Need an oil change?

If you do, I would not suggest going to Wal-Mart to have it done. We used to always go there, because it's the cheap place to get your oil changed, but rude service and long lines drove us away (no pun intended). Once my husband cleaned out the garage and could actually fit a car partially inside of it, he started changing the oil in our cars. So I've been spoiled for the past year or year and a half.

But, alas, my car was in desperate need of an oil change and we are planning to drive it about 900 miles this weekend (oh, what fun, especially with a baby who hates car rides). And my husband doesn't really have time to do it before then, so I decided to just try Wal-Mart again. I'm cheap, so I figured waiting a little bit longer than I would at Jiffy Lube or some other place known for their quick service would be okay. But I've had a change of mind, and I don't think I'll be going back to Wal-Mart for an oil change--at least, not until my kids are out of the baby/toddler stage.

When I drove up and parked in the line marked off with flags, one one white truck was in front of me. The service person was working on another one, and maybe there was another one in the garage too--I don't know. All I know is that I waited for nearly 2 hours with two kids in Wal-Mart. Yes, I know, what was I thinking? Both girls were actually on their best behavior and complained very little, but still. Even I was getting antsy by the second hour, and I wasn't trapped in a cart the whole time.

Next time, we'll go somewhere like Jiffy Lube (if I can find a coupon). Better yet, next time I won't wait until the last minute to decide that we need an oil change when we're about to go out of town and my husband will be able to do it.

Loud and louder

Carys was babbling quite loudly in the car the other day, so Ashlinn leaned over and said, "That MIGHT be too loud, Sisterbelle!" Carys babbled even louder. So Ashlinn yelled back, "That MIGHT be TOO LOUD, SisterBELLE!" I couldn't help but laugh.

Confessions of an OCD mom

I feel like I'm starting to get a little bit OCD about sanitizing after poopsplosions. Carys poops through her clothes a couple of times a day and then smears it all over the place as she scoots/crawls around. And so I do what I feel like I must: I change her diaper, wash down her body with baby wipes, thoroughly sanitize my hands and the changing mat, change her clothes and deposit the poopy ones in a pile to be washed, and then get out the vinegar and lemon juice spray bottles and sanitize everywhere along her path.

Is that normal? Am I going off the deep end? I don't remember doing this when Ashlinn was this age, but I don't remember her being so mobile during her poopsplosion stage either. It seems like a good idea to me, since feces carry e. coli and all, but I feel like perhaps I'm teetering on the edge of being OCD about it. I think I'm going through more baby wipes than I need to because I always think she needs to be wiped one more time. And I'm pretty sure I'm going through more sanitizer than I need to as well. But how do I stop? I'm just trying to be healthy about things....

Bubbles

Ashlinn was crying while I was changing her diaper this morning, so her tears were pooling in her eyes because she was lying down. "I have bubbles in my eyes," she cried.

"Bubbles? Those are called tears," I told her.

"No, they are bubbles," she told me.

Then, later, her tummy growled just before we were going to eat lunch.

"That was gas," she said. "It was in my tummy."

SisterBelle

That's what we've taken to calling Carys these days. I'm not really sure why, but one day, I just started calling her that and it stuck. Ashlinn thought it was fun, too, and I am a sucker for continuing on with silly things that Ashlinn thinks are fun. And so Carys became SisterBelle. Even my husband calls her that now. It's really cute the way Ashlinn says it though; it comes out sounding like "SiiiisterBeeele" or just "SisterBee." Okay, so maybe it's just me, but I think it's really cute. Carys must like it too, because she frequently grins when we say it--especially when Ashlinn says it.

Happy moment

After I blogged last night, I went to pick up my baby who was playing on the floor. "I'm coming to get you!" I said in a sing-songy voice. Usually she comes crawling/scooting toward me when I talk to her, because she's a bit on the clingy side these days and my voice reminds her that she's not in my arms. But not last night. Instead, she grinned at me and then scurried away as if telling me to chase her. I caught her and held her up to my face, and she gave me the biggest grin ever. Awww.... It was one of the happiest moments I've had in a long time. I love that girl.

Crawling baby

We officially have a crawling baby on our hands. She's been scooting around on her tummy and army crawling for quite some time now, but she crawled six steps forward today, so I think I can consider her a crawling girl now. And as I type this, she's crawling across the living room floor to find her daddy in the hall way. Yes, I know, it's 10:40 and she's still awake. But she took a late evening nap and is nice and wide awake right now. However, we are on our way to bed now, and hopefully she'll actually sleep!

Don't go, Grandma

My parents visited this weekend, and we all had a blast. We took a picnic lunch to the park yesterday, Ashlinn got to go shopping with Grandma and Papa, and then Mommy and Daddy got to go out for a quick dinner before Carys decided she needed to eat ASAP. Ashlinn also got to go without a nap, which is a big treat. And she spent the whole day playing with Grandma, which is an even bigger treat.

This morning, she could tell something was up. I didn't have to tell her that Grandma and Papa were going to have to leave; she somehow just knew. So, she took Grandma captive. She led her into her room to play in her tent and read books, and then she didn't let her out. Every time she wanted to get a new book from the living room, she'd say, "No, I'll go get it; you stay here" and then she'd shut the door. Once my mom asked if she could go to the bathroom while Ashlinn was getting a new book, and Ashlinn said no. She didn't want Grandma to leave.

Sigh. I feel bad and wish we lived closer to each other so she could see Grandma and Papa more often -- for all of our sake's.

Nap time!

The kids are stalling on taking their naps today. Ashlinn is playing in her crib, and Carys is playing on my bed. And I'm sitting here, playing on the computer while they decide to wind down a bit. I don't understand how they aren't tired yet. I'm exhausted and sure wouldn't be stalling about it if I were going to get a nap today! Alas, I have proofreading and dishes to do instead.... But not until this little munchkin goes to sleep.

