Dedication

I mentioned yesterday that, on a whim, we decided to invite the LIFE group over here since the tailgate was canceled. Since this decision was made precisely four hours before people would start showing up, and since I had been a total slug all weekend, we had some preparations to make before we could welcome a whole crowd of folks to the house.

Michael got right on his first project -- the yard. The grass needed to be mowed, and we had planned on moving the grill and some games out front to better accommodate our crowd, weather permitting. We knew some rain would be moving in, but the forecast was for scattered storms...we hoped that they would scatter before our fiesta.

Taking his time, Michael began to notice that the breeze was blowing in a pre-storm kind of way, and the clouds had moved in. Fortunately, he'd almost finished out front. He called Phoebe and me outside to check out the sudden change, and to feel the cool breeze. No sooner had I gone inside to check the radar did I notice that rain was hitting our roof. I looked outside to see this:


Do you see the monsoon my husband mowed the grass in? He had about three strips of grass left to mow when the heavens opened up. Rather than throw in the towel, he kicked off his shoes and literally ran the lawnmower across the yard. Fortunately, the camera was loaded and ready -- and right by the front door. And also fortunately, he thought the whole situation was hilarious. And he got the grass completely mowed! (We did not, however, attempt to mow the backyard.)

This guy is one dedicated dude, don't you think?

(And by the way, the rain did stay away for most of our "tailgate" party, and a great time was had by all!)

I Should Have Started This Earlier

Because this new baby is going to be extra smart, he or she is leaching off all of my brain cells. Therefore, I need to go ahead and write down all the fun we've been up to over the past week lest I forget. Then it can be all checked off the list, and I can get on to bigger and better things. So as fast as I can... our week in review.

• Last weekend marked the appearance of the "hormonal headaches", that still rear their ugly heads at inopportune times. Mops came to the rescue on Monday morning, babysitting both me and Miss Phoebe. We were very grateful for her help!
• Tuesday I returned to the doctor to for my scheduled 16 week checkup. He gave me a prescription for something other than Tylenol to take care of the headaches. Everything else looks good -- baby's heart rate was 152 (Phoebe's was 154 at the 16 week). Although I'm still pretty sure it's a boy (really), we'll find out for sure next month!
• Tuesday afternoon, Mops carted the girls north for sewing school. Mops and Pops continued the babysitting while I continued the neglect...as I learned to sew! I am almost finished with the dress that I started up there, and I'm hoping to knock it out tonight while watching Idol. I promise to post pictures as soon as it's finished, if you promise not to look too closely at all of its imperfections!
• We returned to town Friday, and Michael surprised us by taking the afternoon off to play with his girls! Friday night we enjoyed a cookout over at the Pruitt's house, and Phoebe (perhaps inspired by the big kids she was playing with?) walked up a storm. Really. We were all shocked at how big her walking was! I'm hoping to capture it on video soon.
• Saturday we had our courtesy, 2nd trimester puke. I don't puke in the first, just in the second. And just once. I'm glad that's over. I felt like doodoo the rest of the day, and did nothing. Fortunately, the Jordans came over Saturday night and busted me out of my funk. A good time was had by all -- even Caedmon, who crashed like a champ in the pack and play.
• Sunday we had a scheduled tailgate party at church...which was cancelled. So we invited the LIFE group over here on a whim. I didn't know we could fit so many people in our house! 18 adults, 8 kids... I think everybody had a great time -- I know we did! It's always fun to have a house full of folks... and I have an entertaining story to share later this week about how Michael prepares for company. :)
• And Monday, we recovered.
  

Today, I muscled our giant rosemary plant out of the garden (anybody want some?) to make room for all of the plants we bought over a week ago. I was bushed (literally) after the great rosemary removal, so they'll get in the ground tomorrow... but I'm totally excited about the bountiful harvest I hope to reap in a few months! Also, if anybody has any great tips on sunflower growing, please let us know -- our birds have decided to plant a crop of sunflower seeds for us!

Now that that's out of the way... fun stories and coherent thoughts to come, later this week!

For reading this far, you are rewarded with one of my favorite pictures from the past week:

When Synapses Stop Firing

Carolynn totally called me out and made me do this. I swear. And really, my head still hurts and I don't much feel like putting real coherent thoughts together, so this will work for now, right? I promise a real update by at least, well, tomorrow. Sometime. And by the way, I've tagged some of you to do this time-waster, too!

