Family Living: Abbott Style

How old are you? I two. How old is mommy? Two How old is daddy? Two            What is mommy's name?  Bre-Na What is daddy's name?  Ian What is grandpa's name? John What is grandma's name?  Mom What does daddy do for work?  He works in his police car at McDonalds.         What does mommy do for work?  Cleans up What is your favorite food? Skettis What do you like to do with mommy? Help mommy with dinner Where is your favorite place to go? Church What does mommy do when you are not around? Run around What does daddy do when you are not around? Nap I had more questions, but like most two-year-olds her attention span is brief.  Haley never stops amazing me.  She is at that age where you never know what she is going to say.  During this time of terrible twos I want to take a moment now and then and remember the things I don't hate about this age...

Taking on any project in addition to the juggling act that is my life seems a little insane.  But insane seems to suit me well. My first order of business was to address our saddle stools for the kitchen island: At one point, the dog decided to use one of the legs as a chew toy and it had all types of damage to the finish.  It was a stool in distress and not in a good way.  So it was time for a facelift: I sanded them down, and gave them three good coats of off white paint.  I wanted something similar to our cabinets.  But I started to worry about the outcome because the paint looked......amateur.  From a distance it was fine, but it really bugged me that it didn't look..."perfect".  That is the issue with any project I do.  I tend to have an over critical eye for my own work.   But then I did the most liberating thing.  I beat the crap out of the brand new finish, and added some stain to give it a shabby chic look. ...

There is a time  for everything,      and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2       a time to be born and a time to die,      a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3       a time to kill  and a time to heal,      a time to tear down and a time to build, 4       a time to weep and a time to laugh,      a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5       a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,      a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6       a time to search and a time to give up,      a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7       a time to tear and a time to mend,      a time to be silent  and a time to speak, 8      ...

FYI :  My fitness blog is up and running again thanks to some new found inspiration.  If you're into that sort of thing, feel free to check in and see what is going on with one of my favorite hobbies. Secondstringhero.blogspot.com

While parenting can be relentless.  Tiring.  Frustrating....it is, mostly--fun.  Maybe it is because, we too, get to experience childhood in a new way.  In all the ways I know I fall short as a parent, there are moments that I look back and realize we are doing somethings right too.   Male bonding Sometimes you just want to lay in a box Morning spent doing her hair.  It only looked good for about 10 minutes.  Made a fort under the kitchen table, then worked on numbers, letters, and shapes Photoshoots with mom Being carried around the house while mom tidies up Stunna shades $25, second-hand train table

        Owen's 3rd Month Owen has continued to successfully breastfeed exclusively.  In fact, he won't take a bottle.  It is not really an issue so far.  It takes some careful planning--and I rarely have a reason to be away from the kids anyway.   Owen is sleeping well through the night.  He usually goes to bed around 8.  I wake him around 10 to give him one last feeding and a diaper change.  He generally wakes up between 5:45-7 to eat. He does have a fussy time.  From about 4 p.m.-7 p.m. he needs steady attention.   He is wearing 6-9 month clothing! I haven't weighed him recently, but he is my big boy for sure.   He LOVES his momma.   He smiles A LOT.   He also spits up....A LOT.   Loves being talked to and loves talking back.   We have spent most our time at home.  It has been one of the coldest winters and recently we had a big snow storm keeping us locked up at home. ...