September 30: Children's Books

Day 143

I'll be purging quite a few children's books this week. I've accumulated a lot and I want to thin them out a little. I love books, but we only have so much space!

Reading to Peter is quite difficult right now because he just want to tear pages and put everything in his mouth. I'm beginning to understand why board books were such an ingenious invention...they can't be ripped apart by little babies with fists like a vice-grip!

If it's in my hands...

It WILL be in my mouth!

September 29: Turkeys in the Yard

Day 142

Give me the vultures any day. We recently realized that we have an entire flock of turkeys who live, if not in our yard, than near enough to be near our home everyday. Peek out a window in the morning or as the sun is going down and you might witness a gang on naked turkey necks scuttling into the tall grass beyond our yard.

When I lived in Missouri, I would get excited to see turkeys along the side of the road. No longer. At least the vultures keep to the trees. These turkeys enjoy roosting on my clothesline and though we haven't actually caught them roosting there recently, I can tell that each time I go to hang out clothes the line sags a little lower. Curses!

In other news, our riding lawnmower crapped out on us. This isn't a major tragedy since it was given to us for free from Clint's boss, but it's yet another expense in a month already rife with extra expenses. We borrowed a push-lawnmower and Clint and I both used it to mow our lawn. It only took us about four hours. Thank goodness grass mowing season is almost over!

In other, other news, this is a picture of Petie from Sunday night. He fell asleep while I was walking Zoey and he nuzzled himself against the wall. Later the same night he got sick all over his crib and we had quite a fun-filled night together.

Finally, here's my purge for today. A movie that should have never been made. I don't know why Clint owns this movie, but I'm glad he was willing to part with it.

September 28: Oxford Shirt

Day 141

Today was just a really good day. Not for any special reason, though we did have another nice bike ride. We also watched the last few episodes of Season 1 of the Blacklist. It was a good ending...not too much of a cliffhanger. However, I am a bit disappointed that I'll have to wait until next summer to watch the second season. Now I'm on to watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch. That talking cat gets me every time.

I'm purging this green oxford shirt today.

September 27: Bernadette Speaks

Day 140

A funny thing happened this morning. I went in to get Petie out of his crib, so I asked Clint to start his bottle. When Petie was all changed, we walked out of his bedroom, and there was Clint, wearing a toga he'd made from a fake-fur, grey blanket. He proceeded to wear the toga until I left for the day, but he refused me permission to put a picture of him wearing it on the internet.

Today I am purging a book I read a few years ago. It was such a long book that I considered it a sort of trophy and didn't want to part with it until now, even though there is no way I am going to read it ever again.

September 26: Tie-Dye

Day 139

This has been one of those weeks. Work's been busy and I feel like I've barely spent any time with Clint or Peter. Yesterday I was a bit "off-the-wagon" from my whole foods approach thanks to the chili cook-off, and to add insult to injury, I picked up a pizza for dinner. I feel like two tons of bricks this morning.

Speaking of chili, I did not win the contest, though a lot of people asked for the recipe and many people told me they liked my chili best. All the chilies were good, so I'm happy. I had over 70 people come in and taste!

I'm purging a three-quarter sleeve tie-die monstrosity today. This shirt is not a maternity shirt, but it looks like one when I'm wearing it. The v-neck front looks weird on me and I can only guess that I bought this shirt in a moment of temporary insanity. Dressy tie-dye shirts should not be a thing.

On a different note, Clint and I have been LOVING the first season of The Blacklist, which I checked out from the library. It's pretty addictive.

September 25: Are you ready for some Chili?

Day 138

Today I am sponsoring a chili cook off at work for the second year in a row. I'm entering the cook off, but don't worry I wouldn't accept the prize even if the most people voted for me...which I don't think they will. One of my coworkers is entering a black bean and squash chili that looks and smells incredible. I'm entering a white chili, which is a new experiment for me. I will let you know the results tomorrow.

