What were you thinking?

Do you ever feel like asking God that question? What were you thinking? I do every time I see a bug. I know, I know. Birds need to eat. I've heard that answer plenty of times. But he's GOD. He decided what the birds needed to eat. He could've picked something else. This morning as E and I went out to the pool I spotted a bug that made me ask that question over and over again. I don't think I've stopped asking it yet. I normally try to hide my fear of bugs in front of E because I don't want to transfer such a silly fear over to her if I can help it. There was no hiding it today! I had to explain to her that mamma was afraid of that bug. I called C and he told me to kill it. Why didn't I think of that. (Read that with a sarcastic tone, please.) His exact words when my voice was trembling on the other end trying to explain to him what the bug could do to me if I tried that was "it's just a bug". Well this bug wasn't just a bug. But it was sitting on the ladder that goes in the pool and I had promised my three year old that we were going to go swimming so I had to face my fear. I took the thing we clean up leaves with and was very thankful it was sitting on the end of a very long stick. I slowly moved it closer to the bug and prayed out loud for God to help me do this. I squeezed the bug between the thing I was holding (sorry, the word has slipped my mind) and the ladder. It wiggled, trying to get free. I stood there for a long time and the thing wouldn't die! It finally almost succeeded so I pushed it into the water where if floated around. Do you think the thing would drown? Of course not! So after watching it float around the pool about 5 times I had to rescue it so we could go for a swim. I threw it in the bushes. The whole time we were swimming I kept expecting it to fly back and hurt me just because I hurt it. You can only imagine my fear every time a leaf touched me. And my swim suit has all these strings to tie that float around in the water and keep touching me. Made me jump several times. And then a little bug actually bit my neck. I'm sure he was a friend of the nasty, big bug.

I must mention that as the bug was floating around in our pool I asked out loud "what is that?" to which E replied "It's a bug, mamma" with her cute little voice. "I know it's a bug, sweetie. I just don't know what kind it is", I said. She answered "It's a big one". =)

So what kind of bug was it? I have no idea. It looked like a mix between a cockroach and a moth (it had ginormous wings) and it was as big as my hand. I snapped a couple of pics with my phone, but it's not a great camera and I didn't dare to get too close so I don't know if you can tell either. I'll post them anyways...

She loves oatmeal!

I introduced H to solids today. First she nursed, both sides, and then I gave her one tablespoon of oatmeal mixed with two tablespoons of breastmilk. I couldn't keep up with her and she barely got messy. She was definitely ready for this. It took less than five minutes for her to finish it all. Here are before and after pics of her mouth. =)

holidays and birthdays

What did you do with your leftovers from Thanksgiving? We got three dinners out of it, which all had leftovers:

• Mashed potato soup with rolls and salad (see pic)
• Stuffed pork chops with sweet potato casserole
• Turkey pot pie (using the turkey, of course, and the gravy)
  

I also found a recipe for butternut squash muffins.

Well, that holiday came and went and now we're preparing for Christmas. But first we're getting ready for E's birthday. She has her party for her little friends this weekend. She is really looking forward to it, asking about it several times a day. She keeps saying "party on 5". She is counting down the days using her advent calendar.

Autumn Harvest Chili

So I made Rachael Ray's Autumn Harvest Chili last night. E helped. She always wants to help cook nowadays. It's fun! She washed veggies, peeled the onion (I sent her to wash her hands afterward and as I was drying my face off this morning I noticed that my towel smelled like onions), mixed spices, stirred, poured stuff etc. I probably wouldn't eat the veggie chili by itself. I prefer the meat kind. But served on top of the roasted butternut squash it was actually really good. I didn't put as much of the ancho chili stock in as the recipe calls for b/c of E and also b/c I get a wicked heartburn very easily right now. I also made sure to boil the chili at the end and not just simmer it for a little bit. I wanted to make sure the alcohol was completely gone. Well, if you clicked the link you probably saw a picture of what it was supposed to look like. Here is my picture - overflowing a little bit... =)

E's first "huvudfoting"

Yesterday E woke up from her nap being all cranky. She didn't know what she wanted. "Let me down!", "No, not down, up!" She whined and cried about everything, until we brought the paint out. After she was done painting she wanted markers. I had my back to her as she was drawing but I could hear her talk. She was mentioning body parts so I turned around and she had made her very first "huvudfoting"! I don't know what you call it in English but if I direct translate it, it would be a "head footer". You know, where they draw a head and attach the hands and feet to it. I got so excited I took it away from her so she wouldn't color over it. (Yes, she got a new piece of paper and she made a frog, she said.) Here's her "head footer".

no photo

Here's why I don't put close up pics on my blog. If you're a fellow blogger, please be careful!

Memorial Day

Yesterday was a fabulous day! Here is a little glimpse of my favorite part...
She had so much fun and I could have watched her play forever! Well, for a really long time...

6 things on my mind

• E has poison ivy. At least that's what we think it is. C has it too and he gave her a bath the other night (dumb, I know, but we didn't think) and now she has a rash on her torso and stomach. She is doing so well when I rub the gritty cream on. She just sits there in my lap. But then I have to rinse it off and I can't use warm water. She freaks out. Her cry is so sad. It breaks my heart. Hopefully it will go away soon. Of course something was going to happen just as we are in between health insurances (which we wouldn't be if SS would have just kept their promise instead of breaking the rules, yeah, I'm upset with them!).

