18 in 6

I started my master's this summer. I took 12 hours in 10 weeks! Crazy! I took another 6 this fall semester. That was also a little crazy when dealing with a full-time job and 2 little ones at home. That's a grand total of 18 hours in 6 months! The original plan was to take another 6 in the fall and then one more psycho summer of 12 hours and be done. However, baby #3 has thrown quite a curve ball into "the plan." I've decided to take one course this summer just to keep myself going but not two in order to *hopefully* allow some mental time to prepare myself for three kids. Baby is due during finals week so I may be finishing the course after baby arrives. I hope not, but chances of baby coming late aren't likely if previous baby is a factor.

I will NOT be taking any classes this summer! Complete enjoyment of my family and learning to manage life with three little ones is my only priority.

I maintained a 4.0 this summer and was really hoping to keep it up throughout my studies. However, one of my classes this semester I let "slide" a bit. It really was hard to keep up with online discussions for two classes on top of all the other stuff I had to deal with both in the classes and in my regular life. I received a B+ on 2/3 of my quizzes. 40% of my grade is a B+ average. My thoughts have been that this for sure has done me in for achieving an A in the class. The only saving grace is my project and, if my calculations are correct, I have to receive at least an A- to pull off an A in the class. This professor is quite stingy on grading and quite picky as well. His wording on quizzes is tricky and, if I do say so myself, a bit unfair. Only having the one project has not allowed me anything to compare to and not knowing how he grades these has been quite nerve-wracking. A part of me has been worried that I missed some vital part or did something completely wrong and I failed it!

I've been religiously checking my email for over a week to see what I received on this project.

Confidence has not been my friend.

I still have no email from my professor with feedback on my project! Grades were due today!

I've been checking "my final grades" online and the earliest semester I can see grades for is Summer II 2010. Ugh!

Finally, I decided to also check my "unofficial" transcript online. I was quickly scrolling down it, assuming that it would not be posted yet, when I saw the two classes I was enrolled in this semester. A and A!!!

Seeing as how I still have not received my grade for the project, I'm not extremely confident that this is accurate. However, why would it show up online if he had not already submitted my grade??? But why would he have submitted my grade and not emailed me back my project???

Please, professor, email me my project feedback before the stress kills me!

Sweetly Surprised

We were pretty strict on Layla's use of the pacifier. She didn't get it for nearly 4 weeks and then we only gave it to her for sleeping purposes (mostly). We took her off the paci at night when she was 4-5 months old and only kept her on it for nap knowing that it would make life easier for all when she went to daycare. When she was a little over a year old (13-14 months), I took the paci away completely just to see what would happen. She never asked for it and never made a fuss. Piece of cake!

With Piper we were much more relaxed. She received a paci while still in the hospital and definitely was not so restricted to mostly sleeping times. We tried one night (maybe around 6 months?? 8 months??) to take it away and let her cry it out...we gave in rather quickly. I'd like to say it's because they were sharing a room but it's mostly because our patience for such things isn't what it was when we had only one kid. So we continued letting her have one as I continued to say that we are going to be in for an ugly battle when we finally decide to take it away.

Christmas break began Friday night. Saturday night I figured now would be a good time to try taking the paci away for nighttime sleeping. This really is our best shot before baby #3 arrives as it is our longest span of time where we don't have to worry about sleepless nights and school the next day. So off we went on this little venture.

Saturday night she cried for five or so minutes. Of course she was very tired from not napping too well that day.

Sunday night she only cried for a couple of minutes. Of course she was very tired from a day full of Christmas fun at Jeremy's dad's house.

Monday night she only cried for a minute or so. Of course...well...nothing.

Tonight she didn't cry at all!

Is this really happening??? I've been afraid to say anything until now for fear of jinxing us, but I'm thinking maybe this won't be quite the battle I envisioned it would be.

It's quite nice to be so sweetly surprised.

It Only Takes A Night

to turn a crawler into a walker.

I saw Piper take her first steps on December 2. Five was the max for the night. Since then, we haven't really seen much more. We did get up to ten steps one time which was quite exciting! But she's always preferred crawling. The only time we could get her to take steps was if someone was right in front of her prompting her to walk. And why not crawl when you're so fast at it?!

Yesterday was no different - taking a few steps here and there but crawling most of the time.

Something changed while she was sleeping.

Today Piper has done very little crawling...walking everywhere she goes! No matter if she falls, she gets right back up and starts walking again. Walking with "large" toys in her hands or a sippy cup in her mouth, her determination is deep.

