« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »

August 29, 2008

Nat-isms

Lately Natalie makes some very interesting connections and observations. Here are just a few.

~Observing the poop in her diaper..."It's like chocolate!" Yes, darling, with a very different taste. :)

~After peeling the paper off one of her crayons, which she does quite compulsively..."It's naked."

~Seeing the mark left by band-aids on Charlotte's leg after shot day :(..."It's a band-aid shadow!" Wow, kid, I like the way your brain works! That actually makes total sense.

Posted by Shannon at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

It's All About the Accessories

Natalie decked Charlotte out in her beads this afternoon. She made very cute comments (that she's heard me say) like "Charlotte's looking at all the colors!" and "What a good big sister!" :) Shortly after, however, she decided she wanted them back and needed reminders to gently remove the beads rather than yanking them off her sister's neck, hee hee.

Posted by Shannon at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2008

Life is Good

Today we woke up with a gorgeous day. The kind of day that makes you excited for fall: crisp air, a refreshing breeze coming through the windows, hardly a cloud in the sky. We actually had to put socks on and broke out the long sleeves. Very cozy.
So me and my girls had no choice but to set out on a trek this morning to one of our favorite spots, Thomas Hill Standpipe.

This water tower and park are just up the road, and I feel so blessed to have this little slice of nature so close by. Natalie and I have been going since she was a baby, and have spent many hours there soaking up sun, spinning, rolling down the hill, and finding treasures.

I sat on the grass with Charlotte asleep in her Snugly, and watched Natalie explore and revel in the beauty around her, so carefree, with her pink "cowgirl boots" and treasure bag, hair blowing in the wind. She says the sweetest things and I love her observations. She looks at fallen orange pine needles and says, "It looks like hair, " then touches the green ones still on the tree and says, "They're fluffy, aren't they?" And constantly, she is pointing to things and asking "What's that? What's that?" So I give her names of all the flora and fauna as we walk around, and she collects specimens for her bag to take home.

As the sights and sounds and smells hit my senses, I was flooded with memories of other such days and how I had spent them...as a little girl running through our fields, the grass and alfalfa rippling in beautiful shades of green and lavendar (I was likely imagining myself as Maria from Sound of Music) :)...as a college student between classes on the Mall at UMaine sitting with some homework surrounded by fall colors and the pleasant hum of a busy campus...standing on a Maine mountaintop admiring the view and cooled by the breeze after a sweaty climb...or now, standing on our back porch hanging laundry and feeling thankful for the home God gave us.

There have been times this summer, especially on nice days, that I have felt a little discontent and stuck in my schedule of feeding and soothing and diapers and not sleeping. I daydream and long for the times when I was kid-free and could take off with Peter on a day trip somewhere, or strike out on my own into the wilderness. I've thought "Where did the summer go? and what have I done with it?" Then I think, "Oh yeah, I had a baby and took care of my girls...no small accomplishment I suppose. :) I have to reset my expectations and remind myself of the importance of my role and its fleeting nature.

Lately though God is helping me to more consistently feel relaxed and contented with Mommyhood, and He's sent along some moments like the ones we shared this morning to help me slow down and really savor the life that is mine right now.

Charlotte has also calmed a bit, which helps, and we have gotten to know her better. I really look forward to watching her grow and become. Natalie is at a super fun stage, making fun new connections all the time, and a joy to be with (when she's not being defiant and leaving me befuddled to figure out how I practically shepherd her heart). I have a husband who is so sacrificial for us and such an involved Dad and always knows intuitively when I need some rescuing, even if it means just a 15 minute walk up the road! :) Life is good.

And on that note, I shouldn't use up their whole naptime on blogging. This Mommy is sleepy...

Posted by Shannon at 08:48 PM | Comments (1)

August 18, 2008

Natalie Makes the Big Time

Okay, not by name.

But her love of nature is the hook for a column that was accepted by Pajamas Media.

Posted by Peter at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2008

Mommy's Helper

Natalie did a great job helping with laundry yesterday. She kept saying "Good job!" and "Thank you!" to herself, to which I wholeheartedly agreed. I didn't fix it until she'd gone down for her nap.:)

Posted by Shannon at 01:52 PM | Comments (2)

"Ouch"

Last night as I was putting Natalie to bed I grabbed a few farm animals and My Little Ponies from under her crib to return them to the downstairs toy basket. I do a little of this gleaning every night so that there's room to walk and room in her crib for her to sleep. :) As I said goodnight and exited her room, she whined. I kinda figured she had seen me and wanted these toys back to add to the already large menagerie in her crib. But, having already spent an hour meeting her bedtime needs and not really feeling like responding to a whining child who has an amazing vocabulary, I continued on downstairs.

She settled down and went to sleep. However, this morning when we came downstairs, she promptly found the stolen animals and said, "Mommy took your ponies, you were mad and sad." Just a side note--to translate her statement, you must know that she talks in 2nd person like Gollum in Lord of the Rings. :)

I was blown away by this. I felt a tad bit guilty but also very impressed with her ability to name her feelings, and told her so. I'm a mean, mean mommy... :)

Posted by Shannon at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2008

I'm Slow at Tag

Okay, so I've been tagged by Amy, and here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

So after a week and a half of attempts at blogging and pondering my answers, here we go, my unspectacular quirks:

1. I have long scars on both my ankles where I had bilateral club foot repair as a baby. Doctors said I wouldn't walk normally until my teens, but I walked on schedule!

2. I really don't like this about myself, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's probably no big surprise to anyone who knows me...I am a bit obsessive about many things. I used to think of myself as laid back and often that is the perception others have of me, but I'm definitely not on the inside. From the cleanliness of my home to what other people think of me, it's often a whirlwind in my brain. Luckily God's working on me in this area, especially now that I'm a mommy, and luckily He's more patient than I am!

3. As a nurse, there isn't much that grosses me out. I love watching reality ER shows, and I can't resist picking a good scab or any loose skin on my body (or my babies for that matter, poor things).

4. I can't tell a joke to save my life. I'll always forget parts and go on bunny trails until it's barely recognizable and certainly not funny. Actually, come to think of it, I'm really not a very direct communicator in general, which is a bit of a frustration to my "get-to-the-bottom-line" husband. Guess that's why I'm in psychiatry. :)

5. I LOVE musicals! I'm a bit of a dork, but they just carry me away and move me beyond words at times. Especially Les Miserables which I saw live as a teenager (amazing!!) and Sound of Music. Often, Natalie and I make our own musicals out of the ordinary events in our daily routine. Good thing there's no hidden cameras. :)

6. Ok, I had a 6th one, and I'm totally blanking out now. Drat. Well, gotta get this thing posted. I'll come back and add it if my sleep-deprived brain remembers. :) In the meantime I'll obsess about whether I chose the right quirks (see number 2) :)

So tag you're it to:

1. Stevo
2. Peter (same as this blog)
3. Amber

And that's it, cause Esther and Ame got everybody else that I know!

Posted by Shannon at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2008

A...B...C

Natalie sings the "ABC" song on camera, finally.

Posted by Peter at 09:41 PM | Comments (2)