Oh, what a morning...!

Grace woke up this morning around 6:15 coughing ... I left her in there until around 6:45, and when I finally went to get her, fearing the worst... she jumped up in her bed and said "SCHOOL MOMMY! YEA SCHOOL!" She wasn't stuffy at all, just a little dry throat I guess. She was in the greatest mood and wanted to get dressed right away although we had another hour before we had to get ready.

So, with Grace and Chris out the door, I decide to take a walk before the 'green' cleaners came to clean the carpets...It's so nice outside, fall is in the air, and I love this weather. It even smells a little like crisp leaves. Well, about half way through the walk something started hitting me... It was small and wet and kind of like little drops or something... When I wised up and realized that this was actually RAIN, I prayed that it wouldn't get too heavy until I got home.... another 2 miles later...after all, I was carrying my phone (for safety) and didn't want it to get ruined in the rain...
What is a 6 1/2 months pregnant woman to do when the life of her phone is on the line...? RUN! Yes, that's right folks, I ran, and ran.... about a mile, maybe a mile and a half...in the pouring rain... I had tucked the phone into my bra... which is the logical thing to do, hoping my gazoongas would somewhat protect it from the rain...
I am somewhat proud to say that was still able to run a mile and a half; but thankfully after that long, the rain slowed up to just a drop here and there...and I was able to briskly walk the rest of the way.
Let me tell you, the looks I was getting by the few that passed me were hilarious.... I had a few lookey-loos who got all the way over to the other side of the road and slowed waaaay down and just watched in amazement...Even a little doggy decided that I should not endure that humiliation alone, and decided to trot along side me until I stopped running.

Oh, folks, the story isn't over. I checked the clock and it was about 8:55am when I got home. The carpet cleaners were not supposed to be here until 9:30, and since I was soaking wet and stinky, I thought I'd take a quick shower before they arrived. I am in the shower and hear something....sounds like knocking....but it couldn't be... no service company arrives early... more knocking... What could I do...?

I turned off the shower, conditioner still in hair... and grabbed a t-shirt and my robe, wrapped up and ran to the door. If they were to leave, I'd have to pay another 'gas' fee for them to come back out. You all know how cheap I am, and I figure a little more humiliation for the day was well worth the extra fee.

I open the front door, and the poor man doesn't know what to say.... He politely says, "Hi! This the right house?"
"Oh, yea, you've come to the right place... weren't you supposed to be here at 9:30?"
"I don't know, I guess I just got here a little early... Do you want me to start cleaning the carpets...?"
"Of course...! Come on in... I'll be upstairs if you need me."

I crawl up the stairs a little embarrassed, laughing to myself and chalk it up to "just one of those mornings..."

I've been tagged... I think that's the word...

So my friend Katie 'tagged' me. I have to fill out these questions and post them on my blog. I am not sure if I am supposed to tag anyone else or not... but since most of my friends haven't entered the blogging world, I may have to skip that part.

1. What time did you get up this morning?
About 7:30am... VERY unusual... Grace usually sleeps until at least 8:30 or later (if not a school day)

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds…of course.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
I can't sit through one...I am serious...It's like torture. At least watching at home, I can get up and do stuff

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Private Practice... I have a slight crush on Taye Diggs

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?

Usually always cereal... and I like to mix 2 different kinds in each bowl... I know, weird.

6. What is your middle name?
Amanda

7. What food do you dislike?
Sushi, any kind of fish, real ice cream (I like fro yo)

8. What is your favorite CD at moment?
Don't remember what listening to a CD of my own is like...

9. What kind of car do you drive?
Nissan Pathfinder

10. Favorite Sandwich?
veggie

11. What characteristic do you despise?
Depends on the day... I know, that's bad...

12. Favorite item of clothing?
PJ's...sweats... you know, anything clean and comfortable

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Australia, Aruba, Tahiti

14. Favorite brand of clothing?
Anything that I can find cheap at The Goodwill

15. Where would you retire to?
Probably love to have a house on the beach

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?

I can't really remember my last few birthdays, when you have kids, do you really even celebrate birthday's anymore?

17. Favorite sport to watch?
Football- College

18. When is your birthday?
Nov. 16, 1980

19. Are you a morning person or night?
NIGHT

20. What is your shoe size?
8.5 or 9

21. Pets?
I am a cat person, and we had 2 really awesome cats, but had to find them a new home because I really didn't want 2 kids and 2 cats...

22. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with us???
Nope, not really

23. What did you want to be when you were little?
Marine Biologist

24. How are you today?
Sleepy, Tired, Hungry...

25. What is your favorite candy?
Anything that is not chocolate... like sweet-tarts, starburst, skittles, candy corn etc...

26. What is your favorite flower?
I love gerbera daisys and orchids

27. What is a day on your calendar you are looking forward to?
Anytime in Dec when this baby wants to make me not pregnant anymore...

28. What is your full name?
I'm taking the hint from Michelle and not posting the full name here...

29. What are you listening to right now?
The sweet, sweet sound of silence...

30. What was the last thing you ate?
A really yummy quesadilla that Katie made

31. Do you wish on stars?
Grace and I like to count them...

32. If you were a crayon what color would you be?
Grass Green

33. How is the weather right now?
sunny and still warmer than I’d like it to be.... I love rainy days

34. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
Chris

35. Favorite soft drink?
Dr Pepper hands down... nice and cold... with a straw.... yum.

36. Favorite Restaurant?
Probably Wolfgang Puck's although I do love a good Japanese Steak House

37. Real Hair Color?
light brown

38. What was your favorite toy as a child?
LeMutt... my little stuffed dog that I loved and slept with every night

39. Summer or winter?
Summer, unless pregnant, then winter.

40. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs

41. Chocolate or vanilla?

Depends on the mood

42. Coffee or tea?
A good sweet tea, and sometimes Hot Chocolate with a bit of coffee in it...does that count as coffee?

43. When was the last time you cried?
Maybe a couple weeks ago....I'm not much of a crier

44. What is under your bed?
A tupperware of wrapping paper, and a few random sippy cups

45. What did you do last night?
Went to "Old Lady" (what grace has started calling Old Navy... don't know why... she can say Old Navy well, it's her favorite store...) and DSW to look or hubby shoes

46. What are you afraid of?
Teenage Girls, spiders, snakes, being alone at night (sometimes)

47. Salty or sweet?
Both...Together... Like Candy Corn and Pretzles (my favorite thing to eat) Frosty and Fries, cheese crackers and chocolate pudding...(Ok, maybe that's a weird pregnancy thing)

48. How many keys on your key ring?
Am I really supposed to know that?

49. How many years at your current job?
2 years 1 month

50. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday when Chris isn't working...

51. How many places have you lived in?
3: Nashville, Knoxville, Franklin

Random pictures and the bird cage

This is one of Grace's current favorite activities. She loves going to the park with friends and throwing rocks off the bridge into the Harpeth River. What could be more fun to a two year old?

Love the Glasses... Upside down, they just work better.

Our friends Mac and Emily

Here is the bird cage I made on Tuesday...I think that the baby's room is going to have a 'bird' theme (grace's is similar also). I saw this idea on another blog: Pretty Ditty and thought it was adorable. They also sell one at Anthropologie for $198! I love it! I may make another one with vintage fabrics. We'll see...!

Also, I would like everyone to notice what Grace is 'showing' you in the above picture... She has started eating steamed carrots again! YEA! I have to disguise veggies usually, but the other night I made some carrots along with steamed zucchini and spaghetti with tomato sauce (which included extra veggies) She ate everything on her plate and asked for more carrots as well as some in her 'school lunch.' Now she'll eat cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes (cut to look like fries), and sometimes potatoes.... Everything else I disguise, but she also loves tomato sauce, and that's good!

I saw Jesus in Wal-Mart today...

Doesn't this seem like an oxymoron? Jesus...Walmart.... not so similar...usually when I think of Walmart, I tend to think more along the lines of the devil, lakes of fire, you know, all those awful things.... Well, that's for another blog... But today I saw Jesus...Here's the story:

Grace had her 2 year check up this morning, and for Grace that's more like saying "today you will be dropped straight into the pit of hell." I am not exaggerating here... She is so afraid of the doctor, it's a little unnerving. Even after standing on she scale, she is shaking uncontrollably and burying her head into my shoulder crying. It's awful. (And yes, we have a VERY nice doctor!)

So after weighing, measuring, listening to the lungs, heart...all those normal things...I decided it would be best for them to give her a flu shot. Now that she is in preschool, I figured that a little more screaming would be better than 7-10 days of the plague. The shot was little and over within seconds, but Grace was DONE... she ripped off the band-aid, threw it on the floor, blood was squirting out of her leg, and she almost puked. We finally exited with a Dora sticker... little consolation for what she'd just endured...and headed for the car.

Since she was still bleeding, and wearing a white dress, I told her that we could run into Walmart to get some "Nemopes" band-aids and some lunch to take over to Corbin's house. At this point, the crying had stopped and she was planning all that she and Corbin would do when she got there.

