Blogging is difficult these days during the day I'm running/playing/laughing with/arguing with a very opinionated 2 year old! (That's right that precious little babe of mine she's 2!) and in the evenings I'm working with some of Oklahoma's coolest families!! What little break I get during the day is spent cooking meals and trying to keep up with the housework and the laundry. So it leaves little time for just mom and when I get home at night I'm prepping for the next day and falling into bed ready to do it all again tomorrow.
However I'm thankful for my schedule, thankful I get to be the one to potty train my daughter, thankful I get to be the one reading her stories before nap even though she asks for "one more tory" 12 times, thankful I'm able to prepare my family healthy nutritious meals even if I'm not home to enjoy it with them, thankful I get to promote marriage and family in a state that is always considered a "high divorce rate" state, thankful I get to hug on sweet newborns even if it does make me want another baby shhh don't tell Mr. A!, thankful that I am creating so many sweet memories and even if I don't get to blog as often as I would like I'm still recording them in my regular old pen and paper journal. Someday I'll transpose all of those pen and paper entries to the blog.
So I'm not here as often as ideally I'd like to be but I'm ok with that it's just the stage in life I'm in I'm a Mom with a capital M and that's where I need to be.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
dealing with two's
I knew this day would come... I thought about it feared it a little and even entertained the idea that maybe it wouldn't happen to my child! HAHA well that was a laugh. The day has arrived and she's not even officially two yet not until next month but she acts like, throws tantrums like, has 'tude like a 2 year old!!
Oh my goodness our week started out with Carys coloring on the couch while mom went to the bathroom, then later in the day she decided to finger paint....with toothpaste. The next day wasn't much better she's discovered mommy's make up and likes to "play pretty" with mommy's not so cheap make up. I've learned that if it's quiet she's probably into something she's not supposed to be.
Admittedly today was a much better day I figured we needed a day out to play so we met some friends at the Science Museum where she got to experiment to her little heart's content. She really is a good kid she's just a typical two year old.
I always feel like I'm constantly learning about my daughter. The day I think I have her all figured out and I have her routine down to a science she decides to shake things up! Ahh such is the life of a toddler momma!
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
Oh my goodness our week started out with Carys coloring on the couch while mom went to the bathroom, then later in the day she decided to finger paint....with toothpaste. The next day wasn't much better she's discovered mommy's make up and likes to "play pretty" with mommy's not so cheap make up. I've learned that if it's quiet she's probably into something she's not supposed to be.
Admittedly today was a much better day I figured we needed a day out to play so we met some friends at the Science Museum where she got to experiment to her little heart's content. She really is a good kid she's just a typical two year old.
I always feel like I'm constantly learning about my daughter. The day I think I have her all figured out and I have her routine down to a science she decides to shake things up! Ahh such is the life of a toddler momma!
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Better Late Than Never
I've seen all the obligatory 2012 was such a great year posts and I'm not going to lie 2012 was the hardest and worst year of my life! I wasso ready to kiss it goodbye and welcome a new year full of possibilities.
2012 started off really terrible being jobless, and losing my mother, only to have to find full time employment taking me away from my precious family for 7 long months where I felt as if all I did was simply survive. 2012 saw marriage struggles for Mr. A and I like never before we just couldn't seem to connect like we usually do for what seemed like forever, it also brought health issues for me in the form of anxiety. I am so OVER 2012!!
Don't get me wrong there were a few beautiful moments sprinkled in with the awful. There was a light at the end of the tunnel at the end of year it landed me in my current job doing my small part to strengthen families in Oklahoma everyday while also allowing me to be home with my precious girl during the days. I saw my little girls first birthday come and fly by and have been blessed to see her grow into an inquisitive and curious toddler with an infectious giggle and smile, I saw hardships in my marriage that seemed like forever while they were happening but now that they are over I have a renewed appreciation and love for my husband. Most of all I found ways to cope with the loss of my mother, I began plans for a garden and have worked hard over the summer and fall of this last year preparing our flower beds for a beautiful garden my tangible way to honor my mom's memory as she loved beautiful flowers, I began writing in my actual journal again but neglected my blog, I turned to the Lord in ways I'd never done before bringing Him the broken pieces of my heart to help me put back together again and oh how He did. I saw my little girl's 2nd Christmas and chose to feel the joy of the miracles of Christmas instead of the pain in the void of my mother. Surprisingly the Holidays which I had been dreading themost gave me an odd sense of comfort. I have one more milestone to cross before I can really close the book on 2012 and that is the 1st Anniversary of my mother's passing it is coming up in 5 short days. I plan to spend the day blessing others. I do not have a list of goals to share, or resolutions that I made I simply resolve to live each day to it's fullest and to savor the little things. So welcome 2013 a new year full of possibilities. I am hoping next year I'll be able to write one of those "What a Great Year" posts.
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
2012 started off really terrible being jobless, and losing my mother, only to have to find full time employment taking me away from my precious family for 7 long months where I felt as if all I did was simply survive. 2012 saw marriage struggles for Mr. A and I like never before we just couldn't seem to connect like we usually do for what seemed like forever, it also brought health issues for me in the form of anxiety. I am so OVER 2012!!
