Donovan Family Life

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

2010-07-08T09:32:00.003-05:00

Yep, I am officially the worst blogger ever. I have not posted since April, and now have Meredith's birthday, Nathan's birthday, Mother's Day, End of school year parties, summer fun, father's day and fourth of July to post. And info about my job, VBS, and the new business I am starting. And I can't even start updating the posts right now because the children need to be fed, cleaned and dressed so we can run off to Gymnastics. Perhaps I shall have time to blog again when I am retired and the children are grown...If I can still remember anything that happened by then! Keep an eye out, I will try to start catching up with pics soon!

Matt's first 5K

2010-04-20T06:02:00.003-05:00

Matt ran his first 5K after less than 2 months of training. He ran in the Redbud Classic in OKC and finished in 38 minutes. The hills were brutal for him, since he had been running in our neighborhood, and it was very hot at 2 p.m. when the race started. Nathan and I went and cheered him on, we are so proud of him! Then, the next weekend he ran in his 2nd 5K, the Remember the 10 in Stillwater. He finished that one in 32 minutes, and was happy to have shaved that time off. Crazy! I am not sure I would run even if I was being chased, so I don't get the whole "runner" thing, but I am so proud of him for sticking with it, and we had a great time waiting for him to cross that finish line! Go Matty!

Bella baby

2010-04-09T08:57:00.004-05:00

We have our puppy! We wanted to get a puppy for the kids as a birthday present, so we looked around, figured out we wanted a goldendoodle (my dream dog ever since I first saw one) because they are hypo-allergenic and very sweet and good with kids. We found a breeder we liked and a price we could afford and waited for 7 long weeks...and now our little Bella is here!

Yep, I wrote that last part 2 weeks ago...puppies are not conducive to sleep, clean houses or extra time on the computer! So anyway, here is our little girl!

Toothless grin

2010-04-09T08:53:00.002-05:00

Meredith came home on Monday with her first loose tooth. On Thursday she was eating her chocolate bunny and said "Hey, I just lost my first tooth! But I accidentally swallowed it. Oh well, we will have to leave a note for the tooth fairy." She is so matter-of-fact about everything! So, the tooth fairy came and left her a dollar, and forgot to take the note. We figure she must not need it since it was not a tooth. And here is our toothless girl!

Easter 2010 pictures

2010-04-08T15:03:00.016-05:00

Here is what Easter looked like this year at the Donovan house...

The kids woke up and followed their trails (a tradition the Gerstenberger Easter bunny started) to their Easter baskets. Meredith picked hers up, Nathan commented on the "num-nums" on the floor and after picking up and eating the first 5 or so on his trail, followed the trail to the pantry, found his basket and went to watch Meredith. Leaving his basket behind, of course.

I made Easter Bunny pancakes, which were a hit, and then we went to church. The kids devoured part of their candy after church, we did a family dinner and finished the day with playtime outside and s'mores over Matt's fireplace. It was a nice, relaxing day and the kids are finally almost recovered from their sugar comas!

Always look on the bright side of life

2010-04-06T13:39:00.004-05:00

There is an excessive amount of drama happening with the in-laws right now and I just need to vent for a second and then remind myself that there are many positives in my life.

Venting: people who bottle up every emotion, won't talk to me if they have a problem, avoid me like the plague without ever cluing me in if I have upset them, make up lies and twist things around to suit their own neurotic purposes need to grow up and not flip flop between saying mean and hateful things behind my back and then pretending nothing ever happened (but still not talking to me) so they can maintain a relationship with my daughter. In order to have a relationship with my children, you must be at least willing to talk to me civally, you cannot use other people to go around me and try to be around my daughter. That doesn't work.

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.

Now, the positives...Matt is in such a wonderfully healthy emotional state these days, he is so patient, kind and caring, and I really am truly blessed to have him as my husband. My children are a delight to me, and I am blessed to get to be home with them most of the time. Working 2 days a week is such a privelege, and I am grateful to have a job I love and a husband to supports our family so that I don't HAVE to work full time. Our house is beautiful, we are all healthy, and I have more wonderful friends than I could ever count, so life is good.

So much love

2010-04-02T15:54:00.003-05:00

I am feeling reflective today, as it is Good Friday. I have been thinking all day about Jesus and his sacrifice for mankind. It overwhelms and humbles me to think that there is so much love from God and Jesus for all of us, and how undeserving we are at times. The concept of forgiveness is one that has been especially strong in my thoughts this Lent, and the line "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." from the Our Father continues to echo in my mind.

As I reflect on Good Friday, sacrificial love and forgiveness today, my beautiful children are running about, showing the purity, joy and kindness that I long to emulate. While I have been sitting here writing this, Nathan ran to the pantry and grabbed a snack. He ran over with 2 packages of crackers, one for him and one for Meredith. I know it is a small thing, and not as profound as the larger meanings of today, but I am brought to tears of joy and thankfulness as I watch my not yet 2 year old take care of his sister. She is always in his thoughts, and Meredith takes care of him too, by watching over him and teaching him, calming him when he is upset, and making him laugh. I am so blessed to have the genuine example of love at work in my life every day, and I thank God for His sacrifice that allows me to raise these tremendouly amazing little people.

A League of Her Own

2010-03-31T17:26:00.009-05:00

Meredith has started playing softball this spring, and Matt is beside himself with excitement. He is helping to coach the team, and loves to practice with her. I know that this is the stage of childhood that he envisioned when he thought of having children, so I am happy for him that we are finally here. Mere is in an 8 and under league, with 6-8 year olds, and is playing with Madelyn Frans. (Madelyn is Kyle and Rhea's daughter, Kyle and Matt went to school together from 5th grade on, and used to play baseball together, so it is fun to watch them relive their "glory days" as they teach their daughters.)

I have little to no knowledge about ANY sport, I have always found them boring, largely because they all seem to require one skill I was born without: Hand-eye coordination! Once again, this is an area where Matt and I can balance each other out, because for every game I tune out, he can tell you the final score, the last time that team won, and other random facts about them, for football, baseball and basketball. It's not a skill that I envy, but I am happy that he knows that stuff because at least our kids stand a chance of being athletic!

The team was thrown together at the last minute, and there was an aspect at the first meeting that excited me...Uniforms! The moms (and Matt and one other dad) all went shopping for them together, and we decided on cute little pleated skorts, pink t-shirts and black knee socks. Matt and Kyle are both against the decision to let the girls wear black skorts or shorts, they feel that pants and a traditional uniform are more appropriate. That's what happens when you let the moms choose the clothes! Their team chose the Wildcats as their name, and all of the girls look so cute in their uniforms! Unfortunately they are all at about the same skill level I am. It's fun to watch them when they are aware of what's happening though, they play their little hearts out. And there is still some of that childhood classic of standing in the field, playing in the dirt and admiring the grass while the game is happening, which is amusing, if not productive.

We have had 2 games this week, and we lost both of them, but I would like to see the birth certificates for the other girls, because I am pretty sure they have to be much older than our team. Our first girl up to bat was literally only a head taller than the catcher's waist! Meredith said tonight "I'm tired and just frustrated. Every time we play, the other team beats us." We talked about experience and practice and the fact that they are all trying their best, and this is just for fun. I am actually in awe of the fact that she seems to know what is going on! I am proud of her, she is starting to pay attention and I think by next year she will be taking this very seriously.

Nathan has a great time running all over the place while we are "watching" the games. He picked up handfuls of dirt and tossed them in the air, ran under the bulletin board 87 times, played cars, tried to climb the fence, ran into the dugout twice, tried to tip a trash can over once and made it over to the t-ball field behind us before I caught him because I foolishly wore flip flops. (Rookie mistake.) And all of that was in the first 30 minutes while they were warming up!

It should be a good way to introduce Meredith to competitive sports, help her bond with Matt over a common interest, and get some cute pictures, which is my favorite part! And the kids and I definitely wear ourselves out during the games, so we should all sleep well for the next few months.

Leprechauns and Easter eggs...

2010-03-29T09:24:00.012-05:00

Here are a few pics from St. Patrick's day. We did green yogurt and waffles at breakfast, played with green Oobleck, drank green milk and had little pins to wear all day. Meredith's said Lucky and Nathan's said World's Cutest Leprechaun. It was fun to do something different for the kids, they got a kick out of all the green!

Sunday night we dyed eggs with the kids, it was the first time Nathan had done them and he kept lifting the egg up and saying "Oooooooh!" and then tossing it in the cup again! We had a few casualties, but overall it was a really terrific family project. Matt and I are really loving having the kids do things with us as they get older, our little family unit is so much fun!

The Easter Bunny

2010-03-27T13:25:00.002-05:00

Meredith informed me yesterday that she doesn't think the Easter bunny is real. I tried not to panic or cry as my daughter's childhood innocence disappeared, and I asked her why she thinks that. Her response was "I think it's probably just a guy in a bunny suit bringing Easter baskets to everyone. I really bunny couldn't carry baskets or open doors." Phew, I fuess we are safe for a little while longer! It cracks me up that the part she questions is the autenticity of the actual rabbit, not the idea that any one creature hops around leaving baskets for children once a year!

Catholic again

2010-03-17T18:42:00.003-05:00

I am feeling extremely moved lately to tell about my religious journey these days, so here it is! I was born and raised Catholic, and attended regularly until I moved to college. I never really questioned being Catholic, or our beliefs, or the teachings of the Church, until I moved out. I went to Baker, a private Methodist University, and I was shocked when I got there and all of my friends seemed to have really enjoyed their churches growing up. They attended summer camps, hung out with their youth groups, had friends at their churches, and basically showed me a whole new side to religion that I had not known was possible.

I attended a few services when I was at Baker, and thought they were okay, but nothing moved me in any certain way. I met Matt, moved back home and went to my family's parish, and didn't feel much one way or another then either. Matt was against being Catholic, and so I agreed to look for an alternative together. We got married, moved to Denver, and I got a job at a Presbyterian Church. I was close to the people there, so I attended services there, but still felt like there was something I was missing. As we have moved around, I continued to try churches, because I do feel that it is extremely important to me to raise my children as active Christians, and I wanted them to see that we all attend together. I have tried regular attendance at 5 different churches over the last 4 years, and still felt that something wasn't fitting for me.

Over the first weekend in January, I went to Mass with my friend Shelly and her boyfriend. It was like being home again! I felt wonderful, the priest seemed as though he was speaking directly to me, the music was familiar, the crucifix was hung and looked beautiful to me, and I decided that I should try Catholicism with a renewed vigor. Since then, I have been attending at St. Monica's Parish, about a mile from my house, and I have only missed 2 Sundays this whole year so far, once for illness and once for Matt's birthday.

I have come to realize that I need to raise my children in a faith that means something to me, and that I am just Catholic at heart. I love the idea of discipline, of focusing on the fact that Christ died for us, and that sins can be forgiven. I have found a new aspect of my Faith as I renew my Catholic beliefs, and discovered that (fortunately) the way Flagstaff Catholics act is actually not the norm. My church growing up was not family friendly, had horrible children's programs, did half the Mass in Spanish, and seemed to disregard the desires of the congregation at whim. We would vote on something, like a name for the new Parish, and they would announce the winner, and then tell us what they were actually going to call it.

It's nice for me to think that I have found a home here. My church has a welcoming feel, a mom's group, children's programs that are age appropriate, and the same core beliefs that I feel are important. I have embraced this wonderful feeling with all my heart, and I am once again proud to announce that I am Catholic, and will remain so forever more. I have given up coffee for Lent, I am observing the Holy Days of Obligation, I am actually really wanting to say the rosary, and I feel closer to God than I ever have.

My personal belief is that there isn't any one particular religion that has all of the answers. I do know now though, that I have to do what I feel deep in my heart and soul, and for me, I have found peace with this decision, and I long to cry it from the mountaintops that I am at peace with God once more!

ow-sigh

2010-03-05T10:43:00.002-06:00

Nathan is a complete nature freak, all winter long he has been lamenting the lack of outside play time. We have finally had a few nicer days lately, so we have been outside as much as possible. When he wants to go outside, he stands by the back door saying "Ow sigh. Ow sigh." If that doesn't receive the desired response, he will run to the laundry room where we keep the shoes and say "shoooos. Shooos. Ow sigh shoos." We went out twice yesterday and have been out for almost 2 hours this morning.

I am grateful for the nicer weather, the little hint of spring, and the fact that when we are outside the kids are happier to entertain themselves. An additional bonus is that my house stays much cleaner when we are outside the whole time we are awake, so I am happier all around. Seriously, who's idea was winter anyway? Well, I am off to play with the kiddos again outside, and enjoy the nicer weather while we have it!

Wide awake at 3 a.m.

2010-03-03T03:36:00.004-06:00

It's one of those unfortunate nights when my brain clicked on at 2:15 and wouldn't shut down. I tried tossing and turning for an hour and then gave in and got up. The benefits of this are that I do get to take advantage of the very rare quiet time in my house without the fear that I will be interrupted after just a few minutes, and that I am awake on a night when I am not feeling super tired. I know that I am not good at updating my blog as much as I would like, so I feel like I have so much to say but I don't want to make it overly long, so I thought I would just list a few things that I wanted to record.

