2.25.2009

It's Noon and I'm Ready for Bed

It is one of those days. You know, where you would happily crawl back in bed, pull the covers over your head and sleep until tomorrow?
Princess Pigtails was awake this morning at 4:30 with a fever of 103.3 and coughing, coughing, coughing. All attempts at settling her and getting her back to sleep were futile. Apparently no number of trips to the bathroom, sips of water nor any amount of Motrin was going to convince her that 4:30 am. was an inappropriate time to be awake. Awesome. I was able to buy a few more short minutes of sleep by winding her music box (which is actually an ark...but I digress...). But 5:15 am. found me snuggling a clammy, feverish girl and her glass of orange juice and reasoning with her about why she wasn't going to school. We were both disappointed, for different reasons, but equally so. I have come to really enjoy the few hours I have on Monday and Wednesday morning while she is at school. It is a chance for me to work on a few things around here, catch up with girlfriends, get the rest of my day organized. And today was warm weather day/beach day at school. A day to wear summer clothes and sunglasses and pretend you are at the beach all in the toasty confines of our preschool building, obviously, because, well, we live in Minnesota and it is February.
By 6:00, The Little Man had determined if no one else in the house was sleeping, he was not going to either. Fantastic.
I really thought the morning was going to be fine. Really. Princess Pigtails was content to just relax in the chair, The Little Man played well and then went down for his morning nap. Really, it was going to be fine. Princess Pigtails was coloring at the dining room table. And it was then that morning began to melt down. I am not entirely sure how it began but there was sassing, yelling and lots and lots of crying which landed her in her bed. The screaming all the way up the stairs led to the waking of The Little Man and it was then that fully realized the day was shot. Princess Pigtails did fuss herself to sleep and took a two hour nap, but I'm guessing that may be it for the day. Did I mention her fever and that she has been up since 4:30? I know that God redeems even the worst of days, but right now things are not looking good for the home team. Thankfully tomorrow is a new day, filled with new mercies. Praise God for a new start, another chance to get it right! And thank God for his grace which is sufficient!

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22&23

2.21.2009

Weekly Recap

Another crazy week is in the books. Here's a few of the highlights from the week that are still rattling around in my brain:

Had a great time at my friend Lisa's Tastefully Simple party. Probably spent too much money but I really love their products and I enjoy supporting my girlfriends! Thanks, Lisa!

Have you read this post over at SCL? Jon really speaks to something that I've struggled with all my adult life...

The book my Bible study group is doing right now is really interesting...we had a great discussion on Tuesday. I so enjoy those ladies!

Saw this darling little trench for Princess Pigtails in a store window yesterday:
Isn't just the cutest? Princess Pigtails informed me that it was her color and her size. It was a perfect fit. So cute. The price? Not so cute. $168. Seriously, J.Crew. Are you kidding me? $168? For a size 4T jacket? Umm, I'll get right on that.

Finally, had dinner last night with some friends that we have gotten reacquainted with through Facebook. It was so much fun. The kids ran crazy and it was fantastic! So happy they are in The Cities now and love that we were able to catch up! Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Hope you had an awesome week!

2.17.2009

Princess Pigtailsese

I like to think that I fall into a wide category of moms. The moms with good intentions of documenting the lives of their children who somehow get side tracked by life and it really doesn't happen. At least not to the extent that you had hoped or dreamed it would.
I do a little bit of scrap booking and when I go to scrapping retreats I always feel wholly inadequate. There is always one mom there (at least one) that is on scrapbook number 15 of her two year old's life and I sigh because I am not that mom. I want to have beautifully complete scrapbooks complete with journalling and momentos from all their activities. And yet my kids have partially complete scrapbooks and this lowly blog by which their lives are somewhat documented.
I realized the other day that time is fading events and moments that I thought I'd never forget. When you are in the trenches, the wisdom of "writing it all down" is sometimes lost or on the list of "to dos" that never get done. Or in my case, the to do list is probably buried somewhere. My Princess Pigtails is growing up. One no longer needs a glossary of Princess Pigtailsese to converse with her. But there was a day not that long ago that she had her own words for things. When she toddled around and was just learning to speak. So if you will please indulge me, I want to document some of her "words", her Princess Pigtailsese so that when I forget, when I wonder what happened to my baby, I will be reminded. Sweetly reminded.

Potholders/hot pads/oven mitts="pot pots"
Happy Birthday="happy do-do"
Lisa (a dear friend of mine that has allowed us to use her day care as drop in care at times)=SeeSaw
Yogurt=yogrut
Gravy= graaby
Pretzels=prencils

I love that the last two are still in her vocabulary. I hear myself correcting her. Wanting her to pronounce the words correctly. Reflecting upon those times I know that she will figure it out. She will not be a thirty year old serving her baby "yogrut". And if she is, so be it. I mean there are adults that pronounce wrestling as "rastlin"!

2.13.2009

The Kitchen

So, here are some "after" pictures of the kitchen. Go here if you missed the "before"... go ahead, I'll wait. Back? Okay, here we go:

My new ceiling:
I know. Pretty much looks like a ceiling. Thanks for humoring me.
(If you look closely at the door frame to the left, you'll notice we have some painting left to do...shhh.) The door on the right is the walkway out to the mudroom...

