Thursday, December 5, 2013

New Toothpaste

There are many benefits to working from home.  Among those include not having to set an alarm, staying in your pajamas all morning (or afternoon...), getting outside when the weather is warm, and perhaps best of all, cuddling with your kiddos any time you want.  Of course, there are some downsides, too.  It can be incredibly difficult to balance getting your work done and and making sure your kids are staying out of trouble.  I experienced one of those moments this morning.

As I sipped on my morning coffee and checked my email, my three-year-old, Cole, was happily playing upstairs.  I could hear him in the bathroom, which I assumed meant he was filling up his squirt gun to spray into the bathtub (a favorite pastime of his).  A few minutes later he came bounding downstairs with the most precious, excited smile on his face.  "I brushed my teeth all by myself!" he exclaimed.  I beamed with pride, gave him a high-five and said, "Way to go, bud!  I'm so proud of you!"  I really was, too.  Cole smiled and added, "And I used a NEW toothpaste!"  Hmm... new toothpaste?  We didn't have "new" toothpaste in his bathroom.  He darted back upstairs to grab this so-called new toothpaste to show me.

A minute later he came back into my office, toothbrush, cup, and, lo and behold, his "new" toothpaste in hand.  What was it?  Neosporin!

I promptly called my sister, because, being that she is older and wiser, she would know what to do.  "Well, have you called Poison Control?" she asked calmly.  No, no I had not.  She assured me that he was probably fine, but texted me their number to call them anyway.  After I got Cole to rinse out his mouth (which, of course, he passionately resisted), I gave them a call.  The lady at Poison Control was incredibly sweet and once again, I was assured he would be fine.  In fact, an hour or so later she called back just to check in on him!

Needless to say, the lesson for this mom has been learned.  If I want to keep my job, I cannot watch my kids every second of the day, but I can make sure the Neosporin isn't within reach of little hands (the top shelf of the medicine cabinet is apparently not enough!).  I also have the Poison Control number programmed into my phone now.  It's 1-800-222-1222.  Add it to your phone if you haven't already.  You never know when you'll need to give them a call!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Christmas Joy Sign



I made this sign a few years ago-- it's ridiculously easy and cheap!  I bought three frames from the Dollar Store, some scrapbook paper, and a little bit of red felt.  To make the lettering look neat, print out the font you like and pin it along the letters to the fabric.  Cut out the letters by following the printout and then glue the letters to the scrapbook paper.  I ended up gluing the frames together, too (I think I used wood glue).  It's a seriously cute craft on a seriously small budget (it definitely cost me less than $5)!

I love the word "joy".  It's such a little word but it has so much meaning and depth.  I hate to be cliche and quote the Dictionary.com definition, but it's too good not to.  It says, "the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying."

What's funny about that definition is that the world of consumerism is constantly trying to live up to it, especially during the Christmas season.  They want you to believe that their product will bring you joy, that whatever they're trying to sell you will completely satisfy you.  Well, to put it bluntly, it won't.  Could you imagine if products did indeed satisfy us?  Think about it, if we actually received true joy from these products, we would have stopped buying new products long ago.  In fact, our society as we know it would cease to exist.  We'd all be home joyfully using the very first product we ever received with no intent (or need) in finding a new one to satisfy us.

Does that make sense at all?  This might be one of those times where it's completely logical in my head but not so much on the screen.

Anyway, I hope this Christmas season you're able to experience true joy, the kind that is deeply good, satisfying and lasting; the kind that doesn't come in the form of a box, but rather that of a baby born in a manger.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come-- let earth receive her King!