We Have a Bleeder!

I'm afraid that Josie is going to be one of "those kids." You know, the ones that always need stitches and bleed everywhere? Today, I was in the kitchen and she screamed and came running down the hall toward me. I picked her up and she kept saying, "boo boo! boo boo!" I asked her where, but she wouldn't say. All the while, I felt her tears (or what I THOUGHT were tears) dripping onto my shirt, my leg, my foot... hey, wait a minute... since when do tears make it all the way down to my feet? I look down. A gush of blood ALL down my shirt, my shorts, my thigh, my knee, my calf, my foot, my toes, the floor... HOLY CRAP! I yell (which is not the best thing to say in front of your children, but not the worst thing you could say, either, I suppose). I grabbed a towel and held it to the bottom of her foot, which had a nice little cut about 1/2" long on it, right in the tender part in the middle between the ball of her foot and her heel. The last "incident" that Aunt Cindy had to come and save us from was a good learning experience though, since I didn't panic this time, and Sadie brought me the medical supplies and we got Josie all fixed up. The culprit? Sadie stuck 2 quarters down in her piggy bank at the same time... they got stuck, she tried to pry them loose, and whammo. Glass in the floor. This was funny in a way, because when I was little I broke my piggy bank too... but it was to try and get money OUT of it, not squeeze more IN.

Grandpa's Legacy

Today, Jesse and I were talking to the girls while they ate their lunch. Sadie has this habit of saying things like, "When YOU were a little baby and I was YOUR mommy..." and "When I used to be big and YOU were little..." and things like that. Today, she said to Jesse, "Daddy, when you were little... well, you were sort of a funny looking baby." I. Cracked. Up.

After this, we had lots of fun playing outside since it was so nice today. They took turns squirting each other with a spray bottle. Josie kept chasing me around and saying, "I squirt! I squirt!"

There is this commercial for JCPenney that's running for Mother's Day (and it keeps running over and over and over) and it makes me cry every time! It's only about 30 seconds long, but it shows this little girl holding her mom's hand and then suddenly she's school age, then suddenly she's a teenager, then suddenly she's married, then suddenly she has her own little girl, and it ends with the mom (now the grandma) holding her daughter's hand and her granddaughter's hand. Sheesh. I'm such an emotional dingbat.

And last but not least, I had to post these silly pictures...One of my favorite things that that my Grandpa Ralph ever did was "corn teeth." Whether it was candy corn or real corn, I didn't care... it always cracked me up. He was so funny, and used to do silly little things all the time just to get people to smile. Thought you would like to see these, because sometimes my kids are just like him!

Does He, or Doesn't He?

Today when I got home from work, the kids and I went outside to have lunch and play. This lasted for approximately 20 minutes, mainly because Josie is JUST LIKE ME. In the stubborn department, that is. It was very warm and sunny out, and if you've ever seen her, you know that her cheeks are already like two glowing balls of squishy fire. So, I put a sunhat on her. This seems like a perfectly logical direction to go in, but apparently Josie does not know that word yet. The hat-putting-on did not go well. She took it off, I put it on. She took it off, I put it back on. She yanked it off and yelled, "Don't LIKE it!" I put it on and said, "Wear it!" She threw a tantrum, yanked it off, threw it down, screamed, and jumped up and down (as well as a 21 month old can). I took her inside and put her down for a nap. When you try to reason with her, you realize the true meaning of the word "futile."

However, today really was a good day (barring the hat scene). When they got up from their naps, we went to the park and saw lots of little baby ducks and goslings, and we followed them around and fed crumbs to the mommies. We played on the slides and swings and ran back and forth over the "clippety clop" bridge, looking for mean old trolls. Then we grabbed supper at Boston Market and had a "car picnic" because unfortunately, Sadie was robbed of her pants. By me, because they were soaked. Yes, we are having some potty-training issues, but we're still trying. I keep telling myself, "She won't be in diapers when she's 12 years old!" But sometimes it feels like it. Anyway, after the pant-less (she is a pant-less wonder, after all :) car picnic, we went for a wagon ride (Josie graciously allowed Sadie to cover herself up with Josie's blankie) around the park and had a nice stroll.

They went to bed without much of a fuss, especially Josie...she was pooped from chasing ducks and saying, "Hey! What's that!?" and "Hey! Lookit this!" (pronounced ha-ay... look-eat dis). Sadie held out a little longer and surprised me with this addition to her Psalm repertoire:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want to go to bed.
He does NOT make me lie down in my bed.
He does NOT lead me to bed."

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."

Dirty Money

My favorite things that Josie says these days are:

"Hep-ping, Hep-ping, Hep-ping, Hepping...." in a little sing-song voice as she sweeps the floor with her little broom. Also "Lub you Mommy! Lub you... Mo mutch!"

So the other day Josie gave new meaning to the term "making a deposit." Uncle Darryl babysat for me while I was doing a bridal fair (which went great, by the way). Josie began emitting an unpleasant odor, shall we say, and when he went to change her he noticed that she felt 3 or 4 pounds heavier than normal. When he opened up her diaper, he found not only a "deposit," but also about two dollars in pennies!!! No, she didn't eat them... she just stuck them down her pants when she was helping clean up the mess of change from Grammy's room earlier in the day. Darryl immediately called Jesse and told him to quit his job because he has a kid who poops money. Now what can we feed her to turn this into quarters instead of pennies...?

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that we spent almost all of our time outside. We had a picnic (Sadie packed our basket and carried outside to our blanket), we had popsicles, we put up our egg tree (Sadie learned that Easter is all about "Jesus died on the cross but then, HEY! He came back to life!"), we played basketball, drew with chalk on the driveway, cleaned the garage, planted seeds for our garden, and best of all: Jesse put the kids' wagon together. They got it for Christmas from Lyd and Darryl, but it has been so stinkin' cold and snowy that yesterday was the first day that they actually got to play with it. And what a hit it was!!! We pulled them all over the driveway, up and down the street, all over the yard... they couldn't get enough. Once, as we were passing a neighbor's house, Sadie suddenly squealed with delight. I said, "What is it, Sade?" She answered, "I am just SO happy that we have this wagon! Yippee!"

Mommy, My Mommy

Wow... I think this is the longest hiatus from blogging that I have ever been on! Where shall I begin? On our trip home, the kids did not sleep AT ALL. Thankfully, they didn't fuss at all, either. They just sat back in the backseat, minding their own business, playing with their Magnadoodles, My Little Ponys, animal books, notepads, and pens. Oh, and listening to Raffi... for about THREE HOURS. Eeples and Beneenees was quite the hit this trip... I can't remember how to say the real words now. :)

The kids had a ball at home, and there was much feeding of birds, playing outside, braiding of hair (Natasha), playing of ball (Papaw), reading of stories (Mamaw), riding of 4 wheeled vehicles (Scotty), eating of livermush (Great Grandma), learning to be mean (Uncle Thomas) and the like. Sadie's birthday party on Saturday drew a record crowd of about 40 people, and she kept running up and saying, "This is so wonderful!" and then running away again, holding on to her Tinkerbell party hat. It WAS fun, and we got to see all of her cousins, and lots of family and friends. Thank goodness for Angela, who ran the party for me (my back went out on Friday when my scoliosis starting acting up and I could hardly walk!) and Derek and Theda, who brought tons of food and even cleaned up for me! We have the best friends ever. Sadie got lots of cool stuff for her birthday, and even sweet-talked my Daddy into taking her and Josie for ice cream on top of all that.

