Tempted to post about the day... but since I am at Tech Mom's house, I will leave it to HER to tell what we've been up to. She obviously thinks she lacks blogging inspiration, or she has to think too hard to come up with something to post... yada yada yada...

I will say that we're tired, but in a good way. Tech Mom, you tell them why.

(My blog is proof that posts need not be eloquent or well thought out. While that helps, it is NOT necessary.)

Maybe, if she posts, I might help her put some pictures on her blog, too.

hubbyism

hubby: "shphhhk!"
me: "huh?"
hubby: "i shot cat with my fake gun."

Farm Wife was inspired to do this by Daring Young Mom, and I decided to join along.

What makes me happy?

Sleeping in til after 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning!
Digging in the garden to plant flowers.
Baby Bear exclaiming "fow-fur", picking a flower, and carrying it around the yard.
Comfy, MODEST satin pj's that I got for Christmas from Caslon and Photo Guy. Did I mention how comfy they are?
My daughter's laugh.
Spending the week (or 2) with Tech Mom and Dad so we don't have to miss Hubby while he works in their city.
Watching and helping Baby Bear explore Tech Mom's house.
Not having to stay in a motel while hubby is working out of town.
Visiting with old and new friends.
Capturing moments of my little girl's childhood on camera.
The sound of her plunking the piano keys.
Reading a good book.
Sitting in Tech Mom's red leather la-z-boy-ish chair and taking advantage of their internet connection on her laptop while hubby uses our laptop.
Hearing baby-bear exclaim "clock" every time she sees or hears one of the many clocks in the house chime.
Listening to music.
The glow of joy on Baby Bear's face when "Baba" (Grandpa) comes home from travelling for 3 days.


That's a start... I've gotta go get dressed for digging in the Memphis dirt today!
Play along on your blog or in my comments!

Are we really in Memphis?

It's sunny, breezy and COOL! Warm enough to not need a jacket, but cool enough to enjoy a walk around the block. Baby Bear climbed into her umbrella stroller and chanted, "ride! please!", so we went out for a nice walk in the fresh air. It sure beat the trip to super-Walmart. We got what we had to and were in and out as quickly as possible. (I'm making chicken pot pie for dinner and had to get all the ingredients.) Some high school age kids were out messing with a car; I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that their teachers were probably not missing them in class at the school I taught at for 2 years today. The idea of calling the police for truancy also crossed my mind, but I decided to give the poor teachers a break. If the kids were that rowdy outside, trying to teach them anything would have proven futile on a day like today.

Baby Bear is supposed to be napping, but I can hear her playing with her kitty and an old Pound Puppy from when her Daddy and Uncle and Aunt were growing up. I don't want to know what kind of pain the boys inflicted on their stuffed animals, though they appear unscathed. Anyway, she sounds happy, so why mess with a good thing? At the moment, all I hear is the lullaby from her wind-up giraffe, so perhaps she is going down.

music in my sidebar

i found a cool way to add a playlist to my blog... and there's one song on there especially for farmwife. she referred to the artist in a recent post, and i've had it running through my head at random times since then.

I got in the mood to add a couple more of my favorite TMBG songs... for your listening and singing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-with-no-care-about-who-might-hear-you pleasure. :-)

(By the way, you can click on just the songs you want to hear.)

Another contest sponsored by 5 minutes for Mom!

Madison's Room provided them with a set of hair clippies to give to a lucky winner, and is offering a 15% off discount when you enter the code "mom" at checkout.

Dinner's in the works...

baked salmon, seasoned in butter, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper & dill
zatarain's long grain wild rice
corn
salad

Tech Mom has someone to cook for her tonight (and I have someone to keep Baby Bear from hanging on my legs while I try to get dinner ready!)

Tech Mom posted- only because I made her! (I made her feel a little guilty by putting the pic of all her children and grandchildren on her desktop.)

It's a drizzly kinda day.

I am in lazy mode. Baby Bear is watching Blue's Clues, thanks to the modern wonder of DVR technology and DirecTV. I want a nap. Why I didn't take one during Bear's 2-hour nap before lunch is beyond me (she went to bed late last night, but awoke at her usual time, making her ready for a nap mid-morning instead of after lunch. I did manage to take a shower. We've eaten lunch. I should call some friends while I'm in town, but I have the drizzly-day sleepy-head syndrome.

Baby Bear is begging for my root beer, so I'd better get some juice to distract her. Oh, wait, she just found a (closed) tube of antibiotic ointment and stuck it in her belly button. I love the toddler phase- she distracts herself!

Be sure to stop by her cave and read my musings on the 1st year and a half of her life.

Wordless Wednesday
For links to more WW posts, go to 5 minutes for Mom.

You MUST look at this photo of tiny baby feet...

It's amazing. Based on the angel decorations, I'm wondering what this baby's story is...

Drat.

I left my USB cable at home. So I won't be able to easily upload photos to my computer while we're at Tech Mom & Dad's. Which could be 2 weeks. I suppose I could put them on their computer using their card reader and upload them in my shutterfly account. Tech Dad thinks attaching files into e-mail is too many steps!

Anyway, there's a cute story at Hannah-Bear's Cave, for those of you I haven't called on the phone.

Answers to Zann's interview questions:

1.Did you do anything special to tell you hubby (I know his name but can't remember what you call him on your blog) and then family members that you were pregnant with babybear?
Hubby, nothing special. I didn't have the self control, and he suspected because he knew I was late. I'm hoping that by the time I get pregnant again, I'll have a little more patience to be able to surprise him. We did out for a steak dinner to celebrate, and my beef aversion began that night. It was crazy.

Family- I hand-stamped plain white note cards and personalized the message inside according to their relationship to Hannah, then mailed them to them.

2. If you could pick anywhere on earth and move all your family there with you, where would you live? A Spanish-speaking country, so we could be immersed in the culture and improve our Spanish skills. Costa Rica sounds nice. I mean, we get Spanish junk mail and calls thanks to our last name, anyway, so we might as well be able to tell them not to call back in Spanish.

3. Favorite hymns? What a Friend We Have in Jesus, It Is Well With My Soul, In the Garden (I couldn't pick just one)

4. What was your proudest accomplishment as a child? Learning to sail with my Dad and brother. Too bad I can't remember any of it. It was so much fun to be able to shift the jib, tie the fancy knots, etc...

5. How old do you feel? Depends on the day. Or time of day. I don't feel my age, but I feel older than many people say I look. I feel old in the mornings, finally wake up around noon, and feel older again in the evenings.

Okay, now I'm turning this into a Meme and tagging anyone who would like to play along. But I am too lazy to come up with questions, so just answer these on your blog or in the comments. :-)

March of Dimes Walk- Team Aiden

Aiden's Mommy hasn't updated the site. Their goal was reached. But I decided to link to their site, anyway, be. Aiden is Caslon and Photo Guy's nephew who was born several weeks early.

God's going to take care of my bulbs this week.

We've arrived safely at Tech Mom & Dad's. (Hopefully there are no thieves or burglers lurking around.) Gina, if you want to break in and clean for me, you're welcome to! Ha ha ha.) Hubby is working here this week, so Bear and I came along. We hope to visit some friends, and Baby Bear has already been spoiled. As we got out of the car, she exclaimed, "Ba-Ba!" that is her word for Grandpa. She called my Dad "Ba-ba", too. It's so cute.

