Last week we spent three nights and four days in Maryland with my family. It was really great to see everyone. Hannah got totally loved and spoiled by all the relatives, and we just made happy memories and ate yummy food and spent time together. I also got to catch-up with some old friends, most of whom I hadnt talked with in years, like Caroline and the Miller family.
But there were some really bitterweet moments. Especially because Mike wasn't there with us. Emergency workers don't get holidays or night and weekends off.Easter always reminds me of newborn Hannah, and also of my first loss - as well as the amazing gift of salvation, and how all the sins I've ever committed are wiped clean with God's grace. The service we attended on Easter Sunday gave a very memorable and vivid picture of that, something I took away with me.
Plus there were also some well-meaning friends & relatives who continually asked about babies and future pregnancies. They don't know, they must have no idea how deep a casual comment can hit.
Usually I got away with saying something like "Yes, we would love to have more children, I just don't know when God will bless us again."
When one particular friend asked bluntly "Will Hannah be getting a new sibling soon?", I replied "Ask God, and pray about it for me."
Two days after returning from Maryland, my favorite aunt and 2 teenaged cousins came to stay with us. We had SO MUCH FUN with them! Hannah had a blast, especially with my youngest cousin - she's our favorite (don't tell the others though!). They visited colleges during the times that I had to work. I want them to choose UNC in CHapel Hill, I think it would be a great fit - I really hope my cuz gets accepted there! In-between my meetings, we toured around Raleigh and Durham and showed them our favorite spots to shop and eat and hang out.
On Thursday while I was working, they bought a new couch! It barely fit into their van! It's so soft and comfty and beautiful, I can't wait to sleep on it next time we visit! On Friday Mike gave us his own personal behind-the-scenes tour of Duke University and another local college, and we walked arond Duke Gardens and took some beautiful pictures. We ate dinner in the historic district of town. It was so nice to go out and be social all week!
Saturday was their last day with us, and we just HAD to go shopping together. Mie was our chauffeur. We drove to the biggest mall in town, and had a blast trying on silly outfits. Then I hit the sales racks, and got two absolutely beautiful summer dresses for myself (I cannot wait to wear them!), a new pair of jeans, which I very much needed, plus a new bra and some perfume. I spent about $90 on msyelf - I have no idea the last time I went shopping just for ME. It was such fun, and I had such a wonderful time that I didn't even let myself feel guilty about spending money only on me.
I should learn how to put pictures on this blog, we got some beautiful ones last week that I'd love to share.
On to Hannah's progress: Hannah hasn't had any accidents in the last two weeks. I think it's fairly safe to say that potty training has been mastered!!!
Another milestone passed and gone.
Mike & I finally agreed upon a new bed for her, and we'll be picking it up on Friday. Im really excited about that!
Have a good week.
Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label easter. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
March 20
WRITTEN YESTERDAY:
I started my period on Tuesday. I was hoping not to. I'ts been awful - Ive never had nasty cramps quite like this before.
I'm still struggling with my lack of being pregnant; it's still on the top of my goals list for the year.
Earlier this week, Mike scheduled himself for laser eye surgery. It will happen on April 8th. He also got his annual performance review this week, in which he did excellent, and will be getting a small raise.
Mike and I have NOT been getting along well this week. Ive been PMSing and crampy and tired and yuck, he's been stressed and sleep deprived, and Hannah's been whiny and disobedient and getting on every single one of my nerves - it's just not a good combination of things. And when we are both stressed, we take it out on each other, which only makes things worse. Plus, Mike & I have been living on completely opposite schedules, so we haven't gotten more than 5 mins to talk to each other at a time. And when we do talk - well, it's not pretty.
In the morning, as Mike starts another round of 12-hour day shifts, Hannah and I are going to my parents house for the weekend. We haven't seen my family since early December, so it will be nice to hang out with all my relatives. Also, my reasons are partly selfish: I HATE being home alone at Easter, it's just a really emotional time of year for me, and I feel slightly better when I'm surrounded by loved ones. So, we are going without him. I feel bad that we'll be away from him until Monday night, but I also feel like I need to go to Maryland and be with the rest of my family.
I started my period on Tuesday. I was hoping not to. I'ts been awful - Ive never had nasty cramps quite like this before.
I'm still struggling with my lack of being pregnant; it's still on the top of my goals list for the year.
Earlier this week, Mike scheduled himself for laser eye surgery. It will happen on April 8th. He also got his annual performance review this week, in which he did excellent, and will be getting a small raise.
Mike and I have NOT been getting along well this week. Ive been PMSing and crampy and tired and yuck, he's been stressed and sleep deprived, and Hannah's been whiny and disobedient and getting on every single one of my nerves - it's just not a good combination of things. And when we are both stressed, we take it out on each other, which only makes things worse. Plus, Mike & I have been living on completely opposite schedules, so we haven't gotten more than 5 mins to talk to each other at a time. And when we do talk - well, it's not pretty.
In the morning, as Mike starts another round of 12-hour day shifts, Hannah and I are going to my parents house for the weekend. We haven't seen my family since early December, so it will be nice to hang out with all my relatives. Also, my reasons are partly selfish: I HATE being home alone at Easter, it's just a really emotional time of year for me, and I feel slightly better when I'm surrounded by loved ones. So, we are going without him. I feel bad that we'll be away from him until Monday night, but I also feel like I need to go to Maryland and be with the rest of my family.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Week in review
I feel like ever since Mike & Hannah got home on Wednesday night, we've been constantly on-the-go.
