Interesting info...

Today is National Wig Out Day!

"The Library Journal posted an article about Charlotte Mecklenburg Library last week. It outlines what the library system has gone through over the past couple of years. A very long article, but from what I can tell as an employee, very accurate. It's been a roller coaster, that's for sure.

Here's a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment by Dora to see if your child is ready to go to school.

My baby is about the size of a bell pepper! Not Xander, the new one. :)


I read today's section in The One Year Book of Praying Through the Bible. Here is the prayer I read and one that I hope will bring you comfort. I pray this for the people of Joplin and the many other places that have been devastated recently.

Lord, you are the God of all comfort. How grateful I am. I pray that your unfailing love will comfort those who need it and that your tender mercies will surround them. These dear ones need your Spirit's tenderness today. May they experience you in the midst of their pain, and please touch them with healing today.

"God's mercy is boundless, free, and through Jesus Christ our Lord, available to us now in our present situation." - A.W. Tozer

Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant. Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your law is my delight. 
Psalm 119:76-77

Xander's favorite apps

People often comment on how well Xander uses the iPad and iPhone. He's been using my iPhone since he was about 10 months old and has used my iPad from the day I got it. It helps that Apple makes very intuitive products, but I do think Xander is pretty gifted when it comes to technology. Probably most kids are these days - there's just so much of it around!

Here are a few of Xander's favorites:

Elmo Loves ABCs (for iPad only) - this is his newest favorite
Scout's ABCs - see my earlier post about this one
My First Puzzles
Itsy Bitsy by Duck Duck Moose
The Wheels on the Bus also by Duck Duck Moose
Forest Friends
I Hear Ewe (he doesn't care for this one much anymore, but this was the first app I got for him - it's free.)

But probably more than anything (except possibly Elmo) he loves to play ANGRY BIRDS! Yes! That is one of his favorites and he can play it for (probably) hours (if I let him). He plays the original Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds seasons, even the free versions! He loves it!

Overwhelmed

I've learned a valuable lesson in the past couple of weeks. I'm NOT super-mom. I wish I was. I strive for that and sometimes even long for it. But I'm just not. I have to remind myself of this often and give myself credit for the things I do right. When I do things wrong, my goal is to learn from these mistakes and move on. There's no point in beating myself up or living in the past. Tomorrow is always a fresh start. This very moment can be a fresh start!

I think I really realized this almost two weeks ago. David was out of town and I was trying to do everything for everybody, but I just couldn't do it. I had gone to church on Sunday and was supposed to attend service at 9:30, serve at 11, stay afterward to set up for BabyD, eat lunch with the gals and their kiddos, make sure everything was ready, stay for BabyD at 5, leave at 6, and get home around 6:30. How in the world was I supposed to do all that with Xander? I didn't have David to help me watch him and I didn't think through all the small things that turn out to be big things. First of all, David was out of town and had been for 5 days. Xander missed him and was struggling with not having Daddy around. Xander hadn't napped well all week due to scheduling conflicts. This was a bad combination. Anyway, the day did not turn out the way I planned. I ended up serving at both services, Xander saw me multiple times and finally on the fourth time he broke down because I wasn't coming to get him. I ended up leaving after serving for the 11am service and didn't go back. I didn't help set up for BabyD, I didn't help out during it or clean up afterwards. I felt awful. I felt awful because I knew I couldn't be everything for everybody, but I really wanted to be! I'm weak and I realized that. It's so hard to admit that - weakness. I don't like to and I wish I didn't have to, but the great thing is that God's grace truly is sufficient.


⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, New International Version)

Earlier this week I was talking to my bestie, Isabel. It hit me - why am I so hard on myself? Why don't I give God a little credit, let him have the glory and delight in my weaknesses so that his grace can shine through? She reminded me that not only do I work part-time, take care of my husband and child and the house we live in, serve at church, maintain relationships with friends and family, but I also have another very important job right now. I'm growing another human being inside of me. That's a big job and one I forget about on occasion. I don't really forget I'm pregnant, but I do forget how much that can take out of a woman!

My week typically looks like this:


Monday

• twice a month I have a meeting with women from church to discuss curriculum and gather materials,  usually a half to all-day meeting
• clean
• all this with Xander while attempting quality time with him
• dinnertime once David gets home around 5:30
• family time until Xander goes to bed around 8
• misc. chores/time with David
• bedtime at 10

Tuesday

• errands
• clean
• all this with Xander while attempting quality time with him
• dinnertime once David gets home around 5:30
• family time until Xander goes to bed around 8
• misc. chores/time with David
• bedtime at 10

Wednesday

• small tasks in the morning
• meet Mimi or Grandma for lunch and drop off Xander
• work until 6
• small group from 7-9 (or 9:30 or 10...:))
• bedtime at 10

Thursday

• work all day
• date night

Friday

• work all day
• pick up Xander
• short time with Xander before bed at 8
• misc. chores/time with David
• bedtime at 10

Saturday

• Usually full with miscellaneous tasks/activities

Sunday

• church
• serve every other week at church
• time with family

That's a full schedule! And of course I have to find time in there to spend time with extended family, friends and other commitments that pop up. I have to remember that I'm not really a stay-at-home mom. Because I work two and a half days out of the week I have to schedule my time so that I spend good quality time with Xander while I'm with him. I don't want to constantly be cleaning, doing chores or grocery shopping when we're together. However, those things need to be done, too, so I have to prioritize depending on the week and what all is going on. It's a tough job!

