The Atkinson Three

How To Care for You Baby - By Lily Atkinson

2012-02-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Get your child dressed for the day even if you yourself aren't fully dressed. It's ok to pull a dirty shirt out if the hamper by the laundry room.

When you carry your baby, she likes to be up on your shoulder. Be sure to use a blanket.

You must change diapers often. Be sure to ask "poo-poo?"
Put your baby down for naps. Tell her "it's nigh' nigh' time."

Walk away; she can cry it out.

After "nigh' night' time," pick her up and say "ahhh" and "shhh."

Put her in the stroller and say "a walk, a walk."

It's okay if just push her around in a circle.

She will probably need another nap. Don't forget to say "it's nigh' nigh' time."

Whatever you do, always give your baby lots of hugs

and kisses!

First Taste of Gardening

2012-02-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

With exception to the crazy afternoon winds, we have had a rather pleasant late winter. With the sun shining this morning, and knowing Bug needed a bath, we headed out to play in the dirt. With hopes of expanding our garden this year, from seeds no less, I started prepping the soil. I am already craving the sweet tomatoes and peppers and their beautiful colors. We hope to add green beans and some summer squash this year.

I tried to teach Lily how to pull weeds, but she wasn't very good at it. Don't worry, we'll keep working at it. She was, however, really good at picking up rocks and throwing them in the bag. When we added the block wall, the workers asked us what to do with all the dirt. Gleefully, I asked them to throw it against the back fence, excited we wouldn't need to buy dirt to fill the retaining wall that would be added a few weeks later. What I didn't anticipate was everything that went with the dirt; nails and screws, cement clumps, rocks, PVC pipe, broken fence pieces, and shoelaces. Thus, we may be cleaning out the dirt for quite some time.

Toward the end of our time, it looked as if Lily had rolled in the dirt. She was covered in it but was having a blast. I moved along the wall pulling weeds when I heard her start repeating, "A bite. A bite. A bite." As my typical response to her non-stop chatter, I simply said, "Mmm-hmm." I then realized what she was saying to turn around and see her use the shovel as a spoon to taste the dirt she had just dug up.

Believe it or not, the photo above is not her first bite but probably the fifth time I had wiped the dirt from her face and tongue. She repeatedly took bites of the gritty stuff and then tried to chew the sand.

End of 2011 - Part II

2012-01-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

The end of 2011 has prompted some hopeful changes to the Atkinson household.

In mid November we had a positive pregnancy test and we were very excited. We have talked over and over about wanting a large family (well, more than two kids) and we wanted to have our children fairly close together. We headed up to Sacramento for Thanksgiving and told my immediate family the good news. It was early, very early, but we wanted to do it in person. The very next day we began to miscarry. We headed home and visited Urgent Care twice over Thanksgiving weekend. A week later it was all over. As far as miscarriages go, it was pretty simple. Very early. Very 'natural;' even if it doesn't feel natural or normal. We were sad, and still are, but we weren't devastated. I'm not sure why. Every miscarriage and pregnancy is very different for every woman. Emotions and reactions vary. I didn't really lose it until the doctor told us to wait three months to try again. And while I would love to tell you we are pregnant again, we aren't.

This is about the time I wrote my Not Fair post. I still praise God for not being fair to me.

The miscarriage did, however, start conversations with Kevin and me about what we wanted our family to look like; our desires and ultimately what God wants for our family. We started with talking about our home. In 2008 we bought a large house, of which we probably spent too much money for, and we currently spend close to half of our monthly income on. We bought a (larger) 4 bedroom home for two purposes; to use it for how God would see us serve His church and be hospitable in, and to fill it with children. So the question I kept coming to was, "Was this plan my plan, or God's plan?" We can use anything God gives us to serve Him in. Children (and we) don't need much space. So do we remain in this large home or do I look for something that is a better use of my resources? After praying, and then researching values, and then praying some more, we felt we needed to honor our commitment to our mortgage; we couldn't simply walk away.

We feel we are using our home to serve God's church, but what about point two? We only have one child here and we have two other empty rooms. Kevin and I have talked since we were married about one day adopting children. We believe this is something that God has been working on us about for the past 5 years. We never committed or made an ultimate decision, but people, situations, and the like have come in and out of our lives surrounding adoption. One of the biggest contributors was probably our small group a few years ago. M had been a foster parent for years and years with hundreds of children coming through her home. During that time M, with her husband, has adopted 3 children of her own. Additionally, P and L had had a handful of family members come through their home to stay for an extended time; minors and young adults needing a safe space and a structured home. When Kevin and I first talked about adoption, we talked about raising our own children and then adopting one day. But when we sat down to talk about our family, we want Lily and any other children that come into our home to really feel like a family unit; we don't want an us and them mentality. We believe that we as Christians are called to take care of orphans, and while there are many ways to do that, we feel we need to bring these children into our home permanently.

I think what may have solidified our decision to adopt now was the sermon at our Christmas Eve service at Sandals Church. Our pastor, Matt Brown, spoke about what Christmas means and what things are a part of Christmas. One of the things was family. There were family at the very first Christmas. But family isn't always blood. Matt reminded us that Joseph was not Jesus' father by blood; he was appointed to raise and take care of Jesus while he was on Earth. Family is spiritual. We desire to bring together a family connected spiritually by our love for Christ in our home; blood relation does not make a difference.

We don't feel that the Lord caused this miscarriage, but we do feel he used it to get Kevin and I to address the charge He has given us. We feel that God is telling us that now is the time. So on December 16, we attended an orientation for foster care through the county. Without any question, Kevin and I knew we wanted to bring in children from right here in our own backyard. We see the need around us. We recently submitted our application to the state for a license and now we hurry up and wait.

We know this is quite a process and because we are looking for children who need a permanent home, our wait may be even longer. We probably won't see a child placed in our home in 2012. There are a lot of steps, good steps, to preparing us and our home for a child.

What we ask of you is prayer

Pray that God continue to prepare us and our hearts for this journey. We know we may experience heartbreak and pain as the goal of a social worker is to reunite children to their families.

Pray that we recognize and trust His perfect timing for placement.

Pray that we be flexible when we need to be and yet we stand firm in our faith and to what God has asked of us.

Bee-Bee

2012-01-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

You've met Bee-Bee before. He has been showing up in pictures for over a year now. Gloworm was a babyshower gift. Gender neutral for whomever came along. He glowed and played music as he has done for nearly 30 years.She wakes up in the middle of the night, pushes his button, and drift off to sleep in his soft light and music.He travels with us almost everywhere.When Lily started learning to walk, Bee-Bee rode around on the toddler chair.Then Lily received a stroller and we thought Bee-Bee might be replaced by Dolly. Nope, Bee-Bee simply joined Dolly in what became a stroller built for two. Bee-bee was around for play, quite-time, and naps. Batteries have been replaced more times than I can count.When boxes became her "thing," Bee-Bee was along for the ride. I was going to say Bee-Bee often stays in the car, but it appears photographic evidence has proved me wrong. Here, he showed up at the train museum in Sacramento. Bee-Bee is always there when we are sick. Which, unfortunately, has been a lot since Thanksgiving.

Bee-Bee even joined us for a gymnastics class.

And once or twice has been found in a closed drawer after someone was done playing.

There are two places Bee-Bee is not allowed to go; the high chair, or in the back yard. In the past, when it is time to go outside to play, I have hidden Bee-Bee behind the couch cushions. But in an effort to teach Lily about indoor toys and outside toys, I have been (trying) to teach Lily to put Bee-Bee on a chair before she goes out to play.

Yesterday she asked to go outside and I asked her to put Bee-Bee on the couch. She walked over, placed him on the couch, and came back to the sliding glass door ready to play. I must admit I did a happy dance on the inside (and maybe a little on the outside.) I praised my child for the progress she had made, repeating over and over that Bee-Bee stayed inside so that we could play outside, and what a wonderfully grown up girl she was. She beamed, we had a grand time and she never asked for him.

Today when I asked her if she wanted to go play outside she ran over and grabbed Bee-Bee and headed for the door. Luckily, I have learned my lesson not to even open the sliding door until Bee-Bee is safely on the sofa or chair. After battling for almost 15 minutes, I gave up and told her she could simply play inside. Ten more minutes pass and she asks to go outside. I see Bee-Bee was on the toy shelf and so we headed outside. We played for a few minutes and I ran inside to rotate laundry. She stopped playing and I saw her watch me carefully. I could see the wheels turning in her head long before she took action. She came back inside, scanned the shelves with her eyes, grabbed Bee-Bee and turned to make a break for it. Knowing what she was going to do, I had already closed the sliding door and we begun our melt-down of the "Bee-Bee stays inside" routine.

This is how I know she understands exactly what I am saying and what I mean. Who knew a 16 month old could be so crafty. (The answer to this is every other mother out there, I just hadn't gotten to this point yet.) I am impressed at how bright and quick little ones are, and even more amazed at the defiance. How their words are few but they understand so much. And I think they understand even more than they let on.

I know this battle is not over. What she doesn't know, is that I will always win. At least on the Bee-Bee issue.

End of 2011

2012-01-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

Another year is over, and it's true, the older you get, the faster they go. Christmas came and went, and once more, I didn't get a Christmas card/letter in the mail. So what happened to the Atkinson's in 2011?

We turned 30. Yup, officially old. Ok, maybe not, old, but we have permanently left those carefree days. Can't stay up late. Need coffee to get going in the morning. Spicy food brings heartburn. Anti-wrinkle cream. Mini vans. Old. It's not actually bad, just different. Like when I changed my hair style and suddenly looked more like my mother. Kevin's birthday was low key. I went away for two nights and had a glorious good nights sleep.

Grandpa went home to be with Jesus. We had a great celebration of his life but I still get sad. I started crying during a tv show a couple of weeks ago simply because the old man on the screen made me think of Grandpa.

Lily turned a year old; yay! she and we survived that first year. We had a great celebration with family.

But probably the biggest change to our family this year was me quitting my job. A great job I was really good at and had been doing for 8 years. But we both knew it was not my forever job. On Kevin's and my very first date, I told him all I wanted in the world was to stay home and raise babies. Suprisingly, it didn't scare him off. It is the most wonderful job I have ever had. However, next time you talk to a working mom, you tell them you appreciate how hard they work at both of their jobs! (I almost got up on a soap box there . . .) But quitting my job did mean a huge change to our finances. It has become almost a full-time job learning to pinch pennies (and I mean pennies, not just dollars.) Kevin and I have made huge sacrificies this year and I am doing a lot more at home; things I didn't even think about doing years ago simply because it means saving money. I did a handful of posts this year about things we have done to save money. This has included cutting cable, letting the gardner go, and making almost all our food from scratch. One day I'll post about how we cut our grocery bill in half while still eating healthy. Kevin has been working a lot of extra hours and at times this has meant he didn't get to see Lily, or sometimes me, on some days.

God continues to take care of us. He provides in sometimes the strangest ways. Family and friends have randomly given us gifts at just the right time. Clothes have been given to for Lily. We have received gifts of turkeys, car seats, dog food, fruit, and so many other things just as we needed them. It seems so strange to think of things like dog food as a blessing, but God knows just what we need. And beyond gifts of necessity, our family continues to spoil us with gifts, trips, and even babysitting.

So what's new for 2012? We don't really know. We hope to eventually grow our family, but as with all things, this falls under God's timing. My go to verse for 2011 has been Proverbs 19:21; Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord purpose that prevails. We plan, but only as a dream. We hope to do a little traveling this year; hence all the overtime Kevin has put in allowing us to save up. As he did in 2009, Kevin has some travel for work planned and we hope to tack on some vacation to such exotic places as Kettering, Ohio, Lorton, Virginia, and El Segundo, California. So maybe it isn't so much exotic and different from Riverside and a chance to get away and see something new. It may not even happen; you never know with the government.

We are actually hoping 2012 will be much like 2011 for us. Calm. Simple. Family and friend focused.

Neighborhood Park

2011-12-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

One of the things that drew us to purchase our home was the community. It's clean and quiet without any real through streets and has a great little association park just three houses down. Our back yard is a great size for us but we probably won't ever be installing a large play house and swing set. The park is a great place to run, wander and climb. I don't have to pack up snacks and diapers and the like. If she gets tired or bored after five minutes, it isn't a big deal, we can always come back in an hour if we feel like it. If we do feel like an adventure, we can pack up and head to one of the other parks nearby, but our little one usually hits the spot for wanting to stretch our legs.

The baby swings are fun, but don't usually last too long.

The lady bug didn't last long once she realized there was nothing of interest in it. And heaven forbid Mom should make the thing bounce; you would have thought I was torturing her.

Last Friday nothing could be more interesting than the bicycle rack; she went back and forth for quite some time.

Most of our time is spent wandering the pathways. She just wants to be " 'side." However, after a time, Mommy sits down on the big kid swing and Lily toddles over exclaiming "up-a, up-a." We sit and swing while Mommy sings. My current favorite pastime.

Not Fair!

2011-12-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Kids say it all the time; "It's not fair!" Only most of the time it comes out as, "Ugh, no fair!" I hate that phrase. I hate the whine and the stamping of the foot that goes with it. But I found the phrase drifting in and out of my head this weekend. What people really mean when they say life isn't fair is that either "I didn't get what I think I deserve," or "someone else got something I want, too."

But I praise God that I don't get what I deserve. Sometimes I forget how ugly my sin is. This sin that has a cost, a penalty, a price. God paid the price for me with His son. In just a couple of weeks we will celebrate Christmas and praise God for sending His only son to be humbled as a human and to be crucified so that I can spend eternity with the Father. He offered me a gift I don't deserve. Something I cannot earn. It was given in grace. If I was given what I deserved, I would spend eternity separated from His love. Scripture says that "while we were still sinners," while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for us. Wow, was I really an enemy of God? My sin made me God's enemy. It was only by accepting the gift of life and hope that am not longer His enemy.

Jesus Christ had no sin and yet died an enemies/a criminals death. He died for my sins. Not very fair, was it?

For some reason Matthew 7:9-12 keeps popping up in my head; “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

But right behind that, Proverbs 19:21 rings loud and clear in my ears; "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails."

Jeremiah 29:11-12; "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

God has a plan. He has a purpose. He has good gifts for me.

Walking the Huntington Gardens

2011-11-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

Kevin has last Friday off for Veteran's Day and we had two passes to the Huntington Library that were going to expire so were headed west for the afternoon. There really was so much to see, I'm not sure we saw half. But our newly walking daughter did not want to be strapped into the stroller, so she did some walking of her own.

In the still pictures, you can see she is holding our hands, but as the afternoon went on, she became more and more confident eventually refusing to hold our hand. I think this is part of the reason she walked so late. She never did like holding anyone's hand and I think in her mind she said "I'll do it myself, or I won't do it at all." She is a little Miss Independent. I have no idea where she gets it from . . .

I Scream, You Scream

2011-10-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Lily and I headed to Riley's Farm today with my family. We had a wonderful time walking around. looking at pumpkins, and EATING ICE CREAM! This was Lily's first taste of ice cream, and on a cone no less! We had a blast! And it was mmmm, so yummy!

Fork This

2011-10-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

"So after months of eating with my hands, you want me to use this instead? What do you call it? A fork? Are you sure, Mom?""So I stab it like this?""But by the time I get this sucker to my mouth, the food has fallen off. This is going to take a while.""What if I put it on the fork with my other hand? Does that count?""Like this, Mom?" "This does not taste like I thought it would."

"Oh! It's a green bean! Mmmm!"

"Look, Ma! I know what forks are for now! I found this giant plastic one in my play picnic set, and I am using it to eat food off the ground!"

"You can't tell by the picture, but I got the fork to work and I ate the fallen grean beans without using my hands!"

We Be Jammin' - Part Two

2011-10-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

When I turned 30 someone asked me how I felt. I told them it wasn't that I felt old, I just felt that the speed at which I was turning into my mother had kicked into high gear. Maybe it was when I quit my job. Or maybe the cloth diapers. Or maybe when I took over the bread machine. Whatever it was, I have become my mother. It's not a bad thing, just a fact.

When I was in junior high, my mom and a girlfriend of hers starting make jam, jelly, and pickles. They were simply wonderful. And while I'm sure she gave them away, we had a go to stock in the pantry that was wonderful; triple berry jam, spiced peach, spiced pear, and grape. One day I will tell you all about camping pies made over the campfire with butter, cheap white bread, and homemade jam. They are amazing.

This summer when my mom started sending me pictures of her amazing blackberry harvest, I started to reminisce of triple berry jam made with blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. When I told my mom, she offered to share her harvest (she brought me 3 quarts) and told me we could make jam when she visited this summer. It technically would be fall, but it was still over 100 degrees here in Sunny SoCal.

I'm actually not a fan of raspberries (at all) so I opted for blackberry-strawberry with the strawberries we picked up at the Kaiser farmers market. They were the sweetest I've had all year. And Lily is a huge fan, gobbling them up faster than I can cut them.

Oh, the smell of the cooking sugar and berry concoction was just divine! I opened a jar as soon as mom left (not sure why I bothered sealing it) and devoured it all by myself in 5 days. Mom made a couple of batches to share. I, on the other hand, will probably be hording the blackberry for myself. The peach, the pepper, and the strawberry-peach can be used as gifts.

