I Like It!

Josie's Grandpa Roy impersonation

Friday night Darryl came over to watch the kids so Mama and I could leave on our trip. When he got there, Josie took off running, singing what I like to call "The Darryl Song." It goes a little something like this: "Da-wuhl, Da-wuhl, Da-wuhl! Yay!" As they ate supper, Sadie looked at him and said, "You need to go eat food at your own house." I told her that wasn't very nice, and she looked at him again and giggled this little nervous giggle... "Heh heh. I was just kidding. You can stay here and eat food here. Heh heh."

This weekend my mom and I went to a women's retreat with a huge group of women from our church and other churches like it. I never thought that we would have as much fun as we ended up having! We talked and laughed so much that my throat is still sore. I actually (yes, ME) felt carefree on the way home yesterday! I cannot remember the last time that happened. Through a couple of the seminars, I also learned some valuable lessons that I needed to learn... for instance, why do I complain when the grocery line is too long, or the traffic light is red? For Pete's sake, people. We all do it, you know we do! Most people in the world think that our grocery stores are like wonderlands! Something they dream about! And we have one on every corner and fuss because we are forced to stand in line in the air conditioning and read tabloid magazines. How ungrateful we are. Especially me. I vow to give it up! (Ungratefulness, that is).

I was so glad to see the girls when we got home (Jesse, too, but he didn't run to me and throw his arms around me and shower me with sloppy kisses the way they did). You would think I had been gone for 2 weeks instead of 2 days. Ahh... the love of a child is like nothing else! I feel so refreshed and ready to be a good mom again.

Today, I started physical therapy on my shoulder... this was very scary for me. Although I was only lightly moving it around, I kept hearing it grind and make weird noises, so I kept thinking it was going to pop out again at any minute! Thank goodness it didn't, and I lived through it. However, the guy doing the therapy actually said that he thinks I'll end up having to have surgery anyway! I'm wondering if it's worth a try, or if I should just go ahead and go under the knife! Or orthroscope, so to speak.

Josie is now keeping a running commentary on all food-related items. She tastes things, thinks for a second, then says either, "I like it!" or "Thppt. I don't like it!" Tonight when we were saying prayers, Sadie whispered to God, "Dear God, will you please help me to get more candy?" I tried not to laugh. I love that she really tells Him the desires of her heart. I should take a lesson from her!!! Tonight I will pray for Him to help ME lose 10 pounds.

Prayer and the Peapot

Josie has been introduced to that wonderful treat that we all know and love, "Mocklate milk." Now she runs around holding her empty sippy cup out to me saying, "Mocklate milk, PEASE!" Yesterday she was playing with the little teaset that Grandma Beth gave Sadie for her birthday, and she was pouring tea, stirring with the spoon, setting the table, etc. The funny thing was that she only refers to the teapot as the "peapot." As in, "I'm a little Peapot, short and stout." This cracked me up.

At supper yesterday Sadie said, "Oh no I do NOT have to eat my food!" And I said, "You do not sass Mommy." She said, "YOU do not sass Sadie!" I said, "Mommy is the one who tells YOU what to do, not the other way around." She said, "Sadie is the one who tells YOU what to do, Mommy!" with her sneaky little grin on her face... I had to turn my head away so she wouldn't see me laughing. She also asked if we could say a prayer for her cousin Cameron, who is sick. I said sure, you can talk to God anytime you want to, just like He's your friend." She said, "Um, God, will you please help Cameron to feel better? Thanks. Amen." I guess sometimes short and sweet and to the point is the very best way to pray.

Oops, we goofed

This is a public apology for being mean and nasty in my last post (the mean part has since been removed, because I came to my senses and realized that I had jumped to conclusions and written dumb things that were totally unfounded). I meant to delete it last night, but I am still on pain meds so the old memory is really coming and going these days. So, for anyone who may have read it and been annoyed by it, I really am sorry. Sheesh. I have to get it together!

Cold Turkey

I went to the doctor today, and I'm out of work until next week. I have to keep this silly sling on my arm for another week, too. I have "multi-directional instability" in my joints, and possibly another condition called Ehlers-Danlos disease. I'm going for a couple of other tests later this week - a bone density scan and things like that. The specialist said that I'm a good candidate for surgery, but I'm going to PT for the next 6 weeks to see if we can strengthen my joint that way first. Recovery time from surgery would be about 3 months. I can't imagine not being able to pick the girls up for that long, so hopefully the PT will work. If not, maybe I can control myself and not dislocate it for at least another couple of years when the kids will be a little bit older. For Pete's sake.

We are now trying the "cold turkey" approach to potty-training. This was the pediatrician's recommendation. It has been a VERY messy day. Josie went potty, though, which was surprising... and I think it's worrying Sadie that Josie may one-up her or something. We're going to try to get a little competition going. :) Hey, anything that works, right?

