Anxious for Nothing

Yoo-Hoo! I'm Over Here Now!

2010-10-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

The new and improved Anxious for Nothing!

A Long-Overdue Update

2010-09-22T13:59:00.001-07:00

My littlest one (who still doesn't have a blog pseudonym yet) is 9 weeks old now, and she is such a delight. She's very smiley and loves to people watch. She's starting to reach for interesting things, such as a toy or Papa's beard.

This is probably the last year before I start officially homeschooling D.L.F. Right now he and Cupcake spend their days reading, playing educational computer games, listening to music, playing with Duplos and other toys, playing outside, and going places with T or me. D.L.F. reads very well, and he sometimes likes to just sit and read a book by himself. I can't really take the credit--he pretty much taught himself to read by playing Starfall and watching Leapfrog videos.

Our garden is still producing tomatoes. Everything else has gone to seed. After the tomatoes are done, I'm going to pull everything out and plant some lettuce and spinach for a fall crop. It drives me nuts to have to pay a dollar (or more) a head for lettuce at the store, now that I know how nice it can be just to walk outside and pick whatever I need for a salad or sandwich. And home-grown lettuce tastes better, too.

My back is almost back to normal now. During my most recent pregnancy, I had constant, debilitating pain in my lower back that got worse with any kind of exercise. I put up with it, figuring it would go away after the baby was born, but it didn't, so I found a chiropractor, and he has really helped a lot. I've been doing Leslie Sansone walking videos to try to get back in shape. Three kids in four years does a number on one's body.

I'm excited about a year-long women's inductive Bible study I've joined. We'll be studying the life of Jesus. It meets once a week at a large church, and there are classes for children during the study. D.L.F. and Cupcake love to go to their classes and do art projects and play with new toys. Once a month at the same church, I go to a mom's group. A lot of my friends from my (small) church attend the Bible study and mom's group, too, so it's great to have time to fellowship with them.

T and I just started teaching Junior High Sunday School at our church. Neither of us have ever worked with Junior Highers before, so it's a whole new experience and we definitely need the Lord's help to know what to do!

I was a bridesmaid in my good friend's wedding this past weekend. I took Baby with me, since she's nursing. It was challenging trying to do the necessary bridesmaidly preparations while feeding and otherwise caring for an infant, not to mention the late-night rainy driving (T and the kids stayed home this time...normally he spoils me by doing all the driving on long trips so I can read or snooze), but it was totally worth it. My friend was truly a radiant, happy bride, and I'm very excited for her as she starts life together with her new husband.

T has been home sick for a few days with a bad cold. Hopefully, he'll keep it to himself. :-)

I haven't been doing much else. Obviously, taking care of three little kids takes up most of my time. Everyone tells me this stage of life will go by so fast, and I believe it. "The days are long, but the years are short."

4

2010-08-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Baby Dear

2010-07-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Baby Girl's Birth Story

2010-07-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I woke up on Sunday morning, July 18, 2010, when my 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son climbed onto my bed around 6:30 AM and began chattering and bouncing around as usual. After several minutes, they got down and went to play in another room, and as I lay in bed, I realized I was having light contractions, about 12-15 minutes apart. At exactly 42 weeks pregnant, I was ecstatic to finally have some indication that labor was beginning.

We considered staying home from church, but I finally convinced T that I would rather be doing something than just sitting around waiting for contractions to get stronger. After church, we went home, had leftovers for lunch, and put the kids down for naps. My mom picked me up at 1:40 to take me to a joint baby shower at church for another 3rd-time mama and me. My contractions started getting stronger and closer together during the shower. During the prayer time at the end, they were coming about 8 minutes apart and making me perspire and curl my toes!

As Mom was driving me back home after the shower, around 4 PM, I called my midwives and let them know I was ready to come to the birth center. We agreed to meet there at 5:30. I called T and let him know the plans. He was running errands with the kids, but he came home quickly and loaded our things into the van.

I had two contractions on the ride to the birth center and one more as I stepped out of the van; they were uncomfortable, but not at all as intense as our last hurried trip to the birth center when I was already in transition before giving birth to our 2-year-old.

We checked into the birth center at 5:40. I had planned to give birth to this child in the same room we'd used with our other two children, but that room was occupied, so we were shown to a very nice, large room with an extra-deep birth tub.

At this point, I was 4 cm dilated and very effaced.

My midwives made me a turkey sandwich, and after I ate it, T and I decided to go for a walk. It was a perfect summer evening, about 70 degrees with clear blue skies. Once T and I started walking around 6:15, my contractions immediately became much more intense and came every 2-3 minutes, lasting about a minute each. We would walk a block or so, then I would stop and lean on T for support, then we would resume walking until the next contraction.

We returned to the birth center at 7:15. I laid on my side on the bed to try to catch what little rest I could between contractions. I remember having one insanely strong one and saying to my midwives and T, “It won't stop! Why is this contraction going on forever?” They assured me that it was because our baby would be born very soon.

My water broke at 8:07, and I sat on the birth stool at 8:08. After 6 minutes of very intense pushing, our daughter was born at 8:14 PM, weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long with a 13 ½ inch head. I birthed the placenta at 8:27 and T cut the cord at 8:30.

We had planned to go home after a few hours, but we ended up staying overnight at the birth center because Baby Girl's breathing was a little fast. We arrived home around 1:30 PM the next day and introduced Baby Girl to her brother, sister, grandma, and grandpa. Baby Girl is doing great, and we're so thankful for her.

It's a Girl!

2010-07-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Born Sunday, July 18, at 8:14 PM. 9 pounds, 2 ounces, 20 inches long. Birth story to follow....

Still No News

2010-07-16T23:36:00.001-07:00

Just in case you were wondering.

Birth Stories (Only Two So Far!)

2010-07-08T22:03:00.001-07:00

Still no baby. I've just been reading D.L.F.'s and Cupcake's birth stories to remind myself of what lies ahead....

Baby's Due Date...

2010-07-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

...is tomorrow. No signs of labor at all, though. I have a feeling he or she is quite cozy and will still be in there for a while.

The kids are looking forward to their new sibling, although we've been talking about "the baby" for so long, it's probably hard for them to understand that they really, truly are going to have a brother or sister soon. Whenever we mention the baby to Cupcake, she says, "I will give the baby hugs and give the baby kisses and play with the baby!"

We're planning to have the baby at the same birth center where D.L.F. and Cupcake were born. I'm hoping I'll get there in time to take advantage of the big birth tubs. D.L.F. was born in the water, but my labor with Cupcake was so fast that the midwives didn't even have time to fill up the birth tub before Cupcake was born!

Rose Garden

2010-06-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

My Little Cutie Pie

2010-06-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

At Least She Asked

2010-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today when I was standing at the counter mixing cookies, Cupcake came and stood right on my feet and asked, "Can I be in the way?"

35 Weeks Pregnant

2010-05-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Cupcake is 2!

