What gets rid of Vaseline?

Just in case any of you were wondering about the question above I have the answer for you!!!!

But first it begins with a story.....

Last Wednesday Audrey and I were working in the kitchen. She wanted some raisins and I told her to go get them out of her room (she brought them in there earlier and set them on the edge of her changing table).  It had been a while since I had heard from her. Then I hear " MAAAMAAA, MAAAAMAAAA, Down... Down...."  I think to myself what on earth has she done.

I go into her room and she has pulled out her stool from her dresser (which I use as her changing table) and climbed on top.  She was wanting me to help her down.  I just thanked God that she asked for my help instead of trying that by herself. I'm really not wanting to experience head wounds quite yet.

That evening we were going to see Ki Ki and James (Jonathan's sister and her husband) and I was telling Jonathan about our day.  I tell him about how I found little red (Audrey) on top of her changing table. He then says... and I quote " Oh I taught her how to do that".  Really?!? Really?!? you teach our daughter how to climb on things?!? He then said that she wanted to change her baby's diaper so he showed her how to pull out the stool and stand on it to change the diaper, not to actually climb on the table.  (Is there a difference..... I don't think so....)

Okay so how does all this relate to Vaseline....

The next morning we were going to meet Ki Ki and Granna at Ki Ki's school for lunch.  We were going to leave at 10:30.  It was 10 and I still hadn't heard any noise from Audrey's room. I go in there to wake her up and this is what I find

 Everything from her drawers are now on her changing table

 500 Count hairbands all over her bed and floor

She says "Hi Mama" when I walked in. She looked like she had fever. Her hair looked wet and she looked sweaty.  I went to touch her head and when I brought my hand back I had a big glob of VASELINE on it.

Vaseline, yes you read that right!!! She had put Vaseline all over her hair, face, neck, arms.... everywhere!!
This was the best picture I could get of her, you can see how her shirt looks wet around the collar, yeah that's Vaseline... not water :)

Remember where I said we had to be somewhere at 10:30, well yes we now had a lot to do in very little time!! As I was racing around trying to get her ready for a bath these are the thoughts that were running through my head.

- A bath isn't going to do any good, this is greasy
- What gets grease out?
- Dawn gets grease out, but can you use that on a 2 year old?
- They use dawn on ducks during a oil spill... doesn't the commercial say gentle?

and on and on and on my thoughts went... I just kept laughing and laughing as Audrey was screaming in the tub. I tried my best to get as much off as possible (which was none at all). Get her out and try and use a towel to get more off (not so much) and try and get her dressed. Let me tell you this, you just think a baby is slippery when you take them out of a bath, just wait till they are covered in Vaseline.... that makes a very slippery baby!

We make it out of the house, on time I might add, and head to the school.  Her hair was so greasy it looked wet. It was slicked down around her scalp and then a little curl would come out, and her face just shined!!

So, to answer the question that I asked earlier... What gets rid of Vaseline?

T.I.M.E



And just in case you were wondering, there is now NOTHING left in Miss Audrey's drawers to play with, and the Vaseline has been put way way way out of reach :) Mommy learned that lesson, and daddy's teaching privileges have been suspended until further notice.

A Tale of Two Cities

Once again I'm so far behind I don't even know where to begin!! We have had so much change since the last post it was a bit overwhelming to think about where to start.  I decided just to copy our Christmas letter that we sent out this year.  

A Friedmann Tale of Two Cities:

It was the best of times. It was the busiest of times. Jonathan got a new job this year, and we now live in Houston, TX! He started looking for a new job last year in the Little Rock area but without any results. Early this year, he expanded his search to target Houston because of its large engineering industry and its more central location considering both of our families. We went about six months without hearing anything, and then the he got two calls in one week to setup two interviews for the same day! He got to pick from two good positions and has found a really great fit at Stewart & Stevenson in Northwest Houston working on a rail car mover called the Rail King. He has a lot more freedoms and responsibility as well as a great team of bosses to learn from. It was a very busy fall for us all. After Jonathan accepted the job, we packed up the house, found a place to live, put our house on the market, moved down to Houston, and he started two weeks later. However, it was obvious that God was orchestrating the entire ordeal, and it was a smooth transition all around. We are very blessed to have sold our house in Little Rock the first week of December! There are some parts and people in Little Rock we will always miss, but it has clearly been a great move for Jonathan’s career and our family.

Magen obviously had one of the toughest jobs this fall as she was not only supporting wife and mother of two but she also handled the majority of the transition details. She not only handled the stress for herself and the kids, but also packed, found a place to live, listed the house, transferred utilities, and countless other crucial tasks. Jonathan could not have done what she accomplished, and we could not have done it on our own. We are so thankful for how much help we received from friends, family, and strangers in both cities. Even though we are still settling into Houston, Magen has already established a busy weekly routine. She attends a weekly bible study, goes to play dates with other moms, and takes the kids to visit Aunt Karen for lunch dates at her school, while squeezing in girls nights here and there. She has picked up sewing as a hobby and loves it. It’s a great distraction from the mundane details of housework and a wonderful outlet for her creativity and generosity.

Audrey is now two years old.  We found out the same time of the move that one of her ears was completely full of fluid and making it difficult for her to pick up new words. We hadn’t caught the fluid earlier because she didn’t have any ear infections as a result from staying at home during the day. So in the middle of packing up the house, Audrey also got tubes in her ears. Since the tubes, we’ve noticed a dramatic increase in her speech, and it’s fun to hear her use words or phrases that she’s picked up without our coaching. We could really tell that all these transitions were taking a toll during the week of the move. However, as soon as we moved in and setup her room just like it was before, she was back to normal. She could tell that stability was being restored. She still loves her little brother so much. Just tonight Luke cracked up laughing watching Audrey playing. The kept feeding off each other, and we watched them laugh at each other for five minutes.

Luke is now eight months old and has his two bottom teeth.  He can now drag himself around the floor and is rocking on all fours, so we expect crawling to begin soon. He is still much larger than Audrey was at the same age and couldn’t be more laid back and cheerful. Until the last month he’s been a very quiet baby, but we’re starting to hear more and more of his voice as he starts baby-talking and screaming when his sister tickles him. 

Now that we are living in Houston, I figured it is even more important to "try" and keep up with my blog.  Audrey is daily doing something that makes me laugh and I know that friends and family would want to know about them too!

So here's to starting a new year and blogging!!! Wish me luck!!