Monthly Archives: January 2008

And then?

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I am sitting in my “office away from home” waiting for my project to upload. My big project that I have been stressing over for weeks now. It is finished. Well, for the time being, until the client sends back a list of demanding changes, but finished for this week, at least.

And then?

I’ve got a few hours to treat myself.  Well, I am running all of those errands that are easier to do sans girlies. Like recycling, dropping off the Goodwill boxes, getting a car wash. Definitely in that order, too. The cardboard is making my car stink so it needs to go first, and whatever toy it is that “talks” when I go over any bump is driving me a bit crazy, so it needs to be donated, pronto. And, wow! Is my car is in dire need of a good vacuum.  So every surface needs to be clear for the ultimate in vacuuming efficiency.

And then?

I get to do some real fun things. Like get a haircut! By the way, when did this start rating as a relaxing way to spend an hour or two? I guess right about the time I no longer had even ten minutes to brush out my hair, much less style it in any way. But they do this amazing massage during the shampoo…it is worth the haircut just for that – not to mention the shagginess that has taken over my head.

I know I am very lucky to have a job that I can do from home after the girls are in bed. And I’m so very lucky to have Denise two afternoons a week so that I can work. And I’m lucky to have two girls that, for the most part, are pretty amazing and I love spending time with them.

But why do a few truly “free” hours make me feel so incredibly giddy? I am almost heady with the prospect of not having any responsibilities for the afternoon. Free to do whatever Mommy needs or wants.

And then?

This incredibly sweet little girl just came in with her mom and my heart feels like it is going to just pound out of my chest. Just watching her makes me miss E. and A.

I just spent the morning with them, and left them not even more than an hour and a half ago. Yet, I’m already counting down the hours til I go home to bathe them, snuggle with them and put them to bed.

How can that happen just like that – really in an instant?

Focus ~ Theme Thursday

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Focus is today’s Theme Thursday.

“Please, focus here, Emma Grace! Concentrate. Listen up.”

I can’t tell you how many times a day/week/month I say this to Em. She has definitely fine-tuned her ability to block the sound of mom’s voice out. And I’m certain that I sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown to her.

“Wah wah wah waaah, wah wah, wah.”

Yesterday the focus was all on Em because we had her first parent-teacher conference.

I know she is a good girl, and she just pushes me because she can. But it was still good to hear that she is a great student. Her teacher said she is a joy to have in the class, very polite, attentive and always focused. And she never has to tell her anything twice.

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She also appears to be in with the “in crowd” of girls at school. She is coming out of her “shell” and confident in both leading and following. I think she will be demanding the center of focus for a long time to come.

Focus up on some other great shots at Stacy’s new home for Theme Thursday.

Happy Birthday To Daddy! ~ Wordless Wednesday

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Okay, I can’t really make this Wordless because it is a word-worthy event.

So, although the photo says it all, I would also just like to add that we really think J. is spectacular. He is a fantastic husband and best friend, but most of all, he really is the greatest daddy in the world. We thank God for him each and every day, and I am certain that the world is a much better place because he is in it.

(Yeah, and Uncle Jeff isn’t too bad, either!)

Happy Birthday Daddy & Unca Hef! We love you both!

Crafty Tuesday ~ Craft It Forward

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So this is what it is going to take to get me back in my craft mode…

I saw this idea of a Craft Pay It Forward first on Stacy’s site. I loved the idea, but then figured, really, what would I, or could I, craft for the little experiment.

Then I saw it again on HipMomma, and decided that I might be able to come up with something, and it may force me inspire me to do some fun crafts again.

So here is how it all goes.

The first three (3) people to comment here on my site and commit to Crafting It Forward will get a free craft from me.

By committing you must post a similar challenge on your blog – and create something to pass along to your three takers. It can be anything, just needs to be handmade.

Interested? Hurry. Comment. Post. Play along!

Oh, as for what I am going to craft…I think I will give you a choice. I will either create for you:

1. A scrapbook page (you send me any photos and journaling you want incorporated)
2. A little stack of handmade greeting cards (maybe 5 or so – different occasions)
or
3. A little batch of notecards designed for you (with your name or a little design)

Sound good?

All About Addie

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The kid is killing me. She has the “I’m twwwoooooo” attitude down cold, yet she still cracks me up almost on an hourly basis.

So it is no new “news” that I was sick last week. Poor, little Addie mostly wandered around and played by herself, or watched her beloved Ariel, while Em got a little reprieve and headed out for school.

But, what did sweet little Addie do to make Mommy feel better? She brought Bear to me and laid him under the blanket with me and laid her head on my arm, sighed and said, “I love you, too, Mama!” (She never says just “I love you” it is always, “I love you, too!” I guess she already knows how much we all love her. It is now just understood.)

Then she would wander off and tend to something, and every two minutes or so she would come up and put her face inches from mine and ask so hopefully, “Your tummy feel all better now, Mama?”

That angelic little face framed in curls and her big expressive eyes looking so concerned, it almost did make me feel better.

