Happy Easter!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Little White Paper, Coconut Trees, & a Bag Lady
Madalyn McDonnell eagerly enjoyed herself this Easter season, and mostly the homemade dishes on the spread this holiday; potato salad, strawberry pretzel salad, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and ham. She's also enjoyed other new things lately, like tuna salad, scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. She'll really eat anything we offer her, or at least try it, and if I tear bites off my sandwich, she pushes my hand (and the bite) aside, then leans, mouth open, towards the entire sandwich, preferring to eat it like the rest of us. As you can tell in the pictures, she's very malnourished and is just trying to catch up ;) .
She's still not walking, but will stand for forever. She LOVES to be held upside down and will tilt her head back if you stop. In fact, it's a great way to get her to stop crying...just flip her over and she smiles a toothy grin of amusement. She's very brave like that. It takes a whole lot to scare her. Evan is...well the polar oppostie...cautious and easily frightened.
"It's not gonna bother you, it's okay," and "I'm not gonna hurt you...it's not gonna hurt you" are two of his favorite phrases right now. It sounds like we abuse him and we're worried he'll say something to this effect at the wrong time and we'll be reported to DFS! These phrases came about from various things...Desitin for diaper rashes, ("I'm not gonna hurt you,") in regards to large dogs that bark, "It's not gonna hurt you,") in regards to the foamy packing wormies in boxes that he thinks are alive because of the way they float on the air. "The little white papers aren't gonna bother you...they're not gonna hurt you," he'll say. Shaun said to me, "Why'd you ever teach him to say that?!" Shaun trys to tell him that they're "happy little white papers" to put a positive spin on it, but it hasn't helped. He's freaked.
I can't say I blame him. And he's also very confused about what in the world we're doing right now. If you ask him where we're moving he answers, "Orlando." If you ask him where we are he says, "Ocala." But every so often he says he wants to go see "Jackson-bill" or that he misses a toy he thinks is in "Jackson-bill." That's hard to hear. We hope he feels at home when we make the transition. I guess this means we can't rush him into potty training too quickly now--that might do him in!!
He loves, loves, loves the Chicka Boom Boom book and will sing the entire song and builds Coconut trees out of his legos and makes his letter flash cards walk up them as he sings it. He also likes spotting Palm trees because he calls them "Coconut Trees" and wants to sing the song. The other day we drove by an "OPEN" sign and I heard him in his carseat reading, "O-PEE-EH-NA" as he sounded out "OPEN." He was so proud when he got it...and so was I, of course!!
Shaun...Shaun is very exhausted with the commute, but a wonderful, wonderful trooper about it. He's such a good daddy and still so patient and attentive to our needs when he finally gets home around 7:30 each night. We are so blessed to have him.
I'm exhausted from packing and driving around with two surprisingly patient little faces peering at me in the rear view mirror as I frantically look for more boxes.
Yes, I hit all the ABCs and Publix stores in town and I know they thought I was crazy jumping in and out of the car and digging in dumpsters! "Mom's at it again." And then when I told Shaun we needed to buy boxes big enough for the tvs he said, "Well now wait a second...you know what...I think I could get some of the huge boxes from work...there's tons...and bubble wrap!" I think he then realized his folly because he grinned a big, sheepish smile when I asked him exactly what he thought I'd been doing all week...using everything from newborn washcloths to paper towels to wrap our breakables in, and prowling around town like a bag lady looking through people's trash. But to his credit, he's easily distracted and currently he has a very good excuse, and we had a good laugh over it.
Easter was spent with my mom's side of the family at her house in Ocala. It was relaxing...though not for Doug who had the flu and was confined to the bedroom, and then mom, who got it later that night, and then poor Nana and Jack the following day, who are still recovering. But for our small crew it was relaxing. The service at Grace Episcapol was wonderful and though we had a not-so-good nursery experience, there's no permanent damage done.
We hope all of you had a relaxing, thanks-filled Easter, as well. Fill us in when you have a moment. Katie@McDonnellPlace.com
Love,
Katie
She's still not walking, but will stand for forever. She LOVES to be held upside down and will tilt her head back if you stop. In fact, it's a great way to get her to stop crying...just flip her over and she smiles a toothy grin of amusement. She's very brave like that. It takes a whole lot to scare her. Evan is...well the polar oppostie...cautious and easily frightened.
