tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-224271972012-01-26T14:44:47.855-05:00This is Jule Ann's blog.Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.comBlogger4251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-73399837592816344672012-01-26T13:38:00.002-05:002012-01-26T14:44:47.866-05:00

Some friends and I recently started a Casserole Club. The concept is simple: One night a week, you make two casseroles for dinner, and you take one of those casseroles to someone else. And one night a week, you don't have to make dinner, because a hot casserole will be arriving at your door, ready to eat. This is such a great arrangement. It's not that much more work to make two identical

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-12623640913844434292012-01-11T10:42:00.006-05:002012-01-11T13:03:09.431-05:00

I know you mean well. I know you're just trying to make conversation. But please, please, please stop asking new moms if their babies are "sleeping through the night" yet.Yesterday morning at my local La Leche League meeting, we were having a discussion about sleep habits, and how anytime you mention sleep problems, well-meaning folks (from pediatricians to nosy neighbors) seem to jump at the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-6537732130625020852011-12-14T08:11:00.003-05:002011-12-14T09:15:44.522-05:00

Lately, Valerie has been watching Sonic the Hedgehog on Netflix. (Yeah, yeah, I'm a terrible mom, I know.)Which means we've been roleplaying a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog. The first few times she asked to play, she told me, "Mom, you be the blue head." Which was a logical way of referring to Sonic, since, well, he has a blue head. Sometimes, she would call him "the blue super bear," so I think she

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-51696974226527870862011-12-07T07:59:00.005-05:002011-12-07T10:41:26.146-05:00

I spent the day in New York City yesterday with a 13-month-old strapped to me, a three-year-old in and out of a stroller, a big, heavy diaper bag, a camera, and a friend who was also pushing a stroller with a ten-month-old inside. New York City is awesome, and there are so many things to see, and we walked as much as we could, but sometimes, you just have to take the subway. And for every subway

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-62755715018633636072011-12-04T16:10:00.003-05:002011-12-04T19:23:15.969-05:00

Okay, for starters, I want to make sure you know that you should not be putting your child in his/her car seat wearing a big, puffy winter coat. In a car accident, all that down/poly-fiber can compress, and your child could pop right out of both the coat and the car seat, even though the seatbelt seemed to be fastened correctly. The safest thing is to remove the child's coat before strapping him/

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-13437215899022253222011-11-22T20:03:00.003-05:002011-11-23T12:53:19.630-05:00

Dear Dorothy,You are one year old, now!We went out for dinner on your birthday, and both you and your sister fell asleep in the car on the way there. But, we let you nap for a bit, and everyone was in a better mood for dinner. You had your first cupcake and you thought it was the best thing in the world.The highlight of this month was a trip to Houghton for Homecoming. This year was Mommy's and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-9013914344735023292011-11-22T17:11:00.002-05:002011-11-22T18:54:17.831-05:00

Dear Dorothy,You are eleven months old, now!This letter is going to be pretty much a photo dump, because I'm two months late writing it. I'm not exactly on the ball lately with this blog. Sorry about that.Love,Mama.Major events this month:-Earthquake (August 23)-Hurricane (August 27)-Driedgers visit from Ottawa (Sept 4-10)-Trip to Bergen (Sept 15-19)

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-39029028433830463602011-11-15T14:31:00.003-05:002011-11-15T14:35:16.028-05:00

I pushed my stroller onto the elevator, and two other ladies with a double stroller pushed in beside me. We took up most of the elevator. The elevator stopped at the next floor to let more people on, and there were 4 or 5 people standing there. One or two of them might have been able to fit, but not all of them, so none of them got on. I felt a little bad, because one of them was an older

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-76256918281885509722011-09-23T09:57:00.003-04:002011-09-23T10:07:54.987-04:00

(It's 10:00 a.m. and we are on our way to a sporting goods store.)V: Where are we going?JA: We're going to buy goggles for Mommy.V: And then what are we going to do?JA: Then we are going to go to the gym so Mommy can swim and you can play in the treehouse.V: And then what are we going to do?JA: Then we're going to go to Miss Stephanie's house.V: And then what are we going to do?JA: Then we'll go

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-45293028962530240132011-09-06T14:44:00.001-04:002011-09-06T14:51:34.719-04:00

Dear Dorothy,You're ten months old, now! How did that happen?We had a busy month, again. We seem to have nothing but busy months, lately. It's nice to be going so many places and doing so many things, but it makes keeping up with my blog nearly impossible. We were out of town when you turned nine months old, and we were out of town again when you turned ten months old.Here are a few of the things

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-61773320184679844842011-08-18T10:06:00.001-04:002011-08-18T10:06:38.291-04:00

Valerie watched intently as her cousin threw 30 or 40 ping pong balls at the little bowls, trying to win a fish. She watched wide-eyed as the man handed her cousin a plastic bag with a little, glittering goldfish swimming around at the bottom. And then, before I could usher her away, the man looked at her, smiled, and said, "I don't know where you came from, but you can have one, too." She walked

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-71488034798536022882011-08-11T14:28:00.002-04:002011-08-11T14:53:31.354-04:00

I'm still not doing great on HADA, but I'm not giving up yet. Today has been the best day so far this week, which is rather hard to believe, because I'm in a bit of a grouchy mood today. We canceled play date plans in order to focus on potty training, and potty training has been going extremely well today, but stay-at-home days tend to be stir crazy, "drive each other up the wall" days. I just

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-31238879343230307512011-08-11T12:33:00.003-04:002011-08-11T14:04:02.013-04:00