Something switched within my little pumpkin. It happened in a night. She realized that the task at hand wasn't quite so daunting. She was right. She's adapted to moving around upright quite successfully. :-)

New adventures are here and it's quite exciting!

I'm Back!

After a long hiatus, I am back to blogging. I've had many blog topics pop in my head over the course of the past 4 or so months, but I've simply not gotten around to writing them. :-( I'm going to blame it on starting my master's.

Circles & Diamonds

I bought Layla a giant Dora coloring book as a treat for when she came home from her first day back at "school." Turns out I didn't need to give it to her because she and Piper were having a grand ol' time playing with each other after an entire day apart. That definitely warmed my heart :-)

Today, I gave it to her and I made a few observations about the growth of her coloring that I was simply not expecting to see.

First, she was holding her crayon more like a big girl and less like a toddler! Instead of "fisting" it, she had it sticking out between her ring and pinky fingers.

Second, she drew a circle! Obviously not a perfect circle, but a circle nonetheless. This stuck out to me as I remember seeing somewhere a picture depicting the evolution of a child's drawings from the straight scratches a toddler makes to stick figures with all parts represented and fairly proportioned. One of the stages was making circular patterns. I had actually forgotten about this progression until tonight.

Third, I noticed her being more aware of what is to be colored and what is not...more aware of the lines. If you look at her drawing, you may not see this at first glance as she was most definitely still going crazy at times with her coloring :-) However, she was seeking out spots within the lines and coloring in those areas a significant amount of time.

Finally, as I was in the kitchen prepping some foods for pureeing for both Piper and our meals (trying out some Deceptively Delicious meals) I heard Layla saying, "Look, I made a diamond, mommy! Look, mommy! I made a diamond!" I really don't know what I expected to see when I walked in, but low and behold, there was a diamond! I could not believe my eyes! Again, not a perfectly formed diamond, but definitely a diamond. I am still in shock!



My little girl is growing so quickly! I hope to take notice and treasure even more of these little steps as she grows and matures into a beautiful young girl.

It's the Little Miracles

I first wrote this as a note in Facebook so I could tag some key people. I also wanted it in the same place as my other blogs, so here it is copied and pasted in all its glory :-)

****************

This summer has been quite different than I ever could have imagined. I had no idea what was in store for me when beginning my Master's and working to complete 4 graduate courses in 10 weeks (it's not over yet!). This on top of wanting to fully embrace my time as a stay-at-home-mom for the summer by doing as much with my girls as possible is time consuming enough. However, the first of the summer also marked a new, unexpected, journey in my life. One that I would never choose to be on, but here I am. This road alone could have been enough to push me over the edge of insanity. Some may argue that I've long gone over, but that's beside the point. :-) I've come quite close. I dare say I've found myself hanging by my fingernails at times. But I'm back up on my feet and I firmly believe I would not be here had it not been for certain people - those of you tagged in this note and a few others who aren't yet in the Facebook world.

The past several weeks at church, each sermon seems to be speaking directly to my situation. Nothing short of a God thing. This morning's sermon made me think of you, though.

How to be a Conduit to a Miracle - Acts 3

I'm not going to talk here about miracles as we think of them (i.e., medical healings). I'm talking about the small, little miracles that happen within lives everyday that we may not even notice.

I'm not going to repreach the sermon, but there were 3 points. It was stated that if you want to be a conduit to a miracle you need to:
1) Be plugged in to Christ (Acts 3:1 Peter & John are daily "plugged into" Christ through prayer time)
2) Give away what you have (Acts 3:6 Peter & John had no money, but they gave what they had)
3) Be used (Acts 3:12-16 Peter & John were willing to be used for God's glory)

An analogy was given comparing playing softball and our willingness to be used for Christ.

The pastor's daughters have played softball for a while and he's invested a lot of money and time into their sport. He doesn't mind if they strike out, but he gets "offended" when they just stand there at the plate and don't even swing at the balls thrown. He's invested so much into the sport and they just stand there as if to say, "I don't want to try" or "I'm scared I will miss" or "Maybe the next ball will be better."

Is this how God looks at us when we don't put into practice what He's invested in us? He's given us so many talents, resources, etc. He's given us time and energy. And we often just stand there resting the bat on our shoulder telling ourselves we can't do it. We don't know how. What if we miss? What if someone sees me mess up? I don't know what to say. Someone else will do it...

