Family, a Gift, a Lonely Dog, a Hated Bath, & Halloween

Family

Tek & Grandma Cheryl

Tek & Great Grandma Vidmar

A Gift

Auntie Amy sent Tek this cool new toy for his first birthday. He loves it!

A Lonely Dog

I haven't showed off my good looking dog, Riley, in a while.
Here is a cute picture of him pouting because Tek gets all the attention.

A Hated Bath

So, apparently, Tek hates baths now. We have no idea why, but he hates them. He is always standing up and trying to get out.

Even toys don't help him enjoy it. He still hates it.

But as soon as he is out and in Mommy's arms, he is great again.

He loves the mirror! (Like the wallpaper? Gotta love renting!)

Halloween

Tek had a party at daycare today. This is apparently his "girlfriend" at daycare. Momma does not approve. He is already promised to Sahra.

Tek and his daycare teacher Ms.Whitney. She is wonderful. We adore her! And she adores Tek.

Daddy and Tek getting ready for Trick or Treaters.

Momma & Tek. I know, I know... an angel is a stretch for me even on Halloween.

Uncle Cody missed Tek's first Halloween. But don't worry, Dad filled in for you. ; )

I usually love Halloween. I was especially excited for this year, being Tek's first and all. But some stuff came up and we got really busy, so it didn't get the attention it deserved. Nonetheless, we dressed Tek up and we handed out candy to a lot of kids not dressed up as anything. Seriously, since when don't you have to dress up for Halloween. I have always been under the impression that if there is no costume there is no candy. But if we would have followed that we would have only handed out 3 pieces of candy. Really, I think we only saw three costumes. So I made the non-costumed children tell me what they were supposed to be. There were an awful lot of rappers this year... as I recall there were an awful lot of rappers last year. What is this world coming to when you can have whatever you like? (Even stacks on deck, patron on ice and we could pop bottles all night.)

One little girl looked at Andy, then me, and then Tek. She asked "Is that your baby?" I responded, "yes." She then ran up to the two older girls nearby and starting whispering. I then said, "we adopted him." She turns around and says "Ohhhhhhhh that's why he is that color!" It was so adorable and so innocent. She then came up really close to him and declared that he is the cutest baby ever!

Life has been strange lately. We have had a few curve balls lately. I think the busyness of our lives has finally caught up with us. I am finally realizing it is time to slow down. I need to enjoy my family more and spend more evenings taking time to appreciate them. I need to spend time with my dog. He is so neglected. Poor Riley! I need to spend time by myself. What kind of mom can I be if I don't take care of myself? I've lost a bit of weight lately. My grandma says I look better, I was getting fat. :) Anyway, when I lose weight its a good sign that I am not taking care of myself. So, I am going to focus on that.

Something I have gotten better about is my list. I've always had a list in my head of things I always wanted to do. As of late I have decided to get more intentional about it. I've written everything down and look at it daily. Its a secret list, I don't share it with everyone. I will tell people about a few things here and there, but I don't reveal all of my list. Probably because I don't want anyone to know all of my hopes and dreams and probably because people would think I am crazy and dream too big. :) Some of the items on my list are small like a hobby I want to start or the amount of books I want to read each month. Other items are bigger like a place I want to visit or a dream I have always had. Anyone that knows me knows that I am always full of ideas, so you can imagine that I am constantly coming up with things to add, but I try to keep it at a reasonable length.

The best thing about the list is the sense of accomplishment I feel when I cross something off of it. It makes me feel in control of my own happiness. I like that feeling. For so long I have played the victim (ask Corey and Andy they used to love to call me that!) its nice to see myself differently than that. What satisfaction you get from intentionally doing things for yourself that make you happy. Of course my family is taken into consideration when choosing items on my list to do, but Andy is pretty cool with letting me do whatever I want. Just as I was pretty cool with him starting a church from scratch. :)

The list has really helped me keep my identity as I have become a mom. Its so easy to just get lost in the fact that you are a mom and your life is now about this little person. My list reminds me that I am still an individual with dreams and ideas. And I want Tek to see me as someone who never stopped pursuing her dreams, just as I never want him to stop pursuing his, (like his dream of saying "mama" and knowing that it means me. )

So, I was wondering what is on your list? You might have something on yours that I might like add to my own.