the dahlbys

A new location . . .

2010-06-03T00:23:00.001-04:00

http://houseinthehampton.blogspot.com/

Trying it out. I just miss blogging so much . . . I need to find a way to make it work for me.

Maybe this is it.

In a Word

2010-05-19T20:28:00.000-04:00

DISNEY

There is just no place on earth like Disney World. As we settle back into our normal life after a second absolutely wonderful trip to Disney World, I cannot help but think that over and over. There is just no place like Disney World.

We had a great time. Beautiful, spring-like central Florida weather (about mid-80s), not one single drop of rain. Fantastic resort that we will now go to each and every future visit to the House of Mouse. Totally manageable crowd size. And two lovely little girls that ate up every single ounce of what Disney World had to offer them. And two parents (and a few grandparents) along to soak it all in.

Look at this here -- Kate is not even on the ground, she's so excited to meet Mickey!

I've posted a TON of pictures on our photo web site -- http://picasaweb.google.com/megdahlby

and I've narrated them with captions so that you can read along and follow our trip from beginning to end. It's easier than posting a long blog here . . . and it's more fun with the pictures. Enjoy. (It's, like, 400 pictures -- so only enjoy as much as you can tolerate before you've had enough of Dahlby Disney!)

Jim mentioned that his company is already considering having their next conference in Orlando . . . so that means I can look forward to our next trip in Oct 2011. I'll be there, 100%. I already cannot wait to go back to Disney World.

Disney World 2010

Disconnected

2010-05-03T10:55:00.007-04:00

I feel too connected to the world . . . and it's starting to bug me.

This blog has been a great outlet for me. But I'm reminded time and time again that anything you read here can be construed and changed and misinterpreted. I hate that. I like the blog, I love writing it . . . but I don't like some of the ramifications that it is causing. I've learned that there is such a thing as TOO connected. Too bad.

So I'm going to an 'invite only' blog. I felt I should let you know . . . shouldn't just disappear without a goodbye.

If you know how to contact me about being 'invited' to continue reading . . . please feel free. For the rest of you, thanks for your support the last few years. The good, the bad, the ugly . . . I've felt you all out there enjoying my stories. Goodbye . . . and thanks.

Can we talk about Kate?

2010-05-01T10:37:00.001-04:00

I mean, really. I don't talk about her enough on the blog, do I?

So let's talk about her.

Kate, at 21 months, is the messiest little booger I could ever have imagined. The kid is just so messy . . . at meal times, when she plays . . . she just leaves a path behind her wherever she's been. Now I know the kind of kid that inspired Charles Schultz to create the character 'Pigpen'.

She talks more than any kid I could imagine. She started young, and she has not stopped. And the thing is . . . it's very clear speech. Most others around us can easily understand what Kate says when something is on her mind. She started to really use words earlier waaaay earlier than Meg did. Before 18 months, you could ask her a question and trust her answers were correct. She wasn't just repeating speech or identifying objects . . . she was giving opinions and making decisions using her language skills. She amazes me daily with the things she says. And now that she has started to put several words together . . . well, watch out. Between Meg (my chatterbox) and Kate, I may not get a word in edgewise for the next 18-20 years.

She is prettier than any child I could imagine. Oh, my pretty little Kate. That button nose and those sweet curls. Blue eyes and rosy lips. I know she's mine, but I do think she is one of the prettiest little kids I've ever seen. I hate to see her growing up and losing some of her baby-ness . . . what a darling little baby she has been. So tiny and precious, my little Kate.

Kate is one of the smartest little toddlers I could imagine. I've already mentioned her ability to use language -- but it's more than that. She's helpful around our house, looking up to a big sister who also does her fair share of helping out. Kate figures things out pretty easily -- things like how to distract Meg from a toy SHE really wants to play with, or how to open a box full of something I don't want her to spill all over the place. She is starting to count, she's got most of her colors and shapes down, and she is starting to figure out the potty thing more and more. She's also smart enough to outsmart ME. Like the potty thing -- I'm pretty sure she could do it, but she's figured out that she is in total control of the situation. So, when SHE is ready, we will work on getting her toilet trained. Her smart mommy has learned that Kate has a mind of her own, and she will let me know when the time is right.

Without a doubt, Kate is more spirited that I could have ever imagined. She's quite stubborn at times. She dances and sings with the best of them ('If You're Happy and You Know It' being my favorite these days). She's got a smile that will melt your heart, and she knows how to use it. She has started having small melt-down like tantrums at times, showing off that spirit she's got inside. She spunky, that is for sure. Kate is my little ball of fire.

She is more opinionated that I could have imagined a nearly-two-yr-old could be. Since she learned how to use the word "No" at about 15 months, Kate has begun to stamp her approval/disapproval on things going on at our house with a vengeance. She has tons of opinions . . . especially for someone her age. I think some of that comes from having a big sister. She watched Meg make choices all day long . . . which plate at meal times, which shoes as we get ready to go somewhere, what program we are going to enjoy at TV time . . . and now that she realizes how cool it is to get to choose things, Kate always has something to say about what is going on at our house. Please -- I welcome your pity. I have to wrestle daily -- no hourly -- with the opinions of a one year old and a three year old. I didn't know I'd encounter this part of parenting so soon!

Even with all her spunk, Kate is about the most easy going kid I could imagine. Again -- it's a trait that has been with her since birth. At 7 weeks, she was sleeping 7-8 hrs at night, and I called the pediatrician to see if that was even acceptable at such a young age. She nursed really fast, she took naps with ease . . . Kate was such a cinch as a baby. People said, "Oh, just wait! She will come in to her own sooner or later!" and I guess she has. But -- I kid you not -- she is still as easy as pie. (What does that mean, anyway? 'Pie' is easy?) As a matter of fact, I take for granted how easy Kate is to get along with. When she is tired or whiney, I find my fuse a little short with her. Silly, I know -- to not let her get away with having a bad day. But Kate is not my grumpy kid -- so when she is, I know something must be wrong.

Kate is also very snuggly, which I didn't imagine was possible for a kid at her age. Toddlers usually won't sit still for long -- and Kate is certainly a non-stop toddler -- but when she is ready to settle in, she's only happy when sitting in my lap. Which I adore. The quote around here is, "Mommy. Couch." (pronounced Chow-ch) It means, "Mommy, please stop what you are doing and come sit with me on the couch." When I am able to oblige, I sit on the couch and Kate crawls right up under my right arm. She'll scooch her butt until she is comfy, then she puts her fingers in her mouth and brings her lovey to her face, right under her nose. Pure sweetness. I've been known to doze through an entire episode of Dora with Kate cradled in her spot, her tiny little body keeping me warm and safe and snug. I love my snuggly little girl.

Kate is more athletic than I could have imagined for a kid that came out of me. Let's face it . . . an athlete I am not. And I never would have guessed I'd have a kid that would be. But Kate . . . she walked early, loves to throw a ball around, and can climb just about anything faster than you can stop her. I decided to enroll us in the tot gymnastics class we now attend on Tuesdays in an effort to get her to use and fine tune those abundance of gross motor skills she seems to have. And from day one, the teacher has commented on her 'natural ability' in the gym. She hangs from the bars, she bends in half, she log rolls . . . Kate is certainly my athletic child.

All in all, I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to have a daughter like Kate. (And Meg too, of course -- but this blog is about little sister.) And now that she has been in our lives for nearly 2 years, I can't imagine things without her. I might not talk about her always, but she is always here and loved and adored by all.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-04-30T10:25:00.002-04:00

You knew it was coming . . . .

Megan Elizabeth, February 2009 (age 2.5), Disney World

Kate Allison, February 2009 (age 0.5), Disney World

Oh yeah, BABY. Disney World 2010 is just EIGHT days away! How could I resist sharing some favs from our wonderful trip in 2009?

And Then She Was Married

2010-04-26T23:03:00.007-04:00

The wedding went off without a hitch. And yes, it rained. It rained and it rained and it rained, all day long.

But Julie was the coolest bride, and she didn't let the rain ruin her day.

And my girls were the most precious flower girls ever to be seen. Really, they were THAT cute.

And Jim and I didn't look too shabby ourselves :)

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Congratulations to Aunt JuJu and -- now officially -- Uncle Greg. Have a fantastic honeymoon in the Phi Phi Islands!

Wedding Week

2010-04-20T13:17:00.003-04:00

Only have a minute to write . . . it's officially 'Wedding Week' at our house, and things are crazy. I mean that 100% -- it is pretty nuts around here. People coming and going, errands here and there, remember this and never mind about that . . . if you've been through a wedding, you know how it goes.

For me, it's the one and only time that I'll ever experience the wedding of a sibling. Or as close as I'll ever get, anyway, being the only child that I am. It's a very unique experience -- sitting back and watching your little sister (in law) standing in the spotlight on her day of all days. And helping her as much as you can all along the way . . . wishing you could do more, hoping that the same pitfalls you encountered don't upset her day. I might have complained about things during the planning, but now that it's here . . . well, all of those minor issues have been forgotten. I can't wait to see Julie all dressed up in her gown, ready to go. It's going to make me cry! Shoot -- I finished up the rehearsal dinner picture slide show last weekend, and I was already crying just from the photos . . . I can't imagine how I'll be on Saturday evening.

The girls -- Meg and Kate -- are hanging in there. And by that I mean they are having a blast and loving the commotion -- but they are just teetering on the edge of exhaustion. And ti's only TUESDAY. Bedtimes have gone by the wayside, so I am doing all I can to make sure the girls get sleep whenever they can this week. Cross your fingers that these girls of mine will hang in there a few more days and keep their cool as we move from the planning part of the week into the actual festivities. It all begins here at our house Thursday night!

I've done lots of ironing, packing, organizing, ordering, re-ordering, shopping, returning, observing, and preparing over the last few days. And I'm just a bridesmaid, SIL of the bride. Jim's mom and Julie have been going nonstop for about 4 days, and I know they are reaching their 'breaking point', if you will. Not that they are on the verge of losing it or anything -- but I'm sure after 4 days of all the little details, they are ready to start saying, "I don't care" or "Whatever YOU think" a whole lot more. I know that's how I felt as my day drew close . . . I cared less and less about the little things and was just so excited to BE at the wedding. Julie has got to be getting to that stage, I'm sure.

Anyway, wedding week is upon us, so I must pull myself away from the computer here and get to finishing the decorations on Meg's flower girl basket. I made the executive decision that Meg would be the only flower girl to actually carry a basket in the ceremony -- one of those tiny details Julie probably could care less about. By not giving Kate her own basket, I am eliminating one more thing I would have to keep up with all afternoon on Saturday. I love that Kate is a flower girl in this wedding, but the little dear is only 22 months old . . . so I know her sweet basket would be left here and there, and I'd be saying, "Where is Kate's basket???" from the time she was dressed until we all settle in at the reception. Kate can go basket-less . . . and how cute it will be to see her reaching her chubby little hand into her big sister's basket to pull out some petals. So cute.

Happy Wedding Week to me and to all the family out there reading this as they throw their gear in a bag and get ready to head this way for the big event.

And keep your fingers crossed for Julie and her lovely, garden, outdoor wedding . . . the forecast for Saturday is rain.

Checking In

2010-04-14T14:45:00.016-04:00

So, I used to complain all the time about how hard having two children is. How it blindsided me. How I was not at all prepared for the enormous change our family would endure with the birth of a second baby. How I was not sure I could make it.

Now here we are . . . approaching birthdays, so Jim and I will soon be parents of a 2 year old and a 4 year old. And you know what? There are so many aspects of life that are a whole lot easier these days. A whole lot easier.

Bath time, for example. That has sort of been my barometer for how things are going . . . how easy/not easy the process is for bathing my 2 girls. You've heard me talk about this before. In the fall of 2008, it was a treacherous chore that I would dread as I was making dinner each night . . . knowing that bath time followed dinner always stressed me out. But now . . . Meg is starting to bathe herself, and she can certainly dry herself off and put on her own PJs. Kate loves the bath, and she rarely gives me any trouble at bath time (minus the occasional poop in the tub, which has happened more times recently that I'd like to recall). Baths are something that I no longer fear. It's actually a bit of a break for me to stick them in the tub and watch them play.

Meals are easier . . . another threshold I've held for how "hard" life is. Kate is still my ever-messy kiddo, but she is a utensil-using savant and manages to eat pretty much everything without assistance. Meg has never been a problem at the table . . . though these days she is becoming quite picky about what she will put in her mouth. Still, they are both a LOT easier to manage when eating a meal. I might actually gain some weight back now that I find myself having a few minutes to feed myself at mealtimes.

Outings are easier. The size of the bag I must carry around is getting smaller and smaller with each passing season . . . dare I say, I'm almost back to carrying a normal sized purse on outings with the girls. Both girls are walking, both are pretty good about sticking with me when we go places (Kate, the baby she still is, is a little less cooperative at times than her big sister, but that is to be expected). Meg can buckle herself in her booster seat -- which, for those of you out there who have kids and not yet reached this milestone -- brace yourself. It is a liberating experience the first time your child belts out, "I buckled myself!" and you realize that you will now have to take fewer trips around the outside of your car each time you load up.

Each day, both of my girls are becoming more and more independent. I find myself thinking, "Wow, look what she can do now . . . that's one less thing I have to do for her!" Meg puts her coat and shoes away properly when we return home from an outing. Kate can put her dirty clothes in the hamper, and she can grab a diaper for me if she needs to be changed. Meg has discovered how fun it is to get a glass of water for herself from our refrigerator door, so I have plenty of cups within her reach if ever she needs to quench her thirst. Kate has become more and more of a big helper when we are cleaning up toys and books -- which I value and try to instill in both of my girls as an important responsibility. The independence does not make me sad . . . I don't long for them to stay babies (well, at least not all the time). I loved my babies, and I love them now as they grow into helpful, intelligent, and resourceful little girls.

The activities we can take part in our changing . . . and they are really becoming quite fun. We can work on little art projects together. Meg and I can play "Go Fish"together. Kate is learning how much fun reading and stories are, and she loves to play golf with her sister and her daddy in the back yard. We are the right age for dance class and summer camps -- which is a great escape for Meg and a nice break for me. Kate is knocking on the door of some of these activities -- but for now, we just take advantage of Meg's involvement and have a little Mommy-Kate time.

With life chugging along and getting easier each day, does this mean we are looking toward that ever-fleeting 3rd Dahlby child? As Lee Corso would say . . . not so fast my friend. Many things are easier, but on the same account, I would never say things are EASY. I have TWO young kids, for Pete's sake.

Kate sometimes fights me to get OUT of the bath tub, which can make an easy bath time go south in a hurry. Meg has learned that pretty much everything in any store is for sale, so she has taken to asking "Can you buy me this -- please?" WAY more often than I'd like when we are out shopping. The girls have learned to fight with one another . . . and that, from what I can tell, is just beginning at the age we are now. I hear it gets worse . . . I'll take everyone's word for it, and I'll try to be prepared for the constant bickering that two sisters can bring to a household.

As a matter of fact, when bad behavior like that creeps in, the children seem to feed off of each other . . . meaning if one kid is acting up, the other often chimes in in an effort to get my attention off of the bad kid and back on to her. If Kate runs away from me while out and about, Meg chases her . . . then I'm chasing two kids around my neighborhood library or grocery store. If Meg becomes whiny and wants my attention for some reason, Kate can be found dangling on my legs, trying with all of her might to have more attention focused on her. Noting like having your kids gang up on you, which is the territory I'm not entering.

Parenting these girls has also become a task that is never, ever going to be simple. I'm not talking about taking care of the girls -- that is what is getting easier. I've gotten very good at meeting needs, tending house, and keeping these children alive. But really being parents . . . that job will forever be the hardest job I'll ever have. Teaching them right from wrong, teaching them patience, teaching them respect . . . those kinds of lessons are always hard fought. While I may begin thinking that managing two kids isn't so bad . . . I will never think being a parent is a simple job.

My head is finally above water . . . at least, that's how I feel. I feel like after two years of being a mother of two, I finally am starting to figure things out. It's a good feeling to have my feet under me once again. Like I said -- it's easier around the Dahlby house, but not easy.

Just thought I'd check in and let you know.

How We Spent our Spring Break

2010-04-11T19:43:00.008-04:00

How we spent our Spring Break 2010

by the Dahlby Girls

A family park day at Piedmont Park to kick off the weekend . . .

Easter . . . and all the fun, candy, and eggs it brings . . .

A trip to visit Grandaddy for a few days . . .

And to top it all off . . . the G Day Football game in Athens . . .

The Last Hooo-rah

2010-03-30T21:52:00.002-04:00

Julie's Bachelorette Party was last weekend . . . and yes, THIS old lady was in attendance. I say that jokingly (kinda) . . . I was about 5 yrs older than the other guests, and I was the only one married and the only one with kids. I certainly felt old in the crowd I was in.

Hey -- I might be old, but I still will take ANY chance I get to go to the beach and lay out for a day or two.

It was a fun weekend . . . sun and a few drinks will make anyone feel great and gets EVERYONE excited about the upcoming wedding. It was what you would expect from a bachelorette party event . . . lots of drinking, giggling, and talking about 'old times'. I know Julie had a BLAST. She totally deserves it.

And the girls on the trip were great . . . the didn't make me feel old at all. I enjoyed listening to them all tell stories about guys they are dating or 'single girl' events they attended. I liked remembering my own days as a single girly as I listened to their tales of life in the city. I kept saying, "Believe it or not, I did have a very different life before I had kids!" Ahhhh . . . those days seem long past. But it was great to remember them for a weekend.

OH -- yes, those are airbrushed shirts we had made for our affair. Saturday night, we donned our shirts and out we went. We were in Panama City Beach, after all. Who goes to PCB and doesn't get airbrushed?!

Hooray for Julie's last hoo-rah. Only about 3 more weekends until her big day.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-03-26T07:13:00.000-04:00

Baby Teagan, March 20, 2010, Acworth, GA

Little Miss Teagan, who I was privileged to photograph at only 8 days of age. The picture above made me laugh out loud when I came across it in editing. Poor thing.

Really, she was not a tough baby . . . she didn't want to sleep, but we made it work, just the same. It's shoots like these that make me realize that each baby is so very, very different. It's a treat each and every time I get to work with these precious newbies.

Dear Ms Thelma

2010-03-25T15:18:00.000-04:00

Hello Ms Thelma –

I’d like to bring Kate in to preschool on Tuesday morning to have a few pictures taken with Meg. If that’s not a problem, please let me know what time the pictures are being taken for your class, and we will be sure to be there.

(It works out well because Kate will be at the school on Tuesday for her Easter party!)

And I can’t resist the opportunity to tell you how much Meg loves your class. I hear all about your activities on our daily rides home, and I’m always so excited to learn of the things you guys are doing. The latest thing was the ‘nature walk’ – now Meg is always looking for signs of spring when we are outside! You have created a wonderful learning environment for our children.

Thanks so much –

Heather Dahlby

Her Response . . .

I'm pretty sure that our time is 11:15 on Tuesday but sometimes we get a little behind the schedule.

I'm so pleased that Meg gets so much joy from our class. I always hope that the learning opportunities we have spark the children's interest and sense of wonder about their world and their abilities. I really do feel blessed to get to share in a part of their lives. Give the girls a hug for Ms. Thelma ;-)

I {heart} our preschool. How lucky we are to have found a place that fits our family so well!

Disney is on the Horizon

2010-03-23T22:19:00.004-04:00

If you ask Meg about our upcoming adventures, she will tell you with certainty that FIRST comes Aunt JuJu's wedding (April 24th) and NEXT comes Disney World (early May). She would likely then go on and on about Disney . . . which characters she wants to meet and when, and what rides she wants to enjoy in some particular order.

You see, in the mind of a 3 year old, being a flower girl in your Aunt's wedding is very cool. But following it up with a trip to Disney is even cooler.

Her mother has a similar sentiment, as sad as that might sound. I've already gotten my books out for the Disney trip. I've reprinted parade schedules, and I've made all of our dining reservations. And yes, sadly . . . I've started to think about what Disney gear we are all going to be wearing on the trip.

My dad thinks I'm crazy with all my questions and discussions about a trip that is still about 7 weeks away. He is coming along for part of this trip -- and the Dahlbys are coming for part, too -- and I don't know if either of them get how much planning goes into a Disney World vacation. You cannot just 'wing it' -- I mean, you can, but then you could miss out on some of the coolest stuff that the House of Mouse has to offer. I can't wing it. We are t-minus 50-ish days to go, and I'm already deciding which parks we will visits on which days of the trip.

Disney is on the horizon, my friends. And if it is half as wonderful as our trip in 2009, I'll be delirious.

The First of Many

2010-03-22T16:08:00.006-04:00

This morning, all I wanted was 10 minutes to fold a load of laundry and get myself dressed . . . but Meg and Kate were in rare form. Ten minutes was just too much to ask.

Kate succeeded in pulling the googly eyes off of some decorative bunnies that Meg and I had made to add to our kitchen Easter decor. After only moments left unattended, I found Kate and the eye-less bunnies on the kitchen table . . . and Kate looked up at me and said, "M&Ms".

