Christmas time

One more week until Christmas Eve! I love Christmas for a number of reasons, but obviously I try to concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas. I have tried to remind Sallie Rose about what Christmas truly is for us. It is hard when you explain it and yet she still concentrates on how many gifts Santa will bring. I think having her participate in the church's Christmas pageant, attending Christmas Eve service, giving generous Christmas help to those less fortunate and thanking God in our prayers for the birth of Jesus will help. I can only hope.

Every year, I used to go home to Spearman for a week or so and I would take my Grandma Rosa Lee to look at the Christmas lights around town. It was something the two of us usually did alone. Then , she would send me in to get the remaining angels off the "tree" and go buy presents for all of them. She was the most generous person I have ever encountered. She didn't like the thought of a child not having something at Christmas to open. Then, most of our family would go to the Church and have communion on Christmas Eve. It was the most amazing part of my Christmas. Now that she is gone, I find myself sad about not having those traditions. Everyone is in different towns and have families of their own and in laws they have to spend time with. I miss her most of all. I think of her everyday, but I think about her even more at Christmas.

I put out her Santa figurines and try to do for others as she would do; however, I don't come close to doing what all she did. I take my family to look at the lights in town and think about how much she would love them. How can one woman make such an impact on a person's life? She was a devout Christian and she lived her life like one. It's hard for me to imagine that I could ever leave as much as an impact on someone's heart as she has mine. I hope that I will. I hope that I will not only love my own children/grandchildren, family and friends as much as she did, but also glorify God as I am doing it.

I would give anything to hear her voice again or give her a hug and kiss. I am so grateful to have loved her so much that is hurts. I pray for the families in Connecticut as they mourn the loss of their babies' lives that they can find hope in the Christmas season and the true meaning of Christmas, the promise that their babies are in an eternal life with Jesus and without pain.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Look at that poor baby! I promise she didn't cry except the last second when the lady snapped the photo.

I'm a working woman again!

I am officially a working woman. I am back working part time at my previous and first (out of college) Architecture job. So far it is working well. I come in after dropping the girls off, get to take them to the doctor if I need to and get home at a reasonable time to make dinner and spend a little play time with them. And, I actually have a small amount of income.

I will still be managing the rentals until it becomes too much and then we will take the next step to find a property management company or another option. I am assuming that at some point if this new job gets busier, I will have to give my rental responsibilities over to someone else. I hope and pray that with time our options will be clear to us.

Here is my beautiful office window overlooking downtown Savannah. It is really nice to be back in the working world. Ask me next week how I feel though.

Dear anonymous

This blog is for myself, my family and my friends. I started this blog so that my family could keep up with my family and our happenings if they choose. I am a positive person and try to be kind to everyone that I come in contact with. If you do not like what I blog about then don't read it! Simple as that. And if you do not have the courage or tact to make comments with your opinion, which you're entitled to have, with your own name then don't leave a comment. So, just to keep you from being a cyber bully, I have made my comments where they have to be approved by me before they are posted. That's right, because this is my blog and I determine what goes on here. :)

So if you think "I'm clueless, get off the computer, and go be a mother!" Then you just keep it to yourself or send me an email and I would gladly respond. Otherwise, be a coward and a bully somewhere else or better yet, why don't you get off the computer and find something nice to say to someone? That's seems like a better way to live your life. I'm sorry you are not happy, but this girl ain't taking it from you and you can't break my rosey outlook!

Surgery update

I am home from my one night stay at the hospital and things are going just fine. I feel alright, just tired and sore. I am having a hard time talking and eating, but other than that I can't complain.

Kevin has been a huge help with me and the girls. I have not been able to do anything since I got home so he has done it all. He is amazing! Thanks again for the help of Susan And Donna. We couldn't have done it without them!

I have been sleeping a lot and just trying to rest. Sallie Rose will not look at me or come close. My neck is pretty gross and she just is a little squeamish, which is how she usually is. She has been nice, just not wanting to come close to me. She let me use her blanket last night, but told Kevin not to let it touch my neck. That girl is too funny!

