Gearing Up

This morning marked another turning point...Grandma Darlene had to get on a plane back to Ohio. Back to her normal life and husband who missed her so much. Back to her daughter and other grandkids. Back to *free time* during her day and being able to go to the bathroom and eat whenever she wants! Now that's freedom! :-) We were BLESSED beyond belief to have her with us for 7 whole weeks. She tended to all the kids' needs. She cleaned the house. She was my right-hand lady and now we have to gear up for a new transition. I STILL have not been cleared to be able to lift James. {Can you imagine not being able to lift/hold your own baby for 2 months?!} My back is slooooowly getting better with physical therapy 2x week and exercises I do multiple times every day, but it's definitely not responding as quickly as I'd like. I feel okay if I'm standing up, but can only sit for very short periods of time {5-10 minutes} and any movements related to lifting or bending over hurt, which impacts everything...diaper changes, cooking, doing dishes, cleaning, etc. So now we're on the hunt for a daytime babysitter. NOT the way I'd choose to spend money, but we don't really have any other options. I seriously think there should be some sort of insurance / worker's comp for MOMS who get injured!



James is doing awesome and continues to amaze us and his physical therapist with how quickly he is picking up on things! He is super active and always on the go, climbing over things, cruising all the furniture, using his toys or boxes as "walkers" to push through the house, climbing the stairs. He finally figured out real crawling this week, but sometimes still resorts to his default "slap/drag" method on his stomach. :-) Last week his doctor gave the OK for him to start SOLID FOODS...hooray! So far he likes applesauce, baby oatmeal and bananas. The first bite is always a blech face, but then he warms right up to it.

{hooray for food!}

On a fun note, Maddie and I are gearing up for her 4th birthday, coming up November 2nd. {Now, if I could only pick a party day that works with everyone's schedules! I swear, football season and soccer season are huge buzz-kills when it comes to trying to plan a party with kids and adults!} Against all of my best Mommy persuasion, Maddie has picked a PIRATE theme for her birthday this year. Why, you ask? Because they have cool telescopes. {But couldn't we just get you a toy telescope without planning a whole party around it, Maddie? Apparently not.} I guess Maddie is ahead of the curve because I've found quite a bit of pink girlie pirate stuff on the internet...who knew?! Of course, when you take skulls and crossbones and swords out of the equation {because that just crosses the line for 4 year olds in my opinion}, you aren't left with much. Pirate ships. Treasure chests. Treasure hunt. Palm trees. Oh, and telescopes for spying all those approaching pirates on the high seas, for sure. We'll go with that. So here's something I made last night for the party out of an old shoe box, foam paper and some embellishments...

She loved it...mission accomplished.