Where's my Supersuit?!

I am sitting at Mima and Popi’s house, listening to Maggie cry because she’s getting her diaper changed and the more distant sound of Mia talking with excitement! It’s been a lovely journey – all 19 hours of it – getting to Arizona. And so nice to be home!

There are just a few thoughts I’d like to send out to everybody along with Christmas wishes…

Mia – after 12 hours in the car and about 3 hours of sleep, wakes up at the gas station and passes an enormously loud and long bit of gas. I looked at her with surprise and she smiled, eyes closed, and said, “Mommy, I need to go potty. I’ve been tooting all… night… long.”

So that’s what the smell was! I thought it was just the smell of the bag of Ruffles potato chips!

And, our greatest investment last year was a portable DVD player. With the car rides that we do to Arizona from Oklahoma, it has become an invaluable tool to maintain sanity. This trip included the viewings of Tinkerbell (twice), Ice Age and the Incredibles.

(Yes, the woman who was very nervous about even having a t.v. in the house for fear that it would damage the psyche of the little one has compromised to the point of 8 hours of television while the babies are trapped in the back seat. It’s a sad, but true commentary on the depth of my desire to not sing “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Little Bunny Foo-Foo” for 11 hours.)

Anyway, I am thinking about the Incredibles. One of my favorite scenes in the movie involves Frozone trying to save the world but not able to find his super suit. He asks his wife where it is and their conversation always makes me chuckle:

LUCIUS (FROZONE): Honey?
HONEY: What?
LUCIUS (FROZONE):Where's my supersuit?
HONEY: What?
LUCIUS (FROZONE): Where is my supersuit?
HONEY: I, uh...put it away.
LUCIUS (FROZONE):Where?
HONEY: Why do you need to know?
LUCIUS (FROZONE): I need it!
HONEY:Uh-uh! Don't you think about running off doing no derrin'-do! We've been planning this dinner for two months!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): The public is in danger!
HONEY: My evening's in danger!
LUCIUS (FROZONE): You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!
HONEY: ''Greater good''? I am your wife! I'm the greatest good you are ever gonna get!

I truly love the interplay between spouses here and the glimpse into the very real priorities that most every married person I know struggles to balance. Apparently Mia loves the scene too, because the next day, after a sleep and everything, she looked at me and seriously asked, “Mommy, where’s my supersuit?”

Goodness knows we all need a supersuit to get through the holiday season! With all of the demands, it’s a wonder we even look forward to Christmas at all! I guess that’s why more people I know are emphasizing the “priceless” things about Christmas more than the presents… or, wait, maybe that’s because of the economy. Who knows.

However, I think that my “Mommy Supersuit” is starting to get more comfortable. As I review the past year – things are getting better! Having a child sleep through the night has a lot to do with that, I think. Even with my confidence in how far we’ve come, I still struggle with the significance of the role I play in my little girls’ lives and I want to take it seriously.

One of my favorite “new” Christmas songs is called “Breath of Heaven” or “Mary’s Song.” It has a haunting, beautiful melody and the lyrics speak to what Mary may have felt, knowing that she had been chosen to bear the son of God. The second verse says:

Do you wonder, as you watch my face

If a wiser one should have had my place?

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of Your plan

Help me be strong, help me be, help me

When I listen to this song (as I have about 100 times since Thanksgiving day – I refuse to listen to Christmas music until Thanksgiving has passed, but then it’s almost non-stop) I feel such an intense connection to this concept of motherhood.

“Should a wiser one have had my place” in raising these stunning, exasperating and charming girls? Someone who knows more about how to tell when you should go to the doctor? Or how to successfully potty train? Or how to introduce Emotional Intelligence so that they will have a better chance at “success”? (Whatever that really means) Someone who has infinitely more patience than I? Who never raises their voice or has a conflict with their spouse? Some family earning more money, with no worries?

Even if I am terribly lacking, as I so often feel, “I offer all I am” to this venture. I may not do it excellently at all times, I do commit myself to mothering. And I commit myself to being real with these children. As best as I can view, life doesn’t come in glittery wrapped packages like the ones under the tree. It comes in messes that you sort out and trying experiences that you survive. I offer all I have to being authentic with my children and the people around me.

“Help me be strong”… help me when I am worn out by the non-stop questions, by the knowledge that consistency is vitally important to childrearing and that no should mean no, even when I’m exhausted and even when it would be so much easier to just say yes. Help me make my word my bond and something that people can count on.

“Help me be”… help me not lose track of who I am in the middle of all of the other expectations. Help me remember that God is in the stillness, meeting me when I am quiet to just “be.” Help me understand that the whole of who I am is much more than the immediacy of being a mother. I want to remember that I love to snowboard! And read books! And play the piano! And travel! Even though these aren’t significant parts of my life right now, they ate still part of my “being.” They’re just waiting, like an unfinished beverage, to be picked up again when this mothering task allows.

