Nesting?!?

Yep, it's finally happening.........I'm having bunion surgery this Wednesday! I'm not sure why, but I'm SO excited!! Yes, I'm silently laughing! For those of you who aren't too familiar with these ridiculous protrusions, please let me educate you. They are caused by the good ol' gene pool not the common myths you tend to hear such as wearing high heels. So ladies keep on wearing your Manolo Blahnik's or horribly uncomfortable high heels from Payless if you're anything like me. They can look very different. Mine look like I swallowed a marble and it settled on the inner side of my feet. Apparently bunions don't just come with old age as I can remember having them since I was teeny tiny. Needless to say, my left bunion is to the point where is just flippin' hurts. I have gone into a nesting phase since I scheduled this surgery. I have (so far) successfully completed the following: reorganized under the kitchen and master bathroom cabinets (and if you saw what was underneath Matt's cabinet you would understand why I'm including this in my list), painted our bedroom, bought new bedding, recovered our dining room chairs, reorganized (or stashed) Grace's toys and books, bought several new accessories for the house, and deep cleaned our carpet. Don't get nervous, I also have a few projects that I can complete while I'm sitting for TWO WEEKS!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Yep, you heard it right. I'm supposed to stay off my foot for two weeks! The good news is it's an outpatient procedure so I won't need to stay overnight in the hospital and both Mom and Barb are coming down to help cover our needs for the two weeks (I'd like to say THANK YOU in advance). But what I'm not used to is sitting on my rear for extended periods of time given the schedule Grace and I are used to. That's fine but back to this whole nesting thing. What is it that sets it in motion? Is it our inner conscious knowing that we'll be incompacitated for a period of time telling us to get these tasks done? Whatever it is, is very strange! For those of you who haven't experienced it yet, just wait......someday you will and you will think back to my bunions! haha
Alright, I think my rant has come to an end. On Wednesday morning, please take a moment of silence for my bunion that has been with me for 30 years. It's really been fun explaining to people why my foot tilts to the left and my toes are all squished. But oh how I look forward to waking up and not having my foot pulsate when it hits the floor. And if I come home with a baby after this procedure (hence the nesting phase) instead of a small capsule labeled "left bunion thanks to Dave Harding", I'm going to have some serious questions for Dr. Percer!!! :)

Photoshop

We finally broke down and bought the Photoshop software for our computer last weekend. We've only had one day to play around with it a little, and here are a few pictures that Matt did on Sunday. I LOVE it!!!!! I'm sure there will be MANY more to follow!

Potty Training 101

This week we have officially started potty training!! Earlier this summer, Grace started showing us signs that she was getting ready for this stage by looking at us and saying poop and then pooping in her diaper. Well today she went potty on the "big girl potty" for the very first time!!! YEAH!! Grace probably thought I was having a small seizure from my reaction since I got A LITTLE excited!

I tried to start the morning with her sitting on the potty, but she wanted nothing to do with that. I tried a few other times during the morning, and we had no success although she did manage to squeeze out a little toot!! But after she had a nice long nap and was in a good mood, I decided to try again. She sat on the potty pushed a couple times and out it came!!! Next came the best part for Grace. She got to put 5 stickers on her potty chart and got a surprise (see pic below)! Some of you may not believe in bribing with food, but she's my child and I know food will work!! haha

I have run into a slight snag.......she now thinks she gets a "stick" every time she walks into the bathroom. We'll have to work on that a bit tomorrow! :)

I was extremely motivated after her success today, and I just knew I could get her to poop on the potty after supper and be able to write a "how to" on potty training by the end of the month. I sat her on the potty before her bath for a few minutes and nothing happened. Immediately after she got off the potty, she squatted and went right on the bathroom floor!! And after her bath, she went TWICE on her changing table!! I guess we have a long road ahead of us and that "how to" book will have to be postponed! :) I'll keep you updated as her chart fills up! Wish us luck!!

Meet the next Mary Lou Retton!