Today J. left for the SuperBowl. He is gone until next Monday – although he is flying in for a few hours on Wednesday…Nice! A little break in the week. While just the thought that he was gone could have made for a very long day, that and the fact that I have the entire week, including weekend, ahead of me, Addie and I actually had a pretty delightful day.

Daddy left to go work, the girls went shopping! (Ok, some of it was actually birthday shopping for Daddy, but still…)

While we were on our way to pick up Em from school, I peeked into the rearview mirror, Addie saw me and she exaggerated a big yawn, broke into a huge grin while she put her hands behind her head, and then she said to me, “It was a lo-o-ong day, huh, Mama?”

And then…(one more!) at dinner, Emma was antagonizing her and I came in and said “what is going on here?” Emma just sat there with a sheepish look on her face and Addie blurted out, “Tell the twooth, (truth!) Emma Gwacie!”

Seriously. Where does the kid get this stuff from?

She is obsessed with wanting to wear her (and Emma’s) Ariel pjs. Unfortunately they are all little nightgowns, way too light to wear in the chilly 40-degree night air that we have going on right now. So I’ve been compromising and letting her wear the nightgowns over warmer jammies.

Which means this is what she looks like at bedtime around here…

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When I finish getting everything on her, she turns to me and says –

“Now, I’m all nice and cozy, Mama!”

She is definitely the “ying” to Emma’s “yang.”

Blech.

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I’ve been down, down, down and out all day with the stomach flu. So there has been no blog posting, no work getting done, and very little parenting on my part.

We were out with Jeff and Wendy last night at part of the Town Hall series (Carol Burnett was interviewing Steve Martin) when my stomach started to hurt. I figured it was probably because I had had a few cups of coffee while I was working, didn’t have time for dinner and snacked on peanut M&Ms during the show.

But alas, after a very long night and day of getting sick, fever, chills, etc…I think it was the flu.

Thankfully my friend Michelle brought me 7-up and other goodies for my tummy and shuttled Em to and from school. (Thank you so much, Michelle!) But poor Addie was just pretty friendly with the television all afternoon. I did/do feel guilty about that, but it was all I could do to make it to the kitchen and throw cheese and crackers and grapes at the girls for lunch. Who knew grapes could be so repulsive looking when you are ill?

And then my knight-in-shining-armor came home early and did dinner, bath and bed with the girls, cleaned up the disaster zone, and went out and got me a milkshake.

God love him. Now, I’m going to go crawl back into bed.

Books ~ Theme Thursday

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Books. A word near and dear to my heart. I love to read, J. loves to read, and I am so happy that the girls seem to be following in our footsteps. We spend many a Saturday afternoon wandering around the bookstore. And when I saw that this week’s theme was Books, I knew that I wanted to capture a moment from my favorite time of the day.

Granted, some nights it is my favorite time of the day because it has been a particularly hard or long day, and I just need them tucked in. And I need some peace. But most nights it is that moment when the girls are all scrubbed clean, their teeth have been double-checked for brushing, they are in their soft pjs, all ready to snuggle and they say, “Can we read in your bed tonight, Mommy?”

It used to be that I would read Ad her books (usually she would weasel four or five Sandra Boynton books out of me) and Em would “listen in on” Ad’s books. Then we’d tuck Ad in, and then I would go read a “big girl” book to Em and tuck her in.

But their reading paths have converged. Ad will sit still for much longer books now and wants to read “Emma’s books.” So we have been piling into my and J’s bed and they each get to pick a book. Addie almost always picks some sort of Princess book, but Emma likes to mix it up. She has been picking some Dr. Seuss books lately, and trying to read some of them to me. We are so close to the next level when Mommy will be replaced and Em will be reading to herself or to Addie.

Until then, I will continue to soak all of our bedtime reading in. And treasure each word.

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Make sure to go over and share some Book love with other Theme Thursday photos.

Sometimes you just have to do it yourself.

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Hey! This is Emma.

Well, and Addie, too – but mostly me, because she is my “baby sis” and is not nearly as talented as I am in the talking, typing or storytelling arenas, but I will help her when it is her turn.

First off, we really need to apologize for our obvious slacker Mom lately. She is running around like the crazy rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, exclaiming, “I’m late! I’m late!,” and she is really preoccupied with something, or a few somethings, and she clearly does not understand how important it is to keep her bloggy friends happy. She just keep throwing up a photo here, or a few photos there, and hoping that our sweetness will tide you all over.

*sigh*

Mothers…can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.

Anyhow, about a thousand days ago, our friend Zoe tagged us for a fun little meme. I kept asking Mommy when we could do it and kept getting, “um…how about later.” Story of my life. So, Ad and I are just going to do it now.

The rules:
-Each player makes a list of eight random facts/habits about themselves.
-At the end of your list, choose eight people to tag and list their names. (We probably won’t play by this rule, though).

So, since I am the big sister, and running the show around here, I figure I will go first.

Emma’s Eight:
1. I love school. I tell Mom every single day how I can’t wait to be 5, so I can go to the kindergarten classroom. There I get to go to school – ALL day long. Every day. I’m really excited about that. And I get my own lunch box!

