History in Fiction

Just finished While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes. She is an author who write tales of espionage and intrigue during WWII mostly. This one was written in 1944 so it is fresh after the war. Fascinating details and glimpse into how terrifying it would have been to live in Poland at the German advance and occupation. Perhaps more of a glimpse into that than action, not always true of her other stories. I was also amazed at how the majority of her main characters were killed off or imprisoned; so unlike most other fiction that wraps up nicely. This is far more realistic though.
Now only 3 more books on the nightstand.

The day has come...

We will wait and see if there is to be a repeat in one of the largest milestones of all: David climbed out of his crib this morning!

Michael and I thought we heard him moving around in more than just the one area. Then I heard a quiet but persistant knocking on the door. (He can open doors too, by the way. Just chose not to this morning.) Michael went upstairs to find him roaming about his room freely. It wasn't a shock; I have known he could do it if desired for many months, but...

Life may never be the same!

Tongue Tied

Did I mention that David loves the movie "Cars!" He will even sit still for 60-90 minutes (in the evening when he is already tired).

Needless to say, I have seen the movie many times. And the beginning especially...since we don't always make it to the end. Don't ask "why" then, that every time I watch it I hold my breath expecting Lightning McQueen to win the first race rather than tie!!! I have to remind myself that I know the outcome and it never changes! :)

Time with Grammy and Grandpa

We had a great time with Grammy and Grandpa Weyler this week! Michael kept his Dad busy with chores around the house (thanks for tackling the chandelier, the lawn mower, the gas stove, looking at the mailbox, and assorted other things). But all work and no play makes the two Michaels dull boys, so they made time for a long day of golfing in the 90+ degree heat. The three Weyler men also sat and watched "Cars" together; D's choice, of course. Mom and I spent a lot of time doing needlework, running a few errands, blowing bubbles with David and just relaxing at home. We enjoyed the lovely evening weather with a wagon walk.

21 month feats

David,

This month seems to have been a continuation of last month...it is hard to tell where one ended and the next month began.

A few things of note though:

You cut two more teeth on the bottom, making a grand total of maybe 14 teeth?

You are now wearing size 6 diapers at night. What will we do if you grow again??? Well, you have shown some interest in being potty trained, but not seriously yet. You love to sit on your potty seat and will often ask to do that, as yet with no results. You have told me when you are stinky though and dragged me to the stairs to go change your diaper. No hurry, but we shall see what this next month brings; still have quite a stock up of diapers though.

You are entirely in size 2T or 24 months (and even 3T shirts). You also have outgrown your 6 1/2 shoes in favor of mostly 7 1/2-8s. You will also try to dress yourself. Still far better at undressing yourself--including diaper! :)

You will now wear hats upon occasion too--primarily for the purpose of taking them off and putting them back on and taking them off and...

Your eating has become rather picky again, although you will eat some new things still...if you are hungry and in a cheerful mood. You now are quite eager to eat with a fork and spoon and feed yourself. The fork is your favorite.

Naptimes and bedtime have become a bit of a struggle recently. You rarely want to go to bed...although if you stay up you get crankier and crankier. Upon occasion we can now miss a nap, but most times, I put you down crying a bit but find that you still fall asleep for a 2-3 hour nap. Even after that you will still go to bed tired at night and sleep for 12 hours. Your little mind wants to be going at all times, but your body is really tired out...

You love to play peek-a-boo. You can now do it for yourself--cover the eyes with your pudgy fingers and then pull them away to say "PeekBo." Love it!!!

All moving things (including airplanes), are "cars" to you. But you sure are fascinated by CARS!!!! (Daddy's boy)

You love to be outside, and you love slides!!! You are very hot natured though...still. This often contributes to very rosy cheeks!

You love water too! Bathtime, pools, cups with water, anything! We got you a pool with a slide this month. Pictures to come soon. We did go to Discovery Green and the fountains downtown. You loved splashing in them and only got afraid when they got too high and strong.

Your toys? Still puzzles and cars, balls, and upon occasion, even laundry baskets! One thing is certain: life with you is never dull!!! We love you, lil' bits!

One of those days

Yesterday I had no excuse (unlike back then when I had a six month old).

I left the house, arrived at church and started walking in to childcare before I realized I was wearing my crocs to work out in. Oops. I guess those days will come. I decided to go with the flow and just work out in them rather than going home.

