Keeping him occupied

Recently I sent out a request to some friends asking for their advice on resources so I can 'teach' Ethan things throughout the day. It's one thing to rely on age appropriate toys, go on walks, play at the park, etc., but the teacher in me wanted some little lesson plans, something challenging for him. And, the monotony of staying at home was getting to me. I'm grateful a friend recommended this amazing book!

It provides one age appropriate activity each week of a child's life from birth to 5. I picked up my copy from the library and immediately turned to the one year old section. I purposely chose a week easier than his level, just to see how he would respond, and he loved it! It involved putting a line of painters' tape on the floor and pretending to 'walk the line' and not fall in the water. Great imaginative play and he quickly picked up the concept and ran back and forth on that line for days.

The next activity we tried was teaching him to put lids on things. You can see, it was a wonderful, keep-him-occupied-while-mommy-cooked activity. He was smitten with the sour cream container in the end.

Just a few days ago I introduced an activity where I cut a slit in the lid of said sour cream container and he had to insert keys into it (well, any objects that would fit and keys were on hand.) He begs to play with "keeee". I'm really digging this book and wish I would have known about it a long time ago.

Hope this book blesses someone else out there!

Before and After

I am loving this weather, the holiday season, Ethan transitioning to one 2 1/2 HOUR nap! Glorious, glorious day. I also LOVE before and afters and realized I hadn't shared these with you. Our house is definitely on its way to becoming our home.

Before, our downstairs icky icky bathroom. The only thing it had going for it was the slate floors.Ahhhh, after:The outside of our house the first day we moved in:Stay tuned for the after!

Calgary and snow!

We're back! We had a wonderful time co-habitating with Phil's brother and his family for 10 days in Calgary. It is a beautiful city, especially after it was blanketed with snow towards the end of our trip. Here is a quick photo journal of our time:Ethan running through the airport. We couldn't ask him to sit 1 hour in a stroller before loading the plane and then another 4 hours on the plane. He did have his worst melt down ever when we finally had to stop walking and load the plane. He cried hysterically for 15 full minutes. Yes, we were those people. Poor little guy. He was so overwhelmed, I'm sure.
Downtown Calgary, where Phil's brother Brian works. Can you see in the picture that the lake is partially frozen?! I couldn't believe the number of lakes we saw completely frozen.Here is Ethan in our little apartment in Banff. We went off for 3 days by ourselves to tour the city, be amazed by the mountains and experience the freshly fallen snow all around Banff and Lake Louise. Stunning. I love these little long johns on Ethan. So cuddly. Completely necessary since the temp there hovered around -3 degrees Celsius and we woke up to snow covered ground each morning. We enjoyed having a bit of a white winter. Me and my best friend in front of Lake Louise. The lake is completely frozen and covered in snow. It was eerily beautiful.Here are the cousins Ethan played with - Molly (the little one) and Chloe. I love how Molly had to wear her skirt out, even though it was snowing. She wakes up in the morning, groggy eyed, and says she needs her skirt and crown and very sleepily puts them on before she does anything else. God bless all you mommies of girls.I have to tell this story. Here is Ethan zonked out on our way to dinner. He decided he didn't want to take an afternoon nap, but clearly needed one. We let him sleep as long as we could, and then needed to get inside 1) because it was snowing outside and 2) we were all starving. God knew what was ahead and was gracious enough to give Ethan and us this little rest. We ate our dinner and watched the snow fall, coming down heavier and heavier. That's ok, we're taking main roads home. So we thought. We left the restaurant in 5:00 Friday traffic, poor planning on our part, and all headed home (we're in two separate cars, with Phil's brother and his family in front of us). And the experience begins. Roads are iced and shut down, cars are skidding, others are pulling off onto sidewalks and abandoning their cars all together. We're a bit nervous getting up a particularly icy hill, only to realize that maybe we shouldn't have drank 2 and 3 cups of coffee. There was no stopping at this point. Cars were unable to get up and out of parking lots and it was all we could do to stay moving. Traffic would stop at lights for 10 min. at a time. What was meant to take 15 min. to get home turned into 3 1/2 hours. At hour 3 Phil and I were literally almost in tears we had to go to the bathroom so bad. Thankfully we are a bit fearless and at our first chance, Phil darted up a hill....you can guess the rest....and on my turn I dashed across a median and two lanes of traffic to a hair salon. OH MY GOODNESS. And there our sweet little one, it's 9pm by this point, is exhausted and in his sweet little voice singing songs and saying mama, dada, and papa. We couldn't stop praising God for his taking care of us, our car, our family and our tired tired little one. We've since heard they had another snow storm that brought on the same traffic.

