I wonder when we'll leave the house again!?!

We are still sick. I didn't leave the house last week because Grace was sick and then George got sick. Finally yesterday I called the doctor's office because George had such a bad croupy cough and congestion that he just couldn't sleep. I just wanted steroids to help him breath easier. Dr. Eileen thought I should know that George probably has/had Swine Flu. Awesome. Luckily he's on the mend, and as long as his symptoms continue to get better we are fine. Being on steroids means he's more susceptible to contracting something else, so we are still going to be home tomorrow. And probably the next day. And maybe the next. We'll manage. We always do.

So how have we spent our quality time at home...

First, Grace has become very good at changing her own clothes. Too bad most of the clothes she wants to wear are summer clothes because they are easier to put on. Looks like I need to clean her drawers out so she can't have them as options. Grace, being a true Princess, needs to wear several different outfits a day and then pose like a Princess when asked if I can take her picture. These are her outfits from today.

Next, we watched way more television then we should have. Way more.

My Creative Space aka The Laundry Room looked like this all week long.

I'm on a mission to get all my Christmas sewing done long before Christmas day. Too bad I can't share most of what I've made because my family reads my blog, but Grace and George don't. I made them matching pajamas. John especially appreciated the shirt I made for George although he called the color of the shirt girly. Grace's shirt still needs something, but I'm just not sure what. Ideas?

I hung my B Wall in my bedroom.

Grace got to see what she'd look like if she were pregnant.

There was lots of crying. Lots.

Grace ran around the house getting her exercise. She needed the Nano to prove she was a real runner and to prove to George that she always gets what she wants. He had the Nano first. Neither one of them should have it at all, but that's an entirely different post.

We've played.

We've colored. (Yes, a lot of these pictures were taken on the same day. Note Grace's nightgown. Let me be honest with you. It gets very boring at home when you can't go anywhere which means that you aren't exactly inspired to want to take pictures of anything!)

We played Hide and Go Seek.

We tried to be helpful to the Italian.

Lastly John and I were supposed to celebrate our Anniversary with an evening out last night, but our beloved sitter got sick herself. Luckily she is feeling better today, and luckily John and I are together forever, and I'm sure we'll make up the missed night out soon.

Now I'm going to savor every last second of my nightly quiet time before I have to referee my two little ones all day long inside this house tomorrow.

Wish me luck and stay far away from us!!

Memories

It's a good thing I've got this Italian to sleep next to, to hold my hand when we go out, to make me laugh when we are having a disagreement, to love our kids...

Because five years ago today we got married, and I was a little ill on our wedding day, and the only thoughts I clearly remember from the day are "My flowers are so beautiful" and "That cake looks more delicious than I thought was possible."

A wedding lasts a couple of hours, but thankfully John and I are together for forever. My wedding day went by in a blink, so I've got John by my side to remind me of all the wonderful blessings that came from marrying the love of my life five years ago.


I love you, Babe. Forever.

However, I wouldn't be sad to have another wedding cake. I looked into recreating that delicious thing, but too bad the bakery that made the cake does not ship out of state!

Like Mother Like Daughter

Can you believe that George had open heart surgery? Can you even see the scar? Amazing. Truly.

George is sick. He has a fever. And he is cranky. And his noses is running like a faucet. And he wants to be held a lot.



We can't leave the house because he's sick, and we haven't left the house much since Saturday. Needless to say, Being Balena these past couple of days means we are at home and antsy.






However, Grace is never at a loss of things to do. Today I granted her permission to hang out behind The Gate. She set up the Jack-O-lanterns and taught them about fire safety. She told them that fire was bad.

Grace is pointing to the hot water heater that I had moments prior told her to not touch.

The pumpkins were captivated by what she had to say. Grace just has a such a way of compelling people to listen to her.

Looks like we have a little Miss Balena in the making. Nothing would make me happier than to have Grace follow in my footsteps.

Granted I am slightly jealous that I never thought to wear a crown while I taught to remind my students who was in charge. If I go back to teaching I'm going to remember this.

