Kiddie Meal?

JJ always makes fun of me for wanting the same foods a toddler would - that I have a childish pallet.  Whatever!  I have a sophisticated pallet!  Just because I don't like seafood, or mushrooms, or a lot of meat, or a lot of spice, and just because I really like Subway (but the same turkey sub every time) and mac and cheese and a cookie for breakfast and cereal all day... oh, ok, ok... 

This was reenforced when I went to the movies (yeah, at a theater!  woohoo!) with a group of girls from work.  It was a great evening to hang out and NOT TALK ABOUT WORK THE WHOLE TIME!  I get up to the counter and order a kiddie tray.  What?  They are PERFECT - you get a little bit of everything AND a treat!  What could be better?

Or the time this last week when I was out running errands right after work and decided to just pick up some supper.  JJ really wanted an iced coffee from McDonald's, so that's where I headed.  I ordered my usual: chicken mcnuggets, but I only wanted six.  I almost laughed out loud when the gal asked if this was for a little girl or a little boy.  Apparently six pieces are in the "Mighty Kids Meals".  Oh boy!  So now I have a Mc-y D's Strawberry Shortcake toy to share with a friend... a much younger friend!

If I could choose...

Alt. Title: Can I have a little of this... and a little of that... and NONE of that please?

Do you ever see kids doing cute things and wish your kid would do that?  I'm sure we all do.  Or, I do anyways!  I have two examples off the top of my head:

1) Our friends' daughter, IC, is the sweetest little thing.  It's been a while since we've seen her so she's probably doing even cuter things now, but when she would get her diaper changed, she would thank her parents!  Now come on.  MVJ SCREAMS when we change her diaper.  I try to tell her it isn't MY favorite thing to do either, but she doesn't buy it.  She just hates being made to stay in one place for any amount of time, nevermind the fact that her butt is being cleaned.  So anyways, to help this process along, I'm trying to do some baby signs.  I've heard some negative and positive things, but that's what IC used, so we're doin' it!

2) A little girl I used to babysit for would rub the back of the person holding her!  She was such a cuddle-bug!  It was so sweet!  Her mom attributed this to the fact that her uncle babysat her for a few months.  Said uncle was interested in law and it happened to be at the time of the OJ Simpson trial.  ALL DAY.  EVERY DAY. he would hold her and rub her back.  Well, THAT'S not going, but I've tried to rub her back while I'm swaying with her before bed.  This she has become receptive to, but hasn't quite returned the favor.  She HAS started humming herself to sleep, though, which is supercute.

Phew...!

Yikes!  It's been awhile!  MVJ woke up at 6:00ish and after her morning feeding, I took her back into her room to get her dressed and diaper changed for the morning.  As I was walking her back, her head fell on my shoulder and just like that she was out!  I put her in her crib and she is still sound asleep (7:21).  Wow!  So this morning, I actually have my hair semi-done AND makeup on!  I facebooked a bit AND had time to taste my breakfast!  It's a good morning!

To take advantage of this time I thought I'd catch up a teeny bit of things (in totally random order) happening in our lives:

1.  Got the Christmas cards out ----> but I was so lazy -- it's only a picture.  I was thinking about doing an acrostic poem... or a quiz... or just a plain old letter and NONE of the above happened.  And then I gave some away to people I saw (JJ's fam over Thanksgiving for example) and then theirs didn't have "the note" so then I didn't want to give some notes to some people and not to others... or just send "the note" separately to them because the reason I hand delivered them in the first place was the save on postage.  PHEW!  So, it's just a picture this year.  Done and done.

2.  JJ sold Tang-tang (his '66 mustang).  Sad day.  But, happy day, too.  It's not like it's run in a few years and a) we don't really want to fix it now and b) JJ's parents didn't want to store it any longer (they had THREE old cars at their place!).

3.  JJ bought a big screen TV.  He just can't hold on to money for too long.  That mustang money was just sitting there in our bank account taunting him.  He didn't spend it all of course, but he has plans for the rest. . . like a car starter in the car I drive to work (YAY!).

4. MVJ is a stander from way back.  She pulls herself up onto EVERYTHING and walks along furniture.  I'm told it won't be long.  (won't be long until I lose my sanity is what people are saying behind that statement.)

5.  I put the Christmas decorations up.  And by up I mean way up.  (see #4).  We bought a mini live tree and I love it.  It's perfect for our little place.

6.  I finished a project I've been meaning to do for quite some time now.  MVJ LOVES pictures of babies.  (oh and real babies too but I couldn't do much about that...)  So, stealing an idea for SIL LJ, I cut out pictures of babies doing different things, affixed them to pretty paper cut into 4x6 mats, captioned them (i.e. Baby is sleeping.  Baby is eating.  Baby is happy.  etc.), and slid them into a small photo album.  I think it turned out really cute.  I hope MVJ likes it and doesn't try to eat the plastic that the photos slip into (we already know she'll TRY TO).

7.  Work, work, work:  between Thanksgiving and Christmas beak, I scheduled 3 IEPs, 2 Assessment Plan Meetings and the subsequent 2 Integrated Assessment Meetings.  Am I nuts??!  Yes, yes I am.  But, they seem to be going smoothly so far.  YAY!

8.  JJ secretly made me try a mushroom.  yuck

I just came in from starting my car.  Brrrrrr.  Can't wait for that car starter honey!  Ok, I better brush my teeth and hit the road jack.  

MVJ's New Tricks

Here is the list of MVJ's new tricks:

*giving high fives

*acting accordingly to someone asking, "How big is MVJ??" --- except that she usually only raises her left arm to "Soooooooo big!"  She thinks this is hilarious, too.

*crawling around and getting into everything -- she especially loves to turn on the Blu-Ray player and eat Daddy's headphones for the computer -- we're hoping all this moving around is the reason behind her whopping FOUR OUNCE (actually a little under that) weight gain in three months -- we're headed back in for a weight check in a few weeks

*giggling and laughing and smiling so big - she is quite the little flirt and knows how to work the crowd!

*chewing on her blankie -- I'll put her down in her crib and she'll fuss until I put her blankie over her -- then she chews on the satin outer layer until she falls asleep

*being a naughty naughty either before going to sleep or after she's woken up --- she pulls herself up (thank GOODNESS we already lowered her crib when we realized she was on the move with her crawling), and sometimes her leg will get stuck between the bars -- or just the other day she was slumped in a corner -- she must have fallen after pulling herself up and couldn't get out of that position!  Stinker!  She pulls herself up on other things as well - it's so crazy to see my little baby turn into such a big girl!

*being a naughty naughty on the changing table -- gone are the days of "easy" diaper changes when she would just lay there!  She is a twisty-turny mess -- I've taken to bribing her with a book snack just so I can get the job done without poop on the changing cover!  Oh no!  I just realized the poopetrator is back!

*eating even more table food!  Now I'm worried about her nutrition.  It's so much easier when they just drink boobie juice and then really easy when the food is prepackaged - just make sure to balance out the fruits and veggies... but now it's like... there's a whole world of food just waiting for her!  I read about the dangers of salt and have been trying to avoid that like the plague - but she has eaten (salt free) french fries, soda crackers (unsalted tops), mac and cheese, etc.

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting will remember as soon as I publish this, but that's all for now!

Least helpful waiter EVER.

My parents were here last weekend, which is always a fun event.  After a full morning of shopping -- one in which MVJ came home with an EXERSAUCER!! -- we decided to go to W's in EGF for lunch.  It was seat yourself and we chose to sit in a booth.  My mom asked a waitress if we could have a highchair, and she said she'd send our waiter right over.  After a few minutes our waiter came over for our drink order.  We gave it along with an appetizer order.  He came back with our drinks - no problem - and I asked him about the highchair (I assumed the waitress had asked him about it).  So still, no problems.  

Then, I asked him if we could order a banana or a similar fruit to feed MVJ (we had not planned to stop for lunch, so I was the unprepared Mommy - thank goodness MVJ has been a rockstar at big girl food lately).  He said they didn't have anything like that.  I said, "No banana splits or anything like that?"  He said no... so we just left it at that.  Then I wanted to order two pancakes.  He said they could only do three.  I have weird eating habits and have ordered pancakes at many different places, despite JJ's scolding me for going out to eat something that is so easy and inexpensive to make at home!  Anyways, it has never been a problem to order one or two pancakes.  I was like, whatever, that's fine.  He came back a short while later and said they would only give me five pancakes.  At that point it just seemed kind of ridiculous.  I don't think I made a big deal about it, but I did say, "Really?"  He was all, "Well, they're not very big!"  I was like fine, just bring me the pancakes.  By this time MVJ is starting to get fussy and he is seeming to be irritated by that.  My Dad orders a burger.  He called it a "W Burger" and the guy was kind of snotty about it.  He was all "We don't have a W Burger.  Do you mean the (insert the name of whatever the burger was called) burger?"  MVJ is up in arms and we decide shortly after the waiter brings our appetizer that we'll have to get our food to go.  He agrees to bring it right out.  It seems to take a while (of course I'm walking around bouncing MVJ in an attempt to pacify her so it may have SEEMED just a bit longer than it actually was).  MVJ, my Mom and I decide to head back to the van and my Dad comes shortly after with the food and we had a lovely meal at home while MVJ fell fast asleep in her crib.    

After writing it all out it seems like it was no big deal.  I guess you just kind of had to be there.  He just seemed to rub me the wrong way and then those little things just added to the whole experience.  

Baby Bully

MVJ LOVES babies.  She loves them a little bit TOO much at times.  And she is turning into an overexcited baby bully.  Yikes!  When she gets together with her friends, she is the one screaming in their faces, tugging on their ears and even knocking them over in a rush to see them, give them lovies, and just generally learn about other beings.  She just gets so excited and can't help herself!  It seems like all of her friends are docile and easy going.  Poor things.  I hope she settles down and hope they can defend themselves soon!

