A day off from our busy life

And, a week later I'm back.  Things are going full force, but great with us!  I have to say I love not having to change any diapers.  I feel like Emmy is growing up so fast! 

I'm working on a few projects around the house, but took a break from everything to hang out with my long lost brother in law, Joel (aka Uncle Jo Jo).  Yesterday, Jo Jo, Daddy, Emmy, Ama, Bop and I went to the zoo.  The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Other than viewing animals, Emmy rode the carousel, ate ice cream, and took a ride on the train.  She chose the yellow cart.

 

After riding the train and feeding the goats, Ama wanted to feed the parakeets.   I do love this part of our zoo.  The let you purchase small amounts of nectar and feed the birds in an inclosed area.  The birds are very tame and hungry.  

 

Emmy definitely kept her eye on the birds at all times. 

 

 

Ama and Bopa really got into too!

 

Caleb even found some humor in our day.

 

Emmy had such a good day with so many people that love her.  She took a long nap afterwards and didn't even wake up until 10am this morning! 

 

 

In other news, I'm so excited that I'll be joining the smart phone community (finally) in a couple of days (when my new phone comes in the mail).  #movingonup

One Proud Mama

We have some new developments happening in our home -NO, I'm not pregnant, but any parent who has had a toddler knows what a big deal this is...

EMMY IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!

I am such a proud mama right now!  Of course we are still using pull ups at night (I'm not going to interrupt her 12hrs of sleep just yet), but every other minute of her day she is in panties!  And boy does she look so cute in them!  

I seriously cannot express how excited and proud I am of her and of Caleb and I too - I mean it does take a lot of patience, communication, and laundry to potty train a child.  It took us about a month of really working at it, but she was introduced to the potty about 6 months ago.  We did give her one m&m (yes, just one) every time she peed and two for poop.  I know a lot of people discourage treat giving for potty using, but we haven't had any issues with it.  Now, she doesn't expect anything.  We did make a big deal every time she went and even called family members at times to let them know of a "dry" day.  

Now, I just need to work on how to be lady like with panties and dresses with her!

 

I also had today off and in between cleaning and editing photos I decided to make a soap dispenser from a mason jar.  I love it and God knows I have plenty of Mason jars to spare. 

 

I also spent part of my day taking maternity photos for a sweet friend and former coworker, Amanda.  While I was waiting for her to get to the location, I chased Emmy around trying to get a frame worthy photo, but she was more concerned with chasing the cats around the barns.

 

Sadly, this kid is ghostly white, just like her mama.

 

I do love how innocent she is and how excited she gets over the small things, like running around outside chasing cats.

49 years young

Today is my mother's 49th birthday.  We celebrated her birthday yesterday since everyone had to work today.  My dad cooked a yummy dinner and afterwards we had cake and ice cream (which Emmy picked out!).  While we waited for dinner to be finished Emmy played around with her toys and by the time dinner was done, Caleb looked like this: 

 

Such a girl's daddy!  

And, the cake Emmy picked out.  It had to be pink and purple!

 

And this is the 49 year old Memama!

 

When you're the only grandchild, you always get to help blow out the candles for everybody's birthday!

 

After dinner we played outside some with the dogs - but I mostly just cared about playing with Dixie.  Since she moved in with my parents she has gained so much weight!  Girl needed some exercise!

 

And she got it!  I think this photo is hilarious!

 

And this is just a random photo that I caught of Caleb.  He is actually sideways (which is why the left side of this face looks swollen).

 

After making Dixie get some laps in, Emmy decided to try swinging.  This was a big deal because she hasn't (up until now) really liked swinging - so we were all really excited for her to take the the plunge!  She seemed to love it!

 Being a nurse is kind of awesome.  I mean a part from the 12 hour days that sometimes seem to drag on for forever, I only work 3 days a week.  It is much better working day hours too instead of working nights and losing valuable daylight due to the need of sleep.

Anyway, if I have to be a working mom, this is the best way I could do it outside of the home.  I can pretty much make my own schedule, I'm home at bedtime every night and I get 4 days off a week - which makes for fun times with my Emmy.

It is crazy how much she is learning and growing lately.  Sometimes while we are playing I'll just stop and look at her wondering when in the world she got to big and smart.  It really does blow my mind.