All in all, it was a great trip. Don't think I'll ever fly with a lap child again, but we loved seeing family, experiencing the snow, and engaging in another culture. We enjoyed the European feel of Canada and hope to return when Ethan is almost 3 and during the summer. We've both never flown during Thanksgiving, so that was interesting. Don't think we'll do that again either.

Now bring on Christmas.

Penelope

Goodness it's been a long time since I posted! I don't really know why other than we've been super busy getting everything in order for our trip to Calgary over Thanksgiving to visit Phil's brother and his family. High of 30 lows of 18 - oh boy it's cold! Of course we don't own anything suitable for snow drenched days like that, so it has been work figuring out all the details in addition to striving to pack light. I think we're ready now! At least the ever growing pile on the guest bed tells me we better be.

Other than the nightly packing/prep/housework/to-dos, here is how we spend our days:

Building forts (and that is my most happiest craigslist find ever...a pottery barn armchair with a creamy yellow slipcover, great shape, for $80!)
Learning new silly things (notice how my kitchen rug can never escape the wrath of Ethan)
And just generally hamming it up (this is him stopping himself from grabbing the camera so he could 'smile')
Phil is in the process of updating our computer hard drive, otherwise I'd post more pictures of him running around in the park, which we do about an hour every day, usually twice a day. He's got so much energy!

But, back to the post title. Tonight Phil was at a local photographer workshop thingy so I took up my knitting needle and continued on with knitting Ethan a beanie. I'm almost done, and will post pictures soon. (I gave up a bit on the quiet book after a kind OT friend mentioned that most of the activities wouldn't interest or sustain him until he was closer to 2, so I figured I had other more pressing things to work on.)

I ended up watching Penelope for like the third time. The first time I was skeptical thinking this would be a really quirky movie, and it kind of is, but I appreciate the PG rating and really enjoy the modern day fairy tale story line. I like Reese Witherspoon in this too.

I've been loading up our Netflix que lately getting ready for all those chilly nights ahead. I'm looking forward to returning from our trip and pulling out all the Christmas decorations and amazing Ethan with his first ever Christmas tree. It's almost embarrassing how loud he squeals whenever he sees one in the store! He's about to have the time of his life.

Lots of firsts

Walking around the park is a favorite daily activity. He loves playing in the wood chips, and walking back and forth; grass, gravel, wood chips, concrete. Quite the toddler paradise. This was daddy's first time to walk with Ethan in the park.My "I can't believe I'm actually let him do this" moment. Digging in the dinosaur pit at Brushy Creek. Ok, ok, he's a little boy...I better get used to it.
Our first trip to a campsite to visit some friends from Houston. Thanks Marti for the pack and Julie for taking the photo! We had a really fun afternoon!Eating with a spoon! Those suction bottom bowls make it easier too!First skinned knee. :( He could care less, but for me, it was quite the shocker. More blood is just around the corner. Ah!

For Julie and Diego

I found out yesterday that our friends Julie and Diego are expecting!! Congratulations guys!! They are some of our most favorite people in the world, so this post is dedicated to them and their little one. When I think of their child, here are a few thoughts that come to mind...

He/she will:

• be the only child I know whose parent's will read him children's books on a Kindle
• always have the coolest tech gadgets and be the envy of Ethan and his daddy
• never be afraid of getting a shot
• but also will never be able to fake a sick day from school
• but his parent's might pull him out anyway for a mini-family vacation day
• always have a big, friendly smile
• never meet a stranger
• be full of laughter and when he's older, inappropriate jokes :)
  
• try to take care of every stray animal in the neighborhood, with his mother's help, of course
  
• love the Lord and will be a top debater in Theology by the age of 5, with a firm grasp on Calvinism and Arminianism
  
• hopefully understand very early how lucky he is to have his mommy and daddy

They are truly one in a million!