Swagbucks

Just a thought for anyone who reads this blog and does Swagbucks too. Did you realize they now have daily polls? You get points for doing them everyday too. Also, the rules seem to have changed a bit since Monday. I have now been able to search maybe 3 different times during the day and received swagbucks all three times. It appears the searches must be some amount of time between each other. So now, I use Swagbucks for searches a couple of times a day unless it is a more complex search--then go back to the old standby, Google. If you are wondering what on earth Swagbucks is, then look at my description here.

Random Thoughts

As my brother declared last time we played "Apples to Apples," he enjoyed finally seeing how randomly my mind really does work! Trust me, it is true, as you who have known me a while can vouch.

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I had this wave of sorrow come over me the other day when David and I were walking. He was holding a stick with dead leaves attached. He was beating the stick on the side of the stroller. I watched the leaves gradually drop off the stick until he held it up with only a few leaves left, and realized himself what his beating of the stick had been doing. It was then that I felt so sad. I wondered over this for a while, but as I write this perhaps I know understand why. It was very sad to see my little one first come to grips with the consequences of his unintentional actions. This is a lesson we all learn in life, but he saw it in front of him even at 20 months old. I wished to shield him from that sorrow, to "fix" the stick and put the leaves back on, but his actions did bear an unreparable consequence. How often in the future will his thoughtless actions produce the same sorrow? It is my place as a mom to pray for wisdom for my son and step back and let him learn those hard lessons.

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I just got the door where a neighbor (just returned from Hawaii) was offering a thank you for watching the house. All that entails is really just keeping our eyes peeled for suspicious behavior, nothing more. Michael did call him last night though since his alarm was going off for about 30 minutes. Michael checked to make sure there were no problems and still found no reason why. He brought us some yummy Hawaiian chocolates and a restaurant gift card. When I told him that that was far from necessary, it said he wanted to do it because he just knows that Michael really cares. What a compliment, and a testimony as a Christian! That is my husband though, because everything he does, he is so completely wholehearted!

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I have been bombarded by poor customer service! This too is another pet peeve of mine. First it was at Krogers when I inquired about adding my three items I had just purchased to my Kroger card, since I had forgotten to scan it in the self-checkout. I told her I knew I would save some money but did not care about that so much as having the total added to my gas accumulation for the month ($0.10 off/gallon) The "customer service" rep told me very rudely that there was nothing she could do. I then asked if I were to bring in the items (from the car) if I could just return them and repay for them (only 3 items). She rolled her eyes (literally, and she was at least 60 yo, not a kid thing). Then she proceeded to spend less than 2 minutes and refund, repurchase etc... the items without me even getting them from the car. Why was she so difficult when it took no time??? Then, just went to Best Buy and waited while two reps looked straight at me, then looked back at their computer screens, completely ignored me, and did not even address me until someone else came up and offered to help me. There was more to that rudeness too, but suddenly I am tired of sharing it. But seriously? I know the US has by far the best customer service in the world, so I try to remain thankful that I see good (or at least middling) customer service most of the time. But, I still wonder if these folks know they are reflecting so poorly on the company? I guess, the same thing when I sin and yet call myself a Christian...

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David has cut his bottom right tooth (next to middle bottom) and is cutting the left one. We have had a few days of crankiness, but what a period of weeks of a cheerful, fun little boy!

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I have been trying to remember to thank the Lord everytime I send up an "arrow" prayer--whether it be finding a near parking space (and yes, I do that too for those who heard M talk about his mom) or a prayer that I find exactly the right gift for someone quickly. I am trying to do this and aloud so David grows up hearing this.

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I laugh (or cry sometimes) at the people who don't understand (or have forgotten) the urgency of things when you have a baby/toddler. When we are ready to go, we go. We don't go back in for something. We don't stand talking any longer. We don't go to just one more store. You get the idea. I am trying to find a balance though now that D is getting older. I do want him to learn patience, but when you think of the customer service lines above...

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Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life." I know I felt heart sick when I was waiting to get pregnant with David. But do I think of him as my tree of life??? Perhaps I need to be more conscious of that especially on his cranky days!

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I love to just sit and think in my own little dream world whenever I have the chance to just sit. I am trying to take those random thoughts (especially for people or circumstances) and pray over them rather than just pondering. I am quite prone to sit and think about the sorrowful state of someone's situation. I want to be more quick to take it to the Lord when I think of them. For example, those in TN that are floating away and have lost everything! or my friends who are still struggling with infertility, etc...

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Perhaps that is a good way to say that these random thoughts probably all have prayer application. Now it is time to go focus on that.