So this is what we do all day.

Okay, if you are a stay at home mom, you have either been asked or know that people are wondering--what do you do all day? From conversations and witnessing my sister with her kids, I know that the day looks a whole lot different when you have two toddlers/preschoolers than when you have one 10 month old, but I can at least give the world a glimpse into what Ada and I do all day. Be prepared, it is overwhelmingly exciting;)

Ada is at a stage where she is constantly on the go. From the time I get her out of bed in the morning and put her on the floor, she is nonstop exploring, climbing, crawling, pulling up, etc. etc. It is actually a very fun time for us because I feel like for the first time there is real interaction between us. To be honest, it has given me much more fulfillment as a mom to have Ada respond to me in the way that she does now. She points to things and tries to talk to me, and I am trying to teach her new words. And I know that she understands me because when I ask her things like, "where is the fan?" she immediately points to the fan.

Today, I snapped some pictures of her doing her daily exploring around the master bedroom. Enjoy.

Finally, Memorial Day Pictures

Ada got into the toilet paper--she loves to do this. She does it with the paper towels as well. One of these days I am going to learn not to leave things where she can get to them.
Ada with the birthday boy. Ada loved the tissue paper that came with all of the presents.

Lack of photos explained

so we had a great Memorial Day, cooking out with friends and celebrating Elisha Boutwell's first year of life, but, sadly, my pictures will not download. It is driving me CRAZY. Suggestions, anyone? Normally I just plug the camera into the computer and the pictures automatically download. However, I keep doing that and nothing happens. Scott and I are technologically challenged these days. Our less than a year old television also suddenly stopped working this weekend. No warning, no explanation, it just won't turn on. And Thursday is the season final of Lost. Yes that is panic you hear in my voice. Again, suggestions, anyone? My blog is looking rather sad with no pictures, only words. Hopefully this will be remedied soon.

Peculiar Treasures

Okay, I am hoping, hoping, hoping, that I have a reader out there who also grew up reading the Christy Miller Series. If so, you will be thrilled to find out that there is a new series starring none other than Katie Welden herself, titled Peculiar Treasures. I am so excited, and I think I might have to become 14 again, just so I can read these books. Wow. Please tell me someone shares in my excitement.

Weekend update

so the trip into the city didn't happen. Traffic was crazy on Friday, thanks to Memorial Day, which we had forgotten to factor in, so the new shoes have been postponed. We are going to ATL for Elisha's birthday party tomorrow, so hopefully while there I will purchase new shoes. I was a little sad on Friday because I was looking forward to CPK and new running shoes all day long. There was a little extra pep in my step because of it, but oh well, what can you do? It would not have been wise to load Ada into her car seat and then sit in traffic forever.

So the weekend got off to a mediocre start, but things have picked up since then. Yesterday was a very full day beginning with an 8:30 hair appointment in Vinings and ending with an afternoon wedding in Rome, GA. The wedding was held on the campus of Berry College. It was absolutely beautiful. It felt as if we had traveled back in time. I told Scott that I would feel so scholarly if I attended school there. I pictured students traipsing across stone walkways, having Socrates inspired question and answer sessions with their professors, books tucked neatly under their arms. I felt more intellectual just being there. Sadly we left our camera in the car--it would be a beautiful location for Ada pictures. In fact, I would almost be willing to load up the car, pack a picnic, and head that way in the fall for a family outing/photo session.

After the wedding, lots of Scott's highschool friends and wives gathered at our house, where we promptly separated into girl and guy groups. We stayed up much too late, talking and laughing. But it was such fun to catch up. However, this afternoon I am feeling the effects of the late hour. The rest of the group is at an afternoon Braves game, but I opted to stay home with Ada. The thought of taking a almost 10 month old to a three hour long baseball game seemed somewhat nightmarish, so here we sit. Honestly, after the hustle and bustle of yesterday, I am enjoying today's quiet.

I have loved playing hostess this weekend, though, and it makes me thankful all over again for a home with room enough for friends and family to gather. Of course, we only have one extra bed, so poor Amanda and Taylor were on an air mattress upstairs. But they did have their own room--as empty as if may have been:)

I know many of you (family mostly) stop by mainly for the Ada photos, so I will try to post new ones either today or tomorrow. Until then, Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

It's Friday. And that's reason enough to be excited.

