Valentine's Day Questions

I've been alone with the children all day...as in Daddy hasn't come home from work yet and now the girls are in bed.

Where is Daddy, you ask???

Well, he's out buying what will probably be referred to as "the Valentine's Day gift of 2011".

Any guesses on what it is???

And as long as I'm asking questions, I'd like ideas on thoughtful/useful gifts for teachers. We have preschool, Awana and Sunday school teachers to buy for so it adds up to 12 in all. I know the scented candle and candy route is what lots of parents do, so I'm trying to stay away from that. We may go with some extra special, extra fancy cookies that I want to try out. Or cake balls with pretty sprinkles..

I also have no idea what to get Big Daddy, but I'm thinking maybe a few new shirts for work. We are slowly expanding his "dress up clothes", as Maggie calls them.

And the winner is...

Ashley!!
(chosen using random.org)

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the gift certificate to CSN Stores.

I'll be emailing Ashley with her prize code.

Have a great weekend!!

Thursday

I apologize for that last post being so darn long!! This one is short!!

I have a lot going on today!

Remember the CSN Stores giveaway ends at midnight!!

Of course, it's Library day! I always get a little excited about Storytime. Maggie was around the same age that Ellie is now when she first started attending Storytime at our old library. It's a lot of fun to watch both of my girls enjoying a good book.

My friend April is scheduled for surgery today. I know she must be worried and scared. I cannot imagine what it feels like to know that you'll never see your face quite the same way again. I'm praying that they can remove all of the cancer, that her pain will be well-controlled and that her children will not be afraid of her after the surgery. I'm also praying that her recovery goes well and that the skin graft doesn't leave too much scarring on her face or her hip.
I'm worried sick.

A Rambling Post

We had a really great Saturday and Sunday and spent all of our time together as a family of four! It was quite blissful.

We spent most of the time before lunch in our pajamas in our bedroom. Maggie and Ellie were playing and Big Daddy and I were unpacking his clothes and planning out the next few months. I'm amazed at how much better we feel just because we know that we aren't about to move. We have really felt unsettled since March of 2009 when he accepted the job that we moved here for. Just a few weeks into the job he was pretty sure that he had made a mistake, but we were focused on preparing for Ellie's arrival and getting settled somewhere. Moving isn't a big deal for some people, but it is for us. Both of our parents live in the houses that we grew up in and moving isn't our thing.

Anyway, we started talking about different things that we want to do. One of the things that we have been discussing for well over a year is getting a new car. Big Daddy found a car like he has been wanting for a few years and so we went to look at it, but we keep going back to minivans and how nice it would be to have one.

After looking at cars, we went out to dinner and shopping. Big Daddy bought new bedding for our bedroom because I've been looking at bedding for months. Each time that I find a set that I want he tells me to get it and I refuse to commit. This set was $50 off, so I snatched it up! We spent a few hours on Sunday evening moving curtains from room to room to make everything work. The living room curtains were moved to our bedroom, the curtains at the french doors were moved to the living room and the bedroom curtains were moved to the french doors. I also bought another set of panels for the dining room because Big Daddy decided that they weren't "full enough". And then he said, "When did I start caring about curtains?" My thoughts exactly.

(Yes. I need to iron the dust ruffle.)

Our bedroom is Sherwin Williams "Svelte Sage" which is very close to Dutch Boy "Still", the color of our old formal dining room. I love the color, but it can be tricky to match. It's a neutral khaki/green color. Of course, the rest of the house (except for Maggie's pink room) is SW "Stucco" which matches the color of the spare bedroom in our old house, Valspar's "Light Raffia". I mentioned on Sunday that our living/dining room/foyer seemed too builder's beige and Big Daddy said, "Why did we pick this color anyway?" I reminded him that we used the paint samples from our old house because we had to pick colors while I was in the hospital and that it was his job to go to Sherwin Williams and match the colors. Then he told me to have it repainted if I wanted to. Ha!!

