Pumpkin Carving

The pumpkin John carved as Maryn watched:

We did a bunch of spider activities last week.

Here's Maryn wearing her spider hat a week late.
She wouldn't wear it then but loves it now, after it's been half torn apart.

I had to post all of our pumpkin carving pictures because she had
this disgusted look on her face in ALL of them!

"What did you do to my pumpkin, Daddy?"

Look at her cute little fingers. :)

Ugh, gross! But I really want that seed...

Observations of Poverty in America, Part One

In order to truly observe the impoverished, I have willingly delved into the life of a stay-at-home mother, living on the income of my husband, just above minimum wage, in a low-income apartment building. Okay, so maybe my decision to closely observe poverty didn't exactly come under these circumstances, but I've learned a lot already. Here are a few observations so far after two months here.

The Health Department, WIC, Food Stamps, etc.

Today I took a little trip to the Health Department. Well, it isn't Naples, that's for sure. I'll tell it all in detail, assuming someone out there may find all this interesting.

I pull into the parking lot realizing this is yet another government building here in KY that has a library attached to it. Weird. I sit in the lot a while to allow Maryn to finish her nap, calling Alicia because this is actually a place where I can get a signal, and it's her birthday.

After wandering the halls of this strange, foul smelling, old and crusty building, I find a little room with a sign "Health Department." Really, it was like something out of a horror movie.

The waiting room was filled with mostly 20-somethings, mostly couples, and their young children. Everyone is either white or Hispanic. I say this because I've noticed this area is mostly white or Hispanic--although there are several other nationalities represented in our neighborhood and at the seminary--but there seems to be almost no Black Americans anywhere (we have Sudanese neighbors, but that means they actually are African).

The Health Dept. office is the absolute dirtiest office I've ever seen. Well, besides the office in our home. Anyway, I found that ironic. But the people there were very nice. First, I was called to meet with a sweet old lady in her 70s that told me I needed to have an appointment. After some searching, we discovered our appt. was under "Maryn Birdman." Ugh. So then she took down all of our financial information. Which didn't take long, of course. Then I was sent back to the waiting room.

Then a medical assistant or something called us back to a medical room thing (I really had no idea any of this was going to happen), and he pricked Maryn's little finger. She didn't even let out a whimper. Just looked at him accusingly. He gave her a sticker, and she--no lie--stuck it right on her little pot belly all by herself, and strutted around very proud. He weighed and measured her (50th %ile across the board) and asked me if she was full term. Ha! He said her iron levels were fine and asked if I still nursed, and gave me a pat on the back for all my hard work.

Then I was sent back to the waiting room.

Then I met with a nutritionist, who explained this whole WIC (Women, Infants, Children) business with me. I'll have to go back to get more WIC coupons in February, and every three months. Every six months they'll do a check up on Maryn. I'll have to bring her shot records next time. The nutritionist was also very happy to hear I nursed exclusively and applauded me for my hard work, saying that's probably why she has never really been very sick. Until now, when I've nearly stopped nursing.

Then I was sent back to the waiting room. Maryn, by this point, was very ornery and was practicing her twirling, her strutting, showing off her sticker, and doing very interesting antics with her Band-Aid. And she managed to find every garbage can in that place and had to inspect it. Super. She loves trash cans. I don't know.

Then I was called to another desk, where a lady gave me the WIC "checks." And we left for Target from there, where we picked up John from work. I had to take him to work this morning at 6:30 so that I could have the car today for this appointment. This is the part where we were supposed to go grocery shopping, but to make a long story short, we couldn't...so we went home, got the stuff I forgot and went to Kroger instead. Where we shopped for groceries for an hour. Which was kind of unplanned. Where we ended up trying to do these ridiculous, tricky sales Kroger always has. Where we saved $65 on groceries, thanks to our WIC coupons, regular coupons, and our savvy sale spotting goggles. We could have saved a bunch more if it had been better planned, but mlehhkdkldsjkklsd. I am so. dead. tired.

