April 11, 2011
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RWOTD {Pat}
It is an absolutely gorgeous spring day in Wisconsin.
I don’t even care that it is partially cloudy or that it didn’t get over 60 degrees.
We saw the sun and felt its warmth and we are satisfied.
The spring peepers are chirping away out in the swamp and the snow is almost completely gone.
I am rejoicing.
I just came back from my hair appointment, went to school to pick up Derrick, and for the 2nd time in the last few months, someone asked about my hair and said that they want to go to my stylist and tell her that they “want their hair just like Audrey’s.”
Maybe I just feel QUITE so jubilant about that, but for a girl who grew up conservative Mennonite and who still is self proclaimedly “not good with hair”, yeah, it feels pretty good.
Like I’ve arrived. In the hair department.
Not to mention that not even three weeks ago, on my little live video, my hair looked extremely crooked.
Nope, not thinking about that today.
Just basking in the compliment that someone else wants hair JUST.LIKE.MINE.
I (or Melissa, my stylist) must be doing something right!
In other news…I am happy to report that last night, I got to hold a teeny-tiny, not even 4 day old baby. I held him for probably an hour.
I oohed and aahed over him, looked at his teeny-tiny cute little feet with Nikki. Stroked his hair. Wrapped him up in his little blue blankie.
And I am even happier to report that I felt not ONE iota of the baby itch.
Nope. Not happening here.
I am so over the top happy with my three kids and our choice to stop at that.
I am even happier, that with my baby approaching 4 years old, I have no regrets.
I am loving the stage of life I am at and I can admit, after years of feeling ashamed and insecure about it, that I am NOT A BABY PERSON.
You know…they are “older kids” a lot longer than they are babies, so if it has to be one way or the other…I’m just sayin’.
But the “word of the day” reminded me of babies. And patting.
Oh, the patting.
Patting them to sleep. Patting them to get them to quit crying.
Patting them during the night when they woke up and were fussy and wouldn’t settle down.
Trying to tip-toe away from the crib or bassinet when you were just sure they were asleep…patting slower and slower so they wouldn’t notice when your hand finally slipped away.
Only to have them start wailing or lift their little heads the minute you eased out the door.
Patting them just a tad too firmly at times when frustration was taking over and they would.not.quit.crying.
And the counting.
Always the counting.
I cannot pat a baby without counting the pats.
Weird? I don’t know. You tell me.
I don’t even try to do it. It just happens.
Then I always set a limit for myself “Ok, I’m going to do 100 pats, and then I’ll go.”
Or “If they aren’t sleeping by 150 pats, I’m going to let them get back up.”
I still pat Nikki to sleep sometimes. On those days where she just doens’t want to settle down for her nap and she needs my presence to keep her in her bed instead of playing with toys.
And I still count. As I’m patting. And thinking about other things. 49…50…51…52…
Do you think she’ll be sleeping by 100?
There is something SO motherly about patting. So comforting. Singing lullabies and patting.
They reside near the center of a Mother’s heart.
Anyway, I’ve got bookwork to do and a short walk to take and supper to make and a long list of updates from a bunch of you other Xanga members that I am dying to read…so I’ll see you tomorrow.
Happy evening to you! (I’m not even taking time to proof read. Hopefully there are no major errors!!)
Comments (11)
you’re right. pats seem to go w/ mommyhood.
never counted mine though. but now.. i might just start.
glad you guys had a warmer day there. so did we.
especially enjoyed it as i hear rain is blowing in tomorrow.
i think that contented baby number is something every woman knows inside herself..
ya just know when you’re done.
happy monday friend.
i think you always have wonderful hair…i’m glad that you feel that you’re getting the hang of it
and what a compliment for someone to say that they want to get hair just like yours! i would be beaming too!
and to be able to hold a little one…i haven’t held a new little one in awhile…at first i was a little timid cause i thought i might break it
but it was so fun to just stare at my niece and see how tiny and GOd formed she is!
glad that the weather was clearing up for you…i’m so ready to just enjoy a bit of spring
i hear the birds early in the morning and am so glad to know they are back to settle in for their season!
may the rest of your week be a blessed time. I am so thankful for you Audrey!
I want to see your new doo! I have never went to have my hair done, maybe thats why I always look blah?…. But it looks like you were “Blessed” with more of straight hair, I have this hard to control frizzy mess if I cut it…. But I like to see great hair too!
that is the ultimate hair compliment!
i am so jealous of your contentment with your family. someone just cautioned me against doing something permanent until we know we are happy with the number. and i said “well,if we DON’T do something permanent, i know one day i will wake up and realize i have 22 children.because i just don’t think i will ever NOT want one more baby.”
Yay for new hair!!! I am getting about ( ) that close to getting something done to mine!!
So funny. I do the counting thing too, when I pat. And I would say, 50 pats after his eyes close then I can go.
Kind of forgot about that. I’m happy for you that you feel really good about your decision about being done. I was thinking about that the other day, and wondering if it would be the kind of thing that would be hard to know if you’re making the right choice or if you would be convinced(!) and never look back. Cool about the hair compliment, too!
I don’t think I’ve every counted when I patted my babies to sleep. I usually hum a song to the rhythm I want to be patting to. That brings back some sweet and not-so-sweet memories
I’m very pleased know that when I put the kids down to sleep that I won’t be seeing them until morning (most of the time!).
I think it’s so cool that you can take a compliment and just be happy about it. I’m not good at that.
You’ve probably at some point answered this question but, how do you chose the RWOTD?
Oh, my GOODness, I never did look at that video; I’m terrible at looking at the videos people put on here. But, I’ll go look. You are hilarious…the patting. That happened to me QUITE some time ago. I did begin to count. I even began to count when I patted hubby in bed. I had to stop before I made myself worry about myself. God must love you SO very much!
Counting the pats thing is SO funny! I don’t think I’ve ever done that but I can totally see it taking over my subconscious!! The sentence that made me do the biggest aha was that, patting slower and slower so he wouldn’t notice my hand going away.
And with Liam I often just kept my hand on his back so he’d stop popping his eyes open to see if I’m still there and then slowly, slowly, slowly ease off the pressure. I’ve often wondered how hillarious it would look to anyone looking on to slowly see my hand rising in the inches above his back. Somehow I still had to move slowly til about six inches up. Babies have incredible radars in their air space.
@inanorchard - I just go to a website where random words are generated. I generally choose from an adjective or a noun for my random word of the day. And then I blog about it!
(If you google “Random Word Generator” it will take you to the site.)
I’ve never counted the pats. My problem is the swaying. I sway babies and kids so much that I find myself swaying even when I’m not holding them. Sheez.
I’m glad to hear you’re not having baby fever. We decided to stop at 5 and so far I’m fine with it. I really don’t want to want another one. If that makes sense. I want to take a nap instead.