We found the "Nemopes" band-aids relatively quickly and started the long haul over to the grocery section of the store.... (part of the problem with Walmart)...Being 6 months pregnant, I don't really want or NEED to carry a 36 pound toddler around all day long, so I am trying to refrain as much as possible. When we enter every store, Grace gets a choice, walk or ride... usually she says walk. Today was no different.

Something happened between the band-aid aisle and aisle 10, all of a sudden Grace is screaming "Leg Hurt" and throwing herself on the floor. Face down on the linoleum of WALMART, tasting whatever has been on the bottom of everyone else's shoes.

I know my kid, and I know that she can manipulate, and she is very smart. This wasn't a legitimate pain in the leg, this was a fit because she didn't want to walk. Being the genius that I am, I hadn't thought to push a basket along just in case something like this occurred, and you know Walmart... baskets are about a mile away. I had already laid down the law, "Mommy can not carry you, you will have to walk or ride in a basket." If I go back on things like that, I have literally shot myself in the foot. I am now wondering how on earth I am going to leave this store with my toddler.... I am NOT picking the child up.

So here I am, in the middle of a busy aisle, a screaming toddler eating linoleum, and me, on the floor asking her to get up and stop throwing a fit. 5 minutes elapse, same scenario....I won't give in, so I just continue talking to her in a relatively calm voice, so as not to escalate the noise that she is making already.....2 more minutes.... I get up and walk to the end of the aisle and peek around to the other side... There is an empty basket! I swear, it wasn't there before.... I get the basket, get on my knees and explain to Grace that she has lost her choice to walk and that I was putting her in the basket because we had to leave.

While all of the above was occurring, several (hundred) people walked by me, but I noticed one lady in particular pushing a 1 year old who is quietly sitting in his stroller. When she walked by I remember thinking to myself "Crap, I know she is taking notes on what NOT to do with a kid in the middle of the store... I know she thinks I am the worst mom...I am so embarrassed..."

After I had gotten Grace into the basket, screaming has only gotten louder, we make our way to the grocery section to pick up lunch. The same lady comes by again. She turns to me and says:
"I just want you to know that you are an inspiration to me. You are so patient and calm, and I admire that so much. I can't even bring my 3 year old into a store, I give in to her all the time...You are doing such a great job."

I almost started to cry... I wanted to say... "Are you serious... 6 months pregnant, wearing God knows what, without a shower, on the floor of Walmart with a screaming toddler that I can't control...?"

She was Jesus to me today. She didn't have to say anything, she didn't have to notice...and she thought that what I was doing was admirable? She walked away and I really felt like she was Jesus reminding me that I am doing OK, that He has equipped me for this, even if I don't feel like it or realize it. I can get into a habit of talking down to myself especially when MY kid is the one making a scene. "You are not a good mother, YOUR mother would have been able to handle this situation correctly, if you could only do this or that better, Grace would be more well behaved... etc" Every mom knows the routine and the thoughts that Satan whispers to you. I even trick myself into thinking those things are the Holy Spirit trying to 'convict' my soul.

That precious woman reminded me that it's just not true. Jesus is trying to whisper words of encouragement and restoration to my soul...I probably won't ever see her again, but she was Jesus to me today.

I know I am not doing everything perfectly and I simply can't... but there is grace for that and Jesus is FOR me and He loves me and He thinks I am a good mom.

Proverbs 18:4 "A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook."

Old MacDonald had a poop....

Overheard from the monitor while grace was trying to fall asleep for nap:

"Old MacDonald had a poopoo.....
Ohhhhh.....
Poop in there.....

Old MacDonald had a farm
E-O-E-O"

Not sure if this means SHE has a poop, but I don't think I'll risk getting her out of the bed to check...If it's bad enough, she'll cry...instead of singing about it.

Conversations with Grace

Edit to add one more:

As Grace is flipping through my Bible:

Me: Are you reading about Jesus?

Grace: Yes!

Grace: Jesus loves me

Me: yes, he does (proceed to sing the song)

Grace: (still flipping) Ooohhhhh, there's Jesus!

Me: Where?

Grace: Right there, right there, right there....etc. (pointing to every page)


Here are a couple of the conversations I've had with Grace over the last few days. I thought I'd write them down because my mind is so crazy these days that I can't remember what I ate for dinner last night. In the event that it doesn't come back, at least I'll have written down some of the funny things Grace says.

In the parking lot walking out of the gym:

Grace: gym fun! Gracie color mama picture

me: do you want to go home now?

