1:17 in the morning?!

It's 1:17 in the morning...you might be asking what are you doing up at 1:17 in the morning?! The answer is I DON'T KNOW! I'm rather upset about being up at 1:18(now) in the morning. Ryan is sleeping just fine. I've had a great night with Jay. I just can't sleep. Grrrrr. It's driving me crazy. I'd been tossing and turning for over an hour and a half trying to get to sleep when I finally decided to just get up and do something. I thought about reading to make me tired, but this seemed like a better(read-more fun) option. We went to Zach's VBS tonight. I thought it would be a special presentation for the parents, but it seemed to be just like the other nights with just the kids except a little shorter(I think they cut out the craft). It was definitely aimed at the kids...I liked watching Zach enjoy himself, but that only goes so far. You know what I mean?

Ryan is 11 Months Old Today

Ryan is 11 months old today! This is a picture from a couple days ago, but I'll take some today for his month-day. He is playing with my exercise ball that I bought while I was pregnant to help with my delivery. I never used it because of all the stuff I was hooked up to though. Oh well, kids love giant balls. We had a giant beach ball when I was little and it provided hours and hours of enjoyment at a time every year!
It's hard to believe that one month from today he will be 1 year old!

Ryan and the Giant Ball 

FRIDAY!!!

It's Friday, Hooray! Tonight we all get to go to VBS with Zach. I guess they worked on some presentation or something. I'm not sure. They let us know last night that we are supposed to attend AND bring a dessert! This notice is a little bit late people! It's a good thing I already had the stuff to make brownies because of last week's picnic and no major plans today, so I could stay home and make them. Having to go to the store between Ryan's naps while still getting in his meals takes some planning. Besides that it would have to be before at least one of his naps so I could make the brownies while he's sleeping. It's very hard to keep him from touching the oven while I'm cooking and it gets pretty hot even on the outside. Luckily I didn't have to go to the store for that stuff and I've finished the brownies. Ryan is still asleep, so I'm working on laundry now. I'll have to go fold soon. I should vacuum and do some other fun things too, but I am not feeling super motivated. Perhaps because the computer is way more fun. I guess I should pick myself up by the bootstraps and get to work.

On a lighter note...

At least not politically heavy... I just made a mix CD for Zach. I worked so hard on the label to get all the songs in the boundaries. I just printed it and the boundaries were off!!!! About 1/8th of an inch all around. GRRRRRRRRR. Now, do I waste another label or just use the one I have? Hmmmmmmm. I hate wasting so much(ask Jay, it drives him crazy). But I also hate for things not to be right...such a dilemma.

Stream of Consciousness

I was thinking about my post all last night...yet another reason why I had trouble getting to sleep. I remember going into the post thinking about one thing and then just going off in a sort of stream of consciousness. When I started my post I had some things I wanted to say...since I went off on a tangent they didn't all get said clearly. Then the baby needed me and I had to stop without really making sure it was clear. I probably shouldn't have posted it before checking it better. I do feel all the ways I said, but there is much more. Someone who is very special e-mailed me saying she was hurt because she thought that her choice of career seemed to be lesser in my eyes than family. I thought I had addressed this, but I guess not clearly enough. That is not the case at all. What I really mean is that girls shouldn't be taught(especially in schools) that women who stay at home are inherently less important, but neither are women who choose to work. That it is an individual choice that should not be degraded by others. I do feel that if you have a family that should be paramount in your mind when you make all your decisions...if you work, how many hours, if you really need so many material things or if your kids would benefit more from having you. I have no problem at all with women who choose career instead of family...more power to you. I think it's great that a woman can have a great career if she wants to, but I don't think the idea that being a career woman is the only way to be a strong woman is correct. Given today's political climate I would venture to say it takes a stronger character and sense of self to stay at home because of all the pressure there is to work from society. Especially with housing and other pricing skyrocketing because this 2 income society will support it. It's no longer an advantage to have 2 incomes it's the norm which makes it a disadvantage to have one income. I just think today's society reflects a sad state of moral integrity in general...does all this come from women in the workforce...NO, of course not! Here is a sort of a chicken and the egg argument for you though...Are morals declining because of how children are being raised or are children being raise the way they are because of the lack of morals in our society?

I guess yesterday's post was because of a democratic national convention overload...lots of built up pressure. Soon it will be over and I will not be faced with such opposition to my very being and I will be a little more rational;-)

Strong Women?!

