Making on Monday

Over the holiday weekend I DID make some things.

I finally made a curtain for the back door - that has been on my to do list for quite a while. I had some leftover material from some other curtains that I had made. Some nice little hemming around. Stitching on some ribbon - and voila! A Roman shade!

I also made baby some cute little sandwiches - a jelly sandwich. A grilled cheese sandwich. Cubed up into little bits. And she loved them! She had jam hands!

Friday fun: Giggling

Today I had a very happy giggling baby! She thought the doggy was so funny. She was giggling & squealing with delight with each crawl, spin and scootch she made around the house. And she was super ticklish today - laughing and gurgling with joy!
I think she was having so much fun today, she really didn't want to go to sleep tonight. She wanted more giggles!

Thursday Three

1) Milk for the baby!  Day one.  I think she is confused about the temperature and taste.  I think she likes it, but she's still unsure.  Not that she liked the formula - she never liked it.  So bye bye formula.  And bye bye bottle!  She can drink out of a sippy cup.  Just when she wants to...

2) Another limb has fallen.  It's not near the size of the last partial tree that fell.  And I think that it's residual from the damage of a month ago.  But there is is.  Another limb on the ground.  What, four days without "tree" on the grass.  Guess our trees like to be more horizontal than vertical.  I don't like that. But it did fall on the grass, not the house.

3) New footy pajamas for the baby!  I finally found some that actually fit her.  Not too big around the middle, but long enough!  Go Kohl's!

Word for Wednesday: Spelling it right

Today, I was chatting with Daniel about a fender bender/traffic where we had both driven.  And I mentioned that there was an ambulance there when I had passed.  -- I didn't get why there was one there at all.  Everyone seemed fine, and there was little to no damage to the cars.  Maybe since there were 4 cars involved, it's protocol or something.

Well, anyway, there was an ambulance.  And I was typing that word.  And I misspelled it.  I put an "lence" instead of a "lance."  And that made me remember...

My fourth grade spelling bee.  The word AMBULANCE got me.  I "lenced" it then.  And I was out of the bee.  And ever since then, I've had problems with all my "lances" and "lences" - especially that one. Guess it's just a mental block of the trauma of misspelling that word in front of a crowd.  Well, traumatic for fourth grade.

Tales for Tuesday: Big Girl Now

Today we went to the doctor for baby's 1-year checkup.  And she is on her way to not being a "baby" anymore.  Guess I'll have to call her my little toddler!  Well, she's not toddling yet - but she is moving around and ready to get up and go any day now!  She will crawl, dance and loves to explore, getting into most anything.  Walking is sure to happen soon...
She is going to come off of the formula and will be drinking milk!  We have been working on the sippy cup for a while...it's going to be full time now!  Bring on the sippy!  And we are going to transitioning to more table foods.  Now, breads and grains, she has got that one down.  It's all the other stuff.  Not a fan of certain textures, so this new phase of eating will be an adventure!  She does love feeding herself - and holding the sippy cup.  I just know a few days ago, I heard her say "I do it."
She got a great report today.  Her growth curve is looking good - she is definitely on the small side, but is growing steadily.  She has also been chatting up a storm - saying Mama, Dada, and Bye-Bye (complete with wave).  And she seems to be talking to me about lots of things.  I just don't know what they are yet!

Saturday: Tree Cleanup

In the storms that passed through a few weeks ago, we had part of a tree (a big part) fall on the roof and in front of our house.  We were so protected and blessed that it didn't fall IN our house, just on.  We still have damage - soft spots in the roof where the wood has cracked under the weight.  And part of the house frame that has to be rebuilt.  And of course, re-roofing with new shingles.

So here is the offending tree.  It could not be saved.  And with the one huge part that was left of the tree, being located OVER the roof (which is mostly not seen in this pic), I was glad to see it go, for safety reasons.  I will miss the shade - it was a nice tree.  It just wasn't safe anymore...

The guys with their fleet of trucks, equipment and chain saws made quick work of the tree.  Someone in the bucket of the bucket truck made the large trunks bare, which were loaded into the chipper truck (the yellow and red equipment seen here).  

While that tree was being stripped, there was another guy working with a grapple truck picking up all the debris that the first team of tree guys had gotten off the roof.  Aha.  That's what a grapple truck is... 

Then the grapple truck came over to help with the tree removal.  It's "teeth" held the large trunk portions and set them down in the truck.  For a large tree removal project, they were pretty quiet.  No loud booms or anything.  Just about 3 chainsaws and the chipper noise.  This is the last of the limbs being removed to clear the way for the...

Stump Grinder!  I have never seen one of these in action.  Or at least this close up (through a window).  The grapple truck waits for the final portion of the project to be finished.  It is as big as it looks!  The stump grinder went back and forth pretty fast - pummeling the stump to a huge pile of shavings.  

Anyone need mulch?  

It was quite a sight to see this huge fleet of 4 vehicles coming to clean up our storm damage.  And they estimated that it was going to take 2 hours - and indeed they drove off after exactly that long!  Pretty fast... guess they are the professionals!  

