Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life
Mom & Dad made it back from Hawaii. They almost didn’t as they were not on the list for the flight from San Francisco. I haven’t gotten the whole scoop yet because she called at 7:30 this morning.
MIL went to the beach this weekend. I’ve got testing to do at work tomorrow and I’m supposed to go to choir practice from 9-11. I doubt I will make the full practice.
Scott is working the whole weekend so I doubt I will be doing much beyond the house.
Emma went on an egg hunt today at school. She was being SO shy when we first got there. After the egg hunt, she was talking with all her friends and having a great time. She didn’t want to leave. Emma is sneaking candy now in her room. She was being quiet and I kept asking her if she was ok and she was. I went to check on her and she was taking a bite of candy when I walked in. I suppose I can let her get by with it since it’s Easter.
Our church has been going through some really good changes lately. I think everyone is really getting fired up to actually do something. I know at least in our sunday school class that is the case. I emailed my ss teacher/youth group leader in the church about getting some ideas of things I could actually do. He is supposed to call me so we’ll see what he says.
Ever since Monday night I have been trying really hard to get the house clean in the evenings. Trying to keep the kitchen spotless and cleaning all the toys out of the living room and sometimes even cleaning back up the playroom completely. I feel so much more accomplished. I’ve even had dinner here all week. The only time we ate out is we grabbed some take out yesterday for lunch and ate it here.
I have caught up with a few other people from school on myspace. It seems with the reunion this year everyone is coming out of the woodwork. Some people I would have never even recognized. I hope a lot of people come because I would love to catch up with everyone. I have a friend that was my “wild” friend in school and she has done a 180. She’s a SAHM to three kids and is homeschooling one of them. She’s really trying to live a Christian life now. She does not want to go to the reunion in the least bit way since she is so different. But I think everyone is different. I know I am since high school. I think it will be an interesting dynamic when everyone gets back together.
I have a new manager! Just got out of the meeting. Hopefully this is a good thing. As long as I can continue to work from home, I’ll be good. And if not, maybe that’s my excuse to quit ;). I better knock on wood somewhere, not sure that’s what I really want quite yet.
It’s 9:42 and I’m just sitting down at the computer. I had another umph to be “the perfect wife and housekeeper” and decided to not sit down this evening until I had cleaned the house back up after a day of work and having a 1, 2 and 3 year old running around for most of the day. I have to say it feels really good. I even did our checkbook and bills which I haven’t done in almost a month. I’m not sure I could find something to clean without digging into closets and drawers. Which I do need to do. And Scott is off work and the kids are in bed and its fairly early and I’m tempted to do just that. My bathroom drawer seriously needs some attention. But I think I’m better served this evening with a break. I haven’t set down I don’t think since 3:00 this afternoon when I quit working. I worked through lunch today since my stomach was “messed up” this morning and I couldn’t eat. So I got off at 3:00. Today I even was able to cook dinner. I think cutting out of work a little early helped us all today. We were able to go outside and play a little and then I got them settled into a Dora video while I finished up cooking. I think that could be a great routine. Nothing like a well-scheduled video to help a mom out. I feel this evening like I do on Friday/Saturdays when I have finished cleaning. There’s a sense of accomplishment that almost nothing else gives me. I just feel like all’s right in the house. Scott complains less and I feel crappy less and the kids love watching me run around the house instead of staring at a computer on the couch. I SO want to quit work. Like in a big way. If I knew we could afford it, I might do it. But we have insurance through me and I do make decent money. I should be happy with part-time work at home and so I’m trying to be. Days like today, I think I could do it. And I do really enjoy what I do. At least when I get to do it. It has been so slow at work for development and I guess that’s part of the reason why I want to quit. I get really bummed when I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing anything at work. Hopefully a really big project will be beginning the end of this week so I’m trying to hold out.
So Emma did two things recently that were “big girl” things to me. One was she actually was able to keep herself swinging on the swing by pumping her legs like we’ve been trying to teach her. Yay! And today we were all the in back yard waiting for SIL to come pick up my niece and she was really late and I needed to know if she had tried to call. I told Emma to go in and get me the phone. The back door was locked so she had to go around the house into the garage and through that door, go find the phone and then come back. And she did it! In very short order. She came back running with a huge grin on herface. I guess me clapping and saying yay, Emma probably encouraged her. I was so proud of her!
