Easter Weekend

Mostly pictures... 

Way back in the day we started doing an Easter egg hunt for my "little" cousins, most of whom are now in high school and college.  So this year it was Cecily and some borrowed children on Good Friday afternoon.  hehe.  

They all wanted to see the cows while we were waiting for kids to show up.  Little miss has no fear and kept wanting Willow to join her in the feed bunker.   

 Until she saw the boys on the fence...

 Then she had to stand on the gate too.

 Ca'mere cows!!  And this would be a really cute picture of her and Russell if somebody's foot wasn't in the way.

 This picture amuses me on several levels...  none of them are looking the same way; and all of the imported toddlers.  Hehe.  Ok, so they all have connections- Cliff's holding my friend's boy that they babysit for, the next three are my second cousin's kids, the other two are Ron and Kary's grandkids, and then there is silly little miss... who actually left her cute braid in for the occasion!

 Off she goes to find some eggs.

 And a wheel barrow ride.

 Then Aunt Kary bribed them with quarters to pick up walnuts after they found all the eggs... haha.

 Shelly and I dyed some eggs... Cecily was more interested in Grandma's toys at this point so she didn't last long.

 

Good Friday evening services did not go so well...  the only nap she took was in the car between the farm and home so she was sooo ridiculously fragile in church.  I had to take her out twice because she started sobbing over nothing.  *sigh*  So irritating.  And then of course, the minister had to say something like, 'I'm sure everyone is glad they came tonight...' Um... well... I would maybe take a do-over!  *grin*

Saturday was gorgeous and we got some work done outside in the afternoon.  The Koch's got together in the evening and there were more eggs to find.  I'm not sure if she was trying to steal Isla's eggs, or just comparing baskets.

 Three small children going after the same egg... 

 Playing with Hanna...

 We let her open her Easter basket Sunday morning.  Check out that bed head! 

 She was quite excited to discover that marsh-pillows can look like bunnies.

 And she 'read' her new ice-skating book quite a few times.

 My attempts at a good picture of her in her Easter dress were pretty much failures. 

 She was rather squirrely that morning.

 Yeah.

 Anyway, here's a so-so picture- slightly rumpled from a day in church (and somehow there are water/milk marks on the bodice already!?  How does she manage!?)  I thought it turned out pretty good, and as long as nobody looks at the inside they won't know how bad of a seamstress I really am.  *grin*  I got smart this time and tied a perfect bow and sewed it down tight to the sash, which closes with snaps.  So much better than constantly retying it at church. 

Oh, and the ruffles.  I love the ruffles.  Grandma Koch's sewing machine has a ruffle attachment... so slick.  All I had to do was stick in my fabric and it made those perfect pleated strips.  Which I love. 

We spent Sunday evening with my family at Lori's.  So little miss got to play with Max Cliff all evening.  "Ca'mere Max!  Come slide!"  And if you reminded her that this boy's name is Cliff, "Ca'mere Ma-Ca-liff!"  hehe.   There is nothing quite like Aunt Pearl playing detective....  'Hi Honey, and BAM!'  I laughed.  A lot.  (It might have even been better than the 'Put 'em on the street corner and kick 'em' comment.)

And today we did laundry and were lazy.  Blessings.

These are the times that try men's souls.

Because seriously people, there is nothing wrong with me, I feel just fine, I'm not uncomfortable, and you don't have to get that awful sympathetic look on your faces when you talk to me...  and NO, I am not ready to "get that baby out."  (I hope I never actually have anything horribly wrong with me because I will not have ANY patience with people...  *grin*) 

Oh, and one more random rant (just for you, Heid!)....  please don't ask me if I'm dilating yet.  Think about what you're asking...  I realize that some people are more comfortable discussing medical things, but I'm not.  And definitely not in mixed company.  And in my head the only logical continuation of that conversation is "How've your GYN visits been lately?  Your tests have been coming back normal?"  Which I really doubt most people think is a polite or appropriate topic of conversation.   

