Since its been about six months since my last post, I've decided to dust off the blog and freshen it up with a new post.  As much as I want to keep a blog regularly updated for our loved ones that can't see us regularly, it seems like it requires a set of talents that God didn't gift me with...much like gardening.  (Any one need to kill a cactus?  Send it my way...I'm experienced.)  Anyway, yesterday we all woke up much too early for a Saturday morning, had a quick breakfast, got dressed and left to spend a few hours at the zoo.  Although we've lived in Houston for a little over a year, this is our first time to make it to it's zoo and Brinley's first time to go to a zoo ever.  After spending a few hours on Friday night printing out maps to get us from our home to the zoo, as well as a map of the zoo and notating all the labels with the times of any special events that were happening that day and downloading the Houston Zoo App to our iPhones and iPad, I went to bed feeling quite prepared to Saturday's adventure.  Through my research efforts I learned it is best to arrive close to opening because the Main Parking lot fills up quickly on the weekend.  Now through experience we know to arrive BEFORE the gates open at 9:00AM.  We arrived about 9:45 and the main parking lot was completely full.  Instead of going along the nice little route that I had planned out on my map of the zoo, by the time we found a parking spot and walked to the entrance and paid for our family membership, we had to make a bee-line straight for the giraffes.  Out of all the exhibits, one that I wanted to do the most Brinley to experience the most was the giraffe feeding.  We had two options, the 11:00AM feeding and the 2:00PM feeding.  Knowing how well or actually not so well that Brinley handles new places, particularly when they are beyond crowded and noisy, I wasn't sure if we'd still be at the zoo at 2:00PM.  I've learned over the years that short visits are usually the best for everyone involved in our family.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

For the past week or so I've been thinking about what I could do for my mom for her birthday.  I'll be honest, until this morning nothing I had thought of had blown my skirt up so to speak.  Then out of the blue, I thought about some Father's Day surveys that I had pinned on Pinterest months back.  Basically the jest is to have your child answer the questionnaire and then give the questionnaire to dad for Father's Day.  Obviously there's not much work that goes into this 'gift' but the best part of it is some of the kooky answers that kiddos are capable of giving.  What's even better is if you do this for several years in a row--say from ages 5-10, or so--and keep track of how the child's answers change over time.  Long story short I thought to myself, "Why can't I do this for someone's birthday?" so I changed up the questions and picked what I thought would be the best ones to ask Brinley.  Without any further ado, here is Nana's Birthday Questionnaire:

1. What is Nana's name?  "Well...her last name is Tomanek."
2. How old do you think Nana is?  "I don't want to do how old Nana is!"
3. How tall is Nana?  "Big!"
4. What is Nana's hair like?  "The edges are long and LOTS of grey."
5. What about her eyes?  "Blue"
6. What does Nana do at work?  "She buys things."
7. What does Nana do for fun?  "She likes to play with something outside."
8. What are her favorite things to eat?  "Hamburgers and hotdogs."
9. What does she like to drink?  "She likes to drink water like me."
10. What does Nana like to wear?  "Shirts and pants."
11. What makes Nana happy?  "When she sees Brinley." :-)
12. If Nana could go on a trip, where would she go?  "My house."
13. What would she pack?  "Clothes and maybe Papa." :-D
14. What is your favorite thing to do with Nana?  "Play outside with toys, watch movies, read books and cook something like macaroni and cheese."
15. If you could give Nana anything for her birthday, what would you give her?  "A special toy."  

I hope y'all had as much fun reading the answers as I had getting them out of her.  I must mention that she was very adamant about not picking a number for Nana's age.  I even 'Googled' a 1-100 number chart  and told her to pick ANY number she thought Nana was, and she absolutely refused.  :-)

Nana, we love you and hope you were blessed beyond measure on your special day.  Happy Birthday!  

Happy 4th Birthday, Brinley!

I came across the realization this past week that I didn't have this blog back in 2008 when I was pregnant with Brinley, and somehow the past couple of birthdays that have passed since I started blogging I have failed to share Brinley's birth story. While I did keep a pregnancy journal for my own personal use, I thought it would be nice to share how our little family went from two to three with our friends and family who are interested in reading. So here it is...

It all started at 38 weeks when I went to my check-up at 1:00PM on March 11th of 2008. By this point in my pregnancy I was seeing Dr. "D" on a weekly basis. At this appointment while Dr "D" was listening to Brinley's heartrate with the doppler she noticed--and I did immediately as well--that it was slower than normal. As a precaution she asked me to stay for about 20 minutes so that she could monitor Brinley's heartrate using an external fetal heartrate monitor. After the 20 minutes of monitoring, she asked me to come in when her office opens first thing in the morning at 8:30 to see if there had been any change in Brinley's heartrate. That evening, I had a feeling that when I left our home the next morning that I wouldn't be coming back for a few days and it wouldn't be without a baby in my arms so I took a GOOD shower that night, shaved my legs, blow-dried and straightened my hair, etc.

