“Hey, Mama, do you have scareds?”

“No, I sure don’t.”

“Me nee’dur. ‘Dis house, Eli house, is not spooky.”

“No?”

“Oh no. Be’tause God mades ‘dis house. He mades it. And it His house. He pwrotects us all ‘da days and all ‘da nights. My Mama, ‘dis house just can’ts be spooky be’tause God lives here. Whew! And I’s so glad He takes my bad dwreams. It makes me feel happy and safe and not scareds in my…

My curly headed boy and I were bent over our roses when we first heard it. “Listen,” I whispered. Eli cupped his hand to his ears. With all of his might, he listened.

Slowly a grin spread across his face. He brushed back his curls, “‘Dose are ‘wittle biwrds. I heawrs ‘dem to muh eawrs.”

On our fence post hangs a bird house. It isn’t a special type or even very much to look at. But little…

I was between 30-31 weeks when I went into labor.

I denied it for a few hours. I chanted the definition of Braxton-Hicks like it was a new mantra. But at dinner that night, I couldn’t eat. The contractions were regular; there was no denying it. With instructions to put my feet up, drink water and to watch the clock, I settled…

“I want cake,” his request was quiet and calm. 2 year-old Eli has only had cake on a few occasions, birthday parties mostly. He peered into the dessert counter. The trays of goodies sparkled. My husband and I looked at one another and nodded in agreement. We would get a slice to share.

Eli sat down at the table with enthusiasm, “O’tay. Where my cake?”

Glances were exchanged between the…

Continuing our “Is it worth it?” series, we are diving into the world of Health and Beauty. I am a sucker for beauty products. I have an entire cabinet dedicated to such products…an. entire. cabinet. If it promises silkier, shinier or smoother then I have bought it.

I have tried a couple of DIY masks before, but I haven’t liked them as much as my frilly scented store-bought masks.

However, this mask’s promise of working like a Biore strip was too tempting to pass…

“Oh my! You are getting heavy!”

“I’s not, Mama. Don’t says that I, Eli, is not too heavy fors you.”

“You’re not?”

“No. be’tause if I’s too heavy, ‘den my mama can’t holds me. ‘Dat make my heart cwry.”

“I suppose I didn’t think of it that way. That is very sad.”

“Uh-Huh.”

“Well, I am thankful that you are not too heavy. I can still hold you and carry…

We were still as can be as little Eli tried to drift off to sleep. His rubbed  his heavy eyes and blinked hard to keep them open. I rubbed his hair. My husband sang Eli’s favorite lullaby. Our world was still and happy.

Eli sleepily muttered about the room being too dark. He’s afraid of the dark and the noises that he can’t see. My husband pulled him close, “It’s okay. I’ve got you Eli.”

Eli sighed and smiled. He patted his daddy’s arm.

A few moments passed and that…

There are those quiet, magic moments.

The moment where he crawls into my lap. He sighs quietly and wraps his arms around my neck. There is no noise. There is no conversation. We simply sit.

I bury my face in his curls. I love the smell of his lavender shampoo. As I breathe in, the hurries of today melt away. All that consumes me is this quiet, magic moment.

He reaches down to…

"Tan’s I haves ‘dis?”

“Hmm? What?”

“‘Dis. It a kitty cat. I likes him. Tan I haves him, pwlease?”

“Sure. That’s fine. I think he’s a hamster though.”

“What? A hamschtur? Oh no. He’s a kitty cat. Definwitely.”

“Eli… Right now you have 2 hamsters in your hand. Put one back with his friends. We will only take one home.”

“He a kitty cat. O’tay. I only haves 1 now.”

“Eli, you still have 2 hamsters in your hand. How many should you…

I am so guilty of it. My mind is counting the hours left in the day and the items left to check off. Too often I spend most of Eli’s bedtime routine rushing while trying to get him still. My mind races as I coax his mind to relax.

Tonight I slowed down.

I scooped up my wriggling, chatting, energetic toddler and cradled…

Little Eli sat quietly in the back seat most of the way home. He sighed. I glanced back at his pouty cheeks and crossed arms.

“How way your day, Eli?”

“I’s not talks about my day right now. I feels sad.”

“Oh, I see. Do you want to talk about being sad?”

“O’tay.”

“Why do you feel sad?”

“betaus. Eli hearwt is sad. See?”

A chubby finger pointed to his heart.

“Indeed I do. Perhaps we should just go home this evening. Would you like…

Even though Thanksgiving has passed, I wanted to take a moment and share a few things in which I am thankful.

With a new home, a loving husband, the cutest toddler around, supportive family and friends, I am one blessed mama!

Thanksgiving 2012: the mama, the baby and the daddy…

Something that I realized fairly early on in motherhood is that I am going to say some outrageous things in this raising a kid thingy. My 2 year-old is curious, messy and adventurous. He is exasperating, endearing and certainly entertaining.

Here’s a few of my own recent things only a mom would say:

“It is customary for one to wear pants outside. Yes, yes, even when we have on super…

Here is the conclusion of how a grumpy 10 year-old cat was removed unwillingly from the old house.

If you missed the first part of this adventure, check it out here.

Since our first crack at getting Winston in the pet carrier failed so miserably, we tried another approach: We left the 2 year-old with his uncle.

My…

Fall means football season. Football season means more time away from the husband. That’s a bummer. But it also is a lot of great quality time with little Eli. That is fantastic.

On Friday night my favorite handsome, curly-haired, two-year old and I went on our first official mama date.

During dinner, as we waited for our food, I took a moment to look at my little boy. I mean really look at him. In just a few months, he will be considered a…

We have had an egg incident before.

This specific incident was started with a Baby Einstein DVD. It was about shapes. Eli found the segment on oval shaped eggs especially fascinating.

From the next room, I heard him belt out an original song, “Eggs are ovals! Ovals and eggs! Eggie eggs Ovals…”

Then the room got quiet. As parents, we all know the dangers of a quiet…

One of my very favorite parts of the day is picking Eli up from preschool. He is full of chatter about the latest circle time happenings and who had what to eat for lunch.

Yesterday afternoon, Eli was explaining at rocket speed how he and Trenton had played trains. I nodded and smiled and quietly listened as I drove.

I snapped my turning signal on.

“Nopes. Wrong way.”

“It would be the wrong way if we were heading home, but we have an errand to run.”

“Wheres…

I must say, parenting a 2 year-old is fun. Parenting a 2 year-old with such creativity and determination is going to make me gray early…but it is so going to be worth it. 

Here is a bit of Eli negotiations regarding his big-boy cup:

“Mama, I drinks da orange juice?”

“Sure.”

“Wait (stop sign hand). ‘Tan I haves da orange juice in da bastheball cup? ‘Da cup withs ‘da no lid.”

“That’s a big responsibility for a little guy.”

“(sigh) I’s not…

mamacravings.com

My little Eli has started another year of preschool. While I have been told countless times that he’ll grow too quickly, it still shocks me how he is taller each morning and more verbal with each conversation. It is certainly bittersweet for a mama to watch her baby grow. I have found that I can never snap enough pictures, capture enough videos or save…