The Heights and The Depths.

Lent for Little Ones

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:22:00 +0000

The season of Lent is upon us! Well, almost. For our Eastern Orthodox friends, Lent begins today, but for the Western church, it will begin with Ash Wednesday - this Wednesday!

As MCM and LCM get older, I am trying to incorporate the seasons of the church year into our home life as much as possible. My desire is that we would lead a seamless life - all permeated by the presence of Christ and the life of the church. I want to create as many opportunities as possible to imitate the life of Christ in our home, so that there is no separation between what we find and feel at church and what we find and feel at home - the domestic church. Lent is one of those seasons where we have the opportunity to make the Gospel come alive for our children, and I want to take full advantage of it!

That being said, this is our first year to really observe Lent as a family, so this is all new to me. I always love hearing what other families are doing in their home to teach their children, so I thought I'd share some links to the many wonderful ideas I'll be copying for my girls this season. :)

First, we're going to bury the Alleluia. MCM and I made a sign almost exactly like the one this link leads you to, and we hung it over the fireplace. Tomorrow (Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday) we'll "bury" it somewhere in the house and pull it out again on Easter morning.

Wednesday we'll go to the Ash Wednesday service at church. I've done my best to explain what this service means to MCM, but I'm sure she'll understand it better on Wednesday. I think this link has some wonderful ideas/crafts for how to teach kids about Ash Wednesday/Lent.

I also printed these Lenten calendars for kids, and we made a purple (the liturgical color of Lent, the color of kings, royalty) cross similar to this one:

We'll use this to display our calendars and remind the littles what this season is all about.

I'm also going to make a Jesus Tree for the girls following the designs on this blog:

I'm doing ours on blue poster board and making felt ornaments for the "tree". If you're not feeling crafty, this sweet mom has 40 daily scripture readings to do with your little ones that all focus on the life of Christ. Simply doing that would be wonderful!

We also have a little jar, which bears the label "Give", in which we'll be putting all of our change and extra money from not eating out (or buying/baking sweets, which she'll be fasting from), so that MCM can learn a bit about almsgiving. At the end of Lent she says she'd like to give her money to the church. She already emptied her piggy bank and filled the jar halfway. :)

I'll also be pulling these out during Holy Week:

I bought these simple, little eggs last year at Hobby Lobby. Each one contains an item pertaining to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The child opens each egg and you share with them the Gospel story. I didn't know if MCM would understand what I was telling her last year (she was only 2 1/2), but I couldn't believe how seeing and holding these symbols made the story come alive for her. Be careful with small children though, because this is definitely a choking hazard.

I have my work cut out for me in the craft department, but it is such a help that there are creative mothers out there posting ideas for the rest of us. May you all have a blessed and fruitful Lent!

"We read to know we're not alone."

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Ah, yes, the old quote from Clive Staples Lewis. If that is so, I must have felt quite alone in 2010. It should have been called "The Year of Shamlessly Not Reading". Honestly, I look next to my bedside table where all my books are stacked. (Only MCM has a bookshelf. I stack, and Leland throws his paperbacks under the bed. Hahaha. No, seriously.) Many lovely books, and maybe 2-3 read last year? I think having 2 children sapped me of the ability to concentrate on anything longer than a half hour reality show. I could literally feel my brain atrophy.

Thus, I have taken upon myself the devote this year to reading. The goal, as you can see on the side bar of this blog, is a book a week. I am a fast reader. I also have the gift of wasting time. I figure if my time wasting can be replaced by reading, a book a week will be nothing. So far, I've been meeting my goal. It's been so much fun. Nerd fun.

If you're on Goodreads, lets be friends. You can see what I'm reading, and eventually I'll review some books here as well. I'm focusing on fiction, because my tendency is to get started on non-fiction rabbit trails that eventually cause reader burn-out. However, I've already begun venturing off the fiction path into the world of biographies and, of course, theology. Here's to trying to stay the course. If you have anything to recommend, let me know!

Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I'm calling this soup "lazy" because it doesn't involve making your own chicken broth. If you have a freezer full of the stuff, yay you! But, I'm not quite there yet. Still, this soup is delicious, and I've been making it about once a week since the temperature dropped below 50 degrees. Actually, we're having it for dinner tonight. Enjoy!

Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup

8 cups chicken broth
1cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 clove minced garlic
2-3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup uncooked broad egg noodles (I use a whole cup)
1 teaspoon snipped fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1-2 tablespoons snipped parsley

In a 6-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, combine chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. (Until vegetables are soft) Add chicken, tomatoes, noodles, basil, pepper, and thyme. Simmer about 8 minutes more or until noodles are tender. (May have to bring to boiling again) Garnish with parsley and serve with good, crunchy bread!

Is Preschool Necessary?

