Ear Lobe Holes & The 50 Meter Dash

I am astounded at the rate in which my children grow and change. I sometimes look at one of the girls and suddenly have a freeze frame moment where I look, really look at them. And suddenly I see the time that has passed me by. This is nothing new for a mother but I am always amazed at the emotions that come with this realization. They should cancel one another out but instead they blend together to become what is commonly called...bittersweet.

This introspection all began when my Cati told me she wanted her ears pierced the other day. This was big because this was a follow up conversation from a few months ago. The time I was literal about the process with my innocent 3 year old. Not my wisest moment. I decided to be brutally honest. Selfishly, of course. So I told her the TRUTH about getting her ears pierced. This scenario should really be written down in the Mommy Handbook: What Not To Tell Your Children.

Picture it...

We are sitting on the couch and I tell her that piercing your ears means getting holes put into your ears with this kinda sharp tool that will put an earring through her ear. I demonstrated by taking my earring out and go in slow mo for dramatic effect. I so need a lesson in age appropriate teaching moments. Perhaps I should have acted it out by creating a loud noise, jumping up and screaming while holding my ear lobe.

But I maintained remarkable restraint. I assured her we could go to the doctor's office to get her ears numbed and then have them do it there since she looooves her doctor. Then I take out my earring and show her the hole and then have her watch me put it through the lobe and I even turn my earlobe so she can see it poking out the back. It was like a preschool version of a health class video about parasites that seems really gross but cool at first. Then they scare the tar out of you with truthful facts about these parasites invading and then taking up residence in your body.

The clincher?

"Cati, it might hurt a little to get your ears pierced. Are you okay with that?"

Uncertainty fills her eyes but I felt my honesty was good, strategic move. I laid all my cards on the table and put the ball in her court. Yes, I am still talking about my three year old who looks to me for guidance, encouragement, and assurance. Did I mention that I was selfishly thinking about me, myself, and moi in this not so brilliant moment?

"Mommy? I don't want my eawrs pursed."

"Okay, Baby. But when you are ready, you come to me and we can do it." Shame on me.

Now here was her precise wording 2 days ago...

"Mommy, I want my earwings pursed."

"You want what?"

"I want my earwings pursed in my eawrs. I won't cry." Um, but I might.

"Wow, honey. Really? You now feel ready to get your ears pierced?" I am so regretting letting this opportunity pass me by when she was an infant.

"Yes. And I want those." Pointing to 2 little flowers that she had ripped off her Debbie Dancer doll's tutu minutes before.

"Cate, those are not earrings. They are flowers from your ballerina doll's tutu that I now need to sew back on."

"Oh. But can I still have real earwings?"

This is such an interesting development due to the aforementioned convo that she and I had a month or two ago. She had told me she wanted earrings like Mommy. And because I am not particularly ready to place a gun like contraption to her teeny weeny ears and spear them with sharp ended bling, I was not prepared for her to still want to do it.

Hence her request and assurance that she is now ready. And apparently I am not. There seems to be something so final about it but I think it is great that she is excited. We shall see when the moment of truth comes.

Then we have my little Ella. My baby who walked for the first time 2 weeks ago. Who keeps toddling around here like the cutie patootie that she is and then falling, giggling and picking herself back up again. I was beginning to think she would do that scoot on her boom until she graduated high school but she is now on her feet. Only problem is that she is trying to make up for lost time by trying to run. She looks like Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins when he runs around with his pants stretched out to look like penguin.

Sigh.

Again, there is something final about beginning to walk because she leaves another part of her "babyness" behind and moves forward. Because she will ALWAYS walk. These girls just keep changing just when I start to get acquainted with "The Current Stage." Then they move on to the next stage and I'm left wondering how they grow so fast that I find it difficult to keep up. But I have a strange feeling that holes in the ears and walking pales in comparison for what is it to come.

Full of Thanksgiving!

