House Projects...

Since it's been a few months and we've finally started really feeling "settled" in this new house, we figured it's time to start ripping it apart and changing things-it was only a matter of time, really. Our first project is to rip up the carpet on the steps, take out part of the wood that is currently there (Adam understands this, I'm just the "sous chef" around here!). So, we decided on a red oak for the wood, bought it all at Lowe's and are doing it ourselves...that'll save us about $800 we figure! nice! The carpet is about 8 years old, been through a LOT of kids, the last owners had 4 cats, we have a VERY shedding dog in Gus, so you can see the need for a change! The first step is staining/sanding/varnishing all the steps and the riser pieces, so I'm doing a lot of that work during naptimes so we can make the most progress possible. Elise has been 'helping' sometimes using her new hammer and Home Depot apron that Mimi brought her last weekend. She thinks the hammer is the coolest thing since she's just like Daddy now! We'll put up some before and after shots once we really start making progress. Should be fun. Here's a shot of elise with the new 'gear' on. (Mimi's friend who got the stuff from Home Depot also had another friend paint it all and personalize it! So it's not just a hammer, but a hammer with pink paint and "elise" on it. The apron is covered with little animals and cute 'girly' things. We love it!)

Spin Away...

For probably 3 years now, I've ALMOST bought a Salad Spinner at every Pampered Chef party I've been to. (and with husbands deployed so much in Japan, there were LOTS of Pampered Chef parties!!). Every time I looked at, I thought, "that would be cool, but I'm NOT spending $70 or whatever it was to DRY LETTUCE"....Then I saw Martha Stewart on the Today show a month or so ago and she said "A Salad (and fruit) Spinner is in my top 5 favorite kitchen items". Really!?! So, I had some Gift $$ at Linens-n-Things and went out to finally buy one. It's only $30 there and IS THE GREATEST THING! I seriously love it. Enough to take time and write a blog about it during one of the rare afternoons that BOTH girls are napping at the same time. That's big. So, if you're on the fence about this same purchase...hesitate no more.

Middleton Plantation

On Friday, we went to Middleton Plantation ("middletonplace.org") with my (Erica's) mom and the girls. It is an official Historic site and was soooo cool. It has tons of historical significance- dating back to the slave-trade days... The largest living Oak Tree in the United States on the grounds ("The Continental Oak")- absolutely gigantic! They have a whole bunch of animals that just roam the grounds, too. Swans, Sheep/lambs, peacocks, chickens, etc...it's a riot- elise was chasing them like crazy. They also had (within fences, of course) goats, horses, cows, pigs, etc..... the place is also known for the immaculate flower gardens, NOT for it's accessibility of double-jogging strollers (I worked up a serious sweat a few times pushing 70+ pounds up some good hills. We also saw (swimming free-no fences or anything!) an alligator!!! It was only about 15 feet away from us, but pretty small- probably 4 feet long. We asked one of the park rangers about their largest, also FREE ROAMING, alligator- she said they have several 14-16 foot ones there on the property!! !UNREAL! It was a fun morning out, for sure. Elise LOVED all the animals and REALLY wanted to pet the Alligators! nice. We've taught her to say "Go Gators" whenever she sees an alligator pic, so that's funny. Anyway, here are a few pics...enjoy.

Big Day for a LIttle Girl

Although Ainsley still isn't sleeping great through the night, she had a BIG day on Tuesday! (sorry, I'm a few days behind on blogging...Adam is out of town, my mom is here visiting....we're a little off-routine). Elise was at her little pre-school and I was on a "Cleaning Blitz" to get ready for my mom to arrive...and just playing with Ainsley some. While changing her outfit for the 2nd time that morning, tickling her tummy, making goofy faces, etc...she let out a huge GIGGLE! It seems small, but it's actually a milestone with babies that they intentionally laugh. It was adorable and a cute 'moment'. Just a little while later, she was laying (lying?) on her back on the playmat and all of a sudden, she rolled over onto her tummy! YAY! She was so shocked and pleased with herself! It was fun. Then she was stuck and got ticked off pretty quickly. I'm sure it'll be awhile before she's a regular "roller", but this was a solid victory for a little baby!

