I love the weekends. I especially love weekends where I have little obligations (just the usual housework needs). I would like them to include a couple of extra days and be about 7 hours longer, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.
Friday night started out with Nate and I watching a big-person movie, no animation (Inglorious Basterds). Now, I did fall asleep around 9:30, and we didn’t finish it, but hey, it’s a start.
This morning, Ava, Lily and I had a yummy breakfast–tried a new smoothie “recipe” which wasn’t really any different from what I’ve made before, except I used a new type of yogurt. Ava gave her seal of approval, and I look forward to more yummy breakfast mornings. Lily enjoyed some mango-banana-oatmeal goodness, but wasn’t really super hungry, so we saved it for later.
Then the three of us went to Ava’s dance class and then music class. Lily was a tired girl and Ava and I ran out for groceries and a trip to Staples. Then it was tackling the laundry and coming to the sad realization that all the months of running the humidifier nights on end has caused a possible issue in our rooms. I’ve gone back and forth between, good lord, we have MOLD! to, okay, so maybe it was the iron bed rubbing off the yellow paint, and letting the green walls show through as a result. So I’ve moved lots of furniture, deep cleaned and washed lots of things I had no intention of doing, but it’s making me feel good. And I no longer feel like we’re living in dampness.
Nate’s working on getting things organized outside, as he wants to build shelves in the garage to get things organized in there. We happened to watch a sneak peek of the new TLC show “Hoarders: Buried Alive” and he said that’s what our garage is like. Oh Nater, not close, but I get that it is suffocating.
I’m typing this while cleaning up the DVR and watching some What Not to Wear. Good times. So that’s been our weekend, so far. The weather has been pretty nice–little bit of sun here and there, windows open, and while it’s been work, I don’t feel overwhelmed by it all, which is wonderful. Good times, good times.
We “celebrated” Dr. Seuss’s birthday this past week – Nate continued to read Ava’s collection of Dr. Seuss stories to her, and Lily joined in on the fun.
and here’s a shout out to my brother–finally got a picture of her wearing it. Your turn’s coming Liz.
So it’s only Monday, but it was a doozie; back to work after a nice weekend, grades are due next week, had a staff meeting afterschool, and then my master’s class. And the piece de resistance, as I’m walking back to my classroom from lunch, trying my best to avoid the swarms of seagulls and yep. I’m pooped on. On my hair. And it’s beyond disgusting–granted, it could have been way worse, but yeah, ugh. I get it cleaned up fairly easily, and I only had two periods left to teach before I could go home and wash my hair, but still. Ew.
I told Nate about it and we had a few laughs about having a hit put out (or in this case multiple hits) and the less I know about the details, the better, etc. Now, I’m sharing all of this with you because of Ava’s reaction when Nate told her – and I have this weird compulsion where I have to share, almost like it’s confession. I know, weird.
Ava didn’t have preschool today because of a teacher workday, so she went with Lily to Susan’s. On the way home after picking up the girls, Nate told Ava about his day, and then shares that “Mommy was pooped on by a bird.” Ava asks, “On her finger?” And Nate shakes his head and says, “No, on her head.” Ava then asks, “Didn’t the bird land on her finger? Like they do with princesses?”
Ah sweetie, I wish that had been a beautiful bluebird, singing sweetly to me. But what a fun world you live in. I need to try to think more like you.
I stayed a little longer than normal (for a Wednesday) at work today, as I was getting things ready for a sub tomorrow. My voice isn’t back, I’m feeling a little achy in my head and throat and while I really hate to call in sick (not to mention I have no sick days left, and will be paying for my sub out of pocket), I think it’s time.
That’s why it’s sick and wrong for me to be excited. It seriously takes me being sick to be excited about being home? Sick in the head maybe.
On my drive home I thought about the things to do tomorrow:
1. Nap when Lily naps–going to keep her home with me. No sense in her recovering from her own illness at the sitter’s.
2. Read my book for Monday night’s class
3. Dishes and vacuuming (not strenuous, seriously wouldn’t take long)
4. Take care of all the pictures that need to go in baby books, frames that are sitting on the dining table, kitchen table, etc.
But then I thought about all the things I WANT to do:
1. Watch Mad Men Season 3 or any Gilmore Girls while doing some of the following:
-Ava has a doll bed from Ikea and I saw this post the other day that I honestly never thought of doing, and now can’t wait to do. Not the quilt for tomorrow, that’s a project for another day, but I can totally do the pillow and mattress.
-I thinkthis is adorable and again, wouldn’t take long to do. I can totally see Ava wearing that, and maybe staying on her head longer than the headband–which doesn’t hold her hair back very well. She’s a wee bit active.
-I want to finish my book club, seeing as our meeting is this weekend. Have to say I’m struggling with it a little. It’s My Life in France by Julia Child
I find that French food does not sound appetizing, I want to know how she could afford to make the same food 12 times. Of course I tried to reserve her French Chef cookbook, and there’s quite a wait for it. And no, I haven’t watched Julia/Julie or whatever it’s called. It’s on my netflix list. Can’t actually remember the last time I watched a movie that wasn’t animated…
-I bought the clips for this project almost a month ago, but haven’t gotten any further with it.
-and finally, I want to start on a new felt project, only this time it’s a felt dollhouse instead of felt food.