Gasp. Yes, I think she ate some googly eyes . . . at least one. There are a couple unaccounted for after I searched a nearby Easter basket and recovered a few. Oh well. I guess we will see if they reappear sometime in the next day or so. (In one way or another.)

Anyway . . . by 9:30am, I really needed to get my act together. I started out by trying to get the girls interested in something in our living room area -- with the hopes that I could leave them for a short time and take care of my 'to dos'. But after setting up an activity and trying for a few minutes, it was clear that Kate wanted Meg's markers . . . Meg was not willing to share . . . it was totally not going to work.

On second thought, I'll just take Kate upstairs with me . . . I thought to myself.

I left Meg to her markers, and Kate and I climbed the stairs. I started to unload the dryer.

Within a minute, Meg was at the top of the stairs, too. Kate was by then interested in some really old, mostly deflated balloon . . . which, naturally, Meg had to snatch from her and throw down the staircase.

I snapped at Meg when I heard Kate crying, "Downstairs!" . . . and when I really realized what big sister had done, immediately I sent her to time out.

With Meg in timeout and Kate back to her balloon (which meant another trip down and up the stairs), I once again attempted to get my laundry under control. A feeble attempt. Kate was all up in Meg's face as Meg sat in time out . . . and Meg was screaming something about, "Mommy! Kate won't leave me alone!"

I snapped again. This time at both of them. Then I had a thought.

Duh, braniac. Just separate them.

I released Meg from time out and told her firmly to return to the living room and find something -- anything -- to keep herself busy. I swept Kate up and plopped her down on my bed, with Curious George on the TV to keep her entertained.

And finally, about 10 minutes after my original attempt, I was able to fold my clothing and put on a clean outfit for my day.

Why is this so significant to me? It was the first time I've ever had to consciously separate the girls. They are old enough now to really get at each other -- drive each other nuts, honestly -- they are starting to really act like sisters. Looks like I have entered some new territory in parenting . . . a territory that is a little scary for me, as an only child.

And it worked. Separating them, I mean. The first time, and it worked. Looks like I've found a tactic that I might use more often.

So, today was the first time I separated the girls . . . the first of many, I think. Welcome to sibling rivalry, Mrs. Dahlby.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-03-19T09:41:00.005-04:00

Our Girls, March 2009, Marietta, GA

One of my favorite pictures of our girls -- of all time. Something about the sweetness of it, the simplicity, the innocence. I love how Meg is hugging Kate so gently from behind. I love how you can see the bath water on their little eyelashes. Just two sweet sisters, sharing some tub time. Lovely.

Meg looks like such a little mommy in this photo, hovering over Kate the way she is. It's pretty indicative of her current attitude toward little sister. Meg is Kate's 2nd Mommy, no doubt. I hear her talking to Kate -- saying exactly the same things I say to HER, Meg -- and it makes me laugh.

Just this morning, I caught Meg saying to Kate -- in a sweet, tender voice, nonetheless --

"Kate, if I have to ask you to put your shoes on one more time, you are going to time out."

While trying to stifle a laugh, I had to remind Meg that she is not the one to say those things to Kate. Mommy is the one who decides on timeouts, though I do appreciate her being helpful in trying to get Kate ready for preschool.

I've heard Meg tell Kate things like, "Here, let me help you. Your mommy will help you with that." and "Mommy is making dinner, so I can be your mommy while she is busy." Meg is VERY into role-playing, imaginative games . . . and inevitably the girls play house. You can easily guess who is "mom" and who is "baby". Earlier this week, I found Meg cradling Kate in her lap on one of our kid-size chairs, singing "Hush Little Baby" to her little sister and trying to convince her to close her eyes. If Kate had let her, Meg would have rocked her all the way to sleep. It was so cute.

Meg, the little mommy. Funny thing is, I was the SAME way when I was a little girl. I always wanted to play mommy. I always wanted to BE a mommy. Baby dolls, doll clothes, tiny strollers -- I loved it all. I never had a little sister, though, to share in the fun. Lucky Meg.

Lucky Kate to have such a loving big sister.

Lucky me. I have two little girls . . . and clearly one is already following in my footsteps.

Still Shooting . . .

2010-03-18T14:53:00.004-04:00

I'm still managing to work a little bit here and there . . . still shooting a bit on the weekends, every now and then.

Last weekend, I worked with a family that has been faithful to HD Portraits throughout their son's first year. Many families are like that . . . I do the 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 2 yr portraits . . . and then another baby comes along, and I do all those pictures, too. With loyalty like that, it's easy to keep my client base small and my business busy enough for me.

A few shots of little Shaw, who just heard "Happy Birthday" sung to him for the very first time last week.

Bunco

2010-03-16T22:14:00.007-04:00

I feel like I've arrived. The ladies in my neighborhood have been inviting me to Bunco for 3 months now, and it seems that I've become quite a 'regular' to a very established group. I'm in. I feel like a teenager saying that, and I am giddy like a teenager that I can say it.

You see, our neighborhood is pretty 'clique-y'. I think many neighborhoods are . . . especially ones like mine, that are about 10 years old and many of the families have lived here nearly all of those 10 years. They've watched each other have kids and send them off to elementary school. Their kids share teachers and soccer coaches. They've all been friends a long, long time. Being the newcomer to this area, I totally have felt like the new kid in school. I've had to break in, to reach out, and to really make an effort to meet my neighbors.

Don't get me wrong -- everyone is super friendly. They just all know each other . . . so it's kinda tough for the newbies. We've been in our house 3 years at the end of the summer, and I finally feel like I'm a part of the group.

It's a good feeling, being accepted. I'm 32 years old, and that first invitation to Bunco made me feel exactly the same way that I felt when I was a 13-yr old new kid at school and Katie Ferguson (a popular girl in my 8th grade class) called me up to invite me for a sleep over. When I got that phone call years ago, I remember vividly flying from our kitchen to our family room, (corded) phone in hand, to ask my dad for permission. I said something like, "Dad! You HAVE to let me go to Katie's house -- she's so cool and everyone likes her! You have to let me go!" He agreed, and I returned to the phone and heard the sound of laughter. Katie had heard the whole exchange, and she thought I was so funny.

Anyway, when I got the Bunco invite, I called Jim. "I'm in," I said. "They invited me to Bunco." Same sentiment, 19 years later.

Bunco itself is a fun game, but I'm really enjoying getting to know more people that share my streets. I like hearing about what I can expect on the school bus rides, which community activities I should look out for, and what its like to live in a house with older children. I'm younger than many of the ladies by about 5 years, so they like to clue me in on what parenting challenges they are facing -- or they remind me of how easy thing can be when kids are so young. Some of the ladies work, some of them don't. I hear about juggling schedules, I laugh at the funny stories everyone tells about their goofy kids. It's nice to be in a room full of intelligent women, wives, moms . . . makes me feel normal.

The Bunco group has opened our doors to other neighborhood activities, such as the St Patty's Party we were invited to (and attended) last weekend. Jim's getting to know some guys, and now he has a standing invitation to join them on Friday nights at the restaurant bar across the street from our neighborhood. I got invited to the Oscar Party . . . Meg and Kate are making friends with more and more kids at the neighborhood park . . . it's going well for the Dahlbys.

And hey -- we are nice people. These neighbors are lucky to have us!

Anway, I just can't get over how much I enjoy feeling like we are a part of the group here in the 'Hampton. It sounds silly, but it's true. I might be all grown up outside, but inside I'm still that 13 yr old girl, giddy as hell that I've been invited for a sleep over.

Meg's Questions

2010-03-15T16:21:00.000-04:00

Recently, my little three-yr-old has become quite inquisitive. Honestly, she's always been inquisitive . . . her questions and requests can sometimes be overwhelming. But recently, the questions have gotten so . . . well, good.

For example . . .

"Mommy, how does the water get to our sink?"

"Where do the garbage men take our trash when they drive away in their truck?"

"Where is California?"

"What makes the clouds move through the sky?"

And . . .

After discussing the fact that on our upcoming DisneyWorld vacation we will be driving -- not flying in an airplane -- to Orlando, Meg responded with, "Oh! Really? We are driving there this time?"

(thoughtful pause)

"Mommy -- did they move Disney World?"

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-03-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

Kate Allison, February 27, 2010, Flowery Branch, GA

Just because it made me laugh out loud when I saw it.

Taken while eating cake at Aunt JuJu & Uncle Greg's recent wedding shower.

What can I say? The kid loves cake.

Let's Eat

2010-03-10T14:23:00.003-05:00

This is probably not a big deal to anyone but me . . . but I'm happy to announce that we got new dining room furniture at Casa de Dahlby.

I've been wanting a new table in our dining room since the day we moved here nearly 3 years ago. Really, I've wanted a really awesome dining set as long as we've been married . . . but we had a functional/appropriate/pretty nice dining table that Jim had purchased as a bachelor, so we had not seen fit to spend the money on a new set. I wanted a NICE set . . . somewhere to put my mom's china, 8 chairs so we have plenty of seating, and a warm colored stain to match the decor in the rest of our house.

It was a want, not a need. So, I've waited. I had to wait until the timing was right and we could justify the money spent on something that we actually did not need . . . but that I wanted terribly.

Two years ago, Jim (our family money man) gave me the green light on new dining room furniture, and off we went in search of the perfect set. We searched and searched, and we figured out what we did/did not like in dining rooms. Then some family things happened, and the money set aside for the table had to used for something else. Bummer.

Another year went by, and we started our search again . . . this time, we knew more about what we wanted, but we still had a hard time finding 'THE" set for our family. Then my mom suddenly died, and our dining room money again was used for other, family emergency-type things. Double Bummer.

Now here we are, nearly another year later, and Jim once again thought we had the funding for my long-desired new furniture. This furniture was not un-Godly expensive -- I act like we had to save and save for it -- but it was an fairly large expense that had to come after everything else financial was reasonably taken care of because we DID have a functioning table and a small cabinet in our dining room (though not coordinating OR pleasing to the eye). Jim and I try so hard to be smart with money . . . the dining room was not at the top of our list, and there is only so much money to be spent . . . but finally, finally the time had come where we could snag ourselves a new table.

And here it is . . .

BEFORE --

AFTER --

The picture does not do it justice. It's dark-ish wood (they say 'cherry', but I don't think it's exactly cherry), farmhouse style table, ladder back chairs, upholstered seats (I will take the plastic off eventually), and a lovely cabinet to go with it.

We love it.

Like I said . . . probably not a big deal to others, but I cannot WAIT to host myself a dinner party in my new dining room. Now I need curtains and linens to go with it . . . oh, and a new light fixture for SURE . . . but all in time. For now, I'm just happy the furniture is here and making itself home in my home.

Hooray! New Dining Room Furniture!

Tuesday

2010-03-09T21:18:00.003-05:00

6:30 am -- wake and shower. make coffee.
7:15 am -- girls wake. dress, make their breakfast, feed breakfast, clean up breakfast, load the car for school.
8:45am -- leave for school.
9:05 am -- leave carpool at Meg's preschool and head directly to Tot Gymnastics with Kate.
9:30am -- play with Kate -- and only Kate! -- at Tot Gymnastics. leave smiling.
10:15 am -- leave tot gymnastics and run one quick errand. (ie -- stop at Publix.)
11:30 am -- return home to unload shopping and quickly regroup.
12:00 pm -- pick up Meg.
12:15 pm -- arrive home. make lunch, feed lunch, clean up lunch.
1:00 pm -- Kate down for a nap. Meg either (a) naps too (b) convinces me to let her skip a nap -- and I oblige if she seems like she can handle it OR (c) we have a friend over for an hour or two after lunch. Mom recharges with about 30 minutes of down time at this point in the day.
3:00 pm -- everyone is up, friends are gone, naps are complete. regroup. snack.
3:15 pm -- dress for Meg's dance class.
3:30 pm -- load up and head to dance.
4:30 pm -- leave dance class after having enjoyed 45 minutes of adult conversation with the other dance moms.
5:00 pm -- regroup and keep Meg from having any pre dinner snacks. make dinner. check email. return phone calls. go through the mail.
6:00pm -- eat dinner, clean up dinner. clean up the living room (with the help of my big girl Meg). load everyone up and go upstairs for the bedtime routine.
6:15 pm -- bath. jammies.
6:45 pm -- a little pre-bed playtime upstairs while mommy puts away laundry, changes sheets, works on getting some kind of stain out of some piece of clothing, or tidy's up the day's mess.
7:00 pm -- stories. rocking. goodnight, Kate.
7:25 pm -- more stories. chatting. goodnight Meg.
8:00 pm -- mom returns downstairs and writes a blog about how exhausting her day was.

Whew. Goodnight Mommy.

And the Winner Is . . .

2010-03-09T17:24:00.004-05:00

I know you have been waiting to see how I dressed for the Oscar Party on Sunday . . . and here it is.

Julia Child :)

Technically, I'm Meryl Streep AS Julia Child from "Julie & Julia" -- a 2010 Oscar nominee. I was so proud of myself. Below is the photo I used to model my outfit . . . white on white on white, and all I purchased was the $6 white apron to make my outfit complete.

When I showed up for the party, I was all excited about my creativity. Jim boosted my confidence by saying I'd have one of the best costumes there.

Well, it might have been a good idea . . . but I'm sad to report that I was NOT very original. Behold me -- and the two OTHER Julia's at the event:

That's OK. It wasn't original, but it worked. And I had a great time at the party -- so that's all that matters, anyway :)

In other news: we bought a new car and had new dining room furniture delivered -- all in the past 5 days. I'll post more about those tomorrow or later in the week . . . Tuesday is my busiest day each week, and I'm pooped right now. I must go muster up the strength to feed my girls, bathe them, and get them in bed.

Thanks for the help with the costume!

It will have to wait

2010-03-08T20:49:00.003-05:00

I have several stories I would like to post about today . . . but they will all be much better told with pictures. Unfortunately, I left my camera at that fabulous Oscar's Party I attended last night, so I can't download any pics from the weekend. And -- trust me -- there are a lot of good pictures to share!

Really, I can't tell you about what's been going on without pictures.

So, I guess it will have to wait.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-03-05T01:05:00.001-05:00

Kate Allison, Marietta GA, February 4, 2010

What's that saying? When the cat's away, the mice will play . . .

This is what I let Kate get into one morning while Meg was away at preschool . . . the precious, carefully guarded Pez candy collection. Once Kate zipped open the bag, there was no stopping her. She tore through each and every dispenser until she found just a morsel or two of left-over, forgotten Pez candies. And then she gobbled them up quickly, lest her big sister appear from nowhere and snatch it from her.

Hey, what Meg does not know does not hurt her, right? That's what Kate would say, I'm sure.

Gotta love the little sister.

More Random Compliments in Publix

2010-03-04T13:38:00.004-05:00

Today, Kate and I visited a Publix grocery located in an area of town that we don't often frequent. I'd been to this Publix many times before, being as it is located near our old house -- but these days, we rarely make it over that way. Our morning errands had us in the area, so I stopped in to my old Publix for a quick run through.

I remember well this elderly woman that was always working a cash register from the days when we used to visit this store . . . and when we entered today, there she was, scanning away with her lovely, sweet smile. I made a mental note as we entered that I would be sure to check-out in her lane when our shopping was complete.

Suna is the woman's name. She is originally from somewhere in Europe -- her accent is, I don't know, German/Swedish/Scandinavian. Probably about 65 years old, tiny build, blonde hair and BRIGHT pink lipstick. I remember Suna because she was always so complimentary of Meg . . . how cute is was, how smiley she was. Whenever I took my Baby Meg to Publix, Suna always showered her with attention. It made me feel good -- and I think that Suna enjoyed fawning over little Meg. It was a treat to see the friendly woman again this morning.

Today, naturally, Suna had the same complimentary reaction to Kate. She talked about how cute she is, and Kate totally hammed it up for Suna. They had a good time 'flirting' with one another as my groceries made their way into their bags.

And then -- AGAIN, unsolicited and in public -- the compliments turned to me.

"How much she is talking! Not even two years old yet? You are a smart mommy to teach her so many things! Oh, she is lucky to have you."

"She is so happy! Oh -- I see she has a snack -- what a smart mom you are. I always see moms in here with screaming babies, and I think 'Give the baby a snack!' Your baby is happy because you take such good care of her."

She said a few other things -- we talked about preschool and how it's so important for kids to get their true education at home, from parents. She said that she knew I was a good mom because Kate was so happy and seemed to be such a easy-going baby. What a kind-hearted woman Suna is. I know she is genuine in her compliments because I've overheard her many times saying kind things to the other customers. She is someone that loves her job and loves meeting so many people each day. I like Suna. I wish I could be more like Suna.

Please understand: I'm not bragging -- I mean, honestly, the lady is calling me a good mom, and all she knows is that I buy apple slices, bread, waffles, and Gogurt for my kids. She has no idea if I'm truly a good mom.

But I know I'm a good mom. And when someone points it out to me, I have an opportunity to take a moment and think about it. Yes, in fact, I do think I am a good mom. My girls ARE lucky to have me.

Thanks, Suna, for the reminder.

Help Wanted

2010-03-03T13:10:00.004-05:00

So, I need some help. I'm going to an "Oscar Party" on Sunday evening . . . a bunch of ladies getting together to gab and eat fun snacks while the Academy Awards are on some TV in the background. Should be a lot of fun . . . except for one, fairly large hang-up.

I have to attend dressed as my 'favorite' actor/actress/character from a movie.

Does not have to be a 2010 nominee or anything . . . it can be pretty much anyone. Any actress, any famous person. And for some reason, I can't think of one, single person.

I take that back -- I can think of a few -- but the costumes are too elaborate or the actress has signature long hair that my short 'do can't mimic.

Any ideas? Any thoughts on who I could dress as for this party? I want to look cute -- to fit the theme -- but I don't really want to go all out. Keep it simple.

Any help is much appreciated. Please, please . . . throw anything my way. ANY help is welcomed!!

Friday's Ego Boost

2010-03-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

With my Father-in-law in town for a visit last Friday, we were looking for a quick little mid-day activity to get us out of the house and let the girls run wild for a few minutes. When I asked Meg, "What do you want to do today?" she quickly responded with, "Go to Chickfila!" Kate chimed in with, "Nuggets!!" -- and it was settled. We packed up and headed to the local Chickfila for lunch. The perfect solution to a mid-morning slump, in my opinion . . . quick lunch that I don't have to make OR clean up, a few minutes at the playground, then I could bring 2 tired kids back home and straight down for nap.

As any mom knows, the act of taking your kids to a fast-food establishment like Chickfila can be a bit overwhelming for the first 10-15 minutes of your visit. There is the wrangling of kids while you order the food, followed by the awkward attempt at getting your food on it's tiny, overflowing tray to your table without creating a big catastrophic scene. And then you have to find a way to keep everyone calm while you poke holes in juice boxes, dish out nuggets and fries, and try to squeeze some ketchup somewhere that isn't going to create a huge mess for you to have to clean up later. By the time it's actually time to eat, I often find that I've broken a sweat and nearly lost my appetite.

Anyway . . . that's not what this story is about.

On Friday, as I was in the 3rd stage of the fast-food meal -- already at the table with everyone, prepping the food and kids for their meal -- when someone came up behind me and starting talking to me. It was a woman's voice, and she was standing right behind me, leaning in -- so I figured that it must be someone I knew. I was very surprised when I turned around and found a stranger staring at me.

"Your kids are so cute -- oh! Look at those girls. They are just precious!" she was saying.

I looked at my girls. They were in play clothes, hair tousled, and Meg was already chomping on her nuggets with her mouth wide open. But yeah, I'd agree . . . they are pretty cute. And, I'll admit, I've heard it before. Any mom relishes in the compliments bestowed upon their children by random strangers in public. We've all been there. (But it never, ever gets old:) )

But the lady went on.

"And YOU! Look at you -- you are so cute, too. Your hair cut, your glasses, your outfit -- love the boots. You have a great look. You look so cute, too! What a cute family you are. Just precious," she said. She was so enthusiastic in her speech. She meant what she was saying.

I was totally, completely caught off guard. I mean, I was wearing jeans and a white, cable knit sweater with my new-ish boots I'd gotten for Christmas. I had managed to shower that morning -- but I was in no way looking my 'best' for the occasion. I looked like a SAHM, honestly. I didn't feel cute, and I certainly didn't leave the house thinking one single person would even notice me . . . let alone get up out of their chair and come to say something so kind.

I thanked the lady -- several times. I smiled and probably blushed. Then she said how adorable we all were one more time, and she returned to her companion and her chicken sandwich about 1/2 way across the restaurant.

That little 1 minute encounter was the biggest ego boost I've had in a long, long time.

It came at the end of a really rough week. A week in which I'd been trying to figure out what I am doing, why I'm doing it, and how happy/unhappy I am with the way I am doing things. I mentioned before it was a bad week for me, personally. But then this little angel came out of nowhere and showered me with kind words . . . and made me feel so good about myself. I still can't believe it even happened.

I don't really believe in coincidences. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe in Devine Intervention. I think God is working in our lives all the time, and sometimes he takes a moment to put someone in our lives so that we know He is there. He knew what I needed on Friday . . . some stranger to let me know that, even if I'm falling apart inside, at least I look like I have myself together when out in public. As the girls went off to play in the playground and my father-in-law went along to supervise, I sat back and stared out the restaurant window thinking just that . . . how good God is. How much I needed to hear those kind words. How my lunch at Chickfila was certainly and without a doubt NOT a coincidence.

