[sipping a as decaf as you can get cafe mocha]

Since I’m [so graciously] cozying up to the idea that lots of trucks and ruckus will be arriving in late February or early March, I decided that some pink has to go in the way of decluttering Kyla’s stash of baby clothes. I would really love to sell a few boxes of them on eBay, but not really sure how to go about it. The other half of me would love to donate them to charity because honestly, it’s easier than boxing, shipping and hoping someone buys them. So, I think I’ll go the easy route and put them in the trunk and take them to the Goodwill. The boxes are doing no one any good sitting in my basement collecting dust. Kris thinks I just want to buy new if we have another baby girl; I just want to free up the space for his things downstairs.

I already decluttered Kyla’s toybox in anticipation of Christmas afternoon at grandma’s. Kris put a small TV and area rug in the middle room for the children to have a playroom. It’s an amazingly cozy and fun area. I need to find some good art or designs to put on the wall. I would frame Kyla’s art, but I need to wait a few more months for that.

Next in order would be the middle bedroom for Asher. It needs a fresh coat of paint and the fireplace finished. It should take a good weekend or two to spruce up his space. I’m not in a hurry as the babies sleep in the bassinet in our room until the sleep through the night. We’ll get his a dresser for his clothes and some shelves for the necessities, which after having Kyla for 20 months, are not very many items.

Well, since masculine ruckus outside has woken Kyla from her nap, it’s time to get her from upstairs and bring her down. Oh since I did add fierce boys to the title, I should add why. This little man is quite the kicker, puncher and active baby– much more than my little bug. We’ve made it to 29 weeks without any hitches. We get another sneak peek at him next Monday afternoon. I’m way excited!

Yesterday I turned 24– and yet I feel 15. I had a wonderful day with family and friends who doted lots of love on me. Hubby and Kyla took me to Walmart for Rain-X latitude windshield wipers and Mother’s Day gifts. He also surprised me with…a CrochetMaster! It contains all of the steel and aluminum hooks I will ever need. I was speechless when I opened it! I am currently using my G to crochet a baby blanket. *squeal* I also received a Sword Study Bible. It is purple and large print and KJV. It is perfect. I have such a thoughtful husband who really knows me. I love him so.

I also spent a bit of the afternoon using some birthday money purchasing some new skorts. I went to Walmart and returned two skirts that wrinkle so badly. It was obviously cheap material. The woman accidently scanned three instead of two and gave me back $12.66 too much. Though I thought it was a nice birthday present, I would feel horrible if her drawer was short, so I returned the money. She was grateful, though with the way she scanned the return, they would have been short a skort, not money. I wouldn’t want 12 bucks to keep me out of heaven. I went over to JCP to purchase a few more quality skorts [great finds I might add] and found a coupon for 10 dollars off a 50 dollar purchase. I praised God since He was so kind to place that in my path. I found a cute outfit for Kyla and left the store with 3 skorts and a baby outfit for 45 dollars. Now we’ll both be stylin’.

Life has been wonderful lately. Though, I say that most days, it doesn’t make it any less true. I decided to throw together a blog post while the little one naps. She was in desperate need of a nap for some reason. She has this new cry where she is unconsolable unless I put her in the crib and close the door to let her nap. Kyla is much more active at this age and requires a few cat naps– dog naps around here– to get through the day. She will be a year old next month and I cannot believe how time passed so quickly. I learned so much about God, my hubby, and myself in the past 2 years and more specifically 11 months and a week. I’ll be thinking of twelve profound lessons for a special post next month in celebration of her first birthday. We take the car on April 6 for repairs. I scraped the side from the passenger side back door to the bumper when pulling around a turn in our narrow alley. I still feel foolish that me, a frugal nut, has to spend $500 on a deductible to repair our car. I understand that life happens even when we are careful and mindful of our surroundings. The Lord has given me much peace about the situation and has provided for us time and time again– this time included. That may mean no Wendy’s after church this week and next, but we’ll make it work and fit in the budget!

Great frugal find: last.fm If you are looking for a great internet radio with amazing music selections, scoot on over. At the moment, I have an Andrea Bocelli station playing. Your playlist revolves around an artist that you enter. Most [okay, 99%] of the music played is something that I enjoy. Thanks to hubby for finding this station.

Oh, yes, last but not least, our dear Komet had her spay on Wednesday. She is pathetically needy, but so sweet.

