thinking out loud

Being a parent is hard.

Being a grateful parent (24x7) is sometimes harder.

The following poem reminded me that each day with my children is a gift. Even the days that make me want to scream.

While today wasn't one of those days, I'm confident there's one just around the corner. :)

The poem was written by Sally Meyer, who has approved its use on my blog. Click HERE to access her Web site.

Thank you, Sally, for being a loving mother and an inspirational author.

-T

Just for this day.

Just for this morning, I am going to smile whenever I see your face.
and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning, I will let you wake up softly, all rumpled in your
flannel and I will hold you until you are ready.

Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and
smile and say you're beautiful.

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you
up and take you to the park to play.

Just for this morning, I am going to eat a huge breakfast, with bacon
eggs, toast and waffles, and you don't have to eat any.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you
teach me how to put that 100 piece puzzle together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the
computer off, and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble
when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck, and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be
when you grow up or who you might have been before your diagnosis.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't
stand over you trying to 'fix' things.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you put all kinds of barrettes in my
hair, and put lipstick on my face, and I will tell you how pretty you have made me look.

Just for this afternoon, I will take you to McDonalds and buy us both
a Happy meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story
about how you were born, and how much we love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the bathtub and not get
angry when you throw water over your sister's head.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the
porch swing and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will bring you glasses of water, and snuggle
beside you for three hours and miss my favorite show on t.v.

Just for this evening, When I kneel down to pray, I will simply be
grateful for all that I have and not ask for anything, except

just one more day.

Sally Meyer
copyright 1999

No portion of this poem may be reproduced without permission of the author.
Rainmom2000@aol.com

THE POOL IS OPEN!

It was pretty hot today so I decided to gather the girls and jump into the pool for a relaxing swim. We've been dipping our feet in the water for the past few weeks, but today was official -- swimsuits, towels, going under water, etc.

Although it wasn't as warm as I had hoped, it was still refreshing and my little fishies had a blast. The picture above was taken shortly after we got out. Here's how it went...

I posed a simple question: "Who had fun in the pool today?"

I got a sweet (and loud) answer: "ME!"

This is now one of my favorite photos of our bathing beauties. For those who haven't seen them in a while, Sydney's on the left and Claire is on the right.

Soooo cute. -T

Puppy Trouble

He's cute, he's furry and he likes to lick - a lot!

No, I'm not talking about Curtis. I'm talking about Mocha, the newest addition to our family.

For a pint-sized Pekingese puppy, he sure can create a lot of havoc at our house. Despite two crates, two visits from Chem Dry (the carpet cleaners), two adults arguing about who let him out last, and one cat who'd prefer he found a new address; Mocha still manages to win the hearts of our two little girls.

In fact, Sydney gave Mocha a pet-name this weekend. It was so creative and cute that it's now his official name: Mochapelli. That's MO-KA-PEL-LEE, like Kokopelli, a word she learned a few weeks ago.

To the left is a picture of Claire and our little Southwestern pup since I couldn't find one of Sydney.

Long story short: it's a good thing I love animals, not to mention Claire and Sydney. Otherwise, Mr. Mochapelli could have found himself hitching a ride back to Texas to live with my sister-in-law, Pam, who gave him to us this past Christmas. (Nothing personal, P, you know I love you.)

So despite the fact that he's a dog, he's officially part of our family. However, for the record; I want the world to know that when it comes to status, Mochapelli falls second to my Rio Cat. Because as Claire says (courtesy of a lesson from Papa Tamas), "Cats Rule. Dogs Drool."

=^..^=
Meow for now. -T

Goodbye, Tonsils -- Hello, Ear Tubes

It's hard to believe it's been one month since Little Miss Sydney went in for surgery. Recurring ear infections, mild-hearing loss, sleep apnea, and extremely large tonsils meant one scary surgery for our little girl. This type of procedure is extremely common, but due to her age it meant an over-night stay in the hospital.

We had lots of time to plan, so Granny and Papa were able to drive in from Reno, NV to calm my nerves, keep Claire company, cook dinners, do home-improvements, and assist with Syd's recovery. Their love and support was soooo appreciated.

The surgery took place at Phoenix Children's Hospital; a WONDERFUL place to have something like this done when you're a worried parent or a nervous three-year-old. The staff is superior (and so is our ENT, Dr. S) and the processes are top-notch from check-in to check-out.

Sydney slept most of the first day, at least until her pain medication wore off. By late evening, she was perky and wide-eyed. I've included a couple of pictures I took with my camera phone during our mommy-daughter sleep over.

Due to a severe flu season the hospital was on lock-down to anyone under the age of 12, so Claire was unable to come inside and visit. It was tough on her, but we tried to make sure she had some time with Mommy and Daddy outside of the hospital. She even sent a video-message to Sydney (her "Sissy"). You can see Claire's message at this end of this blog. *You may need to click the arrow twice.

It was the girls' first night apart from each other since conception (yes, seriously), but they did great. Drugs helped Sydney cope, and Daddy, Granny and Papa helped Claire cope. A sucker helped too, which can be seen in the picture to the left.

