Friday's quote

We are here to change the world with small acts of thoughtfulness done daily rather than with one great breakthrough.

-Rabbi Harold Kushner

Afternoon play routine

A new after school routine has evolved.   We arrive home at 3:00pm, and the girls have a snack while Baby George has a bottle.  Then Baby George hangs out on the floor while they play. 

The cast of characters includes Lauren:

Gracie:

and Baby George.  He would like for you to note that his participation is less than voluntary:

The girls have introduced George to their many, many dolls and characters from their doll house and other various toys.  Below you will see that Gracie recently shared her Belle doll. 

Lauren is less likely to share, but enjoys showing George her toys before skipping away.

The full tableaux (below).  At least they do not use Baby George as a speed bump for their vans.

But he does have to endure looking at their American Girl catalogs.  Below, Gracie is encouraging him to "pick out which one he likes best". 

In all seriousness, Baby George loves this play time.  He laughs, kicks and swings his arms about wildly.  Afterward, he is completely wiped out, both mentally and physically.  I have cautioned Gracie and Lauren that they should cherish this time as well because the dynamic will radically change once he is mobile. 

Shopping for children

Today on Kelly's blog the discussion focuses on children's clothing and favorite places to shop. While I have become very disciplined about shopping for myself, I go bananas over clothing for my children.

Bananas!

Accordingly, I have several favorite brands for clothing. For our twin girls, who are turning five on Monday, I am currently loving Gymboree. I also like Ralph Lauren, and Gap/Old Navy, as well as many Target finds. I especially like the leggings/tops coordinates by Circo. When the girls were younger, I liked the layette selections at Macy's. I also LOVED Babystyle, although it is no longer in business. Finally, I liked classics, such as Osh Kosh.

For our two month son, so far I am liking Gap for layette and Gymboree. We also have the classic Feltman Brothers outfits. I also like Ralph Lauren for boys, but I am leaning heavily toward Gymboree.

Having said all of that, my trick is to purchase the above brands either on consignment, on eBay or at thrift stores (thrifted, as the hipsters say).  For example, I purchased two of Baby George's Feltman Brothers outfits on consignment for $6.00 each -- one of which was new.

For shoes, I used to be a Stride Rite devotee,  but I am really into Pediped now.  We will also pick up shoes on the cheap at Target.

I am eager to see where everyone else picks up their cute finds, and I am especially interested to see preferences for boys, as I am still new to shopping for boys.

Happy Friday, and have a fabulous weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday!  Today I am linking up with Black Tag Diaries and Our Family of Four as part of their Thankful Thursday posting.  We have a new motto in our house:  No Complaining.  Since gratitude and complaining are mutually exclusive, I need to join in and am honored to do so.

1)  Family and friends

First and foremost, we are incredibly thankful for our family and friends.  We are always appreciative, but we have been especially reminded of how invaluable those relationships are since the arrival of William George in July.  Knowing that we have five grandparents that we can call for back-up at a moment's notice provides amazing peace of mind, and we are grateful to have our family close by.  We are so fortunate and blessed to have a strong support system of family and friends. 

2)  Rain

No matter how crazy rain makes our schedule, I have vowed to never again to complain about rainy weather.  We received an absolute downpour of rain last week (read:  monsoon), and it made our school schedule c-r-a-z-y, what with trekking in and out of school with two four-year-olds and a two month old.  Our new rain gear performed flawlessly, and Baby George came through the experience with only a single, solitary rain drop on his head.  He did not melt. 

3)  Autumn

Fall is my favorite season, and I am really looking forward to cooler weather, that will hopefully be conducive to many afternoons and weekends at the park.  We are definitely ready to see some fall foliage, wear cozy sweaters and walk across leaf-strewn sidewalks. 

What are you thankful for today?

Sunday portraits

After church this past Sunday, I took the opportunity to try to photograph all three children since they were still dressed in their Sunday clothes and only moderately disheveled.

Do you know what's harder than getting two children to simultaneously look at the camera and smile?

Getting three children to look and smile!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Lauren A. Lindsey, Esquire

I talked previously about Lauren's desire to have her ears pierced.  For the record, Gracie was interested in having hers pierced as well, but she lost interest when I explained that there would be pain involved.  I talked about the pain here. 

Lauren recovered quickly from the threat of pain and decided that she was prepared to proceed with the procedure, regardless of the pain involved.  I was so sure that the idea of pain would curtail discussions that I really didn't have a second roadblock ready.  Instead, I went with the whole maybe-you-can-when-you're-older spiel.  She mulled that over for a few days and then countered with the ol', "but my friends have their ears pierced.... they're not older." 