We made a lot of jam in two days (maybe 3, I can't remember.) You really only get 5 or 6 jars per batch.

After mom left I tried a batch on my own. Spiced peach. It didn't set as well; I think because the peaches were frozen. I'm sure it will get eaten. It tasted good to me.

We'll be trying spiced pear next week. I have over 20 pounds of pears in my refrigerator as I type. I might even try some canning.

I am my mother and I love it.

Twelve Months

2011-09-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm late as usual with my monthly posts. But as the onesie stickers have run out, this should be our last "official" monthly update.

As of 12 months (and 13 months) Lily is still not walking. Nor is she showing any interest of walking. She is just now starting to stand on her own without hold on to anything for balance. In her defense, she has tiny little barely size two feet. We aren't in any hurry. She is quite mobile and is filthy by the end of the day.

She is becoming less and less picky at meal time eating lots more; both in variety and quantity. Unfortunately, I think we might be regressing with our milk intake. But today alone she had cereal, applesauce, acorn squash, peas, cheese, green beans, grapes, zucchini casserole, and of course, gold fish crackers. She is doing really well with her signing; more, please, all done, eat. It really is adorable. I think Daddy would give her just about anything if she signed "please" after asking.

And I know she understands me and my tone of voice. She obeys (sometimes) when I ask/tell her to do something. She jumps when I catch her doing something wrong. She has already begun the defiance of watching me while she is doing something wrong to see how I will react. This is most commonly seen in the Battle of the Hair Bow. I put the clip in, she puts her hand up just hoovering over the bow, not actually touching it, and watching me, waiting for me to say no or flick her hand. Sigh. This is the main reason we have started the pig tails; well, that and they are just too cute.

Her vocabulary is growing, too. Besides hot dog and all done, she says Bye, Meow, Bubba, Mama, Dad, and Bebe (her name for GlowWorm, not ours.) In fact when she is ready for bed or a nap, she starts asking for Bebe. She is getting closer to saying Charlie, but Bubba is so much easier. In fact, all dogs are called Bubba.

After two viruses exactly 4 weeks apart we seem to be healthy again. She has had a rough first year. Here is to hoping year two is healthier than the first.

She is hysterical and completely nuts. We love it!

We Be Jammin' - Part One

2011-09-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

I planted my first garden this year. Some of it didn't work out too well; the squash and I weren't friends. But peppers, tomatoes and I have been pals since May. I'm not sure why, but I had great success with thw tomatoes and peppers; good soil, good light, super easy plant, not totally sure. But I've had a blast this summer and the plants are still going strong. Except for the cherry tomato plant that was trampled by 5 different dogs this past week. But until recently, I've had tons of cherry tomatoes.

I've had a blast cooking with everything. We done a couple pasta salads with the cherry tomatoes but our favorite has been the roasted garlic and tomatoes on flat bread (or ultimately, thin pizza dough.) We've done fajitas with the garden peppers., both tomato and watermelon salsa with the jalapenos, tomato pie, jalapeno-cheese bread, BLT's, and lots of garden salads. But I still had a lot of peppers and tomatoes left.

When my mom came down for a week after Lily's birthday, I told her I wanted to make jalapeno jelly. I said jelly, but what I really wanted was Harry and David's Pepper and Onion Relish. But we (and by we, I mean my mom) found a recipe for Sure Jell Hot Pepper Relish. It may not be Harry and David, or $6.95 a jar, but I think it is wonderful! I took my first jar to a party last night, spread that bad boy over some low-fat cream cheese and served with wheat crackers. Today I ate the leftovers for lunch. It was so good! I really was surprised at how flavorful it was.

It's not as spicy as I would have liked it so I am excited to try a new batch. I am also nervous to do the jam alone. Having mom here with me, and two in the kitchen allowed for us to get the batch done during second nap!

I was also trying to come up with ways to use up all the tomatoes I had. I already had a bunch of spaghetti sauce in the freezer so we ended up simply canning crushed tomatoes.

It really wasn't hard, but is a little time consuming as the tomatoes needed a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. However, the jars of crushed tomatoes will be perfect this winter with my favorite crock pot recipes!

A Slice of Fun

2011-09-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lily turned a year on August 25th! My how fast that went!! During Labor Day weekend all of our family came out to celebrate Lily's big day with our watermelon themed party. We had watermelon slices, watermelon salsa, watermelon cupcakes, and watermelon pops! Such a fun time!

Sleepless Nights - Part Two

2011-09-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

Remember how I posted about the crazy high fever and how Lily ended up sleeping with us for a few nights? After 7 days of the fever, I took her in to see the doctor that Thursday the 18th. Virus. Go home and if she gets worse or the fever lasts two more days come back.

On Saturday afternoon, she woke up from her nap with a 103.9 fever. I called the nurse and she said to go in. What a night! Because she had no other symptoms other than the fever, they were pretty baffled. So we did a urine test; not fun for someone who doesn't actually control their bladder yet. Then we did a blood test; lots of tears. Finally, we did chest x-rays; LOTS of screaming. Oh, my poor baby. And it was bed time. And she was miserable. As a precaution, they gave her a shot of antibiotic. More tears. The funny thing is that after each traumatic encounter, she would babble away as if to tell us about all the horrible things they had done to her.

That night was the first relief we had all week. She slept a lot better. I gave her some more Tylenol around 3 that night, and pulled her into bed for the last time. We finally got some sleep and we all slept until almost 9 that morning. Crazy! Her fever had broke and we were Tylenol free.

We went back to the doctor on Sunday afternoon for a review of the tests and her second dose of antibiotic. Her temperature had gone back up to 101, but she was no longer acting crazy. This doc was not my favorite. After explaining to the nurse why we were there (and everything was in our electronic chart, Doc comes in and asks "What can I help you with today?" I know that it's the weekend and no one is seeing regular patients, but I saw the nurse write F/U on the check-in paper (for follow-up, people, get your mind out of the gutter.) After explaining once more, the nurse went to get the antibiotic and came back with two syringes. What!?!? Two?!? She didn't want to do two because Lily was so young. I made her look at the chart from the day before to prove we did only one shot and were anticipating only one more in the other leg. After she got her second shot we were on our way home.

From Sunday night on, everything was peachy. She was eating well and acting her normal crazy self. However, she had gotten used to waking up in the middle of the night and crawling into bed with us. I had to nip that in the bud. So when she woke up in the middle of the night on Monday night, I made her cry it out. I know, mean 'ol Mom. I turned off the baby monitor and went back to sleep. Soon enough, she tired out and fell asleep. The next morning I found she had poop in the middle of the night. Great, now I have guilt. I felt terrible. Luckily, the rest of the week went smoothly, and she hasn't really woken up since.

Except . . . last night . . . she had a bad dream. We rocked and she went back down without too much of a fit. Nothing ever came from all our testing. It was concluded that she had a virus and the fever broke over the weekend at the same time we received the antibiotic. We did find out from the new blood test that Lily's iron has dropped even more. Because she was sick, and a little picky in her eating, our regular doctor has given us two weeks to get her iron up; Doc ordered red meat. So Lily is on a high iron diet; baby oatmeal, french toast, beans, peas, roast beef, and an egg salad sort of concoction with yogurt (sounds gross but she loves it.) And that was just today's menu! Since she has been feeling better she is eating like crazy. And since she is so skinny, after she wolfs down all her meal, I continue to let her graze the rest of the day. Pray for Bug. Doc warned us that the once month iron dosage they would have to put her on is not pretty. We go back sometime after the 12th.

But for the most part she is healthy and doing great. It was wonderful to go back to church on Sunday after missing 2 weeks, even if she did get her hand slammed in the cupboard. (Just teasing! She's fine.)

How I Reduced My Energy Bill

2011-09-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know this post is probably not interesting to most (if any,) but in my effort to cut our bills, I am having a blast trying to cut our energy usage while remaining comfortable. Not everyone can "do" all of these things due to time and availability. But you pay for convenience and the same holds true with the energy bill. I like to think I am going green, saving energy and being earth friendly, and while it is a nice benefit, really, I'm just looking to save some cash.

1. We got rid of the second refrigerator.
We, like many of you, had that old(er) refrigerator in the garage. It held mostly beverages in the refrigerator and the freezer section was jam packed. It was convenient, but not necessary.

I still needed the extra freezer space and we were blessed by a 5 cubic feet freezer from my parents right before Lily was born. We went back and forth as to whether we should get a bigger one, but the one given has been the perfect size. I was able to store A LOT of breast milk (which was the point of the gift) as well as other prepared and frozen food. I freeze everything! Seriously. Pasta sauce, casseroles, tortillas, breast milk (cha-ching,) meat, corn off the cob, half loaves of homemade bread, cookie dough, fruit I bought on sale, hot dogs and buns, chicken broth, and anything else I can double up on when cooking. A chest freezer is not frost free because the air doesn't circulate temperatures to keep frost from building up. This means food gets and stays cooler and will store in your freezer longer than in the refrigerator freezer. Additionally, the small freezer uses half the energy annually than the refrigerator did (240 kWh versus 480 kWh.) Bargain! Also, many energy companies will offer you a rebate if you get rid of the second refrigerator. Definitely worth looking into.

2. I stopped using my dryer.
The cloth diaper covers I use can't go in the dryer so my dad installed a handy retractable clothes line in my back yard. And because I hate turning the dryer on for half a load, I hang both the covers and the inserts up to dry. When I found that drying clothes on the line was so easy, I stopped using the dryer for most of my loads. I still use the dryer for towels; they are just too stiff otherwise. Here is sunny Southern California, there are very few days when it isn't nice enough to dry the clothes outside. And when it's rainy, I bake instead of doing laundry.

3. We cut cable.
Yes, cutting cable is a different bill that we ultimately saved money on, but not having the televisions constantly on, or the cable box running and recording shows, it cut the energy bill. Additionally, we put our large television and the receiver on a power strip with an on/off switch. Because the receiver isn't recording anything, it doesn't have to be on all the time. We simply turn the power strip on if we want to watch a movie.

4. We unplugged everything.
Anything that isn't used most of the day has become unplugged. Anything that is left plugged in, even when not in use, sucks energy. This includes the fan, the coffee pot, the hair dryer, the baby monitor receiver, the laptop, the phone chargers, and the printer. These are are many of the items that we plug in to use, and unplug when finished. Yes, it means that I can't set the timer for my coffee to be ready when I come downstairs in the morning, but as I mentioned before, you pay for convenience. Things become a habit very easily, so we are now in the habit of unplugging things when we are finished. Don't worry, we leave the lamps and alarm clocks plugged in. (Although, I am contemplating changing to a battery operated alarm clock.)

5. We installed solar screens.
This is an investment that may take a years to reap the benefits (monetarily.) We, however, think they are totally worth the money. All Star Screens installed solar screens on our master bedroom windows two years ago. It doesn't block the sun, but helps shade some of the intensity. You see them often in restaurants when they roll down the solar shades to block the sun but you can still see out. (I noticed them in Starbucks on Sunday.) When summer hit Lily's room, the heat in the late afternoon made bedtimes at 7:30 almost unbearable; the solar screen help a lot.

6. We don't run the air.
That's not completely true. We don't run the air as often. Because I am at home, I am able to open all of the doors and windows early in the morning and allow the cool air to come in. Then as it begins to heat up outside, I shut everything up and trap the cool air in. The tile downstairs helps keep it cool. We use fans a lot. I know ceiling fans aren't always the most fashionable (I've seen a lot of DIY bloggers removing them,) but they sure are functional. We have one in each of the small bedrooms, one in the family room, and two in the master. On these HOT days we had this past week (an average of 107,) we had to run the air most of the day and into the night. But when the air outside drops below 78, we throw open the windows and often stick the box fan in to suck all the cool air in. Sometimes, this doesn't happen until midnight . . . but I am awake from the heat anyway.

And finally
7. Know how much energy you are actually using.
Southern California Edison has rolled out an updated web-site that I think is pretty cool. I can see exactly how much energy I used the day before, even breaking it out by the hour. It projects my bill based upon my average daily usage, and shows me the bills for the past two years for the same time frame. I think it is really snazzy. For the past three months, we have been able to cut our bill down by 30 to 50 percent! When I quit my job, I thought it meant we would mean using more electricity during the day but the opposite has proven true. Cheers to going green and saving green!

Sleepless Nights

2011-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

What a crazy 24 hours! Yesterday afternoon around 5:00 pm, Lily woke up from her nap with a pretty high fever. She was not her normal crazy (still crazy, just not the typical kind) and very very cuddly (my baby doesn't like to be cuddled.) After getting some Acetaminophen in her, the fever went down some and she hung out for a while. She went down to bed fairly easily at 7:00 pm. At 10:00 pm she woke up and started playing with Glowworm. It is pretty typical for her to wake up, press his button and fall back asleep. At 10:30 pm, I snuck in and touched her cheek to find her once again burning up. I got her up, stripped her, and gave her some more Acetaminophen. We cuddled for a little bit and I put her back down in her crib. She again played with Glowworm until 12:30 am. I, of course, am laying in my bed wide awake listening to her, and to Kevin snoring. Suddenly, she begins to shriek and stands up in her crib. I pick her up and try to comfort my hysterical baby.

Let me back up and give you a little back story about my crazy child. Lily will be a year old in just a few weeks. She has been going down to sleep like a pro since we brought her home from the hospital, and we moved her out of our room at 8 weeks. She wasn't waking, but her tossing and turning in the bassinet kept me up. She dropped the pacifier at 4 months to pick up her thumb and typically self-soothes to sleep. About a week ago, she decided she doesn't like bedtime. She screams and throws a hysterical fit when we put her to bed. I would not have a problem with letting her cry herself to sleep, except she throws such a big fit, she gags and then vomits. . . everywhere. . . multiple times. She has a crazy sensitive gag reflex.

Last Saturday, her schedule was off. We did a day trip and after getting only 30 minutes for her morning nap, she went down for her second nap early and was back up at 3:00 pm. She usually goes to bed between 7:30pm and 8:00pm depending on the afternoon nap. Knowing that she was off about an hour, when she got crabby and sleepy at 6:30 we started the bedtime routine. She was not going to have it. She threw a HUGE fit and threw up all over me, and then again all over Kevin and herself. Disgusting. After fighting for almost an hour, I relented at 7:45 and let her play by herself while Kevin and I watched a movie. You would never have guessed we had just had a meltdown. At 9:00 I put her down again. She cried some (more than she used to) but no huge fit. She passed out.

Monday night was something similar except we were on our normal routine/schedule. I ran to the store while Kevin put her down; or at least tried to. When I came home, she was asleep on his chest. She had thrown the huge fit and Kevin was afraid of the vomit. I can't really blame him. When I tried to put her in her crib, she woke up and started the hysterics. I picked her up once, calmed her down without leaving the side of the crib, and laid her back down. The crying fit started. She was ridiculous. I sat her up in bed and let her gag herself into a couple of receiving blankets Kevin kept handing me. I eventually got her to lay down while I stoked her hair. When I finally left the room she cried some, but was done with the gagging.

I thought Monday night was bad. And while there was no vomit last night, I would rather do Monday or even Saturday all over again than repeat last night.

Back to last night. . . I went back and forth trying to get her to the crib, but I swear that child was wide awake like she had just taken a nap and was powered up for the rest of the night. At 2:00 am, I let her do some crying in the crib to wear herself out, all while trying to prevent the gagging. I finally nursed her and then laid down in her room and let her fall asleep on me. She was passed out for a good 30 or 40 minutes and I tried to put her back down in the crib. No go. More hysterics. At 3:00 am, I took her to our bed. I still hadn't slept. She was so hot, but wanted to be cuddled . . . by me . . . not Kevin. Poor Kevin. He wanted to help (although that man can sleep through anything) and he wants to be able to comfort her. But to this day, I still call or text my Mom every time I get sick. It's a Mom thing. She didn't want him to hold her, but she didn't want him to leave either. She would let out this ear piercing scream if he disappeared even just to get the wash cloth to cool her down with. Ugh.

From 3:00 am to 6:30 am, I held her. A couple of times I would try to get her hot sticky little body off of me and she would wake up and scream until I pulled her close. She would get really hot and then cold and clammy. It was terrible. I was cold but didn't know if I should cover her or not. Poor little thing. At about 6:45 am she woke up screaming. It was time to start the day. I might have gotten 3 hours of sleep broken up over the whole night.

My wonderful husband got up this morning with her and let me sleep for another hour. Yay! for the sippy cup and Cheerios. He would have let me sleep longer . . . but I just laid there. Poor guy missed the Sandals Men's Breakfast this morning for me (and Lily.) It was a rough night on all of us, he probably wouldn't have been much fun at 7:30 this morning anyway. Although, he is a lot nicer than I am in the morning, little sleep or not.

We all went back to bed for the morning nap which lasted 3 hours. Here's hoping the afternoon one is nice and long as well.

Breakfast

2011-08-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Breakfast usually start like this; calm and collected.

We soon move to irritated and annoyed.

Followed by combative and abrasive.

Does anyone else see her father coming through?

He Can Fly, He Can Fly!

2011-08-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well . . . he flew!