I purchased the patternhere. I have all the material for it, just need to get started. I figure it will be a good toy to bring with us in our upcoming travels (we are headed to Michigan in April, Oklahoma in June, and possibly Maryland in the summer), and quiet for church.
The list could really go on and on. The reality of the situation is I need to sit and do nothing, except maybe watch Mad Men/Gilmore Girls. Drink tea, eat soup, and get better.
On the kid front, after only drinking about 4 oz. per day at daycare, Lily is finally taking the bottle again–and now won’t be back there again until Monday. Ah well, what can you do.
Ava’s growing like a weed and is on a kick where all the names she comes up with rhyme with Gina, but aren’t actual names. Eena, Meena, Beena, etc.
I went with a little Ozzy for this week’s title, but could have easily made it, “Need Another Vacation.”
I was on winter break this week and was pretty jammed pack with events, so I selfishly felt like I needed another week. I battled a sinus infection and because of that, I haven’t been very productive this week. Well, to some extent I was.
Last weekend (February 13th) we celebrated Lily’s baptism at my church. My parents, Aunt Stasha and Uncle Jim (Lily’s godparents) flew in late Wednesday night and were able to stay until Tuesday, February 16th. My brother and his wife planned to join us Thursday night, but unfortunately Snowmageddon foiled plans, as their flight was canceled. Nate’s parents flew in Friday night and then flew out on Sunday, but we are thankful that they could make it for the event.
I still had to work Thursday and a 1/2 day on Friday, and by the weekend I’m usually exhausted and so I wasn’t a whole lot of fun – in fact I think we were in bed quite early both nights. (Ava had her Valentine’s party at school Friday-it was also a type of spirit week at her school, where she got to wear pajamas to school, have crazy hair, etc. Poor girl, I unintentionally gave her her first bit of insecurity about being different on the crazy hair day.
She wasn’t excited about wearing her hair different, and Nate said when they got to school there weren’t any other kids with crazy hair. Good one Mom. Well, when I picked her up that afternoon, kids had different color hair, and other crazy things, so she didn’t feel so different. Mine field, this parenting thing.) Saturday morning arrived, and with it came Ava’s dance class and music class. Both grandma’s and Aunt Stasha was able to be a part of the festivities. There was more music class drama, this time between the parents! A couple sets of parents were talking while the teacher attempted to explain about there being no class this coming weekend (and there were two older girls who were running around with instruments still, yelling and carrying on. I was not into that), and was unable to get the parent’s attention. Other parents took it upon themselves to yell at the disruptive parents, who didn’t take kindly to getting told (loudly and kind of harshly) to be quiet. It will be interesting to see who is back next week.
We had a nice family meal before the baptism, and headed to the church around 4:30. Father wanted us right up front, which was a little intimidating, but turned out just fine in the end. He also had us walk in during the Processional, which I thought was very cool.
I’ve never witnessed a baptism during Mass at this church, so I had no idea on the procedure. I have to say, I really liked it. Poor Lily was HOT in the baptismal outfit, and I had to strip her some (took off her tights and shoes) before the actual event. She did not want to be seated, preferring for me to hold her on the side where it was cooler. We also celebrated World Marriage day, and the Church was decorated for Chinese and Vietnamese New Year. The woman who was in charge of the Christmas pageant spoke, along with her husband about marriage, and it was pretty neat that we were able to share the mass together.
The actual baptism went well–Lily was given the Catholic seal of approval (evidenced by the murmurs afterword) as she was pretty easy going about everything. She however did NOT like being anointed with oil, or letting us trace the sign of the cross on her forehead.
Afterward we came home for some devil’s food cupcakes
and to spend more time together. Lily tried solid food (rice cereal) for the first time so both Grandma’s could be there for it. She did a great job with it.
Sunday was a pretty chill day with lots of Wii and some opening of Valentine’s day gifts for Ava (and Lily, but she wasn’t really aware of the festivities).
Monday we traveled to Big Basin so Uncle Jim could see redwood trees and to meet up with a cousin who lives in the Monterey area.
It was a beautiful day and we had a nice “hike” along the very flat, well cleared Redwood Trail. Feeling that we should experience more of nature, we took off along another trail that soon proved to be a little too much for us, so we headed back to the park headquarters.
We stopped off at In ‘N Out so Uncle Jim and Aunt Stasha could experience some tasty hamburgers. It was very nice to be able to spend time with family, and we appreciate their being a part of this special event.
Tuesday morning came far too quickly–we had to be on the road at 4am in order to get Mom and Dad to the SFO airport in time for their flight. Then it was dropping Aunt Stash and Uncle Jim of at the San Jose airport. Home for a little sleep and then off to my dentist appointment. Lily came with me and she was great about it. Not happy in her carseat, but content to sit on my lap.
Wednesday I took Lily for her six month pictures at the mall. The photographer wanted her to sit, and I said that she’s still pretty wobbly. I sat near her, but yep, she took a tumble and hit her head. I feel horrible about it, and it wasn’t hard, I caught her body being for she could totally fall, (and she was sitting on the floor), but yeah, it was awful. She cried less than a minute, and I think I scared her more by yelling “LILY!!” I still feel bad. Her pictures turned out cute though, of course.
