Randomness

Things have been a bit "heavy" around here lately so I thought I would try to lighten things up a bit ;)

By the way, the lack of pictures lately is not an intentional thing, it is a "my computer is almost 5 years old and it's slowly dying" thing. Technically, I could still be posting them, it just takes forever and I don't have the patience for it currently. Soon enough, I will have a new computer. Seriously.

Jade is going through such a fun stage lately. She has the ability to push my buttons like no other, but she can also make me laugh faster than anyone else. I have a feeling that's normal for a two-year-old.

We have her signed up for gymnastics right now and honestly it's fairly hilarious. We signed her up because she is SO clumsy and couldn't even jump before this class. She can now jump, but it's still funny to watch her next to the other kids, who were all signed up because their parents couldn't get them to STOP jumping. But she has fun, and that's what counts. I figure if she's still scared of half the stuff after another 9-week session, we'll switch her over to dance classes- which don't have a scary pit of foam that my kid will not slide into.

Piper is crawling everywhere QUICKLY and has started to stand on her own more and more. She keeps giving me this evil little grin that says "I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna walk" and then she sits back down.

Jade is still obsessed with Mickey. You think she'd get sick of it eventually, but she's not there yet. She watches it every day.

Piper has started doing this ridiculous thing while she's nursing that consists of her trying to put HER foot in MY mouth. She finds it hilarious.

We are working on potty training with Jade and can I just say that it's truly not any fun? I mean, not that I expected it to be, but now my suspicions are confirmed.

I am beyond sick of politics and the mean side it brings out in people.

We had some 9-month pictures taken of Piper at Penney's and they are SO CUTE. It's so funny how different Jade and Piper are because I distinctly remember crying after Jade's 9-month pictures because we couldn't get her to smile and Piper was just a little ham.

I still cannot park in our garage. Sometimes this makes me feel like a failure.

Chuck has started flying again, which is great (he's a happier person when he flies) but the schedule can truly be brutal. Gotta get used to doing solo bedtime again.

I finally set a date for Piper's birthday party. Now I just have to plan it. And, ya know, execute that plan.

I am now one of the leaders of my babywearing group and am working on becoming a certified babywearing educator. I'm excited!

We have found a new church home. But it doesn't feel like home yet, still working on that.

My mother in law is amazing and is taking some vacation from work and coming to visit soon to give me a little time to refresh.

I am addicted to sweet tea. And coffee. Both good for me.

I haven't run in 2 weeks, which is driving me crazy, but giving me a lot of time with my kids. Gotta work on finding that balance now... as if it actually exists.

My dogs are driving me crazy. Chewing things, misbehaving, etc. And the thing is: it's not their fault. I simply don't have the time to exercise them and give them what they need. If Chuck doesn't start walking them before work, they might disappear in the middle of the night sometime. Just joking. Mostly.

Jade has started a Mother's Day Out program once a week and is doing really well and enjoying it.

I miss my family and cannot wait to go home for Christmas. Chuck and I are also doing a little getaway while we're over there *just the two of us*. I'm nervous about leaving Piper, but excited as well.

And I think that's enough randomness for now.

Briefly

It's amazing to me that no matter how many people tell you how hard going from 1 to 2 is, you don't believe them. I knew it would be hard. But man, am I tired.

I am on a de-cluttering kick. It takes far too much effort to keep this house clean and I know it wouldn't be as hard if it wasn't so cluttered. Chuck is proving to be far more of a pack rat than I am and is fighting me every.step.of.the.way. Such a lovely time in our marriage.

Piper is getting so big. I think that she's actually probably just average, but compared to Jade she's huge. She's already outgrowing 0-3 months clothes from Gap and Old Navy. Their sizes run a bit small, but still. I am very interested to see how big she is at her 2-month-appt.

Jade is obsessed with coloring. She's content to sit and color for half an hour, which must be an eternity to a toddler. Friday, she discovered that crayons color on things other than paper and the table around it. Uh oh.

She's doing this adorable thing when we pray before meals. We always say "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food". Then I say, "Jade, what comes next?" A couple of times she said "Amen" but most of the time she says "two". Always practicing counting :)

My bestest friends in the world are coming to visit in February for President's Day and I am SO EXCITED.

I've started to run again some, which has been awesome. Unfortunately, it hasn't been anything consistent but I'm hoping to rectify that soon. My body has bounced back amazingly well, but I think the rest is going to take a little work.

Busy week!

I apologize for the lack of posting around here. I didn't really think that "back to school" meant anything when my kid was 1 and doesn't go to school, but apparently it does. This week, all of our little activities started back. We went to storytime Monday, had my midwife appointment Tuesday, a playdate Wednesday, MOPS Thursday, and today we have another playdate.

I realize working moms are saying "and?" But up until a few weeks ago, our schedule consisted of going to the gym in the morning and doing whatever we wanted in the afternoon. Trying to fit in all the cleaning and general house stuff has been tough this week. Not to mention the fact that Jade has about 5,000 teeth breaking through. No, in all seriousness, I think she has 4 coming in. It's hard to see when she bites your finger every time you try to open her mouth. And while she's handling it like a champ, there's definitely more clinginess and grumpiness than usual (read: I can't leave her alone in a room without a major breakdown ensuing).

All this equals one tired mama. I was going to post a few pictures, but I just realized that I haven't even synced my camera this week. Pathetic. I will try to do a good picture dump this weekend.

On the bright side, the high today is 68. That, my friends, is wonderful. I am so ready for Fall.

An update in brief

For some reason, even though I feel relatively well rested, I don't seem to have the energy to write anything substantial about one subject. But I figured I would post anyways, so here's some of what's going on in our lives:

- We're currently working with a contractor on plans to have our laundry room remodeled. We have some mold and water damage, so we had to do something, but I think it's actually going to wind up being very nice and I can't wait for my washer and drier to be on the same wall! I'll be sure to post before and after pics.

- My good friend from church had her baby girl this morning! My neighbor watched Jade for me this afternoon and I headed to the hospital to meet her. It was so weird being in the same place that Jade was born! And she was soooo tiny, at just 5 lbs, 6 ozs. But just beautiful :)

- Jade's 9-month appt is Thursday. I've never been this anxious for one of her appointments. I've got so many questions for the doctor.

- Last week, Jade and I were both hit with a stomach virus. It was awful. She only threw up twice, thankfully, but I threw up 2 bazillion times and wound up in urgent care because I was so dehydrated. Chuck (as always) escaped without getting sick, and Jade and I are both feeling better, thankfully.

- We're in the throes of trying to night wean Jade. Nothing in any of the books has made a significant difference. I know she's old enough to not have to eat at night any more, and usually she's barely even eating, so I feel comfortable going this route. I generally only feed her once or twice (if I'm desperate) a night, but I figure if I remove all chances of her getting fed, maybe she won't wake up quite as much thinking "is this the time I get to eat??". So we'll see. Prayers would be appreciated :)

- I'm toying with the idea of doing a "day in the life" post. Just going through a typical day for Jade and I. I'm only thinking about it because in the past 2 weeks I've had several people say "what do you do all day?" Anyways, is that something you guys would be interested in?

- I've finally started running again enough to say "I'm running again" although I did hit a snag with the stomach virus. It's been very nice to have that stress reliever back in my life!

And because a post without pictures is boring, here's my baby girl when she wasn't feeling well. She was dragging her blanky everywhere (whereas it's normally just a sleep-time thing) and just kept randomly laying her head down. I felt so bad for her :(