It's really been ages!
It's been like a couple of YEARS since I last posted here, right?? No? Well, it has been a long time, no doubt about that! I have thought and thought about posting, but I really don't get to use the home computer that much. Seems there's always something else to do instead. And I'm just not motivated enough to do a long catch-up post on the iTouch. :-) Reading everything you guys write, though- I do that!
So what's up in my world..... the thing which first comes to mind is all the activity of the current week, so I'll start there.
Monday was totally awesome. :-D Anyone who follows my Facebook saw my rapturous posts there, and here's what it was all about. A few weeks ago I got a message from a dear old friend, Julie (from Wisconsin), that they would be in the area soon and could we meet up? That was thrilling enough, and I planned supper and to invite Melody and Michael, too, and make it a real party. Shortly after that we learned that Skye (from Florida), another old friend of all of us girls, was ALSO going to be in the area with her family- miraculous! So they were added to the party, with much joy. A few days before The Day, yet ANOTHER old friend of all of ours, Lizzy (from Minnesota), decided to come on out and join us! So on Monday my house was full to bursting with 21 people, and it was WONDERFUL. I loved every minute of the visiting and laughter and catching up. I mean, this stuff just doesn't happen to me! It was almost surreal to look around and see these faces, all together for a brief time. And being around other mommies and daddies is just so sweet to me and Jonathan. We so enjoy the handful of friends we have around here, but getting those other perspectives is just refreshing. I LOVED meeting and talking to and playing wth the little ones, too!!! Oh, and Monday morning Lizzy, a fabulous photographer, went out and did a little family shoot with us. I cannot wait to see what she captured!!! It was great seeing her in action, too. The last professional photos we had done were for the church directory, and they were awful. :-) Anyway, I thank God with all my heart for the day we had!!! And to any of you reading this- thank you a million times over for making time to come!!!
Yesterday was just a clean-up and do-laundry day in which I was dreadfully tired and my girls were dreadfully fussy. Tirzah has taken to following me around and telling me every. thing. that goes through her head. Literally! I think she's starting to graso that she has a brain that thinks and says things that her mouth doesn't, so she tells me all day long- "Mommy, I'm not saying it with my mouth, but I'm saying the words to this song in my head". The only disturbing part is when she told me she was thinking about shooting someone in our family. :-/ I was a bit comforted when she told me last night that guns shoot out fire. She doesn't have a clue what guns are or what they do, I think she's just thinking of all kinds of stuff! I guess I'm glad she's keeping me on the inside track. :-) I didn't get the laundry all done, but enough to ensure the neighbors don't think I died. I laugh to myself that they could set their clocks by my Tuesday and Friday laundry days. They won't know what to do in the winter when I bring the clothes back in to dry! The only challenge to using a clothesline in the city is keeping the undies hidden.... I put them on the middle line, but our neighbors probably know just exactly what our underthings look like, and how I fold them, lol, since I usually fold stuff right off the line and put it in the basket. Oh well. I try to be discreet, but it is what it is.
Oh! Speaking of underthings, I have more to hang these days! My Mia-girl is potty trained!! A month or two ago I left her bottomless one day, spent a lot fo time outside, and tried to take her potty frequently. We had mostly misses, but I discovered that she didn't seem to have a CLUE when she would potty! She would be in the middle of a sentence and not even hesitate or look down when she would go. I figured then that it would be awhile until we got this hurdle jumped and gave up for another time. We took her to Target and had her look at the panties. She was all excited about "Minnie Mouse! Dora! Princess!" until I asked her if she wanted some big girl panties and go potty like a big girl?! The smile disappeared. "No", she said, and commenced to put them back on the shelf! Yeah, I guessed potty training was a long way off. Well, at some point a few weeks back she gave me some indication that she was feeling more ready. I tried again the way we had before, leaving her bottomless or in panties, and that day we had a lot of misses since I'm just not disciplined enough, but that evening she went #2 ont he potty by herself. The next day she went almost entirely on the potty, even initiating a run to the bathroom in the middle of playtime twice! Since then she's been almost entirely self-initiating, though I do remind her often. I thought I would ry agian and then we'd buckle down if she seemed ready, but that trial day did the job completely. I'm still in shock. :-) I kept thinking she was so much older thatn Tirzah was when she potty trained, but not really after all. Tirzah was about 2 1/2, and Mia will be 3 in December, so there is really only a difference of a couple of months. Doesn't really matter, of course, but mamas seem to compare their babies a lot, however much it doesn't matter. :-) So anyway, that is kind of a bigdeal in our home. Mia still wears diapers for bedtime, but so far has been dry 98% of the time. It's unreal how easy it was, waiting until she was ready!!!