Here is a picture to see for yourself. The doctor said it was very large, larger than he imagined, but it did not have cancerous cells in it. They will do further testing, but he is pretty sure it is ok. He is an older surgeon and was grossly excited about how big it was. He said he hadn't seen one that big in a long time. Glad I could make your day doc. So back to bed I go to rest!

Phone pictures

These are my recent phone pictures. One is of Sallie holding her nose while sleeping, because Lulie took a big poo. There is another one of Lulie grinning looking up at Sallie Rose. She loves her sister.

Get out and Vote

I am grateful for today, because it is my Grandma Rosa Lee's would have been 92nd birthday and it's voting day! I am not real political. I like to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself and not get into it with anyone. I have strong opinions and strong beliefs, but I don't believe there is any reason to lose relationships over those beliefs. So, I just don't talk politics much.

 

I have begun to feel a lot stronger about certain issues as I get older, ripe ole age of 32 (in 12 days) and I am so torn about politics on so many levels. I used to call myself a Republican, because most of my family was and most of my beliefs were in that category. Things have evolved and things have changed. Am I a Democrat? Absolutely NOT. Am I a Republican? Not Really.

 

I do not vote for a candidate based on whether they have a R or a D next to their name. I vote for them based on certain issues. I strongly believe that all politicians have agendas based on who is paying them more (ie: Power companies, Medical groups, etc). Therefore, I try and do my homework and go with my gut instinct. I live a lot of my life on gut instincts and they are usually very good.

 

I think who you vote for comes down to what issues you feel strongest about. I am a conservative in the financial aspect and a liberal in social aspects. There always seems to be a few hot topics in every election: Abortion, Equal Rights, Taxes (who can understand this part), Medical Insurance and Welfare, and the Economy.

 

Here are my views, if anyone cares:

1. Abortion: I do not judge those who have abortions, but I would love to see everyone look into other options before getting an abortion. That is all I will say about that. I am pro life, but it is also not my place to tell another woman what to do with her body and unborn child.

 

2. Equal Rights: Do I believe that same sex partners should be able to have the same rights as me and my husband? Yes of course!!! I do not want someone else telling me that I can't be with my husband because he is much older than me. No maam. Won't happen. So, yes, same sex partnerships should have same rights as me and my husband.

 

3. Taxes: meh, who knows?

 

4. Medical Insurance and Welfare: I believe that any sick person should be able to go to the dr and get great medical help. I would never want someone to die on my doorsteps, because they couldn't afford medical treatment. What does that mean? I am not sure.

 

Welfare: Do I believe that those less fortunate than me should get help with their groceries, rent, and utilities? Of course. Do I believe it should be up to the government to run that program? Not really. I would rather choose to donate my time and money to helping those less fortunate right in my neighborhood. I would rather know that my money was really helping those who need it and not those who take advantage of it. Do I have a better answer? No. I spend many hours of my week donating my time to Urban Hope here in Savannah to ensure that those less fortunate than me in my community will get some help.

 

5. Economy: Don't know the answers to this. I know I keep my family barely scraping by every month and my husband and I have jobs (good paying ones too) and we still can't find enough money each month. That is not any one's fault but our own. We have a bad investment that we are tyring to save and it keeps us working hard to pay the bills. That is a story for another post.

 

So, today I voted and I voted for the best candidate that I thought would do the best for our Country. Does he meet all my same criteria? Not really. Does he seem to be a good person who will not sleep with the intern? Yes. Does he seem to know how to run a business? Yes.

 

Whether my candidate wins or not, I am still an American and I will still do my part to make my house, my community, and my Country a better place. No matter who is President, I still have God to answer to at the end of the day and we are all in his hands and we will all be judged at the end of our days and we don't need each other to do it.

My babes

Lulie had a wonderful baptism. She looked beautiful and was so sweet the whole time. As you can see, Sallie Rose was in the background being a little bashful. I love that she photo-bombed us. That kid is too funny. 

Can you tell from the pictures below which baptism baby is which? They look so much alike as babies. Both beautiful with china doll skin. 

