Christmas Trees in October!

Ok, anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas. I love all holidays perhaps a bit more than normal, but I really really love Christmas. Last year, for instance, we were going to PA for Christmas to be with Josh's family. And sometime in late October Josh said to be something like, I guess we wont need to get a Christmas tree this year since we will be gone all of Christmas break" and my response was nothing but blank stares, like he was speaking a foreign language. Needless to say, we got our tree last year the weekend BEFORE thanksgiving so I could enjoy it the appropriate amount of time before we left. (The guy at the tree farm didn't even have his sign up yet!!)

Don't get worried though, I did not bring home a Christmas tree before Halloween, although I hadn't thought of that before, a fake Christmas tree could be brought home whenever! Anyways, someone that Josh works with has a grandpa who owns a Christmas tree farm outside of Corvallis, and he lets people come as early as labor day (which if I had known I would have gotten a tree for my birthday!) to pick out their trees, mark them, and then come back the weekend after Thanksgiving to pick them up! So we picked out a great tree, and I can rest assured knowing that it is safe and growing and getting ready to be cut and sit in my living room!

This is all silly I know, but Its getting me in the mood for the holidays!!!

Gracie and I did a project yesterday! Super easy and fun! Just two bags of plastic pumkins and real pinecones. (A mixture I got at Micheals for %60 off!) And a glue gun! Oh, and a twig wreath I used for Christmas last year! Grace helped by being my "style editor". Meaning she ripped off whatever she thought just didn't fit. Happy fall!

You moms are great!

Thank you so much for all your great advice! It warmed my heart this morning to see all of your replies! You are all such great friends! I really appreciate your advice, stories and encouragement. We have had two straight days of not one single successfull potty-going. I am tempted to try the diaperless thing, but I'm kind of thinking she's just not ready. Plus, I realized that Grace and I cuddle whenever she wakes up, in the morning or from a nap, and if I have to put her on the potty we will loose that! She's already growing up too fast, and we don't have much of that down cuddle time, and I'm just not ready to loose it!
Thanks you guys! You made my day!

Potty Help!

I need advice from those of you who have kids out of diapers! Grace and I (and Josh) are on our second round of trying potty training. She wasn't ready before, she did it for a couple of days but then didn't want anything to do with it and I didn't want to force her. I've heard and read that forcing potty training can do a lot of harm. This time I thought she was more ready, and things have calmed down and we're finally "home". But its pretty much the same story, sometimes she asks to go, a lot of times I put her on it at what I think are good times, before and after nap and after meals and such, but most of the time she has already gone in her diaper. I know she is only just two. I just feel like I should have three things accomplished by the time she's three, potty trained, out of a crib, and not using a binki at night. What are your thoughts? Are these timelines unneccessary? I was focusing on potty now, because I don't want to do all three changes at the same time.

Help me more experienced moms!

Pumkins!

I love fall! It was never my favorite season until Grace was born and I think it is my favorite season (besides the Christmas season of course!) now because 1. Grace was born on a beautiful fall day and 2. because I don't go to school anymore, I think that's what ruined it for me before :)

Anyways we went to this really cute pumpkin patch yesterday and it was so much fun! I would recommend it to anyone if you are looking for a place that has lots of things for kids to do. They have a hay maze, a hay slide (a giant slide made out of hay), a hay pyramid, a little bike race track, and even this little sand-like pit but made of grain that the little kids to play in. Oh! and they had the cutest little baby cow to feed and pet. And of course a hay ride! The only thing it lacked was fresh donuts! We had lots of fun, a great way to celebrate fall!

Grace turns 2!

The terrific Twos

I have been wanting to right this post since yesterday morning and am finally getting the chance. I have lots left to do, getting the house together, before Grace's 2nd Birthday party tomorrow but it will all have to wait. A year ago tomorrow we celebrated Gracie's first birthday, and I was completely shocked by how emotional I became as her birthday came near. I just kept looking at her and remembering the day she was born, how beautiful she was and how I was both completely terrified and overflowing with joy all at the same time. I was a bit surprised the past week though, as I prepared things for her birthday, how unemotional I was. I was excited to celebrate her but not sappy at all. Which was fine, I think I have just been too busy to think about anything but unpacking. But yesterday it hit me. Yesterday was the "anniversary" if you will, of my due date for Grace. And I just started to remember the waiting and anticipation of her arrival. And today two years ago is when I was induced at the hospital, lying in bed and still waiting. It wouldn't be for almost exactly 24 hours before she was born. But she came and she was perfect. I had Grace by c-section so I didn't get to hold her right away, but Josh put her tiny cheek against mine and I fell in love. (pause to go get kleenex) I was kind of in and out for an hour or so after that in the recovery room while Josh went up to give her her fiirst bath, and I didn't get to see her again until my nurse (who was an angel and stayed with me through my c-section even though her shift had ended) pulled some strings and brought me back up to the maternity floor so I could be with Gracie even though I was supposed to stay in recovry for a few hours more. Anyways it was amazing and scary and beautiful all at the same time. Flash forward to today, the day before she turns two. We spent some time, me and Grace, dancing to music this morning, it's one of her favorite pass times, and while we were dancing a strand of my hair got caught in my face, I wasn't really paying attention because we were being silly and dancing around, and she stopped what she was doing, and with her cute little fingers brushed the hair out of my face! I know, I am getting over the top sappy here, but how sweet, she truly has a beautiful little heart.

Over the past two years my biggest joy and struggle has been being a "stay at home mom".I really fought my desire to do what I'm doing now, and then once I stopped going to school and wasn't fighting it anymore, I felt like I wasn't enough and wasn't "accomplishing" enough. Now, two years later, I am confident in Josh and I's choice for me to stay home. Although I occasionally feel self conscious after certain remarks or aroud "career moms", I know that I find so so much Joy from being home with grace. For instance I love feeding Grace lunch, I know that is silly, and that there are many more important things I will do in life, but I love it. I love teaching her new things, and being there when she gets hurt, I love that I get to decide what she eats and when she naps, and just that I get to be in her presence and love on her all day. I love it. I am not writing this to make any mom feel bad who works, every single mom in my family have always worked and they are all great mothers. I'm just writing this to celebrate that I am finally ok with the fact that I love staying home and that I'm content doing what I'm doing.

If you read this Grace, someday, just know that being your mom brings me so much Joy and I love hanging out with you! You are so beautiful! Happy Birthday!