Today I am purging this book:

We have so many religious books in our house that they have their own bookcase. Yikes. There is too much of a good thing!

September 25: Khaki Pants

Day 137

Have you ever wondered why people say "a pair of pants"? I'm guessing it's because pants have two legs. I think it's strange.

My purge today is indeed a "pair of pants." Khaki pants to be exact. I've had these pants for years and I've loved them, but they're fairly high wasted and the only way I would wear these ever again would be as some form of extreme penance.

Peter's cutting his second tooth and he's teething like a madman. He was very difficult to feed this morning. After sucking down a few ounces of his bottle he began to vigorously shake his head back and forth in the "No!" motion. Who says baby's aren't good communicators? The spoon feeding was equally disappointing.

September 23: Barefoot

Day 136

I bought this book last time I was in St. James and started reading it there. One month later and I was done! The book was an okay read...good for summer. However, I have no plans to ever read it again.

The book was much less beat up before I dropped it in the pool and carried it around in my backpack for a month.

Boy did it rain last night! We got almost two inches!

September 22: Canning Kits

Day 135

A year ago, I sponsored a program on canning at the library and I received these complimentary mixes ideal for canning. I don't plan on doing any canning, so I'm going to purge these out of my lazy susan.

Today, Peter had a six month hearing test. He was really putting on a show for the nurses. He was talking and moving and being a little charmer...unfortunately all those things are really disruptive to a hearing test. Once he fell asleep, the test only took two minutes, but that was an hour after we got to the hospital! He took a good, long nap later in the afternoon.

Sweet sleep.

September 21: Essence-C

Day 134

On Saturday, Clint and Petie stopped by to see me at work and Clint snapped this picture:

We didn't do a whole lot this weekend. We went for a nice family bike ride on Sunday. The weather has been beautiful.

My purge today is a nearly full box of "Essence C" which is the off-brand of Emergen-C. The off brand is not as good as the name brand.

September 20: Lunch Bag

Day 133

My mother gave me this lunch bag, but I find that I usually bring so much food to work that it doesn't all fit into a lunch bag. In fact, now that I've started a whole-foods regimen during the day, I bring a whole bag of food to work. Basically, I eat only whole foods until dinner time, at which point I eat a regular cooked dinner. I eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, oatmeal, all-natural peanut butter etc. No more toast or store-bought bread during the day, no more microwaveable lunch meals, no more donuts at staff meetings, and most importantly - no more artificial sweeteners. While my new routine is partially about losing weight (exercising more isn't working on that front),  it's also about feeling better. I've already noticed that my skin feels smoother and I feel more awake and alert in the mornings. Of course, a lot of this is probably in my mind...but isn't most of self esteem in your mind anyway?

At any rate, I'm purging a lunch bag today.

When I leave the house on Saturday mornings, Peter and Clint usually stand on the porch to wave goodbye and "blow mama kisses." It's basically the best send-off in the entire universe.

"Don't you forget about me..."while I chew on my Rosary ;)

Clint now has a buzzed haircut and his beard is longer than his hair. Hmmmm.

September 19: Floral Dress

Day 132

I've made some questionable fashion missteps in my day, and this dress ranks high among them. I bought this dress at a thrift shop, thinking I could channel a vintage 90s vibe, but it didn't really pan out. I'm pretty sure the brand on the dress is Koret, which was the middle-aged woman's answer to Laura Ashley in the 80s and early 90s. It's not so much the style of the dress that went wrong for me (it's a long dress that buttons up the front and has a collar), but the colors.

Last night I introduced Peter to avacado. I chose avacado as is first "real food" because they were on sale and easy to mash. At first he hated it. He resolutely spit out the first few bites. Then I tried mixing it with his rice cereal and he gobbled it down. More like slobbeled it down. He was sort of messy. Luckily it was a bath night.

Get out of my face!

Whoops!

It's not snot, I promise.

I'm tired of this chair! (Plus, check out my tooth!)

