An Important Decision

Ok people. White Water or Lake Lanier Islands Beach and Water Park. I LOVE crazy fun slides, so which is better from that perspective. This will be an Emma free outing.

The black and white dog and the orange cat...

Side by side on the carpet sat:


More like faced, but who's keeping track?
That 95 pound mammoth of a dog belongs to one of the families I used to nanny for pre Emma. Her name is Toby and she hates the kennel, so her family asked me if we would mind watching her since she loves me so (she would come running up and attack me every morning when I got to work, positive that I was there only for her.) Of course we said absolutely, but it's been interesting watching a dog that's the size of my house. At least she isn't uppity. Then this would be a VERY interesting two weeks.

My cute baby dancing and clapping at what is soon to no longer be* Nonny and Grumpa's house. So sad!!




Emma took her first foray into our front yard, and as expected she immediately began eating the grass. I keep trying to tell her it's not organic but she just won't listen!





* My husband called me out...I split that infinitive in the worst kind of way. So sorry to all of you out there who winced. Soon no longer to be.

Thought you might enjoy

I have been reading this blog lately, and it's really been amusing to me. There's a bit more language than I'd like, but it's extremely well written!

A long long day

Today started with a trip to Starbucks that yielded not my usual mocha, but a hot chocolate that definitely had no caffeine. I realized this when I was far far away though I needed it so desperately.
So Emma and I went on to her well baby visit which went considerably better than the last. This was probably because the doctor actually listened to me, and yeah even believed me when I said Emma is allergic to rice, bananas, and dairy in too high a quantity. She suggested a trip to an allergist, and also, MUCH to my dismay an Epi Pen.
So I went to the pharmacy to pick one up and was informed that one dose is $70. Mind you, if it were going to save my child's life then there is no price for that and I would never forgive myself if something happened to her and I hadn't bought the thing. The problem was, the only one they had expired in three months! So I bought it, walked into the entry area, and decided to check it by Brian. He told me we need to buy one, but not to buy that one and just get one that expires a year from now instead. So I went back and asked to return it. 5 minutes tops had elapsed, and I was sitting in front of a guard that whole time, by the by. The women I asked about returning it to chewed me out and made me want to burst into tears! I WAS BUYING AN EPI PEN FOR A 1 YEAR OLD. That was upsetting to me!!! When she FINALLY brought me a receipt, I asked for a copy of the RX and she snidely told me I could call to get it. So I somewhat strongly looked her right in the eye and said "OK OK." in a tone that made her startle and hopefully realize what a jerk she was being to me though I was never mean to her at all.
So I am on the phone with Brian and he tells me "Don't get worried but..." and I can feel my shoulder start to get more tense. Apparently there are some troubles with my car situation that I thought was completely taken care of. We are just having to figure out a way to make some things work, it was just a bad moment to tell me.
And intermittently in all of this, I have been trying to deal with the Mother's Bible Study tomorrow. And I KEPT sending the wrong stinking date out on the email!!!! I did it twice!! And then tonight I sent another email and I messed it up AGAIN, only this time I SAID I had checked it and I knew it was right this time! The HUMANITY!!!
But there were some bright spots. I went back to the Starbucks and they made me a new drink and gave me a card for a free one. And I also got to do a market research study and get paid $75 to talk about panty liners for 45 minutes. So that wasn't too bad. But I think after all of that, I am ready to go to bed and sleep. I think this day has been long enough. Pray that Emma has no attacks of any kind!! I don't want to ever have to use that epi pen. It's one $70 I don't mind wasting!!!!

Girl's Spa Night

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On Saturday night, Megan suggested we have a girl's night out. It turned into a DIY spa night, and we had a great time. Many laughs were had, and much relaxing without kiddos was done. We ought to do these more often!

And for those of you who wanted them, here are the recipes for our scrubs:

Raspberry Lip Moisturizer
Grab:
1 raspberry
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel (available at health-food
stores)
2 tablespoons honey

Go:
In a small bowl, mash the raspberry with a fork;
combine with the aloe vera gel and honey. Apply
mixture to lips, then try to avoid licking the
delicious balm off for at least 10 minutes before
wiping away raspberry seeds with a tissue. Store any
leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and apply
as often as needed.

Mint Sole Softener
15 fresh mint leaves (or substitute 6–8 drops
peppermint oil, available at health-food and select
grocery stores)
1/2 cup brown sugar
–1/2 cup sweet almond oil

Go:
Crush mint leaves (don’t chop; crushing brings out
oils in the leaves) with the back of a spoon. In a
bowl, combine mint (or peppermint oil), sugar, and
almond oil. Scrub feet with mixture, paying special
attention to rough spots. Rinse.

Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant
Strawberries contain a natural fruit acid which aids in exfoliation.



8-10 Strawberries
2 tablespoons Apricot Oil (you may substitute olive oil)
1 teaspoon of coarse salt, such as Kosher Salt, or Sea Salt


Mix together all ingredients into a paste, massage into hands and feet, rinse, and pat dry.

