Been Awhile

So, it's been awhile since I posted last. Honestly, there just isn't that much going on. I have some new picture I need to download, but haven't felt like doing it. I will soon though, I promise. Here are a few noteworthy things (noteworthy in the Barr world anyway):

1) Gracie broke my heart the other day when she was sent to her room. She looked me straight in the eye, crossed her arms across her chest, and said, "I am going to go find me a new Mommy because I don't like you anymore!" Broke. My. Heart....for a second, and then I remembered she's 4 and is just figuring out how to deal with her emotions, but still...dang.

2) It has happened. If birthing two children didn't throw me into the world of adulthood, I have now officially entered. We are the new owners (offically, tomorrow) of a mini-van. Yes, you heard right...a mini-van. That's not the worst part...the worst part is that we own a mini-van and I am THRILLED!!!! Beyond excited. My mind is full of pictures of traveling to see family without feeling smushed on top of one another, crammed in with bags, pillows, etc. We found a killer deal on a '99 Honda Odyssey that only has 87,000 miles on it. It is in great shape and I think we are going to be so happy with it.

3) Michaela is slowly but surely adding a few words to her vocab. I have truly been a little bit worried about her lack of words, but after speaking with a speech path. at my church, she gave me some great tips and told me to chart new words until she was about 2 1/2. If at 2 1/2 she still isn't saying much or not consistently adding new words, we may want to look into having her evaluated. We are getting a few new ones though here lately. So far, her words are: Mama, Dada, Bobo (her word for dog...don't know how that came to be), fish "ish", ball, Papa, Nana, ow, no. I really don't think we are dealing wtih any kind of "problem," I just think she is perfectly content with how things are and has a big sister who talks for her. We'll see.

4) I am attempting to master homemade pie. A week ago, my Grandma had me, Michele, and my cousin Sharon come over for a cooking lesson. She helped us all make homemade pie...homemade crust, filling, and meringue. Mine turned out great at my grandma's house. I thought to myself, "This is easy."
Fast foward a couple of days:
I am in the kitchen with my apron on, feeling all domestic, rocking out to some great praise music, and completely confident. FIVE failed pie crusts later, I finally was able to roll something out that somewhat resembled a pie crust!!! I had flour all over the place and it is a good thing the praise music was filling my mind or some other type of words would have been taking over. I don't know what the deal is, but the crusts just kept being crumbly...2 HEAPING Tablespoons of shortening is NOT a measurement Grandma!!! :) I mean, honestly, heaping could mean completely different things for every person. Can you work on making that a little more specific please? :) I had a chocolate pie, and it actually turned out pretty good. Gotta' work on that pie crust though.

So, that is the note-worthy things going on in the Barr household. Pictures to come soon!