The Third Prayer

A couple weeks back someone from my local La Leche League was talking about Christmas gifts on our message board.  She left tons and tons of examples of gifts to make so you could save money.  One of her links was for the website Make It and Love It and it had to do with a caulk board or something.  Whatever it was, I wasn’t interested in making it but oh my word, I am in love with that website now and even added her button to the side bar of my blog.

Let me tell you, as a new sewer, her website is my heaven right now.  I curse her craftiness and then call my mom to tell her what she did.  And of course, I want to make it too.  Oh she is so crafty so darn crafty.

So here is what I have been working on the past couple weeks.

I’ve had this red top for years and love it but as you can see it is boring.  So I followed the instructions on her website, cut out some hearts and folded them over and made this

Okay that is a completely bad view and the shirt looks different in person but I was having a hard time taking the picture.  When Frank took the picture I had a weird look on my face and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by publishing it!  When Frank saw the shirt he said, “it looks like you are wearing a corsage.”  Funny thing is, it is called a corsage shirt.  Love it!

I went to the local Goodwill and found this white sweater that fit me perfect. 

I paid only $1.50 for the sweater, followed the instructions from her website and made this

A sweater dress for my baby girl!  I must say, I am most proud of this dress and of everything I have ever sewed this is my favorite.  The length was absolutely perfect so I didn’t have to cut the bottom.  I just trimmed the sides to fit her body, brought the shoulders in a bit so the neck wasn’t so big and then cut half of the sleeves off.  Next I cut out some satin and made her little flowers for the top and added a button to the middle.  Mary Rene is wearing the dress on Saturday for our family Thanksgiving dinner so I’ll take better pictures then.

This week, Make It and Love It started using scarves to make baby hats, girl skirts and….baby leggin’s.  You all know how I love my baby leggin’s and Mary Rene wears them around the house all the time.  The only problem is I don’t have any scarves that I was willing to part from.  So yesterday I went to the Goodwill and saw this sweater

and instantly knew it would make awesome baby leggin’s.  The baby leggin’s I bought Mary Rene were $12 and this sweater was only $3.  What a steal.  I loved the sweater and it was perfectly soft and I easily could have kept it for myself. 

During Mary Rene’s nap yesterday, I took her purple baby leggin’s and measured them against the sweater and cut out the amount I needed.

I have so much material left that I am going to make her a skirt and then maybe use some for baby blocks.  Talk about making your $3 stretch even further!

I was able to cut out the material and sew the baby leggin’s all in a matter of 20 minutes.  And here is the finished product

Love it! 

I have three more of these projects that I am currently working on and can easily see many more to add to the list.  I got the sewing bug, can you tell?

-1-

When people used to ask how many kids I wanted I always used to say four or five.  I really wanted to have a big family and couldn’t think of any other way to show my love for Frank.  But after having Mary Rene, I changed my mind.  I don’t want Mary Rene to be an only child but I honestly can’t imagine how my heart can love another child as much as I love her.  I always hear that when you have a second child your heart doesn’t divide but it grows.  I can’t even begin to imagine loving another baby as much as I love her, but I guess, only time will tell.  For now I will watch as my friends do it.  My friend, Emily, gave birth to her second daughter, a beautiful baby girl, Beatrice Louise, on Monday.  CONGRATULATIONS!  One of her last post was about how she was reading “Goodnight Moon” to her daughter Ella and she realized at that moment it might be their last moment alone together.  It was a touching post because my heart ached for her but at the same time my heart was aching for myself.  If God so blesses me, someday I will have that same feeling as I am reading to Mary Rene.  I’m looking forward to learning from Emily and how this heart of hers is growing and growing each and everyday.

-2-

Monday evening I stayed up and I sewed three taggie blankets and then I decided to make a baby cube for Beatrice.  About five months ago I was at a baby shower and I saw these cloth baby cubes sitting on the food table.  I realized how easy it would be to sew them and decided I would give it a try.  Apparently I forgot about that internal conversation until now.  I took some yellow fleece and cut out the letter “B” and then I cut a satin heart and sewed both to different pieces of fabric. 

I had a little of the St. Louis Cardinals fleece left and was able to make a square of the cube from it.

