Do you know how much time that clerk at Payless Shoes would have saved me if she had just looked to see if the brown pair of shoes were at another store like I asked? So much!
Yesterday I blogged about my fruitless efforts searching for shoes for Savannah. Today, I went out again. All three girls and myself and went to three more stores before I went in to another Payless just to check. Ka-boom. There were the shoes. It could have been just that easy.
But it is ok. I have the shoes. I'm happy. Savannah is happy because they match Emily's shoes. Emily is not happy because I wouldn't buy the ten pairs of sandals she tried on today. But we have shoes.
I had a very funny snippet of a conversation with the girls this morning and I absolutely must share it with you.
Emily to Savannah: "Oh no, no! Stop it, you are drooling!"
Me: "Hey, what's happening Savannah?"
Savannah: "I was just being happy!"
Oh, how I wish I could convey tone of voice, because the concern in Emily's voice and the matter of fact-ness in Savannah's voice were priceless.
And how does drooling demonstrate happiness?
We may never know.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Random Bits of My Life
How completely sweet is this? It is not uncommon to see Emily reading to baby Sophie. It makes my heart happy.
Lately my days have been filled with school with Emily... we are trying to finish up Kindergarten before we move. I'm not sure we are going to make it, but we will be close. And Emily has put in a lot of time and effort into it. I'm proud of her.
Another thing we have been doing is running errands to get ready to move. We are now on a count down with 16 days left! One thing on our list to buy is shoes for all of us, Sophie excluded. The girls have grown out of their shoes and Brian and I have worn ours out... so the hunt is on. I spent most of today searching unsuccessfully for a pair of good walking shoes for Savannah. Emily was easy and we found what I am looking for at the first stop. The girls would be happy with numerous pairs of pink, sparkly, cute, fun shoes at any store that carries shoes in their size, or actually anything that they can put on their foot. But I'm looking for something a little more specific. It needs to be dark in color... Egypt is dusty. I don't want to buy white sparkly shoes just for them to be gross on the first day. I would prefer brown with pink accents. Which is hard to find in a size 8 for a little girl. :)
On the topic of shoes: I love Sketchers!
Actually, I hate them.
I know, right?!
Sketchers make incredibly cute shoes. I love the way sketchers look... but they are horrible shoes to wear. And until they make shoes that are not only cute, but also comfortable to wear, provide support for feet and some cushion in the sole, I refuse to buy them. So there.
Whew, I feel better.
Do you want to know what Savannah did today?
My sweet, precious, kind-hearted little girl made a boy run for his mommy this afternoon! Oh yes she did!
We had just finished lunch at Chik-fil-a and the girls were playing in the play area while I was feeding Sophie, when I looked over to see Savannah assuming a "karate" stance and opposite her, also assuming a karate stance was a boy who was a good head taller than she and had at least 20 pounds on her.
*Not actual picture of confrontation at the play area
I thought, "Oh, no, this is going to be bad." But then the boy turned and walked away. I thought, "Oh, good. I won't have to break up a karate match today." Next thing I know, the little boy's mother is in there waving her finger at Savannah. I'm can only assume she was telling Savannah not to use her fabulous karate moves on her precious baby boy. At least, that is how the story goes when I tell it on my blog.
*No little boys were harmed in the making of these photographs.
I blame it on their father... who recently introduced The Karate Kid movies to my sweet little girls and whom said sweet little girls beg to "play karate" as soon as he gets home from work. My little girls have the heart of little warriors. Me thinks their daddy needs a little boy...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Baby Wrap
After researching baby slings until I am blue in the face and discovering repeatedly that they are insanely expensive, I stumbled upon the directions to make a Maya Wrap on their website. It seemed simple enough, so I decided to try it.
I spent a crazy amount of time looking at fabric at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I am very indecisive by nature and I really should have brought a friend with me. However, I decided to put my proverbial "big girl panties" on and do it myself.
The directions said that you needed fabric that looks good on the "wrong" side, and since this is fairly nonexistent I decided to sew wrong sides together of coordinating fabric. After getting home and looking at it, I realize it would be way too thick to sew through, so I skipped that.
A note to the wise: don't go into Home Depot, Ace Hardware etc and ask for an "O" ring. Although it does make sense that if a "D" ring is a steel ring that looks like a capital d, then an "O" ring would be a steel ring that looks like an "O". Not so, my friends. It is a very small rubber ring that has to do with plumbing. And if you ask for a steel "O" ring, the men who work at these hardware stores will think you are just a ditsy girl. Don't ask me how I know. Just trust me. Ask for a 3" steel ring.
