Simplicity | Step Six: Memory Keeping

The original post can be found here.

This post does contain affiliate links.

I would really recommend that you read the original post at some point. Why? Because over the course of a few years, people can change, ideas can change, and the world around us changes so quickly that it automatically causes us to adjust our ideas of what is really important.

I have learned that it is okay to change some things in life.

I used to be an avid scrapbooker.

Yet over time, life changes, technological advances, and priorities have opened my eyes to so many other forms of memory keeping. The key is finding the system that is right for you.

1. Traditional Scrapbooking- If this is your passion and what brings you a sense of accomplishment, then keep going! Having a group of women that you can meet up with can not only help you get a lot done in a short time, but the friendships made and developed in your scrap group help to create memories in themselves.

I love getting together with my group of scrapbook ladies! They are so funny and sweet- willing to give you some inspiration or a flower embellishment to finish off a page. I haven't been able to go in some time, but I have a bin of things just waiting for me to organize and put into some semblance of a memory book for my children.

2. Digital Scrapbooking- We live in a very digital world. Not only can we upload our photos to our computers, but now we can also make scrapbook pages right on our computer. I personally have done this several times and found it quite beneficial especially after becoming a mother.

• There is no need to take out a ton of supplies in order to make one layout. Everything you need is on the computer from digital papers to digital embellishments.
• Sharp and small objects are not out for little hands to get a hold of.
• If you do not care for how something looks, just hit delete. You will not have lost any money on supplies that have been cut too short, don't have the right color, or are ruined because you had to move them.
• There is no clean up. Just walk away from your computer and you are done!
• With as many free digital products as there are out there, the only cost would be the purchase of your computer program and the cost of printing your layouts- which is still considerably cheaper than purchasing all of the individual items used in traditional scrapbooking.

3. Custom Photo Books- Very similar to digital scrapbooking, creating a custom photo book happens right on your computer. Shutterfly (not an affiliate) is by far my favorite online photo book creator to use. Every thing you need or want to make a photo book has already been been provided. Coordinating backgrounds that can be mix and matched, digital stickers, and photo placement templates make it easy to drag and drop your photos in.

4. Project Life- I love Project Life by Becky Higgins. Her method is designed to quickly get your photos out of the shoe boxes (or Ziploc bags in my case) and into meaningful albums. These albums can be used in a multitude of ways from being a 365 project depicting the everyday moments each day in your year to being a week in a glance album. I have done both methods. My new method will be using her products to create memory keepsake albums for my children's special moments- Kindergarten graduation, special arts and crafts, photos of milestones, a place to keep track of what we call "Addie-isms" and "Ian-isms."

5. Smash Books- Although I have never personally made a Smashbook I have researched on Pinterest what a smashbook is. I like it! It is an artsy, eclectic way to preserve your emeories of the little moments in our lives. As its name suggests, as you accumlate tickets, brochures, recipts and others pieces of life, you put adhesive on the back and "smash" it right into your book.

This digital slideshow created with Smilebox

6. Smilebox- I am definitely a music person. I love adding soundtracks to our life. Smilebox is a free digital program which can be downloaded right from the Internet and allows you to put your photos together quickly and add a soundtrack (theirs or your own). The best part is you can share your Smilebox via social media! Now, you are not the only one enjoying your photos, but you can share it with others who would never get to see a "hold-touch-feel" scrapbook.

7. Blogs- Blogs are a great way to keep your memories. Writing out what your family is doing, what your children are learning, and how you are feeling all along the path of motherhood is a great way to remember what life was like. I often go back to the early days of this blog and just read. I am so thankful for all of the writing I did because there is so much I have already forgotten. Without the written word, so much of our family's memories would be forgotten. Pictures alone cannot tell the stories.

8. Social Media- I cannot count how many albums I have on my personal Facebook page. Can you? How many times have my children said something funny or sweet and I have quickly typed it up and hit post? I know where all of their saying are. Not on a scrap of paper that can easily be lost. They are all in one place. And I love having the interaction of others during moments that are special.

There are so many avenues of memory keeping today. Find what fits your personality and works for you and run with it.

Do not let yourself get so stuck in what you used to do that you create an added burden for yourself.

But most importantly remember- don't let memory keeping keep you from making memories.

Five Years Ago Today......

Taken 4 weeks before delivery- I got bigger!

.... I was extremely huge!

I was wearing a denim maternity skirt, a sleeveless top with a brown shrug over it, and open-toed sandals because my feet couldn't fit into any other shoes. How do I know this? It is just one of those things that I remember.

Because I was only expecting to work one more week and then leave to stay home with Addie, I had volunteered to be the "go-fer" for the teachers at our academy. My class had already been taken over by my replacement during my grevience week, and I felt like I didn't belong there anymore. Our sweet principal had told me to bring a book, find an empty room, and kick my feet up until I had the baby. I loved the offer, but I didn't feel like I deserved a paycheck for that. So he let me run errands for the teachers.

I went up and down the steps making photocopies and returning them, giving students a little extra help, and helping in the school office. Towards the end of the day, my feet were immensely swollen and the mom friends I had made during my ten years at the academy jokingly told me, "You'll be in labor tonight!"

