Licking Mirrors…

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One of my favorite posts ever. It reminds me of the hard preschool years with kids, the way I felt most days as a mom, the messes I made and grace I gained. Happy Friday to my wonderful mom friends!

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 One of my simple pleasures is finding a good deal.  My mom on her fridge for years had a bumper sticker that said “I”d rather be shopping!”  She shopped me out as I kid so as an adult I am not a shopper in the sense of “sport” but I DO love a good deal.  A few weekends ago there was a big “stuff and save” type sale and summer items like shorts and shirts were deeply discounted.  Red flags went flying up.  Chris was in desperate need of a few things, so we decided to turn the trip into a family affair.   We needed to go to the Farmers Market that morning and Chris suggested we  “pop in” to Old Navy for a pair of shorts and a few shirts.  Of course on Saturday morning during “stuff and save,” it was packed.  We ran into neighbors, long lost friends…

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Imperfect Fall Family Photos

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Crisp cool air, vibrant red, yellow, and orange leaves call to me.  They signal something is different…there is an end to the hot summer and a reprieve before the cold winter rushes in.  North Carolina is especially kind as her cool fall temperatures typically stay moderate well in to December.  The pumpkins and crunchy leaves on the ground beg for families to come together and take the traditional fall photos.  Fall photos create the perfect backdrop, promise of a fresh new season and a reminder of memories made.  I am a sucker for a good Christmas card photo.  I love seeing the year unfold.  Sometimes there is a beach photo, a big event captured, but if there is no beach trip or big event to share…there is undoubtedly a beautiful fall photo.

Yesterday a friend dropped by with his wife and baby and they delivered some delicious produce from their garden along with a very unique pumpkin.  Since our life in Uganda encompasses all things unique AND we do not have a fall season; I wrangled the children and asked if we could please take a “unique fall pumpkin photo?!?!”  So simple…right?  This was the result of my best efforts.

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My Child Will Never

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 This was my first mommy blog post…thought it would be worth revisiting.  My children have aged since this blog…but the Cockerham chaos continues.  My friend Nicole says in her super cute southern voice she has eaten a lot of crow over the past few years.  A southern expression for all those that have said, “My Child Will Never”…and then they did indeed do x, y or z–you just bellied up to a big plate of plate of crow.  I daily pull out my fork…and for those of you who have eaten your fair share of crow…OR make mental statements about what your future children will or won’t do…this is for you!
As I am sitting down to write…I realized that my boys are outside.  (I mean I knew it…I sent them out on the back porch to eat their snack.)  They are eating outside partly because it is a BEAUTIFUL…

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Yoga for the New Mom’s Soul

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FLEXIBILITY.   The best laid parenting plans will not go exactly as you had hoped or envisioned.  Your baby may insist on sucking his thumb when you hoped to introduce a pacifier.  Your may have serious mastitis or your milk may not come in as you had hoped and you may not be able to breast feed.  Your sleeping plans for the child may fail and you will have them sleeping beside your bed for much longer than you originally planned. Your perfect “birth plan” may end in an emergency C-section, but remember your world will not end–instead a precious new life WILL begin.

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Mommy Confessions: You Can’t Make this Stuff Up!

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On our last trip to the grocery store my eldest son announced he had to poop...immediately.  We pulled to the side of the road and Chris ran to a secluded area and proceeded to hold the boy like a chair to allow him to relive himself.  Minutes later Kylee pleaded for us to stop as she felt carsick.  (Knowing this is never a threat but always followed by vomiting, we practically threw on the e-brake.)  She and I rushed out of the van barefoot in an attempt to not defile the car.  The youngest had complained about a stomach ache for the most of the trip and though I thought it was nothing–I crawled lovingly back in the backseat to rub his tummy.  Moments later I was quickly awakened to the fact that he was not fully aware of his body’s signals as he yelled, “Stop the car NOW I have to go to the bathroom!” He too was ushered out of the car to take care of business.  3 children 3 stops…and copious amounts of hand sanitizer and wipes later we arrived at our destination.  (I guess I should mention it takes 5 hours to get to the grocery store–there are NO sanitary bathroom stops and there certainly was no option at the moment of their emergencies!)   We were quite the spectacle as many folks have never seen a white person “bare all” in the middle of the town or village in the attempt to not mess their pants and keep the car clean.  Bless!   After the 3rd stop, and hundreds of eyes staring wide at the crazy white bottoms flashed and the panicked parents wiping and washing and sanitizing…Chris and I both looked at one another and all we could do was laugh.  We even felt like we might have a new perspective on public restrooms in the US.   We thought the bathroom with the huge wooden key, a stall that doesn’t lock and the cloth hand dryer would be a dream compared to all of the options with no sinks, no toilet paper, squatty potties, and bathroom debacles we have encountered over the past year!

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Dichotomies, Do-overs, and Ghosts of Christmas Past

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We are back to Kampala just for the week.  Nestled in the very same condo where we lived for 7 months of our life here in Uganda.  I am filled with the strongest dichotomy of emotions I have ever experienced.  There was such strange sadness as I hand washed the dishes and counted 5 spoons that just a few months earlier counted 7.   Funny math.  I am very aware of the two that are not with us.  I saw someone pushing Jonathan’s tire.   At lunch Caleb laughed and said, “Kylee do you remember when Jonathan was wet coming out of the shower and made the floor slick and Joshua fell and slipped in the water?”  And because no one was seriously injured all 3 children belly laughed.  I walked past the flowers where Caroline and her girlfriends made flower crowns and played princesses.   I walked in to the room with 4 bunks and instead of 5 children squeezed together like sardines, I was acutely aware of the 1 empty bed.

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Mutts, Mosaics, and Modes of Transportation

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I was first introduced to mosaics in Italy and was struck with wonder by their intricate beauty and design.   To see the tiny fragments of different colors, shapes and sizes all come together in one masterful piece of art was breath-taking.  To be inspired by something that originally was made from busted, broken pieces of glass or stone takes quite a creative designer.

Some people are far more spiritual than I am…they do things like pray for world peace and cures for diseases.   At times my prayers feel a bit more shallow…I pray for stuff like the weather and how it will affect my schedule for the day.  I pray for my children not fall out of trees and break something.  I even pray, ahem–please don’t judge–for things like what type of dog we will own.

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