Going through all the stuff that has accumulated in our basement over the years, I have found some very interesting items. One was the speech I wrote for high school commencement. It's a cheesy, stereotypical graduation speech but I remember working hard on it. Here it is in all it's splendor:
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
It's funny how a quote said by Confucius more than 2000 years ago can have such an important message still today. We, the class of 2000, have fallen, and will fall many, many times. These failures, these setbacks, should not cause us to quit. In fact, they should bring us one step closer to success. No matter where our paths lead us, there will be road blocks we have to face and overcome They may slow us down, but they teach us much. The first time you touched a hot stove you learned never to do it again. You fell off your bike the first time trying to ride but you eventually succeeded didn't you. We were all born to succeed, but in order to succeed, we must allow ourselves to fail.
We are at a point in our lives where we have to face many decisions. Our lives are about to change completely. We all want to get the big jobs and make lots of money. If we can just get these, then we will feel we will have succeeded in life. We should set our goals high but reach them one step at a time. Right now it feels like we are moving at an incredible pace and can't slow down until we have reached the top. In order to succeed, not only in our jobs, but in life we have to stop and smell the roses.
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
There were 10 valedictorians that year. Yeah, our school didn't weight grades. I'm sure no one was listening to my speech (aside from my parents). I don't remember where I was in the line of 10, but I wasn't first which means everyone was already bored :-) It's a good thing because somehow I missed the memo that all of our speeches were supposed to tie in with Dr. Seuss's "Oh The Places You'll Go." I was quite stunned when I started hearing everyone's speeches! I wasn't the only one who didn't get the memo (I don't remember who else was in my boat), but the majority apparently did. I am 100% confident that this "theme" was not discussed when we all met to decide what we were going to do. Apparently sometime between that one meeting and the actual ceremony someone came up with the idea and it just never spread. Or a group had an evil plot to make the rest of us look silly. Who knows. Regardless, I'm sure no one cared enough to notice aside from those of us actually giving the speeches.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Toddler Sayings
Me: "Layla, use a tissue, not your finger."
L: "Well, I'm just getting a booger."
~February 3, 2011
"When Piper was sick she had ammonia in her heart."
~February 7, 2011
"Mom, there's a crack in my butt!" ("crack" referring to her wedgie)
~March 5, 2011
"The baby in your belly said you don't want to take a shower."
~March 5, 2011
"That's annoying, Piper!"
~March 5, 2011
"Look! I'm hiding in a trash bag." (yeah...it was one of my ankle-length skirts :-/ )
~March 5, 2011
L: "I left the door open. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Me: "It's okay."
L: "I know it's okay."
~March 8, 2011
Me: "Eat your food, Layla."
L: "Hey, you can't tell me to eat my food!"
Me: "Oh, yes I can tell you to eat your food and I will! I'm your mother. I gave birth to you."
...
L: "What?..(thinking)...You gave birth to me?...(thinking)...Why'd you do that?"
~March 9, 2011
"My hair is tangled." (excuse for getting out of bed)
~March 13, 2011
"Mommy, your baby is hungry."
~March 31, 2011
L: "Well, I'm just getting a booger."
~February 3, 2011
"When Piper was sick she had ammonia in her heart."
~February 7, 2011
"Mom, there's a crack in my butt!" ("crack" referring to her wedgie)
~March 5, 2011
"The baby in your belly said you don't want to take a shower."
~March 5, 2011
"That's annoying, Piper!"
~March 5, 2011
"Look! I'm hiding in a trash bag." (yeah...it was one of my ankle-length skirts :-/ )
~March 5, 2011
L: "I left the door open. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Me: "It's okay."
L: "I know it's okay."
~March 8, 2011
Me: "Eat your food, Layla."
L: "Hey, you can't tell me to eat my food!"
Me: "Oh, yes I can tell you to eat your food and I will! I'm your mother. I gave birth to you."
...
L: "What?..(thinking)...You gave birth to me?...(thinking)...Why'd you do that?"
~March 9, 2011
"My hair is tangled." (excuse for getting out of bed)
~March 13, 2011
"Mommy, your baby is hungry."
