Getting To Know You...

Birth month: April

Height: 5'6”

Eye color: Grey-blue

Hair color: Strawberry blonde with a lot of gray that I cover up

What does your name mean: “Youthful spirit”

High school graduated from: Lake Braddock

Summer memory: We took this awesome trip to NE and Canada when I was going into 10th grade and my brother was going into 5th grade. It was so fun – I think my brother and I fought most of the time but the sights were cool and we both remember it as our favorite vacation ever – my mom, on the other hand, remembers it as the “vacation from hell.” Not sure why…

Favorite TV shows: The Closer, CSI Miami, Friends

What's on your mouse pad: It's sapphire blue – very plain

In the car- AC or windows: Definitely AC...I hate being hot (I know, we’re crazy to be moving to TX)

Favorite game: Rummikub – used to play it all the time with my grandmother – some of my best memories at her house are her and I sitting at her kitchen table, drinking Diet Coke and playing Rummikub

Favorite drink: Diet Coke, hands down – with lots of ice and a bend-y straw

Favorite food: Fajitas, chocolate, ice cream from Chik-fil-A

Favorite colors: Turquoise, hot pink, orange and black

Favorite sounds: My girls laughing, my husband coming through the door

Favorite smell: Fresh strawberries and blueberry muffins

Favorite thing to do on a weekend: Anything that doesn’t include laundry

Favorite soundtrack: Footloose

Where do you see yourself in 10 years: Married with maybe one more baby

First thought in the morning: Am I going to have to change the sheets on one of the girls’ beds

How many rings before you answer the phone: Depends if Leah has hidden the phone in her toybox or under a couch cushion. I call the house from my cell phone (and vice-versa) all the time so I can find the other phone.

Chocolate or Vanilla cake: Vanilla with chocolate frosting and sprinkles

What do you drive: 2003 Toyota Camry. Hoping to get a minivan soon

Thunderstorms cool or scary: Very cool

What is your zodiac sign: Aries the bull (no comments from the peanut gallery, please)

What do you wear to bed: Sleep pants and a top, unless I’m going to work out in the morning – then I sleep in my workout clothes (running bra and all) so that I’m all prepared – I’m much more likely to actually work out if I’m already dressed for it

Do you eat stems of broccoli: Blech – they’re stringy

If you could dye your hair one color, what would it be: I’ve always wondered what I would look like as a true blonde

Favorite brand of gum: Orbit peppermint

What is your favorite quote: Other than some favorite Bible verses, “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” - Oprah Winfrey

Have you ever been in love: Absolutely, and I still am

What's on your walls in your room: Pictures of my kids, my dried bridal bouquet, other dried flowers, a clock, and an impressionist painting

Is the glass half-empty or half-full: Half full and lots of ice :)

Which do you prefer - Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese Doritos: Neither – I like plain corn chips

Which kind of milk is your favorite: 1%

Are you a righty, lefty, or ambidextrous: Mostly a righty, but I eat with my left hand and do a lot of other things equally well with my left hand. When I was a figure skater, I jumped and spun in the direction of a lefty

Do you type with your fingers on the right keys: Yep – I can hold a conversation with someone and look at them at the same time I’m typing an email to someone else about a completely different subject. It freaks my coworkers out

What's under your bed: Maternity clothes, clothes that used to fit me when I got married, a couple of magazines, some of Anna Claire’s ponytail holders, a binky, some of my china, and a bunch of keepsake stuff

What's the best number in the world: 19 – my birthday

What is your dream car: Anything that has room for a 3rd car seat :)

Nickname: J, JJ, Jillian

Bacon Bits Or croutons: Neither - sunflower seeds

Favorite Salad Dressing: French

What type of Shampoo/Conditioner: I have some natural organic stuff I bought at Wegmans – I like it because it smells fresh. There’s a lot of shampoo I can’t use anymore because smells really get to me ever since I had chemo. We went through about 14 brands of soap when I was doing chemo – EVERYTHING made me sick

One pillow or two: 3 regular, plus one body pillow

Currently in your CD player: The soundtrack from Hairspray

Hobbies: gardening, shopping, playing with my kids, blogging, selling stuff on eBay, reading

