The Love Dare - Day 3

Okay, I will be honest: I had to skip yesterday. I didn't start off the day being very nice. We went to the beach, and I was unnecessarily grouchy and negative. I knew right away my Day 3 wasn't going to work, so I decided to put it off for a day.

3 - Selflessness

Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It’s hard to care for something you are not investing in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says, “I was thinking of you today.”

Today, the kids and I spent the day at my grandparents' house. I bought a half-baked Lou Malnati's pizza (I don't know if I could live anywhere else besides Chicago, for all the great pizza) while we were out there, to surprise Danny with when we got home. He was very hungry, and very surprised. :-) We also got to watch the newest episode of 'True Blood' after the kids were in bed.

Outcome: Pizza was a success!

The Love Dare - Day 2

2 - Kindness

In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouse again today, do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

I successfully refrained from making any negative remarks toward Danny (well, I only saw him for a couple hours today after he got home from work, lol). For my act of kindness, I went down to the kitchen after the kids fell asleep and baked some brownies. Three nights a week, Danny is on the computer playing Warcraft, so he was already in the other room. I took them fresh from the oven and immediately topped them with ice cream and hot fudge. He was really happy about it, as he stopped at the keyboard/microphone for a second. :-)

Outcome: I am really liking this dare, being in a better mood really makes everything that much nicer.

The Love Dare - Day 1

I got the idea to do The Love Dare from Valerie on diaperswappers.com; she sent me her own version. I found out about this by accidentally seeing the movie 'Fireproof'. I didn't particularly like some of the acting (Kirk Cameron was fine, some of the others were a bit iffy), but I did like the story and the whole idea of a love dare and keeping a journal about it. The Love Dare is basically a 40-day (mine is less with Valerie's edited version) journey of different tasks to complete each day, in order to perform acts of love for your spouse.


So here it is, my day 1:

1 - Patience - The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative.

When Danny got home from work today, I felt like I didn't have to try too hard to be pleasant and patient. Before dinner, though, we went on a family walk/bike ride. I figured we would just go around the block, but Danny wanted to go to the park (which is far), and we ended up zig-zagging every which way. Normally I would have mentioned right away that I didn't think it was a good idea going so far, but I kept quiet. He should be able to make the call sometimes too, lol.

To me, this dare also meant not complaining. As well as being patient, I did not complain today, and even if something was difficult, I tried to change my focus to something else to ease my mind.

Outcome: A-okay

Sleeping Beauties

I'm sorry, but I just had to share this picture! These are my kids while they are asleep at night (we co-sleep). William likes to touch my face, and when they are asleep for the night, I will usually sit in a chair in our bedroom, using the computer or reading. Very often, William will touch Violet's face like this in his sleep, or hold her hand. It's very cute.

Everyone that sees this picture seems sort of surprised, "Are they really sleeping?" I know my family is probably wondering why we are co-sleeping, but it's cuteness like this that makes me glad that we do.

Wearing underwear...a little bit sad!

William is 2-1/2 now, and has been wearing underwear for 4 days straight now. I have to say, I am very proud of him and love seeing his successes, but I am a bit sad that his days of wearing diapers are over. Violet is still in diapers, and although I have to wash diapers half as often now, it makes me a little bit sad every time I go in to change her and grab a diaper.

Am I crazy or what?

Backyard Waterpark

Well, William finally decided he liked going in the pool. We set up a little waterpark in our back yard (slides, pool, water balloons). So far this summer and all last summer, he would not set foot in the water. Now he loves it! I am still trying to get Violet to go in the water. Her pinky toe barely touches the water and she starts crying. It's funny because they both love taking a bath. I can't wait to take them to a real pool!

Baby Wearing

This is our best investment besides our cloth diapers! It's a quick, comfy Butterfly Beco "Alice" baby carrier. It's a snap to put on, and it also wears like a backpack (but Violet prefers riding in the front). You can see her satisfied grin in the picture. I use this carrier several times a day (stroller? What stroller?), when we go for walks, shopping, and to William's mom-tot classes (siblings are allowed if they are in a carrier). I purchased it from Jillian (wonderful and so helpful!) at paxbaby.com. This carrier replaced my Mei Tai, and I love it!