Not quite but my contractions began the following evening at 8:30, and by Sunday at 12:53 p.m. I had had the most precious baby girl in the entire world. You can read that story here.

This weekend we get to celebrate that we have had Addie with us for 5 years! Where has the time gone? One of my greatest blessings is that I have had the priviedge of being home with her through all of those years.

Happy birthday, Addie!

Her First "Real" Haircut

About 4 1/2 months ago, I attempted to trim Addie's hair.

 

I butchered it!

 

It was not her fault at all. She stood still as I cut, I just didn't cut as straight as I should have and I cut some spots shorter than others.

 

Soooo....... she's been wearing braids an awful lot to hide my chop-job.

 

JCPenney's, where I get my hair cut, began running a promotion recently for free children's haircuts on Sundays. At my last appointment, I decided to have Addie join me for my next appointment so she could get her hair fixed.

 

We began preparing her weeks ago for her first hair appointment. She is not a fan of trying anything new, and she is extremely sensitive to having her hair pulled or snagged (I used to hate having my mom comb through my really long, really thick hair, too), so we reminded her to obey and not to fuss if Miss D snagged or accidentally pulled her hair.

 

After my hair cut, it was Addie's turn.

 

She was a little nervous about the hair washing part.

 

 

And the it was time to cut the hair.

 

 

She did such a good job! She never made a sound! My little always moving, always has something to say, stops only long enough to take a breath, bundle of love and energy stood perfectly still and never said a word!

 

Does she look a little nervous?

 

She ended up having to stand because the booster seat did not lift her high enough above the back of the chair for Miss D to give her an accurate hair cut.

 

Isn't she a cutie!!! Here you can see how much had to come off to take off her dead ends and fix my attempt at her hair.

 

Almost done!

 

Tada! Taffy was there under the cape the entire time keeping her company. When we first walked into JCP, Addie said, "Mom, Taffy's allowed to come in because she is a helper dog and only helper dogs can go into stores."

 

Miss D, you always do an amazing job with Mommy's hair, and you did a fantastic job with Addie's. Thanks for being a part of our special Mother/daughter memory.

Snowman Day

We had our first annual Snowman Day on Friday. It was such a fun day, and Addie was so sad to go to sleep that evening. In fact, she woke up in the late evening, whimpering that she missed Snowman Day.

Here is a glimpse into our day.

Create your own photo slideshow

Ian's Dedication

On Sunday, Mother's Day, Ian was dedicated to the Lord at our church. We had family there to celebrate with us, but my sister Faye and her husband Jim went up to the pulpit with us since they are our children's God-parents.

I had tried explaining to Addie what we were going to be doing. I told her that dedicating Ian to God was, in a way, giving him back to God.

Addie suddenly looked sad and devestated and said, "I'm really going to miss Ian."

I then showed her the video of her own dedication and how the pastor prays for the baby and gives the baby back to the Mommy and Daddy.

Our pastor had about 5 babies to dedicate during our service (and four during our first service), but he gave each family personalized attention, held each baby, and prayed over each baby and family. Before giving each family his attention, he had us as a collective group make some commitments to God that we would teach our children to love and serve the Lord. He then had the congregation also commit to encouraging the families in this goal.

Here is the part of the dedication where Ian is being dedicated. A huge thanks to my friend Lisa for recording this memory for us.

Playing | A Video

I remember during my mother's pregnancy of my younger sister Faye, my mother kept telling me that she was going to have a baby and I was going to love this baby, this baby would become my friend, and I would always have someone to play with. At the time, she did not know that she was having a girl (what did they do without ultrasounds!).

I was almost 5 years old at the time, so my knowledge of "reality" was way off.

I remember visiting them in the hospital and looking into the nursery window at my sister in the "fish tank" baby bed.

But what I remember more than anything was my mother bringing Faye home from the hospital and laying Faye in the middle of my parent's full sized bed. That's when I jumped onto the bed and said, "Faye, do you want to play with me?"

Mom had to explain to me that Faye was too little to play and it would be some time before we could really play together.

No problem! I helped with Faye, played with her, and we even have photos at my parent's house of me giving her a bottle.

And my mother was right (as she usually was). I love my sister. She was my first real, true, faithful friend, and although our husbands have taken the first place spot in that area, we are still true, faithful friends.  And I always had my buddy, Faye. As long as I had her growing up, I didn't feel alone.

Fast forward 31 years......

Last year, we spent so much time preparing Addie for Ian, telling her about this baby that was growing in Mommy's belly, showing her the ultrasound, hanging the US pictures in her room, and telling her that she was going to love this baby and would have someone to play with who would always be her friend.

Now that Ian is here, people always ask, "How is Addie with the baby?"

She has been wonderful with him! She plays with him, is Mommy's super helper, holds him while sitting on the couch or floor, and entertains him while I'm making dinner. In fact, sometimes I have to have her give him some room or she might smother her brother with love.  Yet, their interaction has been mainly one sided for the past seven months, because really, what can a seven month old do?

Everything changed on Tuesday when I turned around from cooking to see what Ian was laughing about and why Addie was flying back and forth through the kitchen.

