High Hopes

I haven't blogged about this yet, but I found out last week that Grace got into High Hopes preschool 2 days per week. I am really excited, but I almost cried when I found out. Today we went to turn in all her paperwork and I gave her a glance at her new classroom, and I almost cried again.

I need to get a grip. Seriously, Jamie, you are not this emotional! I mean, I feel like I am sending my kid to a foreign country or something. Now, grace is a social kid and craves time around other kids, she is also very nurturing. I know this will be so good for her and she will love it, eventually. I am just hoping that the transition won't send me (or her) over the edge! She is going to be there Tuesday and Thursday from 8:15-3:00p. I just have to remind myself that she still spends the MAJORITY of her week with me. I just have this fear that she will think we've abandoned her.... Jamie, again, get a grip. This is 6 hours and 45 minutes, two out of SEVEN days a week. Ok, I'm back into reality for a moment.

High Hopes isn't foreign to Grace, they also have a therapy clinic and this is where she's gone for Physical Therapy since she was 6 months old. It is an inclusive preschool, which I love and Grace will be considered a 'peer model.' I mean, knowing her personality at all, you can tell, she's going to fall right into that role just fine.

So tomorrow starts tax free weekend, and I have a new appreciation for it. We are going out to buy her supplies, nap mat, lunch box, backpack etc...I really can't believe it. I hope I don't cry in the store and have to slap myself in the face in front of all the store patrons. That would be embarrassing. I'll blame all the emotions on the pregnancy...right?

Grace's first day will be Sept 4. She'll be in the 'butterfly' classroom. Sandra, her physical therapist will be able to just come get her out of class to do therapy when she needs it. Daddy will be dropping her off in the morning... (ha, ha, he gets the hard job!) and I'll pick her up in the afternoons.

Hopefully this will be a time of refreshing for me and something really fun for Grace to do. I am glad that she will be able to get used to it before the baby comes, and maybe she'll feel special because this is something only she can do, the baby can't. So we'll see. If it doesn't work out, we haven't lost anything, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'll keep you posted!

Oh, she needs a new first day of school outfit, right? Yup, that's what I thought! I'll try not to buy this one a the Goodwill. But do you know what awesome stuff you can find there?

Mom, or Personal Assistant?

This morning, I officially felt like a personal assistant to my almost 2 year old.

Grace had just gotten up and had finished her milk and banana. She saw my cell phone on the bed; she picked it up, opened it, and handed it to me saying: "Call Katie."
I said, "Oh, really, why do you want me to call Katie...?"
Grace's response: "Play Corbin today"
I mean, really? Apparently, I do what she says these days.
I felt like saying, "OK, Ms. Burton, anything else on the agenda for today....? Would you like your water flat or sparkling? Would you like to look at the spa menu? Hair and makeup will be here at 10am."
"And by the way, here's your bell if there's anything else you need, please ring it, I will promptly respond."

Orange Beach

First of all, Grace was WONDERFUL for the whole trip. I was really worried most about the car ride down and back, but the Lord blessed her with lots of baby patience. On the way down, we stayed with our friends Erin and Patrick in Bham, and that was a blast. The next morning we drove the rest of the way and we barely heard a peep from her... and she wasn't asleep! Of course, she finally fell asleep literally 15 minutes before we got to the condo. She watched her dvd's and was happy as a clam! What did we do when we were kids? I mean, we made at least a 12 hour drive once per year with NO TV in the car???? I am at a loss...

The car ride back was only a slight bit more stressful, Grace was antsy and we were not really able to break up the trip very much. We stopped at Walmart once so she could run around the store and get some new books, stickers and another dvd. The dvd was mainly because Chris and I thought we'd blow our ears off if we had to listen to Wonder Pets or Elmo one more time. She only really broke down about 10 minutes from our house, so to me, that's a major victory!

The Burton's rented a condo on Orange Beach for a few days and invited all of us crazy people. It was a good time. Grace loved the pool, hated the sand and the ocean, but loved the cushy beach chairs covered by a huge umbrellas about 20 feet away from the sea. She slept like a champ, naps and all and really was in a great mood most of the time!

We went to the Wharf several nights and they had a very large ferriss wheel in the middle of some shops and restaurants. I commented as we drove up... that thing is HUGE. So Grace thought that 'huge' was the name of the object she was looking at. When it got dark, she called it the 'flashing huge.' Pretty funny. Two of her favorite comments were "No ride huge" and "Huge scare me." We had a huge balcony that stretched all most all the way around our condo, and apparently running naked around it was the coolest thing ever. I mean, I didn't try it, but the kid sure loved it.

Spending most every day alternating between lounging on the beach (in cushy chairs of course) and swimming in the pool is a pretty good row to hoe if you ask me. All in all the trip was relaxing and a great time. Thanks Burton's!

