random thoughts

Well, this is a random post. I started writing a few things and it turned into a huge novel of things I've been thinking about lately. None of it is that important, so I don't expect anyone to actually read it. It just feels good to get it out of my head.

- I have this friend on Facebook. She's a friend of a friend, really; we've only met twice and she lives in North Carolina and I'll never, ever see her again. But it seems like all she must do all day is share advice/articles about why everyone should co-sleep with their baby and why people who spank their kids are the devil. All. Day. Last week she literally congratulated herself on nursing her now-preschooler for 3.5 years--and still going strong! I kind of hate every single one of her posts--because how self-righteous and judge-y can you get?--but I can't get myself to delete her because I keep wanting to see how long it will last and if she will keep doing it. It's like she's the car wreck and I'm the rubbernecker that can't look away. But seriously, in some ways, she is giving me anxiety because now I am halfway worried that there ARE hundreds of cancer-causing chemicals in our baby shampoo and I will be sorry I never looked into it now that she's given me the idea. It just makes me wonder: what is she getting out of sharing these self-righteous posts every day? Does it make her feel really good about herself that she's so much better than all the other lesser moms out there who spank/yell at their kids and give up breastfeeding before the kid goes to kindergarten?

- Graham has been really, really hard lately. He has been screaming/crying quite a lot, especially if he's even the slightest bit hungry, but then refusing to eat 90% of what we give him. It's weird--it's not that he's being picky, because he'll sometimes eat everything. It's just that he's on this power trip and wants to show us that he can throw all the food on the floor JUST BECAUSE HE WANTS TO. Lunchtime every day has devolved into him yelling and throwing his sandwich bites on the floor while I say, "No, no, no, NO, NO!" over and over again and trying to shove food into his mouth. Because, if he doesn't eat, he will be the hangry screaming monster in two hours, which is even scarier than trying to force him to eat. Even WORSE than any of that, he has given up his excellent sleep habits and is waking up 5-6 times a night crying. We go in and calm him down but if we try to put him down he wakes up and screams some more, waking Dane up. And if he wakes up any time after 4, he won't go back to sleep and just cries until both boys are awake and nobody is getting any real sleep after that. So we are having to do some more sleep training, or he is getting moved back into his own room temporarily, because I don't know if I can handle this any more.

He is lucky he is so stinking cute. He is giving me gray hairs and raising my blood pressure and definitely taking years off my life. But he can give the cutest smile and I forgive him all of that. Except for maybe when he wakes up at four and won't go back to sleep. That's going to require some serious repentance, Graham. He says "Dada" whenever he's thinking about Tommy, he LOVES reading books and drags them over to me to read to him about 45 times a day, he loves walking with his walkers but shows no interest in walking on his own yet, and he has learned how to give hugs when we ask for them and it is just about the best thing ever. 

- It has come to my attention that I probably need to take the adult step of getting my diet under control. I have never had to worry ALL that much about what I eat because I've always exercised a lot and never had any health issues to think about. But I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism some six months ago (contributing to the short temper and exhaustion Graham is helping out with) and it hasn't been that big of a deal, but I have been reading and sadly finding out that apparently eating healthier is something that helps with that. There are even articles out there suggesting that gluten-free is the way to go with thyroid issues--THE HORROR! I don't know what I'm going to do yet (definitely not doing gluten-free until I am desperate; I love bread) but I am going to talk to some peeps in the know and to my doctor and maybe, just maybe, this will be the kick I need to take out some of the sugary, unhealthy foods that I love oh so much.

- We are busy almost every day for the first time in my history of motherhood. For the last 3.5 years I've been trying to fill up our time with things to do and wishing to be more busy. But all of a sudden we've hit this sweet spot where we have little things to do every day, but I'm not stressed or too busy. We have been doing a little preschool with a few other friends for the last month, and we will do it full-scale with them again in the fall--and Dane and I both love it! I've been taking Dane swimming once a week, and to the library for storytime once a week, and then we usually have to go grocery shopping or to Costco, and we've been doing a swap with one of Dane's friends once a week, and then to the gym in the afternoons--and hallelujah, the whole week is filled up. It is nice to not be stuck at home wishing we had somewhere to go (although the summer might be more like that). Particularly with Graham's busy, busy opinions, we need to be out and about or actively engaged in doing something to keep everyone happy.