Now my cube has some St. Louis flavor.  I meant to add tags to some of the sides so it would be a taggie cube, but as you can see, I forgot.  The cube is much bigger than I anticipated and it isn’t as square as I would like but hey, it is my first cube.  Four days after completing it, I was on one of my new favorite websites, Make It and Love It and I noticed that she did this same project back in March.  Ugh.  Now I feel like a cheat.  Although I must say, mine has more flavor since I added the fleece “B” and the satin heart.

-3-

About two months ago, Frank and I made the decision to take a break from being Eucharist Ministers.  We were scheduled every other month for the noon Mass but some weeks it would be really hard to commit to that Mass time because of Mary Rene’s nap schedule.  I called Richard, the Eucharist Minister coordinator, to tell him to remove us from the schedule for a couple months.  I was happy to get his voicemail because I hated to disappoint him over the phone.  A week went by and I never heard from him.  And then I got the call.  He had passed away, at his home, and was found four days later.  It turns out that I probably called when he had already passed away.  My heart sank in grief for him and his family.  But even more, my heart yearned to be a minister again.  So on Sunday, Frank and I started ministering again but now we have switched to the 9 a.m.  Mass.  Mary Rene usually takes her first nap at 10 a.m. so this works out perfect. 

-4-

I have finished my first official week of not pumping.  On Tuesday I was able to take my co-worker, Laurie, out to lunch for her birthday.  Yesterday, I was able to get a new battery installed in my Jeep and run into Kohl’s and Best Buy for some errands.  It was like old times all over again.  I can now say, I don’t miss pumping.

-5-

I don’t want to jinx myself by saying this but, I have been doing an awesome job of getting up every morning and running.  I still have to be quiet and try to trick Sophie…most of the times I fail.  My running friends are gearing up for a half marathon in March.  They have asked me to join and I highly doubt I will be ready.  But, I might be ready to do the 10K the day before the race. 

-6-

Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice outside and this may just be the last nice day for awhile.  What is something fun that Frank, Mary Rene and I can do outside?  I was thinking Grant’s Farm.  Frank wants to go apple picking.  Any suggestions?

-7-

Mary Rene has learned how to get on and off the couch all by herself.  I must say, she is very gracious and careful when she does it.  The only problem is she likes to pester Sophie all day long.

I say pester because she likes to stick her finger in Sophie’s eye.

What does Sophie do?  Absolutely nothing.  Good dog.

-1-

Do you ever have one of those weeks that is so busy, so intense yet flies by so fast that you want to curse?  That has been my week. 

-2-

Yesterday my friend Emily called and asked me to be her daughter’s Godmother!  I’m so over the moon and honored to take on this incredible role.  I can’t wait to meet her baby whom is due on Tuesday.  (But hopefully she’ll wait until her due date because Emily & I are getting massages on Monday!)

-3-

Today I am going to our parish to talk to the 8th graders about my trips to Rome, Italy and Dublin, Ireland.  I ran a marathon in Rome in March 2001 and a marathon in Dublin in October 2004.  I used to have many memorbilia from my trips but now I can’t find anything but my photo albums, medals and my rosary from the Vatican.  I’m supposed to talk for 20 minutes to three different classes.  So now I am scrambling to think about what I am going to say…er, uh, yeah, er, uh, hum.

-4-

Here’s a break from all that talk.  I mentioned last week that Mary Rene has become a climber but everyday she is climber on more and more things.  On Wednesday she learned how to climb on top of her toychest and look out the window.

She was so excited about her new accomplishment that she had to do it over and over again.  This happen to take place on Wednesday, the day I didn’t sit all day.  Do you see why now?

Oh and yes, I finally did buy her another pair of legwarmers.

