Quick Takes (42): Remember me?

I actually wrote these on Thursday night and then forgot to post them or schedule the post.  Oops!  I hope you don't mind me posting them late.

--- 1 ---

Oh my goodness!  Where does the time go?  I can't believe it's been close to 2 months since I last typed a few words.  Thanks to two lovely ladies for reaching out and checking in with me to make sure I was ok.  Seriously, how awesome is that?  Two total strangers that I've never met before email to see how my appointment went and how I'm doing.  Thanks for making me feel loved.

--- 2 ---

October was a hard month.  My appointment with the new Napro dr did not go well.  I've got to finish the blog post so you can hear what she had to say and give advice on how to proceed, but basically I don't think she and I will be a good fit long-term.  So that sort of put me into a bit of a depressed state.  I was so certain things were going to go well and that this was going to be the start of getting me back on track health and fertility wise.  I've gained 5 pounds since the appointment and have hardly been to the gym, so the opposite effect happened.

--- 3 ---

November was a long month.  R came down with a nasty cold that she passed onto me.  It lingered around for 9 days and then re-surfaced as a sinus infection in me.  Then R came down with another (or the same) cold.  Oh my goodness!  It was about 3 weeks of non-stop sickness in our house.  Not fun at all.  That really zapped my energy on top of the already down mood I was feeling.

--- 4 ---

Thankfully, we were all healthy by Thanksgiving time!  If you remember back to previous years, we have always hosted people at our home since we can't travel to be with family.  Usually, it was my international students experiencing the holiday and meal for the 1st time.  I loved sharing our traditions with them and interacting outside of the classroom.  Occasionally, we'd have some college students from church over if they couldn't travel home either.  DH and I have such a good time hosting.  We tried to find people to invite over this year and couldn't.  Either we didn't hear about those that needed a place to go or everyone truly did have plans, but it was just the 3 of us this year.  At first, I was sad and missing our previous connections with people, but then I decided a nice, low-key Thanksgiving was just fine for this year.  We didn't even get a whole turkey; we just settled for a turkey tenderloin (which R loved, by the way).

--- 5 ---

And then the rush hit after Thanksgiving...preparing for Advent and Christmas.  We did get our tree up and lights on it and our Advent calendar out, but otherwise we haven't finished decorating yet and I'm still working furiously to get our cards out since most people don't have our new address yet.  And I'm sort of nervous to continue unpacking everything because we haven't gone through those boxes thoroughly since we moved (Christmas last year we were still out West).  Sort of sad to think about.  I'm still missing my friends, the mountains, our church, and my colleagues.  Adjusting and change are so hard for me.

--- 6 ---

It probably doesn't help my adjustment factor since it's 70+ degrees today, rainy, and humid beyond all get out.  I was in a t-shirt today I was so warm.  This is not the December I am used to.  It should be cold and snowy during Advent.  How can I listen to Christmas songs about sleigh bells and snow and fireplaces when I have the a/c on in my car?!?  This weather is for the birds.  And seriously....we are still raking leaves we have so many trees.  It's really been a challenge for me to get into the Advent/Christmas spirit when this is so foreign to me.  I am so out of my element and comfort zone. And I realize as I type this many of you are covered under layers of snow or ice and cold.  One of my friends commented that we always want what we don't have.  Isn't that so true?  I guess I will know what to expect next Advent and can be better prepared, and I can start thinking now about the true meaning of the season that does not depend on the weather outside.

--- 7 ---

And finally, we have little Miss Escape Artist in our house.  One day shy of 19 months and she gets out of her crib on her own.  She woke up in the morning, we heard a thud, and then she shut off her monitor.  I go in to get her and she's standing at the door.  Oh boy, she is keeping us on our toes.  Thankfully, she was not harmed, but we knew she'd be trying that trick again before too long.  I think we've worked out a temporary solution by removing the springs and just setting the mattress on the floor inside the crib sides, but the act left me scrambling to try and track down the rails and kit to convert her crib to a toddler bed.  Wouldn't you know it, some of the pieces are no longer available (we bought the crib less than 2 years ago)?!?

The good news is she has been sleeping through the night now since we did sleep re-training (did I tell you we had to re-train overnight sleep things had gotten so bad after our FL trip?)  We are only a few weeks in again, but she's consistently sleeping through the night and napping well.  For this reason, we are not ready for a toddler bed yet!

And I've got a bunch more things I could add, but maybe I'll save that for a post for next week:-)  A happy and blessed Advent to you all as we await the birth of our Savior.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Starting Over: Part 1

I'm a little slow in getting this post out, but we had the opportunity to tag along with DH to FL last week for a conference.  It was a lot of time in the car with a little girl who came down with a virus shortly after we left, which meant I spent a lot of time with her in the hotel room watching TV while they were doing construction in the rooms right below ours.  Not exactly my idea of the fun trip we had in mind when planning it, but so be it.  Then it was back home and getting her back into her sleep routine.  It took 5 long nights to get her sleeping through the night again and napping well.  So weird that only 4 nights away threw her sleep so out of whack.

Anyway, that is not the point of my post.  The point of my post is starting over, which in many ways is what it feels like I'm having to do with my fertility health.  I recently had an appointment with a new Napro Dr in my area.  I was really hoping I would connect with her, like her proposed treatment plan, and I'd be off and running with my charting and what not.  I was given the heads up by a lovely blogger (you know who you are) that this "Napro" Dr may not be up to date.  I was appreciative for the information ahead of time because it helped me think through questions I wanted to ask in feeling this doctor out.

But before I continue...I should back up.  Some of you may remember that I continued Creighton charting all throughout this last pregnancy.  I don't really know why, except perhaps I didn't think this pregnancy (#3) would make it all the way to the end given my 2 previous miscarriages.  As time progressed, I continued to keep up with my chart because it was a convenient way to keep track of progesterone levels, when I was due for my next PIO shots, etc.  But after R arrived, I stopped charting.  I was burnt out, couldn't think straight from lack of sleep, and didn't want the added pressure of having to remember my mucus observations throughout the day.  I could hardly remember what time I last fed R much less something throughout the whole day (I could have written it down, yes I realize this, but laziness often gets the best of me at times).

As more time passed, I had to admit that it was really nice not to chart.  I could race into the bathroom and race out without all the steps for observing mucus.   Plus, I really wasn't concerned about my cycle, getting pregnant, etc.  I assumed I'd have cycle difficulties (thanks, PCOS) and never dreamed we'd "accidentally" get pregnant given the years it took to get to R.  So I was living in a blissful, non-charting world.  I could just ignore the fact my cycle hadn't returned (I am still breastfeeding) and ignore any hints of suspected health problems if I didn't have a chart of information, right?

Well, after I weaned R from nursing overnight, I started getting major PMS.  I would just rage at DH, chew him a new one, and just not be pleasant to be around.  I figured my hormones were probably doing something, but I still had little motivation to chart or take my BBT as I'd been doing when I charted.

I knew I should probably buck up and start to get my health under control, so I can be a better wife and mom.  I need to get back to exercising, watching what I eat, and charting.  Yes, I had to admit that in order to get healthy, it was best if I started charting again.  I figured making an appointment with a new Dr. would give me some motivation to start charting again, and it did.  Oh, making the appt. AND my cycle returning 6 days before my appt. gave me motivation  How's that for timing, huh?  After 2+ years without a cycle, it came back 2 months after night-weaning and a week before my appt.  Funny, huh?

Sidenote: It did make me a little sad to think that I could have been pregnant in September again- blissfully, surprisingly, unplanned pregnant.  That would have been nice.  If you've been following my story, you'll know we found out about pregnancy #1 in Sept. 2009, #2 Sept. 2010, and #3 (R) Sept. 2011.  I don't know what it is with Sept. but this could have been #4 Sept. 2013.  But of course to get pregnant, it's good to have lots of Is on your charts, and that's a story for another day of how I'm such a bad, exhausted, crabby, tired wife.

