Family Time

This weekend was a nice quiet weekend for our family. We were able to get the house clean and just enjoy each other's company. Josh and Audrey had some nice quality playtime in the front yard. See the pretty flower in her hair???

Then Josh and Kymberly made peanut butter cookies together. That was great fun for both of them. Josh makes the world's best PB cookies. And Kymberly really likes to help out in the kitchen, so he taught her his secrets.

Also on Saturday, we got our scrubby clothes on and got dirty. We picked weeds, we moved bark around, we mowed the lawn, trimmed back bushes, and we took out bushes. We removed 4 evergreen bushes that just grew uncontrollably every year. They weren't very attractive, and they were hard to keep trimmed nicely. Two of them sat just outside Andrew's window, so he got no light into his room. Now they are GONE!!! We also cleaned out the bark and weeds in the back corner. Took out the border that was there and mixed up the dirt. Finally, we sprayed some grass seed in all the dead spots and the new dirt areas. The backyard looks significantly bigger. And cleaner. The summer we first moved in we cleaned out the back corner, but we never did anything with it. It just kept getting weeds. So I hope that the grass will take and we'll just have to mow. That same summer we also put down some seed in a couple dead spots as a test. The seed took really well and that is now the prettiest grass in the whole yard. The day after this extensive yard work came rain. And more rain. 2 full days of rain, in fact. So the seed got a good initial watering. Now if we can only keep the squirrels out of the yard......

Challenge....

Josh is of the opinion that I spend a lot of time on my phone.  He doesn't think I could go an entire weekend without using my phone.  


I've accepted this challenge.  So ... this weekend, I will be sans phone.  No facebook, no txting, no twitter, no email, no spontaneous Audrey photos to flickr.  Nothing.  No technology.  I will have my phone for phone calls only (I think that's fair since we'll be out of the house for much of the weekend).  All other updates will just have to wait until Monday.


I get to use my real camera, but no computer, so I can't update photos until Monday.


I guess this means today I better get all my surfing done and my photos posted.


As of midnight tonight, I will be unreachable.


I'll check back in on Monday and let you know how it went.

Bible Study

We've been attending our church for more than a year, and attending regularly for just under a year. Josh has found his niche and ministry and is starting to really make some friends and serve in the church. Now it's my turn.

Last month I received a bookmark with a list of monthly meetings for "Presbyterian Women." They are studying Joshua. I thought that was a great start for finding a bible study and meeting some other people in the church. (We don't have a small group program as it is under renovation.)

Last night I attended the first meeting, ready to learn about and study Joshua. (I felt studying Joshua so appropriate since I started to read it a few months ago.)

I was initially quite nervous. I arrived about 15 minutes early and didn't want to be the first one there, so I sat in my car a bit. I saw another car arrive and two white-haired ladies exit the vehicle and go up to the front door. Suddenly I thought I should go home. I didn't want to be the only non-grandparent there. But I sucked it up and went inside.

I recognized 2 of the 3 women who where there already. One woman, however, I've had a couple of notso-positive encounters with. I tried to keep an open mind. The Presbyterian Women are VERY active in the community and with community events and ministering to those in need. One of the ministries is delivering blankets to the shelters; so we sat there and tied knots in blankets while listening and planning.

There were a total of 6 of us there. They all recognized me as the "woman with the baby," or "the wife of the drummer." It became painfully obvious that I need my own identity. And as I suspected, I was the only non-grandma in attendance.

Presbyterian Women is also an organization, nation-wide. I've never attended a denominational church that was so heavily reliant and involved with their denomination. I've attended several E-Free churches, which operate very independently from their denominations. So seeing a nation-wide organization through the church is a little weird for me.

At any rate, it became very obvious that at least at our church, Presbyterian Women are an organization first and a bible study second. We spent the first 20 minutes just chatting. Then we went over business items. Basically a summary of what was discussed at the last business meeting with the church leadership. That lasted probably 30-40 minutes. THEN we passed around a pouch to collect membership dues. I was really caught offguard with that. Membership dues for a bible study?? That was when it dawned on me that it's not a bible study, but an organization. I don't carry cash with me, so I had to pass it and say I'll catch up next time. Then we FINALLY started the bible study.

