Some said it couldn’t be done but I managed to remove the polish from my toenails and repaint them – all without passing out from lack of oxygen.  It is quite a trick when you can barely bend at the waist.  It might be the last time I manage to do it without help.

No photo – I didn’t say it was a neat paint job and my toes look like fat little sausages by the end of the day.  Tomorrow?  I might try to shave my legs.  If you don’t hear from me, send help because I’m passed out in the tub from trying to bend.

Our favorite blogland red head is at it again. Tricia has become involved with a special orphanage in Guatemala. Special because it houses children who are not up for adoption. They will live in the orphanage until age 16 and then be transitioned out.

And our Tricia is the ultimate party planner – both professionally and personally. She is planning ahead to give these kids a happy Christmas so they aren’t forgotten come December. Tricia is even headed down to help throw the party in December. And being Tricia, she would never solicit something for nothing. She is offering chances to win gift cards and items worth $280 to those who are able to donate to the cause.

Go visit Tricia here (soak up some Sofia and Victoria cuteness while you are there) to find out more. Help her ensure a fabulous holiday season for these kiddos.

Sabrina has long called every animal “puppy” and every puppy says “meow”. She has started acknowledging that dogs say “bow wow” and kitty cats say “meow” but only when prompted. I guess she got tired of us correcting her because she has come up with a new animal “puppy-cat” and puppy-cats say “meow”.

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No question summer has arrived here in the South. It has been in the 90’s for over a week. We attended a cook-out yesterday. They had a picnic tent and a large industrial fan to cool things off but after 2 hours standing in the 90+ degree heat, my ankles were huge and it was time to go home. It was fun meeting some new people though.

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Broccoli salad must not be a big hit at southern pot lucks. I took some to the cook out yesterday and it was barely touched. Up north, people scarf it up. How can anyone not love a salad with bacon in it?

I’ll make a note in my Northern to Southern Handbook.

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Our lawn is bringing down the whole neighborhood. After yet another battle over billing with the lawn service we hired, we fired them. They hadn’t been here in over 2 weeks when we fired them so the weeds lawn is getting pretty long. We ran out and bought a cheap mower after calculating it would be way cheaper to mow our own lawn since the going rate for our little yard seems to be $35-40 a week. But we forgot to purchase a gas can and gas to run the mower. Yep, we are the pride of the neighborhood.

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Sabrina, who shrieks during baths and whimpers during showers, had a ball playing in a sprinkler yesterday. It looked like a wide innertube with with holes poked in it – the spray was very gentle. We now need to find something like it. Any water that doesn’t cause trauma is a good thing in our world. And this pregnant momma isn’t particularly interested in going to a public swimming pool so it might provide some heat relief in our own backyard for her.

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Sabrina’s latest trick is to “hurt” herself and come whining or crying to us for sympathy. She will purposely bump her elbow or act as through she has hurt her hand or leg and coming to us while cradling that body part as though it is about to fall off.

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The current pregnancy obsession craving is Chunky bars. Remember those with the chocolate and raisins and peanuts? Fortunately, I have to go out of my way to find them so I only get about 1 a week which is 1 more than I need.

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We’ve been trying to get outside to play in the early morning or evening before bed because it has been too hot to get out during the main part of the day. Miss Sabrina does love her little bike.

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And I saw this on someone’s blog awhile ago with every intention of giving credit but I have forgotten where I swiped it from. It makes me laugh no matter where it came from.

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You don’t appreciate being able to bend at the waist until you begin to lose the ability to do so. Just about everything becomes more difficult.

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And just to clear up any confusion – we don’t own a Right Said Fred CD.  She turns on the radio and that station was obviously playing the 80’s at lunch.  I do own The Vault (Def Leopard’s greatest hits) without shame…great cure for those days when I look in the mirror and see nothing but a mom because it reminds me of a very different Michelle who still lurks under the mommydom somewhere.

Since “Spinning Girl” wasn’t enough, here’s “Dancing Girl”

I told Michelle that I’d convert a couple of the movies that she took of Sabrina into Flash so they could be posted. So here’s one of the best clips showing her spinning herself into a dizzy, stumbling girl.

Have you seen the Hallmark commercial for the Father’s Day Card that plays MC Hammer “Can’t Touch This”? I LOVE this commercial. We rewind it a couple of times every time we see it. It just cracks me up!

If this is any indication, we are in for a loud adolescence from Miss Sabrina.  She has learned how to turn on the radio in our bedroom and will randomly turn it on so she can dance throughout the day.  And she likes it loud.  I wish these photos had sound – she was dancing to “I’m too sexy”.  It was too cute.  And when she tires of dancing, she twirls until she gets dizzy and falls down.

