Normally I don’t post things like this, but I ran across this article because someone has posted it on Facebook. It hit me right in the heart, I think, because lately I’ve been reevaluating my own time management. I’ve been trying to take a day each work week to not turn the computer on. Sometimes I have to just to finish up a little work during A’s nap time, but the rest of the day, the computer doesn’t exist. The ipad gets put away for the most part unless we’re talking to one the Grandma’s and Grandpa’s or using a recipe. I needed to make it a priority to show Amelija that for at least one day, it’s all about her. She gets to help me bake, we play outside, we pretend to do her dishes in her little kitchen, or she gets to play in the water in the big sink. Times have changed since we were the kids following our parents around at home, wanting their attention. We have added distractions now that are so much more convenient and harder to put away. I want our kids to grow up knowing they are our priority, to grow up with confidence in themselves and their ability. I tell her I love her every day. Every single day. I tell her numerous times a day. I don’t do it consciusly, but I notice that almost every time I pick her up, I give her a little kiss and tell her I love her. I notice when I get stressed, I get snappy. I don’t want to break her spirit, and sometimes I need a little reminder that she is just learning. She has a beautiful light in her soul, and I want it to shine and light the world forever.
If you have time, read this article. It is a little long, and he shows some strong opinions, but I think the overall message is fantastic for both Mom’s and Dad’s. Already I tickle her tummy and nibble her toes when we change her diaper. I can’t get enough of her little girl curls, and her sweetness (when she is sweet and not testing). But, I will be snuggling her a little more tonight at storytime, and maybe gently rubbing her soft cheeks or hair, or holding her hand.
http://www.danoah.com/2010/09/you-just-broke-your-child.html
I know it’s mid-January, but I have lots of catching up to do in all aspects of my life, so this doesn’t seem quite so bad.
My parents came to visit at the beginning of December, and this time I tried to keep them busy enough that they didn’t get bored, but not so overwhelmed that they never come back. My Dad and I spent a lot of time trying to track down the parts we needed to get our table saw working. That took a lot longer than we anticipated. My mom spent a lot of time chasing after an energetic one year old. We remembered St. Nicholas’ Day this year, which happened to be while they were here. Amelija got a harmonica, a book and an orange in her shoe, and can you guess what her favorite thing was?
We tried to take a few pictures to mark Christmas this year, since it seems like even with the best of intentions, the actual holiday time gets so busy that the photos never happen. I took some pictures in her special dress that she wore for Santa and Jesus (to see Santa and for mass on Christmas). And, I remembered that I had a little pink dress in Amelija’s closet that used to be mine. I thought I had better get some pictures of her in it before she outgrows it. I snapped a couple of her wearing it on her baptism day (for the gathering, not the actual baptism) back in April, but it was a little big then. It probably would have fit her best over the summer. Oops. Oh well. Here are a few of those pictures, and the Christmas pictures we got; red eyes, sickies, and all.
We got a few family pictures, just because that’s what you’re supposed to do. And, a few pictures of Amelija’s favorite thing to do this Christmas season; her advent calendar. She got it from school, and was introduced to the world of stickers. It got to the point that I had to hide it because as soon as she would wake up in the morning or from nap, she would run down to the place we kept it and whined and cried for it. After a bit, out of sight, out of mind.
It seems like we’ve been sick for a month! It started with croup in mid-December. Then right before Christmas, Amelija got pink eye. (Thanks so much to our friends Dave and Mary who were so helpful when she woke up with it at their house, took us to urgent care, and made me feel better despite having exposed their son, Zach, to it.) After that, we were spending time with family over New Year’s and half of the cabin woke up with the flu. Luckily it seemed to pass over Tim and Amelija, and I only got a hint of it. Now, we’re dealing with a rash that’s on Amelija’s leg, arm and trunk, and the doctor says it’s just a virus that lasts about a week. In between all of that, we’ve had runny noses and coughing that just seem to come and go.
Despite all of that, we had a wonderful holiday. We took a week and half and visited family and friends in Chicago, Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stopped to see Uncle Stan and cousin Tommy in Wisconsin. Amelija loved looking at the deer, elk, bears, birds, and all the other animals they have displayed in their home.
