I didn’t plan on being so emotional at the news of my niece’s arrival today. But I was.

I didn’t remember that we had hosted our small group last night and the apartment was a wreck because I didn’t feel like cleaning up at the moment! So…that was a surprise!

When I sat down to read Addie a book, I didn’t expect she would bring me the one with pictures of slides and seesaws. And I for sure didn’t count on her looking up at me saying, “Slide, Addie?” But she did. And it melted my heart, which is not surprising.

So that means while I didn’t plan on an afternoon outing today, I took Addie to lunch and the park. I let her walk because it’s close and listened to her giggle and clap the whole way there and whine and drag her feet the whole way back because she  wanted to slide the entire afternoon, but I knew she needed a nap.

So hopefully a boring blog post means I was a good mom on my day off. I do know that Addie has been asleep for over 2 hours, so walking her to lunch and the park did have its rewards for Mama! The trouble is that the floors need to be vacuumed and the dishes washed, neither of which I can do while she is napping!

We had a beautiful start to the Christmas season being with my family to celebrate Scott’s engagement. To see the joy and excitement in Scott’s and Anna’s faces the whole weekend was just awesome. It reminded me that anticipation is an emotion and a state to be relished especially at Christmas. Advent is about looking forward, and as Christians, our whole lives are to be lived out of the hope that Jesus is coming.

I’ve recently discovered that I love traditions. The momentous traditions like holiday celebrations are wonderful, but I have always admired people who made much of everyday rituals of celebrations. As we were mourning the death of our friend Sunday who passed away a few months ago, really special stories about his life surfaced. One of those stories was of him and a friend eating Easter dinner at a restaurant when out of the blue, Sunday asked the waiter for 2 glasses and a bottle of champagne. The friend asked why all of the sudden they were now going to have a glass of bubbly at lunchtime, and Sunday said, “Jesus is alive! I just feel the need to toast the resurrection and celebrate.” I just love that, everything about it. We should be people of celebration because Jesus is alive.

We have some friends in Oklahoma who went through a time of penny-pinching due to their recent move, needing to furnish a house, and a longer-than-expected job search for her. So one week, she made a huge pot of chili, and they ate it for something like 9 days! God’s provision for them in recent years has allowed a new meal most nights, but every year around that time, they eat chili for 9 days in a row as a remembrance and a reminder of God’s goodness to them.

So I’ve dipped my toe into the realm of personal traditions, and it’s been so fun and eye-opening. I’m sure all my readers are aware of our love for our local bakery, Two Little Red Hens. It’s been a weekend tradition for us for years, though we didn’t call it that. It’s amazing how such a little thing can go so deep into our hearts, but it’s real. Here’s what 2LRH does for us: solidifies or rekindles our love for New York depending on the atmosphere of our week, gives us time to sit across from a table and have a conversation or just marvel at the little girl sitting beside us kicking her feet waiting for another bite of scone, provides a place for us to bring people and have them love it too and therefore bond with us over it, and reminds us that God has made a place for us and built up a community around us. For me, that’s worth celebrating.

Addie’s weekend naptimes are a pivotal part of a good marriage. We have her skip her morning nap on Saturdays so we can run errands and be outside and on Sundays so we can be at church, so those afternoon naps are extensive — something like 3.5 hours sometimes! One particularly exhausting week brought us to Saturday afternoon naptime, and we ordered a pizza and cokes delivered to us and had a feast in bed watching a movie. It was so fun, I can’t even tell you! And we have done it almost every weekend since as a way to celebrate a little time by ourselves. And when it’s over, we can hardly wait to wake Addie up!

I can’t wait for the big traditions of Christmas, but to mitigate the inevitable craziness and stress of the weeks before, I’m instituting everyday tradition-observing to maximize the healthy and holy anticipatory point of the whole thing: Jesus came!

Four weeks ago tonight, Daniel and I had just finished watching a riveting episode of Mad Men when I got up to start my bathroom routine. I walked in to the bathroom, flipped the light on, pulled the pocket door shut, and that’s when a small but quick movement caught my eye.

