Don't Underestimate...

Justin and I had long struggled about what to do for Kate’s window. We put up blinds almost immediately after arriving here. I had spent quite a bit of time trimming them to fit exactly and working to be sure the cord would be out of reach to keep her out of danger. To our dismay, Kate bent some of the slats the very first day. There’s been a valance up for months, but no real covering.

Finally I figured it out, the perfect plan. I made a curtain. It was essentially a flat panel with yellow on the inside and a white canvas on the outside. Then I sewed ribbons that could be used to tie it up, using Velcro tabs. I but pretty little bows on the ends. I didn’t hang it on a curtain rod—not with my little girl. We staple gunned that sucker to a board and screwed it into the window frame. Justin said he can hang from this. Finally, a Kate proof covering.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. I went into Kate’s room to get up from her afternoon nap. She shredded one of the little bows. One of the bows that I attached to the curtain with the sewing machine. That is stapled to a board. And screwed into the wall. As in, it’s almost impossible to repair. I asked Kate why. Do you know what her answer was? “It’s because I’m two.”

She isn’t kidding. If you’ve never had a two year old you should borrow one for an afternoon. You’ll be amazed how they can entertain themselves. The more boring you consider your house the better. They will find all sorts of things to entertain you…just don’t leave the child alone with you child proof curtain. Never underestimate the power of a two year old.

Perseverance

My husband has taught me a lesson in perseverance. He’s been working on his PhD for seven years now. That’s well over half our marriage; it’s even more than half the time I’ve known him. I’ve asked him why he kept going when his advisor was so difficult. He had earned his Master’s degree, why not take it and move on. I wondered when we moved to Alabama and he kept working nights and even driving the seven hours back to Cincinnati some weekends, why he didn’t give it up. In the middle of our messy move, he went to stay in Ohio so he could drive two hours each way to Cincinnati every week day for a month to squeeze in some more research. Then we moved to Kansas, eleven hours from Cincinnati, and he still didn’t throw in the towel. He spends hours pouring over his research notebooks and plotting data on the computer. Today he got the first part of the pay off—his advisor emailed him. Publish the dissertation. He has to finish writing it up, defend, and he’s done. All the work will have ended in his PhD—he’s going to have his dream come true.

* * * *

In celebration of this we went to Steak ‘N Shake. What can I say, we’re poor and we had coupons. ; ) We head up the Interstate (the fast route) and promptly stopped. We were at a near stand still for 45 minutes. Evidently in an effort to improve the interstate they decided to close two of the three lanes on a busy stretch of road. Poor Gabby was starting to get a little fussy. Then I hear Kate say, “Boo!”

Giggle. Fuss.

“Boo!”

Giggle. Fuss.

“Boo! She likes when I do ‘dat.”

Kate took care of the baby and kept her entertained until we got there. Justin's perfect day was preserved, or should I say it persevered?

Level Jesus?

I’ve got the level Jesus, level Jesus, down in my heart, down in my heart to stay!

While it might be good that Jesus isn’t tipping over I think my two year old has misunderstood “love of Jesus.”

According to Kate...

Kate has gotten into telling stories—most of them fictitious. One of her favorites is to say that she had a cappuccino last night. Evidently, the divisional secretary that Justin works with sneaks into her room at night and gives it to her, because on further questioning it’s always Theaddea who gives it to her. Here’s what we heard over dinner tonight.

I cooked myself in a pan last night. Then I stepped into the oven. Then Daddy told me to get out of Mama’s kitchen, so I did.

George is Back and Other Fun

My parents came to visit for a few days. We had a nice time. They enjoyed Kate’s ever growing conversation skills and antics and the baby’s happy quiet nature. Kate is very interested in how everyone is connected; like that her Aunt Holly is my sister. She’s also very interested in people’s names versus what she calls them. Last night she asked what PawPaw’s name is and we told her that his name is George. She laughed and said, “No that’s Gabby!” (See here if you haven’t enjoyed that story.) That sent us all back to the restaurant and the very amused waitress.

There was also the other night over dinner as she was asking about daddies. We told her that PawPaw was my daddy. Then I said her daddy was my husband. “He’s my husband too,” she said matter of factly.

“No, sweetheart, he’s my husband.”

“We share.”

Oh my!

She’s also decided that she is prettiful. She uses it as an adjective, like beautiful or pretty. Maybe it’s somewhere in between? I don’t know.

As for Gabby, she played quietly, slept little, and pulled up for the first time. Of course none of us saw her pull up. She stood up in her crib one of those times she was supposed to be taking a much needed nap. Gabby is enjoying the new world of table food too. After our visit last week she’s had all sorts of new things. My parents were enjoying that too, including her decision that egg is not for her. Stick it in, spit it out. Stick it in, spit it out.