Matt is looking super skinny these days. He is down 80 lbs. in a year and a half, and last week started running. He is doing the couch to 5K deal and is really getting into running. I am so proud of him!
I am feeling really jealous of Matt because he is doing so well and my knee and back are hurting so much that I am not able to work out at all. I have only lost 4 lbs. since my knee surgery in October, and I am feeling very frustrated. Grrrrrr.
Meredith is reading so much these days, I am really impressed with everything she is learning in school. She is also being very sweet and helpful most of the time, and I breathe a sigh of relief that we seem to be entering a new phase with her.
Meredith was the "queen bee" at school this week, she got to bring in a few things that are special to her, and we made a poster board of her favorite things and some pictures of her. She loved getting it together with me, and after an hour of working on it together, she turned to me and told me thank you for doing this with her and that she loves it when we get to spend time just the two of us.
Yesterday when Meredith came home from school she called me Mrs. Gregg. I know that kids sometimes slip up and call their teachers mommy, but I had never heard anyone do the reverse!
Nathan is so much fun (most of the time) right now. He does a hundred little things every day that I wish I could show everyone because I think he's so much fun to watch! It's not even something that I can describe, because it would take so long to describe everything he is doing. He says "fun" all the time now, he wants to "see! See!" out the windows everything he hears outside. He gets this little glint in his eyes and turns his head to the side and glances at me to see if I am watching him, then cracks up when I look at him. He adores trucks and construction, and has recently started watching Bob the Builder, and thinks it should be on 24 hours a day. (He doesn't want to watch it most of the time, just wants it on.)
The other day Cooper was crawling towards the cars Nathan had dumped out. Nathan saw him coming and frantically started putting the cars up on the bricks in front of the fireplace. You could tell that he was doing it to protect them from the incoming baby, and he looked really proud of himself for figuring it out. Cooper stopped crawling and looked at Nathan. Nathan finished putting them out of reach and started talking to Cooper. Coop started crawling again and pulled up on the bricks and reaching for the cars, and Nathan looked panicked! He said "No no baby! No no!" and tried to hand Cooper one of the baby toys. It cracked me up!
I have officially started moving away from watching Cooper and into teaching Gymboree more. Kelli is going to find another place for Cooper and I am going to teach 2 days a week. Mondays will be fun because the kids get to come with me and hang out in the art room for the nursery. I will also teach on Wednesdays, and I just found out that Nathan got into the Mother's Day Out program I wanted for him, so he will go there on Wednesdays. I think it will be a positive change all around, and I will get more time to focus on my kids when I am with them. I am really looking forward to it, and I love the idea of only working 10 hours a week and making as much as I am watching Cooper for 50 hours a week!

Well, that's my "shortened" version of Donovan life these days. Believe it or not, I could have gone on longer! It's now 4:30 and I think I will be able to catch a couple more hours of sleep before starting the Wednesday routine. Good night!

My kids rock!

2010-02-18T22:59:00.003-06:00

Meredith and I both had the stomach bug that has been going around, and I was impressed once again with how awesome my kids are. Meredith got sick 3 times, then was just slightly more subdued than usual. I was completely knocked out, and certain that death was right around the corner. I was out of bed for all of 15 minutes yesterday morning before turning on the tv and texting Matt to say that I couldn't make it through the day without him. I then went back to bed, where my children's awesome-ness was displayed for me over the next several hours...

Meredith helped Nathan get a drink and a snack. She played with him and entertained him for a long time, and they managed to not trash the entire house! Nathan kept running into my room at first, to check on me. He crawled over me, said "Fun! Wheee!" and jumped on the bed for the next 5 minutes, throwing himself down every few bounces and laughing. (He was cute and I was laying down, so I didn't mind.) After a while, he ran out and shut the door. About a minute later, he ran back in and came over to stare at me. I asked "Are you here to take care of Mommy?" and he smoothed the covers down, patted my head and ran out, slamming the door. 5 seconds later the door banged open again, Nathan rushed in, turned the fan on, then ran back out, shutting the door again! They were so good, well behaved, super sweet, and I really appreciated that I was able to cower in bed all morning even though Matt had to work. At 12 Matt was able to make it home and take over, but I will always be grateful that the kids were so amazing when I really needed a break. My kids are so wonderful!

Valentine's day 2010

2010-02-14T10:18:00.006-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's day has always been my favorite holiday. When I was little (like up until I was probably 15 or 16) I didn't know that it was meant more as a romantic holiday. My parents always did special cards, flowers, pink cream of wheat at breakfast, Russel Stover's chocolates and cool new pencils for us on Valentine's day. The school parties were always full of goodies, cards from everyone, and the great fun of making special bags or boxes to hold our treasures in. I loved the paper doilies that seem to serve no purpose other than to drip excessive glue when attached to construction paper. Even today, I get euphoric when I smell contruction paper, paste and crayons. (At every time of year, not just when making valentine's)

I think it's nice that there is a day dedicated to letting your loved ones know that they are special to yo. My dad still remembers how special I think this day is and sends me a card every single year, filled with tiny red confetti hearts. They fall all over the floor, and we find them for weeks after we think they are gone. They drive Matt crazy, but I love them! They make me smile every time I see them. (To be fair, my dad sends them half because I love them and half because they drive Matt crazy!)

This morning when I came home from church, Matt was fixing a special breafast for us. He made pancakes and used the cookie cutters to make them heart shaped. I thought it was one of the best husband/father moments ever, and I love that he made the effort to do something special that the kids will remember. 9 years ago today Matt and I first got together at a party at his apartment, and we have been together ever since. I can't believe it's been 9 years already, and I also can't believe it's only been 9 years!

So, have a wonderful Valentine's Day. May your day be filled with love from friends and family and your significant other, and may the spirit of love remain with us year round!

Dear winter

2010-02-13T08:42:00.003-06:00

Dear winter,

I am ready for your friend spring to visit me instead. You have overstayed your welcome and I wish that we could have some time apart now. The kids are ready to play outside, and we are tired of wearing coats. I miss seeing colors when I look out my window, the ugly browns or dead grass and leaf-less trees can go away along with the ice, wet, cold and wind that you brought with you. Please pack up your things and leave, and perhaps with time I will be ready to see you again.

Thank you,

Blythe

Okay, I know that was silly, but I am so over cold weather! One of my favorite things about moving to Oklahoma is that I would be living someplace where the winter is much shorter and they didn't get much snow. So of course, this year we have had record storms. Murphy's law strikes again!

On an up note, we have had a good past few days. Nathan has been having some painful stomach issues this week, and was so hysterical for almost 3 hours that I finally rushed him in to see the pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. Turns out my little man was having painful gas and constipation (lovely, I know.) and so that was why he was all of the sudden acting possessed. Now we have medication for him and we have adjusted his diet a little and he seems to only throw temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. This is still frequent, but much more tolerable! Cooper was sick on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday he was still acting like spitting up was really painful, so he went back home to hang out with Kelli, who was also sick. I feel for them, I know that the stomach bug is no fun. But, it was nice to get some individual time with the kiddos over the last few days, and I am reminded again how much more manageable life with just 2 kids is! By Friday at naptime, the house was clean, laundry was done and put away, I had worked out and showered, dinner was underway, the kids had been played with and I actually had a break when I didn't have something else I should have been doing! It was WONDERFUL!

The weather subsided enough and warmed up into the 40's yesterday, so when Mere got home from school we played outside for an hour. Nathan went down the slide by himself for the first time ever, which was so cute! Here is a video to show it, I didn't get the whole thing, but at the end after he says "Whee!" he stands up and says "It's fun!" Meredith was cute playing outside too, she is very good with her brother, and loves to put on shows for me. She is definitely one who doesn't mind being the center of attention!

Ummm...I got nothin'

2010-02-04T13:29:00.002-06:00

Yep, nothing much to say, and yet I find myself longing to blog. About anything. Anything at all...This is about the first time in my life where my mind and house are silent at the same time. I guess I will just enjoy the quiet and maybe have some thoughts later.

(My mind isn't totally silent, I do have Poker Face playing in there. Pretty much all the time. But it's not requiring much space right now, so I suppose the quiet is relative.)

The 6th day

2010-02-02T07:11:00.004-06:00

Edmond Public Schools are closed again today, which means it is the 6th day in a row of Meredith being home all day when we can't really do much because of the weather. The kids and I have been trying to keep busy, but I am running out of ideas! We did bubble baths first thing yesterday and today because that will entertain them for up to an hour. We have painted, played games, done computer time, pretended to be puppies, played restraunt, built with blocks...I am about played out!

A few highlights:
- Meredith had a bad attitude recently (shocked!) and when she shaped up again she gave me a big hug and said "I'm sorry Mommy. I will try to be good from now on, and never fight or be mean again. Until I am a Mommy, and then I can yell at my kids."
- Nathan got out of the bathtub because he had to pee, but he doesn't know how to tell me that yet, so he tried to get my attention while I was fixing Cooper's bottle and then peed on the floor. He then wanted to sit on the toilet, so we spent the next 30 minutes hanging out in the bathroom. Nothing happened, and I am not going to push it, but I am excited that he is showing interest and isn't even 2 yet. I got a cute picture of him sitting there with his hands folded strategically, but I think I will keep it for the family viewing only!
-Matt is almost finished with the playroom wall, he got the trim up last night. Just 1 more day until the paint is dried enough that we can break out the chalk. Yippee!

Snow (and ice) day!

2010-01-30T08:56:00.000-06:00

We had a major ice storm here on Thursday afternoon and evening where we accumulated about an inch of ice on everything. This was followed by a full day of snow on Friday, which was gorgeous! Matt didn't go to work because the entire town was closed down, and of course there was no school, so we had a nice day just hanging out inside. Matt and I got busy first thing in the morning and deep cleaned the playroom. (I have a schedule for cleaning one area of the house each month. We wipe down all the walls, clean the baseboards, wash the light fixtures and vent covers, move all the furniture etc. so that no room ever goes too long without being really cleaned. I know, I am a bit neurotic. I have learned to embrace it rather than fight it!) He started the process of painting the chalkboard wall we have been meaning to do since we moved in, and the kids were happy doing art projects and playing dress up.

We also did some family play time, which is always a hit with the kids. I taught them a game we used to play when I was little that we call the Hot Lava game. Basically you jump around the room from pillow to pillow and on the furniture and try to avoid the carpet, which you are pretending is hot lava. Yep, it's a wild and crazy life here in the Donovan house! We played hide and seek too, which cracks Nathan up. He always hides wherever we were found last for the next round.

Matt and I took a few pictures of the ice and snow around the house, so I thought I would share them. It was a nice day being snowed in together, and I am happy that we got some things accomplished during our bonus weekend day.

Wii records

2010-01-30T08:49:00.001-06:00

Matt and I have both lost a lot of weight in the last year (62 lbs for me, 75 lbs for Matt) and one of the biggest changes we have made is adding exercise twice a day using the Wii Fit. We primarily do the free step for 30 minutes at a time. Matt is very competetive and keeps track of his personal bests on the Wii on a post it note on the back of the TV. He tracks his steps both watching his progress and watching a tv show, and tries to out-do himself every time. When he passed 5000 steps, he thought it surely must be some sort of record, so he looked online. There is an entire website dedicated to Wii Records - who knew? Anyway, Matt registered and is now listed on the website in 4th place, which is pretty cool! Here is the link in case you want to see...
http://www.wii-records.com/en-us/records.php?game_id=99&category_id=3343

And a few videos....

2010-01-28T11:26:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of videos too. Enjoy!

Random kid updates

2010-01-28T11:02:00.001-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated on the kids, largely because they are keeping me busy constantly! Here are some recent photos that show what the Donovan's have been up to...

Brina came to visit us for almost a week in January. It was wonderful to see her, and I love having someone around to keep me company while I run herd on the kids. She is terrific with both kids and they adore her. For almost a week after she left Nathan kept pointing to the bed where she slept and asking for her. We wish she lived MUCH closer to us than 3 states away!

Meredith's look shows her attitude these days. When did she turn 13 again?

Nathan loves to walk in other people's shoes...a trait that will serve him well in life! This picture also shows how he now "poses" (aka squats down) for every single photo we take...

Matt does family play time with the kids once they are ready for bed. He lies down on the floor and flips them, wrestled with them, and Nathan recently started bringing Matt a book and asking him to read it. Meredith and Nathan picked up on that very quickly and have a great time reading like this throughout the day.

The kids are both in a strong Daddy phase right now, this is the traditional greeting when he gets home from work!

Willow Tree

2010-01-28T10:53:00.001-06:00

This is for my mom, and anyone else who cares! I am obsessed with the Willow Tree Figures, they are little statues that convey so much emotion to me. I am not a big collector of "stuff" I would rather have things that have meaning to me than just the latest trend, but these are the one thing that I really want to collect. Matt started my collection for me on Mother's Day with one of a mom holding a baby snuggled in at her shoulder. These tug at my heart like nothing else ever has, so I treasure and cherish them. For Christmas Matt surprised me with the Nativity scene. Here are the pictures of the ones I have, I am sure that many more of these sweet scenes will be added into my home over the years.