Don't get me wrong there were a few beautiful moments sprinkled in with the awful. There was a light at the end of the tunnel at the end of year it landed me in my current job doing my small part to strengthen families in Oklahoma everyday while also allowing me to be home with my precious girl during the days. I saw my little girls first birthday come and fly by and have been blessed to see her grow into an inquisitive and curious toddler with an infectious giggle and smile, I saw hardships in my marriage that seemed like forever while they were happening but now that they are over I have a renewed appreciation and love for my husband. Most of all I found ways to cope with the loss of my mother, I began plans for a garden and have worked hard over the summer and fall of this last year preparing our flower beds for a beautiful garden my tangible way to honor my mom's memory as she loved beautiful flowers, I began writing in my actual journal again but neglected my blog, I turned to the Lord in ways I'd never done before bringing Him the broken pieces of my heart to help me put back together again and oh how He did. I saw my little girl's 2nd Christmas and chose to feel the joy of the miracles of Christmas instead of the pain in the void of my mother. Surprisingly the Holidays which I had been dreading themost gave me an odd sense of comfort. I have one more milestone to cross before I can really close the book on 2012 and that is the 1st Anniversary of my mother's passing it is coming up in 5 short days. I plan to spend the day blessing others. I do not have a list of goals to share, or resolutions that I made I simply resolve to live each day to it's fullest and to savor the little things. So welcome 2013 a new year full of possibilities. I am hoping next year I'll be able to write one of those "What a Great Year" posts.
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Christmas Chaos and a Lesson in Simplicity
We're in the full swing of Christmas hustle and bustle. I being the over planner/type A personality I am sat down with my planner and the Holiday events calendar for our state and planned out activities for every weekend. We were supposed to start Friday November 23rd AKA Festive Friday in our house, you see we've never been Black Friday folks I respect people who do it I'm just not one of them, so instead we dub the day Festive Friday and deck the halls, put up the tree, bake treats if there's time, listen to Christmas and end the day with our own kick off to the Christmas season. This year we made plans to attend our City's annual Holiday River Parade it's a big event and lots of people turn out for it.
The night was chilly, but our spirits were high as we bundled our toddler up in a million and one blankets trying to keep her warm when all she wanted to do was run around. We got there got seated and over the loud speaker comes a voice saying the evenings events had been delayed about 30 minutes. Cue mom panic moment, but I regrouped and thought to myself ok we can do this we can entertain her for 30 minutes and then we'll be rewarded as she oohs and ahhs at the Holiday displays. So we headed over to the nearby playground not far from our bleacher seating and let her run off some energy. We headed back over to take our seats and again comes the voice over the loud speaker letting us know the show was still going to be delayed another hour. (to this day we have no idea what happened) At this point I am realizing our toddler girl who's bed time is the same as the new start time for this event is not going to make it and not going to get to see any pretty lights...cue mommy melt down with big tears in my eyes I turned to Mr. A and said "let's just go" so we headed over to the car only to find the parking attendants had directed people to park so close behind us that we couldn't get out unless we jumped the curb. Oh at this point I should probably mention The A Family got a new car in August cue second mommy melt down I just stood outside of the car with tears in my eyes while my father in law and my husband inched our new car off the curb.
All I had wanted was a night of magic to kick start the Christmas season for my little girl instead I got bitter cold, poorly run productions, and potentially wrecking our new car. Luckily we were able to get the car off the curb without any damage but it was still annoying and everyone's Christmas spirits were definitely dampened. We were close to the downtown area in which I work and I knew there were some light displays in one certain area so I suggested we drive through there and at least Carys would get to see a few lights. Reluctantly Mr. A agreed and we drove down through the gorgeous lights displays of downtown Oklahoma City. As I sat in the car desperately trying not to let the evening be ruined by our sour luck, I suddenly heard Carys's sweet little voice exclaim "LIGHTS OOH LIGHTS, LOOK MAMA PETTY PETTY LIGHTS" my momma heart lit up in that moment as I realized it didn't take an over the top experience to delight my daughter it just took some beautiful light displays. So we drove through the lights and she oohed and ahhed and it was then that the happy tears came as I began to see Christmas through her eyes. But the best moment came when we pulled into our driveway and she saw our lights for the first time and exclaimed "LIGHTS OUR HOUSE LIGHTS, PETTY, THANK YOU" My little girl of not even two had thanked us for putting lights on her house. In that precious moment the realization came to me it's the simple things that matter most like making a child's face light up with some fairly simple light decorations hung on your roof.
I still have a packed calendar for the holidays but I'm trying to take it all in stride and realize I have many years of Christmas enjoyment ahead of me with our sweet girl.
