you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

you find yourself humming the theme for the 1960's version of Winnie the Pooh to yourself in the shower.

what I found in the laundry

I pulled out the basket of clean clothes to fold this morning, and found George looking back at me.

you know you're the mother of two under the ago of two when:

your children are only eight pounds and one diaper size apart.

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

you find yourself figuring out how to nurse a 15 1/2 lb baby and help a little one on to the potty seat at the same time (quite the trick!).

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

your kitchen sink looks like this 5+ days a week (or you perpetually have a bowl of Oxy Clean on your counter, soaking whatever was soiled recently).

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

you stop by the Starbucks by church (which doesn't have a drive-through but has a very convenient location) and are so preoccupied with guiding the little feet back out the door and balancing the coffee and infant carseat that you forget to put the cream in your coffee - after you asked them to leave extra room for it, too!

oh, this was funny!

maybe I can reconcile myself to driving a minivan?

little smarty

I was looking at CafePress this morning for a children's shirt similar to one that I saw on someone's blog, and, although I didn't find the shirt, came across some pretty humorous onesies:

That's our Emma! Either eating is such hard work that she is exhausted afterwards, or it is sooo soothing that she just can't help it.

Definitely.

there's also a companion onesie for this one that reads: KEEP BACK 200 FEET

There are others that say things like, "hi, i'm new here", "I still live with my parents", "iBaby" and "sleep is for the weak" (we have been pretty blessed in the sleep department, though. Emma is consistently sleeping 11-12 hours each night!).

swim season

We received a page-long notice yesterday saying that the pools in the complex will open this Saturday (yay! get out your towels and sunscreen!).
That statement took up one line.
The rest of the page was taken up by rules and the consequences (i.e. pool being closed) for not following them.

There are some very basic and expected ones, such as:
1. Pool hours are 10:00 am to 9:00 pm daily.
2. All person using the pool or pool area do so at their own risk ...
4. Residents will be held responsible for all actions of their guests
7. Proper swimming attire is required. No denim ...
8. No glass allowed in pool area
9. No running, pushing, wrestling, dunking, horseplay ...
15. No pets allowed in pool area

But then there are also some that, well, aren't so basic or expected (or at least, I didn't expect to see them):
7. ... water rafts and play equipment must be approved by the management
10. Chewing gum is extremely unsafe in water and is not permitted in the pool area
12. Do not swim when too tired, hot, cold, or within two hours after eating

And my favorites:
21. Splashing, spouting of water or similar unhygienic actions will not be tolerated
24. Public display of affection is not permitted: hugging, kissing, etc.

Hmm. Well, I guess they have to draw a line somewhere. But no splashing? And calling splashing unhygienic? I laughed. I know it wasn't very respectful of me, but I did.
I also laughed at the one about chewing gum, although I'm sure it is very possible for someone to get excited while swimming and choke on their gum.
And I laughed at number 24, the one about pda. "Don't you dare be affectionate. This is your home, but affection is not allowed" (the same person who wrote the rule about no live Christmas trees being allowed in the apartments must have written that one). So if I want to give John or Emma a kiss, we'll get out of the pool and walk outside the gate. Uh, yeah.

I really am not trying to mock them, it just struck me as being funny. Ridiculously funny.
Maybe I just have a hard time with people putting unnecessarily harsh limitations on my actions (or any limitations, really. but I've learned to accept the reasonable ones). Maverick Liz.
I have a feeling that there may have been "situations" in the past, and the management is trying to prevent those from reoccurring by adding a rule for each situation.
But the funny thing is, they actually already have rules that address those situations: splashing (as unhygienic as it may be) could be classified as "horseplay", for example.



p.s. you also can't use the pools if you have a cold (#14)

cute clothes make the day better

Emma and I have been having a ...... trying day. We have been bothered by what seems to be some very uncomfortable gas in her tummy. Nothing I have done has been able to calm her for long. So, knowing that a cute baby is harder to be upset with and to reduce the likelihood of frustration on my part, I put her into one of her adorable outfits. I'm not sure if it made her feel better, but it helped me.

She did enjoy putting it on, though.

Emma finally settled down for a long nap ...

... and her bow slipped down over her eyes. I was not about to move it because 1) she might wake up, and 2), it was really cute!

tropical storm Ike

Yesterday the remnants of tropical storm Ike came through - sometimes at 60+ miles an hour (notice the shingles on the church lifting up)!

Ike promptly knocked out our electricity, so we had to improvise when it came to cooking dinner (and the headlamps from Anna came in VERY handy - thank you again!).

As the electricity was out, we had to do something else for dinner. The apartment complex does not allow BBQs, so ... this was a surprisingly efficient substitute. The hot dogs actually got quite hot, and even had grill marks on them. :)

It even worked to boil water for tea this afternoon, and I was going to use the candles again for dinner tonight, but the power came back on just before I was going to light them. Bummer. (jk)

And today, to occupy myself with no electricity (a fun word to spell, by the way), I took random pictures of my tea, the apartment ....... You might get to see a few more later.

from the mouth of Ben

"Ya know what a wedding shower party is? It's a big care package party. Uh huh."

and another gem from today: "Funny? What do you mean by funny? There's no such thing as funny in our house."

marriage is a very special thing ....

"There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends." ~Homer

unloading the groceries

Ben did it. At least, I think he did. It's not too often that you walk into the kitchen only to be faced by a sniper!

Sunday - morning and evening in pictures

Julia really is taller than me now, by about 3/4" (you just can't tell because I wear taller shoes)

notice Julia taking over for Ben?

making space ships

Family Christmas

milk for Santa

Santa was here!

Christmas cocoa

Daniel, reading the description of Amahl and the Night Visitors (Dad's gift)


Anna's present


Ben got a truck and a headlamp and a ....

*post to be finished later ...

Calvin and Hobbes

Ah, yes. My" snoogy woogy." Mmmm ............ !

Oh, the way things change!

from the mouth of Ben

Ben and I were working on his math homework yesterday when I heard him mutter to himself, "Now that is just vulgar."
Vulgar?
What?!!! Since when does an eight year old boy know words like "vulgar"? Hmm. I do not think he knows what it means, but I am curious to know how it got into that little noggin of his.

A Bit Of Time Together (away from home)

Lake Tahoe Vacation

Daniel, Anna, Leitha (a friend), and I went up to Lake Tahoe on Friday. We met the rest of the family at a friend's cabin, and spent two very wonderful days with them. It was a short break from the normal routine of work, school, ministry, work, school, ..................
I only wish it had been longer!