I like it the way it is. (Mostly.)

DINK.

Double-Income, No Kids.

Have you ever fantasized what it would be like to be one half of a DINK? I could, but I always feel uncomfortable about it because, you know, the kids are non-existent and now I feel like a good mom because even in the chaos I would still choose my completely rambunctious children over sunning myself on the beach in Maui without having to watch three kids like a hawk so they don't drown themselves in the ocean.

I often close my eyes and remember the time roughly between mid-college and our firstborn, when I could go anywhere and do what I wanted without it being a mental and physical challenge. I also lived in the Midwest, where all the main attractions were pretty much located on the same stretch of road and it took me no longer than 8 minutes to get to any of them. What The Husband and I lacked in money, we made up for in freedom. What, it's 4 a.m. but we are both inexplicably awake? Go to the diner for milkshakes or muffins, then head over to wander the aisles of Wal-mart. How romantic!

Actually, that does kind of sound romantic. It beats staying home on Friday nights and trying to outfart each other. Marriage is funny that way.

Busted, Broken, and Bright

I have a lamp. Actually I have several lamps, but there is one lamp in particular that has seen better days in its short life. Here it is:

This is a lamp, my friends, that does not know the meaning of 'defeat.' Mainly due to the fact that it is a lamp. Even so, this lamp has the courage to keep lighting up my living room, despite its broken neck and busted shade, battle wounds from one of my kids knocking it over while surreptitiously hanging out behind the corner table. It is lamp that illuminates the floor behind the table where I grumpily retrieve half of a box of tissues that my toddler Stitch has thrown down there like some kind of Benevolent Tissue God of the dust bunnies. A lamp that highlights my children's artwork, which can only be described as 'not unpleasant' at best and 'stuff of my nightmares' at worst. Granted, it's a large range, but as an example, you can make out the eyeless one-horned snowman that my son made in pre-kindergarten. Creepy.

But I digress. This lamp, it serves us, even when it could probably be described as a fire hazard. In a more self-respecting household, junk. But not here. We won't forsake it, when it tries so hard to put a little light into our lives. 

Sometimes as a mom I feel kind of like this lamp. I feel totally busted, usually because my kids have tripped me up, but the list also includes forgetting to do something important, being neglectful of my spiritual walk with God, and an unhelpful yet irresistible urge to procrastinate, which often leads to self-loathing over my messy house and endless list of to-do's. And when all of these things strike on the same day, my family still needs me, even when this Lampstand would rather hide herself under a bowl where it is nice and private and nobody can poke their tiny fingers into her fluffy belly. (Seriously, is it just my toddler? Or do all of them have a fluffy mommy tummy touching compulsion?)

And just like this lamp, I know that someday I will be made whole. My brokenness will be healed by the one who loves me so much that He bought me with the blood of his own son. Just the thought makes my light shine a little brighter.

I will, however, be pretty surprised if I arrive to be glorified and Jesus pulls out some kind of Holy Epoxy Glue. Will not have seen that coming.

If You Don't Laugh, You'll Cry (and my week's menu)

Today was a busy day, filled with church (a 3+ hour affair), a visit from Grandma and Grandpa, and the excitement of Daddy (a.k.a. The Husband) being home all day. The kids were WIRED. On top of that, Oompa Loompa skipped his nap (unless you count the nap in the van on the way home from church) and both of the kids had some ice cream after dinner, a rare sugary treat.

Needless to say, they crashed HARD by bedtime. Munchkin, in particular, became very uncharacteristically unhinged. The solution was simple: we needed to get through the bedtime routine, post haste.

Every night, as part of our kids' bedtime ritual, my husband and I read them a devotion out of the Little Blessings book "The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers." When The Husband opened up the book and started to read (over the hysterical sobbing and flailing of my almost five year old, who was sprawled out in my lap) a devotion entitled something like, "Don't Stay Mad," I nearly lost it. The whole situation was just absurd. I snickered and shook with pent-up laughter while my daughter wailed louder at my seeming lack of concern for her emotional state and my husband read on and on about how it's not okay to stay mad.

