My Girls

These are a bit old, but a couple--and actually the only--pictures I took of the weekend I spent with my girlfriends a couple weeks ago. They are my oldest friends and I love these pictures.

Also, the last picture of Gertie was actually my attempt at posting a video. I'm having a heck of a time, but I am determined. I will get it on here. It's probably too long...

What's Up

It's been a very busy, but very pleasant day so far. Gertie and I had a grooming morning, clipping toenails and cleaning ears. Her nails had been long neglected. I don't love grooming. I actually don't hate it either. I just don't seem to take the time to do it often enough.

Then we headed out to the Nature Center here in town again for another walk with some friends. That was just plain enjoyable. I can't tell you how much my soul hungers for that connection with others. I love conversation and discussion, and I just can't seem to get enough lately. Good days.

Gertie had a great time getting absolutely filthy exploring the creek and the bugs and the sticks and such. I was thrilled to watch her digging about. The Nature Center is a museum-type place with lots of stuffed birds and smaller animals, as well as skins and bones and antlers of various animals. They have a snake and a bee hive and a few salamanders as well. It is small, but fun for kids to explore. And then the bulk of the excitement revolves around a wooded area with paths and a creek running through it. It's got prairie and just lots of nature to explore. She didn't want to go home, and when we couldn't check out the snake (that lives safely inside a big glass box) because they were closed over the lunch hour, she was quite upset and crying. We'll have to go back again soon.

Then we met John for lunch and I raced Gertie home for a quick nap before we begin the race that is Tuesdays at our house.

I am really wanting to get a video of Gertie (and maybe the kids that don't change quite so quickly as well). I promise to do that soon.

I am working the rest of this week...

Answered Prayers

I'm very tired and I'm not doing the math, but I think it's been two nap days since that post and both awakenings have gone very well. Yesterday I was gone, and John said there was minimal fussing because I was gone, but there were no tantrums and all went well.

Today, again I was gone, but she wandered downstairs and was in a great mood. Everybody cheered her on and made a big, big deal about how nice it was that she was so happy when she woke up.

I just can't believe that once I finally put this out for all to see she does a 180. Thanks for prayers. God is good, good, good. Even to me!

I Love Gertie, really, I do.

Gertie continues to wake up from EVERY nap screaming and crying. She is irrational and uncooperative. I just don't know if I can put on paper (or, uh, the internet) how incredibly frustrating and exhausting this is.

Today: Wakes up screaming for Mom. John goes up and she'll have nothing to do with him as he tries to bring her downstairs, calm her down, but evenutally gives up, leaving her screaming in her room. John and I are just discussing what to do because this is becoming an ugly routine. She starts screaming for Dad. He goes and brings her down, telling me that she's going to calm down. Her face is blotchy and red, she can't regulate her breathing yet, and she clings to me, still whimpering. I sing a bit to her, and she tells me, don't say that. I ask her if she'd like something to eat. She starts crying. She's not hungry. She doesn't want a banana. She wants a banana. I take her in my arms to get the banana. She wants to peel it like a monkey. Mind you, all of these comments come out in on-the-verge-of hysterics cries. She takes three bites. She doesn't want any more fruit. I want Cheerios. I place her in her chair to set her up, and she's still screaming at me. She needs a drink. I've had it. I take her up to her bed and she screams up there for a few minutes. She tells me she's going to calm down, so she is allowed to come down. I sit her back in her chair as she whimpers for her drink, then her Cheerios. She eats. She watches Dora.

That was ten minutes ago. Now she is cheerfully talking of going to church and how she wants to go to her class. Go figure. And, heeelp meeeee, please.

Rocking Horse

I
I realize I've been a little short on pictures lately. These are of the kids playing on the rocking horse we picked up off the curb in front of our neighbors' house. Have you ever picked up someone's trash from the curb? In my part of the country it is kind of an understood thing that if you put something out on the curb you are hoping that someone will consider it a valuable treasure and take it off your hands, that way you don't have to pay to dispose of it. I think our neighbors have moved by now. There is no car there ever anymore, and for a couple weeks before they moved they were frequently placing things out at the curb. We have another set of neighbors that snatched up most everything, which is just fine with me. But the other night Grace spotted the rocking horse and raced over to check it out. She hollered over to me that it was in good shape, and I hollered back to go ahead and bring it home. Real classy.

