Toot toot!

Thanks to a terribly snowy day downtown, Jesse got to come home early (most of the businesses he needs to get to were closed) and we had a special day! The girls had all checks on their chore chart for the past couple of weeks (plus they did GREAT on the trip to NC and back home) so they were deserving of a special treat. We took all 3 girls, sans naps (gasp!) to the library to pick up "Where the Wild Things Are" which I read to them on the way to the theater to SEE "Where the Wild Things Are." We had to read it first, of course, and I somehow never got around to reading them that one before today. They liked the book, of course. What kid doesn't? I loved it when I was little. The movie, however, was a different story. THEY liked it, but I LOATHED it. I thought it was TERRIBLE. Yeah, the monsters looked good, but the rest of the whole thing was totally off. It makes me mad because this just happened to me with the "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" movie. It ticked me off, too. Why do these people insist on trying to improve on perfection? It drives me crazy! In WTWTA, they completely left out the whole concept of "imagination..." it was like Max ACTUALLY went to another land. And, worst of all, they left out that his room grew vines and flowers all over it and turned into a jungle! That was my favorite part! For Pete's sake, that part takes up at least 5 pages of the book! Sheesh. To top it all off, they weren't even IN a jungle; they were in a forest and a DESERT! Hated it. Plus it was dark and dreary and depressing. I could've done a better job than that and I've never written a screenplay in my life. Sorry. I digress. The kids liked it. The best part of the whole movie, in my opinion, was when Jesse tried to "sneak one out" while we were sitting there without anyone hearing it. Ol' bat ears Adelaide heard it, though, and began yelling, "Toot! Toot! TOOOOOOOOT!" at the top of her lungs. So much for going incognito, there, Dad.

The other great part was when Adelaide pooped in her diaper and I had to change her while she was STANDING UP. This was a first for me, when poop is involved. I felt like quite the accomplished supermom when I escaped from the bathroom unscathed.

To top it all off, Sadie finished exactly half of her giant reading book (we marked the spot and it's been her seemingly unreachable goal for at least 6 months). The reward? You guessed it. The dread Chuck E. Cheese's. It actually wasn't bad this time... we had a coupon, a ton of tokens left over from her birthday party in March (yes, we've been in recovery for the past 10 months), and we got there relatively early so it wasn't packed. When we walked in, the lady at the door asked if we were there for a birthday party, to which I replied, "Hah! That's one mistake I'll never make again!"

Anyway, we had a good time and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves (they found a new favorite game, the DOG POUNDER) and wore themselves out running around and trying to score tickets. Needless to say, everyone collapsed into bed when we got home... Mommy and Daddy included.

New Year's Eve Bash

On New Year's Eve, Grandma and Grandpa had their 2nd annual "Grandkids' New Year's Eve Party and Sleepover." It must've been sheer insanity, with 6 kids 6 and under at their house, but the kids had a blast. My girls looked forward to it for WEEKS; they still remembered the party they had last year. Grandma Beth goes all out for this thing: decorations, party hats, noisemakers, special crafts, special dinner and snacks IN the grown-up dining room, games, stories, AND a sleepover? Can it get any better than that!?

This year, the hit of the party was the "blindfold game," where Grandma blindfolded someone and they had to guess which stuffed animal they were holding (chosen from a giant pile of stuffed animals next to the party-goers). The best part was apparently when GRANDPA took a turn. Another hit was storytime- they read books for at least an hour. Grandma said their favorite was one about a little sheep, wolves, and a shepherd -a parable full of symbolism - when Grandpa asked if anyone knew what that meant, everyone said no except for Sadie, of course, who piped up, " I know what it means... it's like when God killed the devil, which is sin. I learned that at the Boar's Head Festival!" Yay, my future English major!

The next day, all the parents showed up and we opened our Christmas presents and had waffles. The kids loved their gifts from our Ohio family... a Mousetrap game from Aunt Sarah, books, teacups, and the next Little House Book on CD from Grandma & Grandpa, a paintable teaset & Shirley Temple movies from Aunt Cindy & Uncle Bob, a Sit and Spin from Beck & James, teeny dress up dolls from Lyd & Darryl, mosaics, ponies, and a keyboard from Lynn & Deanna... I can't remember everything. There was a lot! They loved it all and they were very good this year about saying thank you and giving everyone hugs. I was proud of them for their good manners!

Later we bundled up and trekked over to the sledding hill in the nearby park. I, of course, abstained from sledding, since I would probably end up in the emergency room or WORSE, but the girls had a good old time flying down the hill with Uncle James, their cousins, Aunt Becky, Aunt Cindy, and Grandma. They are so brave, if somewhat lazy... Aunt Cindy kept pulling Josie and Ireson up the hill because they didn't want to have to walk back up on their own power! :)

It was a good day, and we are thankful for our families, near and far.

Oh Christmas Eve

Josie spent the last two weeks singing, "Oh Chrismtas Eve, oh Christmas Eve!" in perfect tune with "O Christmas Tree," which I think is a vast improvement on the lyrics. We should come up with a totally new song for next year.

We finally got to have our Lansing Family Christmas at our house the day after we got back from NC. Santa works his way up from the equator, so he comes to our house later than he does in the south. :) The girls were filled with excitement, and they put out milk, cookies, and water for Rudolph the night before. The next morning they waited for us to go into the living room to see what Santa brought... they were so excited! Josie had been wishing for a Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, while Sadie really wanted a Barbie Mermaid Falls toy to play with in the tub. Adelaide got a refinished little kid rocking chair in bright green (that just happened to be mine when I was a little girl). We had lots of fun opening presents, playing, and just spending the morning together before Daddy had to go to work. Sadie got him a set of checkers, which he wants to teach her how to play pretty soon, and Josie got him a little race car model for them to build together. Sweet!

We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys (the biggest hit seemed to be the GIGANTIC ball Jesse ordered for them from Hearthsong... you can actually crawl INSIDE it and roll around) and napping, because we were all Christmased out!

The Claw!

A few nights before we left NC, Jesse and I were in bed watching "Elf" when we heard Grandma's voice yelling this from the living room: "Woohoo! Hey!!! Hey!! Somebody help! Woooo!!!" I jumped up as fast as I could and ran into the living room to see what the heck was going on, only to find Sadie and my mom curled up on the couch fast asleep and my grandma leaned back in her recliner, snoring. Apparently sleeping in a recliner can give you a doozy of a bad dream. Jesse and I got a good laugh out it, and we all made fun of Grandma the next morning. Good thing she's a good sport and laughs at herself too!

On Sunday afternoon, I was in the bedroom with the door closed when my mom stuck her head in and said, "Is Adelaide in here?" (she had been playing in the kitchen with my mom and grandma). I said, "Ummm, no. I thought she was with you." Mama said, "We can't find her! We've looked everywhere!" Of course, I thought the worst...she had opened the back door, wandered to the road, gotten hit by a car... something like that. Then I saw Grandma leaning over to look underneath the long tablecloth on the dining room table. She said, "Hello?" A little voice said, "Heh-wo!" Adelaide had swiped a candy cane out of the candy bowl, then HID under the table to tear off the plastic wrapper and eat the candy cane unhindered. What a sneak!

Sunday night, Sharon and Gary came down and Sharon told Josie, "You are just as cute as a button!" Josie responded, "Well, I am! I am CUTER than a button!" Later, Uncle Gary honed his storytelling skills with Josie, after teaching her what it means to be "all riled up" right before bedtime. Thanks, Gary! :) He told her about THE CLAW, which is when his hand loses control of itself and tries to grab you and tickle you, even when he tries to stop it :) Josie thought this was HILARIOUS. When he was trying to tell her a story about Brer Rabbit, she kept interrupting and yelling "It's THE CLAW!" and grabbing him and tickling him. Great fun!

