Mommy Daze

My ray of sunshine.

2012-01-12T00:14:00.000-05:00

Fabulous dollhouses of the wee and ornery.

2012-01-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

Last night, as I was tucking Suzi into bed, I told her, "Now, in the morning, after you get ready, you need to put up all the dollhouse toys you got out. Remember, you can get it all out, but you have to clean it all up when you're done."

This is my big rule. No one pays attention to it, but I continue to be an eternal optimist and believe that if I keep saying it, one day it will be true.

She tells me okay and slumbers off to dreamland.

Flash forward to this morning and while she's waiting to go to preschool, she actually remembers (or maybe just went into the sunroom to play with all the dollhouse stuff again) and she gets to work. After a while, she hollers for me to come and check her work, and this is what she's done:

I could not possibly love my little interior designer more!

Isaac the Chef!

2012-01-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Little dude made the world's BEST cheesy mac!!

How do you rock-a-bye a 5'1" eight year old?

2012-01-04T00:17:00.001-05:00

Any way he wants.

This is not a surprise.

2012-01-02T10:39:00.002-05:00

Overheard conversation in the library at the hotel we went to for New Year's Eve -

Sophie, picking a book up, "I'm going to read, 'It's a Good Life'."

Suzi, also picking up a book: "I'm going to read, 'It's a Mean Life'."

How to SUPER impress your teachers.

2011-12-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

Sophie brought home a paper today from school where she had to draw three ducks in a row, and then write about what they're doing.

This is what she put: "The ducks' names are Emma, Sophie and JD. They are smelling each other's butts. I think that is gross, but they like to. I can't stop them."

I have no doubt that it's just a matter of time until I get a very interesting phone call from school.

Catching a sunbeam.

2011-11-03T14:49:00.002-04:00

My other two sweeties.

2011-10-20T23:24:00.000-04:00

Looking back over my latest, sporadic, posts, I realized that this blog has become largely centered around Suzi. The reason for that is two-fold: 1. I'm with her a lot more than I am with the other two, now that they spend their days in school, and 2: Three and a half is a hilarious age to document.

But the other two continue to be awesome as well. There may not be as many funny stories, but the sweet ones continue to pile up. Like when Izzy's Papaw Mike gave him five dollars for getting straight A's on his report card last week (so did Sophie!), he took it and bought himself, his sisters, and his cousins all cake-pops to enjoy, while we were visiting the Harvest Festival.

Or how when Izzy came home upset because the little boy who sits beside him stole his eraser with a smiley face on it, that he'd just won in classroom bingo, and the substitute teacher didn't believe him. It was hard to see him not only struggling with having lost something he won, something he really liked, but to have a teacher not believe him and refuse to help, just about broke his heart. Hearing about it broke Sophie's heart, too, and she reached into her book bag and offered Izzy one of her new pencils.

They are growing up to be really good kids, and I'm awfully proud of them. Even if I don't blog about it as often as I should, my heart swells daily because of their kindness. I'm a lucky, LUCKY mama.

Hat day at school!!

2011-10-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

They can't even pose like normal children, much less just wear ballcaps.

Kitchen Makeover!!

2011-10-18T18:19:00.002-04:00

From this...

To this:

Lots of muscle grease and a wee bit of blood, but in the end, a nice new kitchen! It took us about three weeks or so, and now we know that we'll never repaint cabinets again. Seriously.

A cowgirl's got to get her shut-eye when she can.

2011-10-16T18:34:00.000-04:00

This is pretty solid reasoning.

2011-10-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

Suzi, asking after being denied her third piece of candy: WHY?
(Said with full attitude, one hand on hip, one hand on the piece of candy.)

Me: Because too much candy isn't healthy.

Suzi: But I want it and it's tasty.

Me: Too bad.

Suzi: But, mom, I really like this and it tastes really good.

Me: Too bad. You've had enough candy for now.

Suzi: But it's tasty with sugar in it!

Clearly, these animals lead a hard life.

2011-10-11T09:28:00.000-04:00

Suzi made herself a bed on the floor...and the pets all accepted her unspoken invitation:

My little sweetie. sigh

2011-10-07T13:19:00.001-04:00

Yesterday started off cold, so I took Suzi to preschool in a long-sleeved shirt, and I wore one myself. After school it had warmed up considerably, so as I got us all ready to take Sophie to the doctor, I changed Suzi into a little while polo shirt, which looked super cute with her blue skirt.

Then I went into my closet, with my little shadow trailing closely behind, and as I looked through the few t-shirts I left down after winterizing my closet last weekend, I hit upon a matching white polo shirt.

"Look, Suzi," I exclaimed, "We can be twins!"

She looked up at me with a straight face and a little gleam in her eye and said, "I'll be the evil twin?"

How my parents spent Labor Day:

2011-09-12T22:05:00.002-04:00

This one is going to drive me insane.

2011-09-08T10:06:00.001-04:00

Last night I laid out Suzi favorite shirt and her favorite skirt, which I hadn't thought about pairing together until last night.

She was delighted.

Until I told her to wear her red shoes rather than her pink boots. After 10 minutes of screaming and yelling (mostly from Suzi), I convinced her, mostly, that I would make her change her shirt if she didn't wear the red shoes.

Now you all know that I normally don't give a hoot what they wear. But it just so happened that all these reds and blues together made me smile. So there.

Then I grab a little red coat for her, and slide her arms into it. She takes one look at it and says, "This not cool, mommy!"

"Not cool?!" I say in mock dismay, thinking to myself that she was actually right, not a "cool" jacket at all...but a very cute one, and one that kept the whole red/blue thing going.

"Well, let's do this," I told her. "Let me take your picture and I'll ask people if they think this is a cool jacket or not, and we'll see what they have to say about it."

(Seriously, have you ever seen a cuter disgusted face EVER??)

So, internet, it's up to you to declare whether or not this adorable little red jacket is cool enough for Suzi Diva to wear again. Her fashion destiny lies in your comments or emails!!

Suzi's First Day!

2011-08-31T09:36:00.002-04:00

My sweet, sweet babies.

2011-08-30T00:17:00.000-04:00

I took the camera down the hill with me today to get the kids off the bus and I took this shot on our way back up the hill. Such sweet kids....

Well, maybe two of them.

"My mommy can dance!"

2011-08-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

This is the first in a series of yet unreleased vocal stylings by Suzi Diva. Other titles recorded this morning include "You are my sunshine," and "The window is glass."

Enjoy this preview of the awesomeness!

Florida 2011!

2011-08-18T11:49:00.002-04:00

As you can by my picture to the left of you, "Me and my buddy, 2011," we once again headed to the sunny beaches of Florida! As you can also see, my little buddy has grown - young sir is now five foot tall, having just turned eight years old. It will be interesting, some day in the near future, I'm sure, to track by these buddy pictures just how quickly he's overtaken my considerable height of nearly 5'9".

At any rate, we had a blast! We went with Chris's parents, his brother and his family, and then our family of five. It was truly amazing how well everyone got along, and especially the children, since we had ours at ages 8, 6, and 3, and his brother's kids at 10 and 5. Perfectly lovely trip! Check it out:

Wonderful, wonderful memories.

Conversation with Suzi

2011-08-18T11:18:00.000-04:00

Suzi: "Mom, Sophie say I not a big girl again."

Me (with mock sympathy): "Again? She said it AGAIN?"

Suzi: "Yes. It a bad word!"

Why I'll shortly be bald.

2011-07-20T15:54:00.002-04:00

Me (in response to Suzi dragging her toys across the table making a loud squeaky sound): Stop it.

Suzi: What?? I'm just making noise!