On Thursday, I babysat 3 preschoolers for eight hours, and they wore me out! Actually, it was so warm that day that I let them run through the sprinkler! They each began the afternoon wearing bathing suits, but within an hour or two, they were butt-naked and covered in mud. At least they had fun.... I just tried to manage the chaos. I was able to clean them up well enough so that their mom didn't even realize that they had been rolling around in the mud like pigs! haha. Whew, I was so thankful that they didn't track mud and dirt all through the house, either. That would have been a nightmare to clean up.
On Friday we went to MOPs, did more babysitting, and Hannah had dance class. Since her trip to PA, she's been going to bed later and waking up earlier - so at 4:30 when the class was ending, she was too tired to participate anymore. I was watching through the large glass window, and I felt kind of sorry for her. She looked really pathetic, standing in the middle of the room, wearing her ballet outfit and rubbing her eyes, just watching the other girls dance around her.
I think she fell asleep on the way home. (but, of course, only for ten minutes, because whenever the car stops, she always wakes up.) I don't even remember what we ate for dinner last night, that's how tired I was. I've been incredibly exhausted this week too - but that isn't new.
Today, we had a really fun day. This morning, our MOPs group hosted their annual Easter egg hunt. Their pastor used the resurrection eggs to tell the Easter story in a way that the young children could understand. Then it was mass chaos as 50+ children between the ages of eight and one ran as fast as they could to find the hidden eggs. Hannah was very picky about which eggs she could pick up - she wanted them all to be pink or purple, and after those colors were gone, she would only allow one egg blue egg, one green, and one orange egg to go in her basket. She's so peculiar sometimes.
After filling ourselves with sugar, we stopped to eat lunch, then went shopping. The craft stores in our area were each doing new product demonstrations, so we stopped at 3 different stores and made all kinds of fun, free crafts! I also got a new set of scrapbooking markers for 50% off; I'd been eyeing them for a few weeks, but if you know me, I refuse to pay full price for just about anything.
Hannah insisted on getting a headband wih fuzzy pink-and-purple bunny ears. They were $1, and she carried them all around the store with her, talking about how badly she wanted to wear them. As soon as we paid for them, I took the headband out of the pacage and told her she could wear it now. And you know what she said to me? "No Mommy, I don't want to wear it now." Silly girl! So I wore those bunny ears for the rest of the afternoon. Surprisingly, no one said anything about them.
I also found a store that wil fix Hannah's purple crocs for free! It's called Learning Express, and they have all kinds of unique, fun, educational toys! I'm definitely going back there next time I need a birthday party present!
By the time we got home, it was after 3pm - and we BOTH took a nap!
Ok, it's just about my bedtime now.
Goodnight.
On Thursday, I babysat 3 preschoolers for eight hours, and they wore me out! Actually, it was so warm that day that I let them run through the sprinkler! They each began the afternoon wearing bathing suits, but within an hour or two, they were butt-naked and covered in mud. At least they had fun.... I just tried to manage the chaos. I was able to clean them up well enough so that their mom didn't even realize that they had been rolling around in the mud like pigs! haha. Whew, I was so thankful that they didn't track mud and dirt all through the house, either. That would have been a nightmare to clean up.
On Friday we went to MOPs, did more babysitting, and Hannah had dance class. Since her trip to PA, she's been going to bed later and waking up earlier - so at 4:30 when the class was ending, she was too tired to participate anymore. I was watching through the large glass window, and I felt kind of sorry for her. She looked really pathetic, standing in the middle of the room, wearing her ballet outfit and rubbing her eyes, just watching the other girls dance around her.
I think she fell asleep on the way home. (but, of course, only for ten minutes, because whenever the car stops, she always wakes up.) I don't even remember what we ate for dinner last night, that's how tired I was. I've been incredibly exhausted this week too - but that isn't new.
Today, we had a really fun day. This morning, our MOPs group hosted their annual Easter egg hunt. Their pastor used the resurrection eggs to tell the Easter story in a way that the young children could understand. Then it was mass chaos as 50+ children between the ages of eight and one ran as fast as they could to find the hidden eggs. Hannah was very picky about which eggs she could pick up - she wanted them all to be pink or purple, and after those colors were gone, she would only allow one egg blue egg, one green, and one orange egg to go in her basket. She's so peculiar sometimes.
After filling ourselves with sugar, we stopped to eat lunch, then went shopping. The craft stores in our area were each doing new product demonstrations, so we stopped at 3 different stores and made all kinds of fun, free crafts! I also got a new set of scrapbooking markers for 50% off; I'd been eyeing them for a few weeks, but if you know me, I refuse to pay full price for just about anything.
Hannah insisted on getting a headband wih fuzzy pink-and-purple bunny ears. They were $1, and she carried them all around the store with her, talking about how badly she wanted to wear them. As soon as we paid for them, I took the headband out of the pacage and told her she could wear it now. And you know what she said to me? "No Mommy, I don't want to wear it now." Silly girl! So I wore those bunny ears for the rest of the afternoon. Surprisingly, no one said anything about them.
I also found a store that wil fix Hannah's purple crocs for free! It's called Learning Express, and they have all kinds of unique, fun, educational toys! I'm definitely going back there next time I need a birthday party present!
By the time we got home, it was after 3pm - and we BOTH took a nap!
Ok, it's just about my bedtime now.
Goodnight.
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