Not Me Monday

I did not spend my evening last night getting wax out of the carpet. It did not come from a Yankee candle that was lit when my husband was babysitting the kids while I was out with friends yesterday afternoon. I did not come home to find wax in the carpet, and I was not told that "I didn't even notice when she pulled it over and she didn't cry at all so it couldn't have hurt." (whaaat?! seriously, would YOU admit that?) I wasn't also told, "I didn't clean it up because it was hot and sticky and getting everywhere." (Ignorance is bliss? Good solution, babe! ;) ) So, I didn't come home from church to dried red wax in the white carpet. I didn't then google "how to get wax out of carpet" and find out that the process is quite tedious. I didn't spend the next 45 minutes with an iron and paper bags, heating the wax and then letting it absorb into the paper. Next time you come visit, you won't notice that we have a slightly off-white piece of crunchy-ish carpet, in spite of the tedious heating and vigorous scrubbing. Because, you know, that definitely didn't happen in my house. Not me!

Disclaimer: My honey is a very good daddy, and no children were harmed during the making of this post. Just white carpet. I'm told off-white is the new white. ;)

Gold Medalist.

Savannah had Olympic Day at preschool a week ago. She was so excited. Do you like her fierce competition face? Each class made their own t-shirts for their teams, and hers consisted of stars. She thoroughly enjoyed the day, and even took a nap afterward (all of that exercise was tiring!). And she claims that she won the events, and got a gold medal. I just gave her a thumbs up, and didn't inform her that "everyone is a winner." Go for the gold, baby!

Date Twenty-Nine: Ballroom Dancing Lessons

Yep, you read the title right. And the boy planned it.

And it was so. much. fun. We have never danced... ever. And so we were a bit nervous. But the dance studio had a great deal on lessons (2, plus a dance night for 19.99) and every time I watch Dancing with the Stars, I complain that I wish I knew how to ballroom dance. You know, because it could come in handy sometime, I guess? Haha. So anyway, he signed us up.

There were a few blunders, lots of laughs, some calories burned, and a really fun time. Then, we went out to dinner and made up for all of those calories. ;) We will be going back next week! Highly recommended date!

Wordless Wednesday

Eleven Months Old.

Somebody pinch me! Are we really one short month away from a year old?!



This joyful child is so much fun! This month has gotten a lot busier as she is crawling fast and pulling up to stand. My goodness, the things she can get into! I'm not sure how those days fade so quickly from memory, but it is all coming back to me now. Moving things out of reach, watching for corners on tables, covering electrical outlets, moving computer cords, watching little fingers around doors and drawers... my oh my.




Brooklyn is working on her third tooth, and it is hovering just below the surface. I can't believe she has made it this long with so few teeth! It doesn't slow her eating down, at all. The teething pain has caused her to wake up during the night a few times lately, so I'm hoping it pops through soon. She is sleeping much better at nap time this month though. I guess the new-ness of learning to stand wore off and she decided that skipping naps was overrated.



She is still very attached to her bottle, and not really interested in a sippy cup. We are working on that. Her shoulder muscles are very tight, something she works on in PT, and that makes it hard for her to sit up and hold a cup at the same time.



Brooklyn has started to chat with us a little more this month. She now can say, "Uh-oh." She hardly ever will, but we have heard it a few times. She also waves when we do, and shakes her head when we say "no-no." So, we have been encouraged to see those forms of communication.

Brooklyn is continuing PT, starting speech at the end of the month, seeing an opthalmologist this week, getting an RSV injection next week, and will check back in with her neurologist and pediatrician next month. She had another seizure this past weekend, so she might see her neurologist before then. Tired yet? Me too! ;)



One of Brooklyn's favorite games is so take off down the hall crawling as fast as she can. Then I say, "I'm gonna get you!" and she gets the giggles with anticipation. Usually she is laughing too hard to actually keep crawling by the time I get to her. She will do it over and over again.

Brooklyn is such a sweet joy. We are so thankful for her. And now I suppose its time to start planning to party-it-up next month!

Miss Independence.

Its been a long time since I updated on this girl. Since she isn't a baby anymore, the changes aren't so dramatic each month, and sometimes I forget that you all don't see her everyday growth like I do. She is now almost three-and-a-half. Seriously?!

