Where do leaves come from?

And street signs?  And the best yet came last night, where do babies come from?  Thank goodness Sydney asked my husband all of these questions.  Yesterday, between dropping off and bedtime, he had his hands full coming up with answers.  Of course, I love asking him what he said.  He skipped a few parts in the "where do babies come from" answer, but did a great job explaining everything in her 4-year-old terms.  Of course, this is coming up for her because her sister is in my belly and we have begun kissing her good night and talking about her a lot, so Sydney is somewhat prepared for her arrival in March. 

I love these questions.  They make you realize just how much kids are learning every day and how their minds work.  And I'm telling you, they have great memories!  She remembers everything we tell her.  Yes, their questions can also be annoying sometimes, but I just think, before we know it, she won't be asking us any questions, she'll be telling us what to do (or trying to)! 

What's the best question your child has asked you lately?

Oh, and BTW, anyone have a recommendation for a good book about having a new sister?

OMG...when did I become my mother?!

Do we all fear this? I know I do and have feared it since becoming a mother myself. Funny though, my Mom is really not that bad. In fact, I turned out okay. But realistically, it's the things we don't like about our mothers that we fear "inheriting" the most, we forget all the good traits we probably don't mind.

For me, what I don't like the most is her tardiness (she's been known to be an hour or more late!); last minute wrapping of gifts, especially at Christmas; her constant movement, never resting or napping; her inability to plan in advance and well, that's good for now.

Yesterday, on my child's 4th birthday I turned into my mother. I ran around all day trying to make the day (and the planning for two additional birthday parties this weekend) perfect. I was wrapping presents at the last minute, late to get to my daughter's school and really crabby by that time because I ran around all day with no time for anything else.

But guess what? It all ended up fine. I didn't wrap two of the presents and Sydney could have cared less, her class at school wasn't ready for the party for 30 minutes once I got there, we didn't sign her card but she only wanted to play with the castle it turned into anyway.

My lesson and something I continue to work on: my idea of perfection and need to create it typically do not matter to those I love or who love me. They just want my time and energy spent on being with them. I was so exhausted last night that I had to go to bed right after Sydney, not being able to spend anytime with my hubby.

You know what, being a mom, wife, employee and so many other things each day is exhausting, we don't need to add more pressure to be perfect. I bet my mom would agree! And by the way, I do have to give my mom credit for coming a long way on working on the things I mentioned above. And from one mom to another, we have to give each other a break sometimes, right? Because we don't often enough give ourselves a break.

Here's to not being perfect, just present every day with those who matter most!

The All Important "Girl Time"

How is it November? I think I start each month this way and say it here on this blog. It must be when it hits me about how fast the days, weeks, months, are flying by.

Anyway, I did lots of traveling in October…good traveling. The kind associated with lots and lots of mommy guilt. My husband and I went to the beach with friends (no kids) in the middle of the month and kind of celebrated our nine year anniversary and then selfish me headed to Kauai, HI to meet up with my friend, Anna. Now, I think I have not mentioned here that we are expecting Baby Spoeth #2 in early March. Yes, life is about to change again. But, the cool part is Anna is pregnant, too, just a few weeks behind me, and so it really was a true pregnant girls trip. Once in a lifetime, in my mind.

And guess what…Jason and Sydney survived. In fact, they did great without me. Even though I worried some and called every day, they did so great. I am still beaming with pride at how great they did. My mother in law and her husband came to help out the second part of the week, which was so great, and everyone survived.

What this says to me…deep breath, all the little things aren’t that important, Sydney and Jason are capable and happy and life does go on when I’m gone. Now, I’m not saying I’m going anywhere soon because I sure did miss them, but it was a great trip.

And now, on to November and December, which includes Sydney’s 4th birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. Exciting times to come, but what a great fall so far!

Last thought and my lesson, be sure to take care of yourself and build in some “alone” or “girl” fun every now and then, it is so good for everyone!

Including some fun pics from the trips and a link to the sappy anniversary e-card I did for Jason (wow, how we have changed in nine years).  Total eye candy. Anniversary e-card

Scenes from Hawaii

St. George Island, FL