Friends, I never knew I would write something called a blog. The first time I heard that word, I was so mystified by this techy term that it reminded me of blob and frog merged together. As I began to read other blogs, I became inspired by the creativity I encountered. Blown away, laughing out loud, weeping just by reading about the lives of people I have never met. It was the most surreal experience to be vested in a person's life through this little monitor window into the webby world. So in light of this 4 month journey of writing this blog, I am so incredibly wowed to be a featured blogger on the Shabby Blogs Blog.

I am excited, humbled, and most of all thankful for such a fun recognition. I love writing and sharing my life in my posts. To have someone give me such encouragement has touched me in a monumental way. I read numerous blogs from talented, incredibly gifted writers who are every day people just like me with something to say. So I pray that God will use my writing, maybe my Two Shades of Pink Story or just some laughter to bless someone who stops by.

Thank you bunches, Meg! The day I saw your little cameo pop up as my 3rd follower, I will never forget how insanely pumped I was knowing you were out there rooting for me. It means so much and so does this feature.

Thank you to every person who has visited me, left a comment and just stopped by to peek in.

You know. To my blob frog.

Hugs!

Two Tips Tuesday

Tip #1: A Prayer or Thankfulness Tree

Deck my blog with holiday fuuuuuuuuuuuun...fa lalalala la la laaaa
All my tips will be like this till the New Year...fa la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaaa!

OK. Lame song. But the holidays are officially here and there are so many goodies we can do with the rest of the tips in 2009. I will challenge myself to do just that!

A prayer or thankfulness tree, you ask? This is not a new idea but I love that so many people do this each year. It is simply just a tree with leaves that say what the person is thankful for or prayers written on each leaf to pray for during the holiday season. BFF has one in her entry that is kind of like a guest book which is so nice. It is a paint drawn tree on paper and she has a bowl of leaves for each person to fill out and hang on the tree. I have always wanted to get a tree branch from outside and make it into a mini tree and hang reusable leaves on them. That has been my plan for 2 years and I still have not done it.

More inspiration...

• Set a pretty bowl on the table with several cut out leaves or buy the ones in packages at the store to write out your thankful notes.
• A unique and different idea...a girlfriend and I were designated to decorate for a baby shower for a dear friend of ours and we filled a glass vase full of brown river rocks. We had each guest sign their name and write an attribute of our friend on that rock.
• Make a large, paper tree for the fridge, cut out paper covered magnets in tree shapes, color, and write them out during the whole month of November until Thanksgiving.
• Postpone this idea until Christmas, have a tabletop tree and write out prayers or the things you consider in life to be a precious gift. Write them on ornaments to hang on the tree.

Tip #2: Photo Gift Tags for Tots

I love wrapping gifts. My mother always made them look BEAUTIFUL and about killed herself doing it each year. But one thing I have learned is to simplify this season as much as possible. I used to do fancy bows and gifts tags. The whole shebang. But the first time I saw Cati tear into a gift and not notice one thing about the nifty little bow or how I uniquely offset the ribbon on the top, I knew things would change. My efforts were utterly ignored and I realized...WHO CARES? But I still have to be me so it needs to look cute.

This year I want Cati to have lots of fun and be a Christmas helper to hand out all the gifts. I initially thought I would designate a particular wrapping paper for each of us but then I realized that might not go well with what I purchased during last years after Christmas sale. What if there is ONE, lonely gift that has random paper? It would drive me into bouts of insomnia.

So I decided to make photo gift tags. That way, Cati could look at it and know who's gift it is and feel involved. It also may help prevent her from tearing into all the other gifts. I went to Walgreen's, chose photos and had them printed in black and white, and wallet size to give me four pictures per sheet. Then I mounted them on paper, hole punched the corner and wrapped it with ribbon. Here are a few I have already wrapped for the girls...

Happy Tuesday Friends!

What's a Promise?