We took an afternoon nap, and Tech Mom should be home any minute.

I think it's supposed to rain, so as long as no wild animals eat my plants, everything should be fine.

Babies, everywhere...

Please forgive me for whining for just a little bit. It is by no means meant to make any of my pregnant friends feel bad, especially when most of you are getting into the uncomfortable stages as you await your newest blessings.

Just when I think I'm doing really well, I am reminded that just over 3 months ago, I took my first home pregnancy tests which looked slightly positive. A week later, I tested again. And not long after that, my miscarriage began. I remember trying to hold out hope that maybe I was further along and it was implantation bleeding.

Well, one good friend just had a baby, I just got an e-mail with another's ultrasound photos, several friends are due any day now or within the next couple of months. And a neighbor and his 3 year old were walking and announced that the little guy is going to have a baby sister in August. (I heard through the grapevine that his wife had a miscarriage not that long ago, so I am praying that everything continues to go well in the pregnancy.)

No matter how happy I am for my friends, I can't help but feel a little jealous. When you believe that every life is precious, it hurts to have one taken away, no matter how small. My head knows that there is a reason for everything, but my hearts still asks "why?" Some of these women are due right around the time my baby would have been due, and I can't help but think it would have been neat to have our kids so close in age.

I know I'm not the only mom to not hold her baby in her arms. I know that the Lord is in control, and pray that if for some reason we can't have another biological child, we can adopt at least one some day. In the meantime, I still miss my little one.

Tech Mom is back from the 1800's!

Okay, so Gramma's place is not quite that remote, but it is quite rural. And she doesn't have a shower, just a tub. Oh, and I believer her "washing machine" is the original model electric wringer. I'm not kidding. Anyway, go over to her blog and welcome her back to her cyber-home. It's been far too long since she posted over there.

She apparently brought me some goodies to add to my garden. I think I'll have to expand the perimeters a tad. No problem with me! Now if we can just keep them alive until we get them here to be planted. I guess that will be my job this week, along with painting her laundry room and powder room. (We'll see how well Baby Bear likes confinement in her saucer while Mommy plays with paint.)

Are you sure it's only noon?

Baby Bear woke up early this morning. We tried to stall her by bringing her into our room and giving her a sippy full of milk. She guzzled that thing like a Titan guzzles gatorade on the sidelines. Hubby had to mow the yard, so I decided to use my new watering can and water my babies. (Can you tell I'm growing attached to my flowers?)

I've decided it's time to teach Baby Bear to walk around the flower beds, not through them. She stepped on a couple of spikes. One just bent, the other snapped. I'm sure they'll be ok, and they are rubbery spikes, not pokey spikes, so her foot is just fine. (I let her wander outside in her footed pj's. I knew we'd have to change whatever outfit she wore outside, so I just left her in her pj's.)

She LOVES watching hubby mow and weed-eat. This requires supervision by Mommy, but it's fun to watch her learn about life. While there are days we wish we had "people" to help with mundane chores, both of us want to teach our kids something we learned when we were young. Ownership requires work, and being part of a family requires teamwork. Now, I didn't necessarily realize that what my parents were teaching me when I had to mow the yard after big brother went off to college. With a push mower.

I grew up watching my parents garden, many times sighing at their requests for help in the yard. Now I wish I had paid closer attention to what they tried to teach me. They must chuckle to themselves whenever they hang up after another impromtu call where I have a "common sensical" question.

So, while I watered the flowerbed (baby bear successfull watered some, too- and her pj's.), my daughter pushed her walker around the driveway as if it were a lawnmower . She tried to follow Daddy on the grass (our lawnmower has a bagger), but it did not roll very well. It flipped forward, and she rolled on top of it.

Sure, the bottoms of the pj's feet are filthy. That's nothing a little laundry TLC can't fix. And if a little stain remains, I really don't care. At least my daughter wasn't stuck in front of the TV watching cartoons this beautiful Saturday morning. And she went down for a nap at 11:00. I'd better go rest before she wakes up.

Please pray for Becca.

Her equilibrium is out of whack right now. If it continues for 10 days stright, the doctor will order a head scan to rule out anything serious. But for now, she's taking meds and waiting it out.

She and Juliana visited a neighbor this morning, but she realized she overdid it and is now exhausted. She's also a little bored from not being able to do things without getting dizzy.

Pray that these symptoms go way and stay gone! Thanks!

new growth and birth

Bulbs planted. More gladiola spikes have come up since yesterday. I decided to plant the new bulbs in the existing bed, because I am not motivated to dig up the hard soil next to the fireplace bump out. (We have a gas fireplace, no chimney, but a bump out.) Baby Bear's light pink cheesecake factory bear is covered in mulch. I picked off as much as I could, and now it's getting it's first bath in the washer. She insisted on bringing it outside, and I did not want to deal with a fit this early in the day. The neighbors across the street watched us as we planted the bulbs from the bonus room above their garage. The sun glared right in our eyes, so I'm not sure if Baby Bear saw who was calling out her name. It was cute. Baby Bear wanted to sit right on my lap during some of the planting/digging. Trying to dig a 6-inch deep hole with a trowel and hug your baby at the same time is a little precarious. But fun. I am determined that my daughter will not be a girly-girl to the extent that she does not appreciate or enjoy God's creation. Of course, that's not very likely with our family histories. So at 18 months of age, she plays with rocks, digs in dirt, and holds lily bulbs just for the experience.

Another neighbor, who has a 1 month old, 3 year old and 11 year old strolled by. She shared that she went into labor early, so the planned c-section ended up being a completely natural VBAC. She said the recovery was SO much easier because she didn't have all the drugs in her system. She also asked if Bear was still breast-feeding. Her question shows a cultural difference between the US and Eastern Europe. How many Americans would ask that question about a child who is over 12 months? (I suppose it's possible that I misunderstood and she was really asking "did" you breastfeed.)


It's sunny, breezy- beautiful outside! I love Spring!

flowering thoughts!!

We bought a bag of 3 lavender calla lily rhizomes and a bag of 5 white Asiatic hybrid lily bulbs with deep red centers, according to the packages. $6 each at Superstore. The gladioli we bought at the old Wal-mart seem to have taken well, as more spikes pop up every day! I've also decided that what I thought were the old calla spikes may actually be glad spikes. I guess we''ll find out in a few weeks! (I noticed the package of the new ones says to pull them up before frost and store them. I could have sworn nursery guy said they should hold up ok in this climate when we bought them last yearAnd we bought a larger watering can so I can quit unrolling the hose (or making multiple trips with the tiny watering can) every time I want to water my babies. The little one I bought a few weeks ago is pink and cute, but only covers a couple of plants. It's perfect for Baby-Bear, though. We also bought her a $1 plastic scoop and rake set. They will be great at the beach in August (if we remember to pack them), and I won't have to worry about her running around with my metal garden spade.

Hubby is home safe and sound, and Baby Bear was thrilled to see her Daddy when we walked out of her room after reading a story together. I'm on the old computer, craning my neck because this desk wasn't really designed for a full-sized monitor, and the screen I have to use sits 2 feet above the keyboard. It's actually quite good for my typing habits. The distance makes it harder to watch my fingers as I type. In his true form, he is catching up the bills. I thank God that he likes to do that. Well, except when I want to go an an uncontrollable spending spree and remember I'm married to the receipt police (not to mention a SAHM without an extra income.)

