Watchful Eyes

I sit my son on the counter when I cook.  His head is just short enough yet to open the cabinets for spices.

He is very interested in what I am doing and being right at mom’s side. We are in the phase of “mommy is where he needs to be.” It is much easier to have him on the counter watching me than at my legs pulling on my pants crying. Plus, this is a learning opportunity where he sees mom cooking.

I need to invest in the toddler stepladder so he can be a part of things and since he is getting taller every day!

Little eyes do what we do. He is 13 months old but these little eyes are constantly watching and replicating what we do.

The other day when he was “helping” me he had the glass salt grinder in his little hands and it fell. It hit the floor and shattered. Yes, I trust him more than some would. It’s how I roll and how I know he will learn as well.

As this happened, my husband was actually taking this photo a moment before. (I LOVE that he snaps a photo now and again so I can be in a few)

I remember distinctly how I reacted. Calmly reminding him it was okay. He also stayed calm. Guess who else did? My husband. All three of us reacted the same. It was quite nice to be honest.

My husband and I both carried the same vibe and quickly cleaned up the mess together while our son looked on from the counter top. Accidents do happen and this was mom’s fault allowing him to have it in the first place so I could only be mad at myself. But in the end, that set maybe cost us $15 so we can replace it which I already did with a quick trip to Marshall’s for $4.99. 😊

My mom taught me that. How to react when something breaks. I have to credit her for most of my calmness with my son, for most moments, because I am much more like my dad in other aspects and he is not the calm one, at all. Love him of course! But a glass of spilled milk to my dad is a complete disaster.

When we would break something at home growing up my mom would calmly say, “There goes another! Now we have to break another to make the set even.” This was said all while she laughed. It has become more of a joke to her and I now because we understand that things can and will break. If you don’t want it broke, don’t use it. It’s as simple as that.

Now, what I did not like that my son saw me do and then replicated. Our dog loves to be right by his side when he eats because of obvious reasons that he either feeds her or drops things that she can then get. The one day she was too close to him I gave her a little tap on the head to get her attention and said, “GO” to get her to leave his personal space and ideally the room. Well, my son saw this as a hit on her and he pulled his little hand high and swung at her.

We have been working diligently with him since he was able to recognize our pets to pet them nicely and not grab their fur so this was an embarrassing moment for me and I was mad at myself for it too. I had to quickly correct him and truly realize EVERY SINGLE ACTION I do, he sees.

As noted, he “drops” his food and both pets join his side

I knew this, but when they replicate you in the moment, it hits you hard. He is 13 months old too. That is young to realize that these small brains are sponges and quite literally soak in every single thing they see and hear.

I like to believe that my husband and I display a pretty solid example for him, minus our sailor mouths. That’s just the truth on that. Sorry not sorry there.

We will obviously be more mindful of any moment like the one with our dog, but having him sit with me while I cook or my husband is cutting grass or handy man work are all items he can be involved with as well. When he watches us he will replicate as well.

I love watching his little mind learn and grow and hope !

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Am I the only parent who compares their kid to a plant?

Hear me out.

During this quarantine when my son goes for more, than say 2 days, inside without an ounce of fresh air because the weather has been bad, he becomes a bit sad and can be real crabby. He needs sunlight and fresh air. The obvious of “watering and feeding” him is a daily essential.

I joke that he is like a plant because without the sunlight, he really does not thrive or “bloom” you could say.

Our family sanity has been okay and surviving so well because we have been able to enjoy the spring weather when the sun makes is appearances on weekends. (This week’s weather in southwest Pennsylvania is a whole other story for another day to discuss. WTF?!)

We have picked up a new hobby with all of our time at home of hiking and more recently, morel hunting! My husband has got to enjoy it a little more than me since I’m still working weekdays. But man, he learned a lot and got to teach me on the weekends as we scavenged the woods for our new treasures, morel mushrooms that taste amazing!

The morel mushrooms our son & my husband found together one day hiking

If you do not know what these are, I encourage you to look them up! Especially if you’re in the colder states that may be able to forage for them in a later spring. Pennsylvania is about done with these but we have so much more to learn and forage in the woods ahead.

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Have any of you enjoyed the outdoors during all of this? Sure the memes are out there joking that it took a quarantine to get people outside and doing things, but it’s true and necessary too. Necessary to get outside for your own mental health!

We purchased a bike caddy to put our little guy in while we pedal (and burn up our quads), also a sweet secondary hiking backpack off of Facebook Marketplace that has proven to be the best money we spent in a while! The outdoor world is what is helping us stay sane or cope, as some other might say.

There’s a tiny human in the bike caddy, I swear!

I encourage families to use this time and get outside TOGETHER. Don’t just push your kids out the door and lock it like mine used to do. We didn’t have touchscreen cellphones then so that was their only option to entertaining us without ringing our necks.

Seriously, when I say we have learned a lot as a family, I mean it. We took the time to hike several different areas together. We  saw different landscapes and learned what is okay to eat and forage.