The sewing part was easy enough. But the wearing isn't quite as simple or painless as I would like it to be. It does help support the baby...
If you wear it like this... it cuts into your neck. And as you can see, I'm still supporting the Sophie with my arms. Granted, it isn't as hard to hold her, but it isn't as "hands-free" as I was hoping it would be.
If I pull the strap down over my shoulder, it doesn't hurt my neck as much.
Synopsis: For almost the same amount of money I could have bought a sling at Target and then returned it if it didn't work out for me. I suggest making one only if you have tried one and it works for you. Otherwise, order and try out slings and then send them back if they don't work.
I am planning on trying another style with the coordinating fabric. So I'll let you know how that goes :)
(disclaimer: please excuse the awkward angle of the last two photos. I was going to ask Brian to retake them today, but I forgot and now I'm in my pajamas :)
I spent a crazy amount of time looking at fabric at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I am very indecisive by nature and I really should have brought a friend with me. However, I decided to put my proverbial "big girl panties" on and do it myself.
The directions said that you needed fabric that looks good on the "wrong" side, and since this is fairly nonexistent I decided to sew wrong sides together of coordinating fabric. After getting home and looking at it, I realize it would be way too thick to sew through, so I skipped that.
A note to the wise: don't go into Home Depot, Ace Hardware etc and ask for an "O" ring. Although it does make sense that if a "D" ring is a steel ring that looks like a capital d, then an "O" ring would be a steel ring that looks like an "O". Not so, my friends. It is a very small rubber ring that has to do with plumbing. And if you ask for a steel "O" ring, the men who work at these hardware stores will think you are just a ditsy girl. Don't ask me how I know. Just trust me. Ask for a 3" steel ring.
The sewing part was easy enough. But the wearing isn't quite as simple or painless as I would like it to be. It does help support the baby...
If you wear it like this... it cuts into your neck. And as you can see, I'm still supporting the Sophie with my arms. Granted, it isn't as hard to hold her, but it isn't as "hands-free" as I was hoping it would be.
Synopsis: For almost the same amount of money I could have bought a sling at Target and then returned it if it didn't work out for me. I suggest making one only if you have tried one and it works for you. Otherwise, order and try out slings and then send them back if they don't work.
I am planning on trying another style with the coordinating fabric. So I'll let you know how that goes :)
(disclaimer: please excuse the awkward angle of the last two photos. I was going to ask Brian to retake them today, but I forgot and now I'm in my pajamas :)
Friday, April 23, 2010
They Make Me Laugh
I have a notebook in my "junk drawer" in the kitchen where I write down all the funny things my kids do and say. Sadly, I don't write in it as often as I should, but I thought I would share some funnies from the notebook.
September 9, 2009
Emily was sitting at the table, humming as she did her school work:
Me: "Emily, do you want me to turn on some music?"
Emily: "Thanks! That way I don't have to sing all the songs I know!"
The girls were talking about what they thought Sophie is going to look like. Emily said, "Well, maybe she will have blueberry blonde hair!"
January 6, 2010
Things you should never have to say: "Savannah! Stop giving baby Sophie nuggies!"
March 19, 2010
Emily was talking about the baddies who stole from our storage unit last year. "I hope the policemen have caught them and put them in jail."
Me: "Yes, a really bad jail."
Emily: "A really bad jail with lions and snakes!"
March 23, 2010
Savannah: "Mommy, if we see any baddies, I will chop them with my sword and beat them with my karate!"
April 9, 2010
Savannah: "I know how to spell!"
Brian: "What do you know how to spell?"
Savannah: "E. R. P."
Brian: "And what does "ERP" spell?"
Savannah: "Cup!"
April 20, 2010
Emily, Savannah, and Brian were having a "karate war" in the living room. Brian dragged me into it, which consists of pinning me down and mercilessly tickling me while I beg the girls to rescue me. After Brian let me go, Emily grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of her room: "Come on, Mommy, I need to show you some moves!"
April 23, 2010
Sophie started fussing a little bit and Savannah came up to me and said: "Mommy, her wooks wike her needs her some Savannah! Can I hold her?"
September 9, 2009
Emily was sitting at the table, humming as she did her school work:
Me: "Emily, do you want me to turn on some music?"
Emily: "Thanks! That way I don't have to sing all the songs I know!"
