For my plans are not your plans...

I can't tell you how many times I have learned this lesson over the last three years and today I am grateful. Today was not at all the day I expected at the beginning of the week. Niko came home from church last night with a poopy diaper which had exacerbated what was already a painful case of diaper rash. We changed him before we left him in the nursery and warned them about his rash, but with a room full of kids it can be hard to be sure the kiddos get changed promptly and by the time we were getting him ready for bed he had open sores on his poor little bottom. Needless to say we had a rough time getting him to bed and thought that Monty should take a sick day since it was taking two of us to do diaper changes. I am so glad he was home! The day went much better for Niko than predicted but it was wonderful to have him home for a day.

Last week we invited two families with little ones over for supper tonight so Monty and I spent the day cleaning, cooking.and getting ready for a house full of friends and toddlers. Little did we know the spritz of rain when we were out running errands in the morning would cause icy power outages in the late afternoon. Fifteen minutes before we were to have a house full of people the flickers we had been experiencing for over an hour turned into more than half an hour of no heat and no power. We were just about to head to the heated and running car to go to Monty' s parents' for the night when it came back on. Our dinner for friends had been canceled earlier and we had a kitchen full of food in progress so we invited Monty' s family for supper. It worked out fine but was not at all what we expected. The beautifully set table, penne with kale and sausage, fresh Italian olive oil bread, and skillet chocolate chip cookie were well used but for unexpected guests.

It was a great day but not the one I expected when I woke up this morning. We enjoyed some wonderful family time and we'll reschedule the missed dinner for another day. I am grateful for lessons in flexibility that have helped me adapt as needed on days like today. It's a lesson I have learned over and over on my journey of motherhood and which I expect I will continue to learn. Recipes for the bread and pasta to come!

Baby, it's cold outside (or at least, it will be soon)...

Starting tomorrow the temperatures are expected to drop and we might even get some snow on Friday so Niko and I took advantage of what may well be one of the last nice days of the year and played outside in the leaves. This was Niko' s first time playing in the leaves. It was great!

He had  a great time. So did I. There are few things more rewarding than watching your child discover the simple pleasures of life like crisp fall days and crackling leaves. We had a beautiful afternoon together.

I think I even rediscovered the joy of a leaf pile in fall. It was a truly memorable day.

Catching Up

Time to play catch up!

November 16 - The whole family spent the day at a youth group service day. Crazy busy. We put up a ton of Christmas trees at a local thrift store. The trees will be moved out to their sales floor as the weeks go by and they sell more and more trees. Our youth also enjoyed trying on clothes and creating crazy outfits. Think high school boys wearing knee length leopard-print dresses with thigh high slits and yellow terry cloth, zippered bathrobes  belted with a narrow, red patent-leather belt and covered with two adult-sized clip-on ties and a short, cuffed sleeved, blue linen 90's era blazer. We had a great time and even managed to get quite a lot done!

The highlight of my day came in the form of a plastic church that has stained glass windows, a light that plugs in and a music box that plays "Silent Night." My family has had one since my father was a child. He grew up with it in his house at Christmas and so did I. I have many wonderful memories of sitting in a dark living room, squinting at tree lights, listening to the church play a tinkling version of "Silent Night." I can't possibly explain just how thrilled I was to find one for four dollars for my house. Niko will get to grow up with similar memories as I did!

The day concluded with sermon writing. Success!

November 17 - Taught Sunday School and then it felt like the Hope show for worship. The theme of the service was prayer so I led the congregational prayer, dedicated a junior high offering project, dedicated the congregational offering, preached the sermon, and did the benediction. There were a few tears during a story I shared in the sermon but I expected that. Overall, it went well.

After church we headed home for lunch and a nap before heading to a community Thanksgiving meal and service. We filled up on fabulous food and then enjoyed some bluegrass and gospel music while waiting for the service to start. As a community pastor I had a small part in the service. It was a long but good day.

November 18 - Monday's are often full of meetings for me and yesterday was no exception. I was grateful that Niko took a nice long nap because I took one too. Nothing really unusual happened for a Monday but after last week I could have used a Monday off. The nap helped as did a slower day today.

November 19 - Today was a pretty good day. I made supper for a first year teacher at Monty' s school who has been joining us fairly regularly on Tuesday night's. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and applesauce. We also had ice cream and apple crunch for dessert.

Niko had his first bubble bath tonight. At first he wasn't very excited about it but he ended up having quite a bit of fun with it.

All in all a pretty good few days. There are few days when I am not absolutely exhausted at the end of a day right now but I really wouldn't trade the time with Niko and productive work that I enjoy for anything! So many, many things to be grateful for as we near Thanksgiving! I am blessed.

Trying out Christmas Present Ideas and a Chocolate-covered Baby

Today Niko would not cooperate for me to work on my sermon but he would "help" me in the kitchen so we tested out some Christmas present ideas. We made an almond poppyseed exfoliating body wash, peppermint bar soap, and almond and peppermint body lotions. I'll make some changes before I put recipes on here (with pictures) and give them as gifts. I want to put together a foot soak in each scent and a body scrub, too. I might even try these in lavender as well. We'll see how it goes but I think they will be fun homemade Christmas presents for the women in my family.