We enjoy having company out here on the plains. It was nice to have people visit, especially those kinds of people who hook you up to a wireless router, go grocery shopping with you, and enjoy your kids as much as you do, even when your eldest daughter decides she can’t go to sleep because (and I quote), “My foot can’t wanna go to sleep.”

Though I must admit, I think it may have gotten to them, check out these pictures… she's a princess, he's eating the baby and torturing the oldest--look at the fear on her face! : )

Nine Months

It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes and how quickly our children grow. It seems like yesterday that Kate was a teeny-tiny bundle in my arms. Now her baby sister is busy chasing her all over the house. God has richly blessed our family with two beautiful, healthy girls. They are such joys—and teach us such patience! It’s truly amazing

The little one had her nine month well visit today. She’s grown three inches in the past few months! Good gracious. I knew she had gotten longer and thinner, but I wouldn’t have guessed a whole three inches. She’s gained a little less than a pound, so she’s really changed how she looks.

She’s crawling, saying a few things (mama, dada, sis, buh-buh), getting up on her knees, learning to use a sippy cup and having an over all great time. She’s a fun little gal, pretty content and adores her big sister.

With our visit we also learned that they have totally re-written the guidelines for what little ones can eat. Everything is up for grabs except honey (due to botulism) and anything that she can choke on. I guess we have some new foods to try!

Love you Gabriella!

A peaceful Sunday Afternoon, Or Not

Two thirty. So, it’s Sunday afternoon. Kate gets up from her nap—Gabby has yet to have one. We make a mad dash to the store. I hate to go to the store and the weekend and try not to patronize businesses on Sunday as much as possible, but I goofed. I was sure I had ground beef in the freezer, but I couldn’t find it. This would normally just mean a change of menu, but we had invited guests for dinner.

Three forty. We make it through my grocery list—no need to come back tomorrow, right. We get through the checkout. By this time, I’m holding the baby who is tired of sitting. She likes to fall over and be held like a battering ram—I don’t know why, but it makes completing a transaction and pushing a cart of groceries (and Kate) rather difficult. As we walk out the door it hits me—I forgot the beef. It wasn’t on my original list. I sigh, look at the cart full of groceries and my girls. There’s no way. Besides there has to be beef in that freezer, right?

Three fifty. So we get home. I put the baby to bed. Run out and get the perishables, the rest can wait. Dig through the freezer one more time. There it is. Ugh, I wasted over an hour, but at least I can make dinner. I put the beef in the microwave to thaw and start cooking. Justin calls to say that his new colleague’s power is off. They’ve been unpacking as I’ve been preparing dinner. He’s on his way. I pop the lasagna in. We should be good to go. The power flashes. Ah, I thought the power company must have turned on the power for our friends.

Four forty-five. Justin runs upstairs to get the baby because he woke her up when he got home. He says it’s hot. He always thinks it’s hot. It is a bit warm. He pops his head out the back door the air conditioner isn’t running. The blower is though. I check on our lasagna. It’s not bubbling yet, soon I thought. Justin calls the home warranty company to request service for the air conditioner. The lasagna is still not bubbling. Something is wrong. He cancels the service call. I call the power company. Two to four hours their message predicted—if only.

Five fifteen. We call our dinner guests. We decide to go out to dinner.

Six thirty. We get home just before the electrician. He was a nice fellow. He chatted with us as he checked the lines. 110 on the left 110 on the right. He jokes, “I didn’t go to MIT, but 110 and 110 should equal 220.” Yep. He says he’s never seen anything like it—that’s never good. They teach you that in home ownership 101, by the way.

He says something about the lines melting together. Melting doesn’t sound to good either. He makes a call. Hooks our meter back up (which isn’t spinning by the way), so we have lights. He leaves us to take another call. No offers from the company to allow us to take our two small children to someplace cooler, nothing. Just an, “I have another call, we’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Seven forty-five. Inside, it’s 82 degrees downstairs and 87 upstairs; I put the girls to bed. Gabby drifts off. Kate plays quietly and asks for three cups of water.

Eight thirty. Eventually we let Kate come down. The baby is sleeping peacefully in her diaper. Kate breaks beans with me. I hear a truck out front. They are back—it’s after nine. Justin asks for a heads up before they pull our power.

Ten-twenty. It’s still 87 degrees upstairs, but I really want Kate in bed before the power goes off, so we read a book, sing a song, and off to bed she goes.

Ten-forty. They are taking us off line. We grab a flashlight and head upstairs. We may as well get ready for bed. Pretty soon we should be cooling down.

Eleven. Our power is back on. The air runs all night recovering from the past seven hours of heat building up.

Three (AM). The baby wakes up. She finally got cold enough to need her pajamas.

Seven. Kate was up before her alarm too because she wet the bed—imagine that after three cups of water. But it’s cool in our house and our oven works!