Growing up so fast!

It amazes me how fast kids grow up...I know that everyone says this, but it's true! With Ellie, I feel I wanted her to grow faster. We started her on rice cereal way earlier than we should have, she walked early, all those things were on the early side of things. And I nus havnt been in such a rush with kaleb. At just days shy of 8 months, he's got 4 teeth, is cruising the furniture, talking, and branching out in his diet. All teeth are in the front, so no real choppers. So far as his cruising, he transfers from the table to the couch to people wight any problem. And he's even trying to figure out how to stand up without pulling up on something (walking himself up with his hands) and for about a second he can do a crouching balance before falling or sitting down. I'm amazed! Kaleb's words consist of "ba ba," "ma ma," "hubba hubba" - no kidding...it's the cutest! For foods, I feel like we've actually regressed. He won't eat many baby foods. He's found out that applesauce (like the kind Ellie eats) is really yummy, cheerios are good, and as of this morning, pancakes were added to his limited menu (yay for kerby lane cafe). And as much as I think he doesn't want to eat the baby food, kaleb really just wants to do it himself. But again with only 4 teeth, we're limited in non-choking-hazard foods. I love sitting and wathing my kids together these days. Kaleb so loves his sister, and she so loves him, too! Ellie can make him laugh when no one else can, and he just studies her so much! This weekend alone they've played with La Loopsy dolls, he's been in her class, she's turned him into a frog with her magic wand, and he's dug into the dress up chest. It makes my heart happy to see them play together...can't wait for the day when he'll be old/big enough to really play. But then again, this is all about how time flies, so I guess we'll be there before I know it!

3 P's

The 3 P's in nursing are: pain, potty, position - assess/treat pain, assist to potty, reposition for comfort. And because I'm not in pain, no one needs to potty right now, and I'm positioned pretty comfortably, I will discuss 3 other P's - pink eye, packing, and parental reinforcements.

1. Pink Eye: that's right...we've passed pink eye around the house this week. fortunately, it was only the kids. ellie started it sunday night. dr. stafford (in fredericksburg) was nice enough to call in some medication to treat her. she stayed home monday, half a day with daddy and half a day with mommy. back to school tuesday. and then wednesday i picked kaleb up from school with yucky stuff in his eyes...called his doctor here and started him on eye drops. eye drops in 2 toddlers is no fun. we've washed LOTS of hands, avoided hugs/kisses between the kids, all the things you're supposed to do. and the contagion was inevitable anyways.

2. Packing: is in full swing. we're running out of boxes and living room space. kaleb likes all the boxes. ellie doesn't like that things are disappearing - but we try to encourage with the fact that they're not permanently gone, but just temporarily so we can take them to our new house. the countdown is on - we've been officially approved for our loan, and we close in just 6 days!

3. parental reinforcements: we've been blessed with 3 visitors this week. first, fabo came in on tuesday to visit (was going to stay with us, but the 1st "P" got in the way...didn't want to make him sick, too). we got to show him the new house, ellie played hide-and-seek upstairs with him, and then he treated us to dinner. it was great! then today, coach and nonna got here about mid-morning, and they are providing reinforcement for packing. they've kept the kids entertained all morning - wore kaleb out so he had to take a 2nd nap! but they've all 4 had fun! eric's been working this morning (for a short little while) and i've been allowed to pack without interruption and while knowing that the kids are having fun.

ellie and nonna got to watercolor. nonna named the work of art, "symphony in magenta"

coach and kaleb played at the pink table for awhile (and you can see the boxes in the background)

"what are you doing, mama, with that camera?"

i think the afternoon looks to be a good one - torchy's tacos for lunch, a visit to ikea, and a car ride full of naps for the women and children i predict!

Apricot Chicken and a Fear of the Dark

So all who have a crockpot should definitely try this Apricot Chicken because it's easy AND yummy - what working mom could ask for more??? The kids loved it - well, Ellie did anyway. She had a happy plate at the end of the evening (nothing left...which means she also ate her fresh green beans...she rocks!).