When Melanie and Ada stopped by, Ada (a VERY precocious 2 year old) told us this joke (or at least this is how we heard it): "Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other side!" Funny, especially coming from her. Later that day, after thinking about it a while, Sadie said, "You know what? If I made that joke up, I would say, 'Why did the chicken cross the playground - To get to the other SLIDE!'" Badomp bomp!

Lying on the bed, goofing off with Adelaide, Jesse said, "Who's your best friend?" Without missing a beat, she said,"Daddy!"

On Monday, we climbed in the car and Josie said, "Mommy, I have a hypothesis." I didn't even know she KNEW that word! We picked up my Daddy (Papaw) to go over to the park and go "Traipsing through the snow." It was COLD. The girls didn't want me to go with them, so Adelaide and I wandered around while they went on a big adventure with Papaw. At one point, he told Sadie to watch it or she was going to fall. Sure enough, right after that, boom! She said, "I fell right on my hind end!" When we left, I was preoccupied with getting everyone in and getting the snow off, and so when we pulled out onto the street, Adelaide called from the back seat: "Buckle! Buckle!" Sure enough, I hadn't buckled her all the way in. Daddy was very impressed with her smartness (not with my lapse in safety)!

Snow Heatherns

Adelaide has somehow decided that the proper way to run is by putting her arms straight out behind her... like a backwards superhero. It's hilarious!

Today she flew over to Papaw and Mamaw's with us for Christmas dinner (turkey, yummy mashed potatoes, etc.) and to open gifts. The kids made quite a haul: new shoes, clothes, backpacks, books, dolls, and the piece de resistance...two big hatboxes full of dress up clothes. Josie's had a purple hat with a plume, gloves, a boa, and a skirt and shirt, and Sadie's had a pink ballerina dress, flats with ribbons, a crown, a magic wand, and a bracelet. They immediately ran to put these on, and then they proceeded to put on a "Cinderella show," with Sadie as Cinderella and Josie as ALL of the supporting roles (Fairy Godmother, Prince, Stepsisters, etc.). Papaw and Mamaw enjoyed the show immensely, especially the "after show" when the actors came out to curtsy and 'meet the audience.'

Later, we went out to play (Papaw tried out Sadie's new scooter) and they had fun running up and down the driveway (Adelaide), riding the push car (Josie), and jumping through the snow making rabbit tracks (Sadie). After the grownups got too cold and went inside, Papaw opened the door and yelled out to the kids, "HEY! Get in here, you little heatherns!" :)

The girls wanted to stay at their house, but Jesse and I had to put Adelaide down for a nap and meet Brian for dinner. As I was leaving and giving final (obey) instructions for the girls, I told my daddy, "Don't let them see anything on TV with bad words, cause they'll repeat it..." Josie piped up, "Yep, we will!"

P.U.

Taylor and Evelyn came over to see the kids this morning... Sadie pulled Taylor back into the 'playroom' and was shortly joined by Josie. Apparently, somehow the conversation turned to personal hygiene. Sadie to Taylor: "You're too big to take a bath, aren't you?" Taylor: "Yeah...I haven't taken a bath in the tub since I was your age." Josie: "You must be pretty stinky, then."

Hog Pig

Sadie: "I can't wait to get to Brenda's for opening presents because we get to go Hog Pig!" (aka "Hog Wild")

Adelaide: "Night night." (on the floor at Brenda's after the Christmas extravaganza - and after bedtime).

Josie: "I had very much fun when Daddy took a nap with me. That's all I wanted for Christmas, and it was like a sleepover!"

There are No Orphans of God

The Christmas cantata at Chasity's church was great. After taking my Daddy a coconut cake and some of Jesse's pecan pie, we met Becky, Stephen, and Hailey at the church and settled in to watch the show (after Sadie and Josie snuck backstage with Chasity - they thought that was great fun). We sat behind Becky and Stephen so we could talk more easily, though I think they were probably sorry once the cantata started. About halfway through, there was a song called "This is Our God," that talked about the sacrifice that God and Jesus made with Jesus' birth, life, and death, and how much they love us. Well, I started crying, and I didn't stop until the very end. After that song, Chasity sang her solo... and she was just amazing. I was so proud of her - I haven't heard her sing in church in years, since we used to sing together. She was SO GOOD and the song was definitely the best one in the whole cantata. It was called "There Are No Orphans of God." It talked about how no matter how bad things seem here on earth, God sees us all the same... loves us all the same... there are no outcasts, there are no strangers, there are no orphans of God." I pretty much bawled through it, and I started getting backward glances from Becky and Stephen and our kids (I think it scared them that I was crying so much - Josie came to sit on my lap and rub my head) - and I didn't have a tissue anywhere. I ended up having to wipe my eyes on my nursing wrap/cover, which doubled as the world's largest handkerchief. After that, Kimmie came out and did this dance and then there was some miming to another song. It was very cool - they turned out all the lights, and the mimes, who were wearing all black except for white gloves, stood underneath a black light so the gloves glowed bright blue. There was another song then about how no matter what you've done or how far you've been from God, he still wants you to come back. Some of the mimes fashioned a cross out of their hands while the other ones made "come forward" motions with their hands, like Jesus is calling you to the cross. It was so touching to me... I've felt kind of like a wall has been up between me and God for quite a while now, but suddenly, the walls crashed down and I had a tremendously emotional (and welcome) experience. I felt like God had given ME a Christmas present right then... and I am SO glad that we went. I guess it was all a part of the plan. I haven't been to a Christmas play in over 8 years, and we just happened to be able to make it to that one. Coincidence? I think not.

After the play was over we all met in the fellowship hall with everyone for cookies (LOTS of cookies) and to talk over the play. It was a fun night. Jesse asked what the difference was between a Baptist and a Methodist (he really wanted to know what the answer was) and Stephen laughingly explained that "A Methodist will say hello to you in the liquor store." Hehee

On Christmas Eve, Jesse and I finally made it to Kohl's to see Brian for a few minutes and pick up some last minute things (and we snuck to Sonic for lunch - by ourselves). Then we went in circles around the grocery store, searching for frozen orange juice to make punch with. Later, after much drama at Grandma's (rivaling the Jerry Springer Show), we finally made it to the Church Christmas Dinner (not A church, but the Church Family) with my Daddy and Sylvia. It was good to see all of my family there together and the girls warmed right up to their cousins and played a rousing game of tag. The cutest part was seeing Sadie, Josie, Lauren, and Sydney (Syndey, according to Josie) sitting in the kitchen floor all together while Sadie told them stories. Too cute.

Next we trekked to Scotty and Angela's for ANOTHER dinner and more Christmas madness. It actually wasn't too crazy this year, and the girls had a great time - Sadie and Josie playing with Cameron, Caleb, Adam, Natasha... and Adelaide playing with (and fighting with) Bayleigh. Grandma Genevieve had given Adelaide some really cute sparkly silver shoes the other day, but her little foot was too chunky to wear them! So Grandma gave them to Bayleigh (their birthdays are two weeks apart), who had them on last night. Adelaide spotted the shoes right away, and proceeded to try to be like Grandpa Roy and "re-po" them. Bayleigh said, "Mine!" and took one shoe, but Adelaide said, "ADDALAY!" and snatched one back. This went on for some time, and we thought there was going to be a fight! The older great-grandkids put on a show, much to Uncle Thomas' dismay :) but everyone else liked it! Sadie and Josie said the "Long Long Ago" poem, and then Cameron sang the verses to "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and the other kids chimed in on the chorus. It was really good, I thought!

We got Bayleigh a red and white hat like Adelaide's blue one (the world's cutest hat) and when they put them on, the whole room stopped to watch. It was the CUTEST thing EVER. Of course, they wouldn't sit still enough for us to get a good picture, but it was one of those things you won't forget!