It also reminded me that we all have our issues. I'm not the only one dealing with . . . well, for lack of a better word, life. That woman that spoke to me had no idea what kind of week I'd had. I have no idea what kind of week she had. We all have our own issues . . . nobody's life is easy. But in one short minute with just a few kind words, we can change someone's mood. I was left thinking about how we are all dealing with something, so we should be nice to each other whenever we can. You never, ever know when just one minute of compliments at a Chickfila can really change someone's mood or brighten their day.

After reflecting on my experience, I've decided to pay it forward -- I want to provide someone else with the same good feeling I got on Friday. And the next time the opportunity arises, I most certainly will. I urge you all to do the same. Give someone you know -- or don't know -- an ego boost sometime this week. Just say something nice to someone -- something out of the blue or unsolicited. I bet you will feel as good as the person who receives the compliment.

Friday's ego boost. Sure did kick my weekend off the right way.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-02-26T21:36:00.003-05:00

Meg, February 18, 2010, Marietta GA

Here is what happens around here when I let Meg convince me she should be able to skip a nap.

She never makes it. She crashes and burns by about 4:30pm . . . snoozes for 30 minutes or so, then wakes up and thinks she never even fell asleep. It's a cute little pattern we've gotten into around here.

I'd say that we are transitioning to a 'no nap' lifestyle . . . but I still think that's a little premature. Meg needs her nap, even at 3.75 yrs old. She is not ready to give up that afternoon sleep. Sure, she can make it without a nap every now and then, but she needs to sleep for a few hours at least 5 afternoons a week. And with Kate around -- who needs a nap every day -- it's certainly no problem.

I like that Meg still naps. We might be starting to miss out on a few afternoon playdates or activities -- but I don't care. I'm hanging on to this last think that still makes Meg feel a little, tiny bit like my baby.

My baby Meg still needs her sleep.

Cyber Stalkers

2010-02-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

While Kate was playing at the indoor playground at our local mall last week, I noticed a cute little boy enter the play area, riding on the hip of a casually dressed young woman. Normally, this would not be worth noting. After all, I spend my days taking my girls here and there to experience kid friendly environments. The fact that mall was filled with young kids and their sweat-pants laden mothers on a cold February morning in not unusual. But after I noticed this particular mom and her little one, I did a double take.

The mom was attractive. Young and cute, wearing a cute little army-green hat and jeans with sneakers . . . but she was not what made me look twice. The young boy with her was not of the same ethnicity she was . . . she was white, he was black. THAT was not what made me do a double take (though, if she noticed my second glances, she probably thinks it was).

Once I looked a few times at the mom, her son, and her older daughter standing at her side, I realized why the were so familiar and intriguing to me.

I read her blog. The mom -- someone just like me -- I read the blog she writes daily. And I don't even know her.

She is a friend-of-a-friend . . . way down the line, someone I probably would have no occasion to ever meet in person. Once upon a time, when I started this blog, my friend showed me the blog that the mall-mom writes, and I used some of her formatting and ideas to start my own blog. I used to check back in to her site every now and then to see what she was doing with her blog as I started working on my own . . . and I quickly got sucked into the stories and daily events about which she was writing.

The mom -- we will call her Ms. C -- has two beautiful daughters. They are just about a year ahead of my girls, and they are as darling as they could be. Mrs. C is married and very much in love with her high-school-sweetheart husband. When I began eavesdropping into their cyber lives, I learned that Mrs. C is a talented amateur photographer like myself. And I also learned that their family was beginning the journey to adopt a young child from Vietnam. Aside from the adoption story line, she and I seemed to have a lot in common. So I kept reading, long after I needed to for research and blog-creating purposes.

Like I said, the stories had me hooked. I found myself checking in a few times a week to see the faces of those pretty little girls and to hear about their adventures in adoption. When they switched from the Vietnam adoption path to the Ethiopia path, I secretly said a little prayer in hopes that they would find the child that they so wanted in their loving family. When their old bloggers site moved to a different location (and format -- I lost all my inspiration!) -- I re-bookmarked them and kept reading. When middle sister was sick one morning and big sister was so caring, I couldn't help but hope that I would have girls so in love with each other some day (and I do!). And when the family brought home that beautiful baby boy, Silas, last summer, I CRIED when I saw the pictures and read the full-length account of what they had been through.

So, as I stood there and looked at the REAL Mrs. C, little boy Silas, and her middle daughter (I knew big sister must be at Kindergarten because I read the blogs about her first days of school back in the fall) . . . I could not help but feel like I was looking at a celebrity.

I'm totally weird. And, apparently, I'm a cyber stalker.

I know that Mrs. C thought I stared because her child is African American. I know with certainly she gets that a lot. As a matter of fact, my first thought when trying to figure out why she looked so familiar was that she must be a nanny . . . maybe I had met her in my neighborhood or at a friend's house. After I realized (a) that I must be staring and (b) that the woman I was looking at was someone I have kinda cyber-stalked for about 3 years now . . . I quickly turned away. I sat there and tried to pretend I was all into Kate sliding down the slide and crawling through the tunnels of the playground. Really, all I was thinking was, "Stop staring!" and "Should I go and talk to her? Is that really her?! Should I tell her how I love her blog, her photography . . . and I kinda love her family, too?" I'm just glad Kate managed to enjoy the playground and not hurt herself while her totally distracted mother oogled over someone she does not even know.

In the end, I didn't go speak to her. I couldn't muster up the courage. It would just be too weird. I've actually had a few people come up to me in public and mention that they read my blog . . . and it usually freaks me out slightly. It's always a similar situation -- a friend-of-a-friend or something, totally harmless -- except the one time that this grandmotherly lady came up to my grocery cart in Publix and called Meg by name. THAT was strange. Turns out she was the MIL of a friend and had seen pictures of Meg a few times . . . but still. I didn't want to be that creepy lady calling Silas (and Addison, the older sister) by name and scaring Mrs. C to death. I decided just to keep my distance and not speak to to Mrs. C.

It was a surreal experience, for some strange reason. For pete's sake -- this was no celebrity, but I still left the play area feeling a rush, like I had just met someone famous. Someone I admired from afar, someone I respected . . . kinda like a celebrity, really. I wondered if I had ever been someone's Mrs. C . . . has someone ever seen me in public, known me from this blog, but NOT addressed me and mentioned that they are a reader? Do I have cyber-stalkers?

Hmm.

I'm weird, I know. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on my cyber-stalker activities in the future. And if you are out there Cyber Stalking me, at least take a minute to post a comment and let me know you are out there! I might be surprised to find how many friends-of-friends are reading my blog.

Beach Weekend

2010-02-24T22:35:00.009-05:00

It's Wednesday, and I'm finally getting around to posting about our fun beach getaway last weekend. Suffice it to say . . . we've had a bad week around here. But enough about that. Let's remember what fun we had last weekend, visiting friends in Destin, Fl.

The weekend was really relaxed and wonderful. It was quick -- down Friday, home Sunday -- but enough time to get out to the beach and soak up some sun. We hung out with our friends, The Klines, for the weekend, and took it easy. Had yummy breakfasts, went out to dinner, played Candy Land, put together puzzles, and had a great time. It was perfect.

When packing for our trip, I almost did not throw in swim suits for Meg and Kate . . . figuring that (a) it wasn't THAT warm in the panhandle in February -- especially this cold year and (b) the water would be WAY to too cold for the girls, anyway. I wasn't sure if the family pool was heated . . . but there certainly was no way would we be swimming in the ocean.

Glad I packed the suits because . . . man, I was wrong.

Our Saturday beach adventure started out as a fully-clothed picnic lunch, and ended up with ALL four girls (ours and the darling girls that belong to our very kind friends/hosts) full on swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Like I said, it was a take-it-easy kinda trip. Thanks again to Will and Gina -- they always take SUCH good care of us and our girls. We are lucky to have them as friends . . . not only because they live by the beach, but because they are so easy and great to be around. They love our girls, we love theirs, and it just makes everything so easy. I can only hope WE are as good of hosts when people come to stay with us.

Of course, we returned Sunday night around 8:30 pm . . . and for some reason Kate was up puking for 3 hours later that night. Meg was so ornery on Tuesday afternoon that I couldn't even fight with her when she refused to go to dance class. Jim left for work, his family arrives for a visit tomorrow . . . and I've just had a bad week, personally.

But -- again -- I'm choosing not to think about that right now. Instead, I want to think about what a great Florida vacation our family just enjoyed. That puts me in a MUCH better mood!

I think the pictures tell it all.

I love me some Florida sunshine. I cannot WAIT to get back. Lucky for me, Julie (my SIL) is hosting her bacelorette party in Watersound, FL, in just a few weeks. 'Til then, I'll just soak up the sun from these photos and remember why I hope we buy a beach house someday :)

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-02-19T11:20:00.008-05:00

Our Girls, February 13, 2010, Marietta GA

I finally got my camera out and took some good shots of my girls last weekend. I'd been wanting to for weeks, but I needed to find the motivation.

Last Saturday was a lazy day, and I convinced Jim to help me drag out the gear and warm up the camera . . . which, around here, is a BIG request. I often get flustered and snippy when shooting the girls . . . I have to ask Jim if he is in the mood to help me. He was. Hey -- at least I know I'm difficult.

I have more to edit -- but these were a couple of initial favorites.

Snow, Love, and the Circus

2010-02-16T13:11:00.018-05:00

February has blown into our house with all the force of the crazy winter storms we've been hearing so much about. Today is already the 16th, and we've had several big events happen in just the past 2 weeks. Really, just in the past few days.

First . . . snow. Yes, lots of snow. About 3-ish inches over the course of an afternoon in our unprepared city of Marietta at the end of last week, and it was enough to really count it as our 'snow' for 2010.

It was enough snow to make an entire snowman family . . . Daddy, Mommy, Meg, and Kate, all represented in balls of ice on our front lawn. Meg was very proud of our snowman family, and we had fun watching them get skinnier and skinner (and eventually topple over) as the weather warmed the day following the snow. It may have only lasted about 24 hours, but it was great fun while it was here.

Second . . . love. Lots of love for Valentine's Day.

I will be the first to admit: I used to really dislike Valentine's Day. In high school, if you didn't have a boyfriend/girlfriend, the February holiday in which everyone you knew was getting flowers and candy sent to school totally stunk. I was on both ends in high school -- getting AND not getting flowers, depending on the year -- so I grew to really not look forward to the pressure of Valentine's. As a married woman, I didn't see the point in Valentine's Day . . . I mean, Jim and I know we love one another, we exchange little treats of affection all year long . . . so why did I (again) have to deal with the pressure of Valentine's Day? It also does not help that the holiday comes about 2 weeks after Jim's birthday . . . and I never know what to get him for any occasion. Two gift-giving holidays back-to-back was too much for me to take. Jim and I decided long ago that Valentine's Day was 'low profile' at our house . . . a card in acknowledgement of the occasion, and that was about it.

Then we had kids. That totally changed the holiday for me. It became less about romantic love and more about love in general. And let's not forget the fact that kids seem to make a lot of holidays more fun . . . there are parties, treats, and (of course!) cute clothing to go along with the celebration.

Now, Valentine's Day has a whole new meaning. I get it now. For me, it now means one day in the year when you can shower those you love with your affection. One day set aside for just that . . . and nothing else. There is no pressure any more for me. . . I've found my true loves, and I get to spend the 14th of February telling them just how much I adore them all. I've also discovered that Valentine's Day is a great time to reach out to some other 'loves' in my life and remind them of how much I care about them. In my busy-busy SAHM scheduled lifestyle, I totally enjoy taking advantage of Valentine's Day as a time to stop, love, and be loved.

Speaking of the 'be loved' part . . . Jim went out of his way this year to do something extra sweet for his Valentine (me, I mean). He planned a secret date. He got a babysitter (on his own!!) and took me to Dialog in the Dark (http://www.dialogue-in-the-dark.com/about/idea-concept/) , which was something I'd been wanting to do for a long time. We also had a nice, quiet dinner in which I did not have to cut up anybody's food or get my baby wipes out of my purse for any reason, and for that I was very grateful. Valentine's usually is low profile at our house, but Jim did a fantastic job of dressing it up for me this year. :)

And third . . . the circus. Totally unrelated to the snow or the festival of love around here, our most recent big event was our trip just yesterday to The Greatest Show on Earth: Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Since Meg was born, my dad has been wanting to take his granddaughter(s) to the circus. Each February it comes to the big arena here in Atlanta, and each year since 2007 my dad has told me how much he is looking forward to a day when he can watch the girls ooh and ahhh over the elephants, clowns, and acrobats that the circus exhibits. Finally -- in 2010 -- his day came.

The tickets were purchased about 3 weeks ago (a late birthday present for me -- thanks dad!), and we started a countdown on our fridge when we got within 10 days of the show. Meg has been beyond excited . . . she knows enough about what a circus is to know that it's something super cool and worth looking forward to. Kate -- well, of course she had no idea what she was in for -- but she totally learned how to say "Circus!" and "Elephants!" in the days leading up to the adventure. More snow and icy weather threatened to interrupt our carefully made circus plans . . . but on the morning of the show there was no snow or ice to be found, so we were able to trek down to Atlanta with big grins and wide eyes, ready to take it all in.

The girls had a blast. I wasn't sure how they would handle it -- Meg can be a little withdrawn when she is overwhelmed, and I just don't know Kate well enough quite yet to anticipate her reactions in new situations -- but they both jumped right into their seats and loved every minute of the show. Kate was screaming -- literally -- "Elephants!" when she saw the line of pachyderms enter the arena. It is an impressive site. Eleven elephants in a row, all hopping up on each other's back to makes for quite a spectacle . . . and it was, by far, my favorite part of the show. Meg turned to me at one point and said, "Mommy! Those ladies are flying through the air!" -- so I know she was eating it up. Not to mention that the show had an intermission . . . which, for some reason, Meg has remembered from our "Annie" experience and thinks is something pretty stinkin' awesome. If you go to a show that is long enough for an intermission . . . well, to Meg, that is the cat's meow.

It's been a busy month here at Casa de Dahlby. And it's not letting up . . . we are headed south this Friday to see some Floridian friends, and we are hosting Nana and Papa for a weekend visit at the end of the month. Then, all of the sudden, I'm turning my calendar to March . . . as they say, time flies when you are having fun.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T21:52:00.002-05:00

From us to you . . . may your day be filled with hugs, kisses, and lots

of chocolate!

More People We Love

2010-02-11T15:18:00.006-05:00

Continued from Wednesday . . .

These people already know that we love them, but here is why . . .

My friend LeaEllen is so kind-hearted and thoughtful, I often find myself wishing I could be more like her. She is probably the nicest person I know. Wait -- I take that back -- she is tied with my friend Erica (yes, you Erica Fokens!) as "The Nicest Person I Know." I'm lucky to have these two ladies in my life, and I love them both.

I love my friend Tricia because no matter what I tell her . . . no matter what I say . . . she is still my friend and loves me any way. Sometimes I don't even know why she likes me -- she knows me so well! Everyone needs a friend like Tricia. :)

I love Kristy because she has known me so long . . . she knew me before I knew myself well enough to hide the bad stuff from others. And she still likes me. (Or does a pretty good job of faking it, anyway.)

I love Keisha because she is so honest and real. And we have so much in common. And she finds a way to make the best out of anything thrown her way. Friends like her are hard to come by.

I love Dan (he is our girls' "Uncle Dan", for regular readers of the blog) because he is originally Jim's friend . . . his college buddy . . . but he often finds time to call me and see how I am doing, especially if he knows that we are having a hard time at our house.

I love my in-laws because they make me feel like I've always been a part of the Dahlby family.

I love Meg and Kate's preschool teachers because they are helping me raise smart, strong, kind children.

I love my cousin Doug and his wife Becky because they can relate to stuff that goes on in our family -- both our immediate and extended family situations. For an only child, having just one relative that can understand where you are coming from when it comes to personal (not always fun or flattering) family issues is invaluable.

I love the woman that cleans my house because she seems to genuinely care about our family and our home.

I love my husband because he never, ever ceases to amaze me. I mean that 100%. Just today -- with bad weather in Atlanta and a million obstacles in his way -- he found a way to get home to our family from Minneapolis. I never thought he'd make it. But -- as usual -- he found a way.

This, by no means, is a final list of the people we love. There are countless people that come in and out of our lives daily that we love for many, many reasons. But on Valentine's Day, these people came to mind . . . and I think they should know how much we love them.

People We Love

2010-02-10T23:30:00.006-05:00

In honor of this week full of candy, hearts, and talk of love, I thought I'd take some time to honor some of the people we love.

One person we love . . . Aunt Julie.

Jim's sister. Aunt JuJu is always lots of fun to be around, and she spoils the girls like crazy. Case in point: Our Mani/Pedi party last weekend . . .

Who else but Fun Aunt JuJu would volunteer to paint ten tiny little fingers and ten tiny little toes? And smile the whole time -- and actually enjoy every minute of it?!

We love Aunt Julie and all that she brings to our family. Hooray for JuJu!

Another light in our lives -- our neighbor, Ms. Denise.

Denise, her husband, and 1 of her 3 children live across the street from us. From the first moment she met us, Denise has been the best neighbor we could have ever (EVER!) dreamed of. She's about my dad's age, she is a homemaker, and she is simply one of THE nicest people I will ever meet. Denise and her husband have helped Jim and me -- well, mostly ME -- out of some real pickles.

Denise and her 1st granddaughter, Addie. Her 2nd granddaughter, Taryn, was born in Iowa just this week!

Remember when I locked myself out of the house with Meg inside, and the local fire station came to rescue me? Denise and Paul were the ones that saved me that morning -- and helped me keep my sanity.

Remember when I had to take Kate to the ER for her stomach virus back a few months ago? Denise was who I called to come and help me get myself together enough to go to the ER with Kate. I was totally freaking out, so I called her to come just sit and hold Kate while I got my mind straight and made arrangements for Meg's care while we were gone. Denise came right over and was there to ground me while I hurried around and worried about Kate.

Denise found my HOUSE PHONE in the middle of our street one day, retrieved it, and left it for me on my front porch. How it got in street we are still not sure . . . but I think I probably left it on the bumper of my car while parked in the garage, then drove off sometime later with the phone still hanging out on the bumper. Thanks to Denise, we did not have to replace our house phones.

And she is so thoughtful. Ever single holiday throughout the year, Denise marches herself across the street with a gift in tow for our girls. A new DVD that she saw and thought of Meg, or a book and a t-shirt that she knew Kate would love. This week for Valentine's Day, Denise brought over two Disney Princess sleeping bags. If you could pick a gift MORE perfect for a three year old girl to have for her very own (and for her little sister, too), I would like to hear about it. Meg has slept in her bed in her sleeping bag for the past 3 nights. Denise's thoughtful gift is a huge hit around here.

Denise told me once that she had a neighbor growing up that took good care of her family -- that always brought her treats and spoiled her like a grandma would. She said that -- all of the time she was growing up -- she wanted to be that lady for another child and family one day.

She has succeeded . . . and I don't know what we would have done without her!

There are many, many more people we love . . . I'll be sure to add to our list as we get closer to Valentine's Day.

Side Note

2010-02-08T22:43:00.001-05:00

Oh, and a side note: Kate pooped in the potty today.

No, I'm not kidding.

Me & Mommy

2010-02-08T17:07:00.000-05:00

If you live in/around Atlanta -- the Me & Mommy ticket is back at the Aquarium!

http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/acb/stores/1/newclubfishlink.aspx?Conv_Id=395

Here is the deal:

You and your kid(s) get into the Georgia Aquarium any Mon-Fri in February for $25.00 total -- including parking. It's a real money-saver -- great for us stay at home families during these cold, wet, boring winter months!

Meg, Kate, and I went today with our pal Niko and his mom. Niko and Meg are preschool sweethearts . . . those two love each other, and his mom and I love watching them together. Niko was the perfect date for our pre-Valentine's aquarium romp.

A few funny ones from the day . . . Kate and the fish, which makes her look even smaller than she is!

And our very foolish attempt at trying to get 3 kids 3 and under to stand still for a picture.

Attempt #1:

Attempt # 2:

She's Ready, I'm Not

2010-02-05T09:22:00.006-05:00

On the heels of yesterday's blog about Kate, I have more news. More milestones flying by -- more ways she is growing up way too fast. My news? Last night, Kate pee-peed in the potty.

Now, I don't mean that I put her on the potty and something wet snuck (sneaked?) out and fell into the toilet. This did not appear to be an accidental, I-happened-to-be-sitting-on-the-potty-when-I -peed experience. She really peed on the potty.

Kate has started asking to potty pretty regularly . . . so we've gotten out our little potties, and we've been doing the pre-bath potty thing for about 2-3 weeks now. Last night, I stripped her down for her bath, put her on the potty, and told her, "Now you can put your pee in the potty . . . like Meg does . . . " and kinda pointed down into the potty, as if to show her how it's done. I've done off of this before. Kate knows what she is supposed to be doing on the big white porcelain thing in the bathroom.