Kaleb got to try the rice...sorry, buddy, no chicken yet. He wasn't sure how to get it to his mouth, but it sure kept him occupied moving it around on his tray and from hand to hand!

After dinner, Ellie requested to play with legos, which is a family favorite. Ellie dumped them out, and Kaleb jumped atop the pike to make sure he got the best ones! The girls built an ice cream shop airplane with  cinnamon (whatever that is) and the boys just stuck a few together and then stuck them in Kaleb's mouth.

Kaleb's been going to bed earlier these past 2 nights, so it was a short evening. Both kids, in fact, were in bed by 8.15 - and we have no problems with that because they're both sleeping great. Kaleb's been awakened the past 2 mornings in order to eat and get ready for school just before leaving. Ellie is learning to tell time with her new clock. Not so much the whole concept yet, but she knows that it's ok to get out of bed to come snuggy in Mommy's bed when the first number is a 6. Yesterday she came in so proudly to announce it said 6 so she was there to crawl in bed with me. Today she tried, and I had to correct her that the first number was indeed a 5. She went back to bed (with Eric's help) and came in when the clock said 6. Such a smart girl!

She has developed a fear of the dark, though. The other night, she wanted to sleep with her bedside lamp on. I asked why - because it's dark when you turn it off. I pointed out her nightlight and her clock that glows in the dark. Her next observation was that it was really dark when she came to snuggy in our room. I told her that she'd better stay in her room, then, with the nightlights! I wonder where the fear of the dark comes from in kids...how do they come to fear things in the dark without any bad experiences from which to draw? I asked her what about the dark scared her, and she really didn't have an answer.

Holiday Monday

Since my kids have been in school this year, I've gotten to celebrate such holidays as Columbus Day in October and now MLK Jr Day. Not that I've ever been opposed to either holiday, but I've always worked, and never felt slighted for missing such holidays. And I've got to tell you, I am so thankful for a job right now that allows me to be off with them! (And not that my previous job didn't allow for such, because it was way flexible, but Eric had the even more flexible job so he always volunteered to be off.) I enjoy the extra weekend day, essentially that's what it is, that I can spend with my kiddos! They've worn me out today, though, and I am just as thankful for school tomorrow!

Kaleb has a new-found obsession with Andy's crate, which is under my desk (might want to reconsider location), and the two are becoming better friends now that Andy can talk Kaleb into finding the treats...now only if Andy could teach him how to open the bag...

I got the opportunity to play in the kids' room last night during church, and what fun we had! Kaleb loved the giant school bus with car tracks on the front - it was just his height!

JD was not as happy (only towards the end) as he kept asking when his mama and daddy would be back. We looked out the window lots at the trees and lights and truck ("beep beep") as we watched it get dark throughout the evening.

And to round out the weekend, we had our home inspection this afternoon. The inspector was super-nice, from Highland Park originally (a fellow Dallas-ite), and best of all, said the house was CLEAN so far as he was concerned! There were a couple of small fixes he recommended but nothing that was mandatory, and nothing that the home owners had to fix before closing. Which is one less snag in the plans for us to close mid-February...whoo hoo!

While he gave us the report in the kitchen, the kids gathered in the living room and played on the iPad together - I'm not an advocate for lots of TV and video games and such, but the iPad has been a life-saver during this house-buying process.

The kids and I arrived a few minutes before Eric did, and the inspector was in the attic at the time, so we wandered around. I showed Ellie the playroom and living room, we walked through the kitchen ("Mommy, this is a big pantry. Lots of space.") and then made our way upstairs. We saw the craft room, then the master bedroom, then the kids' rooms. Upon going into Ellie's room, she looked behind the door and exclaimed, "Mama, there's a boingy-thing for Kaleb to play with in here!" She then checked Kaleb's room for the same, and found it to have 2 boingy things! I've never thought to put this on the wish list when shopping for a new home, but now I forever will!

