Joy #4 Lemon ice after lunch and after dinner, twice in the same day
Joy #5 Jackson FINALLY taking a nap after 4 days of no-naps
Joy #6 Lola sat on a block yesterday and said, "Ouch! Mom, I hurt my penis." I responded, "You don't have a penis honey. What hurts?" "Mom, I DO have a penis. I have a boo boo on it." Now if you can't laugh at your 2 year old daughter insisting that her penis hurts you really are missing the Joy.
Joy #7 Feeling little tiny baby kicks
Joy #8 Helping set up for the school Christmas party and thinking that Lola and Jackson are going to have SO MUCH FUN! Can't wait to get some pics!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Finding Joy
We've got a lot going on in the Freedman house right now. We're in the painstaking and financially draining process of selling our house and buying a bigger one, a move we hadn't really intended to make. Happily, the move has become necessary in order to make room for our newest addition; baby Freedman #3 will be coming in May. The discovery that we'll be becoming a family of five is very exciting but also nerve wracking and stressful, forcing us to re-consider some of the decisions we had taken for granted when we though it would just be the four of us. And we're going though all this buying and selling, packing and moving, questioning and re-considering during the holidays, which carry with them their own busyness and stress and financial strain. December is Aaron's busiest month at the restaurant and 12-14 hour work days become the norm rather than the exception. Add to all this the everyday issues that come up when parenting a couple of rambunctious 2 year olds and it can be difficult to look within and find the Joy in the holidays.
I was just reading a blog article titled "An Experiment in Joy." The author, in an attempt to rebound from a particularly difficult time, is challenging herself to document through pictures and words 100 instances of Joy in her life during the month of December. She has invited her readers to participate. While I don't posses that kind of blogging disciple, as several of you have gently pointed out, I really love the idea. So I'm going to try and document my own moments of Joy.
And in the process I hope to remind myself 1) where the true Joy in my life comes from 2) how easy it can be to put aside the stress and worry and find the Joy in the present moment 3) that laughter is free. And contagious. 4) and that time passes whether I'm paying attention or not. If I don't SLOW DOWN I will miss moments of Joy, and so might Aaron. And so might Lola and Jackson. And no amount of stress and worry and questioning and re-considering is really worth sacrificing my Joy and the Joy of my family.
So, if I try to document my moments of Joy can I get to 100 between now and December 31st? Well, I have no doubt I will experience 100 moments of Joy in the next 2 weeks. But 100 moments documented.... that's quite an undertaking for me.
But I just downloaded and am listening to a new Jack Johnson album (Joy #1) and will now find the Joy in searching through some recent pictures to post. I will smile as I remember the moments they were taken. And I will imagine the ones I'll be taking in the next couple off weeks. (Joy #2)
Only 98 Joys to go...
I was just reading a blog article titled "An Experiment in Joy." The author, in an attempt to rebound from a particularly difficult time, is challenging herself to document through pictures and words 100 instances of Joy in her life during the month of December. She has invited her readers to participate. While I don't posses that kind of blogging disciple, as several of you have gently pointed out, I really love the idea. So I'm going to try and document my own moments of Joy.
And in the process I hope to remind myself 1) where the true Joy in my life comes from 2) how easy it can be to put aside the stress and worry and find the Joy in the present moment 3) that laughter is free. And contagious. 4) and that time passes whether I'm paying attention or not. If I don't SLOW DOWN I will miss moments of Joy, and so might Aaron. And so might Lola and Jackson. And no amount of stress and worry and questioning and re-considering is really worth sacrificing my Joy and the Joy of my family.
So, if I try to document my moments of Joy can I get to 100 between now and December 31st? Well, I have no doubt I will experience 100 moments of Joy in the next 2 weeks. But 100 moments documented.... that's quite an undertaking for me.
But I just downloaded and am listening to a new Jack Johnson album (Joy #1) and will now find the Joy in searching through some recent pictures to post. I will smile as I remember the moments they were taken. And I will imagine the ones I'll be taking in the next couple off weeks. (Joy #2)
Only 98 Joys to go...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Pictures!
Here are some pictures of the late summer/early fall goings-on in the Freedman family:
 |
| Lola and Jackson's first Shrimp Po-Boy. I think this moment was more special for Aaron than the kids' first day of school! |
 |
| Hooray for Po-Boys! |
 |
| Jack enjoying swimming lessons. Pretty cool goggles, right?! |
 |
| Lola and Daddy having a blast during her swim class. |
 | ||
| Decorating Halloween pumpkins. |
 | ||
| Enjoying a snack in the cooler fall weather! |
 |
| "Princess Lola" enjoying her apple. |
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Colorado Trip
We recently went to see my parents at the home in Woodland Park, CO. Everyone had a blast. The kids had so much fun with their Oma and Opa and really enjoyed all the fabulous new things we got do do while at their house. The kids got to pet horses and even got a ride from a miniature horse pulling a cart. We saw deer, rabbits and a fox. We also go to take the kids on a couple of hikes in the forest that neighbors my parents' property. By far Jackson's most favorite thing was building campfires in the back yard with his Opa. Looks like he'll be growing up to be quite the little boyscout. All in all the trip was a rousing success and we can't wait to go back next summer!
Monday, August 30, 2010
School
I'm a bit gloomy about the changes that are happening in the Freedman house right now. Aaron and I will be going to the Little School Orientation Meeting Thursday morning and then the kids first day of Nursery School will be next Wednesday. Sure I'm excited that the kids are starting school. I'm happy for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that I think they're really going to enjoy it. But I'm having trouble getting past my own feelings of nervousness and sadness about this next phase of our family life.