There they were.

Playing together.

Addie was running with a piece of red string in her hand and Ian was trying to chase her in his walker! And boy can he move!

As a mother, this was such a wonderful moment for me. Watching my children play with each other and enjoy each other's company......

..............until Ian started taking Addie's school papers and artwork off of the refrigerator.

Spaghetti Thoughts: Our Wedding Pictures

Do you remember our "talk" about spaghettis and waffles?  I thought I would use that to not only share with you some of the memories that Brian and I have created together, but to also write down those moments so that we will always have them and so my children can always look back and see what Mommy and Daddy did before them and with them.

Brian had a dentist appointment one Monday, and as we were driving there, we passed a home that literally had a junk yard out front.  I saw a white, iron headboard piece of a bed frame... and that is where the spaghetti trail began.

That would make a great prop in a portrait.

Mandy would find a way for that to work beautifully as a prop for her pictures.


Pictures have really come a long way.


Faye's wedding pictures are beautiful. The technology and advances in photography are amazing.


Our wedding pictures were beautiful, too. What a day that was....

"Hey, Brian do remember the day we picked up our wedding pictures from our photographer?  It was the first day of the school year for me, so we decided we would get Chinese take out and not look at the pictures until we got home. Do you remember that?"

"Wow! Is that what happened?  I don't remember those types of things.  I don't know how you do. Where did that thought come from anyway?"

"Ummmm...... it was a spaghetti thought. It all started back there when I saw......."

Addie's View

On Monday, after Brian's ball game, we were driving home and passed a police car.  And that is what started the following conversation.....

Addie: Oh, look! It's a policeman lady! (her version of police woman) If something bad happens, I call 9-1-1 to get the police man to help me. (Kristi, circle time has been a huge success over here. One of the items we discuss is the number 9-1-1, how to call it on the phone, and when we are allowed to call that number.)

Brian (after a look of surprise and with a huge, proud smile): Very good, Addie!  Do you know what Mommy's name is?

(I'm smiling because we have covered this in circle time, too, through the Pretzel Style song- also courtesy of Kristi)

Addie: Suzette!

Brian (another look of surprise and a huge, proud smile): Very good!  Now, do you know Daddy's name?

(Gulp! We haven't really gone over Daddy's name because he isn't sitting pretzel style with us when we sing about who is sitting that way! Oh, my! What will she say?)

Addie: Your name is Babe!

Brian and Suzette (laugh hysterically)

Brian: Daddy's name is Brian.

Addie: Oh! Brian!

Me: (It's really not such a bad thing that she thinks his name is Babe.  Afterall, it is what I call him. All. the. time.  It very well should be his name.)

*******************************************

If you are not familiar with Circle Time, check out this post and this post by Kristi.  Great ideas and additions to what you may already be doing.

Memories | Simple Ways to Make Memories with Your Little Person

Thank the Lord! My post from Friday just reappeared!  I hope you won't mind Friday's post being posted on Monday.  I am giddy with happiness right now!

Children really do not require much in order to create a memory.  The only requirement they have is you being completely there, undistracted, and unoccupied by other things. This week I have decided that the house is just fine the way it is- no need for dusting or deep cleaning anything.  After all, no matter how much I dust and clean it always has to be done all over again.  However, these moments with Addie can never be rewound or stopped in time.

One of our activities this week was a full sized tracing/drawing of Addie.  I had her lie down on a long sheet of art paper and traced her from head to toe.  Then we sat on the kitchen floor and colored "Addie".  After "she" was all colored, I cut her out, and we taped her to the wall in front of the front door.  She wanted to surprise Daddy when he came home from work. (Brian played along beautifully! He is such a good sport!) 

We also experimented with painting (I know! ME! I really felt proud of myself.).  I put some art paper on the kitchen floor, squirted some water-based acrylic paint on the paper, handed her a brush and let her go to town.  She was beside herself- and I was beside her the entire time having a wonderful time myself.  We even put paint on our hands (yep, my hands too) and made some hand prints. 

Also, because she was so good in church on Sunday, Brian went to the Dollar General while Addie and I went to the grocery store and got her a paint by number kit.  We have worked on it twice this week, but we still have a ways to go.  She is loving her craft time.

We have had two picnics this week.  The first was on Saturday in her playroom with a huge towel thrown on the floor as our blanket.  The second was outside on the grass, again on our huge beach towel.  After about 15 minutes, Addie said very matter-of-factly, "The sun is too hot! I'm ready to go inside now."  I couldn't argue with her because I was melting.

One of our moments included Squishy.  I laid myself down on the floor, and Addie and I got to feel the baby kick.  I had to explain to her that it is okay for the baby to kick Mommy after she said, "No, Baby, don't kick Mommy."  Too sweet.

Grandma and Grandpa are also great about making memories with her.  Grandma has purchased some books that have accompanying CDs with them.  For our last two visits, Addie and Grandma have gone into the "Grandkids' room" and listened to the CD while following in the book together, and then Grandma sends the one they listened to home with Addie.  Grandma also gets down on the floor and plays whatever Addie is in the mood for.  She is such a good sport!