The next morning before leaving I went ahead and gathered up the 'hospital bags' that I had packed weeks before and put them in a prominent place in the living room so that if Bruce needed to come back to the apartment to grab them, he would be able to easily find them. At the appointment, Brinley's heartrate was monitored again using the external fetal monitor for about 20 minutes and after hearing pretty much the same as the day before, Dr. "D" decided it would be best to do an emergency induction. She said that while most doctors would have me sent straight to the O.R. for a c-section, she would let me try to deliver vaginally, BUT (and it was a big 'but' that she made very clear) if Brinley's heartrate did not tolerate the labor well and continued to drop she would do an emergency c-section. She instructed me to drive straight to the hospital with NO stops along the way. I called Bruce in my car from the clinic parking lot and told him to CALMLY leave work, go by the apartment to get the suitcases and meet me at the hospital. Bruce met me at the hospital shortly after 10:00AM and by 10:30 I was in a Labor & Delivery suite, changed into a hospital gown and hooked up to a pitocin I.V. to get labor going.

By 3:00PM, I hadn't made much progress (I was at 4cm), so Dr. "D" decided to speed things up by breaking my water. Five hours later (around 8:00PM) my nurse came in, check me and said I had progressed to 8cm. At 9:30PM she announced I was at 10cm and said she would call Dr. "D". After getting the room transitioned for delivery, I began pushing shortly after 10:00PM and Brinley made her entrance into the world at 10:39PM. To me, the labor and delivery could not have gone much better than it did. Everything went so smoothly. The nurses were amazing and the best part--I didn't even need an episiotomy! Dr. "D" even made the comment after delivery that my body was 'made to have babies.' After getting Brinley dried off, Bruce and I were able to get acquainted with her for about an hour before she was taken to the nursery to be bathed, put under the warmer, etc. While I was in my recovery period in the Labor & Delivery suite, Bruce went to Whataburger and got us both something to eat. Don't judge--not much is open 24 hours and I hadn't been allowed to eat since my breakfast at 6:00AM. At that point I was feeling famished and had a HUGE craving for pancakes.

At around 1:00AM on March 13th, I was moved from the L&D suite to a postpartum room, where I stayed until we left the hospital the next day. Bruce and I ate our late dinner/early breakfast and he left the hospital around 1:30AM to catch a few hours of sleep at home. He was more than welcome to stay at the hospital with me, but I insisted he would probably sleep better at home and that I would be fine without him. Looking back it was such a great decision to send him home. With the most perfect baby girl in the world right there in my room all night, I wasn't able to sleep a wink. At one point, when a nurse came in to check my vitals she was surprised to find me awake and tried to give me something 'to help me relax and rest'. I spit that crap out the second she walked out of the room! :-D

Anyway, to give a brief overview of the next few days, I had Brinley room-in with me. She was only taken to the nursery when an exam needed to be performed or her vitals needed to be taken. I didn't get much rest that day because my vitals were being checked, dietary would come in to take meal orders, etc. By Friday morning, we were all ready to go home and were anxiously awaiting for our doctors' approvals. By the time Brinley and I received our approvals, discharge papers were filed and the car was loaded up, it was about 4:00PM when we finally arrived at home and were able to start our new lives as a family of three.

"No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside." ~Unknown Author

"Little girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angel wings, scattering gold dust & kisses in our paths." ~Unknown Author

Happy 4th Birthday, Brinley! You are the greatest miracle and blessing of my life. I pray every night that our Heavenly Father will continue to keep you healthy, safe and happy, and that He'll guide your daddy and I to be the best parents we can be to you. I love you beyond words.

Beginning of February

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

...in the rain. Last week we were blessed with a few days of rainy weather and it seems like that is what it will be like this week as well. After 2011 being such a dry year, I am so thankful for each and every drop of rain we receive.

::listening to

Silence. Brinley is in bed and Bruce is behind the other laptop working on 'work stuff'.

::clothing myself in

...rainy weather clothes--black yoga pants and a pink tank top.

::giving thanks for

...sleep. Brinley has been doing so well the past few nights. In fact, Sunday night she spent the whole night in her bed...didn't wake up at all until after Bruce left for work around 6:30. At that time she came and slept in our room for a couple more hours. Last night, she slept fairly well. She woke up in the middle of the night to come to our room and then in the early morning hours to potty. I'm really hoping that this continues because for the past several weeks I have been getting up with her every couple of hours most nights to turn on her ladybug. After being desperate for a solid or even somewhat solid night's rests, Bruce and I told her that ladybug was going on vacation for a little bit to see if it would help her sleep better. She still has a nightlight in her room, but it is something that stays on all night...unlike the ladybug. So far, the experiment is working.

