Oooh, and this one!

LOL, somebody make me stop!

Check out the laundry chute and the study on this one! How fun is that?



That's all for today, I promise. ;-)


~RCH~

A couple for comment

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of the house plans I added to my favorites today (click the images to see the full plan details):






I don't like the double-story foyer in the second plan -- that seems like a waste of space to me -- but otherwise I think they're both lovely.

Any comments from the peanut gallery?


~RCH~

A good resource

I still occasionally troll around for building plans, dreaming of the day I can build a home that's exactly how I want it. The trouble is, most internet sites only let you search by the most basic criteria: Square footage, number of bedrooms, baths, and garage. Look for an advanced search feature and all you're likely to find is another option for width and depth and available foundation type. Not helpful.

But last night I hit the jackpot! A building plans site that lets you search by all sorts of detailed criteria, like whether you'd like a family room or a screened-in porch or a Jack-and-Jill bath or a kitchen island. So many choices! Now I don't have to wade through tons of plans, find one that looks great from the outside, only to discover it doesn't meet my criteria for both a family room and a living room on the inside!

Hooray for Houseplans.com! I'll post some of my favorites for comment (that means you, Becca -- and anyone else, of course) in a while when I've got some time. :-)


~RCH~

Career day

If I had to guess the baby's eventual profession based only on what I know of her now, I would be fairly confident in saying podiatrist. She walks around all day with a broken stethoscope hanging from her neck, and the kid is COMPLETELY obsessed with shoes. Doctor + shoe fetish = easy call. Podiatrist.

The toddler, on the other hand.... She's a little tougher, but after her performance at DH's work party tonight, I think I might guess politician. She sure can work a room! She finished her meal earlier than everyone else (easy to do when you have a 5 bites per meal limit), so she turned around in her chair and struck up a conversation with the man sitting at the table behind her.

"Excuse me, everypeople," she began. (I think she would have said, "Excuse me, ma'am," her standard line, except that she knows boys aren't ma'ams. She must not know about sirs yet.)

"Excuse me, everypeople, my name is Toddler." She put her hand out for him to shake it. "I'm going to be flea." DH, a very amused look on his face, reminded her that she already turned three. "Yes, I'm flea," she said, awkwardly holding up three fingers.

The man was a good sport about her intrusion, and kept up the conversation with her for quite a while until she decided she needed to check the place out and mingle some more.

It'll be fun to see how the girls' interests grow and evolve and expand over the years. I have to say, I really enjoy this career of mine, this motherhood business.


~RCH~

And speaking of violently ill

DH got it first, but the rest of us have been hit as well. Yesterday the toddler and I had it simultaneously, throwing up within 30 minutes of each other. Sweet DH who, business trips aside, has a relatively easy schedule this month, called in sick so he could take care of us.

The toddler and I spent all morning in my bed, big bowls handy to catch anything projectile, watching cartoons (her), sleeping (me), coloring (her), and reading (me) to pass the time. She bounced back by lunch time, but I felt awful pretty much all day and all night. I even had a fever of 101F last night when I went to bed. ("I never ever ever get sick, never ever..." I kept muttering in my feverish haze.)

I feel one thousand percent better today. I'm still weak and I ache a little bit, but I can eat more than dry toast and drink more than Gatorade (which is nasty, by the way, no matter how many electrolytes you put in it!) and stand up without feeling dizzy or nauseated. DH went back to work today and I've had enough energy to deal with the girls, although I did put them down for naps a half hour earlier than usual.

I guess the days of my magical immune system are over. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.


~RCH~

Avoiding the appearance of evil

DH was supposed to have gone on a recruiting trip to Phoenix earlier this week, but a few hours before he had to leave he became suddenly and violently ill. He called the department and arranged for one of his colleagues, Julie, to go in his place.

He felt awful about making such a last minute change and leaving everyone in the lurch, but so relieved that Julie was willing and able to make the one day overnight trip.

Then a new problem arose: The other person who was supposed to go, Clay, announced that he couldn't possibly travel with a woman not his wife. (Please note that "travel" in this context does not mean have a steamy illicit affair; it means sit next to on the plane and stay in separate rooms at the same hotel.)

UGH.

It all worked out all right in the end -- they were able to rearrange some schedules and make yet another (even more last minute) change so that a male colleague could go instead of Julie -- but the whole thing irritated me. Still does.

I understand Clay's position on principle; it's good to avoid the appearance of evil. I understand why some couples would have a "no coed business trips" rule for their marriage, whether there are trust issues in the relationship or not. But in a case like this, his lack of flexibility seems more like following the letter of the law than the spirit because there was (IMHO) no appearance of evil. It's a pretty big stretch for anyone to assume that DH got sick on purpose just so that Julie and Clay could have their illicit tryst in Phoenix, Arizona, City of Lahv. His obstinate refusal to adapt made an already (but unavoidably) inconvenient, stressful situation even more inconvenient and stressful.

