Facebook

Well, it's official, I'm off facebook. (Just saying it makes it sound like a drug, "Well, I'm off crack"!) It was a pretty easy decision I'll have you know. I took a break from facebook for Lent this year and it was the best thing I could have done. After Easter I went back on for a total of two weeks and I hated it. All the drama that was there before, was still there. All the comments people make, without saying how they really feel, were still happening. And the time I used to waste on that site started to get wasted again.

I realized all too often how much I checked it. How much the status updates of my friends would consume me. How little I was actually connecting with people, in real life. And, the saddest part of all, or rather, the greatest discovery I made, was that I needed it. But in actuality, I didn't.

So, I'm done. I'm done for a few reasons.

• I want to actually be present to my girls and for me, having facebook on my computer or phone does not make me present.
• I want to be intentional about connecting with friends and family and it was getting a little too easy to feel like I actually knew what was going on in someone's life, based on their status updates or notes.
• I want to find my true value in what God thinks about me, not what people say about the photos I take of my kids.
• I want to step away from "humble bragging" (a term I picked up from a friend over dinner a few weeks ago and love!) The world (or my facebook friend list) does not need to know about all the things I accomplish in one day. My God sees me. My man appreciates me. My kids love our house. That's really all that matter.
  

So, yesterday was my first day officially off. And I loved it! And now, today, on this gloriously rainy day, I feel free. I feel great about my decision! I've already had a lovely morning with my girls, in which I feel I've been truly present.

I'm in love!

Both babes are still asleep...

This never happens.
And by never I mean, NEVER.

My oldest daughter woke up at 5:50 but with some gentle soothing from my man, went right back to sleep.

(A photo of Greta with her Abba during church yesterday)

My youngest daughter has been asleep since 1 am. We started night/sleep training with her two nights ago and it turns out, she was super ready. I've pretty much just fed her every time she's woken up since she was born. And to be honest, I haven't minded it. As soon as we got bf-ing to work I was all about it. However, now that she's almost 5 months old, I'm ready for a little more rest. So, two nights ago, when she woke up at midnight to eat, my man went in and calmed her down and then left the room. She fussed again, we let her go for 3 minutes, and then I went in. Repeat. Three times and she was fast asleep. Our goal was for her to make it to 3 am and then I would nurse her before she went back down again. She slept until 5!

(A photo of Audrey asleep on our couch- I promise she can breathe!)

So last night she woke up around 11 pm and I just soothed her back to sleep with some gentle butt pats (she sleeps on her tummy) and shushing (thank you "happiest baby on the block" book!). She hasn't woken up since. That's right. She's been asleep, other than that one wake up, since last night at 7:30. We're going on 12 hours here. And no nursing! WOW!

All that to say, I have loved my extra time. Usually I sleep until one babe wakes up but this morning I was well rested at 6:15 when my man gets up. So I got up. And made coffee. And finished my Bible Study. And changed the load of laundry. And ate a bowl of cereal. And checked my email. And drank another cup of coffee.

Thank you girls. Mama needed a Monday morning like this. Bless you and your sweet sleeping faces!

18 months

It's here. Greta will be officially 18 months old tomorrow, April 1st. She'll be 1 and 1/2. That's crazy to me. Shear craziness. Here's what she's up to these days.


Walking around the house like crazy. She owns the place. And when she walks, she pumps her right arm as if it's helping steady her balance. It's hilarious.


Talking like crazy. Actually, about a week ago I started to get a little nervous. I've never counted her words before. I've never really written them down so I never really knew how many she had. I recently read in a book that they are supposed to have close to 50 words around 18 months. I thought she might be falling behind. Nope. She's not. I started counting this after writing them down. She's doing just fine. Here's what I know for sure she says (or signs which I heard counts too!):
Mama, Daddy, Abba, Nana, Bita, Grammi, key, ball, car, thank you, more, please, yes, no, sock, Audrey, milk, all done, down, up, help, wow, whoa, cookie, bath, water, baby, amen, pray, music, brush...


Laughing. She loves to laugh and to make others laugh. It's great. Best sound in the world, hands down.

Climbing. This is a new stage for Greta. She usually doesn't climb things. In fact, until recently, she's wanted help going up stairs. She now loves to climb the ottoman in our living room and she loves to climb her chair. She tries really hard to get onto the couch by herself but still needs a little help.

Following directions. I've been practicing this with Greta. She is an amazing listener! I can ask her to do something simple like, "Put this in the basket please" and she does it. Last week I tried something a little harder like, "go to your drawer and get your snack cup please". And guess what, she did it! She actually brought me her snack cup from her drawer in the kitchen! Such an obedient child.


