Happy Birthday Rynee!

I hope you're safe and happy and have a few candles to blow out today!

Honesty may be the best policy..........

But it certainly isn't the easiest. At dinner tonight for Zach's birthday, we had a waitress who was less than stellar. So David was telling Zach about the Steve Martin SNL skit about the forgetful waiter who forgets everything, including how much money he's paid, so he gives the couple back a few hundred dollars in change, even though they pay with a $20 bill. David said something about "we won't be that lucky though; she'll forget our drinks and dessert, but we won't get extra change".

So after paying with a $100 bill, we got our change back. The waitress provided the right change, but forgot to take the hundred bucks. It was so hard to not justify keeping the money by saying that God was providing a nice dinner for us for free:) What's that saying about the Lord providing in mysterious ways? Maybe that's not quite what the saying is. Yes, we left the money. But, heavens, it was tempting to keep it. Shouldn't doing what's right be easier??

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Just now Naomi sneezed, and of course had a trail of mucus about to drip off her chin. So since I didn't have a Kleenex close by and my shirt was already dirty, I just used the sleeve to wipe her nose. She stared at my sleeve, then at her sleeve, and then pulled the sleeve down on her jammies and started dabbing at her face with it.

Hope has started showering with me rather than taking baths. Yesterday when we were getting in the shower, she took off her clothes, put them in the hamper and walked directly to the scale and stepped on. I guess we know what I do every morning before getting in the shower!

Here Comes Santa Claus

We went to the mall to buy gifts for the Tree of Sharing, and Santa was there. So, since the line was pretty short, we decided to let Hope talk to him. She spent the entire time in line trying to think of something to ask for. Never came up with anything, so she asked Santa if he was ready for Christmas, and what the reindeers' favorite snack is. (Last year we left a carrot for Rudolph, but she had to make sure he liked it.) We knew Naomi wouldn't like him, so we just stuck her on his lap at the last second to take a picture. I actually wanted to get more of the open-mouth wail, a la Mandy, but we were only supposed to take two pictures (since, cheapskate that I am, I wasn't willing to spend $29.99 for the picture package). I bet poor Santa hates kids.

There's a comeback for you!

On the way to daycare today, Hope was telling me how one of the boys had been teasing her and saying she was a boy. It was upsetting her, so one of her friends came to the rescue and told the boys she was indeed a girl. Oh, the issues of 4-year-olds! I was telling Hope things she could do if she were ever in a situation like that again. She could say "Stop saying that please", say "I don't want to play with you if you aren't going to be nice" and go play somewhere else, and a few other suggestions. She was very concerned that she wouldn't remember those words. I told her she could use whatever words she wanted, but she had to be nice and not say mean things back. So she told me, "I know what I'll tell him. I'll tell him he'd better be nice to me or else Santa won't bring him any presents!"

But mom............

This morning I was helping Hope get dressed. We lay her clothes out the night before, and she wanted to know what something was. I told her it was her shirt. Well then she wanted to know what was on it- it had a lace collar and she didn't know what the lace was. So I told her it was her collar. She gets a horrified expression on her face and says "But mom, I thought only dogs wore collars!?!" Not that kind of collar, Hope.

O Mike Divine

Will I ever hear O Holy Night and not sing 'oh Mike Divine'? We've been listening to alot of Christmas music lately, and every time O Holy Night is on, I chuckle as it gets to that part. Just one of those cute little kid things that became part of our vocabulary. Like suvvy, doo-ba-doos, zerberts, and Buffy the bear. For me, the words to that song have changed. I wonder what Mike would think.

The Haves and the Have-Nots

Some people, like I was for years, are just naturally photogenic. Sure, an occasional bad picture will show up. But for the most part, they just have that natural quality that assures great pictures. Hopey seems to have gotten that particular trait.

Then, there's poor little Naomi. If you snap fifty or a hundred pictures, you'll get lots of closed or half-closed eyes, funny looks, and turned heads. Lately, you'll also get alot of tears. Her scrapbook, when I ever get it started, will only have two or three pictures per page because that's all the pictures I have where she doesn't look drugged or constipated. She's apparently a have-not when it comes to the photogenic gene.

Is 'HeyYou' a name?

Why is it so difficult to agree on a name for this poor child? Apparently we can't name him Luke because he's not one of the Duke boys. David doesn't like Levi. He doesn't like Cain (ok, I'll give him that one). He doesn't like Isaiah, or Micah, or Paul, or Thomas ("he's a train"), or Simeon, or Stephen, or Peter, or Drew, or most of the other names I've suggested.

