Kashi, How I Love Thee

Kashi, if you'd like to send my child some samples of your fabulous products, we would be more than happy to help her eat them. 

She has recently discovered the joy of a bowl of milk and cereal. She's her Daddy's girl. 

I Love Vinegar

As I have said before, it is berry season. Blackberries grow abundantly in my little backyard and they are sweeter than anything I have ever bought from a store. Just a couple more weeks and we will be able to go blueberry picking. 

Baby girl could eat her weight in berries, but the big problem is the juice. And the subsequent stains on all of baby girl's shirts. Or pants. Or socks. Yeah, this kid is a little messy. Takes right after her mama. 

While many of her outfits are play clothes that she can get dirty in, I still want to be able to get the stains out, but the berry stains were baffling me. You all have probably already figured this out, but I just solved the berry situation. 

Put a pile (not too huge, just enough to cover the stain) of baking soda on the berry mark then douse it thoroughly with vinegar. I generally try to make it bubble up at least twice. Leave it for about 15 minutes, then rinse with cold water and wash in a cold load. If it doesn't come out, try another dose. I find once usually does the trick, but twice will definitely fix it. 

Plus, if it is on white cloth, you can also leave it in the sun to bleach out. Another benefit of line drying. 

This Thursday, I love vinegar & baking soda solutions! What do you love today? 

Strawberry Summer

There's nothing better in the summer than fresh strawberry shortcake. It tastes even sweeter when your baby girl helps you make the biscuits. She poured the flour, baking powder and salt then helped me roll out the dough and cut it into little heart shapes. 

It was so tasty. 

So tasty, in fact, that I might have to eat more tomorrow and the day after and the day after that. 

My kid drives me crazy sometimes. We all know the unnecessary whining, the spontaneous tantrum on the floor, the kicking and twisting while trying to change an excessively messy diaper, or the refusal to eat anything but a stick of cheese and a pickle. 

Then there are the sweet times. She runs over to give me a pucker kiss when I ask for one. A great song comes on and she dances in a circle holding hands with her baby doll. The times when a new word comes out unexpectedly and used correctly. Like elbow. Who knew elbow would sound so cute? And truthfully, she points more at her wrist, but it's close. 

But sometimes I am just baffled by this little girlie. I've come to the conclusion that she actually likes napping. If it's just the right time (and I do have to time it perfectly) all I have to do is suggest that it might be nap time and she stands up from playing, waves goodbye to everything (every. thing.) in the room and heads off upstairs. We collect a blanket and a stuffed friend and I plunk her down in the crib and that is that. I think this could be one of my favorite attributes of hers. It's so sweet. 

And yeah, it's also great for getting things done or reading a book. 

Because I Miss My Baby Girl

Mama said I could have just ONE cookie.

Hi there. I'm cute. And sweet. And full of smiles. And my mama misses me. Sigh. 

Also, randomly and because I loved this picture, I had great flowers this spring. My peonies bloomed so big and bright and beautiful. They were so big I brought in several vases full and still  had to send bouquets home with friends! 

The summer daisies and echinacea and black-eyed-susans are about to bloom as well. But I'm confuse

d by two mum plants. Blossomed already!? Usually my mums don't pop until September at the earliest. Crazy. 

Aaaand one more sweet baby face. With some type of food on it. The girl likes to eat, what can I say. 

Love you, baby girl. Can't wait to be able to hug you again. 

Things I Love Thursday - Drugs, Music, Men

Surgery went well yesterday. I overheard the nurses talking about me while I was recovering and they said it was the usual and I was very healthy and should recover well. All in all, I was only at the hospital for a little over six hours. 

I definitely loved the morphine the most. Not to mention a friend loaded up my ipod with Morphine tunes which were absolutely perfect for recovery. Relaxing, chill and ironic. I also love being on staff with a bunch of great guys who give me great tunes. They are always up on the good stuff. 

I'm down to a lower dose of vicodin. Now, I love me pain meds as much as the next girl, but I hate, hate, hate the dizzy feeling. So I'm on a bunch of ibuprofen with a vicodin kicker. 

God knew what He was doing when He invented drugs. All power to those of you who went without them in labor, but me likee the epidural. My belly is sore and "pinchy" feeling and yet I feel good otherwise. Thank you, prescription AND over the counter pain-killers. Thank you. 

Also, my husband came out of CVS last night with a bag of dark chocolate Ghirardelli squares. He said that was written on my prescription as well. I love that man. 

Two More Days

It always seems that everyone is looking forward to something. Vacation, a visit from a friend, getting married, having a baby, starting a new job, quitting a job, when the economy turns around, etc. 