“Help me.” I am so honored to be a part of a community where people reach out. The USA is not a perfect place, but I love it that we are willing to reach out to other, to donate our time and resources, to offer a hand in friendship to our neighbors. That we have the freedom to do so. I am so grateful that when I ask for help it’s there, whether it be in the form of my husband (who leaves me speechless with his goodness), our families (indescribably wonderful), friends (you know who you are!), co-workers, community, or country.

So, as I send this little (no, wait, this one’s enormous! Sorry!) missive to you on Christmas, I am personally feeling quite blessed and enjoying Providence, regardless of circumstances. I hope that as you read you are encouraged a little – and know that I love you!

Kiss & Tell?

Contrary to my own observation, other people believe that my children are lovers, not fighters.

Yesterday was their last day of school before Christmas and I got glowing reports for both of the girls when I picked them up. Maggie, I was told, is just so cheerful and has a smile that will brighten anyone’s day. I was told that the “lover” in her just bursts out in the form of hugs, smiles and blown kisses.

Mia, Mia is a different story. She apparently spent the morning demonstrating her “lover” side by holding hands and kissing her little classmate, Austin. They had to be separated. I haven’t told Isaiah yet. I also don’t know whether to write down in the baby book that Mia has had her first kiss. Sigh. At least the reports I’ve had of Austin are that he’s a good kid, not likely one to kiss and tell considering his verbal skills are still quite developmental. I do know that he knows the first letter of the names of each of his classmates. Show off… trust Mia to fall for the brainy one in the bunch!

Another *BIG* sigh.

Our house has been full of little stories – the other night we taught Maggie the sign for “all done” at dinner and and then made a big deal of it when she used it. She was so proud of herself and we were all getting a chuckle out of her enthusiasm as she did the sign.

Well, Mia is not one to let the attention drift from her control for long, so she quickly copied the sign and announced, “I’m all done!” This did not get the same result, as Mia had eaten about three bites of macaroni and cheese whereas Maggie had polished off two complete plates plus three chicken nuggets. Mia decided that proof was in order to get excused from the table.

She puffed out her stomach as big as she could and gestured to her belly: “My tummy’s got full. See, it got big. I’m all done!” She looked like one of the poor starving Ethiopian children I would see on t.v. as a child… and it got a laugh out of us. She escaped from the table…

Another that I’m trying to decide whether to put in the baby book is Mia’s current fascination with clothing. I created a bit button for her to wear on the days that she refuses to wear what we ask her. It says, “I Dressed Myself Today.” Everyone particularly liked it the day she wore her nightdress with sweatpants and pink sequined sandals and, to top it off, refused to have her hair brushed.

Now, I know that some parents would just lay the law down and force her to wear decent outfits, but I honestly just decided to pick my battles that day. It’s amazing the number of compromises I have begun to accept. Back talking has no compromise… but clothing when she’s at least covered… I can compromise.

Anyway, she’s discovered the art of wedgies. It’s partly because she’s not really a specific size in her backside area. Some of her underwear fit like bloomers, some fit like what I would expect. Isaiah got the full joy out of the wedgy department a few nights ago when Mia flew into the nursery wearing nothing but her underwear and a smile.

“Daddy! I have an edgy!” she said proudly and she twirled around to give him the full view of underpants askew, one little cheek bared for all the world to see.

What do you say to that? An “edgy”? Goodness. We decided to just laugh.

We also dared to attempt a trip to Wal-Mart this morning. Not a great plan, but I had promised Mia a balloon. We still hadn’t gotten her a balloon since the one flew out of the car to “be with God.” She has started asking for a balloon a lot and I used that to my advantage today when I forced her to go get a flu shot.

She was not excited about the shot and assured me that she didn’t need it because her “coughs is getting better” – but I didn’t listen. Instead, I bribed her with a balloon if she was a brave girl in the doctor’s office.

Well, she was great and, as a result, we are now the proud owners of a “Happy Birthday” balloon with Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Belle pictured.

On the way home Mia and Maggie were cackling because Mia kept bopping Maggie over the head with the balloon. I listened to both of them laughing and laughed myself.

That laughter also caused me to stop and consider my own priorities.

I have spent the last few weeks in a blaze of planning, last minute details and stress trying to get the semester closed appropriately for my job and prepare for next semester’s teaching. I have found myself short-tempered and distracted with everyone in my family.

I have also witnessed some mothers saying particularly ugly things to their children (“I know you didn’t get what you wanted, but I also didn’t get what I wanted… so I guess we’ll both just be unhappy!” and “I’m so sick and tired of your whiny voice!”) and it convicted me about how I speak to my children. Do I consistently talk to them in a way that I would be proud if anyone overheard me? Sadly, I don’t think that I do. There are times when I believe I would be profoundly embarrassed if I watched my actions on a video later.

