7 Beds and 4 Bathrooms Later...My Life Today

Friends are out of town and renting their house, and I cleaned for the turnover of guests this week. The house is big and beautiful, and I am no stranger to cleaning having grown up in a family that did it for a living....but let me tell you, when I drove away at 10 p.m. last night (7 beds and 4 bathrooms and ETC later) I thanked God for my relatively small house! *grin*

I came home WITH a horrendous sore throat (yes, sick AGAIN) and TO a hysterically screaming William. It took about an hour to calm him down and get him back to sleep. Then we were up from 3:30 - 5:30 with more of the same. And I thought about spitting out all of my saliva periodically for the rest of the night so I wouldn't have to endure the pain of swallowing. It was purely the grace of God that I was not screaming hysterically like Will, or throwing things at the wall! As it was, I prayed for joy in all circumstances, and as I rocked a crying baby I was so thankful I had a baby to rock. And so thankful that the pain I was enduring was simply a sore throat...something that will likely only last a few days.

This morning I somehow got up, and walked downstairs to the smell of bacon and fresh coffee - wow, I have an amazing husband! Eleanor was happy and healthy even though she was running a fever yesterday evening. Todd went to work and the rest of us went to the doctor! A rapid strep was negative on me, and Will and Eleanor look perfectly fine. Will has 2 teeth on the verge of coming in and that is perhaps what has given us such awful nights (I forgot to mention that last night was the 3rd or 4th in a row like that) with a little guy who usually sleeps 11+ hours at night!
He has one tooth. 2 on the way. Which means he has a mouthful coming, which means HOW MANY more nights like last one?!

Right now both my sweet children are sleeping peacefully and have been for 2 hours. At the doctor's I found out little Will had gained over 1 POUND in just 3 weeks! My mom is coming over for a day and a 1/2. My husband is at work earning a living so I can stay home with Eleanor and Will. My throat is still killing me, and I have circles under my eyes, but I guess things are pretty good. So that's my life today.

Eleanor Talk

"Get me out of this carseat now, Daddy, please!!"
"I want to take that home." - spoken of a balloon, a cat, an infant in the airport!
"Daddy, you are a silly man!"
"William, where are you going NOW?!"
"I'm not hungry today, Mommy."

And she can recite her Maisy stories word for word, with inflection! "Hello AGAIN, Tellulah!"

Her S's sounds like "ZH"...very cute.

More Slideshows

Long Beach:

Seaside and Cannon Beach:

We're Back!

We had a great week up in Washington and Oregon with family! I loved the cooler weather and was so, SO blessed watching Eleanor and Will interact with their grandparents, uncles, and aunt. Enjoy the slide shows.


Playing Around:

At Mike & Julann's:

I have lots more, but you'll have to come back again tomorrow!

I just had this memory...

I was a kid and it was summertime in the mountains of Colorado. 8 or 9 o'clock at night, the lights had gone out after a huge thunderstorm, and we sat at our old kitchen bar eating cheese and crackers and salami by candle-and-lantern-light. I loved it. I can still smell the salami and rain.

Feel Good Friday: Song Lyrics and Brownies

So, I am following Elizabeth's idea today and posting some lyrics that have edified me lately. "Feel good" doesn't describe them well, but they certainly do encourage me and remind me where my hope is! I grew up singing this song in church and honestly never thought a whole lot about the lyrics - which appalls me because I would be the first one to tell you how important it is to understand what you are singing about, especially when it comes to offering God acceptable worship! Recently I heard these lyrics set to a new tune and I stopped and contemplated them for the first time.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure: save from wrath and make me pure.

All the labors of my hands could not meet Thy law's demands. Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone...Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked come to Thee for dress, helpless look to Thee for grace; to Thy fountain, Lord, I fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath, when my eyes shall close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy judgement throne: Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.



Now, on a completely different note, I am posting my favorite brownie recipe...because doesn't chocolate make EVERYONE feel good?! These are my mom's, with a couple of small modifications. I made these brownies for my friend Amy T. and the next day she went into labor. They are magic.

Noelle's Double Chocolate Brownies
1 1/2 c flour (can use 1/2 c whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c raw sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c dark chocolate chips

350 oven, greased 8x8 pan. Melt chocolate and butter on stovetop, blend in sugar, then eggs. Add dry ingreds. and chocolate chips all at once. Bake about 23 minutes, or till they have a dull crust. They should still be really ooey-gooey!

The Pool with Friends

A beautiful day to be out at the pool. William was not so terrified this time...he enjoyed some of it!

I'm So Thankful...

...his bloodwork came back normal!

Dinnertime Recitations

A snippet of our dinnertime conversation:

Todd: "Jack and..."
Eleanor: "Jill went up hill to fetch pail of water..."
Todd: "Jack..."
Eleanor: "fell down and broke CROWN!!"
Todd: "And Jill came..."
Eleanor: "tumbling after!"
Todd: "Little...
Eleanor: "Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating curds whey, came big spider and sat down beside her..."
Me: "And frightened Miss Muffet away!"
(And Will yelling for more food!)

And all this from a girl who 3 weeks ago wouldn't say the word "hello"!

"I Want to be at Pool!"

That's what Eleanor is saying this afternoon! This morning we started very basic parent-child swim lessons with Eleanor and Will. Eleanor LOVED the pool and especially jumping in! William, though he loves his bath, HATED the pool and everything associated with it. It was during his naptime, so I am hoping that was the issue! We'll try again next week. The picture with William was taken during the 2 seconds of the 45 minutes that my poor baby was not wailing!

