Halloween Costumes

Since Charlotte is too little to go trick-or-treating I decided that she would just wear her costume all day today.  First we went to the library and she was a princess.


Later I decided that we should go to the zoo since the weather was so good.  Since we were going to be around the animals I decided I'd dress her in her bear outfit.  

I did have a cute little pink nose, but she rubbed that off before we got to the zoo.  Also there are paw prints on the bottoms of the feet.  She was super cute!

Budget

Aargh, I hate to do the budget.  You'd think that since I have my degree and I stay on top of it, doing the budget wouldn't be that hard for me.  Apparently my simple math skills need a lot of work!  Also my saying, "No" skills at the fabric store.

Home Decor

Here's the fruit of our labors.




A rug for a penny!  Awesome!



Dan built me this TV stand.  I think it's awesome, but he told me that it's, "far from perfect."  He's always harder on himself than anyone else!



This is our hall of family photos.  The hall is skinny so I couldn't get a shot of them straight on.


This is our other new rug.  I thought it was sufficiently masculine enough for Dan to like it.  


Here's our fireplace with the mantel all decorated.  I like my Halloween pumpkins I've painted on the hearth there.


These are the drapes that I made from fabric I used in our two previous apartments for drapes.  I just reworked them here.


I think I finally found a way to display Dan's horns that I like!  I never, ever thought that this day would come, but I think they look good on the wall like that.


These new curtains in our bedroom look really good.  Dan likes them too because they block more light at night.  We've had a really hard time getting used to light coming through the window at night here.  In Clarkston everything was always dark at night.

The New Term

I thought since my husband's life hasn't gotten much of the spotlight here lately I'd catch everyone up. He made it through first year anatomy! YEAH! We don't know if he got honors until the middle of this week though. He doesn't think he did, but I say wait and see. Now he is taking cell biology and...um...I can't remember the other one right now. I'll post that later. At any rate they seem to be much less intensive than anatomy. He seems to have a whole lot more free time to spend with Charlotte and me. Which is so great since Charlotte's first tooth made an appearance today! YEAH! She hasn't slept well the past couple of nights and I'm so glad Dan has been around to share the responsibility. I would go crazy trying to do it on my own.

In other Dan related news his study buddies are going to surprise him on Wednesday and I'm in on it. Given my lack of ability to keep a secret I think this was pretty bold of them although they don't know that I'm horrible at secrets. I'm trying super hard not to give it away, but it's just so good that I want to laugh with glee every time I think about it! I'll let everyone in on the secret on Wednesday, but since I'm trying to be a good secret keeper I wont tell yet.

Also Dan related, this weekend we are going to go to Dan's buddy's wedding. This is a friend he's had since kindergarten so we're pretty excited. We're flying to Washington for the ceremony and it'll be the first time in a plane for our little one. I'm bringing an extra bottle, both pacifiers, finger foods, and some toys, but beyond that it's all about being lucky. We're flying out Friday and back on Sunday. Oh what a weekend. Well, that's all I can think of for now!

Your House in Order

Well, last weekend was a BLAST! Not only did we get to go see the Botanical Gardens, the St. Louis Basilica, with and entire mosaic ceiling consisting of 1/2" pieces of tile, but we also got to go to Daniel Boone's house. It was awesome and it made me realize how my Daniel is much like Daniel Boone in his thriftiness, and hard work ethic. Mom and I also spent some time getting my house decorated while Dan went to class. It was tons of fun because I wasn't doing it alone while trying to take care of the baby. Curtains are up, photos are hung, rugs are down and it feels a whole lot more like home. Mom bought us two new rugs. Which brings me to a great little tidbit. We purchased the two rugs at The Home Depot where one of the rugs was on clearance. It was originally $57 and can you believe that we bought it for $.01!? Yes, that's right! a penny! And it looks every bit of it's $57 goodness at the top of my stairs. Also Charlotte started to try and walk around while holding onto the sofa. She's not too fast at it, but she eventually makes it to where she wants to be.