Being a mother is everything I thought it would be and so much more! The humor can't be beat. I love my job!

Gratitude

There are many reason tonight for me to

First, Grace fell asleep at 6 p.m. tonight and hasn't stirred yet.

There is little more I hope for during the day then my children falling asleep quickly and on time (or early). This could backfire on me sometime in the middle of the night, but she's slightly ill, so I'm hoping that she'll just sleep and sleep and sleep.

Mostly I grateful that I have George with me here on this Earth to melt my heart with his toddler giggle and wreck my house while grinning his big George grin. But besides that I'm grateful he has more energy then I thought possible for a toddler. He jumps himself to sleep and wakes up like a recharged battery ready to go. Thankfully though when I showed him that Grace was asleep in her bed tonight he understood that meant he needed to be quiet. We both did the "sh" sign, and he fell fast asleep. How grateful I am!

And I'm grateful my Italian Stallion

Grace was the photographer and director of this photo shoot. She insisted John hold the movies.

painted our new door red!! Of course I'm also really thankful to have a new front door and the old door to be in the trash.

Lastly, I'm grateful that I've finished my Thanksgiving decorations BEFORE Thanksgiving. I made a table runner just like this one for my mom, but I liked it so much I decided I needed one too.

Then I found a yarn Harvest Wreath on Etsy and got the bright idea that I would save myself some serious cash and make one myself. After several trips to JoAnn's and Michael's for supplies, and 4 different crafting sessions, I have finally completed my version of the Harvest Wreath. (The woman who sells these on Etsy makes every penny she charges for them.) My wreath will adorn the new front door probably until January because I've spent too much time on it to take it down after Thanksgiving and there is NO WAY I'm making a Christmas Wreath.

Finally (I know I already did a lastly but I just thought of something else), it is before 10 p.m. and I don't have another project on my list that I'm starting tonight. I just needed to finish the wreath. Maybe I'll be able to give thanks tomorrow for the extra sleep I could get if I went to bed right now. What should I do!?! Big decisions to make over here in the Balena home.

Up past my bed time.

John texted me when he got to John Wayne Airport this evening that he'd landed safely. He then told me to get some good sleep. Probably I should listen to my husband a little more.

But since I'm up...

I've been busy making birthday presents, home decor, and other things, so I thought tonight I'd try to make Grace a skirt. You know because her wardrobe needs to be revitalized. She's really lacking in the skirt and dress department. I have a Young Women who comes weekly to learn to sew, and she showed me this tutorial. It's darling, but if you are going to try it, please talk to me. I might have a tip or two that would save you some time. (I ended up spending an extra hour on it myself this evening!)


In other news, Grace made me laugh several times today. Tonight while I was changing George's diaper she came and got a wipe and started wiping her arms, and then she said to me,

"Mama, I'm wiping off the pressure, because you put pressure on me, and I need to wipe it off."

Next as I'm trying to clean up the kitchen this evening, Grace comes running out of my room shouting,

"Mama, I'm you. I'm you."

Please tell me I look this awesome all the time.

Lastly, I told her I needed to take her picture. She told me,

G: "Tell me to say polka dot and then I'll smile."

Me: "Who taught you to say polka dot?" (She answered this question a day or two ago for me, but I wanted to see if the name stayed the same.)


G: "Annee taught me that." (Exactly what she told me a day or two ago.)

Now I must follow the advice of my husband,

Good night friends!

Sunday Sibling Snoozer

Just put your mind to it!

I really am a believer that you can do anything you put your mind to. Well, I'm believer in that, and the fact that if you want to know or do anything, then you should just do a google search.

Remember when Grace broke my computer? Well I got it to work except for the keyboard. I have been able to do anything on my computer that doesn't require typing which is rather annoying. I took it to the Geek Squad the day after the water damage happened and the nice gentleman told me it would cost me $200 to send it to their "lab" to diagnose the problem and to fix it. Oh, and there could be an extra charge for any parts that are needed.

