Cinni Minnis

What can I say?

They make me happy. 

Especially with a large glass of milk.

There is something about warm gooey cinnamon rolls with yummy frosting that makes me want to curl up on the couch and read a book for hours on end.  Maybe I will today.

(Shhhhh . . . don't tell Dave.  He thinks that's what I do everyday!)

Linking up to the Happiness Project

"On This Day in History"

On this very day one year ago, I went into labor.  Yes, my water broke at midnight, right as I was going to bed.  I was unprepared, still planning to teach school the next day.  Instead, I showered at 2 am, wrote emails about my lesson plans to fellow teachers at 3 am, tried to wake Dave up at 4 am, went to breakfast at Denny's at around 5:30 am (I wanted to get in one last meal!) and was admitted into the hospital a little before 7 am!

And then, after a long day of labor, Kate entered our lives at 8:45 pm!

Kate Alison Kimball

6 lbs 8 oz, 8:45 pm, January 15, 2010

The proud parents!

I was proud.

And so excited.

And very overwhelmed.

I experienced awe, amazement, and wonder.

And I was clueless.

One year later, I feel like I've learned a lot.  Maybe more in this year than in any other year of my life.  And I'll be summing up a lot of that soon . . . but in the meantime I just wanted to say,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!

I love you!

My Night Out . . . to Come

Tonight Dave and I went out on the town . . . and we had a wonderful time - I'll expound and share some pictures soon, maybe when it's not so late!  But I have to say, that's one nice thing about being a parent - you definitely enjoy your time out a lot more than you did before.  Someday I'm going to write a book about all the things that I didn't appreciate enough before parenthood.  And the last line of it will be . . .

and my little Kate is all worth it!

A New Year's Twist

Breathe.  Whew, the holidays this year have been completely insane!  And that is my excuse for the two-week hiatus I took from the blog, so please excuse me.  I'll catch up on all of that soon, but first I just wanted to share our New Year's celebration.

You know those days where nothing goes as planned?  Well, that was yesterday for us (thank goodness it was the last day of 2010 and not the first day of 2011!).  I won't go into details, but to make a long story short, I ended up in tears, we didn't end up attending the party we'd been planning to go to, and we did some last minute improvising.

If there's one thing I've learned as a mom, it's that sometimes things don't go as planned - and you have to be on your toes and ready to come up with an alternative solution.  And be happy about it.  Our improvising included an old movie from the 1940s that I got for Christmas, some takeout Thai food, and a candlelight picnic on our living room floor.  It was just me and Dave ushering in the new year.

But, sometimes you've just got to be flexible.  We had a great time, and the perfect finishing touch was dessert from a dessert cafe called, "The Chocolate."  You can see why it was perfect, just from the title. 

I'm not sure if this is a sign that in 2011 I'm going to have to be flexible, but I guess we'll see!  Happy 2011!

'Tis the Season

Not to blog.  Seriously, life is so crazy!  For all of you who are still consistently blogging, my hat goes off to you.  Or it would if I had one on!

But, 'tis the season

TO SERVE

Image from here

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to accompany a group of young women from my church to a care facility where we sang Christmas songs to elderly and handicapped people.  It was so amazing!  I hadn't realized how much I'd been missing service. . . 

I realized that since having Kate, I had somehow used being a mother as a rationalization for being too busy to serve.  I failed to realize two things - one, that I need to serve.  It makes me feel good, even if it is inconvenient or takes some planning.  It's just good for the soul (like Chicken Noodle Soup)!  And two, I am setting an example for Kate . . . if I don't serve, she won't learn how important it is!

Over the past few weeks, I've been amazed at how many opportunities to serve have presented themselves.  Most of those service opportunities haven't been big, and they haven't taken hours upon hours to complete, but they have left me feeling full of the Spirit of Christmas.  And instead of feeling stressed out about getting the shopping done, the presents wrapped, gifts out to neighbors . . . I instead feel calm and peaceful, and a whole lot closer to what (or should I say who?) Christmas is all about.

One of "Those" Days

Let me explain . . .


What happens when I'm sleep-deprived for several nights in a row?

I hear Kate crying and automatically assume it must be morning.  I get her up and turn on all the lights only to find out it's 1:30 am.  Sorry Kate.

What happens when I'm taking a few minutes to blog while Kate is playing in her room and I don't hear anything for 5 minutes?

This.

And this.

And that.

If you can read what her PJs say . . . "Mommy makes me happy"

{the fine print says, "but sometimes I don't make her happy" :) I'm joking}

Clean up was beastly.  Kate had covered herself, the floor, our big rocking chair, and the bunny she sleeps with every night.  He seemed to have recovered quite nicely:

Our floor, not so much.  The whole point of Desitin is to resist wetness so your baby's bum won't get a rash.  Apparently it resists all types of wetness.  Anyone know how to get Desitin out of carpet?

What happens when you have a stupid water heater?