2010-05-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

I made a peanut butter cake to celebrate Cupcake's actual birthday with our small group from church.

The next day, my family came to visit and we had strawberries with whipped cream.

Cupcake received a wading pool (and a cute little swimsuit) from her great-grandmother.

My sweet 2-year-old:

Baby Update--31 Weeks

2010-05-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

I had an appointment with my midwife tonight. The baby and I are doing very well. I am measuring 31 centimeters, which is right on for this week. My midwife estimates that the baby will be around 9 pounds at birth. Baby is head-down at the moment, which is great--hopefully he or she will stay that way! I think I know when the baby turned, too--I was laying in bed around midnight a couple weeks ago, trying to fall asleep in spite of the very active baby wiggling around in my belly, when I suddenly felt a hard WHUMP!--it felt just like the baby had done a fast somersault, and it almost took my breath away! It's so interesting to have a little person growing inside of me who is dependent upon me and yet moving around independently!

I got to check out a "sibling backpack" to explore with D.L.F. and Cupcake. It contains lots of books for children about birth and new babies, a couple of movies, and cute Waldorf-style mama and baby dolls with snaps so the baby can latch on to the mama and "nurse."

"Cooking"

2010-04-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

This morning D.L.F. saw me cracking eggs into a frying pan and asked if he could try. I told him no because the frying pan was very hot. Then I said, "But you'll be able to do it when you're bigger. Probably someday you'll be able to cook a whole meal for us, maybe when you're about 12."

D.L.F. said, "Yeah! I can go to Papa Murphy's and get us some pizza!"

25 Weeks

2010-03-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hoodies

2010-03-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Like Father, Like Son

2010-03-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. was messing with cords behind the couch while T was sitting on the couch trying to fix someone's virus-ridden laptop. After listening to D.L.F. fumble around for a few minutes, T finally asked, "What are you doing?"

D.L.F. replied, "I think I'll make something turn on!"

Flowers from Our Yard

2010-02-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

And a 20-week belly pic (halfway to meeting Baby!):

New Rule

2010-02-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Another new house rule: "Don't color your belly button."

Miscellaneous

2010-01-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

-Our new house didn't come with a fridge, so we bought a used one from an appliance shop. Fortunately, it came with a six-month warranty, which we took advantage of when we realized our ice cream was soup and our milk was spoiling within a few days. Some guys from the shop came to our house, replaced a fried part, and voilà, no more ice cream soup.

-I dragged some shelves in from the garage and used them to organize the kids' toys in their room. It's so nice to have floor space in there again. It's still bare on the walls, though. We need to put up some pictures and get some curtains.

-Today only, if you become a friend of Babies "R" Us on Facebook, they'll E-mail you a $5 gift card for use in-store or online. Details here.

5th Anniversary

2010-01-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

Friday was T and my 5th anniversary. We dropped the kids off with their favorite babysitter and went to a Thai restaurant which we had heard good things about. We ate spring rolls, lobster pad thai, and cashew chicken. T gave me a silver heart necklace with a diamond in it. Then we went to hear some live bluegrass music. It was short and sweet, but it was fun to go on a real date...I don't think we'd been on a date since last summer.

I am 17 weeks pregnant now. My next appointment with my midwives is in three weeks, at which time I can schedule an ultrasound if that's what we decide to do. Most likely I will get an ultrasound and find out the gender of the baby, if our insurance covers it. It would be nice to be able to refer to the baby by name, and not just call him or her "the baby" all the time. We're 99% set on a boy's name, and probably about 75% sure of a girl's name.

Our New House

2010-01-09T16:15:00.001-08:00

We were majorly blessed with all the help we received in moving to our new place. I never got a chance to count, but I'm pretty sure there were at least 15 people on moving day, and that's not counting some friends who helped with packing and unpacking before and after the move. Everything was out of our old apartment and into our new house in just over two hours! Praise the Lord. This move was actually less stressful for me than our last move, even though we have two kids and I'm pregnant now, and we have more stuff than we used to as well.

We have been in our new house for a week. Overall, it's a great place, and we're enjoying it a lot. We have had several problems, though...a slow drain which caused our washing machine to leak all over the garage, a wonky smoke alarm, the heater/fan/light unit in the bathroom which stopped working after a few days, and no internet access. Finally today someone from our internet provider came out to have a look and see what the deal is, and they said they have to re-bury a cable from our house down the block a ways. So I'm at the library right now using the wireless connection.

The kids have been doing well sharing a room. They've been sleeping great, except last night, when they both threw up. They seem fine today, so I guess it was a one-time thing. I hope. However, we're keeping them home tonight instead of our originally scheduled plan of dropping them off for free childcare through our church for a parents' date night. I am disappointed, but I want to make sure the kids aren't contagious. I don't want to put other parents through what we went through last night. The laundry, the crying, the...yuck. So we'll go on a date some other time.

In other news, I have been feeling the baby wiggle around since I was about 12 1/2 weeks pregnant! That's way earlier than with D.L.F. or Cupcake, and it's kind of fun.

Not having internet for the past week, I've been doing a lot more research the old-fashioned way...with books. I'm so, so excited to finally have a yard, so I've checked out over a dozen books from the library about gardening. I'm getting antsy to work in the yard, but it has been rainy, cold, and very windy lately...not exactly prime gardening weather. I'm poring over books and gardening catalogs in eager anticipation. I am extremely excited about the lilac and hydrangea bushes in our front yard and can't wait to see them in bloom.

We still have a lot of boxes to unpack, but things are starting to feel a little more like home.

All Things Work Together for Good

2009-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

When we got in the car to go to church this morning, we discovered that our car was having major problems. It was still drivable, but the heater, radio, and basically everything else was disabled. So we drove to church in our frigid car and pulled into a parking spot, only to discover that the car would not turn off! Every time T tried to put the car in park, there was a horrible, loud grinding noise, and he couldn't pull the keys out, either. So the kids and I went into church, and some guys came over to help T. To make a long story short, T drove the car back home and pulled out some fuses to get the car to stop. So now we need to get the car towed and repaired.

BUT, the good thing is, it turns out that one of the men who helped T this morning is in charge of our church's moving team, which we didn't even know existed. So he said he'll put out the word and recruit some guys to help us move this Saturday!

Also, some kind friends from church are letting us borrow one of their cars until we can get ours fixed. They packed up their whole family and drove from their house, which is half an hour away, just to deliver the car to us tonight.