If I have to pick between laughing and getting angry, I'm glad to be able to pick laughing. (Being literally seconds away from bedtime doesn't make the choice hard, either, because we all know that after bedtime, it's Mommy Time! Yay!) We got the kids in bed, they fell asleep quickly, and now I'm enjoying a cuppa tea. They'll feel better in the morning. (And even if they aren't, I'm bringing them over to my parents place anyway. Haha!)

The truth is, it isn't productive to get worked up about it. A worked-up and upset parent is usually just as wild as a worked-up and upset child, and the child will just because more hysterical. When I recognized this cycle and learned to separate my emotions from the trivial actions of my young kids, I became a much happier parent, and in turn my kids developed much better attitudes. That doesn't mean I'm not concerned about their bad behavior, but when I get mad, I start behaving in a way that doesn't reflect God. And that's not an appropriate role model for an ever-watchful child. In fact, I truly believe that Satan is immensely satisfied when the Angry Child->Angry Parent cycle perpetuates itself, because it takes all focus off of God and puts it into the sin of anger, and strengthens the habit of falling into that sin for both parent and child.

I'm not saying I never get angry, because I still do. And my kids aren't angels, either (as you can plainly see from our chaotic bedtime scene). But my patience muscle is getting stronger, and it shows in my kids.

What helps me the most is to understand (especially for 25-month-old Oompa Loompa) that they are still young, and at the moment they are misbehaving they are probably tired or hungry or repeatedly harassed by their sibling. When I rectify the physical root cause (food, naps, or separating them), the behavior usually improves.

Another reason they might be misbehaving is that I haven't been making an effort to be a good mommy, which is to say I've been ignoring their pleas for me to play with them or help them with something or to include them in what I am doing. When I remember and cling to the fact that they are still so young and have their whole hearts open to loving me and accepting my leadership and instruction, I recognize the impact my everyday actions have on them. Every time I dismiss them, they are affected by it. Sometimes I need to be alone, and I need them to go play. (Nobody I know enjoys having an audience when they use the bathroom!) But do I really need them to go away when I'm cooking or cleaning or just plain feeling harassed? Or can I use that as an opportunity to not only spend quality time with them, but also to teach them valuable skills, character qualities, and life truths through my words and actions? (Deuteronomy 11:19) Our society today values many deleterious things above what is good and right. Every effort I make now in the fight for good will help to defend the good we value as a family when they are older and in the world.*

Now after I've gone and said all of that, sometimes my kids are just plain mischievous. And that's completely different. ;)

And now for something completely different, here's what we're having for dinner this week:

Monday: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Tuesday: Loaded Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Wednesday: Beef Curry with Rice

Thursday: Roasted Vegetable Hummus Tart

Friday: Avocado Chicken Parmigiana

Saturday: (Night out with The Husband!)

Sunday: Broiled Tilapia with Roasted Aparagus and Quinoa Pilaf

I like posting what I'm making here because 1.) I like having accountability in making home-cooked meals and not eating out, and 2.) I'm always really interested in what other families do for dinners. Plus I just love to cook and try new recipes, as being a stay at home mom doesn't lend well to most other hobbies.

Another thing regarding the meals I make is that I've switched to a low(ish)-carb diet. Long story short, I have reason to think I may have developed insulin resistance somewhere along the way, and that switching to a lower-carb diet would help with my health issues. I've severely cut back on starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta, and I've almost completely cut out sweets and added sugars. I still eat all the fruits and vegetables I want. I've been eating this way for nearly about a month, and I've seen great things happen for my health! Praise God! I'm not totally convinced that my diet is the reason behind the change, but the only thing I can do is wait and observe and pray I'm on to something. It's working so far.

(You might notice that the meals I make still contain carb-heavy foods, like rice and bread products. I let my family eat most of that part of the meal. I might have a small portion of those, or just omit them altogether on my plate.)

Have a great week!

*I would be remiss to not mention that this parenting commentary may have been partially influenced by a parenting seminar at our church that The Husband and I have been attending called Parenting is Heart Work, which today happened to discuss attitudes as they relate to parenting. Truthfully, though, this has all been swimming around in my head for awhile and is just now getting out through my fingers and onto the keyboard.

