Peanut nose, Mommy!

So, Baby had a real healthy dinner tonight: chicken nuggets (veggie), peanuts, and yogurt covered pretzels while watching TV (don't ask). I'm doing something else (like making lunch) and I hear, "Peanut nose, Mommy!". Which leads me to believe that Baby has put a peanut up her nose. And, ding ding ding, folks! We have a winner. Baby had indeed put a peanut up her nose. And she was real proud about it, too. Fortunately I didn't panic and I was able to squeeze it out (couldn't quite pull it out). Whew. It was really hard not to laugh about it in front of her, but I did get a chuckle while she wasn't looking.

On to other topics, I'm crazy. As if you didn't already know. So, I've been working on stripping and refinishing our dinning room chairs since last June because, well, I'm crazy, and I thought I'd have all the "extra" time with Hubby away. Ha. Ha. Ha. I've finished 4 and I thought I'd save the last 2 for Hubby's help while he's home. Well, now that he is set to arrive, oh, I dunno, like possibly TOMORROW, I've now decided that I don't want to work on the chairs while he is home and I must get them finished before he comes home. So, I've been out in the garage, but I'm already tired of this blasted project. Will it ever end?! Aaahhhh!!!!

Stroller Rides

We have a new kind of stroller ride these days. Instead of me pushing Baby, Baby pushes Elmo in her doll stroller. It is so cute! She gets him all settled and puts a blanket on him and off we go. She has great mothering skills. I wonder where she learned that?! Pat myself on the back.

That's about all for now, I guess. I'm expecting Hubby home within the next 5 days. Yeah!

She's a Star!

"She's gonna be a star!" Yes, those very words were said about MY Baby just yesterday. And not by me, even! Baby very much is already a star, and who knows what is in her future. OK, so I'm blowing this way out of proportion, but the lady at The Little Gym DID actually say that after she say Baby's dance moves. Baby does like to dance!

That was yesterday. Today has been packed (as usual). It was Family Fun Day at the Y, and Baby got to go in the bounce house and jump or a trampoline among other things. I also signed her up for swim lessons. All that fun wore her out for a good long nap, but I actually had to wake her up. I hate it when that happens. Oh well.

The reason I had to wake her was so that we could attend an ordination service for the husband of a friend of mine, who is now an Episcopal priest. To say this good little Baptist was lost most of the service would be correct. But I did have a nice little booklet telling me when to sit, stand, and kneel and even to speak LOUDLY. Yes, those Episcopalians can get loud! Only when they are told, tho. I got a little nervous when it was communion time. Not that I've never had it, mind you, but I just didn't know the proper routine. And I was a bit horrified when I noted that they drank after one another. A little wipe with a cloth is supposed to take care of it?! Well, this germophobe sucked it up and partook. I decided to get crazy and have a cultural experience. And it was nice. Truly nice. The whole service was very lovely. I enjoyed myself and I was happy that I got to celebrate with my friend and her family. I was glad to receive communion from the newly ordained priest, and he seemed pleased to serve. And it was lovely to see his first act as a priest was to bless his family (wife, and 7 week old son!). I even stuck around and waited with Baby for a blessing from him (a different concept than I'm used to, but I wanted to participate, ya know?), but Baby wasn't having anything to do with waiting. She was being terribly irreverent by swinging from the railing and running up and down the stairs. I decided it just wasn't proper. Anyway, I was glad to attend. Not only in support of my friends, but also to be reminded that worship is worship when it is all the same God. And worship I did indeed!

Besides Baby being irreverent, we managed to mostly behave ourselves save one other incident. Baby was actually in the nursery for the service part (and thank goodness...it was TWO hours!). Near the end the smoke alarms went off. Too bad, too, because it was in the middle of a solo I was particularly enjoying. Well, I was already becoming a little anxious with Baby being in the nursery so long at a new place. And I noticed that one of the couples had gone and gotten their 2 girls out (why? was something wrong? should I check on Baby?), and another couple who had a kid in the nursery left (I mean, I know it was long, but why leave?). So that meant Baby was the only one left in the nursery. Then the alarms. OK. I decide to get frantic at that moment (I know it doesn't take a genius to figure all that incense is what did it, but if they use it a lot, isn't their system designed to handle it? The only logical option was that the nursery in the other building was burning down to the ground). Which leaves me with no choice but to pretty much catapult myself over the two somewhat elderly ladies who are of course KNEELING and race to the nursery, where Baby is having a very good time indeed with individual attention from 2 staffers. Luckily her back is to me and I signaled to the worker not to announce me. And I was able to return the service. Ahhhh.