So, back to this week's activities. Tonight is our church's first week of AWANA, and we're all so excited!!! A few weeks back we decided to start going to Sunday School, for the first ever for our kids, and I am almost positive it's the first time since we married for Jonathan and me. Tirzah had an absolute blast, Mia struggled a LOT that first week, and I didn't even know it until too late. :-( Last week went much better, since i stayed with her half the time until she seemed ready to let me go. :-) Whatever it takes!! Anyway, since we really wanted Tirzah to be able to attend AWANA, but do not want to put Mia through the trauma of being left twice a week, I asked if I could help in her class. When I was handed the materials and started looking them over, I got the biggest thrill! I forgot how much I love doing stuff with 2-year-olds, how much I love this church. I used to teach the 2-year-old Sunday school, years and years ago, and I'm just so happy to be doing it again. It began as a way to be with Mia, but I remember now what a blessing it is to work with this age group, and how much I've always loved doing it. Turns out there was a bit of a lack of volunteers for this class, too, so I'm so glad God led me to ask! So Jonathan is going to work with me, and we start tonight. Our class is called "Puggles" and I thnk that's about the cutest name ever. :-) Tirzah will be in Sparks, I believe, and she's so excited. I'm so happy for her that she is getting to know our church family, getting to be friends with the other children, and getting to develop a little away from me, still under the care of those I trust. It is good. She went to VBS this year, too, for the first time, and struggled in the mornings with leaving, but had so much to talk about hwne she came home! I don't anticipate any trouble with AWANA.
Tomorrow will more or less wrap up another prject I've been busy on for several weeks. I'm selling in the consignment sale called Just Between Friends. I LOVE this sale!!! It's held only twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall, and this is my first time to sell there. I'm eager to see how it goes! There's been a flurry of going through boxes, washing stuff, hunting down hangers, pricing, printing tags, tagging everything, and tomorrow I get to go shop the presale as a result of being a consigner. I went through all the girls' cool-weather stuff last week and have a good idea of what I need to look for. Honestly, I just can't wait to shop. ;-) My kids bring out the shopper in me, unfortunately!! But this time, Lord willing, I'll make something back AND get rid of some stuff I don't need, hooray!!! :-) I drop everything off in the morning, and shop the presale with Amy tomorrow night. It's going to be great.
Friday will be laundry day again. Then, with everything else done, I can get back to getting ready for Tirzah's 5th birthday party. I won't try to defend myself, I simply love throwing birthday parties for kids, and I take it to ridiculous extremes. The party is on the 24th of this month and I designed the invitations about 6 weeks ago. :-/ It makes me feel alive, what else can I say? I've actually not been able to throw myself into as much as usual since I was sewing for Amy's sister's wedding all summer, but now that's done. I also designed her invitations and took her bridal and engagement portraits, which was fun, but it has certainly all kept me busy. Busy, however, is good. Anyway, so I'm back to Tirzah's party. Her dress is very nearly done and was very nearly free, with the exception of trims. I had some bits and pieces of fabrics left over from my own and some other weddings I sewed for, and with a nice pink dye-bath, it has made a lovely dress. I hope to do her portraits soon, and sew some Tangled-inspired bags for picking up the pinata stuff, and make a pinata, and finish some pinwheels. The party began as just a colorful theme, but with the viewing of Tangled it has needed to take on some Rapunzel-y touches. I think it's working. :-)
I've been taking loads of pictures this summer. I was introduced to a message board- www.ilovephotography.com- where you can view some amazing photos and post your own for critiquing and help, and I love it!! I understand many things I didn't before, though the execution requires much practice. I don't have aspirations of going into business, but I want to be as good as I can and do photos for friends and family who wouldn't hire a photographer. Most of all, I want to capture my family life beautifully. It's good for me. I feel great behind a camera, though editing takes a lot out of me. All the more reason to be a better photographer, right?
Mentally and emotionally I've had up days and down days. More ups, I think. I'm quite afraid of the wintertime, but using recommended supplements and learning coping skills that I hope will help. I also hope very much that being more involved in church will make a big difference through the long dreary season. Phone calls are always good for me, so you guys feel free to call. :-) It's a difficult road, dealing with emotional issues, but I trust I have the support to deal with it. I've never been so glad to live near my family!!!
Trying to shove winter fears aside and enjoy the blessedly cooler days we've had for the past 3! We ALMOST broke the record for the highest number of days over 100 degrees this year. The record was 42 days. At day 40 or 41 it dropped to the 80's FOR ONE DAY and then went right back up!!! It was ridiculous. It's also been insanely dry. It may well be all my fault, though, since i was praying the summer would last long enough I'd get sick of it before winter returned. :-) We tried to spend lots of time outdoors (as much as possible at 111 degrees) and soak up the sunshine. I think we made more of this summer than any other I can remember.
