Paint and an Artist

I tend to do my best writing early in the morning (or when I am supposed to be cleaning the kitchen). Truth be told, I would prefer to be sleeping, but I can't sleep. I know that I will be tired tomorrow and my daughter will be full of energy. But I've been wanting to write about this all week. So, I might as well get it done when I don't have any interruptions. Such as a toddler wanting to watch Daniel Tiger on my computer. . . . It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . . I was talking with my mom on Sunday night and she said something that made me stop and think. Why do adults think that it is okay to express their emotions (anger, frustration, irritation, etc.) in front of their children? Most of us wouldn't consider that appropriate behavior to act in such a fashion in front of our husbands or wives—so why do we consider it to be okay for our children to experience it?  I don't really know the real answer to that, but I suppose it is because we assum

Hazel has grown so much in the past seven months. She is officially 2.5 and her name is Hazel Annabelle—which is what she will usually say when you ask how old she is. Sometimes she will blurt out that she is three, just like her cousin Ava. Soon little sweet pea, soon you will be three. This is such a sweet and innocent age. I wish that it could last forever. We have so much fun.  But there is another part of me that wishes that our January had turned out differently. We should have been doing the final touches on the nursery. Raspberry wall color for Hazel’s side, sky blue for Owen’s. Hazel would have been running around the house pretending to be Curious George and Ernie—all the while showing Oscar the Penguin (who lives in a mailbox) all the new things in their room. There should be a crib in the corner, across from Hazel’s big girl bed. But there isn’t.    That dream was shattered on April 27, 2017—when I woke up bleeding. The nausea, weight gain and three positive pregnancy te