The Price on Sleep

In the last two weeks, Maisie has broken the zipper on TWO playpen tents. If you don't know what one of these are, you either were fortunate enough not to have any "climbers" or had your babies before these miraculous inventions came on the market.

Anyway...

Maisie broke the first zipper in the midst of a time out in her tent. She was of course not happy and was trying to stop me from zipping it up. So, I tried madly to fix it and to no avail, borrowed my brother's. He is one of the fortunates listed above, but had acquired one of these tents from a friend and is holding onto it just in case. Well, the same day I got the second tent all set up, she broke it's zipper too.

So this week I bought a third tent to replace my brothers. I will be able to use it until Maisie eventually moves into her big girl bed. I briefly thought about whether or not this was a good time to make that transition...but in the week plus a few days since we have been without, her naps have gone from 2-3 hours to 1 hour and she gets up around 5:45 - 6am instead of 7-7:30am. Like this morning when she woke up Ruby and Daphne and me at 6 am demanding her favorite breakfast of eggs. With the counsel of my mom, I came to the decision that I deserve a few more months of zipping in Ms. Maisie.

These tents cost 50-70 dollars depending on the deal. And yet, I dropped those coins fast, and anxiously await the day that the new tent arrives at my doorstep.

Maisie, if you read this someday, let me add that I know someday you will be like your dad. You will arise before the sun and do a whole variety of activities before the rest of the world even wakes up. And you will be rewarded for your energy and productivity. Your bundles of energy are also what everyone loves about you. But for now, mommy needs her rest and so do you!

Our Little Ruby

Ruby is almost 4 months now! She sleeps nearly 12 hours every night and has been for awhile now. And trust me, I know it has little to do with my parenting ~ she was a born a good sleeper and we encouraged that the few ways we knew how! Mostly just praising God everyday for this huge blessing!

She loves to play on the floor on her floormat. And sorry if you are still jealous about the above paragraph, but she is known to just put herself to sleep on the floor when she gets bored too.

She loves her sisters and smiles and coos even when they crowd her a little too much. She also "talks" and "talks" to me and I wouldn't be surprised if she was early to speak like her big sister Daphne.

What else? She is so sweet and innocent and I can't get enough of her little body in my arms! Oh, and even if you think she looks like her daddy (sometimes true), it is wonderfully haunting to look into her eyes and see myself looking back at me.

Ruby Garland, you are the perfect addition to our family. I love you!

Daphne's Vocabulary

Earth Day Trivia: We consume 13, 056 pints of milk in our lifetime.

(seen on NGC's "Human Footprint)

I often boast or at least chuckle over my daughter's vocabulary. For example, last night as she prayed she said things like, "Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to eat this wonderful meal". She's always loved words and "steals" new ones whenever possible from Mike's and my conversations, to movies, to things heard at church. Like it or not, our kids' words often represent our own, and I think Mike and I do a pretty good job of keeping things clean, informational and of course fun and silly too.

But I have to say that I was a little amazed when I heard a little one at the grocery store talking to her mom about their compost pile. Here I was just proud of myself for making it to WINCO with the kids (I know you know that Safeway is so much easier with kids)...but here was this mom with bags she had brought from home in her cart and discussing their compost pile with her little sponges.

Now, Daphne knows a lot of words, but unfortunately, "compost pile" is not in our household vocabulary list. And to be honest, it probably never will be. But it sure started me thinking. If we claim to be followers of Christ to our daughters, shouldn't we be teaching them about taking care of this planet, you know the one that our heavenly Father so lovingly created for us.

Today is Earth Day...and since yesterday I found out all my last disk of pictures I had taken on my camera were unretrievable and couldn't do the blog post I had already created in my mind (Ruby's first swim, Ruby sleeping 12 hours at night, etc - yes a tragedy that I lost those pics) I have brought you this pondering. What change can you start in your home today that will benefit our earth?

I'm not all that "green" - We pay to have the BIG trash can, that is full every week and I let my kids take really long showers, just so I can have a little peace and quiet... etc. But...

Here's mine: I'm going to try reusing my paper sacks each time I go to WINCO. And in a month or two, I might take on recycling my glass stuff, which curbside recycling won't take in my city.

You probably are way ahead of me...but even if you are....let's all take on something new today!

Sisters

Have you ever had a friend that people always mistakingly assumed was your sister? Well, recently I have. Her name is Leslie, which coincidently, is my real sister's name also. But anyways, Leslie and I became acquainted at church only a year ago, and since then, over and over, people have asked us if we are sisters. I can't speak for Leslie, but I took it as a compliment, as Leslie is 8 years younger than me, super cute and so so sweet!

