Monday Monday

Yes… click it.  Listen to it.  Sing along using whatever you think the lyrics might be.  I saw the Mama’s and the Papa’s once in concert… they were older, of course, and it was after Mama Cass had passed away.  And I think they sang this song.

Because who doesn’t just looooove Mondays?

I don’t mind them.

Really, I don’t.

But I have to be prepared for them.  If I’m not prepared for them, they tend to catch me by surprise and get me off on the wrong foot and then they really are just a mess.

So I have to be ready.

Do you do this?

Do you have your Sunday routine where you have to get a few basic things accomplished in order to make Monday morning a bit more… tolerable?

Since my husband and I both work on Mondays, and the Pickle goes to school, we feel like a real working family come Sunday night.  It’s important for me to have my husband’s laundry done.  I like to have lunches at least mostly packed.  It’s nice if the dishes are done or in the process.  Since I am usually tired when I get home in the afternoon, it helps to have dinner already planned.  Some evenings I even get the coffee pot ready so the only requirement in the morning is pushing that button.

If I’m really on top of things, the Pickle and I will have made a batch of pancakes or banana muffins to have ready for the week’s breakfasts.  This weekend we actually made both, so we’ll have some options!

And if I’m lucky, the house will be semi-clean.  The laundry will be mostly folded and put away.  And the morning will go somewhat smoothly.

But if it’s not,

or if I don’t,

which I sometimes won’t,

I really needn’t worry…

because there’s always Tuesday.

“Oh, every other day (every other day) Every other day of the week is fine….”

Adventures in Discipline (or is it discipleship?)

Yesterday was a rough day.

My little sinner is well on her way to complete and utter rebellion.

You remember those values we had?  Yeah… one of them is obedience.  Now, I know there is a fine line between blind obedience and wise, life-saving obedience.  But not when you’re two.  When you’re two, obedience is a make or break kind of deal.  Obedience is boundaries, and safety, and respecting authority, and honoring your father and mother, and … obedience is big.  It plants a seed for some very important growth in the future.  In a few years, if we plant these first seeds right, we will then enjoy teaching our young child to make wise choices, to think for herself, to explore her world without so much restriction.  But until then, we have obedience lessons every. single. day.  Heck, I’m learning about obedience from teaching obedience so often!!!

Take yesterday for example…

How I Made Two Chili’s Entrees Last Five Meals

September 23rd, Chili’s did a Donate Profits Day where 100% of their net profits went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Without clearing it with my husband first, I chose to partake in the festivities and I bought our usual Chili’s Takeout Meal:

• Bacon Ranch Quesadillas (for the husband)
• Chicken Fajitas for me and the Pickle (she’ll eat anything wrapped in a tortilla)
• and Chips and Salsa… just because we can.

I like Chili’s.  I do.  I really like that they have takeout, and there’s a Chili’s not far down the road.  But truthfully, I really like anything that a) is yummy and not too pricey b) I don’t have to cook myself and c) can be repeated over a few different meals.  That way I really feel like I got my money’s worth.

So how did I make Quesadillas and Fajitas cover five meals?

Tried and Tuesday: The Big Purge of 2013

Who needs toys when you can drum on the wall with chopsticks.. and on the table. And on your cup. And on Mommy’s paint bottles. And…

When the Pickle was born, my husband and I had a few critical values that we agreed we would work very hard to instill in her from day one.

One, of course, is our faith.  We believe that God has an amazing plan for this little one’s life, and we believe she was given to us by God to care for and guide in His ways so that she can one day live out His plan faithfully.  That’s the big one.

But if learning to love God isn’t hard enough, we also want her to learn to love and serve other people.  To be respectful.  To be genuinely humble and giving.  To realize that the world is not all about her.  Wish us luck.  Loving God is easy.  Not loving yourself is the hard part!

Milestone.

For the last several months, whenever I would hoist that yellow and white box of size 5 diapers into my cart, I would ask silently, “Is this the last box of diapers I’m going to buy for this girl?”

And month after month it wasn’t… until.

Now.

