Cupcake at Almost 6 Months

I can throw all these toys on the floor in 3.8 seconds!

 

Hmm...maybe I should change that to E flat.

 

Just Fine

D.L.F. seems to be feeling mostly better. He's still a little emotional, but no more stomach issues.

Cupcake is her usual sweet, cheerful, dear little self. I can't believe she's almost six months old!

What a Day

Today was "one of those days." All morning D.L.F. was really whiny and into everything, which made it difficult to get ready to go. I have a friend who comes over every Wednesday morning and we take the kids to the park. Eventually, we were all dressed and ready, and we did have a good time at the park. But as soon as we got home, D.L.F. was crabby again. I fed him lunch and put him down for his nap. He woke up after only an hour (he usually sleeps for three) and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got him up and ready to go grocery shopping with me (T was at home, waiting for his friend to come over, so he stayed with Cupcake). A few minutes into our drive to the store, D.L.F. suddenly became very upset and started crying inconsolably. I asked him if something was wrong, and did he hurt himself? He said that his mouth hurt. I thought that he must have bit his tongue or something and he would be all right in a minute or two. But he kept crying and cried hard the entire time we were shopping (which I'm sure all the other shoppers appreciated). I was kind of flustered and couldn't think what to buy, but I grabbed a few things and tried to get out of there as fast as possible. I promised to give him a cracker when we got to the car. D.L.F. kept saying he was tired. I buckled him into his carseat and gave him a cracker, which he didn't eat. He kept crying all the way home.

I pulled into the parking lot, ready to just get inside, fix a quick dinner, and get D.L.F. to bed....but someone had double-parked a couple of feet into our (already narrow) assigned parking spot, and there were no visitor spaces open in the lot, so I drove back out to the street, and there were no spaces to park all down the street, either! I called T and explained my dilemma. He and his friend were just finishing up their meeting, so I ended up grabbing his friend's spot on the street as he pulled out. D.L.F. was extra-upset about driving around and around looking for a spot, so he was still crying hard as T lifted him out of his car seat...and then D.L.F. threw up all over. Fortunately, it hit the pavement, and not our car upholstery. But then everything started making more sense. T took D.L.F. inside, got him cleaned up, and let D.L.F. lay down in his tent, where he promptly fell asleep and is still sleeping almost two hours later. Maybe he'll sleep in there all night. I hope he feels better in the morning. Poor little guy.

My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter

This morning D.L.F. picked up a couple of tiny screws that were lying on the computer stand. He said, "Screw. And Jesus screw!" (There is a song called, "And Jesus Grew," based on Luke 2:52, on one of D.L.F.'s Bible memory CDs.)

I guess it's appropriate, considering Jesus' earthly occupation.

Two Great Deals

1. Check out Catherine's instructions on how to get 5.5 pounds of ground steak delivered to your door (in a cooler) for only $1.98--that's $.36/lb! I did it...my meat should be arriving in about a week!

UPDATE: The ground steak offer is no longer valid.

2. You can sign up at EMusic and download 35 songs for free. You can then cancel your subscription and you won't be charged anything, and you get to keep the 35 songs. I just downloaded a bunch of beautiful Christmas songs from The American Boychoir and some fun Pete Seeger folk songs.

Back Home

We got back yesterday from a fun weekend of camping with my parents. T and I and the kids stayed in a cabin (with heat, praise the Lord!), and my parents stayed in their trailer in the same campsite. There was a lake with lots of ducks and a playground. D.L.F. liked going for walks with "Westley Dog" (my parent's West Highland White Terrier) and tried very hard to exert some authority over Westley ("Westley Dog, get down!"), who ignored him. D.L.F. got to try his first marshmallow. He was not impressed and didn't like having sticky hands.

Sleeping in the cabin with the kids was a challenge. Two of the three nights there D.L.F. kept waking up every couple of hours and crying inconsolably at the top of his lungs for no real reason. Cupcake slept pretty well even with D.L.F.'s crying spells.