When I was a child, I heard stories about George Müller, the orphanage director who prayed fervently and trusted God to provide--and He did, in amazing ways. I wanted to be that close to God and have that kind of faith, but I didn't know how to go about it. In the almost-five years that T and I have been married, I've had to exercise a lot of faith in God's ability to take care of us. At first it was hard for me--very hard. I cried a lot during our first year together when T didn't have a steady job and we didn't even own a car. But every time a situation came up where I honestly didn't know how we were going to make it, God blessed us abundantly, often through our caring church family. And each time it became a little easier for me to trust God, because I felt a little closer to Him and I remembered what He had done for us in times past. I'm not saying I have faith anywhere near George Müller's, but I realized today that I'm truly not worried about this car situation or the expenses of our upcoming move, and that is a "God thing." He has changed me in the last five years. Strangely, I always feel closer to Him when life is not perfect and I'm more aware of my need for Him--not just for His provision, but for Him.

A Picture

2009-12-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today when I was looking through old pictures trying to find the photos I took of our new house (we're moving in less than two weeks!), I ran across this one of Cupcake when she was seven months old. I miss the roly-poly, almost-bald Cupcake, but I'm delighted in the sweet, fun toddler she is now at a year-and-a-half.

Anyway, about the house, it is a small 3-bedroom house with only one bathroom, but it has front and back yards and a garage. The backyard has several raised garden beds, so I am looking forward to growing some of our own food this next spring and summer. There are also lots of flowers. I can't wait to see everything in full bloom! Now that we will have a house of our own and not be in quite such close proximity with the neighbors as we are now in our apartment, we are also considering a home birth for when our baby is born around July 4.

Keepin' It Real

2009-12-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

Another household rule I never knew I would have to make:

"If you get pee on a tissue, don't put it back in the tissue box."

Best Buds

2009-12-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. was still chattering away almost two hours after we put him in bed tonight, so finally I went in to check on him.

"I am playing my third game of Uno with Baseball Guy!" D.L.F. exclaimed proudly.

"Oh, you guys are playing Uno?" I said casually, trying to suppress a laugh.

D.L.F. pantomimed dealing out a few more cards and then said, "There! Now we're finished."

It's Real!

2009-12-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

I heard the baby's heartbeat today. That makes this pregnancy seem so much more real. There really is a baby growing inside me! My midwife said it is almost certainly not twins, or my uterus would be bigger. I will probably have an ultrasound in about two more months, at which point we should be able to discover if Baby is a boy or girl.

Breakfast of Champions

2009-12-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

D.L.F., while playing with a small toy motorcycle: "This motorcycle is not big yet."

"Oh," I said. "Is it going to grow?"

D.L.F. nodded.

"Do you have to feed it special motorcycle food to help it grow?" I asked.

"Yes," D.L.F. said.

"Oh. What kind of food do motorcycles like to eat to grow big and strong?"

D.L.F.: "I think...oatmeal."

---

I am starting a list of house rules that I never knew I would have to make until I heard myself saying them to my children. Today's is: "Don't chew on the toilet seat."

Nap Time Entertainment

2009-12-07T15:56:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if D.L.F. slept at all at nap time today, but at least he was happy and fairly quiet the whole time. When I came into his room to get him up, he had lined up all his stuffed animals and told me, "I read a story to all my friends and relations!"

Reiteration

2009-12-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

::loud scream::

Me: "What's wrong, [D.L.F.]?"

D.L.F.: "[Cupcake] was doing something bad to me!"

Me: "What was she doing?"

D.L.F.: "She was not doing something good to me!"

Me: "What was she doing?"

D.L.F.: "She was trying to take a toy away from me."

3-Year-Old Insights

2009-11-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

Living with a three-year-old is a lot of fun. So far today, D.L.F. has enlightened me with the following comments:

1) He was "making" Baseball Guy touch the computer monitor. D.L.F. said to me, "Mama, will you tell Baseball Guy to stop touching the screen?" I said, "Baseball Guy, sit down on the couch," to which D.L.F. quickly replied, "No, he doesn't have a bum!"

2) "Candy is kind of like beans, only it's candy."

3) And apparently, he remembers his Sunday school lesson from yesterday about Jesus being out in a boat during a storm, because while taking a bath, he started churning up the water and then said, "Peace, be still!"

Questions

2009-11-17T12:27:00.001-08:00

Today the kids and I were taking a walk, and D.L.F. asked me, "What's that kind of truck?"

"That's a Chevrolet," I said. "Some people call it a Chevy."

"But I don't," D.L.F. said adamantly. "I say it the right way. What's the right way again, Mama?"

_______

D.L.F.: "Mama, why is sour cream white?"

Me: "Because it's made from milk, and milk is white."

D.L.F.: "Why is milk white?"

Me: "Uh...."

Fond of His Father

2009-10-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

When we first told D.L.F. that there is a baby in my tummy, he asked, "What's its name?"

"Well, we don't know yet," I said, "Because we don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl."

The next day, D.L.F. was asking about the baby's name again, and I said, "Well, if it's a boy, we might name him _______."

"I don't like that name," D.L.F. said.

"Oh. Well, what boys' name do you like?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, then exclaimed, "PAPA!"

At Least He Asked

2009-10-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Words I never would have predicted would come out of my son's mouth: "Could I kick your hair?" (I was leaning over putting a diaper on him for nap time, and I guess my dangling hair looked tempting! My answer was no, by the way.)

An Announcement

2009-10-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

On a Crisp Fall Morning

2009-10-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Cute Words

2009-10-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

D.L.F. to Cupcake: "No, don't hug me, I'm happy already!"

One of Cupcake's first sentences, when we were on a walk yesterday: "Don't bark, dog!"

Forty Easy Dollars So Far!

2009-10-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

I just got my 8th $5 Amazon.com gift card for searching the web using Swagbucks! If you want to sign up, please use my link:

Sign Up With Swagbucks

When you get points, I will, too. Thanks! This is such an easy way to earn a few extra dollars!

Fun with Leaves

2009-10-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Kiddos

2009-10-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here's Cupcake showing off her new "woolie," that is, wool diaper cover. I've made several woolies now using this pattern.

Here's D.L.F. typing on his keyboard. T popped off all the function keys, so basically all that's left are numbers, letters, and signs, so it's safe to let D.L.F. type away to his heart's content.

The Arrival of Fall

2009-09-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, what with the thunderstorms today and the cooler weather, I think I'm finally ready to acknowledge the arrival of fall. I had a little birthday money, so I decided to splurge on some fall pastry cutters from Williams-Sonoma. I figure I can use them for many years to come to make cookies and decorate pies. I tried the cutters out today and made some gluten-free cookies using coconut flour and almond meal.

Witty

2009-09-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

D.L.F. got out of the car, and a minute later as we were walking toward our house I noticed water on the ground.

"How'd that get there?" I asked.

T said, "Did you take the lid off of your cup, Buddy?"

"No," D.L.F. said.

A minute later I looked back and saw that D.L.F. was taking sips of water from his cup and spitting them on the ground.

I told him, "Buddy, you can drink your water, but then you need to swallow it. Please don't spit it on the ground. That just wastes it."

D.L.F. continued to follow me toward the house. I glanced back and saw D.L.F. spit his water out again!

