Anyone else feel like this?

When will she be potty trained?

I just changed a diaper that was ammonia-y enough to make my eyes water.  (I love using cloth for many reasons, but the thought that I have to smell this one again makes me yearn for disposables!)  Oh Universe, please tell me she'll be potty trained soon!

Do they not realize cheese is expensive?!

I was looking today for a recipe for some kind of casserole with chicken, rice and frozen vegetables. But almost everything had cheese in it. I finally found a slow cooker soup recipe that looks good. Good grief. Even the recipes on the "budget" sites had a cup or more of cheese in them. Really, have they bought cheese recently?

That's my tirade for the day. Okay, now I promise to be more calm and balanced.

Mother in training

A couple of days ago, Anne asked to wear her baby. So I tied up a scarf for her to use. She is loving wearing her baby! I love that she knows that slings are where babies belong. And I love that she's really getting into imaginative play.

Doesn't she look cute?

One day watching a video, she was lying like this. I thought she just looked very cute. :)

One day she looked up on the top of her dresser and saw my big doll. So I got it down and she's really enjoyed sitting next to her on the bench in her room.

Father, I know that all my life

An article I read a couple of days ago referenced this hymn. It's by Anna L Waring, a Quaker turned Church of England, 1850. I can hear the Quaker upbringing in her writing.

Father, I know that all my life
Is portioned out for me,
And the changes that are sure to come
I do not fear to see;
But I ask Thee for a present mind
Intent on pleasing Thee.

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, isn't that nice? a thoughtful love
Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And to wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself, I like this line, too. Rest from the cares of my heart. Rest.
To soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do
Or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.

Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoe’er estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts
To keep and cultivate;
And a work of lowly love to do
For the Lord on Whom I wait.

So I ask Thee for daily strength,
To none that ask denied, none denied. none!
And a mind to blend with outward life
While keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space,
If Thou be glorified.

And if some things I do not ask
In my cup of blessing be,
I would have my spirit filled the more
With grateful love to Thee,
More careful, not to serve Thee much,
But to please Thee perfectly.

There are briers besetting every path
That call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot,
And an earnest need for prayer;
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee
Is happy anywhere.

In a service which Thy will appoints
There are no bonds for me;
For my inmost heart is taught “the truth”
That makes Thy children “free.”
And a life of self renouncing love
Is a life of liberty.

My first real sale!

I made my first real sale on Etsy today! To someone I've never met and lives in another state! Yay! I mailed it to her today. I felt very successful! Congratulations to me!

If only this weren't true...

Changing Diapers

This morning Anne was playing with her teddy bears in her room. Then she got up on her bed, pulled off the changing pad and put it on the floor. Then she walked out of her bedroom. It didn't occur to me that she was doing something in particular. She came back in with a cloth diaper wipe she had gotten wet -- and proceeded to "clean" her teddy bear. And tried to put a couple different diapers on the bear. She was too cute! Besides pretend talking on the phone, this is the first creative/imaginative play I've seen her do. Very cool!

The perfect kid

I was complaining to Ben that when Anne and I went outside this evening for 15 minutes, I got six mosquito bites - SIX - and Anne got none. I didn't think that Anne had gotten any bites all summer and I get a minimum of three every time I step outside. But then Ben said he saw her get a couple of bites last week on her ankles. And she never scratched!

My child covers her mouth when she yawns, says "Thank You" TOO often, and doesn't scratch mosquito bites. I think I have the perfect kid.

Miscellany

Thoughts and updates. in no particular order.

Last night Anne yawned. And covered her mouth! I guess I must do a good job of covering my mouth too, because I don't know where else she would have learned it. Same thing with "Thank you." She says it all the time. I love it! I have the greatest kid.

We've started going to the KCK public library. They've got lots of movies. And the toys in the kids section are great. Oh, and fish! Can I just say that I love libraries? They are amazing places to me. We had a lot of books in our house growing up - books were certainly valued. But we didn't have a lot of money, so we didn't just go out a buy a book that we wanted. But go into a library and there are hundreds of thousands of books for the taking! Free! I mean, that's enough to take your breath away! I really want Anne to love books, too. And she's on her way. She loves to read books with us. And she loves to go to the library. I'm so glad.

Chocolate Banana bread is in the oven. Yay.

I've learned (thanks, Carra) how to make yogurt. It makes me happy. So easy. So cheap. So much better for you than the uber-sugared versions at the grocery store. And Anne loves it.

Anne knows all the motions to the Itsy Bitsy Spider. She loves it.

She's really starting to talk. Two-syllable words are becoming pretty common. I just have to remind her to use words when she's upset. :)

Okay, on to the next thing....

Lots of LEGOs!

She was too interested in the horses to look at the camera.

Family picture!

almost 6,000 pieces!

The LEGO store was amazing!

She loved being with Honey and Pops.

I'm not sure what number tantrum this was that morning. She was ti-red!

Maybe she'll be a world traveler?

She enjoyed the exhibits about the colleges.

This is the VBS exhibit.

General Assembly - Florida

Snippets of Conversation

Sitting on the front porch (or sometimes even in the back yard) Anne and I hear snippets of the conversations of the people that walk or run by.  Sometimes these are interesting.  Sometimes sad.  Sometimes funny.  Last night we were in the back yard and I heard a conversation approaching.  As this couple ran by the only thing I heard was the man saying, "How the hell was I supposed to know what you're feeling?!"  So stereotypical!

