Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
From one tired Momma to another.....
I've spoken quite a bit about my sleepless new life. Well it's not that new becuase I've suffered with insomnia since I was much younger but since having the girls it's brought it all to a new level.
In two + years I've had two nights with 6 solid hours of sleep. Most nights I get four straight and then it's hit or miss after that. I am tired but only when I stop moving which isn't all that often. I have a lot of energy (thank God!) but my mind has paid the price!
I found this really funny tonight. This is my real written conversation:
My friend who has a three week old baby writes, "...you know you're overly tired when you hear the phrase, "unplug the toilet" and you wonder what kind of toilet gets plugged in. Oy.....I need sleep."
I write, "I must be as tired as you because my first thought was WOW she has fancy toilets in her new house."
See what I mean.
Eat porcupine
At least one, sometimes two nights a week Adia will go to sleep peacefully for the night and awake a half an hour later with a second wind that's more like a hurricane.
This week it was Tuesday night (so far) and when she came walking out of her room with bright eyes and a smile I knew I was in for a late one. We kept the lights off but it didn't keep her from cooking in her kitchen and playing with her toys, loudly of course. Our request to be quiet so as not to wake up Rasa went unheard.
Royce and I were so tired and both of us were threatening to ditch the other and b-line it to bed. With Adia we usually have to tag team.
I decided to rent a movie on Amazon and just surrender to the fact that it was late, I wasn't going to be able to go to bed any time soon so I might as well enjoy myself. Adia sat next to me on the floor and we watched a movie on my laptop and ate popcorn. I'd be lying if I said I didn't thoroughly enjoy her silly company. She laughed hysterically at the funny parts, acted surprised during the suspenseful parts and was worried during the (G rated) scary parts. Watching a two year old watch a movie is more entertaining then just about any movie you could rent. She lasted the entire 1.5 hour movie (way, way, WAY over her "tv" allotment for any day) and then we went to bed, together (leaving Royce sleeping on the couch!).
This afternoon the girls and I were sitting on the bed reading books when Adia hopped down and started pulling on my shirt. When I asked her what she wanted she replied,
"Wanna watch a mooovie on the puter and eat porcupine!"
This week it was Tuesday night (so far) and when she came walking out of her room with bright eyes and a smile I knew I was in for a late one. We kept the lights off but it didn't keep her from cooking in her kitchen and playing with her toys, loudly of course. Our request to be quiet so as not to wake up Rasa went unheard.
Royce and I were so tired and both of us were threatening to ditch the other and b-line it to bed. With Adia we usually have to tag team.
I decided to rent a movie on Amazon and just surrender to the fact that it was late, I wasn't going to be able to go to bed any time soon so I might as well enjoy myself. Adia sat next to me on the floor and we watched a movie on my laptop and ate popcorn. I'd be lying if I said I didn't thoroughly enjoy her silly company. She laughed hysterically at the funny parts, acted surprised during the suspenseful parts and was worried during the (G rated) scary parts. Watching a two year old watch a movie is more entertaining then just about any movie you could rent. She lasted the entire 1.5 hour movie (way, way, WAY over her "tv" allotment for any day) and then we went to bed, together (leaving Royce sleeping on the couch!).
This afternoon the girls and I were sitting on the bed reading books when Adia hopped down and started pulling on my shirt. When I asked her what she wanted she replied,
"Wanna watch a mooovie on the puter and eat porcupine!"
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The doll details.....
Ok here's the story on the girls dolls from yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post:
I found a work at home Mama on etsy who makes these beautiful Waldorf inspired creations. I fell in love with the dolls the minute I saw them and had to have them for the girls. It was the beginning of December when I booked the order and Royce (bless his heart) paid for the dolls by working on Thanksgiving Day (don't worry we celebrated that Friday). Can you say Father of The Year! They are both custom one of a kind creations and I was given the liberty of choosing hair color, face style, clothing etc. We got the dolls on Tuesday of this week. The beauty of the dolls is that the doll maker makes them completely by hand from amazing organic fabric imported from Europe. It's softer than I can explain. The dolls are stuffed with real wool that naturally repels dust mites. It's the best choice for "stuffed" toys in kids with asthma. Wool also warms up to your body temperate when you hold it and takes on the smell of your home. When you are out and about and your Little misses home she's got a piece of it to wrap her arms around and squeeze. The hair (or dreadlocks as we say) is hand spun and hand dyed wool. The clothes are all cotton and custom made by the artist from patterns she creates herself. The dolls are beautiful works of art and my girls absolutely love them to pieces. Jeannie, the owner of Peace Creak Natural Dolls, is no longer offering custom dolls but will continue to create dolls for sale on Etsy. Her dolls come in high demand and because she is only a one woman show demand exceeds supply right now.