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:49:00 +0000

I googled that just the other day.

Do you know how many parents are asking that very question? Apparently LOTS. There are an assortment of answers to be found too. From, "Kids who go to preschool are 10 times smarter than their peers." To, "What is the point of being a stay-at-home Mom if you're just going to farm your kids' early education out to paid teachers?" My favorite was someone who said, "Everyone knows that the more time children are surrounded by other children, the smarter they will be." That just struck me funny, because, really? Are 3-year-0lds teaching each other their ABC's?

MCM started preschool in the fall. We're blessed to be able to send her to a precious Christian school. The teachers are loving, patient and clearly enjoy teaching little ones. The environment is fun, non-threatening, and positive. However, from the moment we got the call that they had a spot open for her, I've had major hesitations about whether or not I want to send her off 3 mornings a week. (The issue of waiting lists and the difficulty of finding a good preschool is for another post, I guess!) The time we have with our children is limited. If we send them to school at age 5, that's only 4 full years of time at home with Mom. It pains me to offer up any of this time, even when I know the exchange is a positive one in many ways.

Despite my hesitations, we started MCM to school. It was very exciting for her at first, although she had trouble understanding that it wasn't just a one-time thing. "Nope, you get to go every MWF all year long!" She never cried or had a hard time being dropped off. But, for a few weeks, every time I picked her up, she would come up to me, cross her little arms and put on her best pouting face. When I got her into the car, she wouldn't want to talk about anything they'd done at school. She didn't want to talk at all. She just wanted to zone out from exhaustion. We'd get home, have a snack, a nap, and even afterward, she'd be tired still. I couldn't figure out if she was having a hard time or if she was just worn out. I mentioned it to her teachers, and they couldn't believe she'd been acting strange at all, because she was perfectly happy at school. After a while, this seemed to clear up a bit. So, I powered on. For the most part, I'd say it's been a really good experience for her. Still, I struggle with it.

Last week we had parent teacher conferences at school. MCM's teachers had nothing but sweet things to say about MCM. It encouraged us to hear that she is kind, respectful, sweet and obedient. I shared some of my concerns with her teachers, the main one being that I know MCM is doing okay in school, but I often wonder if I'm not getting the best of her at home. At home she's tired, just wants to "snuggleonthecouchwithwarmmilkandsnuggieandablanketandamovie". (That's one word for her.) When the time comes for me to try to teach her or do something constructive, she's not so interested. She's done with structure and wants to play or relax. What I found interesting is that her teachers didn't argue with me in any way. They didn't make a case for the wonders of preschool. They just said it's a decision every parent has to make. Well, boo. I would've almost preferred thy chastise me for even thinking of trying to keep her home!

We all want our children to get the very best start educationally, socially, spiritually. We want them to learn, make friends, and most importantly, know how deeply God loves them. For some of us, this comes very naturally within the home. I see this especially with friends who are teachers by vocation. They have a well of creativity and usually a well-stocked craft drawer or room to help them. They are the ones who teach as they play, have a structured home environment and usually a structured routine for older ones that incorporates "school time" into the average day. (Come to think of it, maybe I've only read about these Moms on blogs.)

For some of us (myself included), this does not come as naturally. However, my desire teach and inspire my children is usually large enough to overpower my general lack of creativity, and I'm really excellent at copying someone's creative ideas. I'm learning, but I see with MCM she's not as willing to learn from me as she is from someone else. I see that school has helped her take pride in her growing capability and independence. I see that she loves her friends and teachers. Sure, if you ask her, she'll say she'd rather stay home with Mommy and Lucy. But, in the next breath she might say she misses her friends at school. It's just that time of her life - and mine - where a little independence is good...but it's also scary. Neither of us are ready to let go of each other for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. But, for now...this is okay.

Not sure why I'm delving into all this. I would like to post about some of the little things we're doing at home to learn spiritually and educationally. It's nothing impressive, but it's a start for Moms who, like me, are learning as you go.

Christmas 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Happy Sisters on Christmas morning!

White Christmas in Alabama - a first? Me: SoVeryTired. MCM: InKidHeaven. This is just before we explored all hills and empty lots in the back of the neighborhood. COLD!! We froze our fannies off!

Showing us her sock gloves. That's right, we didn't own gloves until last week. Oops!

Thawing out after our outdoor adventure.

Sweet family on Christmas Eve. Girls in their Christmas pj's.

Now that it's taken me and hour to upload the pictures I wanted, and they're STILL not in the order I wanted, I have run out of patience for Blogger. Does anyone else think loading pictures on here is a complete pain? Christmas was great. I'm glad it's over. The end.

