Monday, January 2, 2012
2012 Is Here!
Desmond is so hilarious. He wants to be part of every joke and he loves to make people laugh. If the rest of us are laughing he joins in. He likes to make funny faces to get you to laugh and he loves being tickled and putting things on his head to be silly. He has really enjoyed seeing his out of town relatives this Christmas. They start leaving this week and we're all going to miss them. We had a good weekend, I got to spend more time with Des and he was really fun. Full of hugs and laughs.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Working Mom After Christmas
I am SO tired. It doesn't feel like I've had a day off in ages. Norman and I both work 5 days a week, I have Des all Saturday myself, he has Monday. Sunday is our only day off together. On the days I don't work I'm cleaning or running errands, same goes for Norman. Christmas he worked the morning, so we didn't end up with any time together at all over this last weekend. Saturday I took Des to my grandma's, home to nap and I cleaned house, then out to Elaine's for Shaw Christmas, then home to open our own presents and visit with cousins. Then Christmas Norman went to work, I took Des to Grandma's, we ate breakfast and the kids opened presents, took him home to nap, Norman got home, we went back to Grandma's for dinner, then home to put Des to bed. By the time he's in bed I'm so tired it's all I can do to get the dogs rounded up in their crates and get to bed myself.
I'm starting to feel the separation with Des. I don't get to see him much and when I do I'm either feeding him or putting him to bed. I don't get to play with him really at all. Most mornings I don't see him at all unless I'm piling him into a car to go to Grandma's. Then I get him at 4, usually we stay for dinner, then bring him home and put him to bed. I'm so tired I don't have energy to do anything fun with him. I feel like I could go to sleep for an entire day. I feel like all I do is work or clean. Norman and I haven't had any time together in weeks. My life is not feeling very balanced right now.
I'm starting to feel the separation with Des. I don't get to see him much and when I do I'm either feeding him or putting him to bed. I don't get to play with him really at all. Most mornings I don't see him at all unless I'm piling him into a car to go to Grandma's. Then I get him at 4, usually we stay for dinner, then bring him home and put him to bed. I'm so tired I don't have energy to do anything fun with him. I feel like I could go to sleep for an entire day. I feel like all I do is work or clean. Norman and I haven't had any time together in weeks. My life is not feeling very balanced right now.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
First Salon Hair Cut
Des got his first salon haircut yesterday! I didn't get to go, but Norman said he was very good. He sat and watched Norman get a haircut, then Norman fed him peanuts while he got his haircut and he said he only started being impatient at the end. He looks great and they even sent him home with a card that says Congrats on your 1st haircut! SO cute.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Crazy Smart Kid
My kid is crazy smart. Not like, creepy-doesn't-fit-in-society-smart, like useful smart. The other night he took a pen apart and had it back together except for one piece he'd dropped on the floor.
He watched his cousin spill a drink on a footstool and while the rest of the room was discussing it, he went and got a towel and brought it to her. This required him to go in the kitchen, open the correct drawer, get the towel, go back in the living room, and hand it to the correct person. AND understand what was going on and being said before hand!
He watched his cousin spill a drink on a footstool and while the rest of the room was discussing it, he went and got a towel and brought it to her. This required him to go in the kitchen, open the correct drawer, get the towel, go back in the living room, and hand it to the correct person. AND understand what was going on and being said before hand!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
3rd Week as a Working Mom
Desmond now greets me with a big hug and giggles when I pick him up from my Grandma's at the end of the work day. He's generally very well behaved at her house while I work, unless you count pulling everything out of everywhere as "bad".
I didn't think I'd like working and being away from him all day, but I really enjoy having a job. I feel more independent and self-sufficient. Norman has started helping with house-work and is taking a more active role in parenting Des. Instead of only playing with him he now will tell him no and do the not-as-much-fun parts of being a part. I think he appreciates how much work it is a lot more too. I came home last week on Monday, the day he has him all day by himself, and he had been napping.
Des and I had a stubborn contest last night. We were wrapping presents and there was a pair of scissors in a box of bows. He picked them up and I told him to put them down. He wouldn't. I insisted and then moved him to a different room. We repeated this about 15 times. He finally gave up and listened when I told him not to touch the scissors. I don't want to have to put everything out of his reach, I want him to listen to me.