If I had one word to describe Savannah right now, it would be independent. She loves to do everything herself, and has an enormous amount of initiative. She will go in the kitchen and fix herself something to eat and get a juice box out of the fridge. She will dress herself (although her outfit choices are interesting) and she is completely independent in the bathroom as well. Sometimes, she is too independent. The other day, I was giving Brooklyn a bottle and putting her down for a nap, and I returned to find Savannah eating a bowl of ice cream. She said "Oh, hey mom. I wanted some ice cream so I got it out of the freezer. It was hard so I let it sit out a minute before I scooped it." Yesterday, she went to use the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later and informed me, "I trimmed my fingernails while I was in there because they were a little long." Sometimes I have to double-check her birthdate to make sure she really is only three.

Savannah has a huge heart. She gets her feelings hurt easily. She is very concerned for others and always wants them to have a good time. She is fiercely protective of her sister.

I have been praying for her little heart to be softened to the Lord. She has decided she doesn't like to pray lately, and while I am hoping it is just a phase, I have been asking God to soften her heart. She is so smart and understands so much... I want her to be able to understand the most important things of all.

Savannah absolutely, positively, without a doubt, hates naptime. She talks all day about how much she dreads it. She cries every day when its time to rest. She forces herself to stay awake during the entire rest time. She will honestly tell us, "I just don't want to close my eyes and go to sleep because I will miss something."

Savannah is the most encouraging person I know. I can learn so much from her. She constantly tells Brooklyn, "Come on! You can do it!" She compliments everyone, all of the time. Strangers, friends, family... she brings a smile whenever we are out places with her praises. "Oh I just love your purse! Your baby is so cute! Your shoes are adorable. Oh did you get your hair cut? Its amazing!" She doesn't realize how funny those words sound coming from a three year old. But the smiles she evokes everywhere remind me how wonderful a nice word can be to someone else.

Savannah is tall and skinny. She still weighs only 31 pounds, but keeps growing taller. She has to wear leggings pretty much all of the time because she is too skinny for other pants.

She is such a blessing. In spite of her stubborn streak and emotional outbursts, she never fails to make me smile within seconds of waking in the morning, and her hugs, kisses, and i-love-you-mom's are priceless. And last week, when she told me we were best friends... well, that makes everything worth it. Love you, Babycakes!

The Wave

Brooklyn can now wave.



She turns her wave towards herself.



I guess thats what it looks like when we wave at her.



And more often than not, its a two-hand wave.



I tried to capture it, but the pictures don't do it justice.

But I give myself an A for effort anyway. ;)

Brooklyn's First Real Word

It's short, sweet, and only vowels, but oh-so-precious!

Date Twenty-Eight: Game Night

Enough said. ;)

Dreaming

Your little hand is wrapped around my finger...



...and its so quiet in the world tonight...
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming...



...I tuck you in and turn on your favorite night light...
...To you, everything is funny... You've got nothing to regret...



...I'd give all I have, honey, if you could stay like that....
...Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up...



....Don't you ever grow up...
... Just stay this little...



...Oh, if it could stay this simple...
- Taylor Swift

Ebates - How Exciting!

Have you ever heard of ebates? Yeah, I really hadn't either. But a friend told me about it, and its pretty awesome if I say so myself. You go to their site, and then you can shop online from literally thousands of different stores... and get cash back for doing so. And its not a scam. If you want to check it out, just go to ebates.com and search all of the stores you can shop from. You get a tiny percentage of your purchase back, so its not a get-rich-quick scheme, but every little bit counts, right? If you want to sign up for ebates (no purchase necessary and it takes about 10 seconds, tops) click here and I will get a referral credit. I help you, you help me, and we all are happy. :) And then I can go to ebates and buy diapers through diapers.com and have them delivered to my doorstep tomorrow... use my pampers rewards points, and spend virtually nothing, and get cash back. Seriously. It just doesn't get much happier than that. Have a good Monday, people!

Overheard At My House

Savannah: "Watching movies with my daddy makes my heart happy."

Savannah: "Momma, when you don't let me eat just potato chips, you make me grouchy and angry and very mad!"