Lulie's Baptism

Lulie will be baptized tomorrow at Church. I really love this part of being a Christian. It makes me so sentimental and grateful that we have the freedom to go to Church every Sunday and raise our children to know God and not have to worry about being condemned by it. Of course, there have been plenty of people in my life, mostly here in Savannah, that have condemned me or made fun of the fact that I go to Church regularly or attend a Bible study.

 

No, I am of course not perfect and still have a long way to go to really know and understand God. I do have a strong faith and I do pray about almost every little thing. I pray whether I should spank my children or rather I should take a certain job. I am a very strong believer in prayer and I know that what we pray for isn't always handed to us. We have to work for it and we have to know that no matter what the outcome is, it is God's plan.

 

I pray all the time that my girls will become good Christian girls and all around good people. I want them to treat others' with respect and give to those who are less fortunate than they are. And I do want them to learn how to pray and have faith in God. I want them to also know that they are never alone and that no matter how sad or lost they feel, tomorrow will be better and they have God to carry them through.

 

So, tomorrow we will stand at the front of our Church in front of about 400 people and introduce our child into our family of Christians. She will be baptized and hopefully it will be the beginning of her love and service to God, her community, and the World.

 

On a side note, it will be interesting to see how she reacts. This child squeals and shrieks with glee all day long and smiles whenever anyone talks to her. So, hopefully she will let out a big happy squeal.

 

Sallie Rose

I have really struggled with Sallie Rose for the last year. She was such a sweet, happy baby that really liked to follow the rules and have fun. Now, she is extremely moody, tests the limits of the law all the time, and can be down right rude to other people.

I have tried every type of discipline in the book and it works for a day and then the next day she's back to the same habits. She has improved greatly over the last month. I thought I would never have my sweet child back and then it slowly started changing. I love this girl so much. We have a great time together and she is so sweet and fun and silly most of the time with me. When we spend all day together, she is such an angel. We have no problems and no bad attitude. She is my first born baby and I am so proud of her, but she frustrates me to no end some days. She is a lot like her daddy in so many ways. He too frustrates me to no end most days. Kevin and I are definitely on the "opposites attract" group, and some days those oppositions really show and wear on our relationship, but we work through it.

Sallie Rose on the other hand, is still very hard to understand somedays. She has started K-3 this year and is going 5 mornings a week. It has been a hard 3 weeks of school. I knew from the first week she was not happy. I asked her teacher on Monday what was going on and she said it was hard to get her to participate and she was crying and yelling a lot. Ugh...just when I think things are good with her she starts acting out again.

Honestly, it breaks my heart. I want her to be happy, I want her to have fun at school and I try spending alone time with her and doing fun things , but it doesn't seem to work. She was very rude to one of Kevin's aunts the other night (which she has done to my family a lot but not his) and Kevin was so mad. It's awkward and we honestly have tried so many things to try and get her to stop doing it. She does not care. How do you make a child be nice when they are determined not to be? I have decided you can't. We have discussions, we spank, we do time outs, nothing works on this one.

So, I have fretted over her behavior at school all week and decided to march in that school and see what the problem was. She immediately started acting whiney and didn't want to participate. I told her she needed to participate or go home. She wanted to stay. I asked her if she would like me to volunteer one day next week and spend the morning with her, she was so excited. I knew right then, that's all it would take, for now. I don't get it. I see her 7 days a week and she still seems like she misses me and gets a little jealous of my relationships with other people. If all it takes is me spending some time at her class, then I'll do it.

Sadly, I know this is not then end of the road for this type of behavior. I know deep down that we will struggle for a long time with her. I don't like saying this, but the behaviors she has like Kevin's are so strong and opinionated. It's not a bad quality, it just has to be guided and controlled. Kevin didn't have that growing up. He and his mom have identical personalities and she worked all his life. She was very busy and they did the best they could with him. Plus, he was an only child. That is hopefully one aspect that will help Sallie with her attitude. She knows she is not the only person in the World and it doesn't always go her way.