Can you believe it has been 10 years?

2010-01-28T10:32:00.000-06:00

New Year's Eve 2009 marked the 10 year anniversary of my time capsule with my best friends from college. We got together and opened it this year and had a great time seeing what we thought was in store for us at that point. We had written letters to ourselves, guessed what we would be doing, made silly predictions about where we would live, number of kids etc. It was fun to see the girls again, and to see how young we all were then! Here are some of the pictures from that night. If I can find them I will post some of the pictures we saw that night too of the 5 of us from 10 years ago.

While I was in Kansas City for our time capsule shindig we also threw Jenna's baby shower. She is having twins any day now! I also got to see Lindsay, who is also one of my best friends from college but wasn't part of the pentagon because she is younger. We had a great weekend and I loved getting to hang out with everyone for several days without the kiddos. What a terrific way to start the new year!

Where fore art thou, Romeo?

2010-01-21T10:46:00.000-06:00

Hmmmm, where to start? I mentioned our new frog pets earlier I believe. Their names are Romeo and Ella, and they were a Christmas gift from Aunt Kelli for the kids. This morning God is testing me, because I started the day with a mantra that I will have a positive attitude and that will make life easier. Less than an hour into my day with the kids, I heard a loud "CRASH" from the playroom. Meredith shrieked, but I was in the middle of a diaper change for Cooper, so I just called out "What happened? You're alright!"

There was a moment of silence. Then Meredith said "Ummm...Nathan knocked the frogs over when he was getting a box of toys out." I immediately flew into the playroom and saw the frog tank shattered on the floor. Rocks and water and bamboo were covering a 3 foot radius, and Romeo and Ella were looking stunned on the floor. I ran to get a container to put them in and then they started hopping. Nathan and Meredith both fled the scene, Nathan looked terrified! He was shaking because it scared him so much when they started moving. I am pretty sure my son would not have been more terrified if an axe murderer was running after him, and the frogs are only an inch long!

I was able to capture both of our little friends with minimal effort because they were so out of sorts from being out of water that they just hopped into my container. I picked up what I could of the rocks, vacuumed up the rest and tried to mop up the water. Then I faced the dilemma about how to keep the frogs alive. They are supposed to have distilled water (just like in nature, right?) and I didn't have any. I debated about tap water, but decided that bottled water would have to do. (Again, who would ever have thought I would have to utter the phrase "Can frogs live in bottled water?")

I left them sitting on the kitchen counter. My father-in-law brought over a gallon of distilled water for us. (Kelli called and asked for his help so that we wouldn't kill her Christmas present.) When I went to fill the tupperware container with water, the frogs were gone. I don't know where they are! I am hoping that they are safe and that we will find them before they die and start to smell. I am also hoping that they are not in mortal danger, from something like the garbage disposal (they were sitting right by the sink), the dog (who would be delighted to get to play with the kids Christmas presents) or my feet. I keep looking at the ground as I am walking and praying that I don't feel anything squish.

Romeo and Ella, our prayers are with you. Go in peace and please don't end up visibly dead somewhere and traumatize my chidren!

Swept out to sea...

2010-01-18T07:48:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in a while so I have had all the random thought piling up in my head again that I need to get out! Lately I feel like I have been drowning, I don't know what to do about it. I really need to re-structure my life I guess, because for some reason I seem to require about 36 hours in a day to get everything done. Unfortunately I am limited by the mere 24 that everyone else has as well! I keep picturing what it is like to stand with your feet in the ocean, right at the edge of the surf. The waves of life keep rolling up and sweeping the sand out from under my feet, and I can feel it pulling me and I know it's going to keep taking the sand away but I can't figure out how to slow it down!

This sounds way more dramatic than it probably should, but I am just overwhelmed. The big thing that has changed in my life is that I am taking care of me now, and that was the piece for so long that I left out so I could get everything else done! The things I am doing for me are simple, most of you probably wouldn't even think twice about them. I have started putting lotion on every day. I work out 5-6 days a week, and I am showering on a regular basis. (Yep, I used to go a day or 2 between. Don't judge!) I am taking the time to fix myself a healthy meal 3 times a day instead of just snacking all day long. These are all changes that are supposed to make me feel better, right? But instead I just feel badly for the fact that I don't get the laundry put away, that there is stuff all over our bedroom, and that I haven't made our bed 2 days in a row.

I feel like as a stay at home mom I should be able to keep the house in good shape, interact with my kids, take care of myself, visit with friends, fix healthy food for my family and still be happy most of the time. I wish I could just relax, but it seems that the older I get, the more Type A I become. I also realize that I am not truly a stay at home mom, I am actually a mom, daycare provider, and Gymboree teacher. I work 55 hours a week between watching my nephew and teaching, which is probably part of my issue, because I should have the mentality that I am a working mom instead. (Not that being a stay at home mom is not work, believe me, I understand how difficult that job is!)

Anyway, that's why I am behind on posting again. I love blogging, and I fully wish I made more time to release the thoughts that occupy brain space all day long, but the day only provides me with so many hours. Bummer! Well, I guess if I am being swept out to sea I should at least enjoy the swim, so I am off to wake the kiddos for breakfast...

A very Merry Christmas to you!

2009-12-29T10:14:00.001-06:00

This was our first year of living near family at the holidays, and I really enjoyed being able to have more time around Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Cutting out 10+ hours of driving round trip is a wonderful bonus! We even got a white Christmas for our first one in our new house, which was amazing. Unfortunately the weather resulted in lots of ice, wind gusts of 60 mph and church being cancelled all over town on Christmas Eve. We had a lovely family night at home with Matt's parents and Kelli, Kiley and Cooper, so I have no complaints!

I invited everyone over for dinner and we had lasagne, salad, garlic bread and baked Alaska for dessert. (Yep, homemade!) Matt let me take a nap that afternoon (God Bless him!) and when I came out he had set the table, used the fancy silverware, folded cloth napkins, and made the salad. I love my husband! Everyone fought their way over through the weather and we had a nice evening. The kids got to open their Christmas pj's, and slacker mama forgot to get a picture! My sister in law took a few, so I will post hers later. We laid out cookies for Santa, hung stockings and tucked the kids into bed with no problems.

Christmas morning I heard the kids about 7:00, so I got Matt up and we started the video camera. I am surprised every single year at the lack of enthusiasm Meredith shows on Christmas morning. I don't know if it is just because she is not a morning person, or if she just doesn't get it yet or what, but she was so excited leading up to Christmas that we thought surely she would run over to her Santa presents. Nope, for the 2nd year in a row she walked sleepily out, looked around, and didn't dig into her stocking until we pointed it out to her! I have it all on video, as anticlimactic as it was! Kids will surprise you every time I guess! I remember fighting at the top of the stairs as we waited to be allowed down, running through the house elbowing for space as we dashed into the family room and pounced on our Christmas presents when I was a kid. Maybe next year she will care!

We did the Santa thing, and then sorted out all the other presents and opened those in rotation. Meredith was thrilled to get my old American Girls doll, Samantha, and Nathan loves his vacuum cleaner with a passion. We finished after about an hour and a half or so, and I started making brunch because we were having the family over again. Within 5 minutes of finishing with the presents the leg had fallen off of Meredith's doll, and while I was trying to re-attach it, Nathan's vacuum cleaner stopped making noise and he started crying and trying to hand it to me. While all of this was happening, Matt was digging our van out so he could go pick up his parents and Kelli, since they were stranded a mile down the road at their house! I might be the only one who finds this scenario hilarious, but it seemed like vintage Donovan family to me! Matt asked "Why do we bother to try and make Christmas special?" and I responded over the crying children "To make happy family memories like these!" Call us sarcastic or cynical, but we find that having a sense of humor makes parenting much more enjoyable!

Everyone finally made it here for brunch, we went to the in-laws house that afternoon for dinner, and played in the snow. I really missed getting to attend church, but other than that we had a terrific Christmas. I got a new camera from Matt, and he surprised me with the Nativity scene from Willow Tree, which I LOVE. Matt liked his golf club drink dispenser, and I think everyone had a good time, which makes our first Christmas living in Oklahoma a rousing success!

Cancun

2009-12-27T09:52:00.000-06:00

Matt and I took a trip to Cancun this year with our friends Jenny and John. We all turned 30 this year, so we decided a celebration was in order. It was the first vacation we have taken since our honeymoon nearly 8 years ago, and it was wonderful! We did a whole lot of nothing for the whole week. We left on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and came back the following Saturday. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which was phenomenal. I'm going to let the pictures show most of the vacation, because it was too wonderful to describe with words!

The only other item of note is that the our resort was on is in a bay, so it was not a "real" beach in my mind. Matt took me to one of the public beaches on Friday of our trip, and it was amazing. There was nobody else around, the waves were crashing loudly, the sand was beautiful and it was my favorite beach experience of my life. The beach holds some mysterious pull for me, and I feel like even if I were to get to walk on the shore every day for the rest of my life, I would never tire of hearing the waves and feeling the sand and surf. My husband is wonderful for making the effort to find a real beach for me on our vacation, and I love him so much for it!

Meredith's Kindergarten Thanksgiving

2009-12-27T09:21:00.000-06:00

Meredith's class had 2 Thanksgiving celebrations. The first one was a program where the kids sang, danced, wore turkey hats and said what they are thankful for. It was really cute, and Meredith said "I am thankful for the angels that watch over me." Sweet, and I am not sure where she comes up with some of the things she says! My favorite part of the performance was watching the kids do the turkey trot. They were a riot!A few days later they had their Thanksgiving feast. The menu was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots with ranch dressing, chex mix and lemonade. I helped get the feast prepared (unwisely choosing the pb and j table....sticky 5 year old hands everywhere!) The kids went into the hall for a story and the other parents and I pushed the tables together and set the plates around. The kids were excited when they came in, and it was fun to watch them find their seats and chatter with their friends. The pictures are of Meredith with Mrs. Gregg, and her class at their programs.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-27T09:12:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving this year was very nice. It is the first year we have not had a long drive on either end of the weekend, which made all the difference in the world to me! We did a low-key morning, the kids and I actually went to Matt's office with him and helped him get caught up on filing while he finished a few things. We came back home, napped, then headed to the in-laws house for dinner. It was nice to just hang out, have some wine, and play games with the family. Kelli and I are both very into the idea of making holidays and time together special by doing something all together. This year we played Scattergories, which was hilarious, and a lot of fun. Kiley and JoAnn both forgot the way to play about 4 rounds in, and started writing down words that didn't begin with the letter we were supposed to be using. Matt and Kelli both get really competetive and Matt eggs her on something fierce. JoAnn doesn't like fighting, so she tries valiantly to change the subject (her go to line it "Particularly nice weather, isn't it?"), Kiley sits back and watches and makes an occaisional wisecrack, Mike chimes in and stirs things up every once in a while, the kids play happily in the background, and I sip my wine contentedly and enjoy the show!

The Flagstaff Visit - It's not the destination, it's the journey...

2009-12-13T07:13:00.000-06:00

Matt surprised me with tickets to fly to Flagstaff for a quick visit in the middle of November, so the kids and I trekked through 2 airports 3 weeks post knee surgery and hung out with the family for a while! It was a good visit for the most part, and even the travelling went well. Since my blog seems to have morphed into a journal entry rather than the profound insights of motherhood I felt sure it was going to be, I am going to embrace it and try to update it for the last month so I can remember what we were up to!

The flight to Arizona was first thing in the morning, so we tucked the kids into bed early and in their clothes for the next day so they were ready to go at 6 when we dragged them out of bed. There had been some debate about my ability to limp through the airport with 2 children and all the items necessary to bring with us to entertain and feed 2 children on the plane. Up until we were pulling into the airport I was still debating about needing to ask for a wheelchair. The Oklahoma City airport is not tough to navigate, so I decided I would try it on my own, since I didn't think my in a wheelchair was going to be easier when bringing the kids with me. We got through security and I was once again impressed with how thoughtful everyone here is! The guy 2 people in back of me in the security line set up the stroller for me after the x-ray machine while I was getting the kids shoes back on, and even checked to make sure it was locked. (Side note: Oklahoma City is the nicest city I have ever lived in, people here seem to go out of their way to offer help and smile and greet eachother. Maybe it's a southern thing and it happens in the true south too, but it amazes me every single day!)

We got to the gate and lucked out that the fight was not completely full, so the people at the desk said I could go ahead and just take an extra seat for Nathan, even when they made an announcement saying it was a full flight. The kids were wonderful for the flight, Nathan crawled all over our little area and played peekaboo with the people behind us, Meredith enjoyed looking out the window, and both kids colored for a long time, so I even got to read my magazine for a little while! Nathan wanted to look out the window too, and Meredith was in stellar big sis mode so she held him on her lap and was pointing things out to him as they gazed out together. It was one of those touching moments where I am so grateful to have such amazing children!

