Surprise!

I love surprises.  I'm terrible at surprises, but I love them!  The only way they ever work out for me is when I, too, am a little surprised.  Usually, my planner brain does not allow for plans to change last minute or for things to just "come up", but this past weekend, they did!  Nephew Dakota's birthday party was last weekend in Laverne.  He's 8!!!!!!! which is a blog all on it's own (how does time go by so quickly!).  This coming weekend is an Eells' (my mom's) family reunion, of sorts, in Red River, NM.  Because we would see Dakota a mere 4 days after his party in Red River, we planned all along not to go home for Memorial weekend.  We had ideas of a day trip, or a bathroom remodel, or of couch time.  WELL...plans changed!  After talking to Darin, Shannon, and the gang last week we decided there was just no good reason not to go home.

We surprised Dakota and Makalyn (4 year old niece), then Darin and Shannon, all the grandparents, and even Dodie!  It was fun stuff!  The party was great, showing off the girls is always fun, and nothing beats hanging out with family!

Great Grandma Terry and the babes

Cousin Makalyn with Kate and Lauren

Call of the Wild

We just got home from our daily walk.  I described the bosque trail this morning, but here are some pictures so that you can better imagine this story.

We were cruisin' along, mindin' our own business when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tail of a reptile!!  Think anaconda ('cause that's how scared I was) but imagine the possible tail of a garter snake or small lizard ('cause that's how big it actually was).  YUCK!!  And scary, and made my heart beat faster than it already was due to the physical activity, and made me want to go home.  But, I pulled up my big girl panties and went on my way.

When, all of a sudden, there was a rustling in one of these.

Not this exact one...there was no time to take a picture!

I about died!  I actually made eye contact with a beaver/badger/chipmunk/wombat.  I know two things for sure, that it's a darn good thing I didn't have my new red gun in a holster on my hip, and that it probably wasn't a badger 'cause my Papa Eells told me that a badger would charge and get me.  At least that's how I remember his story.  If I could have been a little faster on the draw, I'm certain all of nature would still be malling me....down by the river.

This is how worried the girls were:

I'm a survivor.
E

The Little Engine That Could

Oh, the fun we're having!  It's amazing what a difference a few days can make!  Tuesday, I was seriously considering posting one or both of them on Craigslist and loaning them out to the highest bidder.  Today, I can hardly stand to sit here and type this 'cause I just wanna go play with them!!  (OK, I did...I'm back, the beauty of blogging!)  The only variable I know of in the turnaround of our nighttime woes has been naps!  I have stayed close to home this week, made them go down for two naps of decent length a day, and last night L got up once and K SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!  This only goes to prove, once again, mothers, that if you are in a stage that you think you will just NOT survive, just push through a few more days!!  It always changes!

They are days, if not hours away from crawling!  Lauren, especially, gets up on all fours and rocks and rocks...I can just see her little brain chanting "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!".  Kate does this same trick, but she's not as sad about not going anywhere.  She's content to just enjoy the view from a little higher altitude.  They both have perfected the "plank push-up" and I actually semi-suspect that Kate will be a bear crawler before a knee crawler.  She can really get her haunches HIGH!

They are doing so well with food!  I have been making their baby food and can hardly keep up!!  They are fans of sweet potatoes, green peas, green beans, spinach (mixed with another veggie), squash, apples, pears, bananas, and new this week, blueberries!  We're doing it as 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner...mostly because I've barely got breakfast cleaned up by dinnertime, there's no way I could have it clean by lunch!!  It still makes a giant mess, but I'll take some of the blame for that!  They've also started eating some little puff things...think cheerios that melt super fast in your mouth.  They at least have fun playing with them!  Sippy cups are still hard...they love to play with them (throw them on the floor), but I'm not certain they've ever actually swallowed any water.  Oh, and they still nurse about 45 times a day.  Oinkers.

Their little facial expressions melt me/make me laugh 400 times a day!  Oh my!  They can raise one eyebrow, wrinkle up their little noses, smile so big you can see to their spleen, and stick out that bottom pouty lip to get their way.  Presh.