One tidbit: I baked a lot of cookies this year. Partly because I LOVE sweets. Partly because MCM is a wonderful kitchen helper. She loves to force me to wear an apron every time I cook, and she puts on her apron and one on Lucy, and we go to town. Also, the reward of licking spoons or beaters covered in sugar, butter, and chocolate is apparently quite motivating. This year our FAVORITE cookies were these chocolate cream-filled cookies from Paula Deen's Christmas cookbook - they are in a word: incredible. Think homemade Oreos that are big, soft, chewy, and delicious. At our house they've been dubbed "Santa Cookies" as they were the ones we left out for Santa on Christmas Eve. They will be a tradition. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Two 18.5-ounce packages of devil's food cake mix

4 Eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup vegetable oil

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, sofened

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, and oil. Beat with an electric mixer and low speed until completely combined. The batter will be very stiff. Pinch off pieces of batter and roll into 1-inch balls. (This is the part that kids like! Eat a little, roll a little y'know!) Place 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets and flatten slightly with fingertips. Bake 8-10 minutes, until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Remove immediately from the cookie sheets with a spatula and cool on wire racks.

3. In a small glass mixing bowl, combine the cream chees and butter until completely blended. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla and mix at low speed until the icing is smooth. Spread icing on half the cookies and top with the remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator in large resealable plastic bags.

**This makes about 4 dozen, so half it if you're not trying to make enough to give away!

Christmas Weddings

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:31:00 +0000

At the wedding rehearsal. MCM tired but trying to hang in there.

Sweet family. MCM hoping pictures will end soon.

Happy couple!

At Caitlin's beautiful wedding. Pictured here: a groomsman, a bridesmaid, and two precious flower girls!

Even though it's mid-January, I'll regale you with a few tales of Christmas past. This one is about a whirlwind of a wedding - My dear sister-in-law Caitlin's to be exact. It was the week before Christmas - beautiful, festive and fun.

I'll start with pre-wedding sickies:

It started with both girls getting a cold. You know the drill - runny nose like a faucet, low-grade fever, general unhappiness. This lasted for five solid days. Then, MCM showed signs of serious sickness - high fever, lethargy, sore throat, etc. When MCM gets seriously ill she gets this wild look in her eye - hard to describe - but I can recognize it, usually before the sickness sets in. I just see it stirring deep within her! Anywho, turned out it was the flu. The next day Leland came home from work. He had it too. Then it struck me. I kid you not, it came in the night in the form of aches, sudden heat and then chills. I could've sworn death was upon me. I was picturing myself being rolled away on a gurney with my children crying at my side...but it was just the flu. Then Lucy showed all the symptoms. She tested negative twice. Still, she didn't get better, and honestly, neither did MCM. We missed the last week or two of pre-school, and somewhere in there visited the pediatrician about 5 times. The last time (the day we were to leave for Cait's wedding) we found that Lucy had severe ear infections in both ears. Dern those stinkin' ear infections. As if your child having evil fever viruses isn't enough, they usually get capped off by a lingering ear infection. When are they going to start selling self-diagnosis sets over the counter for Moms?

Back to the subject at hand: we went to the weekend of wedding festivities, which was a lot of fun. The girls loved being at Ellie's house and seeing Caitlin's gorgeous wedding dress (Gorgeous ivory lace, cap sleeves, sweetheart neck, fitted with a soft bell at the bottom, keyhole back and a short train. Perfect for Caitlin!) and flowers (which she arranged herself - I wish I had pictures! White, full hydrangeas with white roses, euycalyptus and some sort of berries that which added the perfect bit of color.). Lucy was still pretty crummy, so she missed the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. MCM felt quite grown up being a part of things all by herself. On the wedding day, both girls handled pictures and waiting around like champs. Well, Lucy was a bit on the fussy side. We practically had to wrestle her to the ground to dress her. By the time we were lining up to walk down the aisle, she was in the hallway crying - so ready for a nap. I was sent down the aisle, and the girls weren't too far behind. At the final moment, Lucy rallied! She held MCM's hand and smiled so proudly. A sweet memory! Caitlin was an absolutely stunning bride, and everything was beautiful.

**Random side note:

While we were getting ready at the church, Leland crushed his hand in a folding chair. It was cut deeply and began bleeding profusely. Not only did it hurt like the dickens, but Leland hates the sight of blood and turned white as a sheet! Thankfully, he had the help of his sweet Aunt Emily, who wrapped his finger up tightly in hopes that he could make it through the wedding before having to figure out how badly his finger was cut. At the reception, a friend who is a doctor told him he needed to visit the emergency room right away. So, that's where we went after the wedding! Many thanks to the Vanderbuilt University ER doctors who honestly were the fastest we've ever seen. No stitches, just a bad crush and a good story!

Revival.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:19:00 +0000

My how she's grown!