As a gift Kevin received a 40 minute flying lesson out of Van Nuys. On Sunday, he redeemed his voucher and we took to the skies in a little Cessna. No training, no simulator, just buckle up and take off. The pilot, Michael, gave Kevin the run down of where everything was located, told him to steer on the ground with his feet and before I knew it we were given clearance to take off.

Kevin did a wonderful job and the view was spectacular. It wasn't the clearest of days, but considering we had thunder and lightening that morning, we were simply grateful the storm had moved on. We flew over the Hollywood Hills and the Hollywood sign; which neither of us had actually seen before. We flew over Marina Del Rey, and then up (technically west along) the coast; Venice, Santa Monica, and Malibu. We saw the big blue screen and Universal Studios, Mel Gibson's home, and UCLA. I would have been happy with just the air tour, but Michael let Kevin do most of the flying.

Where I was in the back was actually nice and breezy; not too hot.

Marina Del Rey

The coast

The first thing Kevin said when he got out . . . "It's hot up there."

Kevin's flight log now has 0.8 hours in it. . . only 39.2 more until he can get his license.

We had a great time. That might have been one of our most unique dates, but what an experience. So much fun!!

Big Trees

2011-07-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Kevin may have lived in California his whole life, but there is so much he hasn't seen! On Saturday we headed over (up?) to the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. We had a picnic lunch just in time for the guided tour through the forest. It ended up being a little long and after Lily was done with her power nap, she was done with the back pack. But it was a great day trip.

She started out pretty content in the back pack.

Slowly she got a little more drowsy.

And finally conked out . . . for 30 minutes; definitely not long enough.

On our way back we stopped for a bathroom break and ended up with ice cream cones. Lily, who isn't allowed to have ice cream yet, was content to play peek-a-boo with Daddy's hat.

She was a trooper for being confined to her car seat for what felt like most of the vacation; a trip from Riverside to Sacramento, a day trip to the coast, a day trip to the trees, and then back down to Riverside. I'm still surprised that she get so excited when I grab my keys and put on my sun glasses; the girl loves to go!

Eleven Months

2011-07-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

So after the drama I posted yesterday, today we definitely turned a corner. In fact today she ate some french toast . . . for both breakfast and lunch. She wanted nothing to do with the pears at lunch so I opted back to the leftover french toast which I knew she liked this morning. Sigh. Then dinner was just amazing, both for me and her! I made Black Bean and Mango Chicken Salad into lettuce wraps for Kevin and me, and pulled out chicken, beans, corn, and mango for Lily. And she ate it all! And she drank milk from a cup! She had good naps and a good poop. It was a good day.

To top it all off, we did our mini photo shoot. For the first time ever, I actually took her monthly onesie picture before the actual month was over.

You can see above a pacifier in Lily's hand. She hasn't "used" a pacifier since she was four months old when she opted for her thumb for soothing at nap time. But when I was packing up some of the infant things, (drool bibs, pacifiers, hand mittens, burp cloths, etc.,) she found a pacifier and has really taken to it as a teething toy. I'm actually more fond of the pacifier in her mouth than the newly found skill of grinding her front teeth. It's worse than nails on a chalkboard. Most of the time the pacifier is upside down or cockeyed like below.

She still loves patty-cake and we often use it in the car to keep her awake until we get home in order for her to nap in her crib.

She is pulling up on everything and just this week has finally learned the skill of sitting back down. No steps yet, just balancing. She now crawls on her knees when she wants to but still prefers to scoot quite quickly on belly.

Last week she learned a new word, "Hot Dog." And where did she learn it from? Her favorite DVD, Mickey's Clubhouse. She calls the DVD Hot Dog and should you happen to say "Hot Dog," she moves toward the television. That's what I get for letting my daughter watch T.V. That DVD has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion; especially when packing the van for a trip.

One of her favorite games chase. Daddy will tell her "I'm gonna get you!" and she giggles and begins to crawl as fast as her little army crawl can go. Oh it makes my heart so happy to see the two of them scramble around the house.

This is her favorite "new" toy. It's used and faded a little by the sun, but with new batteries it still lights up and sings (quite loudly.) She has her very own little personality and is not afraid to let you know exactly what her emotion is at that very moment. We often call her our little Drama Mama.

I can't believe we only have one month left before my baby is a year old!

Lily Lately

2011-07-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

Man, I love this little girl more than words can express.

She has a little dimple that will melt your heart and her tiny outburst of a laugh makes me giggle.

But man, oh man, she is giving me a run for my money. These past few weeks may have been the toughest on this Mommy thus far. (I say that as I am now months away from the constant ear infections.)But at this point, I cannot figure out what is wrong with her. It feels like she eats nothing but Cheerios and cheese. She has decided that she is done with pureed foods, but she is picky with textures of so many other foods. She hates bananas. She'll eat five or six beans before she decides she is tired of them. Take a couple bites of pasta before it repulses her. On Thursday she loves eggs, but on Friday she won't keep them in her mouth. She'll take a few bites of oatmeal and then she is "all done," her favorite word.Then when I do get her to eat a little something, an hour later she doesn't get her way, throws a fit, gags on her mucus, and throws up all over herself. Today she chose to do this while we were visiting CBU. Luckily, a friend was close to help us into the bathroom, and I had a spare outfit and a plastic bag for the old one covered in soured yogurt. I know it isn't intentional. Just last week she had a coughing fit in her sleep and threw up her broccoli and beef dinner all over her crib. It was disgusting. I had to throw her in the shower, clothes, diaper and all while Kevin stripped the bed. I am just praying she outgrows this sensitive gag reflex.I know this has to be a phase. Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's the top two teeth that are coming in. Maybe she is growing. Maybe I need to relax more . . . But no matter how crazy she is and the drama she creates, we love her and couldn't imagine life without her.

July Vacation

2011-07-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

I realize I am still blogging about our vacation . . .

On Friday of our vacation we headed west. We stopped in Fairfield to visit the Jelly Belly Factory and their free tour. Even though I have been several times, I find it interesting, and you get Jelly Bellies at the end. What's not to love? Plus, Kevin had never been.

Unfortunately, we hit the tour right at nap time, but she was a trooper, staying awake for the whole thing so she could catch a nap on the next leg of our outing.

After the tour we headed out to Samuel P. Taylor state park for a nice picnic in the shade. My poor Dad took most of the pictures during the week so this is here are a few I actually have of him.

And Daddy even posed for a shot with Kevin even though Kevin beat him at golf the day before.

After lunch things got a little crazy. We weren't sure what we were going to do. We had a short time before Jon had to get back. We drove around for a little while talking about where to stop. We ended up driving toward the city and got out to take a few pictures by the bridge. (Mom stayed in the car with a sleeping baby.)

It was beautifully chilly!

Yeah for practically free day trips. (Thanks Mom and Dad for filling the gas tank.)

Concerts in the Park

2011-07-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

My family are pros at finding free (and really cheap) events. I guess it stemmed from having very little money growing up and was compounded by a family of 6. But regardless of what we did, we did it together. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of picnics, drives to the forest or beach, all with family.

Since I quit my job in January, money has become pretty tight. So for a small vacation this summer, we headed home, well, my old home. We went up to Sacramento to spend some time with family. Free lodging, free meals, and free entertainment; can't beat it. (Thanks Mom and Dad for the room and board.)

Monday was the fourth and everyone had the day off. We spent it at home relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Tuesday and Wednesday Kevin and Dad went to work while Mom, Bug, and I hang out. It was lovely not having any agenda except making sure Lily caught a nap. But Thursday began our "vacation." Kevin and Daddy headed out for golf while us girls went out for breakfast (after dropping Jon off at summer school.)

Thursday evening we headed over to a park in Fair Oaks for a picnic dinner and a concert in the park. They did a lot of Louis Armstrong and were actually very entertaining. We left at intermission in order to get Bug home to bed. It was warm until the sun set but then was actually quite comfortable. Best of all, free. A great kick off to the rest of our (almost) free weekend.

Fourth of July - 2011

2011-07-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a wonderful Independence Day with my family up in Sacramento. Both G.G. and Uncle Bud came over. We had hot dogs, grilled pineapple, and homemade ice cream. After dinner we looked at slides from the 80's. When it got dark we went out front and lit fireworks. It was a perfect day.

Pictures from Grandpa's Weekend

2011-07-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

This is just a collection of some of my favorite pictures from Grandpa's memorial weekend. We are smiling. It was a sad time, but we knew Grandpa had gone home to be with the Father. We shared good memories and enjoyed our "reunion."

Three of the four.

Uncle Rick loves the babies, and Lily loved him back. Of course, he may have bribed her with his iced tea.

My husband captured this one. We were watching the slide show of old pics Dad had put to a couple of tear-jerker Brad Paisley songs when Grandma reached out and put her arm around her youngest. It makes me cry even now.

This was a collection of random things put out at the memorial; an engine Grandpa had built, his boots and John Deere hat, some belt buckles, wedding picture, and fiftieth anniversary picture and some other things.

This is a great picture of my parents, but I love the other one that shows his boots and belt buckle; how I remember my dad from my childhood.

Grandma and the second generation.

Third generation.

After the service we went back to my parents house for some more time together.

Bug and my cousin Missy.

Lily was showing that she was "SO BIG" and hit Grandma in the face with her spoon.

It was a long weekend for Bug and she was plum tuckered out.

New Tricks

2011-07-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Lily is 10 months old now and learning new things every day.

Her favorite game is Patty Cake!

"How big is Lily?" "Sooooo Big!"

"Lily, where's your tongue?"

"Lily, where's your nose?" (She points to her mouth but she is getting closer. And she does more with her left hand than her right. . .)

And she now gives kisses (Well, she doesn't so much give them as she no longer turns away. I promise Kevin closes his mouth for kisses.)

This is my new favorite picture. Kevin always scowls for my pictures refusing to smile, but when Lily did it too it was just classic.

Grandpa's Memorial Service

2011-06-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa went home to be with Jesus on Father's Day this year. We knew the time was getting closer but the pain of loss still stings. The truth is, it had been a long time since Grandpa had been the strong energetic man I remembered growing up with. My husband and I have been together five and a half years and he has only known my grandpa as a very old man. He was 88 years old and married to my grandma 69 years.

We headed up to Sacramento on Thursday in order to see family and prepare for the memorial service. It was such a bittersweet trip. It was absolutely wonderful to sit with family and share stories and memories. I hadn't seen my cousins in years and it was just lovely to grill out and have a relaxing time outside. It would suddenly get quiet and yet everyone seemed comfortable in the silence.

I hope my memorial service will be half as nice as Grandpa's. My dad did a video eulogy complete with pictures of grandpa as a kid, teenager, and in the service. He was a good looking guy! Daddy also but together a beautiful slide show to a couple of Brad Paisley songs. I'm sure he'll post it eventually, but it was just beautiful. I have seen it three times and of course I just lose it each and every time. During the family sharing time my father, his brother, my cousin, my sister and I all shared some of our memories. My cousin Christi's mother, Marsha, died in a car accident in 1981. She shared about how she knows her mother and her father have been reunited in heaven. And although she painted a beautiful picture of our Grandpa with his little girl, I don't think there was a dry eye in the sanctuary.

I spoke last and was able to share a little from my blog post I had written just a few weeks earlier. I actually had to change what I was sharing the night before. As my sister and I sat down to review on Friday night, we found we had written a lot of the same memories, some of them almost word for word the same.

Here is a combination of what I originally wrote, and what I shared. . . it's a little long.

Grandpa had his chair. No one else sat in his chair. Well, no one was supposed to. But it was such a fun game for Papa to drag you out by your ankles and drop you on the floor on the other side of the room. Most of the time Rachel and I would tag team it so that while Grandpa was hanging one of us upside down, the other would scramble into the chair and wait for his surprised expression. This would go on for what felt like hours until he would catch both of us and we would snuggle into his lap. Grandpa power napped in his chair but always claimed he was “just checking his eyelids for holes.” As kids we often spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. J.Thomas was Grandpa's shadow, wanting to be everywhere Grandpa was, even sleeping on the floor of their bedroom. That was until Grandpa started snoring and J.Thomas came running out crying that there was a bear in their room.

Every morning Grandpa got up and went to work. Mind you, Grandpa had retired when I was 3, but he would suit up in his coveralls (the worn out set with paint on them, not the set that he wore out to parties and church) and head out to the shop. The shop was this giant, and I mean giant, sheet metal garage. I never really knew what he did out there. Boy stuff. My brother could probably tell you all about it. Grandpa would come in for lunch, often a picnic on the lawn with his Granddaughters, and then go back out. In the afternoon he would come in, sit in his chair, and check his eye lids for more holes. After dinner we would all play cards while eating homemade ice cream – Grandpa's favorite. Grandpa even made a motor to turn his hand-crank ice cream maker.

Many of my memories of my grandpa are surrounding food. When I think of Grandpa, I think of frozen Laura Scudder potato chips and Tru-Blue Lemon cookies. I always thought my grandpa ate weird things. He drank buttermilk. He ate onions like apples. He ate the lemon in his water at restaurants. He drank Delaware Punch (which I have yet to see in a store anywhere.)

Grandpa had a sweet-tooth. Every year we would give Grandma and Grandpa stockings for Christmas; a big tradition in our family. Grandma would usually get a new pair of earrings but Grandpa's stocking was always filled with candy. He would break into his loot right there, even if we had just finished breakfast. If it had peanuts and caramel, Grandpa was all over it. If we didn't give Grandpa candy, he would steal ours. One time I left my Pez dispenser on top of the piano, left the room, came back and a whole row of Pez had been eaten. I didn't even get a chance to put it in the dispenser. Chocolates from Easter baskets disappeared. He was sneaky. Occasionally we shared; usually after Grandpa asked “Whatcha got there?” I always gave Grandpa my popcorn flavored Jelly Bellies, blech!

Grandpa did everything for his grand kids, and he did it as only a handyman could. He built our play house, with a door, windows, and a kitchen counter. He hung a the tire swing in his back yard. And not just any 'ol tire, he took a large tractor like tire, anchored in in three places, and hung it. All four of us girls would climb on and Grandpa would push us. But the most fun was camping. Grandma and Grandpa took that motor home all over the country, but the best trips were when they took us to the beach without Mom and Dad. Sometimes it was all four of us girls, sometimes just Rachel and I. Grandpa drove and I got to sit up front while Rachel and Grandma played cards. We would get sausage biscuits from McDonalds for breakfast and then peruse the secondhand book store. We walked the beach. Made a campfires and and ate Jiffypop while playing cards and eating licorice. Then Grandpa would eat the leftover popcorn for breakfast with milk and a spoon.

I'm sad that my children don't have the opportunity to know my Grandpa the way I did. But in my eyes they have the next best thing, Grandpa's son, otherwise known as Pepa. And now Pepa will get share the stories Grandpa told us. Stories of coming over the Grapevine and putting snow on the car to cool it down. Of having to do boot camp three times. Candy bars falling from the sky with parachutes. And of buying 2 burgers and a Delaware punch for two bits. And my children will ask, as I did, “What's two-bits?” And my Daddy will tell stories about how his Daddy would sleep walk and stare into the pitch black night claiming that people were stealing his parachute. And I will tell them of when Grandpa taught me to drive on the farm; but told me not to drive the way he did because he used his left foot for the brake. And maybe sometime, I will drive by that old farm and I will tell them about the “shop,” and how Grandpa let us drive the tractor on his lap. I will tell my children about the yard stick paddle that hung in the hallway but was never used. And the picture that used to hang in the office of Grandpa with the model planes. And we will show them the gas can tricycle that Grandpa made for his son, and then repainted in John Deere green for J.Thomas.

The word legacy has been used a lot this past week. By definition a legacy is a gift handed down. For me, this is a foundation on which our family has been built. Grandpa and Grandma raised their children with a foundation rooted in Christ, and in turn, my parents raised us to love God. Now I, with my husband, get to raise our family with the same foundation that Grandpa had with his children; love God, cherish your spouse, and embrace family.

Grilling With A Twist

2011-06-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Summer has barely begun and we haven't even hit 100 degrees yet, but I couldn't stand the thought of turning my oven on. But dinner had already been pulled out of the freezer and I didn't want the peppers to spoil so stuffed bell peppers it had to be. So I grilled them!

They were awesome! I think they were even better than when I made them in the oven.

It was so nice we had dinner outside. Bug bounced around during dinner,

then played around with Daddy. We had a wonderful family dinner on the patio relaxing and enjoying each other.

Shots and Needles

2011-06-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

When babies get their shots it's never easy on Mommy. She knows that the vaccines ultimately protect her baby. But to hold your baby down while someone else (not that I would want to do it) sticks her with a needle three or four times, will break your heart. I didn't cry but in my opinion, the process seemed to take forever.

But as I am holding my baby down waiting for the nurse to finish so I can scoop my baby up, where is my husband? In the corner taking pictures and videos.

Here is a picture and video from October, 2 months shots.

And again at 6 months.

So at nine months when the doctor wanted to do a blood test to make sure all was well, Kevin was once again snapping away.

Poor thing has no idea what is coming.

Then to add insult to injury, he missed the vein and had to move the needle around a little to find it again. I had to close my eyes to compose myself.

And then we sported our crocodile tears. She really was a trooper and if we hadn't been past nap time probably would have bounced back quickly.

She is slightly anemic, as I was as a child, as well as during pregnancy, so I wasn't surprised when the doctor call with the test results. We'll up our iron a little and test again in a few months.

