A broken air conditioner

Here in my mom's 2nd story condo, the air conditioner decided to take a vacation. On Sunday, when temps reached the upper 80s and low 90s, my mom turned on the air conditioner with hopes of cool relief. What she got instead was hot blowing air. She continued to let it blow for a few hours hoping it would kick into gear. We sweltered and waited for the sun to go down and I complained.

What did people do before air conditioning? The thing is still broken and my mom has been an example to me of contentedness. We were all dripping with sweat yesterday (I took 3 cold showers, yes, 3) and I was groaning and moaning but my mom didn't "sweat" it. (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun). Thinking about it this morning, I realize that I have MUCH to be thankful for so I should shut my trap and stop my whining. The blessings greatly outweigh the one little tiny bummer of being hot and sweaty.

Here are some things I'm thankful for:
1. A healthy mind and body
2. Never having to worry about having enough food
3. A loving non-abusive family
4. Shelter
5. A beautiful, happy baby girl
6. The privilege of staying home and caring for my Chloe
7. A generous kind mom who lets me & Chloe take over her home and buys me sprecher's and olives stuffed with blue cheese
8. A peaceful nation (within itself I mean)
9. FANS
10. Sons of Korah cds that Jer gave us (AMAZING!?! I highly recommend them)

What are you thankful for today?

First moments

We are having a smashing good time here in Thiensville, Wisconsin visiting family and friends. It's been a busy whirlwind of visiting, but the busyness is helping the time without Matt go by quickly.
It's amazing how fast Chloe is growing up! While we've been here, she's breezed through several milestones. She started crawling, pulled herself up to standing, and waved bye-bye. And her hair is getting longer, curlier, and more golden.

We have also had many unpleasant pooping experiences. My mom thinks the water might be affecting Chloe. And I've learned that raisins are another food on the list that doesn't digest. Also, I've learned that you ALWAYS take a diaper bag in with you even if you think you're only going to be a minute. You never know when the poop will strike! 'Nuff said. :)

How was your week?

A temporary single mom

Well, as I sit here waiting for Chloe to get over her crying fit (she's upset because I won't let her play with the computer - I know, I'm a meanie) I'm understanding a little what it feels like to be a single mom. Matt is down in Chicago during the week training for his summer job (teaching for the Institute of Reading Development) so it's just me and the Chloe-meister here at my mom's house. Usually Chloe is a peach of a girl, but today she seems to be having a meltdown. How in the world do single moms do this and stay sane?!?

Better go tend to my overheating baby girl.

Blogging outage

Forgive the recent blogging outage here at Chloe Chronicles. After traveling all day Monday, we arrived safe and sound (and pretty tired) in my home state - Wisconsin. Chloe and I are staying with my mom while Matt has job training in Chicago. We're settled in for another week or so of visiting friends and family in the area.

As I whisk Chloe here and there and everywhere to visit, I'm seeing what an AMAZINGLY GOOD little baby she is! She adapts easily to new environments and is good-humored. She plays by herself while I'm chatting (I should say, she explores not plays) and sleeps well anywhere.

Here are a few photos of our visit thus far:

The world's greatest mom

My mom is the world's greatest mom. She even has a pillow proclaiming that renowned fact!

There are scads of things I love about my mom. I won't attempt to list them all in this post. Instead, I'll tell you the best thing about my dear marmee (I've called her that since reading Little Women in 8th grade). What I most admire in my mom is her stedfastness. She is stedfast in love and patience. Now that I'm a new mom, I can see how devastating it would be to have your daughter treat you unkindly. I often take it personally when Chloe cries or whines. Sometimes I cry right along with her! My mom isn't conditional like that with her love. I remember distinctly how I scorned her and scoffed at her when I was in my fickle teenage years. I begged her for new clothes, faked being sick so I could stay home from school, sneaked out of the house, and lied to her. Talk about trying her patience! But she went on loving, loving, loving. She went on correcting me and gently helped me take the right paths.

Thank you, mom! If it wasn't for your constant stedfast love, I wouldn't be the woman I am today. I pray that God will grace me with your same unwavering love and constant patience as I strive to mother my dear Chloe.

An olio post

o·li·o
n. pl. o·li·os

1. A heavily spiced stew of meat, vegetables, and chickpeas.
2. 1. A mixture or medley; a hodgepodge.
   2. A collection of various artistic or literary works or musical pieces; a miscellany.
3. Vaudeville or musical entertainment presented between the acts of a burlesque or minstrel show.

I'm using definition 2a. for the title of this post. (Besides being a scrabble fanatic I am also a crossword puzzler and olio is used frequently in puzzles).

I have been vvvvvvvvvvvvvvery busy as of late working on some homemade mother's day gifts for the important mothers in my life. Since these moms read my blog, I can't divulge any gift secrets. I'll be sure to post pictures once the gifts have been received though! God has led me to some creative crafty gifts this year. Thank goodness, since we have little money for big presents and I think homemade gifts reflect more care and time spent, don't you?