I have so much more I could say, but I guess I should go get ready to go. Thanks to anyone who read all this! At least now you have some clue as to what's up in Amanda's world. :-) Love you all!
So what's up in my world..... the thing which first comes to mind is all the activity of the current week, so I'll start there.
Monday was totally awesome. :-D Anyone who follows my Facebook saw my rapturous posts there, and here's what it was all about. A few weeks ago I got a message from a dear old friend, Julie (from Wisconsin), that they would be in the area soon and could we meet up? That was thrilling enough, and I planned supper and to invite Melody and Michael, too, and make it a real party. Shortly after that we learned that Skye (from Florida), another old friend of all of us girls, was ALSO going to be in the area with her family- miraculous! So they were added to the party, with much joy. A few days before The Day, yet ANOTHER old friend of all of ours, Lizzy (from Minnesota), decided to come on out and join us! So on Monday my house was full to bursting with 21 people, and it was WONDERFUL. I loved every minute of the visiting and laughter and catching up. I mean, this stuff just doesn't happen to me! It was almost surreal to look around and see these faces, all together for a brief time. And being around other mommies and daddies is just so sweet to me and Jonathan. We so enjoy the handful of friends we have around here, but getting those other perspectives is just refreshing. I LOVED meeting and talking to and playing wth the little ones, too!!! Oh, and Monday morning Lizzy, a fabulous photographer, went out and did a little family shoot with us. I cannot wait to see what she captured!!! It was great seeing her in action, too. The last professional photos we had done were for the church directory, and they were awful. :-) Anyway, I thank God with all my heart for the day we had!!! And to any of you reading this- thank you a million times over for making time to come!!!
Yesterday was just a clean-up and do-laundry day in which I was dreadfully tired and my girls were dreadfully fussy. Tirzah has taken to following me around and telling me every. thing. that goes through her head. Literally! I think she's starting to graso that she has a brain that thinks and says things that her mouth doesn't, so she tells me all day long- "Mommy, I'm not saying it with my mouth, but I'm saying the words to this song in my head". The only disturbing part is when she told me she was thinking about shooting someone in our family. :-/ I was a bit comforted when she told me last night that guns shoot out fire. She doesn't have a clue what guns are or what they do, I think she's just thinking of all kinds of stuff! I guess I'm glad she's keeping me on the inside track. :-) I didn't get the laundry all done, but enough to ensure the neighbors don't think I died. I laugh to myself that they could set their clocks by my Tuesday and Friday laundry days. They won't know what to do in the winter when I bring the clothes back in to dry! The only challenge to using a clothesline in the city is keeping the undies hidden.... I put them on the middle line, but our neighbors probably know just exactly what our underthings look like, and how I fold them, lol, since I usually fold stuff right off the line and put it in the basket. Oh well. I try to be discreet, but it is what it is.
Oh! Speaking of underthings, I have more to hang these days! My Mia-girl is potty trained!! A month or two ago I left her bottomless one day, spent a lot fo time outside, and tried to take her potty frequently. We had mostly misses, but I discovered that she didn't seem to have a CLUE when she would potty! She would be in the middle of a sentence and not even hesitate or look down when she would go. I figured then that it would be awhile until we got this hurdle jumped and gave up for another time. We took her to Target and had her look at the panties. She was all excited about "Minnie Mouse! Dora! Princess!" until I asked her if she wanted some big girl panties and go potty like a big girl?! The smile disappeared. "No", she said, and commenced to put them back on the shelf! Yeah, I guessed potty training was a long way off. Well, at some point a few weeks back she gave me some indication that she was feeling more ready. I tried again the way we had before, leaving her bottomless or in panties, and that day we had a lot of misses since I'm just not disciplined enough, but that evening she went #2 ont he potty by herself. The next day she went almost entirely on the potty, even initiating a run to the bathroom in the middle of playtime twice! Since then she's been almost entirely self-initiating, though I do remind her often. I thought I would ry agian and then we'd buckle down if she seemed ready, but that trial day did the job completely. I'm still in shock. :-) I kept thinking she was so much older thatn Tirzah was when she potty trained, but not really after all. Tirzah was about 2 1/2, and Mia will be 3 in December, so there is really only a difference of a couple of months. Doesn't really matter, of course, but mamas seem to compare their babies a lot, however much it doesn't matter. :-) So anyway, that is kind of a bigdeal in our home. Mia still wears diapers for bedtime, but so far has been dry 98% of the time. It's unreal how easy it was, waiting until she was ready!!!