I called John while at the Geek Squad desk at Best Buy. The conversation went something like this:

L: John they say it's going to cost $200 and they may or may not be able to fix it, and they will need my computer for about a month. Should I just let them fix it, should I just get a new computer, what should I do!! I have to have my computer!! It's my lifeline to the outside world!! Do you know how hard being at home all day long can be with no connection to the outside world?!? (Yes, my words were laced with serious drama!)

J: (very calmly) Liz, I just did a google search for tutorials on how to fix keyboards, I really think I can fix your computer. Don't go with the Geek Squad. If I can't fix your computer, then I'll buy you another one.

L: Okay, I'll let you try.

I know John said he'd fix my computer, but I have a tendency to be impatient, so the night of my trip to the Geek Squad I found a keyboard replacement tutorial for FREE online. I ordered a keyboard for $33.75 including tax and shipping. I got my new keyboard yesterday. Today in 5 minutes I replaced my own keyboard, and I'm typing this blog entry on my brand new keyboard.

*John gets most of the credit for me even thinking I could attempt this. Or as he told me today after my victory scream for successfully fixing my computer, "I just fed you the food to grow your own wings to fly on this one." So romantic how much he believes in me!*

Ladies and Gentlemen, truly you can do anything you put your mind to.

Oh, and if you were wondering what I did with the old keyboard...

A Playroom

Dear Dad,

Mom thinks we need a playroom, but the kitchen works just fine.

Love,

Grace and George

Babies in Our Bellies

Grandma Blanche taught Grace how to do scared face, happy face, puppy dog lips, and sad face. This is Grace doing her scared face. Kind of looks happy don't you think??

On Sunday as we were driving to church and Grace said she didn't want to go to nursery. I told her that her teacher had a baby growing in her belly, and if she asked nicely, then she could probably touch her teacher's belly and try to feel the baby. Grace replied,

"Oh yes Mama. Everyone has babies growing in their bellies. I have a baby growing in my belly and her name is Baby Waverly."

Clearly she has Baby Waverly on her brain. And so do I. I loved seeing that darling little one, and can't wait to hold her again at Christmas time!! We love you Baby Wavey.

P.S. - Grandma Blanche has done an exceptional job of keeping up Waverly Weekly proving that you can teach an old dog a new trick. Way to go, Ma!!

I just love this little girl. And I LOVE how nice her hair can actually look with a painful shampoo, conditioner, and combing!

Halloween is over! Finally!

She was a tiger.

He wanted nothing to do with the outfit. Thank goodness I didn't spend my week last week making an outfit that wouldn't even be worn!

We ended up missing the parade in the park, so we went on our own nature walk. This is as festive as George gets.

We attended the classic Ward Halloween Party.

The Cupcake Walk prize was shared 4 ways.

We all went trick-or-treating. Everyone knew what Grace was, but everyone asked what George was. My favorite joke was "He's ready to go to bed."

I'm not going to lie and it's not like this is a surprise, but I'm so happy Halloween is over. I was so happy that today I got to dress Grace in George in cute new church clothes. They make me much happier than silly costumes. I mean seriously it just doesn't even compare. Car sweater vest, purple horse sweater, and hugs and kisses!! I definitely was liking our church attire better than our Halloween attire!!

And because fall is in the air, we had Stuffed Acorn Squash. Grace said it looked disgusting. I can testify that it was quite the opposite. Delish!

The Gate

I was uploading my pictures from the past couple of days, and I was smiling at the faces of my two little ones.

George will only hold Grace's hand. If I say hold my hand, he says NO, but if I say hold Grace's hand, he'll run to her and grab her hand. Its so sweet.

Grace and George love big apples. They both had a big apple in this picture, and they were both saying "Umm...mmm....mmm...." Then I said to "say cheese" while I took this picture, and I caught George squinting his eyes. So funny.

