Birthday for Hope

I kept telling Hope she couldn't have a birthday because I didn't want her to be any older than six. But she had one anyway. She had to wear most of the jewelry she owns to daycare, and took cookies so they could celebrate her birthday.


For dinner she wanted to go to Red Robin, mainly because she knows she'll get a sundae if she tells them it's her birthday. Joel found a half-inflated balloon floating around our table, so he played with that most of the evening and actually behaved himself! Poor Hope's sundae was forgotten about, but she wasn't too disappointed because she knew she had cake and ice cream waiting for her at home. A month ago Hope was grocery shopping with me and wanted to look at the cakes in the bakery. She found a Belle cake that she said she wanted for her birthday, so I ordered it for her and had David pick it up on his way home from work. During dinner he 'whispered' to me that they'd forgotten to make her cake and all they had left was a big football cake. Hope said that was fine- she didn't care what kind of cake she had. But she was awfully excited when we got home and she saw the Belle cake!

I've been buying her a hardback Little House on the Prarie book for her birthday and Christmas for the last two years, so she got the next Prarie book. Since she finally got her hair cut off last weekend, she got some cute headbands and hair clips to keep her hair back out of her face. And David wanted to get her a movie, but most of the disney movies we already had. So David got her E.T.- now maybe I'll finally watch that movie. The one thing I remember about it is that dad promised us he'd take us to see it when we lived in Coulee Dam and he never did. Pathetic thing to remember, isn't it:)

And silly Joel- on the way to Red Robin, he started saying "Key-no" as we passed the casino that's right off the freeway. I thought he was saying casino, but I had no idea how he'd know that word. Then on the way back, as we passed the casino again, he said "Key-no, right dere." Who knows how he knew it was a casino, except that there's a big Orca whale statue that Hope always wants to see, but usually we say to look at the whale, not look at the casino. Who knows. And during dinner he got chocolate milk with his meal, and when it was gone he handed me his cup and said "Want more chocolate please". Alrighty Joel.

Old dresses

The girls both wore one of my old dresses to church today.

The material on the top of Naomi's is some weird polyester, and while I'm sure it was cute enough 30 years ago, I don't think we'll be wearing it again.

Hope's dress is still nice enough although completely out of style, but she's six- who cares about what's in style. That one I think we may keep in the closet for Naomi to wear. And check out my wicked awesome braiding skills! Mom wouldn't be impressed, but I am:)

Manners

Joel has become such a polite little man. Everything is 'Please' and 'Thank you'. We've always made him say those, but lately something has clicked and he remembers to say them by himself. When we get him a drink of water, he says thank you. Even when we put his food on the table, he'll say thank you. Yesterday he was into something he knew he wasn't suppposed to play with, and I asked him if he wanted to get spanked. His reply? "No, thank you".

Bad Timing

I just found an echo job in Tucson, at what I would consider the best place there for David to work. It's at the university's hospital, so I'd assume it would be a good learning environment, and he'd see more than just post-heart-surgery patients that are genenrally boring and routine. When I showed him the posting, he told me to fill out the application for it, so I guess that means he'd be interested in the job. But he didn't seem to care much, and I'm sure I can guess why. Right now would be about the worst timing in the world to move. In January or February, his old job at Swedish was open, sort of, and we discussed the same thing then. Of all the times to move, now really stinks.

First is the house. I hate to even look anymore at what houses around us are listed for. In order for us to have a chance of selling, we'd have to list it so low that we'd lose about $150K. That's almost what I paid for my house in Spokane. I cannot imagine purposely selling a house, knowing you'd lose that kind of money. Especially when it isn't the hypothetical, 'my house was worth this three years ago and I could've sold it for that much' type of loss. We'd lose $150K off what we paid- cash that for a few days in 2006 graced my savings account.