~March 31, 2011
This is when it gets interesting (aka - difficult)
Layla has recently started displaying behavior that I'm not a fan of. Not that she's been a perfect angel up until now (because that is clearly not the case!), but new, "ugly" behavior is popping up.
I have heard "I don't like you" erupt from her mouth quite a bit the last few days. She sometimes says it towards me, sometimes towards my husband but mostly towards Piper. Ugh!
I tell her that it is a "bad choice" to say that. That it is not nice. Her response: "But I don't like her." It happens at times when she's getting frustrated, annoyed, irritated with Piper so, at least at this point in time, I think the phrase is an inaccurate wording of her feelings. However, it doesn't change the fact that she's setting a pattern to use that phrase more and more over the years.
She has also become more aggressive towards Piper. I use that word fairly lightly because she's not all-out beating on her and I know full well (from personal experience) that the aggression will only worsen as she (and Piper) gets bigger. She has simply become rough with Piper over the past week or so.
Pushing.
Hitting.
Kicking.
Knocking down.
You get the picture.
Mostly it's the pushing/knocking down.
Piper is usually just wanting to play with her big sister and Layla simply needs some personal space time. Neither one knows how to express her feelings when these situations arise. Layla resorts to one of the aforementioned behaviors and Piper usually follows suit.
There are so many things Piper does at this age that Layla did not and it's solely because she has a big sister's lead to follow. Some of these are positive such as pretend play. Most are negative - screaming, spitting, hitting, pushing, etc.
I knew that the younger child would quickly learn to stand up for herself, I just did not realize the scope of what that meant.
I know it's foolish of me to say that I hope their behavior towards each other ends soon. However, I will continue to hope that their behavior towards each other is not displayed towards their peers at school/daycare during the day.
Of the two, I think Piper will be the one to be rough with her friends at daycare. She's always been quick to show her frustrations physically. Again, I'm sure this is because she's always had a bigger sister getting in her space and annoying the snot out of her.
Which reminds me...I should probably start working with Piper on "being nice" and how that looks considering we're going to have a newborn in the house in a few weeks. Layla always rubbed my belly when we said she had to "be nice to the baby" and then when Piper came home she would rub Piper's belly. Too cute! Piper has no clue that a baby is even coming. There's a big difference in 3 months at this age - Layla was 20 months and Piper will be 17.
But I'm off topic...
The girls are making it quite interesting (aka - difficult) to know how to parent such situations. Do I let them work out their frustrations or step in? I'm currently doing it half & half according to my energy level at the moment the fighting erupts. :-)
Parenting never gets easier. Once you think you've got it down pat a new stage pops up and throws you right back down.
But it's a ride I would never trade!
I have heard "I don't like you" erupt from her mouth quite a bit the last few days. She sometimes says it towards me, sometimes towards my husband but mostly towards Piper. Ugh!
I tell her that it is a "bad choice" to say that. That it is not nice. Her response: "But I don't like her." It happens at times when she's getting frustrated, annoyed, irritated with Piper so, at least at this point in time, I think the phrase is an inaccurate wording of her feelings. However, it doesn't change the fact that she's setting a pattern to use that phrase more and more over the years.
She has also become more aggressive towards Piper. I use that word fairly lightly because she's not all-out beating on her and I know full well (from personal experience) that the aggression will only worsen as she (and Piper) gets bigger. She has simply become rough with Piper over the past week or so.
Pushing.
Hitting.
Kicking.
Knocking down.
You get the picture.
Mostly it's the pushing/knocking down.
Piper is usually just wanting to play with her big sister and Layla simply needs some personal space time. Neither one knows how to express her feelings when these situations arise. Layla resorts to one of the aforementioned behaviors and Piper usually follows suit.
There are so many things Piper does at this age that Layla did not and it's solely because she has a big sister's lead to follow. Some of these are positive such as pretend play. Most are negative - screaming, spitting, hitting, pushing, etc.
I knew that the younger child would quickly learn to stand up for herself, I just did not realize the scope of what that meant.
