It Takes a Village

Grab a cup of tea and curl up, this is a long one ;)

The old saying "It Takes a Village" is so, so true! And not just in raising children - in keeping adults healthy as well!

First let me say, I am incredibly thankful for the family and friends I have been blessed with and how amazingly involved they have been in Cadence's life as well as mine.

From Grandma giving us our first date night to Auntie Katie taking Cadence when I was out a sitter and had to get to class, to Rachael staying with us to help out, to Cat coming with to run errands all summer, to all of the selfless offers to help, I cannot express my gratitude enough both to God and to our loved ones!

If it weren't for my mom (Grammy) I would not have been able to go back to school and finally finish my degree after Cadence was born. She stepped up and took Cadence two days a week (yup, I crammed my full-time schedule into Tues/Thurs!) in addition to working full time as a nurse. She and Dad have always been willing to drop any plans they have if we needed them (though thankfully I don't think we've had to take advantage of their generosity in that dept.) and never hesitate to say "family comes first". It is awesome to see the wonderful relationship that Cadence has with her Grammy and Poppy and I absolutely love how lucky she (we) is (are)! I know that my parents don't mind hanging out with Cadence (in fact, I'm pretty sure they would adopt her if we would let them) but I do know how hard it can be to get things off of your "to-do" list done when you have such a fabulous little girl to play with ;) So I absolutely recognize and appreciate the time sacrifice that they make to be so involved. (And I really wonder, how DOES my mom stay on top of it all??? hello superwoman!!!).

In my second semester commuting back to VCU I had to go M/W/F since my list of remaining courses was dwindling. My Mom works mostly on the weekends (7p-7a!) and couldn't watch Cadence on Mondays so my Granny (Mom's mom), who lives in Chesterfield, jumped on the opportunity to step in and take Cadence on Mondays. She and Grandiddy even drove out to meet me & C at their church (shout out to Immanuel Baptist on Monument Ave - where Nathan and I attended all through college!) near the fan and take her back to their place way out on the edge of Chesterfield. SO AWESOME!!! I could not have done it without them!!! And the relationship they have with Cadence now is beautiful :) I am praying we can make it out to visit them at least once, hopefully twice, a month to keep it up!!! It is so cool to think about how Granny helped to raise me as a little girl and is now getting to be so involved with Cadence as well -- double blessing! :D

In my third and final return semester Nathan's mom had just retired from her job and was then able to watch Cadence once a week as well! So, Cadence got to see THREE grandmothers every week!!! For this semester I got most of my classes into T/R but had one lab on Monday afternoons (laaame). So Nathan's mom happily stepped in to come play with Cadence while I knocked out my research lab in Richmond every Monday! As the semester progressed Cadence got to start going back to the farm with her and I'm pretty sure that put her in heaven :D I am so in love with the relationship she has been able to build with her Grandmommy!!!

Now that I am looking to go back to work both Grammy and Grandmommy have been more than awesome in their willingness to continue watching Cadence! And Granny, who use to work in daycare, has said more than once that she would be willing to drive up once a week if the moms could take care of the other days so that Cadence could be with family instead of in daycare. So sweet :) I am thrilled that Cadence will be able to continue to hang out with family while I'm at work and cannot get over how blessed we are and how generous our family is!!!

However, we have also put down a registration fee to hold a spot for Cadence to begin at the Goddard School over the summer, two days a week. We are a tad bit anxious but very excited for her because, even though she is ahead of our timeline (we weren't thinking preschool would happen until 3!), she is absolutely going to looo-oo-oove getting to make friends and play with other kids! She is such a social butterfly already but she doesn't have too many outlets for that yet.

One of the outlets that she does have is the nursery at church, which brings me to my next point!

At LifePoint last Sunday (1/17) Pastor Daniel talked a lot about the importance of community. I have never felt more community outside of our blood family than at that church!!! From working in DIVE (the nursery) to LifeGroup to the atmosphere and friendly faces every Sunday, LifePoint is the most amazing church family we could have ever asked for. They proved this once again when, after tearing down Sunday (we're a portable church and Nathan serves on the auditorium tear-down team), Steven called everyone together (not one bit embarassing!) and they literally surrounded us, put their hands on us, and prayed over our family for this period of Nathan's deployment. Aside from the blush factor, it was the most amazing support and I know that I will pull strength from remembering that moment throughout this deployment.