After we had all of the curtains in place, I started ironing Big Daddy's work clothes and he realized he had "lost" a very important notebook with very important things written in it that he "always" keeps in the gun safe. We spent two hours looking for it everywhere from the kitchen to the attic. We were upstairs looking in the file cabinet and the attic while the girls were playing kitchen in the bonus room when I decided to check under our bed downstairs. The only thing that's usually under there is an under bed storage box with extra blankets. Of course, that's where the notebook was. In plain sight. On his side of the bed. Right where he had left it.

While Big Daddy and Maggie were going through the entire gun safe looking for the notebook he also took out every gun and had them scattered about our bedroom. I had no idea what I would see each time I walked through the bedroom to hang his clothes in the closet. Imagine my surprise when I saw Big Daddy posing with his birthday gun from 2000 while Maggie was taking pictures. Have I mentioned that she takes lots of pictures? They are always amusing, but this one may be my favorite... or maybe this one that she took when we visited Gammy Gladys:


And about the pink room...one of the highlight's of Ellie's evening is sitting in Maggie's room and listening to the nightly Bible story. If you tell her that it's time for the story, she climbs on the bed and gets all settled in for the latest adventure from "The Jesus Storybook Bible". Big Daddy has been taking over some of the Bible reading duties.

And that brings us all the way up to Monday.
Which we are not going to talk about.
Ever.
Because yes, it was that bad.

In the midst of my really bad day, I called my mommy-friend, April. We have so much in common with our two children being nearly the same age and our husbands have a lot in common too. I always feel like we are sort of in the same boat and she can always make me feel better and give me a reason to laugh. She is scheduled for surgery on Thursday. They will be doing laser surgery and a skin graft on her lower lip. It's a fairly extensive procedure where they will remove (hopefully) all of the cancerous tissue and then take skin from her hip to replace her lower lip. She has already asked the doctor if he could give her "full, pouty lips"! Please keep her in your prayers. Right now she is really concerned about the way that she will look and what her children will think about it. It is also supposed to be very painful since the laser surgery that they'll be doing will leave her with the equivalent of third degree burns. I'm going to try to visit her as soon as she's ready.

Don't forget to enter the CSN Stores giveaway.

How we do t.v.

Maggie started Kindermusik at 18 months old. That's around the time that we started going downstairs for breakfast and then going back upstairs to get ready for our day-either cleaning, errands, Storytime or Kindermusik. We would usually have PBS on for a little background noise while she was playing in my bathtub (without water) or trying on all of my shoes and scarves.

There were mornings that "Curious George" saved me. And "Sid the Science Kid". And "Martha". And don't get me started on "Super Why!".

Maggie and I were reading books in the floor with "Sesame Street" on in the background the day that I realized she could count to ten. The Count would say a number and Maggie would say the next number. The "Number of the Day" that day was 11.

Once we moved out of our old house and welcomed Ellie our entire routine changed. And we cut out most of our t.v. time. Maggie usually watches two 30 minute PBS shows on days that she doesn't have preschool. We usually watch full length movies together in the evening. Maggie often asks to watch the movie over again and never have I ever let her do that.

I'm not big on the whole "Baby Einstein" thing for a three month old. To be honest, it makes me sick to hear people say that their little baby loves to watch Baby Einstein or Noggin, but we all do whatever works for us. I always felt like maybe the poor baby is sitting in front of the t.v. in an exersaucer or a bouncy seat and has no choice but to watch the only thing that's paying it any attention.

Maggie learned most of her baby signs from Baby Einstein's "My First Signs" that she received for her first birthday. On a day when I was quickly reaching the end of my rope, I put in "Baby Signs" and Ellie paid absolutely no attention to it. The only thing that she pays attention to on t.v. is Funny Videos, animals or music. I wouldn't have it any other way. She has never sat down to watch a show, but she'll stop what she's doing until the animal goes away or the song is over.