Thank you for swinging. Some of you may have swung once, others multiple times. You may be confused as to how/when you swung. But you did. You may have felt that your swings were nothing but strikes...but you didn't just stand there and watch the ball go by as many others have. That may have been the easiest thing to do. Who wants to swing only to face the "humiliation" of missing? I'm positive most of you had no idea what to do or say. But you swung. You tried. You allowed yourselves to be used. You gave what you had.

I find it far more than just coincidental that this sermon happened immediately following the week I had become quite irritated, frustrated, upset, etc. by focusing on what others had NOT done to help me through this time. God gave me a nice reminder that I need to focus on the work He is doing through those who are plugged into Him, giving what they have, and willing to be used.

You, my friends, swung for Christ. He is doing great things through this situation. You have been a conduit to a miracle.

I can't put into words a description of the miracle in my life; I can't name it. In fact, before this morning, I would never have even looked at this as a miracle in my life. But it is. I can feel it. And I thank you.

Swing away.* Always. Not just for me. Not just now. But so that you are always in a position to be a conduit to a miracle.



Proverbs 11:25 - A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.



*If I were ever going to use this in a message to others, I feel a clip from the movie Signs might be appropriate. Maybe. It is 11:30pm, and I could just be delirious :-)

It's nights like tonight

...that I miss peanut butter.

I haven't had dinner. It's too late to cook anything, yet I need something substantial.

It's nights like tonight that I used to pull out the peanut butter and spread it on some toast.

It's nights like tonight that I used to pull out the peanut butter and spread it on a tortilla with a bit of drizzled honey and warm it in the oven.

It's nights like tonight that I used to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It's nights like tonight that I miss peanut butter.

Allergies: 2, Girls: 0

The girls had their allergist appointments today. Layla's was to retest for the egg allergy. Piper's was to test for food allergies.

Going in I was 99% sure Piper had a peanut allergy. When things like this.....







become commonplace, you know something's wrong.

When this.....





occurs after physically coming in contact with peanut butter, you can pretty much bet that's the culprit.


But we made it official today. Piper tested 4+ on a 0-4 scale. We will now be living in a "peanut-free" environment.

Layla tested 4+ on the same scale. It sounds as though her allergy has worsened, but this was a different test than the one we had a year ago. Her first test was with a blood draw and she scored a 2-3 on a scale of 0-6. I'm guessing that a blood test is more accurate.

Egg allergies (although they can be fatal) are not as likely to pose a serious threat like the peanut allergy does. So we do still have eggs in the house. I don't eat them, though. I've never been a fan of eggs. It's the baking that was an issue for me. But after a year, I have finally found a substitute I really like.

1 Tbsp. flax seed + 3 Tbsp. water = 1 egg
Mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it becomes gelatinous (you will have to stir it occassionally at the beginning)

There are three benefits for this substitute:
1) It's natural (that boxed egg-substiute stuff scares me)
2) It's healthier than eggs
3) I can eat my cookie dough guilt-free!!

This peanut thing is going to give me a run for my money, though. Peanut butter is my favorite food!!

I've voluntarily been off of it for a month now and have realized just how often I eat it. It's the perfect snack! It goes with everything! And now I'm left without it in my diet :-(

However, the benefits (and cost) of breastfeeding outweigh my desire to eat peanut butter. So for 6 more months I will not consume peanut butter.

Our house will remain peanut-free for quite a while, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the delicious goodness that is peanut butter while I'm at work :-)

The egg allergy will still prove to be the most inconvenient and annoying because egg is in everything!! This peanut allergy, however, is going to be mentally difficult.

Tires Blow!

We were driving to small group last Tuesday when we suddenly notice an odd sound. This was shortly followed by a "ding" in the van. Yep, our suspicions were confirmed....we just blew a tire. Lovely.

I call around to get a decent price and find $116 to be it. Lovely.

It's Thursday, we're driving to drop off the van (which requires the hubby to follow behind) and low-and-behold a tire on the car goes out! Are you kidding me?!?!

Change of plans. We take both vehicles back home and decide to get the work done at the same place.

Jeremy's car was first on the list. Turns out the other 3 tires are in poor shape and it's not smart to continue too much longer on them. [We completely trust this guy, by the way.] Final bill - $200. Lovely.

Next we drop off the bad tire from the van to see if they can get that particular type. They can, and once the tire is put on we have a second total of $140. Lovely.