Also on 1/17 we heard from the newest member of the LifePoint staff, Beth, who is coming on board to maximize our LifeGroup experience. I am so excited for what is to come!!! There are countless reasons to love LifeGroup and we have built some wonderful friendships thus far, I look forward to expanding on those and growing together with a small group!!!

So, in "short" (haHA!), while it may be true that it takes a village to raise a child, it is more accurate to say that it takes a village to raise a family. My sanity is so reliant on the people we keep close to us, and what they do not only for Cadence but also for me and Nathan. I worked as a nanny with a woman in Richmond, who is now a dear friend, who wrote in our wedding guest book that I took care of not only her daughter, but her. At the time I laughed, not realizing how true that statement could be. But it is so true that through taking care of Cadence, my family and friends are also taking care of me (and Nathan - not having a crazy, disheveled (ok, maybe that's hard to fix), overwhelmed wife!). And they don't just stop there! Phone conversations, facebook updates & check-ins & photo comments, blog comments, lunch dates, emails, antiquing downtown, trips to Roxbury Gardens, company for Target runs, our friends and family are the heart and soul of our family <3

Revisiting Green bags

I was so glad to hear that a few of you have taken advantage of the veggie wash recipes I posted :)


buuutt - revisiting the green bags: i have found, after going crazy with them, that all produce is not equal in the world of Debbie Meyer. Do NOT put potatoes or onions into green bags, they will last much longer out of green bags. also, i'm not sure if I am just trying to take advantage of the bags and not realizing how long i'm actually leaving stuff in there and relying on them to keep it safe (maybe i should keep track to see?) but i don't think they work so well for grapes. i also didn't notice a difference in timing for tomatoes. However, for romaine lettuce, apples, and carrots, they seem to work great! Though I think carrots and apples have a pretty long fridge life anyway! Oh, and my uncle said they don't work great for strawberries either...so, basically, this seems to be a good lesson in only buying what you can eat in a week! lol. oh well...

i'd love to hear your story if you've tried them - what did they work for and what not so much? did you actually keep track of the timing?

Warning: Possibly TMI! ;)

I think we will be potty training soon....ugh. Definitely sooner than I was hoping. I mean, my intention has always been to wait until she was ready but my potty-training-dream was for her to be ready in the spring/summer so she could run around outside stark nakey during the process...
 Usually she could run around in a tank top and training pants in our house year round but our gas bill was ssoooo expensive that we dropped the temp from 72 to 70...which, after talking to many others is still higher than the "norm" but I think it's freeeezziiing. I guess I can throw some leg warmers & slippers on her too :P

I have been thinking over the last couple of days that she seemed on the brink of being ready and that I should probably pick up some books to introduce the topic from another angle.
Now I'm thinking I should run into Border's and grab those after The Little Gym tomorrow morning! lol

So, twice now she has asked to sit on the potty after Mommy pees. She hasn't peed in it yet but she happily sat for a while both times.

Then tonight at bathtime...the poo.

We had our first poo in the tub! ick. ick. ick. I thought I was going to escape this horror. Not so lucky.
BUT, it also led to our first poo poo in the potty.
What was frustrating about it was that we had already tried to poop on the potty when she was acting like she needed to during her bath. After a few short minutes she wanted back in the tub and gave up on the poo though. I figured - maybe she just has gas? She's not usually an evening pooper anyway.

So she's playing and she stands up. I ask her if she's ready to get out of the tub and hear 'plunk'! OH NO!!! REEAALLY????
I immediately pick her up, towel off her legs as quickly as possible and put her on the toilet. Yay! She finishes on the potty! So, she didn't seem as intrigued by what had just occured as I thought she would be, there was no "i did that!" moment, but she did get to see it, and flush it (which included saying bye bye to it) but she was more or less just worried about the fact that her bath was over now. She got a lil shower off with the pull-down shower-head-on-a-bendytube-thingy but there was no way she could have her bath rerun, all of the toys and the tub had to be sanitized and, fortunately for her, she had had plenty of playtime pre-poo. It was time to get ready for bed!  

