scharff story

BIG Family News!!!

2011-06-20T18:59:00.001-07:00

PLEASE check out our family’s new blog (http://www.outonalimbadoption.blogspot.com/) regarding details about our family’s exciting news: we are staring the process of adopting a child from Haiti! This new family blog will not only journal our way through this adventure, but will also serve as the hub for our new business venture, Out On A Limb Adoption, which we are pursuing in order to honor The Lord (and follow His Word) by completing this journey debt-free.

To help spread the word we sincerely ask that you not only check out our site, but also “follow”, “like” or “befriend” us in any way you can. We are new at this business process and can use all the help we can get. Every penny raised from the sale of our bow ties (and future products) will go directly towards the adoption of a child (as will any left over funds). With your help we can use this step of faith as a tangible example of just how true HIS Word is (“For there is NOTHING Our God cannot do”).

Thanks in advance for any and all support you can give as you join us in stepping “Out On A Limb”!!

The Scharffs

http://www.outonalimbadoption.blogspot.com/

Tickets and Turkeys

2010-11-02T10:32:00.001-07:00

Ok, the truth is that Wade spent a lot, A LOT of time in front of the TV the first 3 months of Chloe’s life. We have slowly been weaning him to a reasonable amount over the last 2 months but mommy and Wade are still in the habit of turning to the TV in moments of boredom or low patience.

Recently, I have developed a need to rid myself of a massive roll of tickets. You know, like the kind you would get at a Premier Designs Jewelry party when you ask a question or something. Then the ticket gets put into a drawing for some (usually) ridiculously chinsy prize from the Dollar Tree. I mean, just an example.

Yesterday morning I used up all 5 of my brain cells for the day with this clever little idea: MOVIE TICKETS! Wade loves to call things “tickets” – like receipts or little pieces of paper. Anyway, the plan is that each day he receives 2 movie tickets. He can use the tickets whenever he likes, given mom or dad gives permission. And for whatever movie he likes. But there’s only 2 per day and when they’re gone they’re gone. This will be good accountability for mommy and Wade.

Since I had used all my brain cells by 8:30am this next idea was stolen. Absolutely no credit can be given to me (except for my ability to wrap yarn around a ball, which as you will read, I still need some practice with). A friend posted on Facebook their family tradition: starting Nov. 1st they write something they are thankful for on a “feather” and put it on a turkey. They do this until Thanksgiving Day when their turkey is all full of feathers. I have been up to my eyeballs brainstorming what our Christmas Advent and celebration will look like. So much so that I hadn’t given any thought to Thanksgiving. So I decided to steal Kylie’s idea. A quick google search led me to Parents.com and I was able to hijack another idea. And here is the result:

I may be a little crafty but my creations are usually trial and error. I have a small obsession with yarn so I definitely had plenty of that lying around. I failed to read the instructions on Parents.com (a frequent occurrence for me) so I chose to wrap the dark brown yarn around a small ball of Wade’s. Then my turkey rolled right off the table. So I had to unwrap all the yarn, cut the bottom of the ball off so it would sit flat and rewrap it with an entire skein of yarn. Then I started with a tennis ball for his head. After having it completely wrapped and cutting my finger trying to connect it to the body, I found that it was far too heavy and made turkey fall over. Since it didn’t take too much yarn I just trashed the tennis ball and started over with a whiffle ball. Finally my turkey sat up straight. And that’s what I have to show for naptime yesterday. Two balls wrapped in yarn…productive.

Anyway, last night Wade wanted to write that he was thankful for corn. Which was evidenced by the 3 helpings he ate of it at dinner. You ever changed a diaper after 3 helpings of corn…yah, gross.

So there ya go. Tickets and Turkeys…well, really just one turkey but it sounded better to make them both plural.

Harvest Night or Bust

2010-10-31T19:46:00.001-07:00

Well, we came really close to a bust. Wade woke up from his nap at 3:15pm in a FINE mood. This is not totally out of character for him – he got his mama’s “wake-up grumpies”. An hour later he still hadn’t chosen to improve his attitude. Now its time to get in costume for the festival.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. He’s been totally excited about his costume for the past 2 weeks as we’ve been working on it. Raise your hand if your kid suddenly hates his costume when its time to put it on. Andrew managed to wrangle the special Thomas the Train overalls I had “made” (read: hot glued a Thomas patch onto $1.48 overalls from America’s Thrift Store). The overalls lasted approximately 3 minutes. Wade took them off and asked for jeans. Ok. Pick your battles. The overalls are not worth the battle. Jeans: check. Although he’s been wearing the conductor hat around the house for the past few weeks he again refused to wear it.

With both the overalls and the hat (and the shoes and the conductor bandana) he calmly and politely said “Mommy, I know we talked about wearing this before but I really just don’t feel like it tonight. I would prefer not to wear this item. Would that be ok?” So after having several “polite conversations” we manage to make it out to the car.

Arriving at church, Andrew and I make a quick bet as to how long he’s going to be willing to keep the actual James train on his body. I think one of us said 15 seconds, the other 20.

Good thing it was “Harvest Night” with costumes optional cause Wade ran around in a white henley and jeans the whole night. Oh well, we did manage to get a few good pics. (Thank you Calvary for providing candy for us to bribe our kid with)

Wade and James the Shiny Red Engine. Isn’t that the most amazing James you’ve ever seen? It was lovingly and creatively made by my AMAZING husband. Yah, in some ways it was a good thing that Wade only wore it for 35 seconds because he probably would have destroyed it if he wore it longer.

Cheeseball smile

That’s James’ freight car (AKA candy box). Andrew said, on the way home, that he didn’t mind that Wade didn’t wear the costume. The important thing was that he witnessed his daddy working hard to make something special for his boy as he remembers seeing his dad (the original Wade) do many times.

Chloe Bear wore her costume without contest…as long as it didn’t inhibit her thumb sucking she didn’t care what we put on her.

Wade and Chloe’s 4 (soon to be 5) cousins joined us so we captured some cousin love.

Wade and Callie

Wade, Callie, Ian, Sydney

Luke, 5 days younger than Chloe

Chloe: “Luke, get your grubby little hands off me”.

Luke: “Girl, you are really crampin’ my style here”.

Chloe vs. Banana

2010-10-25T06:17:00.001-07:00

This morning Chloe tasted her first bite of food. As I mashed the 1 inch piece of banana, I explained to her how her little world was about to change. I could get real philosophical on you here about how the intake of food could symbolize baby’s first steps towards independence and the parents’ huge responsibility to disciple that self-reliance into God-reliance. But I won’t.

Anyway, round one….Chloe and the Banana:

“Mom, I don’t know…do you really want to do this? I really think I could just stick with milk for the rest of my life.”

“Ok, if you insist. I got my game face on.”

'”INVASION! INVASION! We’ve been compromised.”

“Hmmm. Maybe I was mistaken. Perhaps banana is not foe, but friend.”

“Mom, take my keys…you’re going to have to drive. I’m feeling a little tipsy after that banana.”

Well, I’d say it went as well as I expected it to. She did get a couple bites down but she’s still working that little reflex that pushed the food back out of her mouth. Eh, we’ll try again next week. We’re not in any hurry to complicate our lives with food!

The Chicken Recipe

2010-08-31T18:40:00.001-07:00

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Herb-Chicken--Potatoes/Detail.aspx

**I had to cook mine about 30 minutes longer. And I’d cut the potatoes smaller next time so they cook thoroughly.

Mmmmonday

2010-08-31T06:36:00.001-07:00

Recently Andrew taught Wade how to eat an OREO cookie. Andrew likes to take them apart but I correct the technique today by reteaching him to dip it into the milk whole until it almost disintegrates.

Chloe observed…her foot.

This was later in the day…just before dinner. Sign of a good mom = there are still OREO remnants on his face.

This was dinner. Yes, I roasted a chicken in/on my bundt pan. Thanks Real Simple for a great idea.

Revive

2010-08-30T08:46:00.001-07:00

Did not realize this word was so packed with meaning:

1. to activate, set in motion, or take up again; renew.

2. to restore to life or consciousness.

3. to make operative or valid again.

4. to bring back into notice, use, or currency: to revive a subject of discussion.

5. to quicken or renew in the mind; bring back: to revive memories.

6. to reanimate or cheer (the spirit, heart, etc., or a person).

So, that’s the goal here. We got a new look (Chloe is not so into trains) and expanded subject matter.

Another great term is “comic relief”…a very valuable commodity around here the last 13 weeks. And since Wade and Chloe don’t always catch the humor I thought I’d get back to sharing our foibles with you. I can pretend someone is actually reading this and possibly laughing. It’ll be kinda like I’m interacting with another adult. Just pretend with me.

So, since we last talked I had another kid. Her name is Chloe Ann Scharff and she will be 3 months old on Sept 1st. I don’t really know what today’s date is so I’m not sure when the 1st is but I think it’s this week.

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I have learned a lot from Chloe Bear. She is the polar opposite of Wade as an infant. An appropriate word to describe Wade’s temperament as an infant (and largely now too) is “chillaxed”. Chloe is bright-eyed and alert. She is dainty and sensitive. The baby books say that newborns sleep 16-18 hrs per day their first month or two. I read this when Wade was a baby and wondered if it was a problem that my baby slept 21-22 hrs per day. I even asked my pediatrician if it was ok….oh, you foolish first time mom! So in order to bring that average to 16-18 hrs., some babies need to sleep a lot less…like maybe about 10hrs per day. That’s my girl. Thankfully she has been a great nighttime sleeper from the get-go so really only about 2-3 of those hours were left for daytime sleeping. So fun. Especially with a 2.5 yr old around. Especially when she spreads the 2-3 hrs. out into 20 minute catnaps each one requiring rocking/bouncing her to sleep for 20 min.

HOWEVER…my girl has turned a corner. The last couple weeks she has been taking longer naps during the day and not requiring so much soothing. If you had mentioned the idea of reviving this blog about a month ago I would have laughed (or cried) because there were many days I didn’t even get my teeth brushed until 3pm. But I have a little bit of predictable time now. AND, most awesomely, she has starting going to bed at 7:30 ish so that blessed kid-free evening time has returned.

Wade has been a real trooper through all this. He has surely had his moments but I would say he’s probably shed less tears than I have. He adores Chloe, even when she demands mommy’s full attention. She loves him too and grins ear to ear when she hears his little voice. Wade is growing out of his toddlerness and into a little boy. We are thoroughly enjoying hearing his thoughts and I’m sure I’ll share many anecdotes in posts to come.

Andrew has willingly stepped up to this huge new challenge of two kids. He has lightened my load tremendously and I would probably be in a mental hospital if it weren’t for him. Not kidding. After a long day at work he comes home and adorns his “dad” hat without hesitation. Each day he plays with Wade from the minute he walks in, helps get dinner together, entices Wade to eat, washes dishes, bathes Wade and puts him to bed. I have never had to ask him to do any of these things. This is an amazing man. I am more thankful for him every day!

Alright, Word World is almost over and Chloe has been sleeping for an hour. Need to get my head back in the game here.

Btw, there’s a few pics up there – I experimented with the photo album feature of Live Writer. Not really sure what happens when you click on “view album” but at least you have those few little shots. More later…promise.

Big Boy Room…check, Nursery…check, Name…check, Baby Head Down…uncheck

2010-05-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

35 weeks down, 4-5 to go. It is hard to believe it is almost time for this baby girl to arrive. The last month has been extremely productive around here.

Step 1 was transitioning Wade into his new big boy bedroom. Thanks to David, Anna & Callie having Wade over for a sleepover we were able to transform the downstairs spare bedroom into his new room. This also required transforming the gameroom (code for “junk” room) into the spare bedroom. Anyway, that all happened and we moved him downstairs. Wade was very excited about his new room and we really haven’t had much problem with that.

His new room is the biggest in the house so we have some wall space that could use some lovin’ but we’re working on that.

The theme of his new room is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. You can see the airplane quilt on his bed here. This quilt is really special because it was designed by Andrew’s dad (Wade’s namesake) and quilted by his mom when Andrew was a boy.

Step 2 was “girlifying” the nursery for Junebug. I have really had a hard time deciding what direction to go in there. I am not a super girly kind of girl so I didn’t want a whole lot of (ok, really I didn’t want any) pink. Also, I wanted be creative but not break the bank. So…here’s the result.

The Inspiration (an old, old toy that we found in some of the boxes of ~~junk~~ treasures from Andrew’s mom):

These were the biggest projects – well, they weren’t really difficult- they just required the most fabric. Two of these bins were brown suede and 2 were tan corduroy so we (Connie) recovered them. We (again, Connie) added the yellow fabric to the top of the large basket liner.

Here’s a better view of the 2 main fabrics:

The other main project was the crib skirt. I kind of wanted to make a bumper pad but realized that would require a lot of time and fabric for an item that really wouldn’t be used for that long. So I just went with a plain white bumper and a yellow sheet.

So, I’ll also mention the walls are painted “Robin’s Nest” green/blue by Benjamin Moore. I promise I found the color before I saw the name of it!

Here’s a close up of the mobile…thanks to Andrew’s creative thinking with the sun to cover the music box. Can you tell the little guys are birds?

Also, we painted a tree on the wall:

This room has horrible ventilation so we needed full panel curtains that I’ll eventually line to help keep the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter. These were a great deal from IKEA and we added the ribbon.

These sweet little guys were made from Connie’s awesome collection of fabric scraps that she allowed me free reign over.

The lamp I recovered with this adorable $4.99/yd fabric. I don’t really know where the nightstand came from but we painted it black and added these great handles from Hobby Lobby.

I don’t know that this picture frame/key hook has ever hung in our home but somehow it never got yard saled through the years. Anyway, it was previously green and did not have the red ribbons hanging from it. So, I repurposed it to hang Junebug’s hair bows on. I do fully recognize the unlikeliness of this sweet girl having ANY hair for several years but every girl needs hair bows, right?

Step 3 was giving this child a real name. Even though Wade will probably call her “Junebug” for the rest of her life, we figured that might not go so well through the teenage years. So, without further ado…our daughter’s name is:

Chloe Ann Scharff. “Ann” is after my mom’s middle name. “Chloe” means “greenery” or “young sprout” which is not particularly meaningful to us, but it did inspire this artwork and our hope for her precious life:

I think that about covers the nursery and I’m not even sure that Blogger is going to allow me to post this many pictures!

The other thing I mentioned in the title was that Chloe is currently breech. I’m 35 weeks so there’s not a lot of wiggle room for her to be turning somersaults in there. Anyway, at my appointment this Friday Dr. M and I will be discussing the possibility of her turning Chloe from the outside. If that doesn’t work then I will be scheduled for a C-section at 39 weeks. Anyway, we’d just appreciate your prayers that she would turn on her own in the next few days.

Easter Festivities Begin

2010-04-02T19:19:00.001-07:00

So this evening Wade got to experience several “firsts”.

1. First time seeing a grown man dressed as a bunny rabbit. As most kids, he didn’t like it at all. This is pretty much fine with me. I’d rather stick with Jesus for Easter and leave the Bunny out of it. (sorry if that is offensive to you)

**Just a side note, but who wouldn’t be scared of this rabbit…kinda fits in the scary clown category if you ask me.

2. First time seeing and holding a real live bunny. I have about a million adorable pictures of this but had to pick just a few to post here.

Obviously there is a lot going on in this picture but check out Wade’s face…totally captures his excitement!

3. First official Easter Egg Hunt (and discovery of candy within)

4. First experience dying Easter eggs.

And some other pics that don’t capture “firsts” but just Wade being his ever adorable self.