-5-

My mother-in-law told me last week that Mary Rene hasn’t been taking the bottle while I am at work.  I told her to try the sippy cup this week and sure enough, she doesn’t really want that either.  As my friend Joanne said, “she is finally learning that milk doesn’t come from a cup!”  I was planning on next week being my last week of pumping but it looks like yesterday was instead.  (sniff sniff-I’m so upset about not pumping anymore. sniff sniff.)  I’m not worried about her drinking milk because it is only two days a week and she always has yogurt for breakfast, cheese for a snack and mac-n-cheese for lunch those days.  But now I have all this extra milk.  I made Mary Rene a smoothie yesterday with some of the milk but she didn’t care for it.  I figured we could start using it in cereal and other recipes until it is gone.  I would love to donate it but there isn’t a milk bank in Missouri.  Which got me thinking, why isn’t there a milk bank in Missouri?  I did some research and learned that there are only about 10 (registered) milk banks in the United States.  They used to be really popular in the 60s and 70s but formula came along and some of the banks started closing.  Then AIDS started spreading in the 80s and 90s and that pretty much scared the milk banks closed.  But now they are very careful with the milk and they make the mom undergo test before she can donate her milk.  (Hey, they do it before you donate blood as well.)  So after doing my research, I contacted someone from the Human Milk Bank Association of North America and asked them what needed to be done to open one in St. Louis, Missouri.  She sent me the information and to say the least, I am looking into it.  I know this is completely from left field but there is a need for it.  What do new moms do who have adopted a newborn baby?  What about foster parents who take in newborn babies?  What about moms who can’t breastfeed but want their babies to have breast milk?  What about babies who lose their mommies? The need is clearly there and I’m going to continue doing my research to see what can be done about it.  Wish me luck.

-6-

I stayed up Wednesday night and started working on taggie blankets (one for my GODDAUGHTER!) for a few of my friends who are about to pop.  After those, I am going to make a grocery shopping cart cover (for my GODDAUGHTER!) and then I am going to start making Mary Rene’s Christmas dress.  Then I am going to make cushions for our new dining room chairs.  After making her Halloween costume I have really gotten into sewing again and I am ready to try new things.  My mom taught me an easy way to gather material without using the machine and it is so much better looking and quicker.  I’m really excited about starting all these little projects and having some “Trena” time again.

-7-

Speaking of Mary Rene’s Halloween costume, she is going to be a Princess Fairy.

Unforuntaley the blue tulle is pale blue and you can barely tell it is blue.  I am a little disappointed in the tutu but I am so excited about her outfit.  I can proudly say that I sewed the whole darn thing myself!  I didn’t have to have my mom finish it or gather for me.  To top it off, I couldn’t add a zipper to the back because I didn’t make the skirt that the pattern suggested.  The skirt attached to the zipper so my mom said I could hook a ribbon on the back so it would stay shut.  But, being the over achiever that I am…

Just like her momma’s wedding dress, baby girl has a corset back!  I think I really impressed my mom when she saw that.

I also have red wings for the costume but they didn’t really match so she isn’t going to wear them.  Happy Halloween everyone!

There are days when I don’t get the chance to sit.  When I say sit, I mean, sit and relax and do nothing.  Yesterday was one of those days.  It all started when Mary Rene woke up at 4 a.m. and wouldn’t go back to sleep.  Usually when she wakes up, Frank or myself will bring her in our bed and she goes right to bed.  But it was different that night and she kept silently staring at me.  Baby girl’s growing teeth are bothering her and it seems to hurt most at night.  While some people can ignore a staring baby, I can’t.  I have a hard time falling asleep when I know my baby is awake.  So I nursed her, hoping that would make her fall asleep.  Nearly 20 minutes later, she was still wide awake and wanted to keep nursing.  I had to unlatch her because I was just getting exhausted and couldn’t relax myself.  She tossed and turned and finally at 5:15 a.m. she was fast asleep.  The only problem was, she was fast asleep on my arm which was twisted sideways.  Every time I tried prying my arm from her she would squirm and start to whine in her sleep.  I didn’t want to risk waking her up so I went back to bed in a very uncomfortable position. 

When my alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. for my morning run I quickly hit snooze.  If this had been a work day for me then I would have been able to rest a bit since I sit all day at work.  But this was my day to be at home and well, home is busy.  I decided to sleep in with Mary Rene since I didn’t get much sleep that night.  At 8:20 a.m. she was up and ready to start her day.

So our day has begun.  I change her clothes and diaper, sing her morning song and say our prayers, let Sophie out to pee and then we nurse.  As soon as she was done nursing we went downstairs to wash a load of towels.  We only had one clean towel so this couldn’t wait.