We landed and met my dad and Brina at the little waiting area past security, and I was able to relax and turn the kids over to them. They helped get the bags, load the car, take Mere to the bathroom etc., and even tracked down 2 little rubber planes for them that were the hit of the vacation. (The more useless and tiny an object is, and the more annoying I find it, the more my children love it.) We went to see Brina's townhouse, which looks amazing (It was falling apart and a mess when they bought it, and my dad has worked his magic on it so now it is one of the nicest places a college student could live!) and they watched the kids for me while I iced my knee. It's fun for me to see Brina and Meredith together because Meredith worships Brina the way Brina used to worship me. And Brina is always very sweet and kind and patient to Mere, which I really appreciate, because I am certain that even Brina does not REALLY want to spend 3 hours listening to Meredith "play" her various instruments, analyze fingernail polish, chatter constantly about everything from dinosaurs to God and Angels and dictate what she should say!After feeding the kids a little snack (Meredith actually about ate Brina out of house and home! We must have been on her eating day that day, since she normally only eats about every 4th day) and hanging out for a while so they could burn off some energy we headed to Swensens for lunch and then made the drive up to Flagstaff.

I am always happy to see the Peaks, and as always, it was good to get to see everyone and be "home" for a while. At some point in the last few years I have made the transition to adulthood, so going back to the place that I thought would always be home now feels like I am just visiting. It's nice that I have my true home with my husband and kids in OKC now, but it's bittersweet to visit Flagstaff and realize that it is no longer home.

The kids and I had a nice visit, we got in lots of family time. We were able to hang out with my nephew Caden, and he is now old enough that it is fun to watch him crawl around and interact with Meredith and Nathan. Everyone got some one on one time with the kids, and I really appreciated how helpful everyone was with the kids so I could stay off my knee for the most part. The visit was really very positive until the last night we were in town, when for some reason Blake and his wife Gwen were in a mood. They changed Caden into a pair of Nathan's jeans (he only had 4 pairs of pants at the time, so I was irritated that they were trying to take 25% of my son's wardrobe!) and when I mentioned it Gwen was really weird and defensive about it. I was assuming that it was a mistake, but her reaction was very short and rude, and turned the entire ordeal into a much bigger deal than it needed to be. The end result was that they stormed out without saying good-bye, and Blake asked my mom to tell me that I am not welcome at his house. Sometimes I wonder why my family loves to have drama, and I wonder what it would be like to live in a family where everyone is respectful, helpful and drama free!

The drama sort of left a black cloud over the house, so we were all pretty introspective for the rest of the visit. Brina and my dad and I hung out for a while after everyone else went to bed, and I was reminded again how fantastic it is to have people who really get me! We joked and laughed and analyzed life until late that night, and then Brina drove us back down to the airport the next morning so we could fly back home. It was good to get back to Oklahoma and see Matt again. There is a song that Meredith is crazy about that Matt put on a cd for us called "If I ever get back to Oklahoma, gonna nail my feet to the ground" (yep, it's as cheesy and country as it sounds!) and that song kept playing in my head as we were driving home. Life never fails to surprise and amaze me, I really enjoy the ironies and challenges on the journey, and I can't believe that Oklahoma ended up being the true home for me.

Me time!

2009-12-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

As I write this post I am sitting outside our hotel room on the patio in Cancun, watching the palm trees blow in the wind, the ocean move in the distance, and enjoying the beautiful green grass! I am finally getting some me time and I am loving it! It is helping me to re-prioritize and relax,and I think Matt and I are feeling more connected too! I am re-confirming my new lease on life with this trip, and I am so proud of myself for finally figuring out how to be healthy and centered. I feel confidant in myself these days most of the time, which is a new feeling for me. I am not feeing guilty about taking care of myself, which is another tremendous improvement.

Before we left for vacation I think we got everything in the best shape we possibly could, which helps me to be able to relax. The entire house was clean, the instructions were typed up and neatly organized in a notebook for my in-laws, and I even managed to do the super-mom thing and leave little post-it notes around the house for the kids, telling them I love them and left a few little treats for them. (Hugs and Kisses from Hersheys, a heart shaped necklace for Meredith from us, some silly putty to remind them of their silly mommy...)

Well, I didn't get this finished in Mexico, I took a nap instead! We have been home for a week now and as I started to update my blog again (being a full month behind now) I found this one. Immediately I felt relaxed and happy as I pictured our beautiful vacation. So, I will post this when I get there chronolgically and smile as I remember how nice it is to do just what I want to do when I want to do it!

Update: 26 days later, I am once again attacking the blog and getting things posted. Me time is few and far between these days, but I am hoping that after Mere heads back to school in January I can make myself a priority again. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Perhaps it was expecting too much!

2009-11-14T07:27:00.000-06:00

Okay, so less than a week into writing my thankful thoughts for the day each day on my blog I am giving up. Not because I am not grateful, in fact I have a list in my head of all the things that I give thanks for and I think that I don't want to spend my blog time writing them down one at a time. I will post them all together soon when I have a moment, but the kids and life are going by so fast that I would rather record moments about them, and I only have so much time I can spend on the computer!

So, my final thankful thoughts for this previous idea are:
I am thankful for my mom for her strength and ability to think things all the way through, and the way she makes me laugh. I am thankful for my husband, who is very thoughtful and loving (sometimes even in front of people!) and whom I miss while I am visiting in Arizona. And I am thankful for my family at large, from my best friend of a sister to my in-laws to my little nephews who can't even walk yet. Life is good and I love and appreciate all of the blessings that God has given me.

Wednesday and Thursday thanks

2009-11-12T23:30:00.000-06:00

I was travelling to Arizona for a quick visit on Wednesday so I am behind on my internet activities! On Wednesday I was thankful for nice and helpful people at the airport, and well-behaved children on the flight.

Today I am thankful for my dad and his un-ending supply of patience with my children. He continues to amaze me with what an outstanding Grandpa he is; even in the midst of a screaming, temper-tantrum throwing, hungry and over-tired 18 month old he still kissed him and said "I love you Nathan!"

November 10 - Thankful thought for the day

2009-11-10T13:50:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for nice and helpful people at the doctor's offices and pharmacy we use in Oklahoma. People here are so willing to help and friendly, it makes it so much easier to sacrifice naptime to take care of phone calls!

Things for which I am Thankful...

2009-11-09T16:06:00.000-06:00

One of my facebook friends posted something challenging us to each think of one thing to give thanks for every day between now and Thanksgiving. I accept the challenge and embrace it gladly, although I will post my thoughts in my blog instead of on facebook just to be different! (And so I can look back through them later!)

So, today I am thankful for my thoughtful, terrific, generous family members. I feel so blessed that I have parents and in-laws who take care of me when I am down for the count, and who shower us with their love and support every day!

Knee update and the honesty of 5 year olds...

2009-11-03T10:08:00.000-06:00

Things have been busy around here as I try to recover from knee surgery. My dad is out and helping tremendously with the kids, I don't know how I would have managed without him. 6 days after surgery I still can't walk across the room without significant pain unless I use the crutches. My knee is still really swollen, and I am not up and around as quickly as I hoped I would be. They did quite bit more than they thought they would, but Istarted physical therapy today so now I have a plan to get mobile! One of the major downfalls of having me out of commission is that the house is far below it's normal standard of clean. Matt and my dad are doing their best to keep things picked up and the kids happy, but the deep cleaning I normally do each week has been neglected for almost a month now, and it's driving me crazy!

On Monday I couldn't handle it any more so I pushed myself to come out of my room and start a whirlwind cleaning mission. I picked up the playroom, threw out trash from all over, then headed into Meredith's room, unprepared for the disaster I would find in there. Stuff was strewn about EVERYWHERE, junk under the bed, cracker wrappers and old cups lying around. I lost it and started piling everything together and sorting through it. After about 10 minutes of frantic cleaning, Mere came in and I started handing her things to throw away, put back in the playroom etc. She sighed and said "Actually, I just came in here to watch you clean, not to help." Gotta love the brutal honesty of a 5 year old! I got the house back into liveable conditions, my dad and Matt helped clean the counters and table etc. and I hope I can get back into my regular routine again soon.

Meredith's parent teacher conference was yesterday afternoon and Mrs. Gregg said that she is doing very well. She is at the more advanced end of the class, and is very sweet and a good friend to everyone. Apparently she is the little mother of the class. She worries about everyone in the class having what they need, and won't start her project until everyone has glue, crayons etc. She is always willing to help Mrs. Gregg and reminds her what is going on during the day. I can totally see this, and I was happy to hear that she is helpful and respectful, not pushy and bossy, which we sometimes see at home. She is friends with everyone and the only problem she has is completing assignments on time. Sometimes Mrs. Gregg will let her choose to spend an additional 5 minutes completing a project instead of starting centers when everyone else does, and most of the time the perfectionist in Meredith chooses to finish, even though her work is already far more detailed than most of her classmates. It was nice to hear what she has been doing in class, and I think Matt was surprised to hear that Meredith is perfect at school and not a challenge at all.

Happy Halloween 2009!

2009-11-01T09:18:00.000-06:00

Halloween was not quite as eventful as it would have been if I had not been recovering from knee surgery. Matt chose to go to the OSU/Texas game on Halloween instead of helping the kids celebrate, and I am still not able to move after surgery, so once again my wonderful Daddy swooped in to the rescue. He helped me get the kids dressed and I drove them to Mike and JoAnn's neighborhood, where they hit a couple of blocks.

Nathan wasn't sure what to think at first, he was very upset that I stayed in the car and Grandpa took him up to the door. When he realized they were giving out candy, he was super cute about holding his bag out, knocking on doors with Meredith and then helping people shut the door after they gave him candy.

When we got home I had to get straight to bed and ice my knee because I pushed it too much yesterday. The kids hung out in our bed with me and ate some of their candy and snuggled, and it was the highlight of my week. Mere kept saying "Thank you for letting us eat so much candy. Thank you for taking us trick or treating. You are the best mommy in the universe!" it was so sweet. Nathan went nuts over the suckers, he couldn't even wait until the wrapper was off before he was eating them! It was fun to watch their excitement, and their costumes were a hit with the nieghbors. I am so grateful to my dad for helping to make Halloween a success.

Nathan at almost 18 months

2009-10-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

Nathan is 17 1/2 months right now, and I can tell that his little brain is in overdrive as he figures things out and starts talking, pretending, exploring etc. I am so impressed with what kids can do at this age, they just floor me! It is my favorite age group to teach at Gymboree, and I am making a point to try and capture as much of Nathan at this age as I can, since we are not planning to have any more children.

Nathan is a happy little soul, and I am pretty sure that he just walks around thinking "Life is GREAT! Life is GREAT!" He loves Mere and Toby (our dog) with total abandonment, and the highlight of his day is when "meh meh" gets home from school. He runs to her, shouting her name and hugs her as hard as his little arms can! He is all about being Mommy's helper, he loves to be involved in anything I do, from fixing dinner to changing Coop's diaper. He will even hand me one of his diapers and the wipes, then lay down on the floor with his legs in the air! (Usually right after I have changed him, occaisionally when he is dirty, and he still runs laughing in the other direction when I try to change him unless it was his idea.)

It's not always stuff that should be funny or cute. Yesterday Nathan made a bee-line for the street while I was getting the kids out the door to run Meredith to school. I ran after him (with my injured knee, which made it horrible for the rest of the day.) and scooped him up and told him in my most serious and scary Mommy voice "That is bad! We don't run to the street, it is dangerous. You could get hurt." He flashed me a big, cheesy, tooth-baring grin. When I didn't smile back, he looked serious for a second, then grinned again. He did this several times all the way up the driveway, and he started laughing as he flashed these goofy grins. I didn't laugh, but man I wanted to!

Here are a few of the things that he is up to these days. I am still so smitten with my little boy I can't believe it!

Playing peekaboo through the cabinets with Meredith.

So stinkin' CUTE!

2009-10-28T07:26:00.000-05:00

Oh geez, I am in trouble with my kiddos! They are so stinkin' cute that I almost can't stand it! Yesterday Nathan seemed to have doubled in cuteness. He is saying more words, hamming it up all the time, giving huge hugs out of the blue to everyone and pushing his boundaries and finding it delightful when I say no. Meredith is so smart and her little mind puts things together and remembers things that astonish me. She continues to pull paleontologist lingo out of thin air at random times, and I can't believe she remembers things like that! I had to keep asking her what it was she said at breakfast throughout the day, because I couldn't remember for more than a minute!

So, to show off my kids in all their glory, here are some video clips highlighting what they are doing these days. I spend most of my days cracking up because I can't get over how funny they can be at times!

Date night! And a few cute happenings from the kids.

2009-10-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

God Bless my mother-in-law and sister-in-law! They are braving the Chesapeake Fall Festival with Meredith, Nathan and Cooper this afternoon. There is going to be a pumpkin patch, hay maze, hayride, face painting etc. at Kelli's office this afternoon, and they offered to take our kiddos too. I originally thought about going with them, but I am still gimpy and having a lot of knee pain. I have been using crutches, but now my left wrist is exceptionally painful andmy shoulders both hurt, so I am back to limping.

Since the kiddos are out having fun, Matty and I are going to get to see a movie! It's probably a little sad how excited I am about it, but we are off to see Couple's Retreat this afternoon before we get the kids. It should be a nice break from sitting on the couch with my knee wrapped and iced!

