Taco

Nora thought it was SO funny that Ammy wrapped her up like a "daco" (taco) after her bath. :)

Toes

Carolyn had her "observation day" today in her new pre-K class for the fall, and so Nora spent the day at Appletree and I got to take Carolyn out for a little while after her visit day. :) We went and got our toenails done. It was fun to do something together- though I do wish that the people at the nail salon had spoken better English because they seemed to think I wanted a full-out pedicure while my 4-year-old just sat there waiting- and I couldn't seem to communicate to them that what I really wanted was just to have our toenails painted together! Oh well, in the end it cost about $20 more than I wanted it to and was a lot more boring for Carolyn than I planned- but we both have cute flowers on our toes, so that's something! The salon was inside a Meijer store, so it's entirely possible (though not confirmed :)) that we ended up in the toy department where Carolyn got to unexpectedly select a toy that she did not need- but nonetheless brought her great joy. :) It's fun to just give joy sometimes. :) I LOVE this girl. :)

Haircut

Rapunzel got a hair cut this afternoon... after several requests and repeated exhortations NOT to cut her hair- because it would neither turn brown and lose its power (as it does in the movie :)) nor grow back! Clearly Carolyn was well supervised today... I walked into the downstairs living room after it was a bit "too" quiet and found hair all over the floor, a shorn  Rapunzel, and a guilty looking 4-year-old with a pair of scissors.

This anecdote should tell you something about how our day went- it was just hectic! One of those days when I feel profoundly grateful NOT to be pregnant- because at least for now, we only have TWO hooligans- what WOULD we do with three?!

Dandelions

Every kid needs her first dandelion picture. Here's Nora's! :)

After the Rain

It's been a really wet April here! Hopefully that means a more brilliant spring- I bet it does. :) It's been taking its time getting warm, too- I'm really ready for the nice weather to be here!

Today we had some thunderstorms roll through, and it rained pretty hard for awhile, then the sun burst out and there was a rainbow and some very nice puddles for little feet. :)

I think she liked the splash-splash her feet made in the wet driveway.

 Isn't Nora sweet next to my daffadowndillies?:)

Carolyn was really excited to get outside and be allowed to splash in puddles. I love this picture of pure joy on her face- I'd like it better if the background were better... but I caught the moment- and that's good because it didn't last very long- about five seconds after this picture, she chased that ball nearly into the street, which resulted in her immediate removal to the house and subsequent disciplinary measures. Running nearly into the street is a big no-no. I will be glad when she begins to have a bit more impulse control- I just don't trust her yet outside alone because I never know if it will be one of those times she just doesn't pay attention!

Other news... today was a big milestone for Nora- for the first time, she took her OWN SELF to the potty and took care of #2 there completely unprompted! I was in another room, and came quickly to the call of "Mommy, POOPY!" expecting to find soiled underpants... and instead found her perched up on the potty seat, proud as punch over her great achievement. :)

Blah...

Had a day today where I just felt... blah... It should have been a grand day- usually one of my favorite days of the whole week- my "work" day- where I can craft to my heart's content, uninterrupted by any of the usual (wonderful!) things that make up my ordinary days... But for some reason I just didn't feel like doing any of it today. Things have gone fairly well with opening a new site, but there are some growing pains with it as I'm still trying to figure out how to market myself now that I have an independent presence off of Etsy- I'd like to have just that nice balance of busy-ness- enough to keep from being bored, but not so much that MLP takes a place it never should have in my life. Still, the past week or so has been "slower" than I've been since about... November! I know it's to be expected with starting something new and losing some of the momentum that the Etsy community can provide- but I couldn't help feeling discouraged about it.

I kept trying to remind myself all day long about WHY I'm doing this- it's really  not about money- or I really should be doing what I have a doctoral level of education to do! I think for me, it's always been at least to a certain extent about "success" and external "recognition" during a time of life when I feel like I've not been as successful as I'd like (i.e. still not pregnant after almost a year of "trying" and about three weeks of "not-trying" :))- and a season of life when external recognition for a job well done is at an all-time low! There aren't many laurels in being a stay-at-home-mom- well, at least not the kind that involve instant gratification! So it's hard to avoid being tempted into the trap of "needing" those little jolts of "enough-ness" that come when I make a sale, and are disparagingly absent on days when I don't. I've gotten myself so wrapped up in this that there are moments when I have to very deliberately (and sometimes out loud!) remind myself that I am enough- I am fully sufficient and exactly who God made me to be- whether anyone pats me on the back for making beautiful things (or having perfect children- ha!) or not.

