Never ending to do list

Today was a list day.  As soon as I got to work I made a list of all the things that needed to get done...felt good to check off all the items.  Then when I got home I made another list of things to get done this weekend for school and home.  Slowly they are getting checked off! I feel much better when I make a list because then I feel like I don't forget anything...sometimes I do though.  Making a list is a good thing to do as a parent but can become overwhelming if items are getting crossed off in a timely manner and it can seem that it is never ending.  So maybe I should change it into a ta-da list and be happy for items that I get checked off! Wahoo!

You were loved before you were born

Tonight while I was getting work clothes ready, Olivia grabbed a book from her bookshelf and climbed into our bed.  She of coursed cheered for me to read the book which I said, "Hang on a sec!" Then she tried reading it on her own (making up her own story by looking at the pictures).

Little did I know she grabbed the book You were loved before you were born  by Eve Bunting.  It was one of those books I bought a long time ago and forgot about.  So I snuggled up beside her and began to read...then I burst out in tears.  The book brought back so many memories and emotions of the time we were expecting Olivia.  We prayed and hoped and lots of other people prayed and hoped along with us.  I know that Olivia doesn't understand the magnitude of emotion I felt reading that book but it made realize the blessing and miracle that she encompasses. The book is about a couple getting ready for their baby- painting the room, getting a rocking chair, and all that one does to get ready for a baby.  I still remember doing all those things like it was yesterday!

There isn't a day that goes by that at some moment I am thankful to play princesses, make cookies with her, drive cars around her road with her, play doctor, laugh with her, clean up after her, tell her no a million times, get frustrated with her eating habits and potty habits, but I am thankful for those opportunities every day! The good and the bad evens each other out eventually!

I hope one night she pulls the book out again and we read it again so I can remember that time.  I also hope in the future, when she can understand, I can tell her our story and journey for her.  Then she will truly understand that she was loved A LOT before she was born and she is still loved A LOT after she was born and every day!

Sparkles

Oh sparkles...I mean static electricity...the static electricity is making bedtime miserable.  All of sudden Olivia is scared of going to bed.  She is afraid of sparkles.  She says she sees them all over the place in her room.  So last night I tried to be creative and put magic lotion on and then sprayed magic spray to make the sparkles go away.  That hasn't really worked but they were worth a try.  I also have been running the humidifier to help with the static and dryness from it being so cold. But you think a little girl would love sparkles!

"Snow" Day

Today there was no school.  Technically it is called a "snow" day but there was no snow...but it was really, really cold this morning. It was 9 degrees from what the thermometer said.  By the time I took the picture it was 10 degrees!

We ate breakfast and went to Gymboree! No one else came to class so we had fun with Ms. Liz all by ourselves!

Since it was so cold we had some minor issues today.  Brendon went to check the squirrel in the attic situation and found water in the attic by the heater. The end of the pipe that takes the moisture out was frozen.  The the toilet in the bathroom made a funny noise when I flushed it this morning and that pipe was frozen.  So he spent a long time and one trip to Home Depot to get it all fixed...we hope!

Olivia took a brief nap and then we did a snowman craft and had snowman pancakes for dinner!

Snow!

It is really cold here.  Not as cold as our Northern friends but cold.  So cold there is no school tomorrow.  It was even so cold that we caught a few snowflakes this afternoon after lunch.  Not much and nothing stuck to the ground but enough to see the magic of snow through Olivia's eyes.  She kept wanting to look out the window to see if it was still snowing and even asked after nap.  She was sad that it was not snowing anymore.  But she said, "Maybe tomorrow it will snow!" Well it will be about 5 degrees in the morning so you never know!

I tried to catch a picture of the snow in black and white and if you look really, really, really close you make be able to catch a flake!

Failure

Yesterday I about lost it at the dinner table.  I told Brendon that I felt like a complete failure of a parent.  We had a difficult day with Olivia yesterday.  Too bad she was happy and herself.  She had a ton of potty accidents...she even peed on the couch.  We were so not happy especially with that! She also didn't want to eat anything we gave her.  Finally after an hour battle at lunch she ate it.  Dinner she ate about 10 bites of it.  But overall we were both frustrated yesterday!  There are good days and bad days as parents and yesterday was 2 thumbs down for both of us. 

Today was a little better.  A few accidents...less than yesterday but we were really diligent on going to the potty.  We are still going to call the doctor and make sure everything is ok.  She was on some medicine for her eyes that could have given her some side effects.

Tomorrow is back to work...well we hope...there is some wintery mix coming tonight.  Felt a little better but still not 100% today.  I have a couple days of meds left so hopefully I will be better soon!