Niko and I also made chocolate chip cookies for a meeting I had this afternoon. I'm always grateful for coworkers who are willing to accommodate Niko by having meetings at my house. I think hospitality is an important spiritual discipline for me so I always try to have coffee and a snack around. Holiday season means delicious coffee screamers which make coffee an even more special treat for guests. So here's a picture of my cookies.

I tried a new recipe that has cornstarch in it and what an amazing difference it makes! I'm sold! They 're the perfect combination of crispy outside and soft inside. I want to tweak the flavors a bit before I post that recipe, but testing them will be no hardship! We enjoyed these with coffee and White Chocolate Raspberry creamer. Delicious!

Niko loved the cookies and having company so much he wore himself out. It was his second nap of the day so it didn't last long, but the picture was too not to share!

Sometimes you just need a break...

There is a very good reason it takes two people to create a new life. That's not to say that parenting can't be done well as a single person! I know some truly amazing single parents with absolutely fantastic kids. But many of them have an incredible support system who make it possible for them to parent on their own.

We have both two parents in our house and a wonderful support system in our extended family and some weeks it still doesn't feel like enough. This is one of those weeks. This week I have an abundance of meetings, a full day conference youth activity on Saturday for which I am on the planning team, and I am preaching on Sunday. I am already tired and I am struggling to find time to write my sermon. I love my son but this week I need a break.

I am so grateful for my wonderful husband today. After a long day with a clingy toddler, I really needed some time to myself. He skipped his daily run so I could have a break and get ready for a busy evening.

I am also grateful for my sister-in-law. You know how there are those sister-in-laws who you avoid at all costs? Well, mine aren't like that. Both my husband's sister and my brother's wife are wonderful! We live three blocks from my husband's sister and tonight she really saved the day. Both my husband and I had full evenings and Niko was crazy fussy. She let us drop him off for a couple hours while we had our evening activities.

Like I said, sometimes you just need break. What a blessing it is to have people who are happy to give it to you so that you can be the best possible parent!

Fighting Naps, A Meeting, and Chocolate Cake

Once a month or so I have a meeting on a day that just doesn't seem to suit Niko. Today was that day. Niko has been napping for 45 minutes to an hour late in the morning and then again in the late afternoon. Today he decided to forego his morning nap. Most days this would just mean a longer afternoon nap but I had a 1 o'clock meeting today so that wasn't an option.

At one, we arrived at the office where I was having my meeting. Niko passed out for about two minutes on the way there and was very unhappy for the first fifteen minutes of my meeting. After my meeting, he continued to fight sleep until about the last five minutes of the drive to the grocery store. From there on it was hit or miss on the screaming until after supper. A good meal and chocolate cake meant we got a few good minutes followed by a great bath and some after bath playtime and snuggles. So for your enjoyment today here are pictures of Niko sampling the frosting for the cake this afternoon and snuggling after his bath. Even cranky I love this kid!

Oh, and I know beyond a doubt that he's mine. He got a time out today for chewing on an electrical cord and was totally silent on the chair. The minute Daddy let him up he came toddling to me in the kitchen. I never realized it was possible to receive apologies from a crying child who can't talk yet, but today I did. He came straight to me crying and was very upset until I said it was okay and I wasn't mad. Such a people pleaser and he hates to get in trouble. Yep! That's definitely my kid!

He thinks he's what??!??

I love my mom. She's hilarious. Yesterday we were Skyping and the boy was showing off his walking skills. The tablet was pointed toward him because who really wants to see mom or dad when they can see the cuteness that is our son. Here comes Niko toddling over with a Kong dog toy in his hand. In case you don't know what that is here's a picture.

This is seriously the best dog toy ever! As I have mentioned before, we are the proud family of a dachshund named Simon. This toy belongs to him. Or at least it did.

As Niko walked over carrying this toy (keep in mind it has been heavily used and may have even spent several months in our backyard hidden in a flower bed so it does not look like this one!) and my mother said, "oh, how cute. He has Simon's Kong."

And I thought to myself oh Mom, if only you knew...

Wait, did I just say that out loud?!?

My big mouth led me to what I was sure was about to be a moment when my parents realized I am the worst mother ever. Because of my big mouth I was forced to explain to my parents that my son seems to think he is a dog. That's right my thirteen month old thinks he is a dog.

For weeks he has been carrying his toys around in his mouth like he sees the dog doing, but in the last few days he has started to carry the dog's toys around in his mouth! And bad parents that we are we just laugh and tell each other that it's good for his immune system.

Suddenly I found myself in the position of having to tell my parents that we let our son carry dog toys around in his mouth and I was sure my mother was going to be completely grossed out about it.

But like I said, I love my mom and here's why... She laughed the biggest belly laugh ever over the mental image of Niko trying to walk around with this rather large dog toy in his mouth. What a great moment!

Now, I can't finish this post without a plug for Kong dog toys. We love these toys! Our dog may weigh sixteen pounds but his jaws are crazy strong and only large dog treats and toys keep him occupied for more than two seconds. These toys, however, are pretty much indestructible! Simon has had this one for most of his life and still loves it and so do we! And just for your viewing pleasure here's a picture of Simon! Maybe not his best likeness but by far the most humorous picture we have of him!