Much on My Mind

Paint colors: I need new wall colors for 11 rooms, two halls, and a stairwell. Oh, and trim for nearly the whole house . . . and built-in bookcases. Okay, now go.

If only it was that easy, right? Where's my Bewitched nose when I need it?

I have ideas for colors for seven of those rooms and the bookcases too, but the onerous task of actually finding the color in a can that matches the dreams in my mind . . . pray for me. Ha! And then there's this tricky part of wanting all the paint colors to "go" so that my house doesn't look like some Sherwin Williams freak show. Is anyone else as overwhelmed by this?

In this whole remodel process, I've learned something about myself (not a shocker, really). Contrary to popular belief, I DO like design and decor. The problem? I'm too much of a perfectionist. (Cue memories of a parent/teacher meeting with Mrs. Ousley, my first grade teacher. "Emily, we are here to talk to you today so you understand that if you don't get a 100 on every worksheet, that's okay.") Thus, if I can't exactly find exactly what I have in mind, I get overly frustrated, leading me to avoid the whole process.

(Didn't know you were at a counseling session did ya?)

Anyways, a friend is going to help--a friend, mind you, who has a interior design business. Whew! But for what it's worth, we're thinking a gray, green, cream pallet overall. Well, and then I want to paint the playroom a dark teal. See? I'm muddled in colors.

Toddler playtime: And then, I'm struggling with ideas for fun play time with Anna. This all came crowding into my mind when earlier this week, Anna played for more than an hour with leftover ice in a cooler. The girl was in heaven. And it got me to thinking that I need to be more creative about exploratory play with her. She has toys, and that's usually the bulk of our play. I'm trying to introduce some crafts, coloring, but so far she's not interested in much unless it involves stickers. Do you have any ideas to share? No, really, I want to know.

Da, da, dum, discipline: This topic is whirling through my mind as well lately. You read the part about a toddler living at our house so you can imagine discipline is par for the course. It's just that we seem to be in this weird, in-between stage where the firm "no-no" is not quite cutting it, but she's not quite cognitively ready for time-out. Sometimes I can tell she knows she's misbehaved, and other times it's clear she has no idea what I'm trying to tell her because I try to explain why "we don't do this or that." The sentence alone was confusing when I reread it. No wonder she looks at me like I'm speaking French. Ha.

Fabulous five: In less than 60 days, I will celebrate five years of marriage to Mr. Youree. It's cliche, I know, but I can't believe five years have come and gone. While the anniversary is such a sweet day, the reality of this being our fifth makes me a teeny bit sad. If five years have gone by this quickly, how fast will the future be? I want our love to be a slow, long story. Calm down, Father Time, calm down! But what a great reminder to me to hold him tighter, show appreciation, and soak in every day I have with my hubs. Sigh--love him.

18 Months of Bliss

Anna is celebrating her 18-month milestone by fighting off a head cold. Only last week, she was battling an ear infection. Her little stuffy nose and runny eyes are breaking my heart. But I have used this season of illness to indoctrinate her on the wonders of Vicks vapor rub (or is it vapo?). My plan is working; she carries around the jar most of the day. She also is shocking us by sometimes bringing the nasal aspirator (or snot sucker I as call it) for us to use on her. 

Aside for her sickness struggles, Anna Zane is doing well--still growing in maturity and expression faster than I can keep up. She's starting to mimic words. Today I heard variations of ball, cock-a-doodle-doo, "tank ew," uh-oh, whoa, and exaggerated "L" sounds for "love you." 

We've also introduced the big girl potty. (I find myself talking about bathroom matter on what feels like a continual basis.) She's "acclimating" to sitting on the potty but hasn't actually made the connection yet. I have a sneaky suspicion this will take a while. 

Anna is now a fan of Cuties clementines, Annie's trail mix (picks out the pretzels first), sweet potato tater tots, and string cheese is always a favorite. At present, she is cutting her 12th, 13th, and 14th tooth. Bless.

The pics below were taken by a former babysitter. Miss Sammy left us for grad school in Oklahoma--sniff, sniff--but we are delighted for this new chapter in life and feel blessed for having such a dear in Anna's life. She did such a great job capturing some of Anna's classic faces.

Stop Staring! The Hope Cottage Blog

What a treat!

Hope Cottage--Anna's adoption agency or her "special place" as we call it--asked me to guest write on life in a transracial family. There's so much to say because we learn more and more every day, but I simply shared an experience that happened recently.

You can read all about it here: http://hopecottage.org/blog/?p=1048.

I'd encourage you too, to read through other Hope Cottage blog posts and even its website. Knowing more about adoption can only be a good thing! :-)