I have to admit I like it when people ask what I do and I get to say "I stay at home with my kids." Well, I might have liked it a little better when I got to say "I stay at home with my babies," but over time I've gotten used to the sound of "my kids." I have enjoyed having the well defined role of "stay at home mom." But lately my answer of "I stay at home with my kids" has been followed by the question, "What are you going to do when they start school?"
What do they mean "What am I going to do?" Cry. Rejoice. Fall into a deep depression. Found a future Fortune 500 company.
"What are you going to do when the kids start school?" The snark in me wants to respond "Go to the grocery store by myself." Or maybe "Have a complete thought for the first time in 2 1/2 years." The defensive part of me wants to say "It's only going to be 9 hours a week, what do you suggest I do with ALL THAT TIME?"
But the the more mature part of me realizes it's a perfectly fair question, and one that occurs naturally to people who aren't stay at home moms, people who are out there "doing something." And when I really think about it that question is in fact NOT a thinly disguised insinuation that what I have been doing the past 2 1/2 years isn't "something." It's an acknowledgment that now I have the opportunity to "do something" else. What else will I chose to do? Who knows.
Right now just thinking about that question makes my chest tighten. I don't want to do anything but be The Mom. How can I think of doing anything else? I don't have time to do anything but take care of by babies! My babies need me!
Obviously thinking about "what I'm going to do" brings out the panic filled and less mature side of me. Thank goodness this school year is only going to provide me with 9 hours of free time. Any more than that and I might actually have to "find something to do."
I have to admit I like it when people ask what I do and I get to say "I stay at home with my kids." Well, I might have liked it a little better when I got to say "I stay at home with my babies," but over time I've gotten used to the sound of "my kids." I have enjoyed having the well defined role of "stay at home mom." But lately my answer of "I stay at home with my kids" has been followed by the question, "What are you going to do when they start school?"
What do they mean "What am I going to do?" Cry. Rejoice. Fall into a deep depression. Found a future Fortune 500 company.
"What are you going to do when the kids start school?" The snark in me wants to respond "Go to the grocery store by myself." Or maybe "Have a complete thought for the first time in 2 1/2 years." The defensive part of me wants to say "It's only going to be 9 hours a week, what do you suggest I do with ALL THAT TIME?"
But the the more mature part of me realizes it's a perfectly fair question, and one that occurs naturally to people who aren't stay at home moms, people who are out there "doing something." And when I really think about it that question is in fact NOT a thinly disguised insinuation that what I have been doing the past 2 1/2 years isn't "something." It's an acknowledgment that now I have the opportunity to "do something" else. What else will I chose to do? Who knows.
Right now just thinking about that question makes my chest tighten. I don't want to do anything but be The Mom. How can I think of doing anything else? I don't have time to do anything but take care of by babies! My babies need me!
Obviously thinking about "what I'm going to do" brings out the panic filled and less mature side of me. Thank goodness this school year is only going to provide me with 9 hours of free time. Any more than that and I might actually have to "find something to do."
Monday, August 2, 2010
The days are long...
The days are long but the years are short. I keep repeating that to myself.
Jackson has been very clingy lately. I feel like there is an invisible rope tying us together. When Jackson feels the space between us growing bigger and the rope being pulled tight he starts to panic. I hear "I need Mommy!" many many times a day. Jack will be playing with blocks or watching Mickey Mouse and it's seems like all of a sudden he feels that rope pull tight and he desperately needs me to hold him. He announces "I need Mommy!" and comes running to find me. This happens A LOT.
This attachment may sound sweet and cute but by the end of the day (or sometimes by the lunchtime, occasionally by mid-morning) it is exasperating. My patience grows short and my temper grows large and I find myself wishing Jackson would just leave me alone.
And of course there is the ever-present sibling wanting whatever the other child has. So once Jack has decided he must be held this instant Lola often comes running behind chanting "up up up up." Jack freaks out and begins crying "No Lola No Lola NO LOLA!" while she tries to climb my leg. I sit down so I can hold both children in my lap which satisfies neither and both cry passionately at the injustice of having to share my attention.
It is in this moment that I remind myself that the days may be long but the years are short. Soon they will be playing it far too cool to fight over space in my lap.
Jackson has been very clingy lately. I feel like there is an invisible rope tying us together. When Jackson feels the space between us growing bigger and the rope being pulled tight he starts to panic. I hear "I need Mommy!" many many times a day. Jack will be playing with blocks or watching Mickey Mouse and it's seems like all of a sudden he feels that rope pull tight and he desperately needs me to hold him. He announces "I need Mommy!" and comes running to find me. This happens A LOT.
This attachment may sound sweet and cute but by the end of the day (or sometimes by the lunchtime, occasionally by mid-morning) it is exasperating. My patience grows short and my temper grows large and I find myself wishing Jackson would just leave me alone.
And of course there is the ever-present sibling wanting whatever the other child has. So once Jack has decided he must be held this instant Lola often comes running behind chanting "up up up up." Jack freaks out and begins crying "No Lola No Lola NO LOLA!" while she tries to climb my leg. I sit down so I can hold both children in my lap which satisfies neither and both cry passionately at the injustice of having to share my attention.
It is in this moment that I remind myself that the days may be long but the years are short. Soon they will be playing it far too cool to fight over space in my lap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
