We've been busy running errands, going to different programs for the kids and getting ready to go to Chicago this weekend.

There's no need to worry about Lorelei's walking any more.  She's got it down and there's no stopping her.  Now she's really into everything.  And now I'm realizing how much I've been treating her like a baby and letting her get away with way tooooo much. 

Today was a beautiful spring-like day.  I wish it would stay like it was today.  But we were so busy today that we barely got to enjoy the sunshine.  I had signed the girls up for a class called "Fun with Baking" through our town's Parent Center.  It's for kids 18 months to 6 years old.  I wasn't thinking that it was on Thursdays and the same day as Ainsley has ballet in the afternoon.  But, oh well, it's only for a month.  So today we went to Fun with Baking from 10 to 11:30, back home for about an hour and then to ballet.  I used the class as a story for the paper I write for, so I was doing double duty, too. 

I think Lorelei enjoyed the class.

Remember those capsules you put in water and they "magically" became foam creatures?  Well, we watched them "magically" appear today.  The girls had a lot of fun with this.

(I'm not sure what happened to Lorelei's face, but it's cute anyway.)

This afternoon I was trying to get that story written and dinner made, so Josh took the girls on a walk to the library.  I ran out of the house to snap this picture before they went too far down the street.

I hope everyone is having a good week.  I will probably not write again until after we get back from our trip.

 It was rough.  Ainsley was testing her limits once again and really trying my patience.  Lorelei was very clingy and whiny as she got over her ear infection.  By Thursday, I had had enough. 

This is what pushed me over the edge:  Ainsley was being unkind to her sister AGAIN.  I had disciplined her for it so many times already that day, that I just couldn't do it anymore, at least not at that moment.  I sent her up to her room, so I could calm myself down before dealing with her.  She was very upset about this, and so to spite me, she peed all over the floor at the bottom of the stairs.  Her sister was walking toward her at the time, slipped in the puddle of pee and fell into said puddle.  I was NOT HAPPY!

I called my husband and told him, that was it.  I was getting a job.  I was going back to work.  These children were going in daycare.  I am not cut out to be a stay at home mom.  The children are eating pieces of my brain, and I feel stupid and useless.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Josh has become used to this phone call.  I make it about once a quarter, or so.  I think it frightened him the first time I did it, but now he knows to just let me get it out, and then come home and let me have some time to myself.

That night, he came home and sent me upstairs to have a bath by myself.  I think God causes me to have these "breakdowns" every now and then to get me to lean on Him.  I am a very self-reliant person, and I struggle with letting God have control.  I know that I will be a complete and utter failure as a mother without His help, but I still try to accomplish this most important job without God's guidance often.  I spent the time in the bath praying and crying.  I know staying at home with my girls is what God has for me right now, and I do love it, but it is the hardest thing I have ever done.  And I need Help, yes, Help with a capital H.

Then I went grocery shopping by myself.  It's amazing how much better I felt after just doing that.

While I was gone, Josh planned for his parents to watch the girls so we could go out on a date on Friday night.  That meant so much to me.  I do not deserve how nice he is to me sometimes. 

Friday was a better day.  And Josh and I had such a nice time on our date.  We didn't stay out very long, but it was nice to have a dinner by ourselves.  We went to a Japanese restaurant we had never been to before.  It was very good.

I think a lot of my poor attitude has to do with my winter-weariness.  We got six more inches of snow on Friday night into Saturday.  I think I am ready to see the grass again.  It seems like this winter has gone on forever.  But spring is soon.  I know it is. 

My baby was moved from the baby nursery to the toddler nursery at church today.  They usually wait until they're 18 months, but the Sunday School quarter started today, so since she's finally walking, they went ahead and moved her over.  I am incredibly sad about it.  It just doesn't seem right for her to be that old.  I was begging them to move Ainsley over early, because my brute of a child was beating up all the kids in the baby nursery, but my baby, MY BABY should not be in the toddler nursery yet, right????

We'll be flying out this Saturday to visit my family in the Chicago area.  I am looking forward to it, of course.  We could all use this trip.  The trip is mostly for Ainsley's birthday.  She'll be 4(!) on the 13th.  We thought it would be fun to be able to celebrate her birthday with my extended family since they never get to see us on birthdays.

Have a good week everyone.

Lorelei saw the Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist today, and overall it was very good news.

The doctor said that while it did look as though her right leg is longer than the other, it is such a small difference at this point, that she would rather not treat it.  Her hips and spine are perfectly lined up as they should be.  She said the asymmetric creases in legs were something to get checked out, but were not a true indication that something is wrong.  She measured her legs and found her femurs to be the same length. 

So, bottom line, we will keep watching it.  If she is still not walking normally at future appointments, we will look closer.  If at some point her right leg is much longer than the other, we will figure out our options then.

We are thankful for the good report, and thank you to all my friends for praying.

I love my weekends because we can have lazy mornings.

Saturdays are the one day in the week that my husband does not rise before dawn.  It's the one day of the week my children wake up and find mom and dad still in bed together.

It's the one day of the week when we can all have breakfast together.

