My Daily Life Loves.

My Daily Life LOVES.

My daughter's dimple when she smiles.
The smell of her hair.
My son's hugs when he wakes up from his nap.
The way he looks so intently at me.

(Gotta go--kids are up...will finish later.)


Top 10 for the Week of November 11th:

10.  Migraine.  I used to get sensory migraines quite frequently when I was younger.  Fortunately in the last five years or so, I've only really had a handful of them.  And 2 of them were RIGHT after giving birth to our kids (I seriously had JUST Clay, was still in the delivery room, and started losing my eyesight).  This week I had one.  The headache wasn't SO severe but the numbness in my face and arm were extremely annoying.  It always seems to freak me out a little.  Like I'm fine one minute and then if feels like I've just been numbed by the dentist.  Thankfully, I'm feeling better this week. 

9.  Tired Monday.  Ummm...after sewing for the WHOLE weekend (I didn't get home until after 4PM on Sunday), I was exhausted:o)  Monday was a bit rough...and I still feel like my body is fighting something off.  So, we didn't accomplish much on Monday.  But hey--who cares right?!?!

8.  No TV.  While the men in our lives are hunting, my mom comes down here to hang out and help me:o)  I know, I'm extremely lucky and fortunate!  Needless to say, taking Mal and JUST Mal to and from school on Friday was extreme bliss.  Anyways, one of the days my mom was here the kids didn't watch ANY TV until just before bedtime.  We kept them occupied all day with different fun things to do.  I'm extremely conscious of this.  I think I might even be a little bit overboard.  But I SO hate the look on my kids face when they are watching TV.  Like they are zombies or something.  Mal has figured me out--she gets when I say we are done, we are done.  Clay still needs some time.  He LOVES TV right now.  OBSESSED with watching it.

7.  Candy Land Afternoon.  One afternoon after nap time, the kids and I enjoyed a game of Candy land in the toy room/sun room.  The sun was out, I had my tea, and the kids were behaving.  A Momma's dream.  I LOVE and cherish those moments.

6.  Chiro Kidless.  So, I take my kids to the chiro with me.   More often just with Clay.  But I still take them.  And they, I mean he, is LOUD.  In a quiet space--makes it REALLY loud.  I am always so embarrassed by his loudness and behavior.  The staff and doctor are extremely supportive...but I still feel bad.  Well, since my mom was here, I got to go by myself.  I forgot how calming and relaxing my chiropractor visits can/could be!  I was jokingly telling the ladies how nice it was being by myself.  They all laughed.  A lot.  And even more when I took them BOTH this week--and he was OFF the charts.  Yeah.  That's my story.

5.  Quick Quilting.  Since Jay was gone for a few days, I had a bit of a chance to spend some time sewing.  I finished a beautiful blanket for my grandmother in just over two hours!  I cannot wait to give it to her!!  And I'm still shocked I finished one so quickly.  On the retreat, the ladies showed me a different way of finishing a quilt--which is faster and doesn't required binding.  I'm looking forward to finishing up more Xmas presents for our family and friends.

4.  Books Before Nap time.  Last year with nap time, I just pushed the kids into their room and shut the doors.  NO, I'm just kidding:o)  But I feel like I was rushing all the time to get them down.  Not giving them a real structure to being put to bed.  This year, I've been reading them 4-6 books just before they go to bed.  I know, I'm crazy.  But it actually really calms them down.  And Mal doesn't take naps anymore, so it's kinda a way to rest with her as well.  Of course it doesn't always work out every day....but most days I really look forward to this time.  Cuddling with my kiddos, on Clay's bed, and just enjoying them. 

3.  Clayisms.  Clay had a fever this week.  A slight one.  Nothing too big.  But enough for me to give him a bit of medicine.  In fact, I woke him up--I know, I'm crazy--to give him a bit more.  Come to find out he had wet the bed.  Which required a changing of the sheets and pajamas.  Nights like those are rough.  He's a smart one.  In fact, he tricked me this week.  I have been working with him and puzzles lately.  One day, he was NOT getting the pieces right at all.  And I was starting to get worried.  Until later on that day, while I was helping Mal with something, he took all the pieces out and put them back within a few minutes.  The little stinker was tricking me.  This week, he also walked up to me and said "I got a poo poo."  At least he's talking more!:o)  Such a character already at the age of TWO.  Love my little boy.

