Home Alone

It's exactly 10:00 am on a Saturday morning and I am home alone.

"Home alone." That's such an odd phrase. Odd because it's such a rarity. I cannot even remember the last time I was home alone. Probably sometime more than 16 months ago! Ok, maybe not that long. Wes does take Tucker to the store with him occasionally and on other errands, but with the way our schedules are, it's very rare that I am home and Tucker is not here with me.

This morning Daddy took Tucker to play basketball at one of the high schools in town with some of our other Daddy friends and their sons. (Special thanks to the Gaither's for the father-son opportunity!)

So, what does one do when you are home alone? I've already worked out this morning (remember my boot camp?), not that I would choose to do that during my home-alone time.

I'm definitely not cleaning, though with the exception of some scattered toys, the house is in pretty good shape anyway.

I could take a nap, but I've never been a 45 minute napper. I need at least a good 3 hours!

We have a birthday party later this afternoon, I could start getting ready for that, but it's still early and I wouldn't want to taint my always-makes-a-fashionably-late-entrance reputation. After all, it's me taken years to perfect that reputation!

I think I'll catch up on some of my blog reading. Things have been a little crazy and I'm way behind.

What do you do when you have those precious few minutes to yourself? Obviously this mama needs some suggestions ;)

To My Valentine

When I think of us,

I think first of two people falling madly in love,

talking for hours,

finding out all the reasons why we were "made for each other."

Then I think about two people getting married,

starting a home,

fulfilling dreams,

and finding out what being together through all of life's ups and downs is really all about.

Now I think about two people who know what it really means to love each other.

I think of best friends who share each other's dreams and sorrows.

I think of lovers who still find moments of passion in everyday life.

I think of two lives made one by God and a love that will last always.

When I think of us, my heart is so thankful to God and so full of love for you because you will always be the one for me.

Happy Valentine's Day, Wes!

I LOVE YOU TODAY, TOMORROW, ALWAYS!

Way Too Fast

Tonight, when putting Tucker to bed, I realized just how fast he's growing up. It just hit me all of a sudden! Okay, maybe not all of a sudden. I think every monthly update I have done has included the words "You are getting SO big SO fast!" But still, I never fail to be amazed at how fast Tucker is growing up! I mean where did my baby go?! He is such a big boy, so independent, so NOT a baby. That makes his Mama very, very sad. :(

After nursing him tonight, I rocked and rocked him. He put his hand in mine and his hand was just so big! I have always been in love with his hands, well every part of him for that matter, but his hands are a favorite. I hold them and wonder about all the things he will do with them through out his life. How he will play catch with Daddy with those hands. How he will hold my hand as we walk into his first day of school. How he will hold his baby brother or sister with those hands one day. How he will shoot many winning basketball shots with those hands. How he will hold his own baby with those hands. Okay, I jumped WAY ahead there with that one. The point is those hands aren't so little anymore and neither is my boy. He is growing up so fast.

I rocked him as long as he would let me before he started pointing to his crib. He's such a big boy that he just doesn't need Mama to rock him until he's sleeping. I kissed each hand and then those delicious cheeks before laying him in his crib. He blew me a kiss and then rolled over, snuggling his silky. Such a big boy.

I just hope that big boy always thinks his Mama Rocks!

I love you Bubby! Just don't grow up on me too fast. Mama needs her baby big boy for at least a little while longer!

All Kinds of Tired

After a busy weekend and a Monday at work, I am T-I-R-E-D!

So tired in fact, that I might have encouraged Wes to stop for take out on his way home from work even though I spent $180 on groceries only days ago, just so I wouldn't have to come home and wrangle up some dinner.

So tired that I might have allowed my toddler to eat preztels that I had previously told him "No" to after he decided he was done with his take out after only a couple bites.

So tired that in an effort to make sure my son ate more than just pretzels for dinner, I put a saucer of peas on the living room coffee table for him to eat while he played with Daddy.

So tired that I might have finished my dinner and hit the couch, leaving Wes to entertain Tucker till his bath time (not that Wes minds that at all!).

So tired that I allowed Wes to bath Tucker, get him ready for bed, give him his night-night snack, and clean up the kitchen. (Thank God for an AMAZING husband!)

And, yes, my kitchen was a mess even though we had take out! Mostly from breakfast and the dry oatmeal that I allowed Tucker to graze on until Wes got home with the food! (He loves dry oatmeal! Weird, I know, but Wes said he also liked it as a kid. Can something like that actually be genetic?!?!)

