Today was the first day in a LONG time that we didn't HAVE to go somewhere or someone wasn't coming here. It was so nice not having to rush around getting us all dressed and fed and trying to keep the house cleaned up. The girls were good today and we just enjoyed being at home.
I took a nap with them this afternoon and it felt so good! When we got up we went outside, watered the flowers and played on the swingset. The nats were driving me crazy. So Rebecca and I went in to start supper and Julia spent some time in the garden with her Daddy while I cooked supper. We had baked squash and zuccini from the garden tonight which were delicious. We also had delicious, fresh peaches off of Miss Idna's tree next door. I didn't even know they were there. They are beautiful and so yummy! Julia was pleased to present me with 4 cherry tomatoes, a zuccini and a marigold upon her return. Very cute. Those were the first of the cherry tomatoes and Mark says the plants are loaded. I love them! Yesterday in the sandbox with Will Julia was pretending to plant a garden. She was raking and hoeing and planting. Will stepped through the plot she was working on and she said, "Eeyore, you're messing up my garden!" I laughed. I said, "Julia, who are you?" She said, "I'm Rabbit, and Eeyore is messing up my garden!" What an imagination she has.
Rebecca is crawling all over the place and pulling up a lot too. She loves bath time too. We went straight from the dinner table to the bath tub tonight. Both girls are really messy eaters! I forgot to put Julia's bib on her and she had stuff all over her shirt. So I took off her shirt and then she was "finger painting" with catsup on her tummy. Rebecca just had everything everywhere from the top of her head in her hair to her feet. They both smelled so good after their bath. Rebecca played in Julia's bed while I rocked Julia and we talked about our day and said prayers. We couldn't find Cindy Lou anywhere and Julia was so sad. Finally, I remembered that she had been in the swing when we were outside. I went out there and found her in the sandbox. Julia was soooo happy when I gave her Cindy Lou. Last night we hunted and hunted too and finally found her in the blocks bucket with the lid on. No telling how many hours total I have spent looking for Cindy Lous in the last two years. And that's after buying at least 5 or 6 of them to make sure there was always a clean one, one at Mema and Papa's and one at Miss Becky's. But she's definately worth it. Rebecca hasn't really become attached to any of her dolls or stuffed animals yet. And neither of the girls cared much about a pacifier.
Can't believe it is already May 11th. I was thinking about baby Emily being two months old already. And only one week until Rebecca will be eleven months. I have not done a thing about her birthday party. I have to get with it. Even though I am planning just a small one.
Today was the 100th board at my Southern Stay At Home Moms web site. So everyone was on and it was really fun. There was a challenge to get to 100 posts which we did and more. I also met a girl from Dublin, GA there this week. Her sister lives in Valdosta and she will probably be there this weekend. We may meet at the Valdosta Mall for a few minutes and let the little ones ride the carosel. It will be neat to actually meet someone from the board. Starr has invited us to her house for a Mother's Day dinner. Should be very nice. I hope the girls behave.
Wednesday, May 10th, 2000
We went to the High School Awards Program last night. Thomas received an award for the highest grade average in Algebra. We were pleased. He was dissapointed that he didn't get the science award. Both the girls were terrible. Rebecca squirmed and fussed and finally I just took her outside. I walked her some and she was still fussy so I went to the car, nursed her and she fell asleep. I found out later that Julia threw a huge fit when I left with Rebecca. Mark said she was crying and flailing her arms and legs. But at least we did get to see Thomas get his award. We were sitting right in front of Joan Due and her family. I was dying to talk to her, but we didn't get there early and left before it was over. Her son, Randy I think, got several awards. I have been wanting to go visit her for the longest time. I still can't get over how her sister-in-law works at Roland Manor where Grandma and Newton are. Things have just been so hectic. Visiting her is somewhere way down there on my to do list. Sigh. But maybe things will get better. Sandra will be coming more starting next week, and after I get the dance frame done and house organized I can hopefully start doing some of the things that I have been putting off for so long. Julia will be in Preschool two mornings a week too. We got a letter today about the Preschool. Sounds good. Hope it works out. Julia went to Mission Friends at church tonight. She did much better. There weren't as many kids as usual for some reason which may help her.
