When Life gives you lemons...

I am a talker, always have been. I like a good chat and can pretty much have one with anyone. I also like, silence, however. I like time to myself. I like to be alone with my thoughts. I married one of the few men in this world who talks....and talks....and talks. You'll never hear me complain about wondering what my husband is thinking or wishing he was a better communicator. Sure, he has weaknesses, but talking too little is not one of them. This is a challenge for me sometimes...never has it been more of a challenge since Ava started talking ALL DAY LONG.

OH MY WORD!

I am so fried from spending my days with my little chatterbox. She's been ESPECIALLY verbal in the last week. My poor husband doesn't stand a chance when he comes home from work. I don't want to hear about his day or any other thought in his precious little head. I want quiet. SILENCE! I am DONE with listening;)

This is not kind, I know. I feel badly about this. This morning I made sure to start my day praying about my attitude. I don't want to make Ava feel like I am annoyed; I don't ever want her to think (or know) I am ignoring her or tuning her out. I know she'll end up on the couch at some point in her life, telling a therapist of her "mother wounds", but I don't want any of those purposefully inflicted. It certainly isn't fair to have my husband walk into his home, his "haven, to find the wicked witch of the west waiting for him.

Today we were driving to church for mom's group. We'd been in the car for 5 minutes. It was 8:30 in the morning. I was already about to scream listening to her talk and talk nonstop; I thought to myself "anyone else would find her adorable." I said a quick prayer. It was then I decided to make a memory instead of letting myself get grumpier. I started writing down every topic she mentioned on a napkin (yes writing as I drove) to keep a record in her baby book of just how much she talked at three. Since the writing on the napkin is messy and the napkin is written on front and back, here is a list of the topics, in order, straight from the McDonalds napkin. I wrote down a few quotes admist the topics that caught me offguard and made me laugh:

Boats
Singing Old MacDonald had a Farm
What do zebra's say
Where do Pony's Sleep?
Forests
Unicorns
Toothpaste
cars
car dealerships (Mommy, what is that big house with cars everywhere?)
"Yes mommy your exactly right about that." (in response to being told they sell cars at car dealerships)
How old is Papa?
Yogurt
Shoes not staying on her feet
cold feet
Glass slippers
worms
long worms in dirt
"Papa sure has long arms." (Now this comment was so random, that I asked her what made her say that after I finished my laugh- she said, he dug a deep hole to find worms cuz he has long arms.)
Cinderella
Hunt for "M"s on signs, just like M for "you" (Mom starts with M)
How Amazing it is that McDonalds is a big M
Azul cars (blue in spanish)
Bricks and how you make buildings by stacking them
Red and green lights
"Why are you writing on that napkin, Mommy?" (This made me laught almost to the point of tears.)
Barns
Gymboree songs
Graffiti
Money
Boats (again)
Lying
Littering
Babies
Rojo and Verde Lights (red and green in spanish)
Where are you going?
Singing Old MacDonald again
Underpants
Parking
Phin sleeping in car
Going to church, but not sunday school

This is ALL in twenty minutes...and this is just a list of TOPICS not all the words she spoke on each topic. It is amazing really. I suppose our minds have this many topics run through them in twenty minutes, we just don't speak every little thought aloud. Ava, on the otherhand, absolutely does.