Wrinkles...and Not Even Two, Yet

After getting to play in the sprinkler, Emily came inside and was worried about her feet. She showed them to me with real concern written across her face. I tried to explain that they were wrinkles from being in the water so long. She proceeded then to kiss her toes and continue to complain about her "boo-boos". Ah, Emily, you are too young to worry about wrinkles! =) Besides, these ones go away after your feet dry up a little...not so much for those of us who are starting to see the first signs of crow's feet or squint-induced forehead wrinkle (I claim fame to that from serving in Vegas!).

Chocolate Dipped Dog

Or, at least that's what she looked like yesterday. We've been desperately trying to get grass to grow in this sun baked Georgia red clay. Hannah has loved all the lawn watering and dug down in her run to pool the water for her own summer reserve. So, this is the way she's going to look all summer (and perhaps longer) because I'm not washing her! Of course, most of it dries up and falls off in a fine orange powder overnight, so she isn't quite as caked with mud the next day...until the sprinklers come back on that is.

Dress Myself

Believe it or not, but this is the outfit Emily changed into FROM her pajamas this morning as we needed to make a quick run to the store. What you can't see are the shoes she put on over these footed pajamas. Lovely brown "preppy" type shoes. Quite the fashion statement, let Emily tell you! Eric tried to deter her from these choices, but she only wanted to wear them, so we looked like silly parents in the store anyway.

Ode to the Washing Machine

The weeks following our wedding were filled with newlywed bliss and a bunch of disasters. Although we were blessed to be in Grandaddy Bare's home and use his things, they had all been well loved before we got there. So, in those first few weeks, we had a water heater that went out followed by the washing machine. Ironically, the washer started flooding the room while it had the load of towels in it. Every last towel was sitting in water, so we had to get creative with mopping up all that water before it ruined the hardwood floor it was seeping into.
Graciously, Eric's older brother Brad worked at a Rent-To-Own store and found us a used washer for $75. Although $75 was a lot of money then (I still think it's a good chunk, but chimp change to what a new one costs), we were grateful, as many of you probably recall being practically destitute as newlyweds. This washer did a great job until we moved into our new house. Something shifted during transport and it just dumped water everywhere. So, after nearly 2 years of use, we thought we'd have to buy a new one.
Not so! Eric was able to find a part for it and fixed it for $15. It's done fairly well, except over the past few months it has started to throw water under the machine (meaning, I can't really get to it to clean it up, either). Well, Monday it did it again, but this time when I stopped it, it wouldn't restart. We decided it was probably time to replace it.
We found an incredible deal from HHGregg and they delivered the new machine yesterday. We now have the energy saver front-loading washer with a 4.5 sq ft loading capacity. It's pretty, to boot. We got this store to drop the price by $400 due to them not carrying the 4.0 model and another company offering that at the lower price. So, we got the 4.0 model price on our 4.5 model!! Shouldn't have any problems washing bedding and other fun stuff, now!!

Goodbye, first washing machine purchased in our marriage! You did a great job, but now we will celebrate our new one...no offense. =)

Sidewalk Art

Emily is quite the artist, as most of you already know. She's gotten into quite a bit of trouble lately with coloring things she isn't supposed to color (like my hardwood floors in a four foot area that changed to blue while I napped one day). We bought her some sidewalk chalk and I actually remembered it yesterday. She was out there coloring for at least an hour yesterday. Of course, it was nothing like the sidewalk art Elder Smith drew in a park during Wilford Woodruff Week during our mission, but in it's own way, it was very beautiful. (And pay no attention to the date stamped on the mission pic...it was actually March 27, 2004, but I always forgot to reset the date on it, so all my pictures from the mish lie.)

What IS That?

Can anyone guess? No, it isn't something Hannah killed. It's actually Hannah...or at least her excess fur, that is. It's definitely summer time which means an enormous amount of shedding from our wonderful dog. It's a good thing she's a small GSD, because adding more inches to her would probably double the amount of fur she is shedding.
We got up this morning and Em and I went out and combed Hannah with her de-shedding comb(you can't get this stuff off with a regular dog brush/comb). Let me just tell you that I love this little tool. It's been so worth it. Hannah has a lot more fur to come off, but after awhile we both get tired of it. I put the frisbee next to it so you could appreciate the size of this hairball.

Grown Up

Emily is such a big girl now. When we visit Eric's work, his co-workers always fawn over Emily and comment on how big she is now. We have to remember, she really is still only a year old (granted, her birthday is in less than 2 months now). She's such a cutie, even if she gets up at 1am to wander around the house. In fact, I've decided that perhaps I should stop asking to sleep well because every night we do that, someone else wakes me up. Emily with her midnight wanderings, Hannah with her crazy clock that's gotten messed up somehow, or Eric trying to steamroll me in his sleep (the last one is quite funny when you realize we have a king size bed), or the lovely potty breaks this little one has me frequenting. No rest for the weary? That's definitely true. But, it's a good and happy life. I love my little family and wouldn't trade it for another!