I am saddened today that in our society our young girls are taught so early that to be a strong woman you need to have a career, be in control of everything, be important in the world's eyes and not need anyone. This horrible myth has led to so much confusion for young women(and men). It is not that I feel like I need to defend my position as a stay at home mom-I feel very strongly convicted that I want to raise my own kids and being at home is the best thing for my family. I have a degree, I could be out there making money, but it's not important to me to be one of the most important people to a bunch of strangers, it's far more important to me to be the most important person in my children's lives. My job is one of the most important jobs in the world-to shape and love these tiny young beings into functional, content adults. As for being in control, only God can truly be in control. He gives us freedom of choice, but ultimately he is in charge. I admit I have a very hard time with this still, but I know deep down it's right. The idea that morals are old fashioned and everyone should be able to do what feels good has led to so much pain through out the world...it's amazing people have not wised up yet! Fatherless children, broken families, STDs running rampant, children having sex before they can drive, drinking themselves into a stuper before they are old enough to vote and many other things(I'm sure you can think of a few if you really try) are all on the rise. Why? I refer you to previous statements...women thinking their careers are more important than their families and society thinking that morals are old fashioned. I for one am holding strong to my Christian heritage and my values with it. I'm not saying that women belong in the kitchen....far from it, but I am saying that a woman's family should be her number one priority and her actions should reflect that decision. I know all moms can not stay at home and I realize how blessed I am that I am able to be here always for my children. We do have to make sacrifices, but it's worth it to me not to have cable and have a slow dial up connection-these seem like such small sacrifices when compared to the huge benefit I, no we, get from me staying home. I'm sorry for getting one my soap box for so long, but it seems like there are so many liberals out there spouting about the right to live any way you want. I feel like the conservative voice is squelched so much of the time because we are too afraid to not be "PC", but we are out there...the people who believe in family, morality and self respect. So next time one of you wants to shout me down about all people having the right to marry whomever they please just remember that marriage is a gift from God and I don't think he would approve of it being twisted in this way. So many things have been taken from us(you know the old-fashioned Christians of the world) and twisted into something totally unlike the intended idea(like Christmas for one). Please leave our marriage alone. I'm sure there is some way that same gendered couples can have all the same "rights"(aka privileges) without using marriage, civil unions perhaps...or even come up with a whole new word all your own. Why must the conservative, dare I say Christian, give up what is rightfully theirs? I have gone off on quite a tangent...oops. My original thought is that if our young girls could just understand that they don't have to conform to the strong independent woman myth and go with their instincts(nurturing, loving etc.) the family unit would be far better off and therefore the world would be better off because we would be raising our children with an understanding that there is a set of moral laws and it should guide their behavior. And most importantly that we love them enough to teach them(with discipline, love and other means) these moral laws.

The Weekend

Well, this weekend started the long string of busy days for us and it was kicked off with a bang. I should have planned it a little better and talked to Jay about it more. It's funny how something you don't really give much of a thought to can mean so much to someone else. It's hard to plan things for the whole family sometimes when you don't get everyone's opinions first. We went to our small group picnic on Saturday. I made brownies(from scratch) and they were very well recieved. People kept coming up to me telling me how Jay was bragging about it. They thought it was great how he was so proud that his wife made the brownies. I found it pretty endearing myself. He's very sweet sometimes. We were thinking of going to church after, but we didn't leave in time(this is where planning better and wearing a watch would have come in handy). Sunday it was off to little Ben's Christening. He was adorable. We had to rush off after though so we could make a service at Grace. I was sad that I didn't get to spend time with Erin and Tom, but it was the better of two bad choices. I think it was the best way to maintain family harmony. Maybe we'll be able to have Erin, Tom and Ben over soon. That might even be better so we can hang out with out all the distractions. This week Zach has VBS(Vacation Bible School). I'm hoping he gets to know some of the kids that will be in his regular Sunday school class, maybe even some kids that will be in his class this fall. Well, I guess that about wraps up my weekend.

New Web Page

I just started a new web page about the kids. I added a link on the sidebar, so it should be easy to find:) There is a video of Ryan walking linked to the page. Just click on the underlined word in the little paragraph about Ryan. I'm going to bed! I must be crazy to have stayed up so late doing this. I'm going to regret it in the morning(and maybe all day)! I guess I really got into it. I didn't realize it was so late.

Little Known Fact...

Jay doesn't like peanut butter cookies:-( The only small bit of good news about this is that they will last longer... A LOT longer!