Friday Fun

This afternoon, we got Julia in her swimsuit for the first time and headed out to try her new baby pool. And only one foot went in - and it came immediately out!! The pool was a no go. I'm not sure if she was just unsure of the situation or if the water was a little too cold. But she did NOT like it. She does enjoy her bath. Guess this was just weird.
So instead of playing in the pool, she had some fun in her swing. She loves that! And that put a big smile on her face!!

Thursday Three

It's been a weird week so far...

1) Today I went to the doctor about this weird rash/bumps that were spreading rapidly on my torso arms and legs. They looked like chicken pox, although I didn't think they were because of the lack of itching and having no fever. But you never know. They were freaking me out, and with having a baby in the house, I didn't want to take any risks. Apparently I had some kind of allergic reaction. Might have been stress. But whatever the cause, I got a steroid shot and a z-pack. The bumps are looking better, but I'm feeling like a steam roller knocked me down. Yea. Steroids.

2) On the way to the doctor, I got caught in traffic - there were several emergency vehicle blocking most of the roadway. They were actually blocking the larger parts of a power line that had fallen. So I got to drive over, actually ON a power line today. Totally weird.

3) And this week we finally got a roofer out to our house. Not an easy thing to find right now. The one that came this week was weird - and just didn't seem right, the way he tried to sell. So strike one on roofers. And the tree service guys quoted and soon will be removing the offending tree that is in pieces - and all that fell too.

Word for Wednesday: "Bye-Bye"

Baby now will say and wave bye bye. Well about 50% of the time. She does it sometimes when there is no "bye bye" happening. But it is very fun and sweet when she does it when daddy is leaving in the morning for work. Or when we are leaving friends. She smiles and waves her little hand (sometimes both hands) and says "bye-bye bye-bye"

Tales for Tuesday: Time

I can't believe it's been a week since my baby turned one. And I still really can't believe I HAVE a one year old. But looking at her now, seeing how much she's grown and comparing that to the pictures of her over the past year that rotate through on my new digital frame (that I got for mothers day) - she really has gotten bigger, older. And well, ONE.
Now that the celebrations of ONE are coming to an end, it's time to get geared up for summer! VBS is on the way - so I'm prepping for that. I'm doing the director of preschool again. It's crazy, but it's so much fun too! And baby will be coming with me this year. What a difference a year makes!
And I'm needing to plan for our summer trip! We are still going to go on our yearly vacation. And even go somewhere new for the both of us. Well, all THREE of us. We are forgoing a plane for the car. It'll be quite a driving day. And we know where we are going and where we are staying. Charleston - in a carriage house. But other than that, I've got nothing. Which is unusual for this time.
Time is moving fast. I think I need to stop a savor for a while.

Monday's Mmmmm...

There were a few goodies over the past week. Bsby's birthday cake was actually a pumpkin muffin - which she loves for breakfast - but I dressed it up with brown sugar cream cheese icing and of course a candle!! She had a blast eating it and polished the whole thing off.
[she normally has 1-2 mini muffins for breakfast - this was a "big sized" muffin! Yum yum!]

But after all the cute cupcakes, cookies & yummy dip from the party, we had crescent dogs for dinner last night. Hot dogs + crescent rolls + a little garlic for some kick! Yummy!

"So where have I been" Sunday

I was enjoying writing my blog on a mostly daily basis there for a while. It was getting the creative juices flowing. Then, well, I don't know what happened. I guess I just stopped writing. No pressing matters or trips or anything weird happening. Guess it was just one of those times in life where you have more things to do than time. And the blog... That was one of the things that got pushed aside for a while. But I'm missing it. Missing moment that I want to record. So I'm going to "cheat" - post date a few from these past few weeks. It's what I wanted to say, to ponder, to remember. So that's what I'm hoping to do to catch up a little. Then get back on track!

Mmmmm...for Monday

Tonight - sitting on the couch, having a big bowl of Frosted Rice Krispies and watching "How the states got their shape" on the History channel! Mmmm!!!

And mmm...muffins. I made another batch of pumpkin muffins for baby. They, of course, didn't turn out the same as the last batch. I had tweaked a recipe that I had found, but didn't make a note of what I did. So I guessed this time. I guessed mostly right - need less egg, more cinnamon. And tonight, I DID record my version of the recipe, and what I want to do differently!
But even though they were different, baby still snarfed it down. She loves muffins!

My first Mother's Day

Today was a day that has been a long time coming. My first mother's day! And it was a great day! It was low key, mainly a day at home. I got some great gifts from Daniel and from baby -a new Keurig coffee maker and a digital photo frame. Great gifts for mom! Caffeine and pictures! So sweet and thoughtful too!
Today was a special day. I heard mamama many times, got smiles and laughs from my wonderful, on-the-move baby! It was so specia just to watch her play, watch her smile at me, reach for me to pick her up and have her rest her head on my shoulder.
I felt so much love from my baby, husband and friends and family. And that was the best gift of all!