We hear similar news about the tires on the van. We'd probably be fine for a while....except that we're planning a trip to Texas in a month. So 3 more tires it is. The bill will be around $400. This brings our grand total to approximately $750. Lovely.

It's not like the tires on the van are old, either. We just bought the thing 2.5 years ago off the lot.

This is not the best of times to be facing a $700 expense. Taking three months off of work has really affected our monthly income....yet our daycare expenses have more than doubled to a whopping $900/month!! Things have been tight, to say the least. It won't change until September when the new pay-year begins, either. Lovely.

So are we really trying to sell our house in order to move into a bigger house with a bigger payment??? Maybe God really does know what He's doing with the timing of our house.

The feeling I felt as we were driving around south of town today makes me want to move regardless. I could literally feel my stress levels drop. It just feels so much more calm down there. There is room to move around. Streets are great for long runs. The wind blows freely through nature and only a few structures - quite the opposite of our current location. It was quiet. It was lovely.

But before I go on & on about something I can't control, how about I focus on this $700 pain in my side. Boy, do tires blow!

"I ate it"

That's what Layla said to me as she was sitting on the potty. No...she didn't eat anything that deals with the bathroom!! She was referring to play-doh. Lovely. I'm not entirely sure if she did or not, but I don't know what would have prompted her to tell me she ate it if she didn't. It looks like homemade play dough will make an appearance at our house in the near future.

I cleaned up the play-doh and gave her a cupcake to eat instead. Here she is enjoying the last bite. :-)



As I was cleaning her up she looked at her plate and said, "All gone. I ate it." Perhaps she truly did take a bite of her orange play-doh. :-/

Layla & Piper laughing

I just figured out I can share my videos from YouTube on my blog!

Here are two videos showing the fun we had outside my parents' house yesterday. We were sitting on the porch swing when laughter ensued. I have never head Piper laugh so hard for so long...and it was all due to the antics of her big sister. :-) I did miss her biggest bout, but will I really remember that years from now??





I believe this is just a tiny taste of the joy these two will bring each other over the years. I can't wait to witness it!!

"hug"

The lone word muttered twice by my sleeping beauty.

I went in to check on Layla as I always do before going to bed myself. She was turned around in bed so I gently lifted her to put her back in the right direction. As I did, she woke up for a brief moment and said, "hug."

She then turned onto her side and, I thought, immediately fell back asleep.

However, a couple of seconds later she fluttered her eyes and muttered "hug" as she rolled onto her back.

I bent down to give her a hug. She wrapped one arm around me, gently patted me on the back, then promptly fell asleep.

Such a sweet moment.

I have to say, I'm quite proud to be the mommy of a little girl whose first thought is to ask for a hug after being awakened from a sound slumber :-)

Pause, Please

As I type, tears are flowing down my cheeks.

I have realized tonight that I can't remember Layla as a baby. I try. I remember the first night at home. I remember trying to get her to sleep those first few weeks. I remember her 1st birthday and how she toddled around. But I can't remember just holding her (which I know I did a ton of!). I can't recall the feel of her little body in my arms. I can't picture her crawling around, her baby talk, pulling up.

If only life were on constant record. If only I could rewind and view what has been.

I'm looking at her 2-year pictures and wondering how in the world she's gotten so big.













I'm looking at Piper's 3-month pictures and am sad that I won't remember this stage of her life, either.














I know each stage of life is precious. We're in such a sweet, fun stage right now. I honestly wouldn't change it. I'd love to just pause our life and stay here for a little while longer.

Just tonight I was rocking Layla before putting her to bed and sat there longer than normal simply taking in the moment - the two of us singing together. Rock-a-bye, baby; Baa, Baa Black Sheep; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; I Love You Lord; It Is Well With My Soul. The sound of her two-year-old voice singing the words in a normal, not hushed night-time voice, and just being so relaxed in my arms. Not quite getting the point of rhythm and speeding through lines she knows super well. Being quiet just to hear her mommy sing (off-key and all). Not sensing me stifling my chuckles of joy as I listen and enjoy her songs. Hearing her whisper, "I love you, Mommy" after giving me a big hug and kiss before resting her head on her pillow. Telling me, "Thank you, Mommy" as I place her blanket over her.

But I want to have a stronger grasp on the past, too.

Pictures are good. Lord knows I have plenty of those! If I'd just get them off my darn computer and into an album.