Scared

Emily and I were invited to the Bennion's for a pool party yesterday. It was a great turnout with tons of small children around. Emily loves water, so she was in heaven.
After her toes were completely shriveled, we got out for a little to eat lunch. As she crammed another bite of her PB sandwich into her already stuffed mouth, she compacted it onto the roof of her mouth. Of course, this started her choking and trying to spit it out. I tried to help her pry it out, but every time I tried to put my finger in her mouth, she'd bite down as hard as possible. We finally got it out and she could breathe again.
Don't worry, that wasn't nearly as scary as what happened next. We were finishing up lunch when Emily snuck back to the pool without her floaties on. She walked down the steps into the pool and then kind of pushed off into the water where she couldn't touch (yes, it was only 3 1/2 feet deep, but much deeper than Emily is tall). Stef starts shouting to get the ladies' attention who are right there in the pool as I bound over and into the pool. All I know is that I couldn't make a sound and was making a beeline for my child. As her head went under water a second time, I reached her and pulled her out. I was so scared! Somehow, she didn't swallow any water (which is amazing because she drinks it while she swims...guess panic makes you hold your breath, eh?). I carried her out and we just hugged each other. She let me hold her for a little while as I tried to calm down and NOT cry. I was definitely more shaken up than she was as she promptly wanted back in the water (with floaties). I stayed two steps away from her the remainder of the event (which is a big duty when you have no energy).

Buddles, I Luh Loo!

I've found a new "routine" that may help me get the rest I need. I wait until after lunch and a few more wiggles to go get a shower. Emily is loving baths right now and plays with the "buddles" while I take care of me. When she's finished, she hurdles the side of the tub and then proclaims as the water drains, "Buddles, I luh loo!" It makes me laugh every time. However, this afternoon bath is also a way to get her calmed down and ready to take a nap (something that has become a conflict between us). So, she's down right now...I think. At least, I put her down in her bed and don't hear any noise. Of course, she could be reading books, but at least she is quiet and letting me have some down time and, if I'm lucky, I can get in a nap, too!

Boyd's Famous PB Cookies

Eric and I have had a thing with peanut butter cookies since we got together. He brought me lunch one day at work while he was visiting in Vegas and for dessert he had peanut butter cookies. These things were not only delicious, but they were all perfectly shaped and symmetrical, too! I wouldn't believe him that he made them until we got back to his momentary abode and there was a gigantic heart-shaped cookie on the counter (and it was the first time he said the three magic words).
Since then, we've continued our courtship with PB cookies. We've even "perfected" the recipe and have marked out the one in my cookbook with our replacement recipe.
I finally felt like cooking something last night and made cookies. They were not the prettiest things (we're not sure what happened, actually), but they still had that great taste. Eric took five to work with him for lunch and ended up giving all his co-workers a half-cookie. He's currently preparing more cookies as they all demanded he bring more tomorrow...and all promising to pay for them, too!
So, the Boyd's Famous PB Cookies strike again!!

Never Ending Soup Bowl

We were invited to go to dinner with the Dixon's tonight. There was a new restaurant opening and we thought we'd check it out. It's Vietnamese food: Pho ("Fa") Saigon Noodle House. Eric ordered some fried roll/noodle/pork dish while Ryan, Stef and I all ordered the Pho, which is the "chicken noodle soup" of Vietnam, as Stef puts it. They had large bowls and basically finished them. I had the small bowl and by the end of my continuous eating for nearly an hour, it looked like I had the same amount as I began with. It was good and I seriously ate, but I didn't make a dent in my food! It made me think of Elijah and the widow's cake. Too bad rice noodles don't keep...I probably could eat that all week before finishing it!!

Granddy

Emily has been asking for Eric's dad all week. They were gone this past weekend for their anniversary, so she was really bummed when we went to church and there was no Granddy. They called when they got home, so we threw Em into the car to drive over and see them for a few minutes. She got to see her Granddy and Granddy made her feel all grown up as he let her drink out of a "real" cup with a straw. Of course, he also upset her when he righted the cup before she spilled it on the floor. How dare he interfere in her big-girlness!