They are sooooo ticklish!  This might be my favorite thing!  I pester them while they're nursing, while they're playing, never while they're sleeping, but most other times!  They scrunch their little shoulders up to their ears and just giggle and giggle.  Kay-ute!!!

We still go for a walk most everyday if it's not terribly windy and they are talking so much more while we're out.  They talk to me, they talk to each other, they sing...mind you, if you're not the Momma this all sounds exactly the same and exactly like non-sensical babble....I'm so glad I'm the Momma!  They are becoming more and more fascinated with Roxie.  They stare, tell her stories, and once, Lauren got close enough to come away with a handful of hair! 

My view...

While we're on the subject of our walks, I have to tell you about my birthday present from my Daddy.  I take the girls and Roxie on walks on a trail near our house.  It's along the Rio Grande, there's a bunch of cottonwood trees, there usually aren't many people, it's beautiful.  It's also been a little creepy a time or two.  Before I had the babes, it never crossed my mind to suspicious of anyone, but now, I am.  I mentioned this to Dad last time they were out, and he got me a gun for my birthday!!  A red, plastic, pepper shooting one!  It's beautiful and awesome!  So, if you see me and my big yellow buggy with my big, slobbery dog, watch out....I'm packin'!

As we speak, they are part watching Baby Einstein, part having a serious conversation, part crawling, part whining, part licking the dust off my still dirty carpet, part naked, part perfect....

In a better mood,
The Momma

From an earlier post, this is the best we could do to capture the nose bite/growl.  Don't mind the fact that I'm wearing two watches...

Wordless Wednesday

I really am mostly wordless.  The babes have reverted back to a 2 hour feeding schedule throughout the night.  If you aren't clear on the difference between 'like' and 'love', come stay at my house.  Somewhere around 2-5am 'like' takes a hike.  I still love 'em though.

Proof that they know how to sleep!

Kate.  Exhibit A.  Sneeze meets Sweet Potato/Spinach.

We're all tired.

But some of us are still cute.

I have a feeling that when the time comes to get rid of the pacifier it will deserve WEEKS of blogging on the subject.  Just fair warning.

Love.

She who looks tired.

31.

In honor of my birthday, here's a list of 31 random things about me.  (Stolen, thanks Tracy, and whoever you stole the idea from!)

1.  Coffee.  I love coffee.  So strong that you consider chewing.  Black, or with cream and sugar, or with fancy creamer.  Don't care.  I heart coffee.
2.  I love music, but I never know who sings something, or the name of a song off the top of my head.  I can, however, sing most every word.
3.  I like doing laundry.  Especially towels, sheets, baby blankets, etc.  My least favorite things to fold are Dan's undershirts.
4.  I'm tidy.  I don't like piles, or things not put away.  I'm definitely more tidy than clean.  I consider a room "done" if everything is where it goes, not if everything is cleaned to a shine.
5.  I'm out-going and loud with people I am comfortable with, and pretty awkwardly shy with new people.
6.  I'm so tired that when I dream, I dream about sleep.
7.  My favorite social thing to do on a weekend night is hang out on the couch with Dan.  (Yes, it's social, Dan's there, silly!)
8.  I have a super power.  When I think of a patient who hasn't had an appointment in a while, they almost always make an appointment within a week.  Magic.
9.  I like check-ups.  Dentist, optometrist, blood work.  I feel like it's a clean slate.
10.  I think if all women collectively decided to throw away all our make-up except for lip gloss and mascara the men of the world would never notice.
11.  I knew I wanted babies and this dining room table for my house before I had a husband or a house to put it in.

I didn't, however, know that I wanted an antelope on my wall....

