Rookie parenting mistakes

Rookie parenting mistakes

All made by me, in the last week

 

10. Did the bedtime routine slightly different (God forbid)

 

9. Asked my toddler to hurry (God forbid)

 

8. Allowed my toddler to bring a bouncy ball into church during the homily (Holy sh*t)

 

7. Ate something my toddler had discarded ("Miiiiiiiiiiiiiine")

 

6. Left the Goodwill bag in plain site (baby toys are now sprawled throughout house)

 

5. Threatened a timeout in the middle of the night (lost cause)

 

4. Recycled my toddler's artwork, which he discovered and then demanded I clean up and rehang (woops)

 

3. Put healthy food on my toddler's plate besides white carbs and fruit (God forbid)

 

2. Brought my toddler to a meeting at work (did it. not proud of it. most stressful 60 minutes in my career.)

 

1. Bribed him to get in the car, that one time, using chocolate chips (Hard to go anywhere when I run out of chocolate chips).

 



Testing the water quality

Making art with nature

A disorganized week

Truman picking out digger books at the library

Some weeks, our family is organized. The meals are planned. The schedule is clear.

But not this week. This week was all about frozen food, scrambling at the last minute, and letting the house go to total sh*t. In fact, there is a half deflated air mattress in our den that has been there for seven days. We forgot to pull the garbage to the curb. Jason has no clean boxers. Truman can't find his baby doll.

And for some reason, it feels great.

Who has two thumbs and can climb like a champ?

This guy!

 

This guy has also been heard saying the following:

 

Me: Truman, do you want me to sing you a song? Tru: I want a BIG song! A big big big song! (we still haven't found a song that is big enough for his liking)

 

Me: If you don't wake mommy up for the whole night, I will give you a special prize. Tru: Go to an even bigger playground? (way to aim high little buddy)

 

Me: Does grandma give you time-outs? Tru: [bewildered look] NO!

 

Truman: I caught a BIG salmon. A big big salmon. And I put it on the grill.

 



Letter to Truman, 2.5 years old

Dear Truman,

You are a gift.  At 2.5 years old, you are kind, gentle, enthusiastic, and a good friend.  You love other kids and you always jump in with the big kids.  You love being with your cousins, especially Andrew.  Your best friend in the whole world is your Grandma.  Grandma would doing anything for you.  You are just learning to enjoy the water and you can cast a fishing rod 18 feet.  You always point out "motorcycle ladies" to me.  You are nuts about diggers, horses, boats, bunnies, birds, and doing big jumps.

This week, for the first time, you said to me, "Why?"  And suddenly there is this non stop beautiful chatter in the house.  You also started to say, "I love you."  Mostly to your Daddy.  Often with no prompting, just because you burst with love for your Daddy.

We love watching you grow!

Love, Mama

My college roomies

A little older. A little wiser. Still getting into trouble together and making each other laugh. I love my college roomies and I am so glad we make a point to be in each other's lives.

House tour

Our formal dining room, our kitchen, our craft room, our desk, our entryway. :)

The most coveted spot in the house, the window seat.

My tiny, hallway kitchen that still manages to turn out some seriously good food. We love keeping things simple and not having a lot of kitchen gadgets and extra stuff.

Truman's kitchen, recently moved so he could be closer to me while I cook.

DIY: Homemade spices. Easiest craft project ever.

Our favorite outdoor spot, perfect for finding frogs and salamanders in the pond.

I have been meaning to post some indoor photos so I could always remember the way our house looked when Truman was a toddler. Our house is small by American standards - 1300 square feet - but we really love living in a small place. We do not collect a lot of stuff and we think hard before we buy stuff. We also end up being in the same room a lot, the only escape is into the cedar trees - no man cave, craft room, or bonus room in this little spot.

Truman's vegetable garden

Carrots, onions, cilantro, and basil

Peas

First and only peas



I grew them myself!

This is Truman's first garden. He planted all the seeds himself and has been very diligent with watering. He was quite proud when I showed him he had a few peas on the vine that were ready to eat this evening. 

Making decisions

Lately, there have been a lot of forks in the road.

That is to say, that I have been making some big decisions. Decisions about work, and life, and balance.

Let me back up for a moment and tell you that I am very good at making decisions. I am very good at listening to my gut. I don’t hesitate around decisions, because I am always listening to my gut.

But lately, I could not make a decision to save my life. And when I asked the Universe what to do, the Universe was silent.

So I started asking everyone I knew what I should do. My mentors. My family. My closest mom friends.

And I came away with a lot of advice, but never an answer.

My dad reminded me that my choices were not right or wrong. That they were just choices. And choices have consequences. And either way, I would live with the consequences.

And I was dramatic. I cried a lot. I even cried during the workday, which is something I believe one should never do.

And then I was finally forced to make some choices. I was reminded that I can’t have it all.  

And then I drove home, pulled in the driveway, and my little boy smiled and ran to the car. He told me about his day in bits and phrases. He did a big jump on the porch steps to show off his skills. And the sun set and the day ended. And tomorrow, there will be more choices. More consequences. More smiles from a little boy.