New Blog

I meant to say that you can leave a comment with your email address so that I can send you the new blog address. I will not publish any of the comments that have personal emails in them.

I've posted the new link to it on my facebook page now.

Hope you join me elsewhere on the web! :D

Moving to a new blog

I started a new blog. I will be posting more consistently on this new blog because I wanted a blog that I felt more comfortable sharing things on.... if ya know what I mean!

If you'd like the link to it, please email me!

Don't worry if you lurk-- no judgment here. I'll just be flattered that you bother with reading my stuff!

If you're my facebook friend, I'll be posting a link to the new blog on there so you can get it that way.

I'll miss this blog. I started it when Eliza was just a few months old! But I will not miss the infiltration that's occurred on here...

Miriam shares some smiles

Adorable Oma-Miriam time.

Watch out for poor Reuben at the end though...

Blessed to have Miriam Jane in the Family!

Family Picture on Miriam's Blessing Day

This was the best one we got, believe it or not!

We had a quick but very fun time visiting Miriam, Reuben, Katy, and Aaron (about a month ago. I know I'm slow, but the pics are worth sharing still!).

THE GIRLS!

Sisters!


I was trying to make Katy feel better about being so much shorter than me... so I slouched and made my neck do something super weird in this picture. I am SO selfless!

Miriam was really really thrilled to have me come visit. I know the love was there somewhere... deep down. Super deep. 'Cuz when I handed her off to her parents (that's what you do with a crying newborn), below is a picture of how she felt less than a minute later... She loves her dad!

There's pretty Miriam with her other grandmother, Aaron's mother. So cute!

There's Reuben taking advantage of no longer being the center of attention. See there is a benefit to having a younger sibling! It makes cookie theft much more feasible!

I loved getting LOTS of pictures of Miriam.

Observe:

And Eliza...

Eliza had the hook-up! She got her own laptop in the car, and I subjected her to the gore of the Last Unicorn on the car ride up and down. I sold the movie to her by telling her that it was her Uncle Robby's favorite! We turned it off before the end when things got super "scarey."

When I told Robby that she was watching it, he said, "You're letting her watch that?" with this really judgemental tone. Whatever! The movie is deceptively creepy! It starts out all butterflies and unicorns then BAM scary witches, birds with creepy human body parts, and a devil-bull killing all the innocent creatures....

But look! she's still smiling POST-The Last Unicorn exposure! Obviously not too scarred....

And without further ado..... COUSINS!!

The picture above is a really great (not) candid shot, No? Well, let me tell you the secret! It's a little bit tricky/conniving. These two cousins were pretty sick of pictures at this point so I knew they wouldn't volunteer to smile at the camera any time soon (soon as in the rest of the month, maybe year). SO while they were looking the other way I yelled, "Wow! Hey!" really loud and when they turned to look at their crazy Aunt Amy/Mama, I clicked a pic - just like Diego taught me (Nick Jr. anyone?).

Wish we lived closer!

USC Women's Soccer

Going to USC Women's soccer games this season has been one of the highlights of the last few months for me! And to my utter delight, Eliza has been loving it too! She is HILARIOUS when she "cheers." And by cheer I mean half scream in horror and half in joyous elation. I think what's really sold her on the whole thing though has very little to do with the soccer. Her loves are the boiled peanuts, bouncy house, Oma & Grandpa, and the presence of the Gamecock mascot "Cocky" who gives out hugs!

This is Halloween!

When I asked Eliza what she wanted to be for Halloween, she said that she wanted to be Cinderella, then she said she wanted to be Princess Aurora, then the Little Mermaid (as pictured above).

BUT what was lucky was that she just wanted to wear her clothes from her dress-up box!

Sooo, Zero cost costume! Sweet!

I was nice and shared Eliza with Steve on Halloween weekend even though it was one of my designated weekends with her. She hadn't gotten as much time with him as usual since his job has weird hours sometimes. So my Saturday evening was not busy, and I spent most of it grocery shopping. But I like grocery shopping!

Robot Cow Dance

My daughter rocks.

October's held some significant events that I didn't really feel like making a big deal about. My divorce was finalized, the anniversary of Amber's death came and went.

Some fun times included the state fair, and also cross country season which has come to a close.

And here is our very own senior, veteran cross country runner worth recognizing!

So I got her some roses for senior recognition!
She's been a hard-core runner for six years now! Annnd she still went running today on her own, without any coach to tell her to do it! Impressive!