In the corner of the bathroom about 2 feet from me was a large mouse scuttling along the wall until it squeezed through the space between the door and the wall. I screamed, jumped up on the side of the bathtub, and completely freaked out. My skin was crawling, I could feel tiny mouse toes on my bare feet, and I just felt invaded and overrun. I didn’t see where it ran so I could just see it crawling all over my sleeping Addie. Crying, wailing, convulsing, demands that we move back to Oklahoma immediately…

There have been various mouse incidences in my parents’ houses over the years: once in high school, I saw a mouse run out of my bathroom under my bed. And another time I saw one climb out of the cabinet under the oven and run into the living room. At breakfast one day, I grabbed a box of cereal from the pantry and saw that a hole had been chewed through the top of the box. My parents used to pay my brother $1 per mouse he caught, so he set up traps in the garden and caught dozens. Ok, maybe a dozen. All these “encounters” with the rodent world completely grossed me out, but I wasn’t so completely spooked like I was this time, I guess because none of these had happened in MY home.

I asked Daniel what he thought had happened when I screamed, if he was concerned for safety, if his first thought was that there was a human intruder in our home? He said, “Oh no, I knew you saw a mouse.”

Well, we set up sticky traps that the doorman had on hand, and went to bed. With all the lights on. Neither of us slept at all that night: every time I closed my eyes I had  a dream about mice crawling all over me, and Daniel was plagued by the thought of having to deal with a live mouse stuck to a glue board.We struggled through a leadership seminar at church the next day, and purchased a fancy, battery-powered electrocution trap on the way home, but never caught it.

So we had the handyman and the exterminator out to plug and fill various holes around our plumbing and radiators. And we choose to believe that particularly mouse was just lost, found his way back out, and is gone for good. But…I still have dreams that it lives between the bedsheets.

Last year, I was in a children’s clothing shop the day before Halloween, and they had all their Halloween items 50% off. So I bought Addie a pair of pink pajamas with a glow-in-the-dark skeleton printed on them. She was adorable in them, and due to an allergic reaction that very night, she got to wear them to church the next morning. So everyone thought I had just dressed her up for Halloween, and I narrowly avoided being the mom who doesn’t care anything about Halloween.

Friday, Daniel forwarded me an email regarding a Halloween trick-or-treat party his company was putting on for the kids. I thought Addie would have a fun time walking from desk to desk collecting candy, and I am always looking for fun outings anyway, so I quickly ordered her the ice cream cone Halloween costume from Old Navy because it was on sale for $16.25, AND I had an additional 30% off coupon code. The thought of her squealing with delight toddling around as a little ice cream cone just made melt inside. But since the oven repairman who was supposed to come last Friday, didn’t, and is rescheduled for this Friday, Addie and I cannot go downtown for the party.

This leaves me with a Halloween costume, a kid who knows how to say, “Trick or treat!” (well, we’re working on it), and no party to attend. So I suppose I will be joining the hoards of other moms in our building parading my Addie ice cream cone up and down the halls in our building going door to door for candy. I will dispose of the candy when we get home, but I will have the pictures.

Just in case anyone wants to keep tabs on us all weekend, here are some highlights.

New Upper East Side T.J. Maxx

It’s underneath the Queensboro Bridge and unlike any other T.J. Maxx I have ever patronized.

It stocks a lot of the same brands that I find in Oklahoma, but there is one striking difference: the runway section.

I did not buy the $399 Dolce and Gabbana dress I saw there a few weeks ago, but just knowing there is such a thing as discounted D&G, I found pretty cool.

Chelsea Market is a wonderful collection of boutiques, chain stores, restaurants and bakeries, and event spaces housed in the former Nabisco Factory.

Amy’s Bread has the thickest brownies I’ve ever seen, and the addition of a two-story Anthropologie makes Chelsea Market a place I want to be.

It’s on the west side, though, so I really don’t go there except when company’s in town. So it’s a special treat for me too!

EATaly is Mario Batali’s newest dining experience: an entirely Italian market, cafe, and restaurant.

I’m excited to experience the pizzeria as well as browse the high-end culinary offerings. But I can hardly wait to stand in line and deliberate at the gelateria.

I have been simmering a huge pot  on the stove for the past 3 hours, and since the smell has completely filled our apartment and is so wonderful it’s all I can think about, I am going to post my recipe.

1 lb of beef strips (you could use ground beef, I just like a less uniform texture)
1 whole onion, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 links hot Italian sausage, removed from casings
1 big can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of kidney beans
1/2 bottle of light ale
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
S&P to taste

Throw it all in, bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting. Simmer for 4-5 hours. Garnish with chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, and grated cheese.