Prego Update (including pics)

2010-03-06T18:27:00.001-08:00

We are 26.5 weeks along on this journey of pregnancy #2. It’s interesting to me how its flying by this time. I think that’s partly because most of the time I am a little preoccupied by the sweet child OUTSIDE my belly.

The 2nd trimester is treating me well but I guess I’m almost into the 3rd trimester at this point. This pregnancy has been VASTLY different from my first. The first time I gained….well, let’s just say “a lot” of weight. I did not exercise at all really and did not make healthy eating choices as my appetite increased. By 26 wks last time I was no longer able to wear my wedding rings and had gained twice the amount that I’ve currently gained. Praise the Lord, that is not the case this time. The most significant action I’ve taken this time around is to swim 45-60min, 3-4 times per week. I’ve heard that being in the pool has helped other women with water retention as well as giving a GREAT workout.

We have started trying to get “Junebug’s” room ready…but first we have to move Wade out of it into his new big boy room downstairs. But before that, we have to finish the reorganization of said room. The goal is to move Wade by the beginning of April so he get used to the new room. Umm, that’s in 3 weeks. We worked all day today on the reorganization efforts and made significant progress. Hopefully we’ll be able to paint before we leave on our trip to Washington D.C. on March 15.

Anyway, that’s where we’re at. An update on Wade coming soon.

Praying for Percy

2010-02-08T17:55:00.001-08:00

So Percy went missing a couple weeks ago. We were running errands and in a moment of weakness I let Wade bring him into a store. A few stores later I realized Percy was gone. So sad. Wade mentions him every once in a while, but the kid does have several other trains.

Tonight, we were playing trains before bed and Wade brought up Percy. He immediately clasped his hands together and said “pray, amen”. I asked him if he wanted to pray that we would find Percy. He said “yes”. So we prayed for Percy. Immediately after the “amen” he jumps up and starts looking around the table saying “Percy”. It became obvious real quick that Percy was not back. So he clasps his little hands and says “again”. What a precious little heart! Of course, we prayed for Percy again (as mom and dad tried to hold it together). Afterwards he didn’t really look around for him but just climbed up into bed to read.

It is so sweet to see our little guy’s heart growing toward God and we are treasuring every moment.

Happy Birthday Wade!

2010-01-31T18:39:00.001-08:00

Our baby boy is turning 2! This is nearly impossible to believe.

If you haven’t noticed, we’re a LITTLE into trains around here.

Poor little man woke up from his nap with a crusty left eye and runny nose!

But bubbles make everyone feel better!

P.S. I’ll update you on his stats after his Feb. 19th 2 yr check-up, but the pants he’s wearing in these pics – he received them as a bday present last year!

Bullet Points and Pictures

2009-12-15T06:32:00.001-08:00

I’m officially into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy which means I’ve regained a bit of energy. So now you should expect my normal blog slackingness rather than SUPER slackingness. Ha.

Our life in bullet points and pictures:

We enjoyed some awesome hikes in October.

Hike with beautiful Calvary ladies at Cloudland Canyon

COLD hike with small group at Pocket Wilderness in Dayton

EVENTFUL hike at Chickamauga Pocket

Wade fell down the stairs for the first time. This actually happened the morning of our hike at Chickamauga.

Check out that lip!

Andrew fell into the creek. Same day.

Post fall strategizing of cell phone recovery plan. Amazingly, after a week in a bowl of rice and 2 minutes in the oven it works fine!

Baby Scharff #2 had his/her first picture taken!

Baby is due June 8th which makes me 15 wks along. This pregnancy has been kinda different from the first one. Of course, I was very tired during the first trimester but it wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated. I had some nausea but not bad. The first time I had a lot of irritation during digestion except when I ate potatoes. But none of that this time. The other huge difference is that I’m exercising and drinking lots of water. I topped out the scales with a total of 60 lbs gained with Wade and that is most definitely NOT the plan this time. So far I am feeling good about my weight gain (3lbs) and bloating (or lack therof). We find out in about 5 wks whether its a boy or girl.

We found out big news:::Wade is going to be a big cousin AGAIN!!

Anna and David are also expecting a new little one!!! This Baby Scharff is due July 13 we’re about 5 weeks apart.

There’s a gap in my pictures but some fun things that happened include

Short reunion with Matt and Rachael Milligan (my college roommate)
Andrew camped out in the REI parking lot TWICE in Atlanta (in 20 degree weather) in order to snag some good deals at their “garage sale”.
I continue to tutor elementary students. I’ve got 6 students, 4 of whom I work with in reading. I am REALLY enjoying using my education training to help these kids who are struggling.
Other than that I think I didn’t do too much for a couple weeks. I was still in that 1st trimester haze so everything seemed to take a huge effort.

Grammy came to visit for Thanksgiving!

Mom got us an Aquarium membership for Christmas so we took full advantage while she was here.

The Feast!!

Wade got a HUGE kick out of decorating the Christmas tree.

Grammy spoiled Wade with this awesome slide (which now sits in our living room cause its too cold to play outside!)

And what’s a visit with Grammy without a few trips to Panera!

Attempt at Christmas card photos (but I’ve decided to play my “exempt cause I’m using all my energy to grow this baby in my tummy” card and not send snail mail cards this year – may put together something electronically)

Wade’s first bus ride!

Have I mentioned that Wade is obsessed with “choo choo’s”?

Wade’s first movie!!! We saw Polar Express at the IMAX in 3D. Of course, Wade would not keep the glasses on so he watched the blurry version. It was good but I wouldn’t recommend the 3D version for young kids…it was a little intense!

The first weekend of December we got a light snow

Wade loved to eat it!

Last weekend cousins Sydney and Ian came over and we made Fruity Pebbles Trains!

Mom, did you say “stir” or “eat”…I always get those 2 confused!

After we made the trains Andrew headed to Huntsville, AL with David to run the Rocket City marathon. Gee, Robin, you didn’t mention Andrew was training for a marathon! Yah, he wasn’t. David called Friday at 3:30pm to see if he’d like to run it…the following day. And they did it! In 4hrs. 35 min. WOW!

Well, that pretty much covers life around here the past month or so. It’s been a rough couple of days around here as Wade is sick. He ran fever for a couple days but the doctor says its a virus turned ear infection. Whatever it is, its making the poor kid feel rotten! I feel like I should make a donation to PBS as they have been keeping us company a whole lot lately.

Can we fix it? Yes we can!

2009-11-01T17:37:00.001-08:00

A-hem, Announcement Time

2009-10-24T17:37:00.001-07:00

So, of course, I should start by apologizing for the long break in blogging. But, hopefully this post will help you forget all of your long weary nights waiting for me to post ;)

Can you read Wade’s name tag? Just in case you can’t…it says “BIG BROTHER”. That’s right! Our family of 3 is expanding. Sometime in June we will be welcoming a new little bundle of joy into our home!

We are thrilled, of course! And I’ve been feeling pretty much ok. A little queasy but I just eat a few crackers and give Wade a horsey ride and soon I’ve forgotten all about it!

So, maybe, just maybe I’ll be a more devoted blogger with this news. I do have a whole month’s worth of pics to post. I’ll get right on that.

Weekend in South Carolina

2009-09-14T18:33:00.001-07:00

Well, this past weekend was the 2nd Annual Wade Scharff Memorial Golf Tournament…and it was a huge success!!! I will post more about it later. For now, I just wanted to share pics from the rest of the wknd. It was a little insane but loads of fun.

Mabbit Springs

2009-09-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

Our mornings have been cool here lately so we decided to go hiking Saturday morning. We went up to Signal Mtn to check out the trails at Mabbit Springs.

First thing we learned was that the few pounds Wade has actually gained since our last hike count for a lot when you’re carrying him on your back!

After several miles we came to this awesome picnic spot.

What happened to our baby…lookin’ like a big boy here.

We tried, to no avail, for a family shot. The space between us is where Wade had been standing for a brief second.

But he’d rather play here…

View from our picnic spot…amazing to live 15 minutes from this.

Lookout!

2009-09-05T14:05:00.001-07:00

Oh, nevermind.

Last night Wade experienced his first professional sporting event. The Chattanooga Lookouts are in town for their last home games of the season. So we forked over the $8 and took ourselves out to the ballgame.

Ian & Wade focused on the game; Syd on her PB&J.

A little coach in the making? Can’t you just see him pacing back and forth, leaning over the rail, spitting in the dirt then deciding to go ahead and trade pitchers.

Preparing to give a dissertation on the game of baseball.

Classic. Daddy & his boy at the ballfield.

I don’t think the Lookouts are really that great of a team…but the view from their stadium at sunset is awesome.

Things went pretty good at first…

And then these guys came out:

See those big tall character looking things. Not sure exactly how they work but they are like air suits with people inside (which by the way, I would love to do so if you have a connection, hook me up). They dance around and stuff. Anyway, the big tall pink guy came out alone first and challenged a player from the opposing team (sorry, I don’t even know who we played against) to a dance off. They went back and forth a few times and we all laughed. Then the air guy playfully tackled the player. Wade went biserk. I thought I had laughed too hard and scared him. Until later when another air guy came out and somehow gobbled one of the umps up into his suit. Then he would spit out the guy’s shoes and pants and whatnot. Again Wade lost it. I realized that he’s never really witnessed anything like that- one person attacking another. It was a sweet reminder of his innocent, tender heart.

Finally he fell asleep about the 5th or 6th inning:

Wade’s New BFF

2009-09-03T05:20:00.001-07:00

Saturday at our church’s Service Day carwash Ansley declared Wade to be her best friend. Although she is nearly twice his age and obviously quite a bit taller he seemed to respond accordingly and engaged into this friendship.

I’m not sure if this look is telling of his true feelings or not. To me it says “Listen sweetie, your a real nice gal and all but, y’know, I’d just rather go down the buddy slides with my mom”. This attitude may have risen out of a little accident the new BFFs had on Saturday when a moving hug ended up toppling to the ground.

“Umm, yah, I guess it’s cool if you want to let me ride your purple car and push me on it. But listen, don’t equivocate this with any kind of commitment on my part.”

“Geez, how did this happen? Women! They have this funny way of turning things around on ya.”

“Ansley…girlfriend…you didn’t mention you like to play in the dirt! I just thought you were a puffy bows and pink crocks kind of girl. Let me give this thing some more thought.”

“Yah, it’s cool yo. We’re tight. I mean, c’mon the girl plays with dirt. I can dig it.”

Sacred Moments

2009-08-30T17:44:00.001-07:00

Almost every evening our little family (Sammy included) shares some special time. After bath time Wade usually gets a little 2nd wind so we all gather in his room for horsey rides, wrestling, tickle time, Sammy’s wild running, peek-a-boo, cars and of course, golf. So I thought I’d let you in on our family bonding…

And here’s a demonstration of Wade’s golf technique:

Step #1: Call Your Shot

Step #2: Ball Placement

Step #3: Secure Your Grip

Step #4: Say a Prayer

Step #5: Believe for the Ace!

Step #6: Practice Swing

Step #7: Backswing

Step #8: Contact & Follow Through

There ya have it folks…the secrets of a up and coming pro golfer!

New Look

2009-08-29T14:14:00.001-07:00

I thought maybe a little blog makeover would motivate to write more.

U like it?

Where have you been?

2009-08-28T05:16:00.001-07:00

It is early…and I’m up. Thought the boy was waking up so managed to convince myself to get out of bed. As soon as I poured my coffee his whining waned and now I’m half way through my first cup and its pure silence. So, now is as good a time as ever to finally post.

Can you believe it’s almost September? Seriously. This is ridiculous. I know I was pretty silent all summer but rest assured that we were having fun.

Wade is becoming a little fish. Not quite like a dolphin who ventures out into deep water…more like a minnow who stays near the steps. But nonetheless a sea creature.

This shot kinda looks like he’s got a little belly. Don’t be fooled. This boy is his daddy’s child. He weighs in at a whopping 22lbs…that means only 8% of boys his age weigh less. The probable reason for the mirage of the belly above is because those swim trunks are a size 6-12mo. Here is a slightly more accurate shot of how his clothes fit him (these shorts are a size 18mo):

***However, lest you be concerned, his head circumference up in the 65th % continues to give proof of his brain power.

You can’t quite tell but in the above photo he is Swiffering the floor, which is one of his favorite pastimes. Actually Swiffering is really just training for his very favorite hobby, MUCH to his daddy’s delight, GOLF!!!!

This shot is from his amateur days back in July. He has since graduated from bubble wand and tennis ball to real golf club and ball (although, no real golf balls in the house…for daddy or Wade).

Somehow I do not have a shot of Tiger Jr. in action but I’m sure I can catch one as soon as he wakes up since he’ll be looking for his club first thing. Last weekend we went to the driving range with David & Anna (so us girls could practice for the upcoming 2nd Annual Wade Scharff Memorial Golf Tournament (those Scharff boys sure know how to honor their dad!). I am not joking, Wade “putted” around for the entire 1.5hrs. that we were there. Once we went over to the actual putting green it was like the world had opened up before his eyes…the realization that there are holes in the ground that you hit the ball into cemented his love of the game forever! Priceless. At 8:30pm when we finally began our exit he literally wailed all the way to the car!

It’s 8:06am now and I’m probably pushing my luck on time. So I’m going to wrap this thing up. But just want to share one last thing. Here’s my little man helping mommy make Strawberry Crisp dessert yesterday…

There’s so much more I want to share about this sweet guy. He is just a ball of life. So many nights after he’s gone to sleep I just get overwhelmed thinking about what a blessing he is. Hope you get to see even a little piece of that through this blog.

The Shirt That Keeps On Giving

2009-07-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

A big shout out to Old Navy. Not only is it the home of the $2 tank top but now the everlasting baby shirt. I’m pretty sure this size 6-12 mo. shirt was purchased last May on a trip to Florida to visit my mom. This picture was taken a month after that in Houston. So, I’ll calculate for you…Wade was 4 months old here.

Here again, colors slightly more dull from washing, we see Wade last October in Florida at an age of 8 months.

And this is not a joke, I took this picture today. It is the same exact shirt. Wade is 17 months old. Obviously it’s been well loved as the orange is pretty faded.

He’s actually got 3- a gray one, blue stripes and this one. They all still fit. Thanks Old Navy!!

In other random news, Wade experience his first fort today.

MOOOOOOOOOOO!

2009-07-10T18:35:00.001-07:00

Free Chic Fil A? Are you kidding me…of course I dressed up like a cow for a free combo.

Those are actually cow noses we’re wearing on our faces. Originally I had a few more spots but Wade pulled them off.

For our efforts, Anna and I both earned 2 combos…they didn’t even blink an eye when Anna ordered a Coke for Callie! Then the sweet girl carried our food to the car for us.

You may or may not have noticed by I have started another blog. It’s sole purpose is to track our progress as we journey out of debt. Check it out:

www.yearofinsanity.blogspot.com

Dirt

2009-06-27T18:40:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago we had this idea to make over our front deck. If you’ve been to our home you know that our yard is a work in progress…and there hasn’t really been much progress. The grass is, well, not grass-pretty much only weeds. About 95% of the property is extremely sloped. Andrew wears soccer cleats to mow the grass and has tipped the lawn mower over on more than one occasion. The only flat portion has these cement holes leftover from some kind of structure that’s no longer there.

So, the deck seemed like a tackle-able project. And you know, sometimes in life you need the satisfaction of completing something. I guess right now is one of those times because I am so excited about our “new” deck.

