It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

Today is Halloween Eve. It was 26 Degrees outside when we got up this morning. There was a thin layer of frost spread out on roof tops and covering car windows. I was thrilled! I love this time of year when the weather turns cool for many reasons.

1.) I get to wear these:

And these:

when I hang out around the house.

2.) Speaking of hanging out around the house, cool weather is a good excuse to spend more quiet days at home with Emmy and the hubby sipping on hot coffee-me, not Emmy. (Except I am pretty sure I gave her coffee yesterday. It was an honest mistake. I'm a wonderful mother.)

3.) Frost is as good as snow in my book which means CHRISTMAS! So you'd better believe we spent the day jammin' to Christmas Carols. While we're on the subject of Christmas (which we will likely often be for the remainder of the holiday season since it is my favorite time of the year) I like to use Halloween decorating as a warm up for the BIG Holiday. Here are some pics of my subtle fall/halloween decor.

This, my friends, is a pumpkin spray painted with chalkboard paint. It is F-U-N!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween and gets lots of candy. Thank goodness it falls on a Friday this year. I'll be able to spend the weekend putting up Christmas decorations!

A Mother's Prayer

I am not a "person of prayer" as those who know me are aware. However, I found this in a book [The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner, Copyright 2005] I was looking at tonight and thought it humorous and worth sharing.

A Mother's Prayer:

Dear Lord,
So far today I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or very indulgent. I'm very grateful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help. Amen.

Funny, right (not to mention poignant)? I mean, as I've mentioned before, I love my life as a SAHM but there are many nights where I go to bed thinking I could have been a better mother/wife/sister/daughter/friend/________ (fill in the blank) that day. I'm lucky to be able to start each day anew and need to remember how important it is that I am a positive model of what it is to be a good mother/wife/sister/daughter/friend/______(fill in the blank) for Emmy. Maybe I'll post this prayer on my refrigerator as a reminder.

Not So Sleeping Beauty

Just like Newton's Law of Gravity, there are certain laws of motherhood that always hold true. One such law states, "A child will interrupt their mother's sleep when that sleep is most desired." So it was, this cool, crisp, Fall Sunday morning that I lay snuggled in bed, so comfortable that my body tingled.

And. It. Happened.

Sweet Emmy Lou woke an hour early, full of spunk and energy. (Sunday being the one day a week that I let myself sleep in a bit and don't worry about getting up and moving before she gets up.) I dragged my no longer joyful body out of bed and shuffled my freezing feet down the hall to oblige my baby's demands of "Mama, up, up, up."

We ended up running lots of errands that afternoon so in addition to waking up early, Emmy's only nap was had in her carseat driving from Point A to Point B. Since I was doing the driving, it meant no nap for me. I shouldn't have been surprised then, when my now over-tired angel woke up at 1:00 am that very night and was having an awful time getting back to sleep. Realizing that this predicament wiped going back to sleep completely off of my list of options I threw the covers off of my doubly unhappy body and once again shuffled my freezing feet down to Emmy's room, longing for sleep and hoping that some good ol' fashioned begging and pleading would remedy the situation. (It didn't, and neither did rocking, reading, or singing.)

It is easy to feel sorry for myself on that short middle of the night walk from my bed to Emmy's room to soothe her back to sleep. But as soon as I open her door and lay my eyes on her precious face, my self-pity evaporates and is replaced by something amazing...GRATITUDE.

Those of you who know sweet Emmy Lou, know that she moves non-stop from sun-up to sun-down, leaving any hopes I have for cuddling shattered in her dust. But during these periodic late night snuggles, we sit in the rocking chair together where she curls up on my lap and snuggles into my chest for some love from mommy. And I forget that it is 2:00 or 3:00 or 4:00 am and think about how lucky I am that I get to snuggle with this.

I mean, seriously, how lucky am I? I always end up weighing the option of sleeping the rest of the night in that creaky rocking chair with her in my arms but don't so that we can all get some quality shut-eye. I gingerly lay Emmy back into her bed and sneak back to my room. But this time the walk down the hall has a very different sense of longing. Not for sleep this time but to always be able to hold that sweet baby in my arms and know that she finds comfort there.

Yummy!

What's this you ask? It just happens to be the most delicious mouth watering Banana Bread I've ever tasted. And I'm not just saying that because I made it (wink, wink). You should make it too. Here is the recipe (taken from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Copyright, 1996). I used chocolate chips instead of the nuts for my bread. A little nutmeg would also be a delicious addition to the recipe, I'm sure.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat Oven to 350

1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside.

2. In another bowl combine the egg, bananas, sugar, cooking oila nd, if desired, lemon peel. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts.

3. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350 oven 50 to 55 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan; cool on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 1 loaf (16 servings).

Nutrition Facts per serving: 154 cal., 6 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 13 mg chol., 75 mg sodium, 23 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 2 g pro.

Daily Values:G>  0% vit. A, 3% vit. C, 3% calcium, 5% iron

Go To Girl

Emmy's favorite bath time toy is a cup. She loves to fill it up with soapy water and pour it down her face and in her mouth (yuck). Last night, while doing this, a little water must have gone down the wrong pipe and she choked. As she was trying to catch her breath she tried to climb out of the bath into my arms. All the while, I'm awe-struck by the fact that, in her time of need, Emmy's first instinct was to reach for me.

(Sidebar: Lest any of you think I'm a terrible mother for pontificating on the meaning of motherhood while my daughter is choking, let me state that this all happened in approximately 1.5 seconds. It was over as quickly as it started and she was back to playing with her beloved cup.)

It is important that throughout her life, Emmy have a network of people that make her feel safe and to exchange love with like her father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. But I get a special (read: selfish) kind of joy from being her comfort figure. I hope to always be that "go to" person in Emmy's life (and, if I'm lucky, future children as well).

I know that in time, Emmy will reach her teen and young adult years and we will both struggle while she seeks out independence. And once she finds that independence, she'll likely go on to have her own family. My hope and goal is that no matter where she finds herself in life, she will always know that I love her in the unfaltering, never-ending, abounding, magnificent way that only a parent can. My arms and lap are always open for her to crawl into for love and security. I will be her safe-place.

Question of the Day

What is this?

If you answered "boring" you're right. (Maybe a little rude and judgemental, but right nonetheless.) How did it happen that all of my dishes are plain old white? I'd like some some new ones, maybe with a little color this time, but alas, Money still has not responded to my letter. Maybe one day....

Love Story

I LOVE my family and life.

The End.

Dear Money

Dear Money,

We miss you. Please come home soon. If you return, we promise to end our long and turbulent affair with Bills. Forever.

Sincerely,
G&K (and the other 95% of Americans)

Skinned Knees

Skinned knees are, to me, the epitome of childhood. Recently, Emmy took a tumble on the back patio and skinned her knees for the first time. I, of course, gasped in horror and thanked the heavens above that we live so close to a hospital. (Because surely this would require a trip to Emergency, right?...Sometimes I overreact. You can imagine how helpful I am in real emergencies.) Emmy, the Iron Baby, just stood back up, looked down at her scraped knees, wiped them off and returned to her business of running aimlessly through the backyard.

Without so much as a whimper!

Once my heart stopped racing and I knew everything was fine, I started thinking about how symbolic the moment seemed. Emmy is going to have a lifetime of "skinned knees" and I hope she is able to get up and brush herself off each time. As a mother, I want to teach my sweet little Emmy Lou that it is okay to take the time and reflect on life's bumps and bruises but that eventually the scrapes will heal and she will be able to "get back to business."