Mobile

Mobility. That is the word of the week. It is a new found ability and now the real excitement begins. There is now so much to explore. For instance dog food tastes "wonderful", the vacuum cleaner cord cannot be left unwound, dirt and grass which is tracked into the house holds a new world of fascination, and grimy sneakers never looked so tasty. My seven month old boy already has his first bruised forehead from rocking himself into the corner wall. Adam and I were both standing right there, but how can you keep a mobile baby from moving? You cannot keep him in a box now. He wants to roam free, to eat what you are eating, to slobber on what you are holding and get into what you want to keep him out of. But the positive side is that a mobile baby is a sleepy baby and just might sleep through the whole night. Ah, wonderful sleep. Now to see if he keeps this up.

Just a Photo

Ah, what a lovely day to share some photos with you. How can I not, on such a gorgeous day? The breeze is blowing gently through the trees, sending "helicopter" seeds fluttering to the ground. And Josh is sleeping. So I sit and enjoy the silence. I don't know why the boy is so tired this morning. Maybe it has something to do with the topic of my previous post...

A Good Man

My husband makes one good Daddy. I can rest assured knowing that he would take very good care of Josh, if ever something happened to me. This evening Josh (who we call "Chunky") is having a very hard time going to sleep. I have tried nursing him and rocking him and doing those kind of Motherly type things. Adam, on the other hand, has read him books and as I write now, he is playing guitar and singing to his little boy. Josh has stopped crying and I can only imagine that he is drifting off to sleep serenaded by his Daddy's strummings. Daddy's voice may not be beautiful or sing in perfect pitch, the strumming is just that, but it is done with love and affection. I am seeing a side of Adam tonight that I had not seen before, and it makes me love him all the more. Tender and kind. Gentle and loving. Family first, even though the Stanley Cup Playoffs are on TV.

Thank you God for my man. Bless him and watch over him. Thank you for giving him to me.

Don't do this at Home

I had been out all day Tuesday with my mother. We had been buying vegetable plants for our gardens and it was about 3:30 when I finally returned home. Josh had fallen asleep in his car seat so I figured I'd let him continue sleeping while I returned some books to the library. I ran inside to grab the books and my cell phone ( which I had forgotten earlier in the day). I saw that Adam had called, so I called him back while I was heading back to the car. Molly wanted to go with me to the library too (she stays in the car), so I let her out and locked the door behind me. It wasn't until I got in the car and went to start it that I realized my keys weren't in my purse. "Oh great," was all I could think. I checked the back door hoping that maybe I had inadvertently left it unlocked. But no, I'm a good girl and lock up all the doors before I leave. And I could see my keys lying on the table as I looked in the window. So now all three of us-Josh, Molly and myself, were locked out with no way to get in. Adam was working two hours away and my parents, who typically have the spare key, had lent that particular key chain to my brother who was working lawn care jobs with a company and wouldn't be able to come unlock my door. Now what? My neighbor wasn't home and who knew when she would be, as after school sports keep her pretty busy. I don't know many other neighbors and my friend Liz, who lives a few minutes away, doesn't have a car and can't come get me. I thought about sitting and waiting for my neighbor to come home, but after 45 minutes of sitting in my car reading my library books, I decided to call my friend Carissa to chat. Turns out she wasn't doing too much that afternoon and when she heard what I had done, she volunteered to come get us. So Josh, Molly and I spent the rest of our afternoon and evening with Carissa and her family. Adam didn't end up getting home until 9:00, but thankfully he called my brother Joe, who had the spare key and had by7:30 gotten done with work for the day. Joe drove out to our house, unlocked the door, got my keys and then drove my car the 20 minutes to Carissa's to get us. He actually picked us up at the school pool where she was lifeguarding for the evening. And since we were at the pool, Josh went "swimming" for the very first time. Carissa took pictures, which I will hopefully be able to post later so you can see his first swimming adventure.

A Festive Saturday

Adam and I had a very fun time this past weekend. It was the first Saturday we had spent together in four weeks as Adam has been busy putting in a furnace and air conditioner for a family we know. One of the towns near us was having a festival of sorts, so we headed on over there along with my in-laws, B and J. The clouds were very threatening, but we were brave and besides, this was going to be Josh's first parade experience. Upon arrival, we meandered very quickly through the craft booths while the clouds got darker and darker. Our friend Shelly had a booth with a few of her photographs displayed and shortly after I had made it to her tent, the heavens opened and it started to pour. And I mean pour. People huddled here and there under tents or walked quickly by under their umbrellas. Shelly tried to keep the leaky tent from dripping all over her display. She tossed plastic over one large photograph of a very beautiful baby. She was exasperated, but I was enjoying the rain storm. The rain eventually subsided and we went on our merry way. Adam was already asking about going home. (He's no fun ;) But I really was looking forward to the parade. After all, I had always loved the parade when I was a kid and why should I stop now? The sky continued to threaten rain, so we gathered on the steps of the Methodist Church on Main St, which had a nice overhang in case it started to rain again. Thankfully the rain held off until the parade was over. I loved the bands and the gorilla driving the go-cart was very funny, especially since I knew the gorilla from work. We waved to the festival queen and to our friends who marched by. My sister, Hannah, joined us to watch the parade and the two of us enjoyed the candy tossed out into the crowd. I felt like a kid again. When it was over, Adam was very ready to go home cause he doesn't especially like parades. I guess I can't blame him. After all, he doesn't know anyone in my hometown so he doesn't enjoying seeing all the familiar faces like I do.

