Sign of Summer on the Way

There was a little lizard caught in the window today. It had climbed up the brick and on to the screen, then managed to get itself between the screen and the storm window and couldn't figure out how to get out. (Though if it had kept climbing up, it would have ended up in the house.) Matt released it and it jumped unto the window sill and then took a flying leap for the ground under the azalea bushes, where it was completely hidden behind mounds of pink blooms.

The last couple days have been kind of tough. Nowhere near enough sleep, so I've been pretty exhausted and depressed as a result.

Today was a little better. I actually managed to get to sleep around 4am, so I got more sleep. :-)

Autumn and I ran errands this morning. We went to Wal-Mart for groceries and to look at plants. Then to Lowe's to get primer little foam rollers and look at some more plants. While at Lowe's, I lost my keys. Well, to be more accurate...I lost my key (singular). Somehow, the key to the Pontiac managed to come off of my key ring. Still not quite sure how. I got out to the car, used the remote to unlock it and emptied my cart. Put Autumn in the car, put the cart away and went to start the car, only to find I had no key. So I had to load Autumn back up and go back in and ask if anyone had turned in a key. Thankfully someone had.

I meant to get plants at Lowe's (I still need to put in my tomatoes), but they looked pretty sick. So that's put off yet again.

When we got home, Autumn and I read The Tailor of Gloucester and then I put her down for a nap.

Matt got off work not too long after Autumn and I got back home, so I fixed him some lunch and then decided to run around the corner to the scrapbook store and pick up a couple sheets of vellum for a project I'm working on. When I walked into the store I must have looked pretty funny. I caught myself with my mouth hanging open as I looked around the store--empty. Turns out they're closing down on Friday for good. Can't quite figure out how I missed this fact, but somehow I did. Needless to say, I wasn't able to find the vellum I was looking for. However, I was able to pick up a few ink pads and some paper for 80% off. Despite the discount it's still pretty sad though. The store hasn't been there that long and they did have a pretty good paper selection.

We went for a walk this evening before dinner. We headed down to the park and Autumn had a great time playing on the swings and slide with her Daddy. She just giggled and squealed and giggled and squealed and just couldn't stop.

After making and cleaning up dinner, we watched House and I just mixed up a couple of mango-peach margaritas. I still think that the best part of any margarita is the salt. Yummy. :-)
Just hoping to get some sleep tonight.

Just Watched

The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio. I only started the book, didn't finish it, but for as far as I had read, the movie stuck with the book very well. It was pretty interesting, not the best movie I've watched recently, but interesting. Not one I would recommend to everyone though. Definitely too much language for families with younger kids.

Books?

Anyone have suggestions for some good books to read? (Not that I really have the time...but my brain desperately needs a little bit of exercise.)

Play Time!

Happy.

Mischevious.

Cute.

Flirt.

Too Fast!

A tooth coming in.

Sitting up steadily.

Mastering moving from sitting to stomach in order to reach things.

And (scariest of all) starting to very slowly scoot across the floor to get something just a little further out of reach.

Growing up way too fast.

More Pics with Aunt Jessica

With Great-Grandma Kathryn and Great-Grandma Smith

kid kisses

Autumn and Aunt Jessica

Home Again

Autumn is miserable. She has a tooth just beginning to break through and it hurts! She's been letting me know about it all day. She wants to have something to chew at all times and she wants me to hold her the whole time. The only thing I was able to get done today was grocery shopping and the only way I was able to do that was by giving her a box of jello to chew on (the only thing in the cart small enough and non-breakable). She managed to gum her way right through the box. Luckily I noticed just in time and took the little bag of jello away from her before she got through it as well.

So her tooth hurts, but I think she's also reacting to the fact that she suddenly went from absolute constant attention from an adoring crowd of aunts, uncles, and grand and great-grandparents, to just her mom. Guess I'm just plain boring. :-)

We had a really good visit in Indiana. Most of the things that I was hoping to get done, didn't happen. I didn't get my books packed up to send back to myself. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to. I didn't dig through all the photos and scan in the ones I wanted. But the important things did get done. Autumn got to play and play and play with all her aunts and uncles (several wanted to keep her). She got to meet the goats, and dogs, and cats, and bunnies, and geese, and ducks, and chickens, and horses, and guinea pig. And I got to get in a whole bunch of pinochle games. :-)

I'm so so glad to be back home with Matt though. Autumn and I both missed him a whole lot. And it was cool cause we came home to a completely cleaned up house. Yay! I'm spoiled. :-)

It was so strange coming home to a completely different season here. When we left Indiana, looking down from the air, the ground was completely white with snow. When we left the airport in Atlanta we were driving along the road with green grass and cherry blossoms on either side.