Touche. 

Our rationale for waiting is that we think it involves some maintenance and care, and they are truly not ready for that challenge.  While Lauren is brave when considering pain in theory, she does not do so well in reality.  For example, she cried once for almost two hours when bubble bath got into her eyes.  We had to give her Benadryl, Motrin and apply ice for that emergency.  So... while we think pierced ears are adorable on many young children, we know from experience that there would be significant drama involved with this type of procedure. 

So now I am racking my sleep-deprived brain for a sure-fire roadblock to having ears pierced at the age of five.  We were really hoping to postpone this step until age 10 so I am going to need something good.  Suggestions are welcomed, but I need something with a little more heft than "because I said so."  Also, remember that having a discussion with Lauren is not dissimilar from arguing a complex case with highly competent legal counsel. 

I know... beggars cannot be choosers. 

Maybe I'll go with that:  beggars can't be choosers.  And then I will tell her to spend the next five years studying for the LSAT.

Milestone: "Mama"

About a two weeks ago, William George really started cooing and talking a lot.  George has been a very social baby from the very beginning.  In fact, I told Skip from the minute we brought him home that he only cries if he is hungry, wet/dirty or lonely, and he seemed to be lonely a lot.  Accordingly, he prefers to be held.  I'm not sure if it is merely a different personality, because he is a boy or because he is a singleton, but he really seems to be lonely sometimes and craves interaction more than the girls ever did.  Of course, they had instant companionship with one another. 

Several weeks ago, I noticed how intently he would stare at our mouths when we would talk, and, as stated above, he began making all of his little sounds more and more frequently.  He loves to talk!  I also noticed that a specific sound kept emerging from the chatter:  mama.  I dismissed it, considering it a random sound, until Grammie confirmed hearing it distinctly.  Then Gran confirmed it as well.  With independent confirmation, I am logging it as a milestone. 

Well done, William George!       

The happiness equation

One big sister...

+  afternoon play time

= beatific smiles

Roll Tide

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

E-I-E-I-OOOO

WGL's two month photos

We took a few shots of William George to mark his two month birthday. 

In reality, September 12th-ish was not exceptional, as we take dozens of photos of him every day.  He is starting to get the hang of posing (below).

Happy (belated) two-month-birthday, William George!

Friday's quote

The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things--the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.

-Samuel Johnson

Shopping sites

When I worked full time, I vividly remember having nothing to wear most days.  I would lose precious minutes each/every morning staring into my closet, hoping that some cluster of hangers would shift, revealing a perfect ensemble.  That miracle never happened.  I amassed skirts, pants, suits and, finally, dresses.  Shoes were a weakness.  I have an idea of the total number, but I will only admit to 100 pairs. 

Then, about eight months after our twin girls were born, I started working part time, three days per week.  Suddenly, I had scads of clothing choices for the three days I went to the office.  Clothes!  Glorious clothes!  Later on, when our girls were three, I stopped working altogether.  Since that day, my closet has been mocking me.  The row of skirts, sorted by season, seems excessive.  The dresses are still in heavy rotation (only because of ease of wear), but the suits seem antiquated.  Mostly, I get heavy use of dresses in the summer and jeans/sweaters in the winter.  So... it's a good thing I have 40 sweaters from which to choose. 

Today, Kelly is discussing favorite online shopping sites.  I typically do not buy a lot of clothing online, unless I am extremely familiar with the brand.  Plus, the only clothing additions I have made since becoming a stay-at-home mom tend to be extremely casual, usually either shorts (because I had exactly two pair) or some type of work out wear.  For all of the excess in clothing, I had virtually nothing in the casual clothing department.  For the first time, I discovered fleece last year.  Why had no one told me about the comforts of fleece???

Anyhow, where I am going with this is that with the above-referenced surplus, I do very little clothing shopping for myself these days.  I have not purchased a single shoe since leaving the workforce 19 months ago.  From the look of things, I will not need to for another 19 years.  I will be the person wearing extremely dated footwear.  In conclusion, the only clothing purchases I have made recently involved some updated C9 clothing from Target, but all of the other things I need typically come from the following sites.       

1)  eBay

I am a shameless eBay shopper and will purchase most anything from that site.  I look for deals on OPI nail polish, perfume, cosmetics, clothing -- literally anything I need to purchase.  One caveat:  be sure to comparison shop. 