Tonight's the big night when Scott and I are venturing into the city. And hopefully I will come home with some new shoes that will do wonders for all of this training. I'll keep you posted.

Other news--well, obviously, I updated the blog, and in the process I lost all of my links. I am so sad about that, but I am pleased with the new heading. Check out scrapblog to make your own. I discovered the site through another friend's blog, so let's just keep passing the word. It's so much fun that I am tempted to change my heading every week. Don't worry, I think I am finally finished "decorating" the blog. In the mean time, I will slowly be adding links to all of the blogs that I read.

What else? Well, this week's bargain. I have to share. I have a wedding to go to this weekend in Rome, GA. As of Wednesday, I had no idea what I was going to wear. Ada and I were in Wal-Mart, and I decided to stroll through the clothing section, just to see what there was to see, and, guess what? I found a precious little black sun dress for $9.00!!! And I will be wearing it on Saturday. It is the bargain of all bargains, and I am so proud. Pictures to come. Lesson learned--don't underestimate what you might find in Wal-Mart.

While in Wal-Mart I also picked up my first two sewing patterns. I know, I know, I don't even have a sewing machine yet, but I just couldn't resist. I am dying to get my hands on that sewing machine, and, well, if I can't do that, I can at least learn to read a pattern so that I will be ready when the machine is finally in my posession.

We have a busy weekend ahead that involves a visit from old friends, a Saturday afternoon wedding, and Elisha Boutwell's birthday party. Elisha turning one is just a reminder that Ada's first birthday is right around the corner--wow.

Speaking of that little stinker, she is more on the go than ever. She even crawled up the entire staircase yesterday (with Scott right behind her just in case). She has had another cold this week, but that has not slowed her down--though it has caused some sleepless nights for us all. And last night, she said what I am considering her first word--bye. Scott and I were waving and saying bye (even though we weren't going anywhere), and she imitated us. So of course we got her to say it over and over again. It is so cute. She waves her hand back and forth and says bye. Where did my tiny baby go? I bought batteries for the camera today, so there will be pictures and even a video to come.

And that's our Friday. What about you? Any big Memorial Day Plans?

p.s. I am still accepting recipes. Even if you already submitted one. Consider it an open invitation.

A few things to discuss

I am LOVING all of the recipes. Please, please, please keep sending them. I am writing them all on recipe cards with the name of the person who sent the recipe, and I will let you know as I try each one. The best part is they are all so doable. I have so many cook books that call for a million ingredients in each recipe, and I just never use them. It's just not practical. But ya'll have provided many nights of easy, good eating. Thanks so much.

Second of all...do you remember how I mentioned at the beginning of the half-marathon training, that I always have knee trouble when I run for any extended period of time? Well, the knee trouble showed up yesterday. I am moving up to 2.25 miles this week--it's a slow process, okay, and for me, 2.25 miles is a lot ;)--but anyway, about 2 seconds after I was out the door, my knee started doing its thing. It was the worst run in the history of runs, but somehow I knew that if I didn't finish, it would be the end of my training. And I have to run this half-marathon. I really have to. So, I struggled through the run, at such a slow pace that Ada could have crawled beside me, but I finished it without technically walking. However, I know that the time has come for new shoes, or it will be the end of the half-marathon for me. And, surprisingly, Scott agreed, and this Friday we are off to Atlanta for the night to buy some new running shoes. I am so excited. There is a store within walking distance of our first apartment that specializes in running shoes, so they can do that whole thing where they watch me run and then tell me what I need. I am hoping they will have lots of good advice for my knee trouble. Plus, Ada has never been to midtown, and 9 months seems as good a time as any to take her. I think we are going to end the night with dinner at CPK. We got a coupon when we were there for our anniversary, and it expires soon, so we have to use it, right?

Finally, stay tuned because I will be updating the blog heading soon. I just feel like it needs to be more creative, so you should see a new look for the blog in the next few days. We'll see.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Calling All Readers

Okay, I have seen this done before, and now I am joining in. I would really LOVE to know who reads my blog other than my regular commenters--though I so appreciate my regulars--and to encourage commenters I have a plan.

We all love an easy recipe, right? I know that I am constantly looking for new, simple recipes that are easy on the grocery budget. So, here's the plan, if you are a regular reader, or just happen to stop by once in a blue moon, please leave a favorite recipe in the comment section. This will be fun. Any dinner ideas will be appreciated; you don't have to leave an elaborate recipe. In fact, I don't really do elaborate recipes. There just isn't time.

