Brain Damage

These are the shoes that I wore to church this morning. Together. At the same time. I would like to say that I was being a sacrificial mom who let her children pick out her clothing. I would also like to say that I realized it quickly, like when we got in the car, but J said we didn't have time for me to run back into the house and change shoes. Alas, neither are the truth.

The truth is I slipped my shoes on (thinking they were both the black shoes on my right foot), grabbed my purse and diaper bag and walked out the door to get in the car. I didn't realize it when I was in the car. I also didn't realize it while I walked through the house to the car, on the way to church, as I carried brother to the nursery, or as I walked into the sanctuary......even though they have a slight difference in heel height. No, I didn't realize until there was about 10 minutes left in the service. I thought, "huh, why do my shoes feel weird? Are my pants caught in the back of my shoes? Why does it feel like I have one backless shoes on and one with a back?" Oh, that would be because I WORE 2 DIFFERENT SHOES church...that are 2 DIFFERENT COLORS!!

This is what it actually looked like at church. Maybe not TOO terribly noticeable. Right? Right?!? Well, if it was noticed, nobody said anything to me. Probably because they were snickering as I walked away :). I'm pretty sure they weren't wondering if I'm on the cutting edge of the newest fashion trend.

Does anyone else out there feel like your IQ has plummeted since you had kids? And does it get worse with each subsequent child? J has a theory that those stinkers somehow suck your brains out when you're nursing. He may be onto something there.

Bliss

I don't know any way to better describe life right now. It is busy, sleep deprived, and chaotic at times, but it is completely wonderful. I feel incredibly blessed, joyful, content, and simply happy. It's as if we have reached a new level of family. I know that we were a family even when it was just J and I, but now it somehow seems more real, fuller, and deeper. I love we are now a family of 4, that we have more than 1 child, and that Av now has a sibling. Pure bliss. I am overwhelmed by God's grace, faithfulness, and goodness.

I love every little bit of him and already feel like I have to capture it because he is changing so much. He is growing so fast. His cheeks are getting full. He no longer stays in a little ball all day long, but is stretching out now. He makes the cutest sighs and coos while sleeping and awake. He has an entire range of facial expressions already and I wish I could capture every one of them in a picture. He is already holding his head up-he actually did it while we were still in the hospital (have to admit that freaked me out a little bit :)). I love every little bit about him and this period in our life.

Toddler Theology and Vocalulary

I have not been so good about blogging lately, and I definitely have been lacking in adding pictures. Today {since I know some of you are only here for an Av update} I'll try to be better. Av really says some hilarious stuff and if I don't record it here, I will quickly forget it.

We are trying to "introduce" Av to God and making sure Av knows He is in all part of our life. We pray, read her Bible, try to find teachable moments during the day, etc. She is taking it in, but I think sometimes a few wires might get crossed. Tonight Av decided that she would pray before we ate dinner. Here was her prayer

God is good.

Lord, we tank you for dis day.

Let Jesus pray,

Amen.

I think this was a combo of "God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food." and more freestyle prayer of "Lord, thank you for our day, thank you for our food, in Jesus' name. Amen."

Av's Bible has pictures in it and she has decided that every man with white hair and a white beard is Moses, and every man with dark hair and a beard is Jesus. Daniel, Jonah, Elijah, David, are all Moses to Av. John, Paul, Peter-they're all Jesus.

Some of her other funny words

Brestast Translation: breakfast

Hippollamas Translation: Hippopotamus

Helitractor Translation: Helicopter

Lillypops Translation: Lilly pads

Gumanola Translation: Granola

The pictures are from yesterday at the park with our friends Reed, Paige, and Morgan.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

You can decide where the following items fall into the above categories

>Played at the park for hours with some cool moms and their kids
>Since we live in south Alabama, you might have thought we were actually in the Amazon it was so hot and humid outside
>We all left the park red faced from the heat and soaked in sweat
>I got to have quiet time to myself for the day's Bible study
>I went to the gym for an hour during Av's nap
>Between going to the park and the gym I felt hot and sweaty all day long
>After I got home from the gym, J asked if I had just gotten out of the shower.....umm, no, my hair is just so greasy that it looks wet. Definitely not my most attractive moment.
>Yes, I did take a shower after that
>My house is clean
>All the clothes have been washed and put away
>We ate leftovers for dinner, so no major mess to clean up in the kitchen
>Av has been sans diapers during nap time for over a week now
>Allie, overall, seems to feel OK. She even brought her tennis ball to me to play with her last night
>I ordered a pair of Chaco's for my birthday (thanks Dad!) and the UPS man brought them yesterday! (If you want a pair they're on sale here-$60 and free shipping. Normally $95)
>Av is so excited about her dress-up that she slept in it last night-without the shoes. When she woke up this AM she immediately asked for her Sleeping Beauty shoes and has been wearing them all morning.
>After I already had my cart half-filled at the grocery store, I realized I had left my wallet at home on the kitchen counter
>I have a life insurance physical in 30 minutes

That's the last 24 hours in a nutshell.