So tired that I might have pretended to not notice when the dog ate the peas that Tucker had dropped on the floor. (She'll pay for that one tomorrow! She probably won't eat all day. I hope those peas were worth it! Talk about a natural consequence! Do dogs get natural consequences? Sure they do, but that is a little too delayed to be effective...).

So tired, that I am now obviously in stream of consciousness mode!

Here's to hoping y'all had a tired-free Monday, but if you were tired, I hope it's because you had a weekend full of busy activities that involve the ones you love!

Aunt Jenni Pooh!

Yesterday morning, bright and early at 7:20, Wes, Tucker & myself headed east to Eastern Kentucky University to cheer on the Washington County Commanderettes, specifically Wes's sister Jennifer, in the All "A" Classic Tournament.

Tucker was only slightly more interested in climbing the bleachers and up and down (and up and down...) the stairs than what was going on on the court. However, he still knew who he was cheering on!Okay, so that was an honest attempt at getting a picture of "Jenni Pooh's Biggest Fan" when sitting in Daddy's lap was the absolute last place he wanted to be! I think Jennifer was the only one who could wrangle him in! Tucker LOVES his Aunt Jenni Pooh!Unfortunately, the Commanderettes lost a tough, tough game. They played really hard and put everything out on the court, and we are so proud of them! The team that beat them, Owensboro Catholic, has a girl on their team, a sophomore, who is the 3rd leading scorer in the nation. Yes, you read that right, in the NATION! She's pretty bad too! We'll be seeing her playing for a D1 school in the next few years.

Anyway, after our long morning and probably a thousand flights of stairs, Tucker was ready for a nap.

We're so proud of you #22!!!!

Not My Son....

Tucker bit a kid for the first time yesterday at church. Okay, he really didn't succeed in actually biting the kid, but he did try. I witnessed the whole thing.

One of Tucker's really good friends (sorry Melissa!!!) had Tucker's sippy cup at Sunday School (yes it happened at church!). Tucker took the sippy cup from his friend and his friend took it back. Tucker responded by going towards his friend with his mouth open wide. I wasn't far away and really just thought Tucker was going to kiss him because when Tucker kisses, he starts out with a wide open mouth and then puckers up right before he lays the kiss on. No, he was not intending on kissing his friend. He was going in with all 12 teeth for a school-yard bite! Luckily, because this child's mother always dresses him so dang cute, his friend was wearing a thick sweater and Tucker got nothing more than part of the sleeve. I don't even think the other boy even realized Tucker had tried to bite him until I reprimanded Tucker and made him give his friend a kiss and hug. And it was obvious Tucker felt bad....he loves this boy!

Oh, puuulllleeeeaaaazzzzzeeee don't let my kid be a biter! Can there be anything worse than your kid being "the biter" that everyone has to watch out for?? I was really surprised that Tucker had that reaction. He's way more of a lover than a fighter. He loves to kiss and hug his friends. Typically, when I'm giving a lesson during Sunday School and all the 1 and 2 year olds are sitting in a circle, Tucker is the one leaning over to hug and kiss the child sitting next to him.

I mean, does this face look like the face of a biter??? Let's just hope it was a fluke.....

This is why you never leave a toddler unsupervised, not even for a minute....

I came across this picture in my December folder, can't believe I never posted it. Tucker seems to be saying, "Well what did you think was gonna happen when you walked out of the room leaving your bowl of cereal within reach?!"

Part B

First, make sure you've read my previous post below.

Now picture Wes sweeping the kitchen floor, sorting laundry, washing laundry, cleaning the kitchen.....all right now while I check my Facebook page and stalk blogs. I feel bad.

However, I was up until 1:30 am working, and then back up at 3:30 am because Tucker, for reasons unbeknown to me, decided he wanted to wake up and stay up until 4:30 am. Not sure what was going on with him.... Then, I had work all day today. Oh, and he told me to go relax! What am I to do with that? Not relax? Come on now!

Besides, after last night and working all day today, I don't have the energy to clean right now. And, I'm glad Wes does because we will have a house full of people tomorrow for our weekly Community Group.

Tucker and I love him way more than words. And for much better reasons than laundry and a clean kitchen!


On a completely different note, here are a few pics of Tucker from tonight. He was "cooking" while I cooked dinner. All that practice he has gotten on his kitchen from Santa has really paid off! I have never tasted water-soaked raisins like that before! We just may have a future chef on our hands, folks.