Recently I posted a picture of the front of our house. Here is your “before” view:

There’s the front deck and there’s really nothing more to it than what you can see here. See those slats in the railing. Well, when we moved in last year they were unpainted. Our first project was to paint the slats. That happened last Friday.

Then we made and hung these planter boxes:

The idea was for an herb garden. So we’ve got mint, sage, chives, lemon balm, thyme. Then an Arcelia for color…

Ok, pause, I just saw a woman shoot an arrow…like a bow & arrow, with her feet and get a bullseye. On TV, not in person.

Um, where was I? Then we decided to hang this planter that I used to have in my office in Houston. I clipped some ivy from the only other presentable area of our yard (a small bed under our stairway that we have paid no attention to).

Of course, Wade helped every step of the way:

This was pretty much his first experience to play in the dirt on his terms not ours and I’d say he enjoyed it.

Then we had to walk down the driveway to check out the streetview of the deck.

Oh, ya, here’s the view:

I know the rest of the yard will slowly come around but for now we’ll just enjoy our peaceful front porch and not look down at the yard!

Ummm….

2009-06-24T16:20:00.001-07:00

Wade pooped in the bathtub tonight. Just thought I’d share.

It’s a…

2009-06-20T08:44:00.001-07:00

I mentioned Andrew’s been working on my anniversary gift this week. Well, he finished it this morning. And even though tomorrow is technically our anniversary, he couldn’t wait to give it to me. By the way, this happens at every gift giving occasion…sometimes I make him wait, but he was too excited about this. So here it is…

A birdhouse, that looks like our real house!!! How cool is that!?!

Have you ever made a dish explode in the microwave?

2009-06-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

I have. Twice. Really? Well, ok, the 2nd time (tonight) the dish had been out of the microwave for several minutes before it spontaneously combusted. I think that actually exemplifies even more super power on my part.

The first time I was cooking bacon in the microwave which I believe is a fairly normal thing. I cook it on a dinner plate all the time. I believe that’s what the instructions on the bacon package say to do. I heard a strange noise and then bam…my plate busts into a gazillion pieces. The craziest part is that I took the broken pieces into Target, put on my best puppy dog face and they actually opened another set and gave me a new dinner plate. Amazing. I have new hope in Target’s return policy.

So I got this great recipe from www.allrecipes.com for homemade potato chips in the microwave. I would share the exact recipe link but I don’t want you to go exploding a dish (but you could just search potato chips and find it). It says to cook potato slices on a plate in the microwave for 5-8min. Not wanting to break another plate and having to risk Target not exchanging a second one (which, by the way, said “microwave safe” on the bottom) I decided to use a Pyrex glass casserole dish. Surely Pyrex can withstand the power of my microwave. So they cook for about 8 min. I take it out and am taking the chips out one by one when suddenly shards of glass fly across the kitchen. Did I mention I had also made hamburger buns from scratch? Yah, the dough was sitting right next to the Pyrex dish when it exploded.

Of course, Wade had been hugging my legs right before it happened making that new sound I (do not) LOVE so much, how do I spell it for you…I don’t know the right letters. You know, that sound pre-speaking toddlers make when they want something. My super-mother instinct shot into action and I grabbed him out of the way so no one got hurt. Except my dinner.

Poor Andrew tried to clean it up and salvage the hamburger bun dough but the glass was too hot to touch. So, we put up the baby gate so Sammy couldn’t eat the glass (which he probably would have…not kidding) and abandoned ship.

Anyway, we’ll see if Wal-mart measures up to Target on returning the Pyrex dish…which clearly states on the bottom (and that piece is still intact) “microwave safe”.

On another note, sorry I haven’t shared many pics of the Wadester lately. Next post…pictures only. Maybe a few words.

Guess it’s off to bed for me. Andrew is downstairs in the basement working on my anniversary present. I am totally clueless as to what it is. He’s been working on it every night this week. He’s using a saw and some other power tools. He also asked where he might find a paint brush. And he only spent $8. And he said he isn’t following any kind of instructions. Guess I’ll let you know Sunday!

Does he want a mint?

2009-06-10T11:27:00.001-07:00

Curious title, huh? There were other considerations…among the finalists were:

“Thank you Lord that I restocked the wipes this morning”
“I used to pack an extra change of clothes in the diaper bag but he hasn’t had an explosion since…”
“I’ll give $5 to anyone who can locate an item that does NOT have poop on it”
“Birth Control”
“Should I have tipped that Chic Fil A girl?”
“Chic Fil A should have an outdoor hose available to customers”

Yes, my friends, we had a MAJOR diaper explosion at Chic Fil A today. Moms of tots, take heed, lest you thought those days had passed. We met my friend Kelly (who has no children) for lunch today. We had all finished eating and were chatting…when I smelled it. After a quick peek, I could tell it was contained and decided to change it in a few minutes, right before we left the restaurant. Mistake number one. Several minutes later Wade got antsy and was asking to be held. As I pulled him out of the high chair I noticed that there was something on his leg. Further investigation led me to conclude that this substance was also on the high chair, his shoes, the floor and my diaper bag. Shortly thereafter I put 2 and 2 together. We rushed off to the bathroom. Of course a nonhandicapped, non-baby toting young lady was using the big stall with the changing table. So I stood there hold my son on his stomach across my arms. All the while he is alternating between a cry and “vroom vroom”, still holding the purple car in his hand (this would be the only item that did not have poop on it if you were looking to collect $5). For the first time in my life I used the strap provided on most public changing tables. Here is where I proclaim “Thank you Lord that I restocked the wipes this morning!”. Of course I used every last one. I’ll spare you the details but I’ll just say this is when I was thinking about suggesting the outdoor hose concept.

All the while, I’m pondering what my friend Kelly is thinking (probably “well, that was enough birth control for the next 5 years!”). And I’m also anticipating the mess that is waiting for me. Well, praise God, Kelly had summoned a Chic Fil A worker (the one I probably should have tipped, or offered to pay her college tuition next year). This girl is calmly and thoroughly cleaning every surface (including my diaper bag)…what a doll. Of course I thank her profusely to which she replies “no big deal, it happens pretty frequently” (really? hmm). So, I’m standing at the table trying decide the plan of action when the Chic Fil A princess offers me a mint for Wade. Hmmm, interesting offer. The obvious is that a 16 month old should probably skip the hard candy for now. But I’m really curious why a mint…of all the things to offer, why a mint? She sees my puzzled expression and adds “for his breath, you know…in case he wants to get that taste out of his mouth”. Huh? Oh dear. Sweet, sweet girl. I glance at Kelly and it is evident she is coming to the same conclusion I am at the exact same moment. You think you are cleaning up throw up. Do I enlighten her? Which is worse - cleaning up vomit or poop? Can I poll the other Chic Fil A customers? . Vomit: 5; Poop: 20. Let her live in oblivion. We’ve got to get the kid, the poopy diaper bag, the dirty clothes and ourselves out of here ASAP. Gathering it all up we make it to the car…Kelly’s face still looks as though she’s seen a ghost. I buckle Wade in his seat then Kelly and I chat outside the car for 10 minutes. By the time I get in, Wade has fallen asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake him up for a much needed bath when we got home. So he’s currently sleeping in his bed…at the first signs of waking he will be commandeered to the bath tub for a scrub down and sheets will be washed…and bleached.

Ah, the joys of parenthood. Funny, as I was getting my hair cut this morning I was telling Jarrod about Andrew & my weekend away and how fun it was to golf and hike and tube and just do what we wanted when we wanted. We agreed that doesn’t happen too often with little ones around…the list of outdoor hobbies that are kid appropriate is pretty short. I guess Wade heard me and wanted to remind me how adventurous life with a toddler can really be!

P.S. Sorry this post doesn’t include pictures….really, though, you should be glad.

I’m a Big Kid Now!

2009-06-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Creative Discovery Museum since it was supposed to be rainy all day. Wade wants to walk everywhere he goes now so the adventures were pretty much endless at the museum.

All ready to go…and realizing exactly how cute he is!!!

Listen, GiGi, this is a new recipe. I promise this banana will taste great baked!

Gotta go pick up my girls! (yah right, in like 30 years)

Ok, I need everyone to act real serious. See the minimum age on this toy is 3yrs… so just don’t mention that I’m wearing a diaper.

Theoretically this smock will keep me completely dry…unless I sit down in a puddle.

Walk this way!

2009-06-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Wade turned 16 months old…and started walking!!!! We have been waiting for this day for months. There were days when I kind of questioned whether he would ever walk! It’s been about a 2 month process but the other night he just took off…I think he actually surprised himself.

So, we went to Bruster’s to celebrate!

I do have to give credit where credit is due. GiGi came in town last Saturday and they have walked MILES together (holding hands) since then. I really think her coaching gave him the confidence to start walking on his own!

Bienvenedos a Summer

2009-05-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

The fountains are on at Coolidge Park so summer is officially here! Wednesday we spent the morning enjoying the sun and water. Wade had no fear when it came to the water.

Wade & Sydney playing in the water

He loved playing on the stone animals!

Cousin Callie chillin’ in the shade

Who needs a double stroller?

Longest (photo) Post Ever

2009-05-09T18:27:00.001-07:00

As usual, pretend you have heard from me more recently than 6 weeks ago.

In no particular order, here’s what’s been going on in our corner of the world.

We have been biking a lot. This awesome kiddie trailer was a steal on Craig’s List.

I promise he enjoys it more than this picture shows. We’ve been doing about 10 miles on the Riverwalk a couple times a week.

Andrew sold his mountain bike a few weeks ago so we could get the kiddie trailer. The plan was to downgrade a bit on a replacement bicycle. So, today he bought this $8 beauty at a garage sale. He has completely disassembled it and cleaned all the rust off. Currently he is mumbling things like “what have I done?” and “guess I’m learning how to assemble a bike tonight” as he tries to get it back together. It needs a new seat and handle bar tape and pedals but it should be a great bike for around town.

Wade met his Great-Grandparents on Thursday. They came through town on their way back to Iowa from Charleston.

Not sure what they’re laughing at but this picture is priceless.

Of course it is impossible to get a picture of all the grandkids looking at the camera but this is the best shot.

And I have no idea how this happened but here is a picture of the whole bunch and not one person has their eyes closed.

Wade and daddy waving to mommy below.

Wade and cousin Sydney (who is FINALLY growing some hair).

Wade is still not walking independently but he refuses to be carried very much so he either crawls on the pavement (doesn’t seem to bother his poor knees) or walks like this.

The Dragonboat Race was a couple weeks ago and this year Andrew got to participate with David’s company. Obviously David was taking it a little more seriously than Andrew…haha.

Here they are racing. Let’s just say they had a good time, the weather was gorgeous, the company was entertaining…so what if you can’t get 20 people in a boat to synchronize their paddling to the beat of a drummer.

Wade had a good time playing in the rocks anyway.

We are almost finished redecorating our dining room. If you remember we got a new table and I decided to recover the seats. Well, then we decided the light fixture was a little overpowering for the room. So, we, of course, sold it on Craig’s List and went a bit retro with the new look. We also created a photo wall.

Also, I made some new shade toppers (I’m certain that is not the correct term but you get my drift) for the kitchen.

What else? Let’s see. Last time I posted we were about to have houseguests. Well, Ben & Andrea lived in our basement for about a month or so and are now trying to get settled in their new home. They were wonderful guests and we were grateful for the chance to get to know them better.

In 4 weeks GiGi (my mom) is coming to town for a week! Plus while she’s here Andrew and I are going to get away for a couple nights and let GiGi spoil Wade. I’m really having trouble thinking about anything else!

School is almost out which means my tutoring schedule will be changing (praise God!). So far I’ve got 5hrs. lined up on Tuesdays and the rest of the days will be free!!!!

Ok, I can’t think of anything else to type that’s worth your reading. Andrew has given up on the bike for tonight and is sleeping on the couch beside me.

Hopefully you’ll hear from me in less than 6 weeks but I’m through making promises about that!

Wade's First Haircut!!

2009-03-31T19:27:00.001-07:00

Zoo Pics

2009-03-29T20:12:00.001-07:00

The previous post contains photos from our trip to Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. Photobucket has a fabulous new “one-click” album share feature. I urge you to persevere through the entire show. It will be worth it. Your payment will come in laughter. There is a shot of me where it appears I am trying to poop in my pants while picking up Wade. Since this “one-click” feature just puts your whole slide show in an album and sends it to Blogger I didn’t realize till it was already posted that this lovely shot of me was included. So, enjoy. Don’t laugh too hard.

scharffstory

2009-03-29T20:06:00.001-07:00

Your Instructions

2009-03-29T14:20:00.001-07:00

I only have a minute (I did not forget about the pictures). But I need to tell you something.

1. Go to Walgreens.

2. Pick up 2 Softsoap Essentials bottles of bodywash.

3. Go to the register.

4. Purchase 1 bottle of Softsoap (use coupon from 3/30 inserts if you have).

5. Register will spit out a Register Rewards coupon for 1 free Softsoap Essentials Bodywash (like the other one in your buggy).

6. Smile at cashier and ask sweetly if you can go ahead and use your coupon for another transaction (not advised if there is a line. if long line of angry, impatient looking folks just quietly take your stuff to the beauty counter to checkout)

7. Hand cashier your Softsoap and Register Rewards coupon. Pay $.37 in tax (if in TN-even less if you’re in another state, like FL)

8. Hold your hand out because the cashier is going to hand you ANOTHER Register Rewards free Softsoap Essentials Bodywash coupon!

I have no shame so I went back and picked up another bodywash and, I kid you not, it spit me out another Register Rewards free coupon! Because my sweet husband was home caring for Wade I decided I should resist the temptation to spend the rest of the afternoon purchasing free bodywash. But I have 6 more days to work this deal. I plan on “buying” the North Chattanooga Walgreens out of Softsoap!

Hi, my name is Robin…

2009-03-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

and I’m a blog slacker.

But I’m back. I guess a whole lot has happened since Feb. 21st. I’ll admit, my absence has been largely due to laziness. But perhaps partly due to apprehension of sharing this new thing. Let me introduce myself again.

Hi, my name is Robin and I’m a Premier Designs Jeweler. Probably most of you are thinking this doesn’t really fit me; the other half are asking “what does that mean?” When I explain it, you will join the others in their opinion. So I shall ‘splain it to you. Premier is basically a direct sales company for whom I am an independent distributor selling jewelry through home shows. A la Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, etc.

Here’s how it happened. Right around Feb. 21st, I guess, I was presented with this opportunity through a friend. We have become die hard about paying off our debt. Like most of you, we’ve pinched here and cut there but there just isn’t much extra to make a debt snowball with. So this idea peeked our interest. As my friend explained the details I was also reminded of a prayer I had been praying earlier that week. My daily schedule has to be pretty strict in order to get Wade’s nap in before we have to leave at 2:30pm for me to tutor. This and other aspects of being a stay at home mom have left me feeling like I spend a whole lot of time consumed with my family. Which is good and Godly, I believe. But I also believe I am supposed to be loving and serving others too. So, I had asked God to provide an opportunity for this. Getting to be in womens’ homes, extending my circle, I would get to love and serve them. So, after prayer and consideration, we decided to jump in.

(I don’t know where this fits but it’s paramount to the story: as I considered this opportunity I was very cautious that I would never ever want to communicate to any woman that purchasing this jewelry would make them beautiful. Especially after my time in youth ministry I have witnessed so often that we as women try to secure our beauty in everything but the truth of who God has made us to be. I am passionate about this, to say the least.)