His suggestions were Scott (you mean like Jorgens?), Adam (Barfield? I think not), and Justin. Um, no. We have a million relatives with names I sorta like but can't use- Benjamin, Joshua, Jeffrey, James, Alexander. He said Caleb wasn't too bad- I didn't mention that Kris' kid is named that. But then I saw it on a most popular list, so out that one goes.

David had grudgingly said Ezekiel, Isaac, Gideon (hey, I was just looking for anything at that point), and Ethan are ok. While I like most of those names well enough, I wouldn't really want to name my child any of them. So it looks like the only names we even halfway agree on are Joel and Seth. Then there's the middle name- now David has issues with William.............Maybe kids should be like Cabbage Patch dolls and come pre-named. At least then you just live with what you get.

Bryn, have you been giving Hope pointers??

Three times today when I've asked Hope to pick up a few of her toys, she's told me she just can't because her arms are tired. Is this an inborn excuse that I just don't remember using, or has Bryn been telling Hope ways to get out of picking up after herself?

Can't we just dress him in pink......

........and pretend it's a girl?? I already had her named and everything. David had even agreed to the middle name, although I was a little sneaky in getting the agreement. I casually suggested the worst names I could come up with based on our ancestors. After he had said yuck to all of them, I mentioned the name I wanted, and he liked it. And now it was all for nothing?

I thought David and I had decided on a boy's name when I was pregnant the first time. I'd even suggested another name when I was prego with Naomi, and he said he liked Joel better. So when I called him and told him the baby was a boy, he said something about having to decide on a boy's name now. That night when he came home, he said how he'd been thinking that having a little David would be nice. Um, you already have a son and you already used David. Apparently that doesn't count? So he thinks since we like Joel, we should name him David Joel and call him DJ. Or Deej. I don't think so. We have all these pretty, biblical names for our girls and you want DJ? It's not a name, it's some letters, and it's the name of the girl on Full House. I'm not into unisex names. I'm not into initials. I'm not into Juniors. Is David there? Sure, which one? Big David or little David? Young David or old David. David or Davey? Hell will freeze before this kid's name is DJ.

I almost feel bad because when I thought David wanted to name him Joel and I kinda didn't, I was going to give in and tell him since I basically named both the girls, he could name the boy. Now, not a chance. I'm picking this one too. I guess we're back to the "you birth 'em, you name 'em" rule of mine.

One of those days

Work was awful today. I've been on the verge of tears since lunch. Some days I know it just isn't my day. My xrays just don't look good, I miss stuff on exams, I forget to write down things, but today I actually thought I was doing pretty good. The xrays looked fine- I even took any extras before being asked. I went over treatment with patients and documented why we were or were not moving forward. But the doctor was behind schedule. Is that my fault?? Apparently so. At least thats what he said as he was screaming at the other hygienist and office manager. Don't talk to me about it- that would be entirely too mature. No, instead lets vent to the other employees so I get to hear about it from them and look like a complete moron. I really thought I'd done what I was supposed to on the exam he was pissed about. I'd talked to the patient about everything, I'd charted correctly except for one spot. But she asked a rather detailed question that she had never even mentioned to me. How am I supposed to answer a question that she never even hinted about until the doc was in the room?

So after lunch I was in a less than stellar mood. But again, I tried to take good films, even took an extra one just in case he wanted it. I buzzed for an exam half an hour early because the patient had a broken filling. Did I want to do the filling? No- I hate restorative because I'm not very good at it. But at least we could've done it if needed. So when he finally comes in to do his exam- 35 minutes after I buzzed- he was livid because I could've done the filling if I'd gotten him in there to do the exam. What exactly would you like me to do? Stand in the hall and stare at you until you stop and come look at my patient? You knew I needed an exam, and yet it's my fault that you didn't get your arse in there?? I did snap at him a little when he asked me why I didn't do it-I said "Was I supposed to prep it?"(since that'd be totally illegal). But I'm not going to fight with him in front of a patient. I'd just make myself look worse. Better to just shut up and take it.

So my next patient had a tiny filling that had popped out. The guy didn't need an exam and there wasn't any decay, so I just filled it. I'm sure when Todd finds out about that, he'll have my hide because I did the filling. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

Welcome home, Baby

After taking about two minutes to escape from her little pen and spending the night in the garage sleeping on a sleeping bag she found in a corner, Baby has made it inside the house. I was going to bring her in for a little bit today, but hadn't gotten around to it. But then David called at lunch and asked how cold it was out there and suggested we might need to get a space heater for her. I'd already had this brilliant revelation that I could just move all her stuff into the laundry room, so I told him that- if it gets too cold, she can always stay in there. After discussing the options a little, he unwittingly agreed to let her stay in the house as long as I vaccuum daily to keep the hair situation under control.

