The funny things....

This one is too funny not to record. Debbie had Max and Maya last week when we were at Carli's Regionals. She was driving in the car and they were all buckled in the back with her kids. The boys were talking and Maya chimed in occasionally. She must have had a hang nail or pulled the end of her fingernail off and was showing it to Max. Max in turn says to Maya that you could tell her DNA just by testing that tiny piece of fingernail. Where that came from I have no idea. So she must have been thinking about it the rest of the way home. When they got to Debbie's house before they got out of the car she announced; well I guess if you bend the nail here in the middle it sort of looks like an A. The boys didn't get the connection but Debbie couldn't stop laughing and I couldn't either when she relayed the story to me.

Blondie

Report cards came home this week. I was reading over them with the kids. They were all very good. Each one did quite well. When I was looking over Maya's kindergarten report it doesn't give traditional grades but shows where the student is mastering the skill. Under the one category is personal information such as; knows address, recites phone number, knows birthday. Maya had developing beside the knows birthday block. Developing? In my mind this is a no brainer, we make a big deal out of birthdays so I'm thinking she should remember her own. Here is how the conversation went with my sweet little blondie.

Me: "maya it says here you don't know when your birthday is, do you know when it is?"

Maya: " well I know it's in February" with that look of duh mom on her face, and then with all seriousness she says " but is it always on the same day?? " I almost start laughing but manage to ask " do you mean like the day of the week, because it isn't always on a Monday or Tuesday"

Maya: " no the same number, is it always on the same number??"

Oh my sweet little Maya Papaya, yes love it is always the same number. And I giggled the rest of the evening on that one.

Don't you cry mom...don't you cry

Madi gives the sweetest kisses, she puckers up those plump little lips and lays it on you. Her new thing has been to take my face in both her still chubby little hands and look deep into my eyes and say "don't cry momma, don't cry" Then give me a sweet little kiss. I always ask for another, and another until she says "That's it!" It is the cutest little thing and I love how sweet and sincere she is when she says it. Now I am not sure why she thinks she needs to tell me to not cry, I mean it isn't like I walk around bursting into tears all the time but it is still the cutest thing ever, and if it gets me more Madi kisses, I'll take it.

Morning noise ...

It's still early and usually all I hear at this time is the hum of the laptop and the occasional noise in the upstairs bathrooms as only a few of us are awake at this hour. I try to start the day with an hour of quiet, the calm before the clamor of the day, but the last few mornings someone else has decided she likes the early morning hour too. Little miss Maggie has changed her schedule a bit and now seems to want some uninterrupted time with mom. I can hear her from the living room, upstairs beside my bed she starts talking, babbling and making small cries. She's really saying "Hey, hello, I am awake and I want up now please!!" I let her talk for a little, and listen to here sweet sounds, I go to her crib and peek over the side, watch her face light up and break into the most beautiful smile. How could I not want to spend the quiet morning with this sweet little wee one, even if it is not so quiet anymore.

A tale of 2 cakes...

I have had the chance to create 2 very different gift cakes this past week, plus try my hand at 2 sweet little babycakes(cupcakes). Overall each one was a success! I love how these come together and how fun they are to make. I love that each one is different and filled with all kinds of different goodies depending on the recipient. I love making them look like "real" cakes. Pretty much I just love everything about them! The first cake I made for a friend who is hosting a baby shower. The second cake is for a bridal shower I am attending on Sunday. I love how it turned out using a tablecloth and napkins. My favorite part of the gift is a pitcher used as the center for the cake. Sooo cute!!

photos: "babycakes" cupcake, diaper cake, bridal cake

A taste of Spring......

Oh how I love spring!! The higher temperatures, the warm sun on my face, the smell of freshness in the air. We have had a little taste of spring these past few days. The kids are in heaven, racing to get home from school to change and head back outside. There are still piles of snow where it was plowed high but most of the ground is bare and muddy. Madi, Maggie and I sat out on the sidewalk today and drew with chalk. The warmer air felt delicious and is the antidote I needed. I was starting to get a little of the winter blahs and had no energy but the change in weather has definitely helped. I forgot how much I LOVE spring!!

photo: Madi & Wilken; "let me out there" (love the hat Madi)

Reality

Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.—Thomas Merton, in a letter to Jim Forest dated February 21, 1966

Parenting can sometimes feel like a never ending circle of saying the same thing a million times, making the same requests, getting upset over the same things. Trying to control the outcome of the situation without much luck. I saw this quote and it struck such a cord. What if I try to just concentrate on each day, each moment of parenting, realize it's value, enjoy it and move on. Knowing in my heart I have done my best and leave the rest to God. The work of parenting is important stuff, and if I concentrate on that work it is the best I can do.