But we didn't even open our bibles. We didn't read the passage. We didn't open in prayer. Nothing. We read the from the book (which is written specifically for Presbyterian Women) and answered only a couple of the questions. Then we closed in the pre-written generic prayer at the end of the lesson. It felt very cold. The bible study aspect of the meeting only lasted 20 minutes, maybe.

I am very hungry for a BIBLE study. A fellowship of believers. Prayer time with other sisters. I don't feel like I will get it from this group.

However, I was encouraged (by my very supportive and awesome husband) to go again next month.

The Presbyterian Women group in our church is responsible for all the craft activities and many of the local outreach ministries in which our church participates. I have been wanting to join some of those outreach groups, so this might just be the way to do it. I just have to accept that this is more of a ministry/outreach group than a bible study.

I have a month to pray about it and decide if I want to go back.

And nothing is stopping me from reading the passages and praying on my own.

Monday..........

It's Monday. Did you know that????

Audrey was fussier than usual early this morning, so I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. I overslept and didn't get up until almost 6:00. Not that big of a deal since I'm working from home today. I fed her (and she was extra hungry) and got ready to go running. Haven't run like I should recently, so I had a hard time running. Had to walk more than I have in the past.

Got home and found myself locked out of the house. Both kids had gone to school already and either started or didn't have a phone. So I had to find an open window and take out the screen to get in. (I usually take a spare key with me, but it was removed from the jogging stroller when we had house guests.) I finally got in and scrambled to get ready to start my day.

I finally got working. Audrey was asleep. Now where are my glasses??? Still haven't found them.

Took my break at 10 to feed Little Miss. Just as I'm finishing up and ready to get working again she blows out her diaper. So I had to give her a quick bath. Now I have to do laundry.

sigh.....
Monday's exist even when not in the office.

Fun Foto Friday...

So many things to blog about, so little time.......

Josh's dad and step-mom came out for a visit 2 weeks ago. They met Audrey for the first time. Sydney made a quilt for Audrey that won 2nd place at the Nebraska State Fair. Audrey was all smiles that weekend, which made Grandma and Grandpa very happy!



The day after they left, my BFF Sarah, whom I have known since 7th grade, came out for a visit. She was here to visit, meet Audrey, and walk in the breast cancer 3 day in San Francisco. We had fun playing.

Slight tangent:
I have a best friend named Sarah - Sarah Elisabeth. Josh's sister is also names Sarah - Sarah Elizabeth. It's only mildly confusing. Josh and I know who we are talking about when one of us tells a story about a Sarah, but the rest of the family does not. I mentioned that Sarah was coming about 10 times and every time somebody different said, "Auntie Sarah is coming?" or, "I didn't know my sister was coming to town..." It became very obvious that we needed to distinguish between the two. So Josh's sister is Auntie Sarah, since his kids and our niece have been calling her that for 15 years. My BFF Sarah's last name starts with a B. And to the kids, she's the second of the two Sarahs. So we nicknamed her Auntie B; she went one step further and decided it's Auntie Bee. So for future entries, Auntie Sarah is Sarah R, Josh's sister, and Auntie B (Or Aunt B) is Sarah B, my BFF.
End tangent.

Sarah did a lot of playing in the city by herself while I was at work. Then she walked in the 3day.



Then I took a couple days off and we played ourselves. We went to the SF Zoo, the SF Bay Aquarium, and we went wine tasting.

The zoo was great because it's off season and so there weren't very many visitors. Audrey laughed at the giraffe and the zebra. That was about all she could really see, though. All the other exhibits were either too far away, or she was sleeping.



She thought the aquarium was funny. There was a cylindrical aquarium of smallish fish that were just swimming in circles. Hundreds of them, swimming round and round. We got up close and she just laughed! She was amused by the jellyfish too. And the large fish in the other large tanks were pretty cool, but she was too hungry to really focus too long. But she got a kick out of the Giant Sea Bass.

Sarah and I enjoyed a nice day in Livermore, tasting the local wines. There were some good and some notsogood. We each bought a couple bottles. I plan on enjoying a bottle this weekend to celebrate our anniversary.