Thursday was her six month checkup. She is 17 pounds, and grew an inch and half in two months (26 3/4 inches). Tuesday morning Lily woke up with a barking cough, and the doctor could hear some chest congestion, but she had no fever, and she still had her shots and while she cried through them, she settled down quite quickly. Friday morning she and I woke up feeling horrible. My throat was killing me and she had a horrible cough and a small fever. I think part of it was the shots, but it’s no fun having a sick baby. Luckily Ava seems to be holding her own. I no longer feel like my head is going to explode everytime I pick something up.
So, needless to say, with having to finish my homework for Monday night, grade, etc. for school, I’m wishing for a snow day. But honestly, I can’t complain. I got to spend quality time with my family and I’m very appreciative of that.
I have come to the realization that I need to really pull back on all the activities. Must schedule more chill time in our lives.
That’s right, Ava is FOUR! This week was flurry of activity, getting ready for her birthday party, which took place yesterday, so this will serve as a recap of the past week’s events. (No joke, I realize my birthday was just last weekend, but it feels like a year ago. ) It’s not that I’m sad that she’s four, I mean, she obviously needs to grow older, that means she’s healthy, but little things like, she can eat a whole vitamin now, instead of it being split in half, makes me mourn the fact that she’s not a little toddler any more. I look at Lily rolling everywhere–both sides now–and know that before long, we’ll be celebrating her 4th birthday too.
After posting last Sunday, I had to “read” 300+ pages for my first class of this semester. I got it done, and am eternally thankful for my 210B class that taught me how to read a history book without having to read every single word, page, etc. However, not having been in student mode for a while, I thought I was missing the point of the text, but wrote up my response anyway (did just fine on it, didn’t miss the point, just wasn’t as earth-shattering to me.) In addition to continuing with the birthday party preparations, I made bread. I received a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, along with a pizza peel and a dough rising container for my birthday from my parents. My first attempt was tasty, although the finished product looks odd:
Now it looks like that because I used our new bread knife to cut the design, which only should have been 1/4 inch deep. My cuts were close to 3/4 of an inch. My knife is too good. I feel for my first loaf, it was fine, definitely a learning curve for me. And with the amount that I made, I had three loaves of dough ready in the fridge. Sweet.
On the school front, I just have to say, that overall, my 8th grade classes this year are awesome. I have little annoyances here and there, but honestly, couldn’t ask for a better group of kids, considering I am joining them 1/2 through the year. I have a lot of really advanced students this year too, so grading is a pleasure. Okay, that’s kind of a lie, because of course I’d rather be doing any number of things than grading, but their work makes it less painful. I’m also on the RSP team this year, so I have some really low kids too, but that’s all they are, not behavior issues that were designated as special ed. That being said, going back to work made the whole party planning thing a lot more work, especially with this week’s schedule:
Monday
I had leadership at 3:10 and it lasted until about 4:30pm, which meant that after gathering my stuff in my classroom, I got home around 4:50, and had to leave for my 210A class at 5:15. The class was FULL and it felt like they put us in a closet, but I’m really glad I am in the class. I like the professor, I need the material to help me pass the master’s test, and this gets me one class closer to being done. Got home around 9:10, ate some dinner (took snacks with me, but needed more), ordered the remaining books I needed and finished painting the 4.
Tuesday
No meetings after school, which meant that I did grocery shopping and again, continued with the preparations. I was able to make some more artisan bread (forgot to take a picture, but man, it looked awe.some.) and calico beans (I love them.) Both were tasty and a good choice as it was a cool night with a bit of rain.
Wednesday
After my team meeting, I had a “Closing the Achievement Gap” (aka CTAG) meeting from 3:30-5pm. Ava and I couldn’t make the cool playdough cookies, so I quickly bought some cupcakes for her birthday between the two meetings. When I have late meetings like that, we (the girls and I) never get home before 6pm, which makes for a really long day. Ava doesn’t get that much time to play, Lily just wants to have cuddle time, and I’m ready for bed, but have lots to mark off my to do list.
Thursday
Ava’s Birthday! I woke her up singing “Happy Birthday” and Nate took the cupcakes with Ava when he dropped her off at school. The other teacher in the classroom gave him a little guilt trip, asking “are you coming for Ava’s party?!?” and then acting quite shocked when he said no, and even more shocked when he said I wouldn’t be coming either. I felt bad, but they eat birthday treats after rest time, and my school just gets out around that time for. No way can I make it there with all the traffic, not to mention my detention duty is every Thursday. I swung by Costco after work and before picking up Lily and was so excited that it only took me 15 min. TOTAL to get all the things on my list!…until I got to the exit and realized I had forgotten the chicken salad. But still, 25 min. at Costco was awesome, and after picking up Lily, and then Ava, we were home around 5pm. Nate was already home, and he entertained Lily while Ava and I made her cupcakes for our own celebration. She chose chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and broccoli for her meal, and we celebrated with some more “Happy Birthday” and opening gifts.
As she was opening the first of her gifts she said, “I hope this is what I wanted!!!” Nate and I looked at each other and I asked, “and what do you really want?” and she said, “A Tianna Barbie!” Ahhh…not going to be there. But I think she enjoyed herself anyway. Here’s a little bit of the gift opening fun:
By the time we were done with the cupcakes and opening the gifts, it was time for Ava to go to bed. She was so good about it, understanding that she could open the gifts, but would have to wait to play with them until later. She woke up Friday and said “Can I play with my toys now PLLLEEEEASE!!?!!?”
