Be a "downer"

I heard a totally horrible thing a couple weeks ago and don't know why I haven't shared it. You know me I just love sharing horrible things- totally kidding.
BUT- It is something important and worth sharing.
Emily shared this story with me and she may have shared it with you already. For those of you who don't know Emily I am sharing it with you.
Are you and "upper" or a "downer"?? Meaning- when you are loading your dishwasher do you put the knives and forks and spoons facing up or down? Thus, "upper" or "downer"? I am a "downer", Tony would protest because occasionally he catches me with a fork up, not a normal thing but it does happen when I trying to quickly load the dishes while Troy is racing for the first ceramic cup or plate he can get his grubby little hands on.
Back to the story- Emily heard or read a story about a woman who was loading her dishwasher and her child came up and slipped and fell onto the dishwasher and a knife went into his neck, punctured his jugular vein, and he died.
God Bless that family... accidents happen and there is definitely something to be learned from this story- make sure you're a "downer".
Love to you all and hope you have a great weekend, now that I shared that horrible story with you all. :) Seriously though, know that you should most definatly take note of that story. It could happen to anyone.

Faith like Hannah

"A Heart Like His" is an amazing book by Beth Moore. It studies the life of David and the things we can learn from this man, his strengths, his weaknesses, and his life. I have read this book three times now. I bought it a few years back and no matter how much I read it, it still feels like the first time. I love how God makes this evident to us in a place and time when we can relate and really get the most out of it, if we are open. This is an amazing book and if you haven't read it you have to get it! Not to mention I love Beth Moore.

I was reading the second chapter to Tony last night. I love this chapter. It is David's "back story"... it is the story that we all have. We all have a back story. Our story that lead us to be who we are today, our story that lead us to be where we are today. Makes you think about your own back story.

I was reading about Samuels's mother Hannah. For those of you who don't know Hannah wasn't able to have children. Samuel's father, Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. (Funny to read Beth Moore's commentary on polygamy and her thoughts on Elkanah). Peninnah had children and would provoke Hannah, torture her and her inability to bear children. The story goes on to how Hannah prayed to God to give her a child. She promised that she would give the baby to the Lord "for all the days of his life." The book talks about Hannah "bargaining with God." - "The Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you." (1 Chronicles 28:9) God knew Hannah's heart, he knew that she would do what she said she would do.

She then became pregnant, "She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the Lord for him'" (1 Samuel 1:19-20) What a beautiful story. But it doesn't end there.. Hannah carried for him while he was a baby and then when he was old enough to be weaned, in those times, around age 3, she sent him to live in the house of the Lord. Imagine, promising something like that. Imagine nursing that baby, breathing his breath, looking at his face, touching his skin, knowing that he would only be with you for a short time. 9 months of pregnancy and then three years to bond and attach yourself to this beautiful being and then to keep your word and return back to the Lord who gave him to you. The book notes, and I remember, the first time I took Sophia to Mother's Day Out and sat in my car crying. Hannah was steadfast in her word to God and took Samuel to Eli, where he would live and worship in God's house.

Moore notes,
"God does not ask of us that we take our children to the temple and leave them there to be reared by priests, but we must give them to God in other, equally important ways.
Remember the Faith of Hannah. She sought God in her deep need. She made a vow that, by its very nature, was either a deep commitment or a hollow mockery. Then she fulfilled her vow with a mother's sacrifice.
What a wonderful addendum to the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:21 :
"When Lord was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord." "

Not only is this an amazing story but Beth Moore's way of illustrating this story is so powerful.
I have to quote her one more time....

"Imagine another scene: A tiny three year old boy, still with creases of satiny baby skin around his plump little thighs, bending this knee and bowing before El Elyon, the sovereign God of all creation. how precious this child must have been to God. How in the world could a child that age have such respect for the God of the universe?"

I can't imagine doing what Hannah did. Can you imagine?
The answer to the question.. Samuel learned his faith and respect from his mother.
I hope that I can be an example to my two the way that Hannah was to Samuel. Even though she was only with him for three short years she instilled a reverence for the Lord and a faithfulness that we should strive for and try to be an example for our babies, no matter their age.

Sharing some smiles

*Yesterday I was cooking dinner for the kids and I was a hot mess with my hair in a bun on the top of my head all frazzled. Sophia was sitting in her high chair watching me. (Note:Meat Ball = Eat Ball) I guess she noticed my hair and she says, "Mommy you have an Eat Ball on your head!"



*Conversation between Sophia and I the other night.
"Sophi do you know where Aaron (my sister's boyfriend) lives?" I figured she thought Aaron lives with my mom since that is the only place she sees him. Sure enough...
"He lives with Mimi" she says.
I proceed to tell her that he lives in his own house, he just visits Mimi's house a lot.
"Do you know where Aunt Lana lives?" -She lives with my mom... (Note:We are working on our pronouns)
Sophia says, "Well, her's is an ant. Her lives in an ant hole."



