Life happens, and sometimes always it gets in the way of what I feel like I should do with my time, like write more blog posts. Instead of writing blog posts this last couple of weeks, I've been living, and if that included Season 3 of Downton Abbey, and blowing through a novel in a week instead of blogging - well, I guess I'm just grateful for the chance to enjoy those two leisurely activities! But I do love to write, and I do want to remember what happened in the last couple of weeks, because we had some memorable moments. So here goes...
1. Garage Sales: A couple of weekends ago, my mom and I hit the mother-load! I came home with a tote full of 4T clothes for Lily and paid only $43 dollars!!! Also included in the day's haul was a $5 beanbag that I thought would provide the stuffing for a project I want to do. Turned out, however, that my daughter fell in love with the beanbag chair. We've spent the last two weeks pushing her into it (it's her new favorite game!).
2. Gardening: I don't have a vegetable garden, but I did inherit an impressive array of flower beds when we moved into our new place in February. So Lily and I have been nurturing our green thumb and our flowers. I have yet to kill the 4 beautiful rose bushes I inherited (all credit goes to the dear woman who planted and established them, and God who made them beautiful to begin with. I'm just standing on the shoulders of rose-gardening-giants! Next year will be the real test...)
And my Lily with our lilies. Consider how the lilies grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet not even Solomon was clothed like one of these.
3. Baking: Lily is becoming a
4. Dentistry: I don't have a picture for this one, but it NEEDS to be recorded. Last week on Thursday, Chase and I both had dental appointments. His was at 8am and mine was at 11am, so we got all the cleaning and dental bills out of the way in one fell swoop.
I got the text at 8:45, "I'm cavity free!" Nice, honey. I hate you! You haven't been to the dentist in 2 years and you get a clean bill of health. I have the dentist on speed dial and she's practically my best (most expensive) friend. Awesome. I just hope Lily gets your teeth.
So then I go in for my appointment at 11. As the hygienist takes me back, she says with a smile in her voice, "I met your husband this morning. He is so nice!" I reply with smile, "Yeah, he's a keeper!" and we spend the next 5 minutes talking about how wonderful my husband is. Thirty minutes later with my teeth now clean, the dentist slides into her chair for a quick exam. She says, "So, your husband is funny and great! I mean, my husband's great, but yours is funny too." I smile in that mouth-wide-open-way and say something like "Aaaah-huuuuh" while she continues to say how great Chase is. With a clean bill of health (not a single watch on any of my teeth!) I head to the front counter to assess the damages. One of the dental assistants is filling out a chart by the receptionists. She looks up and says, "Hey! We met your husband this morning - he's like a poster child for a great husband!" Seriously. That's what she said. Not kidding. I'm not sure how much he paid them all, but it was an impressive feat. I walked out of there wondering what he did that was so impressive - were they really that amazed to meet a man who could put up with me, including my soft teeth? Evidently.
5. The Pool. Last week on Monday I went to City Hall and bought a family pool pass. We live about a block from the pool, and I didn't want to feel guilty about popping over there whenever Lily and I felt like it this summer, so I dropped the $90 for the pass. Monday evening, Chase, Lily and I donned our suits and headed for the pool. The second I unstrapped her from her stroller, Lily said, "All done swimming!" She continued to repeat the phrase for the following 5 minutes, pulling her feet up like a frightened little turtle any time they threatened to get remotely damp. We left after 5 minutes in utter defeat.
We tried again on Wednesday when some friends called to say they would be at the pool for a while. I spent the entire 40 minutes standing in 3 inches of water, holding Lily (who refused to get down). She was, clearly, "all done swimming."
This Wednesday we went for attempt #3 (see picture below). We were FULLY equipped. Swimming suit, sunglasses, flip flops, towel, drink, snacks ("Elmo bears," her favorite). I was determined. And it finally paid off! She sat on my lap for the entire hour, but we started out sitting by the water slides and watching the kids come whooshing down them. We inadvertently got splashed by "silly kids" playing in the pool, and by the time we moved over by the diving boards 30 minutes later, my little observer of life was thoroughly enjoying observing while her legs hung down into the water. She was so upset she cried when we packed up to go home. VICTORY!!!!! The pool pass was not lost money. :)
Despite the face, I promise, she loved the pool! And yes, she rocked those shades for the entire hour. She is one classy little girl.
I deserved the look below. This was when she realized we were packing up to go home, not just stopping at the stroller for more Elmo bears.
6. Bible School: This week has been Bible School at our church. Lily has been at the sitter's for 2 of the days and has come with for 2 of the days. Despite my being a co-leader of crafts, Lily has done very well at VBS. I appreciate her go-with-the-flow spirit and the way she observes to learn your expectations before she dives in. She's been so good at VBS that everyone (leaders/adults and kids alike) seem genuinely disappointed when she's not with me. And Lily seems to enjoy everyone as much as they enjoy her - then again, of course she loves the grandmothers in charge of the snacks who sneak her goodies all morning long...
At any rate, it's been a wonderful couple of weeks - a couple of weeks where I am beginning to see my baby as my little girl, a person unique unto herself with thoughts, opinions, words and wishes that are hers alone. Let's just face it: she's the best. At least that's what I think. :)
Well now, let's be honest: Chase is pretty fantastic. :)
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