Health Tips

5 Health Tips From a 5 Year Old

1.  Feed your babies so they don't pass away.

2.  Clean your peepee every morning and every night so you don't get an infection.

3.  Eat bananas every day.

4.  You have to eat lots of protein to help you not pass away.

5.  Eat fish.

*it makes makayla sad to say "die", so she has to say "pass away"*

Little Things

January has been a very busy month for us.

Busy spending our time...

 going to hockey games.

 going to basketball games.

 jumping in bounce houses.

 getting our faces painted.

 singing in choir.

 going to Kids Club.

 having dinner with friends.

having snow days from school. 

celebrating birthdays...

And while we've been so busy, I want to take just a minute to reflect on my kiddos.  

I want to put down in words the little things about them that keep me going.

The little things that make me smile when I want to cry.

The little things that bring me back down when I feel overwhelmed.

The little things that open my eyes to how blessed I am.
The little things that make life wonderful.

Oh, my girl, Makayla.  

*I love that she loves to be cuddled, she loves to be held, and she loves to be hugged and kissed on.  I love that she wants me to still hold her and cuddle her.

*When Makayla calls Mia, Mimi (i had a great aunt that we called mimi and it just feels meant to be when my kids call mia, mimi).

*When she proudly holds her empty plate up in the air for all to see when she licks it clean during dinner.  Literally.

*How good her heart is.  Daily, she is thinking of things to do for people or to give to people...pouring a drink for her brother, going through her doll clothes to give to the babies in her life, making crafts for people... Last night, she made a book for Grandpa Allen.  She stapled paper together and taped pictures of deer in the book because "Grandpa looooves deer".

*Just how stinkin' smart she's getting.  She can read words, she says big words like 'appreciate', and she is amazing at thinking outside of the box.  I just can't get over it.

Oh, my baby boy, Mason.

*I love how Mason pronounces the word "girl" as "geel" (sadly, i've been working with him to pronounce it correctly).

*He still has a passion for bowling and shooting hoops.  He bowls a game every night with his new bowling alley we Santa got him and he plays a game or two of basketball every night.  Most nights, you hear his little voice shouting out "SCORE" over and over and over again.

*He has recently mastered putting his coat on and just seeing him beam with pride every time he gets that sucker on brings a smile to my face.

*How much of a lover Mason is.  He wants everybody to feel loved and he gives the biggest, strongest hugs that come close to breaking your neck.  I love that every time someone tells him that they love him, he either says "thank you" or "i love you most".  He melts my heart.

*Just how stinkin' smart he is getting.  He puts his shoes on the correct feet every time, he is so inquisitive and asks questions all the time (on these bitter cold winter days, he is always asking about the animals - how they stay warm, where they get their food, where do they get their water when the creeks freeze), and he is getting so good at counting and making patterns.  I love it.

Oh, my baby girl, Mia Grace.

*Mia's curls.  Her cute, little, bouncing curls.  They make me smile.

*I love when Mia opens her mouth real wide, scrunches her little nose up, and laughs.

* I love how you can have a full conversation in whispers with Mia.  I love it when we whisper back and forth, back and forth, about nothing.

*I love how Mia sings and dances - she bounces up and down on her knees, wildly waves her arms in the air, and belts out "Aaaaaah".

*Just how stinkin' smart she's getting.  She follows directions, entertains herself by sorting, and is quick to comfort if she knows you're sad.  We can pretend to be crying or we can pretend to get hurt and she quickly comes over to hug you.  She amazes me.

"What day is it,?" asked Pooh.

"It's today," squeaked Piglet.

"My favorite day," said Pooh.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of every day life.

Life with my 3 little ones can get crazy.  Super crazy.  

Taking a moment like I just did to record some of those little things is healthy for me.  

It's something I want to do, something I need to do.

It's a little reminder that 

life is good.

Random Acts of Kindness

Last night as we were checking out at at the store, a friend of ours walked over from another check out lane and gave Makayla and Mason each a $1 bill.  Makayla was surprised and so very happy.  She quickly folded it up and tucked it away in her pocket.  Mason, on the other hand, was completely oblivious of the kind gesture because he was too busy obsessing over the gum ball machine, begging me to let him get gum.

But,

it was the simple act of kindness.

A dollar bill.

The smile it put on Makayla's face.

How she looked up at Donna (the giver of the dollar) with excitement.

...and I thought to myself.  What goes around comes around.

It started a couple months ago.

I decided that I was going to leave money on a couple of the vending machines at work.  On each vending machine, I left change in a baggie with a note attached that said

 "Enjoy this Random Act Of Kindness"

...and believe it or not, it took days for the money to disappear on the vending machine with the most traffic, the vending machine who has the most visitors.  

Every night, I would go home and talk about it.  I just couldn't believe that nobody would use the change on that vending machine!

Finally, one morning, the baggie of change was gone and in it's place was a note that read:
"Thank you.  God bless you 'random act of kindness' person."