The trip home was LONG and annoying... there was road construction, and we sat completely still for at least an hour. Josie took this opportunity to say, "Mommy, my mommy, mommy my mommy mommy my mommy my mommy mommy" at least a million times. No one without small children knows the pain of an hour of sitting still in a car on an intrastate. Yikes. But, we did make it home safely, and I have never seen two girls to glad to see their daddy! Sadie and Josie both went to sleep with these huge goofy grins on their faces.

Well, I must go find a heating pad and get back to work... both bridal fairs are this week, and I'm hoping to drum up some business!

Heh Heh

Josie fell flat on her face this afternoon. I was ready for some wailing, but she stayed down for a minute, lifted her head up, looked around and said, "Heh-heh. Fall down! Ouchie! Heh-heh!"

Tonight, after supper, Sebastian was following Sadie and Josie around the house while they were having a parade. Let's just say that the parade excited him just a little too much. Sadie said, "Mommy, why is that pee-pee there? Why does he have that? Why? WHY?" So, I launched into an explanation for her, citing specific words and examples (like how cousin James looks different than she does, because he's a boy and she's a girl) and how Sebastian is a boy too, so he looks different than girl dogs, etc., etc. She listens intently for a while, then somewhere along the line she interrupts me and with a perfect deadpan says, "Mommy. Nevermind." And walks away. Apparently, I put too much thought into it! :)

Tonight, after I got her out of the bathtub, Josie peed all over my foot. She looked down at her legs, looked at my foot, looked up at me, and said, "Heh-heh. Pee-pee!"

Sadie then informed me that in order for her to go potty, she needed "some privacy, please, Mommy." I know the feeling! There's nothing like trying to take a bath while 4 little hands are reaching through the crack in the door and everyone is yelling, "Momm-ee! Whatcha doin' in dere? I need you! Hode me! Hode me!"

'Lissa

Well, she's gone. I don't know if I even mentioned this before (I've been in denial for a couple of months now), but Melissa, my best friend in this state, is moving to Virginia. Yay for her, bad for me. What is it about me that my best friends seem to move as far away as they can get? Sigh.

We had a little "celebratory" dinner for her tonight... and this is the kind of person Melissa is: She brought food over, cooked it for us, brought gourmet dessert, helped get the kids ready for bed, helped clean up, made me laugh my head off when she tried on Jesse's pants (both her legs and her butt went into one leg of his pants - I told her that she is half the man he is, hehee), and then left with a quick hug because she knew that I would start crying if we dragged out our goodbyes. I didn't realize how much I'm going to miss her until I closed the door behind her and she pulled out of the driveway.

Now I'm sitting here crying and thinking, "What am I going to do now? There is no one else in this town who hates living here! No one else who likes pick-up trucks and grits and Carhardt and gun racks and Southern Scrabble! No one I can talk to about Jan Karon books and sappy movies and 'going deeper' in Bible study and plan Bible Day Camp with and life in general!"
Somehow over the past 2 years, our relationship has evolved into something special... an actual "adult" friendship - the first one that I think I've ever had, honestly. One thing I love about Melissa is that she has always been so considerate of me... she ALWAYS comes over to my house so I don't have to lug the kids around, she ALWAYS helps with food/cleanup/whatever, she ALWAYS helps out when I need her to - babysitting, picking stuff up at the store, a shoulder to cry on, etc. That's just the kind of person she's always been to me. I honestly don't think I could've made it up here without her.

Don't get me wrong. I'm really happy for her. She needs this move more than anyone else I know. She's going to be great there, and she's going to have a great life.

It's just so hard not to be selfish and throw my arms around her leg and beg her not to go.

Do I Make You Proud

Still working feverishly on the TWO bridal fairs that I now have coming up at the end of the month, but I had to record the following for posterity:

Josie turned a somersault for the very first time! This happened at Grandma & Grandpa's house. I thought it was a fluke the first time, but then when I told her to show Grandpa and Daddy, she did it again, effortlessly! My little acrobat.

Yesterday at church, Sadie decided that she wanted to say the "23rd Song" at church. On the stage. With the microphone. In front of EVERYONE. She did such a good job, and then she took a little bow. Jesse cried. :) We were SO PROUD!

Hard Workin' Girls

It's been over a week since my last post - highly unusual, isn't it? I've just been working feverishly on trying to get my business going again. I now may have two bridal fairs this month, and I may possibly have a wedding booked over the next week! Yay! I just finished a cheesy brochure that looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Now I just have to get it all printed up and figure out who the heck I'm going to send it to. Churches, maybe? Is that too presumptuous? I don't know. Anyway, that's what I've been doing.

Today, I went to the OB. I have an announcement to make. I am NOT pregnant. Hehehe!! Scared you, didn't I? Seriously, I'm not. Don't start any rumors.

Every night when I put Josie to bed, we sit in her rocking chair, read "Goodnight Moon," and say prayers. At least we TRY to say prayers. Josie gets distracted somewhat easily, and always ends up putting her blanket over both our heads and saying, "Me hide! Me hide!" and laughing uncontrollably. What a nut.

Sadie and Josie are both now doing "chores" in the morning before they can watch Sesame Street. They're making their beds, helping "fold" laundry, helping clean out the dishwasher, straighten up, vacuum, etc. They love it! I think it gives them a feeling of purpose and accomplishment. I love it, too... it means that I never have to wrap up the vacuum cord again - that's Sadie's favorite part! The other day, after I got home from work (Jesse had done their chores with them that morning), Sadie met me at the door and said, "Mommy, can I have another chore to do?" OH! That this would last into their teen years!!

Hey...Someone ate my nose.

Today when Josie woke up from her nap, I heard her on the monitor yelling, "Help! Help! (Shrill Scream) Foot! Foot! (Shriek like a banshee) Help! Foot!" Somehow she had contorted her little foot in between the slats on the crib... I got there just in time - I think she was ready to gnaw it off.

Now, if Josie is in trouble, she looks at you sweetly, tilts her head, and says, "Lub ooh." (love you). Do they learn quickly, or what? Well, it's either "lub ooh" or crazy screaming. I prefer the manipulation tactic, myself. Especially in public.

We ventured out into the snow with all of our snow paraphenalia intact... and we built a snowman. Well, we TRIED to build a snowman. The snow was so wet and dense and heavy that we couldn't really roll it into balls, so we kind of clumped it up into 3 big blobs. Sadie then stuck a carrot in for his nose, Josie stuck sticks into the sides for his arms, and we tried to stick acorns in for his mouth (they kept falling off). He didn't last long, though... Jesse said a deer ate his nose. Then Sadie proceeded to climb a snow mountain (seriously... the pile next to our driveway was about 4 feet tall). Josie, not to be outdone, followed closely behind her, quickly losing not one, but TWO boots in the snow. I had to climb the mountain myself (and unlike them, I sank all the way in to the squishy mud at the bottom) and save my wet-socked snow bandit. It was fun, though!