My Grandpa

2011-05-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have always thought my grandpa ate weird things. When we had leftover Jiffy Pop, he would eat it the next morning for breakfast as cereal with milk; even if it was burnt. He drank buttermilk. He ate onions like apples. He drank Delaware Punch (which I have yet to see in a store anywhere.)

He loved frozen potato chips and Tru-Blu Lemon Cookies.

And he always had to have bread with every meal; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It didn't really matter what it was and the toasted bread for breakfast was often leftover from dinner the night before; biscuits, rolls, sour dough, or buns. One morning we were at Grandma and Grandpa's farm for breakfast. There weren't many store close by but there was a 7-11 down the road. Grandma sent Grandpa to the mini-mart to get some canned biscuits or some bread for toast. Grandpa came back with hot dog buns. Now I know that store probably had canned biscuits and they had to have sandwich bread, but I'm pretty sure Grandpa saw those buns and thought they sounded pretty good for breakfast. Not sure if words were exchanged, but Grandma buttered up those buns and we had them for breakfast.

The other day I made Kevin some eggs for breakfast and really wanted some toast. I didn't have any bread but found a couple of leftover hot dog buns in the freezer. I put some butter and garlic salt on those suckers and toasted them up. Kevin loved them. I smiled and told him all about my Grandpa.

By the way Grandpa, even though I don't put milk on it, I love leftover popcorn for breakfast!

Eight Months

2011-05-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

I totally missed a seven month update, and almost missed an eight month. I totally missed taking professional pictures at 6 months so I went ahead and did it at 8, figuring I'll just skip the nine month photo shoot. Lily will be nine months tomorrow, but I will try to remember what happened at month seven and eight.

Lily cut her two bottom teeth and either she has very small teeth, or they are still waiting to come up some more. The teeth went up and down for a few months. But she wasn't too crabby about them; granted we still have many more to come.

Food has become more fun as I posted a few weeks ago. She has become pretty good with finger foods so we try to make sure we include something with every meal for her to pick up; beans, peas, carrots, banana, pasta, chicken, cantaloupe, watermelon, and of course, Cheerios.

Lily is mobile but not exactly crawling. She drags her legs lifelessly behind her as she uses her forearms to scoot around. Sometimes we call her Lieutenant Dan; which is not really nice. She is getting quicker and rolls a lot more.

Her hair has grown a lot the past month. Her bald spot is finally gone and I have to use barrettes to keep it out of her eyes.

I dress her up as if she were my little doll every time we go out. I love dresses and matching outfits. But around the house, her clothes rarely match. I replace just a shirt or just pants when something spills. She ends up with bright pink socks and green pants. Most of the time, by the second nap, she isn't wearing pants anymore. We rarely wear shoes. Her feet are small and she curls her toes making them difficult to put on. She just pulls them off now anyway and then ruins them with her two tiny teeth.

Lily got sick . . . again. I swear she was sick from February until the start of May. Thursday night before we were heading to the coast Lily ran a 103 degree fever. She was hot most of the night. The next morning she was VERY crabby and definitely not herself. But people were coming to stay at our house so we kind of had to leave. The drive was long, and she didn't do so hot. At one point she was crying, choking, and vomiting. I had Kevin pull over on the freeway. He said he felt like he was driving me to the hospital again the day I delivered Lily. When we finally got off the freeway, it took almost 30 minutes to calm her down. Really not like my baby. She was so miserable. She would stare off in space as if she were sleeping with her eyes open. It just broke my heart to see her that way. On Saturday she was finally doing a lot better. We ended up taking her to the graduation ceremony at Westmont College and she did really well. We sat in the back which worked out perfectly. She was finally eating and was more of her normal easy going personality. She tired out quickly, but at least she was more pleasant to be around.

Both Lily and Mommy are learning lots of new things. Lily has learned to spit while Mommy is still learning how to get her to stop without having a complete meltdown and ending lunch early. Lily has learned how to pick up the tiniest crumb and put it in her mouth and Mommy has learned to vacuum every morning while Bug eats her Cheerios. Mommy has learned that a morning cup of coffee makes the day go smoother. We both have a lot more to learn, but the journey is much fun.

Waste Not, Want Not

2011-05-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

I hate throwing out food. On Monday nights, Kevin begins to empty the house trash to take the cans to the street and asks me to go through the refrigerator to throw out any bad food. Before I quit my job I felt like we threw food away all of the time. We ate out more and leftovers would go bad. Or we would forget about the leftovers all together. Cheese would mold. Broccoli would turn yellow. Half gallons of milk would expire. But since being home, I have become much more diligent about buying what we need and using everything we have. (Probably because I am now very aware of every dollar we spend.) Thus, I have become very resourceful and quite creative with our meals (if I do say so myself.) This week was a huge win for me in using leftovers, and I felt the need to share it with the world.

My story actually begins two weeks ago. Whole chickens were on sale for 75 cents a pound and I picked one up to roast on Saturday morning. I had visions of roasted chicken sandwiches for lunch on Sunday. I dressed the chicken with butter and seasoning, and stuffed that sucker full of onion and garlic. The kitchen was just beginning to smell wonderful when the power went out. We had been having some crazy wind and I expected it to come on any minute. After 20 minutes of waiting, I knew I was going to have to cook this guy somehow. Luckily, I have a gas stove. I pulled out my stock pot and somehow got the guy in it. I pulled out our lighter and lit the stove. I added a bunch of veggies, some sea salt, and I simmered the sucker until he was done. The power was off for an hour and a half and I'm glad I didn't lose the chicken completely. I pulled all the meat off and threw the bones and skin back in the pot to simmer and make some chicken broth. Frustrated that I didn't have a juicy roasted chicken, I chopped the meat and stuck it in freezer so I could use it for casseroles and such. Then I froze lots of chicken broth.

My "should-have-been-roasted-had-to-be- boiled" chicken. And yes, I take pictures of my food often sending them to my husband or mother.

On Friday night we had grilled chicken and corn on the cob while we were in Solvang visiting with my family. My parents lovingly sent the leftovers home (two big chicken breasts, and two ears of corn) with their poor, destitute children so they could have food to eat. I took the corn off of the cob, chopped the chicken, added some onion, chilies, tomatoes, black beans that I had soaked the night before, and threw it in my home made chicken broth. I picked up some cilantro and served it with sour cream. It was probably one of the best soups I have ever made. We had it on both Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I made pulled BBQ chicken to take to a potluck and of course, brought home the leftovers. So tonight, Friday, I made some pizza dough in my handy-dandy bread machine. To the leftover chicken I added some chopped bacon, sauteed onions, more sauce and some of the leftover cilantro from Monday and made mini calzones. Except I didn't have any mozzarella so I don't know if it can be considered a calzone. We didn't miss the cheese and it was just a tiny bit less fattening.

My little calzones, baking away.

But Thursday's meal takes the cake . . . or pie, rather. I made my very first chicken pot pie. I pulled some of that chicken out of the freezer as well as some more chicken broth. I had potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion on hand as well as half a bag of frozen peas. Using my Betty Crocker cookbook from 1952, I made a gravy for the very first time. I also made my very first pie crust. Two recipes, actually, as my mixture ended up being too big for just one pie. It wasn't amazing and there is definitely room to improve the recipe but I loved making dinner from everything I already had on hand. (Except for the flour I had to borrow to make my gravy.) And I have another pie in my freezer!

It's a small thing but I am enjoying cooking more and more. I am using flour and eggs like crazy but it's worth it. Especially if we eat it all and I don't have to throw any of it out!

Eating

2011-05-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our eating adventures in April. We are having fun trying new things; black beans, chicken, beef, corn, cantaloupe, beets, kiwi, zucchini, and potatoes. And that was just April!

Frozen Blueberries

The frozen peaches were a little tart.

Broccoli and Chicken. The meat was a little shocking but she did end up finishing it. She loves broccoli.

Mmm, Mommy's homemade teething toasts.

She may be expressionless, but she loved the beets.

And our favorite, peas!

We didn't like asparagus, and only like the spinach mixed with something else, like sweet potatoes. Black beans tend to be a hit or miss, and we really don't like them when they go cold, which happens pretty fast. Sweet potatoes and acorn squash remain a fan favorite along with good 'ol banana and prunes; yes, she loves prunes! We have just started picking up finger foods, but they don't always make it to the mouth. We do pretty well with the Puffs, but banana was much more fun to smash with just one finger. So many new options!

Easter Sunday - 2011

2011-05-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter Sunday with my sisters family this year. My sister lives a couple streets away (literally less than a mile) and while I love it for babysitting, swapping clothes, and borrowing numerous items, it has been great for holidays. I can cook things at my house and still serve them at her house while the dish is still warm. In fact, while my kitchen was being repaired, my mom took dirty dishes over to Rachel's house and brought them home washed.

Rachel hosted dinner and our friends came over (my best friend and hers.) The weather was cool in the morning, but by meal time (2 pm to fit around church services and nap times) the sun was out and it was beautiful. We moved tables outside and had a wonderful meal.

One of my favorite things about holiday gatherings, or a dinner party in general, is all the kids. It is sheer madness! There are seven kiddos between the four families, with all four of us having babies in 2010. There is crying, screaming, giggling, yelling, whining, jabbering, drooling, and I just love it! The kids play together and sat at the little picnic table (for a while, at least) for the meal. I'm excited for (and slightly dread) when the four babies will be running around together. It is a boy dominated circle, though, the only girls being Delaney, the oldest, and Lily.

After dinner we had a little egg hunt with dozens and dozens of plastic eggs. The kiddos loved it. Caleb and I watched the organized chaos. I promise he is started to get more hair, but it is really, really, blond.

Lily slept through most of the festivities, but awoke in time to play with some eggs. Her Easter bib was bought before she was born, but because Aunt Rachel just knew she was going to be a girl (even though the rest of us didn't have a clue,) she felt it okay to purchase the pink bib. She also adores the Ticklish Ducky Mimi sent her. It sings, flaps it's wings, and Lily just laughs and laughs.

We were able to grab a couple of shots of the cousins in their Easter best. I have chosen to share the picture where Lily looks the best. I have another one where the boys are looking at the camera, but all of Lily's chins are showing in that one.
We are excited for Easters to come where we get to explain to Lily why we celebrate. We are excited to share that because of God's love for us, He sent his son to die, death had no hold on Him and he rose from the dead three days later. We pray she accepts this gift God has presented and that she one day chooses to live her life for Him. Thank you, Jesus, for giving your life for us.

Kitchen Repair - Part Seven and Final

2011-04-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I realized I never finished updating my blog for our kitchen repair. So either you came over and saw it, or don't care. But for documentation purposes, and my own (in)sanity, I will catch you up.
We upgraded the countertops to a nice stone. For whatever reason, it was really nerve wracking, trying to pick the details out and insure they all matched. Everything from paint, to floor, to countertops was outsourced, and all at the same time. We didn't really have time for one to finish before picking out the next detail. I'm sure we looked hilarious carrying ceramic tiles to the slab lot to make sure our flooring didn't clash with the stone.

Here is a picture of the counters the day they went in. You can see the floor is not done and there are still a few details to work out, like the plumbing. . .

Here is my new sink. And while I wanted a nice white porclain coated cast iron bowl to match my appliances, I do like my deep uneven sink bowls. It hides more dirty dishes, too. The handle and faucet didn't get installed in the right holes, but I think Daddy Dearest can fix it the next time he comes down. (I just haven't asked him yet.)

But the reason I haven't done this blogis that my kitchen is never clean enough to take pictures. So today, I bit the bullet and am showing you the state of my kitchen on a regular basis. The computer is usually out on the counter, and the baby seat where Lily hangs out when I am in the kitchen doesn't typically leave the kitchen. Most of the dishes are clean but are out drying on the counter.

Here is a picture of our "wood" tiles. It is ceramic tile with a faux wood finish screened on top. And although I should have picked a darker grout, I really like the tile. It is unfortunate that things (like glasses) don't bounce like they used to on the wood. With this image, you can also see the used burp rag in the door way. The picture shows how I "really" live.

Here is a better shot of the stone but you also get to see my baking sheet left out from breakfast as well as my dirty stove and almost empty goody jars.

The other counter shows more clean dishes, and my produce that I need to cook and prepare before it goes bad.

The kitchen is done. We love it. I am mostly glad to not be doing dishes in the bathroom sink and can cook with large dishes not fearing how I will wash them!

Mango, Mango

2011-04-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

The last week of March we went from having hail, to 100 degrees on April 1st. It was a crazy week. At the same time, Lily was cutting her two bottom teeth. I randomly found two of these doohickies (I have no idea what they are called) leftover from a visit from Brendan when he was Lily's age. You can put anything inside of them for babies to chew on, but the fan favorite has been frozen mango. Since Winco had mangos (which after googling, can be spelled mangos or mangoes) at 68 cents a pop and the ladies at work gave me a mango splitter in my going away basket, she may get mango the rest of the summer. At first, they were simply a great way to sort of numb her gums when she wasn't feeling well, but she just loves them. When I pull one out of the drawer she drops whatever toy she in holding in pure excitement. Here are a few pictures of Bug enjoying her frozen treat.

P.S. I have to admit, everytime I say mango twice I think of Chris Kattan and Saturday Night Live.

Fourth Time's A Charm?

2011-04-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Almost exactly one month ago I was fighting (more like crying) with Kaiser to find someone who would see our sick baby girl. After countless phone calls, and three separate visits, we were on our way to getting better. The antibiotic seemed to be working and we were on to our general teething crankiness.

Lily's sleeping and eating patterns have changed the past couple of weeks and I decided I would see if she was ready to drop down to two naps. But just as I decided to play with the schedule, she went crazy! She wouldn't nap for more than 45 minutes. I blamed the teething. She stopped eating solids after maybe 3 bites. I blamed the teething. She was cranky overall, and not her normal self. She wanted to be held all of the time, and cried every time I left the room. I blamed the teething. This was not my baby! That night as we battled to eat sweet potatoes (her favorite,) she started playing with her ear. I finally called my sister and said "I can only blame teething so long. I think she is sick." Then the cough returned. That terrible body wracking, mucus rattling, makes you want to cry for your child, cough.

I began the mind games. Am I a crazy paranoid mother? Is it just a virus she needs to get over? What if I play the wait and see game and she gets worse? Do I really want to pay my copay just to hear my doctor tell me "It's ok Mama, she's fine?"

I ran the humidifier for two nights and on Tuesday morning I made an appointment for 2:30 that afternoon. By 3:00 I was heading to my car antibiotic in hand. (Yay! for no longer waiting in Family Medicine for 30 minutes after my appointment time just to see my doctor!) She may have a new ear infection, but it is quite possible that the previous one never fully cleared up. So we got a stronger, longer, antibiotic and directions to eat yogurt.

After two doses she is already napping longer, eating better, and is no longer crying every time I walk past. Although, antibiotics made for some crazy diapers this afternoon. But she is on the mend and hopefully her normal, mellow self shortly.

Sacramento Visit

2011-04-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have so many posts to catch up on but often forget when I post pictures to Facebook. But my Grandma reminded me, "I love your blog and I don't have that face page thing, so keep updating." So this is for you Grandma.

Kevin and I drove up to Sacramento a couple of weeks ago for an extended weekend. The drive made me even that much more appreciative that my parents make the trek so frequently. It was long! We had to stop twice to feed Lily, but she was a trooper. Not as easy as when we went for Thanksgiving as she doesn't sleep quite as much, but she entertains herself really well. She was definitely done by the end.

The trip was relaxing. We girls did some post-pregnancy shopping on Friday as I needed non-work clothes. Shopping is different now. It's not as easy to hop in and out of the car to pop into a store. I seriously planned a route in my head so that it would work around naps and feeding schedules. No more all day shopping marathons for us. Even if I had left Lily with her daddy, I would have to take a break to pump. Overall it was a successful outing.

We, of course, headed to the train museum, for a little jaunt and walk around downtown just to get out when the rain let up. Have I ever mentioned the California State Railroad Museum? It really is a great facility, but it's become kind of a joke in our family because I keep asking Kevin if he has ever been. Years, and years ago, we first visited the museum while camping in the area; long before we moved up here. I recently found a picture of our visit and wish I could have scanned it in for you. Dad is in short shorts with a fanny pack and J.Thomas (Bud) is probably only 4. We have always been a train family. If there was a train to be ridden, we were on it. If it was stationary, we were taking our picture by it. So when we moved to Sacramento we headed back for another visit, only to find the annual membership was only a few dollars more. That was fourteen years ago. But my parents take people who come to town to visit. Even Bud has taken friends and I would have thought he was way too cool for the museum. And now, of course, they hold on to it for the grand kids. We went to visit their newest exhibit about the fruit packing and the railroad and they had a bunch of stuff for sale about the orange fruit brand Lily.

The trip was simple. A couple of family meals. A Netflix movie or two. Brothers, grandparents, and great-grandparents. It was very enjoyable.

I forgot the stroller (can you believe it?) but Lily loves the front pack. She loves bouncing around and seeing everyone and everything.

Uncle Bud and Lily Bug. Because all uncles have mustaches right? Mine always did! Granted it was the 80's. Bud just had his for Mustache March.

