So, I've been on a big chocolate milk kick here the last week or so. Only, I have to buy like the Publix chocolate milk. It's not the same as making it myself. I don't know why. Bethany saw it, though, so she wanted some. I mixed it half and half with plain milk. Tonight she was drinking plain milk and she says, "I LOVE plain milk. And I also love chocolate milk. But I wanted plain milk this time."
When we dropped Nathan off to teach his class this evening Bethany asked where he was going. I told her that he had to go teach the students in his class. B says, "Is Daddy a teacher?" "Yes" "Is he going to teach them how to walk in a line?" Uh... "And how to play on the playground?" Um, sure... :)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
spiders
So yesterday afternoon when Nathan came home, he took Bethany outside to pick up sticks, one of her favorite Father/Daughter activities. Nathan found a spider and web while they were working and used a big twig to remove it from its location.
Last night B woke up about 10:00 crying. At first she told me that there was a spider in her dream. Then she was sure that there was a spider on her wall. She was laying as far over in the bed as she could to stay away from it. Of course, nothing was there. However, my "squahing" it and throwing in the garbage did not convince her. So, I stole an idea from Melissa. I got our bottle of odor neutralizer and "sprayed" it all around her bed. Some spray did come out of the bottle; just enough to be able to smell it but not make us sneeze. It worked! (Thanks, Melissa!) Plus a prayer to Jesus to keep her safe and to keep the spiders outside. All told, it was about a 30-minute process.
Let's all pray for no spiders tonight!
Last night B woke up about 10:00 crying. At first she told me that there was a spider in her dream. Then she was sure that there was a spider on her wall. She was laying as far over in the bed as she could to stay away from it. Of course, nothing was there. However, my "squahing" it and throwing in the garbage did not convince her. So, I stole an idea from Melissa. I got our bottle of odor neutralizer and "sprayed" it all around her bed. Some spray did come out of the bottle; just enough to be able to smell it but not make us sneeze. It worked! (Thanks, Melissa!) Plus a prayer to Jesus to keep her safe and to keep the spiders outside. All told, it was about a 30-minute process.
Let's all pray for no spiders tonight!
big words
Yesterday, B and I went to the mall. We took a break from our shopping to grab a slice of pizza. She was eating very slowly and was constantly distracted by one of those Chinese cats (at the chinese food stand) that waves its arm. So I told her that we couldn't go to the Disney Store until she finished her pizza. Here's her response: "You can't go without me. Otherwise you have to come back and get me!"
Yes, "otherwise". I called Nathan and told him what she said. He busted out laughing!
Yes, "otherwise". I called Nathan and told him what she said. He busted out laughing!
Monday, August 27, 2007
1st week of school!
Well, B had a great first week of school! She has been so excited about going and the big day finally arrived! This is how she looked when I got her up:
Then after she woke up a bit we got her dressed and her bag packed and she was ready to go!
She went right in to the class and had no problem with us leaving her there. We started to say our good-bye's and instead of big hugs and kisses we got, "BYE!!!" We talked her into at least a LITTLE hug and kiss, though!
The rest of the week was about the same. She did keep me informed of what her teacher wore from day to day. And so far she's been pretty good about telling me what they did at school each day. Sometimes she'll start up with a random song and I'll say, "Where did you learn that?" and she'll say, "At my school".
I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!
PS - you can click on either of those pics to see a few more from the first day.
Then after she woke up a bit we got her dressed and her bag packed and she was ready to go!
She went right in to the class and had no problem with us leaving her there. We started to say our good-bye's and instead of big hugs and kisses we got, "BYE!!!" We talked her into at least a LITTLE hug and kiss, though!
The rest of the week was about the same. She did keep me informed of what her teacher wore from day to day. And so far she's been pretty good about telling me what they did at school each day. Sometimes she'll start up with a random song and I'll say, "Where did you learn that?" and she'll say, "At my school".
I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!
PS - you can click on either of those pics to see a few more from the first day.
Monday, August 13, 2007
vacuum help!
Okay, I think that I would like a new vacuum for Christmas. I've never been big on researching the best ones. We lived in Chicago for 4 years and just needed a little floor vac as we didn't have carpet. Then we bought a bagless vac when we moved to Hawaii. Now, our carpet in the faculty apartments I don't know if you could even call carpet. It was exactly like my dorm room carpet at Stetson. So we didn't need anything really heavy duty as most dirt could never make it through the astro-turf-like fibers of the carpet.