Next on the drive was a short visit to our friends we met in Michigan, that are now living in Wisconsin (although we wished it was longer). Dave was working, but managed to come home for lunch. Tim went with him on his next call, and Mary and I hung at their house with the kids. While they were napping, she started to teach my how to knit! It wasn’t long before the kids were awake, and we made the trip to urgent care to get Amelija’s pink eye treated. Funny story – we went to urgent care in their small town, and it was the same entrance and desk for the clinic, urgent care, and emergency. I’m glad we went and got her started on medicine as soon as possible. She started feeling better shortly after. We miss our friends, and Amelija and Zach played pretty well together.
We finally made it to Minnesota, and visited with lots of family and friends. I had coffee with my best friend, Jenny, as usual. We went to the usual place, and spent a couple hours just talking. That’s what old friends do. Amelija and I had breakfast with my friend, Rachel and her husband Marc. I grew up with Rachel, but since graduating college she has lived in Colorado. Although our parents still live in the Twin Cities, we have only, one other time, managed to coordinate visits at the same time. It was so nice to catch up, and now that she’s moved back “home” I hope to have the opportunity to do it more.
We celebrated Christmas over a few days, with a big gathering on Christmas day, and then some skating, games, more eating and hanging out at the family lakehouse the following day. Tim, Cliff and some friends went up the hunting property and hunted various things, with various levels of sucess. For me, the most fun is spending time with everyone. The gifts don’t matter. But, I have to say that one of the highlights was a gift that Amelija’s Godparents made for her. She got a play kitchen! That started a story for another time. Anyway, here are some of the highlights… or maybe just some of the photos we snapped amid the chaos.
We are so thankful to have had the time to spend with all of our family and friends. There is no greater gift than to be with the ones you love.
What? “Real” bloggers post more than once a month? Dang. Oh well. I knew I wasn’t a “real” blogger anyway.
First problem:
Q – Take one crazy 15 month old girl, and add one croup and cold virus, and what do you get?
A – Two things for dinner; pickles and peas.
Hey- you can’t argue with a sick 15 month old. At least she was eating something, which is better than she had been doing for a few days.
Second problem:
You’re refinancing, and have to have an appraisal done. It’s the week before Christmas. You’ve been busy trying to make gifts. Your kid is sick and not sleeping at night… or during the day for that matter. You’re sick too. You have more work than normal since boss is on vacation. What’s the problem? Well, your world is a disaster. Here’s a little peek into my disaster of a life. This is my house… around the circle.
So as you can see, we’ve lived here since April (technically), but haven’t managed much for decorating the place yet. We’re making slow progress. We did install a new garage door opener. 
Just keepin’ it real. Any decorating suggestions or thoughts are welcomed.
I feel, almost every day, like I could say she’s all grown up. It’s crazy, right? She’s 14 months old. But she just learns so fast. She has a few favorite books that have been her favorites for a couple of weeks. I’m not sure what it is about them, but she picks these books out and wants to read them, carry them around, turn the pages, look at the pictures (Minn doesn’t really have a lot of pictures but she loves it anyway) bring them downstairs…
And, the one we read before bed every night…
She knows what’s coming on each page before I say any of the words. She wiggles her toes because the first page shows her bare toes when she gets undressed. She takes her pacifer out and scrubs her face with her hand on the next page when it says, “Mommy helps me scrub my face and hands and all the rest of me.” She shows me her teeth when it talks about brushing teeth, points to her jammies when she gets dressed in her pajamas, turns the page when it says that Daddy reads a bedtime story, folds her hands when she says her prayers in the book, and points to the light when they turn out the light. Then we fold our hands again and say our prayers before bed.
We’re sending her to school too, where she learns good things and not so good things. For a couple of days she hit and threw everything. Thankfully, that quickly passed. They must put their finger to their lips to signal quiet, because the other day when I told her we were inside and we need to use our quiet voice, she did that (and then proceeded to stick her finger up her nose for the next two minutes… that happens a few times a day lately too).
I love school. Obviously she learns things by the projects they do, games they play, and things they teach. But, I think it’s really good for her just to see and interact with the other kids, and have the opportunity to have someone other than Mom or Dad as an authority figure. She’s the youngest kid in the class right now, which is fine with me. It’s better than being the oldest. Sometimes she doesn’t get what she’s supposed to be doing, but it’s all learning. She goes two mornings a week, which gives me two morning to do work for 4 uninteruppted hours. She falls asleep in the car before we get home, and it’s about a 7 minute drive. Every day they post pictures on a blog so parents can see what the kids have been doing. I absolutely love that. As a bonus, I get pictures that I normally wouldn’t. Here are picture of her from the last couple weeks at school.