Big Daddy's nephew, 'I', (Big Daddy's brother's son) is a month older than Maggie and is addicted to all of those Noggin/Nickelodeon shows and I think it really opened Big Daddy's eyes up to the whole television addiction reality. 'I' has spent A LOT of time at his grandparents' house since he was about 12 months old and let's face it, t.v. is an easy babysitter if you are too sedentary to entertain a child by playing with them. When we go to my in-laws house Big Daddy almost always turns the radio off in the kitchen and has to turn the television down in the living room. They ALWAYS have both of them on. On Christmas Eve the house was full of people and the radio and t.v. were blaring. Big Daddy turned the t.v. off and 'I' freaked!! You would have thought that Big Daddy had taken his crack pipe away.

Big Daddy's mom has always tried to get Maggie to watch the Noggin shows, and Big Daddy always explains that we limit her t.v. because it causes her to turn to jello. (Which may explain part of the reason that Big Daddy's mom is the way she is. I digress.) Anyway...it took a while for Big Daddy to realize that too much t.v. is not good for Maggie. If I'm doing my usual Saturday chores (making beds or putting away laundry since I don't do real housework on the weekend) Big Daddy often turns the t.v. to PBS for background noise. Maggie becomes a vegetable on the couch. Once I tell him that we need to turn the t.v. off someone has a tantrum. The same thing happens after most full-length movies that we watch. My favorite Maggie excuse for why we should watch a long movie over again is that she "never wanted that movie to end".

One of the highlights for Maggie when she stays with my mom or my sister is that she gets unlimited t.v.- my sister even lets her watch those horrible "Barbie and the ____ " movies! After Ellie's doctor's visit on Tuesday, Maggie started telling me about something that happened on Sesame Street. I asked if she watched it at Nana's and she said, "I wasn't watching it, but was listening to it so that I wouldn't miss something."

And that explains why I'm in charge.


Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Love In The News

I "check the news" a few times each day.

When I say check the news, I mean people.com.

Here are two stories that bother me. Lots.

There's just something that disgusts me about hearing Jesse James and Kelsey Grammer talk about how happy they are now that they are with the right person. For right now.

I had just read the two stories above when I happened to check out a blog that I read once in a while, Lots of Scotts. (Her stories remind me of our triplet friends, Collin, Chloe and Keegan and their mom Mackenzie.) I thought this was a great post.

Turning A Corner

(Ellie in "Sissy's" Awana Cubbies vest and holding Sissy's Bible)

I probably shouldn't "say" this, but I think that little girl above may be turning a corner on the sickness that we just call "the crud".

As I may have said 642 times, Ellie woke up on Saturday with a nasty sounding cough that Maggie says sounds "wonderful" and then had a runny nose on Monday morning. She already had a well-baby exam on Tuesday morning and the doctor diagnosed an ear infection that was probably caused by the TONS of congestion that she has. Ellie had seemed pretty normal until she woke up from her nap on Tuesday and started acting like a toddler with an ear infection: fussy, frumpy, cling-y and having trouble sleeping. After her nap today (Thursday) she seemed quite a bit better.

Just in time for a certain Big Daddy's homecoming!!! Big Daddy will be leaving the very southern part of Georgia tomorrow (Friday) morning to go to company headquarters just South of Atlanta. From there, he'll be homeward bound. I'd appreciate your prayers for his safe travel. We can't wait to see him!!

Happy weekend!!


Don't forget to enter my CSN Stores giveaway!!

A Giveaway!

You may already know that I love a certain virtual shopping center of sorts.


They have everything from modern furniture to handbags. Cooking utensils to camping gear.

Well, now you are going to love them too!
I'm giving away a $20 gift certificate to one lucky winner. You can use this certificate towards anything in their 200+ stores.