The other fun thing we did was Sunday night we took Des to the Wagon Wheeler Christmas party. He got to see Santa for the first time. He watched all the other kids sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas and then I took him up and put him on Santa's lap. He was skeptical to say the least. I stepped back and Norman took a couple pictures. He was whinning a little as Santa's beard made him nervous, so I helped him slide down and they gave him a gift bag of candy, which he loved. I think he'll do fine with Santa next year.
I didn't think I'd like working and being away from him all day, but I really enjoy having a job. I feel more independent and self-sufficient. Norman has started helping with house-work and is taking a more active role in parenting Des. Instead of only playing with him he now will tell him no and do the not-as-much-fun parts of being a part. I think he appreciates how much work it is a lot more too. I came home last week on Monday, the day he has him all day by himself, and he had been napping.
Des and I had a stubborn contest last night. We were wrapping presents and there was a pair of scissors in a box of bows. He picked them up and I told him to put them down. He wouldn't. I insisted and then moved him to a different room. We repeated this about 15 times. He finally gave up and listened when I told him not to touch the scissors. I don't want to have to put everything out of his reach, I want him to listen to me.
The other fun thing we did was Sunday night we took Des to the Wagon Wheeler Christmas party. He got to see Santa for the first time. He watched all the other kids sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas and then I took him up and put him on Santa's lap. He was skeptical to say the least. I stepped back and Norman took a couple pictures. He was whinning a little as Santa's beard made him nervous, so I helped him slide down and they gave him a gift bag of candy, which he loved. I think he'll do fine with Santa next year.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Officially a Working Mom!
It's scary! Not what I saw myself doing. I like being about to be home with Desmond all the time. I feel like being a stay at home mom is best for the child, but it's not the best option right now. We have debt that needs paid to make us more stable and that is the priority. So, I'm working at the family business full-time. Yeah, way to jump right in!
Des hasn't missed me yet. Norman takes care of him when he can and so far he goes to my Grandma's on the other days. Eventually I'm hoping to get him in half-time preschool or something. He is tearing the house apart and I think he's just really bored.
I so far am really enjoying working. I'm getting up at 6 AM and working out before going to work. I feel really good about that. I feel like I'm making progress on rehabing the shop. They are happy to have me there which is definitely good.
I'm not sure about how this will go long term. I'm only on day 3. I worry how it will effect Des long term and our marriage long term. I don't have energy to deal with Des hopping off the walls already and it's only Tuesday.
I'm hoping to get them in good enough shape to PAY me and then I'll have money to put in savings which will make me feel much better. They will pay me, but I don't know when it'll be. They don't have any pay schedule set up currently, lol!
Des hasn't missed me yet. Norman takes care of him when he can and so far he goes to my Grandma's on the other days. Eventually I'm hoping to get him in half-time preschool or something. He is tearing the house apart and I think he's just really bored.
I so far am really enjoying working. I'm getting up at 6 AM and working out before going to work. I feel really good about that. I feel like I'm making progress on rehabing the shop. They are happy to have me there which is definitely good.
I'm not sure about how this will go long term. I'm only on day 3. I worry how it will effect Des long term and our marriage long term. I don't have energy to deal with Des hopping off the walls already and it's only Tuesday.
I'm hoping to get them in good enough shape to PAY me and then I'll have money to put in savings which will make me feel much better. They will pay me, but I don't know when it'll be. They don't have any pay schedule set up currently, lol!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
What A Year
2011 has been a big year. Things have changed, people have grown, both physically and emotionally. I feel like we're embarking on a new chapter in our lives.
My mission for myself this year was to make my health a priority for my child. People like to say, "I'd do anything for my child, I'd DIE for them!" But then in the next breath they'll admit they won't make healthy choices or do anything to make sure they LIVE for their child. Because that's everyday, that's self-discipline, that's HARD. I made a conscious decision that I am going to LIVE for my child. He's going to have a healthy mom, a mom that makes both physical health and mental health a priority so that I can be the best mom for Desmond that I can be. This year, I focused on my physical health. I changed my diet, took up exercising 5 days a week. I've lost 54 lbs. and I'm back to the weight I was in 2007. I am in better shape than I was then because I work-out now.
I have decided that my mission for next year is to make more Mom-friends and get a larger social circle. First step is to join Walla Walla MOPS. Wish me luck on that!