- I have learned something awesome that helps a lot with my stress levels. Actually, a few awesome things. 1. When in doubt about whether we can squeeze in one more errand before everyone loses it, don't. Just go home. There's no timeline in which I need to run all the errands or return all the things. 2. Have lunch earlier rather than later and all will be easier. 3. When I'm getting really frustrated, like yesterday when Dane had a poopy accident in his nap and didn't tell me and got poop all over the bathroom, I just need to ask myself, "Will I remember this one year from now?" and almost always, the answer is no. If I won't remember it, it can't matter all that much. 4. The slightest bit of preparation and planning can make everything go smoother. Planning out our week's schedule, our homeschool preschool lessons, and FHE lessons makes me so much more likely to do things well. 5. If I give myself a time limit for how long I have to be patient, I can do it so much better. If I say, "I am just going to be really nice and patient for the next five minutes," then I get past my wall of losing my temper and manage it for a lot longer than I say I'm going to.

- We have some fun things coming up. Tommy and I are doing a sprint triathlon together on Saturday, which I am pretty excited for. Then next week I'm taking the boys out to California for our last trip to see my parents before they leave for Ecuador, and Tommy will be joining us for Memorial Day weekend. Hooray! I'm actually really looking forward to spending the week+ we are there helping them pack and de-clutter and de-junk (and of course, seeing them :). Also, we borrowed Season 6 of Downton Abbey from a friend and are supposed to watch the FINAL EPISODE tonight and I can't wait. I hope something good finally turns out for Edith. I finished our photobook for 2015 on Monday, and turned in my students' final grades for the semester yesterday, and I am feeling ready for summer and some new fun projects to work on while I'm not teaching. Or maybe I'll just catch up on my reading, which I haven't done hardly enough of the last few months. 

April Little Things

My mom was here for a grand 36 hours. She came out for a long weekend here in Dallas with all her sisters (before she leaves for Ecuador), and extended her trip by a few days to see us too. She happened to be here for a crazy freak hailstorm while we were out eating dinner and we were sure our cars were going to be super damaged. But everything ended up okay! It was fun to see her.

(Note that there are two pictures below. Find the difference between the pictures! Haha. Dane cracks me up.)

Graham started trying to lay down on Dane in the Costco cart.

I had an early morning doctor's appointment on April Fool's Day, and I came back and Tommy and Dane played a prank on me--not letting me into the house! Dane loooooved the idea of "silly tricks" on April Fool's Day and keeps talking about them.

Dane was eating an apple and Graham was consumed with jealousy until Dane happily shared.

We make our kids work young around here. Graham was super excited to help bring the dirty laundry to the laundry room.

Dane is very into superheroes these days. How do little boys all like the same things? We haven't introduced him to them at all; he just figured it out and is always telling me things about his favorite superheroes. "Mom, did you know I'm a superhero? Batman is my superhero helper. He helps me fight the bad guys."

Graham is getting into more and more mischief every day.

Like I said, lots of mischief. We have all these hand-me-down VHS tapes which he loves taking out of the cabinets at every opportunity. Oh well, I guess he can destroy them and we won't mind too much.

Dane's very favorite stuffed animal, Charlie, was missing for a few weeks and we had no idea where he was. Somehow he was wrapped up in Tommy's robe, hanging on the back of our bathroom door. We pulled the robe down one day and Dane was so, so happy to find his friend Charlie again.

 Dane's fashion sense is just amazing. The headband, the Lakers outfit, the church sandals. On point.

Dane and I were playing Memory together and he insisted that five of his stuffed animals had to each get their own turn. It seemed like odds were stacked against me. White Kitty won that game. 