"Buddy," I said sternly. "Do you remember me telling you not to spit water on the ground?"

"I didn't spit water on the ground," he said innocently.

I was shocked, because D.L.F. has always been very truthful. I didn't recall him ever lying before.

"I just saw you spit it out," I said.

D.L.F. looked right at me and said in all sincerity, "I didn't spit it. I just opened my mouth and the water fell out!"

-----

This evening I was cooking dinner (D.L.F.'s favorite--tuna casserole). D.L.F. came into the kitchen with a sly grin and asked, "Mama, are you making tuna kitty cat-sserole?"

The Men in My Life

2009-09-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today

2009-09-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Get a Chance

2009-09-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

The other day D.L.F. asked me, "Mama, could you put an ice cube in my cup?"

"When I get a chance, Buddy," I replied.

One second later, he piped up again: "Mama, could you get a chance?"

Basket Boat

2009-09-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

D.L.F. and Cupcake playing in a laundry basket full of cloth diapers (or "basket boat," as they call it).

Cute

2009-09-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Cupcake saw that Papa was resting on the couch, so she went to get her pillow and came back to snuggle with him.

Here is D.L.F. in his engineer hat. The other day I heard him making up a song about a balloon. This is what I remember of it:

Little balloon
Papa blew you
And you didn't pop
So I love you

3 Years Old

2009-08-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

Happy third birthday to D.L.F.!

D.L.F. helped T put up streamers and balloons this morning, and then my parents took the kids for a while so T and I could take care of more party preparations. I baked a gluten-free coconut carrot cake based on this recipe, although I tweaked it by using a mix of brown rice and coconut flours, and adding extra eggs, some applesauce, and xanthan gum, and using honey and stevia in place of sugar. Oh, and using half butter and half coconut oil for the oil. With all those changes, I was really hoping the cake would turn out all right, and it did. It was moist and tasty. I frosted it with a cream cheese and maple syrup frosting. We had lasagna and salad for dinner.

The kids had a wonderful time with my parents and Uncle J, who kindly brought his guitar and played lots of fun songs. D.L.F. received lots of nice presents, including some new clothes, books, Duplos, and perhaps his favorite gift, his very own tricycle ("It's a motorcycle!" he gleefully exclaimed as T wheeled it down the hallway toward him). What is nice about the trike, since we live on a busy street and don't have a yard of our own, is that is folds up and is pretty light, so I can just hook it over the handlebars of the stroller when I walk the kids to the park, and D.L.F. can ride it there.

Oh yeah, this little imp was at the party, too:

A Few Everyday Moments I Want to Remember About My Kids' Toddler Years

2009-08-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

-When they sit close together while watching a movie, sometimes they grab each other's hands and laugh uproariously as they shake their arms up and down together.

-If Cupcake sees Baseball Guy lying on the floor, she will pick him up and go in search of D.L.F. Then she will hand Baseball Guy over while gleefully exclaiming, "GUY!" D.L.F. usually says, "Thank you; that was very nice of you." Cupcake is very attached to her own lovey, Rosie, whom she usually also calls "Guy," although sometimes she'll say "Ro-ee."

-Cupcake knows she's not supposed to touch the dishwasher while I am loading and unloading dishes, so instead she'll walk into the kitchen, peer down at the opened dishwasher door, tell herself, "No-no!", walk out of the kitchen, then walk back into the kitchen and repeat over and over until she finds something more interesting to do.

And now I shall post two pictures of D.L.F. when he was a baby, for no good reason except that he was (and still is) so cute, and I love him.

Computer Clarification

2009-08-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today I overheard D.L.F. telling Cupcake that she wasn't allowed to use the computer, because "it's only for grown-ups and Papa."

Excuse My Messy Chin...

2009-08-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

...but I just finished a cookie (and I liked it).

Zonk

2009-08-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Just how we like 'em on long car rides:

Beach Trip with T's Parents

2009-08-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from a trip to the beach a few weeks ago with T's parents. It was COLD and WINDY, which explains the funny expressions and windblown 'dos.

He's More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys

2009-08-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

More quotes from D.L.F.:

(As he patted the couch under him): "I am sitting on the Christian!" (he meant "cushion").

___

"The stroller stepped on my foot!"

___

Updated to add:

When we were driving home from vacation this past Saturday, there was one stretch with lots of tall trees on both sides of the road. T and I were commenting to each other how pretty the landscape was and describing the trees, and all of a sudden, D.L.F. piped up from the backseat: "TOILET-trees!" I guess he'd acquired some of our vacation-packing lingo and had been waiting for an opportunity to use it.

___

Whenever I am ready to get D.L.F. up, I stand outside his bedroom door and ask, "Is there a [D.L.F.] in there?" Usually, he simply says, "Yes." Today when I asked that question, however, he replied, "I hope so!"

And Another Quote

2009-08-10T17:59:00.001-07:00

D.L.F. to Cupcake in the bath: "Don't touch the water, or you might get wet."

Quote from D.L.F.

2009-07-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

"I don't like oats in my oatmeal."

Weekend Getaway

2009-07-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, T and I left the kiddos with my parents and went camping! We took the kids camping with us last fall, but T and I had never camped by ourselves before.

We took off Friday afternoon and got to the campground around 4. We set up camp and T managed to make a fire, even with partly-wet wood. We roasted hot dogs over the fire and then drove to the beach, which was only a few minutes away by car. We walked along the beach and then sat and talked for a while. We headed back to the campsite and T went to sleep. I stayed up reading until midnight, because I'm overly noise-sensitive, and there were people talking and cars driving by until then. At that point, I attempted to sleep, but didn't end up dropping off until 2 AM...and then we were awakened around 6 AM by other campers getting up to start their day. The lack of sleep that night was the one part I didn't enjoy about our weekend away, but the rest of the time made up for it.

On Saturday, we browsed at a nearby outlet mall and bought a pair of work pants for T and a set of C.S. Lewis's letters to his friends and family that T is supposed to forget about, and I will give to him for his birthday in September. Then we had a quick lunch and went to see the movie "Up." I really liked it, but I was glad I brought a tissue...I bawled most of the way through. Then we hiked down to a different beach (where we sat and ate Subway sandwiches the night we got engaged 5 years ago...that was before I knew T had anything up his sleeve...actually, I didn't really suspect anything until T was practically pulling out the ring, but that's another story for another day). We each found a walking stick on the beach and used it to hike back up to our car. Then we drove a short distance to a state park and hiked out to the "rock" overlooking the ocean where T asked me to marry him. We didn't take any pictures this trip, but here's a picture of us hiking out to the rock the night we got engaged (apparently I had abandoned my walking stick at that point in favor of holding T's hand).

