CHRISTEPHI

As every mother knows, that first year of their kid's life goes so FAST!  So many changes and stages all within such a short period of time.  Little Guy learned to crawl this week. And on the same day, he stood alone (without holding onto anything) for more than just a few seconds.  I've been taking time every day to just play with him, snuggle him, enjoy him as he is because before long he won't be a baby anymore! Miss M is already growing into a tall preschooler. She isn't a toddler anymore. And Oh! The ideas she comes up with! "Daddy, will you type me at work?  I'll type you back, okay?"  By this she means, she'll wake up before Mama does, launch the word processing program on the family computer (conveniently left on by daddy when he went to work), type "d-a-d-d-y" and press enter.  Yes, this actually happened. "Mama, you know, tadpoles turn into frogs and are baby frogs."  How does she come by this knowledge anyway...

My educational history is...interesting.  I am a kindergarten drop-out.  (We moved across the country mid-year).  I went to public school for 5th grade and half of 3rd grade.  I was homeschooled the rest...including two years of 6th grade since we kind of didn't do anything one year.  I went to private school 7th-12th and to college for 5 years, but still don't have a degree*.  The one year of homeschooling when we ended up not doing much was largely due to my mom trying out a new curriculum...or lack of curriculum.  It was the put-it-together-yourself type.  The rest of my homeschooled years were done with Calvert  which I loved! (Though I do remember hating Composition and crying over Arithmetic!)  I always got in trouble for reading ahead in my history and storybooks...I didn't mean to. I just forgot to stop at the ends of chapters, ya know? I've got a 3 year old and a 3 month old.  I have trouble keeping up wit...

My sister and her fiance came to visit this weekend (hence, the sad neglect of my blog!).  We had a wonderful time catching up and visiting Crown Center in Kansas City.  My future brother-in-law loves trains like dogs love squirrels (have you seen Up ?).  So we stood in the long, wrap-around line at Fritz's Railroad Restaurant  to have our meal delivered by train. (The shakes and onion rings are worth mentioning!) Afterward, we took a stroll through the Fairy Tale Village. Then I snuck in Chip's Chocolate Factory while the others went on to the Crayola Store. All in all, a wonderful day!

I have been called Supermom in the past.  Just so you know, I'm not.  Here's proof.  I've been working on a sewing project, so this is what my kitchen looks like.  (What you don't see is the stroller and a pile of muddy boots and cast-off jackets by the backdoor). I now have a choice...to clean...or to sew.  Or to hire a maid...I wish!!!

So if I don't get much crafting done, don't be upset with me.  How can I help but spend half my day gazing into these gorgeous eyes?!  I get lost in them.  Little Guy will be 3 months old on Friday.  He has completely bewitched me.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say he owns me. I love both my children, but it amazes me how different the love is for each of them.  They are unique persons and my love for them, while equal in measure, is as different in nature as they are.  I enjoy this difference immensely and I find great joy in my children.  Some days I don't get much done, but that's okay because I'm enjoying the journey.  There will be time for "doing" later when they're older and more independent.  In the mean time, I'm loving the "being."

Last Friday was the pits!  Today was much more pleasant and though I still didn't accomplish much (more Farscape and a long nap), I'm pleased to just spend time with my two favorite small people.  I'm still recovering from being ripped away from my babies for three days as much as I am from the surgery! It snowed all day...a wet, sticky snow that frosted the trees and made every view from my house picture perfect. (Click on the picture.  It's worth viewing full size.) Tomorrow I'll try to finish the indoor hopscotch game I started before I got sick.

Been wondering where I've been the past few days?  Here's a recap: Friday - I was pretty sick with a gallbladder attack.  Hubby stayed home from work to help me with the kids and take me to see our family doctor.  She ordered some blood tests and scheduled an ultrasound for Tuesday to look for gallstones. Saturday morning  - Hubby got up with the kids and let me sleep in (which was good 'cause I really didn't sleep much that night due to the pain).  Before I even got up, Hubby brought me the phone.  It was the doctor calling to say that she got the blood test results back and wanted me to get an ultrasound pronto, no waiting until Tuesday.  She pulled a few strings and got me in for one even though it was the weekend (and quite a drive away).  She also put in a call to her favorite surgeon. Saturday afternoon - I took a nap.  When I got up I was feeling just as bad, if not worse.  The doctor's words ...

It has not been a happy Friday, but I'm glad it is Friday.  I have been the victim of a gallbladder attack (or at least, that's what the symptoms point to).  I made at trip to the doctor and spent the rest of the day immobilized by some pretty nasty pain...and this from a woman who had two kids with no pain medication!  So, not much today, but hopefully I'll be back soon.

