Save Time and Money

Some day I will know I have “arrived” when I feel like I don’t have to shop at WalMart for groceries. The reason I frequently shop at WalMart for groceries is because it significantly cuts our grocery bill. Generally I don’t buy produce there because the quality is not as good but I have noticed that the produce selection at my local WalMart is getting better. They are starting to sell fresh herbs that appear to be in surprisingly good condition.

The only place here in Indianapolis that sells groceries cheaper than WalMart is a place called Aldi’s.

Here are the reasons why I refuse to shop at Aldi’s:

1) It’s inconveniently located;

2) It would be yet another stop to make with the kids because they don’t sell everything I need, and I don’t have time or energy to do that;

3) The produce is even worse than at WalMart;

4) Generally speaking, I don’t like how their special brands taste; and

5) It’s dirty and always crowded, even more so than WalMart (and, what if you don’t happen to have a quarter in your wallet to get the cart out of the machine?).

Well, now I have a win-win situation because I’m getting Aldi’s prices at WalMart.

A while ago Aunt Kathy told me that WalMart will accept competitor prices. I filed that little piece of knowledge deep in the recesses of my brain and forgot about it until recently. The last two trips to WalMart I have brought along Aldi’s ads, as well as Kroger ads. Then I saved back the on-sale-at-those-stores items until the end and asked the cashier to reduce the prices, which she did with no questions asked.

This easy step saved me making two additional trips to Kroger and Aldi’s and, on my last trip, resulted in a savings of about $15.

Also, the brands don’t have to be the same for WalMart to give you the same price as long as you get the WalMart generic brand (Great Value or Sam’s Choice).

I’m blogging about this because I thought this tip could be useful to some of you busy moms out there trying to live on a budget! If you’re like me, unbuckling and re-buckling kids from car seats to chase down a deal is not your favorite hobby.

Oneness and Halloween

Today I went to a friend’s house for a play date. As the kids happily scattered toys around her living room, I mentioned to her that last night Kevin and I had our yearly discussion about Halloween, because I needed to be reminded again why we don’t celebrate it. This is something we disagree about. Kevin doesn’t believe we should participate as a matter of conscience.

Well, how did God know I needed to go to this particular play date today with this particular friend on November 1st?

My friend, in relating her own experiences, graciously told me exactly what I needed to hear: “Oneness in marriage means taking the other person’s side.” She said that, rather than saying “my husband/wife thinks this,” she and her husband try to say, “our family does this.”

Really, the distinction is important because it shows your heart. It shows whether it’s “me vs. him” or whether we’re a team, committed to ultimately being on the same page despite personal differences.

It’s really not hard to forgo Halloween when your friends are skipping it too. It’s a lot harder when, as is my case right now, most of my friends do celebrate it.

So, what am I going to say next time someone looks at me and asks, “What? You don’t celebrate Halloween? Why is that?”

Well, I’m not exactly sure yet. I have nearly a year to think about it. But I am definitely going to change my response from a “him vs. me” tone. I need to look for ways to better advocate the position of the person I love. That would be the respectful and loving thing.

That would be the thing that promotes oneness.

On Good Mommies

I recently read something on the difference between “frustration tantrums” and “temper tantrums.” Meredith has a lot of frustration tantrums. These usually occur when she is trying to get herself dressed a certain way and her body is not coordinated enough to cooperate.

The other day Meredith was trying to pull a pair of tights over her pants and it wasn’t working, so she started having a fit. Then I offered to help her. Usually she is resistant to my help because she wants to do it “all by myself” but this time she let me. As I was pulling on her tights, she started patting my back and said, “You know what? You’re a good mommy.”

I don’t know if I am or not. But this is something that’s sure nice to hear from your two-year-old. And like Kevin said: even if I’m not a good mommy in other people’s book, who cares as long as my kids think so.

One of my favorite things.

One of my favorite things is the Safety 1st Bike Trailer.

My parents got this for us exactly two years ago. We have used it for countless family bike rides. We took a short break when I was in my third trimester with Clara and then shortly after she was born. But I’m happy to announce that now we’re back to family bike rides on weather-permitting Sunday afternoons! It's so much fun!

The longest line ever ...

I am now number 260 in line on the wait-list at my local library for the Deceptively Delicious book, thanks to Oprah featuring it on her show.