Now she's sleeping soundly and I'm wrestling with potty training possibilities...

As far as method is concerned, I'm actually planning to use one very similar to an article I studied and critiqued in my Learning & Cognition Psyc class on potty training school aged autistic children. It should be pretty comparable and I'm hoping the timeline will be as well. I guess we'll see!

My question for all you moms who have been through or are going through this is what books did you use with your children? I have a couple in mind like "everyone poops" and "Once upon a potty" but would love to hear your input! Here's a list of Parents' picks if you need a memory jog on titles :)

Any other product or process suggestions??

Granny got Cadence a singing potty for her first birthday (which I decided to put up in the closet after she had determined it was for taking apart and storing calculators in, etc - I wanted her to get familiar with it but not to be use to treating it as a toy once she was actually ready to use it) and I'm thinking of picking up one of those toilet toppers too... she has training pants that Granny got her for Christmas, and I guess we'll need pull-ups... and lots and lots of changes of clothes ;) Am I forgetting anything?? I am ssoooo nervous!!!

You Make Me Smile Like the Sun <3

So, I am sadly without my camera for the time being, I left it at my Granny & Grandiddy's house on Saturday when we were there for the family Dec/Jan birthday dinner. I guess I was just overwhelmed by the amazing food ;) My uncle should cook for his own birthday more often! I was expecting Granny's divine lasagna, which I was already super excited about, but when we got there, it smelled like steak. hmm. Well, my uncle works for a catering company and had scored some filet mignon at an amazing price. Oh yeah, filet mignon...with...crabcakes. Divine crabcakes at that. Aaand twice baked potatoes. Not to mention, my Granny's salad "bar" - she goes all out with toppings, I always look forward to salad at her place :)
Anyway, I say all of this not just to make you drool but because I wish you could've seen a picture of Cadence at the park today - - she rode on the big girl swing for the first time! Ah, I was misty eyed.
We had so much fun!!! I'm glad I "forced" her to go to the park...and I know she was too :D


We started the terrible twos about a week ago so her response to most anything is "no". Too bad it's the freakin cutest no you've ever heard/seen and I can't help but smile to myself every time she says it.


She was sleepy this afternoon but wouldn't nap so I kept asking her if she wanted to go play outside - "no". Do you wanna take a nap? - "no". Okaaay...would you rather go outside or take a nap? - "no". Hahahaha. well, do you wanna ride on the swing and go down the slide? She nods yes with twinkling eyes. Okay then, we have to put your pants back on so we can go outside. She's compliant. There's the little girl I know - I was truly shocked when she turned down an offer to go outdoors. I guess saying no is just that much fun! haha. Anyway, we had a total blast!
There are side-by-side slides we went down together so many times (wo, tu, phreeee!) and she even braved the big tunnel slide - head first on her tummy :D it was hilarious! she was crackin me up all afternoon, just so giddy! She is absolutely my little nature girl and would so much rather be outside, year round, so getting back to the playground, without a coat, sun on her face, must've been heaven for her!
The very first thing we did was hit the swings. I hoisted her up into one of the kiddie swings, per usual, and we were holding hands at first. When I let go of her hands she was cracking up at the rush but then about two minutes in it turned to tears. I'm not quite sure but I guess it startled her or she expected me to grab her hands again or maybe she got nausiated because she was sort of leaned forward watching the ground under her. Anyway, that's when we switched to the slides...until...two little boys showed up and C saw their Mommy pushing the older one on a big kid swing. I should've seen it coming. She wanted to swing on the big kid swing. Of course. It never crossed my mind to actually put her on it by herself. So, for a while, she was content to swing on my lap, giggling and giggling and I was loving every moment of it. Then the little boy jumped off of the swing and for some reason that inspired Cadence to want to sit in the swing herself. It was like she'd been doing it forever. At 19 1/2 months old this little girl just grabbed onto the covered chains and laughed with delight while Mommy pushed her :'-)
I am so blessed to have her and she is so happy and so darling <3 She makes my heart smile :D

It's the Little Things :)

It truly is the little things in life that make it grand...like waking up to Nathan's arms wrapped around me or laughing at Cadence lobbying us about something extremely important that we only wish we could understand.