Mere has been hilarious lately, JoAnn was telling me that last Sunday Mere was obsessed with a grasshopper and spent an hour watching him. She said "I have a hypothesis about the grasshopper. I think he must be hurt, and that's why he isn't hopping away from me." They had to leave to go to Kelli's game, and Mere had Gigi put the grasshopper in a cup with holes poked in foil on the top. She left strict instructions for them to "Keep and eye on the grasshopper to make sure he is okay." When she got back from the game, the first thing she did was ask where the grasshopper was, but the cup and blown over and her little friend had hopped away. She said "Oh, I was afraid that would happen. I guess next time I know I just can't go to the game, I will have to stay home to make sure my grasshopper is okay."

We were driving the other day after a few days at home sick, and Meredith noticed that the trees were all changing colors. She pointed it out, then told me "When we see something different, like the leaves changing colors, that's called being observant. You were observing them, and so was I!" Funny little thing.

Nathan is now saying "bite" whenever he gets hungry, and he has added "shoe" and "zoo" to his vocabulary this week. We also think he is saying "side" for outside. He was singing along with the little people cd we have to a song called "Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow", they say "Zoo, zoo, zoo, how about you, you,you" and he was jammin out with the cd! My kids crack me up!

Today is the day

2009-10-22T07:55:00.001-05:00

Today is the day I get some answers about my knee! I think Meredith will be able to go to school today, she has been fever free for over 24 hours now. I am trying to shift my attitude back to positive mode, so on that note, here is a list of things I am grateful for this morning.

I have a fresh brewed pot of coffee eagerly awaiting me in the kitchen.
My house was picked up when I woke up because we did it last night.
Meredith and Nathan are so sweet to eachother and I am a very blessed mom.
Matt and I get to go on vacation in 30-something days! Cancun here we come!
We have a beautiful house which I thouroughly love.
The laundry is all put away.
I am getting to quietly sit and enjoy the bats flickering on the wall from one of my Halloween candle holders.
I get to see my family in a few weeks.

So, there it is. Life is good, and I just need to remember to focus on that instead of some of the other little daily annoyances. Have a wonderful day, I am off to drink my coffee!

Bummer of a week!

2009-10-21T06:35:00.001-05:00

Well, this week is not my favorite week ever. Last Wednesday I was doing my step aerobics at night and my left knee locked up and starting hurting a lot. It has been hurting a lot since then, and on Monday it got worse. I was carrying Nathan and when I stepped on my left leg, my knee gave out and started having stabbing pains whenever I stepped on my left leg. I screamed and scared Nathan to bits, so he screamed and cried. Mommy guilt issue number 1.

Monday night when I was tucking Meredith in, I kissed her forehead after praying over her and she was burning up! I took her temperature and sure enough, she had a fever of 103.4. I gave her some ibuprofen and got her more water, and started thinking if there had been any signs that she was sick. She didn't eat lunch or dinner, but some days that isn't unusual. She kept saying her legs hurt, but I thought she was just wanting to be like me. (Also not unusual.) When she got home from school, she said her eyes hurt, but I didn't know what to think about that. She has had a slight cough and some congestion, but that had been happening since she got her flu mist 2 weeks ago and I didn't think it was anything serious. So, poor Mer has a fever and feels horrible and I didn't take her seriously when she mentioned the little things that add up to be the swine flu! Mommy guilt issue number 2.

We took Meredith in on Tuesday morning to get tested, and sure enough, she has the swine flu. Awesome. The doctor assured me that this will pass just like everything else, just keep pushing fluids and have Meredith rest. Oh, and in all likelyhood, Nathan will get it too. And probably me. Goody! Something to look forward to! She also said that the Tamaflu they are prescribing for this is bad news bears and she doesn't recommend it unless the child has asthma or is in a high risk category. Fortunately both my kids are pretty sturdy stock and very resiliant. Thankfully, my father in law was willing to run to the store and stock up on Gatorade and OJ for us, and also grabbed a knee bandage for me. (The one I had been using was from 8th grade, and I weighed 130 when I used it last. Not quite there yet!) I am hoping that we didn't infect Cooper on Monday, or anyone else at Meredith's school. Mommy guilt number 3.

I am feeling very stressed out right now, and spent most of yesterday grazing, which is horribly counter-productive to the diet, especially since I can't do much to work out right now. I even persuaded Matt to order chinese food last night, which is 100% not good for us. Mommy guilt issue number 4. I am going to see an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday about my knee, and in typical Blythe fashion I am figuring out our contingency plan for whatever he might say. Surgery next week? Okay, I will do things this way...Can't fix it until December? Okay, I will have to get some crutches...and pain meds! This is stressing me out a lot, and I am trying to remember that mantra of "Can you do anything about it? No? Then stop worrying about it!" that my dad tells me (sometimes a few times a day) but it is hard to do when I feel like things are completely up in the air.

So, today we are just trying to hang in there. Meredith feels fine after the ibuprofen kicks in, other than her cough, so I am trying to convince her that she really is sick. It's hard to be cooped up in the house for several days, so we will probably road trip it to the drive through at the bank. Wahoo, how my life has changed! I never thought I would be excited to run errands as a big day out...Ahh, life in my 30s! Well, I am off to ice my knee, do 100 crunches and shower so I can sit around the house again today and wallow in my mommy guilt!

Grow up already!

2009-10-18T15:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I try very hard to tune out most of the politics in the world, largely because I feel that neither party has all the answers and it really bothers me that BOTH parties persist in clinging to some of the ideas that I see as clearly outdated. I actually would consider myself a republicrat if there was such a thing, because I am very middle of the road in my theories. I care about people and feel that as a Christian, it is my duty to help others, be it through government action or not. I am strongly apposed to abortion, but I don't think that the general population necessarily needs to have a limitless supply of guns around either. I don't support war or violent actions, but I also support defending ourselves and understand that at times, war is a necessity.

The state of our nation concerns me, and I just read an article about the "feud" between Fox News and the White House. Seriously? Give it a break people. Grow up. I am saddened to think that the people running our country and ulimately making decisions that can affect my children's future are bickering about someone's opinion on a White House administration. The phrase "I'm rubber and you're glue" was ACTUALLY USED in this article! Good golly Miss Molly, could I please give detention to all of the involved parties? Take away their recess? Something? When did running our country become such a joke that a news station showed Zero respect to the President? When did the Nobel Peace prize committee throw out all the previous requirements and nominate someone for having a "good idea" without taking steps to execute it at all?

To all the leaders, news stations, reporters, political analysts and politicians in the world: Get over yourselves. Get back to trying to accomplish something, get over your stupid party boundaries and think about the right thing to do as a human being. Let's go back to living by the golden rule, instead of playground antics! To make the world a better place, everyone should just try to do the right thing, regardless of all the other crap that is out there. I challenge each of you to try to stick to doing what you know is right, and hopefully we can be positive enough to make a difference in the world. If it is left up to the powers that be in either party, we are all screwed!

Orr Family Farm Pumpkin time!

2009-10-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

We went to the Orr family farm way down south and had a blast this morning! We jumped on some "Jumping Pillows" which were super fun, rode go-kart type bikes, saw the animals, took a train ride around the farm, rode the carousel, took pictures with the fall stuff, and took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins. I think Matt and I liked the jumping pillows the best, if my knee hadn't been hurting I could have jumped on them for hours! We looked them up when we got home just to see, and the smallest one they have is for 20 people and costs $12,000 plus installation. Perhaps it won't get to happen this year...

The whole farm was a lot of fun. Nathan loved the pig statue, he kept kissing it, hugging it and talking to it. Meredith had fun seeing the horses and riding the carousel. It was a lot of fun, and we have pictures for our fall scrapbook pages, which makes my little scrappers soul happy! Here are some of them!

Pirates, Safaris and Aces...Oh my!

2009-10-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

Just a few thoughts about our activities and behavior lately. Seriously, sometimes this blog probably sounds completely random, but I really enjoy getting all of these thoughts out of my head every few days, so thanks for reading if you are keeping up with me! Enjoy your glimpse into the inner workings of my mind. Enter at your own risk!

So, the phsycologist that we were going to go see fizzled out. She had a funeral the day of our appointment, and rescheduling childcare became a nightmare. Matt's efforts with Meredith seem to be making a big difference, so we are putting it off for a while unless things get really bad again. Matt and I have decided that we need to start being nicer, because we are pretty hard on her sometimes, and we are amazed at how mature she is when we see her with other kids her age...I forget sometimes that kids aren't supposed to always listen and follow directions, and that many children are allowed to get away with MUCH more than we let our kids get away with. We both really want kids who are well liked by everyone, and we don't want our kids to be the one in the class that people don't want to invite over because they are such hellions!

So, in our efforts to continue to improve life at the Donovan house, we attended a speaker at Meredith's school on Positive Behavior Intervention Systems (PBIS), which is what they do at her school to encourage the children to behave. It was wonderful, and I feel like we got lots of good information. For example, for every negative thing that a person (children and adults alike) hears, it takes 8 positive things to make them feel positive again. We are going to start implementing the reward system for positive behavior at home too, with our own version of the Aces that her school hands out. (Pieces of paper identifying what they were doing that was being respectful, responsible and ready to learn. They can "buy" special things, like getting to have their shoes off for one whole day in the classroom, or renting the principals chair for the day.) We are excited about getting the details worked out this weekend and starting next week, Mer will earn Aces here at home too. I will report how it works later!

The other thing I have been doing is going back to being a more "off the wall" mom. Every week or every other week I am planning to start having something new set up when the kids wake up. Not every day, so that it is still exciting to them when I do it, but this week I started this with playing pirates. We set up a long folding table and draped a sheet over it, pretending it was our ship. I had Meredith draw a map (at her insistence, really. I had a plan, but she wanted to draw it, so I let her take the lead!) and we did a series of treasure hunts, pretended to be shipwrecked and talked to our imaginary parrots. Nathan thought it was hilarious, and Meredith was on her best behavior the rest of the day! I have tons of other ideas, like a safari, zookeeper, beach day, circus day, Firefighter day etc., and I think that I can run with the themes and do art projects, immaginary play, dress up, and hopefully a story with each one. (yep, that education degree is paying off!) I think it will be fun for all of us, because I love to plan, the kids love surprises, Meredith does much better from a behavior standpoint if I keep her very busy, and Nathan is really into imaginary play right now. Everyone wins!

So, that is what we are up to in the land of Donovan. If you have any ideas about themes we could do, please let me know! And of course, I will post pictures as I start the themes each time. It's nice to be tapping into my creative parenting side again, sometimes I lose it in the daily routine.

The marshmellow pancake adventure

2009-10-15T10:19:00.001-05:00

Meredith's school is closed today and tomorrow for Fall Break, so I have been racking my brain trying to think of something to do with her that will make the 4 day weekend go a little faster. We invited her friend Abbey to spend the night on Wednesday night and then stay and play in the morning for a few hours before her mom picks her up. The girls are so sweet together and really fun, but very high-energy. Abbey is a little firecracker, which Meredith finds delightful, and I am sure that there will be many stories in the years to come of scrapes our crazy girls will get themselves into! Oh well, birds of a feather...

Last night was the first night that Abbey has spent the night away from family, so we had a couple of rough patches. Finally at 11:00 the girls were settled into bed (we started bedtime at 8:30) and sleeping the with bedside lamp on and the portable dvd player playing Little Einsteins. They both looked like zombies and had dark circles under their eyes, but Abbey was fighting sleep with every fiber of her being! Matt finally went in and used his patented parenting skills to gently calm the girls down, but tell them in a serious tone of voice that it was bedtime and they HAD to sleep now. His technique is much more effective than mine is, I bribed them, bargained with them, pleaded with them, ordered them, scratched their backs, patted heads, prayed over them, read 2 stories etc. I should have had him handle it from the beginning, he is much better and not getting suckered in!

One of the bargaining chips I tried using was promising that we could make pancakes in the morning. Meredith asked if they could have chocolate chips, because Matt did that for her a few weeks ago for dinner. I said we were out of them, so she said "How about marshmellows?" and I said, okay, go to sleep now and when you wake up we can put marshmellows on our pancakes. We ended up mixing some in, and decorating the top with more marshmellows a little bit of chocolate syrup "hair" for the marshmellow faces.

It was not the healthiest breakfast my children have ever eaten, but I am sure they have had worse too! It never would have occured to me to put marshmellows on pancakes, but it was something different to do, and I am all about trying to keep things interesting around here!

Nothin' special

2009-10-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a family morning of flu shots and shopping - yeah! After a day like today, I always think of the movie Old School. "We have a busy day tomorrow. Gonna hit Home Depot, maybe Bed Bath and Beyond if there is time." It's true! Meredith finally has several outfits that she swears up and down she likes and will wear, and a pair of brown boots so that we can replace the rain-boots that our little fashionista prefers to wear with EVERYTHING. We found great deals and actually spent $30 less on clothes than we had budgeted, which is always wonderful!