Last night I went to coffee with several of my friends from MOPS and Leah mentioned that she’s read the book and it’s easy—all you do is add pureed vegetables to everything from cupcakes to meatloaf.

Maybe next July when it's my turn to read the book I'll find out more ...

French Onion

In celebration of cold, autumn weather, we had one of our favorite soups last night. I used to order French Onion Soup in restaurants a lot until I realized how easy it is to make at home. And then I found this recipe, which is the best French Onion Soup I’ve ever had anywhere. It’s super easy to make and has a tantalizing, buttery taste. Adding the sherry is a must.

The Spices of Life

One of the main reasons I went to Trader Joe’s today was to get vanilla bean for a crème brulee that I’m going to make on Saturday.

I was disappointed to learn that they decided to discontinue vanilla bean at my TJs store. This meant that I would either have to forgo the vanilla bean and use extract instead—which just isn’t nearly as good—or I would have to make yet another stop with tired and soon-to-be hungry children.

It turned out that the absent vanilla bean was a lucky twist of fate.

The TJs employee routed me to a specialty store called Penzeys where you can “see and smell more than 250 spices, seasonings, and herbs.”

Several weeks ago I saw a Good Eats episode where Alton Brown visited a spices and herbs store in Chicago. It was fascinating to learn about this type of business. I wondered if there might be one closer to Indy but never followed up with it.

Let me just say that I cannot wait to go back to Penzeys when I have the time to explore, learn, and experience more of it. It’s not exactly the type of place you want to hang-out at with a two-year-old.

The whole idea of a store dedicated solely to spices and herbs is very intriguing to me. I enjoy using fresh herbs when I can and I love a variety of spice flavors, but I realize there is so much more to learn about how to pack maximum, pleasurable flavor into food.

My mouth is watering just thinking about the possibilities.

Penzeys, I will return!

[Oh, yes, and I ended up buying a Madagascar vanilla bean, which is different than a Mexican vanilla bean, according to the lady at Penzeys.]

Trader Joes with Kids

I’ve been a Trader Joe’s fan most of my life but until today I had never gone with kids in tow. It’s hard enough going to one store with kids and, since TJs won’t meet all my shopping needs (it’s always for wine, specialty, or fun stuff, when I go), I rarely drag kids there.

Well, now I’m going to have to take Meredith back. She loved it. Shopping at TJs with kids was a fabulous experience. Here are a few reasons why:

1) They have cute shopping carts just her size for children to push around.

2) They have a stuffed monkey they hide in the store (a new location every day) for kids to find. When they find it, the kids get a “treat” from the cashier.

3) The treats are kid-friendly but also healthy. Meredith selected nuts and dried cranberries trail mix.

4) Meredith also got a helium balloon to tie around her wrist and take with her.

This was definitely the best-grocery-shopping-with-kids trip I’ve ever experienced.

Don't Hate Me

Please don’t be overwhelmed, don’t let me do that to you, but Christmas is less than nine weeks away.

I hate it when Christmas takes over the beauty of fall celebration. The Christmas season really shouldn’t start until after Thanksgiving, truly. But, on the flip side, the Christmas season is much less enjoyable if you’re not prepared for it. As a kid, I took it for granted that the tree just magically appeared and all the Christmas cards wrote themselves. It’s only been since I’ve been married that I’ve realized how much work Christmas can be.

So, I try to find that balance between planning for Christmas early but not allowing it to be a focus too soon.

This year I have really good intentions. I bought a special notebook and printed out a cover page that says “The Koons Family’s Holiday Notebook.” I plan to use it to stay organized this Christmas. I will also use it to keep all our holiday tradition ideas, recipes, and other fun stuff in one place. Now that I have kids, I think it’s important to make the most of every holiday.

Of course, this is something I’ve tried to do all my life. But now it makes sense to be more “intentional” about it.

Last year I attended several talks about making holidays memorable and ideas for creative family traditions. It will be interesting to see which ones we end up incorporating, and which ones stick. Every family celebration is unique.

Have you guys ever checked out the “Christmas Countdown” on OrganizedChristmas.com? They have a six week countdown planner that starts this week. Check it out!

Kid Update

Clara has become infatuated with her own voice. She will “talk” for five minutes straight and Kevin and I have concluded that it’s because she just enjoys hearing herself. I am imagining my life two years from now … two very talkative, giddy girls. Nice! At least I’ll never be bored.