So she wandered around for awhile to check out all the rooms. I was real nervous about her peeing on a pile of clothes since her litterbox seemed untouched, so I went looking for her. Apparently she's as excited about being here as we are about having her. (except Hope- she thinks it's just grand and is sure Baby will love her if she's just nice to her. She doesn't get it that cats aren't the most friendly of creatures) Baby was in the back of my closet behind David's guitar wedged into a little corner. I'm sure it was the most secluded spot she could find to keep to herself.

After lunch I decided to vaccuum upstairs, and unfortunately for Baby, that included the closet. So she took off out of there and I didn't go looking for her. But Hope was SO concerned that nobody knew where Baby was, so she went looking. This time Baby was under Hope's bed, in the furthest corner behind a box where you could hardly see her. I'm surprised Hope even found her. If she keeps hiding like this, David may even forget she's here.

Gotta Say, It's Looking Promising

I know nobody else cares, but since I'm married to David and dad's kid, I'm just a little excited about the World Series so far. It's been ALL Boston. Valley Christian's girls softball team could probably play as well as Colorado has done so far. I very well may be jinxing this, but in a few days Boston should be sporting another ring. Go Red Sox!

The story I don't know

I saw in the obituaries that Dan Jarms' dad died the other day. Even though he was a pastor at Faith and worked at NBC, all I remember about Dan is how his mom used to do the potty dance on the sideline at his basketball games. Mom used to make so much fun of her and thought she acted like a freak. Maybe she did. Maybe Dan was embarrassed by his mother's behavior. Maybe not. But there was a part of the story none of us knew:

Dan had a brother that died when Dan was in high school. Maybe his mom acted the way she did because she knew what it was like to lose a child. Maybe she knew that there was nothing more important than supporting your child and making sure they knew you were proud of them and cared about their interests. Maybe she knew that it wasn't enough to just sit in the bleachers as a silent spectator. Maybe we shouldn't have been so quick to think she was nutso when we didn't know the whole story. Maybe when I start to judge people based on nothing but a few isolated observations, I should remember that everyone has a story I don't know.

The Scent of........something

Naomi got sent home from daycare yesterday because she had a fever and a icky nose. So last night I gave her a bunch of decongestant and then remembered a vapor plug-in thing that I got when Hope was little. So I dug it out and plugged it in, hoping it would help keep her nose clear in the night.

This morning when I went into her room to get her, it smelled EXACTLY like the lingering scent that for the last several years has followed a certain big-haired blonde we all know and plug our nose around. If I never smelled whatever that is again, it would've been ok with me. But now that's all I smell when I open Naomi's door. Lovely. I wonder how long it will take to air out her room. At least it isn't as strong as L's stuff always was.

I just remembered another Hope story

When we were driving back here, we stopped at rest stops fairly often for potty breaks. The second day we'd stopped about three times, and none of the times had Hope actually gone to the bathroom. So she'd been sitting on the toilet trying to pee, and I heard someone else come into the bathroom. They sat down and started their business. All of a sudden this shocked look came over Hope's face and she about fell off the toilet turning around trying to look in the bowl to see if she was peeing. She apparently hadn't heard the other person come in, so she was a little confused as to what was going on. It was hilarious- the look on her face- she looked shocked, scared, confused, and concerned all at the same time. I laughed for a long time about that one.

You're not so good at being sneaky there, Hope

That little Hopey is funny. I suppose I'm thankful that she's not good at being sneaky. She's getting better at lying. She doesn't lie to me much, but there have been a few times when I'm not sure if she's telling the truth or not, and I have no way of checking.

But her sneakiness when she's trying to do something she knows she'll get in trouble for it cute. She is not allowed to jump on the couch, flip onto the couch, dive off the couch, etc. A few times lately she's told me "Don't watch this" or " Keep watching the tv" or "Keep reading your computer". Pretty good bet that she's going to do something on the couch she's not allowed to do.

Just now I set a cup of something I was eating on the couch. She casually wandered over to see if there was any left. There wasn't, so she asked if she could throw it away for me. Then as she's walking out of the room she says "Stay here and don't come in the family room". I don't care if she tries to scrape the sides of the cup or not, but I like that she at least warns me she's going to do something she thinks is disobedient. Makes my job a whole lot easier to have advanced notice.

How Pathetic Am I?!?