We're all still alive and kickin'!

Typical interaction between two very silly girls.

Minnie Mouse! (And the pumpkin who hung around almost until Thanksgiving. Ew.)

Cinderella! SO excited to be trick-or-treating!

Sweet MCM. Notice the bruise on her forehead. MASSIVE bruise from a head butt earlier in the week.

Well, it seems I've taken quite a hiatus from the blog world. Life. It gets busy. Sometimes there simply isn't time to process everything that is happening (good and bad) - not on a blog, not in real life. I just needed to take a good, long break. I think I'm ready to return. However, I make no promises, no vows. I just kinda want to share some stuff...life...the littles...what's happening.

So, above you see my two girls. Precious blessings. MCM is 3 1/2. LCM is 18 months, almost 19. The time has FLOWN, although at times it has not been easy. I am currently reaping the rewards of having 2 children close together in age. They are best buds. I mean, they truly love each other, and it is precious to watch. They are quite different.

MCM is high-energy, active, super talkative and interactive (as in, "play WIT me, mommy!!"). She's occasionally a bit obsessive-comlpulsive, loves routines, loves people, hates change, and is a go-getter. She's also very sensitive, caring, helpful, and often acts like a little adult. I know it sounds strange, but I would actually describe her as responsible. I know 99% of the time I can count on her to do what I ask in regards to helping, taking care of LCM, etc. She's pretty great. She is still a very particular kind of eater, still precarious when it comes to sleep, and loves to go, go, go.

LCM is chilled out, go-with-the-flow, highly independent, loves people, a goof-ball with a great sense of humor - especially for a baby. She's always trying to make us laugh and is quick to get hysterical over things. (For example, during nap time today, she stuck her hand down her dirty diaper, pulled out some poop and threw it on the floor...she thought it was quite hysterical when I saw it and shared with her that she smelled like poopie. Oh, Lulu...) She can entertain herself for long periods of time - to the point that I have to go to her and say, "Lulu, don't you want Mommy to play with you??" She just loves tinkering with things, figuring out how they work and exploring on her own. She is very emotional, sensitive, and sweet, just like big sis.

Honestly, I feel so blessed by these girls. MCM told me the other day (very emphatically) that she doesn't want to grow up. She doesn't want to go out and be alone in the world. I told her she would never be alone, because Jesus is with her. And, she can always come home to Mommy and Daddy anytime she wants. I just hope growing up doesn't happen any time soon.

A few pictures...

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:23:00 +0000

I uploaded these pictures a week ago, and it's taken me a full week to type a few words and hit "publish post". That's one of many examples of my severe lack of motivation right now. There are soooo many things I want to do, but lately I just don't have the will. It's a daily battle.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of our little snowbirds. We had a fabulous snow for the city of Birmingham almost two weeks ago. Daddy got to stay home from work, and we had a nice few days holed up at the homestead together. The following weekend temperatures reached almost 70 degrees. Go figure. It's one of the small pleasures of southern living. It might be frigid today, but there's always the hope that things could be looking up dramatically tomorrow. Let's hope so, since it was 18 degrees here this morning!

Lucy Laughing

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:11:00 +0000

Lucy and I visited with Aunt KK this morning, and Lucy thought KK's dog, Ginger, was pretty hilarious. Enjoy!

We made it.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:26:00 +0000

1...2...3...JUMP!

Into a big bunch of pillows.

Things are looking up around here. The girls are better, and now we're just trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. MCM has been wearing these pj's a lot...as in, we've been having A LOT of pj days. Getting this child out of pj's is tough lately. She wants to be comfy, and I totally get that. These are her favorite - dogs in Santa hats all over them. They're actually from the boys department at Target. The girls version had kittens, and she's really more of a dog lover, you know.

The Beeb is working a lot. We are SO glad for the weekends when he's home. I'm trying to get motivated to do anything around my house besides cook meals, clean up, and prepare for the next meal. Sometimes all I can do is control the mess - keep it from growing too overwhelming rather than actually cleaning the place from top to bottom. Do you ever get that way? Lucy is waking up every three hours at night (teething? ear infection? who knows.), beginning to feed herself finger foods and LOVING IT and enjoying baths in the big tub with her sister.

So, January, we've almost conquered you. Here's to February...one of my favorite months...when we are looking forward to finding out the gender of KK's baby, having visits from dear friends, the season premiere of LOST, Valentine's day, and last but not least, Step-Sing!

Sick, sick, siiiiiiiiiiick!

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:51:00 +0000

These were actually taken days before Lucy came down with the dreaded double ear infection. It was probably festering, and I didn't even realize it. Both girls have double ear infections. MCM seems to be getting better, but Lucy is oh-so-sick-and-miserable. She's been a pretty sweet girl despite the fact that snot, drool, and tears seem to be pouring out of her face constantly. We have been essentially confined within the four walls of our home since last Thursday, and we are all stir crazy. Please pray for our gals to get better soon!