This time of year must be why people live in Georgia. Everything is in bloom, the weather is absolutely gorgeous. On the way back home from grocery shopping today, Autumn dozed off, so I just drove around our neighborhood to see all the flowers. The trees are so beautiful.


I've gotta get off the computer and try to get some housework done, since Autumn's finally asleep. It's been a tough day. I'm really really hoping that this painful teething stage won't last too long.

Going to try to get a few pics up really quick.

Happy Birthday -- Mar 18th

Happy 13th Birthday to Lem!



(Posted in advance, since I probably won't be able to get near a computer over the next few days, besides the fact that I am still awake.)

Insomnia

I should be asleep. We have to get up by 5:30 at the latest to get Autumn bundled up and leave for the airport. But, as always happens when I have to get up early the next morning, I can't go to sleep tonight. That wouldn't really be such a problem, but I haven't been able to get more than a few hours of sleep the last two nights. I'm exhausted, but my brain doesn't want to slow down.

I'm really not looking forward to trying to handle Autumn, the diaper bag, the stroller, her car seat, and the car seat base getting on and off the plane. It's going to be an adventure, that's for sure. Thankfully, Matt's schedule worked out so that he can drive me to the airport and stay with me until our bags are checked.

I keep hearing horror stories about babies screaming during the whole flight or having their ears hurt for days afterward. Ugh. Hoping things aren't like that for us.

Sweet Baby

Isn't it funny how she has red lashes and brows and brown hair? I love the little pouty mouth. But then, I love everything about her! :-)

Smiling with Daddy

Funny Face

More Spring Pics

Just Gardening

Just taking a quick break to swallow down some mid-day caffeine. I missed my coffee this morning, so I'm really feeling it now. As soon as Autumn wakes up from her nap (any minute) we've gotta run and do some shopping. Michael's (40% off coupon expires today), Lowes (for fire ant killer--they're driving me nuts!), and Wal-Mart (for more seeds and some other random things).

I've spend most of today working on the garden (YAY!), since we had it tilled a couple days ago and it's been really pretty out today. So far I've planted four rows of beans, salad green mix, onions, and sunflowers. I planned on putting in peas (though it's really too late), but the area I was going to put them in next to the fence is infested. The ground looks like it's boiling...zillions of little red ants that want nothing else but to bite and bite and bite anyone who comes near them.

So I smell like OFF because I sprayed my feet and legs with it to try to keep the ants from eating me alive. It didn't work very well, and though I've scrubbed and scrubbed the nasty "deep woods" smell is still lingering. Oh well.

I've got herbs and marigolds coming up in a tray next to the big living room window. And sprouting potatoes nearly ready to go in the ground (though I have no idea if they'll grow down here). And squash and cucumber seeds waiting to go in when we get back from shopping. (Though it's supposed to rain, so they might have to wait.)

I put a small bed of bulbs and myrtle around the magnolia tree in the front yard. Today I was out there adding some more flower seeds and found that on the side of the tree away from the house something has been digging up the bulbs. Pesky squirrels! They're cute but annoying.

It's hard to believe that on Thursday Autumn and I will be back to late winter in Indiana. I have to admit that I really do prefer these gorgeous spring days down here. But I'm really really not looking forward to the summer. UGH! Thank goodness for the AC.

Ah... The coffee has done it's job and I'm feeling alive again, so I think I'm going to go see if Autumn wants to wake up and eat and head out to the stores.

Click on the photo...it's honeysuckle growing on our fence--with yesterday's misty rain.

Pics

Sitting Up

Today Autumn was practicing sitting up. Usually she stays upright for about 10-15 seconds before tipping over. Today she was playing with her rings and managed to stay up for several minutes, before slowly tipping over backwards. She's growing up too fast! Pics in a little bit. :-)

Fish

Autumn and I just fed her fish. She really likes them. I hold her up next to the tank and drop the food in and then close the lid quickly because the black skirted tetras swim up to the top of the tank so fast that they fly out of the water. I'm always afraid they're going to get out. The neons hang out under the filter, grabbing pieces that slowly float down to them and the platy floats along the top, collecting everything in his way. There's always a quick search for the algae eater guy that is perfectly camoflaged in with the rocks. Sometimes we find him, sometimes we don't.

