In His Hands

Josie now says, "Yesh." Ask her a question, and you'll get either an emphatic "NO!" or a sweet little "Yesh," accented by a nod of her head, crazy hair waving in the breeze. I was holding her during evening assembly the other night (we're at our Bible School convention thing this week) and I looked down at her and realized... My baby is growing up! Since Sadie is older, I always think of Josie as a little baby, I guess. It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks (nevermind the tears that welled up in my eyes suddenly and without warning) that she is NOT a baby. She is rapidly becoming a little girl. Sigh. She's talking all the time, and I'm beginning to actually be able to understand her, too. Today she said, "Hey! Look, Mom! A ball! Got it at the zoo!" (which she didn't, but still... that's a pretty good sentence).

They have been having a great time this week, for the most part. I mean, sure, there have been moments of whining and crying and "accidents of the pant-nature," but they've run around, gone to class, sung, danced, played, done crafts, eaten ice cream, and made lots of new friends. Deanna braided Sadie's hair - Jamaican style - with tons of little beads on the ends and Sadie loves it. She's had it in since Sunday and loves to shake her head and point out her "beautiful beadies" to everyone. Josie likes to pull on them, but Sadie does not appreciate that, as you can imagine. I think Josie's favorite part of the whole week has been Deanna's "helicopter rides" in the lawn outside the cafeteria. Deanna picks her up, whirls her around and around and around in a circle, then puts her down in the grass. Josie sticks both her arms out for balance, staggers around, laughing, then inevitably collapses backwards into the grass in a dizzy, giggling heap. Fun! Her new favorite song is, "He's got the whole woi-old - His hands... whole wide woi-old... hand! Little little baby... HANDS!" She also liked playing with Daddy in the nursery - he took care of her there almost every day, after taking both kids to their Musical Praise class - and climbing in the tent and the tunnel (the child LOVES tunnels... I think she may end up as a spelunker).

Yesterday, I heard a giant ka-thunk and then a scream - oh wait, that was my OWN scream when I realized that Sadie had fallen from the top bunk bed into the floor!!! What is it about bunk beds that silently whisper to children... "Climb to the top! I am a wonderful mountain! There is nothing but joy at my summit! Climb, uncoordinated ones! Climb!" Sadie, at last, gave in and did it (unsupervised) and then decided to get down in the quickest - and most painful - way. It scared the heck out of me, but she landed on her butt and Aunt Becky (nurse's room next door, thank goodness) said that her tailbone wasn't broken. Jesse says that now at least we can be sure that she got HIS bone structure and not MINE. Thank goodness. She's had fun balancing on all the cement walkways and benches around the campus and playing hide and seek with her cousins. For 45 minutes the other day, they ALL hid in the closet, closed the doors, and snickered away while I counted to 10 and tried to find them OVER and OVER again. Apparently, this was hilarious to anyone 4 and under.

I'm sure I'll have more to report later, but now I must get to "Field Day" and practice my song for tomorrow... I think Sadie's going to get on stage in front of everyone and say the 23rd Psalm, but we'll see.

Sowwy, Mom

Last night I went into Sadie's room after I had washed my hair... it was down and clean and curly, and I realized just how much I've been keeping it up in a ponytail when she said, "Oh, Mommy! I like your hair! It's so long and beautiful!" I don't think I've ever felt prettier. :)

Today, I was working in the garden - and might I add that WEEDS are the only thing that I am good at growing at this point - and Sadie came outside with me. At one point I looked over to check on her and she had just sprawled out on the grass on her back with her hands behind her head... "just looking at the clouds, and at that airplane stream," she said. I thought it was so funny because her Great Grandpa used to do exactly that same thing... just lie down whenever the mood struck him. We used to think he had passed out or something - he was always scaring us, but he was also always "just resting."

Josie has started calling me "Mom" instead of Mommy. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It makes her sound so much more grown up! But I must admit that it's cute to hear her little elfish voice saying, "Okay, Mom. Sowwy, Mom. I do it, Mom. Pease, Mom?"

Tonight when I was putting on her PJ's, she threw a bit of a temper tantrum. Okay, a BIG temper tantrum.... I think it was a precursor for the terrible twos, and Oh My Goodness. She trembled. She screamed NOOOooooo in a fit of rage. She shook her head back and forth so hard that I thought her little neck would snap. Worst of all? She BALLED UP HER TINY FISTS and TRIED TO PUNCH ME!!! It took me so much by surprise that I found it hard not to laugh. Holy cow. What are we in for?

