A Walk...

I went for a walk with Chloe and Halle on Wednesday, I think. I'm not sure because my days sort of run together especially when there are more than one memory in the same place in the same week. Nope, I'm sure it was Wednesday because it was Thursday night that Trav, Chloe, Halle and I walked around downtown waiting for Amanda to get off work. And it was Wednesday that we walked around and looked at antique/junk shops. Whew, glad I straightened that out.

I love this house. I'm not a super big fan of columns (at least not this style) but they work here, I think. I did think it was kind of funny that they had bamboo roll up shades on the 2nd story window. It just makes me really wonder what that room looks like. Does it have a classic exterior and a modern interior? I'll probably never know.

And this sweet stone cottage-sigh. I don't usually like stone cottages. But this one is fabulous with paint peeling on the shutters and a side porch with breezy white curtains and window boxes that *always* have flowers in them. You all know that I (along with most everybody else in middle TN) loves downtown Franklin. And as with all downtown areas, there's the main street (coincidentally called Main Street) and then lots of other streets with homes and shops mixed in. We'd lived here for about two years before I even knew these businesses existed.

This one was pretty cool and was very much an antique shop. It had magazine type things from 1865 and antique ink bottles and things like that. And I realized that I probably am not going to go crazy for antiques. I love the desk on the front porch and they had antique ceiling tiles and lots of stuff with peeling paint and it was lovely. Cramped but lovely. Oh, and the owner had a beautiful long haired chihuahua named Diva. She was shaking like chihuahuas do *but* she loved my kids. She licked their faces and didn't want them to leave. And they asked if we could buy a dog like that one. Actually they asked if Chutney could be a dog like that. Because we picked out our dogs name about two years ago...and we don't have a dog yet. I *really, really* want one though. The shop next to it was just junk as far as I could tell but I'm obviously not an expert. My perception of the place could have been tainted though by the attitude of the sales lady. And I decided that just because it was in DTF didn't mean that it was a desireable place to shop. The antique "malls" were particularly hit or miss and I'm pretty sure that the Elvis Presley cookie jar was not an antique. But Chloe saw it and went on and on about "how he died on the toilet because he had drugs". And Halle said "he got fwushed down de potty"?!? It was a much longer and much louder discussion about the subject than I wanted to have. She learned about the incident from a friend from school.

I did however find an armoire, um thingy, that I love and have dreamt about owning since I saw it. It's made for a corner and I really could use that. And, well, I just think it's super cute.
I also fell for some of the stained glass windows. I've always been a sucker for those. They had some that were pulled out of a Nashville church. Not these, other ones, but I liked these too.

We visited other stores and some I liked; some I didn't. But the important thing is that the girls and I were able to walk outside on an August day that was really quite nice. It was warm but pleasant and there was a nice breeze. And we had cherry limeades waiting for us in the car. I'm looking forward to doing it again very soon.

Chloe and the Wedding Dress

Chloe found the necklace that I wore on our wedding day tonight. She begged to try it on which turned into "please Mommy, can I try on your wedding dress? I know where it is." So of course I took pictures. Travis thought it would be great to be able to show them on her actual wedding day. *Sigh*. Having raised one daughter (almost) to adult hood I know that time goes by so quickly and this day will probably come sooner than I'm comfortable with. But I'm just going to enjoy her being six.

So Christmas Was...

Great. After all my thoughts on what Christmas should be about it was really a nice- if not incredibly emotional- holiday. But God provided and our kids got lots of great stuff. We had a nice dinner with the highlight being crab stuffed mushrooms, which only Travis and I will eat. The recipe for the mushrooms turned out a little bland and while I didn't follow the recipe exactly (I didn't have any white wine and Travis won't eat onions so I substituted fresh garlic and cooked them in mojo.) the substitutions should have been enough to flavor them nicely but wasn't. Some salt and lemon juice made them tasty enough. I think that the recipe is a good starting point though. Maybe a stronger cheese would help. Asiago perhaps? I'll work on it.