Christmas for us this year is not going to involve a lot of presents or a great spectacle. But I am making a vow to myself to stop being distracted, stop being stressed, stop being busy and sit and truly just be present with my husband and children. That’s my gift to them, and to myself. I want to be able to have the clarity of focus needed to enjoy the laughter of my kids rather than be irritated by the squeaking sound of scratching cellophane when the balloon gets smacked around the car.

All this to say – I wish you quiet and clarity and forgiveness and joy this Christmas season. And I pray that it will continue you with well into 2009!

Santa?

Last Christmas my parents gave Mia a pink Barbie computer. It’s a wonderful little thing, a find from “the store” and it has a bunch of different games to play on it.

Unfortunately, Mia is still pretty young to be playing the games. So, she’s had a good time carrying it around, making it sing songs, and alternately dropping it and using it as a step stool.

Earlier this fall I got frustrated with her for not taking care of it and so I told her it was going away until she was older and hid it on the top shelf of our closet. She’s asked about it consistently over the past few months, but I have just not given it to her.

I have decided that Christmas this year might be a good time to reintroduce the pink computer. So, this morning I was talking to Mia about Santa Clause and I asked her if she thought that Santa would be interested in bringing her pink computer back.

“Yes! That would be good!” was Mia’s enthusiastic reply.

“Well, we’ll talk to Santa about it and see if we get that for Christmas,” I told her. I watched her look around, then dart under the cabinet in the bathroom, the place where she and Maggie are allowed to go in and close the doors.

Mia crawled in, closed the doors, and sat in darkness.

From outside of the cabinet, I heard her little voice:

“Hello, Santa? Santa, I want my pink computer, please….I want my pink computer now. OK? Ok.”

We actually got our Christmas Tree set up last night. We’re grateful to have it, but it’s felt like a bit of a chore rather than an outpouring of Christmas spirit to get the house decorated. Anyway, we were in Wal-Mart last night and Mia and Maggie became enchanted with an Angel tree topper. It was on sale, so Izzy and I looked at each other, shrugged, and bought it. We promised the girls that they would have a tree this morning and they could place the angel.

Somehow or another it took us forever to get the tree up. (Perhaps watching a movie at the same time was the culprit?) We made it to bed at 1 a.m. and Mia sailed in coughing around 3. Everyone was up at 7 and Maggie saw the tree and made a straight beeline for the Christmas lights.

Out came the baby gate to protect the tree and ornaments and then, viola! We were able to get the angel situated. Mia and Maggie can’t get enough of it – their enjoyment really makes it worth the effort.

Here’s the photo:

Yes, Mia is wearing a shirt and underwear. It’s a significant improvement over yesterday, when she would only wear her winter coat, underwear and purple crocs. We staying inside for most of the day before I pinned her down and dressed her to go to the cafeteria for dinner and then on to Wal-Mart.

So, I guess that’s our update. We’re almost finished with the fall semester and that it a relief. I’m glad we’ll have a little break before we get started again. Izzy and I will both be teaching more classes in the spring, as well as our normal jobs, so I anticipate we will be as busy as always. I sometimes wonder if we would just disintegrate if we stop moving!

We’ll be sending out Christmas cards in the next week, so if you’ve moved or just want to confirm that we have your address, please send it to me! I’m trying to come up with something suitably entertaining and informative for the Christmas letters. Whew. I think I need more sleep first – or a massive sugar high!

That's just the way it is sometimes.

We had our first dusting of snow today! Last weekend Izzy and I drove through snow on the way back to Bartlesville from Branson, but it melted away into insignificance sometime well before we reached our own city limits. But today, I opened the windows and – viola! – snow!

It’s a meager amount, but I’m not going to complain. It’s actually done a good bit toward putting me in the Christmas spirit.

There have been several things in the last weeks I have considered writing about, but I was going a little crazy with all the writing in the early part of November, so I decided to spare you! However, I’ll share a memory from Thanksgiving:

We were in a timeshare in Branson with my mom and dad. Now, I won’t lie, I LOVE TIMESHARE VACATIONS – but I did discover that the space can shrink magically when you fill it with Mia and Maggie. They used the coffee table as their own personal jungle gym and I spent a substantial amount of time telling them to stay out of the cabinets. Ah – I forget what a wonder baby locks are until I go somewhere without them!

Well, about halfway through our vacation Mia discovered a folded up catalog and decided it was her “wallet.” She pranced around the apartment, asking us if we would like her to “pay” for things and asking if she could “buy” classy items like a coaster and a playing card.

My dad was pretty tickled by this and pulled out his own wallet. He asked her if she would like to sell her wallet to him for $1. She agreed to the deal and accepted his dollar. This was a good exchange for, um… maybe 10 seconds. After that, she demanded her wallet back so that she could put her money in it.

