Been away for a week. Just got back late last night. Will update soon, with pictures of our wonderful vacation to Findley Lake, NY/Erie, PA. Does this count as a post toward my 100?

How cool is that?

(Click on it to make it larger.)

And I guess at 8:09 pm, we could add "and three hours." Thank goodness for silly things like Lilypie Tickers to make these kinds of things known!

12th Anniversary

Speaking of milestones, I'm pretty sure it was 12 years ago today that I met my sweet husband. "Who's that one with the long hair? He's cute." These were just some of the thoughts that went through my head that evening. We actually met playing elbow tag. (Highly fun, by the way, for those of you that work with youth.) He linked onto me. "Hi, I'm Duncan." "I'm Nancy." And that was it. Later on in that evening, we played a game that required everyone to lay down in a field, parallel to one another. The the first person began rolling over everyone and each subsequent person followed suit. I think it's called steamroller. He apologized to me numerous times after that game, telling me that he must have hurt me at the way I sounded as he went over me. I do remember it being an awfully uncomfortable game, in more ways than one, but I didn't remember any one person hurting me in any particular way. So that's how it began. We were at camp staff orientation, by the way, for those of you who don't know how we met and were wondering why a 19 year old girl and and a 21-year old boy were playing such games.
It would be nearly two and a half years before we began dating and just over five years before me were married. I know he'll make fun of me for remembering this. But I can't help it.

100th, er I mean, 94th post!! Woohoo!!

Recently, I've been building up to my 100th post, which, I thought, would be this one. As I went through my "archives," to get some inspiration for creating my 100th, I realized that I had several "drafts" of posts that were included in the 100. They were actually earlier versions of things that were eventually posted. Needless to say, when I deleted these bogus posts, it brought me down to 94. So, the pressure is off. I have six more posts to go until I need to make a big deal out of posting 100 times. Phew. Now I can go and scrub some toilets without a care in the world.

God is STILL so good...

...even though it seems that Violet's tear duct procedure may have failed. Have any other parents wished so much that their kid "just" had pink eye? She woke up this morning with green crusty eyelashes, reminicent of the morning two weeks and two days ago--and the majority of mornings for the entirety of her life before that. Major bummer. That's what everyone keeps saying, including me. And it is. However, I've been trying to realign my perspective all day long. I've been telling myself all day that this is not a big deal. In the grand scheme of life, it really isn't. Tomorrow, I'll be calling the doctor to find out what we need to do next. Pray for wisdom and pray for healing. I believe God is capable of healing her without more surgery. But regardless of what happens in this situation, GOD IS STILL GOOD. That's my point. And I praise Him for that.
Onto lighter things...some of my favorites of the past weeks:

Here, Violet worked very hard to get into her little seat. You can see she's quite pleased. She can often be seen holding two objects from the play kitchen--a cup and a spoon, a bowl and a fork, or a pan and a ladle (as seen in this shot). She stirs and eats. It's so dang cute.




Amelie and Violet "cleaned out" these cute toy storage bins I purchased recently and then thought it would be fun to sit in them. Violet looks drunk, but I love it because it shows them doing something together, which is getting more and more frequent these days--much to Amelie's delight.





This is the first day at the pool this season. My adorable WHITE family loves the pool. We've already been six times since Memorial day!








Duncan set up the sprinkler on a hot Sunday afternoon and Amelie and William had a blast. Violet, on the other hand, was quite offended at the water that snuck up on her as she played.







These next two are just goofy shots that I think are fun.




Violet shaking the dotters.










Amelie's extremely goofy face. She LOVES her sunglasses.





In other news, Duncan started his new job last weeks and it extremely satisfied. Even better, their moving from Annapolis to Bowie on Monday (a few weeks late, he was supposed to start there)--a twenty minute commute down to five. Rock the house! He'll MAYBE have to fill up his gas tank once every other week--how cool is that?

God is So Good

This morning, as I stepped into the shower, this song came to mind:

God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He's so good to me.

And He most certainly is. He's so good--far beyond what I deserve. These last few weeks, I've been struggling so with anxiety and depression, as I've transitioned medication because of the pregnancy (from Paxil, an SSRI, to Wellbutrin, for those in the know) and, at the same time, anticipated (dreaded?) Violet's eye surgery. I've had countless "What ifs?" go through my mind and it's been exhausting. Today, I praise God for sustaining me throughout the last few weeks, and for bringing Violet through the surgery. It was the best possible outcome--they had to do the minimum (only probing of the left eye--no intubation or balloonplasty or moving of bones and nothing to the right eye) and there have been no complications.

So, am I the only weirdo that brings a camera when their child has a medical procedure done? Maybe I was just trying to convince myself of how great it would be. Regardless, I took a few shots that I've posted below.

We left my parents' house at 5am (We slept there so neither Amelie nor her dear grandparents had to get get up so early.) and drove to Johns Hopkins. We arrived at the 3rd floor of the Wilmer Eye Institute at 6am. Here is Violet, in her peach hospital gown, watching Rugrats (or something equally age-inappropriate, yet distracting) while waiting to be called for surgery. I took this photo at 6:24 am.



These are the ridiculously huge booties they gave us to put on her. We were called to surgery at 7:00am. We waited, along with other patients and their families, for about 30 minutes. When it was our turn, Duncan went back with the doctors and got to hold Violet until she was asleep. He came out to the waiting room at about 7:45am. Before 8:30am, the doctor came out to tell us how successful the procedure had been. At about 9:15, I got to go into the recovery room and be with her when she woke up.


Here, we're back in the pre-op room at 10:40 am, yet now I guess we could call it the post-op room since it was after the surgery. Here we watched Nick Jr's Fairy Tale Extravaganza while Violet ingested about a half gallon of apple juice. We had to wait about two and a half hours following the surgery, just to make sure she was o.k. to go home.





Upon release, Violet got to eat strawberries, cheerios, and a cookie in the hospital cafeteria. We weren't even out of downtown Baltimore by the time our little patient was asleep.







Amelie liked the sunglasses Violet got in her (obviously) generic discharge kit from the Wilmer Eye Institute. She seems to be doing her best glaucoma patient impression in this photo.







So thank you for your prayers (and for your encouraging comment, chris f!) Please praise God with me for His goodness and mercy.

Please Pray

Just a quick post to let you know that our Violet Ella is having her tear duct surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. This is a quick, out-patient procedure that requires general anesthesia. Please pray that it would be successful and that the Lord would relieve my anxiety. Thank you!!

Cleaning off the camera again...

Duncan opening his birthday presents with the girls. We gave him a wheelbarrow (red--Amelie's choice) and an umbrella and stand for our outside table.






From just about an hour ago, Daddy came home for lunch and got to read a story to the girls. (Notice the dresses! Gotta love them!!)

[Note: The first two pictures were from two different day. I promise Duncan doesn't wear the same outfit to work every day.]




Tea Party with chocolate milk and Teddy Grahams. What could be better? (Thanks again for the birthday present, Aunt Karen--none of the tea set has been consumed!)








Violet gets her quilt from Ducky!












Violet LOVES her quilt from Ducky!!










Two ballerinas--I love the look on Violet's face in this one.

A Rendez-Vous with Mr. Yuck

Amelie now "rests" in the afternoon, instead of napping. Could she still nap? Absolutely. Do we want her to be up until 10:00 every night? Absolutely not.
So today, while Amelie was "resting," I was gardening. (Or beginning the "how-long-can-plants-go-without-water-before-they-die" experiment.) She appeared at the screen door with a present for me. It was a picture on a sheet of her ducky notepad. My heart melted and I told her to get some shoes on and to come outside. As she approached me, arm outstretched, I noticed that her face wasn't quite right. The color orange was smeared on either side of her mouth. "What is that all over your face?" "Orange paint from my art supplies." (thanks again for the Christmas gift, Aunt Karen=))"Were you eating it?" "No, I was just licking it."
*sigh*
Needless to say, after a call to daddy and to poison control, I learned that orange pee and poop is all we have to look forward to. Amelie was scared out of her mind (sob, sob, "am I gonna die?" sob, sob) which hopefully taught her a lesson.