But there's something special about just being able to pull a memory from your head and reliving it at a moment's notice. I want that! I want more!

Maybe I'm just too stressed and tired right now to be able to do that. Oh how I wish! I fear that's not the case, though. So I will have to be okay with the pictures I have, the few fleeting memories I can hold on to, and try to savor each moment before they quickly fade away.

I completely understand now why my dad used to always say, "I tried telling you girls to stop growing and you never listened."

If I can't get them to stop growing, I'd at least like a pause, please.

Blue=Green

At least for my daughter.

I made blue cupcakes yesterday for the Super Bowl (still love my Colts!). They were a complete failure due to a cruddy egg substitute (I will be so glad when Layla's allergy is behind us!). They obviously weren't making it to the party, but they were still edible. I let Layla eat one and she LOVED it. Thank goodness for kids who could care less about the way things appear or if the consistency is as it should be. :-)

This morning I was a little surprised to find her poo was green...bright green!

I learned today that blue=green. At least when it comes to my daugther's input/output.

Big Girl Bed

I just realized I never wrote about Layla's transition to her "big girl bed." She's been in it for two weeks now and I can't even imagine her in a crib now.

The morning of the change, I actually didn't wake up even thinking about transitioning her to a big girl bed. I don't know what got me thinking about it, but once I did, that's all I could think about. There were only a few weeks left of my maternity leave and if there were any major issues with the transition, I wanted to get them worked out before I went back to work.

We ended up getting her a twin bed rather than a toddler bed. Her crib actually transitions to a toddler bed and then a frame for a twin, but there was no way I was going to buy a second crib for Piper! The thought of buying a toddler bed didn't seem to be too wise, financially speaking, because she would quickly outgrow it. So off to the stores I went to buy twin sheets, a pillow, bed rails and a mattress & box spring.

Layla is quite the mover in her sleep. I am 100% confident that she would fall out of bed if all four sides weren't surrounded. Two sides are taken care of by walls, so I bought rails for the other two. However, once we got everything assembled, the rail I bought for the foot of the bed didn't actually work as nicely as it did in my head. So she currently has a night stand and hamper at the foot of the bed. :-) I initially had them weighted down pretty heavily so she couldn't push them away and get out, but have since removed the weight and she hasn't tried to push them. I'm not sure when to clear off the foot of the bed completely. I have walked in to check on her and seen her down there a couple of times already. We just have the mattress on the floor, but with the box spring, that's quite a fall. But I'm getting ahead.

Layla LOVES her new bed. She was jumping around like a crazy child as we were setting it up. She invited several "friends" to join her in the fun. She loves having her own pillow.

The first night was such a breeze! It could have been because it was quite a bit past her bedtime due to my persistence that we set up the bed that night :-). Whatever it was, she put her head on the pillow and went right to sleep.

Nap time the next day...not such a success. This is when I realized I needed something with more weight at the foot of the bed. I heard her cd player increase in volume tremendously which clued me in immediately that she was out of bed. I walked in to her room and she greeted me with a pleasant "Hi!" Apparently she didn't realize she was to stay in bed. Or she was just trying to be cute to prevent herself from getting into trouble. I'm sure it was the latter. :-) I ended up having to go back in there 2 different times. She sat and played in her bed for 2 hours!! She finally gave up and went to sleep...far too late in the day, but I let her sleep.

I knew the first night was too good to be true.

Second night came...again a breeze!!!

And we've had no issues since.

I think the nap time ordeal was just a fluke. She has had one or two other times where she would just sit and talk/sing/play in her crib for over an hour before falling asleep. I think this falling with the newness of a bed she could get out of extended the playing a bit, but not a huge deal.

This has been a bittersweet transition. Just another reminder that my little girl, my first born, is no longer a baby.

3 weeks

I go back to work 3 weeks from today.

The emotions, thoughts, feelings this time around are quite different from when I was home with Layla. The entire month before I went back to work with her I was in tears. I would break down crying every time I thought about having to leave her. However, when the day came, I did just fine...and so did she!

With Piper, I'm feeling very calm. There are no nerves about leaving her. I am 100% confident in the place we take her. I've done this before. I know my daughter will thrive and learn. I know she will be happy. I know she will always know that I'm her mommy. :-)

With Layla I always wanted to tell the workers not to tell me when she crawled, took a step, said a word....I wanted to enjoy her "firsts" at home. I didn't want to think about the fact that someone else saw her take her first step. However, I never really got around to speaking those thoughts to the workers. And it didn't matter. She truly saved all her "firsts" for home. How do I know this? Because time and again I would pick up Layla and the workers would comment about how they saw her pull up and were excited for her...how she's started saying "uh-oh" and it was so cute...and I just smiled (and sighed with relief) because every time they said those things we had been seeing/hearing them at home for at least a week.