Clara also smiles ALL the time. I don’t remember Meredith smiling half as much. It’s the most encouraging thing in the world; totally lifts my spirits.

And here are some excerpts from Meredith’s journal (I try to keep journals for both my kids, cute things they say and do, and how God is working in their lives. It’s to keep me from feeling guilty that I don’t scrapbook very often!):

Meredith has now learned to help with laundry by sorting the “lights” and the “darks” into different piles. She’s at about an 80% accuracy level.

Meredith is known to float around the house and say things like: “It’s so beautiful! It’s a wonderful dream come true!”

The other day I wiped peanut butter off Meredith’s chin with a washcloth. She was upset because she wanted to do it herself. After screaming for a few seconds, she took a little piece of peanut butter sandwich left on her plate and smudged it all over her chin to “undo” what I had just done. Do I have a strong-willed child, or what? I need prayer.

When I told her I needed to change her diaper, she said, “No, you already changed it yesterday.” (This is also her line when I want to brush her teeth.)

Meredith often mimics Clara and says: “Clara not say any words. She just say ‘aaaaaaaahhhck.’”

When I told her she could pretend to nurse her own dolly, while I fed Clara, she looked at me quizzically and said, “No, mine are too little.”

When I gave Meredith Gatorade she said, “That sounds like alligator. Alligatorade. Heh, heh!”

“We eat spaghetti with Hannah” is what Meredith told me last night when I served her spaghetti. I was incredulous because yes, indeed, three months ago Hannah’s family brought us spaghetti dinner after Clara was born. Then Meredith added, “We eat chocolate too.” Yes!! We also had chocolate cake that night, three months ago. Her memory and retention scares me sometimes.

"Family" Vacation

The decision for Kevin to go back to school has taken its toll. Our family really needed to get away for a few days. Although Kevin had a paper to write over his fall break, we decided to take a mini-vacation anyway. All the state park lodges were booked so we decided to stay at the Embassy Suites on the NE side of Cincinnati, take our time getting up (you can’t really “sleep in” with kids), eat their amazing breakfasts (the best omelets and pecan pancakes ever), splash around in the heated pool, and do whatever else suited our fancy.

We ended up going to a really cool park with a lake and getting a paddle boat. We also took Meredith to see her first movie in the theater (Ratatouille), which she loved. On the way back home we took the scenic route, following the Ohio River to Madison, Indiana. This trip was the best thing we could have done. It was so much fun.

It really was our first “family” vacation because the last time we took a trip, up the Oregon coast and through Seattle, Meredith was only 10 months old and could care less what we did. This was the first vacation where we tried to do kid-friendly things and got our child’s input on what we did next. (And, yes, she did have definite opinions.) I told Kevin that I really feel all “grown up” now being the MOM on a family vacation. It was such a different feeling.

On the way to the hotel we told Meredith that she was going to sleep in a “special bed” that folds out of a couch. She thought that was the greatest thing ever. As soon as we got there, all she wanted to do was promptly go to sleep in “my bed.” She never gave us trouble about going to sleep because, after all, her bed was “cool.”

Embassy Suites are great for young families because the suites allow you to put your kids to bed early and then the parents can shut the door and play games, watch a movie, etc. without worrying about waking the kids up. Meredith also loved the pond in the lobby with the fish and turtles. I think this indoor pond/ stream thing is fairly common at ES.

Recently I read in Parenting Magazine that 60 percent of adults think vacations with their kids are “more fun” than adults-only vacations. This statistic really surprised me because you obviously have to skip out on things when kids are in tow. But, after going on this little trip and seeing Meredith so thoroughly enjoying everything we did, I have to agree. It’s so much fun to see your child enjoy herself.

I have a crazy, loveable sister.

Betsy called me late last night and said, “Hey, I’m in Chicago and I have to fly out tomorrow at 11 a.m. Can I come and visit you guys tomorrow morning?” My sister is a pilot who flies private jets around the country and sometimes internationally. She hadn’t seen Clara yet and wanted to visit both girls.

Chicago is three hours (and one time zone) away.

She arrived at 5:45 a.m., with Steve her boyfriend (he’s a pilot too and often flies with her). We greeted them with sleepy eyes and bed head. Fortunately they were bearing Starbucks coffee with them. We woke Clara up at 6:00 and Meredith at 6:30. Clara was her cute self and gave her aunt several smiles. Meredith sang some songs and read a few stories with Betsy.

