Memoirs of a Moorings

All Is Quiet

"My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors."  ~Bette Midler

I pulled the stove away from the wall today to fetch a sippy cup that fell back there. I was horrified at the mess that was there. A piece of broken glass from a plate, a few stray toys, a golf ball, a long-missing towel hook from the kitchen island, and tons of dust, dirt and grease...some of it from the previous owners and some from our own doing. Either way, I feel that a cleaning is long overdue. The stove works fine, but who knew about all the junk lying underneath.

As I pushed the stove back, a thought dropped in my spirit....what about all the junk lying under the surface in my life.

Point taken.

With that, things will be quiet around here for the month of January. I'm dedicating myself to consecration, meditating on God's Word and working out some of the junk in my spiritual walk and turning off the noise in my life: Twitter, Facebook, Google Readera, TiVo, the Crackberry and blogging. I may pop in to share a thought or two.

Care to join me? Email or leave a comment for a copy of my consecration schedule.

God's best to you in 2009!

Remembering the Gifts: The One Thousand Gift List

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

Giving thanks for daily blessings has been long over due.

201. Baby kisses
202. Warm showers on chilly mornings
203. A big boy who still sits in my lap
204. Long, beautiful eyelashes on two equally beautiful boys
205. Two little boys safely tucked into warm beds
206. Christmas gifts wrapped and waiting
207. A Saturday morning full of possibilities
208. Old friendships re-kindled
209. The kindness of strangers
210. A busy, crawling, curious baby
211. Being told you are "the bestest  mommy in the world."
212. Two splashing boys in a warm, bubbly tub
213. The beauty of Christmas in twinkling lights and green wreaths
214. Brothers playing together
215. A call from my father sounding chipper and healthy
216. A five-year-old breaking out in spontaneous dance
217. A baby brother who joins him
218. A big boy who reminds me of the fruit of the Spirit

One Is the Magic Number

"Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world.”

Shayne's first birthday came just as fast as he did on the day he was born. He had a ball. So much so that he zonked out at 7:30pm and slept past 8am. We need to party that hard all the time. It was a low key gathering but big on fun. We definitely didn't have to tell this kid twice to dig in when it came to the cake. A big difference from his big brother who was so timid when it came to the cake on his first birthday. We ended up having to take the cake away because he was eating too much.

Here's what the little dude is up to:

:: Crawling like crazy.....finally.

:: Pulling up on everything. Standing is all the craze around here.

:: Loves cold cereal with milk

:: Can spot a piece of bread a mile away. Is a bread fanatic.

:: Is convinced he can drink a Capri sun.

:: Loves to watch his brother play the Nintendo DS

:: Will stop what he's doing to watch Wii

:: Cracks up when HE shakes his head "no."

:: Thinks it's entertaining to watch his brother run around the house

:: Points passionately at anything that grabs his attention

:: Is tinkled pink by Elmo

:: Graduated from the bottle

:: Is not totally sold on regular table food yet. But not totally feeling the pureed food either.

:: Loves to snuggle and kiss.

Makes Me Smile

"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."

Turns out that somebody other than my mother and two of my friends read the blog. I received The Smile Award from the ladies over at Mommy Lounge. What a sweet little surprise. Be sure to go over and give them a visit. Thanks ladies!

Here are the characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human)
2. Must love one another
3. Must make mistakes
4. Must learn from others
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world
6. Must love life
7. Must love kids

Here are the rules:
1. The recipient must link back the the award's creator (http://www.thebabblingsofmere.blogspot.com/)
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

These are the blogs that always make me smile when I see them updated in my feed reader:

1. My Longest Year: Cute crafts. Cute kids. Cute mommy. She formerly blogged about having her husband away in the service. He's now home. What's not to smile about?

2. Makes Me Wanna Holler: Blogs about things on a black daddy's mind. Always interesting stuff here. I especially love the YouTube daddy video on his site.

3. Mocha Dad: I love black men who love being daddies. That alone makes me smile.

4. Never Hoot Alone: I love this dude. Always makes me smile with his thoughtful posts.

5. Superhero Journal: Just looking at her site makes me smile. I think she has like 10,000 million readers. Proof that she's a joymaker!

Be sure to check everybody out. I'm sure you'll smile too.

What Baby #2 Has Taught Me

    "Like fruit, children are sweetest just before they turn bad."  ~Dena Groquet

The countdown to baby's first birthday is in full swing. This has been the fastest year of my life. We're having a small celebration at the house for little one.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I simply followed the same plan for baby #2's invite. A year in pictures. Lovely isn't it? Hard to believe how much he's grown. How much I've grown as a parent. I'm amazed at how much being the mommy of two has taught me:

1. Don't reinvent the wheel. If it worked for baby #1, try it for baby #2.

2. The baby won't die from eating cheerios off the floor. SAM is a human vacuum cleaner. I'm amazed at the items I find in his mouth.

3. Yes, it is okay to close the door and let them cry if you need a few moments to collect yourself.

4. Let babies and kids explore...until they come up on something dangerous.

5. Don't ever expect baby #2 to be the same as #1.......it never happens.

So looking forward to giving this little guy cake. I know he's going to love it.