Cry Room Truths

If any of you mommies out there have spent time in your church's Cry Room (or if your church doesn't have a Cry Room and you can only wish you had spent time in there) you should check out yesterday's Stuff Christian's Like post.

Mommy especially liked the part about Calvanist toddlers.  And the guy-warning at the end.

Sunday Best

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Since I missed last week's Sunday Best post, I thought I'd include two week's worth of SB today.

Last Sunday, our church kicked off our "Going Green" Christmas theme with a presentation by our music, media, and children's departments. Daddy puts in a lot of extra hours for these presentation Sundays...but the extra time always pays off!

 

One of Mommy's favorite parts of this presentation was the kid's manger scene.  Those little sheep on the bottom left came crawling into the sanctuary.  How cute!

Speaking of cute, check out this lovely little dress Mimi picked up for me a few weeks ago. 

Doesn't it look similar to the dress I wore for my birthday party?

And can you believe that said birthday party was almost one year ago?! 

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Last night at church, Lighthouse Christian Academy put on their annual Christmas presentation.  Mommy let me stay in the sanctuary with her because she thought I'd enjoy watching the big kids sing.  Boy, was she right!  I sat in awe through the entire service.

But who wouldn't when seated so close to these fascinating presents, candy canes, and Christmas-best-dressed kiddos?

It didnt' hurt, either, that Preston was sitting right behind me.  He considers it his personal responsibilty to entertain me any time we're together.

As you can see, this is one three year old who takes responsibility very seriously!

Mommy's Report Card

Last week, I posted the To-Do list Mommy created for her 9 day Thanksgiving Break.  Here's a report card detailing her progress:

Sleep past 5:40......Check
Go over to Kelly and Cooper's house for a playdate.........Rescheduled
Read a book that has nothing to do with teaching............Half check
Bake Christmas presents for her co-workers..................Check
Bake Thanksgiving desserts........................................Check
Sell some of my outgrown clothes to Kid to Kid.................Check
Visit the dermatologist about a few skin spots that are troubling her....Check
Clean.Up.This.House..................................Sorta check (she did clean the house at the beginning of her break, but by the time she went back to work yesterday it was a mess again)
Catch up on a teeeeny bit of paperwork from school............Check
Catch up on a not-so-teeny bit of paperwork from home........Half check
Blog everyday............................Half check (missed three days)
Spend lots of time with family............................Check and Check
Start decorating our house for Christmas...................Check


Not perfect.  Not terrible, either.

And one of the best parts of being a teacher?  There are only three weeks between the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks...so maybe all of those sorta and half checks can be remedied soon!

Christmas Came Early

This year, Christmas came a little early to my families. 

On Friday night, Mommy's side of the family opened presents with Nana and Papa since they won't be with us on Christmas.  NaPa (as these great-grands are collectively known) gave me this great Little People Nativity Set. 

 I'm so glad that I get to spend the next month enjoying this thing!

I think NaPa will spend more than the next month enjoying their gift, though! 

They loved this canvas that we all gave them.

Even though there was a fabulous play-able nativity set nearby, I found lots of enjoyment in this plastic Ziploc baggie.

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On Saturday, Daddy's side of the family celebrated Christmas. Uncle Brian, Aunt Becky, and Micah will spend Christmas with Becky's family this year since they were with us for Thanksgiving...so we all enjoyed some early holiday cheer!

 Micah and I have really figured out how to rip into presents. 

 We also worked hard to practice our giving and receiving manners by passing out presents to everyone and saying 'thank you' each time we opened a present.

Micah had a blast playing with the still-wrapped emergency vehicles we gave him.  He scooted all around the living room with those guys.

And I love the Fancy Nancy doll and book that Micah's family gave me!

I was more than happy to help out by disposing of discarded wrapping paper and ribbons.

Micah recharged his batteries by taking a break on my ladybug Pillow Pet...while Mommy and Daddy calmed my cries of "Mine! Mine!".

Once Micah's energy was restored, he went right back to play!

Micah and I had so much fun playing together this weekend.  I can't wait to see him again!

The next time I see him, though, he'll be a big brother.  WhooHoo!

My Thanksgiving in Pictures

Annual Thanksgiving Eve dinner with our Denton family:

 Pierce/Moss/Fallin Ladies

Perfecting my "Ring Around the Rosie" form.

Annual Pierce/Moss/Gordon Thanksgiving meal:

There are no words to describe how much fun the two of us have had together over the last 48 hours.

Mommy is taking her style cues from my hair accessory wardrobe.

Working really hard to win the "Obstinate Toddler Award".

Practicing our innocent looks.

Caught Myself a Turkey!

 Looky what I found!  It's a real, live Thanksgiving turkey.

Okay, so maybe it's not real or alive...but isn't it a super cutie turkey?  One of Auntie's patients gave her this clever, craftsy thing as a Thanksgiving present.

Turkey and I had a great time playing outside yesterday...until I decided that he was a bit cumbersome as a climbing companion. 

He'll be okay without me, though. Turkeys can fend for themselves, you know.

Uncomfortable, Yet Necessary

Wisdom from a 21-month old:

I may not have lived long, but I've lived long enough to learn that there are lots of situations in this life that are incredibly uncomfortable...yet incredibly necessary.

In the world of toddlers, such situations include diaper changes, immunizations, rectal temperature checks, throat swabs, and forced fingernail clippings.  I'm sure other tots could easily add to this list, but those situations are all fresh on my mind since I've encountered each of them in the last week.

As humans age, so I've been told, the situations can get even more uncomfortable.  Here are a few uncomfortable, yet necesarry (U, YN) things Mommy and Daddy are currently in the midst of sorting out:
Growing back their savings account (after a year of Mommy staying at home)

• Evaluating their current financial situation and planning for the future.
• Regrowing their savings account after a year of Mommy staying at home.
• Determining who my guardian will be in the unlikely event that they both pass away.
• Creating a will.

See what I mean?  Uncomfortable? Yes. Necessary? Also a yes.

Mommy tells me* that the biggest difference between the U, YN situations that toddlers and adults find themselves in this:  There is no one forcing the adults to engage in the U, YN tasks.  They must be self-disciplined enough to self-engage.
Hmm, maybe that's why my parent's U, YN list includes those last two items.

Right after completing a Will Questionnaire this afternoon, Mommy came across this blog post on "The Simple Dollar".  It's all about having uncomfortable, yet necessary conversations with family members regarding plans for their (and your) estate.  Mommy highly suggests this read for any of you who have not had these discussions with your parents, grandparents, and/or siblings. 

In fact, Mommy and Daddy will be doing some of this discussing with family members this week...especially since almost all of them will be in town for Thanksgiving.  (Moss/Pierce clan readers...consider this your warning!)

All of this uncomfortable thinking has left Mommy wondering if my parent readers have chosen a guardian for their children.  If you have, how did you decide who the guardian would be?  If you haven't, why not?

*The biggest difference my toddler eyes can see between the U, YN situations of toddlers and adults is that there are no Dum Dum Pops or Elmo stickers awaiting the adults.  I think I'll stick with toddler uncomfortableness for now, thank you very much!