Summertime in the South

Today I am in a horrible mood. It just seems like one thing after another is going wrong, wrong, wrong. Anyway, I thought I would recount our travel journal here to try to get un-irritated. This is super long, and is really just for our benefit in later years, so don't feel the need to read it all! Unless you just have nothing better to do! :) Here we go:

Wednesday, 6/6

We travel home... me in the front seat of Grandpa Roy's car, kids in the backseat. They don't fall asleep until around 10:00pm, when Sadie informs me that she's hungry and that she "Wants dumplins!" Surprise! When we get to Great Grandma's house, she HAS "dumplins" and the kids wolf some down at 11:30pm.

Thursday, 6/7

The kids eat a big breakfast with Great Grandma, then have a "birthday party" with all of her stuffed teddy bears. This is staged in the floor in front of the bed with the bears in a big circle around a cake that Sadie made out of little boxes, complete with pretend candles. Next, we went to Angela's house and played pirates with Cameron and Caleb - Caleb yells, "Argh Mate-ee!" over and over. Then all four of them jumped on Angela's bed and hid from all the lions - they run wild in NC, you know. When we went outside, Josie yelled, "Wook! Wook! Goats!" and toddled on over to feed them all kinds of weeds, rocks, whatever she could find. Cameron "chewed on Sadie like a dog," when they were playing in the big tunnel - which she did NOT enjoy - then Angela let Sadie drive the golf cart, which she DID enjoy. We all rode down to Great Grandma's house for a big lunch of pinto beans and cornbread. Later, we went swimming at Papaw and Mamaw's house... Sadie liked it except when she gulped down a big mouthful of water and Josie's favorite part was eating popsicles in the pool next to Papaw. He also let them jump in the water so he could catch them and they couldn't get enough of that. That night Natasha and Britt and Sadie built a human pyramid and Josie combed everyone's hair.

Friday, 6/8

We went back to Angela's and the kids all rode around on all the toys in the basement, played the drums, and had lunch. Caleb said, and I quote, "I do not want that on my plate. I do not want THAT on my plate." In other words, whatever I gave him to eat, he didn't want it. Until we got to the cherries... Caleb and Josie must've eaten 50 cherries between them. We all napped at Great Grandma's, went to see Papaw and Mamaw for a few minutes, then we went to Amanda's house for a cookout with all my girlfriends and their kids. Sadie saw Amanda's husband's "target deer" out in the yard and she said, "Why didn't he shoot him in the face?" because all of the arrow marks were in the deer's body. I said, "You can ask him," (meaning Amanda's husband, who was in the house)... Sadie looked at me, looked the deer, then leaned over and said to the deer, "Why didn't he shoot you in the face?!" We had LOTS of fun running, jumping, staring at Amanda's dogs, playing pool downstairs, drinking CapriSun, and watching Happy Feet.

Saturday, 6/9

Sadie got up early and went outside to feed the birds with Great Grandma. Then both of the girls rode the tricycle and played hiding in Grandma's closet and yelling, "NO NO NO!" at each other as loud as they could when the other one tried to get in. We went to eat breakfast at "Jack's" with Derek and Theda, and Josie had a great time playing with her ice, eating all of her livermush PLUS all of mine, and Sadie had gravy biscuits. Derek bought them candy as we were leaving and so Josie finally let him hold her... she can be easily bribed. At Grandma's, Sadie sat on a stool and pretended to be Josh's teacher. She kept telling him to "Pay attention! I'm your teacher!" Josie kept saying, "Lub you!" to Thomas. Then we went with Natasha to her church for their youth rally. The kids had a GREAT time playing basketball, eating snow cones, jumping in the bouncy house (Sadie had to be dragged out of here... her little face was bright red and she was having so much fun I thought she would pass out), and eating candy as their "prizes." Sadie "bagged her first deer" at the "Deerhunter" booth, where she got to hold a little pretend bow and shoot little suction cup darts at a deer (only in the South! :) and she won! I think she was the only little kid who actually got it to stick to the target... she was so proud! I think the best part was the face painting... Sadie got two hearts on her face and Josie got one heart. Natasha took her back over to the booth later and when I walked up, Natasha was laughing. I said, "What is that on her face?" Josie was sitting really still while the lady painted something bright yellow on her cheek. Natasha snickered, "A chicken." When they asked Josie what she wanted on her other cheek, she said a chicken!" After they finished painting this tiny cute little chicken on her face, Natasha held up a mirror so Josie could see it. She looked in the mirror and said, "OH.... MY CHICKEN! I LUB IT!" Sadie said to me, "I like this church! I want to come back here tomorrow!" When we got home, Josie collapsed into bed but Sadie stayed up late to eat pintos and cornbread with Grandma "over yonder at the table" (Sadie's words).

