Yesterday while taking Drew to the bathroom,
“Mom, why is pee yellow?”
Courtesy of Rebecca:
“According to Ask.com:
Urine consists of excess water and waste products that have been filtered from the blood by the kidneys. Its natural yellow color is due to excretion of urochrome, a pigment from blood. Depending on the amount of fluids you drink, your urine can range in color from almost clear (diluted) to dark orange (concentrated). ”
Thanks for clearing that up, Rebecca! 😉
So last night at about 10 pm-ish, I realized that four years ago, I was going into labor with Drew. Four years goes by so fast. Yes, Drew was born today at around 5:17 p.m. after 19 hours of a pretty predictable, text-book labor, minus a few little things…(but that’s another story.) Lately I’ve been thinking back to the times he was an infant, and looking at him now and realizing how far he’s come. I’m kind of bummed out that he’s changed so much so quickly, but at the same time, I’m encouraged, because there were times in my life where I really doubted if I had what a took to be a parent. Here we are, four years later, and he seems to be a fairly well adjusted kid, he’s pretty smart, he’s compassionate (and cute, because, you know, that’s important) and he’s all in one piece. As I look back lately, I’m not thinking as much about Drew’s milestones and achievements, but how much I’ve learned as a parent, and of course, how much I’ve yet to learn. It’s only just recently that I’ve begun to feel a little more confident in my abilities to be a decent parent, maybe even a good one. I definitely have my days, and moments I wish I could take back or do over, but without those, I wouldn’t be learning anything. I try to remind myself that all parents make mistakes, sometimes big ones, but (most of the time) they can be fixed, they can be learned from. It’s okay, and even a good thing, to ask your own child for forgiveness when you’ve blown it. I’ve learned that it’s more important that you lavish (good) attention on your child than be a strict disciplinarian (because, usually, if they are getting the time and right type of attention they need from you, they’re less likely to misbehave.) I’ve learned that when I yell, I’ve lost control, and my kids know it. It accomplishes nothing, except for belittling the children I love, and swallowing my own mind with guilt and self-loathing. I’ve learned that Drew and Beau and this one growing inside are so much more than my responsibilities (because, yes, there have been times when I realized that is how I was thinking of them,) they are people I really love, so much I would die for them. Thinking about that when they are really testing me, puts things into perspective.
My prayer for Drew in his upcoming year is that any damage I may have done as a faulty parent would be repaired, that our relationship with one another will grow stronger. That I will be a more understanding and compassionate mother, one who encourages his interests even when they drive me crazy. One who spends time with him, even when I would rather be doing something else. One who nurtures his intellect, who fosters learning and creativity. And that anything I may have missed, I will either become aware of, or will be covered by another important adult in his life.
So Happy Birthday, Drew. You are so special, and I love you so very much, and I hope that I show that enough that you never have to doubt it.
Love,
Mommy
Ha ha ha, I’m bragging today, can you tell? (As if the title wasn’t obvious enough.) I went to the dentist today for the first time in about 3 years, and yes there was a pregnancy in there too, and wallah! NO CAVITIES, and I got complimented on taking good care of my teeth. What a sigh of relief… I wish my visits to chiropractor went more like this…although, those feel a lot better than having your teeth cleaned…
Another brag, we are having Drew’s birthday party this weekend, and we are doing a Star Wars themed party, and are having all the kids dress up as Star Wars characters, (granted, I don’t think any of his buddies are going to be able to make it, but oh, well…) I’ve finally conquered my sewing machine (as far as I know) and have been sewing together a Jawa outfit for Beau, and it’s coming together! It’s working!
I guess one thing I can’t toot my horn about today is my writing skills. Those are some terribly crafted sentences up there. Sorry!
So yeah, that’s about it, no more tooting my horn…
Hope y’all have fabulous weekends!
You may have noticed (or maybe not, that’s okay) that I took down my pottery page. I’ve decided to take a different, hopefully more professional approach to promotion of my pottery and also the way in which I sell it. No more goofy thrown together, crappy looking pages half-hazardly added to my blog. At some point, I’m going to learn how to make my own website and put up a really nice site that casts my pottery and other artwork in a better light.
