Play Time!

As it was...

So who remembers this cabinet?  I know a few of you will.  For those who don’t know, this cabinet was made by my dad’s grandfather!  He played with it when he was young and my great grandmother gave it to my sisters and me when we were little. 

I have many great memories of playing kitchen with this little cabinet.  Diana used to make a special dish that she called “champlain,” which turns out to actually be a lake!  I remember tea parties with my sisters and our American dolls.  It was also a great hiding place for little trinkets or snacks we saved for later.  It’s been used as a makeshift desk, a mailbox, and closet for our dolls. 

Now, I’ll be honest.  When we were cleaning out my parent’s garage for our yard sale, I was not excited when it was suggested that Richard and I keep the cabinet.  It’s old, blue, and redoing it was a project I wasn’t sure I really felt like taking on.  But my mom put her foot down; she wasn’t keeping it, we weren’t allowed to sell it, and my sisters didn’t want it or have the place for it.  Okay, I guess it’s me then. 

Mid sanding...

After bringing it home, though, I started to think about the possibilities.  Then I got a little excited about Sam and Sophie having something to play with that’s got such a nice family history.  That’s when I started making my plans to breathe some new life into it.  At first, I was just going to repaint it with the same paint that we used in Sam’s room (a light lavender).  Then I started thinking it would be more fun to do a really bright color, change the knobs, and maybe add some freehand flowers.  Ideas started pouring in and I set to work taking off the old knobs and sanding down the old paint.  Richard even gave me some baby-free time this past weekend to make some headway! 

So, here it is!  I’ve still got some more ideas…  Maybe a little backsplash.  Maybe paint a stove top.  Maybe add some chalkboard paint to the cabinet fronts up top.  Who knows!  But for now, I’m just super excited to give my girls this updated piece of history and another place for their imaginations to blossom!  

Primed!  

First coat of paint!!  So in love with this bright and playful color!  

All finished!!  I haven't done the chalkboard paint yet,
but I think I'm going to now.

Full of food! 

Oooooohhh!  What's this!?!?

Cooking already!  Mmmmm, veggie soup!

What do ya know, she's a messy cook...  lol!  Just like Daddy!  Hahaha! 

And a bonus one of my Bubbles!  :o)

Oh, did I mention there's a chalkboard, too!  That's up next, though it might have to wait a little while.  I've got some big ideas for that, as well.  It's going to have a cross stitch of the ABC's that my mom made when we were kids...!  

Fair Time!

Richard and I decided to take the girls to the fair this evening.  Had a BLAST!  Sam was just shy (height) of being able to ride two of the rides there.  Rather than risk her freaking out, we decided to wait until next year for the rides.  Still, there was junk food to be had, animals to visit and pet, and lots of cool things to see!  I didn't get quite as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few.  

What do sheep say, Sam?  "Baaaaaaa!"

"I need to pet every. single. sheep, Mom!"  

One of the goats.  And all these pictures have Daddy with Sam...  I'm actually holding her in this shot.  Does Daddy capture this moment, no.  lol, bummer.  

Bunnies!!  They were soooo cute!  

Sophie catching some Zzzzs while we wander around.

In the horse barn.  

Super friendly horse named Bob.  Being in there really made me wish I still rode...  Sam loved him!

Sophie's back in the game!  She liked the horse barn, too.  

Walking with Daddy up to the truck pull.  (This just warms my heart!)

Watching a few of the trucks.  Sam thought this was great. Plus, she was enjoying nibbles of Mommy and Daddy's ice-cream sandwiches!  Lucky kid!

I just thought this was cute.  One hand in Daddy's hair.  One hand in her hair.  

Getting ready to head home.  Do ya think she's tuckered out!?  Hahaha!

"Good morning! Good morning! The little birds say!"

Snoozing Sophie

Mornings.  I both love and hate my mornings.  Pulling my over-tired self from bed is easily my least favorite part.  I hear those miniature alarm clocks going off and I wish the girls came with snooze buttons. 

However, mornings also are one of my favorite parts of the day.  Usually, Sophie is the first one up (sometime between 6:30 and 7:30).  After the heaving myself out of bed part, the gotta-pee-gotta-pee-gotta-pee part (when I long for my pre-pregnancy bladder), and the clumsily making my way down the hallway where I curse my total lack of balance part, I finally reach her crib-side.  Scooping her up, she is ALL smiles!  She’s just recently started cooing in earnest and her squeals and noises of delight in seeing Momma are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 

I like to take her into the living room to nurse for this early morning snack.  I can grab a cup of coffee and curl up on the sofa and enjoy the quiet of the house.  It’s just me and my Bubbles.  I bask in this time.  It’s going to be way too fleeting! 

Sam was everyone’s baby.  Being the first in our family, everyone wanted a piece of her.  Even pre-birth, she was a star.  We had a fantastic baby shower, went shopping with family and friends for clothes and goodies, and took VIPs to our ultrasound appointments.  Sophie… well, she is a second child and was way ahead of schedule.  Throughout my pregnancy with Sophie, all attention was still focused on Sam.  I remember feeling that even when Sophie was still swimming away she was all mine.  Don’t get me wrong, my family loves Sophie too!  It’s not like she’s neglected.  But she doesn’t get the same amount of lavished attention that Sam got (and to some degree, still gets). 