The cashier couldn't figure out our WIC checks so everyone in our check out lane hated us or pitied us or judged us, I'm thinking. I mean, we did have a cart full of things like Tombstone pizza and Taquitos. lol. Well, you know. Sometimes I think it might be better to be poor than to be middle class. Especially with Democrats running the country.

Happy Halloween!

Ahhh! The light is in my eyes!
This is what happens when you let "Mary Ingalls" decide where to take the group picture.

These are some of our little friends in our apartment building.
We had Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tigger, Mary Ingalls, Tigger, a fairy, a dragon, and a bride.

And here is the cutest little tiger in the world.

Here is our cute little kids' group picture from last year.

And here is the cutest little cat ever, one year ago.

I think we may be starting a tradition...
What should Maryn be next year? A lion? A cheetah?

So, about Halloween.
John had Saturday and he has Sunday off!!! It is a miracle.
And we got some amazing (AMAZING) gifts in the mail this week.
We may be taking a good, old fashioned family date tomorrow.

However, Maryn has a pretty bad cold (upper respiratory), courtesy of the child I babysit whom I sent home early yesterday. He was sick. His mother was oblivious. Sigh. Since it was pretty cold today, we opted out of trick or treating and gave out candy instead. John and Maryn carved the pumpkin, and we had a yummy family meal. John and I watched The Proposal, using the Redbox thing for the first time. It has been a wonderful weekend. I'm not sure what to do with my sick baby tomorrow during church. Of course she won't be going to the nursery. But should I still take her and just listen to the sermon from the lobby? Maybe see if she can last a while in class with us? I don't want anyone to get sick, but I don't want to be over cautious & miss our time at church (intensely important to me as a SAHM, who has no car...who sees few people...). But I don't want to expose her to the flu virus right now. And EVERYONE is carrying around hand sanitizer as their new BFF. Ugh, what should I do?

Friday Funnies

Some funny links for you:

Silent Monks Singing Hallelujah

My Favorite Awkward Family Photo so far

Humbled.

Well, after my ranting about healthy eating (which I do believe I eat healthy most of the time) and lack of healthy eating, I was humbled last night as I curled up on the bathroom floor. It was 10 pm, John was at work, and the pain had been getting worse and worse. In fear that it might really turn awful, I called John asking him to come home. Of course my phone doesn't work very well, so I also texted him. He got home at 10:30 and I felt a good bit better by then.

I know, and I knew last night, that the pain was caused by kidney stones, which I seem to have passed. Lovely, I know. But I know you'll ask if I don't tell you. Anyway, I now know that I really must be drinking more water. I've been drinking less since Maryn started walking. There's not many places to put glasses of water around here. I'm also going to start drinking cranberry juice. Yummy yums! :)

The whole experience reminded me of being in labor, so I practiced some of my pain management techniques. I was SO grateful. I am also so grateful for the experience of natural childbirth, because I was reminded of how that experience brought John, my amazingly supportive labor partner, and I closer. He knows when I'm in pain and when I'm just being dumb. He knows exactly what to do and say when things are tough. A+ John! A+!

Thinking about all that made me pick up my Christ Centered Childbirth book. It is so good. I really think every pregnant woman should read it whether she's considering natural childbirth or not.

I wonder. What do all those epidural women do when they have kidney stones? I bet the experience isn't too pleasant, to say the least.

Lovely Life

Here's what I think of wearing hats:

This girl is obsessed with the ABC's.
Since the day she was born, I think the Alphabet Song was her
very favorite. And now I've sung it so many times, I officially
know my ABCs forwards and backwards. Seriously.

Last night, we dropped our little one off at our neighbors' house. Their door is literally two feet from our door, right across the hall. How convenient. Their eight year old daughter and five year old son very nearly swept her off her feet--she falls in love with them every time she sees them, over and over. Supposedly there wasn't a single tear. Miss Betsy, the lady of the house, told me she was a complete "ham" during during dinner and, though she had a bit of a hard time falling asleep, she was an absolute angel otherwise.