Her favorite books are the ones where real babies are pictured.  All I have to do is turn the page and say, "Where's the baby?" to get a big smile and squeal!  She loves the mirror.  Again, a simple "Where's the baby?" or "Who's that cute girl?" elicits a very happy response.

Dental Issues

I am such a bad Mommy.  I haven't been very faithful about brushing my daughter's teeth until recently.  But seriously, WHO would stick her finger protected only by the thin film of her finger tooth brush into a baby's mouth --- especially a mischievous baby with SIX teeth??!  But lately MVJ has taken a huge interest in me brushing my teeth.  Oh, that and her breath started to stink!  I blame eating more "table food".  My baby's getting so big!  Another milestone to check off the list: bad breath.  Oh dear!  Anyways, I've started brushing her teeth at least twice a day.  She LOVES it.  And she's usually really good.  Thank goodness!

As I'm beginning to notice, her attention span is like 2.7 seconds, so breaking up the monotony of herding her away from electronics is a good thing.  I DO think we can try a big girl toothbrush soon too, which is exciting.  Just now as I've been writing this I tried to find the technical name for the "finger tooth brush" so I went to Target's website, only to find out that IS the technical name.  But, after entering "baby toothbrush" this is what came up.  That baby looks way too happy - must be a good thing!  And three months and up?  Where have I been??

Another dental issue?  Men, you can go ahead and be done reading now.  While MVJ hasn't bit me for a very long time, her teeth are just so big that she has been injuring me (a lot) during breastfeeding.  OUCH!  I cried one time.  Seriously.  There has been blood after her eating.  I contacted... well... my SIL LJ's friend, but now I consider her my friend too!... anyways my friend TN for advice.  She gave me some really valuable suggestions, among them a thing called a nipple shield.  I thought like that sounded like an easy fix and tried it out.  Little miss sassy herself was not, I repeat NOT ok with Mommy changing up her feeding situation and ripped it off of me.  OUCH x10.  SO, I have not used one again, and have instead used lots of lansinoh cream to help sooth my skin while it heals.  It has gotten a much thicker skin and that has definitely seemed to help.  Darn vampy (vampire) baby with all these teeth!

Blegh... tests... blegh

Today is the official last day of state testing for my kids taking the actual state test anyways (Alternate Assessments start soon!).  PHEW!  I have four groups of students and read each and every test question to them (some multiple times --- like for the reading comprehension, I read the directions, then the questions/choices, then have them read the passage, then read each question/choice again!).  People.  There are FIVE Reading and Language Arts tests and FOUR Math tests x 4 groups... you get the picture, right?  I actually lost my voice Thursday, which was perfect timing (ugh), but thankfully Mrs. W. covered my morning group and Ms. M. covered my next groupie.  Yikes!  I believe I should get workman's comp!

Sometimes it's tough to read each thing and be with a small group because I know what they should be putting and sometimes they just AREN'T!  One of my colleagues said she's stopped looking at which choices her students are making because it's too depressing.  One of my other colleagues said that she purposefully doesn't read the passages (to herself -- we aren't allowed to read the passages aloud because of the skills the state is assessing is students' abilities to read and comprehend on their own) so that she doesn't know which choices are the correct answers.  This is a good plan, really, so she doesn't emphasize the right answer and all that.

I am just trying to make the environment totally relaxed.  Some kids get really nervous about these tests (and some should maybe care a BIT more!).  I guess only time will tell if all of our efforts to do well on these stinkin' tests have paid off!

Budget

So, I have to be honest.  We did awesome our first few months being on our budget.  This month... not so much.  BUT, we are still making much better progress than we did before.  We're out of our money from the envelopes today - BUT JJ still has some money in his billfold and it is close to the end of our month (ends on the 15th).  Blame it on JJ being gone for a little trip -- with eating out on both of our ends (without JJ of course I had to eat out at least a few times -- I can only sustain myself on cereal and PB&Js for so long)... or MVJ needing new toys... or MVJ's eating habits... or being sick and needing different supplies (more kleenix, more tylenol, more nyquil/dayquil, etc.)... or needing to buy treats for a few different occasions... orrrrrrr...

I knew the toughest months were coming up -- whenever it starts getting close to the holidays I feel frantic to buy presents.  I am a gift giver from way back.  I wish I were more creative and could make worthwhile projects that don't cost a ton.  Any ideas??  : )

Nine Months tomorrow!

I can't believe Miss MVJ is already *almost* nine months old!  Here's a quick update:

1) She is CRAWLING!  Oh boy!  She seemed to be such a lazy baby we didn't think she'd ever make a move, but, oh boy, she is a moover and groover!  She especially loves to get into things she shouldn't.  JJ put her down one day and turned around to see her shaking as she held a container of batteries.  It seemed like she knew she was being naughty but she was just thrilled by it.  Yikes!!

2) She waves hello and goodbye (without modeling)!  If she's being shy she won't do it, but for some reason she loves to say "buh-bye" to Daddy as I carry her off to bed.

3) MVJ loves to stand, but definitely needs help in this endeavor (not necessarily Mommy or Daddy, but it could be the couch, her toy, etc.).

4) She LOVES feeding herself, and with six teeth, she definitely has the chompers to try new food.  We're trying to build up her repertoire of "real people" food -- Daddy is more adventurous than Mommy.  MVJ has eaten chunks of banana, apple, and cheese, crackers, canned fruit cocktail, and of course cheerios.  She does NOT like cheese, but what a new taste to someone who's only had fruits, veggies, cereal, and recently meat - I'm sure she'll get used to it!  Her favs are Gerber snacks, but they get so expensive - especially when MVJ would eat them 24/7 if we let her!

5) MVJ loves medicine.  Oh man!  At least she takes it well... but hopefully this doesn't turn into a habit!  : )

6) MVJ seems to have become a cuddler.  She still does NOT like to rock, but when she gets tired, she'll stand into my lap so that I lift her up and she puts her head on my shoulder.  It's just about the sweetest thing ever!

7) Yesterday, when I went to "rescue" her from her crib after nap time, she was sitting up in the corner.  I guess it's time to lower that mattress!  Yikes!  It's only a matter of time before she pulls herself up!

Poor babe!

Last week, MVJ started getting crud in her nose, which developed into a full-on runny nose, which developed into becoming a demon baby who would not sleep ALL NIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT.  WHICH... developed into her first trip to the clinic that wasn't a well-baby check up.  WHICH developed into her very first diagnosis of EAR INFECTION.  Yuck!  My poor sweet baby girl is sick!  : (  Apparently I got ear infections quite often when I was a baby - let's hope this is NOT one of those things I passed on to my child!  Seriously, one whiff of the amoxicilan brought back memories of that bubble gum medicine that frequented our refridgerator growing up.  Once, my brother actually broke out of his crib to find more of that sweet tasting medicine...

Anyways, today I took a day of "sick child leave" (which is a fabulous thing to have I think).  I know it wasn't completely necessary since JJ is home with her, but I just had to be there.  My BABY WAS SICK!  M-m was just discontent the whole day, becoming super tired crabby and then taking about 15 minute naps before waking up screaming.  In other news, she IS still eating like a trooper... stinker!  But, at the clinic she weighed in at 17 pounds, so obviously she's not porking out as much as I thought she was! 

Decisions, decisions

Being a parent is SO FULL of decisions.  As a person who is TERRIBLE at making them, it gets tough sometimes!  I'm so glad I have the other half of the equation to help me out.  With every first in MVJ's life comes a precident as well. 

So her first Halloween is coming up quickly.  We have officially decided we're not doing the whole Halloween thang.  JJ never did Halloween and although we did, there wasn't a huge emphasis on it and definitely not on the darker side of it.  Our church does a "Hope-a-ween" and so maybe we'll do something like that when MVJ gets older, but for now it'll just be handing out candy to the friends that stop by.  BUT, we were given a supercute little costume from a friend, so I'll just have to put it on her even though we're not technically celebrating Halloween!  : )  She's too young to know the difference on that one!

This girl loves to eat

I read somewhere that breastfed babies develop good eating habits because they only eat enough -- it's not like "C'mon, you only have 1/2 oz. left, just finish the bottle..." or that mentality.  They'll eat what they need and then either just stay latched because it's soothing - but don't necessarily connect food with comfort - more mom/the cuddle OR unlatch and look for the next activity.

I've been believing that but now that MVJ is on to more and more different kinds of foods, she can't get enough.  Seriously.  It seems that she would keep eating forever if we'd let her.  She loves any and all Gerber snacks, especially yogurt melts, wagon wheels, oh and definitely the puffies.  She loves fruits.  She loves vegetables.  She even loves oatmeal (as long as she can play with it - squooshing it in her chubby little hands and getting it EVERYWHERE) - (confessions of a control freak parent here... I have to take deep breaths and remind myself that this play is part of how she learns about the world!).  She LOVES it if she can feed herself, but still hasn't quite mastered the spoon - in fact, we try to NOT let her take the feeding spoon because she jams it down her throat. 

She STILL, however, won't drink much liquid throughout the day when I'm gone.  At times she'll take a little bit of a little juice/a lot of water from a sippy cup, but she definitely doesn't go for it like when she's getting her milk fix.

300

No, not the movie this time.  It's my 300th post!  Yipee!  I don't have much to talk about tonight.  I've been so busy these last few weeks that when I have some down time I don't necessarily want to type on the computer, you know?

MVJ has been such a good little sleeper lately.  And she's so cute.  We rock for a little bit (I'm TRYING to make her a snuggler!) while I pray out loud with her (and we've also read here, but now she just eats books -- like has gotten chunks of cardboard -- so we've forgone that step for a while...).  Then I put her down and she cries until she has her blankie on (one I crocheted for her, so I feel like it's at least semi-safe in her crib with her).  Then she S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-S until she is twisted to the side.  Then she sleeps and when we come in to get her in the morning (YES, we've had two days IN A ROW of all night sleeping!) she is on her tummy.  That would freak me out, her being on her stomach, for the first few times.  But then I read that after 6 months or something like that, you should put them down on their back, but what they do after that is up to them, and it's ok.  I know she can easily flip back and forth, so I'm not concerned, it's just weird that she's a mover and groover.  Also, she loves to be so much on the side of her bed that usually an arm is sticking out the side.  One day during naptime she got her leg stuck and Daddy had to rescue her.  Sometimes her face is smashed against the rails. She's so silly.