Now I have a huge rocking horse sitting in my living room. The kids love it. Gertie keeps taking her babies for rides on it. Ethan is a crazy man on it. But what am I going to do with this big rocking horse? I am thinking after a bit, maybe it will be on my curb.

As for other goings ons, we are in the full swing of school. We are all adjusting well to the fall schedule, racing from here to there and there to here. Ethan starts football tomorrow morning, and he's excited about that.

I've been doing laundry all day. Lots of it. John told me this morning he's got no clean underwear. Well, now he does. Ethan told me this morning that he was wearing his last clean pair of pants. Not anymore. The kids are on the trampoline, and John has built a bon fire for s'mores. It is a good family Friday night. (Except that I'm in here blogging, but that's about to change.) All my chicks are in the nest.

As for me, I'm off to Sioux Falls to visit my girlfriends this weekend. I don't know what we're going to fill our time with, but it will most certainly be girly-girl things that our husbands won't much enjoy doing with us. These are my oldest and dearest friends, and I am really looking forward to it.

Quotable Quotes

Gertie keeps saying a few things that I want to make sure I write down. I can't recall if I've mentioned them before, so sorry if I'm repeating myself.

First is the rhyming. She is rhyming everything. I love you bove you. There is the school pool. I want a cracker tacker. Rhymes everywhere.

Then she is telling me I'm the favorite mom in the whole world. And Dad is the favorite dad in the whole world, and so on. And it seems to be required after she says it that I say it back for her. You are the favorite Gertie in the whole wide world. If I don't say it back, she repeats it in an angry way until I fall in.

The biggest repeater is "Mom, I love you and I don't want to disobey you." She says this all the time. All the time. Not after she disobeys me. Just when she's sitting on your lap or crying because she's "really sick."

Just a quick post.

School Days

This morning I got up early with Grace and we ate breakfast on the porch. It was a dark and windy morning, although it has still produced no rain. The kids went to school, first Grace on her bike, then Ethan on the bus.

Grace has little lists posted about the house:

eat breakfast
don't forget cello book
gym bag

She is definitely a list maker. She also isn't very tidy, so I find them laying about. I enjoy them. It is fun to see what is on her mind. She was ready so early, but that was good because she helped me out a bit in packing Ethan's lunch and got off to school early enough to take care of a few loose ends.

Ethan was sluggish. He went to bed early enough, but he's got a cold, or allergies. I am never quite sure. I almost considered keeping him home. He was planning on riding his bike, and I was going to take Gertie to join him, but Gertie was a sleepy head this morning, so he was faced with a lonely ride to school. At the last minute he opted for the bus. I am glad because I don't completely trust his ability to not be hit by a car. He watches for traffic 90% of the time, but every once in a while I catch him dart out into the street without even glancing sideways. We have charted a very low traffic route to school, but one of the streets is now under construction, so he'd have to take the busier street. It was a good day for the bus.

Gertie has had a great morning. She still comes to me occasionally saying that she is really sick or would I love her for a minute, but overall, this morning, she played on her own some, she was happier, she ate well and has been drinking a bit. I was able to get a lot of laundry done, some phone calls (even a fun one with sister Beth) and many errands run. We had a good day.

I just finished putting scalloped potatoes and ham in the crockpot. Pray for good food. Dinner is usually John's forte, but he's working all day in Albert Lea today, and won't be home in time to fix anything. I thought I could help with this burden. I just don't cook much, so I haven't tried this recipe. I'm sure it will be delicious, though, right?

It has been a good first day of the usual school-day routine. I am not the mom that is so anxious for summer to be over to get my kids out of my hair. I actually like having them around, but around now I do get anxious to get the show on the road. I want my "normal" days to start. And they have.

The kids should be home any minute now to tell me all about their days. Well, at least Grace will...