Then we had a lengthy discussion about the free trade system, economics, and fair barter. At one point we dipped into interest and security when my mom suggested that Mia let her hold on to the dollar as the “bank.” But when it boiled down to it, Mia simply was not open to any option but keeping the wallet and the dollar. She felt that they both rightfully belonged to her.

Finally, my dad conceded that, right or wrong, he was not going to win the battle of wills without creating a great deal of hard feelings on the part of a stubborn two-year-old. He gave it one last try:

“Mia, I feel like you’ve cheated me out of my dollar. I wanted to have either my dollar or your wallet – now I don’t have either. That makes me feel sad.”

And Mia, in classic fashion, looked at him seriously, shrugged and said, “That’s just the way it is sometimes.”

Our Mia story from yesterday:

Our colleague, Peggy, asked Mia what she wanted from Santa. Mia thought hard and said, “A teddy bear.” We all nodded and said we thought that was a good thing. (We were out to lunch with our co-workers) Then Peggy asked Mia what Maggie wanted from Santa.

“Um, maybe a baby brother,” was the reply. Oh Lordy.

After the laughter died down I told Peggy to remind Santa that Mommy has just gotten back into her skinny jeans and isn’t interested in expanding again at this point. Whew. That child is quite a character!

I can’t imagine what stuff will come up when Maggie can talk too!

If you go to the blog, I’ve posted some interesting videos…

Froggy Lovin'

A friend sent me this video to cheer me up after the vomiting episodes. I cackled! Hope you enjoy this as much as I have!

Christmas Grace

PATIENT EXCUSE

We have just gotten home from a trip to Saint Francis Children’s Hospital Urgent Care. In what I pray is not the first of many trips to the ER, Maggie was diagnosed with “nursemaid’s elbow.”

This afternoon she was being all coy and sliding around on the kitchen floor on her belly. I don’t know why she does this worm interpretation, but it’s really not uncommon. Well, she flipped on to her back but her arm didn’t go with her – it was trapped in a backward spot and I heard a loud pop. She cried a good bit, but eventually settled down.

We continued on our day and I just kept noticing that she wasn’t using the arm. She also would just cry suddenly for no reason. When I offered her a favorite treat and she wouldn’t pick it up with that hand, I knew there was something wrong – this is Maggie we’re talking about. She doesn’t let anything stand in between her and something that can be digested.

Because it was so late in the day I was sent to the hospital. Now, keep in mind, Isaiah is not with me, he’s on a recruiting trip. So there I am, an injured Maggie and a perfectly exuberant Mia in tow. Recipe for disaster.

Long story short, Mia was confined to a chair in the room for quite a bit of the time and Maggie just sat despondently on my lap. The doctor came in, manipulated her arm, Maggie screamed bloody murder, I felt the tendons on her elbow slide back into place, and then, magically, the clouds cleared, Maggie began to giggle and they let us go. No harm, no foul!

I’ve just spent some time looking up nursemaid’s elbow: “This type of injury occurs when the radius (one of the elbow joints) slips out of the joint. This usually happens when the arm of a small child is accidentally pulled too hard. It is an easy problem to fix and after a few minutes the child can use the arm without any difficulty.”

Unbelievable! It was an amazing, almost instantaneous transformation in Maggie.

The funniest part, however, is the rest of the paperwork we brought home from the hospital: “PATIENT EXCUSE: MAGGIE VEALE was seen on 11/20/1008 and is excused from work from 11/20/2008 through 11/21/2008.” What about mom? Do I get excused from work??

(Did I mention she threw up on me in the hospital waiting room. Yeah, life is grand.)

Overall, however, my attitude is quite perky because I am also pleased to report that a combination of 14 months of nursing and 5 days of stomach flu have accomplished something phenomenal. I am wearing my skinny jeans! The ones from before I was ever pregnant!

Now, I admit, it did take some gyrations that could be liked to a bread machine kneading dough wiggling to get into the jeans, but once on they fit! Yippee! And I can still breathe!

I called Isaiah to report this fabulous news and his response was: “That’s awesome, honey! You know, if you get pregnant again you can’t wear those jeans anymore.” What a buzz kill. J

That’s all from here. I’m off to rustle up my own excuse from work!

Eeeeww!

More stories from the gross vaults of my life…

Last night Mia came to see me right before she was going to bed. She had just finished her milk and walked in for her hug and kiss.

So, I snuggled her up close, gave her a hug, and tried not to recoil as she promptly vomited on my shoulder and down the front of my shirt.

Are you serious??? Is this my life??? I was sitting as still as I could, well aware that if I moved the pool of vomit collecting in between my breasts would spill down onto the upholstered chair and I wouldn’t be able to sit in it because I have a bionic sniffer. And then Mia said, “I threw up! I feel better Mommy.”