Actually, I have no intention of getting any internal exams pre-labor (and maybe not during) because a) they tell you absolutely nothing other than what is currently true and have no bearing on when labor will start or how long labor will be, and b) they're a great way to increase your risk of infection which I am already freaking about enough since I have to be on antibiotics again anyway...

If you need something nice to say to a pregnant woman, someone quoted my great aunt Emma to me Sunday- "God's just putting on the finishing touches."  Encouraging, uplifting, and not awkward. 

Moving on...  because I know pregnancy is "not in the general interest" (name that book!)...

I'm not sure what we've been up to... lots and nothing at all.  Mom came over one afternoon and helped me finish washing the windows.

We had communion last weekend.  Cecily got to go play with Kandace, Carli, and Cliff and some other kids.  She was in rare form when we picked her up; making Cliff 'ice skate' with her. 

Mom and Dad and Jake brought pizza Sunday night.  At one point little miss told them to go home... 

It snowed again.  "Hey bird!  You playin' in the snow?!"  She wanted to go out and play in it but... I wasn't up for it.   I refuse to get out the snow boots again.

 
I introduced her to the Chief (the last dance on YouTube) this week.  She wanted to watch it over and over and she would stand up and start clapping every time.  Hehe.  Must start the U of I indoctrination early. 

 
"This is mise princess dress from Cris-nina."

    
Otherwise, doctors appointments.  A few walks in the cemetery.  And random shopping at Home Depot and Kelly Seed.  And today Cecily and I got to meet Amber for lunch, which was great fun. 
Blessings.

Decorating is More Fun Than Spring Cleaning

Or, Excessive Pictures of Little Miss's New Room.   

(Because, I'm not really planning on doing much spring cleaning.  Other than getting the windows washed because there are dust streaks on them. And wiping out the kitchen cabinets because I haven't since we moved in and they are crumby.)

Cecily likes to read us books sometimes.  Her versions are amusing...  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is mostly "Dere's hotdogs!  Pancakes!"  

So plain hollow core doors are not my favorite....  and they were not intended to have holes drilled in them... which the previous owners ignored.  *sigh*  So our bedroom and bathroom doors have badly patched (or not patched at all) holes and glue marks on the back side.  And I'm afraid that if I painted them they would end up looking more crack-house cheap than typical 60's cheap.  There's just no good way to fix it, other than spending a small fortune on new doors.  Oh, to be independently wealthy... hehe. 

 

We covered the holes with a bulletin board in Cecily's room.  It ended up being harder than expected- I bought a roll of cork and was planning to use removable adhesive to stick it up there. Yeah, I tried two different kinds and ended up gluing the cork to foam board and then hanging the foam board on the door.  She better appreciate it.

I so tired, Mama.  *grin*  She's doing really well in her bed!  I think she's still a little disoriented in the mornings, but she hasn't been getting out in the evenings.  She did figure out how to climb into the crib now that the mattress is up higher... yikes... this could be bad news.

 We got some shelves hung.  I might look for some cute hooks for her to hang her "stuff" on to go underneath.

 I love the dresser and bed together. 

 Saturday evening was potluck date night, so Cecily went to play with the kids and Bob and I went to Applebee's and Hobby Lobby.  We found frames for "mise" ballerina and for some flower pictures I printed off.  "I inna corner, Mama."

 I think she was putting her bears to bed...  as you can see, she has plenty of reading material to choose from.  Mostly classics, and now arranged alphabetically by author because I'm crazy.   There are some kid books in there, including American Girls and the Boxcar Children.  The westerns, fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure are all out by the computers, if you were wondering.   

This is may be my favorite part of the whole room; white curtains with pink ball fringe and pink glass finials. After blue and white stripes, my next favorite decorating thing is ball fringe. I know, I'm weird.

 And lastly, as much as I would love to say that she's praying in this picture, she's watching her shadow and clapping.  Because the awful track light that's still in there makes great shadows.  Soon it and the fan will be gone and there will be great rejoicing. 