Then last night . . . Kate looked at me from the potty, said, "Pee Pee!" and went pee pee.

Naturally, I hooped and hollered and made a big 'ole deal about the pee pee in the potty. Big sister, already in the bath tub, clapped and cheered, too. We all laughed and celebrated, and Kate was very, very proud of her accomplishment.

Then I put Kate's cute little naked butt in the tub . . . and sighed to myself in slight distress.

Yes -- wonderful -- hallelujah -- my 19-mo-old seems like she might want to try the whole potty training process. How glorious it would be to have both children potty trained, to throw away the diapers, and to move on with one pretty significant phase in our child-rearing lives. Truly, it's a great thing.

I think Kate is ready to be potty trained. But I'm not. I will fully admit it: I'm not ready for Kate to be potty trained.

Potty training this time around -- with my 2nd kid -- is something I'm dreading even more than I did the first time around. When I trained Meg, the only part of the process I was dreading was the fact that I'd never done it before . . . I didn't exactly know the best way to go about it, and I was not sure how she'd take to it. This time, I know what I'm doing . . . and I also know what I'm getting myself in to. The idea that Kate is already ready for potty training stresses me out because I know what I'm in for this time. And I'm just not ready to go there yet.

On the good side -- potty training means no more diapers, which is golden. If you could see me through your computer screen, you'd see dollar signs in my eyes as I think of the money we will save by not having to contribute any more of our our hard earned money to Proctor & Gamble's bottom line. No more diapers means I don't have to stop what I'm doing to change a stinky diaper. I don't have to unload our diaper pail any more. I don't have to worry about diaper rash on Kate's little tooshey. I'm so glad that Meg is already well trained as I turn my focus to Kate -- so at least I have Meg's experience behind me and won't have to worry about her potty stops as much. There are many wonderful reasons for me to get Kate wearing panties and using the toilet.

On the bad side -- for the next few months, I'll be constantly thinking about how when Kate will need to potty. Everywhere we go, in everything we do, we will be worried about 2 little bladders and when either of them might need to hit the ladies' room. It's like living on the edge, sort of. There will be accidents. I'll have to start carrying around extra clothes always, and I know I'll have to use them on occasion. There will be false alarms, which are so annoying when you scrounge around in public to find a bathroom. If Kate is like her sister, it will be about 4-5-6 months of her bowel movements being constantly on my mind. It's just stressful. Kate and her new diaper-less hiney will be something of major focus for me for a while. It's very comfortable right now . . . Meg can use the potty by herself, and I just deal with Kate's diapers on my own schedule (unless there is poop, of course). I don't want to give that up.

Like I said, Kate's interest in the potty is clearly there. Her observant mother has picked up on it -- has been picking up on it for about a month or so -- but has been avoiding it. Unfortunately, last night's big event on the toilet is something I really can't ignore. With her level of enthusiasm about pottying, I really should jump on train and try to get her out of diapers.

And who knows? Maybe it will be a cinch for Kate. It certainly was not a big deal for Meg. We did a little potty boot camp over a weekend at our house, and Meg said 'bye bye' to diapers within about a 48 hr period. It could be just as easy with Kate. But there again, it's the weeks that follow that boot camp that stress me out the most -- not the actual act of teaching her to use the potty.

But who am I to complain about any of this, right? I'm sure there are people reading who are irked at me for complaining even one iota about my toddler so ready for the potty. I know I'm lucky to have a little one that is ready so young . . . and that I'm lucky to have had Meg take to potty training with ease. I get that. I'm not complaining about that. I'm just complaining because life is comfortable right now . . . we are in a nice rhythm, nice schedule, life is getting easier and easier with 2 kids . . . and the potty training will upset the apple cart from now until probably the end of the summer. THAT is what I'm dreading. The break in my routine, the added responsibility of a newly trained little one. That's why I am the one not ready for potty training.

**Sigh**

I'll let you know how it goes. There are way more 'good' than 'bad' sides to this argument . . . so I know that it won't be long before I'm hunkering down with Kate in my bathroom, with lots of apple juice and M&Ms by my side.

Forgetfulness Has It's Rewards

2010-02-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, my dad volunteered to take Kate to his house for a couple of days and give me a mini-break. Meg has lots of activities during the week -- so she couldn't go down to Newnan this time -- but my dad was hoping to spend a few days with his youngest granddaughter by herself. I jumped on the opportunity . . . those of you with 2 kids know that the chance to have only 1 child in your care IS a nice, welcomed break.

Arrangements were made via telephone. As I held the phone to my ear, I snapped my fingers in the air and said, "DAD -- don't let me forget to give you the Pack-N-Play. It's in the back of my car. DON'T let me forget to give it to you." It is normally always at his house -- but we'd had to borrow it last week, so the bed was now in my car. It would be something SO easy to forget, since the bed is normally a permanent fixture at my dad's house and not something we ever have to worry about bringing for over night trips.

"Okay, I'll try to remember," was my dad's nonchalant response.

"No -- seriously. I'm saying this out loud so you can help me remember," I told my dad. "Kate has not slept in a big-kid bed for more than a nap or two . . . and I doubt you want to be the one testing out her first nights in a real bed. I'm sure she won't stay put in a bed . . . she's nothing like Meg was at this age. I won't forget to give you the Pack-N-Play. I know it's important -- I won't let myself forget," I said in return.

The next morning, I was about 15 minutes late to drop of Kate . . . and tardiness is something I know my dad hates. I apologized for running late, explained my reasoning (Kate made a BIG mess at breakfast), and then handed over Kate. I was anxious to see how she would respond to being left with my dad sans her big sister. This was only the second time we had attempted this type of arrangement.

Happily, Kate waived me goodbye. No problem at all -- she did not seem to mind being left with Grandaddy one single bit. I climbed back in the car, and off Meg and I went to spend an afternoon at the movies.

Of course, I forgot to give my dad the Pack-N-Play.

My home phone rang about 3 hours after I'd left Kate with my dad. Unknowingly, I picked up the receiver. Once I saw it was my dad calling, I was eager to hear how things were going at his house.

"I guess we are going to have to test out this big-kid bed thing after all," my dad said.

I closed my eyes and threw back my head. I gritted my teeth and go so mad at myself. Of COURSE I forgot!!!! That damn Pack-N-Play!! It was IN my car at the drop off -- I just forgot to give it to my dad. I thought for a few minutes about calling a friend in Newnan to see if she could run her travel bed over to my dad's house. I thought of ways my dad could fashion a make-shift crib at his house. I had to do something. Surely Kate would NOT be OK in a big girl bed . . . and I was sooooo looking forward to my mini-baby-break, I did not want this bed situation to ruin it.

What was I going to do?! I thought that I was going to have to go to Newnan (2 hrs, round trip) to either pick up Kate or drop off her bed.

"She'll be fine," my dad urged. "She can sleep in the twin bed in Meg's room. I'll stack up some pillows, and she won't roll out. She'll be just fine." I think my dad knew how much I needed the break. He was trying to convince me that the lack of a crib-like bed for my only 19-mo-old was no big deal.

I wasn't so sure.

It wasn't the rolling out that worried me most about the whole thing . . . it was her ability to fall asleep in a bed and her willingness to stay in the bed if she woke up in the night that concerned me. My dad assured me Kate would be fine. Her bedroom door could be closed -- and she's too short to open it -- dad has a baby monitor in his room, so he'd hear her if she got up and roamed around her room -- Kate is a good sleeper -- there were lots of arguments why she would, in fact, be fine sleeping in a twin bed.

So, I conceded. I figured . . . if my dad is willing to try the whole first-night-in-a-bed thing, who was I to stop him? The worst case scenario was that I would have to go get Kate the next day. At least I'd still get a little break out of the whole thing.

Kate slept in a twin bed on Monday night and Tuesday night of this week. Her first nights in a bed occurred down at Grandaddy's house. And she did totally fine. She did not make a peep, she did not fight going to bed (or naps, for that matter), and she did not get up out of the bed.

Whew.

Now -- I'm certainly not foolish enough to think I could have two kids that transitioned from crib to bed so easily. Meg was easy when it came to the bed change -- she never fought us a bit -- but I'm convinced that Kate will be harder. This was not a fair sample, this sleeping at my dad's thing. It was only two nights, and they weren't even at home where Kate is familiar and comfortable. I'm sure the bedtime battle will have a few more rounds for me when Kate does officially make her move from crib to bed at her own house.

Still, it's kinda nice to know that Kate is at least OK with sleeping in a bed . . . she's tried it out, so I know she is capable. The fact that she now has those first few nights in a bed behind her . . . it feels like my dad took on a very stressful situation for me, and now I don't have to worry about how Kate will respond to the bedroom changes quite as much as I would have. Those first couple of nights in a bed for Meg were BAD for me -- I mean, Meg was totally fine, but I hardly slept because I was so worried about Meg waking up and roaming the house. Now I don't have to go through that situation with Kate. Kate has had 2 nights and several naps in a real bed . . . hopefully she'll be that much more ready for a bed when the time comes.

We will see.

And that is that. Another little milestone come and gone for Katy-did. I guess forgetfulness has it's rewards.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

2010-02-03T14:07:00.005-05:00

The story I am about to tell actually happened about 2 weeks ago -- but was so hilarious, I had to blog about it.

Meg is very observant of things around our house. Gone are the days when I could 'hide' stuff just by putting it on a table or counter . . . she's too tall now, and she's also far to nosey. She's got to know exactly what is going on around here at all times . . . . and she has a question about everything. "Why is your purse on the kitchen table?" "Why are you putting away that XYZ?" "What is this on the counter here?" It's a world of WHYS around here with a 3 1/2 year old in our midst.

A couple of weeks ago, Meg found a copy of "Entertainment Weekly" on the desk in our kitchen during one of her snooping sessions (see cover below). Her inquisitive nature encouraged her to pick it up and give it a good once over.

And when she did, she busted out with, "Mommy, that is MADIGAN'S Mommy and Daddy on this magazine!"

Madigan is our cousin who lives in Missouri. And her Mommy and Daddy are Jim's cousin and her husband . . . and this is what they look like.

Seriously, take a good look. Compare the photos. Audra and Brad, the cousins, really DO look an awful lot like Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres -- especially standing together as they are on the magazine cover.

When Meg declared her case of mistaken identity, I took a moment to try and figure out what exactly she was talking about. But it didn't take long . . . I mean, c'mon. It was an easy mistake for Meg to make. When I realized what she was saying, it made me laugh out loud. How observant she is! How funny that Jim's cousins resemble our friends on American Idol! I showed it to Jim -- who didn't get it, naturally -- and then I explained to Meg that the magazine was not actually featuring a story on Audra and Brad.

What's funny is that Meg seems to do this all the time -- mistake others we see in public or on TV/Magazines/Movies for people we actually know. When we were at Disney World, Meg got all excited because she thought some stranger eating next to us was actually the mother of her friend . . . and when I didn't respond by saying 'hello' to the woman, she was thoroughly confused. We've been in Publix or Target many a time when Meg shouts out that she's seen someone she knows . . . but 99% of the time she is incorrect.

Maybe she needs glasses? Or maybe it's just the wonderfully small world of a toddler who seems to think that we are always surrounded by the people we know wherever we go. Either way, it catches me off guard most of the time. And it always makes me laugh.

Another case of mistaken identity . . . maybe I should send the magazine to Audra and tell her that we have the perfect idea for her 2010 Halloween costumes.

Julie's Wedding

2010-02-02T15:03:00.006-05:00

There are a lot of good things going on at our house this spring. Get ready for a one topic in particular that I'm sure I'll be talking about a lot in the next couple of months . . . Julie's Wedding.

That's right -- if you remember, my sister in law Julie (Jim's sister) is engaged to be married, and her wedding date is fast approaching. April 24, 2010. Just about 3 months away. And for the record -- it is Greg's wedding, too.

The nuptials will be a big affair to be held here in Atlanta. Seven bridesmaids, 5 (?) groomsmen, 2 lovely flower girls, and about 250+ guests. It's a big deal, and we are all working together to make it a dream for Julie.

Though this is not my wedding, there are quite a few responsibilities falling to the sister-in-law-of-the-bride.

I'm a bridesmaid.

I'm the mother-of-the-flower-girls.

I'm the wife-of-a-groomsman.

I did the engagement photos and 'Save the Date' card.

I'm the key contact for (which means arranging and coordinating -- but not exactly hosting) the Bridesmaid Luncheon.

I'm creating the photo-filled guest book, and I'm having it bound and printed.

I'm doing the Rehearsal Dinner Slideshow.

We are hosting dinner at our house for all in-town family on the Thursday before the Saturday wedding.

And I'm really hoping to enjoy the BIG event, when the date finally comes around.

Anyway, with wedding excitement in full force, I'm hunkering down and starting to tackle some of my duties. We have the flower girl dresses -- they fit -- and I think we've even found shoes. My bridesmaid dress was ordered, but shoes are a job that we (Julie, another bridesmaid, and I) might tackle this weekend. I set the menu for the Bridesmaid Luncheon, with a few details left to be worked out with the hosting restaurant. And today . . . a horribly embarrassing four months after they were taken . . . I'm finally finishing my work on the engagement photo session.

Better late than never -- as I always say. (Really, I do find that I'm always saying that! I bet things are even BETTER if they aren't late.) Once the pictures are done, I can make and order the guest book. I can make and order luncheon invites. I can start scanning and organizing slideshow pictures. Lots to be done on my list of wedding to-dos.

Like I said, get ready for my wedding bliss on the blog. With three months to go, there are bound to be good stories about various wedding related activities going on at the Dahlby house.

And then after April 24th, brace yourself for another round of DAHLBY DISNEY. Oh yes, friends. Back to Orlando and the House of Mouse in early May this year.

Just thought you might like a preview of things to come :)

February 1st

2010-02-01T14:55:00.002-05:00

Wow -- is it really already February? And did I really blog, like, only 5 or 6 times last month? And it's been a week since my last post?

(Picture me throwing my hands up in the air here.)

Oh well. I'll try to do better. Though, as I look at my calendar for this week . . . I won't make any promises.

Just a snip it for today . . . I'm off to take Meg to see "Alvin and The Chickmunks, The Squeakquel" later today, so I need to get household stuff done during my usual blogging time. Kate is off with Grandaddy for a day . . . it's just a date for big sister and mom this afternoon. I'm not looking forward to the movie (the first of many that are HER choice, I'm sure) . . . but it will be fun, just the same.

And yes, I know I wrote 'chickmunks'. That is what Meg calls Alvin, Simon, and Theodore . . . and it's too darn cute to correct her.

Happy February, everyone.

Happy Birthday, Daddy

2010-01-25T07:32:00.004-05:00

Jim hits the big 3-1 today. Happy 31st Birthday, Daddy!

We celebrated yesterday with a couple of friends and Jim's favorite dinner: Round Steak and Mashed Potatoes. (Think 'salisbury steak' or any kind of steak cooked in brown gravy, and you'll get the idea.) We topped it off with a round of "Happy Birthday, Cha-Cha-Cha" sung by Meg and some DQ ice cream cake. Not a big blow out, but a nice birthday, just the same.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you . . . have a good week in Charlotte, and we will see you when you get home.

Favorite Photo Friday

2010-01-22T14:40:00.004-05:00

Kate Allison, Marietta GA, Feb 2009

I'm working on the picture re-org at our house, and I came across this one of Kate taken just about one year ago. I had forgotten about it . . . and how cute her little sweet-potato covered face was!

Sometimes I feel like I don't talk enough about Kate on the blog . . . you may even have noticed yourself. Kate may not be my topics of conversation daily, but she is certainly not forgotten around here. She is my baby . . . and the more we think we are going to stay a family of four permanently, the more I realize that she is growing up way to fast. I feel like she's grown up in about 1/2 the time Meg has . . . some of that is just due to the fleeting nature of time, and some of it is due to the fact that she has an older sister to help her hit some baby milestones a little quicker than a first born might.

Case in point: talking. I know you've heard me say it many times already -- but Kate is talking so much earlier than Meg did. She's already putting two words together ("Daddy Bye Bye" and "I Kate" and "I Coming" are just a few mini-sentences she's spouting right now). She jabbers all the time . . . and now she and Meg are even talking to one another, something I've anticipated since Kate first came into our family.

Kate can eat with a spoon and fork like any big kid . . . because she eyes her sister at the table and wants to be just like her. She is rapidly moving up and down stairs with no assistance at 19 months in an effort to keep up with Meg. And she desperately wants to be able to brush her own teeth and hair like Meg does. It's Monkey see, Monkey do at our house . . . constantly.

I just wish my baby Monkey would not do so much so young. She's likely to be my baby forever . . . and I want her to stay baby forever.

I'm glad I have these darling photos to remember a time when Kate truly was a baby. A sweet potato covered 7 month old that I couldn't get enough of. And I still can't get enough of her now.

(As an unrelated side note -- I feel like I offended people with my comment about my birthday wishes from facebook friends, written about in a previuos blog. I was not saying I didn't appreciate the "Happy Birthdays" -- I was just being grouchy. And sad that in this day and age your birthday wishes must be found on-line. That's all. It was nothing personal directed at any specific person, I promise.)

What Keeps Me From Blogging

2010-01-18T09:45:00.015-05:00

The following events in the Dahlby household have kept me from blogging . . . pretty much all month long.

-- We were gone for the first 4 days of January . . . and the last 6 days of December . . . so it took me about a week just to get caught up at my house. The place was a wreck. But it's not any more . . . well, it's not as much of a wreck. I did clean up Christmas. Some rudimentary cleaning has been done. But then I got the bright idea to work on changing out some of my framed photos . . . and that lead me to rearrange some of my photo arrangements on my walls . . . which means I need to get out touch up paint for newly exposed holes . . . and decide which pictures should go where . . . so it looks like a framing store exploded in my office right now. A project I will finish in the next week or two (I hope). Like I said, it's not as much of a wreck around here as it was about 10 days ago.

-- Oh, yes. And we had a 'snow day' in the middle of my trying to recover and get the house in order. I was so NOT happy to see the snow here in Georgia two Fridays ago! The girls did not go to school . . . so I lost an entire morning I had hoped to devote to claiming back my house. At least the dusting of snow was pretty.

-- Kate got a stomach flu. She threw up for 2 days. Then I got it. Then Meg got it. 5 days later, we were on the mend.

-- Lots and LOTS of laundry generated by aforementioned stomach flu. Isn't that the PITS of a stomach bug? Not only do you have all the bodily fluids to deal with, but stinky laundry piles up quicker than you can imagine. The whole time we were sick, I listened to the constant drone of the washer/dryer.

-- Swimming lessons, Dance class, scheduling preschool conferences, scheduling dentist appointments, scheduling OBGYN appts (just a check up, calm down!), scheduling appointments with my therapist. Scheduling datenights for Jim and I, arranging for babysitters, rescheduling things that get put off due to stomach flus and the like. In other words, normal, day to day life.

-- Took Meg to "Pigtails and Crewcuts" and whacked off her hair. It was long and stringy . . . and, though I desperately would love to have a little girl with long, flowing hair, I got tired of fighting Meg daily to let me fix it. If SHE doesn't want to wear pigtails and braids, then what is the point in having long hair? It looks darling short, anyway.

I turned 32. Whoohoo. Happy Birthday. Not exciting at all, really. Hardly anyone called, and I got one card in the mail. Jim took me to a really great dinner at 'Canoe' here in Atlanta, which I enjoyed very much. And then it was January 12th, and another birthday had come and gone.

-- I got to take Meg to see "Annie" at the Fox Theatre, my birthday gift from her (and Jim). The timing of the "Annie" outing fell right in the middle of our stomach flu -- but thank God neither she nor I were sick for the 4-5 hours of our event. (I got sick later that night, and Meg took it on the following morning.) Meg LOVED it . . . and I will admit it was something of a 'dream come true' for me. I always adored Aileen Quinn singing "Tomorrow" on the film version of this story . . . and as a little girl, I watched it so many times, I think I had convinced myself that I wanted to BE an orphan like Annie. To have my little girl loving the same songs as I did when I was young -- it is priceless. Taking her to see "Annie" was fantastic. The only sad part was when I had to put my hand over her mouth to keep her from singing along . . . and no, I'm not kidding. She was totally belting out "Tomorrow" -- right along with the little actress on stage -- until (after asking her several times to quiet down) I finally had to use my hand to mute her. She was a little put out by it because she desperately wanted to sing along. How I love my Meg!

-- Arguing with my dad. That has taken up a lot of my January. I know that I don't talk about it much -- at all, really -- but my dad and I don't always get along. We bicker about all kinds of things . . . mostly things that I don't want to address here. We go through phases where we are the best of friends . . . then something happens and we can't seem to see eye to eye on anything. We are in one of those bad spots right now. Just thinking about it makes me mad/angry/sad/upset/fed up. You would think that with everything we have been through in the last 9 months, we would not have a single thing to be angry about . . . that we'd just feel lucky to still have each other. But it's just not that way.