Well, that’s a good thing, baby girl. Why don’t you share your sickness with Daddy next time?

There’s no pleasure in having vomit on you, but it’s a lot easier to have the breast-fed baby spit up than honest-to-goodness, 2-year-old puke. Yuck.

Is it possible to become lactose intolerant overnight? Mia has been a milk-a-holic since she was 13 months old. Then, magically, yesterday she drank her milk and vomited it up twice! Is this a new phase? I don’t know. But she’s not allowed to drink milk for a little while as we test this theory.

And, because Maggie has to be like big sister, she’s been showing off her own new skill.

She actually knows how to blow her nose. It’s really cute, because she’ll blow her nose whenever a tissue comes her way. It’s a little snort.

But yesterday and today she has decided that tissues are optional. Nope, she just blows the snot straight into her hand and then goes about her business.

Yeesh.

On a positive note, however, Mia came in to be snuggled again this morning. She sat on my lap and we listened to our stomachs gurgle. Mine would gurgle, then hers… it was as though they were having a conversation.

So, I asked Mia what she thought they were saying.

Mia: I don’t know, Mommy. [pause] Oh! I know! They’re saying, “I love you!”

From now on, my gurgly stomach will be a special note from my daughter to me – I love you!

Just proof that in the midst of our scuz we are able to find something beautiful. It just may be layered underneath nastiness.

__________________________________________________________

And a quick update… apparently I have amazing powers of suggestion. Tonight Maggie threw up in the cafeteria all over Isaiah (and again on another student. We won’t mention her sympathetic vomiting incident.). Whoops. I guess that I won’t be wishing for him to get some vomit-lovin’ anytime soon!

So, at this moment, I have two sleeping children, one on a mattress on the floor by our bed and the other in their own bed, probably going to wake up tomorrow covered in nastiness. Life is so good.

And, I guess that means that we’re a sick household, post a quarantine sign on our door. Bummer. Just when we were starting to be accepted by the neighbors…

Chocolate Monkeys

Remember this photo?

Well, picture the same effect, substitute chocolate for Oreo cookies, and multiply times three. You now have a visual reason of why I should never be allowed to babysit.

I never did much babysitting as a teen. I was the youngest of my family generation and Sedona isn't really a kid place, much more of a senior citizen mecca. So I will state in my own defense that I'm just not too "up" on how to take care of other people's kids and it's still amazing to me that God would trust me with two of my own.

I watched our little friend Keziah this afternoon. I think it's worth stating that Keziah's mom called late yesterday to ask, after exhausting ALL possible other options. :)

Here's a photo of Keziah from Mia's birthday party (she's so beautiful - and clean!):

Anyway, I thought that it would be a fun activity to make peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies. It was! We woke up from nap and moved to the kitchen and just had a blast! They popped into the oven, came out, we smashed kisses into the cookies and life was good.

Until I stopped watching and instead changed Maggie's diaper.

Mia took advantage of my inattention and used her grasshopper legs and Sears-toweresque hieght to snag the cookies from the counter and disperse them with abandon to Keziah.

And then Maggie. Because while I was trying to clean Keziah up Maggie got in on the action. I just found chocolate in her socks when I changed her into her p.j.'s for the night!

So, I was forced to admit to Keziah's mom that I not only gave her chocolate, but also won't return a few items of clothing because I'm working on getting the chocolate stains out of them. Yowzers!

But, if that's the worst of it, I think we'll survive. I just won't be getting any more jobs as a babysitter!

Worship Experiences

I just wanted to share a few sentences from my Formation class worship experiences that have tickled me. Thought it might put a smile on your face. The assignment was to attend a worship service different from your norm and then write a paper comparing and contrasting those differences…

“In a Catholic church it would be almost impossible to fall asleep because you are always moving around, whether it be standing or kneeling, you are always doing something… I thought that things you pulled out to kneel on were foot rests. This kind of made me feel stupid.”

“The first song was a fast-paced, jump out of your seat song. It had an uplifting message and people were very excited… the next song was a slow song, which I thought was fitting because people were probably tired… the congregation sang this song for at least ten minutes; my feet began to hurt so I sat down.”

Pumpaments

Just in case you didn’t know, the defining factors of becoming a “Grown Mup” are your head and belly.

Just ask Mia. She’ll be quite happy to illuminate you on the subject.

We were having a discussion about the peppermints on the counter, which I told her she could not have because she was a child.

Mia: Can Daddy have “pumpaments”?

Me: Yes, Daddy can have peppermints whenever he wants because Daddy is a grown up. You are still a child.

Mia: No! [spoken in a tone of outrage] I a “grown- mup”! See?! See my head and my belly? [this included smacks on to the top of her head as well as a solid thunk to her tummy] I am a grown mup!

I did not find her reasoning to be compelling and so she is still wandering around the house, talking about “pumpaments.”