Separation Anxiety

I think we're officially in the thick of separation anxiety. What do you think?

Every morning anew

As if learning to walk is not enough, Ethan has decided to also take up napping only once a day instead of two. He is truly becoming a toddler! Goodness, this is a long hard process. Not only do we have a cranky baby by the end of the day, we've also got a semi-cranky mama who is flat worn out. It's just a transition, and I'm 'wise' enough now to know this too shall pass. Quickly, I hope. Well, hopefully before he sprouts another molar. Good grief!

I've been vividly reminded lately of the truth that God's mercies are new every morning. We've had a lot of hard days around here, with Ethan sleeping only 45 min. a day some days. He ends the day with bouts of crying and we're both staring out the window waiting for daddy to get home to offer relief to us both.

But, in spite of all that, I can't wait to start my day with him. By 8pm Phil and I are turning to each other and saying how much we miss the little one. We don't set a morning alarm at our house. We haven't needed to since he was born. The latest we are allowed to sleep in is 6:30, which works out perfectly. Phil and I both are anxious to go get that one out of bed and shower him in kisses. I completely forget the emotional day we might have had before. The many "get downs" I had to speak. The consoling because, no, you may not climb into the fridge and pull the eggs down on yourself.

I think about God and how no matter how whiny I am the day before, or sinful, or shameful, or disrespectful and even if I might have forgotten to confess those little sins I don't even realize are a part of me, he shows up and is ready to start the day anew with me. He looks forward to me waking up. It's never, yeah, here comes Cynthia again to wreck my plans.

That kind of graciousness is something I am striving to show to Ethan. I know he can't help the hard times he gives me. It's all so new to him and he doesn't understand. Our days hinge on my attitude. And, if I'm in the right place and focused on truth, we'll hopefully have another day like today, despite E not napping after 11am: sitting on the floor sharing a sugar cookie, laughing so hard we both start to cry, and going on an evening walk and noticing all the dogs and birds we see. It was a wonderful day.

I hope it ends even better with the French Onion soup I am making for dinner (courtesy of Rachel Ray).

We've got a walker!

Roast and Rain

Whenever it rains, like it has been yesterday and today, I love the smell of dinner filling the house throughout the day. It makes me feel warm and cozy during our long play day indoors.

Today I am making my most favorite cool weather meal - pot roast in the crock pot. Because I love this recipe so much, I'd thought I'd share -

Roast - whatever size you want
1 pkg. beef stew seasoning mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
blend of veggies - I like sweet potato, white potato, carrots, and yellow onion

Salt and pepper and lightly flour the roast (thawed or frozen). Lightly brown it in a skillet with a little olive oil. Add to the crockpot. Add all the veggies, diced to about the same large chunky size, add the seasoning and mix, top with the soup and about 1/2 can of water, or broth. Mix with the veggies. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6. As the day goes on, I'll check and add more liquid as needed, even adding some milk to make the gravy creamier. Mmmm. We'll enjoy our dinner tonight with a glass of red wine (I recommend the Yellow Tail Shiraz ;)

Hope you too are enjoying this cool, rainy fall like weather!

Conflicted design

I love this: But I also love these:I'm stuck in a decorating dilemma. Every time I think I have found an accessory or something to make our house feel more well, lived in and homey, I'm quickly reminded of how it is not baby proof nor manly enough. I've struggled with finding my own personal style for years. I just don't love any one look. I like so many, but then there are some I like, but could never live in. Like the one above.

Tying things up

I realized that I'll leave posts hanging sometimes, so for whatever reason, I felt like I wanted to tie up some loose ends. Oh, who am I kidding? I so type A, I can't leave loose ends!

1) The dog shaped fungus on the bottom of the tree reminded me of Sirius Black in Harry Potter where he takes on the animagus form of a black dog. And yes, I did go see the new Harry Potter and it is definitely not for children, but really really good.

2) I did apply to volunteer at Caritas to help the refugees in Austin. The time commitment is more than I can give right now and some of the meetings would happen during the day with no child care provided. I'm going to wait until I feel comfortable putting Ethan in Mother's Day Out and then I'll reassess.