I have two days left during which I will still have all of my internal organs. This Wednesday, I'm going in to get rid of a faulty gallbladder. 

Personally, while I'm not nervous about it yet, I am really looking forward to not feeling sick anymore. My fingers are crossed and I am praying that this will fix the problem. They haven't given me a time yet, but if you can pray on Wednesday that it's quick and I recover relatively easily, I would greatly appreciate it!

Besides, who needs a silly gallbladder anyway?

Little Things

Some days I feel like the to-do list grows while I'm not looking and even when I can check most things off, there is a whole other list somewhere that I wasn't paying attention to. Anyone else, or is it just me? 

Anyway, the past few days have felt like that. I have bills to pay and laundry to do. Dishes to wash. But then I discover a mouse (in a house with a cat, no less!) has been living in one of my cupboards so there are things to be thrown away and everything on those shelves must be washed. Ick. So this means three or four loads of dishes along with regular dishes and things all over my counters in the meanwhile. 

I'm not the most tidy of people, but I hate a cluttered countertop. It seemed as though every time I would get one part finished, something else would come up. Like eating. And feeding my family. Sheesh. 

Then there is the garden which is getting choked out by weeds. But the sun is so blazing hot I can hardly fathom going out there for longer than it takes to water the plants. At least when I'm watering, I can spritz myself a little bit. 

Yesterday I was able to get a couple little sewing projects done. Hemmed some pants for a friend, made a tiny diaper for my girlie's baby doll and then shortened a pair of pants so I could have cute, knee-length shorts. I have been ogling this length of short until I realized I had an extra pair of brown pants that would be perfect. 

This morning I got the bills paid and the checkbook balanced. No more shopping until next week. Thankfully, we are pretty well stocked up and can root in the freezer for several days. Baby girl just needs milk. 

Now I'd better head down to wash the diapers and get started on some more dishes. And probably a pot of coffee while I'm at it. 

What's your to-do list for today?

Oreos

Oreo from Anne on Vimeo.

Gender Neutral

Cars are a big favorite right now. I picked up a bag of five little cars at a garage sale last week for .50 and she has been playing with them every day since. 

(Also, while I'm on the topic, can I just reiterate how much I love garage sales? Because I really do. We got new-in-the-box Pottery Barn curtain rods that we needed for the attic, two lattices for my plants for $2, a fabulous backyard playset (like this, but different), a baby doll stroller and swing, ($1 each!) books and a bunch of clothing for winter and for Randi's soon-to-be-seen cousin. Whew. The only bummer is that there is nothing I need to get at sales for the rest of the summer. Not that that will keep me from stopping. Who knows what gems are to be found!)

Fortunately, while baby girl loves playing with her trucks, she also likes rooting through mama's purse and toting around her baby doll. The new doll stroller was a smash hit, to the point that when she has friends over she will not share this toy. Any other toy can be shared with no problem, but she will literally shove a kid out of her way to get the stroller back. We're working on that...

Here's to a Lifetime

This is seriously one of the best things that I have seen in a long time. It's a few minutes long, but well worth the watch. I literally teared up from how fabulous it was. I love that there are groups out there doing this kind of thing. 

Best Surprise Ever

I think this is going to keep me smiling for the rest of the day.

Project Central

It has been busy around here. Since we decided last week that it would be in everyone's best interests to stay home from travel this week, we have been getting some work done around the house. Not too much, mind you it's still our vacation, but some. 

In an older home, there are always weird quirks that one must accommodate. Old, questionable wiring shouldn't be one of those things. Therefore, my handy dandy man redid all of the electrical for the first floor in preparation for finishing the rest of the basement. I can now plug in a three-pronged plug without having to use one of those annoying adapters. I can't tell you how irritating that has been and how thankful I am now that there is no fear of blowing the house up. At least not from the first floor electrical. 

Frankly, this is going to be a very long process. The Studio is moving to the basement once it is  finished. The Playroom (currently the living room, dining room, porch and kitchen) will be the former studio once it is painted and storage installed. Our Bedroom will move up into the Master Suite of the attic once that is re-insulated, drywalled, painted, built-in cabinets installed, closets walled in and carpet laid. The current sewing room will move one room over to where our bedroom is now and that room will become the next Nursery. (No. I am not announcing anything. Do you see how long that list is? Do you also see how this is the last item on the list? Yeah, no announcements anytime soon, believe me.)

But I'm so excited about this process. While I, as much as anyone, hate the mess and the chaos and the expense and the fatigue and the stress that a huge (HUGE) home project creates, I look forward to how much more practical the set up will be and how much more organized it will be as well. We're taking it relatively slow and easy as our budget and time allows. We've been saving for a while and scrimping the extra bits that come along to make this thing happen. 