Friday
I stopped at the Great Mall to pick up the bread for the tea sandwiches, and after picking up the girls, we read a little and then it was off to finish the last minute things in preparation for Ava birthday party. We cleaned, I finished the tissue paper decorations and got everything hung up:
The party favors took the longest, and I started pretty much my first week back to school. The “mini-jug” pattern looked easy, and it was, but it sure lived up to it’s name. After I made the first one, I debated trying to make the more involved tea cup, but knew I wouldn’t have time to sew them all, so I stuck with the mini-jug. The gift bags were folded to look like a tea bag.
Saturday: Tea Party Day
Yesterday was the start of Ava’s next round of ballet/tap classes, and music class. However, because I knew it would be overwhelming, we just went to ballet/tap and not music. She had fun seeing Miss Joanna again, and one the girls in her preschool class is also in Ava’s dance class. Then it was home to finish setting up the coffee table for tea, getting the food prepared, and then getting Ava dressed. She picked out the hat to wear and the gloves (which were my Grandma Lehnert’s, that she gave to me, and that my parent’s sent to me for the tea party), but took the hat off soon after the picture was taken.
The party started at 11:30 and I planned for the girl’s to have the opportunity to play dress up some, although I kind of forgot to share that with the mom’s (hee hee), but it all turned out great. )We invited two girl’s from school (one couldn’t make it, and the other I’m friends with her mom through school, book club, etc.) and the daughters of two of my coworkers, one that Ava knows because she was at daycare with Ava (now is only there with Lily) and the other is the same age as Ava, and I was hoping they could meet at some point.) The girl’s had fun, Ava even joined in for a costume change. After they chosen to wear or not wear an outfit, I took their picture for the little craft project–decorating foam tea pot picture frames. You’ll note that Ava used the World’s Greatest Mom sticker, which I had actually picked up to put away (along with all the other mom stickers), but she really wanted to use it.
The girls then took their finished frame out to the living room and used it as a way to mark where they were going to sit. I thought that was the cutest thing and loved that they came up with the idea. Martha would be proud. We moved the coffee table into the family room for lunch, and then served the girls tea (aka pink lemonade).
The girls chose peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while the adults opted for cucumber or chicken salad sandwiches. The fruit and broccoli salads were tasty and so were the desserts. The pink wafers were a hit, until one little one decided to try chocolate, then of course everyone else had to as well.
After the girls finished eating, they played some while the adults ate. Then it was on to “Pin the Top to the Tea Pot.” I had Ava go first, and while she was patient about being blindfolded, she didn’t get the point of covering up her eyes and while trying to stick something where it goes. Hee hee.
Each girl got a chance to pin the top on, and each chose a necklace that they could bead together.
Then it was time for singing “Happy Birthday” and then opening the gifts!
She was super excited about the Barbies, the Belle figurine, princess shirts, and dress up items. She also really wanted to stop everything and do the Fancy Nancy sticker book. We opted to read her gift, Tea for Ruby, instead. (No more checking it out from the library!)
By that time, it was pretty close to 2:30, so the girls and their moms started to pack up their favors and frames and say their goodbyes. Ava had a lot of fun, and I thought it all went well. The lead up to the day was pretty tiring, but clean up was almost non-existent, and I’m keeping most of the decorations up for Valentine’s and Lily’s baptism next weekend. Ava spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her loot:
She said, “Momma, I want to have a tea party for my birthday next year too!” Which I think is a sign of a fun day for a four-year old!
Saturday night we traveled to south San José to celebrate a friend’s birthday and both girls did a great job with the waiting and it was great hanging out with friends.
Today is a pretty chill day, in fact, Ava and I are still in our pajamas. The weather is sunny at the moment–yesterday it was sunny, then cloudy, then torrential downpour at times, so the sun today is pretty nice. I need to work on some homework, Nate’s out on a bike ride, Lily’s napping, and Ava’s playing with her toys, so life is good.
This week is another fun-filled one, because family is coming into town Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights for Lily’s baptism on Saturday at the 5pm mass. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing in this special event!
Lily was smiling, but when I saw this picture in the mix of others, knew it helped to describe visually how I’m feeling.
“Frantic” is another great descriptor for how I feel this week, and unfortunately, as I type this, it’s only Thursday morning (yeah, now it’s early Friday morning, and why aren’t I sleeping? Lily’s sleeping, the rest of my family is sleeping and Grace is wondering why I’m up. Love when my internal clock is out of whack.) I try my best to be as organized as possible to be prepared for each day, but sometimes, no amount of planning can save you. I wasn’t able to post last weekend, as I was still busy trying to finish Ava’s birthday favors, run the usual errands, with an early evening trip to Costco on Saturday night thrown in for fun. I know I have mentioned going to Costco quite often in the past few weeks, but Saturday night’s sojourn was to purchase a playhouse for Ava (and ultimately Lily). It’s something I’ve really wanted to get for Ava for some time now, but held off for a number of reasons, first of which is space in our backyard is at a premium. However, I really feel that it will fit, and I know it will be a motivator for me to finally get the wheels in motion to finish our backyard to our comfort, as I really want us to spend more time outside, and not just for in the pool. Every time the playhouse was set for sale at Costco, Ava would plead to be able to go into it, so Saturday night was a treat for her. Not so much for Nate. It was pretty much an accumulation of everything that can be bad about going to Costco-we had to park at the end of the parking lot, there was rain and because we took Nate’s truck, we had no umbrella (really need to store one in his truck too), no Baby Bjorn, and Nate was concerned about getting the playhouse into the truck and then ultimately unloaded at home. I felt confident in my abilities to help, but I ended up not being needed as a very kind man in the parking lot saw what Nate had planned and stopped loading his own vehicle up to offer help. It was unexpected and greatly appreciated.