2)  Target

See above C9/fleece revelation.  (Really, why had no one told me about fleece?)  Also, I have been known to purchase simple dresses from Target, particularly for summer use.  Dresses, paired with flip flops or sandals, usually work better for me than shorts. 


3)  Diapers.com/Soap.com

This one is straightforward.   With three children under five, I love the convenience of having the UPS truck deliver many of our necessities right to our door.  In fact, he delivers frequently now, and my daughters peer out the window and yell, "MOM!  The 'PBS' man is here!!!!"

On re-read, I realized that I mention comparison shopping in the next enumerated item, and I am big on comparing costs.  However, the Diapers.com site is an exception (the unit price can sometimes be slightly higher) because I subscribe to the premise that a shopper can spend more overall when impulse purchases and/or non-list items are factored into the equation.  What works for me is to avoid being inside an actual store if/when possible. 


4)  Amazon

We comparison shop for practically every purchase, and Amazon has fantastic utility for that.  I almost always compare options between Amazon and eBay and go with the most economical route.  The "prime shipping" plan they have may not be for everyone (they charge a flat, annual fee for shipping), but we more than recoup the expense. 

5)  Piperlime/Banana Republic

When I want to window shop (screen shop?), I usually take a peak at Banana Republic for ideas about how to update/upcycle/re-style what I already own.... you know, when I need to update my fleece pull-overs. 

6)  Ralph Lauren

Finally, when I want to gaze dreamily about what I could be wearing a) if price were no object and b) if I were not subjected to adorable tiny handprints and sniffly noses, I peruse Ralph Lauren... and then I log back onto Target.

Overheard: Ugly Words

13 championship flags flying over Bryant-Denny Stadium

Overheard:

Gracie:  "Ms. Diana does not like ugly words."
Me:  ...

Wait a minute.  Me:  "What?"
Gracie:  "Ms. Diana does not like ugly words."

Me:  "Oh.  Did anyone say any ugly words?"
Gracie:  "No, no one went to time out."

Me:  "That's good.  Did you say any ugly words???"
Gracie:  "No, I didn't."

Me:  "Are you sure?"
Gracie:  "No!  I didn't!  I did not say 'War Eagle!'"

Disclaimer:  To our friends and family who insist on following the Auburn Tigers, we have not taught our children that "War Eagle" constitutes profanity.

All things style-related

Confession time: I have now watched two episodes of Rachel Zoe.  During William George's feedings, I occasionally watch the news and have recently discovered on demand viewing.  So now I have watched Zoe, but I haven't formed a complete opinion yet. 

"My job is so crazy... and now with this pregnancy... when I have 100% memory loss, no energy and am sweating all the time?  It is so not chic." 

That Zoe is so insightful. 

Anyrate. Changing subjects, so I knew about this whole Missoni for Target collection, but the reality is that having a two month old who wants to be fed every three hours has a way of taking a minor priority like that and erasing it altogether.  I attempted to log on to Target last week, and the site was down.  Completely CRASHED.  I remember thinking, "Oh wow, I guess they have been hacked."  Silly me.  That was the day the Missoni line went on sale, and buyers crashed the site, stood in line at stores and generally caused a good deal of mayhem at all locations.  But again, I put it out of my mind entirely.  On some level I thought, "Great.  Now I don't even have to think about it again because they have been completely wiped out." 

So this past weekend we ran many, many errands in preparation for the girls' birthday and for some things Skip has needed.  (For those who know him well, you know he is notorious for not buying anything EVER, until he suddenly has a dire need for something that must be procured asap.)  So when found ourselves at Target, one of many stops, I went through the girl's section.  We were ready to leave when Skip insouciantly commented that a particular skirt would look good on them. 

"Oh yeahhhh, it's Missoni.  I thought they were completely sold out," I said. 

Turns out, they had a few rogue pieces here and there, but you really had to look for them -- in all areas and departments, because shoppers had abandoned or hidden clothing everywhere.  I guess it was a mob scene. 

Friends, I have seen the face of evil, and its name is Missoni.  I found two skirts, two pairs of leggings, two capes, two jackets and two dresses.  It seems like there may have been a couple of more (ok, maybe 4 or 5) things thrown in there for fun.*  What I can tell you is that purchasing Missoni in duplicate is a budget killer.  I refrained from purchasing a piece of Missoni luggage, only because Skip was giving me the "stink-eye" at that point.  While I kept telling him that the entire purchase was his responsibility, that I was prepared to leave until he pointed out the skirts, he was not buying it at all. 

