october 30, 2010

An overview of our day (and mind you, Keith was at work and then at the ASU game today):

Ma, big milk. Ma, big milk. Ma, big milk. Ma, Ferb. Ma, Pat Pat. Ma, Oso. Ma, Ma, Ma.

Don't pick garbage up. Luke, don't put sand there. Luke, don't put sand there either. The bridge won't fall down; you'll be okay. Luke, don't put sand there either. Don't pick that garbage up. Don't touch the garbage can. The bridge won't fall down; you'll be okay.

Ma what you doing? (making Halloween costumes) Ma what you doing? (still making Halloween costumes) Ma what you doing? (take a guess what I was still doing)

This is the annotated version of what happened all before 10:30 this morning. I love my kids, but I completely felt like I was getting pecked to death today. It got worse this after noon as Reagan morphed into full princess mode. She clung to me and absolutely refused to let me go; everytime I tried to set her down, the screaming started. Everytime she cries, Luke feels the need to tell me multiple times until I get her to stop crying. So not only do I have to listen to her screaming, I also have to hear, "Ma, sister's crying" repeatedly until I get her to stop. Luke even added to the craziness by starting to cry every time Reagan did.

I am so glad today is done and Keith is home with us tomorrow. Deep breaths and a good night sleep is much needed at this point. Tomorrow is a new day and I get to start it off right: with my family and God. Thank heaven.

in case you were wondering...

I loaded and started the dishwasher and hand washed the dishes that weren't able to go in there. I also folded the load that was in the dryer and started the next load of laundry.

Be impressed Keith. Be very impressed.

halloween?

I am a master procrastinator; Keith can verify for you if you'd like. I think it might even be one of those little tidbits about my personality that tends to drive him a wee bit crazy. My response: you have to take the good with the bad, so there.

I've been meaning to blog about a variety of things: Reagan's nine months, Luke's 2.5 years, vacation (yes, from June), how Reagan's room turned out, our pumpkins and watermelons (or serious lack thereof). You name it, there is probably a post percolating in my head about it. But at this point, its almost too overwhelming to take on. Did you ever let your room get too dirty when you were younger and you really had no idea how to start cleaning it? That's how I feel now. But instead of tackling those posts, I write this one. And why am I writing this one? Because I'm avoiding other things.

I finally bought all of the fabric to make Luke and Reagan's Halloween costumes last night at Joann's. I have an idea of what they're going to be, but I don't want to reveal it quite yet. I'm afraid I'm going to change my mind midway and so you'll just have to wait until they're completed. But in truth, I'm kind of scared to start them. Crazy, I know, but for some reason, I'm scared I'm going to make my kids looks seriously dumb or not put together or ridiculous. SO the fabric sits, still in the bag.

I'm also killing time before I break down and clean. I hate cleaning and my serious dislike of it seems to only have worsened since marrying Keith because I can't seem to do it correctly. He has very specific ideas of how things should be done and I just don't/won't/can't live up to those standards. I guess my solution is to not clean anything for awhile and then when I finally do something, he appreciates it. It's about time for me to be appreciated, if you know what I mean.

Well, I guess I've procrastinated enough. Reagan will be up in 15 minutes from her nap and I really should change the load of laundry or put the dishes in the dishwasher. Maybe.

at long last

Finally, after dating for nearly as long as Keith and I did, I am so happy to be able to announce that Andrew proposed to Andrea! They are getting married!

Now, it doesn't take much for me to get excited about a wedding. I mean, there isn't anything much more romantic than committing your life to someone else along with guaranteeing complete honesty and faithfulness for as long as you both shall live. Ahhh; swoon. But the wedding of my best friend that I've known since elementary school? Even that much more exciting. I can hardly contain myself!

So to Andi and Andrew: enjoy this time, and as stressful as planning a wedding can get, cherish every second of it. These are the moments where you get to start planning your *official* future together. Remember to love each other no matter your viewpoints on Dave's ideas of weddings is and to laugh together at all of the craziness (aka me) that is coming your way.

Oh, and to Andrew: Although it took you freakin' forever to make a decision, I'm so glad that you made the right one. You are one super lucky guy to get this amazing girl for the rest of your life.

afternoon delight

And before you start thinking completely inappropriate things, this is an entirely innocent post about my adorable babies. Each afternoon when they have woken from their afternoon naps, we head down to the playroom (yes, we are one of thos families that has a playrrom) and while they are getting their play on, I'm happily clicking away.