Grace: Nope, play more...

me: do you want to go shopping or go home?

Grace: shopping, thank you though...No home yet

(she hasn't really gotten the meaning of thank you though... but it's cute when she uses it wrong..)


The following conversation takes place as she is waking up from nap:

Grace: Hey mama!

me: Hey Grace! Sleep good?

Grace: Sleep good.

Grace:Ooooh-weeee Soakin' wet!

me: Are you soaking wet?

Grace: Little turd in there...

me: Do you have poopy in your diaper?

Grace: Nope, just a little poop ball in there...

me: Oh, Ok, let's get that cleaned up

Grace: Ooooohhh-Weeee Stinky!

(she actually hadn't pooped... so I don't know what this conversation was about)

Conversation before lunch:

me: Grace, what do you want to eat for lunch? Maybe a ham sandwich?

Grace: Oh, thank you though! Yep.

me: Do you want an apple too?

Grace: Ooohhh sure, thank you though!

me: How about some cheese?

Grace: Nope.

me: Ok, I'm going to make you a sandwich

Grace: Oh, thank you mama!

Grace: tootumbers too...

me: Kaaaaayyyyy, cucumbers too.

Takes place after she's launched her snack at me:

me: Grace, that was not very nice. You need to go to time out right now!

Grace: Noooooooo time out!

me: Yes, you will go to time out, I don't like it when you throw your snack at me!

Grace: Noooo time out... Snuggle mama....Snuggle mama

me: It's not time to snuggle mama, you need to go to time out ( I proceed to take her over to the corner. At this point she has the death grip around my neck with her arms and around my waist with her legs)

Grace: so sorry mama, snuggle, no time out....

me:( At that point, what was I to do... I know, a good mom would have put the kid in time out and walked away... but I accepted her apology and then we went on with our day. Ok, she manipulated me... I know it. )

Conversation before bed:

me: Grace, you get to go to school tomorrow!

Grace: Cuuuuulllllllll (Cool)

me: Do you want ham and cheese in your lunch?

Grace: Sure, Kaaaayyyyy. Applesauce too, Cheese too, Chips too...

me: Ok, sounds good. Do you want to read your book about school?

Grace: Cuuuullllll (Cool), Kaaaayyyy. Gracie fall down at school (falling down is a good thing, she loves it) Slide? Play blocks, share blocks... snack... Mama come pick you up....

me: Exactly, you can do all those fun things and then mama comes to pick you up after you wake up from nap!

Grace: Kaaayyyy, Gracie sleep on mat, snuggle leelee's, mama come get you...

me: do you like school?

Grace: like school, school fun...

me: Do you color at school?

Grace: No have colors at school (they do, so I don't know why she says this)

me: Oh, ok, maybe we should brush our teeth and get ready for bed.

Grace: Kaaayyyy, brush teef, snuggle leelee's, go to bed. Thank you mama....

(She is such a thankful child... don't know if she really means it, but she loves to say it!)

The Magical Birthday Dress

This is the magical birthday dress.

Apparently, everyone should have one because if you do.... every time you wear it, you get a party! Just the sheer act of putting it on, magically organizes, pays for and warrants a party! So for all of you out there who are jealous... too bad, because Grace won't take the dress off.

Today we got together with some friends and had a play date party for grace's birthday. It was so much fun! The second I asked Grace what she wanted to wear this morning, of course, it was the birthday dress. My conclusion is that she fully believes that this dress is solely responsible for the party! Every time she's worn it lately, she's gotten a birthday celebration... and naturally, who would want to take a dress like that off?
After all her friends left today we went upstairs to get ready for nap and she got a new diaper, but was desperately holding onto the collar of her dress. I thought it was hurting her or itching or something, so I sat her up and got out a t-shirt for her to sleep in. Immediately, the world ended. "Gracie dress, Gracie birthday dress! No take off! Gracie dress, mine! More birthday dress! More party!" The last phrase says it all.... "More dress, More party... duh Mom... Don't you know that for as long as I wear the dress people will bring me gifts and I will get special cookies and friends will come over! Why would I want to take it off... are you dumb?"
Right now, Grace is sleeping in the dress and I feel confident that she will wear it tonight and maybe even for a few more days... I think the only thing that will incline her to remove it would be if her diaper leaked and she accidentally got pee on it. Who likes to sit in a pee pee dress...?
Here are a few pictures of the party. I didn't get that many, so here's what I have! Thanks to everyone who came over! We had fun!
PS. I don't know what's up with the size of the font....