I pray that I can guide her and encourage her in the right way so that she will flourish and use her very strong traits for good. Because let me tell you, she is so intelligent, so pretty, soooo determined and strong willed and that child will do great things if led in the right way. God has blessed us and her and I will try all her life to be the best parent to her and love her no matter how different the 2 of us are. God gave us each other for a reason and we will do the best we can to use her and our God given talents to make this World a better place.

Sallie Rose, you keep me on my toes and you have been the best big sister to Lulie and I pray I don't let you down and give up on leading you in the right direction and being a good example to you and Lulie Belle.

Lulie is 4 months old

This baby is growing too fast already. I see now why some people just continue to have more kids, holding a baby is such a short and blurry phase that you start to miss it once they hit about 3 months. I, however, will deal with missing it and not plan on having anymore babies!

 

This little girl is 4 months old now and she has really made her place in our family. She is happy, easy, and so cute! She wakes up smiling in the morning and doesn't get cranky unless she is hungry or sleepy. Then, when she does get cranky, she doesn't really cry, she just kind of yells out a couple of time and you now what she needs.

 

She loves to talk too. She will squeal and gurgle and yelp. She makes us laugh all the time. Sallie Rose will be in her playroom and Lulie will be with me in the living room and she will yelp out with glee and Sallie Rose will laugh at her from her playroom and say, "Lulie you are so funny". She really loves Lulie and Lulie already loves her. Sometimes, Sallie Rose will get a little too close or be a little too loud and startle Lulie, but otherwise when Lulie hears her sister's voice she starts smiling immediately.

 

I can't get over how much joy she seems to have already. She will be drinking her bottle and you will look down at her and she will stop drinking and give you this have smile and it just melts my heart. She is so unique already and I am pretty sure her and Sallie Rose will be a lot different. I think it will make them closer and hopefully we can instill in both of them that although they are different, they are both special and great girls. I want them to love one another for their differences, not in spite of them. I want to try and never compare them and never say things like, "well your sister picked up her toys" or "your sister isn't crying, why are you being a baby?". I really dread other people doing this as well. I have so many siblings and some of us fight all the time and don't accept each other for all our flaws and difference and I want to try and avoid that with my girls, if I can help it. I think if we start at home with accepting people for they are and loving them and seeing the best in them, then that will carry out into the World for them and they will treat everyone like that. Plus, it helps me really watch how I view people as well. Having children really opens my eyes to improve myself while I am trying to make them good people and children of God.

 

Lulie is sleeping a little better during the day and at night. She goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up usually at 5:30am and we can usually get her to go back to sleep until about 6:30 or 7. She is going to "school" twice a week in the mornings and has already been labeled as the one with the personality. She is 13lbs and 5 oz and she is 25-1/2 inches long. She checks out perfectly and is tall and thin according to their charts.

 

Although, I can't stand the idea of her not being my baby, I am so excited to see what she will be like as she grows and gets even more of a personality. We love you Lulie and are so grateful you made our family a family of 4.

 

Here she is in the morning:

 

 

Here she is on her 4 month birthday:

 

 

Here she is on her first day of school. I promise her hair did not look slicked back like that by the time we got to school. I just had to wet it so I could get it calmed down a bit.

 

This picture really captures how she is. Laid back, chillin with a grin.

 

 

 

Reality show

There are days that I really feel like I could have a reality show. We come across so many interesting people on the rentals. We have great people, we have terrible people, we have funny people and then there are the others. It truly is amazing to see how different people are and how nasty some people can be. Nasty in a cleanliness way and nasty in a behavioral way.

Last week, I came outside of one apartment and saw an older lady sitting on one of our porches. She was sitting in a chair, no big deal. I said hello to her and then realized that her pants were at her ankles while she was sitting. I immediately called 911 as I was kindly asking her what she needed and why she was there.

She said she was looking for Lou and Stacy. She assured me they lived upstairs, obviously I know all my tenants names and that was not who lived here. That's beside the point, her pants were at her ankles, that was the main thing that alarmed me. I told 911 there was an indecent lady on my front porch, blah blah blah. She finally walked off while I was waiting for the police and as she pulled up her pants walking away, I went hesitantly to see if she had pooed or peed. Thank goodness it was just pee, but still very gross. I slowly moved the chair off the porch and dumped her toilet in the yard. Then I thought, she was sitting to pee and she had to have gotten it all over herself, so gross. Obviously she was mentally challenged or very high. This is one of many incidents that I am tired of dealing with at our rentals.