3) I didn't finish Dare to Discipline. I understand there is an updated version that I think I'll have to pick up. The original kept referring back to 'their parent's in the 50s' and that just wasn't when my mom started parenting (she was just being born), so the examples and parallels were confusing and hard to place relevance for today. I'm sure if I put more thought into it I could utilize the book, but I really don't have the energy at the end of the day to do that much mental work. I'd rather read it for what I was wanting to learn - sound Bible based discipline for Ethan. We've got other recommendations from our mentor couples that we'll pick up.

4) I'm still working on his quiet book. I've got two pages done, but since I didn't realize I had a zipper foot (I can hear the gasps already) one page turned out eh and the other is a basic weave pattern, so nothing exciting. I'll wait and post pictures when I can include the more creative pages Phil helped me collaborate on. Having a designing husband can be such a blessing and curse! :)

I think that tidies things up a bit. I'll have to post pictures of our weekend downstairs bathroom redo. Huge difference. Huge.

Ah, now I can sit back and finish my Sunday paper with a cup of hot chocolate and call it day. It's funny how these things weigh on my mind! :)

What we've been up to

I turned 30! Woohoo! My sisters and mom chipped in to get me this special gift. Look ma, no hands! (I made homemade whip cream later that day too.)We stay connected with family through Skype and iChat. Notice how we had to keep the laptop just out of reach or Ethan would furiously attack it.Phil joined the ranks of hundreds of thousands of iPhone owners. Ethan is equally excited about his new phone, Phil's cast off.

We're cruising along! Now he'll pull up somewhere and just start crying, so very untypical, and I finally figured out he wanted me to come over and help him walk across the room.

That's what we've been up to!

Good morning sleepy head

Ethan doesn't like cameras in the morning. He's like his daddy. He's awake, but not ready to face the world for another 30 min.

Make it and Love it

Make It and Love It is my newest go to blog for quick, easy sewing crafts. I was so happy to find so many projects that 1) are completely usable and won't just get tossed into my 'yeah I made it, now what do I do with it?' bin and 2) use things I already have on hand and 3) can be accomplished in one evening.

I recently discovered why I've enjoyed her projects so much...she's got a 13 month old boy too! No wonder her crafts are right up my alley!

Going to make her cute headbands this evening while Phil mows the grass!

Family Photos

We had some family photos taken in downtown Georgetown on Saturday. We could not be happier with the results! The feel is so cool, so relaxed, so us! It's like we had our own paparazzi. See a few of them for yourself here. Erin, the photographer, also took brilliant photos of Ethan by himself. See the tease here.

Incredible talent!

Our must haves now

The #1 choice daily is the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn House. When he became super active at 10 months I was searching for just the right toys to keep him and me occupied. This toy has far surpassed my expectations. I was hoping for a good 30 min. total a day of playtime. In reality, E plays at least 2 hours off and on with this toy every single day. We do rotate out his other toys, but this one he never tires of. It amazes me. And, strangely enough, I don't get tired of it either. He loves playing peek-a-boo through the window or the mail box, pulling to standing on it, or spinning the moon. I get a kick out of me knocking on the door and him letting me in. We've had it for 3 months now and it is still going strong. Of course I got it off Craigslist, so it was worth every penny.He looks less than thrilled with this photo, but he really loves this Fisher Price toy. It doesn't get as much play time as the other, but boy is it fun to dance dance dance when the music starts! It's been also a great standing toy, working on balance as he leans down to retrieve the balls. Another Craigslist buy, so at $10 it was a steal.
Of course a Little People toy makes the list. This farm house is so simple, yet we play easily an hour a day with all the animals and putting them in their little rooms and learning their sounds. Can you tell he loves peek-a-boo?

If only it were on a grilled cheese

The day the new Harry Potter movie came out, we found this at the bottom of a dead tree in our backyard. No joke! Can anyone tell me how it relates to the Harry Potter books? I know someone else besides me read the entire series. :)I'm sure it is a result of the dying tree shedding it's bark. Phil said it was a very artistic dog leaving his mark. Gross, but really there is no way a stray dog got into our backyard. Weird huh? If it were on a grilled cheese, I'd auction it off on ebay.