On that note- not following directions. She's got a will and let me tell you, when she wants to exert it, she will!

I absolutely love this child. She is such a precious little girl and I cannot wait to see who she will become. She fills our house with such joy!

Oh dear Greta- happy 18 months. I love you so much!

St. Patrick's Day, 2011

It's that time of year again.
The time of year when everyone you know suddenly becomes Irish.
The time of year when your milk gets turned green by magic leprechauns in the middle of the night.
The time of year when I get to paint shamrocks on the cheeks of my friends and family with green face-paint!

The time of year when I have an excuse to knit for my babies and create adorable outfits of them.
The time of year when we march in a parade and throw candy into the street for children.

I love this holiday!

Last year I made an outfit for Greta that turned out really cute. It wasn't too difficult and it gave me great enjoyment.

This year I made matching hats for my girls- they look a little like something from a Dr. Seuss book- which is right up my alley.

Because Greta is still so lean she was able to wear the dress that I made her last year as a top over a long sleeve tee and a pair of jeans. She looked great!
Because Audrey is such a porker, as I affectionately call her, she was able to wear G's leggings. I knew I'd be carrying her so she looked sweet, all swaddled in our green Moby!

Homemade Granola

So, I made a batch of homemade granola today. And it's awesome! I got the recipe from this lovely blog and decided to give it a go today.
Best part about it- four simple ingredients that you probably have on hand.

Ingredients:
4-5 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1/2-1 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Mix everything together and spread it on a baking sheet. Place into preheated 350º oven and bake for 18 minutes or so. You'll need to check on it half way through and mix up all the ingredients again.

Life these days

Oh. My. Word.

It's March 19th, 2011. I sometimes can't believe how fast time goes. I love my life. I find myself telling my man on a pretty regular basis how happy I am and how much I love my life.

Greta Elise will be 18 months on the first of April. I'll officially have a 1 1/2 year old. That's nuts to me. She is absolutely wonderful. Loves to laugh. Dances constantly. Is a very confident walker. She's currently starting to climb objects like our ottoman and the couches but she's very cautious. She knows how to climb the stairs but needs lots of encouragement coming down, which can be difficult on mornings when I'm making my way down with both girls by myself. She has this hilarious hair style because I refuse to cut her hair yet. She is gaining weight quite quickly too- I'm pretty sure she weighs around 24 lbs now and is probably 32 or more inches, we'll find out next month at our dr. appt.

Audrey Louise is a tank. Well, at least in my humble opinion. She weighs somewhere around 14 1/2 lbs, which Greta didn't weigh until she was 6 months old. She is a little over 3 months old now and so much fun. She laughs! It's the best sound ever! She can hold toys in her hands now and insists on jamming them into her mouth. I bet she's teething. She eats like a champ! There is absolutely no pain while we nurse anymore either, praise God! Greta is still her favorite person to look at. It's so fun to see their connection already. In the morning when G wakes up, usually early and before A, she says "Shhh, Shhh, Shhh" and points to A's cradle. She's understanding that A is not going anywhere and I think she actually likes her!

My man and I have been doing some home improvement projects lately too, thanks to Uncle Sam for our tax return and to BCBS for paying us back for our home-birth! Another thank you God! The kitchen was our first project. We added new counter-tops, a new faucet courtesy of my parents, and a new dishwasher, courtesy of his parents. We also painted the kitchen a fun new color and are really liking all the new improvements. In fact, I think I like them so much, that I'm cooking way more than usual and baking up a storm. Next up is a total bath room redo!

I've recently tried a few new recipes and been so happy.

• I made baked mac-n-cheese on my own the other night and loved it.

• Turns out that brown rice and lentils, with some garlic, onion and chopped green pepper, is actually quite delicious. We've had it twice now!

• I inherited a bread machine from my lovely mother-in-law and couldn't be happier. I made a spicy cheese bread the other day that was delicious!

• I've been making ice-cream a lot recently, it's helping to fight off the winter blues! We've recently tried coconut and my latest attempt was a thin mint ice-cream using real thin mint pieces. Yum.

• Yesterday for breakfast I made raspberry white chocolate chip scones that were to die for.

• The other day I didn't know what to make for dinner so I just started throwing things into my crock pot. Whatever came out was awesome. Chicken, cut up carrots, onion, garlic, celery, chicken stock, cream of chicken soup and for the last hour, white rice.
  

• I make these bran muffins that my man loves- Greta has been having them for afternoon snacks recently and she loves them too- it's the only way she'll eat raisins!

So, that's it for now as I've got one baby who wants to eat, one who needs her snack and a man who desperately needs a haircut! Hope to get another opportunity to write again soon.