Absolute Insanity!

I am a planner. I love to make elaborate plans for things. I plan for the ideal world. The ideal life. The ideal situation. The ideal amount of time in a day- 100 hours, right?

And then I plan some more.

And then I get discouraged when nothing happens.

I am not an executor. The world is not ideal. There is no perfect situation all of the time. Especially with a toddler in the house, things don't always (and by that I mean rarely) turn out the way I planned.

So, last night, I was very discouraged (and tired and not feeling well and exhausted and...well you get the point). So I decided to talk to Andrew about it. I think he got a little worried when I said, "Honey, do you think we could talk for a while after we put Austin to bed?" I quickly had to explain that it was not on of those talks that he needed to worry about! :)

So as I was talking to him about the way I feel, he offered me one piece of advice. Take one thing at a time. Tackle one goal. Sure, work on the other things some too, but hold myself accountable for one thing. Then, when I get comfortable with that, move on to my next "one thing."

So, the one thing I have chosen? The 5 O'Clock Club! What is this? Well, I recently read the book Shopping for Time and it talked about how to get everything done in a day that you need to. I want to write more about this book later because it was a wonderful read, but the premise is that you can get all of the priorities done if you a looking at the right priorities...God's. The best way to do this is to start your day out with time with God. Since most houses start waking up by 6 or 7, they suggest getting up earlier (5 am) to have uninterrupted time.

While it can be whatever time you want, I had to go with 5 since Austin wakes up anywhere between 6 and 7. I know, it's insane! But, I have to do something to get consistent with my quiet time. I used to do it after Andrew left for work, but that just does not work any more.

I am writing about it here because of my lack of follow-through that I normally have. I need someone to hold me accountable. I don't really have an accountability partner (if anyone is interested, let me know!) so I thought blogging about it would give me some sense of accountability.

So, 5 O'Clock Club, here I come!

Tantrums!

Austin has recently started throwing tantrums. When he does not get his way on something, he balls up his little fists and screams or he does a little Ninja yell thing and slaps at the floor or a toy or even Momma!

I know! He actually hits me!

The same Momma he runs to when he gets hurt!

The same Momma he follows around all day, begging to be picked up!

The same Momma who rocks him to sleep for his naps!

Is this the beginning of our love-hate relationship?

OK, so seriously, I know that this is a normal part of development where he can't control his feelings and does not have any other way to get his feelings out and expressed and so he cries out in the only way he knows how...yada, yada, yada.

I also know that I absolutely, under no condition, should ever laugh when these tantrums erupt! I know that, but I am not so good about always following that rule. Sometimes it is just so cute!

When these melt-downs occur, I typically pick him up, move him away from other things and set him down on the floor telling him he is in time-out until he can get himself under control. At this point, he breaks out into real heart-wrenching sobs. I always stay close by, often sitting down next to him. Then, when he stops crying, I pick him up, hug him, tell him I love him and that I am proud of him for getting himself under control.

This is just another milestone in motherhood, right? I will be glad when it passes.

Any suggestions?

I Can Do It!

Well, tonight, Austin reached another milestone. He has been feeding himself with his fingers for a while now. And, he has been working on using a fork/spoon with help; but not with any real consistency.

So, tonight, I decided to give him his spoon and set his plate with applesauce on his tray and see what happened. He dug right in! It was slow going, but really for his first time on his own...I'm impressed.

See for yourself!



Notice, he is using his left hand. We have been letting him pick which hand he uses to hold his spoon. Tonight, he chose the left hand. At times, he would stop to put his right hand in to touch the applesauce, but then he would go right back to using the spoon with his left hand. I moved the spoon to his right hand at one point to see what he would do. He pushed the applesauce around with his spoon, then returned it to his left hand to continue eating. Who knows...we might have a lefty on our hands!
Also, for his first time, I am pleased to announce he did not get too messy, either! No flung food (yet) and nothing dropped on the floor! This time, there wasn't even anything in his hair! (Not something I can routinely say.)

