Just The One

First I want to say that I hope my last post wasn't too "seriously so blessed" Randall thought it had ssb leanings and I can see his point. ("and I got it all for only .50 cents!!!" sorry about that)

Anyway, I have friends who keep their blogs "real" by posting the bad along with the good and although my blog is genuine I tend to ignore the not so fantastic stuff. Mostly because either the things are a little too real...depressing, not uplifting, tragic really. Or I feel like I come off as complaining. So at the risk of being lost in translation I'm going to write about something that I have had to come to terms with.

Having just one child.

I'm going to start by saying that I don't believe this situation is permanent...unless it is. At this point (and for the past 5 years) we have been in school and have had no options as far as medical assistance or adoption. So with Randall ready to graduate for the last time Hooray! Our situation will hopefully change and we'll be able to explore those options if and when prompted.

It took us 3 1/2 years and a little medication to have Addi. Less than a year after she was born we tried the medication again and it didn't work. That's when Randall started graduate school.

Over 5 years later and we're still at that point. During the 3 1/2 years prior to Addi I had already separated my emotions, so I didn't have to go into hiding every time a friend or family member had a baby. I was, and am, truly excited for every birth. I am always trying to persuade my friends to HAVE MORE BABIES!!!

So finally to the point, I just wanted to list some pros and cons about my only child rearing experience:

Pros:

Daily rituals (breakfast, dressing, activities, bed-time) are much less complex and crazy.

Family time = all the time

When it's not family-time she's on a mommy-daughter or daddy-daughter date.

As a result of the previous two points she LOVES being baby-sat.

Sibling rivalry/fights are not really an issue.

Everything is cheaper.

I am her play-mate.

(This can actually go both ways. While I love the very close relationship I have with her, she wants to play with me all the time...games aren't as fun when you're by yourself. But sometimes I just want enough space to swing my arms around--an admittedly substantial radius. But playing Guess Who for the 30th time while I stare at a sink full of dishes needing to be done can get frustrating)

She does have a very active imagination...from playing alone a lot.

She's going to Kindergarten in the fall and I'm going to have FREE TIME!

Cons:

It's too easy to spoil her. I can't use the "if I get it for you I'll have to get it for everyone" line.

(that was one of my mom's go-to non-no lines)

No built in friends

(This is the one that is probably hardest for me. She is so social, and she really wants a sibling. I want her to have that too, my relationships with my siblings are so precious to me, it's hard to see her miss out on that.)

When ladies start swapping birth/kid stories (as ladies love to do) I don't really chime in unless I'm asked a direct question. I just feel like my experience is so limited...I almost feel like less of a mom than the others.

I can't put big portraits of my "kids" on the walls because it looks like a shrine to MY CHILD!!!

We can't really use FHE charts and the like, which Addi and I both love to use.

Fielding impertinent questions such as, "Have you ever thought of having more children?" from undoubtedly well-meaning people that you don't want to offend. But at the same time you want to scream, "Have you ever thought of minding your own beeswax!" What they really want to know is if we have a fertility problem or if we're making the choice (gasp) to have just one child.

For the record, I usually don't answer these questions, I just let them go.

So there you have it.

And with all that said I love my life and of course my little girl. I have been blessed with peace and contentment knowing that I have basically no options and everything is in the hands of the Lord. And if options open up I'll re-evaluate. But until then I enjoy the pros, ignore the cons and plan for all my free time this fall!!!

Whacha been doing?

Not Blogging.

Organizing.

One of the two things I love about moving around so much is meeting great friends and stealing their signature recipes. (the other one is seeing cool new places...other than that moving all the time is for the birds) I had tons of recipes from great and dear friends in a big folder, they were written on post-it notes, the backs of greeting cards and over the top of a toddler's scribble page. I couldn't find certain recipes when I wanted them and I didn't have them appropriately cited. So for the last few weeks, yes weeks I've been compiling and organizing all my "loose leaf" recipes. I didn't type them because I'd still be doing it, plus I love the eclecticness of the papers and hand writing.

But I didn't stop there, I had subscriptions to Martha Stewart and Real Simple for a long time. After about the 3rd time moving all those magazines (with all those great ideas I didn't want to loose) I went through them all and tore out the pages I wanted and put them in file folders. Unfortunately not a super accessible system. So whilst on my recipe rampage I organized my "ideas" into sections (holidays, crafts, etc.) and put them in another binder.

But why stop there? I have about 25 Martha Stewart Kids magazines (they don't print this magazine anymore) and I love nearly every page so I "3-hole punched" them and put them into their own binders.

It was a mess as you can see and the downstairs neighbors probably didn't enjoy the sound of my drill at 11:30pm but boy howdy does it ever feel good to be organized!!

Now I can actually find stuff...imagine that!

(P.S. I got the binders at D.I. for .50 cents each!)

Aside from organizing I've also been reading. Seattle is the perfect cuddle up in a blanket near the fire in the evenings and read a good book type place. I feel like I never read all the classics in high school so I'm trying to read as many as possible now.

I was very proud of myself for getting through this one and I really enjoyed it by the end. If you haven't read it I can sum up the 800+ pages of seemingly mundane events and Russian names in 3 words: cheaters never prosper.

{The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society}

Not a classic but I loved it and recommend it.


Inspiring!
Now I'm dying to go to Holland and visit the home of Corrie Ten Boom.

{Little Women}
Oldie but a goodie.

Overheard at Church

Our good friends sat behind us at church today and I caught this little conversation from behind:

3 year-old: Dad, Randall is missing some hair.
Dad: What do you think happened to it?
3 year-old: Maybe Angi kissed it off.


Guilty as charged.

The Quad

The UW campus (pronounced "you-dub" for non-natives like myself) is awesome.

The buildings are so...well...collegate. I just love the architecture and the detail.

With spring in full bloom here in the Pacific Northwest we spent an afternoon with Dad at "the Quad" enjoying the sunshine, blossoms and a few good climbing trees.

I do love a good magnolia blossom.

There is also a lot of interesting artwork around the campus.

I'm not really sure what this is but it sure is fancy.