Thank you so much to all of you who have left comments, called and emailed about Allie. Your kind words of support and encouragement have been so comforting to us.

Gifts

J and I try to be fairly low-key parents when it comes to gift giving. Thankfully, between gifts and hand-me-downs from friends and family, we don't often buy clothes, toys, etc for Av. I would have to say Av's favorite playtime activity might be dress-up. She has a whole tub of dress-up clohes in her room, and I think I have only purchased one of those outfits for her. Her current favorite is Sleeping Beauty. Av has already told me that wants to be Sleeping Beauty for halloween, and she had a complete melt down recently at a friend's house when it was time to go home and she had to take off the Sleeping Beauty shoes {her favorite dress up item-shoes}.

J and I decided maybe we could actually get a pair of shoes for her. At first I looked on Ebay-and found a new pair for $0.99, but then decided to just go to the store for them. We went to dinner first at a Japenese Hibachi steakhouse-and Av LOVED it! The fire tricks, flipping eggs around, cooking right in front of her, the food-it was one of the best eat out nights we have had with her. After dinner we let her know we were making a special trip to the store....just for her shoes. This is the only time I ever remember taking her someplace to get something just for her. We found a package with a dress, shoes, a purse, and a crown for only $15. She was so excited that she carried the box, even though it was almost as long as she is, out of the store "all by herself."

While we walked out, J and I were as giddy as she was b/c it gave us so much joy to bring such happiness to her. I couldn't help but think of the gifts God has already given me, and other gifts He has prepared for me, and that He too pleasures in giving these gifts. How much more joy, on His part and ours, is experienced with gifts that are eternal instead of a pair of plastic shoes?

Matthew 7:9-11

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Allie

She was J's first blonde and his first love. J says it was love at first sight when they met 12 years ago. She is his best friend. She is our beloved labrador retriever.
Today our vet told us she has metastatic cancer and, at best, she may be with us for 3-6 more months. I can't even write this without crying right now. I know that everyone loves their dog, but honestly, Allie is the best dog I have ever seen. I feel I can say that {somewhat} unbiased since I can't take any credit for how fantastic she is-J had her for 5 years before I came into the picture. One of J's family's friends actually offered J over $5K (yes, that's thousands) for Allie. J kept Allie and knew he had the better end of the deal.
Allie has been with J through highs and lows. She has given birth to champion puppies (best in show in California). She helped raise and train the other 7 dogs in our home and our families' homes. She is fiercely loyal and protective. At the end of my pregnancy with Av, when we had finished the nursery, Allie starting sleeping at the threshold of the nursery, as if to guard it. On another instance she and J were camping at the family farm. They were walking through the woods and spooked a coyote that charged J. Allie immediately defended J and attacked and killed the coyote.
Even though she is fierce, she matches it with her gentleness. She has allowed countless children to climb on her, ride her, pull her tail, and look in her ears. We even have a picture of our nephew, when he was a toddler, pulling her eyelid open to look into her eyes. Allie just continued to calmly rest on the floor while Samuel inspected her.
She has survived pancreatitis, attacks from other dogs, a coyote fight, a very traumatic birthing experience (she only had 6 puppies, but they were so large the vet had predicted she would have 12), and many other experiences I could continue to ramble on about, but now it is coming to an end.
She is more than just a dog to us. She is our friend and companion. She is Av's playmate. She is probably the best dog we will ever be blessed to be around.

If you have a pet in your home, give it a hug and some special attention today. Sorry to be so somber, but this is the outpouring of my heart today.

Lessons Learned

1. ALWAYS check the pockets in your pants before you wash them. I am normally neurotic about this, but got in a hurry today and forget to check one pair. Of course, it would be in my new white J Crew pants. I put my vitamin for the day in my pocket as I was running out the door a couple of days ago. Obviously I forgot to take the vitamin that day. The whole front of my pants were a lovely yellow-orange color when they came out of the dryer. Thankfully, Shout and my Clorox bleach pen saved the day and the pants are fine.