And then there's my job. Todd has finally mellowed some, at least most of the time. I actually don't dread going to work most days. I hate it when I take the kids to daycare, but once that's over I don't mind. Todd still has his days where he's a pain to be around- a few weeks ago I got lectured for putting my gloves on too loudly- but the days he's fine far outnumber the bad ones lately. And our daycare- I actually really like this place, and I'd hate to start looking all over again. The lady who owns it looks just like David's stepmom, and she's about as nice. Naomi comes home singing songs that they sang during worship time; at their old daycare, Hope would get in trouble for talking about God, and now they have organized time to worship! Although I'd love to find Mary Poppins to deal with Joel, I think this is a great place for them to be.

And Zachary. He really wants to go to UW. I don't know that he'll get in, but maybe at the Bothell campus he'll have a better shot. Part of me would want him to live on campus and get the "freshman experience", but he could also live here and save everyone a wad of money. The kids all love it when he's here, and if he'd just learn the purpose of a laundry basket and dresser, I'd enjoy having him around too. It wouldn't be very nice of us to move away right before he moves here, especially since he was the main reason I finally said we definitely should move back to Washington.

The other day David asked me if we won the lottery and could live anywhere we wanted and didn't have to worry about jobs, where I'd want to live. Four years ago I would've said Tucson. Even two years ago I would've said Tucson. Now I don't know. I would love to move back to Rockford. Barring any big changes at Swedish, David would be happy working there indefinitely. Rockford doesn't have everything in the world to offer, but being an hour from one of the largest cities in the world provides most anything we'd need. But winter..........how I loathe thee. And humidity- I'm not a fan of sticky, sweaty, can't-cool-off heat. I don't know that I'm a fan of blazing-hot dry heat either, but I think it would be preferrable to Illinois summers. But in Tucson, we have the same problem we have here- we basically don't have anyone around. David's mom, I'm afraid, would be hit and miss. Depending on her mood, she could be a huge asset or completely absent as a grandmother. David said he wouldn't mind moving back to Spokane, mostly because of the amount of family we have there. Again, we have the winter issue, but I agree that other than snow Spokane is a nice place. What makes me sick is that, when David took this job, there was a job at some cardiology practice in Spokane too. He didn't even consider applying because he'd heard the practice was having problems and he didn't want to get involved in a practice that was going to have all sorts of changes in the near future. Given what he's working for now, we both would've put up with a crappy practice in Spokane versus a crappy practice in Everett. So many hypothetical options, such bad timing for any of them. Except staying put. The one thing neither of us really want, the one thing that makes the most sense.

Gracker!!!

Right now, Joel loves anything that is big and moves. He announces "Oh-Oh-ome" anytime he sees a camper/trailer/motorhome. He tells us Gruck if he sees a semi or larger truck on the freeway. Recently there were three big tractors parked at the fire station by our house. He started saying Gracker whenever we'd go by them. I realized after a couple times that he was trying to say tractor. The past week or two they've been gone, and now when we drive by, he says "Gracker gone".

The other night on the way to Hope's dance class, we drove by a spot where five big tractors were parked. We also drive by a big bus parking lot for the school district. I figured he'd notice the buses, because there's a whole bunch of them right off the road. But the tractors were just off in a field, and off a highway where we were driving 55mph, so I didn't think he'd even have time to see them. But holy cow, he noticed! "Gracker, gracker, mommy, gracker!!!"

Friends this week

Mostly, Hope would rather be an only child. She plays with Naomi because there aren't many other options, but she doesn't like her and certainly doesn't try to be nice to her.

The last week or so, Naomi has decided she wants to sleep wherever Hope is. If Hope sleeps in Zach's room, Naomi camps out in the hallway because Hope will just kick her out of the bed. But the other night, Naomi just waited until Hope went to sleep and then crawled in bed with her. They were still there the next morning, so Hope either never woke up or put up with Naomi being in the sacred territory of Zach's room. Saturday night both girls wanted to sleep in Zach's room, so in order to not have a fight ensue, I told them neither could sleep there, but they could both sleep in my room. They hopped right into our bed and went to sleep without any audible fighting.