Travis was home for 3 whole days although we were so busy it didn't feel like it. The majority of Christmas Eve was spent with us trying to figure out what to get the girls. We always get them practical things with a couple of toys thrown in. But God was really putting it on my heart to get them what they wanted instead of what they needed. So we bought toys. And it was really fun because we never do that. During the year I sometimes I buy a Color Wonder book and markers for them and maybe for their birthday but not during the rest of the year. It's partly out of necessity and partly because they don't need any toys. So it was really a blessing for Travis and I to see how much enjoyment they were getting out of their new toys. And as an added bonus Target had already put a lot of their toys on clearance. I was very surprised but we got a robot dog for Chloe that was half price. And it was officially declared her favorite toy of the day! She also got an easel which is chalk board on one side and white board on the other with clips that you can attach a large piece of paper to for painting. It has survived the initial excitement (unlike the robot dog) and she and Halle play with it every day. We were planning on getting a bigger ticket item for Amanda but in talking to her she declared all of our ideas impractical (seriously) and said she just wanted clothes. And all the clothes I picked out for her were promptly taken back to the store. Just wait ladies, it's coming. I miss the days when my style was Amanda's style.

And for the first time in several years we were at home for Christmas. I have said that I don't want to travel for the holidays, that I want to establish our own traditions for our kids, that it's too stressful, etc. But I'm not completely sure about that now. Because Lakeland holds a lot of Christmas traditions and memories for Travis, Amanda and I. I know some families travel every Christmas and some rarely do and we've been the "every Christmas" family but maybe there's some happy medium there. Or maybe we should just go to FL for Christmas (especially if my parents end up moving back there because we could be with all of our family for Christmas) and that would leave the other times of the year for us to vacation somewhere else. It was nice but I did miss our families.

I have painted quite a bit lately since my present from my parents was an easel. I'll post some pictures later. This is a new computer though and I haven't taken the time to set everything up for picture posting. Two of the paintings are for people and one person hasn't seen hers yet so I can't post that one- which I hate because I'm really liking all three that I've painted lately. Thankfully one is not intended for anybody so I get to keep it! I just have a teensy bit of touch up left so I'm going to try to post that one soon.

OK, I'm done typing now.

It's Amazing the Difference a Few Pansies Make

Pansies. I love the color for fall and for winter- especially with the dreariness of it in these parts. I considered planting mums in the urns at the front of the house but since I know that pansies last the whole winter and they have a greater variety of color than the mums I planted them instead. Actually I'm a bit disappointed in myself because I didn't do enough research before I hit the garden center at Home Depot. I put some of the cheap pansies in the cart but was concerned that they wouldn't be tall enough to actually be able to see them from the road so I searched the aisles hoping to find something to give the planter some height. I thought about ornamental grasses but I didn't see any that could handle winter here. Then Chloe came up to me with her hands full of a package of Karma Blue Butterfly pansies and they were perfect, or so I thought. I'm usually pretty good about researching flowers and seeds *before* I make a purchase but I thought that a pansy is a pansy, right? Well apparently not. The Karma Blue Butterfly is a perrennial instead of an annual that blooms in the fall and spring. Which is very cool because they're beautiful (they're the tall violet/blue/yellow flowers in the middle of the pot) but they're also the height in my planter. I know that regular pansies survive the whole winter even with snow on top of them so the shorter ones will survive (assuming I'm able to avoid killing them) but that sort of defeats the whole purpose of buying the KBB. They are really pretty though and if they bloom for the whole fall then that will buy some time for me to figure it out. I don't imagine that I'll be too terribly stressed out about it though.

I also somewhat straightened out the big planter that's attached to the house. I thought I needed a new liner-thingy but it turns out it was just mashed down and I was able to unfold it and mostly fix it. It doesn't come all the way up the sides though and I didn't have quite enough potting soil to fill it out. So there are a few pitiful looking little pansies that can't quite peek their heads over the top of the planter. At least it doesn't still have those awful silk flowers in it.

Potty training here is at a standstill. I've never met such a stubborn child in my life. Sometimes she puts herself on the potty and says, "I need to go potty". She'll even sit on the potty every two minutes- and then she pees in the floor. I'm ready to just put her back in diapers. I can't imagine having a three year old that isn't potty trained since I've never been in that boat, I just really don't know what to do. Oh and she didn't actually "go" in the hat, I just thought it was cute.