Anyway, my cycle returning right before my appt gave me hope.  It was a beautiful cycle....like probably how a cycle should be if you don't have PCOS or other hormone issues.  Maybe this is what a "normal" person's cycle is like every month?  I have no idea, but it was beautiful.  And it gave me hope that maybe my body can do something right (ovulate) each month.

I started charting with the return of my cycles, am taking my BBT, and had my list of questions to ask the new Dr.  I was nervous about meeting her, but filled with hope and peace.  DH had a good feeling that I would like her and I did too.  The next post will tell you about how that appt went since this is much longer than anticipated.  Apparently, I felt the need to paint the whole picture before getting to the point of the original post!

No Quick Takes Today

I was going to post Quick Takes all about my new doctor's appointment today, but as I was reading through the blogs on my list this afternoon and catching up, I read about Lucky as Sunshine's loss of her little boy at 21 weeks.  He was stillborn and she had to deliver her precious little boy last night.  After reading her story of loss, and already emotional from my appointment, it just doesn't feel right to blog today.  Go over and give her some love and prayers as she deals with the unthinkable.  I cannot imagine the roller coaster of emotions for someone who is IF, then suffers a miscarriage, and now this- a perfect little boy born just a few weeks too early.  I've been offering up prayers for her and her husband all day today.  Please join me in doing the same.

Quick Takes (41): Organized or Not So Much?

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I don't know what it is, but I'm an organization junkie wanna-be.  I love to organize.  I love how things look and feel in a home when everything is neatly organized and put in its place.  I always have so many organizing ideas, but I struggle with the follow-though.  If you saw our home, you'd doubt my love of organization.  So I'm sort of stuck between what I would love to be and the reality of what I really am regarding organization.

Anyways, that's a little background information.  Onto Quick Takes...

Organizing my time: I've been thinking a lot lately about how much time I waste each day doing unimportant tasks and how I feel like I never get things done around the house.  Therefore, I'm going to try a weekly schedule for cleaning and tasks that are important to me.  I'm still working on the daily details, but I hope to share it with you soon and get ideas for what works/doesn't work for you.

--- 2 ---

Organizing our spiritual growth as a family: In line with the weekly schedule, I've also been thinking a lot about starting some sort of family Sabbath time.  DH and I are still talking about this one, so it's not quite as far along as the weekly schedule, but we are both getting burned out on work.  It seems like every day I have a to-do list for him and I, and there's not much time left to grow as a family spiritually.  Yes, we attend church on Sundays, but I'm talking about beyond that.  After we get home from church, it's often straight into work mode, NFL football, or something else.  Therefore, we're thinking about a time where we can invest a few hours (hopefully working up to a day...maybe?) in growing our family spiritually.  This probably won't happen on a Sunday given a variety of factors, but we're still talking about what to do.  We're calling it our family sabbath time because it'll be a time for us to rest (no to-do lists), enjoy each other's company, and grow in our faith together with each other.  I'd love suggestions or ideas if you already do something similar!

  

--- 3 ---

Organizing our gift giving: I recently joined a Melissa and Doug co-op in this area.  I'm not sure how I found out about it, but I was able to order almost any product listed on their website for 50% off!  Sweet, huh?  R has a few Melissa and Doug puzzles, and that's our only exposure to M & D, but everyone loves their toys, so the co-op was a good chance for us to stock up on Christmas and bday gifts for the kids in the family and our Godchildren for the next 10 months or so.  Talk about feeling super-organized.  Hardly any gift shopping left to do.  That is sweet.  I've never been that organized before!  I can't wait for the stuff to arrive in a few weeks.

--- 4 ---

Organizing R's sleep schedule: It looks like we are fast approaching the "transition from 2 naps to 1 nap" time period with R.  Goodbye, mostly predictable nap schedule.  Hello, uncertain nap schedule.  Most days it's a fight to get her to take 2 naps, even though she still shows signs of needing two.  I'm uncertain if I should just jump in full speed ahead and make the transition to 1 or continue going back and forth between 1 and 2 each day given what she shows/needs.  All the uncertainty can drive me crazy each day, but I think this is pretty common at this stage.

--- 5 ---

Organizing our food stash:  It's been hard to build up our pantry and freezer supply since we've been here because we never knew when we might be moving from the rental.  Now that we know we're in our home for awhile, it's time to start stocking up on deals.  First off, Zaycon chicken.  I've done this one before, but it was in our previous state.  I'm happy to report Zaycon is in our new state as well.  This is the company where you buy various meats that are free from hormones, additives, and preservatives for a reasonable price (1.84/lb for chicken) but in bulk (40 lbs of chicken).  We're splitting the order with a friend, but are still excited about having 20 lbs of chicken in our freezer soon!  DH has been severely meat-deprived (it's been hard to find good deals), so after the chicken comes he's going to stake out beef deals.

--- 6 ---

Organizing my health: I made a decision on the Napro Dr debate I mentioned in my last email.  I scheduled an appointment with the closer doctor (who knows Napro but isn't up to date on it any more) and will see what I think when I meet her in person.  I like that her new patient appts typically take 1 to 1.25 hours!  That impressed me and the staff said she would be willing to work with me if I still wanted to chart Creighton, the Marquette model (which she focuses on now), or some combo (I did take my BBT while doing Creighton charting).  So we shall see.  The appt. isn't too far away, so I'm already getting a little worried about even going back to a doctor to discuss my health.  Ahh.

--- 7 ---

Not so much organized: So we finally got our claim settled from the moving company that moved us cross-country in January!  How's that for not being organized?  I will put the blame on us for taking awhile to submit our claim and then the moving company for not reading our information carefully and making us send a rebuttal back.  Ugh.  That company (Stevens Van Lines) was awful to work with.  I can assure you we won't be going with them ever again should God decide we need to move.  I don't recall how much I talked about the horrible experience we had with the packers, movers, driver, and contact person, but it was horrid.  So many of our things were damaged because of their poor packing, and we hardly got compensated.  Ugh.  So frustrating, but we did get some compensation and are going to leave it at that. 

And somewhat related to the move but not organizing...the rental home is under contract already!  The homeowners put it up on the market shortly after we moved out and had it under contract within a few days. Someone wants to buy that awful place for the same price we paid for our current home!  I can't believe it.  My jaw nearly dropped when I heard the news (we have a mutual acquaintance that told me).  I'll be anxious to hear what happens after the inspection...

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Getting out of a funk

Lately, I've had a major case of the blahs.  I don't really know when the funk started, but I haven't really liked who I've been lately.  Ever had that happen to you?

It probably all started some time over the summer with the busy-ness of everything, but I don't think I realized it until just recently.  I've been in a major funk and wondered if I might be dealing with some depression, low thyroid, and/or adrenal stress.  I gained 5 pounds over the summer (probably due to poor diet) and am not sleeping as much as I should be (I'm a night owl and R has been waking at 5:30 or 5:45 lately).  We finally got our scale set up, which confirmed what I already knew about my weight since I have very few pants or shorts that fit.  I'm mad that I haven't watched what I've been eating as much, and I haven't been exercising much at all.  I blame it on the heat and humidity (seriously, who wants to exercise when you're sweating before even beginning?), but really it's been my lack of discipline and self-control.

And I've been seriously lacking in the motivation department as well.  We still have tons of boxes to unpack and then all the decorating I want to do to make it our own home.  But I don't have the drive to get it done, and DH isn't naturally motivated to do house projects when he gets home unless I nag/gently remind him.

As a result of it all, I decided it's time to find a new doctor in the area.  I last saw my Napro Dr. in June...as in June 2012.  Yikes!  That's terrible.  Aside from an urgent care trip here and there, I have not been to a doctor in 15 months!  It's time to get back into that routine for my health, but also the health of my family.

