The Eclectic Dabbler

Funny how having children changes you. This morning as I came upstairs from the basement carrying a basket of laundry, my 2-year-old ran toward me wearing shoes and socks, but no pants or underwear. ??

“Lop-a-lop!” she announced with a smug grin, hands clasped behind her back. (Lollipops are the reward for going #2.)

“Did you go potty?” I asked, looking into her little potty. “No,” I answered my own question emphatically. “No lollipop.–There’s nothing in there.”

“I fushed it,” she explained.

First of all, her potty doesn’t flush. Second, if she had gone #2, she would be calling for me to wipe her.

But she insisted, pointing to a random piece of plastic protruding from the potty seat. “See? I fushed it right there!”

Oh, my . . . you’re not convincing me, little girl. NO lop-a-lop!

In my endless pursuit of home-organization, I purchased three stackable bins at Target for my daughter’s toys. I want toys in the living room. I want the kids to be able to play downstairs but the growing pile of toys, books, puzzles and stuffed animals is becoming quite unwieldy.

The bins were on clearance for $2.99 each. My 2-year-old daughter loves them. (They are purple.)  She walked behind me in Target dragging one of the purple bins behind her the entire way, garnering all sorts of attention on every aisle.

“We’re going to get organized!” I told her. “One for books! One for puzzles! Little toys in the top!”

When we got home, I put all the puzzles in one, and then I got interrupted, so I instructed my daughter: “Get all your books and put them in this bin.”

She is a good little worker, and I watched as she picked up each book. When she set the last book in the purple bin, she clapped with her signature enthusiasm:

“YAY!!!!” she cheered. “Mara! All! OR-nun-ized!” she shouted.

I couldn’t help laughing. “That makes one of us,” I thought. “It’s a start.”

And Daniel said, “Maybe she can teach you now.”

Will I ever be able to say that? “Mommy all organized”? . . . wow

My son is now 9-1/2 months old. With the whole NICU craziness, his being on an apnea/brady monitor for four months, then buying a house and moving, and battling sickness most of the winter, we have not found a good time for portraits! But last week I finally took the kids to have professional pictures taken.

My favorite studio for kids’ portraits is Portrait Innovations, and I love telling people about it.–There are locations all across the country. They have a great $9.99 package, which gives you a ton of pics of one pose (1- 11×13, 2 – 8×10s, 4 5×7s, 4 – 3-1/2 x5, and a bunch of wallets). But I have to admit–I have yet to walk out spending only $9.99! The portraits are just incredible. Plus you select and receive your portraits before you leave–same day!

Better than mere words, the portraits themselves tell you why you it is such a great studio. So let me share . . .

Here is my little buddy! (We had a picture taken of my daughter in this pose around the same age, so I specifically requested the first one.)

Here’s another shot of Micah–just chillin’–his typical high chair pose!

I also had several pics taken of the two kids together. I couldn’t choose just one, so I will share the top four!

I always prefer the white background with minimal props. But they have all sorts of props (various chairs, animals, floral arrangements, sports stuff) and several backgrounds (black, white, blue, a “garden” scene for Easter).

So visit the Portrait Innovations website and find a studio near you. I would love to see your portraits too!

Stop by We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday tips.

The Finer Things in Life had a great post today about five routine things to make your morning productive. She was linked back to Tammy’s post “Making Your Home a Haven.” These posts both hit very close to home, because as a career woman turned stay-at-home mom, I am still learning what works for me in the way of routine. I am encouraged to see others striving toward these goals, while admitting that they don’t do it as well as they want to. I’m right there!!

In fact, the morning routine is one of the biggest battles I’m facing in my own personal life right now. The way I start each morning sets the tone for my productivity, my faithfulness with my children’s teaching and discipline, and my overall outlook for the day.

My goal is to start my mornings this way:

1. Shower, dress, hair and makeup. (This needs to happen before my kids, ages 2 and 9 months, are up. Otherwise, it doesn’t happen until naptime, and then I miss the chance to get things done during naps!) Preparing this way for my day is like getting ready for work. I am reminded that this is my work. And I’m getting myself ready to go. If I wear my contacts (instead of glasses), I feel much more productive. If I wear shoes and socks, I get so much more done!

2. Scripture reading and prayer. Like Amy, when I start the day with a few moments of stillness before God, my heart is prepared for the day, whatever He may have planned for me! When I miss this time, my heart is frazzled and it is easy to be inconsistent with the children and I am easily frustrated, rather than trusting God for everything He brings into my life throughout the day.

3. Preparing breakfast before the kids are out of bed. They are always awake, but I wait to get them out of their cribs until 7 a.m. If I get breakfast started before they are up, breakfast goes much more smoothly, and they are much happier children.

4. Getting the kids up, dressed, doing my daughter’s hair. I want the kids to come to breakfast ready for the day. This way if we need to run errands, or if someone is coming over, we are ready to go.

5. Eat breakfast and clean-up. (This includes emptying the dishwasher from last night’s dishes, and my two-year-old daughter helps with this.)

When I start my day this way, it makes a world of difference!

Check out some more ideas at Tammy’s blog! and Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes For Mom!

I was putting on mascara before our March “date,” and Mara was watching with her mouth-gaping, when-I-figure-out-what-you’re-doing-I’ll-quit-staring-and-go-play expression.

“I’m putting on mascara,” I told her, leaning into the mirror.

“Mara put on mascara?” she asked sweetly, still watching intently.

“Noooo,” I said, “not till you’re a big girl.”

“When big, Mara put on little-scara,” she told me.

I turned around. “When you’re a big girl, you’re gonna put on little-scara?”

“Yeah,” she smiled her sweet smile, nodding as she tilted her head to the side. “Nice little-scara!”