Sadie said her prayers last night, thanking God for her curtains, her Snoopy, her bed, her mommy and daddy, Josie, juice boxes, animal crackers, and Lady & the Tramp. Then whispered to me while pointing next to her head at her pillow... "God is sleeping right there. You have to be quiet. God is sleeping with me tonight. And my angel is sitting in my chair over there." I really believed her. :)

Patience and the Monster

Yesterday, we were finally ALL ready to go to the grocery store. It took forever to wake up, eat breakfast, stop playing "monster fingers" (see Exhibit A here) get dressed, find Snoopy, get our coats on, let the dog out, get Josie's blankie out of the dryer, get Josie in the car, get Sadie in the car... oh, wait. While I was securing Josie into her carseat, Sadie took it upon herself to do a little of what I like to call "snow-wading." When I called for her to climb into her seat, she appeared with sopping wet shoes, socks, jeans, shirt, and a dogged look on her face. I was NOT happy. I had to take them BACK inside, strip Sadie's wet clothes off, completely change her outfit, try to ignore Josie's repeated pleas to me to "Hode me! Hode me!", put Sadie's shoes BACK on, put her coat BACK on, and try to explain that there is a time for everything. She knows this, because we have a kids' book about Ecclesiastes that tells us how there is a time for hellos, goodbyes, being clean and soapy, being dirty and muddy, being loud, being quiet, etc. I told her (not in my nice patient Mommy voice, I must admit, unfortunately) that when Mommy is trying really hard to get us all ready and out the door so we can make it to the grocery store before nightfall, it is NOT the time to play in the snow and get all yucky. She looks up at me and says, "Mommy... there is also a time to love. AND a time to be patient."

Needless to say, I felt very guilty for letting this little irritation...well, IRRITATE me so much. Then I realized, I am being totally manipulated by someone who is not even three years old! Good grief.

Josiebean

No matter what I do, I somehow seem to feel guilty. If I spend time with Josie, I feel like I'm neglecting Sadie. If I spend time with Sadie, I feel like I'm neglecting Josie. I try to do it 50/50, but somebody always ends up getting the short end of the stick. Alas, usually it's Jesse.

Back to my point, though. Josie is talking a lot more these days (ie: Dog! Dog barking! Dirty... eww! Love you! Hug! Nice! Snack! Cold! Sleepy! Mousie! Sockies! Sockies on feet! Sadie! Where Sadie?! Blankie! Bath! Diaper! FUN!) although with her, everything is in exclamations... the child is so loud when she talks! I was thinking about it earlier today, and I wonder if it's because she thinks no one listens to her, because we're always listening to Sadie (who is much easier to understand at this point). Of course, that thought makes me feel guilty. I know that she feels loved... I know that she's smart and she's learning and growing and getting cuter every day, but just because she was born second I don't ever want her to feel second best, you know? Every now and then, I tell her a secret...I lean over and whisper in her ear that she is the very best Josie in the whole wide world and I love her SO much. She always leans back, looks at me with this funny little "I knew it!" look, and says, "Heh heh," then gives me eleven Eskimo kisses on the nose.

Anyone who does not know this child or who doesn't spend any quality time with her is certainly missing out... she's a hoot. Her personality, while so different from her sister's, is so unique and just... well... funny! She's an odd little thing, and I don't mean that in a bad way at all... she's just, well, different. For example, she sits in her bed and pinches her nose together over and over. Through the monitor in my room, it goes a little something like this: "Nub-nubbuah-Nubb-nuubb-nubaaa." She loves to flirt with the waiters at Mexican restaurants. I mean, she stares them down, grins at them, and actually winks her little eyes. She waves, smiles, says, "Hey-do!" It's hilarious. She loves to get in things: boxes, the laundry basket, the bathtub, the toybox, the closet, anything she can contort herself enough to squeeze into. This includes the tiny space behind the rocking chair in her room, leading to tiny (yet loud) shouts of "Stuck! Stuck! Help! He-alp!"

Today she put on Sadie's fuzzy pink bedroom shoes (slippers, as they say around here) and wore them around the house. 3 sizes too big, they flap-flap-flapped with every step she took, and she looked a little bit like Big Bird with his giant feet. But she said, "Pretty!" and shot me one of her impish little smiles when I asked her what she was doing as she tried to stuff babywipes in the toes so they would fit better. She seems to find humor in everything... she'll scream with fury one minute, crack up the next. Bi-polar or just easily entertained? I don't know, but I wouldn't change her one bit.

It's so weird... I asked all of my friends/cousins with more than one child how it was possible to love subsequent children as much as the first one. My cousin Heather put it best when she said, "You don't love one more than the other. You love them all the same... but different."

Let it Snow

Last night on the way to the library for Story Time, I was trying to teach the kids their address. I would repeat it to them, over and over, and then Sadie would say, "What's that?" and I would tell them, "Your address." Turning this over in her mind for a while, she finally shouted, "I'm NOT a dress! I'm a little girl!"

At the library, we made little heart "mousies" with lollipop tails for our Valentine's Day craft. Josie loves her little "Moutie." Needless to say, neither of the little critters made it home with their tails intact.

Today, Jesse asked Sadie if she knew where I was (I was, of course, in the laundry room, where I always am) and Sadie said, "She's over yonder." Hehehe!!!

As I type, they are sitting at the kitchen table with towels, big bowls of snow, spoons, cups, and other "snow tools." I don't know why I haven't thought of this before... they've been seriously (and quietly) concentrating for almost half an hour!

Eat, Drink, and Be... Mary?

Yesterday at lunch we were preparing to feast on cauliflower (Josie loves it), spinach (Sadie loves it) and chicken. The girls were promised one of those squeezy yogurt things for dessert if they ate their lunch. After we said our prayer, I said, "Now we can eat, drink, and be merry!" Sadie replied, "We can't be Mary! You're Mommy, I'm Sadie, and that's Josie!"

Josie now wraps her beloved blankie around her shoulders and walks around like she's a superhero... the basket she likes to put on her head is an optional accessory. The kid cracks. me. up.

Sweet Girls

Last night as I was rocking Josie in the rocking chair before I put her to bed. I was singing her the "Goodnight Sun" song I made up for her, and suddenly, she reached up and put both her chubby little hands on both my cheeks and stared right into my eyes. Then she started patting my face and saying, "Gentle, gentle." THEN, she used her little finger to brush the hair out of my eyes. AND THEN, she put her little arms around my neck and kissed me on the mouth, saying "m-wah!" I cried.

So, probably about a month ago, I read Sadie the Bible story about Jesus healing the blind man. We talked about blindness, and she was very worried about the blind man and about how some people aren't able to see. I told her that some people are born that way, and some people might have an accident that caused them to be blind, etc. Tonight, weeks and weeks later, she was eating baby carrots (with dip) and I told her that I was glad that she likes carrots because carrots are good for your eyes. She immediately said, "Then those blind people need to eat some carrots! Let's get some carrots for those blind people so they can see!"

Don't Ask

Well, ask Sadie if she likes ice cream these days and you may get the following response:
"Does a BEAR poop in the WOODS?" Don't ask. Just don't ask.


Ask Josie if she would like a juice box and you will probably hear a little squeal followed by a maniacal little laugh... "Ha hahaha... at last the juice box is mine. Today, the juice box; tomorrow, the world!"

I'm Back!

This morning, Sadie asked me if I would help her learn her letters. A mother's delight! Then both girls ate ALL of their spinach for lunch!

Tonight, Sadie asked me if I would take a bath with her and Josie. I asked her why, and she said, "Because I love you!" Of course, I ended up in the tub after that :)

Josie threw her arms around me today and gave me a big fat slobbery kiss right on the mouth. She then grabbed her favorite book (Good Night Moon) and dragged me over to her "Cheer" to sit down and read all about the "Mou-tie! Mou-tie!" The "young mouse" is definitely her favorite part. I must've read that book 30 times in the past 4 days. But that's okay, because I'm feeling like a good mom again! Yay!