Today was a day when I really struggled just to keep my mind focused on where it needs to be- and really failed pretty miserably all day, to be honest! I felt consumed with my shortcomings for some reason today- and tonight I was very thankful for our small group parenting class that came over for the evening. Somehow just recalling the focus of my PRIMARY job in life right now- that of being a godly parent and raising children to know and serve the Lord- of being a good steward of the days and moments and hours given me in this brief season of having young ones- that sort of zapped me out of my funk, and I feel better now. Tomorrow I have some specific ideas to try for being more intentional about the day, and I feel more inspired to live in a way I'll be glad of one day when I'm eighty. :)

Easter

Today we had a very nice family day for Easter. 

 We started by opening the last egg in our Easter eggs box. Each day they opened a new egg that had a part of the Easter story in it (palm branches the first day, nails, cross, etc- finally an empty egg on Day 11 for the empty tomb, and a cotton ball on Day 12 for how Jesus will come back with the clouds). Carolyn could explain each egg- it's astounding what she has learned and how she is beginning to internalize the Great Story.

 For breakfast I made French Breakfast Puffs, courtesy of Brad's mom's fine recipe.

 After church, we re-enacted one of the few family traditions I remember from Easter growing up- the mandatory picture in our Easter dresses. :) At first the girls weren't too enthusiastic.

 Then I told them they could have a treat if they cooperated... yep, I'm not above bribing for decent pictures.

 Nora liked to jump up and down and I liked how this picture caught the motion of her hair.

 Carolyn brought out the plant that she received at the green house a month or two ago. Isn't she such a big gir? So pretty!

 We finally took Nora's "Two Year" picture with Dad (almost 3 months late...)- but better late than not at all!

And then Carolyn wanted a picture with Daddy... so of course I complied :)

For dinner we made shrimp etouffee- Brad's getting really good at being the chef for this fabulous dish that's becoming a real tradition for special times. My sister Laura joined us which made it extra special. :)

After dinner we borrowed the neighbors' trampoline to work off some of the calories... Laura took some pics. :)

There may have been a family game of duck-duck-goose (with a rather relaxed version of the rules).

And the kids clearly had a great time.

I love church on Easter Sunday- the music is like no other time of year in its emotion, grandeur, and sense of triumph. My favorite hymn is "He Arose," where it says "up from the grave He arose (HE AROSE!) with a mighty triumph o'er His foes)- I wish we sang it other times of year. But a close second is "Because He Lives." I always get a little choked up when we sing "How sweet to hold a newborn baby and feel the love and joy he (she!) gives- but greater still, the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives!"  And especially after the song gained new meaning following the death of my grandmother- "And then one day, I'll cross the river. I'll fight life's final war with pain... and then as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of Glory and I'll know He lives!"I cannot sing that song without being poignantly reminded of my Granny who does indeed now KNOW that He lives- her eyes are opened, and she sees the lights of Glory- and, I hope, smiles to think of those of us left behind for a time, celebrating Easter along with her.

They said something in church this morning that  made me think. I've been a Christian for about as long as I can remember- so most of the "buzz words" and classic texts are pretty familiar to me. But sometimes something comes along that makes me think about the old words in a new way. Today they read the section in Philippians where it talks about how Christ voluntarily laid down His life and humbled Himself to be obedient to death (even death on a cross!) Today I was thinking about this passage in the context of human suffering- a very close friend posted something today about some of the things she has experienced and grown through over the past two years since her second daughter was born stillborn after a placental abruption. And although my own difficulty over the past year cannot hold a candle to what I know she has experienced, still- it has been a challenge to learn to live with the unfulfilled longings and to begin to humble myself to God's plan instead of my own.