Oh and another funny thing.  MVJ has started hissing like a snake.  What a goof!  She's teething (AGAIN -- #6 is growing rapidly and we're pretty sure both #7 and 8 are on the way on the bottom) and has been drooling like a feign.  She makes a "f" sound and with all the extra spit from the teething it really sounds like hissing.  So, this morning for example, Daddy went in to get MVJ and she was on her tummy (baby cobra pose anyone??) hissing at him!  Goofball baby... baby!

Now how did this post randomly turn into all about MVJ?  She is my life.  My sweet baby girl!

DATE NIGHT!!

JJ decided before we left for our little trip that he'd like to have a date night. We really had to twist Gma and Gpa K.'s arm, but FINALLY the agreed to babysit. ; ) JJ was the perfect hubby and let me make all the decisions. I think he just likes to see me squirm. I am NOT a decision maker and I think I've gotten worse lately. After looking at almost all of our options and taking tons of recommendations for anyone who would offer them, FINALLY, the decisions were made and off we went.

I decided on DiDonna's for supper. JJ wasn't super impressed, but I enjoyed most of the meal. We shared every part so we could try more stuff. I even ordered an Italian soda -mmm! After ordering strawberry, JJ commented that that would've been the last flavor he would've ordered for me. We're always learning more about eachother, even after 5 1/2 years of marriage. : ) We had tomato/mozz. cheese salad (with red peppers and kalamata olives), but no balsamic or oregano or anything... a little bland... and the cheese wasn't the best I've ever had. (CM [SIL LJ's mom]'s caprese salad was much better at E-fest). Then, I got to choose the main course: five-cheese manicotti with red sauce. JJ didn't like the red sauce, but I thought this part was delish -- a little bland, just how I like it!! For desert we shared some tiramisu and thought about our friend JBP, and his Johnnymisu. This was JJ's favorite part of the meal and I agreed that it was delish!

I don't think we even FOCUSED on MVJ, like we normally do even when we have some time to ourselves. It was nice. Then we went back home to feed her before the movie, but she was sleeping! We headed out for "The Proposal" (my choice of course). It was a cute movie, with some funny parts, overall a little predictable but nice. When we got home, MVJ was awake (and apparently had been for just about the whole movie) and ready to eat, after refusing two different bottles/sippy cups. Stinker! Good thing she's so cute! ; ) She slept ok Saturday night, but I think she kept waking up because she was cold - she kept kicking off her blankies, and Gma and Gpa K's house (along with practically EVERYONE'S residence) is colder than our HOT apartment (I blame it on living next to the boiler room).

Trip to B-Town

I had a conference in my hometown this week (Wed-Fri) and it worked p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y. It was great to spend some extra time with my family and MVJ really warmed up to Gma and Gpa K, which was so great to see! They have a little chair that has tons of little learning things around it, which sing and make noise. MVJ was in heaven and it was just the cutest thing! She'd sit there hitting buttons, moving gears, and turning pages while DANCING to the music. It was the cutest thing seeing her little tush bopping around. The conference was awesome, by the way, and now I have to process all the info. that was thrown at me via presenters, speakers, books, and even the vendors. I did come away with tons of ideas... and even some math tricks! I can tell you which day any date falls on in the past and future. I was amazing my family with which day of the week they were born on. It's all supposed to be done mentally, of course, but I still have to use pen and paper -- BUT I can do it! : )

JJ had a YUCKY cold and Uncle WK had to babysit one morning. MVJ, just being herself, made sure that he did his calestethics that morning. She just worries so much about her family's fitness. JJ, after sleeping extra Thursday evening and Saturday morning (thank you Gma and Gpa, we LOVE YOU! Being able to sleep in is truly a GIFT!), started feeling much better.

MVJ got to meet Great-Great-Aunt HW, my Gpa's sister. She LOVES MVJ and sends nice notes often! We got pictures of her by the quilt she made MVJ (she does her quilting by hand... it's gorgeous work!). She ALSO got a new tooth! Ugh.. no wonder she woke up FIVE times Wed. night, FOUR times Thurs. night, TWO times Fri. night (much better), but then again FOUR times Sat. night. When this Mommy is used to getting a full night's sleep, it makes it that much harder to be thrown into no sleep - especially when listening to a dry speaker here and there at the conference. Thank goodness most sessions were an hour long, so I could get up and walk around in between!

Eight Months and Cute as Ever!! : )

Friday MVJ turned EIGHT MONTHS! Wow! Time is flying by. I don't know if I'm ready, but I ALWAYS say that. I didn't know if I was ready to get pregnant... ready to be six months pregnant... ready to PUSH... ready for a one month old... etc! : ) I love my baby girl. She is so sweet. Here is a very quick recap of her eigth month (I have a calendar that I write on every day):

*Went with Mommy and Daddy to sand volleyball
*Such a sitter! Plays with O's, A's, G's and J's!! Has first teething biscuit!
*THIRD TOOTH!
*BBQ with J's and O's -- first time picks up puffs by herself!
*Likes to sit with boppy behind her
*Mommy pay day! Woohoo!
*Go for NICE walk - beautiful weather!
*Mommy and Daddy WIN volleyball tourney!
*Fell asleep on Daddy (which never happens anymore) -- Mommy stole her and rocked her sleeping angel
*Errands with Mommy, attacked by bugs when walking with CJ and AJ
*First trip to the farm! Met lots of great aunties and unc's!
*Mommy coached softball; back to sleeping all night! YES!
*Grocery shopping with Daddy
*Said, "Buh-buh ma-ma" before I left for work!
*Daddy videotaped her eating her first banana!
*Daddy works double -- we go shopping! : )
*Church AND Bible Study (only make it through about half of Bible Study before DONE); supper at J's -- says "Da-da", when I tell JJ, he cries!
*Mommy coaches softball; celebrate FO's 2nd birthday!
*Loves to move from sitting to laying on tummy via boppy
*Starting to get cranky... not sleeping all night...
*Mommy has conferences - MVJ wakes up when I get home to eat!
*Gpa K's bday; Estrogenfest in Fargo - fun with the J's; FOURTH TOOTH!
*LJ soccer game, nap with Mommy, bonfire at B's
*Great Gma's bday, Fall supper at the Farm -- yum!
*Visit Gma and Gpa K while Mommy has a conference- don't sleep well in Pack 'n Play

Estrogenfest!

Every year, sometimes several times a year, my SIL LJ hosts a party celebrating good girl friends. It's a night to just socialize as women and share yummy treats. The highlight (for me anyways) is the gift exchange. So after chomping down on delicious appetizer-type food and playing a quick icebreaker involving putting together food puzzles with conversational topics on the back, we headed in to the living room for the gift exchange. I had brought five gifts. I hail E-Fest as my chance to get rid of "junk". LJ puts in the invites that it can be gently used things you don't want, like a lotion you're not a fan of the scent or a purse you barely used and don't need any more. This year I decided to be a little silly and included THREE count 'em THREE sets of these odd colored windchimes that my Grandpa got at an auction sale. Everyone was laughing at the poor gal who opened them.

Oh, I should go over the rules, because they're a little different than other white elephant exchanges I've experienced. So all the gifts go in the middle, and a couple of pairs of dice are sent around the circle. In the first round, you roll the dice and if you get doubles, you get to take a present from the middle. The dice keep going around and around until all the presents are claimed. Then you unwrap the presents you chose and put them in front of you. Next we go around and show off what we unwrapped, and people secretly decide which items they'd like to "steal". Then the dice go back around (with a secret timer this time). If you get doubles this time, you get to steal any item you want (and you don't have to trade with the person, just take the item and add it in front of you). THEN, lastly, when the timer goes off, if anyone is left without a present in front of her, she gets to choose any gift she wants to take.

So, you can see that Estrogenfests are really the place to be. LJ is an excellent host and I've gotten to know many ladies from this event. One thing I learned at this particular Efest is that I'm having trouble finding my identity apart from MVJ. I had trouble having a conversation that didn't revolve around her and when people asked about me, I could only answer with things about MVJ. I'm not complaining, but I just found it interesting. MVJ, by the way, wasn't going to miss out on her first Estrogenfest. She stayed awake THE WHOLE TIME. She would NOT go to sleep. So, several times I grabbed her (she was hanging out with Daddy and Uncle AJ watching a movie) and chatted with her on my hip. Everyone oohing and aahing at her was normal to me... and took away the need for me to struggle with conversations not surrounded by my daughter!

LJ's Soccer Game

Saturday we got a special treat. Although the weather wasn't cooperating, it was niecey LJ's soccer game day! Oh my goodness. There is NOTHING cuter than five-year-old soccer let me tell you. JJ was asking LJ all about it before her game and she said, "Well, I don't really like to run ... or kick the ball ..." First of all, since the weather was kind of yucky, there were only four girlies on her team there (including her! She wouldn't've been there either except that it was her day to bring treats!). Then their coach called them in for the huddle. All four girls sat seriously on their soccer balls watching the game plans intently. Then they put their hands in and made an animal sound. I guess they make a different one each huddle. Their team is the Seals (which gives SIL LJ a cause to use her hidden seal noise talent, much to niecey LJ's embarrassment!) Then it was game time! There is no keeping score, no goalies and no rules really even. The ball would go out of bounds and everyone would continue to race around huddle-style. Sometimes the coaches, who were also the "refs", would choose to do a throw-in, sometimes they'd just let them play. They played three-on-three and when it was LJ's break time, she'd run off and call for her water bottle.