Nathan was cute this morning, I got him up a little after 8, and the house was still dark. He asked "Night night?" and I said yes, Daddy and Toby are still night night, and Mer-Bear is night night too. His little head whipped around and he lunged for Meredith's room. He pointed and said "Mer in der?" (I understood him, it wasn't this clear to the average listener I am certain.) I asked "Should we go wake her up?" and he laughed and lunged for her room again. When we went in, he flung himself on top of her and patted her head and kissed her. She is the best toy ever as far as her little brother is concerned!

That's it for today's report. Just a nice fall day. Matt is watching the OSU game, Mer is watching a movie in her room, Bear is napping. And I have every intention of burying myself in bed with a book and reading/napping for the next couple of hours. Life is good!

Must be doing something right

2009-10-09T09:10:00.001-05:00

Another chapter in our Meredith story...I have heard from Meredith's teacher that she is very sweet, always willing to help, a good friend to everyone in the class and is very considerate. She does struggle with getting her work done on time, but Mrs. Gregg has been working with her on that and Meredith is improving greatly in that area as well. Yesterday I got to see Meredith's journal, and I felt like we are clearly doing something right, and perhaps our struggles with her are not as bad to her as they seem to me. She has drawn several pictures of me in her journal, wearing a tiara and a pretty dress, which is sweet. (And totally accurate of course. What mother doesn't clean house in her tiara?) There was one assignment where the kids had to complete the sentance "My family likes to___" and Meredith's picture (see below) said "My family likes to love."

I am happy to hear that she knows she is loved. Sometimes I feel like all I do is battle the children all day long about getting them to eat, get dressed, be conscious of their surroundings, be nice, be gentle, be kind etc., so I feel validated seeing how she does know that we love her and we are very proud of her.

Meredith is also starting to think about others in a much more noticible way. Yesterday it was pouring and we drove by someone holding a sign by the highway. She asked a ton of questions about homeless people, how we can help them, food/shelters etc. and was really feeling sorry for the people who don't have as many blessings as we do. She also asked yesterday if she could bring extra money to school today so that 2 of her friends could dress up even though their parents can't send money in. (They do a dress up day 2 Fridays a month to raise money for various charities and everyone brings a dollar.) I don't know if there are actually 2 kids who truly need the help, but I jumped on it! I am so proud of her for being aware of others, and I feel like some of my hard work is finally paying off! I have worked with her for years on being aware of others and being empathetic, so it's nice to hear it come from her now.

Matt and Meredith

2009-10-09T07:40:00.000-05:00

My blogs about Meredith lately have expressed some of the frustration we have been facing lately, and I am happy and relieved to write a positive report now! But before the good stuff, I will fill you in on how we have arrived here...On Monday, Meredith had another total meltdown. She was tired from the weekend, and once again didn't want to get dressed, even with my help, or brush teeth, or pick up the books she threw all over the floor, and she was so hysterical that she couldn't seem to calm down and stop whimpering and crying. I tried for 55 inutes to gently joke her into a better mood, remaining calm the whole time (Go me!) and when I was at the point where I was about to lose it, I picked her up and set her outside and told her that screaming is an outside activity and we were not going to tolerate it in the house anymore. She was welcome to come back inside when she could calm down. She was out there for 10 minutes, and still wouldn't calm down, and Matt called to see how things were going. He talked to her on the phone for a minute and got her to calm down, and when he got home on Monday night, they had a long heart to heart about what we expect from her.

That night at dinner, he asked what they had talked about, and Meredith (after some prodding and pretend forgetfulness) said "I should be sweet, catch flies with honey. Be respectful, be a good listener and be responsible." On Tuesday morning, he asked if she would please call him when she got up, and she was excited to talk to him. They reviewed her goals for the day, chatted for a minute and Tuesday was great! Same deal on Wednesday and Thursday. When Matt gets home now he asks her how the day was and she has been excited to give him a good report each day. I am AMAZED at the difference this change has made in her, and so thrilled that Matt thought of it and is taking the lead on it. I think she really likes feeling a close bond with him, and I am proud of him for making the effort to be more patient and listen to her more now than he ever has. I hope that their relationship will continue to blossom from this new dimension, it seems to have made all the difference in the world!

Just melts my heart...

2009-10-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

So, the little Boodle-Bear has been amazing me daily and I felt that it was time to write a blog about my amazing son. I think I had forgotten how sweet and fun 17 months old can be, but every single day Nathan does something new that is very sweet, perceptive or just downright clever if I do say so myself! This week we have had 2 days of him just bring so caring and sweet to Cooper and watching them together just melts my heart! (I start to get a southern drawl when I say this, just so you can picture it in your head!)

Over the past 2 weeks we have been working on letting Nathan make more choices. He is revelling in his new-found freedom! He now is willing to have his diaper changed without a major fit most of the time, since he chooses where he will lay down. On Monday, he grabbed a diaper and brought it to me when he had a dirty diaper, then laid down on the floor and stuck his legs up in the air! About an hour later, he grabbed a diaper again, unfolded it, pulled the tabs out and stood up to look at it. He bent down, rearranged it, then with his little tounge stuck out to one side and his face very serious, walked over to me. I said "Oh, do you need me to change your diaper again?" and he shook his head. He walked around to stand in front of me, then crouched down so he was looking at Cooper, who was sitting on my lap. He reached out with both hands and tried to lift him up! He wanted to change Cooper's diaper! I laughed so loudly and suddenly that I scared him, but I was very impressed with him.

The next day we were right at the end of our lunchtime rush. (I feed 3 children, try to do the dishes, change the boys diapers, we pick up toys, get Meredith's school stuff on and head out the door to drop her off at 12:15 each day, so it is a hectic time!) Cooper was sitting in the exersaucer as I was finishing up the dishes and he started to scream. Nathan ran over, grabbed Coop's bottle and ran to the exersaucer. He gently moved Coop's head back and tried to put the bottle in his mouth, then made pretend eating noises! I was astonished at his ability to figure out so many steps and even make the pretend noises for the bottle.

I am loving the fact that Nathan is learning how to be sweet and gentle with babies too, because I feel like that was a tremendous advantage Meredith had since I was doing daycare when she was little. I think it is so good for them to learn to take care of other people and take turns, and I am thrilled that Nathan is picking up on those lessons at such an early age! He also is very gentle with baby dolls, and right after we started watching Cooper, in July, would pretend to burp them and kiss their heads before laying them down in the cradle. From a developmental standpoint, I am going to be one of "those" moms for a minute, so bear with me! He is really advanced for his age, the ability to understand the concept of imaginary play generally doesn't start to form until around 22 months, and he has been taking leaps and bounds into the world of imaginary play from about 14 months old. Okay, there, I am finished bragging about how smart my child is!

Bearsie is also saying lots of things these days, my current favorites are "Boo. Aaah!" always said together, and the way he cracks up when I say the words "Ew!" or "Blankie". I would love to know what makes these 2 especially funny to him! My other random Bear thought for the day is that I adore how he immediately scoots over to the very edge of his crib when you put him down to sleep, he curls up and sticks a little hand out through the bars and waves his fingers, then drifts to sleep with his face pressed up against the bars...I will try to get a picture, he is so stinkin' cute!

Now that I am a grown up...

2009-10-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

In May I celebrated my 30th birthday. I know that some people (both men and women) dread this milestone, or feel that they will miss their 20's. However, I was not one of thoese people. Hitting the big 3-oh simply made me a bit more reflective, and I started to feel that I was making that giant leap into adulthood. This might sound silly, given that I have been married for 7 years, have 2 children, and we are on our 3rd house.

The truth of the matter is that until this year, I have spent most of my life making big changes to try to put off dealing with my own issues. I have presented a happy facade to the world, embraced multitudes of people closely, but not ever truly let them get too close to me. Over the past year my life has been changing, and my attitude has been changing with it. I am more at peace with myself now than I have ever been. I am struggling to remember that I can't control everything, or really anything, other than my own actions and reactions. I am giving thanks daily for my family and all the blessings we have. By now I have seen so many things that seemed like the end of the road work out to be better than I could have imagined, and I am learning to have faith and trust that God has a plan and that I don't have to know what it is.

Perhaps because of all these revelations in the past year, I also took a new approach to life in my 30's. I had a nice little chat with myself, and decided that it is time to grow up. Matt and I have been working together on improving everything in our lives, so here is the list of things I have been doing as a responsible adult now that I am 30.

Flossing my teeth regularly
Making time to work out several times a week
Keeping on top of the housework all the time
Trying to seriously pay down debt instead of running it up
Getting annual check-ups, eye exams and dental exams
Not eating out just because I don't really want to cook
Making and sticking to (for the most part) a monthly menu
Making a conscious effort to take stock of my blessings and truly enjoy my husband and children
Suck it up! Everyone has bad times in their lives, everyone has struggles, and I am vowing to be more positive and not dwell on the struggles.

So, since May I have been doing a fairly good job of keeping these "new decade" resolutions. We have also been focused on getting ourselves in much better shape, so I am happy to report that I am down 61 pounds since we moved to OKC on March 1st! Bring on the next 30 years, I welcome them with open arms and look forward to continuing to improve myself and living my life to the fullest. And hey, getting older certainly beats the alternative!

The weekend whirlwind

2009-10-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

Phew! We survived the super busy 36 hour stay in Kansas City! We have been wanting to visit everyone for a while now, and there was finally a weekend without anything extra or an OSU game, so we thought "Why not add a road trip with 2 kids!" Don't worry, the people from the mental hospital came and measured us for our straitjackets already!

We arrived at 10:30 Friday night to spend the night with our friends Kristen and Jay, and put the kids to bed first thing. The schedule for Saturday went something like this:

7:15 - wake up and hustle 4 sleepy Donovans to get ready for a jam-packed day
8:15 - pick up our old neighbor, Joey, so she and Meredith could see each other
8:30 - reflect on how random 5 year old girls are as they giggle in the back seat, saying things like "Did you know I have a raccoon on my pants?" "No, did you know I am doing gymnastics?" and "I wanted to name my little brother Aiden when he was still in my mom's tummy, but my mom and daddy said no because that is your brother's name"
8:45 - meet the Lilak family for breakfast so that Meredith can see her best friend from preschool (We wanted to try to see some of the other friends as well, but they were out of town this weekend...That's you Suzanne!)
9:45 - Matt nearly has a meltdown after having to deal with Nathan at breakfast while I chat with the adults. (A nice and infrequent occurrence for me.) We decide we better move on to the next stop on the KC tour.

10:15 - Arrive at Deanna Rose, wander around looking at everything and wishing OKC had a place like it! Bear gets a kick out of feeding the goats and the girls keep making dinosaur sounds at the animals until I am getting dirty looks from nearby parents. We try to quiet them down with a trip to the playground, where Nathan discovers the joys of the tunnel slide.

Nicole and girls meet us at the playground, Joey's dad picks her up and we do our best to wear out the children, with great success!

12:30- lunchtime at Maloney's, we leave Matt there so that he can meet up with his ERAC friends and head out to try to get the kids to nap.

2:30- Bear discovers that he can jump in the crib at Kristen's house and spends the next 45 minutes testing this new-found skill and laughing. I give up on resting and go outside to help set-up for Kyle's birthday party.

3:30 - party begins, children arrive in droves. Bear spends the whole time pretending to vacuum the floors and moving things around outside. Mere has fun with the other kids, party is deemed a success.

5:00 - head to Maloney's to pick up (drunk and happy) Matty. Get there about 10 minutes late, then stop to make him get me caffeine, since my nap was a no go.

5:45 until we leave town Sunday morning...reach our final destination, relax and have a TERRIFIC time hanging out with my very best friends! I love watching our husbands complete the male ritual of gathering around the grill drinking beer, I love watching our kids play together, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE (!) seeing the girls. Nathan and Lily were so cute together, and Natalia, Dylan and Meredith just jumped right into playing as though they all get together every day.

Sunday morning we had a few more wonderful hours of visiting before we loaded up the car and headed back down to OKC again. The kids were excellent on the drive back down, everyone is tired and we all had a great time. We are looking forward to the possibility of people visiting us and I am once again impressed with how blessed I am in my life to have a wonderful husband, beautiful, healthy, funny children, incredible friends who know me inside and out and love me anyway, and this lovely home in OKC. And, the newly discovered "grown-up" in me (more about her emergence in a future post) has now completely unpacked everything, laundry is underway and the kids are clean and in bed at 7:30 at night.

My Super-Mom moment

2009-09-30T07:59:00.000-05:00

The 5 o'clock rush hit me hard last night. I was trying to fix dinner, help Meredith with her homework, hold Nathan off on eating for another 15 minutes so I could fix dinner, answering the phone twice in the midst of all of this, and trying to get myself ready so that I could be at a PTA meeting right after dinner. I had the thought of just texting Matt to pick up a pizza and then sitting down on the floor crying. (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?) You know that every mother in the world feels this way at some point. (If not, I need to hear your secret! Either that or clearly you have a nanny and a cook.)

So, I picked Nathan up for a snuggle, told Meredith the homework would have to wait for a while and dug deep into my bag of Mommy Tricks. I set them both on the couch and told them I had a surprise for them if they would sit there and be quiet for a minute while I get it ready. They did (thankfully!) and I ran to gather my supplies for my ingenious idea. I grabbed the ironing board and a bucket of cars. I propped one end up on the edge of the hearth and got out 2 cars, then showed the kids how to race them down. They happily entertained themselves for a whole 10 minutes so I could work on dinner.