Time ticks, life clicks

"The days are long, but the years are short."

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

It's been so long, yet it feels like just yesterday. I've been a mom for almost five years, and with each additional month, the job seems simultaneously more serious and more, well, silly.

We've been blessed beyond anything we could ever deserve. We have a loving home, nourishing food, good health (and good health insurance), and job security. Praise God!

Our days are filled with playing, reading, coloring, and singing (and cleaning, folding, organizing, and cleaning up pee on the floor...again. [And Pinterest.])

And by fall it will be filled with Kindergarden.

How did we end up here? I'm not sure, but all I can do is hang on for the ride.

And make some vaguely witty remarks. ;)

Check Out My New Wheels!

I scored a sweet deal at the children's consignment sale I attended last week: a used double jogging stroller. Not that I'm using it. Oh, no, goodness. I break a sweat just thinking about it. The Husband is now using it to give me a half-hour of solitude every other day, which I use to cook in peace. Or peas, depending on what's for dinner.



The first evening they all went out for a jog was a cloudy one. It was a bit chilly, so we bundled the kids up really well before they went out. Thirty minutes passed. I was rocking out in the kitchen when I saw him jog back up to the front door, completely drenched. I was so focused on chopping veggies that I hadn't even noticed it'd been pouring! I went out to see if he needed help, and when I opened the front door I saw two very wet and pathetic looking children looking up at me with sad, rosy-cheeked faces.

So now we know to check the radar before heading out in questionable weather. And that the sun canopy makes a woefully deficient rain canopy.

Although I probably won't be taking that thing for a jog any time soon (unless there is chocolate involved somewhere along the line), I am looking forward to using it for regular walking type excursions. We haven't been able to much of that since The Husband sheared off one of the wheels on our last stroller while backing the car in the garage. By the way, I admire his ability to back the car into the garage. I can't back up vehicles to save my life, but he's been backing that thing in for almost a year and he's only ruined one stroller and one side mirror!

My roses are starting to bloom again.



Unfortunately, my big rose bush came down with Black Spot and I had to remove over half of the leaves. I don't know if I will be removing any more because I'm afraid it will die for lack of foliage. I've been really good at finding old spotty leaves on the ground, though, and I want to re-mulch the area this fall.

Life and Death

Haven't posted in a few months. Life lives.

Oompa-Loompa was born on January 22. He came into the world here at our home; it was a beautiful waterbirth. A healing birth.



He's three months old now. He's really figured out how to function earthside, and he is a mostly happy baby now.

We celebrate.

Munchkin turned three years old in March.



She's had a few rough patches over the last few months, but she is still my sweet, caring daughter on the inside. I've been able to see how she deals with stress, and unfortunately she deals with it kind of like me: retreating to seclusion and shutting everyone else out. Oh, and crying a lot. I wish I could have some do-overs lately.

Nobody told me that the mommy guilt would hit like a Peterbuilt semi after #2 is born. I think that's been the hardest part of a handful of hard parts.

But every day is a new start. A clean slate. An opportunity to create more love in our lives.



The Husband's father (my father-in-law) is very near the end of his life. He will be departing within the next day or two. We went to see him earlier this month, and while I wish we would have gone sooner, I'm glad he got to see his grandkids one last (and, for Oompa, first) time. Hopefully The Husband will be able to make it in time to say goodbye himself.

We grieve.

It's surreal. The Husband is only 26 years old, too young to have to say goodbye to his father. Papa Gerald is only ten days short of his 56th birthday, too young to go, really. What a shame. I grieve for my husband, for my children, for his wife he leaves behind. So sad.

Ok, I had to get that out there. I feel better now. Thanks for listening.