We all had a good time, but now we are all glad to be home.

Always Enough

When I was cleaning out the pantry yesterday, I found this poem I wrote for a class at Bible college in 2004 (don't ask me what it was doing in the pantry). T and I were engaged, the date of our wedding was fast approaching, T did not have a job, and we had no savings. So the story this poem is based on, found in I Kings 17:8-16, was especially significant at that time in our lives. The poem is far from a literary masterpiece, but I hope the message is encouraging.

Always Enough


In Zarephath, a widow lived, when drought and famine cursed the land
With heavy heart and downcast eyes, she gathered kindling in her hand
And sadly considered her son

They had enough for one more meal, but after that, the time would come
When either she must watch him die, or die herself and leave her son
Alone, all alone in the world

Approaching footsteps startled her; she looked and saw Elijah there
A leather belt around his waist, his garment made of camel hair
His weariness mirrored her own

"Please bring me water in a cup to quench my thirst," the prophet said
And as she turned to go, he called, "Please bring me back a bite of bread."
The widow replied in despair:

"I swear to you, I have no bread, and what I do have won't go far:
"A dash of oil in the jug, a little flour in the jar
"I tell you, there won't be enough"

"Don't be afraid," Elijah said, "First bake a little loaf for me
"And then prepare yourself some bread with flour and oil, and you will see
"That surely, there will be enough

"The God of Israel has said your jug and jar will yet contain
"The oil and the flour you need until the time the Lord sends rain
"To water the crops of the ground"

The widow baked Elijah's bread; as she obeyed, she realized
Her jar of flour was not used up; her jug of oil did not run dry
For days they continued to eat

And for the widow and her son, the Lord was faithful to provide
Thus God fulfilled His promised word: her daily bread was multiplied
And so there was always enough
With God, there is always enough

I Fought the Pantry and I Won!

So I've been meaning to organize my pantry since...uh...well, probably since we moved in a year-and-a-half ago. The main problem is that we buy a lot of spices and grains in bulk, and I have been just tossing them into the pantry, unlabeled and still in their plastic bags. The pantry was really, really, really a wreck.

But now (are you reading this, Mom?), everything is in jars or other containers and labeled! So, Mom, now if you come over and want to make spaghetti, you won't have to guess what's in all the mysterious baggies.

And it only took me seven hours (yes, it was that messy). I need to go put my feet up!

Wagon

Me: Oh, I see you are sitting in your wagon. What color is your wagon?

D.L.F.: It's red! And it is interesting and comfortable!

Stating the Obvious

The error message that always elicits a cynical "heh" from me after I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for a page to load:

"The server at _____.com is taking too long to respond."

Yeah. Tell me something I don't know.

Quotes from D.L.F.

D.L.F. has a pair of earmuffs that look like baseballs over each ear. He was playing with them the other day and called them headphones. I said, "Well, they are like headphones, but you can't hear music through them. They are only to keep your ears warm. They are called earmuffs." D.L.F. thought for a moment, and then said, "Not headphones...muffins!"

When he was washing his hands today at the kitchen sink, he saw the green loofah-ish thing I use to scrub pots and pans. He said, "It's a green flower!" I said, "No, that is my scrubby. It is for washing dishes." D.L.F. responded, "It's a green scrubby flower!"

Salad

I was just tearing up some lettuce and remembered something funny. Last January for our anniversary T and I stayed at a nice downtown hotel with its own restaurant. I think one dinner at the restaurant was included in the price of the hotel, otherwise, we probably wouldn't have ended up eating there. But anyway, I ordered a $10 side salad and was amused when it arrived to find that it consisted only of three whole romaine lettuce leaves, four croutons, and some white dressing. FANCY!

A Milestone

A friend of mine came over today and we took the kids to the park. While we were talking, D.L.F. climbed onto the play structure and went down the slide--all by himself! He seemed pretty pleased with himself and did it again several times before it was time to go home. He wore himself out and was very ready for his nap this afternoon!