I have become increasingly content with my current state of circumstances in the past couple of weeks. Even with hubby travelling. I am blessed with a loving husband who is patient with all my faults and quirks, and a beautiful daughter who blossoms more every day. The laundry and chores are just little parts of life, and if our clothes are a little wrinkled because we decided to play outside or read a few extra books, so be it.


Now to figure out how to print photos on my "new" printer.... Great Gramma needs to see Baby Bear's curls!!!

more VA Tech info...

The Chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ at VA Tech has some more details about individuals involved, including the girl who found the first victims' bodies...

Pray for all the ministers as they comfort and grieve with the community there.

so much for Tuesday's tackle.

Hubby will have to look at the pics on my blog to believe how much I accomplished. You can't tell today! But Baby Bear and I have been having fun together, and that's more important than a clean house.

I did manage to shorten the cords on 4 sets of blinds (all in the main living areas). They were too long and tangled so easily, I got fed up. Mt. Laundry is regenerating on the bed, as I have washed a couple of loads but not folded them yet.

So what am I doing here? Oh yeah, procrastinating... what else?

Wanna win a Phillips digital photo frame?


I do! Go to my favorite contest sponsor to sign up and find more contest opportunities!

Good morning, sleepyheads!

I'm about to hit the hay, but first, I thought I'd share this link to FREE SCRAPBOOKING STUFF, courtesy of my W@H friend, Cheryl... (not to be confused with my famous sister-in-law).

I certainly hope Baby Bear continues her current pattern of sleeping in or staying quiet until 8 a.m. or later!

Hubby comes home tomorrow night!

I will have to share the computer again.

Anyway (Martina McBride)




You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might never come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy
It's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea - sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love
Anyway

We are not dead yet!!!!

Does anybody know of a parody to the song "we are not home yet?"by Steven Curtis Chapman. Or have the ability to write the lyrics to such a thing?

Two the left you see a purple verbena plant that survived the Easter freeze. Just below the verbena, is a struggling white snapdragon. On the far right, is one of the yellow celosia. These were planted on our yardwork day a few weeks back, and many of you will recall I was quite bitter about having to tuck them in at night for almost an entire week. I mean, the nerve! It clo was well over 70 degrees for a week when they were planted. I know, "Dogwood Winter" is not a new thing... yada, yada, yada...

Anyway, in between the annuals that are toughing it out, you see the spikes of which I spoke yesterday. Or the day before. These, my friends, are my precious calla lillies. When in bloom, they have a sort of dusty pink color. I truly did not expect them to survive the winter, so to see that they have spread (by the # of spikes, of course), well, I'm ecstatic. Not only that, some of the firecracker gladiola bulbs that I planted the same day as the verbena, celosa and snapdragons are already poking through the mulch.

It's supposed to rain today. I decided to go ahead and feed my little children, and I could have sworn the spikes grew 5 cm in 10 minutes. It was so cool! All of the flowers, shrubs and the birch have been fed generic miracle grow. So come, rain, sweet rain and wash over my "garden."

I threw some seed into the herb pot- for basil. We're gonna have to get some ant killer that won't poison us when the herbs are picked and eaten. (sigh). The oregano looks like the frost did it in. I may have to dig that up and plant some fresh. (big sigh- I am not digging in that pot until the ant colony has been slaughtered.) I took some soil out of the narly empty big pot and filled one of the small pots that my Mom gave me 18 months ago. (It had mum clippings in it at the time. They didn't make it. ) Anyway, in that small pot, I planted cherry tomato seeds. The freeze killed the 2 plants we purchased, so I thought a 10 cent seed packet would be worth a shot this time. I also bought some green been bush seeds. Where I'm going to plant them is beyond me. I think I may just have to have my dad bring his tiller over to till up a patch of the part of the yard that's technically not ours, since the developers are moving slower than a dead snail. (I don't mind having trees, wildlife, honeysuckle, and peace and quiet behind us. It makes it almost easy to forget we're in suburbia.)

Oh, Baby Bear and I braved the grand-opening of the Super-store up the road. She got a purple balloon flower, we shared Mayfield caramel-somethin' ice cream sample, and I spent less than $50. Woo hoo! I bought her some finger paints and watercolors. I think we'll start with the water colors first, then break out the finger paints one day when she is streaking around the house in nothing but a diaper. I hope she doesn't try to lick them.

You didn't really expect my Wednesday to remain wordless, did you?

p.s. I might just have to go buy some different lily bulbs or whatever they are called for the side of our house. I saw white calla lillies which would complement the pink ones nicely, if they actually were to grow. There also seemed to be some very pretty day lillies... white with red centers, and smoky purple colors. If hubby complains about how much I spend on plants, IF they make it I will be able to cut them and say with confidence, "These would have cost anywhere from $3-$6 per STEM at the wholesale florist. I just saved you from having to buy me a bouquet, buddy." If they don't.... well we won't even consider that possibility.

p.p.s. The laundry molehills still need to be tackled. I should do that while Baby Bear is still napping.

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Morning Snuggle-Bears

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

My goal is to take care of at least 2 of these eyesores today, if not all 3:

• Mt. Laundry (& foothills)-In Process

Before

After
(The Quilt is semi-visible!)

• kitchen chaos- CONQUERED (for the moment!)

BEFORE
(A few minutes after initial T.I.T. post.)

AFTER (12:30 p.m.)

• living room rubble- blocks and other toys are momentarily out of the middle of the floor. baby bear is down for her nap, and as i am still in my comfy satin pj's from caslon and camera man, i should probably take a shower, put in my contacts, get dressed, etc... (1:35 p.m.)
  

6:35 P.M.- There.

Baby Bear and I also went for a stroll and read a couple of books together. It has been a very good day. Mt. Laundry is getting closer to a molehill for now, though after I sort through the remaining clothes, I still need to go through the most recent boxes of hand-me-downs. Mt. Laundry includes a lot of clothes which no longer fit Baby Bear, so the sorting process is multi-step.

Sign up to get your free sample plus 2 to share with friends!
(thanks for the heads up, farmwife)

yes, hubby's away again...

if he weren't, i'd have to share the computer. baby bear went to sleep just before 8 pm.

HAVE YOU DONE YOUR TAXES YET?

just checking. ours were done weeks ago. thanks to hubby, of course.

CHECK THESE OUT!

i found the link on another blog and had to share them. beats masking tape and sharpies any day!

cyber packrat

my inbox is down to 997 messages. it was over 3,000, until this afternoon. while baby bear napped, i deleted and moved old messages... some dating back to 2004. it's people like me that clog up the internet!

Springtime is here again!

I hope I don't jinx it by saying so, but I am so glad to see the sunshine and be able to take Baby Bear out for a stroll without putting on a jacket! We also planted some daisy seeds in the front flower bed, sunflower and a perennial mix packet of seeds in the back of the yard, where it's technically not our space, but it's nobody else's yet either. The birds will probably eat them, but at 10 cents per packet, I'm not too worried about the investment. I think it will be fun if we do get sunflower seeds. Baby Bear was thrilled when a bird landed about 10 feet away from us while we were outside today, and I can only hope that if the sunflowers actually grow, we might get more birds as well. Three caterpillars caught her eye on the brick near our "chimney", and she kept trying to call them by name (something like cahpillah).