Supermodel!!

2011-07-13T12:51:00.000-04:00

Clearly, this child is destined for fame.

2011-07-11T17:07:00.002-04:00

Suzi: Knock-knock!

Me: Who's there?

Suzi: Banana!

Me: Banana who?

Suzi: Knock-knock!

Me: Who's there's?

Suzi: Banana knocks on milk's door!

Suzi: (Laughs wildly, then dissects the joke in detail for me, complete with hand gestures, explaining all the finer points of her comedy styling, since I apparently missed a few.)

Conversation between Izzy and Suzi

2011-07-07T16:14:00.000-04:00

Suzi: I want two cars! (Izzy hands her one, since she was holding one already.)

Suzi: No, I want two cars! That not two cars, I want two cars!

Izzy: That is two cars!

Suzi: No it not! (Repeat several times...)

Izzy: Yes it is! Can't you count??

Suzi(furious): NO!

Why you shouldn't try to snap a shot with the sun in your children's faces:

2011-07-05T23:38:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday, Suzi!!!

2011-06-22T00:39:00.001-04:00

I know I say this about every.single.birthday, but seriously: THREE ALREADY?? The time has honestly flown by, which seems kind of odd considering that I was awake for most of the first, oh, two and a half years of your life.

To say you were a bad sleeper would be putting it lightly. But during the day, your bright, delightful spirit always kept me happy, if not always alert. Now that you're sleeping all night most nights, though, it's been a non-stop joy ride around here.

You are something else, and I mean that as the highest compliment ever. Yeah, yeah, I'm your mom, I have to say that: but here's the thing - it's true. You are one of the coolest, most fascinating people that I've ever met. And that's saying a lot, seeing as how your big brother and sister are so very cool, indeed.

But you already know that, don't you? You idolize the both of them, and you know how to play them very well, too. I can't get on you about anything without at least one of them calling me down, "How dare you yell at that sweet baby?? You're going to hurt her feelings!"

In their defense, however, you ARE awfully endearing. You have a fabulous sense of humor, and, just like your big brother, you are already able to laugh at yourself. And that laugh is something amazing in and of itself. It has the power to make the coldest heart smile. It's a big, hearty belly laugh that draws everyone around you into the joke. And that smile?? Don't even get me started on how it can light up a whole house, much less room. (By the way - you all are in swimsuits in the picture below, wearing the shirts we made together as cover-ups. Thought I better mention that since it looks like Sophie just isn't wearing pants.)

Your daddy likes to say that I'm interesting: interesting good, interesting bad, but always interesting. You, my sweet little devil, are sure to be described exactly the same way some day. I really wish I could find the words to express how incredible you are. You are just the most fearless and fascinating little creature I've ever met.

You are headstrong to the point of being obstinate, but you do it in such a charming way that it's somehow okay. Like when I told you that I didn't want you to wear this hat to preschool, but you convinced me that it was actually a good idea:

Next year you'll be going to three day a week preschool, and I have to admit that I am going to miss you desperately. You are the spark that lights up my world, and when you're away at school just like Izzy and Sophie, my world is dreary and boring. I genuinely love hanging out with you, and some of my favorite times ever are when we're just curled up under a blanket on the couch, reading a book or watching "Curious George." You are an awesome cuddle buddy. Except sometimes at night when you like to sneak into my bed to lay horizontally between daddy and me and kick whoever happens to be the unlucky one next to your tootsies.

Life with you is a lot of things, but it is never, ever boring.

Happy birthday, my dear, sweet Suzi. I love you so much that my heart feels full to near-bursting every day. I'm going to miss my little baby Suzi, but I CAN NOT WAIT to see how awesome my big girl Suzi is going to be!

Future Evangelist?

2011-06-15T23:07:00.000-04:00

The kids are going to Vacation Bible School this week, at the church where they attended preschool (and where Suzi still goes), and they close each night with a child who volunteers to lead the whole group of about 100 in prayer.

Tonight, that volunteer was Sophie.

I was standing talking to one of Suzi's preschool teachers, when Izzy pulled on my arm and motioned to the stage and exclaimed, "Hey mom, look, it's Sophie up on the stage!"

I looked up. There stood my little sweet Sophie in her light pink t-shirt and pink headband, smiling as she reached for the microphone. My heart jumped.

Those of you with children know why. Those of you who know Sophie personally, REALLY know why. Unpredictable doesn't begin to describe that child. Creative, however, does.

So with a nervous smile frozen on my face, I listened to her pray:

"Dear Lord, thank you for being my savior, and thank you for loving me. Thank you for the food and water and everything my body needs. Thank you for the plants and the flowers that help the earth. And that's all."

*Exhale*

I have to say, I think she did awesome!!

Beary cute, indeed.

2011-06-14T10:35:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Isaac!!!

2011-06-10T00:48:00.007-04:00

Eight years old. I am so happy that I can, without hesitation,say that it's been the BEST eight years of my life! Eight years ago today you made me a mom. I'll never forget standing in the doorway watching you swing in the living room when you were about a week old. Your adorable little body was slumped over like tiny newborns are apt to do when they're sitting up a bit, and you were snoozing as the sun streamed in through the trees, leaving little dappled shadows on your face.

I leaned on the doorway and listened to the melancholy little lullaby that was playing on the swing. I marveled over how fast that week had gone by, how much you'd grown over that one little week, and it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks how fast your babyhood, your childhood was going to fly by and the tears started streaming. Of course, there were some new mommy hormones to blame there too, but, thank goodness, not the bad kind. I was never depressed, but it was like my emotions were released the minute you were put in my arms. And I've not been able to bottle them back up since. Don't even get me started on the Johnson's baby commercials.

But truthfully, your babyhood DID fly by. I was so busy trying to figure out how to be a mom that before I knew it, you were the sweetest little toddler in the world. I blinked, and boom, now you're an amazing little boy. AMAZING.

I'm not just bragging when I say that you are the most thoughtful child I've ever seen. When we were shopping for pirate-themed items for your birthday bash this weekend, you grabbed a box of thank-you cards, saying, "Oh, can't forget these." I love that. I mean, you love gifts just as much as the next kid, don't get me wrong, but to understand at this age, that you should be grateful for others thinking of you - that I find wonderful.

You I find wonderful, it's true. You are my number one helper. If I need help moving furniture, you don't hesitate to jump in and give me a hand. If Suzi wants someone to walk her to the bathroom to keep her company, you go, and cheerfully so. Today you went so far as to clean and bandage the little wound on my back, where I had a mole removed and had to have several stitches.

You kindness even extends to your sisters...most of the time, at least. Tonight, Sophie drew you a picture of Snoopy on the iPad, and you exclaimed over it so nicely, even though none of us could immediately tell what it was she was showing us. When you came home from school last week and Suzi pulled up her shirt to show you an imagined scratch on her side, you said, "Oh, poor baby," and gave her a little hug. Your sisters adore you, and with good reason. They are so lucky to have you.

We are all so lucky to have you. Sophie asked me tonight if I was glad I'd had kids, and I told her the God's honest truth: I am ecstatic to have the three of you as my children, and you are the three best things to have ever happened to me. And you started it all.

There are lots of things I could go on and on about - how smart you are, and how proud I am of the work you did this year, achieving the top AR reader in your class, and ending the year with straight A's...except for that pesky C in handwriting. Or I could talk about your lovely sense of humor, and your ability to laugh at yourself, a trait that many adults I know still don't possess.

Or maybe I could say how handsome I think you are. You have a sweet soul that shines a special light from your eyes, from your face. My number one little big man, with a heart that's even bigger than those feet, feet that are now the same size as mine! I know I've said it several times already, but you really are a truly amazing kid, and I am beyond blessed to call you my son.