Do you get along with your parents: Yep – they’re awesome and I’m blessed to have a great relationship with them

Pet peeves: Poor customer service, cloudy/rainy days, warm drinks, junk mail, the month of March (it seems as if spring will NEVER arrive), products that don’t live up to my expectations, people who are mean to my husband

Other favorite things: Remission, Easter decorations, summer glassware with patterns, open-toed shoes, capri pants, the sun on my face, hugs from my children and husband, a nap on the couch with the window open, BBQs, picking berries, climbing into bed with a good book or a People magazine, a trip to the grocery store by myself

Most humiliating moment: When I was in my 20’s, I interviewed internally for a promotion, and during the interview, I fell out of my chair onto the floor – feet up, skirt down, with the lady peering over her desk at me, saying “Honey – are you OK?” I didn’t get the job.

Favorite holiday: Easter

Does Anyone Have a "Get Out of Jail Free" Card?

So, Anna Claire was sent to bed early tonight because she'd been disobedient. She climbed in bed, and asked me to tuck her in. She said, "Momma, let's say our prayers." I said, "You might want to ask God to help you be a little more obedient." She said, "OK."

She began to pray..."Lord, thank you for Daddy, Momma, and Leah. Help the bad guys get out of jail tomorrow - and help them to be more obedient and listen to their Mommas."

The irony of her prayer was not lost on me.

I'm thinking we'll let her out of jail tomorrow. :)

18 Months Old!

Leah is 18 months old! Her 18-month mark was actually on Monday, but I didn’t get a chance to post anything until today.

It’s so funny how different she is from Anna Claire. While Anna Claire was more than a pound heavier at birth, Leah is clearly a much bigger baby. Anna Claire is more petite in features, foot size, head size (she was in the 5th percentile). Leah, on the other hand, is in the 49th percentile for weight, the 85th percentile for height, and a whopping 95th percentile for head size. She had her checkup yesterday and all went well. We had to laugh when the nurse practitioner referred to Leah as “highly spirited.” We would completely agree. We have our hands full. She is in the throes of tantrums, and shows all the signs of being extremely strong-willed. She also has a much more active temper than Anna Claire. But you know what? Honed correctly, and used for good instead of evil, these are great traits that I want my little girl to possess. I want to raise daughters who know right from wrong, aren’t afraid to be vocal about it, and who have a clear sense of themselves. So, Gary and I have some work ahead of us, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Leah now enjoys playing with her baby doll, her Fisher Price Little People, and doing anything her big sister is doing. Leah especially loves to hunt down magic markers that Anna Claire may have left lying around, and colors on anything she can get her hands on. She is also experimenting with our reaction when she turns the TV off, dunks her head in the toilet, and stands on the dining room table. So far it hasn’t been favorable. She can’t stand to wear clothes, so we’ve had to cut the feet off of her sleepers and turn them around backwards so she can’t get them unzipped and take her diaper off.

A big thank you to my cousin Autumn for her encouraging words about tantrums last week. Because Anna Claire never did that, it’s hard not to take it as a personal failure when you have another child who constantly makes her displeasure known. Autumn gave me some great tips for how to deal with them and they’re working well (and I’m a little more relaxed). Autumn and I have children who are similar ages, so it’s been fun to compare notes.

On Saturday night, while Gary was still in Houston, the girls and I went out to dinner with our good friend, D. for some fajitas at Rio Grande. Leah LOVES fajitas. When I asked her if she wanted more, she did the sign language sign for “more”! You have to know how long I’ve been signing to her to really appreciate the magnitude of this. Until Saturday, she had looked at me like “Momma, you can sign ‘til the cows come home, but I am not a trick pony and I’m not going to do sign language.” Seriously, she’s quiet in her defiance but makes it clear that she has no intentions to comply. Anyway, I was very excited and she is now so proud when she makes the sign for “more.” The only problem I’m finding is that she often signs “more” and then gets frustrated when I can’t figure out what she wants “more” of – she does it somewhat randomly.

