Thursdays

Thursdays have always held some sort of significance for me. Growing up, it was The Cosby's that entertained me each Thursday night. And of course, in the summertime, I could stay up late and watch Moonlighting. Once in high school, my friend Karen and I would get together each Thursday and get DQ blizzards and watch The Real World at my house. Every Thursday in college for about 2 years I would go to the Taco Stand downtown in between classes. I ordered the same thing every week and read The Flagpole magazine. That was the only place I have ever been a regular. I knew I was "in" when, as I would walk in the door, I would hear the waitress say "Chicken enchilada, spinach dip, chips & a coke" to the cooks in the back. That was MY order and she would smile at me and say "Take a seat Suzanne". Oh yes. The Taco Stand...where everybody knows your name. It was also a Thursday that Doc told us to go home, eat supper, watch Survivor and meet back at the hospital to begin induction for baby #1. It was a Thursday that I went into labor only hours before a scheduled delivery of baby #2 (which came on Friday morning).

Now, Thursdays hold a different meaning. Staff meeting days. My employees and I get up early, dress in our business-casual attire and hold staff meeting following breakfast. We review our week thus far: playdates, new songs, new games, memorized Bible verses, lessons learned, etc. We tackle the duty of making lists - office supplies needed (diapers, rice cereal, replacement sippy cups, etc.), office rules, goals, as well as our vision for the company. Then we discuss our upcoming plans for the weekend: what we want to do and how we will carry it out. It usually involves the beach which requires a good deal of planning so we begin the delegation process. All hands on deck if you will.

It was a good meeting today. After reviewing the budget, it looks like our company is going to make it. We'll take the minutes to the CEO for further review.

Living in the Now

For most of my life, I have always wondered what was around the corner...what was next in line for my life. In high school, I always wondered what college would be like. In college, I wondered what the "real world" would be like. In my first real world job as a camp director, I wondered how long I would stay at that job and which job(s) would follow. And, of course, I always wondered when marriage and kids would come and what that would be like.

Now that I've hit all of those "milestones", I find myself no longer wondering much about the future. Of course, there are thoughts of adding another (or two!) little rugrats to the Akins clan, or what they'll be like when they get older, or when that day will come that Carter and I become millionaires (ha!)...but I really don't dwell on those futuristic things like I've done in the past. And it's not that I'm done hitting major milestones, it's just that I'm not looking for the big ones anymore. I've become very much a "today" person. My boy waves bye-bye for the first time...a perfect day. My girl asks me to snuggle with her so we can watch Meerkat Manor...a perfect day. My husband comes home from work gloating about how he loves his job (finally!! woohoo!!)...a perfect day. I can't even imagine life in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. And if I did spend my time wondering about the future, I would miss out on so many todays.

Raising a Granola

To have grown up with my favorite meal being fish sticks and mac-n-cheese, and my favorite snack being Cheez-Its and sweet tea (by the gallons), it seems odd that I would produce a granola (although mac-n-cheese is still enjoyed weekly...mostly by me). I realized yesterday after a full day of making breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack or two that my girl is a tree-hugger. Here's her favorite menu:

Breakfast: Kashi Heart to Heart cereal topped with fresh blueberries AND strawberries with a side of whole-milk Lactaid

Lunch: Black bean quesadilla on a whole-wheat tortilla

Snack: Kashi TLC granola bar - Honey Almond Flax

Dinner: Baked Mahi Mahi, Cous Cous, Baby limas

I realize I'm the envy of most toddler's parents right now as I'm currently raising the perfect child(ren).

Note: Ok, there was that one exception that my girl ate an ENTIRE bag of Cheetos in one sitting. And that other time she ate 3 bags of "fruit" snacks because I didn't realize she'd had the first 2 bags. Oh and that one time she ate an entire bag of goldfish to bring an end to the incessant fussing in the car. And yes, that other time.........

Ok, so maybe I have a different definition of "perfect" parenting.

I have a feeling my boy is going to be more of a meat & potatoes kind of guy than a granola like his sister. Just a guess.