Random Tidbits...

I love that summer is finally here, but I hate the fact that I can’t, for the life of me, keep a plant alive!  Seriously, what is wrong with me?  Most of the time, Travis is watering my one lonely pot of flowers and my one lonely pot of herbs……….I’m a complete failure when it comes to any type of gardening.  Add that to my list of things to get better at (along with meal planning and keeping up on cleaning the house).  Check!

Ahhh…such is life.  Certain things fall to the wayside so that we can spend more time on what is really important.  I’ve decided I can let go of my manic-obsessive “clean house days” and welcome a more lived in home, so long as it means I get to spend more quality time with Marley!  I’m good at dropping the dust cloth so that I can take her outside to run and play in the yard, or so that we can bring her on an impromptu trip to DQ for an ice cream cone.  The little things…yes, they do all add up to make life one great BIG thing worth appreciating.

This past weekend, we made our way down to Faribault to visit family.  My mom actually had some water damage in her house due to a malfunctioning dishwasher (ick), and Travis is going to be re-tiling their kitchen floor and doing a bunch more work in their basement.  Marley always has fun playing with her cousins, but now she’s at an age where she can really go off and explore with them.  She didn’t want to miss any of the action and tagged along wherever they went.  We were hoping to make a trip to the pool, but the weather didn’t cooperate………seriously, can we get more than one weekend of sunshine this summer?!  My sister took some great pics of the kiddos:

And you’ll see my baby belly is busy growing.  My sister snapped this photo while we were hanging out at her house on Saturday morning.  16 weeks!  I’m starting to feel the little flutters of movement in my tummy and I LOVE IT!!  It’s just surreal to me…..to look down at my belly and think that, yep, this is really happening.  We have another one on the way and the sudden appearance of my baby bump is proof of that!  I have another appointment and an ultrasound on June 30^th……..so we can see how baby #2 is growing/progressing and (hopefully) we can find out if we’re welcoming another little lady into our lives, or a little boy!!  Either way, I’m happy!  I’ll keep you posted!

Here are a few more photos of our growing girl.  She is getting so big………tall and skinny!  And that hair?!  It’s making an appearance, SLOWLY but surely!  It’s fuzzy and brown.  I’m thinking she’ll get my curls, but we’ll see!  I SO despised my hair as a kid, heck…..I hated my hair until I got into college and came to terms with it.  But I think I can teach Marley to appreciate a head full of curly locks!  As for now, I don’t have any idea of what she will look like once that hair does come in!  I can’t even picture it on her!  She’s been my bald girl for soooooooooo long!

We celebrated Trav's 30th birthday a little early at the cabin over Memorial Day....what a fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa!  On his actual birthday, May 31st, we had a little date night (what a treat that was)!  Uncle Jesse came over to babysit and I took Travis out to a surprise dinner at Ruth's Chris.  In our younger days, or should I say, before kids, when we had more discretionary income...hehe, we LOVED to go out to eat at nice restaurants and did so frequently!  Ruth's Chris became one of our favorite steak spots, and it holds a very special place in our hearts........when we got married on the beach in Riviera Maya, Mexico (just the two of us), we celebrated our wedding night by going to the Ruth's Chris in Cancun.  Anyway, that was the last time we were there and so we had fun going back and indulging a bit for Trav's big day!  Here's us then, and my hubby now..........love him more today than I did back then!  30 is going to be amazing!!

Happy Summer from our house to yours!!

Baby Belly, Round 2!!

We're cruising right along with pregnancy #2...and that baby belly has made it's appearance a little earlier than last time.  Here's a few pics that we've taken to document our journey the second time around...

 A little over 4 weeks on March 26th...and the results!  Yes!!

Marley announces her BIG SISTER status to the world mid-May!

12 Weeks on May 18th

 

Almost 14 Weeks on May 31st...belly is a growin'!!

The plan is NOT to take weekly pictures, it just so happened that I did the last few weeks so that I could see for myself the difference between my belly when I was pregnant with Marley and with this pregnancy.  I grabbed an old picture of me during my 1st pregnancy.  Here I am at about 16 weeks pregnant with Marley..........