For you see, when I'm in a funk, it effects the whole family.  I'm less patient with R, more short-tempered with DH, and I'm just overall not fun to be around.  I do not like that about myself and hate that those closest to me are the ones who suffer most when I'm not doing well.  That needs to change.  I want it to change, especially before R gets any older.

I was excited to find a Napro Dr. super close by, but I've heard mixed reviews on her and how much she actually practices/keeps up with Napro right now.  The next closest one is 3 hours away, and I'm just not sure that distance is realistic for me at the moment. With a toddler that's nursing and still taking 2 naps a day, I can't just leave her behind, and I'm not sure I'm up for a roadtrip and 1st doctor's appt. with her by myself.  So I'm mulling over my options...see the local Dr now to just get in and get a feel for how well I connect with her and her proposed treatment plan or take the plunge and go directly to the up to date Napro Dr (who has a few months wait time for an appt). 

But then even thinking about going back to a Dr starts to freak me out a bit because I'm reminded of our whole journey with Napro...all the tests....the waiting....the blood draws every cycle....and I'm so not ready or interested to go down that road again.  Perhaps (most likely) it's my fear and anxiety.  I'm not ready to TTC for #2 (well technically this would be #4) yet, but at 35 years old, I feel like I should be soon.  I worry about how bad my health is right now given the lack of exercise and poor diet.  Thanks to PCOS, I'm sure my hormones are all over the place. I get anxious thinking about if we'll even be able to have another child.  I'm fearful of a 3rd miscarriage.

And yet I want our family to grow.  I want R to have a sibling (or more).  I've always envisioned our family being at least 4, but never 3.  Who knows...maybe adoption is on our horizon as the means through which God grows our family (my husband wants to foster and/or adopt at some point), but right now my heart is not there.  I long for another child of our own.  Thankfully, God has it all under control in His infinite wisdom; it's just waiting for it to be revealed that is still hard for me.

Just as all the anxiety about choosing a doctor, and tests, and health threatened to overwhelm me, I started a new women's Bible study for the school year.  It was perfect timing for me as exactly what I needed.  Studying God's Word always helps me gain the proper perspective, have hope and peace, and lessen the anxiety I get from worrying.  This is an international Bible study where people around the world all study the same subject and same format with a group in their location.  I have longed to be a part of this Bible study for years (actually since 2001 when I first heard about it living in China...crazy, right?), but I have never lived in an area that had a study group close by....until this year!  I finally got to sign up and we are studying the book of Matthew all year!

Basically, we read a chapter in Matthew a week, answer study questions designed to be done over 6 days, and then get together with a small group to share our answers and hear a lecture on the material.  I joined a day study, which means R comes with me for the children's program portion of it where she has her teachers lead her in a simplified (very simplified) version of what I'm learning along with sing hymns together, pray, etc.  I love that even at such a young age she is hearing the Bible and singing hymns!  Well, she's probably just listening to the singing now, but at the end of the year in May, I imagine she will be singing along.  It is never too young to start training up a child in the faith, in my opinion.  Proverbs 22:6 speaks to the importance of the training of children (I apply this to our Godchildren as well).

The thing that I've really appreciated (and we're only 2 weeks into the study) is that I've had to get back some of my self-discipline that has been lost for awhile.  Most days the homework takes at least 20 minutes of reading and reflecting, and for me to get the most out of the material, I need to do it earlier in the day rather than in the evening.  So it means I get to practice better time management.  This is a good thing for me.  I love that I'm spending time in the Word every day.  I already feel like my spirits are higher and my mood is brighter, even though nothing has changed with my uncertainties, fears, or worries.  But somehow, reading God's Word makes those fears become less and makes me focus on the things that are important (the things that matter for eternity).  He promises that His Word doesn't return empty (Isaiah 55:10) and the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12).

We have access to a living word!  That is pretty amazing.  I don't know why I let so many things clutter my mind and suck away my time.  I don't know why I place reading God's Word by the wayside.  It took me awhile to figure out what was out of sync in my life, but I'm so glad I figured it out and am back on track with weekly Bible study and daily time in the Word.  So my cure for getting out of a funk?  Time in God's Word.

Ode to the rental

Oh dear rental house,

It's been about a month since we parted ways, and I have to be honest, I haven't really missed you much.  Catholic Mutt was right when she called that one.  I'm a little surprised at how quickly I got over you, but then again, I didn't realize how bad you were until we had left.  In fact, probably the only things that I really miss are the front drive in garage and the short drive to church along with being able to walk to the grocery store, pharmacy, and fast food restaurants.  Other than that, I really wasn't sad to see you go.

Yes, we do have many memories of you during our 7 months together, but most of them are comical.

-the awful blue-green kitchen cabinets

-the matching blue-green colored carpet in the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Yes, the kitchen cabinets were the same color.  And who carpets their bathrooms anyways?  Do you know how weird it is to vacuum around a toilet?

-the toilet room, as I affectionately called it, in our bathroom

-the self-made tanning bed in the basement

I'm not joking!  They really used this before they moved out.  Obviously, they didn't want it anymore since they left it.  I didn't go near that thing, but man, we sure got a good laugh whenever friends came over and wanted a tour of the house.  We had to show off our tanning bed then!

-all the other junk that was there when we moved in

Like this lovely outdoorsy room!  Another highlight of the house tour:-)

-not having a refrigerator included and not realizing this until I went to pick up the keys to the house

-the resident raccoon in the attic and then the rooftop visits at 3am when DH would have to go outside and chase him off the roof, so we could continue sleeping

-the weird, velcro-on doorbell that would randomly go off until we just unplugged the interior part

-the outside light that needed to be turned on from the inside with a remote

-the carpenter ant colony in the kitchen that ate a whole bottle of Terro in one night!

-the front door that would scratch the hardwood floor every time you opened it

-the noisy plumbing that would wake R up whenever running water

-the cockroaches galore found in every room we lived in (and some of which may have decided to move with us because they were ready to leave you)

-the moss growing on the driveway that would make us slip when walking on it

-the squirrels chewing on the plastic trim of the deck thinking it was a tasty treat

-the guest bath toilet that would randomly run until we plugged it up with an aerosol can

-the Jenn-air cooktop in the moveable island.  We hated that thing with the downdraft

-the electrical current.  We went through so many light bulbs in that house.  More in 7 months than our entire 8 years in our previous house!  Some fixtures we put 3 new bulbs in. 

-And then there was the fact there weren't any light fixtures in any of the bedrooms.  We had to plug lamps into certain outlets, so that when we flipped the light switch on, those lamps would come on.  But it still wasn't as effective as overhead lighting.

OK.  I think you probably get the idea that we weren't too fond of you and all your quirky ways.  And you did have a lot of quirks!  You were only 34 years old with 2 homeowners.  We had higher expectations for you.

But I do have to thank you, dear rental house.  For you see, living in you has really made me appreciate our "new to us" 27 year old home.  I can better deal with some of the issues here because we lived through you.  So for that, I am thankful.

So long, rental house.  Farewell.  Auf Wiedersehen!!

Quick Takes (40): Moving, Mustiness, Pierogies, and Strep

Ummm...so is it pathetic to admit I actually started this Quick Takes post for last Friday?!?  Oh man.  I've had a severe case of the blahs lately.  Not sure what is going on.

--- 1 ---

All moved! Woo hoo. This seems sort of a given now since my last post was weeks ago, but we made the final moving load, cleaned the rental home, and turned in keys all in the same day.  That meant we were out of the rental one day earlier than we had planned thanks to some motivated friends getting us out ASAP.