An even easier Quiet Book

On my quest for creative ideas, I came across this super super simple version of a quiet book. I think the one here was done in a bit too much haste, but you get the idea of how you don't have to sew everything (or anything) and still have something very useful. She hot glues the buttons on, for example, but I'm not sure that will hold up in the long run. But, for all you sweet friends who honestly think you can't make a full fledged quiet book...this one's for you.

The Hoffmans

No, that is not a typo. It is quite an interesting story!

It all started with my friend Marti who is a full-time mom and part time Pediatric Occupational Therapist. I like hanging out with her because she is so funny, we have a great time chatting about loads of topics, and her son is a few weeks younger than Ethan (and her daughter is 3 and is super cute.) Anyway, she can't help but be herself and for a few months now has been 'working with' Ethan when we go over for playdates. She's so kind asking me if it bothers me. She first mentioned to me that his hips were tight. Then, when he started army crawling she noticed he wasn't using his hips like she'd like to see. I completely trust all fields of medicine. I think health is a complimentary approach, so I started doing some of the exercises she suggested.

Fast forward 2 months. Ethan is still army crawling and he is really struggling to pull up. Like it just doesn't flow like other kids. I decided to take him to a chiropractor to get checked out. I know Dr. Sears is a big fan, and I am too. I've been going to one since middle school when I started running track. I saw one who did the Webster Technique throughout my pregnancy. I'm digressing...

The Hoffmans appeared on my radar because 1) they are on my insurance 2) they are super close and 3) the wife does Pediatric chiropractic and the husband sees adults. Score, I can get two appts done at the same time. Moms, you feel my excitement.

I arrive, give them my license for the registration and guess what! The Hoffmans live a few doors down from me on the same street! No joke. How small world is that. Not to mention they have the last name that every one wants to give me when I'm signing up for things. Coffman with a C not an H.

They are the nicest people ever and she is amazing with Ethan. They use the activator method, which I prefer, and Ethan plays the whole time and barely notices anything is going on. The coolest part is this, she finds that his hips are out of place (I'm sure there is a technical term) and adjusts him as well as his neck (which explains the recurrent ear infections). When she touches his neck he does this shrugging move, which I always thought was cute. Like he was ticklish there. Myra explained nicely that that isn't cute, it's a sign it is tender and he's in pain. Oh. Same with his hips when she touches those. I've seen him do that before.

We've seen Dr. Myra 3x in the last month and guess what! I can hardly believe it. Ethan is now crawling on his knees! Like he crawls more on his knees now than his belly. He'll still revert back to the army crawl because that is what he familiar with but he is no longer struggling to get to standing (in fact he is cruising like crazy) and he is no longer in pain. Can I also share that he is no longer constipated? I thought it was perfectly normal for him to become red faced every time. Books say it happens when they eat solids. Ok, might be tmi. Suffice it to say, poor little guy.

In the midst of this I took him for his 1 year appt and didn't tell the pediatrician about any of this. He mentioned during the exam he thinks Ethan's hips are tight. I'm fascinated this is so evident to specialist. He requests I get an xray of E's hips to make sure there is no hip displacia. The xrays came back completely normal, but the pediatrican recommends we work with an occupational therapist to loosen his hip flexors. We've got an appt. scheduled for an evaluation with the Early Childhood Intervention, a completely free program of therapist provided by the state. Thank you fellow tax payers!

I hope you can hear the elation in my voice. I am so happy God has directed our steps so clearly to help Ethan. Our hearts were heavy at first when we realized he was in pain and compensated by army crawling. That isn't to say that is the reason every baby army crawls, just why our little guy did. I am fascinated by the mind of God that he empowers so many people to have just a glimpse of his wisdom and orchestrates them to play together to take care of our little boy.

Praising Him!

He's 1!

Our big boy is one! We traveled to Houston to celebrate on the fourth with a swim party at Phil's parent's house. It was so super duper fun and hot. We had forgotten how sticky, thick the Houston heat is. I made chocolate cupcakes with a homemade butter cream frosting. Ethan had never had a cupcake before and was a little perplexed by the site of it and people singing a weird song really loud. He made a face right up until the food registered in his mouth and then he ate the whole thing. Good boy!Ethan really enjoyed himself in the pool, which was a huge answer to prayer because he has steadily been not liking the pool here. I think he really enjoyed watching the other kids splashing around. Phil and I don't exactly exert that kind of energy at our pool.