12.  When the babes go down for a nap, or when we leave the house and they are both in good moods, I feel like a timer is set and move in freakish, super-speed fashion.
13.  I'm not crafty.  At all.  Poor babies.
14.  Dan makes me laugh as many times as he makes me roll my eyes at him.
15.  My favorite job other than mother and chiropractor was tractor driver.
16.  I'm a handwriting chameleon.  You know when you get a card in the mail and can tell who it's from by the handwriting, I'm not like that.  Sometimes I don't even recognize my own handwriting.  (Dan fears that there are hidden alter personalities due to this ability!)
17.  I am NOT fashionable or trendy.  If I ever leave the house looking cute it's because someone talked me into buying said cute article, and I finally had to give up and leave the house wearing one of the 18 things I had tried on, and just happened to get it sorta right.
18.  I LOVE books on tape.  I used to have one going in my car all the time. 
19.  Dream jobs to try:  Reading a book for a book on tape (except I'm TERRIBLE at accents, so no accents), Professional Organizer, Starbucks barista.
20.  I wear out funny stories. 
21.  I'm equal parts sad and happy that Monopoly is over at Albertson's!  (Happy because I know there will be some new mundane thing come up for me to become obsessed about and I can't wait to see what it is!  Sad 'cause I didn't win.)
22.  I have SEVERE anxiety when I have to play ice breaker games.  Severe.  Like I have butterflies right now, thinking about it.
23.  I like cookie dough more than I like cookies.
24.  We have a xeriscaped yard.  Sometimes I rake the rocks as therapy.
25.  I can't nap.  Strange because I come from a long line of nappers.  I'm not good at it.  It takes me 45 minutes to calm down, and then 4 hours to feel like I've finally come back to life from my nap.
26.  I sometimes pretend like I'm on my own cooking show when I make dinner.
27.  I must really feel like I'm only 27.  I can't think of 4 more things.  AND, the babies are down for a nap and I'm in super speed mode!
28.
29.
30.
31.

Happy Birthday to Me!!
Erin

Death by Cookies

It can't wait.  You MUST make these cookies now.  Make a quadruple batch.  And make 45 extra pieces of bacon.  Oh MY.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies


Stolen from http://www.howsweeteats.com/


Stolen from http://www.howsweeteats.com/

Go to this website.  Make these cookies.  Follow her blog.  I'm in a bacon daze.  There are no more words.

Love.
The Bacon Perfumed Momma

Freezer Food

I have been putting off a post about this brilliant idea, because I've been trying to figure out a way to make it into a side business.  I haven't figured it out, it's been months, so I'm sharing.  If you figure out of a way to make some cash from this go for it!  Or else tell me how and I'll love you forever.

I received this book as a baby shower gift - thanks Katye! - and have put it to good use!  It is brilliant!  Not only are the recipes tasty; it describes to you how to freeze them, how to reheat them, when to add extras, and even gives side dish ideas sometimes!  Brilliant!  (BTdub, when I type brilliant, I 'say' it with a British accent - you should too, it's more fun!) 

The GENIUS part of it is the suggestion to do this with other families.  It, again, describes this plan in detail in the book.  (That the authors came up with all these brilliant ideas makes it hard for me to figure out how I should profit...darn those smart ladies taking all my good ideas!!)  Split the groceries, do prep work before you get together, get together, have a ton of fun, put together the recipes and leave with a ton of meals prepared for your freezer.  The ONLY downside I can think of is that if you picked a recipe that you didn't love you'd have to eat it 2-3 more times.  That's it!!  And if you are like me, this is really not that big of a deal as there are very few things I turn my nose up at.

My friend Daisy and I have done this 3-4 times.  We usually spend between $70-$90 each on groceries, 2-4 hours "cooking", and leave with 12-16 meals for the freezer.  I don't have the time or the desire to do that math right now, but it's a GOOD deal. 

DO it!  Get together with your best girlies, have the hubs watch the kids, have a glass of wine, and get your grocery savvy on!! 

Happy Friday!
E

These have nothing to do with this post...I just fear that if there are no pics of the babes, you'll boycott.

Thursday Thoughts

You know it...a random list.

1.  There is a real disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  It is when someone's mood is seriously affected by the weather.  It's cloudy today, it was cloudy yesterday, there is no rain.  I'm SAD.  *Disclaimer:  while this disorder is real, the definition is mine.  I'm not trying to poke fun, just claiming that clouds make me blue and that there is an actual named disorder for it.*

2.  You (my readers) are too kind.  I can't tell you what it means for me to go about my day - wiping bottoms and noses, soothing tears and forcing laughs, cleaning and picking up - to then write about it, and then receive some of the sweetest messages.  It means a lot to me.  Like almost cancels out the clouds and brightens my day, a lot.