Today's Adventure

I've decided to give up on cleaning(especially floors), at least for today. Today's adventure was baking...peanut butter cookies to be precise. Mmmmmmm, they smell good and they taste great. I only know this of course because I had to "test" them ;-) Why is it an adventure you say? Have you ever tried baking with a 5 year old helper? Actually Zach was quite helpful, he rolled peanut butter balls and criss-crossed them. He also thought they might be good with sprinkles...so I let him put sprinkles on some. I'm sure the sprinkles will make them taste 10x better...at least to Zach. We put kisses on some too. I was telling Zach that these are Uncle T.J.'s favorite after Zach tasted one he says they are his favorite too. Now I'm thinking that I'll be making them again in 3 weeks when he's here.


Mmm...cookies! 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I thought it was just my carpets that were meant to be ruined...Alas, I was wrong! I thought I'd tidy up the basement today. It's been getting steady stream of stuff we don't want in other places, so I thought I'd try to organize he chaos a little. Well, it's a good thing I did because I lifted up a box to put it on top of another(my method of organizing) and noticed water the box. It took me a few minutes to figure out where it was coming from. It was very peculiar, there was one puddle and no water around it. My first thought was of the hose that leads from the dehumidifier into the sump pump...maybe it had leaked and we didn't notice and the spot under the box just didn't dry.  So, I did a little more investigating and found it was dry under the boxes next to the hose. When I walked back over the spot where the wet box had been it was wet again, but I had wiped it up...hmmm. Uh-oh the edges of the tiles are all wet, but the center is not...it's coming from under the tiles! Disastrous thoughts wet through my mind of water seeping up through the floor, but I moved some more boxes and found guess what...that's right more water. So after some more investigation and taking bunches of stuff out of wet boxes I found the culprit(at least I'm pretty sure it's the culprit), the connection between the hose and dehumidifier is leaky. So much for my afternoon nap! We are blessed however in many ways. The water had not been sitting long enough to mildew or mold everything. There is the tiniest bit on a couple boxes, but the water had not really penetrated through the boxes to get the things inside wet and we had put shelves down there that sit about an inch of the floor for just this type of situation and all the important stuff is safe. So all in all the net loss is one nap, several warped tiles and a couple boxes(which will make more room in the basement anyway).

My morning...

If you don't count when Ryan woke up at 6:30(which wasn't fun, but at least he went back to sleep) my morning started at 8..."Zach threw up" I hear from my husband as he opens the door and let's the bathroom light shine in my exhausted face. I stay in bed hoping he will take care of it since he is already up. To my delight he takes care of Zach. Of course he leaves the mess for me. I stay in bed anyway because Ryan is still asleep and I am very tired. From downstairs I hear a comment that is a not very well disguised call to action, "uh-oh, it looks like his room is not the only place Zach threw up." Okay, I'm up, I'm up. Just what I want to do first thing in the morning. At least he hadn't eaten anything yet. He's fine now. I wonder what made him throw up anyway. He's not sick...he said he must have needed a drink, hrm. This was before he got a drink, then he was fine and dandy after he got his drink. I wonder if it had anything to do with me telling him after he spilled the milk yesterday that he has to ask before pouring drinks and the fact that no one was up to ask.

Don't cry over spilled milk, huh?!

I don't have to invite the elephants...Zach took care of the problem by spilling about a 2 quarts of milk on the freshly cleaned rug this morning. Why do I even try?!

Imagine if you will...

Imagine if you will a freshly shampooed berber carpet...Enter two neighbor kids, one 5 year old son and a lovable, but dirty pawed Australian Shepherd. This beautiful dirt spotted picture is my family room.  Ah, the memories of yesterday(literally yesterday) when it was clean. Alas, it was not to be. I am destined to live in a dirty house.
Today I steam cleaned the upstairs, perhaps tomorrow I will invite a herd of elephants to come by and admire my handy work.