Sunday, 6/10

We went to church on the mountain with Great Grandma. Josie wore the little seersucker dress Grandma gave her for her birthday and Sadie wore the white one that Mamaw got for her on our last trip home. They liked the drive to church... up the mountain, past the cows, goats, and chickens, and up the bumpity-bumpity dirt road. They like to go "AHHhhhhhh" while the car is hitting the gravel. At church, they ate M&M's that the preacher handed out to all the kids, went to Sunday School - Josie liked it, but Sadie didn't - played with their little cousins, running up and down the wheelchair ramp just like I did when I was little - Sat with Great Grandma and Josh and talked to Great-Great Aunt Odessa. When we came home, we had corn on the cob and spaghetti, and then Josh brought over Herbie, his fancy-schmancy souped up golf cart. We had BIG fun riding through the woods, beeping the horn, riding around and around and around the garden.... Sadie said, "That was a GOOD FUN TIME!" Josie said, "Josh! He-elp!" when Uncle Thomas was doing the driving. Then we looked at scrapbooks with Aunt Sharon and went to Papaw's to play in the pool some more. Brian came over, too, and Sadie played the accordion and Josie threw sticks into the new ponds that Papaw built. We went out to get pizza, and they ate tons of food and took turns sneezing and echoing (making fun of Mamaw's sneeze) in the parking lot. Then we went to play at the park... sliding, looking at the ducks, trying to catch lightning bugs, and Josie ran as fast as she could to try to keep up when we walking along the trail. She yelled, "Fast! Fast! Mamaw! Me! He-elp!" They of course got filthy in the sandbox and Great Grandma and I had to give both "baby mermaid" (squeak squeak) a bath.

Monday, 6/11

Ate livermush and eggs with Great Grandma. She played "airplane" with Josie (Josie loved this and ate ALL of her food) and then fed the birds again with Sadie. They snuggled together in a "pallet" she made on the floor to watch Dragontales. Then we went to our favorite place up the mountain to eat with Mamaw and Papaw. We ate red eye gravy! watched ducks, and fed the baby trout in the pond... there were hundreds of them in there. Mamaw bought both the girls a cute little black and white leopard hat, and they laughed their heads off at Papaw on the way down the mountain because he was being a "silly bodey." I don't know what that means, but apparently, it is something hilarious. Later, we went over to Louis & Brenda's to play with Noah and Dalton... the kids ate hotdogs on the new screened-in porch, ran crazily up and down the driveway, jumped on the bed, and took turns kissing Dalton. At Grandma's again, they played stacking "pee-dohs" and ran up and down the porch steps with Uncle Thomas. We ate cajun chicken for supper with Grandma.

SHEESH... we were busy. I didn't realize until I started typing this. I must stop making complete sentences. Onward!

Tuesday, 6/12

Rode golf cart Angela & boys to pool at Sharon and Gary's. Had lunch under picnic shelter on their deck. Grandma packed food for an army. Kids did not care at this point if I was dead or alive. They only wanted Sharon, Angela, and Cameron. Josie kept calling Cameron "Tay-lub" (I guess she thinks both of them are named Caleb) and would not let anyone else hold her in the water, even though he's only 6! Sadie would jump, jump, jump into the water to Angela or Sharon, but not me. Josie squirted Sharon in the face with a watergun and laughed like crazy. They were all very brave swimmers. Then they all went for a walk in the woods with Buddy the dog and Uncle Garry... played on the swingset, Josie climbed up the huge ladder all by herself, amazing Great Grandma to no end. Went to Papaw's, ate supper from the Igloo (YUM) then played with Mamaw while Mommy talked to Papaw. Ate watermelon (Josie ate SIX pieces) and played with the porch swing... Sadie's new saying, "I can do it my-say-ulf!"