And for those who asked about how I got her pony tails straight – dumb luck.  Some days it works out and some days they are a mess.  The only tip I have is to find rubber bands that aren’t too big or too small and to do it while her hair is wet.

One year ago today, we were traveling home with our daughter Sabrina.  We spent the day on planes and in airports.

I remember feeling overwhelmed with emotion both when our plane left Guatemalan soil as well when we touched down on U.S. soil.  By the time we reached home, I thought I was too tired to feel much else and then I saw this banner (“Welcome Home, Sabrina and Mommy”) hanging in my foyer:

And the next morning, I woke up and saw this:

My little family fast asleep in our own home (okay we didn’t really live there any more but we still paid the mortgage every month and most of our stuff was still there).

I can’t believe it has been a year and that it has only been a year.  I can’t imagine our lives without Sabrina.  I’m one blessed momma.

Tessa now has a crib.

Craig’s list offered a good deal and I took it. I was feeling like poor Tessa is getting the short end of the stick as the 2nd child. We took great joy in shopping for Sabrina’s crib and car seat and other accessories. This time around it is more of a financial issue than a joy. That isn’t a function of her being a second child so much as no longer being a 2 income family. Sabrina received this bedding set as a gift and I never put it in her bed because it ended up in storage when we moved. So to soothe my guilt over the 2nd hand crib (which is perfectly attractive and safe – just not quite as pretty as Sabrina’s) I put all the doo-dads in Tessa’s crib to make it all pretty before she is born. She won’t use her crib at first (she’ll be in a bassinet in our room for awhile especially if breastfeeding is a go) so we can leave it all pretty for a few months.

I feel a bit better being able to cross at least that off of my list. My BFF brought us a bassinet and some clothes. (My BFF had a baby stash that would have clothed about 10 children. Her sister just had a baby and I’m about to so we both made out. Thanks D!) She is also going to try and send us an infant seat they no longer need. If that doesn’t work, another friend has made the same offer (thanks P!). So all of those very appreciated hand me downs take care of most of Tessa’s immediate needs. I still am on the prowl for a dresser for her room and I need to pick up some bottles in case breastfeeding doesn’t go well and diapers are always a good idea. I’ll pick up a few receiving blankets for swaddling and we should be able to call ourselves mostly prepared.

Just typing that paragraph makes me feel a little better. I was such a list maker (some of you may remember mocking my lists of lists when I was moving to Guatemala) in my past life but now I only seem to make lists for grocery shopping so this to do list only resides in my head. I probably should put it on paper so I don’t forget anything important. My brain is like a sieve these days.

Oh and someone asked about my due date.  It is officially August 4th but I will be induced the last week of July but I don’t know the date yet.

And a little Sabrina cuteness just because:

At different times, we have had some struggles with meal times but nothing serious.  Self-feeding has meant much slower meal times for Sabrina.  She can turn a small toddler size meal into an hour long marathon.  She isn’t a big fan of protein and vegetables these days – she has discovered that fruit and crackers are much more yummy.  So we have to give her the protein and veggies first and then if she finishes that she can have some “dessert”.  I started giving her protein and veggies for lunch and dinner and fruit and carbs for snacks but she figured that formula out.  She would barely touch lunch and 10 minutes later start telling me she was hungry and asking for crackers.

Dinner time was becoming a real battle.  She would poke around for an hour.  One of us would sit next to her constantly prompting “Take a bite” or “Eat your food”.  She would exert her control by putting a bite of food in her mouth and refusing to chew it or swallow.  She would just hold it in her mouth for 5 minutes.  It resulted in frustrated and annoyed parents.  It also often resulted in a crying toddler as we constantly badgered her to eat her dinner.  We probably wouldn’t have turned it into the battle it became if it wasn’t for her barely staying on the weight charts.  Her pediatrician said at each visit he wanted to see her gain some weight so I worried that if I didn’t get a good dinner in her, I was a bad mommy.  Last week, Steve and I found ourselves snapping at each other in our annoyance over the dinner situation.  We decided then and there we had to come up with a new strategy.

We now give Sabrina her dinner and set the timer for 30 minutes.  When the timer dings, dinner is over.  We don’t prompt her to eat (although we do tell her to quit feeding the dog), we just keep her company and make sure she doesn’t choke.  I hated it the first few nights because I felt like we were putting her to bed hungry.  But she seems fine with it and we are all less stressed out over meal time.  She eats her breakfast pretty quickly now – she is probably rather hungry in the morning.

Who knew parenting a less than 2 year old would require so much brain power from 2 college educated adults?