fmf: visit

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: Visit

GO

I love our current (though temporary) home in the middle of nowhere on the prairie. It's peaceful, quiet, and perfect for an introvert like me. We have been so blessed to have such amazing people around us, too. From the pastors on my husband's team, to parishioners who stop by to drop off extra squash from their gardens that they don't need, to friends and family from back home, we have had a fairly constant stream of visitors. It's been a nice balance of "old" and "new" and it has helped to make the transition so smooth.

This week, I've had the opportunity to "visit." The kiddo and I have spent the week with my parents, and boy oh boy, has it been great. I have done absolutely nothing. You know those types of days? The kind that, if I were at home, I would have expected myself to sweep and vacuum and dust and do laundry and crochet and cook and meal plan and shop and collapse into bed exhausted at night, but since I'm not at home I have the opportunity to relax and watch TV while the kiddo naps (or nap while the kiddo naps!).

It's refreshing, and it's necessary, mamas. Find a way, even for a few hours, to make nothing happen, and feel great about it!

STOP

I actually did this one in five minutes! It didn't go where my head thought it would, but that's okay!

fmf: see

It's been over a month since my last Five Minute Friday post, and I've been suffering from withdrawls!

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo Baker's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: See

GO

A challenge indeed, Lisa Jo Baker. I've been away for awhile, so I was hoping for a word that would ease me back into things. I guess there's nothing quite like jumping in with both feet!

What are some of the coolest things you've ever seen? Really, I actually want to know! Here are my top however many I can write in five minutes:

1. When I went in for my first ultrasound, Husband and I were expecting to see the little seahorse/tadpole character. We thought we were 8 weeks along, but were actually 15. You can imagine the surprise when the view was actually a face and hands!
2. My kiddo (no longer a baby, barely even a toddler, sniffle) put her doll to bed the same way Daddy and I put her to bed, complete with her own not quite two year old version of "You are my Sunshine." Tears!
3. Friends and un-biological family from all over the world. Uppies, Tanzanians, you know who you are, and I love you all!
4. The clock at the end of my last half marathon reading under two hours as I crossed the finish line. Time goal: achieved. I can relax and have fun from now on!
5. My nativity set from Tanzania because, well, the people aren't white. What a concept. I'm actually in the market for an ethnically correct nativity set...any leads?
6. People join together on Thursday evenings for a #fmfparty, welcoming the timid(ish) and overwhelmed with open arms!

Your turn! For real! What makes your list?

STOP

our little girl: 23 months

I missed last month, but just assume that she's stellar in all ways.

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)

Can make a tower of four bricks: And then some. She got some awesome wooden blocks for Christmas and absolutely loves them. She gets very creative. One of them is her "coffee maker."

Can name a simple picture in a book: Many of them. Those "First 100 Words" or "First 100 Animals" books are amazing.

Can use 50 single words: Many, many more. The kid can carry on a conversation.

Emerging Skills (half of children can do)

Can make two- or three- word sentences: Husband read this one to me the other day, and we laughed. Then P came over and said, "Puppy is under the table."

Can sing simple tunes: "Twinkle Twinkle" is one of her favorites. The other day I caught her singing "You are my sunshine" to one of her dolls." That's what I sing to her before I put her to bed. Does that melt your heart or what?

Takes more of an interest in playing with other children: Playing near other children, actually, which I'm pretty sure is perfectly normal. As long as they don't try to take her stuff.

Advanced Skills (a few children can do)

Can walk down stairs: As long as they're not too steep. Luckily she's not so adventurous that she tries the big ones herself. She's learning how to use the hand rail, too.

Talks about self (likes, dislikes): All the time, but she doesn't always get the pronouns right. She says "You don't like it" or "You want to come up." Pretty cute.

Asks "why?": Not yet. Thank goodness.

