Qade is making his way into the world of “no-no’s” and baby gates. It’s funny in a way to see him sit right by the baby gate and cry because he can’t get to the other side. It doesn’t matter that the side he is on has a lot of space and some really awesome toys. In his little mind all he can see is the barrier, and how it must be so much more fun on the other side. What he doesn’t know is that the boundary is there to keep him safe. On the other side there is a very hot wood stove that would burn his delicate skin badly. I know this, that’s why I put the gate up. However while I was watching my little boy struggle with the boundary in his life it made me think about myself. How often do I inwardly sit at the “baby gate” and cry because I can’t get to the other side? Do I fail to notice all the wonderful things that are on “my side?” As I thought more about it I realized that just as I put up boundaries in Qade’s life to keep him safe, God does the same thing for me. There are boundaries that I’m thankful for and that bring security. For instance the boundaries of marriage. Stuart and I committed to each other and vowed before God to be faithful. That put up boundaries, but they are ones that bring security to our relationship. There are other boundaries in my life that I find myself not so thankful for. I have very definite ideas about our ministry and what should be happening, and sometimes I sit at the gates God has placed and fuss. Instead I should realize that those are there for my good and my family’s good. If they were gone the most likely thing to happen would be for us to take on too much and very quickly burn out. I’ve realized that in watching my sweet baby grow he is often an object lesson for God to use to teach me something true about myself. I’m going to take the hint and work on not trying to climb over my baby gates, but rather to enjoy all the wonderful things that God has placed for me WITHIN my boundaries.
Archive for January, 2008
Just another day..
01.09
Qade and I have been getting into a bad habit. 
The last little while when he has got up around 6:30 or 7 instead of getting up to start the day, I bring the little pea pod (that’s how he looks in his sleep sac) to bed with me and we take a nap and get up around 8. It’s been fun, but probably is over for now. I believe Sage is coming back tomorrow and since he normally shows up around 8 I need to be in more than my pj’s with my hair every which way. (sigh) Don’t ya hate it when vacations come to an end? Anyway, today was fun! Qade and I cleaned up his room. Ugh, the diaper pail really reeks when you open it to take the bag out, BUT it does a good job of containing the odor between times and that’s a serious plus! We also went through his wardrobe and put away the stuff that’s too small. *sniff* (mommy moment- I remember looking at these clothes and thinking, “Oh my that’s soooo big!” and now he’s grown out of them) We organized some of his closet stuff and I set up the baskets on his changing table. We also played a LOT on the floor today too. Qade did very very well with his first nap today! I was impressed! While he slept I did the elliptical. To keep myself more entertained while I was sweating away I listened to a podcast called “The Mighty Mommy.” It’s little 5ish min segments of mommy tips and they’re great! Well, fun to listen to anyway… you have to take everything with a grain of salt, but she has some good ideas. After that me and the boy had lunch and then we braved the weather and went for walk! Wow… I think I get extra points for pushing that stroller around the mud and ice and snow! If I had known what the road was like before we got all bundled up I wouldn’t have gone, but once we were out there I just had to keep going. Ha ha! It was an adventure and I’m sure I burned a bunch based on how hard I had to work. Oh yeah, so cute! Qade has recently started “dancing” when he hears music! He got several ‘musical” toys for Christmas. It’s so funny to watch him jive away while they’re playing! I made spicy tacos for dinner and an apple crisp thing that, as yet, is untested. I plan to have some with whipped cream and decaf coffee this evening. It makes me feel better about dessert if I know it’s “fruit” ha ha! Well toodles for now devoted fans!
This is my cuddle bug after his bath! He always smells sooo good after we use the lavender baby wash on him. It’s supposed to help him sleep. I don’t know that it works, but it does smell good!
The Daily Grind
01.07
I once heard of a coffee shop by that name. I thought it was pretty creative. I always keep a “weather eye” out for cool sounding coffee shop names. My inlaw’s now live in Chino Valley and there’s a shop there called “Cup-a-Chino.” Ha! Last night Qade went to bed much better! He fussed a bit but there was no screaming like on Saturday night. Yay!! This morning I was still groggily sleeping when Qade decided to wake up so I got him and took him to our bed and we got a little more zzz’s before tackling our day. Stuart had to go to work today, but because the snow is “pouring” down he only had to stay half a day. Hip Hip Hurray! But while he was gone, Qade and I got busy. I washed dishes while bubba worked on playing in his room. He’s a hard worker when it comes to that too! I also had a mountain of laundry to do so that was a going all morning too. After the laundry came out of the dryer Qade and I folded it. He’s such a good helper! He pulled the clothes out and mommy folded them, then he chewed on some socks while I finished it up. I also got to burn 300 calories on the elliptical this morning while Qade was napping. I was pretty pleased with it. I got it done in less than half and hour, so it’s not that time consuming, just boring! I need to get some audio books or something to keep me entertained while I’m working out. Hmm… after all that Qade and I had lunch and then I swept up the sweep-able parts of the floor. I also febreezed the curtains, rugs and fabric furniture. It makes such a difference when the place “smells” fresh, ya know? Well, it’s time for me to put my little man down for his 2nd nap. I’m trying to get him used to just 2 a day, but he’s starting to “melt down” now so he really needs a break. Well, hope everyone’s Monday has been as good as mine. I’m planning to make Kickin’ Chicken soup for dinner tonight. It’s spicy and yummy, and if you add a bit of Pepper Jack cheese on top- mmmmmmm!! Better than anything Campbell’s has come up with. Ta ta friends!
