It's a sad day in Mudville ...

It's a holiday. We had a wonderful family day together, taking in brunch at Goofy's Kitchen (if you've never been, it's a must go when at Disneyland), walking briskly through the Magic Kingdom (too crowded and hot to stay long), and resting together for what we call "Family Nap Time" (FNT) around these parts. 


But something makes me feel like I've just had the Last Supper. 


You see, my baby starts preschool tomorrow. (Before you ask, yes, I have a flair for the dramatic). 


I just want to know how we got from this:

to this:

SO QUICKLY! I feel like I blinked and three-and-a-half years went by. Three and a half of the best years of my life: raising, loving on, coddling, scolding, wrestling with, chasing after, napping, and dreaming with my sweet little man. I now take back ALL those times (and they were numerous) I wished he was in school because the time has now come, and I don't want him to go. It's truly a sad day in Mudville. I'm not sure if I'll even sleep tonight. Sheesh, what a baby I am. 


I just feel like this is the end of an era. From tomorrow on, he is a school boy. I am more excited for him than I can contain, but nervous for how he's going to do and definitely not sure how I'm going to do. For goodness' sake, I nearly broke down in tears when I dropped off his paperwork and they showed me his cubby. His cubby, for crying out loud! 


The bond between mother and child runs so deep; it cuts right to the bone. I love this boy more than I could ever imagine loving anything and I want so desperately to see him succeed and grow to be a godly man. Which is why I have to send him off tomorrow, smiling on the outside while I'm crying on the inside, and let him know I'm giving him room to grow. It's just so hard. 


I feel like this begins the process I'll go through over the next 15 years of letting go. Bit by bit, as time goes on, I'll let go a little more to give him a little more room. But not too much. The best I can do is entrust him to my heavenly Father and ask that He will walk the steps with my son that I am not there to walk. 


Father, please be there when he trips going up the steps to class and skins his knee, when he gets his feelings hurt from being teased by a mean classmate, when he's stammering to get out a word as he learns to read, and all those little times where mama's love would work wonders. Be my eyes, my ears, my heart, and my arms when I'm away from my boy. Father, your love works wonders greater than I can ever imagine. With You by his side, my boy can do anything. 


So can I. I can do anything through Christ because He strengthens me. So, tomorrow morning, I'm going to put on my big-girl panties and send my little champ off to preschool, knowing we'll all make it through the day. There will be tears and lots of photos, but there will also be faith that things will go well because God's in control.


Oh, and if you see someone's hands being pried off the door handle of the preschool, it's definitely not me. 

Today, we celebrate ...

Poop. 

Yes, that's right. You didn't read it wrong. I said poop. My almost three-year-old did his first #2 on the potty today. All by himself. Then he ran to tell me about it. I haven't been so proud or felt so accomplished since I birthed the child! 

It's a relief for me, but it's also bittersweet. Seeing him run around in big boy underwear is just a sign that he's growing up all too quickly. Time is flying by, and it seems like the harder I pray for it to stand still, the more rapidly it moves. I'm reminded of a quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Isn't that so true? I don't want to miss any part of life. I want to savor every moment, the sweet and the sour. It all adds up to a work of beauty that I hope to look upon in my old age (hopefully very old age) and relish. 

Take a moment today to savor life. Dance like a fool in your living room to a great tune. Stop and smell some beautiful flowers outside. Smile at a stranger. Share God's love. We all need it. 

The Lord works in mysterious ways. If I can get all of this from a simple #2, you can find something today worth reveling in as well. 

Blessings,

Miss K

31 Days of Joy ~ Day 6

Today, the thing that brought me joy was decorating our Christmas trees. Yes, I said trees. We have a big one in our living room, a pint-size one in our kitchen, and a miniature tree (that's also in the kitchen). I realize it is a little excessive, but I can't help it. Go big or go home, right? 


If you come to our house during Christmastime, it looks like Christmas threw up everywhere. I hang garland any and everywhere I can, we have countless knick-knacks and figurines, and I even have Santa pillows for my couch. Christmas really is all around us.


We finally finished decorating the third of our trees today, the pint-size one in the kitchen. I cheated and decorated the miniature one myself while my son was asleep because I knew his little sausage fingers couldn't handle the miniature hooks and ornaments. 