Ode to a Spa

*Warning - Content may be offensive to some readers!*

Today was the day that I went to the spa
Closed my eyes, relaxed, and said, "Ahhh!"
As the masseuse smeared both mud and seaweed
All over me - felt so good I almost peed!
I sighed as the Vichy shower rained down to the floor,
Exfoliated as I never have been before
My friends - behind my back - will probably mutter
Because my skin's now so soft that I feel like butter!
Still not done; Now onto the facial I go!
I still can't say "aromatherapy," though....
No more dark circles, no blackheads, no bags
No longer do I look like an ugly old hag!
The only thing better that could have possibly been
Would be that all of YOU had been with me, my friends!

(Except for when I was totally naked barring the tiny paper towel they gave me held together by two rubber bands and laughably called, "disposable one-size-fits-all panties." Let me stress to you that no... one size does NOT fit all).

I Hear a Peep

Sadie's version of a classic... no matter how many times we told her, "It's Little BO Peep!" she just couldn't bring herself to change it:

"Little Boy Peep has lost her sheep
And can't know where to find them...
Leave her alone and we'll go home
Dragging their tails behind them."

Today, I was asked if I would like some "tornado" on my sandwich along with my lettuce.

After Sunday School this week (Josie went in for the first time by herself - she did great, although we were told that she wasn't the most vocal student, her answers consisting of "No, No, No, No, and Taint Tu."), there was much discussion of how Jesus healed the Ten Leopards.

Josie was crying because she couldn't reach her crayons, then someone said the word "snack." She jerked her head around, hightailed it out of the room to find the source of the snack, and tottered across the floor saying, "Nack, nack, nack, nack, nack," with every step.

*Josie, Sadie, and their cousin James watching Daddy cut wood.

Blood is Thicker than Popsicles

I know it's been a while since my last post, but honestly, I've needed time to recover. We had an accident. I should say, JOSIE had an accident, and I've been suffering from "Mommy-guilt." We have had our first incident involving blood. I wouldn't mind a bit if it were the last. The other day, Josie wandered into my bathroom with Sadie close behind her. By the time I got there, I heard Sadie saying, "Danger! Danger, Little Stranger!" followed by wailing. Josie had climbed INTO the bathtub and found my razor (which, by the way, I have never - to my recollection - left out before. I'm very paranoid about things like that, you know. Of course, the ONE time I forget, she scales the wall and finds it). Sadie, being the good big sister she is, was trying to warn Josie about the razor's many dangers, but in her zealous attempt to shield her from said dangers... she YANKED the razor from Josie's chubby little hand, slicing off a good chunk from the pad on the end of Josie's left index finger. There was blood EVERYWHERE. I am not exaggerating. I took the razor, washed off her finger, grabbed a towel, and tried to stop the blood. By the time we made it into the kitchen, it looked like there had been an axe murder in our house. How the heck does one tiny finger bleed so much!? There was a trail all over the house, plus all over the bathtub, the sink, all our clothes, hands, faces... All the while, Josie is screaming like a wounded jackal, and Sadie is racing around bringing me bandaids and Josie's blankie, and the boo-boo bear from the freezer, and whatever else she can find to try and help. Finally, shirt soaked with blood (mine) and face drenched with tears (Josie's) and ears hurt from screaming (both of us), I broke down and called Aunt Cindy, who is a nurse. Might I just say that I LOVE HER. She noticed from my tone (apparently I am not that great at remaining calm during a crisis) that I was ready to freak completely out, and I asked her if there is a main artery in the tip of your finger.... she rushed right over and got here in less than 10 minutes. WITH her doctor kit. Josie immediately calmed down and let Cindy "doctor" her, and then we all had popsicles, crisis averted. Whew.

Now, for about 3 days, Josie has been walking around with her "boo-boo bandaid" finger pointed up in the air, making sure that everyone knows that she is injured. This girl knows how to milk something for all its worth, let me tell you. I was hosting a Bible Study in the living room afterward, and I hear screaming all of a sudden - Josie had been in bed for at least an hour - so I run to her room. She looks straight at me, points her "boo-boo finger" at me, moans a little, then rolls over and goes back to sleep.

Don't you forget this, Mom. Don't you forget it.

Table Licker!

Sadie has started getting out of bed 2 or 3 times a night. She comes into my room and says, "Can I come up and snuggle with you for a minute?" How am I supposed to say no to that? She looks so cute in her little footie pj's. Josie actually sat still and listened to 3 books in a row tonight... I was so excited! She's finally getting interested in reading... we read Noah's Ark, Ten Little Ladybugs, and Goodnight Moon. She says, "Moon! Moon!" She's also very fond of the "young mouse" and the "toy house" in the book. I love reading to her... you can almost see the little wheels turning in her head.

Yesterday we played in the snow! The kids just wanted to sit at their little table and eat it. It wasn't very good snowman-making snow, so I just let them sit there and lick the table. What a great mom I am! :)

Might I Have a Word?

Today at lunch, Josie said, "Oh boy!" when I told her she could have a cupcake. Then she said, "I'm a big girl!" when I tried to help her eat it without making a huge mess. Then, "Oh, Man! Ewww... dir-tee, Mommy!" AFTER she finished eating the said cupcake.

Sadie informed me that she wanted to play the xylophone after lunch, and then she proceeded to hand out "instramants" to everyone, along with a "mikerphone" for me. We then sang a rollicking version of "Yankee Dood-nell."

Time is on my side

Oh, gone are the good old days when I could just sit around and blog to my heart's content. I used to write every day... now it seems like I'm lucky to get to it once a week! I guess a lack of time comes with the territory when you have small children. The kids are being better today - after a few days of badness. I shouldn't say that. BUT, I really have had a rough few days recently. Normally, I feel like I have this really high calling... like being a Mommy is the most important, most wonderful, rewarding thing in the world. The past 3 days I've kind of wanted to run and hide. Yesterday I burst into tears and Jesse came home from work early to help me get the kids to bed. He also brought me a card and dinner (*sniff), since I didn't have time to eat anything between the whining, yelling, and pooping. It was very sweet, and now today is shaping up into a good day. I know I just have to remember that they can't be good all the time. It's tough being a kid, I know. Sadie and I have discussed how hard it is to obey, and she reminds me from time to time, "But Mommy, I don't WANT to obey. It's too hard to obey!" Boy, do I know it. Not only do I remember how hard it was sometimes to obey my own parents, but even now it's difficult (sometimes impossible) for me to obey God. So while I can share in Sadie's growing pains, I seriously need to keep working on my patience.

In good news, Jesse and I are both losing weight. Little by little. But we ARE eating much healthier now, and I have banned junk food from our house. (And he has promised not to eat it in the car when I am not supervising :) Also, Josie has learned to sing "Down By the Bay," which is completely entertaining. Sadie even tries to get her to sing it, which is unusual, since Sadie is usally the one who wants the limelight all to herself.

Other good news? (well, maybe... I'll keep you posted.) I'm doing a bridal fair in March to try and get some business going for the wedding shop, which I have pretty much decided that I'm going to do on the side again. We'll see how it goes, but hopefully I haven't lost my touch. See www.dctweddings.com if you want to see some samples and send some business my way :)

Calgon, take me away

Oh my gosh. Am I glad this day is over. Just when I think I've got the parenting thing down okay, a day like this comes along.

The good news is, Sadie is feeling better. And Josie is still fine, as of press time :) The bad news is, I feel like today was a complete and total failure on my part, as a mommy.

Let's just say there was much pushing down of a younger sibling by an older sibling, several refusals to eat, there were numerous "time outs," willful and premeditated disobedience by a 2 year old, whiny screaming tantrums by a one year old, unprecedented crying fits by 2 children (and one mommy), mean yelling (again, the mommy), and finally, bedtime prayers which consisted of, "please God, help us have a better day tomorrow. And help me stop being mean to my sister. Amen."

