Project Life: Week 2

I am writing this with my back cozied up to the fireplace. This winter has been fairly mild--so mild, in fact, that some of my bulbs started to pop up like it was March--but the past few days it has been cold, cold, cold. I think today's high was 7, and right now the windchill is -4. Brr!

Monday, January 11

Ellie has been ornery since she was a baby--never in a malicious way--only in the way that makes you laugh and love her more. So much like her Great-Grampa Copes, from whom the tinge of red in her hair comes as well. Tonight, as is common, she climbed up into my lap and it wasn't long before she was in full-on stinker mode, squealing and giggling herself into a fit of hiccups. She is so fun.

Tuesday, January 12

Elaina was disappointed that I wouldn't be dropping her off at the bus on Monday, so I drew a little picture for her to see in the morning. I came home to this on Monday afternoon, and it became the latest piece of art to decorate my desk, and to remind me of what waits for me at home.

Wednesday, January 13

Today was a normal day at work followed by a normal day at home. After reading a chapter or two out of their latest Junie B. Jones book, Josh hosted a dance party for the girls, courtesy of Gangham Style. Their dancing is fierce, focused, and hilarious. 

Thursday, January 14

Today, Josh met me and the girls at the gym after work. He and I put in about 35 minutes (about a zillion minutes not enough if you ask Elaina, who had to leave the kids' room with quite a bit of coercion), and we were greeted with yet another amazing sunset on our way home.

Friday, January 15

The desk that Josh built over break has had some issues, so he set out to fix them this evening. Yuna was not a fan of the drilling, and she found herself a safe, cozy spot on top of my foot until Josh was done. 

Saturday, January 16

This morning, after lounging around what seemed to be a far too short of time, we got up and headed to Pearce. Josh took the girls in the pool while I died exercised on an elliptical. (I am glad they are at such a flexible age. They love going into the kids' room during the week so we can exercise after work, and they love having a chance to go in the pool on the weekends. It makes keeping the commitment to exercising so much easier!) After we came home, showered, and had lunch, we headed to Peoria for some odds and ends shopping, which included new jammies for Elaina and new coffee for me and Josh. I also found an adult coloring book in the Dollar Spot at Target, but it was commandeered by a younger audience as soon as we got home : )

Sunday, January 17

Today the girls woke up with coughs, and I woke up with an upset stomach, so we laid low in the morning and only ventured out after lunch to get groceries. Rita invited us over for dinner, and everyone was there. We had delicious vegetable soup with homemade tortillas and Mexican rice. It was our first get together since Christmas, and a good time was had by all.

Papa entertained the girls during dinner

Project Life: Week 1

TimeHop keeps reminding me of how much fun it is to look back on our days, which seem so uneventful in the present but are so sweet in memory. With that prompting, I'm starting Project Life again, not for any great reason except that I don't want to forget these wonderful days of our everyday lives.

Friday, January 1
After a two-night sleepover with Gramma and Pampah, we met my folks in Canton to bring the girls back home. They had a great, great time, complete with a New Year's Eve toast at midnight (Kenya-time), and Josh and I enjoyed having a couple of days to ourselves (one of which included sleeping in to the unheard-of-for-the-last-six-years hour of 9:30), but it was great to get them back!

Elaina met us with her trademark smile

When we got home, the girls busied themselves playing under the desk Josh had spent the previous day building and watching him play some Donkey Kong on the big tv. As he was finishing one of his boards, I happened to outside and saw the sky was on fire. What a beautiful sight.

Saturday, January 2
After having the girls back for all of 22 hours, they were whisked away for another sleepover, this time with Gramma Rita and Arcadia. Josh and I took advantage of our time by going out to dinner at One World, where Josh had a pizza and I had a quinoa stuffed red pepper. We then ran to Target and came home and watched Hector and the Search for Happiness, since we're both suckers for Simon Pegg movies. It was a very enjoyable farewell to our holiday.

We've become quite the hummus connesuiers)

Sunday, January 3
After gathering the girls yet again, we came home to watch the final Bears game of the season, relax as a family, and try our best not to burst into tears at the thought of the next day (well, that was mostly me). Elaina entertained herself by tormenting playing with Yuna.

Later, the girls put on a play for us with the dollhouse they got for Christmas.

Monday, January 4
While Josh and I returned to work with varying degrees of wailing and gnashing of teeth, the boys seemed content to return to their rightful places as kings of the far side of the house. When we came home, Winston was happily perched on the bed and meowed contentedly when we came in to change.

