today

7:01am    Eyes snap open, look at the clock.  Stretch, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and head to the kids’ room.

7:05am    Rub Henry’s back and tell him good morning.  He does his typical rolling over onto his stomach in an attempt to stay in bed.  Maria is stirring, and I pick her up to realize the front of her pjs are wet from diaper wicking out the top.  I groan since our washer is broken, and this is just another pee soaked item to stink up the house until I get a chance to do laundry.

7:10-8:00am  Get Maria and Henry breakfast, set out their clothes, shower, and get dressed.  I shove down a grapefruit (too sour) while sitting at the table with Timon.

8:15am    Out the door with both kids.

8:20am    Drop Henry at school.

8:28am    Drop Maria at her caregiver’s house. 

8:35am    Meet Timon back at the church to give him ice for his work cooler.

8:40am-12:35pm    Settle in the office for the morning.  Clear out emails (and ok, Google Reader, too) (ok, and update my FB status, too), decide what the plan is for youth tomorrow night, pick praise band songs for the week and send the email to the band.

12:40pm  Walk home for lunch, realize just how bad the pollen has gotten (REALLY BAD, FYI). 

1:30pm    More work, this time reading some work materials.  Also deal with drama-filled work emails.

2:40pm    Realize the diapers MUST be washed today, laundromat is the choice at the moment.  Gather up those, plus another load to wash while I’m there.

2:43pm    Leave with laundry in back of car to get Henry from school, run into praise band member, discuss drama.

2:51pm    Get in car line, pick up Henry.  Go to Walgreens, pick up prescription for Henry, get cash to use at laundromat.

3:15-3:45pm   Arrive at Maria’s caregivers.  Henry is ushered into the kitchen for a massive snack, since they like to spoil our children (in the nicest possible way).  Chat for a while.  Leave with large hunk of cake in hand for tonight’s dessert.

4:00pm  Get to laundromat, obtain quarters, start diapers in one machine, clothes in another.  $1.75 for cold wash, $2.00 for warm or hot!  Pray that the necessary part for our washer arrives PRONTO, since who can afford the laundromat?!?

4:10-5:00pm  Observe older man who might just be folding laundry for the very first time, judging by his skill at it.  Feel sad because perhaps his wife has recently become unable to do the laundry after a lifetime of taking care of her husband.  Chase children around in futile effort to contain them at the laundromat.  Finally remember the stroller is in the car, get stroller, put Maria in stroller for Henry to push around the aisles.  Learn that despite my long-standing assertion that removing diaper inserts prior to washing is unnecessary, apparently some will not come out in the laundromat washer.  Discover this after both wash cycles have completed and we’re getting ready to leave.  Decide they’ll get fully clean next time.

5:15pm    Get home, see Timon is already home, am thankful for the help bringing everything (including large hunk of cake) in the house.  See he’s already done the breakfast dishes and thank him as profusely as is possible with the level of fatigue I experience.  Put diapers in the dryer, which currently works.

5:20-6:40pm   Prepare, eat, and clean up from taco night dinner.  Get Maria dressed and diapered for bed, not planning to put her straight to bed at 7 but she comes out of her room saying “nigh nigh” to her daddy, and walks back over to her bed.  Refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth, and put her to bed.

7:00pm   Post to the photoblog.  Watch the Rays’ lineup get introduced.  Watch the beginning of the game while typing about my day.

7:36pm  Type these words.

A look into the future:
7:50pm   Consume part of large hunk of cake.

9:00pm   Change channel to LOST, during commercials rotate between Rays game and UCONN women’s basketball attempting to win the NCAA championship (they’ve got pretty good odds). 

10:00pm  Change channel to USA, watch Vincent D'Nofrio’s last episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  During commercials rotate between basketball and Rays (if they’re still playing).

11:00pm  BED, no matter who the heck is still playing whatever.

life here

We’re getting ready for the move to kindergarten… the school supply list is mostly checked off, we’ve been reading books about kindergarten, etc.  I’m 100% sure that I’m 100% more worked up about it all than Henry is but attempts are daily made to keep that under control.  BUT MAH FIRST BAYBEEEEE!!!!!!  Ack!

Henry and Timon went to a ballgame on Sunday.  As such he skipped naptime and so when we were calling him for dinner and received no response we found him on his bed like this:

Good thing there’s rest time in kindergarten – I’m not sure he is ready to give up that down time yet!  And Maria continues to be her charming self – her hair is growing and looks less shocking in the back but just as cute.  It seems hardly possible that we’re swiftly coming upon her first birthday!  The celebration for that will be low-key but wonderful – my parents will be coming down and it’s Labor Day weekend so we’ll have extra time to visit and observe these amazing children.

the madness begins

I’ve been light in posting, I know. If I have any readers left, here’s why:

I’m BUSY. And I’ll keep on being busy for the next month. From tomorrow until July 16, I’ll only be home 14 days. Two youth trips and one trip to CT for the 4th of July are gonna run me ragged – but it’s good. I’m actually looking forward to all of this traveling, with the exception of the many hours drive to AL in July for the mission trip. It makes tomorrow’s 8 hour drive to Atlanta seem like NOTHING.

