Mommyhood

I love being a mom. But I also have a mom that loves being a mom (and a grandmom). I remember my mom always saying when I was young (and quite recently): I was made to be a mom, being a mom is my finest joy in life, my children bring me the most joy of all. Wow! After hearing that for the past 32 years, who wouldn't have a positive view of being a mom?

Being a mom feel much like being a teacher to me- it just fits. It makes me feel like I am doing what I should be doing- what I was born to do.

 I want to thank my mom- for giving me such a glowing review of motherhood, day in and day out. It makes a HUGE difference.

I love being a mom to this little one. She gives me so much: snuggles, laughter, perseverance, etc... I love to watch her curiosity about life and the world.

I love the way my mom loves Sadie (and her other grandbaby girls) too: 

I love sitting at the piano singing hymns with my mom. It's been a Sunday ritual forever.

I love laughing with my mom:

I love snuggling with my baby:

I love exposing my baby to interesting things, and watching her excitement blossom!

I love bonding with Sadie. She liked my toenail polish, or at least was fascinated by it- so I painted one of her feet. She loved it. And again, I just loved to watch he excitement about little things.

I also love my daughter's bold will. Her she is standing on the bed after being told repeatedly to sit. She understands. She knows. But she love pushing the boundaries. But despite that, I love her so. I love that she has a strong spirit.

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms out there--I bet most great moms out there had/have a pretty special mom that showed them how to love and care for a child completely

Pacifica in March

I know you're jealous. I would be too. Us Californians have it all.

Beautiful sunny day in March? Check.

Cute baby? Check.

Killer waves? Check. 

 Plastic sand rake? Check.

Taco Bell beachside? Check (that's it on the left). 

What a joyous day! Thank you sping break! We couldn't have asked for more! Gotta say- we love where we live...but I guess you picked up on that.

xoxo, rebecca

It is what it is

Since August we have been trying to sell our house. We lowered our price and tried again this spring, and got an offer within the first couple weeks of putting the house back on the market. But the deal collapsed yesterday. We are bummed that we put so much time, effort, and money into this 8-month journey...

Today we are back at our cute little house after spending weeks at my mom's (she's been such a gracious host). And we're spending time reflecting on the circumstances.

Mark is strumming on his guitar, and wrote some lyrics-
The breeze
blowing through the trees
outside my window
sky is blue
My baby is asleep
in the other room
We got everything we need
When I'm next to you

I'm reading Cutting for Stone. And last night, after getting the news of our botched deal, the last words I read for the night felt apropos (@ 24% on the kindle version)-

For the first time since Sister Mary Joseph Praise's death, Matron felt a sense of peace, a sense of certainty where there had been none. She was certain that this was the spot- this was where the long voyage of Sister Mary Praise would end. She remembered, too, her first days in Addis, when things looked so bleak, so terrifying, so tragic- it was at those moments that God's grace came, and that God's plan was revealed in his time. "I can't see it, Lord, but I know you can," she said.

So here's what I can be optimistic about going forward-
1-We love being blocks from such an amazing park.
2- We love the convenience of our neighborhood. Yes, we have Peet's, the library, banks, restaurants, 2+ grocery stores- but more importantly, easy freeway access is such a perk!
3-We feel safe in the Dimond- you hear a lot more gun shots in the neighborhood we were planning to move to. This was a low priority for us in general, but somehow having a kid changes these sort of priorities for you.
4- Our neighborhood is very walkable, and encourages us to have a more active lifestyle.
5- Hopefully we'll be creative and make this house work better for us going forward. I'm looking forward to possible renovations.
6- We love the school we're slotted for, Glenview. It's public, diverse, has good test scores, has a dynamic parent community, and is walking distance from our house.
7- We love that we're in between the hills and the flats.
8-We love Farmer Joe's- and we've missed it.
9- By staying longer, we'll be able to put more equity in the house...hopefully it will be a better financial decision in the long-run.
10- The leak in our garage (which really killed our deal), only got 2 of our boxes wet.

Here's to being optimistic!

XOXO,
Rebecca

In a nutshell

Top Ten Activities this week:
1) Walking around the hood almost daily
2) Sadie eating whole peas covered in vegetable-loaded tomato sauce
3) Getting picture texts of baby cousin Rory
4) Finally getting back the a counter offer on a house we are trying to buy (5 days late! Craziness.)
5) Our appraisal going through on the house we're trying to sell. Whoot Whoot!
6) Husband didn't have class Thursday night, so we got to hang out
7) Making (green) cupcakes last night
8) Sadie is slowly adjusting to daylight savings time change (That's a good thing, even though it means she's short napping herself)
9) Reading before bed- I'm finally hooked into my current book club book
10) It's finally Friday night!!! And Mark's back with the take-out Indian! Yum!! Bye!


XOXO, Rebecca

Hold the Butter

Preface: Mom, I love you. And you raised me so wonderfully- really and truly.

