A rainy walk down memory lane

Today, after Elyn's doctor's appointment (more about that tomorrow when I post about her 6 months of life. I KNOW! SIX MONTHS!) I came home to tackle a project in the garage.

The weather is on the brink of rain today so I thought while the floods were holding off, I would spend some time in the garage, while Nora ran around in the yard. (In case you are wondering, Elyn was sound asleep in the van. I'm not going to wake her up by moving her. Don't worry, the window was cracked.)

Matthew and I are cleaning things out right now. It's ridiculous how much STUFF we have. I refer to is as 'stuff', Matthew calls it 'junk'. Potato, potatoh. Anyway, we brought several tubs of memories down from the attic Saturday. My job this week is to go through the memories...and throw the majority of them away.

My new friend, Danielle, told me yesterday that the memory is in my head and my heart. So, I don't need the knickknack to remind me of it. She obviously does not know about my horrible memory, but in keeping with the "Clean Sweep" mindset, I am doing my part to add to our landfills. And I am trying to put as much STUFF aside as I can to fill other people's homes (aka garage sale).

Oh the things I found! Why did I keep those things? Here are some of the priceless items that apparently I couldn't live without:

The reply cards from our wedding invitations.

I guess I am holding on to them to call the ones who said they were coming and then didn't show up. You know who you are...I don't need to make you feel worse by bringing your attention to it. You missed a great wedding by the way.

The date on this magazine is November 11, 1999. I guess I thought it would be a collector's item one day.

I made this when I was in the 2nd grade, I think. We had a "Marketplace" at the Christian school I went to. We had to dress up like we were in Bible times. Notice my beautiful embroidering on the head piece. I was quite the seamstress back then.
My sophomore year of college, back in 1996, my mom, sister, and I went to Williamsburg, VA for Thanksgiving. I had this drink while we were there. Again, I must have thought it was a one of a kind collectors item. It's not.
All above items are now in the trash.

I would like to tell you all that I have finished going through my things. However, that is not the case. Matthew has 3 or 4 more tubs to bring down from the attic. I know, it's ridiculous.

Here are my piles from today. I am super proud of my work. The "trash" and "sale" piles far outweigh the "keep" pile.

TRASH

GARAGE SALE

KEEP
I think I know a certain husband that is going to be delighted with my progress.

Now, if he would just go through his boxes.

I sure he will refer to all of it as "stuff".

Priceless stuff.

I just see "junk".

Yummy Easy Breakfast!

This morning, I made "Dutch Babies" for our breakfast. Yummy! And oh, so easy...seriously! The great thing about this recipe is that you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen.

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 450 F

Melt 1/3 c. butter in a 13×9 pan

Mix for 60 seconds in a 5 cup blender:
6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 t. salt

3 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsps vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon
Pour into hot pan

Bake 20-25 minutes

After it comes out of the oven, sift some powdered sugar on top.

We ate 1/2 of it thing morning. It tastes a little like french toast. We put syrup on top, but you could put anything you want...applesauce, whipped cream, fruit.

This is what it looks like:

Enjoy!

When I'm a mom...I'll NEVER do that!

Oh, how I am eating those words!

These are the things that I thought I would never do/say or things I never understood until I had kids of my own. Obviously, not an extensive list.

1. Tucking shirts in. ****I don't do that anymore. I remember thinking it was crazy when moms would tell me that they hadn't tucked shirts into their pants since their children had been born. I mean, how hard is it to tuck a shirt in? I now understand. When is the last time I wore a belt for the sheer purpose of showing the belt off? Too long!

2. I didn't understand those parents who drove with one finger while reaching in the backseat to retrieve: pacifier, sippy cup, doll, book, snack, ANYTHING. I figured I would just let the tot "cry it out" until we reached our destination. ****Um, no way! I am an expert at the one finger driving while stretching my other arm practically out of its socket to get a dropped item.

3. Counting to three. It drove me crazy to hear parents say, "one....two....three....okay, I'm going to spank you now." Don't count! If the kid didn't do something the first time, spank them, they don't deserve the "counting cushion". ****I admit it, I count. I can't believe that I do. I am annoyed at myself for counting. I do NOT go past three though. If she hasn't complied by "three", it's spanking time.

4. Why doesn't that little girl have her hair "done"? Does her mom not allow herself enough time to get herself ready and fix her daughter's hair. Seriously, her daughter just looks like she rolled out of bed. Geez, my little girl will NEVER look like that! ****Okay, I am eating my words. There have been many days, especially since Miss Elyn arrived in our world, that Nora looks like she just rolled out of bed...because she has! I apologize to all of you moms of daughters out there. I now understand! Moms-to-be, it's okay to judge me and my daughter's rat-nest. You'll understand one day.