Last night when I went upstairs, Naomi wasn't in her bed. I figured she had gotten in my bed, but she wasn't there when I checked. After I started looking around, I found her in bed with Hope in the top bunk. They both slept there all night. Hope says she woke up in the night and realized Naomi was in her bed, but she let her stay there. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable it would be to sleep with Hope in a twin bed; I don't enjoy sleeping with her in a queen bed where there's room to escape her flailing limbs. But Naomi loves her big sister and is a little scared of being alone, so she'll put up with being smacked around in the night to be close to her big sister.

Little Readers

Joel LOVES to be read to these days. He started liking it a few weeks ago with a Dora book of Hope's. He'd name all the things on the pages- ball, backpack, tree, umbrella, octopus, water. There was one picture of a goldfish. When we asked him what is was, he said 'cracker'. It took a minute to figure out he thought it looked like a goldfish cracker. He still says cracker; he'll point to the fish if you ask where a fish is, but if he's naming pictures, he says cracker.

Now he's much less picky with books. He still loves the Dora book, but he likes lots of others too. Several times a day he runs to wherever David or I are sitting and says "read book, read book". After every page or two, he'll say "the end" and try to close the book. I think grandpa needs to visit for a day or two so someone else can read book, read book.

Befores and Afters

Haircuts for Joely

David took Joel to get another haircut tonight. He said he was going to get a crew cut; I wasn't thrilled but I also wasn't volunteering to take Joel to the barber. When they walked back in the door, my child was almost bald. I got a little teary because I didn't like it and it was such a big change. Joel said "Mommy crying?" and then hugged me and said "Sorry mommy". Even he knows this isn't his best look.

RV

So, after much searching and talking myself out of it and searching some more, we finally bought a motorhome. I am entirely too picky and only wanted certain floor plans. There was one motorhome in Spokane that I really liked, but there was one thing about it that I didn't want. But I hadn't seen another one with this particular floor plan, so I was leaning towards buying it anyway. Or is it just toward, not towards? Anyway, David brought home an rv trader magazine that I skimmed through and saw a dealership I hadn't checked out before. I think my exact words were "Oh crap, I like this one and it's too expensive" when I saw the motorhome on their website. But we bought it anyway. So let's hope that we don't regret our purchase and everyone enjoys it and Joel doesn't wander off and get eaten by a bear.

Ok, now it's bad

Today the taco time lady told me I needed "like, a frequent flyer card or something".

I'm so glad you were paying attention....

Yesterday I was explaining Hope's language assignment to her. There were a few sections, so I went though all the directions. When I was done, I asked if she had any questions. "Yes.....how did Harry Potter get that scar on his head?"

Is it bad that lately the Taco Time drive-through lady doesn't need to ask what I want to drink or if I want hot sauce with that?

I Forget

So, I finally wormed the real Chex Mix secret out of Bryn. It was fairly close to what I already had tried, but a little different. I made one batch and tried to improvise a little; it wasn't real great. So I made another and followed what I was supposed to do. As I was eating it, I thought "So does this taste like mom's?"

In all honesty, I don't know. I can't remember exactly what her Chex Mix tasted like anymore.


No big deal, right? But what else have I forgotten? Do I remember all her goofy expressions? Or the way she used to run up the stairs with her hands tight against her chest.....

Will there be a day I can't instantly picture her in my mind? I always can look at pictures, but will I one day have to rely on them?


In 30 years, will I still be able to hear her laughing?

I'll always be able to hear her voice thanks to the "quit sucking your blanket" tape she made, trying to get some subliminal messages to work. But what else, what other memories that I formed in the 27 years with her, will I lose in the next 27.


I hate this. I don't want to forget.