Wednesday, 6/13

New vocabulary:

My hay-ur

Over thay-ur

Yippee-ay-kay-aye - git along little dawgies

Went to lunch with Sherry, Teresa, and Denise. Went to see "Friend Becky," as opposed to "Aunt Becky," at work and we bought some cook tennis rackets and a ball. Josie wore Grandma's glasses and read her "bible." Went for ice cream with Mamaw & Papaw. Sadie got orange pineapple and Josie got blueberry... Mamaw & Papaw shared butter pecan. We sat out on the porch for about 2 hours and played and talked - got ice cream ALL OVER everything, sat in oil (Josie), "balanced" on the cement things in the parking lot, danced, sang, played peekaboo behind the porch columns, and generally just had a good old time. Went back to Great Grandma's for beans and stewed potatoes, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Josh came over and played, went for a walk, and Elizabeth gave them a bath and put them to bed.

Thursday, 6/14

Fed birds. Sadie ran to tell me about "A wonderful tur-prise! All the bird food is gone!" Cameron came and took their picture with his very own camera. They watched Sesame Street, jumped on Cameron and squashed him. Played "tennis" outside, came running back in when they heard a "snake" in the bushes. Went to Heather's and had happy meals for lunch. Played choo-choo with Carson and Sydney, jumped on chairs, and listened to Heather tell us about snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats! Right in her own yard! And I thought MY yard was bad! We went back to Papaw's and sat on the carport while we watched the rain... the kids ran and hid from the thunder and lightning, ate popsicles, and stayed with Mamaw to watch The Incredible Journey. Josie's diaper was so wet that it fell off at the wasteband... we all cracked up. She cried when we left. So I stopped for Bo-Berry biscuits on the way back to Grandma's.

Friday, 6/15

Papaw took the day off work so we went for a special treat... the cook on the table Japapese restaurant! Sadie said, "I LOVE THIS PLACE! Oh boy!!" They had a great time, and Josie yelled, "FIRE! FIRE!" during the cooking show. They ate lots of rice and carrots, and Sadie even liked the salad. Then we had milkshakes afterward, and spent as much time as we could together before we left that night, much to Grandma's dismay. We went over to Louis and Brenda's again to have a cookout with Chasity, Kimmie, and the boys, and then Thomas and Elizabeth and Josh came over to see us off. Though I tried, I couldn't fend Grandma off - she loaded the car down with enough food that you'd think we were driving to Alaska!

Bible Land

Sadie went to her very first Karate class last week. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. They kicked, jumped, punched, and yelled, "Hi-yah!" Sadie did really well, and she loved it... the cutest part was when they all stood in a line with their little fists clenched and yelled, "Yes, sensei!"

On the way home from Karate, Josie swiped Sadie's Snoopy when she wasn't looking and dropped him down beside the carseat where Sadie couldn't get him. When Sadie accused her, "Hey! You took my Snoop, JO-SAY!" Josie just grinned, rolled her eyes, and said, "Nope!" "Oh yes you did! You took my Snoop!" "Noooooope!" I have witnessed my child's first lie! Unfortunately, it was cute!

Tonight when we were reading a Bible story before bed, Sadie was practicing her letters. On the "B is for Bethlehem" page, she read "B is for Bibleland!"

Sing it Again

I think I have two virtuosos on my hands. On the way home tonight, these are the two masterpieces I heard being sung from the back seat:

Sadie's:

"Twirly-whirly

Beary-darey

Chugga-bugga woo

Okey-dokey

Hokey-pokey

Wuffa-huffa doo!"

and Josie's:

"I can't get it

Can't reach it

I need it

Hee-lp

My blankie, OH! My blankie!"

S is for Shaky

Sadie has made a breakthrough in her letter-learning. Over the past week, she has put sounds and letters together... now she can figure out what letter a word begins with just by making the sound! I'm so excited about it... it's so cool to see the little wheels turning in her head when she says, "Dog... d-d-d- D!" "Zoo... z-z-z- Z!" I've been told by several people that she's probably "gifted," which may put a kink in my homeschooling aspirations. ME? Homeschool a gifted child? Honestly, I don't know that I have those kinds of qualifications.

Josie is now thoroughly entranced with her baby dolls. She rocks them, reads to them, puts them to bed, dresses them (mainly in hats) and snuggles them in next to her teddy bear. Oh, and she sings the "Shaky Egg" song to them: "I know a chicken... she laid an egg. I know a chicken... she laid an egg. Oh my goodness! It's a shaky egg!" I know, I know. Not the greatest educational or spiritual song ever, but hey - you should see her shaking her egg!