The ironing board then turned into a stretcher so they could play hospital, a surfboard (cracked me up that they were BOTH pretending to surf!), and an aerobic step so they could work out. It was most definitely one of my finer Super-Mom moments! And let's face it, the ironing board was getting lonely in the laundry room all by itself, and when would I ever use it for it's intended purpose?

The Human Connection

2009-09-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here is my sappy moment for the day. I have been reflecting quite a bit lately on the marvel that is connecting with other people. As I get older and more comfortable in my own skin I realize more and more that humans are amazing and wonderful creatures. It astounds me to look at all of the wonderful people in my life who have influenced who I am today, and to watch people drift in and out of my life and the lives around me. I have joked frequently that I "collect" people, because I crave that excitement when you find something in common with someone. I am blessed with many close friends, some of whom I talk with daily, and some of whom I have not talked to in years, but still rely heavily on in thought and spirit. It amazes me how we can form instant connections with people over mutual interests : children, hobbies, people we know, sports, where we went to school etc. Since becoming a mom I have felt and sometimes almost seen that invisible bond that threads mothers everywhere together. That bond is what started me on this thought, actually!

Since we moved to Oklahoma, I have been longing for girlfriends. I miss the mothers at Meredith's old preschool, my neighbor from across the street, old college friends who are now mothers themselves, and my friends from Gymboree. However, today I am writing this because I am thinking of the mom connection that is formed when your children first enter the big world of school. One of my friends from Meredith's school is a performer. (Krista "Funky Mama" Eyler - she rocks!) Her son was in Meredith's class, and used to be the first one to greet Meredith each morning. She was raised in a house right around the corner from where we lived. Each morning as we would rush the kids into school, we would smile and wave to eachother, and occaisionally have a chance for a hurried visit as we rushed off to the events we had planned for that brief 2 1/2 hour period during school. We joked about how we would be in-laws someday, because the kids should get married. In July, 4 months after moving away from the wonderful commeraderie of the Village Preschool moms, Krista was playing at the library in OKC. I had the date on my calendar for months in advance, and as soon as we entered the room, Krista said "MEREDITH!" loudly into the microphone and rushed over for hugs. Meredith gave her a picture she had drawn for Joseph, we rocked out to the concert, and got to talk briefly for a moment while she packed up.

As we left the library that day, amid promises to write and keep in touch (which I still intend to keep, but clearly I am a procrastinator. I have been wanting to write this since July!) I was struck by how special it was to me to see a familiar face. That connection happens in an instant; over a brief joke told by your 4 year old, the memory of a slumber party for a friend in elementary school, having to share a locker with a stranger, or even just knowing that you were at one point living in the same town. These are the ties that bind us to the human race. I am eternally grateful for the knowledge that I have connections to people in this world. I love that facebook, blogs, texting and e-mail can help keep us connected. I truly care about everyone I have had these connecting moments with in my life, and I love getting to hear about what is happening in their day. So thank you to all of my friends, from my very best college friends who know my deepest and darkest thoughts and love me anyway, to the friends I have had in my life since elementary school but for some reason just drifted apart from.Your friendships make me feel valued and loved and I appreciate that we share that human connection! Thanks for making a difference in my life.

Grandpa's visit!

2009-09-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

My dad was able to come out and visit for a few days to see the new digs and the kiddos, and we kept him busy! It was great to get to see him, he is such an awesome, terrific, fantastic grandpa. He was always on the floor playing with the kids, making Nathan laugh, listening to Meredith and just generally making everyone feel special. I love my dad!

Since our new house is perfect in every way except for the lack of a guest bedroom, my dad slept in the twin bed in Nathan's room. Unfortunately Nathan is cutting 7 new teeth right now. (Ouch!) He was up all night long the second night my dad was here, screaming bloody murder. We tried all the tricks I have up my sleeve all night long, and eventually little Bear fell asleep on top of me in our bed. Because of the screaming child, nobody slept very well on Thursday night, but my dad was wonderful about helping me survive on Friday.

Saturday we went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It is really well done, and we explained it to Meredith as we went through it. She did very well and asked many wonderful questions. I was impressed with how respectful she was of it, and glad that they have a kids area with rescue workers clothing, computers, pictures etc. to help children understand what happened. I'll post more about this later, it was a moving experience. Saturday evening we went ot Stillwater for the OSU/Grambling game and we had a lot of fun there. My dad wore orange and enjoyed being at a college game, and the Grambling band was fun to watch. The football games are better in my opinion when the teams are more evenly matched, it was not very exciting to watch since Grambling is not anywhere close to the Big 12 quality of football. But we all had fun, and Mere and Bear really liked walking around in the stadium. The whole way home my dad and Meredith hung out in the back talking and playing, it was so sweet to listen to them together. Meredith wrote my dad's name, address and phone number down for him, which was funny because until he pointed it out we couldn't tell what it was. She is in the stage of not spacing her words accurately, which is cute to watch!

Sunday morning we got up and headed to the state fair. We watched Matt and Meredith climb the rock wall, ride the ferris wheel, do the fun house, bumper cars and throw darts, and had a great time. There were animals (Nathan sniffs every time he sees any animal, he isn't quite into the sounds they make even though we try! I think it's hilarious because really, when a dog sees him, they do sniff instead of bark!), rides, fried foods (yep, my dad fulfilled his lifelong dream of trying a deep fried twinkie. Nothing special, by the way.) and lots of people watching. We headed home so everyone could nap, and then had a nice family evening at home. My dad is now on his way back to Arizona, and I miss him already.

Divine intervention and the racoon

2009-09-23T07:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was day number 3 of me single-momming it while Matt is at a conference in Florida. He keeps sending me texts like "We are done for the day, so I am going to go have a drink in the lazy-river pool" and "We are going to Maggiano's for dinner tonight." which is of course extremely helpful to me when I am fighting with Meredith for hour number 3 about something! I wish motherhood offered some conferences out of state in a hotel by the pool...and without the kiddos of course!

So, the beginning of day number 3 went something like this...Meredith stumbles out of her room looking hungover, as she does every morning and goes directly to the couch to sit and stare into space for 10 minutes before she can acknowledge anyone. I am feeding Cooper a bottle and make the grave mistake of turning on the tv to try to find some music or something to listen to. This sparks Meredith to BEG to watch Dinosaur Train, and leads to me getting the pleasure of watching a kids tv show while feeding the baby. I should have said no and stuck to our routine of not getting any special priveleges until the "morning chores" are done. Don't worry, I paid dearly for this mistake, and it is not one I will make again soon!

After the delightful episode ends, I say it's time to turn the TV off. Mer whines for a minute, but does it. She then asks if she can play on the computer. I say "We need to eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth and make our bed before we can do any other play time. And Nathan and I are going to build with the blocks, do you want to do that with us?" Meredith's response was "I can't get dressed. Whine whine whine, excuse excuse excuse..." I said "Okay, I will help you. Let's go choose an outfit. It's cold today, so we need to wear pants." And thus began the epic battle of the day...She keeps throwing up excuses for why she can't just get dressed, how nothing feels right, etc. I say Okay, I will help you then. She takes this to mean I will dress her, and not wanting to continue to fight, I say okay for today, but you won't earn your sticker for your chore chart if I have to dress you. She lays down and graciously extends a foot to me and says I can start with her sock. I put her sock on her while trying to change the subject to something positive to help her focus on something other than getting dressed. I get one sock on and she punches the bed and screams "I don't know why I have you help me at all, You never do it right. It STILL doesn't feel right. UHHH!"

At this point, I am thinking about boarding schools. Do they have boarding Kindergarten? We navigate that comment and manage to get the socks on and then she fights about the pants. She doesn't like that they touch her feet. (I am thinking and trying to keep calm, but if they don't touch your feet, they aren't PANTS. Those are called shorts. Or capris. She is just completely illogical!) Long story short, we began this battle at 8:30. At 11:15, I was praying for help keeping my cool (I have not yelled at her at all by this point, which makes me very proud.), praying that God gives me the strength to help my daughter learn to do things in a timely matter, praying that He helps guide me to a time when we could actually enjoy eachother instead of fighting every single day. And the word "Racoon" pops into my head. I remember that in my sewing kit I have an iron on patch of a racoon holding some berries that I have moved with me from state to state and had since I was a Junior in high school and I got it to put on my back pack. (Clearly I have been a lifelong procrastinator, because that was 14 years ago!) I get the patch, ask Mer if she wants to help me choose a spot on her jeans for a racoon patch, we choose a spot and the patch (and pants) are on and everyone is happy by 11:30. It only took 3 hours! (We weren't talking about clothes the whole time, there was some cleaning, some pushing her brother, some time of Meredith just following me around the house saying inane things to try to get me to yell at her.)

I truly feel that that silly racoon patch must have been part of God's plan all along in my life, and that I am clearly right where I should be in my life. He must have some big plan that I don't know about, because I am sure that although this fight is just one among MANY that occur in our house these days, He was letting me know that I have support when facing the challenge that is my daughter.

2 other quick thoughts about yesterday...After she was dressed, Mer came up and hugged me and said "Mom, did you know I am smart? Just like a Troodon. They had the biggest brains and were the smartest dinosaurs." At least Dinosaur Train is teaching her something! And after school yesterday, Meredith was right back to being contentious, she informed me that she was NOT going to turn her music down, and I would just have to deal with it. And as she said that, the Serenity Prayer began to play in my head again.

Sigh

2009-09-18T16:04:00.000-05:00

I need some help, prayers, guidance...I wrote last week about Meredith's homework struggles and everything, and after talking with the pediatrician today about her behavior issues, we are going to take Mere to see a psychologist. I was concerned (and have been for a while) by her completely shutting down if something doesn't go her way, and the fact that she is now so stressed about being perfect and about nothing "feeling comfortable" are signals that she might have some larger issues that we need to deal with. Perhaps some sort of sensory processing disorder, or anxiety issues. Her pediatrician agreed that it is a good idea for us to get this started now, and I did feel better that she felt it was raising some red flags as well, because it made me feel like I am not crazy. However, I am not thrilled that we have to take her to counseling already. (I spent a TON of time in counseling with different family issues from an early age and I was hoping to avoid that with my children. I guess sometimes you can't change things enough from generation to generation.)

Matt is not overly happy about it either, and we both feel that we will do anything we can to help make Meredith happy and successful in life, but we are sad that it is heading this way. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on and help Mere feel more comfortable and at ease. I am sure it's not fun to feel so much pressure to be perfect all the time, even though it is self inflicted. Any words of encouragement or prayers for us as we face another struggle would be much appreciated, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by everything.

They must really like me.

2009-09-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

So, this afternoon is the latest in a string of really poor naps for both Cooper and Nathan this week. It's 2:20 and NEITHER of them is asleep, or has been yet for longer than 5 minutes this afternoon. They must not have gotten the memo that while Meredith is at school, I count on them to take a LOOOOOOOOONG nap so that I can do really amazingly fun things, such as load the dishwasher in peace, switch laundry over without Nathan throwing Cheerios into the dryer to "help" me and cut up the raw chicken that Nathan thinks looks like so much fun to touch so that I could possibly get a head start on dinner! I know I make their little lives fun and interesting, but I spend hours playing peek-a-boo and singing Wheels on the Bus for the 768th time so that they will be exhausted and need a break from me. Maybe I should start ignoring them during the day? Nah, I guess that isn't good either. Oh well. It's reassuring to know that they both like me, they really like me!

It's not your thesis! Draw the damn pony!

2009-09-15T15:02:00.000-05:00

Meredith at age 5 is the same as Meredith at age 2, 3 and 4. We find her delightful, bright, hilarious, observant, mature, stubborn, challenging and we frequently say "Oh man, if she is this way now we are in SO much trouble when she's a teenager!" Over the last few months we have seen glimpses of the Meredith to come...While playing dolls with me she had one doll say to the other "Okay, Mommy's asleep. Let's sneak out the window and go to the ball!" Meredith was telling me about a friend of hers who's mom wouldn't let her wear lip gloss (I am fine with her wearing lipgloss, just for the record. It might reflect poorly on me as a parent, or you might think that is what is leading to her more grown up tendancies, but I can offer you multiple examples on things that are much bigger issues that I would rather fight. She licks it off in 30 minutes anyway, so I choose not to fight that battle. Not that you were criticizing, I am just saying...) and Mer said "So I am going to bring my lip gloss to school for her and she can put it on in the bathroom and we won't tell her mom. So you can't tell her either, okay?" I quickly pointed out that we don't sneak things to other children that are against the rules for their family, and gave some terrific examples to her on the whole lying subject, but in my head I was thinking "Aren't you just 5? When did you start thinking like a jr. high girl? Brother, are we ever in trouble!"