I've been able to catch happy moments and some not so happy moments, but they are all moments to remember. Moments that have helped shape my kids to grow and moments that have helped shape the mother I am. I love every second of these moments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ten years

Saturday was mine and Keith's ten year reunion and we had an amazing time. I have to admit that I was honestly not looking forward to going due to all the planning and stuff that happened in the weeks leading up to the big day, but once we got there and the party started (...and let's be honest, after a few quality drinks), I couldn't imagine not going. I loved that we were able to have a low-key, not-too-stuffy reunion where we just to catch up with our classmates and enjoy each other's company. I am glad, however, that it is over and that I can catch my breath from this one before I have to start planning the next one in ten more years, but would I change that night for anything? No...well except maybe I would've have a few less drinks. :)

princess puff-n-stuff

Last night Reagan got to try puffs for the first time. I've been trying to wait until some teeth came in, but seeing as she is still our little toothless wonder, I broke down and gave them to her anyone. (You better believe I watched her like a hawk though to make sure she didn't choke.) She wasn't quite sure what to do with them at first and when I put one in her mouth she needed a few minutes to adjust to her first actual solid food. The only "solid foods" she had was the pureed baby foods.

After awhile, she actually began to enjoy them. She tried to get them into her mouth, but she isn't quite adept enough to manage that on her own just yet.

Learning new things is tiring work.

squeaky clean

I guess there isn't much to say about this. I really just love when my babies are clean and fresh. There aren't many smells that I can think of that are much better than that of a freshly bathed baby. Love them.

hide and bink

Reagan can do a pretty impressive thing that started happening right around the same time she figured out how to get her bink in to her mouth on her own. Look closely at the picture.

Yep. Your eyes are not fooling you. That is her entire bink in her mouth. She's got skills.

recovered

I've taken a deep breath, let out some steam, and I have fully recovered from last night's issues. No need to worry; I felt SO much better once I typed out what I wanted to say. Things can't be changed and I've moved on.

In the words of the great Hilary Duff, "So yesterday, so yesterday. Haven't you heard that I'm gonna be okay?"

i just don't get it

Okay.

Maybe its just me or maybe I've been living under a rock for the past few years. When did it become okay to treat other people like crap for something they can't help? When did it become acceptable to use harsh language towards a person who is stuck in a spot that they can't change?

I have been nothing but nice and helpful throughout the situation. I've taken time to carefully compose well thought out responses and been sympathetic to the situation, but I've signed a legally binding contract that I can't change. What makes you think that because you're plans have changed that I can magically change the terms of a contract that I signed six months ago? I can't. And now I know I for sure won't.

You are now absolutely and positively out of luck. And I'm out of patience.

eight months

Can you believe that this was how big my Reagan was two days after she was born? Such a tiny peanut. Well, at the time she didn't seem so tiny as she was born weighing just shy of 9 pounds. But now? She is this wonderful, growing ball of girl and I couldn't be happier.

Reagan and I have finally gotten on the same page about sleep and thank goodness for that. For the past 2ish weeks, she's taken two 2hr naps during the day and then will sleep pretty solidly from 8pm until 7:30ish in the morning. Hallelujah! We tested a few different things to see what affected her sleep and it seems that she might have just been cold while she was sleeping. Reagan is now outfitted with some super cute feetie jammies (!), her fan has been adjusted to the medium setting, and things have been much better round these parts.

I think another thing that helped Reagan with her sleep is that she is now a champ at finding binks and putting them in her mouth on her own. I don't have to sneak in her room to carefully plug her sweet screaming mouth anymore because she can do it solo.That was another hallelujah moment this month!

Although you could never tell by looking at her, Reagan is a chunker. I am seriously not able to get the food in her mouth fast enough. What took Luke nearly an hour to eat at this age takes Reagan a mere 5 minutes. This girl inhales food like its nobody's business. Keith and I frequently just stare at her in awe after she finishes eating. Did she really just finish all of that that fast?

Reagan has also become a very adept army crawler. I have to keep a very close eye on her because in the blink of an eye she can escape to another room in the house. The serious baby proofing has begun again in the the Waltemeyer household. She also has a very sneaky, sassy personality which in combination with her quickness makes for the need to constant supervision.

Reagan is slowly becoming more smiley. She's laughing more often and seems like she might actually be enjoying her life now. Maybe its because she's sleeping better, maybe its because she's able to physically do more, maybe its just because she's realizing she now runs our house. Who knows? Any way I look at it, I'm happy that she's happy.

beautiful babies

I've been putting a ton of time and effort recently into my photography (Sweet Rose Studio...check it out!), and who better to practice on than my own babies?

lesson learned two

Who knew that learning how to sew requires you to also learn a new and foreign language? Selvedge, bias, understitch, topstitch, overcast, nap, allowances. In my world, a nap is the glorious two hours in the afternoon when both kids are peacefully sleeping and allowance is the money I wanted to earn doing chores growing up. Not so in the world of sewing.

I now have The Sewing Dictionary bookmarked on our computer.

Lesson learned.

lesson learned one

I've learned my first sewing lesson in my quest to improve my skills and it was a tough one to digest: sewing patterns are by NO means the size that I am in real life. They run much much smaller. This post-baby body just took another hit in the self-esteem department. Oy.