This morning, while taking out the garbage I discovered another little exciting project was done. Dan bought us storage shelves for our food storage and other things in the basement so I will actually be able to see what we have. Today I found that he's put them together! I was so excited that I organized them then and there. I then decided to inventory what we currently have. Then I looked up what we needed for one year. Oh boy! We are gonna need to get crackin on this whole food storage thing. As far as grains go we're gonna need about 600 lbs of them for a year for all of us and we have a total of 15 lbs. Well, it's something to work on. My only concern is that I couldn't find a solid numerical target for food storage of things like sugar, salt, fruits, baking soda. I found concrete numbers for grains (including wheat, rice, and corn), legumes, and water, but that was it. How am I supposed to get a year's worth of food storage if I don't know how much we'll need? Frustrating, very frustrating. Oh well, I'm sure it's just because I've never really thought about needing it before. (We actually have absolutely no water stored which seems really dumb now that I think about it.)

no news

Charlotte fell asleep during my run this morning. Grrr! She usually falls asleep right when we get home. That way I have the optimal amount of getting ready/doing chores time available. It was tricky getting her up to her bedroom from the street and she woke up. I put her in her crib anyway hoping she'll go back to sleep. Now I have to stay in the front of the house for a while killing time until I think she's back to sleep. If she hears me moving around before she's really out it just wakes her up. Little stinker! Oh well.

In good news I tipped the run/walk ratio in favor of running yesterday! Exciting huh?

I was wondering during my run today, what percentage of people run/exercise while listening to their ipod? If they do that then when do they have time to just think their own thoughts? I have found that my run in the morning is my favorite time to think about the day, the future, funny stories, lots of things. If you're listening to music how do you do that and think at the same time? If you don't, then when do you get a chance to just think?

YESSSS!

A man from the St Louis Water Division just came to my door and told me that they will be shutting off my water for a while for a scheduled maintenance check-up. I guess this means I can't do the dishes in the sink. Or the laundry. Oh darn.

Babler State Park

Well, I got Daniel to come home early from studying Saturday and we drove a little ways out of the city to Babler State park and walked around. I would say hiked around, but there weren't any hills or anything so it was more of a walk than a hike. Here are some photos of our trip.


This was the bridge that we started on. There wasn't any water below it though.

Don't you like her jacket? It has little pants that go with it that have feet with paw prints on the bottom. We decided to forgo those though because I let her get down and walk around a little after the walk and it would have gotten those really dirty.

We did have to stop part of the way through because mommy and baby both got hungry. I had a really yummy chicken salad sandwich and Charlotte had really yummy mommy's milk.

Here we are at the end of the hike. I just realized that not only are we both wearing pink, but we are both wearing clothing that Aunt Katie got for us! Kinda funny huh?

Charlotte figured out that her tongue doesn't always have to be inside of her mouth. In fact she finds it very fun for it to be outside of her mouth now!

In other news, remember those "allergies" that Charlotte and I caught of Dan's a little less than a month ago? Well, I got the cold and got over it, but Charlotte didn't very well. She's all over it except for this cough. A persistent cough that is deep in her chest, but doesn't really do a whole lot except for keep us all up at night. I'm thinking about getting a humidifier. What do you think? Is it worth the investment or should we just tough it out for a little? She's going to the doctor as soon as possible (hopefully next week) since she's now almost 7 months old and still hasn't had her 6 month appointment. If she's still got the cough then I'll bring it up, but I really hope she's over it by then.

Free Time

When we moved here Daniel's faculty group leader gave each member of her group that was married and/or had kids (which was 100% of us) a small book called, "Favorite Places to go with Kids in Saint Louis." I know it's a very catchy name. My mother is coming into town next weekend and I've been perusing the book for a few days now so that her whole trip will be loaded with fun for the whole family. I'm so excited. I wasn't thinking about planning anything, but then Danny Bobby kept asking me if he thought my mom would like to do x, or wouldn't it be fun to take her to y so I figured I should get a plan together. We don't necessarily have to go by the plan, but things always go better when there is a plan. Good news, the forecast for next weekend has Saturday and Sunday sunny and mid 70's. That's still a ways off, especially since both Friday and Monday are supposed to be rainy, but I'm still making plans. It's gonna be good.

