I'm still here, really!

I know, I know!!! It's been forever since I posted last! Bad Rachel! For my 2 or 3 loyal readers, please don't give up on me yet! :)

This past month was pretty rough--illnesses (yucky stomach bug), major tiredness (mostly due to my sweet baby girl not sleeping--Read this as Me not sleeping either--), long stretches of days when my husband had to work, etc. etc. Just a tough time. Hopefully we're past all that!

Anyway, lots of cool things happened during that time too. Our Katie got three teeth (2 on the bottom, 1 on top), she learned how to roll over both ways, she started crawling and pulling herself up, waving, clapping. It's crazy! She's growing and changing everyday and I totally feel like I'm missing it because I'm either trying to get dinner on the table or I'm trying to calm down Sterling Alexander when Kate starts getting into his toys ("Move her Mom!!!) or I'm trying to spend a minute of quality time with my husband (It's okay to hide in the closet to try and have a conversation together, right?). Thank goodness for cameras and pictures!

I keep trying to remind myself to enjoy this time. Especially when my son asks me, like he did today, to sit next to him on the couch during the dinner rush to read to him. So stinking sweet! It would have been so easy to put him off, but then I stopped and thought about what life is going to be like in a few years..... Yeah, I'll be lucky if I get a "Hi mom" let alone a chance to really spend some quality time with him. So, I figured I better take advantage of it while I've got it. Who cares if every room of the house has toys and dirty clothes and dishes in it!! RIGHT NOW I've got a little boy who loves me and wants all my attention. I better cherish this time, DARN IT!, even if it did mean that we ate dinner at 9:30 PM!

Here's some pictures of Kate in her ever changing state! Plus, you be the judge....Kate has two holiday dresses and I'm not sure which one to have her Christmas pictures taken in. Let me know which one you think is better! Thanks!

"Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day...."

It is an absolutely beautiful morning here in West Texas. It was cool this morning in the 60's with bright blue skies, plentiful sunshine, and a light breeze. And, it's quiet. No TV, no radios, just the sounds of nature--birds talking, leaves being rustled by the wind; you know how it is. It's just so wonderful. It's serene.

My son is playing sweetly with his trains in his bedroom and my girl just feel asleep in my lap. As I take her to her room to lie her down in her crib the thought comes to me---these are some of the best days of your life--cherish them. It's so true, isn't it? We don't know what the rest of our lives are going to bring, so we need to remember to cherish the moment we are living in.

We get so wrapped up in the everyday chaos that when a quiet, peaceful morning comes along, we almost miss the specialness of it. It almost reminds me of being a kid and how even though life wasn't perfect all the time, it felt safe. I miss that sometimes. That total feeling of knowing that everything in life was going to be okay no matter what. I hope that's how my children feel. I want them to always know that they will have that in their hearts.

By jove, I think he's got it!

Wasn't it a great day today? How could it not be--it's my sister-in-law, Eryn's birthday! Yeah!

And as great as that is, it somehow pales in comparison to what I'm going to share next.

MY SON WENT PEE AND POOP IN THE TOILET OF HIS OWN FREE WILL!!!!!!!!!
HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HA-LE-LUJAH!

Okay, here's the story.....We went to the barber shop today to have the "boys" (Big & little Sterling) hair cut. Unfortunately, to get the barber we wanted, we had to wait. I thought this was going to be an issue---make a 3-year-old wait patiently???? But, no, the heavens were smiling upon us! Not only was he extremely well behaved, he was happy and intrigued by all that was going on around us. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised then when my son turned to me and those sweet words came out of his mouth, "Mommy, I have to go potty!". I just looked at him in disbelief and then shook it off and jumped up to run him to the "potty" (er, I mean restroom). We made it in and out of there without any accidents. I was filled with joy! Unfortunately, our barber was still busy so again, I worried that we might have an issue with the waiting thing. Again, he was the perfect angel. (Really...I'm not making this stuff up...)