5. That child is TWO and is still using a pacifier? AND he/she is not potty trained. Seriously, do those parents even realize they have a child because they sure don't act like it. If they were good parents at all, they would have tried to tackle at least one of them. ****I would like for you all to meet my two year old, she still uses a pacifier at nighttime and at naptime. Oh, and she is not even close to being potty-trained! Right now I don't have the energy or the want to remedy either of those. I keep secretly hoping that she will figure out both on her own. I'll let you know how that goes.

6. You mean you let your child watch T.V.!!!!! Do you not have any books/crayons/finger paints/playdough/dolls/interactive toys at your house? How could you let "precious" watch t.v. when you could be using that time instructing him/her? AND you let your child watch t.v. in the car????? Time in the car should be for learning! Point out all the colors of God's Earth, help your child become aware of the letters and numbers on the signs, sing songs together. Do you even love your child? ****Nora can name every single character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, and Tigger and Pooh. I use the t.v. as a (gasp) babysitter while I am getting ready in the morning, and it works like a charm, thank you very much. We do not have a built-in DVD player in the car, but portable ones work just as well. She only watches the DVD player on long trips, but I have a plethora of children's CD's to occupy her when we are driving around town...so I can think without interruption.

As mentioned before, this list is not exhaustive. I might add to it later. For every mom or dad out there that I judged before having my own children...I am sorry! I've taken off my rose-colored-uterus-never-been-occupied glasses and understand you a whole lot better. Thanks for paving the way!

10 Things Tuesday

After recovering from my kidney infection and all the interesting side affects that go along with the antibiotics I am taking (and I mean SIDE AFFECTS!!!!!!) I am needing to remember 10 things for which I am thankful, for my own well-being. So, here they are:

1. Cinnamon toast for breakfast. Yummmm! What could be better than buttery bread with a crunchy coating of cinnamon and sugar. I can't think of anything.

2. Free balloons at Chick-fil-A. Nora held the balloon in her left hand the entire time she was eating dinner tonight. She is very, very talented. By the way, I got her a yellow balloon in case anyone asked her, "What color is your balloon?". This way, she could tell them and the answer would be correct. Just trying to help her out.

3. Reece's peanut butter eggs. Thank you Easter Bunny!

4. Being employed, well, part-time at least. It was nice to go and teach tonight and get out of the house, even if it was just for two hours.

5. My hair is finally getting long enough that I can pull it back into a ponytail. And we all know that with the warmer weather coming up, that is the ONLY hairstyle I will have this summer.

6. Surprisingly, a minivan. I was able to pick up my friend and her kids today because she is car-less for a few days. It was nice having the extra seats to be filled by friends.

7. A needy little girl. Nora woke up from her nap out of sorts and only wanted her mama to hold her. It was sweet and I love times like that. I doesn't happen very often.

8. Apparently, Elyn had no meltdowns while I was gone to class tonight. That is truly something to be thankful for. She has been rather needy lately.

9. Sonic Large Diet Coke. Heaven in a Styrofoam cup.

10.Spring is around the corner! Our daffodils looked so pretty today. Too bad they all didn't come back this year though.

Easter Bunny 2008

I forgot to add this to the post from yesterday.

The Easter Bunny was a church yesterday and I had my camera, so we figured it was as good as an opportunity as any to get the girls picture with him.

We had to be sneaky though, knowing Nora's hatred for him.

Matthew backed her into his arms and she had no idea, for a few seconds at least, who was holding her.

Completely unaware, blissfully blowing her bubbles

"Why is everyone looking at me, is something going on here?"

"Hey Elyn! Wait a minute! Who is holding us???"

"I'm not so sure about this!"
"Get me down!"
"Seriously! What is the hold up? Get me out of here!!!!!!" Oh well, at least she got her picture taken!

Long post...beware

****Pictures added****

I am typing this while sitting on the couch and watching t.v. (the show is "Newlyweds" or something like that. Hilarious! Oh, and Matthew and I are in agreement that we would do horrible on it.). And since I am sitting on the couch, I do not have the capability to download pictures to our laptop...I need to figure out how to do that. So, some pictures tonight, more tomorrow.


Anyway, on to the extremely informative post. Not much humor, not much insight, a whole lot of what has been going on.

Last week, we had an Easter party at Mommy and Me. Lots of fun had by all. Nora finally got the idea of hunting eggs. But, once she got a few, she was done, happy that she had manged three.