Dear Dorothy, You are nine months old, now! This month was kind of a blur. It feels like I was just writing your eight month letter a few minutes ago. This one is going to be mostly point form, baby book style. Maybe someday I will write quality monthly letters again. June 22: Tooth number two made its appearance. June 24-26: First camping trip. June 28: Signed "milk". July 3-6: Mystery

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-33962200438476325892011-08-11T09:48:00.005-04:002011-08-11T13:16:05.733-04:00

Dear Dorothy, You are eight months old, now! Someday, you'll look back and read these letters, and I'll wish I hadn't apologized for writing them all late, because otherwise you'd never know. So, yeah, today is TOTALLY June 20th. This month was an eventful one for you in the milestone department. On May 29, you did your first real hands-and-knees crawl across the room to get to a stuffed

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-14117456672121604992011-08-09T15:21:00.003-04:002011-08-09T16:51:09.793-04:00

I guess I thought that telling the internet I was going to do Hour-a-Day August would make it somehow actually happen. I guess I thought wrong. We spent the whole day out of the house on July 31 - church in the morning, followed by a wedding and reception (with me behind the camera). My mom came to visit on August 1 and I was too worn out to even tidy up before she got here. I did manage to

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-54731253946577988202011-08-01T08:57:00.001-04:002011-08-01T08:59:09.803-04:00

Every morning, when Valerie wakes up, she opens her door and calls for me from the doorway. Click of door handle, creak of door, "Mama!" I listen for this as my morning ritual. This morning, after putting Dorothy down for an early morning nap, I heard the familiar, "Mama!" call, but not the preceding door noises. I wondered why she had called to me before opening the door. And how did I hear her

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-4944765870561264102011-07-31T22:41:00.002-04:002011-07-31T22:43:51.556-04:00

So, it just so happens that there are two months in the year with "A" names, so I have decided to resurrect HADA for the month of August. Why waste acronyms?Some of my hopes/goals for HADA(ugust) are: exercising, preparing good food, and completing unfinished projects. Stay tuned to follow my progress!

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-83450104951437067132011-07-29T07:35:00.002-04:002011-07-29T07:40:09.190-04:00

Sorry for the extended absence. The power cord for my laptop died, and then we went on vacation, so it was a long time before I was able to upload pictures and dig through them so I could start posting properly again. The backlog is still a bit overwhelming, but I'll get there eventually. Thanks for your patience!

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-52812753301758518122011-07-05T18:11:00.001-04:002011-07-05T23:05:07.612-04:00

We pulled into the Wawa at the same time. We parked our cars at the same time. We got out of our cars at the same time. She walked into the store. I walked around to the other side of the car, strapped on the Ergo, unbuckled the baby, strapped her into the Ergo, walked back around to the other side of the car, unbuckled Valerie, held her hand while I fumbled for my wallet, reminded her to look

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-85897473435637922072011-06-30T09:59:00.002-04:002011-06-30T10:19:03.574-04:00

We went to the beach yesterday. It was our first time this year (and Dorothy's first time ever!) We had a lovely time, and I took precisely zero pictures, because I had my hands full enough with two little girls and all the gear that entails, and I didn't want to add an expensive-to-replace camera into the mix. I would have snapped a cell phone picture or two, but my battery was almost dead, and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-74197839549642146952011-06-30T08:51:00.001-04:002011-06-30T09:34:10.361-04:00

There is quite a blog post backlog in my brain right now, and I think it's time I started just throwing stuff up here to make room for coherent thoughts in case they ever decide to make a reappearance. Until then, photos and half-formed sentences.Ten years ago (June 9, 2001), Jeremy and I got married. We spent the first two nights of our married life at a lovely B&B with a king-sized bed. It

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-37657136543195892752011-06-28T13:54:00.002-04:002011-06-28T14:24:50.732-04:00

This morning, Dorothy was sitting on my lap, and I noticed her opening and closing her hand. This is the sign we use for nursing, so I asked her if she wanted nursies. She gave me a big smile, latched on, and had a good, long feeding. She only ever nurses when she is actually hungry, so I was a little less willing to write it off as a coincidence as I was the first time Valerie signed at me (

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-50900394406375552662011-06-27T21:43:00.001-04:002011-06-27T21:45:30.735-04:00

After a 17-month reprieve, Aunt Flo came to visit this weekend (and caught me completely unprepared). We went shopping today, and let me tell you, she is a very demanding houseguest. AF: CARBS!JA: No, first we need some meat. Let me grab a rotisserie chicken. Oh, they are out of chickens. I guess we'll get a turkey breast.AF: Turkey breast? THAT MEANS TURKEY DINNER! STOVE TOP STUFFING! GRAVY!

