Bumps in the Road

What's happening to my sweet, good-natured little boy? In the blink of an eye he's revealed that he can be obstinate and lose his temper with little to no aggravation. I think he turned two years old three days ago. My patience is being tested, and my energy to keep distracting him before he has another meltdown is being worn. I'm tired from working late hours, and I'm behind on everything at home.

Everyone has days like this, right? I don't want to come across so negative, but I have to admit that occasionally there's a stinky day, or in this case a few in a row.

A very wise mother once told me that she relied on Hail Mary's to get her through each day. On the bad ones, she said, she said them round the hour. I thought of that this morning and tried it after three hours of fussiness and whining.

Luke's on hour three of his nap.

Thank you, Jesus! Mother Mary, pray for me!

Crunchy

It's comical after my last post that I'm going to now write about nutrition and how it's impacting my life. But, I guess everyone's off the wagon sometimes.

Someone who labels themselves "crunchy" are stereotyped as a organic-loving, tree-hugging, non-vaccinating, uncircumcising, babywearing, non-spanking, granola eating person. Presently I do not label myself this way, but I've noticed that my views particularly on nutrition have changed recently.

I try very hard to cook healthy food for my family. I say "very hard" because cooking doesn't come naturally, and I'm a picky eater who has a difficult time trying new things. Still, we eat chicken, fish, and whole grains regularly, and have eliminated all refined flour and sugars.

Now that it's become habit, I'd like to take the next step towards overhauling our nutrition. Specifically, switching our produce to organic, followed by our dairy. I've looked into a Co-op in our community and soon hope to be buying our rolled oats and flax seeds there...we'll see where that leads me.

I'm not sure what has prompted this change in me, but it's most likely the desire of continually wanting to know how we can live healthier as a family. It's been a slow process, and we still have a long way to go, but I'm hoping we can make lasting changes that can make a great impact. The Easter Bunny doesn't have to know, and we'll keep Santa out of the loop, too.

Afterthought...

Before Kendall calls me on it, I forgot to add that I ate nearly an entire box of Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties.

That's just sick. Apples and oatmeal only today. I promise.

Confessions

I admit that this year I went a little overboard with Easter candy. I don't have much of a sweet tooth and if I'm going to eat junk I'd rather eat Doritos than M&M's, but you wouldn't believe it the past week.

Both Mark and I got a little excited making Easter baskets this year. Combined with the treats from Luke's two sets of Grandparents, and one set of Great-Grandparents, we've been eating chocolate morning, noon and night.

I can't give you exact numbers, but yesterday I ate A LOT of Cadbury Eggs, Reese's PB cups, mini Twix, Easter Nerds, Jelly Beans, and broken off pieces of that solid milk chocolate Easter Bunny that I've been working on for days. Top that off with three diet cokes and I'm toast.

Having admitted all of that, I have been eating my Steel-Cut Oatmeal for breakfast and taking a multivitamin. Dr. Oz would be proud. Still, no excuses.

Today we're through. As good as it all looks I'm throwing out all of the candy and going back to Lenten sacrifice of one Diet Coke per day. It's for the best, really. I might get a migraine today from sugar withrdrawl, but it's what I deserve for my behavior.

Poor Luke thinks the jelly beans trapped in the couch cushions are a game of hide and seek, and I'm starting to have that guilty feeling everytime I look at the treadmill.

Relocation

We've officially moved our residence to Deerwood for an undisclosed amount of time. Monday and today have been filled with Cadburry Egg detox, and unpacking our things.

Deerwood is officially a blizzard. I wore a black dress to Mass on Easter, along with my winter coat. It doesn't seem quite right that it's snowing so fiercely. Poor Luke sees the swing set outside and points and cries. He wants to play outside, but it's just too cold, slippery, and wet.

As much as I'm looking forward to Spring weather and summertime, fortunately the winter doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others. I tend to be a homebody anyway, and it's a comfort for me to drink coffee nice and warm inside while I look out of doors at violent winter storms.

Happy Easter! He is Risen! Alleluia!!

Taking a Break

Life is crazy right now! Since I posted last we've brought a load of our things to Deerwood and are attempting to prepare for Easter in Deerwood while moving out of our place in St. Paul. Tomorrow morning we're driving to St. Paul to pack up our remaining things, clean the place, and bring every last belonging to Deerwood in a suburban and trailer.

Phew!

So, I'm not sure when I'll get to posting again since my mind is going in a hundred directions. Luke has a pretty cute Easter outfit, so I'll be excited to post pictures once life slows down a bit.

In the meantime, enjoy Holy Week.

Soundtrack

When it's just Luke and I around during the day it can get pretty quiet. After Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Regis and Kelly, the TV is turned off and Luke is left to play while I tackle my "to do list." We listen to a lot of music as a substitute for the television. I like simple, soft music, and good song-writing. I'm always looking for new artists to add to my soundtrack to daily life.

Here's what we've been listening to lately:

Paul Simon--Graceland, Concert in the Park
John Michael Talbot--Master Collection
David Gray--White Ladder
James Taylor--Greatest Hits
Carole King--Tapestry
Damien Rice--O
Eva Cassidy--Songbirg
The Beatles-Love

Of course, we can't go through the day without dancing a little, too. Luke dances by spinning around in a circle until he falls over. Works for me. We like to dance to Queen, Paul Simon, and Fergie. Ha ha. No kidding.

We're listening to Eleanor Rigby right now. I like this version better than whatshisname...David Cook? I say "Sorry" in a British Simon Cowell-like accent..."Sorry, but you really didn't do any favors for yourself with that song."