John and I then used our gift card that we had been saving since May for Bonefish Grill. It was actually for Carrabbas' but we eat pasta like 6 times/week, so we opted for MEAT. I had the juiciest, butteriest, saltiest little steak with a tasty caesar salad, roasted veggies, garlic mashed potatoes and three glasses of Coke. YUM. And we had these amazing egg rolls as an appetizer. I don't even like egg rolls. John had some kind of fish with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. And a Diet Coke. For probably the first time ever, the waiter gave me the correct drink. Waiters always assume the woman is the one ordering Diet. Blech!

If I'm gonna pay $1.50. If I'm gonna eat or drink something bad. If there's a celebration. I'm gonna get something I love. And I LOVE COKE.

Then we went to GFS and bought some oatmeal. :) The we went to Border's and hung out in the religion section, where John ruled Border's of Louisville as better than Border's of Naples, and I read a book about sewing. I think I might be able to pull of this sewing business.

THEN we went to STARBUCKS! Where I got my FIRST (and probably only) Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, not with skim milk, of course. It was so sweet it made my teeth hurt.

THEN we watched two brand new episodes of 18 Kids and Counting. It was pretty much the best night of my life. lol. Maybe not, but it was good.

***And for all my friends on crazy health food kicks: I felt great last night, and I felt great today. And my digestion was fine and everything came out just right. I even ate WHITE BREAD and I drink tea with saccharin in it every day.***

But most of all, I enjoyed my time with my husband. Happy 4 years, John! Only 50 or so more to go (well, maybe 40 since we eat white bread occasionally, drink caffeine, eat red meat, love gluten, sugar, salt, butter, all types of oils, and processed cheese).

No Time For Flash Cards!

I was looking for some ideas for sensory tubs and came across this fun mommy site:

No Time for Flashcards

It has a lot of good ideas for toddlers. Maryn is kind of young for most sensory types of activities because she still likes to put a lot of things--especially fun feeling things--in her mouth. Today I put a little tub together full of those little pom-poms. I knew it was a bad idea, but I also knew the little one I babysit would love it. He did. Maryn did, too. Well, she loved how they felt in her MOUTH anyway. I know, I know. Children Maryn's age feel and explore with their mouths. Oh well. It didn't hurt her, and I figured they'd be practically impossible to swallow.

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you moms had ideas for sensory tubs/sensory tables? Or, take a look at the website above and tell me some of your favorite ideas.

Maryn is loving sticky and scratchy things right now. So I guess I will look for things like that. Play doh--even edible Play doh--is a little too much for her right now. She'll eat a 2 liter of Play doh if I let her and you can just forget her trying to play with it. I guess I taught her not to play with her food a little too well...

AND (Mom) if you're desperately trying to think of things to get Maryn for Christmas and know that I am already freaking out about all the clutter in this place, do take a look at the site and visit a craft store. Or hardware store. Maryn LOVES sandpaper! We also really need crayons. Big crayons, triangular crayons. Paper. And maybe a shelf to organize all this stuff...

Holy Crap, I Did It!

Watch out neighbors, there's a NEW breadmaker in town!
Look at that beautiful loaf of bread. I can't believe I did it all by myself.
I didn't have loaf pan, so I used my Corningware casserole dish,
and it worked quite well! A little oddly shaped, but oh well. :)

Maryn now knows how to climb UP and DOWN things, which is good in some ways.
Now she doesn't throw herself off things.

So cute! Look at all those leaves!

Maryn's Signs

Maryn has had a language explosion, and she's really getting the hang of sign language now. I was trying to use only ASL (American Sign Language) but we've started using the signs she seems to like the most, signs that get her attention, and signs that are easier for her to make. We didn't do hardly any sign language while we were at camp, but I think she's getting caught up.