Leah’s vocabulary also continues to expand – something we were concerned about at her 15 month checkup. She’s just talking a little later than Anna Claire did. Her pronunciation is getting better and sounding less garbled, so it’s evident that she’s hearing better as a result of the tubes we had put in last October. She still says just a few words, but she is showing some improvement.

That’s about it on the Leah front. I can hardly believe she’ll be two in August – where did the time go?

Nancy Drew, Super Sleuth

I absolutely love Nancy Drew. I received my first Nancy Drew book as a gift when I was 8 years old - Nancy's Mysterious Letter. I read it in the back of our station wagon in 1979 as we drove across country, listening to Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, and John Denver. Ah - those were the days! We were in the process of moving to Spokane, Washington.

When I was little, I always wanted to be Snow White - she had jet-black hair that I thought was so stunning, and porcelain skin. Well, I had the pale skin, but not the hair. I was so excited once I realized that Nancy Drew had titian hair (I finally figured out it meant "strawberry blonde.") I had found my new hero now that we had the same color of hair.

I love Nancy because she's decisive, independent, and not afraid to confront the tough stuff in life. And, she always has the perfect frock for an Emerson College dance in case Ned is in town. :) I like a woman who's well-prepared. She and her loyal friends, Bess and George, can solve basically any murder, with just the contents of their suitcases (they travel a lot). They always seem to have the right tools to do their sleuthing - even though they didn't carry big purses. I've always been amazed by that.

I now collect the original Nancy Drew books. I've learned a lot about them, and love to poke around in antique shops to find volumes to add to my collection. I'm working on collecting the entire series. I'm currently searching for #5 (The Secret of Shadow Ranch), #13 (The Mystery of the Ivory Charm) and #23 (The Mystery of the Tolling Bell). If anyone spots one of them, pick it up and I'll reimburse you! I'm looking for the yellow book club editions published in the 1950's and 1960's. The books have a matte finish, not the shiny finish that the current publications have.

Gary bought me an awesome Nancy Drew trivia book for Christmas - it's very cool. It was definitely one of my favorite gifts. Did you know that Carolyn Keene, the author of the Nancy Drew books, was actually many people working as ghost writers? My sister-in-law even gave me some fun Nancy Drew fold-n-seal stationery a couple of years ago - it is so fun! She and I have a shared love of a hot cup of tea, a warm blanket, fuzzy socks and a great book - especially our latest find of a Nancy Drew mystery.

Leah's First Haircut

Leah had her first haircut today. Here are the before pictures: Her hair had become very long in the back, and because she absolutely refuses to let me put a barette or bow in the front, her hair hangs in her face all the time.

The temper tantrum before we left:

She was fine until she sat in my lap at the salon. Then she began to scream - the paint was peeling off the walls, she was screaming so loud. She screamed through the entire haircut. Do you have any idea how crowded my salon is on Saturdays at noon? I felt so badly for all the other patrons. Anna Claire, being the consumate "cruise director," went around to each person, helpfully explaining that Leah is shy and this was her first haircut. Needless to say, we caused quite a stir.

As soon as the lady finished, Leah stopped crying and was completely fine. Here's her new "do" - her bangs look crooked but they're really not - she ran her fingers through her hair right before I took the picture. It really shows off her "baby blues"! Isn't she yummy?

To Daddy From Leah

Daddy,

I miss you! I can't wait until you come home to see us tomorrow. Don't worry, I've kept Momma very busy and I've got everything under control. I've learned lots of new tricks and tried them out just to see how quickly Momma caught on - I even tried to climb out of my crib! And just so she didn't think she could relax just because you're out of town, I woke her up at 5 am this morning. You might not want to call her this afternoon - she'll probably be taking a nap.

When you get home, I'll show you how I can stand on the dining room table, dunk my head in the toilet, and eat Anna Claire's new stickers.

Just wanted you to know that I'm taking really good care of everyone here - Momma has slept well each night and she even went to bed before 8 pm one night this week!

I have some great hugs ready for you. We all miss you and can't wait to spoil you rotten when you get home!