2.  Malloryisms.  Hilarious thing this week.  Mal was hiding from Clay in his room...and fell asleep.  It seriously had only been a few minutes.  I walked back in with Clay and her head popped up but with carpet indents!  It took me awhile to realize that she was sleeping.  And I think she was taken aback too.  A few other fun things about Mal this week:  1) she made an adorable family picture on a white erase board this week--Jay and I were holding hands.  2)  She used the word tumbled--talking about the pillows tumbling to the floor.  Her vocabulary is better then a few of my old fifth graders.  Really.  Love it.  3)  "I don't want to be 4 anymore, because I have to go to school."  and then the next day..."I really want to be 5, so I can go to school the whole day."   Oh brother.  4)  And then lastly, she's really been fretting about getting shots at her next birthday.  Well, she comes home from school this week and says to me "Christopher (a friend of hers) told me that you don't get shots.  He just went to the doctor for his birthday and he didn't get any shots.  SO that's good!"  I talked to his dad.  Come to find out--he was actually there for his little brother and he has his appointment the first week of December.  Not looking forward to the conversation that week!  I truly love how open she is to talking to me.  I hope she stays that way. 

1.  Hunting Hubby.  I missed him.  I truly did.  I LOVED having my mom here--another wife in the house is always nice:o)  But I was glad to have him home.  It just feels strange without him. 

Well, it's halfway through the week already!
Crazy! Time is flying!
Hope you are all having a great week!

Until next week,
Mrs. Newell

Top 10

Top 10 for the Week:
(November 4th)

10.  Halloween Candy.  I hate you.  Every single piece.  I have gained weight these last few weeks because of you.  I would throw you out but Jay won't let me.  Be GONE!

9.  Generator.  When Jay and I were away to Atlanta, out power was out for several hours (due to the snow storm).  Jay decided then that it would be worth the money to purchase a generator.  We already had an electrician do the wiring and such...so all we needed was the actual generator.  SO, now we are prepared in case it were to happen again.  Makes me feel a bit better.

8.  Speech.  Was rough this past week.  I cried.  A lot.  Some days I feel like we take 20 steps back.  It's SO hard.  I SO wish there was something MORE we could do.  But I truly think that waiting is the only thing that we can do right now.  UGH.  I feel like the fate of our son's language is in our hands and our hands are behind our back where we can't see them.  Talk about confusing.  Yes.

7.  Pity Party.  So, on top of the rough speech day, I had a few other things this week that made me sad.  Or shall I say make me feel like I'm not doing my job correctly.  Why do I have to be so tough on myself?!?!?!  I wish I had more confidence.  And don't get me wrong--there are days were I'm like--"I've got this stay-at-home-mom thing down."  But then there are other days, like this past week were I just want to run away.  And I wonder if I've scarred my children for life.  Well, maybe not THAT bad...but you get my point.  I wouldn't be who I am IF I didn't think these things.  That's just me.  I'm trying my best to let things roll off my back.  "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

6. Gifting.  There is something SO great about giving a heartfelt gift to someone.  Something you know the other will greatly appreciate and treasure.  I did that this week.  And I'm excited to see her reaction)

5.  Full Day at Noon.  One day this past week I had run a whole marathon before noon.  Not really--BUT it felt like it!  I had made like 4-5 stops before noon with BOTH kids and headed to a friend's house for lunch and an afternoon play date.  It was exhausting.  But the kids were somewhat good.

4.  Prepping for the Weekend.  Stressful.  That's all.

3.  Clayisms.  So our little Clay is a picky eater.  He's not a horrible picky eater, but WAY worse than Miss Mal.  Jay and I had a great idea this week to wrap his dinner up and give it to him as a snack at bedtime.  I found almost too much pleasure in giving it to him.  You should have seen his face.  Priceless.  However, he DID eat a few pieces of Tilapia one night AND a few pieces of pork another.  So, I considerate a battle won by us.  Right?!?!   