When we got back to Grandma's house, we all got ready for bed and then Jesse read us the Christmas story from Luke (my favorite version) before we all snuggled in for a long winter's nap. This morning, Sadie and Josie were thrilled to find new Razor Scooters with their names on them! They tore through the house all morning, toes beware! Adelaide had new tub toys, which she had to check out in the "sub, sub!" and Jesse got me some cool new leopard PJs. I feel blessed beyond measure this year, even though financially, times are kind of hard. God knows just what we need, doesn't He? It's amazing. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Oh Chwistmas Twee!

I've decided that while life isn't really more important here in the South than it is at home in Ohio, I just tend to have extra time to write things down while I'm here; hence the play by play!

We ended up leaving a day earlier than expected after Scotty called and warned us of an impending blizzard on Friday (we were supposed to leave Friday afternoon after Jesse got off work). Roy graciously said to "hit the road," and we did... at 7pm on Thursday night. We drove all night and got here at 4:30am on Friday. It's a good thing we did, too, because they got almost a foot of snow here, which hasn't happened since I was 17! That's a long time, and it takes the one plow in the state of NC a VERY long time to plow all the roads here. :) The kids were really good in the car, and I thoroughly enjoyed the new song I learned from their book on tape: "I'm Herman the worm-an and I like my squirming and I like being close to the ground... boom boom!" I think I liked it more than they did, and now the silly, non-Christmasy song is stuck in my head.

On Friday, before the roads got really bad, we delivered Cinnamon Bread to Louis and Brenda (after I lost it, blamed Jesse for forgetting it, then found it in the van) then came back to Grandma's and got to see Derek and Theda for a few mintues before they left for Florida (they brought us a whole box full of yummy cannoli). The snow fell, and fell, and fell, and one of Grandma's giant spruce trees fell, and the snow still fell!

Saturday, when we woke up, there was snow everywhere, and all the southerners blamed us for bringing it with us. We put plastic bags on our shoes (of course we didn't bring any snow clothes down here... who would've thought?) and headed up to Angela and Scotty's house, and proceeded to play in the snow ALL DAY. Sadie and Josie ended up wearing a dazzling array of clothing borrowed from Cameron, Caleb, Angela, and Sharon. They went sledding (Sadie went really far, overshooting the boundary tree and landing in the blueberry patch once; Josie and Caleb went tandem-sledding and there was much squealing and shouting for joy), played with the cat, Spencer (Sadie kept carrying him around and putting him in the snow when she thought no one was looking), riding the 4wheeler with Daddy and Scotty, unfroze at Aunt Sharon's (Sadie spent a long time at her house, eating chili beans and thawing out with hot chocolate), and had a great time playing with the boys in their rooms. Adelaide took a long nap on Caleb's bed, then ran around playing with bowls (I cleaned out Angela's tupperware cabinet) and trying to keep up with the big kids. Jesse, Scotty, and Uncle Gary spent the day getting cars unstuck from the driveway, clearing driveways, and playing around on the 4 wheelers. Angela and I finished wrapping her presents and then she made my new favorite for dinner: Hamburger pie!

On Sunday, there was no church anywhere, so we went over to spend the morning and early afternoon with Daddy and Sylvia. The kids were really glad to see them and ended up staying over there to snuggle, eat popcorn, and watch movies after Jesse and I left to put Adelaide down for a nap. Daddy told them the "tobacco story" about how when he was little, his daddy bought cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco for him and his four brothers, and put it all out on the table and said, "Boys, I think you're old enough for this now, so have at it!" They learned a lesson that day, and NONE of them ever smoked. Sadie and Josie think this is incredibly funny. I think it was good parenting! Josie is excited about the pile of gifts under Mamaw and Papaw's tree... and I quote, "Hey! Look at our stack!"

While they were there, I snuck out and picked up Melanie for a quick trip to Cato's. It was great... we have to steal moments together when we can, you know.

Later, Thomas, Elizabeth, Josh, Natasha, Britt, and Bayleigh came over to play. Adelaide was a little shy at first, but she finally warmed up to Bayleigh and they are SO cute together. I could just sit and watch them play together for hours. Later Angela, Scotty, and the boys came down for supper (Great Grandma let Sadie and Josie help make the biscuits), and the house was madness. But it's fun madness when you're all together at Grandma's house, even if I did have to do the dishes! The kids were going crazy, running around and around and around from the kitchen to the living room, wrestling in the floor, and finally Angela and Scotty took ALL of them to their house (except the babies) for a sleepover.

On Monday, the kids stayed at Angela's for as long as was humanly possible. They were NOT ready to go, but I thought Angela was ready for them to go! They'd had a great time sleeping in the living room floor, having PJ day, forming alliances (older kids against younger kids) making cinnamon/applesauce ornaments, and having a generally good old time. Jesse and I took Adelaide and went to the bank, where we saw my cousin Kristi and several other people who loved Adelaide's hat! Then we picked up the girls and put them all down for a LONG nap. Later, we went to my Daddy's and Sylvia's (Papaw's and Mamaw's) for T-bones (cooked by flashlight on the carport outside), and then a rousing game of catch in the living room... Sadie gave Mamaw a reprieve from story-telling for the night!

Tuesday: How many times can one person go to Walmart? I think I've been there 5 times already and I've only been here for 5 days. Ridiculous! We got BoJangle's for breakfast, then I went to Angela's for a while (by myself) while she baked me my very own Hamburger Pie. Sounds gross, tastes delicious! Later we took the kids over to play with Dalton and Noah (Kimmie is almost 13 - almost too old to play!) and Chass made them macaroni and hot dogs for lunch. Adelaide and Sadie kept trying to swipe M&M's, and Josie and Dalton played non-stop, listening to music and running around like hoodlums. After we got back to Grandma's, Melanie and Ada stopped by to play for a while, and Jesse made pecan pies with Sadie and Josie. The kids and I went out to Daddy's, where there was much tickling, ball-playing, and dirty fake-outs (Papaw taught Josie to fake a throw, so she kept looking at him while she chucked the ball at Sadie!:). After we got the kids to bed, Jesse and I went BACK to Walmart AGAIN, where we saw my cousin Bridget, then went up to Melanie's to hang out... just grown ups!

Wednesday: Grandma made the kids livermush for breakfast, then Amanda came over and we all went up to Melanie's to play until naptime. Later, we're headed off with Becky, Stephen, and Hailey to see Kimmie and Chasity perform in their Christmas play. So far, we're having a great mix of relaxation and busyness! Hope it stays this way!

Christmas Jingles

Josie: "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, is a partridge in a pear tree!"

Josie and Sadie: "Deck the halls with bells (bales?) of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la!"

Adelaide: "La la la LA!!"

Sadie: "Well, Santa is good, but we all know the TRUE meaning of Christmas. And that would be Jesus is born!"

Adelaide: "Ho ho ho! Doot!"

Pet Ant

Sadie: If I were in Chicago and Lydia was there with me, there would be TWO Lydias there." (Simon's mom is also named Lydia). "So how would one Lydia know if I was talking to her?"

Mommy: "Well, you could call Aunt Lydia "Aunt Lydia," and you could call Miss Lydia "Miss Lydia."

Josie: "I don't have an Ant Lydia."

Mommy: "Um... Yes you do."

Josie: "No, I don't have have a pet ant named Lydia. I don't have an Ant Lydia. I do have a pet uncle, though, and his name is Darryl."

Sprinkles

Yesterday the kids helped me with a Christmas tradition: we made holly. Like Rice Krispie treats, only with cornflakes and green food coloring. It was so much fun... I actually relaxed for a while and let them do all the stirring, and then they took turns putting the berries on (red hots) and eating them (one for you, one for me, one for you, two for me...). Today, we've been working on cookies. They are sprinkle-nuts. Seriously, if you pick up a cookie they put sprinkles on, you are covered in sprinkles because there is no way the poor icing could possibly hold that number of sprinkles! Anyway, it's fun. Now we're on to stacking the presents for NC (trying to fit them all in a single laundry basket should be fun) and getting ready for Sugar Cookie Day at Aunt Sue's house tomorrow and NC the day after that!