Children are the easiest people to please. They only ask for our time and attention.  They don't ask for the impossible (well, asking Mommy, who is 19 weeks pregnant and huge, to crawl through your Princess tent's tunnel might qualify), just that you get down on the floor and play.  This time in their lives goes by so fast and we do not want to miss any of these moments with them.

Memories | Addie's First Adventure in Meeting A Baby

We have some friends who had a baby girl about two and a half weeks ago.  We thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce Addie to a baby and explain to her that a baby, similar to this one, was growing in Mommy's belly.  We spent a good portion of the car ride to the hospital talking to Addie about the baby, how quiet we need to be, and how happy we all were to see the baby.

When we arrived, Addie carried our present in very quietly.  The three of us looked at the baby (no one held her at first) and talked about how this baby was like the baby in Mommy's belly (our baby's gender is still not known). 

I knew Addie was not a jealous-type, but I was still curious how she would react if Brian or I held the baby.  The parents offered to let me hold the baby, and I jumped at the chance.

When I picked up the baby and sat down, the baby began crying.  Addie walked over and very matter-of-factly said, "Mommy, the baby needs a bottle. She's hungry"

"I think she just ate," I said.

"Oh, then she's thirsty," was the quick response.

Ummm, I guess I have some explaining to do about babies and what their food and nutritional requirements are at the very beginning.  Sometimes you don't realize what you need to explain or teach until you have a conversation with your three year old.

"No, she's not thirsty, either."

"Oh, then the baby has to go poopy."  She has an answer for everything!

I decided to just leave it at that.  Addie came up close to the baby and said very soothingly, "Baby, stop crying."  The baby stopped! (Mental note: keep Addie handy when our baby starts crying.)

Addie noticed that the baby had those little white clogged pores on her nose and said, "The baby has little circles on her nose! The baby is so silly!" and giggled.

She sat next to me on the recliner in the room and began touching the baby's blanketed leg. She leaned close to me and whispered, "I pet the baby!" with a little bit of a secret and giggle in her voice.

Then she needed Daddy to rush her to the potty.

Brian told me that while she was taking care of business, she was telling him that she was a big girl so she uses the potty, but the baby needs diapers.

When they came back, hands were resanitized and then Brian took a turn reaquainting himself with holding someone so tiny.  Addie was just as fine with Brian holding the baby as she was with me. 

As we said our goodbyes, Addie leaned over towards the baby's hospital crib and said, "Goodbye, Baby! I love you!"

Huge sigh of relief.... can't wait for our baby to come.

Lately, I Have Constantly Found Myself...

...telling you that you make me and Daddy so happy.

...talking about how sweet you are.

...laughing out loud at the funny things you say... and then laughing even harder when you ask, "What's so funny?"

...amazed at your perspective on life and everything around you.

...carrying on a conversation with you and then realizing that our conversation made so much sense.

...blown away by your protectiveness of Jesus when you see the soldiers arrest and hurt Him when we watch The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus.  My favorite is when you yell at the t.v. and tell them, "That's my Jesus! Don't hurt my Jesus!"

...proud (in a good way) on Easter Sunday when you walked up to the greeters and said, "Jesus is alive!" and then listening to them as they began telling each other how adorable you are.

...thanking God for giving you to me and Daddy.

Making It More Real

I have always been an avid scrapbooker. When I was single, I had so much free time (after spending hours after school preparing for the next day, week, month, and year) that I filled it by scrapbooking our family memories. Then I started dating Brian, and my time was shortened, but I managed to find time to scrapbook the memories that we were making together. Then we got married, and you can imagine how many wedding photos I had the joy of finding ways to create memories with. But now with the freedom of being in my own home, making my own schedule, and finding ways to cut back the extra hours at work, I happily scrapbooked to my hearts content during the first three years.

And then Addie came, and I was so wrapped up with being a stay at home wife and mother (I still had this odd mentality that I only had two weeks to do everything in my house that I wanted to do- 2 weeks being what Christmas break was) that the mountain of pictures from the hospital, her first week, and month just grew bigger and bigger. During her nap, I began plugging away and made some headway- I now have only two ziploc bags of unscrapped photos (not just of Addie but of my family from way back when), woohoo for me!

Then came Project Life and I completely freed myself from feeling like I was behind in my scrapbooking in any way. I am so caught up, it tickles me to look through the book and see all of our memories for this year up to date!

(Sigh of relief!)

Wait! Hold that thought! We have so many scrapbook pages of Addie from the moment she was born to now! How do I give Baby equal treatment? I am a firm believer in the idea of equal treatment of children. Issac and Jacob are wonderful examples of what happens to families when parents show preferential treatment to one child over another.

I am not the kind of person who sees the first born as being the only child worthy of special things and each subsequent child getting all of the leftovers and hand-me-downs (although those things are still important as the cost per child goes up). I believe that the first, second, third, fourth, etc. child are all special gifts and should be treated as such. I also wanted this baby to have something special. So I decided that I was going to make Baby #2 a special scrapbook of memories. (Addie only has tons scrapbook pages but not an actual scrapbook dedicated to just her.)