Snowman for my Pumpkin

Munchkin is two years and nine-and-a-half months old. I can't believe it, because she still feels like my little baby. She still curls up in what's left of my lap and requests Mama Milk. When it's sleepy time she will fall asleep drinking Mama Milk and sometimes I just sit with her peacefully asleep in my lap, still latched on, just like she did when she was a newborn. And I remember that someday she won't do this anymore, that I will be giving her The Talk and taking her shopping for bras and pads, maybe even wondering how it came to be that this girl I cuddled not so long ago is now a teenager who won't talk to me.



I don't want to become complacent and take these fleeting moments for granted. So when a freak snowstorm hit us earlier this week, I woke her up early from her nap so we could bundle up in our scavenged snow gear and make a memory. She hadn't seen snow since we were in North Dakota last December, so I wasn't sure if she even had any memory to draw upon. But of course we read about it in books and she sees it on TV, so she had many expectations to test out. We made this little snowman. Of course it had to have two button eyes, a carrot for a nose, and a little pink scarf. She was so in love with it!



I tried to get her to lay down and make a snow angel, since she pretends to make snow angels inside on the carpet all the time. Unfortunately it was snowing huge, wet snowflakes and she didn't like them falling in her face. As soon as she laid down, she got right back up and refused to try again. So I showed her how it was done. Then I realized I was eight months pregnant and wearing a pea coat that was much too small for my girth. I hope the neighbors weren't watching me trying to get up!



We also "made tracks" in the snow and threw snowballs. After I finally managed to convince her to go inside (it was getting dark), we drank warm apple cider together in the kitchen, trying to warm up.

She's getting so much more mature, but she'll always be my baby.

New Year's Resolution

Hello...hello? Is this thing on? *taptap*

Hi, My name is HausFrau, and I'm a naughty blogger.

Today is still January 1. It's a better time than ever to start up again, no?

I humbly apologize for my gaping inadequacies. I promise I have no more morning sickness. Though, it's getting awfully hard to move.

So much has happened and on the verge of happening that it's hard to know where to begin.

We are still very much enjoying our house. I laid around in it for two straight months, doing nothing but forcing myself to eat popsicles and toast while I kept the TV on the 24-hour cartoon channel. After I finally felt better, the summer was all but shot, and I quite enjoyed the autumn and beginning of winter. I've been cooking up a storm, making up for all the meals I didn't eat earlier.

Munchkin and Husband are doing quite well. Husband has taken to playing copious amounts of computer games in anticipation of this little one's arrival, just like he did with Munchkin. I've found it's best to let him get it out of his system. Munchkin likes to talk about her "baby brother" (yes, it's a boy) and give my belly kisses and cuddles. Today she was trying to get him to sing with her. I'm not sure how she expected that to work.

I am 35 weeks along, so I am in the midst of getting our home set up for the birth and the baby. I have some cleaning tasks to attend to in the next few days, a few miscellaneous birth supplies left to acquire, and some knitting and sewing projects to finish up, but other than that we are ready. Oh, I am so ready. I feel like I'm going to burst open, and flipping from one side to another in bed is a five-point maneuver.

I could probably blather on for another four or five paragraphs, but I won't do that all at once. My life is fairly boring, right, so I need to stretch out of blathering for a few posts at least. ;)

Suburban Summer

When I dreamt of owning a house, one of the big kickers was that I could do anything I wanted with the plants in the yard. I could remove plants, or, more importantly to me, I could plant plants.

So when I bought some herbs at the garden center earlier this week, what did I do? I put them in pots instead.



This way I can bring them inside for the winter. There is a perfect spot for them in the storage room, which is a large room that was walled off from the garage. It has a large window that lets in lots of morning sun. Last time I had anything in a container, it ended badly. So we'll see.

The weather's been beautiful here: sunny and warm (although today was more "hot"). Gorgeous. Perfect for grilling hamburgers, which go well with homemade potato salad.



While we're not gardening or eating, there's always laying in the hammock:



Ahh. The life.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to do anything fun outside today because Munchkin had a fever and was cranky, too. I have no idea what kind of sickness she's getting, but I hope it doesn't last long. Poor girl. She likes to cuddle when she's not feeling well, but today it was like snuggling an oven in the desert. I just about melted; I can only imagine how she felt.

