Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

I’m considering jumping on the bandwagon and purchasing a pair of Crocs. For those of you who don’t know me well, I’m not really the bandwagon jumping type most of the time; thus, I’m a couple of years behind on this whole trend in footwear. In fact, I’ve considered them about the ugliest thing you could put on your feet, and scoffed at the idea that they might be the most comfortable shoes on God’s green earth. But, I digress.

A couple of months ago my friend Michelle showed up at Bible study wearing an adorable pair of Crocs Mary Janes, and I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind. So, I’m trying to decide what color I would like to get. Do I go with the fun-loving lavender? The sassy celery? Or the good old standby – chocolate brown?

Let me know which color you vote for in the comments.

Little and I went for a nice walk this morning. We went over to the library and back winding through residential streets all the way. As we walked we passed several older people who were also out for a morning stroll, everyone smiled and said “hello,” and one lady even stopped to chat for a moment and comment on how cute Little is. It was a pleasant walk even though it was overcast and 70 degrees with humidity of 83%. Welcome to late Spring in the South!

I really enjoy walking, and it is even more fun now with Little buckled into the stroller rolling along in front of me. This morning she chatted and sang, watched the birds, played with her stroller toys, then fell asleep about 10 minutes from home. It is so fun to watch her interact with her surroundings, especially when we are outdoors.

Although the flowers of early Spring (my favorites – daffodils and tulips) have long faded away, it is nice to see the summer green of trees and grass and the blooms of the crepe myrtle and magnolia. There is a sense of the magnificence of God that can only be felt in the presence of the beauty of creation. There is a sense of the peace of God that is felt in a morning walk in a quiet neighborhood with the birds happily chirping in the trees. There is a sense of the joy of God that is felt in scampering squirrels and jabbering little girls.

As I passed under a towering magnolia not far from home I breathed deeply of the sweet scent of its blooms, and I felt satisfied.

Six years ago today we gathered with family and friends to celebrate.

Six years ago today we stood under a rose arbor in Granny’s garden.

Six years ago today we promised to love, honor, and cherish each other as long as we live.

Six years ago today we embarked upon an adventure not knowing where it would take us.

Six years ago today I had no idea how great these six years would be.

I love you even more today than I did six years ago.

Happy anniversary, Matt!

What? Another contest you ask? And not just another contest, but another great contest at Adventures in Babywearing!

This time around Steph is giving away two prizes: some adorable earrings from Cheeky Jewelry and a $25 gift certificate to the Cheeky Jewelry site.

I think I need a space on sidetrack’d designated for contests!

Little finally has teeth! Last week her front-top-left tooth broke through, and yesterday her front-bottom-right tooth broke through. I hope the other two aren’t far behind, or it will look kind of funny when these two are all the way in.

In other news, yesterday was her first day with pigtails. She looked adorable, but having her hair pulled back sure does make her look like a big girl.

It seems that the time has come to move Little from the breast to the cup. I don’t necessarily think she is self-weaning, but she has begun to be more interested in other things than in nursing. She is constantly in motion these days and there are so many new and exciting things to explore – even if it’s just exploring, again, the same pillow she’s been in love with since she was itty bitty.

Before Little was born I was planning to nurse until six months. Those first few days and weeks I thought we would be lucky to make it to six weeks. Once we reached the six week goal I pressed on to three months. By three months things were going very smoothly and I decided we could do at least a year. As we’ve drawn closer to the year mark I’ve wavered as to whether we would be ready to give it up at one year or if we might continue on for a while. Now, at ten months, I think I’m ready to move on and she seems to be at a point where she is receptive to the idea.

It is getting more and more difficult to get her to lie still for a complete feeding; most nursing sessions leave me feeling frustrated and as if I’ve wrestled an alligator to get a few ounces of food in it’s mouth. So, on Tuesday evening we took the first steps of the weaning dance. This will probably be a slow dance, one that doesn’t end until she transitions to whole milk around her first birthday.

Mixed feelings rule the day with me right now. On one hand, it will be nice not to be “tied” to her schedule. On the other hand, I will miss those few minutes of snuggling every few hours. On one hand, I won’t have to nurse every hour because she won’t be still long enough to fill up her belly in one sitting. On the other hand, I won’t be a nursing mommy anymore. On one hand, she will get to experience the fun of being in control of her own cup. On the other hand, I will have to pump milk until she is a year old. On one hand, I recognize that it is part of her moving from “baby-hood” to “toddler-dom”. On the other hand, I don’t want her to grow up so fast. On one hand, I’m sure it will be a tough transition for her. On the other hand, I’m not entirely convinced that it won’t be an even tougher transition for me.

As my friend Diane said the other day, “I guess this means it is time to have another one.”

There are a couple of neat contests going on right now that I thought I would bring to your attention. (And maybe I’ll win one of them, too!)

First, Steph at Adventures in Babywearing is giving away $120 worth of baby gear from Mason & Matisse. What a great baby gift it would be for my SIL Lu (and then I would get to use it when our next one comes along)!

And then, 5 Minutes for Mom is at it again. This time they are giving away an adorable ribbon tutu from Tutu Fantasy. This would be a great gift for an awesome little girl I know or to hold on to until Little is big enough for dress up!

Hopefully, I’ll be back with a real post later today. Stay tuned…

I have been menu planning for a while now, so I thought it’s about time to jump into Menu Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie. I menu plan in an effort to minimize the number of grocery store trips I make per week. Every Sunday Matt and I determine what we would like to eat for the week and I assign a meal to each night; I usually end up moving meals around and, often, push meals to the next week due to unforeseen circumstances (more leftovers than expected, unexpected meals out, etc.).

Anyway, here is what is on the menu this week:

Monday: Country Fried Steak (Southern Living recipe), mashed potatoes & gravy, green peas, homemade biscuits

Tuesday: ground beef burritos, tortilla chips and salsa

Wednesday: leftovers – burritos or nachos

Thursday: Oven-fried Parmesan Chicken Strips (Southern Living), mac & cheese

Friday: pepperoni pizza

Saturday: lunch – pizza leftovers / dinner – waffles

Sunday: lunch – eat out / dinner – eat with Life Group

Here’s to your week being filled with good eats!

Matt spent the last few days attending a conference in Portland, Oregon. After his sessions ended Saturday evening he took the MAX (light-rail public transportation) to the other side of the river to wander around in a shopping area downtown.

As he walked up the street he was approached by a man asking for a quarter or fifty cents. Matt told the man he was sorry, but he didn’t have any change and continued walking along the street. Several minutes later, Matt was walking on another street and was approached by the same man asking for a quarter or fifty cents. Thinking it was odd that a panhandler was asking for such a small amount, Matt asked what he was planning to do with the quarter. The man replied that many times when he asked for a small amount someone would give him more than that. He told Matt that just the week before he had asked someone for a quarter and they gave him a twenty dollar bill. He went on to detail the number of various kinds of currency he has received over the last couple of years – probably 15 twenties, 7 or 8 fives, and lots of ones.

At this point Matt asked if he just walked around downtown asking for money. The man replied, “No, I’ve got a studio apartment.”

I laughed out loud when Matt repeated the last sentence of the conversation. He went on to tell Matt that he had applied for public housing at some point but was turned down. Could it be that all those quarters added up to too much income?

I’ve come to the realization that children are gross. When you have children in your home gross things happen that you would never have believed possible. From food stains (on me and her), to cleaning vomit, to changing diapers, you never know what a day might hold.

Over the past few days I’ve cleaned semi-dried, sticky banana; crunchy, dried out chicken sticks; and various other identified and unidentified foods from Little’s highchair. Bath time has to be part of the nightly routine because there is always banana, apple, peach, or some other sticky substance in her hair. I always seem to be finding cheerios in the living room floor, and sweeping under her highchair three times a day wouldn’t be enough to keep the floor free of crumbs and dropped food. And on top of it all, she ate her first handful of dirt Monday when we were in the neighbor’s yard.

She better be glad she’s just so darn cute!