Here are a few pictures I'll try to post more later:

This was about 2 hours after we got home, she passed out on the floor.

Is it a plalgue...is it a 2 year old...What is it?

I am happy to announce that my child has not been inhabited by a demon, nor does she have the plague! The past week or so has been HELL! She has been beyond whiny.... And I HATE whining. Since we are supposed to leave for a quick trip to the beach this afternoon, I thought I'd better take her into the doctor because something was just not quite right....

Well, she does have an ear infection! Praise the Lord. I mean, I am not glad that she is sick or anything, I am just glad that there seems to be a supposed cause to this horrid behavior! So we are now taking pink bubble gum medicine... (which, by the way, takes me back to my childhood. I loved the stuff) and she should be back to normal within several days.

Now to the topic at hand... PRAYER... We will need A LOT of it this weekend. I blogged about the last extended car ride we had with grace, and it wasn't good. We have a 2.5 hour ride tonight and then another 4.5 hours tomorrow. I am armed with benadryl (my kid is sick, right?) and a bunch of DVD's... but when Grace is MAD, she is MAD and there is nothing really that will soothe her. She has been known to cry so much that she pukes. PLEASE PRAY AGAINST THAT! At this point, I am not positive that we'll make it all the way to the beach, but I am trying to be optimistic.

Hopefully we'll make it in one piece and we'll have some cute pictures to show for it... but we'll see. I'll let you know when we get back!

Gerbera daisys, the water timer and the goodwill

I knew last night that my fuse was getting thin...Grace has gotten in the habit of staying up late, which is good for me in one sense because I get more morning sleep, but is bad in another because I don't have any time away from her unless I am asleep.

Last night I snapped at her... she was being loud, talking incessantly about God knows what and all I wanted to do was hear the glorious proposal that was about to take place on the Bachelorette. So I said... "Grace, would you just SHUT YOUR MOUTH!?" Well, that really did her in... I hurt her feelings more than I ever I have I think, her lip poked out and she melted into a puddle of tears. So after much apologizing and asking of forgiveness, she gave me a hug and said "OK, mommy" and everything was back to normal.

Today hasn't been much better. I just feel like I am at the end of myself, I have no patience, I am tired, about to burst into tears all the time, and am feeling so inadequate as a person and as a mother. So I took her to story time at the library. She usually loves that, so after a few temper tantrums trying to get out the door (which didn't help the patience issue) we made it. It went pretty well, but we decided to leave before the art project, which didn't really suit Grace. See, they were painting with this foam paint that stains everything and is made with some sort of indelible ink... and the outfit that she had on was really cute and I didn't want to ruin it... So I dragged her out the door.

Thinking that we had done something for her this morning, I thought it was time to do something for me. So we went to the Goodwill. Now, don't get me wrong, Grace loves shopping, so this wasn't torture for her by any stretch of the imagination. Armed with a few snacks and juice we started shopping. She wanted in the basket, out of the basket, she wanted to run in between all the clothes, play peek a boo and pick out everything... this was fine with me, at least she was entertained... then it happened....

Grace was running behind me with a bag full of Kix cereal in her hand... and somehow there was an explosion of Kix all over the Goodwill! Oh LORD... these little balls of cereal fun were strewn all over the floor in the main aisle! Without prompting, Grace bent down to starting cleaning up, which I was proud of her for... But she was eating every other one! Yes, off of the floor at the Goodwill! Even I think that is gross...but what could I do?... So she picked up and ate most of the kix off the floor.... Ok, you can turn me in to child services if you want... but it's been one of those days.

We finally made it home and I noticed the 30 gerbera daisy plants that I had planted earlier in the summer. I've been trying to water them, but it's been hard to remember lately. Today their foliage looked green and pretty healthy, but they were just dry (or tired) enough that they couldn't pop out a flower. I mean, that's how I feel!!!!! Now if I was smart I would hook up the automatic watering timer that would take care of all this for me, but I don't know how to do it, and my husband has just had a lot going on... but where's MY automatic watering timer?

In the few minutes of quiet that I had before grace wakes up again... I read these verses:
(these are from the new living translation)
Isaiah 43:20
"Yes, I will make springs in the desert, so that my chosen people can be refreshed."
Isaiah 44:1-4
"But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. The Lord who made you and helps you says: O Jacob, my servant, do not be afraid. O Israel my chosen one, do not fear. For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst and to moisten your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children. The will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank."

Well, there it is... my automatic watering timer....I just find it comforting that in these verses God reminds me that He will take care of everything... that I don't have to be 'ON' all the time and that he will take care of my children... that they will thrive because HE will take care of them... so the pressure is off me. The only thing I am commanded to do in these verses is 'listen to Me,' 'do not be afraid' and 'do not fear.' He's got this one...I guess I need some rain and refreshing, but don't we all?