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-63845470263823983882011-06-07T08:22:00.003-04:002011-06-07T08:41:14.659-04:00

I got a lot of things done during my HADA month. But I got a lot more things not-quite-done. Then May was Crazy-Busy-Running-Around month (CBRAM!) and I barely kept up with fell completely behind on the everyday stuff, and the HADA projects were all but abandoned.So here is where we stand as of today, on the bedroom and closet sorting projects, by way of annotated photographs:The hallway and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-57003646211669689202011-06-01T08:41:00.004-04:002011-06-01T10:14:39.254-04:00

Dear Dorothy,Well, you're seven months old, and the whirlwind of summer is upon us. Your monthly letter is 12 days late this month, and even your birthday photo shoot was 3 days late. I promise we've been busy with fun stuff, though. I'm behind on my blogging, too, so this letter is not only late, but it is also a cheat, because I'm going to dump all of my "what we've been doing this past month"

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-82497947054478816292011-04-30T23:49:00.004-04:002011-05-01T00:09:29.464-04:00

Today wasn't overly productive. After karate, I let Jeremy take a nap, so I missed out on my prime productive time. I did stop at the produce store to get some fruit and veggies. While I was there, on a whim, I bought six vegetable plants to plant in a container in my backyard. Then I found a container to use, took it to my father-in-law's so he could help me drill some drainage holes in the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-87600189524472370822011-04-29T22:47:00.000-04:002011-04-29T22:48:04.542-04:00

Okay, this is going to be a quickie post, because I'm tired.Sorted clothes in the walk-in closet. One full trash bag of donations, one full trash bag of trash, one box and one pile of "give to specific people" stuff.Watched some clips of the Royal Wedding on youtube. Loved her veil, which was pretty much exactly the look I wanted for my own wedding veil (and made myself because I couldn't find

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-91960089254466512772011-04-28T23:25:00.003-04:002011-04-29T00:52:11.123-04:00

You know when you're packing up for a move, and you pack really carefully for a few days, labeling every box meticulously. Then the day of the move, you realize how much more crap there is, and you don't have enough time to sort through it all anymore, so you throw everything in boxes and label them "misc" or "junk"? Then, the next time you move, you find those boxes, which you never opened, and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-53628339163396085682011-04-27T08:41:00.003-04:002011-04-27T09:38:17.947-04:00

Yesterday was such a long day, I really couldn't tackle a blog post at the end of it all.It started at 5:15 am again, with a poop explosion. Fun stuff. I had someone coming over at 10 am to drop off some donor milk for me to bring (along with some of my own) up to a baby who lives about an hour away. My plan was to stick her milk in the freezer with mine, then drop it all off next Tuesday on my

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-7160964869515066602011-04-25T22:36:00.003-04:002011-04-25T22:58:58.761-04:00

I decided to break my "Mondays are my day off" rule today because Nana had the day off of school, so I had a daytime sitter for the girls. Dorothy woke up too early, but then we went back to sleep until 9, which was nice. Then Valerie slept until 10. Poor kid is just plum worn out from a busy busy weekend.Once we finally got moving, I took the girls over to Nana's, nursed Dorothy, then left,

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-13324506696387081912011-04-24T19:26:00.004-04:002011-04-24T20:57:53.838-04:00

Today was really busy. 8:00 am "sunrise" service, church breakfast, followed by our regular Sunday routine of 9:45 music and 10:00 service. I was on the worship team this morning, so there was no rolling over to get an extra hour of sleep. Poor Valerie took the loss of sleep especially hard, and I had to hold her during the songs I sang (and she escaped to provide an impromptu dance performance

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-87699025001866683432011-04-23T21:29:00.004-04:002011-04-23T21:59:53.808-04:00

This morning started with an all-family snuggle in the big bed. A pretty good start to any day. Then I went to karate class. After karate, I hung out with the girls for a while so Jeremy could work on stage two of his clothing project - putting everything on hangers in the closet. Then I took a BATH with a BOOK. And I SHAVED. It was lovely. (Until it was interrupted by a screaming baby with a

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-9705932687056050302011-04-23T21:21:00.003-04:002011-04-23T21:25:37.088-04:00

We gave Dorothy some broccoli at dinner tonight. She did so incredibly well with it! Here's a video of her cuteness feeding herself. I love that you can see her figuring the whole process out. At one point, she gets the stem, doesn't like it, sets it down, and grabs it from the other end to eat the flower. So cool!

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-8415341332796775702011-04-22T23:08:00.004-04:002011-04-22T23:44:34.634-04:00

A few days ago, we decided that Dorothy met all of the criteria to start solids using the baby-led weaning approach (the same approach we used with Valerie), but we wanted to wait until her cough improved first, to minimize the risk of choking. I think we must have said this out loud in front of her, because her cough went away pretty much as soon as the words left my mouth. "What, I can have

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-63176645833480932552011-04-22T21:33:00.003-04:002011-04-22T21:58:30.941-04:00

I woke up a little bit cranky this morning. But it was Jeremy's day off, so we talked through the things I was irrationally annoyed about, then Jeremy got started on some of the projects I needed him to get out of my way. He made some pretty good headway, then I got Dorothy back to sleep. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of work by putting a sleeping baby in our room, so I put her down on the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-8785414444974833762011-04-21T23:08:00.003-04:002011-04-21T23:28:47.027-04:00

Well, I think today was technically another fail. I managed to get in about half an hour (sorting the too-little clothes and doing some laundry), but that's it. But I was at home for less than half the day, so that's still pretty good, right?I made a deliberate choice to spend my morning "productive" time writing Dorothy's birthday letter today, because I didn't want to leave it until after

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-86431195191937162552011-04-21T08:31:00.003-04:002011-04-21T10:32:42.861-04:00

Dear Dorothy,You are six months old, now!I swear you read my last birthday letter, where I talked about how you need your routines, and took it as constructive criticism, because this month, you changed all your routines. One day you fell asleep in my arms watching TV, without having your diaper changed, without being swaddled, and without nursing. So I just stuck you in bed, and you stayed

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-38258150267392855572011-04-20T22:18:00.003-04:002011-04-20T22:33:48.062-04:00