--- 2 ---

Musty smell. Pee yoo! We moved just in time because I hadn't realized how stinky that place was.  All of our clothes that were hanging in the closet there reek of that musty smell.  I sort of flipped out once we had moved out and I realized that.  Does that mean we went around smelling musty for 7 months?!?  I knew our bedroom was musty and ran a dehumidifier to help with that, but our sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, and clothes all stink!  I've been in the process of washing everything to get rid of the smell.  I still have some clothes left to do and we threw away a few pillows because they were horrible.  Man...our sinuses are surely rejoicing now.

--- 3 ---

Settling in. Yee haw! Our house just feels so right for us.  The neighborhood is great and the neighbors we have met have been so friendly and welcoming.  People are active in this community, which we like, because someone is always out walking or running.  It is so much quieter than our rental house and just feels so peaceful and safe.  Remember how paranoid I was at the rental?  Yeah, not so much here.  We're getting settled "one box at a time" we say.

--- 4 ---

Polish festival. Yum oo!  Went to a polish festival at a local parish recently and it was so much fun to celebrate my Polish heritage.  I had the best pierogies ever.  Seriously, these were the fattest, yummiest pierogies made by volunteers from the church.  They had cabbage rolls, polish beer, baked goods, authentic music, dancing, and costumes, and more!  And I couldn't get over all the Polish people of all ages were speaking.  My grandma would have loved it!  I found out later they have a Polish-speaking mass there each week.  Who know there was such a Polish population here?  Definitely going back to the festival next year.  R even loved pierogi!

--- 5 ---

Strep throat. Boo hoo!  I was seriously down for the count for days with strep throat being the victor.  Even after I got on meds, my throat was still painfully raw for 4. more. days.  Oh my gosh.  I haven't been that sick in a long long time.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  Hoping the meds kicked it and I don't need a 2nd round of them.  I've only been off meds for 3 days.  Thankfully, neither DH or R got sick, so at least that was good.  And there is a cool story about our God-daughter that came out of it, but I'll have to type that up in a non-Quick Takes post!

--- 6 ---

TV addict. Oh no!  We've done a pretty good job (in my opinion) of not letting R watch much or any TV.  I've read about not allowing screen time for kids under 2, and I've tried to follow this except for now, all of a sudden, she loves it.  She turns it on herself and loves watching Curious George.  She'll watch an entire show, and then she gets mad when it's over and the monkey isn't on anymore.  Any time we are in the same room as the TV, she wants to have it on.  Heck, any time we're on the main level, she makes her way into the TV room to turn it on.  I'm about ready to move the TV to our bedroom or the garage because I don't know what else to try.  Any advice?

--- 7 ---

Missing there. Boo hoo!  I've had a serious case of missing the previous area we lived in.  I've been missing the start of the semester, the campus buzzing with students around, my teaching job, friends, our church there, etc.  It's been really, really hard lately and I'm not sure why.  I mean, I should be all excited because we just moved into the home, and instead I'm again realizing how final our move feels.  We are here, in this place, indefinitely.  That means no white Christmases for R growing up, no 4 seasons like I am used to, etc.  Blech.  I know it's still adjustment.  And adjustment takes time.  And I'm not one big on change, so adjustment takes even longer with me.  Still, I'd like to figure out how to cultivate more of a spirit of gratitude and joy inside rather than all the yuckiness that goes on in my head.  I'll also take suggestions on gratitude and joy as well!

And with that, have a great weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Moving Update

Phew...it's been a whirlwind of days again.  They all seem to blend together lately.  We closed on the house July 31st and got possession Aug. 3rd.  It was neat to meet the original homeowners at the closing.  They were the sweetest couple- retired and moving closer to be near their son and grandchildren.  And they went to church with our next-door neighbor from the rental home.  How crazy is that?  They knew we were the ones buying their home after talking with their fellow church member/our neighbor.  Small world.

We were over the morning we got possession to check everything out and the sellers left the home in amazing condition.  They even vacuumed and cleaned after the movers had cleared their things out.  Seriously, super nice people.

We set to work on a few house projects like changing door locks, adding deadbolts to all the doors since there were none, getting carpets cleaned, cleaning the chimney, roof repairs, pest spraying, and new carpeting in some rooms.  Phew.  That is a lot of coordinating work while balancing schedules (DH's, R's, etc.)

All of that work is done and DH and I have slowly been moving things over to the new house when we can.  Our cars are small (Hyundai Elantra and Sonata), so it feels like we have been going over there a ton.  At least it's only 3-4 miles away from our rental home.  But still, every day we've been going over with full carloads of stuff.  We managed to clear out our basement and most of the garage that way.  Then we rented a small truck earlier this week and made 2 huge loads of furniture and bigger items.  Our closets are emptied and we've just got kitchen and bathroom items that remain to be moved.  We also have one more truck rental for the last remaining large items.

We are so close to being free of the rental!  And the timing is good because DH is tired of going out at night to chase the raccoon off of our roof.  One night last week he was out at 3am because the raccoon was going to town on the shingles above the master bedroom and neither of us could fall back asleep. Ugh.  And my mad cockroach killing skills keep getting more and more practice here.  Yuck.

We have tons of work to do moving boxes and furniture at the new house since most things are still in the basement as it was the easiest place for DH and I to put it.  It has been a rough week with R.  While she loves playing at the new house, she doesn't like seeing everything get packed up at the rental.  She's been extra clingy and whiny.  Sleep has regressed for her somewhat (we expected it with a big change like the move).  And she's getting a 3rd molar in which only adds to all the irritability.  For everyone's sake, but hers especially, we are ready to start settling down into our new home.  I feel so bad for her, poor girl.  Even extra snuggles and love don't help right now.  Just a few more days!!

Quick Takes (39): July re-cap

--- 1 ---

Ummm....hello, August !  What did you do with July?  I seriously don't know where the month went.  Here's a re-cap to what we've been up to.  We started off the month with DH away on a youth trip for a week.  He was one of the chaperones, and while he had a great time with the kids, it was hard to have him gone for a week.  (This was on the heels of being gone 2 weeks for another trip, so it probably just magnified the hardness factor).  These are the times I wish we were closer to family.  R and I survived though, and thankfully it's probably the last long trip DH will take for awhile.

--- 2 ---

We spent a whole week in MN for my brother's wedding.  We had lots and lots and lots of family time, which was mostly good.  DH and I were both in the wedding while R was not.  That was a little bit of a challenge with all of the wedding party duties and a little one who still takes 2 naps, but overall, she did great with all the over stimulation.  And we were so honored to be able to stand up for them on their big day and be present for all of their special festivities.

--- 3 ---

While there I got to spend lots of time with my Grandma since we stayed in the guest suite at her senior center.  I loved watching R spend time with Grandma.  I love my Grandma to death, and I'm closer to her than my own mother.  She's the last living great-grandparent for R, and I'm so thankful for the time, pictures, and video I got of them together.  I truly don't know if I will see her again.  She's almost 91 and her health has declined considerably.  And while she still drives her car (yikes!) and is fairly independent in her senior center, my heart tells me it may have been the last time or at least the last time for her to be so coherent and interactive.  I had this feeling the last time I visited my Grandpa too, so I don't know if it's real or just the worry-er in me.  R ate up the attention from Grandma, it was so fun to watch.  And of course it makes me miss my Grandpa that he never got the chance to meet R (dang, IF and miscarriage.  You make me so mad sometimes.)

--- 4 ---

Shortly after the trip, DH and I celebrated our 8th anniversary!  Wow!  That seems like such a long time, and yet it doesn't.  I've known DH for 14 years now.  Wow.  And after our 1st breakup, I never would have imagined we'd get back together and get married.  ha, ha. That is a funny story.  God had something better in store that I didn't realize at the time in the midst of all the pain.  I'm so thankful for DH- he seriously is such a better person than me.  I don't deserve to be married to someone so good.