The rest of the weekend was full of laundry, vacuuming and grading and lesson planning. I am only teaching one prep this year, so by the time sixth period rolls around, I am starting to get kind of bored. I’m finally feeling like I have caught up with returning back to work, so now I can start creating new activities and lessons. I just kind of forgot how long the planning, writing and creating of said activities takes. Mercy.
Monday I heard from the professor of the class I’m trying to take this semester, and she had good news–she is able to accept more than the 15 students for the class, and wondered if I was still interested in joining the class. I’m relieved that I got in, because by this time next year, I’ll be taking my final master’s class, and gearing up for the big Plan B exam, and within a few short months, have f.i.n.a.l.l.y. earned by masters in history. But then again, it was nice coming home on Mondays with no class and just when I think I know what’s in store for me in the week, I’m struck with the realization that I have a staff meeting after school on my first day of class day.
Wednesday was a crazy day too. Had a staff inservice all day, then had to supervise the green room for the talent show after school. Because I found out about it last minute, I had planned to bring the girls with me, but Nate rearranged meetings and had every intention of picking the girls up for me. However, I got a call around 3:30 from him saying that his truck wouldn’t start and he needed to call AAA. My coworker was super understanding, and I rushed to pick up both girls (only now I had no activities for Ava, snacks, diapers, etc. as I had unpacked everything when it was understood that Nate would pick them up) but it all turned out well. I got back to school fairly quickly, Ava was entertained by some of the students and the neat puppets in Shelley’s room, and Lily just enjoyed looking around at all the activity. I reached a new level of mommy-hood when I nursed while communicating (via walkie-talkie) with the stage manager and sending students in the greenroom out for their performance practice. Don’t think any of the students realized what was going on, but all I could think about was back when I was first trying to nurse with Ava, this would have NEVER happened. I’m only 16 (17?) kids away from being a full-fledged Michelle Duggar (as she was nursing her newest baby while reading to a group of elementary students. I’m just more extreme…well, in the nursing aspect. No way am I planning on nursing until I’m well into my 40s. Lord.
Poor Lily woke up with a terrible cough Wednesday (early) morning, but she seems to be holding her own and thankfully hasn’t had a fever. And she’s found her feet, which I love. Ava’s on the mend too, although her cough is still holding on at night. Poor girl had a red, stuffy nose for the majority of the weekend/week. Here’s her dressed like her Bitty Baby–I thought the chapped nose would stand out more. Poor girl. Luckily Aquaphor every night has healed her.
And one of the amazing thing about kids is even when they can hardly breath, are sneezing, coughing, etc., they still want to play. Me, all I want to do is sleep. And I mean she full on plays–has to set up castles, make the characters talk, etc. I tried to take a few pictures of her set ups from her eye level, because she totally gets involved with the pony/princess world, and these aren’t the elaborate worlds either. Only the ones I would let her set up before she had to clean up for dinner.
Not sure what the birthday plans are for my birthday this Saturday, and it’s still hard to believe that I will be 32. I know I say this often, but it just doesn’t seem possible. On Ava’s birthday front, the party favors are done, the tea pot for a game is almost finished, I have the grocery list for the week ready to go, so I am feeling more comfortable about that. I still have a significant amount of pages to read for my Monday night class, but oh well. It will get done. Even if I have to read so (freakishly) early in the morning.
Hope your weekend and coming weeks are a little less hectic/frantic/loco.
I’ve only worked ten days (officially) at school, but I was really looking forward to this lovely three day weekend. Slept in until 6:30 Saturday (woo who!) and really wanted to take a nap, but just wasn’t in the cards. I was a laundry beast though, which included cleaning all our bedding AND having the freshly laundered sheets back on our bed in a fairly impressive turn around time, along with vacuuming and dusting. I even dusted out the china cabinet, to make room for the tea set that came last week. Still need to wash everything in the set in preparation for Ava’s birthday party, and plan on doing that today. And this morning, I was able to sleep in until 8 am!! )With a 4:30 wake up call from Lily, but once she got some food in her tummy, she was good for another 3 1/2 hours.) I’m feeling much better today. It’s amazing what sleep will do for your sanity.
Preparations for Ava’s birthday are in full swing, and I’ll share the progress as things are completed. I thought a tea party theme would be fun, so asked Ava if she was interested in that, and she’s excited about it. Finished the invites this week and sent them out. Here’s the card:
Front
Back
Ava and I went to the Dollar Tree Saturday and I’m not sure why I haven’t gone there more often because they have some pretty cool things in terms of decorations. I originally went for the tissue paper, but then ended up picking out some flowers and felt cutouts to add to the decorations. Ava felt the place was a treasure trove and helped pick out the flowers.