I think I did an hour today, but it was in tiny increments throughout the day because the girls would. not. let me work. I got started on the too-small-for-Dorothy clothes sorting project, I weeded out an entire box of books for donation, I cleared off the rest of the top of my dresser, I put away some clean clothes that have been waiting to be put away for a while, I squeezed in a bit more

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-2955686127777109512011-04-20T13:19:00.003-04:002011-04-20T13:42:36.788-04:00

So, Valerie has a bunch of peek-a-blocks, which are these little plastic blocks with clear sides so you can see the various items that are inside. They are sealed, however, so you can't actually open them up and play with the toys inside (which is probably annoying for a kid, but a relief for a mommy, because then there would just be that many more small parts to lose/swallow/step on). One of the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-64146107196706150432011-04-20T10:10:00.003-04:002011-04-20T10:14:47.424-04:00

V: Get me down!JA: Can you ask nicely?V: Get down me!JA: What word do you say when you want to ask nicely?V: Down!JA: (hinting) P...V: ...JA: Pl...V: ...JA: Plea...V: Pleap!!JA: (collapses into hysterical laughter)

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-72403700867472176462011-04-19T21:13:00.004-04:002011-04-19T22:11:18.355-04:00

I don't know if I'm running out of steam, or if I'm just still reeling from a busy weekend and two cranky kids, but man, HADA is getting harder and harder. It's really disheartening to make so much progress in one area only to see it completely disappear when you turn your back to work on another area. It's like when you get down to a dungeon with monsters that breed explosively, and even though

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-70712676573522068872011-04-19T14:39:00.004-04:002011-04-19T16:09:12.158-04:00

I know I don't blog about my faith very often, but it's still a very important part of my life. I don't blog about breathing, either, but it's something that I do constantly, and can't imagine living without. I'm always happy to answer questions, but I'm mostly past that stage of my life where I liked to get into big religious arguments for fun. But a friend of mine asked me what the difference

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-25282384506493545132011-04-18T22:09:00.003-04:002011-04-18T22:26:54.029-04:00

I tried to get in an hour today, in spite of it being Monday, but Dorothy threw up her morning feeding, we canceled our trip to the Please Touch Museum, we canceled our plans to see friends, and we hunkered down for a too-much-TV day. It was a pretty lousy day. Neither of the girls are feeling well, Dorothy wasn't napping well, and Valerie's whining was really getting to me. When Jer got home

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-35735122204290059312011-04-17T21:01:00.002-04:002011-04-17T21:32:47.294-04:00

Today was Dorothy's dedication at the church, and I wasn't sure I would get any HADA stuff done today or not. I decided that I needed the morning to get ready for church calmly, rather than in our normal frenzied morning rush. I got the diaper bag packed, outfits set out (with back-up dedication outfits for Dorothy), and my breakfast eaten before Valerie woke up. That's my normal HADA time, but

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-66990856329698997772011-04-16T22:09:00.003-04:002011-04-16T22:27:49.005-04:00

Well, I think today is my first failure at HADA. But, then again, I did manage to sell my car on my day off on Monday, so maybe I will just call today the day off this week.I woke up early and went to karate class at 8:30. That doesn't count, though, because I actually have been doing pretty well at going to karate twice a week ever since I went back after maternity leave. I came home and took a

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-88846581084080654712011-04-15T23:11:00.003-04:002011-04-15T23:34:32.331-04:00

Today was one of those crazy days. Long night, early morning, long walk to the park and back with friends and their toddlers, lunch, then babysitting a neighbor girl in the afternoon. The only net gains on the productivity front were one load of regular laundry, diaper laundry, and one load of dishes run through the dishwasher. None of those really count, though, because that's all stuff I have

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-35716385738317730262011-04-15T14:06:00.003-04:002011-04-15T14:13:43.370-04:00

I woke up at a decent time and finished sorting the hand-me-downs, scrubbed/soaked some stains, and did some laundry. Then I found out that I was going to have house guests that night, so I spent the rest of the day cleaning the living/dining rooms like a mad woman.Day Fourteen tally: Lots of hours. Way more than one.

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-35633923208032736062011-04-13T20:55:00.003-04:002011-04-13T21:43:08.746-04:00

Dorothy let me sleep in until eight this morning. Eight! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get much cleaning in this morning, but Valerie slept in, too. That the one awesome thing about dreary, rainy days: My girls sleep in.I finished clearing the floor of my bedroom, which was such an awesome feeling. I still need to put away some boxes, but otherwise, the floor is empty. I even vacuumed

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-28399005340301197652011-04-13T12:55:00.003-04:002011-04-13T13:12:30.455-04:00

Not yet six months old, and already, Dorothy doesn't stay where I put her when I put her down. She's not quite crawling, but she's rolling, squirming, slithering, scooching, and just generally, well, progressing. And for the past two days, she has been rocking up onto her hands and feet, and she looks like she's going to take off any day. 12-month sleepers, and almost crawling; my baby really is

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-61381363461112377382011-04-13T10:09:00.002-04:002011-04-13T10:16:48.436-04:00

I got about 1/2 hour of cleaning in the morning. I mostly finished the bedroom floor. Then I went to La Leche League, then to a friends' house for the rest of the day, so I didn't get any more cleaning done.We came home, had dinner, and I went to karate. Put the girls to bed, then turned off the TV and spent some one-on-one time with the husband before heading to bed without even posting a blog

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-74574629072851898942011-04-11T22:54:00.001-04:002011-04-11T22:56:28.968-04:00