Nora loves walking over Elyn while Elyn is having tummy time. You can see how Elyn feels about it. Oh, and speaking of Elyn, she is quite the turner. She is turning over both ways and kicking her legs when she is on her tummy, trying to propel her forward. I am afraid I am going to have an early crawler and walker on my hands. And my "early" is relative. Nora didn't roll over both ways until she was 8 months old, didn't crawl until she was 10 months old, and didn't walk until she was 13 months old. So, if Elyn reaches those milestones before that, it's early.We had a great time with Matthew's dad and stepmom in Hattiesburg. Nora was terrified of their English bulldog, Samantha. Samantha is a puppy and very active and because Nora is a scardy-cat she wouldn't be anywhere near Sam without being held. On the other hand, Nora's opposite, Elyn, LOVED Sam. I had to pry Elyn's hands off of Sam many times. And I can't even tell you how many times I caught those two kissing. But, overall, good time in Mississippi.

I put the girls in Elyn's pack-n-play to keep them "safe".

Poor Sam just wants to play with them.

Getting a bath in the GIGANTIC bathtub. It was like a swimming pool.

We have been trying to wean Elyn from her swaddling. It is going as well as can be expected. The first two nights, she slept horribly. Last night (and so far, tonight) she is sleeping much better. On recommendation from my friend, Nicola, we are easing her into it. I have been wrapping her up with one arm out. If her good sleeping keeps up, I will keep two arms out, starting next week. Fingers crossed she keeps being a good sleeper!You all already know about the exciting doctor's appointment I had upon returning home. Feeling much better, thank you. This is Nora snuggling up to me when I felt rotten. Can you tell how I felt by how awesome I look?
On Friday, we colored eggs. Nora had a good time with that. She did not understand that once they were colored, we were done. She kept wanting to re-dip them in the cups of dye. Actually, re-dip is too gentle a description. She would chunk them into the cups.Friday, we also set out to visit the Easter Bunny at the mall. Last year, our experience with the Easter Bunny was tragic. We were hoping that this year would be better. Sadly, the mall we went to didn't have an Easter Bunny photo place. They had a roaming Easter Bunny. You had to find him and take you picture with him with your own camera. There were several reasons this was not going to work for us. 1. I didn't bring our camera 2. I was not in the mood to walk around searching for him 3. There was no guarantee that once we found him Nora was get anywhere close to him. So, we went about our shopping and forgot about EB. However, while we were eating our lunch, we spied him. Matthew took Nora outside to meet him and she FREAKED out. Apparently, she still doesn't like him. She was climbing up Matthew to avoid getting close. So, he brought her back inside to finish her lunch. She could hardly eat though because she was keeping an eye on him the entire time, making sure he didn't get too close. Once EB left the vicinity, we had to keep reassuring her that the Easter Bunny was "all gone". She repeated it about a million times, just to make herself feel better, I guess.

We have had a happy Easter today. We had to wake Nora up this morning (we usually do on Sunday mornings. She sleeps later on Sundays than any other day of the week. Why?). When we went in to get her we told her that the Easter Bunny had brought her something and it was in the living room. She did not want to leave her room because she thought the Easter Bunny was in our house. We had to tell her that he was gone before she was step foot in the hall. Even then, she was cautious all the way to the living room. When she finally did see the baskets, she was more interested in Elyn's than she was her own.

This is what I have to deal with each morning. Check out that crazy hair!

We had lunch at the Brown's (our 4th annual Easter lunch with them). I have brought a bunny cake the past few years, but this year, brought cupcakes instead. They were good and way less trouble :). I did bring homemade rolls too. After lunch, all the kids headed to the park for an egg hunt and then we headed home for a nap.

Matthew described my dress as a "trash bag" because it had no shape to it. Looking at this picture makes me realize he was right. Why are trash bags in style?

It was pretty chilly outside and this is how Elyn hung out during the egg hunt.

Matthew goes back to school tomorrow and I am really going to miss him! I think Nora will go through some withdraw over the next few days. I hope that I have the patience that is going to be necessary to deal with her "behavior changes". She has been a challenge the past few days. Typical two-year-old, I'm sure, but it is really wearing me out. I hate putting her to bed at the end of the day and think back on how many times she has been spanked or put in time out. I know that I have to remain consistent and this time of her life will not last forever, but it is trying.Okay, I promise that the rest of the pictures will be added to this post by tomorrow. Happy Easter!

ADDED:

The other day I was cleaning out Elyn's closet. I went to get a bag to put clothes in and when I came back in the room, this is what I saw. I'm not quite sure how they managed this, but they were both having fun! Such sweet sisters!