Ahh peaceful church or not

Since Destructo was born, church hasn't been what it used to be.  What I mean by that is that I spend the entire time chasing him around trying to keep him from completely disturbing the entire congregation.  Oh when he was a newborn, it was easy enough.  He slept through the entire thing unless he was hungry and then we fed him.  Easy peasy.

Back when church was easy.  He was mesmerized by the flame.

But then he got where he screamed and cried so much that I started leaving him at home with Mr. Destructo.  Around a year, Mr. Destructo started going to church with us more often and/or was working on the weekends so Destructo had to come to church with me or else I had to miss church.  This was a huge challenge at first.  The first two months, I am pretty sure there wasn't a single mass that I got to stay inside the church for the entire time.  I would end up having to take Destructo out in front of the church where he could get the wiggles out.

This slowly evolved to where I could sit the entire mass inside the narthex with him where he had a little more wiggle room and he would sit at my feet and play with his toys.  Now this week we went to my parents church and he even made it fairly well through the mass inside instead of out in the narthex.  It is getting better all the time.  I mean yeah, he provides enough entertainment for the entire side of the church we sit on, but still.  I am able to sit through an entire mass with only a handful of having to chase him downs.  My newest goal is to actually be able to pay enough attention to follow the sermon.  Right now I am constantly having to hand him a toy, keep him from wandering off, getting him a snack.  Ahh the joys of parenting toddlers.

Who me?  A  trouble maker.  No way

Oh and just to make this post make a bit more sense, my church doesn't have a nursery.  So I have no other option but to keep him in the mass with me.  This bothered me at first, but I have come to like it.  I love that my child is learning to worship and sit nicely in the mass by being an active participant from the very beginning.  Or at least that is what I tell myself when Destructo is driving me crazy the entire time and I haven't heard a word that the priest has said.   My church is also too small so people have to sit in the narthex each week which works out well for  us. 

So with that said, what works for you guys to keep your kids in control, quiet, and behaving during church?

The things I recommend so far are:  1)  Have snacks for your kiddo.  The fruit/veggie purees and puffs are favorites in our household.

2)  Have a special book that is just for church.  This is our church book. .  Kai loves opening the flaps and seeing what is under them and sometimes it will even buy 15 minutes of sitting still.

3)  The Little People farm animals are small and awesome to back in his toy bag.  He loves playing with the animals even without the barn and they don't make much noise when he throws them down and the don't roll far away.

4)  The other church favorite toy are the small cars from the Melissa and Doug car carrier set.  He likes to roll them around the floor at our feet or the chair next to me.  Oh and I always bring a few extra toys because apparently Kai's toys are awesome and a lot of other kids end up sitting by him and wanting to "share" his toys.  I don't mind anymore since I just pack a bunch of extras so Kai can have his and share.

5)  Coloring books are always a good idea as well.

6)  I am teaching him how to whisper by demonstrating the difference in loud voices and whisper voices.  Maybe he will catch on at some point so I can tell him he needs to whisper when he is getting too loud.

7)  If people sit in the narthex at your church or there is a special area for families with children, I highly recommend it.  I love letting Kai sit by other kids because he behaves much better when he can watch and play with the other kids.


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Time is Fleeting

I lost a dear friend recently and it made me realize how fleeting time really is.  Kristy and I met at work and quickly realized we had a love of animals in common.  We became fast friends and spent a lot of time at work and even outside of work together.  I was in the throes of wedding planning agony and she was my bridesmaid minus the dress since I already had planned that part of the wedding and she really had no interest in actually standing up in the wedding.  But she helped me as much, if not more than my bridesmaids did.

My dear friend Kristy

We registered for my wedding together.  We Christmas shopped together.  We hung out out New Years together.  We were so much alike that we joked we were BFF twinsies.  We both got new jobs (on the same campus) the same year but still met for lunch every day.  We were incredibly close until just before I got pregnant and then we started to drift apart since she was single and I was married and having a kid.  