And now it is Saturday night, and Baby is in bed, and I am about to watch a movie. But not without first writing about what a blessing it is to be able to sing and read to my child. We snuggled on the couch while I read her night time books. And then we sang Jesus Loves Me together. Jesus DOES love me! What a sweet Baby girl. Melts my heart.

Oops

Is the world wide web an appropriate place to tell Hubby I sorta kinda scratched his truck? You see, I was just trying to keep it running for him. I don't ordinarily drive it on the days I work, but it has been a few days, and I thought I would take her out for a spin over to my friend's house. Of course I was late (as anyone with a 2 y.o. always is), and I guess I was in a little hurry, and it's so big (doesn't handle quite like the family sedan, ya know?), and here is what went through my head in mmm...I dunno... .o5 seconds

--mmm, I'm not lined up quite right
--mmm, I think I can make it
--mmm, better try again....
--holy heck, I'm stuck!

Stuck. Stuck that is. Right between the house and the neighbor's fence. Yes, I said HOUSE. Like the brick part. Now here is where I fess up. I once got my car (a camaro) stuck in the garage b/c I tried to turn it around in it. Now that is just so crazy that I really don't care to elaborate. I got a scratch on that car, too. But that was back in high school. Anyway. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't ordinarily get stuck with a vehicle, but now and again I suppose I do. I'm sorry, Hubby! I tried to fix it, but it was just too late. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...man, I'm getting tired. No way out. I'm going to take the fence out. Ooohhh...what to do?!?!? Stop looking in mirrors and just go. That's what I chose. And I think it ended up OK. I didn't plow the fence down, and there aren't any missing chunks from our house. The truck. Well...it's gotta have some character, right? What good is a big 'ole honken' Ford F-250 (yes, that is TWO-50, none of that 150 business around here) without a scratch or two? It's a work truck, let's show it's done something! Or am I just trying to make myself feel better? Well, it actually really isn't that bad, but I must admit, those lines (scratches?) weren't there before.

On a happier note, I'm scheduling another babysitter to come try us out. Yeah! And Baby counted to FIFTEEN without any help. She must have learned that at school; I only count to 10 with her! Dinner was veggie patty, tomatoes, and organic whole grain alfredo with yogurt for Baby, plus a veggie corn dog for me. If I didn't know better, I would think we were healthy!

PS: Baby broke the Elmo Potty DVD!!!

Camels and Diapers

Maybe I should have titled this post Easter, since I do want to write about that, but let me fast forward to after Easter and after we returned home. Baby just cracks me up sometimes! I was in the kitchen (just like ALWAYS) when I hear her asking for help to get into her room (the door was closed). She kept saying, "Diaper, diaper" so naturally I think she needs one (not that she tells me that on a regular basis). She ran right to her diapers, took one, and then went straight to her Iraqi Camel and put a diaper on it! Ha ha! So of course I have to get into the spirit and dig out all those diapers from the Baby Alive she got for Christmas (currently in the "out" cycle). Now almost every doll and stuffed animal in the house has a diaper on it! Now...if only she could make the step into putting panties on everything instead. Mmm...So, check out the photo of the camel (and the chaotic house that has lately put me into heart attack mode).

OK, back to Easter. We did have a lovely Easter visiting my folks, and Baby practiced saying, "Jesus is alive" with a little prompting from Momma. She is continuing to really dig on this Easter egg hunt business.

For those of you who are wondering, I did (with Hubby's permission) open the latest package. Thanks for the mother's remembrance ring! It was just what I wanted! How ever did you know?!

OK. I gotta go get to this house before I seriously crawl up in a small circle on the floor and whimper.

PS: where was my yard man last week? Place is getting over grown.

Real life

My eyes itch. They've itched for 6 weeks. My blood work came back with elevated levels for an autoimmune disorder (again). Dinner was take out (again). We're out of fresh fruit. Lunch comes in packages. Motherhood is hard and I wish I was a natural but I'm not and I'm jealous of those who are. I don't sleep well at night unless I take a pill. The house is gross. I'm behind on everything. I forgot to do my Bible study for tomorrow. I'm going to be up too late tonight. But I guess it will all be OK. Baby sang for an hour and half until she called for me...I got to rock her and I actually took a moment to cherish it. I got a package to (from?) Hubby. I'm wondering if I should open it? I'm amazed at my restraint. I usually tear right into those things. Hubby, would you like to comment on that?