I'm so glad we got a chance to go to her game. It was so much fun and seriously so stinkin' cute! I can't wait for MVJ to be a part of a sports team. What am I saying? Let's get her crawling first and then we can deal with bigger things! : )

Visiting the J's - Part 1

My SIL LJ called to wrap up some final details about our visit/the party she was throwing (not connected!). After we hung up, I looked at my coworker and said, "I love my SIL!" Seriously, I always look forward to visiting JJ's brother and his family. We are pretty close in age, beliefs, and now even have babies born in the same year! We are niecey LJ's godparents and SIL LJ and BIL AJ are godparents to our MVJ. It's a pretty special relationship and I treasure it. So anyways, we get to their house and after chowing down some pizza, we are just hanging out while LJ runs around the house putting finishing details to her partay (like the cucumber rolls and virgin sangria and such).

Nephew BJ (3) is trying to tell Daddy AJ, JJ, and I something, which we can't quite make out. We offer plenty of guesses and it sort of becomes a charade, poor BJ. He has one finger up from each hand and has them on his head, like horns. Here are some guesses, can you figure out what he was telling us? Big Brain? Cowboys? Beige Aaron? Finally the little guy decides to show us. On his sippy cup there are... duh duh duuuh... SPACE ALIENS! Phew! I thought Beige Aaron was really the closest of all of our guesses!

My... uh.... her... uh....

Quite a few times now I've been referring to JJ in relation to MVJ in a conversation with someone who wouldn't necessarily know him/our family (i.e. the receptionist at the hospital).  Many times I feel totally awkward when I say either "Her Daddy" OR "My husband" because I want to be clear that they are the same person!  I think I only worry/think about this because of the many, many different types of families I work with.  I thought this only happened to me but I recently had a conversation with my friend CJ, and she said she's thought the same thing.  Does anyone else stumble over their words with this?  Maybe you have a good way out of this situation?  Like CJ said, usually the ring speaks for itself and can definitely help in clarifying.  I'm sure the person on the other end of the conversation is NOT thinking this much into it!!  : )

Fall Volleyball

This fall league just wasn't our league. Our biggest problem was coordinating our teammates so we wouldn't have to forfeit each week (we did end up forfeiting one night when I had Open House and JJ was following a surgeon -- I completely forgot about volleyball that night!). At the end of the season we had NOT won a single game. We are a team that plays just for fun, but it was still a bit frustrating and uncharacteristic of our team. When the last night came, we bid adieu and hoped we'd meet up with our teammates even though we wouldn't have volleyball weekly. The worker, H, mentioned that the tournament was the next weekend. We explained that we hadn't won a single game and were sure we wouldn't be in the tournament. She said that everyone got to be in the tournament this year -- but it was single elimination.

We concentrated our efforts and made sure we had a full team for the following Thursday. When we got there we found out that not only was it single elimination, but it was a single game each time too! One game up to thirty, rally scoring. We played our first game -- we were determined to "bring it" this time! A bit to our surprise, we won! Second game. This team had the best record (and had a bye the first round). Oh, and about this time MVJ decided she was NOT content in her stroller and could only be comforted by DADDY (we had three girls and four boys -- so the boys were rotating out), so he was out of commission. When he came back from a quick diapey change in the car, he found out we had indeed won the second game as well! Game three. Duh duh duuuuuh. We played our little hearts out with MVJ screaming in the background as H, the worker briskly walking her around in the stroller so JJ could play. AND WE WON! Tourney champs with a record of 0-6. We have the BRIGHT ORANGE shirts to prove it.

On the Farm!

My Mom grew up on a farm in a very small farming community in the middle part of the state. As a kid I always loved going to visit Farm Grandma and Grandpa, although my Grandpa was in poor health almost from the time I was born, so I really didn't get to know the real him. On the farm, there were usually tons of people around (my Mom being #9 of 13 kids) and lots of outdoor adventures. We loved jumping on the haybales, playing tag. We loved watching the cows -- especially in the spring with all the new babies. We loved playing with the baby kitties and calling the cats for meal time "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!" We loved climbing trees and playing baseball. We enjoyed indoor time too -- playing card games and having slumber parties in the big rooms with tons of kids scattered here and there.

Last weekend I got to share this special place with MVJ. She met a few Great Aunts and Uncles for the first time (it's about time!) and got to see Grandma and Grandpa K again.. We were greeted at the door with a {gasp} "She's even more beautiful than in her pictures!" We found out there's a new little W (born THAT day!) -- my cousin A and his wife (... ahem... both doctors from Harvard Med. School...) had baby #3 - a boy - whom they named C because "it's a unique name". It's funny because I have met quite a few C's -- and JJ's Dad AND next older brother are both named C, but I suppose it is unique to this youngest generation.

Back to the farm... my little 2 1/2 year old cousin was quick to share his toys and MVJ found a new friend! Even though MVJ was a bit cranky about being held by other people, she entertained from her spot on the floor -- sitting up by her boppy or in her bumbo. Then we enjoyed a short walk on a beautiful day -- one of the last sunny ones for a while I fear. I scampered up a haybale and MVJ was hoisted up. I was proud of myself that I could still get up and excited to share this special place with my baby girl. I hope it becomes a favorite retreat for her as well!

MVJ's new chatter

Lately MVJ has gotten up right about the same time I do in the morning. It's precious to have that extra time with her, but also a bit tough balancing getting ready with caring for a busy little girl! JJ has been wonderful about getting up a little earlier so that we can spend breakfast together and so that I can, you know, get my teeth brushed and little things like that.

Last Wednesday, as I was walking out the door, MVJ called, "Buh-buh Mah-mah!" It just about broke my heart. Of course I had to run back and cuddle her a few more minutes. She is just the sweetest little girl. It is so tough walking out the door each day. She has been saying muh-muh for quite some time now. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Daddy teases her that she's going to go to her room until she starts saying da-da!

Now this one is going to be a tough one to describe, but here goes. When we are teasing MVJ, we'll pretend to chew on her things with a throaty chompy (like /kom/ ?) noise. And then other times we'll tickle attack her with a similar throaty (like /buh/ ?) noise. Anyways, our little has started to copy us! It is just hilarious to watch her with her little fang (she has one top tooth, but it's one on the side... silly girl!) make a throaty little noise. We say she's turning into our little vampy (vampire)!

.....drumroll please.....

And the winner is........... #2!

LJ! Woohoo! I'll chat with you about which treat place you'd like a $10 gift card.

Congratulations!

Thanks to all of you that wrote in. You sure brightened my week with your responses - hopefully you all can see the bright spots in every day!

Spreadin' Some Sunshine

Alright, I'm copying friend BKS for this one!  A little bit ago, Miss Rhubarb and Venison had a little contest.  It had been a rough week and she just needed a little bit of sunshine.  So, she had people leave comments about something happy, positive, or what they're thankful for.  Then, she randomly drew a number and guess what people?  I WON!  I never win anything!  It was fabulous!  So, I'm spreading the love.  Making my own little sunshine in my own little corner of the blogosphere.  

Here's the deal.  Tell me the best part of your week or a blessing you've recently received and I'll draw a random number.  The winner will get a $10 gift card to Dairy Queen!  (If you don't have a DQ near you (how sad for you!), tell me what treat place you'd like a gift card for.)  Let the positivity begin!! 

Is she too old??

I'm still breastfeeding MVJ. It's going well with the exception of her not taking anything else. Li'l stinker! The other night I was feeding her and she sat straight up and launched herself at the other side and started nursing. It was hilarious. It made me laugh out loud and wonder to myself if she's too old... I know she's not and plan to just keep truckin' as long as it's working out for both of us.

KLA

The other night my friend KLA was in town.  It was SO good to see her.  And she brought me Subway.  I mean, c'mon.  [Right here.  She got me right here.  Pointing to my heart.]  She just cracks me up.  I've tried to convince her that she needs her own blog.  She just has so many ideas.  Some people might find them strange, but the way she presents them is just hilarious!  For example, she explained why marble cake is a lose-lose choice for weddings.  "You don't please ANYONE.  Those who like chocolate cake aren't happy.  Those who like white cake aren't happy.  No one wins!"  

She also showed me a twitter page called s#!$mydadsays --- but the real swear word -- beware there's lots of swearing... obviously!  It's SO random.  This 28 year-old guy who lives with his parents just randomly writes things his 73 year-old father says.  It's totally random and has its funny moments.  On to facebook, where we checked out her BIL's notes where he writes about his week in review.  Then we looked through almost all of her hubby C's pics on facebook, while K pointed out if he was buzzed (happy smile), drunk ("He looks like an infant!"), or looking gay or the "Oh he's so cute!  Look how hot he is!".  

But, the gem of the night... the quote of the day was when she was describing her Mom at her wedding:  "What are you going to do when your Mom steps out dressed like a pirate??!"  I just laugh out loud even just thinking about it right now.  haha!

DeLurking Day!!

I'm TOTALLY copying my friend LB from work!  

Hello?  Hello?  Hello?  Echo... echo... echo... 

I wanna know who's out there... so post a comment!  It's my De-Lurking Day!  :  )

Days Off

I love a day off. Believe me. Anything that gives me more time with my husband and baby girl is a-ok by me. BUT... being a little picky here... I MUCH prefer having Fridays off rather than Mondays. When you have Monday off, all you can think about is it is a four-day week and then it drags on forever. Also, Tuesday is just another Monday -- that dreaded first wake up of the week. So, thank goodness for laborers. I loved my three-day weekend, but now I'm just thrown off. And to make matters worse, whenever I try to remember what day it is, I think, "Oh! Wait! It's a four-day work week! It must be {insert the day AFTER the actual day}." Ugh... So all day today I thought it was Thursday. Thank goodness for my TV lineup to help me get back on track. Oh yeah -- Top Chef is Wednesday. Project Runway is Thursday. Ok, ok, aaaaand, I'm back!

Baby Girl Update

My baby girl will be 30 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe it! Here are a few updates:

*MVJ is *this* close to being a sitter! She does a great job, but I don't think she realizes yet that she's on her own. She'll be sitting there great and then all of a sudden plunge forward, or to the side. The sides are especially tipsy still.

