God is in the Thomas-isms

This little boy keeps me on my toes.  I'm continually amazed by the words that come out of my mouth when I'm interacting with him....a small sampling (just from today):

"Thomas, please take your dirty toes out of your mouth"

"Why?"

"Because your toes have dirt and germs on them.  Don't put them in your mouth."

"Why?"

"Dirt and germs can make you sick and your Mama thinks it's icky.  Please.  Just take the toes out of your mouth!"

"I wub my tosies!" (in a slightly offended tone)

"I love your toes to, buddy, but they still don't go in your mouth."

"Mama.  You 'atend you in da office and I in the pway-woom." (pretend you're in the office and I'm in the play room)

"Why?  So that you can pretend I'm not telling you to take your toes out of your mouth?"

"Yeah."

How am I having this conversation?!

Sometimes it's not nearly as detailed an interaction. Sometimes it's as simple as "Make sure that thing is pointing DOWN when you pee!"

Or, a conversation that I have often....a tidbit from about 20 minutes ago:

I heard Thomas telling Sammy "Heeelp!  Get Mama for me!"

I walked in the living room to find him with his head stuck in a strange place between the seat of the glider and it's metal frame.  I helped him get his noggin loose and then said,

"Thomas, do not put your head in strange holes okay?  It's just not safe!  In fact, as a general rule in life, keep your head out of holes as much as possible."

"Much a pow-i-bow?"

"Yes, as much as possible."

"Ok Mama"

Seriously.  "Don't put your head/foot/finger/arm/toy in that hole" would have made me a wealthy woman if nickels fell from the sky every time I said them!

And every now and then, I hear God chuckling with me and responding with his own "Yeah!  That goes for you too, Daiquiri!" just as I heard today at lunch time.

Goldfish crackers.  Sliced up hotdog.  A bowl of pineapple.  Milk with some chocolate sprinkled in it, and served in a cup with a lid and straw....just how he likes it.  Barney singing on the TV in the background.

Thomas saw those hot dogs and went right to town -- loaded his fork all the way up.

"I eat ALL my hog-gogs, Mama!"

"Okay, that's good!  Wait....eat them one at a time though."

"NO!  I eat dem ALL!", as he continued to skewer those sad little circles of meat.

"No, sweetie.  You sure CAN eat all of your hot dog, but putting them all in your mouth at the same time is not a good idea.  You'll choke!  Please eat them one piece at a time."

"Awwww.  Mama, you make me so MAD!"

"Hey..."

"Okay Mama", as he plucked the pieces from his fork and deposited them back on his plate.

It was one of those "Yeah, you too" moments from Heaven.

Do you ever feel like you're that little boy, excitedly trying to do everything ALL at ONCE?  I do!  And some days I lie in bed in the morning and am positively overwhelmed by what my day holds.  Or I find myself wandering around the house gathering up the clutter with one hand, checking messages on my phone with the other, and shouting nuggets of motherly wisdom over my shoulder to my bickering kids.  All the while, my metal to-do list is running through my head and I'm feeling like I just might choke.

I love my life, don't get me wrong.  I'm living the dream!  Wife, mom, friend, sister, daughter, homemaker, writer, business woman.  I truly love my life.

It's just that I feel like I'm often the kid who's enthusiastically tackling EVERY SINGLE thing I have going on all at the same time.  I need to slow down.  Sure, I certainly can have it all....I just need to do it bite by little bite!  I CAN have it all, just not all at the same time.

God speaks to us in so many little ways if we're just listening.  Today, it's "slow down, do your day piece by piece, and enjoy the meal."

Who knows, tomorrow it might be "Daiquiri, get your head out of that strange hole" ;-)