-- Jim's birthday is coming up next week, so I've been trying to get some stuff together for that. Planned a little surprise for him, and I'm sending him and Meg to a Georgia Tech basketball game in a few weeks. I like the idea of doing 'dates' with our girls for our birthdays. I sure enjoyed my "Annie" date, and I hope Jim enjoys the outing to the game.

-- New babies. Meet Olivia and Hunter, born to friends of ours in late December. If you know them, you'll be getting their announcements in the mail sometime soon . . . I'm working on them in my 'free' time :)

-- And last, but not least, a general feeling of . . . well . . . discontent. Blah. I don't know why, but I'm in one of my funks again. It's like I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop, the next big thing to happen. I can't explain it. Jim is gone and will be gone a lot for the next several months. Hell, I should just quit kidding myself and say that he's always going to be gone a lot. I'm lonely. I'm not working, which is OK with me . . . but I find myself bored sometimes. Motherhood is great -- but it can be a pretty boring occupation at times.

Anyway -- for whatever reason -- this 'funk' has me staying home, watching TV, reading magazines, and being a complete bum. I don't want to be on the computer, so I don't feel like blogging. I didn't even log on to Facebook last week -- not even to see my 'happy birthday' wishes (from a bunch of people who would not have remembered my birthday if it weren't for Facebook, anyway). I have not been making plans with anyone because I get so tired of having to always cancel plans when someone get sick, my dad needs me, or Jim's travel schedule changes. So, the January Funk has settled in. I hope it's short-lived.

And that, my friends, is just a tidbit of what keeps me from blogging.

Snow Days

2010-01-09T12:33:00.004-05:00

Look at all the snow we got in Georgia on Thursday!

Just kidding . . .

No, no. Not talking about the snow here in Georgia the other day. I have a few minutes to post a few pictures from our Snowy Adventures in the midwest last week. You'll see what I meant in my last post when I said the snow here was 'lack-luster' for us . . . we had a blast sledding and building snowmen in somewhere around a foot of snow back in Kansas just over one week ago.

Hope you like the pictures of our snow bunnies. Who does not love to see two little girls all bundled up and enjoying the cold?

The Event of the Week

2010-01-08T23:16:00.008-05:00

Still behind on just about everything . . .

But I had to stop for a minute and update on one big event this week: Meg's swimming lessons.

Her first of many true, real (I'm NOT getting in the water with her!) swim lessons began this Wednesday. Meg is in a class of 4, set to meet weekly for 30 minutes. Not much, but enough to get her EXCITED about learning to swim . . . which is more than I can say for our last attempt at teaching her this much-needed life skill.

We tried swimming lessons back last summer. I had it in my head that weekly swim lessons would be a big part of our summer, and I had it in my head that Meg would be a total fish by the summer's end. Um, didn't happen. As you mom's out there know . . . what you plan for your kid and what they actually go along with can be two VERY different things. Meg was 10 minutes in to her first lesson when she declared, "I'm all done." She refused to participate . . . and after another failed attempt at a lesson one week later, I decided that Meg was (a) not ready OR (b) just NOT going to do it. Either way, lessons we by the wayside well before the 4th of July.

Fast forward to December, and I sprang the idea of swimming lessons on Meg once again. I feel very strongly that she DOES need to learn how to swim -- and the younger, the better. I was )(am?) bound and determined to get her in the water this winter so that we can overcome this obstacle well before bathing suit season comes back around. I threw the idea of swimming in an indoor pool her way, reminding her how big girls can swim. And, "Oh! Won't it be nice if you can jump in and slide all by your self next summer?!"

This time, to my delight, Meg was all up for swim class.

What did it take? A little more than just the "be a big girl" motivating speech, I will admit. Our preschool buddy, Niko, decided to join us . . . and once Meg knew that Niko was in her swim class, she was totally game. Sure, she'd like to be a 'big girl' by the summer . . . but spending time playing in the pool with her good buddy was really what got her to bite on the idea.

Hey, whatever it takes.

Our first lesson was this week, and it went -- forgive me, I can't resist -- swimmingly. Meg participated 100%, jumped in, face in the water, swam the length of the polo solo (with back float), and got to go down the slide as a reward.

And her proud mommy watched with a smile from the benches that lined the sauna-like indoor swimming facility.

Once again, the event of the week: Meg gets one step closer to swimming! Willingly -- and she liked it! Next week's challenge: get Kate to STOP throwing food at the table. That one may prove to be much, much tougher.

PS -- In other news of the week -- it did snow here yesterday. Many think THAT was the event of the week. But, since we Dahlbys just got back from 9 days in some serious, mammoth snow, the dusting GA got on Thursday night was a little lack-luster for us. Not saying that I don't love the Georgia snow . . . I just needed today to clean up and recover from everything, and instead -- because of the "snow" -- I had BOTH girls home on what should have been a school day!

Oh, well. The best laid plans, right?

Just One

2010-01-06T00:20:00.001-05:00

I lied . . . just one picture of the bundled Dahlby girls to hold you over :)

Back in the 'Hampton

2010-01-05T21:57:00.005-05:00

Miss me?

We returned yesterday from a NINE day stint in the Midwest. In our week + , we hit Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. It was a whirlwind of Dahlby-fied fun, and our girls enjoyed every minute with their Midwest relatives.

Jim and I also enjoyed nine days together . . . and the help of lots of Nanas, Papa, Aunts, and Uncles who were always willing to entertain/care for our kiddos.

I know I've been absent from the blog . . . and, well, I've been absent from a lot of things. It's like we hit December 17th -- the day of Meg's preschool program -- and my life just went on fast-forward. I don't know how things just kept going . . . and going . . . and there was nothing I could do to slow it down. I could barely keep up. We went here and there, we did this and that . . . and I scarcely had time to take a breath! All kinds of things went to the side -- including my entire computer life. If I owe you an email or something -- I promise I'll get to it.

I also owe someone a whole set of newborn pictures and two sets of announcements . . . here we are in January, and I stukk don't feel like the 'fast-forward' is letting up.

The holidays were hectic -- that's all I'm saying. Life with 2 kids is hectic enough. But when you pile on loads of mistletoe, Santa Claus, and traveling, life can take on a 'life' of it's own.

(Does that even make sense? I hope you know what I'm trying to say.)

Anyway.

Things have not slowed down since we returned to town. My house was left in total disarray . . . so the (hugely present) Type A in me when crazy yesterday when we got back home. I felt I had to clean and organize everything . . . or at least get some sort of order back in the house before Jim took off again very early this cold, cold morning. We were up until 1am cleaning and rearranging . . . and we've only just begun. My house now looks like a cross between Christmas and what it looked like when we were moving in. Boxes everywhere, junk in piles . . . and bare spots where holiday is gone by 'year-round' has not yet been returned. No, you cannot come over. I won't be having guests any time soon.

Deep breath. *Sigh* The house is a mess -- what a mess you can make cleaning up! -- but it will eventually return to normal. And when it does, we will have all kinds of new little gadgets and gifities we got for Christmas mixed in with our old stuff. That is something to look forward to.

Anyway.

Not only did I return to a messy homestead, but I also received news that a relative of mine fighting cancer has taken a turn for the worse. I won't elaborate out of respect for my family and their thoughts on Internet journaling . . . but it is something that is weighing heavily on me and is preoccupying my thoughts. A trip (or more) to Newnan is planned for this week. I love my family and I can't let more days slip by without visiting them in their time of need.

Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. I feel like our family has had a lot of that lately.

Anyway.

I'm supposed to be doing laundry, finishing the dishes, and watching Georgia Tech's bowl game right now. I'd love to upload pictures of the girls sledding and building their snowman ("Frosty" he was named -- of course!), but that will have to wait for another day. Only time enough to let you know that we are well -- too busy -- and will catch up soon.

Merry Christmas (Week)

2009-12-25T23:11:00.008-05:00

We've been doing so much this past week, I have not taken any time to keep up with my life on the computer. Barely checked email, dropped the blog . . . only did some Facebook stuff via cell phone. I took a break from my computer addiction, my connection to the outside world . . . and I have not missed it a bit!

Christmas at the Dahlbys has been fantastic. Like I said, we've been busy.

We had a Christmas program at preschool.

We did a LOT of baking. I found out that, actually, I'm not as bad at it as I thought. If I really pay attention to what I'm doing, I can actually make cookies good enough to give away to family and friends.

We made a gingerbread house.

We got the entire cast of the Wizard of Oz in Pez dispensers from Aunt JuJu. A BIG hit.

We got matching Princess Christmas PJs from Grandaddy.

Santa Came.

We got an Art Easel that Kate adores.

And we got a new Princess Bike (and helmet).

It's been wonderful.

Merry Christmas to all . . . I hope everyone has had a Christmas that was wonderful for you.

Preschool Party Picks

2009-12-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

At the preschool Christmas party on Tuesday . . . I think I got the picture I should have used on our Christmas card!

Oh, Meg.

But then she give me a silly face like this, and I can't help but smile at her.

Kate enjoyed her party, too . . . mostly because the sweets and the juice, of course.

And they both enjoyed being together at school . . . it was a treat for us all!

Merry Christmas!

Our Latest Holiday Project

2009-12-15T14:33:00.005-05:00

I give you our 2009 cast of carolers . . .

They are just darling. I've already told Jim we have to find a way to wrap these up safely at the end of the season because I want to enjoy them for years to come. This project was a bit tough for Meg . . . she was able to paint the tubes, draw the faces, and glue, but I did have to help her a lot more than I thought I might. Still, she enjoyed every minute, and she is so proud of her carolers.

And Kate . . . well, once again, she watched with excitement. My big project with her is going to be cookie baking on Friday :) I feel bad because this year we've tackled a few holiday projects that are simply too much for her, but I'm hoping she'll make up for it with cookies.

The carolers sit on our kitchen table and eat with us at each meal. Meg moves them around all the time . . . and today she decided to switch their hats. I can tell she is proud of them, as she should be. Like I said -- just darling.

Feelin' Better

2009-12-11T10:21:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the support, commenters . . . I appreciate everyone out there feeling my pain! HFM . . . well, it sucks. Kate seems better today . . . still not quite herself, but at least we were able to run one quick errand (without a meltdown) after dropping Meg at school this morning. We are on the road to recovery.

Last night, as I was putting Kate to bed, Jim kissed her sweet head and said, "Night-Night . . . I hope you sleep all night, Katy-did. You need it, baby girl."

I said to him, with a smile,"Of course she will. You are home now. That sounds about right . . . you come home and then she sleeps. She only stays up all night when I'm here alone."

Kate woke up for a few minutes around 10:45pm last night, then she slept the whole night through.

I'm not complaining . . . the night of sleep was VERY welcomed and hopefully means we've turned a corner and are feeling better. I just think it figures that she sleeps all night when I have some help, but she's up all night when I don't have any relief staff here to help out. I guess Kate just wanted to have a slumber party with Mommy on Monday . . . and Tuesday . . . and Wednesday night. Like I said, that figures . . .

Hand-Foot-Mouth

2009-12-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

It's 11:38am on Thursday morning, and I just wrote an email to a friend . . . it sums up how I'm feeling in one quick paragraph:

"Last night SUCKED. We were up all night. I think it was the worst night I've ever had with Kate -- EVER. She was not even that bad as a newborn! We were eating Popsicles at 1am, she was playing and crawling around in my bed at 4am, and then she was throwing her loveys out of her own bed at 5:30am. I crawled in bed after she finally nodded off at 7am . . . only to have Meg wake me up with her beautiful smile exactly 42 minutes later. *sigh* "

What is wrong with Kate? I found out yesterday afternoon that Kate has Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease. If you don't know what it is, look it up and then PRAY your kid does not get it. Or -- pray that your kid does not get as bad of a case as Kate has. Or, at least pray that Kate gets better soon and is able to sleep again. And if you have a prayer left over, pray that I can get some sleep and a shower . . . neither of which I've really had since Tuesday. Ever since Kate woke up from her post-Santa-visit nap on Monday afternoon, she's been just miserable. I feel so bad for her.

And now it's 11:40am, and I hear Kate crying from her crib. She's been napping for exactly 40 minutes now. And she's done.

So am I. Thank GOD Jim comes home this afternoon. It's been the week from HELL around here.

We Saw Santa

2009-12-08T17:20:00.006-05:00

and nobody cried!

Took the girls to the mall yesterday -- my dad and I did -- to meet Santa Claus. Last year, Kate was the only one who'd sit on his lap . . . Meg wanted nothing to do with Mr. C. Nothing at all -- not even a friendly high five or a wave from afar. I had tortured Meg the previous year (see here), so I simply could not do that to her again. But this year, with the idea of sharing her Christmas wishes in her head, Meg willingly sat with Santa Claus.

(Insert Hallelujah Chorus here.)

Granted, Meg froze once on the big guy's lap, and she would not tell Santa a single thing she wanted for Christmas. She clammed up like I had never seen her do before. My Meg, not talking? It was a scene! Mommy had to help her communicate. I helped her remember what is was that she's been dreaming of since we saw it in Target back in October (a Disney Princess bike, if you recall), and together we asked Santa for it with our kindest words.

Oh well. Can't win them all, I guess. At least she sat with him. I'll take that for this year . . . and maybe in a year or two, we'll get him a list together before we go.

Kate . . . well, she wasn't really keen on the idea of this big dude in a red suit putting his arms around her. "You mean I have to sit with this guy?" was what the look on her face was telling us all as I lowered her into his lap. I had my mind set that she was going to totally freak, as Meg had done at the 1 1/2 yr Christmas. But instead, Kate watched Meg and -- like she does most of the days of her life -- she imitated her and did just what big sis was doing. Kate really wanted to cry, but she didn't. And once Santa handed her a treat, she was golden to sit there as long as necessary.

It was a classic experience . . . we waited in line for about 10 minutes with other families all dressed in their holiday gear, Santa spoke with the girls and gave them each a candy cane, and I got to spend $25 (!!!!!) on the most basic picture package in order to have the privilege of taking my own pictures with my own camera. All in all, just what you'd expect from a mall Santa stop. It was terrific, regardless of the price tag.

My favorite Meg comment about the whole event -- after she was off Santa's lap and had found her voice once again: "Mommy, Santa's lap was bumpy. I told you it was going to be bumpy. I was right."

Another Christmas tradition that we have been able to enjoy this year. Man-o-Man -- as these girls get bigger and my love for them grows and grows, these holidays and traditions just keep getting better and better!

Cartunes

2009-12-07T08:15:00.002-05:00

Need something new to listen to in the car? Something your kids will really enjoy . . . and you will find yourself singing under your breath all day long? At our house, we are always searching for something new to listen to as we drive around town. Meg has become quite the music connoisseur, and she has LOTS of opinions about what we listen to in the car (surprise, surprise).

Anyway . . .

I highly recommend "All You Need is Love: Beatles Songs for Kids"

http://www.amazon.com/All-You-Need-Love-Beatles/dp/B00000JZAP

We checked it out from the library last week, and we've been bopping along to it ever since. Meg's favorite is "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La_Da" -- which I love, too. It's such a fun little CD. I've caught myself listening to it all by myself in the car, long after I've dropped the girls at carpool. It's a good one . . . just thought I'd share in case anyone needed any holiday gift ideas.

Happy Monday :) Jim is out until Thursday . . . blech. At least I have Christmas to look forward to . . . and all of us together for more than a week. That will make my days very merry and bright for sure.

In Honor of the Champs

2009-12-06T23:08:00.002-05:00

Go Jackets . . . though I am a total DAWG at heart, I'm always happy to see the Jackets put a big 'ole smile on Jim & Kate's faces!

Favorite Photo Friday

2009-12-04T15:20:00.002-05:00

Holiday Photo Edition, as you could have guessed. Both of the girls at their 18 mo holiday season . . . oh, how I love this age!

Kate, Nov 2009, 17+ mos old

Meg, Nov 2007, 17+ mos old

More Holiday

2009-12-03T20:39:00.009-05:00

This time, it's ornaments.

Meg is going to spend part of the coming weekend with my dad, and together they are going to put up his Christmas tree. They have grand plans for their 2 days together: a trip to Wal Mart to get some new ornaments, then Meg gets to put all of the "Wizard of Oz" ornaments on the tree all by herself (he has almost whole Hallmark collection).

To make his tree decorating even more fun, this afternoon Meg (and I) made two ornaments for Grandaddy's tree. We got out the works . . . paint, glitter, glue, sequins, pompoms, stars . . . it was quite an affair.

The results are awesome. We were having so much fun, we made extra tree ornaments for Nana and Papa and Great Grandma. They can expect to receive their handmade delight sometime next week.

Little Kate wanted to participate soooo badly . . . but this was just a little bit too much for her. She lingered at our feet and was a little bit jealous (and clingy) while big sister was hard at work. She somehow managed to climb up in the chair behind Meg and pester her . . .

But then she made up for it at dinner by giving us all a show and making us laugh out loud with her mashed potato antics.

All in all, a lovely afternoon with the girls. On days like today -- when we have fun and do great things together and everyone enjoys it -- I feel like a very good mom.

Another Classic

2009-12-02T23:13:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a crazy day . . . we ended up at the office where my dad got his electrolayrnx unit because his broke. The darn thing just stopped working all together. My dad could not remember the name of the place where he'd gotten the unit so we could not call them to find out the protocol on getting a repair or replacement. He did, however, remember where in town the office was. So -- once he drove all the way to my house to tell me this because he couldn't exactly call me with this news -- we packed up the girls and drove over to "Electrolarynx R Us", as we called it, in search of a working voice.

After we took care of our business -- which resulted in my dad being sent a loaner unit to use while his Tru Tone is being repaired -- Meg piped up with a very important question for the young lady working with us.

"Hey, do you guys have a bathroom around here?" was her question.

We looked at her and laughed . . . just the question, the way she phrased it, and the craziness of our day made us all laugh at little Meg. Yet another classic from the mouth of a 3 yr old.

Beautiful Children

2009-12-01T23:46:00.004-05:00

I have to use my computer time wisely the next couple of days . . . don't want to get behind on editing or card orders. Instead of a thoughtful post, I thought I'd just post a few pictures of some beautiful children. Everyone likes looking at gorgeous little ones, don't they?

These 3 belong to my oldest friend -- the matron of honor in my wedding. What a lovely family she has! We've been friends since 6th grade . . . since right about the age her oldest daughter is now. It's amazing to think that our friendship has endured nearly 20 years of ups and downs.

Welcome Christmas

2009-11-30T13:00:00.012-05:00

Welcome, Christmas. HOw our house loves to host you each December. (Hey, we love you so much that we started in November this year!)

One of the things that makes our house so Christmasy this time of year is our collection of snowmen. I have somewhere around 2 or 3 dozen 'ornamental' snowmen displayed around the house on shelves, tables, and counter tops. I have lots of snowman ornaments. I have snowmen on towels, place mats, and aprons. And -- beginning back in 2002 -- I started collecting Hallmark's annual 'Dancing Snowmen'.

The Dancing Snowmen are really very cute. My first pair -- the girl and guy snowperson duo that sing "Let it Snow" -- were a gift from my mother in law. After that, she decided to add to my collection each year, and I've been very grateful. There is something so darling about the little stuffed snowmen (and their counterparts) bopping along to holiday music . . . it makes me smile. Meg and Kate smile, too -- they also very happy that Nana has brought the singing snowmen and women into our home.

We've got six of these lovely stuffed dancers around our house this year. And -- wouldn't you know? -- Hallmark is NOT adding to the collection in 2009. They did a dancing Snoopy for the Peanuts anniversary this year. Bah Humbug, Hallmark! Snoopy is a fabulous icon of holiday spirit -- but I want my dancing snowmen.

Anyway, I guess we'll make due with the 1/2 dozen we already own.

Did I mention the girls LOVE them? The do . . . and they love to love them all at the same time. Imagine listening to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Let it Snow" and various lyrics sung to Nutcracker tunes . . . all sung in cartoony voices from six bouncing stuffed snowmen at exactly the same time. It gets pretty noisy around here these days.

But what kind of mom would I be if I got all the snowmen out, batteried them up, then said, "No, you can't play with them!" I could never do that. Instead, I just take it for as long as I can. Sometimes I manage to stand all the singing until they girls have had their fill, and sometimes I have to say, "Okay, ladies . . . just one more time . . ." in an effort to move their attention elsewhere. It's worth it. Even if it's noisy, something about those snowmen always makes me smile.

The only part that does get a little old is the fighting that sometimes ensues over which snowman belongs to which girl. But even that is short lived . . .

Initial distress over a stolen snowman . .

usually gives way to a game of "Steal Snowy" after only a few short minutes.

Yes, Welcome Christmas. And welcome Snowmen. Here's hoping that the girls get a chance to build a real snowman sometime this holiday season.

Holiday Traditions

2009-11-29T22:26:00.003-05:00

We've been swept up in the holiday traditions of Thanksgiving over the past week. Immediately upon my return from my weekend away with my dad, I hit the ground running for Thanksgiving week. We had a house full of Dahlbys, lots of holiday decor and activities to keep us busy, and two little Dahlby girls that ate up every second of the wonderful week. It was a bit of a whirlwind -- hence my lack of posting over he past several days. I didn't disappear . . . just took a week away from the computer to enjoy what the holiday was offering at my house.