Then we drove back to a little side road where we parked and again hiked down to the beach and built a bonfire and sat and talked until way after dark. After that, we hiked back up to our car again and tossed our walking sticks in the bushes...and found the same sticks we had used the night we got engaged, still lying there in the bushes. I guess we're starting a collection. :-)

That night, we were so exhausted from miles of hiking that we slept much better and much longer. On Sunday, we packed up our things, went swimming in the campground's indoor pool, ate lunch at a seafood restaurant, and then headed home.

D.L.F. and Cupcake had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa (thanks, Mom and Dad!). They read lots of books and went to a park and a "sprayground." Here are a few pictures of their time together.

Isn't it cute how the kids are both snuggling their buddies in that last picture?

2 Pictures

2009-06-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Cupcake has discovered climbing, and she's pretty good at getting herself into awkward positions, but not so great yet about getting out of them. I had to snap this picture before I got her out of her predicament.

I got my hair cut short for the summer. I took this picture of myself, so it's not the greatest quality, but here it is.

Rose Garden

2009-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

T is home sick, so I decided to get the kids out of the house so he could rest. We went to the Rose Garden. It was my first time there, even though I've lived in the area for six years. It was beautiful, but crowded, and there were so many stairs! Cupcake was in the stoller, so I had to carry the stroller up and down many different sections of stairs. I think there was supposed to be a ramp somewhere, but I never found it. D.L.F. did a great job of climbing all the stairs by himself. I didn't get many pictures, because it's hard to push a stroller and take care of two little kids and take pictures at the same time, but here are a few:

Ow!

2009-06-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

I was in another room and overheard D.L.F. saying, "I am pulling your hair! Can you say, 'Ow!'?"

I thought he was talking to Cupcake, so I hurried in and was relieved to find that he was only pulling on the yellow yarn hair of Rosie, Cupcake's lovey (the feminine equivalent of Baseball Guy).

From His Perspective

2009-06-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today D.L.F. was looking at the book Go Dog Go and saw a picture of a dog wearing roller skates. He said, "That dog has car sandals!"

Beach!

2009-06-02T21:54:00.001-07:00

With the hot, muggy weather we've been experiencing, we've been itching to visit the beach for quite a while, and today we got our chance. D.L.F. remembered the beach from last year, and he was so excited when he figured out that's where we were going. It was such fun to get our city children out into God's creation where they could move and explore to their hearts' content.

When we got to the beach, I set Cupcake in the sand, and she was off! She practiced her gymnastics moves...

and checked out a big stick...

ate some sand...

and liked it so much she attempted to cover every square inch of her body with it.

D.L.F., on the other hand, mostly wanted to hang out with Papa...

and everyone played in the water.

Rhododendron Garden

2009-05-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Baby

2009-05-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Precious One-Year-Old!

2009-05-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Cupcake turned one on May 5. She has been a joyous addition to our family! I am so grateful to be the mother of such a sweet, special little person. If you follow this link, you can read her birth story and see pictures of her as a newborn.

Things that make her happy at this point are her family and friends, bananas, cats, stuffed animals, baths, and music (she does the cutest little boogie whenever she hears music!). She is a super imitator and tries to copy sounds and people's movements. She is crawling and pulling up on things, but is not walking alone yet. She says, "Papa," "Mama," "nana" (banana), "ca" (cat), something resembling "cracker," and she refers to both books and socks as "k."

Her soft, downy hair is getting longer. I love to snuggle her and kiss the top of her head over and over. She puts her thumb in her mouth and leans against me. I treasure these days.

End-of-April Update

2009-04-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

-T accidentally reformatted a hard drive with ALL our pictures on it--wedding pictures, baby pictures, everything. But he found some software to reverse the damage. It cost $40 (grrrrr), but it's worth it to have all those pictures back.

-We have a new church. Have I mentioned that? We used to be part of a house church, but God led people in different directions, and so that house church is no more. Our new congregation has about 150 people, and it's within walking distance of our house.

-This past weekend was the church women's retreat. Cupcake is eating solids so well now (she literally will eat anything and everything you put on her tray), and she'll be a year old in two weeks, so I decided she could live without me for a couple of days. T said she did great, and other than looking around and saying "Mamamamama" sometimes, she didn't seem to miss me too much. There were about 40 women at the retreat, and I learned almost everyone's name. I felt blessed that so many welcomed me, talked with me, and even wrote me notes! I did nurse Cupcake when I got home, but she just doesn't seem all that interested any more (and hasn't for a month or two), so I don't know how much longer I'll keep it up. I'm kind of looking forward to being done with nursing (until the next baby), as I've been either pregnant and/or nursing for the past 3 1/2 years.

-D.L.F. has, of his own volition, started walking everywhere lately! This is good because 1) the umbrella stroller (for Cupcake) is WAAAY easier to haul down and up the stairs than the double stroller, and 2) walking wears D.L.F. out, thus he takes really long naps!

Misheard

2009-04-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while we were eating dinner, a car honked loudly outside, and D.L.F. imitated the sound perfectly.

"He was right on pitch," I said to T.

D.L.F. giggled and said "ARMPITS!" and started flapping his arms like a bird.

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to my parents' house for Easter, and T stayed home to work on some projects around the house. I really enjoyed going to the church I grew up in and seeing lots of folks I hadn't seen for a while. We went to the early service, and then went down to the fellowship hall for brunch. As we were almost ready to leave, my mom started coughing and choked out a request for something to drink. My dad got her some juice, and by that time, I was coughing, too, with a horrible irritation in my throat (three hours later, my throat is still bothering me a bit). We looked around and realized that everyone around us was coughing, too. So what was the deal? Apparently someone had sprayed pepper spray (or something like it) in the men's restroom, I guess as a prank, and it just filtered out all through the church. So that's a little Easter adventure I won't be forgetting any time soon. My mom got Easter outfits for Cupcake and D.L.F. Here are a few pics:

Don't Eat Pistachios!

2009-04-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

A lot of stores are recalling pistachios that are possibly contaminated with salmonella. Here's an article with more information:

FDA: Stop Eating Pistachios, Salmonella Feared

Not a Bug Boy

2009-03-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant the first time around, T and I joked that we'd better have a boy so he could kill all the bugs and spiders for me when T was at work. Well, we have our boy now, but it seems there is little hope of employing him as my on-call exterminator. Even the tiniest fruit fly sends him into a tizzy of panicked, blood-curdling shrieks. Today I wanted to show him a cricket that was on the outside of our sliding glass door. I thought he would think it was neat, since we just checked out The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle, from the library yesterday, but no, he had the same response as usual, even though I explained that the cricket was outside and couldn't hurt him at all. I had to pull the blinds closed before D.L.F. would stop screaming. Hopefully he will outgrow his bug phobia soon!

Free Audio Book Download

2009-03-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

You will not want to miss this! Ten P's in a Pod is the true story of a family with eight children who traveled around the country in the 1950's giving gospel presentations, singing, and reciting huge chunks of Scripture. Their family was very dedicated to reading and memorizing God's Word, and their example of living by faith (they almost never knew where their next meal or money for gas would come from) is so encouraging.

