Random Things

Have you ever had a teaparty with an OCD toddler? It's a mixture of fun and tedium.

James grins with his whole body. And he yells. A lot.

Cadence did well at the Christmas program last night - she had a lot of fun and wasn't shy at all. Maybe I can post a video clip later.

I really wish Christmas was less complicated and busy... Perhaps one celebration with Tony's family, one with mine, neither on Christmas, so we could spend the rest of the holidays (including Christmas day) at home spending time together. And having more teaparties.

But... I guess it's fun anyway ;)

Cadence's thoughts on concerts at Daddy's work: "When we go to concerts, we have to wear church clothes." "When me lots older, me play instrument like kids. Me play crash cymbals." "Me go up front, tell kids to play right."

My thoughts on concerts at Daddy's work: "Will I ever get her white tights clean again?" "I'm so glad James likes crowds and didn't have to go out during either concert." "Wow, those kids sounded really good this year!"

James' thoughts on everything: "Wow, this is worthy of drooling!"

*Drool....*

Yesterday I was taking Cadence to the bathroom and she was sidetracked. I started to put my hand down to guide her... she rolled her eyes to the side, put a hand up on either side of her face to shield her view and said "Focus, focus."

I really need to do dishes. And clean the hobby room. And put the sheets back on the bed.

James scoots. All over the place. It's great!

I finally did some ironing. Even more shocking Tony finally did some ironing.

Sometimes I really miss Papa. I miss having someone to talk politics and keep me updated on what's going on in the world. I'm too lazy to do it on my own, but I feel so slow and out of the loop. I guess I'll have to fix that. I also miss the bond he would have had with my babies. I miss him for them, since they don't know to miss him.

How can someone so shy around individuals perform so dramatically in front of a huge audience?! Cadence is such a ham.

The tennis shoes in the dryer are driving me bonkers.

Hello, my name is Sally Chancellor, and I am addicted to digital scrapbooking. No joke.

Nothing like a mediocre dinner made more (*cough*) pleasant by the toddler at the table gagging on every bite and insisting she doesn't like it even though it's her favorite meal. Pretty sad when the microwaved egg rolls from the freezer section are the best part....

It's the little things that make me happy: Wearing a pretty dress, opening a frozen pizza and discovering the pepperonnies are evenly distributed... you know, important stuff ;)


James says Mama. He's been doing it several weeks now, and I've finally given up on trying to convice myself he can't possibly actually be saying Mama. Because he does. And only when he wants something.
My New Year's Resolution (a bit early, because I need it NOW!): Enjoy every moment as it comes, don't worry about the past or future, fall in love with every stage my babies go through, and EMBRACE the passing of time.


James has finally stopped blowing out every time he stinks in his diaper. Sorry if that's TMI.
 
Cadence can finally use a spit-up bucket without spilling a drop. Thankfully we've only needed it once or twice in the last month.
 
Why does human nature command us to always want what we can't have?

From the smallest thing (a *willing* good morning hug from Cadence) to the largest (spiritual unity among all our friends and family, neighbors, aquaintances, etc.) the things that seem impossible are the things we want most.
It is well and good to have goals to aspire to, hopes and dreams to hold onto in dark times, and yet - ...Paul said "I have learned, whatsoever state I am in, therewith to be content."
What a delicate balancing act we must learn then, to be happy at all times, but always yearning for more, for growth.
The lesson, I suppose, is this: Let us be inspired to strive for great, impossible things, and be content in every moment along the journey.

Well, I hear my son calling, so that's it for now - I'm sure I'll come up with more random things later!

A Mother's Helper

I don't like to drag my kids all over creation running errands. I like their days to be relaxed, with time spent running around playing, and a steady rhythm of routine. In fact, I like to have most days completely car seat free. But, I also don't like to leave them. Especially when they're nursing. Especially when they nurse every hour and won't take a bottle (Cadence...).

When Tony is home it is perfect. I nurse the baby, put him down for a nap, and leave to run errands. But... when he's at work, that clearly won't work. Obviously, we do shopping, and my kids have learned to cope with this just fine. In fact, they love it, as long as we don't overdo it. But I do wish I had a solution for those crazy days when I realize we've just run out of milk, I wasn't planning to go to the store till next Tuesday, and Cadence is needing her nap.

What I want is a mother's helper. They would need a driver's licence and a flexible schedule. This way, I could just call them "I'm about to put the baby down for a nap - are you available to come stay with them while they sleep?" Then I could run errands while the baby sleeps, and of course, if they woke up unexpectedly, the sitter could call me. Or, if I needed something specific, I could just have the sitter run by the store and bring it to me, so I didn't have to leave at all.

What do you think? Think there would be any home schooled highschoolers or some college students willing to take on a job like that? They could always say no, not this time if they were busy when I called... and of course, I would pay a premium for the spontaneity of the proceedings.

You Lookin' at Me?!