And ya know, that’s okay.  It’s okay because it almost makes Sophie more ‘special’ to me.  She’s MY little girl.  Sam is everyone’s baby.  Sophie is mine. 

So I sit in the living room and sniff her head and melt over those giant gummy grins and coo right back at her and delight in this fussy, demanding, adorable, frustrating, exhausting, perfect little angel.    


** Title is from a 4-H song I sing to my girls almost every morning.  

Sleepy Lady Babble

Richard’s been working a lot of over time lately.  Maryland Live’s poker room opens at the end of this month, so Richard’s taking advantage of all the over time he can squeeze in before Charles Town becomes Ghost Town.  (Although, we hope that isn’t really the case…  A single income household really does require a single income to sustain.)

And I miss him when he’s gone.  For a variety of reasons.  Primarily, because I love him and I love having him around.  But a very, very close second is because we have these two, beautiful babies.  Trying to juggle the two of them during the day is tough enough.  Someone is always hungry or needing changed.  There are always empty sippy cups to be refilled, toys to retrieve from places I didn’t know my 16 month old could reach, or spit-up to wipe up.  I’m not complaining!  I love my job as a SAHM.  All I mean to say is that there is always, always something to do. 

When Richard gets home at the end of his work day (usually between 7:30 and 8:30 in the evenings), I am really ready for his capable (and exhausted in their own right) hands to clean a dirty butt. 

Right now, our routine is to divide and conquer!  He puts Sam down and I take Sophie.  When he’s not home in time to get the girls into bed…  Well, things can get interesting pretty quickly.  That is why we spent the past two nights at my parents’ house.  Tonight, the third night in his string of three doubles, I was on my own. 

After a very busy and fun weekend with their grandparents, playing outside, and being further off their schedules that I usually allow, I knew that getting them into bed on my own would be a treat. 

I figured I’d start with the baby. 

Our living room is pretty well baby-proofed, so my plan was to let Sam play with the dog while I changed Sophie and got her settled in.  I did most of her nursing in the living room, but knew it would take a few minutes to “cap her off” and “knock her out.”  As I tried to shuffle the baby and the diaper bag (with her pj’s, monitor, and diapers from the weekend), Sam managed to scoot between my legs into Sophie’s room.  Okay, fine.  Join me then.  I can handle this. 

Sam went directly for the basket of Nuks I keep on the table in Sophie’s room.  Readily available stoppers to keep Sophie from waking Sam.  Harmless, I tell myself as I begin getting Soaps ready for bed.  I peek over my shoulder at Sam several times as she tries on Nuk after Nuk.  It’s cute and she’s well entertained.  I’m feeling great about my plan.  Once Sophie is thoroughly swaddled and ready to be rocked one last time, I turn to usher Sam out of the room.  As I do, I see my dimpled darling crouched on the floor with a q-tip jammed in her ear!

Shit!  How on earth did she get a q-tip!?  I wrestle it away, check the cotton tip for blood or strange fluid or any indication that she might have dug too deep, assess her head for any sign of injury, and marvel at my 16 month old’s grasp of what a q-tip is used for.  After all, Mommy’s not really as good as she should be about the girls’ “Spa Day” (which includes clipping finger nails, toe nails, cleaning ears, and the like).  It tends to be a once-every-other-week sort of thing, right now. 

She’s fine.  Thank goodness.  I usher her out of the room.  Sophie goes down like a ton of bricks.  I knew she was worn out and was very grateful that she fell asleep quickly.  Now I move on to the 25+ pound tornado in the living room…

I get her changed.  That takes about twenty minutes.  She stays still long enough to have the diaper removed and then wriggles out of my grasp and takes off.  I chase her down, rinse and repeat.  One item per sitting is about all she can handle.  Once the clothes are finally on her tiny little body, I scoop her up and settle in for a good book.  I’m actually really excited.  Richard usually does this part with Sam and while we stayed at my parents’, my mom put Sam to sleep.  I grab two of her favorite books (Fox in Socks and Hop on Pop).  She doesn’t want either of them.  Every book I touch, she refuses. 

Now, I know some of my friends would say, “why give her a choice?”  Well, not doing so results in her kicking the book out of my hands.  At which point, I hear them say, “then she doesn’t need a book.”  Yes, I agree with you in principle…  However, putting her in her crib at this time with result in hours – yes, it could be hours – of screaming, crying, and general misery for all parties.  And Sophie’s asleep.  So, I’ll make the extra effort to find the book she wants to read. 

Good Night Moon.  Found it.  Great.  We read it three times.  I don’t usually do this, but I’m really loving this cuddle time and I know that she’s not going down easily tonight.  Too much excitement.  No Daddy.  So I’m indulging her a little. We sing about fifty songs and I’m pooped.  Time for bed, kiddo. 