Eric got there just as we completed the upstairs tour, and Ellie was excited to show him her room. And then Kaleb's. And then "the room where all Mommy's quilty stuff can go." I asked if she realized that Mommy and Daddy saw the house last week without her, and she said, "No. I don't think Daddy's seen it before." Hehehe :)

All in all, it was a great 3-day weekend that started with a home offer and ended with a clean bill of health for that said home. 

Crafty Sunday

So much to report on, so little time...not really - plenty of time since both kids are napping at the same time! So, fair warning, this'll be long. Read on if you dare :)

To catch up on my crafting goals for 2012, I've not progressed one iota on the Robot Riot tracing - suppose I should without little hands around to grab at the patterns. On the Swoon Quilt, I've had a minor change of plans...I'm making 3 pillows from the squares rather than a whole quilt. And the fabric I will be using looks like this:

Fabric was found at Form & Fabric, an online store who has their workshop in Austin - it was site of January's Austin Modern Quilt Guild meeting, which I got to attend last week! I was so excited to go - I've been stalking AMQG for over a year now, and have dreamed of the day I got to attend, and last Thursday was that day! There were about 20 people at the meeting, and we talked about everything from current projects (show-and-tell) to troubleshooting tips to events coming up. I'm actually making a square to be a part of a quilt top that will be finished in time for April's Relay for Life silent auction. So exciting!

So why the change from a whole quilt to just shams for throw pillows for the couch? Because we might need a little new decor in our new house - slated to close early-mid February, pending inspection this week. We are so excited!! It's in a great little neighborhood, has 4 bedrooms (that's 1 whole room dedicated to my crafting!), great space downstairs for a playroom in addition to living space, a big backyard, backs up to a greenbelt (read, no neighbors behind us). And the best part is that it's in a little area with about 60-ish homes (and more on the other side of the main road) full of people with whom we hope to build relationships and eventually minister to and with. We are already in prayer and in discussion as to how to go about meeting our neighbors. So exciting!

In other news, we went to the mall Friday night to exchange some shoes for Kaleb that his Cacky sent - they were too small. Here he is sporting his new size 4.5 shoes, and surprisingly, the sales lady measured his feet, and they're not classified as 'wide'. By the looks of things, I would have begged to differ!

It's been a great weekend, and will continue for the kids tomorrow, as MLK Jr is recognized with a school holiday. I've got to go into work for a bit, but will be home with them for the bulk of the day while Eric works. We have our inspection in the afternoon, and it'll be Ellie's (and Kaleb's, although I don't think he's going to care) first time to see the house. I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing her reaction to it all. We've been talking about the change and how we'll have a house with a backyard and all, and she seems pretty excited.

Today, though, she was most excited to get to watercolor. And she makes some pretty cool pictures - I'm impressed with her skills!

Her OCD-ness kicks in at times, though, and she asks for new, clean water more often than I ever would, and today she needed a napkin because there was a drop of 1 color in the well of another color, and she wanted to clean it up before they mixed. All of this she gets from her father, I assure you!

While she did that, I worked on a new nap mat for her, but had to take a time-out to let the batting fluff up before sewing it all together. While I waited, I read some blogs, one from an attendee of the AMQG meeting last week. And from there, I found a link to a Hot Tamale Quilt. It inspired me to put something together from some fabric I knew I had in my stash - already pre-cut for another project I set out to do 2 years ago. Scrap that project and now we've got the start to a baby quilt in the making. And a way cute one at that!

Eric was mostly great at keeping up with Kaleb so that I could have some crafting time this morning (which I am reciprocating so he can go for a ride this afternoon...kind of me to volunteer my time during naptime, i suppose!) Every once in a while, Kaleb would make a break for it and come for the foot pedal to the sewing machine. And really, who could get mad at this kid?!?