While we were "gardening", I noticed some bulbs poking through the mulch. If all goes well, we may see calla lillies blooming in a couple of months!!! I planted these last year; they came from a nursery and were leftovers from how a teenager from Bec's church youth group decided to earn money for a car, if I remember correctly.

another preemie

Baby-Bear's buddy Brayden has a new cousin named Nathaniel. He was born 8 weeks early, and weighed in at 3 lbs. 8 oz. His Mommy, Amy, got preeclampsia, and so Nathaniel could not hang out inside her any longer.

Pray for this new addition, who joins 3 older brothers!! (One of whom is younger than Baby-Bear, if I remember correctly.)

pray for virginia tech

i just flipped on the news to see that there was a massacre on campus this morning.
the coward took his own life. i suppose that's a good thing so taxpayer dollars don't have to pay court or prison expenses for him, but the whole thing is senseless.

as far as i know, i have no connections to va tech. but i was a resident assistant in my college days, and quite frankly there is no amount of training that can really prepare people for something like this. you just don't expect it to happen.

Fox News covers it here.

pray for the students, faculty, friends and family of all those involved.

i'm bitter

hubby is home, and i still can't sleep. argh. Baby Bear saw GranWendy and Grandaddy for the 3rd time this week. or, last week, i guess, since it's now technically sunday morning. we saw them Easter Sunday after church, Friday night when Piano Man and Woman were down for a visit, and earlier tonight when they came over to babysit so Hubby and I could go to a surprsie party. As hubby and I left, Baby-Bear waved and exclaimed "bye-bye" as if to say, "don't let the door hit you as you go out!" I am so glad she is that comfortable with her grandparents!

The party was great. Friend's hubby went over-the-top... made reservations at a very nice restaurant, spent the last month or so confiscating her cell phone and calling friends who weren't in her e-mail address book to make sure they weren't left out, arranged for their brother in law to conveniently invite them over for a "last-minute" golf scramble to use those new clubs he hadn't yet used, sent e-vites to those in her e-mail list. The whole thing worked, and she was surprised. It was awesome. It was the big 3-0 for her, a Mommy of two adorable little boys who are 3 1/2 and 9 months. They look just like their Daddy, and will more than likely play baseball or softball as they get older.

This friend is one I have known since high school. We met initially because we had a mutual good friend, in fact this other friend was at one time a person I considered one of my best friends. Then we took Drama class together and developed a friendship of our own. It's funny how 10+ years later, the friend who was not as close has grown into a good friend, and the one who I thought I'd be close to forever seems like a distant stranger. It goes to show me that while it is often easy to get so caught up in every day life that I lose contact with loved ones afar, it does not take much to keep a friendship going if both people try just a little bit. That's what happened for me and this friend. I was very honored to be invited to her big celebration. But I also know that I was invited because we do keep in touch with eachother. We were among the first to learn of eachothers' pregnancies because we knew there was no way anyone else would find out and we had to tell someone. We swap mommyhood tales, no matter how graphic. We have struggled in similar areas, experienced God's grace and forgiveness, and been comfortable confessing those struggles to one another without fear of judgement. Her friendship is truly a blessing. We go through seasons where we don't talk as much, but one of us always manages to pick up the phone to check in. And of course, we share photos of our munchkins via e-mail.

Hubby and I have swapped thorns in the flesh. My hands seem to have a case of eczema... itchy, dry, annoying. Not quite as bad as he gets, but definitely uncomfortable. His sinuses are going crazy with this indecisive weather. He gets major headaches that border on migraines with extreme weather changes. My allergies don't seem nearly as bad as they have in seaasons past. So far. Oh, and guess which one of us awoke at 1:45 a.m. to turn on the ceiling fan after 20 minutes of tossing and turning? Clue... she's typing on the laptop upstairs, in order to let her beloved rest.

Well friends, those are my heart's wanderings this morning. May you have a blessed Lord's day wherever you are with your families! (Hopefully asleep, at this exct moment. Baby Bear is stirring, time will tell if it's because she telepathically senses her Mommy is awake.)

If you haven't been to my other blog lately, you must go see what our little dare-bear did last night. She tried to repeat the stunt at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight, but we all told her to sit down and she obeyed.

Oh my, it's 10:30, and hubby and I are actually going to sleep!!!! Night, y'all!

MUST DO BEFORE HUBBY COMES HOME

• sweep/mop (or at least swiffer) the kitchen floor
• clean bathrooms (1 1/2 done- at least the toilets, counters & shower are clean!)
  
• change/wash sheets
• Run to grocery & get fixins for green-bean or asparagus casserole for family gathering
  

Should also do...

• Pick up living room/vacuum/dust- it won't stay picked up, I'm sure!
  
• De-clutter kitchen counter
  
• Fold and put away pile of clean clothes on guest room bed
• Straighten/vaccum nursery (ok, so part of the "straightening" was transfering laundry baskets of clothes to sort through across the hall. aka consolidating two messes into one HUGE one). I took pictures of the nursery, then my batteries died as I was about to take a photo of the monster-pile of laundry that keeps expanding.

Green= done
yellow= in process

Nothin' like being held accountable by your blog! (While a paper list risks the fate of being tossed in the trash, I would be divorced or worse if I did any intentional harm to this computer. We already have one disabled computer in the household.)

Phil. 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

He hasn't given me the strength to finish the bathrooms or tackle Mt. Laundry in the guest room, but I feel GREAT about everything that I have completed. I mean, I may not geet around to making the bed every day, but I did not want hubby returning home to a nasty bathroom and stale sheets that desperately needed changing. Baby Bear had fun playing peek-aboo with the flat sheet before I tucked it under the matress. Granted, dirty sheets at a motel are appalling because you never know who was there before you. Dirty sheets at home, well, at least you know where the germs came from. I need to re-sweep the kitchen, no shock there, but the living room still looks acceptable. (Notice I did not say spotless.) I might even get that counter de-cluttered and start climbing Mt. Everest of all laundry piles before he gets home in a couple of hours. Oh, and I can't forget to make that green-bean casserole.

Spent more than I meant to at Publix, but I picked up the fixins for Sunday dinner- citrus pork loin, which will be cooked in the crock pot. To be served with mashed potatoes, gravy, asparagus, and canned creamed corn. I have to make at least one decent meal while hubby is home. (Guess what my word of the day is today?)

Inital post: 8-something a.m. Thursday

Keep praying for Grace and Smart Guy...

He had a very difficult meeting yesterday with a committee at their church, in which he confronted them about the broken promise for decent health coverage which has resulted in a financial and emotional crisis for their family.

Pray for Smart Guy as he wants to love and serve the youth/congregation well, yet he and his wife feel betrayed by some of the people who called them to serve at this church, as they are hindering his ability to provide for his family.

Pray for the Lord to provide and to give them peace in the midst of this storm.

Found this meme at Farm Fairy's place:

You Are 27% Vain

Okay, so you're slightly vain from time to time, but you're not superficial at all. You are realistic. You know that looks matter. You just try to make them matter less.

How Vain Are You?

I couldn't resist this contest!