My 23-year-old sister is getting married in May.  She has asked me to be her matron of honor and Miss M to be the flower girl.  She has also asked me to sew her wedding dress!  That means between now and My 8th, I need to sew 1 wedding dress + muslin, 1 matron-of-honor dress + muslin, and 1 flower girl dress + muslin.  Whew! She picked Vogue 2788 for both her gown (sleeveless, long, and fuller if possible) and mine (with sleeve and knee-length).  She and I have completely different body types!  She's long in the torso, short in the legs, and somewhat heavyset.  I'm built much more petite with a very short torso.  Still, I think this style can be flattering to both of us...if I do it right.  And that seems like a mighty big if!  I'm quite nervous about it...  It's one thing to sew cute stuff for my own kiddo, but it's another thing entirely to sew a wedding gown.  Sure, I made my own wedding dress, but I only had...

Today I made up a behavior chart of sorts for Miss M.  It's not so much the specific line items I'm concerned about as it is a wish for her to learn to think about and modify her own behavior.  (Though I cannot wait for her to sleep in her own bed!)  I know she's only three, but she's very intelligent.  Oftentimes I can see it on her face as she mentally weighs her options -- to do what is right or to misbehave and do what she wants instead.  Sadly, she usually chooses to do what she wants.  I'm hoping the stickers will be incentive enough for her to become aware of her choices.  That and the accountability it affords should help relieve me of having to constantly be on her case all the time. Oh, and I promised her that when she gets two charts completely filled (that is, two weeks), we'll go to the zoo, or World's of Fun, or the children's museum, or something. Tonight at the dinner table, Miss M asked me if Jesus is in her heart.  For some reason, I it...

To usher in the new year, I wanted to share the faces of my two favorite people.  They are my inspiration, my challenge, my joy.  Though I am with them day in and day out, they never cease to amaze me.  The sparkle in their eyes and zest for life is refreshing, energizing, and oftentimes exhausting.  I'm so blessed to be mother to these two developing personalities.  The year 2009 was a challenging one in many ways...a pregnancy with all it's quirks, the stress of a bankruptcy, anguishing trouble with the in-laws, the uncertainty of uncertain times.  Yet at the same time there was much good to be found.  Watching Miss M grow and develop has been indescribably beautiful.  The sweetness of holding newborn baby E simply takes my breath away.  Though it was a good year in many ways, I'm not sad to see it go. There is so much I'm looking forward to in 2010.  We will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversar...

The little man was born at 9:17 p.m. on Thursday, November 12. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 inches long.  That pound and a half difference between him and his sister at birth made for quite a different delivery experience, but both mama and baby are doing fine and mama made it without any pain medication. (C'mon, I have to boast a little!) I'm delighted to say his Going Home Outfit fit him perfectly -- especially the sweater which I had my doubts about!

When Miss M was born, we lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment.  The on-site laundry facilities consisted of a single coin-operated washer and two dryers.  Whenever I did laundry, I always washed the adult clothes first so the final load of baby stuff would have as little "contamination" as possible -- particularly the residue of other people's laundry detergents and fabric softeners.  Miss M had such bad eczema that her tiny baby cheeks would bleed on her crib sheets at night.  Prescription ointments didn't work.  I wonder now if cloth diapering would have helped with her sensitive skin, but it really wouldn't have been feasible for us what with the time involved and the expense of coin-operated laundering.  We finally discovered Aquaphor by Eucerin ; it helped keep the worst of the eczema at bay until she outgrew her hypersensitivity. This time around, however, I have my own washer and dryer (hallelujah!) and have decided to cloth diaper the n...

Our no-spend week turned out to be an exercise in both self control and negotiation.  I'm not sure hubby was quite as sold on the idea as I was to begin with, especially for the weekend.  All day Saturday he said things to me like, "You don't have to cook tonight.  We can just go out.  You deserve a break.  Wanna just order pizza?  Let's just go order from the $1 menu." etc., etc., etc.  I made a conscious effort to not be frustrated at his attempts to sabotage our no-spending his unwillingness to cooperate. Instead, I tried to understand why he was being this way.  I was first tempted to say he simply lacked self-control.  My husband was raised Catholic which instilled in him a strong sense of "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission."  In other words, his natural inclination is to do what he wants and deal with the consequences afterwards, like going to Confession Sunday morning after partying all night Saturday.  I, on the other h...

We've decided to start our no-spend week Monday and carry it through next weekend. Today was hubby's payday, so that gives us a chance to do our grocery shopping and other errands this weekend. When I was single, I was very frugal, mostly because I didn't have any money to spend! A shopping trip to Target to buy shampoo, deodorant, and other female necessities usually cleaned out what was left in my checking account each month. At that time I was only getting paid once a month -- talk about needing to budget well! -- so I simply had to plan ahead for rent, utilities, and groceries.  After I got married and started working full time, hubby took over most of our budgeting. Sadly, he's really good at it because his parents are so bad at it. We got all our (my!) debt paid off and saved up for some big-ticket items (a used car paid for in cash and a refrigerator).  We had a double-income then, and though living in Orange County, California is anything but cheap, we did pret...