Great weekend, and looking forward to some more family time tomorrow!

on our way to sleeping in...

i want to remember this week in history. well, in the history of the little odenwald family here under this roof. it's been a week of more sleep than i can remember us getting since having kids!

thursday night before bed, eric had a pep talk with kaleb. it went something like this,
"ok, buddy, you'd better tank up now [on this bottle] because your midnight milk has run dry. there will be no snacks and no out of bed time. just a plug and back to sleep 'til morning."
eric must have gone to the cliff odenwald school of excellent motivational speaking, because kaleb slept until 7am friday morning! (mind you, previously, kaleb has been waking up about 3am for a 4-oz snack and then back to sleep until 5.30 or 6am.)

friday night, we weren't so lucky. kaleb attended his first session at the school of ferberization (if you're not familiar with dr. ferber and his methods, click here). we did it with ellie, and just after 3 or 4 nights, she was good to go all night on her own. so kaleb woke up about 2.30am, wanted nothing but a bottle, screamed loudly (sorry to our downstairs neighbors) and did so until about 3.20am - and eric and i were faithful at going in at allowed intervals and giving a plug and soothing him for short periods. nothing helped until he just gave up. the last 2 nights, though, he's slept through the night. with 5 plugs in his bed nonetheless. until 7am.

ellie on the other hand, has developed a habit of wanting in our bed with us around 5.30am. she stalks me. i feel her breathing on my face and wake up to her staring me down in the dark. really freaky. and if it's any time before 6am i give her the option of laying down on our floor or going back to her room to read books. and after 6am she crawls in bed with us. this weekend, it was right at 6am, she crawled in, and slept until after 7am. no way...2 kids who will let us sleep until am! i never would have thought this day would come!

both kids are so snuggly...kaleb around bedtime and ellie first thing in the morning...and i don't want them to grow out of this! sleeping kids are the sweetest things...for so many reasons! for the sleep you get as well, and for the warm snuggliness that comes along with the sleep :)

House-Hunting

We have spent much of our time this weekend in the car. Yesterday, we looked at houses with a realtor in the morning, regrouped over a taco at Torchy's for lunch, and then saw 2 more rentals after naptime. Today, we loaded up this morning to drive around and look at more houses (stalking as Eric calls it) just from the car - no actual viewings of the insides.

We loaded up with snacks, plugs, toys, iPad, plenty to drink (see below) and lots of fuel - and we never got more than about 5 miles from the apartment!

So what did we find, you ask? Well, first, I am reminded of our house-hunt upon relocating to Austin, so I'd like to share that story...

Last June, it was impressed upon us that Austin looked more and more like where God was calling us, and much sooner than we thought. So like any couple faced with relocation, we placed our house on the market immediately - it was not the best time in the housing market. And 3 weeks later, we were under contract, slated to close just 8 weeks to the day after the house was listed. God is good!

However, that gave us a hard and fast date to be out of the house, which we weren't so prepared for. So we spent several days over several weeks searching out different areas of Austin. And much prayer accompanied this. We needed discernment as to where in the city we were called. The answer came loud and clear - settle on the south side of town. And that was as much clarity as was given. So I went to looking for jobs, we went about looking for rental options - mainly houses. 

One Saturday, we drove in, spent the better part of the day with 2 cranky kids in the car, stalking 32 different rent houses on the south side of town and eliminated all of them. I cried on the way back to Fredericksburg at the thought of having nowhere to live. The following Monday, 2 days later, we drove back to Austin for an interview for me. On the way, Eric and I discussed the option of apartment vs. home rental, and both discovered that to each of our surprises, the other was open to an apartment. 

Oh, but where to start - in prayer, of course! Of the seemingly hundreds of apartment complexes on the south side of town, only 2 had 3-bedroom availability when we needed it. After visiting both properties, it was clear which was our answer. And the job came through, further justifying our decision. God is good!

So back to the present. We've been perusing the internet for weeks (thanks to Zillow, HotPads, and Realtor.com, I think Eric and I could find all available houses for anyone in any area...just let us know your needs) looking for both rentals and purchases, mostly rentals. We're just not quite sure of the area, and not quite easy with the funds required for a home purchase at present. We have watched at least 2 cycles of rentals come up for lease and be leased in the past month, and are amazed at the rapid turnover of rental properties in Austin.

