Random Thoughts

I think it's OK to celebrate the "super mom" moments we have. Not to boast or belittle others, but because there are so many "not-super mom" moments that we beat ourselves up about. It's nice to know that sometimes, we get something right. We spend so much time telling ourselves we're not good enough. But it's not true. God has given me the responsibility over these two little ones and He's not about to not give me the strength, endurance and skills needed to raise them right.

So my super mom moment today was making biscuits for our picnic lunch. Never mind that the reason I had to make biscuits was because I was totally out of "picnic" food around the house. Like fruit or rice cakes or bread. I did go shopping Sunday night and it's only Wednesday now. Like I say, never mind all that. I made biscuits. Hurrah!


I must say, the sign of a good week is that we're on day three and have yet to eat a lunch at home : ) That means we're out picnicing with friends and enjoying this glorious sunshine.

Promise turned six months yesterday! More on that in a later post.

Feeling very grateful for my kids of late. Our friend Ginnie is going through heartbreak right now and our hearts are breaking with her. It makes me hug my kids tighter, praise the Lord when they cry because it means they're healthy, alive and can tell us they need something, and love on them more. Not that it should take tragedy to cause me to think that way, but it helps.

And I'm feeling very blessed by friendship lately. I think grown-up friendships are different than the ones we make as kids. They sometimes feel more fragile, like it wouldn't take much to upset the other person and send them packing. But even when I reveal my ugly side, I have friends that don't shove it in my face and walk the other way. I'm grateful for that too.

Isaac comes downstairs yesterday while I'm nursing Promise in the living room. He's playing with something in his hand that I assume is garbage, but when he puts it on the coffee table, I can't figure out what it is. I ask him to give it to me. In my hand drops a snail shell. My immediate reaction is to yell and drop the sucker on the couch. Like it bites or something. I then collect myself, laugh and tell Isaac it's a snail shell. That is, until I see the gunky stuff underneath that proves there's an actual animal inside this shell.

As it sits on the couch, Isaac proceeds to tell me in his broken English that he found the snail upstairs and he "jump jump" jumped with it. Poor snail, good thing he had that shell when he encountered a two and a half year old. We watch a couple Youtube videos about snails (one which was hilarious, done like an educational video but definitely more humourous for grownups). I tell him that snails belong outside and that we'll put it out on our way to the car for Women's Break. He puts it by the front door and that's that.

A little while later, I'm doing something or other and Isaac comes running up to me saying "snail, snail." Yes, I tell him, you found a snail this morning. He goes away. Comes back again, "snail, snail."

Finally I clue in. Go into the kitchen and there is a snail gooing his way across my kitchen floor. I scream (Even as I write this, I don't know why I screamed. IT'S A SNAIL LORENE.) I quickly grab Isaac's bucket and shovel located conveniently by the front door, slide the snail into the bucket, toss open the door and huck that snail as far as I can toss. I am soooo mature.

I am scared to be a mom of a boy if an unexpected snail appearance causes this much panic before 8:30 a.m.

The upside of all that is this afternoon on our BBQ cover, what do I spot but another snail. This time, being the educationally minded, mature mommy that I am, proceed to calmly point it out to Isaac, pick it up and put it on the deck so he can watch it and let Isaac be fascinated by nature.


Isaac watching the snail.

That is all for now.

Isaac the helper

Doesn't he look grown up here?!

Isaac is getting to the age where he wants to do everything, or at least "help" me with everything. A few days ago he's upstairs with an ice cream bucket and I can hear him say, "Mommy water."

I'm thinking he's found my water glass and, as he often does, is narrating everything he sees. A few minutes later he's coming down the stairs with his bucket of cars and I hear a sound that doesn't sound like cars. I walk up the stairs to meet him, only to find he has taken my tall, very breakable glass with water still in it inside the ice cream bucket that he is bringing down stair by stair.

A quick "No, Isaac!", a prayer of thanksgiving the glass didn't break and we're back to our regularly scheduled day.

Yesterday I asked Isaac what he wanted for breakfast and he chose eggs and toast. I quickly ran upstairs with a load of laundry. I returned to the kitchen to see Isaac helping get breakfast ready by taking the entire carton of eggs out of the fridge for me. He's actually pretty careful, but the thought of an entire tray of eggs falling on the ground isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my morning.

It's amazing to watch how much he does push himself to learn more, to try new things, to be Mommy's helper. He always helps with the dishwasher but just this week he started grabbing the silverware and, instead of handing it to me, tries to get it in the drawer himself. I find it a tough balance between wanting jobs done right (having the silverware put in its proper compartments), to wanting the jobs done with Isaac's "help" so that he can learn and grow and take part in household chores.

We had a bag of stuff to take to the car from my parent's house yesterday. Isaac takes the bag, says "E-E do," and drags it to the car. When we got back home, he wanted to drag the bag from the car to our door too. It was filled with stuff and fairly awkward, but he took it all the way to the door. It's pretty cute.

In the kitchen, Isaac is insistent on being my helper. All. The. Time. He pulls his stool up and tries to put the coffee filter in the coffee pot, pour the coffee grinds if he can get a hold of them, stir anything and everything and "put stuff in" (veggies in pot, dishes in sink and so on). It's actually a lot of fun to have waffles for breakfast now as Isaac loves to help mix it all up, dump all the ingredients in and watch me cook them. We made biscuits recently and he helped to roll out the dough and cut the biscuits. Wherever I let him help, he does.


Rolling biscuits



It seems like only months ago that he was a helpless little baby. Now he's making me breakfast and cleaning up dishes. Or at least trying to. It's moments like these that remind me to savour every precious day with Promise because, before I know it, she and her big brother will be setting the table, washing dishes and tidying their toys together just like me and my brother did growing up.