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It's the little things...

While there was no one thing that made today hard, it was the little things that added up to sheer exhaustion tonight... Here's a brief run-down:

8:00 - girls slept in (Yeah!), but we rushed to get dressed and have breakfast in order to make it to Music class.
9:00 - arrived in Claremont for music class... found no one. Now, this marks the third week in a row of missed music class due to one thing or the other... and we're out of town for next week's class... and I paid for eight classes!
9:20 - arrive back home, to call music teacher to see what happened? No answer - left message.
9:30 - Realized that Chase fraud department was trying to get ahold of me for the second time this week, so called them back. Sometimes I think fraud departments like to make our lives harder. :)
9:31 - Katelyn decided to kick Rebecca in the face while I was on the phone - sent to room to deal with later.
9:40 - talk with Kate - release her from time-out
10:00 - head to mall to do some shopping for next week's trip
10:15 - arrive at mall, where Rebecca decides she will not make shopping easy today, and proceeds to kick and scream both in her stroller and out in every shop we went into.
11:45 - leave mall, with screaming child, praying we make it home safely
12:00 - arrive home, put screaming child in crib where she naps for 2 1/2 hours
12:30 - wrap up final details (hopefully) for life insurance claim, and get it in the mail
12:45 - check email to discover that my grandma is having a rough time -- prescribed too much morphine for pain and is "a bit loopy"
1:00 - call Grandma - yes she is out of it
1:15 - call cousin to see how soon she's visiting Grandma
1:20 - call aunt to see what her thoughts on Grandma are - no answer
1:30 - receive call from music teacher, asking where I was? Class started at 9:30, not 9:00. - Something I should have remembered - Ugh!
3:00 - now that Rebecca is up from her nap, and has finally eaten lunch, we head for Payless, where she proceeds to throw another fit - you know, the ones where everyone in the store wonders what that mother is doing to her child?
5:00 - get call from aunt to get update on Grandma. While I'm on the phone, Rebecca is screaming off and on -- a time or two she wonders into my room -- the final time, Rebecca comes to my room rubbing her very red eyes and crying - Soap in the eyes! - off the phone to find Katelyn hiding behind the chair with the soap. Apparently Kate thought it was body glitter, since it was sparkly, and should be put all over her and her sister.
5:05 - in bathroom rinsing Rebecca
5:10 - in bedroom reprimanding Kate.
5:30 - try to make dinner
7:00 - can we go to bed yet?
7:30 - Daddy walks in the door to hear about my day, then girls into bed because I am DONE!

Somehow, the day just needed to be documented.

Mom

Somehow it seems wrong to return to blogging without mentioning the huge hole that is now in my life. On the other hand, it all seems a bit to precious at the time to write about in the blog-world. So, I'm going to leave it for now, but will return to the subject at a later date... yet to be determined.

She turned 1 and nothing happened!...

...this was Katelyn's comment on Rebecca's first birthday, and for the weeks that followed.

Kate has often asked us when Rebecca would walk, and talk, and get teeth, and our answer was usually, "Oh, probably when she's one." Well, Kate, being the four year old that she is, thought that those things would happen spontaneously on Rebecca's first birthday. Much to Kate's dismay, when we set Rebecca on the floor she did not walk, and when we checked her mouth there were still no teeth. But, being the good parents that we are, we decided to celebrate Rebecca's first birthday anyway.

While they are a bit belated, here are a few photos from the day. We were fortunate to get to celebrate at Martin's folks' house, with cousins and uncles and aunts. And, Rebecca's big cousin Hannah celebrated her third birthday at the same time! A fun way to turn one!

The two precious birthday girls

And, yes, while Rebecca is not solidly walking quite yet, she did take her first steps on Christmas day, and broke in three new teeth this past week! I guess we're finally on our way!

Cute questions

Here are my favorites from this week.

Katelyn: Mommy, how did you pick my daddy?
[As if I just went out one day and found a daddy for her! :)]

Katelyn: Mommy, is it okay to marry someone in your family?
Me: No, that's not really something we do, honey.
Katelyn: (Tearing up)... But, I really want to marry Uncle. (Uncle Nathan, that is...) Maybe if we wait a long time we'll forget each other, and not know that we're family.