September 18: Mother Teresa

Day 131

Over the years, I've read and owned many books about Mother Teresa, now Blessed Mother Teresa, of Calcutta. She is such a wonderful example, not only to Catholics, but to everyone. She treated every person as if he or she was Jesus, which is exactly what Jesus asked us to do. This book was given to me in college by a friend, but I'm purging it because I doubt I'll ever read it again.

Peter was in a great mood this morning, but he was so active in such a short amount of time that he pooped out right before we left for the day.

Whenever he wears these pants I call him my "little monkey butt."

September 17: 10 Commandments

Day 130

No, I'm not purging the famous movie starring Charlton Heston. My post is titled "10 Commandments" because that is the subject of my CCD class this evening. Teaching eighth graders can be an exercise in patience, but mostly it's a lot of fun. 8th graders are pretty thoughtful and curious, so I find myself learning right along with them. Last week, I had my students write a creed, or profession of faith, in their own words and I was really touched by the results. This week we're going to work on the ten commandments, not only memorizing them, but understanding why we need them as a guideline for social and spiritual morality.

My real purge today is a checkered pencil skirt that I'm sure will never fit me again even if I lose twenty pounds. It's a really nice brand and I'm sure I'll be able to sell it in a yard sale.

On my blog's administrative page, I can see where in the world people are reading my blog and this week I've had hits from Germany, France and Belgium. I thought that was strange until I remembered that my dad is traveling abroad in those countries this week. It's nice to have an overseas fan!

It was really foggy this morning, which for some reason, terrifies Kansas drivers. Fog is something of a rare occurrence in Western Kansas. It's so open and clear most of the time that anything that inhibits the vastness can be intimidating. I love the fog. It reminds me of home!

September 16: Rose Harbor in Bloom

Day 129

I took this book from the free cart at work thinking that I would read it the last time we were in MO, but I didn't and I have no desire to read it at home. 

That's all for today! See you tomorrow!

September 15: Shorts II

Day 128

As promised, here's the second pair of shorts that Clint couldn't shimmy into.

Peter went to the doctor today and he's now 13 lbs, 6 oz! He's also allowed to start eating more solid foods like mashed fruits and veggies. I think I might attempt to make my own baby food, at least in part, but we'll see how that works out. The bad news is that he had to have four shots, but he took them like a champ. He hasn't been sick and he slept well, so I think he's doing really well.

September 14: Shorts I

Day 127

We had a great time with Clint's family on Saturday and Sunday. We laughed with Clint's cousins, ate delicious food and stayed up later than we normally would. Peter was kissed and held and doted on by a variety of extended relatives.

Peter held by his Godmother Anna, with Josie (in the footie pajamas) and Ainsleigh

Peter held by Uncle Matt, with Isaac and Daddy

Perhaps the most amusing portion of the weekend was the drive. Zoey was right behind Peter's car seat and the two of them just stared and smiled at each other the whole way. Look out glow-worm, Peter has a new girlfriend! At one point we were listening to a song and the lyrics were "Something in your eyes makes me wanna lose myself..." and when I looked over, Peter and Zoey were staring at each other. It was one of those surreal moments that you wish you had captured on video because it was so funny.

True loves.

Another highlight of being with Clint's family is seeing Clint with his brothers. They have a lot of fun together.

Clint with Peter, Joe with Liam, and Matt with Josie

At his parent's house, Clint found a whole array of goodies to bring home, including two pairs of shorts he's probably owned since sixth grade. Despite the fact that they were at least two sizes too small, he insisted on bringing them home and trying them on just in case the sizing was different and they somehow miraculously fit. They didn't. He easily agreed to let me purge both pairs of shorts, which will consist of my posts for today and tomorrow.

I don't think Union Bay even makes clothes for adults.

