I wish I could just freeze time....

I came home from a full day of fun at the Children's Museum in New Orleans with some fellow homeschoolers, to find this. The Big Apple, no longer with a loose tooth. The tooth had finally fallen out, and I wasn't home to witness it.

I remember that day, six short years ago...when that first tooth finally came to the surface of her gum. I remember the fussiness, the drooling, the endless chewing on cold wet washcloths. And I remember that first snaggle tooth grin, when you could actually see the tooth well enough when she smiled. It feels like just yesterday.

Today, The Big Apple is quite excited, with the tooth fairy coming to visit and all. But for me, it's bittersweet. My little girl...not so little any more, has lost her first tooth. In it's place, will grow her first adult tooth.

I wish I could just freeze time. This moment in time, where my beautiful little girl can just remain a little girl, and not have to grow up.

This should really be a NOT ME post....or otherwise titled "Stumbling Through Life"

This really should be a NOT ME post, but since it's not Monday, I can't do that. But I did want to clue you in on just how my week has been so far....And it's only half over.

I embarrassed myself completely doing these things:

1) Monday, I picked up my friend to go to the Walmart to go shopping. When we got there, I discovered that my wallet was missing from my diaper bag. I panicked. We drove to my house where I frantically started searching the house and the van. Then I started making phone calls to the places where I had been earlier, and looking up bank account information, just in case someone had my card. My husband reaches into my diaper bag, digs around a little and pulls out my wallet. It had been there all along. Doh!

2) Tuesday, I lost my cell phone at the library. Actually it wasn't at the library, it was in the floor of my van where I couldn't see it.

3) While I was at the library, I purchased a massive amount of books from their discard pile. When I carried them out to my car, I bent down and attempted to balance my stack of books and unlock the van door. The books toppled over and the majority of them slid underneath my van. Guess who had to LAY DOWN IN THE PARKING LOT to get them out from under? Yep. Me.

4) Wednesday, I went back to the Walmart to buy some diapers. Totally slipped my mind all 3 times that I have been at the store this week to buy the baby something to cover her bottom with. But anyway, while I was there, I found a book that I had been looking for for sometime and I am on the waiting list for at the library. Feeling the need to treat myself generously, I threw the book in my cart with great satisfaction. I found some freetime this afternoon and figured I could cozy up and read a few pages of it. I sat down with my coffee and the title, only to discover that IT WAS IN SPANISH! ugh. I can read a bit of spanish, but not quite enough to enjoy a 500 page novel.

So....any ideas about what can possibly happen to me the rest of this week? Anyone?

For you, Mama.....

Nothing beats Cheerios. Nothing. It's baby's first finger food, of course!

The Little Apple has been feasting on Cheerios for a few months now. Actually, Cheerios is more like her appitizer. I throw some on her little tray while I prepare the rest of her meal. She munches and cruches happily away.

As I was fixing dinner a few days ago, I glanced over at her, and she is making those cute baby babble noises to catch my attention. She is also reaching out as far as her little pink high chair will let her, and in her hand was her little offering of a Cheerio. Her face was bright and sweet...that toothless smile grinning at me seemed to say "I saved this last one for you, Mama."

Of course, I crossed the room to her, opened my mouth wide, and allowed her to feed me her very last crunchy treat. I smacked my lips and dramatically chewed that tiny piece of cereal as my sweet baby girl laughed and laughed.

It's the tiny moments like these, that make the long sleepless nights with a fever sick baby worth it. These little sweet moments totally overshadow the dirty diapers, endless piles of laundry, and baby toys that I trip over as I make my way to the coffee pot in the morning.

I love being a mom.

A Tale of Two Kitchens.....

At the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat, I must blog some more about my kitchen. On Christmas day, I dedicated my post on the joys of my oven. The lovely oven.

So, maybe I am a bit spoiled. But I do think I deserve to whine just a tiny bit. Will you allow me to do that, just for a wee minute? Thank you.

So, here is my kitchen that I just left in NC.....(please cue up the heavenly angel choir singing an alleluia chorus)
Yes, probably the most beautiful kitchen I will ever have the honor of cooking in. The most thoughtfully layed out, solidly made (yeah, look at those solid oak cabinets!), and spacious kitchen I will ever own. *sigh* I loved this kitchen.

And then there is this kitchen. (please cue up the polka music!)Oh wait. I like polka music....it reminds me so much of our years in Minnesota.....Well, cue the cheesy music anyhow.... *sigh of discontent*

There is not much counter space to prep on. There is so-so storage space. No sprayer on the sink. The dishwasher was installed as an afterthought in the bar area, and you cannot unload it in the cabinets nearby when it is open. Ugh. Then there is this:
It's location....those cabinets in the corner? You can't open them unless the dishwasher is open. Don't get me started on how it sounds when you turn it on....kind of like a cross between herd of dying camels and the Indy 500. Love that!

Today took the cake though. I made a beautiful batch of chili and put it in the crockpot to cook all day. Yum. I took off to meet a friend for a playdate (Thanks Stephenie! We had a really great time!) expecting to return to a aroma filled house and a dinner ready for the table.

Instead, when I returned home in the afternoon, I found a stone cold crockpot. And a faulty electrical outlet. And an uncooked dinner. I felt almost as bad as Ralphie from A Christmas Story when the Bumpasses' dogs ran off with the Christmas Turkey.

I miss my old kitchen. *whine*