Then, today Kevin went into one of our apartments at last minute to check on something. The tenants weren't home so he let himself in and in one of the bedrooms he found huge mushroom caps drying on tin foil. He of course expected it was the hallucinogenic type, so he calmly called the tenants to let them know they were being kicked out, after one night of living there. Come to find out, the guy swears it is a hobby and they are not for drug use. Sure, we will accept that for now. I'll keep my eye on him.

It is amazing what people think they can hide behind closed doors. I am tired of opening those doors and wondering what I might stumble upon. Reason number 3039977293 that I would like to sell our rentals.

Ready for a change (this could get long)

I don't discuss our rental properties too much with most people, compared to as much as I'd like to complain about them all day, everyday. I try not to complain in general, I know how blessed I am and how much worse our situation could be. Kevin and I however have reached a point where we are not sure we can work this hard and this much for something that will show no progress for another 15 years. Is it worth it? Is it worth spending every summer working myself to the bone cleaning, painting, calling the cops, showing apartments? Is all this enough to feel like I am losing such precious time with my gifts from God, Sallie Rose and Lulie?

In the past month, we have lost Kevin's dad, worked non stop to get the apartments ready for turnover and Kevin and I have hardly seen each other. Poor Kevin didn't even have time to sit down and mourn the loss of his dad. He was too busy to be sad. That's sad. This has been our life for 7 years! Since we got married, we have struggled with time and of course financially. For what?

Kevin has a great job, I have a masters in Architecture and I am highly employable (sorry to sound a little vain). I work extremely hard and could very easily make a decent living working in architecture and still have weekends off to spend with my children before they are grown up and off to college. For the last three years, I have given up my career in my field to help our family by managing the rentals. This year will be my last year, one way or another. Is it bad everyday? No, it's not, but for 4 solid months it is bad. It is nothing but stress, cleaning, getting contractors to try and do their job, and of course talking on the phone to annoying parents of children who are going to college for the first time. These parents don't want to do any research on the area or housing, they want to call me, talk for an hour, then decide they don't like the location, price, etc. I have way too much to do to baby them and it actually angers me that they think my time is so unimportant, that I can spend all day telling them where everything is in Savannah. 

 

I would say in the last month, Kevin and I have had one conversation outside of rental talk and child talk. We have not done a single thing that was fun on the weekends with our kids. If I am home on Saturday, he is at the rentals, and visa versa. Then, Sunday comes and we go to Church and come home and are so tired, we have no energy to do anything. The thing that really got me this Summer, was after I had Lulie, I had to immediately go back to work. I had zero maternity leave. I had no time to lay around and snuggle my new baby. I was either on the phone or responding to emails. I only stopped to feed her and change her. And poor Sallie Rose, no wonder she was such a terror at that time, neither one of her parents could give her the real attention she needed. We go through the motions and that's about it.

 

So, it's time for a change. What will that change be? I am not sure. I know that I am done missing my children and being so tired that I can't bring myself to play Barbies. I am done missing my husband and discussing nothing other than rentals and when the baby ate last. I am done missing my family and not having the money or time to go see them when I want.

 

Are there people who work harder than me? Of course. Are there people who have jobs that are a lot more gritty and dirtier than me? Yes. And as I am praying that God will give me the strength to make it through this turnover time one more year, there are people out there praying for their children who have life threatening illness. I am not naive and I am not ungrateful for what I do have. There just comes a time when you decide something doesn't work and you either make a change or you stay miserable. I like to make changes and not be miserable. I love life, I love my family and friends and I have done my part of this business for 3 years. I deserve to make a change and I can. Kevin is ready for a change too. He does not want me to have to do this anymore than I want to do it. He feels awful that he brought me into this situation, but God brought us together at these properties and he had a plan for us. This is not Kevin's fault, I chose to do this in order to help my husband.

