Home, here we come!

Here we are after one of the longer days of my pregnancy. (I would have appreciated less room above our head, and perhaps some belly evidence, but I wasn't thinking very much at the time of the picture, simply that it needed to be taken.) You can see in most of our faces that we are a little tired.

In the morning Kiddo went to preschool, and I packed the things one needs to keep a 5 year old and a 3 year old occupied through four or five hours of meetings. After preschool, we had a quick lunch, during which Babs disappeared and fell asleep in the her bed.

I woke her up to go to an eye doctor appointment. I'm not in the habit of bringing my children to the doctor's office, but I made an exception for this one. We sat in the waiting room for 1 hour and 20 minutes before I finally said, "I've got to go, is she going to see me or not?" She did, and what is normally a 45 minute appointment was reduced to five.

Then the kids and I jumped in the car to do a walk-through of our about-to-be-purchased house. The owners were just finishing cleaning it, and it is likely this is the cleanest that house will be for its foreseeable future. Then we got back in the car to go to closing.

The closing was exactly what that should be, kids watching iPhone's in the corner, and mom and dad signing a multitude of papers, and tying our financial future to a well-designed set of bricks and wood. And then we'd bought a house. So we took a picture. (There was a problem with the wire transfer, so the money didn't actually disappear from our account until late this morning. For a while we had both our house and our money, and that was weird, but now our money is gone. We still have the house though!)

After the picture we went out to eat, to a parent place, not a kid place, so the kids played some more iPhone. And then we took the kids home to bed. That would be our current rental, not our recently purchased house. But we'll be there more and more until two weeks from now, when we actually move in.

We're homeowners. (Would you like to know about the house? Well, stay posted, and it's entirely possible I'll actually take some pictures eventually, and tell you about it. Of course, maybe I'll just think about it...)

my peacemaker

I worry a lot about the fact that Kiddo tends to give in to many of Babs' requests, especially when they are the loud and screaming kind. To resolve a conflict, it is usually Kiddo who backs down. I have seen this as a sign that she won't stand up for herself, or is a pushover. But my mother-in-law changed my perspective with a comment she made about it.

"That girl is a peacemaker."

She is. She does. She tries to include others, and help others, and difuse conflicts, and keep others obeying the rules. It is a beautiful trait.

And matches with what we tell Babs' often: You are so lucky to have the big sister you do - because she lets you get away with A LOT.

thoughts at the end of the week

I had surgery on my eyelid this week to remove three chilazions (kind of like little cysts). It was pretty miserable, but not as miserable as the last time I tried this procedure. On the plus side, it seems to actually be working this time. I will be so excited in another week when both my eyelids are flat, smooth, and lump free. And, something about the surgery experience woke my boy up. He has been kicking up a storm, and much more expressive about everything since that day. It is nice to never worry how he's doing, but if he were kicking from the outside, I'd have a seriously bruised abdomen.

Grandma is here! She has allowed me to largely check out of the mothering business for three or four days while I try to rest my eye, and rest my soul for the craziness of our future (packing our house, closing on the new house, and moving... ).

Grandma's visit also allowed my husband and I to have a real date. We went to the temple, then a used book sale (it takes a special love of books to think you should buy a box of books just weeks before you move), then lunch. Apparently Babs pretty much fell apart while we were gone, but we are all friends again, and I loved being out with him (as always).

The day after my surgery, Kiddo came downstairs to wake me up in the morning. She was completely dressed and seemed ready for the day. She told me, "Since your eye is hurt, I'll take care of Babs today." It didn't quite work out that way, but her sincerity and desire touched my heart. I'm grateful for her kind spirit and helpful heart.

Grandma brought a T-ball set for Babs as a visiting present (Kiddo got a set of binoculars). Babs loves it. She talks about "playing with my set" and enjoys the sanctioned whacking. She prefers to whack with her golf clubs rather than her bat though - I suppose we need some tutorials soon.

a conversation between two little girls

My husband announced to the girls this morning (in the we have before church) that he needed to plan a lesson, and mom needed a nap, so they should play together. They both happily agreed.
hours

Babs: "Let's go to my room!"

Kiddo: "No, let's read a book together."

Babs (with much wailing): "Nooooo! Daddy said we need to PLAAAYYY!" (I love her selective obedience.)

Kiddo (giving in, as is typical between the two of them): "Okay." She goes to Babs' room. "Let's play with your little people."

Babs: Okay.

The fact that my two girls play together often and well is a tremendous blessing to me.

 (This picture is from our last, late snow storm in March. Babs is supposedly being potty trained, and Kiddo has hives, but they're still outdoors. You got to seize the moment with snow in this place.)

thoughts at the end of the week

We appear to have bought a house. We're in the middle stage between an accepted offer (and an acceptable house inspection) and actually closing. We're also waiting to hear back on the appraisal and get our loan approved. Buying a house involves a ridiculous amount of money. And although I believe that all will work out, I'm still hesitant. (Although I'll need to start packing soon, because that takes some serious time.) The house meets our list: it goes to good schools (and we can walk to the elementary school), it's got biggish bedrooms, a great backyard, and just feels nice. At this point, I just really want it to work out.

I'm having surgery to remove some chilazions from my eyelids next week. Although I carefully planned it all so my mother-in-law could be here to help me and my children during the process, the surgery was moved two days earlier, so instead I've had to find a lot of help with my kids until she comes. Of course this is all happening in a week when my husband has reduced flexibility at work.

Kiddo really wants to name our baby "Fred." I need to find his real name soon so that I will no longer be swayed to let my five-year old name my child with a name I don't really like.

Babs, who has more name derivatives than you can imagine, is currently insisting on correcting any one who calls her by less than her full name. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Potty training is wearing me out. But, she's really doing a good job with the yellow, so I am grateful for that blessing. I have so many blessings in my life. I could be better about showing and feeling gratitude.

thoughts at the end of the week

How do I convince my half-potty trained child that "making brown" is as valuable as "making yellow"? The other night we were trying to talk it up, and mentioned that everyone makes brown. "Not me!" she insisted.

We got McDonald's today for lunch. I meant to eat there, but we didn't, because as I was paying Babs threw up at my feet. She is sick again. She was heartbroken that we couldn't eat there (not that she would have eaten, she hasn't eaten all day). I think she is just tired, tired, tired, and this is how her body copes. (Does this mean we cancel our pre-conference brunch? After I went to all the trouble of inviting people over?)

I'm having some mother angst right now. What is my role as a mother to two, almost three, little people in the kingdom? How do I help them? What do I teach them? How do we balance all our competing needs? This is all much less clear now than it used to be, when I just let them grow on their own. (Argh! I just said that parenting this age is harder than the last, when I abhor people implying it's easy when they're little!)

I spent more time the week before Easter talking about the true focus of Easter than I ever have before (see note about kids being older). I'm not sure either kid learned anything accurate, but Babs did spend much of this last week singing about being in the tomb and our body and spirit coming together again, so I can call that foundation work - right?

Kiddo has a definite preference for listening to Primary music, and reading her church books (illustrated scripture stories and Friend magazine). She tells me that they make her feel peaceful. I'm grateful this happens, and that she recognizes it. She has such a sweet, sensitive soul.