I've also been flitting around making to-do lists and preparing for a big trip. On Monday, we'll be driving to my homeland, Wisconsin. Chloe and I will be staying for 2 weeks while Matt has training for the Institute of Reading Development in Chicago (He does know how to read; he's training for a teaching position). Matt will come visit us in Milwaukee on the weekends and then the last week we'll head up to Ben & Diane's home in Michigan. All in all, we'll be gone for more than 3 weeks! That's a lot to plan for with a 9 month old baby. Pray for me as I rack my brain thinking of everything we'll need for that length of time. And, don't worry, we'll be doing disposable diapers for this trip. Can you imagine traveling with cloth diapers? Ick! I suppose people did it for hundreds of years. Any tips for packing for and traveling with a baby? Are you planning any family trips for this summer?

My sister in law requested recent pictures of Chloe, so here goes:

Hallelujah!

Sorry, Shannon, I had to steal the title of your last post for my blog. Because, today Matt is DONE with school for the semester! Yeehaw and Yipee Skipee (shouted with much gusto)! Last night after staying up until 6 a.m. this morning he finally finished his last paper of the semester. This morning he delightfully turned it in and I must say, he is a new (and slightly tired) man. His face seems unburdened and he seems lighter of step.

And now I don't have to be a single mom anymore! Hip hip hooray! It's been an all me show lately when it comes to Chloe care. He's been totally "gone" mentally even though he's been here with us most of this past week. Now I have him back and I look forward to enjoying a few days of down time with him. We have much on the agenda: special dinner tonight with apple pie for dessert (Matt's favorite), scrabble tournament, walks to the park, dick van dyke dvds. :) I know, we're nerds.

How about you? Are you (or your hubby) in school? Would you ever like to go back to school? (I'm itchin' to get my masters in math but that will have to wait a little while until Matt's done with his phd.)

All I want for mother's day . . .

. . . is a day to sleep in! I can't remember the last time that I woke up when I wanted to. Usually I'm roused by Chloe's cry for her morning meal. So, for mother's day, I've asked Matt to give me one free sleep in morning. It's a cheap gift and I think I'll enjoy it more than a candle or chocolates (well, depends what kind of chocolate).

To treat me, Matt is also going to grill me up some yummy steaks for dinner and he's already bought me a piano book from ebay. (I've been dying for a Chopin book containing the raindrop prelude).

I'm already feeling pretty spoiled! What are your plans for mommy's day? Hope all you hard working moms out there get a much needed day of pampering!

For new mama Shy (and the other pregos out there)

After reading Shyla's last post, my heart flooded with sympathy and understanding for her. It also brought back loads of memories of our own experience waiting for Chloe to arrive. Those last few weeks were murderous! I couldn't sleep well, because I was so huge and uncomfortable, and I had everything prepared for her arrival and nothing to do but sit around and wait. I remember doing crossword puzzles all afternoon long and propping my swollen feet up.

All the waiting will be worth it, gals! Hang in there. Here are some pictures of our long day of labor with Chloe and the first few days of her life. (I'll spare you the details - I'm sure you've heard more than your share of labor stories.) Just think Shyla, Jenny & Karen (and anyone else pregnant out there I'm forgetting), you'll have one of these pink bundles of joy very soon!

We have a mortgage!

For our entire married life, Matt and I have rented various apartments. When we moved to Ohio for Matt's schooling at Kent State, we had high hopes of finally purchasing our own home sweet home. We been renting our current home for 8 months (the owner's asking price was too high) the owner of the house brought his price down $20,000 and offered to pay our closing costs! Talk about a blessing and answer to prayer! Our mortgage now is very manageable, only slightly higher than our rent, and we are excited about making some improvements. First on the list is to paint our porch. After that we just have some touch-ups to do. I would LOVE to paint the entire inside (right now the whole house is painted in a shade of apricot) but that will have to wait. Right now we're just thrilled to be in our home in a normal-un-collegey-neighborhood with real neighbors. Pray for us as we strive to be kindly loving neighbors that reflect Christ.

What's your housing situation?

How much are you worth?

A friend of mine sent me a link to an interesting article on www.salary.com discussing how much money moms would make in the workplace for all their duties around the house. According to the Mom Salary Wizard, I would earn a whopping $130,156 a year!?! Take the Mom Salary Quiz and find out how much you should be making for your mommy-duties.

Regardless of the money involved, this mommying stuff is amazingly worthwhile. A snuggle or smile from Chloe is worth way more than $130,156. (At least it's easy for me to say that since I'll never see that much money in my lifetime.)

Swinging around

I was having a blah morning today (due largely to Chloe's 4 a.m. waking) so I thought we'd escape my megrims (cool word, eh?) and have a long, long walk. There's nothing like sunshine and exercise to cheer me up! After her morning nap, Chloe and I hit the sidewalks of Cuyahoga Falls toting a picnic lunch and ready for some serious swinging. We walked a LONG time and hit two different parks where Chloe swung to her heart's content. Right now the baby swing is about all that Chloe can enjoy at a park. What do your kids like at the park?

Here are some of the best pictures of our swinging time: