Quick 5

Well, that's it folks.  2010 is coming to a close and I am neither anticipating nor dreading the new year.  Something about small children makes each day seem like just another day.  I'm feeling less than inspired about today's quick 5, but in the spirit of writing I'm just going to write.

1.  Christmas with my family was fun this year.  Lots of babies.  Lots of noise.  While it was great to spend Joya's and Naomi's and Zeke's first Christmases together, I'm a little sad that this year was the Marsh year, only because I know how much fun next Christmas is going to be when the babies are a little less, well, baby.  They sure were cute though.

2.  I love reading end of the year lists.  I've thought about doing a year-long reading list, but I seriously read three to four books a week.  Okay, maybe two to three.  But still, even if it's two a week, that's 104 books.  That's a lot of record keeping. 

3.  Joya did not sleep through the night last night.  So while we're very close to that phase, we're not quite there yet.  It may have something to do with a slightly stuffy nose she was dealing with last night, which makes paci sucking difficult.  I think we can thank Zeke for sharing the snot.

4.  My mom got a laptop for her birthday, and I've been introduced to a new way to use mine: cooking.  I'll admit that I rarely think outside the box, so it never occurred to me to use my laptop during cooking.  I would find a recipe and dutifully print it off our desktop so I could follow the recipe as I cook.  My mom got her laptop last Sunday and immediately busted it out in the kitchen to read a recipe.  I'm all about it.

5.  The elephant in the room is now all the packing I have to do for our move.  Packing and unpacking is always so overwhelming to me.  I'm just trying to keep my eyes on the prize: a bigger new place.  How do army families do this all the time?

Happy New Year everyone!

20 Seconds of Wiggling for Grandma Kimble and Aunt Mindy

Wordless Wednesday: Sisters

Alaina - 2 months

Joya - 2 months

Quick 5

You know, this quick 5 is really a good idea.  It kind of forces me to focus on my week a bit more, rather than letting each day go by in a blur.  I find myself filing things away for possible quick 5 topics.  So thanks, Becky, for helping me to live life a bit more intentionally.

On with the show.

1.  I love that recent pic of Joya.  Scroll down and you'll see it.  It's currently our desktop background.  However, when Lee saw it he said "I don't know if she looks cute or like Smeagol."  I'm sure Joya will love to hear that when she gets older.

2.  I'm growing my hair out.  I fully recognize that the hairstyle I've been sporting for the last year or so has not been in style.  I also fully recognize that as far as fashion goes, I'm usually about three or four years behind.  Anyway, now I'm growing my hair out, and I'm sure that everyone who sees me thinks "There goes a girl who is growing out her hair, bless her heart."

3.  Our apartment smells.  I mean it smells awful.  The cold weather has forced our smoking downstairs neighbors to smoke in their house.  And now our place smells like smoke.  Actually, it smells just like smoker's breath.  It reminds me of my fifth grade teacher, who was a heavy smoker.  We always held our breath whenever she'd come over to whisper to us during quiet work time.  Anyway, now my house smells bad and no amount of air freshener or candle or reed diffuser can conquer that smell.  It just adds to it.  I'm praying the Lord protects my babies' lungs, because if we can smell the smell, I wonder if we're also breathing in the poison.  And worst of all, our home doesn't smell like our home anymore.  We need to move.

4.  I was going to write about the woes of having just one car, because Lee's car was being fixed yesterday, but the guy got it done in one day.  Lee's car is now safe to drive, after four years of driving an unsafe vehicle.  And I only had to live one day without a car, which wasn't really bad of course.  We don't go places every day anymore.  One night Lee took my car (that has the car seats in it) to worship practice and he asked me what I would do if I had an emergency but he had the car.  I said "call 911."  Lots of families are one-car families.  I'm so thankful we're not one of them.

5.  I decided not to do Christmas cards this year.  I sent out Joya's birth announcements instead.  I really wanted to do that, and I didn't want to send out two sets of cards.  So Joya's birth announcements trumped Christmas cards this year, because Joya is only born once.  I figure I am sending something out, so people will still get mail.  We'll catch up with Christmas cards next year.  I am enjoying the ones that have been coming, though.  It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

That's it!  Have a great weekend.

Another Episode of "The Joys of Toddlers"

A conversation held not too many minutes ago:

Alaina: "I want to smell you."  sniff sniff

Me: "What do I smell like?"

Alaina: "Beefaroni!"

Me: "I do NOT smell like beefaroni!"

Alaina perplexed: "Beef is yummy!"

Big Girl

Joya had her two-month check-up yesterday.  She's a big girl!  She weighs 11 pounds and is 23 inches long.  That's the 75th percentile for weight (up from the 50th percentile at birth) and 90th percentile for height.  I have to put away most 0-3 month clothes already.  They are all high-water and three-quarter sleeves now.  I have a feeling this girl just might pass up her big sister as far as height goes. 

Quick 5

Happy Friday!  Happy December, even though it doesn't feel like December as I see 60 degrees in the forecast and zero chance for snow.  I'm not sad about the no snow right now.  It's beautiful and messy and I don't want to deal with it.  Anyway.

1.  I just want to say that Pepsi Max is the bomb.  I don't know what they did, but it's a fantastic zero calorie, zero sugar soda without the hard core taste of aspartame.  The taste is still there in the background, but it's not a dominant flavor.  I bought a 12-pack of it during the last pop sale just to try it, and now I'm a little sad that I have two 12-packs of Diet Pepsi to work through before I can buy more Pepsi Max.  If you're looking for a way to go diet soda but cringe at the thought of the taste, give Pepsi Max a try. 

2.  Tonight is our first real adult Christmas party.  Lee's previous work always had their Christmas parties during the day on a Friday and spouses weren't invited.  But this year his new job has an ultra-swanky party that even I was invited to.  I haven't dug through my drawer yet to see if I have a pair of hose to wear, but it's that kind of party.  In Downtown Denver. 

3.  Which means the girls will be staying with my parents for the evening.  It will be my first time leaving Joya for more than an hour.  And I'll have to leave a bottle.  Lee gave her a bottle last week and she took it just fine.  Apparently my girls don't care where or who their food comes from.  Alaina never had a problem either.  A little sad, but also very freeing.  And it must be a second kid thing, but I am feeling no feelings about leaving Joya either.  With Alaina I was really freaked out the first time I left her.  Joya can just deal with it.  :)  Don't worry, I'll have my cell phone on me just in case. 

4.  Alaina loves having yogurt for breakfast.  Sometimes I cave and give her a second carton when she's done with the first.  But mostly I try to hold her to one a day.  Lately as she's spooning the creamy goodness into her mouth, she'll declare "Mmm!  Calories!"  I do NOT talk about calories.  EVER.  I don't know where she gets this stuff.  I'll have to blame the Gillett girls, since that's where she picks up most of her other stuff.  :)

5.  And the biggest news for last...we were approved for the town home!  We were pleasantly surprised when we went to see it last weekend.  The space is incredible for the amount of rent.  And, as an added blessing from the Lord, our unit will back up to a greenbelt.  I was praying that our new place would have a good location, i.e. not backing up to a busy street.  There is a horse field nearby, but I'm prepared to deal with it.  So moving date is set for January 22.  Only 6 more weeks of lugging girls up and down three flights of stairs.

15 more days until Christmas!  Are you done with your shopping yet?  I am.  :)

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Traditions

I grew up "moving the mouse" to count down to Christmas.  This year is Alaina's first year helping to "move the snowman."

She also likes to pretend the little snowman is a telephone.

I love seeing four stockings hanging on the mantle.

Not a Christmas tradition, but a nice shot of Joya enjoying her very best friend, the singing/blinking star.

Quick 5

1.  My dear friend Becky has been doing a feature called the Quick 5 on her blog for a long time now.  She usually posts it on Friday and uses it as a quick update on her family or whatever else she is thinking of.  I love it.  And so, inspired by her, I may just steal it and make it regular feature here.  I think I may be able to come up with five things to say each week.

2.  Joya is so smiley.  I was hoping that by naming her Joya she would be a little person filled with joy.  Well, she just may be.  It is so cute, except when she's smiling at me when she's supposed to nursing.  Then it's just messy.

3.  I caught Alaina starting to climb up our bookshelf this morning.  Scared the life out of me.  That bookshelf is not stable enough for a 28 pound toddler to climb.  I gave her a lecture and prayed that the Lord would protect her life, since she is filled with foolishness, and I can't watch her every second of her life.

4.  We're going to go look at a town home tomorrow.  Not to buy, just to rent, but I'm excited about it.  I have searched the entire Denver-metro area (via internet) and have not found this amount of space for the amount of money they are asking in rent.  I'm hoping it will work out.

5.  Which means we might be moving mid-January.  I think moving is a little like childbirth.  A crazy amount of not-fun work, but you forget about what it truly entails mere months after the event, and so you are willing to do it again. 

Hmm.  This quick 5 is not as good as Becky's but it's my first one.  I'll get better at it, I promise.