So, back to this week's activities. Tonight is our church's first week of AWANA, and we're all so excited!!! A few weeks back we decided to start going to Sunday School, for the first ever for our kids, and I am almost positive it's the first time since we married for Jonathan and me. Tirzah had an absolute blast, Mia struggled a LOT that first week, and I didn't even know it until too late. :-( Last week went much better, since i stayed with her half the time until she seemed ready to let me go. :-) Whatever it takes!! Anyway, since we really wanted Tirzah to be able to attend AWANA, but do not want to put Mia through the trauma of being left twice a week, I asked if I could help in her class. When I was handed the materials and started looking them over, I got the biggest thrill! I forgot how much I love doing stuff with 2-year-olds, how much I love this church. I used to teach the 2-year-old Sunday school, years and years ago, and I'm just so happy to be doing it again. It began as a way to be with Mia, but I remember now what a blessing it is to work with this age group, and how much I've always loved doing it. Turns out there was a bit of a lack of volunteers for this class, too, so I'm so glad God led me to ask! So Jonathan is going to work with me, and we start tonight. Our class is called "Puggles" and I thnk that's about the cutest name ever. :-) Tirzah will be in Sparks, I believe, and she's so excited. I'm so happy for her that she is getting to know our church family, getting to be friends with the other children, and getting to develop a little away from me, still under the care of those I trust. It is good. She went to VBS this year, too, for the first time, and struggled in the mornings with leaving, but had so much to talk about hwne she came home! I don't anticipate any trouble with AWANA.
Tomorrow will more or less wrap up another prject I've been busy on for several weeks. I'm selling in the consignment sale called Just Between Friends. I LOVE this sale!!! It's held only twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall, and this is my first time to sell there. I'm eager to see how it goes! There's been a flurry of going through boxes, washing stuff, hunting down hangers, pricing, printing tags, tagging everything, and tomorrow I get to go shop the presale as a result of being a consigner. I went through all the girls' cool-weather stuff last week and have a good idea of what I need to look for. Honestly, I just can't wait to shop. ;-) My kids bring out the shopper in me, unfortunately!! But this time, Lord willing, I'll make something back AND get rid of some stuff I don't need, hooray!!! :-) I drop everything off in the morning, and shop the presale with Amy tomorrow night. It's going to be great.
Friday will be laundry day again. Then, with everything else done, I can get back to getting ready for Tirzah's 5th birthday party. I won't try to defend myself, I simply love throwing birthday parties for kids, and I take it to ridiculous extremes. The party is on the 24th of this month and I designed the invitations about 6 weeks ago. :-/ It makes me feel alive, what else can I say? I've actually not been able to throw myself into as much as usual since I was sewing for Amy's sister's wedding all summer, but now that's done. I also designed her invitations and took her bridal and engagement portraits, which was fun, but it has certainly all kept me busy. Busy, however, is good. Anyway, so I'm back to Tirzah's party. Her dress is very nearly done and was very nearly free, with the exception of trims. I had some bits and pieces of fabrics left over from my own and some other weddings I sewed for, and with a nice pink dye-bath, it has made a lovely dress. I hope to do her portraits soon, and sew some Tangled-inspired bags for picking up the pinata stuff, and make a pinata, and finish some pinwheels. The party began as just a colorful theme, but with the viewing of Tangled it has needed to take on some Rapunzel-y touches. I think it's working. :-)
I've been taking loads of pictures this summer. I was introduced to a message board- www.ilovephotography.com- where you can view some amazing photos and post your own for critiquing and help, and I love it!! I understand many things I didn't before, though the execution requires much practice. I don't have aspirations of going into business, but I want to be as good as I can and do photos for friends and family who wouldn't hire a photographer. Most of all, I want to capture my family life beautifully. It's good for me. I feel great behind a camera, though editing takes a lot out of me. All the more reason to be a better photographer, right?
Mentally and emotionally I've had up days and down days. More ups, I think. I'm quite afraid of the wintertime, but using recommended supplements and learning coping skills that I hope will help. I also hope very much that being more involved in church will make a big difference through the long dreary season. Phone calls are always good for me, so you guys feel free to call. :-) It's a difficult road, dealing with emotional issues, but I trust I have the support to deal with it. I've never been so glad to live near my family!!!
Trying to shove winter fears aside and enjoy the blessedly cooler days we've had for the past 3! We ALMOST broke the record for the highest number of days over 100 degrees this year. The record was 42 days. At day 40 or 41 it dropped to the 80's FOR ONE DAY and then went right back up!!! It was ridiculous. It's also been insanely dry. It may well be all my fault, though, since i was praying the summer would last long enough I'd get sick of it before winter returned. :-) We tried to spend lots of time outdoors (as much as possible at 111 degrees) and soak up the sunshine. I think we made more of this summer than any other I can remember.
I have so much more I could say, but I guess I should go get ready to go. Thanks to anyone who read all this! At least now you have some clue as to what's up in Amanda's world. :-) Love you all!