They left for Chicago O’Hare at 7:30 a.m.

My sister is crazy and I love her. I love people who do spontaneous and impractical things just for the sake of good times. That just about sums up Betsy.

Sick baby, sick toddler, sick mommy.

Ugh.

If you’ve noticed my absence on Blogger, it’s because last week I was super busy and this week we’ve all been sick.

This was my first time to have two sick kids and be sick myself. Meredith had a nasty head cold which she generously passed on to her mother and baby sister. Then Meredith got the flu. We changed her bed sheets five times in one night. The second time she got sick, I got smart and put a plastic bag over her pillow before putting her pillow case on top!! Fortunately no one else got the flu. I think God knew I was at the limits of what I could handle.

But I have to say … caring for kids while you are sick yourself is the pits. Mommies don’t get any “sick time” off to sleep and drink chamomile tea when they’re under the weather.

Kevin’s wonderful mother brought us chicken pot pie last night for dinner. Let me just say that, when you’re sick, there’s nothing better than having yummy, homemade chicken pot pie delivered to your doorstep. Mmmm. Good, healthy comfort food!

Company Picnic

Bounce Fun

At the pinata with daddy.

She was so happy to get ONE piece, she got up and left the group to show me!

Kevin plays "Egg Toss"

Yep, caught it!

Clara at her first Company Picnic

Clara loves her toys!! I often catch her smiling at this bug.

I think we've got another blue-eyed girl on our hands.

In Stitches

I realize that my blog is starting to get lopsided with all these entries about stuff Meredith is saying. But just in this past week I cannot believe how much she is talking. Basically, she never stops. And I’m having a hard time keeping a straight face when she needs discipline. She tries to talk her way out of everything and she uses her own little two-year-old logic to do it.

A (calling upstairs): “Meredith, where are you?”

M: “I’m giving Clara a massage.”

A: “WHAT are you doing?”

M: “I’m just playing with my sister!”

And then, as if anticipating my response, she says: “Yes. I am being nice to her!”
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M (setting some pretend food on the table): “THAT is for potty train. It is a treat.”

A: “When can I eat it?”

M: “You have to pee and poop FIRST. It is for potty train.”

[She understands the concept, it's just the execution that she has a problem with.]
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M (to her grandpa as he was leaving): “See you in a while alligator!”
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M: “Do you want an egg sweetie?” (She uses terms of endearment a lot, including “babe.” For instance, “Where is babe?” meaning Kevin.)
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M: “I want a bottle of milk.”

A: “Remember? You got big and you don’t have any bottles anymore.”

M: “But I can’t reach the sky yet [pointing up]. I have to get another birthday and then I can reach the sky, like mommy. I want a bottle of milk!”
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And then, this just happened a few seconds ago:

A (sternly, because Meredith was up from her nap): “What are you doing?”

M (stuffing tights down her PJs): “My baby sister is in there.” (i.e., She’s “pregnant.”)

A (pointing to tights): “What are those?”

M: “Those are my bras. For pretend.”



And here is a picture of Clara. I love her too! Honestly!! It’s just that, like I said, Meredith has been providing all the commentary lately.

A dream is a wish your heart makes …

Cinderella has become Meredith’s all-time favorite movie lately. I let her watch it a few times a week while I take a shower or work on the computer.

You know how little kids often like to describe events and movies to you and you have to sit there and listen, being bored out of your mind because you weren’t there and it isn’t even interesting? Well, Meredith has started doing this! And it’s all about Cinderella!

She has started telling me and Kevin about the Cinderella story while we are at the dinner table or riding in the car. The other day she said, “That stepsisters ripped Cin-erella’s dress [hand motions included] and broke her necklace. It spilled everywhere. Cin-erella was very mad. She cried in the garden.”

She has started wearing her dress shoes constantly. She says, “These are my glass slippers.”

The other day while she was watching it (you know the part where Cinderella is dancing with the prince at the ball and they are singing “So this is Love”?), she looked over to my direction and said, “Look, mom. Cin-erella is singing with her daddy.”

More Sayings and Doings of Meredith

The other day as I worked in the kitchen, Meredith was talking in the background. Suddenly her voice got louder and she said, “Mommy, I’m talking. Now you listen!”

