Aubrey has always been an observant child, and she just gets more and more observant. Which I am glad about, but it leads to difficult conversations.
Our grocery store prints coupons and ads on the back of their receipts. They also print missing person notices. One specific notice, actually. We've seen it a few times. Anyway, she reads all the fine print, and knows that the lady and little girl pictured are the same person. That she disappeared when she was almost 3. In 1983. So she plans on cutting my receipt apart and putting up this little missing person notice on the fridge, so that if we see her, we'll know it and be able to help her.
"Why did she disappear, mom?"
"Where were her parents when she disappeared?"
"Is she a burglar now?"
"The man who took her, is he going to hurt her?"
"If we find her, can she stay with us for a few days?"
"Who put the ad on the receipt?"
"Who is looking for her?"
"Can we help look for her?"
"What if she's forgotten where she lived?"
Fortunately we were able to completely avoid the possibility that this woman died (or was killed) long ago.
Also, earlier in the day, she asked what happens if a woman is pregnant but doesn't want to be pregnant. I just replied with, "That's a conversation for when you are older, honey."
And, we talked an awful lot about people who need to use food pantries. She recognized that we have a lot of money, so we should help people who don't. So we're trying to remember to buy a few items for the pantry every time we go to the store. She wants to deliver them to the pantry herself, so we'll seek out the pantry soon (we usually drop stuff off in the basket at church).
As difficult as it is to have these conversations with my 7 year old, it's incredibly rewarding, too.
And then she'll just bust out with the most random goofiness. The Simpson's episode tonight was talking about being an American, freedom, all that stuff, so she wrote me a note:
"I wish we had freedum. Cat food too."
That's a note that will be up on my fridge for years to come, I suspect.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Making house
For the past 6 months or so, my back has been so sensitive due to this pregnancy, that I have not been able to sleep in my own bed. Our mattress had been really worn out for quite awhlie, but a new king size mattress is a bit of an investment, so we'd been putting off replacing it for way too long. Well, we couldn't put it off any more, and I am happy to report that I feel like royalty sleeping in our new bed. It's firm, but oh-so-cushiony. Just a dream, I tell you. Plus, it's kind of nice to be sleeping next to my husband again!
~~~
This new home of ours doesn't have one square foot of carpeting - something I am happily adjusting to (the cats, on the other hand, seek out my one braided rug when they need to puke - I guess they can't stomach puking on tile). So, since we have a house full of tile and hardwood, we thought we should have a steam mop. Get the floors super clean (sanitized) with only water. I read about the Eureka Enviro-Steamer (EES) and was in love, but the EES is hard to find, so after seeing commercials (or infomercials or QVC - I forget), we thought we'd give the Shark a try. They brag about how lightweight it is, and when you watch the commercial, it pushes along the floor so easily, just working miracles. Umm, no. The Shark sucked. It's almost too lightweight to push along the floor, there's no actual on/off button, you need to manually push the handle down to release hot water onto the pad, the cap needed to be turned a certain way in order to allow the water to steam properly - neither Andy nor I could get it to turn appropriately and, well, it just plain sucked. Sure, it cleaned the girls' bathroom floor, but I could've done a better job on my hands and knees in less than a quarter of the time - all the back and forth over the same spot, pushing the dang thing into the floor.
So, I immediately returned the Shark and sought to order the EES. It arrived yesterday, and I might be in love. It's much heavier than the Shark, but not heavy (make sense?). It actually has an on/off switch. A tray to set it on while it warms and cools, to protect your floors (no tray in sight with the Shark). Sturdy clips that hold the pad in place (the Shark uses velcro, and while I didn't have a problem with it, these clips seem a bit sturdier than velcro AND should something happen to my EES pads, I could easily grab an old hand towel or rag and make due with the clips). A light that comes on to alert you to add more water. Awesome swivel action on a squared unit - great for corners. Still takes longer to cleam the floors then if I just got on my hands and knees, but let's face facts - I will not be cleaning floors on my hands and knees, and if some strange Martha Stewart-like being chose to dwell inside my body for long enough to intice me to in fact get on my hands and knees, I wouldn't be sanitizing the floor while cleaning it. Andy would like me to add that if I were to get on my knees, it wouldn't be to clean the floor. ;-)
It still doesn't push like a regular mop, which makes complete sense - it's not a regular mop, I just figured it would based on the Shark commercials I'd seen. Silly me, I know. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Shark and the EES are comparable in price - the Shark $10 more, but then we paid shipping to get the EES here.