Informer

I love to watch Oprah. I'm not a talk show junkie, but most of the time I find her shows highly interesting, and sometimes...inspiring. Having said that, I remain very weary of the beliefs she espouses on her viewers from the books she endorses and the therapists she uses for consultation. The gist of her message always seems to be "the answer to your problems is that you don't love yourself enough, and...be your own god, your own authority, salvation..." Here is an article about her recent endeavour with a new book club hit A New Earth.

I'm still drinking my coffee and can't quite find the words to express my fear with new-age spirituality, so I'll quote Oprah from the article summing up the Christianity which she feels needs to occur for all of us "old church" kind of people.

"The old way is the hierarchy has the authority. Church authorities tell you how to worship in church and how to behave outside of church. The new spirituality is that you are your own best authority as you work to know and love yourself, you discover how to live a more spiritual life."

Oprah's got it all figured out. Good for her.

Patience

My toddler is slowly becoming a little boy. He's sweet, affectionate, and good natured. He sleeps through the night, takes a great nap, and eats anything I give him. But sometimes he's nuts!! His curiosity, combined with limit testing makes for interesting days.

I've been noticing more frequently that Luke notices everything I do. If I'm doing dishes, he has to do dishes. If I'm cleaning the toilet, he has to clean the toilet. If I'm showering, he needs to shower. These little imitations of wanting to 'be big' are pretty cute most of the time. However, when I'm packing our apartment and Luke jumps in every box trying to help by putting toys cars in the box of summer clothes, it can get overwhelming.

When I'm so concentrated on getting my own things done, it can be difficult to not get frustrated with the little interruptions. I suppose it's also appropriate to mention that while I write this post I have a toddler climbing all over me, patting my back, and giving kisses while I constantly give reminders for him not to touch the computer screen. Such is life, but I'll take what I can get.

Patience, Patience, Patience. Everything will get done, even if it takes twice the time. Someday he'll be a great at packing, dishes, and cleaning the toilet.

Timeline

After working all weekend we're back in St. Paul. This week I will pack our entire apartment, as we'll be moving out next week. It's hard to keep track of everything, and I've found that during this crazy time I'll just take things one day at a time. I haven't been a very good blogger lately. With the sickness, traveling, and packing up of our place it's been a whirlwind of activity, as opposed to the quiet reflection that I'm used to day in and day out at home with a toddler.

I'm sick of the election, American Idol is a shoe-in, and new episodes of The Office don't start until April 10th, so I'm becoming sucked dry with what to post these days!

Hope you all have a fun "Spring Forward". We're still getting adjusted to Daylight Savings over here. Naps have lasted until dinnertime, and even though the baby sleeps an hour later (technically...), it's still WAY too early! The snow began to melt yesterday and the sun was shining. It was a lovely sight. Growing up, I remember waiting with anticipation for the first day when the sidewalks were clear enough to ride bike. With boots, mittens, and jackets we would ride our bikes with big snowbanks melting on both sides. I'm really looking forward to spring, and although I don't even own a bike these days, I've got a stroller that's spent the winter lonely in the back of the car.

All Packed Up

When you tell a 20 month-old "Let's go bye-bye," this collection contains everything he needs. Somehow, in his developing, curious mind, this makes perfect sense.

R&R

When the baby is sick, he gets pretty much whatever he wants. Here he is with a bag of pretzels...and a jar of spaghetti sauce.

Toys, Toys, Toys

This is how the toys look in our apartment. I bought the white cubby thing at Target along with the fabric boxes. At the time this system worked perfectly, but a birthday and Christmas later and it's busting at the seams. In a couple weeks we'll be out of here and it won't matter, but lately I've been thinking of how to arrange toys in an organized way. I've been reading about toys in the Montessori philosophy, where toys are basically adult household items brought down to size. Every room has a toy area, usually a low shelf on a bookshelf, with boxes labeled. That would be ideal, and I would avoid the what seems inevitable toys strewn all over the floor in every room of the house. Someday though, it will look like this.

My Big Day

It's my birthday. I'm the big 24. It's funny, because it's a number that seems older than I actually am. Maybe life is going too fast, but I still imagine myself closer to about age 19. On a more positive note, because a positive post is definitely needed after all my sad sick posts, I am now at the age that St. Therese of Lisieux finished The Story of A Soul.

This afternoon I snuck out before naptime to Half-Priced Books on Ford Parkway. I've gone many times with baby-in-tow with total disaster resulting, so this time I ventured alone. Before leaving I scribbled a few authors on scratch paper to keep a look out for. It's always hit-or-miss, but I was able to find five books under $20 that I've wanted to add to my collection. The five below are books I've never read, or...gulp, authors I've never read.

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Between the Acts, Virginia Woolf
The Waves, Virginia Woolf
The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce

Luke is down for his nap now, and Mark is studying. He's just changed my reading music from John Michael Talbot to the Braveheart soundtrack. I strongly veto. It's my birthday, and I can't read about the glittering lives of the English upper-class with bagpipes in the background. I'll have to switch to A Beautiful Mind, it's much more conducive to academia anyway.

I Kid You Not

A nameless person at a nameless place of employment looked at my computer monitor. The picture below is what I use as my desktop wallpaper. Pretty, huh?

She said, "That's a pretty picture of Duluth." I kid you not. If you don't know what city this is, it's not a big deal, it's not noticeably recognizable, and I'll admit I wouldn't know the skyline of Chicago from NYC, but come on, a city in northern Minnesota does not look like Salzburg, Austria, it looks like this:

I guess they both have water.