"Sey Oo Ma"

I've been thinking so much lately about how well I'm fulfilling the role that I've always dreamed of. I constantly think about if I'm making sure I enjoy the moments of motherhood rather than rushing us on from one step to the next. I know I get too focused on my task list and getting the chores done sometimes. But I also think I'm good at really soaking up the joyful moments. The great thing that lately it seems like we're getting more and more of them. I guess that happens when there are now two kids worth of moments to soak up. I guess it also helps that our family theme for the year is to "savor."

Along with savoring motherhood, we are trying to savor our time in New York. There are certainly plenty of things that rather irk us about NY, like the fact that their Yield signs are completely inconsistent. But hey, we live in the East! Trees are everywhere, there are so many places to visit so close, and cpc is at the perfect age to get out and about and really enjoy little field trips. I've looked forward so long to the opportunity to really teach my kids about the world, and we have some awesome places here to learn from and about!

So here are some of our moments from lately:

Cpc, Cdc, and I have started to relish in the fact that we live where there are lots of little lakes. We're getting a pass to the beaches and hanging out there ALL summer.

We enjoyed laughing this week at a few little things. My sincerest apologies to anyone reading this blog who understands this, I simply don't. I think it's weird. Our neighbors, the sweet ones who we think are a little weird....they have a dog stroller. I couldn't figure out a way to get a picture, but she walks her dog by putting him in a stroller. This has brought us many giggles lately. Also, when we went to the park this week I couldn't help but roll with laughter at this sign. Seriously? I had no idea speed limits were so precise!

Our ward "sock hop" was a blast. I think Cpc looked ROCKIN' in his stiff collar and rolled pants.

Cpc's sleep issues have resurfaced. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned sleep on the blog. It cursed us. We're going to the doctor this week, and hopefully getting in with a sleep specialist. One of the many issues is that lately he's been taking HOURS falling asleep in his room. I usually go check on him before we go to bed, and this is how we found him the other night. He LOVES his cowboy hat, and generally any hat. Oh and you can see the baby bedding in this picture, I have everything finished except the quilts. I'm just waiting for Pmc to make me a quilting frame so I can finish those!

We attended a men's lacrosse game this week, which was a pleasure for sure. On the way we really enjoyed watching Cpc's fascination with walking on walls/curbs, and the smell of the beautiful popcorn popping on the trees!

MOST IMPORTANTLY Pmc finished his first quarter century of life! Yes, my husband finally knows what it's like to be over 25! We celebrated by finally playing on our own Wii, which he's been talking about for over 2 years (not that I wasn't interested too!).

Pmc here... I have lots on my mind too, and it's about time that I write again. Graduate school takes a lot of time. I don't even know where it's all gone, but the Wii has definitely been therapeutic for me this week(end). It's nice to have something to do that relieves stress and is fairly effortless.

Today our Elder's Quorum lesson was taken from Elder Christofferson's talk last October titled Moral Discipline. I was teaching, and felt especially prepared for a good lesson. Unfortunately, there was so much business and Sunday School went late, so we didn't start until 12:40 and we only got through the first 1/3 of the material. The nice thing about being the EQ counselor in charge of teaching was that I could just say to everyone "we haven't even hit the good part of this talk yet, so we'll be discussing it more next week for the presidency message!" Voila, problem solved. I'm excited to teach next week, and I already have my lesson prepared. Part of what got me excited for this talk was that the past week I also taught Moral Development to my students at SU. It was good to see the contrast of teaching something in a secular way and then following that up with the spiritual dimensions of the topic. I really wish I could have used his talk at school!

I had a great birthday! Nothing in particular stood out -- it just seems like for that one day my stress and cares were diminished and I could just enjoy things. I wish I could have that everyday! I want to bottle up birthday goodness and drink a little every morning because it made for a great, savory time.

Now, for an explanation of the title of this post. Read it again and say it out loud... 'Sey Ooh Ma.' Now say it out loud again but this time pretend you're a 2-year-old saying it. What does it mean? Simple!! "Thank You Mom!" This has become one of Cpc's most recognizable phrases. It's rewarding as a parent, after hearing "Cundick Children are Always Polite" a thousand times growing up, to have a child who not only can say thank you, but who recognizes when it's appropriate to say and what it means. It's a tribute to three things 1) He's really a smart kid. 2) His Mom is amazing. And 3) Teaching kids ASL is awesome! I love using signs with him.