Sweet Babies

Yesterday Victoria was in the garage riding in her red '57 Chevy "car" (it has a 2-stroke engine - stroke with first one foot than the other!).  She is relatively safe out there since we have a gravel drive that does not lend itself to quick forays on riding toys.  I keep the door to the house open and work in the kitchen, listening carefully and peaking out frequently.  Victoria tens to want to play with whomever is with her and not spend time alone so I find it interesting that she seems to like this quiet retreat.

It had gotten quiet in the garage, the universal signal to check out the situation!  I found her sitting on the floor of the garage gazing into the wide open refrigerator.  At first I was concerned about losing the cool air in the fridge, but there is nothing in there that could be harmed. Then I wondered if she was just hot and had discovered air conditioning!

Instead, I walked up to her casually and asked her what she was looking at.  She informed me that she was waiting for her kids.  Playing along, I asked her how many kids she had.  "Seven," was her response.  I asked if she would like help gathering her "kids" together, she nodded, so I gently air-lifted "babies" while counting and placing "them" in my arms.  Letting her know my arms were "full", I asked where she would like them placed.  "In my car."  So, at her direction, placed them on the seat of her car.

Then she got up, closed the refrigerator and went on to some other project forgetting that her "kids" were in her car.  Don't you just love the imagination of little ones!

Overwhelmed?

Excerpt from today's email message from FlyLady.com 

(Memo to self - try this!)

Let me tell you what I do when I start to feel overwhelmed. I stop dead in my tracks when I first realize that I am beginning to feel antsy and SIT DOWN!

Then I take a few deep breaths and get out a piece of paper. Automatically my heart rate slows down and that antsy feeling subsides. The reason it is hard for us to recognize that we are feeling overwhelmed is because we have been living on adrenaline most of our lives. We have to practice slowing down when we feel antsy instead of speeding up! Think of it this way. You are going to love this one.

When you are driving and you see a problem way up ahead; do you drive faster to get there quicker. No you slow down and become more cautious. Imagine that all of a sudden you are driving in a fog and you can’t see where you are going. You have to slow down. Now you can’t just stop(crawl in bed) on the highway because there will be a major pile up(the house will fall apart). You have to proceed slowly and cautiously; being aware of everything going on around you. You even turn off the music so you can concentrate more. If you have a phone call you ignore it. Your mind has to be focused. That fog represents what is going on in our heads when we are trying to do too much at one time!

We can do this with our driving! So let’s start practicing it with our race though our day. Your day doesn't have to be one pile up after another!

Slow your brain down by sitting down with a piece of paper.

Put on some calming music and examine what is happening to you. Ask yourself these questions.

Have I had any food today?
Have I had any water?
Am I angry?
Am I tired?
Am I dressed to shoes?

What are the priorities? Write them down on your paper and put first things first.

Set your timer for 5 minutes and take care of yourself so you can think.

Then use your timer to keep you focused. I call it a 15 minute day! It is kind of like crisis cleaning for your head. I take my list of priorities and start at the top and spend 15 minutes on that one. It doesn’t matter that it is not finished then I set my timer again and go to the next item on the list. I do this three times then I sit for 15 minutes and collect my thoughts and rest at the same time. After timer goes off; I start again!

Are you feeling overwhelmed right now? Try this! It doesn’t matter if you are at work or home? Your timer eliminates the fog in your head! Use it!

Je-Da

Last night I watched Alexandra on the video monitor as she put herself to sleep - BTW video monitors are a great invention and, please note, she is putting herself to bed!

Anyway - she was rolling around the crib talking to herself.  Then she would sit up and read a book, then lie down and roll around some more.  Soon she stood and proceeded to throw out the books, then her pillow, then the stuffed animals, then the blanket.  Finally she picked up her bottle, gave it a shake to be sure it was really empty, and tossed it out too.  Then she laid back down and rolled around and continued to babble.

One word that she often repeats is Je-da.  Her mommy and I are quite certain that she is saying Jesus.  How wonderful that one of her first words is that of our Lord and God.  "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, the the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)