I wrote a little update to Nana and Poppa who have spent the entire month so far vacationing in AZ and instead of re-wording and typing it all out again here is the cut and paste version of the girls reactions to their belated birthday presents:
From: Lissa Steenerson <>
To: Carol Gordon <>
Sent: Tue, February 15, 2011 6:52:52 PM
Subject: RE: ww pics
I couldn't resist so I posted WW on my blog a few hours early! Since I'm heading up to Jenn's to edit tonight I wouldn't have time to do it later.
My little's are simply edible and so are their dollies :)
By the way Rasa has been lugging this doll around everywhere and we even had to pull up a chair at the dinner table for her. She slept with her and when she woke up she came running out of the room with her and said "Momma, Momma, Look at her! Oh she's amazing!" lol! Then before dinner when she was drawing I asked her who she was drawing and she said, "it's Mom-moo". That's what she named her doll.
Adia keeps telling me with a very serious face that "Garbrerella (Gabriella) is coot! She's so coot! (cute)". Adia carries hers around by the hair and rips her clothes off. No way, right :) It's nice Jeannie designed a dress for Adia's doll just for that exact purpose. I was one step ahead of Adia on that one!
Mom = 1 Adia = 0
:)
I should add the girls came up with the names completely on their own with no input from me (obviously on Rasa's choice!). I don't know where Mom-moo came from but Gabriella is a character on PBS' Sid The Science Kid.
I found a work at home Mama on etsy who makes these beautiful Waldorf inspired creations. I fell in love with the dolls the minute I saw them and had to have them for the girls. It was the beginning of December when I booked the order and Royce (bless his heart) paid for the dolls by working on Thanksgiving Day (don't worry we celebrated that Friday). Can you say Father of The Year! They are both custom one of a kind creations and I was given the liberty of choosing hair color, face style, clothing etc. We got the dolls on Tuesday of this week. The beauty of the dolls is that the doll maker makes them completely by hand from amazing organic fabric imported from Europe. It's softer than I can explain. The dolls are stuffed with real wool that naturally repels dust mites. It's the best choice for "stuffed" toys in kids with asthma. Wool also warms up to your body temperate when you hold it and takes on the smell of your home. When you are out and about and your Little misses home she's got a piece of it to wrap her arms around and squeeze. The hair (or dreadlocks as we say) is hand spun and hand dyed wool. The clothes are all cotton and custom made by the artist from patterns she creates herself. The dolls are beautiful works of art and my girls absolutely love them to pieces. Jeannie, the owner of Peace Creak Natural Dolls, is no longer offering custom dolls but will continue to create dolls for sale on Etsy. Her dolls come in high demand and because she is only a one woman show demand exceeds supply right now.
I wrote a little update to Nana and Poppa who have spent the entire month so far vacationing in AZ and instead of re-wording and typing it all out again here is the cut and paste version of the girls reactions to their belated birthday presents:
From: Lissa Steenerson <>
To: Carol Gordon <>
Sent: Tue, February 15, 2011 6:52:52 PM
Subject: RE: ww pics
I couldn't resist so I posted WW on my blog a few hours early! Since I'm heading up to Jenn's to edit tonight I wouldn't have time to do it later.
My little's are simply edible and so are their dollies :)
By the way Rasa has been lugging this doll around everywhere and we even had to pull up a chair at the dinner table for her. She slept with her and when she woke up she came running out of the room with her and said "Momma, Momma, Look at her! Oh she's amazing!" lol! Then before dinner when she was drawing I asked her who she was drawing and she said, "it's Mom-moo". That's what she named her doll.
Adia keeps telling me with a very serious face that "Garbrerella (Gabriella) is coot! She's so coot! (cute)". Adia carries hers around by the hair and rips her clothes off. No way, right :) It's nice Jeannie designed a dress for Adia's doll just for that exact purpose. I was one step ahead of Adia on that one!
Mom = 1 Adia = 0
:)
I should add the girls came up with the names completely on their own with no input from me (obviously on Rasa's choice!). I don't know where Mom-moo came from but Gabriella is a character on PBS' Sid The Science Kid.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Honorary Gramma, Skip and Happy Valentines Day!
