growth spurt

We think Addy might be gearing up for one based on todays lunch...
4 chicken nuggets
2 strawberries and wipped cream
1 piece of cheese
1/2 of a canneloni noodle with sauce (stolen from mom)
1 oreo cookie for desert
1/4 of a pear for post dessert fruit (stolen from mom)
wash it all down with a few glasses of milk....mmmm

and as a side note she had her last morning snack at about 10:15....

lotsa pictures

things about today: adeline fell asleep in my lap this afternoon while i was watching desperate housewives (love tivo!) & adeline was sorta watching it, but mostly trying to keep her eyes open. i guess i don't have a problem with her watching 'intense' shows? i for one, don't do well watching shows where people are killed/murdered...gives me nightmares. anyway, i hope visions of the desperate housewives weren't dancing in her mind as she slept. anyway, my point is that she is a very sweet little one. i am so content when she actually wants to snuggle b/c i get so little of that from her. so sleep she did. then i had the stupid idea to take her up to her bed so i could get some laundry done. when will i learn? adeline was wide awake by the time i carried her to the top of the stairs. so we laid in her bed & touched each others' noses & hair & she played with my nose piercing (she is sooo intrigued by it; i tell her she has to wait until she's 16) & my eyelashes. i gave her butterfuly kisses & she giggled & climbed off the bed, pulling my hand with her. she is becoming such a great kid, ya know?

but when you talk about snuggling, the person who comes to my mind is amelia. she, my friends, is the deep snuggler, the snuggler who could snuggle all day & never tire. so today she held up to her title of #1 snuggler of all time & wanted to be held throughout the day & even for part of her morning nap (her leg was stuck in the crib in such a painful way; i gave in & held her until she was soundly sleeping). this girl could possibly have a hard time with separation anxiety. tonight wes was attempting to feed her after work & she was wanting ME! hhmmm, i think i asking sweet jesus for a snuggler after adeline & he provided, as usual. again, when will i learn to ask only if a really am ready to get what i asked for? well, she's here & she's adorable. & yes, my mom was correct: amelia LOVES grass.

& today adeline made a bottle full of formula (me: "addy, we're taking that out of your future allowance" addy's response: "mo!" translation: no!) & she ate dirt & then thought it was gross.

amelia ate beef tonight for the first time...gobbled it up. she also likes spinach! crazy kid.

in celebration of cinco de mayo, i am going to post lots of recent pics. just b/c i like my girls!

no, uh, this is not the pj's that came together in the package. like i've said, she is her own fashion critic...

learning to drink from a cup? no, just dumping water on herself...

okay, this was the wallpaper we found behind the vanity mirror in the master bedroom. WOW! i almost want to frame some of it...

you guessed it: cookies!

yup, that's adeline playing outside in a shirt & underwear! thank sweet jesus for a fenced in backyard??

the smile that can melt a thousound hearts.

waiting on a baby to fall asleep

i am starting this post during the time amelia should be sleeping & i should be taking a shower (post gym showering is very necessary, but sometimes unattainable...yes, egads!).

for the past ten years i have been striving towards finding a happy medium between being a passive & extreme person...this has been much more difficult than i could have anticipated. by my nature i am a very, oh, aggressive person, which is interesting b/c i'm also very sensitive & shy. go figure. so, it takes a while of getting to know me to see the aggressive side. i have had to step back from several things (politics, women's rights) on my way to being in that middle road, lest i become so extreme that i turn others away. i'm in no way desiring to be passive...i actually think being passive is another way of letting the world go on around you, being disengaged (& i don't think that's what god has called us to be).

anyway, the closer you get to me, the more likely you are to see this desire to be "involved". first it was my parents...oh how they love me for getting through my teenage years & still call themselves my parents! i know i seem calm & quiet & all, but ask my family & you will hear something completely different (my family nickname is "feisty"). then my dear sister & friend christine saw my desire to fight the system. then my husband. chances are, most of my closer friends & family have seen this...but most recently my dear dear friend, judy has been introduced to this side of me... the 'call to arms' heidi who wants to bring down whatever is holding down others.