Come on, it will be fun. I promise.

I'll start.

This is a recipe that Scott and I both love, but it is in no way healthy. But it tastes good, and it is super easy!

Chicken Puffs

4 oz cream cheese
12 oz canned chicken, drained
2 T melted butter
2 T milk
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t onion powder
2 cans crescent rolls

Mix all ingredients. Separate rolls into 8 rectangles. Spoon 1/2 c. mixture into center. Pull 4 corners together and seal. Brush the top with melted butter. Bake on cookie sheet @ 350 for 20-25 minutes until bread is browned.

The actual recipe actually calls for one can of crescent rolls, but I have found that the recipe makes more than enough filling for one can, so I suggest buying two. If you are opposed to canned chicken, I would buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store rather than having to cook and shred your own chicken. It tastes just as good--sometimes better-- than making your own.

Reentering the world of fashion design, step 1

So...if you have perused the blogs I link to at all, you might have discovered that I read quite a few sewing blogs. The reason being that despite my big decision to leave fashion design behind and enter the world of writing and literary theory, there is still something in me itching to create. And with a new baby and a new house and a limited income, I am DYING to get my hands on a sewing machine. Well, I have been doing lots of research online. Googling things like "what I need as a beginner sewer." Every search has led me to believe that I must buy my first sewing machine from an actual sewing shop, not a chain such as Target or Wal-Mart. Apparently if you buy your machine from an actual specialty store, the owners really help you out with picking out the machine, learning how to use the machine, fixing the machine should it break, etc. etc. Plus, they sometimes throw in a few free sewing lessons. This leads me to today.

Scott and I were out driving around, doing a little exploring of this place we now call home, and we stumbled upon our very own sewing shop. Obviously, I had to go in. And I even talked to a salesperson about which machine would be right for me. Then, the best part of all, she lead me over to the machine, and she encouraged me to try it out. And it was wonderful. And I remembered all the things that I did love about fashion design. Scott was watching all of this unfold, and he knew before we even left the store, that I HAVE to have this machine. Of course, it is so far out of budget right now, that it's insane. But each week I am tutoring and making a few dollars, and we both agreed that those paychecks will start going in a separate account until there are enough dollars to purchase the machine, and then I am on my way. The possibilities are endless. And I just can't wait.

Ten Exciting Happenings From the Past Week

1. Let's start by traveling all the way back to last Friday, when I happened upon some stemware on sale for .98 at Pier 1 Imports!! I snatched up six of those before someone could tell me it was a mistake. If you are in need of new stemware (which I was not), I suggest you quickly make your way to the nearest Pier 1 and check out the clearance section.

2. 1.00 Large Diet Coke at McDonald's. Yes, .86 cents for a large diet coke at Sonic is still a better price, but McDonald's wins because you can go anytime, not just from 2-4.

3. A Banana Republic outlet opened a mere seven minutes from my house, and J.Crew is coming soon. Hallelujah!!

4. Four new dresses for Ada at 5.00 a piece. Oh how we love Target. (I am only letting her wear dresses these days because I am so tired of people telling me how cute my little boy is.)

5. A cute one piece bathing suit with a skirt for me. Don't think Grandma, think retro. And hey it covers all of my least favorite spots on my body. Who cares if it screams mom--I am a mom.

6. Ada has a new habit of wanting to hug me. All the time. So we spend a lot of our day sitting on the floor hugging. Not a bad job, I have to say. It makes the time she spends screaming a little more bearable.

7. A night spent with the women from my church helping a soon-to-be mother of two weed and clean and prepare her life for baby #2 who will be here any day.

8. My best childhood friend gave birth to a little baby boy.

9. All this pregnancy and baby talk, is giving me an itch for baby number 2. Though Scott and I don't really feel like it's time, I love the fact that I will be so excited when I find out I am pregnant with number 2. Thank you, Lord, for turning my life upside down and, slowly, making it seem like it was my choice all along.

10. And, finally, the possibility of a date with Scott on Saturday night. We'll see.

The Heart Behind Modesty

If you were a girl involved in any kind of ministry in college, then you are familiar with the christian "dress code" talk. We all heard it, over and over, that even the sight of a bra strap can make a guy stumble, etc., etc. Well, I just finished reading a series of blog posts by CJ Mahaney, taken from his new book, Worldliness: Resisting the Seducation of a Fallen World. I think Mahaney does an excellent job of explaining the heart issue behind modesty. I think it is worth a read--for us girls and guys because, Lord willing, one day you will teaching this to your daughters, right? Check it out here.