So I’ m going back in time a bit to catch up. I’ve neglected to put any of our fun pictures up lately. Fall has been fun and busy for us, cleaning up the yard, celebrating all things fall, and enjoying the last of the warm days. Prepare to be bombarded with cuteness.
We took a quick weekend trip to Chicago for the marathon, and went to Morton Arboretum for a few pictures.
We’ve been doing a lot of yard clean up. Amelija loves to be outside and has been helping clean up leaves and sticks. She plays with the dirt, and her shovel, and the leaves… She knows that when Daddy comes home she gets to go outside again. She reaches for her jacket on the hook and opens the drawer that has her outside shoes. She’s going to be unhappy when it gets too cold to be out for long. These are from all of October.
We went to the pumpkin patch this year and Amelija enjoyed “pumpkinland.” Her favorite parts were watching the other kids, and the tractor trikes. She loved to sit on those tractors. I wonder where she gets that from (ahem, Gavin). We picked out our Great Pumpkin, and she liked looking at all the pumpkins in the patch.
Halloween was fun for us this year. We went to a little party at the Mom’s Meet Up group where she played with lots of corn. She loved to scoop it into her bucket and on the floor. For trick or treating we had to bundle up a little. Although it was a gorgeous day, the night was a little chilly. Since Amelija was a cow, Tim pushed her through the neighborhood in our wheelbarrow full of straw. She loves riding in the wheelbarrow anyway. Any time it’s out she goes over to it and asks for a ride. Tim pushed her all the way up our street (which is a hill). All of our neighbors thought it was a great idea, and really cute. We used the night to take the opportunity to meet a few more of our neighbors. I honestly think this is the most friendly neighborhood I’ve ever lived in (or been exposed to). Everyone is so nice. It blows “Minnesota nice” out of the water so far. I’m not sure how long it will stay that way, but everyone is very welcoming and stops by to say hi, and offers help, and offers their churches. Just the other day we had someone from the back of the neighborhood stop her car and introduce herself, show pictures of her grandkids, tell about how she ended up here, etc. When we were trick or treating, people said, “oh yeah, we see you guys out in the yard all the time. Welcome to the neighboorhod. Let us know if you need anything…” It might have something to do with this pretty face.
I had lots more to write about, but people really only want to see the pictures anyway.
It’s Friday already, and it seems like it’s been weeks since I got back from Girls’ Weekend, when really it was only Monday. The Weekend has been a tradition in our family for 13 years. I think we figured out last weekend that we started it in 1998, though, so that would make 14 years. Anyway, it seems like this is one of the few family “traditions” that has consistently held up. We went through a time when we would do girls’ breakfast once a month, or family brunch once a month. But, as the siblings’ lives got busier with kids, marriages, jobs, homes, etc, those sort of fell away. Girls’ Weekend was actually started by… dun, dun, dun… the outlaw! My family goes up to Breezy Point resort every year, and one year my sister-in-law suggested we try this “other” resort in the same area. I’m not sure what the reason was; if she was looking for a weekend away, if she wanted to see what the resort was like, if she passed by it and thought it looked pretty, or maybe she was tired of the guys always getting their hunting weekends and the girls being stuck with the kids… I’m not sure. But whatever the reason, we booked a weekend at Sandy Shores resort, girls only. It was a weekend in October, when the leaves were changing, and it was kind of in between seasons. It wasn’t beach season anymore, and it wasn’t ice fishing/snowmobiling season yet. It was the perfect season for us, and we kind of had the resort to ourselves. That was 13 or 14 years ago, and every year, we’ve set aside a weekend in the fall for it (except one year when we were all too busy to plan it and it ended up being January the next year… so we had two weekends that year). Some years not everyone can make it for the whole weekend, or at all, but we get most people most of the time.