Way to go, Abby!

South Carolina State Fair 2010

A couple of my friends and I got these cuties together to enjoy the kiddy version of the fair. Ya know, the rides with a 54'' maximum and the animal petting zoo fun! This picture was taken inside of the Dizzy Dragon... or in Lucas' case, the hippo!

The $5 Pony ride is also quite the hit! Eliza's been talking about it several times everyday.

I was surprised how THRILLED Eliza was with this ride, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she enjoys being in the driver's seat!!! She's my girl-!

After riding this fun caterpillar rollercoaster twice last year, I was super excited that I was able to convince Eliza and Sophia to ride it together and without adults!!!

Sophia reported that the ride was AWESOME!

Eliza told me very clearly that this ride was too scarey.

And then my child fell asleep!!! In the middle of the noisy, crowded FAIR!!! We were waiting in line for the ferris wheel. I guess it was all a bit too much for her?

When she finally woke up after about an HOUR, she cheered up pretty easily by chowing down on an Elephant Ear with powdered sugar on it! She devoured that thing with the help of Sophia, and I was lucky to nab a couple bites before the whole thing was gone! YUM!

And just for you, Katy, we tried to meet as many new friends at The Rocket as possible! :^)

Thanks for the good weekend

My weekends where I don't have Eliza can be very lame. I try to fill them up as much as possible and keep myself busy. Other times in the past, I've spent them in a dark room watching reruns on Hulu and maybe going outside once? oh yeah, to go to church and then come right back inside.

But when Eliza is away, I don't stop being her mom. A part of my heart feels far away. I've found comfort in filling my prayers with specific desires I have for my girl and trying to explain my feelings to my Heavenly Father about this challenge.

I've been doing a little better with these weekends lately! I think I've found a good balance between barricading myself in the dark basement and frantically trying to fill every minute with busy tasks and frantic projects.

For example, I take naps on Sunday's and do some leisurely reading instead of attending two church services.

Also, I have been spending more time with family. I am so so so blessed to have my family with me, so patient and loving towards me.

I think I've mentioned before that my Oma (grandma, my mom's Mom), Rosalie, lives here now. She and I got some very fun bonding time this weekend.

Thursday we did a yummy home-cooked chicken dinner by Oma and movie night! I picked up the dvd of the newish movie, Valentine's Day, that I got from the library. It was cute in a cliche way.

A couple things that this movie stated about love were interesting to me.

One part had George Lopez's character carrying around a book of Rumi poetry. I hate when movies try to make their content deeper by having someone spout out stuff from some "life-changing" book. It feels like the screen play writer should just get an account on GoodReads or join a book club instead of trying to add references to it in a stupid way in their films.

So George Lopez's character says how Rumi's got it right about love (and the camera zooms to the book cover)-- and says something about how for love to be real, it has be messy and devastating and turn your world upside down.

I disagree. I think unhealthy relationships have that intense emotional upheaval to them, but healthy relationships can entail a gradual process of getting to know someone before you unleash all your emotional baggage and boundaries. I believe that love DOES involve some risk-taking and being willing to take a chance on someone by letting them truly and sincerely know you, even in a vulnerable way. However, it doesn't have to involve emotional vomiting.

The other thought about love that the film suggested was something that I liked and that I've heard at Al-Anon meetings that I've attended for work. It's the premise that truly loving someone involves loving the WHOLE person-- not just the parts that you like about them.

Friday night, I had gotten coupons for free Chik-fil-a from a co-worker, so I picked up dinner for Oma and myself! Waffle Fries- yummmmm! Later we went OUT to the movies and saw the movie "You Again." It was a funny comedy about facing the people who terrorized you in high school! Nice feel good ending too, so that's nice to have!

Saturday in Charleston. I drove out there with a friend and cheered for Abby at the Citadel Cross Country race. Then when did some time in downtown Charleston and got the most-wonderful and pleasurable Heiman's Seafood and River Street Sweets! The Shrimp and Grits were HEAVENLY!!!Charleston's such a beautiful area! I love the winding branches on trees that hang over the roads and the spanish moss that hangs down from those branches! The marshes are beautiful, especially below the sunny blue skies like we had yesterday!This picture reminds me of a Regina Spektor song:

"Come and open up your folding chair next to me...
Now i’ve been sitting on this abandoned beach for years
Waiting for the salty water to cover up my ears
But every time the tide come in to take me home
I get scared, and I’m sitting here alone
Dreaming of the dolphin song…

Maybe one day you will understand
I don’t want nothing from you but to sweetly hold your hand
Till that day just please don’t be so down
Don’t make frowns, you silly clown"

I made it back to Columbia in time to rendezvous with Mom and Oma for the Relief Society Broadcast at church. It was wonderful. Very spiritually nourishing.

