Wednesday - June 25, 2008

We ate our first peas from the garden today! I am so excited. I love my memories of picking peas and eating them right from the pod as a child. Now Audrey and Anna are able to do the same. They both loved them! Audrey and I also discovered a snake's skin in the nature club today...very cool. I know I have a lot of blogging to catch up on - my trip to Florida with Mom and my sisters, money woes, job search, moving dilemma etc.

I watched a fascinating Oprah show about past lives. This is the second one she's done on this topic and I'm hooked. Don't know if I believe it, but I'm much more open to it than I would have been even a year ago. Interesting stuff. I bought a sketch book and pencils at Michael's yesterday. Me, sketch? I know, but I'm going to give it a try. I know there's got to be some sort of creativity lurking somewhere in my being...just have to unleash it somehow.

Tuesday - June 3, 2008

Sometimes the most simple days are the best. We had nothing planned for today except for my first piano lesson with Margie in the evening, yet it was just THE BEST day. Amazingly, Audrey crawled into bed with me this morning and let me snuggle with her...she never does that. I knew from then on it was going to be great. The girls helped me vacuum and mop the floors without a single fuss. Such an ordinary task, but I just wanted to freeze that moment in time and keep it forever. There I was vacuuming the floors with Audrey pushing her toy vacuum and Anna "sweeping" the floor with her toy broom. We were all working together in harmony and having fun. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves by making Snicker doodles.

At one point we were in our bedroom and Anna sat down and said "poopoo." Sure enough, she had gone #2 and was telling me! That was a first! During pre-nap story time, Audrey asked me if I had planted the rose bush I bought a few weeks ago. How she remembers stuff like that I'll never know. I replied, "yes, I did." Then she says, "Oh, goodie. Now, when it rains, we can sing raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens!" Oh, that reminds me of another funny thing she said a few days ago. It was about 9am
Audrey: "Mom is 8 o'clock early?"
Me: "Well, not really. We usually get up earlier than that."
Audrey: "Yes, it is early. Let me show you." She proceeds to go over to a library book called Mother Goose Numbers on the Loose. She flips through until she finds the page she's looking for.
Audrey: "See mom, here it says, 'Early in the morning at 8 o'clock, you can hear the postman's knock."
Me: "You are absolutely right. I stand corrected!"

Ok, back on track. After naps we went outside to check on the garden and Audrey wanted to look at the thorns on the roses. E came out and asked for Audrey to play on their new slip and slide. The twins were there, too. Great fun was had by all, including Anna who greatly enjoys being the center of attention and wielding ultimate power by deciding who she will and will not let hold her. They all try to get her to say their names and she's getting quite good!

After dinner I went to Margie's for my first piano lesson since somewhere around my freshman year in hight school. I don't know why I stopped playing in the first place, but it has been well over 15 years since I've played with any regularity. A few years ago I refinished an old piano that I got for free on freecycle in anticipation of the girls taking lessons some day and thought, "why shouldn't I get back to playing." So I am. It was great fun and I impressed myself with how much I've retained. Now I just have to find the time to practice every day!

Monday - June 2, 2008

Happy birthday, Mom! Wish we could have seen you in person for your birthday, but it was fun to sing to you over the phone! Had to take Anna to get a new pair of splints for her shoes today. She did much better than last time - 45 minutes of them messing with her feet and the mold. The Barney DVD kept her entertained. I'm noticing a new level of maturity with Audrey. She is listening well and entertaining herself more, too. Just seems to be happening overnight. After the appointment we went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things. Audrey LOVES the kids' carts there. She picked out these meringue treats that really taste like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms. The girls love them! Anna roamed around the store and tried to eat an apple before I could get to her.

After dinner, Justin was in a bad mood about something and then front of the changing table fell off, AGAIN. I thought he was going to explode, so I took the girls into Audrey's room to lighten the mood. We just started being silly and had the best time tickling each other and letting them climb all over me. Justin regrouped and joined in the fun...the most I've laughed in a long time!!!!

I had crew leader training for VBS and then went to Barnes and Noble to pick up a few piano books for my first lesson tomorrow. I made the mistake of looking for a few books and over one hour and $100 later I left the store. Books are my downfall. I could happily live in a bookstore or library. The smell, feel and anticipation of books is such a heady experience for me. I'm on a C.S. Lewis kick, so I got his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, and a few others. Can't put it down.