I love being a mom and wife more than anything else in this world. I never knew how hard it would be or how rewarding it is at the same time. I certainly couldn't do any of it without God's grace.

Scout

Xander has fallen in love...with his stuffed dog, Scout. This dog is absolutely his first love. He takes Scout everywhere! He wants to sleep with him, take him to the store, take him outside (which I quickly and firmly denied since the first time he went outside he was covered in grass), eat with him (also not a good idea - Scout sits far away from Xander when he eats), and ride with him in the car no matter where we're going. He keeps tabs on him, too, and needs to know where he is at all times. He loves this dog!

Scout is made by Leap Frog and is pretty darn cool! You can plug him into the computer and program him to say your child's name, load in his favorite food, color and animal, and then Scout will talk and sing to him. You can also choose songs without words - some of Xander's favorites are "Jingle Bells" and "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain." He sings songs about your child, too, tells your child he loves him, etc. All your child does is push the buttons on Scout's paws. It's great!

David and I got Scout for Xander's first Christmas in 2009. Xander really didn't care much about him at the time, but we've kept him in the toy bin. We pulled him back out about two months ago and Xander hasn't put him down since!

I learned early on that Scout's sounds have to be turned off when Xander goes to sleep. One night he was up until about 10pm (when I was headed off to bed) just listening to Scout talk and sing to him. When I put Xander down to sleep I tell him that Scout has to go night-night. I'll go in the next morning and Xander will say, "Wake up, Scout! Mommy, turn sounds on."

Xander will give Scout spontaneous kisses, hugs and tell him "I love you, Scout." When Xander brushes his teeth at night, we have to take turns with Scout. He also pretends to feed Scout different foods. It's so funny!

I bought an app for my iPad that's called "Scout's ABC Garden." Xander loves to play that game, mainly because he gets to see his friend, Scout, or Scout's female counterpart, Violet. We also have a Leap Frog video that Grandma gave Xander called "Numbers Ahoy." Xander calls it "Numbers A-boy" and asks for it most mornings. He has the Leap Frog "Leaptop," too, which allows you to program emails and information on it. Scout runs that show, too.



Some might call it an obsession, but I prefer to see it as love! It could be worse. At least he's learning things while playing with Scout. Educational toys are the best!

Funnies from the little man

Me: "Xander, where does mommy work?"
Xander: "At the yabbity." (yabbity means library)
Me: "Where does daddy work?"
Xander: "In his car."

I never thought about it, but we rarely go to David's office, yet every morning we talk about Daddy going to work and Xander always mentions his car and oftentimes we watch him drive away. It only makes sense that Daddy works in his car. :)


Xander loves basketball. As in, he's obsessed. He will make anything into a basketball and use anything as the ball. He always talks about "putting it in the hole." The other day he had a little ball and his stacking boxes. Each of the boxes has a letter on it. David and I were sitting on the floor with him when he said, "Put it in the A-hole!" I didn't think I would stop laughing over that one.


He's so used to electronics and toys that make sounds and move on their own, that he doesn't really understand "old-fashioned" toys that don't do those things. This morning he called me in the living room and said, "Mommy, fish stick!" (which is what it sounds like when he says, "Mommy, fix it!"). He was playing with some tractors that he got from Mimi and Papa. They don't move without you making them and they make no noise. I told him that it's fixed and that these toys don't make noise. He said very matter-of-factly, "Needs batteries."


Xander has quite the memory. I tend to talk to him (probably incessantly) when we're together, especially at the store or when running errands. We went to the grocery store together a couple of weeks ago and I was trying to remember that David had asked me specifically to get some sausages to grill out and some grapes for his lunch. I kept telling Xander, "Don't let mommy forget. We need to get grapes and sausages for daddy." Yesterday we were at Costco together and out of the blue Xander told me, "Get sausages for daddy." I started laughing and told him, "Thanks for reminding me, buddy." :)

All the babies...

My friend Crystal just announced her pregnancy a couple of weeks ago. I'm so excited for her! I have so many friends who are pregnant right now.  Out of five couples in my small group, one being Crystal and one being me, four of us are pregnant!  Here's the break-down of all my close pregnant friends, when they're due and if they're having a boy or girl:

Julie - June 4 (not finding out)
Angela - June 17 (girl)
Veronica - July 29 (boy)
Amanda - August 15 (not finding out)
Lisa - Sept 2 (not finding out)
Kristen - Sept 14 (girl)
Naphtalie - Oct 2 (boy)
Emily - Oct 30 (I find out at the end of May!)
Crystal - Nov 8 (?)

This is not even to mention all the other people I know who are pregnant including my neighbor, tons of facebook friends, and a few of David's friends!  It must be the time of life I'm in for all these pregnancies to be happening at the same time.  So much fun - but so crazy, too!

Naptime Nosebleed

Sweet Xander. I woke him up from his nap the other day, only to find this:

I look back over the pictures and they don't really seem that bad. I'll tell you, though, it seemed bad when I turned on the lights! I didn't know what had happened! After checking him over from head to toe, I realized it was a nosebleed, thank goodness. Poor little guy!