5 minutes for Mom is sponsoring another contest. And of course, I have to win! It's the Sick-Bear contest, and Baby Bear just needs one of these fancy puking buckets. Okay, maybe it's not a need. I mean, a 5 gallon icecream tub or even a mixing bowl work just fine. But they aren't as cute as this! And they don't have handles, so they are more likely to slip when her hands get slimy....
They come in blue for the boys, too. So if you have little ones, go enter... you know you want one!!!

ummm... no matter how many times I save changes and try to link to my new avatar, my old one keeps popping up. Argh. Any avatar pros with trouble-shooting tips?
***
ok, sometimes the new one shows up, other times it's the old pic with the new caption. whatever...

Scrapbook Challenge from Scrap n' Memories...


I decided not to come up with my own contest/challenge because there's a good one going on up the road from my house. I think the goal is pretty realistic, too... Click on the links for the details.

Now if I can just remember to bring a page a day up to show Tammy at least 25 days between now and August 1st....

My daughter has turned me into a liar...

she slept with me from 2:30a.m. to 7:30a.m. fairly soundly. She had stirred several times, and did not seem to be falling back asleep very well, so I went to her room and rocked her. This seemed to settle her down, but she did not want to go back into her crib. well, I was sleepy. So I carried her into my room and laid her down on my side of the bed. She snuggled right into place, along with her raccoon, and both of us fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Way back when I was expecting, I read some books that somehow convinced me that I would forever harm my child and spoil her if I didn't start her off with "parent-directed", "start-as-you-mean-to-go-on" approaches. It's interesting that something can sound good and "common-sensical" in print, but then not suit your child's needs or your temperments when it comes down to it. Oh, some things I read were helpful, but honestly some things were just off-base.

Anyway, my daughter learned to fall asleep on her own pretty early on, which has been very nice at times. But as she is still a baby, there are times when it would be nice to be able to cuddle with her. The rocking chair that Tech Mom and Audit Man brought over has helped with that. And those evenings when I find myself being disturbed by a cranky toddler in the middle of the night and wishing hubby were home, well, last night was one of those. (Thankfully they are not that frequent, as hubby's required travel is minimal most of the time, and Bear is generally a good sleeper.) So when she snuggled under the covers and fell asleep on me after an hour of shallow sleep-wake time in her crib early this morning, I was glad to get some rest with her by my side.

Finding the balance of what works for us as far as routines go has been quite the adventure. My uber-flexible routine may seem like chaos to some people. I'm glad I'm learning to relax and adapt to what each day (or night) brings.

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

funny... this is not the same result that the long test got last summer. but it's still fun to read..

The only good things about hubby working out of town:
1) I don't feel guilty that the house is (still) a mess
2) I can sprawl across the bed without kicking him where it hurts or giving him a black eye with my wedding ring.

Baby Bear decided 5 a.m. was a good time to stir this morning. Around 5:30, she demanded to be seen. Sure enough, her diaper was soaked and she had reason to be bitter. Hubby slept soundly through all this. After changing her diaper, I carried her back to my room an plopped her next to her father. This woke him up, but I wasn't that concerned, as he would be spending the next 3 nights in a motel that is almost in Alabama- over 70 miles away. After guzzling the milk I gave her, Bear played peek-a-boo, find-the-belly-button, pull mommy's hair, and other favorite games. Hubby dropped her off in her crib, where she proceeded to play for another hour. At least she wasn't pulling out fistfuls of hair, clawing our nostrils, or showing other painful sign of our toddler's affection. Dr. Sears apparently never had any kids like our daughter... as adorable as she is, the simple fact is she will not sleep with us. She can be half asleep when we lay down, and when she hits our mattress, it's party time!

Hubby and I got up for "good" shortly after 7, and I proceeded to get Bear her breakfast. She grazed her cereal and ate some apple sauce. Around 9 a.m., she was ready for nap. Gee, no shock there. So at that point I decided I needed a nap, too, if we were going to drive down to our friends' in a few hours. And what a blissful nap it was, except for a couple of phone interruptions.

We woke up from our naps, I took a shower and let her play in her crib while doing so, and then we ate leftover chick pot-pie for lunch. She grazed that and some raisins, too. It's quite an adjustment getting used to this whole grazing toddler phenomenon. She did not get any treats, since she did not eat enough healthy food to warrant even one m&m from the candy dish.

We drove the 45 minutes+ to friends' house, which is only a little ways north of the town hubby is working in this week. So while the men won bread for their families, the wives and toddlers relaxed. Well, the toddlers played. They are 11 days apart and about 3 or 4 lbs difference in weight.. Baby Bear being the younger and heavier child. Both girls are equally playful, and they shared kisses, hugs, toys, goldfish crackers and fruity cheerios. It was good for the mommies and the girls to have time together.

We met Hubby for dinner at a restaurant, where the girls charmed their daddies and our waiters. Baby Bear decided steak was better than chicken tenders, dunked her roll in her daddy's peppersteak soup (but did not take a 2nd bite of my loaded potato soup), and tried to share her broccoli with kitty.

As we drove north through the town where hubby and I said our vows not-so-long ago, I briefly realized that while that a church in that town played an important role in our life, we are strangers there. There was a time when I had known the back routes, the bypasses, the country roads to get home or to friends'. Now, I'd better stick with the main roads or I might find myself in Alabama. Plus,most of my friends have married and moved away, and they don't even return for Mule Day. (Not that I can blame them, I don't return for those festivities, either.)

Anyway, a day that began rather grumpily (yes, that is a word in my dictionary) ended on a happy note. And now, I am going to sleep, in case Baby Bear repeats her 5 a.m. rooster call tomorrow.

p.s... no need to cover my plants tonight!!!!!

We had a good weekend, culminating in dinner and dessert at my Mom and Dad's house. Baby Bear and Juliana loved playing with the grass from the easter basket, even more than the plastic eggs.

Hubby and I have diligently covered our annuals for the past few nights, and so far it looks like we have only lost the 2 cherry tomato plants for certain. A couple of verbena appear to have been nibbled by either a very hungry caterpillar or a pesky rodent of some other type, and one of the celosia looks pretty brown, but some green remains, so I have not given up hope for its survival. Even the snapdragons MAY pull through. Baby Bear had fun helping me water the flowers today.

Last week, I bought a pink watering can that is small enough for her to hold, but she prefers to try to drink from it over watering the plants with it. The water spiggot fascinates her, too, which is no surprise, considering she figured out how to bathe her teddy bear under the bathtub faucet all by herself.

A minute ago, she was rolling on the floor with a clean diaper, as if to say "change me". She has since retreated back to her bedroom and is squealing as her Daddy, who just walked in the front door calls, "Where's bear?"

Life is good.

Reflections

John 1:29- The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

John 10:10- "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

John 14:27-"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.."

Acts 4:12- "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 16:31- And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Happy Easter!

bah humbug

we actually had snow flurries for about 3 minutes this afternoon. brrrr.... note to self: don't plant annuals before May 1st, or at least until after Easter. no matter how desolate and bleak the flower bed looks. tucking your daughter in at night is priceless. plants? not so much.

baby bear and i loved having company today. visit hannah-bear's cave to see pics. while ballerina and i were in card-making mood and baby bear napped, we also put together a couple of scrapbook pages. i think i'm on day 4 of bear's life now.

What is my record for most posts in one day?