--- 5 ---

I had a college friend come to visit.  She was in town for a conference, but came in early to see us.  It was so fun to have her see where we are living now (she agreed it was definitely unique and odd) and she also got to see our new house since we had the walk through when she was here.  R hammed it up for her, which was fun for me to watch, and my friend had lots of great ideas, advice, and encouragement to give about parenting that came at just the right time when I needed it. 

--- 6 ---

I turned 35.  I usually love July for the anniversary and birthday month celebrations, but this is one birthday I really wasn't looking forward to.  For some reason, 35 seems so much older than 30-34 to me. Hello, AMA (advanced maternal age).  Not real excited to see you.  When I was younger (ie. in my 20s), I always assumed I'd be done having kids by the time I was 35.  I never dreamed we'd struggle with so many different health issues for me that we only learned about after we got married.  I know of the risk factors that increase with health and pregnancy after 35.  And in other ways, I don't feel as old as the number looks on paper.  I'm so happy and content with our one precious child now.  I don't want to hurry up and rush time by.  I'm not ready to jump back on the TTC wagon again with all of the tests, meds, and stress that it's meant for me in the past.  Ultimately, this birthday has me trusting God even more so with my health, fertility, and size of our family.  It's not the path I envisioned to be on, but I trust it's even better than I envisioned it to be!

--- 7 ---

July also marked the start of night sleep training for R.  For the past several months, she's continued to wake up multiple times overnight to nurse.  Thanks to some fabulous advice from a fabulous blogger (Hebrews 11:1), we started the journey to get her sleeping longer, better, and deeper at night.  Hebrews' advice was just what I need to hear (well, read actually) to do what we probably should have done 2 or 3 months ago.  We are still working out the kinks with bedtimes and naptimes, but she's currently sleeping 10 1/2 to 11 hours at night.  Just what a growing, developing little girl needs.  I, on the other hand, am not.  I think it's time to sleep train myself next!

So there ya have it.  Now I realize why I only posted one measly time in July!  Here's to hopefully more posts in August.

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The House

Wowsers!  Has it really been a month since my last post?!?  Yikes.  I did not intend to take a month off of blogging, but this has been the summer-o-travel for us as well as the summer-o-hecticness with buying a house among other summer projects.  I will save all the travel stories for another post, but in honor of closing on our house this week, I thought I'd share a few pictures with you.  How does that sound?

Here's a side view: brick front with Hardeeplank siding.

It has a drive under garage, which is new (and weird) to us, but apparently they are quite common here.  While I'm used to only one type of garage (attached, where you just drive up the driveway and straight in), here we've looked at homes with drive unders, side drives, and the traditional front style.  The nice part about a drive under is you get half a basement with it because the garage portion only takes up half of the space in the basement.  Most homes around here are either built on a slab or on a crawl space, so it is a bit of a luxury to have a basement even if it's only 1/2 a one.  The basement will be our primary storage space.

The bad part about a drive under, and the reason we really didn't want a house with this, is that every time you come home, you have to walk up all those stairs from the garage to the main level.  When I think about carrying groceries and R, it gets to be a little overwhelming.  But it's free (forced) exercise, and there were a ton of other good points about the home, so this is one area where we had to give in a little bit to something that wasn't our top choice.

We do have a formal dining room! 

We've never had a formal dining space before, so it's sort of exciting to think about.  I can finally get the hutch I've been wanting for years but never had the space for.  I can't wait to display some of the fine china and special pieces my grandma has recently given me.  These were items that she had displayed in her hutch, so it will be extra special to display them in mine.  Plus, it'll be so nice to have the extra dining space for hosting guests in our home.  We always have large groups of people over, so I'm looking forward to hosting here.  As you can see, we do have some wallpaper that needs to come down and painting to take place.  I don't know what color yet, but we shall see.

The kitchen is also an area that will need a little work at some point.  We have a small breakfast nook overlooking several of the trees in the yard. 

All of the appliances are new as well as the tile floor, granite counter tops, and tile backsplash.  I don't know what to do about the cupboards and dark-trimmed windows though.  This is a sign of the home being built in the late 80s.  The whole upstairs has white trim and white windows everywhere and the main level has these dark wood windows, trim, and doors.  We could paint the windows and trim, but that seems like such a huge task with so much attention to detail.  We do plan to paint some of the dark wood trim in other places, and I suppose we could paint the cupboards or reface the doors.  I just don't have a vision for what to do, but we have time to figure that out.  I know I want to brighten things up a bit but am afraid of it not looking good if we just paint over it.

We have another whole list of items we want to fix or update- trees trimmed, some landscaping problems fixed, repairs on the roof, and so on.  Once we close, we have to figure out what needs to be done before we move in and what is less urgent and can wait awhile.  Thankfully, we have about 2 weeks after we get possession of the home before we need to be out of our rental home.  We could probably push it and be out sooner (We both want to be.  Wait until you hear out latest critter stories), but it's nice to have the extra time and not have to stress about moving quickly.

Our new home is 3.5 miles from our current rental home, so DH and I figure we can load both our cars up and make several trips over on our own before we rent a truck to move all of the big items.  Hopefully, that way we can organize the items we bring over little by little.  Our new home is just 3.1 miles from DH's work and church!  Still super close, but it won't compare to the 0.9 mile commute he's had from the rental!  He's gotten spoiled here.  I know of another blogger who moved 3.1 miles away from her sister (Patiently Waiting....Kinda).  My DH appreciates the 3.1 number as he is a runner too (3.1 miles = 5K).

Anyway, lots more going on that I hope I get time to blog about.  It's still so hard for me to believe we are moving yet again.  It feels like we've been moving since last fall, which I suppose we have been when you factor in prep time, moving, and living in temporary housing.  Even though it's just a local move, this place has been our home for the past 7 months.  It's the place where R learned to crawl and walk, and of course holds memories for us.  It makes me a little sad to think about leaving,
but I guess that's the sentimental person in me talking.  On to new and different things in our own home!

A House Update

Sorry I've been MIA for 2+ weeks.  Phew...it's been a doozy of 2 weeks.  I'm exhausted from everything we've had going on.  I will re-cap most of the activities in another post, but for now I am long overdue on a house update.

We're buying a house!

I haven't had the chance to update y'all because we've had an insane travel schedule (more on that in another post), but basically things are working out with the house I had previously mentioned (house #2).  Out of the 10 offers they had, ours got accepted!

I think I mentioned some of the basics in a previous post about how it wasn't what we were thinking of as our dream home, but it was in an area we've had our eye on and just had to walk through it.  Our agent actually wasn't available, so we ended up walking through with one of her teammates.  I just had a sense that we needed to rush to get inside the home, and by the time we did, they had multiple offers on it already.  We pretty much had to make a quick decision (again) about putting an offer on, but this time the asking price was much lower than house #1 and I felt much better about putting an offer out there and seeing what happened.  Our agent told the sellers our story and they accepted our offer!  They had higher offers from investors, but were extremely adamant about selling their home to a family.  I have to respect that a lot.  And it makes me feel good about the neighborhood as well given that they didn't want their home to turn into a rental property from the investors.  The sellers had lots of documents for us to look at and tons of information about the house.  After our walk through and not spotting a speck of dirt, we felt good about the sellers for being so meticulous with their upkeep of the home.

But I kept thinking about how this was not the ideal time for me/us to buy a house.  I spent days talking about how I didn't want to buy a house now given DH's travel schedule, our family travel, etc. not to mention it's the hottest time of the year here in July and August.  Who in their right mind would choose to move?  Apparently, that's us.

But throughout the whole process we've had peace- peace that whatever was supposed to happen would.  From the time we put an offer on to waiting to hear back and then jumping through all the hoops of home buying, we have felt an overwhelming sense of peace.  It's been so completely different than with the 1st contract we had on a house.  I've been much more relaxed and calm.  No freakouts over the purchase of a home this time.  Seriously, what an amazing gift.  Perhaps because I've had too much on my mind with all the travel to really have the energy to get worked up.