Part 1:
I want to be healthy, BUT. In addition to loving fruits and vegetables: I like my meat and potatoes. I like sugar and cream in my coffee. I really like cheese. I like treats (a lot and especially chocolate treats). I like seconds and secret eating (TM Peter Lendway). I like sweet cereals (perish the thought!!). And, even though I try to exercise, I'm not a fan of sweat (and really, do I have time to go to the gym?).

Part 2:
I envy my husband at times. He eats like I do...but he has this amazing metabolism, so you would never know that he's more of a sweet fiend than I am. I know that he was programmed differently as a child. If he and a friend wanted sodas after school, his mom would make them run a lap around the block. This is why he doesn't mind exercise, being fit was expected in his family (and still is to this day). Whereas my parents didn't exercise. My brother played sports. I roller skated and rode bikes from time to time. But we didn't exercise. Oh, and on top it, us Ruffs like to eat and find joy in creating food deliciousness!

Part 3:
I really want Sadie to want to eat and live healthfully. But I get so worried she's going to turn out like me- not so into the gym or into wheat over white (even though I know I should be). We're trying to limit her sugar intake, staying away from processed foods, and feeding her a ton of fruits and veggies. But I feel like all of my good intentions are going to go to the wayside, because she is going to know my heart of hearts. Do as I say, not as I do, isn't a very good parenting strategy. And it's started already- she's rejecting green veggies for cheese and meat, she's been drinking juice and having cookies at day care (aghh!!), and she wants everything I'm eating.  

The End:
So, how do I go forward? I know I should change my habits...but it's hard when they've been in the making for 32 years. How do you get your kid to like being a healthy person and enjoy eating well? What do you do as a parent to form healthy habits? What did your parents do for you? I feelo a bit lost, and like her food intake is spiralling downward, which is definitely making me go into a tizzy.

XOXO, Rebecca

Life as a Mom: Where did all the crazy go?

It is so nice that I am able to work 60% time (I may go up to 80% next school year....I'm mulling it over). Working part time means I get home at 12:45ish and I have the afternoon to---- well, it usually gets swallowed whole by dishes, redirecting Sadie, making food, eating it, doing school work, emailing, etc... I never feel like I get anything done. But today- I was successful. It's only 3:30pm and dinner is ready (Chili) and simmering on the stove for later tonight. Yeah for me!

The recipe I used comes from allrecipes.com. I use it as a reference because it includes the kitchen sink, so I won't forget to add anything that I think belongs in good Chili. But I can't believe that it calls for 3 pounds of meat AND Bacon Bits- pretty ridiculous!!

All that meat got me to thinking....in college I was an RA. I went to a small liberal arts college, Biola, so our dorms are really the center of the campus' social life. I really wanted to name my all-girls floor "The Carnivores" (!!)- that's a lot more ridiculous than 3lbs. of meat in a chili recipe. I suppose I wanted to defy the girly stereotypes. I know that I was uber enthusiastic about the idea (surprise, surprise!), but it quickly got vetoed, because all of my floormates thought I was crazy. And I was. Adulthood has settled me down a whole heck of a lot.

My friend's parents still call me Crazy Becky, because they remember what I used to be like. All through high school and college I just did- and didn't think about it for very long. Life was grand, life was about me, and life was fun, fun, fun: I think that's why I was so impassioned and inhibited. As an adult I feel like I've worn the craziness out, and it's been replaced by a very measured and intentional attitude about life. Overall all I think it's a better way to be. I know that I am now a lot more about others, and less about my needs (I think I honestly used to think of myself as the center of it all- so selfish!). But...sometimes I miss the crazy.

So, as I go about my afternoon as the good housewife....do you have any answers? How do you get the crazy back and still be a responsible and caring adult? 

XOXO, Rebecca

Life as a Mom: Complexities of Language

Little baby Sadie is quite the talker. Sometimes it's frustrating though...she has an arsenal of pretty complex words (for a 14 month old), but her favorite word is NO, of course. I get down on myself for letting this happen. I think, "Why is my baby so unfriendly and disagreeable?" or "I really should be able to 'parent' this out of her." But, alas, the "no" prevails every time.

In thinking about it more, it's pretty cool that she says no, in a way. She's picked up on our voice intonation and she knows when we're asking a question. She may not exactly understand our questions- Are you hungry? Do you want some lunch? Does Sadie want to take a bath?- but she gets that we want to communicate with her and that we are looking for a response from her. And her first response is no or no no no no no no, even though most of the time she is hungry and she does want a bath.

I'm a little worried about the next couple years; she's so strong willed already, I don't know what to expect from her when she's 2 or 3. Well, I love my little bundle, strong will and all, so we'll just have to deal with what comes our way (it's payback time, as they say).

Here's a pathetic video of her "no"ing me:


Here's a video showing off her smartness. Maybe she does know what we're saying...in the video I ask, "What does a cat say?" and she makes a cat sound, pretty cute :)




XOXO Rebecca

PS As I'm signing off, Sadie picked up my glasses and shook her head dramatically and said no. She's right, that's a no, no.