Random babblings from the mind of Emily: February 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Reeds world continued

Reed is always looking for something to discover. No gate can hold him in. Its kinda frighening from a mom's point of view.

Reed loves the piano. I think we may have a musician despite his chunkly little fingers.

Read: "Mom, Im tired of running errands."

Read: "Is this the last stop? This seatbelt is making me crazy."

This is Reeds new trick. He likes to climb up and play in the dishes that are drying up top. Just think of all that dangerous possibilites that this has....

Reed and the rainy day. Nevermind it was really cold. He wanted to play in the water.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Reeds world

The neighbors across the street have a construction company and have great digger trucks. Reed loves when they are loading and unloading the diggers onto the semi to go to a job.

Reed has discovered Papa's flower beds. He loves picking the flowers and digging in the dirt.

Friday, February 20, 2009

I wish I would have listened to the Dr.

When the doctor told us the bottle has to be taken away at 12 months, I blew him off. What did the old man know anyway. Its just not possible. Reed uses table food for throwing, not eating. He needs the bottle or he will starve.

Six months later, the doctor just assumes Reed is off the bottle. I didn't correct him. I feel way guilty, both for lying to the good Doc, but because Reed should have been weaned a long time ago.

Supposedly, If you dont take the bottle away at 12 months they get attached. It becomes a security object. Well, if that not the silliest, nonsensical thing I have ever heard.

Then I saw this.... I think its time to take the bottle away. I think next weekend... Maybe.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Bitter, Party of 1

So, if anyone actually reads this think, one may have noticed that I have been MIA as of late. I know its only been about a week and a half, but thats a long time for me. And its not that I dont have anything to say. I ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. Its just that Ive been spending the last week or so being a bit jealous. And as much as I have tried to avoid this particular blog entry, its coming out. Which I suppose is healthy. Maybe. Ill ask my counselor next session. She loves that I write. I just was told to not be self deprecating. Im working on it. Sorta.
See, all week I have had to read everyones posts about their Valentine's, their sweethearts, what their perfect husbands do for them and what they love most about their men. And I have vascillated from being envious, to being frusterated, to being downright nauseated. To all of you with these fabulous husbands that treat you like you are a princess, yeah for you. But Im sorry, if I have to read one more blog about how romantic he is and how you met and fell in love, I may just have to do something drastic. (not really, its just a figure of speech.)
Im happy to report that I did not have a Valentines dinner reminscent of that scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (If you have not seen it, its hilarious.) Reed and I went to Wendys. Drive thru, of course. And while I loved getting little boy cuddles, its just not sufficent to fill the Valentine VOID that is my reality. I was laughing about, and then a bit miffed, that I have never actually been in a relationship on Valentines day. How sad. In all my 30 years. No Valentine. Timings a bitch, huh. Oh well.
I was reading a friends blog and she was talking about just needing a good kiss. (She was recently widowed and while she makes me feel bad about my own complaining, I was glad to know I am not alone.) But I just wanted to throw this out there for all of you smug marrieds. Dont take your kisses for granted. Have a good kiss now and again. Im not talking about a peck on the cheek and I am not talking about the one you get/give when you know your gonna get something out of it... if ya know what I mean. Somewhere in between. Like when you just realized he was the one. A good, woo-hoo, toe curling, fireworks kiss. If you aren't having those now and again. You better start working on getting em. Cause I have an excuse. Whats yours? After hearing all about your wonderful hubbies surly he deserves one now and again.
Now enough ranting. "Bitter. Party of One"

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Just keep swimming...

So Reeds new favorite movie is Finding Nemo. And I could now quote the whole movie for y'all. But it has got me thinking. I hope this comes together and makes sense. If not bear with me, I swear I have a point.

Lately, I have seen the effects of the economy and the stress of life in general in everyone around me. Friends and coworkers facing bankruptcy, pay cuts, layoffs, etc. I too have faced some of these. I went over my 401K with my dad yesterday and begged him to advise me on what I needed to be doing. Its a tough call when the amount of money I put in last quarter was less than the amount I lost. He had no answers. No one does, and anyone who says they do are most likely trying to play on your desperation to scam you out of more money. It has been interesting to watch people as they react to the strain. People have become more and more cautious and some have become downright control freaks.