Grace and I went on a Mommy-Daughter Date to the bank and the bakery. She was so excited, and when I told her it was going to be just us, she went to her dad and asked, "Dad, can we take your car?" I laughed at the thought of Grace caring which car we took, but I thought it was appropriate to take a picture to remember the sweet moment. I do agree that when it's just the two of us it is nice to have her by my side.

George is into climbing on my stool and his chair to reach for the things that his little heart desires. Spoons, water, toothbrush, toys, pen, scissors. Basically anything that we put up high to keep out of reach he is reaching for. It reminds me of Grace at his age. Grace still calls him Baby George, but he is so not a baby any more. I'm a little sad at how fast time flies.

Grace is a silly little girl who loves anything with chocolate and/or sugar, but I thought it was important to document that she will drink these to juices. John calls the Very Green Juice Blend Mango Candy drink, and Grace is none the wiser. I sipped it, and I will not drink it, but John disguises it in a blue cup, and Grace just drinks it up. John gets all the credit for making sure that Grace gets greens in her diet. I'll take credit for all the sweets.



And as I was looking over all these pictures, I remember this sweet Mormon Message that I'd watched a couple of hours earlier, and I started to feel badly for my behavior over the past 24 hours. You see during Grace's Quiet Time yesterday she sprinkled her sippy cup of water on my laptop keyboard. It was my fault for giving Grace the water while she was in close proximity to my computer, but all the same I was very upset about it. My computer is rather new, and after drying it out as best I could, I discovered that the touchpad was not working as well as several of the keys. I raised my voice, I said mean things, I pretty much pulled an adult temper tantrum. Not my finest moment. I was still upset as my kids went to bed, and I went to Target to buy a new gate for our house. I put it up between my sewing room/laundry room and the kitchen. No one is allowed in my room and I will be putting my computer and all my other valuables that I don't want touched back there. John says he can fix my computer. He says I just need a new keyboard. He says it's no big deal.



But to me it feels like a big deal. And then I saw this short video, and the last line made me stop and think.

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

As I was looking at all these pictures, I realized I had let a problem to be solved become more important than my children and husband that need to be loved. Grace said she was so so sorry again today for breaking my computer, and asked all day when we were going to fix it. John did some research online and promises to help get my computer working again or he will just buy me a new one.



Tomorrow I'll apologize to Grace for my behavior. I think I'll make it up to her by letting her dress up tomorrow night and walk around the neighborhood asking for candy. Then I'll let her eat it. And I'm sure I can come up with some way to make it up to John.

While I am going to leave The Gate up, I'm going to let my frustration go, and just move on. Computers can be replaced. Things are just things, but what matters most are the people around me. My Italian Stallion, Grace E Grace, and Georgie Porgie are worth far more than my computer, and they are irreplaceable. And I need to remember that.

I'm sorry family. Can you forgive me?

P.S. - On a much, much lighter note, in case anyone was wondering, I did find a gift to sew for my 13 year old friend. (Thank you best friend Annee for the hot tip.) A little ipod cozy. It can also double as a camera cozy. You can make this in under an hour. Try it!

Halloween Hater

I am not a fan of Halloween. I have several theories on why I'm not a fan, but I'd rather not bore my readers. This year Grace kept saying she wanted to be a star. Then a couple of days ago she said she wanted to be a dragon. George has no idea that Saturday is Halloween, and earlier today I had no idea what I was going to dress him up in. Should I try to sew him something? Should I try to persuade Grace to come up with a different costume idea? We were in the car today, and I was starting to get a little stressed out about it all, and that's when I made the executive decision to drive to Old Navy to see what was available. Guess what Grace and George are going to be this year?

As Grace will tell you - Leopards!

I'll be sure to take pictures of them in their costumes. Oh, and Grace was the one who wanted to match. Again, George has no idea what's going on, but Grace wanted them to be the same thing.

Decision made. Stress gone. No sleep lost. No marathon sewing session. The best $28 I've spent all month!

Sunday Dinner

Two hours of prepping, cooking, and cleaning,

for

Two minutes of eating.

