…as in last iphone dump, because my friends, I’ve gotten rid of it. I’m now the proud owner of a regular ole basic phone. And I’m going through withdrawals, big time. Mostly because when I type ” Im” it doesn’t automatically populate the apostrophe, which is pretty much worth the extra $50 per month.

But Ruthie, I did this for you. You too Annie, but Ruthie was my original catalyst. I would catch myself checking facebook and instagram literally every two minutes. If she wanted  to do something with me, I’d begrudgingly oblige. The icing on the cake was when snapped at her because she dared to ask me (okay fifty times) to play catch while I was in the middle of texting a friend.

Really?

Some people can balance the two. I couldn’t. So, see ya iPhone.

It hasn’t been all peaches and cream. During my detox, I am still barking at her occasionally.. but at least it’s now a “I actually watched you for the past five minutes and you totally deserve this” bark as opposed to the “I’m kinda watching you out of the corner of my eye while I catch up on the latest celebrity gossip and I think I just saw what you did” bark.

I’m also going to deactivate my facebook account Monday through Thursday, just so I don’t have that added distraction during the week. I tried going off facebook cold turkey, but it didn’t last. I have several friends on there going through some personal struggles and because facebook is my only form of contact with them, I kept wondering what was going on and how they were doing. I’ve discovered that while it’s nice to email people and text and call them… sometimes it’s even nicer (for both of us) if they share an update and I just comment on it. They know I’m watching, reading, caring and I know who and what to pray for that evening.

Onto the pics, some are old ones from texts that I wanted to save, like these ones, of Ruthie. Bear with me.
 Excuse me, but look at those rolls. These are some extras from Annie’s first meeting with her great grandparents. And no I’m not expecting. Rude.I remember when I had Ruthie and went over there to visit. I had to nurse and was about to go in the back room, but Leitta (Ryan’s grandmother) grabbed my arm and said, “Oh just do it out here. I don’t care. I remember having to sit in a hallway at (I can’t remember who’s) house and (a guy relative) kept walking by talking to me. I just wanted him to go away.”I’ve discovered I go through phases with my nursing exposure. Right after the birth, I’m like, “Hee-eeeey!!! Is it Mardi Gras up in here??!! Throw me some beads!!” Ryan would occasionally hiss at me if his dad happened to be in the room. But you know what, I could have literally cared less. However as time progresses, do you know how much I enjoy sequestering myself in the back room for just a few minutes? It’s just long enough to feel the need to be social again.

Ruthie insisted on wearing her great-grandma’s earrings:

We watched Ryan and his dad fell a tree.
I’m thinking about my iPhone here:Just kidding.

I was thinking about facebook.

No, really, she never falls asleep on me anymore so I was eating. this. girl. UP.
Let’s talk resolutions, because it’s mandatory.
1. Send more letters – I started doing this after Annie was born and was consistently two weeks late on everyone’s birthday. My husband works at a card company. For the love, I should be able to send out a card once in a while. 2. Floss – this is SO Michael from The Office, but seriously, I need to get on this. 3. Give more, Complain less.4. Buy a really good bra – these girls are saggin’.

We had a few awesome 60 degree weather days in between cold ones and I forced Ruthie to play in the dirt. “Go play in the dirt. Now. I want you dirty so I can feel like I’ve accomplished something in your childhood.” I seriously have thoughts like that. That dirt = childhood and don’t you dare come over and ask to wash your hands before lunch. You get that pb&j nice and smudgy.

Ryan would be appalled. He’s very much the wash-your-hands-before-lunch guy. Maybe that’s why I get ring worm all the time. No, I  don’t. Actually never, I have no idea why I wrote that.

I saw this photo from who knows where (sorry credit!) and lusted after this garden with the fruit tree in the middle. So clean and organized and flourishing.

5. Start a garden – and I should add, finish a garden. Man I love the planning. I’m an idea girl, I’m not a finisher. This will be my first test this summer.

The first (of now many) snow:

Ann-girl. Already getting her two top teeth, she’s gonna have a full smile before I know it and I’m already missing her gummy one. Times are a-changin’.Ruthie gave her leftover pannycakes to the birds outside and watched them eat it up during the snowstorm. She loves birds now, just like her two grandpas. While trying to go down for a nap, she just didn’t want to read any of her normal favorite books. So I brought in non-fiction “What Are Birds” book for her. She squealed at it and then fell asleep ten minutes later.