*Last night Tony and I were talking about when Sophia was a little bit younger, I was pregnant with Troy-
She ate a hair clippy. She was at the hospital in Xray laying on the table getting an abdominal Xray and my mom (who was with her because I was preggo and couldn't go back into Xray) my mom asks her Sophi do you know why you are here?
Sophia says, "Yes, I eat clippy sandwich."

That's all I can think for now...
Hope that gives some smiles.

Sophia's 'Bah' Crisis

OK, everyone get ready!
Last week during Tropical Storm Fay.. one of the rainy days, we went to lunch with some friends. We went to a little cafe on Main Street, somewhere we love going. We loaded up; Troy brought his blanket, Sophia brought her 'Bah' and off we went for lunch.

'Bah' is an old beanie baby sheep that was mine or maybe my sister's when we were kids. Sophia has appropriately named it 'Bah'. 'Bah' and 'Ellie' are good friends and 'Bah' is almost as important as 'Ellie' we usually don't leave the house without one of them. While one stays in Sophia's bed and waits for the other to come home. -According to Sophia.

Anyway, on this day she chose to have 'Bah' come out to the cafe with us. 'Ellie' doesn't like rain. Lunch was a bit hectic as we were running late and it was close to nap time. Upon arriving home with two exhausted babies Sophia realized 'Bah' was gone. I called my friend who was still at the cafe, she said she was going to take 'Bah' home with her and I could pick it up. I told her I'd come get 'Bah' when they got up from their naps; depending on the weather, it was getting blustery outside as this was the day the storm was making its second pass over Central Florida.

I was rather nervous as to how I was going to get Sophia asleep without 'Bah', we weren't even in the house and she was already crying about it. Troy was already asleep and I really wanted to get some housework done while they napped. I carried Troy in and put him in his bed. Now, to deal with Sophia and her complete breakdown over the disappearance of 'Bah'. At this point she was under her covers in her bed with 'Ellie' telling 'Ellie' that 'Bah' was gone. She said they were both crying because they missed 'Bah'. I laid with her and explained that we would pick up 'Bah' from Mrs. Meg's house after she woke up from her nap. She understood but continued to cry herself to sleep. I felt horrible. Not much housework was done as she couldn't sleep without 'Bah'... she slept for about an hour and woke up crying saying she and 'Ellie' missed 'Bah'. When Troy got up we loaded up with all of Sophia's animals into the van as they were all going to go find 'Bah'.. no lie, we had about 7 stuffed animals that she insisted on bringing with us, they all missed 'Bah'. The wind was picking up and it was only going to get worse as the evening came. I called Meg and told her I was close and I was going to just run in and get 'Bah' and leave because it was getting yucky out. Sophia was tickled by every landmark we saw that would mean we were closer to getting 'Bah' back.

My cell phone rang, it was Meg. Bad news. 'Bah' was gone. Not in her diaper bag, not in her car, not in her house, totally gone. She called the restaurant, closed. She called some other girls that were with us at the cafe. No 'Bah'. Oh God give me strength. How am I going to explain that after all this we aren't going to come home with 'Bah'. I turned the car around.. I must have drove to every little shop that I could possibly imagine would carry beanie babies. No one had 'Bah'. I didn't think they would... like I said I had her years ago. We drove to Bealls who I knew carried beanie babies. Come to find out 'Bah' originally named 'Ewey' was retired in 1992. At this point I was trying to explain to Sophia that Mrs. Meg didn't have 'Bah'... crying she told me how 'Bah' was lost and scared somewhere out in the world. She was beside herself in tears. It broke my heart. I would have done anything to find this lost sheep. I was telling Sophia that we were on an expedition to find 'Bah'. Bealls had lots of beanie babies, even a few sheep, but not like 'Bah'.. I thought if I found another one I could hid it in the clothes and tell her 'Bah' found us! It didn't work out that way. We did find a distraction in three of the cutest beanie babies I have ever seen... the Wonder Pets; Linny, Tuck, and Ming Ming! They were so cute! I told Sophia we could take them home with us and they could keep her company until 'Bah' came home.

At this point I was certain I would be ordering a replacement 'Bah' on Amazon.com and heading to the cafe first thing in the morning to see if they had recovered 'Bah'. She was hesitant about not finding 'Bah' but happy to have the Wonder Pets. On the way home we sang the Wonder Pets theme song about saving the baby 'Bah'... reminder:we drove home during a tropical storm. At this point the wind and rain were so bad they were blowing the doors of the department store open and all but two workers had gone home. They were probably thinking I was a nut, out with two babies, in a tropical storm, purchasing beanie babies. Not to mention I was wearing pajama pants and a tank top with my hair in a knot on my head, as I thought I was just driving to Meg's and back home.

