Dear Time,

I have a bone to pick with you.

I would really appreciate it if you would get it together here. My girls are growing up waaaay to fast. Why do you always seem to speed up when I am trying to savor every moment of these little angels' existence, but you have no problem hitting your brakes on during a meeting when I am dying to bolt for an afternoon of fun in the sun?

What's this?  You're called "Father" Time?  Doubt it.  If you were a parent you would fly through those first few sleepless months and leave teething in the dust.  Then you would draw out those evenings of playtime in the floor and hold out for bedtime as long as possible.  You are obviously not a father.

The weekend flew by crazy fast and Bella is already back with her mom for ten days.  Do you know what that means, Mister?  That means one-third of our Summer visit with my angel is over!  But I bet you'll have no problem dragging out the next five days away while I'm away from Luke and Claire and then five more days until my family is together again. 

And if I know you, which I do, you'll speed up for the last four weeks with my sweet Bella, but slow to a screeching halt for five months until she comes back for Christmas, won't you?  Maybe that's just how you roll, but I don't like it very much!

Right now I am in nowhere North Dakota waiting for my connecting flight on a puddle jumper plane to an even smaller town where the only hotel is a Super 8.  Think you could speed up a bit?  There isn't even a McDonald's in this airport and the creepy guy sitting next to me could have come straight from Deliverance.

But no, you're probably chuckling right now at my situation, ready to throw it in high gear when you very well please, likely when I get home from this business trip and want to soak in the weekend.  You are now on my bad side, and for very good reason.

I think you need to check yourself.

Thanks,
Gini

"Love Like Crazy"

I love country music.  There.  I said it.  I love country music.  It's all "my dog died," "my wife left me," "fishin' and huntin' all day," but I love it.  And the other day, I ran across this song that really hit me.  Claire was sleeping soundly in the back seat so I zoned in on the words, and they were amazing.

It was Lee Brice's new single, "Love Like Crazy."  Listen to it here, or  read the lyrics...

They called them crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about
They've been together fifty-eight years now
That's crazy

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed
Yea that's crazy

Just ask him how he did it, he'll say pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything
Be a best friend, tell the truth, and over use I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job
Said them home computers, boy they'll never take off
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft
They paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it
He'll tell you faith and sweat
And the heart of a faithful woman,
Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get too old to call her baby
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when they started out
They've been together fifty-eight years now

Ain't that crazy?

Isnt' that awesome?  I love it.  I love the part about overusing "I love you."  I tell Luke that all. the. time.  He usually responds with "I love you too," but every now and then he says, "I know honey.  You told me two minutes ago."  I just never want him to forget how blessed I feel to have him as my husband and the father of our girls.  I love him.  So I tell him.  Maybe it's too much- but I make no apologies.

While he is no Luke McGlothin, Lee Brice is a hotty, no?

(photo from http://www.leebrice.com/)

And here is an article about the Microsoft CEO hearing the song for the first time.  Pretty neat. 

And after Luke's Grandmother and Grandjerry were married for so many years, I am keeping him in my prayers today as he adjusts to life without his beautiful wife. I pray the peace of the Lord be with him, and that he will have wisdom from Heaven in making important decisions about their house and where he goes from here.

Anything speaking to you lately?  What songs are loving right now?

PS.  I attacked the guest bathroom and my bedroom after work yesterday and I am lovin' that feeling like crazy!

Memories and Milestones

Thanks to the grocery cart cover that my Zeta sister Allison sent to Claire and the fact that gravity no longer keeps Claire down face first when she tries to sit up, we made our first trip to the store without her carrier!  I was thrilled not to have to carry that seat from the parking lot to the closest cart regardless of their squeaky wheels because I simply need to put down this growing baby inside of an already heavy carrier....

But I was kind of sad because it meant she was really growing up.

I am confident that years from now I will not try to slap the younger version of myself and say "you should have stopped to note those memories and milestones because she is grown now."  Because, I am stopping.  I am even stopping in the middle of the grocery store to take pictures of my sweet babe in her first grocery cart ride sans carrier.  And I am stopping to pick up some new links for her to play with because I know how much she loves them.

This also made me think about all of the things I know about Claire and what she knows about me.  She knows I am her mommy.  Yes, she gets very excited when she sees Grandmomma, Honey and Auntie Jessica, but she knows that I am her mommy and nothing can replace the thought of that.

She knows that when Daddy lays her down at night, he is not coming back.  However, she also knows that when Mommy lays her down, even the slightest wail will bring me back into the nursery to scoop her up in my arms and rock her back to slumber.

Then I began to think about the things I wanted to teach her.  I want her to know that she is a child of God and that He loves her even more than I do.  I want to teach her to be kind, share, love people not judge people, nurture relationships and have faith.  I want her to know that she can follow her dreams, wherever they may lead, and that her family will support her as she finds her way through life.

No, I will not take on another thing that keeps me from my family a minute longer than absolutely necessary.  I will stop, breathe in life, and remember these memories and milestones.

Why is this Friday Good?

Well, not good for the Savior, but good for us!

"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that bought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed & afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter."Is 53:5-7

I have to keep in mind that if it wasn't for Good Friday, there would be no Easter Sunday.  I pray that each of you have a blessed Easter weekend and soak in the glory and ressurection of our Lord.

Remind me again what sleep feels like?