3.  Kate loves her hands.  She always has.  She studies them, she waves them around even in her sleep, she thinks they taste tasty.  Lately Dan has been reading into this.  "I think Kate will be a sign language interpreter."  By this logic, Lauren will install TV's as she is just as enamored with remotes.  "Kate has really big hands."  This just makes me crazy...are they big?  Like too big, big?  Is she normal?  Is Lauren too small?  Ugh.  "Kate has hands like Gonstead."  Dr. Gonstead was the doctor who developed the type of chiropractic that we practice.  His hands where big and jointy.  Sometimes Dan is weird.

4.  My birthday is Monday.  I love birthdays and I'm not afraid to admit it.  I don't get worried about the number, I think of it as my personal holiday!  I don't get bent out of shape if nothing big happens...it's kinda just for me, a day all my own, even if it looks exactly like all the other days.  (Happy Birthday TOMORROW, dear Tracy!!)

5.  Pie is my favorite and yet the worst dessert to make.  I made a strawberry pie Tuesday.  I made it about 4pm.  I make dessert quite often, and I ALWAYS sample it before actual dessert time.  There is NO WAY to disguise the fact that you sampled pie.  Sad.  Especially when "sampled" means a hole about the size of 2 pieces.  "I had a little taste and saw something strange and had to dig around in it to make sure it wasn't something gross and then..."  It's a lie, it sounds like a lie right out of the gate.  Shoot.

6.  I'm an "I love you" over-doer.  I always have been.  I am of the camp of if you feel it, say it.  I told Dan I loved him entirely too early in our relationship - he physically flinched.  Well, true to form, I left it at the end of a message yesterday.  Now, in all fairness, I do love her, she's my ABQ bestie, she's a sister in Christ, but we hadn't gone there yet.  I'll always be the one who said it first!  She was a good sport, I was red in the face for about 90 minutes.

Costa Rica.  Dan.  I'd already said I love you...no takeseesbacksees, even after he does this.

Hope if it's cloudy at your house, it's raining.
Love.
E

Wordless Wednesday

Not quite wordless.  I just have to say that it's hard for me to wordless.  I have so many words.  Seems there should be a commentary for each picture.  A story.  Something.  I'll get better at Wordless Wednesday, just wanted you to know I'm struggling.

OK, actually, I can't stand it.  Captions....captions don't count as words, right?

This is about 6 mo preggers...timing of pretty belly shots was perfect, it got ugly.  Real ugly.

November.  This chokes me up.  4 day old peanuts with their daddy.  I can hardly stand it.

December.  First Secrets.

January.  Still fairly accurate take on their personalities - Lauren on the left.

February.  I'm melting.  Like seriously, my insides are butter.  Does it get any cuter than this?  Lauren.

March.  Yip, maybe this.  Kate.

April.  Wordless.  Finally.

May.  Delicious.

Uniforms and Tricks

Something about this title made me think of Pretty Woman...no hooker boots or THOSE kind of tricks, silly!
Uniforms.
One of the CUTEST things my girls wear is this pair of 'jeans'.  They are stretchy and soft and the only thing that I got as a gift in Newborn size, then searched for so that we have had them in every size since.  They just look so stinkin' cute.  If they have a 'uniform', this is it.  Not everyday, but every week, they were this outfit or a variation thereof.

Sometime in the last few weeks, I have become acutely aware of how often I wear my 'uniform'.  I still dress up to go to work, and I still wear stretchy 'lounge' clothes a few days a week, but this ensemble happens at least once a week.  Well, last week, it suddenly occurred to me that there are more than one similarities in our 'uniforms'!!!!  Headband, check.  Cuffed jeans, check.  Muffin top, check!  (Just kidding, babies.)  Again, is this ok?!  How did this even come to be?  I think my subconscious mind just thought they were SO cute, I must have wanted to be like them...  I can't even promise I'll stop.  I like my uniform.  I like theirs.  I guess I just wanted to beat you to the punch in case you see the three of us out and about and think..."Wait, are they?....Do they?....No, SURELY Erin isn't trying to dress like a 6 month old."

