Wordless Wednesday.

An attempt to take a picture with the laptop. The little guy kept pounding the keys so I had to hold him back. So, what you don't see are little fingers reaching for the keyboards and my knees bouncing wildly in an attempt to distract/entertain the baby while we took the picture. :)

Some Prefer Pink, I Prefer Plain.

When I was a sophomore in college, my dear roommate and I had an answering machine that said, "Hey! You've reached Jamie and Katie's room! Leave us a message! And remember, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade!" 

Cheesy, yes. So, very, much.

But it actually sounded somewhat cute and usually people were laughing while they tried to leave their message, so we kept it all year.

I think I am a lemonade kind of person. I typically try to find the good in things, sometimes to a fault. I'm an optimist, albeit a tad cynical at times, but I've found that having a positive attitude really does make a huge difference in pretty much every circumstance. In my mind, life's too short to be bummed all the time. And, really, sometimes being negative is easier, and I'm always up for a challenge.

Say, like, yesterday for example. Yesterday started out as one of those days where, from the moment I awoke, I knew it was going to be a bad day. I woke up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed and everything sort of gently crashed around me as the day continued on. From a cranky baby to a lack of laundry detergent, I quickly realized that I was allowing very small (though somewhat significant) things drag me down. Breakfast tasted bad. The bed needed to be made. The bathroom towel was on the floor. Plans for the evening had to be cancelled a la sick baby. Finally, around mid-morning, I gave up. I sat at the kitchen table and started to pray.

Okay. I use the word "pray" potentially incorrectly here. A more appropriate word might be "vent", or, rather, "EMOTE". I am very grateful that God is extensively and eternally patient, nay, long suffering, because sometimes (often ... often times ...) my prayers consist of me trying to work it out in my head and justify every way I'm feeling and wah wah wah until I finally settle down and enjoy silence. I write a lot about silence. That is because for me, SILENCE IS A CHALLENGE.

And I like challenges, right?

So, I finally shut-up after much EMOTING and let my head hit the table. I sat there, sorting my thoughts, mumbling prayers here and there, feeling stupid for whining about such feeble things anyway, when I felt the table wet under my cheeks. I sat up and realized I was crying. I looked around, stunned, wondering why in the heck I was crying. What happened? Then I started to think about Cub being sick, and the tears started again. Aha. That was it. I was, apparently, more worried about Cub than I had realized, and that anxiety was spilling into everything in my morning, making it all seem much worse than it actually was. I wiped my eyes and shrugged my shoulders and mumbled, "Okay." After a few more moments I sighed and then apologized to God for my senseless rambling. Then I asked Him for a good attitude.

Good grief. Good grief, I thought. Of all of these crazy happenings in my morning that pile up and make me feel like they are out of my control, the one thing I CAN control is my attitude. And I need a good one today.

And that was it. A fresh perspective and cup of coffee later, I felt like it was a new day. I geared myself up for the unpredictability of having a sick Cub and even accepted defeat in the laundry department. But, later, I found laundry detergent, tucked away in our laundry room cupboards. Then, after his nap, I noticed Cub's right eye wasn't as bad as his left. And all of the sudden I realized that a simple change in my attitude had allowed me to calm down enough to open my eyes. To open my eyes to what was right in front of me. A good attitude not only makes you optimistic, it makes you realize the good in the small things. By the end of the day, I was able to look back on the day and see that it wasn't so bad. God even nudged me to take the time out to check on some friends of mine and see how their days were going. Fresh perspective. It helps you make a nice big pitcher of lemonade.

And goodness, lemonade tastes so much better than lemons.

Even if it's made a little late. :)

At Least The Sun Is Out.

Caleb has an eye infection and feels like crap and when I tossed him in the air to make him smile, he hit his head on his ceiling fan. Then we both cried.

And today is laundry day and I'm out of detergent.

And I can't get out to get any.

Happy Monday.

You're Welcome.

As the weekend comes upon us and we have company coming for dinner, I've decided to dedicate this week's open-ended post to etiquette. You know, doing things proper and such.

That's right. I wrote proper instead of properly. It is difficult to emulate redneck accents through type.

Anyway!

So, I'm going to leave you with a few rules my Mother taught me, plus a few of my own, regarding the importance of details in hosting. 

1) Always keep fresh flowers in the house.

2) When company is coming, set the table first before working on anything else that needs to get done. That way, if you are running behind as company arrives, the set table will show them that yes, you were expecting them (and they won't know you're running behind!).

3) Sweep crumbs under the rug.

4) Light a candle.

5) Always do your best to make your company feel special, no matter how casual the gathering.

What about you? Do you have any special rules you follow when company comes?

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

Motherhood: The Club.

When I became pregnant, I remember feeling as though I had entered into a whole new world of womanhood. I could now relate to certain women to whom I had previously had no connection, all because of a little life growing inside of me. When a pregnant friend would lament over the fatigue and nausea, I actually understood what she was talking about--my sympathy had morphed into empathy. I now understood the depth of that fatigue, oh, the plunging, never-ending, insatiable depths of pregnancy fatigue. Oh. Ohhhhhh.

In my church community, there were several women who were also pregnant when I was pregnant, only they were pregnant with their second or third child. It opened up a whole new realm of friends and I welcomed their advice and wisdom. And, once our babies were born, those friendships continued and have caused me to grow close to some really amazing women.

When Cub was born, that whole new world I had stepped into in pregnancy evolved into the new world of Motherhood, a world where I was immersed in diapers and late-night feedings and cooing and baby talk and toys. Just as my sympathy had morphed into empathy during pregnancy, that same empathy carried over into being a new Mom. Moms became my heroes. I thought I was encouraging and understanding of my friends who had gone before me and had children before I, but oh man, I was wrong. I had no clue. My respect for Moms flew through the roof, and my respect for single Moms or Moms of multiples flew through the roof, crashed through the atmosphere, and soared to outer space. The "just wait"'s I  had heard throughout my pregnancy began to come true. And not just the blow-out diapers or the spit-up. The LOVE. The INTENSE LOVE. Nothing could have prepared me for how much I love my Cub.

Not only was I immersed in the day-to-day tasks of Motherhood, I was also immersed with a new group of women. A group of Mothers. The concept of Mom's Clubs and such kind of made me want to break out in hives before I had a baby, but now, as a new Mom, I began to recognize the significance of such groups' existence. Moms need each other. Play groups are really support groups in disguise. As I learned the importance of socializing my baby with other babies, I also learned the importance of socializing myself with other Moms. It's easy to get stuck in your own world when you become a Mom, a world where you think that everything you are doing is the right way to do it, at least in the sense that you never think to question it. I gleaned so much wisdom from other Moms ("More feedings during the day means more sleep at night!" "The rice-cereal-in-the-bottle is a myth--they're either good night sleepers or they're not, and that's okay!" "Who cares if they can't drink from a sippy cup yet. They won't take a bottle to college.") It wasn't unwelcome advice at all--it was a group of Moms settled together in a room, sipping coffee and talking together, Moms who share the same vision of Motherhood but who all carry it out differently. Sharing wisdom and sharing stories, laughing at each other and with each other. I learned to relax. And, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I learned that Motherhood is less about doing things right and more about doing things well.

Motherhood not only brought me my precious Cub, it also brought me new friends. And I love them. Yet another unexpected blessing. :)