crossrhodes

Sunday:
After church service, Don went to the gym while Layla and I went to a birthday party.  We only stayed for 3 hours because it was over an hour’s drive one way.  We also arrived over an hour late because I had not planned on cleaning out the raw chicken “juice” that leaked all over the fridge.

Monday:
I was invited to my first Stampin’ Up demonstration/workshop with a couple of ladies from my mom’s group at church.  I’ve been scrapbooking for years!  Yet, I’ve never been to a crop, convention, or demo before.  I consider myself a closet scrapper but it was fun “playing” with others.

Tuesday:
Oh, the distances I travel for these girls!  I drove 3 hours round trip for a birthday dinner (it’s been Yaya tradition to go out for each of our birthdays).  I thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel!  Thank goodness I decided to leave Layla at home with Don instead of with my parents’ where I would’ve had to pick her up and drive home even later.

Wednesday:
I took a custom framing class and learned it truly is an art in itself.  It’s not as easy as it looks.  It’s time consuming.  You need a good eye for design.  No wonder it costs so much to have something custom framed!  But it only cost a fraction to do it yourself and I (finally!) framed Don’s college diploma.  I’m going back to frame my sister’s painting and all the lithographs Don bought on our last cruise… without tapping into a home equity loan =)

Thursday:
Up and early for brunch with a former co-worker, our “office mom” at Ford Motor Co.  I miss working there.  It was the most fun working environment I’ve been in.  Oh well, we all know where the auto industry went and my job went with it.

Friday:
I AM EXHAUSTED!!!  I think I’m too old to be going out 4 nights in a row =)  I’m spending the day today catching up on chores I’ve neglected all week.

Uh-oh… time to put up baby gates!  The girl is mobile!  She was having trouble crawling on the wood and tile floors downstairs, kept falling and banging her head..  But today, I left her in the middle of the living room floor while I put books away in the other room and found her near the bottom of the stairs when I returned.  (Don’t worry, I wasn’t gone that long.  I put her mittens on the steps to see if she would go for it.)

She entertains herself fine in her playpen but who knows how long that will last.  I think it’s time for a coral in the middle of the living room.

I was anxious about Don traveling on business for an entire work week, but we did just fine!  In fact, I sooo enjoyed having Layla all to myself this week.  First of all, the TV went on only once.  Yes, only 1 time in 5 days!  I had trouble falling asleep last night so I watched an episode of Raymond before bed.  I cleaned the whole house in the beginning of the week and enjoyed the fruits of my labor for a record-breaking 72 hours after.  That never happens when the boys are home.  We kept busy during the days and napped together in the afternoons.  Layla and I ate our meals together at the table (again, with the TV off).  Took long strolls around the neighborhood when we had unusually warm weather in the middle of winter.  We went to our mom’s group at church yesterday and had plenty of girl time in between.

She slept next to me this week.  I’d put her on daddy’s half of the bed but she kept rolling over to my side.  By morning, I’d be laying on my side on the very edge of the bed with her snuggled up against me.  How does a tiny person take up more than half of a king-sized bed???

Daddy’s flight arrives tonight.  Therefore, we must do the groceries to stock up on daddy food.  Tah-tah!

I just witnessed our Indian neighbors walk across our backyard with our ladder in tow.  They must’ve returned it to the shed.  Funny thing is, I didn’t even know they had it.  I saw them on their roof a few minutes earlier when I went to take out the trash.  I wonder if they know it’s illegal in this country to “borrow” something from someone’s property without asking.  It’s like the time they dug up Don’s vegetable garden to “borrow” a flowerpot-full of soil.  I’m going to cut them some slack because I know they’re new to this country AND THEY GIVE ME FREE DONUTS when I buy a cup of coffee.  (They own a local Dunkin Donuts.)  Don can deal with it when he gets home.  He never got free donuts from them anyway.  My only concern is liability should there be an accident using our ladder.  You would think that not having my permission to use it would free me from liability, right?  But have you heard about the thief who sued because he was injured in a home he broke into?  Or the lady who won a settlement from McD’s over spilled coffee?  I think a chain and padlock will take care of this borrowing problem.

Before: Our energy bill dropped by a third when James moved away to college.
After: While he was home for Christmas break, it spiked to 200%.  Yikes !!!

Before: When I put Layla to bed at night, she spends half an hour trying to climb over me and everything else on the bed before she crashes.
After: In the morning, I wake up to her poking and prodding my facial orifices, pulling my hair, or biting my cheek.

It’s fun being parents!

She’s been eating chicken and turkey.  Today, we tried beef with potatoes from a jar.  This is her reaction: *LOL*

She doesn’t seem to mind jarred fruits and veggies, which I rely on when we travel.  I do add rice or oatmeal to them because they’re so soupy.  Otherwise, she’s been eating homemade, organic, steamed or baked (never boiled) baby food since she transitioned to solids.

Maybe it’s the potatoes.  I can’t stand jarred or canned potatoes either.  If they’re in canned soup, I spit ‘em out on a napkin.  I know, gross!  We’ll try again at a later date.  If she just doesn’t take to beef, oh well.  She could do without red meat in her diet.  But I’ll be darned if this girl doesn’t grow up eating fish that actually tastes like fish, not the kind disguised in batter.  I have hope that my daughter will be a foodie like her mommy, sans the extra weight =)