No One "Huhs" Like Gaston

Last Friday, Grandma Beth took Sadie, Josie, Aunt Becky, James, Teagan, and me to the theater to see "Beauty and the Beast." It was a great show! The kids were so excited (it's one of their favorite stories and they love any live theater, PLUS Grandma, Aunt Becky, and their cousins? What could be more fun?). They dressed up in their Christmas finery, we had dinner (just them and Mommy), then we met up at the theater with Grandma. They couldn't wait to get inside the auditorium, and they kept trying to peek in the doors before the ushers started seating people. The ladies outside the doors were big fans of their "Dorothy shoes," which Grammie gave them early for Christmas, just for such occasions as this. Josie volunteered to sit with me in front of everyone else (we had 5 tickets in one row, 2 in another) and proceeded to strike up a conversation with an older gentleman next to her. She and Sadie and James were very friendly and talkative until the show started, then they all sat back and watched as Belle came on stage - and this lady REALLY sounded like the Belle from Disney's animated cartoon. We were impressed. We recognized some of the actors from the "Annie" show we saw back in September, which was neat. The Beast did an excellent job... I didn't even realize that he was the same guy as the Prince until the end of the show... I thought he was 2 totally separate actors! That's good work! James and Sadie were so excited (Teagan too)... I kept hearing them whispering back and forth to each other and to Grandma - and Aunt Becky had to keep shushing them, but it was still fun! After the show the kids got to meet some of the characters (they wouldn't go near Gaston, though, which was a hoot - he was really great at being the bad guy, but I think the kids thought he was a little TOO good at it), which is the plus of a smaller theater. They wouldn't meet you out front to shake hands if we were downtown at Playhouse Square, that's for sure! We love going to see plays, and one of Sadie's goals for this year is to "do a play" of her own.

The best part of all of this for me is the fact that Sadie, Josie, AND Adelaide (who didn't even see the play, but copies her sisters perfectly) go around striking "muscle poses" like Gaston and going "Huh! Huh!"

Good Twy

Today during naptime, Josie ran into my room, crying. She snuggled her head against me while she sat on my lap and explained that she "just can't be good all the time." She said, "I want to be a good sister - I twy and I twy and I just can't do it!" This all started two days ago when she accidentally pushed Adelaide off the special reading chair in the living room and Adelaide bonked her head on the floor. Josie's been feeling guilty ever since, and she keeps thinking about being a bad sister. I'm glad that she has a conscience about things like this, but what can I say besides "I try to be good all the time too, and I can't do it either. God just wants us to keep on trying."

Christmasy

Feeling "Christmasy," today, although I was forced from my sickbed to pick up family portraits at the mall. While walking by the "Christmas Train," I found that I only had $3 cash. The Christmas Train costs $2 each, so only one kid could ride. Just when I decided that NO ONE was going to ride, a nice elderly lady came up and gave us $1 and told us her grandkids were too big now to ride the Christmas Train, so this ride was on her. Sadie and Josie jumped up and down, squealed, and said, Merry Christmas, nice lady!"

Boo Boo!

Tonight in the car, Adelaide got her chubby little pointer finger stuck in the hole in a plastic drink cup lid. She poked it in there, and then of course the little poky teeth around the bottom of the hole held her finger for ransom. She freaked out. I was driving, so I couldn't just turn around and help her, and she screamed like an alligator was chewing her hand off or something. Finally I put my flashers on and pulled over, but of course I couldn't get it off either... it was like Chinese handcuffs! Luckily, I had my handy-dandy fingernail clippers in the van, so I cut the side of the lid and tore it in half. She then held her injured (but not bleeding) finger up to my lips and said, plain as day, "Boo boo." After I kissed it for her, she was fine. Aahhh... the healing powers of a Mommy's kiss. There's nothing else like it, is there?

Nativity

Today at church, Sadie and Josie and I sang the Thank You For Your Blessings song. On stage, in front of everyone, WITH my guitar. It was a big step for me... performing and playing at the same time (and I use the word "playing" in the loosest sense possible). I guess it sounded okay. A few times I just stopped strumming because I knew I had the wrong chord... Jesse said no one noticed because no one there plays the guitar. Including me. :) Anyway, I was so proud of the girls... they sang their little hearts out, and they stood very still on the stage next to me with their arms by their sides and smiles on their faces, just like we practiced! I had told them I was nervous (about playing in front of people for the first time) beforehand, but I think it's important they know that Mommies get scared sometimes too, and you just have to face your fears and move ahead. Hopefully that was a little life lesson for them... that even though you might mess up, at least you try!

This afternoon Beth and Roy came over for soup and turkey sandwiches, and the women (or females, I should say, since Sadie and Josie helped too) put up the Christmas decorations while Grandpa and Daddy watched football. Seriously, how much football can a person watch, anyway!? I can watch it for about 10 minutes before I completely conk out. Anyway, we got the stuff put out, and later there was a "shift change" when Grandpa and Grandma left and Grammie and Grampie arrived. After that, we finished decorating the tree and Jesse put up my new nativity that he cut out for me with his handy dandy scrollsaw and that the kids and I painted. Adelaide said, "Oooh!" when she saw it, so I think she likes it too. Then while I crashed on the couch (decorating is hard work) Sadie and Josie and Adelaide and Grammie played dress up. First, Sadie came in as Cinderella, with the scary full-face mask on that I wore for Halloween when I was little. It's not supposed to be scary, but there's just something about it covering up her entire face with just her little eyes peeking out that gives me the willies! Her blue Cinderella dress comes up to the middle of her thighs now! That is because she is what we from the South call a "long-legged fraycus." Next, Josie came in with a long pink ballgown on and a pot full of daffodills which she informed me was her wedding bouquet. They sang "here comes the bride, big fat and wide" and she threw the bouquet (pot and all) to me. Last but not least, Adelaide made her dress up debut by toddling as fast as she could through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the living room sporting a flaming red, super long, wild and crazy Ariel wig. She thought it was the best and kept saying "Hat! Hat!"

All in all, it was a good, productive day. Let's see what the rest of the week has in store. :)

Thank you, Lord

There's a roof up above me
I've a good place to sleep
There's food on my table
And shoes on my feet
You gave me Your love, Lord
and a fine family
Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me.

This was always a kind of "theme song" at White Oak Baptist, the church where I grew up. Sometimes we sang it so much that I got sick of it! Looking back as an adult, I now understand why those words never got old to the "older" crowd at church. These words are so true! Those people knew something that I, as a child, didn't. I taught the chorus to Sadie and Josie, and I hope I can teach them the truth of these words as well.

Migration

Josie likes to say, "Sometimes you ALWAYS..." as in, "Sometimes you always wear that shirt," or "Sometimes you always put jelly on my toast." Jesse thinks it's a hoot.

In the car on the way to lunch today (we met Grandpa, Aunt Lydia, and Lynn at the Mexican place) Sadie pointed out a big flock of crows. She said that they would probably be migrating soon. Josie said, "I know what that is! That's when they go south to look for food! Hey... I will be migrating soon. To look for macaroni and cheese and dumplins and pinto beans." She didn't really mean it as a joke, but I thought it was a great one!

Right now, I hear Sadie and Josie singing "I love you cheeseburger" in the bathtub, amid splashing and laughing... I hear Jesse and Adelaide stomping through the bedroom, playing hide-and-seek (aka "Peet-boo!")and squealing with glee (Adelaide, not Jesse)... life is good.

