Hours in the Day

With two young children, I truly feel like there are not enough hours in the day. I admire all working Moms out there. I worked briefly after my daughter was born. My husband was traveling weeks at a time during this time. All I seemed to do is eat, sleep, and work. I remember feeling absolutely exhausted, probably in part to having a nursing newborn. I know I probably did not clean my house for four months during that time.

Our society puts many demands on women. Women should work to contribute to the family and their own well being. Cooking nutritious meals to ensure their children are healthy is paramount. Keeping their house looking as spectacular as the pages of Better Homes and Gardens is the goal. Spending quality time with each child to promote optimal scholastic development is neccessary. Taking their children to various extracurricular activities to ensure a "well rounded" child is a requirement. If women are stay-at-home Moms, then they should do all of the above, except working outside the home, and take time to volunteer at school, church, or wherever. They have the time of course...

My mantra recently has been to scale back. We are planning to send my daughter to public Kindergarten in the Fall. I hope to spend the next few months just enjoying my time with her before this next big life change. I have enjoyed the preschool years so much. A more mature Mom friend once told me the preschool years can be thought of having the longest days, but the shortest years. I looked over my "to do" for today and realized playing with the children was not on it. I need to evaluate what is truly important. I am often struck by the fact that my children are only little once. When they are teenagers, they will not want me to play dress up or tractors with them. Each day is an opportunity and life is what I make it. And now I need to go particpate in a band concert...with a plasitc bottle shaker.

Sick Babies

I stand in wonder at my sweet babies. They grow each day. I sometimes wonder if I am witnessing the last time they do "x." I try very hard to live in the moment and enjoy these precious babies.

The last few days have been trying as a mom. Both kids are sick. What makes it worse is that they are different kinds of sick. I have been up with both for a few nights running. I sometimes wonder how I made it through having nursing infants with so little sleep. I was very groggy yesterday.

Unfortunately, my sweet girl has a tummy ache and headache. She got sick in the car yesterday. We were heading to the doctor, but had time to run home for a quick shower and a do over...with a bucket.

My sweet boy has a terrible cold. He has a runny nose, goop coming out of his eyes, cough, no voice and an ear ache. It is hard with little ones to treat the symptoms. I am not a fan of giving them OTC cold medicines. Last year there was a warning from the FDA about giving cold/cough medicines to kids because you could overdose them accidentally. My drugs of choice are ibuprofen (Motrin), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and Benadryl. For coughing, I rub Vicks Vapor Rub on their feet and cover with socks. I am not sure why doing this works, but it does every time. I also use a saline nasal spray and an infant suction bulb to clear the nose. My son hates this, but after 24 hours of doing it his nose is looking better. I took him to the doctor yesterday because of the ear ache. It was no surprise that he has an ear infection. They both seem on the mend. I got a full nights rest last night, thank you Lord!

Today, I plan to do school and violin early and spend the rest of the day outside enjoying the fresh air and beautiful day. My sweet girl goes to Kindergarten in the fall and my days left with her home all day are few. We need to weed the vegetable garden and do a lot of swinging on the swings. Carpe Diem!

Beautiful Day

For the last three years, I have kept a private blog. My husband and I have always lived away from family. Our blog has served to keep our friends and family connected to what is going on in our life. I've been thinking about publishing a blog about more general topics. I plan to write about whatever comes to my mind. Several topics already come to mind.

I'm excited to embark on this adventure. I decided to name my blog Wide Eyed Wonder because of the innocence and adventure that is implied by the phrase. There are many things that I truly stop and gaze upon in wide eyed wonder. A particular favorite of mine is a spectacular sunset. I love to gaze upon the varied colors, changing lines, and delicateness of a truly dazzling sunset. Admiring sunsets is an addictive behavior. I have rubbed off on my five year old daughter. She will also stop, gaze, and comment on a sunset. Recently, I learned a bit of science to explain how each sunset is different. The colors in the sunset are a result of a scattering of air molecules and the dust in the atmosphere. The way the sunlight interacts with the particles produces certain colors. I could bore you with a more scientific explanation, but you would be asleep before you reached the end.

May you find one thing to stop and consider in wide eyed wonder.