Thursday, December 15, 2011

O Speaks

I came into the bathroom to get O out of the tub,
M - Why is there water where there shouldn't be water?
O - Talk to Ariel, she will tell you.

At dinner one night.
O - You can't see me, pretend I'm miserable.

About Pres. Uchdorf.
O - He is one of the fossils.

I was taking care of a 4 month old one day. O wanted to help me change a dirty diaper and as soon as I opened it up, she grimaced and said. "Ew". I taught her the word "blow out" and later that day she told her daddy that A's diaper blew up. (not too far off)

Monday, December 5, 2011

Day 30

Well, this post is the last in the series, even though it was one I started pondering how I wanted to talk about it in mid November. I am grateful for it and at the same time I despise it. I truly have a love/hate relationship with it.

Medicine.

I am grateful for the medicine that aborts my migraines. I hate that I need to use it so often. I'm a little bit, okay, a lot bit worried about the potential risks for taking it as often as I do. I mean, a stroke or a heart attack aren't really any better than a migraine. Neither is an aneurysm. And, yet, I rely on it only because everything else I've tried has failed.

I am grateful for medicine that saves lives and sustains quality of lives. I don't want to be misunderstood here. I think medicine is a miraculous tool.

I am grateful for medicine that helps with my anxiety/bi-polar disorder. Granted, what I deal with is incredibly mild compared to a majority of people I've met. (Usually in support groups.) I am very fortunate I don't have to deal with extreme symptoms. I am grateful for that. AND, I hate that I have to rely on it to manage my symptoms. A while ago, some natural disaster reminded me of my dependance. I was close to the end of my supply of meds and I realized that if I wasn't able to refill my prescription, for any reason, I would be screwed. I would probably end up crying all of the time and feeling anxious and overwhelmed. It would be a nightmare. It really freaked me out.

You all know, mental health awareness is a soap box of mine. I know a lot of people don't understand mental illness. Unless they have one, they truly struggle to get it. Medicine is great and it doesn't take away all of the symptoms. It makes them more manageable and easier to deal with. Medicine for mental illness has many undesirable side effects; weight gain, numbness, decreased libido, cloudy and sluggish thoughts, and sometimes, even an increase in symptoms, just to name a few. I remember when I committed to taking medicine, I knew it was a life sentence and I felt defeated. I hate it, and I am grateful that I have a much better quality of life.

So, there you have it. A month of gratitude.
"My cup runneth over."

Day 29

Okay, so I've saved these last two posts for the last because I wanted to take the time to write something meaningful to me. Well, I got swept up in the holiday madness and my daughter decided her bedtime needs to be at 10:00. (Ya, I know, it's really annoying. Especially since she wakes up at the same time in the morning and is cranky all day. Oh, and if I go anywhere in the car in the afternoon she passes out and wants to stay up until 10:00 again. So frustrating, but I digress.)

My plan for this post was to write a little ditty about how much I love music. BUT, since I don't really write music, a ditty was out of the question. So then, I wanted to write a piece about how music reaches the deepest part of my soul, balances me and brings the world into focus for a moment. BUT, like I said before, I got caught up in the holiday madness and my daughter won't go to bed at a decent time, so I don't have much time to myself to write a meaningful piece about how much I love music. (How's that for redundancy?)

So, to steal a line from Jerry MaGuire, a movie I have never seen, but phrase I've heard for years, "You complete me" music.

There, wasn't that just beautiful. It doesn't do justice to how I feel when I am wrapped up in a brilliant composition of music, but it will do for now.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Haircut

Okay, I know I still have a few more "I'm thankful for" posts to do to finish out November, but I HAD to post this.

Last night, I tried to cut LTs hair. It was a dismal failure. Well, tonight we had O "fix" it for him. She rocked the razor. Once we finished with him she wanted us to give her a haircut. A great big NO was our answer.

Enjoy the pictures

LT prepping the razor.


O excited for her first haircut.

Figuring it out


Such focus


Look at her steady her daddys head, so cute.


I have a feeling O is going to want to do this more often.

I really feel bad for messing up on his hair for a couple of reasons. I really like it longer and the buzz cut is cold for this time of year.