So on the way home from AWANA Cubbies the other night, Cati tells me she made me a picture and it is in her bag. I pull it out and see this rainbow with the phrase "God makes a promise." I tell Cati how wonderful her picture is and then decide to make this a moment to learn.

"Cati, do you know what the word promise means?"

" Yes."

"Really? What does promise mean?"

"It's like a circle."

Whoa. I had to let that sink in because she seemed to be going a little deeper than what I was prepared for. Then I figured she meant that a rainbow is like a circle. I had no idea but I was definitely fearful in that moment that my 3 year old was beginning to show signs of an intellect that vastly surpasses my own.

"A circle?"

"Yes. A circle."

"How is a promise like a circle?"

"Because it is round like a circle."

OK. Time to move on from the philosophical circle.

"Cati, a rainbow is a promise from God. He gave us a rainbow after the flood when Noah built the ark. Do you remember that story?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

Well, a promise means that when someone says they will do something they will really do it. Like, if I told you Mommy promises to give you a popsicle, I will give you a popsicle. Because Mommy keeps her promises. And God ALWAYS keeps His promises.

My child lights up like a birthday candle. "A POPSICLE?"

"Yup."

Silence fills the car and only the sound of the radio playing and the hum of the tires ensues. Then...

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Cati?"

"I PROMISE I will eat that popsicle."

Ahhhh. Lesson learned.

Two Tips Tuesday

Tip #1: Label a Canister



I have kept this canister from a little set I had when I was single and in my first apartment. It is the only one left but I have always used it for miscellaneous things in the pantry or around the house. The latest uses were a piggy bank for Cati and now it is housing Halloween candy. I love that I can just label it with a dry erase marker and erase it when I find a new use for it. Endless possibilities and I get to indulge in my obsession with labeling any and all things.


Tip #2: Some Great Websites that Save You BIG MOOLA!


I am all about a deal and I am discovering that I have gone far too long in not taking advantage of deals that are floating around out there in cyberland because I have just been too lazy to go look for them. But over the last year I have had delightfully frugal friends who have clued me in on some of these websites that help us out in saving a little money. So here are some I find VERY useful and I hope you will too...especially as the holiday season of ridiculous spending is upon us.

couponheaven.com
retailmenot.com
currentcodes.com

Coupons and codes for a gazillion stores! Savings include things like free shipping or codes for certain percentages off. Great to check out if you do holiday shopping online.

southernsavers.com

A great grocery store site that does all the work for you to find the deals at your local grocery store, Walgreen's, CVS, etc. If you are willing to do the work, this pays off in crazy ways. BFF went to Walgreen's and got over $60 worth of stuff for $11. Worth a shot!

slickdeals.net

Limited time deals that expire but are scouted and submitted to this website. You can really find some drastically reduced prices of higher dollar items.

I would love for any of you to comment about some great websites you have found that save some change or have great deals.

Happy Tuesday!

Updates

I have no idea what to write. So I have started this post praying that the Lord will just take over my brain, my typing hands, and the words will just flow. But I am anticipating random musings and ramblings, yet that would mean I am not believing God for a very poignant post.

I have been in such a writing slump. For no apparent reason. I guess it is because life is sometimes normal and mundane. So let's try a list. Lists are a balm to my soul. They create order and order is my bliss. Perhaps if I do a list, something extraordinary will come of it. Or I will just be able to update you on life happenings in my household. My last post outside of my weekly TTT post was my Halloween bag. So let's go in order...

Halloween: Boy did I have some grumpy girls. They were not thrilled with a boiling hot Halloween in costume. Or that we were a volunteer trunk and candy hander outers for our church trunk or treat. But I am sure you would appreciate a visual of my girlies in costume. A Strawberry Fairy and Princess Aurora...