Donkey kicks and Shoulder pops

We've had a busy week... the kids went to a free introductory tumbling/gymnastics class and they both LOVED it. They were in separate classes, and Josie took right to the balance beam, letting go and not falling off... she looked so proud of herself! (almost as proud as me!). She wasn't overly impressed with the air-trampoline, though. The best part for her was when they brought in the bubble machine. That girl LOVES bubbles! Jesse went in Sadie's class with her, and looked so funny flapping his arms like the world's biggest butterfly. He played right along doing "donkey kicks" and "monkey jumps" and Sadie picked up on everything right away. Her favorite part? When they dumped out a huge bin full of all kinds of balls... she went around cleaning them up and putting them back where they belonged. That's my girl! We're seriously thinking about enrolling them if we can budget enough $ for it.

The past few days have not been so good. Saturday, we got rear-ended while driving... thank the Lord for car seats - the kids didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Jesse and I have both been having headaches and back and neck issues, though. Then on Monday, I was raking up some leaves (yes, RAKING, and not doing crazy cartwheels or motorcross riding or anything like that) and dislocated my shoulder, yet AGAIN. We spent the evening in the hospital with me crying and Jesse holding up my elbow while my hand shook, swelled, and generally felt like someone was trying to tear my arm completely off my body. Great fun. Now I have to keep it immobilized for a week or it will just pop right out again. Joy. What topped it all off was when Jesse went out to get the car to pick me up from the ER - he tripped over a step, twisted his ankle, and sprained it. So between us we have 3 arms and 3 legs that are in working condition. We've been fighting over the ice packs. For Pete's sake. My cousin said that bad things come in threes, so hopefully we're done for now. The kids have been really cute about it, asking if my boo boo is all better, kissing it for me, and doctoring me with their doctor kits. Sadie also rubbed my back, and said, "There! Now you're all better. Let's go play outside." If only it were that easy!!! I'm going to see a specialist next week to find out what the deal is... this is the 5th time my shoulder has dislocated, so something must be done. Changing poopy diapers one-handed is not an easy task!

Easter

Easter in NC was fun... we dyed eggs and had lots of fun hiding them in Great Grandma's backyard with Josh. Dummy me forgot their cute little Southern Belle hats, but it was pretty chilly down there so they had to wear extra layers.... I think the "hat effect" may have been lost anyway. We went to the sunrise service and breakfast at White Oak (I ate SO much country ham that I oinked all the way home). We met up with Melanie, Angela, Becky, and Amanda so that the kids could play together AND we could meet Melanie's new arrival "Baby Ada," as Sadie likes to call her. Fun was had by all :) It was a fairly uneventful trip except that Mama's car died on the way back... God was watching over us, though, and instead of being stranded somewhere in the West Virginia mountains in the middle of the night, we got stranded outside of a BP station with a hotel right next door and a garage right down the street. The kids thought it was a big adventure, and thoroughly enjoyed their hotel stay... Josie slept with me, and let me tell you, the child is a BED HOG. It was like sleeping with a flippy floppy fish. At one point she banged her head against the wall, sat up, and said, "Bonk!" then flopped down across my stomach, snoring. Speaking of snoring, I have no idea how Sadie got ANY rest at all, sleeping with Grammie. It was like a chainsaw... no, an outboard motor. Yikes. Anyway, we got home safely, albeit a day late, and the kids were SO happy to be home that they went straight to their own beds and flopped down for a nap - all their own idea, of course! :) I was happy to be home, too, oddly enough. I missed Jesse.

Hey, Bunny

Josie's new favorite saying is, "Hey, baby." It is hilarious to hear her say it... she gives you this "look," then kind of leans back, squinches up her little eyes, and says, "Heyyyyy, Bebe." I can't write down exactly how she says it, but believe me, it is FUNNY. Jesse taught her this one, I think.

We went to see the Easter Bunny on Saturday. I didn't really go into the whole "Easter Bunny" thing... the girls just thought they were going to see a giant rabbit. I thought they might be afraid of him, but as soon as they saw him, they dropped my hands and took off running. They both tackled him and climbed right up on his lap, as happy as could be. Sadie was very polite and said, "Nice to meetcha. You are a big bunny!" Josie kept patting his cheeks and sing-songing "Bunny, Bunny, Bunny. Hop, Hop, Hop!" When we left, Sadie pondered for a while andthen asked, "How did that bunny get to be SO BIG?? He must have eaten A LOT of carrots!"

Things Sadie Likes - 3 years old

Going to Chuck E. Cheese's

Riding my bike

Snoopy

Folding clothes

My house

Sunday School

My big girl bed

Snuggling under the covers when it's cold

Blue skies

Pretty flowers

Reading stories

Sleeping with no pants on (this one cracked me up!)

Knitting

Turning the wheel on Papaw's tractor

"That's all that I have. Sorry. I used up all of my words. Maybe I'll have more later."