Happy (Belated) Easter!

I'm behind. Hopefully you'll all forgive me. Easter weekend was very busy for us. And, I'm just getting around to posting my baby boy's A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E Easter photos. The photos were taken by CSM Photography of Erwin. Connie Sue did a fabulous job. We bought the copyright release & CD, so I'm using these images legally! :)

Enjoy!


My little GQ man

This is the politician ad pose (though I pray he doesn't become one of those!)

And these 3 are the wagon & bunny pictures

Hey there Buddy the Rabbit!

This picture was featured on our Easter cards. Too. Precious.

And this picture is what my baby looks like when sheer joy shines on his face.

Just another headshot.



And, last...just because I think he looks great in black & white:

So, for Lindsey & my other readers...that's my beautiful baby's Easter pictures.

I hope all of you enjoyed celebrating the resurrection of our Lord this past weekend. Please don't ever forget that Easter isn't about hiding eggs and a giant bunny. He is Risen!

We Needed a Reminder

Oftentimes, our lives...our "little messes," if you will...become so overwhelming that we forget to stop and be thankful for what we have. A roof over our heads. Food in our refrigerators. Family and friends who love us.

The tornadoes that ravaged parts of our state on Saturday were a true, genuine reminder for me of several things.

1. How blessed I truly am with all the things I do have in my life. I may not have a big house or a fancy car or a big boat. But, right about now, I have a LOT more than a LOT of people who've lost their belongings, their cars, their homes, and even more importantly, their loved ones to those storms.

2. That I need to get my priorities straight. God and family come first. Period. Everything else is gravy.

3. A little bit of grace goes a very long way.

4. The Lord is capable of many things, not the least of which he demonstrated to us on Saturday. To stand in a family member's yard and look in all directions and see nothing but devastation, and be able to look at that family member swinging on his front porch swing. It showed me how truly awesome our God is! Though there were lives lost, and others injured; compared to the number of homes and businesses that were damaged and destroyed, the ratio is so small it's unbelievable.

5. Be kind to one another.

6. Pick up a rake and help your neighbor.

7. And by all means, don't insult victims of disaster by using them for your entertainment. If you're going to drive by at 3mph videoing them work to clean up what's left of their lives, pull over, get out, and grab a chainsaw. Or a limb. Or a log. Or a trash bag. I can't imagine wanting to see the things I've seen over the last few days.

How My Blog Got Its Name

My Little Mess. Though many of blogs have been and will continue to be about my son, Levi, the blog name really just means, "My Life," which, in reality, revolves around Levi. But, as I considered Lindsey's challenge to start a blog, I wondered, what would I call it? (She has a nifty little blog over HERE and even does give-a-ways from time to time, so check her out!) Then I remembered this song that I'd heard on the way to work one morning. The artist is Francesca Battistelli, and she has an amazing tone to her voice. But, the lyrics of the song really, REALLY, spoke to me. And made me remember just how blessed I have been in this world. You should take a peek. This is the official youtube video. Enjoy.

Special Story: Smart Start Really Matters!

So, the assignment from my big boss at work was: provide a special story about how the work you do at the Partnership affects the children of Cumberland County. I struggled with this. I kept thinking, "I'm paperwork. I'm behind the scenes." And, then it dawned on me, I couldn't tie a specific work event to having affected the children of Cumberland County, BUT, I could tie a specific LIFE event to the work I do for the children of Cumberland County. I was telling husband about the special story, and my boss' response to the special story, and he suggested that I blog it. And, then, share it. For me, saving Smart Start is NOT about saving my job. It's about saving kids. Like mine. Like his best friend, Tyler. Like his other classmates. Like the classmates they'll have when they start school. High Quality Child Care matters! It makes a difference. If funding Smart Start is what it takes to make it happen, then we need to tell our legislators to HOLD THE LINE ON SMART START!

I learned first-hand the importance of those silly little stars on a child care provider’s license. My son’s health, and convenience to location drove me to place him – approximately 8 months old at the time – in a 1-star Family Child Care Home. His UNC Pulmonologist requested that we remove him from a center-based child care setting for the sake of his health. From our home, there are 2 child care providers within a reasonable driving distance. One was the center-based child care setting where he was enrolled, and the other is 1-star Family Child Care Home where we moved him to. Location to my home was important because my schedule created the need for others than myself to pick him up from daycare on a regular basis. He had a really hard time adjusting to the move. There were lots of little “things” during the 9 months he was there should have SCREAMED to me to move him, but I felt trapped, like I had no choice – the doctors say he needs the smaller environment; there’s no one else nearby; the transition was so hard on him, I don’t want to do that again. During those 9 months, he learned to watch a lot of TV. And he learned to snatch toys and run down the hall, screaming “No No No.” He clung to his sippy cup like it was his lifeline. I chalked it up to his developmental stage. And then, the BIG thing that shouted, screamed, and slapped me into reality happened. She physically disciplined my child, and had the nerve to tell me about it. She just couldn’t keep watching a child who wouldn’t just sit in the floor and play with the toys (none of which were developmentally appropriate for a child his age). And, I realized, too late, that those behaviors weren’t his developmental stage, they were learned behaviors; that he was learning from the two 3-year olds he was in daycare with. He never went back there. The following week, I enrolled him in a 4-star center. One that’s not quite so convenient to our home location. And, because of his compromised immune system, one that doesn’t keep him quite so healthy. But, within 3 weeks of being there, he was feeding himself every meal. There were no more sippy cups, unless we were traveling. He no longer snatched toys. He was calmer and more well-behaved. That experience with my own child made me realize just how important the work we do here at the Partnership truly is to improving and promoting high quality child care. Every child should have the opportunity to learn in a high-quality setting. When you’ve never experienced it, you don’t see the difference. Every quality enhancement grant agreement; every subsidy MOA; the DSP contracts with DSS and Easter Seals that I process, those are my means to effect change in the lives of children in Cumberland County.