Our next stop was the local Goodwill, where we were looking for more dress up clothes for the party. Thought it might be fun for the girls to dress up when they arrived and have tea in some “fancy” clothes. Ava has some dress up outfits, but figured it would be a good idea to have a couple more. We found three dresses that we liked that I felt fit the bill. Ava, however, really wanted a wedding dress. No joke, I heard it more than once. “Momma, I don’t have a wedding dress, I think that we should get one.” And there were two there on display. Not gonna lie, it was kind of sad to think of wedding dresses ending up at goodwill, but then again, you wear them once. Mine is still at my parents house, in it’s archival tissue paper, awaiting the day when I look at the box and say, that’s my dress. Yeah, not sure what we’ll do with it. The price tag on the one that came with a veil was $80, and I couldn’t justify that, so I talked her out of it. I thought the dresses were going to be close to $20, but they were on sale! Yes, Goodwill has sales, how did I miss this? One dress ended up being $1.60. Sweet! With that bargain shopping, we’re chipping away at my to do list, and my next project is to start the party favors, hopefully tomorrow.
One of the favors is felt food that came from a tea party bundle that I purchased a few months ago. I’m hoping that putting it together goes faster than my current project, which is six cinnamon rolls and six sugar cookies, along with a baking tray, spatula and sprinkles. I’m getting more used to working with felt with these types of projects, but I still feel like it’s slow going. I think my cinnamon rolls should really be larger to fit more snugly in the baking tray–I rolled them pretty tightly, but again, it’s trial and error and I’ll know for next time. I think they still look like rolls though, so it’s all good. Ava doesn’t notice and has enjoyed baking them the last couple of days. I cut them from the pattern two weekends ago, and then sewed and stuffed them last weekend. It was the turning of the felt tubes and stuffing that took forever, and now I’m stuck on the sugar cookies.
Lily’s continuing to be a sweet baby. Got some of the older baby toys out today to vacuum off and wash/wipe down. One was the jumperoo that was loaned to us by Thanh and Kim when Ava was a baby and then eventually given to us when their youngest outgrew it (yeah, he’s THREE. Just doesn’t seem possible). I honestly thought Lily was too small for this, but I’m delusional. She loved it. Loved.it. Thought it was the coolest thing in the world to be standing up–didn’t like the lights and noise that it made, but was totally into trying to stand and then being able to move with support.
She’s wearing an outfit from Grandpa and Grandma Woodhams and I love leggings–the little bows on the side are too cute, and her chubby legs kill me.
Ava scopes out any new baby accessory and immediately wants to put her dolls in it. I told her she couldn’t use it Saturday, as she’s back to having a cough/runny nose, and I wanted to avoid contaminating the newly cleaned items. I can’t tell if it’s her getting a cold or allergies again, and she has completely given up on even trying to take a nap during the day. I’m kind of thinking it’s allergies, because she’s sleeping soundly now and not coughing, but who knows. Gave her cough and cold medicine Friday night, but she still had some issues in the night and into Saturday morning, so later on we tried Zyrtec. She seems to be doing much better, way less coughing and sneezing, so maybe my cleaning stuff kicked her response into high gear. Poor girl, even with our windows closed we get a wicked amount of dust in a week’s time. I’m hoping the rain this weekend will help her.
Not too much more planned this weekend. For the last few weekends I’ve just wanted to veg and watch movies, and hope to do that today. I wonder if I always had a three day weekend if I’d then wish for a four day…please, is there really any wondering involved. For sure I would.
Well, we survived my first week back to work and the girls’ first week back to daycare. I’m using “survived” loosely, because it was touch-and-go there on Wednesday. I pretty much had a mental breakdown Wednesday night, where all I wanted to do was just go to bed. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, didn’t want to eat, didn’t want to do any of the number of things I had to do before going to bed, nothing. Just wanted to crawl into bed and shut everything out.
Part of it was exhaustion. I woke up Wednesday morning with a bad headache, that I thought would go away but didn’t. I ate a granola bar later in the day with the intent of taking some powerful medicine, but than forgot to actually take the medicine. When I remembered, I only had a couple of classes left in the day, and exhaustion had set in. Had a team meeting, then picked up the girls. I was still pretty stressed about Lily and the bottle, wondering if she was eating enough, if I was pumping enough, etc. And when I picked up Ava, she was upset that I hadn’t walked to school to get her and said, “next time you can drop off the car at home, and carry Lily with you to school to get me, okay?” I know she really wanted to walk (after not wanting to walk pretty much the whole time I was home, go figure), but have you ever tried to reason with an almost-four-year-old? Not happening. Besides being exhausted, I was sad that I wasn’t home anymore, that both girls were spending time with other people during the day, instead of me. I know that they will be fine, and that Ava’s having lots of fun, but it was something I had a hard time dealing with that night. In all honesty, this week wasn’t so bad. My students are really nice, and that transition has gone quite smoothly. I’m getting used to what all needs to be organized for Ava’s school and all the things I have to take to school everyday, as well as being ready for Lily’s needs for the next day. My hat is off to parents who work with more than two children. Mercy.
And I keep complaining about having to pump, but it’s really not going that badly. I think I was just scarred from my experience with Infant-Ava, where she would take f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to nurse and then I was told to pump after every feeding. Ugh. Just left me with hating the machine and the process. Oh well. It could be worse, because I could still be doing that after each time I nursed. I shudder to think about that being my life.