Now this same vacuum we've had for 3 years. I has about 4 different types of filters on it that are IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere in order to replace. I'm also thinking about going to a bagged vacuum because I HATE cleaning out the canister. It's disgusting.
So, anybody out there have a vacuum that they just LOVE? What are your thoughts? Then, I'm going to put that new vacuum on my Christmas wish list.
Now this same vacuum we've had for 3 years. I has about 4 different types of filters on it that are IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere in order to replace. I'm also thinking about going to a bagged vacuum because I HATE cleaning out the canister. It's disgusting.
So, anybody out there have a vacuum that they just LOVE? What are your thoughts? Then, I'm going to put that new vacuum on my Christmas wish list.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Potty in the Louvre
I haven't had the chance to sit down and tell this story. Some of you may recall that I promised to tell it in an earlier post. Well hear it goes...
The Louvre is big. I know people tell you that, but until you actually visit it is hard to appreciate the enormity of it. I know I certainly did not.
We were walking in the large hall with works by the Italian Renaissance masters. There were plenty of pictures of noblemen in formal poses, religious scenes, etc. all done in rich browns and reddish tones. During the long walk along the 200 yards or so, i was asking B things about the paintings to keep her engaged. "What color is her dress? What instrument is he playing? Do you see the doggie?" Somewhere along the way though, B fell asleep.
B sleeping was a to become a reoccurring theme at the various museums we would visit. Amy and I learned to appreciate it because it meant we could take our time and not worry about her getting restless.
So with her down for a stroller nap, we wandered through some more areas: Gallerie d'Apollon where you can see crowns used by the French monarchy, and Egyptian artifacts from the New Kingdom.
After about an hour and a half, B wakes up among the mummies and sphinxes. We immediately ask her if she needs to go potty. Bleary eyed, she insists that she does not. This concerns us, because it has been at least 3 hours since she last went. We have only just before the trip stopped using pull-ups at naptime. We asked again and she confirms earlier answer.
Mom and I decide to check the map anyway start heading back. As I started this story by saying, the Louvre is big. It is also old, which means that bathrooms have been added during various expansions. They never seem to be nearby. The age also means that you may need to traverse several stairways to reach your destination. Not an easy thing to do when you have a little girl in a stroller.
So we started meandering to what looks the nearest bathroom, back toward the Gallerie d'Apollon. All of the sudden, B turned to us with an urgent look in her eyes. "I need to go potty!"
We quicked the pace and arrived at our destination. Our expectation was that we would find his and hers rooms with multiple stalls, you know...a bathroom. We expected too much. There was a closet that had a single toilet inside. The door had been cut into the wall so that unless you were looking for the sign, you might miss that it was there. It was a secret bathroom.
But that was not our problem that day. Outside stood a line 6 people deep. We turned to B and asked, "Sweety there is a line, can you hold it?"
Her face quickly soured. "NO! I...NEED...TO...GO...POTTY...NOW!"
I will never forget the look on the people's faces. They turned slowly to look at us, unmoved by her impassioned plea. Perhaps it was the language barrier, but then some things are universal. I knew immediately that we would get no favors from them.
I scooped B out of the stroller and started jogging back toward the large stairway we had passed. As I left I shouted back to Amy where I was going and to take her time catching up. The map showed a bathroom at the base of these stairs we had passed. We had ruled it out earlier because of the stoller, but now the situation had changed.
"Just wait for us at the top."
B was upset and confused. Upset about her full bladder. Confused that she was being carried like a football as daddy shuttled past priceless artifacts from King Ramesses or Amenhotep or whoever.
"Are you gonna hold the peepees for daddy?"
"Yes daddy."
On the way downstairs B asks, "Are we going down steps?"
"Yes, sweetie and if you hold it until we get to a pottie, I will let you walk back up."
At the bottom of the long stairway, tucked around the corner we found a more traditional bathroom setup. I hurried into the men's room, only to find that the toilet seat was missing in the stall!
What do I do? What do I do?
Pants down. One arm under the knees. One arm around the shoulders. B hovered over the toilet.
"Go ahead sweetie."
"Are your holding me?"
"Yes, sweetie. Go peepee."
After she was done and had washed her hands, we headed back to the stairs. There were a lot of them. Big, wide, marble ones that took her two steps to traverse before stepping up again. We made our way up slowly and deliberately. As we rounded the landing at the halfway mark, we saw Amy at the top looking down.
"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long," she called out smiling.