Lesson learned.

sew ready

Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to learn how to sew and really sew well. I would draw various ideas of things I wanted to create; in fact, I still have notebooks full of drawings and designs from elementary school. Keith even gave me a really nice sewing machine a few years ago for Christmas and I'm sad to say that it has sat primarily gathering dust because I'm not quite sure what to do with it.

I've gotten really good at sewing a straight line and I know very very basic things I can do with it, but I want to learn more. I've recently really started researching sewing online and have even found a program through Mesa Community College where I could get my Associate's Degree in Fashion Design. Do I think that I want to move to New York and start some grand career in design? No (well, not really). I would really like to make clothes for Reagan and maybe even myself.

To do this, I need to learn. Until I can gather up the money to go to school (Luke and Reagan's mom goes to college), I'm going to keep researching through the internet and practicing through trial and error. I just finished making Luke his own double-sided apron (blog post plus pictures to follow) and I think I've found my next project: a cute dress for Reagan (the yellow bubble one...but not in yellow). Wish me luck!

scaredy cat

We've had quite the jam-packed, fun-filled weekend over in these parts. It started yesterday with Brittany's bridal shower that I was lucky enough to photograph and then the bebes and I trekked out to the Natzke's to celebrate Miss Paisley's first birthday. Today we were able to attend Mass at the new church for the very first time and rounded out the weekend celebrating Owen's second birthday. We had an absolutely wonderful time and we were super blessed to get spend a weekend with such amazing friends.

There is one thing that became painfully clear though; Luke needs to get out more. Well, the kids and I all really need to get out more. Luke gets very quiet and won't leave my side when we go somewhere new and today he freaked out (I mean, screaming, crying, and shaking) multiple times when some kids he didn't know walked past him. He was clutching onto Keith and refused to let go. Poor guy. Part of me just wanted him to toughen up, but really I just wish he could've been more comfortable.

So. I now have a goal for myself and the kiddos to make it out at least once a week to a place that isn't someone else's home. I need to get him exposed to other kids and adults and I think this might be a way to start that process. We definitely need to get out more often. My other issue is that I need to find places that are either free or relatively cheap to take us to. Any suggestions? Hopefully Luke, Reagan, and I will find somewhere to go soon!

me vs. dave

Dave Ramsey and I have a very volatile love/hate relationship going at the moment. For those who might never have heard of Dave before (lucky you!), he's a self-made financial guru who helps people to get out of debt and be debt-free. As I've mentioned before, Keith and I are cheap. Penny-pinching, frugal, cheap. There's no way around that. Now that we have Dave in our lives, things are even more tight.

See, Dave's motto is "Live like no one else now, so you can LIVE like no one else later." Basically, save, scrimp, and plan now so that by the time we hit retirement age, we're set and can do whatever we like. Travel? Yes. Buy stuff? Sure. Not have to worry about how to pay for things when neither of us are working? Absolutely. But my issue is this: Do I want to look back in twenty years when we are financially "free" and say, "Well I'm glad we got here, but boy! Those last twenty years sucked!" ? I don't think so.

I think right now Keith and I need to find a relatively happy medium with our relationship with Dave. I do have to say that things have gotten remarkably better since Dave made his initial appearance, but it's still a work in progress. Sometimes it feels like I'm married to Keith and Dave. And last time I checked, Keith is the only one I agreed to spend the rest of my life with.

So there Dave.

interpreter

Luke has been making much more of an effort to speak instead of grunt and point when he wants something, and as most kids this age, most of what he says seems to be a foreign language. Luckily for you, Keith and I have become expert Luke-Language translators. I feel I need to provide a brief guide to come of Luke's most popular words and phrases so that should you run into our little giant, you might have some clue as to what he's saying. Enjoy.

shoop: swim suit
shurp: syrup
si-er: sister
perch: peach
berch: beach
bobot: robot
cher: chair
guess: yes
byank: blanket
joosh: juice
urnge: orange
cah wide: car ride (Let's go Mom!)
mah: mom
huh-lees: Hercules
pi-ees: piggies (aka toes)
twapped: trapped (locked in his room)

Good luck with the rest!

someday

Someday my sweet girl will be ready to head off to her first day of school, ready to give her teachers a run for their money. Someday my sweet girl will move on to high school and heaven help us all when that day happens. Someday my sweet girl will graduate and move on to college or some other higher form of education where she will get the chance to grow and be even more of an independent spirit than she is now. Someday my sweet girl will meet the man of her dreams, fall in love, and get to marry her best friend. Someday my sweet girl might have a sweet girl of her own.

But for tonight, she is just my sweet girl who slept peacefully in my arms and let me hold her.

She is just my sweet girl.