 

I guess the growing big is nothing to complain about!  I have a baby growing inside of me and I'll just let my body do what it needs to in order to keep that process going!  Aside from the "showing earlier than I expected" stuff, the pregnancy has been a breeze (knock on wood).  I've had almost the exact same, and actually I can't name something that's different, pregnancy as I did with Mars.  No morning sickness, no food aversions, nothing really to note other than TIREDNESS, which I hope is going to die off a bit.  I had my 14 week check-up today and all was great.  We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  We had a chance to see the heartbeat during our 2 previous ultrasounds, but this time, to hear it.......oh that is such a wonderful sound!  A solid 146 bpm, which is exactly the range that Marley usually clocked in at while in my tummy.  I still have a feeling the baby is a girl, but time will tell.  I've been known to be wrong a time or two in my life (don't tell my hubby that)!  I'm up 6lbs for the first trimester...not too shabby considering I took the hubs to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse last night to celebrate his 30th Birthday...............I had steak, potatoes, a big salad, creme brulee (all to myself).  Uff-da!  I was certain I'd hop on that scale in the morning and be up 5 more pounds.  For the most part I'm craving pretty healthy foods (apples, berries, big salads....crazy, right?), so I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, walking with Marley and Sasha at night and limiting that pints of Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack Ice Cream I eat to a minimum.  Yes, Trav has had to go to multiple stores to find it for me because it was ALL I WANTED!!  Well, that and the B.T. McElrath Salty Dog chocolate bars.  A local chocolatier with a tie to my sis-in-law's fiance..........if you haven't tried one, you need to.  Heaven, seriously.  The only thing better would be eating a few squares of it with a big glass of red wine.  Soon enough!!

Wishing you all a happy weekend.  Looks like summer is finally here, thank God!  Enjoy the heat and the sunshine and all that fun stuff that comes with summertime!

The Invisible Mother

A friend shared a forward with me today (thanks Jamie), called The Invisible Mother.  I've read it before, but it really hits home now and helps us moms to put life into perspective!

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way  
one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be  

taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

 
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping
the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see
me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of
hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??
 
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock
to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is
the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?,
What's for dinner?'
 
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes
that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared
into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going,
she's gone!
 
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a
friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she
was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,
looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to
compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she
turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you
this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly
sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration
for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover
what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could
pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have
no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a
work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and
expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their
faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird
on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you
spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by
the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God
sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost
as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you
make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've
baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to
notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see
right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of
the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work
on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went
so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime
because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
 
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's
bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the
morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3
hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a
monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there
is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it
there...'
 
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're
doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,
not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the
world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

Busy Little Bug!

Miss Mars Goes To School...

Marley started daycare on Monday at Robin's Nest!  This transition has been a long time in the works, as I've been looking at daycare providers since last fall.  Until now, Trav's brother, Jesse, has been watching Marley at our house while we work.  We were very fortunate to not have to bring our 12 week old baby to a daycare facility, to have her stay in the comfort of her own home each day, where she was cared for by a family member!  But, the time has come for all of us to go a different direction...Jesse is pursuing a possible career path in nursing and Marley, well, our little social butterfly needed to spread her wings and interact with other people, especially children her own age.  So this is a welcome change and we are more than thrilled with how the first 3 days have gone!

I have to admit...I had a total meltdown on Day 1.  This week is tough, because I have to do drop-off and pick-up (Trav's vehicle is in the shop and so this is our only option).  I didn't even realize I would take it so hard...leaving her at Robin's house.  We arrived at 7:30am on Monday morning and aside for being tired (because she had to wake up 1 hr earlier than normal), Marley was her happy self!  I walked into the house with her and Robin gave her a big, warm welcome.  Marley instantly started exploring, smiling and laughing all the while, and Robin and I got all the paperwork squared away, went over the pick-up time, and Marley's schedule at home.  As Marley stood across the room from me, I said "bye-bye" and she looked up, waved at me, and then blew me a kiss.  I headed out the door and before I could even close it behind me, I was sobbing!  Running to my car, the crying continued the entire 30 minute drive to work.  Note to self...keep some spare make-up items in my car.  Mascara streaks are so not attractive!  I welled up with tears all day long, refrained from calling Robin to check-in because I didn't want to bug her, and watched the clock tick away the minutes until I could leave work and pick her up! 