I thought about how one of the things I have been learning through this journey that we've been on is that sometimes the right thing to do is to just accept that the wilderness is part of the landscape on the path you are intended to be on. To humble yourself and accept that suffering at times is allowed by a God who could stop it- who SHOULD stop it, we think. The song "Waiting Room" has been on the radio a lot lately and I really resonate with the words "It's not that I don't have the answer. It's just not the one that I'd like..." I feel like I kind of got to that crux point a few weeks ago when I just finally was humbled enough to admit what I have known to be true for awhile now. This is just not the time for us to be aggressively pursuing another child. There are medical things that are options and whole avenues to explore that may in the end lead to another mouth to feed (or two! :)) But right now is not that time. And so we remain in the "waiting room." Only it's different now in a way- it's as choice to stay in the room, rather than to try to get out or move on more quickly than it's time. It's a choice to humble myself to the plan, even though it's not really what I would have thought out myself.

And that brings me back to Jesus in the Garden, when He asked His Father to take the cup of suffering from Him, and ultimately accepted that it could not be so. I've always sort of thought in the back of my mind "well, sure, that's easy for Him to do- He's GOD! He knew on Good Friday that Easter was coming." Today as I thought about the familiar passage, I was struck with the thought that what I might think would make it easier (having the control and ability to change the situation)- might actually make it harder. Most of us, when tough things happen, don't have any control whatsoever, and so the best we can do is hunker down and cling on tight for the ride. But Jesus was different- He COULD have changed the situation- COULD have commanded the angels to blast everyone off the face of the earth and flown off the Cross and back to heaven. But... HE DIDN'T. He chose to humble Himself to the plan, even when He could have changed it- because He loved us THAT much. And I am so thankful.

The Hunt

This morning the girls and I went to a big community outreach Easter egg "hunt" (more like an egg harvest than a hunt, but you know what I mean) at a local church. It was really well done, and apart from being a bit chaotic since I had failed to remember that Brad would have to be rounding at the hospital during this time this morning, we all had a good time.

 They separated the kids by age, and here is Nora getting ready to rush into the 1 to 3 year old egg field.

 She was an efficient egg gatherer. She marched right in there with all the other kids and scooped up as many as possible. She didn't care much whether there was anything inside- more than half of her eggs were already opened and emptied by the time she picked them up, but she had a wonderful time gathering them all up!

 Carolyn's friend was there, and so they waited together for the 4 to 6 year olds to get to start in their area.

 Nora sorted through her eggs while the bigger girls went out to get theirs.

 This is as good as I could do for pictures of Carolyn getting eggs, as Miss Mischief needed a close eye in such a crowd!

 Carolyn coming back so excited about her eggs.

 Sorting the loot. Most of the candy got thrown away as soon as we got home- Tootsie Rolls and bubble gum and taffy just aren't age appropriate for my children... but they also had tickets inside some of the eggs for little prizes, which the kids really loved.

My favorite line of the day: "Mom, it's a FOOD DYE!" We have been working over the past couple of weeks at eliminating food dyes from our diet- which pretty much means all kinds of candy are out- I wouldn't let her eat a peppermint at a restaurant the other day (a little strict, I know- but we're in the midst of a family experiment to see if it actually makes a difference in behavior so I didn't want anything to muddy the results!)- and we've been talking about dyes and how they aren't good for us- so she's making connections.

As a side note, I think that the washout is actually having an effect- mostly because over the past few days since it's been impossible to stay away from the dyes since it's Easter and there are jelly beans and other stuff everywhere! And I can definitely see that she's having more trouble with self-control than she was when she wasn't eating that junk- probably for multiple reasons- but hey, it can't hurt to try to moderate the processed stuff like that!

Easter Cookies

Wednesday was Brad's day off, so we ended up decorating Easter cookies as a family. It was the best cookie decorating experience we've had to date- mostly because the girls are getting old enough to enjoy it more, especially Carolyn. Nora still needs quite a bit of supervision... but she has fun, too. :) We may try dyeing eggs tomorrow- that will be an adventure. :)

 Carolyn still prefers to make the serious face for the camera.

She was like that as a baby too. :)

 Finally she agreed to smile (maybe because she was afraid I wouldn't let her have the cookie until she did. :))

 Nora mostly enjoyed trying to fit as many M&Ms on the cookie as possible.

She was a cute baby, too. :)

And she still likes to stick her tongue out.

End of story for today. I'm tired! Tried to wait up for Brad last night... went to bed at 2am (eek!)- he didn't get home from his delivery until after 3... ah, our glamourous life. :)

The Hill

Today when we got home from the Y, I went inside and started unloading stuff, etc... and realized a minute or two later that the girls weren't there! So for a moment I panicked and ran outside to see where they were, and found them starting to run up and down the little hill in our front yard. So like any self-respecting mother, I scolded them halfheartedly for leaving the house without me... and went to get my camera because they were both so cute. The light wasn't in the right place (or I was standing in the wrong place) to get great pictures... but they were so joyful and having so much fun I couldn't help snapping the moment.