Awesome.

Little George

There's a slight addiction to YouTube videos in our house.

I posted earlier today (it says Saturday, but it was posted today), but I keep meaning to record a thing or two about George and they keep slipping my mind. I need to get to bed, but before I do I must write these things down so I don't forget.

George will always be my miracle baby and tears spring to my eyes when I remember my time with him in the hospital, and while I try to not baby him or give in to his every cry, I'm a wimp with him. Really I am. However, I find my patience wearing thin with him when he cries for EVERYTHING that he wants. So I recently starting crying back at him. Just playfully and he can tell I'm not really crying, but I wanted to see what he'd do. It's been funny because he'll stop crying and walk up to me and pat my arm. That's his way of saying please stop. It's worked several times, and while I'm sure I have many more months if not years of crying, it is touching to see him completely distracted from his tears to come and place a hand on my arm to consol me.

George has also started putting his head down on my shoulder when I pick him up. This doesn't sound major, but I promise he never used to do that. Not even as a baby. He has been one alert little fellow. He's just always needs his head up to look to see what was coming at him next in life. I think what makes it even sweeter for me when he'll put his head down on my shoulder is that he'll pat my back. Just like I pat his back every time I pick him up. George pats my back. I love it and I love him.

I'm back...again.

In addition to my day job

taking care of

Grace

and

George,

This past week was insanely busy. Playdates, favors, lessons, dancing, sewing, cleaning, playing, and on and on.

It started out with 4 sewing projects.

A runner,

and 3 outfits. And, NO, I'm not going into business. This just so happened to be a busy birthday weekend, and while making New Year Resolutions at the beginning of the year, I made to goal to make everything hand made that I gave away. Year-to-date, I've only bought one present at a store. However, I have a 13 year old boy that I need to give a gift to and that has me totally stumped. Any suggestions?

I've sewn a lot, but I can't sew with Grace and George around, so all projects happen in the middle of the night. During the days, we had playdates, dance class, errands, outtings, and just sheer toddler fun!

Grace made us a snack one day last week. We talked girl talk, swapped secrets, and told each other the hard core truth. Grace told me,

"Mama, your short. You're just too short."

I couldn't agree with her more. I believe a friend's mom once told me I was below average. As in below the average height for grown women. Awesome. But what's a 32 year old to do about her height? Grace was sure to consol me when I told her I was sad about my height but couldn't do anything about it. "Oh, Mama, it's okay. Don't be sad." And if that doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will!

Grace and George have continued to love to jump in George's crib. I've thought maybe they should get a big trampoline for Christmas, but after watching them in the crib, I'm pretty positive a trampoline would be a death trap. George also loves to jump in the buff. If he has no pants on, the first thing he does is strips himself of his diaper. I can't leave my boy alone for a second!

John wishes this is what our kids were into instead of jumping in the crib.

Is there a kid out there that enjoys brushing their teeth? I usually have to threaten Grace that I'm going to hold her down like her Uncle Doug does to her cousins to get them to brush their teeth.

The weather here has been gorgeous. Not to be a bragger, and I'm sorry if you are experiencing winter weather already, but my kids ran around in shorts and short sleeves yesterday. I wore summer clothes. And this is why people sacrifice to live in CA I guess.

Church starts soon, and no one in my house is ready, but I'm having one of those mornings where my feet are dragging. I'm the task master in the house, so I can already see where this is going to go. Lame outfits, bad hair, and rushing out the door. I'm okay with it today. Life is just moving so fast. I can't believe that my baby boy is a year and a half and talking, and my oldest is a big girl. We will be running late today, because I just need to feel like life isn't rushing by me. That is how all week last week felt, and I fear this week will be the same, so today we are NOT rushing. I'll deal with being tardy. Today is about enjoying. Monday will be about getting things done.

And lastly, here's a video for Laraine. She says she likes videos. This might be similar to a video I already posted, but my favorite is at the end when George gives Grace a kiss and she squeals. I love these two!!