Happy Halloween

That's Sweet'ums' pumpkin. Mine and NG's turned out nice but it molded too fast and so it won't be going outside with Sweet'ums'. Pretty good for a first time, huh?

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Halloween.

I hate this

My brother got hurt at work today. And though his story paints it as a fairly innocent accident, I can't help but wonder whether his girlfriend had something to do with it. People at work talk about how he goes on breaks every five minutes to check his phone to see what new texts his high school age girlfriend has sent him, and sends her texts back even in the middle of the school day. I can't help but wonder if she sent him a message and he was distracted while using the bone saw at work.

I can't stand this girl. I won't go into too many details, but more than anything else I hate the anger she brings out in me. She's so dumb and presumptuous. She claims she just wants my family to like her, and yet she does so many things that render her unlikeable! For example, she got mad that my brother came to my daughter's birthday party and that he didn't give her enough notice (mind you they'd only been dating like two months!) so instead of dealing with the issue in private, she kept him occupied with his stupid cell phone the entire time we were at the park. Literally, we might have had his attention for fifteen whole minutes out of the four hours of the party and six hours we were there as a family. How am I supposed to like this girl? It has nothing to do with her not being good enough... I've liked most of his past girlfriends (until they broke his heart, but what sister wouldn't dislike people who hurt her little brother?) and this is the first I've actually had real issues with. I can't stand this girl, and I especially hate how she impacts how I feel.

Ugh. I have a headache from all this. He's ok, and I'm glad about that--he was using a bone saw and the injury could have been way worse. But I can't help but wonder whether there was a lot more to this whole story than meets the eye.

Eventful Week

This week has been a busy one. NG got run to pieces at work, which was aggravating, but now he's home and resting. His shoulder is still bothering him, and if it doesn't clear up in the next week or so I'll have him make an appointment with his doctor.

We took Sweet'ums to the pumpkin patch to let her pick a pumpkin, but she really wasn't interested. She wanted to go play in the empty field rather than mess with the pumpkins, and seemed afraid when we sat her on the hay bale to take her picture (my mom has that one on her camera, and I haven't yet gotten it from her).


We finally chose one for her and then picked one for ourselves. I have big plans for these things!


I also had something very exciting happen this week: I heard from a cousin I haven't seen in years! His father moved out of state with him and his brother years ago and I've only seen them once in maybe the last ten years. We lost touch with them after they moved and heard things through the grapevine but didn't hear anything directly. People always seemed to have heard something, but never knew how to get a hold of them. This cousin and I were close, despite him being about eight years older than me. I'm very excited that he's tracked me down and that he's doing well!

Workin for the weekend

Thanks, Melinda and Wolfie, for stopping by recently. Very sweet of you guys!

I don't remember if I mentioned it before but we recently came into possession of some tadpoles. They weren't very young, and some of them already had back leg nubs, so this week has been a flurry of froggy development. We now have one who has all of his legs and is climbing up the side of his enclosure, and is tail is nearly gone. Soon the others will follow. My cats have had a blast with the tadpoles, just as we have. They'll tap on the side of the container and then chase the tadpoles that start swimming around. Sweet'ums loves watching them as well, but isn't nearly as aggressive with stirring them up.

After today I'll have my husband home for seven days, and I'm so excited! We already have preliminary plans to spend a little time with Sweet'ums instead of our normal date and I think it'll be a lot of fun.

This petting zoo is wonderful. We used to go as kids (well, NG hasn't, but that's part of why I'm planning on us going!) and it was always a lot of fun. Since NG got some overtime last week this paycheck has a little extra on it, so if we pay all the bills and get our groceries and still have some left, then we'll see about having some fun! This coming week is supposed to be rainy but this weekend is looking like it'll be clear and beautiful! I'll take lots of pictures.

The best mommy EVER

Sweet'ums is a great kid. She tends to be very aware of how other people feel, even though she hasn't quite figured out yet that her behavior can directly affect the feelings of others. She is very nurturing, and her many babies--both stuffed animals and dolls, as well as our cats--are her favorite things in the world.

She surprises me often, sometimes with those random acts that leave you wondering What is that kid thinking? and sometimes with what to an adult would be the quietest and most mundane of activities. Today, she surprised me with the latter.

Today I've been working on laundry and dishes and making lunch, and haven't really stopped to play. Sweet'ums was occupying herself quietly, as she often does, leaving me free to do what I needed to get done. I stopped and sat down at the computer for a minute to rest my feet and realized just how quiet Sweet'ums was being. I turned and looked over my shoulder and there she was, sitting in her Daddy's recliner with her baby (a Cabbage Patch Doll, this time), feeding it oh-so-carefully with its bottle. Then, she takes its diaper off, shakes it out, and attempts to put it back on (failing in the end, but precious all the same). She brought her baby to me with a little shirt to put on it after struggling with it herself for a couple minutes. I dressed the baby for her, and then she sat on the floor with the sippy cup I'd just brought her and began to feed her baby from her own sippy, cuddling and cradling it the whole time.

She tickles me when she does things like that. We've speculated on how she knows how to take care of a small baby, since we only have one child, mostly watch cartoons (not typically known for teaching infant-care techniques), and don't keep company with anyone who has a small child. Our best bet is that she remembers from her own infancy how she was cradled and fed, or that nature instills a grain of motherly instinct in girls even as young as she is.

What amazed me most today was just how tender she was with her baby. She took such great care to feed her baby, hold her just so, and even going so far as to share her own sippy cup with her baby. One reads so often in parenting resources that preschoolers are not known for their selflessness, instead preferring to look after their own interests and needs above those of anyone else. It makes me wonder whether such a tendency is expected, and therefore taught, rather than a purely natural occurrence. Of course she has her moments, like all people do, but nothing more really than I'd expect to see out of any adult from time to time. But she treats her babies the same way an adult would treat an infant, and it makes me so proud.

