1. Things with a newborn are a lot more time consuming than I remember. It’s really difficult to find time to do anything, especially on the days when Will is working away from home. It’s nice to have older kids to help out (so I can do things like take a shower), but even they have their limits. We still haven’t started back to school yet (hopefully on Tuesday, if I can find time to get everything ready . . .), and projects like making hats and quilts? That’s just not happening. Which brings me to . . .
2. Two women from our church are having babies in the next few weeks, and tonight is the joint baby shower for them. My plan was to make them each a quilt, and I got close to finishing. I’ve got the tops for both done, and one is halfway quilted. But I didn’t have any backing fabric for the second one, and with Will out selling books all week, I don’t really have a way to go get some (we’re a one car family). So we found some cute baby pajamas at the store, and I’ll gift those tonight. I plan to still finish the quilts and give those as gifts when the babies are born. That gives me a lot more time to work with. (The babies are due in January.)
3. My dad must be a saint. Allow me to explain. He runs a taxi business in town, and a few weeks ago his van broke down (broken head gasket). So he took it to the junkyard to see how much they’d give him for it, and he wasn’t impressed with what they offered. So instead of taking the $200, he paid $1500 to repair the van, even though he’d already bought a new one at that point. (He couldn’t really take too long a hiatus from his business.) Just before Dragonfly was born, we’d set up an arrangement to buy the “extra” van from him, but between paying for things that the insurance didn’t cover surrounding the birth and buying new furniture, we haven’t been able to get the money together yet. So we’ve had a family of six in a car with five seat belts. That means we haven’t been able to all go anywhere together since baby was born. (Good thing Seahawk is old enough to stay home and babysit, eh?) Well, this past Monday, my dad texted me and asked if we wanted to do a straight trade: our PT Cruiser for his van. No money necessary. We, of course, said Yes! And everyone is very happy with the arrangement. What a blessing!
4. Dragonfly is three weeks old today. I’m always so amazed at how fast the time goes. I knew going in that the first year flies by, but it’s still surprising. On a related note, is it weird that I kind of miss my doctor? Going from monthly visits to twice-a-month visits to weekly visits and then just stopping cold turkey is kind of shocking. Fortunately, she’s also Dragonfly’s pediatrician, so we’ll see her regularly over the next couple of years at least. His first check up is on Monday. I can’t wait to see how much weight he’s gained!
5. We’re having stuffed bell peppers for dinner tonight. Super easy: one pound of ground beef or turkey mixed with a small can of tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, and enough instant rice (the “instant” part is important) to absorb the liquid. Put the mixture into the cavities of some bell peppers and bake for an hour until the meat is cooked through. I always end up with way more meat mixture than it takes to fill the peppers, but that’s okay because even without a pepper, the filling is delicious. It’s good to have extra 🙂
Blessings,