We were blessed with the presence of so many friends and their children. It was heart warming to look around and see how far we've come, from singleness, to marriage, and now kids. I absolutely love growing older with Phil, watching Ethan get older, and I'm really looking forward to turning 30 in a few weeks. I don't feel like I'm 30, but I love the idea of it.

Quiet Book pg. 1

I can't believe I've already gotten this far. It took me a bit to get all my supplies together, but laying it out has been a cinch. I guess it helps I'm almost copying exactly. It only took me 45 min. to get to this point. Sewing it will go much faster.

And, if you're on the fence about starting this project, Hobby Lobby has extended their sale on felt, 8 for $1! They also have some glittery ones I'll use somewhere. The go fish cards I found in a 3 pack of card games at the Dollar Tree this morning. Not all of them are great, but enough for a little one to enjoy.

A swift kick in the bum

I finished the Soloist two nights ago and put yet another book down feeling a twinge of conviction. What did God bring to mind this time? This post. How completely ignorant I was of the true plight of so many homeless people. How selfish and haughty of me. My stomach ached just recalling it. I appreciate God's gentleness with me. He knows I'll take that and be pretty hard on myself till I learn the lesson.

I'm sure not everyone walks away from books convicted about something. I'm such a thinker. I can't help but internally process every thing I see or read. That's one reason I really monitor what I allow to enter into my eyes and ears. Things stick with me.

Well, I would say I'm on to more light hearted reading, but the first book in the Shopaholic series is no where to be found in my book box, so I'm waiting to get it from the library. The next book up is Dare to Discipline by James Dobson. Fun. At least I've got some magazines and that quiet book to add some lightheartedness.

My tribute to Michael and a new craft

Since my mind is now flooded with everyone who is anyone in showbiz's stories about Michael Jackson, I thought I'd share my own.

In elementary school there was this girl who bullied me. Not surprising, considering I was the scrawniest little thing (chickens had bigger legs than me), braces, funky frizzed hair, and a big mouth to boot. Shocking, huh? :) One day at lunch I was so sick of this girl picking on me, I decided to take action. I knew she loved Michael Jackson, and quite honestly who didn't, so I said very boldly, "Michael Jackson sucks." She punched me. She also stole my super cool purple Members Only jacket.

Does it help that she was George Foreman's sister-in-law? That's a whole other story in itself. I'll shelf that.

And, if you're wondering, I really didn't think Michael Jackson sucked.

Moving along....

I'm working a new sewing project! I've been looking for something I can pick up every now and then and feel productive and creative without bringing this huge production in our dining room. And usually I only have about 30 min. a night to devote to it. I found the perfect craft that I should have finished just in time for our flight to Calgary in November. It could potentially take me that long - but that's ok. It's a labor of love and hopefully something that can be passed to grandchildren. It's a Quiet Book. Have you heard of it? Here's the blog I'll be looking to for ideas.

I'll post pictures as I complete pages!

Do Good Deli

I finally contacted Caritas to volunteer. Things got busy with Ethan catching the Rotovirus and being sick for 8 days and then family visiting and then planning his one year party this weekend! We can't believe our baby is almost a whole year old! We are so in love with him. His giggles and smiles and chunky legs and knees. He's pulling up on everything, I'll have a post a video soon of him doing that and his not so graceful way of getting down. Pretty funny. But, on to the reason for this post.
While perusing the Caritas site again, I saw that they are trying to find ways to increase their funds without 100% relying on donations, which I am sure are greatly down because of the economy. So they created this downtown sack lunch delivery program called Do Good Deli. 100% of the proceeds go to Caritas. I love it! Very creative fund raising and a huge need in downtown. Phil will tell me how immensely crowded all the eateries are at lunch, so what a wonderful way to tap that daily drive. I hope this endeavor does really well.

Wish I was wrong

I'm very very very sad to say I was right about the movie. Eh. I mean, almost worse than eh. COMPLETELY different than the books. In fact, I am so upset about it, I am going to reread the series starting this weekend so I can get the REAL story in my mind. I really wanted to like it. Really I did.