*Daddy is trying to work on MVJ crawling. What??! Let's take things slowly Daddy! But, when MVJ is on her tummy, she'll get her little legs going and it just seems like she's going to take off one of these days!

*MVJ has some random best buds -- she loves BB, our upstairs neighbor and also H, the worker at sand volleyball! I love that she and Grandma bonded too!

*We have a good eater - she loves baby food - well, everything except for apples it seems. Who knew? Sometimes I get tummy troubles after eating apples, too, so this could be my fault. She has been better about using her sippy cup, but still seems at least minorly repulsed by the liquids in it (we've tried everything: water, juice (LOW concentration of juice), formula, and breastmilk!). She refuses a bottle. The lactation consultant (I told you I was a worrier!) said that she IS probably fine, but that we should try a bottle on the weekends too... so that is our new plan.

*We have good sleeper. MVJ is somewhat stubborn to her schedule in the evenings. She WANTS to be in bed around 6:45, and no matter how hard we try to move this back, we always seem to get punished if she's not in bed by 6:45. We had volleyball Thursday night, which we thought would be a great opportunity for MVJ to stay up a little later and maybe sleep a little later??! Nope. We were punished with one night wake-up along with an early morning wake-up. She was so crabby too. We just knew she would be back down for the count soon after waking up. Sure enough she was back in bed for her morning nap around 8am!

*MVJ and Daddy are just about the cutest things ever. It seriously melts my heart thinking of them hanging out together. Sure she may not be wearing the outfits I would put together. Sure she may be working on crawling sooner than I would be helping along. Sure she isn't drinking booby juice like she should. But when I get home, and hear Daddy whisper, "Who's that? Who's coming?" And MVJ grunt in response, I just about lose it every time!

*MVJ still has wild hair! We love it! She also has her BIG eyes that have to check everything out. My new nickname for her is "Googiebear" -- she just has such big googlie eyes.

*She still loves car rides, being held, going for walks, sitting in her highchair, book snacks, and her buggy (a bug whose nose lights up, body plays music, and wings crinkle). Oh! She also has begun to love pacifiers again... but alas, only as toys this time. We'll put it in her mouth, and she'll chew on it, pull it out, flap it around, put it back in her mouth, swirl it around, etc. Goofer!

*She's begun to stick out her tongue. All the time! She has such funny facial expressions and her smile can get so huge! But her lower lip can get equally huge too! She still "talks" -- lots of mmmm sounds -- at times it sounds just like "mum"! So cute! She also ooohs, and whispers sometimes too -- I love all of her little noises! OH... but she still screeches at times too. Youchies, that is NOT one of my favorite noises!

*She's just about exclusively in 6-9 month outfits -- some smaller ones still fit -- but I've mostly put them out of the way. It's fun to pull out new things! But, at the same time, I still get sad thinking it'll be the last time she'll wear some of her smaller things. Like my Mom said, I'll have to pray for another girl with all of these cute clothes!

The Eyes Have It

I made an eye appointment before school started -- got to get all those appointments out of the way, you know. I have been shopping around for eye docs since we've moved here. I started at JCPenneys, because I got a discount at the time. It was ok. I moved on to this other place where I could get a discount for working for the public schools. I did not really enjoy that place. I thought the doctor was rude, to tell you the truth. So now I ended up at Target, with a referral from WS, a friend at work. I have finally found my local eye doc! I thought she was fabulous - friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and thorough, yet quick. She asked a lot about my eyes with regards to my pregnancy and even took the time to learn more about the HELLP syndrome because she said preeclampsia can affect the eyes. Anyways, some things I learned from my most recent eye check up:

*My optic nerve is angled slightly different - my doc said not to worry because:
*The back of the eye is like a fingerprint, everyone's is a little different. This COULD affect me when I get older though - I could be at higher risk for cataracts, or they could be worse, or something.
*I do have slight astigmatism. She said it's not bad enough to get tork lenses, but:
*My eyes take longer to focus on new things. (So THAT'S why JJ can always read license plates before I can... he always gives me "eye tests" because he likes to tease me for having such poor eye sight while he has fairly good sight.)
*My eyes got worse. Whuuu whuuuuuu (Debbie Downer). That sucks. I thought I had pretty much leveled out at -4.75, but no. I'm now at a -5 in each eye. The good news is both eyes are still the same prescription.
*The first thing we'll do with our inflated bank account when JJ is a rich and famous surgeon? Well... maybe not the first but maybe like in the top 100... I'd love to get lasik surgery!

CM

I did it! I put in my first Creative Memories order. And I actually made my goal the very first month! Isn't that awesome? Yes! Except the part that my new goal begins right after I make the previous one. In these businesses, there are always sales goals that must be reached. Each requirements are a little different. I think CM has quite high standards. I don't think I'll be making my goal for very much longer, but it is certainly fun while it's lasting. Because I made my goal in the first month, I got an extra $100 to spend! Woohoo! And, I decided to say that I hosted a party, so I got host incentives as well. : ) So, I think I've figured that I can order my next two albums with a few fun accessories with all my incentives. Thank goodness I have good friends and family members who wanted a few products. Remember - if you need anything - I'll give you a good deal! : )

Ugh.

So today we went on a field trip. A fabulous field trip. Outside. Beautiful weather. A change in routine. Lots of chaperones. What could go wrong? Welllll... without getting into too many specifics, just a few things:

1) A fight broke out in OUR group (of all groups) between two kiddos (one of whom's Dad was chaperoning...)
2) A girl got her period that day and didn't have any supplies. It was discovered when there was a pool of blood where she was sitting. (Poor chicky!) Of course, this was discovered by the one and only Mrs. W... it almost always is going to happen to Mrs. W. Bodily funcitons especially! ; )
3) A local news station came out and interviewed a few of our kiddos... in Mrs. W's group (again!), and when she got back, she had to frantically call parents to make sure it was ok their kids were on TV.
4) The camp coordinator is a bit over the top wierd about nature, but she definitely does mean well. And there are whistles. Loud ones. And time schedules. Strict ones.
5) I came back with a nasty cold. Allergies? I don't know what it is, but it sucks. Let's just say it's 8:30 and I'm ready for bed.

But.... I DID get four oreo cookies at lunch because my group was the straightest and quietest at lunchtime.

MVJ vs. Church

MVJ has been a little stinker lately for us during Church. The service we choose to go to happens to land right after her morning nap, so we feel like we're good to go. She loves listening to the music. She loves when we're standing up. She does NOT like so much the sitting down and being quiet. For a few Sundays in a row now, I've taken her into the Nursery for about a half hour. I'm hoping that she'll warm up to it and be ready to hang out there by herself in a little bit. She LOVES other kiddos -- babies, young children, slightly older kids, etc. And our Nursery has toys! Toys she hasn't seen! And swings! And bumbos! What more could an ALMOST SEVEN MONTH OLD (what?!) want?

I've also signed up to help out in the nursery. I took the plunge. Well, for goodness sakes, I'm in there anyways, I might as well be helping out, right? There was a potluck this Sunday to kick off the young families ministry. A little four-year-old girl came right up to us and started chatting with MVJ. Our conversation went something like this:

Her: "She is beeeautiful!"
Me: "She loves kiddos."
H: "What's a kiddo?"
M: "You're a kiddo!"
H: "You're silly!"

Later, when MVJ started fussing, she ran over to us and started singing to MVJ. It was just about the cutest thing ever. MVJ kind of stopped and just stared at her. The little girl ran back to her Mom and said, "My singing HELPED!"

Grandma Time!

Last week JJ got to follow a D.O. surgeon for two days. It was an awesome opportunity and he learned a lot. I think he got re-pumped up about why he's been putting all this work and effort into this far out there goal of his. (Oh, and quick sidenote: he's already gotten responses from three schools asking for follow-up applications. Woohoo! God is GOOD!)

So, it was awesome that JJ could do that... but... we don't have a backup babysitter! He's IT. I called my Mom as soon as we found out the dates and begged, pleaded and promised JJ's cooking if she could make it work to come babysit for two days. Well, turns out I didn't have to pull out all of my big guns -- she made it happen and was so excited. In fact, she had her bags packed a full TWO days before heading out!! : )

MVJ has had a bout of the Stranger-Dangers, so we were a bit nervous. Grandma K arrived the night before just to have miss MVJ refamiliarize herself with her. Turns out MVJ was ready for sleepytime when she got to our house, so she was C-R-A-B-B-Y and had the yellies. I was so nervous. The next morning... more yellies and cries. Oh boy! Poor Grandma. It was going to be a looooong day. I called as soon as I got a chance -- I think it was lunchtime. Grandma reported that they were having an awesome day. What??! Miss MVJ had officially turned it around and warmed right up to Grandma. Praise the Lord!! She took a nice nap and Grandma even took her for a long walk. It just made my day knowing how well they were bonding! Grandma brought her to my work because it was Open House day so I wouldn't be home until a little after 7pm. Yuck.

The next night, MVJ went down at like 6:45. We couldn't keep her awake! Grandma decided that JJ and I should go out to eat -- take advantage of 1) MVJ sleeping and 2) Grandma there! So, she twisted our arms ; ). We went out (blew our eating out budget... but sometimes you have to celebrate!) and had a wonderful time where JJ could recap his adventures in the OR. We got home and went right to bed (we're such wild and crazy kids) expecting to have to get up a little while later with MVJ. To our utter amazement, she slept through the night... right up until 6:15 the next morning -- a full 11 and 1/2 hours since she went down! I fed her, changed her, and she went right back to sleep for another two hours! It was fabulous!

The next night? A full night's sleep again! 10 hours of pure sleeping bliss. We have no idea what turned it around, but we decided that MVJ was just completely worn out from grandma-sitting. : ) As I type this, MVJ has been sleeping for about 5 minutes. Hopefully she decides to keep up her perfect streak!

One week down. . .