In case you missed last Monday's installment of HADA, let me bring you up to speed: I suck at Mondays. Today started on an especially bad note. Normally, Dorothy wakes up about an hour or so before Valerie, so I have that hour to hang out with Dorothy and get stuff done. This morning, Valerie woke up about half an hour before Dorothy's wake-up time. Starting Monday morning extra tired = extra

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-26403416866919444382011-04-10T18:51:00.005-04:002011-04-10T19:13:23.122-04:00

Ever since we moved to Philadelphia, I've been meaning to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival. It might not be as big as the one in Washington DC, but it's right on my door step, so I really have no excuse to have missed it for five years in a row. I was just thinking last night that the cherry blossoms were pretty much in full bloom, so I went online to find out when the Cherry Blossom Festival

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-78276135172347974842011-04-09T23:31:00.001-04:002011-04-09T23:34:28.781-04:00

Saturdays are proving to be extremely hard for me for HADA. When you get up on Saturday morning, it seems like you have the whole day ahead of you to get things done, so you don't rush, and the next thing you know, all that time has slipped through your fingers. Now, I have learned this week that I had better seize any spare moments I get in the first few hours of the day, because they get harder

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-1569294472016450122011-04-08T21:55:00.002-04:002011-04-08T21:58:39.744-04:00

Not much to say today. Dorothy let me sleep in a bit, and when we woke up, I started in on the bedroom again. I made it back to my desk today! Valerie even cooperated a bit with the room cleaning, and let me finish my hour after she woke up.Dorothy didn't want to nap today, so I didn't log much bonus time today. Valerie joined the cranky ranks in the afternoon, too, so the rest of the day was

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-62913902164964449422011-04-07T21:20:00.002-04:002011-04-07T21:22:51.514-04:00

Today was a busy day. One of my initial worries with HADA was, "How am I going to be productive on busy days?" Well, I'm still not sure about that one. Today was not a "productive" day, but it was a good one. Maybe you need days like that in your schedule.Dorothy and I woke up at 7, and I figured I had about 20 minutes of her keeping herself happy during which I could work on HADA projects. I

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-29735690415076940312011-04-06T21:52:00.003-04:002011-04-06T21:59:26.242-04:00

Dorothy has a stuffy nose, so we were up at about 4 this morning, steaming, suctioning, and nursing. I finally got her back to sleep a little before 5, just in time to hear Jeremy's alarm clock start going off. Jeremy wasn't feeling well, so he continued to hit snooze for over an hour before finally giving up and calling in sick. Dorothy was able to sleep through the snooze-buttoning. I was

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-18677174440299854522011-04-05T21:38:00.002-04:002011-04-05T21:41:40.047-04:00

Today was awesome. Dorothy and I woke up at about 7, and she played happily near me on the bed while I knocked out my first 30 minutes. I wore my Batman shirt again, because it seemed to help last time. Whatever works, right? I had decided that I wanted to make visible progress today. Sorting paperwork is all well and good, but the results don't smack you in the face whenever you walk by. So this

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-70803729850037335862011-04-04T23:07:00.003-04:002011-04-21T08:27:38.976-04:00

Well, today was a Monday. And I suck at Mondays. When I was first talking to Jeremy about HADA and I mentioned the "one day off per week" clause, he said, "You're taking Mondays off." It wasn't a question or even a suggestion. It was a statement of fact, stemming from an acute knowledge of his wife and how she works.And yet somehow, I convinced myself that I was going to do my hour today. I took

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-24061405394099718462011-04-03T22:07:00.002-04:002011-04-03T22:09:42.029-04:00

Today was Sunday. I had promised myself, under the rules of HADA, one day off per week. Sunday was the most logical day for this, since it's a day of rest, but I was hesitant to take a day off completely only three days into the challenge. I also really liked the idea of a floating day off, for when I start to lose steam later. So I settled on a compromise: a way to honor the spirit of the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-76814268554104236412011-04-02T21:53:00.000-04:002011-04-02T21:54:24.719-04:00

Today was Saturday. For some reason, I thought it would be easier to get my hour in on a Saturday. Jeremy doesn't work on Saturdays, and with a second adult to help with child care, surely I can be more productive, right? But with a second adult, there is a second decision-maker, a second opinion on what should happen when, and the schedule is not entirely in my control.Normally, on a Saturday, I

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-16751005117111596332011-04-01T16:39:00.003-04:002011-04-21T08:28:07.797-04:00

Dear Dorothy,You are five months old, now. In fact, you have been for almost two weeks. I really am not sure why I've been dragging my feet on this month's letter, but I am determined to finish it today.This month, you became even more a creature of habit than before. (I hardly thought that was possible, but you went and did it.) I used to be able to put you to sleep in a variety of ways, but

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-36464991020528906882011-04-01T13:05:00.003-04:002011-04-01T13:37:22.031-04:00

The girls let me sleep in today, so I had no excuses. I put on my Batman shirt as motivation and resolved to get this project off to a good start.The first thing on my list was several days worth of dirty dishes. I wasn't sure it should technically count towards HADA, because it's just daily maintenance stuff, but I set the timer anyhow, just in case I couldn't put in the full hour. I spent 20

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-44711656061530751952011-03-28T09:36:00.003-04:002011-03-28T09:42:25.844-04:00

I kicked Jeremy and the kids out of the house for a few hours yesterday so I could spend some time cleaning. I got so much done in a few hours, it was incredible. I cleaned the living room, cleared the dining room table off completely, and reorganized the hall closet. It felt really good to sit down at the end of the day and feel so accomplished.I was talking to a friend the other day who also