• Our non-paying tenants moved out. Or, really-late-paying-after-tons-of-nagging tenants would be more correct. So far they payed almost 1/6 of Aprils rent. And of course they didn't show up again to get their stuff. Not too happy with them either!

• Our new tenants want to move in ASAP and has offered to help getting the place ready so it will happen faster. One of them is working with C right now, doing some electrical work. They have also offered to paint which is so awesome. I am very happy with them! =)

• E has been behaving so well lately. She listens, says "tack tack" (thank you) every time you hand her something, she says "äska dig" (älskar dig - love you) spontaneously and gives us lots of hugs and kisses. I love her so much!

• She is treating her dolls the same way we treat her. Which hasn't been scary yet =). She did put one of them in time out once about a week ago though.

• Tonight after dinner she wanted to blow bubbles. I told her no b/c the bubble solution gives her a rash and she has enough of that right now. I had to use the bathroom, and I told her and she said no and pointed to the bubbles again. And as I went she looked at me and then she calmly, but firmly said " I said no. No kissa." (kissa = pee)

Library

I took E to the library for the first time today. We got there an hour before story time and she just played and had a ton of fun. She did sit down for story time, for a little while. But she was more interested in the toys so she went back to playing. After 2 stories about presidents and the white house it was time for craft - a wreath made from a paper plate and some stars. And then you could draw or write something in the middle. That was the plan. Ella did her best and I must say I love the result. What do you think?

Winter Wonderland

E and I went out to play in the snow yesterday. It took forever to get her ready. She was so patient though. Once we got out and she saw all the snow she said the same thing she says everytime we turn the Christmas tree lights on: Bow! Which is her way of saying wow. I put her down in the, for her, thigh deep snow. She didn't move an inch. I had to make a path for her to follow. But when my path turned and she saw the steps to the pool deck in front of her she just kept pushing through that snow all by herself. It got deeper and deeper too. You could barely see her little legs. She was so happy when she reached the steps. We ended up having a great time playing in the snow.

E's turn again

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In Loving Memory of...

I haven't blogged in a few days. There is one thing I wanted to write about but I didn't know how to write about it. I still don't think I know. But I'll try.

My farfar (paternal grandfather) passed away this past week. He fell on a chair, broke a couple of ribs and punctured a lung. The air spread throughout his body and he suffocated. This happened on his anniversary, the day before his birthday.

It feels weird writing this down. To see it in print. Yes, this is the last thing that happened to my farfar, but that's all it is... the ending of his life here on earth.

Before the ending there was so much more. Here are a few random things I remember...

• His laughter.
• He called me "snäckan" sometimes. (I'm pretty sure he said that to all of his granddaughters and others too.)
• The summer cabin. We had some fun summers and Christmases there. (I could write a whole book about that. So many fun childhood memories.)
  
• His wavy hair.
• He cried at my wedding.
• He was always so happy to see me.
• He traveled a lot when I was younger.
• His voice.
  

I miss him! I loved him so much. I still do.

I was looking through my scrapbooks and found this picture of him. I think it's from 1991.
Farfar... Jag älskar dig och saknar dig!
Kram!
~L

trick or treat

We had a great day yesterday, celebrating C's birthday and taking E trick or treating. My plan is to put up some pix on FB today, but here is one for now...

First day without C

I took E to the wooden park today. She had a great time climbing, swinging, going down the slides and picking up little rocks from the ground. She found a round, smooth one that she really liked.

After her nap she was a total brat. I need indoor activities. Desperately! Please leave a comment if you have any ideas.

I skipped her bath tonight. I think it's going to rain tomorrow so I'm saving it to have some fun splash time tomorrow. The only thing on the schedule for tomorrow are my allergy shots.

We talked to C on Skype today. She was so excited to see her daddy!

You're not old enough

E gets into my makeup box EVERY day. She brushes her hair with my makeup brushes, tries to unscrew the lids on the eye shadow, "sponges" her face etc. All in front of a mirror that happens to stand on the floor. This morning, as I was trying to get ready, she climbed up on the toilet seat to get to the makeup again (I have to get a shelf for it soon) and I decided that I had enough. So I moved the box to the kitchen table. Like that would stop her! She climbs up on a chair and continues up on the table. So I move the box again, to our bed. And I walk back into the bathroom to brush my hair. But something isn't right. It is way to quiet. I run in to the bedroom and E is sitting on the bed with lipstick all over her face, the pj's, the comforter... you name it. (Pictures to come soon on FB and MS)

Chewing gum yesterday, makeup today... Girl, you have to wait until you're a little bit older.

Family hug

Oh, I've got to write this down. It's the cutest thing and it happened during one of our family hugs. So my husband and I are both holding our daughter and we're all hugging and then we take turns kissing her and I give my husband a kiss. Then we both give her another kiss. Then the cute stuff happened. She put one hand behind my head and one behind my husbands, pushing our heads together so we could kiss again. It was so sweet!

I went to the most amazing baby shower today. All the details, from the invitation to the decorations, the cake and the people in costumes, oh, and the shirts made especially for the new mommy and daddy we're just awesome. We weren't allowed to wrap our gifts but had to present them in a nice way. If I can figure out how to do it, I will post a picture of my gift.

I did it! Can you guess the theme of the shower?

Tomorrow is Father's day and I know what I want to get for my husband, but I just can't make up my mind about the final choice. Hmm...