Other things you might want to know:

-She went to the bathroom in her potty chair for the first time! It was pretty exciting. It hasn't happened again since, but it's a start!
-She won't let us pick out her shirt anymore.
-She loves all things Elmo, including Elmo's world. I really don't mind, though. There's a scene where there are some kids playing school, and the kid asks the "teacher" what 2+2 is. Now she walks around saying "2+2=4." It's pretty impressive if you don't know that she's just repeating what the kids say!
-I braided her hair. It was a horrible mess, but it's a start!

Favorite new words and phrases:

-2+2=4
-She can now count to 13, but after 13 comes 11-teen and then sixteen. I think we got a 14 out of her today!
-It's hard to say anymore. She's just such a talker, it's a little crazy.

She loves dressing up her animals. I have a picture of her purple puppy wearing a diaper, too!

She absolutely loves her daddy's new Christmas present.

I made the mistake of unpacking the groceries and leaving the tomatoes within her reach. She loves them.

Like I said, she loves the present! We had a couple gorgeous weather days a few weeks ago, and she got mad when I only took her for a two mile walk.

The braid. Reprise to come, I hope!

on 2014

Today's blessing:
New beginnings

Sound cheesy? Sorry, it's practically mandatory on this day!

I've never really been one for New Year's resolutions. I tend to go the way of the majority of the rest of the population and fail on my good intentions by February or March. Then I feel like...well...a failure! There are lots of things I would love to do this year.

Get healthier. I'm not going to say lose weight or diet or be skinny again. I've already decided that I'm going to make a very conscious effort to avoid phrases like those at all costs. I want my daughter to have a positive self image, and I know that starts with me. So I want to make sure that I'm healthy.

Let go of my perfectionism. Not going to happen overnight. Flylady has a few great things to say about this, and I'm going to keep working on it, one baby step at a time. I'm starting right here, right now. I've given myself 15 minutes to get this post ready to publish, and whatever I have after 15 minutes is good enough, and certainly better than the nothing I would have if I edited and tweaked until I got it perfect! (Four minutes and 32 seconds into this, the kid came up to me and said, "You want mommy!" We're still working on pronouns. How could I resist that? So the snuggle break that I just took did not count towards my 15 minutes!)

Remember more. This one, I can do. In fact, this is where my new project comes in. I'm sure I saw it on Pinterest at some point, but I can't find the pin, so I can't credit the wonderful person who had the original idea. I'm especially excited about this project, because I think it's one I can actually keep up for more than six weeks! As an added bonus, I had all of the necessary materials on hand. Here's what you'll need:

• Index cards, a notebook, or sheets of paper in pretty much any size - I had a bunch of 6x8 (or something like that) index cards that I had purchased for another project that, guess what, I never got around to. Eventually you will need 365 (plus one more, but not until 2016) of them.
• Something in which to store them - Again, I used the file box I purchased for the previous failed project. It's pretty and purple. Bonus!
• A utensil with which to write - I happened to have pretty pens that I bought on sale, so I figured I might as well use those!

The Supplies

Here's what you do:

1. Take one index card, the first page of the notebook, or a sheet of paper.
2. Pick up your writing utensil.
3. Write "January 1" on the top of the card/paper.
4. Write "2014" underneath on the first line.
5. Next to "2014," write something that happened.

See? So pretty, and so full of possibility!

That's it. It can be as simple as "Mommy braided P's hair for the first time." or "P counted to 14." (We're currently stuck at 13, but today just might be the day!)

It's a bit of a miracle she even held still for this - behold the captivating powers of Elmo's World! Maybe next time I'll make sure I have a comb on hand so I can try two braids...

 Really, that's all. Do this everyday for a year. Then next year, you're back at your January 1 card, and you move on to your 2015 memories. I also started a card with our address as of January 1. With a soon-to-be pastor in our midst, I know we'll be moving a fair amount - at least twice in the next two years - so it'll be nice to be able to look back at all of our past homes. Maybe at some point I'll even snap a picture and tuck it in there, but I don't want to get too fancy today!

I did get a little fancy and write each month on a sticky note to create a nice little file. Actually, I had that done from the last project, too. I'm really great at starting projects!

It's so easy, even a not-quite-two year old can help!