Ah weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:09:00 +0000

We're not seeing a lot of this around here...

Or even this...

But there's a whole lot of this. "Mama, I'm siiiiiiiiiiick! My nose is wunning! I'm coughing!"
MCM is sick and wants to be sure everyone knows. She is very miserable, and we're hoping she'll be "all better" soon.

Backtracking

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:18:00 +0000

We had a great Christmas. I feel like I'm just now having time to sit down and reflect upon it. Things have been busy, as usual, and now it's...mid-January? Wow. Anyway, I have a wonderful family, including my sweet mother-in-law Ellie and my angel of a sister-in-law, Caitlin. We have started a new tradition (in it's second year) of hosting everyone here on the little circle in which my sister and I live. I highly recommend living down the street from your sister. Not only does it give everyone a free place to stay, it's like having extra refrigerators and ovens that you don't actually have to pay for! Believe me, we needed them. My husband has adopted trips to Costco as his husbandly duty lately, and there is quite a bit of excess as a result. (picture large amounts of bacon, sausage, and bulk chips and dips - love you, beeb!)

Anyway, we SO enjoy having everyone here. MCM and LCM were in heaven having so much attention and so many people to play with. KK and BT spent Christmas with BT's fam in DC, but they graciously allowed us the use of their home while they were gone. We had our Christmas Eve party there with the usual assortment of appetizers - sausage and cheese plates with Rendezvous sauce, mini-ham sandwiches, Chickfila nuggets, and chips and dips. Healthy, no, but delicious? Yes! Then we all gathered at our place on Christmas morning to watch MCM and LCM take 4 hours to open presents. MCM is at a great age where everything is exciting and magical. She savored every present - opened it, took it out of the package (with the help of scissors, pliers or additional tools needed - what are toys practically pad-locked into their boxes??), and played with it before moving on to the next one. It was great. She still tells me about each thing, "Santa bring me dis!" or "Ellie bought me!" She never forgets where something came from.

Later on the Beeb and I tried our best at creating a fancy Christmas feast. It was delicious, but afterward we were all pooped from playing, cooking, cleaning, eating, etc. I'm pretty sure Christmas night came early for everyone - except MCM, who stayed up later over the holidays than she ever has in her short life!

We had had so much to be thankful for this Christmas. It is always a blessing to have another Christmas to cherish the people you love, but this Christmas we have even more people to cherish. Sweet Lucy is here with us, my brother is engaged to be married to his girlfriend, whom we love, and my sister Kelly is expecting her first baby in July! So many fun things to look forward to!

It's been ages.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Do you know how long ago I uploaded these and didn't post them? Oh, it's been ages.

I still haven't taken the Christmas pictures off my camera, but maybe I'll have time tonight? We're still in recovery from the holidays, and here it is the middle of January. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! I won't even attempt to catch up on all that's occurred over the past few months. Let's just pick up like old friends, ok?

So, Lucy is just about 8 months old - how is that possible?? She isn't crawling yet, but it won't be long. I am quite ready for her to take on a little mobility. The mere ability to sit up has transformed our daily activities, because the world is much more fun when you can sit upright and see it, no? She is such a sweetheart. She loves playing anywhere near MCM or with any of MCM's toys. She loves singing. She hums and laughs a lot. She says Dada and Mama - crazy - I know, but it's as clear as a bell and especially common when fussing or crying. She is a social butterfly like her big sister, but she does not like being without Mama for long. The separation anxiety is intense, but perhaps she'll grow out of that soon? Oh, how I long for her to be able to tolerate the church nursery for any amount of time! She is eating 3 meals of solids a day. The girl loves everything I give her! It's so great! And she's still nursing 6-8 times a day. This time around nursing hasn't been the most fun. I'm grateful to be able to breastfeed, but it's just a different ballgame when there's a toddler bouncing around at your feed 24/7. Lucy is into the distracted phase, so it seems to take for-ev-er for her to eat if there's anything of remote interest in the room. Since there's almost always is...you get the idea. Ah, but here we are. 8 months in. She still doesn't sleep through the night, although things are much better than they were a few months ago. Oy, let's not even go there. Mostly, she's just growing up incredibly fast. She is a sweet, snuggly baby and such a joy to us! She has a quiet and loving spirit and is so curious about every little thing. I can't wait to hear what's going on in that little head!

