tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176972582024-03-07T13:03:34.561-06:00My Own Little World....Nothing too exciting here. Simply the reflections of an 'academented' graduate student. ('Academented'--great word, isn't it! It's not my own though, I think I read it somewhere.) Read, reflect, and share your thoughts....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.comBlogger540125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-7013829228950157222012-02-20T22:36:00.000-06:002012-02-22T01:01:20.894-06:00"Mommy, I'm a Mess"Lily and I had quite an evening in the kitchen tonight. We made a beef stew and cornbread for supper, and then we decided to bake a cake. (Okay, so it was from a box. We still baked it though....) After the cake came out of the over and cooled, we proceeded to frost it. After a base layer of white icing, Lily told me she wanted me to make a purple smiley face on the cake. We got out the food coloring and had a little lesson in colors. ("Mommy, I want purple." "We only have red, yellow, blue, and green. How do we make purple?" Etc....) After achieving purple frosting and making a satisfactory smiley face, we abandoned our post in the kitchen. About half an hour later, as I was giving Lauren a bottle, Lily calls out, "Mommy, I made a mess." Given that that's not a particularly unfamiliar phrase around our house, I didn't immediately spring into action. "What happened Lily?" I asked. The reply, "Mommy, I AM a mess!" came with a greater sense of urgency. "LOOK!" When I looked her direction, she was holding up her hands, which were a pine-tree shade of green. "Mommy, I just wanted to mix the colors," she said when she saw the particularly panicked look on my face. <br /><br />Despite the excitement, everything turned out okay. No clothes were ruined, and the hands came clean after a super-long bath. Lily didn't get into too much trouble, but she knew she should have, especially since Mommy had explicitly told her not to touch the colors. This is one of those events that I wish I had pictures to share, but I didn't want to reinforce bad behavior by urging the little one to smile for the camera....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-9945020393627153972012-02-14T22:58:00.000-06:002012-02-23T23:04:09.070-06:00The Little Valentine WriterIt's a little bragging today.... Over the past couple of days, Lily wrote all of the Valentine cards for her classmates. She insisted on doing all of the cards herself, and she wouldn't let me do anything beyond tell her how to spell the names of her friends. While I was initially impressed that she wrote all of the cards herself, I was even more impressed when she came home from school with a stack of Valentine cards from her classmates -- cards all written and signed by Mommies (or Daddies). I'm proud of my little writer....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-24381790812176697942012-01-31T23:51:00.000-06:002012-02-01T01:58:06.287-06:00Lily Goes to the DentistToday was Lily's first visit to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist, so I wasn't too eager to take Lily (and I wasn't quite sure that I should be the parent to take her either for fear that my negativity would rub off on her). Anyway, I am pleased to report that Lily was a wonderful patient and checked out with no cavities! She had a lot of fun riding the "rocket chair" up to the bright light and playing with Mr. Thirsty (the little vacuum thing that sucks the spit out of your mouth). She let them count, clean, and floss her teeth before the dentist came in for the check-up. She didn't fight, squirm, squeal, kick, or anything like that; she was the perfect little patient. I'm just pleased that the whole thing seemed to be such a positive experience for her.ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-51780894878232140592011-09-28T23:28:00.003-05:002011-09-28T23:37:05.376-05:00Mommy, How Do We Spell "Knees"?Lily has been interested in spelling lately. (She's so interested in spelling that she's forfeited her bath toys the last two nights and opted to play "How do you spell ....?" instead.) She's had basic phonics mastered for quite some time, and she's recently moved on to spelling. When she asks how to spell a word, I generally sound the word out for her, letter by letter, and help her out how to spell it. That strategy generally works well, but not always.... By now she understands that U is Q's best friend and that there are some words that have a silent letter, usually an E at the end. However, she managed to pick a few of the words Mommy had been dreading tonight: "eyes," "knees," and "light." While I can explain a lot of the idiosyncrasies of the English language, how does one explain the silent K or the -GHT combination to a 3-year-old?ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-38688442110877577142011-09-13T23:51:00.002-05:002011-09-14T00:07:35.087-05:00The Tall and the Short of It....Lauren had a doctor's appointment last Friday. It was her 2 month appointment, and she checked out just fine. She clocked in at 11 lbs, 4 oz, which put her in the 60th percentile for weight, and at 24 1/4 inches, which put her in the 90th percentile for length/height.<br /><br />Lily, measuring in at just under 37 inches, has never been anywhere near the 90th percentile for height; if I remember correctly, she's always been at the bottom of the chart for height. She's the shortest one in her class (by a couple of inches, I think), which also makes her the shortest kiddo in the whole school. I found out today that the preschool teacher had to bring in an extra step-stool just for Lily so she could reach the light switch in the bathroom. At this point, I'm just hoping that she doesn't get dwarfed by her sister too quickly....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-19880023608434385952011-09-06T22:52:00.000-05:002011-09-14T01:05:27.718-05:00Have You Seen Max??<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpv9DRU0tpmzA4SfVyXyiNeh5KohmXpz1NQ_vRTvk7IfvZfC9HbRcaLiBfGIJpO9-fhYaeTzZEkwYVEeXVPX5N9mPIOjDEnpbgLR1LXwmqjAxwb62cIHOpq_B0Som5JVbc3-DhCg/s1600/_DSC4629.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpv9DRU0tpmzA4SfVyXyiNeh5KohmXpz1NQ_vRTvk7IfvZfC9HbRcaLiBfGIJpO9-fhYaeTzZEkwYVEeXVPX5N9mPIOjDEnpbgLR1LXwmqjAxwb62cIHOpq_B0Som5JVbc3-DhCg/s320/_DSC4629.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652089517035594498" /></a>Our second kitty, Max, is a bit of a pain. He's actually pretty sweet, but he's hyperactive and generally a little bit nuts. Jimmy thinks he acts more like a dog than a cat, and I'm inclined to agree; he carries Lily's stuffies all over the house, drinks out of the toilets, and terrorizes our other cat. Lily now calls him "that darn cat" (thanks, in part to both my mom and Miss Patti) and will also tell you that "Max is a pain." The second day after we got Max, Lily started sleeping with her door 'locked' (pulled shut all the way so the door knob latches) so that Max couldn't get in her room at night. She also can frequently be heard yelling "No Max!", and she's even learned how to operate the squirt bottle when needed. However, despite all the frustration that Max is, Lily still tells me, "I love my Maxie!" <br /><br />And the picture.... I 'lost' Max the other day; see where I found him!ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-79842675403646828992011-08-21T23:07:00.000-05:002011-09-14T01:12:15.349-05:00Mediocre Family Picture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35kaZJK8HJPKvmYuhz72AsYVX1FEwNT2x7L5AQQwuQkK5POfe2t1ipinsl3iW23tvPeVZKDkQzlpVYRwoZY750IzH9L7GHnq4HfNo7lN8IPWQbBKV5qsvG4W_13i3u0cau7EkgA/s1600/IMG_2908.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35kaZJK8HJPKvmYuhz72AsYVX1FEwNT2x7L5AQQwuQkK5POfe2t1ipinsl3iW23tvPeVZKDkQzlpVYRwoZY750IzH9L7GHnq4HfNo7lN8IPWQbBKV5qsvG4W_13i3u0cau7EkgA/s320/IMG_2908.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652093545665287698" /></a>Not the greatest picture in the world, but I think it's the first family picture we have now that there are four of us.... One was jet-lagged, one was about to start screaming, one was so excited to have Daddy back home, and I don't have an excuse. Anyway, it's us!!ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-33409118510727938582011-08-21T12:11:00.001-05:002011-09-14T00:14:20.627-05:00Daddy at the Post Office<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDoPRBdo8es2xDJ0zUTKn1TaBSPi45nR0D5vUMAMfLYzhXMUKL8GwVg51rm62R8WkC-qSwTJ1P4R_3imaAWPv6bYuh7b_lV6yCcdmkITgmXjB6MbheqWVRhjSsje1hQq5B-AwbA/s1600/Daddy+at+the+PO.