My First Mother's Day

My first mother's day as a mom has come and gone, and it was just fabulous. Scott says he's glad mother's day comes before Father's Day because now I have to make father's day just as wonderful.

I spent Saturday with my McDonough "mom-friend," Ashley. We started with pedicures at a spa here in town, where we talked labor and delivery with the two women doing our pedicures. What can I say, get some moms together and you're bound to talk labor or nursing. We all have our stories, don't we? I felt so incredibly pampered. The spa was followed by lunch and shopping in downtown McDonough. I even discovered a cute little, fairly affordable, boutique, and I ended up buying a dress to wear to Sheffer's wedding. That just added to the fabulousness. By this time, I was ready to get home and see the little rascal who makes me a mom. She was sleeping when I got home, but I couldn't wait to go get here when she woke up!! Scott even bought me the cutest card that was "from Ada." A very successful day indeed.

Sunday was just a relaxing day spent at home. Scott and I watched August Rush, which I really enjoyed. I did have to miss community group because Ada was extra fussy, and we just felt like it would be better to put her down in her own bed than to take her over to the McCormick's, where we meet, so Scott went on without me. I put Ada to bed, and spent the rest of the night watching Gilmore Girls on dvd until Scott got home. Plus, I marked off another run. Yea for two weeks of pink x's!!

Right now I am reading the book, Family Driven Faith, lent to me by Ashley Turnbull, and it is quite the appropriate book to be reading during Mother's Day weekend. The author,Voddie Bauchum, challenging parents to take primary responsibility for discipling their children, makes the point that clearly God believes we are capable of discipling this child if He sent the child home with us. That is both a humbling and encouraging truth to hear because it reminds me that it was not an accidental event the day that I found out I was pregnant. When God formed Ada, he purposefully made Scott and me her parents. What overwhelming responsibility!! But, in his book, Bauchum reminds me that God has equipped with everything that I need to be her mother and to raise her to live a life that is glorifying to God. I am so thankful, overwhelmingly so, in fact, that I get to play a role in her life. Thank you, Lord, for this little girl. And thank you for my own mother who showed me what purposeful parenting looks like. I certainly have a new appreciation for my mother on this mother's day. My life has never been so saturated with emotion, both good and bad, since I found out that I was pregnant with Ada. I am so glad, and humbled, that I get to be her mom.

Help me decorate Ada's room

As I mentioned in the last post, we have only painted one room in our house since we moved in. So, we are living with a vast amount of white walls, and I am very ready to remedy this. First and foremost, I want to finish decorating Ada's room. Her bedding is black and white fleur di lis (sp? french speakers?), polka dots, and stripes, so I want to do her walls in robin's egg blue. I thought this would be an easy thing to find, but the first paint color I tried seemed more neon than anything. On Friday, I bought an audition size of another blueish/green color, and I definitely like it more, but I am not sure if it is too dark. I took pictures of the random "splashes" of paint throughout the room in hopes that you, my cyber friends, can help me decide. I also need help figuring out what to do with the ledge located above Ada's bed. Any ideas? I also realized as I downloaded the pictures, that the color of the room isn't super accurate. For example, my dining room is actually more green than yellow, but it looks yellow in the picture I posted. But, still, you get the idea. So, suggest away. How's the color? Too dark? Not blue enough? And what should I do with the ledge?

P.S. The color to the left of the multi-colored picture frame is the original, neon, blue.

So many things to say about Ada

Okay, I am aware that most of you probably don't want to know all of these little stories about Ada because there are so many that happen everyday. But as her mom, I have to record them, so bear with me, please:)

I am going to try to post pictures to go along with each of these things, but I sometimes mess up the picture thing.

