26 November 2008
God is Good.
This morning has been funny. First of all, we woke up to a LOT of snow. I have no idea how much because you really can't judge inches at our house. We get huge drifts because we're up above the town, so the amazing amount in FRONT of the house usually looks nothing like Main Street just two blocks away. For instance, we have about 5 or 6 inches on our front lawn, but our next door neighbor's roof has no snow. Curious. Anyway, it was enough for Maple to go nuts in the backyard. She's still out there being a Saint Bernard. I think it's so funny that her Akita/Saint Bernard mix is SO dead-on. She sees the snow and just goes insane. She'll spend all day out there, rooting around and digging for victims.
Second, I had an amazing event. I used my check card over the weekend, and promptly lost it on Sunday night. I spent all of Monday and yesterday looking for it. Andrew wanted to take my Escape to work today and if I didn't find my card I'd need my car to get to the bank to withdraw cash, since I wouldn't have my card for last-minute shopping. Blah. So I bundled up and PJ and I trekked out to the car to find it. I put on my jacket and Andrew's giant fleece pants (they come up OVER the belly) and started digging through my car. Nothing. Last night I check all of my jacket pockets and pulled out all sorts of receipts. Nothing. I looked through my dayplanner, where I carry all my cards and stuff. Nothing. Ugh. So I said OUT LOUD, "Saint Anthony, this ain't the time. Where is my card?" I patted my jacket pocket and promptly pulled out my check card. Of course it was the pocket I've checked six times since Sunday. So I came inside laughing and Andrew took my car. He'll like driving that one better for today. Too snowy for the little truck.
Lucy and I are going to be cleaning the house today and getting ready for our visitors. She refused her nap again yesterday afternoon, but after not sleeping all day she went down for bed without a peep and slept right up til 5, when she fell asleep in her special chair watching cartoons. Andrew was kind enough to get up with her and I slept til 7. It was HEAVENLY. So today we're just going to be catching up on housework, since my mama is coming today. We have to do a "Of course you raised me right" cleaning and we need to make a cheese ball for tomorrow. Mom and Tim and the boys will be here sometime this afternoon evening. I'm not sure how traffic will be, but I suppose staying til Sunday will make up for the drive! Mom and I will need to go out tonight for a few last-minute Thanksgiving things; Andrew helped me make my list last night and I think I just have a couple of things to get.
Well, I'm sure I'll be back later!
Second, I had an amazing event. I used my check card over the weekend, and promptly lost it on Sunday night. I spent all of Monday and yesterday looking for it. Andrew wanted to take my Escape to work today and if I didn't find my card I'd need my car to get to the bank to withdraw cash, since I wouldn't have my card for last-minute shopping. Blah. So I bundled up and PJ and I trekked out to the car to find it. I put on my jacket and Andrew's giant fleece pants (they come up OVER the belly) and started digging through my car. Nothing. Last night I check all of my jacket pockets and pulled out all sorts of receipts. Nothing. I looked through my dayplanner, where I carry all my cards and stuff. Nothing. Ugh. So I said OUT LOUD, "Saint Anthony, this ain't the time. Where is my card?" I patted my jacket pocket and promptly pulled out my check card. Of course it was the pocket I've checked six times since Sunday. So I came inside laughing and Andrew took my car. He'll like driving that one better for today. Too snowy for the little truck.
Lucy and I are going to be cleaning the house today and getting ready for our visitors. She refused her nap again yesterday afternoon, but after not sleeping all day she went down for bed without a peep and slept right up til 5, when she fell asleep in her special chair watching cartoons. Andrew was kind enough to get up with her and I slept til 7. It was HEAVENLY. So today we're just going to be catching up on housework, since my mama is coming today. We have to do a "Of course you raised me right" cleaning and we need to make a cheese ball for tomorrow. Mom and Tim and the boys will be here sometime this afternoon evening. I'm not sure how traffic will be, but I suppose staying til Sunday will make up for the drive! Mom and I will need to go out tonight for a few last-minute Thanksgiving things; Andrew helped me make my list last night and I think I just have a couple of things to get.
Well, I'm sure I'll be back later!
25 November 2008
What's In Your Underwear Drawer?