Rebecca is just crawling like a pro now! She has also figured out that if she wants me she can come and get me instead of just sitting there crying and waiting for me to pick her up. She also said a new word last night and again today - "baby". Very cute. So she has three "real" words now: Mama, Dada, and baby.
Will came this morning. He and Julia are so cute together. They had some tense moments trying to come to terms with having to share, but they worked it out very well I thought. I was very proud of Julia. She road her tricycle the best I have ever seen her today too. It was a beautiful day outside. Very pleasant in the morning. We played outside for a little while before lunch. I enjoyed watching Will and Julia. I just kept thinking about the miracle they each are. Krys and Ken waited a very long time for Will just like Mark and I did for Julia. They have been through so much with him, and still he is sweet and adorable. Julia too is just so amazing to me. She is very loving and she is very imaginative. It's such a joy to watch her play and talk to her about everything! Most of her speech is amazingly clear and gramatically correct. She made up a new contraction today. She was saying "I amn't" instead of I'm not. Cute. Wonder why it is I'm not. We have I don't, I wouldn't, I shouldn't etc. Interesting. Another favorite routine we have is after I tuck her into bed, I say, "Goodnight Sweet Julia" and she replies, "Goodnight Sweet Mommy!" Then, "Sweet dreams sweet Julia", and she says, "Sweet Dreams sweet Mommy". Then,"See you in the morning...", etc. She started this several months ago just by chance and now it is our routine. I love it.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2000
Awwww, we're having a nice calm day today. Such a relief after the whirlwind day we had yesterday. The girls had been doing really well on shopping trips recently, but yesterday they both started out pretty awful. Whining and crying, etc. I had to go to the bank and then get some framing supplies at Michael's. We used to have our supplies shipped, but the company got taken over and the prices went way up, so decided to get the stuff myself this time. I love Michael's, but they have these really small shopping carts and with the girls in the cart there was no room for my things. So I had to let Julia walk and carry Rebecca in my arms and put the big stuff in the buggy. Of course the slowest and most obnoxious lady in the world was in front of me at the framing counter. Julia kept wondering off and making me a nervous wreck. She was only out of my sight for seconds at a time, but I felt like a horrible Mommy. Finally I had to get another buggy and put them in it. The nice guy who did my framing order helped me get everything out to the car. We then went in Wal-Mart, and the electricity went off so we couldn't buy anything. Julia was being good in there so I had let her pick up some stickers which she didn't understand why we couldn't get. We waited for around 15 minutes, but still no power so we left. So then I do another dumb thing - I thought it would be a treat to take Julia to Mc'Donald's (she calls it Old Mc'Donald's) for lunch. We'll as soon as we sat down to eat she wanted to go potty. Rare for her lately so I didn't want to say, "no". I was afraid to leave it unattended so I had pack up all of our food and stuff and drag it, Rebecca and Julia into the dinky restroom,, and I really hate public restrooms anyway. Julia of course is trying to touch everything, and I am trying frantically to explain germs to her. Foolishly I decided to change Rebecca's diaper while we were in there and while I was doing that Julia dropped her doll (Cindy Lou, the old one, the can't be replaced one, of course) into the toilet. I was on the verge of hysteria. I packed up everything and got in the car and headed for home. Poor Julia was so sad because her doll was packed in a trash bag and I wouldn't let her have it. And she had to eat her lunch in her car seat. I felt like a really crummy Mommy! Rebecca was crying most of the way home, and I just kept chanting to myself "All will be well". Something my Mom told me. It helped. Thank goodness we finally made it home in one piece and then they both took a nap so I could recoup. Sandra came at 4:00 just after they both got up. She is a godsend! I spent a little time at the Southern Stay At Home Mom Board (always a treat) and then went to work on my framing project. I was so glad to hear that Mom made it back to Indy safely! I thought about her all day. Wonder how much celery she ate?