2. Av is learning how to use her feminine charm. Yesterday we decided to spend our afternoon at the pool. Av was playing with one of her friends in the pool and her friend asked Av who her best friend is. J had just walked up to us and Av affectionately looked up at him, batted her lashes, and said "Papa." I think his knees actually wobbled. Can you say "wrapped around her finger?" Girlfriend knows where her bread is buttered.

Beat Down

Whew, what a day. If we had tequila in the house I would consider bypassing the margaritas and going straight to shots. I think Av's goal today was to see how close she could get to the line and if she would actually get in trouble if she crossed it. We had to go through many "corrections" and even multiple types of corrections. I knew it was bad when the lady behind us in the check-out aisle at Wal-Mart shared advice she had once been given-- that children have bad days sometimes, just like the rest of us do. Part of me was encouraged by her words, and part of me was embarrassed.

Seriously, when do girls start experiencing PMS? In the bedtime routine alone, Av had multiple breakdowns. She burst into tears when we put her toothpaste away after brushing her teeth! Last night we had an owl in yard and we went outside to listen to it "hoot"-{all of you Chi-O's out there would have loved it :)}. Tonight, after she was in the crib with the lights out, she started crying again b/c the owl flew away and we didn't say "goodnight" to it tonight.

All I can say is, I'm thankful that tomorrow is a new day, and God's mercies are new every morning.

If you need a good laugh today, like I did, go read this post from a pediatrics resident.

A Day in The Life

When you have two 2 year olds and a three year old together for hours, lots of activity ensues! Two precious friends of Av's, Morgan and Page (Darby's girls) came over on Friday, and what a great day we had!

The girls played Ring-Around-the-Rosie

Then went to the swingset

Rode bikesAfter all the outside play, they had to come in and cool off by standing over the vents!

Once inside, the girls "helped" with my to-do list. Morgan vaccuumed, Av mopped, and Page went grocery shopping.

Then they discovered a fun game of me "sleeping" on the floor behind the sofa, and they would jump up over the back of the sofa to roar/yell and scare me to wake me.

Then the girls "killed" a tiger and an alligator (toys), but there were significant injuries and we all had to be rushed to the hospital (aka-the sofa). We all had broken legs and I lost one of my legs in battle. Morgan had the most significant injuries. She broke her head, hair, eyelashes, ears, nose, cheeks, teeth, tongue, lips, throat, neck, tummy, shoulders, elbows, arms, hands, fingers, fingernails, back, legs, knees, toes, and feet. Right when I thought we had fixed everything she lost her vision and was unable to open her eyes. Thankfully Av and Page concocted a miracle elixir in the playroom kitchen and, after 5 doses of it, Morgan was able to see and open her eyes!

As you can tell, it was an eventful day. We hope to do it again soon!

PS-I tried to add more pictures, but either blogger or my computer is freezing up when I try to do so! Frustrating.

Normal

Did you know that there is town in Alabama called Normal? I found out that bit of info this week. While I wasn't physically there, I felt like today was the only "normal" day I had in July. Instead of frantically working on a huge list of house and yard projects all day, I got to spend the day in my regular routine. Yes, the same routine that I have complained about at times as being boring and redundant, was pure bliss to me today! It reminded me that, at least for me, routine is good and quite comforting. My day went like this: Shower-by myself for the first time in weeks, playing with Av, doing the "normal" cleaning of the hardwoods, vacuuming, lunch with Av {where she requested green beans for lunch-yeah!}, went to the gym for an hour, ran a couple of errands, another shower-this time with Av, enjoyed a couple hours in the kitchen with Av baking cookies from scratch and cooking dinner, played a bit more with Av, put her to bed, read a few medical journals for continuing education, and now I'm having fun blogging. Sorry to throw out a big list of my day, it's just wonderful to see that I did have a few things that had to get done today, but the rest of how my time was spent was by my choosing.

Tomorrow I'm tackling one of those low knowledge and highly self-conscious areas in my life. I'm spending the morning with a gracious friend who happens to be fantastic at sewing, and she has offered to teach me to sew. I'm very excited about it. J says I should be a natural-if I can sew people, surely I should be able to sew fabric :).

I hope you have a wonderful Friday, even if it is just a "normal" day!

Frazzled

Do any of you feel like your brain doesn't work quite right after extended lack of sleep and exhausting work? Well, I do and after this weekend I know J does as well. I will warn you up front that the following does contain graphic potty contents.