Otherwise, I got to sleep in a little bit this morning after a restless night of waking up to all of my limbs sound asleep and tingling, and the absolute worst leg cramp ever- from my toes to my thighs- stretching the other way just made it cramp on the other side. I thought I had escaped that particular annoyance this time.  Have I mentioned how much I dislike pregnancy? 

Little miss and I also went for a "little ride" in the stroller to pick up my car from the shop.  Then we got to take a "little drive" home... with a stop at the Eli's drive-thru because the driver's window is fixed and actually goes up and down now and drive-thru windows aren't a headache anymore.  Hooray.  *sigh*  We need a van.  I think I am finally at the point where my beloved car is causing me more annoyance than anything else.  It's time to move on.   

Anyway.  Blessings.

April Showers

We've been keeping busy.  We went to potluck one night, Cecily and I invited ourselves to the farm for supper one night (Bob was at Dang's), we went to Bob's parent's for an early birthday supper, I got her Easter dress done, and it still isn't warm out yet.   

Somebody got rain boots that fit- they're pink and she loves them.  And notice the braid in her hair- I do try to do her hair, she just pulls everything out before long and ends up looking like a hoyden most of the time.  The undies don't help.  O well. There are worse things. 

Saturday we finished raking the sticks.  Bob wanted to have a hose back there when we burned the pile this time (apparently he didn't want to be like me and start trees on fire) and we were just a few feet short so Rustin and Sharon and girls brought their hoses over.  It wasn't super warm out. 

 Hooray for fire.

 Rustin's the crazy pyro who stood in the smoke spraying the grass and the neighbor's trees... 

 This is a typical Sunday afternoon at our house...  "leave her dress on."  She only acts tired at church, then she doesn't stop moving when we get home.

 She helped me make Daddy's birthday cake.  Also known as a "Hatty birthday cake."  (He's 30 now!! So... mature... haha... he may or may not be reading over my shoulder.) I love that she has a gap in her front teeth like Frieda....

Cecily was pretty sure she needed to open all of Daddy's presents. 

Unca Dang came over for supper. Cecily serenaded us all when we lit the candles... she's very enthusiastic at least.

Ok, so Cecily's new bed.  It's a  long, slightly complicated story, but the bunk bed my sister used in college was being stored in Fairbury and was available to us. We decided that instead of buying mattresses for the head board I had bought, we would store the bunk bed and use one of those mattresses for Cecily (until we have two kids out of the crib) with a twin bed frame.  Mom and Dad dropped the bunks off on Tuesday, and we realized we were going to need plywood for the twin bed frame since we aren't going to do a box spring for her. Dad was kind enough to get and cut some down for us and Mom brought it over Wednesday. 

We got the bed all made with her new sheets and comforter and she climbed right in.  And spent quite a while there "reading" books.  I left for my doctor appointment and she was still enjoying "mise little bed."

 It looks so short with out a box spring, but it's just the right height for her.  Maybe it just needs more pillows. *grin*

She slept in it last night.... she got out a few times before she fell asleep but went right back when I took her.  And somehow she slept through the storm.  This morning she woke up, went to the kitchen, got a drink, then came into our room and cried until I tucked her back in bed. 

I moved all her clothes over and now the nursery feels so empty.  mur.  I'll blame it on the hormones...   The walls in her new room are pretty bare still.  I have some shelves I could hang. When I was cleaning out my décor stash she found a Degas print I had in college of a "ballereenda" that she claimed.  Otherwise it might be pretty bare in there for awhile.  Anybody have cute little girl wall décor ideas?     

Otherwise, we've been trying to go outside when it's nice.  And I pulled out all the crib bedding and blankets and burp clothes and onesies to wash... after a good soak in oxiclean.  Crazy how stains show up even though they were put away stain free. 

She wanted to "smile for Daddy" with her Easter bow in but she wouldn't hold still long enough for a non-blurry picture, so this is the best I got.  Silly girl.  Then she wants to see it.  Kids these days...  why back in my day we had to wait until mom got the film developed and dad used Seattle Filmworks so it took foreeeeever to get pictures back.  *grin* 

Anyway.  Blessings.