Royce and I bought our house about nine years ago and we've had the same neighbor next door the entire time. Her name is Skip and we got close to her quickly. She's widowed with kids that are older than Royce and I but she knows how to have a good time and we've always taken care of each other.
She battled some pretty serious bladder cancer last year and on top of it ended up suffering some neurological problems from the chemo but she's strong like an ox and pushed through it all. She's healthy again and even though it's winter and we don't see her much we love that she's next door. It was a horribly scary time and the thought of losing her kept me awake many, many nights.
She took quite an attachment to the girls especially when they started walking......over to her house everyday and playing on her patio! She would watch them from her window and tell me how much fun it was to see them playing. They were always messing with her gardens and we would chase them away and hold them back but every time Skip would come out and yell at us to leave them alone "they're not hurtin' anything!". She started bringing out cookies and apples when she would see us out playing and the girls were always excited to see her. Adia even starting knocking on her door when she wanted her to come out. Skip would come out and push them around in their Cozy Coupes or pull them around in their wagon. Just like any real Gramma would do.
A year ago this past Christmas in the midst of her illness she walked over a gift for the girls. It was two sets of adorable pink hats and mittens. She had our other neighbor drive her to pick something out for them. I'm actually getting emotional writing about it (partly because I don't know how we'll tell her we're moving away). She's so very sweet. This past Christmas she brought over two tiny purses and in each was a pack of stickers (like gold in this house) and a photo of her cat, Abby, who the girls adore. For their birthday she got them an sock elephant and a sock monkey which the girls push around in their strollers almost every night when I'm making dinner.
When we got the flu about a month ago Skip mailed each of the girls a card saying she hopes they feel better soon so they can come out and play with her.
Yesterday the girls were out playing in the snow and out walks Skip with a Valentine for each girl. She spoils them so bad!
It's not that she showers them with gifts that makes her wonderful to them. It's that she loves them, she makes them feel good, she pays attention to them and she's teaching them that you don't have to be related to be family. So the saying is true, sometimes the best family is the one you pick for yourself.
She battled some pretty serious bladder cancer last year and on top of it ended up suffering some neurological problems from the chemo but she's strong like an ox and pushed through it all. She's healthy again and even though it's winter and we don't see her much we love that she's next door. It was a horribly scary time and the thought of losing her kept me awake many, many nights.
She took quite an attachment to the girls especially when they started walking......over to her house everyday and playing on her patio! She would watch them from her window and tell me how much fun it was to see them playing. They were always messing with her gardens and we would chase them away and hold them back but every time Skip would come out and yell at us to leave them alone "they're not hurtin' anything!". She started bringing out cookies and apples when she would see us out playing and the girls were always excited to see her. Adia even starting knocking on her door when she wanted her to come out. Skip would come out and push them around in their Cozy Coupes or pull them around in their wagon. Just like any real Gramma would do.
A year ago this past Christmas in the midst of her illness she walked over a gift for the girls. It was two sets of adorable pink hats and mittens. She had our other neighbor drive her to pick something out for them. I'm actually getting emotional writing about it (partly because I don't know how we'll tell her we're moving away). She's so very sweet. This past Christmas she brought over two tiny purses and in each was a pack of stickers (like gold in this house) and a photo of her cat, Abby, who the girls adore. For their birthday she got them an sock elephant and a sock monkey which the girls push around in their strollers almost every night when I'm making dinner.
When we got the flu about a month ago Skip mailed each of the girls a card saying she hopes they feel better soon so they can come out and play with her.
Yesterday the girls were out playing in the snow and out walks Skip with a Valentine for each girl. She spoils them so bad!
It's not that she showers them with gifts that makes her wonderful to them. It's that she loves them, she makes them feel good, she pays attention to them and she's teaching them that you don't have to be related to be family. So the saying is true, sometimes the best family is the one you pick for yourself.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
My two little ducklings, so tiny and sweet, so trusting and happy, I love them so.
I'm up way too late again editing photos, burning cd's and getting everything all packaged up and ready for the post. I was at my friend and photography partner's house editing a wedding we did and didn't get home until almost 2 am last night. I've always said editing is like a black hole. You start, you get wrapped up into it and three, four, even six hours can be gone in a blink!