First T-Ball Practice

Monday night was Levi's first T-Ball practice. Let me just say, a t-ball field is no place for a 2-year old. Hard.Lesson.Learned. But, anyway, it was interesting. And chaotic. And funny. There are about 10 kids or so on his team. He and 2 others are the only 2-year olds. The other kids are 3 and 4. And "get it" alot better than Levi, Will & Danielle do at 2. But, he loves to hit the ball...and to "run, run, run." The biggest problem? The playground is in site of the T-Ball field. Which means when he "run, run, runs," you had better be right there with him, or he's going to run, run, run to "go play at park."

I learned three very valuable lessons last night:
(1) Don't wear flops to your 2-year old's T-Ball practice/game. {See they're no longer on my feet?}

PS - That's not the ball he hit, its the extra ball. He really can hit it farther than that! LOL

(2) Don't wear a dress to your 2-year old's T-Ball practice/game. {See me holding it up as I run?!?}

(3) Be prepared to get your exercise! {No photo here, the first two are scary enough!}

Tell Mamma I'm Sorry!

So, it's no secret to those who know us that my baby boy is a Mamma's boy (aren't all boys, "Mamma's boy"??). He's just over 2 years old (almost a whopping 26 months!), and I still rock him to sleep. Most nights that means he sleeps sounder which means I sleep sounder. What's the problem? Well, the problem is, it's Mamma that rocks him to sleep. So, if Mamma isn't able to rock him to sleep, we end up with a new national emergency. Kind of like this past Monday night. I was deathly ill on Monday. Wasn't sure I'd survive the stomach flu that had taken hold of my body and drained every ounce of energy I had. I'm still not over it. I'm currently surviving on soup broth, crackers and dry toast. And ginger-ale. Lots and lots of ginger-ale. Not that it'll kill me. :)

Well, on Monday night, husband put Levi to bed for me. Bless their hearts. It started with Levi crawling on the couch with me saying, "Mamma rock you, pease." Next was Jeremy dragging him, kicking and screaming, to the nursery. Then came the screaming, "mamma rock youuuuuuu". THEN, as if that was heart-wrenching enough, he started screaming, "Tell Mamma I'm sorry!" "Tell Mamma I'm sorry!" For like 30 minutes. My poor husband was a trooper. He rocked him through it all.

Poor little fella thought he was being punished because his daddy was rocking him instead of Mamma.

Usually at bedtime, Levi doesn't want to give Daddy love because that means he has to go to bed. Last night, he nearly jumped out of my arms to give his Daddy a kiss good night. I guess he didn't want to be punished again?

Could've Been a Big Mess...

A little Saturday painting fun!

I Am "That Kind of Mom"

So, I overheard a coworker saying that her sister is "that kind of mom" the other day. I was curious, so I asked what she meant by it. Her story went something like that her sister played kiddie music in the car (and everywhere else) to appease her young child. I was appalled!{heavy on the sarcasm}

What is wrong with being "that kind of mom?" I'm "that kind of mom." Though, I think I have a good excuse: From an early age, we had to take long road trips with Levi to and from specialist doctor visits. Well, the only way to keep him sane (and ultimately, to keep ME sane) was VeggieTales Silly Songs on CD. His first experience with kiddie shows - we don't do much TV in our house - was a VeggieTales Ultimate Silly Song Countdown DVD. He was consumed by these silly little veggies dancing around to these even sillier (is that a word?) little songs.

And, then we invested. In a few CDs for the car, not just VeggieTales, but other kiddie songs, too. Best.Decision.Ever. Gone were the days of screaming for hours in the car. The headaches? Gone. Some days he even grabs the drums to play along:

Well, for the most part, anyway. There's always the day when he's soooo sleepy:

Or the day when he's not feeling well and so he screams no matter what we do. (No picture, I'm always too stressed to snap one). Those are the days we just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Then, there are the days when I drop him off at "school" (aka daycare) and head into the office, only to pull up in the parking lot and realize that I'm listening to some kiddie song. This morning, it was:

The Happy Day Express

Sing it with me, now:

♫We're going to the mansion♫

♫On the happy day express♫

♫The letters on the engine♫

♫are J-E-S-U-S♫

Ok, that's enough of that.

And, for Lindsey, I realize this wasn't what you wanted to see next, BUT, I figure I'll save THAT one 'til the day gets a little closer. :)