We got home safely and Sophia was happy until bedtime when she cried again that 'Bah' was lost in the rain. The Wonder Pets snuggled up to her and they eventually went to sleep without 'Bah'. I ordered a 'Bah' from amazon which was shipped the next day. I got up that morning and drove to the cafe. Again, two kids, 7 animals and the wonder pets to see if 'Bah' was there. The restaurant was closed due to the storm- should have known. UGH!! No luck! I told Sophia that 'Bah' would come home soon... as I knew a new 'Bah' was being shipped to our house.

The storm delayed the mail but luckily the new 'Bah', which Sophia thinks is the original 'Bah' arrived last night. Tony came home with a package and I knew exactly what it was I quickly ripped the tag off of 'Bah' and gave Sophia the package. I told her it was from the Wonder Pets.
She reached in.. out popped 'Bah'.

The happiest child I have ever seen. She hugged Tony, hugged me, said 'Thank you Everyone'.. she hasn't let go of 'Bah' since. She cried.. she really cried happy tears. I didn't know a child could do that. They were the sweetest most beautiful tears in the whole world. Last night was the first night she slept the night through since 'Bah' went missing.

Hurray!! Now, I am going to have to call that cafe and see if they have the other 'Bah' so that I have a second just in case anything like this ever happens again. Yes, a new 'Ellie' is on the way as well from Amazon.com as well. 'Ellie' is really named 'Sprinkles'. Who knew!?

Oh, and now we have plenty of animals to keep track of... "Ellie", "Bah", "Linny", "Tuck", and "Ming Ming"

I love it!

Today I pray that anyone who wants it will recieve faith like a child.

What a beautiful idea... faith like a child..
not jaded
innocent
pure
honest
Viewing the world, people, life, in the eyes of a child.

Lord today, and always, give me faith like a child.

doing great.. today

Some days I really do forget that Sophia has epilepsy. A blessing I am sure as some people don't have the break to forget things like this. She has been doing exceptionally well lately. She hasn't had any grand Mal seizures for quite a while, she hasn't had any behavioral seizures since the last one I wrote about, occasionally she spaces out but those are so hard to tell at this age.. she hasn't had any strange moments that give me that scared feeling like something is wrong... overall she is doing great. It is time spans like this when I want to take her off the medication and feel like it's all been a bad dream. I know that's not reality though. I have even been forgetting her medication, not good I know, not forgetting it all together but I've been late getting it to her the past couple days. She is supposed to get medicine every 12 hours and I have gone 14 or 15 hours the past couple days. I am making a point to get back on track with that though. She seems so strong I forget she can be so weak. Doing great for today, you never know what tomorrow will hold. I do feel the future is looking bright. I am thankful for that hope.
I was talking to Tony's mom the other day and she was asking me "remember this day..." I couldn't remember. Then she said "remember Sophia had a seizure that night"... bang! I remembered the day she was talking about. Isn't it funny how I remember days and events marked by seizures. Even Tony's mom, she remembered the event marked by that seizure. I remember, it was a ladies luncheon and Sophia was the little lady that day at the lunch. She wore a little sundress and enjoyed the company of everyone. Darla remembers her looking "flush" that day. I didn't recall. We had fun and enjoyed the company and that night she had a grand Mal seizure. I remember talking to our minister at church telling him what happened, he had popped into the luncheon and said how she seemed just fine earlier that day. That is what everyone who had seen her that day said. That's what we always say. She seems so fine. Even our neighbors say most of the time they forget that a seizure is even a risk for her. Then, bang.. it happens. It really is like a lightening strike. Unexpected.
I don't always forget. Sometimes I am reminded even when Sophia is "fine." Sophia participated in gymnastics last summer and this summer we were told that the gym didn't feel comfortable having her participate because of her seizures. Let's not forget that at age 2, it is still a parent child class and I would be with her the entire time. Not to mention the reason they gave was if she fell off the balance beam.. it's a two inch above the ground foam beam... not very dangerous. I even had a release form from the neurologist for the gym. Also, I remember some mom's in our neighborhood, earlier on in her diagnosis, not wanting their kids to play near Sophia in fear that her seizures might scare their kids. People are so ignorant.
I am finding that parents who have children with special circumstances are really touched by people wanting to know about their child's needs or illness. It almost makes parents feel like their is a reason, a purpose that their child is going through this. To raise awareness, concern, or just understanding. I have seen parents so thrilled to talk, over joyed that someone cares enough to ask. If you know someone who's child is going through something. Call them, ask them if their is something you can do, ask them about it, show concern. It really makes all the difference sometimes. Some days are harder than others and feeling that there is a reason can make all the difference in the world. I always tell Tony, someday Sophia may be a great neurologist and cure epilepsy because of all of this. ;) Or maybe, she will just spread awareness through her personal story. ;) Either way, this is our cross for a reason and we carry it well. :)

my beautiful ones

I am going to miss this.