Happy Birthday, Iz-man! Your momma loves you so very, very, very much!

School's out for summer!!

2011-06-08T11:47:00.000-04:00

Last day of school:

First day of school:

Check out how much hair Sophie and Suzi have grown!!

Last day of second grade:

Last day of Kindergarten:

Dropping Isaac and Sophie off at the bus stop for their last day:

Last day of preschool/playgroup:

And, finally, the killer toboggan Suzi added to her outfit before we left for her last day:

Fashion DIVA!

Master Lego Car Designer

2011-06-07T10:35:00.001-04:00

Isaac built this Lego car and brought it to me so excited, asking, "Can we put it on Facebook??" That, dear readers, is why I'm so lax lately about posting on here. Facebook is making me lazy. So I decided to post this here too because you know why? I think this car is AWESOME. Oh, and yes, Sophie is deranged, thanks for noticing.

One of my friends on Facebook asked how it was supported, so I took this picture, but I forgot to post it over there. So now you all are the first to get to see this ingenious support system!

A full thirteen inches and three centimeters (yes, I know I'm combining measuring systems there, but so did Isaac, so there!) of awesomness. Even more impressive is that he later added on about six more inches, but Suzi destroyed that truck before I got a picture of it.

Pretty cool little truck made by a VERY cool little boy!

Suzi and my classic pink Corvette.

2011-05-27T17:22:00.000-04:00

*sigh*

If only she'd always be this willing to help.

2011-05-16T14:17:00.000-04:00

Gimme a kiss!

2011-05-15T13:04:00.002-04:00

The Sleeping Trifecta

2011-05-12T13:27:00.000-04:00

Realized my last two posts had been sleeping kids, so I decided to round it out with my third sleeping beauty, a princess who clearly would not be disturbed by a pea:

Like mother, like daughter.

2011-05-12T13:17:00.000-04:00

More than a couple of times, I've been known to fall asleep while reading too!

Still my baby.

2011-05-11T09:56:00.002-04:00

Handy Sophie

2011-05-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

Best of all is that she didn't just do this for the pics - she sat there and put in a bunch of screws, then attached the legs. It took her forever, but she didn't waiver in her efforts. Makes her momma and her aunts proud!!!

Houston, we have a ponytail!

2011-05-06T14:04:00.001-04:00

Breakfast with Suzi

2011-05-05T08:31:00.000-04:00

Suzi eats her breakfast with her siblings before they go to school, then we come back from the bus stop, and I eat my breakfast. This morning, we both had shredded wheat.

As I ate my cereal, Suzi was playing on her sister's toy lap top, then she suddenly stops and says, "Mommy, I hungy. I hungy real bad."

"No you're not," I tell her grouchily, "You've already eaten."

"I need want more!" she yells plaintively, then adds for emphasis, "I NEED WANT MORE!"

"Fine," I say, "What do you want?"

She cocks her head to the side and contemplates, adding, "Hmmm" most appropriately, then she says decisively, "Chips!"

"No," I tell her, "You're not getting chips for breakfast."

"But I hungy real bad!" she screams. And cries. And throws herself to the ground.

I step over her and take my bowl to the sink. She gets up and follows me and opens the fridge.

"How about a yogurt?" I ask, reaching her a vanilla drinkable yogurt.

"No," she tells me, "One with fruit."

I hand her a strawberry yogurt, but she reaches in and grabs peach instead.

And I chug back the vanilla with a sigh.

This dog deserves sainthood.

2011-05-03T13:14:00.000-04:00

Yep, those are stickers, courtesy of Ms. Suzi. *sigh* And I'm pretty sure I'm sighing for Gammie there too.

SassMaster Suzi

2011-04-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

A shout out to my dad!!!

2011-04-25T17:21:00.001-04:00

As we were walking up the hill from the bus stop today, one of our wonderful neighbors stopped me and another mom and gave us Easter gift bags for all of our kids. I thanked her, then told the kids that they could look in them once their homework was done.

We played at the park at the bottom of our hill for a while, then we moseyed up the hill and took down our Easter decorations from the yard and made our way into the dining room, where the kids always do their homework.

Sophie doesn't have nearly as much as Isaac, of course, so she finishes quickly and runs off to the living room to play with Suzi. I get their Easter bags out and as I'm setting them on the table, I smell a terrible smell. I lean over the bags and sniff in horror, but, of course, our lovely neighbors didn't send anything stinky to the kids. Although I think that would be pretty darn funny.

Anyways, I look under the table and there sits D-dog, who's happily setting free some mighty stink bombs.

"SHEESH, Deltie, that's disgusting! What the crap is wrong with you??" I yell at the poor old stinky dog.

Izzy says, "Maybe it's her diabetes."

"No," I tell him, "She doesn't have diabetes."

"What's wrong with her then?," he asks.

"Nothing, she just likes to toot a lot," I say.

"Oh," he replies knowingly, "She's getting to be like your dad then, isn't she?"

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-24T22:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Sophie Bug!!!!

2011-04-21T00:39:00.001-04:00

Six. SIX!!! I really can't believe how much fun I'm having, clearly, since these last six years have zipped right by me. But they have been six truly incredible years since they've meant time spent with the most awesome six year old I know.

You are such a cool kid. To say you're hilarious would be understatement of the most severe sort. To say you're brilliant and gorgeous, also huge understatements. To say I might be a little prejudiced on the matter, well, that's just crazy.

This year has been pretty exciting, because we've watched you grow into such a little person of your own. A person that daddy believes might drive her first couple of husbands nuts, but trust me on this one thing, sweetie: it's always better to be interesting and remembered than boring and forgotten. And you are one of the least boring people I know.

Today, for instance, we went to COSI, where we bought tickets to watch a movie on a giant screen. While waiting for it to begin, you decided to sit down by daddy's feet and sit your little bag of popcorn on one side of you, and your cup of lemonade on the other. A second after I noticed this and started to tell you to pick it up, Suzi knocked it over. A few pieces fell out, and Suzi started to grab them. "No, Suzi," I tell her, "Drop that! The floor is filthy and you know you're not allowed to eat popcorn anyways." (Popcorn is a big choking hazard for kids under four, so she had a soft pretzel.) Suzi dropped it without fussing, but then a couple of minutes later, you look up to me with those big green eyes shining with tears.

"What in the world is the matter?," I ask, adding, "Honey, it's no big deal, barely any fell out." I thought you might be thinking you were in trouble.

"It's just that Suzi was trying to help me and you yelled at her," you say so accusingly.

"No," I tell you, "Trust me, Suzi was going to eat that popcorn."

You angrily defended your sister's honor for a few more minutes, but then dropped it until after we're driving home, and I hear you weeping quietly in the backseat.

"What in the world are you crying over now?," I ask.

Through your tears you say, "I was just thinking about how sad it was that when Suzi was trying to help me earlier, you yelled at her and she didn't deserve that and you were so mean."

Ouch!!! First of all, I hope, and fully expect, that by the time you are old enough to read this, you will know Suzi enough to know that I was right, and she really was going to try to eat that popcorn. Secondly, however, I hope even more that you still believe in and defend your baby sister so staunchly.

You are a sweet, wonderful, mouthy, hyper, beautiful, sassy little angel that I love so much it's honestly painful. Never does a day go by that I don't thank my lucky stars to have been blessed with you. I could write so much more, like about how, also today, you sat at a computer here at COSI that predicts how you'll look when you're old, and the pixelated image disturbed you so much that you wrapped yourself around me and quietly told me that you never want to grow old, and how that horrific thought caused my heart to pause for a couple of beats.