Everyone here is cozy in bed asleep and I'm hoping to be there soon. My house is a mess again, cleaning is endless even though I do it everyday. I don't care tonight though because I feel like I have an excuse when I'm hard at work :)
I brought the girls WAY across town to see their Pediatrician in his second location today. We had to do an asthma recheck. It was good, informative as always and we've got a plan. Adia's doing great and we've locked down an action plan that is working great for her. Rasa's needed more tweaking so we're still searching for hers but we're all confident we'll get there. I didn't bring a stroller with me today like I usually do because even the double fold down umbrella is hard to get through doorways. Plus unloading one of them out of the car then into the stroller where she waits while I grab her sister and unload her and then load her into the stroller just takes way too much time and I seem to be late to everything already these days! As we walked into the clinic I was holding each of their hands on either side of me. Looking down at Rasa in her purple coat to my right and Adia in her pink one to my left with their little hands in each of mine made me smile and wish someone was there to take a picture of it for me. I had to stop for just a moment to burn the image into my memory. My two little ducklings, so tiny and sweet, so trusting and happy I love them so.
Since I never made it out on my weekly late night grocery shopping expedition this week I knew we had to stop and pick up stuff to make dinner on our way home today. It was frigid cold out so I decided to forgo the stroller once again and wing it with the two of them walking beside me. Slightly off topic: Ask me about the importance of double seated shopping carts someday. They seriously make it possible for parents of twins or two little ones very close in age to shop in their store without hauling around two separate carts with a kid in each! I knew the girls would likely want to touch everything, see things they HAD TO HAVE and cry when I made them put it back but I didn't care today, maybe it's because I was too tired or because I was so desperate, I'm not sure. We walked in and the girls expressions were of excitement. I was walking through and they were running in circles behind me. I had to corral them a few times like a blue heeler does to sheep but they did well. As we were finishing up and walking over to check out I was giving them a little more freedom to follow and when I looked back there they were one after the other following right behind me just like little ducklings. My two little ducklings, so tiny and sweet, so trusting and happy. I love them so.
Everyone here is cozy in bed asleep and I'm hoping to be there soon. My house is a mess again, cleaning is endless even though I do it everyday. I don't care tonight though because I feel like I have an excuse when I'm hard at work :)
I brought the girls WAY across town to see their Pediatrician in his second location today. We had to do an asthma recheck. It was good, informative as always and we've got a plan. Adia's doing great and we've locked down an action plan that is working great for her. Rasa's needed more tweaking so we're still searching for hers but we're all confident we'll get there. I didn't bring a stroller with me today like I usually do because even the double fold down umbrella is hard to get through doorways. Plus unloading one of them out of the car then into the stroller where she waits while I grab her sister and unload her and then load her into the stroller just takes way too much time and I seem to be late to everything already these days! As we walked into the clinic I was holding each of their hands on either side of me. Looking down at Rasa in her purple coat to my right and Adia in her pink one to my left with their little hands in each of mine made me smile and wish someone was there to take a picture of it for me. I had to stop for just a moment to burn the image into my memory. My two little ducklings, so tiny and sweet, so trusting and happy I love them so.
Since I never made it out on my weekly late night grocery shopping expedition this week I knew we had to stop and pick up stuff to make dinner on our way home today. It was frigid cold out so I decided to forgo the stroller once again and wing it with the two of them walking beside me. Slightly off topic: Ask me about the importance of double seated shopping carts someday. They seriously make it possible for parents of twins or two little ones very close in age to shop in their store without hauling around two separate carts with a kid in each! I knew the girls would likely want to touch everything, see things they HAD TO HAVE and cry when I made them put it back but I didn't care today, maybe it's because I was too tired or because I was so desperate, I'm not sure. We walked in and the girls expressions were of excitement. I was walking through and they were running in circles behind me. I had to corral them a few times like a blue heeler does to sheep but they did well. As we were finishing up and walking over to check out I was giving them a little more freedom to follow and when I looked back there they were one after the other following right behind me just like little ducklings. My two little ducklings, so tiny and sweet, so trusting and happy. I love them so.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Pray for peace.
"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."-Mohandas Gandhi
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Choosing to stay positive
Our house is back in the midst of sickies again. Adia started this round with a temp and a quick cold, I followed with a longer chest cold that's now turned into a head cold, Rasa has a horrible head and chest cold and last but not least Royce's cold has just started so the verdict is out on what he'll end up with! Fun for all.
I've mentioned before that the girls cold they got in September never went away and after several trips to their Pediatrician's office they determined the girls have asthma. We were on two nebs a day and then were able to go down to one but since it didn't quit do the trick we bumped it back up to two and now we've been hit again so we're having to add others in between (for Rasa anyway). Since the in between nebs make them jittery and wide awake we try not to give those close to bedtime. Tonight I'm planning on keeping a neb next to my bed so when Rasa comes in to find me in the middle of the night, as she always does, and tries to sleep amongst the hacking I can just neb her and hopefully provide her with some relief.