Uncle Jon with his braces off!

Knock, Knock

2011-03-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Knock, Knock.

Who's there?

Orange.

Orange, who?

Orange you excited a baby is coming?

My sister-in-law is having a baby in April and I wanted to throw her a little shower for her family and a few friends. Unfortunately, we picked a day when none of the family could come. But her friends brought their kiddos, and had a very nice play date and lunch. I have found parties to be an ever growing "hobby" of mine that I very much enjoy. Here are a few of the details I had a lot of fun doing.

The "Orange You Excited?" banner.

I made a little banner with the scraps for the mantel.

My sister has a small collection of pitchers with oranges on them that I used as vases.

On the table, I put I different citrus candies in mason jars; lime lollipops, candied orange slices, lemon drops, and candied grapefruit slices.

For lunch the guests built their own salads from the toppings I put out; strawberries, mandarin oranges, grilled chicken, avocado, grapefruit, Gorgonzola cheese, and candied walnuts.

For dessert we had key lime yogurt pies.

I forgot to take pictures of the water bottles at the party, but here are a few of the extras. I had planned to give each cookies and jelly to take home, but when the guest list dwindled, and I lost my kitchen, I had to come up with a simple parting gift. The soda-pop was a last minute addition. It was a simple, relaxing gathering. We can't wait to meet Vizon number six next month!

Third Time's A Charm

2011-03-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

After three visits to the doctor in less than three weeks, Lily is finally healthy. This time she had a double ear and sinus infections. And all this time this crazy Mama thought she had allergies! But it was nothing a five day antibiotic couldn't knock out. She is finally back to "normal" and sleeping her 11 hours during the night. We are still trying to find our new "regular" schedule since time change. (Why do I keep putting things in quotes?) But for the most part we have settled back in. She finally gained a little weight. Although she grew another inch from 4 months to 6 months, now 25 inches, she actually lost weight and was down to 14 pounds 1 ounce. Doc wasn't concerned, and I assume because of her being sick she wasn't eating real well. She has rebounded well, both eating and nursing more than previously and now closer to 15 pounds. Although Daddy tried to give her cold spinach yesterday and she wasn't having any of it; we'll mix it with sweet potatoes tonight.

Through this ordeal we also had to switch doctors. When I was pregnant, they asked if I would mind being assigned to one of the Family Medicine residents. I didn't mind; he was always under supervision and I was happy to help out. He was supposed to be the one to deliver Lily, but with how everything went down, their wasn't even time to call him. We really liked Dr. Flores and he continued to see Lily after she was born. But when we had to see a doctor on February 27, outside of our routine visit, we had issues. They scheduled her an appointment in Pediatrics but then told us we couldn't go to Peds because we were part of Family Medicine so they scheduled us a new appointment. But when we showed up in Fam Med for our appointment they refused to see her because she was under two years. Back down to the reception desk. Two hours later, we were finally seen in Fam Med. A nightmare for an infant. Then when we had to go back in on March 16 it took me two hours to get an appointment because no one knew where to schedule her and I had to keep waiting to talk to nurse advice. I called Kevin in sobbing tears not know how to make my baby feel better because no one would see her. I blame the hysterics on not sleeping for two weeks while she fought through this cold. I ended up switching her to a regular pediatrician. We really liked her and are happy with the department, nurse, and whole change. I was able to tell our doctor that we had to break up and it wasn't his fault. He felt bad, then I felt bad. It was all quite embarrassing. But Lily is well and we are all rested!

Ruined

2011-03-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

You know when you follow a link, which leads you to another link, which leads you to another, and all of a sudden you ask yourself "How did I get here?" A blog I read directed me to this blog post. I don't know this woman, but her blog has been haunting me ever since. It was beautifully spoken, and beautifully written. The gist: I can't ruin my children, they were born ruined and it is my responsibility to show them they need Jesus as their Savior. I need to be real with Lily showing her my faults yet striving to be the best mother in Christ that I can be. Show her that God commands are showing his true and perfect character and that he gives us his commands to protect us and enjoy a relationship with us. As sinners, we are enemies of God, but even as his enemies, he loved us and died for our sin. My sin. I am ruined. But when God looks at me, he sees me through his son, Jesus, who paid the price for my sin. Death. All so that I could be called a daughter of our heavenly Father.

How Can I Have 'Smore If I Haven't Had Any?

2011-03-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

For wedding gifts (four and a half years ago) friends bought us camping equipment; a tent, sleeping bags, chairs, a lantern, and all the accessories. So we decided to go camping - in our backyard. Well, not literally our back yard. Rancho Jurupa Regional Park is less than a mile (maybe less than a half mile) from our house.We figured for our first time, and with a six month old, we didn't want to head all the way to the Grand Canyon only to fail. And we didn't completely fail. . .

We arrived around 3:00. It took about an hour to set up camp. We did a practice run with the tent at our house the night before but didn't set it up all the way so we had to figure a couple of things out by trial and error.
Bug hung out in the pack and play while we set up camp. Actually, she only hung out here for about 15 minutes. The girl can hang out on the floor at home for hours, but didn't want to be contained (not that she actually moves yet.)

So we moved her to the "floor" and she was a little more content. The puppies didn't really like being tethered.

After we set up camp we took a walk around to see what was there. The park has recently been remodeled and was really cool. There was a disc golf course, 9 hole miniature golf, a water pad during the summer, a "nature" play ground with giant rocks and tree trunks to climb over, two lakes, two play grounds, two different campgrounds (one with full hook ups, the other with water and electricity), 6 little cabins to rent, a primitive camp site, and a nice walking path. We went a little aways away from all the people and let the dogs run around off their leashes. Growing up, Kevin and I both had dogs that would bolt when the front door was opened, and we have tried very hard to make sure our dogs come when called. Only once have we had one of the dogs run off, and that was because Charlie wanted to go play with the other puppy in our neighborhood.

After our walk, and a short nap in the stroller, it was dinner time. Mmm, sweet potatoes.

Hanging out with Daddy while Mommy started the fire. Daddy eventually had to come rescue the fire with some more lighter fluid. The log just kept turning black but never caught.

We roasted kielbasa dogs over the fire. I thought my little contraption for holding the roasting sticks was quite handy.

Then we roasted marshmallows. I'm not sure Kevin has ever roasted his own marshmallow. He asked me how he would know when the marshmallow was done. Then as we were eating our smores he asked me if there was caramel in them.

The Reed's do a small twist on the classic smore. It may have been cheaper, or simply easier with a family of six, but we buy chocolate covered graham crackers instead of chocolate bars. I like it so much better than the chocolate bar that never really melts.

The night was a little rough. It was cold. We bundled Lily up. She was in a long sleeve shirt, leggings, socks, booties, footie pajamas, a sleep sack, and a hat. She slept in the pack and play until about midnight, and then she was done. She could have been too cold, or it could have been a new surrounding, but I think her cough got the best of her. She is still battling the runny nose and the hacking cough that makes her gag. I think if we had gone before she got her cold she probably would have been fine. And while we normally let her cry it out at home, we figured it wasn't really fair to the other campers. So she slept with me. She slept. I didn't. And Kevin didn't either. Apparently, I am too used to our giant cal-king bed, and I hogged the air mattress. In my defense, he never told me I was hogging the bed. We woke up at 6:00 when the sun came up, let the dogs pee (they slept in the van), fed Lily, and then went back to bed until 9:00. That was probably the best sleep we had all night.

For breakfast we had boxed donuts. Doing a real camping breakfast sounded like so much work for our first time out. I told Kevin that while he was out getting firewood on Saturday morning, he could pick himself up some chocolate milk (his favorite) and grab me a bottled Starbucks Frappachino to take along. He came back with two; surprising for the guy who doesn't like coffee. When I asked him how he liked it, he said "It tastes like coffee." I think he was expecting chocolate milk with a hint of caramel. I am laughing now as I write this. My cheeks hurt.

Then Lily got cereal.

After our breakfast of champions, we took the path around the park and looked around some more. The weather was absolutely beautiful; even Kevin couldn't complain.

We stopped at one of the play grounds for Bug to sit in the swing; a first. Unfortunately, it was nap time, and she did not really want to be jostled around.

But caught on quickly that this was a fun thing. She had an okay time. We will try again when it isn't nap time.

She did eventually take her nap in the stroller.

We really did have a wonderful time. We have some kinks to work out but we will try again soon. Let me know if you know of any great parks less than an hour and a half from Riverside.

Kitchen Repair - Part Six

2011-03-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted much about the kitchen because not much has happened. Two and a half weeks ago they rebuilt the cabinets using the old faces, doors, and drawers. This was a three day process, mostly because it was just one guy. Another guy showed up for part of it, but he wasn't here when the first guy showed up, and left before it was done. Not quite sure his expertise. But the cabinets were built. Then the painters came. They painted the kitchen, two walls in the dining room, one wall in the family room and the ceiling in the kitchen and the family room. I lost my gold wall in my kitchen. I'm not too heart broken. It wasn't the color I really wanted originally and the painters came before we picked out a counter top. So taupe it is. There was a small mark on the ceiling in my dining room/living room from where they put the pole up for the containment tent. The guys were going to paint the whole vaulted ceiling to make sure that the new paint didn't show against the old. We only painted two and a half years ago, so I pulled out my leftover ceiling paint and had them roll the tiny spot. It was not worth their trouble, nor mine of losing access to these rooms as well as the others. Plus it gave us more of a credit toward our upgrades.

But after picking out a counter top on Friday, we have been at a standstill. Nothing happened this week. Well, nothing at the house. The slab is being cut for installation next Monday. If everything goes as planned the kitchen should be complete next Friday. I hope everything we have picked out at separate times matches!

Homemade

2011-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Lily starting eating solids about a month ago, and like my use of cloth diapers, I was looking for a very cost effective way to go about feeding my daughter. I was not about to pay 50c a pop for pre-made food containers. So with very little (if any) change to our monthly grocery budget I began pureeing fruits and vegetables for Lily. My sister wrote all about her baby food making on her blog, but I swear when I first told her I was going to make my own baby food she rolled her eyes at me. But now we are buying large quantities of fruits and veggies and splitting them.

I started with carrots. It seemed like a sweeter veggie and very easy to do. I steamed them up in my little steamer basket.

Pureed them up with my borrowed magic bullet (thanks, Mom) and put them into my little freezer containers so I could pull one out at a time. Excited to try out my little masterpiece, I served them that night. SHE HATED THEM! She gagged shuddered and spit them out. Then when she was down she spit them all up down her outfit. What a mess. I was sure my baby food making days were doomed.The second day went a little better but the carrots still weren't her favorite. We slowly began introducing other foods and they went much better. Below Daddy is feeding her squash, a favorite. She also loves peas, sweet potatoes and mango. To be honest, I have a blast making the food and may have gone a little overboard with the pureeing. In our freezer right now we have apples, pears, peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, squash, mango, prunes, and blueberries. Just a couple of each for a little variety. The easiest thing has been too cook just a little extra of whatever Kevin and I are having, and puree the extra. So far carrots have been the only thing she hasn't loved. She does well with all of her green veggies including the spinach. Lovin' my cheap little baby!

Six Months

2011-03-08T13:21:00.001-08:00

Lily turned 6 months at the end of February. She is sitting up on her own but occasionally spills over. It's not a big deal upstairs on the carpet, but is a little traumatic on the tile. She is still a lot of the same as she was last month. She eats five times a day, and still takes three naps. She is a creature of habit and her days are pretty much the same. First nap is and hour and a half, the second is 2 hours, and the third is an hour. She is up at 6:30 every morning, and we struggle to stay awake until 7:00. She still sleeps through the night; now if only Mommy could. Lily is still working through the residual symptoms of her cold with a runny nose and cough. She occasionally has a coughing fit at night and while it doesn't wake her up, Mommy hears every cough (while Daddy snores on through.) She is becoming a better solid food eater. She loves sweet potatoes, peas, and mango. Not a big fan of carrots though and she is unimpressed by cereal no matter what I mix in it. She is, however, very interested in the things around her, making it difficult to focus on the spoon. But she is good at trying new things and is getting better and eating more every day. We have a lot of fun and she adores her daddy, which is why she is actually smiling in these photos; Kevin was making her laugh. He kinda likes her, too.

Still Sick

2011-03-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

The past two (really three) weeks have been a little crazy. Our kitchen is still not done and the mess that it creates is slowly (or rather quickly) driving me mad. Progress is slow. My parents came down last week while my brother had a week off from school. Mom hung out with me and the babies while Daddy did projects around my and my sisters house; it sure is nice that she lives down the street. Daddy put some plywood up in the attic creating wonderful storage for more of my junk.

Side story - My parents bought me a deep freezer this summer. We went back and forth on whether or not we should get a bigger one. When I asked my Dad's advice, he said "you will fill whatever you have." The same has gone for my house. We bought a larger than we needed house three years ago so we could grow into it. Instead, we have filled our house to the brim. Every closet, cupboard, and shelf is full. And yes, I could probably get rid of it, but the pack rat inside me says, "I might need it one day!" I'm also pretty sentimental, so we have a bunch of stuff that we simply just can't get rid of. Thus the new attic flooring has been a life saver. In my defense, we don't have much storage in the garage as we are determined to park both of our cars in it.

So up into the attic went Christmas decorations, outgrown baby clothes, the baby bath tub and the bassinet. I was actually quite sad to see the bassinet go. My mother-in-law did a beautiful job on the bedding and I loved the way it looked in my bedroom. And while Lily hasn't slept in it for 4 months, it was official that the teeny-tiny stage is over.

The visit with my parents was nice. I enjoy the family dinners and just hanging out knowing I don't have to entertain them.

Pe-Pa, Caleb, Grammie, and Lily Bug

Doesn't she look so big sitting up by herself?

But the last two weeks have been marked by a really nasty cold. Lily started the whole mess which got our whole family sick, as well as our friend's family of four. I have no idea where she picked it up. I blogged a week ago last Saturday about her cold and this Saturday she seemed to be exactly the same. I ended up taking her to Kaiser on Sunday. I went back and forth knowing that if it was a virus it had to run its course and it would just be a waste of money. But because she was still running the fever I was worried about an infection. So we went in. A lot of drama later (which isn't worth talking about) we were home. The took x-rays for which she screamed. Nothing. Virus. It has to work its way through. She still has a lot of snot. Tomorrow marks two weeks. Hopefully things begin to look up.

Snot Bubbles!

A Little Bug

2011-02-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

Our little Lily Bug has caught a little cold bug. I went into the CBU yesterday to help out so Kevin stayed and worked from home. She looks happy but it only lasts for about an hour. We introduced the soft top sippy cup last night. Because of the fever I wanted to make sure she stayed hydrated. She is still nursing well so I am not worried. She mostly used the cup as a teething toy.

The picture above was as we were getting ready to go to a friends house last night for dinner. We never made it. She proceeded to have a coughing fit, gagged, and spit up most of her last feeding.

This was after gagging all over me 15 minutes before. So I had changed my outfit, and now I needed to change her pjs. Once changed, she proceeded to have a very disgusting diaper and although no leaks, she didn't want to get undressed again. I had to call last minute to cancel our plans.

One (and probably the only) good thing about my independent little girl being sick is that she becomes a cuddler. Lily has never been a great cuddler. She falls asleep in her crib; that's it. She doesn't like to be rocked. She doesn't want to be held. She wants to spread out and go to sleep on her own. So to our delight, she simply wants to be held, put her head down, and suck her thumb; something normally reserved for bedtime only.

Another thing new today is her Eskimo kisses. She would lean in to put her forehead to Daddy's, and simply touch noses, a giant smile on her face. She did this over and over. She initiated and we have never seen her do this before. It melted my heart. It was simply precious and I was slightly jealous that it was with Daddy and not me.

Of all weekends, it was a pretty good choice to get sick. We have no plans for this three day weekend due to the rain. We have napped, cuddled, had soup, and watched lots of movies. Unfortunately, I, too, got sick last night, and Kevin is on his way to getting the cold. Yay! for family bonding.

Eskimo Kisses

Some Cuddle Time

Lily and Her Valentine

2011-02-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Late Valentines Day!

Kevin brought home Old Spaghetti Factory last night. He offered to take me out but I can't stand the crowds. We had a nice date night at home. You actually get quite a few of those when your daughter goes to bed at 7:00 every night. Kevin and Bug hung out on the floor for quite a while. I love how she watches him. She gave her Daddy a valentine they spent the evening laughing and chatting. He is wrapped around her little finger . . . and he loves it.

Kitchen Repair - Part Five

2011-02-15T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today they finished the dry wall and addded a coat of primer. The doorway was reframed and the baseboards were intstalled.

Kitchen Repair - Part Four

2011-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

We have insulation, drywall, and texture.

Kitchen Repair - Part Three

2011-02-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

The tents are down and not much remains of the kitchen. The cupboards are gone. The tile is gone. The dry wall is gone. The floor is gone. The MOLD IS GONE!

And now we wait . . .