I love being the mom of a 3 year-old

This evening, Amelie was sitting on my lap while I was reading a story to the girls before bed. Amelie stopped me, mid-sentence and said, "Mommy, your legs are spicy this day." Darn shorts weather. Just when Duncan seems to have gotten used to (or is just resigned to) my having not-so-smooth legs for much of life, someone else is going to start complaining. She'll understand. One day.

This happened not even a mile, as the crow flies, from our home. Super scary.

Ho Hum

I've been so uninspired of late. Don't know why. Guess I'll just share some of the highlight of life these days--
*We've been playing outside a ton and eating outside as well on our "new" patio. The addition of an umbrella for our table (a b-day present for Duncan) has been lots of fun.
*Violet's tear duct surgery is scheduled for Monday, May 21st in the wee hours of the morning. It's out-patient but requires general anesthesia. This mommy is SCARED TO DEATH of that part of it. If you're a praying person, please pray.
*Duncan recently received 2 job offers (one for a company here and one for a company in Pittsburgh, for which he'd be telecommuting). He took the one here after MUCH consideration! He's VERY excited and will start the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Praise God!
*Ducky and Grandpa Bob came for a visit last weekend after their two previous attempts had been foiled. They were snowed in both at Amelie's birthday and at Easter! Their visit was short, but very sweet.
*I won The Dress in Amelie's size a couple of days ago. We're excited to get it in the mail soon!
*Our new van is awesome and our Saturn is just about sold. It's just a matter of paper work and such. We're selling it to a graduating high school senior in our church. I'm so glad we'll be able to keep tabs on the first card Duncan and I bought together!
*We had the Etners over for a visit this past Sunday. It was great fun to see baby Dylan!! (oh yeah, and his mom and dad too =).)
*I'm at the mid-point in my pregnancy already. I can hardly believe it!
*Amelie is developing her imagination and personality more and more. She makes us laugh so much!
*Violet's language continues to explode. Just this morning, upon seeing Amelie's stuffed cat on the kitchen table, she exclaimed, "kitty!" That was a new one!!
*I continue to struggle with housekeeping, routine, self discipline, productivity, etc. It's just more fun to have a tea party or to blow bubbles!
Life is good. Thanks for checking in with me.

In No Particular Order....

Happy Easter! This is as close to a portrait as we could get with Little Miss On the Move!











Daddy shares one of his summer loves with Violet-- STRAWBERRIES!!










This was what we originally envisioned for this table and chairs when we gave it to Amelie for her 2nd birthday.












That hair! It's so crazy!!








Ice Skating lesson number one.














Amelie's Dinosaur Cake!!










The birthday girl participating in the Dinosaur Hunt at her party.












William got added to the row o' carseats a few weeks ago. We're super excited to be able to have friends in our new van! (There were three empty seats behind them even!!)

New (Customized) Template

So whadaya think? I was getting tired of the old one and I'm thinking since soon I'll be blogging about a BOY, that the pink had to go. I needed to be more gender neutral. I'm interested in hearing your opinions.

Drumroll please............

.............IT'S A BOY!!!!!!
Even better, he looks completely normal and healthy at this point.
We're thrilled. Duncan said he was a tad worried about being outnumbered 4-1. He said 3-2 seems a bit better. I don't think it's really sunk in for me just yet. Yet it's a little easier to imagine what life will be like, now that we know the gender.
In other news, we've transitioned from using a Windows operating system to using a Linux OS. (It's so great to be married to a computer nerd.) Once I learn how to work with pictures, I'll share some from Easter and other recent events. (Maybe I'll even scan in the ultrasound picture!)