There are many Thanksgiving traditions that Jim and I both bring into our family of four. As with any marriage, it's a little bit of what Jim is accustomed to at the holidays mixed with a little bit of what I grew up with that creates our very own Dahlby family holiday. A lot of compromising goes on as to which way we'll 'do things' -- such as what time we'll eat Thanksgiving dinner or what we will serve -- and what we create in the process are traditions that become uniquely our own. Traditions that (I hope) Meg and Kate will grow up to love and enjoy.

I think the A # 1 Thanksgiving holiday tradition that Jim and I have created for our family: the Georgia/Georgia Tech football game, which takes place on Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend every year. As you know, Jim is a Yellow Jacket . . . I'm a Bulldawg. It always makes for a very interesting last-Saturday-in-November. We have gone to the this game together -- Jim and I -- ever year we've been together. This year was no different. 2009 was the 9th edition of our UGA/GT rivalry game attendance.

The girls came down to the tailgate at Bobby Dodd Stadium yesterday -- though we think they are not quite old enough to actually attend the game with Mom and Dad just yet. Still, they loved tailgating with us all . . . decked out as our house divided, of course. It was fun to share with Meg and Kate the excitement of a fall tradition that means so much to Jim and me.

And at the end of the afternoon, Nana Dahlby packed up the girls and took them home so Mom and Dad could go into the stadium and see the University of Georgia reclaim our spot as the BESTcollege football team in the state of Georgia. Georgia WON last night -- which was quite an upset in the world of college football.

That is one holiday tradition I just can't ever get tired of. :)

Once a dawg, always a dawg. How sweet it is!

Hope your weekend was as happy and family-filled as ours was . . . and I hope your holiday traditions were enjoyed by everyone around you.

Let Us Be Thankful

2009-11-19T15:52:00.006-05:00

It's the thankful season. We are all thankful for so very many things this last week or two each November. I'd like to think I'm thankful every day . . . but we all know that we should stop and be grateful more often than we are.

So let me take a minute to show you what I am thankful for today.

Today, I am thankful for preschool holiday parties. There is nothing like little homemade treats (allergen free, usually) on tiny festive paper plates, followed by a little craft that all the kids are way too busy to bother to finish. I love holiday parties at the preschool. In this thankful season, I'm very thankful for my darling girls who let me share in the fun with them.

What's Up

2009-11-17T20:17:00.009-05:00

Life around here is busy. Computer issues (thank goodness Jim fixed it) and a sick Meg have kept me from blogging or even checking email for the past several days. I just logged on for the first time in 3 days. Believe it or not, I've not checked my email since Saturday. I was starting to have real withdrawal symptoms.

Anyway, here is what has kept us so busy since last we met . . .

I kept my sunglasses.

Some lady came to my door selling cleaning products (Clean & Simple -- consider yourself warned!). She came at the worst time of day . . . I was trying to get the girls ready for bed . . . but I was too nice to slam the door in her very pushy face. I ended up with some ridiculous cleaning products that I could easily live without, and I felt bad for about 2 days for spending the money on the product. I was so embarrassed -- what was I thinking?! Jim has forgiven me, but I'm still trying to forgive myself.

Jim left for a Sunday-Thursday trip. And when he returns on Thursday night, I'm off for a weekend trip with my dad. Just the two of us, taking some time to ourselves to enjoy each others company and kinda put some of 2009 behind us. It will be a very nice weekend with my Daddy. (Though I'll miss Jim and the girls a lot.)

Meg and Kate both have survived some serious chest congestion over the last week. They have not been "sick sick", just coughy, wheezy, and whiny. No real fever, just not quite themselves. And this time, Meg was the one who got the worst of it. Blech. But hey -- I learned that kids can throw up when the mucus in their chest gets to be too much for them . . . who knew?

Kate is the hostess for the Thanksgiving Feast in her MMO class on Thursday morning. And by Kate hosting . . . I really mean that I am hosting. Must make orange rice krispie treats tomorrow for the affair. I had one heck of a time finding Thanksgiving themed plates/napkins for the shindig . . . seems like many stores go straight from Halloween to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Thanksgiving, stuck smack in the middle of two very retailer-lucrative holidays, has apparently become the red-headed stepchild of seasonal merchandise.

Nana and Papa Dahlby arrive this weekend (while I'm away) for the Thanksgiving week. In preparation for their arrival, I have used my aforementioned too-expensive all-purpose cleaning product to clean my stove top, my oven, all my baseboards, my blinds, and my carpets. I guess new products plus the motivation of having my in-laws land here for more than a week is a good thing . . . by the time my cleaning lady comes and goes on Thursday afternoon, my house will be really very clean.

We have officially kicked off the holiday season at the Dahlby household. We tagged along with some friends and went to check out Santa at Phipps Plaza last week. NO -- we didn't see him yet -- we just checked him out from afar and started gearing Meg up to actually sit with him this year. And while we were in the area . . .

we rode the Pink Pig. In November (okay, in early November). It was awesome . . . the girls loved it, and there was no crowd. Too early or not to early, you can't argue with doing something when it's easy.

And speaking of holidays too early . . . we put our tree up last weekend. Okay, that one I'll give you . . . I know it's early. But with me leaving town for the weekend and Thanksgiving banging on the door as soon as I return, it just seemed like we needed to get the tree up or risk not being able to do it as a family (just the four of us, I mean) during Thanksgiving week. So last Friday night, we ate take-out and decorated the tree while watching Frosty the Snowman on DVD. It was a great night.

The early arrival of the Dahlby tree allowed me to dig out the Holiday jammies I had purchased on super-clearance at the end of last season. They'll get to wear them for a few extra weeks . . . so see, I'm trying to make the most of my money in some areas. :)

And that's what's up around here.

Am I Cool Enough?

2009-11-12T19:27:00.004-05:00

Am I cool enough for these glasses?

I found these today, and I'm wondering if I can pull them off. If so, Jim wants to wrap them up and give them to me as a Christmas present. (Less shopping for him, less returning of items for me!)

What do you think?

Working Girl

2009-11-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

I've been working some lately . . . soliciting some shoots because I miss being behind the camera. This time of year is so busy for photographers, and I've endured it for the past 3 years in a row. I complained the whole time about how hard it was to work and handle the girls. This year, I backed way off the photography to save myself from exhaustion . . . and it feels strange NOT to have a lot of work to do.

And when I look at my images, I miss the work even more. I love doing this. I'm so lucky to have a hobby that helps provide our family with a little extra 'fun money'. And I'm so lucky to have a hobby that -- dare I say it? -- I'm good at. Taking pictures makes me feel good.

Here are my favorites from a couple of my recent shoots . . .

Hours of Entertainment

2009-11-10T09:25:00.007-05:00

I had a large piece of white backdrop paper left over after a shoot this weekend, and I decided to put it to good use. The paper had been scuffed up quite a bit, so it was no longer useful in photographing . . . but it sure did make one monster piece of coloring paper. When taped to the kitchen floor, the girls found it to be hours (okay, maybe an hour) of entertainment.

Meg drew herself. I love that she has a head, a face, purple eyebrows, arms, hands, legs, feet, and shoes. (For those of you in Early Childhood Ed, you recognize that this is quite a milestone! It's fun to see what I've learned about in school happening in my very own children.)

Kate just drew and drew . . . until she got bored, then she decided to move the furniture around.

It was a fun project. I left it over night, and the girls were delighted to pick up where they left off after they ate their breakfast this morning.

Have I mentioned how much fun it is to see them playing together?! Aside from a few, "Kate's drawing on my side!" outbursts, they have colored together and seem to enjoy every minute.

Mental note: find more activities they both love. Not only is it great for them, but it is so much fun to sit back and watch.

The Christmas List Begins

2009-11-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

"Mommy! Mommy! A purple princess bike!" Meg exclaimed as we wandered through Target one October afternoon.

Naturally, I was as excited as she was to see a purple Disney Princess bike. (No, I'm not kidding.) What could be more perfect for my oldest daughter? I contained my excitement and admired the bike with Meg.

"I want to get it, " Meg told me.

"It's the time of year when we start thinking of things we'd like to ask Santa for as Christmas presents, Meg-a-loo. That would be a great present to talk to Santa about," was my response. After all, I'm certainly not going to fork over $70-some-odd bucks on a Tuesday afternoon for her purple princess bike . . . but, at the same time, I do want to get it for her. I know she'd LOVE it.

"Okay, Mommy. I can tell Santa about it. When I see him. And I can tell him he can get it at Target," my super-smart kid replied.

Well, Meg . . . Santa found your bike this weekend at Costco for $10 less than Target. And he cannot wait to deliver it to you on Christmas Eve.

A Year Later

2009-11-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

If you go back and read my blogs from one year ago, I think you can hear the stress, depression, and anxiety I was living through as I settled in to our life with two young children.

But this year, one short year later, life is so much better. It's a whole hell-of-a-lot easier with regards to taking care of the girls, and I'm a whole hell-of-a-lot better equipped to handle our family and all it entails. Funny -- with my dad's cancer and my mother's death this year, it's really been one of the worst years of my life. But with regards to my immediate family and my day-to-day life and responsibilities, it really has not been bad at all.

I remember how hard it was to get through the evenings last fall and winter. Everything took soooo long . . . and I had to do sooooo much because both of the girls were still very young and dependent on me. I had to spoon feed Kate, dress Meg, wash them both, dress them, nurse Kate, put them to bed. The evenings here are still very hectic, but they are getting easier every day. Dinner is not the marathon it once was . . . we all eat the same thing for dinner every night, and everyone feeds herself. Granted, sometimes I don't finish my plate because I'm refilling milk glasses or offering seconds to Kate (my BIG eater), but at least I'm not spoon feeding anyone or holding anyone in my lap. Meg is becoming quite a helper at dinner time -- putting dishes in the sink, cleaning up toys in the living room while I clean up the kitchen. Kate is learning to eat at the table (without the use of her high chair tray), so pretty soon we will all just sit there together and enjoy our meals as one happy family.

I can throw both girls in the tub together, wash and dry them, all in about 20 minutes (longer on some nights if I let them play while I relax for a few minutes by the side of their tub). Meg can get out of the tub, dry herself, retrieve her jammies, and put them on all by herself . . . all while I take care of Kate. Meg's ability to dress herself has been the BIGGEST milestone when it comes to our evenings . . . I'm so grateful that (for whatever self-motivated reason) she decided she was ready to start doing that. Kate does not have to be nursed anymore, so I can just jammie her up, sweetly rock her for a minute or two, they lay her down and off to sleep she goes. I read Meg a few stories, then it's lights out for her, too. Bedtime is really an entirely different process than it was one short year ago.

One year has made all the difference. There are many, MANY things that are easier . . . and a few things that are still kinda tough. We do have to have TWO of everything now -- two lollipops, two juice boxes, two snack cups. When we get ready to go somewhere -- especially now that the weather is cool -- there is a lot of shoe-tying and jacket-zipping to be done. And two totally mobile, very curious girls in a public restroom is a little harder than it was when Kate used to just hang in a stroller. But I think it's a trade off . . . and I would totally trade our 'hard' things now for what was once REALLY hard.

I survived the year with a newborn and a two year old. Now I'm loving my year with a one year old and a three year old. I hear it just gets better and better . . . which will make it harder and harder for us to go back to the beginning and have another baby. Ahhhh, but that is a conversation for another day. A conversation I've told Jim I'm not ready to have for at least another year. For now, I'm just going to enjoy these girls and the things that life throws me.

Happy One-Year-Later to Me!

Autumn is Busy

2009-11-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

ALWAYS. Our busiest time of year. At least I recognize this now . . . it's barely November, and I already find myself saying, "I'll do that after the first of the year." The fall just flies by, so I might as well enjoy it and put stuff off until 2010. What's the hurry, anyway?!

This weekend was one of those busy weekends. Friday I got to visit some high school friends . . . I dropped the girls off with my dad for the weekend, then went out to dinner with some of the girls down on the south side of town. Saturday afternoon, Jim and I capitalized on a Meg-and-Kate free afternoon by doing a little Christmas shopping and taking a nap. Jim and I attended a college friend's wedding on Saturday night, which was awesome. Sunday (today) Jim is retrieving the girls from Newnan, and I have a photo shoot in about 2 hours. Like I said, a busy weekend.

When I look ahead in our calendar, we have more busy weekends ahead . . . and when I look back, I remember our October was pretty crazy. How did I manage to do all of this last year -- with a new baby and my photography career in full swing? I'm just glad I survived . . . and so glad I backed off of the work so that I could spend my busy fall with our family. I would hate to let this time fly by and miss out on things like Saturdays at Costco with Jim or Sunday mornings with our girls. In our busy season here, I'm feeling pretty lucky.

Katie LIKES It!

2009-11-05T13:33:00.003-05:00

For those of us that grew up with the Life Cereal commercials about Mikey . . . around here, we are saying quite often, "Kate likes it!"

Kate is really turning from our baby to a walking, talking toddler before our very eyes. And finally -- after 16 months of waiting -- we are starting to learn the things she really likes (and doesn't like). She's got opinions, she's got preferences, and she has favorites. It's like she is her very own person!

I know I don't write about Kate as much as Meg . . . but that is only because Kate is so easy going, she doesn't give me much blog-worthy material. She rarely gives me any problems at all, except for the occasional pestering of her big sister (which, in all honesty, Meg kinda deserves from time to time). Kate is just so easy. She is such a little delight. We have not had to worry much about Kate . . . she just goes along with whatever rolls her way.

I'm very excited to see that now she is really starting to communicate with us, to let us know the things she wants, needs, likes. Kate's first big love -- as is the case with many toddlers -- is the big red guy, Elmo. Kate loves Elmo. One of her first words was, "El-o" and she still says it every time she sees him. Once we established that Kate was really digging Elmo, I ran around the house and gathered up every Sesame Street toy we had. I started turning on Sesame Street and Elmo . . . shows we hadn't watched in ages . . . and explained to Meg that these were shows Kate wanted to watch. And I think Kate loved it. I think she really saw how we responded to her, and so she continued to show us things that she enjoyed.

We also know that Kate enjoys playing with cars. And balls. She's not much into TV, unless it's Elmo . . . and even then it's only temporary. We have learned that she's most likely going to be right handed because she really enjoys coloring with big, fat crayons. At the table, Kate won't touch pears, she could eat anyone under the table and a mac-and-cheese eating contest, and she most certainly has a sweet tooth. She loves to play with baby dolls (just like Meg). She won't really sit still for stories or books (yet).

Kate loves to take a bath. You can just say 'Bath' and she heads right for the staircase, on her way up to have you draw the water. She would sit in the bath tub until the water got cold, if you let her. Kate doesn't mind sharing her tub with Meg . . . but on the rare nights that she gets to bathe alone, you can totally tell she is eating it up. All that space and all those toys all to herself is her own little piece of heaven. My baby girl is a bath-loving kiddo.

She's letting us in on her dislikes, too. Kate gets frustrated very easily -- way more easily than Meg, if you can believe it. My dad will tease her by offering her a toy, but then moving it slightly to one side or the other when she reaches for it . . . you know, a little game . . . and MAN does she hate that. She stomps her little feet and complains like nothing else. Unfortunately, her complaining is still a lot of "Ehh! Ehhh! Ehhh!" type grunts and whines. I'll be glad when she can verbalize her feelings . . . she's loud, and that complaining can really be unnerving at times.

Kate will also fly off the handle when Meg snatches something from her, especially if she is really enjoying it. This has resulted in Kate learning to seriously guard any coveted item for fear that the big sister will come along and take it away. Sad, but true. I have to think that is just the way it goes with siblings. That is not to say that I allow Meg to snatch things -- but there just has got to be some give-and-take as a result of having more than one kid in the house.

Even with her new opinions, Kate remains very easy going. She is like Jim in that . . . she doesn't ask for much, but when she does, she means it. Meg looks like Jim but acts like me; Kate looks like me and acts like Jim. Opposites, of course . . . that may be one of the biggest discoveries we are making as Kate comes into her own. These girls of ours are about as opposite as they could be. Figures, I guess . . . I think that is the way it is supposed to be.

It's just so fun to learn more and more about my second born. For so long, we've just carted her around . . . she's been the one that has had to go-with-the-flow. But not for much longer. I'm working on two walking, talking, opinionated girls around here. Really, it's pretty fun.

Nap Update

2009-11-03T22:58:00.006-05:00

So . . . screw it. I'm still putting Meg down for a nap most days. I just can't give it up, and she does not seem to mind her daytime sleep. She still needs it, honestly.

Meg skipped a nap Tuesday and Wednesday last week, which worked out to be just OK. I was hoping less napping would mean early bed times and better mornings . . . but it didn't really work out exactly like that.

Tuesdays are hard because Meg has preschool, lunch, then only about 90 minutes until dance class. I figured that was a good day to try out the skipped nap . . . just let her stay up and go to dance. Last week, that worked out fine. No nap on Tuesday, off to dance, early to bed. Then I thought Wednesday morning Meg would wake up all rested and feeling good from her early bed time . . . but she woke up in her usual semi-crabby mood. So we skipped a nap again on Wednesday. Why not try again? I figured. She fell asleep in the car on the way home from an afternoon of errand-running. And she was pretty crabby that evening. And she woke up as usual on Thursday, which -- as I have established -- is not very easily.

My plan didn't work. Or -- maybe it was doomed from the start because my little three-year-old still needs her naps. The rest of last week and all weekend, Meg got her naps.

Then today -- Tuesday again -- I goofed and let her nap. After last week, I had decided that it might be easier to let Meg skip naps on Tuesday to avoid having to wake her up for dance and face the sleepy monster she can become. But I thought dance was cancelled because they follow the local school holiday calendar . . . and today was a school holiday due to local elections. No school = no dance = Meg can nap . . . but that wasn't the case today. Turns out the studio only sticks to the school calendar for real holidays.

Too bad I didn't learn about this until I had already put Meg down for her nap. But thank goodness that another mom called to let me know or else Meg would have missed dance all together.

I had to wake Meg up about 1 hour into her nap in order to dress and depart for dance class. It was awful. Crying, whining, crying, more whining. When we arrived at the dance studio, another mom cheerfully asked her if she had tears on her face or if she had been splashed with water. It was that bad. Her twisted seat belt was enough to send her into a fit for the entire (5 min) ride to the studio, and the tears were flowing.

"Oh, those are tears . . . and lots of them," I replied to the friendly mom. With Meg's tear-stained grimace, I bet everyone in the place thought I'd drug my poor kid to dance against her will. I bet I looked like a pushy mom, forcing her kid into her leotard and tights for my own benefit.

Nope. Meg loves dance. Loves it. Just HATES missing sleep.

Like I said -- screw the whole nap debate. I don't have any more time to worry about it. What I learned from my little experiment is that Meg can deal without her nap, but it's not always a pretty sight. So, if we have to skip a nap, we'll survive. But if at all possible, let the kid sleep for a while mid-afternoon. Everyone is happier for it.

*Sigh* At least this means that afternoon naps are safe for little Kate for months to come.

More from the Mouth of Meg

2009-11-02T10:22:00.000-05:00

"Did you play on the playground today?" I ask as we drive away from preschool car pool.

"Well . . . " Meg begins. She's so animated and involved in her story telling these days, many of her responses begin that way. With hand motions . . . like lifting her arms, bent at the elbow, and turning her hands over, palms up, then bouncing them up and down as she talks. Or putting her little fingers close to her mouth like a megaphone. All for emphasis, I'm sure.

"When we got ready to go out side, it wasn't quite sunny enough to play outside. So we had to go to the big room (gym) and play a wittle bit. Then we checked again, and it was quite sunny enough, so we got to go outside and swide."

_____

Meg sleeps with 2 lovees. She needs both of them to sleep . . . though they are identical blankets. Our original thought was that we'd have 2 of the same lovee . . . one for the car or the wash, one for her to love. But somehow, she ended up with both. Now we need them both. So, Meg sleeps with 2 lovees.

Sometimes she likes to pretend she doesn't need the lovees for sleeping. The truth is, they are a great source of comfort for her, and she does need them to help her settle in and rest. But, she sometimes likes to play the 'big girl' card and tell me she does not need her lovees.

"Where are your lovees?" I ask as Meg and I settle in for some bedtime stories.

"I don't need them. I'm a big girl, so I don't need my lovees," Meg tells me.

Sigh. This happens a lot -- the lovees disappear as we go through the bedtime routine. I think it's a ploy to stretch out her bedtime.

"Meg, please go get them. I don't want to start reading and you to start complaining because you don't have your lovees. It's okay to sleep with them -- it doesn't make you a baby," I say.

"But, Mommy. I don't need them. Trust me," she replies.

Trust me. Really? My 3 year old says, "Trust me." ??

________________________

Meg: "Mommy, can we get another baby?"

Me: "What?!"

Meg: "I'm ready for you to get another baby."

After scoffing, I reply, "Well, since we are ordering up babies, do you want a boy or a girl?"

Meg: "A girl. We can name her Jim. Daddy would like that."

_____________________

"Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be like you."

A blushing and flattered mother replies through her smiles, "What do you mean?"

"Like, a Mommy. I want to be a Mommy like you."
"Oh, I hope so, Meg. And what will you do when you are a Mommy?" Mom asks.
"Take care of me and Kate, like you do," Meg matter-of-factly states.