Ok, it can be spring now.

One day in flip-flops and I DO NOT want to go back to shoes.   

We had a fairly uneventful week, which is nice. 

I was debating whether or  not to go vote after my doctor appointment Tuesday, since I ignored all political calls and I felt slightly uninformed.  Was it just me, or was there not much info in the paper about the candidates?  I decided to go... and felt like a celebrity because they were having a very slow day. Haha.  Cecily even got a sticker, which she wore proudly.  I got her a chair for camping so we  don't have to borrow one; she wanted a drink for her cup holder. 

 
This is my current reading material:

a little bit of crunchiness (but it's super interesting and is helping explain why things went the way they did with Cecily...), a little bit of fun (ok, so it's alright and I'm sure it would be a good read aloud for kids, but it's not my favorite book ever), and a whole lot of awesome.  I've actually never read TCMC unabridged before.  I think I probably should since I love it so much abridged. 

Flip-flops are wonderful.  Warm is wonderful.  Little miss pigtails decided the broom would make a good horsey.    

 
I took Cecily to story time at the Library on Thursday.  I think she liked it.  I only had to retrieve her from the front once...  And she carried around the craft- "Mise train" the rest of the day. 

We spent a few hours picking up sticks on Saturday.  Ugh.  Bob collected the piles Cecily and I have been making when we're outside and I raked.  So. Many. Sticks.  The pile is huge and I still need to rake the back third of the yard.  I'm rather fond of going barefoot and would rather not step on sticks. 

Someone took a long nap for once and I finally got our TEOTWAWNI emergency stockpile a little bit more organized...  (No worries, family.  We have no plans to move to an Idaho compound anytime soon.)  hehe.  Or you could just call it the pantry... don't mind the other random stuff on the shelves.

Saturday evening we went to the soup supper.  Lots of good food, as usual.  Sunday was uneventful, and today the most exciting thing we did was make chocolate pudding from scratch.  Somebody wanted 'mise pooding' for lunch and we didn't have any, or any boxed mixes.  *grin*  It's a little runnier than I'm used to but it tastes pretty good. 

Blessings.

Chicago

Friday night Bob and I dropped Cecily off at the farm and headed to Chicago.  First time we've ever left her over night... yeah... I know.  I suppose this trip was to celebrate our 5th anniversary, which is the end of April, maybe more just because I wanted to go to Chicago.  *grin*  We could also just pretend we decided to celebrate on my grandparent's anniversary... the Ides of March...

We stayed at the Palmer House- it's a pretty cool place and I've always wanted to stay there.  I mean, this is the lobby:    

 

Notice the green accent lights... yeah... it was St. Patrick's day weekend in Chicago.  I wouldn't recommend going that weekend in the future. 

We didn't get up into the city until 9ish and poor Bob got to deal with me attempting to navigate and playing tour guide- "oooo, there's the Calder stabile, and that building was designed by Mies Van der Rohe, and we need to turn really soon..."  hehe.   I did pay attention in ACS!  And Bob did awesome driving in the city- we drove right to the hotel.    

We headed out mid morning to explore and find lunch.  With tons of people dressed in ridiculous green outfits... yeah... the St. Patrick's Day parade was that day.  So we got to take in the sights of Michigan avenue with lots of drunk people heading to the parade.  It was like Unofficial only times 1000.  ugh.  Oh well.  Bob had never had real Chicago deep dish pizza so we went to Giordano's for lunch.  There was a little bit of a wait, but it was so worth it.  This, this is pizza.  (And Bob didn't know he was in the picture.)    

 
Then we wandered back to our car and stopped in at Marshal Field's/ Macy's.  I don't think Bob had ever been there.  Such a cool old building....  minus the prevailing smell of beer on the other patrons.... gah... did I mention I wouldn't recommend hanging out in the loop on St. Patrick's weekend?  Marshal Field's should NOT smell like beer.  *sigh*  Oh well, still a Chicago tradition.
 
