The Third Prayer

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My sister got a new puppy, she had to put her dog to sleep a few weeks ago, and he is absolutely adorable.  I wish I could post a picture because you would be in love with him.

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This morning, Mary Rene and I are going to the Little Gym for an intro class.  I saw a commercial on Channel 9 and thought it looked like fun.  The class takes place every Friday morning and next semester starts at the end of January.  Depending on how we like the free class, we might sign up.

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My pick for Frank’s SPICE jar this week was: pizza picnic dinner listening to Pink Floyd.  So last night, I lit every candle I could find, played Pink Floyd at a level that Frank enjoys and I was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt I just bought at the store.  Oh, and I made buffalo chicken dip from scratch (yum) and guacamole dip for appetizers.  Double yum.

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Mary Rene had her 15 month check-up on Wednesday and here are her stats:

Height: 30″ (25-50%)

Weight: 22.8 lbs. (25-50%)

So she is symmetrical for weight and height.  She had to get her second flot shot, ugh, and two other shots, double ugh, which annoyed me.  (Next baby, I am spreading out the shots.) Luckily they offered her a popsicle afterwards and she was very, very, happy.  Her first popsicle and I’m sure it won’t be her last.

The appointment went well except the doctor thinks Mary Rene’s left pupil is a bit larger than her right.  This is something important to know if she is ever in an accident.  She suggested that we see a pediatric eye doctor to confirm.  But I just took her to the eye doctor back in September.  I hate to take her again because wouldn’t her pupil have been a different size then as well?

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Tomorrow I am going to purchase a toddler bed that I saw on craigslist for Mary Rene.  I’ll post a picture in my Tuesday post.  Our plan is starting Sunday evening, no matter what, I will not allow Mary Rene to nurse in the middle of the night.  She is starting to wake up a few times again, regardless of my caffeine intake, and she is relying on nursing to put her back to sleep.  (She is teething so I know she is in pain but baby girl really needs to learn to put herself back to sleep.)  I am exhausted, exhausted, I tell you and just need to put an end to it.  We plan on sticking to our guns and no matter how many nights it takes, she will stop nursing in the middle of the night.  Next step, will be getting her to sleep through the night.  Final step, getting her to go to bed without rocking.  One of my clients ended up taking his 18 month old son to a sleep specialist because they were having the same issues.  The sleep specialist has a three month waiting list so my client gave me copies of all the pamphlets to help us out.  Frank and I have devicted our own little plan.  Please say prayers it works.  Momma is tired.

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Tomorrow, my mom, maybe my little sister Jasmine, Mary Rene and I are going to the St. Louis Zoo for the Wild Lights display.  I became a Zoo Friend and will be able to get a discount and free parking.  I hope it is warm enough so Mary Rene will only need to wear her snowsuit!

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When Mary Rene was helping me go through old Christmas cards last week, she found a picture of her friend, Ella.  We have the picture of Ella hanging on the refrigerator.

When I tell Mary Rene to give Ella a kiss…

We can be sitting in the front room and I’ll ask her, “where is Ella?”  And she will walk in the kitchen and get her, bring her to me, and then kiss her.  It is the cutest little thing.

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Last Friday night, Jasmine, my little sister (Big Brother Big Sister) and I hung out.  Mary Rene and her are the best of pals now.

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On Saturday we went to Pierre Marquette State Park in Grafton, Illinois.  We drove around the park while Mary Rene slept in her car seat.  We were pretty high up and there were places you could stop to overlook the Mississippi River.  It was breathtaking-even from the view of our car.  Once she woke up we walked a bit and then stopped for a glass of wine.  I talked Frank into joining the wine club! 

I have a hiliarious video of him being a wine snob but he won’t let me show it.  But it cracks me up so much because it is completely him-being a goofball to make his wife laugh.  It was so nice to go out together as a family and laugh like old buddies.  I’m one lucky girl.