In one of the bathrooms we have the regular toilet and a little training toilet. On Saturday J took Av to the potty and afterwards informed me he was impressed that a 2 year old could be so, um, let's say "productive." Those of you moms know that you can't just dump and rinse- soap and scrubbing need to be involved. Later in the day I took Av into the potty and realized soap and scrubbing were not involved when I noted what we'll call "residue" in her potty and this conversation followed
Me: "Oh gross, J!!!"
J: "What?"
Me: "Av's potty is still dirty from the morning!!"
J: "But I didn't use the little potty!!!!"
Me: "Uh, yeah, I meant when Av used it this morning."
Hysterical laughter ensued from both of us.
In this time of fairly high stress and exhaustion, at least we have moments of laughter and lightheartedness to laugh at ourselves, or at least at Jonathan :).

Welcome Home

Av is back home from the grandparents house today and we immediately went into our normal routine. Within 30 minutes of being home we were at MW's very fun birthday party. We came home for nap time and then had an afternoon of play-doh. I don't know if all other children are like this, but whenever Av comes home after a trip away from us, apparently feels she is required to test the boundaries. Tonight this played out by Av refusing to eat any of her dinner. The most interesting/entertaining part of her first evening home occurred when J went through the "bedtime routine" with her. It was also the most obvious reminder that, yes, we are parents of a toddler, and therefore there is no modesty or appreciation of appropriate conversation in our house.

Av (while on the potty): Papa, the poop is coming. It's coming out of my hienie.
Papa, don't touch the poop
Papa, don't eat the poop.
Papa, don't lick the poop.
Papa, don't put the poop in your hair.
If you put the poop in your hair the bugs won't come

J : OK, and we don't like bugs do we?

Welcome home Av. I'm so thankful for that little bit . Our life may be filled with dissertations on poop, but it's certainly fulfilling and entertaining.

Paper or Plastic?

Recently I bought reusable shopping bags st Wal-Mart, and I have to say that I LOVE them! We do recycle, but I also think it is important to reduce our amount of trash/waste/consumption. These bags are only $1 at Wal-Mart!! Similar bags can be found at Target and grocery stores. I initially bought them to be a more responsible consumer, but they have also made my own shopping experience easier for the following reasons
1. I can fit what would take 4-5 plastic bags into 1 reusable bag.
2. They have long straps so I can carry these bags on my shoulder, like a purse. This allows me to carry all the groceries into the house in one trip while leaving my hands free to open the door or carry coffee or carry Av or get the mail or wave to the neighbors or........
3. We have used them for so much more than just trips to the store. They're very convenient!
4. Did I mention they're only $1!?!

J and I both now keep bags in our vehicles, so they're readily available when needed. My dumb-blonde moments have been remembering to take them into the store. Today I finished shopping and was about to check out when I realized I had left the bags in the car. I left my cart by the checkout (after letting the cashier know what I was up to), ran out to the car, grabbed the bags, and returned to checkout. I do have one caveat. The cashiers, at least in our city, aren't fully familiar with the new bags. I don't see why it is difficult to fill these bags instead of plastic bags, but I have had more than one experience of essentially bagging the groceries on my own. Thankfully, it's not much of a price to pay. All this to say: Go get yourself some reusable bags, you won't regret it!!!

Flounder

Floundering is the best word I can use to describe how the last few weeks have been. I'm experiencing a new day to day life of being a stay at-home-mom. I have absolutely loved getting to spend more time with my girl, but it has been an adjustment for me. I am type A-I like a plan and a schedule, so all this "free time" has thrown me a little bit. We have started swimming lessons this week, and I know it sounds crazy, but even that little bit of structure has been such a blessing to me. Of course, all of you who are moms know that we still have our off days. So here is a list that certainly will not make it to the All-Stars of moms.

1. Yesterday Av had 2 sippy cups in use by dinner-time. One was the pink cup with fresh milk, the other was the blue cup I had given her earlier in the day, but hadn't seen for quite some time. I had that awful, sinking feeling when I realized I knew it was in circulation, but didn't know it's location. Could it be in the playroom, the car, a drawer, outside? Where are all the places that a 2 year old might put a sippy cup? As if that's a question that can be answered in anything shorter than a dissertation. I looked everywhere I could think of without success. About 30 minutes later Av walked into the kitchen while I was cooking and took a sip out of the "missing" cup. She immediately informed that is was "yuck!! Yuck-O Momma, yucky milk! Yuck, yuck, yucky!" Oh yes, we all know what I found when I had the pleasure of opening the cup to clean it...I won't describe the gory details.