Or perhaps because we did learn a lot going through the 1st contract and walking away from that home; we've been more relaxed this 2nd time around.  It was hard to walk away from the 1st house we fell in love with, but having gone through that process, we now have a better appreciation for all the great care taken in this 2nd home.  Yes, it stunk to lose money with the 1st house and I hated getting my hopes up only to have them dashed away by disappointment, but we learned so much through that experience.  We both agree that it was good for us to go through (sort of like our thoughts on IF as well...painfully brutal to have gone through, but it shaped who we are today and for that, the process was worthwhile.  That is definitely a reflection for another post as well).

Anyways, while I spent the first days of June thinking about all the reasons why I didn't want to buy a home right then,  God was clearly reminding me that this process is not about me, my wants, or my desires.  It's all about Him.  And once I realized that, it's like I let out a huge sigh of relief and sat back to enjoy (most of) the ride of home buying.

We went through the home again with our agent and she loved it. It felt bigger than we remembered from our initial walk through, which was a pleasant surprise to DH and I.  We negotiated terms of the contract with the sellers (they had lots of "Wants" on their list that we needed to comply with).  We put down more earnest money for them, we let them have a flexible closing date, we let them have possession of the home 4 days after closing, etc.

Then the house inspection went amazingly well.  The inspector commented on how the home was an anomaly to him because he just doesn't see homes in that good of condition (regardless of its age).  Everything that came up in the inspection was minor, and yet we still asked them to take care of a few things (service the furnaces and a/c units, fix some electrical outlets, clean up bat waste in the attic, repair a leak, and repair a few things on the roof/chimney) and they agreed to all the repairs!!

We got all the loan documents together and signed the day before DH had to leave for 3 weeks away!  Talk about God's perfect timing, huh?  The one week he was home, I was able to run around gathering all the docs they needed as well as getting him to sign everything.  Phew...that was a crazy week along with packing for his trip and ours. 

We negotiated the appraisal (it came in slightly under the contract price) and our mortgage has been approved.  The only thing we are waiting on is a closing date!  Simply amazing.  It's still hard to believe we are buying a home.  There's something so much more permanent about buying a home than just renting.  We really are becoming long term residents here (not that we wouldn't or couldn't staying in our rental home.  It just seems more permanent when you buy your own home).

We don't know if we will be here 5, 10, 15, or more years, which was the hard part about buying a home.  I still think we'll want/need to get better organized with our things to maximize space in the new home.  And we still have some items to sort through that we just ran out of time doing before the cross-country move.  Our home is "cute" and will become "cozy" unlike the 1st home which was "stunning" and felt "massive."  And DH and I are ok with cute and cozy.  It means our family will have to spend time together in the living spaces (and hopefully the kid/kids will want to).  People won't be able to retreat away and "get lost" in the house.  And it'll probably mean we think twice before we make purchases, so that we aren't buying unnecessary items that'll just take up space.  We are so comfortable with our budget for the new home and will still be able to save aggressively for retirement, tithe, and travel.  Those are all important to us.

I still don't understand the timing of this all as I would have preferred to wait until the fall, and yet I believe God is doing "something more" here that I can just begin to see.  He's reminded me (again) that I'm not in control, and trusting Him is the best place to be.

Quick Takes (38)

--- 1 ---

Homes: I have an update I've been mulling around in my head regarding the home we put an offer on.  It's an experiential faith lesson for me at the moment, and I'm still learning/processing it all.  Let me process a bit more before updating.  Sorry to leave you in suspense!

--- 2 ---

Video monitor: It seems like every day I kick myself for not getting a video baby monitor.  We settled for a baby monitor that we loved when R was little (it had a motion sensor under the mattress that would go off if she stopped breathing).  I could sleep easier at night not worrying about SIDS as much, but we no longer use the sensor pad.  And with all her activity in the crib lately, I'd love to see what she's doing (the other day she got her shirt half off).  Plus, I think it would be helpful to see what she's doing as I think about night weaning at some point, and helpful to see when she starts trying to climb out of the crib because I have a feeling that will be coming soon and I'd like to prevent direct falls on the head if possible.  So do I give in and just spend a few hundred on a new video monitor or ride this out??

--- 3 ---

Thunderstorms: I've forgotten what it's like to live in a place where you have to take cover during weather warnings!  We were spoiled in our previous home where severe storms were few and far between.  Yes, we had snow, but lightening, strong winds, and tornadoes were rare occurrences.  I still don't understand why all homes don't have basements around here.

--- 4 ---

Hard times a'coming: We're soon entering a time of summer where I must face several challenges from DH being out of town, to spending time with my mom (our relationship is extremely strained), to travel with a super active toddler, to a climate I don't enjoy, etc.  I'm trying to make realistic expectations for myself given all that is coming up and am praying already for peace, safety patience, and kind words.

--- 5 ---

Heat and humidity: I hate it.  DH hates it.  We knew we wouldn't like living in the South for this reason.  I might just hibernate to the kiddie pool for the next 3 months.  If you don't hear from me, its because I'm in the water and staying away from electrical items while wet.  Our rental home does not get cool.  The A/C seems to run constantly from 2:00 onwards and that can be with the air set at 80 degrees.  It's hot overnight.  The humidity makes our house smell like a combination of wet dog and mustiness.  We are so ready to find our own place and move.  Sorry for the whining.

--- 6 ---

Email responses: I'm terrible at responding to emails.  What is wrong with me?  I love getting mail in all forms (email, snail mail, etc.) And I love sending mail as well.  But lately, my in box just keeps getting fuller and fuller and fuller.  I can't put together many emails of coherent length at all.  And I just think about how far behind I am in the email department.  What is with the pokey little puppy approach to my email responses? 

--- 7 ---

And now I'm off to find some "cool" somewhere.  Oh what I wouldn't give to have a 70 degree day around here and I'm not talking about 70 at 3am!  Enjoy the weekend.

 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Quick Takes (37): Hodge Podge

--- 1 ---

Women's conference: I had a fabulous time at the women's conference last weekend!  I was so glad I went.  I felt a little odd going by myself, especially when it came time to try and find a seat among the other 8,500 women there, but I mustered up the courage to do it both days and told myself I'd never see the women I was sitting next to again, so who cares if they thought I was a weirdo for sitting by myself.  The conference has given me a lot to think about and I'm still trying to find the time to process and put up a post on what I learned/was challenged with.

--- 2 ---

House hunting: We've continued the process.  And as much as I'm not interested in moving this summer because of all our traveling, we walked through a house yesterday that has us putting an offer on today!  It's an older, smaller, less open feeling home than the 1st one we had an offer on, but financially it is so much better for our comfort level.  It's in a great subdivision with swim/tennis and lots of activities for families. It's on a court (that would be a cul-de-sac for you Midwesterners- myself included) in a really nice neighborhood.  The home is older (built in 1987), but still the original owner who has meticulously cared for it.  We'd feel good buying from someone like that.  They listed everything out, including the types of bird species they regularly see from the deck!  Most major items have been replaced (roof, a/c units, furnaces, water heater, etc. and the siding and deck have recently been painted). We would need to do some updating (take down wallpaper, paint dark wood trim, etc.), but that would all be cosmetic and could come later.  It has a nice yard I can see R playing in and an unfinished basement for storage...well, 1/2 basement since it's a drive under garage.  My only issue is the square footage....I'm wondering if we will outgrow it at some point as it's hard to imagine what our family will look like in 5 or 10 years.  They already have 6 offers on the home (1 from a family for close to list price and 5 from investors for over list price), so we are #7 but they only want to sell their home to a family.  So we wait and see what happens over the weekend, but I'm really ok with whatever happens.  I've come to terms with the financial sacrifices we need to make if I stay home and if we want to continue to tithe 10% and save 20% for retirement.  I love the newer homes built after 2000 and how open and roomy they are, but we just can't afford those in this particular school district on one income.  I'm ok with whatever happens with our offer.  We shall see.