I'll apologize in advance for the glare in some of these pictures. A professional photographer I am not.
Some shots of the new floor:

I'm happy with the job the contractor did...
The cabinetry (which is not new, but I still love it) on the opposite wall:
My pot rack:
So, there you have it...thanks for asking, encouraging me and generally putting up with my whining over the last six months while this was in various stages of done.

Happy Friday!

2.12.2009

Things I Love Thursday--Smooth Edge Can Opener

Jill over at The Diaper Diaries is hosting another "Things I Love Thursday". This week I want to talk about my healthy appreciation for quality cooking utensils. Please know that this is not a product review--as in no one is paying me to gush. That being said, I could go on and on about my love of many things Pampered Chef and maybe some time I will. Wouldn't THAT be gripping? A run down of my personal Top 10 Pampered Chef utensils...Now there IS something to look forward to. Yikes. Anyway, where was I? Have you tried the Pampered Chef Smooth Edge Can Opener? The whole reason I bought mine was that unlike standard hand-held can openers it WILL open those pull top cans. Am I the only one that hates those? Here is the answer:
It will open those stupid pull top cans, it leaves a "smooth edge" (go figure) on both the can and the lid and I love mine. In my opinion, it is totally worth every last penny of the $17.50 it cost.

To share something that you love or for more things that you can't or shouldn't live without, head on over and see Jill.

2.11.2009

Wednesday Randomness

Happy Wednesday! In an effort to recollect my brain here's an update of sorts. I apologize now for the randomness of it all!

Thank you so much for the encouragement regarding Princess Pigtails and her stalling techniques at the dinner table. I appreciate your thoughts and advice. I've really been limiting her snacks/drinks and she seems to be eating in a more efficient manner...hoping that it continues! Fingers crossed!

The Little Man will be 11 months on Saturday. Which hardly seems possible... Have I told you he is walking? Walking!! Has been at it for two weeks now and each day he is gaining more speed and confidence. He so badly wants to chase after his sister! Watch out Princess Pigtails!

I think that the kitchen is finally put back together. And the floor? Love it. If anyone is interested, I'll post some pictures.

We are making slow progress in the mudroom. Hoping that we can install the bead board ceiling this weekend. Then flooring, trim and doors...maybe we can be done by spring??

I've really been having some serious writer's block. Did you know that the number one google search that lands folks on my blog? My post about reheating ground beef. Interesting? I told you I have writer's block.

That's all I've got. What's on your "by spring" project list?

2.05.2009

Things I Love Thursday--Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

Wow. Okay, so I've been completely off track the last few months with posts, but I discovered something yesterday that I just had to share.
Maybe some of you own one of those sonic jewelry cleaners. If you do--lucky you. For those of us that don't--I found a "recipe" for homemade jewelry cleaner! Very easy and from the little I used it yesterday, very effective!



Here you go:
1 cup of water
Foil to cover the bottom of a bowl
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. dishwasher detergent
Directions:
Heat the water in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. While that is heating, line the bottom of a bowl with foil. Pour the heated water over the foil, add the salt, soda and detergent. Add jewelry and let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Maybe longer if heavy soiled. Use a new "batch" for additional jewelry.

The directions caution the use of the cleaner on certain stones/metals. Like don't use it to clean your pearl ring or Grandma's cameo...

I found this "recipe" on Recipezaar. Which is a pretty amazing site, if you haven't stopped been over there...I had to chuckle, however, because the recipe was complete with nutritional information. Apparently, if you were to digest this concoction, you would consume like 1000% of the recommended sodium intake. I'm thinking that dishwasher detergent might be more of concern...

Got something that you love? Head on over to The Diaper Diaries and see my friend Jill. Link up and spread the word. Check out the other links and while you are there wish her safe travels. She's heading to Nashville this weekend for Blissdom.

2.03.2009

Please Advise

For a good part of the last year, our darling Princess Pigtails has been driving me/us crazy at the dinner table. We have been working with her on the typical table manner things--not playing with her food, not taking her food off her plate and placing it on the table, not tipping her chair, etc. These are typical antics of a three year old, right? Or do I have unrealistic expectations. I know that a three year old isn't going to be an expert with utensils yet. That's fine with me--well, I wish she was, but I know that will come and I can deal with that.
Here's the issue: That girl will not stay on task at the table for anything. During most meals, she plays and fusses and talks and picks at her food. She does eat eventually. But not until we've encouraged her, nagged her and sometimes, I admit, bribed her.

What I've tried so far:
  • I've re-evaluated the serving sizes I've given her but that doesn't seem to make a bit of difference.
  • What the menu is doesn't seem to make a bit of difference either.
  • We used to have a rule and will in the future that everyone needs to be done before people can be excused from the table. But currently that is unrealistic considering it takes her for most meals over an hour to eat. Sometimes an hour and a half.
  • It doesn't seem to bother her that I clean up the table and move to another room.
  • I've tried not letting her have snacks at all and that has had limited results.
So, please tell me. Is this normal? What else should I try? I'm nearly ready to pull my hair out. HELP!!