Have I mentioned how much I adore these babies!? They are getting so big so quickly. I can't believe next month Sophia is going to be three and then in October Troy will be one. Time flys. I think back at my life and remember when I was 10, wanting to be in high school. When I was in high school wanting to be in college. In college, wanting to be married. I have my moments, but there is no time or place I'd rather be than right now. I am finally taking my mom and dad's advice- I am "enjoying the moment". I know someday, I am going to miss this time in my life.

I went to lunch with my mother in law today. We were talking about making intentional memories. Planning trips with the kids, traditions, routines, legacies... all things we can look back on and remember.

Some things I know I am going to miss....

Troy's sparkle in his eyes when he is walking towards me, he is so proud.

I am going to miss...

Sophia asking me to rock her in the middle of the night when she has a bad dream.

I am going to miss...

them being together in this house

I am going to miss...

cleaning their highchairs

I am going to miss...

folding a load of their laundry, seems like 9 million articles of clothing in one load

I am going to miss...

their "boogies", "blankets", "Ellie"

I am going to miss...

Sophia asking me to polish her nails pink with "sparkles"

I am going to miss...

Troy attacking my glass of water so that he can have ice

I am going to miss...

having them wake me up in the morning

I am going to miss...

their endless energy.

I truly am enjoying every moment with these babies.

Now that I got myself all emotional thinking about my babies growing up... let me add how bored they are in all this rain! Luckily we did get out and go to lunch and they are taking naps now. :)

Take time and listen to the song "You're gonna miss this" It reminds me of what everyone has told me my whole life and what I am finally doing. :)

more rain...

*I did lots of repeating myself in this blog. I do that when I am overtired. I was wanting to share the pictures of the kids first day but I should have taken a nap. My little Sophia decided she was going to sit in her room for two hours and not sleep though. They are both up now and playing hard. I just hopped online to proof read and relized how silly this blog sounds. Oh well, that's sleep deprivation for ya!? Gotta be real ;)

Here are pictures from the Sophia's first day back to school and Troy's first day of school.

Sophia looks like, "Mom, stop taking pictures!"
Troy says, "Let's go Momma!!"

The kids started school yesterday. They are going Mondays and Wednesdays in the morning from 830-1130. I enjoyed my morning off mommy duty yesterday. I had lots of errands to run and was busy the whole time they were playing. Sophia loved having her bruder with her. Troy loved it! Then Hurricane Faye and no school now in Central Florida until Thursday, which means no school for Sophia and Troy until next week. The hurricane was down graded to a tropical storm and I don't think it will be that bad. Just a lot of wind and rain.. they warned of tornado threats. We have a couple gallons of water, gas in our cars, and I have made sure the clothes are clean, house is clean, dishes are washed... just in case the electricity goes out. A couple years ago we had a storm and it wasn't that bad but the electricity went out and it took four days for us to get it back on so that's my only main concern with this storm. I hate being hot but being hot and stuck in a dirty house is just too much. :) Today, the weather is sunny and windy- they probably didn't need to close schools today, I don't think the storm will get that bad until this afternoon. So- for now, we are just hanging out. Went to the grocery store this morning and have been hanging out at the house. Tony is working today, luckily he is working close to the house today so if it gets yucky he can get home pretty quick. Anyway, that's our boring day! OH- they are now saying the storm is going to flip and come back around and hit Florida again at the end of the week- GREAT! :)

same side sitters

A long time ago... no really a long time ago, but before we had kids, lol, Tony and I went out to dinner with our neighbors. I remember we went to Red Lobster. We were taken to our table and as we sat down Tony and I did our normal, he sat by me and pulled my chair (not in a stand behind it, pull all the way out, I sit down, he pushed it back in kind of way- but a casual pull it out a bit so that the attempt has been made to be polite, I'd prefer that anyway, we always get awkward when he does the "pull and push" rather than just the "pull",this is our 'thing'- over time you get 'things', I like to situate myself in my chair then get back to the table- however, the "pull and push" is something I will teach my son but I don't particularly care for it, it shows great respect and manners, I am so proud of Tony that he always does this). Back to the story, we sat down at the table and our neighbors giggled as they sat down on the other side of the table. I asked what was funny and she said "we were wondering while we were driving over if you guys would be 'same side sitters' or not, I guess you are." I had never heard the phrase 'same side sitter' I never even noticed it before but I guess we are 'same side sitters'. Last night was the first full night away from both children. Sophia usually goes to my mom's house and spends the night (she has a Little Mermaid toddler bed there) and Troy is usually kept by Tony's mom until we get home from where ever we are going, so Troy has never been gone a full night. But last night, my mom offered to keep both kids- whooo!! I was nervous but excited. So, I loaded them up and off they went. Mom called at 9:30 and said everyone was sleeping sound. I am antsy to go pick them up this morning and kiss their little heads. Troy I am sure will be thrilled to see me and I will get the usual "I don't want to go home" greeting from Sophia.
Now that we have two kids it's nearly impossible for us to be 'same side sitters' unless we are at a really long table with a kid on each end and Tony and I in the middle, as crazy as that looks we are devout same side sitters. Last night we went to the Melting Pot again (Tony's favorite new place) and we resumed our normal same side sitting. Funny, I noticed it confused the waitress. I looked around and there were no same side sitters in the place. I know some people, like my old neighbors, like to sit on opposite sides of the table so they can talk and see each others faces but with a slight tilt of the chair you can have the same affect being a same side sitter. So tell me, are there any same side sitters around!??