The cashier told us that she had two large purchases on Missoni's opening day, one totaling $3,000 and another for $1,500.  Luckily, they do not have a boy's line so we were able to stay safely below those staggering totals. 

*Please don't judge; I purchase practically everything from consignment sales, and this constituted quite a birthday splurge.

On getting bigger...

For months, we have been dangling the five-year-old card over the girls' heads.  Every time we expected them to be "big girls," we followed up with "you're almost five years old."  Since turning five is looming heavily, they are banking on becoming big girls overnight.  Lauren has already asked if she will be as big as Lexy, their 16-year-old cousin.  When that obviously was not going to work out, she asked, "Will I be big like Riley?"  Riley, also a cousin, is 10.  We had to tell her that she would not exactly be as big as Riley, although she is getting bigger every day. 

And, of course, she has already begun saying that she will be six on her next birthday.  When we confirmed that she would not be as big as Lexy or Riley, she jumped to 20, saying she would, for sure, be big as soon as she is 20. 

As a side note, we are also making final decisions on Halloween costumes.  Lauren has settled on Cinderella, and Gracie is deciding between Sleeping Beauty or a reprise of her Barney costume from last year.  For a few days now, Lauren has been asking if her Cinderella would still fit. 

"Will it fit me?"

"How is it going to fit?"

And today, "Will it stretch to fit me?" 

Again, we explained that she will not awaken on her 5th birthday and suddenly be the 20 year old diva that she aspires to be, but something tells me she will still have a twinge of disappointment on October 3rd. 

Favorite Studies/Devotionals

Today, Kelly discusses Bible studies and devotionals.  Like she mentioned, we usually join whatever our church features, and those studies lately have been Max Lucado-heavy.  Fearless was particularly good.  We have also taken two parenting classes, and The Most Important Place on Earth and Revolutionary Parenting  were the books used for those classes.   Both provide wonderful insight for parents.  Finally, I have been using "Our Daily Bread" as a daily devotional for the past ten years.

Finally, we really like the God's Little Princess series for Lauren & Gracie, and we have three or four that we perpetually are reading through.  We have also used God and Me as a daily devotional for them. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I definitely am looking forward to reading through the list for new ideas. 

Fun Friday





Friday's quote

Unless each day can be looked back upon by an individual as one in which he has had some fun, some joy, some real satisfaction, that day is a loss.

-Dwight D Eisenhower

The update

In the absence of anything especially new to report, I'll simply update everyone's status.

1)  First, by way of update on Baby G, he is doing much better after his first major round of vaccinations.  We are proponents for vaccination, but wow, that is some toxic stuff!

2)  This look (above) says, "Never do that to me again."

3)  Lauren has requested to have her ears pierced.  I haven't even had a chance to mention this to Skip yet.  (Skip, Lauren wants her ears pierced.) 

4)  No one in our family likes having shots.  Gracie had to have some blood drawn at an appointment in June.  She cried a little, but was actually very brave.  Lauren, on the other hand, screamed and cried and was absolutely traumatized that Gracie had to provide four vials of blood for labs.  Lauren cried in the car all the way home.  The trauma was such that I had to prepare her for seeing my IV when we had Baby George in July.  They refer to all shots and IV's as "a little pinch," such as, "I don't like that pinch."  Or, "I don't want to get a pinch." 

So... I told her that having one's ears pierced feels like a pinch, and that has basically terminated the ear piercing conversation -- at least for now.

5)   Gracie has adopted some new verbiage.  Of the new lingo, my favorite is her use of the word "issues". 

As in, "I don't have any issues." 

Or, "My issue is that I want a snack."

Or, "My issue is that Lauren is not sharing." 

Or (to Lauren), "You don't worry about me. I don't have any issues!"

That, essentially, sums up our week so far.

Cleaning and napping

I had a thought today while having my teeth cleaned. Like at the salon, the hygienist should give the patient a really plush blanket. But perhaps that's the sleep deprivation talking.

Two month visit

Baby George had his two month evaluation yesterday.  He is now 23 inches long (50-75th), weighs 11.3 (50-75%) pounds and has a head circumference of 15 1/2 centimeters (75%).  This is a great report and indicates that his formula change has been a huge success, and he is continuing to thrive.  Unfortunately, he had to have vaccines so he has been understandably crabby yesterday and today. 

DFW: The View From the Midwest

This past weekend we caught a good bit of the 9|11 tribute coverage (one would have to live in a cave to miss it), and it brought back the day in full... so tragic and life/generation-altering for so many. 