Joel's latest trick

Joel picked Christmas Eve to learn how to crawl out of a pack n'play. Which meant I couldn't just put him in it and expect him to go to sleep. Instead I'd put him in it and two minutes later he'd run into the living room to see what was going on. So, since I can go back to sleep within 10 seconds of waking up, I got to sleep with Mr. Man during our trip. The only nice part of that is that on Christmas morning, I woke up to two little hands on my chest, followed by a knee in my stomach. There was no way I was going to open my eyes, because once he knows you're awake, it's over. You're up for the day. But after he crawled close enough to my face, I got a big kiss to wake me up. Sorta makes up for having to wake up at 5:30 each morning.

Once we got home, we figured we were fine, because his crib is lots taller than a pack n'play. Nice thought. Five minutes after I put him in bed, he walked into the kitchen and said "Hi mom", like it was completely ordinary for him to be there. Out came the KoolAid spoon that he gets, um..........'reminded of the rules' with. Poor little guy- he got swatted while he was mid-escape, hanging over the edge of the crib railing. I left the spoon in sight to remind him what would happen if he disobeyed again and he stayed in bed. But I woke up at 6:15 to him playing in his room; I put up a gate in his doorway so at least he couldn't get out and run around the house without us hearing him knock the gate down. So now do I buy a crib tent or just teach him to stay in the crib, even though he is capable of getting out? There's no way I trust him in a bed; that's FAR too easy to get out of. At least in his crib, he has some sort of visual reminder that he's supposed to stay inside.

Sweet Mimi

The other night we were driving home in the dark, and David kept braking. When I asked why, he asked if I couldn't see all the little critters running across the road. I couldn't, and said he should just hit them (I'm not overly sentimental about rodents). He said ok, and right after that we drove over a pothole. Naomi asked if he hit an animal. "Yep, I just ran over Boots the Monkey!" She didn't seem concerned about that, so David started pretending to hit all the Dora crew. Naomi thought it was funny and encouraged him to take out Dora.

The next night we were again driving down the same road in the dark and I heard Mimi muttering from the back seat, "watch out, Tico."

Faulty reasoning

I showed Hope this picture of Bryn, and asked her who she thought it was.
"Didi?"
"You think so?"
"Yeah, it's didi"
"But look, does Didi have a tattoo?"
"Is it aunt Mandy?"

Cause Mandy has a tattoo that only Hope knows about??

Little things that make your day

Yesterday at work we were all in the break room, and something was said about one coworker going to talk to someone about less-than-stellar service. I said that I wished I were like Steph, who's so tactful that even her complaint will sound friendly. "If it were me, I'd end up sounding like I was being a beeotch." One of my coworkers, who I've never been great friends with, laughed and said "Of all of us, you're the last one who could ever act like that. I can't imagine you being mean to anyone". I told her that, although she was completely wrong, I was so happy that she thought that about me! Who knew anyone actually thought I was nice?!?

G-U-M

Somehow in the past few weeks, Naomi discovered gum. Hope started spelling it out so Naomi wouldn't know what she was asking for, but it didn't take Naomi too long to catch on. So she started asking for g-u-m, and that turned into g-u-m-hum (she can say 'g' in some words, but not at the start of words, so gum is hum). The other day we were running low on gum and needed stuff for lunch, so we went to the store. David asked Naomi if we should get some more g-u-m, and then asked what we should get for lunch. Apparently she doesn't understand that g-u-m actually spells gum, because Naomi's suggestion was "g-u-m-tato-ships". I'm all for chips, but chip-flavored g-u-m does NOT sound good.

Logic according to Naomi

Last night I was reviewing boys and girls with Naomi. She knew everyone in our family and at daycare. Then I asked "Is Chloe a boy or a girl".
Naomi: a girl.
Me: what about Grantie?
Naomi: He's not a girl!!
Me: Ok, then, what is he?
Naomi: He's Grant!!
Me: But is he a boy or a girl?
Naomi: He's just my cousin!

She also thinks Alex and Lucy are both boys because they have the same hair, although she refers to Lucy with female pronouns. She's confused.