She's such a good little mommy, and I look forward to one day seeing her with her own children. She's got this adorable affection for anything small and baby-like (she even blows kisses at our tadpoles and calls them "babies" even though she thinks they're "fishies") and I hope it continues throughout her life.

So far, so good

Aside from NG having a long day at work today (which I know very little about...he says he'll fill me in when he gets home) so far today hasn't been so bad. Obviously we still have internet, which is great--I'm not sure which I hate more, being without net or being without phone. Either way I feel cut off from the world, and especially cut off from family.

Sweet'ums isn't quite herself today, but then again, she's a two year old--"not herself" IS her new self. But things are the same as always. The same old monotony, same old routine.

Nice Guy's arm is doing somewhat better. It's still stiff but I think it probably will be for a while. Thank you for all the prayers regarding it!

So that's my update for the time being. If anything new or exciting happens, I'll share.

Rough

Things are rough right now. I might be without internet and phone for a few days (hard times when money's tight) so I won't be around here. I have my prepaid cell for emergencies, at least.

There's issues with my in-laws, and that's a whole other problem in itself. It has me aggravated and there's really nothing I can do.

I'm really down about stuff at the moment, but hopefully by the time I get back I won't be in this funk. Hope everyone has a great week.

NG's arm

So far it looks like a sprain. We'll know more based on how it feels after he gets up. He was told to use ice packs every two hours and alternate heat and cold this weekend. So I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Pray for NG

Tonight I got a call from Nice Guy at work. Long story short, he slipped on product (the stuff they make is REALLY slippery when wet) and when he tried to catch himself on an I-beam, he heard tearing and snapping in his shoulder. He couldn't use it when he tried to get up. It's getting stiff on him now. They want him to come in early tomorrow to talk to the company nurse, but I don't really trust them. They're looking for ways to get out of taking responsibility. Luckily the ERT team wrote up a report on the accident so they can't try saying that he did it at home.

I'm worried but I'm sure it'll be ok. I just worry that it could be more serious and by waiting it could be made worse. I also worry about what we'd do if for some reason he wasn't able to work--I know shoulder injuries can start out looking minor and develop into nasty situations.

I'm also annoyed too. I don't say a lot about his job but yesterday in front of the whole crew his boss (who has had it out for him from day one) informed NG, specifically, that he was going to "put him through the barbed wire." He then proceeded to run NG ragged last night and tonight, until NG got hurt. Bossman wasn't happy about the injury, obviously, but it would give me so much satisfaction if someone would go to a superior about the way he has treated NG or even implicate him a bit in the situation. Not a very ladylike attitude to have, I know, but after nine months or so of watching your husband getting picked on, it's kind of like the parent who finally teaches their kid to fight back against the bullies. I'm tired of watching my sweetheart get beat up and kicked around by some jerk on a power trip.

So please, keep him in your prayers. My friend Patty and I were talking last night and she mentioned everything being in God's plan, even when we can't quite see where He's going with it. I've always had a hard time with that philosophy because of the way things happened with me as a kid, and wondering why all the time, but I'm trying to sit back and let God have His way. I'm not very good at it (or anything else regarding faith, it seems) but I'm trying. So please pray, and pray for me too, that I'll be able to accept whatever comes.

Growing up

Lately Sweet'ums has been being "Little Mommy". She wants to do everything I do and if she can't just do it, then she at least wants to help. She closes the refrigerator door for me. She finds her shoes when she thinks we're going to be going out. Just yesterday her daddy was making his wonderful meatloaf and when he turned around, Sweet'ums was standing behind him with my huge oven mitt on her little hand, preparing to open the oven door for him. She brushes her teeth with me every night, which is quickly becoming a favorite routine for me. She even reverses our roles sometimes, attempting to potty train me and brushing my hair in the evenings.

Every day passes so quickly. Milestones fly by so fast that by the time we've grown used to one, yet another new skill has astounded us. But then, one day, we woke up and realized that our little one isn't "just" a baby anymore, or even "just" a toddler, but a walking, talking, emotional little person. A little adult, I sometimes think.

And now, there's so much depth to her. She's so far beyond the age where she exists to eat, sleep, repeat. She's past that age where I'm trying to puzzle out what each cry means, whether she's hungry or thirsty or hot or dirty or sleepy. Now, she tells me. And when she cries, it's because she's hurting, or confused, or scared. She's gone through the phases--cuddling because she's little, cuddling because she's afraid to be apart from me, not cuddling because she's independent--and we've come full circle. We cuddle because she's a girl, because she's emotional, because the world is a huge place and she gets overwhelmed and she's just trying so hard that it breaks her heart to think she messed up somehow. Now she cuddles me when I'm upset, or when I'm insecure, or when I'm scared. I think sometimes she knows me better than I know myself, and she reminds me every day just how many things can be fixed with just a simple hug.

She makes me think so often of that song, "She's Always A Woman To Me". She's got so much going on in her little head, one minute she's as happy as a girl can be and the next she's throwing a tantrum for no good reason. She's got likes and dislikes beyond food and colors and tv shows--for example, she HATES having ice in her sippy cup. She'll shake her sippy to check for ice each time we give it to her, and if she thinks there's ice in it she'll pitch a fit. But as frustrating as she can be, every day is exhilarating. There's always new words, new skills, new interests.

And when I find myself overwhelmed with how fast my baby's growing, she's there waiting for me with a hug...

...because growing up is hard for mommies, too.

I took this picture earlier this week when we were trying on her ladybug Halloween costume. She loves wearing it and played in it for hours.