So we may be the weird family that likes to cook homemade meals. I am a little over the whole cooking every meal thing and we have ordered out for take-out more lately. However, when you make an entire meal from scratch and know you worked for the food that is on your table that night all while including your kids and making memories together, it means a hell of a lot more than it did when you were throwing something together from the freezer that night.

Again, I encourage you, while the weather is getting nicer, go outside! Go find something to search for together. Make memories. Even if it means getting lost in your backyard woods like my mom did with me and my friends years and years ago. Guess what? I remember that and we STILL laugh about it! Same for the year we got lost in the woods with my cousins and found a deer skull and saw a man with snakes in a bucket. I don’t remember the year or age, but I remember the experience.

My son may be 11 months old right now, but we hope to continue doing this because my husband and I grew up playing in the woods and being outside. We plan to keep him going out with us as much as possible and joining us so he can remember the fun times and moments we have in the woods!

Make the most of the time we have at home with the little house plants we created! (The kids are what I’m referring to if you didn’t follow that from the beginning) 😉

Freezing Moments

I want to freeze moments. Not only with my child but also with my life and loved ones all around me. Hell, right now, I would even freeze moments at work because my new job is THAT good with the people I work with.

I am sure everyone could wish the same thing about freezing a moment because there are so many moments that make our hearts feel so full. Full of love, friendship, adoration, and just the fulfilled moment of happiness.

So what if I am a bit sappy writing this. I have had many of these moments recently and they can really help drown out the bad ones we all have. Believe me, the bad days can suffocate anyone but why not write on the good ones instead of highlight the bad. There is so much bad around us anyways, we don’t need to focus on that right now.

Below are a few moments I love that are frozen by a photograph and why I love them.

If you think of a moment you have frozen by a photograph,
drop it in the comments to share below!

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My parents are in Vail, CO skiing on their vacation that we have gone on in the past but with a little one it wasn’t quite in our cards this year to join them. We hope to join them again in the coming years for sure! The picture below melted my heart. My long time best friend currently lives in Colorado for work with her fiancé. As soon as I told her a little while back that my parents were coming, she quickly made plans to meet them. Not only that, as soon as my parents got to their place I got a text from my dad saying, “This is Lindsey’s room when she comes.” Forget me, his only child, one of his pseudo-daughters is coming to join them and he has to be sure she is taken care of! All week long I have been getting updates from each of them on their days skiing and how she is going back out next week to join them again.

Know why I want to freeze this moment? I was lucky enough to meet this girl when she came to our school in the 7^th grade. We grew up together making all kinds of memories together whether it was on the softball field, at our homes, or at the lake together with both of our parents treating us as their own additional kid. I want my son to grow up making friends that become family too. Moments like this where she is with my parents and I with hers.

My parents, my BFF, and her fiance
Vail, CO 2020

My BFF, her mom & my son

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This moment. Five of us together. Not blood, but still family. These crazies are my claimed siblings. I grew up with them since they were born and we have each added one more to our mix. My husband and then my “little brother’s” girlfriend. Without them, my family would be extra small for sure, but they also add a lot of love and life to the years. This moment was one I never imagined would happen but it did and it was great. My “little sister” convinced us all to visit her at her college for her last semester after her senior diving meet. It was SO worth the trip.

Little bro, my hubby, little bro’s GF, me, and little sis

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Long time friends. The ones we each have known since grade school in some capacity. The ones that grow in different directions as individuals with their own lives but remain as close as ever because we are THOSE kind of friends. Without them I am not sure what direction I may have taken or the other memories I may have made. But I know for damn sure, I can call on any of them at any moment, their parents too for that matter, and know they would be there for me.

This picture was on a day in San Diego when the one thing I asked to do was visit the Top Gun bar. The girls all were a bit iffy on my idea but once we got there and had a drink together, the memories began and the day remains as one of my absolute favorite from that trip. Also, our bartender made this day hilarious.

All of my BFFs & our bartender

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This right here makes me smile because these people are who I was lucky enough to meet when I met my husband. They’re the kind of people you don’t need to know for forever to feel like you’ve known forever. He grew up with the guys and their other halves have become very close friends of mine that I can count on for laughter, trust, and advice. Plus a few beverages among us is always a guarantee!

Not pictured is a bunch more of our friends & family that have our hearts in central Pennsylvania that we love spending time with and making moments like this happen.

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My two handsome men in my life. The picture I didn’t know I needed at work the day he sent it to me. These two make my days better when I have a bad one.

We are rocking daddy daycare while my husband is off work for a bit and he is rocking his role. Our son is soaking in the moments too by growing like a weed and learning new things with dad at home to help him. This moment is such a great frozen moment for me to have and adore.

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I have printed so many photos over the years and put them into albums. Call me old school, but I don’t want anyone to forget what we have done. I absolutely adore old photos of my family and me as a kid with my parents in them. I want my child to have that too as well as anyone else I have wonderful memories with.

Take the pictures. Freeze the moment. Remember the feelings you felt when you were there. Relive them over and over again.