2.  Malloryisms.  On the way to school one day this week, I had country music on.  After a few minutes Mal asked me the meaning of Motor Boating.  Enough said.  I've really been trying hard to teach her how to get through her frustrations.  Instead of crying and throwing a tantrum...I've been encouraging her to talk it out or give herself a break.  I'm feeling like communication is the actual culprit.  She's quick to jump into a hot mess instead of talking it out with me, her dad, or her brother.  Especially Clay.  She'll get SO mad at him for not sharing and then when I ask her if she asked him for it, she'll tell me no.  90% of the time, I'll have her ask him, and he'll give it to her.  I'm wondering when I'll actually start seeing the results of my endless coaching. 

1.  Quilting Retreat.  Loved every minute of it.  Finished MORE projects than I brought!  Signed up for another one in the spring AND next fall.  Such a great time to hang out with my mom and other women who love quilting & sewing.  Thanks mom for getting me addicted and for helping me find MY hobby.  Now, I just have about 10 more projects to do before Christmas! Ha! 

That's a wrap.
Have a great rest of the week!

Until next week,
Mrs. Newell

Moodiness

My mood directly effects my kids.
And I know this.
But sometimes I forget.

After getting my health under control*,
I've noticed that my mood has changed.
I'm not angry, frustrated, or depressed
As much anymore.

In fact,
Most of the time
I'm pretty calm, rational, and level headed.

IF you would have asked me this a year ago--
It would have been a different story.
(Actually ONE year ago this week!!)

But of course,
There are still some days that I struggle.
I do admit this.

And I see it in my kids.

The days were normally
I would let something roll off my back.
Instead, I say or do something wrong
And see my kids react to me.
I can think of two tantrums this past week
(one from each kid)
That I know I kinda helped induce.

If I would have acted differently,
The outcome would have been different.

But I am human.
And not perfect.

Learning from my blunders.
My mishaps. 

And understanding that this parenting gig is a tough one. 
And my biggest critic is myself.

But each day is new.
With a NEW opportunity to do it "right."

 *Candida.  Look it up.  A yeast overload in/on your body.  It was horrible.  Looking back, I didn't see or realize that all the issues I was having were related to ONE thing.  

Top 10 for the week:
October 28th, 2013

10.  Week 2.  This past week marked week TWO of Jay being sick.  Seriously.  I felt it was like a record for the cough/cold.  I'm SO glad it's finally OVER.  Having your significant other sick is HARD.  Knock on wood--I never really got it.  I started feeling a bit yucky this week....but with the help of a few homeopathic medicines, I'm already feeling back to normal.
 
9.  School Parade.  The kids and I headed down to my old stomping grounds to see the Halloween Costume Parade.  Great to see the kids and teachers.  Our kids truly enjoyed it.  It was fun seeing their smiles. Mal was always for going to "my" school.  But now that she's been in Paw Paw for awhile, she's having second thoughts.  She has an opinion on everything you know (just like her Momma--at least I admit it!).

8.  Bride @ Dance.  This past week the dancers could wear their costumes to dance.  Mal was SO pumped!  And it also gave us a trial run on her costume--which I appreciated!  Sometimes I truly wonder how I would handle it all if I was working.  There is NOT enough time in the day to get everything done...and there is ALWAYS something to do.  Anyways, she loved it and loved seeing the other costumes.!