Soon after Meredith started Kindergarten we started a whole new slew of issues. All of the sudden she says that her shoes don't feel comfortable, her shirt isn't comfortable, she is worried people might not think she is cute enough or pretty enough, she is upset if things aren't "perfect". I am certain that there are many factors contributing to this, but it is hard to deal with anyway. Meredith is having something to do every single day now, and is not getting much quiet time. She stays up talking to herself until late at night, so there is a lack of sleep issue. Getting her to eat any food not entirely of her own choosing is always a struggle, so she sometimes goes to bed without eating a healthy dinner. And, unfortunately her little life has been in more upheavel than many 5 years olds have faced yet. We have always tried to keep things calm for her, but it's hard not to have all the moves, financial stresses etc. reach her.

Last week she had her first homework assignments. She was supposed to put 6 toys in order and describe them to us using first, second, third etc. and then draw a picture for her teacher to show what order she put them in. 2 hours into this assignment, we had almost 1 My Little Pony drawn. Unfortunately Meredith has inherited my pre-disposition to be a planner. If something doesn't go the exact way she has it in her head, you can see her shut down little by little until she is completely unresponsive or hysterically out of control. (She alternates though, just to keep it interesting.) She wanted the markers so she could color the ponies as she drew them. She would not rest until this happened, and then had to find the exact color for each portion of the horse. GiGi had to finish it with her that night after dinner beause Matt and I were going out that night (a rather infrequent occurance that we really looked forward to!) and the next morning I had to complete her final assignment of the week with her.

She had to dictate a sentance about a tool that we use around the house and illustrate it. Her sentance was "My Mommy uses a vacuum cleaner to clean the floors." I made sure we had the markers, paper, pencil and eraser all ready. I grabbed the vacuum cleaner so she could look at it as she was illustrating her sentance. Still, it led to a total and complete melt-down because she was afraid she couldn't draw it perfectly. She cried, begged, pleaded, whined, threatened, and stomped off. She pulled out the big guns with "Mommies are supposed to help us! That's why we have mommies! I need you to draw it for me." I explained that I am helping her. I am sitting here with her. I got the vacuum out for her to look at. I suggested she start by drawing me first. I told her that if I did it for her, that isn't called helping, that is called cheating. We talked about the fact that nobody is perfect, and all we can ever do is try our best. If we don't ever try, we won't know what we are capable of. I explained that art is not something that is exact, that everyone sees things a different way, and that is the beauty of art. She bought none of it. I finally set the timer (amid extremely loud protests) and said that I was available for 20 minutes longer to help with her homework and that after the timer went off I would no longer be available to help. She stormed into her room. At 18 minutes remaining I went to the kitchen to turn the timer off, since she clearly wasn't going to come get me with enought time to finish the assignment. And when I went out there, she was sitting at the kitchen table, and the picture was about 1/2 finished. I don't know when she snuck out to do it, but she managed to draw the most impeccably drawn vacuum cleaner I have ever seen.

Her teacher and I have talked about Meredith's need for perfection, and we are trying to remain consistent in not giving limitless time to complete an assignment. I worry about what it is in her that makes her feel like she constantly needs to be perfect at everything she tries. At this rate she will give herself an ulcer before she hits 2nd grade. One of the blessings and curses that our darling daughter is faced with is that she is so mature it is scary. She doesn't miss a trick and is always wanting to keep herself busy. We want to nurture that desire to be good at things, but let her know that she is good enough for us just as she is. We love and adore her and she delights us so much of the time. She has a lot of little quirks that seem much older than 5 to us (like the fact that she is most definitely NOT a morning person. I have said that she might be the only 3rd grader at the bus stop to need her coffee cup to go!) and we need to remember that at the heart of all the little things that make her Meredith is a sweet little girl who is only 5 years old, no matter how old she acts.

Bubba Bear

2009-09-15T14:24:00.000-05:00

Nathan Bear is now 16 months old and we absolutely LOVE our sweet little guy. He is in the Tinkerbell emotional phase, where he feels 100% happy or 100% sad and there's no in between. (Much like his Mama on a regular basis!) He is so smart and understands everything we say, everything we do, and is able to put things together in his head like nobody I have ever seen. He is really terrific at problem solving, which we enjoy watching. Unfortunately what he sees as a problem to be solved is frequently what we see as "childproofing". He somehow just knows that if he pulls a block over it will make him tall enough to reach things, and there is no door in our house that can keep him contained if he wants to get to something. The other day Matt and Meredith were outside killing a humongous spider and left him inside for obvious reasons. He ran to the back door and was crying for about 10 seconds, and then he ran over to the window and climbed up on his chair to see outside so he could figure out what they were doing. The blinds were in his way, so he tried to stand on the back of his chair to reach the cords so he could see out. We thought this was an amazing trick, because he didn't waste any time thinking about it!

Bearsie is off at a full run most of the time now. He loves to play peek a boo and chase people/be chased around the house. He will have full conversations with the vacuum cleaner (which he treats with both curiosity and respect, and occaisionally yells at) and mimics everything we do. He loves to take stuff out of the dishwasher (so helpful) and when he is done playing with something he puts it away without being asked most of the time. (Of course a good portion of his day is still dedicated to moving things from one room to another...Pick up the phone in the bedroom and move it to the kitchen. Pick up the towel in the kitchen and take it to the playroom. Grab the doll stroller and push it into the family room...)We wonder if he will have some OCD issues in the future...He loves to dust and wipe things down with a rag, carries a mop and a broom everywhere he goes, and cleans up without being asked. I took him to Gymboree last Saturday and he spent most of his time picking up whatever the other kids got out.

He is the sweetest little thing I could ever imagine. Nathan spends most of his time running around the house now, but comes back to check in every so often. He gives hugs and kisses and snuggles, and pats us on the head everytime he can reach us. Frequently as I am giving Cooper his bottle Nathan will come lay his head in my lap and pat my leg with his little hand. We had family pictures taken a couple weeks ago and my favorites are of Nathan loving on Meredith. She is so good about loving him right back, even when he pulls her hair or pats a little too hard. (I will post pictures soon, I am getting caught up first!)

Yesterday Nathan started saying a few words, and I swear they were new as of yesterday! He now says "Nana" for banana (duh), "shooos/side" for outside, "waffah" for waffle (anytime he hears the toaster, which cracks us up!), and when he drops anything he says "Hunh oh" for uh-oh. He is truly just a happy kid, and is pretty content to live his little life. He loves dogs a LOT (God bless Toby for being so patient with all the lovies Nathan gives.), loves his big sis and DaDa! (always said with an exclamation mark at the end) and his MaMaMaMaaa. In his little world, life is perfect most of the time. I am happy that's the way he views it.

Sending my little girl out into the world!

2009-09-15T09:59:00.000-05:00

So, this is more for me to get it out and down somewhere, but I am feeling reflective these days and thought I would share. Meredith started Kindergarten in August of 2009 and stirred up all sorts of deep thoughts on parenthood, human nature and the inner workings of children's minds. As is always the case with our Mer-Bear, she surprised us on her first day of school. All night the night before she kept saying that she was nervous and that she "wasn't quite sure about if she would like Kindergarten or not." That day, we read books, got dressed, ate lunch, did cute little puppy dog ears (as she calls pig tails) and we were off to school. We met up with Matt in the parking lot so we could walk in together for this momentous occasion. We rounded the corner of the hall leading to her room. At the very end of the hall, Meredith's teacher, Mrs. Gregg, was waiting at the door. Meredith dropped Matt's hand, put both hands on the straps of her backpack and marched right through the door. We tried to say good-bye, but she was too busy hanging up her bag in her cubby (she knew right where to go) and finding something to play with at a table. I called out "Good-bye!" and she didn't even look back. It was very anti-climactic!

Watching my little miss independent march herself into school made me reflect on how she has always been so self-confident. Ever since she could sit up, we have sort of been superfluous to her. When she was 2 1/2 she started the washing machine by herself because her blanket was dirty. I walked in and she was standing on a chair filling the cup with soap, and she acted like this was an every day occurance! We have joked many times that if Meredith could drive herself places and pay her own way, she wouldn't need us any more.

Now that she is in Kindergarten I feel like we have officially transitioned into Meredith living her own life. On a daily basis now she will be coming into contact with people who will impact her life and shape her into who she will become. And sadly, the odds are pretty good that I will not meet (or approve of!) every single one of these people, because I can't shadow her through her life and try to protect her from everything. There is a huge issue of trust sending your child out into the world. I am trusting that other parents will have taught their children how to behave. I am trusting her teachers to give her all the skills she will need in school. I am trusting her bus driver to bring her home safely. I am sending my little girl out into the world and giving her the chance to flap those little wings, and trusting that she will make good choices and return safely to us each afternoon. If I feel this emotional about the beginning of elementary school, how in the world will I feel about it when she goes off to college? I just try to savor the moments I have with her, the morning snuggles, the reading stories, the pretend play and tea parties, and try to be proud of my confident daughter when she says things like "I don't need you to meet me at the bus any more" or tells people who are trying to pressure her to do something she doesn't want to do "You're NOT my mommy OR my daddy, so you can't tell me what to do!" We have done what we could to give her a good foundation during her years of only being around us, and we will enjoy watching her turn into her own person more and more each year.

I hope they are always this nice to eachother!

2009-09-15T09:49:00.000-05:00

This morning Nathan was very upset about his lack of communication skills. He was deep into his 15 minute scream, kick, stiffen body and sob routine on the kitchen floor because his go-gurt was gone. (Traumatic, I know.) Meredith has been rather moody and up and down lately, but I was so proud of the way she responded to him. I was feeding Cooper at the kitchen table and she was eating breakfast, and she stopped eating and went over to Nathan and rubbed his back, saying "It's okay little bubba. It's okay. I know, you feel sad right now." He rolled over and stopped crying instantly, putting his head down in her lap and looking up at her. She sat there stroking the side of his head and talking softly to him, and he smiled up at her with so much love in his eyes. They are so sweet together, I hope they will always be this nice to eachother!

The books I want to write...

2009-09-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I constantly have ides for books I want to write, and maybe one day I will get to them. My most recent idea is a short little flip book. like the small square ones they keep by the counter at Barnes and Noble, full of funny little things. I would title my book "If you eat one more bug we are going inside - 300 sentances you never think you will say until you become a parent."

I would have a few pictures taken of cute children to illustrate the points, but I envision something like "It's a toilet, not a bathtub" and "We don't bite the dog" with little stories afterwards. The further into the journey of parenthood I go, the more I think that human beings are amazing. I love hearing other moms talk about their parenting struggles and I love that we all seem to go through the same battles over clothing, shoes, food, bathtime, diapers etc. It makes me feel like maybe I am not just crazy, maybe I am just a mom!

So, if you find yourself uttering things like "We have to send you out in public soon and you can't act like this then!" please send the quotes my way, because I will be compiling them for my book, or maybe just getting a good laugh out of them!

Introduction

2009-09-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Donovan Family blog! I have been addicted to reading blogs from other people for a few years now, and I have been wanting to start one for a while, so here it goes! I thought I would start by telling you what we are doing these days. We are finally all settled in to out new house in Edmond, Oklahoma. We began the moving process almost one year ago now, and we are happy to be together and settled in finally!

Matt is working at Gardener Tanenbaum Group in Oklahoma City as a Financial Analyst. He is learning a lot and is helping them to get organized so that they run more efficiantly. We are both happy to have him out of Enterprise, where they offer long hours, little pay, and weird bosses! I am happy to have him working with adults now instead of people fresh out of college who want him to hang out in bars until 2 a.m. and don't care that he has a family.

The move also put us closer to family, which is a first since we have been married. We are really enjoying being here, and I am happy that the kids will get to grow up knowing their grandparents well. I am watching my nephew, Cooper, while Matt's sister Kelli is working, and I think it is fun that Nathan gets to be around a baby and that the cousins will all grow up together. I am teaching Gymboree on Tuesday evenings, which allows me to get out of the house once in a while and is a terrific way to meet people. Plus, it's fun!

Meredith is 5 and started kindergarten a few weeks ago. She loves her class, loves her teacher, loves riding the bus and is thriving now that she has something to do every day. This is her first week with homework and she wants to spend hours working on it! I hope that attitude continues throughout her whole school career! She is doing gymnastics one morning a week and constantly dances and flips around the house. She loves to be the center of attention, and we hear "Watch me!" all the time.

Nathan is 16 months old now and is valiantly trying to start talking. He will ramble off entire paragraphs of gibberish, but he is serious about them. He will even gesture with his hands, use facial expressions and inflections in his voice to get his point across, which would be great if we understood any of the words! He is such a happy boy, he laughs and claps (his hands and mine) and runs all day long. He loves his family a lot and we constantly get big hugs, pats on the back and kisses from him. He is a mama's boy through and through, which I find delightful!

That is where we are now. I hope that as this blog continues you will check in with us, and I hope that someone finds our lives as interesting as we do. If not, I am still happy to get all these wonderful thoughts (sometimes deep and profound, sometimes just plain silly!) out of my head and recorded somewhere for posterity. I feel like life is flying by so quickly these days that I want to capture just a little bit of it to reflect on later when things slow down. We have so many blessings in our life and I want to remember to be grateful for all of them, so I need to write them down somewhere. Thanks for reading and much love to you!