Irritatingly, I have misplaced my notebook with all my weekly menus and shopping lists. I can only conclude that it is not in this house, because I've looked high and low. I hope it's in the van. The last place I saw it was at Target two days ago when I was doing a bit of shopping. I hope that if I lost it that someone would call the phone number I put on the cover, because even though it's just a silly notebook with nothing really too important in it, I think I'd loose my mind if I didn't have it. It's a collection of my family's culinary history. It's interesting to see what we were eating six months ago, and how much our habits have changed.

Plus I can't remember what I'm supposed to cook on Saturday, but it has something to do with rice.

A few more pictures

I've taken a couple more photos of our new home. Only a couple because I've only gotten the kitchen/dining room completely settled, haha. Everything else is mostly good, but there are still a few boxes of decorations/art/pictures that I'd like to put up before taking pictures. All in due time. ;)

Before I get the new pictures, I have something else: Pictures of our old home. You may not care, and that's fine. But I wanted to take pictures for the memories. Sometimes I wish I had taken more pictures of the first apartment that Husband and I shared. I'm glad that I remembered to take pictures this time. It is kind of weird, though. Now that we're pretty much moved in, I just don't have the yearning to be back in my old home like I thought I would. And that's good! I do wish I felt more comfortable here, though. I'm still adjusting.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures. They seem to sum up my photography skills: leaves something to be desired.



That's a corner of my kitchen. Don't you just LOVE the beat-up cabinets, old wood laminate countertops (you can't see it in this photo, but on the other side of the kitchen the front facing is falling off/non-existent), and faux brick backsplash? Gorgeous. Someday we're going to take the brick out and tile the backsplash, paint the cabinets white and put new hardware on them, and get some modern laminate countertop. But honestly, I don't really care as much as I thought I would.



An extremely poorly-lit picture of the dining room, taken from the kitchen. I'm glad our table fits where it does; I was afraid it would block the sliding glass door.

And a gratuitous picture of Munchkin at Husband's church softball game tonight:



They actually won, which ties their number of wins from last year: one. Hurray!

Miscellany Regarding Current Life

Here's a picture of my roses, as promised:



Roses aren't something I would have chosen to plant, as I am super-practical and I'm not feeding my family roses, but darn those are pretty.

Husband installed an over-the-range microwave today. It took him six hours. At one point I asked him alarmedly, "Did you just start a fire in the wall?!?" But in the end it turned out alright, and now I have a microwave to use! Now I just hope it doesn't, you know, fall out of the wall.

The weather's been great here and we've spent a LOT of time outside weeding the yard. That's our recreation. Weeding. It's fun and therapeutic. We aspire to have a food-producing garden, but we're sticking to weeding for right now. It's really hard to screw up weeding. I did buy some herb starts at the store today, but now I have no idea what to do with them. I'm scared to do anything, lest I kill them. I'm petrified, people. PETRIFIED OF GROWING PLANTS.

I'll get over it. ;)

Munchkin is still irrationally cranky. Can't tell if it's toddlerhood or the move or teeth or just because she wants to make hell. I don't know if it matters, because I can't change any of it. Going outside usually helps, and I will gladly oblige.

I used my new (used) washer and dryer for the first time yesterday and opened up the washer to find that I left a giant permanent marker in my apron pocket and ruined a whole bunch of white clothes, including Munchkin's awesome white sweatshirt that we got from Nicole. :( Craptastic! On the plus side, the washer and dryer actually work really well without added markers.

I've been feeling really here-and-there, this-and-that lately. Not in a hypomania kind of way, but just because there are so many little random things to do and take care of and I don't feel settled. I hope this soon passes.

No Pain, No Gain

Well, we went and signed papers yesterday. Surprisingly, there wasn't that much to sign. We had to sign almost as much paperwork just to get pre-approved for our loan before we even went house hunting. Anyway, it was pretty anti-climatic, as we don't get the keys until tomorrow. We were supposed to close no later than today, but who-knows-what happened behind the scenes and we have to be extra patient, which is okay with me because at the end we get a house! 