Last Friday, I was looking for something fun to do with Grace. We decided to check out a gymastics gym that I've been hearing a lot about recently. This place had it all! There was a full kid's area with mini balance beams, rings, bars, even a pommel horse! HILARIOUS!! Shortly after we arrived, Grace went right for the foam pit. She just maneuvered around in the pit at first, but after a few minutes I was throwing her in and she was cracking up! Then it was off to the trampolines! She was giggling and laughing the whole time. She took a few rounds on the balance beam (with Mary Lou style dismounts), and then she just took off. She ran a few hundred laps around the gym before it was all said and done!

We're going to start working on her floor routine this week! hahaha It might even by time to purchase her first leotard!! As you can tell from this picture, Grace was completely worn out by the time we left.

She had a blast and I'm sure we'll start making Tataru's a frequent stop on our weekly schedule!

Eye Injury

Last night as I was finishing up dinner, Grace started screaming her "something really happened this time" cry. She had fallen and hit her eye on a basket that I have next to our couch. It didn't look so good last night, but today it's much better.

Here are a few pictures we took last night. No need to worry........she had a quick recovery! :)

And if you're wondering, yes the pictures were taken after her bath and Matt gave Grace a Donald Trump hairdo!!

Goldfish and Cheerios

Alright moms if you're anything like me, you ALWAYS have an endless supply of goldfish and cheerios with you at ALL TIMES! One day we were almost out of goldfish (which is a crisis in itself), so I decided to throw in some Cheerios into our goldfish bag-o-goodies. I usually have a couple crackers for myself after Grace gets some "bish" in the car. I happened to eat a goldfish and a Cheerio at the same time, and had a flavor explosion in my mouth! Let me tell you folks, it is GREAT! You may think I'm a little strange for writing about this, but I LOVE to find a good combination of foods to eat......of course I had to pass this along. So the next time you're in the car, at the doctor's office, out and about, and you taste this little heavenly treat just say out loud, "She was right!!" Or if you would like my mailing address to send a thank you card from Paula's Handmade Memories http://www.paulashandmadememories.com (plug), just send me an email! :) ENJOY!

Captiva Island

Last week, we went on Grace's first beach vacation. We headed down to Captiva Island, Florida and joined Mom, Dad, the Bischof and Mohr families. Matt and I were A LITTLE leary of the 14 hour road trip we had to tackle, but I am EXTREMELY excited to tell you that Grace did FANTASTIC!! She only slept for 15 minutes (yes I said 15 minutes), but the countless episodes of "Mick" did the trick because there was hardly any fussing! YEAH!!

Grace didn't know what to think of the ocean on the first day. She didn't seem to mind the sand, but the "waves" hitting her feet were another story.
She LOVED making sand castles......or should I say knocking them over! By our second day, Grace was tired of acting like a rookie and she started walking right into the ocean and letting the waves hit her. She thought she was pretty funny once she got her footing and grabbed my hand! She was no tourist ok!

With 4 kids in the house (ages 4, 3, 2, and 1), it was a little chaotic but I have no major catastrophes to report! Only a minor fever and a couple colds interrupted our R & R during the week. We had great weather until Thursday and Friday when the rain came didn't want to let up. But no worries, it just gave the moms an excuse to enjoy a couple afternoons of t-shirt shopping (a.k.a. martini tasting)! Ok we did go t-shirt shopping but somehow kept ending up at the Keylime Bistro! :) We love you dads!!

Overall, we had a great week. We don't get to see each other as often as we used to given our schedules and the distances between us all. It's just so nice to sit, chat, get to know the ins an outs of my family's lives without any other worries! Awww Boss and sissies! I'm getting a little teary! haha

And I'm happy to say that Grace also did better than I ever could've imagined on our trip home!! She was quite the little trooper since our trip back to Knoxville was a bit longer after Matt's slight detour through Atlanta!! haha Although we're still catching up on our sleep, there's nothing like experiencing another first with my baby!!