No dice. 

I let her cry for about a half an hour.  They are weak cries and mostly babble.  But she’s getting louder rather than quieter and I’m starting to worry she’s going to wake Sophie.  So I trudge back to Sam’s room, heft her back to the rocker, and snuggle in again.  After singing the Swimming Pool song about 20 times, I decide that’s enough of that.  We rock in silence for a blissful and blessed five minutes.  She’s lying contentedly in my arms and looking at me while she’s playing with the pull strings on my PJ bottoms.  I’m in total and complete Mommy Heaven. 

Then she starts to babble.  She’s saying every single word in her arsenal about ten times each and in every voice inflection she’s learned.  It’s adorable.  It’s endearing.  I’m. So. Tired.

This is probably one of the hardest moments for me.  When Sara just wants to go to bed, but Mom knows that this bundle of joy needs about fifteen to twenty more minutes of snuggles before passing out.  I have a lot of love to give and a very long line of patience, but at the end of the day it’s pretty well used up. 

I manage to dip into my reserves and just melt and marvel in her amazingness.  Cause I am totally and completely in love with these little girls. 

I tuck Sam in and it’s 10:00pm.  Yikes!  Well, I knew it was going to be a long process.  Just to make sure everyone is down for the night, I go out and pick up my book to read a chapter or two.  Then, I’ll head to bed.  At least that was the plan…

Since then, I have been back with Sophie three times (each entrance to her room was marked by a delighted squeal and a HUGE grin, so how could I possibly be frustrated) and Sam once more.  It’s now 1am.  It’s been fifteen minutes since I last left Sophie and I think this time might be the last…  Maybe she’ll sleep in a little longer in the morning…?  If I have to go in there again, I might have to bring my own pillow and blanket…

Holes, itchies, and bumps!

Wow, it’s been busy in the medical department at the Everingham Household!  Friday we got Sophie’s test results, Sunday Sam started breaking out in poison ivy, and then Monday Richard took a nasty trip down the stairs. 

Soaps is watching her
 crazy sister play

I’ll start with Soapy.  The news was pretty good, really.  She has a mild Pulmonary Valve Stenosis and a small AtrialSeptal Defect (ASD).  So, the ASD is essentially a hole in her heart between the top two chambers of her heart.  It’s a problem because it allows oxygen-rich blood to mix with oxygen-poor blood.  However, because hers is small, it may or may not need fixing.  My pediatrician said the pediatric cardiologist will want to see her and assess her himself before making that determination, but that he felt if it needed fixing then a cardiac catheterization procedure would probably be all she’d need rather than full on surgery. 

The Pulmonary Valve Stenosis is a narrowing of a valve in her heart.  He said that this was actually a pretty common cause of heart murmurs in women (as it effects women more frequently).  He said that had he thought this was all there was going on, he wouldn’t have bothered ordering the echocardiogram.  There’s nothing that would need to be treated with this one. 

I’ve contacted the pediatric cardiologist and am waiting for a call back to set up her first appointment with him.  He does a clinic in Winchester which is great!  Otherwise I’d be traveling to Charlottesville.  And I may still need to at some point.  We’ll keep you updated on her progress. 

Sam's poison
(she's all personality, this one!)

Next up: Sam-a-lam.  Poor kid.  While I was at the pediatrician’s office discussing Sophie’s results, Sam and Sophie were having a pool day at Aunt Diana’s mother-in-law’s pool.  They have goats.  Sam likes goats.  Goat might have liked poison ivy.  Sam is now covered!  Poor munchkin.  I took her to the pediatrician’s because three pharmacists (yes, it took me three pharmacies before I found calamine lotion) told me that I should take her in as it looked like the poison was getting really close to her eye.  We got her some good drugs and a better cream and this morning she already looks worlds better!  Yay!!   I tried to get a picture of her arms, but she just wouldn't cooperate.  They are much worse than her poor lil' cheeks.  And this is today, already worlds of improvement after two doses of her meds. 

And finally, Richard.  So I had a lunch date with some of the ladies I used to work with at NPS.  I was really excited and leaving the babies in the care of dear ol’ Dad.  As I got back in my car after lunch, I find via text that he’s fallen down the stairs… with Sophie in his arms!!  Sophie was fine; scared but fine.  He’d fallen hard on his butt and slid all the way down.  When I got home, his poor hinny was swollen and his back was red and raw (carpet burn).  Tuesday, his whole right butt cheek was black/purple.  I mean, it looked nasty!  He did end up going in to the ER to check and make sure there wasn’t more damage done than bruising (or a concussion, since he was feeling very exhausted and having a hard time staying awake).  He’s fine, but extremely sore.  If you know Richard, then you know he doesn’t really do anything gently…  Falling down the stairs was no different.  His poor butt. 

Bet you were worried I was going to show you a picture of Richard’s ass, weren’t you.  Haha!  *wink*  Na, just a bonus picture of my Soapy Bubbles.