Random thoughts...

I've decided that I really need to get on the ball with this blogging thing. I know there are a few of you out there that check in on me from time to time, and for all the hours I spend checking your blogs, somehow I feel like I'm letting you down. Silly, I know...

I spend a lot of time checking facebook, and it's nice, but seems to be missing the personal touch of the blog world. So many times I'll think of things to put in the "what's on your mind" section of FB, but then I think to myself, "who really cares?" If you're taking the time to check my blog, then I know you'll care, so I'm going to try to just post those random thoughts here.

Every now and then I'll get to a few updated photos of the girls, but I'd be kidding myself to think I'll get to it that often. Really though, it's just awful that in Rebecca's first year of life she's gotten one measly post. One! Really, I'm not very good at doing life with two kids. I don't know how those of you with more than two do it. My hat's off to you!

So, here's to trying again. Maybe I'll check in here a bit more often now!

Our Precious Rebecca

Our sweet Rebecca is already five months! While she has brought much joy and delight to our home, no one warned me how little of "my time" I would have left after child #2 arrived!! Poor kid, it's no wonder people say that the second (and third, and fourth) kids don't have as many photos, videos, and memory albums as the first. There just is no time! However, precious Rebecca definitely deserves some blog time here, so I'm going to do my best to catch up just a bit.

She arrived in our lives three weeks early, and was a tiny little thing, just 5lbs.10 oz.

Katelyn was beyond delighted at her arrival, and in the morning, after our first night home from the hospital, this is what I awoke to find. Kate had carefully, and quietly, decided that each of her most valuable items belonged right next to Rebecca. (Can you see the baby hiding in the photo?)

Of course, now Rebecca is smiling, giggling, cooing, and generally delighting us with her interactions. She's a busy baby (although not quite as busy as her sister, I don't think... time will tell), and generally happy, especially if she's being talked to.

Katelyn still has her moments of "adjustment", although in general she's still enjoying her little sis. And as for me, I just can't wait to leave the worries of feeding/sleeping schedules to return to my vacuuming schedule!

Here are a few miscellaneous photos from the last five months. What a delight she is!

Weekly Funnies, by Kate

Katelyn has recently been substituting words that sound similar. For example: She's had a cough this past week, so we put the humidifier in her room. Well, she frequently calls it the pacifier, rather than the humidifier.

So, today we went to a friend's birthday party. It was a great party, with all the fixin's: cute lunch, pirate activities, buried treasure, a piñata, cake, etc.

On the way home I asked Kate what her favorite part was, and she says:
"The Barack Obama."
"The what?" I reply.
"The Obama,... you know the thing we hit and the candy comes out."
"Oh, the piñata!" I say, between laughs.

She must be getting the hang of rhyming words. :)

My Little Ballerina

We love our Granny!

Fun at the Harvest Festival

Trick-or-Treat, Grandpa!

I'm ready to hand out candy! Now, where are those trick-or-treaters?

How can it take a month?

I owe you all a heartfelt apology. Why has it taken me a month to post these photos? The answer for the first three weeks,... it just wasn't quite done... painting, glass doors, some things put away, etc. The answer for the last week... I can't seem to keep it all clean long enough to get some good photos! So, I bit the bullet, and decided that most of the time it will look in more of a disarray than these photos show, so why not just get them out there. You'll all still love me anyway, right?

So, here goes!

[WARNING!!! If you saw my old kitchen, do not be surprised that I stuck with the same tile we had. I always liked it, and thought it fit well with the house. It also made for one less decision in the whole remodeling process! :) ]

Three views from the diningroom doorway. In the first two, the pocket door to the laundry room is closed. In the last it is open, and then the final photo is Kate's spot there in the laundry room. I love that she has a place to play with playdough while I work in the kitchen!

(Notice the new pantry/closet on the far left of the photo, and the installed dishwasher!!!)