My Day With Drew

Today was an all-around good day between my son and me. It started out at Wal-Mart.  (Yes, this might be the only time I'd ever be able to make that statement.)  I took the kids with me to my biweekly grocery shopping trip.  Now that Alyssa is too big for the sling, it has become quite interesting considering I've never let Drew "loose" during my shopping trips. The past few times he has stayed in the cart (where he's not supposed to) until too many groceries force him out, and then it becomes a struggle to maintain control.

On the way in, he saw a kids' Batman car and asked to ride in it. I said yes, only if he's good during Wal-Mart. I didn't think another thing about it because I knew he wouldn't be good. (I know, that's terrible of me.)  However, the whole shopping trip he was as good as good can be. When it came time for him to hop out of the cart, earlier than normal, he stayed right next to the cart, didn't put anything in extra, and even got items for me.  I was amazed at how well-behaved my child was.  Then after we checked out, he reminded me of the true motivation for his good behavior (why didn't I see this coming?).  He said, oh so sweetly, "Mommy, was I good?"  It dawned on me.  Then I had to find a couple of quarters.

Moral of the story: Drew knows how to behave.  Yes, he may convince me that he wants to "do good" but the bad in him keeps winning, but now I KNOW that he has the capacity to behave.  Two weeks shy of his fifth birthday, that's encouraging.

We also had the neatest conversations today.  This morning when I was making him pancakes, I thought I'd put a "plug" in for healthy foods. I said, "You know what was so cool that God did? He created the best foods for you to be these beautiful colors. Like strawberries and blueberries." (Which we were putting in his pancakes.)  Later, I reminded him of the strawberries and blueberries in his pancakes, and he said, "But vegetables are the best for you. Like Daniel ate vegetables for 10 days."  Knowing he was studying Daniel in Sunday School but completely unaware he was soaking it in, I asked, "And what happened at the end of the 10 days?" He said, "Daniel and his friends were healthier than everybody." Score one for his Sunday School teachers!  Then I said, "Yes, and fruits are healthy, too." That was when he proceeded to tell me how fruits were not healthy like vegetables were.  Oh well, guess I'll take what I can get.

We also had a conversation about marriage. He made an anniversary card for Daddy, and I asked him if he knew what that meant (I wanted him to know that his Daddy wasn't the only one celebrating an anniversary next week!). He said, "When you get married, you live together?" I said, "Yes, before I got married I was part of Meme & Granddaddy's family, and Daddy was part of Nama & Papaw's family. But when we got married your daddy and I made our own family and then had you and Alyssa." Then he went a completely different direction and said, "Meme is your mommy, but who is Meme's mommy?"  I said, "Meme's mommy went to heaven before I was born. Her name was Ruth."  Then he excitedly said, "I know about Ruth! Ruth in the Bible, like we studied in the Centipedes class!"  (Score one for the Mother's Day Out teachers!)  I explained she was named after that Ruth but they aren't the same people. Then he proceeded to tell me how Ruth and Papaw would get married because they're both in heaven and are the only ones there.  Gotta love the logic of a preschooler.

Maybe it's these more in-depth conversations with Drew. Or maybe it's because he's about to turn 5. Or maybe it's because Alyssa is a constant reminder of what Drew used to be. But he's growing up. He's becoming a little boy.

I'm treasuring all these things in my heart. And I know if I don't write them down I'll forget them, which is why I'm blogging them. I type a whole lot faster than I write. :)

Not My Gift

I was walking down the hallway of the church tonight with a baby on each hip when I spotted my friend Tiffany with a camera.  She was taking photos of the kids at Vacation Bible School at church, and I purposefully walked toward her, knowing as soon as she saw me we'd share a laugh.   As I predicted, she started laughing, and I said, "You'd better get a photo of this because you'll probably never see it again!"

Tiffany is one of the people in this world who knows me the best.  She knows the good, the bad, and the ugly. And she knew that this was quite the sight.

She knows that my gifts are not with children, but here I was, keeping the babies at VBS for the week.  Now I must defend myself by saying that just about anyone has no problem admitting that they're not public speakers, they don't teach, they don't sing.  But I've learned that I have to be careful to whom I admit that I'm not a kid person because - gasp! - I have two of them.

I honestly don't know why I am not a kid person.  After all I used to be one.  And my mom taught elementary school for over 30 years.  What is wrong with me?  However, I have to admit, I'm getting better.  I'm comfortable with children Drew's age and younger.  I guess you could liken it to visiting a foreign country. Once you've been there, it doesn't seem so foreign.