You know me. You know I hate drugs and love using natural ways to deal with issues. I fully believe diet can change your life and prevent disease, sometimes even fight disease. I believe we can go back to simple natural things to find healing, comfort and relief. I am bewildered with asthma. There just aren't natural alternatives aside from prevention but when you don't know the cause you can't prevent it!
Aside from trying to keep everyone feeling a little better we are dealing with water damage in our two upstairs bedrooms. We had an insurance adjuster out here today that told us our exterior walls in our bedrooms need to be torn down and rebuilt and the beautiful floor that my brother so artfully crafted needs to be sanded and re-sealed. Our roof got a massive ice dam that caused water to leak and seep up from the under the floor. The thought of the construction is just plain, yuck. The dust, the demolition, the hammering, the foot traffic. Ish. Our house is coming up on twelve years old and we bought it ten years ago. They just simply are not made well and we find that out more and more each year.
Regardless of the what haps I'm choosing to be content and thankful. I'm glad my beautiful little girls are very well taken care of by us in our home and when they don't feel good they can snuggle up to Momma during the day. I'm thankful we're going to move out of this house in the not so distant future into someplace new and exciting. I'm happy that I've been blessed with lots of work and I'm able to edit after my babies are in bed and have an outlet for my creativity. I always have the peace and quiet confidence that no matter what we're dealing with at the present moment...great times are ahead and we will always be taken care of.
Life is good. Life is way better than good!
I've mentioned before that the girls cold they got in September never went away and after several trips to their Pediatrician's office they determined the girls have asthma. We were on two nebs a day and then were able to go down to one but since it didn't quit do the trick we bumped it back up to two and now we've been hit again so we're having to add others in between (for Rasa anyway). Since the in between nebs make them jittery and wide awake we try not to give those close to bedtime. Tonight I'm planning on keeping a neb next to my bed so when Rasa comes in to find me in the middle of the night, as she always does, and tries to sleep amongst the hacking I can just neb her and hopefully provide her with some relief.
You know me. You know I hate drugs and love using natural ways to deal with issues. I fully believe diet can change your life and prevent disease, sometimes even fight disease. I believe we can go back to simple natural things to find healing, comfort and relief. I am bewildered with asthma. There just aren't natural alternatives aside from prevention but when you don't know the cause you can't prevent it!
Aside from trying to keep everyone feeling a little better we are dealing with water damage in our two upstairs bedrooms. We had an insurance adjuster out here today that told us our exterior walls in our bedrooms need to be torn down and rebuilt and the beautiful floor that my brother so artfully crafted needs to be sanded and re-sealed. Our roof got a massive ice dam that caused water to leak and seep up from the under the floor. The thought of the construction is just plain, yuck. The dust, the demolition, the hammering, the foot traffic. Ish. Our house is coming up on twelve years old and we bought it ten years ago. They just simply are not made well and we find that out more and more each year.
Regardless of the what haps I'm choosing to be content and thankful. I'm glad my beautiful little girls are very well taken care of by us in our home and when they don't feel good they can snuggle up to Momma during the day. I'm thankful we're going to move out of this house in the not so distant future into someplace new and exciting. I'm happy that I've been blessed with lots of work and I'm able to edit after my babies are in bed and have an outlet for my creativity. I always have the peace and quiet confidence that no matter what we're dealing with at the present moment...great times are ahead and we will always be taken care of.
Life is good. Life is way better than good!
Art by Rasa Bea
Rasa wanted to color with her purple crayon on the dining room floor last night after dinner. Royce handed her a pile of papers and she started drawing. After about five minutes she told Royce to look at what she had drawn. Both of us immediately thought it looked like a face so Royce asked her what it was and she told him it was a picture of her cousin Olivia.
Not bad for a new two year old :)
She drew four more pictures of Olivia:
My Mom (Nana) said she'd love to see Rasa do a picture of her so she could see what Rasa thinks of her. I was joking and saying I'd be afraid to see what she thinks of me - she'd probably draw a face with horns and a pitchfork! Nah she actually seems to like me quite a lot :)
Not bad for a new two year old :)
She drew four more pictures of Olivia:
My Mom (Nana) said she'd love to see Rasa do a picture of her so she could see what Rasa thinks of her. I was joking and saying I'd be afraid to see what she thinks of me - she'd probably draw a face with horns and a pitchfork! Nah she actually seems to like me quite a lot :)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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