I read the book a few months ago and really enjoyed it, so I was so excited to see that it's free to download this month at Behemoth.com. The audio book is read by the author, Arnold Pent III, and it includes some bonus material that is not found in the printed book.

You do have to input a credit card number, but the audio book is completely free:

Here's the link:

Ten P's in a Pod

HT: Kim at Life in a Shoe

Cupcake at 10 Months

2009-03-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

If T is the one to get the diapers out of the dryer, sometimes he puts Cupcake in the laundry basket and gives her a ride along with the diapers.

I usually wake Cupcake up at 5 AM to nurse her and put her right back to sleep, but this past Sunday, we woke up late enough that we let her stay up at that point...and she couldn't quite make it all the way to her 1 PM nap time!

Things Have Been Quiet

2009-03-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Things have been quiet on this blog lately, I guess because I've been feeling introspective and just not very chatty. I've been thinking a lot lately about habits and trying to break some of my bad ones. I've been doing a lot of reading and research about nutrition and exercise and I've made some positive changes (and lost ten pounds in the past month...but I still have a long way to go until I will really feel fit). I've been trying to eat more mindfully and be in tune with the way my body feels after eating certain foods. I've also been educating myself about conventional food production and why it really does make sense to spend extra on organic produce and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats when possible. The Meatrix is a good introduction to the unsanitary and inhumane practices of conventional meat production.

A Spring Poem

2009-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Through all the frozen winter
My nose has grown most lonely
For lovely, lovely colored smells
That come in springtime only.

The purple smell of lilacs,
The yellow smell that blows
Across the air of meadows
Where bright forsythia grows.

The tall pink smell of peach trees,
The low white smell of clover,
And everywhere the great green smell
Of grass the whole world over.

"Smells," by Kathryn Worth

Image from AllPosters.com

Low-Carb Cottage Cheese Pancakes

2009-02-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

I'm giving my body a break from wheat for a while, so I've been searching out lots of wheat-free recipes. I made these delicious pancakes for lunch today. The batter is thin, so they turn out almost crepe-like. If you leave out the stevia (and vanilla and cinnamon, updated 3/2), I think they could also be a great "wrap" to hold sandwich fillings, but I haven't tried that yet.

4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup gluten-free flour mixture (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose baking flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
approximately 1/8 teaspoon stevia powder (or 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in blender for 10-15 seconds. Cook on lightly greased moderately-hot skillet, flipping once, until both sides are lightly browned.

Heartstrings

2009-02-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. was still talking to himself quite a while after we put him to bed tonight, so while I continued practicing my harp in the living room, T went into D.L.F.'s room to check on him.

"Mama is playing her heart!" D.L.F. announced.

We Can Talk to God About Anything, Right?

2009-02-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I finished praying before D.L.F. ate his breakfast, and he looked like he wanted to say something.

"Go ahead," I prompted.

"And please help Papa to throw the trash in the dumpster!" D.L.F. prayed. (A few minutes earlier D.L.F. had put a piece of lint in the garbage can, and I guess he decided it was full enough to go out!)

A Couple Pictures

2009-01-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Cupcake Update

2009-01-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Cupcake is 8 1/2 months old now. She is such a sweet baby! We've started her on solids; so far, she's tried egg yolk, banana, spinach, carrots, applesauce, and yogurt, and even a taste of mild chili, and she gobbled them all up.

She isn't really crawling yet, but she can quickly get wherever she wants by scooting or rolling. She is holding herself way up with her arms, so I think she will be crawling soon.

She says, "Papa," "Mama," "hi," and "bye-bye," and she knows how to wave bye-bye. She also does the sign language for "milk" and "diaper." In our family, we (especially T and D.L.F.) often roar like lions at each other just for fun, and Cupcake has figured out how to roar in her own way when she wants to be in on the action.

I can only hope that he will be as concerned about his own hygiene in about twelve years.

2009-01-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. likes to pretend he's grown-up by casually asking T and me to do things (whether or not they need to be done; D.L.F. just likes the asking part).

Today, among other things, he asked, "Mama...couldjoooo [could you]...ummm...put some clothes on Baby [Cupcake]?" (She was just wearing a diaper at the time.)

And, "Mama...couldjooooooooo put on your deodorant?"

Books I Read in 2008: Part 2

2009-01-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm having issues with uploading pictures, but here are a few more brief reviews of books I read last year.

First We Have Coffee and Papa's Place are collections of Margaret Jensen's sometimes-humorous, sometimes-serious stories about her mother and father, respectively. Many insights about hospitality, trusting God, and forgiveness may be gleaned from these books.

God's Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, by Elisabeth Elliot, is a helpful but not formulaic book about finding purpose and discovering God's will.

Mother (read it online for free), by Kathleen Thompson Norris, is a sweet story of a young woman trying to figure out what really matters in life.

Before I had my first child, I subscribed nearly 100% to the attachment-parenting school of thought and refused to read On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam because, ugh, put my baby on a schedule? How heartless! Hello, eight months of severe sleep deprivation. So, looking for a new approach when I was pregnant with Cupcake, I decided to at least glance at this book to see if I could pick up a hint or two and was pleasantly surprised to find very reasonable, not rigid, advice on how to help your baby fit in to your family and get the rest he or she needs. The most helpful thing I learned, which I am convinced has helped make Cupcake the good sleeper that she is, is to give baby a full feeding upon waking (not just "snacking" here and there), have some awake-time, and then put baby back to bed when he or she is drowsy but not yet asleep. I think every new parent can learn something from this book.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, aside from having a goofy title, is a pretty good book. It shows how a woman can rejoice in whom God has created her to be, rather than feeling dissatisfied and unimportant because she is "just" a homemaker.

Maybe it's that I identified with the main character in a lot of ways or just that it's a well-crafted, interesting, short novel, but The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel, is a book that has stayed with me. Set during World War 2, it's the story of a learned city girl who finds herself in a marriage of convenience to a farmer and befriends two Japanese sisters at a nearby internment camp, with some unexpected plot twists. (Update 2/6/2008: I just remembered that there is a scene in this book that is rather explicit, so I don't recommend it for young readers.)

The Road of Lost Innocence: As a girl she was sold into sexual slavery, but now she rescues others. The true story of a Cambodian heroine, by Somaly Mam. The title says it all. This is a graphic, heartbreaking book to read, but it's a story that must be told. I'm very glad I read it, even though it was hard to get through.

Anyone who has a sweet tooth will enjoy The Taste of Sweet, by Joanne Chen. It's a whole book exploring every aspect of sweetness--why things taste sweet, the science of artificial flavors and sweeteners, why some people enjoy and crave sweet things and others don't, and more. Fascinating.

The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey, includes lots of good solid advice about getting out of debt and saving for the future. Most of the principles are Scriptural, others not so much. Balance this book with Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions, and Eternity.