Remember Owen's old black sports car that sat in their driveway for years? Once, when I lived in Seattle, I saw one just like it. I was so homesick it made me miss Owen. Pretty bad, huh?

Today I was driving down the main street here on my way to the bank to open our accounts. As I was driving along, I saw a Value Village sign. And smiled. Over a stupid Value Village store. It made me feel like I was home again. And now I'm looking on ebay for raincoats for the Hopester and wondering what time Value Village opens tomorrow. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. The worst part is that I'm sad that I missed their Labor Day sale.

Do you think we have enough diapers??

Because this house doesn't have much storage space, my stockpile of daipers had to go in Naomi's closet. I think they take up about half the space in there. The five boxes of Huggies and Luvs are full of diapers too. And keep in mind that this is only my stockpile of size 4's; I have about 10 jumbo packs of 3's left too. My guesstimate of what sizes she'd need is a little off though. I thought I had plenty of size 3's, but Naomi doesn't have the tummy that Hope had, so the 3's are still plenty big on her. I bet she has another 6 months before I'll start to use up all these diapers in her closet.

On and On and On and On and On and On and On and .........

That's my opinion of I-90. It's like the Energizer Bunny; it keeps going and going............and going and going.

We spent Friday night at Amy's house. The plan was that David would come home from work, we'd get the cars loaded up, David would go to his goodbye dinner with all the people from work, and I'd go to Amy's. The reality was that David came home from work, we spent a long time trying to get the house finished up, David went to his party, I continued to pack, David came home from his party, we spent a lot more time cleaning up and getting the cars packed, and finally went to Amy's house about 10:30pm. Hope didn't get one more evening to play with McKenna, we didn't get any real time to spend with Amy and Andre before we left. We sat on the couch and talked for about an hour and then we all went to bed.

As expected, we didn't leave at 7am like I wanted to. Instead we left about 8:30. The Garmin had us going West on Highway 20 instead of going back to I-90. That actually was fine with me because, although it wasn't 70 (or 90) mph the whole way, it was a lot more interesting. We took that highway into Indiana, and then somewhere headed north to Minnesota. Somewhere near the western edge of Minnesota we finally got on I-90.

Last year when we drove to Rockford, we spend most of our second day driving through South Dakota. It's a long, boring state. This time, we got to South Dakota about 1pm, and drove all the stinkin' way across the state. At one point I was very close to falling asleep; in desperation I took a cue from all the stupid comedy movies where they slap themselves to stay awake, and was surprised to find it actually works! We got to Rapid City about 9:30 but had to find a gas station (since the Blazer stalled on the off ramp, it was so empty), a place to eat, our hotel (and of course they didn't have our reservation correct so I had to frantically call Bryn to get more info) so I don't think we got to our room until 10:30. Poor Naomi was so exhausted she couldn't get herself calmed down and the room was so tiny- there was no place to put her where she couldn't see us- so we got to listen to her cry for awhile; it took lots longer for her to go to sleep than usual.

Sunday was more of the same: long, boring drive. Both the girls were probably heartsick to get strapped back into those carseats for another thirteen-hour trip. Hope entertained herself watching movies on her DVD player, but Naomi doesn't like to watch tv, so she entertained herself by bugging Hope. Halfway through the day we put Hope in David's car since the sun was shining on her side of the car; at least the Blazer has tinted windows to make it a little better. Naomi also figured out how to sleep in the car, so she wasn't as crabby Sunday. The bad part of the trip was that we got to the twisty, curvy part of the freeway in Montana at nightfall. I dislike driving in the dark; I hate driving at high speeds on curvy roads. The combo was not fun for me. But we got through it safely. David and I bought two-way radios so we could talk to each other during the stretches of Wyoming and Montana that don't have cell reception; we talked to each other alot and kept each other awake. Actually, the curves kept me very awake. David's parents were nice enough to wait up till 11:30 when we finally pulled into their driveway. Both girls were asleep but figured it was time to wake up when we got out of the car; we had a tough time convincing Naomi she needed to go back to sleep instead of making faces at Nana. Finally we got to go to bed, in a familiar bed, with our own bedroom, separate from both girls, back in Washington.

To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory, great things He hath done.........Isn't it funny how you can not hear a song in years, and yet one phrase can bring it back completely. About an hour into our drive back to Washington, we passed this barn. I can't remember the last time I sang that hymn, but I know the girls are probably sick of hearing it now since I sang it from Freeport, Illinois to Minnesota or South Dakota. And it wasn't like I just remembered the chorus; oh no, I was belting out all three verses and could hear Duane Jorgens singing tenor behind me. I think about how most churches today do mainly worship choruses and wish they'd sing more hymns like this one. After singing them for twenty years, it's kind of nice to have a hymnal commited to memory so when a little phrase like this comes along, the rest of the hymn just flows right out.