MCM is 2 1/2 going on at least 5 or 6. What a bundle of energy and words! She talks non-stop and literally bounces around like a live wire from the minute she wakes up until the minute she goes to sleep! 2 is such an incredible age! It's like her mind and body are both constantly racing from all the new things she's learning and processing every day. Wow. It wears me out, but it's wonderful at the same time. I can really see the last of her babyness fading away. She's even looking less like a toddler and more like a little girl. She loves to help me with anything and everything. She likes to help load and unload the laundry, cook dinner (which is really just standing next to me on a stool, sticking her fingers in everything and tasting it!), pick up toys (and pull them back out again), dust the furniture, and take care of Lucy. She really is the sweetest big sister ever! She loves to hold, kiss and tickle Lucy, and it cracks me up, because she talks to her just like she sees all the grown-ups around her talk to her ("he-wo woocie baby! you such a sweet baybee! teekle teekle teekle!"). She is really into pretending and plays constantly with her "people" - the family that goes with her dollhouse. It's literally all she does. The people have a minivan and they go all over the house. She loves them so much. She is mostly potty trained. I still have her in diapers at naptime and bedtime, although I could probably transition out of that if I had the will. Eh. She's done awesome with it though. The hardest part was training myself to remember to take her to the bathroom!

I absolutely love having these little girls in my life. Although they've basically consumed my world these past 8 months, I do see things getting easier. I am hopeful that as they begin to play with each other, Lucy begins to get around on her own, etc., I might actually find time to do things that I like to do again, ahem, like blog. I think I just lost the will to do it over the past few months, but that's how this motherhood thing goes sometimes. The really intense times don't last forever, but there are times when we are laying down our lives for our children. Period. So, welcome 2010. New year, new things, new times to be had with this sweet family of mine.

Streamlining

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:03:00 +0000

No, your computer isn't messing up my layout. I'm tightening things up around here a bit. Just got tired of seeing so much "stuff" on the page. Later.

Something Sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Two little sweeties before bedtime.

And a recipe you for which you will thank me.

Go bake these cookies today. Yes, I am a bad blogger for not having an uber-close-up picture of a freshly baked cookie along with the recipe. You will simply have to trust me that these are delicious and every bit worth the effort!

(you'll find this recipe all over the internet, but I'm re-typing it here in my own words)

Big, chewy, chocolate chip cookies!

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks of butter - unsalted - don't use margerine!) melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk (creating the chewiness! best if the eggs are room temperature)
2 Tsp real vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Godiva)

Pre-heat oven to 325.
Whisk dry ingredients together. Set aside.
With an electric mixer or by hand stir together melted butter and sugars until well combined.
Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Slowly add dry ingredients and beat slowly until just combined.
Carefully stir in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into a ball roughly 1/2 cup at a time and pull apart into 2 equal halves. This creates the perfect size cookie! Place balls on a cookie sheet with plenty of space between cookies. Bake until edges begin to golden or turn under and middles still look soft. Do not overbake! Start with 10 minutes and go up from there. Enjoy!

Firsts

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:18:00 +0000

MCM went to her first day of Mother's Day Out last week. I wish I had a picture of her all suited up with a backpack or something, but here she is with her dear friend Mousy ("Missy" in MCM speak). She also has a sweet old-school lunch box (the metal kind) with the Disney princesses on it.

LCM is now big enough to sit in the Bumbo for short periods of time. This is where she ate her first taste of big people food! (well, organic rice cereal mixed with breastmilk - hardly a "big person" meal)

She took to it quite well, although I think later it made her tummy hurt. Lately I could see that she's been wanting to be a part of mealtimes. It's no fun to be left out while everyone else is eating! She loves to be involved in everything going on around her - especially whatever her big sister is doing!

MCM finally go a haircut! It was really just a trim to even it all up. Her bangs still fall in her face constantly, because she takes her bows out. I couldn't bear to let them cut bangs though!

We went to Sweet and Sassy, which is a beauty salon for little girls. It's a pretty genius concept - totally cutesy and girlie. They had flat screens all over the place playing Lady and the Tramp (MCM's dream!). And there was a little girl birthday party going on where they were all in dress up clothes, singing and dancing, sporting fresh up-do's and having a grand old time. MCM LOVED it! She might have thought the party had to do with her new haircut, because she hasn't stopped talking about it since! We left with a souvenir photo of "baby's first haircut" which has since been loved to pieces. MCM carried it around for over a week and even wanted to sleep with it. Ah, the beginnings of narcissism! She is pretty cute though...

Still Here

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:04:00 +0000

We're still alive, folks. I've officially become one of those bloggers who doesn't blog. Man, that gets on my nerves. I'm getting on my own nerves. Not to make excuses, but life with two little bitties is extremely busy and at times more overwhelming than I would like to admit. Free time...there's not much of it. When I do have it, I usually find myself either sitting and staring or (rarely) trying to do something productive like fold the mountains of laundry that keep popping up. But, we're still here.