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I FINALLY finished making the shopping cart cover for Mary Rene.  The elastic works great and it fits around all the sides of the cart so her beautiful clean hands won’t touch that grimy cart. 

I added pink ribbon so I can attach toys for her to play with while I shop. 

Now on to my next project…

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Since Frank’s cousin was so amazingly generous and gave us all her baby girl’s clothes we don’t have to buy much of anything for the summer.  So instead of sewing Mary Rene clothes I will be making her a bunch of hats to go with the outfits.

It is hard to tell from the picture but the white material is actually eyelet pattern.  And the pink material with flowers (far right) is swimwear material.  I am going to make her a floppy hat and a swimsuit out of that!

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Work really gets in the way of life.  Do you agree?  There are so many things I want to do with Mary Rene but I can’t because of work.  And I only work two days a week!

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Frank’s buddy Dennis is getting married this weekend and Frank is a groomsmen.  I must admit, my husband looks amazing in a tux.  Oh he takes my breath away.

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My dad is super amazing and very handy and has been coming over to fix the tile in our bathroom.  Thank you daddy!  We really appreciate all your help.  Yesterday he got the last three pieces glued into place and they look perfect!  I just wish I could convince him to redo the entire bathroom for us!  It is so disgusting and getting moldier and moldier by the day.  I really wish I could talk him into fixing the bathroom.  I’m not really sure if I can talk him into it but I really wish I could.  (are you reading this dad?)

Jasmine and I were supposed to be in the lobby between 6:30-6:45 to pick up our tickets. The highway was shut down so I had to take all these side roads to get there. Stop light. Stop light. Slow driver. Stop light. Testing my patience. Test. Test. Red light. When we finally got on the highway, out loud I said “Okay God just get us to the game in one piece.” Jasmine laughed and said that reminded her of a guy saying a quick prayer before his test that morning. She thought my prayer was silly. I explained to her that prayers don’t have to be long all the time. You can say something quick. God understands. We got off the highway, blinking lights. Water main break so the road is down to one lane. Stop light. It’s one thing after another. I look at the clock and it is now 6:43. I am trying my hardest to be patience. We pull into the parking lot and I say another prayer out loud, “Ok God. We are here safe. Just get us inside before the lady leaves with our tickets.” Again Jasmine laughs at me. I smile as we run into the stadium. We get there and can’t find the lady. I’m feeling very frantic but I don’t want to lose my cool. I walk up to the Will Call hoping they are there. I tell Jasmine that just in case they aren’t there I will buy us some tickets. As I’m waiting in line this older gentleman walks up to me and hands me two FREE TICKETS!!! Alleluia!!! I gladly accept the tickets and profusely thank him. Jasmine is cracking up because I’m so excited about the free tickets. I explain to her, “See God answered my prayers. I asked for the lady to be here with my tickets and instead He gave me free tickets!” Jasmine just gets a huge smile on her face.

We go to the concession stand and I’m just ecstatic. This cashier had to close her lane so this older couple got pushed to the end of the line. I let them go in front of me and the guy just kind of looked at me funny. He asked if I am being nice because it’s almost Christmas. I laughed back and told him I am always nice. We laughed together and Jasmine just listened to our adult banter. We finally get to the front of the line. I make small talk with the cashier as she gets our items and rings us up. When I walk away I turn to the lady and say, “Merry Christmas!” Jasmine gets her million dollar smile on her face. I say, “What?” And she simply says, “I’ve never realized how nice you are. You are so nice to people.” WOW! That made my day! All these years of being involved in Big Brother Big Sister came down to that one moment. That makes it all worth it. All night long Jasmine had a big smile on her face and was very talkative. She opened up to me a lot about her boy issues and what she wants to do with her future. When we got in the car I handed her Christmas gift. She asked if she could wait until Christmas to open it. OF COURSE! How many kids would say that? She is such an amazing kid. I’m so lucky to have her in my life. I pray that I can continue to be a good role model for her as she gets through these crazy years of high school. Boy I know they are tough!