We will be having my parents and brothers over for Thanksgiving, so I've been cleaning the house up and today Lucy and I are tackling the bedroom. I decided to organize my underwear drawer. Simple, right? Not really. Here's what I found:
Bag of shells
Wooden box of firecrackers
3 industrial screw-in hooks
4 tubes of chapstick
2 picture frames
Purple marker
Pennies. Lots of pennies.
Hair elastics
Box of bobby pins
Unopened bottle of lotion
I have no idea how all this stuff got in there, but it was a little like shopping at a hardware store. Lucy is now watching Blue's Clues on our bed and will be attempting nap #2 in very short order. Nap #1 was a bust. We're going to try again around 1:30.
Bag of shells
Wooden box of firecrackers
3 industrial screw-in hooks
4 tubes of chapstick
2 picture frames
Purple marker
Pennies. Lots of pennies.
Hair elastics
Box of bobby pins
Unopened bottle of lotion
I have no idea how all this stuff got in there, but it was a little like shopping at a hardware store. Lucy is now watching Blue's Clues on our bed and will be attempting nap #2 in very short order. Nap #1 was a bust. We're going to try again around 1:30.
"Tired" isn't just another four-letter word.
As I type this, Lucy is attempting to nap after a very, very bad day yesterday. She was not going to nap without me and bedtime was the same story. This morning I woke up feeling just hopeless. She went into her bed with a small fuss and I'm hearing whines and howls here and there, but this must be progress. I'm not hearing the horrible screaming I heard last night. I'm just so tired of the sleep problems. As if a girl in her third trimester doesn't have enough sleep issues of her own.
I've heard about the 18-month sleep regression and I'm sure that has something to do with this. On top of that, she was cutting one giant molar last night, so I'm sure that was her focus. This morning I gave her some Motrin and I'm hoping she can manage to get to sleep on her own. I'm a little bit lost on where to go from here otherwise. She throws everything out of her crib and then wails for me to come back and pick it up. I took a lot of stuff out so that she has less to throw, but I'm still hearing things dropping, so it looks like we're going to be cutting back to an empty crib in very short order. I don't know what else to do at this point.
Andrew is at work today. I thought he was going to take tomorrow off, but it sounds like he'll be working at least a half-day, so I'm going to need to do my cleaning tonight, I guess. I also need to go through the house and check out my Thanksgiving food supply and make sure everything is still in order for that. There is a very good chance we could have eaten some of it by now. :-)
Well, I'm off to say a prayer.
I've heard about the 18-month sleep regression and I'm sure that has something to do with this. On top of that, she was cutting one giant molar last night, so I'm sure that was her focus. This morning I gave her some Motrin and I'm hoping she can manage to get to sleep on her own. I'm a little bit lost on where to go from here otherwise. She throws everything out of her crib and then wails for me to come back and pick it up. I took a lot of stuff out so that she has less to throw, but I'm still hearing things dropping, so it looks like we're going to be cutting back to an empty crib in very short order. I don't know what else to do at this point.
Andrew is at work today. I thought he was going to take tomorrow off, but it sounds like he'll be working at least a half-day, so I'm going to need to do my cleaning tonight, I guess. I also need to go through the house and check out my Thanksgiving food supply and make sure everything is still in order for that. There is a very good chance we could have eaten some of it by now. :-)
Well, I'm off to say a prayer.
24 November 2008
A Very Happy Thanksgiving.
I just finished catching up on Google reader and loved Lisa's post. It really took me back to our first Christmas in Frostburg as a married couple.
I think that relief is about as much joy as a couple can experience. Knowing that you're finally in your place, finally able to save a little money, finally able to celebrate without thinking about next month's bills, finally able to think, "I'm finally home." That's holiday joy.
Being a young, married couple with children on one income is a big accomplishment, but often it's no picnic. The holidays are always especially frustrating. You have so much to celebrate, but it's the month you're expected to spend more, the month your heating bills go sky high and the month where every family member comes down with something. All of a sudden you have to winterize cars, pay unexpected bills and still manage to find the room to buy a Christmas tree and turkey.
I say this because in just a few short years, our lives have changed over and over. We went from being a couple with few bills and no kids to being a couple with a mortgage, two kids and a dog. I count Phoebe because she costs more than Lucy at this point and her impending arrival means lots of gas in the car, lots of copays, a big hospital bill and double the diapers.