While this is infinitely more entertaining, it’s not the only conversation topic that has been in the house lately.

I had some students over last night who are in leadership positions on campus. We were talking and they mentioned their disappointment that there were not more student-motivated activities taking place. That branched into a conversation about what being a leader means and what is holding people back from actually committing to an action and following through.

It took me back to a conversation I had with my class earlier this semester. We had watched the movie, “Amazing Grace” together and were talking about the physical commitments that opponents of slavery experiencing in order to destroy the slave trade in England. I finally asked them, “What are you, today, willing to die for?”

The answer was silence.

I asked them about family – a few people muttered. I asked them about faith – there was a look in the room because they thought that they should state yes but wanted to be honest. I mentioned the USA – and people spoke out that they would absolutely not die for their country.

In the end, the three motivating factors that have been historical reasons for fighting were denounced by my small study sample.

So, then I asked if any of them had ever been in a fight, physically. A handful had. Their reasons? “Immature,” “Over a girl,” “To show off to my friends.” Basically all because of verbal insults.

It was fascinating and also alarming to me. I hope that they each find a spot where they are willing to fight – complacency never having worked out particularly well for anything except cows. But I think my class is a microcosm of my world today. I think we are afraid of saying anything for fear of offending others, for fear of hurting people’s feelings with the idea of disagreement.

After all, “can’t we all just get along”?

I think that it’s possible to have disagreements that don’t destroy friendships, disagreements that actually bolster relationships because they engender a healthy mutual respect for your “opponent.”

Am I unrealistic? Just turning into a combatant? What do you think about all this?

In the meantime, I’ll head back to living with my little ones. As I type Isaiah is trying to get Maggie to sit down at the table and eat breakfast, while Mia is in the bathroom singing, “Happy Birthday” off-key and incorrectly… but with gusto! I will rejoin my life!

Sudsy-Pudsy

“Honey – you’ve got to see this!”

My normally unflappable husband had a bit of laughter in his voice, but the words were enough to get me moving – fast.

What I discovered upon opening the bathroom door, well, that was another adventure. There was Mia, happy as a lark, and there was Maggie… head covered in something.

“Conditioner!” Mia happily informed me.

I turned around to get my camera and started the video function.

By the time I got back this time the adventure had turned from decorating the baby’s head with sweet-smelling suds to splashing in the toilet bowl. Izzy added to the fun by flushing it on their hands.

The other component to this is that I was working to get dinner ready for my students. Everything got cleaned up by the time they arrived, but we laughed every time they held Maggie and mentioned how sweet she smelled.

On another topic – I have officially begun my coupon clipping life. I’ll keep you posted as to how it goes. Those of you who responded to my earlier comment about coupons let me know that it was worth the attempt!

Hope you have an excellent day!

He he he he he

What a week!

Last weekend we discovered a new treat – the Grand Country Inn in Branson, MO. Now, we already knew about the joys of Lambert’s – the home of the throwed rolls, which is a necessary pit stop for dinner on the way to Branson, but we would never have known of the joys of the Grand Country Inn without the recommendation of our friend Julie.

Where else can you get a HUGE bucket of water dumped on your head every 3 ½ minutes? Or float down a lazy river? Or play in a play area specially designed for toddlers? All indoors???

Maggie showed her approval by emitting her new sound, a low, “Woody the Woodpecker” laugh that she’s discovered. He he he he he.

And Mia, Mia was just ecstatic. She had Mommy and Daddy all to herself – we turned off our cell phones and switched to the baby schedule. Naps, bedtimes, food breaks… it was wonderful.

But the best part for them came at Branson Landing, where they were able to ride their very own ATV’s:

Overall it was a wonderful journey and a needed break before we headed into the craziness of this past week.

Truthfully, I went to bed Tuesday night after watching the election coverage with a very heavy heart and spent most of the evening sleeping fitfully, waking in the morning feeling depressed. I realized that I’ve had an emotional reaction to the election results that is both natural and something that needs to be modified.

It would be so much easier to say nothing to those of you that I have sent political leanings on to – my candidate(s) lost… it’s time to slink quietly away with my tail between my legs, set to lick the wounds to my pride. The last few weeks have been an emotional maelstrom of political edginess. There have definitely been scare tactics being used that I have been affected by – I am still relatively scared when I consider the future.

I remember standing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, thinking that those protestors for democracy probably thought they would be arrested. I suspect they didn’t believe they would be mowed down by government operatives, blood melting into the urbane blocks of concrete, just for defending an idea that Americans have begun to take for granted.

Do I think this could happen in America? I don’t know. I do know that I am gravely concerned for the future of the country, concerned about an emphasis on situational ethics that I believe has been reinforced by our election results and wonder what the economic future looks like.

However, there is an incredibly BRIGHT side to the recent election results.