"It's not gonna bother you, it's okay," and "I'm not gonna hurt you...it's not gonna hurt you" are two of his favorite phrases right now. It sounds like we abuse him and we're worried he'll say something to this effect at the wrong time and we'll be reported to DFS! These phrases came about from various things...Desitin for diaper rashes, ("I'm not gonna hurt you,") in regards to large dogs that bark, "It's not gonna hurt you,") in regards to the foamy packing wormies in boxes that he thinks are alive because of the way they float on the air. "The little white papers aren't gonna bother you...they're not gonna hurt you," he'll say. Shaun said to me, "Why'd you ever teach him to say that?!" Shaun trys to tell him that they're "happy little white papers" to put a positive spin on it, but it hasn't helped. He's freaked.
I can't say I blame him. And he's also very confused about what in the world we're doing right now. If you ask him where we're moving he answers, "Orlando." If you ask him where we are he says, "Ocala." But every so often he says he wants to go see "Jackson-bill" or that he misses a toy he thinks is in "Jackson-bill." That's hard to hear. We hope he feels at home when we make the transition. I guess this means we can't rush him into potty training too quickly now--that might do him in!!
He loves, loves, loves the Chicka Boom Boom book and will sing the entire song and builds Coconut trees out of his legos and makes his letter flash cards walk up them as he sings it. He also likes spotting Palm trees because he calls them "Coconut Trees" and wants to sing the song. The other day we drove by an "OPEN" sign and I heard him in his carseat reading, "O-PEE-EH-NA" as he sounded out "OPEN." He was so proud when he got it...and so was I, of course!!
Shaun...Shaun is very exhausted with the commute, but a wonderful, wonderful trooper about it. He's such a good daddy and still so patient and attentive to our needs when he finally gets home around 7:30 each night. We are so blessed to have him.
I'm exhausted from packing and driving around with two surprisingly patient little faces peering at me in the rear view mirror as I frantically look for more boxes.
Yes, I hit all the ABCs and Publix stores in town and I know they thought I was crazy jumping in and out of the car and digging in dumpsters! "Mom's at it again." And then when I told Shaun we needed to buy boxes big enough for the tvs he said, "Well now wait a second...you know what...I think I could get some of the huge boxes from work...there's tons...and bubble wrap!" I think he then realized his folly because he grinned a big, sheepish smile when I asked him exactly what he thought I'd been doing all week...using everything from newborn washcloths to paper towels to wrap our breakables in, and prowling around town like a bag lady looking through people's trash. But to his credit, he's easily distracted and currently he has a very good excuse, and we had a good laugh over it.
Easter was spent with my mom's side of the family at her house in Ocala. It was relaxing...though not for Doug who had the flu and was confined to the bedroom, and then mom, who got it later that night, and then poor Nana and Jack the following day, who are still recovering. But for our small crew it was relaxing. The service at Grace Episcapol was wonderful and though we had a not-so-good nursery experience, there's no permanent damage done.
We hope all of you had a relaxing, thanks-filled Easter, as well. Fill us in when you have a moment. Katie@McDonnellPlace.com
Love,
Katie
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Yellowdog
Found the poem while packing and thought I'd throw it on here real quick.
I wrote it in college. We were supposed to pick a photograph and describe it, then move to a memory, then make an analogy. I chose a picture of Hunter and me...we were spooning on the rug in front of the fire at our old house:
Yellowdog
His almond eyes, half hidden,
rest in her red sweater sleeve,
her fair curls mingling with blonde fur.
Pink palms nestle in his chest feathers;
they're like two golden spoons
in a drawer with oriental liner,
basking, borrowing heat from hearth,
they sleep forever on Kodak paper.
And often in summer grass,
the sleepy paws stretch by the lawn chair,
her body is his shade as he licks ice cubes
that fall from her red Dixie cup.
And sometimes in spring-fed water,
they drift on well-worn foam floats,
yellowdog on his own yellow raft.
Nosing closer, wet dog props his
sweet, sun-warmed chin on her browning young arm--
total sunblock--but she doesn't mind,
and his chin links their lazy drift.
Balloons, car-rides, the small white dog:
things that make a yellowdog anxious
Crooked-tooth smile, rhythmic tail wag:
things that make an anxious girl calm.