Or maybe I could write about how you worried tonight that something terrible might happen and daddy and I might die while you're still a kid, and so I assured you that you would probably be very old when we died, all the while praying that I'm telling you the truth.

But instead, and especially since I'm trying to type this on daddy's iPad while perched on the side of a hotel bed, watching you all sleep across the room while daddy snores beside me, I'll just say that lovely waters run deep and true.

You are the sunshine and love of my soul, and I hope that your birthday, and your life, are filled with all of the happiness and wonder that a superstar like you deserves. I love you, my sweet little Sophie-Bug!!!

My sweet little loonies.

2011-04-17T09:48:00.003-04:00

One evening last week as the kids were getting ready for bed, they ran in and jumped in this chair together, then they hollered, "Hey mom, get the camera!" Let the cheesing begin!

I concurred that this was a photo-worthy moment, but then again, I pretty much always think everything they do is worth a picture, but this time Chris agreed and we each took a few shots of them.

While we were taking them, we kept smiling at each other, both of us thinking things like...

"Oh, look how sweet they are." Or maybe, "So adorable to see them getting along together so well."

But when I uploaded them, one thought stood out above all the others:

I'm pretty sure Suzi is the Queen Loonie of this loony bin.

Sophie lost her first tooth tonight!!

2011-04-06T22:35:00.000-04:00

Going, going...

Gone!!

She was THRILLED to death to finally lose her first tooth - two weeks before her sixth birthday.

She wrote a note to the tooth fairy, "Dear Tooth Fairy, Please give gum. From Sophie."

I have a feeling that the tooth fairy just might break protocol for this little toothless cutie!!

(Oh, and don't worry - that's pasta sauce on her cheek, not blood!)

My son, the poet.

2011-03-25T18:10:00.000-04:00

"School is Here"
              By Isaac

Teachers, teachers everywhere
    From Kindergarten to college.
But now here I am in second grade.
    Not middle grade, this is second grade.
Boy, oh boy and Meadow is in fifth grade.
    But I'm in second grade. I'm her friend.
Some people say I'm 12 years old.
    I'm not. I'm seven, not 12. It's just my height.
I don't know what comes next.
    Twenty years old is my guess.
Before I leave for summer vacation,
    I say school is here!

Yeah, pretty sure the dogs are actually the ones doing the training here.

2011-03-23T10:10:00.000-04:00

Is having a play kitchen in your dining room worth the huge mess?

2011-03-16T10:47:00.000-04:00

Yep.

Every single bit of it.

For now.

Time to turn the heat up.

2011-03-15T14:41:00.000-04:00

Me, said to no one in particular, as I sit shivering: "Brrr, I'm cold!"

Suzi: "Me know, me cold too!"

Future Engineer

2011-03-14T21:26:00.000-04:00

Look how proud she is of her creation! Can you tell what it is?

It's a train. Of course.

And this is what happened five minutes later:

*sigh*

SWISH!!!!

2011-03-05T12:39:00.001-05:00

All season long, and last year too, Isaac has worked hard to make a basket, but while he's had a lot of close calls, he hadn't sunk one...until today!! His whole team worked together today, in their final game of the season, continually passing him the ball for shot after shot, and when he made it, the whole gymnasium erupted in screams and applause, knowing that it was a shot a long time coming.

It was a beautiful thing to see. It was AWESOME!!!!

Ballers. :)

2011-03-03T16:23:00.002-05:00

If only she weren't so cute.

2011-02-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

It would be a lot easier to teach her to stay out of mommy's makeup.

This last one is when I told her to open her eyes wide:

See what I mean?? Seriously, could you tell a child who looks like this to keep out of your things??

Wait...don't answer that. This might, possibly, be a face that only a mother could love.

How to get a well-moisturized head.

2011-02-17T08:24:00.000-05:00

Ta-Da!!!

Like mommy, like baby...

2011-02-02T10:24:00.000-05:00

Hot sauce and cilantro. I love it!

My daughter, the poet.

2011-01-21T15:30:00.001-05:00

After school one day last week, Isaac was very excitedly telling us about a girl who had been in his class earlier (I think he meant kindergarten or first grade), but moved back and was in his class again.

"I saw her across the classroom, and our eyes met, and we just knew, we were in love, just like we'd been in love before she moved," he said.

"Wow," I told him, "What's her name?"

"Oh, I don't remember her name," he tells me, "But it doesn't matter, I know we love each other. And do you know why I love her?"

"No, tell me," I say.

"Because she's as tall as I am! In fact, she looks just like me, isn't that wonderful?!"

Now, I think Izzy is one handsome little boy, but a little girl who looks just like him? I'm not sure I'd call her pretty or think that was wonderful at all, but I just agreed.

"I'm in love too," Sophie jumps in the conversation.

"You are," I say, "Who with?"

Isaac yells out, "I know! Braxton!"

(Sophie has been "in love" with Braxton since they started going to playgroup together when they were three years old. When we were picking the kids one day last year after preschool, I told Braxton, "You know, Sophie plans on marrying you one day." He staunchly refused the proposal, but they're still the best of friends. As a matter of fact, they're both playing Upward basketball this year, but on different teams. At last week's game, he was guarding Sophie when she had the ball, and it took some doing, but she tried her best to pass him the ball. Luckily, the coach saw what she up to, and intervened.)

Sophie's eyes get wide and she smiles so sweetly and says, "It's true, mom, I love Braxton, I just can't help it!"

Then she clutches her hands to her chest and earnestly tells me, "When I think of him, my heart just gets so full of love, I don't know how to describe it...It just feels like you're in my heart giving it a huge hug."

"That," I tell her, "Was beautifully put."

I don't envy Suzi's first boyfriend.

2011-01-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Suzi's preschool sent home a report card for her today, her very first. As I looked over it, pretty much everything was 'G,' for 'Good Progress,' so I told her, "Nice job on your report card, Suzi - you did great on almost everything!"

As she stands there beaming at me, Izzy said, "What did she do bad on?"

"Oh, nothing," I told him, "But she got 'W's' for 'Working On Skill' on her scissor skills, pasting, and threading beads."

"She's using scissors and paste in there?" he exclaims.

"Yeah?" I say to him.

"Well then, get her out of that place! She's too young to be using dangerous things like that!"

Blackberry Time

2011-01-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

As her teacher walks down the sidewalk, Suzi looks at me walking towards her and a huge smile spreads across her face. She cuddles against her teacher, perhaps telling her goodbye, perhaps shielding her face from the wind, then she leans into my arms and I get the same snuggle.

As I put her in the car, she tells me about her morning at preschool, about the day that the teacher said Suzi enjoyed immensely. I asked her if she had fun and she shakes her head yes and smiles.

We pull out onto the road and a good beat comes on the radio, a beat from the 60's or 70's, one that just forces your body start keeping time. "Let's boogie!," I tell Suzi. "No!," she tells me. But as I start waving my arm in my odd dancing with no rhythm kind of way, she starts bobbing up and down in her carseat too. We're two of a kind, Suzi and I.

We come upstairs and I unpack her backpack. She picks up her snack cup, the one I sent with fresh blackberries for her snacktime today and she tells me she wants more "backberry." I think, as I do hundreds of times a day, how incredibly cute and little she is. I think her size surprises me so often because not only is she way smaller for her age than her siblings, but her personality far outsizes that little body. I tell her fine, she can have more blackberries, but first she has to let me take a picture of her.

She runs with her snack cup and puts it up against wall and pretends to be listening.

I take a few pictures and she grows a little impatient with me.