This weekend, we looked at 2 rentals and 2 homes for purchase, and liked the first rental a lot. Saturday night (only hours after viewing the property) I e-mailed the realtor we used to view it and asked for an application. Only to our dismay, the house had been leased already - since our viewing that morning. And for about $100 more than listed for! We called on one at lunch Saturday that was listed on Thursday, and the listing agent informed me it rented within 24 hours of the listing posted - no longer available.

We view one more rental tomorrow, but the date for move-in is already listed too late for us by a couple of days, so if the landlord isn't willing or able to let us move in earlier, it won't work either. So what did I do? I talked to a realtor this afternoon (one I like very much) about purchasing homes. Not on our original list of plans. Something that will definitely push us both in terms of ministry and comfort - God really must be calling us here, and He really must want us here for a few years.

I write this lengthy post to remind myself of the similarities of the situations. In July and August when we were looking frantically, we were also praying fervently for a home and a people to whom we could minister, and God changed our human ideas (of needing a house) into ones that He would use in the short-term (an apartment with a next-door-neighbor who Eric's built a friendship with). At present, we're spending (could be read 'wasting') lots of time looking at all options, really hoping for a rental to make things easier, and I know I'm in prayer, but not as life-dependent as I was last summer. I truly want our decision to be His decision - not one that's made just for ease of our situation or because of lack of confidence in His calling us to a certain area and people. He directed our situation once before, so recently too, and I pray He does it again.

God truly is Good!

He is faithful. He is good.

Eric and i have talked lots lately about how the life spent in pursuit of Christ isn't necessarily meant to be easy or comfortable, but to be walked with Him. We've used this much to encourage each other in our transition to a new city and a new set of jobs and a new place to live (both initially and again now as we look for something a bit more long-term). Tonight I sat in a room with 11 other women and talked about life. Specifically, we lifted up one another's burdens in prayer. Everything came out, and much was said with tears and in between sobs. Everything from a family struggling with the decline of a father's memory as Alzheimer's sets in to a battle to fight to feed the hunger within to grow more spiritually when the easy and perhaps more popular thing to do is relish the current "stage in life" with small kiddos without dedicating daily time to God. One shared of the family dysfunction brought on by a divorce many years ago and the feuds still remaining. Another shared of her struggle to realize her lack of control over her children coming to know Jesus early and trust Him without question - and ultimately the realization from her that the only thing to do was to pray, knowing the He controls all things. One shared of tough medical decisions having to be made by her and her husband on behalf of their child. Aother opened up about a heart-felt desire to go overseas in long-term ministry yet feeling inadequate and not-so-confident in her own skills to do the job. One struggles with ongoing health problems and physically hurts yet is enduring the testing to discover any possible answers as to cause. Another is adjusting to new job roles for both her and husband and how the kids will adjust and be cared for during this time. And as I drove home, all I could think of was, I am by no means alone. Where I had thought it was us in transition, and once things "settled down" life would return to "normal" I am now realizing is a constant endurance with patience and joy. And all for the glory of the One who has placed us in these situations and circumstances. I am all the more aware now that it seems the unsettled feeling is perhaps more the norm than the exception. It keeps us on our toes...or perhaps on our knees praying to the One who is ready to listen and respond. I continue even now to lift up my sisters. Knowing that the One who began the good work in us isn't then with us yet. "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience in joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." Colossians 1.11-12.

A couple of "firsts" for my kids

I'm late in delivering the news of my kids' "firsts" accomplished the week before Christmas. Part of it could be lack of pictures from those with them. Part of it is definitely the lack of a computer of my own to blog on - no worries, though...I'm getting mine back from the computer doctor tomorrow (and thank you to my great husband for letting me share his computer - he even made me my own folder to save stuff to...he rocks!).