I'm not surprised...Marley loved "school"!!  She had an amazing 1st day, and an amazing 2nd day, and an even better 3rd day!  I can already tell she is learning new things.  She's mumbling and talking 100 times more than she was last week.  I didn't doubt that my baby girl would thrive in daycare....but I am so so so happy that she is!  I felt like the happiest mom when Robin told me, "You'd never know she has not been in daycare.  She is the friendliest, happiest little girl ever.  Does she ever cry?  Is she always a great eater?"  I'm a proud mama!!  And happy that I found a great daycare for Marley to spend the next few years in (thanks to my good friend, Sarah Pearson)!  As I walked up Robin's sidewalk today, Marley was sitting on the front stoop with her and she had crawled up into Robin's lap.  I saw Robin give her a little smooch on the cheek and it made me so happy that Marley is in a place where she can grow and learn, but also where she's getting some love too!

A few pictures from Marley's 1st Week at School:

Marley's Artwork...love! 

Marley's Daycare bag that I personalized for her!

Sooo tired...having a bottle and getting a pep talk from Daddy before her 1st day!

All ready to go!

And we're off...pretty little lady!

Love getting her report cards everyday!  Love even more when it says, "Marley had a great day!"

Sometimes, change is good!  We're enjoying the change in our lives...excited for Marley, who is proving to be such a smart girl, excited to have our house back to ourselves, and excited for summer and all the planning that is yet to get underway for the arrival of Marley's little brother or sister!

Momma's Day

This little girl melts my heart...

 And lucky for me, I get to be her Mommy each and every day of the year!

We had a quiet Mother's Day weekend...spent hanging out at our house, catching up on our to-do lists and our sleep, and plenty of relaxing!

 Marley is growing and changing every second!  If I blink, I miss something.  She has been especially obsessed with her baby dolls.  Carrying them around, kissing them, tucking them in, washing them in the bathtub.  Possibly she's honing her skills for her new role...

Yep.  Big Sis!  I have no doubt that Marley will be an amazing big sister, though she has no idea what that means quite yet!  Our little family is growing and so is the love in our home!  Oh, and I can't leave out my belly.  I remember hearing that you show earlier with your second, but geesh...no lie!  Alright by me.  I actually enjoy the physical reminder of the miracle going on inside my tummy.  

For now, it's business as usual at our house.  We've added a few more projects to our list...turning the guest bedroom into a nursery, finishing the basement, etc.  Travis is in major planning mode, which is pretty typical for him given the pending arrival of Baby #2.  In all honesty, he' s more of a "nester" than I am and that's fine by me!

Expecting her arrival on December 1st (you heard me right, I'm making early predictions, ha)!  All nestled in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.......Christmas being my very favorite holiday and time of year!  We couldn't be happier!  Ringing in the New Year as a family of 4....plus Sasha!  What an amazing blessing!

 

Easter Eggstravaganza

Eggs, eggs, and eggs...our weekend was full of family, lazy days spent at the cabin, buggy's, baby dolls, candy, a dallop of sunshine, and so much more!  It was such a great weekend and what we love more than anything is having time to get out of our "city life".  A retreat to the cabin is always good for the soul as it allows us to rest and relax!  This weekend in particular is so much more than Easter baskets and bunnies.  Feeling a connection to something much bigger than any single person, and giving thanks for the gift that God gave us. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life in Heaven."  John 3:16

I can't help but think how blessed we ALL are to have something so wonderful to believe in.  My heaven is up in the clouds, kind of like how the Care Bears lived, but there is a whole world up there.  All of my relatives and friends that have passed away are there and it is pure happiness!  Something for all of us to look forward to someday...when the time is right.

And now for the egg hunt.  My precious baby girl was just so cute cuddling her baby dolls all weekend, pushing them around in the buggy that Grandma Kathy bought for her.  She did a great job searching for eggs and she even caught on to the concept of putting the eggs in the buggy so we could continue the hunt!  Marley is just a bundle of sassy cuteness and I just can't get enough of her, ever.  Period. 

Now this is the cuteness I'm obsessed with!!!



Our girl is getting bigger everyday...or should I say, she is growing up more and more everyday!  We just had her 15 month check up on Monday, April 18th.  She weighed in at 21 lbs 15 ozs and was 33 inches tall.  Miss Bean Pole!  It's amazing to watch how fast she learns new things at this age.  She is just a little sponge!  I captured a little video this evening of some of her tricks, but she's kind of shy around the video camera (go figure, because this girl is anything but shy)!!  Check her out in the video below!

Wishing everyone a belated happy Easter and a happy, happy Spring.......is it here yet?!  The busy-ness continues in our house, with Travis working long days and heading north for a week long job!  Boo!  That means I'm solo mommy for next week, which I don't love!  But, I do have lots of fun stuff going on next week, so it gives me something to look forward to!

More updates to come!!!