Some of my favorite quotes from it:

"There is a worldwide hunger among good women to know their identity, value, and importance. Studying and applying the history of Relief Society gives definition and expression to who we are as disciples and followers of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our faithfulness and service are signs of our conversion and commitment to remember and follow Him." -Sister Julie B. Beck

"He (Christ) knows your hopes and sufferings. He hath bourne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah)... We demonstrate our love in Him by placing our faith in Him.... OUR BEST EFFORT IS ALL HE ASKS FROM US." -Sister Silvia H. Allred

"The Savior has asked us to do the things which He has done, to bear one another’s burdens, to comfort those who need comfort, to mourn with those who mourn, to feed the hungry, visit the sick, to succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down..."

I also really liked how she defined and described compassion as "to feel love and mercy towards others. Show kindness and sympathy." - Sister Barbara Thompson

"Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” I ask: Can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer—with Mother Teresa—“No; we cannot.” -President Thomas S. Monson

Choppy quotes by Pres. Monson from my notes:

"True charity is love in action."

"To pity a man is human, to love is divine... that is... Accepting people for all that they are... Resisting to categorize others.... Recognizing that others are doing their best."

I miss Eliza, but thanks for the good weekend.

"I'm just really gonna focus on my career..."

It's been a whirlwind of a month for me and Eliza! Especially on the job front. I accepted a part time job working in a teen addiction recovery outpatient unit.

I trained and started on August 20th. I worked from 8:30am until 2pm at The Nurturing Center, then drove a half hour to the addiction recovery center and worked until 7 or 8pm. It was pretty crazy but kept things interesting! Actually, I don't know if I handled the stress very well, but I'm recovering now.

The hardest part, though, was that I only was getting to see Eliza for an hour or so in the evenings on Monday and Tuesday and had to rely on Steve and my mom to take care of Eliza while I worked in the evenings.

Eliza's also had a ton of trouble going to bed at my house, so most of the time I spent with her in the evenings involved (and still involve) me trying to beg/bargain/threaten/persuade her to stay in her bed and go to sleep! That was pretty painful.

Then, a week later, the executive director at The Nurturing Center told me that one of the case managers was taking a job elsewhere and asked if I was interested in doing the full-time job.

At first I said no because I felt like I needed to follow through with the new job I had just accepted and worked at for one week. However, I prayed/fasted/fretted and decided that although I would make less money over-all, having a schedule that involved a 8-4 sort of schedule would be the best for Eliza and myself, and I needed to do what was best for me and my family.

So as of tomorrow, I'll transition from doing invidividual and art group therapy with parents and play therapy with pre-schoolers to being a "Family Service Coordinator" for the parents at The Nurturing Center. I know I'll miss some aspects of doing therapy, especially working with the kids. But I'll get to do lots of parenting groups, one or two every day. I'll be coordinating lots of resources and referrals in the community, setting goals with the parents, and working with Department of Social Services with the parents who have open neglect and/or abuse cases. It should be a pretty hefty caseload and a lot of responsibility, so I hope I can keep up!!! Say a prayer for me.

I'm looking forward to having a "normal" schedule, though! I just realized that I have NEVER had a schedule where I worked full-time 8-4. I was always doing school or working a part-time, strange hours sort of thing. Should be interesting! or normal...? We'll see.

(Eliza in her zebra dress that Oma got for her. Zebra's are still her favorite animal, and she would wear this dress EVERY day if I let her!)

Eliza started back at pre-school on August 16th at a wonderful little Montessori school in Columbia (The same one she went to in May). She goes from about 8:30 until 2:30 Mon- Thurs and until noon on Friday's.

I think she's doing pretty well, but it's hard to know because when we ask her how school went or what she did at school that day, she almost always answers, "I don't want to talk about it." or "Nothing." I thought that response wouldn't come until the adolescent, "I'm too cool for my parents," phase. Oh well.