Later, when I went to read a goodnight story to the girls, I found Chappu claiming a spot on the end of Ellie's bed, right on top of the blanket Santa left her.

Tuesday, January 5

This morning I was back on bus duty. Elaina made sure I was entertained while we waited.

After dinner, we headed over to the library. The girls got busy building their towers and somehow convinced us to let them stay for story time, even though it put us past their bedtime a bit. Kind of hard to feel too bad about it when Ellie was blowing us kisses during the story and Elaina said we were the "bestest Mommy and Daddy ever" upon leaving.

Wednesday, January 6
Today we got some very exciting news: Rachel was selected as WREX's Teacher of the Week! It was so, so deserved, and I couldn't be more proud. Since WREX is out of Rockford, we streamed their evening news to catch Rachel's segment. It was wonderful and highlighted one thing anyone who meets Rachel will recognize in her--her huge, kind, sweet heart. I am so thankful that we have the technology to share this moment with her!

Auntie Rachel's fan club waiting during a commercial break

That's my sister dancing with those students!

Thursday, January 7
Ellie decided to show off her superhero skills.

Friday, January 8
After work today, I finally got to meet baby Alex! His mama, Sarah, is one of my good friends from work. Alex was due in January but came on Christmas Eve and had to spend six days in the NICU. Thankfully, he's doing well and is as cute as can be! After a few baby snuggles, I drug Sarah away to have a few moments to herself and get a drink from Starbucks. I had so much fun, even though we weren't gone long. I told her later that I'm dragging her to Dairy Queen when it warms up, and I'm already excited about it!

Pretty mama and handsome little man

Saturday, January 9
We survived our first week back at work and back at school, so we celebrated by having a perfectly normal Saturday. We ran to Costco and then to Hy-Vee, where Elaina was quite happy to push her own cart...

.
..and Ellie was quite happy to photobomb.

She then insisted I take a nice picture, because she is not a "photobombuhr".

We drove home slowly in a beautiful snow and finished the day with Aladdin.

Sunday, January 10

We only got about 2.5 inches of snow from Saturday into Sunday, but I am glad it snowed at all, because suddenly January remembered what it is and it got coooooold. And if it's going to be -4 when we wake up in the morning, it may as well be beautiful.

Exit 2015

One of the best things about where we work is that, each year, our offices are closed from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. This year, Josh and I both had several vacation days to spend in December (the company has a  'use 'em or lose 'em' policy), so our last day of work for 2015 was December 18--two gloriously full weeks of time off. Now that the busyness of Christmas is past, I've had a few moments to reflect on the year as it comes to a close. Here is a look back:

What was one goal you accomplished in 2015?
At the end of last year, I was very, very discouraged about my job. I spent the first couple of this year licking my wounds and then, in typical Amanda fashion, I made up my mind that I would have to do something more about it than blindly submitting job applications, something that made me decidedly more uncomfortable. I went on an information interview downtown, which turned out to be a complete waste of time, except that I was able to enjoy a beautiful spring afternoon walking to and from the building. But I didn't stop. I asked my division manager for help. I asked colleagues with whom I had worked in the past. I spiffied up my resume. And then, in what seemed to be a perfect aligning of the stars/planets/universe, one of my contacts suggest I give another manager a call. I did. And we set up another informational interview on a stormy spring day, when the tornado sirens went off outside. Less than two months later, I was moved into a role in her group. It has been such a good change, very challenging and stretching and rewarding. Josh told me last year, when things seemed so dismal, not to give up, that I wouldn't be stuck in the same job at the end of this year. And he was right.

What is your favorite memory of 2015?
The two trips Josh and I took to St. Louis to see the symphony. Watching Elaina hop around with excitement when she "graduated" from preschool and when she hopped on the bus for her first day of kindergarten with the same enthusiasm. Meeting my new nephew, Zechariah. Staring contests with the girls at the dinner table. Seeing a friend from college and having pie with Dr. and Wanda Giles on the same day. Listening to Ellie sing a song from her Christmas program: "Wayndeewyr, wayndeewyr, sake your fweffy tawyl".

What is your least favorite memory of 2015?
Josh's job was incredibly stressful for the first half of the year. I hated to see him so stressed out. About a week after our first trip to St. Louis, I got sick with a very painful infection. Life was pretty unpleasant for an entire week with that one. The realization that my beloved Gramma Copes isn't doing well, that into her 92nd year, she is changing, and nothing can be done about it. 