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
The night was chilly, but our spirits were high as we bundled our toddler up in a million and one blankets trying to keep her warm when all she wanted to do was run around. We got there got seated and over the loud speaker comes a voice saying the evenings events had been delayed about 30 minutes. Cue mom panic moment, but I regrouped and thought to myself ok we can do this we can entertain her for 30 minutes and then we'll be rewarded as she oohs and ahhs at the Holiday displays. So we headed over to the nearby playground not far from our bleacher seating and let her run off some energy. We headed back over to take our seats and again comes the voice over the loud speaker letting us know the show was still going to be delayed another hour. (to this day we have no idea what happened) At this point I am realizing our toddler girl who's bed time is the same as the new start time for this event is not going to make it and not going to get to see any pretty lights...cue mommy melt down with big tears in my eyes I turned to Mr. A and said "let's just go" so we headed over to the car only to find the parking attendants had directed people to park so close behind us that we couldn't get out unless we jumped the curb. Oh at this point I should probably mention The A Family got a new car in August cue second mommy melt down I just stood outside of the car with tears in my eyes while my father in law and my husband inched our new car off the curb.
All I had wanted was a night of magic to kick start the Christmas season for my little girl instead I got bitter cold, poorly run productions, and potentially wrecking our new car. Luckily we were able to get the car off the curb without any damage but it was still annoying and everyone's Christmas spirits were definitely dampened. We were close to the downtown area in which I work and I knew there were some light displays in one certain area so I suggested we drive through there and at least Carys would get to see a few lights. Reluctantly Mr. A agreed and we drove down through the gorgeous lights displays of downtown Oklahoma City. As I sat in the car desperately trying not to let the evening be ruined by our sour luck, I suddenly heard Carys's sweet little voice exclaim "LIGHTS OOH LIGHTS, LOOK MAMA PETTY PETTY LIGHTS" my momma heart lit up in that moment as I realized it didn't take an over the top experience to delight my daughter it just took some beautiful light displays. So we drove through the lights and she oohed and ahhed and it was then that the happy tears came as I began to see Christmas through her eyes. But the best moment came when we pulled into our driveway and she saw our lights for the first time and exclaimed "LIGHTS OUR HOUSE LIGHTS, PETTY, THANK YOU" My little girl of not even two had thanked us for putting lights on her house. In that precious moment the realization came to me it's the simple things that matter most like making a child's face light up with some fairly simple light decorations hung on your roof.
I still have a packed calendar for the holidays but I'm trying to take it all in stride and realize I have many years of Christmas enjoyment ahead of me with our sweet girl.
Later Alligators...
Mrs. A
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
A little harder than I thought.
So two days from today will be Thanksgiving just in case you have been living under a rock. While I am thrilled to celebrate this holiday season with my little family. I can't help but feel a deep sense of sadness. It will be the first Holiday Season without my mom. I feel so torn because part of me is so excited to see the wonder and excitement of Christmas through my daughter's eyes, but the other part is morning the loss of the one who kept the magic alive for me.
My mom did everything she could to keep Christmas magical for me and I desperately want to do the same for my little girl. I heard my first Christmas carol unofficially of the season yesterday and I was a little surprised at the tears that welled up in my eyes as I thought about all the moments I had shared with my mother. When the family gathers on Thursday to celebrate a day of thankfulness I will be overwhelmingly grateful for the beautiful life I have been gifted with, but I will also feel an emptiness that only your mom can fill.
If anything thinking this week about my mother and all she did for me during the holiday season makes me resolve to do the same for Carys. I want her to believe in the magic of Christmas, I'm not necessarily talking about Santa Clause, I'm talking about spending the day baking and decorating cookies for neighbors, buying a gift for a child less fortunate than she is and experiencing the joy of giving, reading the Christmas story by candlelight on Christmas Eve, falling in love with the twinkly lights and the majesty of the tree, the secret joy of Christmas tree lights being the only source of light in a room, waking up in the middle of the night because it's the first snow fall of the season and momma couldn't wait to share it with me, getting a free pass on bed time one evening because as I was getting ready for bed I see a note that says "meet me in the car" and driving around for hours looking at Christmas lights.
These are memories I have of beautiful Christmases past and now I have this profound sense of it is up to me to create the magic for my family if not for my own sake at the very least to keep the memory of mom alive!
My mom did everything she could to keep Christmas magical for me and I desperately want to do the same for my little girl. I heard my first Christmas carol unofficially of the season yesterday and I was a little surprised at the tears that welled up in my eyes as I thought about all the moments I had shared with my mother. When the family gathers on Thursday to celebrate a day of thankfulness I will be overwhelmingly grateful for the beautiful life I have been gifted with, but I will also feel an emptiness that only your mom can fill.
If anything thinking this week about my mother and all she did for me during the holiday season makes me resolve to do the same for Carys. I want her to believe in the magic of Christmas, I'm not necessarily talking about Santa Clause, I'm talking about spending the day baking and decorating cookies for neighbors, buying a gift for a child less fortunate than she is and experiencing the joy of giving, reading the Christmas story by candlelight on Christmas Eve, falling in love with the twinkly lights and the majesty of the tree, the secret joy of Christmas tree lights being the only source of light in a room, waking up in the middle of the night because it's the first snow fall of the season and momma couldn't wait to share it with me, getting a free pass on bed time one evening because as I was getting ready for bed I see a note that says "meet me in the car" and driving around for hours looking at Christmas lights.
These are memories I have of beautiful Christmases past and now I have this profound sense of it is up to me to create the magic for my family if not for my own sake at the very least to keep the memory of mom alive!
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