Frankly, I wouldn't mind if DH had to go on the occasional business trip with a female colleague (whether planned or a last minute emergency trip like this one). I don't care what other people think because I know what I know: That he is faithful beyond reproach in every aspect of his life. That's kind of why I married him.

I agree that it's good to avoid the appearance of evil, but do you know what I think is even better? To avoid the commission of evil. If DH were going to cheat, he wouldn't have to go out of town to do it (especially with the erratic and long hours he works; I wouldn't know the difference). And even on a trip with a male colleague, he could still pick someone up in the hotel bar or dial up an escort service! So what's important to me is not that it doesn't look like DH would do that sort of thing, but that he flat out wouldn't do that sort of thing.

Am I being too hard on Clay? Are you annoyed with his behavior or do you agree that one ought to stick to one's principles, however inconvenient to everyone else? Please discuss.


~RCH~

And now we are 3

Today is the toddler's birthday. Three years ago this precise moment, I was knocked out asleep. That kid wore me out. Still does, lol.

She made her grand entrance at 3:09 in the morning, 25 hours after my water broke at home. DH says that doesn't count as the beginning of my labor, as it wasn't until ~4:00 in the afternoon -- and with the help of pitocin -- that I began to feel any contractions, but I think that for future guilt-inducing purposes, we'll say I had a 25-hour labor. It sounds better. More dramatic.

Even if her impending arrival didn't cause me a lot of pain right off, it did leave me exhausted! I'd been awake all day Saturday (complaining that she'd never get here, that I felt about as likely to deliver within the next few days as I did at the very beginning of my pregnancy). I went to bed at midnight, and woke up at 2am when my water broke. I then stayed up all day Sunday -- wondering when those elusive contractions would start up -- and into the morning on Monday, by that time swooning both from the pain and from the occasional burst of Nubain through my IV. By the time she finally showed up, I'd been awake for nearly two days straight and gone through the most physically and emotionally exhausting experience of my life. When I finally got to sleep, I slept like the dead.

We're having a celebration tonight at Chuck E. Cheese's. Her best friends, our home teacher's family (including their five kids, ranging in age from 4 to 14), will join us for pizza and cake and tokens and games. The toddler is absolutely beside herself with excitement. We went to the grocery store this morning to pick out her cake (sadly, I'm not the good kind of mom who bakes cakes from scratch) and three balloons. She chose all mylars: A smiley face balloon; a heart that says "Happy Birthday!" on it; and a football balloon. LOL. I didn't know she was such a fan.

We got her two gifts: some bath visors -- hopefully that will alleviate some of her fears about washing her hair -- and a big stand up "Scarecrow" doll (which isn't really a scarecrow at all, but rather a red raider, the university's mascot that she's loved ever since she saw him at a basketball game). I think the scarecrow is going to be a big hit.

Ah, I love this child. It's still unreal to me much of the time that I am somebody's mother (let alone two somebodies'), but the most amazing thing to me is that I got such good ones. My toddler is bright and curious and articulate and energetic and funny and kind.

And awake from her nap now, so off I go....

~RCH~

Today's toddlerisms

Story #1:

The toddler, who used to be my most enthusiastic little fish, has decided she doesn't like baths anymore. She's terrified of getting the water in her eyes or mouth; I've suggested she close them both when we rinse her hair, but apparently it's too hard to scream at the appropriate decible level with your mouth closed.

(::Insert big eye roll here::)

She desperately needed a bath this morning; I'd let her go long enough without and a big cloud of dust had begun following her around. She whined and cried and stomped her foot.

"I don't want a bath!" she said. And then, her eyes darting furtively around for a solution, she licked her fingers, smeared saliva on her face and announced, "See? All clean. Don't need a bath!"

Story #2:

This second bit isn't a story so much as it's just a record of the cute way she talks. She was pretty worn out as we drove home from church this afternoon. "Mom," she said, "I'm tired. Everypeople is soooo tired. Everypeople needs a nap." I told her I'd be happy to let her and the baby have one when we got home.

We passed the drive in silence for a few more minutes and then she spoke up again: "Mommy, I very love you so much."

"I very love you too," I said, and we continued on our way home.


~RCH~

Again, not quite the right take-home message

On the drive to church this morning, I was -- momentarily -- so proud of my toddler and the obviously good job we've done of teaching her the gospel.

"Jesus loves me," she said (which is something she says frequently, often when I get frustrated for some toddler infraction and start to raise my voice). "He's going to come again--"

This, of course, is where I felt the swelling in my bosom. Wow! All our talk of Christ and His mission have sunk in to her little toddler heart! But alas, she continued:

"--and Santa Claus is going to come again. And he's going to bring me more presents."

Oh.

And wait. Santa Claus is going to bring her presents additional to the ones she got on Christmas day? Or he'll bring her more presents than Jesus will bring when He comes again?

I'm not sure. I figured it was best not to ask her to clarify.


~RCH~