A few Saturdays ago during Addie's naptime, I began cleaning out my stockpile of scrapbooking materials. I had a 3 ringed 8.5x11 album that was not being used and an idea hit me. Premake/prepare as many pages as possible, put the book in order, and pull together pieces of cardstock and patterned paper that can be used on a layout. I did.

The categories are as follows:

• Title page- with places for a preferably black and white picture of the baby, for me to write down the official time of birth, and Brian came up with the idea of using the open spot on the white paper for a foot print (love it!)
• How We Announced- the picture of the proud big sis and a print out of this blog post.
• God is Good- the story I told in this blog post.
• Mommy's Thoughts on the First Trimester- from Monday's blog post.
• Nursing- a printout and photo from this blog post.
• Planning for the Baby: The List
• Our 3rd Dr's Appointment
• Our 4th Dr's Appointment
• The Ultrasound- it is at this point that we will find out what we are having.
• Mommy's Thoughts on the 2nd Trimester
• Your First Visit to Ft. Lauderdale- I will still be pregnant at this point, but I know of a certain GrandTiti, Uncle Jack, and Cousin Belinda who are excited about Addie and Baby's visit.... oh, yeah, and their parents, too.
• Our 5th Dr's Appointment
• Our 6th Dr's Appointment
• Out 7th Dr's Appointment
• Baby Shower Guest List- in Hispanic cultures, it is customary for each baby to receive a shower and my aunts are already in the process of planning it.
• Baby Shower- a 2 page layout with a couple of babseball card holders in between for extra pictures of the event.
• Our 8th Dr's Appointment- I am currently counting this as the last appointment before D-Day since I am having a C-section. However, I realize that there may be a few appointments thrown in for good measure. If so, I'll add those appointments into the album as well.
• The List: What we Packed For the Hospital- I wish I had taken an inventory of what we took to the hospital for Addie. The album is being packed in the bag... you'll see why in the next bullet point.
• At the Hospital- a 2 page layout of our stay at the hospital and three baseball card protectors for lots of extra pictures. I am also including an empty page protector for hospital mementos- the button our hospital gives with the baby's footprint on it, the wristbamds (which won't come off until we are home), the little information card that is put into the little glass crib (all of this is stuff I collected for Addie, but never had an actual place to put it.)
• Full Page Photo of the Baby- Scrapbookpictures.com offers prints in a variety of sizes. One size is the 8.5x11. I plan of finding a photo I love and putting it in this slot- with no embellishments.
• Mommy and Daddy's Thoughts- During one of the rare, quiet moments at the hosptial, I want Brian and I to just write a little something to the baby about how we are feeling right then at that moment (notice, I said "quiet memoents". That will affect what we write, I'm sure!).
• First Week Layout- A layout of snapshots that happened throughout the first week.
• And then I have 2 page layouts set up for each of the months in the baby's first year. I also have baseball card protectors in each layout to hold extra photos from that month. Because the first year also includes a monthly doctor's visit, I will include an insert (maybe a 5x7 or a 8.5x4) which includes the stats from the visit, record of shots, and a photo so I can see the changes from month to month.
• I have also included 2 extra layouts in the album for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• First Birthday- At the end of the album I have a 2 page layout set up for the baby's first birthday and baseball card protectors for extra photos. We do first birthdays big around here.
• The final page in the album is going to be a letter from me to the baby. I added a letter from me to Addie at the end of her birthday album and I think it is a great way to end this album.

Each page mentioned above (except the "God is Good" page), will include at least one photo if not more.

After putting the album "skeleton" together and filling the page protectors with the papers that I will be using, it made the idea of having this baby more real to me than it has ever been. Yes, my belly is incredibly big for only being past my 1st trimester (Addie didn't show until I was at least 4 or 5 months), but putting this album together and seeing all of the milestones to come and knowing that this book will come together month by month, just made me want to have the baby now (way too early, I know).

So much to come. So many exciting things in store. So many sleepless nights (only towards the beginning.... when you bring them home from the hospital and realize there is no little button to push for help, and every little sound they make keeps you up at first). So many nights on the couch because after a C-section, climbing into our bed is impossible for the first week or two. So many moments of just sitting on the couch watching every flutter of the eyelids, every smile, every yawn and being in wonder of this new little person that I have the honor to be the mother to. So many reassuring hugs and kisses for Addie so she in no way feels that she has been dethroned or replaced. So many prayers being made on behalf of the two gifts that Brian and I have been blessed with. So much to come.

A Perfect Saturday

Although we want to enjoy our times of relaxation to their fullest, we need to be considerate of the needs of those in our family.  Addie and I are home all week.  Brian is out and about all week with work.  When the weekends come, I want to get out (Addie just likes to have a good time), and Brian wants to stay home and relax.  So what do we do?

We alternate.

Some weekends we stay home and work around here. Some weekends we go out.  Some weekends we make a "go out" day of it at home.

