little frustrations

On Saturday, we noticed our computer was running so SLOW and that every 4.5 minutes a message would pop up telling us something to the effect of No Wireless Connectivity and that meant no internet for anywhere between 10 seconds to 45 minutes....frustrating!

Here is where I should mention that we have another computer, a somewhat antiquated, but reliable desktop. However, when we still had hope our house would sell within our time-frame, we packed that baby up and stuck it in storage to help our home appear less cluttered...frustrating!

I'll bring this one up because I love my husband dearly and while, I could've cared less, he was very concerened on Sunday when he wouldn't have internet. He has a routine on Sunday afternoons of setting up our living room with the computer, the remote, and various snacks. Then he spends the day obsessively checking his points against the other people's in his Fantasy Football league and flipping from game to game. For him, not being able to check on the points was, you guessed it...frustrating!

In the past week, we've had 4 showings postponed by an hour. We have gotten the call to postpone the showings at least 45 minutes into the original showing time. 2 of those actually called well into the postponed time to let us know they wouldn't in fact be coming at all...very frustrating!

The most frustrating thing I've been dealing with has been my attitude. I've been letting myself get bogged down by all these little frustrations. How can I expect the Lord to use me for Great Things - Things that will most assuredly prove more challenging than a few glitches with our internet - if I can't even get past these little things?

Even our house not being sold by now is a little thing. We, or I never really considered that our house would still not have a contract on it. Unless we get a contract on it very soon, the girls and I will be staying here while Bryan moves on to Dallas. He'll come back every other weekend and while some of you may be thinking that sounds awful, I'm okay with it. Honestly, I wasn't and that disappoints me greatly. But, I quickly remembered a 6 month period I spent as a single mom. And, I remembered that only a month ago Bryan was still able to be activated and deployed. That would've been a 15 month time period of being a single mom to 2 and then 3. Just under 2 weeks is nothing! It's a vacation that thousands of military spouses would scoff at :)

Some of my favorite scripture is found in Jeremiah, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"

That's a passage I go back to over and over again. I need to remember it the next time a showing is canceled :)

*Certainly not frustrating news came on Thursday. I had an appointment at my OB's office. For the first time in all my pregnancies, I am measuring right on! I'm excited about this (even though it means I am bigger than I was at this point with either Addi or Libby). This also means I've gained more weight than I had at this point with my other two. In fact, with Addi, I was still throwing up everyday and hadn't even gained a pound. I'm hopeful this is an indication that this baby will gain weight a little more quickly than it's sisters did and not an indication that I will be gaining too much weight with this pregnancy.

And, now I must get something to eat...I'm famished :)

Miss Inventive

Addi needed a large, flat space to work her puzzle during roomtime today. She took care of it herself.

That is a bookshelf Bryan built for Libby. It's in Addi's room for the time being since Libby's room is much smaller than Addi's room. We wanted to give potential buyers the allusion of more space in Libby's room by removing "extra" furniture.

All the stuff surrounding the shelf is what is usually on it. In Addi's words she, "carefully took everything off the shelves and then I very carefully laid the shelf down without a big bang." I'll say she was careful and there was no big bang! I didn't realize what was going on until tonight when I happened to look in her room on the way to my own.

I tried to get Bryan to build a matching shelf for Addi when he made this one. I don't think he'll be able to get out of the chore now. Or, at least once we move and this shelf goes back into Libby's room.

And, for once, I won't be the one nagging him about it :)

homemade applesauce

I got this recipe from Hollie's blog, Crown Laid Down. It was simple and, I was told, it was delicious. (I, myself, don't care for applesauce)







I, inadvertantly, cut the recipe in half. (After not writing down a list, I bought half as many apples as I needed. I blamed it on pregnancy-brain!) But, this is what we did:

1. Peeled and cored 3 Gala apples and 3 Granny Smith apples.


2. Cut each apple into about 8 slices...and since you only need 5 apples for half the recipe, I gave the girls each a few slices of apple to enjoy.


3. Throw apple slices, 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon into a crockpot.


4. Turn crockpot on high for 2 hours and then low for another hour or so. Or, you could turn it on low and let the aroma fill your house for the day.

Thanks, Hollie, for posting the recipe on your blog. My girls really enjoyed the applesauce!

"...but don't tell Libby"

Addi has been very frustrated lately by her sister. Libby copies everything Addi does. Everything.