Sunday - June 1, 2008

I had an amazing experience participating in the Anniversary Choir today. In celebration of our church's 20th anniversary, we lead the 9:30 and 11:00 services with some of the most powerful praise songs. There were several moments of pure joy. It's such a different perspective being up front and being able to see the faces of all who are worshiping. This Kingdom, Messiah, How Great Is Our God, How Can I Keep From Singing...the list goes on. We were singing How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise during communion when Justin, Audrey and Anna came up right in front of me. I had tears running down my face as I watched them. I literally skipped out church with such a feeling of joy.

Saturday - May 31, 2008

Glorious Saturday - my day to sleep in as long as I want. I slept until almost 9am this morning and finally only got up after listening to Anna's whining. Justin and the girls went to Toys R Us to get a small swimming pool. While they were gone I realized that the new Sex and the City movie is now playing and promptly called Sarah to see if she wanted to see it. As luck would have it, she already had plans to go with some of her friends at 12:30.

After a moments hesitation, I decided to call up my friend, Steph, who also lives in that town (and who I haven't seen in about 2 years) to see if she wanted to go, as well. I'M SO GLAD I CALLED. Even though it was a last minute invitation, Steph was able to go and we got to catch up on our lives. Got to meet her two little sweet ones and have a good conversation with her and her husband about education, homeschooling and raising kids. The movie was good, not great. Lots of great fashion that I will never be able to afford, steamy sex scenes and a few tear jerkers. A great afternoon.

Picked up McDonalds on the way home and just got the kids to bed. I've had a headache brewing all day since skipping lunch, eating movie popcorn and greasy dinner. Headed to bed now before a long morning in the AM. It was so nice to catch up with Steph...am NOT going to let it go as long without seeing her this time.

A cute story about Anna: Justin was fixing lunch as I was trying to get out of the door to go to the movie. I heard him say something and then heard a loud, "MaMa" and the pitter patter of little feet running down the hall. Anna "tattled" on Justin the entire way to my bathroom in her gibberish way. There was not mistaking the fact that she was NOT happy with her daddy and was coming to tell me all about it! I asked Justin what happened and he had simply closed the refrigerator when she wanted to be in there. It was quite comical.

Friday - May 30, 2008

Woke up to one of the hottest, most humid days thus far. The girls and I went out around 8am to water the gardens. Audrey did a great job watering the front and sides herself then quit in favor of playing. For the first time, Anna walked from the patio all the way to the far garden by herself. This is a huge accomplishment and will hopefully save my back much strain!

E and R came today for the first time. It went surprisingly well. A curious thing about Audrey is her tendency to have intense emotional reactions. Whether she's happy, sad or angry, she wears her emotions on her sleeve and they are intense. Unfortunately, jealousy seems to be at the top of the list these days. She's excruciatingly possessive about her things and her people. Especially her room. So, it was not surprise that she had 3 time-outs within an hour of E & R coming. Thankfully, she and E eventually started playing nicely. Audrey introduced E to the world of The Wizard of Oz and I was relegated to the role of the evil witch for the next 2 hours. Of course, Anna and R did their own thing as most second borns tend to do. They are each only 1 year old, but require so much less energy from me, as long as I keep them safe - it's amazing to me. I think it will all work out fine and the interaction will be great for all the kids.

The girls took good naps and I managed to keep the house clean. It makes such a difference to my mood when I have a clean, organized home. Audrey woke up in a good mood and we watched a little bit of Curly Top before Anna woke up and we had a quick dinner of shells and cheese and chicken nuggets (Justin was at a happy hour). Ventured outside for a fun time in the sandbox (trying to get Anna over her sensitivity to being barefoot in the grass and sand) and then took a walk through the nature club to the common ground. Anna walked all the way down the path holding my hand...another first. The wind was really blowing and we could literally hear the trees talking to us. Wish I could have had more time to listen. Watched the ants, saw a rabbit run from our flower garden, and rolled down the hills. Anna picked her first wildflower (no prompting from me) and was very proud of it. Came in for baths, books and bed. Justin got home just in time for Audrey's bedtime. I read her a great story about a Friday-brownie from my latest "olden days" book. Makes me want to throw out all of our "modern" ones. She requested "Raindrops on Roses" and "Doe a Deer" for her songs.