However, this won't stop me from actually verbalizing my wishes this time around. Piper will only be 3 months. Layla was 5.5 months. A lot happens in those 2+ months. She does have the same odds as Layla for experiencing a "first" at home or at daycare. I think we lucked out with Layla. I'm not willing to risk it this time only to have my heart broken that I missed something. Ignorance is bliss, right? Maybe not. But in cases like this I believe it is. :-)

As for returning to work, this also feels foreign compared to my feelings with Layla. I was going in to a new school (into a different subject than I was initially told - and a subject I didn't enjoy nearly as much) and into full-time teaching. While pregnant with Layla, and the time I took off with her, I was in a part-time position. Thinking about leaving my daughter for the first time on top of these new changes was a bit overwhelming to think about.

This time I am going back to the same position. There's comfort there because I know what it is I'm doing. I'm also going back to the beginning of a HUGE project for the kids. This is great because everything will (for the most part) be planned and there's less grading on my part because of the way the project is set up. So less planning and less grading will make my transition back to work fairly smooth.

One thing I am not looking forward to is actually returning to the same students I left. I know that sounds strange, but let me explain. With Layla, I was done for the year. I told my sub that it was her classroom and she could do what she liked. I didn't have to worry about the ramifications. With me having to to actually go back, I could potentially have quite a bit of "cleaning up" to do which is why I left about 10 pages of notes for my sub and that wasn't even including lesson plans I left. Seriously! I spent so much of my plan time trying to think of every minute detail to explain so she would understand what was going on and how to run things. Did she read it all? I hope so...but probably not. It definitely would have been a lot to take in. I'm left wondering what state my classroom will be in upon my return. Will all my hard work at the beginning of the year to set up structure and discipline still be in place or has it been lost? Will I have to be a tough, firm, no-fun teacher for a while to get things back in order? I sure hope not. That will only add stress to my life. I fear I will, though. I am holding on to a glimmer of hope that when the students see me back in the room they will straighten back up because they know I mean business. Or a different shred of hope that things transitioned smoothly between me leaving and my sub taking over. I won't know until I actually step back in the classroom. No use fretting over something I can't control, right? Easier said than done...

What the what?!?

I just had a baby 2 months ago. I'm nursing 100% of the time. So why in the heck am I having a period?!?! This isn't supposed to be happening!!! Argh!!

**Sis, that title is for you :-)

Babies Don't Keep

Cleaning and scrubbing
Can wait till tomorrow,

For babies grow up
We've learned to our sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,
And babies don't keep.

Tenderly Love

I have seen some beautiful displays of tenderly love from Layla to her sister. It just melts my heart! If only my words could paint the picture in your head perfectly.

The other day I was in the living room with the girls and noticed it got quiet (aside from the music coming from Piper's play gym). I looked over and saw the most precious scene! Piper was on her back under her play gym. Layla was on her stomach almost perpendicular to Piper. Here is the kicker. She was simply holding Piper's hand and watching her. So gentle. So sweet. I don't know how long she stayed like that, but it was definitely a long time in "toddler time."

I went to grab my phone to take a picture. It doesn't do it justice...but it is sweet nonetheless. If you happen to be "friends" with me on facebook, you can see it there. I'm sure there's a way to upload pics from my phone onto my computer and put them here, but I haven't taken the time to figure it out yet.

After taking a picture I realized I could take a video of it with my phone (my video camera was with my regular camera in Indy!! see post below). I knew I was quickly running out of time to catch this precious moment on video!

I caught the tail-end of the moment. Although Layla was no longer holding Piper's hand, she was still just sitting there staring at her sister. You can actually see Layla begin fidgeting with her hands as if she's really wanting to do something but knows she probably shouldn't...then she takes the paci out of Piper's mouth! Haha. But she so gently puts it back in. The BEST part of the video is the last second...Layla places her hand upon Piper's cheek and gives her the most loving of pats. Soooo sweet!!

I will be creating a YouTube account here shortly so I can upload the video and put it on Facebook. I will see if my husband can help me upload it here as well.

I really do love having two little girls and can't begin to fathom the things I will see from them in the future!

