Why do "one of those days" days exist?
Today ought to be a good day. Abigail slept for ten hours straight last night. We went to Bible Study at church this morning, which I love, and there was brunch, which I also love (sometimes too much, I'll confess). I loved talking with the women in my small group.
We're home now. There's plenty of coffee in the pot. Abigail is playing contentedly, and I don't have to do any chores but put some clothes in the dryer and make dinner later. Dinner is easy-peasy. And David will be home tonight, and we will watch LOST, which I am super excited about. (We missed it on Tuesday - no spoilers, please.)
And yet I still feel cranky and curmudgeony (is that a word?), albeit in a rather detached, "Wow, look at how cranky I am today..." sort of way. Why?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
You Are What You Eat
I am suddenly surrounded by people who are fixated on food. Specifically, fixated on how to eat organically, healthily, & humanely. People who search out hormone-free milk that comes from grass-fed cows. People who want to buy chicken that comes from birds who are allowed to walk around outside before they are... well... made edible. People who compare the prices of organic produce at Trader Joe's vs. Whole Foods.
I'm not making fun of any of these people - I respect my friends for the choices they are making. I actually admire them for being so knowledgeable and passionate in their convictions. But I'm also rather fascinated by the situation. I am literally surrounded by friends who feel deeply that the humane purchasing (and eating) of your food is a deeply serious - and possibly moral - issue. (I can't think of a better way to phrase it.) Some of them are concerned about all the bad stuff that goes into the stuff we eat, some are concerned about the way we mass-produce and therefore mistreat the animals that provide us nourishment, and some are concerned about both.
All I know is that suddenly I'm hyper-aware of everything. I suspiciously eye the milk I'm drinking. When I go to the grocery store, I stare at the meat and chicken for a looooong time and feel a little guilty when I pick it up. I bite into an apple and wonder if it's actually poisoning me - like poor Snow White's was.
All this talk of ethical eating is making me wonder if God wants me to change my food habits. And this may sound terrible, but I really hope not. I like my junk food. I like Aldi. But maybe junk food, and Aldi, are a little bit evil?
Has anyone else thought about this issue?
I'm not making fun of any of these people - I respect my friends for the choices they are making. I actually admire them for being so knowledgeable and passionate in their convictions. But I'm also rather fascinated by the situation. I am literally surrounded by friends who feel deeply that the humane purchasing (and eating) of your food is a deeply serious - and possibly moral - issue. (I can't think of a better way to phrase it.) Some of them are concerned about all the bad stuff that goes into the stuff we eat, some are concerned about the way we mass-produce and therefore mistreat the animals that provide us nourishment, and some are concerned about both.
All I know is that suddenly I'm hyper-aware of everything. I suspiciously eye the milk I'm drinking. When I go to the grocery store, I stare at the meat and chicken for a looooong time and feel a little guilty when I pick it up. I bite into an apple and wonder if it's actually poisoning me - like poor Snow White's was.
All this talk of ethical eating is making me wonder if God wants me to change my food habits. And this may sound terrible, but I really hope not. I like my junk food. I like Aldi. But maybe junk food, and Aldi, are a little bit evil?
Has anyone else thought about this issue?
Friday, March 12, 2010
On the Move
Abigail is mobile.
She's not crawling, not exactly, but she is "worming" - scooting herself hands and knees across the floor. It's slow, but it's most definitely progress. If she's on the floor and I turn my back on her for a minute, when I turn around again, she's somewhere other than where I left her. And it's usually somewhere rather far from where she was.
She works so hard to go not very fast at all. But day by day she's getting more efficient. It means nothing's safe anymore. It means I am suddenly aware of just how dirty the wood floors in our house really are. And it means I'm finding little puddles of baby vomit everywhere. Oh, the joy.
She's not crawling, not exactly, but she is "worming" - scooting herself hands and knees across the floor. It's slow, but it's most definitely progress. If she's on the floor and I turn my back on her for a minute, when I turn around again, she's somewhere other than where I left her. And it's usually somewhere rather far from where she was.
She works so hard to go not very fast at all. But day by day she's getting more efficient. It means nothing's safe anymore. It means I am suddenly aware of just how dirty the wood floors in our house really are. And it means I'm finding little puddles of baby vomit everywhere. Oh, the joy.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Revenge of the Snow Drops
Last spring, when I was mucho prego, I had a bout of cabin fever and needed to get outside. So I attacked our front gardens, pulling up hundreds of little while snowdrop flowers that had popped up in early March. I literally pulled the bulbs out in fistfuls, making piles and piles of the ugly little flowers. (I hate calling a flower ugly, but really, these were. They have a wussy little white bloom that lasts about 48 hours, and then their short little stems and leaves just droop over, looking like overgrown grass in your garden. I'm sure they look lovely in the woods, but they don't on a suburban lawn.) I was on my hands and knees for hours one day, and posted the next day about how tired I was. But when it was done, and I surveyed the clean beds, I felt so good. Downright victorious.
On Sunday after church as David and I were unloading Abi-girl from the van, he turned and pointed. "Ooh, look! The snowdrops are back!" He sounded happy, but then turned and saw my face. "Wait, you don't like them. Weren't you going to pull them up last spring?"