WHAT'D YOU SAY???......or just very observant?

Hope listens to a VeggieTales CD every time she's in the car. One of her favorite songs is God is Bigger than the Boogieman. She was singing it on the way home from daycare with David today. She was singing the part about "there's a hundred tiny monsters jumping right into your jammies". David said she stopped for a minute and then said "How the hell are a hundred monsters going to get into your jammies?" After David confirmed that she had indeed said hell, he had a tough time not laughing as he explained that hell is a serious place and we don't say that word. He didn't control his laughter quite as well when he told me about it later:)

So Big

Last night Hopey crawled into bed with me in the middle of the night. We'd left the windows open because it was so nice outside, but she said her room was cold so she wanted to sleep with us. When she was little, I finally quit letting her sleep with us cause I was sick of getting kicked in the back the entire night. Last night when she was snuggled up against my back, her feet were in the crook of my knee. I can't believe she's gotten that big- we don't notice the growth day to day, but then you notice something like that and realize she's growing up.

You Have Been Good

Last year shortly before we moved, Scott Krippayne had a new song called You Have Been Good. I found myself singing it alot during the days while David was gone and I was getting packed, quitting my job, and preparing to leave Spokane. If I never got to move back to Spokane or Arizona or wherever else I wanted to live right then, God was still so good to me. He provided just what I needed just when I needed it.

I actually hadn't thought of the song for quite a while until it popped into my head again today. Since we started this whole moving-again thing, I knew it would be tought to sell our house here. I've just kept telling God it would be nice to at least have an offer on the house so we weren't just leaving with no idea when it would sell. Last week when someone wanted to see it, I thought maybe that was the answer to that specific prayer. At that point another song I hadn't thought of in years popped into my mind- Do I Trust You Lord. Yep, I do. I know that I can only see a part of the picture. So when they liked our house, but liked another better, I sang that song alot to remind my heart of what my head knew.

So, we had another couple who wanted to look at the house today. They've looked at 16 houses in the last two days and liked ours best. The only problem is their offer will be contingent on their house selling. We don't have the offer yet, so it may be a crummy offer, but that's not what I prayed about. I prayed for an offer on the house before we left. And that's what we got. You have been good. Mercy upon mercy, grace upon grace, time after time.

Hope the Ferocious Lion

Poor Hope- she's been pretending to be a lion lately. She holds out her fingers like claws, and snarls and roars at whomever happens to be nearby.

Well today Naomi was the recipient of the lion act. Unfortunately for Hope, Naomi thought it was funny. She'd laugh when Hope would roar, which made Hope mad. Then Hope would try to act more ferocious and mean, and Naomi would laugh harder, which made Hope even madder..............

Naomi's New Trick

If you think about it, dogs and kids are alot alike. Once they've been through obedience training and potty training, they're much more enjoyable to have around. They love to learn new tricks so you can fawn over how brilliant they are. And they respond very well to praise. And they seem to have selective hearing when you're telling them not to do something. Anyway........

While I was gone last weekend, David taught Naomi how to give kisses. Not that they're really kisses. She just leans towards you with a huge 'ole open mouth and aims in the general direction of your mouth or chin. But it is pretty sweet, if there's no food in her mouth, when she leans over to give you a kiss. Yesterday she even voluntarily kissed me and then laid her head on my shoulder when I got her out of her crib. For the world's most un-cuddly baby, that was pretty nice.

Secrets

One morning last week I was doing Hope's hair and asked her if she wanted to know a secret. She, of course, said yes. So I said, " I love you". She says, " I know, mom; I know all your secrets!"

These are my secrets that she says she knows:

1. I love you

2. I like you

3. You're a sweet girl
4. You're pretty

Yeah, she doesn't know all my secrets.

Summer School

Well, Hope and Naomi have officially completed their first week of daycare. Hope is in a PreK class, although I don't know that they're really doing much schooling since it's summer. Hope has had a few little attitude problems, but her teacher said today that she did really well- no pouting because someone didn't share with her or because she got scared. According to the teachers, she's entertaining everyone with her dancing and singing, and she seems to be re-enacting parts of Shawshank Redemption, only in reverse. Every day when she's out on the playground, she puts a handful of the rocks in her pocket to bring home. I don't know what her fascination is with rocks, but she acts like she's found wonderful little prizes out there and shows them to me thinking I'll be so thrilled. If she keeps it up, the playground is going to be rock-less.