In other news, my divorce is STILL not finalized! Not because there's been any drama-- on the contrary, nothing at all has happened. Nothing. We're just sitting around waiting for our request for a court date to make it to the top of the stack in the county court house. We keep saying, maybe this week! and here we are two months later... still waiting!

So for now, "I'm just really gonna focus on my career!" (reference, How I Met Your Mother)

With this ring...

So I found this ring one day like last year sometime in our house. I thought that it belonged to Abby, so I put it in her room. A few weeks later, it had found its way back into my jewelry box. I took it to Abby and asked her if it was hers because I knew it wasn't mine, and she told me that it was definitely not hers, nor was it my mom's.

I told that wonderful story to point out just how randomly and unintentionally I became the owner of this ring. It's lovely, though, and pearls are my birthstones!

I've never worn a lot of jewelry and when I do it's usually just a bracelet or earrings. I've only recently felt daring enough to start wearing necklaces.

The one ring I used to wear has been absent for almost a year now. But this simple little ring caught my eye the other day for some reason, and I decided to wear it on my right hand. I was feeling sort of down and just... very single? I don't like to preoccupy my brain with the blatant awareness of my singledom because, ya know, there's a lot cooler and more interesting (and necessary!) matters to occupy my mind!

Also, my friend shared this talk by Pres. Hinckley with me that had this gem in it:

"To you single women who wish to be married ... Do not give up hope. And do not give up trying. But do give up being obsessed with it. The chances are that if you forget about it and become anxiously engaged in other activities, the prospects will brighten immeasurably. …"

So this is not me saying that I want to be married or even dating or whatever right now! However! I would LOVE to be free from being obsessed with my marital (or lack thereof) status. I think a divorced status can be the elephant in a room full of young single adults, which is really not a big deal. However, I don't want to define myself by my singledom, even if others do!

So back to the ring. I was feeling down, and a definitive goal that I have for myself is that I celebrate my worth as an individual. I have for much of my life, attempted to live in a way that pleases those around me to the extent that I have put my identity in the back seat. No more!

Bottom Line:
When I put on my ring or glance at it during the day, I remember:

I don't have to have someone telling me that they love me
to know that I am lovable.

Upside Down

Here's an action shot of us playing Eliza's favorite game these days! All the blood that rushes to her brain probably is making her super smart, uhh....

Remarkable Videos for the true Eliza fans!

I know that some people don't care enough to read through the longer posts and especially not to watch 3 minute long, random videos of my child splashing in puddles and playing Wii games with their Oma. BUT if you are one of those TRUE BLUE Eliza devotees, then ENJOY...

Wii Fit with Oma!!


Rain Boots!


Family Home Evening: Let us see your smile!

Someday my ... Batman? ... will come!

So for the past few months, Eliza and I have had the privilege of having lunch with my dear friend, Will, on Monday's! Will and I have been friends since we were like 17, and he was my boyfriend's best friend. It's been really great to spend time with Will again since I moved back here especially this Spring and Summer!

I've never really had a friend that I got to do something with consistently on a weekly basis since I had Eliza, and I've really enjoyed our lunches! Sometimes we have other ambiguous friends join us as well which is a great pleasure too! But it's been a great way to start the week! It can get lonely as a mom, as I'm sure many people know, and I wish our Monday lunches with Will had started a lot sooner! We usually go to a Chic-fil-a where Eliza can flit in and out of the kids' play place while we chat.

A few Monday's ago a WONDERFUL conversation ensued as a result of Eliza's interactions with a little friend she met on the play place.

Eliza came back to our booth and looked a little bummed, and I asked her if something was wrong. She was like, "Uhhh, no." But then she said that her new friend, a little boy named Ethan, didn't want to play with her. Awww. I asked Eliza what happened....

As many of you know, Eliza LOVES to play the game of pretend. Apparently she had been trying to convince Ethan to play the Princess genre of pretend, telling him that she was the Little Mermaid and he was to be Prince Eric.

Eliza told us that Ethan refused, however, and told her, "No. I want to be Batman!"And then, in frustration and confusion, they parted ways.

When Eliza came and told us the story, we couldn't help but laugh. We decided that this dilemma between the sexes is not a new one, nor does it necessarily dissipate with age!

Girls still want to be princesses. AND they want the boys they meet to become their princes.

Boys still want to be super heroes. And if a girl happens to come along, they'll probably agree to play with them (but only if it involves a fight! jk).