Aside from learning to handle an intelligent, curious, way-to-clever toddler this year, the biggest change for us was Norman's mother passing away suddenly. It hit the whole family hard and we're still spinning from it. It's pulled us all together, but it's also made evident how important the choices we make for ourselves are to everyone else we love. It made it clear what our priorities should be. This holiday season is going to be hard at times, but we'll make it through.
An experience like this makes you think about the kind of person you want to be and want to be remembered as. Trudy left a legacy of loving everyone first, learning about them later. She loved you before you earned it and regardless of if you did. What legacy would be left if you died right now? It's definitely something to think about to refocus your priorities.
It has made Norman and I work more as a team I think. We communicate better and he understands family as a priority better. He if more confident and sure of himself.
Along with a tragedy, we also worked on future plans this year. Norman is working on getting his CEC (certified Executive Chef) and a business plan for a restaurant down the road. I have taken a job as an office assistant at the family business. Hopefully they like me and keep me on as it would really help our budget. We are trying to get ride of our debt before tackling a restaurant so it would make that much more feasible.
I am very excited for Christmas because Desmond will be into opening presents. I put up the tree and have spent the last few days trying to keep Des from pulling off the decorations. But I'm happy to have the house decorated and most the presents wrapped and under the tree.
I feel like I'm in a good place with being a wife and a mom. Norman is doing better at being supportive when I am overwhelmed with something and just need him to listen to me talk a bit. I miss Trudy a lot, but I know she would want us to be happy and move forward in our lives, so that makes it a little easier.
Norman threw another wrench in the works by getting a puppy "for me". So I'm house-training a puppy in the middle of everything else. It's not going too bad, but it is one more thing to take care of. Ask me how I like him in a couple months, lol.
My mission for myself this year was to make my health a priority for my child. People like to say, "I'd do anything for my child, I'd DIE for them!" But then in the next breath they'll admit they won't make healthy choices or do anything to make sure they LIVE for their child. Because that's everyday, that's self-discipline, that's HARD. I made a conscious decision that I am going to LIVE for my child. He's going to have a healthy mom, a mom that makes both physical health and mental health a priority so that I can be the best mom for Desmond that I can be. This year, I focused on my physical health. I changed my diet, took up exercising 5 days a week. I've lost 54 lbs. and I'm back to the weight I was in 2007. I am in better shape than I was then because I work-out now.
I have decided that my mission for next year is to make more Mom-friends and get a larger social circle. First step is to join Walla Walla MOPS. Wish me luck on that!
Aside from learning to handle an intelligent, curious, way-to-clever toddler this year, the biggest change for us was Norman's mother passing away suddenly. It hit the whole family hard and we're still spinning from it. It's pulled us all together, but it's also made evident how important the choices we make for ourselves are to everyone else we love. It made it clear what our priorities should be. This holiday season is going to be hard at times, but we'll make it through.
An experience like this makes you think about the kind of person you want to be and want to be remembered as. Trudy left a legacy of loving everyone first, learning about them later. She loved you before you earned it and regardless of if you did. What legacy would be left if you died right now? It's definitely something to think about to refocus your priorities.
It has made Norman and I work more as a team I think. We communicate better and he understands family as a priority better. He if more confident and sure of himself.
Along with a tragedy, we also worked on future plans this year. Norman is working on getting his CEC (certified Executive Chef) and a business plan for a restaurant down the road. I have taken a job as an office assistant at the family business. Hopefully they like me and keep me on as it would really help our budget. We are trying to get ride of our debt before tackling a restaurant so it would make that much more feasible.
I am very excited for Christmas because Desmond will be into opening presents. I put up the tree and have spent the last few days trying to keep Des from pulling off the decorations. But I'm happy to have the house decorated and most the presents wrapped and under the tree.
I feel like I'm in a good place with being a wife and a mom. Norman is doing better at being supportive when I am overwhelmed with something and just need him to listen to me talk a bit. I miss Trudy a lot, but I know she would want us to be happy and move forward in our lives, so that makes it a little easier.
Norman threw another wrench in the works by getting a puppy "for me". So I'm house-training a puppy in the middle of everything else. It's not going too bad, but it is one more thing to take care of. Ask me how I like him in a couple months, lol.
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