Lexi has been on a Beauty and the Beast stint. Emma went through a phase where she wanted to watch it like 3 times a day. Lexi is going through that now. She goes up to the TIVO, pushes the DVD button, runs to the recliner yelling Belle and then gets up on a back support and sits on that in the recliner. And she is so insistent. If you try to stop it, she will go back and put it back on.
Lexi actually started saying Dor-ah. She doesn’t just say Door for Dora. I think besides Momma and bye that’s the first word she has said completely clearly. Is that really sad?
Lovin Grey’s Anatomy last night. I felt like it was back to it’s “old self” last night. Loved the scene with George and Thatcher. Loved Denny and Izzie’s “just one boob.” Still didn’t like Callie and George. Liked the fact that the make out scene wasn’t as awkward as Mer and George but I just don’t like the girl. She’s got a room in the hospital and against her will, I think she’s a freak. What else? I actually liked Alex last night. I agreed with him. And Christina was hilarious. Loved that.
I bought Pride & Prejudice this weekend. I LOVE IT. I think I’ve watched it 3 times now. Mrs. Darcy…Mrs. Darcy…Mrs. Darcy. It melts me every time.
Is anyone else really surprised that it looks like Florida is going to win the NCAA Championship? I wonder if anyone called that.
We were outside the other day and Lexi fell in our little pond in our front yard. I was like two feet from her with Emma on the porch and heard the splash. Her entire head didn’t go under but she did get a gulp of the water and she was soaked otherwise. I grabbed her out and poor Emma started shaking and asking if she was ok. Emma is such a mother hen to her. So I stripped her down while she wailed and took her straight to the bathtub. She was fine as soon as she got in there. Poor Emma ran in her room and put her head down on her footboard and cried. Just for a minute though and then she was fine. Did I mention only ten minutes before that Lexi ate dog poop? Yeah. I was on the back deck putting Emma’s shoes on and looked up to find Lexi picking up whatever Mattie had just sniffed. I realized in slow motion that she was eating poop. So yeah. I don’t get Mom of the Day award for that day.
The deck is finished and it looks great. He had to do some rework on the steps because it got to steep from the last step to the ground on the one side. So it took an extra day but it is great now. We bought a patio set today at Wal-Mart and Scott is in the midst of putting that together.
Mom and Dad left for Hawaii today. Mom won the trip for selling so much for Hunter Douglas. I so wish we could go. They are going to the island that they filmed Jurassic Park at and the word is there is absolutely nothing to do. Probably good for Mom but not sure that’s where I want to go for Hawaii. At this point though, I would love to go and enjoy the quiet. There’s just no way I could leave the kids and go. And there’s no way I would want to go on a 12 hour plane ride with them. No thanks. So maybe one day.
I watched Pride & Prejudice last night. Finally. It was a copy on my machine and I hooked my laptop up to the tv. It worked out pretty good. I went out and bought the DVD today because I don’t think the ending of the movie is the same for the one in the stores. I’m very interested to see it. I loved the movie. It was even better than I remember the book being. At times it was a little boring and a little hard to understand them with their accents and the tough grammer/language but it was one of those things where I want to watch it again to get all the meaning out of what they are trying to say. I did think Darcy’s performance was a little unfeeling. It was hard to read if he was really into Lizzie or not at times. And even when he professed his love, it was a little lackluster. But I can’t help but love a love story. Especially when there’s balls involved.
Skyler ended up staying to play with Emma after school yesterday. Then she ended up going home with Skyler when Candie got off and ended up spending the night there because neither wanted Emma to go home. Candie brought her home at 7:30 this morning on the way to work in one of Kyle’s t-shirts. Too cute–the slumber parties are starting already.
Scott worked on the deck the entire day yesterday and then helped Dwayne and Carla move last night so I didn’t get to the gym yesterday. I was bummed about that.
I actually cooked again last night. Our night goes much more smoothly when I can get it together and cook here. No running around trying to decide where and with whom to eat. No hungry babies and ill daddy’s and scrambling mommy’s. I just can’t seem to be creative enough or disciplined enough to do it every night. And sometimes you just want a hot meal that someone else cooked. I personally don’t like to eat what I cook myself. It’s a weird thing but I’ve heard other people say the same thing.
