Quotable

About 10 minutes after Cameron went to bed last night:

Cameron: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!

Me: What, Cameron? What's wrong?

Cameron: (Repeatedly pointing at me with his finger, but not saying anything.)

Me: What? What do you need? Are you hurt? Did you hurt your finger? Do you need me to kiss it?

Cameron: No. Burgerger.

Me: Cameron, don't call Mommy all the way up to your room because you have a booger on your finger. Go to sleep.

Cranky Side of the Crib

Today has been one of those days, starting the moment Cameron woke up screaming at 6:50am. You just know it's going to be tough...and it has been...and it's only nap time. He's been so not himself. He's been the opposite of himself. He's ornery, cranky, violent, moody and disobedient. He threw toys at his friends; grabbed toys from friends; beaned an 18 month old point-blank with a basketball; ran his scooter right into another friend, knocking him down. And then screams at me when I put him in time out. I feel like I've been in battle all morning - disciplining him, preventing further carnage, and apologizing to my friends who's kids are now like the walking wounded.

I need a nap. Or a drink.

I try to remind myself that he's only 3, but a big part of me expects more of him...expects him to be more generous, more considerate, more thoughtful, more teachable...less like a maniac. And it's times like these that I wonder if I'm doing this all wrong, am I screwing this whole thing up, or is it just a product of his age.

Do you ever wish you had a reboot button on your kids? Today is a reboot-button kind of day.

One Line a Day

Last week I stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up a birthday present for a party over the weekend. They had a display at the front of the store for Mother's Day gift ideas - lots of fun ideas, and stuff I'd be pretty happy with. But let's be honest, if I really want any of those books, I need to just buy them myself. Kevin is amazingly thoughtful, but he's not going to be shopping for me at Barnes & Noble any time soon.

Anyway, I found this one little book on a bottom shelf called Mom's One Line a Day. It's a kind of nauseatingly pink book with a rocking horse on the front...but it's the inside that's so brilliant. Each page is dated at the top - April 9, for instance. And then there are 5 small sections on each page that start "20__". So you start the book on today's date, you fill in the year, and then you write a sentence or two about the day. Then tomorrow you do the same thing...every day, all year long. Then, on January 1 next year you move down to the second row of spaces, you enter "2012" and you write one sentence a day.

This goes on for five years. So by the time you finish the book you will know exactly what you did on April 9th for the past 5 years. Amazing, right? It only takes a minute at the end of the day, but think about how cool it will be to have that record of what you did every day for the last 5 years. When I finish this journal Cameron will be 8 going on 9, and Caleb will be 6.

For anyone who is looking for simple way to record your everyday stuff, both large and small, you might check this thing out.

Planning the Purge

I am desperate to clear out our house. Once the weather starts warming up I get desperate to get rid of the stuff that has been piling up in our house over the coming months. I walk into rooms and I feel my neck tense up as I see all the stuff cluttering surfaces, shelves, drawers, etc. I am ready to start boxing stuff, up and getting it out of my house.

Have you ever noticed that physical clutter gives you the feeling of emotional clutter? And by the same token, when your home feels clear and organized, your heart and internal space feel clear and free?

I am going to take it in chunks - one room, one cabinet, one shelf at a time. Kitchen crap I haven't used since we moved in. Clothes that never see the light of day. Toys that are missing pieces. Tchotchkes that just sit around collecting dust, stressing me out.

Here's to a lighter home and a lighter heart!!