Anyway, I wanted to write a blog about it so that I can remember what were doing at this age and all that. For future reference! I wanted to get some pictures of her doing these, but that would take ages.

Pig
press finger on nose and blow/snort

Cat
stroke your whiskers

Ball
pretend hold tennis ball and wobble wrist

All Done
hold hands facing down and switch up, also used for "Where is it?" and "I don't know."

More
Push fingers together of both hands

Love
Hug yourself

Squirrel
pretend to eat your acorns

Banana
pretend your finger is a banana and peel it

Milk
squeeze hands as though you're milking a cow

Water
hold a w up to your mouth

Spider
cross hands and climb up

Rain
hold hands up, facing down and make your fingers "rain" down

Sun
make a big circle above your head

Moon
move hand in a circle above head, as though it's off in the distance

We LOVE the library!

Wow. We found a library that actually DOES stuff! Now, let me warn you, I will go into too much detail for most of you. But this is because I have some children's librarians and teachers reading this, so bear with me.

So I show up at the library at 10:05 with three bags: diaper bag, purse, and bag of library books to return. And of course, Maryn and I both had jackets on so I got to carry those around the library, which was lovely and something I DO miss about Naples.

Anyway, there was a line of moms with toddlers and babies at the door. I'm not sure why, but there they were. Let the chaos begin! I eventually figured out that the story time was upstairs, and thank goodness they had little kid "footprints" to lead the way. People need to do this for moms. Because "Mommy Brain" goes platinum during trips to the library.

The footprints led us to a fabulous little room. A giant Eric Carle butterfly was painted on the wall and there were 4 or 5 huge carpeted stairs to make stadium-like seating for the moms and kids to sit--with lots of stuffed animals everywhere to help the toddlers sit still. The sweet librarian, 20-something Miss Emily sat up front with her big book stand. There were tiny little tables with toddler appropriate little chairs in another section that would eventually be used during craft time.

Maryn's eyes absolutely lit up when she saw all the kids and the room. She just knew this was just for her and kids. Fun!

There were about 12 moms or grandmothers there, each with one or two kids. Supposedly this class usually has about 50 total! I can't imagine.

First, Miss Emily introduced herself to us and gave Maryn a stamp on her hand (which she just about loved more than anything ever in the whole wide world), which I think was just for fun. Then Miss Emily led a few songs that the kids (or moms) chose, and read two books: That's Not My Monster (one of Maryn's favorites) and Go Away, Big Green Monster! Then she taught us a little Monster song/finger play. Maryn and the other kids really paid attention well. There were a few kids that walked around, but it was okay. Maryn loved it. She also really loved the stairs we were sitting on, so she did crawl around quite a bit and she tried to get into all the moms' purses and drink from all the kids' sippy cups. :) Oops.

After the songs and books and rhymes, Miss Emily passed out laminated pieces of "bear food" with magnets on the backs, and the kids added their "food" to the magnet board during a little bear food rhyme. Maryn stuck her "food" on the magnet board like a champ.

Then, Miss Emily got out the toys and the craft--a monster claw--and the kids went for it. Maryn played with the toys most of the time.

Then she made a monster claw. She loved taking it on and off her hand.
Somehow, it got lost somewhere in the library. Too much to carry.

After story hour, we spent some time in the library
choosing new books. Maryn was bit uncooperative at this point
and wanted to run EVERYWHERE and pull out ALL the books.
And she kept falling and tripping--it was crazy! I don't know what was up...

...but I think she was tired! She didn't even make it through lunch.

We even reserved a "sensory backpack" from the library, which includes some books and manipulatives for kids Maryn's age. I can't wait to see what's inside.

These are some good times.

We love this tree in our backyard.

Nothin like a night of listening to country music to get you feeling all sentimental about life, love and family.

Trick or Treat!