The Sisters of the Quilt trilogy, by Cindy Woodsmall, is not just another same-old, same-old Amish series. It is comprised of three books, When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends, which tell the story of young Amish girl whose family and community turns against her after she is assaulted by a stranger, accusing her of fornication rather than offering her compassion. She is forced out of her community and into the "real world," where she falls in love and studies to be a midwife, but is still tied down to her old life in many ways. These are Cindy Woodsmall's first books. I can't wait to read more by her. Her next book is supposed to be available in September.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Books I Read in 2008: Part 1

2009-01-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the lookout for a good book. I love seeing what other people are reading, so I thought this list of very brief reviews of the books I read in 2008 might be of interest to someone.

A Life Unburdened, by Richard Morris, is the personal account of a morbidly obese man who got into shape by ditching junk food and switching to traditionally-prepared food, a la Nourishing Traditions.

The Seaport Suspense series, by Kathy Herman, is made up of these titles: A Shred of Evidence, Eye of the Beholder, All Things Hidden, and Not By Chance. Themes of forgiveness and loving one's neighbor run through this series of whodunits. Quick and easy, yet convicting and faith-building, reads.

The Derby series, by Jamie Langston Turner, includes the following books: Suncatchers, Some Wildflower in My Heart, By the Light of a Thousand Stars, A Garden to Keep, and No Dark Valley. Quoting from a post I wrote last February, "Her quality of writing is a couple notches above most Christian fiction...it's obvious that Turner is intelligent and well-read. Her characters are quirky, which to me, makes them enjoyable. Quite a few of her protagonists are bitter middle-aged women, which is a change from the typical naive 17-year-old female main characters readily found in the 'Christian fiction' genre. All of Turner's books I've read so far have been challenging and thought-provoking."

Angel Unaware is Dale Evans Rogers' (wife of Roy Rogers) sweet, touching memoir of the Rogers' 2 1/2 years with their daughter, Robin, who had Down's Syndrome.

I appreciate Ami McKay's positive portrayal of midwifery in The Birth House, but I wish she could have done it without resorting to excessive debauchery. Not recommended.

Most books for pregnant women have a little bit of information about a lot of different topics, but The Big Book of Birth is exclusively about, well, birth. Erica Lyon leans toward natural birth but is not condemning toward women who choose to or must use drugs or interventions. Lots of good information. A must-read for every pregnant woman (and her husband).

I liked the Scripture-based approach of examining what God thinks about children in Be Fruitful and Multiply, by Nancy Campbell. However (and I don't have the book in front of me now, so I can't reference specific passages), I seem to remember thinking that this book goes beyond what the Bible definitively requires of married couples. Read it, but also make sure to search out for yourself what the Bible does (and does not) say regarding family planning.

Biblical Womanhood in the Home, edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, a Christian author and radio host I greatly respect, is a highly encouraging compilation of essays by well-known Christian authors on God's design for women. I got a lot out of this book.

Dwelling Places, by Vinita Hampton Wright, is darker and creepier than I feel Christian fiction should be. The style of the author isn't bad, but there isn't a lot of redeeming value in this book.

Feminine Appeal, by Carolyn Mahaney, is a study of the seven feminine virtues in Titus 2: loving one's husband, loving one's children, self-control, purity, working at home, kindness, and submission. I found this book to be practical, encouraging, and Scripturally sound.

Part 2 coming soon!

What Does That Spell?

2008-12-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

T was trying to decide if he and D.L.F. should run some errands. T was looking through advertisements online and finally said, "I'm not finding any compelling reasons to go anywhere."

I said, "Well, maybe we should all stay home and have C-O-C-O-A."

D.L.F. said, "Let's have some C-O-C-O-A!"

T asked him, "Do you know what C-O-C-O-A spells?"

D.L.F. just kept saying, "Umm...umm...," hoping we would clue him in.

Christmas

2008-12-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day in about two weeks that we've been able to dig our car out of the snow. We got about 18 inches of snow--virtually unheard of around here. We've had to postpone most of our Christmas plans until next week, but we did read the Christmas story and act it out with figurines from the manger scene. T's parents sent some gifts for the kids...a little wooden train set for D.L.F. along with a conductor's hat and red scarf (which Cupcake has claimed for herself).

Snowed In

2008-12-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. has been saying this for a long time, but I don't think I've ever posted it here. Whenever he is really struggling with something, he will say, "It's too turkey!" (he means "tricky").

We are really snowed in here with about 8-10 inches of snow on the ground, and our balcony has over two feet of snow (the snow is really fine and powdery and blows off the roof onto the balcony).

We don't have chains for our car, so we're not going anywhere for a while.

As I am writing this, D.L.F. is quoting this little poem from one of his books--"I am just a wooley sheep; please help me count myself to sleep!"

Relieved

2008-12-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

T told me this morning that he had dropped one of his prescription thyroid pills in his bathroom and hadn't been able to find it. T had to leave for work, but I prayed and prayed while searching every square inch of that bathroom several times, wanting to get the pill before D.L.F. did. T's pills look very similar to these homeopathic teething tablets we used to give D.L.F. (which he liked because they were sweet). I searched the rest of the house, too, thinking maybe the pill had bounced out or got tracked out of the bathroom, but it was nowhere to be found.

D.L.F. seemed to be acting normally, other than looking a little puzzled as to why Mama kept crawling around on the bathroom floor. Still, I began to fear that he had already swallowed the pill, so I called poison control just in case. I described the pill and was thankful when they told me that just one wouldn't hurt D.L.F.

A few minutes later, D.L.F. was laying on his tummy in the kitchen looking under the fridge (what can I say--he's two) and found a tiny piece of lint that he wanted to throw away. I went with him to the garbage can, and when we opened it up to throw away the piece of lint, T's pill was lying right on top of everything! D.L.F. had found the pill, but had fortunately put it in the garbage rather than his mouth. What a relief not to have to to wonder "What if...?"!

December Days

2008-12-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

T has been volunteering lots of his time at a local homeless shelter for families. He's been setting up computers and doing lots of techie stuff that I try to understand, but really don't. All I know is that when he tries to describe to me what he's doing, these words come up a lot: VPN, firewall, server, network. I just smile and nod and say, "That's great, Honey."

D.L.F. is a quick memorizer. It's fun to hear him reciting poems and singing songs. His tunes are becoming more accurate and recognizable. He wasn't into puzzles for a long time, but just today I got some out and he seems to be getting better about putting pieces where they belong. He and T had colds last week, but they are better now.

Cupcake is getting in two more teeth. She is sitting up well on her own and is a very cheerful, adaptable little girl. I let her take a piece of banana off my plate the other day. When she put it to her mouth, her eyes got wide and she got so excited. She sucked on it until it got too slippery to hold. That's the only solid food she's had so far. There are a lot of good reasons to delay solids.