So, a little while goes by and my son again turns to me and even more beautiful words come flowing from his mouth, "Mommy, I have to go poo-poo!" What? Did my ears hear him correctly? Was my son actually VOLUNTEERING to use the potty to go poop (no less) of his own free will? I think I did a double take. I think I even heard myself in disbelief saying, "Really?" So, as he's taking off for the restroom, I finally find it in my power to peel myself up off the floor and run in there with him. He was amazing! He got right up there and pooped in the toilet! (That's when I heard the Hallelujahs start singing in my head!) I don't know about him, but that was the first time I think I ever left the bathroom feeling victorious! What a great feeling that was. I don't know if it was the combination of stinky old men or discarded hair or clipper oil, but it doesn't matter because my son pooped and potty-ed on the toilet of his own free will!!!!!!!!!!!!


...........Or maybe it was the fact that he knew he was going to get a sucker from the barber once he got to him...........

Whatever it was, let's just see how long it lasts...........................

This is a test.....This is only a test.....

So, I'm having a kind of out of sorts evening because my son decided to take a nap at 7pm. I ended up making and having dinner by myself with my daughter eyeing me all the while I was eating. I know what she was thinking......."Uh, He-llooooo, where's mine Mom?" So, what do I do? I decide to check her diaper and discover that it's of the number 2 variety, I go and change her and then put her in the bath. All well and good right? WRONG! I forgot to feed my baby! Wow, what a great mom I am! So, instead of taking her out of the bath and feeding her like any normal person would, why not just incorporate the two? Yes, that's right, she ate oatmeal cereal in the bathtub naked! And, so because she spit most of it out, she got one of those special oatmeal baths. Oatmeal's good for the skin, right? (And, I forgot to tell you in the middle of all this my son wakes up and decides he wants to watch the new Thomas the train DVD he got at the library before he fell asleep. The boy hasn't eaten for at least 8 hours and what does he want? Thomas the train. Crazy...)

Anyway, getting to the title of this blog, aren't there just some days when you feel like you're being tested? I'm not sure if it's God having a sense of humor or what. But, like I said, I'm having a weird out of sorts evening and I get this call from my husband. He had just spoken to the Southwest Airlines Manager here in Midland and she tells him that they are going to be hiring. And, at least two off the street. Now, that may not seem like anything really, but for an ex-airline employee like me, that's big doings. Midland is a very high seniority city and most people that get hired on here have been somewhere in the Southwest system and have been trying to get to Midland. So for someone like me whose toyed with the idea of going back to work for an airline after the kids get in school (Man, I miss those flight benefits), my ears really perked up. I mean here is an opportunity for me to get in with Southwest right here in Midland without having to do my time in some far off distant city. Thus here is my dilemma.....I want to be a stay-at-home mom. I think it's truly important and part of God's plan for our family. On the other hand, opportunities like this don't really come along very often, if ever. Of course, the first thing that pops into my head is how would we be able to juggle it? (child care, my schedule, Sterling's Schedule, etc.) instead of what really should have which was "What does God want for my life?" Instead of me trying to figure things out I forgot to consult with the one that truly should make the decisions in my life. It's truly that case of "I know what's best for me" and "man, wouldn't it be nice to talk to some grown up people most of the day rather than be spit up on and calm a temper tantrum?" Uggh, I HATE tests!

I guess I better start doing some hard-core praying!

Ahhh kids......you've gotta love them

I love my children. I really do! They are the most amazing gift and blessing that I have ever received.

Now, that being said, there are times when I just want to scream "Aaaaaaaaargh!"

Let me explain.....It's currently 10:23PM and oh yeah, we just finished dinner about 20 minutes ago. My husband, lucky guy that he is, is working the late shift this week and so that means from 3PM on it's just me and my two beautiful kids. Which is great most of the time, except when we all take a 2 hour nap around 5PM and I end up starting dinner after 7 o' clock. (I know, I know, at least I got a nap too!) And, of course, I'm trying to be the good mom and get some healthy nutrition into our meals (not like two nights ago when we had Spiderman Mac & Cheese for dinner). So, I decided to practice what I saw on Oprah the other day when Jessica Seinfeld was on promoting her book "Deceptively Delicious" and add some broccoli puree to some chicken strips that I was making. I didn't exactly follow her chicken recipe but went with my old standby on the back of the Bisquick box (which are excellent by the way) except that I added the broccoli to the egg like she does. So, all in all, after thawing and cutting up the chicken, getting all the ingredients together, and getting it in the oven in between breastfeeding and putting a puzzle (or six) together along with what seemed like a million other requests (demands!) from my two children, we sat down to eat at around 9:30PM.

At least there's one good thing I can say.........my son actually ate the chicken and liked it!