This morning she told two-month-old Clara, who was innocently sitting in her bouncy seat, “Hey! Look at me. You listen when I talk.”
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Kevin recently read a picture book to Meredith about Indians. In the back was a map with the names of various Indian tribes printed on the map. One was the Kickapoo tribe. Meredith then interrupted him and said, “I kick. I kick Winnie the Pooh!”
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The other day I told Meredith to drink some milk because it will make her grow big and strong. (Since we took her bottle away, she’s nearly stopped drinking milk altogether.) She looked up at me and said, “But my food will make me strong. I already healthy.”

It’s so annoying having a logical child.
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These are things Meredith often says these days:

“It will be fall soon!” [Then she explains that the leaves will change and it will snow soon.]

“Someday when I be three …” [Usually she adds that we will go to the state fair again after “I be three.”]

“Someday when Trara gets big …”

“Hey Trara, someday when you get big, you can play with [insert name of toy] too!”

The Wind in Our Ears

United Way of Central Indiana gives a free book of the month to preschoolers in Marion County. They are brand new, beautiful books. Meredith always loves receiving these in the mail. I keep thinking that one of these days I’m going to write a gushy thank-you note to the donors who make it possible for young kids to have a decent home library. It’s fabulous! The books have quickly become some of Meredith’s favorites.

The book for September is about a wild, little pony that “feels the wind in his ear” and goes on an adventure. The morning after I read the book to Meredith for the first time, we went on a walk to the park. As we were walking along, a gust of wind picked up and Meredith laughed and said, “I feel the wind in my ear!”

Well, today I’m feeling the wind in my ear too!

Here’s why: a family member generously enabled us to have a second car. It’s something that will get us through the end of Kevin’s schooling until we can buy a larger vehicle for our family. I’m so grateful. It’s so freeing to know that I can grocery shop during the day, or go meet up with a friend for a play date, or take the kids to the Children’s Museum, without having to go downtown two or three times in a day to transport Kevin.

So, yes, both me and Meredith are feeling the wind in our ears!

Dear Good Food, I Miss You

Lately I’ve really missed cooking nice meals. I love quality food, fresh ingredients, and complex flavors. Really decent dinners have been hit and miss lately—it’s been hard to find the time to be consistent. Hopefully my life will get saner soon because my taste buds are going on strike.

Friday night was a really low point in our family cuisine standards. Kevin had class until late. I decided to take Meredith to the park at 4:30 since none of us had been outside all day. So, I figured we’d just make grilled cheese or something quick for dinner. When we got home from the park, hungry, I discovered that our loaf of bread had some mold on it. So, we ended up having grilled cheese on hamburger buns. Blah. As I sat there flipping grilled cheese on hamburger buns, I tried to be cheerful about our prospective dinner but it was really hard.

When Kevin got home, I announced, “Welcome to my gourmet kitchen” and handed him this plate.

So, after this low point I decided I’d had enough and planned an entire week’s worth of really yummy food. Tonight we’re having honey baked chicken with parmesan zucchini chips. So far so good. At least I have the chicken thawed already.

My fingers are tightly crossed, and my taste buds are hopeful.

Potty Training, First Attempt

For those of you women out there who have accomplished the task of potty training a toddler, wow, I really respect you a lot. You are an amazing person who is completely underappreciated by the masses. You are an attentive, creative, gifted, articulate, persuasive, and most of all patient person. If the world won’t sing your praises, I will do it here on my blog.

This morning was my first attempt at trying to potty train Meredith. I read up on the subject, armed myself with all the necessary materials, created anticipation on Meredith’s part, and after only three hours I decided that if she gets potty trained by age 13, just in time to switch from diapers to maxi-pads, that’s okay with me.

At this precise moment in time, if you were to ask me which task do you think would be less challenging, potty training a two-year-old or negotiating with a hostage-taker, I would likely choose the hostage-taking situation.

We did have one successful time, first thing in the morning. That was followed by three “number one” accidents and one “number two” accident. Never mind the fact that she had been sitting on the potty for lengthy periods of time before each accident. Just before one of the accidents, she started getting off the potty and I told her, “No, you need to stay on the potty.” Meredith looked up at me and said, “But I can’t get no pee out!” Oh, okay honey, I guess you can get up to play for five minutes. Within thirty seconds there was a puddle on the floor the size of the Atlantic Ocean.