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDoPRBdo8es2xDJ0zUTKn1TaBSPi45nR0D5vUMAMfLYzhXMUKL8GwVg51rm62R8WkC-qSwTJ1P4R_3imaAWPv6bYuh7b_lV6yCcdmkITgmXjB6MbheqWVRhjSsje1hQq5B-AwbA/s400/Daddy+at+the+PO.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652079220092375346" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/marinthal-post-office-closing--1">Closure isn't officially the end for Marienthal post office, but ... | The Hutchinson News:</a>ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-19454959232625812252011-08-17T23:35:00.000-05:002011-09-13T23:50:27.900-05:00Off to School<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQur5HAbgZxMxQmroGyOchTM_ppZ50pN0cH8zRBd0lc08TEpgQUMx9FDCcceJzoEBvXfn7TQA07m_1b53FoW_OjBBtc4K0QNaeHfcqHWhUQu7opG_q7DXr238PjEe7-plMB9DsA/s1600/_DSC4523.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQur5HAbgZxMxQmroGyOchTM_ppZ50pN0cH8zRBd0lc08TEpgQUMx9FDCcceJzoEBvXfn7TQA07m_1b53FoW_OjBBtc4K0QNaeHfcqHWhUQu7opG_q7DXr238PjEe7-plMB9DsA/s320/_DSC4523.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652070563658907170" /></a>Lily started school today. She's in a 3-year-old preschool program, and she really seemed to enjoy her first day. She's been very excited about going to school, and she was a very happy and very excited little girl this morning. When we got to school she was a little scared, but she was a big girl and made it through the day with no tears. (And, just to let you know, Mommy made it through the day with no tears too.) When Lily returned from school, she was glad to fill me in with the details of the day....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-8530234397807819532011-08-05T21:37:00.000-05:002011-09-14T00:46:13.747-05:00These Boots Were Made for Walkin'(Alternate blog title: "Who has big boots?") <br /><br />Anyway, Lily decided to try on Daddy's boots today, and I had to snap a picture. Isn't this cute!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJywSTJj-NxXE_q81MBe0JZMtznRbZF3XS8EPEP2OgbaH1Yb_irTKp6ujXH1f0mrc_hCVz6lZclE4BReWDmvIVgGsHZxL40gePVPFj42P7Itc4bX6DQ2ps8XX-AK7_IHp8wgIGPQ/s1600/_DSC4450.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJywSTJj-NxXE_q81MBe0JZMtznRbZF3XS8EPEP2OgbaH1Yb_irTKp6ujXH1f0mrc_hCVz6lZclE4BReWDmvIVgGsHZxL40gePVPFj42P7Itc4bX6DQ2ps8XX-AK7_IHp8wgIGPQ/s400/_DSC4450.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652085666935568706" /></a>ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-75628126882857203582011-08-02T23:24:00.000-05:002011-09-14T00:33:43.623-05:00"I Love Her Tiny Hands!"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmTCNIMFblKlK7g1I6EE4agXnvIOswHC1dfTMTQiyRuitjp7xuIPZ_7ZgvIP6PPSGFE_ATsBW1L5TWEbIYFLFHcbfSt9k8k3sZiuNasbQv-zgN4kQlZyfysd-i_GxOt62kPTgMw/s1600/_DSC4433.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmTCNIMFblKlK7g1I6EE4agXnvIOswHC1dfTMTQiyRuitjp7xuIPZ_7ZgvIP6PPSGFE_ATsBW1L5TWEbIYFLFHcbfSt9k8k3sZiuNasbQv-zgN4kQlZyfysd-i_GxOt62kPTgMw/s320/_DSC4433.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652082206522217426" /></a>Lily's been a wonderful big sister. She loves "our baby" and is very proud to tell everyone that she's the big sister. She's fascinated with how tiny Lauren and she often grabs her little fingers and exclaims, "I love her tiny hands!" Lily knows that her job is to listen for baby and tell Mommy when she hears baby crying. She's a good helper, and she loves her little sister.ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-70845059786288330592011-07-17T23:04:00.000-05:002011-07-18T00:09:44.212-05:00The MoonLily's been fascinated with the moon and the things of the sky for quite some time now. She talks a lot about the shape of the moon, and sometimes she talks about going to the moon. Last night as we were driving home, Lily told me of her plans for visiting the moon. She explained, "I'm going to put on my butterfly wings and fly to the moon and bring the moon back and put it on the kitchen table for Mama." While there are clearly some problems with her 3-year-old logic, isn't this sweet!!ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-8189848562292067102011-07-12T21:19:00.000-05:002011-09-14T00:21:42.413-05:00My Beautiful Girls<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduKCo1SvjYKxArGYFhFehNuBKJCO0oQFn6GK0D_gmCjwXNlUn3yb6_VuG9IGZo8iYL7a0hQG34Zd5F1YUpdyTUPX4sxBlLZDYrmRC-CJlCVojQvgxU3jNBfUKBhkLpWjqLwbN3Q/s1600/_DSC4409.