Coveting. Again. For this bookcase set up. And the piano. And the girl pretending to be a queen. All of it:6. Learn how to make cocktails. I’m kinda tired of wine and beer. I want to become a mixer and know what I’m doing. That would require a stocked bar. So,

7. Stock a mini-bar with the basics… and maybe an antique seltzer bottle, like this:

This was rehashed from last year’s work party. I like that Ryan commits. No matter what, he commits to his character.
Last month, Ryan went hunting with his dad and brother. He took Ruthie with him, leaving me and Annie alone for the first time ever. I remember when Ruthie itty bitty, and thinking I had no time to do anything. Or maybe I just napped a lot, which you know what, I’m glad I did… because I fear I will never, ever get another nap ever, ever again. But I did get the guest room organized, so the bags under the eyes are worth it.

While Ruthie was there, her Jama took her to visit the greats again. Leitta fell down and needed a Band-Aid on her knee. Ruthie said, “Oh no! Great grandma fell down!! She’s okay though” about three hundred times that next week. Here they are reading a book:

And Ruthie showing great grandma how to put on her shoes. 
Meanwhile, Annie and I did snuggle together. Because, after organizing that room, I made sure to get in a four hour nap like the good ole days. Annie fell asleep on me, then I fell asleep, then she woke up and lifted her head caused me to wake up, then we connected eyes, then she put her head back down, then we both went back to sleep. It was GLORIOUS.Ruthie, on the other hand was kept very busy with Christmas crafts. I covet bookcase layouts, Ruthie covets glue sticks.I could have sworn Jama would have had Ruthie potty-trained by the time she got back. It’s fun to watch her and Ruthie have their little bonding time on the toilet, chit-chatting and singing. It surprises me how little I’m worried about potty training Ruthie. I thought with my first born that I’d  feel like she HAD to be trained by a certain time, since that’s normally my nature. But my mom and older sister have both reassured me to not stress over it. So I’m not. I’ve read up on the three-day potty training and we’ll do that eventually. For now, I just smile and nod when asked about it. Just smile and nod.

These look like sick, tired eyes. I can’t remember.

Resolution 8. Start remembering.

One night, after Ryan read Ruthie her nightly stories, he never came back out. And I heard snoring:

Annie’s first Christmas tree (and possible Ruthie’s as well). I can’t remember if we put one up in the Shack or not. I wanted natural, but sentimental. So the foil star made the cut as well as some dehydrated oranges and apples. It took about three weeks to get everything up on it. I move slowly these days, see above on potty training. 
Only my childhood stocking hung up there this year. Ryan’s childhood one was ruined in a flooded basement, so we are remaking his and also doing the girls’ at the same time. Christmas just came to fast for it to be done.
My mom would be proud. I put all of our Christmas books next to the fireplace like she does. More on our Christmas’ later, because, hello, Ruthie wanted to give Pete the Cat a bath and did so in her little kitchen sink.
And then she proceeded to break her ceramic tea pot. I barked.9. Slow down on the barking.

Ruthie reading to her dad when he got sick over Christmas.

To me, Ruthie looks like an 80s highschool student here. Too cool to look at the camera, sleeveless shirt, sniffing candles. You know, the stereotypical buff candle sniffer. Did I mention these photos were out of order? That’s how I roll. Sometimes.

Ruthie B. How I want to go back and kiss this face. I loved this stage.

Oh my gosh. The outstretched leg, Ruthie. You kill me.
Gettin’ artsy with her next door neighbor. Popsicle in front of our townhome. The other day I asked if she wanted a popsicle and she said, “Remember popsicles on the sidewalk with Daddy? Remember that?” True story. She still remembers them sitting side by side eating them and watching the actual Ice Cream Truck go by.
This all feels so long ago.
Holy yikes. I was due any day (or let’s hope I was anyway).
After I chopped off my hair.  It felt good.Ruthie and Blanche at their bible study nursery. Two old fogies sittin’ on the front porch.I do remember the whiny days, though too. But this next picture pretty much outweighs any whiny days that were had. I freaking LOVE it. It’s her first “official” Halloween, dressed in an outfit Ryan brought home from China and she’s in mid-sentence jabbering at Blanche. She had fallen down that day and got a black eye and she has a double chin. I hope I kissed it that day.We miss being just steps from the park.Speaking of Ryan going to China… He actually went to both India and China back to back, so I stayed at my parents for a month. It couldn’t have worked out better because I was newly pregnant and having a hard time with the morning sickness. So having those extra hands during the day were definitely a blessing. We drove home and the next day went to pick him up from the airport. The plane was late, Ruthie was up past her bedtime, and when he picked her up she stared at him with no expression for five minutes straight. No joke. This is a really old one from The Shack and Ruthie rolling rolling rolling. Apart from that, I really think I needed more popcorn for the guests coming over. Seriously, did I serve anything else?
So that was my last dump.

And my last resolution for 2014 is to blog once a week. Even if nothing happened of importance that week. I used to write about random things that had nothing to do with my day-to-day and I want to get back to that. We’ll see how far I get it. If I make it to Easter, I’ll be thrilled.

Here goes nothing!