On Saturday, After breakfast and watching a Sesame Street show in the morning, Brian went out and planned a surprise for Addie.  My job was to distract her from the fact that Brian was not in the house.  He went out, blew up her little alligator pool, filled it with water, and set up the bubble machine. When he was ready for us, I told Addie that we had a surprise for her.  I told her to close her eyes while I tried changing her into her bathing suit. She isn't good at keeping her eyes closed for too long... and when they are covered you can see a little eye peeking through the cracks.  When she saw the bathing suit, she asked if she was going into the pool.  Oh my, was she excited!

After getting her all lathered up in sunblock, she played in her pool to her hearts content.  Brian and I sat on the porch and watched and talked... and my warrior killed at least twenty of the biggest horseflies I have ever seen.  We all had a great time.  Eventually our conversation turned to our grill and Brian's newly developing talent for grilling.  He started throwing out some ideas for lunch- hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken.  After going back and forth in his decision, he finally settled on chicken.   

Now the scene looked more like Addie happily playing in her pool, Brian standing at the grill cooking his chicken, and me watching my two loves.  Addie finally had enough of the pool and came out and sat in the big chairs with Mommy.  After the chicken was cooked and ready we traipsed back inside for a lunch of barbecue sauce covered grilled chicken and macaroni and cheese.

Addie was tuckered out by the time nap time rolled around and without a peep or question hopped right into bed, made her requests of where each stuffed animal be placed, and we did not hear from her again until her nap was over.

Staying home can be quite an adventure for you and your family.  And it is another little moment which lays the foundation for quality family time.

Easter Eggs | An Adventure

I was the teacher who never did crafts with my students because of the mess I knew was bound to happen and I wanted nothing to do with it. In fact, now is the perfect time to thank my dear friend, Cathy. Cathy, thanks for being such a great homeroom mom and doing crafts with my students.  You will never know how much I (and I'm sure, they) appreciated that!

I have done little crafts with Addie (gluing buttons on construction paper and making pictures, sewing finger puppets), but never anything that pushed me beyond my confort zone.  All of our crafts fall into the "safe" category- nothing that can be splattered, stain, or otherwise leave Mommy traumatized in any way.

Then, I picked up an egg dying kit.  I knew Addie would enjoy it, but I didn't realize how much I would, too.

When she saw the kit in my craft closet (which was open for a cleanout/purge/prepping our Baby's album), she could not put it down and kept asking when we could do the Elmo eggs (the kit has a Sesame Street theme).  I explained, according to the pictures on the box, that first we had to cook the eggs, then put them in cups, and they would turn colors (honestly, how many details do you need to give a three year old? Generalities work well for me.). 

On Friday morning, after Brian had his devotions, Addie found the kit and brought it to him.  "Daddy, we cook the eggs, put them in cups, and then they color!" Brian couldn't believe she was giving him the directions for "coloring" the eggs.

While we ate breakfast, I boiled 13 eggs. I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of good eggs to work with.  Addie sat on the counter and I let her place the eggs in the big pot (the stove was not yet on) very gently so they wouldn't crack.  As I suspected, two of the eggs expanded partially out of their shells.  I had those as the second part of my breakfast. All of the others were taken out of the water, put back into an empty egg carton, and placed in the fridge to keep from going bad.

After I cleaned the living and dining rooms, I called Addie into the kitchen and pulled out the egg dying kit (which I had hidden earlier in the morning). Addie was beside herself!  We laid down several layers of newspaper and she put on one of  Daddy's t-shirts.  I got all of the dyes ready and told her what I was doing with each step.  I loved it when I told her that I was getting warm water for the cups- "Not too hot and not too cold. Just right!" she said.

Then we began the process of dying the eggs. We only did 10- 2 for each color of dye.  She was so careful and gentle with the eggs.  I was amazed at how painless this project was (Laugh, I know you want to.) She used the little tool to turn the eggs over and over until they were the right shade of the color they were in. Then I took them out of the dye and placed them in the little drying holder.

After they were all dyed, she got to pick one egg and all of the rest went back into the fridge. The kit came with character holders and stickers so she decorated her little egg with all seriousness.  As she finished an egg, it went back into the fridge and we would bring out another for her to decorate.  We decorated four before lunch time.

Then it was time to clean everything up.  The dye was dumped in the sink, the plastic containers rinsed and put in the dishwasher (just going to save those for craft projects), and the newspaper tossed.  For lunch, I made a small egg salad sandwhich for Addie using the extra egg that I had made but didn't use. In the evening after Daddy left to have a Guys Night Out with Dad, Jim, and the son of Dad's friend, we decorated some more eggs.

According to the April 2011 edition of Better Homes and Gardens, as long as the eggs have not been at room temperature for more than two hours, they are safe to be eaten.  The dye we used was a non-toxic pure food color dye- be sure to check what your dye label says before eating.

If you attempt egg dying this year, I hope your experience is as enjoyable as mine was.  I'll definitely be dying eggs with Addie in years to come.

Memories | And I Quote

If you have little ones or kids of any age, they are garunteed to leave you with quotes that are hilarious and unforgetable.  Be sure to jot them down in some way- a notebook, scrapbook, text message, email, blog, or some other way that works for you.  Having these quotes to look back on will be priceless in the years to come, and you will not run the risk of forgetting those little quotes.