It will be so nice to be able to shut all the dang toys away in one room. Right now the Farm and the Zoo and the Circus train are taking up residence in the play Kitchen right next to two wheeled wagons full of blocks and stuffed animals. 

At any rate, now that the electrical is done, the next steps are the walls of the basement. He is already kicking it into gear. Here you see the before shot. Pretty much just some blue walls and a lot of mess. Basements are like that. 

And here you will see some framing. Along with a bit more mess. I'm told it will only get worse before it gets any better. This week we buy some insulated, sound-reducing doors. We'll see how much of that noise we can contain down there. 

 My main job is pretty much just occupying the kiddo whilst the sawing and drilling and hammering go on. And a bit of gardening on the side. Ok, a lot of gardening. The weather has been perfect for it. Not too hot, not too cold. Goldilocks weather. Here's hoping my tummy stays in decent enough shape to finish what I have to do. 

What have you been up to lately? 

More Waiting

Many thanks to all of you who I know were thinking and praying for me this past Tuesday. It meant so much to know you were behind me and I had no anxiety going into the test. 

Plus, I was highly impressed with the hospital that I went to as they were extremely busy, it being the day after a holiday. However, rather than being called like a number from the door across the waiting room, the ultrasound tech walked all the way over to me, right up to my chair and asked if I was her next patient. Impressive. 

I'm sure they have a clothing identification system entered by the registration person,

 but it was very friendly and very professional. I was impressed to say the least of being set at ease. 

She took a half hour and carefully got all the pictures of my abdomen that she needed and said they would call after the radiologist had read the report and given it to my doctor. Hopefully by Friday or Monday, she said. Argh. We had been planning on going to New York this coming week and I would have liked to know something before we left. 

Fortunately, I got a call Wednesday (another yucky-feeling day) from the nurse at my regular office that the radiologist had seen a polyp on my gallbladder. Also that they would be referring me to a gastro-intestinal specialist and would call me soon with an appointment. Yesterday they called to offer July 1st. I immediately said that that wouldn't work as I was having problems right NOW and need to see someone sooner! She was going to try another office and I haven't heard yet what the plan is. Sigh. 

From a bit of online research, I discovered that this seems to mean that it will be pretty likely that they will take my lovely little gb out. It's outpatient surgery and I'll need to be careful about what I eat afterwards to digest more easily. I'm ok with this. I'm ready for it to get taken care of NOW. It's just irritating to feel sick after every single meal. 

In the meanwhile, here's a cute picture of my kid in her jammies and jellies. It makes me feel better. 

Tall-ish

This is baby bug's favorite stance. It's partly a "pick-me-up-now," partly "look-how-big-I-am!" This little stinker keeps growing. 

Blood work confirms that there is definitely no baby swimming in my belly, but I'm going in Tuesday for an ultrasound of the rest of my guts. I'm ready to not be sick anymore. There was more nastiness last week and it seriously wipes me out for several days. It's especially frustrating as I feel like I have the summer itch to get things done around here. 

So, if you think about it tomorrow, please pray that they will find something usefully and fixable round about 10 am. Thanks. 

OK, So Maybe a Little Spoiled

Garage sale season is upon us. Not only am I a pro at sale-ing, but it is simply one of my favorite summertime activities. I save my singles and change for weeks and get my best bargain-hunting, price-haggling game ready. 

I keep my eyes open for books I'm missing in a series or a favorite author. In past years, I've found the exact ceiling fan I had wanted from the local home store. I can spot a good sale from the street and conversely try to avoid the sparse ones with a slow drive-by. 

This Friday baby girl and I are heading out with a friend to take advantage of a few prime neighborhood sales. 

In chatting with a coworker last week, I discovered that she was participating in one of these upcoming sales. She mentioned she was getting rid of her kids' old play kitchen. 

My ears immediately perked up as my kiddo has loved playing with kitchens when she's been around them. Without hesitation, I told her we would buy it and pick it up before her sale so it would already be out of the way. Andy stopped by and got it tonight on his way home from work. Randall's face when she saw this thing come through the door was ecstatic. Here, she's making her motion for "love" after I asked her if she loved her new kitchen. She hugged her arms to herself and rocked back and forth like she would if she were holding her baby doll. 

Kiddo almost forgot to eat dinner she had so much fun with her new toy. 