"Muffer Day"

We had a great Mother's Day around here...the flowers above were a gift from my brothers and new (YAY!) Sister-in-Law....they arrived on Friday, so I've been enjoying them all weekend. =) Elise wished everyone we saw yesterday a "Appy Muffers Day"- way cute! My gift from Adam is an attempt to fulfill one of my topics from my Tagged List (see earlier Blog)...a tennis racket and 4 Tennis Lessons! It'll be fun to have some lessons AND get away from the girls for 4 Monday nights...(I mean...uh..It'll be nice to allow adam some one-on-one time with the girls!). Adam was supossed to leave last night for a week of JAG training in Rhode Island, but the flight got cancelled so he came back home and surprised us. It was nice to have him around unexpectedly for the evening and now he's gone for the week. Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there!

Name That Beer

Barrister Brew is launching it's second ever cold carbonated adult malt beverage, a smooth cherry porter, and we need your help developing an ear catching name. After a hard morning of PLAY-DOH creation, endless "Popsicles" and worms, my creative juices have just about evaporated (it was a shallow pool).

The cherry porter should have a sweet undertone of cherry mixed with the nutty roasted flavor of the darker porter, if I did it right, cross your fingers. Our goal is to keep some type of lawyer terms for the names of all the beers, hence "Barrister Brew," but all names will be considered. This next batch should be ready to pop in about a week, maybe your name could be the one. Derogatory lawyer comments are of course acceptable, how could they not...really?

Different Standards...

So, we've finally decided to finish unpacking the last 15 boxes that have been up in the Guest Room/Sewing Room/Upstairs Playroom, etc... In going through the boxes, we've found most of them are books, photo albums, journals and camping/outdoorsy equipment. Lately, I've felt like I've been back 'on top of my game' with Ainsley settling into a decent schedule, me fully recovered and exercising again, feeling settled in this house and city, etc.. UNTIL I STARTED READING AN OLD DAY PLANNER. I was laughing out loud as I read through one particular day...it looked like this:

October 2002
6:30am Bible Study with Dublin Young Life Girls
8:00 at office
11:30 Lunch with other YL Staff to discuss Banquet preparations
Then back to office until...
2:30 Go to Dublin Coffman HS to meet some students
3:15 Meet OSU Female leaders on Campus for Coffee
5:00 Work out
6:00 Home and dinner with Adam
7:30 Leave for Campaigners
8:00-9:30 Campaigners/Bible Study with DCHS Students

I'm tired just reading that now (and have continued respect for moms who can "do" full-time ministry/work while raising kids!!) Yikes! I remember the old feeling of "So, what did I accomplish today?" and how that would determine if I felt successful at all. Although I don't think that's the attitude God is totally pleased with, that's how I lived for a long time...
These days, I REALLY feel like I've accomplished enough at the end of the day if:
1.I'm dressed/makeup/hair done before the girls wake up
2.I keep the TV OFF during most of the morning so I can really pay attention to Elise and ENJOY the time with her
3.I make sure Elise is out of pj's by 10 am.
4.I eat real meals- no snacking-and try to prepare dinner 4-5 nights/week
5.I work out 5x/week
6.I keep the house relatively clean/organized/laundry done
7.Get out at least one or two weekdays to DO SOMETHING with the girls- park, zoo, strawberry picking, etc...

And, yep...that's about it!! Really! And, trust me, there are plenty of days that I only get 1/2 of those 7 accomplished.

I'm not sure if I'm:
a)Proud that my life is simpler
b)Embarrassed that I really have no life
c)Trying to take this "stage" in life as it is and know that it'll change again soon...

Regardless, I feel pretty content most days. I know that I'm doing my best as a mom/wife/friend/neighbor, the kids are usually bathed and dressed (ok, not always bathed, but good enough!), and trying to be content with the ROLE I have right now in life...I guess it's good that God challenges us in new ways all the time and has grace with us when we screw up even that! =)