So here I was looking at my booklet thinking that some of these things would be fun to do today. The only hang-ups were that (1) my baby cried for a solid hour today and I had no idea why or how to stop it. She cried until she passed out with exhaustion. Hopefully she'll wake up totally over that whole I'm mad at the world attitude. (2) My husband is studying today.

Well, I can't do a whole lot about (1) but hope for a better future. As far as my husband studying I decided I'd call him and see what he's up to. When I asked him how long he'll be studying for he said, "A while still. Why?" I told him that if he studied until around 2 or so then we could still go out hiking or something and wouldn't that be fun? But if he had to keep studying I totally understood since next Friday is his anatomy final. He's so awesome. He said that 4 more hours of studying would probably do him pretty well and then we could go. Now my only question is where to. Choices, choices, choices. Oh I do love free time!

The Hill

So there's a part of St. Louis called the hill. It's where all the Italians live. I know this because the street signs say, "The Hill" with an Italian flag on it. My only question is that where does the hill start? There isn't really a hill so I can't figure out why it is called that and where the geographic location starts. There's a commercial on TV that says this car place is, "right at the enterance to the hill." I just don't get it.

I remember going swimming with my next door neighbor, Kim, when I was younger. She had these snorkeling goggles so we would take turns putting them on and swimming upside down on the bottom of the shallow end of the pool. It was so surreal looking up at people, the room and the lights through the top of the water. Eventually we got up our nerve and swam with them to the deep end of the pool, which I'm sure was around 5 feet, but since we couldn't touch it was deep. I remember looking up at the shallow end and thinking how silly I was when I thought the bottom of that was deep.

The past couple of days I've had that same feeling, only not been able to quite put it into words. That's why I haven't really been posting all that much. I've thought it through now so I figured I'd try to share it. This next part is going to sound really, really silly though. I feel that the pool I am swimming in is my love for those around me, and specifically my family. I was swimming around the bottom of the shallow end of the pool gazing around thinking I had this deep love. It seems that in the last months, and probably triggered by having my baby, I have finally ventured out into the deep end of the pool and my love for them is so, so much more. The funny thing is I don't really think it appears to be any more than it was a few short months ago. So here's what I've been thinking I want to say to my family.

Charlotte
I love you so much that every time I think about it tears just start coming. You are so, so amazing just because you are you. I think you are beautiful and strong and funny and smart, but I want you to know that's not why I love you. Even if you were none of those things I would still love you because you are my baby and you are amazing. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the blessing it is to be your mom and I pray for the knowledge of the skills I need to meet your needs mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. I feel that because of you I have become a stronger, milder, and more open minded person. I love you.

Daniel
I love you more than I can ever express to you. Sometimes I just burst inside to try and get that across to you. I can't imagine being any happier with my chosen partner on our path as husband and wife. You truly are smarter than the average bear and I am so, so, so proud to be the wife that stands next to you. I think you complement me so well--at times holding me up and at times being held up by me. You are smart and handsome and strong and truly gifted, but again, like Charlotte, that's not why I love you. I love you for just being you, and for letting me see all of you. There are somethings I want you to never stop doing because I cherish them so. I want you to never stop making up silly songs to sing to our children, I love hearing them from the other room as you sing them to Charlotte in the tub. I want you to never stop being, "funny, funny" even though sometimes I don't laugh right away. You always know how to make me laugh. I want you to never stop trying your best to make me feel protected and provided for. I love that about your masculinity. We had heard that the third year of marriage is a hard one, which may be true for some. We have also heard that the first year of medical school is a hard one, which may be true for others. I just want you to know that I am proud of what we are doing and I am loving you for your efforts more and more each day.

Daddy
I love you and I can't thank you enough for being my dad! I feel like I won in the daddy lottery! Thank you so, so much for being my dad and giving me so much of yourself! I am learning more and more each day how hard it is to raise children in a righteous way. It is hard, but you have also taught me that it is worth it and it has plenty of perks along the way. I am so sorry when I think about how hard on you I was when I was in high school. I just want you to know that I appreciate and value you as an amazing man and a wonderful father. You are strong, patient, smart, spiritual, and funny. That is not why I love you though. I love you because you loved me first. I know that you worry about me because I know I will never stop worrying about my baby. Thank you for your love and support.

