Domestic Goddesses???

So far Lily and I have taken to the staying home gig pretty well. As you can see below, Lily has become a master chef in her play kitchen. Her favorite thing to cook would be Cheerios, of course. Our mornings are so much less hectic now. Lily and I work on breakfast while Daddy takes his time getting ready. Then we all have a relaxed breakfast together and I even have time to pack Jeff a lunch. Jeff is always taking such good care of us, it feels so good now to be able to reciprocate that even more. Unlike when I worked, we are now able to get errands done during the day and have time to just sit and be a family in the evenings. My mom has been helping me come up with dinner ideas so that I can have dinner going or ready when Jeff gets home. Last night I made pork chops in cream of celery soup, mashed potatoes, and spinach salad with craisins, almonds, and Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette. It was very tasty, easy to make, and ready to go when he got home. Jeff thanked me for it by totally cleaning his plate (he told me several times how good he thought it was, too)!

The after care at my house with the three little girls is going great so far too. I am having a ton of fun coming up with fun snacks and working with them on their homework. This week I made chocolate pudding with strawberries, popcorn, chex mix, smoothie popsicles, and my first attempt at Jell-O jigglers. The jigglers really didn't turn out as planned...a little too much wiggle in the jiggle to hold them together, but it was fun to try. While I am not ready to claim to be a super mom or domestic goddess, I am really enjoying the time I have with Lily and the time I have at home to take care of my house, husband, and family.

In other news, as many of you know our first born has had the ability to walk for many months now and has totally and unabashedly refused to walk. She is very coordinated, and it really didn't worry us that she wasn't walking. The doctor said that when she was ready she would do it--but not until then--and truer words were never spoken. Despite our best efforts to force the issue, nothing really changed until one night just shy of her 19 month birthday when our little flower decided she would like to walk laps around the downstairs. We quickly grabbed the video camera in case the momentous event were to reoccur with the frequency of a Bigfoot sighting. As it was, the walking went on for maybe a half an hour...and within a few days there was no crawling at all. Now our toddler walks all the time with really no "toddling" at all. She is very controlled and rarely falls or gets close to any disasters. What a silly child we have! With the walking and ever-expanding vocabulary, she just seems so old these days.

Quick Fix

Sorry for the lack of blogging the last two weeks. I have had my hands full with our little girl. :) Yes, I am now officially momming-it from home! Lily and I have enjoyed running errands, playing, swimming, and visiting Mimi in the morning for cheerios and coffee. Today, Tara, Dalton, and Calem came over for breakfast and then we went and walked at the mall together. Tomorrow is the first day that the little girls will be coming over to my house after school. I am really looking forward to it and I think it will actually be a lot of fun!

In baby news- I am now almost 37 weeks!!! I went to see the Doc this past Tuesday and she said that it could be any time now :) I think she could tell I am ready. The good news, though, is that I am actually dilated and the baby has definitely dropped. This news seemed to make the locals around here a little nervous prompting them to push me to get a bag packed and do some last minute checks of what needs to be done before she arrives. So the bags are packed, the little cloth diapers are washed and ready, the crib is set, and her clothes are all clean in her dresser. So now all we need is for her to decide to come. I have been getting lots of really good and strong contractions, but I don't want to get too excited yet. I think she is getting pretty ready too. There just is not enough room for her to push around in there anymore and I can tell she doesn't like it :) So it really could be any day now!!! We can't wait.

You Complete Me

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary! It feels like our wedding was just yesterday, and at the same time it feels like we have always been together. As cheesy as the line from Jerry Maguire is...we truly do complete each other or more like we compliment each other in lots of ways. I help him relax and he keeps me active. He is logical and I am dramatic. He likes to be silly, and I like to pretend to be serious (so does Lily). I like to write blogs, and he enjoys proofing them. I get lots of aches and pains, and he is good at massages...I didn't say he likes to give them though. :) He likes to drive but is terrible with directions. I hate driving but am an excellent navigator. However, now that we have a Garmin he really doesn't need me anymore. So I hope he likes me for more than my very keen directional skills. All in all, we make a good team and I wouldn't want to be tackling the ups and downs of parenthood or life with anyone else.

He has been the best friend, supporter, teacher, chearleader, husband, and dad to my baby that I could ever ask for. In all our years together he has been there to see me grow and change in so many ways. He was there, standing on that last curve of the track with mom, cheering me on to the best track season I ever had. He was there to help me with my final papers as an IWU student (thank you, Jeff). He has given me support, wisdom, and guidance through the ups, downs, and challenges of my first job. He makes me feel so confident and strong. Receiving a compliment from him on doing something well means more to me than anything else. I look up to him so much and admire what a hard working and intelligent guy he is. I don't think he ever gives himself enough credit. He is my best friend and favorite person to be with, and I think he is very cute too! I look forward to many more years of wonderful life experiences and growing older together!

Like Father, Like Daughter

This is what I came down to the other day. Lily and Daddy watching baseball together on the couch. This picture, unfortunately, doesn't really capture the whole scene. When I came down the steps Lily was actually maxing and relaxing like her dad with her head back on the cushion. Also this picture doesn't show you her legs all propped up. What a silly child!

Don't Want to Miss a Thing

I miss Lily so much every day. She is changing so fast, and all I can do all day long is think about how much I wish I were home playing with my silly little child. I sit and wonder what she is doing with her babysitter and think about how that should be me at home with her. We have been so blessed to have such wonderful, caring babysitters taking care of her, but even still it is always hard to be away. What's more, with baby #2 on the way soon, I knew it would be even harder for me to walk out the door in the morning...so I put in my notice at work on Monday! I am going to be a stay-at-home momma! About a month ago, Jeff and I starting talking very seriously about me quitting my job to be at home with our girls while they are little. While Jeff has always been very supportive of the idea, he has also been concerned, and rightly so, about how our finances would be affected. Since we moved into a bigger house in December, and because the cost of, well, everything is going up, he did some number crunching to calculate what we'd need to do to make it happen. Being a determined mom, I starting searching for the "perfect" part-time or work-from-home job that would allow me to make some extra cash and still be with my babies. Well, if you've not looked into it, let me tell you that it is a lot easier said than done. The great majority of part-time jobs don't pay enough to be worth it because, by the time you've paid for babysitting on the days you're at work, you're basically breaking even. But, as I said, I was determined not to give up. After talking to a lot of different people about my options, I came up with the idea to offer after school care for kids that need somewhere to go before their parents get off from work. We live right by a Catholic School, so I thought that this would be my perfect solution. Barb Selzer, a family friend, has been doing day care for kids from this same school for over 20 years and is getting ready to move to Champaign in a few weeks. I called her for advice/referrals, and she was more than kind and helpful. She gave me names of kids she thought might be interested, and she provided me with various strategies she has employed to "advertise" her child care service in the past. In a little over a week, I have lined up 3 girls and I am hoping to get 2 more. I could not have gotten this figured out without Barb's help and Jeff and my family's support! I am so thrilled, excited, happy, and shocked that this dream of mine is really coming true. I can't wait to be able to be with Lily and her little sister all day long.

P.S. if you know of any kids that might be in need of my service, please send them my way!