Addie has started giving kisses. There was an evolution to them that included a brief phase of her licking the recipient’s cheek. But now, she purses her lips and makes the smacking sound, so she’s got the hang of it. Yesterday she put her hands behind my head and gave me an extremely long kiss on the lips. Oops. When her play phone rings, she talks and fake laughs and puts her hands in the air. These are the funny and sweet things she imitates, but there are things she imitates that break my heart. Last night, when I told Addie we needed to go potty, she let out a defiant scream, made her body rigid so I couldn’t pick her up, and scratched my neck. This resulted in some behavior correction, and I sat her down in the alone-time spot for a few seconds. A few minutes later, after all was well again, Daniel and I watched her pick up her baby doll, babble sternly to it, and place the doll in the same place. I was riveted as we watched her act out her own discipline. Does she understand everything? What a startling fact that I’m sure every parent realizes at some point: kids are mirrors.

We’re in this new phase of parenting where our initial resolve to incorporate Addie into our pre-existing lives is getting harder and harder to accomplish. It’s so tempting to just let her control the environment and do little but play-dates, trips to the playground, and toy shopping. But seeing it in print is terribly clarifying–no thank you. Instead, and we’re learning what it means to parent in the context of a narrative. We’re all part of a story, God’s story ultimately, and smaller stories within that. Daniel and I have more control over our lives than our child, but on the spectrum of human to God, we are powerless over our own destinies. At the end of “A Baby Story” on TLC, the producers usually ask the new parents what their greatest hopes are for their children. They say a lot of fine things. And it’s not as if I don’t want Addie to follow her passions or feel empowered to great achievements, but, when I think about Addie perfectly happy sitting on the couch between her parents reading a book about a a dog and snuggling up to her blankie at night, I pray that Addie finds her ultimate security in Jesus. When her dreams fail her and she realizes there will always be someone smarter, richer, prettier, and better, the life’s losses won’t be devastating in light of eternity.

I’m in a soulful mood, mourning the loss of a friend, so of course my thoughts turn to Addie–untouched by loss, free of the memories that remind us of what we’ve lost. But that won’t always be true. Loss is part of life, and Addie needs more than just my discipline and affection to imitate when life takes something from her. She needs to see me walk with Jesus no matter what.

I love you, baby Addie. You’re priceless. Let’s make cookies when you wake up.

LivingSocial and Groupon all have introduced getaway packages to their offerings, and I’m intrigued by what seem like some incredible deals to be had. Has anyone ever done this…care to give me some tips?

Groupon.com has one to Viva Wyndham Fortuna on Grand Bahama Island. This is very close to the Westin on Grand Bahama, which is where we stayed a few years ago. It’s simply beautiful, however we had not done very much research on the actual island which would have revealed that there was absolutely nothing to do. That was perfectly fine, but now we have Addie and will need some changes of scenery options for when her fingers get “pruney” from spending too much time in the pool. Viva Wyndham is all-inclusive which means it has activities for all age-groups, excursions, and a kids club for childcare — not sure how I feel about that last one — but all-in-all I think it’s a really good option. 5-day/4-night all-inclusive vacation for 2 for $589, airfare not included. Oh and we’ll have to buy Addie a plane ticket by April….choke!

Dear Daniel, I await your OK.

Things that are going to make my life easier this year:

• My friend Jillian who is taking care of Addie for me in the afternoons. She loves Addie, Addie loves her little boy, and they are both good nappers. I’m hoping Jillian gets a lot of relaxing afternoons out of the deal.

• My iPad: no more notebooks full of scrawled lesson notes or carrying around a big bulky planner. Thank you Daniel!

• No lessons on Friday!!! I officially only work 4 days a week. I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful this feels.

It’s fallish weather now. It’s about time we turned the air conditioners off and opened the windows. Despite the smell of cheeseburgers and wafting in through the open windows, it is such a relief to feel the cool. And while Daniel and I were still wearing shorts and flip-flops yesterday on our walk up to the grocery store, we both felt the necessity to have a hot cup of Starbucks in hand instead of the usual iced coffee.

And in honor of fall, the light strawberry toenail polish has been replaced with “Midnight in Moscow.” Who comes up with these names?!

School + Starbucks season flavors + dark polish = Fall