Define "Eventful"

This week has been both eventful and uneventful. Uneventful because we did things this week just the same as we do every week: played, cooked, went grocery shopping, went to playgroup, etc. Eventful because looking back, I feel like a lot has changed, and therefore, a lot MUST have happened. What changes am I referring to?

1) We've gotten more serious about this house-buying bit--serious enough that we've talked to our realtor and two mortgage guys. We're just waiting for a market analysis to see whether selling right now would cost more than we are willing to pay. In the meantime, we are starting to get things ready by doing all the loose projects around here that we've been avoiding (e.g. spackling the nail holes in the baseboards, caulking the backsplash tile in the kitchen, etc.). I'm trying to get all this done before we even have an appointment with the realtor because then, even if we don't sell, we'll have gotten all these annoying projects done. We're also starting to box up our clutter and move it to the garage so that things will look "spacious" in here. Those of you who've been in our condo will know how humorous the term "spacious" is. It's really got me thinking, though: what is my clutter worth to me? Is the added convenience of an apple corer worth the amount of space it takes up? Or more visually, does the usefulness of an apple corer outweigh the amount of volume that it contributes to the "stuff" in that drawer? And not just the apple corer, but all similar implements: the citrus juicer, the garlic press, the mini-tongs that someone gave us for our wedding that have never even exited the bag... Is their presence in my home justified by their limited or even eventual convenience? So I ask again: what is it worth to me? Besides an impressively existential diatribe. Hehe.

2) Anna went from sainted, obedient angel to defiant, attitudinal troublemaker overnight. Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but still. I finally had to use time-outs as a threat this week. This is a first for us. It's actually really funny--she's not afaid of time-outs--she thinks they're so interesting that when I threaten one, she gets distracted in thinking about it and forgets to continue her naughtiness. She's also developed a defense mechanism this week--closing her eyes. I think it's because when she's been naughty, I pull out my "Supernanny," get down in her face, and make her look at me so that I know she's listening. Now, as soon as she knows she's in trouble, she closes her eyes and refuses to look at whoever is talking to her. It's sort of funny, but it won't stay funny for very long. She also closes her eyes now when she thinks she's going to get hurt. She stepped on the corner of one of her toys today, and instead of moving her foot off, she left her foot there and closed her eyes, as if that would make the problem go away. *sigh*

3) Another big stride for her this week, though, is that's she's learning to say prayers. I finally got her to follow me as I talk her through one, and now she wants to pray everytime. She has said her bedtime prayer twice and four or five meal prayers. She's very proud of herself. Here's a transcript of one of her prayers.

Mommy: "Okay, Anna, say what I say. Dear Heavenly Father..."

Anna whispers: "Heavly Fahder..."

Mommy: "Thank you for today..."

Anna whispers: "Tank you ... day..."

Mommy: "Thank you for the food..."

Anna whispers: "Tank you for food..."

Mommy: "Help it be good for us..."

Anna whispers: "Hepp be good for us..."

Mommy: "In the name..."

Anna YELLS: "Jesus Christ, Amen! Yea! Anna did it!"

I know--it's SO cute. :)

3) I know you all want to know this, but since it's a big deal to me, the sole diaper changer (see previous post about Adam and the broken wrist), Mariah's BM frequency has almost cut in half this week. It's like some kind of gift, and it so wonderful, that I'm almost afraid to accept it. What if it's just a fluke?? I can't afford to get too excited.

4) Mariah is learning to like her new Bumbo seat. She started out only sitting in it for a couple of minutes at a time, but now we've got her up to almost 10 minutes at a time without fussing as long as there's something interesting going on. When she does fuss, though, she tries awfully hard to get out, and I'm a little worried that she might actually be able to do it. She's like a Baby Miss Universe -- she's so strong!

5)We've got her laughing a little more reliably now. It actually sounds like she's crying, so you have to look at her big smile before you're sure that she's really laughing. She's so funny--she smiles all the time, at almost anything or anyone, but real laughter is rare. And therefore more precious, I suppose. One of the girls at Young Women's today got her laughing, and it was so adorable, except that it was right in the middle of Opening Exercises. Everyone got distracted, and we never could quite pull things back together. Reverence among a group of girls 12-18 requires "Constant Vigilance!"

6) Adam's big fun for the week was going to the cannery yesterday to get several boxes of food storage stuff. He came home very sore, but it was for a good cause--the cause of not starving if we ever really needed it. He also found out that the project he has spent months working on at work has just been cancelled. I'll let him expand on that himself if he wants to. Let's just say that he's been a little annoyed. But if you think about it, one of the blessings of working for a big company is that they can afford to cancel your whole project without cancelling you. Thank goodness for job security.

So, obviously, the week hasn't been that exciting for anyone else, but it's been eventful to me. I've changed my whole mindset about my home and our family's near future, I've lost my obedient angel, I've stopped changing diapers 10 times a day, and I've discovered that maybe it's possible to exist without a garlic press. Who knew one so young could experience so much? *wink* Have a good week.