On the other end of the spectrum I've got my little Chloe who decided she wanted to help me sand the walls. I think I'll get a bunch of pictures of all of us remodeling the house a make a little scrapbook out of it.

Funny Stuff That Chloe and Halle Say

Chloe and Halle were taking a bath last night and I heard this coming from the bathroom, "Mommy, it's too hot in here we're turning red!" (sound of running water) "OK, it's working, we're turning back to peach!"

I polished Halle's toenails a few nights ago and she started referring to her toes as "pinks". As in, "Hey, wook at my pinks!", "where my pinks go?", "See my pinks?" It makes me want to keep her toenails polished forever.

Chloe, "Mommy the next time we rent a movie, I'll rent Jimmy Neutron for you."

Super cute!

Mooommmm! Halle's Throwing Needles at Sophie!

And, in fact, Halle was throwing needles at the cat- well they were actually straight pins. She had gotten into my sewing kit and was pulling pins out of my pin cushion and was throwing them at the cat. She's also eaten a crayon and colored all over her wall, door, bed and dresser with a fuchsia marker. I am really way too stressed to deal with this- sigh.

Chloe however, was trying to play with her leap pad and was having trouble with it. I finally told her (I yelled it from the kitchen since she was in the living room) that I thought the batteries were going dead, which isn't a stretch since she got it for her third birthday and we've never changed the batteries. So the next thing I knew Chloe was running from the living room saying, "small phillips head screwdriver, small phillips head screwdriver"! She's six! Then she called me into the bedroom to help her open the tool kit; she'd already gotten it out but couldn't figure out all the latches. I gave her the requested tool and before I knew it she had the back off and was asking for new batteries. I love it that she's growing up and hate it at the same time. I love my girls.

I used to dream of stuff like this. Being outside on a warm summer evening, weeding my driveway (funny that wasn't in my dream I just always assumed my driveway would be paved) and finding some cool creature that I could show Chloe- that she wouldn't run screaming from. It was such a nice evening, overcast and humid; the kind of weather that sends Chloe's hair into tight ringlets. Then we found them, slimy and crawly. Aptly named by the queen of naming things- have I ever mentioned that Chloe named the tree in our front yard Sally? Halle danced around us excitedly saying, " I want hold it" and then ran away screaming "I no mant it-it's gwoss!". It's great to be making these memories in our very own home for our very first summer and I love it.

And just a little update on my seedings; the maple tree really tried but didn't make it. The lemon, however is doing quite nicely. It doesn't seem to be a super quick grower so I probably have a while before I have to give it to a FL relative but I'm enjoying it for now.

It is So Not Worth It!

I've been sick lately- a lot. Actually it's gone on for about 5 1/2 years that when I workout strenuously I get sick. I like to work out hard- it makes me feel good. I know that some people don't understand that but it's just how I am. So a couple of months ago I went to the Dr. (because Travis made me) and laid out the sickness routine- I work out strenuously for about 3 days in a row and then I'm sick for 5 days and up to two weeks. I told him that we'd been under a lot of stress for several years and he said that when you're under stress your body released a hormone (that I can't remember the name of) and it's the same one that Dr.'s give to transplant patients to wreck their immune system- and it's very effective. I was happy on the one hand to hear him say that because it's just not natural for someone to get sick as often as I do and it's frustrating. I can't count how many days I've spent lying on the couch when the kids are outside playing. I resent not being able to be as physically fit and as active as I want to be- it's all just very frustrating. So I've kept working out and kept getting sick. And all this time I feel the Holy Spirit saying to me "relax". Relaxing is not in my nature- I need to achieve and conquer something- always, even if it's just reaching that next level on the exercise bike. But on Mother's Day I decided to take a walk with Chloe. We decided to walk in the neighborhood across the street from ours- the one with the crazy-expensive houses. So as we walked we came across a series of ponds that the developers call "lakes" (I really hope the residents didn't pay extra for that- I'm from Lakeland and I know what a lake looks like) and then came across a dock. Chloe and I walked out onto it and saw lots of medium sized fish (probably bream) and turtles and a goose. I think they were waiting for us to drop some breadcrumbs but alas, we had none. We had so much fun and it was so relaxing- even though we walked for an hour and a half. So yesterday we decided to walk again and took Halle with us since Travis was mowing the lawn. We went back to the dock and had a seat this time. The turtles that would disappear under the water if we flinched the day before seemed very curious and some swam right up to us- including a small alligator snapping turtle! Chloe said to the goose, "sorry goose no bread" since we'd forgotten to bring it along. And Halle mimicked her saying "sowwy goof, no bwead", with her hands out and a shrug of her shoulders. It was slightly breezy and the girls had the happiest looks on their faces and I thought, "it's just not worth it". I guess my desire to work out has to sit on the shelf for a while. I'm going to take it easy and walk for a while- which I don't really like. In the past walking was what I did on those days that I felt like a slacker. But I'll walk and take Chloe with me (or anyone else that wants to tag along) and stop and smell the roses that she picks for me and get better.