We Got Our Power Turned Off: By mistake. Oooohhhh...I was hot! Fortunately, not in body temperature. It was 72 degrees that day. I was just plain mad. This is the second time this happened. And in this little rental we have, the power guy actually has to open our back fence gate to come to the power box to turn it off. Sometimes the city workers have to come check the meter thingy and the first time I almost bit the guy's head off coming onto the patio. This time, I thought that was happening again and greeted him cheerfully since our window was open on such a cool day. Scared the guy silly. We laughed together. Hee hee ho ho ha ha. Then I hear the TV pop off. I tell Cati to turn it back on and she said it wasn't working. I thought she was referring to the sub par Disney DVD from the library where other mothers apparently let their children scratch them up and leave mystery, sticky food particles on them. Then I realize the house is eerily quiet. It is 10:30 in the AM and my power is off. That little deceiver! OK, he was just doing his job but I soooo wanted to kill the messenger. I run outside and he speeds off. But HA! Our street dead ends and he would have to turn around and come back. So I waited like a predator for his prey. OK. Not really. I waited like the panicky mommy I was because ya kinda need power to cook stuff, blog stuff, watch stuff, wash clothes and stuff...you know. So he turned around and I say,

"Why did you turn off our power?" Nothing more angry or better came to mind.

"I had a service order for your house. You need to call and work it out."

"But we paid our bill last week...on time too! Maybe you meant to do the neighbors and got the wrong one." There. Now I was getting a groove. He made a mistake. Of course.

Then he says my husbands name. Uh oh. He had the right house.

So I call hubby who got right on the phone with the power company and they said there was a glitch in the system and it would be turned on within the hour.

Um, no.

Try EIGHT HOURS LATER! They came at 6:30 that evening. I had to take the girls out for pizza just to feed them. Oh well. But I was ready to have a power company tech head on a stick.

Ella took 6 steps! That was the great thing about that night. Ella walked on her own for the first time and she keeps trying. Woo Hoo! She is 15 months and I am ready for her to be toddling around here. She will be more destructive and busy but I find it so much easier when they can walk. Call me weird.

That is all my exciting news. Just wanted to let you know I am pretty out of it with a writer's block but perhaps this was still a nice update. Hopefully this will jump start me out of my little, bloggy hiatus.

Two Tips Tuesday

Tip #1: Name Basket

This one may be super obvious to most of you but it took me some time to grasp this one. I have seen it on those organization shows, magazine articles, blah, blah. But I never really saw a need to use a basket to contain clutter. If it has a place to go, put it there. And lookey there...no need for the basket. Ah, but my arrogance turned to humility when...yes...

Kids.

They are not the organized little robots I thought I would train them to be. No, no they are mini cyclones of chaos that disturb my peaceful order. If there is order, I feel peace. I so need help.

But for now I came up with designated baskets to contain the clutter. I still have a specific place for EVERYTHING so the basket helps contain it before it gets there. As I try to clean up around here, I take Cati's basket and grab her shoes, dress up clothes, books, stuffed animals, odds and ends and throw it all together in the basket. Usually I do this at nap time when they won't undo what I just cleaned. Then, when they wake up, I put it all back. Cati is getting great at doing this herself so that helps too. She puts away her laundry and toys from the basket and gets excited she helped Mommy. Everyone wins.

Tip #2: Inspiration Notebook

Yes, another organization tip. I have to confess I like magazines. A lot. If they had bible verses throughout them, I think I would retain scripture in a miraculous way. I also think magazine ads would be cleaner too but perhaps that can wait for another "post on my soapbox."

Magazines could very possibly take over my house if I am not careful. So I try to purge of them every once and awhile. I go through them and take out the articles I love. Stuff like web sites, home decorating, tips, recipes, you name it. Then I put them in page protectors and stick them in a binder categorized by topic.

OK. After typing that I realized I am a geek. I am a bona fide, organizational, freak, geek.

But I reap so many benefits so I shall pass on this tip to you so you can do the same. Come and find your inner geek with me. It'll be fun.

Enjoy your Tuesday.