7.  Carving Pumpkins.  The kids were hilarious.  Mal was a bundle of energy and excitement!  She dug in and took over--emptying all the guts (and her brothers!).  She wanted a heart face--and was very insistent on getting the right look.  She drew on her own mouth and pushed out the pieces after Jay cut them.  Her thrill of the whole thing was contagious.  She is at THE perfect age of enjoyment right now.  Clay on the other hand, was not impressed at all.  He did NOT like the stringy guts and in fact kept asking for something to wipe his hands off.  It was hilarious and didn't really surprise me.  The boy who eats mud off of his boots (yeah--that just happened today) is weird about slimy pumpkin guts on his hands and arms.  However, he did love the fuss over it all.  The lighting of the candles--which he couldn't stop looking at--and the lid to the jack-o-lantern.  Jay tried using one of his tools to cut the pumpkins but unfortunately it didn't work.  The handy dandy pumpkin tool we bought a few years back still seems to be THE best tool.  Next year, we'll need another.

6.  Mall SUCCESS.  I lucked out.  BIG time.  Jay went to cut wood on Saturday morning so I decided to take the kids to the mall.  I'm usually stressing over this.  Just cause I know how the kids can be.  But it was GREAT.  Seriously.  Our best outing of the YEAR.  They were SO good.  We started at  Sears for our humidifier filters (the whole reason I went to the mall), a visit to the carousel, food market, and then home!  I could not stop commenting to them how great they were!  Especially when I was witnessing kids crawling under the tables and running around at lunch--when mine were just sitting there eating.  And because I know reality.  And NEXT time, mine will probably be doing that! A MAJOR highlight of the week for me. 

5.  Just US.  One day this week, I decided to just stay home with the two kids.  No errands.  No play date.  No real agenda.  Just us.  And it was another great day.  I'm beginning to believe that my kids need a day every week like this.  To just play at home, enjoy each other, with no real direction.  I wish we had more days in the week.  And I'm realizing more and more that next year Mal will be in school full time.  So terribly sad about this.  I enjoy our lazy mornings and days.

4.  Sunday Funday.  Finally made it to our church this past Sunday.  Kids did GREAT in there classes (NO cries from Clay!!!).  Afterwards we went to Meijer and then headed home to get a few things done.  It's crazy to me how much work needs to be done in "winterizing" our house/property.  And we STILL have a few things that need to be done before that snow starts falling!  We also put up some of our Christmas lights in the DARK.  You know it's a successful day when the kids go directly to sleep with no hassles.

3.  Clayisms.  Sometimes I concentrate so much on getting him to say words and phrases that I forget about colors, shapes, and other learning skills.  This week, Clay proved to me that he STILL is "getting" these things even though I don't enforce them.  I had him point to the colors in a ladybug book.  He got 4 out of the 5 correct.  Honestly, I was shocked.  And it made me realize that he does understand everything we say and do...so this makes me realize too that I need to be refraining from talking about him in front of him.  His speech has consumed me this week.  So much that that's all I've been thinking about.  And it's taking a toll on me AND him.  I just don't know what to do.  At all. 

2.  Malloryisms.  Oh Mallory Jayne.  She was "extremely excited" (direct quote from Mal) this whole week.  Everything to do with Halloween was extremely exciting!  Her love of being social and doing things is contagious.  And so sincere.  A few funny things about her this week.  First, this past weekend I made oatmeal and put chocolate chips on it for them.  Well, she had a little on her middle finger.  And she kept showing us in front of our faces.  Yes, she was flipping us off.  Over and over and over again.  She did it like 4-5 times.  We were both laughing and she honestly had no clue.  Her "rest" time activities tend to be more quiet play time activities around me--AFTER Clay has fallen asleep.  This week she had a princess doctor Barbie.  Doesn't everyone know you can be a princess and doctor at the same time?!?!  Her obsession with Barbies lately is due to my mom giving her some of my old ones.  She can't get enough of them.  I also noticed this week that she sings songs for everything.  Which is also a characteristic of her Daddy:o)

1.  Halloween.  Was great!  Even with rainy weather, the temperature was perfect!  Kids were able to wear their costumes and still be warm!  We didn't make it to many houses--but we got enough candy:o)  I went on like a three day candy eating binge...and then for some reason have not wanted anymore.  Kids haven't really asked for it either.  So it sits in our cupboard.  Clay walked almost the whole entire way saying trick-or-treat and thanks (we practiced the week before).  And I realized that the time of trick-or-treating is short with your kids.  Only like 10 or so years.  So, I'm taking it all in.  And enjoying the excitement that comes with this crazy holiday. 