Naomi is starting to adjust too. I don't think she's been taking naps, although today they told David she had her best day so far, and she took two naps. Even with her naps, she's been in bed every day when I've gotten home. Unfortunately even on days I get off work at five, I don't get home till around six. Since six is her normal bedtime, she's already snoozing when I get here. Tonight I woke her up so I could play with her for awhile, but she was crabby so I put her back to bed. I'm starting to re-think this working and daycare stuff, but it is nice to do something besides sit on this couch all day.

Happy Birthday Hope

Hope was so excited about her birthday! We didn't really do much; we were going to go to the Riverfront Park here, but there was something going on there. So we stayed around the house and Hope went out back and played most of the day. We told her we'd go wherever she wanted for dinner. Unfortunately she wanted McDonalds for dinner. After some persuading, we finally talked her into Red Robin. The promise of a ballloon and a free sundae helped a little. She loved having them sing to her and thanked the waitress several times for her balloons!


Here's a couple more pics from her birthday, and one of Naomi just cause she's cute!

Happy Mothers Day

Apparently Hope is a little confused about what this phrase means. I guess David had been prepping her to tell me that, cause she'd mentioned several times something about it was going to be Happy Mother's Day.

Sunday morning we were getting ready to go to the zoo and I was combing Hope's hair. She has turned into the biggest baby about having her hair brushed. If she can feel any tension at all, she starts crying and says it hurts. I was trying to tell her (ok, yelling at her) that just because she can feel it doesn't mean it hurts.

She turned around and said to me, "I thought today was supposed to be happy mothers day, not angry mothers day!"

And now for another edition of the Hope Show.......

Apparently there are dangers to not completely explaining theology to a three year old. Yesterday David sent Hope to her room because she will NOT share anything with Naomi. Even if it's Naomi's toy, if Hope has touched it in the last few days, Naomi can't have it. So she was supposed to go to her room until she was willing to share with her sister. A few minutes later she bounces back into the kitchen. David asked her if she was ready to share, and she said, "No, but God told me I could come out of my room anyway." I tried to explain that God wouldn't tell her to do something different than what mommy and daddy told her to do, and I was pretty sure it wasn't God who told her she could come out of her room. Pretty inventive way to get out of her room, though.

We've been going to lots of yard sales trying to stock up on bigger clothes for Hope. I got tons of them when she was little from Michelle and Amy, but now those boxes and totes full of clothes are turning into occasional Target bags full.............. So I've been going to lots of sales that advertise kids clothes. And usually if there's kids clothes, there's kids toys. Yesterday Hope asked for toys at every one we went to. She did get a big box of legos, so I didn't completely ignore her requests, but apparently she decided to change her tactics today. At one of the first sales we went to, she found a bunch of stuffed animals she wanted, brought them over, and said she really thought we should get them for Naomi. Yeah, right, Hope; Naomi doesn't know who Dora and Barney are, but I'm SURE she'd love to have some stuffed toys of them. And I bet there's no ulterior motives here, either.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

Hope was standing at the window, staring outside, lost in thought. After a few minutes she turned and asked, "Mom, do you think Dr. Phil lives in Rockford?" No, Hope; I am pretty sure Dr. Phil does not live in Rockford.

The Zoo

Hope and I were talking about going to the zoo this summer and I asked her what animals she thought she'd see. She rattled off a bunch of them, and one of them she said was dinosaurs. I told her there weren't dinosaurs at the zoo. Being Hope, she says, " Well, then where do they keep all the dinosaurs?" I told her there aren't any dinosaurs anymore, and then she says, " Maybe they have a different zoo for the dinosaurs........." Listening to me isn't her one of her strong points.

Spring, Spring, Spring

Oh, the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy and the obvious reason is because of the season........
Is it possible to not sing this song whenever you hear the word spring?

There's really not much new here to write about. The weather is getting pretty nice after last week's snow. Hope has spent several hours outside playing the past few days. She loves running around the backyard. With no fences, she loves running through all the neighbors' backyards too.... The trees here shed twigs like crazy, so she picks up all the sticks and plays with them. She has a big pile of 'em on the side of the house. And we're not allowed to throw them away:) She can't quite get on the swings without help, but she lays on them and twirls around. How she doesn't get dizzy and barf is beyond me.

It was about 65 degrees today, so when David got home from work we all went out to do some yardwork. Naomi sat on a blanket and enjoyed the breeze and fresh air. She loved it outside!! Normally she gets bored if she'd doing the same thing for more than a couple of minutes, but she just sat on her blanket, played with her socks, and was content to be out in the sunshine. We'll have to find a park with a baby swing- besides our neighbor's swingset- and let her have some swinging time.