I caved and rented the movie

I'm caving and watching the Shopaholic movie tonight. We had an eventful week long visit from my mother-in-law and we're ready to veg and eat some homemade key lime pie (made by her, not me). There's nothing else out I want to see and the ease of the Redbox is so so so appealing. I'm hooked. I spend about $1 every two weeks. We still have the cheapest Netflix account for all those BBC and classic movies we like. Oh and the watch instantly can't be beat. Next up on that que, Little Britain!

Here's a pic of what we accomplished. A super organized playroom redesign. Thanks to my friend Erin Wallace for the inspiration and tips!

A box on a bus

Phil is so good to me. His office had a ROT rally party Friday night catered by Rudy's BBQ, quite possibly the best bbq we've ever had (with Smittys in Lockhart a close second). Yesterday at work he discovered there were cartons and cartons of food left. My humble, sweet husband loaded up a boxful of yumminess to bring home. Now let me explain what 'bring home' looks like.

He carries this box 4 blocks to wait in the 100+ temperatures for the bus. He makes the 45 min. trip with the box in his lap and then makes it to his non-air conditioned car for the 15 min. drive home. And he did not complain at all. He takes such good care of me.

Thank you honey, I'm enjoying some more now!

Outcasts United

Last night I finished a very inspiring book. We subscribe to the the Sunday edition of the Austin American Statesmen, and buried somewhere within, I saw a recommendation for this book. I borrowed it from the library and dove in.

I couldn't put it down. Every nap time and before bed I was reaching for it. It is a beautiful and humbling tale of a town, Clarkston, Georgia and its new found situation as a refugee haven. It follows the story of a coach who puts together a soccer team of refugees, admist the poverty, prejudices and dangers they face. We're given glimpses of the boy's stories and their family's plights that brought them from war torn areas to this suburb of Atlanta. I had absolutely no idea life existed like this. I was torn, laid bare with my materialism, thankful for the very comfortable life I live. Overwhelmed with compassion.

I finished the book last night wondering, what am I to do now? How can I help? Refugees come to America, scared, confused, optimistic, traumatized, poor. I just can't let the story end on the page. God has stirred something in my soul.

I found there is an organization here in Austin, Caritas, that works with refugees. One of their needs is to get apartments ready for newly arriving refugees. The committment is 2-5 hours a week, exactly what I can give right now. I'm making the phone call tomorrow to see if I can help out on Saturdays. I'll keep you posted and in the meantime, read the book!

Water water everywhere

Ethan has officially been introduced to the pool and splash pad. He absolutely loves the water. I don't, but for my little sweetie I am learning to embrace it. Phil is a very happy camper.
He's all ready for the super hot summer!
He has his shades (which he will actually leave on a for a minute or two).He got his first haircut.He has his swimsuit. I couldn't resist taking this picture. You know he felt a draft!He makes a high pitched squeal of delight while playing in the water. He really likes to go under the waterfalls. We played so long at the splash pad that his fingers actually turned blue and his bottom lip was quivering. He never complained and was upset when I finally wrapped him in the towel to go home. Splash pads are really really great.And, for those last few minutes of the day when Phil's arrival cannot come fast enough, a little pool complete with shade so I don't have to slather him with sunscreen and give him a bath.

Ethan in pictures

He likes the Biscuit Brothers. We went to see them live a few weekends back when Phil's cousin and his wife were in town. They are very entertaining, for kids and adults.
He's army crawling like crazy and gets stuck. Instead of helping, I get the camera. He hasn't gotten stuck again...

And, we're back to cloth diapering. Finally his size and the diapers mesh. He can wear them under his normal size clothing, too. I'm doing it part time and still do disposables when we're out.We dedicated him on Mother's Day. Phil's parents and my mom drove in to celebrate. He was such a good boy on stage. We loved how the pastor prayed for his future wife.He obviously likes peas better than carrots.He can do a mean plank. He alternates between crawling and doing this all day. He holds it sometimes for 10 seconds. Look how he's concentrating! (He was finishing his stance by the time the photo took, so you can see his knee coming down.) Loving this stage!