Most Thoughtful Gift Ever

Dear Reader, please meet the poster I’ve been looking for for years and I do mean, YEARS.

Back more than 5 years ago, I was in Damascus, VA with my Dad and we were looking around in a few of the really awesome hiking stores, I saw this poster.  For some reason (probably because I was being thrifty) I didn’t buy it, but it’s haunted me ever since then.

This is a picture of the end of the Appalachian Trail (if you’re going north bound) at Mt. Katahdin.  I honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for this poster online, but I couldn’t remember the name of it, so I’d google things like “hiker at mt. Katahdin”, “applachian trail hiker”, “hiker at the sign”, just random things thinking that one day I’d get lucky and find this poster for sale at which time I’d buy it for almost whatever amount of money it was being sold for.  Fast forward to today, my Dad and friend found this poster in Damascus last weekend, in a hiking store, in a corner, rolled up.

This was on my Dream List to find one day.  I can’t wait to get this frame.  By the way, those are puzzle pieces holding it out flat, it’s been curled up for a while….but it will soon be in the most awesome frame I can find and hung in a place of honor.

God Made Me Good!

Sometimes I just expect Bug to be good and read my mind as to what “good” means.

Most of the time, I try to tell Bug what I expect her to do when we go somewhere, what “good” means.

Our normal daycare routine has me picking up Bug, then getting the Little Sister. Before Bug and I go into Little Sister’s room at daycare I say to Bug, “I need you to be good in here. Do you know what good means?” Then I usually say something like, “Good means only touch your baby, not any of the other babies and don’t touch their toys.” This is usually followed by her saying, “yes, ma’am.”

Last week we started this same scenario, played so many times that you could almost see it all play inside in your head, except for Wednesday.

Wednesday, I started the “I need you to be good” speech and asked Bug “do you know what good means?” When she melted my heart and said, “Yes, momma, I know what good means! God made me GOOD!”

Thank you God for making us all good and for this very special reminder.

Breakfast With Santa

Breakfast this with Santa this year was magical.  Last year, I missed it due to a training class, which made this year extra special.  I found myself getting very emotional watching my sweet babies sitting on Santa’s lap.  I wish I could bottle up this sweet time of the girls lives and not take a single minute for granted.

Monday with High Heels and a Tiara

Sometimes all you need to make the day start great is a Tiara and pink high heels!

Happy Monday.

Who Did That?

“Who did that?” Asked my two year old this rainy morning.

“Who did what?” I replied.

“The rain” she said.

“God. God made the rain.” I thankfully replied. Thankful because I had the answer and even more thankful that her response was “oh, ok”.

Thank you God for the rain, for my girls, and for a simple acceptance from my oldest of your wonderful creation.

Week One Complete! Hello Week Two!

Week one is gone.  Week two begins now.

Miss R is officially one week old.  This week has been all about life with a new baby and figuring out what our new normal is and will be.  It’s been hard to imagine life outside my house this week.  I had forgotten just how having a newborn clouds your view of the world through sleep-deprived eyes, all while being so emotional and thankful for such a wonderful blessing.  We have been so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy baby bestowed upon our family and have been even more fortune to have had so many people stop by, bring food and gifts for both the girls.

Monday was a day of just hanging around and wondering what to do next.  Miss R is such a different baby than Bug.  Bug had a horrible case of jaundice, wouldn’t eat, sleep for a few weeks, then didn’t sleep for what felt like six months.  Miss R, rarely cries, sleeps pretty well and is a good eater.

Tuesday we took her to the pediatrician and found out her jaundice was much better.  Thankfully the lights at the hospital worked and we didn’t have to do anything else, such as lights at home, continued pediatric visits, etc.  She lost weight at the hospital, as all babies do, but had gained back 2 oz from the time she left the hospital on Sunday to when we took her to the doctor on Tuesday.  Babies are expected to be back at their birth weight by their three-week check-up.

Here’s her 4 day old stats:

• Weight 7lb, 25% percentile
• Heights 19 3/4, 53%
• Head Circumference 13 1/2, 31%

Wednesday, Super went back to work and with Bug at school, the house was pretty quiet.  My Mom stopped by for a visit and so did a few folks from church.