September 13: Floral Shirt

Day 126

We're off to the farm this afternoon. The Bain side of the family is congregating for a memorial service in honor of one of Clint's uncles that died earlier this year. I haven't spent much time with the Bains and it will be nice to meet some of Clint's cousins he was close to when he was younger. Clint has so many cousins. Growing up, I only had six cousins and there is a big difference in either age or geography with the cousins I do have. Clint has dozens of cousins and there's a good half-dozen that are right around his age and who lived within an hour from him. Even though our immediate families are pretty similar, our extended family dynamics are very different.

Today I'm purging a floral, tunic-style shirt that I've enjoyed the last couple of years. I'm purging it because I just didn't find myself wearing it very much this summer and would rather pass it on.

I haven't posted a picture of Clint and Petie in a while. Peter looks more and more like Clint all the time. Clint is so funny about pictures, he doesn't mind having pictures taken (unlike me: I hate having my picture taken), but he never knows what to do with his hands. He'll insist that I retake a picture if he think his hands are "doing something weird." The picture below is one in which he felt his hands were weird.

The second photo is the "non-wierd" hand photo. I like the first one much better.

Here's Petie in his hoodie:

September 12: Vase

Day 125

Purging this vase is actually a bit hard for me. When I moved to Kansas, my paternal grandmother let me go through her things and take anything I needed. There were certain things she inexplicably wanted me to have...this vase was one of them. I took the vase, but I've never used it and it doesn't have any special memories attached to it. I didn't even know grandma had the vase until she dug it out and gave it to me. I love my grandma, but I don't love this vase.

It was in the low 40s when I left the house this morning, so I left Petie in the ducky sleeper shown above and added a fleece, hooded jacket. Then I tucked a blanket around his legs in the carseat. It's hard to believe that earlier this week it was 100 degrees.

Whenever I take a picture of Petie, he'll smile really well until the red flash light comes on. The flash light completely bamboozles him and his smile is replaced by a quizzical expression. The picture above is a nice combination of confustion and a smile.

September 11: 13 years ago today...

Day 124

It's hard to believe that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were 13 years ago. I hope we all take a little time today to pray for the victims and to also pray for peace in our world today.

My purge today is a navy blue shirt.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of the Americas, pray for us!

September 10: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Day 123

I have to quit buying so much stuff in thrift shops. I love it on sight, but then I find out I don't have much use for it - or room for it - later. This mirror is the perfect example.

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I think this mirror cost $2, and I loved the stained glass edges, but it never looked right in our house. We just do not have a good place for it and I don't want to hold onto thinking that we may someday have the right spot.

September 9: Stripey Shirt

Day 122

I've been pulling items out of drawers and out of my closet with reckless abandon. Items I used to love, I'm now discarding with little more than a flick of the wrist. This Lacoste shirt is one that I've worn tons. Though I've worn this shirt countless times, I never bothered to take out the original yellow plastic price taggy thing from the label.

 

Do you see the smile on this kid? It is impossible to see this smile and not feel your heart swell up. I think this smile is one of the principal reasons I'm alive.  Peter has a tooth coming in in earnest. He's remarkably smiley and happy for a teething baby.

September 8: Chacos

Day 121

In the world of hiking and outdoorsey footwear, Chacos are the sandals that reign supreme. They are extremely expensive but they are supposed to last forever. Before my honeymoon last year, I determined that my husband and I both needed Chacos since we'd be doing a lot of hiking. As luck would have it, I found a brand new pair of Chacos at the Goodwill in my size for just $3. It was the best second-hand find of my life...until I wore the shoes. All the toe loops and straps are difficult to loosen and tighten and my toes kept losing circulation. We ordered my husband's sandals and he wears them all the time, but after my honeymoon, I pretty much ditched mine because I was never able to make the straps fit comfortably. I'm just glad I didn't pay full price.

Peter doesn't crawl...yet. He sort of scoots himself like an inchworm. He'll put his chest down and pull his body forward while balling his legs up and then he'll push his chest up and throw his legs up simultaneously, thereby moving himself a few inches. It's not a very efficient process and I think crawling will happen before too long!