I thought it only fitting to display Sadie's "mean cowgirl face" at this point:

In A Pinch

Yesterday, we let the crabs, George and Sherry, out for an afternoon romp on the coffee table in the family room. Sadie and Josie were very entertained by their "crabby" antics: climbing on their little ladder, almost falling off the table, creeping around on top of their shell.... Josie was especially interested, and she was brave enough to hold them in her little chubby hand. Well, Sherry is not known for her friendliness - she's more of a hermit than most hermit crabs I know - but Josie picked her up and was being very gentle and careful. As I sat next to her in the floor, she held Sherry up to get a closer look at her beady little eyes. Then, quick as a flash, BAM! A little purple crab claw shot out of Sherry's shell and grabbed Josie's upper lip and hung on! You should've seen the look on Josie's face! She was so startled she just stood there, with this crab pincher attached to her little lip, dangling there from her face. I grabbed Sherry and somehow got her to let go, putting her back in her cage, and then I took the now-wailing Josie into the bathroom to wash her little pinched lip off. It took a while to calm her down, let me tell you. It was post-traumatic, apparently. Anyway, as I sat there snuggling her, I heard Sadie from the other room saying, "Bad, mean old crab! You pinched my sister! You are going in time out!" Then she dumped Sherry into her water bowl and came stomping into the bathroom to give Josie a kiss and a hug. Here are the girls modeling some "crab-proof" goggles :)

Clean up, Clean up

We were saying the Lord's prayer, and we got to the part where it says, "He anoints my head with oil, my cup runneth over." Sadie interrupts and says, "But it will drip all over my hair and that will be a BIG mess!"

Josie has been amazing me the past couple of days. While her fever seems to be subsiding, her "word fever" is making an explosion around here! She's picked up so many new words this week! Today, she took her "Big Bear" her daddy got her for Christmas, and "tickle, tickle, tickle"d his feet. Then, she informed me that she would like a "juice box, please" and a "snack." She also pointed out a duck, a "tweet tweet," a deer, a car, and lots of other things. She's also been a big helper... she's been helping to put toys away, "clean up, clean up" and she even helped me clean out the dishwasher!

All Done With Christmas

After a long trip, a lot of Christmas-ing, cleaning up, and unpacking, we are all settled in back at home.

Where to begin? The girls had a really good time playing with their cousins, aunts, and uncles, and Great Grandma Genevieve loved having them there to hold and stuff with food (all kinds, especially livermush and cookies). They also both got to ride the tractor with Papaw (several times, and Sadie decided that that was her all-time favorite thing to do... Josie also said, "Trat-tor! Yay!"). Mamaw Sylvia kept them entertained with the antics of the "creepy mousie" and Sadie said that she wanted to take the creepy mousie home with her in her new toybox that Papaw built her and Josie for Christmas.

Jesse and I had a good time too, and we got to see almost everyone we wanted to... it's always hard to pack everything in in just a week, but it was a nice vacation. By the time we were done, Sadie said, "Mommy, I'm all done with Christmas." The girls must've watched Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 30 times in the past month, and last night, Sadie said, "Quick! Douse the light!" Just like Hermie the elf! I laughed so hard. They both like singing the song now, and while Josie hums along and bops back and forth, Sadie says, "Then one soggy Christmas Eve..."

I would like to write more and tell all about all the neat stuff they got for Christmas, along with funny stories that happened while we were there, but alas, I have come down with a cold... and I can hardly remember - much less type!

X-nay on the onkey-may

I forgot to mention some of the other cool stuff the kids got from their Ohio family the other day... they got My Little Pony stuff, new PJ's, real kid-sized spoons and forks, cool socks, a great 2 seater wagon, a Christmas CD, some $ for savings, a real china teaset... the list goes on and on. However, one of the most interesting toys came from Aunt Sarah... an animatronic baby chimp that responds to touch and he laughs, "talks" to you, giggles, squeals, and shakes when he gets all excited. Sadie thought this was pretty cool at first. She played with him for a few days, and then the other night after she went to bed, she got up, came across the house in the dark, came into my room, and said, "Mommy. Will you please take that monkey out of my room?" Hehehe... Now the monkey has to live in the toy closet at night - he can only come out during the day. And here I thought monkeys were nocturnal....

Ding-A-Ling

We opened our "family presents" at home on Friday morning. Jesse, who knows how to pull strings, talked to Santa and convinced him to come early so we wouldn't have to bring a huge haul of stuff back with us from NC. So, last night, Sadie put out cookies, milk, and some water for Rudolph. Rudolph has been a BIG hit this year, with both Sadie and Josie. They must've watched that old classic one (my favorite one, too, with Hermie the elf) 25 times over the past month. Anyway, we did that, then read "The Night Before Christmas" and then the real Christmas Story. I tried to explain how Jesus being born coincides with the whole Santa thing, but let me tell you, I couldn't do a very good job of it. But we prayed to God and thanked him for His gift of Jesus, and also for toys and for Santa. Then Sadie asked me if she could pray whenever she wanted to, and I said, "Of course you can! God likes it when we pray to Him. It makes Him happy." She said, "Can I even tell Him about when I fell off the sidewalk and got a boo boo on my knee, and I had to get a bandaid?" I said, "Yep." So she proceeded to tell God this sad story, and when she finished, she said, "Well, I told Him, but He isn't there. Oh, but He is there!" This was a little strange, coming from a 2 1/2 year old. She showed a little doubt, then totally turned around and figured it out for herself. I think, anyway. Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but the faith of little kids is amazing to me. You tell them, and they'll believe. It's scary, but humbling at the same time. When it comes to God and Jesus, that faith is certainly something to aspire to.

When we finished, she tried to go to sleep. Josie had no trouble, and she passed out and started snoring before all of this even happened. :) She had way too much fun the night before with Lydia and Darryl. So, Sadie TRIED. She really did, but she was so excited she kept squirming around, popping back up and saying, "Did you hear that? I think I hear Santa! Is that him? I heard Jingle Bells! I hear Rudolph! Do you hear him?" It was so funny... She must've stayed up half the night because this morning it was all we could do to get her out of bed to actually go check and see if Santa DID come.

Presents that were a hit:
Sadie: A Doctor Kit! She immediately went to work on Snoopy, and gave Jesse a blood pressure reading. Then I got a shot. She also got a baby doll, some sewing cards, and a My Little Pony umbrella, along with lots of other things that I can't think of at the moment.
Josie: Her daddy gave her a huge, cuddly, supersoft teddy bear that she LOVES. She also got new fuzzy slippers, a funny hat that just has "Josiebean" written all over it, a cool shapesorter thing, and again, lots of things that I can't remember and I'm too lazy to go into the living room and look at them.
Jesse: His big present was a pair of tickets to a Monster Truck Show... I finally surprised him! He had no idea, and I think I actually did well this year!
Me: A big gift card to a wonderful, fabulous, marvelous, stupendous spa, along with a menu of services that I can choose from. Aromatherapy facial and massage, here I come!!!!