I know there will be *many* fights!! I'm a sister myself...I know how it works! :-) But I also know they will be the best of friends and always be there for each other.

I'm so proud to be their mommy!

Did I Just Do That?!?

Did I seriously just drive to Indy at 8:45 at night simply to pick up my camera that I left there New Year's Eve?

Yes, I did!

My camera is my most beloved gadget. It captures all the memories I hope to keep for a lifetime (or more). It has been eating away at me that I haven't had it these past few days while I watch Piper smile more & more. When I see Layla with some of the greatest facial expressions ever. Sisters loving each other every day. I need my camera for all that and more!

Waiting around until someone I knew would be in Indy, or someone from Indy would be heading here was not an acceptable option. Who knows how long that would take!

Shipping it to me was another option - equally as unacceptable. The cost in packaging and shipping would have been too much...especially when you factor in that I would most definitely insure it. However, the risk of something happening to it while it still holds pictures that haven't been put on my computer was not worth it.

So off I drove.

Oh yeah, I'm forgetting another big factor in my decision of needing to get my camera NOW. A big snow storm is *supposedly* on its way here tonight. Do you have any idea how upset & frustrated I would be if Layla was enjoying playing in her first big snow and I had no way of capturing the moment?!?! The thought itself was upsetting enough.

I guess I should go ahead and confess something. My excuse for heading to Indy tonight was because of this snow storm. However, I tweaked it a bit when telling others about what I was doing. To their knowledge, I was worried about how long the weather would stay bad...how long the roads would be yucky for driving...and I wanted to get the camera before any of that hit. In reality, I just wanted my camera for this snow tomorrow. I didn't even tell my husband the real reason because I figured he'd just make fun of me.

Does this mean I have an addiction to my camera? I obviously knew others would find it silly to drive over 2 hours late at night for a camera simply so I could have it in the morning when my daughter plays in the snow. I can hear then now:
"There will be other snows."
"She might not even like it."
"There might not even be any snow in the morning."
Yeah, yeah. But it's her FIRST snow to play in!
"She's not going to know the difference."
But I will!

And that was that. Off I drove, by myself, in below freezing weather, to get a camera for my daughter's first big snow. :-)

Accessories

I believe there might be something hidden inside me that I never knew existed...the desire to accessorize with purses.

I decided that I wanted to get a new purse with some of my Christmas money, so I headed to the mall to look around. I really shocked myself with how many different ones I was finding I liked and how "non-traditional" (black, brown, tan) they were. Too bad 95% of them were far more than I could justify spending on a purse!

It's also a shame that the cute purses I apparently desire to have don't match my sense of style when it comes to my clothes. :-( I think this comes from not liking the current size & shape of my body. Two babies in less than two years didn't help that much. But it is something I resolve to work on (intensely!) this year.

As for the accessories, I think I just need someone with a stronger fashion sense to help push me in the right direction...to nudge me to actually make the purchase(s) I want to make...to ensure me that I wouldn't look like an idiot walking around town with that on my shoulder. :-)

Good Eatin'!

We had some good eatin' going on in our house today!

Layla ate an entire bowl of oatmeal & raisins this morning. An hour later she ate nearly an entire banana. About an hour and a half later she ate a pb&j sandwich (one slice of bread) and about 5 Veggie Straws. I couldn't believe it! She finished a lunch plate! I can't recall the last time that's happened...if ever! So she was given a "treat" - one stick of a Kit-Kat bar :-) She thoroughly enjoyed her treat! While she was relishing in the deliciousness, I kept trying to reiterate that she got the treat b/c she ate her food until it was "all gone."

Please note that this is a BIG DEAL in our house! Miss Layla, although very happy and healthy (albeit petite), never cares much for eating anything. When she asked for a banana, I thought for sure it would be another wasted piece of fruit. When she ate it, I figured that meant lunch was a no-go. Boy was I wrong!

Dinner wasn't as huge of a success, but we did get several bites of chicken & dumplings and tomatoes down...that equals success in my book!

***

I have been doing better as well. I have had vegetables every day for about a week! I know it sounds puny, but we're so bad at incorporating veggies into our meals. Today I actually had a double dose of the daily serving as my soup (0 WW points!) for lunch had a full serving of veggies and I had a salad with my dinner tonight. Yay, me!

Fruits are my next task. I'm thinking yogurt smoothies will be the most effective way to ensure I'm getting my daily dose. :-)