ALARM! (Insert blinking red light here)

Now I know what you're thinking, "Something urgent must be happening for the title of this post to say ALARM!." When I saw the ALARM! light blinking a bright red on my new printer, I assumed a similar thing...perhaps my printer was about to explode or catch on fire! Well, according to Canon, that bright light that is currently illuminating my hallway simply indicates that my printer has a paper jam...hmmmm....feels like a bit of a let down. 


I don't mean to make light of the emergency that a printer jam is (especially during finals week at college), but are you kidding me, Canon? Could the printer not just say "Paper Jam", no caps or flashing lights needed.  Plus, then I would know what the issue is without having to hunt down my printer manual.

Look at that cute, little girl

If I had an ALARM light in my life it would have appeared several times in the last week.  In fact, on Thursday, it would have been flashing with it's full force. Peter was out of town and I was just about to take Laney to the babysitters before I went to work.  As we were sitting on the couch, putting on her coat, I got that all too familiar feeling of warm, wetness on my leg.  I looked down to find a distinct brownish transparency around the top of Laney's pants! As my heart sank, I tried to work out the logistics of showering myself, bathing Laney, finding new, clean outfits for each of us, not contaminating the rest of the house with this undesirable brown tinted wetness, and making it to work on time. Laney didn't seem at all phased by the sudden turn of events and almost seemed happy about it. :)

Unexpected bath...Fun!

Perhaps you would disagree with this next "ALARM light" moment, but on Easter evening, Laney took her first intentional, independent crawls forward.  Undoubtedly, I am thrilled for her and love watching her grow and achieve new milestones, but this movement struck me with total fear and trepidation.  My daughter is moving...without me!  Gone are the days of using outlets freely, running upstairs without having to leap over gates, and setting her down to play without worry. Instead, I find myself anticipating the safety of our little home. I am grateful for our small house so I have less physical space to worry about (though I could do without the 3 flights of stairs... it's an obstacle course to get upstairs and I'm just hoping that my glutes get a good workout with each gate I leap.)

Watch out, Duck! Laney's coming for you!

I got him!

I think I'll leave this post at that and go sort out the printer.  Here's hoping that there are no more ALARMs this week.

We love Great-Grandma Freda

Pretty much all of my posts have been about our sweet, little Laney, but I wanted to branch out this time and use this space as a place to share just a little about my wonderful grandmother who passed away recently. Words can't express what an important person she was to me, but I think I'll give it a try anyway.

Here are just a few reasons my grandma was so special

She was Fun!  Yep, she was a blast.  Not just because of all the funny jokes she told or fun cereals she bought us or because she would sit at the table teaching us new games for hours, but because she knew how to have a good time.  Every summer, she and my grandpa would come on vacations with us and I remember one year my dad dropped a knife between his toes nearly cutting one off.  My grandma found out and came from her motorhome to ours with a homemade medical mask and scalpel.  She was ready for surgery! That was just one of the "jobs" she came prepared for.

She loved music! So my grandma carried a harmonica in her purse.  I can't say for sure, but I think this makes her pretty unique.  She didn't pull it out often, but every time she did it was a truly special treat.  Her dad had played the harmonica, and she carried on his love of music. As a little girl, I remember sitting in church with my grandma and I suddenly was mortified, she was singing the wrong notes! Now I was only in elementary school choir, but I knew the right  notes and those weren't them!  About 3 years later, I entered junior high and discovered what harmonizing meant...hmmm...turns out my grandma was a gifted singer after all. :)

She was a wonderful listener.  My grandma was one of those people who you could talk to and you felt like you were the only person on Earth.  I remember so many occasions where we'd sit outside and talk about everything from our family to her thoughts about the government.  

She was caring.  My grandma spent her life helping out others through volunteering at church, the Finn lodge, Nifty Thrify and many other places. She empathized with everyone she came across and stressed the importance of being kind to everyone.

She loved to dance!  As someone who will probably still be dancing around the kitchen in my walker someday, I absolutely love knowing that one of my grandma's requirements in a husband was that he know how to dance.  Luckily, my grandpa made the cut.

I could honestly write about her all day, but I'll end with a final thought.  My grandma taught me that you always need to have a gold pen around to dress things up. It just makes things a little more special.  Well in my life, my grandma has been that gold pen.  Everything she touched had a little more sparkle, a little more fun and a little more love.  Love you always, Grams!