 Carolyn is holding the Rapunzel doll and the hairbrush she has been carrying around for weeks. This Rapunzel is very well-groomed. :)

 And here's Nora and the Oh-Ee (Lovey).

Hugging each other- and their special things at the same time. Awww... so sweet.

I am trying to take pictures every day again because I want to remember those precious moments... even when the days don't always seem so precious (though I know they are!). There are days when the "sameness" of home life threatens to overtake me; times when I just don't feel very fulfilled, though I know I'm right where I need to be. Those are the days I watch my emails arrive one by one- nearly all of them junk mail- just because I'm hoping for a little burst of significance from the outside world. I know it's not healthy... but sometimes I just can't climb out of the funk or break the "connectedness" habit.

I'm glad that I have pictures to remember the sweet moments in a totally ordinary day. And I realize as I write this that I am more blessed than I can possibly imagine to be living such an ordinary day. A very dear friend of mine has had a decidedly UN-ordinary week, with her almost-2-year-old son in the hospital all week with an infection due to suppressed immune system from chemotherapy for leukemia. I have no doubt that she'd exchange blog posts with me in a heartbeat. I wouldn't blame her. Ike has been on my heart and mind all day today, as he's trying so hard to recover, and yet his sweet body just doesn't bounce back easily right now, and his immune system numbers are still dangerously low, and he has been diagnosed with pneumonia. Pray for him if you can- you can read his mom's blog here: http://quistnshout.xanga.com/ . I know they'd appreciate the prayers.

Big One

 Can you believe how much older Carolyn is looking these days? Her imagination is developing right along nicely, too- today during quiet time, she built Rapunzel's tower- complete with blocks she identified as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (can you tell what we've been watching lately?)

I love how this shirt looks on her... but it's too bad she doesn't! She's going through a phase where all she wants to wear are dresses (especially sun dresses), and really this would be okay (a lot of the little girls she knows wear only dresses also so I don't blame her for wanting to!)- except we were starting to run into issues where if the particular dress she wanted was dirty or she couldn't find the exact pair of leggings she wanted to go underneath it, it would just be the END OF THE WORLD. So we're having a period of backing that train up and (once again) choosing clothes for her. It takes a while to get dressed in the morning because there's the inevitable struggle over the choice Mommy or Daddy made- but we know from prior experience that she'll settle down soon and earn her privilege back again. I can't wait- I love that she can pick her own clothes out and get herself dressed all independently (and I actually enjoy seeing the outfits she comes up with!)- but for now, it's kind of nice for the clothes that just take up space in the closet to get a little wear!

Nora Bows For My Nora

 

 

This stuff is all I took pictures of today... my camera battery died shortly after taking these pics, so I didn't take any pics of anything fun today... except these bows made me happy, because they are Nora Bows for MY Nora. Her hair is getting so long now that it really needs to be up in pigtails or it gets gunky on the ends. And although I spend hours in my "secret lab" every week making bows for everyone else on planet Earth :) I rarely actually have the time (or make the time I guess) to do some for my own family. So I put everything else aside this afternoon and just made pigtail bows for Nora and I loved how they turned out (there are actually about 4 other pairs too but no one wants to see THAT many pictures of bows!)! I'm itching to share them on my Facebook "fan" page, but need to moderate myself so as not to get deleted from too many people's lists! I'm sure that no one else finds these bows nearly as fascinating as I do! But I love stripes and think they are really pretty. :) And this is MY blog and I can feel free to post what I like- especially since I don't really have a whole lot else to talk about tonight.

Except that Carolyn is going through an unusually affectionate and sweet stage lately (ironically it coincides with a period of renewed intensity of willfulness and difficulty as well!)- and I am EATING IT UP. Several times today she just came up to me unprompted to tell me how much she loves me and how I'm "the best mommy." I need to stash all that sweetness up to pull out the more difficult moments of the day! She is a precious thing.