We're leaving tonight for NC, so I won't be posting for at least a week. We'll be having fun in the sun! Seriously. It's supposed to be like 70 degrees down there. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Clippety Clop

Today, we broke out the Eazy-Bake oven that Sadie got from her Aunt Cindy for Christmas. (We opened presents here early since we're going home on Friday... yay!) We wanted to wait until Cindy could come over and help, but Sadie just couldn't restrain herself. Grammie ended up helping her bake a little cake and some cookies. Sadie was so excited to be able to do it "all by myself!" Unfortunately, she got her hand stuck IN the oven and Grammie had to turn and twist and yank it out. Ouch! Josie, on the other hand, helped with some sprinkles and proceeded to smear chocolate frosting all over her head. She also had a hey day riding her new little rocking horse from Grandma and Grandpa... it whinnies and sings, "I'm a little pony, clippety-clop, clippety-clop," which is a very annoying song, but somehow I cannot stop singing it.

What? That's MADNESS, I tell you!

Tonight, Josie helpfully rubbed baby oil all over my face and into my hair... and laughed. She's becoming more and more "helpful" as the days go by. It's so cute to watch her try to help, and to see her try to outdo her big sister.

Then, I sang "Away in a Manger" to Sadie as her lullaby. Well, I should say that I TRIED to sing it. I kept getting rudely interrupted after the first line. Our bedtime ritual went something like this:
Mommy: "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus... "
Sadie: "WHAT?! NO CRIB FOR HIS BED??!! God needs to GO to the STORE and get Baby JESUS a BED! He will BE COLD!! Maybe He should come and sleep in MY bed."

Ho, Ho, Ho

Sorry... I'm not doing very well at keeping up this month! But I'm guessing that no one has much time to read, either, so I don't feel "too awful bad," as we put it at home. Yesterday, we took the kids to see Santa at the mall... Sadie was so excited that she couldn't think of anything that she wanted for Christmas except "a new pair of Jingley Socks because I pulled all the bells off of mine." Then she asked Santa if he would say "Ho, Ho, Ho" (currently Josie's favorite words) and he did... then she and Josie simultaneously cracked up, and Sadie said, "You're silly, Santa Claus!" Then we rode the Christmas Train (by we, meaning ME, Sadie, and Josie). Jesse ran around and around the outside of the train corral snapping pictures. Josie thought this was a hoot, and kept trying to climb out of the caboose. Sadie waved to the crowd and yelled, "Merry Chwistmas, ev-body!" As we were leaving, we stopped by the Salvation Army bell-ringer and he let Sadie ring his jingle bells. She got some donations! It was so cute... I was so proud! My little charity case! hehee just kidding. I'm hoping to instill how important it is to give to those less fortunate than we are. This year, Sadie helped me with the gifts we picked out for these two "angel tree" kids names we got from church. I explained how some kids don't have enough to eat, or don't have Mommies or Daddies to take care of them, or toys to play with. She mulled this over and then decided that we should pray for them. Then we sent a care package to a lady and her little girl in Jamaica, and Sadie drew the little girl a picture and sent her some of her very own pencils "so she can draw pictures, too!"

Sermon on the Run

Tonight, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for supper. Sadie informed her Grandma, "Your house looks festive. I use that word now."

Aunt Lydia gave the kids a bath while I practiced a song to sing at church for Christmas. As I was standing there singing, what to my wondering eyes did appear? A little naked Josie-bean, freshly escaped from the bathtub, with Aunt Lydia in hot pursuit. Josie ran across the room laughing this maniacal little Woody Woodpecker-sounding laugh and proceeded to bang on the piano keys. Needless to say, practice was halted. :)

On the way home, Sadie yanked on Josie's coat sleeve until Josie got ticked off and started to cry. I asked Sadie why she was making her sister cry, and she said, "Because I like to." I said, "But God doesn't like it when we try to make people cry. He likes it when we're nice to people and when we love them." Sadie took this into consideration, and then said, "But WHY? I like to!" I said,

"Well, sometimes we just can't do things that we like doing - simply because it's wrong."

"Sometimes, God doesn't want us to do certain things just because those things can hurt other people."

"Even though we like doing something and it feels right and good to us, it doesn't always mean that it's the best thing for us."

Then, lo and behold, I listened to what I was saying and I realized that I had preached myself a sermon.

Um, Excuse Me

Tonight we went to a Holiday Sing-a-Long with Deanna. Sadie went right up to the front with a bunch of kids and with the singers and danced along to "Rudolph" and "Frosty the Snowman." She's a natural. Josie is too... she escaped me a couple of times and toddled down the aisle toward the front... she looked so cute in her fuzzy reindeer shirt that I wanted to leave her up there, but I was afraid a big kid might step on her and squash her. When we got home, we came inside and Deanna had the diaper bag, which had Josie's pink blanket hanging out of it. Deanna put Josie down in the family room, then walked out of the room into the kitchen to hang up coats, put stuff away, etc. All the while, Josie is standing there, right where Deanna left her, with her pudgy little finger pointing up in the air, saying, "My blankie. Um. My blankie. Um. My blankie!"

Good news: We are all well for the moment!
Bad news: They cut down the weeping willow in the yard next door. Bah!

Christmastime's a comin'

Christmas festivities are in full swing around here... we've got Elvis music playing, lights in the tree outside (just one, though - I have no patience for things that tangle easily!), trees inside (Sadie has her own in her room) and greenery everywhere. The kids are wearing red (and their jingley-socks), and I'm almost completely done with shopping AND wrapping (Yes, I am one of THOSE people!). Last night, we made cookies, and Josie helped. Let's just say that once Josie learned that she could help, Josie did not want to STOP helping. We ended up with flour all over the floor, sprinkles in every nook and cranny, green icing on her nose, and a really good holiday memory. She also proved to me that her little brain is working overtime these days, even if she's still not talking very much. She dumped out the bin filled with gloves, mittens, scarves, etc. and pulled out one little mitten. She then proceeded to take it over to the drawer next to the stove where I keep the oven mitts and potholders; she pulled open the drawer and put the mitten in with the oven mitts! It was so cute, since she obviously thought that the mitten was just a mini oven-mitt!

Sadie wore her reindeer antlers around the house today and we read Christmas stories. She is very impressed that Baby Jesus actually was born in a barn. "With all the animals! Mooing, and quacking, and neighing. It was kinda loud in there." She now can quote, "To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, now dash away, dash away, dash away all!" Every Christmas light we see is still, "OH! How Be-yoo-ti-FULL!" Josie likes the lights too, but she seems to be a more reflective sort. She likes to sit and look and take it all in, but Sadie likes to keep a running commentary. :)

Jingle Socks, Jingle Socks

Today, Sadie made a big mess in Josie's room... she dumped a whole basketful of toys out in the floor. I told her she had to pick them up and put them away, so we started singing the "Cleanup Song," which goes a little something like this:
"Clean up, Clean up, everybody clean up!" Well, Sadie, not WANTING to clean up her mess, changed all the words and sang this song to me: "OH, I don't have to clean up, but YOU do!"

The girls have been wearing their "jingle socks" for two days straight... these are little green and red striped elfy-looking socks with little bells sewn on them. They love them because they're fun and noisy - I love them because I can hear the kids coming! Today, on the way to Grandma's house to help decorate her tree, we sang "Jingle Bells." Josie immediately started kicking her feet up in the air and wiggling them in time to the song :) We may have a little virtuoso on our hands!

After Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone... we had everyone over at our house, and we had a really good time. This house is great for gatherings... but not so much fun to clean up! Luckily, my mom and my mother-in-law pitched in since I had to go to bed at the same time the kids did (I worked retail on "Black Friday!"). We had a relatively good holiday weekend... we got almost all of our shopping for Christmas done, and industrious little ole' me wrapped it all, so now maybe we can enjoy the month of December!