Reading Time

A couple of days ago, Mom and I took Austin to the library for the first time. Well, it wasn't exactly the first time he has been there, it is just the first time he has been there in the kids section and awake!

Austin has just recently really gotten interested in books. He will go pick up a book and bring it to you, hand it over and then crawl into your lap. It really is the sweetest thing! Sometimes he sits through the entire book and other times he just makes it through a page or two. But, either way, I love that time!

His bedtime routine now includes reading several of his books with Daddy and then coming to Mommy to rock and sing for a while before going to bed. He always grabs Diggers first! I think that is his favorite book right now. He also likes That's Not My Puppy and Goodnight Moon. (So, I don't know how to underline in HTML. Anyone know?)

Anyway, we got several books from the library and "Play to Learn" bag which we have not opened yet. I had no idea the library has so many things for little kids! My friend, Sandi, took here kids there a lot for story time, but I did not know how much it had to offer! We will definitely be going back often.

Oh, and for Austin's first time at the library, can you imagine how many books he pulled off the shelf?

None. He was too busy playing with the stackable cups and the toy where you push the balls around on the wires in a maze. But, he has enjoyed at least one of the books here at home! :) Baby steps, right?

Famous Last Words

I realize it has been a while since I posted anything on my blog, but I wanted to start documenting little things about Austin again so I don't forget. So, I don't know how frequent these posts will be, but I am going to give it a try.

There have been a lot of times over the years that I have looked at other people and said, "My kids won't ever do that!" I have since learned that you should never say that because you will eat those words!

I came across a situation like that just last week! I have heard countless stories of things that kids have flushed down the toilet and always thought, "Now how hard could it be to keep a child out of the toilet if you just pay attention to them?" Well, now I know!

I had gone to the bathroom and, of course, Austin was running around the bathroom just waiting for a chance to get into some kind of mischief. (I also have come to understand that I lost the ability to go to the bathroom alone when I became a mother.) When I was done, I went to wash my hands. Our vanity is in a separate room from the toilet and shower, so I walked around the corner.

Austin was right behind me.

The next thing I knew, I could hear splashing. I ran into the bathroom to get what I was sure was a little boy splashing his hands in the toilet. However, what I did not count on was finding him holding my new Android cell phone over his head after just dunking it in the water!

I screamed "Noooooo!" and ran over to grab it. I dried it off really quickly with a towel and then took it in to dry it with the cool setting on the hair dryer. Austin was very proud of himself and pranced around me looking so innocent! (But I know he was gloating inside!)

Thankfully, the phone is still working, but I am not sure how long my luck will run. That is the last time I let Andrew talk me out of buying a warranty!

Catch Up

So much has been happening, that I have not had a chance to do any blogging or reading of blogs lately. Sorry for the long silence. Since our last post here are a few things that have been going on:

• We sold our house to our neighbor the weekend before we had planned on putting it on the market.
• We got a contract on 20 acres of land that is what we have always dreamed of, but never thought we would be able to afford. We are supposed to close on Aug 24th.
• We moved in with Don and Nancy until our house is built.
  
• Austin got his helmet...and has finished it. I will try to post more about that experience another time. You can see pictures of it here.
• Austin started...and finished physical therapy. He was not able to turn his head to the left or bend it to the left very well. He is now ahead of what he should be doing at this age.
• Austin is able to roll, transition to hands and knees, transition to sitting, sit unsupported, transition from sitting to hands and knees, and scoot around (backwards) just about anywhere he wants to go.
• Austin is eating baby vegetables and has tried real peaches. He loves everything, except oatmeal so far.

Well, I need to get to bed, but I thought that if I did not at least give a little update, I would be another month before I had the chance to sit back down and post again. Bear with me! I am trying to get back at it! Thanks for hanging in there with me. :)

Pictures from Sears 7-25-09

Here are the most recent pictures we have of Austin. We got his first professional pictures about a week ago. They were too cute to pass up, so of course, we spent way to much money! I know I have been promising, but I will post more of an update when I catch up on my sleep a little more. :)

Click here to view these pictures larger