Baby Breakthroughs and Feeling Refreshed

Ryan, my wonderful, sweet, and oh so kind 10 month old baby slept from 7:30 last night until almost 6:30 this morning! And wait until you hear the best part...I figured it's a little earlier than he usually gets up, so I'll try putting him back in his crib after a morning snack(even though he did go to bed early last night). Hoping against hope that he was still tired, though he exhibited no signs of being such. And that wonderful baby of mine slept until after 8:30. This is the first morning I can recall in way to many months that I was ready to get up!!! Erin, there is hope. If Ryan did it I'm sure Ben will too:-)  And even though he is shunning the idea of a second nap right now I still think he is the bestest baby ever:-)
So with my new found energy I finished cleaning out Zach's room(I started yesterday) while Ryan was taking his first nap. I think he'll be surprised when he comes home today. I tried not to get rid of anything he might miss, but he had some toys he never uses anymore and are way too young for him just taking up space in his room. Now they are taking up space in my room until I decide which ones to keep for Ryan and make sure Zach doesn't miss any of them. I think I'll move them down to the basement after I finish this blog.  Then, when I finished that I vacuumed and steam cleaned the family room rug...for the second time this month. I hope it's better this time! Then Ryan woke up and we ate lunch and played while I treated myself to a showing of Shrek :-)
PS Ryan had a great time in Sunday school for the second week in a row!!! No fussing at all.
Yay Ryan!

The Amazing Octopus

I saw this discovery type show on PBS last night about octopus. I kind of fancy myself an animal buff. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of quite a few animals...I had NO IDEA however about the octopus. It is quite an amazing creature. For one thing I thought there was only one type of octopus(the giant Pacific octopus is the one I'm semi-familiar with). I mean I knew about the eight legs, strong suckers that break open crustaceans and clams, the venomous beak inside the mouth and the waste tube. What I didn't know astounded me. Apparently many species of octopus can change color and I mean from amazing bright colors to rock like colors for camouflage. They put the chameleon to shame...it's not just like they change color a little bit gradually. They change instantly. They can also change the very texture of their skin! They did this for camouflage, as a threat to intruders and during courtship(which incidentally is also very interesting). I saw amazing things like a pacific giant eating a shark, an Australian species that searched the shallows for food with much of it's "head" sticking out of the water, and even two species crawling out of the water across rocks during a chase and even one small species who can drop it's arm if it gets captured and grow a new one! They are incredible, adapting to live in every ocean and sea from the arctic to the Mediterranean.
I feel kind of silly that when we were at the Aquarium Friday we were lamenting that the octopus is so boring...it never moves and every time we go it's in the same place.  {smacking self in head} Oh yeah, it's NOCTURNAL!

New Picture and new post writing format

Ryan walking 
I was looking at my blog and noticed that there were no pictures on the entire page. Well, I just couldn't have that, so here is a picture of Ryan walking. I had a new video clip of it, but the site I used to host the last one isn't supporting video anymore, just pictures:-(
 
I really like the new post writing format from Blogger! Very user friendly:-)

Ryan's Walking Progress

Ryan is walking all over the place now. He still doesn't know he has to step over things though. Sometimes he'll kick blocks across the room or trip over something that won't move. It's kind of amusing. Only because he doesn't seem to mind or even notice sometimes. He just gets right back up and goes again.

A Little Shopping Advice for New Mommies...

It is definitely worth planning your shopping trips around the weather forecast! We got caught in a downpour yesterday on the way out of the Giant. The power went out in the store which wasn't so bad, but it was hard to see what I wanted to buy. The generators came on quickly, so that part wasn't the worst. When we got outside you could barely see two feet in front of you. It's not easy pushing a cart, holding an umbrella steady, making sure baby doesn't get wet and dodging parking lot drivers who don't seem to notice your plight. So, sunny day shopping is where it's at.

Job Perks

It's 3:00 and I'm sitting here in my jammies. I don't know whether to feel guilty about it or happy that I can do it because I'm a stay at home mommy. It is one of the perks...the kids don't really care how I look ;-) I've actually been pretty busy today. I'm hoping to get a chance to get dressed before Jay gets home. Ryan has been shunning his second nap lately though, so I'm not sure if I'll get the time. He's been very unhappy when I strap him into his seat in the bathroom while I take a shower. He is fine until he's thrown all his toys around he bathroom and gets bored. He's such a little monkey! He's toddling around the room right now. He keeps going after the dog, Poor Daisy. She is so good with him. She is going to end up with bald spots because he keeps pulling her fur. She just turns and licks his hand or gets away if she can. A little advice for those who might end up in this position(dog and baby) if you are planning on having kids and don't already have a dog or cat...DON'T GET THE ANIMAL! Wait until your kids are ALL older. It's not easy having both.