I find it interesting and a little bit sad, though, that most little girls grow up with these Disney princess stories that almost all seem to end with getting the guy, getting pretty dresses, and getting married in order for their happily ever after to come along.

(And it's disturbing for me, as a mom of a princess-crazed 3 yr old to happen upon her picking leaves off of a bush, saying, "He loves me! He loves me not. He loves me! He loves me not...")

Meanwhile, boys are learning about being tough, fighting evil, and using weapons.

I worry that this leaves girls codependent and boys emotionally stunted.

And then at some point in their adult lives, they're supposed to combine/shed these delusional media influences and find some sort of common ground.

However, I think this might mean that men and women still continue to play games, but not realizing that they're playing a different one than their counterparts.

So now I plan to hide all the barbies and let Eliza only watch violent cartoons featuring super heroes for the rest of her childhood leisure time. She'll thank me the next time she wants to have a conversation with a boy... or have to fight off some ninjas to save a wimpy boyfriend! Either way, she'll be ready!

Super Sweet Synopses

Paragraph 'o Excuses for lack of blogging: Our main computer on which I upload/edit/save photos on got displaced because of the remodeling. I've been using my netbook only. No pictures = boring blog in my mind. Hence, no posts. But we'll see what I can do!

Good news: I lost 10 freakin' pounds in the last 3 weeks! And as opposed to the last time I lost about that much weight, I don't have an ulcer or random undiagnosed infection like last January! I've been following the basic premise of weight watchers but not doing meetings or paying for anything. I just use their chart to factor in points (calories/fat/fiber). I've been exercising but not as much as I could.
Bad news: We have been living without a kitchen for over a week now because of remodeling! Ahhhhh! We have all been living off of microwavable meals and eating out. I don't know if I'll ever be able to eat a microwavable pasta meal again in MY LIFE! I'm really not trying to be whiny, seriously. Luckily, eating cereal 2 to 3 x's a day has not made me sick of cereal. It's made me AWESOME. Some fav's include Fruit Loops w/ Marshmellows, Lucky Charms, Kashi Berry Crunch, and Cracklin' Oat Bran! (I eat the sugar cereal w/ skim milk for a treat instead of ice cream these days!)

Yummy news: This Half NAked popcorn rocks my socks! I only like it for the name. Kidding, it's really healthy but yummy for the munchies! Good news: I now get to carry a card around in my wallet that says I am Licensed in the State of South Carolina to practice social work at the masters level! What, what!! A card carrying member ... AND my boss actually asked me for my license # the other day for medicaid stuff, and I got to be like, "Check this. Here's my card!"

Bad news: Eliza doesn't take naps.

Good news: No more pacifiers.

Music news: This song is a little old, but the video is awesome and it's TOTALLY MY LIFE! (totally an original thing to say)
Check it out:

Awesome news: Last Monday Abby helped me grilllllllll some of the best chicken you've EVER had in your LIFE on our bbq during a severe weather alert thunderstorm. Yeah, we're that cool. Later that night, we all roasted marshmallows and had s'mores for our Family Home Evening (FHE) treat.

Sad news: Eliza wouldn't even TRY to eat a s'more! Nor would she even try a bite of my oatmeal drop/no bake cookies for FHE the week before. That's like the epitome of the FHE treat experience. But no- not one bite. Normally, I'd be like, "Fine! More for me!" But since I'm watching my diet, I was like, "Crap! More for me!" Weird news: Why is marshmallow not spelled marshmellow. 'Cuz that's totally how everyone says it. But I guess a world that spelled all things phonetically, is not a world I would want to live in anyways.

Random news: Now I want to go eat at the Mellow Mushroom. Numm num num.

Movie news: I watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It's plot had some "god" awful holes in it. I saw Eclipse, and it was some super giggly fun. Although, my friend and I weren't always giggling at the parts people were supposed to giggle at. And our giggling might be considered to be more like snickering... It reminded me of how stupid I was when I was 18 years old. Good thing I didn't let any vampire bite me back then, though.
GREATEST NEWS: Oma (my grandmother, Rosalie) now resides with us! Yeah, that's four generations under one roof, BABY! We're like one hippy away from becoming a commune... and LOVIN' it!

Doggy news: Oma's pooch, Cali, also resides with us! It's like the most exciting thing that's ever happened for these poodles here. Finnegan's stickin' to the basement. All bets are out for who learns to use the new doggy door first- Finnegan or Cali!