This giveaway is open to all US and Canadian residents and you have to have a valid email address to win. You do not have to have a blog, but there is a chance for an additional entry if you share the giveaway on your blog.

Here's how to enter:
1) Leave a comment telling me how you would use your $20 CSN Stores.com gift certificate. You must tell what you would purchase if you win.
2) If you are a blogger, blog about this giveaway and then leave an additional comment and share a link to that blog post (NOT to your blog).
The giveaway closes Thursday, January 27 at midnight EST. The winner will be announced next Friday, January 28, 2011 before 12:00 noon EST.

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday

I feel like this week has completely kicked my butt. Seriously.

Maggie has been extra dramatic and Ellie has a runny nose, horrible cough and an ear infection from all of the congestion.

I have sort of moved on from the "I miss my husband so much" phase of this journey. Sure, I miss him so much, but right now I just want a little help with parenting duties. Not a babysitter or a break (but a break would be nice). Help.

I'm amazed at all of the things that have happened in the past almost three weeks since Big Daddy left. Ellie has picked up a few new words and does several new things that are cute. She often points to the computer and says "da da" because we Skype nightly. Maggie doesn't concern herself quite as much about when he'll be coming home. She has certain times where she misses him SO much, but for the most part she's over it. I know most of her tantrums lately are because she misses her Daddy. I have started doing yoga nightly and doing Weight watchers online.

We are ready for Big Daddy to come home!

NOT according to plan

I make plans.
I like plans.
I also like when plans change, but only if it's for the best.
Big Daddy's plans changed.
Not for the best.
He will not be home this weekend.
That means that we will be apart for three weeks once he does come home.
That's the longest we've ever been apart.
In 15 (as of March 2) years.
I've only seen him two days in 2011.

Ellie is oblivious. While Maggie misses him, I think she's gotten used to being without him. We have tried to be vague about when he comes home, just in case. He's currently a nine hour drive away and it just didn't make sense for him to spend so much time on the road so that he could spend so little time at home. Needless to say, we are counting down the days until we are together again.

Alone Time

I think there were angels singing when I announced that we would be going to the Library for Storytime today. We hadn't been out of the house since 8:30 Monday morning. e all needed to get out.

Cousin Callie was out of school since some of the back roads are still icy, so we went to Nana's to pick her up for Storytime too. Ellie made a run for the toy closet and said the sweetest "no" and shook her head when I asked if she was ready to go. I think she was afraid that I was going to take her back home! She decided to stay with Nana for some special time while the big girls were away.

I returned Cousin Callie & Maggie and then left for the grocery store...alone.

It had been a while since I had been out. It had been a long time since I had been out alone.

It was a glorious hour and I feel like my batteries are no longer completely dead. It turns out that single parenting while housebound because of winter weather is very draining.

The countdown to Big Daddy's return is officially on! We have lots to talk about and a future to plan for. I am really looking forward to having another adult in the house even if it's only for a little while!

Good News/Bad News

Good News

I knew that 2011 was going to hold big changes for us, but at the end of 2010 I wasn't exactly sure if we'd be relocating to South of Atlanta or staying here in NC.

Big Daddy's second week on the job in Georgia brought a couple of surprises. One of the other engineers in his same position decided to resign and start a job where he could be closer to home. He was out of state every Monday through Friday and after 18 months on the job, being home with his wife only on weekends wasn't cutting it. This gave Big Daddy a not so good feeling and changed his travel schedule. It was starting to look like he would be spending most of his time in Northern California, Southern California, Mexico and Colorado . I continued to spend way too much time scouring the internet for houses in Georgia and Big Daddy spent way too much time riding from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for a house for sale with hardwood floors that weren't pre-finished, white cabinets and granite counter tops. We were both coming up empty handed and looking at other options like keeping our house here and him getting an apartment South of Atlanta for when he would actually be working in his office.