We had a nice dinner and then both girls took a good bath. After storytime, talking about our day, and prayers, Julia went to sleep about 8:30. Julia was so funny when we were talking about what happened to Cindy Lou in the restroom. She just had the saddest expression and tone in her voice, and with her head bowed down and her bottom lip poked out she said, "Poor Cindy Lou fell in the toilet!" I was so tired about 9:30 I lay down with Rebecca and we both fell asleep. I got back up about 11:00 P.M. and Rebecca slept until 12:30 but was then up until almost 2:30 A.M. Ughhh. I think her teeth are bothering her. After that she slept until 8:00 A.M. though and has been really good today. Both girls are napping now (it's 3:00 P.M.). I got to go to the Southern SAHM's chat today which was fun. Now I'm going to work on the web page. Mark scanned some pictures at his work for me yesterday finally. Sandra won't be coming until next Monday. I'll miss her. But then she will be out of school and that will be a big help to me.
Tonight we are going to awards night at the High School with Thomas. I hope the girls will act O.K. I'll get to see the new High School auditorium too.
Will is coming to play tomorrow, and the house is a wreak. So I will probably be up half the night cleaning. Guess that's life. When Sandra comes next week, I am going to get this house organized. I have to get rid of and put up a lot of stuff!
Sunday, May 7th, 2000
Rebecca looked so incredibly precious in her dedication dress. I took Julia to her sunday school class at 10:00 and Mom and Mark came with Rebecca to church at 11:00. There were a lot of babies. I couldn't believe how many. We were one of the first up front and I turned around and was so surprised to see others lined up all the way down the aisle. Brother Steve annointed and prayed for each baby and then we all said a parent's prayer/pledge and received a certificate. The church was packed. Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Starr and Thomas were there too. Both Julia and Rebecca did great. Julia looked so adorable in her white smocked dress too. I was a very proud Mommy. It was so nice having Mom here! Mom and I took Julia to children's church. They watched a video called "Veggie Tales" which was cute.
We went to eat lunch afterwards at Emily's with the Harris's and Starr. Rebecca had a great time eating lots of vegetables and cornbread. She was so cute.
Mom watched the girls this afternoon while I tried to get my scrapbook things organized. I didn't actually get any pages done, but I did get my work station set up and sorted out my new Easter pictures. Going to Michael's tomorrow to get supplies for scrapbooking and framing.
Julia didn't take a nap today. She lay in her bed for a long time at naptime, but she didn't go to sleep. She was sort of cranky tonight and about falling asleep during dinner. But she bounced back and we enjoyed the Duck Pond Game and several bedtime stories along with a game of Simon Says which was fun. Julia is really a good Simon. She comes up with some good and original ideas like "Simon says, tickle your Mommy" and "Simon says, dance like a ballerina".
Mom is leaving early in the morning. I was sad tonight. It is always so hard to say goodbye. But it was just wonderful having her here today.
Sandra is coming tomorrow afternoon. I have a to do list a mile long so hope to begin on it tomorrow when she comes and go from there.
Saturday, May 6th, 2000
Rebecca's dedication dress is gorgeous! Mom worked on it countless hours all week and then drove all day today to deliver it and go with us to church tomorrow. It is layers and layers of lace and pintucks with a matching lace bonnet. I just love it. I couldn't wait to try it on Rebecca. She looked like a living doll. Mom said she used two entire spools of thread plus part of another. That's a lot of stiches!
We enjoyed going to the Mennonite School Sale this morning. We got lots of yummies at the bake sale and delicious BBQ chicken dinners for lunch. We saw a lot of friends. It was great to see Miss Becky and all the Sauder's especially.