I know it's foolish of me to say that I hope their behavior towards each other ends soon. However, I will continue to hope that their behavior towards each other is not displayed towards their peers at school/daycare during the day.
Of the two, I think Piper will be the one to be rough with her friends at daycare. She's always been quick to show her frustrations physically. Again, I'm sure this is because she's always had a bigger sister getting in her space and annoying the snot out of her.
Which reminds me...I should probably start working with Piper on "being nice" and how that looks considering we're going to have a newborn in the house in a few weeks. Layla always rubbed my belly when we said she had to "be nice to the baby" and then when Piper came home she would rub Piper's belly. Too cute! Piper has no clue that a baby is even coming. There's a big difference in 3 months at this age - Layla was 20 months and Piper will be 17.
But I'm off topic...
The girls are making it quite interesting (aka - difficult) to know how to parent such situations. Do I let them work out their frustrations or step in? I'm currently doing it half & half according to my energy level at the moment the fighting erupts. :-)
Parenting never gets easier. Once you think you've got it down pat a new stage pops up and throws you right back down.
But it's a ride I would never trade!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
There are no words...
The girls are eating and, although I have many more blogs I've been wanting to write, I'm going to take this time to quickly share with you my most recent conversation with Layla.
I was in the kitchen preparing Layla's pb&j sandwich while she and Piper munched on goldfish. I looked into the dining room and saw Layla with her finger in her nose...
"Layla, go get a tissue from the bathroom. Don't use your finger."
"I'm not using my finger. I'm using my goldfish."
"Layla, that is gross. Do not do that."
"My snot is in my belly. I ate my goldfish."
"Eww, Layla! Don't do that. That's disgusting!"
"I know it's disgusting."
Seriously! Where do I go from there??
Oh, how entertaining life is with a 3-year-old!
I was in the kitchen preparing Layla's pb&j sandwich while she and Piper munched on goldfish. I looked into the dining room and saw Layla with her finger in her nose...
"Layla, go get a tissue from the bathroom. Don't use your finger."
"I'm not using my finger. I'm using my goldfish."
"Layla, that is gross. Do not do that."
"My snot is in my belly. I ate my goldfish."
"Eww, Layla! Don't do that. That's disgusting!"
"I know it's disgusting."
Seriously! Where do I go from there??
Oh, how entertaining life is with a 3-year-old!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Oh-oh Dream Weaver...
Jeremy is Skyping for the first time so I've decided to use this time to blog. There are so many topics running around my head that it's hard to pick. Let's not even talk about the many topics I've thought about and since forgotten. I often think how nice it would be to have a keyboard connected to my brain so I could blog at a moment's notice - but that's for another blog :-)
Inception has been a point of conversation in Jeremy's Skype so how about I talk about dreams.
I never had crazy pregnancy dreams with the girls. Not the case with this pregnancy. I don't know if it has anything to do with the difference in gender or some other cause...perhaps lack of sleep in the midst of a crazy life?? Regardless, my dreams have been WEIRD!
Just a couple of nights ago I had a dream that I can still vividly recall. I tried putting it into words for Jeremy and it just was not making sense. Which makes sense when thinking about the dream. Does that make sense??
I'll try to condense it to key points/phrases:
-We (myself and people I knew but can't tell you who they are) were in a stream/river...but in a confined/controlled space. It was clear/clean like a pool, but it wasn't.
-It was a "tram" station of sorts for water - although we were just playing around in the water, not waiting for the tram
-I went under and there was a lot of grossness on the bottom that I did not want my feet to touch. Also floating around were weeds of some sort.
-When I came back up I, along with two other friends, had floated down stream to a separate tram station.
-We saw a sign that stated "No beer or hamburger." We looked over at a side wall and saw a poster commemorating a lady who I believe was Typhoid Mary.
-Obviously this meant that drinking beer and eating hamburger in the water meant you were going to get Typhoid fever. What else would it mean?! Haha.
-I frantically asked the tram manager why the one upstream would allow people to swim in the water while eating beef and drinking beer (which apparently we had been doing - side note, I hate beer). He stated it was good business for his section and therefore wouldn't/couldn't say anything about it.