I must say I probably like the kitchen tree the most because I've devoted it to my favorite Disney character: Winnie the Pooh. All of my Winnie-the-Pooh-themed ornaments get their special treatment on the kitchen tree and it makes the child in me absolute giddy. 


The little man and I had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and sausage, and set out to "decking" (as he calls it) the tree. We had a wonderful, relaxing time working together. Only one Pooh bear and one snowman were beheaded in the process. Again, I was thanking the Lord for Super Glue, which fixed them up fine and dandy. 


As Christmas tunes danced around in the background, I enjoyed a special time with my guy that I will cherish for many Christmases to come. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

31 Days of Joy ~ Day 5

Today, the thing that brought me joy was my son. More specifically, it's his burgeoning vocabulary and personality. When he's not busy teaching me patience, he's making me laugh. 


We spent the evening decorating our Christmas tree and had quite a nice time together. The control freak in me was reluctant to let him help decorate the tree because I knew it wouldn't turn out "perfect" and a few ornaments might get broken along the way. We have a family tradition of decorating our trees with Hallmark ornaments, so I have a small fortune hanging on my tree each year and I shudder to think of anything getting broken. 


However, I decided to let go and just enjoy the time working with my son. I'd like to thank God for the person who invented Super Glue (or, as little man calls it, "supy gwue"). With that said, I was in awe of the job he did. He took such care hanging each ornament and really handled them gently, which was a feat in itself for him. 


At one point, as I was schooling him on the finer points of ornament hanging, he turned to me and said, "Are you kidding me, Mom?" I couldn't help but laugh. He has quite a mouth on him, and it keeps us on our toes. 


Later on, he eagerly told my husband, "Dad, I have a present for you," to which my husband replies, "Oh, what is it?" He then turns around and shakes his little hiney at him, which was full of, well, I don't think I really need to spell it out. I almost had an accident myself in laughing at that one. 


When we were putting him to bed, I was holding him and about to turn him over to my husband. He looks at my husband, puts his hand up in the "Stop" position and tells him, "Swiper, no swiping. Swiper, no swiping." If you've ever seen Dora, you know what this means. All we could do was laugh.


My child never ceases to amaze or amuse me. Thank you, Lord, for my sweet little boy. 

Deep Thoughts from a Toddler Mind

As my little man grows and discovers his vocabulary, his personality is really beginning to shine through. I just have to share a few of the things he's said recently that should give a good, hearty belly laugh. I also want to document these things so I can one day use them as blackmail when the appropriate situation arises. ;) 


This morning, as we woke up (yes, he goes to sleep in his own bed but somehow ends up in mine every morning), we were having our typical few minutes of snuggle time. They usually consist of him coaxing me out of bed because I'm a night person and have typically not had enough sleep due to working/playing/Facebooking into the wee hours of the morning. But, I digress ... 


I asked him for my usual first morning hug and kiss, and  he promptly said "Shoo!" upon reaching over to hug me. He then told me, "Mama, you have macaroni and cheese in your mouth! That's SO gross!" Yes, ladies and gents, this was my little creative man's way of telling me I had bad breath. I just about laughed my head off! It might make more sense if I tell you that this is the only kid in the universe (I think) that won't touch macaroni and cheese with a ten-foot pole. He'd rather eat his toenails than try mac-n-cheese. Seriously. So he was thinkin' there was some real stinkin' going on in my mouth. 


A few days ago, he had a similar spurt. We were at a playdate with friends and he had gotten into trouble for taking a toy from one of his little buddies. As I was prodding him to apologize to his friend, he looked at his friend and said, "Sorry, crazy." Needless to say, both of the mommies involved had to turn our heads to keep from cracking the whole "lesson" in two with our giggles. 


Tonight, he told me "I do it ALL BY MYSELF" when I told him it was time to go brush his teeth. In turn, I replied with my best neck roll with one finger up in the air, "Well, excu-u-use me! Mr. 2.5 going on 14!" He thought this was hilarious and giggled ferociously. Then he asked me to do it five more times. Which I did. Because I can't get enough of this kid's giggles. Ever. 


As he nears the ripe old age of 3, he seems to have it all figured out. He may not have it ALL figured out, but one thing he's pegged for sure: he has us wrapped so tightly around his little finger. At times, I have to stop myself because I hang on his every word. I can only imagine what words are to come as he continues to grow and learn.