Today's MOMent

What I experienced today is definitely one of those "MOMents" I heard about a couple weekends ago.

After our typical Tuesday trip to the library for Baby Lap Time, Garrett and I headed to Champaign to get a few things at Walmart and to eat lunch at Bob Evans.  Our waitress brought the milk I had ordered for Garrett in a cup with a curly straw poking up through its lid.  Garrett's expression said, "That's the coolest thing ever, Mom!"  (I think it was the first time he'd ever used a straw.)  As we waited for our food, he colored with the orange and blue crayons he'd been given between 100 sips of milk from the cup with the curly straw.  Soon, my lunch and Garrett's grilled cheese sandwich and fresh fruit were delivered to our table.  Garrett had a minor meltdown when I insisted-without giving in to his crying (Go, me!)-that he eat one grilled cheese sandwich triangle before eating more grapes.  We made it through his meltdown without attracting too much attention from the other patrons.

Here's where that MOMent really begins...

Garrett leaned forward to reach something, and his face turned red.  I knew right away that he was pooping.  We both still had quite a bit of lunch to eat, and I had a feeling he wasn't...um...done, so I decided I'd wait to head to the bathroom to change his diaper until we were finished eating.  At one point, I asked our waitress if I could pay her.  She said I should pay at the counter.  I told her I needed to change Garrett's diaper and that I'd pay after that.  (I didn't want her to think we had dined and dashed.)  By now, it was apparent to my sense of smell that Garrett had really done a number in his size 4 Pamper.  As we gathered our things and headed toward the bathroom, I heard one gentleman say, "Boy, he sure has some blue eyes!", and I swear that, as we passed their table, the other guy with him said, "...but he sure does stink!"

It was bad.  Up-the-back, almost-ran-out-of-wipes, threw-his-onesie-away-when-we-got-home BAD.

To top it off, after hearing some...ahem...sounds coming from the other stall, I heard its occupant utter an expletive.  Seconds later, she asked if I would please hand her some toilet paper.  (We've all been there, right?)

The moral of this MOMent is: If you take your 18-month-old to Bob Evans for lunch, request the table closest to the bathroom.

:-)

Hearts at Home 2012

I spent Friday evening and most of Saturday at Hearts at Home's National Conference on the campus of Illinois State University.  This was my first time attending this annual event, and let me tell you - I cannot wait to go again next year!

I took Friday afternoon off, and my dear friend, Stephanie, picked me up around 1:30.  Our first stop was the mall in Bloomington where we took our time to browse, eat ice cream, sit and chat, and browse some more - all rare occurrences when you're the mother of young children!  We met three other moms for dinner at Medici, and then the five of us headed to Moms' Night Out where we laughed until our faces hurt.  Part of the entertainment was provided by Carl, Matt, and Mike of 321 Improv.  Talk about good, clean fun!  (If you ever have a chance to see their show, do it.  You won't be disappointed.)  A friend's parents offered to put us up for the night and even cooked breakfast for us Saturday morning.  I won't soon forget their eager hospitality.

Friday night was the first night I had ever spent away from Garrett.  (Obviously, I survived!)

That's Stephanie and me among more than 6,200 moms!

What I took away from this weekend is that we, on our own, don't have what it takes to accomplish what we've been called to do - as mothers, as fathers, as wives, as husbands...as people.  We must draw strength from God for the journey.

...and there's no such thing as a perfect mom.  (Whew.)

Catching Up

We don't sit still very much these days.  At least not when Garrett's awake.  On any given day in our house, you'll hear one or all of the following:

"Garrett, we don't stand in chairs.  Sit down, please."

"Put Solo's food back in his bowl."

"That's garbage, Garrett.  We don't play with garbage."

"Please don't bite anyone today."

Well, you won't hear that last one on any given day.  Just this week.  When I pick Garrett up from Ducky Day Care, his teacher gives me a piece of paper with "Your Little Ladybug's Day" across the top.  On Wednesday's she reported, "He tried to bite friends several times today.  He did not seem to be angry at the time, they were just in front of him."  (He just needs to learn to give closed-mouth kisses!)  One of the other Little Ladybugs, Ava, kissed Garrett as soon as he arrived the other day, and he immediately started clapping!

In a few years, Garrett probably won't want Ava to see this picture:

 Solo has taught Garrett how to play fetch.

In an attempt to gain energy to keep up with our busy 17-month-old, I've officially begun training for that 5K I resolved to run this spring.



I'm really looking forward to attending my first Hearts at Home conference in a couple weeks with my dear friend and fellow mom, Stephanie.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!