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-1672578366941908362011-03-06T07:59:00.003-05:002011-03-06T08:41:48.757-05:00

(This is partially a response to this post about dads.)We went to the park yesterday, as a family. I wore Dorothy in the Ergo, and Jeremy and I followed Valerie around as she showed her dad all her favorite park features. Eventually, Dorothy fell asleep, so she and I settled onto a park bench while Valerie and her dad kept playing.I had never been to this particular park on a Saturday before. And

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-60621522957373361632011-02-25T11:12:00.002-05:002011-02-25T11:31:57.534-05:00

We have a membership to the Philadelphia zoo, and we tend to go fairly often. One of the things I like about having a membership is that not every animal is "on" every time you visit. So, if the polar bears are sleepy today, you don't worry about it too much, and keep wandering until you find an animal that's being more interesting.Yesterday, the polar bears weren't swimming, the giraffes and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-89352574428947141092011-02-25T10:38:00.004-05:002011-02-25T11:11:45.299-05:00

So, I finally sorted through Dorothy's drawer and purged the too-small clothing (again). I gotta say, I am looking forward to the "not outgrowing clothing on a weekly basis" age. Mostly because I am too lazy to sort through her clothes often enough, and tend to just dress her in whatever is sitting on top because it just came out of the wash.In this week's purge, I found several of my favorite

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-36595975260221023792011-02-20T23:12:00.003-05:002011-04-21T08:28:29.112-04:00

Dear Dorothy,You are four months old, now!Okay, let's get the practical matters out of the way, first. You need to stop growing so fast. Really. I just dug out the box of Valerie's 6-9 month clothes, and half of it is already too tight on you. I got out the boxes of 12 month clothes, but I just can't bring myself to put my four-month-old BABY in them yet. Besides, they are mostly summer clothes.

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-52190710554668851022011-02-03T17:23:00.002-05:002011-02-03T17:27:23.260-05:00

Valerie went to sleep late last night. And woke up early this morning. So, even though she hasn't been taking naps very often lately, I was sure she would take one today. I even managed to get Dorothy to sleep at Valerie's nap time - the holy grail of two-kid parenting. I tried to lie down and take a nap myself, but Valerie wouldn't stay down. Every few minutes, it was something else. "I have to

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-74248063938389380252011-02-01T13:43:00.004-05:002011-02-01T14:33:16.829-05:00

Dear Dorothy,You are three months old, now!Actually, you are almost 3 1/2 months old, as I am once again late with my letter. I have a really good excuse this time, though. The day after you turned three months old, you had surgery to repair your cleft lip, so we've been a little pre-occupied. But that's a whole other blog post I haven't gotten around to writing yet.But let's go back in time in

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-18108740773887547072011-01-10T19:42:00.005-05:002011-01-11T06:30:46.638-05:00

Valerie often asks for food she sees in a TV show. If it's something we have on hand, and is a reasonable request, I will sometimes oblige her. It's not like I can point any fingers. I have been known to drive several miles to a 24-hour donut shop in the middle of the night to satisfy a TV-induced craving for a chocolate glazed donut. She just asked for a "sandwich like Buttons" while we were

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-29960350386658749082011-01-10T10:38:00.008-05:002011-03-03T13:59:35.918-05:00

I've started assembling the list of local consignment sales for spring 2011. A lot of sales haven't listed their spring dates yet, so check back every week or so for updates. Happy shopping!Last update: 3/03/11Kids Kloset SwapJanuary 28-30Doylestown, PALittle Peeps ConsignmentsJanuary 27-30Willingboro, NJSpring Chicken SaleFebruary 25-26Havertown, PACozy TotsMarch 4-6Bryn Athyn, PAMom2Mom

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-70288902872317690482011-01-08T19:02:00.004-05:002011-01-10T04:44:00.340-05:00

So, when I first heard that Dorothy was going to need surgery to repair the cleft in her lip, I really wasn't worried at all. The cleft team at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) would be taking care of her. She would be in the hands of the best Children's hospital in the country. What more could I ask for?Last month, when I met with the surgeon, I was still pretty confident. She told me

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-11989616575176538762011-01-07T07:25:00.004-05:002011-01-11T06:31:11.258-05:00

Dear Dorothy,You are two months old, now! Well, to be honest, you have been two months old for almost three weeks, now, but I'm only just getting around to posting this today. I've had it pretty much written in my head the whole time, though.I started your one month letter by saying I couldn't believe it had been a whole month. Now, I can't believe it's only been two months. It feels like you've

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-88493642997562624252011-01-07T05:13:00.003-05:002011-01-07T05:41:57.279-05:00

So, sometime between birth and the Christmas holidays, Dorothy went from a happy, frequent pooper to an "I think I'll hold it in for three days even though it makes me uncomfortable" kind of kid. Takes after her mom, I suppose. Her MO is generally to poop several times on Pooping Day, with the last poop of the day being a massive poop volcano that just seems to keep going and going while you are

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-7669110547461946682010-12-16T05:38:00.005-05:002010-12-17T06:00:42.653-05:00

A few years ago, when my siblings and I were starting to have kids, we were talking together about what we would tell our kids about Santa. We all had fond memories of the magic of Christmas morning, waking up to a bulging stocking and a tree littered with presents. We remembered outgrowing the myth, but still enjoying the traditions, first for the sake of our little brother who still believed,

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-17251329064215419822010-12-10T15:50:00.004-05:002010-12-10T16:28:58.794-05:00