First week back to work. Check. I dreaded this week from about February 10th on (when I became coherent enough to think straight!). But, it wasn't as bad as I had it built up to be. First of all, MVJ is home with Daddy. How awesome is that? Sure I'll be missing some things, but Daddy's there and it's cool that they'll share some special moments too. And when I get home, I'm so refreshed. I'm so ready for my baby time. Our only minor glitch is that li'l miss stubborn herself won't take a bottle. Ugh. Or a sippy cup for that matter. We've been concerned that she's not getting enough liquids, but her pediatrician (or the nurse anyways) said that she may just be showing us that she's not happy with the change of Mommy going to work. Also, with feeding her baby food, she just doesn't NEED as much breastmilk. But, alas, I worry. Hopefully this week goes better.

If this week is any indication, I'm going to have a great year. My kiddos have been awesome. I know I'll have some challenges. I know I'll have lots of work ahead of me with lesson plans and paperwork and teaching, etc. but the attitudes just seem to be so positive this year. I know, I know Day 3, right? But, I just have this feeling it's going to be a great year!

New budget

JJ and I have embarked on a new budget. It's not that we necessarily are in the poor house. It's just that we spend way too much money on junk we don't need. We have had a budget, but we used to use it more in terms of keeping track of how we spend our money. This month we bit the bullet and tried a new method. A method we have not tried before. We are working on a cash only system. Here's the plan:

*On the 15th (pay day!) we're going to take a specific amount of cash out of the bank.
*Then we're going to divvy out the cash into our categories. Right now we're working with: groceries, gas, eating out and miscellaneous (start basic right?).
*Then we're going to divide each category's money into weekly allotments.

We have a credit card that we get great rewards on (and pay off monthly -- we've never carried a balance), but we've found that it is way too easy to just swipe the card instead of thinking about the money being spent. I figure if we do this for about three months (and feel in control), we might be able to go back to using the credit card little by little.

We've done this for a week and a half so far and I feel like we've already won some small battles. For example, in the "eating out" category -- probably my personal vice because I'm not the most enthusiastic chef -- in the first week we took my brother out to eat AND had a separate meal out on our small weekly budget. We had to sacrifice a bit -- going to Arby's and using the 5 for $5 deal, but it felt ... it felt so good to stay in budget! It's like my personal game (have I mentioned I'm a BIT competitive ever? No? It could be a separate post. Believe me.) -- I WANT to have money left in that darn envelope.

JJ is a bit embarrassed -- how can we so "easily" keep to our budget when we've been way off -- up to double off -- before?

Tidbits of Advice: Packing! ! !

I have to say I don't think we're the best packers in the world. We bought a family van and seem to fill it every trip... with only one kiddo... but, I have learned some things along the way!

*If your kiddo fits in a bumbo, bring it along -- it can be a play area, a chance for your kiddo to have his or her own space AND a high chair all in one!
*I used to try to count diapers to decide how many to bring - but now I just bring a whole package every time. It's not that big of a deal if you have extras but it is if you run out! Plus, we have gone to smaller towns where the diapers are much more expensive... not worth it!
*Always bring a few extra clothes -- you just never know! One time we had all summer clothes for MVJ and the weather turned yucky almost the whole time - the poor girl ended up wearing pajamas like the whole time because they were the warmest thing she had!
*Bring extra blankets -- for one thing you might want to lay them down on the floor (like my parents have hardwood floors and they just get too cold/aren't the softest) or maybe there are pets, etc. that you want to keep your kiddo away from. I've also had to use the "this is MVJ's space" for overexhuberant kiddos when MVJ has had enough!
*I've brought my pump to various places and have ended up using it exactly 1/2 a time - it is tougher than I realized to plan that out in advance. We ended up buying formula when we went to Minneapolis the last time and it was just fine. So maybe you want to have a few backup plans along just in case for food.
*We always bring MVJ's "toiletry" bag -- baby Tylenol, Mylicon, teething tablets, bath/grooming supplies, thermometer, nasal aspirator, etc. -- you just never know and you don't want to have to go searching for it at a store if you need it!

Surprise!

A few weekends ago we headed out west for our annual (it seems) Wild West Tour. We hit up JJ's parents and my parents in one fell swoop. This time we decided to not let my parents in on the plans. We figured out a game plan and then called my brother to make sure my parents didn't have anything planned. My brother wasn't going to be around, but he saw that they didn't have anything scheduled. The big day arrived and it was even more perfect than I could've planned: it was my Dad's last day of work at the University! We could help him celebrate! So, as we got nearer to town, I called my Mom's work (our first stop). The ladies there are awesome, and within a matter of moments a secret email was sent out making sure my Mom wouldn't leave her office for the short time it'd take us to get there. I kind of laughed to myself -- the gals worked pretty hard -- does that mean my Mom just randomly takes off all the time? So that surprise was awesome, and my Mom even got to hold MVJ for a while! (We've been working on this whole Stranger-Danger thing for about a month. We think she's finally pulling out of it. Phew!) We asked what the big plans for the night were - we wanted to take my Dad out to eat to celebrate. My Mom said she had to wait for a big phone call for my brother -- something where the company would be calling the house phone and she just needed to give them his cellphone number. We decided we'd order in or pick something up and headed on to surprise my grandparents.

They loved it. It's so exciting to see my grandparents light up at the sight of us (and who am I kidding -- it's all MVJ!). My Grandpa had refurbished a teeny-tiny rocking chair just for MVJ. It's so cute! We can never leave there without some present or food item! (I'm NOT complaining!) Then, while we were about to be on our way home, my Mom called us. The more she thought about the phone call she was waiting for, the more she realized how hokey it was. Then it all clicked! Duh! It was part of the plan to make sure my parents were around Friday evening so we could surprise them! heehee! When we got a hold of my brother, he confirmed that it was all made up -- and he reminded me that he had told me that part of the plan earlier! Oops! Well, problem solved and we got to hit up Johnny Carinos for JJ and my first time -- yum, yum!

Other festivities for that weekend included a ride on the River Boat, a quick shopping excursion to purchase a picture frame for my Dad's new office, and even a golf game with brother AJ (and JJ) on our way home. What a fun weekend -- I LOVE surprises -- especially surprising people -- it makes me positively giddy!!

Are we raising a howler monkey???!

Oh boy! MVJ has a new trick. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint: it makes her Mommy and Daddy's ears bleed. MVJ has developed the worst high pitch screech ever. Ugh. I'm not really sure where she got it from, or why. But it does get good results, I guess. We've tried the, "No! We don't make noises like that!" And the you go in your crib when you scream like that. And the let's distract you with your toys. And the let's get a paci in that mouth before that sound comes out again. We've learned that it generally signals utter and complete exhaustion, and so we just need to bounce her or something to send her off to sleepytime. Other times the distraction method does seem to work and has therefore signaled more of a, "I'm bored with this. Do something entertaining with me or I'll make that noise again." type of a deal.

A side note with the bouncing to sleep: MVJ has decided that only Daddy fits the bill when she is tired. She wants no one else to bounce her, no one else to carry her, no one else to put her in her crib. This is both super cute and super annoying at different times!

Hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to work I go...

Sorry it's been a while. I've been enjoying my ... sniff... sniff... last week of summer. I can't hardly believe that I'll be going back to work on Monday. I'm having trouble coming to grips with the fact that I won't be home with Choochies every day. I mean, I feel like I'm ready for school and it seems like for the most part I have a great group of kiddos, but it's just that every single day all day. Like, I think I'll be fine the first day. Maybe even the first week, but I think then I'll be like, that's enough. I want my old routine back. I want to hold my baby all day if I want to. I want to sit in my pajamas until at least 11:00 (after The Price Is Right). I want to eat when I want and for as long as I want (none of that scarf it down in 15 mins. crap). But most of all Choochies. I know that she'll have so much fun staying home with Daddy. I love that they'll have that opportunity. I love that he's excited about it. I love that they'll develop that bond. But, I want to be there too! I know that she'll be fine, he'll be fine and I'll be fine. I've just got to take it one day at a time I guess.

I'm a Mom

It's official. Let me tell you how that fact was just completely solidified for me today. My beautiful baby girl had her 6 month appointment today. What? 6 months? No way! Anyways, we met with Dr. Z, our pediatrician (our very first pediatrician by the way -- she was described to us as a bit on the geeky side. Both JJ and I decided this was a desirable quality in a doctor.). She fell in love with MVJ right away so we knew she was a keeper (Dr. Z that is -- we've always known MVJ is a keeper! Disclaimer: I realize pediatricians probably ALL ooh and ahh after ALL the babies, but it still made this Momma feel good!). She even gave MVJ a book as part of this program to get books into homes. MVJ promptly chewed on the lower right corner. (She had a book snack later today too.) Anyways, the check up went really well. Dr. Z prescribed MVJ a multivitiman with flouride and vitamin D. She said it is yucky tasting, but was concerned she might not be getting enough flouride since we're still breastfeeding.

Then, of course, the shots. THE SHOTS. Yuck! Daddy held MVJ and she did SO WELL. Really. So that's definitely going to be our new method of shot-taking. I'm pretty sure I project my anxiety onto her. What Mom can just sit there while their baby gets poked with a needle?

Then, I left Daddy in charge while I headed to the water park with one of my summer kiddos. Yay! M-D time is always a good thing, and I am really enjoying getting to know my group of kiddos. They're great! I got home and Daddy was in bed while MVJ was crying in hers. Daddy had a bad headache and MVJ had been crying in her bed for about 10 minutes according to Daddy. He said she had slept about half the time I was gone and cried the rest. Yuck! That is no fun! Especially when you know there's nothing really you can do. You just have to let the shots do their work.

I cuddled MVJ and settled her down (and let Daddy take a breather!). She was doing really well, so I decided to get her going on supper. I gave her some carrots (with a little cereal) and then checked out the vitamins we got. MVJ took the liquid vitamins like a champ and ate about a half of a bowl of her food. Afterwards, I was holding her again and I could just hear rumbling in her tummy. She looked like she was NOT feeling well. I changed her diaper -- a BLOW OUT poopy diaper -- she has not had one of those in a while.