The mother I babysit for called me at 4 this afternoon to ask if Maryn and I'd like to go to the "Halloween Party at the Zoo" at 5:00. So we quickly got ready to go. Luckily we had an extra car seat (John has the car at work tonight), a Halloween costume and even some face paint (well...it was a Crayola gray marker).

Our friends that we went with, Megan and her kids, are members of the zoo so we got in free! Free candy! If it hadn't been free, I don't know if it would have been worth it. It was pretty much absolute chaos.

They had popular characters everywhere. Princesses,
ogres, witches and wizards (Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron),
Disney characters, etc. Here we are with the cowardly lion.

Maryn loves pumpkins!

Friday Funnies

I almost forgot! My days get really mixed up as a SAHM, let me tell you.



Here's some more funnies, because I know I owe you all big time.

"Baby Bloopers" from Parents Magazine:

-When my two year old daughter, Helaina, told me she wanted to marry me, I said, "But what about Mommy?" She replied, "She's nice. She'll find someone new."

-My seven year old son, Tyler, asked why my baby daughter, Lila, was crying. I told him she was hungry, and he said, "I don't know how you understand her accent!"

So maybe I'm a little pathetic.

Maryn saw Daddy reading, so she grabbed her new library book,
arranged the pillows just right,
and settled down for a good read.
What is she reading? Her favorite series, of course.
The Usborne Books, "That's Not My..." series. They're sooo cute!

Library? Yes, we visited the neighborhood public library
and discovered that they have a toddler story time that I actually think
we'll be able to attend! I am a story hour mom! I'm so excited.
I hope that I'm not annoying.
Maryn was soooo excited to see all the books. They have a great baby and toddler section.
The books are VERY loved on, but that's okay.

Here's Maryn expressing her artistic side with food coloring and yogurt:

One reason we did this today is because she has been refusing to eat yogurt.
AND she has been eating her crayons and markers.
I thought after a few crayon tastes, she'd realize they were yucky.
I guess that plan only works with sand and dirt.


This is what we did immediately after the painting with yogurt:

Her high chair tray and pad also joined her in the "bathies!"

Guess what? We found a babysitter for our anniversary date night! We are excited, and we hope it goes well so that we can start having some dates more often.

Yee-Haw!

These are the cutest, cuddliest pajamas ever, oddly enough:

The pajamas even glow in the dark! Soooo cute. Go get some at Gymboree. They were Maryn's birthday present from our Naples friend, Corrie. Which is why I think Maryn wanted to wear her palm tree hat with them.

I'm trying to teach Maryn how to say "Yee-Haw" since she got her new toy from Grandma and Grandpa Erdman:

She still growls at it as if it's a tiger, but she often says "Whoa!" when she's on it, so I guess that's a start.

Today was day 2 of babysitting a two year old, and it has gone extremely well. I'm always a bit nervous about a new kid, but of course, as always, I am so happy I am able to stay at home and make some money as well, AND have something to keep me motivated and busy. He and Maryn have a good time together, and she's picking up A LOT of sign language. She still talks more than she signs, but she's definitely doing "milk" and "water" now. Her two main priorities in life.

The little boy learned the "ball" sign today and did it for his mom right when she picked him up today, making me look pretty fabulous! He also signs "more" and "all done." So we're getting somewhere I guess.

New Friends

Our sweet neighbor girl came over today and helped me frost fall-tacular cookies. She is an amazing little girl, and someday I hope Maryn might be somewhat like her--so ladylike, so kind, polite, fun, and compassionate.

She is home schooled and in second grade. She has been obsessed with Egypt for the past couple years, and so they learn about that a lot. Today she learned how to write some hieroglyphics on papyrus that they made. Pretty. Cool.

The more I hang out with her, the more I think home schooling is a fabulous idea. Oh, I know all kids are different and all families have their own needs. But if you met this girl, you'd understand.

GISFA

First there was WWJD. Then there was FROG. Now there is GISFA. God Is So Freakin' Awesome! I have been praying for EIGHT friends dealing with the same basic issue, specifically, at least once every week and SIX of those prayers have been answered so far in the last two years--most of them in the last year. Miracles, I tell you.