But today is Friday, and we made it. Lily is doing just fine, Ava’s enjoy school and things are going well in the classroom. We’ve had a couple of earthquakes the last few days, which made for some interesting times in the classroom. Ava did fine with it as well–I asked her if she felt it and she said, “well, no, but we did get under our tables.” Ava also got to enjoy her first snow today at school; they had a school fundraiser, with the objective being to bring snow to the school (not sure if it was a snow machine or what, Ava kept saying “a big truck’s coming with snow!!”) for the kids to play in. I was so excited for her today and when I picked her up tonight and asked her about it, she said “I didn’t really like it, it was too cold.” That’s my California girl. She’s had a long week too, because when I walked in to pick her up, she turned around and looked at me, and burst into tears. It took a while (Nate coming home in fact to get more of the story out of her), but her tears were because her teacher never ended up reading the story that she brought to share time. Ava was able to share the book, but she thought that Ms. Thelma would also read it to the class. Her reason for thinking this is because back in JULY when Ava attended a Discovery Day at this school (when we were first exploring the possibility of her attending) Ava witnessed her only other share time and the teacher just happened to read the story that the student brought–mostly because no one else brought something to share. So Ava, Miss Memory, thought that’s the way it would always be, and was quite upset that it didn’t happen, but only reacted when I showed up and she realized that her story wouldn’t be read. Lord it’s difficult to be a Mom.
I’m still trying to get into a class for this semester, but not sure it’s going to happen. I think I was waitlisted for my sanity.
Going to try and keep it lowkey this weekend. I think groceries and laundry will be the big plans, with maybe a stop at the library to pick up some books on hold. Other than that I just want to spend time with my girls.
Here’s a little of Lily blowing bubbles on Thursday morning before we left for daycare. Nate tells me she’s been doing this for a while, but I’m not sure where I’ve been.
I actually had a couple of ideas on what to title this entry…
“Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work I go…”
or
“The End is Near” (although I honestly think I’ve used that one before, and it still comes across as uber ominous)
or
“Thanks for the Memories”
but just decided to stick with Happy New Year, because honestly, that’s what it’s going to be. Even though I want to weep and wail and gnash my teeth over going back to work, it’s not necessary. That’s not to say that there won’t be tears (or haven’t already been some) when I (even just think about having to) drop Lily off on Monday, but just like Ava’s turned out just fine, I know Lily will too. And I will keep telling myself that, over and over. I do like teaching, and really, I have been SUPER lucky to be home for as long as I have. I didn’t have to go back after 8 weeks, like many mommies. I’ve also gotten to see Lily roll over for the first time, her first smiles and first laughs and I know that if I’m not there at that exact moment when she starts to really talk with meaning, or take her first steps, that all will be well. I’ll still be there for when it counts. I’ve been able to hang out with Ava and see all her ballet/tap classes and have fun Mommy-Daughter dates and just plain be with my almost FOUR YEAR OLD. So really, I’m lucky. And I won’t complain. Or at least I’ll try not to. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Our Christmas decorations came down today and Nate’s attempting to make room in the garage for our tree. The tree might hang out (in a storage bag) in the family room for a while, as Nate plans on doing a total overhaul of our much neglected garage, with the end game being tons more storage. It’s always depressing to take down the decorations, because things look a little less sparkly, but it must be done. I try to wait until ephiany to take the tree down, but with going back to work for the first time in SIX MONTHS on Monday, I felt it was best to conquer it as early as possible.
Ava and I finally completed her Princess and the Frog sticker book from her advent calendar today. Poor girls been asking to work on it since December 24. When she first got it we had no idea who the characters were, and I knew we’d be taking her to see the movie. Now, after seeing the movie last Sunday, we’re pros. I found this shirt at miniboden.com for a drastically reduced price. I love applique shirts, but my time to do such things is diminishing and this was a steal with their awesome winter sale.
Today she’s been playing with her blocks which were exiled under the mini-tree in the living room. I needed the toy basket for a base, and she felt she wouldn’t use the blocks for while. (Two days later she felt that she MUST HAVE the blocks, but I talked her out of them.) Little Miss Lily decided that not only would she wake up around midnight last night and hang with the big dogs, but that she also doesn’t need to take a morning nap. Luckily she’s napping now, so I can work on this. Nate’s yelling at the Wii as he tries to be Indiana Jones (“you call him Dr. Jones, DOLL”) and it can get a little intense, I’ve heard Ava repeating “this is such a stupid game” which I guess I can be happy that it doesn’t include choice four letter-words. I’m hoping the next few days will continue to be low key, with some more Wii resort and movie watching.
My mom headed back to Michigan last night, and completed her travels this afternoon. I felt so bad that she had to spend the New Year in the airport, but she said she’d be fine. We got the call this afternoon that she arrived safely and that the red-eye wasn’t that bad. I’m thankful that she made it safely and was feeling good, because I was nauseous just thinking about traveling through the night. Poor Grandma was treated to Ava’s “don’t go Grandma! Please don’t go!” but both ladies have a February visit to look forward to. (Lily’s baptism is on February 13th, so family will be arriving for the baptismal fun! Lily is preparing for her baptism by spending quality time with the Bible that Grandpa and Grandma Woodhams sent her for Christmas. I’m not kidding, she loves that book. She talks to it and gets super excited whenever I show it to her.)
Ava had lots of Grandma time that included a trip to the library, many many books being read to her, princess play, and Grandma picked her up from preschool on Tuesday. I couldn’t figure out what was taking so long, but then I saw this:
Ava found lots of treasures on the way home, and lucky Grandma got to be the pack mule!