Addie is a storehouse of funny quotes, quips, remarks, and observances.  I am amazed at things she picks up (at this point, I think I should stop being amazed because it happens so often) and how she puts things together in ways that make sense to her and also make sense to us.

The other day I cut up some strawberries for her, but a leaf snuck its way into her bowl. She found the leaf and said, "Mommy, I don't eat leaves.  Only dinosaurs eat leaves."  Ummmm, okay.  We don't need to go into their complete diet yet. 

On Wednesday, Titi Elsie (Lala) came for a visit.  Addie had gone down for a nap but was not asleep when Lala arrived.  I decided to just let Addie stay up and enjoy Lala's company.  She looked out the window, saw Lala walking up the sidewalk, and started jumping up and down shouting "Lala's here!"  When Titi Elsie walked in the door, Addie shouted, "Oh, Mommy!   I'm so happy and excited!  Lala's here!"  How do you tell her to lie down after that?

On Tuesday, Addie came up to me and said, "Mommy, I don't feel so good.  I think I have gas."  What! Where did that come from?  But you know what?  She was right.

Later that day, I told Addie that Mommy needed her help.  I needed her to take the dinner plates outside to the back porch since we were eating outside for dinner.  She looked at me, and said in her most sympathetic voice, "Oh, the poor little mommy needs help." Brian and I died laughing.

We have been going on line and seeing the baby's growth progress (the size of a peach this week).  Addie loves looking at "the baby".  She usually starts talking to the baby in "baby talk", pretends to take it off the screen in her hands, and carefully walks it to the playroom to look at the toys.

Yesterday morning, when Addie woke up, she told me, "Mommy, I missed you and Daddy all night!"  What is there to say?  I have a sweetie pie wrapped around my heart.

Where Did You Get Your Name?

You have already read the Amazing Story of You (a trip down memory lane on Addie's arrival), and you know that she was named after "Little Grandma" Adelaida (my dad's mother), but there is a story behind how we chose the name Adelaide for our daughter.

When Brian and I first were married, we already knew that if we were to have a boy, his name would be Christopher Brian.... until two years ago when our nephew was named Christopher.  However, we did not have a girl's name picked out.  We just could not find one that we loved.   And then.....

Little Grandma was a very short woman, her children, grandchildren, and grandchildren-in-love towered over her, she shuffled when she walked,  osteoporosis was taking over her body, acid reflux was limiting what she could eat, and arthritis began limiting what she could do.  But one thing these ailments could not stop her from doing was spending time with her Lord or shake the faith that was so strong in her heart.

She loved the Lord with all her heart.  She spent her time reading the Word and watching preachers on TV because she was no longer able to leave the house.  At every meal, she prayed for each of her family members by name, beginning with the oldest child of hers and their spouse, children, and grandchildren until each person had been prayed for.  As I commuted to college, she prayed for my safety daily, and I know God heard her prayers- especially during some of the rough NJ winters we had. When I thought I would never get married, I used to ask God to allow Grandma to live long enough to name my husband in her prayers. 

Little Grandma's life was a rough one, but despite the hardships she endured, she kept her faith  and her trust in the Lord.  On Sunday mornings, she would take her four children to church with her, walking the entire way.  My grandfather was not saved at the time, so she had to bring a spiritual awareness to her children on her own.

Grandma is with Faye (being held) and me

Eventually, because of the faithfulness of this little woman, my grandfather did come to know the Lord.  He passed away when I was about 5 years old.  At the time, we lived next to my grandparents, as we had relocated to Tampa, Florida.  Until I was ten, we lived beside my very independent grandmother who although she was little drove her own car, tended her plants, cleaned her own home, and was called on for babysitting services for two of her adorable granddaughters :) 

Even after we moved back up north and then back to Florida, we maintained a very close relationship with Little Grandma.  When I brought Brian  to meet the family at my aunt's house where Grandma spent her final years, she fell in love with him instantly.  After a few visits, she knew he was "the one" and even said to him once, "You are my grandson, too."  Because we were not yet married, Brian said, "Not yet, but I will be soon."  Grandma was totally offended.  After we were married, she always brought up how Brian had said "not yet", and then she would end the story with, "But he is now!". 

Anytime I called my grandmother, after the wedding, to see how she was doing, she would always ask me, "So, do you have anything to tell me?"  In other words, "Are you expecting?"  Unfortunately, my answer was always "no".

Mom and Grandma were very close.

In the months before she passed away, Grandma gave each of her children and grandchildren a trinket that had belonged to her, so that we would never forget her.

In late August/early September of 2006, Grandma slipped, lost her balance, fell in my aunt's kitchen, and bumped her head on the floor.  She was rushed to the hospital.  Because of the osteoporosis, her skull had cracked during the fall and she broke her pelvic bone.  After being transferred to a hospital in Tampa, we realized that Grandma was not going to come home.  I was given time off work to be with her during her hospital stay and Brian was also given some time to visit with her.  She was beginning to get weak, and she communicated mostly by moving her right pointer finger up and down for "yes" and side to side for "no" without lifting her hand or arm.