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduKCo1SvjYKxArGYFhFehNuBKJCO0oQFn6GK0D_gmCjwXNlUn3yb6_VuG9IGZo8iYL7a0hQG34Zd5F1YUpdyTUPX4sxBlLZDYrmRC-CJlCVojQvgxU3jNBfUKBhkLpWjqLwbN3Q/s400/_DSC4409.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652080903619141042" /></a>ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-16516153680072721722011-07-10T22:58:00.000-05:002011-07-13T23:21:39.341-05:00VaccinesLike a good mommy, I've made sure my little ones have had the recommended immunizations so as to protect them from disease. Like a good mommy, my mommy made sure I had the recommended immunizations so as to protect me from disease.... Therefore, I was a bit taken aback when the hospital gave me the results from some of my blood tests: they found that I was rubella non-immune and pertussis non-immune. So, despite being vaccinated according to the CDC guidelines when I was a child, I have apparently been at risk for German Measles and whooping cough for who knows how long now. They gave me new MMR and DTP vaccines, but that doesn't do much for restoring confidence in the system....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-16607138742658244662011-07-09T21:23:00.000-05:002011-07-14T00:33:37.456-05:00Going Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LD0zzZ9LpHpxjOkaL758dWneyR_3g8fBC4TywKrfs9B5IL4KiIwe2BpQUlUGnbUkqANWBj8q0XMyQHXxm7Wg8sAFayeH9J4AQGQVOBaYBp6CktbGkkEy9c4DykVBaR_k8VWzxw/s1600/Girlies+-+Hospital.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LD0zzZ9LpHpxjOkaL758dWneyR_3g8fBC4TywKrfs9B5IL4KiIwe2BpQUlUGnbUkqANWBj8q0XMyQHXxm7Wg8sAFayeH9J4AQGQVOBaYBp6CktbGkkEy9c4DykVBaR_k8VWzxw/s320/Girlies+-+Hospital.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629059467607231842" /></a>It's time to go home!! After 2 days in the hospital, I'm glad to be headed home. Lily has had a blast staying with Grammy and Grammy S. over the past few days and visiting Mommy in the hospital, but I think even she is ready to go home as well. While I generally don't let people take pictures of me in the hospital, I think I'm glad I made an exception this time....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-60938540326886720652011-07-07T23:45:00.000-05:002011-07-14T01:29:17.974-05:00It's a Girl!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y-_ucJJizPkmSuapZm6i7F5M6USz-aQ7AYeCxFC9QwYlN0KVnWs5dMn2FeqTu-sczaUFe7yGYQVBs6sBG8VTHHAJ3ISLJJXyowOIJ3DdbzYs1AQTLPeI6Tq4A9duF8IA7adzlA/s1600/DSCN2112.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y-_ucJJizPkmSuapZm6i7F5M6USz-aQ7AYeCxFC9QwYlN0KVnWs5dMn2FeqTu-sczaUFe7yGYQVBs6sBG8VTHHAJ3ISLJJXyowOIJ3DdbzYs1AQTLPeI6Tq4A9duF8IA7adzlA/s320/DSCN2112.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629079100509075874" /></a>Surprise, it's a girl!! (To anyone who know we were expecting, this is no surprise. To anyone who didn't know, surprise, it's a girl!!) Baby was due yesterday, scheduled for tomorrow, and arrived today. Lauren Ivy was born at 5:27 pm, weighing exactly 8 lbs and measuring 19 3/4 inches.<br /><br />Here's a shortish version of a relatively short 'coming into this world' story: I felt a little off when I went to bed last night, but I really didn't think anything of it. (Hey, when you're pregnant, when don't you feel 'a little off.') When I woke up this morning, I felt weird. (I don't know how else to describe it; I just felt weird.) Lily forced me to eat some breakfast, and I spent the morning working on my to-do list for the day (some cleaning, packing for the hospital, getting the house in order, etc). Contractions started about mid-morning, but they weren't too bad and they were fairly infrequent. Jimmy came home from work just before noon, and we decided that we should probably pack the car and head toward the hospital. (The hospital is about an hour away.) When we got in the car, contractions were about 8 minutes apart. The doctor, taking into account travel time, had told us to head to the hospital when contractions were 5-7 minutes apart, so we thought we had plenty of time. We called Grammy S and made arrangements to drop Lily off at her house en route to the hospital. By the time we were fairly close to Grammy S's house, contractions were about 4 minutes apart, so we called Grammy S, changed the plans to have her meet us at the hospital to pick up Lily, and rerouted, taking