Love,

Leah

A Few Updates

Well, Leah is fully recovered from whatever stomach virus she had. Thank goodness! She is now busy climbing up on top of the dining room table whenever she can, and has now set a new all-time record for how quickly she can undress herself - in less than 2 minutes the other night (after her bath), she had taken off a t-shirt, her jammies, a onesie and her diaper and was standing completely naked in the pack-n-play. During this time, all I did was get Anna Claire out of the tub, put a towel around her, and walked with her into my bedroom. Oy! I know Gary is so proud that his older daughter wants to give people massages when she grows up and Leah loves taking her clothes off. It's what every daddy dreams for his girls - one working in a massage parlor, the other in a strip club. I've recommended that Gary increase his blood pressure medicine. :)

I finally figured out that if I put Leah's diaper on backwards, she couldn't get it off. It worked - all night! Score one for Momma!

Gary is still in a lot of pain from his rib injury - he went to the doctor on Monday before he left town and they were kind enough to give him a stronger painkiller and some antibiotics for his respiratory infection. He seems to be holding up OK now though.

Anna Claire is very excited about Valentine's Day - though she was completely grossed out yesterday when I told her she needed to make valentines for the boys in her class as well as the girls. She looked disgusted and said, "Why? They're BOYS! Ugh." I know those words made her daddy proud - ha! I think he'd prefer that she not date until she's 40.

On Monday, we took Gary to Reagan National airport to fly to Houston for Dorothy's funeral. When we were driving toward home, Anna Claire pointed to the Capitol and said, "Momma, that's where Daddy used to work!" I said, "Good job, honey!" Then she said, "See that tall pointy thing?"

Me: "Do you mean the Washington Monument, honey?"

AC: "Yep, that's where Jesus died on the cross."

Um, not quite.

Then, last night, when I put her to bed, I had been talking to her about not being so bossy to her little sister. I was fairly certain she was basically ignoring me. So, I decided to move on to having her say her prayers. She prayed, "Lord, thank you for today. Please help Aunt Dorothy be nice to everyone in heaven and not boss the other people around."

Out of the mouths of babes!

Dorothy

Gary's beloved Aunt Dorothy passed away a few hours ago. She was 88 years young. Although we'd been preparing for her journey into eternity for awhile (she was on Hospice), the news still caught us off-guard.

We had some very special times with Dorothy. She actually flew up to VA to stay with us during Hurricane Rita two years ago, and we loved having her stay with us. One of our funniest memories of Dorothy was when I took her back to the airport in DC to fly back to Houston after the hurricane, and she gave the American Airlines agent her Republican National Committee membership card as her form of official identification. When he told her it wasn't considered an acceptable form of ID, she gave him a real tongue-lashing! It was so funny. She was really offended! It took us a long time before we finally found her driver's license in her purse (I was a little frantic, as she was still driving in Houston and I was concerned that maybe she didn't even HAVE a license anymore!). We now have her RNC membership card and look forward to framing it - it will be a great reminder of one of our funniest times with her.

We loved Dorothy very much, and she was like a mother to Gary. She will be missed greatly. We had a wonderful visit with her last August when we drove to Houston to see her, so I thought I'd share some pictures from that trip.

...And Some Days, The Bear Eats You

My dad has been known to say, "Some days, you eat the bear, and some days, the bear eats you." Today, I think the bear might have eaten us.

Our day started at 4:45 am with Leah waking up and crying. She settled down, but then began to cry again, so Gary went into the nursery to see what the issue was. She had thrown up all over her crib. So, we changed the sheets, gave her a good wipe-down and changed her jammies, then I took her downstairs to hang out for awhile. Anna Claire also decided to get up (5:15 am), so all of us were awake at that point. We played downstairs and Leah eventually got sleepy again around 6:45, so I put her back to bed, and I laid down on the couch for a quick nap. Leah woke up at 8:00, crying again - she had been sick again in her bed. Now all of her toys in her crib - including the ever-present Elmo - needed to go for a swim in the washer. I changed her again, changed the sheets again, and got her bundled up and ready to go so I could take Anna Claire to school. In the car, Leah vomited again 3 times. When we arrived back home, I gave her a bath and changed her again (we're now on outfit #4 if you're counting). We played for awhile, then I needed to run to Wegman's to pick up a couple of things. As I was pulling into the Wegman's parking lot, Gary called me on my cell phone to tell me that one of his students had come up behind him in the hall, hugged him tightly, and in doing so, dislocated or fractured one of Gary's ribs. I told Gary to file a worker's comp claim and call me back (this would be the HR director in me). I got my stuff at Wegmans, rushed home, put the cold stuff in the frig, then drove over to Gary's school to get him.