I planned to cook French Toast for breakfast so as soon as we came upstairs I started cooking.  Right after we eat breakfast, Mary Rene hung out in the kitchen while I put the clean dishes away, washed the new dishes, and started the dishwasher.  We then go downstairs so I can move the clean towels into the dryer.  While I’m down there I wash Mary Rene’s clothes.  Sophie decided to pee in the basement so I had to clean it up too.

We head back upstairs and it is now 9:30 a.m.  I had already planned on making a crockpot meal which needed to be started by 10 a.m..  So we were back in the kitchen and I started to prepare the meal.  This receipe called for cooked turkey and opening eight different cans of vegetables and beans.  Therefore, the preparation took a lot longer than usual.  Once the food was added to the crockpot I had to clean up my dishes again.

I looked over at Mary Rene and like clock worker, she gave me her morning yawn.  It was 10 a.m. and it was time for her morning nap.  I change her diaper, grab her blanket, and we sit on the couch to nurse.  She is really excited about this meal and decided to not fall asleep right away.  It takes her 20 minutes of nursing before her eyes start to drift.  Thirty minutes into nursing I can finally unlatch her and lay her on the Dora the Explorer couch.  I run downstairs to take the towels out of the dryer and move Mary Rene’s clothes in the dryer.  I run back upstairs and quickly, quickly take a shower (FINALLY!)  As soon as my shower is done, I quickly wipe down the bathroom sink and toilet.  I grab the Windex and clean the mirror in the bathroom and then I clean the microwave.  I finally sit down to start checking work email.  I have a lot of pressing issues to take care of so I quickly start to work.  About 10 minutes into working, Mary Rene wakes up and it is now 11:20 a.m.

I’ve accomplished a lot during her nap and I feel really good.  I change her diaper, put on her jacket and we head to the grocery store.  We do some quick shopping and we are back by 12:40 p.m.  I prepare lunch and we eat.  The weather is nice and since there are not many more days like this we head to the backyard.  Mary Rene walks back and forth from her playhouse to the neighbor’s dog to say hi.  I take this opportunity to rake the leaves.  I’m able to fill the trash can and one yard bag before Mary Rene falls and wants to be cuddled.  I scoop her in my arms, love on her for a bit before we play in the front yard.  Mary Rene plays with the pumpkins while I rake more leaves. 

It is now 1: 45 p.m. and Mary Rene is giving me her second nap yawn.  We first run downstairs and move the clean clothes into the dryer and I bring up the dry towels from early.  I quickly fold the clothes, with Mary Rene’s adorable assistance.  And now it is nap time again.

By 2:20 p.m. Mary Rene has started her second nap.  I set her down and quickly put the groceries away from our shopping trip.  I write a quick paragraph on my blog about her teething.  No time to write a real thought.  I check my work email and start to work again. 

At 3 p.m. Mary Rene is up from her nap.  Diaper change again.  We head outside to play some more to enjoy the nice weather.  We only play outside for about 15 minutes before it is snack time.   I grab some string cheese and we have snack time by the front door so Mary Rene can sight see at the same time. Mary Rene stops eating and points out the door.  I look and see Mr. Meyer walking by so I poke my head out and invite him in for a visit.  Mary Rene excitedly shows him all her toys and takes him in the kitchen.  This prompts a tour of the entire house.  After about 20 minutes Mr. Meyer leaves and it is just us again.  I run downstairs bring up the laundry basket with her dry clothes.  Mary Rene helps me fold the laundry and then climbs in the empty basket and gives me that look.  The look that says, “push me around the room momma.”  So I do.  By this time it is 4:30 p.m. and I realize that we have been so busy that we have barely had time to play.  So I spent the next hour playing games and reading books to her. 

Frank walks in the door at approximately 5:45 p.m. and while he is hanging out with Mary Rene I set the table for dinner.  Frank isn’t hungry so Mary Rene and I start to eat at 6 p.m.  Around 6:20 p.m. we are both done and it is time to clean up.  Frank cleans up Mary Rene’s mess while I clean my dishes.  At 7 p.m. I start Mary Rene’s bath water and try to get her undressed.  She is running back and forth and won’t stay still so I am really struggling for her cooperation.  By this time, the day is weighing on me and I am ready to collapse.  Frank is talking to me about some running show on tv and I just can’t even break a way to see what he is talking about.  I put Mary Rene in her rubber ducky and she starts to play while I give her a bath.  Mary Rene only last a few minutes and is ready to get out.  I bring her in the front room and while Frank is reading Psalms I am putting lotion on Mary Rene’s body, combing her hair, putting on her clean diaper and pj’s while she is running around the front room.  All at the same time. 