We drove farther north along the lake (and saw the green river) and got parked in plenty of time for Blue Man Group so we wandered around a bit and got ice cream.  I'm really not sure how to describe Blue Man Group,  they're just fun.  I went with chorus in High School and remember it being super cool.  And they appeal to my strange sense of humor and deeply repressed desire to paint myself blue... or something.  I enjoyed it greatly, and I think Bob did too...  

It took us forever to get out of the city- between the traffic and all the crazy drunk people (don't go to Chicago on St. Pat's weekend) it was slow going.  We stopped at Portillo's and I got a Chicago style hot dog... keeping in the theme of classic Chicago food.  We are not into gourmet, haha. 

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Cecily was having all kinds of fun.  Mom and Shelly took her ice skating and it sounds like she loved it.  I am jealous- I feel like I've missed out on all of the things that make winter bearable- skiing, skating, sledding...  due to my delicate condition.  Mur. 

She did not go to sleep very well for my mom- she said she saw 2am.  Yikes!  Silly girl... but it looks like she was up bright and early demanding cocoa (with marshpillows). 

 And she got to meet Petey at Matt and Lena's. 

She wouldn't take a nap for Mom either and was still going strong when we came to pick her up.  She fell asleep almost right away in the car, silly girl.  She didn't sleep in this morning either... I ended up bringing her home from church at noon because she was so tired and stumbling around (and she refuses to sleep at church anymore...).  Hopefully we're all rested and (mostly) recovered from our fun weekend.  I am feeling really stiff today- I am so out of shape and my shoulder hurts from carrying my heavy purse all day. 

So yeah, it was really fun.  I like the city in small doses.  We were both glad to get back to our quiet street in our quiet town.  *grin* 
Blessings.

Like a Lion

*RAHR*

 

Ah March, it is still too cold and snowy for me.  At least it's light out now!  Cecily talked me into buying a bouquet out of the sale section at the grocery store because it was "bootiful" and she wanted to smell it.  Plus it looked so fresh and springy.   

 

We got out the play dough one day...  she proceeded to build snow men with it.  

 

Friday morning we went to Five Points to swim.  We saw Aunt Madelyn there.  Aunt Lena came swimming with us, and Mom came and watched.  It was fun- now she asks "Maybe t'morrow go to swimmin' pool?"  *grin*  Then we went to McDonalds for pepperfries and chicken nuggets. Mom and I stopped to see G and G and Pearl briefly and then I took a very tired little girl home... she was asleep before we got out of town.

Someone was quite excited to go outside Monday, even though those boots are getting way too small.  And mud is suddenly "icky."  *sigh*  We picked up lots of sticks and there are still more.    

 
I got her new sunglasses- she freaks out in the car sometimes if the sun is too bright.  Now she wants to wear them all the time...

 
Tuesday little miss and I went to Katie's mom's visitation... yeah... no words.   Bob had to work late, so I went when my parents could watch Cecily in the back.  She insisted on wearing her sunny glasses in, and then wondered where the princess was (it was at the fellowship hall).  O dear.  No brides this time, kiddo... "all done princess?"  I got to stand in line with Uncle Cleo, which was good, and see some family I haven't seen in a while (no one quite like cousin Bernie- *grin*).  I listened online to the funeral this morning and had to get a Kleenex a few times. 

"C'mere, Mom, play toys!" 

Otherwise, it's been quiet.  I decided to make her Easter dress, because once again I found a super cute dress on sale....  for $100.  Um... yeah.  Not going to happen.  So I'm working on that and trying to decide if it would be dumb to start any other projects around here.  If it does ever warm up I'm going to want to be outside, but there are things that need painting inside that are starting to bug me... what to do, what to do.

Blessings.

I am agog, I am aghast

Somebody is getting tired of being stuck in the house (and it's not me).  "Maybe t'morrow go to grocery store."  "Maybe 'morrow go to church."  hehe.  Poor girl.