But still, my gifts are not with children.  And that is why I have so much respect for those whose gifts ARE with children.  My heart swells with joy when one of Drew's teachers can't wait to tell me something he has done or when one of Alyssa's caregivers is as excited as I would be when she accomplishes something new.  I appreciate it when my children's teachers give of their time and energy to invest in my child.

That's the way I felt tonight.  Watching person after person giving and sacrificing for our children, I couldn't help but be grateful for all the work they are doing with all their hearts. And because that's not my gift, I watch in deep appreciation.

Coloring Together

A few nights ago, when I was putting Alyssa to bed, Drew brought his large coloring book and crayons to the living room and asked his daddy to color with him.  After I put Alyssa down, I joined the two on the living room floor.  We have a bad habit (which we're trying to to break) of having the television on just for noise, but this night it wasn't on.  It was just the three of us, coloring, talking.

Most of the time I have to drag the details of Drew's day out of him, but not this time.  Matt and I just sat there listening to him talk, trying not to giggle at some of the cute things coming out of this 4-year-old's mouth.  Matt and I were enjoying the quality time we had with Drew - especially since our attention is often divided with Alyssa - in the minutes we had before bed.

Little did I know, Drew cherished this time more than we realized.  The next night he asked the same thing, and then the next.  Last night as I sat down to color with Drew (Matt was outside watering the yard), Alyssa started crying and I had to go rock her for a few minutes.  I would have thought Drew would have continued coloring, but he didn't. He patiently lay in the floor, not lifting a crayon until I came back in the room.

I had a suspicion that Drew's sudden affinity to coloring didn't have anything to do with actually coloring, but this confirmed it.  This seems so obvious, but I have to admit, sometimes our lives get so packed, it's easy to underestimate this quality time.  Drew cherished this time with Matt and me as much as we did with him.  He talked to us in ways he normally doesn't. We listened to him, offered feedback, and were able to invest in him, simply by listening.

The Pancakes

Last Saturday, I got up and started making pancakes.  Drew loves them and we use the "just add water" Hungry Jack kind.  But since Drew is the most picky eater on the planet, I figured, if I'm going to get him to start eating healthier, I'm going to have to get creative.

With my refrigerator stocked with blueberries (which I learned is chock full of antioxidants), I decided to puree some and "sneak" them in.  It worked, except they don't "puree" like I expected. Instead I would describe them as "minced." Luckily I didn't have to sneak this into the pancakes. Drew happily helped me add them.  I also got out my bag of milled flaxseed (have you heard what a superfood that is?)  and added a few tablespoons to the mix.  And while I was at it, what would some ground cinnamon hurt?

After the blue-speckled pancakes were placed on the table, Matt looked at them and said, "why is there blue in my pancakes?"  I told him I had pureed them to get Drew to eat them. Then Drew cheerfully added, "And we added some other stuff to make it sweet!"  Matt rolled his eyes, but that didn't matter to me.  We all ate the blueberry-flaxseed-cinnamon pancakes. Even Alyssa gobbled them up and had a speckle of blueberry on her little chin.

My New Health Kick

I am driving my husband crazy. You'd think after 10 years of marriage that there would be “nothing new under the sun,” but alas, there is. I'm kind of on a health kick, so he says. And normally, he just chuckles at me when I get on my “kicks” and he waits them out. But this kick happens to be affecting him, which is the reason behind the aforementioned driving him crazy.

I guess it started when he ordered me a subscription to “Prevention” magazine a couple of years ago as part of a free offer. It slowly got me thinking about my lifestyle habits, namely what I eat. When the subscription expired and I found myself wanting it again, I signed up for a promotion where I got a book “Healing Foods” with a subscription. Never mind that this “book” was no bigger than an old TV Guide, I still found it fascinating. Who'd have thought that certain foods were actually GOOD for you?

All kidding aside, I found myself especially interested in the foods that have been found in studies to either prevent cancer or slow a tumor's growth. Since Matt's dad lost his 2 ½ year battle with cancer in 2009 and my mom has been fighting a recurrent cancer for almost a year, this hits pretty close to home.

Throw in the fact that I'm 30 now and realizing that you can't stay young and healthy forever, I am on a quest to do what I can do to protect my family. Granted, sometimes stuff just happens. I'm not about to think I can control everything. But at least I can take steps, baby steps they may be.