Leslie and I met just a little over a year ago when she joined my mom's group. She brought her sweet little daughter, Grace, only 5 months at the time. No one else had attended that day, so her and I just got to chat and get to know each other, which was fun. That was just the beginning of Leslie and her husband Josh becoming really involved at our church....mom's group, women's ministry, men's ministry, Bible studies, nursery duties, teaching middle school classes...and FAST friends to a big group of couples who enjoy each other's company out of church too.

But the sad part of the story is that just a month ago her and Josh moved away due to a great internship that Josh has chosen. They are actually really excited to be off on an adventure; one that they feel God has been leading them toward. But, now they are very separated from friends and family and Leslie is at home with little Grace (now about a year and a half old) for many hours as Josh's commute makes his work day even longer. She is very positive about their new situation, but she went from being involved in all that I listed above, plus a leader of Young Life in our city, to mostly just caring after Grace and Josh.

Some of you may have experienced something like this in the past...and even if you haven't you can imagine how Leslie might be needing some one to just talk to. Thus, she started a blog to keep us all informed on their new life. And yet, no one in my community does this blogging thing. And they don't comment either. So it makes me sad to see her comments at only 1 each post - and that's mine.

You all so graciously welcomed me into your blog community...and I can't tell you how much I realized I needed you - you really are my "mom's group via the internet" that I can access whenever I need to vent, have a question or just want to gab (that really is a whole other post...)

So, I have added her to my "B-LOGS to BELONG TO " and wouldn't she just fall over to find that she had like 5 to 10 comments from encouraging strangers. I know she will enjoy your blogs too.

Thanks for letting me introduce you to my sister in Christ, Leslie!

A Master Mom

This is a tribute to Mike's mom, Pam, in honor of her birthday.

I've been just waiting for the perfect opportunity to brag about my mom-in-law, Pam. She is completely one of the most talented women I know! And I am so blessed to have married Mike, because she is now one of my very best friends too.

One way she shows love to her "chicks", as she so dearly calls her sons, daughters, and grandchildren, is to make us all handcrafted treasures. Treasure is the right word too, because I am talking about items, so beautifully and meticulously put together, that they will pass the test of time and be lovingly adored by generations to come.

She is so humble too! I have my own sort of translation of Pam's critiques (she's a perfectionist of course)of her work:

1. If she says that "I am just so ashamed and embarassed of it and it may not be seen by anyone - I'm thowing it away!" - that means that it is wonderfully put together, and it would be most people's best work.

2. If she says that "It's alright...I'm disappointed in this part or that...It'll do." -that means that I can't find the flaw she is referring to, and that I can't wait to show it to my friends and display it in my home.

3. And if she says in her cute little squeal of excitement, that "I am really pleased with how it turned out!" - well then, you have to know that what she created is beyond perfection...because if Pam is pleased, then it's worth a million bucks.

So, Pam...thank you for all your hard work over the years. And not just for the things you have MADE all of us, but for all the special gifts you have given us too. You always take the time to find out what exactly we want, and learn exactly what makes us feel loved. From dressing me and my girls alike in Hanna Andersson dresses on Mother's Day, to hiring a cleaning lady after my first c-section, to helping take care of the girls whenever I need it and for all your lovely hand-made presents...I can't tell you how much you are loved!

Pam made her first two grandchildren's bumper pads...first adorning Daphne's

nursery, and then passed on to Maisie. I picked out the fabric and then

Pam did her magic.

After making the crib bumper, with the fabric we searched

high and low for...Pam found this matching chair in a Penney's catalogue.

And yes, she bought it for Daphne and brought it to us,

coincidentally the morning of the day I went into labor.

No Pam didn't make these frames, but

when Maisie was about to turn one,

she says to me, "Maisie won't know the difference, so

I want to buy her something for her brand new room in your new house,

so you just pick something out.

Of course I went straight to the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue....thanks Pam!"

Ruby's curtains - she whipped them out at my baby shower during

our designated "craft time".

My Christmas present last year!

Daphne's quilt

The pillows that match!

A closer look...

And although she was nervous to paint on Daphne's new walls, when I came

to her with the idea...she of course did it, and look how it turned out!

Pam's birthday is tomorrow, April 2nd. If you know Pam, or just love her work...leave her a b-day comment and that will make her day!