On the move

Carys has been scooting around on her tummy since right before she turned 5 months old. By 5 1/2 months old, she could scoot across the room in a minute or so. The scoot developed into an army crawl around that point, and she's been on the move ever since. But recently she's gotten much faster and much more daring in her exploration. Now she'll scoot into the kitchen or the hallway, even if I'm still in the living room. Today she made it into the bathroom and my bedroom just in the time it took for me to grab a new set of clothes for her sister. She came into the kitchen while I was putting a bagel in the toaster oven, and she came into her sister's room when I was putting something away in there. She's all over the place and really enjoying her freedom to do so.

Yikes!

Carys was playing over by our changing table this evening and started to pull herself up to a sitting position against it. No biggie--she's done that before. I just watched her from a few feet away and let her do it. I turned my head for a moment, and when I looked back, I saw her trying to pull herself up to a STANDING position against it. She is 6 1/2 months old! Yikes! Of course, she didn't have the balance or strength to really make it work, so she then fell backward and hit her head on the ground, narrowly missing the wooden puzzle block's sharp edge. Yikes!

Sneaky girl

"Daddy can have Sister, and I'm going to have you," Ashlinn told me this evening.

"But I need to feed Sister right now," I told her.

"No," she said as she jumped into my lap. "There's not enough room for Sister."

"How about Daddy brushes your teeth while I feed Sister, and then you can sit with me."

"No," she answered. Then she leaned over her sister and said something that sounded like "Ch-sh-ch-sh."

I looked at her, puzzled.

"I just brushed Sister's teeth. She can't have anymore Mommy milk tonight." Then she leaned back in my lap, clearly pleased with herself.

A growing group

Our small group is growing! Tonight we had 15 people come over for dinner, worship, prayer, and a discussion/study on anger. We are studying different emotions and how we can use them for good, based on how we see God or Jesus using them in the Bible. It went well! I didn't actually get to partake in discussion or worship, because the girls were still awake at the time and I was taking care of them in the other room. But I hear it was really great.

I also need to start making more food. We used to always have leftovers, and tonight we didn't have enough to feed the last few people who arrived. Good thing I had some sliced turkey and other sandwich materials in the fridge. Next week, I'll definitely make more of whatever we end up eating.

Well, I'm off to bed...late again. I'm not doing very well with the time change this year. Oops.

Up late

"Early to bed, early to rise....makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." It's 12:45... What's that say about me? Off to bed I go....

You know you breastfeed when...

This morning, Ashlinn found one of my nursing pads and stuck it in her shirt. "I need a baby for my mommy milk," she declared. Gotta love 2-year-olds and the way they want to mimic everything they see.

My new driver

When we went to pick up our car from the airport parking place, Ashlinn climbed into the front seat and said, "All right. I'm going to sit here and I'm going to be the driver today."

Yes! I always hated being the driver!

Turning into a hypochondriac

Tonight I went to urgent care over a bruise. It was huge, red, and puffy and spread out on the inner side of my leg near my knee. I honestly couldn't remember bumping my leg on anything, and it seemed to appear out of nowhere, getting worse and worse over a couple of hours. I thought perhaps it was a really bad insect bite or maybe even a blood clot, since it was positioned right over a major vein. I tried not to freak about it, of course, but I figured I was better off safe than sorry. So I went in to have it checked out.

I'm pretty sure the doctor thought I was crazy. "It looks like a bruise," she said immediately. It had started to turn a bit blue by then, and I admit that it was, in fact, starting to look like a bruise. But I still couldn't remember bumping into anything, and it looked really bad for not having bumped into something pretty hard. She asked if I was experiencing any shortness of breath or tightening of the chest or anything. Of course I was a little bit. I mean, I do have an anxiety disorder and, even though I was trying my hardest not to get anxious, my body was reacting against my wishes.

After the nurse handed me my discharge orders, I waited at the curb for my husband to pick me up. He had come with me and then gone to get some groceries while I waited in the waiting room and saw the doctor. What could I have possibly done to get this kind of bruise? I thought to myself. Then I remembered tripping over my daughter and bashing my leg into the arm of her rocking chair as I tried not to land on the suitcase still left on the living room floor a few hours earlier. I'm not sure why I didn't remember that beforehand, but I think the fog of exhaustion I live in might be the reason.

Anyway, I really don't want to turn into a hypochondriac. I just want to know what's going on with my body when I don't know what it is. I just want to be safe rather than sorry. I hate that this anxiety disorder makes me more nervous than I would normally be over some things sometimes. Sigh... I feel pretty pathetic right now, but oh well. I suppose things could have been worse, and I'm glad that I don't actually have anything major wrong with me.

So much to do

We're flying up to see my in-laws early tomorrow morning, and I still have a lot to do before we go. Packing with a baby and a toddler is no easy task, that's for sure! I'm pretty nervous about flying with both girls, but hopefully it will go all right. We'll see how many enemies I make on the airplane tomorrow, thanks to my kids. ;)

Anyway, I'm not sure how much opportunity I will get to write here while I'm gone, because I don't think I'll be bringing my laptop with me. We'll see... If I don't write again until next week, have a good next few days! I'm sure I'll return with many stories from the trip. ;)

Rough day at work

My boss yelled at me most of the day today. She was super demanding and then didn't like anything I did. But I can cut her some slack. She is trying to get her second tooth through, after all.

New recipe

Tonight I made potato, tomato, and spinach soup for our small group. I'm going to serve it with turkey sandwiches. I know it's kind of silly, but I'm really excited about this because it's the first time I've ever made this soup and I think it turned out really good. I can't wait to share it with my friends. I love it when a new recipe turns out good! :)