-I was now in a mad dash to get back upstream to warn my friends.
-I was having a very difficult time talking...my mouth was cotton. Obviously I was coming down with Typhoid fever!
-By the time I got to the station no one was in the water. I was too late!
-Suddenly I saw Jeremy (first time I knew he was there) and others waiting in line to board the tram...clean & dry I might add.
-Apparently I wasn't worried about them anymore as my attention shifted, still unable to speak clearly.
-I saw three ladies from back home (2 daughters and their mother). One was sitting on the ground singing/talking about her large multi-colored bag. The sister was standing in line (getting refreshments of some sort??) with the bottom half of her hair dyed purple. The mom was out of my peripheral vision, but I know she was there.
---Then I wake up...with a cotton mouth and unable to swallow---
Swimming, beer & beef, trams, Typhoid fever, three ladies connected themselves but not at all connected to me in my current life (other than being Facebook friends). What in the world does it all mean?!?!
Nothing, I'm sure. Except the fact that I'm pregnant.
Oh. And during this same night, though I'm not sure it was a part of this dream or another I can't remember, I dreamed of a name for the baby. Never have I had a dream that involved a name for our kids. I hadn't even been thinking about names that day. But it was quite clear and in that state of almost awake yet still asleep, I was repeating it with the middle name we already have picked and it sounded perfect. Even when I woke up I was saying it to myself over and over. Not a bad name. One I never would have thought about in a conscience state for sure, but not bad!
I ran it by Jeremy...he laughed :-/ Only because one obscure actor has the same name. How many people are going to know that?!?! Going to associate it with this one person?!?! No one, I say.
I say respect the dream.
I added it to "the list."
We'll see if it grows on the hubby or if it falls from its good graces in my mind.
We don't share the name of the baby until the birth announcement so you'll just have to wait in suspense :-) Should we not pick the name from the dream, I'll do my best to remember to blog about our other name choices and note which is the dream name.
Until then, happy dreaming!
Oh...and don't forget your "totem"
Inception has been a point of conversation in Jeremy's Skype so how about I talk about dreams.
I never had crazy pregnancy dreams with the girls. Not the case with this pregnancy. I don't know if it has anything to do with the difference in gender or some other cause...perhaps lack of sleep in the midst of a crazy life?? Regardless, my dreams have been WEIRD!
Just a couple of nights ago I had a dream that I can still vividly recall. I tried putting it into words for Jeremy and it just was not making sense. Which makes sense when thinking about the dream. Does that make sense??
I'll try to condense it to key points/phrases:
-We (myself and people I knew but can't tell you who they are) were in a stream/river...but in a confined/controlled space. It was clear/clean like a pool, but it wasn't.
-It was a "tram" station of sorts for water - although we were just playing around in the water, not waiting for the tram
-I went under and there was a lot of grossness on the bottom that I did not want my feet to touch. Also floating around were weeds of some sort.
-When I came back up I, along with two other friends, had floated down stream to a separate tram station.
-We saw a sign that stated "No beer or hamburger." We looked over at a side wall and saw a poster commemorating a lady who I believe was Typhoid Mary.
-Obviously this meant that drinking beer and eating hamburger in the water meant you were going to get Typhoid fever. What else would it mean?! Haha.
-I frantically asked the tram manager why the one upstream would allow people to swim in the water while eating beef and drinking beer (which apparently we had been doing - side note, I hate beer). He stated it was good business for his section and therefore wouldn't/couldn't say anything about it.
-I was now in a mad dash to get back upstream to warn my friends.
-I was having a very difficult time talking...my mouth was cotton. Obviously I was coming down with Typhoid fever!
-By the time I got to the station no one was in the water. I was too late!
-Suddenly I saw Jeremy (first time I knew he was there) and others waiting in line to board the tram...clean & dry I might add.
-Apparently I wasn't worried about them anymore as my attention shifted, still unable to speak clearly.
-I saw three ladies from back home (2 daughters and their mother). One was sitting on the ground singing/talking about her large multi-colored bag. The sister was standing in line (getting refreshments of some sort??) with the bottom half of her hair dyed purple. The mom was out of my peripheral vision, but I know she was there.