1. A few days ago, I needed to take a shower because it was getting later and later in the day, and I was still in my pajamas. The shower situation has been hard because my best bet is to shower while Ada is asleep. The problem is, Ada's room backs up to our bathroom, so it sometimes wakes her up. I was showering downstairs, but that is the guest bathroom, and I prefer to keep it as clean as possible to save myself some cleaning time when guests come. Anyway, back to a few days ago. I needed to take a shower, and Ada is too big for her upstairs exersaucer, so I put her in the bathroom with me and shut the door, thinking she could play while I took a shower. Instead, as soon as I got in, she crawled over to the very edge of the shower, sat down right in the corner, and cried as hard as she could until I got out. She kept pulling the curtain back and looking up at me, so upset. I was not sure if she was scared of the water, or if she wanted to get in the shower, or what was going on in her head. But, it made for a quick shower. (by the way, I got the camera and took a picture when I got out of the shower. I don't keep a camera in the shower with me--ha, ha)

2. Okay, fast forward to today. I was sitting at the computer in our bedroom, and she was crawling around. All of a sudden I realized it was fairly quiet, so I went to check on her. I found her sitting in the shower stall playing with the shampoo bottles, and her pants were soaking wet. I guess the tears from a few days ago were because she wanted to get in the shower and couldn't figure out how.
3. Another story from today. We have had trouble putting her down for naps lately, which I suspect is because of her tooth coming through. She just cries a lot harder than usual when we put her down, and we usually end up rocking her for quite a while. Well, today was no different when I put her down for her morning nap, except after some crying it suddenly got very quiet. Too quiet, in fact, so, again, I went to check on her. This time I found her in her bed, an open bottle of teething tablets, and a white mouth. I panicked because I had no idea how many she had eaten (or how she had gotten them, for that matter). Once I gathered up the tablets, the bottle was still fairly full, so I think she's okay. And they didn't seem to give her much relief, so she couldn't have taken too many. Again, no idea how she got the tablets.

4. Okay, final story. Ada is in the stage where she is exploring everything--I have mentioned this several times. One of her favorite things to explore are the electrical outlets in our house. I am trying to teach her "no-no" when she touches them, and to reinforce the no-no, I have been squeezing the hand she used to touch the outlet. Well, it has not been affective AT ALL. I don't think the no-no or the squeezing bother her in the slightest. In fact, a little while ago, she was playing with the outlet, and I went through the hand squeezing process. She looked up at me, smiled, took her hand, and squeezed my other hand. Oh dear, the discipline thing is not going so well, so far.

And that's my Ada, today. Always keeping on my toes. I am posting some other random pictures, including one of my dining room. In the spirit of all the home improvement posts that have been floating around lately, I decided to post a picture of the one room in the house I have actually painted. It doesn't have any furniture, though.

Ada right after a nap. I love those red cheeks, sleepy eyes, and messed up hair.
She's got her headband and water--ready for her own half-marathon training.

Lunch time!! Prunes and harvest vegetables. Yummy.And...my dining room. The color is sassafras tea.

Lord, give us wisdom

Today is an out of the ordinary day because Scott took the day off from work to go to a Brave's game. Apparently this a dream come true for him because of the location of the seats, but I will leave him the fun of giving you all the details. What this means for me is, I had Scott around this morning. Yea. Plus, his friend, Bud, spent last night with us, so that he could go to the game with Scott.

Because it was a special morning, and we had the rare opportunity to have breakfast together, we all loaded up and headed to Cracker Barrel. Before we even left, Ada was rubbing her eyes, a clear indication that it was time for her morning nap. But I was stubborn and determined to go out for breakfast, so we went anyway. I am now paying the consequences for that decision.

In the middle of breakfast, she pitched one of the loudest fits I have ever seen come out of her. I had to get up and leave the restaurant out of respect for the other diners. She was clearly so exhausted, and I was thinking that we had a serious morning nap coming to us once we got home. Well, we have now been home for an hour, and she is still screaming in her bed. I have tried rocking her, letting her cry it out, everything, but she is fighting sleep with everything that is in her. It seems to me that she is overtired, which is my fault. She does seem to be quieting somewhat as I type this. The screams are slightly more muffled. Though every once in a while, she lets out a very high pitched shreak.

Her behavior led to a discussion on discipline because I made the observation that if she was a little bit older, her behavior would clearly call for some serious discipline. However, I also realize that as the parent, I should have had the wisdom to know she was just too tired to go out for breakfast. So really, maybe it's me that needs to be disciplined;) It's scary because our responsibility to discipline her is literally only weeks away. I mean, obviously, we are teaching her, "no-no" for issues like grabbing the spoon while I am feeding her, trying to touch outlets, things like that. But the real issues--like attitude--well, it's getting closer and closer to the time when we will have to deal with these things, and it sort of scares me to death.