Troy and his lovey

I am on a roll today. Lots of writing that I wanted to catch up on. I am getting the chance with all this rain we have been getting today.




These pictures were taken in July. Troy will fall asleep anywhere as long as he has his blanket. Sophia calls it his "bwankwet."

Troy has had this blanket since he was about 3 months old. I was shopping in JC Penny and he was so cranky. I walked to the baby section and saw this blue blanket on sale, it was so soft. Troy had plenty of blankets, as it was my major concern having a boy that I didn't want him to use any of his sister's pink blankets, running joke at my shower and I got a ton of blue blankets... but not one like this. It is sooo soft. So I grabbed it, opened it, covered my cranky baby with it and went to the check out with the tag in hand. He was comfortable with it as I finished my shopping.
Troy was never a great sleeper. I would try everything and anything to get him to sleep more than two hours at a time. If you had a non sleeper you may recall the routines that become almost ritualistic. I remember feeding him, holding him in front of the rocking chair for five seconds then taking ten rocking steps towards the crib, holding him for another thirty seconds patting his back while rocking side to side before laying him down. I swore that when I did it perfectly he would sleep and only wake every three hours. Probably didn't happen that way but I was convinced that it helped.
It took a couple weeks but I realized when I was swaddling him in this blue blanket he would sleep better. I thought it was the pajamas. :) Anyway, once I realized the magic in the blanket it was used every night. At 9 months old he still loves me to swaddle him in this blanket. When he is cranky I give it to him and he holds it up and rubs his face into the blanket. He even sucks it like a pacifier. He loves it! It's his lovey.
A couple nights ago I put the blanket on his floor so that I could swaddle him. I walked to close his window curtains and when I turned around he was laying on the blanket looking at me smiling, waiting for me to swaddle him. He has done this every night since. Tonight, I laid the blanket out for him and he crawled over and lay on it waiting for me to swaddle him. He rubbed his face on the blanet and just lay there waiting. It's so cute! Something I don't want to forget.. that's why you are reading it! :)
Good Night!

Hate

*I noticed my #6 hate was "people who manipulate others for their own selfish will" -oh, I should have put "when people manipulate others for their own selfish will"- I should be more conscious about that. So often I feel that I hate the person, but it's not the person it's their action that I hate. Note to self: Hate action, not person! 8/19/08

Hate is such a strong word. I was never allowed to say I hated anyone or anything when I was a child. I remember my mom felt very strong about that when I was a kid. She would always correct me whenever I said "I hate..." my devotional today was about the word hate. Hate is defined as an intense hostility or extreme dislike. The question was asked what things to do you hate? what things do you avoid at all costs? Sometimes things we hate can be formed from past experiences and sometimes they are just something we feel so strong about. Take a moment and come up with a list of things you hate, things that you extremly dislike. Feel free to share if you'd like. An interesting topic and something thought provoking questions. The devotional says that everyone hates something and even the all loving God hates somethings...
"There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to Him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
-Proverbs 6:16-19
Powerful words! I defiantly don't want to hold any characteristics that the Lord hates. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that! One thing that is common in this list, and is pointed out in my devotional, is that the list includes sins that particularly are harmful to others. Being that we are God's special creation, His children, He is sensitive to sins that cause grief for his babies (us!). In the list of things that God "hates"... he is protecting us. If we hate what he hates we will be protecting ourselves and one another. Also, notice that "the first six sins place emphasis on the seventh. It is bad for you to sin, but it is "detestable" to start a chain reaction- causing other's to sin too." WOW!! I know I don't want to be detestable to God... I don't want those characteristics in my home. I want to hate the same things that God hates. Think my mom would be OK with that!? :)
Hope this creates opportunity for thought. I know it did for me.

Other than the same as God's hates....
The six things I hate and one thing I detest.... (some are serious and some are silly but things I hate!)
1. seizures (think past experience has caused this... )
2. crimes against children and others who can't defend themselves
3. addictions; drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography... anything really that controls people really...
4. illness; cancer, epilepsy, Leigh's Disease... the list goes on...
5. lizards- defiantly a past experience-don't ask ;)
6. people who manipulate others for their own selfish will
7. birds -this topic deserves a blog of it's own

Feel free to share you list if you want....