Bedtime Battleground
01.06
Poor Qade’s schedule has been so up in the air lately that I really can’t blame him for being a bit messed up when it comes to bedtime. I actually need to shoulder most of the blame because in an effort to get him to sleep ASAP I would rock him till he was just about out before putting him down. Around 5 months he was totally getting the sleep thing. I’d give him a hug put him down and he was out for the count. Now that he’s more independently mobile and all it’s not as easy. And for the past several weeks as we’ve been in and out of the house with traveling there’s been no ‘regular’ nap times and going to bed in a different place has been quite a challenge. So this week is reclaim territory week. It started last night with me rocking him like usual to calm him down and get ready for bed, but then I put him down while he was still plenty awake. He didn’t react kindly to it either. But Stu and I stayed strong with each other’s help, and while we went in periodically to reassure him that we were still here, we didn’t pick him up. In fact if he was standing I would lay him back down. It did take awhile, but he finally fell asleep. He woke up one time screaming in the night, but I just went into his room put him back down and he fell asleep very quickly. Today I did the same with nap time. I’ve decided to go to a 2 nap a day schedule to see if that will help. He fussed for awhile today, but not even half as long or hard as he did last night. I know some people don’t like the “cry it out” method and they think it’s too hard handed and unsympathetic. I can understand those feelings because as a mommy, you never experience anything more heart rending than your baby’s cries. Last night was hard on me too, but I KNOW it’s for his good and that’s what keeps me going. I don’t want bedtime and naps to be a battle. I know he needs sleep, even if he thinks he’s missing out on adventures. He’s always so much happier when he’s had a good night’s rest, and I don’t want him to have to be dependent on me to get the sleep he needs. Teaching him to put himself to sleep NOW will be much easier than waiting till he’s older. I especially want him to have the art down before we have to put him in a toddler bed. Well, that’s all for now. Just wanted to share with you what’s going on in Qade land.
Weight Watcher
01.04
That’s me! I’m NOT dieting. No, I tried that before, several times, and I’ve come to the conclusion that as soon as I tell myself I’m “on a diet” all I can think about is food, and it becomes quite obsessive. So what works for me is to make better choices. For example, today I wanted to drink a Verner’s ginger ail!! Yum yummmy!! but instead I chose to have water because there are no “empty” calories in that water. I also chose to go for my 2 mile walk instead of veg out and read the rest of Anne of Green Gables. I think that if I consistently tell myself to make the better choice I will be encouraging better eating and exercise habits AND helping myself along toward my goal. Oh, I also said NO to cheese cake and YES to a really good apple called a Honeycrisp. I’d never heard of those apples before, but they really are delicious!! So I bought a scale to help me reach my new year goal. At first I thought I’d never want a scale in my house, but then I realized it’s hard to track your weight loss without one. BUT I’m not going to hop on it every day. I’ve decided that Fridays are my weigh in days (because sometimes I slip a bit on the weekend, so it’s better to weigh on Fri than on Mon- hee hee) and those are the only days I’ll weigh myself. That way I can tell from week to week how it’s going. I’m pretty encouraged about the whole thing actually. Stu and I each gave one another a pedometer for Christmas. How funny is that? Neither of us asked for one, and we didn’t know the other had got us one either! Fun! So I’m working up to a 10,000 step a day program. It’s harder to walk that many steps that you’d think! I even took my 2 mile walk today, and even with all the mopping and such on top of that I only made it to 7,000! So I’m going to have to make more of a conscious effort to get to my goal. But anyway, all of those things combine to help me be motivated and be more energetic about getting it all done. Cheer me on, my friends. I know it can happen!
Pine needles everywhere and not a tree in sight!
01.03
Yep, that about sums up our house right now. Stuart and I took down the tree on Monday (sniff). Undecorating is never as fun as decorating for some reason. But our poor tree was so dry and crispy that every touch sent a shower of pine needles EVERYWHERE!! I mean really, how do they get behind the fridge???? I was taking the lights off and they were just a flying! We cleaned up, I swept Stu vacuumed, we swept again…. and again, and yet they keep showing up!! Today I swept AND mopped and yet I still see more needles! Hmmm…. its as if they’re hiding in the carpet and when we’re not looking they come out to attack us. Ha ha! Oh well, it’s one of the fun aftermaths of Christmas time! They smelled wonderful even if they were dry. But it’s been keeping us busy. Monday we “dug in” and really worked on getting the house cleaned up and organized. Stuart is such a help!! He cleaned with me all day, hauled wood, cleaned the garage, and THEN he organized the pantry!!! Yay! It wasn’t as bad as some I’ve seen, but it did need some help, and now it’s all neat and tidy and logical. We both get a little loopy when our house starts to feel disorganized. I still have a massive project in my spare room/scrapbook room. It’s become the “catch all” for things that have no home. Right now it’s totally cluttered with Christmas paraphernalia like wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows and ribbons and some herbal tea (???). But I’ll have to get to it later. We’re going out of town tomorrow and will be at the inlaw’s for a couple days. I did manage to get the hall way painted on Monday. It took forever because it was a LOT of brush work and not as much rolling. I just noticed some touch ups that need to be done as I was walking through today. (sigh) Today I mopped as I mentioned and have been doing a TON of laundry. We have a mountain to fold before we hit the hay tonight! I also took Qade to the doctor. He’s been having a rough couple of days and I wanted to rule out ear infection before we left town. He doesn’t have one, and the doc said he looks good, so I can’t figure out what’s going on with him. He cries when he takes his bottle like it hurts somehow. I can’t think that he’s teething again already! He just cut the top 2 pretty recently, but maybe so. Anyway, I hope he feels better tomorrow. It’s not effecting him that badly and he’s still eating. It just makes mommy sad when those big crocodile tears well up. Well, that pretty much catches you up on our life. Hope you all have had a smashing new year so far! Ta ta