Gary got in the car, and we headed toward the hospital (he was in so much pain he couldn't even open the car door by himself). About a half-mile up the road, Leah vomited again all over herself and the back-up jammies I brought with me. Gary kindly suggested that perhaps I had enough on my hands, and asked me to take him back to his car at the school. He drove himself to the emergency room and I drove home (during which Leah was sick two more times). I bathed Leah AGAIN, put her in the 5th set of pajamas today, and put her down for a nap. She cried off and on for an hour, and finally I went into her room to find that she had taken off her clothes and her diaper, and was standing in her crib, stark naked, teeth chattering. At least she hadn't thrown up again!

Gary is home now from the ER - turns out he just dislocated his rib, and it's back in place now, so other than being in a lot of pain, he's OK. Leah is doing fine other than being cranky and having a mild fever - and her illness seems not to have affected her much, as she has learned 3 new things just today - how to climb on top of the coffee table without the stool (picture above), how to move the baby gate on the stairs so she can get up the stairs, and how to get DOWN the stairs whenever she wants. I cannot believe a sick baby would have the energy to do all this, but we're talking about Leah here. She has energy and a sense of adventure that Anna Claire never had.

I need a nap and a massage. But other than that, I'm holding up just fine. When you compare days like this to days like we had in 2003 and 2004 when I had cancer and blood clots in my heart and lungs, one like this is a cinch. And we are blessed beyond what we could imagine.

Here are some action shots of Leah today - standing on the coffee table and wearing Anna Claire's hot pink cowboy boots - she's a Texas girl at heart!

Great Is His Faithfulness!

I love it when God shows up in a big way. He’s really outdone himself this time. A friend of mine lost her husband last June after a very short battle with liver cancer. She was 9 months pregnant with their 5th child. Friends, family and the local community realized that Shelbie would need a lot of support, especially since she’s not able to work right now because all of her children are under age 7. In December, my friend Karen decided to launch a website that people could link to on their blogs, email, facebook sites, myspace pages, etc, that would enable people to send $5 ($1 for each child) in a Christmas card. She did that, and our local CBS news affiliate picked up on the story and featured it on a couple of their newscasts. The money began to pour in. It was so neat to hear the amazing stories of people giving sacrificially to Shelbie and her children, and thousands of cards and letters arrived – some containing precious stories and memories of David’s life.

Yesterday, they featured Shelbie’s story again on the news. Do you know that this little fundraising effort, blessed richly by God, was successful in raising over $148,000?

Here's the story on our local CBS channel. http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=68130&provider=top

And if you want to know more about Shelbie and her family, here's their story. It’s an amazing one!!! http://www.davidchoproject.com/

(and if someone out there in blogland can show me how to insert a hyperlink that WORKS, let me know)

On Top of Spaghetti, All Covered With Cheese...

Leah LOVES spaghetti. Next to macaroni & cheese and Nilla wafers, there's not much that makes her happier. It's her favorite. We snapped some great pictures last week when we had spaghetti for dinner (by the way, Gary makes the most AMAZING spaghetti sauce in the crockpot - I'll post the recipe for it soon because it's a must-have for your recipe file!).

Though I didn't capture it on film, at one point, Leah just planted her entire face in her red bowl of spaghetti and started slurping up the noodles. Yep, it's feeding time at the zoo, folks! And yes, that's spaghetti in her hair. :)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

We had a great weekend!