Relaxing Weekend Ahead

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I guess that's pretty quid pro quo for me. I like weekends:) Who doesn't?! I should enjoy this relaxing weekend while I can though, because looking at our upcoming calendar it's not going to be so relaxing for long. We just planned a vacation with Jay's parents and his sister at a place in PA that was recomended to us by some friends. We checked out the website,Willow Valley ...it's in Lancaster County(near Amish Country). It looks quite charming and seems to have lots for the family to do. 2 days after we get back my parents are coming to town. A few days after that we are off to the beach for Scheide family vacation. I think we are going to try to do a birthday party for Ryan the Sunday we get back, so my parents can be there. Then I have a wedding the next weekend in VA. That Monday Zach starts kindergarten(incidently on Ryan's birthday. And soon after that I have a wedding to go to near the eastern Shore! It all looks like fun...I hope I have the energy!

Another Weekend

Friday, Friday, yea it's Friday!

Husband Points

Jay has been earning lots of what we like to call husband points. He's been so thoughtful about doing things to help me out...dishes(consisting of putting what fits into the dishwasher and running it, but it definitely helps), hanging up his clothes, getting up with Ryan, etc. He has also learned a great lesson that every man should learn...When I was upset about something because it made me feel bad he just said, "I can understand that you feel that way and I'm sorry you feel bad" instead of trying to argue me out of feeling bad by telling me I was wrong and listing the reasons why. This is a huge stride for him and I was floored. It was even a little surprising how good I felt just because he understood. It was way better than him telling me I shouldn't feel that way! Also the other day I had to drive him to work and while I went down to feed the baby he made the bed!!! And when he overslept and missed the bus while TJ had the car he admitted he should have planned better and not played a computer game until midnight all by himself. I was expecting him to get upset because the car was gone and he couldn't drive to work or want to drive the Explorer in to work. Instead he thought of a few ways to get downtown and leave me with the car. I was very appreciative of his calm demeanor and problem solving. Anyway, I just thought I'd brag on my husband for a while:-)

To blog or not to blog...?

I guess it's been a while since I blogged. The thing is I would rather live life than write about it:) I spent the weekend with family and stayed fairly busy. My Aunt Renee had people over on the 4th. That was fun even though my potato dish did not turn out so very well. I guess I have alot to learn about cooking in big quantities. The potatoes were not fully cooked. People were very nice about it and kept telling me how good it was. The rest of the dish was pretty good...pasta in a tomato sauce. The potatoes were edible, but definitely not done. Oh well, live and learn. Ryan was really good the whole time...he was tired at the end, but more antzy than fussy. Zach made a new friend, Sue's nephew was there. He seemed to have a really good time. I think TJ enjoyed the chance to see some of the Scheides. Most of the rest of the weekend was spent doing pretty normal things...taking Zach to the library, going to the grocery store, playing games etc.
I think I'll go play with Ryan now.
Blog to you later:-)

Sleep...What's that?!

Okay, so you'd think I would be getting a normal amount of sleep by now, since Ryan is 10 months old. Well, think again! Last night Ryan went down somewhere around 8:30. Great, so there is time for us to do adult things. I got some work done on a slideshow I'm working on and Jay got to read his Motor Trend(he's like a kid on Christmas morning when his Motor Trend comes, but that's a whole other story). Around 10:15 Jay comes down to tell me he's going to bed...if anyone knows Jay they would know how much of a shock this is to me. I guess he's getting smarter in his old age;-) I decided to go up with him. We talk for a little while(something we seem to do a lot when we should be sleeping) and Jay goes to sleep a little after 11. Meanwhile, I'm laying there very much awake. I try to get to sleep for what seems like hours...the last time I noticed the time was 12:30. Then of course Ryan wakes up earlier than usual at 4am and again at 5 and 6:30. I'm not sure what was up with that,but I know I'm not having iced tea with dinner again until all my kids are in college!

Family

It's good to have TJ around. I miss having my family close. I guess that has not been the case for me since I lived in Virginia. But, when I moved to Maryland they were only a 4 hour drive away, I could see them once a month or so. Now it's more like once a year:( I keep hoping one day we will all live in the same state again(even the same country would be better though!) As time wears on and we are still so far apart it seems like that day is so far away. The thought that it might never happen has crossed my mind as well. I guess I better enjoy my brother while he's here. We had a good time for the first couple days. We did some errands together one day(not too exciting, but at least we were together.) We played games Tuesday night while Jay was at Bible study and Jay joined us when he got home. That was fun. It always surprises me just a little how funny TJ is. He had us laughing all night. I mean, I know he's funny, but he's really funny. He tells the best stories and has a great wit. He is in New York right now. He'll be back on Friday night. Zach has had a great time with him too. I think he might try to get on the plane when Uncle TJ leaves;)

Zach and Uncle TJ playing