Some Scrapbooking... Mostly Because I'm Lazy

So why, you may ask, is posting pictures of scrapbook pages lazy? Well... I was going to post all the pictures you see here, then comment on them - then I went, whoa, I just scrapbooked those pictures, if I just loaded the pages, I would have about 20 less pictures to load, AND I wouldn't have to comment! So here is my new lazy efficient method of posting pictures ;) All of these pages were for challenges from my two favorite challenge sites, so I will put a link for each one:

Free Digital Scrapbooking Club Kit Challenge 1:

Scraplifter's Challenge:

Club Kit Challenge 2:

And of course, the Shabby Princess Template Challenge:

Christmas Organizing

Well folks, it's that time again.... Christmas panicking organizing! I like to have this completely done by now, but we kinda have a new baby in the house. And we're kinda just now settling into a good routine that let's me get some things done. So. I realized today I have to be packed for Texas by Friday, and it's the last week of school for Tony, which means we will have a flood of goodies coming in, and we will be exchanging the first gifts this weekend, which means I need to do wrapping, and - well, you get the point. So here is my list for the next two days (we'll see how much said baby let's me get done!):

1. Laundry - folded, and put away.

2. Tidy up house so I can think.

3. Update packing lists, since for us holidays means traveling. James doesn't even have one yet, and Cadence's needs have changed since the last update to hers (i.e., spit-up bucket in the van).

4. Choose clothes for everyone for every event, no matter how small, and every church service, between now and January. Now, I know what you're thinking - that's a bit over the top, isn't it? Lot's of extra work, for not any rewards? I've found though, that this is the number one thing that keeps us sane through December, especially since we had kids. And it's really not so difficult! So I'll expound, on both the purpose and the method.
Purpose: Have clothes chosen, clean, ironed, and completely ready to go so when we are making our mad dash, running late, to wherever, all we have to do is grab the next thing in line and throw it on. No thinking, no choosing, no trying to figure our if we've already worn it this holiday season, no running to the garage to dig through the clean laundry (because, let's face it, that's where the clean laundry will be!), and no ironing.
Method: Grab everything holiday/extra cute from everyone's wardrobe, iron as needed, and, with calendar in hand, hang assembled outfits in my closet in the order they will be worn. I used to just do it in indivudual closets, but now Cadence chooses her own clothes on regular days, and I don't want her grabbing from my stash -  plus sometimes I dress James while she is still napping, so I would need his clothes out of there anyway.
No waking up on Christmas morning and wondering what we will wear for us! This also includes everything I will pack to go to Texas and Tulsa, which will make that significantly easier.

5. Clean out space in the pantry for incoming goodies.

6. Designate a basket in the top of my closet (which happens to be relatively empty right now) for incoming gifts that don't have a home yet.

7. Make lists of everything extra we will be taking when we go to each celebration or event, such as gifts to go to Christmas at Grandma Chancellor's, the records I will be taking to Mommy's, etc.

8. Try to relax and enjoy the holidays!

I'm sure there are other things I will do, but that is all I can think of right now... I already stocked up on easy meals to cut down on dinnertime stress and last-minute trips to fast food, and put all our gifts that still need to be wrapped (something else I like to already have done by now... oh well, he's cute ;D) in with the wrapping paper. So, I guess now I'd better get up off my lazy bones and actually get started!

P.S. I would love to hear any ideas/suggestions/etc. you use to make your holidays run smoothly!

November Pictures Round Two

James in his sweater from Aunt Kristina. Isn't he adorable? She made him three... so talented :)

This is part of our 'give Cadence the independance she so desperately craves' campaign. It was also making me feel bad when she had to wait for things I would normally have given her right away, just because I was taking care of James. Now she has a choice - do it herself or wait. On her "Cadi-bug" shelf are bowls, silverware, plates, and the snacks she is allowed to have anytime - raisins, goldfish, and peanuts.

Exploring - she LOVES it. Within ten minutes we had three bowls of peanuts, a bowl of raisins, and several spoons out. Now things have tapered off, and she only gets things out when she's actually hungry - but she still loves being able to do it "all by-by-by-by mineself!"

More sweaters from Aunt Kristina. Have I mentioned yet how much I ADORE having a sister who loves to knit?

This sweater (the one on James) has a matching hat, but he will have to grow a little more before he can wear it. Somehow, I don't think growing will be a problem :)

An oft seen sight at our house - everyone conducting together.

Cadence sometimes decides to help James... they both think it's so funny.

Thanksgiving at Gramma's house. This was James' first Thanksgiving (I'm sure you could have figured that out on your own ;)) so he got to put his footprint on the tableclothe.

Cadence was so excited to finally have our Thanksgiving "Fist" - complete with pilgrim hat cookies she made. We were just thankful to be able to spend time with family and do LOTS of talking!

My Birthday

I know, these pictures are a month late. I blame blogger :) I'm not even going to narrate, I think you can probably figure it out! It was, however, a really great day - happy 24, me!