::pondering prayerfully

"If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future." ~St. Therese de Lisieux

::clicking around these links

Why I'm No Homeschool Superstar

Some Things Mom Can't Do

Helping Yourself

::turning the pages of this book

The only 'page turning' I've been doing lately is from my iPhone. Last week I read Don't Make Me Come Up There! and this week I've been reading How To Unspoil Your Child Fast...not that I think Brinley is spoiled, but its one of those books that I've heard is good to read before you NEED to.

::thinking thoughts as I go about my daily round

Christmas thank you notes. If you have not received one yet, I promise I am almost finished and it will be on it's way to you soon!

::creating by hand

DIY Magazine Holders. I actually came across this tutorial via Pinterest so I hunted in my closet for some flat-rate mailing boxes that I knew I had been hanging onto because something could be made out of them. (Wow...the last half of that sentence reminded me so much of my grandmother. Not a bad thing at all...love you Grandma!) Anyway, Brinley and I made a trip to our local Hobby Lobby one day last week to buy a few yards of fabric and spray adhesive--which honestly, I don't think I knew they made such a thing--and this past weekend I created six magazine holders that we actually use to sort out mail into various categories like 'Catalogs', 'Bills To Pay' and so on.

::learning lessons in

trusting God.

::encouraging learning

in the pages of some of our favorite winter board books. This past week Brinley and I read The Snowy Day and did some really cute lessons that corresponded with the book that I found over at one of my favorite homeschooling blogs, Homeschool Creations.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Overall, I feel like we're having a more organized year so far. I've been doing pretty good about creating a menu plan for each week so that I know what dinner options we have on hand and and I don't have the "oh, %$&# what's for dinner?" thought at 4:30PM. At least, not so often...

::begging prayers

...for a special couple that is dear to my heart and needing our Lord's work in their marriage.

::keeping house

This week I'm taking advantage of the rainy weather to focus on getting some deep cleaning and organization done around here.

::crafting in the kitchen

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? Since I joined last summer, we have tried at least a dozen new-to-us recipes. Although this really isn't much of a recipe, one of my favorite things to do for lunches during the week for Brinley is to create a Muffin Tin Meal. About a month ago, I bought a couple of really cute silicone muffin pans at Michael's like this, and once or twice a week I put her lunch in it. Usually it consists of snacky, easy-to-eat finger foods. For example, I might put tangerine slices in one compartment, blueberries in a second, Cheddar Bunnies in a third, raspberries in a fourth, slices of cheese in a fifth and baby carrots in the last. I haven't ventured too far of the path when it comes to making her Muffin Tin Meals, but there is a whole blog dedicated to them here that is full of very cute meal ideas.

::loving the moments

The three of us snugged-up on the couch watching Shrek on a lazy Sunday afternoon with bowls of freshly popped popcorn between us.

::living the liturgy

Thinking ahead to the Lenten season that is quickly approaching. I think I'll start by taking Elizabeth's advice and reading about The Pharisee and the Publican.

::planning for the week ahead

Lesson plans are completed for next week. Brinley will be working on Valentine printable that I found over at Confessions of a Homeschooler. Now Brinley and I just need to get to the grocery store within the next couple of days so that I can get my meals planned for next week.

::capturing the images of my days

As promised, here are some pictures from Christmas that I finally uploaded and {lightly} edited.

This is from our 'Christmas Morning' which we celebrated a week early due to traveling. Brinley's 'big' gift from us was an art table that she uses every. single. day. Instead of wrapping it, I wrote 'Merry Christmas Brinley' on some of the paper.

Brinley's other two presents from us were a Melissa & Doug Pizza making kit and an Alex My Giant Busy Box that you can see on the right side of the picture. Bruce and I focus on giving her only three high-quality gifts versus a dozen less expensive gifts that would either break, get lost or get forgotten about in a short amount of time. We figure if three gifts were good enough for the Christ Child than three gifts are good enough for ours. ;-)

Brinley giving her cousin Lucas kisses while PawPaw reads one of her favorite books, The Little Airplane.

I tried to get a decent picture of Brinley and her cousin together, but trying to get a picture of two three-year-old's is next to impossible. Somebody is looking away, or digging in Nana's flower bed, or pestering the dog, or looking at the ground or....well, you get the idea. I was able to get decent shots of each of the kids by cropping and rotating pictures of them from the duet shots I was trying to get. Here's Brinley's one and only time to smile AND look at the camera the entire afternoon.

...here's 'Santa'. ;-)

...and here are the two 'stinkers' together making 'silly faces'. :-D