Emily's Day

Eric had the day off yesterday and we milked it for all it was worth. We went to the park in the morning and met Stef and Caleb there. When we got home, we ate lunch and Eric changed the oil on his car before we got ready to go swimming. Lori and her family invited us up to their pool and it was amazing! Such a great pool! Em was in 7th heaven with the "wattie". She has no fear of anything. She loved the slide and wanted to go down by herself (uh, no thank you, my dear...you really don't know how to swim nor hold your breath is you go under the water). Eric put her up on the side of the pool to let her jump into the water to him and she'd try to jump to the side of him. Of course, when I tried to do it, Em tried to reach my hands before attempting to jump. There's something she doesn't trust me about her and water (and this spans over to baths, even!!).
It was a lot of fun, ending with us grabbing dinner on the way home and Em falling asleep in the car. (She didn't stay asleep the whole night, just took a nap at that point but still went to bed as usual). Today we are all a bit sore and wanting a pool so we could be in better shape. Seriously, we didn't actually swim but just played in the water with Emily and we're this sore!!
Thanks for the pool invite, Garretts!!

Last Minute

I got a phone call Tuesday night asking Eric and me to sing a duet (and they had a specific song they wanted sung) at the Mission President and wife's Farewell event held by the Stake this Friday evening. Of course I said yes, but it also makes me laugh that this was done so last minute. Thankfully, we have a wonderful pianist who can learn a piece of music the second he looks at it and helped us to learn it last night (yeah, I ditched my YW's duties). Thank you, RYAN!!

A Nap

Emily has been great with taking naps...that is, until this past week. She decided that she no longer needs a nap and not only fights me on it, but has proven that she can stay awake all day.
Yesterday I took her down to a friend's house to play. We were only there for a couple hours, but when we got home, she was extremely tired. She quickly fell asleep on my lap and let me put her in her bed. I was so glad she decided to take a nap again! Of course, after about 45 minutes, she got up and came to have me rock her again. She went right back to sleep and would have slept a lot longer than I let her, but nature calls sometimes. =)
Now, if I can get her to take another one today because I REALLY need one myself...and it's not even 9am!!

Tired of Waiting

I'm tired of waiting. I'm mean, I've been to the doctor twice now, so....WE'RE EXPECTING!! We were trying to wait to get through the first trimester to make any big announcements, but I just can't wait anymore. Our second child is on it's way and should arrive sometime around January 7th, 2009. Eric has hopes for a New Year's Eve baby (you know, tax break and all), but I seriously doubt it.
Yesterday the doctor had a hard time finding the child to listen to it's heartbeat. It actually started to worry me the way they continued searching but couldn't find anything. Finally, the doctor told the nurse to go get the ultrasound machine. Just as she was about to exit the room, he called her back as he'd finally found the heartbeat. SIGH of relief! Good, strong heartbeat at 160. Let's see...that's supposed to mean a girl...but the doctor couldn't find the child until the doppler thing was way, way low...and carrying low is supposed to mean a boy...trends of the family have been two girls together and a boy...but, we are both predicting a boy this time. We'll see, won't we. Of course, I thought Em was going to be a boy, so my "intuition" is a bit off.

Butt Buster

I have great concerns over the sanity of my child. I'm concerned that she doesn't have the correct pain sensors or fear emotions. Last night, as we are all winding down for the night, she decides to jump and land on her bum. Now, a normal kid does this on a cushioned surface...you know, like the sofa or the bed. Not Emily! She jumps into the air, kicks her feet out and lands on the FLOOR on her bum. She starts wailing as the impact hurt her head...because she completely jarred her brain!!! She lets me console her for a minute before getting up and...doing the same thing!!! Is she crazy? I seriously was concerned that she'd jar something in her brain and cause a seizure or something!

On Her Own

WHOOOPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
I'm sorry if I'm so excited, but after two weeks of Emily protesting potty training, we have a celebration!! Emily was doing the potty dance (I've never actually seen her do this before, so now at least I have a sign) and I kept complaining to her about how going in your pants was "yucky-stinky". Well, she marched herself to the bathroom and closed the door. I had to slip my hand in to turn on the light for her. A few minutes later, Emily came out, absolutely naked, but she had gone both in the potty!! WU-WHooo!
I made a REALLY, REALLY big deal about it. I'm not that kind of personality, so it really made a difference for Emily to see how excited it made me.
On a side note, one of the things that made Emily a little anti-potty was the fact that one morning she told me she needed to go and I put her on our toilet w/o her child seat. She got mad at me for something and started swinging. Into the toilet she slipped! I was afraid it was going to create a potty fear, but if she went by herself today, I think we're in the clear!!