I was going to act like I was busy doing something else, at least not posed, but then I remembered that the ONLY reason I wanted the picture taken was for the sake of this story, and you had to see the whole ensemble, so, I posed.  Again, just beating you to the punch.

Tricks.
They are doing baby push ups.  They can put their pacifiers in their own mouths, and each others.  They are sitting up, kinda.  They are super into noises...tongue clicks, motor boats, claps, stomps.  **Aside:  this is a strange ego boost for me.  They think I'm super good at a flamenco style dance with lots of clapping, and also excellent at river dancing.  I may have missed my calling.**  They like to "stand".  They LOVE to be bounced on the bed.  They are camera hogs - Kate cheeses up, Lauren gets her serious face on trying to figure out how it works, what it does, and how to fit they whole thing into her mouth.  They have figured out how to un-do their diapers.  (You know there's a story to come from that new trick!)

It truly seems that they do something new and awesome everyday. 

Have a happy day,
The Momma

A Few of My Favorite Things...

OK, with a title like that, it must be said that the secret #1 on my list is The Sound of Music.  I love it.  Romance, nuns, mountains, singing...it's the perfect mixture.  Now, on to the real stuff.

1.  I love Kate's little curl.  It's only on the right side of her head, it's always there, and it always curls up.  Love.

2.  Lauren has discovered her favorite teething toy.  Noses.  Any ol' nose will do.  She clamps down, just about goes cross-eyed, because eye contact is still important, and makes this sweet little growly noise.  Love.  Of course, I cannot capture this on camera.  I'll keep trying, promise...it's a must-see.

3.  I just about slept through the night last night and it reminds me that sleep definitely belongs on my list of favorite things.

4.  Headbands.  Am I the only one who thinks it's ok to wear headbands?  I never see someone else (my age) wearing them, but I justify it by thinking that if they were terribly out of style, they would be harder to shop for???  Maybe it's ok because I'm trying to grow my bangs out, and every woman knows the pain of that?  Ok or not, they have become part of my "uniform" (tomorrow's post).

5.  Beth Moore Bible studies.  They are just good.  Studying David now, loving it.

6.  The green filler flower in this pre-birthday, bought-it-for-myself-at-CostCo, because-I'm-worth-it bouquet.  Don't know it's name.

7.  Barely pink finger- and toenails.  On other people.  I'm sure I'd love it on myself, but I CANNOT find the perfect pink.  Mine is either "might as well have painted them clear" sheer or "is that White-Out?" opaque.  I'm on a mission...I'll find it.  And then I'll tell you it's name.

8.  Back to sleeping.  I'm kicking myself/wiping tears.  They both almost slept through the night last night.  Kate really did, Lauren only up once, and then, only kinda.  The variable, you ask?  We left them unswaddled.  I'm so sad.  I love a swaddled baby.  But, I love a baby who sleeps through the night a little bit more, so, I'm over it.

I know it looks creepy, but they like having their noses up against the bumper.

9.  Chiropractic.  Kate was constipated.  Kate got an adjustment.  Kate is VERY unconstipated.  ***I swore to myself early on that this blog would never have an agenda or be preachy.  BUT.  Chiropractic is super cool, I know a thing or two about it, it's important for kids, and I'd love to talk about it.  There.***

10.  These two little girls.  And their dad (not pictured).

Ok, I think that's it.  I'm thinking of having some structure to my posts, whadya think?  Monday lists, Wordless Wednesday (stealing this, pics only), Friday Feasts...I don't know, any suggestions or preferences? 

Love ya.
E

Update, Take 2

Thought I'd better update you, just because it's been a while.  It's been a while for a lot of things around here...most notably from this vantage point, it's been a while since I vacuumed the living room floor.  Poor babes, they lay here all day.  It's dirty.  I digress...