2. I was again that mom at the pool today. We started swimming lessons this week, and they're pretty hard core lessons. I am very thankful Av is taking lessons because they are vital and life saving. Av normally loves to be in water, but for some reason is not having a good reaction to the pool. We started Mon. and most of the kids (~18mos-4yrs) cried off and on during the lessons. While basically everyone else in the class was enjoying by today, Av was still at the weeping and gnashing of teeth level. It was honestly one of the most discouraging moments I have experienced as a mom. I know that sounds crazy since it's just swim lessons, but she is almost never the fearful child crying for 15 minutes straight and screaming "I don't like the pool, I want to get out! I want to go home!" I finally carried Av and my exasperated self out of the pool to the bathroom to have a stern discussion about being obedient, calm, and nice. Thankfully, this was my most successful tactic. She was cooperative the rest of the time and was laughing, cheering, and overall enjoying it. I'm still amazed by how far even a little bit of discipline will get you! The pic above is from the beach last year, I'll have pics from the lessons soon.

3. When we got home Av and I took a shower. Since we're blondes we get green hair from chlorine. Side note-a pointer I learned when I was a green-headed child is wet your hair before you get in the pool, so the hair doesn't absorb as much chlorine water. After the shower we ate lunch and Av took a nap. When she got up from the nap I noticed her hair looked wet/greasy. At first I thought she was just hot and sweaty from her nap, which is often the case, but it continued. Why was her greasy, we had just taken a shower before naptime. I came to the conclusion that I forgot to wash the conditioner out of her hair.

Overall, it has been a great day. I got to spend it with Av and J, and Av is making progress swimming. I wanted to get new swimsuits for both of us and found them at the 1st place I stopped. Got one for Av at Old Navy where toddler suits are sale for $10! The one I got her is similar to this one. I am a sunscreen nazi and love that it has sleeves to protect her chest and shoulders-and the material is UV protective!! After Old Navy I walked next door to TJ Maxx, only tried on one suit, liked and bought it. When does that ever happen that you only need to make one stop for a suit. I was spared what could have been an afternoon of psychological torture inflicted on me by the dressing room mirror. We even took Av for the rare treat of Bruster's after dinner. Since she's under 40" she gets a free cone! This was her first ice cream cone and she devoured it! Another fun Bruster's treat you could use tomorrow is: you get a banana split 1/2 off if you bring your own banana on Thursday's.

I'm off to bed, we'll see what mishaps happen tomorrow.

Why Bother?

J and I bit the bullet this year and joined a pool/tennis club in town. We thought Av was at the age she would enjoy the pool and being with friends. Yesterday was the first day the pool was open and we decided to go and get out of the house on such a beautiful day. This is how the 'great idea' followed. I asked Av if she wanted to go to the pool. I expected to get an excited "yes" in return. Instead I got a very firm "No!" Great. Well, I decided we weren't going to sit inside all day and she would enjoy the pool once we were there. She fought to get into her swimsuit, but she was calm when while I applied her sunscreen.

We finally arrived at the pool and I was relieved to see a crowd for opening day, including friends. I set our bag in a chair and sat down to take off our cover-ups. Av informed me that she didn't want either of us to take off our cover-ups and that she wanted us to lay down with her blanket. I proceeded to to take off my cover-up and carry Av to the baby pool-thinking that it was shallow and warmer and maybe I would have success there. I sat on the edge of the pool with Av on my lap. After a while I took off her cover-up and attempted to get into the water with her. That resulted in me having the only child at the pool who was kicking and screaming to get out of the pool-I was that mom. We went back to Av sitting in my lap and splashing her feet in the pool. We spent the rest of the time running around in the playground area, which, thankfully, Av enjoyed.

By the time we made it back home it was already naptime, so we ate a quick lunch. I always take Av to the potty before nap/bedtime and she likes this policy since it prolongs going to bed. Normally she says "Mommy, shut the door" which means she wants me to step out so she can have her privacy. After a few minutes I thought that certainly she was finished, then I heard banging around. This is what I found upon opening the door.

Av had opened a jar of lotion and spread it on the counters, knobs, doors, herself, and the floor. To her credit, she did offer to help me clean it, but in the process unraveled almost an entire role of toilet paper. Looking back, you would think I should have learned my lesson after this day.Today the most exciting thing we did was go to Target and get a bed rail. We spent the afternoon napping and relaxing. We had to rest up for swim lessons that start tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be more successful than yesterday's outing. Yikes, I'm quite nervous.