The girls were talking about what they thought Sophie is going to look like. Emily said, "Well, maybe she will have blueberry blonde hair!"
January 6, 2010
Things you should never have to say: "Savannah! Stop giving baby Sophie nuggies!"
March 19, 2010
Emily was talking about the baddies who stole from our storage unit last year. "I hope the policemen have caught them and put them in jail."
Me: "Yes, a really bad jail."
Emily: "A really bad jail with lions and snakes!"
March 23, 2010
Savannah: "Mommy, if we see any baddies, I will chop them with my sword and beat them with my karate!"
April 9, 2010
Savannah: "I know how to spell!"
Brian: "What do you know how to spell?"
Savannah: "E. R. P."
Brian: "And what does "ERP" spell?"
Savannah: "Cup!"
April 20, 2010
Emily, Savannah, and Brian were having a "karate war" in the living room. Brian dragged me into it, which consists of pinning me down and mercilessly tickling me while I beg the girls to rescue me. After Brian let me go, Emily grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of her room: "Come on, Mommy, I need to show you some moves!"
April 23, 2010
Sophie started fussing a little bit and Savannah came up to me and said: "Mommy, her wooks wike her needs her some Savannah! Can I hold her?"
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I Got Nothin'
It is now 2am and as exhausted as I am, I just cannot sleep. After tossing and turning for forever, worrying myself sick about all the stuff we have to do in the next 3.5 weeks, I decided to get up and do something else. The goal being to distract myself long enough to get tired again and go to sleep. I found this as I was reading random blogs and thought it might be fun... :)
Things that make me happy:
Kisses from my girls. Giggles from my baby. Snuggles and good talks with my husband. Long chats with my best friend. Chocolate. Yoga.
What I'm enjoying on TV:
Human Target and Castle are my current favorites.
On the menu for dinner:
We had Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf and Broccoli. I was also going to make roasted potatoes, but I got distracted looking at school books with Brian online. We had astronaut ice-cream for dessert, leftover from last week's visit to the Space Center.
My favorite blog post this week:
was Growls, Snarls and Roars, Oh My by Rainbow Breathing Dragons. When I grow up, I'd like to be able to write like she does...
The weather in my neck of the woods:
It was warm today! No rain, with a nice breeze blowing.
It was warm today! No rain, with a nice breeze blowing.
Things that make me happy:
Kisses from my girls. Giggles from my baby. Snuggles and good talks with my husband. Long chats with my best friend. Chocolate. Yoga.
What I'm enjoying on TV:
Human Target and Castle are my current favorites.
On the menu for dinner:
We had Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf and Broccoli. I was also going to make roasted potatoes, but I got distracted looking at school books with Brian online. We had astronaut ice-cream for dessert, leftover from last week's visit to the Space Center.
On my To Do List:
Haha. Considering my opening paragraph, I'm not even going here.
Haha. Considering my opening paragraph, I'm not even going here.
New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Sunday night I made Flounder Mediterranean... We really liked the sauce, but the flounder was very mushy and gross. Brian and I agreed that the sauce would have been much better with shrimp and crab meat instead of the flounder. And the girls had to be bribed with chocolate to eat it.
Sunday night I made Flounder Mediterranean... We really liked the sauce, but the flounder was very mushy and gross. Brian and I agreed that the sauce would have been much better with shrimp and crab meat instead of the flounder. And the girls had to be bribed with chocolate to eat it.
In the craft basket:
I'm working on Sophie's Christmas stocking. I've started it, but I haven't gotten very far.
I'm working on Sophie's Christmas stocking. I've started it, but I haven't gotten very far.
My favorite blog post this week:
was Growls, Snarls and Roars, Oh My by Rainbow Breathing Dragons. When I grow up, I'd like to be able to write like she does...
No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):
On my mind:
tomorrow is going to be a really long day... :)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Favorite Recipe: Carrot Pecan Bread
One of my dear friends from Fredericksburg sent this recipe to me and it was so delicious, I made it twice within a week. My husband loves it, my children "wove 'can bread" and I like it too!
Carrot Pecan Bread
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
Carrot Pecan Bread
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup apple juice
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.
In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar.
In another bowl, beat eggs well, then add oil, apple juice and milk.
Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir until all are moistened.
Fold in shredded carrots and nuts.
Pour in to loaf mans and bake for 45 minutes. Check to be sure it is done.
Cool for 5 minutes before turning out of pans onto cooling rack.