I had hoped to do some scrapbooking today which I didn't. But I did get a work station set up.
We had a very good day yesterday. We went to Albany and Rebecca's ears checked out clear which was a relief. Dr. Wahbeh was so nice. I really like him a lot. He gave the girl's balloons too. We went over to the park next door afterwards. On our way back to the car Dr. Wahbeh was leaving in his car and he honked the horn and waved at us. Both the girls were excellent. We went to the mall too. Mansour's had a great sale on and I got Julia two really nice dresses and Rebecca two really cute rompers at awesome prices. When we pulled up to the mall after leaving the doctor's office, Rebecca was fast asleep. We lucked into a perfect parking spot near Mansour's and in the shade and Julia went to sleep to. I rolled down the windows and just relaxed. It felt good. We ate supper in the mall next to the fountain. Julia loved it and still managed to eat well. Both the girls were in pink & white checked outfits and so cute. We had lots of admirers.
One of the dresses I got Julia is white with smocking and pink embroidered roses. It is really pretty. Unfortunately I forgot to get her a slip to go with it. I was going to try to go and find one today, but Mom suggested making her one which she did. Mom is just amazing.
Just got done mopping the kitchen floor. It's 1 A.M. and I need to get up early tomorrow to get ready for church, so think I will head to bed. Looking forward to a special day tomorrow. Mark's parents and sister will be going to church with us too.
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2000
Time FLIES by! Everyday goes so quickly. The girls are doing great. Tomorrow, hopefully, will wrap up the dance picture sales. We have really been busy with the photography business since the girls and I returned from our Great California Adventure! (More about that later). We got the Easter pictures we took of Julia and Rebecca today. I love them! I Hope Mark will get some scanned tomorrow. We are still looking to buy a new computer in the near future. We have this one on loan from Mark's work. I already sold the Easter pictures today. Called and people came right over and delivered some others to people in town while Sandra was here. Everyone was delighted and bought everything.
Julia's friend, Will, came to play this morning. The two of them were so cute together. They even hugged each other goodbye. Adorable. Will didn't even want to leave when his mommy came to pick him up. He will be coming every Wednesday. He was 2 years old in November, so he is just a little younger than Julia. I signed Julia up for the Summer Preschool Program at the Methodist church. It will be two days a week starting May 30th. Tuesday and Thursday 8 - 12. I hope she will like it. We have been going to church every Sunday morning and also Wednesday night. She has been wanting me to stay with her in her classes. The couple times I stepped out (because of Rebecca who wants me full time too) they had to come and get me because Julia became very upset. So we will see. We have had a babysitter coming to the house while I did some of the photography with Mark and such and both girls did great. Julia never cried at all when I left. And she never ever cried when I left her with Miss Becky before. So I don't know. Hopefully it will work out.
Sandra, our teenage neighbor, has been coming to babysit almost every day for the last few weeks. She is very good with the girls. They both like her. I hope I can keep her coming so I can begin to catch up on some of the things on my to do list which is miles long. She will be out of school for the summer at the end of next week which will help me a lot. We are considering trying to expand our photography business again as we have had numerous reqests lately for portrait sittings. The Dance and Easter promotions went great! So we will see. I really enjoy doing the photography. Our equipment is very good, but it is not really easy to operate. I wish we could afford a good digital set up which would simplify things a lot. Maybe one day we will.
Rebecca is officially crawling now! Starting yesterday she is able to go all the way across the room coordinating her hands and knees. She seems very proud of herself. She has 5 teeth now, and I think more coming in as she is drooling and chewing on everything. I am crawling around on the floor now too, trying to babyproof everything. I'm trying to get the baby's eye view of things that might be dangerous. And trying to keep the floors clean is nerve wracking. We have so much dust and dirt that keeps getting tracked everywhere. Mark is still working on the drywall and putting up moulding in the front two rooms of the house. Next is adding a second bathroom and hopefully more kitchen cabinets. I don't think we will ever be through with the renovations completely.