 Here are a few little things that have added some extra sunshine to my days lately:

Cadence let me put a bow in her hair for the first time!!!

I'm lovin the sweet curl :)

~ ~ ~

SOCKS!!! I finally got new socks :) So, I'm (plainly) a sucker for knee-high socks since I really only wear them in the winter time or in place of tights (which I pretty much hate) but every single pair I have has worn through this winter...until now! I'm sad to finally say goodbye to my favorite patterns of old but my toes are not, they were sick of poking through ;) Thanks for the Target gift card Auntie Holly!

*notice that half of them are plain - I'm trying to be prepared for the working world ;)

~ ~ ~

I helped serve at an agriculture banquet last night (catered by A Sharper Palate). The Virginia Green Industry Council had provided about a bagillion plants as centerpieces and decoration, which guests were allowed to take with them with they left. Even though there were over 800 guests and many people left with 2 plus in their arms, there were more than even the staff could take home at the end of the night! My aunt and I stumbled across an entire row of them that we don't think anyone even noticed on their way out and that's where these beauties came from! There was a much fuller version of the one in center that I had my eye on all night (which of course was taken home by a guest because it was b-e-a-u-tiful) so now I'm extra motivated to make sure I give these lil darlings the right amount of love so they can grow to be just as big :)

The Calla Lillies were decorating the stage so I think they were pretty much all adopted by staff since we were there breaking everything down and the owner of the nursery they came from was giving them away while he loaded up the bigger bushes and trees.

I snagged one for my Mom (her birthday is Monday!!!), one for my best friend Katie (who has the greenest thumb I've seen outside my family! - me excluded :P), one for my best friend Cat (who recently found out she's pregnant!), and one for

Cadence and I cut one stem to put in a vase, which then had to go in her playroom ;)

* * *

Cadence and I made rice crispy treats this afternoon, it was a first for both of us :P

I decided to use fruity marshmallows instead of the plain ones because I thought it would be yummy and it would be fun to see the different colors...like tye-dyed rice crispy treats! I didn't realize that you melt them all down into a sauce first...

So, we followed this meticulous review posted to the recipe I looked up, since I'd never done this before. The woman was very adamant about melting the butter sllooooowwly bc if any of it turned brown you'd have dry treats (I've never seen butter turn brown but I went with the lowest heat setting anyway). After all, she said she was the designated rice crispy treat maker bc no one else could do it like her :P

And then you were supposed to melt the marshmallows "just as slowly"...there were a lot of marshmallows! But Cadence only wanted to add them one at a time anyway ;) After she got the thrill of throwing a few in and stirring a bit and throwing a few more in and stirring a bit more she was reassigned to the uber-important stirrer-of-the-cereal position :P

Everyone knows that patience is my strongest virtue, so the super slow melting part was definitely my favorite. It was smashing great fun and I was not at all tempted to turn the heat up to 5...or 8...to speed up the process a lil bit.

The colors swirling together did amuse me for a while but what I feared would happen also came with that - they fused into one color - brown. Which would've been just fine except that I was set on color-ful.

so I added a little Wilton Rose Gel Icing Color to the mix and voila - got the fruity look back :)

Then came the truly messy part!

I ended up using my hands - I wish you could've seen them! Recommendation: if you decide to dig in, you should probably grease your hands somehow - dip them in butter? bahah - unless you want to feed your garbage disposal a snack like I did. Not that he seemed to mind.

 The bowl could barely hold all the gooey deliciousness.

TA-DA!

We didn't even let them finish setting before we "tested" our finished product.

Pretty good!

Now if only they made all-natural marshmallows!

lol.

What tiny moments have blessed your life lately?