Josie is walking faster and faster every day. Jesse calls her his little Frankenstein (or "Franken-bean," as I prefer) because she stomps her feet so hard and she still walks pretty stiffly... she's still not that sure of herself. I know how she feels! Walking is hard. When I get to the kingdom, I'm definitely going to ask God why He chose bi-pedal locamotion for us. Sometimes I stop and think, we must all look so funny to the rest of the planet - walking around on two legs and everything. Anyway, I digress.

Sadie is SO excited over Christmas... every time we pass Christmas lights or decorations in someone's yard she yells, "Did you see THAT, DADDY??" And then she'll say, "Oh, that is so BEAUTIFUL!" Everything is beautiful these days. That's a nice change! :)

We started getting out Christmas stuff last night... the kids only broke 3 or 4 things... I miraculously didn't even care. The longer I have kids, the less material things seem to matter to me. Throw up on my clothes? Who cares? Broken china? Big deal. Purple marker on my cheek? Fashion statement. Sheesh. I have changed! I have somehow become a totally different person in a 2 year time frame.

I am now going to work on our yearly newsletter... by some stretch of the imagination, I think that I'm going to be sending it out in December. Hah. That's my joke for the day! :)

Thankful

Last night, the girls and I were looking at pictures on the laptop (they love doing that). When we finished, Sadie said, "Mommy, I want to look at the pictures that talk. You know, the pictures that talk and move!" Meaning, of course, the home videos of her and Josie. So, I played one for them of when Josie was about 7 or 8 months old. They both sat here, enthralled, for about 30 minutes. They love watching themselves! When I came back to check on them, they were watching a video of Josie in her "Johnny Jump Up" bouncing in the door frame at Jesse's parents' house. In the video, Sadie was pushing Josie, talking to her, making her laugh, and just generally entertaining her. They were having such a good time in the video... Sadie turned to me and asked, "Mommy, can we go back there?" I said, "Sure, we can go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house... we'll go back next week." She said, "No, Mommy. Can we go back there? Back when Josie was a little baby and I was there in my PJ's and we were laughing?" I said, "No, we can't go back in time, Sadie. I wish we could."

And then I left the room and cried.

Thank You, God... for my girls, who are growing up so fast.

Made Me Laugh

Last night, Deanna (aka "Dee-tah" to Josie) came over. She asked Sadie if she was feeling better and Sadie said, "Yeah, but I have a dinosaur in my throat." I guess it wasn't just any old frog!

My father-in-law sent these to me today... they made me laugh out loud:

> Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt."
>Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
> There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
> Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"
And my personal favorite:
> If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

Eww

Yesterday, I took the kids to the doctor while Jesse went to his own doctor appointment. Let me reiterate that it has not been a fun time around this house lately! So, the girls were both sitting up on the exam room table, shirts off, ready to roll. The doctor comes in and Sadie says, "Hello, Doctor. Are you going to check my ears?" The doctor looks at me, somewhat surprised, and says, "She's two? She speaks awfully well for two." Sadie goes on to say, "Now you need to check for my heartbeat with your steth-o-scope." Now, THAT one even surprised me! Apparently, she picked up that word from Papaw reading "Fozzie Bear Goes to the Doctor." The bad news... they both have double ear infections. The good news... they are on antibiotics now and have stopped screaming non-stop.

Grammie put Josie's hair up in a little palm tree/Alfalfa-looking do today, and when I took it down, she looked just like that little kid on the ice cream cone boxes at the grocery store. She's now walking more than crawling, and it's so funny to see her little chubby self toddling along, reaching out for the wall, the couch, the dog, whatever, to steady herself once in a while. She has also become obsessed with my old Cabbage Patch Kid. She hugs her up tight, right up to her chin, and says, "Oh, Baby! Mm-wah!" and plants kisses right on the doll's cheek. It is too cute. The only thing funnier was when she decided to change the doll's diaper... she took off the doll's pants, held up the doll's legs, and turned her own head with this awful look on her face, then she said, "EWW!" Hmm. I wonder where she observed this behavior.

On another note, not child related, I have decided not to keep the job that I previously accepted. It's just too much for me to work full time. I have apparently over-estimated myself. Or I did the math wrong when I was calculating the number of hours in the day (I was an English major, after all :). So, over the next few weeks, I will be phasing back to part time. Whew. I'm glad that's over with!

Another thing... (I hate to admit this one, but the blog is cathartic, you know) tonight, I backed out of the garage - please note that it was dark, raining, and the reverse lights are not the best on the car - and rammed right into the front fender of my mom's car. Crunch. Yes, I'm a moron. Yes, I feel bad. Yes, I'm going to try to make Jesse suck the dent out with a plunger.

Sick, sick, sick

Hope all of you are well... here, we are all sick, sick, sick. Sadie is walking around with little circles under her eyes, saying, "I don't feel good. I need to go to the doctor. My head hurts. My nose hurts. My tummy hurts. My shoulder hurts. My back hurts." Apparently, everything hurts. I know how she feels! So does Jesse... he hasn't been to work in two days. Josie, also afflicted, gives new meaning to the old southern term "she has a bee in her bonnet." She's like bi-polar baby, bless her little heart. As for me, I almost passed out in the grocery store tonight... and I have a fever! Oh, the joy!

Well, I started a new job this week. This was by choice, but now I'm beginning to wonder what the heck I was thinking. So far, it's super hectic and challenging. I think I could use a challenge since life has been so easy lately. HA! I hope you all detected the sarcasm with which that little statement was intended. Anyway, I am trying to remain calm. I do have to get up at 4:45am EVERY DAY, which is a big adjustment, especially since my wacko friends talked me into watching LOST and I have to stay up until midnight every night because I am now hooked on it.

On Sunday, we had our "Thank you" party for everyone who helped with the new house. We ended up with 33 people! It was a great turnout and a fun party. Mama and I fed them all kinds of southern food, which turned out to be a smashing success! Look out... I think some Ohioans may be headed your way to raid your kitchens.

Josie fell down the stairs today (just the bottom 3, thank goodness) and whacked her little cheek on the baby gate. Yes, I said baby gate. Apparently, we have another smart one on our hands. I guess I should just be glad that the gate was there to break her fall. Good grief.

Funny things: Josie says no all the time now, and shakes her head back and forth while she squinches her eyes shut. The funny thing about it is that when she says "no," she pronounces it, "Doh!" It's like a tiny Homer Simpson is mouthing off to me all the time. :)

We started taking the girls to Story Time at the library, which they both love. Josie likes the "Tick Tock Song," in which you put her on your knee, rock her back and forth and throw her UP in the air and yell "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" when the "clock" strikes. She does it at home now anytime she sits on my lap. Sadie is more partial to the "Dinosaur Song." I must admit that it's a catchy tune... I find myself humming it all the time.

"We are the Dinosaurs marching, marching... We are the dinosaurs. Whaddaya think of that? We are the dinosaurs marching, marching. We are the dinosaurs. We make the earth flat. We make the earth flat. We stop and eat our food when we’re in the mood. Stop and eat our food on the ground. We stop and eat our food when we’re in the mood. Stop and eat our food and then we march around And then we ROAR!!!Because we are the dinosaurs."

Last time we went, Sadie ran over to the Story Lady when we were done and informed her, "I have to give you a hug right now." :)

And, last but not least, some of my friends who haven't seen me lately (like a year or more) wanted me to post a picture. The only one I have that's recent is from a wedding that I sang at a couple of weeks ago... here I am! With bangs, no less!

The "Halloween Bean" and "Sader-Boo!"