While on the phone trying to explain all this to Kevin, I told him, “You know, there’s only so much a girl can take. After three hours of getting peed on, pooped on and spit up on [because of caring for Clara too], I can’t take it any more. It’s not THAT important to me right now. It’s a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining. I’m getting out of this house and I’m going to take advantage of that sunshine.”

So I think we’re going to take a break for a few months, or maybe until 2010.

Double Fun

Here’s an update on my girls—Clara is getting so chubby lately. She’s a tank compared to what Meredith was at her age. We are enjoying her so much! She is so fun to hold and is cooing and smiling a lot these days. Meredith keeps cracking us up with her verbal expressions and fresh take on life. I think I’m finally going to (for real) start potty training her. Paying for diapers for two is getting old. As you can tell from the picture below, she is still enjoying choosing her own clothes to wear. She is very opinionated about this area of her life. And whenever she is wearing something with a princess Disney character (or her Minnie Mouse dress, which is under the sweater in the picture below), she thinks she is the most beautiful person in the world.

Book Club Miscellany

This is probably the worst time in my life for me to start a book club. “Do not stop” has become my mantra lately just so I can get through the busy days. But I really do enjoy the club. It’s fun! And in ten years I’ll remember the books and the conversations a lot better than fatigue. So, there you have it.

Last night we discussed Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Catherine told me that her husband calls our club the “Jerks Around the World Club” because three out of the five books we’ve read so far have, in some way, dealt with the oppression of women. Honestly, we all love our husbands. So, it’s not like we’re purposefully looking for a forum to besmirch the male species. But it is funny to think about. We’ve read books on women in China, India, and now Tehran, all of them experiencing various forms of oppression. So now Josh asks, “Where’s the Jerk from this month?” Ha!

There are two things I really appreciated about Nafisi’s book. First, it made me think more deeply about the purpose of fiction and its value. The women in Nafisi’s reading group were able to survive their bleak circumstances mainly because the novels they read offered them beauty, truth, and hope. Like the book says, we don’t look for realism in fiction but for the epiphany of truth. Fiction provides an outlet into another world, one of beauty. By offering us the ability to surpass the limits of reality, fiction offers freedom and hope. The author also noted that “empathy is at the heart of the novel.” Fiction makes us more empathetic people.

The second thing I appreciated was the author’s ability to convey exactly what life is like under an Islamic fascist regime. Nafisi articulated what she calls “the small horrors of every day life” in Tehran. When you think about government oppression, it’s easy to focus mainly on things like house raids, executions and tortures. But I never really deeply thought about the constant, overwhelming oppression of having all you freedoms of expression taken away. These women were forced into uniformity, without being allowed to define themselves. All of their freedom to imagine, to be unique and creative, had been suffocated by the regime. They weren’t allowed to wear color, to show their hair, to lick ice cream in public, to publicly express emotions. Men were not allowed to look them in the eye. Nafisi did a good job of helping me to understand a little bit about what this oppression must be like. The young women in her book seemed very realistic; they were people I could easily sympathize with.

One fun thing! I found a new favorite coffee dessert idea by reading the book! The author described on several different occasions how she liked to take a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a scoop of coffee ice cream, pour coffee over it, and top it with toasted walnuts. We tried it last night and it was fabulous. I’m already looking forward to making another one. Soon. Very Soon.

You know it’s a good book when, once you’ve reached the end, you realize that you have been holding your breath for the last few pages. So, yes, I really enjoyed Reading Lolita.

Mer and "Trara"

Meredith calls her little sister “Trara.” Clara doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, Meredith is quickly becoming her favorite person. Meredith can already make her smile faster than anyone else in the room.

Meredith is very affectionate and sweet toward Clara. The other day I saw Meredith stroking Clara’s head and saying to her, “Hi Trara! You’re so precious. You’re my sweetheart.” It was music to my ears. I hope they always love each other. They probably won’t on a lot of days. But I hope they can be lifelong friends. Having a sister is a gift from God.
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Last night while I had book club Kevin took Meredith on a “date” for ice cream. When she heard that daddy was taking her out, she said: “Let’s take our purses and go shopping!”

