The Bean Field

If anyone from high school is reading this, the title is for you. I actually call Savannah's latest playtime activity the bean box, but for old times sake I titled this the bean field. Anyway, during my WEE school freedom this morning I decided to make a bean container for Savannah to play in/with. At first I got a shoebox size container and quickly exchanged it for a larger one as I could envision the mess that could occur in my kitchen with a shoebox container filled with beans.

So, after her nap, I brought out her new toy and started to play in the beans. I added two cups and a spoon which Savannah loved!! Although it's MUCH messier than I ever thought, she loved playing in the container. Guess what her favorite thing to do is?? Throwing the beans out with the spoon. I would have stopped this insanity more quickly, but every time she'd hear the beans scattering all over the floor she would just shriek with laughter. There were a couple of times that she was laughing so hard she laid down on the floor and kept on laughing. How could any mom stop such fun?

Well, after many times of picking up beans all over the kitchen floor I closed the box, tight, and tried to move onto another activity. All Savannah would do is follow me around saying"O", her language for open. So I opened the box back up when the phone rang and you guessed it . . . beans everywhere again! Plus, I never realized how dirty pinto beans are. Our hands were black!! Oh well, at least we both had a good laugh.

Dave to the Rescue

Today has been a pretty rough day for me. I have been feeling guilty again for not doing more activities with Savannah so I was determined to take her to Charlotte at Play today with the other Bible study girls. The day started off bad as I was giving Savannah her Claritin and she somehow choked and spit up all over her cute little outfit. I thought I could just wipe it off, but the smell of sour milk got the best of me and I decided to change her before leaving. So, after starting the load of laundry so the whole closet wouldn't stink, we headed out the door to CAP.

She quickly started getting tired so after about an hour of playing (and avoiding the building full of elementary school kids) we decided it was time to go. Well, on the way home my eye really started burning so I decided I should make an appointment to make sure everything was okay. Thankfully they got me in today, but the wait was AWFUL!! I was there over an hour and a half with a tired, hungry, cranky toddler and they didn't seem to care the least. Oh wait, it gets better . . . now I have pink eye . . . which means I can't wear my contacts for a week and I don't have glasses even close to the correct prescription.

After finally arriving home, Savannah went right to sleep. However, the Guardsman people were scheduled to come and repair my kitchen table, desk, and sofa today and their machines woke her up after only 25 minutes of a nap. I asked them before they started about the fumes and they said it wouldn't be bad. Well, after about an hour of repainting, the smell was unbearable for me, so I'm sure it wasn't good for Savannah either. I tried to take Savannah outside, but she was just too fussy. Finally, I called Dave at work almost in tears, going on and on about how bad my day was. I came back in and asked that they move the table to the garage to which they said no because it was cold and would delay the drying and application of coats of paint. Long story short, they left the job incomplete and will have to come back on a warmer day. Good luck with that one. Right as they were leaving at around 3:30, guess who showed up in the drive way . . . DADDY to the rescue. Although I felt extremely guilty about him leaving work early I can't tell you what a relief it was to see the troops on their way.

I put Savannah down to try to take a late afternoon nap and headed to the grocery store to get my prescription drops filled (and $50 gift card thanks to Donna and Kristin). What a relaxing time it was to be able to just stroll around the grocery store alone. I have never been so happy to just browse a store and to make it even better they had a peppermint fudge sample dome out and I almost cleared the thing out! Well, back to reality: my pink eye, a fussy toddler, and dinner to prepare. Thank God she's well and can go to WEE school tomorrow.

Visitors . . . Welcome and Unwelcome

We wrapped up our Thanksgiving holiday with a visit from Jamen yesterday. It was so much fun spending time with him, his parents, and Holly too!! We went out to lunch with him and his parents, watched the disappointing Panthers game, and then decorated our house for Christmas. I couldn't believe that 3 people managed to get all of the decorations out of the attic, decorate, put the boxes back, clean up the tree mess, and manage a toddler all in 1 1/2 hours!! It was thrilling to see how quickly our house was transformed for the next holiday. I have to say that this is the earliest I've ever had it done too. Yippee!! We wrapped up the night with dinner here and some time to catch up with Holly as well.