the most direct route to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 and then spent about 30 minutes in the waiting room before being escorted to the last available labor and delivery room. From my perspective, nothing good happened during the next hour or so. Contractions continued, my nurse disappeared, and I filled out paperwork, some of which I had filled out and submitted weeks ago. At the end of that hour, they finally got my IV started, the nurse told me I was too far along in labor for an epidural or pain medication (which really made me mad since we'd essentially wasted the last hour plus in the waiting room and on paperwork), and she called in the doctor. When the doctor arrived, she disagreed with the nurse, called in the anesthesiologist (much to my relief), and said things were going along just fine. From that point on (or from the time the epidural took effect), things went just fine. I called my mom around 5pm, just before I went into hard labor, to let her know that baby was on her way. Half an hour later, baby arrived. (And half an hour after that I was still filling out the paperwork that gave the doctor permission to actually deliver the baby.)<br /><br />Since Lily was induced, I wasn't quite prepared for the whole 'spontaneous labor' thing. However, I did learn a few things in the process.... Labors apparently get shorter with subsequent children. Next time, start toward the hospital at the first sign of contractions in order to allow sufficient time for paperwork and hospital snafus to be handled in an orderly (or not-so-orderly) fashion.ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-63557640251023224992011-07-01T23:42:00.000-05:002011-07-05T23:48:04.309-05:00Potato ChipsAt approximately 6:18am, a half-asleep child wandered into my bedroom. She was mildly upset, and she was mumbling something I was unable to understand. After having her repeat herself several times, I finally managed to piece together her phrase: "I need potato chips!" (I confirmed that this was, in fact, what she was saying....) Although I did not attempt to deduce <em>why</em> she needed potato chips at 6:18am, I did offer to let her climb up in bed with me. That seemed to make everything okay...sans potato chips!!ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-76514671936708644082011-06-18T22:20:00.000-05:002011-06-28T22:34:04.909-05:00"Garbage Plants"While I had hoped to put in a full garden this year, that didn't exactly happen. I did, however, plant a pair or cabbage plants and a few little planters of herbs. Lily helps me to take care of the plants, and she is very good about reminding me to water them. She likes the herbs, but she is especially fond of her "garbage plants." I've reminded her numerous times that they're called "cabbage," but she just can't quite seem to remember that yet....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-64358617446375565032011-06-01T23:51:00.003-05:002011-06-02T00:14:12.560-05:00House Renovations<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK8_hO8Vv1RsP_RqbUbbwlxnKK_xVmZBz-Xjvxq6o-aBLXnuSDs_r1bc1qk9eXsY2KZK7-RWZaQ9m9uX1prLhGYE0hKn0r4FgRyyq9SiQ3KJMw9MAWW75fMK9mLLPF1Zc3KbDrQ/s1600/_DSC4243.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieK8_hO8Vv1RsP_RqbUbbwlxnKK_xVmZBz-Xjvxq6o-aBLXnuSDs_r1bc1qk9eXsY2KZK7-RWZaQ9m9uX1prLhGYE0hKn0r4FgRyyq9SiQ3KJMw9MAWW75fMK9mLLPF1Zc3KbDrQ/s320/_DSC4243.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613482109067963810" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9koCTVxjLtlpLFGiBCkeisGpeEb_cHGNC4k6f2VXppPXJHQNPsk-pMwl4IcLGX0Zqw_4SrbrrJlzhn8DgdlhJ6TPG2IqaQ5MmFlmX58OPkZi22WNq0tLLh1wtZIw-9IUGFas6lQ/s1600/_DSC4241.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9koCTVxjLtlpLFGiBCkeisGpeEb_cHGNC4k6f2VXppPXJHQNPsk-pMwl4IcLGX0Zqw_4SrbrrJlzhn8DgdlhJ6TPG2IqaQ5MmFlmX58OPkZi22WNq0tLLh1wtZIw-9IUGFas6lQ/s320/_DSC4241.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613482100686260130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-BAjhjhx6E6H4yP11gTuOtbdCrwg-39yIXKrvSc2aY0aLx3hb6VM_Qycauo8Ns803MfTRq1WQdYchBt4v60Xg6jbZOpwnY3JvUQOBri6YQeaRAMSlvLslaAcmYe4fyCbHMUZQA/s1600/_DSC4250.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-BAjhjhx6E6H4yP11gTuOtbdCrwg-39yIXKrvSc2aY0aLx3hb6VM_Qycauo8Ns803MfTRq1WQdYchBt4v60Xg6jbZOpwnY3JvUQOBri6YQeaRAMSlvLslaAcmYe4fyCbHMUZQA/s320/_DSC4250.