I got IT on e-bay!

I've been looking for this dress for quite some time. Ever since I saw it on The Trixie Update last year, I've wanted to have one for my girls. It's so adorable!! This is a 2T and will obviously be for Violet. Now for a 4T and the knee socks for both! And we'll be all set! (I seem to be developing an e-bay problem, by the way.)

i'm baaa-aaack...i think

The title is in lower-case letters, because I'm really not sure. But, I've hit 14 weeks into this pregnancy and I think I'm starting to feel better. I seem to have more frequent bursts of energy, at the very least. The following is a list of things going on with us these days, that I've thought about using as a topic for blogging. So, let's play catch-up:
1. Violet is walking, falling A LOT, but getting better every day.
2. Amelie is pretty well potty trained during the day and seems to wet the bed at least once a week, but has started waking up because of it, which is a step in the right direction, I believe.
3. Violet has gotten her two top front teeth in the last month, so that she now has a total of 4!
4. Speaking of teeth, Amelie went to the dentist for the first time last week and did so well, that she almost made her mama cry because she was so proud.
4. Violet's language is exploding, and we're amazed each day, as her understanding of what we say to her.
5. After visiting the ice rink with Grandma and Grandpa back in February, Amelie decided she wanted to ice skate. So for four Thursday, half-hour sessions, she'll be giving it a whirl in April.
6. Violet has finally reached 20 pounds, so we can turn her car seat around, which we'll do...
7. when we get our new van tomorrow! We bought an 8-seater 2005 Toyota Sienna. Amelie seems even more excited than her parents. ("This is the best car I've ever seen! I LOVE this car!!")
8. We've decided to enroll Amelie in pre-school, for the Fall (Tuesdays and Thursdays, for 9-12).
9. Violet has discovered the fun of the stairs! She's had to be disciplined because of it. She's quite the heart breaker, after she's been told NO with a stern voice.
10. I'm going to our church's Women's Retreat this coming weekend, which will be my first night away from Violet Ella (who was completely weaned about a month ago) *sigh*

Those are the biggies for us right now. We're plugging along at this thing called life, with many great successes and plenty of failures along the way. I hope this finds you well, dear reader. Thanks for coming back.

A Potpourri of Pictures

A smattering of what I took off the camera and organized on the computer this weekend. Enjoy.





Amelie and friends napping on the stairs.


















Amelie's 3rd Birthday (after dinner, STILL in pjs, since she was sick =( )












Amelie sledding down the hill between ours and William's yard













Violet's first birthday party










Violet eating her birthday cupcake. (I'm not a fan of the 1 year old going at the whole cake.)

I promise I'll be at this again soon...

I don't want to whine or complain, because being exhausted in a good sign at 10.5 weeks pregnant and, in some ways, I'm quite thankful for it. It's just that I currently have no energy beyond what I need to clothe and feed my children (and even that's stretching it!) Praise God for my sweet husband who works all day and then comes home and willingly, and even cheerfully, picks up the slack. He's gotta be ready for the 2nd trimester energy boost that I historically have. While I feel a gnawingness (I know that's not a word, but you know what I mean) to post something witty or profound, it's just not happening right now. I've got gazillions of pictures still on the camera...even more to put on our photo website...and it's just not happening right now. So, hopefully, within a couple of weeks, I'll be "back" for several months, at least. And then, Lord willing, life with three kids will begin. We'll see how blogging goes then. So keep checking!

No, No Birthday Party Pics Yet...

...since it hasn't happened and isn't in the foreseeable future! Duncan and Violet are now sick and Amelie's postponed party has now been postponed!

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it was cute. I personally like my soap opera name the best. Enjoy!


MY NINE NAMES

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Nancy

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.) Nanizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Purple Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, and current street)
Lynn Overbrook

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, last 3 letters of mom's maiden name)
Salnalof

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink).
Pink Coffee

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)
Alyonkl

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mothers middle name)
Gail

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one your pets)
Black Peter