Keeping it Real

I forgot about my usual gratitude post yesterday. Actually, I didn't forget--I did think about it, but because I'm in Tacoma taking care of my brother, niece, two cats, and a dog (in addition to my own kids), I just didn't get a chance to do much of anything. Here was my "To Do List" for Thursday:

1. Take parents to train station to embark on the "10th Anniversary Trip" to the Oregon coast.
2. Get kids fed, dressed, and interested in something so I can feed the animals in peace.
3. Feed animals, but with lots of "help" from Amy, who felt that the cat litter box was her personal sandbox. Fortunately, the cats haven't been using it as of late.
4. Lunch for all, and preparation for naptime, which Lucy and Aiyanna (niece) rebelled and wouldn't sleep.
5. Take Lucy for dentist appointment.
6. Make dinner, which no one would eat everything I prepared, except for me, who really doesn't need the extra fat and calories.
7. Feed animals again, try to prevent Amy from playing in the cat box, fail miserably, but at least animals are fed.
8. Get kitchen cleaned up from dinner (thanks to hubby for washing pots and pans while I did the other stuff).
9. Take dog and kids for walk, pick up one pile of dog stuff, gag slightly, but manage to keep it together long enough to drop bag in someone else's garbage can.
10. Get kids dressed for bed, do the potty-hands-teeth routine, come up with healthy snack AFTER teeth were brushed, read books, say prayer, put kids in bed.
11. Feed cats one more time, assure dog that "mom and dad" WILL come back, change light bulb in lamp, potty-hands-teeth for myself, get into bed.
12. Wake up several times during night to let cats in and out, get drink for coughing Amy, investigate noise in kitchen (Ben, my brother, getting a bowl of cereal at 2:30 AM).

Needless to say, I'm grateful, but I'm exhausted. So please forgive me for taking the easy road out yesterday/today and just focus on surviving until Sunday afternoon. I'll post once I get back home. First baby-doctor appointment on Tuesday morning. More about that when it's over.

Gina

Counting Blessings

Okay, the title's getting a little catchier. It's the second weekly post of what I'm grateful for. And this is good, because although I am aware of how truly blessed I am, it's nice to put it into words. So here we go.

1. I'm thankful that the weather today is supposed to get up to 60 degrees. It doesn't sound like much, but it really is. The sun is forecast to make an appearance today (how generous!), and we're heading to the park as soon as it warms up a little.

2. I'm thankful that our electricity bill went down by a little over $50 this month. What a blessing! For the months of October through May, we've paid an average of $145.75 a month to heat and light this house. Most of that goes toward heat, since we haven't a shred of insulation in these walls from 1925.

3. I'm incredibly thankful that David has only two more days left, and then he's out of public education for good! This year has been difficult, to say the least, and it's with a lot of peace and comfort that we are moving on in our lives to something better. Another benefit to finding a new career is the opportunity we will have to move closer (hopefully!) to all of our Washington relatives. We love where we live now, but we also love our family and having them close by means a lot to us.

4. I'm thankful for having a car that gets 32 miles to the gallon most of the time, and with a lot of highway driving, we've been able to coax 35 miles to the gallon out of it. The price of gas is killing us, as it is many, many others, and knowing that the car gets good gas mileage makes it a little easier for me to justify going anywhere.

5. Finally, I'm thankful for the girls. We have some tough days, but most days are wonderful. It's so fun to watch them grow and learn and interact with each other. As Amy gets older, she and Lucy play together better and better and I love that. They love to share a room, and both get worried when one or the other isn't in there with them. It's very sweet.

Well, I've got those same girls calling me, and we've got to get a little bit of work done around the house before we head to the park. I have a lot more things I'm thankful for, but for right now, I'm thankful I have something other than the computer to occupy my time.

Gina

Update

It's been awhile since I did an update. I'm sorry to say that although I've taken a number of pictures, I have neither the energy nor the RAM to upload them right this minute. I need a system restart--for me and the computer. Sorry. Give me time.

But in lieu of some new pictures of the girlies, I am prepared to give a very thourough accounting of all the neat, cute, wonderful, obnoxious things Lucy and Amy are doing, as of late.

Amy first.

Amy has hit the terrible twos. Her days are spent either getting into something she's not supposed to, or throwing a huge tantrum for getting caught getting into something she's not supposed to. David and I were talking about how difficult the transition between the ages of 1 to 2 is. Then we thought about 2 to 3. Ugh. Then comes 3. Frankly, 3 is no picnic, and from what we've seen, neither is 4. But I digress.

Here's a short list of new "skills" Amy has acquired over the last few weeks:

• She can flush the toilet all by herself. She doesn't actually USE the toilet, but she can sure flush it. And flush it again. And again. And yet again. She even knows to close the lid first.
• She feels it is her personal responsibility to dump water on Lucy's head when they're in the tub together. She also enjoys pushing Lucy in the bath, and constantly taking Lucy's spot. Needless to say, Lucy is not amused. Taking a bath alone is no fun, because there's no Lucy to manhandle.
• She picks up all kinds of new words every day. Just the other morning she asked me, "Have you seen the backpack?" Literally. Those were her exact words. When I told her where to check for it, she toddled off and then I heard her say, "Oh, here it is!"
• She loves shoes. It doesn't matter whose shoes they are. She'll put them on and want to go out somewhere. Her current favorite pair? Lucy's rain boots that are still a size or two too big for Lucy, but Amy is surprisingly agile in them.
• Okay, this isn't a skill, but I want to mention that Amy's favorite TV shows are Max and Ruby (Nick Jr.) and Charlie and Lola (Disney). She either asks for "Maa 'n Reeree" or "Sharrey 'n Loh-la". It's very cute, but also obnoxious--she could monopolize the TV all day if we let her. I know all the experts' opinions about kids and TV, and frankly, my kids don't watch all that much. Anyone who thinks my kids shouldn't watch TV can come over and do my housework for me while I play with them. I can't get anything done without a half-hour to myself here and there.
• Amy LOVES to brush her teeth, and she's good at it. If taking a bath is her #1 favorite activity, brushing her teeth is definitely #2. She likes to have the tiniest bit of toothpaste on the brush (and believe me, what I put on is not measurable by any household measurement container) and she just goes to town. She's keeping her pearly whites pearly!

And now, Lucy.

• Lucy is 4 going on 25. She always has been that way, but it's especially apparent lately. She's at the stage where she doesn't think she needs an afternoon nap, even though she really still needs one. She stays awake all day, and then by 6 PM, she's falling apart. I've gotten into the bad habit of letting her watch a movie when Amy goes down to sleep in the afternoon, and today was the last day of that. Tomorrow it's back to lying down with a few books to read. I hate to whine, but I really need some time to myself.
• She has a vivid imagination...yesterday she was on her way to vacations in "Spanish" and "Hawaii". I was invited to go to "Mamarckica", but sadly, I was unable to go because I had to stay home and put Amy to bed.
• Her drawing and writing have improved a lot, and she loves to draw and display her artwork on the fridge. She's also quite handy with the digital camera, and took several pictures of her playdough creations last week. I'll get those posted as soon as I can.
• Perhaps the biggest news at our house is that Lucy is beginning to read! I have a Dick and Jane Treasury, as well as Dick and Jane board books, and she loves them. Yes, it's repetition, and the stories are simple, but it's a start. She really enjoys reading them, and she's getting the hang of it very quickly. She has become curious about what things say, and that's definitely a new thing. She's known her letters for about 18 months or so, and now she's realizing that putting letters together makes words. So cool to watch the process happen for her.

Well, for now, I'm putting an end to my writing. David has arrived home from work, and I get to go out by myself to buy toilet paper and bananas! Wow...how did I ever get SO lucky?

More soon!

Gina

Gifts and Blessings

I was originally going to call this post "Thankful Thursday", but I didn't want to intrude on my good friend Anna's catchy title, so here's my own lame offering. But the idea is the same. Here's what I'm thankful for this week:

• I'm grateful for kids who love their fruits and vegetables. There are very few that Lucy and Amy won't eat. They actually enjoy eating their Fs & Vs more than they enjoy eating meat or even potatoes/pasta/rice. Case in point: I had to take the girls with me to the store a couple of days ago, and Lucy was sitting in the cart BEGGING for snap peas. How could I say no? She and Amy both have enjoyed them just as much as they would have enjoyed a candy bar. Love that.
• I'm grateful for a husband who works hard and has to put up with other people's bratty kids all day and then comes home and helps so much around the house. He changes diapers, switches laundry, vacuums, cooks, and just about anything else I ask him to do. What a guy!
• I'm grateful for a sense of humor. There are so many things throughout the day that don't quite go the way I think they should (like Amy and her "rainbow lipstick"--she swiped her lips with six different colored markers), and rather than get upset, I just have to laugh, take a picture, and file it away to show all prospective boyfriends.

I have 1,001 more things I'm thankful for, not the least of which is a warm, soft bed that has been calling to me for the past half hour. I'll just have to end here for tonight.

Count your blessings!

Gina

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right--Here I Am!

Stuck in the middle of a big, old rut. I know that the faithful readers of this post understand that with two little ones, I'm fairly busy. In fact, I run faster and work longer than I ever did when I had a full time job. However, this only accounts for about 35% of my lack of posts. I CAN make the time to post. The other 65% can be attributed to not having anything to post. My days are filled with the same mundane tasks--laundry, cooking, dishes, cleaning, chasing kids, damage control--why write about it?

I suppose I could take a cue from my pal, Anna, who devotes one post every Thursday to write about what she's grateful for. I could do that. I should do that.

Also, I guess that not every post has to be about what we're up to, because, as I've just explained, we appear to be boring. I could put up a link to my favorite commercial from Las Vegas. Funny stuff. To me, anyway. I could also annouce that through some small miracle, I've been able to comfortably wear my wedding ring for the first time since I was pregnant with Lucy. (This is big news, people!) I could comment on how lame the weather is today...not cold and rainy enough to stay inside, but too cold and rainy to play at the park or take a stroll around the block. Come on, Mother Nature! It's JUNE already! The high today is 52 degrees. There are caves warmer than that.

Okay, enough. I'm not one to complain, especially when I'd rather be in 52 degrees than 92 degrees, and I really don't mind the rain.

So, in closing, although I always make the promise that I will post more often to keep things up-to-date, I've decided to just admit that the motivation to write is somewhat stifled by my list of responsibilities, and that I truly can't promise anything to you, dear readers. Just know that I feel incredibly guilty for seeming to abandon this blog and then come back to it over and over again. I am, though, going to borrow Anna's idea and do a "Thankful Thursday" post every week.

Stay with me! There's lots of excitement just around the corner...and I'll be just as surprised as you are when I get there.

Gina