Money isn't something people like to talk about but I think if they did, we'd all know how to manage it better. We're a very tight-lipped culture when it comes to dollars and cents, but I think that if we were all a little more willing to share the gory details, maybe this country wouldn't be in the spot we're in now.
I remember our first Christmas in Frostburg. Just one month before Christmas we had nothing. No money, no housing, no gifts. Just a lot of love and our baby's kicking and rolling to put a smile on our face. It was terrifying. But God came through somehow and gave us such a wonderful Christmas. Just a couple of weeks before Christmas Andrew got the job he has now, we found a tiny apartment and we moved from FSU. We got a tiny table-top Christmas tree and boy, did we celebrate! Finding out that Andrew would be paid two weeks in advance, just days before Christmas, was such a happy surprise. We bought gifts for EVERYONE. We just went crazy, overjoyed that everything was looking up. It was such a huge Christmas for us. We were saved over and over that Christmas. I remember sitting in midnight Mass and just crying with joy. Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I almost always cry in Mass. I'll never forget all the reasons we had to celebrate that year.
Lisa's post reminded me that even though this year is a different ballgame and things are a little more complex, I still have so many reasons to be thankful and full of joy. I have a little girl who's never seen what holiday magic really is and I plan on showing her every single detail of the season. I have a wonderful husband who's been envisioning THIS year since the day he met me. The first year we have a little girl who's ready to party. The first year we'll have a mantle for the stockings. The first year we'll have a real corner to bring our tree home to. The first year we'll wake up together on Christmas morning in our own terribly lumpy bed. The first year we have "that window" at street level. The window with the twinkling tree, the laughing family, the screaming toddler, the candy dishes, the warm hugs, the long kisses, the Christmas carols, the Nativity scene.
It's going to be a good one and I have so much to be joyful for.
I think that relief is about as much joy as a couple can experience. Knowing that you're finally in your place, finally able to save a little money, finally able to celebrate without thinking about next month's bills, finally able to think, "I'm finally home." That's holiday joy.
Being a young, married couple with children on one income is a big accomplishment, but often it's no picnic. The holidays are always especially frustrating. You have so much to celebrate, but it's the month you're expected to spend more, the month your heating bills go sky high and the month where every family member comes down with something. All of a sudden you have to winterize cars, pay unexpected bills and still manage to find the room to buy a Christmas tree and turkey.
I say this because in just a few short years, our lives have changed over and over. We went from being a couple with few bills and no kids to being a couple with a mortgage, two kids and a dog. I count Phoebe because she costs more than Lucy at this point and her impending arrival means lots of gas in the car, lots of copays, a big hospital bill and double the diapers.
Money isn't something people like to talk about but I think if they did, we'd all know how to manage it better. We're a very tight-lipped culture when it comes to dollars and cents, but I think that if we were all a little more willing to share the gory details, maybe this country wouldn't be in the spot we're in now.
I remember our first Christmas in Frostburg. Just one month before Christmas we had nothing. No money, no housing, no gifts. Just a lot of love and our baby's kicking and rolling to put a smile on our face. It was terrifying. But God came through somehow and gave us such a wonderful Christmas. Just a couple of weeks before Christmas Andrew got the job he has now, we found a tiny apartment and we moved from FSU. We got a tiny table-top Christmas tree and boy, did we celebrate! Finding out that Andrew would be paid two weeks in advance, just days before Christmas, was such a happy surprise. We bought gifts for EVERYONE. We just went crazy, overjoyed that everything was looking up. It was such a huge Christmas for us. We were saved over and over that Christmas. I remember sitting in midnight Mass and just crying with joy. Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I almost always cry in Mass. I'll never forget all the reasons we had to celebrate that year.
Lisa's post reminded me that even though this year is a different ballgame and things are a little more complex, I still have so many reasons to be thankful and full of joy. I have a little girl who's never seen what holiday magic really is and I plan on showing her every single detail of the season. I have a wonderful husband who's been envisioning THIS year since the day he met me. The first year we have a little girl who's ready to party. The first year we'll have a mantle for the stockings. The first year we'll have a real corner to bring our tree home to. The first year we'll wake up together on Christmas morning in our own terribly lumpy bed. The first year we have "that window" at street level. The window with the twinkling tree, the laughing family, the screaming toddler, the candy dishes, the warm hugs, the long kisses, the Christmas carols, the Nativity scene.
It's going to be a good one and I have so much to be joyful for.
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