Tricky tricky

Last night before I put the kids to bed I told Josie a secret - that we were going to go to Grammie's house for breakfast this morning. Shortly thereafter, Josie tracks me down in the utility room (gathering up laundry, as usual), with tears streaming down her face. Clearly distraught, she finally got the words out: "I told I told I told Sadie my secret, and she told me her secret if I telled her my secret, and her secret was... it was... (big sniff) that she is going to the waterpark with Daddy all by herself and (sobbing) NOT ME!" Poor Josie. I explained that Sadie had just played a mean trick on her to try to get her to tell her "secret." Sadie obviously wanted to know Josie's secret, and pulled the old "I'll tell you if you'll tell me" trick, although Sadie completely fabricated her secret. Josie narrowed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and stomped back to bed. A hard lesson learned.

Fun and... Not.

Yesterday I heard snorting, chortling, and chuckling coming from the direction of Adelaide's bedroom. I snuck in, and found Sadie IN the crib with Adelaide, with blankets pulled over their heads. Apparently, this was just too much fun for Adelaide, who ended up with the hiccups.

We have been using chore charts for about 4 months now. When the girls do something right, they get a check. If they do something wrong, like disobeying, fighting, etc., they get a "big fat X." Josie did not want to take a nap the other day. Just the simple fact that she was whining and crying about it proved the fact that she NEEDED to take a nap. I told her that if she didn't stop by the time I counted to three, she was getting an X. Josie, whispering under her breath while she stomped down the hall to her room said, "If you do give me an "X", then I will just ERASE it." What the heck!? Who does she think she is?!

Today while we were shopping, Josie had to go potty. While we were in the bathroom, she informed me that she could not go poop if I were talking, or if I were in the stall with her. I politely went to stand over by the sink, then burst out laughing when I heard her say, "Yes!"

Sadie Says

The other night for the first time in literally YEARS, I mixed up some Manwich sauce with some ground beef. The kids were grossed out when I told them it was called "Manwich." Of course, at first they thought it was made out of a man. Then after they tried it, they liked it. I laughed when Sadie asked for seconds: "More Sasquatch stuff please!"

We've been listening to VeggieTales Silly Songs with Larry. One of our favorites is "Where, oh where is my Hairbrush?" It's a catchy tune, believe me! When Sadie went to the grocery store with me the other night, she (of course) had to go potty. I asked if she could wait till we got home, but then she launched into this rendition: "Where, oh where is the bathroom?"

I introduced the girls to this little hand game that Angela and I used to play when we were little: "Bubblegum bubblegum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish?" Cute, huh? Then Daddy got in on it and changed the words: "Snakes, lizards, monkeys, and frogs... how many beatings do you want with a log?" Sadie yelled, "ZERO!"

Dr.Goose

"Hi... I'm Doctor Goose!"

Precisely

Mommy: "Josie, don't forget to help with the dishwasher. That's on your chore chart, you know."

Sadie: "She doesn't do that one anymore. She retired."

Later that same day...

Sadie: "I am making a special stew. Hold on just a minute... I have to get a very precise measurement here and I don't want to mess up."

Good grief.

Mistaken Identity

Last night I read a book called "Just Like Daddy" to the girls. I always tell them who the author and the illustrator are before we start reading. The illustrator of this particular book was some guy named Frank Asch. As soon as I got the words out of my mouth, Josie, all excited, yelled, "Hey! I KNOW him!"

She doesn't.

Beauty and the Breast

Adelaide is now 17 months old, and I know that I should probably start weaning her (some of you would say I should've weaned her already!) but every time I think about it, I almost cry. Who knew I would grow this attached to something that I initially loathed and detested? I have to write down everything I love about it, since she may decide on her own that she's done and I may have no say in the matter. I love:

1. How she snuggles her little head down into the crook of my arm
2. How she opens her mouth like a little bird, and laughs if I wiggle around so she can't get to me
3. How she pats and/or squeezes me at the same time she's nursing
4. How she looks up at me with those big blue eyes and gets a "glazed, milk-drunk" expression
5. How when she's done, she's all rosy-cheeked, crazy-haired, and toasty-warm
6. How she goes "Mmummummumumum" when her mouth's full
7. How she digs into my shirt with both hands and tries to yank it out while saying "booboob"
8. How we snuggle together under the covers in the morning while she nurses and pulls on my bra strap, hair, or anything else she can busy herself with
9. How she thinks it's so funny to try to stick her finger up my nose when I'm not looking
10.How she follows me around, pointing and saying, "Eh, eh, eh!" and then gets all excited and laughs "heh heh" when I pick her up and ask her if she wants to nurse
11.How she plays with her hair and her little ears (which sometimes get folded back and stuck to her head) while she's nursing
12.How she does "the motions" to her lullaby at the same time (eyes, nose, ears, toes, hair, cheeks, mouth, 'feets')

Sigh. See? It's going to be hard to give it up. I never would've thought it. It almost makes me want to have another one.... Maybe I shouldn't stop just yet!

Where's the Trust?

One of my favorite things about Josie is the way she talks. She still says, "Woild" (world), "Goil" (girl), "lellow" (yellow), "dwink" (drink), Old MacDonald's (McDonald's) "That's cracka-lacking!" (her favorite quote from the Madagascar movie) and my new favorite: "Pencil sharpeninger" - you can figure that one out.

The other day we were discussing potty issues and when she might learn to clean her own little butt instead of yelling, "MOMMY!!! I'M DONE! MOMMMMMMMMYYYY!" I told her I thought it was about time to learn to do it herself. She looked at me very seriously and said, "Listen, Mommy, I'm still a little kid."

I made the first vegetable soup of the year last week, and as Josie was eating it, she kept picking at something in the bowl with her spoon. I told her she needed to finish her soup so I could clean up the kitchen. She said, "What IS this, Mommy?" I said, "It's a carrot." She said, "No it's not, it's a tomato." (she won't eat tomatoes). I said, "It's a carrot." She said, "You call it a carrot; I call it a tomato."

On the way to church Sunday, she asked Jesse a question... he answered her, but then she asked me the same question. He said, "What? You don't trust me?" She answered, "No, but I don't trust Mommy, either."


James, Teagan, and Ireson came over to play the other day and Teagan said something that hurt James' feelings... I don't know what it was, but he was practically in tears and Sadie was upset for him. Wearing her big pink princess dress (the one with the hoop skirt that Mamaw gave her), she dramatically proclaimed before she flounced out of the room: "She (Teagan) is mean and cruel too. This is no place for a lady!"

It's a Cruel, Cruel Summer...Now You're Grown

I know, I know... they're not really grown, but they're more grown now than they were at the beginning of summer. I was thinking the other day as we were riding bikes down the street (Sadie on her 2 wheeler, tearing it up in front, Josie on her hot wheels, pedaling as fast as she could, little legs all in a blur, saying that she likes to "drink the fall air," and Adelaide snuggled in the bike trailer behind me yelling "Dat! Tee! Mama!") that this was the only summer that the girls would be just this way. Adelaide, toddling around saying "Doot" to anything that moved, wading in the pool, throwing her leg over the side and climbing in with all her clothes on, soaking her diaper, eating sand at the beach, wearing her cute little pink sun-hat over her cute little sweaty pink cheeks; Sadie, long and lanky and reckless, climbing trees and jumping over anything she can stack up, whizzing by barefoot on her bike, catching toads and squirting her sisters with the hose; Josie, begging to go outside with no shoes on (ever), watering all the flowers with the watering can, always asking for popsicles, tan lines from her 2 piece Winnie the Pooh swimsuit.... Sometimes I love them so much it overwhelms me. I want to freeze them in time - capture the moment - keep them just this way forever. But, summer is officially over... another year gone, another year grown.

