Today was a holiday for me and the kids. Unfortunately, Joe had to work (one of the sacrifices of not working a state job). After breakfast, I decided to take Harry and Olivia to the park to get them out of the house. Lily had spent the night at a friend's house and wasn't in a hurry to come home, so we had some time. I should have known it was going to be one of those more difficult days when I caught Olivia pouring Kix cereal onto my laptop (luckily it was dry). Trying to get both kids dressed has become increasingly difficult as Harry doesn't like to sit still, and Olivia thinks it's great fun to run from me. Nearly everyday I watch her bare behind running down the hallway, laughing with great glee. Somehow we managed to all get dressed and ready to leave when Olivia grabbed my leg and said, "Uh-oh, Mommy." I knew before I checked that she had had an accident. She's going through a potty training regression lately - something I keep reminding myself is completely normal. Luckily it was only pee, so I got her changed and and we headed out the door for the second time. We went through the car wash first - the kids are always in awe of the drive-through car wash - and then stopped at the park. We hadn't been there five minutes when I caught Olivia hiding underneath the slide. I was afraid of what she might be doing, so I set Harry down to check it out. Sure enough, she was in the process of pooping, and just before I could grab her, I heard Harry crying. I turned around and found him face down in the gravel walkway. That was officially the end of our trip to the park. I scooped up Harry first and then took Olivia by the hand and walked as fast as possible back to the car. After a quick check, I found that Harry had scraped his forehead on the gravel, not too badly, but enough to make a mark. When we got home, I gave Olivia an early bath, fed them lunch, and put them both down for a nap. It was one of those days I realized we'd been better off to just stay at home! On a good day, I've got taking two kids to the park or the store or wherever, down pretty well. When they were smaller, I used to get sweaty palms just thinking about taking them both to the grocery store - let alone an open space like the park where they couldn't be strapped into something like a grocery cart! But after some practice, I figured out how to watch two kids at once without panicking. Now I don't even give it a second thought, and I often feel quite confident about my child multi-tasking skills. It's days like today that bring me crashing back down to reality. It is also these days that make me quite thrilled about my choice of husbands. Joe is such a huge help - when we do things together with the kids, we move like a well-oiled machine. If I didn't have him, I might lose my mind. No, I would definitely lose my mind. God bless him.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Happy MLK Day!
"Freedom is never given freely by the oppressor - it must demanded by the oppressed." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today was a holiday for me and the kids. Unfortunately, Joe had to work (one of the sacrifices of not working a state job). After breakfast, I decided to take Harry and Olivia to the park to get them out of the house. Lily had spent the night at a friend's house and wasn't in a hurry to come home, so we had some time. I should have known it was going to be one of those more difficult days when I caught Olivia pouring Kix cereal onto my laptop (luckily it was dry). Trying to get both kids dressed has become increasingly difficult as Harry doesn't like to sit still, and Olivia thinks it's great fun to run from me. Nearly everyday I watch her bare behind running down the hallway, laughing with great glee. Somehow we managed to all get dressed and ready to leave when Olivia grabbed my leg and said, "Uh-oh, Mommy." I knew before I checked that she had had an accident. She's going through a potty training regression lately - something I keep reminding myself is completely normal. Luckily it was only pee, so I got her changed and and we headed out the door for the second time. We went through the car wash first - the kids are always in awe of the drive-through car wash - and then stopped at the park. We hadn't been there five minutes when I caught Olivia hiding underneath the slide. I was afraid of what she might be doing, so I set Harry down to check it out. Sure enough, she was in the process of pooping, and just before I could grab her, I heard Harry crying. I turned around and found him face down in the gravel walkway. That was officially the end of our trip to the park. I scooped up Harry first and then took Olivia by the hand and walked as fast as possible back to the car. After a quick check, I found that Harry had scraped his forehead on the gravel, not too badly, but enough to make a mark. When we got home, I gave Olivia an early bath, fed them lunch, and put them both down for a nap. It was one of those days I realized we'd been better off to just stay at home! On a good day, I've got taking two kids to the park or the store or wherever, down pretty well. When they were smaller, I used to get sweaty palms just thinking about taking them both to the grocery store - let alone an open space like the park where they couldn't be strapped into something like a grocery cart! But after some practice, I figured out how to watch two kids at once without panicking. Now I don't even give it a second thought, and I often feel quite confident about my child multi-tasking skills. It's days like today that bring me crashing back down to reality. It is also these days that make me quite thrilled about my choice of husbands. Joe is such a huge help - when we do things together with the kids, we move like a well-oiled machine. If I didn't have him, I might lose my mind. No, I would definitely lose my mind. God bless him.