I'm sitting here typing in the midst of an amazing thunderstorm. It's 10pm and the sky is lighting up like daylight. We've had more than our share of violent storms this spring.

Thursday - May 29, 2008

Had nothing planned for today - nice! The girls and I went for a walk in the AM. Said hello to Mr. Willow tree and he told us to come visit him more frequently. Audrey remembered us "sleeping" under a Bradford Pear tree at the corner and wanted to do it, again. Anna fell down and skinned her knees, but recovered quickly. After naps I cleaned the floors and organized our craft supplies in preparation for watching R and E for the first time tomorrow. I hope it will go well. I will be watching them one day a week. We had leftovers out on the patio for dinner then I went to choir practice until about 8:30. I'm looking forward to singing for the 20th anniversary this weekend. Great songs and a great occasion. I signed up to be part of the summer praise team - should be fun. I've always wanted to sing in our church's praise team, but while I was working at the church I was always back at the media booth and then the girls were so young, but now I feel like I have time. It's good to be finding a new niche up there.

Wednesday - May 28, 2008

Went to a "dog show" at the library, but had to leave early to make it to a doctor appointment. The girls enjoyed the stories, short Clifford movie and the tricks performed by the sheltie named Burt. Audrey was upset that we had to leave early, but didn't fuss too much. Had a pelvic ultrasound to determine if there was some reason for periodic bleeding that I have. Thankfully, nothing showed up.

It was a beautiful spring day - in the 70's. I took several photos (below) of our budding gardens. I want to name each of our gardens - we have 7. I have to think about that for awhile. Caitlyn came over around 5:30 so I could go to the baseball game with Justin. His department had the luxury box. I sat by his teammate, Lynn, and had a nice discussion with her about her pregnancy (it's her first) and her upcoming job change. The girls did great with Caitlyn. A fun night.

Time For A Change

I've come to realize that I haven't been blogging because I always feel like I have to have something significant to say in order to warrant a post. Unfortunately, that takes time, energy and creativeness that I don't seem to have much of lately. I do regret that this results in me neglecting to note all of the small things that truly fill our life right now.

I just started reading C.S. Lewis' diary when he was in his early twenties. It is a diary in that it simply records many of the mundane chores, errands, conversations that he has every day. It is also fascinating. I'm realizing that this is what I need to be doing instead of feeling like I have to have a REASON to post something. So, from now on I am going to simply try to make this a daily record of my life. I know it may not be as interesting to many, but let's face it...this blog is really for me and (someday) my girls. So, there you have it. I'm going to give it a try.

What We've Been Up To

Anna Banana Update

Today was the big day - Anna's 12 month check-up. We've been anxiously awaiting it because of our concerns about her gross motor development. Anna's legs tend to be very stiff and she points her toes most of the time. She did start crawling about three weeks ago on November 7th, but she still doesn't really get around. She'll go a few feet and then just stop and lay on her stomach.

For the longest time, I just convinced myself that she was taking her own sweet time. Plus, she was 4 weeks early, so I factored that into things. Then last week we had our Parents As Teachers session and our parent educator snapped me back into reality. Anna completely failed the gross motor section of her assessment and Melanie seemed concerned about the rigidity in legs.

Of course, I immediately got online and started doing my own research. It wasn't comforting when the words cerebral palsy kept coming up in my search results. In any event, I finally was realizing that Anna needs some specialized help to assist her in developing as she should. The doctor agreed.

Our pediatrician recommended that I contact our local "First Steps" program to see if Anna would qualify for physical therapy through them. I did and she doesn't. This is both good and bad news. The good news is that children have to be 50% behind in order to qualify and Anna's wonderful verbal and fine motor skills don't place her in the category. The bad news is that "First Steps" is free. So, now I'll get her scheduled for an assessment by a private physical therapist.

The doctor didn't seem too worried, but did agree that Anna needs some professional help to get her over this hump. She said that certain leg muscles seemed a bit underdeveloped and we need to keep shoes on her at all times to keep her toes from pointing. The docs recommendation was to try physical therapy and if that does not help, then we'll dig further into the possibility of it being a mild case of cerebral palsy.

So, all in all, I'm feeling much better. One of a parent's biggest fears is that their child would be at any disadvantage whether physical, emotional, intellectual or otherwise. What I do know is that we'll do whatever it takes to give her what she needs. As always, her cheery smile and happy attitude keeps us going even on the rough days. Thank you for your prayers!