Need I say more? :)

The Lost Book of ... Jack?

I've been teaching Sadie the 23rd Psalm. Tonight, when I was putting her to bed, we said it again. I would start it and she would fill in the words that I left out, ie: "The Lord is my ____" and she'd say "shepherd." This went on until we got to the part where David writes, "he restoreth my_____." Sadie said "soul," but then went on to add, "and he JUMPS over the candlestick! Hallelujah!"

Oh, Nuts.

Josie is a nut. I think she must take after her Great Grandpa Ralph. Or someone on Jesse's side that I don't know... she's so silly. I mean, she'll find something (pants, bucket, shoe, cone, etc.) and she immediately puts it on her head and tries to find somebody to laugh at her. Last night she was snuggling against my chest before bed, and then turns around, grins up at me, and "zoop!" shoves her finger up my nose. Then she laughs... hard. Next, "wham!" she headbutts me right in the forehead. Conk. It hurt! And she just laughed! It's going to be fun watching her and Sadie grow up together. We've already determined that Sadie is a nut too! I guess 2 nuts were bound to come from the family tree, since they have 2 squirrely parents. :)

What's That Smell?

The other night we sat down for supper and Sadie stops, looks around, wrinkles her nose and says, "Hmm. I smell Pepsi."

Today, Josie singlehandedly opened the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and proceeded to climb up to the top at fast as she could, while looking over her shoulder and laughing. This is not good!

Last night, nobody got ANY sleep. First, Sadie woke up crying around 1:00am and ended up in bed with us. Next, Josie started screaming intermittently, and I was up and down, up and down, going into her room to rock her. This went on for hours. Around 4am, I put her back down and went to bed again. I was almost asleep when I heard this horrible, awful, scary weeping, wailing, and howling from upstairs. I cannot tell you exactly how erie and creepy it was, but it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Jesse and Sadie both woke up and heard it, too.... I was frozen for a minute, just listening... it was like a banshee! I'm ashamed to say that I was scared to go upstairs. I'm such a weenie. I finally picked up the phone and called Mama's cell phone - it took a long time for her to answer, and I was almost ready to go upstairs to make sure she wasn't dying, even though I was creeped out. Finally, she picked up and she was all out of breath. She said she'd had a nightmare and her heart was pounding... I guess she'd woken herself up screaming. Anyway, she wouldn't tell me what the dream was - she said she didn't want to talk about it. THEN, she asked me to make sure that all the doors were locked. So I was totally freaked out. I was sure she dreamed that someone was trying to axe murder all of us, so of course I couldn't go back to sleep. I was up all night. I think I slept two hours last night. Good grief. I'm going to bed now - after I check all the doors. :)

We're Ba-ack

Where to begin? We just got back from NC, and we have begun to move Mama's stuff in upstairs. I am pooped. We left there at 9 this morning (or I should say, we TRIED to leave). People kept coming by to say goodbye, give us groceries, money, well wishes, toys for the kids, etc., etc. The generosity of my southern roots never ceases to amaze me. :) We finally got on the road around 10:15. Sheesh.

The trip down was fine, even though I went about 50 mph the whole way. My car was making this weird roaring noise - wheel bearings, I was told - Jesse shipped the parts to Daddy and he fixed it for me while I was home, but I was ultra-paranoid on the way down. The kids were great, all the way there, and we only had to stop once. Sadie nearly jumped out of her skin when we got there, she was so stinking excited to see her beloved Grammy. Josie, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to be spoiled, spoiled, and double-spoiled by Great Grandma Genevieve. I tell you, it gets worse every time.

Good things that happened:
1. Josie started walking!!! I knew it. I KNEW she would start walking while we were there. Her very first, tentative little steps were at Grandma's house, toward Uncle Thomas, of all people, hehee. This was on Saturday the 7th. After that, she kept getting a little braver, and she walked toward Papaw, me, WITH Sadie (although Sadie went a little too fast and yanked her down), and toward Grammie, Mamaw, Josh, and Elizabeth. And maybe Nettie, too. I can't remember everyone. The fact is, she did it, and you should see the proud little look on her face when everyone claps and yells, "Yay for Josie-Bean!" It is so cute.
2. Sadie got to ride the tractor again... and THIS time, she got to steer. This was the time of her life. She also informed me that "Papaw held me on his lap up there on the BIG tractor to keep me safe because that can be DANGEROUS." I was happy to hear this.
3. Melanie was home for a visit, and I got to go to not one, but count 'em, TWO of her baby showers. This was a big deal, since she lives even farther away from home than I do.
4. We went to the greatest place on earth to eat (again). We go with Papaw and Mamaw almost every time we go home. I had turnip greens, pinto beans, stewed tomatoes, fried chicken, cathead biscuits, and numerous other artery-hardening delicacies. Yum. Sadie and Josie preferred the homemade applesauce and the dumplings.
5. We got Mama all packed (for the most part) and up here. I can't believe she's actually here... but there she is, sitting in the living room, watching NASCAR. Ahhh. It feels more like home already.

Bad things that happened:
1. We all got sick. I have horrible head congestion and a cough. Sadie got sick on the way to church Sunday and Daddy and I ended up taking her to the emergency room. Ear infection. Blah!!! When we got home from the hospital, Josie had a fever of 102. For pete's sake. There was mucho crying, fussing, yelling, medicine-taking, and whining (mainly from me).
2. We missed our family reunion because we were all sick. I was so mad. I actually stopped by for about 20 minutes just to say hey to my cousins as I was going to Walmart for more children's Tylenol. I also grabbed some banana pudding and potato salad for the road. Hey, sick people still have to eat.
3. My cousin-in-law got shot through the foot with a nail gun.
4. I almost caught Grandma's house on fire when I left her heating pad in the microwave too long. The good news: we caught it in time. The bad news: The house smells like charcoaled rice, and may continue to smell that way indefinitely.

Oh, another good thing? I'm actually glad to be back in my own house! (I kind of missed Jesse a little bit, too, but don't tell him :)

My Wild Life

Well, we spent the night for the first time last Sunday, and the girls did great. I thought they would freak out a little bit, being in a new place with new stuff... but they snuggled right in - Josie into her new crib (Sadie's old crib) and Sadie into her freshly painted, new white "big girl bed" (a toddler bed from Aunt Becky and Uncle James). They also helped unpack their clothes, books, and toys. By "helping," of course, I mean that I unpacked and put away while they pulled off shelves, out of drawers, and generally wreaked havoc. :)

In the week since we've been here, life has been pretty good, if a little chaotic. Sadie likes her new room so much that she ASKS to go take a nap in her big girl bed. Josie is having a great time crawling around and exploring everything... her favorite part seems to be the tall, low windows - she can stand up and look right out of them.

There is a plethera of wildlife around this place, which is weird, since it's smack in the middle of suburbia. There are 6 deer that LIVE right here. Two mommies, and 4 little ones. They eat in the backyard and sleep in the flower garden in front of the house. It's kind of weird to look out the window and see them just sitting around like they own the place :) There are also 3 raccoons that live in the giant oak tree out front... along with a bajillion mean little gray squirrels. Mean, you ask? YES! As soon as you go outside, the little boogers start chattering, squealing, and chucking acorns at your head. They got me twice already. The first morning we woke up and right outside the french doors in our bedroom, we could see 2 mallard ducks - a male and a female - swimming in the "pond" right behind the deck. Surprisingly enough, our enormous dog hasn't scared everything away yet. I hope they all stay (with the possible exception of the mean acorn-chuckers).