Then I got real discouraged. I’ll save you the details but I felt an unspoken pressure to become the “saleswoman” that I am not. But God is so faithful. Over a period of a few days I sensed that He was saying “Robin, now that you’ve committed to this thing, let me tell you what I want for you. I want you to go into these women’s homes and communicate My truth about beauty. Don’t be “preachy” or a “Bible-beater” but speak from your heart that beauty comes from Me. Do not be concerned about selling jewelry. I will be your Provider. That is my part. You just share the words I have put in your heart. That is your part.”

This is SO exciting to me. I get to share God’s message with women. A message that is so dear to me. And I don’t have to be concerned about selling stuff. Sure, I believe I can mess up God’s plan for provision- but that will probably mostly come from me trying to take over that part of it. The most awesome part is that I feel like this is me.

So, there you have it. I am just now getting comfortable with telling people that I am a Premier Designs Jeweler but I really don’t like to say it unless I can share my heart behind it.

My battery is at 12% here and it’s too late to plug this thing in and paste all the pictures in. So, hold me to this, I will post pictures for you within the next 48hrs.

Stuff to come in future posts:

-our houseguests for the next month

-Wade & my trip to Florida

-my losingest loser March Madness bracket

-recovered dining room chairs

-getting snowed in in Spartanburg the weekend of my birthday

-oh yah, my birthday!

Ok, I was just told (by the computer) to plug it in or shut it down. C-ya!

Zoo

2009-02-21T17:44:00.001-08:00

Wade fell asleep on the way to the zoo. So that was a good start. But we convinced to him to wake up to see the goats.

(This goat was not actually 5ft. tall; he’s standing on a rock)

Checking out the big cats.

It is night #3 without the paci. Wade is doing great!!!!! The first night was, of course, a little rough. But it could have been much worse. Last night he went down without a peep. And there was sweet silence until 6:30am! That has not happened in a LONG time, even with the paci. It went so well that we ditched the paci at naptime too. Tonight he whined for about 10 minutes and then fell asleep. So, I’m pretty sure we’re done for good…no turning back.

Laundry King

2009-02-20T06:57:00.001-08:00

I may have mentioned that my mother holds the title of Laundry Queen. Say you set an item of clothing on your bed at her house to perhaps wear later that day. When you go to put on said item later (say 30 minutes later) you will not find it on your bed. You will find it neatly pressed and ironed hanging in your closet. She will have spied the item (pretty sure she has radar), washed and dried it (most likely by hanging it on an outside clothes line) and ironed it. Like I said Laundry Queen.

We have a Laundry King. He is working on his speed and hasn’t quite developed his radar yet. BUT, he’s got all the other necessary qualities.

He gathers clothes and pushes the laundry basket into the kitchen:

Figures out whether to do lights or darks first:

Then he puts them in the washer:

The last one to go in can be a little sad:

Gotta make sure the lid is secure:

On another (far less significant) topic, we got a new dining room table! We previously had a 4 chair table with a leaf that allowed you to squeeze 6 people around it. We loved the table but it was too small. So we listed it on Craig’s List and got $299 for it (mind you we paid $100 for it 3 years ago). Then Andrew’s brother found this table at an estate sale. We were in Atlanta for the day and had him buy it without even seeing it (yikes!). But we figured for $270 it was worth it and we could resell it on Craig’s List if we didn’t like it. So, enough explanation, here it is:

Here’s a close up of the fabric on the chairs. It’s a bit old lady-ish and doesn’t really do anything for the table. I’m taking suggestions of colors for new fabric.

Things are looking up

2009-02-19T17:25:00.001-08:00

Well, the week has gotten much better. After Monday I really thought things were going to go downhill. But with your advice and my anticipating Wade’s new attitude we’ve been doing much better. Also, I’ve been noticing that he has been really cuddly. Like if I’m sitting on the floor playing with him he’ll climb into my lap and kiss all over my face for like 5 minutes. So we’ve been cuddling a lot (that’s been SOOO difficult…haha).

Also, I decided that tonight is the night. The night of no paci. I know that I’ve talked about it before but it didn’t really work out. For the last 4 months he’s been using the paci only while sleeping. Except he hasn’t really been sleeping very well lately. So I decided since we’re already not sleeping well we might as well go through the few nights of h*** to be rid of the paci. So far tonight he cried for about 12 minutes then drifted off to sleep. We’ll see how the rest of the night goes.

My sincerest apologies for 2 posts in a row without pictures. We’re hoping to go to the zoo on Saturday (thanks to our new zoo membership from Aunt Cheri!!!) so I’ll post some pics after that. Thank you for all your advice!

Sweet and Sour

2009-02-16T18:41:00.001-08:00

Things have gotten interesting around here. Wade is no longer Mr. Sweetie Pie 100% of the time. For instance, today he was Mr. Sweetie Pie for, I would say about 30 minutes total. He has figured out that if something doesn’t quite go his way he can wail as if his arm has been severed and possibly get his way. I am just going to confess my frustration with this. So far in parenting I think I’ve kept a pretty cool head but this has got me at my wits end. I now know why God designed it so one year olds go to bed at 7pm, it’s for the parents. The problem is that I cannot reason with him. I feel like I am suddenly on the rollercoaster of disciplining my child only I don’t have my safety harness locked in place. Does anyone have any wisdom here? Is this normal? What do I do?

Flippity Flap Jack

2009-02-09T19:03:00.001-08:00

Saturday we celebrated Wade’s first birthday. My mom and brother flew up from Florida (thanks to $19 flights from Allegient Air!). Andrew’s family and a few friends from church also came over. And we ate pancakes!

We all anticipated the cake eating. Everyone expects a kid to make a frosty mess on his first birthday leading up to a mandatory bath. Not mine. Apparently he takes after his dad (slowest eater on the planet) and his mom (neat freak). So he ate his cake one piece of fruit at a time.

It dawned on me that I did not give you his one year stats. He is weighing in at 20lbs. 3oz. (15th percentile) and 29” (50th percentile). He’s moving at his own pace when it comes to walking. Only 4 months ago did he begin pulling up. Now he will cruise one or maybe 2 steps. But he got a push/ride toy for his bday and has “accidentally” taken 6-8 steps trying to keep up with it as it rolls along. I have decided he will walk when he walks and I’m not going to be concerned about it.

Left Ya Hangin’

2009-02-03T10:22:00.001-08:00

So at the end of the previous post you read that I was leaving you with some pictures that didn’t make the slideshow. And then they weren’t there. So sorry. I put them there, I did. Actually twice and it still didn’t work. I will possibly try again later but I am prepping for tutoring right now so no time.

Birthday Boy

2009-02-03T09:30:00.001-08:00

How long have I been anticipating this day? Seriously I’ve looked forward to Wade’s 1st birthday with such anticipation. What an important day! Nothing else like it. To think back over the last year is remarkable. In some ways I can remember my numb pregnancy hands and those tan Rocket Dog shoes (the only ones I could get on my feet months 8 and 9) like it was yesterday. Laying in the hospital bed watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire marathon anxiously awaiting the “go” sign from Dr. Childs. Then I heard the first cries of my little man. Life as we had known it was changed forever. I wish I had time to reflect here on each milestone…but I guess that’s what this blog’s archives are for!

So here is the complete monthabirthday slide show… I’m kinda sad to be finished with these photos. But I will say I won’t really miss the blue and green striped romper. I’m a little sick of seeing it!

Here’s a few photos that didn’t make the slideshow but I can’t resist sharing with you!

Hang It Up

2009-01-26T19:07:00.001-08:00

So, this is the shelf that Pottery Barn built…

And this is the shelf that my studly husband (and his woodworker of a brother) built…

Did I mention that Pottery Barn sells theirs for like $200+? Ours cost about $20. Yup, my husband rocks. Plus he washes dishes.

I know you don’t care about a shelf. So, here’s the cutie you came to see. After work today we met Andrew for a little walk in the park.

Chores

2009-01-21T16:50:00.001-08:00

Wade has several chores around the house. One of which is emptying the dishwasher. Granted, it sometimes takes a while and there is usually at least one broken dish but I still appreciate the help.

If Sammy Can Eat Wade's Food, Then...

2009-01-19T17:07:00.001-08:00

Yes, folks, you guessed it...Wade can eat Sammy's food. I suppose Wade decided it was time for Sammy to pay up for all the scraps that have been dropped from Wade's high chair. This morning Wade was crawling around, exploring as usual. Our house is pretty kid proof so when Wade crawls to a nearby room I don't have to follow 2 inches behind. And if you know Sammy, you know that his food is never in his dish for more than about 30 seconds. So this has never been a concern before. Until yesterday. For some reason Sammy hasn't really been eating much. So his bowl was full of food. I discovered Wade with a piece of dogfood in his mouth and one in his hand. Gross. It would be nice to have a photo to laugh at later. But I removed the dogfood at lightning speed and wasn't about to put it back for a photo op. So, here's a couple other photos for you.

Helping mom do laundry

Enough! Get me out of here.

Notice the fancy, expensive toys in the background. Yah, the yarn was apparently more interesting.

El computadora

2009-01-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

I don't even know if that's the word for computer. Anyway, here's the deal. I am currently typing on our laptop. It came back on Wednesday. I admit I was slightly disappointed when Ms. FedEx dropped it off-remember if it took more than 9 days we were getting a brand new computer. So I unpacked it and plugged it in and all appeared to be working fine. THEN I unplugged the power cord after it had charged to full battery. Three minutes later it shut down on me without warning. Battery is still retard-o. So, I called HP and our brand new (and upgraded) computer will be arriving in 2-3wks. We can keep this one until we recieve the new one. Is that crazy? Yah, God's blessings are wild.

Weaning...A Spiritual State

2009-01-11T17:10:00.000-08:00

So, Wade has begun to lose interest in nursing. Many pediatricians reccommend weaning babies around a year so I'm glad that he's kinda beginning to do it himself.

Several years ago I met a man who began his prayer time by reciting this psalm to the Lord:

Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don't concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother's milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my sould within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord-now and always
Psalm 131

I adopted the practice and have been so blessed to start my day putting my heart in the right place before God. The second part about not concerning myself with matters too great seems to constantly apply and enables me to set aside my worries. And I've always enjoyed the picture of quieting and calming myself like a weaned child. But only now am I beginning to understand it.

See for many months Wade was totally dependent on me for his nutrition. And he knew that. They say babies can smell their mother's milk. I believe it. So many times he would demand to nurse and there was no talking him out of it.

But more often than not, now Wade is content to rest in my arms (well, when he's not exploring). After naptime he loves to just sit in my lap and snuggle for 10 or 15 minutes. Amazing...4 months ago he would not be satisfied just sitting with me. He would want something from me.

And now I'm starting to get it. Like a weaned child who no longer cries for it's mother's milk. That is the position God desires us to take before him. Not coming to him to ask for things (not that he doesn't command us to do that)but being satisfied to just be with Him. Just to be in His presence.

Anyway, I continue to be amazed at what God teaches me through parenthood.

On the homefront...

-Wade is pulling up constantly. Did I mention that before? Anyway, it started Friday. We're hoping that he'll speedily begin cruising and maybe walk within the next couple months.

-We were in a car accident on Saturday. Everyone is totally fine. Except our car. We find out the estimated damages tomorrow.

-Tomorrow is Day 1 of the countdown to (hopefully) a new computer. Read the last post if that doesn't make sense to you.

What's up

2009-01-08T04:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a bullet point list of our life lately:

- computer update: it came back! but it still doesn't work, at all. we're sending it back and if they take longer than 9 days they will send us a brand new computer. that's what we're praying for.

- wade turned 11 months old! sorry, again, no pics b/c of the computer issue.

- wade has started clapping!

- wade has diarrhea. sorry, i know that's gross. he also has vomitted several times this week. but he doesn't seem to actually be feeling bad.

- january resolution: work out daily. i wouldn't say we've been exactly faithful with a full blown workout every day. in fact we were just talking last night that we think we'll change it to crunches and sit-ups every night(which we have been doing) i mean, that's still progress. and who wants to feel defeated their first month of 12 resolutions!

I think that's probably it for our lives. I cannot wait to get back to blogging with pictures and such. Although not having a computer around all day has made me a much more productive person!

Resolute

2009-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

So, we've made some New Year's Resolutions. 12 to be exact. I know that I'm a day late but remember our computer issues. Yah, apparently ours is now getting a new mother board.

You know, setting one resolution is just begging for failure. Seriously, how many of you have actually kept one all year 'round? Therefore, we decided to make 12...one for each month. If the resolution of the month turns into a habit that continues then awesome, but no pressure. So, here they are.

January: We'll be joining the rest of the country in resolving to work out. To make it really challenging we decided we'd work out every day. Yikes. We almost failed on the first day. But we did some crunches before bed. I think that's what today's workout will be too.

February: Photography. And you say "really, guys, you need to resolve to take MORE pictures? i doubt it". Well, we recently bought an amazing Nikon D80 SLR camera. We are learning more and more about photography and would eventually like to make it a little side business. So, February is for learning about photography. (See, New Year's Resolutions don't all have to be miserable)

March: No "nonessential" shopping (buying or "just looking"). We haven't exactly layed out the criteria for this but you get the idea.

April: Dinner Time! This month we are going to focus on having friends and family over for meals.

May: No eating out.

June: No TV. Yes, my husband has agreed to do this. It may have even been his idea. Or maybe I just made him think it was his idea ;). I know, it is a miracle. I can't wait!

July: Extended Family Month. We need a better name. Anyway, this month we want to get into the habit of keeping in touch better with our extended family who are scattered throughout the county.

August: No soda or sweets. Ouch.

September: This one is kinda weird. Andrew has resolved to run a race this month. And I have resolved to not wear mascara. I told you it was weird. The deal is that I have blond eyelashes. So when I don't wear mascara it's pretty noticable. I don't really consider myself super vain or caught up in my appearances (especially chasing Wade around all the time) but I do not ever go out in public without mascara on. So, this will be a challenge.

October: Neighborly Love. Since moving here we've met our neighbors but don't spend much time with them. So, this month we'll be showing them some love with baked goods and such.

November: No internet month. I think we may allow a once or twice daily email checking but that's it.

December: Book Month. We plan to read 4 books each this month. And Goodnight Moon does not count.

So, there ya have it. We'll keep you updated on our progress.

What Would You Do with $2?

2008-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, this is what I purchased at Walgreens today with my $2...

Garnier Fructis Shampoo + Conditioner
Olay Body Wash Radiance Ribbons
Revlon Translucent Finishing Powder
Revlon Blush
Revlon Eyeshadow
Revlon Mascara
Gillette Fusion Razor
Dawn Dish Soap x2
Roll of Christmas Wrapping Paper
Box of 12 red ball ornaments
Pack of 4 gift boxes

After Walgreens sale prices, coupons, manufacturer's coupons, mail-in rebates and register rewards I spent $2 out of pocket. I have a new hobby -couponing. Yes, I have reached the pinnacle of dorkhood, but you know, I'm saving my family a ton of money. The most awesome part about today's trip was that I did it all by myself. There are a TON of couponing blogs and websites out there that I find deals on. But most of those people were taking a break for Christmas so I figured out the deals myself!

Anyway, that was pretty much the highlight of my day...possible my week, so I thought I'd share!