• People Voted. That’s awesome! It’s the greatest privilege we have in this country and people exercised it! I’m so thrilled!

• Social Justice. I’m filled with pride that this country has been able to see past color barriers. Our past has not been pretty at times. Barack Obama’s ascension to the Presidency is a reinforcement to me that this country’s promise- “The American Dream” is alive and well. It has never been easy, but it is possible. That’s pretty neat and bodes well for the future, in my opinion.

So, several days after the fact I am settling into the realization that I’m not right all the time (wait! Isaiah’s not reading this, right???) and that my role now is to start being supportive and work my hardest to make this country fulfill the promise that our founding fathers intended.

After all, there are some pretty special beings who need to know and love this American Dream.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Leaves!

I've been discovering an unseen side effect of having a gorgeous, lush, green back yard.

Leaves!

Izzy and I have been sweeping the porch fairly regularly, but it just keeps getting messy again. I mentioned to some people that I don't know what to do with leaves - I'm from Arizona, where we think that rocks and cactus are perfectly acceptable landscaping.

Oh well - I thought you might enjoy some fall photos...

It's difficult to go up or down stairs when the leaves are so deep that they go to your calves... but it's awfully fun to push them into a heap and jump in!


Fall enjoyment is all based on our ability levels: some are able to handle the broom, others find it easier to move the ducky chair.


Notice that this statuesque individual is missing one shoe. I dare you to find it in this photo:


I can't complain too much about anything - it was about 80 degrees outside today! Unbelievable! I'm a little concerned that this is going to over correct at some point and we'll be in a blizzard, but, hey - I can't change that anyway so I might as well enjoy the good weather while it lasts!

Vote!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svhq4C9HhUg

Credit Risk

I learned a new phrase this week. "Credit Carding." Let me describe the circumstances that sparked the increase in my vocabulary.

We had the RA's over for dinner on Monday - I've been trying to do that once a month just so that they get a break from the campus and cafeteria and we have an opportunity for good bonding outside of the workplace. It's great mostly because we have an excellent group of RAs this year.

After dinner we gathered around the table and played a game of Scattegories. It was my first time and I've discovered that I like that game a lot.

Maggie gave up on the evening early on, but Mia was on the move throughout the night. She spent time telling stories, playing tag, and getting more daring as the evening wore on.

The kicker, however, was when she sailed by the table and noticed something peeping through the rungs on the chair. Apparently it was a treat just too tantalizing to resist - and she succumbed.

With a quick, exploratory dart of her little hand, she slid her fingers straight into the backside crevice exposed by an unfortunate combination of the forward-leaning posture and low-rise jeans of our dinner guest. Joe the Plumber would be proud.

I was on the opposite side of the table, so my perception of the event was characterized by a sudden, sharp jerk and a screech that shook the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. Isaiah, who had a full view of the incident, said, "Oh! Mia! Don't do that!"

Mia, extremely startled by the reactions she received, wilted into Isaiah's arms, considered crying, and no longer made eye contact with anyone. She went to bed shortly thereafter.

Our guest tried to play it off and be polite. However, it appeared to me that they were feeling a bit startled and violated. It is obvious that hospitality is a remarkable gift of our family.

This occurrence, my friends, is the real-life definition of "credit carding." It has nothing to do with MasterCard or Visa and everything to do with anatomy.

I'm always happy to share my newly-learned factoids with my friends and family.

Passionate Life

I have just finished examining the merits of Life with my 1-year-old.

Life Cereal, that is.

Getting up this morning with Maggie was a little bit of a relief. Earlier, Mia had come to our bedroom with the complaint that she couldn’t find Bear. This is no laughing matter, in fact, it is a disaster with the possible remedy up to and including calling in the National Guard. But it was still dark outside and I was in recovery from the 4 a.m. morning this weekend driving home from a Nebraska soccer game. I told Mia we would find Bear when it was daytime.

That started a round of caterwauling like none other and woke Maggie up. When I went in to get Maggie I found Bear, travelled back to my own bedroom and threw the stuffed animal with a great deal of force at my 2-year-old and removed myself to sulk and nurse on the sofa.

So, it is perhaps fair to say that my attitude toward life has not been particularly pleasant this morning.

However, in due time Maggie and I relocated to the kitchen where we had breakfast together (cereal and water for her, cereal and Coffee for me). We took turns feeding each other and just talking in whispers.

Maggie had such a grumpy start to life that I sometimes characterize her as a drama queen. What I fully realized this morning is that her natural state is a smile. She’s a pretty sunny baby. Now, she has a temper, no doubt about it, and a passionate nature, but she’s generally sweet and funny.

Her teacher has been trying to convince me of this for weeks. She writes little notes home about how Maggie has been so sweet or so funny, how Maggie shared all her peaches with the other little boy she’s in class with, how Maggie was determined to go down the slide face first, how Maggie “talked” to her quite vehemently about going outside the day they were stuck inside from rain… I’ve been getting reports and even witnessing it myself but it’s hard to see a change when you also have the verbal distractions of an older sister. (And the scarred memories of 4 ½ months of non-stop screaming colic.)

Maggie is really beginning to shine and has a crazy, vibrant personality. I call it passionate.

We’ve been playing “I’m Gonna Get You” with Maggie now that she’s such a solid walker and also beginning to understand what we say to her. So after our breakfast I sat her on the floor and got on my hands and knees to chase her around the house.

But instead of giggling and setting off at a fast, wobbly pace, Maggie turned around and came to tackle me with a huge hug, a kiss, and a six-toothed smile. And then she did it more than once so I know it wasn’t a fluke brought on by a sudden change of barometric pressure.

Good stuff.

As an aside, I recently stumbled upon a website called CouponMom. It claims to help you save 65% or so on grocery bills by organizing coupons for you. Do any of you use coupons regularly? Do you find it worth the effort?

Bumblebees and Kisses

The Doctor Is In

I have forgotten to mention that Mia now enjoys playing “Doctor.”

This caused me grave concern when I first discovered that she had gone into her little friend Caleb’s bedroom and they were playing Doctor. My friend Julie, Caleb’s mom, was the one who reported that they were playing together.

When I told Isaiah, he said that he was going to go get him shotgun.

Caleb’s dad said they were going to have a sit-down conversation about how to treat a lady.

Let us pause and insert into the story that Caleb is 5.

The next time Julie and I saw them disappear into the bedroom we were in hot pursuit to observe the office visit. There we discovered that Caleb was the patient and Mia is the Doctor. For some reason, that changed my perspective – and the knowledge that they were only treating owies on arms and heads also helped!

Since then Doctor has become a favorite game of our. Just this morning I was treated for an owie on my nose by placing a building block on it. Mia also listened to my heart and tickled my tummy in order to prove that my health was improved.

She has a great success rate and excellent bedside manner. She hasn’t lost a patient yet!

As for Maggie, she’s currently running around the house, dripping snot all over. It’s a disgusting habit she has, one that I hope will improve once she has cut her teeth. Strangely enough, having no molars has not hindered her ability to guzzle down everything from pretzel sticks to fruit cocktail to lemon wedges. If it’s possible to eat it, she will. I actually cook just a slightly smaller amount for Maggie’s meals than I do for Izzy and my own. Mia… still a bird. Maggie… by all rights she should be the size of a full-grown pot-bellied pig at this point.

I’ll be posting some video of Mia and Maggie shortly on the blog… thanks for letting us bother you this morning!

Pumpkin Fame

I admit to having a fascination with Britney Spears. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I find myself on MSN Entertainment checking in to her life and looking at her photos.

What I didn’t realize is that my fascinations have infected my children.

For example, Mia has discovered that fame has a cost – paparazzi. She’s been working on the “no photos, please” pose:

In addition to fame and fortune, we’ve had other things on our minds. October has started off with a gorgeous change of weather. It was actually chilly to me today, which was a nice relief from hot and muggy. We celebrated Homecoming for the college this past weekend and Isaiah’s mom and dad have been visiting with us. Popi and Mima are always a huge hit with the girls!

Mia has entered her singing stage. She will regularly stand in front of us, instruct us to stop what we’re doing and listen to her, and then serenade us. She’s getting pretty good at the “ABC’s” and “Bumblebee.”

Maggie has begun to show evidence that she has a vocabulary. She trots to the table at high speed and bangs on it with her fists when she thinks there’s food around. She also has learned to blow her nose into a tissue, which has been nice considering her nose is like a faucet of snot! When will she ever get more teeth?!

We all went to the pumpkin patch this week. It was so much nicer this year than last – I went with my

MOPS group and Maggie was about 4 weeks old. I was carrying Maggie in the Snugli while trying to maintain a hold on Mia who was only 19 months at the time. I remember sitting on those stupid hay bales, almost in tears, thinking – my life is SO difficult! I vetoed even taking a pumpkin home last year (mean Mommy!) because I didn’t know how to carry Mia, Maggie and the pumpkin all at the same time!

This year, much better! We were able to do science experiments on the rotting pumpkins (“No, Maggie! That’s not good to eat!”) and enjoy the giant inflatable bouncy. What a difference a year makes:

I must admit, now that Maggie is starting to get little wisps of hair, I have begun to wonder what

life would be like if we embarked upon the childbearing adventure yet again. Then I usually remember that Brittany Spears was checked into an institution shortly after having

children and also shaved her head bald. That would probably not be such a good thing and a real possibility for me. So I tend to avoid that line of thought and simply be grateful for the little imps that I have.

After all, what can possibly beat the sweetness of two little girls, asleep and silent??