Well, that's a wrap.
Hope all of you are doing well.

It's Wednesday.
And I leave for my sewing retreat on FRIDAY!
So pumped.

Have a great rest of the week!!
Until next week,
Mrs. Newell

P.S.  And for my teacher friends--enjoy your long weekend! After conferences you deserve it!!!!!

Heavy Heart

I wish my son talked.

I wish he could tell me about...
His reason for crying after waking.
What he sees out the car window.
What he thinks about using scissors.
What he wants.
What he would like to do.

The list goes on.

I know it frustrates him.
Frustrates me.
Frustrates all that are involved.

I see his anger.
His desire to TRULY want to communicate.

And I wish so badly, I could help him.

Put the words in his mouth.  In his brain.

We've already had second opinions.
He receives speech every week.
And we work with him at home.
And the majority consensus is to WAIT,
Until he's three.

But sometimes,
Like today.
When he is screaming his sister's name in the car.
Babbles on and on trying to tell her something.
And when BOTH of us have no clue what he's saying...
It gives me a HUGE heavy heart.
Makes me feel bad.
Makes me cry.

Because I SO terrible want to understand our handsome boy.
Our SMART boy.
Our OUTGOING boy.
Our LOVING boy.

Love you buddy.

Top 7 for the Week:
(10-21-13)

7.  Colds.  Have infested our house.  First with the kids and now with Jay.  I have somehow missed the boat on this one.  Although I woke up with a headache this morning.  Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself!  Rest, fluids, and supplements!

6.  New Boots.  Unfortunately, Atlanta wasn't as hot as we thought it would be.  I did not prepare for the chilliness...so I had to go buy new winter boots.  Not such a bad thing, right?!?!

5.  Waking in the Night.  Due to the colds...kids got up several times during the night almost every night.  UGH.  Makes for one tired mommy.  And daddy.  I was just telling my MIL how our kids are great sleeping through the night.  And seriously THAT night, it started.  And lasted until we left for Atlanta.  The uninterrupted sleep on vacation was great.  Even though we were up late!

4.  Prepping for Trip.  Sometimes I feel like vacation prepping is SO much.  I'm weird about having a clean house before I leave (including having laundry and dishes done).  Not sure why.  But I swear it makes me crazy.  And I'm pretty sure it drives Jay crazy! 

3.  Clayisms.  Clay had a chance to practice with scissors this week and he thought he was king!  I was surprised to see him using his left hand.  But he did a GREAT job!  And he was so proud of himself!  Another activity that he can do JUST like his sister:o)  I ran errands with him this week....CRAZY!  Now I remember why I choose NOT to run errands with my 2 year old.  He is definitely at a tantrum, I-want-my-own-way, stage.  He has such an opinion about everything.  Just wish he would learn to use his words.

2.  Malloryisms.  Sometimes I seriously cannot believe how much of her dad is in her.  Her goofy, teasing ways are SO her dad.  One day this week, as I was downloading pics onto the computer, she randomly called me Beth Ann.  To my face.  It was hilarious.  With this great big grin on her face.  And she repeated it several times.  Another night this week, as I went into kiss her sleeping head, I whispered "I love you" and she responded back "doggies."  Can't make that stuff up.  Such an animal lover.  Even in her sleep. 

1.  Hot Atlanta.  Jay and I had SO much fun!  It was SO nice to get away and just be US for a few days (make that four days!).  Thanks to both of our parents for watching the kids...it is so comforting knowing they are in good hands.  And we can relax and enjoy ourselves!  We actually had a lot of time to ourselves.  We walked, ate, drank, talked, reconnected, recharged.  It was great.  And so needed.  I'm not going to say Monday with the kids was easy...but it was SO worth it. 

I'm SUPER late this week.
And I might even write again tomorrow.

But I got this past week in!
Hope you enjoyed your Halloween!
Hello November!

Until tomorrow,
Mrs. Newell