Mentally MIA

Over the last few weeks, I've found myself a step behind, not totally present, mentally MIA. I've been exhausted. Like lie down at 9:03pm and fast asleep by 9:04. I've been on the last 50 pages of my book for over a week and that just.doesn't.happen. I was so tired that I started looking for unusual circumstances to explain it. I even thought I might be pregnant (I'm not, sorry mom).

Then I realized what's really going on. Kane isn't sleeping well. He's teething. He has hunger strikes and then wants to nurse all night. He's adopted his father's schedule of getting up at 6am. And this weekend, he developed a runny nose and some congestion.

I hate to place blame... but it really is all his fault. He was up at least every 2 hours last night, trying to clear his nose so he could breathe. What a baby, right? But when your little one needs you at 3am, you get your butt out of bed and just deal with it. And then complain later. Obviously.

Matthew and I went thru a bout of exhaustion when Kane was a few months old. The infant nighttime wakings had caught up with us and we were worn out. But he figured out a schedule and we fell into a good routine within a few weeks. I'm praying that happens again. I've mentioned that Kane has never been a good sleeper. Neither is Matthew. I'm a great sleeper. That's not really relevant here, but I wanted to brag about how awesome I am at sleeping.

A few weeks ago, we had a routine that was working well for us but then the holidays and traveling, along with teething (and now his runny nose) got him off schedule and we haven't been back since. I know we will find a rhythm and get back to something that works for our family, I'm just going to keep drinking coffee until we get there.

Side note - This is my answer to the Keurig - it's a single serve coffee maker but you can use your own (FRESH) grinds. I absolutely love it!

So, if we've had a conversation lately and I've seemed spacey, or maybe I owe you a phone call or email, don't worry. It's not you...it's me. Literally. I will get back on track, I just need a 7 hour nap. But enough of my belly aching.

[Warning: Complete Topic Change Here]

This weekend we had a last minute change of plans and Matthew ended up with Friday off, so he stayed home and we gardened. I think every weekend should start with your hands in the dirt, the sun in your hair, tending to your crops. More like veggies and herbs than crops, but whatever.

We started growing our own food about 2 years ago, when we moved into our home and finally had the space. We've been trying to figure out what will grow in our Texas summers + what we have time to tend to + what we like to eat. We're essentially newbies. Beginners. Figuring it out. But all 3 of us really enjoy it, we always learn something new, and Matthew has a grand plan for this year.

This weekend was spent cleaning up last year's plantings. Harvesting the leftovers...carrots that we never had time to thin, cilantro that we had way to much of and swiss chard that we never got around to eating. We cook with our veggies & herbs pretty often, but we always have excess. We're working on that.

Kane doesn't care what we grow. He just wants to be outside with his hands in the dirt.

And if his butt gets dirty too, well, that's just a bonus.

Matthew cleaned, cut and froze 4 pounds of carrots to be steamed later. He also made a cilantro sauce that can be frozen since cilantro, by itself, doesn't hold up very well.

It was refreshing to be outside and spend time doing a family hobby. And I like knowing that Kane will happily eat fresh herbs straight off the stem. Now there has got to be some herb that helps toddlers sleep...anyone know what that is?

Peace & Quiet & Sunrises

When my husband was little, his parents thought he might be deaf. He was a quiet little boy who would sit in a corner and play with his blocks. Alone, silently. They would sneak up behind him and clap to see if he could hear the noise and turn around. They found out he wasn’t deaf, just a quiet guy. And he still is.

His little brother, on the other hand, was not quiet. He was adventurous and one time they found him on top of the refrigerator. He had somehow climbed up there, looking for something to do. And so far, Kane has been a lot like his Uncle Erik. Adventurous, talkative, wants to be around other people, a CLIMBER.

But as he gets older, I see his personality rounding out a bit more. I find him playing alone more than I used to. I've even had to go searching for him because he wasn't making any noise. I think his imagination is starting to be a friend to him.

Remember these record players? Kane got one for Christmas from his Nonni & PopPop (Matthew's parents). It's basically the same one you had as a kid, except it takes batteries now even though you still have to wind it up. Don't ask, I don't know why.

This play mat, a Road Roll Up, is courtesy of Annie. The cars live in the pockets at the end (on the left) and it rolls up like a mat so you can take it anywhere. Very neat, and Kane loves it.

I like seeing the different sides of him develop and bubble to the surface. He loves music like his dad and loves to read like me and loves cars like his Uncle Nathan and loves to fix things like his Papa and so on. But he's his own person and gets to choose how much of each to keep in the mix.  He's deciding which bubbles will continue to surface and which will fade away.

I get to sit back and watch the mixture reveal itself. And today, I got to see an extra hour of the bubbling personality traits because he got up extra early. Like 'wanted to watch the sunrise' early.

It was a good show and he was thrilled to be outside that early in the morning, so I was ok with it. Let's just not make it a habit, ok?

Later, in an attempt to quench his thirst for adventure and things to climb, we went to the park.

Ok, I have a confession. After the eighth time of putting his shoe back on his foot, I was so over the whole "wearing shoes in public" thing and let him play in his socks. He has fat little feet and needs a wide shoe and I just haven't taken him to the store to get a pair. Bad mom, I know. But he didn't want to wear shoes anyway.

Side note - he looks so much like my brother in this picture, it's a little freaky.

And he hit a milestone today. Kane climbed to the twisty slide, sat down, and slid to the bottom, all-by-himself! He's been down the straight slides before, but this was his first time to brave the turns of the biggest slide, the one with twists, the one where you can't see where you are going. I told y'all he was adventurous. And once he reached the bottom, he went right back to the stairs, climbed up and went down the slide again. Three times! I was so proud of him and as we know, a mom has the right to be proud of anything.

After our climbing and sliding, we saw this old man sitting on a park bench. Uncanny how much he looks like my toddler, but I swear it's an old man.

And then I caught that little old man going thru my bag and stealing my wallet.

But he gave me the $20 bill he found, so I decided not to press charges. Now I just need to teach him to take money out of dad's wallet and give it to me.