Then came our unwelcome visitor . . . PINK EYE! Yes, that's right, Savannah officially has pink eye. After rushing Jamen to the airport this morning, we headed straight for the doctor and she confirmed that it was pink eye, but also said that the drops that were called in over the weekend were already helping her eyes. It was a very long night with me worrying over Savannah's

high fever, cough, and eyes, but we're going to make it. She's napping now and how welcome the silence is . . . maybe I'll just sit in front of the tree and savor the moments . . . yeah, probably not, way too much to do around here.

Here are a couple of pictures of Savannah enjoying the jingle bells and relaxing with Jamen.

Thanksgiving in Burlington

Today we had another Thanksgiving celebration, this time with my family in Burlington. It was quite an adventure as Savannah didn't do very well in the car again and traffic was terrible coming home. To top it off she now has some sort of eye funk and after talking to the doctor tonight they called her in some prescription eye drops. Although it was very difficult travelling with a teething, tired, hungry, and ill toddler, I do have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with my family. We definitely don't get to see them often enough so it was a treat being able to relax and enjoy each of them.

The highlight of the day was watching Grandmaw play hide and go seek with all of her great grandchildren. It truly brought back memories for me as that was my favorite thing to do with Grandmaw and Pawpaw back in the day. I wish I had a picture to show you how much fun they all had, but you'll just have to imagine them hiding, seeking, finding, and then laughing so hard that all of the kids were rolling on the floor. What a sight! Savannah tagged right along and had a blast with her cousins!!

Thanksgiving Day in Greenville

Savannah and Alyssa playing the piano

The entire gang (top, left to right) Connie, Craig, Carolyn, me, Savannah, Dave, Grammy, Papa, Brian, Susan (bottom, left to right) Corbin, Steve, Anna Rose, Alyssa

Yesterday we started our Thanksgiving celebration with a trip to Greenville, SC. Susan, Dave's sister, did an excellent job hosting this huge gathering of people and we all had a great time. It wasn't until 5pm that I realized I had forgotten to pack Savannah's dinner and she usually eats at 5!! For any normal child, this wouldn't be that big of a problem, but our child only eats chicken nuggets for dinner and everything was closed so we couldn't stop and buy any. Thankfully we made it home at around 7pm with only minimal screaming. Whew. We quickly fed her and put her to bed around 8pm, way past her normal bed time.

Today has been an adventure too . . . I just couldn't resist venturing out for a little shopping so Savannah and I headed out about 9am this morning. I didn't find any great sales, other than some Izod and Docker pants for Dave, but I did learn a very valuable lesson . . . strollers DO NOT BELONG on the escalators. We almost had a very serious accident as I dumped Savannah out of the stroller trying to get off of the escalator in the middle of the mall. Praise the Lord she was only half strapped in as I was able to rescue her without any bumps, bruises, or even cries. She thought it was funny! Whew.

The Holidays are Upon Us

I've spent the past two weeks rushing around like Christmas is tomorrow and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Thankfully, I can say that other than my hard to buy for husband, I'm pretty much finished with my Christmas shopping. The hope is that with the shopping behind me I can enjoy the holiday season and not get caught up in the sales and holiday traffic at the mall . . . or at least I won't be working under pressure to find the perfect gift in a short amount of time. I do have to say that I have some exciting gifts to give this year.

Isn't it interesting how the birth of a child can really change your outlook during the holidays? I no longer anxiously anticipate what I will receive or get as excited about trying to guess what's wrapped under the tree, instead I get way excited about the gifts that I will be giving, especially to Savannah. Last year was fun with her so I can only imagine that this year is going to be a blast!!!

Well, we're headed to Greenville AND Burlington this weekend so there's lots of travelling ahead, but also lots of family time. I'm excited to share this season of Thanksgiving with all of our family we're so thankful for. Stay tuned for lots of pictures! :)

Charlotte at Play

Savannah's favorite activity was riding in the red car!!

Playing the drums

Laughing in the soft play area

Savannah and Jack ready to get out

I was so excited to wake up to much needed rain this morning . . . and then I remembered that I had a toddler and had nothing planned for us to do today. Thankfully, when I opened my e-mail I discovered that some girls were taking their kids to Charlotte at Play today. They have been lots of times, but I've always thought Savannah was too little, I mean too young, to go and join them. Well, today I decided we would give it a whirl and she had a BLAST!!!