Work is bezerk right now. They had problems upgrading a server over the weekend and they were still trying to get things back together today. Some were there all weekend and all yesterday until 1am today. My mother hen is coming out and I can’t help but I want to. I’m tempted to make them lunch and take it up there. I probably would if it wasn’t a minimum 35 minute drive each way.
So Friday night’s food was possibly the best food I’ve had in my entire life. If you google Blue Restaurant, you’ll find it at the top. It was pretty expensive. We each got two salads and a meal. No dessert and no drinks and our bill was $91. Yeah. Can’t do that too often. My salad though was like something you saw on Food Network. It had pears soaked in something and poached (?), arugula with some sort of dressing drizzled on it. Gorgonzola cheese and carmalized walnuts around the edges. A little bit of everything on your fork and it was great. I’m not a huge fan of Gorgonzola cheese. I can handle a little bit and would have preferred a different one but I handled it when it was just a little. I had filet as my meal with risotto or something underneath it. It had carmalized onions and sweet peas in it. Yum. Scott had wild boar. I tasted it and it was pretty yummy. J&W had calamari as an appetizer and I even ate some of that. It was a really fun night out with them.
So Saturday I cleaned. yay. Emma spent the night with MIL Friday and stayed with them all day Saturday. Lexi and I stopped by a home show that mom had a booth at. It was pretty dead though. Saturday evening we stayed in while Scott worked on the deck. He got one set of stairs done. Today he’s supposed to finish up the other side.
Yesterday was the usual. Church, eating with parents, Lexi napping and the rest of us lounging at home and then church again.
So unfortunate that Grey’s was a rerun. I was still compelled to watch most of it. I recorded it and will probably pick up where I left off. That episode was very medicine-y.
I got swept up in Food Network Star reruns. I watched the first season of the show but hadn’t caught on yet to the first one. The first few episodes of this season were unbearable I couldn’t even watch. The one girl didn’t know how to filet a fish and Morimoto was about to burst an aneurism–not that I know how to do that but I expect people on there to. Anyway, I really like Guy, Nathan, Reggie and even Andy shows some promise. Beth is apt but boring, Evette’s food is not good enough (according to the judges), Carissa just seems not all together and on the border of unprofessional at times. Anyway, I may keep up with it during Desperate Housewives commercials.
Lexi has been so sweet lately. She keeps giving me kisses and saying “Maaa!” at the end and then every once in a while she gives hugs. It’s so sweet! She is beginning to talk. She calls me Momma very clearly and purposefully now. Things that she says are: Momma, bye-bye, no-no, uh-oh, Belle, Dora, backpack, Map, Mat (for Mattie), mah (for Emma), Dog, tea, shoe, shhh. I think that’s it.
Lexi finally has gotten some air when she jumps. She’s been trying for a few weeks now but usually ended up pivoting on one foot in a circle. But the past couple days I’ve noticed she actually has been getting both feet off the ground. And she also can get up steps pretty good now. Sometimes she can get up our front two steps without even holding onto anything. And yesterday! Dad was supposed to be watching Lexi run around Mom’s house. We heard her crying but Dad couldn’t find her. She was standing at the top of their steps crying to get down. Nice! Thanks Dad! She is pretty fast on her feet though. She’ll is always on the move.
Candie picked up Emma up Friday night and Candie told her to be quiet on the way home because she was on the phone. Emma replied, “God made my mouth so I can talk and I can talk anytime I want to.” Well, ok then. I honestly don’t know where she got that from!
The past two nights Emma has stayed in her bed the entire night and Lexi has slept through the night too. I told Emma remember you can ask angels to stay with you if you get scared. She asked me to pray for angels. So I did. The past two nights she has been completely fine while going to sleep. No begging me to stay in the room with her and she has stayed in bed. Well, alrighty.
Chicken Little is gone! I can’t believe it really happened! I am pretty pleased with the Top 10. Can’t wait to see the Top 5. This is going to be great!
Scott is off today and works the weekend. But we are going out to eat with “our group”–D&D and W&J and us–tomorrow night downtown Charlotte at an upscale restaurant to celebrate D finishing up a big project thingy at work. No big plans for attire, probably just jeans, heels and a cute shirt.
We have had so many problems at work, it’s been a crazy week.
I’m still working on bracket software. Making some pretty good progress. Not sure if anyone will actually use it but it could be if I had the right production environment.