~~~
Tomorrow we're off to IKEA to get some stuff for the girls' rooms. To make them, you know, girly. And put-together. They have never had 'put-together' rooms, it's always been a mish-mash of hand-me-down shelves, ancient dressers, plastic toy buckets and mattresses on the floor. I cannot wait. Though IKEA on a Saturday will be crazy, but we'll remember that going in, and eat a big breakfast, carry water bottles with us, and overdose on our Patient Pills. This nesting phase is coinciding nicely with this move, and I'm nesting in the whole house.
~~~
Oh, and we just had our first tile floor-meets-glass casualty. Wow, shattered glass can fly across a tile floor lilke nothing else! Mental note: start using the Pyrex bowls instead of the Williams-Sonoma ones - Pyrex practically bounces on tile (ask me how I know).
~~~
This new home of ours doesn't have one square foot of carpeting - something I am happily adjusting to (the cats, on the other hand, seek out my one braided rug when they need to puke - I guess they can't stomach puking on tile). So, since we have a house full of tile and hardwood, we thought we should have a steam mop. Get the floors super clean (sanitized) with only water. I read about the Eureka Enviro-Steamer (EES) and was in love, but the EES is hard to find, so after seeing commercials (or infomercials or QVC - I forget), we thought we'd give the Shark a try. They brag about how lightweight it is, and when you watch the commercial, it pushes along the floor so easily, just working miracles. Umm, no. The Shark sucked. It's almost too lightweight to push along the floor, there's no actual on/off button, you need to manually push the handle down to release hot water onto the pad, the cap needed to be turned a certain way in order to allow the water to steam properly - neither Andy nor I could get it to turn appropriately and, well, it just plain sucked. Sure, it cleaned the girls' bathroom floor, but I could've done a better job on my hands and knees in less than a quarter of the time - all the back and forth over the same spot, pushing the dang thing into the floor.
So, I immediately returned the Shark and sought to order the EES. It arrived yesterday, and I might be in love. It's much heavier than the Shark, but not heavy (make sense?). It actually has an on/off switch. A tray to set it on while it warms and cools, to protect your floors (no tray in sight with the Shark). Sturdy clips that hold the pad in place (the Shark uses velcro, and while I didn't have a problem with it, these clips seem a bit sturdier than velcro AND should something happen to my EES pads, I could easily grab an old hand towel or rag and make due with the clips). A light that comes on to alert you to add more water. Awesome swivel action on a squared unit - great for corners. Still takes longer to cleam the floors then if I just got on my hands and knees, but let's face facts - I will not be cleaning floors on my hands and knees, and if some strange Martha Stewart-like being chose to dwell inside my body for long enough to intice me to in fact get on my hands and knees, I wouldn't be sanitizing the floor while cleaning it. Andy would like me to add that if I were to get on my knees, it wouldn't be to clean the floor. ;-)
It still doesn't push like a regular mop, which makes complete sense - it's not a regular mop, I just figured it would based on the Shark commercials I'd seen. Silly me, I know. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Shark and the EES are comparable in price - the Shark $10 more, but then we paid shipping to get the EES here.
~~~
Tomorrow we're off to IKEA to get some stuff for the girls' rooms. To make them, you know, girly. And put-together. They have never had 'put-together' rooms, it's always been a mish-mash of hand-me-down shelves, ancient dressers, plastic toy buckets and mattresses on the floor. I cannot wait. Though IKEA on a Saturday will be crazy, but we'll remember that going in, and eat a big breakfast, carry water bottles with us, and overdose on our Patient Pills. This nesting phase is coinciding nicely with this move, and I'm nesting in the whole house.
~~~
Oh, and we just had our first tile floor-meets-glass casualty. Wow, shattered glass can fly across a tile floor lilke nothing else! Mental note: start using the Pyrex bowls instead of the Williams-Sonoma ones - Pyrex practically bounces on tile (ask me how I know).
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
For April. :-)
Since you asked..... at 35 weeks
And, the baby's corner - I LOVE her moses basket. :-)
And, last week we went to Austin - here's the Capitol - definitely built to impress (or intimidate!) visitors. We did not go inside, but we picnicked on the huge lawn, and fed the friendly birds and squirrels. Oh, ands some of us did a great deal of running and a little screeching, too.