I just had two days off to be with her and we had a blast together.  As we were gearing up Tuesday to head to a photoshoot, the sky started falling so I rescheduled and Emmy and I stayed home.  We spent our time watching the rain, listening and dancing to music and her brushing my hair (she brushes my hair at least once a day!).

 

During our dance party, Emmy realized she had a "boo boo" on her elbow that needed to be kissed...

 

And then she decided that since she had a boo boo (that has been on her elbow for two days now), she needed a popsicle.  

 

Then, like every night, we get ready for bed.  She usually takes a bath and we let her cuddle on the couch with us for a few minutes before heading to her room for a bed time story.  We read a short story, say a prayer, and then she asks me to sing the "Jesus song" (Jesus Loves Me) as she sings along with me.  I never want to forget these sweet moments as she grows up.

 

Today Emmy pooped in the potty all on her own initiation!  I was so proud!  We called Daddy and Memama to tell them about it and when we were done bragging she starting hopping around the house saying  "I poopied!  I poopied!"  Since I was planning to go to Micheal's anyway, I told her we could get her a special prize for being such a big girl - as we were in the checkout at Micheal's Emmy told the cashier that she was getting a horsey because she "poopied in the potty!"  The cashier was so helpful in being just as excited and telling Emmy she was big girl!  I loved it!

We left Micheal's and headed home with a few projects to complete.  One was a chevron initial plaque that Crissy made for a friend of hers and I decided I needed to copy it.  

 

I will say that making a perfect chevron pattern, while appealing to the eye, is no small task, but I love how it turned out.  

  

Of course Emmy had to join in the craftiness too, so I set her up with her own project.  I love how girly she is - like her mama!

 

And during Emmy's nap time I worked on a "what a difference a day makes" date sheet.  They are all over Etsy these days, but I had a spare frame lying around and thought I put it to good use instead of spending $20 for someone else to make it.  I'm not completely satisfied by how it turned out and it actually took a while to do, but at least I have a template now and can tweak it some more when I have the time.

 

 Working makes days like these, priceless!

Our busy weekend

My five glorious days off work are over.  It was well spent and I loved every minute of it.  Sunday was actually the busiest day we had the whole week.  Busy but wonderful! 

We started the day off by attending Caleb's unit's Family Day 2012.  This year Emmy was able to understand what was going on and she had a lot of fun being involved in all the activities the FRG had planned. 

The first part of the day was a presentation to the soldiers who had been on the deployment.  Emmy kept asking where daddy was because most of the soldiers look the same from afar.  I honestly think she thought he was going to be going away again so when the ceremony was over she ran to him and wouldn't let go a quite a while. 

 

Some clouds were starting to come in so the guys decided to fly the Apache back to base.  While we waited for the check offs and take off, I got a few photos of the Skellys.  They have not had photos taken since their first year of marriage!  

 

I did get a video of it the start up and take off that I'll try to post later if the upload doesn't take too long.  After watching the apache take off, we took Emmy to play on the playground and of course Ama and Bop had to get Emmy some blueberry Italian ice because it was so hot outside.  From the looks of it, I think she enjoyed the playing and the icy treat.

 

People kept asking her if she had eaten a Smurf!   

After getting some yummy grub, we headed home to get washed up (aka scrub Emmy's mouth and hope the blue would come off ) and take a short nap before we headed to our next party of the day - Porter's birthday party at Monkey Joe's!  I was expecting Emmalyn to be really shy at Monkey Joe's with all the kids running and jumping all around he, but she surprised me.  She had so much fun (I think daddy did too!)

 

After the kids got tired from hours at Monkey Joe's, we ventured to Mellow Mushroom to treat them to pizza.  Pizza is about all Emmy will eat these days, and I'll feed her anything she'll eat to increase her weight, so this was a perfect choice and little bit loved it!

Before calling it a night, Beth and I decided we needed a photo together (which turned into a photoshoot with the kids).  

 

Here is Porter looking very handsome!

 

And, my favorite part of the day was the good bye.  I told Emmy to tell Porter happy birthday because we were going to go home and when I turned around, this is what I saw.

 

OH MY GOSH!  What a sweet friendship these two have!  I love it and makes my heart melt (I'm pretty sure Caleb cringed when he saw it though.)

When we got home Emmy decided to model her play heels a bit. 