A few times I've asked Addi to answer a certain way because I knew Libby would also give me the same answer. For instance, I might ask, "Addi, would you like peas?" And she, obediently, answers, "Yes!" I can almost be guaranteed the same answer from Libby.

Obviously there has to be a little bit of secrecy for this to work.

And, obviously, I realize this favorable situation is not going to last forever, so I'm taking full advantage while I can. I've learned a few tricks over my almost 5 years of mothering.

Now, Addi has taken to telling me her answer to any question in secret, quickly adding, "but don't tell Libby. I don't want her to copy me." For instance, at lunch today, I asked the girls if they wanted some chips with their sandwiches and strawberries. Libby immediately said she did. Addi ran to me and whispered, "No, but don't tell Libby. I don't want her to copy me."

Ooookay.

I've also learned not to point out that while Libby might fall for the pea trick (only because Libby really does like peas), it wouldn't really matter what Addi had to say about say chips or candy or ice cream. Libby knows good junk food when she sees it and any adoration she feels for her sister isn't going to change what's in her blood:

Chips trump peas any day of the week!

watchin' Daddy

Maybe I just smell like a mom

Addi likes to watch tv on my bed while I take a shower. Unfortunately for her, I took a shower last night. So when she asked if I was going to take a shower, I explained that I had taken one last night instead. She wrinkled up her nose and said, "But, you still smell!"

a little planting

The girls and I spent a little time at a nursery this morning. Addi has been begging to get some mums. I let them each pick one out and we planted them together this afternoon.

I feel the need to explain Addi's hair...she loves that neck-warmer/scarf thing and only wears it on her head. It isn't something I ever put in her hair, but sometimes I have to choose my battles :)

photo shoot

Addi grabbed my camera the other day. I was impressed that most of the pictures were in focus. Libby took the picture of the ottoman and the one of Addi. Maybe one of them has found her future career?!

What happened...

I've tried and tried to write up a clear and concise paragraph or two consisting of the highlights of our recent house-hunting trip.

It hasn't worked.

Instead, I'll list the highlights because I know y'all have been waiting with baited breath for this recap.

