Life In The Woods: February 2009

Life in the Woods has been a little, well, uh, overcome with weeds shall we say. But we are mowin'. We are mowin' our little troubles away! When I say troubles -- plural, I really mean trouble -- singular. The culprit? It starts with the letter "C" and ends with an "roup." Last week, Ava had a run in with the icky croup bug. And although she is still hacking away, we have almost sent it on its way. I knew the time would come when my perfect Sassy would get really sick, but come on...why mess with the breathing, too? There were some rough nights that I snuggled up next to my little snotty nosed baby girl in our guest room just so I could make sure she was breathing. She was working at it so hard. But I did find out some valuable information during my nights with my little roommate. This girl doesn't stay still! I woke up with her nose practically in my mouth, then her entire body was curled up on her pillow, then she was on her back laying on my belly, and then by the time Pak Pak our next door neighbor/donut shop owner started to turn on his lights around 4:00am, I had a foot jammed up into my chin. But I loved every second! Really!

So, after a weekend spent indoors (I am so sorry Granna and Granddaddy!) a brief sabbatical from Sunday School, 3 cancelled playdates, 2 no shows to story time, 5 rounds on the Vicks vaborizor, 1 trip to the doctor, 1 complete body rash, and 3 days of taking 4+ hours of nap (Ava, not me...)..I think we are just about done. Ava doesn't let me forget though. Every single time she coughs she pats her chest and says "Goh Cof?" in the most pathetically sweet voice ever. She's milkin' it folks and I tell you what -- She can have anything she wants right now.

So right before all of this started, I once again got antsy with our paint color in our living room. No big deal right? Well, in our house (and I once liked this, but I don't think I do anymore), when you walk into the front door you can basically see the back door. It is one long straight line. So, when you change one paint color, you have to change the entire foyer, the accent wall in the kitchen, and then our living room. So once you're committed, you're really committed. Our paint before was supposed to be this beautiful shade of beigey gold..."Pebbled Path" was the name. Has a nice ring to it huh, huh? Well, you know you are in trouble when you paint one giant wall and you think to yourself one of two things. 1) "Hm...maybe it'll look better when it's dry." How many of you have thought that one? or, 2) "Wow...maybe when I waste 4 more days and paint the entire room, it'll look better because I'll get the full effect." Yeah. Here's a tip: If you have a thought like 1 or 2 or anything that relates to it in any way, stop. Put your brush down. Go back to Home Depot. So, 1 and 2 went through my mind multiple times, but the end product was still a house filled with way too much sunshine. I am not a sunshiney person. I like dark, and warm, and inviting colors. Not a house full of yellow. It wasn't really "Pebbled Path"....it was more like "Yellow Brick Road."

So before all of the croup chaos, I painted. I painted like no one has ever painted before. This month's choice? mmmm...."Smokey Blue" accented with "Shale Grey." Kinda sounds depressing doesn't it....ooo but, no, it's really nice! This time I was thinking things like "Oh! I can't wait to finish all of this because it looks so AWEsome!" and "Wow! This makes all of my whites POP instead of making them look dirty like Yellow Brick Road did, and "Why didn't my husband tell me he hated the yellow as much as I did?" You know, things like that. Well, now all that's left is the trim in the foyer. Now that my color is so different, we get to redo the rest of our decor. YES!

I have also begun my very first annual Spring Cleaning. Today was day #2. I mentioned to Keith that I needed to come up with a realistic schedule. So I have decided to take on one room a day starting at the front of the house. Yesterday was the piano room/office. We aren't just talking wiping things down, friends. We are talking EVERYTHING. No inch shall go untouched, no drawer shall remain unorganized, (cue patriotic music) no piece of trash shall go unnoticed. Today was the laundry room. The laundry room, you say? Have you ever looked inside the crevices in your washing machine? Go on...I'll give you a second. I am taking the weekend off so the piano room/office and the laundry room can get trashed again, then Monday I start all over. You see? Who says stay at home mommies have nothing to do during nap times?

Well, I'm beat. It has been a week. But life is good. Enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.

Wouldn't YOU give her a pony?

Feelin' better today!

I just pray that if she goes to Baylor, she gets a full ride.

I am deeply ashamed of my mess. Why is it that when we a)paint or b)get ready to spring clean, our house gets really really messy?

Here's the "Smokey Blue." ...in our animal-filled farm house, apparently.

Once upon a time my refrigerator had nothing on it. I mean on the side I had photos, birth announcements from friends, important phone numbers, etc. etc. but I rarely had anything on the front. That was by choice. My fridge just looked cleaner that way (you like how I said "my" fridge...I suppose I can let Keith have some of it, too.) But now....now my friends, I have added a beautiful Monet-quality finger painting and a monthly calendar that has something marked on it pretty much everyday of the week. I have gone from being a stay-at home-what-am-I-going-to-do-today-while-keeping-my-sanity kind of mom (for ease let's abbreviate that SAHWAIGTDTWKMSM) to an SPMOTYBIHTKACOMFTKMS -- Oh! That would stand for a Self-proclaimed-mom-of-the-year-because-I-have-to-keep-a-calendar-on-my-fridge-to-keep-my-sanity...Mom. I tell ya...I am in a new league! I have joined a moms group here in town and there is stuff going on multiple times a week, I have my MOPS group at my church and I am excitedly jumping onto the leadership team for that, Ava and I go to story time every Thursday, the Galleria play area on most Fridays...you guys, I knew I couldn't sit still for long. This is what happens when you go to school straight from Kindergarten through a Masters, jump into a full-time job, and uuuuuurk (those are breaks...) you are at home full-time. I-Love-it (I am all about hyphens today...it makes it dramatic though, doesn't it?).

Today Ava and I went to a Pre-Valentine's Day playdate. Oh, my precious baby. She is just the sweetest thing ever. Who needs toys when you have stairs, dogs, tape, Tupperware, or chocolate. Through Ava's eyes, this house had it all! Ava must have a smell for Tupperware 'cause she found the cabinet within minutes. It was quite amazing to say the least.

This morning, I got up way before Ava did so that I could get everything ready for the playdate we were attending. I was trying to be SuperMom by making her breakfast so it would be on her tray waiting for her when she got up. I had the baby monitor on in the kitchen so I could hear her when she woke up. So I was quietly cooking and all of the sudden I dropped a spoon on the floor. My heart was pounding! I closed my eyes and clenched my fists in anticipation for the screaming that was about to come flying from the monitor speaker. But no. I heard the softest, sweetest, most sleepiest "uh ohhhhhh." After I wiped my melted heart up off the floor I went into her room and smothered her in smooches.

I know, I am ridiculous. Enjoy the pics!