(smile)

While I've done other "Random Acts Of Kindness" things before like paying for meals or passing out  large bills to shoppers in the store, I've always been able to see the face and reaction of the person receiving the random act of kindness.  However, with the change on the vending machine, I didn't get to see the gratitude of the receiver or the surprise that illuminated from their faces.

"When you carry out acts of kindness, you get a wonderful feeling inside.  It is as though something inside your body responds and says "Yes, this is how I ought to feel."

-Harold Kushner

A couple days later, I decided to take the kids and let them experience performing a random act of kindness...something on their level.

They each took a dollar from their own bank and we headed to the dollar store.

I explained to them that a little girl and little boy will be walking down the toy aisle, and wouldn't it be a wonderful surprise if the little girl and little boy found a dollar bill laying around?  Then they could pick it up and buy a toy for themselves!
Makayla and Mason loved that idea and they didn't ask even one time to buy a toy while they were searching for the perfect spot to lay down their dollar for the next kids.

When we got in the car, Kevin and I told them how proud of them we were!  We told them that they just did something very nice and that they were going to make a couple of little kids very happy!

(smile)

Random acts of kindness are a means by which we make a deliberate attempt to brighten another person's day by doing something thoughtful, nice, and caring for them.

A few days later, after taking the kids to the dollar store, I was taking Makayla to school.

On the way, she was telling me of a good deed she did the day before.  She said that when she went to Aldi with daddy, she had an extra quarter in her purse...so, she took that quarter and put it on the next cart in the cart line.  That way, when the next person came to go shopping, they wouldn't have to pay for a cart.  Bless her little heart.  I told her that I was so proud of her for being such a kind person and that it makes God so happy to see her doing good things like that.  

...So, when Makayla and Mason received that dollar bill last night, I couldn't help but think "what goes around comes around".  They've put their hearts out there to do a kind thing, and now the kindness was being returned to them.

(smile)

"Kindness is more than deeds.  It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch.  It is anything that lifts another person."

- C. Neil Strait

I know we spent a few dollars on these recent acts of kindness, but it's important to remember all of the things that we can do or say that cost nothing...but will still make someone's day.

We can 

-Compliment someone on something they did or how they look.  Mark Twain once said "I can live for two months on one good compliment.".

-Tell someone you love them.

-Give someone else that close parking spot.

-Pick up litter and garbage.

-When you see a mother with small children, return her shopping cart from the parking lot for her.  I can't begin to express how much I appreciate this when someone does this for me!
-Pick flowers for someone.

-Shovel snow for a neighbor.

-Make someone laugh.

-Smile.

-Say good morning to a stranger.

-Use your manners.

-Forgive someone a debt - and never bring it up again.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted"
-Aesop

I am looking forward to working together as a family and performing random acts of kindness daily in 2014.
It'll be good for us.

(smile)

Pee, Poop, and Pipe

Makayla:  My bladder is FULL of poop.

Mommy:  No, it's not.  Your bladder is full of PEE.

Makayla:  Then where's my poop?

Mommy:  Your poop is in your colon - a tube in your belly.

Makayla:  Well, I've seen grandpa's pipe.

**Being on the topic of pee, bladders, and poop, I kinda got a lump in my throat and my heart started racing with the thought of what she might be referring to when she says "pipe"...**

Mommy:  What's grandpa's pipe??

Makayla:  His skinny, not fat, pipe from his heart surgery!

Remember when his heart hurt?

Whew!
I was nervous where we headed with that one!

While Makayla definitely keeps us on our toes, she never ceases to amaze me. 

 

From our short conversation this evening, I was reminded of Grandpa Curry's heart surgery 18 months ago - a moment in life that I think about often, and obviously so does my 5 year old daughter. 

 I know visiting grandpa in the days following his surgery, Makayla was in her element. 

 She loved the hospital, she loved the machines, and she loved seeing grandpa's incisions.  

She loved asking questions, she loved to touch what she could, and she loved learning about the surgery and grandpa's post-op care.  

She wasn't scared and she was very inquisitive.

And that makes me smile.

...and then I start to laugh out loud when I think about what I thought she might have been talking about when she was talking about seeing grandpa's pipe!

Happy New Year

Celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another, we kept the night simple.

Simple and fun.

Dinner and swimming...

and jumping on the bed...

and "cheers" to a new year.

"a family that showers together stays together"

ha.ha.ha.

...just kidding!

my three little monkeys jumping on the bed

CHEERS to 2014! 

 

 Oh, Mia!

 Her eyes!!
i love them.

he makes my heart pound with love for him.

Mmmmmm

Last night, as I was kissing each of my kids goodnight...

good-night my pretty pretty princess,

thank you for helping to make 2013 so very good

good-night my handsome little man,

thank you for helping to make 2013 so very good

good-night my little sugar baby,

thank you for helping to make 2013 so very good

...I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as an over-whelming feeling of gratefulness came over me.

I thought to myself
"look how far we've come"...

and as a montage of memories of the past year flooded my mind, I started to get really excited at the thought of what lies ahead for our family in 2014.

Welcome 2014!
May the new year be filled with inner peace, love, joy, optimal health, and prosperity!