In that moment, I felt really, truly appreciated. It was sweet to see that Meg recognizes all the things that her mommy does for her.

______

Riding in the car . . . when some of our best conversations occur. So many witty comments occur while driving, I have started carrying a little pad and paper with me so that I can remember some of the best ones. This one happened on a Sunday, after a shopping errand with everyone in tow.

"Daddy, when we get home, can I have some more juice?" asked Meg.

"I don't know, Meg. You've already two cups of juice today. That's a lot," Daddy replies. (Good Daddy!)

"Two cups is not a lot of juice, Daddy. TEN cups is a lot of juice. Two is not a lot," replied Meg.

Jim and I both laughed . . . we had to try not to laugh out loud for fear that she'd realize she was being cute. Meg can really ham it up if she knows she's amusing us.

"How about this, Meg. Two cups might not be a lot, but it's enough. We'll talk about milk or water when we get home," Daddy said.

"Okay. But it's not a LOT. Two cups of juice is not a lot of juice, Daddy," says Meg. She has to have the last point in the conversation on many occasions.

____

Just a side note: Meg does, in fact, address us as "Mommy" or "Daddy" as often as I state in these little quips. She calls us by name nearly all the time . . . sometimes I hear "Mommy" so many times in one day, I want to scream. (I'm terrible, I know.) She can't start a conversation without saying, "Mommy . . ." and she rarely continues what she is saying until I respond with, "Yes, Meg?" It's cute -- and I waited my whole life to be called Mommy -- but I often wonder how many times a day I hear my own name.

We're Off to See the Wizard

2009-11-01T22:50:00.007-05:00

Unfortunately, it rained on Halloween.

But that did not slow us down one single bit. Rain or shine, it was the MOST fun Halloween I have ever had.

Meg could not WAIT to Trick or Treat. Starting on Thursday, she was saying, "The day after tomorrow we will Trick or Treat!" Then Friday came, and she knew Halloween was just one day away. When I warned her that it might rain, she responded with, "That's OK, Mommy. I'll hold my Toto and basket in THIS hand, and I'll hold my Aurora umbrella in the other hand."

True to her word, she had it all figured out when we stepped out into the mist to Trick or Treat around the 'Hampton on Saturday evening. It was cold and wet, but Meg did not care. She rang doorbell after doorbell . . . then ran back to report what goodies she was given. I don't know when I've seen her so excited. (And yes, I eventually talked her into wearing a jacket over her dress, as sad as it was to cover up her blue gingham.)

And Kate . . . well, once she was suited up like the Scarecrow, I could not get enough of her. She was the cutest little Ozian I could have ever imagined. She took the whole night in stride . . . she did not let the the rain bother her at all (though she got SOAKED!). She toddled along behind Meg and wanted to go to each and every house her big sister did. Kate could not say, "Trick or Treat" just yet, but nobody cared. The neighbors took one look at her and those painted-on freckles, and she was given as much candy as her chubby little hands could carry.

It was so much fun.

And when our baskets were full, home we went to dump out the loot and see what we'd gotten. The girls were stripped down to their underclothes and I tried to get them upstairs into a warm bath -- but they weren't having any of it. They wanted to give out candy to the trick-or-treaters ringing our doorbell, and they wanted to eat as much of their candy as we'd let them. So that's what we did.

Rain or shine, it was an awesome night. It's going to be hard to top it in years to come . . . the cuteness, the innocence, the sheer joy they felt from such a fun event. I had a blast watching my girls soak up the childhood wonder that is Halloween.

Now that it is all over -- and the girls had such a great time -- what on earth do I do with all of this candy?!

Happy Halloween & GO DAWGS!

2009-10-31T14:20:00.003-04:00

If I had not spent the money on the girl's Oz gear, I think I would have them go trick-or-treating in their Georgia uniforms!

Go Dawgs -- BEAT those Gators!!

(Hey, stranger things have happened -- especially in college football!!)

And even Mommy & Daddy got into the Halloween spirit for a party last night . . . lookin' pretty good, if I do say so myself!!

Happy Halloween!

Favorite Photo Friday

2009-10-30T15:10:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time for Favorite Photo Friday . . . so I thought I'd share some of the Halloween fun from the week. Both of these were taken at the girls preschool parties this week. I'm such a sucker for a preschool party. I'm totally the mom shooting a million pictures with my big a$$ camera and bulky flash. But I don't care. I get some adorable pictures of my girls.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Kate, Oct 29, 2009, Marietta GA

Meg (and boyfriend Jack), Oct 29, 2009, Marietta GA

The Great Nap Debate

2009-10-27T22:57:00.001-04:00

It is on going, this Great Nap Debate. To nap or not to nap. That is the question.

Ugh. SO sick of that question. My life has seemingly revolved around those 6 words for 3 years, 4 months. Did she nap? Is she napping? Will she be awake in time? Did she fall asleep in the car? What time was her last nap? How long did she sleep? As the mother of 2 kids 3 and under, naps take up a lot of my thought process and my time.

We are on the brink of dropping Kate's morning nap all together. Occassionally she gets one, but about 5 days a week she goes without. I was quite a bit more anxious to have Kate drop that morning nap than I was for Meg to drop it . . . when I just had one kid, that morning naptime is when I showered, ate, read email, got ready for the day. Meg napped in the morning until sometime past 18 months old. But when it's your second child that is the morning napper, it's a bit harder. You get used to taking care of your out-of-the-house activities in the morning . . . but then baby #2 comes along, and you are house bound again from 9:00-10:30am. Anyway, Kate is doing fine with the lack of morning sleep. The only time she actually gets to rest is when we are home doing nothing and I take advantage of a little morning break. She'll only sleep an hour or so, then she's up and ready to go.

As usual, Kate is a piece of cake. She has transitioned easily and with no fuss.

The BIG nap debate around here is Meg. Ah, the big sister. She is showing many of the signs that she is ready to give up her afternoon nap, but I think I'm totally in denial. NO nap? That means no break from both girls in the middle of the day. That idea is very scary.

This has really been going on for over a month now, but . . . like I said . . . total denial. It started when I was noticed that Meg was staying up very late in her bed at night. We'd put her to bed at her usual 7:30-7:45pm, but she would still be awake in her bed at 9:00pm. She never cried or fussed . . . but she'd talk, sing, kick her wall, toss around. She was still WIDE awake. I knew something was up. Why was she staying up so late? And should I care -- since she wasn't bothering anyone?

I debated dropping the nap then. They say that late bed times are a big sign that the afternoon nap is no longer necessary. Jim suggested that I just late her stay up a little later in the evening in an effort to keep the serenity of the mid-day 'ME' time. That sounded like a much better idea to me. So, we adjusted our evenings, and Meg was allowed to say up until about 8:00-8:30pm. We tried it for a while, and it seemed to work out well.

Now, several weeks later, I'm noticing that Meg is sleeping very late. She's not getting up until after 8:00am, which makes it really tough to get her up and dressed and fed before we leave for preschool at 8:45am. (I'm here solo, mind you -- it's just me and the girls in the mornings, so it takes me a while to get everyone up and fed.) She is also taking her naps later and later in the day . . . which is just messing up scheduling all around.

And the naps are not what they once were, either. You could not tell from the Pumpkin Patch pictures, but getting Meg up and out the door for that adventure was a terrible experience. She'd taken a nap too late and did NOT want to wake up. Now I know how parents of teenagers must feel . . . when your kid dosen't want to get up, they will not get up. And there is little you can do. You can't yell at them -- well, not at a 3 yr old, anyway -- because it does nothing to help the situation. You can't physically get them up because they'll just fight you every step of the way. After a long battle to get out the door to the pumpkin patch, I said to Jim, "We would have been better off without a nap."

I've thought about that for 48 hours now. Is the nap really worth all of this? She's really trying to tell me she does not need the daytime sleep any more. Should I give in and work with her on dropping that nap?

Selfishly, I don't want to! I have to be home for an afternoon nap for Kate, anyway . . . and having Meg nap at the same time is so convenient. I worked very VERY hard to align their nap schedules so that I could have just a little break mid-day.

But why should I torture myself and Meg with a nap she doesn't want or need? The 'ME' time is not worth all the other hassles I'm getting . . . fights to get dressed for preschool, whining when she has to go to bed because she's not tired yet.

And so I decided today that I'd let Meg skip her nap. I'd try it. Tuesdays are Dance Class days, and we always try to squeeze the nap in . . . but I was not about to wake her up to go to Dance. Not after Sunday's horrors. I though today was a good day to test out letting her stay up all afternoon. Minus the nap, we went straight to Dance after baby sister woke up from her afternooon snooze. It all worked out perfectly . . . Meg enjoyed Dance and was not even that tough to deal with in the evening. She was in bed before 8pm tonight, and I know that she was OUT shortly after. The kid was pooped.

No nap really wasn't that big of a deal at all.

Does this mean that we are about to embark on a sea of days with no naps? Hours and hours of Meg in the afternoons? And what on EARTH do I do to keep her entertained (and out from in front of the TV) between 1pm and 3pm??

The Great Nap Debate continues . . .

Pumpkin Nostalgia

2009-10-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

I can't help myself. Going through all of our pumpkin patch pictures from the weekend made me think back to our previous 3 years of pumpkin patch attendance. I can't believe how much our girls have grown -- or how much alike they are.

I hope you are up for a little pumpkin nostalgia . . .

My question to you: can you tell the difference between Meg and Kate in all of these? I can, but they are my girls. People keep telling me that Kate is really starting to look like Meg . . . I don't see it, but maybe you do.

And, finally, what a difference a year makes . . .

PS

2009-10-26T22:17:00.005-04:00

The quality on that slideshow stunk, so link on over to our Picasa albums to get a better view of the pumpkin patch images.

Pumpkins 2009

Maybe I'll try Smilebox next time. Or . . . maybe I should stick with the old method of uploading a few of my favorites.

Yesterday was a Teaser

2009-10-26T15:00:00.007-04:00

Don't really know what happened with the whole slideshow thing yesterday . . . so I had to start all over using my good old friend, Photoshop Elements. (Here is my promo for Photoshop Elements: I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to improve and spruce up your digital photographs.) Sorry for the mix up there.

Here is the real slideshow, complete with what I thought to be the perfect song for the show. I didn't bother editing any of these photos -- I don't have the time -- so they aren't my best work. Still, there are cute moments here that I am so happy to have captured.

To my friends out there that have one child and are expecting/just had baby # 2 -- THIS is what it's all about. The first year was tough, but look what we got as a reward for our work! Two of the sweetest, most in-love sisters ever. Having 2 kids takes some getting used to, but I'm learning quickly how wonderful having 2 can be.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-25T23:47:00.003-04:00

We returned to our normal, busy life this weekend . . . complete with our annual pumpkin patch visit. This year was SO much fun with both girls. They had a blast, and so did we.

Trying a new video/slideshow thing . . . hope it works. Of course, what would the pumpkin patch be without my camera and matching pumpkin shirts?!

OK -- I know it doesn't work -- technical difficulties are being examined :)

Hawai'i

2009-10-24T14:22:00.029-04:00

I don't really know where to start . . . so much to tell about our wonderful week away. I think I wrote about 5 different intros for this blog, but nothing seems quite right. It was such an awesome week, I just can't put it into words.

I guess I'll start with . . . Aloha -- we are back from our tropical vacation.

Jim and I had such a fabulous time experiencing the islands of Kauai and Oahu on our 'parents only' trip to the Pacific. We lounged. We sipped cocktails by the pool. We ate wonderful meals. We soaked up the sun. We went for lots of long drives. We tried to sleep in . . . but the 6 hour time change didn't really allow for that much. We did all kinds of things together that we had not done in what seemed like forever. It was amazing.

To sum in up into something you can read in about a 5-7 minute blog . . .

Friday -- traveled all day, arriving in Lihue, Kauai at 4:50pm their time, 10:50pm EST. We pushed through and stayed up as late as we could . . . which was only 9:00pm. We crashed early and loved sleeping in our great big bed as long as we wanted to.

Our view from our balcony in Kauai

Saturday -- we were up very early, 5am. We drove up to the east coast of Kauai and had breakfast. Off roaded out to a few beaches, just checking the place out. Back to the hotel, a quick change into swimsuits, then out to the pool/beach for the rest of the day. Dinner about an hour's drive from Lihue, up to Hannelai. Awesome seafood dinner, then back to bed kinda early. (The time change was really pretty brutal -- that plus a day of sun really wiped us out.)

On the beach bright and early Saturday morning

Our resort beach on Saturday afternoon

Sunset in Hanneleai

Sunday -- a (self guided) tour of the west coast of Kauai, including Waimeia Canyon. We off roaded again, but this time I was really scared we were going to get stuck. The road was really bad and very steep at times. Jim swore we'd be OK, so I gritted my teeth and trusted him. In the end, we were fine . . . but even JIM will tell you he was a little worried at times. We wrapped up our west side adventures and headed back to Lihue for our helicopter tour mid afternoon. The one hour tour by air was nothing short of unbelievable (and I couldn't help but think of our little garage sale as I boarded the tiny aircraft). After our day of touring, we went back to the pool for a few hours, then just stuck around the resort for dinner.

Waimeia Canyon (crazy) Road

View from the top of Waimeia Canyon rd -- complete with rainbow

View from my seat on the helicopter, viewing the Na'Pali Coast of Kauai

Monday -- We were going to go hiking on the north end of Kauai, but we decided instead to 'beach hop' all day. The hike we passed up was amazing when we saw it from the air . . . and we really wanted to do it . . . but there just wasn't enough time to do it all. I voted for a day of beaches and shopping, and Jim was willing to oblige. We went to a few beaches and really got a kick out of watching people surf and jump off of crazy-high rocks at the edge of the ocean. Monday night was our Luau experience -- which we loved. It was a perfect mix of authentic (delicious) Hawaiian foods and amazing dancing. Our luau totally rocked.

Shipwreck Beach -- YES, we saw several people jump!

At the luau with Jim -- see how tan he got on our vacation?

Ok, seriously . . . a self portrait at the luau

Tuesday -- up early (which was still not a problem, even 3 days into the trip), the off to fly Hawaiian Airlines over to Honolulu. Moving from a 'country' island like Kauai to the big city that is Honolulu was quite a change. Honolulu reminded me a lot of LA . . . big buildings, high end shopping, and the beach right across the street from it all. We stayed in a huge and fantastic resort right at the end of Waikiki beach, which was not only a cool resort but a perfect location. On that day we arrived, an old friend of mine that now lives in Honolulu met up with Jim and I, and we walked all the way down Waikiki with her. We spent some more quality time at the pool, then we showered and had a great dinner with my friend and her family. We even managed to cram a little shopping in when we returned to the resort . . . by Tuesday we were finally adjusting to the time change and found ourselves able to stay up past 10pm.
At the end of Waikiki Beach (you know you wanted to see me in a bathing suit, admit it.)

Wednesday -- up early, off to the North Shore. We ate lunch at a shrimp truck about 2/3 of the way North. We parked ourselves on a couple of beaches and watched the most amazingly HUGE waves crash in front of us. We ate ice cream and walked through some touristy shops at the northern most town, then we went through the inner island back to our resort. We showered and then walked through the strip down Waikiki. We finally stopped for dinner well after 9pm . . . and somehow I ended up singing Karaoke after we ate.
Sunrise over Waikiki from our hotel room

Thursday -- our last day. We got up early and were some of the first in line to see the Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial. This is something that I would say is a CAN'T MISS in Honolulu -- I'm so very happy that we were able to see this on our trip. The National Parks representatives command a lot of respect for the memorial, as it is not only an "attraction" but also the final resting place for over 800 of the 11oo men that died there on Dec 7, 1941. It was really a sight to been see and experienced. Because our red eye left that afternoon, the rest of the day we spent at our resort . . . I was hoping for some last minute sun, but our daily rainfall came mid-morning, meaning that I was not really able to sit out by the pool for long. It didn't really matter . . . we just showered and headed to the airport. At this point in the trip, I was getting really ready to see the girls again. I missed them every day, and knowing we were heading home that night just made me miss them more on Thursday. At 4pm in Hawaii (10pm at home), we boarded our 9 hour flight and traveled back to Atlanta.

On the USS Arizona Memorial

I know I didn't include a whole lot of detail in my description of our week away . . . but that is because I just can't put into words how wonderful everything was. I've already used the words 'awesome' and 'amazing' and 'wonderful' waaaayyy more times than I'd like in this blog, but that is simply because I can't think of any other words to use to convey the fantastic trip we took.

We rented a Jeep Wrangler on both islands so we could enjoy Hawaii with the windows and top down all week. Jim body surfed on Shipwreck Beach in Kauai and cut up his elbow pretty good. There were chickens all over Kauai . . . a result of a 1992 hurricane that displaced the chickens from the farms and left them wild all over the island. It rained every day, but never for long and it didn't ruin a thing. I got a lot of sun -- and my Hawaiian tan is probably my favorite souvenir from the trip. I ate a lot of fish. We bought the girlst Tshirts, Leis, and two Disney Princess dolls with leis and flowers in their hair.

Not only was the place we visited so breathtaking, but just having a week together -- me and Jim -- was totally priceless. We really enjoyed being away from everything. I think we needed it -- I mean, don't we all? We need time as a couple to recharge and reconnect, and Hawaii was perfect for that.

I missed the hell out of the girls. Everything reminded us of them . . . and countless times we were sad they weren't there to experience it with us. According to my dad, that is the way we will feel when we go anywhere without them for the rest of our lives. They would have loved our resort pools and the ocean, and they would have had so much fun at the luau. But they would have hated the looong travel and the vicious jet lag from the trip . . . so they won't be making a Hawaii journey until they are much, much older. And besides -- Mommy and Daddy need a place to retreat once in a while.

Hawaii was really very cool. If you haven't gone, put it at the top of your list. We are already talking about when we can go back. It's a piece of paradise, and it was an awesome place to visit.

We returned to life just as we'd left it . . . neighborhood parties, Halloween, preschool, a trip to the pumpkin patch. The girls had a great week at home with my dad, Nana, and Papa. They went about life as usual while Mom and Dad were away with no complaints at all (from what we heard). It was so nice to be away from our life for a little while, and now that we are back I think the time away helped me appreciate our life a little more. My wonderful girls, my perfect husband. We are a long way from Hawaii, but I think our house is a little piece of paradise right here in Marietta.

I have toooooo many pictures to share, so link on over here to our Picasa album if you are interested . . . I've used the captions to narrate our trip. Enjoy. . . and Mahalo for reading!

Hawaii 2009

A Post from LAX

2009-10-16T14:53:00.002-04:00

Hello from sunny California. Oh, didn't I mention that Jim and I were going to Hawaii for the week? That we were leaving today?

I didn't?

Well, I didn't forget to mention it . . . I guess that the week of preparation for our trip just got away from me. You know me . . . whenever we prepare for a vacation, I always get stressed and go above and beyond 'normal' vacation prep. This time was different -- no KIDS coming along, so no kid packing to be done. The girls are staying home at our house with the grandparents, so I only needed to prepare THEM for what they'd be doing this week. And clean up my house so that my mother-in-law doesn't think I'm a terrible housekeeper when she shows up. And let everyone know who needs to be where and when they need to be there . . . and get medical release forms updated (including our Will) . . . and grocery shop. And get waxed so I'd be appropriate in a bathing suit (wink wink). And throw some stuff in a bag for myself for our week away.

Like I said, I always stress myself out just getting to a vacation.

But as of last night when we put Meg and Kate to bed, Jim and I were officially ON VACATION. All the prep was done. We were up and out of the house well before the girls . . . so we did our good-byes last night. Jim and I left Atlanta early this morning, and now we are waiting our connecting flight to Kauai here at the Delta Crown Room in Los Angeles.

A WEEK IN HAWAII. Jim and me. It's going to be awesome.

All week long -- as I prepared and prepared for what would go on in Georgia while we were gone -- I kept thinking, "Am I even going to be sad to leave the girls? Will I even miss them for the first few days?" I'm just so excited to spend some true adult time with my husband . . . I wasn't sure how I'd really feel about leaving Meg and Kate. The idea of laying on the beach with a drink in my hand clouded my ability to consider how hard it might be to leave my kids behind. I thought I would be able to leave with no problems . . . even though this is the first time I've left Kate, I've never left Meg for this long, and we will be farther away from them than we've ever been before. I wondered if it might be too easy for me.

The reality: when I put them to be last night, I couldn't get enough 'good bye' hugs or kisses. I think I started missing them at naptime yesterday -- and we hadn't even left yet. I had to wake Meg up briefly this morning to say bye just one more time. I had to watch Kate sleep for just a few more minutes before we threw our bags in the car and headed to the airport. We've been gone for about 6 hours now, and I miss everything about them already.

Don't worry -- I won't spend my week worrying about my girls or wishing I was home. They are in GREAT hands with both my dad and Jim's parents. Their plans are made and all the instructions are left for everyone . . . I think that they are going to have a great week without us.

And will will have a great week without them. We don't have a lot of plans for our time in Hawaii . . . just the aforementioned helicopter tour, a hike or two, and lots of time on the beach. By 11pm tonight (EST -- about 5pm Hawaii time), we will be at our hotel in Kauai, ready to start our vacation.