Also this past weekend, Audrey had her first solid food. We introduced her to some rice cereal. We started with a little less than a tablespoon. She wasn't sure what to do with it. She spit most of it out, but some made it down to her belly. We have fed her a little every day and she's now up to about 3-4 tablespoons a day, which is where she will stay for awhile. She now knows it's food and is helping me feed her. Yum!





And she surprised us last week by showing us something we suspect she learned in daycare. Josh was grabbing a bottle to feed her; she saw the bottle and her eyes widened. She reached out her hands and grabbed a hold of it. She HAD to help hold it. And held it herself briefly.



She's been congested too, which leads me to believe that my congestion from a couple weeks ago wasn't allergies, but a cold. She hasn't had a fever or been fussy or runny. Just stuffy. We've had to suck goobers out of her nose or wipe things away. Only one night was it really bad that she was snoring.

And she's been talking in her sleep. It's quite amusing, really. About 3:30 in the morning she just started with her little coos. I got up to check on her, put her binky back in her mouth, and roll her back to the center of the crib. She wasn't awake as I suspected. I guess she was having an interesting dream.

We are, briefly, guest free. After nearly 3 weeks of guests in the house (and at least one a month since Audrey was born), it's nice to have some quiet.

Labor Day

We labored on labor day.

Since we were busy this spring and summer having a baby, we kind of let the gardens get away from us. The weeds overtook the flowers and killed everything, the bushes got overgrown and the ivy was climbing up the walls. So we spent Monday of this week tearing everything out. We left one plant, the prettiest and healthiest rose bush on the far end. I got into a couple fights with the rose bushes, but I got the TKO.

After everything got ripped out, we (and by "we" I mean "Josh") laid down new mulch. Ultimately we should've put down a plastic layer under the mulch to prevent weeds and prevent the mulch from sinking into the ground, but we didn't. Probably next year after we do this all over again.

Part of me feels bad that we let the flowers die and get overtaken by weeds since they were all planted by the neighbor lady across the street. Oh well. We'll try again next year.

 

While doing all the work, we got a visitor on our car.

Where Oh where?

Oh house of mine, why do you hide my things? Do you and the dryer have a conspiracy against me? I don't understand why you want to keep from me my chapstick or Audrey's slipper.

I accept that the dryer wants my socks. I can deal with that to an extent, but why must you go to the next level? My lips are chapped and Josh's carmex isn't doing the trick. My baby's feet are cold at night and she needs slippers that she can't kick off.

Sigh.................

I guess this just means I have to go shopping so we can do this again next month.

IMG00115-20090822-1909.jpg

Audrey had a doctor appointment yesterday. She is 13 lbs and 24 1/2 inches long. That's a gain of 3+ lbs and 3 inches since her last appt 2 months ago.

Back to the grind

Today marks 13 weeks since Audrey was born. In one week I go back to
work. There have been a few changes in the last 3 months. To prepare
my mind for these changes I met with my boss on Wednesday to discuss
my return.

We talked about the physical changes - the construction on my end of
the building.

We discussed leadership changes - his new boss.

We discussed changes in our department's goals and responsibilities.

and we discussed my schedule. I requested to work from home 2 days a
week to save money on daycare and to give me more time with my
daughter. It was granted on the condition that there is enough work
and productivity isn't affected. I am VERY thankful and pleased that
I am given this chance.

Regarding daycare: our neighbor is going to watch Audrey on the days
I'm in the office. We are excited for this prospect. We know/trust
her. We know the neighborhood. Our commute is unaffected. And
Audrey won't be around a bunch of strange kids all day. She'll be
with the neighborhood kids ... Which is the next best thing to one of
us being home full time.

PINK!

Three positives here...

1) Audrey is a girl
2) we like dressing her in pink
3) she grows fast and doesn't wear any one size more than a few months.

I washed a new fuschia shirt without soaking it first and all of
Audrey's white things are now PINK!!!!

I feel like Rachel in the second episode of Friends.

--

Watching TV with Mom

~Christine

IMG00026-20090710-1028.jpg

Getting nails done with Gramma Janet.

What's, uh, happenin'? - 4/17/09

New/Noteworthy:
Our landlord bought us new floors; and we got them installed this week. They are AWESOME!

