Do you ever have "mom fails"? You know what I'm talking about and I'm not referring to what you can find on the internet when you google "mom fail". I'm referring to normal "mom fails" like when you forget diapers or wipes for your baby. Or you forget to take your potty training toddler to the bathroom before you send them off to nursery. Or you forget the field trip and pack lunch in the wrong bag and dress your child inadequately for the weather. Or you forget to take the birthday cake out the pan before you go to bed just to find it good and stuck the next morning. Or you forget when the Pinewood Derby is and tell your husband it is okay for him to travel for work the week of the derby. There are others and my list could go on and on and on and.....
So last night I had one of those "mom fails." I actually have them quite a lot. As I write this, I see it seems to be related to forgetfulness. I'm not usually a forgetful person, but the recent sleep deprivation is taking it's toll folks.
Last night was Bliss and Zade's Pinewood Derby with their cub scout troop at church. I come from a family of girls and have no idea about scouts or derbies or merit badges, etc. And yes, I told Blasen it was okay to travel this week without thinking of the derby happening on Wednesday. He was able to help make Zade's car and Bliss just wanted to use his from last year. We weighed them and thought we were good to go, but apparently our scale is wrong. Now that I look back, I think the troop's scale was wrong as most of the scouts had to make adjustments.
Oh well, I did the best I could as I was holding a not so happy two month old and just taped whatever coins in my wallet to the bottom of their cars. Well, apparently they hung down too far and would rub the track in places and my boys did not win one race. And they were DEVASTATED...especially Zade. This was his first derby and he was so excited and has been looking forward to it since last year.
They wouldn't let you make adjustments to the cars after the races started so there was nothing we could do. I had to sit there and watch my boys near tears at the end of each race. Zade would eagerly get his car each time with hope that he would do better this time. And each time, no such luck. I was CRUSHED. I wanted to sit there and cry too. I know it's not that important, but to Zade it was. He gets so frustrated if he can't do something right or doesn't win. Last weekend, he was in tears after his soccer game because he scored 1 goal and not 3. (We're working on how to handle disappointments.) I tried pointing out all the other boys have similar problems and they can't see that. All they see is the boy with the fastest car.
Late last night, as I finally got all the tears wiped away and ice cream served (because ice cream fixes everything) and people in pajamas and teeth brushed and scriptures read and prayers said and kids to bed and babies feed and the house was quite for the first time all day...I lay in bed thinking about the night's events. The connection finally came between my night (my "mom fail") and my Heavenly Father. How crushing it has to be for Him to watch his children all over the world and watch them suffer. Just as He lets us fall and lets us fail and cry and lose and be sick and be wronged, etc...all with the knowledge that it can make us better if we look to Him and our Savior, we must do the same. When our children fall and fail, we should help them see what to learn and point them to the Savior who can teach and heal and sends the Comforter. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I am so grateful for teaching moments...for me and my children.
We have a new addition to the family. We welcomed Sias Pratt to our family on March 9th.
He waited to his exact due date...no sooner, no later...to enter this world. And once it all began, we were on a roll. He waits for no one apparently. I arrived at the hospital having contractions about 7-10 minutes apart and thought I still had a ways to go. Once the nurse checked me and informed me I was already 8cm dilated, I believe I said "Yes!" and may have thrown in a fist pump. I just didn't look forward to extreme amounts of pain. I just passed a healthy sized kidney stone two weeks before and felt I had endured my fair share of pain for the year. The nurse called the doctor and he was on his way and they would wait to break my water until he arrived. The doctor got there about 15 minutes later and contractions were getting closer and more intense. I knew as soon as my water broke we would have a baby within minutes...judging on past deliveries. The doctor came in and checked me, still 8cm, and broke my water. He and the nurse leave me to labor in peace and say just call us when you are ready to push. With the very next contraction I felt the urge to push at the very end of the contraction. I thought I was imagining it since it was at the very end of the contraction and told myself "I'll just wait until the next contraction and see." Big mistake! The next contraction was very close and I was definitely ready to push. I frantically tell Blasen and he pushes the nurse call bell....and no response. This baby was coming and coming quickly. He tries again...nothing. I tell him to go and find someone. He runs out in the hall to find the nurse and I feel the baby crowning. Blasen finds the nurse and doctor and runs back in to the room just in time for me to tell him that the baby is out and I need his help. Sure enough Blasen pulls back the blanket and Sias's head is out and Blasen helps deliver the rest of him. The doctor gets there and does the rest. Sias weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5in long. I thought he would be bigger since he was born on his due date. He falls right in there with his siblings on size though. And amazingly, to us at least, he has his own look. You can tell he belongs in our family but has his own unique characteristics. That's the miraculous part about genetics...you think there were only so many variations of your genes, but it's endless.
In moments like these time seems to go on forever. I look up to the clock that is on the wall right in front of me and realize that not even ten minutes has passed since the doctor was in there breaking my water! Crazy!
Now we have this cute little guy with us and the only evidence that he came so quickly is the scratch on the end of his nose. He is such a blessing to our family. The joy and excitement that comes into our home when welcoming a new family member just can't be replicated. We all love him so much and just can't get enough.
We are about to have another birthday in our family next week, so I felt I needed to post about past birthdays from this year.
Zade's birthday is in March and as you see out the windows, there was still snow on the ground. It's something he has gotten used to since we've moved to WI. In the past, he would have birthday parties where we most likely could be outside.
Regardless of the weather, Zade was excited that it was his birthday. Got some games, both video and board, and the Alabama jersey from Mama Ford and Grandfather.
Our idea this year, instead of the birthday parties, was a Spring Break day trip to the Lego Discovery Center in Chicago. Thankfully, we planned ahead and ordered our tickets online. It was a combined birthday treat for Isla and Zade's birthdays.
We even were able to build something ourselves that day.
I don't know if we could really say one display was a favorite. Each new area was "awesome, this is our favorite!" We had a great time, despite the crowd.
Isla's birthday came just a few weeks later. She chose smore cups instead of a cake. Again, fine by me. As a special treat, we ended up having cousins here for a visit. My sister, Emily and her clan headed north for Spring Break. What a trooper! They left nice warm Georgia weather for chilly Wisconsin. There was even a little snow lingering in places, which the cousins thought was fun. We had a couple of warm days we could play outside though.
Isla added to her homemaking collection with a new doll cradle and high chair, along with new play food for her kitchen.
We love visitors and always feel so lucky when we have them!