Aloha . . . we are now boarding our flight to Hawaii. Next stop: Paradise!

Independence

2009-10-13T11:29:00.003-04:00

Kate has decided that she wants to eat by herself. If she could talk, I think our meals would start with, "Leave me alone, Mom. I can do this all by myself . . . I'll just watch Meg and do what she does."

Meals are messy. They take forever. Food is everywhere . . . the high chair, on Kate, on the window, on the table. But Kate is learning to eat with utensils and feed herself . . . one heaping spoonful at a time.

Meg has decided that she wants to dress herself . . . not only the physical act of dressing, but she also wants to be an integral part in selecting what she's going to wear.

Some days are better that others.

It started with jammies . . . she wanted to pick them out, so for months we've been wearing horribly mis-matched pajamas to bed. Then she wanted to pick her clothes . . . and I have had to learn how to 'cope' with that. (There are still times mommy gets to pick out the clothing . . . and Meg just has to deal with it.) Most recently, Meg wants to actually put the clothes on herself -- and for that I am excited. It takes forever for her to dress, but it's so worth it. I dream of a day in the near future when she can just run to her room and come back all dressed and ready for the day. How lovely that will be.

Today, Meg proudly wore her Halloween shirt to preschool . . . with the neck hole so stretched out, it looked like a boat-neck Tshirt. When I asked, "Did you have trouble getting your shirt on over your head?" Meg replied, "Yeah. I haded (had-ed) to put my arms through the neck hole. It didn't work. I got all twisted, so I just took it off and started over."

My children are becoming more and more independent every day. I am one proud mommy.

I Feel Behind

2009-10-11T13:09:00.006-04:00

There have been so many things going on that I've wanted to blog about in the past few weeks . . . but the water in the basement followed by the stomach flu have kept me from blogging the way I'd like. I've started about 5 blogs about random things . . . but I have not gotten around to finishing or posting those blogs because more important things have come up. I think of interesting, enlightening topics all the time . . . but lately they have not made it from my brain to the blog.

I feel behind.

But don't we always feel that way? About nearly everything?

It takes some getting used to, this constant feeling of never being able to keep up. Just part of being a grown up, really. This blog is only ONE thing that I feel is constantly on my list of things that I'm behind on . . . lately I've also felt behind on grocery shopping, laundry, returning emails/phone calls, and editing portraits (of my OWN family). And many, many other things as well. I always feel behind on something. That's just the way it is.

Occasionally, I might kid myself and think that I'm getting a handle on everything. And just when I think I might actually feel like I am catching up, something always happens to throw me off. For example, I had JUST thought to myself that things were getting back to 'normal' after all of my father's cancer procedures this spring when my mother dropped dead in July. I cursed myself for even thinking that I was getting caught up on my life . . . but I think that experience helped me realize that I will always live in a perpetual state of being behind. There will always be something that needs doing. That is just life.

I can harp on it, waste time, and get more behind . . . or I can just do what I can when I can, and know that everything that needs doing will eventually get done.

Oh -- and then there are the things you want to do vs. the things you have to do. You can do a thing from the 'want' list and have fun doing it . . . but then something on the 'have' list rears it's ugly head, and once again you feel like you are playing catch up. It's a game I play with myself . . . rewarding myself with 'fun' activities and paying for it later by feeling behind on other things. Don't we all play that game? I think we have to because if we never took time out to enjoy something just for ourselves, we would most certainly drive ourselves batty.

Anyway, I'm feeling behind this Sunday. I feel behind a lot. Instead of a bullet pointed list of all the stuff I wish I had blogged about in the last couple of weeks, I think I'll just post this one about always feeling behind . . . and I'll let the rest go.

Now I can cross one more thing off my list. (The 'want to' list, that is . . . I have a dishwasher full of clean dishes in the kitchen that are screaming at me from my 'have to' list.)

A Helicopter Flight in Hawaii

2009-10-10T20:36:00.011-04:00

Today was the community Garage Sale. The big event that we'd worked for about 3 weeks to prepare for; the big garage sale that was going to rid us of all of our junk. Jim and I both have been excited about this garage sale for quite some time. It was going to be a big Saturday at the Dahlby's.

The only thing that could spoil it: Rain.

And what, of course, was the forecast for this morning? Rain.

I was just about to start asking, "Am I EVER going to catch a break?" . . . when the rain decided to hold off today and let us have our Garage Sale in peace. A big shout out to Mother Nature -- we appreciate your cooperation today.

Thanks to the good weather (and Jim's diligent selling efforts), we sold a ton of our junk . . . from shoes to spice racks to strollers. So much junk. I was astounded at some of the stuff that actually sold, it was so junky. But sell it did. From about 8:00am till noon we had very steady traffic, and the sales (and haggling) were coming left and right. It was pretty happening in our driveway as the sun came up this Saturday.

You know what else astounded me? The stuff that didn't sell. We had a nice, big TV for sale -- and we thought certainly someone would buy it for $50. Nope. And I had a bunch of very standard, cream colored curtain panels for sale that are still sitting in our garage this evening. And a nice, over sized mirror (with a gold frame, unfortunately) did not sell for a measly $15. Humph. Guess some my junk is still junk in other people's eyes, too.

Yesterday, as we prepare for our Hawaiian vacation later this week, I bought a travel book that several friends had recommended we take along with us. And in that book, we were sad to learn that a helicopter flight on Kauai is about $400 per couple. Ouch. It's one of the things we really, really want to do on our vacation . . . but the $400 price tag sure has made us think twice about how badly we really, really want to do it.

This morning I jokingly said, "Hey, if we make $400, there is our helicopter flight in Hawaii!" I didn't think for a minute we'd come close to that kind of Garage Sale profit.

I'm here to say: we will be taking a helicopter flight in Hawaii. All of our hard work paid off, and the Garage Sale was a big success. It was fun and functional -- totally worth the effort. And maybe a week from today, I'll be thinking of our Saturday morning sale as we tour one of the Hawaiian Islands by air.

Look Who is Feeling Better

2009-10-06T14:23:00.003-04:00

Finally! Hooray! She woke up this morning and was all smiles . . . downed a piece of toast and half a banana, then went about her day.

Last night, as I rocked her all the way to sleep, hot tears stung my eyes while I said a quick prayer to help her feel better. I think it must have been answered because Kate is so much better today. Thank God.

Back to the Pediatrician

2009-10-05T15:37:00.004-04:00

They swear it's only a virus.

Kate was so lethargic this morning, I had to take her back to the doctor. When I sat her down next to a basket of toys and she proceeded to simply lay down next to it, I knew we were not well yet.

They gave her a good exam . . . and they stand firm that only time will make her feel better. No bowel obstruction (thank goodness). No need for blood work since it is only stomach problems with no fever. Really, there is nothing anyone can do for her.

She is just pitiful today . . . the most pitiful I think she's been so far. I think this is the sickest kid I've had to date. I shipped Meg home with my dad, and Kate and I have just sat together pretty much all day long. I only have a few minutes to blog while she sleeps . . . she has had my 100% attention since she woke up this morning. As I type, her monitor is RIGHT next to me . . . I feel like I'm on 'high alert' because I literally jump every time she makes even the slightest sound.

The good news: no puking today. The bad news: now Kate is refusing to eat. She'll drink -- and she's not dehydrated -- but now she won't even eat a cracker (a typical fav of hers).

I hate this. I think I speak for every, single parent out there when I say: there is nothing in the worse in the world than having a sick child.

After Days and Days . . .

2009-10-04T19:40:00.002-04:00

of taking care of sick children, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Ugh. It was SO bad, I had to share it.

Please, please let Kate feel better tomorrow. She ralphed 3 times this morning before I could get the Zofran in her, and that helped to at least stop the vomiting. The rest of the day she walked around like a mini ticking timebomb . . . I was just waiting for her to start up again. Thankfully, she didn't.

Another fitful night of sleep for mommy . . . I can never sleep when they are sick like this. The slightest noise wakes me up and sending me hurdling down the hall to their bedrooms. Then back to my bed, more tossing and turning, and then finally morning comes. After a week of this, I'm pretty exhausted.

And Jim is already gone. Left this morning about 1 hour after Kate's latest episode started. Being here alone with two sick kids is scary. What if I need to go to the ER again? What if they both start up? What if -- God forbid -- I get sick again? I can handle being alone . . . that I am used to . . . but when the girls are sick it's a whole different ball game. I hate it. I hate them being sick, and I hate being here by myself to combat it.

I think I can will them well , right? Tomorrow they WILL be well. They will! I won't let it be any other way! (Hey, it's worth a try.)

If you have any tricks up your sleeve that might help me get through this, do tell. I'm desperate at this point. Or, if you just have a prayer to spare, send it our way. We need it to help us kick whatever it is that has taken over our house.

It's NOT Over

2009-10-04T17:47:00.001-04:00

Kate is still sick. Started again today at 8:30am.

UGH.

The Plague

2009-10-03T15:52:00.003-04:00

Yep, it took over.

Took Meg down at about 4:30pm on Thursday evening, and I followed at about 8:00pm that night. Kate relapsed just a couple of hours later . . . so there was a period of time on Thursday night when all three Dahlby girls were hurling.

Thank GOD Jim was home to help. Now pray that HE doesn't get it. After all he did to take care of us, he does not deserve to endure the wrath of that awful virus.

We survived, but we are very tired and weak from our experience.

And that's it. What a miserable week we had. The good news: it's OVER. I don't think we will have a stomach flu around here again for a while, so at least we have that going for us.

Blech. Puking sucks.

We've Got a Puker

2009-09-30T22:11:00.006-04:00

Kate and I were in the ER last night. Uncontrollable, frequent vomiting for hours. I'm really very tired and don't feel like blogging . . . we didn't return home until 12:30am . . . but I feel I should write about it. Really, I feel like I should warn you moms and dads out there in the Atlanta area . . . when you have a sick kid and you are really worried about him/her, go directly to the Emergency Room.

My poor Katy-did is doing much better today . . . but 12 hours ago, she had only finally stopped puking and was just miserable.

The whole ordeal started at 2:30pm when I heard a all-too-familiar coughing sound coming from Kate's room . . . followed by a wail, some crying, and more coughing. I knew before I entered her room what I'd find. What I didn't know was that it would continue in 15-20 minute intervals for the next 90 minutes. By 4:30pm we were at the Children's Hospital Urgent Care Center. Four LONG hours later we were at Scottish Rite, and Kate was still vomiting. Finally at 9:30pm a nurse gave her some anti-vomiting medication . . . and she stopped. We got about 5 oz of gatorade in her over the course of the next hour. By midnight it was determined that it was just a really bad bug, we were given prescriptions to help stop more vomiting should it reoccur, and we were sent home.

All in all, Kate was such a trooper. She sat pathetically in my lap for hours and wretched through each miserable episode. It was terrible. But somehow she and I endured the 7 hours together, and she is OK in the end. (I am too, by the way.) Today she ate some food and drank a lot of pedialyte . . . and now she seems to be resting comfortably in her bed. In the middle of the evening yesterday it felt like she was never going to get better . . . but I think it always feels like that when your child is sick. You want them to be well ASAP because seeing them so ill is pure torture for a parent. They are never well fast enough -- because you never want them to be sick in the first place.

Kate survived. I hope we don't ever have to have another experience like that again. Well, actually, I know we won't. If ever she is that sick again, I won't handle things the same way.

Here is the moral of my story: DO NOT GO TO URGENT CARE. Maybe if your little one has a fever or you just need some after hours antibiotics . . . maybe then it would be OK to go to an Urgent Care facility. But if you have anything else, just go STRAIGHT to the hospital. I'm not kidding.

Our timeline yesterday:

2:30pm -- vomiting begins

4:00pm -- call the pediatrician concerned about the vomiting. they say go to Urgent Care. panic ensues . . . I find someone to watch Meg . . . and Kate and I head to the doctor. (She threw up 3 times on the 20 minute ride, by the way).

4:30pm -- arrive at urgent care. see a triage nurse right away, but nothing is given to Kate to stop the vomiting (regardless of the fact that she vomited at reception AND in the triage room).

8:00pm -- FINALLY SEE A DOCTOR. I kid you not, we waited in that waiting room for THREE + HOURS before they even LOOKED at Kate. The doctor did NOTHING -- just took one look at Kate, watched her vomit green bile, and sent us back in my car down to Scottish Rite.

8:30pm -- arrive at Scottish Rite. Quickly become the squeakiest wheel in the room -- I was on their case every 10 minutes until they got us out of the waiting room. I was NOT going to let Kate continue to puke into a hand towel in yet another waiting room.

9:30pm -- get to a nurse, get meds to help Kate stop vomiting. Finally, after so many pukings that I lost count, she stops (they asked me how many times she'd puked at that point, and I totally went off on them about how looooong we had to wait). Jim arrived at they hospital to be with us at this point -- he had a flight connection in Atlanta that he was able to rearrange and turn into a layover. He met us at SR at 9:30pm, helped with Kate, then flew out again at 7am today. What a man.

10:30pm -- start giving her gatorade, 1 oz at a time

12:00 -- doctor decides that since the meds worked, it was probably just a BAD virus. The pediatrician said some kids can just be more prone to vomiting, and it looks like we might have one of those kids. In essence . . . looks like we've got a puker at the Dahlby house.

Forgive my overuse of capital letters. But when you are writing about the health of your baby, capital letters are in order, I think.

And before you think I'm one of those parents who thinks MY kid is the most important . . . take a step back and realize that I had a 15 month old with continuous and uncontrollable vomiting for SEVEN hours. I'm sorry, but we should have been seen at Urgent Care WAY before the 3 hour mark . . . they saw us puking in the lobby, for pete's sake. They wasted our time. When you have a sick kid -- as sick as Kate was last night -- there is no time to be wasted. I was PISSED when I left there. Beyond pissed.

Anyway -- for those of you reading that live in my area -- please learn from me. At Urgent Care, they really cannot do very much for your child. They will write prescriptions if you just need an antibiotic to get you through the weekend with a sick little one. They can take an x-ray of an injury, but they'll send you to the hospital if there is any treatment needed. They'll let you sit in the lobby for 3 hours and see a doctor, but if your vomiting baby needs fluids, she has to go to the hospital for that. From now on, if my pediatrician is not available or recommends more serious care, we will go directly to Scottish Rite. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

And now that I've issued my public service announcement of the week, I'm going to bed. I'm so very tired. I didn't puke, but the night still took a LOT out of me.

What a Mess

2009-09-29T14:00:00.007-04:00

It is amazing how much of a mess you make when you really try to clean something up.

As a result of the water coming in the house last week, a great deal of our random items stored in the unfinished area of our basement were displaced. Once they were out of storage and all over our basement, Jim and I decided we should take the opportunity to really clean out our junk as we put it back into storage. The result: as we cleaned up our water-damage mess, an even bigger mess was created in an effort to go through and eliminate junk.

Jim and I spent all day Saturday rifiling through all the stuff that had collected in our basement since we'd moved to this house 2 years ago. It was a big project, but we worked together and got it done. It was actually pretty fun . . . going through stuff together, coming across random things we've missed or didn't know we had. Organizing our storage room was also accomplished as we cleaned . . . so now that storage area feels so much better and is easier to use. Instead of a dumping ground for anything that didn't land elsewhere in the house, our storage room is lined with shevles and acutally stores things nicely.

We were monitarily motivated, I'll admit . . . our neighborhood is having a garage sale in 2 weeks. What a perfect time to clean out our junk, put in in our street, and invite everyone to come weeding through it (piece by piece by piece). Hopefully we can make a little money out of this giant project we've created.

I call it our 'giant project' because, see . . . the project is not done. Sure, the storage area looks great . . . but more stuff got displaced as that room was cleaned out.

Look . . . fall decor exploded all over the dining room. Something I'll spread out around the house over the course of this week.

And all the garage sale items landed in Jim's parking spot in our garage.

All of that stuff needs to be sorted out and price-tagged. We decided to tag stuff instead of haggling all morning -- which, of course we'll do anyway -- prices are just a starting point, I guess. Anyway, that alone is another project we'll do this weekend.

All of this work leading up to the glorious morning of October 10th when Northampon hosts it's Fall Garage Sale. Come one, come all . . . tell your friends! We are the 3rd house on the right . . . you'll know us by the amount of junk-ola in the yard and the pink balloons on the mailbox.

And after that, I hope the mess really is cleaned up.

Let's Play Some Games

2009-09-28T15:51:00.000-04:00

A recent obsession around here: games.

Meg got several for both Christmas and her 3rd birthday, and all at once they have become all the rage. We know our way around a "Candy Land" board, and the real estate on "The Ladybug Game" is also very familiar terrain around here. I find "Chutes and Ladders" to have a board that is much too confusing for Meg, we love to play "Memory", "The Tea Party Game" is always a hit, and there are even some educational games we bust out now and again. Oh, and "Uno". Can't forget our kids version of "Uno" with Winnie the Pooh characters on the cards . . . a game we affectionately now call "Pooh-no" at our house.

Those of you with younger children: beware of this phase. It's wonderful fun most of the time . . . but sometimes you just cannot imagine yourself spinning the "Chutes and Ladders" spinner even once more. It can be difficult because the games do require your undivided attention for spans that even you (the adult) might fine very looong. And you often have to fight off younger siblings that want nothing more than to walk through your game or to grab hold of your cards and fling them skyward. That part can be trying, as well.

But it always pays off in the end. Seeing Meg smile when she wins -- and teaching her to be a gracious loser at times when her luck runs out -- is totally worth it. I would play "Pooh-no" a thousand times over just her hear her shout: "I winned, Mommy!"

Top Six Things About Last Week

2009-09-27T19:46:00.020-04:00

It was a busy week. I noted on Thursday that I was exceptionally tired, and after recapping our events . . . it's no wonder. I have a Top Six because there was just one event too many for a Top Five.

Here they are . . . The Top 6 Things About Last Week.

#6 The Wizard of Oz

My dad took Meg to see one of her absolute FAVORITE movies this week -- The Wizard of Oz. From the first time she watched it, Meg was totally hypnotized by Dorothy, her blue gingham dress, and her red shoes. We found out that 400 theaters nationwide were showing it last Wednesday night at 7pm as part of the DVD release promotion . . . and, well, Meg HAD to go. It was only fitting that Grandaddy be her date since he was the one responsible for showing the movie to her in the first place.

Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened. The movie broke. After about an hour of theater personnel trying to figure out the problem, the movie was ready to go . . . at about 8:30pm. Too late to start a 2+ hour movie for a 3 yr old, so my dad had to get a refund and bring a very sad Meg home without the satisfaction of seeing Dorothy melt the Witch.

Still it makes the top 6 for last week as one of the coolest things that almost happened . . . I mean, look what Meg wore to the theater for the occasion . . . this is a Halloween spoiler, but I can't resist.

#5 My date with Meg

I guess is was a Meg-centered week . . . they tend to be that way sometimes. Wednesday's excitement at the movies was followed on Thursday by a Mommy/Meg date night. Kate had her first solo sleepover with Grandaddy, which freed Meg and I up to:

1. Get Pedicures

2. Go to Hobby Town USA (a fun toy store)

3. Have dinner together at Chic Fil A

It was an awesome date night. I could tell that Meg was soaking up my attention 100%. I could tell she loved having me all to herself; that she was happy to be able to play with me and only me for a while. I'm glad fo her . . . she deserves a little one-on-one with The Mommy every once in awhile.

(Wait, did I just refer to myself as The Mommy?)

#4 The Rain

While it was not the best thing that could have happened this week, it certainly was monumental and worth mentioning. I heard that we got something like 22 inches of rain in 2 days. I don't know how close that is to accurate . . . all I know is that it rained. A lot.

#3 Kate is 15 months

Kate went in for her 15 month appointment on Thursday.

Weight: 22.04 pounds.

Length: 30 inches.

Head: I don't know -- who remembers that statistic, anyway? It's big enough.

Kate actually rocketed up to the 33rd percentile for her age/size, which was a big jump from the low 20's she boasted at 12 months. She's healthy and happy, and she's not due back for 3 more months. Check 15 months off the list of milestone check ups.

#2 Homecoming

I ended up going back home this weekend, and Jim and I attended my high school homecoming football game. We did not bring the girls (as much as they would have enjoyed it) . . . instead we made it a date night with an old friend of mine and her significant other. The Indians managed to give the game away in the end, but it was still a very, very fun Friday night.

#1 Sunday at the Park

Great fall weather + my family at the park = one awesome Sunday afternoon.

A Tired Week

2009-09-24T21:14:00.003-04:00

I'm having a tired week. Each night when the girls go to bed, I just flop on the couch and veg out on TV. The water issue drained me (did I mention that Kate's ceiling has a big brown STAIN on it?), and then 3 days of cooped up kids finished me off. I'm tired. I'm just glad Meg went back to school today so she could burn off some energy.

So, I haven't got the energy to post right now. I should be working on my shoot from Saturday, anyway.

Happy almost-Friday :)

(And NO, I'm not pregnant. Shame on you if you even thought that. I promise, the lack of energy is 100% laziness, not hormonally induced.)