 

We, well, Bob, replaced all the outlets in Cecily's new room on Saturday because I like white outlets better than almond.  They just look prettier and cleaner, especially with the blue-gray paint.  That evening we went to Flat Top for supper with Bob's family because Susan was home for a wedding.  Cecily actually ate a lot of noodles and 'tatoes and 'trees' (aka broccoli).  Which was good, since stir fried green beans are apparently too crunchy and she was not interested in the bread. 

 

Sunday morning at 4 am we woke up to the sound of our neighbors leaf blower.... yeah....  they were blowing snow off of their cars. Um.  OK.   Did I mention it was 4 am?!  ugh.  Anyway, so none of us slept very soundly after that...  and then someone refused to nap that afternoon... the older she gets, it gets more and more unpleasant when she doesn't sleep so we didn't do anything that evening.  She did get to climb the snow piles with Daddy for a little bit.

 
Tate came over on Monday morning to hang out while Fred and Di went to the funeral.  Cecily was pretty excited to have someone fun to play with, since she's usually stuck with just me.   

She wanted to stay wrapped up in her towel "like a princess" after her bath.   Whatever.  This is how we eat ice cream in a bath towel.

Tuesday we spent most of the day in P-town.  I had an appointment so little miss and I went to Chik-fil-a for pepper-fries and did some shopping while we were there.  O man.  One of the very few perks of being pregnant in the winter is that winter coats hide a lot for a lot longer.  Until this week.  I'm suddenly getting comments from total strangers...  someone tried to touch me at Menards... someone asked if I was having twins (whaaa??).  Omygoodness. Absolutely aghast.   I'm wearing a lovely, thick (and delightfully warm) winter coat and carrying a two year old- how can you even have enough visual information to make a comment like that??  Plus I don't know you and that's creepy. 

*sigh*  So yeah.  NOT doing much for my self esteem... even though the Doc says I'm right on track for weight gain and fundal height is measuring exactly at 32 weeks... so statistically I'm no bigger or smaller than any other woman at this point.  Which really, is interesting to me because it means that perceived size is dependent on body type and height and therefore there is no basis for comparison between women... apples and oranges people.

And while I'm on a soap box... 
... comments about weight and size are not appropriate.  Ever.  I know way too many people who have had issues with eating disorders.  It's scary to watch.  So I will probably never comment on your weight loss.  Or gain.  Plus it's just plain rude. 

... gestational state is not anyone else's business.  Seriously.  I was talking to some of my sister's newlywed friends at her wedding and we were discussing how people will say Hi, look down at your abdomen (hello, I'm up here!), or just flat out make comments about having kids (It happens when your kid is getting close to 2 also...), and how awkward and uncomfortable it makes them.  So stop.  It's not your business unless they tell you.

... And that weekend three different people asked me when I was going to have another one, if I was pregnant (gee thanks, I'm already feeling like a frumpy matron up there with all of Shell's cute friends...), and that it was 'time for another one.'  What do you say to that??  Um... well, gee, see, I was unexpectedly not pregnant this month so no, and I don't know when we're going to have another one, and it might be time for another one, but there's no guarantee it will ever happen.  Granted, one month does not secondary infertility make, but what if it had been months?  What if I had recently miscarried?  What if I was someone who really, really, wanted a baby and it wasn't happening?   So not cool.  I can't imagine having fertility issues and then having to deal with insensitive comments on top of it. 

For the record, I don't care what your current gestational state is.  *grin*  However, if you're dealing with morning sickness (or just plain sick) and the thought of cooking makes you want run to the bathroom feel free to ask me to bring you supper (or if you're far away, I can at least order pizza or take out or something!).  I won't assume.  Pretty sure there's nothing worse than 10 solid weeks of 24/7 nausea when just the smell of the fridge, let alone cooking, sends you over the edge...      

And no, I am not 'counting down' yet.  I don't count down to things I'm not really looking forward too.  Labor and delivery?  A newborn?  Ugh.  These are things to be gotten through.    

Alright, off the soapbox.   I should try and come up with something fun to do with my poor bored little girl so she will quit using her hair as a dust mop on the floor...
Blessings.