LCM is 4 1/2 months old. MCM is fully two and everything that means. I keep thinking life is going to get easier and we'll get on top of things around here soon, but it hasn't happened yet. Between waking up with LCM at night (no, she shows no sign of sleeping through the night) and MCM's early rising (rarely past 6:30 am), I am a bit of a walking zombie. There have been some milestones that will need recording soon...MCM's first day of Mother's Day Out, her first haircut, LCM's first taste of rice cereal, and her first trip to Nashville. There's a lot to catch up on, so expect those catch-up posts soon.

I Love These Girls.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:49:00 +0000

This girl makes me laugh....even though she looks a bit like a crazy person covered in leg tats. They're just stickers.

This girl has so many smiles. Each one revives a little piece of me that mostly wants to cry over how exhausted I am and how I used to be an somewhat interesting person, not just a Mom.

Three Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:13:00 +0000

Hanging out watching MCM, as usual.

I just rolled over!

Here I go again!

It's pretty cool learning to do things.

Snuggle time with my favorite two-year-old.

LCM is three-months-old. That is so hard to believe, but it's true. She is growing up MUCH too fast! It's amazing how I can already see her wanting to do the things her sister does. She rolled over last week for the first time. She is so strong for a little gal! She's holding her head up, and trying so hard to sit up - though that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Things are so different the second time around. I am more laid back, and she is a much more laid back girl than MCM. Still, we've had our moments. She's been struggling with tummy troubles. I'll spare you the details, but basically her poop is messed up and we're not sure why. I've changed my diet and we've tried getting probiotics into her. So far it seems better for a few days and then worse again. When her tummy hurts, she cries like a mad woman - red-faced screaming and constant interrupted sleep. Not fun.

However, when she's not hurting, she is a delight. She has a very sweet way about her, always looking around with big eyes and taking everything in. She "talks" a lot, and sometimes it almost sounds like words. She laughs and smiles and loves it when you talk or sing to her. She loves to watch MCM and doesn't seem to mind her constant hugs and kisses. She's definitely growing into a social being and loves to be right in the mix as long as you'll let her - through naps and even in the middle of the night! At night she's sleeping about 5-6 hours in the early evening, has one middle of the night feeding, and then sleeps on for 5-6 more hours. I'm so thrilled to see her do that on her own! Maybe she'll sleep through the night in the next month or so? She's still sleeping in our room, which I have really enjoyed. If for some reason she has a hard time going to sleep I'll lay her right next to me, and she LOVES it so much. I must say, those are sweet moments with her so close and sleeping. (not to mention I can feed her and sleep right through it) I am going to have a hard time moving her to her room, but I think that's coming soon.

I'm not sure what her stats are at this point as far as weight and length, but my best guess is that she's close to 12 lbs now. She is growing so much every week, and she literally looks more mature every day! She already looks different than these pictures, which were taken last week. I'm trying to stay on top of picture taking, but it is very difficult with 2 babies to care for!

A Lady and Two Babies, One With No Shoes.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:40:00 +0000

That was me yesterday afternoon wandering down our street with a tear running down my face, holding one baby in my arms and another by the hand as she hobbled down the street shoeless repeating, "Bye-bye! Bye-bye!" in between sobs. We were evacuating the house.

MCM was exhausted, and LCM wouldn't sleep. I was simultaneously making dinner for LCM (and making her eat it - two separate acts) and trying to coax LCM to sleep, when all the sudden an incredibly loud, high-pitched sound started going off all over the house. I ran down the hall to the alarm system, trying to figure out how to stop the screeching, when I realized perhaps I should remove my infant child from the noise before her ear drums burst. Then, I looked up to see MCM in her high chair screaming and crying with her hands over her ears. In one swoop, I snatched her up and ran them both out of the house thinking there's either an intruder or a fire. We left so quickly that I didn't close the door to the house. I was holding the baby and trying to comfort MCM (who also wanted to be held). After deducing the situation, I realized there was no good way to go back in the house and figure out the problem - couldn't leave MCM there to cry - she was already terrified - couldn't leave the baby sitting alone in the grass or take her back into the noise, so we started over to the neighbor's house. Nobody home. Then, on down the street (This is all about 6:30 PM. Daddy still not home from work. No cell phone, no keys, no nothing.) I figured we'd have to walk down the street with or without shoes, until I noticed two young girls with a baby about 6 houses down. I yanked MCM down the street and approached the ladies (while sort-of crying) and asked if they could kindly hold my babies while I run down the street to get my car keys. Just then I see Leland pull into the driveway. We were so far down the street, he couldn't see us. He was pretty sure we'd been kidnapped. So, I thank the kind ladies, and yank MCM back down the street - she's balling now because we're going back toward the scary noise). By the time we get back to the house, Leland comes out and realizes that indeed, we're alive, but the fire alarms all over the house are going off simultaneously for no apparent reason. Even after removing the batteries, they continue to go off. So, he packs us up in my car and we go down to KK and BT's house. KK graciously bathes MCM, who is quite covered in apple juice from her meal. I feed LCM who has been awake for God knows how many hours. BT goes to help Leland make the noise stop. Now all fire alarms have been removed and holes with wires hanging out are left all over the house. (We have an abundance of fire alarms) Now MCM is scared to go to sleep. Now MCM is scared of the hole in her wall. Now MCM is refusing to nap, because the noise might come back...and her teeth hurt...and her eye (which she calls blink - "blink hurt!!)...and she needs to poop every 5 minutes. LCM went to sleep after showing off her best blood-curling screams for me and for Leland. This is a mere snapshot of the week we've had. It is never ending.