"Put the cup down and let me get a picture of how cute you look, okay? Then I promise I'll get you the blackberries." She puts the cup behind her and balances it between her bottom and the wall. She thinks this is HILARIOUS.

"One smile without the cup, please?"

Good enough. She dances into the kitchen and stops in front of the fridge, cup in hand. "Right here!' she happily instructs me. I get the blackberries washed and refill her cup. I fix her a little plate of avocado chunks and cheese cubes with a side of yogurt. She happily sits and eats only the blackberries and yogurt.

I happily sit and watch her and marvel at how lucky I am to have her in my life.

What Chris faces when he walks through the door every day:

2010-12-03T00:28:00.000-05:00

It's a hard life, but what's a dad to do??

Getting down with their bad selves:

2010-11-29T15:18:00.000-05:00

2010-11-22T11:07:00.001-05:00

My lovely little loons.

2010-11-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

Poor little Noah!

2010-11-12T23:16:00.000-05:00

My nephew Noah is in the hospital tonight getting IV antibiotics for the mother of all ear infections, and he feels terrible - send him all your good, strong, get-well-soon vibes, okay?? THANKS!!!

More from April! Yay!!

2010-11-12T23:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, last one, I promise, but these are hilarious - this is shortly after Sophie mastered riding her bike, so she was riding down the slope in the front yard and ran into a wee little speed bump:

Her expression in that second one CRACKS ME UP. It's a hard life this little one is forced to lead!

Cute pics from...April.

2010-11-11T21:44:00.001-05:00

April?? Seriously?? I know, I know - but when I was skimming through some pics the other days, I thought these were pretty cute, so I'm sharing them with you anyways.

These first two are from Sophie's birthday. We had her party at Chuck E. Cheese, but on the actual day of her birth, we gave her a few presents here at the house. And she was turning five, not three - not sure why she was wearing that crown. But look past the crown - aren't these delighted expressions awesome??

What could make three kids look so thrilled? A miniature "My Little Pony" playhouse, of course. Little weirdos.

These next two pictures are Sophie playing with another of her birthday gifts - a ladybug shaped suitcase. We call her our Sophie bug, and the ladybug has kind of become her symbol. She loved her new suitcase and thought it made a fetching baby carriage:

But my favorite part of this picture is the little tiny dot on the wall, about a third the way down the wall, next to the first shelf of the bookcase Chris made me years ago. See it? It's a tiny little Cheerio that Suzi stuck up there. I thought it was so funny to have a Cheerio stuck to the wall that I left it there an unseemly length of time.

Man, I love having kids. What a great excuse to avoid housework of all types!!

One of my best compliments ever.

2010-11-08T00:09:00.000-05:00

I like to tear out magazine articles and give them to Chris (or, as my sisters can vouch, to however I think would benefit - and yes, it's okay to roll your eyes at me) and while he was gone last week, I saved one for him that was about finding out things about your partner you might not know, even if you've been together for a long time. Like 14 years.

So as I was cleaning stuff up tonight, I gave it back to him and asked if he'd read it, and to get out of mopping, he ran through the questions with me. One of them was, "What is the best compliment you've ever received?"

I thought for a few minutes and then I told him that I thought it was whenever he, or his mom, or my dad told me I was a good mom. I didn't say my mom because mom is always free with the compliments and my sisters and I have always known that she thinks we're awesome. So while the compliments from other's don't mean more, they do stand out more because they're not as freely given.

Then I told him that actually it might have been over dinner, when Izzy got us talking about things we're thankful for, and he said he was, "Thankful that I have such a good little mommy." That boy must have learned his complimenting abilities from the MaMa Norma School of Amplified Praise.

Whew....because he'd be in a lot of hot water if he'd gotten his learnin' at his daddy's knee!!!

One of my few strokes of parenting genius.

2010-11-04T20:12:00.000-04:00

Ms. Suzi is now officially, 100% potty trained. WOO HOO!!!! She's not had an accident, day or night, for a couple/few weeks now. A little while back, we tried a few weeks of just putting her down for her naps and at night in her undies, but I quickly tired of changing the pee-soaked bed, so we switched back to pull-ups.

Suzi then quickly realized those were fine to pee in, so we were back to square one, when I had an awesome idea: I put her pull-up on over her undies when she goes to sleep! She knows her undies are there, so she doesn't pee, plus, since the pull-ups are being used like shorts, they can be reused. It's a win-win solution! I figure in a couple of weeks I'll get brave and stop using the pull-ups too. It'll be nice to be rid of them for good.

So this morning, I took her to the bathroom when she first got up like usual, but because she was cold and wearing footie pj's, I waited to change her out of her pull-up until we got back from taking the older two down to the bus.

As I started to pull the pull-up and the undies off her, she pulled up the edge of her undies and said, "Oh no, I pee my diaper!"

I said in dismay, "You did?!" After all, it had barely been an hour since I'd taken her to the bathroom!

She looks up at me with a huge grin and says, "No, I jus kid!"

Then she adds, in between giggles and in recognition of her joke, "That good one, mama!"

FYI: "Booger Buns" is a term of endearment.

2010-11-03T14:21:00.005-04:00

One of the things that I've been obsessing about lately is wondering if my kids know how much I love them. But really, until they're parents, there's no way for them to know anyways. Doesn't stop me from asking them repeatedly, however.

Like a few minutes ago, I hollered through the house for Suzi to get up from her nap - if she sleeps past 2:00, she's up WAY too late that night.

"Time to get up, booger buns!"

She grumbles, so I repeat myself.

"I'm puppy!," she yells back to me, so I call for her instead, "Come here, puppy!," complete with whistles.

She and both dogs happily come running to me, and I curl up with her on the couch. We cuddle for a few minutes, I tell her she's stinky and she curls up her nose and tells me I'm stinky too, then I ruffle her wispy, sleep-sweaty blonde hair and say, "Do you have any idea how much your mommy loves you?"

She stretches lazily across my lap with a big grin on her face, my heart swells, then she says, "Yeah."

Well, as long as it's a positive answer, I guess I'm still doing okay.

Proof positive that Sophie was meant to be a blonde.

2010-10-21T10:01:00.003-04:00

I lay out the kids' clothes the night before, so that Chris can get them up and they can get dressed while I'm in the shower. Yesterday, I get done and come out of the bathroom to see Sophie standing in my bedroom mostly dressed with her socks laying on the bed. She's put on her zip-up jean skirt, with shorts attached underneath, terribly crooked, so I take it all the way off her and hold it up for her to step into the shorts holes properly. This is a very important point in this story, as you'll soon see. Then I zip her up and tell her to get her shoes and socks on.

I wander off, getting things together and whatnot and she comes through barefooted. I yell at her to get her shoes and socks on already, it's time to go. She tells me she can't find them anywhere. She, Izzy and I tear the house apart looking for them, because they're knee socks that matched her shirt, and would look so terribly cute. Can't find them, it's time for the bus, so I tell her to just grab any socks and let's go.

We just make it to the bus stop in time, and she heads off to school wearing green striped socks with her red and blue shirt and jean skirt. Whatever. A different morning, I might have thought that looked quirky and cute.

When she gets home from school and she's sitting at the table to do her homework and emptying out her book bag, she holds up her socks, still folded together in a ball, with the last few inches dangling out (remember, these are knee socks). She waves them at me and says, "Hey mom, look what I found today while I was at school!"

Confused, I ask her, "Were they in your backpack?" See, my thinking was that the baby had grabbed them and stowed them away while we weren't looking.

"Nope," she says cheerfully, "They were right here, in my skirt, the whole time." Then she PULLS OUT HER WAISTBAND and tucks them inside.

