What We've Been Doing

As previously stated, I am finding a hard time one, fitting blogging into my busier mom schedule and two, finding interesting things to write about when our life is pretty routine. Time when the kids are sleeping suddenly becomes great nap time for me too; and now that I am addicted to Dancing With the Stars, my nights (and why must they entice me with 3 nights in a row?!) are spent glued to the TV (Go Helio Castroneves!). This week has had a few blog-worthy moments, though, so here is a quick recap.

MONDAY: We began potty training Ella. Being 5 days into it, I can say it is not going so great. We appear to have a stubborn daughter who views this as an opportunity to test her will. While the potty has previously been a fascinating and exciting experience, now that Mommy and Daddy want her to use it, it's torture. We've been trying all sorts of tricks, but nothing has convinced her yet.

TUESDAY: Ladies Night Out. I have a group of about 10 girlfriends who get together once a season to celebrate all the birthdays. This is a fantastic night full of laughs, funny stories about husbands, kids and getting older, great Mexican food and drinks and usually annoyed waiters (we always end up closing the restaurant!). It was the first and longest time I've even been away from Delia. She did great. I ate holding onto my cell phone.

WEDNESDAY: Ella got reintroduced to Dave's world of YPS. After having been a leader for 2 years in Dave's high school youth group, I completely took last year off-- to get Ella to bed at normal times and keep my schedule simpler. This year Delia's sleep is flexible and Ella is more capable of meaningful interaction with the high schoolers (making a later bed time worth it). I'm not committing to being a leader again, but we did show up for the first 45 minutes of the first Faith Night. Ella had SO MUCH fun seeing her student buddies and playing the running games. I think it's good for her to see her Daddy at work, so we might make this a regular Wednesday night activity.

THURSDAY: Play date with Jonathan. Check out his blog for more details. What was especially fun on this day was watching how the two of them totally play off one another. Whatever one did, the other had to copy, from making goofy noises to sliding down the stairs.

FRIDAY: Dave did a very special wedding. This year two single friends from our Young Adult group found each other and they got married tonight. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and a fun reception with lots of church friends, dancing and tri-tip for dinner. Delia was our date and she did great once again. I think I can safely relabel her a "Happy Baby"-- the fussy phase appears to have ended!