Randomness

We have been so busy this week. School starts next week and the kids are going to be going two days per week in the mornings to give me a break. I am excited and nervous. Sophia is going on her third year now and I know she loves going to play with the other kids. Last year she went full days, this year since Troy is going to tag along I only want him going half days and I can't pick just one of them up and leave the other so they will being going half days together. Sophia is going to try dance classes again. She really loves dance, as you probably have seen the pictures, last time she was supposed to start she had an emotional breakdown and refused to go inside... the people weren't the most encouraging either though. It was a one month summer program for little kids and I don't think the instructor was thrilled about teaching it anyway. It was probably best that we didn't go, I don't want her first time in dance to be with a grouchy sourpuss teacher. She is signed up to start in September with a really nice lady named Mrs. Valerie. We got to go and meet Mrs. Valerie and she was so good with Sophia. Very kind, soft spoken, she got on Sophia's level and interacted well with her. That is so important with children, to get on their level. Imagine being their size in this world of giants... intimidating to meet new people, when you get onto their level it takes the intimidation factor away a bit and they are able to connect better face to face. Sophia warmed right up to her and she says she can't wait to go back and dance in the big mirror. :) Sophia's buddy, Madeline, the little girl next door, came over and brought Sophia her old tap shoes... oh that has been fun! My little tap dancer has been swirling around our house in those shoes ever since. She even asked to sleep in them. She was out on the patio yesterday standing on the top of her slide, wearing jean shorts, a pink tutu, and a pink shirt, with her tap shoes on singing something about being a princess trapped with pirates waiting for Tater Tot (our dog) to come rescue her. What am imagination!?
We are also signed up for "little kickers" soccer. A soccer program for three and four year olds on Saturday mornings for a 20 minute practice and a 20 minute game. It should be fun and I am sure she will take a great nap after that! We have so much coming up. I love being busy with the kids. My children are not happy to just be. A mistake I made early on with Sophia. Her first word was "go". Most mornings she wakes up asking me "where are we going today?" "put me in the carseat, let's go". Troy has followed suit... I am working on getting them to enjoy peaceful days at home but any more than two in a row we all start going a little batty. They get it from me I know, but I do wish that they were a little more content at home. I occasionally enjoy down time and I know that they need it, even if they don't like it. I don't think we have spent a full day home in over two weeks. We usually get out in the morning or/and afternoon but come home for lunch and naps. They are on a good schedule but love going out.
We are supposed to have some rainy weather the next couple days. I was getting nervous just hearing the weather forecast last night. Sophia and Troy probably spend 80% of the day outside. Playing on our patio, on the trampoline, kicking the ball in the front yard, sidewalk chalk, riding in the Barbie jeep, walking to the swings, feeding the fish- really we are rarely inside. Sophia is miserable when she is cooped up and I am seeing the same traits in Troy now that he is getting bigger. Troy will sit by the door and wave to me now, like he is just going to get up and leave us. Whenever a door is opened in our house they both come running. Don't get me wrong they do play well in their playroom but they don't last long. This morning the weather looked fairly decent so I took advantage and got them out. After breakfast I asked, who wants to go to the fruit stand? Sophia squealed for joy and Troy heard the word "go" and took off the the laundry room (our way out of the house). The fruit stand is very close to our house, maybe all of two miles, we drove over and Sophia sat on the rocking chairs outside the stand while we got some honey, pickled okra, and corn on the cob. The "fruit man" as Sophia so fondly calls him, just gave me the corn saying he thought it might be dry. We came home and boiled it with a bit of splenda and it was great! Thank you "fruit man". The people their enjoy seeing the kids. They gave Sophia a "yiddy pop" (lolly pop) and after stopping for a treat at the bakery.. we got home just in time for the rain. All before 10am... early risers. :) Troy stood at the window hitting it and fussing while it rained. He was cranky this morning.. he has his two bottom teeth and one top tooth and I saw the other top tooth is poking through now. He is taking about ten steps at a time now. He can walk from one end of Sophia's room to the other. When he gets a good rhythm going Sophia always acknowledges him, "Good Job Bruder". He claps back at her. It's his silent speech. It's so cute. He does say "Mum" "Dada" "Bye Bye" and believe it or not "Issy" which I think he is trying to say sissy... he holds his arms up to her "Issy, Issy". He really adores her. When she leaves a room he comes after her hollering. They are two peas in a pod. They do bicker quite a bit now, as Troy isn't content anymore letting her be the boss.. he digs his heels in and lets her have it now. I told her someday he'd be big enough to fight back. They get into yelling matches now seeing who can be the loudest. My crazy, wonderful kids!
Well, I have rambled through a good portion of their nap time. I should go and mop the kitchen... this gloomy day, maybe pajamas and a nap would be nice. Hope everyone is having a good week. :)

Weekend at the Beach

Tony and Troy on the beach...