Oh Martha
In this post I went on and on about what a good homemaker I am.  I talked about projects and painting and Martha Stewart.  Well, I still really, really love that I get to be home with my girls, but I haven't done a new project since this post.  I have high hopes for remodeling our bathroom.  This is what it looks like now:

Nothing terrible, nothing great.  I think it's weird that the toilet is just kinda out in the middle of the room.  And, I stopped using the shower around the 6th month of my pregnancy - I could no longer turn around.  Now I just have bad memories.  Gross.  Anyway, it's on the list.  I'm trying to have a plan and a budget and an end product in mind, unlike the last bathroom we updated.  You see, I painted the walls white and it made the fixtures look dingy, so I ripped them out.  I was pregnant, don't judge.  It's awesome now, and Dan learned valuable plumbing and drywall skills, so all ended well.  This almost happened again last night when I thought I needed a new refrigerator...turns out, I just needed to clean the one I have.  I'm gross, and spoiled, I know.

Sufferin' Succotash
I still love okra.  This week I'm on to desserts.  I made this Rice Pudding.  It was delicious. 
I still tell my girls weird details about semi-factual stories.  I can't help it.  They seem to like it.  I have told them way more stories about me and Uncle Darin growing up at Meme's suggestion though.  It is important that they know how cool we were as Ponch and John patrolling the neighborhood on our "motorcycles". 

Jinx!
It's uncanny how often it happens.  Like, it might be my magical power.  I almost don't talk anymore...wonder if I could just start saying the opposite of what I want to happen and it would!?!?  It happens when I describe their personalities..."Lauren is more active and needs a lot more interaction.  Kate, on the other hand is so laid back and just likes to chat".  The words come out of my mouth and within minutes Lauren is taking a little mid day snooze and Kate is climbing the walls and looking around like she's going to make an amazing discovery.  People probably think I don't know my babies.  Oh, but I do!!  I know that they are little sneaks and love to make mommy go "Huh???!?!?!".

Keepin' It Real
I'm still OBSESSED with Monopoly at Albertson's.  I'm also convinced more than ever that it's a scam.  I need one more piece in about 8 sections.  Last week I got 17 tickets in one shopping trip and didn't need ONE of them!!  I was so bummed...and so were the babes, it took me a long time to open all 17, poor things were READY to get out of their carseats!  Disclaimer #1:  I know that the number and lingo of this game mean nothing to you, sorry, it's important for the story.  Disclaimer #2:  I bring them in the house with me, I just leave them in the car seats a little longer than usual. 
I'm back to confusing pillows for babies in the middle of the night.  As in "Here, will you take Kate back to her room?" while holding out my snuggle pillow to Dan.  He's so confused, I'm so confused, Kate's snuggled so peacefully in her bed across the hall.  Wow.

Tie Ball Game!
They are totally winning.  Is it a growth spurt?  Are they teething?  Are they just outsmarting me?  Who knows?  All I know for sure is that we hang out often in the middle of the night.  Cereal is going great!  They love rice cereal and oatmeal, sweet potatoes and green beans.  They still really love to nurse though.  I'm tired, but they're only little once, right?  Right?  Seriously, right????

Such unique earing styles:

Lauren: Baby bird approach 

Kate: We'll call this the Popsicle

Sporty Spice
I am not a gym rat.  I don't like it.  I don't like the smell or the sweat, the unfamiliar exercises or the super fit people who hang out there.  More than anything, though, I don't like that I never know what to wear!!  I have plenty to "gym" clothes, I just choose to call them "lounge wear" and wear them about 4 days a week while just hanging at home.  Like today, for example, I'm wearing my favorite stretchy pants, tennies, and a long sleeve t-shirt.  There is a decent chance that I will go on to sleep in this ensemble and then wear it to the gym at 7:30 in the am.  Does that make me despicably gross or just laundry savvy?  I'm still going, I feel good, I look the same, I want a new wardrobe for this new endeavor.

That's all the news!  The girls are awesome.  They had their 6 month check-up (my performance evaluation) last week.  Kate was 13 pounds, 11 ounces, and Lauren 13 pounds, 2 ounces!  They were still barely on the chart for height and head circumference, but almost 20% for weight!!  So hard to believe of my 5 pound pumpkins.

Love.
Erin

P.S.  I need computer help.  I want a cooler blog, a more streamline way to get pictures on my posts, lots of things to make it look better and be easier to post blogs quickly (this one is about 2.5 days in the making).  I have so much to say, and so many pictures to share, but there's got to be an easier/faster way!   How do I learn these things?  Who do I ask, where do I go, what should I even ask???