When Frank is done reading Psalms, Mary Rene kisses Frank and Sophie good night and she is ready for bed.  I take Mary Rene in her room, turn on the radio, turn off the lights, sit in the rocking chair, hand her a blanket and she starts to nurse.  Luckily this is a good night and she is asleep within 10 minutes. 

I leave the room and am able to catch Frank before he heads out the door to meet up with some friends.  I finally sit down, watch Oprah from earlier that day and read my Woman’s Day magazine.  I give myself an hour to relax before I have to start sewing.  I bring up my ribbons, scissors and fabric and start working on five taggie blankets for my friend’s newborn babies.  I work for about an hour before I’m ready for bed.

Before I can go to bed I need to, let Sophie out to pee, get my work clothes ready for the next day, add water, a filter and my coffee grains to the coffee machine, and set my breakfast out. 

I finally lay my head down at 10:45 p.m.  At 11: 15 p.m., Mary Rene is standing up in her crib crying.  I scoop her in my arms and bring her to bed with me.  In a matter of minutes she is asleep so I carry her back to her crib.  The day is finally over.

But I must say, there is no where else in this world that I would rather be.

-1-

Tuesday was such a beautiful day that Mary Rene played outside when I got home from work.  She was having so much fun walking back in forth from the front yard to the back yard.  She thinks it is so cool that she can open and close the gate.  Adorable.  Mr. Meyer (by the way, it is Meyer not Meyers.  my bad!) saw us out playing and he came over to join in the fun.  Mary Rene grabbed his finger and she walked him to the backyard to show him her playhouse.  Such a show off.  She is so darn proud of her playhouse that she wants to show it to the whole neighborhood.

-2-

Later that night, Frank and I pulled out the china and used it for our stay-in date.  Did you use your china this week? 

Katie H., go get your momma’s china and start using it!

-3-

Speaking of our date, Frank gave me a standing ovation for the dinner I cooked!  Oh my goodness I felt like Martha Stewart and all.  When he heard the ingredients I was going to use he tried getting me to make something else.  But I surprised him-again.  I think this is going to become my “new mom” dish.  So good, so healthy, so yummy.

-4-

I just wanted to say that I love the Fall season and I’m so sad that is is nearly over. 

-5-

The last few weeks everyone kept asking us what Mary Rene was going to be for Halloween.  We thought we had plenty of time to figure it out but…well, holidays and events have a way of sneaking up on you.  So last week, on a whim, I decided to sew Mary Rene’s costume.  My mom and I went to the store and I bought a princess pattern.  I decided to go with a princess because (1) Mary Rene is a princess (2) I have a crown and wand from her birthday cake and (3) I already have half the costume since part of it is a tutu.  I took her pink tutu from her birthday and added blue tulle so now it is a multi-colored tutu.  Then I took all the extra material from the dress Mary Rene wore in my sister’s wedding to make the top of the costume.  I added some white satin that my mom gave me, pink ribbon from Mary Rene’s tutu and some blue ribbon I bought at the store.  All together, her costume only cost $7.  Wanna see it?  You’ll have to wait until Halloween!

-6-

After teasing you about showing the Halloween costume I realized I haven’t added one single photo to this post.  How boring of me.  I haven’t taken any pictures the last few days with my camera so a picture from my cell phone will have to do.  Excuse the quality.

Yesterday I walked in the kitchen for a brief second (okay, maybe seven seconds) and when I walked back in the room Mary Rene was standing up on her chair looking out the window.  She is such a little daredevil and has no sense of fear.  (See how close her little foot is to the edge…ready to fall off.)  When she turned around and saw me she started laughing and did a little dance.  By this point I was freaking out because if she danced a little harder she would have fallen off the chair.  I helped her get down carefully but it only a took a matter of minutes before she climbed up the chair again.

-7-

I got my butt out of bed and ran three mornings in a row this week.  Oh I’m feeling so much better.  I decided that I will start running Monday through Thursday, sleep in with Mary Rene on Fridays, and rest on the weekend.  Sophie B. is really enjoying her runs.  When she hears my alarm go off she gets really excited and whimpers and pants until we get out the door.  She is so loud, with her long toe nails scraping the floor, that I’m always afraid she will wake Frank and Mary Rene.  So I’m a total dork and I started sleeping in my running underwear, pants and socks.  (Yes I wear special underwear and special socks for running.)  When my alarm goes off I stay in bed for a couple minutes to trick Sophie B.  I take off my sleeping bra and t-shirt and once Sophie B thinks I am “hitting snooze” I quietly sneak into the bathroom.  Okay, here is where I get even more ridiculous.  I sneak in the bathroom and put my contacts in and wait.  As soon as the heat starts running (it is loud) I start to pee and at the same time I quickly put on my sports bra, running shirt (wick material!) and my running shoes.  Now all I have to do is flush and wash my hands.  As soon as I flush Sophie B. is up and prancing back and forth.  I quickly leave the bathroom, go to the back door and put on her leash and start the run.  So far she hasn’t woken anybody up.  So far I’m a real dork.

Yesterday my parents married off their last child, my sister Tara.  The weather all week was incredibly wet and depressing.  But the wedding day weather was perfect.  Frank and Mary Rene spent the day together while I was off doing wedding stuff.  Frank said that she was really clingy with him and didn’t want anyone else to hold her but him.  Daddy’s little girl!

Oh but as soon as she saw me, she became a momma’s girl again.

Mary Rene’s dress turned out absolutely perfect.  She looked so precious in her dress (of course!) and a few people asked where I bought it.  I MADE IT (with the wonderful assistance of my mom!)

It was a long, long day and after the reception we headed to the hotel and put Mary Rene to bed.  Our hotel room happened to be right next to the elevator which had two chairs outside of it.  Luckily we brought the baby monitor so we were able to enjoy some grown up time together.

-1-

The most interesting thing I probably have ever text to Frank was yesterday: “PAP SMEAR OKAY.”  I’m hoping he wasn’t standing next to one of his co-workers when he read that one.   So the test results are back and all is good.  I guess the abnormal pap was due to having a baby.

-2-

I started to run out of time to sew Mary Rene’s dress for my sister’s wedding so on Wednesday my mom came over and she helped me get a lot of it done.  Well…really she did all the work since Mary Rene was being crabby.  Once Mary Rene took a nap then I helped her, well kind of.  I mostly watched and learned.  Today I am going over there so Mary Rene  can try the dress on so we can hem the dress.  I can’t wait to see her in it.  It is so pretty!

-3-

Mary Rene had her one year doctor’s appointment yesterday.  She is 28 1/2 inches (25 percentile) and 21.8 pounds (52 percentile.)  I told Frank the night before her appointment that I wish I would have delayed vaccination and being the medical expert that he is (or at least he thinks he is) he said we needed to do what the doctor’s suggested.   I should have gone with my gut because she ended up getting FOUR shots and screamed and screamed and screamed.  I couldn’t even comfort nurse her because she was so upset.  I felt completely horrible. 

-4-

Over the weekend, my skanky friend Nicole C and I went to Michael’s and looked at yarn and afghan patterns.  We both decided to start making our first afghan (have you started yet???)  I got home and I didn’t have enough yarn to start an afghan so I am working on a purse for myself until I can get to the store and buy yarn.  So for once, I am doing something for myself.

-5-

The Fashion Police have arrived and I am under arrest.  I call this…being too lazy to put pants on my daughter. 

Oh don’t give me that look.  Mary Rene was having fun modeling her leg warmers for me.

-6-

Having a Girls Night tonight and I’m looking forward to it!  I told Frank what I was going to cook and he rolled his eyes and advised me not to cook that meal.  He said it was too greasy and he didn’t like it.   So girls, I hope you like it!  I sure did last time I cooked.

-7-

Remember the neighbor that never talked to me until he got a dog, Leza?  Frank and I are taking care of his dog while he is in the hospital getting surgery.  Frank said he was really happy that we offered to help while he was in the hospital.  He gave Frank a key to his gate and shook Frank’s hand.  Oh and we found out his name is John.