Finding Peace

Jeremiah 29: 11-13
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
These words ring true time and time again and the first verse has brought many of us comfort. And today, I felt that God was revealing to me that it also applies to his plans for Cadence, currently through his design for the lives of her parents. So, whatever the outcome of this job conundrum may be, I know that it is what He deems best for all of us. That he holds her life even more precious than we do. There are pros to both options so I am trying not to get my heart set on either one prematurely (which is very, very hard for me to do!) and either one will put us in a better position than we are currently in. All I can (and should) do at this point is turn it over to God and trust Him to do his thang.  

The Scripture continues:
"I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."
This passage gives me hope for another situation I came face to face with today - the unfortunate condition of an estranged loved one. He is facing many trials, admittedly they are self-induced (though alcohol has been a drowning part of that self for a while now), and does not feel strong enough to overcome them. I don't feel comfortable writing more in a public forum, for his personal protection, but am fervently praying that he finds strength in the Lord. It's hard for me to not be able to DO anything to help someone and it feels like my mother is taking over my brain as all I can think is "just pray about it. just pray about it". It will do me no good to pace back and forth fretting over how to get in touch with him, as that is not currently an option, he has no means of communication; and I struggle with knowing that the past few times we've talked, he's lied to me about the state of his life anyway. But just knowing that someone cares, wants to listen to whatever it is you have to say, can be so reassuring. And yet, I cannot listen if he cannot talk. "Just pray about it. Just pray about it."
Dear God,
You know the burden of the heart of my family right now. You know the past and you know the future. You know the struggles and you know the triumphs. God, please, help there to be a triumph ahead for _____. Please help him to know that he is loved and that he is not alone. That out is not the only option for his life. That his life is precious. That his life has meaning. That we are here to see him through. That You are here to see him through. Help him to put his faith in you, the God who made the universe, to find your strength, through which he can do all things, to find your peace, that passes all understanding. God, I don't know how else to pray for him. But I pray that if there is anything I can do to help him, that you would open my eyes and heart to it.

Debbie Myer's Green Bags really WORK!!!

I am here to tell you, it is a sound $10 investment. I was not convinced at first but today I took out some Romaine I had tucked into a greenbag...I don't even want to think about how long ago (2 weeks? 3?)...and it was still fresh and crispy! I highly recommend them :) Apparently they even work for fresh flowers! You can either put the arrangement in a green bag or place a bag over the vase at night and remove it in the mornings. I even saw at Wegman's a week or two ago that she now has bread bags as well! And, upon checking the link above: green boxes, cheese bags, and coldcuts bags! I can't attest to any of these other products but will probably try the bread bags at some point in the near future (the once-I-have-a-job future).
The bags are reusable so I just labeled them with what produce is inside (wouldn't want to put tomatoes into a bag that use to hold onions!) and then if you want to keep track, you can just tick off how many times it's been used each time you reuse it.
So, first I have to show you the carrots pre-washing because while I had them in my cart at Wegman's I was browsing the pasta isle and this guy walked by, talking to his wife about what they still had to find before they could leave and he goes "and then we have to get some of those cool carrots because I keep seeing them in other people's carts and I want to have them in our cart" hahahahaha. When we have our own house we will grow our own "cool carrots" in our gigantic veggie garden :)

So, I decided to go ahead and prewash most of the produce before putting it in the bags - more convenient later :)

 

and, of course, Cadence was my super helper ;) (in addition to the hedgehog veggie brush :P )

She was sitting IN the sink by the time I was done with the grapes...she had to be close enough to reach in and try them one or ten times ;)

So - does anyone know if taking the grapes off of the vine makes them spoil faster? I wasn't sure about this but I figured if I was already washing them and picking out the bad ones, I might as well go all the way and pull them all now rather than later...hopefully the green bag will help me out here if this was the wrong choice ;)

VOILA!

I just put the onions and potatoes straight in, keeping them in their original bags since they were breathable and I'll have to prep them directly before use anyway.

Even our back-up banana bunch got a bag! (We go through a lot of bananas around here - thank God they're cheap! - we usually get 2 to 3 bunches at a time).