Hope's Moon Story

This is the story she just told me. It was basically an attempt to get out of taking a nap today. Now you have to imagine her telling it, drama queen that she is, complete with dramatic voice and expansive hand gestures.

Once upon a time

I saw the moon at night

I see the moon in sight

And there's a man

And I see a light

From the moon

She made it up herself. I don't know if she knows about rhyming, or if that just was a coincidence. What. A. Nut.

Name That Tune

I was bored today because Hope is spending the night with McKenna, and I just wanted to see if I could do this or not. What song is it?

I know exactly where I was too

Since Bryn wrote about where she was six years ago last night, I figured I would too because it's one of my favorite memories of those six weeks. David and I had gone to some wedding hall downtown to check it out and then we went to the Onion for dinner. After dinner he went home and I went to the hospital.

I think everyone was in her room when I first got there, but maybe not- my memory of that part isn't very clear. But eventually, it was just me and mom. She was turned on her stomach, so I sat down next to her face and started talking to her. I'm sure whatever I told her was just a bunch of chatter, but I said something about Carol Behl. Mom raised her head up a little, looked at me, and said, "What?". I was in shock- I hadn't heard her say a word in four weeks! I said "What did you say?" and tried to get her to say it again or say something else, but that was it. She just laid there- I don't even really remember if she had her eyes open or closed. So I laid my head down on the bed- the rail must've been down from when they flipped her- and kept talking to her for a little while. I started thinking about all the wedding stuff I needed to do and I fell asleep right there, with my head next to hers. I woke up about 10:30 or 11:00 and freaked out cause it was so late, kissed her cheek, and said "Bye mama". And walked out. I didn't intend for that goodbye to be the last one. I certainly could've thought of alot more to tell her than something about Mrs. Behl if I'd known I'd never talk to her again. But I like the memory of laying there, staring at her face and talking to her. At least the last time I was with her was something that is etched in my memory, not just one more night of sitting in that hospital room or sleeping curled up on that waiting room couch. At least it's something I remember.

Remember to Not Forget....

Most mornings we follow the same routine. Hope or Naomi wakes me up, we get up/make beds/change diapers/use bathroom and then go downstairs and eat breakfast. While the girls are eating, I get my glass of water and take my vitamins and antidepressant. During the weekend, we don't follow this routine, so I often forget to take my meds. Usually, though, I remember at some point that I've forgotten to take everything and take them later in the day. I forgot both days this weekend and never did take them.

Couple forgetting to take the drugs with a case of PMS, and you apparently wind up with this scene that's occuring now:

Someone feeding their children breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, singing the Salute to the Armed Forces, and bawling about it. Why am I sobbing about the song? Who the heck knows.

I heard the Marines Hymn last night on tv and got it stuck in my head. So this morning I started singing all the songs- why is it that fifteen years after I graduated and quit doing all those Veteran's Day programs I can still sing every word to all the Armed Forces songs, harmony and all. Anyway, now that it's stuck in my head, I'm singing it and CRYING ABOUT IT???? WHY?? Please, Lord, tell me why I'm crying about a stupid song about the military??? Do I have any loved ones in the military? Not anymore. Do I even know anyone in the military? Not that I can think of. So why why why am I sobbing about it??

I guess I still need the antidepressants. I've REEEEEALLY got to remember to not forget to take those drugs!

Scolded by a Three-Year-Old

Today Naomi and I were playing with her Tubby. Naomi mostly just munches on her ears and tail, so I was playing tug-of-war with her while she chewed away on an ear. Hope saw us going at it, came over, and said "No, that's Naomi's Tubby, not yours. Now settle down and you two can share her!" At least I know she hears some of the things I say.

Unfortunately, she hears other things I say too. This morning her pants weren't cooperating in going on. She got frustrated and muttered "frickin' things...." Ooops!

Smells like Spring

The past two days have been so warm! Monday was in the high fifty's, and Tuesday it hit 75!! We cleaned out the garage yesterday- everyone in teeshirts- it was wonderful. Hope rode her tricycle around the driveway, kicked around her soccer ball, and went "treasure hunting"- her treasures consist of pinecones, twigs, and bunny turds she finds in the yard.

Both nights I've gone to the store late, after the girls are in bed and the shows I want to watch are over. And both nights I've walked very slowly into the store so I could just smell the air. It has that humid, warm summer night smell. Last night the wind was blowing, but it was a warm breeze, not the freezing bone-chilling wind it's been all winter. I almost turned on the flood lights in the back yard and sat on the back porch when I got home. I can't wait for spring!!