Drinkin' from the Saucer

I never know if a saying is unique to our family or if the whole world uses it, but today my cup so runneth over that I'm drinkin' from the saucer!  The bar was set HIGH for Mother's Days to come!

First of all, I am a mother.  Finally.  I feel that I was born to be a momma.  I love every second of it, even the seconds when I hide in the garage or the days when my favorite "time" with my girls is when they're asleep.  I am so grateful for the gift and responsibility of sharing in the lives of these two little girls.

Second of all, I am a daughter, and I got to spend Mother's Day with my momma.  One of the things I love the most about my mom is that no matter how many hats she has to/gets to wear, when relating to me, she's always the momma.  The best example of this was the weeks after my girls were born.  She LOVES being Dodie (her grandma name) and had longed for the day our babies would arrive.  She is excellent at being grandma, and I know she could have spent all day, every day holding the babies.  She did, some, but she let me hold them the most.  She babied her baby (me) while I was learning to baby my babies.  She made sure I was drinking plenty of water, taking advantage of every second to close my eyes, eating well, not lifting too much, etc.  She did laundry and grocery shopped, made dinner and breakfast for Dan.  She swept floors and kept track of thank you notes that needed to be written.  Would she have rather sat and rocked a baby?  Sure.  But she was FIRST my momma and fulfilled every need she could, and THEN she was Dodie and loved her some babies!  I have the best mom.  If ever you think I'm doing an OK job at my new role, it's simply because I had a great example.

I'm a wife.  And he done good, ladies.  Gifts, a nap (20 whole minutes, peeps!!!), errands ALONE, dinner.  He took care of me today!!   Our life is MARKEDLY different since our two housemates arrived.  We do way less fun stuff together.  We eat out NEVER (please notice the implication of actually going out being less, not eating food that someone else prepared less often!).  I still really like him.  And I think (I know) he really likes me.  I love to watch him love our girls.  I love even more to watch them love him.  Check out one of my gifts here The Vintage Pearl.

The cream on top of the sundae that was today (I know, I know...is it a cup of tea or a sundae?  Just go with it!) was the we dedicated our girls to the Lord today at church.  It was such a sweet little ceremony and reminder of what a gift they truly are.  The verse that was used was I Samuel 1:27-28.  What is it about the Word that truly is living?  How pertinent, how true for us, what a tough thing to truly give your child back to the Lord.  To say "Thy will be done" and trust that it will be GOOD, but not know that it will be what you would have chosen.  I have had a lump in my throat all day.  So grateful for our church.  So grateful for answered prayers.  So grateful for a loving God.

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.”

Like I said, drinkin' from the saucer.  I'm so grateful.  I hope you had a great day, too.  It has crossed my mind more than once today that this would be a tough day for many women...those who've lost their moms, those who long to be moms, those who have lost children...too many scenarios.  I mention these to let you know that I am not saying I'm blessed in a cliche way.  I am seriously overwhelmed, grateful, and unworthy.

Love to you.
Erin

This is about the 85th time together where I MEANT to get a picture with my mom and my girls and didn't.  Next time.

Closed Captioning

I sometimes pretend like they are speaking in a language I can't understand (they are) and interpret it for myself.  It's almost always funny, and they are always saying nice things about their Momma.  Enjoy!

Oh wow, Mom, thanks!  We love it when you plop us down on the floor in the living room for the 100th time today.  Oh look over here, same stinkin' toy as yesterday...and the day before that...and...

Let's see if we can figure out how this thing is held together and DESTROY it!  It'll take some work, but maybe, if we work hard, we can do something else tomorrow!

YES!!!!!!!!  We did it!  Kate, you ok?  Yip, escaped by my super fast rolling technique, you?  I'm trapped under it, but I think I have a plan...

I'm going to smile, and play the cute "Oops, did I do that???" line.  Keep cool.

Ok, got it.  I'll just act like I had no idea you were even over there.  Just give me the sign if you need to me puke or cry, I'm ready.

Yip, this is what I do with my day now.  Jealous much?!

E dot P dot