Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

Rushing around this morning, I was a bit clumsy.

I had a meeting early, so I had to drop Tot off at school early.

So, I had her oatmeal all ready, but as I took out my oatmeal, it went all over the floor. Like I had so much time to clean it up! I was glad it wasn’t her’s. But, she protested. She helped me clean and then…..

Mommy, you can have half of mine. Sharing is caring, mommy!

Wow. Really? I told her that was ok, but she started to just spoon her oatmeal into my bowl. For Tatum, the food lover of the world, this was huge!

Thank you Tatum Tot.

I love you sweet girl. My tummy was happy because of you. My heart too.

Whether it’s eating…..

Ok, so this is my current specialty. (Scary that my specialties have been reduced to culinary delights). Oatmeal is our daily brekkie, and I love to give it pizazz. Sugar free chocolate chips surround the whipped cream cross. Would Jesus find this sacrilegious? Well, Tatum would find it delicious.

And then we make homework fun…..

Today, she got to write her numbers 1-50, so we started by making ice cream cones and then we added sprinkles.

We then counted the numbers down as we counted.  Perhaps it would have been better if we licked a real ice cream cone  as we counted?

And who could forget Coti watching!

Whatever Tatum and I do, we have fun. That is what our Terrific Tuesdays are all about.

Tatum and I spent the weekend recovering. She had been sick, and we truly did nothing all weekend to stay healthy for Monday.

She was given a new water bottle on Saturday to celebrate staying hydrated. Since it was Super Bowl Sunday, she also made sure the water went down since she was actively being a quarterback.

Well, the first thing she did when we got to school was pull out her hydration device and show it to everyone! She couldn’t wait to share it. I think it lost its novelty when no one batted an eye of excitement.

But one thing did occur that caused an eyebrow or two to be raised. When I picked her up, Ms. V mentioned that Tatum went around to all her classmates and kissed them. When asked why she did this, Tatum responded, “I just wanted to show how much I love them.” Ms. V told her that was very nice, but let’s stick to kissing our close family and pet.

Tatum is learning how to handle reactions from others whether it be about disinterest in a water bottle or an innocent kiss on the cheek. She’s navigating how to handle it when others don’t respond with the expected response. All of our hearts experience mini-heartbreaks daily since life doesn’t go the way we think it should. It’s good for her, but as her mom, it’s natural for me to want to shield her from ANY pain. That would be a big mistake. It sure is hard.

Keep being YOU Tatum. God made you YOU. I love you.

 

 

Today Tatum asked me, “Mommy, what are probiotics?”

Well……… we have a love/hate relationship with germs. We want the good guys, but we try to keep out the bad ones. Our bodies are pretty good about flushing out those nasty critters and fighting them away. But, sometimes we need help. Enter in, probiotics: a pill we can pop. Wish it was that easy all time, eh?

The bigger picture for her and me is that we have gook in our lives. You see, we need all the help we can get in keeping it out. Jesus is our probiotic. He can be true. He fights off those nasty buggers that live inside of us and want to spew out. He also keeps in the good guys that fight off our infirmities which we all live with (sin).

When we got home, I turned on a new song that I’ve been signing constantly. It’s by Toby Mac called I Just Need You. My toes can’t help but tap! It wasn’t but a second before we both got up moving and grooving.

Dancing is sure another antidote to those buggy germy germs. We don’t want you, so we’re dancing you out!

Thank you, Jesus for being with us at all times and helping us fight the good fight!

 

UP!!! Really she’s just becoming more animated, fun, and mature. It’s truly a sight to see.

When the morning started, Tatum found me on my chair reading my Bible, and she decided to join me. She plopped down next to me on the chair (a rocking chair fit for one mind you!) and pulled up my Bonhoeffer book onto her lap. (it’s about 600 pages so it’s about her size). She enjoyed some light reading with me.

Later…We got all gussied up for church. (She loves the one day she can look like a girl!)

 

And when we headed home, she was so excited for her soccer game. When we got there, she took off. Usually, she wants to kick with me, but today, she went right up to a couple of girls and without fear, said, “Wanna kick the ball with me?” They ignored her and played. Did it bother her? Nope. She went right up to another and just ran around kicking. I was so proud of her resolve. It went right off her back and down to the ground. Trooper. Brave girl. I love her spirit.

About 10 minutes before the game was over, she was spent. Done. Kapoot. She cuddled with me on the sidelines. Ok, so I didn’t fight it because she was truly done. I was assured this was normal and all the girls do this at this age. It’s a long bout! Plus it was 80 degrees! It’s January folks.

She ran upstairs when we got home, and she had a Bible book on her lap;  Reading it aloud.

She was looking for the “Old Testament.” I told her Paul  (who she was looking for since they read about his travels with Barnabas in the book of Acts) was in the New Testament. She just decided to read about Moses.

What a fun day with my girl. We made cookies, watched Winnie the Pooh, and told Hopsy and Mopsy stories.

I love you Tatum Isabella.

Well, as you know, Tuesdays are our “fun” day, and this day, we decided to make fries! Wouldn’t you on your fun day?

Draw the carton…

And then make the fries.

Glue, cut, glue and VOILA!

Delish!

She was so happy that she sang me a song. And folks, she’s getting good. I mean rhythmically, she’s got the groove.

One would think we’d be all fried up by then, but we had our first piano lesson scheduled with my dear friend Cana. She has a cool last name too, and it starts with K and rhymes with light. (and it is the same is mine) haha

She has a great little curriculum for Tot to follow. She focused on the black keys today, the fingers of 1-5, and posture. We played a few lilts of 2’s and 3’s with quarter and half notes. After 30 minutes, she was ready to eat her fries.

And we were all fried.

I do love Tuesdays for that reason. Fully fried and fun.

 

Tatum is always humming, singing, tapping or grooving side to side. I love her rhythm.

You see, I believe God has put a song in her heart. It’s a sweet sweet sound, and she hears it all the time.

She’ll be sitting in her room, and all of a sudden, she’ll belt out a song; mind you, it’s a made up song with words coming from all parts of various songs, psalms, and verses she has heard. A beautiful thing to watch and hear.

Sometimes when  I peak in her room, I can find her praying which seems to be the preparation period.

 

Then, I can find her singing accompanying herself to a lilt on the keyboard.

Sing it girl!

When she feels the room does not have enough entertainment, she is sure to come in with a mic in hand and a song in her heart.

This morning, it was a song about Jesus and how He’s always a friend.

My songbird cheers up my day and with a song in her heart, she’s sure to keep the music going.