And, the baby's corner - I LOVE her moses basket. :-)
And, last week we went to Austin - here's the Capitol - definitely built to impress (or intimidate!) visitors. We did not go inside, but we picnicked on the huge lawn, and fed the friendly birds and squirrels. Oh, ands some of us did a great deal of running and a little screeching, too.Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I'm finally beginning to feel normal. Well, as normal as I can feel at 35 weeks pregnant, but still, we are getting settled.
All that's left to unpack are the pictures to hang on the wall, and other things like that. And, I'm kind of ready to look at new pictures, so we'll probably just gradually put pictures up as we take new ones. A few favorites will go up, but I'm not in a hurry.
I've been nesting, and also been uncomfortable enough that I'm not nearly as patient or as kind as I normally am. I feel bad that my patience is so low with the girls, but it seems beyond my control. My midwife is really nice, we're getting all ready for baby's birth. The girls each picked some flannel and we made a blanket. We've yet to decide on a name, which is really odd for us. Both Andy and I like to have things sorted out ahead of time, but I have a feeling this little one wants to help pick her own name - or at least make her appearance before we figure it out! The girls and I spent some quality time on youtube today watching birth videos - I'm feeling much better now that Lauren kind of knows what to expect. Though now I'm worried about how much she will share her new knowledge with others. :-)
We're making new friends, getting to know some neighbors, and admiring the local wildlife (along with all the deer we see, there are some ostriches that live just a ways away - they often are at their fence line when we drive by). And, we stay inside from about 11am to about 4pm most days - it's just too hot to be outside for long during the middle of the day. Lots of reading and a good combination of redbox and netflix in the afternoons!
Now I'll try to resume some blogging normalcy - we'll see how I do!
All that's left to unpack are the pictures to hang on the wall, and other things like that. And, I'm kind of ready to look at new pictures, so we'll probably just gradually put pictures up as we take new ones. A few favorites will go up, but I'm not in a hurry.
I've been nesting, and also been uncomfortable enough that I'm not nearly as patient or as kind as I normally am. I feel bad that my patience is so low with the girls, but it seems beyond my control. My midwife is really nice, we're getting all ready for baby's birth. The girls each picked some flannel and we made a blanket. We've yet to decide on a name, which is really odd for us. Both Andy and I like to have things sorted out ahead of time, but I have a feeling this little one wants to help pick her own name - or at least make her appearance before we figure it out! The girls and I spent some quality time on youtube today watching birth videos - I'm feeling much better now that Lauren kind of knows what to expect. Though now I'm worried about how much she will share her new knowledge with others. :-)
We're making new friends, getting to know some neighbors, and admiring the local wildlife (along with all the deer we see, there are some ostriches that live just a ways away - they often are at their fence line when we drive by). And, we stay inside from about 11am to about 4pm most days - it's just too hot to be outside for long during the middle of the day. Lots of reading and a good combination of redbox and netflix in the afternoons!
Now I'll try to resume some blogging normalcy - we'll see how I do!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
the past month - in pictures - and in reverse order
Aubrey's 7th birthday today - she's getting so big!
My sister is back in the states after living in Prague for 4 years - here's the Welcome Wagon at the airport.
At the botanical gardens in ABQ.
The hole Andy's foo tmade in our n ew ceiling as he was trying to diagnose a/c problems (because central Texas during a June heatwave STINKS!).
The neighborhood deer - they love to be petted, but we don't do it often - deer ticks and all that fun stuff! We do feed them each evening, though. They'll eat right out of your hands.
At the botanical gardens in ABQ.
The hole Andy's foo tmade in our n ew ceiling as he was trying to diagnose a/c problems (because central Texas during a June heatwave STINKS!).
The neighborhood deer - they love to be petted, but we don't do it often - deer ticks and all that fun stuff! We do feed them each evening, though. They'll eat right out of your hands.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Our buns
I firmly believe things happen for a reason. So, when, shortly after the bunny population grew dramatically at our house, my father-in-law said he wanted them and I thought that'd be great. We couldn't keep 6 bunnies, but they were all so happy together, the thought of seperating them was very sad. His plan seemed perfect, so I only rehomed the baby boy bunny (and I hear he loves his family and they love him!), and kept the 3 baby girls, mom and dad so they could go live with him in New Mexico.
