A Rainy Afternoon

Last night R and I were discussing Squirm's latest word Light and that I've been trying to teach her On and Off. R pointed out that it sounds like I'm trying to teach her digital logic - which I thought was a great idea and we agreed that we'll use 0 and 1 from now on when discussing lights being Off and On.

This afternoon we experienced a thunder storm. A normal occurrence this time of year in good ole central Florida. After reading Around the Farm one hundred and two times, I said a sentence that surprised me: Let's take a break from reading books and play dress up. 

What is tulle? Can I eat it?

You can dress me like a ballerina mom, but I still want to read this book!

This one needs to be in a frame.

My tutu is eating me!

Come on Puggles, we're getting out of here.

The floor is so far away!!

This is a close up of her mullet - for Auntie H.

I want Cinderella's tiara too!

Girl? Tiara, Cinderella doll, and Shoe.

Really mom? Can we read the book now?

We did read the book again. And again. She will have her own tiny arm chair in her toddler room, but for now I'm enjoying being her primary chair in which she sits to read her books. Tanner will be glad when Squirms is done with me so he can sit in my lap during these storms.

I Heart Jim Shirley

Dear Friends and Family,

Everyone will be receiving Good Grits! from us this Christmas. I'm sorry if you had other needs, or wants, in mind. It is the best cook book ever published (using the criteria of an amateur chef being able to cook delicious food - delicious food being defined by it's all you can talk about while you eat it because it's so tasty and you actually want to have the leftovers for your next meal) and I've determined that everyone will be happier if they used this book.

R and I made Gulf Coast Puttanesca on Friday night. I am not able to pronounce "Puttanesca". It's an Italian dish, but the recipe we used has Jim Shirley's gulf coast touches. (That means shrimp, and he uses spaghetti squash instead of pasta - speaking of, how did I grow to the age of 30 without using spaghetti squash before?? It's wonderful. Life changing. And it looks like you're eating a giant plate of pasta but you can eat it all without feeling ill. I need to send a thank you note to MGH for sending me the collard green recipe that included spaghetti squash.)

While it did take me five hours to peel and de-vain the shrimp (that is what it felt like anyways), and we used medium shrimp instead of Gulf Coast shrimp (because, as I explained in my last post, we live near the Atlantic), we enjoyed this dish Friday and Saturday night.

Forgive our ability to take nice photos of food.

Tasted better than my photo can show.

Smorgasbord

Super great news from Alabama, my cousin BHP delivered beautiful twins yesterday! I've been Facebook stalking her, her mom, her grandmother, and her husband to see all the photos. They are two very loved little babies!

More good news, Aunt LPJ and her family were in Orlando this weekend and we got to bother them see them Sunday afternoon. I took a couple of photos with my phone and when pulling them today from my photo stream (R, please note that I used my photo stream and loved it. No cables from my phone to computer. I know you're proud that I didn't even call you to ask how!) I wanted to add a couple from 4th of July weekend too.

My aunt's visit made me realize that my extended family doesn't know how close our home is to the Atlantic Ocean a.k.a. beach. Maybe that's why we don't get a lot of visitors? While we do live on the "land side" of the river, the ocean is only six to seven miles away. We don't go a lot, but R does like to surf and I've gotten better about allowing sand to touch my hands. So, to brag about living close to the beach, I also included beach photos. And, they're just pretty. 

That's my foot. You're welcome.

The waves were beautiful, we couldn't have asked for better colors.

Late in the afternoon, my father fell asleep on his towel, on the sand. R and I watched and silently giggled while the tide came in, waiting for the water to wake up my dad. Sadly, a rouge wave surprised me in my chair (which was further back from my dad, but also several feet to the left) and he woke up before getting soaked.

Waiting for the tide.

Grandpa, You eat the lemon! (He had been trying to feed her a lemon)

And now, from the Peabody Hotel, it's Auntie L, Aunt LPJ and LRJ.

Yummy, sunglasses.

I have these ladies wrapped around my fingers!

Aunt LPJ did act very similarly to Squirm's grandpa: Oh, you want to go over here? Okay. Oh, you want to go outside? Okay. Oh, you want to be held? Okay. I have also been told that the Squirms now has a Hedwig hand puppet from Harry Potter World. Auntie L does spoil her.

This is how you're supposed to chill by the pool.

This is not.

We also got to see the men of the family and DJ's friend, but I'm afraid I didn't take a lot of pictures. The Squirms did like DJ and kept telling him Hiiiii. Of course she might have just been pretending to be sweet so she could steal his phone, listen to music, and make phone calls.

Several people locally have been asking how the adoption is going. We are done with paperwork for now and just trying to prepare our house for God's timing. Our profile books are with the agency and able to be shown to birth moms. This phase is called Waiting Family. We have been a Waiting Family for approximately one month (not very long in adoption timelines). 