That's right. My daughter picked her socks up off the bed, shoved them between her belly and the waistband of her jean skirt, and FORGETS THEY ARE THERE. KNEE SOCKS!!!

I must say, though, that she smiled like a trooper when Izzy and I burst out laughing and told her that was the goofiest thing we'd ever heard of.

Then again, she might just not have known what we were laughing about. *sigh*

Cross my heart.

2010-09-30T09:20:00.001-04:00

Mean as a SNAKE:

But SO freaking sweet!

Comedic Genius!!

2010-09-27T23:27:00.004-04:00

It was a dreary, rainy, icky day today, so Suzi and I were taking it easy, laying on my bed and watching Dora. After a bit, she turned to me, knocked on my arm and said, "Knock, knock, mommy."

Delighted, because I didn't know this was a skill she yet possessed, I ask, "Who's there?" "Orande," she tells me with a big smile.

"Orange who?" "ORANDE!" she squeals in delight, having gotten me but good.

We go through the joke about 18 more times, and I keep trying to work "Banana" in there too, but she just didn't see the comedic need.

Then she knocks on my arm again, "Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Cat," she says with a sly little smile.

"Cat who?"

Rubbing her cheek against my arm, she delivers the most perfect punchline I've ever heard: "Meooowww!"

Pretty sure I've never laughed harder in my life.

It's a bird...it's a plane....it's....SOPHIE!!!

2010-09-23T09:48:00.007-04:00

Little Chris

2010-09-22T11:42:00.004-04:00

Isaac is in a very know-it-all, argumentative stage. It SUCKS. But it can also be, at times, riotously funny. Although I think I now know why his current teacher has a bad reputation of yelling at the second graders all the time.

Anyhow, one of his birthday gifts in June was a subscription to the newspaper this summer so he could read the comics every day. He loved it, and I did too, even though our paper is awfully small. When I was reading it a couple of weeks ago, I came across the horrific story of a mother who burned the word "WIMP" into the back of her six-year old daughter's neck with the tip of her cigarette. I told Izzy, who's fond of telling me that I'm the meanest mother in the world, about that monster, adding, "Now THAT is what a really mean mother is like. I would never, in a million years, do something like so horrible."

Izzy looks at me for a second, then says, "Yeah, because you don't smoke."

Last night I was clipping his nails before he went to bed, and he's doing his normal thing of pulling back his hand every so often and gasping because he thinks I've cut them too short and he has to look for blood (which is never there, of course). After he did this three or four times, I said, "Oh, Izzy, I'm sorry, but daddy offered me five bucks to cut one of your nails too short tonight and make it bleed."

"No!" he says.

"But I need the money!" I tell him.

Without missing a beat, he says, "Okay, but only if I get two dollars."

I start laughing and he adds, "AND you have to pay the medical bills too!"

Awww. Isn't is SO FREAKING PRECIOUS when a little boy is just like his daddy?!

This is ornery personified.

2010-09-11T00:07:00.008-04:00

See her thumb up to her lips?
It's covered in Sophie's lip gloss - the little container in front of Suzi is Sophie's box of play make-up that she hides in another bag and hangs up on her dresser. Suzi found it.

This is Suzi realizing she's caught. Very distraught, isn't she? It must be the regret causing her to laugh so maniacally.
And yes, that's one of Sophie's belts that she's wearing as a headband.
Rotten little monkey!

How my kids went to school today.

2010-09-10T17:03:00.001-04:00

It was hat day. Isaac also wanted to wear red, white & blue today in honor of the anniversary of 9/11 (something his school was doing), and today Sophie's class had a tea party where they were to wear their "Sunday best," and their color of the week this week was blue.

We might have hit the mark on all counts, but I'll bet the neighbors think we're NUTS.

My awesome little Suzi!!!

2010-08-22T00:15:00.005-04:00

First, one more in a long line of apologies for not blogging...but I tagged along on a business trip to San Francisco with Chris last week, then went to Ohio this week for a quick trip with the kids to Kings Island. Had a blast on both trips, missed the kids like crazy when we were in California, and came home to find out that Micki had taught Suzi to jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder all by herself!

I'll have a bunch of other pics up soon from our trips, but for now, enjoy Suzi's acrobatics with me! (That's Micki you see in the video, and her son Noah counting for his time-out in the background!)

Funny little baby!

2010-08-04T10:36:00.002-04:00

A few minutes ago, while the kids were eating, Suzi looked under the table and saw where Sophie had dropped a little apple butter. She sat up, pointed that little finger at Sophie and said, "Ohhhh, BAD GIRL!"

After Sophie figured out what Suzi was talking about, she laughed and pointed back at Suzi and said, "No, you're a bad girl!"

Suzi said, "BAD GIRL!"

Sophie said, "Bad sissy!"

Suzi replied, still pointing, "BAD SISSY!"

Sophie, who's cracking up at this point, says, "Bad baby!"

Suzi smiles and replies, "BAD BIG BABY!"

Happy Sigh

2010-08-02T00:36:00.002-04:00

While playing the Wii the other night, Sophie beat Izzy.

He picked her up in a big bear hug and said, "Wow, Sophie, you won! Your first time ever! Great job!!"

I love being their mom. Love it, love it, love it!!

Sunny Suzi

2010-07-31T23:26:00.006-04:00

Sunny BLONDE Suzi:

Who would have thought that black-haired me would have such a light blonde kid?? Or that out of three, ALL would have various shades of blonde hair? Chris thinks it's hilarious to introduce me as the nanny, seeing as how they all look like him. Sometimes, when they're acting up, I don't bother to correct him either.

Early 1900's in Color

2010-07-31T00:43:00.004-04:00

As I've blogged about before, I subscribe to "Very Short List," which sends me something interesting several times a week. The latest offering is truly fascinating. It's a collection of photos by Albert Kahn, who began touring the world in 1909 and taking pictures using autochrome technology - the first ever color photos. They are gorgeous. Amazing. Enjoy!

Gone Fishin'

2010-07-23T01:19:00.001-04:00

Happy TENTH Anniversary, Darlin'!!

2010-07-15T01:04:00.004-04:00

TEN YEARS. A DECADE!! Holy cow that makes me feel old. But it does NOT feel like ten years. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it??

Tonight at dinner, just out of the blue, you said to me, "Wow, 14 years. We've had a lot of fun, haven't we?" (We dated for four years before we got married.) Yes we have! It reminded me of the time that we won a visit with a marriage counselor, at that auction to benefit mental health, that we went to early on in our marriage. After talking to her for a while, we told her that we were going to spend the afternoon just running around, having fun. By the end of the session, she told us that we didn't need her services, that we seemed to have a very good, solid relationship. She said that we both seemed to enjoy ourselves while talking with her, and she was impressed that the only thing we'd planned for the rest of the day was to have fun together.

Many years have passed since that visit, and with the addition of two more kids since our counseling session, our time spent alone, just having fun together, has pretty much vanished. But now we have fun as a family, the five of us. I think that seeing the incredible kids that we made together has brought us even closer together - and quite frankly, surprised us both. Because a marriage is, of course, what happens when two people in a relationship realize at the same time that they're never going to do any better!!

I love that we have so many little inside jokes like that one, jokes that still crack us up every time. Like when I told you a few minutes ago that I couldn't go get you a piece of cake and a glass of milk because I had a very important blog to write, and you said, "If you title it, 'Ten Years of Hell,' I'm walking around you three times!!

Ten years of wedded happiness... how lucky are we?? How lucky am I??