Don't be a sucker

Adelaide is a little goofball. She does things that are SO CUTE that is almost makes my heart hurt to see them. For example, if she sees you looking at her, she'll tilt her head over to the side almost as far as it can go, then SLOWLY tilt it back the other way, all while watching you with her big blue eyes. Also, she uses her face as a blueberry vaccuum. If you drop blueberries on the table in front of her (or any kind of little food on the ground, or anywhere) she'll plant her face down on the table (or ground) and suck them up. It's hilarious. Maybe not the most hygienic thing in the world, but funny nonetheless. She's also taken to flopping backwards onto Sadie's or Josie's beds, just lying there looking around... or flopping down on the floor wherever she is if she's tired or wants to look cute. She knows she is!

In other news, she's started yelling, "SAY-DAY! O-SAY!" at the top of her lungs while she runs up and down the hall, looking for her sisters. It's a nice break from "Mama!" which she said a whopping 148 times the other day (yes, I counted).

Tipsy

Well, since the very popular "Night at the Theater" when we saw Annie, quotes and song renditions have been popping up all over the place. I can't get "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" out of my head. Josie goes around singing "No one cares for you! A Smidge! When you're in an Orph! Anage!" while Sadie prefers "Lucky me, lucky me, lucky me... I'm dripping with LITTLE GIRLS!" There is a part in the play when Ms. Farrell is trying to take Annie out of the orphanage for a week to stay with Mr. Warbucks. Miss Hannigan does NOT want this to happen, because Annie is in trouble and has 'got it coming to her, and I don't mean a week in the lap of luxury!' When Ms. Farrell asked why Annie can't go, Miss Hannigan says, "Umm... umm... well, she's a drunk." OF COURSE, that's the quote that Sadie had to run with (she doesn't even know what a drunk is!). The other day I asked Josie to help me do something and she said, "I can't!" I said, "Why not?" and Sadie piped up from down the hallway: "She's a drunk!" I hope this one doesn't surface at church. :)

Don't You Believe It!

Josie and Sadie usually start their day by watching ONE Tom & Jerry cartoon, while they wake up and I make breakfast. While this has been the source of many jokes and giggles on their part ("Is you is, or is you ain't my baby?") AND something they have in common with Lynn and Deanna, my favorite quote is by Tom, after blowing up a radioactive mouse that he was told was not dangerous:

"DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!"

You also may hear Josie saying this for no apparent reason... she just thinks it's funny, especially since she knows it makes me laugh. Well, the other night, she almost got in trouble because she wouldn't stop talking and go to sleep. I went in to tell her twice, then the third time I was done warning her. I said, "This is it. You will stop talking and you WILL go to sleep." She said, "Mommy, I just can't stop talking. God made me this way."

I left and went down the hall.

"DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT!"

What Kind of a...

As I was making lunch the other day, Sadie ran in the kitchen and asked if she could have a granola bar...the kind with icing all over the top. I said no, since we were going to be eating lunch in about 5 minutes. She stomped off, sulking, then came back in a few minutes later with her hands held out, palms up: "What kind of a mother - will not give her child - something to eat - when she is hungry?!" Oh my gosh... I could not keep from laughing, sassy though it may have been.

Aunt Lydia and Uncle Darryl went to Disney World for their anniversary/birthdays last week, and they brought the girls gifts back. Aunt Lyd is the coolest - she actually called from Florida to ask which Disney characters they wanted for sure. She came over on Thursday and brought the much-anticipated presents with her. Sadie and Josie tackled her at the door, yelling, "OH... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" before she ever even gave them the gifts. When she presented them (A tiny Tinkerbell with tons of accessories for Josie, a tiny Ariel with tons of accessories for Sadie), I thought they were going to actually jump out of their skins. They LOVE these little dolls and have played with them pretty much non-stop ever since. That night when saying prayers, Sadie bowed her head and said (heart-feltly :), "And God, thank you so much for Aunt Lydia and these WONDERFUL DOLLS!"

We've Got Annie

After 2 weeks of sticking to their chore charts, getting checks the whole time -- a major accomplishment, believe me, especially since one of their chores is "be kind to my sisters," the girls finally worked their way to their big reward: Seeing "Annie" on stage.

To be honest, since it was their first real experience with live theater, I think I was as excited as they were. Grammie came over to watch Adelaide, since "only big girls can go to see plays," and we dressed up in our fancy dresses and Daddy even
donned a nice shirt and dress pants. The girls said he would be the "handsomest daddy there." We decided to make a night of it, leaving early so we could have dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Several people there commented on how pretty they looked, and even said, "Enjoy the show!" when we left (the theater was right around the corner from the restaurant). On the way, we went over different vocabulary words so they'd know what was going on - the set, the narrator, intermission, props, etc. and then - there we were. They handed over their tickets, grabbed their programs, found their seats (2nd row from the stage, on the end - woohoo!), settled in, and were hooked. I'm telling you, they did not take their eyes from the stage the entire time. When it was intermission, I had to drag them out to go potty because they were afraid they'd miss something. Luckily, they did come with me, because as luck would have it, we got to meet "Molly" and "Annie" herself in the bathroom! We let them jump line since they had more work to do. Sadie and Josie were both a little starstruck, but "Molly" told Josie she liked her dress and that she was the same age as Sadie. They were SO excited. Then we went back for the second Act and it was more of the same. They did not make a peep. They LOVED it. I was so proud of them! Josie was sad when it was over - she wanted to see more - but it was WAY past bedtime by then - almost 10:30 - so we headed home. It's been a couple of weeks now, but "It's the Hard-Knock Life" can still be heard at our house every morning when two little girls have to make their beds!

Where, Oh Where is my Toothbrush?

We were reading a bedtime story the other night while I held Adelaide, who was nursing. The story said, "Through the window, she could hear sirens wailing and horns tooting..." just then, I mean at THAT PRECISE MOMENT - Adelaide "tooted." We all cracked up, including Adelaide, who just loves to make her sisters laugh.

Well, as any of my devoted readers know by now, Sadie has her Snoopy, and Josie has her Blank. Up until now, Miss Adelaide has seemed somewhat undecided as far as choosing a "lovey," but now, much to my dismay, has chosen...drumroll, please... Toothbrush. Yes, Toothbrush is exactly what it sounds like. A toothbrush. Don't ask me why, but she LOVES her toothbrush. She wants to hold it all the time, whether it's in her mouth or not. If she's crying in the car? Give her Toothbrush. If she's fussing in the living room? Give her Toothbrush. If she's whining and holding on to your legs? You got it... Give her Toothbrush. I wonder what this means....

My mom was counting her toes the other day (Adelaide's toes, that is, not my MOM's toes :) and when she got to five on one foot, she stopped, then Adelaide says, "Six!" My mom nearly fell over. I was not surprised, though, since I figure all of my girls are genius. Genii. However you spell that word. :)

Also, Adelaide has discovered the joys of twirling. Last week she figured out how to do it, arms stretched out and yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" until she got dizzy and fell down. She refused to do it in the grass, where her fall would be cushioned, though. Apparently, twirling is always more fun on pavement. At least until you fall down.

Treasures

After much yelling of "Duice! Duice! MMMMmmmm! Duice!" and pointing at Josie's, I reluctantly gave Adelaide her own popsicle to hold while they were riding in the bike trailer. A few minutes later, after much slurping, I hear Josie saying, "AAHHH! EWW! Don't touch me! You're GWOSS!"

Sadie moved up to the next Sunday School class a couple of weeks ago. It made me a little sad, since she's no longer in the "Lambs" class, where the youngest kids are... but she was super excited about going into "Treasures", even though she got a little nervous on the first day. We journaled about it in her little notebook later in the week, and she told me all about her day. In her words:

"When you're 5, you move up to Treasures Class. Since I was 5, I moved up. I thought you had to pay to move up. It was a funny feeling. I was a little bit shy at first. I didn't really want to move up because it seemed so different and scary. Mommy held my hand and walked in class with me and I saw that James and Teagan were both in my class too! That made me feel a lot better. I found out it was a lot more fun with my cousins. My teacher was very nice and kind to me. I made a book with her - a little Jesus book about Jesus healing leprechauns -- leprosy. He healed them! We don't eat snacks in class. I would rather have a snack, but that's okay. It's still pretty fun."