We really won't have any exciting news until a birth mom chooses us as her family - called the Match. Right now we're focused on preparing our house, putting money into our savings account for the upcoming placement and lawyer fees, and enjoying the Squirms as an only child. R has been painting Squirm's toddler room and we've been praying for our future birth mom. 

I keep reminding myself what a blessing it is to spend the day reading books that Squirms brings me, keeping her from eating rocks and green tomatoes in the garden, and hugging her whenever I feel like it. Patience during an adoption is greatly increased when you are teaching your 17 month old to blow kisses. She keeps me busy and reminds me of how God has already blessed us more than we could have imagined.

Today's Confessions (now Yesterday's)

Tonight I asked a girl in our small group, E, your birthday was yesterday right? The 9th? Less then two minutes later I turned to R and asked What's today's date?

On the way home from church I called my sister L. She answered and we were talking, but her cell service wasn't great. There was a moment or two of silence. I began humming. Then she asked me what Squirms was doing. Startled, I jumped and just started laughing....because I had forgotten that I was on the phone. With the person that I had called. Then she hung up on me. I think because I was laughing and she was confused. But, later I texted her a picture of how great my hair looks today, so we're okay. I know she appreciates receiving photos of me.

Several times today, while spending time with my sweet, affectionate, I-heart-mom's-attention-right-now daughter, I thought maybe I should go back to work....maybe a reduced work week. Then I ask myself, isn't mom's-attention-on-demand the main reason you aren't at work right now? This head conversation can actually spiral out of control and I'm not trying to get into a mom-career discussion.

While cleaning up a present from Squirms in one room, I heard crying. She had tried to take my her book into my closet her own little space to read quietly. Her expressions really tell the best story of our day.

Please note the title of the book she dropped while climbing to her perch.

She was upset because she had dropped my her book and couldn't reach it.

Shoe basket....or reading nook?

Don't worry - I did actually help her down.

I have a slight crush on Laurence Fox's character on Inspector Lewis. And then I used Google to check my spelling of his name (which I misspelled) and discovered (like a stalker) that he's married to Billie Piper! Rose!! My two favorite British TV shows, Inspector Lewis and Doctor Who! 

For two days, I have been wearing Mint Candy Apple nail polish on two fingers. A bright green/blue color on only two fingers. Why? I'm really not sure. 

4th of July Adventures

We had visitors this past weekend - my parents, or as they are now known, Squirm's grandparents.

They helped me make a coconut cake,

which was the richest cake I've ever tasted. I can only eat two forkfuls within a two hour span. 

The Squirms convinced her Grandpa to share with her. 

The Squirms can convince her Grandpa to do anything she wants.

My dad got stung under his eye by a wasp, R created a shrimp boil for us, we went downtown to see fireworks, 

and the Squirms got to do whatever she wanted all weekend. Gran took her shopping and Grandpa let her play outside to her heart's content. We spent one afternoon at the beach and it only took three hours for the Squirms to be comfortable enough to sit in the sand by herself.

R and I ventured out just the two of us and got to hear some lively Irish music; and I didn't change a dirty diaper for three days!

The Squirms also went to one of her future best friend's first birthday party and tried a plum for the first time. We discovered she is a big fan of peaches and plums, but not a fan of fireworks or the ocean (she's visited the beach several times, but has never warmed up to the Atlantic).

I'm not sure who was more disappointed to see our guests leave on Sunday - me or Squirms....

actually, it was probably Tanner.

For H and L

Please note: Documentation of this conversation is mainly to make my sisters laugh. Sadly, it also showcases how difficult it can be to live with me. 

R: I really think you should go to the doctor tomorrow. In the morning,  you can call and make an appointment. I'll come home and stay with Squirms.

Me: I don't think that's necessary. I'm to the coughing stage of the cold. It will probably be over soon.

R: You've been sick for two weeks. I think you need antibiotics.

Me: Not two weeks, nine days. We can see in the morning. 

Several hours later after I get off the phone with my mother....

R: What did your mom say? Does she think you should go to the doctor?

K: She didn't say that.

R: I bet your mom does want you to see a doctor. I bet your mom would Go to a doctor.

K: <laughing. hysterically.>

K: <laughing. coughing. laughing.> R, you're talking about my mother. You're talking about the woman who fell down stairs, broke her foot, and then sat on the couch and watched a football game. That was a Saturday. She went to work on Monday and a doctor only looked at her foot then because she works at a hospital and fit in an x-ray during her normal work day! And that was an actual broken bone where her ankle and foot meet, that required a boot for several months.

The rest of the evening I just kept repeating I bet your mom would go to a doctor to myself and laughing. 

"Take a tylenol and lay on the couch."