Manic Mommy Monday

I've been meaning to link up to the Manic Mommy Monday since it began a few weeks ago. However, I've been completely unmotivated to blog, having way too much stuff to do around the house. Every time I started to write, my posts were just rambling...but today I figured it's a Manic Mommy Monday, doesn't that somehow call for a rambling post?


So here you go:


Jaxon looks as if I've been abusing him. I had forgotten how accident prone newly walking toddlers are. The fact that Jaxon thinks he can run, and climb, and do everything his 7 year old brother can, does not help. I promise I watch him, and I'm usually right beside him, but despite my best efforts, he falls down. Since his skin is so white it is practically transparent, every single little bruise and bump shows. Right now his legs sport scrapes from the dog, a bug bite or two, and multiple small bruises from falling down and bumping into things. He also has not one, but two bloody lips from falling down (once inside, once off his bike outside).  Thankfully, he heals quickly...but then he falls down again. It's a vicious cycle.


However, in an act of mommy awesomeness, I saved him from falling off the bed and bumping his head and body...I caught him about 8 inches from the floor. Even more impressive? It was the middle of the night...and I was sound asleep and somehow woke up as I was catching him. Score one for mommy instinct. Actually, mark two points down for that, because that's the second time I've caught him right before he hit the floor. I'm happy to say that in 13 months of co-sleeping, he's never fallen out of the bed. Of course, now that I've said that...


We now have a whole bunch of chickens. The kids love them. There are 24 that will lay eggs - I'm so ready for fresh eggs! The rest of the chickens will become food. We haven't let the kids named the doomed chickens and surprisingly, they are okay with knowing that we will be eating those chickens in a couple of months. 


Jason has been getting up very early to feed the animals and let the dog out (she's outside in a pen, but when we're up, we let her have the run of the entire yard). It's great that he's been able to adjust to farm life and waking up early so easily. What's not great (for me, anyway) is that Jaxon thinks that as soon as Daddy goes outside at 6:45, he needs to be going as well. Each day last week, Jaxon got up with Jason, went outside before 7, was filthy by 8, and in the end went through at least 4 outfits each day, since I can't stand for him to nurse on top of me or be laid in his bed when he's filthy. We've discovered that he loves to dig in the dirt. ALL BOY. He's already learned that he needs to take his shoes off when he comes in from being outside and he knows that his playing outside shoes are kept in the laundry room. It took me weeks to teach the other kids that, lol.  


April is Parkinson's Awareness Month. Five million people around the world live with Parkinson's disease every day, so I'm in good company. While teaching division and changing diapers dominates more of my time than thinking about a cure for Parkinson's does, the constant pain in my legs reminds me that my body is not working the way a normal 34 year old body should be. So I am grateful for organizations like The Michael J Fox Foundation and the National Parkinson's Foundation that work relentlessly for a cure. If you want to help, click on one of those links. If you have Parkinson's and want to help, click here for information on how to join the 23andme Parkinson's Research Community.