Use Your Imagination

2008-12-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

Dec. 7th...dispicable. I'm ashamed to call myself a blogger. I have an excuse. Soon after that last post (well, ok, probably like a week)we sent our computer off to HP for repairs. It had recently become possessed and apparently the deliverance is taking longer than they thought. Of course they promised the holidays wouldn't impact the repair schedule (why did we believe them?) BUT since they are fixing all the problems for free I shall not complain.

Anyway, Andrew has been bringing his work laptop home in the evenings. I've been able to check my email and read all your entertaining blogs. But the USB drive for this computer is programmed to scramble any storage device plugged into it. My husband works for the CIA apparently. All that USB business means I cannot load pictures nor share them with you. Tear. So, had I been blogging over the last 20 or so days they would have been pictureless posts. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And I would not want to bore you with my blabbering on and on.

But so much has happened since then. How can I wait another 2 or so weeks to share Christmas with you? I just can't. So...you will have to use your little imagination for this post.

We rotate holidays between the Scharffs and Marshalls. I think I mentioned that at Thanksgiving. So we headed to Safety Harbor, Florida for Marshall Christmas. Since Wade absolutely LOVES to ride in the car (HA!) we decided to drive through the night hoping he would sleep. And he did!!! It was totally worth all the junk I ate to keep myself awake driving.

So, we arrive Saturday AM about 7:30. After food, showers and naps we headed to the Safety Harbor Christmas parade. Imagine all the public works vehicles in New York City. Now imagine them driving past you at 5mph honking their horns. That's pretty accurate of the first 20 minutes of the parade. Following that were about 100 classic cars. Then a few dance companies who missed the memo that they should actually stop and dance. The shriners riding in a trailer playing their little oboe things. (Back in my day these guys would dress in the these goudy vests with no undershirts and fake belly rings. They would belly dance as they marched along playing their oboes. While it was extremely disturbing it just didn't seem right that they were fully clothed and sitting in chairs.) Hmmm, let's see, what else? Oh, Santa. Yah, after about 2 hrs. Santa finally comes on by. First of all, he wasn't even real looking. Second, there was no music...he barely waved. Sadness.

Sunday my brother joined us for a trip to the beach. I learned a secret this week. I should have had a kid 5 years ago. I saw more of my brother last week than I have in 5 years. The beach was fun. Wade wised up since October and did NOT eat any sand. Um, what else to share...it was a gorgeous day. The water was cold. See this is where I'd love to just show you a handful of pictures.

Monday we went to IKEA in Orlando. Swedish meatballs. CJ came, again. The plan was to buy a barstool for Wade, we bought 2 last summer and needed a 3rd. We had a fun day discovering how to live in 300 sq. ft. What's hilarious (or NOT) is that when Andrew unpacked and set up the barstool yesterday we discovered we bought the wrong height. Brilliant.

Tuesday, Christmas Eve Eve. We decided to do some shopping. What? Why? Good question. Of course what was supposed to be a 2hr. trip took about 6hrs.

Wednesday, my descriptions are getting shorter. I'm getting bored without the pictures. I'm sure you are too. We hung around the house I think. At 5pm we went to church then to a Christmas party. Andrew started a tradition of making cookies with Wade for Santa (pretend you can see the adorable picture of them).

Thursday, Christmas! CJ came over and we had a great morning opening presents and watching Wade play with his toys. That afternoon we went to my uncle's for the family get together. Wade loved getting to see all his great aunts, uncles and cousins.

Friday, Andrew and I ran out to do a few errands while mom hung out with Wade. Andrew packed and then we took a nap. We hit the road about midnight and returned to Chattanooga Saturday morning.

I'm so done with this post. I really hope you're not as bored as I am right now. Actually I hope you don't even get to this sentence. Maybe you quit reading 500 words ago.

Ok, perhaps I can find a way to get pictures posted before the computer returns.

A Real Page Turner

2008-12-07T18:06:00.001-08:00

So I mentioned the other day that Wade loves to turn the pages as we read books. Here’s the proof. Now unfortunately his talent is slightly downplayed by my expressional (is that a word?) reading. After we finished the book Andrew proclaimed that we had chosen the wrong book and I wouldn’t want to post it. But I figured you might need a good laugh

10 MONTHS!!

2008-12-04T06:23:00.001-08:00

Wow! Wade has been in this world longer than he was in my belly. Yesterday was his 10 month birthday. I managed to get the picture taken on the right day but still can’t seem to post it in a timely fashion. Oh well, I got 2 more months to get it right!

In honor of 10 months (& Dave Letterman), here are the top 10 current happenings in Wade’s development…

10. He has staged an all out boycott of the bottle. Each day he gets one bottle with Jamie while I tutor. But over the last month apparently he’s decided he’s too big for that. He prefers his milk in a sippy cup and he likes to sip on it rather than drink it all in one gulp. You know, like a normal human would drink.

9. He LOVES to read books. He will pay attention the entire book (well, an 8 page board book at least). His favorite part is turning the pages. After we read a page I left up the next page a little and he flips it for me. His current favorite is Brown Bear, Brown Bear…he thinks it’s hilarious.

8. His signing has progressed. He consistently signs “milk” (although he uses it for water too) and “all done”. Occasionally he signs “more” but I haven’t been as diligent about that one. He also waves hello & goodbye. Although he doesn’t move his hand, he just holds it up towards the person. Kinda like a guy who’s too cool to actually wave.

7. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his daddy. Every day when Andrew comes home he goes nuts. His favorite time is when he gets to wake daddy up in bed. He does his excited dance and starts panting and crawls all over him. This morning as Andrew was leaving we were pointing to him saying “dada” and I swear he said “da”. Now he does ramble dadadada a lot but he had been working on “thu” since he woke up so it wasn’t just a continuation of his rambling. So maybe, maybe….

6. His best friend is his cousin Sydney. Syd is 18 months old. They love to play together and hug and kiss.

5. Although he will eat virtually anything, his favorite food is grilled cheese sandwiches. How can you go wrong with bread and cheese, right? Just like his daddy.

4. His shoe size is a 2 1/2! That is VERY small. Like, baby shoes start at a size 2 generally, so many newborns wear a 2. The other day at the mall we stopped in Stride Rite and had his foot measured. The lady laughed at him. Not in a condescending way, just in a “wow, you’re 10 months old and you wear a size 2 1/2” kind of way. Guess he takes after me.

3. He is a crawling champ. A sprinter, really. He pulls up onto his knees constantly but doesn’t really attempt to pull up onto his feet often. When standing he will occasionally move a foot but is very reluctant. We don’t expect him to walk anytime soon.

2. As of 2 weeks ago he weighed 19lbs. 4oz. (35th percentile) and measured 28 7/8 inches long (75th percentile). He swims in most of his 12 month clothes but the 9 month pants are too short. Do they make belts for babies? Or maybe suspenders.

1. Bathtime is still a favorite activity. No matter how cranky he is as soon as we go in the bathroom he starts his happy dance. His newest trick is laying on his back with both arms stretched out touching the sides of the tub…kinda like he’s floating, but he’s not cause there’s only like 4 inches of water, but don’t tell him that.

Well, there you have it folks. 10 facts. And just in case you weren’t convinced that Wade is the best kid in the universe then let me seal the deal….

I mean, really…I’m probably a little biased, but could he get any cuter?

Gobble Gobble Gobble

2008-12-01T11:09:00.001-08:00

I really have no excuse for not blogging for so long. So I’m just going to pretend that I’ve been blogging along and jump right back in.

Of most recent importance would be Turkey Day. This year we celebrated at our house with the Scharffs. We, like most families who live away from extended family, rotate between the Scharffs and Marshalls for holidays. Last week I intended to share with you what we were planning to feast on…yah, that didn’t happen. And now that we’ve all had our fill of the Thanksgiving meal and it’s leftovers I doubt you’re interested in reading what we had. We had the same stuff you did. I will say that I took the Crockpot Lady’s advice and used the pots to cook 2 sides freeing up the oven. Brilliant.

This, as you know, was Wade’s first Thanksgiving. Just a week before the big day we got the go ahead from Dr. Wiley that Wade can eat most table foods (referring to the food we adults eat). So, Wade ate…

Turkey

Creamed Corn

Green Bean Casserole

Rolls

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Stuffing

I kid you not. My son ate all of those items and not just a bite. Hoss. He also spread all of those items in his hair. Some kids need a bib, mine needs a hair net. It’s just too hard to pick one photo so here’s a slide show.

Menu Plan Monday Plus

2008-11-17T07:18:00.001-08:00

Goodmorning! Enduring last week's icky weather brought a great reward. It was too soggy on Saturday for Andrew to work on the Outdoor Classroom Project (with his Leadership 21 class I mentioned before) so we got to spend the day together! Wade was ready to begin his day at 6:30am Saturday so we headed for Niedlov's for some yummy baked goods and coffee. And then it happened. It started to rain just as we headed for the car so we got into a hurry and didn't notice. Puppy. Puppy is gone. Not a real puppy. Wade's lovey. We have not really pushed the lovey concept too much (after seeing our nephew get EXTREMELY attached to a very ragged horsey) but Wade was starting to form a little attachment to Puppy. Once we got home we realized poor Puppy was probably lying in the parking lot getting rained on and perhaps even run over by a car. Tear. Sniff. No, we didn't go back to look for him. Unfortunately the rest of the day's events didn't really allow for it. So, now Wade is adjusting to a new blue puppy lovey. He's not quite as soft and cuddly but we're hoping he does the trick.

Ok, on to my menu for the week. This plan is pending the grocery shopping that needs to be squeezed in between Wade's two naps that have to be finished before 2:30pm, the first of which he has been fighting the last 30 minutes.

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken & Rice Casserole (w/ broccoli)

Tuesday: Swedish Meatballs (new recipe!), Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce

Wednesday: Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells, Green Beans & Crescent Rolls

Thursday: Parmesan Baked Salmon, Twice Baked Potatoes & Asparagus (depending on the price)

Friday: Spinach Pasta with Shrimp & more Crescent Rolls

Check out more menus at http://orgjunkie.com/.

And for persevering, here is a Wade snapshot for ya. Yesterday we bundled up and took Sam dog to the D-O-G P-A-R-K. Of course he didn't really interact with the other dogs, but he did pee on every tree in the entire park.

Ol' Man Hair

2008-11-13T18:12:00.001-08:00

Wade...

November 13, 2008

Wade...

November 13th,2088

Seriously, the hair is resembling an old man more and more every day...a very cute old man!

Wade has had such a good week. He is all better and back to his happy self. I don't know if I've told you this but since returning from Florida I've increased my tutoring hours to 7hrs. a week. I take Wade to the school with me and a high schooler babysits him there. Increasing from 2 to 7hrs. has taken several weeks to adjust to but he is doing so great now.

It's going to be frigid here this weekend and we have no plans but to stay warm!

TGIF!!!! (Friday's have renewed meaning to me now since it's the only day I don't tutor!)

Humidity

2008-11-12T06:02:00.001-08:00

We seem to be quite concerned about humidity around here. The other week we bought a dehumidifier for the basement. We had a leak in the bathroom and the plumber recommended we get one to suck the water out of the floor and wood. Does it seem like we have a lot of plumbers visit our house? Yah, that's what I was thinking too. Anyway, that thing has been going nuts down there. It is mind boggling to me that there is enough moisture in the air to fill a bucket of water over and over and over again. Another interesting thing to me is that it has a digital humidity register. A few times it has been at 90%. Now I've been under the impression that 100% humidity essentially means it's raining. My question...could it rain in our basement? Ha.

Wade's illness of last week is heading out the door but it's leaving one last little gift-a nice cough. It's not a productive cough-it's that dry cough. You know the kind where someone insists you have a drink of water. So yesterday I visited Wal-mart and bought a humidifier for the little man's room. I grew up in Florida so there was no need for adding humidity to any space in our house-this idea is new to me. The one I bought has a place where you can add some kind of Vick's product. Sounded cool. Anybody ever tried that?

Anyway, so last night Andrew comes into the house and apparently spotted the humidifier box. His first words to me were "so now we're trying to get rid of humidity in the basement and add it to Wade's room?" Yah, I guess so.

P.S. Did you see Biggest Loser last night? Oh, I cannot stand that Vikki...her behavior is atrocious.

I Wouldn't Let You Down...

2008-11-10T18:02:00.001-08:00

Earlier I promised amazing photos to come. So here they are. You'll notice there is pretty much not one photo of that amazing smile we all love. Wade was still recuperating from being sick so we're pleased that he wasn't crying. Last week was definitely the peak of the foliage here so we had to take advantage.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-11-10T06:45:00.001-08:00

Well, this isn't about Wade...so sorry. But if you're patient I will post some totally-worth-the-wait pics of the little man later today. For now I've decided to participate in Menu Plan Monday. I already plan my menus before the week begins so I thought I'd share what we're having with you. If you're interested in a recipe just ask and I'll tell you where I stole it from!

It kinda stinks that I'm starting this week because we are having a "Clean Out the Freezer for Dinner" week. So, I'm not that excited about our meals but oh well. Next week will be better, I promise. Here goes nothing:

Monday: Sherry Pork Roast (at least I think that's what it is, I didn't label the bag of leftovers well)

Tuesday: Breakfast

Wednesday: Lasagna Rolls, mixed veggies

Thursday: Yankee Pot Roast (courtesy of Skillet Sensations)

Friday: Barbecue Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Creamed Corn

Do You Want Some Milk?

2008-11-09T06:23:00.001-08:00

Over the past 4 or so months I have given a half-hearted effort at teaching Wade sign language. I got this great book that explained the signs and shows you which ones to work on each month. Well, I think I've only read the first 2 chapters. The instructions are to start slow. So I chose milk and have since added food and more. The sign for milk is to open your hand wide and squeeze it closed in a fist, kind of like you're milking a cow. Which most of you have probably never done. For the record, I have milked a cow. Anyway, you get the idea. So, every time I would get ready to nurse Wade I would squeeze my hand a few times and ask if he wanted milk. He would kind of stare at my hand like I was an idiot. After weeks of this my self-esteem really started to drop so I let up on the milk sign a bit. Also I forgot. Since he's been eating I have been working on food and more although probably less than half the time.

All of this explanation does have a reason. This morning my sweet husband got up with Wade at 6:30am so I could sleep a bit more. Love that guy! I woke up just as he was going down for a nap at 8:30am. Normally he would nurse at 8am. So, I'm changing an ever so stinky diaper when I notice something. Wade is opening and squeezing his hand. I said "do you want milk?", not signing myself. And he repeats the sign! Now you might say this is happenstance. But I have never seen him open and close his hand like that.

This is just amazing to me. Seeing him communicate. I mean obviously he has been communicating through cries and smiles for 9 months now but this is just mind blowing. As you can imagine my motivation is renews and I will be reading chapters 3-9 of the book this afternoon!

An update on the sickness...he seems to be getting better. We've been fever free for over 48hrs. Yesterday he still wanted to sleep more than usual but he didn't go down quite as rocklike as the past several days. Also his appetite is coming back a bit. He ate a huge breakfast. I only gave him a few cheerios for lunch because he's been so disinterested in lunch. Last night he would not go to sleep for anything. He just cried and cried as we tried to rock him. Finally after 45minutes. Andrew brings him in and says, "do you think he might be hungry?". My husband is a genius. He ate a huge bowl of banana oatmeal and went right to sleep! Unfortunately he has developed a rash on his upper body. It started yesterday morning and I though it was connected to an itchy sleeper he had been wearing. But it's getting worse. We're going to try to get Dr. Sandy to come take a look at him this afternoon.

