Morning

Our mornings can be tough.  Getting ready for work and school can have us frazzled.  I know other people have more hectic mornings.  For us, it's just a new routine that we are trying to get used to.

The typical weekday begins with the parents desperately wishing for a snooze alarm that would let us sleep at least a little longer. Unfortunately, the kids don't come with one of those buttons installed.  V is starting to sleep through the night but will sometimes wake in the morning for her breakfast anywhere from 6:30 to 7:00am.  C is the only one that can open doors (so far) so she'll usually wander out of her room and into ours with S close behind somewhere around 7:00am.  (Please take note: they do this even on the weekend!)

If R hasn't fed V yet, she will then take over with her while I herd the others out of the room.  I proceed to try to distract them with cartoons and a drink.  This buys me time to take Dog out and get breakfast going.  R eventually comes out and passes V to me or tries to lay her down and then proceeds to get her shower.  Meanwhile, depending on the meal, I'm probably cooking or at the least setting the table with the breakfast items of the day.

At this point, let me mention some of the things that slow us (the parents) down.  When I take Dog out, one or both of the kids will sometimes come out also.  Not a bad thing, except that I've got to watch Dog in case he poops and I have to clean it up.  The kids, if not watched, could get into all sorts of trouble.  So I can get very distracted going out in the morning.  C is potty trained but is in the habit of asking to go potty during a meal.  Our strategy is to try to get her to go before we sit down.  In the morning, I just try to get her to go as soon as she gets up.  Doesn't always work.  S, if not distracted and/or given a drink right away, can get very irate.  I understand.  He's hungry and still not quite awake.  Very tough for a kid that is almost 2 years old.  I'm only going to say this about V, she doesn't always want to be put down, and that makes mealtime a little hard.

As soon as breakfast is over, it's washing anything like lunch containers or pump equipment, packing meals for R and C, packing work and school related supplies, and getting them out the door.  All of this ideally by no later than 8:30am.

Once the excitement dies down, S gets distracted (at least for an hour) with his shows.  I will take a moment to jump on the computer to plan my schedule for the day and if I've got time, I'll read some of my favorite websites.  I try to get cleaning done throughout the day.  I try to feed V and S when their times come up.  I try to get S to nap around 1:00pm.  In the afternoon, it's prepping for arrival of R and C, dinner, bath and bed.

Hectic days start with hectic mornings.

Mother's Visit - #1 of 2011

My mom is coming into town tomorrow.  Whenever she announces her intentions to visit, we start discussing what I will get done while she watches the kids.  They take up most of my time.  Many of my projects and some of the cleaning gets put off as I put out fires all day long.

What's on my list for this visit?  Cleaning, trying to finish an entertainment stand I started a while back, and possibly a bookcase or two.  We'll see how much actually gets done.

Man and Woman, pt. 1

Throughout my life, I have heard several different interpretations of the Adam and Eve story. The story starts out with Adam needing someone to help him, a companion (Genesis 2:18-20). The concept of woman, having been created from part of man, leads to the idea that man and woman shall join together to (re)make the one flesh (Genesis 2:21-23). This is the original idea of marriage (Genesis 2:24).

Most know of the (in)famous Tree of Knowledge (Genesis 2:17). It was mentioned before God even created Eve. Now the serpent comes along and tempts Eve. "Come on. Surely God won't kill you if you eat the fruit off that tree." (My paraphrasing). Eve eats the fruit and "gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6)

One version of this story has Adam being tricked by Eve to eat the fruit as if she was as evil as the serpent. Another version may paint Adam as a dufus not recognizing the fruit and eating it when she hands it to him. I believe he knew and chose to eat it. (This idea was taught originally by the pastor of our church.)

What is love? What do you do when your in love? Would you give up everything even if you knew it was wrong?

Adam was told that he would die if he ate of the fruit of that one tree. I wonder if he ate it because she had already eaten some. Did he love her so much that he would sacrifice himself beside her? When God comes and asks Adam about the 'incident', he does not lie. "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." (Genesis 3:12) The woman given to him. He loves her and feels responsible for her actions. He does not say he was tricked. Adam instead admits that it was his choice.

There are things that have happened in my life where I have let my wife make the choice, even though I may have felt uncomfortable about it. Do I regret the choices I let her make and the consequences that followed? Some of them. Here's the thing though. It's not something that will make me despise her. It does not keep irritating me, like a splinter in my hand that I can't get out.

I used to get bothered by some of the little things that she did. I found that if I truly value our relationship together, I should not dwell on them. I love her. And I would give up everything in my world for her (and daughter).

"When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothing else
He'll trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she's bad he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he put her down"

('When A Man Loves A Woman' by Percy Sledge)

Crazy, man. Crazy.

Things that have happened since my last post:

• CM has decided to start climbing me like an indoor rock climber while I hold her. She digs her toes into my belt and grabs hold of my shirt. I can literally move my hands/arms away from her and she will stand there, the little cliff climber.


• People give me more courtesy when I have her. People let me through doors first, they let me in line first at the checkout, etc. I'm not saying I don't get my share of rudeness, but prior to CM, I didn't get much politeness either.


• My parents are spending a great deal of money on CM. We'll get about one box (or more) per week w/ clothes and/or toys in it. Mrs. and I knew that this stuff does cost money but we didn't know how much until one of the vendors sent the prices on the receipt w/ the order. I'll leave it at that. (Side note: Mom, save some money for the next grandkid or two, also!)

A tired mind wanders, still...

Work was alright, today. What makes me enjoy my day is getting to go home to my wife and daughter. During the week, I almost get desperate for a chance to get away from the Monster. The last couple of weekends, however, I've come to realize that, yeah, I might need a little "Me Time" but I will always miss both of my girls when I'm not with them.

On a side note, I made a comment to my wife that I didn't like people. This was made more in reference to the fact that I don't like the holiday crowds especially considering the attitude that has developed the last few years. The holiday season is supposed to be good and about family and friends, etc. People are so stressed about finding that perfect gift that they get very rude to "competitors" for parking spots, the latest Elmo, the ideal present. Freaks me out. You ever feel like your in a horror movie where your surrounded by people and everyone has been replaced by some weird parody of themselves. Yeah, that's me during the holidays. Anyways, my wife thinks it's funny considering that my job is customer service and I get paid to be good, even when the holidays come at the store I work at.

Which brings me to one last gripe. I've ranted about this for the last several years. More and more companies are starting (or have been) to put out the Christmas toys/ornaments/stuff before Halloween. No one even celebrates Thanksgiving (except for the food and football) because all the stores go from Halloween to Christmas all within the month of October. I believe the reason (but I'm to young to remember, I guess) that the day after Thanksgiving is such a big sale day is because people used to celebrate one holiday at a time (even if it was right after the previous one). It's one thing for a craft store to start early. It takes awhile to make holiday stuff sometimes. But retail stores to start earlier than Thanksgiving, that's just bizarre.

OK. That's it.

P.s. My Mom misses her granddaughter, so she's trying to make a trip down sometime soon. I can finally get some projects done.