I've also been praying that the back room team leader at John's store would quit or transfer. I know that sounds like a bad thing to pray, but it's a long story. Guess what? Today she quit. So please, please for the love of all things good and pleasant, PLEASE PRAY FOR US and that John gets that job. Because John has been mysteriously rejected a lot lately and he is so. He is so. He is soooo qualified.

So I guess I'll spill the beans. I've been holding out on you all for a while now. Things have been wonderful here, but things have been pretty bad, too. It is really hard to go from living comfortably to having billing departments call you 26 times every day. John and I know that "the borrower is slave to the lender." We thought that when we were living in Naples that we were faithful stewards. We tried to meet every month to discuss and pray over our budget. We tried to live that "wartime lifestyle" John Piper is always talking about. But we didn't know anything about wartime. We didn't save enough. We didn't plan well. We were frivolous and wasteful. We paid off incredible amounts of debt, and a debt-free lifestyle was well within sight. But everything fell apart, and now we're not living paycheck to paycheck. We're living credit card to credit card with minimum payments we can't even pay and we're driving a car that was about to be repossessed.

Why am I telling you all this? I guess to share with you that poverty can happen to anyone and it sucks. Those people call us, and every time the phone rings I feel guilty. They want their money--their money that is rightfully THEIRS. It wasn't my money to spend. But I can't even answer the phone because I have nothing to give them. Nothing.

AND I feel guilty because we haven't made the sacrifices we should have. We still have a ton (a ton) of luxuries. So maybe I ate ramen noodles twice last week (I did) and macaroni and cheese 4 times (I did). I still get to watch cable television and I get to use the internet. Although I should just cancel my phone service cuz everyone knows that doesn't work.

But, now it finally looks like we may be catching a break. And maybe we'll be able to continue this wartime lifestyle so that we can pay those we owe and starting living our lives a little more intelligently.

I am continually grateful for our health--none of us have been sick AT ALL. No allergies, nothing. For Bethany, Betsy and Corrie for introducing me to Shaklee, which I know must be one of the reasons we are so healthy. And I am so grateful for my Naples friends teaching me how to coupon effectively. For the people I babysat for in Naples that gave me excellent references. For the family I'm babysitting for now and their wonderful free chiropractic care (yeehaw!). For the fall weather and the air that tastes like home. And I am so grateful to all my family and friends who love me anyway. You all know who you are and there's no way I could have been strong at all through this without you.

And...for my sweet husband, who has been through more humbling experiences than any man of his ability should ever have to endure. For our marriage and those that helped us to make it strong (our pre-marital counselors, our marriage retreat, our BLG friends). We surely would have had it with each other if it wasn't for the grace, patience and communication skills God gave us through you and your ministries.

And...God, of course. That he has answered my prayers. That he has answered my prayer to improve my prayer life (what a way to do that, God. Thanks...I think). That he puts us through valleys to make us more like Christ.

And...for this sweet angel face. My baby girl.

Yep! Maryn's first leaf pile!

Maryn's many ways of making Mommy smile

Maryn successfully pulled all the books off the second shelf--
for the third time today.
She'll do this again.
Three times.
Tomorrow.
I'll put them back on the shelf.
Three times.
Because she loves it, and it keeps her busy.

Collecting

Coloring with Daddy at the big girl table (little table for John!)

Collecting leaves on a beautiful fall day.

Collecting rocks on the playground in her wild child jacket.
She chose it. This girl LOVES animal prints. It's crazy!

"I am a jungle cat...on the prowl..."