Then she still looked like she was not doing so well, so I took her into the bathroom with me while I cleaned up her outfit. All of a sudden, she looked at me really sad, turned to the side, and PROJECTILE VOMITTED ALL OVER THE BATHROOM. Poor little punky! She did it one more time and I yelled for JJ. He came in and witnessed her vomitting again. Poor sweet thing. Seriously -- orange. All over. All over me, all over her, all over everything. JJ told me to jump in the bathtub (duh... I guess that would've been a smart thing to do a few pukes ago). She went one more time and was done. Oh, I wish I could've taken that yucky away from her. NO FUN. And she doesn't understand (and won't remember, so that's a positive out of this!).

So here is where I circle back to my point. I was always wondering how in the world my Mom could deal with our icky bodily fluids -- wet beds, diarrhea, puke, etc. You know, all the good stuff. I literally had puke dripping off of my hair and arms and I didn't even flinch. I didn't even feel yucky. I just felt so badly for MVJ. I just wanted to take care of her. I was outside of my own needs and wants. It was pretty amazing.

(End of the story -- JJ took MVJ to clean her up, so I could clean up. By the time I got the bathroom cleaned up, MVJ was sleeping soundly in JJ's arms. We called her pediatrician just to double check if we should take her in, stop vitamins, etc. The phone system of our hospital/clinic completely froze/shut down. It was pretty nuts. I had to call three times to actually speak to a nurse. Then we got cut off. They called us back like thirty times and it would ring twice and then hang up. Crazy. We finally got ahold of our Dr. and she said to discontinue the vitamins for a week. Phew, I'm definitely ok with that. I don't want a reprisal of The Exorcist, thankyouverymuch.)

JJ's Trip

JJ recently returned from his first solo trip since... well, for sure since MVJ came into this world and quite possibly the first since we've been married. He attended this little old conference called Willow Creek Leadership Summit. You may have heard of it. I'm so glad he got the opportunity to go as he came back so refreshed in his faith and with lots of great ideas of things to do to make a difference in our area (as well as a large book list to check out). While there, he got to hear simulcasts from Bono and Tony Blair and listen to lots of speakers "in house" including Wess Stafford (pres. of Compassion International) and an advisor to four presidents.

While he was gone, however, I was a "single parent". It seems that MVJ sensed something was different and was very good -- except at night. The first night she woke up about every three hours. STINKER! We know she can do better than that, so I'm not sure what was up. My good friends in the area weren't content to let me stay in my pjs all day and wallow in my single-parentedness, so I spent quality time with the B's, the J's (including mom NA), and MM. I even got to meet with the two teachers I'll be working closely with next year (the new-to-7th grade specialist KB and new RT LH) and had two summer kiddo events thrown in there. I never sleep very well when JJ isn't there and this time was no different, but by the last night I was up to being able to lay down without putting the timer on the TV so I could fall asleep to noise. (Maybe it had something to do with MVJ being up every three hours that first night!! I was tired!) The days flew by and in no time it seemed JJ was knocking on the door at 5:15 am (after a whole night of driving).

Time Waster

Don't do it. Don't you dare do it. Unless you have a LOT of time on your hands, don't go to sporcle.com. TAF and MF got us hooked when we visited them in MN. You'll waste lots of time, trust me. JJ and I just tried to remember all the books of the New Testament (missed three - darn!) and Old Testament (missed an embarrasing amount... those minor prophets... yeeks!), the monopoly board (missed eight pieces... and we only got ONE railroad... jeez!), and parts to the game of clue (only missed ONE room!). Ok, try them if you dare! Oh, and just so you know, spelling counts, and you don't have to hit enter after each entry.

Have fun! : )

Telephone Prank...

My bff TAF is a goofball. She just cracks me up. I'll never forget this one time she called me and pretended to be a telemarketer. I thought it was her so I started being goofy, and she played right along acting shocked. I got embarrassed right away thinking I had it wrong - that it wasn't really her. She made me feel bad for a short time and then fessed up that it was her. Stinker!

So, when I got a call today asking for "MVJ's Mom or Dad" in what I thought was TAF's voice, I said back rather silly, "This is her mother!!" The person continued on, "Well, ahh, this is Dr. Z's nurse just calling to confirm MVJ's appointment on Monday." Oops....

New Job Title

I did it. I took the plunge. I'm officially a Creative Memories consultant! I did not do it to make a little money or meet new people (although that might be a side benefit). I SOLELY did it so I can get the discount! : ) After giving my 30% to various other consultants I decided that I want that money! So, if anyone needs anything scrapbook-related, look me up. I'll give you a deal!

Tidbits of Advice: Traveling with a Baby MVJ

We've done our fair share of traveling with miss MVJ. We don't want to just stay home because we have a baby. We MVJ to be a good traveler when she gets older, and what better way than to expose her to it early on. MVJ has proved to be a good sport in the car, but we have learned a few things along the way.

*Since she is generally beyond the whole spitting up thing, we feed her almost right before we leave.
*We also diaper her right before -- oh and a bath right before is very good too if it can be managed.
*We've found that traveling around her nap schedule is the best thing ever. She will usually take extended naps when she's started out in the car.
*Traveling in the morning seems best for her, but we haven't tried too late at night to compare.
*MVJ once slept a whole five hours in the car and woke up about 15 minutes outside of home. We had to take a longer trip and MVJ screamed about the last whole hour. We knew all she wanted was to get out of her carseat so there wasn't anything we could do besides press on.
*MVJ isn't quite to the age we can distract her with books and toys and things, so sleep is our best ally so far.

Next week: what to pack when traveling with a baby!

A few more things... about our trip to MN...

So then, on Wednesday we were able to get our hands on some fresh baby! Little miss LKH was born July 18 to our niece MH and nephew-in-law (?) PH. She was born ALMOST as early as baby girl MVJ and she is the cutest little thing! She has long, dark hair and is so petite and sweet! We loved holding LKH and reminiscing when MVJ was that small (smaller!! No way!). MVJ is now the big kid.

We came back to the F's for some quality craft time and rock and time. Then we hit Sonic- they have a "happy hour" where drinks are half-price! Sweet! We keep getting commercials for Sonic even though we don't have one! We were definitely intrigued. Then we hit up Noodles and Co. -- JJ and my first visit -- delicious!! You're right, TAF, the mac and cheese is the best! Then, we had a bonfire at the perfect bonfire pit the F's have set up in their backyards. S'mores... friends... laughter... MVJ sleeping... it was wonderful! JJ even said it was his favorite part of the trip.

Next day, we did some laundry --- thanks Fs! --- watched some recorded Jeopardy! (TAF is seriously my kind of woman!), ate some more Sonic (!), and packed up. After bidding adieu to the Fs, we headed back to Fargo to pick up JJ's car. MVJ once again slept the whole way -- and only cried for about 20 minutes outside of Fargo, then slept the rest of the way home. What a wonderful trip! Yay for lots of family and friends!

More MN

From the W's we decided to catch the light rail and take that to the Metrodome. MVJ decided this was about the sixth circle of hell. She screamed the WHOLE time, and it was standing room only, so I was trying to soothe her while SO, NW and JP acted as my human shields! JJ and TAF were split up farther away from us. We finally got off the @$#% train and MVJ began to calm down. I knew she was just fine -- I guessed it was the noise and commotion. We met up with the rest of our crew: MF, AW, SV and her hubby JM, and headed inside.

We found our spots - awesome left field seats on the end of a very long aisle. Being on the end was fabulous except for one minor exception --- everyone (and I mean everyone and some people multiple times) came by us at some point. Sometimes it was inconvenient - MVJ had just fallen asleep, just taken a bottle, whatever. But, we couldn't complain - (well we could... and did...) but it was just so much fun to be out at a game! MVJ was too cute in her little Twins outfit, but it was a little masculine. Daddy felt the need to put her pink pants on here and one group of businessmen on the train with us chatted about our little baseball player. The one closest, however, commented that first she'd have to ditch her pink pants! heehee When she got much too warm, we took the pink pants off and several people commented about our baby boy's first trip to the game. Of course I can't imagine looking at her and seeing a boy, but whatever. : )

The only homerun of the game was hit into our section, so that was superfun and the cotton in MVJ's ears worked wonders. Before we could find some water, MVJ even nursed in the Metrodome, which later JJ noted was "kinda cool." She also received her first formula at the game, which she took to very well. Yay! MVJ is still very strongly in the midst of stranger-danger. It makes me quite annoyed that she won't go to others, but after she spends some quality time with someone, she'll usually spend a little bit of time in his/her arms.

After the game, we learned our lesson about the light-rail, and realized that waiting for three or four trains to go by so we could be on a much less crowded one was time WELL SPENT. MVJ did really well, despite getting hungry. I was a little angry at JJ for not letting me nurse her (with cover of course), but later he said there were too many creepers on the train. heehee In the end, MVJ made it just fine to the W's, where we dropped off JP and picked up TAF's cooler. In fact, she fell fast asleep and slept the whole way back to the F's. You go girl!

Trip to MN

A long, long time ago... I can still remember... how that music used to make me feel. No. Wait. A long time ago I used to be a hall director! It was a grand ole time and I'm so thankful I was able to do it for two years (just enough but not too much!). In the process, I was able to be on the bestest staff ever. Seriously. I don't mean to gloat or something, but we all just clicked and created a really positive working environment. So four of the five of us live in the cities (or nearby)... can you guess which one of these is not like the other one? Which one does not belong? Yeah, that's me, so I was the one traveling this week to visit my good friends: NW, JP, TAF and SV. We organized a BBQ and night out at the Twins and it was fabulous!! (Fellow housing staff member SO tagged along for some fun along with significant others: JJ, MF, AW, and JM).