I don't think Autumn really cares about the algae eater anyway. From the moment the food hits the water and the commotion starts, she's glued to the tank watching the fish dart up and down. Her eyes get big, her mouth falls open and she reaches out both hands to press against the glass. She stays that way until I take her away. She likes watching the tetras move, but I think her favorite is still the platy, because he's so bright. When we took her to the pet store she picked out the platys. We were showing her all the different kinds of fish and when we got to the platys she spat out her pacifier and got really excited "ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh..."

Floppy Hat

Feeding

I've been browsing the internet while feeding Autumn this afternoon. She's giving me plenty of time, that's for sure. She's feeling a lot better today, but instead of eating, she's just wanting to taste her cereal. She's enjoying it more than she usually does, but she's not opening her mouth. Instead, she sticks out her tongue and licks the spoon all the while making "mm-mm" noises as if it's the best thing she has ever tasted. This feeding has taken nearly an hour, and I think it's about time to call it quits.

Anyway...here is a picture from the first time she tried cereal, after she was finished and I let her play with the spoon.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Yesterday Autumn had a doctor's appointment and got shots. And today she's been about to drive me up the wall!!! She won't let me put her down even for a second. If I try to she screams and screams and SCREAMS. Thankfully she just fell asleep--I'm hoping that she'll stay that way for a while. Today has been extremely frustrating, since I've been trying to get things done around the house, and most things just aren't possible shen you're trying to carry around a fussy baby. I'm so glad Matt didn't work very late today, because if I hadn't had someone else to hand her off to for a while I think I would have just started screaming too.

Made sour cream cookies this evening (while Matt was holding Autumn). Funny 'cause I don't think I've ever actually made them before. They're my dad's favorites, but Aunt Becky is always the one who makes them. They were really easy and Matt liked them a lot. Though he wouldn't believe me at first that they really were made with sour cream.

Oh, and the doctor's appointment--at five months Autumn is 16 pounds 6 ounces and 26 inches long. And we've actually started on solids now--just rice cereal. But it goes into the mouth and comes right back out again. And by the time we're done, she's managed to get it up her nose, in her eyebrows, and under her arms. Still can't figure out exactly how she does it, but it gets there.

I've got to go get a few things done, while Autumn's asleep.

I've got a few pics, but they'll have to go up later.

Just Because

Frustration

I've been feeling kind of stuck lately. I love being a wife and mom, I really do. And I don't want to get an outside job, because it would tear me apart not to be able to take care of Autumn all the time. She's so much fun and I love watching her as she learns new things and grows (all too fast). Not to mention the fact that taking care of her and the house somehow manages to be a full-time job. It seems I would have a ton of time on my hands, but I stay consistenly busy.

While I was sick, nothing really mattered. I couldn't do anything or think about much else. But now that I'm better, I find myself running into two problems connected to not having a job.

One of them is, of course, money. I feel bad not bringing in any. I would love to be able to find some way to make money from home. I've been tossing around some ideas, but nothing seems to be quite the right fit. There is one idea that seems that I would be capable of and enjoy, but I just don't know if it would work, and I'm still not sure how to go about getting started. And then there's the fact that I have very serious doubts that there would be any demand for the service/product.

The other, probably more important problem is that I feel like I'm losing the ability to think. My brain is atrophying. School and work forced me to read, to study, to research, to learn. Sometimes about things I was interested in, sometimes not, but always stretching my brain and leading to greater understanding of something. I guess the real problem is that I'm just intellectually lazy. I have a very hard time making myself learn something for learning's sake. I love to think that I can and will, but I don't. I need tests, deadlines, accountability to push myself. Left by myself with no positive or negative incentive, I just don't make the time to study and learn new things. Sure, I may read magazine articles or a few chapters of a book, but I just can't seem to push myself beyond that to get a greater understanding of an issue or idea.

I don't really know how to solve these problems, which is why I'm feeling stuck. Is there a way to make money and to give your brain exercise without getting an outside job or getting back in school?

quick update

I have been meaning to update all week, but things have been busy, busy, busy. Although, looking at the state the house is in and how many things are still on my to-do list, I'm really not sure what it is that I've actually gotten done so far.

Last weekend was great, but far too short. We were able to catch up with several friends while we were up there, though we still didn't have enough time.

Going up there again made me realize just how much more I need to keep up with people and that we need to visit again soon. But it also made us realize just how glad we are to be away from the craziness of life in that area. Life is so much easier, simpler, and better down here away from the stress, traffic, and high cost of living in DC.

As Matt pointed out, is was also pretty cool to be up there as "super-tourists" and know how to navigate and find everything in the area. Well, he could at least. I think I would be pretty lost if it was just me, since I pretty much drove on the toll-road and rode the metro. He drove a lot more.

I've got more to say, but Autumn is hungry and I've gotta run...