The stress of our crazy lives has brought me to this point but I know that God is restoring us. I'm not content to say that this is just how it is. God has brought us through this amazing and painful journey and while I believe that we're at the end of that journey, our journey into restoration, healing, and ministry is just beginning. I will be climbing mountains again soon.

Grumpy Buttersticks

Yesterday was such a grumpy day. Halle was rudely awakened to the joys of the time change to take Amanda to school- I know it happened on Sunday but she didn't have to get up super-early that day. So, yesterday she moaned and groaned and fussed all-morning-long. And when she wasn't doing that she was getting into things. While I was stripping wallpaper she got into my brown eyeshadow and was digging it out with her fingernails and rubbing it on the arm of the khaki chair. I-was-so-upset. Thankfully I could brush a lot of it off and Resolve took care of the rest.

Actually, any time I do something around here that requires a lot of concentration Halle destroys something. Last week while I was stripping wallpaper she got into my purse and dug out my favorite lipstick with her fingers and rubbed it all over my favorite green leather wallet along with the table and the floor. I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about it. She gets in trouble of course, but I know that I'm at least partly to blame because I'm not paying attention. I can't expect her to behave perfectly because she's two and she's going to get into things. So I've resolved that I'm not doing home improvement stuff during the day. It's not like there's not enough laundry to do during that time anyway. Of course the evenings are super-busy too and I can't just leave all of that to Travis while I strip wallpaper. I guess I'll have to wait until they go to bed- I'll figure it out.

Chloe has been sick for the last 6 days. She had a sore throat and a fever but that is pretty normal for Chloe and she usually gets over it in a couple of days. But yesterday was day 5 and her fever was 100.7 still so I decided that it was definitely time to take her to the doctor. The only catch was that I hadn't taken the time to find a new pediatrician. We really liked our former doctor and really, who likes to find a new pediatrician or any doctor for that matter? So I looked on our insurance website and there were 4 pages of names. How are you supposed to figure it out when you have no idea who any of those people are? So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me figure it out. Then I saw a listing for a children's clinic in Cool Springs and checked out their website. And one of the doctors is from our former doctors practice. And I suppose I should say that Tisra found her a couple of weeks prior but I wasn't sure that I was going to go there. But I have to say that when I saw her picture on the web I felt much more comfortable with a familiar face rather than with someone I'd never met. I hadn't actually seen her that often because she wasn't our doctor but I really liked her a lot. She was very low-key but personable and and asked lots of questions and listened patiently and intently while Chloe told her a story plus her credentials are excellent so I feel comfortable taking the girls there. Oh, and Chloe has Strep Throat- fun. Oh and I should mention (just for bragging because it was cool) that I took Isaac to his Mom's office after the doctor's visit because it was time for her to leave work and she asked if we'd like to take a tour. A tour of what you ask? Well, it was just a tour of BIG IDEA'S STUDIO!!! There really isn't a ton of stuff to see but the studios design is very cool and there is lots of Veggie memorabilia and it was neat to see where the movies are created. Very fun.

So Chloe's new expression of frustration is to snap her fingers and say "Awww, buttersticks!" I don't know where she got it but it is super-cute.

And my final photo of the day is of Amanda dying her hair a couple of nights ago. She kept sculpting it into different designs and would say "hey, look, look. I look like I'm hanging upside down!" etc. So this one is of her "running". That's funny stuff.