So, we've been listening to B101 for the past two weeks, because they play non-stop Christmas music from Thanksgiving until I get sick of it. I don't listen to it all that often, only in the car or in the shower. Maybe I listen to about 10 hours a week. And yet it seems like I hear some version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town every single time I turn the radio on. And Rudolph the Red-Nosed

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-51142672553000746922010-12-08T03:14:00.003-05:002010-12-08T03:30:58.518-05:00

We took Valerie to a drive-through living nativity with real animals this weekend. The biggest hit was the camel, but she also caught on that Jesus was a pretty big part of it, too. The last two stations were an empty cross and an empty tomb, in order to complete the story and leave guests with a salvation message. As we were leaving, Valerie asked me where baby Jesus was. A much bigger question

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-8670364016793763682010-12-05T21:07:00.004-05:002010-12-05T21:40:12.398-05:00

We made and decorated Christmas sugar cookies tonight.This was a big event for me. One of the things I was most looking forward to about starting a family was doing activities together, and carrying on family traditions. And decorating sugar cookies is one of my fondest memories of a family activity from my childhood. I've been waiting three Christmases for this night.I wasn't sure whether

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-90014664133873369802010-12-02T07:42:00.003-05:002010-12-02T08:07:39.219-05:00

Valerie woke up an hour early this morning. That might not seem like a big deal to most people, but to a new mom who is just barely getting enough sleep to function until naptime, it's an eternity. I plopped Valerie on the couch in front of a movie, then curled up on the loveseat in a futile attempt to capture a few more minutes of rest.She came right over and proceeded to poke me, pull me, climb

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-59074436567575852012010-11-29T14:42:00.003-05:002010-11-29T16:04:38.456-05:00

Valerie dumped out her crayons, then asked me for candy. I told her she could have one piece of candy, but she had to clean up the crayons first. She started singing the "clean up" song, which gave me hope for a minute that she might actually do it, but she didn't even open the crayon tub. She just wandered back and forth across the floor, scattering crayons in every direction, happily singing

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-6752786137029775602010-11-25T07:48:00.003-05:002011-01-11T06:31:49.059-05:00

Dear Dorothy,You are one month old, now. It's hard to believe it's been a whole month. And yet, at the same time, it seems like ages ago that I was pregnant and waiting expectantly for your arrival. Time is funny like that.When your sister was a baby, I wrote monthly letters to her. I wasn't sure whether I would find the time or energy to do the same for you, but I'll at least write this one and

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-4664589239821569292010-11-20T10:05:00.002-05:002010-11-20T11:06:45.161-05:00

This blog post is a direct response to a Facebook post. I'm responding here for two reasons: 1. I want to say more than I can fit in a Facebook comment box, and 2. I want to include pictures.I said:Which is more cruel: Subjecting Valerie to a tortuous detangling session every morning or chopping off all her hair?You chimed in with many well-reasoned responses in defense of both alternatives. Here

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-22536003845907891762010-11-18T09:45:00.005-05:002010-11-22T22:11:46.708-05:00

Last Friday was a rough day. I got to sleep at about midnight, then Dorothy woke me up at 3 a.m. Then, well, let me tell a story in Facebook status updates:5:22 a.m. Dorothy is asleep, now I'm just killing time until Jeremy stops hitting snooze. Nothing's more fun than trying to go to sleep with an alarm going off every 9 minutes.6:51 a.m. This grumpy Mama brought to you in a collaborative effort

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-45790101528216795532010-11-12T08:58:00.003-05:002010-11-12T10:18:02.456-05:00

I should have written this post a week ago. If I had, it would have said:Everybody warned me that after you have a second baby, your first "baby" will suddenly look enormous. I had braced myself for this, so when she showed up at the hospital, I was expecting her to be huge. I was not expecting her to be so old. Suddenly, Valerie wasn't a baby, or even a toddler. She was a full-blown little

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-90318120781510501872010-10-30T13:26:00.005-04:002010-10-31T20:33:10.877-04:00

It's amazing to me how different my experience has been so far with Dorothy compared to Valerie. She's ten days old today. When Valerie was ten days old, she had only been home from the hospital a few days, she was just coming off the bili blanket, and we still had ten more days to go until her due date. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Some piecemeal thoughts and observations from the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-70285484437255968862010-10-29T16:30:00.003-04:002010-10-29T16:44:16.077-04:00

Warning: Frequent mention of poop.When I was 35 weeks pregnant, I woke up one morning to a belly that was visibly three inches lower than it had been the day before. I thought I remembered that second babies don't usually drop until right before labor kicks in, so I called the midwives to see if I should be worried. They confirmed my suspicion, but told me there is really nothing we could do at

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-86200223160394406762010-10-12T14:34:00.004-04:002010-10-12T15:24:45.836-04:00

Okay, I'll admit I was hoping for a 10/10/10 baby, but now that that ship has sailed, I'm finding myself feeling fairly patient. It's a little surreal, though. I think I had subconsciously substituted "3 weeks early" for my due date in my head, so I feel like I'm already two weeks overdue, looking at a theoretical possibility of being five weeks "overdue".Around 35 weeks, when the baby dropped,

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-25863791924686213042010-09-23T23:00:00.003-04:002010-09-23T23:26:23.985-04:00

Well, folks, I think it's time for the baby guessing game! Potentially pertinent facts and/or red herrings follow below. To enter, send your guess to juleannwakeman at gmail dot com with "Baby Guessing Game" as the subject line. Include your guesses for the following categories: Sex, Weight, Height, Date of Birth, and Time of Birth. Bonus categories: Baby's Name and Will We Make it to the

