Bed time prayers

We listen to Ansley and Hailey say a prayer every night before we tuck them into bed. Ansley always prays that she won't have bad dreams, that the next up and coming event will be fun (she is big on anticipation), and that she won't get so mad at Hailey all the time (little sisters can be a trial sometimes).

Hailey always says she needs help, but she can really do it just fine on her own. After a few promptings, she launches into all her thank you's. The last few days she has started with "thank you for eyeballs." I am not sure what that is about, but I try to keep a straight face, as we often have to remind her to be reverent during prayers and I don't want to giggle and show a bad example. She also says thank you for various parts of the house like windows and walls (I suspect she is looking around the room for ideas). SHe almost never asks for anything, except occasionally she'll pray for help to be nice to others. She can be very sweet sometimes.

Playroom overhaul

We visited Steve and Amanda's new home last week, and I was so impressed with the playroom in their new house that it inspired me to clean and purge ours. Michael and I had talked about needing to do it for some time, but it seemed like such a major undertaking that I had a hard time getting excited about it. As it was, it took two whole days.



First, we took all the toys from all over the house and put them in the playroom, and let it spill out into the front hall when we ran out of room.




Then, I separated books from toys. Then I pulled out my favorite toys and books, and from what was left, I let the girls each pick a small number of their favorite toys and books. The toys that left the playroom filled seven garbage bags. And there was a really big box of books.



But was is left is in such order that the girls have discovered toys they forgot they owned, and actually have room to play with them. The books are not falling off the bookshelf, and can be neatly stacked there with room for boxes of smaller toys.



And the number of toys is so manageable that the girls can clean up the playroom by themselves and it looks just as nice when they clean it as when I do.

The best part is their toys all fit inside the three toyboxes by the window. This used to be a general dumping ground that got so full, it wound mound up against the window and run into the miniblinds, as well as just spill out the front, so it didn't really look clean even when they put everything away. Now, there is plenty of room to put everything inside of the toyboxes. It is so wonderful when everything is contained.

My Pleasure

Hailey is so funny. She picks up on little sayings that grown ups say and repeats them at just the right time in conversation.
The other day, I thanked her for putting her plate in the sink. She said, "My pleasure" in the most naturally grown up way, it just made us all laugh.

Breastfeeding and decor

About two weeks ago, I just about gave up on breastfeeding (but not breastmilk). I found I was avoiding the times I was supposed to nurse, and looking forward to the first time at night that I could pump. Emberly also got fussier and fussier about eating at the breast, and tended to eat more at night so she could just snack on the breast and avoid a full feeding. I pumped exclusively with Hailey, and missed a lot of the conveniences that came with it. And I liked the control over scheduling of milk expression and feeding that it gave me.

My mom had given me a double ease medela pump that she had bought used for Aubrey, who used it during the month or two that she nursed. But the power seemed weaker than what I was used to, and I suspected that the motor might be too small or just dying. So I purchased a brand new pump to keep my milk supply up for the whole year I plan to feed Emberly breastmilk. I hear a lot of people have a hard time keeping up their supply when pumping exclusively, but I only ran low once with Hailey, and made up for it with more frequent pumping.

Here is the pump I bought. I like it because the bag can be used for other things (about the size of a large diaper bag) and I can take smaller pieces of the set with me as I need them.



I am also excited about my new quilt set. We haven't had a bedroom set in years, and the last one was one of those sets that had a comforter so thick we only used it in the dead of winter.

I wasn't actually looking for new bedding (although I have wanted new bedding in the back of my mind for some time). Angelica had come to visit us, and since she was upgrading to a king size bed, she was looking for a new bed set. We visited Pottery Barn and I was rather unimpressed with their selection. But right across the hallway in the mall is a place called Restoration Hardware. It was my first time inside the store. IT was a lot of faucets and other kinds of hardware, obviously, but they also had soaps and lotions, candles, towels, furniture, and bedding. And there was this quilt, the one I had always halfway pictured in my mind as what I was looking for, middle weight, solid color, soft yet durable fabric, with a pretty and intricate embroidery pattern.

I talked to Michael about it and went back the next day and bought it, along with some European pillow shams (square as opposed to rectangular). Michael says he is used to sleeping with just a sheet that it is something of an adjustment for him, but I absolutely love it. In fact, I love it so much, I make my bed just about every day. And that hasn't happened since...well, I don't think I've ever done that before.




Here is a picture of Emberly in her baby swimsuit and sunglasses. The suit is 3-6 months, and it is already pretty tight on her, so she may outgrow it before we actually get her some real swim time.