Anna Claire had her friend Sarah over yesterday. Sarah's expecting a baby sister in April, so her mom and dad needed to spend some time getting their house ready. Sarah came around 11 am, and the girls played with their Polly Pockets for awhile, changed clothes approximately 4 times (sometimes wearing each other's clothes) then I took them out to lunch. After that, we made a trip to Target, then came home and made some neat stained glass crafts that can hang on a suction cup in your window. After we finished that, Gary, Leah, the girls and I all went out for pizza, then to FamJam, a kids' program at our church. Sarah and Anna Claire had the best time dancing and singing. After we came home, the girls changed into their jammies and then I painted their fingernails and toenails. They had a fabulous time together. I did have to laugh though - two firstborn girls, bossing each other around all day. I can relate since I am a firstborn girl (I've blocked my little brother from being able to post a comment - ha ha), but I couldn't hold a candle to these two! We were exhausted by the end of the day, but we'd had a great time.

Today, we just relaxed, I watched a movie with a good friend, and we watched the superbowl and ate some awesome chicken enchiladas that Gary made. Also noteworthy would be Leah's new tricks she's learned this weekend, which include climbing up on a dining room chair and sitting at the table (which means we can no longer put stuff on the table we don't want her to see), pulling the tablecloth off the dining room table - and whatever else may be on it - if she thinks there's something she should see, dropping her baby doll in the toilet, and dragging the stool out of the bathroom into the living room, then standing on it so she could climb up on the coffee table so she could stand on IT! She was so proud of herself. I'm contemplating adding on another level to the house because I'm running out of space to put stuff that I don't want her to have. She also has figured out how to open my cabinet with my big bins of flour and sugar, so I'll have to find a new hiding place for them as well. Anyone besides me tired yet?

Leah, wearing her pajamas and jewelry, taking a look at Anna Claire's freshly-painted toes.

Shake What Your Momma Gave Ya

It’s a rainy day here. It’s POURING, it’s very grey, and very winter-like. West of us, they have ice, so I’m grateful it’s just rain. But definitely a “stay in your jammies and watch a movie” kind of day. After Leah woke up this morning, I put her in the pack-n-play in our room so I could get ready for work. She was in there playing for awhile, and I was blow drying my hair. She was playing with one of her electronic Elmo toys (next to my husband, Elmo is the most popular guy in our house), and she hit something on it that made it start playing a song. I turned around to look at her, and she was standing in the pack-n-play with her back to me, and just dancing her little booty off. I’ve never seen a kid dance with her whole body the way she was doing it. Her hair was dancing, her arms and little chubby hands were dancing, and her toes were dancing – she was boogying like crazy, completely uninhibited. It was hilarious.

Isn’t it funny how the weather can affect our moods? I was feeling very sluggish – not really terribly enthusiastic about anything. Then I saw Leah. She has no idea that it’s raining and yucky outside. She just heard something she enjoyed, and she celebrated. It reminded me to be more like that. When I finished chemo, I remember thinking “I will never take anything for granted again.” But life gets in the way sometimes. I’m glad I have my girls – who don’t know to be inhibited - to remind me to celebrate the little things, to enjoy being alive, and shake what my momma gave me. :)

I Think I Have a Technology Disability

I have a confession to make. Even though I love my blackberry, I’m a complete technology-phobe. Is there a clinical term for that? I have an MP3 player that I got as a gift last summer, but have never downloaded any music onto it – I’m afraid of it. I know, I’m a wimp. People tell me an MP3 player will transform my life. I’m not so sure. If my walkman from the 1980’s (the best decade EVER) still works, why would I need an MP3 player? I just figured out how to master the use of my disc-man! And don’t get me started on the Tivo thing. My VCR still blinks 12:00. One of the reasons my husband and I had kids is so that they can help us fix the satellite when it goes out!

My husband, on the other hand, is drawn to technology and various gadgets like a “hawk on a June bug” (to quote my father). He lives and breathes this stuff. He just got a phone that apparently can function as a phone, TV, email, and simultaneously direct planes to land at Dulles. All I know is that his phone (despite the cost) has YET to change the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Harrumph. Not terribly useful in my mind.

So, if there’s someone out there who can explain to me how to use my MP3 player IN PLAIN ENGLISH (with some “feeling words” thrown in so I won’t feel totally ill-at-ease), let me know. Until then, I’ll continue to write my blog entries with pencil and paper. Ha ha.