The biggest adjustment of the month: We moved Graham into Dane's room!! I stressed about this decision for a long time and worried it would have bad repercussions on their excellent sleep habits. But we moved them in and after two or three nights they totally settled into it. No problems at all. The only sad thing is that now when they wake up in the morning they don't just stay in their beds and talk to themselves. They wake up and instantly want to get up and have breakfast. But I bet that will adjust over time. They both love it, and it's so cute to hear them playing/talking in there as they're falling asleep. In fact, if Dane isn't in there when Graham goes to sleep now, he cries and is really sad to be all alone. I am SO HAPPY we did this because now that they are used to sharing a room, it will totally reduce the stress of us traveling and all sharing a room together. 

Graham was sick for a few days, and only wanted to snuggle and cuddle. It was very cute.

Family pizza movie night: Dane's favorite night of the week.

Oh my goodness. Graham is OBSESSED with reading. If you set him down in the family room, he will crawl over to our little basket of baby books, pull one out, and drag it over to wherever you're sitting and whine until you pick him up and read it to him. 

He is especially obsessed with Dane's books about dump trucks and diggers. I am telling you, this stuff comes pre-programmed. We were reading this book to Dane and IMMEDIATELY Graham was whining and climbing up to see the pages. He knows exactly which book we are talking about when we say, "Where's The Little Dump Truck?" and he will crawl over, drag it out, and want you to read it. I have read the same four books every day this week, maybe 9 times a day. It is hilarious and cute and slightly tiring but I know he'll get over it far too soon.

Graham loves to crawl around to pillows and lay down on top of them. 

We were joking that Graham was an excellent Blugger. ("Blugging" is a term my brother Austin made up to tease little sister Bethany for always flopping down on the couch whenever she has a second to relax. It's a combination of "Bethany" and "slug.") Dane wanted to know what blugging was, and then he practiced his own blugging skills.

Blugging while reading... Excellent.

Dane's Big Boy Bike

A few months ago we found a Lightning McQueen bike on super clearance at Academy Sports, just in Dane's size. Too bad it was right after Christmas and nowhere near his birthday. I didn't want to just give him a bike for no real reason; we wanted it to be something special and exciting to him. So we hid it up in our attic and made a goal chart with Dane for him to put stickers on to help him "earn" his bike. He got to put stickers on it basically whenever I'd randomly think of it and use it to motivate him to obey and be happy. (He was going through a stinky three-nager phase and was really talking back a lot and not listening when we'd ask him to do things, so we hoped this might motivate him to get back to his happy, obedient self.) We kind of overdid it on the goal chart--it had 80 spots for stickers to get him to his bike, and it took a LONG time and a lot of stickers to get there. But he did it in the end!

And his face when he saw his bike for the first time--priceless. So, so cute. He could not believe it was a Lightning McQueen bike, and that it was so big.

The first few times we brought him out on the bike, he was scared even as he was getting on and didn't want to try it. Then he was happy to sit on it but couldn't manage to pedal. We could walk behind him and push him and he would pedal along.

But then one day last week he finally got it! It clicked! He started pushing really hard on his pedals and was moving all by himself. Look at that concentration! He was working so hard. It was one of the cutest things I ever saw. He can go up and down our sidewalk now all by himself, although he has tipped over a good number of times on our driveway. But he is getting braver and braver about it every time.

And little Graham boy is very happy to inherit the trike. He really and truly LOVES this trike, even if he doesn't sit on it. Every time we walk into the garage--aka, every time we have to get into the car--he looks for the trike and whines and squirms to get down and play with it. He just wants to tip it over and spin the wheels and push it around. I've had to hide it in the corner behind our bikes so I can get him into the car without screaming because he wants the trike.

Oh man, they are both so dang cute. Life is pretty exciting with them around.

A pretty near-perfect day

Three weeks ago, we drove down to Brenham, Texas, to run in the Blue Bell 5K Family Fun Run. Blue Bell is our FAVORITE ice cream--it has been for a few years now, ever since they came to North Carolina. Like most Southerners/Texans, our loyalties have not swayed with the whole listeria outbreak at their factories and the six months or so that they were closed. Everyone I know here was back to buying Blue Bell the day it was back in stores. I saw a quote on Facebook that said: "Here in Texas, without Blue Bell, it's not that we buy another kind of ice cream. When there's no Blue Bell, it means THERE'S NO ICE CREAM." And I think that is pretty near accurate, for us and most Texans we know.