Saturday evening we had a few friends over for burgers and a good game of croquet. Our family has been playing croquet every summer since I can remember, so you'd think I'd be a pro by now. But, despite my croquet handicap, I do enjoy a good game. The fellowship was sweet and we ended the evening gathered around a little camp fire. Ahhhh, what a nice weekend.

I won't bore you with a detailed entry of what we did on Sunday.

Ughhhh...

I'm just briefly checking in with the blogging world. Today I feel over-stuffed, weighed down and very groggy. My plans for the afternoon include taking a nice long nap, if Joshua will allow for it. Each year, for the past three years, I seem to suffer increasingly from allergies. They don't last long, only for about a week(ish). I know it's nowhere near what my Mom goes through, but since I never had any problems until fairly recently, it is more accentuated. Today I dragged myself out of bed, left my baby with my Mother-in-law and headed off to work. My mind was slow, but still functional and I made it through the day. On my way home I stopped to buy one cent stamps and forgot to pay the Postman for them. He was kind enough to remind me before I got too far away from the counter. Now my bed sounds inviting and hopefully a nap will revive some energy before my love gets home from work. (Quiet Josh, I'm trying to sleep...)

Why?!?

Today I am mad at the world. I'm mad that gas is just shy of four dollars. I'm mad that our food supply is being turned into a fuel source for our vehicles. I'm mad that I cannot jump in my car and drive to the grocery store without having to figure out the most economical way to do so. I'm mad at the lady at the Post Office who sold me stamps two weeks ago without telling me that the price was going up. I'm mad that she didn't offer me the Forever stamp. I'm mad that I've already gone into town today and therefore am not going back to get one cent stamps to mail the bills which should've been taken today and would've been, if the lady at the Post Office had sold me Forever stamps.Why didn't she offer me any? Why didn't anyone warn me of the stamp increase? Why do I keep trying to support the US Postal system? Why don't I pay my bills online? Why? Why? Why?

Okay, thanks everyone. I feel better now after getting it all out. I don't know why the stamp increase bugged me so, but it really had me ticked. I guess with everything else rising, why can't the good ol' Post Office raise their prices... Again.

One More...

I know. You're probably tired of photos of babies in buckets, but just one more. By the time my Mom had five kids she couldn't keep them in buckets for long enough. Try as she might, my brother Nathan didn't seem to stay put, even if she had put him in a bucket. Mom just couldn't see why.

More Buckets

I guess my Mom and I aren't the only Mommies that kept/keep our kids in a bucket. The top photo is my Mother and the second photo is my cousin Annie. Ain't she cute? Mommies can be so ingenious!

Kid in a Bucket

My Mom kept her kids in buckets too. This is my brother Dave.

A Great Place to Play

We were recently given some second hand clothes for Joshua. They were sizes 9-18 months and came in a ten gallon tote. I don't know about any of you other Mommies out there, but I like the tote as much as I like the clothes! Josh can still be a little tipsy when it comes to sitting upright. He does okay for a while, but then crashes to the floor. I've found the bucket to be a perfect place for him to sit and play. The sides keep Josh upright and if I toss a few toys in there with him, he'll sit and play quite contently, giving me enough time to wash dishes, make supper or do some laundry. I'm only hoping that I won't have to return the tote to it's former owner anytime soon!

Must Love Dogs

Joshua has apparently inherited a love for dogs. He thinks they are the greatest thing, no matter what size or shape. If I put him on the floor he will roll over to be as close to Molly as possible. Josh loves to touch her and it's a really good thing she is so easy going! I think that those two will be friends for life.

To Swap or Not to Swap?

I've been filling in at work for a girl who is on maternity leave. Last night when my boss, Mary, came in to work, she was in quite the mood. She had just spent the last hour having a phone interview with a woman from Wife Swap. Mary hadn't applied for this kind of thing and hasn't even watched the show more than once. She was giddy with pleasure for being singled out from so many. The producers had been looking for a small business owner of a candy shop, and Mary's just happened to be one of the names that showed up. She hasn't signed anything or even sent in a formal application to be on the show yet, but it sure had us all talking last night. It's rather funny imagining her, her husband and her three daughters actually going through with this. I have to admit, Mary can be quite entertaining. :) She is receiving mixed advice about whether or not to send in the formal application. She could be getting into more than she bargained for! Thankfully, the producers are sending her a bunch of information and videos of the show, to help her decide if this is really something she'd like to do. I, personally, am not sure what advice to give her. It undoubtedly would be the most interesting show that I would ever want to see... Mary, on TV. And I think that might be the only reason I'd say, "Go for it!" That and it's only for two weeks. But on the other hand, I wouldn't recommend handing my home, business and, most importantly, my children to some stranger that I had never met. All for our television viewing pleasure. I couldn't stand the thought of someone with completely different morals (or lack thereof) running my household and my life, even if it was only for a week. Mary most likely will decide to turn down the offer for the sake of her family, but will relish in pleasure being offered such a opportunity. What would your advice be??