Buy me some Peanuts and Crackerjacks...

...or a Sno-cone! Last night about 150 people from our church went to a minor league baseball game. Eleanor enjoyed her tasty treat along with friend Felicity, and Will enjoyed NOTHING, as you can see in the picture below with Elizabeth!





Speaking of peanuts, Will is our little peanut! He had his 9 month well-baby check-up yesterday and has not grown much in the past 3 months. He is a good eater and developmentally right where he should be...he is just little! The Dr. ordered some bloodwork although she didn't seem too concerned, and I am praying that he is fine and will have a good growth spurt here soon. God knit Will together in my womb, and I am confident He is in control now!

Stay-At-Home Mommies, Check This Out

"Not Her Best" over at Girltalk

Feel Good Friday

Some things I am feelin' good about this week:

*A few consecutive days of health for our family...finally!
*The amazing progress in Eleanor's speech. From not trying to say even single words to talking about EVERYTHING! Saying things like:
"Can I be all done now please Mommy?"
"Eleanor's not hungry"
"Can I have some of that stuff?"
"One sock off, one sock on."
ETC!!
*Will, in spite of his busyness and curiosity (which I LOVE so see), is still a cuddler
*My friend Amanda and her little girl Abigail popped in for a visit this morning. So nice to have some adult company for me, and someone to play with Eleanor and Will!
*Twice, Todd got to come home from work for 2 1/2 hours in the evening before heading back for rehearsals or meetings...longer than usual!
*We have a swamp cooler
*I have the wonderful privilege of being a homemaker

Some Recent Finds

Not too long ago I got to spend a couple of hours at an antique marketplace with my friend Amy. I was pleased with what I came home with!

A 1950's cake plate. I have a couple of beautiful cake stands, but nothing with a lid. I love this!

A cute apron for $2

Blue enamelware pot, which I am keeping my collection of napkins in, handy to grab on the kitchen counter. I also found a little blue enamelware cup for small items on Will's changing table.

I Have Ideas for about 7 Posts Running around in my Head...

...but for now, here are some pictures of our trip to Hazleton, PA. For those who were confused by my last 2 posts with no background, we went back east for my cousin's wedding (Todd and I sang) which was also kind of a family reunion, as weddings often are! We stayed at my aunt and uncle's home, the Vinatiari house, along with hoards of other relatives. We stayed up late, last minute wedding madness you know, and just having a good time. Eleanor and Will adjusted well and were flexible and I enjoyed the change of pace. We were encouraged by all the fellowship we experienced! Three illnesses hit while we were there, Todd and I were touched by one, but E and W stayed healthy. Whew! To read more about our time - from a very HUMOROUS perspective, you can read Polly's posts (she has like 5 of them). Well, here's the good stuff.













Well, I am obviously so occupied taking pictures of my children that I have no good pictured of the bride and groom!! Or of many of my dear relatives! Once again, I direct you to Polly's blog.

Let Freedom Ring!

Cousin Annie's wedding is tomorrow. We have had a busy, wonderful time at the V's house. Eleanor and Will are having fun and sleeping well, I'll post more about our time later, but for now I have to say two things:

1.) Eleanor has had a LANGUAGE EXPLOSION!!!! She is talking in phrases and sentences, saying new words every 3 minutes. We are having so, so much fun!!

2.) We just finished standing on the sidewalk, watching fireworks. In the words of my sister, "Let freedom ring, from Hazleton and beyond!" Happy 4th, everyone!

A Debaucle of a Day.

Our big trip to PA began this past Wednesday. Monday we seemed back to health, finally, after 2 weeks of illness. UNTIL Will began throwing up Tuesday morning. But he slept well after throwing up the last time around 9 p.m., and we decided to head to the airport first thing in the morning. At check in we were informed that Eleanor was on the TSA WATCHLIST and that we would have to wait in another line to get her checked in. Eleanor on a WATCHLIST?? What are they thinking, deadly weapons in her Hello Kitty underwear?! Anyway, we waited in the other line, only to be told that we actually had to go all the way to the gate to check in our little would-be criminal. And at the gate they told us that they had NO SEAT for her! What happened to that seat we (my parents) paid big bucks for, I ask you that? They asked for a volunteer to stay behind. And they asked, and asked, and asked...until just about everyone had boarded the plane. So my own dad had to stay behind and get a late night flight into Philly. By this time there were no seats all together on the plane, so we all split up....Todd and Eleanor, my grandparents, my mom, and Will and I. We got into Philly on time (3:30 p.m.) but could not pick up one of our rental cars because it was in my Dad's name and apparently my mother could have been an imposter. After 3 hours of haggling, pleading, crying, trying to rent other cars, ETC, we crammed everyone but my mom (who stayed in the airport until my dad flew in at 11:00) into one car. After a 2 hour drive made longer because of a dinner stop, a baby food stop, multiple potty stops, and an oops-we-went-the-wrong-way stop, we arrived at my uncle and aunt's house. Actually, almost. We got pulled over first for running a stop sign (it sure looked like a merge) and speeding (Todd is not usually a maniac driver, but it was a long day...). And THE COP HAD MERCY. We got to Hazleton and took a 30 minute late-night tour as my grandparents directed us in an attempt to find the right house. And eventually, it worked! We stumbled in and got the kiddos -who had really been troopers - tucked in at 11 pm. Dad and Mom arived at 2 am. It was a debaucle of a day, but I have to say, it really wasn't that bad.