Momma: "Were you good at school today?"
Savannah: "Yes."
Momma: "Did you obey?"
Savannah: "Well, I disobeyed a little. But I obeyed a whole lot!"

Savannah: "I'm going to lay down, but I'm not going to close my eyes, because if I close my eyes, I will go to sleep, and I just hate that."

Busy, busy, busy.

This girl is busy. See that face? Looks innocent enough. But don't be fooled.

She is also mischievious. Absolutely rotten.



She can pull up to the table, grab a box of crackers, and dump them in the floor, and then eat them.

She can also keep up with most things her sister does. Or she thinks she can anyway. Do you see the bruise on her forehead?

Buttons are her new favorite obsession. Particularly when they change the tv channel right in the middle of the show Savannah is watching.

And pretty much anything on the coffee tables, bookshelves, desk, filing cabinet, entertainment center, or nightstand is fair game.

Oh, and the markers in the toy bin? No longer a good idea.

This child is busy!

And at the end of the day, in spite of being exhausted, and wondering how many times I could possibly clean up the same messes... I know I will miss this. Just keep reminding me! ;)

Date Twenty-Seven: The Road Less Traveled. The Road to Nowhere. All dressed up and Nowhere to Go... Adventure!

Our luck last week was astonishing.

Not like astonishingly good, either.

Shockingly terrible.

Food poisoning, a trip to the ER, a report that our youngest is more delayed than we thought, no less than three separate trips to the social services office to get the medicaid stuff in order, bought something at Target only to get home and find it was broken, etc etc etc. Seriously. It was exhausting.

And then Saturday came, and with everyone all recovered, we set off on date night. We decided to try a new restaurant that several of our friends have been raving about, the Swinging Bridge Restaurant.

Now, folks, I am not a good traveler. About 20 minutes in the car is my max, and then I need to either be the driver that is speeding in order to shave off minutes on the gps arrival time, or I need to be unconscious. So I've been putting off this little mini-road trip. But, I thought hmm a few hours in the car will be nice after the crazy week we've had. So, we called to make sure they would be open their normal hours and were assured they would, and we were off!



We chatted and talked about the gorgeous views with the sunset in the background and enjoyed the winding drive...

As we began to climb the mountain (which was seriously steep and curvy!), it got colder. And snowier.

And as it got darker, it got even colder. And snowier.

And we were getting hungrier. We had to slow down some because of the slick roads, which only added to my traveling anxiety.

And then my parenting instincts kicked in. There are no guard rails, at all. What if we slide and go over the edge and my kids are left parent-less? Oh dear. Plus, we were so far up the mountain that there was no cell phone signal. I was sure we would go over the edge and nobody would find us for days. Then I would have frostbite and not be able to wear cute shoes ever again. Sigh.

My husband, however, claimed, "This is awesome! Unplowed roads and we are going to eat some great food... this is fun! Don't be so tense."

Can you see the yellow line in the middle of the road? Yeah, me neither.

Finally, we arrived. I was so excited to eat! And we started to notice... there were no cars in the parking lot. And no lights on in the restaurant. An elderly man hollered out, "Ya'll here for the restaurant? I'm sorry, but nobody been here for hours 'cause of the weather. They been closed a long time."

Seriously?! We just called a little over an hour ago and were assured they would be open. But then again, that is how our week has been.

So, my hubby, who still was pretty psyched about the "adventure" but also getting hungry, suggested that we go to the Homeplace, which was about a 30 minute drive back down the mountain. I was ready to agree to eat anything that resembled food at that point, so I said "Lets go!" And in the end, I was rewarded with this. Yes, that is all MINE. And yes, that was only first helpings. Yes, I had seconds.

So, after nearly 4 hours, we made it back home. And somehow we still liked each other.

However, the Swinging Bridge Restaurant will be getting a call...

Football.

There has been a lot of football in this house lately.

The most notable game (because lets just face it, the Hokies getting slaughtered was not notable) was the Michigan State vs. Alabama game.



Michael, my stepdad, is a huge MSU fan. Mom has always been a Crimson Tide fan.
You can guess how their relationship went on New Year's Day.



The house was pretty divided, as you can see.



But in the end, the MSU fans were good sports.



And all we had to say was "Roll Tide!"