(I left mine in the pans and just covered it with plastic wrap...)
2/3 cup apple juice
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray.
In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar.
In another bowl, beat eggs well, then add oil, apple juice and milk.
Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir until all are moistened.
Fold in shredded carrots and nuts.
Pour in to loaf mans and bake for 45 minutes. Check to be sure it is done.
Cool for 5 minutes before turning out of pans onto cooling rack.
(I left mine in the pans and just covered it with plastic wrap...)
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tentative Reservation...
is what the subject line in the email read. What it contained was information from our travel agent concerning our airline and ticket reservations for our flight to Egypt. The tickets, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be bought on April 28th. Our departure date is May 15th. A mere 28 days away.
But, I have to say, British Airways is my current, pre-flight, favorite airline. While other airlines restrict you to 50 pounds per bag... British Airways benevolently gives us 70! Yes, you read that right. 70 pounds of homey, comforting, familiar goodness. I am incredibly excited about this unexpected turn of events.
Excuse me, please, I'm going shopping!
But, I have to say, British Airways is my current, pre-flight, favorite airline. While other airlines restrict you to 50 pounds per bag... British Airways benevolently gives us 70! Yes, you read that right. 70 pounds of homey, comforting, familiar goodness. I am incredibly excited about this unexpected turn of events.
Excuse me, please, I'm going shopping!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Luggage!
You are looking at the grand total of our luggage for our overseas move. In one short month all of our worldly possessions (what is left of them), will be divided between these nine large suitcases and five carry-ons and our 5x10 foot storage unit.
The hard part isn't stuffing it all in... the hard part is the weight limit. 50 pounds does not go very far and out of curiosity, I when I weighed one of the suitcases by itself, it weighed 11 pounds. Which brings me down to 39 pounds from the beginning!
Well, I know it will work. We had a trial run last year with less suitcases and we have lightened our load since then, but we have also added another child. Of course, that gives us 2 extra suitcases and 1 more carry-on.
I'm not worried about it. If things get too bad, I'll bribe someone into mailing my chocolate chip stash to me :)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Space Center
We took the girls to see the Space Center yesterday. Emily is in a "space" stage and so Savannah follows right behind her. We thought it would be a good outing before we left the States. It has been at least 10 years since I was there last and Brian estimates about that or more for him.
The first thing we did was to look at astronaut suits...
Then we checked our foot wear...
Then we went on a tram tour... where we spent the first 30 minutes sitting outside on the tram while it loaded. Gave us the opportunity to get some cute pictures...
Then we visited Mission Control Center
Next stop, Rocket Park, where we, the parents, were interested in the exhibits, but we, the children, just wanted to eat and were a little cranky.
We than fed the hungry :) and there are no pictures of that because we were all more interested in eating than anything else. After that we walked through exhibits and watched videos and played with hands-on activities.
Sophie was amazingly good and she even fell asleep twice on Brian. Made me a little jealous, but my arms got a break, so it all worked out.
We even tried laying on a bed of nails, which was not as traumatic as it sounds
We played in a replica of one of the Apollos
And the girls and I slide down a 3-story slide. Which was way more fun than it sounds!
And we did the obligatory photo shot as an astronaut. The girls liked it, but Sophie was not impressed at all.
We had such a fun day. I really enjoy being with my little family. When we got home, we were eating dinner and talking about our "favorite" part of the day. When we asked Emily, she said: "Eating this yummy dinner." Children really live in the moment, don't they? :)
The first thing we did was to look at astronaut suits...
Then we went on a tram tour... where we spent the first 30 minutes sitting outside on the tram while it loaded. Gave us the opportunity to get some cute pictures...
Then we visited Mission Control Center
Next stop, Rocket Park, where we, the parents, were interested in the exhibits, but we, the children, just wanted to eat and were a little cranky.
We than fed the hungry :) and there are no pictures of that because we were all more interested in eating than anything else. After that we walked through exhibits and watched videos and played with hands-on activities.
Sophie was amazingly good and she even fell asleep twice on Brian. Made me a little jealous, but my arms got a break, so it all worked out.
We even tried laying on a bed of nails, which was not as traumatic as it sounds
We played in a replica of one of the Apollos
And the girls and I slide down a 3-story slide. Which was way more fun than it sounds!
And we did the obligatory photo shot as an astronaut. The girls liked it, but Sophie was not impressed at all.