Picassos Pequenos

Today was another Monday- another "work day" for me- and I'm sure no one wants to see any more bow pictures (ha!) so I dug these pics from the other night out of my stash. I am fully aware that a bit of editing (even the highly amateur editing I do to my photos) would make them infinitely better... but I don't feel like messing with it, so I won't.

The other night we got out some paints and some cheap plastic palettes I bought at Hobby Lobby and let the girls do some painting after dinner. Like most messy things, the fun didn't last as long as the cleanup did... but they had a lovely time while it lasted. :)

 Nora's getting into that "make a weird face for the camera" phase.

Carolyn always seems to be very happy when she is using her imagination and her hands to create. She loves art! I'm excited to see how her artistry develops the older she gets because she loves it so much. :)

 Nora had a ball smearing all the different paint colors together to make a delicious mess.

 I love Carolyn's look of concentration as she holds her paintbrush. :)

Ponytail

I pulled Nora's hair into a ponytail this afternoon- doesn't she look like a BIG GIRL with her hair back like that?! She is growing up so fast. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. Just in the last couple weeks, her play has become so much more sophisticated and she and Carolyn are really beginning to become friends and playmates. I'm so happy that they have each other. It is fun to see the dynamic continue to develop between them. My sisters are such a blessing to me! I am so glad that they each have one of God's greatest gifts- a sister!

Harry Potter Night

Today was a good day. :) This morning I got up early and FINALLY caught myself up on most of my huge first-week influx of bow orders. I just have a couple more stragglers to get through from that first week and then I'm back on track to a decent turnaround time. I've found that one of the secrets to having maximum in enjoyment in what I'm doing is simply to not be in a hurry about doing it! A few orders every day are better for me than 30 in the space of 3 days! Not that I'm complaining- it's a great blessing that my business is actually working!- but it is hard to figure out the balance when I'm so busy. And when it's a little more steady than "spurty," I enjoy myself so much more- and I have time to actually be creative with my work! :) So I'm looking forward to doing my stuff for the love of it and not because I feel cramped about it. :) 

My sister Michelle came up for most of the day and we went to Kasey's house- in the rain- to keep our original photo session date for some cousin pictures. Kasey was kind enough to let us come even when everyone else got rained out because Michelle came from out of town! And we did get some really cute shots, too. But I was glad we went just me and the girls earlier in the week; they would have had a hard time being "good" for 2 mini-session spots in a row (Elliot's and "the cousins')

Shelly and I went out for lunch and did a little shopping at the mall- have to use those Gymbucks. :) I got some cute things for the girls for warmer weather- I loved their strawberry line this year and it was on a great sale, plus the Gymbucks- so Nora will be wearing strawberries all summer. :) Good thing I can make cute hair clips to go with it! I found a few things for Carolyn too- though she's much harder to please with clothes! All she wants to wear are dresses and the only pants that are desirable these days are either pink or purple. I made her wear black pants today for the pictures and she was not happy- but after she realized that I was serious about making her wear them, she looked at me and said, "Well, I can pretend that the black is blue!" Cute. :)

Potty training was better today too- Nora was dry and clean ALL DAY LONG- and putting her jammies on backwards worked to keep her clothes on for the night, so that was good. :)

And NOW, it's the long-awaited Harry Potter Night! My other sister Laura came for dinner, wearing her "Prefect"'s badge (borrowed from a friend- I totally want one!)

I tried to make themed food for the night. We drank "butterbeer" (not me- ugh!), and "pumpkin juice" (orange Gatorade for me and the girls), and as soon as I am finished with this blog we will have "pumpkin pasty" (aka pumpkin pie :)) for dessert- and for dinner we had an improvised Shepherd's Pie as an "English" sort of dish- recipe courtesy of my housemate from college who's from the UK. 

Carolyn was not enthusiastic about the dinner choice. Having once been a picky child (and still being a picky adult! You might notice the shepherd's pie has no cheese on top :))- I understood exactly how she felt when she looked at something that appeared to have such a mushy texture (though it really wasn't mushy or I wouldn't have liked it :))- but  being an evil mother, I decided to take a picture anyway. :)

 Nora made faces too, but hers were (slightly) cuter. :)

 And now my blog is done. I have completed almost a full week of blogging daily about my life- and now I remember why I enjoyed blogging when I was disciplined enough to do it every day whether I felt like it or not! So here's to blogs! And Harry Potter! And Pumpkin Pasty!