What was the best trip you took in 2015?
St. Louis, both times. Josh and I went in May to see Distant Worlds, a Final Fantasy symphony. After a two-plus hour wait, we had lunch at Pappys, enjoyed beer at one of the Urban Chestnut brewpubs, and fell asleep watching Friends in our hotel. When we woke up, we got ready for the symphony and had dinner at the Fountain on Locust, where we began our love affair with well-made hummus. The symphony was ah.mazing. Such a good time. We went back in September to watch a Zelda symphony. We had lunch at the Fountain on Locust, went on a walking sample tour at the Urban Chestnut biergarten (where we discovered Count Orlock), and had dinner at a good, if unmemorable, Mexican restaurant. We bought coffee at Blue Dot Coffee and Urban Chestnut at Hy-Vee, and enjoyed the symphony, though we both agreed it wasn't quite what the first had been. The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast out and drove home to the sounds of two of the Fleet Foxes albums and laughed about how much we love music for which we are almost completely unable to understand the lyrics. They were our first "get-aways" since I was very pregnant with Ellie--an almost 4-year vacation in the making.

What was your favorite purchase in 2015?
Symphony tickets. When I saw Distant Worlds was coming to St. Louis, I casually mentioned it to Josh, and he said, let's go. So I ordered the tickets in January--something quite unlike the two of us. It felt very daring to be so "impulsive", but it was so worth it.

What was the best book you read in 2015?
For historical non-fiction, The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. It was a fascinating juxtaposition of the Chicago World's Fair and the city's (perhaps even the country's) first serial killer, who operated a hotel of horrors not far from the fair. For fiction, Silence, by Shusako Endo. Amazing, beautiful, and heartbreaking. One that stuck with me for a long, long time.

What were you proudest of this year?
Aside from my new job, probably the rhythm we seem to have developed as a family. We have transitioned from one pre-schooler to a kindergartener and a pre-schooler, with jobs that are more demanding than ever, and we seem to have made this transition pretty darn well. 2014 was so, so hard, but when I think back on this year, it's difficult to remember anything that particularly made me upset for more than a little while. I feel like this was a recovery year, where we just enjoyed each other deeply and accepted the natural changes that have happened.  It has been, simply, a much happier year.

What changed about in you in 2015?
I have started to make some peace with the transformation my spirit has undergone in the past year and a half or so. There are still days it is difficult, but the difficult times seem to be fewer and further between.

What made you cry in 2015?
Watching Gramma change, so very subtly but profoundly. The pain from the infection in May. The whole, I want one more baby and Josh doesn't, thing. Alyan Kurdi. The Syrian refugee crisis. The night before Elaina started kindergarten. Sitting with both my girls on my lap, listening to Clarice sing, "There's Always Tomorrow" on Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, because it was such a happy, memorable moment.

What is one home project you accomplished in 2015?
Josh and Lips installed a storm door on our front door this spring, and I can't begin to describe how much I love it. It has been soooo nice to have the cross-breeze, to watch a thunderstorm roll through, to have light coming in an otherwise dark area. I can't believe we waited this long to do it. On the same weekend they installed the door, Josh and Lips also installed a window in our bathroom, and I similarly can't describe how much I love it. It lets in so much light and fresh air and opens up what was otherwise a dark, fairly lifeless area. After they were done, I repainted the bathroom a pretty light-grey-blue, and Josh and I took down the mirror that came with the house and added one over each of our sinks. I love it. The room has been completely transformed, in the best way.

Best meal of 2015?
The La Picadda appetizer at the Fountain on Locust in St. Louis. From the menu: "A little bit of everything ... our spicy hummus, goat cheese and house made pesto, tender zucchini and sweet red onion sauteed in garlic, with roasted red peppers and grilled bread".  I have never loved hummus, goat cheese, or zucchini more.

Favorite Pictures

To Elaina, on your 6th birthday

Dear Elaina,

I just finished reading the other birthday letters I've written to you, and tears are streaming down my cheeks. When your daddy comes out here after singing you to sleep, he'll probably roll his eyes and smile a bit, convinced that he knows the tears are because I am sad you are growing up. And he will be right, a little. I blinked and six years flew by. Six years. How did it happen, Lou? It is harder and harder for me to remember when you were a baby (sleep deprivation may have something to do with that). I remember loving the way your little head smelled, but I don't remember what it smelled like. I remember snuggling you, but I don't remember how tiny you felt in my arms. When you started talking, I remember loving all the little ways you said things in your own way, but I don't remember what all of them were. Those moments were here, and now they're not, and it makes me a little sad.