---Then I wake up...with a cotton mouth and unable to swallow---
Swimming, beer & beef, trams, Typhoid fever, three ladies connected themselves but not at all connected to me in my current life (other than being Facebook friends). What in the world does it all mean?!?!
Nothing, I'm sure. Except the fact that I'm pregnant.
Oh. And during this same night, though I'm not sure it was a part of this dream or another I can't remember, I dreamed of a name for the baby. Never have I had a dream that involved a name for our kids. I hadn't even been thinking about names that day. But it was quite clear and in that state of almost awake yet still asleep, I was repeating it with the middle name we already have picked and it sounded perfect. Even when I woke up I was saying it to myself over and over. Not a bad name. One I never would have thought about in a conscience state for sure, but not bad!
I ran it by Jeremy...he laughed :-/ Only because one obscure actor has the same name. How many people are going to know that?!?! Going to associate it with this one person?!?! No one, I say.
I say respect the dream.
I added it to "the list."
We'll see if it grows on the hubby or if it falls from its good graces in my mind.
We don't share the name of the baby until the birth announcement so you'll just have to wait in suspense :-) Should we not pick the name from the dream, I'll do my best to remember to blog about our other name choices and note which is the dream name.
Until then, happy dreaming!
Oh...and don't forget your "totem"
Sunday, January 9, 2011
"No"
Piper has recently discovered the talent of shaking her head "no." She's still in the stage where the word (or actions associated with the word) are cute. You see, any question she's asked is always responded with the shaking of her head.
Piper, are you hunger?
*shakes her head "no" despite the fact that she's a bottomless pit and will eat anytime she's offered food.
Are you silly?
*shakes her head "no" after she's just made a silly faces & or goofy sound
Is your name Piper?
*shakes her head "no"
We have had a lot of fun with this lately. :-)
Sometimes I forget that she's now doing this and will ask her a question as I've always done and am suddenly finding myself laughing as she's seriously shaken her head "no" when I know, in fact, she would truly respond "yes" if she knew how.
I have tried teaching her when it's appropriate to "say yes" and nodding her head up and down but it hasn't caught on yet. She did do it once, but it has never been repeated accurately.
I have forgotten how fun this stage is. I'm blessed to know I'll get to enjoy it one more time before my baby days are over.
Piper, are you hunger?
*shakes her head "no" despite the fact that she's a bottomless pit and will eat anytime she's offered food.
Are you silly?
*shakes her head "no" after she's just made a silly faces & or goofy sound
Is your name Piper?
*shakes her head "no"
We have had a lot of fun with this lately. :-)
Sometimes I forget that she's now doing this and will ask her a question as I've always done and am suddenly finding myself laughing as she's seriously shaken her head "no" when I know, in fact, she would truly respond "yes" if she knew how.
I have tried teaching her when it's appropriate to "say yes" and nodding her head up and down but it hasn't caught on yet. She did do it once, but it has never been repeated accurately.
I have forgotten how fun this stage is. I'm blessed to know I'll get to enjoy it one more time before my baby days are over.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ch-ch-ch-changes
A lot of changes haven taken place in our house over the last couple of weeks.
Layla
We have now entered the "why" stage. It started right around Christmas. She will continue to ask "why?" until we're nearly out of reasons and suddenly she will finally hear something that will allow her to say, "oooooh." As if she truly understands the full chain of reasons behind the source. :-) I don't remember the specific initial question, but one time Jeremy finally got to a point where he spewed out an extremely scientific response and Layla responded with her usual "ooooh" as if her little mind was just waiting to hear the specific explanation instead of our tamed-down responses. Or she finally heard something that sounded like mumbo-jumbo and didn't know how to ask "why" from that point. :-) It's still a little cute, but I can see it getting rather annoying pretty quickly.
Piper
Piper officially became a walker over Christmas break. She took her first steps on December 2. On Friday, December 17 she was still only taking a few steps at a time and only if someone was in front of her (or the couch). However, Saturday morning, the first day of break, she decided she was no longer going to crawl. She walked everywhere! No matter how long it took her or how many times she fell, she always stood back up and began walking again. She literally went to bed a crawler and woke up a walker.
