“What’re you doooooooin, Mama?”
“I’m cooking supper, what are you doing, Micah?”
Two seconds pass.
“What’re you doooooooin, Mama?”
“Still cooking supper. What about you?”
Three seconds pass.
“What’re you doooooooin, Mama?”
A couple of weeks ago, Micah and I had that conversation 500 times a day. Literally. If I sat down, she asked. If I stood up, she asked. If I put my shoes on, she asked. If I brushed my hair, she asked. If I picked up a book, she asked.
The questioning was constant and drove me up the wall.
Now she’s moved on. She only asks me two or three times a day, but we’ve taken up another conversation in its stead.
“Somebody’s hidin’ in my woom, Mama.”
“Who’s in your room, baby?”
“A mon-ter’s in my woom.”
“There’s not a monster in your room, Micah.”
Pauses for two seconds.
“Somebody’s hidin’ in my woom, Mama.”
This conversation ensues every. single. time I ask Micah to take something to her room. The first time we had it, it made me grin. The 689th time we had it, I wanted to bang my head against the wall.
In case you can’t tell, her conversational skills are growing, even if she sounds like a broken record at times. She’s at such a fun age. Every time I turn around, it seems she’s learning something new. My jaw dropped the first time she pointed at a stop sign and told me that it was an ot-ta-gon, but really, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’ve been pointing at the octagon in her Elmo lift-the-flap book for months.
If you ask her name, she’ll answer Micah Joooones. We started working on my and Dennis’ names too, just in case someone asks her who her parents are. I didn’t have much hope in teaching her my name, but she’s getting there. If you ask her my name, she’ll say Essie Ann Joooones. Poor Dennis is left out. She knows his name but refuses to say it most of the time. To her, he’s Daddy Joooones.
She loves to eat and has an appetite like her mama. There’s not much that she turns down, and it’s funny to me that if there’s broccoli on her plate, she’ll eat it before anything else. She also loves Mexican food. Girl after my own heart. And breakfast. Also one of my favorites. Sometimes she eats more than I do, which is saying something. The girl can pack it away.
She’s fascinated with the idea of being a big sister, and she insists that the new baby is a girl. Poor thing will be disappointed if Peanut turns out to be a boy. She likes to lift my shirt and look at my belly, and every now and then, she’ll talk to the baby. Melts my heart.
She’s pretty stingy about giving out kisses, but if I pretend I don’t want one, she’ll grab my face between her little hands and cover it in kisses.
I don’t want to forget her at this age. I’ll take the toddler stage over the baby stage any day. That’s not to say that toddlerhood is without challenges. Last night we had a major meltdown over brushing her teeth. And she’s obsessed with things matching. If it doesn’t match, chaos will ensue. If she’s eating an orange and the wedges fall apart before she pulls them apart, she throws a fit, but I can handle all that. The good far outweighs the bad.
I love this little girl. Can’t imagine life without her.
Until next time, grace and peace.
As I’ve mentioned before, I used to be an avid reader. Then life happened, and I got busy, and I pretty much stopped reading. Here lately, I’ve been reviving my reading habits, reading at least a chapter a day of a nonfiction book after I finish my Bible reading, but I genuinely miss fiction.
That’s why I jumped right on board when my friend Mandy proposed the idea of an online book club. Because life is chaotic as usual, this is the first chance I’ve had to tell you about it. We’re reading Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind in six weeks, and if you’re interested, please join us!
Here’s the catch: reading started last Thursday, and our first round of discussion will start this Thursday (like two days from now), but please don’t let that discourage you from participating. I just picked up my copy of the book from the library yesterday, and there is absolutely no pressure. We just want to enjoy and share GWTW with one another.
So if you want to read, stop by Mandy’s blog for more information. I hope to see you there!
Until next time, grace and peace.
Hi.
I know I’ve been gone for too long, but there has been good reason, I promise. You may remember me mentioning how very busy the past few months have been. Busy and chaotic. And draining.