Oh yeah, It makes me feel like I am a new woman!!! I can't tell you how glad I am that Lukek is home. He busted through the door in Lucy and Ricky fashion, with a good ole' "Honey I'm Home," and I couldn't be more thrilled. As he told me of the gifts he returned with,I have to admit I didn't care. He was my gift. His return to the girls who missed him desperately. That was better than anything (although I do love the giant conch shell, baby- it will go perfectly in our beachfront retirement home- what I can't think about retirement one month into my new job?).


So after five days and four sleepless nights without my other half (and I say "other" here because I used to think I was the better half, but this has shown me that we are truly a team) we spilt the overnight duties on Monday. And thankfully approaching was Tuesday- better known as the night Claire spends with her grandparents. We are so blessed that Luke's parents, Karen and Barry (aka Grandmomma and Grandbarry) love keeping Claire once a week, and that is Tuesday nights. Luke and I can recharge and face Hump-day with a renewed energy.

And the sleep has done us both some good. We were both getting sick, but it looks like some rest was just what the doctor ordered!

My Computer Stinks!

So my computer hasn't let me log ontop blogger in a while. I am posting this from Luke's computer, but can't really blog from here on a regular basis. So we shall see if my computer decides to be nice or not...

Before I jet, Claire is still getting over the thrush but now she has an ear infection. So the antibiotics they are giving her for that will probably bring the thrush back. And we had a WONDERFUL visit with Bella last week, but she now has H1N1 but is recovering. I'll post pictures as soon as I can get on from my computer again.

Until then, God Bless You!

Thrush (aka: the biggest PITA)

So Claire has thrush... Apparently, it's not too uncommon and lots of babies get this bacterial infection. I was at my parent's last weekend and Claire was inconsolable (I would have DIED without mom to help me) and while she was wailing, mom saw this white stuff on the roof of her mouth. We looked it up, and she was right: THRUSH.


We flew home the following day (again, Claire did beautifully on the plane, despite the fact we made the flight by the skin of our teeth) and I called the pediatrician. He didn't even want to see Claire, but diagnosed her with thrush from the white spots in her mouth and called in a prescription. My OB called in a prescription for me as well, in case she got it from me, and now we are a week out (yes, I am a little late in posting this, but please no comments from the peanut gallery).

But we have become a completly sterile household. I bought a bottle sterilizer and we are back to that "wash your hands everytime you come close to the baby," "change the nipples everytime she takes a break from a bottle of breastmilk," "she spit out that paci, get a new one," all things we did when she first came home from the hospital but have since taken a back seat to everyday life. Oh, but they are back with a vengance!

Thanks, I Got All Dressed Up...

That was in response to what I'm sure you said sounded something like "Oh, I like the new look!" If not, well sorry.

This is the best I can do until I get a new family picture of the four of us. Which I am SO DELIGHTED to say will happen at 9am on December 26th. That's right, the four of us will all be together for the FIRST time when we pick up Bella for our holiday visit!

And this is the best I can do given I have an infant attached to me most of the day. I am going to try and get better about posting pictures of us (although I know you only really want to see Claire) and better about posting in general.

A week from now...

I will be able to sleep on my stomach! I may not be sleeping for long, but I will be home from teh hospital, back in my bed and on my tummy! Luke just pointed this out to me so I thought I would share...

Claire's Due Date is ONE MONTH AWAY!

I can't believe the due date is so quickly approaching. One day I am so ready for to be here, and then the next I am panicking that it is so close. I got another batch of clothes today at a great consignment sale and was busy washing them and putting them away, as if she could arrive any minute.

And on top of that, I have come down with a mean cold; sore throat, runny nose, cough, the whole shebang! I know there are a few things I can take, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. But last night, I only slept a total of four hours so I may break down if I can't sleep again.

I have to go set up our webcam so we can see Bella tonight (for the first time in almost three months). She had her first field trip today to go see "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs," and is so excited to tell us all about it.

35/35 Mark, And Panic Sets In

So I finally made it to the 35/35 mark... This means that I am 35 weeks down and only 35 days to go. I'm having a real breakdown thinking there are probably fewer than 35 days until Claire arrives. So, in light of this milestone, let's put Luke to work.

*Cleaning out the guest room closet (to make room for everything that was in the office, now nursery, closet)
*Hang our curtain rod and curtains (yes, we have lives here a year and a half, but we're just now getting around to this)
*Hang blinds in the nursery
*Install video monitor (so I don't have to go upstairs to check on our princess everytime she makes a sound)
*Clean up garage (although it's mainly full of empty boxes due to the lovely gifts that continue to arrive)
*Install side mounting brackets to the dishwasher since we have granite countertops (this was a fail, since neither of us could understand the directions and I figure my dad will need a project or two to acomplish while my mom takes care of me and baby)
*Figure out something to do with our poor excuse for a garden in the backyard (we finally have grass growing but Cooper refuses to allow anything to grow in the garden and she just digs up dirt to spread acrodd the patio so I think we'll cover it with some stone tiles, I don't know)
*Finish washing Claire's clothes (I need Luke's help with this since I can no longer reach the bottom of the washing machine- big belly in the way)

I really need to remind myself to breathe!

My Poor Organs !!

So this is why I can't breathe! Please take a gander at what normal organs look like (at 8 weeks everything is still pretty normal) and what they become at 35 weeks!



Thanks to the Univesrsity of Maryland Medical Center for clearing this up!