The Joys

Anyone who has ever had the joy of carrying a child knows that pregnancy is not all kicks and glowing. Today I am enjoying the joy of the sciatica pain. In addition to that I've learned I am anemic (which explains my exhaustion as of late).

It is fun, however, to watch String Bean talk to and about Ooh-Ah. "Night, night, Ooh-Ah!" and "Ooh-Ah crib," among other things are often said at our house.

I do realize, however, that my pregnancies have been so much easier than many of my friends' pregnancies. Morning sickness? Nearly non-existent. Except for the sciatica, nearly no pain at all.

It is more difficult to be pregnant when you have a toddler who insists on being carried.

I was a little scared, but it turned out okay.

A few years ago, I heard a woman say that she prayed one year to become organized. It was the worst year of her life. The next year she prayed for organized friends and things have been great ever since. Well, yesterday, my organized friends, Mandie and Aimee came to visit. Mr. Bean and Filbert took off with the kids and I was left to fend for myself against the organizational push. Three rooms were tackled and defeated. Mandie made me get rid of my wedding shoes and then even after that she said I had get rid of at least one more pair, but preferably three pairs. (This is when it got scary.) (This is also when the term Nazi entered the conversation.) (In my defense, it was actually Mandie that said it.) (I just quietly agreed.)

After about 3 hours, 3 rooms were clean and organized, except for a couple of piles of Filbert's stuff in our bedroom. I even went a little further after and Aimee and the Nazi Mandie left. My entire fabric stash is organized and stored on a book shelf. Yay me!

And Yay for Organized Friends!

It Has Arrived!

The new-to-me oven has arrived. It is installed. I can begin baking now!

Our handyman friend, Eric, installed the new oven for us. We had to run across the street to Ace Hardware to get a part for it. Of course, we are having a frigidly cold day today and the snow is falling and blowing everywhere. Eric entertained String Bean on our walk by purposely sliding in the snow. Incessant giggles followed. One 88 cent part and we had no other snags.

I am looking forward to getting going with my holiday preparations now.

Answered Prayer

Yesterday, I told the story of our oven's carbon monoxide problem. Today, the repairman made a house call to evaluate the cost of repairing our oven. Verdict: get a new oven. The repair was going to cost almost as much as the oven itself cost us 5 years ago.

When Mr. Bean came home, I broke to him the bad news of the broken oven and unwelcome guest who had been or is currently living under it. Mr. Repairman told me it was "a creature women tend to not like" and left it at that.

I threw up a few hail Mary prayers. You know the kind that go like this, "Well, Lord, we can't afford a new oven right now. I suppose you already know that. So, as we set forth on our adventure, please pave the way with good sales and 0% financing for 12 months." Of course, on the way out the door, I updated my Facebook status to read I am "open to any and all of your oven buying advice as it seems we are in the market for one. We can use our old one if we want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We are opting to purchase a new one." I had a few replies of suggestions of brands and off we went.

What we wanted at store #1 was unavailable until December 12. We could not gamble waiting that long since we start our parade of holiday parties on December 13 and I have a large amount of baking to do.

At store #2, we settled for the next best thing which did not have all the features we wanted. The price was lower than at store #1. They offered free delivery and haul away. The installation cost was only $20 and we could get 0% financing for 12 months. So, we bought it.

We got home and the following comment was on my Facebook status, "We have one you can have! Ask my mom about it." Figuring it was worth the phone call and vaguely remembering talking to his dad about them having this stove sitting in their garage post-remodeling looking for a new home, I called.

It the the exact brand and color we were hoping for. It also has all the features we want, they are willing to deliver it and take a look at our visitor situation under the current oven. All we have to do is find someone to help us install it. Luckily, a mutual friend of ours is a handyman. Check, check, check, check, check and check. The best part of the whole deal is that its FREE. Oh, yeah. That's my kinda deal.

I'm out $70 for the repairman's fee, but that's a small price to pay for getting the thing replaced. I don't know how much our handyman friend will charge for installation, but it will be much cheaper than the cost of a new oven.

It is amazing to me that even the small things we bring before the Lord matter to him!