do i think it's a bad thing? no, not really. do i need to keep it in check? yes.

funny thing is, what i spouted off to judy was nothing in comparison to what i'm capable of...somehow i've learned to argue & rant & get so entangled in something...judy was maybe caught off-guard? unbeknownst? anyway, she is a dear friend & i hope she realizes that in this weird way, b/c i felt comfortable with her enough to do a mini rant over the phone that this means i trust her even more than ever?? anyway, judy, sorry you are tangled up in this b/c you are such a kind & soft person....again, it's the theory that has me in a tizzy. i'm just tired of groups pointing fingers to everyone else about this global warming stuff. you posting a video that someone else would enjoy? not a problem? what i think of the video? hhmm, maybe my problem.

so, what am i so upset about? it involves changing the global living situation & sorta seems to place blame on urban sprawl & suburbs & cul-du-sacs. & yea, i live in the suburbs, at the end of a cul-du-sac. but i grew up in a very rural area & have also lived in the city of columbus (which, really, is it that much of an urban city compared to larger cities??). since moving back to columbus i keep hearing chatter about how the suburbs are filled with people who just don't care about the environment & global issues & community & each other. but i have found it to be the exact opposite...& that fact infuriates me! that blame is being placed where it shouldn't be, that assumptions & stereotypes & biases are being created & pushed; but they are false.

i have never lived around a group of people who truly seem to care for each other as i do right now. my neighbors can be trusted to watch over our house or take care of our dog or lend a hand with yard work or moving...i could go on & on. they are kind. our immediate neighbors bike to work, nearly everyone has a vegetable garden. people walk to parks. & we gerbickians, living smack-dab in the middle of westerville-suburbia, are trying our darndest to take care of the environment & make it a more beautiful, healthy place for our kids & future generations. god does call us to be stewards of the earth! & we want to do that in addition to helping the poor/hungry/weak/lost/hurt/etc.

it just seems to me that according to some environmentalists, it is never enough to just be doing your best. now it appears that b/c i live in the suburbs, in a subdivision that has cul-du-sacs where folks can't walk to a store or work, that we're doing more harm than good, that we are the cause of the ills in the environment. i understand why some people say 'to hell with it' about recycling & such. b/c it's never enough according to some, we are always doing something wrong.

i know why this has upset me so much: b/c i am being proactive about the environment, i want to do everything i can to reduce my impact & now it seems futile & my house & family are being shown to be the 'problem'. & that hurts (enter the ***sensitive*** part of me here). every movement has its setbacks & i have to say that the environmental movement seems to have this pedestal & wagging finger & yikes, i am frustrated with that. i don't want to be part of something that is blaming people & lifestyles. i want to be part of something that encourages & meets people where they are in life & home.

yea, this urban living ideal sounds great! walk to the store/park/work/communal gardens. i love that, i love the thought & vision...but do you have to also in the same breath criticize others? stereotype others? blame others?

doi, i think i need a shower.

chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe!

chewy chocolate chip cookies ...(these are so good & a staple at our house)

1 cup softened butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips (i use 1 1/2 cups!)

cream butter & sugars together until very fluffy & light, about 4-5 minutes on a medium/high mixer setting. beat in eggs, 1 at a time, each for 1-2 minutes or until fully incorporated. add vanilla & beat for another minute.

mix flour, baking soda, & salt in separate bowl. stir into butter mixture until just blended.

stir in oats & chocolate chips until blended. drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. cookies are done baking when they are still slightly 'gooey' b/c they harden a bit when cooling.

bake in a 325 degree oven for approx. 12 minutes.

dunk in very cold milk.