It's the one day of the week when we have lots of time to play and make silly things. 

(She was singing "The B-I-B-L-E")

It's the one day of the week when we can make fattening things like this... (ok, not really the ONLY day)

...With the two cutest little helpers on the planet.

I love Saturdays because we can just spontaneously plan fun activities.

I love Saturdays because we get to spend time as a family.

What did you do this weekend?

 

Lorelei's new skill did impress the doctor somewhat, but not enough.

We will be heading to a pediatric orthopedist next week.  He checked out her legs again, and it does look like something just isn't right.  If you lay her on her belly and look at her legs next to one another, they do not match up.  It's likely one of her legs is longer than the other, which may be why she has had such trouble finding enough balance to stand on her own and walk.

The pediatrician had me call to make the appointment while I was still in the office, if they were unable to get her scheduled in the next couple weeks, he was going to call and get her in himself.  Well, I was able to get her an appointment for next Wednesday. 

Please pray that we will find what is wrong and be able to fix it quickly and easily so she will not have future problems.

Edit: Oh, and she has an ear infection, too.

Isn't it just like the former news producer to tease you a little...

And just like they do on TV...

We'll get to that story in a minute, but first, my weekend...

On Friday, I took the girls to children's museum in a town that's about a half hour away.  We NEEDED to get out of the house.  It's one of those museums that has a theme for each room.  The girls enjoy this place a lot.

In the "Clipper Ship" room Lorelei caught a fish and put it on the conveyor belt.

Of course, with my background, I enjoyed watching the girls "direct" a puppet show complete with working cameras.

This room is a nice place to get the girls to settle down for a few minutes.  It usually has some imaginative play things in it.  I enjoyed listening to Ainsley have conversations with all the people in the castle.

Lorelei enjoyed getting her own treehouse to play with.  Those big sisters can be quite bossy sometimes.

I don't know if Lorelei was planting or picking the carrots, but she was having a good time.

Hide the keys... she's behind the wheel!

We had such a lovely time together.  It was good for all of us to get out.

While we were there, my dad called to say my grandpa (my mom's stepfather, but my grandpa in every way that counts) was in the hospital and had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  He is doing much better now and is out of the hospital, but he will be having a pacemaker put in sometime during the first week of March.  If you think of it, please say a prayer for my grandpa.

On Friday night, Josh came home with his dad's dump truck... really a pickup truck with a bed that lifts up and dumps out... so we could finish our purge of the house.  That night we filled it up for the first time.

Saturday morning, Josh took Ainsley on his first dump run.  Then we had my mother-in-law come over to keep an eye on the children so we could purge the basement without distractions.  I would have taken before and after pictures, if they wouldn't have been too embarrassing.  Our basement was a disaster area of junk!  We filled up the dump truck once again with loads of stuff we don't need. (And it was not donate-able, either)  It made me realize just how blessed we are in this country.  Not only do we have a roof over our heads, closets filled with clothes and cupboards filled with food, but we also have loads and loads of JUNK!  What do we have to complain about?

On Saturday night, we ran a few errands and ate out together as a family.  It was nice, but by the time we got home and put the kids in bed, Josh and I were exhausted.

Sunday was spent worshiping the Lord at our church.  

And today I'm running errands and trying to clean my house after tracking dirt throughout it all weekend.

Now to that promised hostage exchange...

My sister-in-law asked for a recipe a long time ago, but I have been holding it hostage until she posted something of substance on xanga.   She finally has, so I must pay up.

This recipe was given to me by the main female news anchor at my first paying TV job.  It was a family recipe.  I always think of Carol Goldsmith whenever I make it.

So for Hannah, and everyone else who likes a good pie recipe, here it is...

Chocolate Coconut Chess Pie
1/2 cup butter
4 cups sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
3 pie crusts, unbaked

Cream butter and sugar.  Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  (Will be very soupy.)  Pour into pie crusts.  Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Yes, this makes THREE pies.  I have found that after baking and cooling them, they can be wrapped tightly and frozen.  When you're ready for another pie, just thaw it on the counter, and it's good to go.  

I do not like coconut, but I still like this pie.   It is quite rich, though, so a little bit goes a long way.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday.

Happy Valentine's Day!  I thought I would tell you all about my Valentine.

Josh is the youngest of three boys and was raised right in the town where we live now.  I didn't meet him until the second semester of my freshman year of college.  He was a sophomore and had just changed his major to Radio and Television Broadcasting.  I was a Broadcast Journalism major.  We were taking a class together. 

His first impression of me:  I was stuck up.

My first impression of him:  I don't even remember the first time I met him.

What's funny is that Josh is very tall... VERY tall.  But the first time I do remember him was someone remarking about how tall he is.  I didn't even notice until then.  That's how it's always been with him.  I've never really had a hard time with our height difference.  It feels natural.  There are other people that I will stand next to or talk to and I will feel short next to them, but not Josh. 