Piper has also started giving real kisses (not just blowing them). It's so stinkin' cute! She will stick out her bottom lip and lean in until she touches your mouth. Many times they're very wet, but I can't seem to get enough of them!
Baby
Baby #3 has caused quite a few changes in our house. First of all...it's a boy!!! We found out the Friday break started and it's been quite exciting. Jeremy stood up, clapped and cheered as soon as the u/s tech said it was a boy. Quite funny. :-) I was happy myself. Secretly I was hoping for a boy but I wasn't verbalizing it and not really letting myself dwell on it mentally too much. I truly thought it was going to be a girl, though. That's what we've done in the past so why not this time?
The pronoun change is quite strange. I'm still not used to saying or hearing "he" or "him." I find myself still simply saying "baby" as it's easier. It will be strange to no longer reference "the girls."
Baby J has also become much stronger. I was reclining on the couch reading a book when suddenly it jumped. Yay! Now the movements I've been feeling for several weeks can be shared with Jeremy and others.
House
We are officially off the market. We have been since sometime in November, but the sign didn't leave our yard until Christmas break. We spent the entire day after Christmas clearing out our storage unit and, consequently, filling up our house. We've been pretty good about really filtering through everything and deciding what we can do without by either trashing it or putting it in a box for a yard sale in the spring. We've hit a rut and the boxes/totes that remain in our dining room and on our porch have sat untouched for over a week now. :-/ We'll get to them. Eventually...
Layla
We have now entered the "why" stage. It started right around Christmas. She will continue to ask "why?" until we're nearly out of reasons and suddenly she will finally hear something that will allow her to say, "oooooh." As if she truly understands the full chain of reasons behind the source. :-) I don't remember the specific initial question, but one time Jeremy finally got to a point where he spewed out an extremely scientific response and Layla responded with her usual "ooooh" as if her little mind was just waiting to hear the specific explanation instead of our tamed-down responses. Or she finally heard something that sounded like mumbo-jumbo and didn't know how to ask "why" from that point. :-) It's still a little cute, but I can see it getting rather annoying pretty quickly.
Piper
Piper officially became a walker over Christmas break. She took her first steps on December 2. On Friday, December 17 she was still only taking a few steps at a time and only if someone was in front of her (or the couch). However, Saturday morning, the first day of break, she decided she was no longer going to crawl. She walked everywhere! No matter how long it took her or how many times she fell, she always stood back up and began walking again. She literally went to bed a crawler and woke up a walker.
Piper has also started giving real kisses (not just blowing them). It's so stinkin' cute! She will stick out her bottom lip and lean in until she touches your mouth. Many times they're very wet, but I can't seem to get enough of them!
Baby
Baby #3 has caused quite a few changes in our house. First of all...it's a boy!!! We found out the Friday break started and it's been quite exciting. Jeremy stood up, clapped and cheered as soon as the u/s tech said it was a boy. Quite funny. :-) I was happy myself. Secretly I was hoping for a boy but I wasn't verbalizing it and not really letting myself dwell on it mentally too much. I truly thought it was going to be a girl, though. That's what we've done in the past so why not this time?
The pronoun change is quite strange. I'm still not used to saying or hearing "he" or "him." I find myself still simply saying "baby" as it's easier. It will be strange to no longer reference "the girls."
Baby J has also become much stronger. I was reclining on the couch reading a book when suddenly it jumped. Yay! Now the movements I've been feeling for several weeks can be shared with Jeremy and others.
House
We are officially off the market. We have been since sometime in November, but the sign didn't leave our yard until Christmas break. We spent the entire day after Christmas clearing out our storage unit and, consequently, filling up our house. We've been pretty good about really filtering through everything and deciding what we can do without by either trashing it or putting it in a box for a yard sale in the spring. We've hit a rut and the boxes/totes that remain in our dining room and on our porch have sat untouched for over a week now. :-/ We'll get to them. Eventually...
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