Troy sitting in the sand...
I thought this was a neat picture...
I have a similar picture of her on the beach in Puerto Rico when she was about 15 months old.
This is one of my favorites... there were a lot of them ;)


We were off at the beach this weekend. Lots coming on that but for now I am exhuasted after a busy weekend and a busy week coming up. I'll write soon but I wanted to share some photography from this trip. I always feel God's strength when I am standing on the shoreline.



We really enjoyed this get away.

If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures, click the link below to see the complete ablum from our trip to Ormond Beach.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=11qp8sz4.6buta6co&Uy=-j15jix&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=291996667457_893975759208&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Ellie

This is Sophia's sweet "Ellie".
Sophia has loved her "Ellie" since she was a little baby.
I had to take some time and take some pictures of Sophia with her "Ellie."
Enjoy them.

Ring the Dinner Bell

In my last blog I wrote about how feeding time is chaotic in this house. I was reflecting on what an understatement that was this morning after feeding the kids breakfast. After lunch, chaos is a wayyyyy understatement!
We were in a hurry to get out the door to Troy's swim lessons this morning. The kids get up every morning within 5 minutes of each other. It's like they feel the energy coming from down the hall from their sibling's room. Rarely will one of them sleep in longer than the other. So this morning, Sophia woke up, I got her dressed and we went to the kitchen to get her morning medicine and her breakfast. Somewhere in the process Troy woke up, I got him dressed and in the highchair sitting next to Sophia. I made their waffles and they ate. Tater Tot (our dog) circles the highchairs waiting for something to drop onto the ground. When they are full both kids start throwing food to Tater and laughing at one another. So this morning before 8am, my wild monkeys were screaming, throwing food, and.. it was chaos. As I watched them, while I was loading the dishwasher and laughing to myself.
I got them down and they were waiting in the kitchen for me to wash their faces and hands. Troy was crawling around and Sophia was patiently waiting for me to get my act together. I ran to get a wash cloth and left the kids trapped by the baby gates into the kitchen. (Thank God for baby gates) When I got back my "little controller", Sophia, had Troy and Tater Tot sitting side by side reaching onto her highchair taking pieces of waffle feeding them.. saying "one for you Troy. one for Taty Tot. Now? who wants more? OK Troy. here you go Taty..." So cute!! Maybe I should have her do breakfast more often. She has more control than I do.
Then- lunch time. We got home after running some errands after swim lessons. Troy was starving so he went from the car seat to the highchair and Sophia played while I got lunch ready for her. Sophia was tired and cranky- fussing and refusing to eat everything I offered. While Troy double fisting baby cheese puffs, screeching for more when he would run out of food. Sophia was tossing her food onto Troy's highchair... Tater Tot was catching the food that didn't make it to the tray... ugh! I got Sophia down and she went potty and into her bed for a nap- thank God for nap time! I went back to the highchair to get Troy ready for nap and... AHH!! He pooped! It was everywhere!! Oh my son! Oh my! I will spare you the details but let me just say- oh my! Troy went to the bath, bathed and clean then into his room. I baby gated him into his room while I cleaned the bathtub with antibacterial; then mopped floor, the sink, the toilet. While I was doing this, Troy was standing at the baby gate, yelling and slamming his door onto the gate... Sophia was not able to fall asleep- she was standing on her bed yelling "BE QUIET TROY! SISSY IS SLEEPING!!" CHAOS! While I am knee high in poop! Not literally but it felt that way! :)
Let me just create a visual for you. Coming down the hallway out of the kitchen the first door is Sophia's room. Sophia has periwinkle colored walls with a sunflower and horse border circling the room. She calls it her pony room. The next door is the bathroom, where I was located, knee high in poo, remember? Then, Troy's room is at the far end of the hall, he has blue walls in his room with a barnyard border on the wall. Troy was gated into his room, standing at the gate wearing a camo onesie with his hair spiked in a mohawk. He still wears the battle scar from Sunday school under his left eye. He looked like a holy terror. Being as loud as he possibly could banging his door. Then looking out, laughing seeing if I was watching him. I looked out at him- then heard Sophia yelling in her room. I looked the other direction to see Sophia wearing a pink and blue butterfly dress, with a blue bow clipped into her hair, holding her "Ellie", with "boogie" (pacifier) in her mouth, standing on her pink blankets, yelling "BE QUIET TROY!.."
I quickly finished the bathroom. I got Troy settled down and in his crib, Sophia was able to go to sleep, and then onto the kitchen. Poop in the highchair, on the floor, ahh!! I hate poop! Again, sparing you more details, I then mopped the kitchen, disinfected the highchairs (both highchairs had to be cleaned,sparing you more details- use your imagination). Then off to disinfect myself!
Peace! Now, both kids are sleeping and I am guessing I have about an hour until they wake up. Off to pay some bills, fold some laundry, and make some phone calls. *After spellchecking and adding a few details where I thought necessary.. Sophia is awake. I am laying in my bed watching her on the video monitor as she is talking to "Ellie" and sharing her pacifier with another stuffed animal in her bed. :)
I hope everyone is having a happy Hump Day! :)
Love you all!