(That is my great grandmother's hand made apron! I will have to get him his own little apron...)

Is There Ever Enough Time?

Do you ever just feel like there is no where near enough time to get it all done?

Surely I cannot be the only one....can I???

Between work (which I'm realizing "working part time" is an oxymoron! I think I do something for work just about every day, whether it's checking my email, taking calls, working on reports, reviewing cases, it can really be non-stop....with a part-time pay check! Yeah, something's seriously wrong with that picture!), raising a toddler, being a wife, keeping up with the day to day requirements of a house hold, there just.isn't.enough.time.

In order to get a handle on the laundry, I have to devote an entire day to it. Well, that means everything else falls behind. If I neglect the laundry for a few days to catch up on other stuff, it gets outta control - fast! If I go without cleaning the kitchen after breakfast and lunch just one time, it can quickly look like a tornado touched down in the middle of my kitchen.

And other tasks that aren't part of the day to day ins and outs, like organizing the filing cabinet, cleaning up the junk, uh I mean guest room, cleaning up the garage.... You can forget about those things unless you're prepared to lose all control of the house!

I just can't ever get a handle on everything!

Could it be that between running meetings with parents, playing hide'n'seek with my 15 month old, trying to prevent dirty socks from overtaking the house, that I just don't have the energy needed.....

I will say that I am VERY blessed to have a hubby who jumps right in. He cleans bathrooms, does laundry, cooks, baths Tucker, vacuums, etc. after working all day long and driving an hour one way. Very blessed. I couldn't imagine where I (or Tucker or our house) would be without him.

And STILL we are never on top of things! How does that happen?

I have to be honest with you.... I've just given up.

When I was growing up, my Mom used to have a sign in the kitchen that read, "There will be years for cleaning and cooking, For children grow up while you're not looking."

If more time playing with Tucker means other areas suffer a little (or a lot!), then so be it. I don't want to look back and remember, "Wow, I did a fantastic job at keeping up with the house work. Wes always had a pair of clean dress socks."

I want to look back and remember Tucker's laugh when I find him hiding in his bedroom closet, the look he gets in his eye right before he knocks over the tower of blocks I built, the way he runs around doing his victory dance after a slam dunk, the way he takes in every word I say when we read his favorite books, how he attempts to 'scare' me with his toy bugs, how he loves to dance, and his sweet kisses and 'squeezes'! Those alone are enough to never do housework again!

Yes, that's what I want to remember.

In the meantime....

You know those little fairies that come and clean while you're gone or have been sleeping? You know the ones that wash, dry AND fold laundry, unload the dishwasher before the sink is full of dirty dishes patiently awaiting their turn, dust before the dust bunnies have taken up residence?

Yeah, I don't know those fairies either.... But, if you ever do meet them, PLEASE send them my way!

In the meantime, Tucker and I will be cooking in his kitchen and making balls out of play-dough on the kitchen floor!

Finally On the Mend

The past several days have been rough.

Not only has Tucker had Strep Throat, but we pretty much concluded he has had a stomach bug on top of it.

Between explosive diarrhea (you know, the how-do-I-even-pick-you-up-let-alone-get-these-clothes-off-of-you-guess-it-will-be-ANOTHER-bath-should-I-just-get-the-scissors-and-start-cutting kind of diarrhea), the projectile vomit, forcing disgusting medicine down my toddler's throat, disinfecting the house, and washing sheets, blankets, lovies, and the bumper over and over, I am worn out!

Finally, Tucker really started to feel better yesterday. He felt like eating and was able to keep it down without an explosion at one end or the other. We only had one dirty diaper yesterday!!!! (This is where you stand up and clap, folks! That.is.huge.)

I kept him home from church today because I just couldn't deal with the possibility that he might be exposed to any more germs within minutes of finally feeling better.

Yeah, today I'm that kinda mom. The kind that spots a runny nose from across the room and gives the kid's mother a death glare that says, "Keep your kid as far away from mine as possible. How dare you bring him out with the sniffles."

Tomorrow I'll be back to my a-little-snot-never-hurt-anyone old self.

But today, Tucker's in his bubble. For one last day.

One last day because I think if Tucker and I have to stay bottled up in this house one more day we both might lose it.

(We're also ready for some warmer weather around these parts!)

Here's to hoping you and your little ones are healthy and that we can all stay that way!