Truly

We spent at least half an hour this evening sitting and lying on the floor laughing at our daughter. She ran in circles around me, crawled over my legs, performed her first somersault and fell down frequently. She pulled out my phone and proceeded to talk in "phone voice" to someone on the other end. She carried around a little basket and laughed uproariously as she swung it to and fro. She scrambled about on the living room rug in just a diaper while we filled in her squeaks and squawks with ridiculous commentary. She ran away with some toy and then ran back to give her daddy a kiss. Without prompting. She gave some solid high-five slaps. She giggled away as we tried to tickle her belly. 

The joys of parenting. 

The Essence of Random

Last week we went on the Mayor's Bike ride around the park. Randall got a brand new bike helmet and climbed immediately into her little bike trailer. She settled in comfortably, holding onto the straps and eating from her bag of snacks. After riding only two miles, she was ready for dinner and my legs were burning. It's definitely the beginning of the season. I have got to get myself in shape.

She is her mama's daughter and loves to play in the dirt. I give her a tub of dirt and a little shovel and she's happy to dig and carry rocks around the yard while I hang clothes on the line or pull weeds in attempts to get the garden ready. 

My clothes line has been wearing out and I decided to replace the braided rope with plastic for hopefully better longevity. The best part about getting new line hung is that Andy did it in such a way that I now have four rows instead of just two. I can potentially get several loads of laundry hung as opposed to a single one. Plus, I have a drying rack that I put out for small things like towels and bibs. There always seem to be a lot of those in the wash. 

I've been sick a lot lately. Nauseated so often a day that I would swear I'm pregnant, except that I'm not. There are no flu symptoms except that I've been exceedingly sick two times in as many weeks. I'm pretty sure I've lost a couple pounds in the process. Something has got to be wrong with me. If it were the flu, the rest of my family would have caught it as well. Ugh. 

This week I have plenty of work to do, gardening to get done and bike rides to go on. Hopefully I can hold onto my lunch in the meanwhile. 

Problem Solver

My child, like many of her age, often doesn't want to eat. Or at least, she doesn't want to eat happily. And of course, she doesn't want to eat what I prepare her. Not to mention, she doesn't want to eat the other 16 things I subsequently offer. 

She is recently enamored with her tongue.  Sticking it out, moving it around, grabbing it (and thusly grabbing our tongues) have become favorite past times of our little munchkin. Therefore, it is all the more important that I convince her to actually keep her food in her mouth and get it down to her tummy. Otherwise, we all know what kind of mess will ensue. (a big one, in case you weren't sure)

Fortunately, I have found a solution. That works for my kid. That works right now. (see, we all know that every kid is totally and completely different and that nothing that works now will work again later. silly babies.)

Toys. Duh, right? Give a kid toys and they will be happy. I hand over a couple small cups with lids or random kitchen utensil and she will put the lids on and take them off and swish things around while I surreptitiously cram everything I can into her little mouth. If she looks up and see that I am indeed feeding her, I hurriedly spoon in one of her favorites like applesauce or hummus. 

"See? I've been giving you that the whole time. Mmm. Now go back to playing." 

Then, while she is preoccupied, in go the veggies and beans and such. It's magic, I tell you.

At least for this week. 

Comparisons

I Almost Made It

It seemed as though this was a meaningful piece of my life. Have you ever played "Two Truths and a Lie?" 

I used to use, "I've never broken a bone in my body," as one of my truths. Unfortunately, this  now has to count as a lie. 

Exactly one month ago, I broke my ring toe. (On my hand, that's my ring finger. Seemed to make sense as a ring toe too.) I'm not exactly positive how I broke it. As I was coming downstairs that morning, the baby gate was up at the bottom of the steps. Hubby and baby girl had been up for a little bit having breakfast and reading books. I think I was trying to step over the gate, but what really happened was I kicked the post at the end of the banister and then fell over onto the baby gate. It was splendid. And a little bit bloody. 

The photo actually portrays my bruised-ness over a day later and the purple hue had already begun to fade quite a bit. The original shade of violet was almost immediate and darker than any bruise I had ever seen on my body. (And believe me, I am very GOOD at getting bruised.) 

I was fairly certain that due to the bruising and hurty nature of my toe, that it was broken. But when, only a few days later the purple had faded almost completely, I wasn't quite sure any more. When I bruise, it usually lasts for quite a while So long, that not only can I not remember how I got it, but I forgot that the bruise was even there until my child pointed it out to me. (She likes to point things out that perhaps I had previously missed.) 

It's been a month now, and the little bitty toe is still sore. It bends, sure, but it doesn't feel quite up to 100% just yet. I can still do plenty of jumping around on it, as my job requires, but it is still healing. 

Tomorrow, I am 30. And I have broken a bone. I sure feel old.