Should Have Known

You would think that after having two 15 month olds before her, I would have EXPECTED this from Adelaide. You would think, but apparently, one doesn't always learn from their mistakes.

Yesterday we went over to Aunt Becky's to have some school time and cousin time in the park. Adelaide had on a little sundress with cute bright green pants on under it because I'm trying to protect her little knees from getting scraped all the time. After lots of fun in the park (Sadie had a good time running Lexy the dog on her leash, hanging upside down on the monkey bars, and racing bikes with James, & Josie tried her best to pedal her bike with her short little legs and had a good time climbing and 'tandem-sliding' with Teagan) we packed up to go home. Adelaide's pants were covered in mulch and dirt, so I stripped them off of her and loaded her in her carseat. When we got home, it was naptime, so I plunked her down in her bed, turned on her lullaby CD, and closed the door. Seems routine, right?

I FORGOT THAT SHE DIDN'T HAVE ON ANY PANTS! SHE ONLY HAD ON HER DIAPER UNDER HER DRESS! 15 MONTH OLD BABIES CAN TAKE OFF THEIR DIAPERS!

Veteran mothers are probably shaking their heads and laughing here, since they know what happens next. Heck, I knew what would happen next, too, but I totally didn't even think about it. Yep, Poop. Poop, and lots of it. I went in to get her up from her nap, and WHAM! The smell hit me in the face as soon as I opened the door, and there she stood... poop from one end of the crib to the other, ON THE CRIB SLATS, on her hands, on her HEAD, EVERYWHERE. I just left her there, called Jesse for backup (I yelled, "JESSE! Come downstairs RIGHT NOW!" He didn't ask any questions... just ran down the stairs to the poop bomb. I started the tub, he grabbed the screaming wailing poop-monster and started the first round of scrubbing, and I (yuck) began the long, Clorox-ridden clean up of the crib. Sadie and Josie didn't know WHAT to do with themselves, except run up and down the hall and point out poop that fell off Adelaide on the way to the bathroom.

It was not pretty. After I finished the crib, opened the windows, and turned on the air purifier, I accepted the stinkpot from Jesse and ran her through the bath again. Ugh. I think she could've stood a third round.

Saturday Here in the Park

Adelaide has begun talking quite a bit in the past few weeks. Her favorite words, up to now, have been "Mommy Mommy Mommy," "doot," and "Tat du" (thank you). Recently, she's begun expanding her vocabulary, which now includes "Buh-booooooo," "dirt," "duice," and "DadDAD!" She's never said "Dada," but always seems to use an exclamation when she says it, maybe because she's always so happy to see Jesse. It's cute... "DadDAD!" she yells when he comes home from work or when he gets her up from her nap. Love it. I also love the way she puts her little head down on my shoulder when she's tired or just wants a good snuggle... I don't remember the other two doing that, and I just eat it up!

Last week we went to this cool safari park place where you could drive through a big enclosure full of deer, moose, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, etc. It was an experience! Sadie and Jesse were fearless, letting the animals stick their heads RIGHT INTO THE CAR and eat from their cups of carrots and grain. Josie and I took a different route...dodging, yelling, hiding, and trying to keep the windows rolled up. It was a little scary, especially when a big old moose grabbed my cup of oats and ran away with it. Well! I wasn't going after him! Adelaide was in the back with Grammie, and she was a little scared at first (Adelaide, not my mom :) but then she got all excited and REALLY liked it when the giraffe stuck his head in. I have to admit that was pretty cool. At one point Jesse had TWO buffalos' heads stuck in his car window at the same time, not to mention disgusting buffalo slobber and other drainage smeared all over the windows and the rest of the car. Ick.

Yesterday we had a Saturday when we actually had nothing to do. It was a gift! Usually there are people to see and places to go; you know how it is. Yesterday, though, Jesse's & Sadie's fishing plans fell through and so we had the whole day off together. Jesse slept late (I tried, but it just didn't work out), the kids got to watch 2 cartoons instead of their usual one, we made pancake men and turkey bacon for breakfast, goofed around the house for a while, then went to ride our bikes at the park. We took a picnic and Josie's owl kite and it was a gorgeous day... I seriously had to use serious leg muscles while trying to pull my two younger children in the bike trailer, though. I think they've both hit a growth spurt, because it felt like I was trying to haul two buffalos behind me or something. Sheesh. Sadie stomped around in the river a while, and Josie pushed Adelaide in the baby swing... it was just a nice day. Then Grandma picked Josie up for her special "Josie Night" with Grandma and Grandpa (she got to eat at Cracker Barrel, get a giant sucker, watch Tarzan, and take a bath ALL BY HERSELF), and Sadie and Adelaide went with me and Jesse to a little festival where Sadie played a fishing game (with real fishing poles and real fish) and caught the biggest fish they'd had all day. Everyone applauded for her!

I found out today that when Sadie went to Illinois last weekend with Grandma, Aunt Lyd, and Teagan, she was an excellent cousin, traveler, and example. I was so proud! Aunt Lydia told me how Sadie shared and shared without complaining (she had a backpack full of snacks and activities for the 8 hour trip) and was very kind and loving to Teagan... except for the end when she said, "Hey, why don't you eat some of your own snacks?" But, it WAS an 8 hour ride; no one is perfect. Her Grandma told me that the girls had a little tiff and Teagan spluttered in Sadie's face because she was mad. Later Grandma found a distraught Teagan sobbing alone in the bedroom. When asked what was the matter, Teagan confessed that she had spit at Sadie and that she wanted to apologize. When she hugged her and fell against Sadie's chest, crying and saying she was sorry, Sadie very graciously said, "That's okay. Want a piggy-back ride?" What a forgiving spirit! I'm proud of both of them for acting so kindly toward each other. Ahh... the love of cousins. I don't know what I'd do without mine!

Skunky

Usually I get up around 7:15 in the mornings and bring Adelaide to our bed so she can nurse (it's our favorite cuddle-time, too) and sometimes (not often) go back to sleep. Sadie usually follows, asking, "Can I snuggle and play with Adelaide?" (she likes to hold her hand and make faces at her while she's nursing) then Josie, whose first words are always, "Can I watch Tom & Jerry in your bed and will you get me some chocolate milk?" Last week, this very scene had materialized, and we were laying in this order: Sadie, Adelaide, me, Josie, Jesse. Jesse had his back turned to Josie, and while we were all snuggling and being very quiet, Jesse had a morning, 'ahem,' "Toot," we shall call it. A LOUD one. Right on Josie! Adelaide laughed, because she thinks that sound is SO funny; Josie said, "AAAHH! Daddy tooted on my leg!" And Sadie said, "Well, Mommy, I guess you'll have to give Josie a tomato juice bath."

Birthday Re-evaluation

Soon she won't be asking me to play Candy Land with her
Soon she'll be too big to want a piggy back ride
Soon she won't be grabbing my legs and holding on for dear life

Soon she'll want to be alone in her room, not wanting me to rub her back and sing to her
Soon she'll forget all about sitting in my lap or asking for "special Mommy time"
Soon other things will be far more interesting than my face, my smile, my laugh

God, give me wisdom to be a good mommy.
Thank you for the tremendous opportunity to be in their lives. I surely do not deserve them.
Remind me daily that giving of my time is more important than a clean house or a fancy dinner.
Help me to be a good example to them... help me be who You want me to be.