Through our shared classes we became fast friends, despite our first impressions.  But I was not the least bit interested in him as anything other than a friend.  I was dating others, the wrong type of guys, and was going down a very wrong path.  I knew Josh was interested in me, and I (ashamedly) used it to my advantage when I needed it.  He knew, he KNEW I was the one.  He just waited and prayed... patiently.  He KNEW I would get my heart right and marry him one day. 

It took me a year to get my heart right.  During that year Josh was my sweet friend.  He called me during the summer, and still did things with me during the next school year.  We were so often together that people would ask if we were dating (my boyfriends at the time were at home, not school) and I would sarcastically remark back that we were madly in love.

By the time second semester rolled around, Josh's patience was waning, but my heart was starting to get right.  He started pulling away, just as I realized how much I cared for him.  We began to date, and it wasn't long before I KNEW, too.  God had meant for us to be together.

We were engaged seven months later.

We were married one year after that.  That was 8 and a half years ago.

Josh is the most unselfish person I have ever met.  He always puts the girls and I before himself. 

He loves me, despite all my faults. 

He loves the Lord and is a good leader of our family.

He is willing to do things at our church (like leading congregational singing) that he is uncomfortable doing because he realizes this is a job that needs to be filled and that God is the one Who is getting the glory.

He adores his girls.  The other day Ainsley came up to him with one of her Strawberry Shortcake dolls and asked him which one it was.  He said, "That's Orange Blossom," without even a thought.  This guy who grew up playing with Matchbox cars and GI Joes now knows the names of all the Strawberry Shortcake characters. 

He's quiet, until you get to know him.  In a large group, he will keep to himself.

On the big things in life, we always agree.  We only argue over the silliest of things.  (Like the color of our couches.)

He makes me laugh.

He makes me smile.

He works very hard to support our family.  He gets to work at 5:00 a.m. every day.

He put my career before his for many years. 

His ego was never hurt when I made more money than he did.  He was just proud of me.

I think he gets along with my brother better than I do.

He loves my family.  He enjoys having his in-laws visit.

He will be very embarrassed when he reads this. (He was.)

He would eat spaghetti every night if he could.

He hates pickles and green peppers.

He can fall asleep anywhere, any place, in any position and in an instant. 

He likes to play sports. 

He is a die-hard fan of the Red Sox, Patriots and UCONN Huskies.

Until he met me he had never been farther west than Greenville, South Carolina.

He is the tallest Jewish person you will ever meet.   (His family converted a very long time ago.)

He is always busy.  He hates having nothing to do.

He is my perfect match.

Happy Valentine's Day to my Valentine.

That sounds silly, right.   We've been lazy because we (us girls, unfortunately my husband leaves for work VERY early in the morning) snuggled in bed late (as in 8:00 a.m. which is late in my house) into the morning.  And we are all still in our pajamas.

Busy because we've been cooking and baking all morning long.  We've made Valentine cupcakes for all the kids in Frontline Club.  That's the program we use Wednesday nights at church.  I teach the 4th-6th graders along with Amanda.  Ainsley helped decorate them with pink and red sprinkles.  And, let's just say they are pretty heavy on the sprinkles.   I also made potato soup that is now cooking in the crock pot.  And we made a batch of cookies, too.

It's a dreary winter day out there.  It snowed last night and all day today we've been getting ice and freezing rain. YUCK!  I'd take snow over ice any day.  But since we're stuck inside, why not bake and make a mess of my kitchen, right?  I now feel a little ill after all that "sampling" all day.  I had to make it tasted right!

THE PURGE.  That's what I've been doing with my free time this week.  My friends will tell you that purging was one thing I was looking forward to doing if we had been moving.  Well, we're not actually moving, but I'm purging anyway.  It needed to be done.  I have cleaned out all the rooms, closets and bathrooms upstairs.  I needed 10 trash bags to get rid of all the stuff I'm throwing away.  I'm hoping to start working on some of the rooms downstairs today.  Of course, I still need to take a shower and get dressed...

I've found some interesting things during my purge...
1.  The discharge papers from the hospital after I had Ainsley.  Why I kept them I have no idea.  She will be four next month.  I think I can part with them.
2.  Receipts from Christmas presents from the first year we lived here (that was 2003!!!)
3.  Multiple boxes of pre-natal vitamins. You know, the samples they give you when you go to your first pre-natal appointment?  Well, for some reason, I still had every box from all three times I've been pregnant.  WHY???
4.  Some size 1 diapers.  Don't think Lorelei will fit in those...
5.  I threw away an entire garbage bag full of baby/child size hangers.  And I still have plenty more.
6.  Hidden in a box inside the girls' closet, I found some things someone had given me when I first found out I was pregnant with the baby we lost.  I had forgotten all about them, but to my surprise, finding them did not upset me at all.  I just felt this overwhelming need to give them to someone who could use them.  (It was baby washcloths and bibs.)  I think Amanda's Joy Baby should have them.

I'm sure there was more, but that's all that's coming to me right now.  I'll be purging all week, and crazy ol' me is enjoying it immensely.  We plan to get Josh's dad's dump truck this weekend and do the big job: THE BASEMENT.  I'm even looking forward to that....