9th Monthabirthday

2008-11-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

I think that Mr. Sicky may be on the mend. He hasn't had fever in 24hrs. and he was just up playing for about 2hrs! During that time I managed to take his 9 Monthabirthday pics. So, we're only 6 days late.

His 9 month checkup was supposed to be Friday, but I ended up taking him to see Dr. Wiley Thursday evening. Mean ol' Wiley did a strep test on the poor kid-remember that one? The large Q-tip swabbing the back of your throat...yuck! Thankfully he doesn't have strep just a viral infection. Infant Tylenol is king, I bought out Target yesterday. We did find out that he weighs 19lbs. He's gained 1 1/2 lbs. since September. Also he measured 26 inches. But that can't be right since last time he measured 27.5in. So, I'll have to remeasure here later.

If you remember the 7 Month mishap, look carefully and you'll notice my handiwork at changing the "seven" to "eight".

Sick Snuggle Bug

2008-11-06T06:40:00.001-08:00

Wade is sick. Not sure exactly what kind of sick but he is definitely under the weather. Tuesday he woke up from his nap with an "elevated temperature" (99.3). He fell asleep on the way to Boyd Buchanan where I tutor. The babysitter kept him semi-happy the first hour but he had a total meltdown the second hour and I ended up holding him while tutoring for the last 30 minutes. He's been happy to sleep and unhappy to be awake since then. I don't think it's teething cause usually he does not sleep well when teething nor is he interested in snuggling. Last night he woke up every 2 hrs. and would nurse and then just want to be held for a few minutes. He woke up at 8am, had breakfast and went down for a nap at 9am. He was playing on the floor after breakfast and I looked down to find him resting his head on the hardwood floor - poor guy! I got out my camera but of course he didn't do it again. But as long as I had the camera out I thought I'd share with you a few pics of the fall foliage around our house. Please excuse all the power lines.

My plan is to get some pics of Wade in the leaves this weekend-we'll see how Mr. Sicky is feeling.

Quack, Quack, Quack

2008-11-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

Seriously, can he get any cuter?

This is the best we could do of getting all the kiddos to sit still and look at the camera.

Sorry it's a little blurry, but it captures well how the wagon riding went.

Coaching Wade on what kind of candy mommy and daddy like best.

This is what Wade looked like most of the night...no eyes!

Even Baby Callie trick or treated for a few minutes.

For the record, this is not my husband but his twin brother David.

Cousins in their Halloween Jammies

Kisses!

There's only room for one of us in this chair.

Sydney, get out of the chair.

That's right, I'm the boss.

I don't know why we keep trying to get pics of all 3 kids looking at the camera.

To browse the full all 180 or so pics from the evening check out http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn304/scharffstory/Halloween%2008/.

Tag, you're it

2008-10-28T19:19:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged by some kind of blog survey thing...twice (thanks Carly and Nikki!). So, I'm going to be obedient and carry on the chain so that bad luck doesn't follow me for the next 7 days. Well, just kidding- I don't think it's quite like that. It's just for fun.

So, for the first one...

The directions are to post the 6th picture in your 6th album and then explain it. But to be truthful this is actually the 1st picture in my 7th folder because there was no 6th in the 6th.

These AMAZING kids are part of the West Houston Church of Christ youth group. This shot was taken in July of 2007 on our middle school mission trip to Weslaco, TX. We spent a week painting 5 houses in the community. I was about 4 months prego on this trip and I may or may not have climbed onto a roof to paint some trim. Don't tell Andrew...or my mom. Our group of 30 or so stayed in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house the whole time! I'm not kidding. There were 2 showers. But it was a great trip and I miss those kids like crazy.

Next...

I was nominated by Nikki for an I Love Your Blog "award." And this is the obligatory survery that comes with it.

1. Where is your cell phone? coffee table

2. Where is your significant other? on his way home from class, I hope

3. Your hair color? strawberry blonde

4. Your mother? Safety Harbor, FL

5. Your father? deceased

6. Your favorite thing? geez, only one...my cheapo Target shoes I guess

7. Your dream last night? don't remember

8. Your dream/goal? to reflect the glory of God more & more

9. The room you're in? living room

10. Your hobby? scrapbooking, cooking

11. Your fear? spiders

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? in God's will

13. Where were you last night? home

14. What you're not? excited about Wade teething

15. One of your wish-list items? garbage disposal installation

16. Where you grew up? Safety Harbor, FL

17. The last thing you did? made coffee

18. What are you wearing? jeans and a Gap sweater

19. Your TV? The Office

20. Your pet? Sammy

21. Your computer? hot-why do laptops get hot like this?

22. Your mood? surprisingly calm despite my wrecked house

23. Missing someone? my mama

24. Your car? Highlander

25. Something you're not wearing? socks

26. Favorite store? Target

27. Your summer? travel

28. Love someone? uhh, do you ever read my blog?

29. Your favorite color? red, maybe

30. When is the last time you laughed? few minutes ago

31. Last time you cried? not sure

So the people I nominate for the "I Love Your Blog" award have to do both parts of this. Hahaha.

Tahnee

And just so I haven't totally wasted your time, here's a picture of Wade discovering the joy of tupperware.

Callie Baby!

2008-10-27T18:33:00.001-07:00

On Sunday morning a few minutes after 8am I got a text from Andrew saying "I can hear her little cry from down the hallway". This was the 10th or so in a series of texts that had begun about 3:30am with "Anna's water just broke, she is on her way to the hospital".

Andrew's twin brother David and his sweet wife Anna have a sweet new baby girl named Callie Elizabeth. She weighed in at 8lbs. and 20 inches with about 3 times as much hair as Wade!

Aside from Callie being born I've just been trying to catch up from being gone. It's not really happening but whatever. Wade has been feeling pretty horrible. I'm pretty sure he's getting at least one top tooth. But my mother-in-law, Connie is here and helping TONS with him!

Florida Chronicles Part 5: The Uncles

2008-10-25T18:16:00.001-07:00

Today was the day for uncles (and an aunt). We started off at my Uncle Sam & Aunt Joan's house this morning. Sam was my dad's brother. He and Uncle Mark Scharff are the closest to blood related grandads that Wade has. So, he's pretty special.

Wade also got to meet Jimmy, who is my Aunt Joan's 94 year old dad!

He also had a blast playing with their dogs Samantha and Brandy.

After Sam & Joan's we went to Christmas Wonderland. There were no uncles there. Well, at least none that were related to Wade.

This evening CJ (my brother) returned from 6 weeks in Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Wade was really uncertain of CJ at first.

Soon they started playing though. Here CJ is explaining an aqueduct to Wade.

And Wade warmed right up to him.

Uncle CJ, you wouldn't really put that on my head, would you? Uh, yah. And he did. Remind me not to let CJ babysit.

I guess this was supposed to make Wade feel better.

But in the end they're still buddies...

Tomorrow I am heading home. We have had so much fun the last week and a half here with Grammy. It is sad to be leaving. But it is good to be going home. I know Andrew has been missing Wade terribly. And soon after we get home my sister-in-law, Anna will be having her baby girl Callie. Then before we know it, it'll be Christmas and we'll be heading back to see Grammy again! Yay!

Florida Chronicles, Part 4

2008-10-23T17:22:00.001-07:00

I didn't post last night cause it's been a rough 48 hrs. around here. Tuesday afternoon we noticed that Wade was developing a runny nose. Although he's had a cold before this was his first runny nose. Before it was mainly a cough. So I wasn't really sure what to do with this. During the day it hasn't been too bad, just catching the snot as it drips down his poor little face. It's nighttime and naptime that has been difficult. Tuesday night he woke up about midnight and I could tell his little nose was driving him crazy. So, I put him in the swing and let him sleep in there for a few hours so his nose could drain. Last night he woke up about midnight and Grammy said "just get him up and let him watch the game for a little while". What!?! Do you know how many rules this breaks?

Watching the Rays struggle through Game 1.

After a couple innings he went back to bed and slept well until morning.

Then today we went shopping. Everybody needs a little shopping when they feel under the weather. He actually did better being out and about and took a good nap in the stroller.

Wade AND Grammy sitting in a very small chair at Gymboree.

Grammy bought Wade the most adorable little outfit for Christmas (you don't get to see it for a couple months!). Of course I had to try it on him when we got home. So, then he just stayed naked.

The little guy went down easily tonight so hopefully he'll sleep well through the night.

Florida Chronicles Part 3: The Beach

2008-10-21T17:26:00.001-07:00

Today Wade experienced the beach for the first time.

Florida Chronicles, Part 2: Naked Baby!

2008-10-20T17:31:00.001-07:00

Wade loves having his diaper off. Wouldn't you? Especially for crawling. For a brief few seconds before bathtime he is diaperless. Well, now that he's crawling it takes about 1 1/2 seconds to get from his back into a crawling position. When Grammy saw this, she said- "oh let him crawl around naked for a few minutes." Now we have a new routine. He hasn't peed on the floor...yet.

Just wanted to show you his adorable ghosty jammies from Aunt Cheri.

Florida Chronicles, Part 1

2008-10-19T19:08:00.001-07:00

To my surprise, mom got internet hooked up at her house recently. I say surprise mainly because the monitor on her ancient desktop computer does not work. So...I suppose she uses her coffee pot to get on the web.

Speaking of coffee pots, here is a hilarious story. At least I think it is. I will change the names of those involved to protect the innocent. Let's call the characters Mary and Roberta. In the crock pot a pork tenderloin is roasting away. Sitting on the counter by the crockpot is a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte that Roberta just copied down from the CrockPot Lady. (I'm sipping on it right now and it is delish!) So here is how the conversation went:

Roberta: Let's get some pumpkin at the store after Wade wakes up so we can make the coffee recipe.

Mary: Yes, sounds good, that would be a good excuse to go to Target.

Roberta: (motioning towards the recipe on the counter) You know, I bet you could just make that in the coffee pot.

Note: remember the recipe is sitting right by the crock pot.

Mary: (spinning around at the speed of light to face Roberta) What!?! In the coffee pot?

Roberta: Yah, in the coffee pot. You just need to heat it up.

Mary: Gee, I didn't think you could do that. Pausing with extremely puzzled look across her face. You mean cook the pork tenderloin in the coffee pot?

*Sigh* Never a dull moment. Anyway, we've been so busy having fun since we got to Florida. Here's what's been going on, in pictures, of course:

Friday, mom had to work for a few hours. So, Wade and I walked down to the Safety Harbor Gazebo with my childhood friend, Tahnee and her sweet baby girl, Tessa.

We went to the Gazebo because on the 3rd Friday of the month there is live jazz in the park. The "live jazz" consisted of a man with a saxophone and a boom box with a background track. Occasionally, though, we would glance up from our conversation to find that Mr. Saxophone man had disappeared and left his background track to entertain us. Good thing we were there for the company and not the jazz!

On the way home both babies fell asleep.

Saturday, we headed out to run some errands in the morning. We came upon a neighborhood garage sale where some old friends, Pat & Pat Lynch, live. I spent $6.10 and came home with a bag of clothespins (remind me to tell you of my adventures in line drying our clothes); a pillow sham for the spare bedroom; a silly looking baby picture album (given to me for free because I had a baby with me); a cute duckie net backpack for toys, etc; and a beautiful strappy black dress for some special future occasion. Here's a funny little dialogue for ya. At a garage sale I had this conversation as I was looking around:

Homeowner (woman in her late 30's): What a precious little guy! Let me guess, he's 8 months old.

Me: Yup, 8 1/2 months, you're good.

Homeowner's daughter (about 5 years old): Yah, well that's cause we have a puppy who's 8 months old.

I love it!

After a nap, Wade went for a dip in the pool. It was a little chilly but he was splashing around and having a good time.

If you're thinking, gee, it looks like he doesn't have any bottoms on, you're correct. Totally butt naked. I won't be getting in the pool till mom shocks it. Haha.

Sunday (today), we got up and went to church then ran a few errands. After a nap, we headed to one of my favorite places on earth: Philipe Park. It was extremely crowded since the weather was absolutely gorgeous today.

In case you forgot what his smile looks like...he's been Mr. Serious in pictures lately.

I can't get enough of that little grin.

Mom, what is this between my toes?

It's confirmed, Grammy is an angel...just look at her golden halo.

Yah, he is.

Dimples

How do I get this green stuff in my mouth?

Ok, I'm pretty sure this blog is approaching the word limit per post, if there is such a thing. Stay tuned for the beach, Frenchy's, Miss Betsy, Great Uncle Sam, Uncle CJ and more coffee pot adventures.

P.S. Go RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I am unashamedly a fairweather fan)

Mother Knows Best...

2008-10-15T08:42:00.001-07:00

So I get this from my mom shortly after my last post...

Alright, dear,

Calm down-even if it's a brown recluse, you are about 20,000 times bigger than it. The problem you now have, is what if he (assuming gender here) is no longer in the bathtub when you dare to open the door????

Where is he??? Let knowledge be on your side at this moment. As long as you know where he is, you have the upper hand.

Equip yourself with a can of Raid (I hope you have-if not use Off or some strong cleaning solvent) and a broom (also assuming you have this). Take a deep breath and open the bathroom door with an eye towards the tub. We hope he is still in the same vicinity he was originally. Trap him with the broom (all the while, humming the itsy bitsy spider song to keep your courage up) and spray the Hell (excuse the term, but this is war) out of the area under and around the broom. Try to ignore the small cries emitting from the broom-he should have known better than to come in and this will serve as a lesson to any of his buddies that may be watching (from outside!!).

Come on, girl, you can do it!! You are woman, let's here you roar.

Let me know who wins..

Mom xo

Before I know it, I am up and heading to the shed to retrieve the outside broom. All the while asking myself "why are you doing this?" Just give it a try-it's only a spider. Going into the shed is scary in itself. Who KNOWS what's lurking in there? Got the broom. Now the Raid. Guess I used it all on those bugs in my cabinets in Houston (another story for another day). I did have some good cleaning solvent options. But I also needed to consider spray nozzle type. I needed aerosol for this-there's no time for saving the environment here, after all I am trying to kill a spider. So, I opted for hairspray. Armed with broom and hairspray I march downstairs to conquer my fears. When I got there, he was gone. I even shook out the shower curtain-I know, extremely brave. My theory is that he heard me stomping down the stairs and began to tremble in fear. His fear seized him and caused a heart attack. And he is one of those types of spiders that vanishes after death. So, ha, take that, stupid spider.

I still closed the door on my way out.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Climbed Up the Water Spout

2008-10-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

I just need to calm my heart rate down for a minute before I can go on to my next chore. So, I'll share what just happened with you. I was downstairs (in the basement) cleaning the bathroom. I pushed back the shower curtain, leaned down and turned on the water to clean the tub. And then I noticed a little friend take a big hop towards me. A spider friend. I am not usually squeamish around bugs or arachnids or whatever. But, since moving here I have developed a little fear of spiders. We do find them with some regularity since we have woods behind the house-you would think I'd be getting used to them. I'm not. Back to the basement. So I dash out of the bathroom and close the door real fast. Standing outside the bathroom I realize the water is still running. Crap. How long does it take a bathtub to overflow? Andrew will be home in 7 hours...is that too long? Probably. I will say the spider was not huge. Probably the size of a dime. But, we have a friend who lives not too far from here who has had brown recluse spiders in her apartment on and off for several months now. These guys are poisonous and can really mess you up...click here if you have a strong stomach (and haven't seen any unidentified spiders lately). I muster up all my courage and lunge back in, turn off the water and run out, closing the door behind me again. I gather up my stuff and run upstairs. Of course, you know the first thing I do. I do this every time I see a spider and think there's a chance it's a brown recluse. I google it. Google image. And every time the same picture pops up (the one hyperlinked above). I never get a good enough look at the spider to see if it's really the poisonous kind. But he's downstairs in the tub behind a closed door (the carpet meets the bottom of the door and creates a pretty good seal). And I'm leaving for 10 days tomorrow. I'll make Andrew go check on him in a few days.