I just may set it tonight. I miss my hubby. But he sure lucked out- out of town during pms. And I sort of lucked out, too- no major cooking or cleaning going on here, let me milk it for all its worth. The thought crossed my mind that I should tackle some things and surprise him (and myself) by my accomplishments. Then it left.

The kids are tucked in under their covers. By kids, I mean Baby Bear and her new green siblings. (For the record, Baby Bear is not sleeping in the flower bed. She is tucked in under her comforter in her warm room, the green babies are outdoors, where they were planted last weekend.) It figures we'd get one more freeze, or series of freezes, AFTER I plant them. Why do the stores bother putting the flowers out until they are sure the last freeze has passed? Oh, yes... so they can make more money when you have to go for round two! The furniture pads are a little heavy for me to manipulate, so I used old sheets, including a very old bedskirt, to cover my babies. The high is supposed to be around 48 tomorrow. So much for a zoo outing.

Baby Bear misses her Dada. I had her scrapbook tucked away behind the couch. She almost bruised a rib trying to get to it. She proceeded to flip through the pages (all 2.5 that are completed), exclaiming, "Baby!" and "Da-da!" I really don't think she recognized me as the puffy-faced woman holding the baby in the other pictures. Is it all the meds that causes the puffiness because if it is, that's one strong reason to consider a natural delivery right there. I look like I had my wisdom teeth pulled while I was at it. I know I have chipmunk cheeks, but gee-whiz. Anyway, we did find some pics in her other albums in which recognized me as well as her Dad. Sweet girl.

I made the mistake of letting her have a couple of m & m's earlier today. I'm going to have to move them into an opaque container. I suspect "candy" will be among her next vocabulary words. (Funny thing is, I swear she said "caca" when she tried to say "candy". Look it up in your Spanish dictionary from high school if you don't know what it means.) So now we have a potty mouth. It's bad enough that she thinks nutty bars are an acceptable bedtime snack, now m & m's? (They are ok for Mommy after she is in bed... shhhhhh!!!!) After putting away some of her books, she bolted down the hall to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and pulled a package of nutty bars out of the cabinet. "Peas? Peas?" I gave her fruit instead. Then she had the nerve to ask for m & m's by pointing and whining. Yes, the terrible two's are beginnings. This is nothing yet, I know... and it's my fault for introducing her to those pastel-colored things that melt in her mouth and taste very sweet.

We got a sneak peek at Caslon and Camera Man's latest engagement photo shoot. The did a beautiful job! I want to know how the groom-to-be (who also happens to be a relative) got all the hair, though. It must be from his mom's side of the family or something. Because look at my hubby and computer guy, and somehow all the hair went to that other branch of the family. I'm just sayin'. If we ever have a son, it will be a miracle if his hair doesn't fall out immediately after puberty with our family histories on my side and hubby's.)

Baby-Bear and I are having company tomorrow. "Ballerina" is spending the day with us so she does not have to hang out with her Mom at work. I hope she doesn't wish she had gone to work with Mom by the time the day is over! It will be fun to spend time with her.

Sweet dreams, everyone!

Hum with me, now....

There's a new name written down in glory,
and it's mine, oh yes it's mine...

I'm sure it's better than Lily Chubb. And I married Olo Boffin of Needlehoe.
Our daughter? Why, her name is Poppy Boffin of Needlehoe, of course!

What's your Hobbit name???

Perchance I'll post our elve names some other day.

Getting into the season

Baby Bear and I went to the store today. I purchased her first Easter Basket, 1 dozen plastic eggs, some candy, and some cheap odds-and-ends to go in the eggs. When we get together with my side of the family, Baby Bear and Juliana will have an egg hunt together. While the two of them will be quite content to gather as many plastic eggs into their basket as they can without opening them, I personally cannot resist the temptation to buy chocolates. My Mom has some plastic eggs around the house, so some of them will have surprises inside, and others won't.

I also purchased a few seed packets. Sunflower seeds, daisies, and a perennial mix. After the cold front leaves and Spring returns, I plan to actually plant them. The sunflower seeds will go at the very back of the part of our yard that is not really ours but has not been developed and most likely will not for another 2 years at this rate. Make that 10 years. There is a cliff and a tree line, and hubby doesn't typically mow back that far. So the birds will thank me for some extra food. The others will go in the hillside. While I have the urge to sprinkle them and see what comes up, I think I will actually plant and water them this year. The past 2 attempts to sow seeds by just sprinkling them on the dicrepid cliff resulted in 2 or 3 lone flowers. The packets were only 10 cents each, so my hopes aren't high. But you never know when the miracle of life might surprise you. And since I obviously didn't learn my gardening lesson from the parable, I'll make changes based on my experience in which God told me "I told you so."

Pillowcase Dress Instructions

I googled "Pillowcase Dress" because I had never heard of such a thing. The first site I clicked on showed some adorable dresses, rompers and pantsets that reminded me of Strasburg Children's Casual Line. Not QUITE as expensive, but out of my price range.

The 2nd link that I clicked on was something that might come in handy some day, if I ever decide to learn to sew. Step by step instructions for making your own pillowcase dress. I wonder if Hancock Fabrics' going out of business sale is still going on, and if they have anything left....

Anyway, I'm enclosing the link for my friends who do actually sew!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

I found the perfect shirt to go with the skirt which my fabulous neighbor, Gina, made for Baby Bear. (Yes, she cut out all the squares from different fabrics and sewed them together.) I bought it in a 3T because last summer I learned that circo brand t-shirts shrink at least 1 size, and the skirt has lots of stretchy elastic in the waistband and is nice and long... Baby Bear will look like a cute little peasant girl!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit Hannah Bear's Cave, 5minutesformom and the Wordless Wednesday Headquarters.

Play along!

It's raining, it's pouring, Baby Bear is snoring....

so far, Baby Bear takes after her parents. Both of us are fairly heavy sleepers. However, now that I have a little one, I find I don't sleep quite as soundly as I used to.

Our sole TV is upstairs... not the part of the house you should be in during T-storm warnings and tornado watches. Nights like tonight make me wish we had a basement, preferably finished. Dad had finished the basement of our first house in MI. I was a toddler when we transplanted to the midwest from the east coast. Our house was a simple 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath ranch, but with the basement it seemed huge. There were plenty of nooks and crannies and closets in which to play hide and seek. The house was situated on a hill, and a long, narrow deck ran most of the length of the back of the house. Both the dining area and my parents' bedroom had sliding glass doors out to the deck. Nights like tonight, we would watch the storms from my parents' bedroom. If a tornado warning went into effect, to the basement we went. During the winter months, we spent many a snow/ice storm around the iron wood-burning stove surrounded by a brick hearth. And then there was the old brown leather lazy boy, or maybe it was vinyl that was supposed to look like leather. We would climb on that and tip it backward the way Baby Bear climbs on her toddler chair. Except it was a little more difficult to move around... we couldn't just toss it.