I love you, sweetheart, you and your goofy sense of humor, your inability to put up a phonebook after using it, your big blue eyes - all if it. All of you. Happy Anniversary, Chris - here's to the next ten, and the next ten, and the next ten after that. At that point, however, all bets are off.

xx00!!

Hilarious conversation with Suzi.

2010-07-14T00:26:00.002-04:00

Micki and her family came up for a few days, but Johnny had to go back home to work, so I took her and the kids home today. On the way back, Suzi fell asleep. I brought her in, got her ready for bed, and amazingly, she went back to sleep.

For a while, at least. At about midnight, I hear a little whimpering and I look down the hall to see her sitting in her doorway holding her foot. She's been complaining about it off and on lately (no idea what's going on there!), so I gave her a little ibuprofen and tucked her back in bed. That was her signal to commence crying.

I was picking up the house, so I would go in and rock her, sing to her, stroke her face and lay her back down, then walk back out to work some more. We did this several times, then she started yelling, "I wannnnt dadddddy!" I told her that he was asleep, to be quiet or she was going to wake him up. She quieted down, so I went downstairs to do some laundry.

I found gum melted all over the dryer, so I came back upstairs to get a scrubby pad to try to clean it (didn't work, hoping Chris's muscle has better luck in the morning) and she's screaming her head off again. Chris, of course, slept right through it all, so I went back in there and this was our whispered conversation:

Me: SHHHH!

Suzi: (instantly quiet, blinks her eyes up at me)

Me: Stop making me come in here! I'm trying to get some work done!

Suzi: (sweet little whisper) Okay.

Me: So go to sleep and don't cry anymore.

Suzi: (another sweet little whisper) Okay.

I walked out and she went RIGHT TO SLEEP.

I can't believe that she's barely two and already I can reason with her better than I can with Chris.

I made a cake!!!

2010-07-09T01:38:00.002-04:00

And it actually turned out great - a first f0r me!!

Cute, huh?

What one of my kids would look like with my hair (literally):

2010-07-06T00:41:00.001-04:00

Except maybe a little less surly. Maybe.

A first for me.

2010-06-27T23:13:00.002-04:00

Micki called the other day, so I sat down on the couch to talk to her for a few minutes. Now, as any SAHM can tell you, there's not a lot of couch sitting that happens when you have three little ones, so anytime my butt does land there, Suzi jumps at the chance to curl up beside me, which she did. But she had leftover Reese's pieces from the kid's free summer movies (that cost me $20 in popcorn and Reese's pieces) on one hand and soap from the bathroom dispenser all over the other one.

Without missing a beat, I take her by the arm and immediately place her back on the ground. She glares at me. She says, "NO!" Then her arm slices through the air with that finger pointed straight at my face and she demands, "Bad girl! Go your room!"

This cracks me up, always does (and I wonder why I'm raising a little delinquent), and I say back to her, "No!" She points at me again and repeats, "BAD GIRL! GO YOUR ROOM!"

"NO!," I tell her, much to the delight of my sister who's still listening on the phone, and who probably lost a little respect for me after hearing me lose an argument with a two year old.

Suzi draws her eyebrows down even more threateningly over her glaring eyes and forcefully, but quietly, says, "NOW."

I'm cracking up at this point, but I tell her no again. She grabs my leg and pushes it towards my room and repeats herself, "Now!" Then she grabs my arm and pulls then reaches for my hand and tugs me towards my room.

At this point, I just have to see where this is all going, so I get up and head to my room. She leads me part way down the hall, then she points and says, "Go your room!"

I go to my room. As I stretch out on my bed in the blessed quiet of my serene bedroom, I tell my sister on the phone, "You know, that's the first time one of my kid's have ever sent me to my room, and I LIKE IT!!"

Goodbye, long hair!!

2010-06-24T00:22:00.002-04:00

Before:

In a pony tail, so that Micki can send it to Locks of Love:

After!!

Not nearly as pretty, but far more comfortable for summer!!!

Happy Birthday, Suzi!!!

2010-06-22T23:24:00.007-04:00

My sweet little tyrant Subes. I can not believe you've been in my life for two years now. As little as you slept for your first oh, 22 months, it should feel like a lot longer than two years, but you've more than made up for my lack of sleep by the sheer joy you've brought to my world.

Looking back at the pics when we all first met you, though, there were flashes of that righteous attitude already. And such amazing sweetness. My heart swells every time I remember nuzzling that sweet little head, and having you nuzzle right back, curling up onto my shoulder like I was made to be your perfect match.

You are still just as snuggly and delightful...when you're not angry, or feeling mean, or needing a nap. Otherwise, you are the funniest little two year old I've ever seen, and your brother and sister were no boring, humorless babies either.

But you are a RIOT. From your funny faces to your eye-rolls, to pointing a finger at me, or Izzy, or Sophie, or anyone who has displeased you and saying, disdain dripping from every word, "BAD GIRL!," you keep me rolling.

At one of your two birthday parties last weekend (split up and at your grandparent's homes because of PaPa Ray's knee infection and slow recovery), we told MamMaw about Izzy sneaking one of your nachos, and you pointing that imperious little finger at him and demanding, "Bad girl! Go you room!" Amid the laughter, she said she knew what you heard a lot. True, true!

But your smile lights up a room and charms everyone you meet. It's gotten you out of trouble many, MANY times. That's really saying a lot too, because you no sooner get in trouble for one thing before you're into your next bit of mischief.

All that just melts away when you run up and squeeze me tight. I think I'd do just about anything to earn one of your so freely given hugs and kisses...except feed you nothing but potato chips, candy and ice cream, which is all you'd eat, given the chance. And soda. You've never been purposefully given a Coke, but you sneak a drink at every opportunity!

You are my little temperamental wild child whom I could not possibly love any more wildly than I already do. You are an AWESOME two year old and I can not wait to see what new awesomeness you'll come up with this year!

Saying "Cheese!" on her two-year old birthday. 6/22/10

Happy Birthday, Subee Sue!!!

Mama loves you, and loves you and loves you some more -

You're the sweet little baby that I adore!!

Happy Birthday, Isaac!!!

2010-06-10T21:24:00.006-04:00

Taken today, 7/10/10, after your first non-Mimi haircut!

SEVEN! I can hardly believe that seven years ago today I was holding my little red-faced, screaming bundle of joy in my arms for the very first time.

It honestly seems like yesterday, because the seven years you have been with us has been a BLAST. Even though, as you pointed out when looking at these pictures, I did look a lot younger seven years ago!!

I was such a nervous first time mom, but you taught me everything I know about loving babies. From the moment I saw first saw you being carried across the delivery room by your ankle, my heart has been full to overflowing with love.

You make it so easy because you are such a kind and loving little boy. I'm sure people get tired of hearing me say it, but you are a very special kid. I could list a million reasons why, like the time you tried to give PaPa Ray back a dollar, because he said it was his last dollar, and you thought he meant in the world while all he really meant was in his pocket. Or how you overheard your dad and I talking about MaMa Norma's kidney function improving, and the next time you saw her, you cuddled with her for a minute, then you said, "That sure was great news about your kidneys, wasn't it?"

Or how after the party we threw you last weekend with a few of your friends from the neighborhood and your cousins, you said, "Mom, do you know what my best present today was? You, because you made this party for me."

Or how you tried to let one of your balloons go, so you could give a present to God. Or how you made sure that the little girl who came to your party without a gift got a thank-you card too, just to make sure her feelings weren't hurt.

That's just a handful of examples, and most were just from the last couple of days. Every single day you do something wonderful with that giant, sweet heart of yours. I think some people are just born with beautiful souls, and you're one of those people. One of the best.

Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet boy. I love you more than monkeys, and I love you more than cheese, and I love you from your nose to your very stinky knees!!