1.What was I doing 10 years ago?
- overachieving at Grissom, no doubt

2. 5 things on my to do list:
- make supper
- get the plants that I bought over a week ago in the ground, finally
- finish Phoebe's dress (it's almost there, and I'm totally excited that I've made it myself)
- wash, fold, and put away the remaining loads of laundry
- clean out the fridge

3. 5 snacks I enjoy:
- gummy anything... sour gummies are such a checkout lane weakness. I always scan for the sours!
- salt and vinegar chips
- salsa on pretty much anything
- string cheese
- bananas with peanut butter

4. 5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- tithe it, and then give away some more
- build our dream house on a huge patch of land
- budget less (I'm being honest!)
- shop recreationally :)
- take killer vacations, frequently

5. 5 bad habits:
- the intarnets
- biting my fingernails (yes, it's true.)
- forgetting to mail things, including letters that have already been written, addressed, and sealed in envelopes
- not exercising
- falling asleep on the couch way too early

6. 5 places I've lived (in no particular order):
- Tuscaloosa, AL
- Kansas City
- Phoenix
- Huntsville, AL
- Everett, WA

7. 5 jobs I've had:
- Somerby Retirement Community, server in the formal dining room
- The Buckle (oh yes, it's true)
- Barista at Crimson Cafe

- Administrative Assistant

- 3rd grade teacher

Tag your it!
- Michael
- Fave&Gus
- Rachel Olsen
- Allison Parker

- Lauren

Hi!

We're still around...but it's been a wild, wild weekend! We just wanted to wave and say howdy -- an update to come once the dust all settles!

(And yes. That is my tiny little girl. Walking.)

Not MIA

I realize it's been a few days... so while the house was quiet, I figured I'd give a quick update.

For the past week or so, I've been dealing with some pretty constant, pretty yucky headaches. During the grand gardening adventure of the weekend, they peaked -- so I've been avoiding the computer for pretty much most of the day. I saw my OB on Tuesday (yesterday), and he thinks they're hormonal -- and I agree. The good news is that they should pass in the next few weeks, and he's given me a prescription to deal with the pain, should I need to use it.

Everything else at the checkup was great...baby is growing just as he or she should be, and the heart rate was right where Phoebe's was at this point in the pregnancy. Another girl, perhaps? We'll find out next month!

I'm now spending some R&R time with Mops and Pops -- my sweet Michael was gracious enough to share his girls for a few days this week. It's just the right prescription for headaches, and when I'm not feeling yucky, Mom is putting me through the rigors of sewing school. We've got a project for Phoebe in the works -- hopefully we'll be able to finish it before I return home! I'm most excited!

Randomly Collected

My sweet husband informed me that blog posts with bullets are way cool. So in the spirit of trying to be cool, this assortment of thoughts will be posted in bullet form.

• We took a field trip to the ER at Children's on Wednesday. Everyone (Phoebe) is fine. No really. Michael promises he will blog sufficiently about our adventure, but the moral of the story is to never let your child play with Orajel.
  
• We often joke that I have verbal diarrhea. Evidently there is a real word for this: logorrhea. I'm not making this up!
• The other day, I said that I am officially not showing yet with this pregnancy. I think I lied. To the outside world, I just look fat. But seriously, I can't suck this gut in. And does anyone else think that the great "spread" of pregnancy happens overnight? I feel like everything got wider in a period of 24 hours.
• Phoebe cracks me up. All the time. I took ten minutes of video of her last night, and I think she is the funniest thing out there. One day I will be technologically advanced enough to put video on my blog. You all will laugh. Or not. But I think she's hilarious.
• We, along with thirty-seven percent of the county's residents, went to the park today. Phoebe had serious fun... but perhaps the most serious fun was when Daddy and Mr. Dan took Phoebe to the ice cream truck and brought back a bubblegum flavored "Tweety Bar". We all had a blast, including baby Caedmon...who took a killer nap the entire time we were there.
• I am extremely excited about going to dinner with the Life Group girls at the Cheesecake Factory tonight... and I think Michael's pretty excited about a Daddy Date, too!

That's all, friends. The great garden project of 2008 is this weekend... so hopefully we'll have plenty of pictures to share when it's all done!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Callahan! Phoebe is SO excited that you have joined the one-year-old club with her. It's hard to believe that we've been blessed by you for a whole year already! We love you!