Btw, according to the www (which we all know is all facts) with our modern day plumbing it is highly unlikely that a spider could crawl up your pipes into your bathtub. So, how does that effect Wade's favorite little song...I've been singing lies to my son since he was 3 months old apparently.

If at first you don't succeed...

2008-10-14T10:26:00.001-07:00

We all need a little motivation, right? Well, we have found Wade's. This amazing duck (or is it a chicken?) from Andrew's sweet aunt is training him to crawl. You can kinda tell the video has 2 segments. The first segment shows some extreme crawling action. I believe there are at least 4 crawl steps documented. The second part is for those of you who need a little encouragement to persevere today. Despite fatigue and distractions, stand firm to the end. You will reach the chicken. Or duck. Or whatever it is.

Mayfield Dairy and Farm

2008-10-13T18:04:00.001-07:00

I promise this will be my last post tonight! We went to the Mayfield Dairy today to see how they make milk and ice cream. The Dairy itself was kind of a let down. We pretty much just got to see them screwing the lids on the milk jugs and opening the chocolate cookie packs for ice cream sandwiches. BUT then we went over to the farm and got some GREAT pics of the kids.

I did not forget about correcting the 8 month photos and I plan to do it before I leave Thursday...so hold me to it.

Crawl-ish

2008-10-13T17:47:00.001-07:00

So, there's been a lot of pressure on Wade to crawl before this Thursday. He & I are heading to Florida to see Grammy for 10 days. We knew the crawl would be happening sometime in the coming weeks. But, of course, we didn't want daddy to miss this milestone! We've had 2 sightings in the last 24 hours.

Andrew got to experience the first real crawl. Even though I was not there, I will not dispute it. They were sitting on the couch (watching football I believe) and Wade crawled over Andrew to get to the remote control. Why am I not surprised? He is his father's son.

Tonight he took 4 legitimate crawl steps in front of both of us. I didn't catch it on video but I did catch 2 or 3 steps. He is still reverting to army crawl most of the time. I think you can also catch him working on his biceps with some push ups in this video.

Take a Hike

2008-10-13T12:50:00.001-07:00

Saturday Renee, Wade and I went for a very long hike. Very long.

About an hour and a half in we checked out our trail info and noticed that it was an 8 mile hike. One way. Then we had to hike back. I really have no frame of reference for what hiking 16 miles is like. Part of me is sure that it wasn't really 16, but certainly it was more than 8. Either way, it was far. But it was totally worth it.

Once we arrived at Edward's Point we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Wade ate dirt for the first time. Delicious.

The trail we followed was used by many dirt bikers and four-wheelers. A couple bikers arrived at the point shortly after us - Wade loved checking out their bike.

By the end our feet and backs were screaming at us but we felt great for accomplishing such a feat and getting to see some of God's marvelous handy-work. We will definitely be hiking on Signal Mountain again in the near future, especially since it's only 15 minutes from our house!

Creative Discovery Museum

2008-10-09T18:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight the museum was free. So we went. Turns out there is a great little area for babies. And it was free.

The Old Man is Snoring

2008-10-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

It is raining here. But we are dry inside...unlike some other rainy days of late. Wade decided to wake up early this morning at 7am. Fun. Thankfully he was content to play in his crib for a while. So I could sleep. Oh wait, no I couldn't. Sammy was more anxious than usual to go outside. Actually in the mornings he's not really interested in going outside. He's interested in his food. But he knows he's supposed to go "hurry up" (pee) outside before he can have his food. Lately he has been going around the corner-not even leaving the deck-waiting a few seconds then running back to the door like he was a good boy. Ha. This morning I let him out and stood at the door to redirect him into the yard, thinking he would be especially hesitant this morning because of the rain (which he HATES). Nope. He sauntered out to the grass and started eating it, like a cow. Dogs eat grass when they need to vomit. Great. Well, he ain't coming back in this house. He stayed out there about 15 minutes, eating grass in the pouring down rain. Finally it happened. It was gross but it was outside so I don't really care. But he kept eating grass. Andrew had to go out there and get him. So we get him all dried off and into the house. I am keeping a real close eye on him cause I have had to clean up dog puke twice this week already and I'm not planning on doing it again. I'm not sure what's making him puke. I spied him last night ferociously eating something in the neighbors yard. When I went to get him I didn't see anything over there. Back inside he's acting pretty normal, scarfing his food down as usual. After a while I got concerned that he hadn't actually peed while he was out there. So I let him out. Andrew warned me not to saying now that he realized he wouldn't melt in the rain he would go find his little treasure to eat. I should have listened. He tore off to his special spot on the far side of the neighbor's yard. Picture me marching across the neighbors yard in the rain (this is a big yard-probably like 40yds. from our driveway to theirs) with my sweet green raincoat, pj pants rolled up, no shoes, yelling "Sammy, come!". Proud moment for Andrew right there. Have I mentioned before that our neighbor's name is Sammy - not our neighbor's dog, our neighbor himself. So it's always a bit awkward yelling for Sammy to come. Finally I convince him to go back to our house. I still don't know if he peed. A while ago he was acting all fidgety but I told him he couldn't fool me and took him out on the leash. He didn't pee.

Wow, all of that before 8am. Well, at least it got my butt into gear. I've been quite productive since then if I don't say so myself. Laundry, vacuumed, emptied dishwasher, made baby food, played with Wade, cleaned out Wade's closet. And it's only 12:31pm!

The little man got his flu shot last night. That makes it sound like I took him up to the Seven Eleven on a cigarette run and had them shoot him up there. Just kidding. I don't smoke. (Nor would I ever consider it) At the doctor's office, silly. He did great. Cried a tiny bit after he realized that lady with the big hair had stuck him with something pointy.

Ok, I'm going to carry on with my productive self here. We have a guest coming this weekend. Renee Runyan is coming all the way from Houston and we could not be more excited! She's coming for the fall leaves, mountains and Wade. Just joshing ya! I think she wants to see our new house too. Andrew went camping last weekend at Fall Creek Falls so the basement looks like a tornado went through it from his last minute packing.

2008-10-07T18:57:00.001-07:00

Surveillance Video Footage

2008-10-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

Wade is getting pretty good with finger foods. His favorites are peas, carrots and cheese. Turns out Sammy also likes peas, carrots and cheese. Know how I know that? Mm, hmm, check out the above video of Andrew's son.

Did you see that? Yes, clearly Wade drops food out of his hand onto the floor for Sammy. And Sammy ain't no fool. He gobbles it up almost before I can notice. So, there you have it. Wade is getting smart in his old age.

Wade's 7 Monthabirthday (oops! I mean 8 months!)

2008-10-07T16:55:00.001-07:00

Well, here is the up to date monthabirthday slide show, sort of. Just last night I was telling Andrew that I feel like I've been having a multitude of brain farts recently. He concurred (sweetly, of course) that it didn't seem like I'd been bringing my "A game" lately. And I've done it again. Did you notice the sign in this month's photo? Yah, I typed that, printed it, hung it and took approximately 30 photos of Wade in front of it. Then I sorted through all 30 of them to find the cutest one and uploaded it to Photobucket. Guess when I noticed that I had put "seven" instead of "eight"...when I viewed the new slideshow on Photobucket. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S.

Oops!

2008-10-05T19:33:00.001-07:00

Blooper announcement: on the previous post I said to test your homemade Taggy making skills by giving it to your kid and if he puts it in YOUR mouth you've done good. While I suppose that would show some measure of success, the real evidence is when he puts it in HIS mouth.

Also, the printer is working again so prepare yourselves for 8 monthabirthday pics (hopefully tomorrow).

A Little Project

2008-10-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Taggies? I saw one for my first time at a shower last weekend. They are so cute. And practical!

And expensive...

regular price $24.95 (Gasp!)

Wade loves to put everything in his mouth. But he especially likes ribbons, strings and high chair straps. As soon as I saw it I thought to myself 'Self, you can make that!'. A stroll through the fabric section of Wal-mart reminded me that after I purchased the fleece fabric and ribbon I would definitely spend more than even the super clearance Taggy I saw online for $9. Bummer.

This morning as I lay on the floor playing with Wade he grabbed for the string on my hoodie. Immediately it went in his mouth. I thought to myself 'Self, if you were to make a Taggy, you would have to consider putting such a string on it.' I started thinking of the other things I would have to put on it. Ribbons, of course; a piece of strappy stuff like his high chair straps; maybe some buttons on a string...wait a second, I have all those things!!! The fabric, what could I use for the fabric? I took my hoodie off (so Wade could continue chewing on the string) and headed to his closet. And there I came upon it. The stack of extra baby blankets. If you're a new mom, you know you have at least 3 in your closet. What? You say, you were saving those to regift? Do the person a favor...use it to make her a Taggy (and of course one for yourself). Join me on my Taggy making adventure...

Note: I am NOT a seamstress. And you don't have to be one either. If you've ever made a pillow, no, if you've ever held a pillow, you can do this. It's basically the same, except you gotta add the taggies.

Step 1

1. Locate and dust off your sewing machine. If you don't have one, you can do this by hand...just find some needle and thread.

2. Decide on your fabric. I'm using a medium weight blanket for one side. I wanted the other side to be silky so I'm using an old pair of athletic shorts (they originally belonged to Andrew-I wore them and got paint on them (oops!) so they became mine, then I wore them through pregnancy...remember I gained 60lbs. so you can imagine that they're a little stretched out now!). Other items I considered were: fleece blanket, t-shirt and dri-fit shirt, towel. Be creative.

3. Gather your tags. I had a lot of ribbon from scrapbooking so that was an easy start. I found a piece of string like the one from my hoodie. Mom helped me decide against the buttons-too risky if he could pull them off. I cut a piece of strap off of a hiking pack that my brother made useless by cutting off the waistband but I love it to much to part with it. I also had a few of those rattles that velcro to a baby's wrist or ankle-Wade never liked it being velcroed on. Again, be creative. Even if you're not crafty, I guarantee you can find items around your house. Or beg, borrow or steal some from friends.

4. Cut your fabrics to size. Actually, cut the fabric to about 1-2in. bigger than you want the finished product to be. My finished product is going to be approximately 9 x 9in. But make yours whatever size you want.

5. Cut your tags to size. You want them varying sizes. Now, they are going to be looped so you actually want to cut them twice as long as you want them. Then leave about 1/2 in. extra.

6. Lay them all out. I have 8 tags per side.

***Pause: I did all of the above and then blogged about it. This is what happened next.

7. Lay your material down right sides facing each other. Pin the fabrics together in the middle. Pin (or use sewing tape) your tags to the edges facing inward like so...

8. Carefully sew around the edges of your fabric but leave a 2-3in. gap to turn it right side out. Use a straight stitch, thread color doesn't matter (read: use whatever is already on your bobbin).

***There is a far easier way to do this. Of course I didn't realize it until I was done. It would require a little extra stitching but would be worth it to me as I am not that great at keeping everything aligned as I guide it through my machine. Easier way...

Go back to step #7. Do NOT lay both pieces of material down- just one, face up. Continue on with the directions, taping/pinning the tags on. Then sew around the edges. You are just sewing on the tags. Then you would lay down the other piece of fabric, face down (like above). Then stitch that fabric onto the tagged fabric leaving a 2-3in. gap to turn right side out. You'll want to stitch right on your previous stitch or on the INSIDE of it.

This is where I got into trouble because I didn't do so hot keeping it all lined up. My fabric ended up bunching up and I had to cut it about 3 inches so it turned out more rectangular. I tried a few other stupid things that almost ruined the whole thing before I cut off the 3 inches. I would tell you more about it but it's not funny yet-I'm still a little aggravated with myself.

9. After sewing around the edges, trim outside the stitch to about 1/3 in. Turn rightside out. Now sew up the remaining few inches as you would a pillow.

Ta-Da, you have a Taggy!

Give it to your kid and see what they do.

If he puts it in your mouth then you've done good.

Monkey How-us

2008-10-04T17:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Wade made his second trip to the zoo. The first time he didn't really get to see too many animals- he was inside my tummy. The Chattanooga Zoo is exciting for kids probably up to about age 7 so it's not quite like the San Diego Zoo or anything. But it's still cool.

Our zoo buddies are Aunt Cheri and cousins Ian & Sydney.

Ian, who turns 3 next weekend, started preschool this fall. Apparently his teacher is real country because he is putting extra syllables in words recently. Particularly words with ou. It was so hilarious we kept making him say house, mouse, couch and any other word that came to mind with the ou sound.

Sydney and Wade are only 8 months apart and they are best buds.

Wade loved this turtle. He kept trying to touch the glass.

Standing in a boat.

Watching for a lion or some kind of large cat-like animal.

I forget what these guys are called but I think they are so cute.

Serious face.

Half a second after I snapped the photo this goat licked Syd.

Pretty girls.

Riding on the carousel.

Only pic that all 3 are looking at the camera!

After the zoo we went back to our house for lunch. All 3 kids actually took a nap at the same time (first time in history) so Cheri and I got to scrapbook together for a while.

I know yesterday was Wade's 8 monthabirthday but we are having printer issues. So as soon as I can get the "Eight Months" sign printed I will take photos and post.

Look Who's Talking

2008-10-02T05:56:00.001-07:00

Wasn't that the name of those movies where the babies' talked. Yah, well, I had a dream this morning that Wade was speaking in complete sentences. He was using big words too. It was weird.

Anyway, can't talk long-gotta go bundle up for stroller blading. I guess I haven't talked to you about that yet. Maybe we'll get a picture today. It's about 50 degrees outside right now and my calves are still burning from the Cardio Sculpt class I did at the Y the other night. Should be an interesting morning!

P.S. Tomorrow we're going to the zoo so be looking for pictures soon! Plus we've got a monthabirthday coming up tomorrow too (8 months!).

A Date with Mommy

2008-09-27T12:14:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday Wade and I headed out to a little children's consignment sale. I don't know if these things have always been around and I'm just now getting in on it since I have a kid or if their popularity has really exploded lately. Either way, I'm pretty much loving them. Especially for pajamas. Do you know how expensive those footed zip-up pj's can be? It's ridiculous. I do not even spend that much on my own jammies. Anyway, we found 4 fleece sleepers for a total of $6! And 2 super cute hats.

Then we headed to the best playground in Chattanooga. It's about 1/2 mile from our old house but about 15-20min. from our new house.

Mr. GQ himself.

Like my hat? Mom just bought it for me.

Am I going to crawl? You'll never know!

Intently watching the 100 other kids at the park.

You wish you could still fit in this swing.

I own this park.

No funny business mister.

I'm sorry...

2008-09-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend,

Please forgive me for leaving you for so long. I have a condition I'd like to refer to as bloggerwhelmed. What happens is I'm blogging along just fine. Then a series of events happens. I plan to write about one but before I can the next is happening, and then the next. Then there are like 8 things to write about but I don't know where to start and am bloggerwhelmed by the idea of sitting down and sharing about each event. The creative juices that would take. (I see this same phenomenon in other areas of my life too. i.e. laundry, scrapbooking, cleaning-anybody with me?). It just requires jumping back in. So, I'll start with 2 weekends ago and share (don't worry, it'll be mostly pictures) what's been happenin' round here.