We have tried many different things for our weekend in all those years, from staying at Bed & Breakfasts, renting cabins, staying at friend’s cabins, staying at relatives, renting houses, staying home and just spending the day together… driving thirty mintues from home, driving 5 hours from home, staying on a lake, staying in the woods, staying on the river… making it a crafting weekend, making it a scrapbooking weekend, making it a shopping weekend. We’ve kind of settled on making it a weekend with no schedule now. We try to go for a walk, some people work on scrapbooks (which are mostly digital now, so it’s a lot less packing of stuff), some catch up on their magazines, some read, some crochet. But, mostly we just sit around and spend time together. Some of my favorite times are sitting by a fireplace, as many people as we can handle smashed on the sofas, chairs and floors, talking about our everyday lives. I also love the mornings. Not everyone wakes up at the same time, so when I get up, I grab my coffee, and spend some time visiting with individuals or small groups and really feel like I get to spend quality time with people.
As the years have passed, and the family has changed and grown, so has the weekend. It now includes the next generation as well, once they are 18 and have their mom’s permission. It’s nice to have the three generations be able to connect, share experiences, and really get to know each other, laugh and cry together over little things, and have those memories to keep. This year everyone was able to make it. This year I had so much fun. This year, I left my baby home and slept in two mornings. This year, I was so busy relishing in my “I-don’t-have-to-do-anything”-ness that I took a total of three pictures, and they’re all about the same.
I’m so thankful that we get this one weekend a year, and I wish we could do it more. Maybe I enjoy it so much because I’m so far away from everyone that it feels like I really have time to get to talk to people. I hate sleeping on Girls’ Weekend because I feel like I’m wasting precious time that I could be spending with my mom or my sisters (and in-law), or my nieces. I look forward to the weekend for months, knowing that I get a little time, with no busy schedule, to reach out, catch up, relax, share, laugh and cry with some of my best friends ever. This is one tradition that I hope never ends.
The last week of weather has been so fabulous. I love it when you think fall is finally here; you bundle up for a few days, and then you get some Indian Summer. It makes you treasure those warm days a little bit more, when you’re reminded that you’ll have plenty of months for bundling. Although I’ve been exceptionally busy, we’ve been trying to head outside a few times a day. My favorite time is about 4:30 in the afternoon. The sun peeks through a little clearing and aims right at the little table and chairs on my front porch. It makes long shadows, and I’m reminded how short the days are getting. I get the mail, and sit down and soak in the warmth. Amelija plays on and around the front porch. She picks my mums, plays with chunks of dirt, leaves, and sticks, and practices going up and down the step. The neighbors sometimes stop by, and some wave on their way home from work. Amelija waves at them, and sometimes she just waves at no one. The only thing better would be if Tim were home to enjoy it with me.
I am absolutely amazed. How is it possible that an entire year has passed since Amelija came into our lives? Every day I steal a little snuggle, knowing that all too soon, she’ll be squirming away, or too embarrassed, or just too darn big to sit on my lap and set her chin on my shoulder. Sometimes I get a little love when I take her out of her crib, or after I change her diaper, or when I take her out of her high chair. When she’s big enough to do those things by herself, I’ll miss those little windows of opportunity.
She’s so darn smart. She’s been walking since about a week before her birthday. For a few weeks now, she’s been taking the little people drivers in and out of their cars, and pushing the cars around. When she’s done eating, (after I’m done cleaning her up, or course) she takes her washcloth and wipes her face and her tray. She knows how to undo the velcro strap on her shoes now so she can chew on it. She loves velcro. It must feel good on her gums. I don’t have to ask for her pacifier when she wakes up anymore. I had to for a couple days, and now as soon as she sees me come into her room, she takes it out of her mouth and holds it out for me, with a big grin on her face. She loves waving. She waved backwards for a couple weeks, which totally makes sense. She sees the palms of people’s hands when they wave, so naturally, she waved with the palm of her hand facing her. On our morning walks, she waves at dogs and people once she can’t see them anymore. She waved at a rabbit the other day. She waves when Daddy leaves for work. She waves when he comes home too. I think she has both the “hi” and “bye” waves down. She waves like a princess now, or like she should be in a parade. No more backward waving wibth her fingers. She still loves putting things in and out of other things. She has a “Learn and Groove” table that has a little compartment with a lid that closes. She puts all kinds