A minute or two later I was close enough to explain my promise on the way down. Like I said, there were a lot of steps. But I didn't count them, because it didn't matter. B had made it to the potty.
The Louvre is big. I know people tell you that, but until you actually visit it is hard to appreciate the enormity of it. I know I certainly did not.
We were walking in the large hall with works by the Italian Renaissance masters. There were plenty of pictures of noblemen in formal poses, religious scenes, etc. all done in rich browns and reddish tones. During the long walk along the 200 yards or so, i was asking B things about the paintings to keep her engaged. "What color is her dress? What instrument is he playing? Do you see the doggie?" Somewhere along the way though, B fell asleep.
B sleeping was a to become a reoccurring theme at the various museums we would visit. Amy and I learned to appreciate it because it meant we could take our time and not worry about her getting restless.
So with her down for a stroller nap, we wandered through some more areas: Gallerie d'Apollon where you can see crowns used by the French monarchy, and Egyptian artifacts from the New Kingdom.
After about an hour and a half, B wakes up among the mummies and sphinxes. We immediately ask her if she needs to go potty. Bleary eyed, she insists that she does not. This concerns us, because it has been at least 3 hours since she last went. We have only just before the trip stopped using pull-ups at naptime. We asked again and she confirms earlier answer.
Mom and I decide to check the map anyway start heading back. As I started this story by saying, the Louvre is big. It is also old, which means that bathrooms have been added during various expansions. They never seem to be nearby. The age also means that you may need to traverse several stairways to reach your destination. Not an easy thing to do when you have a little girl in a stroller.
So we started meandering to what looks the nearest bathroom, back toward the Gallerie d'Apollon. All of the sudden, B turned to us with an urgent look in her eyes. "I need to go potty!"
We quicked the pace and arrived at our destination. Our expectation was that we would find his and hers rooms with multiple stalls, you know...a bathroom. We expected too much. There was a closet that had a single toilet inside. The door had been cut into the wall so that unless you were looking for the sign, you might miss that it was there. It was a secret bathroom.
But that was not our problem that day. Outside stood a line 6 people deep. We turned to B and asked, "Sweety there is a line, can you hold it?"
Her face quickly soured. "NO! I...NEED...TO...GO...POTTY...NOW!"
I will never forget the look on the people's faces. They turned slowly to look at us, unmoved by her impassioned plea. Perhaps it was the language barrier, but then some things are universal. I knew immediately that we would get no favors from them.
I scooped B out of the stroller and started jogging back toward the large stairway we had passed. As I left I shouted back to Amy where I was going and to take her time catching up. The map showed a bathroom at the base of these stairs we had passed. We had ruled it out earlier because of the stoller, but now the situation had changed.
"Just wait for us at the top."
B was upset and confused. Upset about her full bladder. Confused that she was being carried like a football as daddy shuttled past priceless artifacts from King Ramesses or Amenhotep or whoever.
"Are you gonna hold the peepees for daddy?"
"Yes daddy."
On the way downstairs B asks, "Are we going down steps?"
"Yes, sweetie and if you hold it until we get to a pottie, I will let you walk back up."
At the bottom of the long stairway, tucked around the corner we found a more traditional bathroom setup. I hurried into the men's room, only to find that the toilet seat was missing in the stall!
What do I do? What do I do?
Pants down. One arm under the knees. One arm around the shoulders. B hovered over the toilet.
"Go ahead sweetie."
"Are your holding me?"
"Yes, sweetie. Go peepee."
After she was done and had washed her hands, we headed back to the stairs. There were a lot of them. Big, wide, marble ones that took her two steps to traverse before stepping up again. We made our way up slowly and deliberately. As we rounded the landing at the halfway mark, we saw Amy at the top looking down.
"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long," she called out smiling.
A minute or two later I was close enough to explain my promise on the way down. Like I said, there were a lot of steps. But I didn't count them, because it didn't matter. B had made it to the potty.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Care to take a guess?
Well, we found out at the doctor today what we are having. Take a look at this first pic and see if you can figure it out:
There is a white arrow in the middle (it looks more like a spot on here) that points to where you should look. You are looking at the rear end and the legs are wide open!
Well, if you haven't guessed....It's a girl!!!! You can tell by the absence of boy parts! Okay here are a couple more pics. I call this "skeletor" (we had a skeletor pic of B, too):
And here is one that the sonographer outlined her eyes and nose. You can also see her waving at you (the baby, not the sonographer!):
So Bethany is pretty happy to be getting a little sister. She's told us all along that she wanted the baby to be a girl. She was simply not interested in having a brother.