Well, one of the awesome things that kept me busy recently was my bloggie lunch with Jen & Elizabeth The Great. Maria and I had a great time walking around a big fancy mall looking at things with them and eating yummy lunch. The girls were hilarious together – click here to see just how!

Henry attended Vacation Bible School at church and had a blast. I led the music and worship section, and Timon led the video section. Henry has a memory like a steel trap, so we’re sure to continue talking about VBS for months to come. Here are Maria and Timon during a break in the action:

Timon and Henry set off on a last minute adventure after Bible School ended the last night – they hopped in the Griswold Family Station Wagon to the other side of our state in an attempt to bear witness to a space shuttle launch. After finding the perfect parking/camping spot, spending the night in a car fending off the mosquitoes, and rising with the east coast sun, they got the word that the launch was canceled. Not ones to waste a trip, they connected with some friends who were also out there to see the launch and explored the area together. They did, in fact, get to see at shuttle:

So, not a failed trip, all in all.

I’ll be out of computer range for the next few days, I’m assuming. I may tweet from my phone, so follow me there – search for maresib. Have a great weekend, kids. Call your Dads on Sunday, tell him you love him.

twenty six

Here are the only kind of bullets of which I am a fan... Today, I:

• answered 15 phone calls regarding everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Key Limes.
• made 8 phone calls to gather up Advent wreath candle lighters and scripture readers.
• put together the church bulletin (cover and 2 inserts)
• typed out Advent wreath readings
• nursed a baby 3 times
• got to work on a special project for our pastor
• made a brine for the turkey
• changed 3 diapers
• answered the door buzzer 6 times

That's all I can remember so far. It's only 4:15 so I'm sure there's plenty more to come. I have praise band practice soon, plus I want to get the turkey prepared and in the brine so it can work its magic, I'd like to get the potatoes mashed, plus there's a new Law & Order on tonight... Tomorrow we're going to watch the parade, roast the turkey, make gravy and rolls, and then head over to our friends' house for the big meal. What are you guys up to?

the purge has begun

And when I say "purge", I mean make room for all the stuff we need for Bertha. Yesterday evening and today were spent cleaning out our bedroom to have space for the pack&play where she will sleep for the first few months. I got rid of enough clothing to enable us to donate one of our dressers (and the clothes, too) to the local battered women's shelter. My rule was if that item of clothing had not touched my body in the past year, it was out the door; and for the most part, I stuck to it. We then rearranged (and by we, I mean Timon and one of the youth from church) the other dressers and lo, there is room for the pack&play. I feel good about what got done. I now feel like I can go on my trip next week with a sense of having done something to get ready for Bertha.

And then I look at the rest of our to-do list and feel sadly behind. Let's take a gander:
build platform for Henry's bed (Timon's going to do this next weekend while I'm gone)
move bookshelf into m&t's room
clear shelf in H's room for baby clothes
move changing table
assemble crib
move Living Room bookshelf to Dining Room
assemble swing
unpack unisex newborn clothes
prepare freezer meals for after baby comes
meet with doula Robyn again
And the doozy - purchase the rest of the baby items we need.

That one basically needs its very own list:
carseat & extra base
carseat swing frame
prefold cloth diapers & covers
a few all-in-one cloth diapers
a couple of bottles
nursing bras
rent breast pump from children's hospital

I'll keep you posted on our progress, which is sure to be slow and steady, since we'll have to fit this all in with work (several big events and extensive preparations for maternity leave), my last bit of travel for quite some time, Timon and Henry's vacation, and who knows what on earth else will come up between now and Bertha's arrival. I am predicting a birth on September 20. 2 months and counting.

to do ***finished!***

1. plan retreat devotions (halfway there)
2. grocery shop for retreat
3. plan weds night lesson (almost done)
4. teach weds night lesson
5. get retreat music ready for dev
6. design fall festival sign
7. paint fall festival sign (started)
8. go to Dr. for wrist check on Thurs. (back in 2 weeks, some improvement)
9. laundry & pack for three of us for retreat
10. clean church van
11. pack church van (as much as can be done tonight)
12. design movie night flyer
13. print movie night flyer
14. figure out camera situation (will borrow one for retreat)
15. type & print bulletin
16. do preschool payroll checks & bank transfer (eek!) (after much weeping and gnashing of teeth)
17. grocery shop for home
18. eat, sleep, shower (M, T, W - ate, slept, showered)
19. be a good wife and mother (you'll have to ask Timon & Henry)