September 12-13

Andrew had his thing. I won't explain it all but go check it out (by clicking on "thing"). He's really been enjoying it. So he was gone Friday evening and most of Saturday. Wade & I hung out and I scrapbooked while he slept.

September 14

Andrew was again gone all day helping to set up for the Shane & Shane concert. Since pretty much every soul we know was either at the concert or had work/school the next day we took Wade with us. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures, even though we easily could have gotten a pic of Wade with The Shanes. So sad. Anyway, it was Wade's first concert and he loved it. I think he has a crush on Bethany Dillon who opened the show. He could not keep his eyes off her. Then he played in the lobby with Olive-Shane Everett's daughter (again, no pics). He fell asleep in the Ergo carrier during Shane & Shane's first song! Their sweet harmonies kept him snoozing the entire time.

September 15

Within 24 hours Wade got to experience his first concert and his first funeral. Hambone, my brother-in-law's granddad passed away. He was very old and suffering from dementia. The memorial was more of a celebration that he is in a better place now. At the funeral we got to see Uncle Aaron who lives in Eugene, Oregon (they are preparing to plant a church in Vancuver). He's not actually Wade's uncle but he is the brother of his actual Uncle Ben...you follow? Aaron and Andrew were roommates in college and we consider Aaron and his sweet wife Amy family.

Also, Andrew's mom made a quick trip down for the funeral - which was actually in Nashville. So Chattanooga makes a good stopover.

When we got home we went to Aretha Frankenstein's. This is one of the best eateries in Chattanooga. I first experienced it's deliciousness last fall when I was about 7 months prego. So I always associate their amazing pancakes with cooler weather. Hence, last Monday I declared that fall had fallen.

(Cheryl Smith-Anna's mom, holding Wade at Aretha's)

September 20

The long anticipated 1st Annual Wade Scharff Memorial Golf Tournament arrives! Andrew, his brother David and brother-in-law Ben began planning this shindig about 8 months ago. How awesome to see all their hard work come to fruition! Wade was what you might call a scrappy golfer. He golfed many a game in jeans and dress shoes. For him the round would be considered a success if he came home with more golf balls than he went out with. After everyone had taken their shots you would often find Wade hunting through the woods for balls. Appropriately, most of the players of this year's tournament played in tennis shoes and borrowed clubs. But it was a sweet thing to see all these people come together to celebrate Wade's life. All of the proceeds went to the Southeastern Children's Home which was a ministry close to Wade's heart.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures.

You also missed Wade's teeth. Remember I showed you the pic before of them just cutting his gums. Well, slowly but surely they are growing into legitimate teeth. And there will be a picture soon. I tried to take one this morning but he was being shy.

While we don't have any crawling action yet, Wade has found he thoroughly enjoys standing. He cannot pull himself up and you can't go more than a foot away but nonetheless he finds it quite entertaining.

Aside from all that, it's been pretty low key around here. Well, aside from having 30 people in our house Wednesday night! Our small group had a Talent Show here...Wade even got involved!

And we had a break dancer in the house. Nice.

And now I must bake a cake for my sweet sister-in-law who turns 30 today (ok, I'm posting late-yesterday). Oh, and also......Happy Birthday Emris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with this...

Dwight Schrute:
Welcome to the Hotel Hell. Check-in time is now, check-out time is never.

Jim Halpert:
Does my room have cable?

Dwight Schrute:
No. And the sheets are made of fire.

Jim Halpert:
Can I change rooms?

Dwight Schrute:
Sorry we're all booked up. Hell convention in town.

Jim Halpert:
Can I have a late check-out?

Dwight Schrute:
I'll have to talk to the manager.

Jim Halpert:
You're not the manager, even in your own fantasy?

Dwight Schrute:
I'm the owner.. the co-owner. With Satan!

Jim Halpert:
Okay, just so I understand it. In your wildest fantasy, you are in hell and you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

Dwight Schrute:
But I haven't told you my salary yet.

Jim Halpert:
Go.

Dwight Schrute:
Eighty thousand dollars.

Gets me every time.

*Sigh*

Guess what?!?!?!

2008-09-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I just popped "27 Dresses" in and finished my Spinach Artichoke Noodles. I ran to the kitchen to put up my bowl. Decided to lock the doors. On my way to lock the french doors...

I'm locking the door and happen to glance slightly to my left.

What is that sherbert colored item sticking out from under the saucer?

Look, look...it's the sheet!

It's right there...it's been there for 24hrs. apparently.

How, how in the world it got there I do not know. It definitely did not even make it into the washer in the first place. Mystery...great unsolved mystery. So glad it's back.

Sheet! Sheet! Sheet! (keep saying it faster & faster...hahaha)

2008-09-12T12:58:00.001-07:00

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheet

and doesn't know where to find it...

Yes, I said sheet. The story goes like this. Yesterday was sheet day so all sheets come off the beds and into the washer. Actually I was also washing our duvet cover (which, do you know that in England they use duvets almost exclusively AND wash them like weekly? I digress). So I put Wade's sheet in with our duvet cover, his blanket, his quilt and his lovie. Washer finishes. Switch to drier. At this point I do not actually see the sheet. But you know how duvet covers can be. I figured the sheet was swallowed up inside of it. Drier buzzes. Empty drier. No sheet. Figure it's still in the duvet cover. No. I turned it inside out 3 times. No sheet. It is not behind or next to the washer or drier. Not on or under Wade's crib. Not in Wade's hamper. Not under the glider in the nursery. Not under our bed nor in our hamper. Did I mention the sheet is sherbert orange? (I promise it's not ugly) It's not like it's being camouflaged by all the other sherbert orange items in our house. I am not kidding you, I have looked everywhere. Of course Wade has a spare sheet but it's plain and I don't think it's as soft and I think it makes him sad. Ok, that's probably not true. Mom's theory is that the washing machine has sucked it into the 2 x 2 inch crevice between the bowl and the whatever you call the other part. I have not disassembled the machine yet to prove. Anyway, I'm sure we'll find it shortly after Wade moves into a big boy bed.

Here's a picture...see how good it looks with the bedding. The bumper has little baseball gloves on it in the same sherbert plaid. So sad.

P.S. This weekend I'm going to be scrapbooking and watching movies. Andrew is going to this thing (more about it later) so I'll be home alone (with Wade of course). I'm going to attempt to share some of my scrapbook pages here.

Walking the Dogs

2008-09-10T11:33:00.002-07:00

"What?" you say, "I thought the Scharff's only had one dog". We own one dog. There is another dog who thinks he is ours. Today it's a bit overcast and slightly cooler than it has been so I decided to take Sammy & Wade for a walk down the street. Walking Sammy on the leash and Wade in the stroller is interesting. Generally Sammy gets at least 2 paws run over. Of course Sammy's delight is pretty much uncontrollable the moment he sees me reach for his leash. He immediately thinks we are going for a ride in the C-A-R. I manage to get the stroller out of the Highlander and Wade into without Sammy jumping into the car. We head down the driveway and who meets us at the end of it but our new friend.

Our new friend does not wear a collar so I have no clue what her name is. We first met her a few days ago and thought she was the sweetest thing who just doesn't get much attention at home (which is the house accross the street from us). I am beginning to think I'll call her "Britney". Similar to another Britney we all know and love (cough, cough), she will do just about anything for the attention she is lacking at home.

We turn to the right at the bottom of the driveway....me, Wade, Sammy & Britney. All the way down the street and back (probably more than half a mile) Britney stays about 2 inches from Sammy. He turns to the right, she turns to the right. He stops to pee, she stops and waits. He lifts his nose to sniff a scent only dogs can detect, she lifts her nose. About 3 houses down you can tell Sammy is getting real annoyed. Then we pass a house with 2 dogs in the yard (thankfully behind a chain link fence) who go nuts barking at our little parade. I kept trying to get Britney to go home but Sammy is far more interesting than her front porch. I think she's got a crush on him. But who wouldn't. We turn around and come on home. At the top of the driveway I'm kind of wondering how this is all going to go down. I let Sammy off his leash and manage to get the stroller back into the car and Wade in my arms. It is so obvious that Sam just wants away from this stalker girl. But she is blocking his entrance to the house. I get Wade situated inside and come back out to get Sammy. She is not about to let him in. I finally decide to go inside and let him fend for himself. He can't let that girl jerk him around like that. Anyway, he finally made it in alone and Britney went sulking home.

I don't know if we'll attempt a walk anytime soon but if we do I'll get you a photo of the dogs.

I'm totally procrastinating. I've got so much to do around the house and Wade just went down for a nap so I suppose I ought to get busy. Grrr.

2008-09-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Lately Wade has not been cool with just watching me eat lunch. So I've been letting him experiment with finger foods during this time. He definitely does not have the required "pincher grasp" down quite yet. But every once in a while he gets lucky and the food actually makes it into his mouth. We've been practicing with peas, Graduates Finger Food, graham crackers (thanks for the tip Betsy!), and cheese. Much like his daddy, he absolutely LOVES cheese.

Sammy the dog has also been enjoying lunchtime. He's no dummy and has quickly realized the best place to be. I think Sammy just decided that having Wade around is not such a bad thing.

Wade is saving a few snacks for later. Or maybe Sammy paid him to pocket those for him.

So, apparently I was right the other week when I said Wade might be teething. Sure enough he first tooth is appearing and I can just barely feel one beside it. I don't think you can really see it in this picture but I promise it's there.

Ok, about the poop. I'm done flushing it. Apparently none of you has ever heard of this practice. I'm giving in to the pressure. And I don't feel one bit bad about it.

The Monthlys

2008-09-08T08:21:00.001-07:00

7th Monthabirthday and shots...

2008-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Wednesday marked 213 days of life (outside the womb) for Wade...also known as 7 months. I cannot believe it's been that long, so much so that I totally forgot it was his b-day until late last night. Credit where credit is due: it was Andrew who reminded me.

Sidenote: Andrew is gifted in many, many ways. One of them is NOT remembering important dates. He once had to sneak my drivers license out of my wallet to check my birthdate!

So, here are your pics.

Thursday we visited Dr. Wiley for Wade's 6 month checkup (I know, we're a little late). This included a little sippy sip vaccine followed by 3 lovely shots. Wade, of course, was incredibly brave. He didn't even realize what was going on until shot numero tres.

The big news:

Length = 27 1/2 inches

Weight = 17 lbs. 6 oz.

Believe it or not Mr. Chubbers is now in the 35th percentile for his weight! His length is still above average at about the 70th percentile. That means he is tall and skinny.

Another interesting bit you may or may not have known about Wade involves his 4th toes. I suppose they would be called your "ring toes". Since birth this toe on both feet has been bent...

One foot is correcting itself a little as he grows. But the other is not.

Our concern about the toes has a lot to do with...

Andrew's pinky fingers were slightly bent at birth. As a baby and child his parents were told to wait until he got older to have it fixed. But as a teen he was told he would pretty much have no use of his pinkies if they straightened them out, that the doctors should have corrected it before he was done growing! So, now Andrew has bent pinkies. While they have been known to spur interesting conversations, he'd certainly rather they be straight. Although if they were straight what would he blame a bad round of golf on...JK.

Anyway, all of this to say Dr. Wiley is sending us to a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist to check out his ring toes. I'll keep you updated.

I'm a Big Kid Now!

2008-08-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday turned out to be a day of milestones. Wade woke up early and then took a so-so morning nap. I just have to mention that Wade's Saturday morning naptime is one of my favorite times of the week. Usually Andrew sleeps in so it's just me up. I'm not quite sure how this is different from all the other days of the week. I guess there's something about knowing Andrew is home and also that I don't need to feel the pressure to be as productive during naptime. Anyway...moving on with what you really care about.

After his nap we packed the diaper bag with all manner of entertainment. Uncle D had somehow managed to get us all a lunch reservation for the pre-grand opening weekend at Red Robin. If you're a parent of a little one you will quickly agree that going out to eat is pretty much hit or miss with the kiddo. Lately it's been a lot more miss for us so we've been sticking to the "eat at your own pace" joints (i.e. Jason's Deli, Moe's, Panera). But I had packed stuff to keep him busy for a while.

So, milestone number #1 happened at Red Robin. (By the way, they do not give discounts or free meals to people named Robin...I asked...and Anna made sure I knew that was the dorkiest thing she'd ever heard me say) Wade got to sit in a big boy restaurant high chair! We tried it once before but his sitting up skills weren't quite there yet. He had so much fun eating coasters and talking to Aunt Anna. And he lasted through the entire meal! I think the ticket was that I brought food for him to eat while we were eating (even though he doesn't eat solid food at lunchtime yet)...he also may have been a little drugged (I gave him a dose of Tylenol-see the last paragraph).

Oh yeah, I'd say it was the Tylenol.

Then, tonight at bathtime we accomplished another milestone. Wade has officially graduated from the infant tub into the Big Boy/Regular Human tub. The lifeskill of sitting up opens all kinds of doors for ya!

On another note, I've been real hesitant to say that Wade is teething. For months he's been putting his hands in his mouth and drooling. He's also been pulling on his ear. Apparently sucking on the bottom lip is another sign (notice 2 of the 4 above pictures). Anyway, it's likely that to some degree he's been teething for a while but there's been absolutely no sign of teeth. And it's really easy to dismiss grumpiness as teething when it's actually likely there's something else going on (i.e. tiredness, bored, hunger, sickness). But I'm going to go ahead and say it. I think he's teething. The last 2 days I have noticed some unexplainable grumpiness on top of the other symptoms he's already had. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the teeth front.

I'm getting sleepy and am not really on top of my game here tonight. Sorry if it was a boring, babbly post.

The Jawbreaker

2008-08-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you the new kid on the block. His intense training has included oatmeal; applesauce; mashed bananas, peaches and sweet potatoes; pureed acorn squash, green beans, peas, carrots; and rice cereal. With focus so intense he demands no distractions: his trainer must place the food in his mouth so he can fully concentrate on completely filling his monstrous belly. Step back Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi, you ain't got nothin'.

Recently this phenomenon has entered into a new realm. His training has taken on a life of his own. Constantly he visualizes the food. He is taking jaw strength to a new level. He will reign as ultimate Major League Eating champion OF THE WORLD (echo: world, world, world, world).

And now, new footage has become availabe of his unique strength training methods. Behold, the breathtaking, the lifechanging, the dream catching . . . I present to you THE JAWBREAKER.

Cowboy Baby

2008-08-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

I do not like it, Sam I Am

2008-08-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

I have recently acquired some new knowledge. Apparently you are supposed to dump poop out of diapers into the toilet before putting them in the trash can. Sorry, I gave you absolutely no warning that this post was about poop. But now you're reading and too curious to stop. So, since Wade's diaper productions are now solid (since he eats solid food) I am feeling obliged to follow this practice. And I just don't like it. There is really no totally clean way to do it. It requires touching the dirty wipe again. Then hoping that no little poop pebbles miss the toilet. And those that do, ultimately cause a plop and water splashes everywhere. Listen, I'm really sorry to paint this picture so vividly for you. But I really don't like doing this. Oh, and I forgot to mention the most unpleasant part. After taking off the dirty diaper you have to set it somewhere before you can go dump it out. Where should that be? And what if you forget you set it there? Or what if you have a crying baby and cannot immediately dump the poop?

You don't have to feel convicted to report me to the authorities, I'm still going to dump the poop. I just needed to share with someone how I despise this task.

You're lucky I'm not including pictures.