13 months/15 weeks

Most of the reason I keep a blog in the first place is so I won't forget all of the fun stuff that happens on a daily basis around these parts. Scrapbooking takes way too much time (that I don't have anyway), so I'm trying to be diligent about my general "what's up" updates, at least for my own brain.

So here's what's up with our big girl, who was thirteen months old on Monday. (The cake tradition, by the way, has ended... until October. Then Phoebe can help eat new baby's cake.)

• We have cut tooth #7 (on the bottom); I am sad that her baby bottom teeth will look that much more grown up now.
• Babbling non-stop, but still not saying real words -- at least that I can decipher. The other day I thought she said "ba" for banana, but we have yet to repeat it.
  
• "Walking" - Carolynn says that I should go ahead and admit that it's official, but until Michael sees it and it's on video, no dice. She's been working on taking a few steps at a time for about a week now, but yesterday she shocked me with a couple of 7-8 step sets. Wow! She still, however, prefers to crawl.
• Phoebe LOVES to have "pretty things" on her. This includes hats, necklaces, a purse, whatever. She especially loves to see herself in the mirror with these pretty things, and then gets this hilarious grin -- she KNOWS she's adorable. Such a girly girl!
• Although she won't yet "talk" on the phone (she prefers to slobber on it), Phoebe loves to hold things up to her ear as if she is on the phone. Feet, shoes, play phones, stuffed animals... it all works for her.
• I just started noticing this the other day, but she's been doing it for a while. When Phoebe wakes up from her nap (or from night sleep), she will stand up in her crib, suck on her paci, and hold Lamby out for whomever may be retrieving her. She hangs onto both Lamby and paci until she's picked up. Then, she chucks Lamby into the crib. I can also tell her to "leave her paci" and she'll pull it out immediately, too. What a sweet girl!
• Phoebs is also eating LOTS of big girl food. She does not like to be fed by a grownup unless it's on a grownup utensil, and even then, her tolerance is low. She will, however, eat just about anything we give her. She is particularly fond of fruit (grapes, her favorite) and green vegetables (not so much into the orange veggies). She will also eat ANY bread product, I am convinced...and she loves pasta. She is also experimenting with milder cheeses, and she thinks that cream cheese is the most delicious treat ever.
  

There is more, of course. However, naptime will end soon, and I'd like to update on "new baby" as well!

Here's how the pregnancy is going, at this moment:

• Generally, the nausea is gone. However, we are now experiencing new tummy issues. With Phoebe, I could eat just about anything. With new baby, I have to be really careful -- especially at night. We know that ice cream (dairy?) will make me very uncomfortable, but I'm working on figuring out what else does it.
  
• The answer to any pregnancy problem you may have? Drink more fluids. Really. I called the nurses all the time with Phoebs, and I think that was what I heard eighty thousand times. I have called once with new baby, and that was the response. You'd think I would have remembered to up the fluids by now? Ladies, drink your water.
• I'm still very tired, and I have to make sure to take plenty of downtime when I can. My sweet husband is extremely patient in the early evening hours, and tolerates my desire to all-out crash at 7:50 pm.
• I am not yet showing, really. I can wear most anything in my closet right now, but my tolerance for anything remotely tight is gone. My Old Navy jeans are still loose, but this pregnancy has not brought me any rear end benefit, so that means I'm constantly tugging on them to stay up. As a result, I caved and brought out the not-so-maternity maternity jeans, which, amazingly enough, stay up better.
  
• I am still a picky pregnant eater, but it's getting better. I want very little to do with meat. My favorites are the usual suspects (fried chicken and mac&cheese), but also any kind of pasta, salsa on anything, and dark chocolate. (I think pregnancy is just my excuse to eat more dark chocolate.) I'm also loving me some fruit right now, now that it's coming into season.
• I go to the doctor next week. Yes, we will definitely find out...but at the next visit. I had a dream last night that we had a girl. I've also dreamed that we're having a boy. Michael has dreamed it was a girl. In both of our "girl dreams" we had girl-name drama. Just FYI.

And...that's all. This took entirely too long!

Getting Warmer... I Think?

Supposedly it's spring.

No really. It's April 15 (have you sent in your taxes yet?), which means the official first day of spring was almost a full month ago. Here in the deep south, we're usually experiencing 90 degree weather by now, with 87 percent humidity. I kid you not.