I walked in and was amazed at all the different sections they have set up. There was a grocery store full of empty boxes and bottles with shopping carts to push around, a kitchen and diner area, a race track with cars, a ship with a slide, a music area with drums and a piano, a pet store area with stuffed animals, a woodwork area, and the list continues on and on!! She played so hard and loved every minute of it that for the first time ever she forgot she was wearing a hairbow and it stayed in the entire morning!! I called Dave as soon as we got home to beg him to let us join for the year and he agreed it would be a good investment. YIPPEE!!

I'm Still Learning

We are still recovering here as it seems that the antibiotics aren't working well for Savannah. Although they have helped the scrape on her nose, they haven't helped the runny nose at all so that leads me to believe that it's not cold related and we're dealing with either something viral or allergies. She is VERY needy lately to top it all off. I'm not sure if it's just that she feels bad or if it's more teething. Have I mentioned that I hate teething?!

I've spent some time trying to find the silver lining and have determined that God is teaching me daily how to be a better mom. I get so caught up in my own agenda . . . errands, tutoring, cleaning, e-mail, etc. that I forget my primary role here is to mother this precious child. It's so frustrating when there are things that need to be done and other things that you want to be done (like Christmas shopping before the holiday rush) and none of it gets accomplished each day. When am I going to learn that more important things are being accomplished each day as I teach and love Savannah? What kind of example am I setting for her as I drag her from place to place, always rushing around and never really sitting down for some genuine play time? I found this post on a friend's blog and it really hit home today.

Her love is like an island

In life's ocean, vast and wide.

A peaceful quiet shelter

From the wind and rain, and tide.

'Tis bound on the north by Hope,

By Patience on the west.

By tender Counsel on the south,

And on the east by Rest.

Above is like a beacon light,

Shining Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;

And through the changing scenes of life,

I find a haven there.

~Author Unknown(from Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids by Sharon Jaynes)

Dear Lord, please continue to help me be a better mom. Guide me in providing a quiet, peaceful home sheltering Savannah from the craziness of the world . . . a place where she can be loved and feel Your love. Help me to be more patient and kinder. Remind me daily that the most important item on my agenda is caring for your precious gift to me, Savannah.

A Day's Work

This post is for those of you who think stay at home moms do nothing all day (Jamen). To my precious friends who are stay at home moms, I'm sure you have a list just as long and probably longer . . . I just want to offer a glimpse into our daily life. Here is a list of what I have done since 6:30 this morning:

• Laundry - washed, dried, folded and put away
• Dishes - loaded in dishwasher and put clean ones away
• Errand to Lowe's - toilet broke yesterday and I had to buy a piece to fix it
• Fixed toilet
• Cleaned kitchen
• Clipped and filed coupons from neighbor
• Balanced all of our accounts online - found an error in our credit card statement, called the store and corrected it
• Cleaned up living room and put furniture back in place - house had to be tidy for my cleaning lady appointment
• Met with cleaning lady here at the house
• Harris Teeter - did I mention making a grocery list and organizing my 20 coupons to triple?
• Harris Teeter again - you got that right! for triple coupons we make at least two trips
• Another errand to return the sewing machine foot
• Worked out and showered to get ready to go to doctor's office
• Took Savannah to the doctor - no easy process with a child who won't sit in the stroller!
• Errand to the bank
• Had Savannah's prescription filled and waited with a child while it was being done
• Cooked dinner
• Checked e-mail and blogs
• Cleaned up dinner
• Ran the dishwasher, again

Humored yet?? Notice I didn't even include in my list feeding a toddler and cleaning up that mess 4 times, changing 3 poopy diapers, bathing the baby, and keeping her occupied during the day. Now, please don't ever say that stay at home moms and moms in general do nothing!

Whew, What a Day!!

This morning started off with our normal trip to aerobics and honestly I think I did aerobics all day long! Once we got home, Aunt Cherry was just pulling in our driveway. She came for the day to finish our window treatments in the living room. We quickly realized that it was going to be an adventure as 1) the coordinating fabric was missing, 2) she had misplaced the special foot for the sewing machine, 3) I only had "poultry shears" and not fabric ones and she forgot her special ones, 4) Savannah decided that she only needed a 1/2 hour nap after being up since 5:30 am., and 5) I still had to tutor 2 kids today. Here's a small recap of one portion of my afternoon.