We put up the "Alligator Pool" outside this week. Lydia and Darryl got it for the kids for Christmas, and it's this big wading pool that has two slides on it - one on each side - that look like an alligator... the head is one slide and the tail is another. They had a blast in that thing, and they look so stinking cute in their little bathing suits! Oh, and Sadie, who is prety much completely potty-trained now (Yahoo!!!) has learned to, ahem... potty outside. That is, on the edge of our woods so we wouldn't have to run in the house dripping wet. She thought it was the neatest thing ever: "Hey! Just like a puppy!"

Pssst...

The gardening is frustrating, already. It hasn't been in a week yet, and already the little pests are eating everything! I should've known, since we live in a suburban wildlife refuge - raccoons, deer, rabbits, squirrels, ducks, every kind of vermin there is seems to thrive in our backyard. I never thought they would eat pepper plants! They're all gnawed down to a "nub!" We put up a fence today... I'm hoping that it will at least deter SOME of the varmints. Dang it.

The kids, who could care less about our critter issues, had fun helping me water (and soaking themselves with their own watering cans), finding imaginary worms, and throwing dirt at each other. Maybe I should say DUMPING dirt on each other... I think that would be more appropriate. So, after we emptied out our shoes and their pants and shirts and whacked each other on the head to get all the dirt out, the kids ended up eating a semi-nudie-butt supper because they had to go straight to the tub. There is something about eating while naked (neck-ed, as we say in the South) that they just love. I personally haven't tried it in over two decades. :)

So I do this thing with the kids, just about every night but at least 3 times a week, where I "tell them a secret." I lean over and whisper, "You are the very best Sadie in the world!" or "You are the best Josie in the whole wide world!" The other night, after having a particularly frustrating time consisting of multiple messes, poop explosions (them, not me:) and disobedience, I was rocking Josie for a couple of minutes before I put her in bed. I had not done the whisper thing and I was getting ready to plop her in the crib when she sat up, put her hands on my cheeks, then leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Psssst...pssst...psst... se-tret. Mommy... whole wide world!"

I cried.

Chicken, Pease!

Tonight, Sadie yanked my sunglasses off the top of my head (I'm forever putting them there and forgetting them... they're like a permanent hair accessory) and said, "Ha ha! I'm a glasses thief! I steal your glasses!" I asked her, "Well, Glasses Thief, what do you do with them when you steal them?" She thought for a second, then said, "Um... I give them back."

The other day during lunch, Jesse & Sadie got a huge kick out of Josie when she kept coming over to me and saying, "Chicken, pease!!! Pease, Mommy? Pease?" Then, when I handed her a piece, she'd shake her head (with the crazy hair) vehemently, run the other way, and yell "Don't want it! Don't LIKE it!" She did this over and over and over again, and Jesse and Sadie were on the other side of the kitchen, cracking up. Josie is a born comedian, I think.

This afternoon, Grandma Beth came over and we all planted our vegetable garden. We are so excited!!! The girls planted almost all the corn single-handedly, and then had a good old time throwing dirt - the dirt here is this gorgeous thick black rich stuff, not like our hard red clay in NC... a plus to Ohio! :) Sadie thought up a new game called "Yank Josie Backwards by her Jacket Hood and Throw Her to the Ground." This bothered me at first, until I realized that Josie was laughing her head off everytime Sadie did it. You just never know what's going to amuse your children, do you?

Physical therapy is going well, although they are kicking my butt... my arms are SO SORE! But I think it's helping (minutely). Home is good, work is good, kids are good... life is good. Busy, but good.

Lub It!

On Mother's Day, the girls both sang, "Happy Birt-day to you! Happy Birt-day dear, MOMMY!!! Hap Birt-day to YeWWWW!" Jesse (and his mom, who picked it out for me) got me this fabulous scrapbooking caddy thing where I can keep ALL my scrapbook supplies. I love it! AND he paid for me to get my nails done AND let me sleep in! It was a nice day. Mama cleaned my house for me (yay!) and Sadie and Josie picked flowers for me and put them on my nightstand in the morning. :)

Today, Sadie said that she wanted to go to church because (and I quote), "Church is so wonderful. It is YUMMY to be at church!" Josie chimed in, "Lub church! Lub it, Mommy!" So apparently, my kids love church. That makes me happy.

Tonight, Sadie took my measuring tape from my sewing box and proceeded to "measure" me. Her verdict? "Your butt is BIG, Mommy!" Tell me something I don't know! Hehee

This weekend Sadie made up for telling Jesse that he was a "funny looking baby." She told him that when she grew up she wanted to marry HIM because he is "a pretty good-looking guy."

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!