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-469457424515428192010-08-29T22:59:00.003-04:002010-08-29T23:55:08.061-04:00

When I posted this list last spring, I didn't realize I was starting a tradition, but several people have been asking me if I was going to post one for the fall, so I guess I had better. Much thanks to Mollie, who did a big chunk of the leg work on compiling this list, since I was dragging my feet on it. Sorry it's so late!Edit: I'm posting this for now because I am tired and need to sleep. I

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-8888865874230050562010-08-29T22:38:00.003-04:002010-08-29T22:59:43.771-04:00

Sorry about the total lack of posting here recently. I have been quite busy and quite pregnant, and my laptop power cord died so I have to find toddler-free time to hide away upstairs with the desktop in order to spend time online. Needless to say, I have been spending significantly less time online. It's been nice, in a way. I've been outside a lot more this summer than last summer. But I do

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-76229721734631666512010-06-12T12:10:00.008-04:002011-01-25T08:22:27.132-05:00

I wrote this email as a response to a friend who asked me for some advice about babywearing. I am by no means an expert, but I do think this is a pretty good intro for someone who is coming into babywearing with no idea what to expect or buy. I will preface this by saying two things: 1. Everyone is different. I am sharing my experiences and preferences, but, as they say on the interwebs, your

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-83735072398532765162010-05-31T15:33:00.002-04:002010-05-31T16:41:33.781-04:00

I hate Memorial Day.Okay, I don't completely hate it. I love having a long weekend. And any excuse to barbecue is fine by me. But I hate the mixed signals. First, there's the "Yay, America!" red, white and blue t-shirts and fireworks. Like Memorial Day is a mini Fourth of July. Then there's the "Don't forget all the people who had to DIE for you to be able to have this barbecue!" guilt. Thanks,

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-21753918275406499542010-04-04T22:34:00.005-04:002010-04-04T22:55:15.039-04:00

Valerie was sitting on my lap before church this morning, playing with my necklace. I often tell her the word for items she shows interest in, so I told her it was a "cross". After I repeated "cross" a few times, and she didn't repeat it back to me as she usually does, I began to wonder if she actually knew another word for it, and was just trying to remember it. So I tried "necklace" a few times

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-19846606946922052902010-03-05T14:45:00.004-05:002010-03-06T00:38:51.523-05:00

Dear Valerie,You are nineteen months today! I've let these monthly letters fall by the wayside, but it has dawned on me that unless I intend to start keeping a proper baby book for you, I need to write something down once in a while, otherwise, when you ask me how old you were when you took your first steps, I'll be forced to say, "Um, somewhere between one year old and your college graduation?"

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-43581096460977273852010-02-02T10:40:00.003-05:002010-02-02T11:06:22.702-05:00

Valerie loves her bath. I almost always get bored with bathtime before she does.So, last night, since we'd had a rather boring day, I thought I would give her a treat and put bubbles in her bath. She loves bubbles. She gets excited when we blow bubbles, or when I wash dishes, and calls out "bubbles" with sheer toddler joy. She even calls the raindrops on the window bubbles. So I thought bubbles

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-81055687258019165602010-01-31T19:25:00.003-05:002010-02-01T09:25:07.907-05:00

Mondays. Bah.It's such a common condition that it's almost pointless to say that you don't like Mondays. It's like saying that you don't like the taste of manure.I always thought that, in order for Mondays to suck, you had to have a Monday to Friday job to go to. I'm home every day now, seven days a week, what should make Mondays any different? A lot, apparently.I thought it was a coincidence at

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-82943546750585475592010-01-16T15:10:00.001-05:002010-01-16T15:12:23.943-05:00

I never got around to making a list of all the words Valerie says until a couple of weeks ago, and I think I missed my window. I got up to 60 words, and I spent the entire next day going "Oh yeah, I forgot about that word," so I'm guessing her word list is actually over a hundred. And she's learning new words every day, so I think I'll just stick with the impartial list I have, and not sweat it

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-446631823073349522010-01-14T23:21:00.006-05:002010-02-18T17:18:15.410-05:00

I've always been a thrifty shopper, and I have become even more of one since I became a mom, because babies outgrow clothing so quickly. There have been occasions that, by the time I get the tags off of a new outfit and wash it for Valerie to wear, it's already too small for her. Which is why I have absolutely fallen in love with the semi-annual consignment sales. Every spring and fall, dozens of

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-3123870194772040672010-01-09T23:06:00.005-05:002010-01-10T01:48:36.250-05:00

I hate to be one of those bloggers who is always apologizing for not blogging often enough, so I will try to resist the urge.This blog used to be such a pleasure for me. Now it's starting to feel more like burden. One more thing in my life that I've taken on and then run out of energy for.I'm weary. I feel like I've been in crisis mode for so long, I don't know how to handle everyday life. Maybe

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22427197.post-52335173522986264592009-12-07T00:00:00.003-05:002009-12-07T00:36:21.161-05:00

I'm sure the last ten weeks of Valerie's life merit more than a few words and a handful of snapshots, but alas, this is what you get. (As usual, you can click on any of the pictures to go to our flickr photostream and see more pictures, or to see other sizes.)Beginning of October: Valerie is becoming very dexterous, and gets into things we might leave unattended, such as enormous slurpees.Middle

Jule Annhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895353397595306177noreply@blogger.com2