 

Soon, we will begin trying to sell our rental properties and yes I do pray that there is someone out there that wants to buy them. And I pray that I can make it until the time when they get sold. I know I can, but I don't want to.

 

I have learned many thing about myself through this. I have learned I am strong, I do work very hard, I can handle many different people and their personalities and I am also very handy. This situation has brought Kevin and I closer (odd since we never see each other), and it has definitely made me more grateful for many things in my life. God does have a plan for each of us, I have no idea why those plans work out the way they do, but I try to trust him and pray that I will go in the direction that he intends me to go. I just hope the next direction is straight to the bank with a check from an investor who just purchased all of our houses. :)

Guess who is 3 months old?

This little lady is. She is such a good baby and so easy. I do wish she would sleep a little better at night, but we can't have it all. She smiles all the time and just hangs out when she is not sleeping or eating.

Sometimes, when I put her in her swing or chair and go about doing my chores, I forget she is even there because she is so quiet! She is hardly ever fussy and most of the time will give you a big toothless grin.

She has been a true blessing to our family and we love her more and more each day.

Hotel room, men vs women

It is so ironic the way Kevin and I differ in our hotel living vs our actual home living.

At home, I am a super clutter freak. I can not stand clutter. It makes me crazy. The mail stacks on the dining room table and I have to restrain myself from throwing it all in the trash from clutter rage. I have to organize the playroom every week so that I don't go in there and just throw all the junk away. Kevin, on the other hand, completely clutters his side of our bedroom with clothes, magazines, books, a safe (for the moment) and I'm not sure how he gets out of bed.

At a hotel, completely opposite. He puts all his clothes in the closet or dresser. He gets so angry with me because I walk into a hotel room and throw my bag down and then proceed to scatter everything around the room. And now that I'm in charge of 3 bags and lots of clothes for me and the girls, he is so annoyed! It actually makes me a little happy, so he can feel how I feel 360 days of the year. Wha hahahah!

So here is my latest hotel room trashing. It's so freeing for me!

Prayer

This week we lost Kevin's dad, Edward. He had a very risky heart surgery performed on Wednesday. The surgery went well, but after the surgery his body just couldn't survive. He passed away on Thursday afternoon and of course went to be with God.

This is the second time in my life that I have watched someone take their last breathe. I watched my Grandma Rosa Lee take her last breathe and then watched the funeral home take her body away just hours later. Each time I was so grateful that I knew in my heart their souls had gone to heaven already and it was just their body left for us to bury into the Earth.

This time was slightly different though, because Ed was having a high risk surgery done and was basically told he had the choice to have the surgery or he had the choice to wait for a very large aneurism in his heart to burst. He chose the surgery in order to take the chance that it might work and he might survive. He chose the surgery for Nancy and for his grand daughters. He went back and forth on his decision and just the day before, he told Nancy he was not having the surgery done. Of course he did and I assume he knew when they took him back to the operating room, he might not come back. He told Nancy it had been a great 54 years and went in. I am so sad to think of how scared he might have been, but I would like to tell myself that he was peaceful about it.

I caught myself doubting prayer yesterday. I had guilt that maybe I hadn't prayed enough or maybe I wasn't faithful enough or maybe since I had a small amount of doubt he wouldn't survive, he didn't survive. Then I thought, this is God's plan. Well if this was God's plan, why did I even pray about it? I have been a Christian all my life and I strongly believe in prayer, but I had doubt for the first time in 31-3/4 years. It didn't feel good. Maybe it was me grieving? Or maybe it was because I am still struggling with having a newborn, working part time and trying to be a supportive wife/daughter in law, and my mind is tired. My thoughts are tired.

Kevin and I discussed it and Kevin was so insightful and so at peace with Ed's death. He was so grateful his Dad didn't suffer. He could have been in a vegetative state or he could have been in pain, but he really never came out of sedation and when they removed the ventilator it only was a few minutes before he took his last breathe. Kevin feels God was kind and merciful to his Dad. I see that, but I am still struggling with my thoughts and wrapping my hands around the situation.