How-it-relates-to-Eliza news: Eliza's pretty ecstatic about Cali and "Oma Rosie" as well!! Hopefully Oma won't get too sick of Eliza's little knocks on her bedroom door.

Literary news: I am reading "Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules," which is edited and introduced by David Sedaris. It's sick, yo. In the good way. Car news: My car's in the shop. Lame-o.

Sports news: Dad and I have been rockin' out on the volleyball court! Indoor AND outdoor! That's right! We play with the BAPTISTS! aka our really sweet neighbor who also lets Eliza swim in their pool whenever we want. LOVELY!

Secret News: Did you actually think I'd write a secret on my blog? Come on! This is for public defamation only!

Mothering news: I put Eliza to sleep TWICE today by telling her two of my ridunculously awesome princess stories. Sleeping Beauty in the car on the way home from Columbia and Little Mermaid tonight at bedtime... my beautifully detailed accounts were just so gripping that she probably had just no choice but to pass out from excitement....hmm.

Family gossip news: Katy's baby is due this week, and she has a birthday as well! Robby just returned from a wedding with his GURL friend. Not their wedding. Her sister's. Abby spent the weekend in NYC with our great Aunt Julie.

Thoughtful news: Sometimes the people you grew up with turn out to be just like you thought they would. That's probably disappointing for them.

Cuisine news: I made some delectible lasagna for the Branch Brunch today. I didn't personally receive any compliments on it (besides Jean Marie but she doesn't count b/c she would say it tasted good even if you gave her something wretched like refried beans), but I thought it tasted like one of the best lasagnas I've ever made. And I RARELY ever fully like/approve the food I make. Oh, and the pan was empty, so I guess that could be a sort of compliment ... or a sign that single adults will eat pretty much any food as long as it's free. No, but REALLY it was delicious lasagna.

Verb Conjugation news: Eliza really likes to run races. Afterwards, she likes to announce, "I beated you!" I tried to correct her verb usage, telling her, "I beat you." And Eliza said, "I beated you!" Me: "No, say, I beat you." Eliza, growing frustrated: "No, mommy, I beated you!" Me: "Ohhh, yes, you did BEAT me." She's already competitive, but not in the race of the grammatically correct.

Oral Hygiene news: Eliza and I are going to the dentist on Tuesday! It's her first time!!! I hope it goes okay. She has some arching on her front teeth from the pacifier and possibly some weakened enamel in the front teeth too. :/ Scary news: My insurance benefits through USC end next month. This means that I either need to pick up another part time/full time job or get a full time job at The Nurturing Center. Big decision time coming up! Wish me luck. I've had a couple interviews. Let me know if they pay the social workers in your area big bucks! I heard they're paying like about $10/hr more in DC than here for some of the social work positions. Too bad I really, really like it here in SC (most of the time)!

What I'm doing right now...

.... Is listening to a very sad and tired Eliza cry it out while rolling on the ground in her room. Poor girl.

See, it all started with a little newborn sucking on just one little pacifier.

Three years, 2 months, and ~5 days later, we took away all the pacifiers. She did pretty well the first two days at my house, besides a rough night of waking up every few hours and crying. But she was happily announcing to people, "No more ba-ba's!" (Babas were what she called her pacifiers).

Now she's just sad ... and GRUMPY! and does NOT want to take a nap. And has a hand or finger in her mouth constantly when she starts getting tired.

Baba Withdrawals is what we're experiencing here, folks!

So all those reassuring stories we heard along the way- puh! Oh how deceiving!

"I just told my daughter that the paci fairy came and took away all the pacifiers. She asked for it once and then never again!"

"I helped my child collect all the paci's and then we threw them away. They were fine after that!" or "There was a little crying here and there, but not anything big."

"We just cut a little bit off the pacifier every night until there was hardly anything left. Then he just stopped asking for it after a while!"

Well, good for you! Spread your fiction and picture perfect stories to other "suckers," why don't you! I, however, prefer honesty!

We'll add this experience as another chapter of the book, "Things they never tell you about parenting because otherwise you'd never have Kids!"

Anyways, I'm trying to dole out lots of validation and reassurance! Praying for patience and for the withdrawal stage to break! It'll come, right? I mean, people eventually overcome opium addictions, so SURELY this too shall pass as well right?

Oh, and yes, I packed up Eliza's baba's into a box, and she wants to ship them to her new baby girl cousin! ... AND she hasn't asked for it at all since the first day. She knows that pacifiers are for babies and not big girls and that it's hurting her teeth.