1 down

we just finished the 'help me grow' intake (with a graduate of ohio state college of social work...she has her masters & i don't though, but she was an LSW {licensed social worker, what i was), with a masters, so she just recently graduated apparently b/c it takes 2 years of supervision to get your LISW {licensed independent social worker]). within the next week, a speech therapist will be calling me to set up the speech evaluation & we have a tentative appointment with westerville school district in mid june (if adeline qualifies from the speech evaluation) to enroll her in a special needs preschool for next year where she will get daily speech therapy (& hearing therapies if she doesn't pass her next hearing test). i'm not sure exactly what the special needs preschool looks like, whether it's more specifically for speech & hearing or if all special needs kids will be in the same classroom. either way i'm sure it will be helpful for her...
the help me grow intake lady did say that from what she can tell, from info i gave her & her own interactions with adeline, that she will qualify for all the services. *sigh* i guess it's good to know what we're up against instead of hearing from her pediatrician "there is a large range of verbal/speech abilities, i'm sure she'll start talking soon"... i really like our pediatrician (okay, she's not a dr. beautiful or anything!) but she has put us behind on this by saying this wasn't a concern when wes & i both knew it really was.

another interesting thing: her clumbsiness is most likely not from vision problems, according to this worker, but probably from inner ear or balance. hhmm...we didn't suspect vision problems, but something has to explain how she can totally run into large things & fall over randomly. one thing for sure: it's very humorous to watch.

she also said that speech is the fastest skill to improve on & once speech therapy is started that adeline will make significant progress (meaning her first year of preschool may be in the special needs pre-k, then her 2nd year could be in a regular pre-k)...then if she doesn't pass her hearing test, she would qualify to attend the columbus speech & hearing preschool (which would be very very helpful & amazing!).

this worker also noted that kids with hearing loss & speech delays (comparable to adeline's) usually have severe behavior problems as well...we had talked a few minutes about how i was a social worker prior to having kids & that i worked in a school/behavior modification setting with dual diagnosis mental health children & teens. she then said that she believes that adeline has such good behavior b/c of my knowledge & skills & that i've probably been using behavior modification on her & didn't even realize it. which is sorta interesting, but it makes sense. i did tell her, of course, about her hour long tantrums & other things like that & apparently that is minor compared to what some kids with speech delays portray. so...i guess my 5 1/2 years in college are useful to me still, even if i'm not working in social work or outside the home! (does that make my student loan payments easier to pay?? hhmm, not really).

so, yes, 1 evaluation down. now we apparently have 3 or even 4 more to go! should be an exciting summer filled with visits to specialists.

adeline just brought me a fortune cookie from the snack drawer & i opened it for her. the fortune says: your vibrant personality inspires others; stay that way. how true it is, adeline is simply vibrant.

& poor amelia, she has somehow fallen asleep in her exersaucer! i guess it's nap time?

a different view

this is an email from my mom telling us about their weekend with the girls. i found it very funny & maybe you will as well. grandparents...adeline & amelia are very lucky to have such wonderful & dedicated grandparents. so thanks scott & karen, sue & bruce!

A few info bits on our visit with Addy and Amelia -- we'll just name them the super-energy-double A batteries.......

• Grandmum learned to sleep on little more than 12 inches of mattress with a little cuddlesome leach name Addy nearly on top of her all night.....She twisted and turned and turned and turned until I feared poor Little Bear would be nothing but a corkscrew.
  
• Addy and Gmum walked 3/4 of a mile around to see the lake, then she LOVED sitting on the dock, even though she was a bit afraid. We watched the duck swimming out in the lake, then it headed back to shore and I asked her where was the duck swimming to, and she said "Addy". She was so disappointed when it swam to it's buddies further down shore.
• Addy made friends with all of the neighbors and waved hi to everyone she saw. We practiced standing off the road when we saw a car coming and looking both ways before stepping back into the road.
• Addy and Popop filled up all the bird feeders. Addy watched for birds to come in to feed and especially liked the big black crows and/or grackles, so even Popop had to smile when he saw them.
  
• Amelia sees eating food as secondary to having a SPOON. She loved sitting in her chair looking at her spoon, banging her spoon, lifting it over her head (she has the cutest chubbiest arms) and just all around admiring the utensil from every known angle.
  
• Amelia LOVES grass. She wants to sit on it, stroke it, talk to it, lay on it, roll in it.
  