-1-

I think I gave people the wrong impression in my post on Wednesday.  I don’t spend my entire time at home with Mary Rene playing with her.  I know I have responsibilities and I don’t mind doing chores.  We have hardwood floors and I sweep them everyday.  Mary Rene likes to crawl after the broom as I sweep!  I do wash nearly every other day and help Frank with dishes every day.  When I do dishes I move Mary Rene in there with me and I let her watch me.  She actually has a toy that she washes while I do the dishes.  When I do the wash, I take her downstairs with me and she watches me from her playpen. My problem is I don’t know how to shut off my mind from all these distractions.  When I am playing with Mary Rene, most of the time I am busy thinking about that piece of dust on the ground.  My mind is constantly racing with the next task and I want to find a way to relax and be at peace with it.  When I play with her, I want to give her my undivided attention instead of pretending to be fully there. 

-2-

Tonight I leave for my sister’s bachelorette party which will be in Piedmont, MO.  We are planning on staying the night Friday and Saturday.  This will be my first overnight trip away from Mary Rene and I am not looking forward to it.  Please say a special prayer that I don’t cry too much!

-3-

Since I am so busy that I can’t breath, my mom finished sewing Mary Rene’s diaper bag for me.  My mom is so good to me.  Love you mom!

Besides the fact that it is completely girly, it holds the world and is spacious at the same time.

-4-

In preparation for Mary Rene’s birthday, I’ve been looking for a special outfit for her to wear.  We are planning on doing a princess theme so I wanted her to wear a really pretty dress and a birthday tiara.  I figured she could wear the pink dress I made her for my brother’s wedding again but I decided she needed a special outfit.  We found a cute pink t-shirt with an embroidered “1″ on it and a pink tutu attached.  They were asking $75 for it.  So I decided to make my own.  I bought a white t-shirt for $3, the materials to make a tutu for $7 and my friend’s mom is going to embroidered the “1″ for me.  Talk about saving money!  I already finished the tutu and I must say that it looks pretty darn sharp.

-5-

I decided that the only way I will start getting up to run in the morning is if I start drinking coffee again.  So on Monday, I went to the grocery store and I bought caffeinated coffee, which I haven’t drank since before I was pregnant.  Monday evening after Mary Rene went to bed, I got my filter out and put my grains in it, I pre-filled the water and I set the timer to go off at 7 a.m. the next morning.  My plan was to go for my run and when I got home my coffee would be ready.  Well…Tuesday morning Mary Rene woke up at 5 a.m. and I didn’t get her back to sleep until 5:35 a.m.  Sure I could have stayed up but I really wanted that extra 30 minutes to sleep.  I still drank my coffee though.  Wednesday morning, Mary Rene woke up again at 5 a.m. and this time I couldn’t get her back to bed until 6:20 a.m.  By this time it was too late for my run so I just drank my coffee.  Thursday morning…I ran!  It helped that Mary Rene slept the entire night in her crib.  And then I drank my coffee.  Are you starting to notice a theme?  My coffee is tasting really good.

-6-

My mom convinced me that if I bought soft soled shoes for Mary Rene that she would start walking.  Even though the pediatrician told me otherwise, I bought the shoes.  Wednesday we were at the Mills Mall in the playground area and sure enough, on four separate occasions, Mary Rene let go of the bar and started taking steps.  The first time she took four steps and then decided to crawl.  The 2nd and 3rd time she took two steps and decided to crawl.  The 4th time she took six steps and landed in my arms.  She was laughing so hard when she got to me and I just picked her up and kissed her all over.  She is so darn cute.

-7-

Just for grins….

I used to put a video in for Mary Rene while I was taking a shower but now that I shower before she wakes up she seldom watches videos anymore.  We popped in her Holy Baby DVD the other night and she was instantly captiviated.  I love how she hits her hands to the beat of the music.

I need to take Frank’s advice and put this video in more often so I can get some ‘me’ time during the day.

-1-

I finished making a shopping cart cover for my friend Katie.  She picked out the pattern (hello-Elvis!) and paid for the materials.  This was my second time making it and it went much quicker and was so much easier to make.  I guess I’ll get quicker each time.