And yet, she's still rolling on the floor crying. I'd post a picture, but I think that someone would report me for cruelty to 3 yr olds.

Sorry, Eliza, no one but me can hear your screams from the basement...

p.s. Steve's on board with this whole plan too... in case you're concerned.

p.p.s. Please don't leave any comments about how cruel I am-- I already feel it enough on my own. I'd be happy to let Eliza have a pacifier until she's 41 yrs. old if it wouldn't mess up her mouth and reek havoc on any chance of her ever having a social life!

The District

Eliza and I spent last week in DC and Maryland with the handsome man above, Reuben, and Katy, Aaron, and Robby!

We had SUCH a blast! The best was the time we got to spend with family at...

1. The Park!

Eliza, Reuben, and I spent HOURS at the two parks that are both just blocks from Kate's house. Since Katy got put on a form of bed rest, the three of us tried to give her a break a couple times a day. I know it was really hard for Katy to stay at home while the action was elsewhere.

Reuben LOVES his walks. He periodically would point out the door to us, saying outside and knock on the door until we let him out. He would climb right into the stroller and say, "Go!"

Reuben knows how to say Eliza and my name now which is AWESOME and adorable!! The first day I was there, I heard Reuben saying my name over and over, and then he walked into the room I was in with one of my sandals. I found out quickly that it is very important to Reuben that everyone wear their shoes! You have to be ready for those walks at all times!

2. The Backyard!

Katy and Aaron's house is such a neat place! It's got lots of room, some great color, and a fantastic backyard with a deck too! The BALLER!

Katy said that this picture makes it look like Eliza lost a horrendous game of dodgeball. Haha! Instead, it's Eliza playing Sleeping Beauty.

3. Bookstore!

We got to go to the church bookstore, and here are some CD's that I wish I could have gotten...umm... but not really.

3. Georgetown!

On one of the evenings, Eliza and I took the train into the city to visit Robby! Eliza was SO excited to ride the train- excited enough that she actually SMILED for the pictures!!

Robby and his friend, Myra, walked with us into Georgetown and got some dinner and YUMMY cupcakes!

It was a really long line to the cupcake place, but soo worth it!

(Myra gave Eliza a ring pop which won Eliza's heart and tummy!)

4. The Zoo!

We did a congested version of the DC zoo. We tried to choose parts of the zoo that had places to sit down and not do a ton of walking... not our best idea for the whole bed rest thing, but Reuben managed to fit some rest in.Katy was "behaving" herself by sitting down at the aquarium for a while.

Eliza spotted this stuffed Cheetah and froze, asking me if it was real. I reassured her that it was not alive... I was not exactly sure how to explain that it was dead but stuffed? So I told her that it couldn't hurt her. She pointed it out for the camera.

There was the Amazon Rain Forest floor where there are these monkeys just out and about. Eliza was kinda freaked out by them. I asked her to take a picture with it in the back, but she did NOT want to turn her back on that thing!! haha. But she wanted a picture of it to show Oma.

5. Food!

I didn't get any pictures of myself stuffing my face, but boy did I ever! I got spoiled with Peruvian chicken, treats and shakes from the Brazilian market, Dim Sun yummy-ness with Kate, the cupcakes, a bday cake with amazing homemade frosting by Katy, Greek sandwiches, some of the best Indian food I've had, and homemade crepes almost every morning! It's a good thing I was burning some of those calories off by pushing Eliza and Reuben around in the double stroller!!

6. Family!

Eliza was THRILLED to see Uncle Robby! She was so sad when we dropped him off at the Metro on Friday morning. She kept telling me that she was sad that we said bye to Uncle Robby and kept asking me why he had to go to work.

I also LOVED getting to see Rob! I went to institute with him on Wednesday night too. He's the BEST brother EVER! He really made my birthday week the best one I can remember! He is such a generous, giving, and FUN person! I'm not always very good at being "fun," but Robby helps me out! It was also WONDERFUL to get to spend time with Kate this week! I know she was really bummed by the bed rest order. She still tried hard to make our DC week fun, but I LOVED just getting to hang out and talk with her. I've missed her SO much since she moved up to Maryland in April! She is such a hard worker and an incredible mom! I don't know how she does all that she does. Despite her and Aaron's busy-ness, they were amazingly kind to let Eliza and us invade their house and make our time special!! Thanks for having us!