We painted the bathroom a few weeks ago too. That was fun. I really like the new color.

Interesting Activity:
Preparing for and living in a house getting new flooring is interesting.

Also since my last big post we went to Josh's mom's for Easter weekend, where we saw his sister from CT (in addition to everyone else). They surprised me with a baby shower. That was fun. We also went to the beach for a picnic lunch, and I went with Becky to get a tattoo.

And we all (me, Josh, Kymberly) have been sick this week. Coughing, stuffy, achey, fever .... YAY!!!!

Biggest Accomplishment:
Put the house back together with the new floors

Where We Went:
Fort Bragg
Lamaze
Becky took us to Costco. That was a lot of fun. We haven't had a trip there in awhile.

What I Learned:
Practiced pushing at Lamaze last week
Learned positions for laboring and relaxation

Weekend Plans:
pack my bag for the hospital
relax
enjoy the new floors and the nice weather

Fun Photos:
I've taken so many photos I just don't know where to start.

I'll give you this photo, and then link you to flickr for all the fun photos I've posted.


You can't really see them here, but I've started to get stretch marks. :(

I've also developed rashes on my legs. It's very weird; and they ITCH!!!!!

End of February Happenings

New/Noteworthy:I've been expanding my baking skills. Last weekend I made a German Chocolate Cake. It was quite yummy.

Interesting Activity:Our niece Alexandra has a big math project. So she was at our place last weekend so I could help her with it.

Biggest Accomplishment:The German Chocolate Cake

Where We Went:Drove Kymberly to youth group on Tuesday so she could go bowling. While she bowled, I found a nearby coffee house to read a book. Took Andrew to youth group last night and did the same thing. It was nice having a couple hours to myself to just read.

What I learned:I enjoy periodic quiet time to read.

Weekend Plans:It's not supposed to rain until Saturday evening, so I'd like to go to a nearby park or something (the East Bay has over 100 regional parks and places to visit) and just play around. Maybe take the dog and the bikes and a camer or two.

On Sunday Josh and I are attending the New Member's class at church to learn more about the church and decide if becoming members is something we want to persue.

Fun Photo:This is the German Chocolate Cake.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for my husband. He's a rock. We've had a rough week with fears of finances with upcoming taxes and baby coming and other personal things that have me just totally flustered. While he is concerned and we're taking strides to improve our financial situation, he's really been great for me in helping me stay grounded. He's reassurred me on my personal fears and struggles. He's been a support for me all week long when I feel like I just want to collapse and hide away.

Thank you baby. I love you.

Thankful in All Things

Last night in our family devotional we talked about prayer.  Well, we started another series on prayer.  In the past we've discussed The Lord's Prayer, How to Pray, What to pray for, and now we're talking about how God answers prayer.  Last night we discussed asking according to His will, and walking with Him before he answers.  In this, I found 1 Thes 5:12-28.

12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

 19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.

 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

 25Brothers, pray for us. 26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

 28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

I really liked vs. 16-18.  But I read the whole thing.

We just barely touched being thankful in all things.  It's hard when money is tight, grades are low, work is frustrating, school is boring, kids are misbehaving, etc.  But God says to be thankful.  Josh and i are thankful that we have jobs - in this economy, it's a HUGE thing.  The kids are thankful they have parents (and step-parents) who love them and support them and help them with school.

Fast forward to this morning.

I went to turn the light off in the hallway and realized the switch was already in the off position.  It's not a mult-switch light.  So if it's off, it's supposed to be off.  I flipped it a few times and it still didn't turn off.  Josh grabbed a screwdriver and took the plate off.  Then started to take the switch out.  The light turned off.  Then put the screws back in, the light turned on.  Hmmm .... is the screw pinching a wire?  Is there a short?  There's smoke coming from the box.  Uh oh.  Not good.  Find the breaker and turn it off.  (Now half the house is without light.)  Pull it all out and we see bare wires, melted insulation, and just bad stuff.

We took photos and called the landlord.  Josh is home today to wait for an electrician (who is supposed to arrive around noon).  

Josh said to me as I left for work, "Be thankful in all things."  