--- 3 ---

A baptismal birthday.  R's baptismal birthday is coming up and I'm wondering how to celebrate.  Do any of you celebrate your baptismal birthday (the specific day you were baptized)?  I always send a card to our Godchildren to acknowledge the special day each year and remind them of the importance of their baptism, but I'm wondering what sort of traditions to start with R.  There's always so much emphasis on actual birthdays- the physical day we were born.  Why not place the same or greater level of importance on the date of our baptism- a day that marks our spiritual re-birth?  I know R won't remember what we do now, so I guess it's more of a question for down the road, but I'd like to start some sort of traditions with it now.  Hmm....ideas?

--- 4 ---

Summer Bible study: I've decided to try participating in an online Bible study of sorts this summer (well, really just 6 weeks starting next week).  My personal time with God and His Word has really been lacking since we moved here.  I read a short devotion with a Bible verse in the evening and journal a few thoughts down on the remainder of the page.  I pray throughout the day and with DH in the evening.  I attend worship on Sundays.  I think about God-related matters frequently.  That is about the extent of my spiritual walk, and it seems to be the sparsest it's been for awhile, and I'm not proud about it.  I saw this study on a blog, and just felt it would be so good for me.  It's a study based on Gideon about my weakness and God's strength.  I'm not super familiar with Gideon, but reading about the study seems so valid for me right now because I feel so weak in my parenting skills, my ability as a wife lately, etc.  It starts on Tuesday with a video that will be uploaded to a blog and then there are 5 days of homework (readings about Gideon, questions about the Bible, and personal questions).  This goes on for 6 weeks.  If anyone wants to join me, I'd love to have a study buddy or two!  More details can be found here. 

--- 5 ---

Upromise: If any of you were interested in setting up a Upromise account that I mentioned in a previous post, let me know because I can send you an email to sign up and we'll both get $5 in our account!  Sweet. Free money.  I like free money!  This is only good until the end of June, so let me know ASAP.  Upromise is a way to save for college (for you, your child, or existing loans you have).

--- 6 ---

Travel plans: I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy some of our airline tickets earlier this spring when I first started looking.  I've traveled enough by now that I should have known to book earlier rather than later, but I was waiting to see if the flight on a specific airline would come down to the lower price another airline offered.  It hasn't and now we're probably going to pay $100 more a ticket.  Dumb $200 mistake, PPIW.  And now I wonder if I just book to prevent the price from going further up or wait and see if it comes down again.  There are still plenty of seats, so that does give me options, but it's a gamble and I've never been one to like gambling!

--- 7 ---

And this, you see, is what happens when I actually start Quick Takes on Thursday.  They all of a sudden become Long Takes when I finish them with all my wordy details on Friday.  Ah, well.  Enjoy the weekend!!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Quick Takes (36): The state of affairs around here

--- 1 ---

Sleep.  I got 4 solid hours of sleep two nights in a row...woo hoo and then slept another 3 hours!  R has been waking up 3 times overnight to nurse, and we've slowly been trying to get it down to none or at least 1.  The hardest part has been figuring out what sleep training method we think will work best for her: cry it out, no cry sleep solution, baby whisperer, Ferber method, etc.  We briefly dabbled with CIO and NCSS, and it was very clear those were not the methods for us.  I picked up a copy of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers, and have been reading about how to make her feel safe and secure and to trust I will be there in the morning, how to develop clear routines, etc..  I've been implementing a few of the strategies, and maybe they are working?!?  I still think we need to do something more direct with the overnights, but baby steps, folks.  I'm looking at the positives.

--- 2 ---

Cow's milk.  R doesn't like it.  Her pediatrician said as long as I'm still nursing, I don't need to introduce cow's milk, but I was trying to get her to drink it thinking that would help reduce the overnight feedings.  She loves her sippy cup of water during the day, so I tried to add a little milk to that...nope, wouldn't take it. I tried mixing a small amount with my milk...nope.  She doesn't really like dairy either (cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese.....she won't eat any of it).  Do I just keep offering her dairy and eventually she'll take some?  What if she has a dairy allergy?  I have a dairy sensitivity, and I did have to cut out dairy while nursing early on because of her reflux.  Hmm...not sure how to proceed with that one.  I'll probably just give it some time and things will work out. That seems to me my mantra around here.

--- 3 ---

A 3 year old.  A friend posted on Facebook about how her daughter was turning 3, and all of a sudden I remembered that this was the good friend who told me she was pregnant shortly before I found out I was pregnant for the 1st time in 2009.  And it hit me....I could have had a 3 year old right now if we hadn't lost that baby to miscarriage.  June 2nd was our due date with baby #1.  It's a date that I always remember, but it short of snuck up on me this year.  And for some reason, I feel sadder now thinking about what might have been.  Perhaps because I've seen what joy R has brought into our lives, it makes me sad to know what we missed out on with baby #1 (and #2 for that matter since R was #3).  And while I can't imagine my life any different right now with an older child, I still mourn the loss of those babies I haven't yet met.  But June 2nd is also the date of our sponsor child's birthday.... someone we choose specifically because of her birth date and wanting to honor the memory of our 1st baby, so beauty does rise up from the ashes.  It does.

--- 4 ---

Women's conference.  I'm going to a women's conference this weekend.  I'm really excited because my soul needs some filling.  Everyone from church that said they would join me has bailed, and since I had already purchased my ticket to the event, I'm going alone.  At first I was really depressed about it saying, "I don't have any friends here," "Poor me, I have to go alone," blah, blah, blah.  I was mad that I had already purchased my ticket because I would have just decided not to go, but I'm too cheap to lose the money since I've already paid for it.  And now I'm ok with going to the conference alone and am looking forward to seeing what God is going to speak to me because I'm ready to listen.

--- 5 ---

Ants.  We have ants in our house.  Mainly they are in the dishwasher, but nothing has gotten rid of them yet.  I run the dishwasher and while it's still hot in there, the ants are still crawling around inside.  I don't know what to do to get rid of them.  We have traps set and I daily clean up things in the kitchen.  Ugh.

--- 6 ---

Raccoon.  We also have a raccoon on the roof. Lovely.  I heard a bunch of thumping around two nights ago when I got up to feed R around 2am. I still heard it around 4 or 5am.  Then that morning around 6:30, I was looking out the window towards the roof to see if I could see anything on the roof, and a little raccoon face peers around the chimney on the roof!  It's like he was looking right at me mocking me.  ha, ha.  I kept you awake last night.  I tried to chase him away from inside, but he just ran to another part of the roof and came down later because then I saw him was walking on our deck at 7am.  Once we determined he didn't look rabid, I made DH run outside and chase him away!  Ugh.  We are so ready to move from this rental.

--- 7 ---

June. I can't believe it's June tomorrow!  We're entering our summer travel time with lots of trips coming up.  I'm excited for them but also nervous to travel with a toddler who likes her routine, familiar surroundings, and sleep.  We'll how that all works out in the coming weeks and months.

Happy weekend, y'all!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Blogger In-Training

We're starting out the training young:-) Perhaps she'll surpass both DH and I in our blogging and emailing efforts.

Since this video was shot, we have pulled out an old laptop that we no longer use for her to play with.  We don't turn it on, but she still has fun banging away on the keys and opening and closing it!