She’s not perfect.  We had a horrible weekend… something about Daddy being home and Mommy not being as diligent to watch for signs.  And my girl is just stubborn.  But we’re exclusively in panties (ugh… hate that word) and there’s nothing cuter than when she’s sitting on her little potty, cheesing up at me with her little fists up to her cheeks saying, “Yay! Pappy go poweee!!!!”

Bless it.

Awareness.

Do you remember?  It’s still September?  It’s still Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

And every day for the past 22 days at least 35 parents have been told that their precious child has cancer- for no reason.  It’s just there.  In 22 days, 154 children have died.  Seven more will die tomorrow.

As a vivid reminder, I want to share a post from Ty Louis Campbell’s mom on September 15th:

“The following was written by Erin Santos, and published to Huffington Post Parents on September 10.  As I read these words, every single one rings true in my heart.  Please know that I am 100% aware of how important it is to raise awareness. And, I 100% believe, with all my heart, in the efficacy of awareness.  But at the same time I understand Erin’s frustration and longing for action.  Real, tangible action.   So I am prompted to include this link about various ways that anyone can help the cause in support of the case she makes.  I am her and she is me.”

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and as I sat eating dinner with my family the other night, I told my husband, Stuart, that I should write something for this month of awareness. I blurted out, “Awareness. What a bullsh*t word. That word is the problem.” And just like that, this blog post was born. 

Eyes on the Prize

 It’s hard to remember, but years ago before children and dress shirts and dinners at 6, I was a pretty avid runner.  It was off and on through the years, but I tried to stay consistent.  A few times a week.  Or even training for some races.

It was when I lived in Taiwan that I really began running consistently and for a purpose.  One morning as I was training on my own for a half marathon I came alongside an older gentleman.  We began talking and he invited me to join his running club!  Despite the fact that it was called “Evergreen” (in reference to the older age of the people in it) I considered this meeting an answer to prayer.  Running alone was hard for me… and it was even harder to stay motivated.

Being in this running club connected me to the Taiwanese people, the Chinese language, and to a flurry of local races.

And let me tell you, these races were quite the experience!

Generation…. Gap.

Me and my Grandpa…

I had the most interesting conversation with a woman today.

We’re in a Bible study together.  A pretty intense Bible study.  That digs deep into your heart and your pain and your roots.

But it is also cleansing and inspiring.

So today, as we re-learned how much God really loves us and how he delights in us, this lovely grandmotherly woman shared how she often needs to remind herself that she is valuable.  She is loved and cared for.  She is cherished by her Creator.

Another woman of similar age shared how she had to learn to pray for herself.  She had always thought she should pray for others, but felt that praying for herself was selfish and prideful.  Until God showed her that she needed to be healthy in order to heal.  She needed to be blessed in order to be a blessing.

Then they said something very interesting.

Tried and Tuesday: Potty Training

This. This is what I tried on this fine September Tuesday.

I tried potty training my Sweet Pickle. And can I tell you… She surprised me!

She turned two and a half on Sunday and thanks to an overload of information on potty training I was pretty convinced that if I didn’t do it, like, right now she would be in diapers and in a therapists office at the age of 18. No one wants that.

So I took a deep breath, talked up the “big day” for a week, and Monday after school we put the diapers away forever! (or so we all hope)

It’s only been a day and a half, but thanks to some pretty sound advice, I have remained calm and it has remained fun. The advice?

Sweet P’s

I grew up in a crafty family.  My Grandma was a woman of her day and knew how to knit, crochet, sew and probably many more things that I don’t even know about.  My mother, as well.  As long as I’ve known her she’s had some sort of crafty project going, whether it was cross-stitching, quilting, or painting small winter houses to set out at Christmastime.  She taught me to sew and always encouraged me in the creativity that we shared.

So as I become a stay at home mom, my interest naturally wandered back to those women in my life who created.  Also as a stay at home mom married to a full-time student, our resources have always been… well… lacking.  So I began to pray about ways to “help out” financially.  I never expected to bring in big bucks, but I firmly believed that every little bit helped!

Thus, the birth of Sweet P’s. (named, of course, after the Pickle)