We had such a fun day. I really enjoy being with my little family. When we got home, we were eating dinner and talking about our "favorite" part of the day. When we asked Emily, she said: "Eating this yummy dinner." Children really live in the moment, don't they? :)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Preparations
Sophie's passport came in the mail last week....
Count them... 5 passports for our "5 family"! One more step in the preparation process complete!
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Children. The Cuteness. The Craziness
My children have perfected the art of "sneaking up" in the morning. Typically, they wake up and try to sneak out to watch tv or play wii... they shut my door with a bang which wakes me up and I can doze for a few minutes before I get up and get the day going.
But this morning! At 8:30 I woke up with a start... they had shut my door too quietly to wake me up! I went to the living room to see them eating marshmallows and playing the wii.
We have rules about playing the wii. Wii time is after school time, after lunch time, after nap time and quiet time and only if Mama says so. Wii time is not first-thing-in-the-morning-time. No wonder they shut my door so quietly!
While we were outside last night, I caught this picture of Emily trying to "rope" Savannah. Before you call CPS on me, please note that Savannah is laughing! Also, please note Emily's superhero cape. I made those for the girls for Christmas and Emily loves to wear her's all.the.time.
Another attempt to "rope a sister". My kids are so very funny.
During our fire and marshmallow roast last night, I was sitting on the porch holding Sophie. Savannah ran up to me and said, holding her arms out to me: "I think her needs some sister time. Can I hold her?" Talk about melting a mama's heart!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Husband.Wife.Kids
Here is the most recent picture of my husband and I
We got married almost 7 years ago, we have moved 7 times through 3 different states. Not including our upcoming move across the ocean in May. We have survived 2 years of college and 3 years of Master's Degree work. We have driven 4 different vehicles, only totaled one and have hated 2 out of the 4, for entirely different reasons.
The most favorite place we lived was in Fredericksburg, Tx and it is still our favorite place to visit as often as we can get away from our big city. We love it all, from climbing Enchanted Rock to walking through the stores downtown to playing Mexican Train with our friends, it is the greatest place on earth. We have been so blessed to have some awesome friends who love us and open their home to have us come visit. Throughout the drive we talk about how much we love the scenery and how excited we are to go see "our people" and all the way home we wonder what we were thinking when we chose to move away.
Our favorite thing to do currently has been to play our Wii.... I am in a vain attempt to beat his scores in our Wii Fit Plus. And we also enjoy playing our Super Mario Brother's Game, although it really bugs me to lose so often :) Our favorite board game is Sequence and our card game is Golf.
We love our kids like crazy and if you were to listen to us talk, our little girls are the smartest, cutest, loveliest, craziest kids around. They are constantly making us evaluate our parenting and teaching styles and motivating us to be better than we are... well, me anyway.
We both enjoy cooking... and while I think Brian is a much better cook than I am, I am learning. When we were first married it would drive me crazy when he would come in and "help" me cook by adding stuff. Until I realized that it always tasted better and so now I love it. The girls always ask who cooked the dishes at mealtime and have become food critics themselves. We were eating at Outback Steakhouse one night and Emily told us that the green beans hadn't been cooked long enough. Sure enough, she was right. As much as we love to cook, we also love to eat: hence the Wii Fit. :)
Our latest huge thing is our move across the ocean. We are spending two (or three) years in Egypt, working towards the completion of Brian's Master's Degree studying culture and religions. We are beginning this adventure around the middle of May. We will be in language classes full-time for the first nine months learning Arabic. I vacillate between excitement and worry while Brian hasn't experienced a millisecond of worry. Emily is very excited about our move and we talk about the upcoming changes on a daily basis.
I feel very lucky to be Brian's wife. And I would wax more eloquent about how amazing he is, but our children are beginning to wake up from nap and they need my attention. :)
I think everyone should know about BabySteals!
This is a fun website that features one item each day at 10am Central time, typically for around 50% off of the regular price. In the short time I have been watching their website, they have featured everything from baby carriers to baby mats to covers for grocery carts. I haven't bought anything yet because even at half off it can be expensive, or I've checked it too late. Their stock typically sells out within the hour!
But check it out! I think it is fun just to see what they are selling next!
This is a fun website that features one item each day at 10am Central time, typically for around 50% off of the regular price. In the short time I have been watching their website, they have featured everything from baby carriers to baby mats to covers for grocery carts. I haven't bought anything yet because even at half off it can be expensive, or I've checked it too late. Their stock typically sells out within the hour!
But check it out! I think it is fun just to see what they are selling next!
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