Today was wonderful, beautiful, and miserable. Yes, all in one day, it was all those things--some at the same time. It was laundry day. It was going remarkably well. Maryn walked the whole way to the clubhouse while I pulled the laundry in the wagon. Trooper! It was quite a sight. Seriously. All the passersby stopped to watch us, Maryn in her leopard print jacket, carrying her purse and my keys. Me with the wagon overloaded with laundry. She loves walking in the cool fall air, chasing squirrels and collecting acorns. I had two loads in the washers and we were playing at the playground. After about 25 minutes, we switched the loads to the dryers--but one of the dryers was broken and the other was being used. Sigh. Then I realized we forgot Maryn's sippy cup and snacks. Not good. Mommy forgot her baby's basic needs. Arrghh. Soooo...we had to walk back to the house. It was 4:45--Maryn would be wanting dinner in 45 minutes, and I still needed to get one load in the dryer. Impossible!

Well, somehow I got it all done, but Maryn refused to walk all the way back. So I put my crying toddler in the wagon (she still cried anyway--it was past dinner time and I STILL didn't have any snacks OR water), carried one of the laundry baskets and pulled the wagon. It was extremely unpleasant. To get up the stairs, I put Maryn in one of the baskets and somehow carried it all up. Boy are my arms sore.

So what is beautiful and wonderful about this day? I got to spend the morning with John and Maryn--the whole family together in the morning. I love that. We had a nice big lunch. The leaves are changing. I wore my pretty new brown sweater (Goodwill purchase--thanks Mom!!), jeans and Docs (I LOOOVE FALL CLOTHES!).

We also got our VCR to work so we've been having a movie watching frenzy. :) We watched Cinderella, Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. Joy!

Also, Maryn learned how to take off her pants. Which makes for an interesting time.

Scrumptious

Our neighbor, superhero homeschooling, baking and sewing mom Betsy, is always making homemade bread. It smells so delicious. I love garlic bread and almost absolutely must have it when we eat pasta, which is at least once a week. John loves bread, and I can see him salivating when Betsy makes her bread. So it was time to get some yeast and get to baking ($1.25 for 8 loaves of bread!). Who wouldn't be inspired by this:

But as I was getting everything prepared to make the garlic bread yesterday, I realized our yeast was missing. Probably didn't get put in the grocery bag. Arrgghh! I was so frustrated. Kind of like how Maryn gets frustrated as her half-deflated balloon continuously floats just beyond her reach:


But we did have a can of Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits in the refrigerator, so I figured I could do something with that. Those things are always on sale and coupons are easy to find. CHEAP! Because I didn't feel like being uber creative myself, I looked up some ideas on the internet and found this:

Quarter Pillsbury Grands biscuit dough and crowd the quarters in an 8 or 9 inch cake pan.
Melt 1/2 stick butter (4 T) I used 5 tablespoons cuz butter I likey.
Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, shredded cheese (I used Mexican cheese cuz that's what we had, and it was great!) into the butter.
Pour or brush the butter mixture onto the biscuits, and bake according to package directions.

These were soooo buttery delicious! And we were able to use things we already had. Very unusual for us to have something unplanned! :) OooooOOOOh.

John and I have been eating a lot of tortilla chips lately, dipping them into our friend Blake's famous Rotel dip (Velveeta mixed with Rotel peppers/onions) and last night at dinner I caught Maryn dipping her green beans into her rice. So, I've been giving her yogurt with her fruit, and it took her about 2 seconds to figure it out. For some reason, watching her dip her food is adorable--she's so serious about it, so casual-cool.

New Toys!!!

I wanted my next post to be about our Amish day with Kendra, her girls and her mom, but I forgot to get the pictures off my mom's camera. Boo. Hopefully my mom will figure out how to put them online and I can post them soon.

We made it back to Kentucky safely and Maryn has been having a BLAST playing with her new toys.

These "Tadoodles" were one of the things I wanted for Maryn's birthday.
They are so cute. She still uses regular crayons, but these are cute
little markers that toddlers can hold with the "palm grasp" since
the pincer grasp for holding crayons isn't quite there yet.
Maryn had a good time coloring her picture, which she told me was a
picture of "Bad Dog!" Big surprise. She's been saying "Bad Dog" all week.
Who might "Bad Dog" be? Charlie, our family dog in Ohio.
And he was pretty bad while we were there.