• Amelia fell in love with her Popop. He held her, or played with her or entertained her or walked her all day Sunday while she was feeling somewhat out of sorts. She also learned a few baseball terms which we hope she will not remember......
  
• Addy and Popop played ball outside Saturday morning. She laughed and laughed and ran him tired.
  
• Amelia has the sweetest baby smile around. I think she should be in commercials. We go to great lengths to get her to smile just to see it.
  
• Gmum scared Amelia when her hair was wet.
  
• Amelia, Addy, Gmum and Popop walked down to see Chloe and Zoe and Uncle Scott. Amelia felt a bit overwhelmed so Gmum started to walk her home. She started to cry (read scream) so I came back and traded strollers. She calmed down until I got too far to turn back, then screamed the rest of the way. I think she did not trust her driver. We came inside, I rocked her and she was asleep in 3 minutes. It was so sad, her little eyes were so red and she was so upset.
  
• Addy half woke up Saturday night and cried, and I asked her what was wrong and she said "DADDY", then I said 'we will see daddy today', and then she cried and said "MOMMY", and I said we will see mommy today, then she settled in a bit close when she had like 4 feet leftover on her side of the bed, and went back to sleep. Then she started to dream and she laughed, so I am guessing she was dreaming of being at home with something funny.
  
• Addy does a hard belly laugh when Gmum takes the suds out of the dishwater and blows them over the kitchen. She can laugh for half an hour watching that, and I can just keep blowing suds everywhere, not even caring if I can only hear her laugh.
  

Other than poor little Amelia having difficulty, we had a really good time. We honestly don't know how we did it all those years ago with all those kids -- our house is trashed, Addy looked like a raggamuffin most of the time (she is like a Houdini costume changer -- she was out of clothes by Saturday noon), and Amelia was lost more than once...... (she can back herself into the most oblique corners) I could tell Addy really started to miss home about midnight Saturday night when she woke up crying. Amelia started missing home about 4pm Friday..... ;)

Amelia really loved to play on the floor of the baby room. She is quite the little explorer.

When we started out today, Addy had a bit of a meltdown because Popop didn't think the DVD player would work in our car and put it in the trunk. Gmum thought it would be worth a try after 3 minutes and got it out, but alas, it would not work, so I turned around and said "Daddy will have to fix it". And Addy wiped her tears and laughed and nodded her head and said "Daddy", then I would say "FIX IT!" and she would laugh and nod her head, so we said that all the way there. Every once in a while she seemed to go equal opportunity and would say "Mommy" and point at the DVD player, and I would say "FIX IT!", and she would laugh and nod her head "Yes!" Addy seems to have the utmost confidence that her Daddy can fix anything, and if he can't, then Mommy can.

When we pulled out of the Wal Mart parking lot, after watching Dora around 37 times this weekend, your dad and I looked at each other and I started to sing "We DID It!"........

love mum

weekend for the 'rents

we are kid free right now...it feels very quiet & subdued. this past week--scratch that--this past winter has been exhausting. amelia is teething this week & has been, oh, a serious amount of grumpy since about wednesday. i did warn my parents about the teething issues, but they still insist they are doing just fine (even though amelia refused to nap for them this morning). at least i know she's not just giving me her worst behavior, as adeline was famous for doing.

friday morning, i hosted a playgroup which was relaxing & just plain enjoyable. seriously! even though adeline had a hard time sharing for about 90 out of the 120 minutes, it was good to chat with other mamas & watch the babies & kids play/fight with each other.

one thing amelia has apparently learned from her sister: how to prove her mama dead wrong. in my previous few posts i have mentioned that amelia won't down a bottle unless in her beloved rocking chair & hardly ever falls asleep anywhere but her crib...& what does this little stinker do on friday with two other mamas watching?!!! she downs an 8 ounce bottle in a matter of 5 minutes, while sitting on the couch with commotion going on all around her. then she promptly falls asleep on my shoulder & continues to sleep when i place in on the hard carpeted floor, cuddled in a bobby. now i will never be believed again, lol!