I found out about the Blue Bell 5K last year, but it was actually on Graham's due date, and he was born a week beforehand so it just wasn't going to work out. This year we thought about it months in advance and signed up. We were so excited when we found out that my cousin Brittney and her family from Houston were signed up to do it too. Their kids are Dane's FAVORITES and they are some of the coolest people we love to hang out with. So we figured this was well worth the drive and the effort. 

(Also, why didn't I get any pictures with us adults? All of the pictures are of the kids! I mean, they're cute, but come on. Next time.)

We drove down to Houston on Friday night (a 4.5 hour drive) and spent the night at my aunt and uncle's house. Then we drove to Brenham (a little over 1 hour) early in the morning to pick up our race packets, including Dane's for the 1 mile kids' fun run. He was so, so, so excited to run in a race of his own, especially because all the big Bodine boys were doing it too. How cute is this:

We were all just hanging out talking near the starting line for the kids' race when all of a sudden the gun went off and all the kids took off running. Tommy jogged off with Dane and got these adorable pictures of his pure JOY at running in a big race. I know this is kind of overkill, but this makes me so happy. That face.

He worked really hard, and was running so well. But after a few minutes, Tommy said that he tripped and fell, and got a few scrapes, and that really dampened his enthusiasm. So sad, after such an exciting start! Tommy ended up having to carry him for a while. I was waiting and waiting at the end of the race for them to come, when they finally came walking slowly towards the end.

Everything was better once he got the Blue Bell waiting for him at the end. AND his medal, which of course he thought meant that he won the whole race, which was what he told everyone the rest of the weekend. Never mind the fact that he came in almost dead last in the kids' race. He got a medal, so he won. (The medal itself was shaped like a gallon of ice cream. Pretty snazzy.)

Is this not the cutest thing you ever did see? Since we don't live near any of Dane's real first cousins, we are sure lucky to have a ton of "cousins" who are more extended, distant relatives but are a ton of fun nearby.

Tommy and I ran the 5K after the kids' run. Dane got to hang out with the Bodines while we ran, while Graham came with us. He was so nice the whole time. He didn't make a peep.

And then we got to enjoy the spoils after the race. Everyone got 3-4 ice cream cups, at least.

After the race, we drove around looking for wildflowers. We apparently just missed the bluebonnets; we didn't see hardly any. But we did see a few fields filled with some beautiful flowers still. 

Our beautiful boy with the wildflowers. Too bad he is still in his jammies.

This was the best picture we could get with the two boys. Neither of them were interested in looking at the camera.

We then made our way to the Washington-on-the-Brazos state park, and had an awesome picnic lunch next to the Brazos River. The kids had a blast running around, waving huge sticks, and playing with other people's bubbles.

They had a living farm museum there, which the kids were really excited for. We were having a real Texas day--Blue Bell ice cream, bluebonnet hunts, AND longhorns!? We spent maybe an hour walking around the little farm, seeing the animals, learning about life on the farm as a pioneer, and watching Dane and Lily chase this one chicken around incessantly. 

Dane and Lily were just holding hands and being pretty darn cute. They will be in the same grade eventually. I sure love seeing them together.

I think I need to frame some of these picture and put them up in our house. They just seem so perfectly Texas. Most of the artwork/pictures we have are still from Durham/North Carolina. This just perfectly epitomizes Texas to me.

After we finished on the farm, we had to pack up and start the 3.5 hour drive back to Dallas. So it was a LOT of driving for us to only be there for the morning and early afternoon. But oh man, it was such a beautiful, nice day. The temperature was SO nice, and we were super excited about our race. Dane had so much fun with his big cousins, and we had a great time talking to them too. It was honestly an almost-perfect day. (Other than Dane's near-accident in the car... Let's just say that Tommy earned the Dad of the Year award helping Dane poop on the side of the road!)

It reminded me that we can and should do these bigger outings every once in a while. It's easy to get stuck in our routine and spend every Saturday just exercising and cleaning the house--which are things we definitely should be doing. But we bit the bullet and did all this crazy driving for this one event, and had such a good time. We made some really good memories because we were willing to deal with a little stress and hassle of traveling. I think that is worth it, and I hope we keep it up whenever we can.