We have agree to go with the company that our insurance company recommended; we have liked them so far. We signed a contract which holds our place in line of projects but the guys that spoke to Kevin on Friday said the earliest they could get started on our house was the 24th. They still have to put together a contract with AAA of how much everything will cost. It is going to be a long time without a sink. One positive is that I have my microwave and oven back. I am hesitant to cook anything stove top as it is difficult to wash dishes in the shallow bathroom sink. So we eat out. And I'm already tired of it. Earlier this week I made a roast and carrots in the crock pot with crock pot liners and made instant mashed potatoes using hot water from my Mrs. Tea pot. We went to grill tonight and I realized that the lighters for the BBQ were in a box somewhere. I will head to the store tomorrow to keep some easy to grab food and snacks on hand. . . as well as another lighter.

I leave you with a picture of my new kitchen, formally the playroom.

My Cloth Diapers

2011-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I are very aware of how we spend our money (a.k.a. cheap). So far, Lily has made very little to no change on our monthly budget (except for the whole me quitting my job thing.) I have been fortunate enough to be able to breastfeed for this long and am still going strong. Besides formula, diapers can be another huge expense for Baby. I did a little bit of research and talked to a few friends and decided I was going to do cloth diapers. Kevin took a little bit of convincing but ultimately told me it would be my decision since I would be the one washing them. I would have loved to have a diaper service, but again, our main reason for doing cloth was the cost, not the environment (sorry). While I was working, we did a combo of cloth and paper, and still found it helped out tremendously with the cost of diapers. Now, we are cloth most of the time.

I found a few new cloth diapers on ebay but they came directly from China. I was a little hesitant as to the quality. So I began looking at some name brands and where they were manufactured; China. So ebay it was. I bought 3 at first to try out to see if I liked them. I loved them. I ended up with 18; buying them one or 2 at a time as I bid on them. Total cost, around $100. I went with an adjustable diaper that will grow and change with Lily. I chose snaps because I had read that the velcro tends to wear out and collect lint. I also chose a pocket diaper as oppossed to a complete all in one. This allows me to use one inset during the day and 2 inserts for her 12 hours of sleep each night. I have had pee leaks as the cloth can only absorb so much. But the leaks have typically been because I didn't do a double at night, or forgot to change her before her nap. I have never had a poop leak which I often did in paper diapers. I use just as many cloth a day as I do paper.

Here is one of the inerts and diapers all opened up. The liner is basically a couple of layers of terry cloth (it's difficult to see in the picture.) We have 2 girly diapers, the rest are neutral so we can use them for multiple children (again, cheap-cheap.) But even if I had to buy another set, the cost is worth it. The diaper adjusts both in width and length. We still use paper when we go out or if someone else is watching her. In my defense though, they aren't difficult at all. We have gone out in cloth and it that hard to bring the wet ones home. I wash three times a week. When it isn't too cold, I hang the diapers out on the line (as I do with a lot of my laundry). You shouldn't dry the covers anyway because of the vinyl covering. Did you know that poop stains fade, and often disapear) in the sun? Someone told me that years ago, but I didn't beleive it until I tried it myself.

Here she is at around 8 weeks in a cloth diaper. We used paper for the first couple of months because she was so small and newborns poop ALL the time.

Here she is more recently. Clothes do fit differently over cloth, but it isn't inconvenient. She hardly wears denium though; it just doesn't stretch the same.

Cloth isn't for the faint of heart. I find myself breathing through my mouth to avoid the smell when I start a load of diapers. And yes, you might get a little pee on your hands as you pull the insert out to be washed, but you should wash your hands after starting any load of laundry. You do find that your own kid's poop and pee is different, though. I would never wash your kid's poopy diapers.

Kitchen Repair - Part Two

2011-02-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

The crew started work on the house today. The cabinets have been pulled away from the walls and the tent set up. We no longer have access to anything in the kitchen.

Here is the family room. You can see the sink on the floor. The tent has been attached to the sliding glass door. The dogs have to get to the backyard through the garage; which doesn't really work very well. They saved the drawers, cabinet doors, and frame. But when we looked at it today, some of the frames were cracked. We are hoping to replace the sink while they have it out.The tent entrance in the living room.We could hang out in this small portion of the living room, but we spend most of our time in our bedroom. The three of us hung out, had dinner, and watched Bill Engvall from our bed. The crew used the toilet in my "kitchen", and even though I knew they would, they left the seat up. At least they didn't pee in my backyard.

Five Months

2011-02-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

The photo shoot did not go so well this morning. Because we are using month stickers, you only get one shot, and you never know if you are going to have a happy baby until you start clicking pictures. We never did get a true smile. She is so concerned about the decal on her shirt and loves the noise it makes when she scratches her fingernails on it. In fact she likes to make noise with her finger nails on any surface; especially the corduroy couch, the Boppy, and daddy's facial hair.

We were able to get a partial sitting up picture. She is doing better and better every day. Unfortunately, she would now prefer to be on her belly so she can get a closer look at whatever she is intrigued by; patterns on blankets, toys, puppies, etc. Now that I think about it, she might be near-sighted. . . Time will tell. Even the best of us wear glasses and Kevin got his pretty young.

Lily loves her cereal . . . most of the time. We have been eating earlier in the evening so she is less tired. This week we have added another feeding right before bed at 7:00 and dropped the dream-feed at 1o. A win-win situation; she still has 5 feedings a day, and still sleeps for 12 hours at night. Then Mommy and Daddy get to have the evening to have dinner and hang out. It's a wonderful schedule.

She is finally starting to roll over more, now from her back to her tummy. She really just hasn't felt the need to go anywhere. She is pushing up higher with her arms and getting stronger every day.

As far as I can tell, Lily loves having Mommy home every day. Daddy gets her up before he leaves for work and then plays with her as soon as he gets home before bed. They still enjoy their Thursday date nights when Mommy goes to bible study.

It's a lot more of the same and we are still enjoying being parents. We usually spend Saturdays running errands and hanging out as a family, and football Sundays. Who knows what we'll do after the Superbowl this Sunday. We had some warm weather, but are looking forward to spring when we can get out more and take walks and such.

Had to give you one shot from the back to show you she still has her bald spot and I am still finding her hair all over her sheet. Friends think her hair is turning lighter but I am convinced it is turning loose and she'll be bald in 6 months.

Kitchen Repair - Part One

2011-02-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

On January 12, two days before I become unemployed, we notice that water is coming out from underneath our kitchen floor; on the other side of the room from the pipes. Not good. We check under the sink and all seems fine. But as my head is in the cabinet, I hear a faint drip . . . drip . . .drip. Kevin pulls the dishwasher out from underneath the cabinet to discover an inch of standing water. Ugh. The next day we begin making calls; home warranty and then home owners insurance.

Our insurance company sent out a restoration company to take a look at our situation. The lady at AAA went back an forth on a decision for our claim. At first it was going to be covered, and then when they found mold in our baseboards they decided it was a long standing issue and they weren't going to cover it. Finally they sent the restoration company out to tear open the wall so AAA could see how long the issue had been there. When a piece of the drywall was removed, we found particle board all the way up. This meant that the wood had been soaking up the water, now two and a half feet up the wall, and it AAA made a decision in our favor.

Here is a picture of the wall before it was covered up with plastic and duct tape. Wet.

The restoration company brought in two dehumidifiers to suck the moisture out. By the time they pulled them out of the house, I was going crazy from the noise. They weren't so much loud and just constant noise. Here I am being sly with my camera phone getting Joe checking the mold behind the baseboard in the dining room.

Here was my kitchen for 3 weeks. Dishwasher and dehumidifier in the middle of the room. You don't realize how much you use your dishwasher until it is useless; I am so tired of doing dishes.

Yesterday, they moved my dishwasher and refrigerator out of the kitchen. Today they came and packed up everything in my lower cabinets and drawers. So I have plates to eat off of, but no flatware or cookware.

The living room now holds my refrigerator. Convenient for entertaining. Not so great for smells.
And my family room has become a storage unit holding my dishwasher and everything from my kitchen.

I was able to do some cooking on Monday and Tuesday so we had some food for the rest of the week; casserole, quiche, enchiladas, granola, bread, and the much needed chocolate chip cookies.

Hang on ladies and gentlemen, we are in for a ride.

All That I Knead Recipe

2011-01-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

Just for you Sherry :)

Honey 'N' Oats Bread
Bread Machine Magic by Rehberg and Conway

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk (plus 2 tablespoons for Welbilt/Dak machines)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (I will probably double this next time)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Light crust setting

You're All That I Knead

2011-01-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

I finally busted out the bread maker. You dump all the ingredients in and FOUR HOURS LATER you have bread. Good night, it's not hard but takes a long time; it mixes, and sits, and kneads, and sits, and kneads, and rises, bakes, and then cools. If you want bread for dinner, you have to get it in the machine before noon! But it smells so good and nothing beats fresh, warm bread with butter. Except maybe warm cake.

The first loaf was a flop. I didn't take a picture and threw it out after dinner. I made too small of a loaf for the pan and didn't add enough yeast. The second loaf was an onion bread that needed more onion. The third, and pictured below, was a honey oat bread made with buttermilk. It was so good. I didn't even wait for the machine to finish cooling it before I pulled it out and sliced off the top and smeared it with cold butter. Mmmm.

Now I'll admit this is still semi-homemade; I didn't do any kneading. And probably never will. It would simply be too much work for my liking. But I didn't use a mix and the bread was oh so good. I'm excited to try a carrot poppyseed loaf and a couple of other recipes.

I'm off to make toast!

Urgent Care

2011-01-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

We had our first visit to urgent care last night. At 5:00 pm I was feeding Lily right before I needed to leave for bible study. After finished she started getting blotchy and really red. Her eyes started swelling and getting watery. I, like any grown 30 year old woman would do, called my mother. After getting the third degree to determine if I had switched soaps, detergent, perfume, or lotion, I decided to call the nurse at 5:30. I waited on hold for about 40 minutes and finally hung up. I knew they would call me back but for whatever reason, it made me feel better to sit on hold. After her normal color started to return, I put her to bed. The nurse called back around 7:15 and made me wake her up to check on her. She then suggested we go to urgent care. I knew she would be fine but had that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that if I didn't go, something terrible would happen. So Kevin played along in my insanity and let me take her to Kaiser.

We walked in and the place was a zoo; crying, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, moaning children were everywhere. When we heard one of the receptionists tell a patient that it was at least an hour wait to see a doctor, Kevin and I just looked at each other. We knew we didn't want to wait around that long. However, our receptionist told us that because Lily was so young, we could go right in. We saw a doctor almost immediately. Of course she said she didn't know why it happened and she was fine now and to give her a tiny dose of Benedryl if it happened again. One strong possibility was it was something I ate and then passed along. Unfortunately, the only thing new I had yesterday was the red cinnamon candies I kept eating every time I walked by the candy dish. Which was a lot. So we came home and Kevin gave her a bottle that night. The next morning she woke up as if nothing had every happened. I, on the other hand, was tired from being up every couple of hours to check on her. By morning the swelling was completely gone and her color was back to normal.

Here are a few pictures of her blotchy face right after it happened. She looks exhausted and as if she had been crying for a long time; neither of which were true.

Her eyes were still a little swollen and watery when we got to urgent care at 8:00.

Daddy kept her entertained while we waited for the doctor.

The Best Advice

2011-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

I was reading Argyle and Apricots yesterday and was truly laughing out loud all by myself. Lori is an excellent writer and hysterical on top of it. She recently wrote a piece entitled "The Best Advice That I Ever Received: Wear A Bra." It got me thinking about the advice new mom's receive. Everyone has an opinion and us women love to share them them. But the two pieces that I have been very thankful for were given to me long before I was pregnant.

The first one came nonchalant. We were at dinner with our friends. They had brought their youngest who was around 5 months old. We had finished eating and Katie asked if we would be uncomfortable if she nursed him. We, of course, said we were fine. She went on to tell us that without meaning too, she didn't introduce Baby #2 to a bottle until too late in which he then refused. Her first son was bottle fed and Katie and Tim both got to take part in feeding their son. But she breastfed #2 and was stuck. She told me that she felt as though she had prevented her husband from being able to bond with #2 like he had been able to do with #1. And, it was harder to leave him knowing he would eat from a bottle. So when Lily was born, we introduced a bottle at around 5 or 6 weeks. Kevin would come home and give her an evening bottle allow her to get used to him, and he to her. We tried a couple of bottles and found one she liked only to switch again right before Christmas. Knowing that I could leave on Thursday evenings for my women's small group and see that Kevin and Lily were both comfortable with each other gave me such peace of mind. After the second week, I didn't even think about them until I was leaving to head back home. This of course was after Kevin realized she cries when she wants to go to sleep; "Why is she only happy for an hour and then starts yelling at me?"

The second piece was given before I was even dating Kevin but goes hand in hand with the first. Debbie and I were heading to a conference at the Master's College in Santa Clarita. We were talking about babies and raising children and she said to me "Let your husband hold the baby." At first I thought this was a little odd. Why wouldn't I let my husband hold the baby? But she went on to say that she, at times, was so wrapped up in caring for the child she never passed her son along so that her husband could bond and love on her son. Part of this came naturally. Kevin is a great dad and many times I have to tell him he cannot wake her up. But there are times when she is happy or we are out where I would prefer to hold her but I make sure to pass her along to Kevin.

I know that because I am breastfeeding, Kevin sometimes feels at a loss for how he can help. I often give him the diaper or change of clothes just so he has that much more interaction with her. He is often gone for work before she gets up and then home for about an hour before she goes back down. Which is why he is so excited to feed her the cereal in the evening. It's their time together. This also makes our weekends so much more precious. We may still be busy doing things, but we do them together.

I'm sure I have gleaned much more advice, but those are the first two I thought of in this new stage of motherhood. I am blessed to have a husband to partner with.

Mmmmm

2011-01-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Lily started cereal this week. She loved it! She gets so excited and says "Mmmmm" after every bite. One of the best things about moving to solid foods is that Kevin gets to participate more. He has given her bottles and she does really well but the spoon is a lot more fun. She is ready to eat as soon as Daddy walks in the door from work and won't take her eyes off of the bowl until she is full. We are learning that cereal is not a finger food and we don't do zerberts when we are finished!

Quitter

2011-01-17T16:53:00.001-08:00

Every year before Parent's Night at Hapgood Elementary School, Mrs. Heron asks her second grade class to pick the coloring picture of the job they want to have when they grow up. Coloring pages of Precious Moments are strewn upon the work table. The are boys in over sized firefighter and policemen hats, girls in nursing hats, and boys with stethoscopes around their necks. Little Rebekah picks the picture of the girl with her puppy and a mop; her hair is in a bandanna. Ultimately, it is the picture of a maid. But to Rebekah, it is the only picture that she could find to represent what she wants to be; an at home mommy.

I have always wanted to make a home and raise my babies . . . full-time . . . and nothing else. When Lily was first born we weren't sure this was going to be a reality for our new little family. It is not something that works for every family; both financially or for the sanity of a mommy. But it is something I've always wanted. In fact, on my very first date with Kevin I told him that all I've ever wanted to do was to be at home raising my children to love the Lord.

Through some planning, much prayer, and a wonderfully supportive husband, starting tomorrow I will be home with our Lily Bug.

I'm not going to lie, it was ultimately an easy decision. It was however, not easy to leave CBU. I came to Riverside in 1999 to attend California Baptist University and through a friend and my sister, I got a job as a student worker in the financial aid office. In January 2003, I started full-time as the receptionist, got stuck and somehow became the associate director. It is really the only place I have ever worked; except for the 6 weeks at the Cold Stone in Kihei, Maui. I like financial aid. I liked the technical side. I loved writing reports and sorting and filtering spreadsheets! But I love my husband and my daughter more and I am excited for what is to come.

I gave my notice on January 3rd, and this past Friday the ladies in the office gave me a beautiful send off. There was a small cake reception with a giant cake. Lots of people came by to give their well wishes. I felt so loved and appreciated.

I was given many cards and gifts; daisies with notes attached, calendars with notes on how to raise a God centered family, books, magazines for all my free time (in jest of course), and a basket full of homemaking and baking goodies.

Here is Kevin modeling my new apron and matching spatulas.

CBU is full of wonderful people, many of who I will miss, but the ladies of Financial Aid have been my world. In the past eight years I have finished school, gotten married, travelled the world, bought my first home, and started my family; and these women have celebrated each milestone with me. I love them dearly and will miss them terribly.

But new and exciting things are on their way. I am so excited to see what happens next!

Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley

2011-01-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

When I was little my grandfather would sing random songs in a deep (unnatural) baritone voice. He would draw out the words making the song much longer than it needed to be. One he used to sing all the time was a chorus that went as follows;

Oats, peas, beans and barley grow

Can you or I or anyone know

How oats, peas, beans and barley grow?

From inspiration from my sister and her 2011 resolutions, I decided it was time to eat up what was in my cupboards. I bought barley a while ago to put in beef soup and decided I needed to find a way to eat it up. I began looking at recipe websites and determined it was ultimately like cooking rice. Newbies beware, rice doubles, but barley quadruples. So I sauteed some onion and the barley in some butter (you must say butter in your best Paula Dean accent), and it in chicken broth and chopped mushrooms. It was so good! It didn't get gummy like rice does, and has such a nutty flavor.

This is not the most appetizing photo, but as I was eating my leftover barley for lunch today I had to take a picture to share with you. It was just as good, if not better, leftover the next day!

Next step is to try barley as a breakfast cereal. I saw something on it in my last Martha Stewart magazine. I just have to find the magazine now . . .