The other surprise was something pretty unexpected. He was called about a job here in NC with a company that he has wanted to work for pretty much for years. He had submitted his resume a while before and they were finally doing interviews for the position. Big Daddy went for his two interviews and has been offered the job. He has work to finish up in Georgia, but he'll be starting his new job in a couple of weeks. There will be travel, but the office is close and we will be able to keep our house...and our Church...and Maggie's preschool.

I am am a little disappointed, but very relieved. We are thrilled that we won't be leaving our house and happy that we can stay in our Church and that the girls will be close to family.


Bad News

My Mommy-friend April has cancer. We are hopeful that it hasn't spread and that they caught it early enough that treatment will be successful. She has a son Maggie's age and a daughter a few months younger than Ellie, so I can only imagine what her biggest concerns are.

Please keep April in your prayers. She is scheduled for surgery at the end of this month.

Lonely, but not alone.

That would describe most of my weekend.

(Ellie is wearing Maggie's old, too small ruby slippers and loves them, but does not love new ruby slippers that actually fit her.)

These two are always with me, so I'm not alone at all!!

We have been fortunate that this is only the second weekend that we have been without Big Daddy. (I think,but I'm not sure, that this is maybe my fifth or sixth weekend of being without him in our almost 15 years.) Saturdays are especially hard because that is our usual "Family Day". Cousin Callie had an Upward Basketball game Saturday morning, so we were happy to attend that with Nana. We picked up lunch and then went home and had rest time. (Don't let the name "rest time" fool you, because Ellie is the only one that takes a rest anymore!) I had a three minute nap and a really big idea. I'll share my really big idea only if it comes to fruition because it seems sort of silly today!

I felt like I was going crazy because Saturday passed and we didn't do any of our usual stuff. The last time Big Daddy was away on a Saturday I took the girls shopping and to Panera for lunch. I felt sad, lonely and I was a little grumpy by the time dinner rolled around.

We had dinner a little late and then I sent the girls to their bathroom for baths. Ellie's favorite thing to do is run away as soon as she is naked. She goes straight to the couch and peeks over the back of it until I am within sight. Then she dives down behind the pillows and starts kicking them off, laughing and anticipating my arrival. I carry her back to the tub and she splashes and plays with her sister. After bath, it's the same scenario played out again. This time I decided to go ahead and comb Maggie's hair before retrieving Ellie. I told Maggie that I had to hurry because her sister might pee on the couch. We both laughed and I went to the living room to find a huge wet spot and a naked Ellie on the couch.

I cried.

I think it's called rock bottom.

Of course, it was funny, but there's only so much a Mommy can take.

There is a big (for us) snow being forecast for Monday/Tuesday, so I would greatly appreciate your prayers. There is something about knowing that your housebound "alone" with two children that makes me want to cry.

On a brighter note, Maggie is in LOVE with "The Sound of Music". It was our Thursday and Friday evening entertainment. It's such a wholesome, fun movie...minus the N@zi part. Maggie has asked to become a nun and to have her hair cut short like Maria's. (She also wants it long like Rapunzel's) She wanted the movie "to never end and go on forever and ever" and asked if we could NOT take it back to the Library. I think she'll be getting it for her birthday.

Maggie is also in love with yoga.

This week promises to be big week for us! Stay tuned.

A Little Devotion

(From our Church devotional booklet)
You Still Matter

Fans rooted for the competition, Cheerleaders switched loyalties. The coach helped the opposition score points. Parents yelled for the competition. What was this?

This was the brainchild of a big-hearted football coach in Grapevine, Texas. Kris Hogan skippers the successful program of Faith Christian High School. He has seventy players, eleven coaches, quality equipment and parents who care, make banners, attend pep rallies and wouldn't miss a game for their own funeral.

They took their 7-2 record into a contest with Gainesville State School. Gainesville's players, by contrast, wear seven year old shoulder pads and last decade's helmets and show up at each game wearing handcuffs. Their parents don't watch them play, but twelve uniformed officers do. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility. The school doesn't have a stadium, cheerleading squad or half a hope of winning. Gainesville was 0-8 going into the Grapevine game. They'd scored two touchdowns all year.