I am not lamenting the lack of 90-degree-days. I am, however, lamenting the fact that we have to have the heat on in our house right now. And all that fun we've had taking walks and playing outside and wearing elastic skirts and flip-flops has been crushed by fifty-five degrees and windy. I feel like this is downright frigid! And a crime!

I feel like I waited for spring all winter, just to have it robbed from me. I'm just thankful it's coming back post haste... and I hope that it stays, since we're going to start planting our garden this weekend.

In spite of the fact that I'm having to wear real shoes and long pants today, I am delighted because I'm going to be spending lunch today with Michael...and then running around to make some deliveries to friends. Always an exciting prospect!

And in honor of the warmer weather to come... some warm weather pictures from last week:

Phoebe clapping with Daddy... she had just finished giving him a leaf. We were proud. :)"Mommy, why do we have to wait to plant? I like playing in the dirt!"
Standing all by herself... and even taking a step or two... but not yet walking.

DIY

When I got married to this man
I had no idea what awaited me. I was young, obnoxiously in love, and totally psyched about married life. We have had a wonderfully blessed three years together, but those years have not been without the usual married growing pains.

The differences between us began to emerge, well, immediately. One such difference is that Michael is a total do-it-yourselfer. When we moved into our house, we had to get rid of the horrid mirrored backsplashes in the kitchen. (I am, only now, wishing we had taken "before" pictures.) Long story short, we ended up with giant, gaping holes where our backsplashes used to be. My first instinct was to call a professional. Michael's? "Honey, I'm going to spackle."

I had no idea what spackle was. Nor did I care. I was just worried that I would have a hole behind my stove permanently.

We fortunately have no hole above the stove -- the spackle worked, for the record. But that was just the beginning of Michael's DIY revolution.

In the past few years we've built a garden, re-tiled parts of the kitchen, laid (lain?) hardwood in the living room and dining room, and I'm sure there's been more. And with every project, I get the same twinge of oh my goodness, what have we gotten ourselves into?

A few weeks ago, the garage door broke. Again. And that garage door is one of the few things Michael has paid a professional to deal with. But the other day, he came home and decided he was at least going to give it a go. I chose to take a nap, rather than panic -- he had already disassembled a few crucial beams. But when I woke up?

The door was fixed, friends. Fixed! Who fixes their own garage door? Nobody! But ladies, my husband is the man.

Just remember girls: he's already married.

Flying High

Little Critter

Last night was one of those nights. And honestly, it all started even before Phoebe was asleep. I don't know if it was hormones, or just a plain old lousy mood; either way, I was a pretty icky person to be around last night. The littlest thing that Phoebe or Michael did just got under my skin...even if they were just trying to be sweet. There was definite attitude brewin'!

I felt better once Phoebe went to bed, but she'd been a drippy nose/mouth faucet all day long... not a promising thing when it comes to nighttime sleep. Sure enough, we started hearing from her at around 10:00... and continued to hear from her just about every hour (and sometimes more frequently) until about 4am. Michael figured out that her sneezing was waking her up, and her congestion was keeping her from falling asleep. At one point, after I'd been rubbing her little back for a while, I stepped away to see if she would fall asleep. She didn't cry -- just stood up, held out her little arms, and rested her head on the crib rail. How can a Mama refuse?

We ended up having some quality cuddles in her green chair...and I couldn't help but think about how fast she's growing up. Her limbs are getting so long and gangly, and her face is starting to look more like a little girl's face than a baby's.


Fortunately, she's been able to nap today... which has been, of course, great relief to her mommy. I've been able to get all ready for my baby's Daddy's birthday -- which is tomorrow! I'd love to tell more about my day, but that would give away some of the surprises I have working!

You Turn Around for Just One Second...

...and the kitchen cabinets are completely empty.

To give Phoebe a little credit, we've locked up all of the "unsafe" cabinets in the kitchen. Anything that is unlocked is fair game for her to play with. I purposely rearranged the cabinets this way so that I could cook dinner in some measure of peace. Last night, however, she discovered that this cabinet was unlocked, too -- so everything had to come out.

Good thing I was just making Hamburger Helper, because who knows what the kitchen would've looked like if I was trying to make a real dinner.

(And you wondered why I haven't updated my recipes on Everyday Gourmet recently?)