Izzy's last day as a first grader!

2010-06-09T00:43:00.007-04:00

I can not believe I'm now the mom of a second grader! How in the world can my sweet baby boy already be ready for second grade?? But he brought home his report card yesterday, and it's true. He did really well - straight A's...except for that "C" in handwriting. Pretty sure, considering how Chris and I write, that he's not going to ever bring that grade up!!

So anyhow, this morning I let him choose his own hairstyle and clothes for today - he chose the cute faux hawk, and the shirt that Crystal wore at his science party, then gave to him afterwards:

Yeah, it's too big, but it is an adult's size large. *gulp*

My little baby big boy:

This next picture, I have to admit, I first decided to post not because Izzy was cheesing it up, but because Suzi looks so darn cute:

But then I saw the picture below, from the first day of school back in August, and yep, he was laughing because he'd been making the same Egyptian pose. A year ago:

One of my all-time favorite pics of the kids - their personalities really shine through in this one:

Goodbye first grade, hellllooo second!

Sophie's Last Day of Pre-K!

2010-06-04T12:56:00.006-04:00

It's been a SUPER fast year!!!

Seems like yesterday that I took these first day of Pre-K shots:

Look at how much she's grown!! Check out that light switch in the pics of all three of them, and the location of her head in relation to it. She's grown up so much this year, both physically and emotionally. She's my big girl - my big Kindergartner!!!

I love my sweeties.

2010-05-25T08:17:00.001-04:00

And their sweet dirty faces!

How is a mess like this possible with only strawberries and yogurt??

2010-05-24T12:44:00.002-04:00

Because her mom ROCKS, that's why!

2010-05-23T18:03:00.003-04:00

Suzi at 22 months old.

2010-05-16T16:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2010-05-09T10:53:00.003-04:00

Chris and I celebrated Mother's Day with our mother's this whole weekend. We took his family out for dinner Friday night, spent the night with his mom, then took my family out to dinner on Saturday. We had a great time, as we always do when we get together with our families.

I drove on the trip home and since I was awake, I found myself reflecting on how incredibly lucky I am. I have a mother who loves and supports me unconditionally, putting most other mothers to shame. My own mothering is often a reflection of hers.

For instance, on the trip down, I asked Sophie to give a drink of her water to Izzy. He started carrying on about not wanting to catch her germs, so I sighed and said, "Sophie, will you please let whiny butt have the first drink?" No sooner had the words left my mouth than I was giggling a little uncomfortably at myself, because, for my entire life, my whole family has always catered to me, always letting me have that first drink. Still today, if one of them gets drink while we're out running around, each of them looks to me and asks if I'd like to have the first drink. That's my mom's doing there. Probably because I carried on so much that she just got tired of listening to me, but that's not the point. Point is, that my sisters are still offering undeserved kindness to me because of the example she set.

Have I ever mentioned how she always finely ground dried onion to add to her dishes, because I didn't like fresh onions.... or finding a large piece of reconstituted ones? When she made spaghetti or Hamburger Helper, she would very carefully scoop out my serving with as little meat as possible, because I didn't care for hamburger. She would always cut the fat off my steaks for me, and find the leanest piece of meat in her barbecued ribs because as much as I didn't care for meat, I disliked that fat even more. Even now, when she makes baked steak, she always puts a little piece of round steak in there for me, because I don't like cube steak.

Outside of the kitchen, she has always been there for us too, my sisters and I. She never missed a single performance, or parent/teacher conference, or anything that any of us three ever wanted her there for. She was always, and still is, our number one cheerleader.

Now I have another mother, my mother-in-law Judy, who also loves me and enjoys my company. I am blessed to have her. She loves her children just as fiercely as my mother does, and as much as I love my own. Chris and I both had similar childhoods, ones in which our mother's love was never hidden, never a question, and now we're both so lucky that we have the same love from our mother-in-laws.

But my largest blessing on this day is that I am a mother myself. I have three fabulous, wonderful, AWESOME children. Every day with them is a blessing for which I give constant thanks. My dad got on the phone last night with me, after we'd got home from their house, to tell me that during our visit earlier in the day, Izzy had been helping him with some yard work. To thank him, my dad reached in his pocket where he had a dollar and gave it to Izzy, telling him that he really appreciated his hard work and he wished he had more to give him, but that was the only dollar he had. Izzy held the dollar back out to my dad and said, "Well here then, you keep it." Dad explained to him that he meant just meant he didn't have any more cash in his pocket, and that was not his actual last dollar, so he was able to talk Izzy into keeping it. Every single day, my kids cause my heart to swell to near bursting, whether it's by doing something kind, or just by stopping their full speed sprints to give me a quick hug and kiss.

Izzy wrote me a poem for today, one that he told me I couldn't publish because part of it came from a very old poem that he didn't write himself. I want to share it here and dedicate it to all of the mothers in my life whom I love so much, and to my children, whom I love more every minute of every day:

Bees have honey
Sun so sweet
Sugar is precious
Roses are red
Violets are blue
But nothing is better than you.

Yep, I say "pop!"

2010-05-06T20:38:00.002-04:00

Mommy Daze

My ray of sunshine.

Fabulous dollhouses of the wee and ornery.

Isaac the Chef!

How do you rock-a-bye a 5'1" eight year old?

This is not a surprise.

How to SUPER impress your teachers.

Catching a sunbeam.

My other two sweeties.

Hat day at school!!

Kitchen Makeover!!

A cowgirl's got to get her shut-eye when she can.

This is pretty solid reasoning.

Clearly, these animals lead a hard life.

My little sweetie. *sigh*

How my parents spent Labor Day:

This one is going to drive me insane.

Suzi's First Day!

My sweet, sweet babies.

"My mommy can dance!"

Florida 2011!

Conversation with Suzi

Why I'll shortly be bald.

Supermodel!!

Clearly, this child is destined for fame.

Conversation between Izzy and Suzi

Why you shouldn't try to snap a shot with the sun in your children's faces:

Happy Birthday, Suzi!!!

Future Evangelist?

Beary cute, indeed.

Happy Birthday, Isaac!!!

School's out for summer!!

Master Lego Car Designer

Suzi and my classic pink Corvette.

If only she'd always be this willing to help.

Gimme a kiss!

The Sleeping Trifecta

Like mother, like daughter.

Still my baby.

Handy Sophie

Houston, we have a ponytail!

Breakfast with Suzi

This dog deserves sainthood.

SassMaster Suzi

A shout out to my dad!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Birthday, Sophie Bug!!!!

My sweet little loonies.

Sophie lost her first tooth tonight!!

My son, the poet.

Yeah, pretty sure the dogs are actually the ones doing the training here.

Is having a play kitchen in your dining room worth the huge mess?

Time to turn the heat up.

Future Engineer

SWISH!!!!

Ballers. :)

If only she weren't so cute.

How to get a well-moisturized head.

Like mommy, like baby...

My daughter, the poet.

I don't envy Suzi's first boyfriend.

Blackberry Time

What Chris faces when he walks through the door every day:

Getting down with their bad selves:

My lovely little loons.

Poor little Noah!

More from April! Yay!!

Cute pics from...April.

One of my best compliments ever.

One of my few strokes of parenting genius.

FYI: "Booger Buns" is a term of endearment.

Proof positive that Sophie was meant to be a blonde.

Cross my heart.

Comedic Genius!!

It's a bird...it's a plane....it's....SOPHIE!!!

Little Chris

This is ornery personified.

How my kids went to school today.

My awesome little Suzi!!!

Funny little baby!

My little sweetie. sigh

Happy Sigh