Thursday has been the quietest day so far.  It was the first day with no visitors, which was appreciated because Wednesday night was the worse night, but also a little lonely.

On Friday, we ventured out to Super’s grandparent’s house (see the picture of Miss R in her car seat as we are getting ready for our first car ride, just  the two of us).  We’re hoping to get out a little more as she gets a little older.  Our pediatrician recommends not to take any newborn near large crowds, such as church, for 4-6 weeks.

Today, Saturday, Bug has gone with Super’s Mom to play at the playground.  It is quiet here without my two-year old running around and I’m looking forward to her coming home.  I’m already planning our first hike with Bug and Miss R.  It might just be a hike up the driveway, but it will be special.

Walk In the Woods

The title of this post makes me giggle, because it is the title of one of the worst books I ever read. But nonetheless, that is what we did this evening, so I am going to re-purpose the name.

Bug has been doing great with Miss R. She has been so loving and wants to help any way she can.  We are teaching Bug to stay out of Miss R’s face by having her kiss her feet instead,of her face, thanks to great advice from our pedtrician. And of course she wants to kiss her feet all the time!

We took Miss R back to the pedtrician for a check up (seperate post on that to follow) and another piece of advice our pedtrician gave us was to make sure I had at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted alone time with just Bug.

After supper tonight Bug and I walked up to the mail box. Walking to the mail box may not sound like much, but our driveway is 1/3 of a mile long and provides for plenty of discussion points along the way to a 2.5 year old. Great way to spend time with my sweet toddler.

Last Night As A Family of Three

Tonight is our last night as a family of three. Tomorrow morning I am being induced and we will then be a family of four. Honestly, I couldn’t be more excited about being induced tomorrow, I am so ready to hold my sweet little baby! And I am so uncomfortable that labor at this point would be more comfortable than being pregnant for another week.

When the doctor told me that tomorrow was the day  ( actual due date is Monday) I cried tears of joy and then immediately wanted to spend as much time as possible with my two year old, knowing today was going to be her last day as an only child. I had visions of this perfect evening spent watching cartoons (check), eating gluten free pasta (check), and then cleaning (check) eight little family. Thankfully this evening has been perfect. And tomorrow will also be perfect!

Baby #2 Update, 6 Days and Counting!

Well,  if you guess on the poll that Baby #2 would have been here by now, you are incorrect!  But I would have guessed she would have been here by now, too.

Tomorrow, Super & I will be going to have an ultrasound to find out how big Baby #2 is and then for an appointment on Thursday to find out if I’ll wait another week to let nature work or if I’ll be induced.

Appreciate your prayers for a safe delivery and for it to happen, soon!

The Speeding Ticket I Didn’t Get

Yesterday morning I received a huge gift, I deserved a speeding ticket, but didn’t get one.

I was traveling down a long stretch of road, listening to my music too loudly, when I saw a State Trooper, too late.

I pulled over and waited for the inevitable, a ticket.  I think of tickets in a unique way, I figure most of the time even if I’m not speeding when pulled over, that at some point between my last speeding ticket and that moment, I deserved to get at least two, so I’ll just pay my dues, not let it ruin my day and go about my business and pay my stupid tax.

The Trooper introduced himself and told me that he clocked me doing 63 in a 50 and asked me for my license, registration and proof of insurance, which I handed over.  He also asked if I had any legal reason for speeding, to which I responded, “no sir”.  He took my information and went back to his patrol car.  He came back in a very short period of time and told me that he saw I had a ticket in 2005 and was going to do something that was out of character for him, he was not going to cite me.  I responded, “you’re not giving me a ticket?!”  His eyes widened (I think he was surprised by my reaction) and he told me that he would give me a ticket if I wanted one, but he was just going to ask that I slow down.  He also said that the reason he wasn’t giving me a ticket was because I was very polite when he approached the car.

I’ve thought about this several times over the past few days.  I appreciated the gift he gave me and hope I can pass along the gift:  Be nicer and slow down.