Right after Savannah had lunch, we headed to Calico Corners (about a 30 minute drive) to find some trim for the valance. She did great for most of the time in the store, but after awhile, she was ready to get out of that stroller. So, I gave in and let her out. Now keep in mind that this store is somewhere you aren't normally "allowed" to bring children. Oh well, we did it. She wasn't fussy, but shortly after she got out of the stroller I realized that she had a poopy diaper . . . and it wasn't long after that I remembered that she had wasted the last of my diaper bag wipes and I didn't have any. Still wondering what to do about the wipe situation, I checked out and was ready to leave when I couldn't find my keys. The last time I remembered seeing them Savannah had them. GREAT! After looking everywhere I rememberred her being, I solicited some help from the store associates. I could just feel their eyes rolling as they all started searching for my keys. Long story short, we finally found them in a drawer!!! SAVANNAH!!!

We finally escaped there and made it home to start the sewing. Thankfully, my friend Kristin had just the foot for the sewing machine so we were in luck. After a very long day, Aunt Cherry finished up the valance and it looks great. Here is a picture of her with her masterpiece. You can tell how tired I am because the picture is blurry and crooked! I'm going to crash now.

Our First Bad Fall

We were headed to see Dave at work on Saturday which is 15 minutes away from our house and got stuck in traffic. Long story short, after 45 minutes of fighting traffic we finally arrived at his office. Our original plan was just to drop off daddy's lunch and then head to the mall, but after being in the car for that long, I promised a screaming child that she could get out for a little bit. I figured that the parking lot there would be a lot safer than the parking lot at the mall and I knew she'd be getting strapped into the stroller so I figured it'd be good to let her stretch a little. Anyway, as soon as she got out of the car she took off running and hit the pavement head first. It was so scary, but thankfully she seemed okay. Here's a picture of her little injured nose. It's healed a lot already!

Chef Disaster Already

So I tried another Sneaky Chef recipe at dinner . . . disaster. I ended up with a cup of spinach juice, a sink full of dishes, food all over Savannah and the floor, and a child that is starving. My neighbor came over in the middle of the feeding episode and felt sorry for us all. She tried to help out, but Savannah was pretty determined not to eat any of the egg burrito that I slaved over making. So, she ended up eating goldfish, cheerios, and peaches for dinner. I guess that goes pretty well with her oranges for lunch and strawberry icecream for snack. She just can't live on fruit alone! AAAHHH!!!

A Sneaky Chef

Since Savannah is now refusing to eat even the nasty Tyson chicken nuggets that have absolutely NO nutritional value I have decided to take drastic action. I almost broke down yesterday feeling guilty for feeding her so poorly. She hasn't eaten vegetables in over a week (other than what is in the Juicy Juice that she loves), eats very little protein since she no longer likes peanut butter, and seems to be living on fruit. What have I been thinking? Honestly, I'm just lazy and get frustrated easily. I've heard girls in Bible study talking about how they sneak vegetables in homemade chicken nuggets and pizza, but honestly I didn't want to go to the effort knowing that Savannah doesn't like regular pizza, pasta, quesidallas, etc.

So, today I went to the bookstore and bought the cookbook called The Sneaky Chef by Lapine. I also made yet another trip to Harris Teeter to buy some necessities: spinach, frozen strawberries, sweet potatoes, carrots, and white beans. I'm a little anxious about this as I HATE cooking, especially when it goes to waste, but I'm determined to make this work. She has to eat healthier, and starting now.

I tried one recipe when she woke up from her nap. It was strawberry icecream made with frozen strawberries, milk, and very little sugar. I'm amazed at how easy it was. Here's the funny part . . . I had to literally hold her down with one arm, hold her head to the side with my body and force the icecream into her mouth. She was screaming the entire time. Whew. She ended up loving it and begging for more, but that's just a little foreshadowing of what trying new things is going to be like around here.

Trick or Treating

Savannah had her first taste of trick or treating last night. It all started with a neighborhood block party in our cul-de-sac. She had a blast dancing to the music, pushing her beep beep car around, and playing with all of the kids. Then she went out trick or treating with her daddy. Honestly, I know I'm partial, but they were the cutest sight together. She didn't get much candy before wearing completely out, but at least I got some cute pictures! This costume has been well worn and for now it's being packed away!