of toys in there and closes the lid. Well, she tries to close the lid. Sometimes the toys are a little too big. She’ll walk around with a bucket or a bag with a toy in it, taking it in and out for a long time. Anything she sees you do, she wants to do. She wants to comb her hair, clip her nails, or put on her socks or shoes. She is still absolutely enthralled with things from outside. She loves looking out the window, and on mornings when we don’t go for a walk, she looks out the patio door and points for a long time. A stick, rock, leaf, piece of grass or clump of dirt will keep her occupied far longer than any toy. Although, cars are a close second. She has been playing with a car pen of all things. From the hood forward is the cap, so it comes apart. I took the guts out so she can’t stab herself with the writing part. But she will drive either half around, making raspberry car noises with her tongue, for a good long while. She just learned how to get in the chair that’s part of her desk, so she’s been doing that many, many times a day. She eats just about anything, but loves fruit the most. She loves stairs, and although ours are gated since they’re wood, she loves going up and down the carpeted stairs and both of her grandparents’ houses. She makes the same sighing noise for any animal in existence. What, you didn’t know that a turtle and a lion make the same sound? She comprehends so much. If I tell her we’ll go have some breakfast, she goes over to her high chair so I can lift her up. When I ask if she wants some Cheerios, she goes over to the counter where we keep her little container of them, and points. When something is wrong, like she spit up, or she pulled tape off of a box, or something like that, she comes over to you and points in the direction it happened and wants you to come and look and fix it or tell her it’s ok. She loves to blow raspberries on your skin. She laughs when you do it to her. She tickles her tummy when you do. She runs to the door when she hears it open. She lays right down in her crib and goes to sleep on her tummy, with her legs tucked under her, when it’s time for naps or nighttime. She usually wakes up with a smile. She is fun and funny.
We had her 1 year check-up and the doctor said she was perfect. She can drink cow’s milk and eat anything, “she can eat sushi if she wants.” She still has 8 teeth, is walking and almost running, feeds herself (no spoon), sleeps about10 hours a night, and takes 2 naps a day. Here are her stats:
Weight: 19.8 lbs (19 lbs 13 oz), 26%
Length: 29.5 inches, 60%
Head Cir: 43.7 cm (17 in), 13%
She makes me smile, and I think I probably tell her how much I love her about 50 times a day. She is the sunshine of our lives. She’s our little punkin, sweet pea, honey, Lady A, and our favorite Amelija.
I think I’m going to have to post pictures in sections… as I get to them. We have 1,030 pictures from her birthday weekend.
in pictures.
So a few months back, we were up visiting my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. We were borrowing my Dad’s trailer to bring back his old riding lawn mower for our sprawling new lawn. (Which could be a story in itself… we ended up with a flat and on the side of the road for 5 hours, and then we got pulled over for having a tail light out and rewired the trailer in a gas station parking lot at 1 am. Our 7 hour drive to Chicago took 14!) So, we decided to load up the trailer and also brought back a small table that I had when I was a kid and two chairs that were in my parent’s basement, and an old dresser that was left in the house they live in (or maybe it was their first house…. I’m not sure), but it was in my parent’s basement. Amelija has a dresser, but it was a cheap, not-really-my-style, impulse buy from Craigslist when we moved to Kansas. We got rid of a bunch of stuff when we moved from Michigan, and then needed something when we settled in Kansas. It wasn’t bad, and worked for a changing table and to hold her clothes while she was small. But, now she’s a bit bigger, has a few more clothes, and the biggest issue is that the drawers don’t pull out nicely at all. They kind of tip down once they get out far enough, and that worries me. I’m afraid that in a few months when she tries to open them herself they’re going to fall right out. Ouch. So. I took that dresser from my parent’s basement. It was much cuter anyway. I know this is petty, but it was painted cream, and her bookshelf is white. So, I had to repaint it. It isn’t perfect, and I never wanted it to be. It’s old, and its going to get used and abused. I think of how hard we were on furniture when we were younger, and I’m amazed any of it is still in one piece. I had all the supplies already, so I didn’t have to spend any money. The color is leftover paint, mixed with some white. Since it was wall paint, I poly’d the whole thing. The imperfections are there to stay. So, here are a few photos. I don’t have a true “before” picture, because, guess what… I forgot. But I have an in progress, and the after photos.
So, if you can squint and really see, you can see the true white color that’s a little different than the cream paint that was on the dresser. That’s wood filler. The bottom edges of the drawer fronts also had a lot of it!
And, here it is now, with all its imperfections.
