. 

I feel like there should be some kind of law against this?


Also, it is cloudy and dreary and I feel lonely and blue. 

And I have accidentally overbaked two! pans! of my very favorite chocolate chip cookies. 

And! I tweaked the recipe and it doesn't taste as good. 

BLAH.  Woe is me.  (I know, I know. I am even annoying to myself.)  Moving on!

If my husband were home he would roll his eyes at me and put his thumb and forefinger together to make the world's smallest violin.  I would laugh and feel better. 

(He would also put the kettle on and suggest I take some ibuprofen.  Hold on a sec while I do that.)

Since he is NOT home, dear internet, I am instead sobbing on your shoulder.  You're welcome.  Or click the red X in the corner of the browser.  Either way.

And yes, I am indeed such a ditz that I have to be reminded to take something for my own headaches.  Frequently! Thank goodness for my husband!  He tells me to take something for my headaches, makes me laugh when I am mad (no small talent!), buys me spray paint and chocolate, and never complains.  He is my favorite.

And thank goodness (and a sweet friend) for new to us activities tucked away for dreary days such as this.  Added points if it is educational but they are having too much fun to notice!  They loved arranging the plastic shapes inside the pattern on the laminated sheets.  Kept wanting to keep going.  So fun watching them enjoy it and feel the pride of figuring it out.  They are becoming such smart little people!

Lord, I thank you for thrifted hoodies, cute handmedowns, my video monitor set up, Earl Grey tea, the afternoon sun that is just now bursting through the clouds and through my windows, and Saturday on the horizon. Amen.

And the ibuprofen/hot tea/sweet silence of naptime is kicking in and banishing the headache.  Yay!

Time for me to go wake up some sleeping kiddos {to make sure to have a smooth bedtime!} and maybe play some play dough! :)

Ta ta, friends, and happy weekend!

Keep your eyes out for the BIG joys and remember that the {little} sorrows will pass...

Some Favorite Children's Books

 Scuffy the Tugboat and His Adventures Down the River

I LOVE Scuffy. It has been one of my favorite read aloud books for many, many years... our copy is one I gave to one of my brothers many Christmases ago, and he passed it on to our little ones so it could give more enjoyment.  I love the storyline -  Scuffy is discontent where he is, so he sails off to find adventure, and then realizes that he really does need the man with the polka dot tie and his son, and wishes that he were back with them... and just as he is entering the ocean, which has no beginning or end, the man and his son scoop him up and he is safe again.

 

                                  One of our board book favorites is Barnyard Dance!  It was a gift to Nathan when he was born, and we've loved it ever since. It has a fun rhythm and shows all the different farm animals dancing.  It has a lot of "moo" and other animal noises, which makes it a toddler favorite, and the fun pictures also make it a good book to entertain the baby during church.

 "Bounce with the bunny.  Strut with the duck.  Spin with the chickens now- CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!"


We also have another board book by Sandra Boynton called The Going-To-Bed Book- it is fun and is our current diaper bag book, for distracting and calming a wiggly little one in church or elsewhere. :)


It has a really fun cadence to it as well...

"And down once more, but not so fast, they're on their way to bed at last.
The day is done.  They say good night, and somebody turns off the light."


And of course, we love the classic kid books...
- Green Eggs and Ham,  Bears On Wheels, Make Way for Ducklings, The Little Engine That Could, Corduroy



As you can see, we're bookworms, and it seems to be passing on to the next generation!  I think we better get some more bookcases soon, because these are all  full already...  are any of these your favorite stories too?  Have any others we should put on our library/wish list? :)

(contains affiliate links, FYI)

Marrying Young

I've been reading this post from Nancy Wilson on marrying young (not teen, but not waiting till 35 either.) Love it, and especially enjoyed the comments, lots from of women who married young and don't regret it. Yeah, financially it is probably tougher to marry young instead of waiting until you have lots of savings, a very good job, etc. But this quote from Brandy's comment just hits the nail on the head for me- "some parents would rather their child struggle with sexual temptation than have any financial struggles."

Is it better to have young Christians struggling with sexual temptations while getting all their financial ducks in a row, or to encourage getting married younger and provide support for that?

When we got married, we were overwhelmed with the generosity of our church family- from a shower that mostly equipped the kitchen, to the people who asked us if we could use the furniture they were getting rid of (yes! yes! yes!), to the huge generosity of our families (who gave liberally in working on our house, as well as in helping us to equip it).

We don't drive fancy cars, have the latest gadgets, or vacation anywhere exotic. But we're getting to share these years, and I wouldn't trade this for the world.

Us, dancing at our reception and being madly in love. :) Photo taken by Sarie, I think... all I know is I stole it off Facebook and I love it!

Red Wine on a White Tablecloth

... an inevitable casualty of our cups running over. ;-) Actually, it was a small child *ahem!* whodunnit, as they say.

Any success stories on getting out red wine? What should I try? I've got it soaking in the washer now. Of course, things being what they are, the washer had to get unloaded for that to happen, but really that is just a bonus because otherwise it would've gotten overlooked over the weekend no doubt, which is just gross.

My Days These Days..

People ask me what my days look like. I think I've finally figured out the honest answer to that, and it is, I have no idea.

I frequently look back at the end of the day and it is a blur of diaper changes, baths, hauling Nathan down from the chairs, tables, benches, stairs, beds, and sofas he climbs, nursing, naps, giggles, messes, making food, washing laundry, dishes, to-do lists that grow instead of shrink, half finished projects, more nursing, diapers, naps, and tears (usually, just the babies, but sometimes mama too). In the few minutes since I sat down to write this, baby monitor next to me as they sleep upstairs (6.36 AM), I've realized that I don't remember if I paid the electric bill this month (if I didn't it's late), I've looked in the stack of mail and discovered my husband's paycheck (which should've been deposited), and I've thought I should go put the dishes away/hang clothes/clean the office for the company coming this weekend/find the missing vaccuum part/find the electric bill.

I ought to keep a diary for a day, jotting down each thing as it happens, but since I haven't journaled much since Miriam's birth I don't see that happening any time soon.

...

Since starting this, I've fed Nathan breakfast, nursed M, taken a load of laundry off the line, hung a load of laundry on the line, started another load in the washer, downed two glasses of water, given Nathan and Miriam baths, confirmed that I did indeed pay the electric bill, and put Nathan down for a nap. It has been a good morning. Nathan toddling around outside picking clover blossoms as I hang laundry. Miriam smiling back at me. Nathan putting his head on Miriam's feet to 'hug' her as she nurses. Green grass blowing in the wind. Nathan's glee at splashing in the tub.

I'm not going to try to polish this all up because then, frankly, it won't ever get posted... dishes need washed, floors need swept, and I need to get going because they're both asleep! :-)

Today so far...

Three trips in from the car to get things left there last night when we got home really late, two poopy diapers, one napping child... and a partridge in a pear tree! (Oops... I mean, and a hot cup of tea by meeeeee. ) ;-)