The whole situation didn't seem fair. Coach Hogan devised a plan. He asked the fans to step across the field and for one night only to cheer for the other side. More than two hundred volunteered.

They formed a forty yard spirit line. They painted "Go Tornadoes!" on a banner that the Gainesville squad could burst through. They sat on the Gainesville side of the stadium. They even learned the names of Gainesville players so they could yell for individuals.

The prisoners had heard people scream their names, nut never like this. Gerald, a lineman who will serve three years said, "People are a little afraid of us when we come to the games. You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they're yelling for us. By our names!"

After the game the teams gathered in the middle of the field to say a prayer. One of the incarcerated players asked to lead it. Coach Hogan agreed, not knowing what to expect. "Lord", the boy said, " I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank you, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world who cared about us."

Grapevine fans weren't finished. After the game they waited beside the Gainesville bus to give each player a goodbye gift- burger, fries, candy, soda, a Bible, an encouraging letter and a round of applause. As their prison bus left the parking lot, the players pressed stunned faces against the windows and wondered what just hit them".

Here's what hit them: A fullside of "You still matter" and "Someone still cares". Their mission? Break down barricades that separate God's children from each other.

January...So Far

I feel like lots of things have happened since we rang in the new year. Since Big Daddy has been away I have noticed how fast things change in even the span of a week. Being apart can really start to take a toll on both of us. He falls into the routine of being alone in a hotel room night after night and I get used to the bathroom staying clean for more than 5 minutes and not having to pick up clothes from the closet, the bathroom and the bedroom. I knew that 2011 would be an eventful year, but there have been quite a few things that have happened already!

• Our Church started a new series and I'm doing the daily devotional and started working on reading the whole Bible this year.
• We found out that a couple-friend of ours has split up and will most likely be divorcing.
• We have found out about new babies that are expected this year. (not in this house!)
• I have not quite perfected my chain stitch, but after NOT crocheting in 7+ years, I have picked up yarn again!
• I am doing yoga...daily.
• I have found that absence really makes the heart grow a little fonder.
  
• Ellie says "Sissy" (sounds more like "Sithsy") more than "Maaa" for Maggie.
• In preparation for homeschooling Maggie in the fall, I bought sight word flashcards...or maybe Santa brought them. Anyway, she has been begging to "play the game" and last night, we did. I picked out 20 words that I thought would be easy for her to "sound out" and she did really well! I didn't realize that there were more words on the back. Of course, she insisted that we do those word too even though the were a little more difficult. Once again, she impressed me. I have moments where I really worry about trying to teach her the things that she "should" know and this was just the boost of confidence that I needed!

And it's only January 5th!!

2011

I always try to start out the new year with a positive attitude, but no matter how I look at it I feel like this year will be a big challenge.

Big Daddy will be away...lots.
I will be in charge of all daily house and yard maintenance, as well as caring for these two crazy kids!
We will most likely move.
Maggie will start kindergarten and we plan to do that at home. (!!!!!)
Ellie will (probably) start potty training at some point in 2011, but only if she has an interest.


Of course, I want to be a better wife and mother, lose 15 pounds and so on and so forth. I also want to get my concealed carry permit, spend more one on one time with Maggie, take longer showers, NOT set the alarm off on a weekly basis and keep the car clean. All of these are a little harder when you realize that your parenting partner will NOT be around most of the time and you are for the most part on your own. It's hard to take a class involving handguns, do yard work, wash the car and enjoy your shower when there are always two little people (somewhere very close by) to think about.

Anyway...I read this and it took me right back to what I was thinking and feeling in the Praise & Worship service this morning at our Church.

I have decided to work on a few new goals instead of the same ones that I try to work towards every single day. Hopefully, it will work out for me.