Inner conflicts

This post isn't as deep as the title might imply. But one of the things I like to ponder quite often is why in the world is this country girl at heart living in the Big D?! And, how fast can I get outta here?! So, in preparation for Hubby's sweet homecoming, a girl's gotta get her hair cut, right? Here I am at this ultra mod salon with that awful techno "music" going, a waif of a fellow in a silk shirt offering beverages, and the stylists have actual piercings in their FACES, not a normal place like say, the eyebrow or tongue, but in the actual FACE, and I'm just having this huge inward eye roll session. Thinking you've got to be kidding me! What am I doing here? Oh, but I am SUCH a sucker for some big city ways! Could I really give up a chair massage while I get my hair washed? The pampered feeling of the "stress relief" scalp massage? The attention to detail the stylist gives that on one hand makes me want to scream, hurry up all ready, and on the other hand think, I'm paying you enough, alright, you better take your time! And I must admit I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Could I really get this experience if I moved to small town USA? And could I live without it? Probably not, and probably so. Ah, the struggles. Sometimes I just chuckle at the big city ways. I try to keep it all in perspective, ya know?

Other things of note: my babysitter quit! It has only been a few weeks and she is outta here. Man, that is disappointing for sure. At least she made the effort to come over last night and give me a whole week's notice. I've already made another call, though, so hopefully I'll get something set up again soon. It sure was nice having a night "off".

Easter Egg Hunt

Baby had her first Easter egg hunt today! It took her about 2 seconds to figure out what do to. Once she learned there was candy inside, she went after them even more diligently. Cute. Oh, you might also like to know the dress she wore was made for ME by my grandmother. Vintage. Nice. Baby is heavily influenced by others. Yesterday it was her friend, the other day it was the big girls on the play ground. Today it was a little boy at the egg hunt. She was taken by this boy who was about 4 and she followed him around mimicking his actions. He stumbled and fell, so she (carefully) purposely fell. He ran in circles, she ran in circles. I thought he might think she was babyish and not want to play, but instead he ran to get his mom to introduce his new friend. Then he kept calling her by name asking her to play. Cute now, but what about when all the cool kids are jumping off the bridge?! Note to self: install good decision making skills and self confidence into child.


Other things we've been up to...bath time. She likes wearing the hoods on all her towels, and she is still learning what it means when I say "smile". For some reason she thinks she needs to close her eyes. Ah. She'll get it.


We had another trip to the Arboretum. This time we spent a more time checking out the play houses and sculptures before having our lunch.


Mmm. What else. Oh, her signal that she is about to go into the crib is that I start singing. It used to be Jesus Loves Me until she started saying, "No Jesus!". That didn't seem great to me, so I sing different songs now, but her reaction is close to the same. She'll say, "Stop!" Or, "No!" and start squirming like a little worm pitching a fit until I stop. Then we have to read another book One time she even put her hands to my mouth to make me stop! That crazy kid. Bed time is getting to be harder and harder. It's just been about the past month or so that she's started that whole I don't wanna go to bed thing. Ug. At least she is still in the crib, and most of the time once I get her in it there aren't any problems. And I can't remember if I posted that Baby is TOTALLY off the pacifier. She asks for it now and again but I haven't caved! I'm wondering what I'll do for our next road trip, tho. That thing is a life saver. I should probably get rid of them so I don't mess up. Tomorrow is MOPS and a possible play date, then back to school and work.

This and that

Nothing real big to write about, but with a 2 year old there are always fun and silly things that happen. She has now started putting both her hands in her mouth when she doesn't want to brush her teeth. Nice. Whadya gonna do about that?! I try not to let her see me laugh, but I think it's pretty smart on her part!

Non-impulse buy of the week: super darling cute upholstered rocker. I saw it earlier in the week and managed NOT to buy it but obviously kept thinking about it enough to mention it to my MIL. Me and my big mouth and influential brain. I think I said something about b/c I knew I would get the encouragement I needed to buy it! Anyway, as luck would have it (good luck, or bad? let the bank balance decide...), they still had them in stock and Baby now has another item she doesn't need but that Momma wanted very much. Maybe I'll get a pic up sometime.

Plans, plans, plans. Lots 'o fun coming up for the month. Easter (maybe the chair is an Easter present?), a visit to the folks, a visit from Hubby. Gonna be a fun month!