As I was thinking about today, and the situation at breakfast, I realized that the real issue in these early years, is that we--Scott and me--will be Ada's first view of God. Before she knows him, she will know us. With God, His discipline for us always comes down to working all things together for our good. For our ultimate good. So, shouldn't that be our priority in discipline. That is the test that should always be in our minds. And this means that sometimes, comfort, rather than discipline is needed. Or, even, prevention. Like today--Ada's good meant staying at home and letting her go down for a nap at her normal time. But I opted for my good. But it also means that there will be times that it will be so much easier to look over her behavior, but that would not be for Ada's ultimate good. So my prayer--oh God, give us wisdom to know what actions to take to promote Ada's ultimate good. What actions to take to always point Ada towards you. And be gracious and merciful with us, Lord. Because, I know that more often than not we will get it wrong. How thankful I am that my salvation and Ada's salvation are not dependent on anything that I accomplish!!

A few things about Ada

1. I think I finally feel a tooth coming through Ada's little gum. I can't get her to move her tongue long enough for me to see anything, but when I rub my finger across her bottom gum, there is definitely something new there. I am hoping it will come on through, and she might start sleeping better. Which leads me to number 2...

2. Ada slept all night last night!! We put her down at 7ish, and she woke up about an hour later. I rocked her for a while, but her back down, and we did not hear from her until 7:30 this morning. Hallelujah!! Plus, she has been napping like crazy. Any other moms--can teething actually make your baby sleep more? Whatever the cause, I am soaking it up.

3. She is turning into such a little explorer. Pulling up on everything. I will post pictures below. And crawling all over the house. She is into everything--the kitchen shelves, anything in the television armoire, anything that I am eating or drinking--if she can see it, she wants it.

4. Yesterday was her 9 month birthday. Wow. As long as she has been in the world is the same amount of time I carried her around inside of me. Crazy. I can't believe that one year is only three months away. I know it is the biggest cliche' in the world, but this year is flying by. Absolutely flying by. It feels like I just gave birth.

5. I also included a few images of evenings at our house. My sonic diet coke, Ada in her highchair with puffs, which more keep her busy than satisfy her hunger, and potatoes ready to be baked.

Sunday Afternoon in McDonough, GA

A Successful Anniversary Celebration

We have reentered reality, but it was nice to escape for a night. Celebrating our second anniversary went much better than celebrating the first.

First of all...loved the hotel much more than last year's. If you have a need to stay over night in the ATL, I highly recommend the Twelve Hotel. Instead of feeling like we were staying in a hotel, we felt like we were living in a loft in midtown Atlanta. Very fun for me since that was what I originally wanted back before life took a major turn. We had a very nice kitchen with stainless steel appliances, not one, but two, flat screen HD televisions, high ceilings, an INCREDIBLY comfortable bed (we were tempted to check in, go to sleep, and not wake up until we checked out the next day), and huge windows that overlooked the city. Too bad we were on the second floor. And, my favorite part of all, all the toiletries provided were Aveda. I LOVE Aveda. Aveda has been my product of choice since Jr. High. The bathroom was huge as well, with a big soaking tub and separate shower. We were living the high life, if only for one night.

We decided to forgo a fancy dinner and splurge on the hotel instead, so we had a nice, affordable dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. When we were first married, we lived about five minutes from Atlantic Station, and we went to CPK so much, that one waiter knew us by name. We love CPK. The night I got my tutoring job a few weeks into marriage, we celebrated there; the night after my first day of teaching at Pebblebrook--CPK, and the night we found out we were pregnant, we ended up back at CPK. It has not let us down yet, and last night was no exception. We were able to eat outside, and dinner was incredibly relaxing. We just kept looking at each other and saying, we get to sleep all night tonight. It felt unreal. By the way, we also kept talking about how good it would be to see Ada the next day. Such a paradox.

The other thing I was looking forward to at Atlantic Station was visiting H & M. They have been promising forever that it was opening, Spring 2008. Well, folks, it is May 2008, we are quickly approaching summer, and H & M is no where to be found. That was a low moment in the weekend.

Later in the night, Scott gave me my final anniversary gift. The most exciting thing of all--the ESV Literary Study Bible. I have been wanting it forever, and, finally, I have it. Well, I have the promise of it. It is in the mail right now, on it's way to me.