On 09-11-01, I was living and working in a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area.  I heard the telephone ringing while showering.  When I picked up, my mom said, "I know this is illogical, but I had to call to make sure you're ok, that you aren't traveling." 

"I'm not, but why?" I asked. 

"Have you not seen the news?" 

It was 6:30am, Pacific Time (9:30 EST).  Although I usually listened to the news while getting ready, I had not tuned in as of yet.  I watched the first tower fall and then left for work.  Not going to work would have never occurred to me.  The thought of a passenger plane full of civilians being shot down made me nauseous.  The towers and the Pentagon crashes were in the past tense already.  The crash in Pennsylvania, once reported, felt like defeat.  Like everyone else, I read online reports all day.  I returned home for lunch for the sole purpose of watching more coverage.  That afternoon, I passed a Middle Eastern family on the sidewalk of my apartment complex.  They eyed each other and protectively glanced at their young child, trying to determine if I would be friendly or hostile.  I smiled and said, "Hello." They visibly relaxed and smiled back.  I watched hours upon hours of coverage that week.  Like we all did. 

Skip was living and working in Sarasota, Florida.  Having no time zone delay, he was apprised of the news immediately.  Adding to the surrealness of the day, he was working off site at a local hotel.  He lunched at The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, where President Bush had lodged the previous night.  As a history major, he tends to view events in a broader context... that a successful attack was inevitable... that it will happen again regardless of which party holds office and in spite of our very best efforts and all available measures and resources... that we are naive to think otherwise. 

My favorite author, David Foster Wallace, penned an article chronicling where he was on 09-11-01.  The article originally appeared in an October 2001 Rolling Stone.  Bear with the opening page wherein he discusses the pressure to display a flag.  Given that he was eventually reduced to tears over his inability to procure a flag, we can assume he loved his country. 

Introductions

George, meet Charlie; Charlie... George. 

Friday's quote

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.

-Scott Adams

Photo shoot -- 8 weeks

Baby George is growing by leaps and bounds. He appears to have had a 20% increase in size over the Labor Day weekend!

Inspired by the return of the Rachel Zoe show and the refreshing cool front (today's high temp was 58!), Baby George is wearing grey cords, a striped sweater and a winter white cap for Fall.  Not that we watch Zoe, but clips of her promoting the new season are on every site I visited yesterday.  At any rate, Lauren and Gracie certainly think he is stylish, as shown below:

Baby G has quite the fan club.  In fact, I overheard Gracie consoling George when he was crying last night during bedtime. She was saying, "I love you, George. I love you so much. I saw you at the hospital, and I loved you."

I think he loves her (and Lauren) right back.

Rain wear

We had a great Labor Day weekend, even with tropical depression rains occurring Sunday, all day Monday and still today. As part of our returning-to-school-on-Tuesday routine, we got out book bags, lunch boxes and even found our rain gear in preparation for facing the rain this morning.

The girls have outgrown the rain coats from last year so we have picked up a new one at a sale, and the second rain coat is being shipped as I am typing. Not surprisingly, the wearer of last year's rain coat was not happy last night and was very vocal about her dissatisfaction. We spent a good deal of time talking through how ordering clothing works, how we have to wait for delivery, etc. Above all, we talked about the importance of being grateful and patient.

After all of that discussion, we learned that school was closed. (In fact, our phones rang with automated messages at 5:30am. Not to worry; we were up. George is an early bird.) Therefore, we have not needed our rain gear today, and I am hopeful that the second rain coat is received prior to the next rain.

Game day

One of Skip's coworkers graciously hooked us up with a deal on some football tickets for the upcoming season. This past weekend we had four tickets so we took the opportunity to take the girls to their very first Alabama game.

In the above pic, we are en route to the game via the "Crimson Ride".

Once we arrived at the stadium, Gracie was a little anxious about the noise.  However, after we were in our seats they were very excited about seeing "Roll Tide" play.  They kept saying, "We have Roll Tide at home!"  I think they were fascinated about seeing it in person rather than on the television. 

We were very concerned about the heat (96 degrees) and sun exposure and the girls' ability to sit through the entire game under those conditions.  Accordingly, we arrived at the end of the first quarter, enjoyed the second quarter, and watched the band.  Due to cloud coverage and a strong breeze, we were able to stay until halfway through the fourth quarter. 

At the end of the day, Gracie concluded that the band was her favorite part, and she would prefer to see the game at home.  Many people would agree with her.  Lauren preferred seeing the action first hand and asked when she could go again.