Mind Mumbles: March Monday Mumbles

I have a bazillion blog posts running through my head. Apparently the writing part of my brain has become over-stimulated, and I could post a blog a day for the next month. I know some people do that anyway, but that hasn't been my norm. Of course, I of all people should be well aware that just because something was once norm, does not mean it will always be.

This morning I headed to my doctor's appointment with Little Miss in tow. I knew it would be a quicker appointment since the doctor was going to do my biophysical ultrasound herself. Once we were called back, the nurse took my blood pressure (which once again was awesome) and asked if I had any pain. I started to say "no" when Little Miss interrupted to say "My mama has the heartburn today." I started laughing. She was right. She then went on to say, "So she has to take her Tums." Dear gracious, no secrets between us.

The appointment went really well, Little Miss colored most of the time, and Little Man and I were both doing and feeling good. We left when the appointment was over to take Brent a latte and his phone, since he had left it behind at home. I was thankful we only had wind to contend with and no snow or ice. Also, pretty sure my awesome-wife-status bumped up a notch or two with the latte delivery.

Little Miss and I came home and played some, and cleaned up. Eventually it was lunch time and I made her the tomato soup I had planned on serving with her grilled cheese sandwich. I thought it was the perfect lunch for a snow day (even though there was no snow...). Also, when she was in daycare she always raved about how good the "red soup" was. I thought it was a guaranteed win. After everything was made, I set it in front of her. She took a bite of soup, turned to me and said, "You make the worst tomato soup ever." Whoops. Apparently daycare did it differently than Mommy. I've since learned their secret and will try to implement it for next time. Everyone's a critic...

Nap time came and went. I couldn't get much sleep because I kept hearing things hitting the house. Turns out those things were little ice pellets. It was sleeting, and the wind was absolutely pelting those ice balls against the house. Soon enough the sleet turned to snow, and it is, in fact, an awful blizzard outside. I'm very grateful for a home, a heating bill, and our accommodations - especially in these storms. When Little Miss woke up from her nap, I had our dining table converted into a craft table for our much-awaited craft project. Over the weekend, we had purchased bird houses from Hobby Lobby, so we could paint them "for our garden". We don't have a garden, but I know she wanted to paint them, and I thought it was a wonderful craft idea. We got to work, and I was really impressed with the brush control my little four-year-old was demonstrating. She had a million ideas for her bird house. One side has "grass" (green) growing all the way to the roof. One side has roses growing on it. The roof is all yellow which "is the sunshine". Not only does her color scheme look really good, but the kid has some creative ideas. I was focused on relenting my perfectionist tendencies, and just painting in the moment. I still had a plan, and I still frustrated myself with mistakes no one else will care about, but I had more fun painting this afternoon than I've had in a long time. Hearing the excited little quips from Little Miss like, "I love doing school!" or "The birdies might love this birdhouse more than I do!" and better yet, "This is the best project ever!" made my whole day. We only had one mishap when a rogue paintbrush dove onto the floor, but otherwise it was a pretty easy clean up.

We had to let our projects dry right where we were with them, because it was time to start dinner. She still wants to paint clouds and add a few more roses. She also wants to do a "second code" (coat) like she saw Mommy doing. I did a purple roof (because Harlynn is watching over us), yellow walls (because Little Miss is my sunshine) and blue trim (because Little Man ties us all together). Tomorrow we'll finish our houses and add whatever additions we come up with. Little Miss told me she "loves" my bird house, and that I did a good job with it. Flattery will get her everywhere.

I had decided yesterday we were going to have Hawaiian meatballs and fried rice for dinner. We haven't had it in a long time, and it's one of our favorites. When I say "our" I mean Brent and me. If it's not ketchup, Little Miss will be overly-reluctant to love it, let alone try it. Dinner was delicious, and now I'm just reflecting on what a blessing today was.

We didn't have to contend with weather for my appointment. We got lattes (mine was decaf) from my most favorite coffee kiosk. I can see my living room floor because someone picked up her toys today. I had the most fun afternoon with my Little Miss, working on a project that we both enjoyed. We might end up having a bazillion bird houses, because of how much we both loved our craft time today. We had a wonderful dinner as a family, sitting around a little table in a cozy house, protected from the ridiculous weather outside.

April looms tomorrow, and brings with it uncertain events and some unresolved pain. For today, though, I'm glad I can do one thing right. For one day.