If he didn't have the surgery, how much longer would he have lived? I will never know the answer and now I must pray that God will help me have faith to believe that he did what was best for Ed and for Nancy. I want to believe that and I want to be grateful he did not suffer at all, and I am.

I do miss him already, so does Sallie. We stayed the night with Nancy last night and Sallie told me quietly that she missed Pop Pop. She has not cried, but she was very quiet the whole time we were there. He was a wonderful man and we will miss him. I pray for Nancy and Kevin that after the dust settles and everyone is gone, they can grieve quietly and that they are truly at peace with his passing.

The many faces of a 3 year old

This is what a typical day looks like with my 3 year old:

Happy one minute, sad the next, mad, and of course silly. She's gorgeous in all of them!

July happenings

Lulie is 2 months old today. She is doing really well. She has a little bit of a tooting problem, but that runs in her Mother's side of the family. Other than that, she is healthy and easy. I am very grateful for her health and I am very aware of how blessed we are to have 2 healthy children.

She sleeps fairly well. She does not really sleep as much during the day as Sallie Rose does, but it probably also because she has so many places to go with her big sister that she doesn't have time to sleep. I feel as if sometimes she is in her car seat more than she is at home. She just goes with the flow. I am sure that she will be a more laid back child than Sallie Rose, just for the fact that she has to be. Her World is much busier and much louder than Sallie's was. I was the 4th child and that is why I am so cool as a cucumber. :) Not really.

Lulie eats well, and just last night she slept from 9 pm to 7:30 am. She woke up once and I gave her a pacifier and she slept through the entire night. I am not sure that this will be the norm, but I think we are getting close to her sleeping through the night on a regular basis. I am very happy for that. Although, I haven't really minded getting up with her once a night to feed. I am a lot more relaxed about not sleeping than I was with Sallie. Sallie Rose trained us a lot for this 2nd child. She is our coach.

Sallie Rose has been really wonderful lately. We are all finally adjusting to our new life. It only took 2 months! She is still very Mommy needy, but not as bad and not so much in a bad behavior anymore, but more loving. I can't blame her, I am pretty fun to be around. :) Once again, not really. Sallie has been taking swim lessons once a week. The first 2 lessons were dreadful and she cried the whole time and would not put her face under water. Then, the 3rd lesson she cried less and went under water. And finally, she is getting more comfortable with the fact that her hair and face will get wet in the pool. Not to mention, we were at a friend's house the other night and she almost drowned. It was very scary, but she also realized that she needed to learn to swim in order to be safe and have fun with her friends. And it reassured me that however painful it was for me to watch her cry during lessons, it is would be a lot more painful to have her unsafe in the water.

Sallie Rose is also head over heels in love with her baby sister. I am so glad that she loves her so much. She just sits and watches her sometimes and laughs at her "tiny hiny". She is so happy to have her around and she can't wait for her to crawl and play with her. I hope that their love for each other grows and that they never have a sibling rivalry that causes deep seeded jealousy. I try not to compare them in any way and I always try to give each of them the attention they need. I hope that we can continue this way and have 2 girls that are best friends.

I am back to work again. As nice as it is to get out of the house, I forgot how much work and drama I have to deal with at the rentals. My first full day back, I stepped on a used "contraception" in our parking lot. We have our summer prostitutes back apparently. So, I dealt with calling the cops, getting a gate lock and so on for the first full week back. I would much rather have a babysitter come over and me go lay by the pool or go shopping or workout. Of course everyone wants that.

We are doing well here in the scorching hot, humid Savannah and we are enjoying our new addition.

The crying games

This week the theme at our house is crying. It is so hard to watch my babies cry, but I know as long as they are safe it is fine.

Sallie started swim lessons last week and she is always so excited to go but when we get there it is nothing but crying and screaming. I am not even sure why she cries, all she is doing is swimming with the girl and occasionally having to go under water. We do all these things at the pool when we go. So, I stand outside and listen to her cry while she does swim lessons. I know eventually she will stop being scared and learn to swim, which of course is a necessity in my book to keep her safe.