Mom
I love you and I can't believe how shallow my love for you has been until now. Now that I understand what it means to have a mother's love. Now that I know what it's like to worry over every choice I make and my child makes. You worked so hard for Katie and me! And now I realize that your job is not over, even though both of us are out on our own. Being a mom is forever and I am so glad that you are mine. You have taught me so much about what that means and I am realizing more and more each day how carefully you treated your job. Nothing good happened in our home by accident. You and dad had plans for us and I thank you for that. I don't know if I have ever told you this before, but I was always so proud to have you come to my school when I was in elementary, to pick me up, to give a presentation at career day, to go to my performances. I just want you to know that 100% of the time I thought you were always the most beautiful mom there. You are beautiful, strong in mind and personality, humble, and spiritual. I love you mom!

Katie
I love you so much! You are my exemplar. Thank you so, so much for being there when I needed you. I know, and have always known, that I can turn to you for any help that I may need. I really do have the best sister in the whole world. You never acted too cool to be around me and I love you so much for that. I hope I can teach Charlotte to be the kind of big sister that you always have been for me. You are S-M-A-R-T! And you are also sincere and loving. Thank you for showing me yourself. I love you so, so much.

Garrett
To the newest member of my family I just want you to know that I love you so much! You have made my sister more happy than I have ever seen her before and I cherish that about you. I want you to know that I think you are amazing both in action and in word. I hope that my children will look to you as another shining example of what it means to be a good man in our society. Thank you for that, in advance. I love you.

Nathan and Jodi
I love you both so very much. You have taught me what it means to be a newlywed and be poor and be happy. The two of you are the first examples that I actually was aware of outside of myself. Thank you so, so much for that. You both are also my first examples of good and righteous people that weren't raised by my parents. You taught me that different ways of doing things are ok and that I need to figure out what I'm going to do as a parent. Thank you. I love you both and I love your girls!

LeAnn
I love you so much more now than I ever have before! I love you not only for being a wonderful mother to my husband and a great grandma to my baby, but also for being a great role model for me. It is such a comfort to personally know, someone that has done the exact same things I am doing right now. I love that you support Daniel and me so very much. I am very fortunate to have such a great mother-in-law. It feels so good to be understood about where I'm coming from. Thank you. I love you.

John
To the father of my husband, I love you. Thank you for teaching my husband what it means to be a good father. I think that many of the things he does in our family are because he saw you doing them for him. Thank you for teaching him to work hard and to be honest. Thank you also for your continued love and support for all three of us right now. We love you so much. I hope that my children will also look to you as an example of a good father, husband, leader, and man. I love you.

There are many more people I have been thinking about lately and many more that I love very much. This post is getting long though so maybe I'll just call them and let them know. My love for each of my family members and friends has deepened so very much in the past few months that it amazes me. I thank the Lord for each of you daily.

The Explosion

Since the beginning of the week our baby girl has had a little bit of constipation. (Yes, this post will be about poop so if you don't want to hear it stop now.) She's still been going, it just takes her a long time of hard pushing. She would get this sad little worried look on her face and then push until she was red in the face to get it all out. I told Dan about it and he was a little worried so he said we should make sure she nurses enough on me and make her rice cereal with more pear juice than normal. Well, I'm here to declare operation roto router a success. Yesterday she again got the worried look on her face and my heart sank. I was worried I'd have to take her into the doctor for this problem since it had been going on for a few days. After 5 minutes of red faced pushing I figured she was done so I took her in her room to change her. We don't have a changing table, the floor works just fine for me, so I plopped her down on the changing pad on the floor and took off her diaper. I started to clean her up when she began to push again. I panicked. She pushed out a "plug" of harder poop.....and then.....the explosion of liquefied poop shot right out of her onto my front. All over my shirt and shorts and socks and the changing pad and the rug we have on the floor and her and the diaper I had under her. It was everywhere! And it was disgusting.

Her attitude changed amazingly after the incident. She must have felt better because she acted happier all day than she had for the past few. I was completely covered in poop, and, amazingly relieved by it.

PS. Sorry if this grosses you out. It was the only thing I could think to post about today.