I’m really thankful that she was here for Bottle Bootcamp 2009. I left Monday morning at 7am and spent 6 hours in my classroom, waiting for word on Lily taking the bottle. Nate found that she likes it when she is laid on the couch and fed the bottle there–she does not want to be held by anyone when she’s getting the bottle. Silly Lily. Tuesday, Nate and I went out for lunch and watched the movie Avatar, and on Wednesday I was gone for number of hours getting my hair cut and colored. Both days she took the bottle, getting better about the fussing before finally accepting the bottle. Really appreciated being able to do those things (thank you Mom!) and Nate and my mom’s patience with the bottle.
I am still trying to get my next class toward my master’s squared away. I’m now #2 on the wait list, which for some reason I can sign up for, but when the actual class was open, I wasn’t. ARG! Oh well, if it’s meant to be, I’ll get in. Just want to keep plugging away, and get it over with!
On the craft front, things have really slowed down, (I really just want to sit around and watch all the seasons of Gilmore Girls that Josh and Liz gave me for Christmas. Nate has show how much he loves me by actually putting the DVD in for me, no matter how much the show annoys him. That’s love baby.) but I have projects in the works. I’m working on a necklace that I saw a number of weeks ago, but didn’t start actually painting it until a couple of days ago. Would you believe that it’s been too chilly in the garage for the spray paint to dry in a reasonable amount of time? I know, crazy. But one or two more flips and I should be good to go.
And in one of my favorite “Top 10″ lists that came out to wrap up the year, U Create has a Top 10 Tutorials for 2009. I really want a play room, so I can do this for shelves and when I saw the number one craft tutorial, I knew I had to make it. Who cares if I saw it yesterday and made it between starting the movie Up (which I really, really enjoyed. Those Pixar people are geniuses) and after the movie was over I finished it? Does that tell you how crazy easy it is to do? Here’s Lily in her ruffled onesie:
Nate told me it looks more like she has a ruffled back, but that’s because I used a 12 months onesie–Target was out of the 3-9 months the last time I checked, and I really wanted her to have some long sleeved ones, her little hands are like icicles in the morning. Nate just shakes his head over this new ruffle development, but I know my girl is stylin’.
Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope that 2010 treats all of us well!
We’ve had a very wonderful last few days here, and are looking forward to more exciting activities this week with Grandma!
Here’s some pictures from the festivities:
Our Christmas Eve photo (little blurry, but the only one where we are all looking at the camera):
Christmas morning:
First gift from Santa to Ava and Lily:
(wooden food for the kitchen and shopping cart that’s in the background, which technically was the first gift, but wasn’t wrapped)
Opening the felt playhouse:
Opening one of Grandpa and Grandma Woodhams’ gifts (they brought the princess fun to our house!)
(it’s a princess palace/tent)
Bitty Baby!
Putting her on:
Ava enjoying her umbrella (-ella, -ella, that was for you my love)
(another sidenote, I told her she could open it outside, but not inside. Nate asked why, and I honestly couldn’t give a legitimate reason. I’m happy to say no ill-will has befallen our household…as of yet…) The tissue paper that’s in the umbrella will be removed and she can add in whatever else she likes. The umbrella came with little craft paper and notions, so she can decorate pictures and slip them on the inside. I’m excited about that.
Nate, entertaining the wee one…and she stayed awake for the entire unwrapping extravaganza, which was mighty impressive.
And the aftermath:
Nate actually kept the wrapping paper pretty well contained, but this photo still makes my eyes hurt, in a good way. We had lots of fun lounging around, watching movies and snacking, and then all headed to the airport to pick up Grandma Lehnert. Lily took exception to having someone sit next to her on the car ride home, and CRIED THE ENTIRE WAY HOME. Oy. She’s gotten over that, and hopefully we won’t have a repeat of her antics. After arriving home from the airport, we put together a delicious Christmas dinner and enjoyed each others company before calling it a night. Yesterday Nate, Lily and I drove to a couple Best Buys to find a universal remote – six remotes was a little out of control. One of the gifts Nate purchased for me was a Blu-ray player, and we joke that that one gift turned into needing to buy a new house to store all the components. I didn’t think we really needed one, but oh lord, the picture is awesome. Again, so clear it makes my eyes hurt. Nate and I played a little Wii Resort and I look forward to rematches, as well as exploring the other games. So far each (archery, jet skiing, bicycling, etc.) has been really fun. Swordfighting is the one I probably laughed at the most; we don’t have finesse, but we each have a competitive drive to win, and have no remorse in trying to clobber each other. Santa and family were very good to us this year, and hope you all enjoyed yourselves as well.
Today we’re headed to the movie theater to see “The Princess and the Frog,” Ava’s first theater movie! Grandpa Lehnert started out the celebration with one of Ava’s gifts that he selected:
She wore it this morning (until it got too warm for her), but she’s loving it. Thanks Dad! It’s perfect!
The girl’s had fun, Ava even joined in for a costume change. After they chosen to wear or not wear an outfit, I took their picture for the little craft project–decorating foam tea pot picture frames. You’ll note that Ava used the World’s Greatest Mom sticker, which I had actually picked up to put away (along with all the other mom stickers), but she really wanted to use it.