Lulie is now 7 weeks old and I have begun her sleep training. I did it at the same age with sallie rose. She was beginning the routine of falling asleep in my arms and then the minute I put her in her bed, she would wake up crying. So began the crying it out method. I put her down a little awake and she cries. I comfort her every 5 to 10 minutes until she falls asleep on her own. Not fun. 45 minutes is usually how long it takes. We have had 2 rounds of it already and hopefully it will begin to take less time and only a couple of days.

Then there's Kevin. He has been sick and very tired and he cries a lot too. Only I don't comfort him, I let him cry it out for hours before I just kick him out of the house. :) kidding

It has been a hard 7 weeks with a newborn, my father in law's health issues and of course the lack of sleep. Some days I wouldn't trade it for the world and other days I would trade it for a good 2 hour nap. But usually when I am gone from the house for more than a couple of hours I miss my little family so much.

I look forward to a fun summer.

Lulie- 6 weeks

I can not believe Lulie is already 6 weeks old, tomorrow. It has already gone by so quickly. Overall, she has been a great and easy baby. She basically sleeps good at night and just hangs out during the day with a few short naps throughout the day. Until yesterday, when she evidently was not doing well on the formula we were giving her. She has been a little fussy and gassy for a while since she has been on all formula, but I didn't really think much about it; however, the night before last she was up every 30 minutes crying and tooting.

I decided to switch her formula yesterday and she seemed so much better last night. She is still sleeping as I type, which is unusual for her to be asleep this late. We are not on a real set schedule, but we are getting there. I am still trying to learn her patterns and it is hard sometimes when I have such a busy day with Sallie Rose to try and pay a lot of attention to the fine details of Lulie. I feel bad about it, but this is the life of a 2nd child.

She stills has a full head of black hair and she is definitely growing, but she is still very tiny and petite like Sallie Rose was. I love holding her tiny little body up close. I never really enjoyed that stage with Sallie Rose, I was always looking to put her down so I could sleep, work, etc. I wish I would have done more of that with Sallie, but this time I know to enjoy these moments, because very soon she will be 3 1/2 and all you will be doing is washing her mouth out with soap, putting her in time out, or taking away her toys and occasionally have a good time with her.

Speaking of 3 1/2 year olds, Sallie Rose is doing really well. She has been such a good big sister. She genuinely loves Lulie and wants to be with her all the time. She can't wait for her to wake up and will stand by her cradle and see if her eyes are opening. She kisses her and laughs at her to see if she will smile. She calls her "Lulie Belle" or "baby Lulu". She has been so great with her and I love seeing her eyes light up when she sees her in the morning or when we pick her up from school.

We are still having some problems with her being a little naughty though. She loves to argue and talk back and I am trying so hard to stay consistent and discipline her so that she will not be a disrespectful brat. I take away videos and toys on a daily basis and I am constantly having to remind her to "act right". She seems to do fine at school and everywhere else, but at home she loves to test the limits. She also gets really tired and cries over the littlest things, but she refuses to take a nap. She will intentionally do something (like throw a toy) knowing that I will discipline her (throw away anything that she throws or slams down) and then when I do, she falls to the ground screaming. It is really frustrating and I am crossing my fingers that with continued discipline and encouragement, this will pass soon. I feel like this has been going on for months now.

When she is in a good mood and we are not having to discipline her constantly, she is so fun and silly and I love to be with her. She loves to play pretend things, like school or church. She still loves to dress up and she still loves to do anything artistic. We go outside a lot and color with chalk or just water the flowers. She also loves to play with other kids. I really love my girls and am so thankful for them, even when they are naughty. Ask me that in 12 years when I have a 15 and 12 year old.

Look how happy Kevin is to have 3 girls!

Beautiful Butterfly

Sallie Rose had her ballet recital on Wednesday night. She was precious! She performed for about a total of 45 seconds and then we had to set through the rest of the hour and half show. She was exhausted by the time we got her at the end, so the pictures are not real great. She was tired and hungry.

Sallie Rose and her friend, Ruby.

And these are the pictures they took at school. They had a professional come take them. Pretty fancy.