We have a lot of flowers in the yard and they are going great! Even my cactus that was just a broken off piece I picked up in California and brought back is growing. We have tons of birds in the yard too. A pair of bluebirds were in one of the bird houses the other day, but I haven't seen them again. Lots of birds frequent the birdfeeder every day. Julia delights in keeping it filled with bird seed. Mark has a great looking garden too. The squash is almost ready to pick. As a matter of fact, I have it on the menu for tomorrow! Can't wait.
It has been very warm, mostly in the 80's, this week. But usually there is a gentle breeze also, and it is not too humid. Feels very nice.
Rebecca is eating many table foods now and really enjoying herself. She loves green beans, carrots, peas, bananas, peaches, crackers, chicken nuggets, french fries, cookies (Gerber has a cereal cookie with iron), Zwieback toast, and bread. She was 19 lbs, 12 oz. at her doctor appointment last week.
I am starting to think about her 1st birthday party. It just doesn't seem possible that she will be a year old in only another month and a half! I'm hoping Mom and Dad will be able to come down. And maybe we will go back to Indy with them and get to see Jon, Kellie, and Emily, who will be there starting June 30th. I would love to go to Uncle Jim's for the 4th too. I'm hoping Mark could come up for that and then bring us back. He is working his tail off lately. Poor thing. Construction is booming at his building company and then there is the photography, the yard and garden, and Julia, Rebecca and I on top of those. He even manages to grill or cook dinner at least a couple of times a week. I do appreciate all he does.
I've been back on my Southern Stay at Home Moms board at the ParentSoup web site some this week. I love it. Lots of nice people. And we all have so much in common. There is a get together in Atlanta June 10th and 11th. I would love to go, but don't know if I can manage it or not. We'll see.
We have just a few customers who didn't pick up their dance pictures. We have scheduled 6 P.M. tomorrow for the final pick up. Friday, Rebecca has a doctor appointment in Albany. I want to go to Michael's and get some framing supplies as I will have the big frame with a picture of each of the dancers (about 95 of them) to get done before the dance recital which is May 20th. Also, I want to get some scrapbooking supplies at Michael's. I hope to have my books caught up by Rebecca's birthday. I am trying to put make a work station where I can leave everything spread out. Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day, so my goal is to get it operational by then. Saturday is also the Annual Mennonite School Sale. I look forward to the Bake Sale Booth, BBQ Chicken Dinners, and seeing Miss Becky, Dwight, and the rest of the Sauder Family. Sandra and her family (the Miller's) will be there too. What nice people they all are. I feel so blessed to know them. Thomas takes the SAT test in Albany Saturday also. Then Sunday is the Baby Dedication at our Church. Mom is making Rebecca a dress which I am very excited about. The new church sanctuary is going up really fast. It's supposed to be finished by June and seat 400+ people. The church has been packed every week so we really need it. I am looking forward to the new attached baby nursery which has a one way glass window so you can see into the sanctuary but not the other way. There also is a speaker system in the nursery so you can both see and hear. This will be great for me as I spend a lot of time in the nursery. There are a lot of babies and little children in our church. We went with a group to the Nursing Home last Sunday afternoon to sing and visit. The children were just delightful and the residents really enjoyed them. Julia did very well. She held hands with some of the people, and gave them hugs. She didn't say very much, but she had the cutest smiles which speak volumes.
Guess I will go to bed now. It is 12:30 A.M. which is early for me, but it's been a busy day and I'm really tired. My "normal" bedtime is usually about 2 A.M. I do nap with the girls in the afternoon occasionally. I still want to write about our fantastic California trip and the Awesome Baby Emily too. I never did finish writing about our Indiana trip, Christmas, New Year's, and Easter and all the cute things Julia and Rebecca are doing every day. Will I ever catch up?? Something tells me it's a losing battle. But some is better than none so I'll keep trying.
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