Granola

2011-01-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

As to my 2011 resolutions I made granola. I know it isn't difficult but these baby steps make me feel better about making things from scratch. I'm still working up to the cake and lasagna. With the amazing bulk bins at Winco my new favorite cereal is super cheap. The great thing about granola is it is different every time you make it. And because it isn't straight baking, I don't really have to follow a recipe or precisely measure anything. This one has oats, wheat germ, bran, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cranberries, and dried apples. It's more chewy than crunchy (I think due to the wheat germ and bran) and was wonderful on my vanilla yogurt this morning. I would even eat this with just milk! Mmmm.

Four Months

2011-01-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

I am nearly two weeks late with taking Lily's fourth month pictures but after a daily nagging from my sister, I finally took them. I want to post all of them but as I took about 40, I picked my favorite to show you.

Lily is now 13 lbs 7 ounces and 25 inches long. Tall and skinny with a tiny head and huge cheeks. She is finally starting to get rolls on her thighs. We have transitioned to some 6 month clothing mostly for her torso length. Her arms are still pretty short though and we have to roll up most of her sleeves. She does really well on her tummy but has rolled over only a few times; either she doesn't want to anymore, or has forgotten how. We might be getting closer as has found her feet and it sometimes causes her to tip sideways when on her back. Tummy time has greatly improved. She lays on her belly and raises her arms and legs up to look almost like she is swimming. Kevin calls it The Superman, but I think she looks more like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible where he is balancing over the desk stealing the files from the CIA. Either way she is hysterical. She smiles and talks a ton. She has actually become quite vocal including singing herself to sleep both in the car and in her crib. She still is a wonderful traveler and now we can go somewhere 15 minutes away without her immediately falling asleep.

Christmas was busy for us but she was a trooper re-energizing through 45 minute power naps both in her cousins bunk bed and the car seat.After Christmas I was able to get her on a really good schedule that works wonderfully with daycare. I wake her to eat at 7 am then she takes two bottles at day care. After work we come straight home for a 5:30 feeding then we get to play for an hour and hour and a half before bedtime at 7:00. She is going almost 4 hours between feedings but isn't ready to drop to four feedings for the day so we have reinstated the dream feed. She goes down for the night at 7 pm and I was semi-wake her at 9:45, after I am ready for bed, for her final feeding. She does really well and I am actually surprised at how well she actually eats for being half asleep. Then we are both out for the night. I love having a block of time with her after work.

We are enjoying every stage. We love to see her recognize us and smile across the room. We love the jabbers and singing. We like watching her splash in the bath, blow bubbles, and focus intently on her fist.

Oh, and remember my post on Pacifier and Thumbs? Yeah, I have no control. She is a thumb sucker. It's the only thing that soothes her into sleep. For right now her hand falls out after she falls asleep and she only does it when she is tired. Oh, well.

Resolutions

2011-01-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

I think when people say they don't like making resolutions they are either scared of looking foolish when they don't follow through, or they are afraid of change. I'm the first category. I don't want to tell people what I want to change or do differently because there is some form of accountability. What if someone asks me about a resolution in March and I have already given it up? Alas, below are a few of my resolutions for 2011.

Pray with my husband every night

Kevin and I used to pray together every evening when we were first married and somehow we just stopped. But about a month ago, we started it up again. As we lay in bed winding down and talking about our day we close in prayer. We pray for each other and for what is going on around us. We pray for our daughter and our future children. We pray for our families. This time has become so precious to me; I really do look forward to it each evening. I hope to keep up this routine through 2011. I'm excited to soon begin praying with Lily before she goes to bed.

Make more things from scratch

A friend and I used to joke about grinding our own wheat to bake our own bread, and although I don't plan to grind my own wheat, I am going to make bread! Well, sort of. Remember the bread machine crazy in the mid-nineties? No? Just my mom? My mom brought me down her bread machine to use for a while. I could probably do just as well with my Kitchen Aid mixer and oven, but with most of her kids gone, she doesn't use it all that often. I'll let you know how that adventure goes. Additionally, I have simply been wanting to make fewer boxed meals. I am determined to make a lasagna from scratch this year; something I have never done. I will not, however, be making my own noodles. Martha Stewart may be really cool and make tasty food, but she also has a full staff of employees to take care of everything else around her homes (plural.) I might even make my own sauce. . . I also want to make a cake from scratch. I think I was in high school before I realized that you could actually make a cake without a cake mix. Frosting still seems daunting to me, but I am up for the challenge. Baking was never my strong point; you have to actually measure the ingredients!

Get a library card

I have lived in Riverside for over ten years and have never applied for a library card. I love to read, I just don't make the time. Now that we don't have television I have a lot more time. I also want to make sure I get books to read to Lily. Already, she will sit in my or Kevin's lap and look at the pages of her books as we read to her. Some of my favorite family time growing up was when Mom or Dad would read a chapter a night from some of our favorite books; Ramona and Beezus, Number The Stars, Superfudge, and some book written from the view of a toddler named Sam. I can't wait to read them all to Lily.

2010 was a good year for us. God has blessed us in ways we didn't know possible; so much more that we ever expected. But I am excited to see how God uses us for His glory in 2011. I pray that we listen and are ready and willing when He calls.

Christmas Festivities

2010-12-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

We have been to a handful of parties and events this season, many of which I don't have pictures from. But because my blogs have turned into merely posting pictures for family to see, here are a few from December.

Us at Kevin's work Christmas Party.
Lily was the hit of the party; people Kevin didn't even know came up to talk to her.
After the Christmas Eve service at our new church building, we observed a Reed tradition of Mexican food for Christmas Eve. Grandma Peggy and Papa Rick came as well as Uncle David, Aunt Bethany and crew and four of the DeLeon bunch.

The day after Christmas we headed over to Kevin's sisters house to meet up with Kevin's parents and two sisters. Below are all three families.

Lily loves her new phone from her cousins. Anything that blinks and plays music usually has her attention.

On the 29th we celebrated Chritmas with the Reed family. We tried to get a picture with the three little ones . . . This is one of my favorites. Caleb was in awe of Lily's red dress and hair bow. She wanted nothing to do with him.

Unka Jon is one of Brendan's favorite people.

Daddy and Bug

We were so blessed once again by so many friends and family who continue to spoil our little girl. Thank you all for loving on us.

200

2010-12-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

For my 200th blog post I wanted to write something wonderful and amazing; but nothing came to mind. Life becomes more of the same and I enjoy the day in and day out. But as I looked at my calendar, I remembered that it was one year ago that we found out a baby was coming our way. You can read about it here. It was a great Christmas gift! When I began to look back at the posts from 2010, I realized I didn't post a lot of pictures of my growing belly (and face, and arms, and rear end . . .) Most of them were simply uploaded to Facebook. Below are most of the pictures we took of my changing shape.

By 10 weeks I could hardly wear my regular pants.

13 Weeks

19 Weeks in D.C.

17 Weeks and completely in maternity clothes

19 Weeks in Seattle for Easter

24 Weeks in Bakersfield for Mother's Day

28 Weeks

30 Weeks in Alaska

33 Weeks in Hubby's clothes

37 Weeks and barely fitting in maternity clothes

39 Weeks in the shirt that made me look like I was holding The Great Pumpkin

But no matter the weight gained (and lost - yippee!) it was all worth it for our little Bug.

Lily and Deacon

2010-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks, Lily has been hanging out with her buddy Deacon during the day. Apparently, it started out with lots of flirting. Big smiles with giggles while turning away and acting shy. But as the days went on, Lily wanted less and less to do with Deacon. According the Bethany, she began to shriek when he got too close. Deacon, being child number two, is very comfortable having other children around to look out. Lily, being an only child on the other hand, is not used to a shared space or someone else around for the majority of the time. It's good for her. Builds character.

I'm grateful Lily has a place to play everyday while Mommy goes to work.

I am even more grateful to have 2 weeks off from work to hang out with her during Christmas and the New Year!

Why I Love My Husband: Reason 286

2010-12-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

This summer and fall, Kevin and I have taken on new leadership roles in our church. For the first time in our marriage, we are doing ministry separately. It's been a challenge, mostly because of time commitments and while they don't overlap, it means we are apart different nights of the week. Both of us have recently "fallen" into our new roles. Kevin was approached to head up the parking team when Sandals Church moved to our temporary location at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. We knew this was a small step toward what was to come when we moved to our permanent location at Palmyrita Avenue. Through this small responsibility (which took a lot of prep work) Kevin has become one of the Men's Ministry Event Coordinators. (I'm not sure if that is the official title, but it describes what he does for the men's groups.) A few weeks ago during one of Kevin's Monday night meetings, one of the leaders brought in a panel of godly women to share about their marriage, and how their husbands were the spiritual leaders of their household.

Here are some of the questions they were asked.

Tell us how hour husband puts Christ first and at the center of your marriage.

Tell us how your husband makes you feel safe and secure in your marriage.

What are some of the practical things that your husband does that makes you know in your heart that you are the most important person in his life?

Tell us how your husband handles trials and adversity.

How has your husbands Faith led you to explore your Faith?

Tell us two of the most important things that your husband does the makes your marriage what it is today.

Tell us about your husbands spiritual disciplines and routines.

After listening to women share the positives and negatives about their husbands, Kevin asked me to answer the questions about him. Then he asked that I share the answers with him on our road trip to Sacramento. Talk about uncomfortable. When was the last time your husband asked you to be completely honest about how he was as a husband, father, and spiritual leader? He wanted to know where he is succeeding, and where he was falling short. I was completely honest. It was hard. I was able to be encouraging but was honest with where I struggle and where I would like to see changes. It was a great time of honesty and vulnerability, on both our parts. But as a warning, do not ask questions that you aren't prepared to hear the answer to or become defensive. I think Kevin was brave to ask these questions of his wife and sit patiently to hear her answers.

One thing I would like to share with you is where I have seen the most growth in Kevin. Kevin is a wonderful husband and a great father. But as I mentioned earlier, Kevin has taken on a new role at church. One of the things Kevin has taken on naturally, without being asked, is what he and I have dubbed "a connector of people." Kevin has met more guys at our church in the past 6 months than he has in the 4 years of our marriage. He is a listener. He hears the interests of people, their hurts and pains, their joys, their excitements, and what makes them unique. Then he begins introducing people to one another. When a guy shared with Kevin about his special needs daughter, he introduced him to another father in our church with a special needs son. He introduces people to each other who are in the same line of work. When someone is looking to get involved at church, he ropes them into his parking team. I have never seen Kevin more excited about what he does at church as when he saw pictures of his parking team hanging out together outside of Sunday mornings. I'm not sure what the official name of Kevin's gift would be, but he finds joy in helping other people find their connection to Sandals church. People are drawn to Kevin. If you ever meet him, you will immediately be labeled a friend; what he calls, a buddy. Kevin loves to ask questions; something his friends (and I) have often teased him about. But the questions are genuine, and he remembers the answers. I am very proud of Kevin's willingness to be used. I'm proud to be his wife.

Turkey Day

2010-12-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

We started our trip to Sacramento, as we started every road trip, with Sausage McMuffins with Egg. We loaded up all three of our children for the trek. Yes, we took our tiny puppies! They actually loved the car ride.
The trip which usually takes about 8 hours took closer to 10. The weather was bad and drivers weren't safe so there were tons of accidents. Close to Magic Mountain we were stopped for half an hour. We had no choice but to turn of the car and wait. Lily got a little restless but overall did wonderfully.

We had a great relaxing week but Thanksgiving was so much fun to have everyone around. Here I am with Bud. We went to his show on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. And even though it's not typically my scene, we had a nice time and it was a lot of fun to see Dogfood play. They put on a pretty good show.

My Grandma (Lily's G.G.)

Grammie got Lily a turkey book for Thanksgiving. She already likes books.

Her Thanksgiving jammies.

Lily and her Daddy

We had a really nice time. It was pretty cool and Pepa made a fire every night. We watched Toy Story 3 and I cried. We made Chex Mix and all kinds of goodies all week. Lily had a wonderful first Thanksgiving.

Rockin' and Rollin'

2010-12-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Lily has finally rolled over! She did it three times in a row and was able to catch one of them on film. But since last Friday, she hasn't done it again. But now we know she can do it. The second video she is jabbering to Cow; one of her favorite toys.

Three Months

2010-12-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

Lily turned three months on Thanksgiving but we didn't get our little pictures taken until this last week. And then when we got into our onesie and got the sticker on, we got just a couple of pictures, before she spit up on the sticker, pooped, and the then got fussy.

Here is the practice run picture in the crib, and one posed shot. Oh well, better luck at Christmas.

In other news, each stage becomes more enjoyable than the previous. She is holding her head up a lot more. She really enjoys the Bumbo, bright colors on the television, and any toy that makes noise. Aunt Rachel gave her a couple of jingle toys for the car seat, but we have been attaching them tons on places for her to bat at; she loves them. She is much better at tummy time, especially since we got her a mirror; Kevin calls her vain because she stares at herself. I'm not sure she knows that she is the baby staring back, but she lifts her head up and smiles at herself. Tummy-time isn't her favorite, she would prefer to sit up. She makes a lot of noise with gurgles, coos, and shrieks. She laughs some . . . for other people. . . apparently, I'm not very funny. She has found her hands, but doesn't really know how they work. She really just stares at her fists, or sucks on them and eventually gags herself.

I went back to work full-time, and it sucks. I hate not being there with her. I am fortunate enough to see her on my lunch break but I really miss being home everyday. It's harder emotionally than I thought it would be. The time I have with her is very limited in the evening, and almost non-existent in the morning. I am grateful she is in good hands, but it makes me cherish the weekends that much more.

Buddies

2010-12-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

Lily started daycare full-time this week. Monday was rough. Even though I love where she is at, it isn't with me. But she seems to enjoy herself. Below she is hanging out with her buddy (my adopted nephew) Deacon, born only seven weeks before Lily; even though he is twice as big as she is. Apparently they flirt all day long; taking long glances and smiling at each other. Here they are holding hands. As Kevin would say; Precious.

First Laugh

2010-11-28T18:16:00.001-08:00

It took three whole months but we finally got our first laugh on Friday. She has been smiling for weeks, but apparently nothing has been funny before now. Below is the video of Lily playing with Daddy.

One Week Down

2010-11-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

I made it. First week back to work is under my belt. It was nice to work only 30 hours. Unfortunately, I didn't really get a schedule down with Lily until Thursday. She can't really decide if she wants to go 3 or 4 hours between feedings. And just like her mama, she is not a cuddler. This means that she will not eat unless she is hungry. On Wednesday when I came home for lunch, she wasn't ready to eat, so she fought me. Grammie had to do another bottle that day.

She is ready to stretch between feedings, but not ready to drop a feeding. Thus, I have added back in an early morning feeding; 4:00 am to be precise. And then again at 7:00. It's fine though. Kevin gets up around the same time so I get to see him before he leaves. One day I may get up and go for a walk instead of going back to sleep for an hour and a half. But since the weather is getting colder, it's pretty unlikely. She will eventually drop a feeding and we'll be okay.

This week I am off of work so we'll be playing with the schedule a little more to find what works for both of us. My main goal is to be able to feed her on my lunch; it's one less bottle and pumping for the parties involved.

I personally did okay at work. Currently the days goes by pretty quickly. I don't feel the need yet to be around other "grown-ups"; I feel like I get enough adult interaction at the moment. I would prefer to be at home with Lily. But I didn't miss her as much as I thought I would, probably because I knew she was in excellent hands. On top of that I had some vacation time this week that I was looking forward to. We'll have to see how quickly the days and weeks go when I return from Thanksgiving.

Back to the Grind

2010-11-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

I went back to work today; sort of.

I was up at 5:45 am to feed her; a full 45 minutes before her typical eating time. But there was no putting her off this morning. She wakes up HUNGRY! So she ate and we played before work. I ate and she cooed. Then she talked to the ceiling fan while I finished getting ready. I put her back down for a nap just before I left for work. I packed my snacks, packed my pump, and grabbed a few snap shots to put in my office and I was out to door at 7:30.

My mom has come down from Sacramento this week to watch Lily for my first week back. Having Mom here is helping make the transition a little smoother. Additionally, I have been allowed to leave at 3:00 pm this week. This meant I was able to go home to feed her on my lunch and was home as she was woke up from her afternoon nap. She did great with her schedule and was an angel for Grandma.

Lily will be twelve weeks on Wednesday and I am grateful that I was able to take this much time. I have been able to learn some of her cues and work on getting her on a schedule that fit my work schedule. We spent time at home. We spent time with friends. We went shopping. We went for walks. We even took a trip up to see Grandma and Grandpa and the whole Sacramento gang.

It has been a glorious time off. But alas, duty calls, and I returned to my dark little office under the stairs with the 3 by 3 window that sits so high I can only see the sky. At least it was blue today. I can't really complain. The privacy of my office makes it convenient to pump. On top of that, I have all of next week off. And Christmas is just around the corner!

Bumbo

2010-11-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Lily is holding her head up more and more. Today as she sat in my bent knees, she kept leaning forward to sit up. We went downstairs and busted out the Bumbo. She loved it!