About 2 weeks ago I discovered that maybe my father-in-law's offer had been made too quickly, and that he was still going to take the bunnies, but he didn't really want to. I had asked that he still take them and keep them until we'd been to visit at least once, and that was fine. Until we went to Green Meadows Petting Farm. Our guide was Farmer Mavis, the owner. You can tell how much she loves all the animals there, just listening to her talk about them. As we entered her Small Animal House, I suddenly had a thought. So, I talked with Mavis, and we decided that our bunny family might really enjoy living at Green Meadows. We took them yesterday, and they seem to love it there! We miss them, but they get to live together as a family, and will get loads of attention and love.
So, all that to say, I am so glad my father-in-law said he'd home the buns - they got to stay together until we happened upon the perfect home for them! :-) And, for any Wisconsinites - when you make a trip to Green Meadows, give Honey, Binky, Lilly, Lucy and Opal some love from us!
About 2 weeks ago I discovered that maybe my father-in-law's offer had been made too quickly, and that he was still going to take the bunnies, but he didn't really want to. I had asked that he still take them and keep them until we'd been to visit at least once, and that was fine. Until we went to Green Meadows Petting Farm. Our guide was Farmer Mavis, the owner. You can tell how much she loves all the animals there, just listening to her talk about them. As we entered her Small Animal House, I suddenly had a thought. So, I talked with Mavis, and we decided that our bunny family might really enjoy living at Green Meadows. We took them yesterday, and they seem to love it there! We miss them, but they get to live together as a family, and will get loads of attention and love.
So, all that to say, I am so glad my father-in-law said he'd home the buns - they got to stay together until we happened upon the perfect home for them! :-) And, for any Wisconsinites - when you make a trip to Green Meadows, give Honey, Binky, Lilly, Lucy and Opal some love from us!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Checking in
In the midst of packing everything up, I'm sneaking some net time at my friend's house. I'll try to post some pictures of our last days in Wisconsin soon.
I'm shedding tears at the most random of times, and then I'm fine when I see my dear friend's tear-stained cheeks, and I know my moving is the reason. I think it's a form of self-preservation. I cannot break down with my friends at this point. By myself I can do it a dozen times a day.
We're living off convenience foods right now, so Lauren decided yesterday that her poop was going to be a pop-tart poop. Immediately after Lauren's decision, I decided that as soon as we can get back into a routine of actually cooking, pop-tarts are banished.
Aubrey doesn't seem very sad at all. Maybe this afternoon when I pick her up from her last day of school. She does hope that her friend K isn't lonely at recess next year, with no one to play with. When she said that, I lost it. She didn't notice.
Sunday is the laying on of hands and service of godspeed for our family. Our church does this when people leave. I'm looking forward to it, it's such a powerful, God-filled time. Oh, but it's gonna be sad. This is the only church home I've ever really had. Andy, Aubrey and Lauren were all baptized there. Met one of my bestest friends there, and countless other friends who will be sorely missed. So many wonderful opportunities for our family have sprung from our church.
We'll actually get on the road Father's Day. My mother-in-law will be in the car with the girls and me. She's a saint. I don't think I can drive out of Wisconsin by myself. (Andy will be driving the moving truck, his dad and brother caravaning along, too.)
I'm shedding tears at the most random of times, and then I'm fine when I see my dear friend's tear-stained cheeks, and I know my moving is the reason. I think it's a form of self-preservation. I cannot break down with my friends at this point. By myself I can do it a dozen times a day.
We're living off convenience foods right now, so Lauren decided yesterday that her poop was going to be a pop-tart poop. Immediately after Lauren's decision, I decided that as soon as we can get back into a routine of actually cooking, pop-tarts are banished.
Aubrey doesn't seem very sad at all. Maybe this afternoon when I pick her up from her last day of school. She does hope that her friend K isn't lonely at recess next year, with no one to play with. When she said that, I lost it. She didn't notice.
Sunday is the laying on of hands and service of godspeed for our family. Our church does this when people leave. I'm looking forward to it, it's such a powerful, God-filled time. Oh, but it's gonna be sad. This is the only church home I've ever really had. Andy, Aubrey and Lauren were all baptized there. Met one of my bestest friends there, and countless other friends who will be sorely missed. So many wonderful opportunities for our family have sprung from our church.
We'll actually get on the road Father's Day. My mother-in-law will be in the car with the girls and me. She's a saint. I don't think I can drive out of Wisconsin by myself. (Andy will be driving the moving truck, his dad and brother caravaning along, too.)
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