Also, as I was washing up the grapes, I decided it was time to look up a recipe for a homemade fruit & veggie wash.

Here's what I got:

DIY Veggie Wash

1 tbs organic lemon juice

10 drops grapefruit seed extract

2 tbs baking soda

1 cup filtered water

3/4 cup white vinegar

1. Mix well in a sprayer bottle.

2. Shake before use.

3. Spray produce (except mushrooms, because they absorb and retain water) and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

4. Rinse well

I haven't tried it yet bc I don't have grapefruit seed extract but it seems easy enough. As long as it has lemon juice and vinegar, I'd go with it!

I also read "Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, and 1 cup cold tap water in a spray bottle, shake well, and apply to your produce. Rinse with tap water before cooking or serving." and "in a clean sink or bowl put 4 Tablesp' of salt, fill bowl with cold water & when salt has dissolved add juice of half of a large lemon [ or all of 1 smaller size] soak fruit or vegs for 20 min' then rinse REALLY well, berries need only 10 min' soak" if you'd like some other options :)

Happy Fruiting!

First Post!

Last night I wasn't really sure what to post on a blog. I got all excited that google finally worked with me and  I was able to make one and then when it was here I just stared at the blank screen with sleepy eyes.
This morning I am full of anxiety over upcoming life changes. So I thought - what a great place to put down my thoughts! Genius, right?
Most of you know that Nathan will be deploying to Iraq at the end of the month {though somehow half of my family didn't find out until Christmas - maybe if I had a blog then it would've helped? ;)}. Anyway, I think that's going to be really hard for C. She struggled with his last two week TDY. She's old enough to remember things like that and when he came home she did not want to let either of us out of her sight for the longest time. Fortunately, this is something we've been planning for for a while. What we have not been planning for, however, is Mommy going back to work, potentially full time.
I knew that when I graduated I would need to go to work part time. I'd been treating my "extra" student loan money as a source of income but it was only budgeted through graduation. I didn't plan on Spotsylvania County Schools being SO slow in getting me back on the sub list and intended to be working again mid December. However, since then I have thoroughly enjoyed not having a job and getting to spend every day with my precious daughter (even the days full of trials!).
I had an epiphane while I was waiting (and waiting and waiting) to hear back from the School Board that I should just work at Huntington Learning Center as a tutor. Better hours, technically better pay, right up the street rather than all over the county...only, when I went to pick up my application last week, I spoke with the owner for a bit and she seemed really interested in me looking into a full time position there. At the time I brushed it off as something I would be willing to consider after Nathan got back from Iraq. I even wrote my cover letter to that tune. However, when I turned in my packet last night, there she was again...and we talked about it again...I still wasn't biting. But after I left I got to thinking - what if this position isn't still available when I'm "ready" to take it? what if I don't get a full time teaching job in the fall? what if our tenant stops paying rent? what if? what if? what if? Is this opportunity being presented multiple times God trying to give me a gentle push? Or is it something I'm suppose to be resisting? Nathan and I have a history of jumping into things, and they don't always end up being the least stressful option when they finally play out. How much thought is required for a decision like this to be well considered?
So, I am anxiously awaiting a phone call from the director sometime this week, with a list of questions about both the part time and full time positions that will hopefully help us to make the wisest decision - with lots and lots of prayer!
My biggest concern is the adjustment for Cadence - is it better for me to wait until Nathan gets home, let her readjust to the whole family being here and then go to work? Or does that drag it out? Should I just sort of do it all in the same time frame so things can only get better for her? I know that "children are resilient" for I think that they are only as resilient as we force them to be and that while they may seem to "get over" things relatively quickly, that doesn't mean that they aren't affected by their circumstances.  I by no means intend to shelter my daughter from the world, I just want to make a conscious effort not to inflict any hardship that can be avoided...
I would really appreciate any input you have! How do you know when you're hearing from God? Did you struggle with something similar? How did your little one(s) handle it?
For now, C is up from her [cat] nap and we are off to Border's for some books to help Cadence with Daddy's Deployment  (and a 2010 day planner for Mommy!).