One particular day, she had not slept peacefully.  Many of her adult grandchildren were there in the room, but when she looked up, she noticed Brian standing against the wall.  She lifted her hand, wiggled her finger to tell him to come to her, and then she held his hand and fell asleep for a bit.

The following evening, after many of her out-of-town family had come to see her, we went in to her room to say goodnight.  I walked up to her, told her I loved her, and kissed her on the forehead.  Then Brian walked up to her.  She lit up, lifted her hand to her face, pulled down her oxygen mask, and whispered, "I love you" to him.  Then she puckered up for a kiss. No one else received that kind of response from her. That was the last time we saw her conscious.

We received a call the next night from my mother telling us that if we wanted to see Grandma one last time, we needed to get to the hospital as fast as we could.  We rushed down to Tampa.  We went into the room and Grandma was unconscious, her breathing very labored.  Each time she took a breath, we were relieved, but then we held our own as we waited for her to take another.  I told her I loved her for the last time.  Her two daughters, my aunts Elsa and Alice, and my mom began singing to her some of her favorite Spanish hymns, and then she was gone. 

Grandma had this cute little giggle that she would giggle when we would give her long kisses on the cheeks.  I could picture her walking into heaven with her angelic escort, her hair back to it's original raven black color tied up in the roll/bun she was so known for in her "younger" days before arthritis kept her from styling her own hair, and seeing Grandpa after twenty years.  I could picture him running up to her, asking her in his "tough" voice what took her so long, and then kissing her on the cheek and her just giggling up a storm.  I could also envision her seeing all of her loved ones and having a good old Spanish reunion at the entrance to heaven.

As we drove to the gravesite, I wondered if the truckers that were stopped for our procession realized that they were on hold for a little woman that wasn't even five feet tall.  At the site, she was carried by the men in her life- her sons, sons-in-law, grandsons (including Brian), and a great-grandson-, and she was buried beside my grandfather.



Grandma Adelaide and her namesake Adelaide

 After all of the tears on the night that she passed away, Brian turned to me and said, "If we ever have a girl, let's name her after Little Grandma."  And that is exactly what we did.  I have a little walking reminder of the godly woman, the physically short spiritual giant, that was my grandmother and who I have the priviledge of having in my ancestory.

Memories | Some of Ours

These are some of the photos from our Project Life album.  This project has really made me focus on things I would not otherwise think about.  I am appreciating little moments, little things, the seemingly insignificant as being the foundation to what makes us a family and the way we are all growing in that role.

This is a daily scene outside our dining room window.  Some days the entire clothes line is filled and other days it looks like this.  I love that time in the morning when we go outside to hang the laundry.  Addie especially likes when I have something long hanging down that she can run through.

This was the picture I took of Addie with Lala at the doctor's office.  We tried to get her to look at the camera, but this picture is more realistic of our time there than if she had posed and smiled.

Our pride and joy right now.  We worked so hard on ripping up the old landscaping and putting in new plants and replacing the tree bark mulch with red mulch.  This was literally an eight hour job for us, but we love the result. Every day, we look outside to see which plants are flowering and which ones are growing.  Addie gets into the action, too, by checking out the window and calling to us that we have flowers.  Next project... paint our shutters and front door... and maybe add some window boxes.

Addie has been playing with her dolls so well (I'm feeling better about how she will treat little Squishy).  She alternates daily which doll she will "baby", but her daily companion lately has been her beanie dog named Taffy that Lala gave her for Christmas.  She puts this little dog into a basket bed, reads the "Bible" to him, kisses him "Good night", and then asks me to "talk quietly because Taffy is sleeping."  I love watching her play Mommy.  It is also very eye opening for me because it is the best way I have of watching myself, since she is imitating what she sees me do.

One of the pleasures of having a little girl is getting to doll her up.  Last Friday was the first time Addie got to wear nail polish.  She saw me putting it on my toe nails and wanted some on hers. I told her that she had to go ask Daddy and whatever he said we would do.  Daddy, of course, said yes. He is a staunch supporter of little girls doing girly things. Addie was careful to stay still until they dried.  And did she show them off!  It was really a lot of fun and a special moment for us to share.

We have been taking advantage of our passes to Busch Gardens.  Addie has a plan of what she wants to see and where she wants to go when we get there.  We definitely prefer going during the week as opposed to weekends.  It was so much more crowded, and people were so rude.  We were just glad that Addie had a great time.  That is why we went, after all.

Fathers definitely become more lenient when they become grandfathers!  The things this girl gets away with is beyond my comprhension!   He always comes bearing gifts of some kind.  This week it was a package of crayons and a Dora coloring book.  He gets down on the floor in playroom to play and read stories (yep, it's a grandfather thing) and literally has his toes stepped on umpteen times during his visits, but he always comes back for more.  Sometimes, when I am trying to deal with something that she has just done, he'll laugh and say, "You used to do that, too! It's payback!"

My in-laws have the best lawn in the entire world!  It is the only grass that I ever walk through barefoot.  It is so thick, green, and feels so good on my feet.  Sometimes, I even take Addie shoes off and let her run through the grass barefooted.  It is an experience every child needs.... depending on the grass.