Busy Weekend

I am exhausted! It has been a busy time in our lives. I have started printing my blogs in an attempt to keep somewhat of a journal for our family and this time in our lives just seems to fly by. I feel like the second I get used to a routine or some kind of normalcy with the kids something changes. I wanted to write about our weekend, don't feel obligated to read this though, it might be boring but it is a weekend I don't want to forget, so here goes-
Saturday I went with all the girls to see Momma Mia. It was a good movie. I am not into chick flicks or musicals for that matter- but it was really good. I don't recommend seeing it with your husband. Had I gone with Tony I probably wouldn't have liked it near as much. I went with my mom, my sister, my aunt, my cousin, and my grandma. All the girls! It was so fun. Again, a very cute movie but I recommend seeing it with other women.
Before the movie my mom and I met and got pedicures.. it was nice sitting with her talking about life. I never imagined I'd be sitting with my mom getting a pedicure talking about my daughter, my son, my husband... life... it's so surreal sometimes. I really like spending time with my mom- we don't get to spend much one on one time together. She is a nurse- working all the time. When she isn't working she is taking care of her horses, cows, and all the other animals on the farm; including my dad. :)
After the movie my sister and I did a bit of shopping and then I went home. I got home and spent a couple hours playing with the kids and trying to give them some mommy time (I always feel guilty being gone from them).
Then, Tony and I got ready for a night out. My Mom and Dad came to the house and watched the kids for us and we went to the Melting Pot... my favorite restaurant in the whole world!! I love the Melting Pot. If you have never heard of it, it's an awesome fondue place, awesome! We went with my sister, Lana, and her boyfriend, Aaron. What a fun night. I enjoy hanging out with those two. I am glad Tony and Aaron get along so well- it makes it so much fun for Lana and I. I enjoy spending time with Lana as an adult. I always liked spending time with her growing up but we were 5 years apart and there was always that 'kid sister' aspect of our relationship. She really has grown up into a bright and beautiful young woman and I enjoy her now more than ever.
We got home about 9:30 and Troy was sleeping, Sophia was in her bed.. but awake- I sang her a song, said her prayers, and she was asleep moments after we got home. Mom was scrubbing under the highchairs laughing telling me about the adventure she had getting the kids dinner, baths, and bed... it really is chaos in our house during that time of night. I assured her that it is no easier for me- I meant it too. The bathroom and the kitchen have to be cleaned nightly.. there is no clean, neat, and tidy way to feed a bath a two year old and a 9 month old.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. I love our church. So much life, so many families... I love it! During service the children's coordinator, Brooke, came and asked me to follow her out. At first, my heart dropped, I thought Sophia had had a seizure. Then I saw Brooke's face, she was smiling and whispered, 'it's OK'. So sweet. I knew it was fine. Funny how you form relationships with people, building a trust level. She probably saw my face knew I what I was thinking and just as quick as the thought crossed my mind Brooke smiled and I knew it was fine. I guess Troy had fallen and cut his cheek.. he has a nice little battle scar today. That's a boy for you! I brought him into church with me and he spent the last couple minutes of service sitting on my lap. What a mouth he is! He was drinking his sippy cup then spitting it all out onto his shirt- by the end of service he was soaked. We then headed to lunch at a local BBQ place. Then we got home and all of us crashed out. We feel asleep.... but who has time to sleep!? Not us!! We woke up in a panic- we had so much to go do before our last 'couples personality class' (this is a group couples class we have been hosting at our house that is lead by a couple from our church, more on this later- it was an awesome experience!!) Anyway, running like crazy people until our guests arrived. The kids had to be feed, bathed, and dressed before our company got there, which meant that the bathroom and the kitchen was going to have to be cleaned when that was done. Tony and I are a great team though and we were able to double team/double time.. and we were ready for our company at 7.
Busy day!!! Busy weekend!!!
Today I had to take Troy to his swim lessons. He is going for a refresher course this week, everyday for 10 minutes. He did soo good though. It is always hectic having to get out and take him to swim lessons, totally worth it though. His instructor is so nice, she makes it so enjoyable.
Then we came home, lunch, nap time, then off to the grocery store. When we got home it was cooking time... some of you know how I cook... if you don't know I'll tell you- I cook all of our meals for the week on Monday and Tuesday. Monday I cook all of the side dishes and Tuesday I cook all of the main dishes. It's hectic on Monday and Tuesday but the rest of the week it is so easy when all the meals are prepared and ready. I love doing it this way! Then, dinner, bath, and finally bed!
I am laying in bed typing... I love this crazy, hectic life! But I am exhausted! I am going to sleep!! I hope everyone had a great weekend and I hope you all are having a great week so far!! :) Bless you all!!