I can do it!

I'm committed. I can do this...

After a year of reading all my friends (frequent) blogs and starting my own but not sticking with it, I'm ready. I've been really inspired by a fellow mom's blog whom I stumbled on just shortly after I had Audrey. I found myself commenting on her blog and my posts were becoming long enough to be a blog of their own so I knew it was time. She's hilarious and gives you the good stuff as well as the hard. I have appreciated that approach so this won't always be your average, fluffy, "isn't this a cute photo" blog. I'm hoping to make this a place for me to journal all that life presents. The good and the goo. This one will be long and just barely cover the basics however, because I'm trying to catch up.

This year, so far, has proved to be as much a wonderful challenge as the one that preceded it. Last year it was new routines, laughs, constant teething, communication issues, laughs, and the first bumps an bruises of our new walker's not so stealthy moves. This year started on the fast track with a two week mini "tour" of the Pink Floyd tribute band I sing in, The Floydian Slips. 4 shows in 12 days from Eugene to Seattle. Totally sold out every show and rocked myself silly. It was a lot of work though and when it was all done it was only mid January and I was already tired! We managed some great snow days with some excellent sledding. Such a treat! Through it all Audrey kept us laughing as usual. Such a cut-up that one.


Just a few days to recover and then directly into February's "Fire-hose of Fun." 1 wedding anniversary (ours), 3 birthdays (Mom, Audrey, & Bill - all in ONE week), and one useless Hallmark holiday (Valentine's Day). "What do you mean you didn't get Valentine's cards out" my mother teased. We headed for the beach for our anniversary weekend and got some great weather to boot.

Mid month Audrey had her "Nemo & Dory" Birthday party and that, too, was a smashing success. I focused on kids this year (what a great idea) and invited 7 others (and their parents!) to come play fishing games and "Pin the Fin" on Nemo and Dory.




I managed to make everything either blue or green when it came to the food. My only "shortcoming" this year was to go a little nuts with the blue food coloring! Who knew you only needed like 1% of what I used to get things to be that color! I'm sure the other parents were thrilled! All in all, we had a blast. (and I only blew up half as many balloons!)

The day after Audrey's second birthday she started her new daycare or "school" as they have us call it. First week was OK - but by her 3rd and final day of the week she had finally figured out that we were intending on leaving her here in this place ALL DAY LONG! The meltdowns began. More teething - molars this time. The terrible twos emerged mere seconds after her Happy Birthday song was sung, a new "stranger anxiety" had started causing more serious meltdowns and... we still haven't even made it out of February. Audrey had her very first "picture day" at school. I know it's really daycare and not school but it's still hard to believe we're there already!!

March brought the "cold from hell." First Bill got it, then Audrey got it, then Bill got sicker, and so did Audrey. I managed to get this far nearly unscathed. Then, just as Bill was getting better I got it and Audrey got her first fever laden ear infection. We got the antibiotics, they're pink and some sort of sweet flavor like bubble gum or something. I think I might have the only child who looks forward to medicines. Am I creating a future hypochondriac? We left the doctors office feeling victorious from our clean bill of health on our "re-check" after the antibiotics. I asked if we should worry about getting a lot of ear infections now that she'd had one. He said, "No, you just have to worry if they get sick again quickly after they've recovered from one." I swear to you that LESS than 48 hours later I thought Audrey felt hot and found she had a 103 fever. Great. Bill got it again too. I somehow managed to escape the second one. (yay!?) Thankfully there are no pictures of snotty noses to share.

We did manage to squeeze a trip in to Mom's house in Pendleton for Easter regardless of the illnesses. Where better to sleep it off than at Mom's house where there are doting Grammy's and Aunties to take over?! Audrey and JayCe had their first egg hunt together and the first real live chocolate passed Audrey's lips. None of us will ever be the same!! Now I often hear "Mommy, I want some Choc-lit" coming from Audrey! I knew I would have to cave sooner or later - at least we managed to wait this long! Of course most of my friends say we're Ogre's for not having given it to her by now. I've even heard stories of coaxing toddlers into cooperation using chocolate chips as a reward. However successful this might be I just can't do anything of the sort. I say she's got a lifetime of chocolate ahead of her so I don't feel terribly bad about trying to stave off the sweet tooth a little.

April arrives. Second virus. On the 6th day of it we head to the Doctors office again for a "better safe than sorry" visit since it was Friday and I had hoped to stave off at least a little bit of miserable if the ear infection cropped up again. We were sent off with a tentatively good bill of health and the advice "if she spikes another fever, bring her back." So, of course, 36 hours later, another fever. Monday morning bright and early off to the Doctor again (at least by now she'd stopped being afraid of him) to get a second round of stronger antibiotics. By now we've had sick people in the house for two solid months. Somewhere in there was my birthday - it's all a blur already. Guess what I asked for again this year? You guessed it, ROCKS. More pathways and some garden edging to come. We also managed a trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm for their annual "Tulip Fest" with "GeeMa Pat" (Bill's mom). It poured down rain part of the time while we were there but that just gave us beautiful mud puddles to jump in! Audrey rode the "cow train" and squealed with delight as we sped along over the bumps and around the acres and acres of blooming Tulips. Gotta love a good thrill seeker!

During the worst of the colds we did manage to use some of our pent-up house-bound energy to start some crafty projects. Audrey has really taken a liking to me sewing things for her. It started with an ingenious idea to make a couple of pillow cases out of a blanket and has manifested into things like "Hey Audrey, do you want me to make you a cape?" "Yeah!" she replies enthusiastically and "abracadabra" - you're a cape.

May has come and with it already the return of my healthy and (mostly) agreeable toddler and husband. Our new grass has filled in beautifully and we can now sit triumphantly in our lawn chairs and survey the success that has taken us years to sculpt. I'm figuring we're about 1/30th of the way through this lifetime project.

Before...

Bill managed yet another Craigslist score and we now have a working riding lawn mower again. My mother's day present from last year (the fancy new self-propelled Honda push mower) is a dream but no match for 2 acres of grass that needs mowing!

With the return of warmer weather and longer days comes our large scale landscaping planning. The rock edging and pathways I spoke of earlier will take some time to manifest and I'm hoping I can wrangle some sort of permanent irrigation system while we're at it. We've at least gotten smart enough to meet and hire some high school lads to help us with this stuff. More ailing trees will come down to be replaced with new ones in better locations and our firewood stack might just fill up with just those that we have removed over the last 3 years. We still have some drainage issues to deal with along the south side of the house so some excavation will be in order and the last remaining mud around the house will become at least gravel if not a full fledged rock patio.

Whew. There. I did it! I knew I could do it. Hopefully now that I've caught up I can do these posts more often and they can be read at a glance and not over several days! I am in the process of creating an online photo album that I will update as often as possible. We hope this all gives us an opportunity to stay in better touch with those we love.

As Tigger would say "Ta Ta For Now!"