Genius: This is partly my friend Lauren’s genius, because she had the fun idea to take Meredith to visit this adorable new independent toy store in town. So we went last Sunday after lunch, and since it was 30 min away I had to keep Meredith awake on the way there or else it wasn’t gonna happen. No one wants to be around her if she’s woken up from a nap. So we had a very intense conversation about Frozen on the way there as well as singing the same song about twenty times, but it worked. And she was just in the best mood, and played happily with all the different toys, and she didn’t know that you could buy…
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Genius: Asking for a whole bunch of help. With David being so sick and my work routine thrown off, I’ve relied heavily on my parents and in-laws for picking up the kids and babysitting to get things done. Fail: Losing my cool in front of Meredith. Last weekend I reached my breaking point, but at least instead of lashing out in anger I just broke down and cried instead. It kind of marked a turning point within me, though, and after some time alone and prayer, things improved. Currently: gearing up for a 10k in the morning worried about finishing since I’ve only run a handful of times in the past few weeks looking forward to church craft night tonight, if…
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Genius: Meredith goes through phases where she has these daily screaming meltdowns, and we were in one this week. I am never sure what is the answer to these, because sometimes she’s done something that needs punishing, and other times she just flips out. One day this week we were trying to get out the door to head to daycare/work and she was screaming and crying. Thank God for the extra dose of patience and optimism that I had prayed for that morning, because I picked her up and started singing “This is the day the Lord has made…” and she immediately calmed down and asked me to sing it several more times. She even asked what it meant and we…
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Genius: Meredith has been in swim lessons the past two weeks. It’s every day at 6:15 p.m. I usually don’t make any plans on week days due to the stress factor so this has been kind of crazy for us. My genius, though, was to simply delegate the whole thing to David. That way I can nurse Liam and make dinner peacefully while they’re gone, we eat as soon as they get home, and then it’s bedtime. Easy. Fail: Weekend naps continue to be a sticking point for us. They never happen in an orderly or easy fashion and we routinely suffer the consequences. Last Sunday, Meredith started dozing off on the way home from church. She woke up when we arrived…
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