I have been listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss when I go for walks (except the past few days--it's been too snowy and slippery to walk), doing a little light reading (the first two books of the Seaport Suspense series by Kathy Herman), crocheting a wool diaper cover for Cupcake, and researching various options for taking some college classes either online or in the evenings.

This past Sunday we finally put up our Christmas tree and manger scene. D.L.F. helped set up the tree, but we put the manger scene up after he had gone to bed. The next morning, he was playing in the living room and all of a sudden he looked up at the manger scene on the mantle and said in astonishment, "There's people up there!"

D.L.F.'s Creative Interpretation of "Baby Beluga"

2008-12-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

(That was "red fire truck," if you didn't catch it.)

7 Quick Takes

2008-12-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed reading Catherine's 7 Quick Takes every Friday. Here are mine for the week:

7 Quick Takes

1. The battery in our bathroom scale is almost dead. I am considering not replacing it, because I kind of like it when I step on and the screen says, "LO."

2. The one night that you toss and turn and can't get to sleep until 2:30 A.M. will be the same night your infant (who usually sleeps through the night) will wake up to nurse at 3:30 A.M.

3. Just because it is sunny outside does not necessarily mean you don't need a coat. Especially if it's December.

4. They're not kidding when they tell you never to use chlorine bleach on cloth diapers because it will make them deteriorate faster. We have three sizes of cloth diapers--newborn, regular, and toddler. The regulars are the only ones I've ever bleached, and they're just about dust rags.

5. If you need an addicting entertainment option in your life, watch a show called "The Pretender" on hulu.com.

6. My camera can create a secret, hidden sub-folder and put pictures in it without my permission, causing all manner of angst and whining about losing the cutest. pictures. ever. of my daughter. But my ~~resident geek~~ darling husband figured everything out. My hero! ::swoon::

7. I got this squash to use as part of our Thanksgiving centerpiece. D.L.F. liked it because he thought it looked like a shark. T says it looks like a zerg, which is apparently a creature from a computer game called StarCraft, which I have vague recollections of trying to play with T when we were dating. What do you think?

Bizarre Squash

Zerg

(Image from StarCraftWire Gallery).

For other people's 7 Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.

Look Who's 7 Months Old (Tomorrow)!

2008-12-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

She may not have much hair, but she has a ton of CUTE!

Frozen Cranberry Salad

2008-11-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

1 cup heavy cream
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 can (16 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Whip heavy cream and reserve. In separate bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sugar; mix well. Stir in cranberry sauce, pineapple with its juice, and pecans. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into 8x8x2-inch pan and freeze until firm. Remove from freezer 5 minutes before serving.

You Must Be Quiet!

2008-11-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

D.L.F. went through a long phase of throwing a fit whenever he was told he couldn't have or do something. He seems to be getting better about controlling his emotions. Lately, if something upsets him, he tells himself, "Stop crying! You must be quiet! [Cupcake] is sleeping in her playpen!", and then he calms down. It's pretty cute to hear him getting firm with himself.

I really don't know where he got the line about "You must be quiet." It sounds so quaint. T and I don't say that to him; we might say, "Please be quiet," or "You need to be quiet," but not, "You must be quiet." The only thing I can think of is that in the Corduroy bear books, Corduroy says to Lisa, "You must be a friend."

My Third Child

2008-11-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Now, now, don't get excited. That's not what I mean. I'm talking about Baseball Guy:

He was given to D.L.F. when he was a baby by our friend Anna. We call him Baseball Guy for obvious reasons...he has a baseball in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. He goes pretty much everywhere with D.L.F.

We used to tie Baseball Guy on to the toy bar of the bouncy seat for D.L.F. It was the first (and sometimes the only) toy to make D.L.F. smile and giggle. Until D.L.F. was eight months old, we lived in a one-bedroom apartment, so he was in a crib next to our bed. I used to look over in the middle of the night, and Baseball Guy would be spread out over D.L.F.'s face. I didn't want D.L.F. to suffocate, so I'd carefully remove Baseball Guy and place him next to D.L.F. in the crib. The next time I looked over, there Baseball Guy was again, spread out over D.L.F.'s face. I stopped worrying when I realized if D.L.F. was skilled enough to artfully arrange Baseball Guy over his face just how he wanted, then he would be able to take him off if needed. These days, D.L.F. doesn't sleep with Baseball Guy over his face any more, but he does still hold him to get to sleep.

Baseball Guy talks in a high, squeaky voice and likes to ask D.L.F., "What's your favorite food?"--always a good conversation-starter with a toddler.

We almost always take Baseball Guy with us when we go for walks in the stroller. Yesterday, we needed to walk to the produce market. However, Baseball Guy was taking a bath in the washer because he had earlier that morning been baptized with chocolate milk. I told D.L.F., "We can't take Baseball Guy with us because he is in the washer. Do you want to take Doggy with you instead?" D.L.F. said no. A few minutes later, I put Baseball Guy into the dryer and asked D.L.F., "Don't you want to take one of your friends with you instead of Baseball Guy?" D.L.F. said no. As we were going out the door, I again asked D.L.F., "Are you sure you don't want to take Doggy with you?" D.L.F. was sure. At that point, I realized I was asking more for my own sake than for D.L.F.'s. I'm so used to making sure I have all three of them--D.L.F., Cupcake, and Baseball Guy--whenever we go anywhere. I actually missed Baseball Guy when we were out and about without him. His absence was keenly felt, at least by me. I don't think D.L.F. even gave him a thought.

We were both very happy to retrieve Baseball Guy out of the dryer when we got home. Probably one of us even more than the other.

Two Quick Notes

2008-11-25T09:33:00.001-08:00

1. I had to take the ElfYourself videos off my blog because they were making it extremely slow-loading.

2. After watching a video with me on YouTube (it's called The Homeschool Song...hardee har hee hee), D.L.F. said, "Do you want to watch another one? Okay! That's a great idea!"

A Good Big Brother

2008-11-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

While I was changing Cupcake's diaper, D.L.F. came up to her and asked, "Are you tired, sweet, precious baby girl?"

Then he answered himself: "Yeah, she is."

I Don't Walk 60 MPH

2008-11-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

T got a free Global Positioning System (GPS) for signing up for a Discover card (which he canceled as soon as the GPS arrived). I think that deal may still be on...Google it if you're interested. Anyway, sometimes I take it along with me when I walk so I can see how far and how fast I've walked. You set it to pedestrian mode when you're walking. Well, we forgot to switch it back to driving mode, and when we got on the freeway on the way back from Wal-Mart yesterday, the GPS got so confused! It knew that no pedestrian should be barreling along at 60 miles per hour on the freeway. So it kept saying, "Recalculating! Recalculating! Recalculating! Recalculating!" until T shut it off.

Then D.L.F. piped up from the backseat, "RECALCULATING!" (giggle, giggle). "RECALCULATING!" (squeal). He cracked himself up, and us, too.