Unfortunately that means we are a day behind in getting the house move-in ready. We've got a lot to do: Husband is painting the living room, hallway, and master bedroom. We have to get the air vents cleaned (they are sooo gross) and the carpets cleaned, too. I have to deep clean the whole house, since it's been unoccupied since last summer and there's been people traipsing through it occasionally. We have to install the new doorknobs, toilet seats, baby locks and smoke/CO detectors. I'm also wallpapering the shelves and drawers in the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. THEN we can start moving things into the living space proper. The plan was to do the bulk of the actual "moving" next Wednesday, spending our first night there that evening; we have friends planning on helping us with the big stuff that day. So now we just have to work extra hard to make that goal. If we have to push it back, so be it, but I don't want to have to change plans with our helpers last minute. 

As if this wasn't stressful enough, Munchkin is acting like a super-hormonal teenager with PMS. Normally she's always happy, only crabby when she's tired, and easily consoled. But for the last few days she'll start inconsolably sobbing at the drop of a hat at the simplest things. It could be the move. It could be teething, as she's getting her eye teeth in (although she's never been bothered by teething before). Or, and I really hope this isn't it, it's a vaccine reaction. She got her first MMR shot on Monday. She's also started waking at night again, 3-5 times a night. Whatever it is, I hope it's just a weird fluke thing that will resolve itself. If she's like this for the next week, I'm going to need some extra patience. 

With that, I'm going to sign off and get some sleep. Hopefully.

My Mother's Day Gift

I was busy packing up my linen closet, trying to figure out how to cram all of the miscellany that ends up in there into boxes so that I won't be too confused when I unpack them. I was concentrating hard, and I felt like I was in the middle of a mess.

I looked up and Munchkin was standing there, still as a gravestone. Her face was beet red. Her eyes bulged. She didn't breathe. Her face told me she was in distress.

Adrenaline ran through my veins. My heart raced. I was sure that she had picked up something on the floor, put it in her mouth, and inhaled it. "WHAT'S WRONG?!?" I barked. "ARE YOU OKAY?!?"

She took a breath, pointed to her crotch, and said, "Fart!"

Jumping In

Have you ever gone swimming with your friends on the first nice day of the year? The pool isn't quite warm yet but you have been waiting all winter for this day, and you don't want to get in because it's going to be almost unbearably cold. You dread it. But you remind yourself that it won't last too long, and after that you and your friends will have a lot of fun. That seems reassuring, but you still dread it. After stalling for awhile, you finally force yourself to jump in...

I'm there. We have loads of empty boxes laying around, begging us to be filled. Meanwhile, I'm still futzing around with things in cupboards and drawers and closets and shelves, meticulously putting them away after I've sorted through them as though they won't be thrown in one of the aforementioned boxes in a few days. I carefully clean my kitchen every evening, putting everything in its place, and I almost can't bear to think that I'll be tearing it all apart within a matter of days. I'm holding back, clawing at "home" to keep it from vanishing. The end is imminent.

In other news, my finger is doing better. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it is really stiff. I can't flex it all the way, and it is weak. As long as it doesn't hurt though, I'll be okay. I can move with a stiff, weak finger, but not a stiff, weak, PAINFUL finger. 

Munchkin refused to take a nap yesterday and never became belligerent, so she skipped it. I think that's the first time she went all day without a nap. Let's just say I prefer naps for her. I like my little break in the afternoon! Hopefully that was just a fluke, and that she continues to nap, like she did today. I just need to be better at wearing her out.

Naked Time

Munchkin: Pee floor.

Me: Did you pee on the floor?

Munchkin: Yes.

Me: Show me.

Munchkin leads me to a soaked section of carpet in her bedroom, smiling proudly.

Me: *sigh*

Prepare for Launch

We found out this week that our home loan was approved. Interestingly enough, I didn't jump for joy or throw a parade when I got the news. They could have told me that it was partly cloudy outside and I would have had the same reaction. Ho-hum. There really isn't much to do to mark the occasion, anyway; there's still a couple of weeks until we close.