Last night, Maryn had her kids' size chef hat and apron on.
It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen (besides the last 100 things I
said were the most adorable things I've ever seen). I couldn't
get her to keep them on today, but here she is making cookies with her oven
mitt that she puts on herself.
These are Melissa and Doug cookies, and the package came with some great
educational activities, so these cookies will be used lots and lots, especially
if I home school. Thanks Grandma!

I really can't believe how smart she is. I know that, in the first two years (or 3 years or 5 years), the mind of a child grows exponentially. It's just crazy to see it in action. The way she was JUST born and now she responds to our questions, tells us what she wants, follows us around, and mimics our every action. What in the world is going on here? I guess that's why all parents think their kids are geniuses. It just doesn't seem like my little baby should be so smart all of a sudden. I'm not joking, she even points to her peas one-by-one and pretends to count them (saying "Ha! Hoo! "Ha!").

John is on Fall Break! No classes this week. But he is working a lot of nights. And I now only have ONE boy to babysit three days per week, but he isn't starting for another week or so. Long story short, we need prayer. Lots of it.

Oh, Hi!

It's a bit chilly up here!

"I got this!"

Sara and her cross country teammates (Sara is on the left).
Maryn: "I am busy, MOM!"
Here she is with her new purse, which looks a lot like my
Vera Bradley purse except it's a dog shape. Maryn knew
just what to do with it and slung it over her shoulder. She became
very busy the moment my mom gave it to her in the toy store,
and was rushing around so much I couldn't get a good photo.
I guess maybe I rush around a little too much, I realized as I watched
my mini-me bustle around without a single moment to stop and rest.



"Seriously, I have to get this stuff fast, Mom. Stop messing around!"

I admit I haven't been very good at taking pictures while here in Ohio because all of this is so familiar to me. I know that some of my Florida friends are especially intrigued by Amish...things...and fall and cold weather and all that. So here are a few pictures. But I didn't get any at The Barn or the Oak Cupboard, two of my favorite things in Smithville (What am I saying? Those are the ONLY things in Smithville!).

The Oak Cupboard is a little country store within walking distance of my grandma's old house (Mary Louise was her name, Maryn's namesake). When I was a little girl, we used to walk there to get some of their homemade ice cream. I think it's homemade. I really have no idea. But the place smells like no other place. I think it smells like maple candy or something. And they sell homemade cheese there. There are a million homemade cheese stores around here. I don't know how many people in Wayne/Holmes County really buy homemade cheese, but somehow these places stay in business. Probably from all the tourists. I never understood why tourists visited here until I spent five years in stucco palm tree land. Now I get it.

ANYWAY...The Oak Cupboard is the place to go for candy making, and I am going to make some chocolates for Maryn's birthday party.

The Barn is a restaurant that used to be a barn. Well, it still is a barn I guess but it's been cleaned up a bit. No animals inside, no poop or hay. And there's a little wooden playground and a gazebo and a gazebo swing thing and geese and a lake...it's all very beautiful. But it's one of those things I never appreciated when I lived here. Near the Barn and the Oak Cupboard is a store called Toyrifix, where I used to go to add to my rubber stamp collection. And I took a few little rubber stamping classes there.

Oh, AND the Barn is owned by the Dravenstott's, who my mom used to work for, and I used to go to their house and I went to church camp and VBS with their daughter. They were the nice Christian family that reached out to us, the single mom with the little girl who wore rollerskates in their restaurant after hours.

And now why did I tell you all that? Just to show that my life was very different up here. That leaving this small northern town for Naples, Florida was huge, though I didn't realize it till now. I think something in many of us wants our own children to grow up with some of the same experiences we had as children. So watching Maryn toddle around in a hoodie trying to eat leaves is meaningful to me, as weird as that may sound to some. :)