Our next house was a little larger, but to get to the laundry room (basement), mom had to go down two flights of steps instead of just one. The basement was still a work-in progress when we moved... it had a storage area, the utility area, and what was to eventually become a bedroom. It never quite got finished. But when the tornado warnings came, guess where we huddled with our sleeping bags, flashlights, and pillows? Yep, that unfinished basement... the closet of the craft area/bedroom. And then there was the time the neighbor's "pet" fox got loose, but we didn't know it was their pet, and then the news guy ended up filming the pop-up hailstorm from our back deck and doing a story on a seemingly tame, stray fox from our backyard. The fox belonged to the scary neighbors, the ones who blasted heavy metal and I truly thought were members of a strang occult. (Keep in mind the church we went to at the time taught that singers like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, those so-called "contemporary Christian musicians", were misguided heathens who were really going straight to hell with their music. And culottes were somehow more modest than pants for playing sports or on the playground... though in reality, the boys could see UP them if they tried, so they were actually less modest than pants. Thank God our parents got us out of that church. Though the funny thing is, the time spent in THAT group prepared me for understanding the mindset of my future husband's grandparents. Well, a little better understanding, anyway.) Anyway, back to the neighbors... they were one of 2 homes in the small subdivision that I remember we NEVER went to for trick-or-treating. If they weren't nice to us most of the time, and we suspected them of keep pets for strange reasons, why would we want to trick-or-treat there? And the man who mowed the lawn in his speedo at the other place was just plain gross.

Ah, the memories. I don't think the thought that I would be laying in my bed as an adult, remembering thunder storms past ever really occured to me as a child. I certainly didn't think my random mind would wander to culotte-wearing churches, fox-hostage-keeping neighbors, or speedo-wearing middle-aged men. UGh.

I want my hubby to come home. I've gone from having my usual weird dreams to really strange flashbacks in his absence.

All is quiet through the baby monitor. Good night, friends.

Inkling's Homemade Resurrection Eggs

Are you trying find a way to keep the true meaning of Easter from being overshadowed by the Easter Bunny?

As I wandered through a dollar store yesterday, I considered puchasing an Easter basket and some small toys for Baby Bear. They also had adorable little hats and purses. I reconsidered, and ended up buying what I went in there for- a spray bottle so I can spritz her curlz with water to help tame them. And bottlecap candy, and some barrets and a headband. Ok, so those weren't on the original list.

Anyway, I'm by no means opposed to the Easter Bunny. One of our family's treasured childhood traditions was finding the Easter basket. We had the same basket every year, filled with candy, perhaps a small toy or two, and as we grew older... nylons (in their large egg, of course) and chapstick. Hubby and I haven't talked about when we'll start this tradition for Baby Bear. It's not like she needs the candy or the toys. (It's not like she needed the happy meal toy yesterday, either. Or the fries.)

Anyway, my friend Inkling has been working diligently on a project for the kiddos at her church. Check it out.

Here's an article I found on crosswalk.com about family Easter traditions.

perfect timing

hubby is working out of town this week. i am hormonal. perfect timing for him!

my dad said i can have one of his regosa rose bushes if i dig it up myself. i'm tempted. they are pretty, and if i ever decide to eat rose hips or make rose hip tea for extra vitamin c, i will only have to walk out my back door. plus, they are not as fragile as other roses. they are white with pink centers- very pretty. i could still plant a butterfly bush, too. we'll see.

my flowers seem to be taking very well so far. the celosia are already growing. i watered them again tonight, just in case we get less rain than we're supposed to. i want them to have a good start getting roots so they don't die when we go out of town.

i want to check on baby bear, but i don't want to wake her up. we need to buy some WD-40 because her door squeaks.

no deep thoughts tonight. anyone wanna come help clean my house?

don't eat chocolate ice cream after dinner...

unless you want insomnia. i should be exhausted. i am. yet i cannot sleep. so i've spent the last hour browsing online for ideas for a flowering hedge at the top of our cliff. Ideally, at least 4 feet tall when it grows up. Right now, there's some pink phlox that actually came back from last year. And that ugly cliff. It's too steep to mow, so why not plant a bush or hedge to take over? I figure planting 3 in a row should make a nice natural fence at the top of the cliff.

Here are some ideas I've come up with so far:

• rosa regosa (white)
  
• crimson king rose hedge
  
• yellow forsythia
• peony (white)
  
• hydrangea
• lilac
• butterfly bush
• rose of sharon
  

The ideal hedge must not clash with the red brick of our house (scroll down to previous post), and must be very hardy. It has to tolerate the extreme TN summer heat and not-so-good soil. I'm thinking something that flowers more than just a couple of weeks would be really nice, too. Preferrably cheap enough to replace if something happens, or not care about if a retaining wall does get put in. Cut-able flowers would be a nice option, too.

Any thoughts (other than the obvious "you need help with your blogging addiction")?

CHANGES

I grew tired of scrolling down to find names to link to blogs, and don't feel like clogging our bookmarks in our browser. So, I have added some more blog links to my sidebar, as well as removed some. These are blogs a peruse at least occasionally. The soujourners who publish the blogs listed in all caps are people I have actually met in real life. Well, for a couple of them, I've only met half the couple, as far as I know. Anyway...

Hubby and I watched the movie Stranger Than Fiction tonight. Yes, I blogged the whole time.
We'll have to buy it, it was much better than I expected. So much better than your typical Will Farrell slapstick.

super springtime saturday!!!

landscape improvement

18 purple verbena
12 yellow/gold celosia
4 white snap dragons
25 "firecracker" gladiola bulbs (yellow with red tips)
7 bags natural hardwood mulch (3 cu. ft. each)
2 cherry tomato plants

We made our trip to the previously mentioned home-improvement warehouse. (It's closer than the one younger BIL worked at and we had a $10 off coupon.) By the time we pulled out of the parking lot, we were glad we drive an SUV. It's a small-medium sized one. A good balance. The plants fit in the backseat, the mulch in the back. Baby Bear charmed little old ladies around every corner, and pretty much everyone she caught eyes with or blew a kiss.

Came home, planted tomatoes in the earth-pot out back, and found a fuzzy caterpillar to show Baby Bear. I carried Mr. Caterpillar up front, set him on the porch, and Baby Bear was entranced. We put her in her saucer on the front porch, and the neighbor girl from across the street came over to chat with her. She had a grand time between visits from the big kids and watching her parents get sweaty. The weather was PERFECT. It took 2 1/2 to 3 hours to prune shrubs, spread mulch and plant everything, but we got it done. Plus, I'm sure prospective buyers for the home across the street were glad to see friendly neighbors who attempt to keep up with their yard at least once in a while.

Now it's time to run to Publix and get some well-earned ice-cream. (Hubby just finished bathing baby-bear- what a great man!)

p.s. The last time I saw Mr. Caterpillar, he was crawling across the sidewalk toward the street.
Hopefully he didn't get smashed by someone's unsuspecting tire or a cruel child.

p.p.s. The flowers are still small, so they are hard to see, but you get the general idea.

spring cleaning

Well, that laundry pile that i intended to tackle on Tuesday is still there. It's not quite as large, well, maybe it is, just with different articles now. Laundry is a never-ending journey. This morning I awoke with a strange impulse. A couple of them, actually.

The first of these strange impulses was to thoroughly wipe down the exteriors of our kitchen cabinets with Clorox wipes, including baseboards. I don't do that often enough, and white shows a multitude of spills.

