Sick days

Thinking about starting on dinner now... and doing every major task early on in my day because I'm not feeling too well. My "job" is truly 24/5. No sick days... no alternate child care... no opportunities to stay in bed when I really need to.... but somehow these kids are taken care of and fed... the house gets cleaned... and I get through my day. It totally helps when Ash gets home & helps in whatever way he can because on days like today, I really wish I had a nanny.

Homeschooling a kindergarten-er

I think Addi is going to appreciate his weekends a lot more now. No school work! This past week we started homeschooling (Kindergarten) & let me tell you, he is definitely looking forward to not having anything to do today. Hahaha. Not a bad week though. He's powering through the workbook but loathes practicing his penmanship. He'll get use to it soon, hopefully.

Little girls and make up!

Little girls are so enticed by their mom's makeup collection. I don't usually use A LOT of makeup, but my 21 month old daughter has seen me put on mascara and lip stain often enough that she knows my lip stain is for lips and my mascara is for eyes. She also tries putting it on for herself... and my heart just melts at her independence. I usually then pretend I'm putting some on for her & the smile that appears on her face is PRICELESS! I love all these mommy-daughter moments... they truly remind me that I am indeed the only example of a woman that she'll observe for the majority of her younger years. 

This is no easy role to fill - I have to be aware of the expression on my face as I stare at my reflection in the mirror and watch how I describe my body. I have to accept and love my own body, in spite of its imperfections, in hopes that she may not grow up to be critical of hers. I have to focus on exercise and eating nourishing foods because she will likely see those life choices as normal if they are a part of her everyday life. I have to show her what health entails... and how to maintain & encourage it. Apart from the make up and hairstyles, I want her to learn how to be a woman who is strong, healthy, confident, and accepting of who she is without any need for make up to make her feel beautiful. She should know she's the beautiful addition to make up and that make up is only enhanced by the beautiful woman it's on. 

I think of all these things as I see the innocence in her eyes and realize that I am showing her what life is all about. I am impacting her life in the tiniest of ways when doing my everyday tasks.  She is learning FROM ME... and I hope to teach her many things.

I love you, Zali boo! 

Nursing break

Today, Azalea went a whole 8 hours without nursing - she has never ever done that! She has never ever been away from me for that long either. It wasn't planned that I would be gone for so long, but I was... and when she saw me, she did a happy dance & gave me a bunch of kisses and then asked to nurse. I've spent the last 20+ months nursing her every 2-4 hours around the clock so today was definitely a milestone! :) I'm so glad she was fine without me. I'm also glad she didn't cry because she wanted to nurse or drove her grandparents crazy by refusing whatever they offered her. She ate and played very well... and I am sooooo thankful for that! 

Amazing body parts

This post is dedicated to the human reproductive system described by my four year old son, Adonai. He recently read the book "Amazing you" and his brain flooded with information about his body that he is delighted to share with me and the whole wide world.  My husband had to smile through a "hey daddy! you have testicles and it makes a lot of sperm, right?" moment in the middle of WALMART while shopping on a Saturday evening. It is hilarious hearing him speak so nonchalantly about his body parts especially when so many people (...even us adults!) cringe at the sound of each part's actual name.

This is a typical conversation during our days right now:

Addi: So mom, you have two ovaries & you have a lot of eggs, right? And daddy has testicles and a lot of sperm, RIGHT? ...and when the egg meets the sperm, Me and Zali was born...RIGHT MOM? And then your tummy squeezed me out because I was getting too big and I had a penis & Zali had a vagina...RIGHT MOM? 

I have a testicle & a scrotum! and I have a urethra and I urinate... and I have a penis, RIGHT MOM?!?

Nursing my daughter until age 7?

It's hard to imagine one day Azalea won't be nursing anymore.  She's been stuck on me from the day she was born and shows no signs of weaning just yet. I know some kids don't wean until 7 and I wonder if I'd nurse her for THAT long if she wanted.  I'm still undecided on that.. as much as Id want her to nurse for as long as she'd like, it will be a little weird nursing someone close to my same height... (since I didn't grow THAT much after age 8... LOL... I'm only 4'10")  oh man, the image of that made me laugh!

Sleepover for Addi

My little guy just called me and told me that he was spending the night at his grandparents.  He didn't even ask permission! He just told me! LOL! These little things show me how quickly we enter different stages in life... he was JUST a baby and now he's scheduling his own sleepovers!