Rufus the Immovable Turtle

I grew up eating watermelon and shooting fireworks on the Fourth of July, but when I married Dennis, I was introduced to another brand of Independence Day festivities. What could be more exciting than watermelon and fireworks, you ask? Catfish and turtle races. Every year, the fine people at the church Dennis grew up in host a catfish fry and turtle race to celebrate the Fourth of July. It's always an event to remember. Not only is the catfish amazing {so I hear, I'm not a catfish connoisseur}, the turtle race is also a source of delight for both kids and adults.

The hunt for turtles begins weeks before the race. In years past, my father-in-law has been known to drag the pond to catch a slew of turtles. For a couple of years, the Jones family supplied many a kid in Cato with a turtle to enter in the race. We always had a winner, since we held a couple of practice rounds in the yard before we headed off to the race.

That's not cheating, is it??

But this year, there was no pond dragging. Micah and her cousins had one turtle to share between them. Lauren (my niece) dubbed him Rufus. We painted his name on his back, loaded him in a bucket, and headed off to church, sure that he would give the other turtles a run for their money.

Not so. Rufus didn't move. At all. The race began, and other turtles scurried to the edge of the circle. But not Rufus. He stayed put. Never moved a muscle.

So much for our winning streak.

There's always next year, right??

Until next time, grace and peace.

A Day of Rest...Kind of

I have declared today to be a day of rest. We have been going nonstop for the past few weeks, and last night I crashed. Literally. I fell into bed at 9:30 p.m. If you know me at all, you know that an early bedtime is incredibly unusual for me. I tend to stay up very late. I always have. But last night, my body told me that it needed to get horizontal. So I listened. Thankfully, my sweet child slept all the way through the night and only woke up when I went to get her at 9 this morning. We ate breakfast together and played for a bit, but when naptime rolled around, I got her settled and crawled back into bed myself.

For two more hours.

I feel much better now.

Now it's naptime {again}, and I've managed to clean the bathroom and take out the trash. It may sound kind of crazy, but it was a relaxing activity. I've been so busy with Senojal Designs lately that I've let housework slide. Finally tackling the ring around the bathtub gave me a sense of accomplishment. Thank goodness that I finally eradicated it. Now I can actually soak in the tub without worrying that I'll catch some kind of communicable disease.

I don't have much more on the agenda today. When Micah wakes up, we'll play for a while, and I'll cook supper, and we'll have some family time before it's time for bed again.

It hasn't been a very exciting day, but it's been a good day. Everyone needs a day of rest sometimes. How do you relax??

Until next time, grace and peace.

How Blackout Curtains Saved My Sanity

I'm not a parenting expert by any means, but I am a parent, and I absolutely must share this tip. Over the past several weeks, Micah has begun waking up earlier and earlier. She used to sleep until 8:30 or even 9 every. single. morning. Without fail. Sigh.

I didn't know how good life was.

Then she began waking up at 8 a.m.

Then 7:45 a.m.

Then 7:30 a.m.

Then 7:15 a.m.

Then 7 a.m.

Until finally, Monday morning, she woke up at 6 a.m. As I stumbled sleepily {I've never pretended to be a morning person} to her room, I marveled at how bright it was in the house.

Then it dawned on me. Literally.

Micah was waking up with the sun. As the days have gotten longer and longer, Micah's sleeping hours have gotten shorter and shorter.

Later on in the day, I rummaged through our linen closet and came out with a dark brown sheet. I hung it over her curtain rod and crossed my fingers.

The next morning, she slept until 8:30 a.m. And the next, 9 a.m.!

Victory!

So, for what it's worth, here's my parenting tip of the day: If your baby is waking up with the sun, shut the sun out of his room. It's that simple. Life is much better now that we're back on our old sleeping schedule. Pulling out that sheet was the best idea I've had in a while!

Until next time, grace and peace.