Today, we slept in. Well, we slept until 8 am. But we went to sleep at 11, so that was NINE HOURS!!! We planned on staying up late just because we could, but we barely made it to 11. We then walked around Ikea for a while, drove through our old neighborhood, had lunch in the Highlands, and by that point, we were dying to see Ada, so we headed home. And now she's in bed, and I already feel tired again. But, I also feel refreshed. I am extra connected to Scott, and the time away from Ada made me so excited to get back to our daily routine. Anniversary #2 was a success.

I have never been good at the beginning of things--freshman year of high school was just terrible. I was awkward and clumsy and so self-conscious. I felt all of those same feeling again freshman year at Auburn. I was struggling to figure out where my place was in the college world. I remember coming back to Auburn my sophomore year and feeling so relieved not to be a freshman. By senior year, I never wanted to leave Auburn. It was the place that felt most like home to me. This anniversary feels a little bit like that. Like finally we are figuring this thing out.

Thursday Stuff

Another thing to mark in the baby book--Ada pulled up yesterday. April 30, 2008. She has been trying for so long. I left the room for one second yesterday, and when I came back she was standing up. And today, she has perfected her pulling up. She has even figured out how to sit back down. This is adding new challenges to our life because she nows like to pull up to a surface and knock everything onto the floor. We have not baby proofed the house because it was only two weeks ago that she couldn't even crawl. She follows me everywhere now, and she can now stand up in her baby bed and scream when she doesn't want to go to sleep. She also throws her pacifier out of the bed and screams until I go in there and retrieve it for her. All these new challenges do add up to a more satisfied baby, I think. It seems like she has wanted to be on the go for so long, and she has finally received a tiny bit of independence. She even figured out how to support her weight on the table, let go, and clap. She loves to clap. She starts clapping and looks around to make sure everyone is watching. She wants someone to respond by saying, "yea, Ada," at which point she grins hugely and claps even harder. She is already all about being the center of attention. We'll have to start memorizing some verses on humility;).

She has had a cold the past few days, as I mentioned in a previous blog, but she started feeling better yesterday. However, I think she passed the cold to me. I have TERRIBLE allergies in the spring, but last night I began to feel a scratch in my throat that did not seem like allergies, and it continued to get worse this morning. I finally bought some non-drowsy cold medicine from Target, determined to get well before this weekend--I don't want a repeat of last year!! Despite being labeled non-drowsy, the medicine made me so tired. Luckily, Ada took an extra long afternoon nap, and I slept the entire time that she slept. The plan was to clean all day, not sleep!! So I am looking at a long night of cleaning my house. My laundry room is upstairs, and this has proved to be a problem. I usually just take the clothes out of the dryer, throw them in the hallway, and put the clean clothes into the dryer. I usually fold them, but then they sit in piles in the hallway for days, as Scott and I just step over them. I think if the laundry room was downstairs, I would be more proactive in actually folding and putting the laundry away. Needless to say, I have LOTS of clothes to put up before I can actually do any cleaning.

Despite the fact that I still have 5 lbs of baby weight to get rid of, the scale has started to slowly inch its way up, so I have to put my foot on the brake. It's not that I am dying over an extra 5 lbs, but if I let 5 lbs stick around with every baby--well, you do the math. So...I am thankful for this website, The Daily Plate. You can plug in your numbers, find out how many calories you need to eat to lose a pound a week, and you can see where all of your calories are coming from. In the process I discovered that I eat WAY too much protein and fat, and not nearly enough carbs. In college I was all about the South Beach Diet, and a fear of carbs stuck around after the diet was over. Because I realized I needed more carbs and more veggies, I have been making a yummy dinner of stir fry vegetables and whole grain rice all week. It's so good, and so healthy. I found a very simply recipe on Kraftfoods.com, and Scott and I are just sad that we didn't discover the meal sooner.

Final thing to report--another pink X has made it's home on my training chart. Three days of running marked off. Yea!!! And yesterday's run wasn't too bad. I did have a terrible side stitch because I ran right after dinner, but that can be prevented, of course. Another run down. Slowly, but surely, they are adding up.

p.s. my aunt made a request for pictures. They are coming, I promise. I have to buy new batteries for the camera, hence the lack of photos lately, but soon, very soon, new Ada pics will be posted.