 

As soon as I think she is turning into such girly girl, she decides to go all silly on me and run around the house singing and screaming.  It really is cute.  Caleb and I were just watching her run around with such energy and I asked what we did before she came along.  I mean, how did I not think our lives were boring?

 

I just love this kid and her different faces and her love for life and how she makes me light up!  I hope she will be a light for Christ to others as she lights up our lives!

Organizing with purpose

I've had this incessant need lately to organize my entire life (as much as I can that is).  I mean down to the smallest of things.  I guess the need comes from the 7 moves we've had in 5 years, adding another person to mix, Caleb going back to school, me juggling two jobs, and thinking about homeschooling in the coming years.  I think I'm making Caleb crazy but I see it as a good thing for our future.  If we know where things are now, it will be easier to pack and unpack them when we buy a house and there's no "hey, do you remember what we did with (fill in blank here)?"  My intentions are legitimate, it's just that the ways in which I get there are complex and even though they all make sense in my head they don't always make sense to others.

My biggest organization nemesis is mail.  Piles and piles of it.  Granted, each pile has a category but they just keep getting bigger.  So with all the things that need to be organized and the fact that I get overwhelmed easily, I'm starting this "organizing with purpose" obsession with some goals. 

Now, this will be a long list of goals and it isn't going to take just a month to do it all.  I'm not going to set a deadline or attempt a certain goal in any sort of order.  I will be reposting the list as I finish an item with it crossed off so I can keep up with my progress.  With that said, here is the list...

Organizational goals
~ figure out a system for mail - what needs to be filed, sent off, replied to etc.
~ organize photos - both on computers and prints
~ cleaning supplies
~ organize clothes (winter/summer and color)
~ organize functional needs in bathrooms (shampoos, face washes, razors, etc)
~ organize those important, keep forever papers (i.e. medical records, SS cards, manuals, car titles)
~ craft closet - too much to explain
~ photography props
~ figure out my families "go to dinners" and the ingredients so I make sure whenever I go grocery shopping I get them so we always have something on hand that I know everyone with eat
~ organize magazines and favorite articles
~ laundry room
~ make a cleaning schedule
~ organize car (I keep a first aid kit in the car and extra clothes for E now that we are potty training)


I'm sure there's more I'm missing and I might add more along the way, but for now this is my organization wish list.  I'll be keeping you posted on how it is going.

I wish I had some amazing story to tell about why I've been MIA or at the least, some photos to share, but that's not the case.  My tale is one of a tired momma who has  a lot on her mind. 

First, I only work three days a week.  Not bad but those three days are exhausting.  Don't get me wrong, I love nursing.  I love the science of it (I'm sure some of the doctors get annoyed with my many questions), I love being able to brighten someone's day by tell them they get to eat an actual meal instead of broth, or that they are going home and don't have to be bothered by beeping IVs anymore, or just say good morning with a smile to let them know that someone does care.  And even though I'm away from my baby girl, I know I'm helping someone while I am which makes it a bit more bearable. 

Another thing that makes it bearable...

Coming home to a dinner like this!

 

YES!  Homemade sushi by my husband and a margarita!

 

Also, knowing that I have five days off after a no good, very bad, crazy busy day of dressing changes, IV pushes, taking calls from about seven different doctors, calming family members, and trying to fit in a trip to the restroom every now and then a lot more  tolerable.

So, today was the first of my five days off.  It was a good day.  A productive day.  

Potty training was in full force.  I've washed five pairs of Dora panties and given Emmy 10 m&ms for peeping in her potty (she gets two every time she does go), so our score is 5/5.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Emmy and I also played outside a bit.  I'm not yet ready to take her out with just panties on, so I'm taking baby steps for myself.  

While outside we watered our plants and found a small sprout!  I think I was more excited than she was.

 

As I was awing over the sprout Emmy played with her water table.  She asks to play with it daily!  

 

After coming inside I was getting things ready for dinner and heard Emmy talking to herself in her room.  As I peaked around the corner, I saw her reading her Jesus Storybook Bible and talking about "Baby Jesus" and "the water splitting."  I cried.  Maybe my constant prayers of her knowing Jesus and His awesome, unfathomable love for us are happening. 

I love being home with her sweet face and loving personality. 

 

Tomorrow, more potty visits, a trip to a new toy store, and some Target shopping!!!