And I have to say that as my hard drive was wiped out and files and pictures unrecoverable, I'm realizing that the process of blogging is as much for my memories as it is for others, so if something seems uninteresting to you, quit reading. I'll write something more exciting for you the next day. I just want to capture so much about this life that I can so we can look back to see where we were, what we were doing, and when. And Ellie's really embraced this lately as she's been thumbing through the scrapbooks of her baby book and Kaleb's baby book. And a few weeks ago, we looked through the hard copy version of her baby blog. So thankful I have these things for memories! But now on to what I'm supposed to be telling about...

Kaleb can now brag all about his first overnight trip away from Mommy and Daddy. He was just a mere 6 1/2 months old when he ventured to Dallas unaccompanied by parents, but I suppose it was all ok because he was in good company...Ellie joined him. And all this happened just 2 days after he was diagnosed with his first ear infections. What a week! Despite not feeling so well, I think he had a great time in Garland.

And it never fails, when Cacky's in charge overnight, Kaleb chooses not to sleep so well...hmmm, there must be something more to that...I think he was up a minimum of twice each night he was there (3 nights total) and didn't nap well during the day most days - although that part isn't much different than when he's here at home.

Ellie's couple of firsts include getting to Build-a-Bear with Aunt B - the bear was appropriately named Pinky. It warms my heart to see Ellie so genuinely happy with Pinky in the car on the way home! Last night, in fact, about 30 minutes after putting Ellie to bed, we heard her crying in her room. I went in and asked what was wrong. She said, "I want my Aunt B." I explained that Aunt B was at her home with Fabo and Cacky and couldn't be with us right now, but that she would come visit soon (so mark your calendar, Aunt B!) and suggested she sleep with Pinky. She agreed, since this was something she and Aunt B did together.

On other nights, Pinky sleeps in her "bed," that is, the house in which she came. Complete with birth certificate in the bottom - unremovable because we might lose it according to Ellie. Good call, my child.

I'm still waiting for pictures from Ellie's other first (hint, hint) - SHE WENT TO THE MOVIES IN THE THEATER!!! Cacky decided that it'd be fun to take her to the Muppet Movie. And Aunt B wanted to tag along. And they invited Coach and Nonna, who altered their plans for the day so as to accompany Ellie. Nonna's observation was that all the other kids at the movies had a parent or a grandparent with them - maybe 2 if they were lucky. Ellie, however, strutted up to the ticket booth with her entourage! Ellie and her peeps had so much fun - and it only took 2 packs of fruit snacks and 1 pack of animal crackers. She told me about it afterwards.

I am told that the conversation the night before sounded something like this:
Cacky: Ellie, have you ever been to the movies?
Ellie thought for a minute and replied, "I've been to the movie store"

Oh, my Ellie! I'm so glad she has such fun family who will share in fun things like this with her (and no doubt Kaleb when the time comes).

Craftier in 2012

I read several blogs daily/weekly, and seem to be addicted to pinterest, so in 2012, I will do something with all this craft-stalking. That's right...I'm setting some craft goals for the year. There will be 1 fun DIY/Homemade project each month as well as 1 quilting goal each month. And here's what I'll be attempting:

January: 

DIY: Homemade Meyers Liquid Soap

Quilt: Trace and cut out all pieces for Kaleb's robot quilt - so excited about the finished project!

February: 

DIY: Lip Balm

Quilt: Cut fabric for Swoon Quilt (by Thimble Blossoms) - hope to find fun fabric at Stitch Lab at Austin's Modern Quilt Guild monthly meetings...starting to attend in January - so excited!

March: 

DIY: Laundry Detergent

Quilt: Robots ready for construction (all cut out backing pieces attached to fabric)

April:

DIY: Bath Salts

Quilt: Finish Swoon blocks

That's enough planning for now...Let's see if I stick with it. I'm really excited about it all. In fact, I kind of want to do it all now :) And don't you worry, dear friends, you could be the lucky recipient of homemade something - lip balm, bath salts - if it turns out a success! So here's to crafting in 2012; I'll keep you posted as to how things turn out...

Join me, be creative! What have you pinned on your boards that you'd like to try? What sounds fun or cost-saving that could be attempted on a Saturday afternoon during nap time? Let's have some fun!