One thing we DID do was go to a large home improvement store that shall remain unnamed (but they assured me that I could do it, and they could help...by trying to sell me a $1600 range). While we didn't buy any appliances, we did need new doorknobs and deadbolts and new toilet seats. Trust me, all of these things needed replacement. And even if we didn't need a new toilet seat for the hall bathroom, what mother of a potty-learning toddler DOESN'T want a toilet seat with a hidden built-in toddler seat? GENIUS. Husband looked at me after I insisted on this special accessory with a look of, "You can't be flippin' serious, it's twenty-five dollars more than a standard toilet seat." And I told him that I would sell my feminine services for the difference if I had to, but we were getting that seat!

We also attempted to pick out shower heads while there, but it seems we have a harder time choosing and agreeing on shower heads than we do buying a house. So we decided to try again later.

And, just in time for the big moving extravaganza, I've contracted The Funk, a curious condition wherein I sit on my butt and look at everything and say, "No freakin' way am I going to deal with that now. Try again later." Rinse and repeat. It's weird, like my brain is a computer and my 'motivation' program keeps crashing. I NEED AN I.T. SPECIALIST, STAT.

Munchkin has no idea what's going to happen. I kind of feel bad for her, even though she is such a resilient kid, because there won't be a "normal" for several months, probably. She's just started consistently sleeping through the night, and I hope that the move doesn't make her start waking again. Not that it's a big deal to get up once or twice, but I like the uninterrupted sleep.

We went to a playdate at our friend Nicole's house. There were a lot of people there, and it was a lot of fun. Munchkin loves playing with other kids so much. I'm starting to worry that she's going to be an extroverted person. Not that extroverts are bad or anything, but I just don't know if I'm going to be able to satisfy her social needs without neglecting my own introverted social needs (or anti-needs, whatever). If we end up homeschooling, this could be one of our biggest problems. (Lemme clarify: While I could live in a cabin in the woods a hundred miles from the nearest person and be perfectly happy, that doesn't mean I dislike other people or dislike hanging out with other people. I just need my alone time. I'm not anti-social or anything.) :)

Here's something funny: Munchkin got into some dog poop at the playdate and while I was washing her hands I was all like, "Please don't touch dog poop." And now she can't stop talking about "doggie poop". I got weird looks in the store today because of her wild and random proclamations of "DOGGIE POOP!" She also took a scoop out of one of the bulk bins and put it in her mouth. Tracking down an employee and 'fessing up was a bit embarrassing. Parenting is such a humbling job.

Weekly Menu and a First for Munchkin

This Week's Menu:
Monday: Leftover Spicy Chicken Soup
Tuesday: Calzones (Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe) and Salad (that TL and Randy brought over last Saturday...there's a lot left!)
Wednesday: Braised Herb Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
Thursday: Husband's Burritos (which are more like enchiladas but I'm not gonna argue)
Friday: Tortellini with marinara sauce and Salad
Saturday: Chicken Soup (made from the stock I made last week) and Salad (if it's still good)
Sunday: leftovers
Extras: Lemon Curd (organic lemons are on sale!) and Banana Bread

We had a great visit with Grandma (a.k.a. my Mother-in-Law). More later. For now, a happy first from Munchkin: SHE PEED IN THE POTTY! Yipee! She was so very happy that she finally got to use some toilet paper. It was more than enough of a reward for her efforts. Hopefully this will lead to big girl underwear, but I'm not holding my breath!

Weekly Menu and a Panic Attack

This Week's Menu:
Monday: Scallops Mascarpone
Tuesday: Southwest Chicken and Mexican Rice (since we didn't get to it last week)
Wednesday: Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes, canned corn, and (commercially-prepared, prepackaged but oh-so-yummy) stuffing
Thursday: Meatball Sandwiches, plus Chicken Stock from yesterday's chicken carcass
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: One of these days we'll have Spicy Chicken Soup (made with the fresh stock) with homemade bread (perhaps a 6 Braid Challah Loaf? CAN I GET A (C)HOLLA?) and we'll more than likely eat out on the other two days.