Happy Birthday, mama. I miss you.

Good thing we didn't have peas for breakfast

Hope wanted raisin bran for breakfast this morning, and since I had just bought a big canister of raisins, I got those out for her to add to the cereal. She has been snacking on them ever since. I guess I wasn't really paying attention to her, because after a while she says " I can't get it out". I knew before I even looked at her what had happened. Yep, finger up the nose trying to retrieve the raisin that was shoved up there. I grabbed the flashlight and tweezers, but of course the batteries in the flashlight were dead and she was starting to panic by then, so I just stuck the tweezers up there and hoped I didn't hurt her. The raisin came out on the first try and I threw it away. The drama queen starts sobbing- why, you ask? Because she wanted to eat the raisin!!!

Reminiscing

Hope and I were just looking at her scrapbooks. She likes to look through them and tell me who everyone is. There was a picture of her, Grant, and Aunt Carol, but she thought it was my mom. Then she throws in, "But your mom died". I said "Yep, she did die", to which the all-knowing Hopey says, "Well she should've gone to the hospital and the doctors would take care of her and then they could make it so she didn't die anymore." Oh, Hopey, if only it were that easy......

I think, I think, I think....

.....my sleepless nights are over! I need a Happy Dance graemlin- I'd have a whole line of them! Naomi has slept through the night the past two nights. I've vaguely heard her wake up and cry, but by the time I'm awake enough to realize she's crying she's pretty much calmed down and going back to sleep. This morning she didn't wake up till 7:00; most mornings it's 6:00. Since she's proven she can do it, unless all hell breaks loose, I'm not going to be too quick to go feed her from now on even if she does wake up. The bad part is now I'm so used to getting up in the night I wake up anyway. Hopefully a few nights of uninterrupted sleep will cure that.

The Faith of a Child

Last week one of David's coworkers came over for dinner and to watch American Idol. We all sat down for dinner, and Hope says "we forgot to say prayers". Now, Cindy is in no way, shape, or form a Christian, but we all, Cindy included, folded our hands and bowed our heads while Hope said her prayer. Usually she makes us say it first and she repeats what we say, but she managed her own prayer that night. The next night Hope was already at the table eating when David and I sat down with her. Pretty soon she piped up with "Um, guys, we need to pray..." Last night when I put her to bed, her bedtime prayer consisted of things like "thank you for my lamp, thank you for my room"; I think there were some thank-you's for some of her guys. Such simple things that I don't think to say thank you for, but things that she recognizes as blessings worth remembering.

Do you ever think that maybe God speaks with the voice of a three-year-old? I'm finding that seeing my faith reflected in my child makes me want to live it all the more.

The Gimme Monster

Yesterday Hope and I attempted to write her thank-you notes for her Christmas presents. This is how it went:

Me: Grandma and grandpa Keith gave you your easel. What do you like about your easel?
Hope: I want grandpa Keith to buy me a yo-yo.
Me: Ok, Nana and Papa got you all your paints and art stuff. What's your favorite part about them?
Hope: Maybe Papa will buy me a yo-yo.
Me: Didi got you your backyardigans game. What do you want to tell her about it?
Hope: I know! Didi can buy me a yo-yo!

I don't even know if she knows what a yo-yo is. Where did she come up with this? Then today when we were in the check-out line at Target she grabbed something and asked me to buy it. This is how that conversation went:

Hope: can you get this for me?
Me: sure, what is it?
Hope: ....(blank look)
Me: if you can tell me what it is, I'll buy it for you. What is it? (it was a box of Mentos; I knew there was a pretty slim chance she'd know)
Hope: well, see, it's these little white circle things....
Me: Wrong answer; put it back.

We've been talking alot about Madame Blueberry lately, trying to emphasize the point that she was never happy no matter how much stuff she had. I think we may have to watch that episode a few more times. The next several days I'm thinking we're going to be singing The Thankful Heart song around this house. It seems to have worked with the Have Patience song I used to make her sing. This morning when Naomi was crying because I wasn't making her oatmeal fast enough, Hope said "Naomi, she's making it; be patient" and started singing her the song:)

Gee, Thanks Hope

I just went upstairs to put on a sweater because I was cold. I have a green chenille sweater that's real soft, so that's what I grabbed. When I came back downstairs, Hope said "Oh mom, I love that shirt you put on. You look like a big, green ogre!" Maybe I need to take Shrek out of the VCR and put in a nice princess movie.