Photo Friday (still no time to chat)

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:17:00 +0000

I don't have a lot of time, but I do have pictures.

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:57:00 +0000

I'll add actual words later...

Super Close Up

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:24:00 +0000

MCM, it sure is good that you're so cute.

Naps...we're 1 for 3 so far. Monday, yes there was crying, but eventually there was a nap. Sure, it was shorter than usual but it was substantial enough, and we've been praising her like crazy for being such a great napper. Tuesday, more crying, then quiet until I noticed a new scenario - playing quietly in her room (so that Mommy won't hear) instead of sleeping. We got the no crying thing down, but it's still the SLEEP that is missing. Today...working on hour #2 of trying to get her to go to sleep. 2 big poops (the child actually holds her poops for naptime - manipulative poops, people!!!), some crying, probably 45 minutes of playing when I thought she was sleeping, but NO SLEEP. I'm not beating a dead horse hear, folks. The child has been falling down tired since about 10:00 AM. I hear her singing right now. It should be cute, but it's not!!!!!! Where is the sleep??????

Between the absent naps, Lucy's crying (oh so much crying), and the fact that Bachelorette Jillian let Bachelor Reid go, I am just not loving this week...not at all.

Sleep Begets Sleep

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:01:00 +0000

That is the most true statement from any sleep book out there if you ask me. (Weissbluth - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) It's my mantra as I make this week about getting MCM back into her sleeping routine.

I came to a conclusion after dealing with the daily tantrum all last week. We've worked so hard to acclimate MCM to life with a little sister that we've perhaps gone overboard in reassuring her. We've tried to spend as much time with her as possible, so at naptime and bedtime we've spent more time than usual settling down with her. Before LCM, at nap she would often crawl into bed and want to go right to sleep. Sometimes I would lay down with her and read one book and snuggle for a minute. Since LCM arrived, I've been inclined to say yes to many of her requests, meaning, "You want to read three books before nap instead of two? Okay, sure! You want me to lay here until you're almost asleep? Sure!" I think we've overcompensated for our new situation enough that we've gotten off track a little bit. This is not to say that I take full responsibility for MCM's behavior by any means. It just means that for her, there's safety in sticking to the routine. When I relax it too much, she just can't stay within the boundaries of what works for her. So, this week we're sticking to the usual routine. Nap begins between 12:30 and 1:30 PM, and bedtime is between 7:00 and 7:30 PM - no later! It drives me crazy that there's any variation in time, but that's just life right now - especially when there's only one of me to go around. As soon as they begin cloning mothers, I'll get Courtney #2 to put MCM to sleep. Maybe she will handle the crying a little better.

Seriously though, I'm doing everything humanly possible to maintain an air of calm and patience at these times. But I'll tell you, by about 4:00 PM - even if they both nap - I'm running out of steam. By 6:00 PM I'm cursing under my breath, and by 7:00 if things aren't happening like they should, I'm unraveling. Thankfully, that is about the time Leland comes home, and I can mentally give myself a little bit of a break even though with a toddler and an infant - especially one that breastfeeds around the clock - it never, ever stops. One day just rolls into the next, because I no longer function in 24-hour intervals. It's just one feeding to the next...on and on until who knows when. And, yes, I am tired...

...Wait, I forget the whole sleeping through the night thing. I literally forget that's possible, since MCM didn't sleep through the night until over a year. Maybe LCM will get that whole sleep thing down soon. I still have no idea how that could possibly happen, especially since she's been enjoying eating about every 2 1/2 hours at night lately. Her longest stretch of sleep happens between about 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM. Not sure why babies do that. I have the choice each night of either going to sleep and getting woken up an hour or so later, or staying awake and being completely exhausted the next day. What do you do? Again, I find it's better to never wake a sleeping baby (Weissbluth), and I hope that sleep will beget sleep.