This morning Meredith came into my room and said, “Mom, go take a shower. You’re dirty. I need to watch Cinderella. Cinderella is my friend!” (I let her watch a video while I’m in the shower. Can you tell what her new favorite is?)

It Must Be Fall

I’m back at MOPS and back to work. Kevin is back in school. And Fantasy Football has begun.

I really wish I had a picture of the guys on Monday when they were doing their Fantasy Football draft. There were like ten of them sitting around the table, each with a laptop in front of them, agonizing over their next pick. Us girls were upstairs in the loft visiting and conducting our own draft, occasionally hearing squeals of delight or dismay, whatever the case may be, from the men folk on the first floor.

Next year I’m definitely going to bring my camera so you can see how cute they were all huddled together around their technology taking their draft so seriously.

I’m not really into gambling but I do think the winner of Fantasy Football should get something. Not that I’ve personally ever been the champion of a league but I think it would be a let down to win and not get anything for it. Your friends should at least take you to dinner. Or something.

Oh, the baby ...

Since having a second baby I’ve had lots of flashbacks to my life two years ago, to the time right after Meredith was born. What a difference!

As we were sitting in church on Sunday, with Meredith squirming between me and Kevin, I looked over and noticed Clara lying peacefully in her carrier-seat, her eyes moving around to focus on various objects in the room. It’s often easy to forget that Clara is around when we take her to public places. That was never the case with Meredith.

I was always so tense when taking newborn-Meredith to public places, like a church service, where she might make noise and be a disturbance. What if I couldn’t control the crying and make it stop? It was the unpredictability of this new little creature that made me nervous.

I remember trying to coordinate Meredith’s feedings so that we wouldn’t have to move her from her carrier-seat during the service hoping against hope, tightly crossing my fingers, that she would just sleep and not cry. Every newborn grunting noise emanating from her mouth set me on edge. It was like I viewed her as a time bomb waiting to go off. We kept her swaddled tight with a pacifier in her mouth the whole time. Even then, I was nervous. (Yes, I know, I seriously needed a chill pill.)

Clara, on the other hand, just sits there without a pacifier, peacefully moving her hands about, and probably making noises that I’m unaware of at the time.

Nowadays I’m too distracted with a toddler to worry about the newborn acting up. I’m also more experienced and therefore more relaxed. It’s nice to have finally arrived at this place.

Finally!

Clara has been smiling for a few weeks now but it wasn't until today that I was able to capture it with the camera. (It's harder than you might think.) It's sad to see all traces of the newborn phase go away. But this is a fun phase too.

Transitioning to Two

Before Clara was born I was really overwhelmed at the thought of having a newborn and a toddler, plus juggling everything else with Kevin’s schedule and my side job.

Now that Clara is nearly six weeks old I can say that the transition has been a lot better than I expected. This is partially due to the fact that Clara is a much easier baby than Meredith was. Compared with an active toddler, she’s hardly any work at all. She eats and sleeps and rarely ever cries for anything. She also has this totally relaxed personality, in contrast to Meredith’s Type A.

And, of course, God gives grace for the moment. We often can’t foresee the extent of that grace when we are peering into the future.

One caveat to my “glowing report” is that I’m still relying on some freezer meals and I haven’t technically started back at my job yet. That happens next week.

So, next week you can ask me how I’m doing and maybe you’ll get a different story.

Loss

This summer has brought us a birth, a wedding, and a death. Right now we are mourning the loss of Kevin’s grandfather. I watched Kevin stand at his grandfather’s bed several days before he passed away. When is grandfather stirred, Kevin went to hold his hand. He said, “I never want my grandfather to think he is alone.” He wasn’t alone. His family lovingly surrounded him in those last moments. It was precious to see the legacy of a man who poured his life into his family. He was there for them and they were there for him. We will miss you grandpa. And someday we will be with you again.

Another Week in Pictures

Jazz band at the Artsgarden.

Downtown Indy

One snowcone, two straws.

At the Dior exhibit of the Art Museum—this one says “feel free to touch” in case you were wondering.

Sibs and Nieces

At the Lilly Grounds

Christy

Clara with Grandma W.

Clara with Grandpa W.

Meredith and Melissa at Conner Prairie.

Meredith is truly an animal lover. She’s never met an animal she hasn’t wanted to kiss.

Yes sir, that’s me! This girl from Los Angeles milked her first cow. Everyone should do it once in their life, right?