My couch will have to act as a shopping cart because well, I don’t own a shopping cart.

-2-

Regarding my post on Monday (hello-i-love-you-good-bye), I went to visit my grandma’s friend Mary on Tuesday.

So Mary finally met Mary.  My Mary Rene loved playing with Mary’s breathing tube.  She kept biting it and at one point she pulled it out. 

-3-

My sister put a contract on a house and should be closing at the beginning of August.  Every time I hear about someone buying a house I get so tempted to look and put our house on the market.  But then I quickly snap back to reality—Trena, you only have to work part-time because your mortgage is so low.  I have to keep telling myself that a smaller house means more time with Mary Rene!  Oh but that grass looks so green over there.

-4

Yesterday I was at my parent’s house and noticed this

a shrine to Mary Rene.  Can you tell they like her a bit?  A week ago this table was filled with pictures of us kids.  Now, well, grandbabies rule I guess.

-5-

Just for grins…

-6-

Frank, Mary Rene, and I are heading to Piedmont, Missouri for the weekend.  My parents own property down there and we decided to celebrate the 4th of July.  Pray that Mary Rene does well during the 2 1/2 hour car ride there!  Happy 4th everyone!

-7-

Mary Rene was so excited about our trip that she wouldn’t go to bed last night.  Hence, I don’t have a 7th thought because I’m very tired. 

-1-

We got Mary Rene’s 9 month pictures back.  The wonderful folks at JC Penney’s took the pictures.  I can’t upload the pictures here since JC Penney’s owns the rights to the photos.  But I do want to give you a tour of my house.

This is the red wall in our front room.  The other three walls are white.

You can see one of the three white walls here. 

We also got her 3 and 6 month pictures taken at JC Penney’s.

Even though our front room is red and white our bedroom is this color. 

Okay.  That was completely obnoxious of me.

-2-

This excessively hot weather has really put a wrench in our stroller walks.  We haven’t been out for a walk in nearly two weeks now.  I feel like it is winter all over again but instead of extreme cold we have the extreme heat.  Could I complain anymore?

-3-

Our friends, who moved to Vegas a year ago, are expecting and there is a baby shower for them tomorrow.  I made them a taggie blanket.

I just couldn’t bare the thought of their little one rooting for the wrong team.

-4-

Along with the baby shower there will be a graduation and a house warming party at that same party.  Before we go to all those parties we are attending a first birthday party for my friend’s son.  I knew that having kids meant you would be busier but gosh I didn’t expect it to be this busy.

-5-

My bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding arrived.  I ordered the size 8 back in March.  At the time we had not introduced solids so Mary Rene was still nursing every two to three hours.  Now that she is eating solids she is nursing every three to four hours.  I know that the older she gets the less she will nurse.  She will be 13 months when my sister gets married.  So I’m not sure if I will be able to fit in that dress by then!  I really believe that all the nursing is what is keeping me slim.  Once I stop nursing I’ll have to start being more diligent about working out and eating right.  That means when my alarm goes off at 6:25 a.m. I have to get out of bed instead of hitting snooze.  Gosh that doesn’t sound like fun at all.

-6-

I easily could write a whole post about this but only want to mention it quickly.  I can’t believe Jon & Katie (plus 8 ) are getting a divorce.  Even though their marriage was in the tabloids a lot before the announcement I was really thinking that it was a rumor.  I’m just a bit shocked.  People are blaming reality tv as the trigger to their marriage’s downfall.  There there was Hulk Hogan and his wife.  Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.  Should I keep naming all the reality stars that are divorced?  But really it isn’t just reality stars, it is reality.  So sad.

-7-

My amazingly smart husband said that every Thursday night I should sew between 9 and 11 p.m.  That way I can start working on all these special request that I am recieving.  So on Tuesday and Wednesday I ironed out a few extra minutes here and there so I could get my pattern pieces cut out.  Last night I was ready to sew and quickly went to work at exactly 9 p.m.  At 10:11 p.m. I realized that I messed up and I have to unsew a huge piece of fabric.  It actually was the most difficult part, of course, to sew.  I worked on it until 11 p.m. and then called it a night.