I'm So Excited I Can't Stand It

We've had a couple of very exciting weeks around here. Last Tuesday, Angela, Cameron, and Caleb flew up to visit us for 5 days. The kids were SO excited that they could hardly stand it. We made a paper chain with links = number of days till The Day, and they were very diligent about making sure a link got taken off every morning until The Day. Josie actually jumped up and down and yelled, "I'm so excited I can't stand it!" Roy took me to the airport to pick them up (I still hate driving to the airport) and it was all very surreal when they got here... I don't know why. Angela thinks it's because we've always known each other (well, she's known me since she was 4 months old, and I've known her my entire life) and yet she was never an actual part of my life here - or at least she didn't know what my life was LIKE here. Anyway, the boys and girls got along famously from the very beginning... we were expecting that they'd get tired of each other, but nope. They played and played and played some more. On Wednesday, we had a beach day (which was also Adelaide's very first "play in the sand" at the beach day. She tried to eat some of it, but she mainly wanted to walk out in the water until it was up to her nose. That night, Jesse bravely babysat all 5 of them while Angela and I went out for sushi and a night on the town... it was the first time we'd been out ALONE for YEARS, and it was great. My favorite part was sitting in the cheapo massage chairs in the mall, watching people and making fun of ourselves and the pickle in the floor next to my seat.

On Thursday we went to the zoo with an entourage of people - Becky and her kids, Sarah, Aunt Cindy, Grandma, Melissa and Caroline, Jessica and Haley... the list kept growing and growing! But it was fun. Hard to stay together, but fun! The giraffes were a big hit (they came right up to the fence) and the dinosaurs were too (for all but Caleb - he was not impressed). We took pictures of him with Ireson, and the similarity was AMAZING. I've been saying all along how much they look alike, but having them stand right next to each other was really weird! Later we went to the "Mariachi Band's House" for supper and then over to Mama's house. On Friday, we stayed home all day then went to the Village Market for facepainting (again, Caleb was not impressed - he got a balloon penguin instead... but I was called an Old Lady for the first time by a 7 year old) then we headed to Beth and Roy's house for Teagan's birthday party. Angela said that hanging out at their house was probably her favorite part of the trip - I think it's so cool that she likes my Ohio family so much. :)

Saturday we left on a very long, somewhat eventful car ride... Caleb and Cameron got the carsick gene from their parents (Angela was AWFUL in the car when we were growing up... I still point out places on the side of the road when we're in NC - "Oh, hey... there's where Angela threw up once!") and we had one 'incident' on the WV Turnpike; of course, those curves could make anybody sick. Anyway, we stopped 4 times, we ate, we went to the bathroom, we cleaned up the car, we took our time. It took 11 hours to get home, but I used some meditation techniques and didn't get all freaked out. :) Plus, the kids really were very good for the most part and Angela and I got a lot of talking and "Millionaire" playing done.

The week in NC was fun... Chass and I had a birthday cookout, Grandma fed Adelaide so much that I found biscuit crumbs in her belly button, we got to swim in Papaw's pool, Mamaw told a gazillion stories to Sadie (Sadie just cannot get enough of her stories - Sylvia's going to have to write a book!), Adelaide was scared of Bayleigh at first but then Bayleigh gave her a toy and said, "Here go" and Adelaide said, "Taint Tu," and they were big buddies. Grandma took us out for a birthday lunch, we ate chicken and dumplins', played with Kimmie, Noah, Dalton, Hailey, and Lauren, went up the mountain and visited the cheese factory, Daddy worked on my car for me, and my Girls (not the kids...my grown up girls) took me out for my birthday, where I proceeded to get cake smashed in my face by a bunch of laughing Hispanic waiters. Ahh...good times.

My Favorite Part was the Bus

Last weekend we went with a group of people from church for a 7 mile canoe trip. Sadie had been once before and loved it, and Josie was especially looking forward to her first time in a boat (and on a bus - they take you to a drop off spot in an old school bus). We were all looking forward to it, since it was supposed to be sunny and around 84 degrees. Weeelll... that did not happen. Dressed in our shorts, tank tops, and donning our bug spray and sunscreen, we were dismayed to be about 2 minutes into our trip when the downpour came and proceeded to pelt us with water for the remaining 6 7/8 miles. Josie was pretty much freaked out the entire time. She was terrified of tipping over (she said, "I did not think it would be so tippy!"), even though the water was pretty shallow through most parts of the river (and by shallow, I mean we could use our paddles to push with instead of using them to row with). She cried because of the rain, because of the rocks, because she was cold... you get the idea. Here is a quote for you: "I do not like the rain! I do not like this boat! I do not like the cold! I do not like this water! I do not like this trip! I want to go to the party! How far is the party!? How many more minutes?!" And from Sadie, when Josie was whining and squealing from an 'almost tip' incident: "It's okay, Josie. Even if you fall in, you can stand up, and you can't get much wetter than you already are anyway!" Good point. She was so calm and helpful and great to have along!

Jesse decided to prolong our suffering by trying to FISH in the rain, and so we had to just float along instead of paddling as fast as we could and get it over with. Twice we had to turn around because he got his line snagged... Let me just say that he is lucky to come home with his poles intact. :) We passed the time by counting water lilies (we ended up with 61) and looking for snakes, muskrats, and cranes. FINALLY, we got to the dock area (about an hour behind everyone else) and ate the leftovers while we tried to dry out by the fire. Sadie had a good time burning sticks and leaves and everything else she could get her hands on while she thawed them out. On the way home we asked Josie if she liked the trip and she answered emphatically, "NO! My favorite part was the BUS!"

Jokers

Sadie: "Mommy, what do tweezers do?"
Josie: "Silly. They TWEEZE!"

Josie: "That lady had 3 babies in their, in their stroller. Three babies and they are all the same!"
Sadie: "Did she have a litter?"

Doot!

Adelaide's favorite word (aside from the obvious, "Ma-ma, which she says at least 300 times a day) is "Doot." I'm not really sure exactly what it means, but it can be used as a noun, verb, exclamation, question... whatever she feels like using it for at the moment. You might hear her chanting "Doot, doot, doot," as she chugs down the hall on her chubby little legs, or yelling "DOOT!" at one of her sisters when they tick her off. Whatever it means, it is funny. I'm beginning to think of it like "smurf." You know, "A smurf in the hand is smurf two in the smurf."

A few weeks ago her inner clown came out when I was bending over next to her crib to turn on her CD player (she listens to a lullaby CD when she's napping). Already in her crib, she snuck up behind me and poked me on the butt as hard as she could. I said, "Whoo-hoo!" and she nearly fell over laughing at her own cleverness. Ever since that day, the poking has been a much-looked-forward-to part of her every day routine. Her other new thing is blowing raspberries on me wherever she can get her mouth on naked skin. This includes my arms, shoulders, chest, head, chin, wherever. Then she laughs and laughs and is thoroughly pleased with herself. So am I, for that matter - she's such a goof.

Splish Splash

We went with Jesse on a business trip Monday night and we ended up having a little impromptu mini-vacation. It was fun because with 3 little kids, you rarely do anything that's spontaneous! We stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, then we visited a gigantic waterpark (I mean, GARGANTUAN) and the kids had a blast. Sadie was an inch too short to ride the big rides (I was a bit relieved, to be honest) but she went on EVERYTHING that they'd allow her on, and Jesse had fun taking her up the stairs and down the slides... she's not afraid of anything. I'm glad he took her, because I am and always have been PETRIFIED of water slides. Too much can go wrong, I always say! I remember getting flipped around and whacking my head on the side of one of those curly slides when I was a kid, and that was on dry ground! Josie was mad because she was still too short to go on many of the slides, but the ones she could get on, she loved. She didn't like wearing a life-jacket, though... and I didn't blame her because you had to hook the bottom strap between your legs and boy, did it look uncomfortable!! Adelaide had fun splashing around in the baby pools and play area, and we all liked the giant indoor wave pool. Jesse's favorite part was room service, I think :) Anyway, the kids were great in the car... it's so nice having kids that don't fight and yell "are we there yet?" the whole time you're on the road... I'm glad we started traveling with them early and training them well from the beginning!