Good times at my bachelorette party

We still talked regularly and kept each other up to date on what was happening in each other's lives.  I knew when she got engaged and when that engagement ended.  She knew when my horse died and when I found out I was pregnant.  But I will never forget the moment she called and told me she found out she had been diagnosed with cancer.  It was a type of uterine cancer and the doctor's thought it was early on in it's progress.  Except it wasn't.  It was stage 3 and had progressed throughout her lymph nodes in her groin.  She had a full hysterectomy and radiation and many other surgeries and treatments.  

Even while sick, we still kept in touch and talked semi-regularly.  She bravely fought the cancer for two and a half years until her body just couldn't take anymore.  On October 17th, she passed away surrounded by her family. She was only 32 years old.  It came as a shock to me because I had talked to her just two weeks before and she seemed to be doing okay.  I didn't even get to say goodbye.  

I will never forget her and the good times we shared.  She fought bravely and will be sorely missed by everyone around her.  I hope that one day I get to see her again in heaven.  In the meantime (and hopefully there is lots of it), I plan to do a 5K for cancer at some point in the future.  You know when I can run 5K.  I also plan on trying to really cherish every single moment with my family and friends because you just don't know how many moments you have left on this earth. 

Getting massages at my bachelorette party

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, 
a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
a time to kill and a time to heal, 
a time to tear down and a time to build, 
a time to weep and a time to laugh, 
a time to mourn and a time to dance, 
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 
a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 
a time to search and a time to give up, 
a time to keep and a time to throw away, 
a time to tear and a time to mend, 
a time to be silent and a time to speak, 
a time to love and a time to hate, 
a time for war and a time for peace. 

Happy Halloween!

I wanted to make Destructo's first Halloween where he was not just a little baby special, especially since I had to work and he has had a cold all week.  So luckily for me, Grandma Destructo was willing and she made him a special Halloween lunch complete with bat PBJ's and oranges, orange juice (added bonus vitamin C since I don't normally give Destructo juice), and "orange" peach applesauce.  I didn't even have to compromise my healthy eating to do it!  I also let Kai eat some "candy" aka fruit leather strips and fruit gummies that are made from pureed fruit with no added sugars.  (Target Archer Farms brand if you are curious and they are absolutely delicious.)

Healthy Halloween lunch served on his pumpkin plate

Eating (or feeding it to Bug Bug) his healthy orange lunch

Destructo absoulutely loved dressing up as no other than his namesake, Captain Destructo.  I didn't know how he would handle the evening.  He threw his entire schedule off by not going back to sleep after I left for work.  He nearly always hears me getting ready with his super sonic bat hearing and wakes, but typically will go back to sleep for another hour or two.  So then his nap was an hour and a half early.  So he woke at 12:15 from nap and by trick or treating time was chock full of tantrums.  But he had such a blast trick or treating that he didn't want to stop.

My very own Captain Destructo

He carried his bucket and walked nearly the entire way and we ended up going further than I would ever have imagined those little legs could carry him.  He would climb all the porch steps, knock on the door, sometimes say either "trick" or "treat", and do the baby sign for thank you to everyone.  But I think he liked getting to pet people's dogs more than even getting candy!

What cracked me up the most though is that without ever having seen any super hero cartoons, movies, and I don't even really think he has a super hero book, Destructo knew to put his arms up in the air and pretend to fly.  Are super heros hardwired into little boys or something?

It was a great Halloween and I look forward to next year.  I hope all you lovely readers had awesome Halloweens as well and your kidlets got to enjoy the magic of being a child and making memories that last forever. I still remember the fun of trick or treating and the aftermath.  I used to love to sort my candy and then make lists of all the different kinds and how many pieces I had.  But I am a list dork like that.

Even super heros love their Grandmas

What were your favorite moments of Halloween this year?  Mine was when a lady came up and told me I saw your son using baby signs and saying thank you.  He has great manners.  I was a proud, proud mama.  Or when he just walked right along the entire time grinning from ear to ear.