Reverence Is Love

Do you remember this song from Primary? "Reverence is more than just quietly sitting: It's thinking of Father above, A feeling I get when I think of his blessings. I'm reverent, for reverence is love. When I'm reverent it shows in my words and my deeds. The pathway to follow is clear. And when I am reverent, I know in my heart Heavenly Father and Jesus are near."
Well, to put this as short and, though not sweet, as unoffensive as possible, some people really need to learn the definition of "reverence" and also need to re-evaluate how a child learns to be reverent. We've discovered that our area has a zero tolerance of children learning this skill. You squeak, you're outta there! So, we actually left Stake Conference after the first hour as there was not really a place to correct Emily as they kept the foyer doors open throughout the meeting and another individual made it his duty to shush our child even as Eric was attempting to do so.
Therefore, I must say that this individual and those others who shot looks at the SMALL noises (yes, Emily made noise, but an adult has the choice to ignore it and pay attention to the speaker rather than turn around and make faces of disgust at a normal noise level of a child who IS showing as much "reverence" as she understands) are NOT showing reverence, as "reverence is love".
And, dang it! Emily was so cute in her strawberry shirt outfit her Mema bought her while they were down visiting last month! It went perfectly with her Dorothy red slippers Stef got her to use for her Halloween outfit last October! Ah, c'est la vie!

We Have Grass!!!

We ordered grass back at the beginning of April but it didn't arrive until the end of May. We planted a spot (it takes a long time when you have to re-soil an area due to the cement-quality clay) one day and that area already has grass. As advertised, it did sprout in the 5-8 day span. We now have high hopes for the other areas we have seeded. Next year we will probably order from the same company and finish seeding the lawn. AH, to have an entire piece of property with beautiful, lush green grass!!!
I'll be happy this year if the second area we planted comes in and comes in well. It's the shady part of our yard, so Emily and I can enjoy the outdoors. Currently it is completely bare, so grass instead of clay-dirt will be lovely.

All In the Details

So, it's the morning after a severe frustration. I won't go into details, but someone informed me that a certain situation wasn't going to work out and that I needed to find another solution. So, I spent all afternoon and evening making phone calls to try to work out something else. Seriously, I called numbers and left messages all over the place from 3pm until 9pm. Since no one called me back, I returned the first phone call to inform said individual. After I explained all the lengths I had gone to, I was then given the real story and there was no need to go to all that stress and strain to begin with. My original plan was perfectly fine, but someone else thought they knew better. I just wish people would trust me, respect me, and give me the benefit of the doubt that I really am doing my best, and my best is going to be okay. That's all the Lord requires, so why can't man?

Stranger Danger

I just got an email from a friend about a child being abducted at Sam's. I checked Snopes out and it was a false story. Still, I don't feel we should overlook the warning. Urban legends, myths, and other folklore have a real place in our society. Those stories are there, yes, to frighten us a little, but more importantly, to impress upon us the diligence we need to be facing life with. We need to be aware of our surroundings at all times and makes sure we don't become lackadaisical in our supervision of our children.
I thought I should share a recent experience of my own to illustrate. About a month ago, I was supposed to be going to visit Daisey in Connecticut. I was really excited about the trip and all. It was just going to be Emily and myself going: Eric had to work. Well, I kept having these dreams/visions/thoughts that Emily was going to end up missing/dead. I saw in clear detail the place this would happen. I promptly canceled my trip and felt a wonderful peace of mind after making that decision. Now, I don't know if Emily really would have ended up missing, hurt, or dead. However, I do know that I followed a prompting and received peace as a reward when I heeded that prompting. As parents, we are entitled to those and should act upon them. However, we also shouldn't just rely on them. We should be careful in all of our doings. Emily could go missing just as easily here, so I've taken it as a constant: be aware at all times where your daughter is.
Hope that might help someone.

90-degree Turns

The last time I drove a big van was when I worked out in Cali. I was able to renew those driving skills as I got to drive Big Bertha (my name for the 15-passenger van borrowed from the ever-generous Peacock family) yesterday to deliver our young campers to the FDR State Park to enjoy their week of Girls' Camp. I was given the warning to kind of drive like a grandma as taking turns too quickly could basically rip the end of the van off. So, easy-goes it.
I'm not sure how long it took us to get up to camp, but nothing was aided by the route we took. We had several 90-degree turns to make getting on the appropriate highways...or rather to stay on the 116.
After dropping off said girls to their respective sites (not to mention actually FINDING the site was a chore in itself since no one thought to give further direction), Stef and I found a place to eat and then headed home...on a different route. An hour and a-half later, we arrived home. Much more direct and none of the crazy hairpin turns. Of course, we realized that had we just skipped the direction to get on the 116 and continued laughing about "Buttsmell Farm" (aka Butts Mill Farm), we would have discovered the faster route on the way up instead of the way back. Unbeknownst to us, the 41 (which we were on until we took the 116) connected directly with the road taking us into camp...with signs, to boot!!
At least we figured it out before we had to go back and pick up the girls...except upon discovering that another individual had to borrow the Peacock's other large van, I DON'T have to make that trip again this week. Darn! And I was so looking forward to a quicker trip! =P