Next, it was time for the windows. You see, I've been fighting clover mites around our windows. It happens every spring, and has something to do with all the clover in our yard (which is a lot less this year, I might add.) When the exterminator came a couple of years ago, he said the only thing we could do would be dig a little trench about a foot from the exterior of our house. um, no... I don't remember if he said something should be spread in it, but somehow this little trench was supposed to act like a barricade against the mites. The other option he gave was to wash the windows with windex (or the generic) on a regular basis. Well, you regular blog friends can guess how often I voluntarily wash windows. (Not very.) But come spring, the clover mites and I are at war. A few times a week, I take a clorox wipe and get rid of the pesky critters that have gathered around the window cills. (They are always worse after a lawn treatment, which hubby did yesterday. Kill their food, they come running.) Today I did a good cleaning of the main windows in the living areas downstairs, including the inside and outside of the storm door. (You can imagine the multitude of finger prints Baby Bear leaves as she peers through the glass.) A neighbor even honked as I washed the front windows. I bet he was as shocked to see me out there doing that at 9-something a.m.

Oh, and I'm not done. I was ashamed that I didn't tackle my fridge before having company this week. It just didn't clean itself for some reason. So, I emptied out all the science projects, wiped down the glass shelves, and am no longer worried that Baby Bear will get sick from touching the bottom shelf as I open the door (I hope it's not too late.) Tech Mom would have had a blast showing Monarch and Purple Princess slides of the microorganisms which had taken up residence on the shelves and in old food.

Last, but not least, the kitchen floor got a good sweep and swiffering. I think a thorough mopping cleans better, but I find that the swiffer is an acceptable "in between" solution that requires far less effort on my part. Plus, I like not having to clean out the sink after I'm done... just toss the maxi-pad thing attached to the mop into the trash.

Baby Bear definitely seems to be fighting something. Could just be teething. While she slept well last night, she has been on edge all day. She is currently napping in her crib. (I'm so glad she hasn't figured out how to climb out of it yet, like her cousin Juliana.)

I've got an itching to plant some flowers out front... we have a $10 coupon for Lowe's that expires tomorrow. We may just have to find $25 worth of plants and mulch for the flower beds. That shouldn't be too difficult.

Even though a casual observer might still think our house is a wreck, and rightly so, it feels good to know that some of the grime was tackled this morning. Especially now that I've showered.

Oh, I forgot to mention that before I tackled the windows, I removed larger bits of aluminum foil from the bottom of the oven and ordered it to clean itself. Two hours later, it finished its' task. I can't remember ever cleaning the oven since we moved here, which is pathetic. Not to mention disgusting. I remembered a horrible stench from the oven in our apartment that came out whenever I set its' self-cleaning mode. Thankfully, our oven did smell half as badly as I expected. Makes me wonder what was living in the nooks and crannies of that old electric-coil-range.

Please, everyone... keep praying for Grace...

Pray for the Lord to comfort her and heal her of her Crohn's disease.
Pray that the surgery she just had will be effective.
Pray that Jehovah Jireh will provide, however it takes, for her family's finances as well as Grace's medical needs.
Pray for Grace's husband, Smart Guy. Pray for him as he serves a congregation that includes people who failed to keep promises that are drastically affecting his beloved's healthcare.
Pray for this congregation to take care of the members of their flock.
Pray for the Sara Orang Gang (Grace's kids). Watching a parent suffer is hard. It sucks (not a great term, but it fits) to know your parent is in pain and wonder why God is allowing them to be so sick. It's got to be almost as heartbreaking as being a parent with an ill or injured child. Pray for Prophet and DK to be able to focus at school when Spring Break is over, because struggles at home do go into the classroom in some way.

For more details on Grace's situation, please visit her best friend's blog here. And while you're at it, pray for Inkling and other close friends who are not able to be physically present to meet their loved one's needs.

oh, what a night...

when i peeked at baby bear before going to bed last night, she immediately awoke and wanted me to hold her. so, we rocked in the wonderful rocker that tech mom and audit guy brought over, and she fell fast asleep. around 11:30, hubby carried her back to her crib.

2 a.m. - the sound of an angry cry woke me through the baby monitor. upon peeking into the nursery, i saw baby bear's leg sticking out between crib slats. i gently removed her thigh and leg from between the wood, then rocked with her for a few minutes.

3:30-ish- another painful cry through the monitor. this is abnormal. my baby is usually an angel baby when it comes to sleeping at night. "it's your turn." i told hubby. he groggily went to check on her, and picked her up. a few minutes later, i heard him call, "i need your help. bring a towel." baby bear puked on him twice. apparently the canteloupe she had at supper was a little too old and did not settle well. either that or she is suddenly developing an egg allergy. (we had breakfast for supper last night.) thankfully, most of the chunks were caught on bear's clothes, blanket and hubby's shirt. (he wasn't particularly thankful for that). we moved her into the bathroom, removed her clothes, and he started the bathwater. i tackled the laundry, dumping as much of the solid matter as possible into the trash and setting the washer to the "ultra clean" cycle. hubby took his shower and i took over bath duty, and baby bear was happy as a clam. wet as one, too. thankfully, by the time her bath was over, she did not smell like one. (though i like to eat cooked clams, the smell of one fresh out of the bay is not very appetizing to me. having been squirt in the face by many a clam, i cringe at the thought of being peed on by a clam. even if the clam's pee is just ocean water. and not the sonic kind of ocean water. ok... anyway... back to the story.)

around 5 a.m., i put baby bear back in her crib and turned on her lullaby cd. she slept til a little after 8, and played until 8:30.

all seems well today. hubby mowed the lawn, and it looks really good. the aeration/seeding experiment from last fall seems to have succeeded. baby bear is in relatively good spirits... napping as i type. the weather is beautiful... sunny, breezy, seventies... can't ask for better!
ginger-garlic-chicken is in the crockpot, and i may add some canned pineapple and fresh snap peas later.

5 minutes for Mom is quite the contest headquarters!

Are you sick of using a vacuum that barely sucks? Is your current vacuum effective but hard to lug up and down the stairs? Are you tired of remembering to change bags and filters?

We've heard about the uber-expensive Dyson vacuum cleaners. Their commercials make them sound like Kirby, Electrolux or Oreck were in their day. When it came time to purchase a new vacuum, hubby and I (after having Tech Mom consult consumer reports) decided not to splurge on a fancy new Dyson. After all, our basic Oreck XL had seemed like a great deal until something cracked the tube and it stopped sucking 6 years later. Anyway, just because I can't afford the newest and "best" does not mean I would not want one. It just means it wasn't in my budget, and the less expensive bagless imitations didn't have the ratings behind them.

Well, there's an all new slim version of the Dyson that the company wants us to know about, and they are sponsoring a contest. Maybe one of us will win... go enter at 5 minutes for Mom!

Here's another reason i should get a sewing machine and learn to sew!

rain!

we're FINALLY getting a gentle Spring shower. our poor grass was turning brown, it's been so dry the past few weeks. i put baby bear in her saucer on our front porch, and she watched as i planted some seeds which were left as a marketing ploy by an area realtor. if they germinate and bloom, they will be forget-me-nots.

i figured the gentle rain would help them germinate and save me the trouble of watering for now. yes, i am that lazy.

pray for grace...

we're not sure if we'll be able to get together after all. she and smart guy will decide today whether the trip south is still on. she has been having some health problems that make travel difficult, and was not able to get the prescription filled until last night thanks to nobody having it in stock. today is definitely out for our get together, not sure if she'll have time later in the week if they make it down.