So that's it! No more suspense. And we can finally start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it". I hate the "it" stage. And when we decide for sure on a name, we can start calling her by her name.
----------------------
We plan on moving Bethany to a twin bed before the baby comes. She is currently in the day bed stage of her crib. So since we'll need the crib again, we'll be moving her to a twin. Bethany has the CUTEST curtains (made by Nahna) in her room, but they are really hard to match stuff to.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw these sheets at Target:
And I fell in love with them! Which is hard for me because I am really picky. So, even though we don't have a mattress yet, or the bed painted (it's Nathan's old bed, dark stain, I want to paint it white) I went ahead and bought them because I like them so much! Bethany likes them, too, it wasn't just me deciding! :) I plan on getting a solid color comforter (probably pink or purple) to go with it. We also need to paint her walls still. Again, hard to decide on a color with so many to choose from in the curtains.
I don't think I've made a post this long in quite awhile!
Don't get used to it. :)
There is a white arrow in the middle (it looks more like a spot on here) that points to where you should look. You are looking at the rear end and the legs are wide open!
Well, if you haven't guessed....It's a girl!!!! You can tell by the absence of boy parts! Okay here are a couple more pics. I call this "skeletor" (we had a skeletor pic of B, too):
And here is one that the sonographer outlined her eyes and nose. You can also see her waving at you (the baby, not the sonographer!):
So Bethany is pretty happy to be getting a little sister. She's told us all along that she wanted the baby to be a girl. She was simply not interested in having a brother.
So that's it! No more suspense. And we can finally start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it". I hate the "it" stage. And when we decide for sure on a name, we can start calling her by her name.
----------------------
We plan on moving Bethany to a twin bed before the baby comes. She is currently in the day bed stage of her crib. So since we'll need the crib again, we'll be moving her to a twin. Bethany has the CUTEST curtains (made by Nahna) in her room, but they are really hard to match stuff to.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw these sheets at Target:
And I fell in love with them! Which is hard for me because I am really picky. So, even though we don't have a mattress yet, or the bed painted (it's Nathan's old bed, dark stain, I want to paint it white) I went ahead and bought them because I like them so much! Bethany likes them, too, it wasn't just me deciding! :) I plan on getting a solid color comforter (probably pink or purple) to go with it. We also need to paint her walls still. Again, hard to decide on a color with so many to choose from in the curtains.
I don't think I've made a post this long in quite awhile!
Don't get used to it. :)
"Dear God,..."
Bethany has been discovering the meaning of "missing" someone. It really started to become evident toward the end of our vacation when she started talking about people she missed. Today in the car she says, "I love God".
Me: God loves you, too.
B: Does Jesus love me, too?
M: Yes.
B: Oh. I miss God and Jesus.
M: Well, they're always with us, even though you can't see them. You can talk to them whenever you want.
B: Dear God, thank you for the trees and the car, and thank you for the street and the sticks that we pick up, and thank you for dresses that I can wear, and thank you for bugs that bite me (a child's understanding of Grace?), and thank you for fruit and thank you for making us. Amen.
This is the first prayer I've heard her say. I don't know if they ask the kids if they want to pray in Sunday School or not. We've asked her on occasion when we pray at dinner if she would like to say something and she always says no.
Then inside before we did naptime:
Dear God, thank you for our house that you made, and thank you for my frog (a stuffed animal) and thank you for Oscar (our cat) that you made and thank you for Miss Sharla and Michael J that you made. Amen.
*Sigh*
Me: God loves you, too.
B: Does Jesus love me, too?
M: Yes.
B: Oh. I miss God and Jesus.
M: Well, they're always with us, even though you can't see them. You can talk to them whenever you want.
B: Dear God, thank you for the trees and the car, and thank you for the street and the sticks that we pick up, and thank you for dresses that I can wear, and thank you for bugs that bite me (a child's understanding of Grace?), and thank you for fruit and thank you for making us. Amen.
This is the first prayer I've heard her say. I don't know if they ask the kids if they want to pray in Sunday School or not. We've asked her on occasion when we pray at dinner if she would like to say something and she always says no.
Then inside before we did naptime:
Dear God, thank you for our house that you made, and thank you for my frog (a stuffed animal) and thank you for Oscar (our cat) that you made and thank you for Miss Sharla and Michael J that you made. Amen.
*Sigh*
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