But more than sad, sweetie, I'm crying because I'm just so thankful for you, for the six wonderful years you have been in our lives, for the amazing little girl you are growing up to be.

And it's funny--some of those things I remember about when you were little remain part of who you are today. Your approach to new things has been one of marked timidity until you are sure of yourself--you were the baby who didn't walk until you could nearly run, who didn't say many words before you spoke in complete sentences. For your birthday last year, we got you a Rainbow Dash bicycle, and the first few times you tried it, you were frustrated that you couldn't immediately zip up and down the driveway. For awhile, you abandoned it for a tricycle that you were far too big for, but one day, you decided you were going to learn to ride your bike and that would be that. You still got frustrated, but you didn't quit, and before you knew it, you and I, or you and Daddy, went on bike rides together. Once you have confidence, you are unstoppable, and I love that.

When you were a baby, you hum-yummed almost everything you ate. You sang a little eating song with each bite; we have your first bites of green beans on video, and I'll show you some day what I mean. You still sing to your supper. For being all 38 lbs, you sometimes out-eat me, especially if it's something you like. You have requested sushi for your birthday (I love that about you, and am amazed that it is your favorite food, since Daddy and I likely didn't even know what sushi is when we were 6), and I'm going to keep count--I bet you have just as many california rolls as I do, and I bet you sing the whole time, eyes shut tight in a sushi euphoria.

When you were 2, you hated being put in timeout. Even when your impulses pulled you in the wrong direction, you always wanted to do what was right, you were always sorry when you made the wrong decision, and you always wanted reassurance. You are obsessed with staying "green" at school and often provide me with a daily rundown of who had to put a tab down or flip a card--but never you, "except for two times, and once when everyone but one girl had to do it". Your teacher, Ms. Sullivan, told us in our conference last week that sometimes you hesitate to pick a center even when all of your tabs are up and there are no restrictions on where you can go. You look to her until she reassures you that yes, you can go. And then you happily go to your center. You have also developed the habit of asking me or Daddy 6597 times for reassurance that we have done something we've promised. So I have developed the habit of asking you what I said, and then telling you if you ask again my answer will change. Every time I do that, you smile. I guess sometimes it's all the reassurance you need.

When you were 3, I was convinced that no child had ever been more excited about a birthday than you. You talked about it for weeks and had a perma-grin the entire length of your birthday party. Your birthday party this year wasn't any different. You were so, so happy. Happy for the cookies and the decorations and the $7 haunted house beanbag game I found at Target. Happy for your cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends. Happy for the piñata that you have always asked for. Happy for your presents, and genuinely appreciative. It is so fun watching you enjoy your day.

When you were not quite 4, and Ellie started being afraid of the dark, you offered her all of your nighttime toys and, eventually, your bed. You have shared each night together since then, Ellie tucked in on her side (and, to be fair to you, often hogging the blanket) and you tucked in on yours, with Giraffio, Wolf, and the 3rd stuffed animal of your choice, with your Twilight Sparkle nightlight turned on. Honestly, I think one of my favorite things about you is how you are as a sister. Ellie makes you so silly--she can have you dissolve into a fit of giggles faster than anyone--and you can do the same for her. You have wonderful negotiation skills and can often talk Ellie of "the ledge" much more gracefully than we can. You call her your "Baybuh" and she calls you "Wayna". You play together so well--just this afternoon, Daddy and I talked about our day for a half hour while you and Ellie played together at the table, you sharing some stickers and coloring pages you'd been given for your birthday. I am so thankful that you have one another. I am so thankful you have Ellie. I am so thankful Ellie has you.

And I am so thankful for you, Loulie. You are growing up faster than I can believe--already in kindergarten, already missing your first tooth, already practicing sight words and simple addition. You are learning and changing and growing, but who you are, what your heart is, those things, sweetie, they are as they have always been, only better. It is such a privilege to be your mama. So if you see me cry a little tomorrow, don't worry--Mommy's not sad, not really. You have just filled Mommy's cup to overflowing, and sometimes, that makes my eyes overflow, too.

Happy birthday, sweet girl.