• We had a fairly uneventful flight from RDU to DFW last Thursday. I even arranged it so that I sat with Addi while Bryan sat a row up and aisle over with Libby. With a laptop and a few movies, traveling with Addi is almost as easy as traveling alone. Of course, when Libby was about to begin screaming because she was so tired, Bryan forced me to switch places with him.
• We had a delicious lunch prepared by Nana and a surprise visit from Bryan's Meme and Aunt Ginny when we arrived.
• The rest of Thursday was spent looking at houses for Bryan and me and playing with Ethan, Rachel, Aunt Lisa, and Nana for Addi and Libby.
• Thursday night was our first taste of yummy Mexican food at La Hacienda Ranch. We can't wait to move closer to that restaurant.
• Friday we woke up to spend the day looking at house after house after house with a break for a great lunch at a cool shopping center that I will surely spend lots of time window shopping. And Friday evening brought more Mexican food.
• After filling our bellies, we drove to Bryan's parents' house to visit a little and transfer the girls to my parents' house. We were reasssured to find that we were neither needed or missed during their stay at Nana and Poppa's....well, except for Thursday night when Addi couldn't find the pajamas I'd packed her and Bryan received a phone call with a plea to "come quickly" and bring more pajamas. We knew the same would be true while the girls spent the rest of their trip doted on by Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Brett, Meme, and PaPa. And, fortunately for me, I found Addi 2 pairs of pajamas in her suitcase.
• Saturday was more relaxed. We only had a few houses to look at, so Bryan and I decided to search out someplace good for breakfast. While on the hunt, we were honked at by a friend from A&M. We didn't even know Jenny lived in the city we're planning to move to. It was wonderful to see her and such a blessing. She will surely be a wealth of information and a friendly face a little closer to our new house than our family will be.
• After breakfast and checking out some houses, we drove out to a neighboring city in search of dill popcorn. We found an adorable downtown and I'm already planning on meeting Shana for some shopping and more popcorn.
• Of course, we had to take an afternoon break for the Aggie game. That's really all I can get out about that since I'm fearful if I think back too long, I'll end up throwing this laptop through the window. And, the blame for that unfortunate incident would also be poor coaching!
• We spent the evening learning the area and ate at Razzoo's. I'm wondering now why we didn't eat Mexican again that night.
• Since we didn't need to be at the airport until 4, we slept in on Sunday morning and then ate an early lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. It was there over my fish tacos and Bryan's (whatever it was that he ate?!) that the house we were pretty sure we liked the best became our all-out favorite.
• We made it to my parents' house with a couple hours to spare before we had to load up our rented van and head to the airport. At about 15 till 4, we waved goodbye and noticed it was raining. This is almost where the fun really began.
• As we walked into the rental car building we looked on the monitors to find which terminal our flight would leave from. But, our flight wasn't listed. We noticed the flight to RDU before ours was delayed and started to feel the dread of spending countless hours entertaining 2 children (past their bedtimes) in an airport.
• By the time we walked all of Terminal A to find someplace the entire family could agree upon eating at, our flight was delayed by 2 hours. Leaving then would put us back home at midnight. It wasn't looking good.
• When the flight was delayed another 30 minutes, we decided to ask about moving our flight to the next morning. We got on a 9 am flight, but our luggage would go on to Raleigh without us.
• My parents picked us up and ran us to Wal-Mart for some essentials we didn't have in our carry-on luggage. If you've every traveled with children, you know that your carry-on bags are filled with markers, snacks, coloring books, snacks, books, snacks, a laptop, snacks, movies, snacks, diapers, snacks, wipes, snacks, no more than 3.4 ounces of hand sanitizer held in a quart-size plastic zip-top baggie, snacks, blankies, and more snacks.
• The next morning, we were more prepared. Bryan checked our flight information before we headed out for the airport, which really wasn't that early considering we didn't have any bags to check and didn't have to check-in and my parents live about 15 minutes from DFW.
• But, after only spending 10 minutes in line to go through security, we found that our flight had been canceled. We practically ran to the closest counter and were told we could be put on a flight at 8 pm. Or, we could possibly fly stand-by on the 11 o'clock flight. We decided to take our chances with the stand-by flight and found a playground the girls enjoyed. Although, I don't believe the people still sleeping there enjoyed the squeals coming from Libby. But, it was almost 9 o'clock and I was in whatever-will-make-you-happy-and-thus-make-my-life-easier mode. Plus, they were sleeping in a playground!
• It seemed each time Bryan obsessively checked the monitors for flight information, he returned with news of another delay. So, after about an hour, and a confirmation for all of us on a 6 pm flight, we decided to grab a taxi and head to Bryan's parents' house for the day.
• I'm sure you can imagine how often Bryan checked the flights throughout the day. But, everything went well. We did notice tons of other flights being delayed. Ours, however, remained at 6 and we even got both girls to take a good nap. Everything was going great.
• Until about an hour before we were planning to leave for the airport. The 6 pm flight was canceled.
• We consoled ourselves with more delicious Mexican food.
• Our trip was finally completed on Tuesday, September 11. It was a very uneventful flight...Libby even slept, so I was able to spend almost the entire time reading.
• I'm sure I would've thought about the significance of the day, but flying on that day really made me think about it. I can still remember (I'm sure I always will) what I was doing when I heard about a plane hitting the first Twin Tower. I was buttering some toast to take with me on my way to a staff meeting at school. I sat there and watched the plane hit the second building. I can still remember driving to school, listening to news on the radio, wondering if Bryan would hear about this out in the field, and thinking "this will directly affect our life". And, it did. That was a hard day for everyone. I remember wanting so badly to hug my family. This September 11 found me flying in an American Airlines plane with a family that hadn't completely exsisted on that September 11 and praying for all the families directly affected by that September 11.

So, in a recap of my recap, we had a great trip with lots of great food and found a great house that we hope will still be available when our house finally gets a contract. We know this is all in God's hands and so we are trying to remember to pray when we begin to feel anxious. I keep telling myself that in a year everything will have worked out...I'll be holding a 6-month old and walking my 5-year old to kindergarten while my 3-year old begs to go stay with her sister. And, we'll walk home to a house that is perfect for us.

Do you agree?

Since I should be packing, I decided I would spend a good amount of time on this instead. Worthwhile, don't you think?! Especially since the results are less than exciting. It is just as I've always suspected...we all look alike! I'm wondering if the results would be altered by different pictures? Probably. The Look-alike Meter doesn't seem too scientific. Maybe the next time I really need to do something else I'll test out that theory.

If you want to see who your children look like, go here (myheritage.com).