2. There is this boy, Henry, he is at my school and I think he is very cute. My friend Ella and I are always chasing him at recess and I told Mom the other day that I was going to marry Henry when we grow up. Mom said that I was ONLY 4 YEARS OLD (yes, she said it loud like that) and that I should just be friends with Henry, but not worry about boyfriends and getting married and stuff like that. I told her, “I’m almost 5!” Her head just dropped forward and she shook it back and forth, I’m not sure what that means, but she does it a lot lately.

3. I am going to be 5 on April 9th, in case you didn’t know. I like to tell everyone that. I think that maybe I will have a Strawberry Shortcake birthday party. Mom just laughs because Aunt Meesh used to have a bedroom with Strawberry Shortcake all over the wallpaper. I guess everyone likes Strawberry Shortcake.

4. When I’m not in school, or planning my birthday party, I really do like to play with my “baby sis.” That is what I call her, and it also always makes Mom laugh. We have been known to give Mommy close to an hour of peace at one time, while we play Polly Pockets and dollhouses. Sometimes I think Mom doesn’t believe that we are just playing because she will come in and ask, “What are you doing?” “Why are you so quiet in here?”

5. I am working hard on my ballet dancing. I started a new class that my friends Ella and Kate are in. It is on Saturday with Miss Caroline and we are learning A LOT! Miss Caroline told Mommy that she has not seen feet like mine in a long time! Mommy says she is not sure, but she thinks it is a good thing. Apparently my long, skinny feet are good for ballet dancers. I really want to be Clara in the Nutcracker some day.

6. I also like playing baseball with Daddy. I conned Davin into playing with me for hours when he was here a few weeks ago. But I keep telling Mommy that I really want to play soccer. Mommy says this summer, after I am 5, I get to start playing. Which is good, because every time we go to the Grove and I throw pennies into the fountain and I wish to play soccer. Now I won’t have to waste all of those wishes!

7. My current favorite person is Sharpay from High School Musical. I used to only want to wear skirts and dresses, but Nena and Mommy found me some “Sharpay jeans” they are sparkly and very cool, so I have branched out and am now including some new stuff into my wardrobe. But it must sparkle. And it must be fabulous!

8. I know the plot to every Tom & Jerry cartoon. It is my favorite cartoon. Daddy and I like to watch them together. He has also been showing me the Three Stooges. Much to Mommy’s chagrin.

Addie’s Eight:
1. Well, I’m 2. So that pretty much explains what it is like around here. One minute I’m laughing and having a great day, the next minute I am having a supreme meltdown because my sock is not on my foot the right way. It is kind of a game now – I just do it to keep Mom on her toes.

2. After my “debut” at the dance recital last month, I am taking a little break from dance. Although every time Mommy puts tights on me, I ask her “Am going to dance class?” But I don’t think I really want to go.

3. My obsession for Cinderella has been transferred to Ariel. I love the Ariel song, I want to watch Ariel every single day. Sometimes I will sit at the table and comb my hair with a fork, or “dinglehopper” like Ariel does while I sing, “Aaaaaah, aaaahhh.” Mommy is trying to get it on video, but I’m smarter than her. I know when she is trying to trick me and I know exactly when to stop.

4. The two words that I say (and use correctly) that cracks Mommy up lately. “Pobabaly” (probably) and ack-tu-ally (actually). “Um, Mommy – ack-tu-ally, I want juice instead of milk – but I pobabaly will have to have some goldfish with my juice. Yes?”

5. I think my big sister is great. She is my favorite person. When she is somewhere and I need her I will yell at the top of my little lungs, “Emma Gwacie Girl Boris! Where arrre you?!” Most of the time we have a very fun time. But I do know that by screaming very loud when Emma isn’t sharing with me, it will make Mommy come running. Another fun game I like to play.

6. As much as I love Emma, I really love my afternoons with Mommy when Em is at school. We usually don’t do anything exciting, but Mommy says I’m a totally different kid when I am without Em. I sure do like it when all of Mommy’s attention is on me.

7. My favorite place to go and just hang out is the “puppy kitty store” (PetSmart). We always start in the fish and wander past the birds, but then I get antsy and can’t wait to get to the back of the store where the puppies are! There is a doggy daycare where all of the puppies go and run around and I love to watch them. And then I have to go visit the kitties, too. And I love our kitties. The other day I picked Smokey up and carried her around for a little bit. I think she really liked it!

8. I am the world’s slowest eater. Or maybe this is just another game to drive Mommy crazy? The only way to get me to eat a full meal in a timely fashion is to make sure you are serving “noonels” (noodles) or broccoli. It is a sure way to make sure I will wipe my plate clean.

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So there you have it. A little bit of funny stuff and happenings that Mom has been to busy to write about. I think that all of our bloggy friends have already done this? If you haven’t and want to – just leave us a comment and let us know you did it!

Now we have to go find Mommy. It is a fun little game we play sometimes. Mommy has to go to the bathroom or take a shower, and we go throw open the bathroom door. “MOOOM? Hey, MOM! You in here? Found you! Now it is our turn to go hide…”