Yes.  We are thankful that we discovered this before the house burnt down.  We are thankful that we have a landlord who is MORE than accommodating and understanding and will reimburse us for the electrician.  We are thankful that we have the means to cover this before our landlord reimburses us.  We are thankful that we are all safe and the house is in one piece.

I wonder how many of our wires are like this?  Do we dare take them apart and inspect them all?????  I don't know.

teeth, gums, and toothbrushes

So I have awful teeth.  Very small, very soft, eroding enamel, bad gums.  Just no fun at all.  I hate dental visits not because of the pain, but because of the money that they are going to ask for when they see all the new cavities.

My teeth are so small my dentist comments and complains about them every time I go in for a visit.  And they are so soft that when she drills, she goes deeper than she realizes because it just drills out so fast.

With the pregnancy, my bleeding gums have gotten worse.  I've been getting a lot of canker sores too.  I floss regularly, brush twice/day, use mouthwash, chew sugar free gum after eating....  I do everything the dentist and hygenist say.  But they are still really bad.  I am alternating my mouthwash; Listerine one day for the anti-bacterial action to kill the stuff making me bleed, and then ACT with Fluoride to strengthen the teeth the next day.  Still not getting any better.

I was remembering back to my electric toothbrush and how much I felt it helped my teeth.  One thing I remember was the really small head.  It didn't hurt my gums so much.  I think I have one persistent canker sore because of my toothbrush.  So I bought a new toothbrush from the kiddie section.  Ages 5-7 it says on it: some adult teeth and some baby teeth.  The head is small enough that it doesn't rub my gums lower than where it needs to, it's soft enough that it doesn't bother my enamel erosion, and it's cute!  It's purple and has Wall E on it.  ;)  I like it.  My bleeding seems to have improved dramtically and t doesn't hurt to floss anymore.

YAY!!!!

I'm so happy to have a less painful mouth.

Just in case you're the odd man out who hasn't yet seen this...

That's my baby there. Yep. I'm pregnant. That was taken at 6 weeks. It's 3.2 mm. And too small to accurately determine a due date. Preliminary due date is May 17th, but subject to change. And like all babies, she will be born when she is ready, so I'm trying not to pay attention to due date hype.

I find it interesting that people keep asking me if I'm throwing up yet. And it's not just that they're asking, but that they're making up cute words for it. Sickies? Barfies? Like taking a gross topic and turning it into a cute name is supposed to make it any cuter??? Nope. Sorry. Still not cute.

And the answer is no. Not barfies, sickies, pukies, etc. Tummy a little weird this week, but I've kept all my food down. And with how much I just despise throwing up (haven't been actually sick and vomiting since middle school), I really hope my pregnancy is vomit-free.

I remember one time that I was sick and stayed home. Roberta (my older, wiser sister) went to school and told her friends that her baby sister was sick. They asked what was wrong and she said, "She puked and puked and puked all night long." But she also came home at lunchtime to check on me and make sure I was doing OK.

So there you have it.

I'm soooooo tired I can hardly function.  I'm sleeping great.  I'm eating right.  I'm just EXHAUSTED!!!!!!  GRRR!!!!!!!!!!

I can hardly function at work.  It doesn't help that there isn't a whole lot to do so I'm staring at old data in excel and making my eyes go cross-eyed.  Blech.

tutoring...

So I've kept it pretty quiet, but I'm looking for a part-time job. Just something to make a little extra money to help pay off some debt (wedding expenses and moving expenses).

I've put in several apps at restaurants and retail to no avail. I've looked on craigslist and haven't found anything that's a good fit for me. I emailed the band director at the local high school, never heard back.  I applied for a few tutoring positions.  One place turned me down within 20 min of receiving my resume/online app.  Wouldn't you know this place is STILL looking for math and science tutors - and no, I can't apply again, I tried.

Well, yesterday I started the hunt again.  Found a few that would be managable.  One had an online app process, so I filled it out.  It's a tutoring position.  I got an email that said they would be interested in speaking with me further due to my degree in the sciences.  YAY!!!!!

I'm trying not to get my hopes up.  But it would be perfect.  A few hours in the evening helping with math and science.  I can still have a family life, I can still have my weekends, and it won't interfere at all with my full-time job.