Why I Love My Husband: Reason #143

2010-11-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy 24 hours. Last night before we went to sleep I told Kevin my stomach hurt. At midnight I woke up with a crazy fever knowing that I was going to throw up. And I did; a couple of times. I ran a fever most of the night. At 3:00 am, Kevin sent an email to his work letting them know that he wouldn't make it in to work. He stayed home to take care of me and Bug today. He brought her to me when she needed to eat. I'm so weak, I couldn't hardly life her. Kevin helped me prop her up and even gave her the afternoon feeding so I could sleep. He played with her and put her back down for a nap. He went and got me Gatorade and crackers. He has been an all around amazing husband and dad. I never would have made it today without him. I've been in bed all day and Kevin has taken care of everything.

I love seeing Kevin with Lily. He loves her so much, it makes me love him that much more.

First Halloween

2010-11-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

On Friday, October 29, Lily wore her Halloween outfit to have lunch with Aunt Rachel at CBU. It's not real something she can wear until she grows out of it, so I wanted to make sure she got at least two uses. She, of course, wore it to church in the 31st as well.

Lily loves her play mat. She is learning that her actions have a reaction. She loves to kick and the noises that the toys make. She can't grab the toys yet but she bats like crazy at them. It's fun to see how quickly she changes.

Sunday night was Trunk or Treat at church, and although Lily was a little too young, I was excited to see Brendan get candy.

Brendan was a little Zoo Keeper with his monkey, lion, and bear.

It was close to Lily's nap time, so we ended up taking most of the pictures with the pacifier. Caleb was nice enough to hold Lily's hand to make her feel better.

Kevin worked the parking for the nearly 5,000 people that came to Trunk or Treat but found us for a quick photo.

Two Months

2010-10-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Lily is two months! She is changing daily and we are having a blast. She (or Mommy) has regulated her schedule a little more the past couple of weeks. She is doing better with her naps now that I realized she was under fed and over stimulated. She was spitting up so much the first month I thought she was overeating, but when I made sure she got a full feeding she napped longer. Additionally, I found that if we wind down from play time before a nap, she goes down better. I lay her down for her naps and for the most part she goes right to sleep. I also found I have to put her upstairs for a nap. I was trying to keep her down her and force her to get used to sleeping through noise. But found she naps deeper and longer upstairs. I put the fan and some music on and I can do stuff in her room without her waking up, but this way she isn't startled by the dishes, or the washer, or the puppies. Unfortunately, I started a terrible habit, and she won't fall asleep without her pacifier. But it was the pacifier or her thumb. Luckily, we have moved to just using the pacifier for naps. She doesn't need it during the day or when she goes to sleep at night.

Speaking of nighttime, Lily has slept through the night for all but one night this week. She goes down about 9:00 and sleeps until 5:00 or 6:00, depending on when Kevin gets up in the morning. It has been wonderful! With all the middle of the night pregnancy peeing, it has been almost a year since I have slept through the night. It may be a phase, and may change when she hits a growth spurt, but I am soaking it up.

She had her two month appointment on Tuesday, which means she received three shots. My poor baby! I don't think I have seen real tears on her before then. But Mommy didn't cry. She ran a fever on Tuesday and slept a lot, so when Wednesday rolled around, I figured we were in the clear. By 3:00, she was acting like she was hungry, sucking on her fist, my arm, my neck, but refused to eat. I let her nap and she did the same thing at 6:00 and again at 9:00 that evening. By this time I was really worried. She was still running a slight fever, but hates the baby medicine. Why is infant medicine cherry flavored? Babies have not had anything but milk for close to six months so why would you flavor it? She slept off the fever with almost a full night of sleep (until 4:00 am) and then picked up on Thursday like nothing had happened.

Lily is 23.5 inches long and now weighs 11 pounds, 5 ounces; 85th percentile for height but only 50th percentile for weight. She hasn't gained a ton of weight even though she was good size when she was born. But she continues to grow and doc said she is healthy. Her chubby cheeks make her look bigger than she is, but her legs are pretty skinny. She is finally starting to get some rolls on her thighs. She is really long in the torso. Most sleepers are really tight in the snaps, but have extra length in the legs. Clothes are often falling off the shoulders or have extra room around the middle even when I can barely snap them closed.

She smiles a lot more and coos a lot! It's in the back of her throat and she sounds a little like Chewbacca. It makes me laugh and she coos even more. She is kicking more determinedly now. She like that the play mat charms jingle when she kicks them. She tracks really well and watches me walk around the kitchen. We usually hang out in the kitchen in the morning doing dishes from the night before, making breakfast, and doing some baking. Tummy time still isn't her favorite but she tolerates it and she is getting a really strong neck. It's all happening so fast!

Here are a few pictures from this week. Mommy waited a little too close to nap time to take pictures so we didn't get a real smile.

School Is In Session

2010-10-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday my sister threw her best friend a baby shower and I got to help out. As I have mentioned before we love to throw parties. Rachel is wonderfully creative and we often feed off of each other with ideas. This shower was a Back to School theme. Tawni is a fourth grade elementary school teacher and loved the idea.

Below are some of the photos from the day.

Rachel made the invitations to look like a chalkboard and the inside warned guests not to be tardy.

I made the flower vases using water bottles, crayons, and a little hot glue.

The schedule was displayed for the guests to see when they arrived.

We had carrots and dip for snack time.

Rachel put alphabet paper and buses on mini water bottles.

We served lunch in paper bags with each guests name on it; peanut butter and jelly, go-gurt, chips, apple slices, and a little can of coke.

Tawni opened gifts during Show and Tell. This is Tawni's second boy, so I wrote a little poem for the inviation:

As Tawni prepares to raise two boys,
She does not need many clothes or toys.
For items she needs just take a look,
But when in doubt just bring a book!
Animals that talk and history too,
Any storybook with pictures will do.
Let's fill up the shelf with books they need,
To teach the little ones to love to read!

Rachel did a great job with dessert. We put out a platter of cookies and she served milk in mini milk bottles with striped straws.

Below is by far my favorite thing at the shower. Rachel made alphabet flash cards to display. Now granted, she will eventually use them in Caleb's bedroom, but they were a great addition to the party. She once again used her trusty Cricket machine. The Cricket may be nifty and handy, but it sure doesn't make things quicker. I know this project took quite a while.

I loved them so much, I have asked Rachel to make Lily a set for Christmas.

To thank each guest for coming, we sent each one home with a homemade carmel apple.

Congratulations Tawni - we can't wait to hear the name you have chosen for your second little blessing.

Family Dinner

2010-10-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

While visiting my parents we had a big family dinner for everyone to see the little ones and visit. Mom made a wonderful feast and Grandma (G.G.) and Grandpa came over as well as my brother.

Here is Uncle Bud, a.k.a J. Thomas, a.k.a. Jeff, a.k.a. J.T., a.k.a Jeffrey Dogfood, with Lily. The profound statement of the night was when Bud said, "Babies are so . . . little."

Mom at Dinner
Lily hung out in the corner in her I Heart Grandma and Grandpa outfit.

Caleb might be the happiest, most easy going baby I have ever met.

Grandma holding Lily.

After dinner we broke out the old slide projector and laughed as we looked back into our childhood.

The picture above is from Bud's first birthday.

Next time we get together we are going to bust out the old home videos.

First Plane Ride

2010-10-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

This last week Rachel and I took our little ones, three total, up to Sacramento . . . via airplane. We went back and forth trying to decide if we should drive or fly up. Both options had pros and cons. But airline tickets went on sale and we decided that the amount of time saved on the drive, especially with stopping to feed and letting a 2 year old stretch his legs, would be worth the price of tickets.

Just a word to any flying moms, you have to verify your child's age. I thought if she was on my lap, and by the size of my daughter, you could tell she was under two years of age. If my sister hadn't prepared me, I would have missed my flight. We took our birth certificates with us and were fine but you can also bring your immunization card. Which made me feel like I was bringing my dog along and had to verify she had had all of her shots.

I'm usually a pretty calm flyer, but I was really nervous about getting all of our things and children through the airport. However, it was a Tuesday, and the airport was relatively empty. Security was pretty easy, except when they tried to put Rachel's double stroller through the x-ray machine. It's pretty big and we have dubbed it "The Limo". The Limo holds both infant seats so we got a lot of questions about twins.

All three kiddos did wonderful on the flight. Rachel and I each carried our babies in slings for the flight up, but the flight home wasn't full and everyone got their own seat.

Brendan watching Mickey in the airport waiting for the plane.

Lily and Caleb stretching out before they napped in the slings.

All smiles waiting for the plane.

Lily with her scrunched up neck - I promise she is cute in real life.

I love this picture even though it is blurry. It shows how in the move Brendan is . . . all of the time. But he did amazingly on the plane.

Caleb in his seat.

Lily was an excellent passenger. She slept the entire time.

Mommyhood

2010-10-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister asked me if I thought being a mom was hard. At first thought, my answer is “No, it's not hard.” But my follow up to that is that it is by no means easy. In 6 short weeks my life has completely changed. I will never just grab my keys and purse and run. Even if I am not taking Lily with me, I make sure everything is settled and in order. I do a load (if not two or three) of laundry every day whereas I used to only do laundry on the weekend. Kevin and I have each been pooped on a handful of times in the past few weeks. Even cleaning house has become completely different. I no longer do the whole house in one day. I am cleaning every day simply because I only have the option to do a piece at a time. I didn't not realize how interactive I would need (or want) to be with her. She and I sit on the floor talking and giggling. Even when she is on the counter while I wash dishes, I move slower because I talk to her as I move about.

I am not new to babies. I was fourteen when my brother was born and I clearly remember helping out with baby stuff. I have babysat children and nieces and nephews for years. I knew how to hold babies, and change them, and heat a bottle, and swaddle them. What I was not prepared for was parenting issues. Pacifier, thumb, or nothing? How long do I let her cry it out? Do I even want to let her cry it out? What do I do when she hates tummy time? Do I want to choose when she naps or just let her indicate to me when she is tired? Is it too early to set a routine? Do I want to do straight breast milk or include formula? How long do I want to breast feed? Questions that have no right answer.

When I discussed the idea of “Mommying” being hard with a friend, she asked me about the difficult questions or situations that had already come up; such as the spitting up incidents and me freaking out a little (or a lot). But the thing is Mommying can be like my other job; things come up that are trying, or difficult, and may make me cry, but I wouldn't describe my other job as hard. But both jobs, Mommying and Financial Aid, each have a learning curve with trying situations that I don't always know the answer to.

My Mother-In-Law told me the other day that I was calm and at very at ease (maybe even graceful) and that this rubbed off on Lily. My doctor said the same thing this week. I would never describe myself this way (and I don't think Kevin would either) but I have to admit I think I am a lot more relaxed than I was 10 years ago. I have mentioned God's perfect timing many times, but I think God has been preparing me for parenthood for the past few years. Relaxing me a little and calming my spirit. A few years ago my friend Katie told me that you can't be selfish as a mom. Your time, body, emotions, and possessions are no longer your own. I think she even mentioned she couldn't even remember that last time she had her own ice cream without having to share. I'm not old, but I'm not as young as I once was and I think it has helped me to ease into having Lily around and not freaking out every day (just occasionally.)

Additionally, I'm not doing this alone. Kevin is a great daddy who absolutely loves his little girl. He scoops her up every minute he can. They have Daddy Date Nights on Thursday evenings and even though it hasn't gone as smoothly as he would have liked, I have never received a phone call or text in panic. He wants to learn about babies and wants desperately to be close to his daughter. Beyond my amazing support at home, I am surrounded by great mommies. This is, again, where God's timing is not my own. My sister and best friend were one of the firsts of their friends to have kids, which means they didn't have a huge support network that they could call on to say “Hey, what do you do when . . .” I probably text my mom, Rachel, or Bethany daily to ask an opinion and advice. Sometimes I ask all three just to hear different opinions.

I don't always know what I am doing, but hey, what firstborn child wasn't the Guinea pig of their parents parenting. I turned out okay (in my opinion.) But without the support of my husband and the godly mothers I surround myself with, this would probably be a lot harder. I am blessed by these women.

October 4

2010-10-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today this Mommy decided she needed to move a little more. I bundled Lily up and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice a cool today; much different than the 113 we had last Monday. We did two laps which should be close to two miles, maybe a little less. Lily does really well in the stroller. She looks around for a while and then dozes off for a while; she is really content most of the time.

After our walk (and morning nap) Lily got a bath. Her hair is starting to fall out, starting with the front first. Thus, her hair does funny things. Today I think she looked like a Kewpie Doll.

This afternoon she hung out with Grandma Peggy (I don't have any pictures) while I went to the doctor. Grandma was holding her when I left, and was holding her in the same chair when I returned. She swears she didn't hold her the whole time, although I know she would have liked to.

Then this evening, Lily helped me make enchiladas. Again, she hangs out in the chair really well. Today though, she started talking back to me. I'm sure I sound like a crazy person explaining to a five week old how to make enchiladas, but it is apparently working since she is beginning to babble back at me.

We have fun together.

Pacifiers and Thumbs

2010-10-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I put out the question to a few friends about pacifiers. There are multiple theories but the pacifier has been great for us. At about 2 or 3 weeks, Lily really wanted to suck even though she wasn't hungry. After trying a couple, we found one that worked; it soothed and helped her fall asleep. Now in week 5, she cries when it falls out of her mouth as she is falling asleep. So the question came, do I keep putting the pacifier back in when she cries, or do I let her learn to soothe herself and put herself to sleep? I chose to put the pacifier back in; mostly for my sanity.

The next morning, I found that she had pulled her arms out of the swaddle, and was sucking on her thumb. Not her fist, but her actual thumb.

Now I have to decide if I want to let her soothe herself with her thumb, and break the habit later, or continue with the pacifier knowing that I may need to put it back in, but it means she isn't sucking her thumb. Thumbs are cute, they always have it with them, and it doesn't drop on the ground and get dirty. However, I am a perfect example that thumb sucking can lead to expensive dental work - I had to have braces to fix my severe overbite due (in part) to my thumbsucking.

Later in the day, however, I watched her bring her fist up to her mouth and knock the pacifer out so she could put her thumb in. This decision may not be so cut and dry.

Later she tried desperately to get to her thumb. We took a short video for Pe-Pa who often feels he gets left out with the pix messages.

We'll see what happens.

Walks With Daddy

2010-09-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

My mom came to stay with me for three weeks for Lily's birth. She was a great coach and an amazing wife; she cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and stocked my freezer. After she left, Kevin took another week off of work for "bonding". We mostly hung out at home just staring at our beautiful blessing. We ran a few errands, and took walks with the boys in the evening.

One morning we heading over to Fairmount Park. The park has undergone some major renovations the past few years and with its playgrounds, three lakes, ducks, geese, and lots of trees, it made for a great morning walk. I grabbed some waters and snacks and we headed out and walked around the lakes. It was a wonderful morning.

Lily does wonderfully in the stroller. Sometimes she sleeps, as pictured below, but often she just hangs out looking at the world.

On Saturday, Kevin went back to the park for a Daddy and Me day. Although Lily was too small to play she went along. Kevin went early for set up and I dropped her off around 10. Then I went out for coffee and came back to the house to make brownies for a friend. Even though I was only doing things I would normally do with Lily around, I moved much quicker and enjoyed my alone time. Kevin is a good Daddy and loves to show her off.

One Month

2010-09-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Lily has been with us for a month now. She is a great eater and is becoming a better sleeper. Last night she was only up twice - 2:00 and 5:00. This mama was super excited. She travels well often sleeping in her car seat. She hangs out in her swing and doesn't even flinch as I vacuum around her. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen in the bouncer often staring out the window. Lily has grown quite fast and is really long; she was only able to wear her newborn size clothes for two weeks. Unfortunately, the 3 month size clothing is really wide.

Mom was here for the first two weeks, and Kevin took off of work for one, so last week was our first week together finding our routine. Only to find, we can't find a routine. It's not bad, but we are still trying to find what works, and when I can get a nap. We also still have a lot of people coming in and out. It's not bad, I love having visitors, it just makes everyday different. But Lily is a great baby and really goes with the flow (she gets it from her daddy). We are enjoying each other.

We had our first check-up appointment on Monday and she was 10 pounds 2 ounces. Mommy was a little worried about the amount that Lily was spitting up but Doc assured us it was normal and because Lily was gaining weight she was fine.

Aunt Rachel bought Lily some stickers for us to document each month of Lily's growth. Below are two of my favorites.

Our new "trick" this month is the smile so I had to give you one of my favorites.

Football Sunday with Lily

2010-09-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

As we do every fall, we headed over to the Iacono's for football Sunday. This year, there were three of us. Kevin took care of Lily most of the time, but she, of course, was cuddled by Steve's mom and Grandma.

Kevin, in fantasy style, had his phone and two computers up and ready. Lily just went with the flow.

She cuddled up with a proud Daddy for kickoff.
And hung out in the travel bed from Grandma for the rest of the afternoon.

Grands and Greats

2010-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Gramie with Lily at the hospital

Pe-Pa as named by Brendan (the first grandchild)
Grandma Peggy holding her seventh grandchild

We didn't get any pictures of Grandpa Denny holding Lily but here he is with Kevin looking at baby pictures of Kevin

Great-Aunt Benita

Great-Grandmother AKA Mimi as named by her first grandchild (me)