I’m also going to stop taking commissions for pottery, possibly for drawings too…but I haven’t decided on that one yet. I had a pottery order that sort of went awry, where I ended up making the wanted items six times, partly due to errors I made, but also due to the sheer unpredictability of pottery. It’s hard to explain to people that you can’t always get the exact color you want, there are just too many variables and you can’t control very many of them at all. So in the long run, even though I had useable pieces, the amount of work and time spent making these items had whittled down the profit to peanuts. Fortunately, I see profit gained in other areas other than money, like experience, for example. In the future I am planning on just keeping a good inventory of several different pieces, and potential buyers can choose from what already exists. Then they’ll be getting something they’ve already seen. I may decide to take on a special order if I get a person who is ordering, say, a whole set of stoneware and understands and appreciates the randomness of pottery…but we’ll see.
So that’s about all now. Just thought I’d explain, in case you were wondering. I was.
I really had to laugh today when I looked up “stormtrooper birthday cake” on Blingo, (which is powered by Google) and it pulled up one of my very own posts, not this one of course…but I’m sure it will if I ever Blingo that again…
Maybe after Drew’s birthday party I’ll have my very own example of a Stormtrooper birthday cake…
With this pregnancy, Drew is old enough to understand what is going on. He routinely asks me if there is a baby in my tummy, and has even remarked on my expanding belly. “Oh, I can see it. You’re getting bigger mommy.”
The other day when Kevin so graciously watched the boys so that I could go grocery shopping (and keep my sanity,) Drew asked if I was going to get the baby out of my tummy. It seems we still have a bit of explaining to do…
He and I have had various conversations about having a new baby around and if the baby is going to be a boy or girl. At first he was very adamant about wanting a brother, recently it has switched to a girl. I’m not sure why, though I think his cute little cousin Zoe may have something to do with it. She really likes him, and he lights up when she’s around and is very gentle and loving with her, paying her more attention than I would expect a three (well, almost four) year old boy to. I’m really impressed at what a caring big brother and cousin he is becoming- which is also encouraging, because I must be doing something right. Or it’s just Kev, who I have often thought would be much better at staying home with them than I would, but I’m sure it’s just a “grass is greener” thing. I can’t wait to see how he is with this new baby when she arrives. And no, I don’t know yet what the baby is…I’m just saying she. 😉 I’m fourteen weeks tomorrow, and for all of you who have asked me: yes, we are definitely going to find out if the baby is a boy or girl, you know…if we’re able to. You know how sometimes you get a modest baby and it just doesn’t work out. 🙂
We are finally back to our blog Bible study, and I am so far behind, that I just finished week four…(we were supposed ot be done with week 5, so bare with me if there are 3 Bible study posts this week- I need to catch up!)
Week four focuses on Isreal’s disobediance and straight up unresponsiveness to God, and what God’s consequences for their sin is. (Isaiah 5 and 6) It also talks about Isaiah’s mission; to deliver the bad news of what is going to happen to Isreal because of their sin.
There were two things that struck me about this week in the study. One, is how much am I like Isreal? I definitely can be self-righteous and disobediant, both sins that were discussed as part of Isreal’s disobediance. I have to say, these are things I want to work on, befor I end up being purged just like Isreal. It’s always better to learn the lesson before you have to suffer the consequences, right? (Is that even possible?)
The second thing that struck me was Isaiah, particularly this prophet’s love for God. He obviously wasn’t happy about having to deliver this news to his brothers and sisters in Isreal. In 6:11, he asks “Lord, how long?” as in how long are my people going to have to suffer these consequences? Still, with all of this, Isaiah chooses God above himself and his people and carries out His message and His work. I hope that if I am ever faced with that type of decision I am able to do the same.
We took advantage of the snow finally this weekend and went sledding with our best friends and theer kiddos. This was Drew and Beau’s first time sledding! You’d think that two snowboarders would’ve had their kid’s better prepared for winter fun, but no, we were out at Wal-mart of all places trying to find snow boots, waterproof mittens, and sleds at the last minute. Since, surprisingly (not!), Wal-Mart was completely out of children’s waterprood mittens, and sleds, we went with men’s waterproof mittens:
I decided it was safe enough for me to join in the fun. I figure since I have to sacrifice a whole winter (a good snow winter at that!) of snowboarding, I owe it to myself to enjoy sliding down at least a fifteen foot slope. 😉
The boys were such troopers! I was so proud of them, trudging around in the snow without any complaining at all, going down the hill head first, laughing and screaming all the way.
Kev spent most if his time taking scads and scads of great pictures, the rest of which you’ll have to check out on the flickr page. There were so many good ones, I uploaded 50 shots from the outing! I finally got hold of the camera and Kev got a chance to have some fun, of course going off the jump at first chance…
We had a little time to pose for some romantic shots too..
Be sure to take a look at the rest of the shots, there’s so much to see, just click on any of the above pictures and you’ll get there. : )
Sarah Bearah 