Andy's post here is great.  It's a passage from Brennan Manning's The Furious Longing of God - which is now on my to-read list. :)

Elizabeth Gilbert Quote

All the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people....The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world.

Pomeranian cat?

Anne and I went to the park on Friday. As Anne was playing on the play equipment, a lady walked up holding a Pomeranian. Anne meowed. :) I laughed.

Twirling!

Anne's decided she loves to twirl! I love it. Sometimes she seems all tomboy - playing in the dirt and puddles, climbing trees. But the next moment, she's all girl. When given the option, she always picks pink or purple clothes. This morning, she went into her bedroom and took off her sandals and put on her black patent dress shoes. :) And now she's decided she loves to twirl. :) Sometimes she'll twirl till she falls down. She's so fun!

OMG!

My child not only chews her fingernails, she's taken to chewing her toenails. Yech!

This week

Anne discovered how to get on top of the table. She was too cute not to take a picture. :)

And look closely. Today Anne skinned her knees for the first time. Here she's waiting for band-aids.

Pedicures

"There's nothing that says, There, there, everything is going to be fine, like a foot massage and fresh polish."

Amen!

Read this in a book this weekend and promptly went and painted my toenails. Not as good as having it done, but hey, I do feel better every time I look at my pink toenails. :)

Dandelions

So I like the yellow dandelion flower.  I admit it.  But I have lots growing in my flower garden.  And they've gotten BIG!  Creepy big.  :O Really.  Have you ever seen a big dandelion?  Ever looked at it?!  Scary!  They kind of remind me of some Star Trek alien.  Very tentacle-ly.  Yesterday they got to me so much that I had to get rid of them. Which of course is a good thing.  Anne played in the dirt while I pulled weeds and she thought it was great fun!  So it was outside fun all around.

The smartest person in the world

When I get old

I'm not going to be bitter and complaining. Especially to strangers! :) I went to a doctor today and while I was sitting in the fairly crowded waiting room, an elderly woman came and sat next to me. I don't mind talking to people in situations like this (I don't usually start the conversation, but sure, I'll talk). But then she proceeded to complain about her living situation, her kids, her medical problems, the doctor, the doctor's office - pretty much anything that she could complain about, she did. I do not want to be like that. I realize she may not have the life she wanted - her kids could live closer, her husband could still be alive, doctors could be on time - but there were good things to comment on. The weather was beautiful today! And there was a 5-6 year old wearing the cutest tights (really! horizontal colorful stripes!). Anyway. I am going to be an old lady that everyone wants to be around because I see the good things in life.

Libraries are great!

Anne loves the library. We went this afternoon to get some new books. And when we left, I had set the bag of books on the ground to get her in her car seat. well, she got a book out of the bag and sat down on the asphalt to read it. :) She couldn't even wait to get home to read it. I love that she loves books!

Ambrose of Milan

Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick;
you are my strength when I need help;
you are life itself when I fear death;
you are the way when I long for heaven;
you are light when all is dark;
you are my food when I need nourishment.
—Ambrose of Milan (340-397)

Saturday

Today is Ben's birthday. Happy Birthday! We had a birthday party for him this morning. I love breakfast! Eggs, pancakes, sausage, and make your own fruit smoothies. Yum. And we played Settlers of Catan. It was more fun than I remembered. We had a great time.

Anne gave me flowers today for the first time this afternoon! She picked the dandelions from the church yard. Very cute. Granted, she took this back and played with them, but still......

Thursday we had a great night with my girlfriends. Why don't I get together with them more often?

Anne's deciding she wants to be a little more independent. Yay. (that one was sarcastic.....) Lets see, today she didn't want to eat what I fed her at lunch, she didn't want to stay where she needed to in the bookstore, she didn't want to come in for a bath, she didn't want to go to bed. Good grief. I have to remind myself frequently that independence is important. And she's so fun to play with now that she's older. :)

And I have a splinter. In an awkward place on my fourth finger on my right hand. I can't get to it to get it out. And it hurts. Okay, now I'm just whining. :) Better go to bed.

Nail biting

Anne's started biting her fingernails. Not all of them, just her index fingers. I'm horrified! But as I looked for information about it, everything says to ignore it and at most try to keep her hands occupied when she's likely to bite them. Ugh. I want to do something.

Pictures I promised

For about a week, she decided that reading lying down was very fun. And the book is cute, too.

Such a cute baby! This smile looks just like her.

She loves slides! (I also happen to think this picture is great. :))

We went to a park in January, and I snapped this picture. It looks like her. :)

Anne's first time on a jungle gym. The slide was her favorite of course.

Catch-up

So it's been forever!  I know!  But it's been a bit of a crisis around here.  But enough about that. 

Anne is growing so fast!  She is talking more and more every day.  Dog, bird, Jesus, hello, hi, apple, please, Daddy, book (I think), bath.  It's very fun!  

She loves to play outside.  We've had several really nice days and since I like to go outside, too, we've been outside a lot.  She asks to go outside several times a day.  And she doesn't understand why she can't go outside on the really cold days, or the snowy days, or the rainy days, or all of those days that aren't pretty in that never-ending space between winter and spring.  

But my flowers are up! So spring is on the way!  Tulips, Surprise Lilies, and purple hyacinths.  

And I've started to sell my jewelry on Etsy.  There's a banner on the right to the site, but it's http://www.AnnesInspiration.etsy.com.  Tell your friends. :)

Gotta go.  I'll post a picture of Anne soon.