On Sunday after church as David and I were unloading Abi-girl from the van, he turned and pointed. "Ooh, look! The snowdrops are back!" He sounded happy, but then turned and saw my face. "Wait, you don't like them. Weren't you going to pull them up last spring?"
Monday, March 8, 2010
Messes
Okay moms - if any of you have been keeping up with the blog - I need some advice. Abigail sleeps through the night - anywhere from 9-12 hours. When she wakes in the morning, she is ALWAYS soaked through. Onesie, PJs, sheets, mattress liner.
We tried cloth diapers at first (she wears those during the day and doesn't leak), but she soaked through those. So then we bought Pampers Baby Dry 12 Hour overnight diapers. They worked for a while, but now they don't. We've got the right size - Abigail weighs 17 lbs and wears a size 3 diaper. But she's recently decided that sleeping on her tummy is more comfortable than her back. And because the diapers aren't as absorbent in front, and she's laying on the less-absorbent area all night, it eventually leaks out and makes a huge mess. We only have two mattress pads, and about four crib sheets, so I do laundry a lot. Help!
Taking suggestions...
We tried cloth diapers at first (she wears those during the day and doesn't leak), but she soaked through those. So then we bought Pampers Baby Dry 12 Hour overnight diapers. They worked for a while, but now they don't. We've got the right size - Abigail weighs 17 lbs and wears a size 3 diaper. But she's recently decided that sleeping on her tummy is more comfortable than her back. And because the diapers aren't as absorbent in front, and she's laying on the less-absorbent area all night, it eventually leaks out and makes a huge mess. We only have two mattress pads, and about four crib sheets, so I do laundry a lot. Help!
Taking suggestions...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
My New Favorite... and Other Stuff
Sooo...I discovered last week that Aldi makes these awwwwwwwwwesome "homestyle" peanut butter cookies. They are soft and chewy and pretty much amazing. If you put one in the microwave for 8 seconds, it even tastes fresh-baked. I also discovered that Aldi makes a pretty delish version of Moose Tracks Ice Cream. I was afraid cheap ice cream = low PB cup ratio, but no... it's super yummy. Last night (after American Idol) I put them together. And... Oh. My. Word. Super, super goodness.
Obviously, I did not give up cookies and candy for Lent. (I bet if you know me, you would have guessed that before this post.) Mostly I didn't do it because I knew I wouldn't. I mean "wouldn't" in that I meant I could say that I would give up cookies and candy, but I'd never really mean it. And instead of spending extra energy focusing on my spiritual life, I'd probably just gripe about missing out on the sweets. So I didn't do it. I swear that's not a cop out answer. Because so far, the Lenten season has been good. I've been managing to find time in the day to slow down and spend some time with Jesus. I've been reading more, praying more, and reflecting more - which has been good (and challenging). And since I'm trying to "connect" more, I'm paying better attention in church on Sundays and at Bible Study on Thursday mornings. Consequently, I'm being challenged. I feel like every once in a while God decides to uncover a bunch of junk (read: sin) in my life - and now is one of those times. It probably started around Abigail's baptism, truth be told, and is continuing. I usually hate times like this because it makes me feel like I'm always the one messing up and D never has to deal with sin. I know that's not true, but it's how I feel. (That's a statement I make to my beloved all the time.) Right now, I don't mind so much. Maybe by the time Easter rolls around I will be a perfect person!
That said, I'd just like to add that there would have been some benefit to at least trying to forego the sugar. Bathing suit season is fast approaching, and I feel like I ought to staple a swimsuit to the bedroom wall to remind myself that come April (if we go to AZ to see Oma), I'll have to wear one. I don't even know where to shop for a new one (Suggestions?) All I have right now are maternity suits. And who wants to wear a maternity suit 10 months after your baby's born?
Obviously, I did not give up cookies and candy for Lent. (I bet if you know me, you would have guessed that before this post.) Mostly I didn't do it because I knew I wouldn't. I mean "wouldn't" in that I meant I could say that I would give up cookies and candy, but I'd never really mean it. And instead of spending extra energy focusing on my spiritual life, I'd probably just gripe about missing out on the sweets. So I didn't do it. I swear that's not a cop out answer. Because so far, the Lenten season has been good. I've been managing to find time in the day to slow down and spend some time with Jesus. I've been reading more, praying more, and reflecting more - which has been good (and challenging). And since I'm trying to "connect" more, I'm paying better attention in church on Sundays and at Bible Study on Thursday mornings. Consequently, I'm being challenged. I feel like every once in a while God decides to uncover a bunch of junk (read: sin) in my life - and now is one of those times. It probably started around Abigail's baptism, truth be told, and is continuing. I usually hate times like this because it makes me feel like I'm always the one messing up and D never has to deal with sin. I know that's not true, but it's how I feel. (That's a statement I make to my beloved all the time.) Right now, I don't mind so much. Maybe by the time Easter rolls around I will be a perfect person!
That said, I'd just like to add that there would have been some benefit to at least trying to forego the sugar. Bathing suit season is fast approaching, and I feel like I ought to staple a swimsuit to the bedroom wall to remind myself that come April (if we go to AZ to see Oma), I'll have to wear one. I don't even know where to shop for a new one (Suggestions?) All I have right now are maternity suits. And who wants to wear a maternity suit 10 months after your baby's born?
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