I don’t think I have ever [okay, almost ever] saw a product on the net and said I want. Check this out…

They extend the ‘life’ of onesies and other clothing. This is going on my wish list/buy next pay list. Kyla is at least a size bigger on top because of her torso length. She’s still in 6-9 month pants and then in 12 month tops. OOO! I’m excited.

Kyla and I washed and dried 3 loads of clothes and worked on a giant granny square afghan complete with scalloped edging. We had a great day together cleaning and working on projects!

I’m working on an afghan– easy double crochet– and I asked Kyla to help me [un]tangle the yarn! She’s such a great helper. Projects are much more fun when they involve little slobbery fingers and giggles!

Kyla had her six week follow up appointment with the ophlamologist on Tuesday and he’s concerned about her eye pressure creeping higher. It was 17 at the one week follow up and it was 21 on Tuesday. It was originally 27 when she was first checked. Her doctor in Martins Ferry would like to check the eye under anesthesia and that will happen on January 5. We’ll be switching insurances at the beginning of the year, and Praise God, the doctor closer to our house is covered. That means only traveling to Morgantown if she needs surgery, which is most likely what will happen. So, we shall wait and see what happens on the 5th and go from there. Another praise is that outpatient surgeries are a $30 copay with the new insurance versus $250 with our current. Please keep her in your prayers and thank you for lifting her up to Jesus whenever you think of it.

This is the reason I don’t want to work outside of the home:

Miss Princess Kyla

I’ve come to the conclusion that right now in my life I’m right where I am suppose to be. Not in that everything in the universe is cosmically in order. No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about how every longing of my soul has been and is being fulfilled.

Growing up I was pushed and pushed [by my selfish ego] into so direction that was necessary. I needed to get an education because why would you want to be a homemaker. It was necessary to have a career before children because you need to save money for kids. You must wait to get married until after you are well established in your career, have a house of your own, have 297237 cats, and are miserable before you even consider dating. It is mediocre to make your home a haven and enjoy simplicity. Homemaking is something that you do if you can’t do anything else. You must be into math and science because you have to prove the stereotypes wrong. Don’t you just sit there and eat bon bons? Don’t you want to make a difference in the world: the real world. Won’t your kids be weirdos if you homeschool them? Kids need to be around other kids or else they won’t know how to interact with people.

Before I come up with any other ridiculous arguments against the traditional role of wife and mom, think of all the benefits of momma staying home with her babies and [not so babies]. It brings stability to a child’s life. A child will never question what is more important: money or me? A child knows his worth- pricelessness. When a wife respects her husband and Bibically submits, children see real love displayed by mom and dad. The same can be said by a loving husband cherishing his wife [no matter how many little sets of eyes are watching]. When mommas are the first ones to teach their babies and not rely on the state to indoctrinate or maybe teach them about um, something. Note: I have a B.A. in secondary mathematics and have been in the classroom in the past two years. I know exactly what goes on in there and it isn’t learning. It’s called nonsense. Not that there aren’t great teachers, but our husbands are first responsible for our children’s education. Many times they delegate that to moms because they are hard at work during the day making sure they earn the money and respect that allows us to stay at home with our littles.

No one is perfect; there will always be times when I should have bit my tongue [off] but I smarted off [today] and honestly, felt horrible. I have turned off the baby monitor because Kyla would not quit crying in her crib. I know one day [okay, right now] that I will regret not going upstairs and snuggling with her. Yet, in all of this imperfectness, the order is perfect. Even if I have a sink full of dirty dishes [not tonight ], my heart is full of love for my husband and my daughter. No one could ask for more.

Merry Christmas. Go ahead and say it to someone. You might just put a childlike smile on his face.

We went to WVU Eye Institute yesterday for Kyla’s appointment with another ophthalmologist. She agreed with the pediatric ophthalmologist she saw on Tuesday in determining that Kyla does have congential glaucoma in her right eye. I just knew that something was not right when I noticed her right eye is significantly larger than the left. Leave it to the bug to have two- yet connected- rare diseases/syndome. I am thankful to God, however, that we caught both of the things very early. The last thing I want for my little one is for her to lose her sight due to my ignorance. The next step is yet another trip to the Eye Institute for surgery [trabeculotomy to lessen the pressure in her eye] on November 6. We’ll stay overnight down there and then have a follow-up the next week. I am thankful that Kyla is healthy in every other way and growing so well. She’s always smiling and loves her family so much. She is a joy to us and everyone who meets her! Please pray that she will continue to do well and the surgery is a success.