Why would we eat out TWO DAYS in a row? Well, I'll have you know that my Mother-in-Law is coming to town on Friday. I love her, I really do, but I can't keep my wits about myself around her. If I try to accomplish too much in the kitchen, I just may very well burn the whole building down. To further complicate matters, it is MY task to pick her up from the airport, and drop her off there on Monday. To get to the proper destination at the airport, I have to follow the signs from the highway. And I'm always missing the signs or misinterpreting the signs or overthinking the signs (What does short-term parking even mean? Two days, or two hours? I don't know if that's...oh, I missed the turn anyway). And while I'm all discombobulated, I have to wield a minivan and not kill anyone with it. Did I mention I'm 4'11" (well, almost, if I wear shoes) and checking my blind spot is darn near impossible without standing up? My point is, driving in busy traffic to places I don't frequent is one of my most dreaded and stressful tasks. Another reason I shouldn't have to worry about cooking for my MIL.

Oh, now I'm all bothered. Let me show some pictures of a walk Munchkin and I went on this weekend. I'll feel better.

Action-Packed Friday!

Munchkin and I had an action-packed day. I haven't had a day so busy in...*checking my calendar*...well, I can't even think of a day that's been so busy with just the two of us. I'm so tired I could fall asleep right now, and it's only 9:35.

This morning we headed off to Newberg for a playdate with Nicole and her kids, Ciara and Oliver (who is Munchkin's age) at the playground. It was nice and empty, so no kids trampling over the little ones. Here's a few pics of the excitement:



It had been raining, so the slides were all WATER slides. Luckily Nicole brought some towels. (And yes, I was having fun with the "Saturation" levels on iPhoto.)



What a happy kid!



Munchkin looking at Nicole's sweet-ass camera. She snapped a crap-ton of pictures of Munchkin because she seemed to like the shutter noise (Munchkin, that is, not Nicole) and when she stopped, Munchkin deadpanned, "Cheese."

Ciara and Oliver sure were being cutie-pies, but Munchkin had this look on her face all day:



"Stop looking at me."

After we came home and ate lunch, my friend Erin called to chat. I LOVE talking to Erin. We always talk about the weirdest things.

After THAT, I found out that OH NO, the Pass-It-On Sale is going on THIS WEEKEND! (I thought it was next weekend!) The first day was already half over! In a frantic dash I threw gently placed Munchkin in the van and we drove clear across town in rush-hour traffic so I could procure some summer clothes for her. I must have got at least ten outfits (mostly dresses), three pairs of shoes, three books and a jacket for under sixty dollars. Score!

Tomorrow's outlook is so blah: I've got loads of cleaning to do (I've been neglectful) and Husband's going golfing, then going in to work. But it's going to be nice out, so hopefully I will get us out of the house and into the bright sunshine. Hurray, spring!

She grows a little more every day

Wouldn't you know it, only a few days after I wrote about how Munchkin doesn't seem to understand how to work the Tupperware Shape-O toy, she figured it out! She brought it to me while I was busy, so I just dumped out all the shapes and left her alone. She brought it back later with all but two pieces inside, and proceeded to demonstrate how she did it with the remaining pieces. My eyes threatened to pop right out of my head. I thought it would be another six months before she started figuring that out.

While we were at the library yesterday I decided to treat us to donut holes at the attached donut shop. I purchased a dozen and a half-pint of milk, and I got us settled to have our snack at a table in the corner, with napkins as "plates". "Mommy, napkin yap! Napkin yap!" she kept repeating over and over while pointing to her crotch. I couldn't figure out what she meant at first, then I realized that she wanted a napkin to put in her lap. (Duh. Sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake.) If I remember correctly, the last time we ate out at a fancy enough restaurant to teach her this was back in January on our cruise. What a memory (and knack for proper etiquette)!

After the library we headed to the post office to pick up a package, which turned out to be for her. It was a cute little hand-knit scarf from her auntie TL. She thought it was pretty neat, although I'm not sure she knew what it was, exactly. But what do I know; if she remembers something from January, maybe she remembers our sub-zero trip to North Dakota last December. At any rate, it is pink and soft, a killer combo for a two-year-old girl.