I wrote it in college. We were supposed to pick a photograph and describe it, then move to a memory, then make an analogy. I chose a picture of Hunter and me...we were spooning on the rug in front of the fire at our old house:
Yellowdog
His almond eyes, half hidden,
rest in her red sweater sleeve,
her fair curls mingling with blonde fur.
Pink palms nestle in his chest feathers;
they're like two golden spoons
in a drawer with oriental liner,
basking, borrowing heat from hearth,
they sleep forever on Kodak paper.
And often in summer grass,
the sleepy paws stretch by the lawn chair,
her body is his shade as he licks ice cubes
that fall from her red Dixie cup.
And sometimes in spring-fed water,
they drift on well-worn foam floats,
yellowdog on his own yellow raft.
Nosing closer, wet dog props his
sweet, sun-warmed chin on her browning young arm--
total sunblock--but she doesn't mind,
and his chin links their lazy drift.
Balloons, car-rides, the small white dog:
things that make a yellowdog anxious
Crooked-tooth smile, rhythmic tail wag:
things that make an anxious girl calm.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Silver Springs and Some Silver Lining
I'm sad to report Shaun didn't escape it. The flu-bug caught up with him and he had a long night. He's missing his second day at a new job an it seems that each time we say things couldn't get much worse, they do. Maybe we need to quit saying that. It's not true anyway. We are so fortunate and so grateful that our illness will pass and our "homelessness" will, too...that they are not lasting conditions, but temporary trials.
Yesterday Shaun was at work as normal and met with a realtor to see another house on the market. He made our third offer and then of course, right after he came down sick last night, we found out the other realtor had been carrying on a bidding war, which is super unethical and really isn't supposed to happen anymore. So the price greatly increased, but the closing date and neighborhood was a plus, so Shaun decided to still make it a go. I hadn't seen it and had no opinion...how could I on a house I'd never seen and when two offers have already fallen through and I all I really want to do is move and settle-in somwhere. So last we heard, it's ours. We'd heard that once before, before we knew there was a bidding war taking place, so we're afraid to get our hopes up yet again.
So while we've had a rough month of it...putting Hunter down, the commute, two failed offers, and the flu-bug for all four, there seems to be some silver lining on this raincloud and surely the storm's almost over, so I can't harp on this pity party for too long!! God is so good--this we well know.
So while Shaun had a rough night, he's now sleeping, and Evan (who's been throwing fits since 6:00 am) just finished eating lunch and is entertaining his sister quite well at my feet. While there's laundry to be done, a binder to be overnighted, and I have yet to take a shower, naptime's soon approaching and God's grace is surely good. Taking the time to write this helps me remember.
I've also posted some pictures from our trip to Silver Springs last week, courtesy of my dad, "Boo." We saw a Water Lights Show, rode the Glass-bottom boat, ate ice cream and saw some neat animals. Dad bought the kids a wind-up toy and a stuffed animal. It was perfect for their ages, and they had a great time.
Yesterday Shaun was at work as normal and met with a realtor to see another house on the market. He made our third offer and then of course, right after he came down sick last night, we found out the other realtor had been carrying on a bidding war, which is super unethical and really isn't supposed to happen anymore. So the price greatly increased, but the closing date and neighborhood was a plus, so Shaun decided to still make it a go. I hadn't seen it and had no opinion...how could I on a house I'd never seen and when two offers have already fallen through and I all I really want to do is move and settle-in somwhere. So last we heard, it's ours. We'd heard that once before, before we knew there was a bidding war taking place, so we're afraid to get our hopes up yet again.
So while we've had a rough month of it...putting Hunter down, the commute, two failed offers, and the flu-bug for all four, there seems to be some silver lining on this raincloud and surely the storm's almost over, so I can't harp on this pity party for too long!! God is so good--this we well know.
So while Shaun had a rough night, he's now sleeping, and Evan (who's been throwing fits since 6:00 am) just finished eating lunch and is entertaining his sister quite well at my feet. While there's laundry to be done, a binder to be overnighted, and I have yet to take a shower, naptime's soon approaching and God's grace is surely good. Taking the time to write this helps me remember.
I've also posted some pictures from our trip to Silver Springs last week, courtesy of my dad, "Boo." We saw a Water Lights Show, rode the Glass-bottom boat, ate ice cream and saw some neat animals. Dad bought the kids a wind-up toy and a stuffed animal. It was perfect for their ages, and they had a great time.
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