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613482097043290306" /></a>We've been doing some work on our house lately. (Well, we've been doing some work on our house for what seems like most of the past year, it's just been recently that we've been able to see a few projects through to completion -- or near completion!) <br /><br />Our first major project was a re-doing of the garage. We put up a wall to add in an office and a library. Both rooms are nice sized, and it's wonderful to have a place for all of our books (which had been stored in about a dozen plastic totes since we moved) and a quiet place to work that is attached to the house, yet still separated enough from the house to be quiet and allow for some real work and productivity.<br /><br />Given that the remaining portion of the garage wasn't quite large enough to still accommodate the cars, we decided to turn that into a usable living space as well. It's essentially a den/game room at this point, which is nice....<br /><br />We also recently did a major overhaul on some of the floors in the house. When we bought the house, we knew that there were hardwoods underneath the carpets and we had the general intention of pulling up the carpets and refinishing the wood floors. A couple of weeks ago, we actually began to tackle that project. We pulled up the carpet in two of the bedrooms and the hallway, sanded, and refinished the floors. We're quite pleased with the results, and we're very happy to be one step closer to being an allergen-free house! Only one more bedroom, a living room, and a dining room to go....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-23056272656156826872011-05-30T22:18:00.000-05:002011-06-01T23:25:51.893-05:00Potty Training<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOeF8j_wKGfkWbURKXwwSlzOQGXqSw1BwQ2UwaADeUSLu4ntUEShDduf-pe4vptpqXETu8sBOeMadVVJSVtXf8piB9vExCYW6hsSH7IJExqpYBkDqSa7s7oM9sXs0olkLv2XKww/s1600/_DSC4223.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOeF8j_wKGfkWbURKXwwSlzOQGXqSw1BwQ2UwaADeUSLu4ntUEShDduf-pe4vptpqXETu8sBOeMadVVJSVtXf8piB9vExCYW6hsSH7IJExqpYBkDqSa7s7oM9sXs0olkLv2XKww/s320/_DSC4223.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613472833178497298" /></a>Well, at least somebody has a use for the potty!! <br /><br />After months of having the pretty pink potty in the bathroom and prompting occasional attempts at using it, we've started diligently working on the whole potty training thing. (It's about time!!) However, Lily's not particularly interested, and our successes so far have been limited. At this point, Max seems more interested in the pretty pink potty than Lily does....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-88154456681095949392011-05-24T23:37:00.000-05:002011-06-01T23:50:01.505-05:00Lily's Big Girl Room<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1oSYWDCWdeDkoxeVMjWWvq0PaZdwztLF63VpCGYkGCV8hbDz_VALacHAzEmQHgZOUWpY_3Vejy03gY4W0C_qAmr6ahr5tWLCf7tQglUF3WKcyo5Y9MeBQZZ4j2aF7cHLYOdc6Q/s1600/_DSC4232.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1oSYWDCWdeDkoxeVMjWWvq0PaZdwztLF63VpCGYkGCV8hbDz_VALacHAzEmQHgZOUWpY_3Vejy03gY4W0C_qAmr6ahr5tWLCf7tQglUF3WKcyo5Y9MeBQZZ4j2aF7cHLYOdc6Q/s320/_DSC4232.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613477438725665266" /></a>We've been re-doing Lily's "big girl" room for quite some time now.... We converted part of the garage into an office and library, and we re-did the former office into a new room for Lily. We decided to go with the pink princess theme: we painted the lower half of the room pink and then put up a princess border around the center of the room, leaving the top part of the room a cream/off-white color. It created a nice balance in the room -- pink, but not <em>too</em> pink. Grammy got her a pink princess bedspread for her birthday, and that goes wonderfully with everything else in her room. Lily loves playing with all of the toys in her room, and bedtime battles have ended totally and completely since we moved her to her big bed in her big girl room. (Lily moved into her room about a month ago, and I think we've only had one ot two nights when she fought us on going to bed. Otherwise she just runs to her room when we tell her it's time for bed. I hope it stays this easy!!)ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-32805226389543275402011-05-04T23:11:00.000-05:002011-06-01T23:16:07.578-05:00"Mommy, Look!"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-yYruuDtXDprUmtaNXWHLOFAnxhH9y_LfzrUiwhXV6pbgyQfj6OtYhkpmqPYxnqmfEpY3IVd9lMBV1g2x59VfJjHQO6MQU45wNOkABF91qQie-Y21So-QrOy_VftrEGiu_eYZg/s1600/_DSC3909.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-yYruuDtXDprUmtaNXWHLOFAnxhH9y_LfzrUiwhXV6pbgyQfj6OtYhkpmqPYxnqmfEpY3IVd9lMBV1g2x59VfJjHQO6MQU45wNOkABF91qQie-Y21So-QrOy_VftrEGiu_eYZg/s320/_DSC3909.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613470731668091506" /></a>Lily pulled me into her room today, proud of what she had made. She told me what her picture was, but I had to ask her at least half a dozen times to figure out what she was saying. So, my question for you: what is this? "Mommy, look at my ______________!" Try filling in the blanks....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-9066895485766839802011-04-24T22:45:00.003-05:002011-04-24T23:08:40.345-05:00It's a Boy!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5n3eXUGkQ5AV0q4HdiYwcX4SlPKCP7emy0_F7zABjCZ0bYbxyH_g5PK168-ET4mnwEJd9nwEZoYLAmyKT-NSEHGj5k8-o2KIp0fN4HZUizggJt_2DAkefE-AN-AXxsv06YTYMg/s1600/_DSC3880.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5n3eXUGkQ5AV0q4HdiYwcX4SlPKCP7emy0_F7zABjCZ0bYbxyH_g5PK168-ET4mnwEJd9nwEZoYLAmyKT-NSEHGj5k8-o2KIp0fN4HZUizggJt_2DAkefE-AN-AXxsv06YTYMg/s320/_DSC3880.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599362633994664642" /></a>Allow me to take a moment to welcome the newest member of our family -- Max! Max is a 14-week-old "tabby-mese" (Tabby-Siamese mix) kitten that has adopted us. He showed up at church about two weeks ago, and he ended up coming home with us. He was underfed and crawling with fleas, but both of those things were easily fixed. When we took him to the vet for his first check-up and kitten shots, we also found out that he had ear-mites; he's on meds for those now. (And so is Tucker, since Max managed to share them with him....) Overall he's a pretty sweet kitten, though his behavior is more dog-like than cat-like. We're in the process of training him not to rummage through the trash cans, drink out of the toilet, or eat the plants. Lily's enjoying the new kitten, though she gets a little upset and frustrated when he misbehaves....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-77281159513358015652011-04-19T23:26:00.000-05:002011-06-01T23:31:55.002-05:00ASL UpdateThe alphabet is mastered!! Lily still has trouble forming a few of the letters, but she can recognize all of them easily and quickly. When signing, she almost always asks for help with the M, and she uses her other hand to move her little pinkie into place for letters like I and Y. However, she can now do the ASL alphabet as she's singing the aplhabet song, and she's becoming interested in spelling words with her hands. At this point she's more interested in the letters and spelling than learning the signs for words themselves, but I'm hoping that will come soon.ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17697258.post-39771965600349822482011-03-18T21:16:00.004-05:002011-04-24T23:40:26.533-05:00I Need Drums!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem4xy5SCguc5uy0b16mAwFJuMGaAgAlNPzd2vCP2IwSo0seAggN9518ukVbse4epY6MT1OOLbxFDj22hbhm_bjLK7wcXOofEi0KLI0JiQBwUNoQMg5EJeM8ll8EJFuWI3AS1kuQ/s1600/_DSC3829.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem4xy5SCguc5uy0b16mAwFJuMGaAgAlNPzd2vCP2IwSo0seAggN9518ukVbse4epY6MT1OOLbxFDj22hbhm_bjLK7wcXOofEi0KLI0JiQBwUNoQMg5EJeM8ll8EJFuWI3AS1kuQ/s320/_DSC3829.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599372631322335298" /></a>Lily's been enjoying all of the toys at Grandpa Brad's house this week. Among the favorites is the drum set. Also, she's taken note of the guitar collection.... <br /><br />We went to the Tennessee State Capitol and the Tennessee State Museum today. We managed to navigate downtown Nashville without too much trouble, and we must have climbed dozens and dozens of flights of stairs today. When we went to the museum, and Lily noticed an old guitar that was on display there: "That's just like Grandpa Brad's guitar!" she said excitedly....ginabninahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14947660754750699833noreply@blogger.com0