Through this, I have watched a coworker, who started off with the "control everything" attitude change to just giving it over. Letting it go. She is a Catholic woman who watched her whole controlled little world fall apart. A husbands poor business practices and lack of fidelity, unwise investments and just the economic climate in general left them with hundreds of thousands in debt, 2 houses worth far less than the mortgages drawn for them, and a family barely hanging together with 2 kids and 1 on the way. When it got to where she could take no more, in an act of pure desparation, she fell to her knees and finally looked to the only One with the answers. She then and there relinquished her tight grip on the course of her life and pled for the Lord to just help her to know what she should be doing and to help her through the storm that encircled her. She gave it to the Lord. She knew she couldn't do it anymore and she just gave it to Him. Her whole perspective on life has changed since that day. You can see the joy back in her life, she is healthy and resetting her priorities. She was offered a job with a 30,000 pay increase. She let go and things started falling into place.

Now, back to Nemo. As I said earlier, I have watched the movie about a million times. At least 4 times a week for the past couple months. And anytime Dori comes on Reed gets so excited and just laughs. But after about the first millionth time, I finally figured out what it was saying. See Nemos dad, spent his whole existance trying to control everything to keep his son safe, and it didn't work. And as he went out searching for Nemo after he is taken, his controlling ways and the things he thinks will get him to Nemo only work against him and keep him from his son. He spends a lot of the movie ignoring and trying to get rid of the one fish (Dori) that is actually helping him get to his son....mostly because he feels HE knows better. One of hardest parts for me to watch is when they are in the whale and Dori tells Marlin "Its time to let go." I swear everytime I hear that, I know it a message from someone trying to push me in the right direction. Of course his response is, "How do you know something bad wont happen?" Dori's response is simply, "I dont." And she lets go. Of course they are then shot back out into the ocean and are able to continue on their journey and eventually find Nemo. Its funny how all of Marlin's controlling made him unable to see the answers and the help that was swimming right next to him.

I guess for me the most striking parallel to our lives is the death grip we have on "control." But there are so many variables in life, the control is only an illusion. So my current goal is to be Dori. To start relinquishing my "psuedo-control" and my ideas on how things should be and stop worrying about all the "thats not fair" things in life and just take it to the Lord. My coworker did everything by the book, her investments, her marriage, etc. But there were things beyond her control. And while her first reaction was to become bitter and frustrated and lash out, she was quickly humbled and realized that she was wasting vital energy and time. She took it to the Lord and was blessed and guided because of it. See, the Lord can't guide you if you refuse to let go. He cant help if you don't have the faith enough in Him that you will recieve the guidance you need.

So, as we face the portent that is our current life and as we look to the future knowing that this is only the beginning of the storm, I hope that we all (myself included) remember to be a Dori and just keep swimming. That we let go of our death grip and just let the Lord steer for a while.

Football

I know its been a whole week since the game, but I wanted to take a quick sec and give some love to the Arizona Cardinals.

Now before you all get mean with me cause you know how critical I have been, I want to explain. I have been one of their biggest critics. They could do no right. They were crappy. And they wanted my tax money for a stupid stadium so they could play crappy there. And I didn't like it. Not when we cant even pay teachers a reasonable salary and we continue to cut educational funding. But I digress.

When AZ was considering building the Cardinals a new stadium, they noted that they could never be great when playing in the ASU stadium. To be fair, that stadium is very old and not very equipt for a pro football team, maybe not even ASU. But very few felt like we had a "Pro" team in the Cardinals, therefore they didn't need a pro stadium. They persisted in requests for a new stadium and promised us a superbowl if they got it. The skeptical locals, me included, just laughed and kissed our tax dollars goodbye. (Although, its not like we had never seen wasted tax money before and now with Obama, it seems to be quite common.... AGAIN I AM SIDETRACKED...)

I wanted to just say how enjoyable it has been to be wrong and to say thanks. Thanks to the Cardinals for keeping up their end of the deal. They not only took us to the Superbowl, they gave us a fabulously exciting game. And I may be a bit biased, but I still stand by the theory that the Cardinals won and that both feet did not touch the ground inbounds in that last play. We saw the stills and the replays over and over and I am not convinced.. and I am not the only one.

So props to you Cardinals. Im looking forward to next season. --A new fan--