Mish-mash Wednesday...

I haven't uploaded pictures in a few days so I decided to create a quick little collage of some photos I took of Owen last week. I just thought the expression on his face was cute!

I told his toddler class teacher about the CP diagnosis yesterday. It was a bit difficult for me to tell her and she was surprised. I think she was more surprised because she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary about him. I guess that shows how mild the condition is for him. I think it was difficult for me to tell her because every time I say it out loud it makes it more real. My mom made a good point yesterday, Owen's life will be different because of this but that doesn't mean it will be bad. Morgan also made a point with his mom, that Owen is perfect just the way God made him. We all have our issues, disabilities or flaws and we learn to deal with them and live our lives. I just need to make peace with this and move on. I guess I just feel guilty because I'm his mother and maybe I did something wrong to cause this. I can't think of what it was or would be but there's just always that maybe in the back of my mind. Thank you to everyone who left me comments, sent me a message or called us for your support. It means a great deal to me and to Morgan too.

I began a pilates class last night at the local community center. It was great. The instructor seems very good and knowledgeable. I enjoyed it because it reminds me a lot of my favorite parts of my dance classes when I was younger. The stretching! I left feeling refreshed and taller! I also ran on the treadmill later while I was watching the last 20 minutes of Biggest Loser. I ran for 5 consecutive minutes! I know that's not a lot but it's more than I've run at one time since before I was pregnant with Owen. It is my goal to begin running 5K's again and I would like to do the Twin Cities 10 miler.

Did you know that the war in Iraq is costing the US $400 million a day!? First, that's an incomprehensible amount of money to me. Second, where is that money going specifically? And third, where is it coming from??

I am reading a book right now called Surprise Me God by Terry Esau. He's a local author and we were able to hear him speak at our Church during a Lenten service. The premise is that you pray "Surprise Me God" every morning for 30 days and then be open to what the surprise is. I've been trying to make this part of my daily routine. Some days I have a hard time seeing the surprise. Other days I'm not happy about the surprise. We tend to think of surprises as good things, or want to anyway. But that's not always the case. The essential idea is to open your eyes and ears to the world around you and specifically the presence of God in the world.

Spring always brings out my inner neat freak. This week I managed to get rid of 9 bags of clothing that I didn't wear or didn't fit as well as a few of Owen's things. I've tossed out a big pile of old magazines. Scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors. Vacuumed the carpet and rugs. Kept the kitchen cleaned up (after the argument about dishes on Monday morning at 5am!) and generally tried to keep things in order around the house. I like order and neatness and routine. I thrive on that. And I love it when I'm in a good groove. When I have energy to get things done and keep up with the chore chart. I like to open drawers and closets and see that things are orderly. I like to be able to find things and not waste time hunting. I also realize that I can be a bit fanatical about this. And it can occupy a lot of space in my brain and affect how I feel about myself. I'm reading another book right now about perfectionism. How women can have great lives and families but still not be happy because of the obsessive need for things to be just right. Very interesting stuff. (Thanks Aimes! She had the book posted on her blog.)

The weather has been dreary this week. Some rain. Not much sun (although it's peeking out now!). And some snow in the forecast. That does not make me happy. I really want it to keep getting nicer so we can continue to play outside! Owen loves to be out and it is so much better for him than his little Bee Movie obsession right now.