Emma's First Birthday

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Emma's first birthday was a big success. She only cried once! She wasn't so much into the whole present thing, but she did love the homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate icing! And who wouldn't? She then enjoyed playing in the baby pool and her playhouse. My favorite story of the evening: Lydia and Avalyn went up to the window on the playhouse and were taking turns playing fast food. "Burger fries?" When I heard Bethany retelling this I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard! Anyway, Emma was very thankful for all her new toys and books, and happily plays with them and eats them and bangs them together. Thank you all who were there for coming!

So I've been a bit of a slacker...

Wow. It's been a while since I have given any sort of meaningful update. Sorry about that! I guess saying we've been THAT busy for a month isn't quite true. I just haven't sat down to do this in a while.

Emma is doing great! She is getting so big and strong! Her one year birthday was last Friday, and she is looking so old. She has officially taken steps without assistance. The first time for that was last Saturday night at the Ree's home. She walked all over the place once everyone had left (of course.) Then the following Monday we went to visit Brian at work and she walked all over the place there. Thus making me think that she will only walk in the presence of a Ree. She babbles constantly. She talks nonstop mixing in some slightly intelligible words but mostly just baby babble. From the moment she wakes up to the second she goes to sleep she doesn't stop talking. She screams even louder now when she sees Leo, and she shows joy unbridled when she sees something that delights her. It truly is a joy to watch her learn. She has started to try to repeat what I say to her, though not every time and certainly not perfectly. She is getting so good at talking! She says dada, yeah, yes, nanana(still!), liya(lydia, I am telling you, she said it!), nonny, and every once in a while she will say mama, but not often enough!
Emma also started clapping today for the first time! We went to one of those water playgrounds and she got so excited she started to clap. Then she kept doing it over and over when something made her happy. She loved to play in the water so much there! She truly is a fish, and every chance she gets she loves to kick around in the water and splash. I cannot help but think that next summer she will just take off swimming all on her own!
Her hair has grown so much in the past year, and now it is covered in tight ringlets all along the back. My mom tells me my hair was wavy at this age(and still is), but no where near this curly. So it looks like my fiery red head will also be decked out in curls! Did I mention how much she has grown? Oh and this week will be time to move into size 4 diapers. She is so chubby! We found out for sure last week that she is allergic to rice, which I would have thought was impossible but evidently so is my Granny. Who knew. She also cannot eat bananas or too much yogurt and dairy in general. And since she has turned into a picky eater, meals are getting more and more difficult. I am getting great at being creative with meal planning. I know she needs all the nutrients she can get, so it's a balance between what she will eat and what is actually good for her. If left alone she would gladly eat goldfish for every meal!
I am certain there are things I am forgetting to say and I am sure they will all come to me when I am laying in bed tonight. But I think that was a good catch up for now.

Brian is doing great. He works full time for Andy during the day, and sometimes works part time for another company to learn some real estate law. His summer class is almost over, and all he has left is the exam this Wednesday. After that he is free as a bird until August 20, which will be wonderful. We plan to take advantage by going on some sort of weekend trip somewhere. No solid plans yet, but something. He will also be going back to Geneva this fall, so the whole crazy parade starts all over again! But I don't want to talk about that.

I am doing fine as well. We got my car all cleaned out today so we could get it inspected tomorrow. We turn it back in at the beginning of August and I am going to miss it. It was such a fun peppy car. Oh well. All leases must come to an end.
I am stunned that Emma was born over a year ago. All last week we would say "at this moment one year ago, I was this or that" and I just cannot believe it's been a year already! I look back on it with sweet fondness. Emma is so precious to us, and I do not remember what life was like before her. It seems all so long ago, yet not at all at the same time. Her labor was scary, but it had it's purposes, and her life has already held so much meaning. I look forward to many more years of play and learning and growing. My how the time flies!
On other notes, Thank you all for your various suggestions on weight loss and diets. I have this past week started a detox program and a very strict diet. But the point is not so much to "diet" as it is to reteach me how to eat. So I am trying to be much more careful about my calorie intake, but just in general what I eat. I have also started getting up and walking/jogging before Brian and Emma get up. That way it's still cool and I have time to shower and cool off before Emma wakes up. I have already lost 3-4 lbs, but I think a lot of that was simply extra junk laying around that the detox has helped with. We will see how this goes!

Well. I think this has been long enough. I leave you with some pictures of my sweetie. Thanks for reading my blog in spite of my slackerness!





Emma loves the playground at the mall. These are some of her enjoying herself!





Her ringlets!








Clapping for the music! She would have been dancing if she wasn't in her high chair!

A little help

I know I need to post a new update, but I don't have time right now. I need some help. I weaned Emma two weeks ago, and was expecting to lose a few pounds right off the bat like I did when she started on solids. Well, not only has that NOT happened, I have GAINED 5.5 pounds. That's right. I now weigh more than I did right after Emma was born. I have been exercising (though not as regularly as I should) and I have been really trying to watch what I eat. So now I am throwing my hands up in the air ready to shoot myself for being so fat and I really don't know what to do. I now have 25 pounds to lose to get back to where I was pre pregnancy and I am really worried it's not going to happen. I am really worried I won't even get close. I have also been feeling really sluggish and headachey, just overall unwell, and would like to do some sort of a detox program so if anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears. I just don't know what else to do. And no, I am not pregnant. Thanks for your help in advance!