I took some time to get my head back together, which was coming unraveled. You can ask Dennis. It wasn’t pretty. I was snippy and snappy and downright unhappy, but I’m getting better.
In the midst of all of that, I lost my voice. I couldn’t write. I stared at the computer screen and hated myself for not being able to produce meaningful content. I questioned my calling.
I broke down and aired it all out with Dennis one night. The next day I did the same with two of my closest friends. They encouraged me greatly. I took some time off. Got my hair cut and colored.
And now I’ve got my nose to the grindstone – working hard to finish up work on a pretty big writing project. The good news is that I’ve found my voice again. Which means that you’ll be seeing more of me around these parts.
Eventually.
After I get this curriculum written :)
Until next time, grace and peace.
I love this little girl. It’s hard to believe that in just two weeks she’ll be two years old. Every time I blink, it seems that more of her life has passed by.
I have been wrapped up in work and assignments over the past couple of months. The work is good, but I’m sad that I haven’t spent enough time blowing bubbles and drawing on the driveway with my little lady.
We’ve done those things, but we haven’t done them enough. Sometimes I feel like life is happening to me. Like I’m on the outside looking in. Like I’m not actually living it.
The key, I think, is to slow down enough to take it all in. Take pictures. Capture the moment. Draw and laugh and sing and blow bubbles. The work can wait.
She is my most important work. Sometimes I forget that, but don’t worry, she has her own ways of reminding me.
I don’t want to wake up 16 years from now and wonder if we played enough, laughed enough, and loved enough.
So I’m putting on the brakes and slowing down for a while. God gave me this one life. I’m going to live it.
Will you slow down and live it with me?
Until next time, grace and peace.
I never meant to neglect the blog for almost the entire month of July, but when my life gets chaotic, some things have to slide. Unfortunately, the blog has been one of them.
But changes are afoot in the Jones household. Most notably, little Miss Micah is starting preschool next week. I know. Preschool for an almost two-year-old? And the answer is yes.
For far too long, I’ve been trying to do everything. I thought that being more disciplined would help me get more accomplished, but in actuality, it hasn’t. It was a tough decision to send Micah to preschool, but I think it’s best for all of us.
She’ll spend her mornings at the daycare, during which time I’ll hopefully focus on my ongoing writing projects and social networking (including this here blog). Then I’ll pick her up, we’ll eat lunch together, and she’ll go down for a nap. During which time I’ll focus on designing and creating pretty paper. Then she’ll wake up from her nap, and my workday will be over. We’ll play together until Dennis gets home, then I’ll make a nice home-cooked meal, she’ll get a bath and go to bed, and Dennis and I will have some much-needed time together before we go to bed. Together.
That’s the plan anyway.
As it stands now, after we get up and eat breakfast, we watch a bit of Sesame Street (that’s what Micah’s doing in the picture above), and then we both head into the office where I try to work while Micah clambers all over me. I try to keep her from coloring on the walls and pulling all the books off my shelves. We somehow make it through the morning, me ignoring her for the most part, and then we shovel food in for lunch, and I throw her into bed so I can finally get some work done. Except the small window of time that is her nap is never enough for me to cross off everything on my list, so when she wakes up, we’re usually back in the office together until Dennis gets home, and then I’m back in here after she goes to bed, while Dennis hangs out in the den alone and then goes to bed alone. I then work into the wee hours in the morning before falling into bed. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Not exactly familial bliss, if you know what I mean.
Something had to give. So I gave up trying to do everything.
I’m excited for Micah, because I know she’ll love playing with some other kiddos her age, and she’ll thrive in the structured environment. I’m also a touch sad, because in a way it feels like I’ve somehow failed. I know that’s not the truth, but sometimes feelings speak pretty loudly.
She’s not a baby anymore. She’s a little girl. This is just one part of growing up.
We’ll survive. I may be a blubbering mess come Monday, but it’s the best thing for us right now.
How’s that for a change?
Until next time, grace and peace.
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