Rate My Day

Mr. Bean's Facebook status yesterday:

Rate my day--Pros: Friend bought us lunch, got a nap, went to birthday party of another dear friend, curry rice for dinner. Con: Stepped barefoot in String Bean's poop.

Make that Museum, not Zoo

Well, due to the weather, we ended up not going to the zoo, but to the Children's Museum instead.

String Bean and friend Grace tore the place up. Among String Bean's favorites were the wind tunnel (Nothing is cuter than a toddler in goggles!), splashing in water, and putting clings on a plastic "window".

Wouldn't it figure that since I took her diaper bag to the car after lunch she'd decide to poop within minutes of resuming play?

Re-Discovery

String Bean at 21 months enjoying her baby swing.
Photo by Mr. Bean

A friend needed to borrow our baby things while her grandson visited. String Bean rediscovered her baby swing. This is pure joy.

Blast from the Past

My old college roommate is here visiting this weekend. We had several other college friends come in for a cook-out and to reminisce before Beth leaves for the mission field with her husband, Justin. They expect to leave for Croatia in June-ish.

We enjoyed sharing old college stories, "what are they up to now" moments, and comparing notes on our own lives for the past 9 years. What was interesting is how our lives intersected in college and how they continue to intersect in various ways now even though we do not see one another regularly.

Since we are all friends with one another on Facebook, we've managed to keep up here and there, but Facebook is no excuse for a real face-to-face conversation, although it is better than no communication at all!

Visitation

My friend, Cheri, is in the hospital. She had a low blood pressure but high pulse episode and they took her in for observation. The bottom line (as of this post) is they think it is just stress related and haven't found a medical reason for it, yet. Better safe than sorry.

String Bean and I got the e-mail about her hospital stay this morning at 9 am. (She wrote it at 6:00 am after the cardiologist visited with her.) We had a playdate scheduled (with my co-blogger Amy's kids and some other friends), so following the playdate around noon we visited with Cheri. We were her first visitors! I hope she got a lot more this afternoon.

Let this be fair warning to all my friends: If I end up in the hospital for ANY reason, I need visitors!

Friends are a Blessing

Don't forget to enter our giveaway which ends 11/30 at noon!

Just yesterday, a friend of mine brought over a bag full of clothing her daughter had grown out of. Although it does not fit String Bean, yet, it will soon! Mr. Bean and I have been so blessed to have numerous friends who have given hand-me-downs in the last year. One friend, who was done having kids, gave us all the furniture for String Bean's nursery. We were so blessed to not have to purchase a crib, changing table, 2 gliders, a high chair, or numerous toys that were gently used.

How have your friends been a blessing to you lately? Post here and let us know!

If you know me in real life and have need for baby food, I have lots to unload. String Bean has decided she's too mature for baby food and we'd love to bless you with some!

Hijaking My Sister-in-Law's Friends

Facebook, which has revolutionized how I relate to people, made me "friends" with my sister-in-law's friend. We look at each others photos and ooh and ahh over our kids. Of course, I just have String Bean, but my sister-in-law's friend has two cute kids. A boy and a girl. Her daughter is 6 months old. String Bean is 11 months old, but just a runt. We both secretly have been eager to get them together to see how much bigger my sister-in-law friend's baby is than my own bundle of joy. Here is where my evil plan began: I decided to hijack my sister-in-law's best friend.
After all, once she becomes friends with me, she'll forget all about my crazy sister-in-law!

We arranged to meet at Ikea today for some 50 cent hot dogs and bargain shopping. I woke up this morning to find String Bean's nose running and all kinds of snotty goo glued to her upper lip. Disgusting. I decided I needed to talk to my target for hijacking and let her decide whether my evil plan would go forward. She didn't answer her cell. I left a message:

Me: Sister-in-law's friend who I am secretly hijacking, String Bean woke up this morning with a runny nose. I don't think she's sick, I'm pretty certain it is just because she is teething. Do you still want to go to Ikea today? I didn't want to make the decision for you by showing up with my potentially sick kid. Let me know!

After a couple hours, Sister-in-law's friend who I am secretly hijacking called back. Long story short, her kids just got over a cold and she didn't want to take the risk. We'll have to reschedule.

I hope I get a second chance to hijack her.

Note: String Bean might just be sick. She's coughing now and has watery eyes in addition to the snotty nose.