*what's that you say, something about having strong-willed girls? hhm, yea, i think so*

after the group, i packed the car in a matter of 30 minutes filled the car with gas, & was driving on 71 by noon! woah, super mom; yea, i know. lol. anyway, i drove from columbus to cinnamon lake, which takes about 80 minutes & it seemed all was going to be stressful & terrible as amelia was crying & adeline was upset b/c the certain episode of dora wasn't the exact one she wanted to be watching at that exact moment. then a moment of brilliance hit me: open the sunroof to create white noise, throw some burp cloths on amelia & give adeline her sippy cup & little bear (her teddy bear). within about 72 seconds, amelia was asleep & adeline was happily pointing out something in the dora show.

i dropped the girls off with nary a tear from anyone but me & headed to danville, ohio to pick up half a butchered/packed/frozen steer we bought from a friend's grandpa's friend. okay, didn't realize that just 20 minutes southeast of where i grew up was so hilly! i felt like i was driving in the foothills most of the way...it was a beautiful drive, if that's possible to say that about ohio (i guess it is possible b/c i just said it?). & when i told the lady at the counter at the butcher's that i was there to pick up 'half a steer' she thought i said 'half a deer' & was then couldn't find my name in their venison catalogue & said 'where did you get the deer from' & i had a moment of sheer horror as i contemplated the fact of us somehow mistakenly purchasing half a deer instead of half a steer & i was ready to just walk out & be like 'uh, sorry, i have the wrong place, i'm just lost & need directions...' but i took a few breaths & said 'we ordered a steer to be butchered, not a DEER, a cow' & she laughed & said 'oh, that happens all the time, i think i hear deer & they say steer' etc etc etc. so our aztec was loaded with 3 large & 1 small boxes full of dead frozen cow. & i was off driving another 80 minutes home.


another funny thing about this butcher; they had the list of prices for different services & one category was named: country kill. you take a guess!

wes & i then took off for a date of mexican food & on the way dropped off the crawford's portion of our frozen COW & we drove through amazing torrents of rain & flooded streets. it was incredible, the water was flying onto the top of our car, we had to drive about 2 miles an hour to get through flooded streets, & a storm sewer manhole was full & exploding water out of top like a geyser. it was crazy! then after we dropped the beef off, the tornado sirens started going off & apparently there was a funnel cloud spotted (tornado) around downtown columbus & also near pickerington (which is about 20 minutes out of columbus) so...we weren't too worried about the swirling tornadoes. i mean, this was our date night out! tornado or sun, we were going to eat out, darn it.

then we shopped for curtains with no luck...wes is finally understanding my disdain for curtain shopping. i have decided on 'gray' (or is it 'grey'?) & on saturday we painted, slept in, ate at '5 guys burgers & fries' (oh yummy. good thing that place wasn't in boise for adeline's pregnancy. i would've put on another 50 pounds). then we ate out for dinner again! beautiful!

& that takes us to today. we bought a dryer this morning *YEA!* & then i shopped for curtains as wes mowed the foot high grass & I FOUND CURTAINS! super good. then i picked the girls up around 2 p.m. & listened to adeline cry most of the way home (who knows why. missing grandparents? wrong dora show? mama driving too fast?). while i was picking up the girls, wes was painting the ceiling again & trim, so now we just have the walls to paint (well, we only painted 3/4's of the room b/c we had to put all our schtuff somewhere, you know, the other 1/4 of the room. so we will paint that next weekend hopefully).

anyway, phwew. there's something great about accomplishing a lot over a weekend...but also something about missing your kids approximately 2 1/2 hours after you've dropped them off. shouldn't i fell free instead of sad? well, i think we felt both free & sad & that's totally okay with us.

yea, not too exciting of a post, sorry my posts have been kinda boring lately. you have to believe i am actually thinking about other things than what i do all day. i have a post planned about generational differences, breastfeeding, driving, & several other topics (i just have to find the time to be uninterrupted to type & think at the same time).