The drama of the trip was that JJ had jury duty. His first call was the week he was in his nephew's wedding. He got out of that with a new letter to call the week of his MCATs. He got out of that with a new letter to call the week of our Twins game. He felt a little foolish trying to get out again so we just crossed our fingers. We packed up the van, drove to Fargo to be an hour closer to the cities, and he called at his designated time. Miracle of miracles, there were no cases and he was thus relieved of his duties! w00t! Into the van we went again and made it to the cities in about three hours from Fargo. MVJ slept the WHOLE TIME. What a fabulous daughter I have!

We got to the F house only to be greeted by Neua เนื้อ --- I had to look up how to spell "meat" in Thai --- I'm not sure how to spell the name of their dog (long story short, they lived in Thailand for two years and rescued a dog that was about to be used as a temple sacrifice --- so since they eat dog in Thailand, they named their dog "meat" in Thai!! I think it's hillarious!). Anyways, no one else was there -- Neua is quite the guard dog -- he licked us to death! But, we were confused that his owners weren't present. We soon found out that TA had been at the ER -- she is 13 weeks pregnant and had four migraines in two days! TA's migraines are not your run of the mill migraines -- we're talking loss of vision and pretty much the ability to be present in the world when one hits. AND she can't take her regular meds because of her pregnancy. Boo! But, she was given a shot and a new prescription, and she seems to be on the up and up! Thank goodness!

TAF and MF are doing great and they have all sorts of fun plans for the baby room and all that. Yay for babies! Tuesday morning we set about getting ready for the BBQ at NW and AW's, buying a few Twins outfits (for JJ, TAF and of course miss MVJ), and making a sign for li'l miss MVJ for the Twins. Then we headed out to the W's. It was so much fun to hang out with our old friends. One of my favorite things is we always seem to just slide back in to regular life. There generally isn't the awkward "catching up" that usually happens with old friends. I love my housing family! Go team D! Leave your pants at home! I think that's enough for now. More to come.

Bye bye Volleyball

Early evening on Wednesday (volleyball day), AO texted to say she wasn't feeling well and would not be at volleyball! Oh no! Our last night and we would be short a girl? The rule is there can't be more guys than girls, so I tried frantically to get a girl to play with us. My wonderful long-term sub (and new RT) said she'd do it! Yay! So, when we got to the courts, the worker ran up to us and said that we were in a tie to get into the championship game. Woohoo! We had to do well! The team we were playing was undefeated for the WHOLE SEASON. They were way, way, way too good for the B (just for fun) league. We're talking bump, set, spike every single return. All serves over. That kind of thing. We're fairly decent, but we're just out for fun and have all kinds of skill level, from beginner to JJ's level. ; ) We quickly lost the first two games and decided to play the third for fun. It started raining and everyone scattered pretty quickly when the worker ran over again telling us that the team we were tied with had lost too! Maybe there was still hope for our annual t-shirt. After mulling over some TCBY, the head guy called me the next morning to tell me there was actually a four-way tie for second place (and a spot in the championship game), but looking at our records against the other three teams, we ended up on the losing end of the tie. Boo! But yay to an awesome season! Fall league here we come!

Tidbits of Advice: Random, random

Just a few random post-preggo facts. I have always been a somewhat weird eater. For example, when I first met JJ I couldn't stand drinking water. Trust me, I got teased a ton, you don't have to point out how strange it is. I also didn't like chocolate. Call me crazy (quite a few people did), but I could totally pass up pretty much anything chocolate when it came to a treat. NOW, both of those things have flipped. The chocolate... not so much on the plus side of my healthy eating... but the water, at least that's a huge improvement. I crave water now. Mmmm... at times I do add some lemon flavoring, but even that is not necessary.

Random Bystanders

While on walks with MVJ, the most interesting things that happen are generally seeing a family of ducks or walking by someone we recognize. But, last night we were witnesses to a strange driving occurrence! We were walking down University when all of a sudden this big van (a painting van no less) does a wild u-turn across a median, and then goes back over the median again so that he is driving against traffic! Two cars, thank goodness they were paying attention, careen to the side to avoid him as he crazily heads back to his right side of the road, almost running into a car travelling on that side. It was insane! JJ and I just stopped and stared for the brief time it took for the whole scene to play out. For some reason I thought the guy's brakes must have gone out, but that was certainly not the case. JJ said the guy was lighting a cigarette as he did the u-turn and just lost control. In any case, it was weird to say the least!

Note to self

Don't wear a shirt you enjoy after your husband has decided it's time to feed your baby carrots for the first time... yeah...

I got home from work yesterday and JJ had decided he wanted to feed MVJ carrots. This is her VERY FIRST food (besides boobie juice and cereal). She spit it up a little bit a short time after her feeding. Fine, no big deal, we expected it. About an hour later (at Green Mill), she spit up MORE orange goo. Eewww! We weren't ready for that! About an hour and a half after Green Mill, she spit up MORE (while I was at Bible Study with her). I think we can safely call that stuff throw up -- it had been in her tummy for quite a while! Oh, and she even got it in my pocket! What aim! : )

Tidbits of Advice: Feeding Cereal

We have been feeding MVJ cereal for quite some time now. We started with just a little introduction randomly, but have moved it right into her nightly bedtime ritual. At about 8pm, I plop her in her bumbo on the kitchen table (she stays there during her meal--we haven't gotten the highchair out yet). She loves being my little sous chef. I started out making it quite soupy, but now have been able to make it a bit thicker. I also started out mixing it with pumped breastmilk. Yeah, way too much work for a nightly deal. So I've been using distilled water instead. I warm it up slightly -- she's not a fan of "cold" yet. Then I get the bib out -- my upstairs neighbor (BB) said that cloth seem to better for the "wetter" cereal stage. She has fun baby spoons -- sometimes I let her "choose" the color. She is pretty much a champ. She loves her some cereal and generally eats everything I have made. Sometimes she'll refuse the spoon, turn away, try to grab it and throw it, etc. to let me know that she is DONE. She loves being cleaned up for some reason. She'll grab the little towel and sometimes try to eat it! She usually wants to follow up with some milkies, which is fine by me (fill 'er up so she sleeps longer is my motto!).

Prayer

At Bible Study last Tuesday, we were talking about the discipline of prayer. It was a very thought-provoking study and I thought our leaders did an awesome job of humbly talking about their own goals and sometimes shortcomings when dealing with prayer. Here are some of the key points we talked about. Do you have any hints or insights to add for developing a meaningful prayer life?

*There are two kinds of prayer: the scheduled, daily "stuff" --- like prayer before meals, maybe a devotion before bedtime that you do every night, etc. and the ongoing, sporadic prayer --- we should be in constant communication with God and live our lives in such a way that it is a prayer uplifted to God. For this type, I always remember part of a sermon by Pastor P, who compared this type of prayer to being married (of course, this example is, or should be, to a much different degree) --- you are married to your spouse, but you are not with your spouse 24/7, but you should live in such a way that is honoring to your spouse, maybe show outward signs that you are married, and talk about your spouse and let others meet your spouse, etc, etc.

*Some reasons why people don't pray as much as they should, or would like to: some people believe prayers aren't answered or that God will do what He wants anyways so why bother, some people get into the busyness of life and forgot to ask God/praise God/tell God about it, people feel inexperienced or don't feel they know how to pray effectively, etc.

*There are tons of places in the Bible that focus on prayer (we looked at a few of them) -- Jesus prayed all the time, the disciples tell others that prayer is uberimportant and people in the OT knew to lift up their prayers to God. One spot (now I can't remember which verses...) basically said that God would've healed this person sooner but there was no one interceding on his behalf. So, he still healed the person (as per His plan), but it would've been quicker had people been praying for this person.


I know JJ and I always plan to do specific devotionals and lots of times they fall by the wayside after a few days or weeks. Then it gets frustrating. JJ often likes to pray by himself and I prefer to pray outloud together. It's definitely a balancing act of finding ways that work but making sure to give God the time He deserves. At one time I was very faithful about listening to a Bible podcast. It was awesome - this guy shared a bit about the passage (one or two chapters from the OT, one psalm, a few verses of Proverbs and a half of a chapter to a whole chapter from the NT) and then read it. It was interesting and got me digging into my Bible. But, after a few months it became something on my "to-do list" and that made me get frustrated at myself, thus negating what I had set out to do in the first place. I think if I would've concentrated my prayers on asking God to bless this time it would've been more fruitful.

Anyways, just some random thoughts about prayer.

So I tried to go to Harry Potter yesterday. . .

Yesterday our friends RE and JE from Thief River Falls decided to come hang out and go to a matinee of Harry Potter, which I've been waiting to see! We found a babysitter, friend SM from work, and got it all planned. We thought there was a 2:00 showing, but it turned out it was either 1:45 or 2:15. I sent RE and JE to see if the 1:45 was open, but it was full. So we settled on the 2:15 and I headed out the door, while li'l miss MVJ slept and after SM had gotten the run-down on toys, bottles, teething tablets, etc! Right after the first preview (for the second installment of Twilight), I got a text from SM basically saying, "MVJ woke up screaming at about 1:50, I've tried everything and she won't calm down. Any ideas?" Oh dear! Not what you want to hear! I quickly exited stage left and called her to get the skinny. I hear MVJ wailing in the background and SM has tried everything I would've tried. I text JJ that I'm heading home, and the theater people were nice enough to refund my ticket (yay!).

At home, MVJ will just not calm down. She has worked herself up to hysterics and has basically done everything to SM in her arsenol: pulled her hair, spit up on her and spit out a chalky teething tablet onto her shoulder. What a little stinker!!! On the way home I was pondering what to pay SM. We had bought a gift card to the movie theater, but at first it seemed like a bit much for about an hour at our house... but... upon further thought, I realized she ABSOLUTELY deserved every single penny, and more!!! Poor SM! I feel so bad that MVJ was such a brat! And poor MVJ I suppose. Maybe leaving while she was sleeping was a bad idea since she didn't have a chance to warm up to her.

So, the conclusion? MVJ yelled at me for about 10 more minutes, then nursed and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up she was just about the happiest baby ever. Little stinker!