Today was a holiday for me and the kids. Unfortunately, Joe had to work (one of the sacrifices of not working a state job). After breakfast, I decided to take Harry and Olivia to the park to get them out of the house. Lily had spent the night at a friend's house and wasn't in a hurry to come home, so we had some time. I should have known it was going to be one of those more difficult days when I caught Olivia pouring Kix cereal onto my laptop (luckily it was dry). Trying to get both kids dressed has become increasingly difficult as Harry doesn't like to sit still, and Olivia thinks it's great fun to run from me. Nearly everyday I watch her bare behind running down the hallway, laughing with great glee. Somehow we managed to all get dressed and ready to leave when Olivia grabbed my leg and said, "Uh-oh, Mommy." I knew before I checked that she had had an accident. She's going through a potty training regression lately - something I keep reminding myself is completely normal. Luckily it was only pee, so I got her changed and and we headed out the door for the second time. We went through the car wash first - the kids are always in awe of the drive-through car wash - and then stopped at the park. We hadn't been there five minutes when I caught Olivia hiding underneath the slide. I was afraid of what she might be doing, so I set Harry down to check it out. Sure enough, she was in the process of pooping, and just before I could grab her, I heard Harry crying. I turned around and found him face down in the gravel walkway. That was officially the end of our trip to the park. I scooped up Harry first and then took Olivia by the hand and walked as fast as possible back to the car. After a quick check, I found that Harry had scraped his forehead on the gravel, not too badly, but enough to make a mark. When we got home, I gave Olivia an early bath, fed them lunch, and put them both down for a nap. It was one of those days I realized we'd been better off to just stay at home! On a good day, I've got taking two kids to the park or the store or wherever, down pretty well. When they were smaller, I used to get sweaty palms just thinking about taking them both to the grocery store - let alone an open space like the park where they couldn't be strapped into something like a grocery cart! But after some practice, I figured out how to watch two kids at once without panicking. Now I don't even give it a second thought, and I often feel quite confident about my child multi-tasking skills. It's days like today that bring me crashing back down to reality. It is also these days that make me quite thrilled about my choice of husbands. Joe is such a huge help - when we do things together with the kids, we move like a well-oiled machine. If I didn't have him, I might lose my mind. No, I would definitely lose my mind. God bless him.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Welcome to the Rachal Family Blog!
"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." ~ John Lennon
It's January 2008, and Joe and I have been meaning to do this since before Harry was born. Somehow time got away from us. Or maybe it's that we just don't have any extra time anymore. Having two kids in two years threw us into a spin - and it hasn't really slowed down. It's been a wonderful adventure, but there are times when I really can't remember exactly what has happened in the last year (or month..or day). When the kids are napping in the afternoon and the house is quiet, I sometimes make plans in my head for things I'll do when we have more time - like finish that book on my nightstand, rearrange the closets, have a garage sale, plant some flowers in the yard, organize all our photos, finally finish unpacking the garage...the list is endless. Life in its many forms, specifically kids and jobs, tends to get in the way of the things you plan to do, and sadly, they become the things you should have done. I've been pondering that John Lennon quote lately and it troubles me. I hate to think I'm wasting this time in my life planning for another. After reading a friend's blog this week and enjoying every moment of her normal little life, I thought - okay, it's time. Time to start recording those amazing (and not so amazing) moments of our family life before we forget them. Time to talk about things that matter to us now so that we can look back and see who we were and how we've changed (or how we haven't). Oh...and maybe add some cute pics of the kids along the way.
So here we go...the Rachal Family life story. Please visit us as often as you like and send us your comments now and then - we'd appreciate that. This crazy ride keeps moving whether we get on or not. I guess it's time to have some fun.
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