A New Marriage

When I was pregnant with Collin, we had to take a Baptism II class.  Admittedly, Matt and I were kind of grumpy. WHY would we need to sit through ANOTHER Baptism class?! We already did it once and there isn't much to it! We trudged in and sat down. There was quite a large group of participants. Much larger than the class we took before we had Cooper. The leaders sat down and said, "this class is to help you prepare for how much your life is going to change when you add ANOTHER child to the mix". We had to talk to our spouses about how we were raised as children, how it was the same and how it was different.  We talked about what we wanted to pass on as parents and what we didn't. We were also challenged to evaluate how we already parented the children we have and what we may or may not do differently.

I think the BEST thing we walked away from was this was, "everything we do as a couple is a new marriage".  We had never thought of that before the class. Buying a new house...a new marriage.  Do we buy a car or do we NOT buy a car...a new marriage. Deciding on discipline techniques...a new marriage. Finances...a constant new marriage. Picking out furniture...a new marriage. Painting our home...a new marriage. Every decision people make as a couple becomes a new marriage.  We are constantly learning from each other.

What is our most recent marriage?  Cleaning out the extra room in our basement so that we do NOT have to rent a storage unit. We have been working on this DAILY after the children go to bed since last Sunday night. Our entire weekend will be committed to this. Matt and I usually work together pretty well, but this one is a doozy! We have different ways of completing this task playing out in our heads.  But alas, we will be just fine.  I think we have this whole marriage thing down.

I do have to say, I feel for hoarders. I am a thrower and the amount of "stuff" I have accumulated is ridiculous! I can see where they end up the way they do...

Like Mother, Like Son

 This is Me

This is Cooper

Cooper and I share more than physical similarities. He is my clone. Cooper often exclaims, "I am SO my mother's child!" and Matt is often seen shaking his head back and forth with that look of, "how can I deal with TWO of them?!".

We visited my Papa Joe a few weekends ago and Cooper saw the picture of me you see above and said, "That's me! WAIT, that can't be me!".  He nervously chuckled when I said it was me.  Then Collin came over and so we pointed to several pictures asking him, "who is that?". He answered them all correctly, "Uncle Jim!, Papa!, Chickie!" and then we pointed to the infamous picture of me and he said, "Pooper! hmmm, Pooper?". Case closed.

Having my own children has helped me learn about myself. What my temperament is, how I handle situations, what I think about and why. My children have especially helped me to ACCEPT and OWN who I am. This, I feel, has helped me relate better to not only my own children, but the children I see everyday, my family, and even my friends. 

I have mentioned before that I have always had obsessive compulsive tendencies. The most famous example was how I would draw 20 or more boats until they met my standards.  Then I would move on to houses, etc. Cooper has never shown much interest in drawing or art and even though my children can be  ANYTHING they want to be with my full support, it has secretly broken my heart. Drawing is all I ever knew. It was all I ever knew HOW to do. I didn't know how to play. Well, Cooper drew 15 turkeys last night and refused to stop until they were complete. It made me smile. What made me smile even more? Hearing Cooper PLAY. He was role-playing using his lego creations, using a story line and different voices.

I hope this means Cooper has learned that:

1. You always finish what you set out to do

2. To loosen up, have fun, and PLAY

I passed down #1 and Cooper is passing UP #2.

P.S. Cooper took his turkey drawing a step further than I used to. He thought of people he wants to mail them to. Watch your mailboxes..there are 10 lucky recipients!



A Day At Home

I am at home with Collin today. The dreaded call came in shortly after being at work this morning.  The worst phrase I could possibly hear is, "Collin threw up". Yep, that is the exact phrase I heard. When you get that phone call, your mind immediately goes in a million directions and you begin to weigh out whose day is more important. Mine or Matt's. Knowing Matt had a lengthy presentation in 15 minutes, he won. My patients were called, I packed my things and off I went to get the poor little guy.  I fear the words "throwing up". During the half marathon, another girl and I discussed how when we even so much as READ someone is throwing up, we panic. We are CONVINCED we will get sick, simply by reading it. Even IF the person is in another country. Fortunately, Collin has not thrown up while in my care and is sound asleep as I type...

Being at home is hard for me. I have a difficult time organizing myself. I have a basement full of laundry, a 6th birthday party to plan, and of course, my work from work.  Where does a person start? I have managed to dabble in everything that needs to be done. Soon it will be time to make dinner so that when Matt and Cooper get home we can eat at a decent time. I suppose it is a day for me to tie up some loose ends...a phrase that makes me chuckle. There are a lot of phrases and words that puzzle me, annoy me, and embarrass me. Matt suggested I write a blog about those phrases/words, but haven't found the time...until now. Since I am tying up loose ends and all.

Here are a few:
loose meat sandwiches, go have a bite to eat, panties, everyone and their dog, moist, damp, they are an item, sweating bullets, blouse, slacks, sweating like a pig, pulled pork sandwiches...

Because my mind often goes in a million directions when I am unable to get organized, I am reminded even more today on how disappointed I am with the rut I am in as far as running is concerned. Someone worded it perfectly to me when I questioned WHY I feel SO unmotivated! She said, "you met your goal so now what". So now what....that is the million dollar question. I miss running. I NEED running. My body needs running. My mind needs running. My most recent running shirt purchase says on the back:

Take some lessons from the roads you've traveled in life and sport...Those miles are the best terrain for self examination.

That being said, it is time to buck up, get to work, and hope Collin wakes up feeling better and refreshed. I want to see his cute smile again!