You take a really cold shower. 

What happens when my day is going like this?

I eat chocolate.

And not just two pieces.

Luckily, Kate was a gem the rest of the day.  She was happy when we went and visited some cousins.  She took a good nap in the afternoon so mom could catch up on some shut eye.  And she was very good-natured at the grocery store . . . good thing, too, because this is where my day took a turn for the worse.

It was a trip to Target, to pick up everything from dinner and lunches to a scarf for me and new socks for Kate.  Basically, I felt like we had walked every inch of the store by the time we got up to the check-out line.  We waited our turn, and then finally we made it to the front!  The lady had rung up about 75% of our stuff when I reached in my purse to grab my wallet.  Not there.  I fished around and around, starting to feel desperate.  I started to panic, and finally told our cashier that I was sorry, but I didn't have my wallet.  I was almost 100% sure that it was in my purse when we came in, which means that it was probably stolen.  I head out to our car, just to check. 

Oh yeah, I gave it to Kate on the way up to the cousins to keep her entertained.  I run back in the store and ask where my groceries are.  And then I'm informed that they've just been put away.  Curse you, Target!  Why do you have to be so disgustingly efficient?

At this point I almost started crying.

Image from clipartheaven.com

But I didn't.  I held it together.  I went back and grabbed the three things we needed for dinner that night, and then we checked out and left.

And then a dinner I make all the time (and is usually delicious) didn't turn out.  

But it's all okay . . . because at the end of the day, I have two people that mean the world to me.

I love them, and they love me.  So I can take on any more of "those" days that are thrown at me.

I tucked Kate into bed and she snuggled into her {no longer} Desitin covered bunny.

A few hours later I was awakened to her screaming and a blowout diaper.

I hope you're all having a good day!

Through New Eyes

Image from wikimedia.org

Yesterday Kate and I went on a little jaunt to the mall.  The mall was packed, I was busy looking for a new coat, and the arm holding Kate felt like it was about to fall off (especially after what felt like several miles of mall!).  Needless to say, I hardly even noticed the Christmas decorations, let alone appreciated them. 

However, as I was rushing past the big Santa display, Kate twisted and turned, dying to get a closer look at the big beautiful Christmas trees and all the lights.  I stopped for a moment, and took her over by the trees so that she could see.  I was amazed at how beautiful the trees were - and how I'd been all too willing to rush by their beauty, without even giving them a second thought.

As I stopped to give Kate a closer look, I saw those trees through new eyes, Kate's eyes.  I noticed the sparkly lights, the frost-covered branches, the big bright balls.  It was truly stunning.  And I realized how fantastic it must seem to Kate - the tree so sparkly, and covered in huge shiny balls, many of them bigger than the size of her head.  How breathtaking for her to see something like that for the first time . . . how intriguing and wonderful!  And I was grateful to see it again for the first time in probably a very long time.

This isn't the first time this type of thing has happened.  Kate has opened my eyes more than once to beauty in things that I don't even notice anymore.  How grateful I am for my daughter who helps me see things through new eyes!

What has your little one helped you see through new eyes?

The Cup Really is Half Full

Image from Flickr

 Tip #2: The cup really is half full

It's been a long week, and I've found myself a little frustrated with Kate more than once.  Kate has been miserable for almost a week now (she's teething) - grumpy, clingy, easily provoked.  I was starting to feel the same way.

Yesterday was one of the worst days. Kate had been demanding that I hold her or stay right next to her pretty much all day, and it was still another hour before Dave would be home.  I was about at the end of my rope and in the middle of a "moment."   I had put Kate down and she started crying, once again, and reached up for me to hold her.  In that moment, I realized how very grateful I am to have her in my life.  About how sad I would be if her little arms weren't reaching up for me.  About how happy I am to be her mom and have her in my life.  Thinking about that really changed my perspective for that last hour.  Kate wasn't really a burden any more, I was happy to take care of my little girl who's so miserable.

And while today wasn't easy, it was a lot easier with that perspective in mind.  The cup really is half full.  My takeaway: the hardest times are the times when it is most important to remember how much you love your little one.  If we could do that, really love them in those moments: when they're screaming in the grocery store check out line, when they just dumped their oatmeal all over our lap, when they just broke something . . . how differently would we handle things?  Wouldn't we be much better parents if we could, in those moments, keep our love for them at the forefront of our minds?

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

 Image from http://lingue.altervista.org

A few weeks ago I was getting a little depressed about the state of the family.  It seemed like every other day I was hearing about someone we knew getting a divorce, or watching a new case of child abuse on the news, or getting caught up in our own little problems.

So, here's to making our families a little better each day.  As President Monson put it, "This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways." (for more of this talk, click here)

That's what this blog is all about - families "making it" - one step at a time.  I hope this can help you and your family, and hopefully, it'll help mine in the process.  Please feel free to share and contribute, I'd love to hear about your family!