The first 5-7 days (post-op) were pretty rough on Syd, but the changes in her just one-month later are amazing. She speaks much more clearly, doesn't snore at all, and (knock on wood) hasn't been sick or even sniffled. Her check-up was last Friday and she passed with flying colors.

Claire, who also has extremely large tonsils, will be evaluated next month so we may be going through this with her as well. At least we'll have a better idea of what to expect. It certainly wasn't any fun seeing our sweet little Sydney wake up from anesthesia, but considering what other parents and children were dealing with in the hospital, we had it easy.

Thanks, Phoenix Children's and Dr. S, you do great work!

Arizona life is getting SWEET!

So I'm just about to change the tv channel last night when an upcoming news story grabs my attention...Krispy Kreme is coming back to The Valley!

It's a long story, but Krispy Kreme Doughnuts was here (in my area of AZ), and then they weren't. To add insult to injury, they were here when Curtis and I were house hunting, and they were gone by the time we got here.

I know it's not good to focus on food -- especially the fattening kind -- but Krispy Kreme has been a tradition in my family for years. As a teenager I sold dozens and dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a variety of fundraisers, and I swore I'd never eat (or sell) them ever again.

From that point on, I was a Dunkin' Donuts girl.

Years later when I was pregnant with the girls, Krispy Kreme started calling my name. I'm not sure if it was the doughnuts calling, or the 24-hour drive thru calling, but it was Krispy Kreme loud and clear. And it only took one (okay, maybe TWO) chocolate iced glazed doughnut, and possibly a glazed sour cream doughnut to convince me to dump Dunkin' and re-commit to Krispy Kreme. (Side note: it's too bad I don't transition as easily in other things!) Anywhoo...

A trip to Krispy Kreme is a real treat for our family (mainly for me and the girls) and has sadly been missing from our weekend travels. I'm looking forward to continuing the Krispy Kreme tradition with Claire and Sydney, although it may not include the fundraising part; unless it offers a discount on the doughnuts we purchase (grins). I hope they have a punch card -- WOO HOO -- life just keeps getting sweeter!

-T

The Details

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times..."Tamara, you're all about the details."

It's true. I like details.

Whether it's planning a party, or planning the weekend...I like knowing the details. Perhaps it's because I like making the most of my time, or maybe it's because I function better with some structure. Either way -- I certainly prefer details and organization, but life happens and things get a little out of control at times.

My work requires that I focus hard on the details of writing. My personal life requires that I focus hard on the details of wifehood, motherhood, friendhood, etc. and so on. Sometimes I get tired of the details requiring my attention, but generally speaking, I enjoy keeping my "i's" dotted, "t's" crossed, and all of my writing "typo-free." (Yes, the period does belong inside the quote mark. Please don't get me started...)

Unfortunately, after years of being an over-achiever, I've come to realize I'm not perfect and that some of my "details" have gotten out of control. For the first time in my life I'm not able to keep up with it all (does anyone really keep up with it all?). And while I've always known that some of life's details aren't necessary, I've still had trouble letting them go.

Well...that ends today (fingers crossed).

The quote "life is in the details" still rings true for me, but I've decided it's not the right title for this Blog (that's another story) and that time is passing by too quickly for me to be caught up in the details that are wasteful, worrisome and not worthy of my effort, tears, etc.

Without going into too much detail (pun not-intended), I've had some personal challenges over the past 18-months. I've focused entirely on my relocation (to AZ from VA) and my immediate family because that seemed to be much easier than dealing with the pain of leaving the home I knew and loved for 24-years.

I've ignored e-mails, phone calls and letters from many of you and it wasn't intentional. I just kept sinking further down and focusing only on the things required for survival. Again, in an effort to spare you the details and to avoid sounding dramatic, I'll just say that I'm doing my best to bloom where I'm planted, now.

If you've received an invitation to read this blog it means that you're someone very close to me and someone I've most likely been out of touch with lately. While the above explanation is brief, it's true. I never imagined how much I'd miss my home and the friends I considered family. I thought (being the over-achiever that I am, or was), that I'd make this transition in my life with grace and style. Yeah -- that sooo didn't happen out here.

So, to make a long post short, let me try to summarize my light bulb moment.

Life comes with challenges.
Thankfully, challenges come with blessings
(even if they're not recognized right away).

Or, if you prefer the toddler-friendly version, which links back to the title of this blog:

Life is filled with sugar and spice.
It takes a bunch of ingredients, and lots of trials
(and errors) to make an award-winning recipe.

So if you're interested in seeing what's cooking in this kitchen (a.k.a. life in the Wyatt Household) I hope you'll check out our blog from time to time. It will offer:

- Pictures and details about the family
- Pictures and details about our life and house in AZ
- Pictures and stories about the weird (and sometimes scary) wildlife that comes to visit (last week a rattlesnake dropped by!)
- Updates on Skitterskat
- Anything else I can think of to keep you coming back

It's no episode of LOST (or my old fav, Alias), but I guarantee it will be interesting.

Stay tuned.
Love, T