God's Timing vs. My Own

I've been thinking a lot about God's timing lately.  This was the weekend we were going to move into our new house, or at least that's what we put in the documents when our contract was accepted.  We were supposed to close on Friday, and then the previous owners wanted to have a few days to move all their things out.  We were to get possession of the home tonight and then starting tomorrow, would have been off and running to clean and get the house ready for us to move things in.  Instead, we're having a nice, quiet, relaxed weekend and looking forward to R's 1st time in a swimming pool tomorrow.  A far different scenario than the one that was in my mind for Memorial weekend.

In some ways, I'm a little sad that we're not getting ownership of a home this weekend.  Both DH and I are tired of the rental home we live in.  Now that the humidity has started rising, our home smells like a wet dog.  It's so gross.  The previous homeowners did have dogs, and the flooring here is so old, that it's just retained the smell.  And they did clean the carpets before we moved in! 

The insulation is terrible in the home, the windows are single-pane energy suckers, we've had animals in the attic, leaks and drips in R's room, standing water in the basement, broken doors and garage springs, ants in our dishwasher, cockroaches in every room of the house and the kitchen cupboards, and the list goes on.  I think the problem is the home was vacant for so many years before we moved in, and just hasn't been taken care of.  We are both ready to be in our own place, and it would have been nice to be on the road to making a new place our permanent while we reside in this southeran state.

In other ways, I'm ok that our lives are a little less hectic right now.  It's been nice to not think about the stress of moving and we really haven't been doing much house hunting either aside from looking at the email listings.  I've been accomplishing things around the house and feeling productive getting caught up.  Of course, we are still having major nighttime sleep issues with R, but that's a whole other post for another day (I need your help, y'all).

Back to God's timing.  When we first signed the contract, I remember thinking how perfect the timing of the home purchase was.  We would have had a few weeks to get everything moved in before our 6 month lease ran out on the rental home.  We could have slowly made a bunch of small trips over before DH has to go out of town.  I would have been able to be in the new home while he was away; thus feeling safer by myself than I do here.  And the list goes on. 

Everything seemed to fall into place with us being able to get inside the home and make an offer that same day before they accepted another.  "God's perfect timing" I kept thinking to myself as things lined up nicely in my head to make the move.  Yes, I had my freakout moments with how quickly things happened, but I just kept thinking to myself that the opportunity was God's timing. 

And then things began to crumble and we made the decision to walk away from the home.  We both felt peace about it, but I walked away scratching my head a little bit wondering where was God's timing in it all?  What had seemed so clear to me was no longer the case.  In my mind (my timing), it seemed perfect, and yet I have to believe that God has something better in store for us with a home.  I think about Ephesians 3 (verses 20 and 21, I believe) where it talks about God being able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.  And I guess that's the idea I'm clinging to right now...a house even better than I can imagine for us to raise R in for these next several years (we're thinking we'll be here 10+ years...maybe).

It's not coming in my timing but in God's.  And while those two timings haven't often lined up- I think about dating, marriage, pregnancy and how I thought I was ready for each years before they actually happened- God's timing does always seem to be the better one once I'm able to look back on it and see the final result.  So I will attempt to trust the One who knows me even better than I know myself.  He is giving us yet again another opportunity to trust Him with the provision of the home.  It's scary for me to not be the one in control, and yet it's humbling and faith-producing.

So instead of celebrating with new home ownership this weekend, we're looking at extending our lease and realistically thinking it may be fall before we find a home.  Everybody and their brother is out looking for a home at the moment, so they can move before the next school year starts in August.  Sellers are getting their asking prices or more, and the competition is fierce.  Homes are going off the market in just one day.  I said all along that I wasn't interested in getting caught up in that game, so I'm ok waiting it out for a few more months.  It's harder on DH though.  He really doesn't consider this place home at all, not even a temporary home.  He's so intent on settling down that this renting has been hard for him.

And yet through this whole process, I know God is teaching both of us to trust Him, turn to Him, and rely on Him to provide our needs.  That is reason to celebrate this weekend and enjoy all that He has given us!  I hope you're doing the same.

Quick Takes (35): A Few of My Favorite Things

I did start this on Friday but am finally finishing it now.  Here are a few of my current favorite things.  In no particular order....

--- 1 ---

Coconut oil.  I love it.  Just ordered another big tub from here.  I ordered my last tub before we moved, so I guess it's taken me about 5 months to go through 54 oz.  That seems pretty slow, but I've mainly been using a couple teaspoons to make my oatmeal in the morning.

--- 2 ---

Probiotics.  I love them.  I take one each morning and R takes one most mornings as well.  Her pediatrician actually recommended this one.  I just have the local pharmacy order it since I haven't found it in stock anywhere and it's supposed to be refrigerated.  It's also cheaper than ordering online!

--- 3 ---

Aldi.  Love it!  This is the first time I've lived any where near an Aldi grocery store and I'm in love.  It's a perfect match for me.  I can deal with the quirkiness of the store (quarter deposit for a cart, bring your own bags, bag your own groceries, only pay with cash or debit, etc.) for the trade off of lower prices (at least 50 cents to a dollar cheaper on every item) and healthier food.  Aldi is German, and I've found that the ingredients on their store brand items are healthier...less preservatives and dyes, etc.  Someone told me Trader Joe's and Aldi have a connection, but I don't know about that.  Shopping at Aldi makes me feel good about not cutting coupons as often as I would like!  And they have really yummy German food...Muesli, bratwurst, sauerkraut, beer, etc.  I get to enjoy all the treats I had living in Germany years ago.  Seriously, this should have been at the top of the list.  I can't stop talking about Aldi.

--- 4 ---

Upromise.  This is another one that I'm still learning about, but it's a free way to save money for college just by shopping online and at stores.  You can save for a child or put the money towards existing loans you have!  There's more info here.  Like I said, I just heard about it at CVS.  And CVSes are new to me as well.  All these new stores in the South/in a big city:-)  But anyways, you have to sign up for an account and then you can link your rewards cards (for CVS, Rite Aid, Kroger, Publix, etc.) to get a percentage put into your Upromise account.  Also, when shopping online at tons of places (Target, Walmart, etc.), if you log into your account then go to the website, you'll get 1%-10% put into the college account as well). Totally free savings that can accrue for years.  I think you can also invest it as well.  Totally legit. Totally free!  I'm exciting.  Makes me feel a little better about having not opened a 529 plan yet for R!

--- 5 ---

Summer time.  School is just about out around here, which means activities at church start to slow down a bit, which translates into a little less busi-ness for DH.  His night commitments are just about done for the next 3ish months and I'm looking forward to new experiences with R- swimming, water play, and more.  Of course, it also means lots of heat and humidity and travel plans with a toddler but I'm focusing on the positive right now...more time with DH home (hopefully).

--- 6 ---

A toddler.  Oh my...did I just mention a toddler in #5?  Apparently, after a baby turns 1, they all of a sudden become a toddler and leave their baby-hood (or baby-ness?) behind.  This is both exciting, fun, sad, and bittersweet all at the same time. Everyone lately has been telling me that the age from 1-2 is their most favorite time, so I'm adding it to my list here.  R is growing up so quickly it's fun to watch.  She wants to use a fork while eating lately (because she sees DH and I use one, I think), loves the crawling maze/jungle gym we assemble with the couch and pillows, is close to walking (she does laps around the house pushing the desk chair), and is getting better sleeping with sleep training.  She is silly and playful and so much fun.  Thank you, Lord, for this baby-now-turned-toddler.

--- 7 ---

One year photos.  We had so much fun with R having her photos taken.  She had a ball and was such a ham!  I could not believe it. Every time I pull out the camera to try and catch her doing something cute, she sees me and races over to try and push all the buttons on the camera.  She didn't do this for the photographer.  Instead, she sat and posed away.  It was unreal.  DH and I were laughing it was so funny and cute.  Here's a taste of the shoot (photo credit goes to CH photography for them all):

Have a great rest of the weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!