Seriously, where's the brain dictaphone?

Geez, we had a busy weekend and I thought of about a bajillion blog topics, which fail to come to me now that I am sitting down at the computer. I'm sure some of the topics will come back to me eventually, but in the meantime, you get some rambling.

1. On Saturday, we spent around 9 hours in the car (round trip) to visit my husband's college for homecoming. It was exhausting, but probably went better than we expected. Olivia behaved passably well, and there was a kid's craft tent where Olivia played with beads and I made a tie-dye t-shirt for her with all the other parents (because, seriously, tie-dye is NOT for small children). I'll try to post some pictures of my awesome artwork later, but here's a pic of Olivia's face paint and hand paint. So cute!



2. We stopped on the way home at our favorite diner/dive. It was full of men and women who looked a little rough, and most of them were smoking. That's the big downside of stopping there. But all we needed was coffee and pie and a leg stretcher for Olivia, and for that it worked well. The pie was wonderful, the coffee was fantastic, and Olivia managed to charm a few of the rough-looking diner-goers into smiling at her.

3. Weekends are awful on the schedule. Sunday was BAD. Nearly non-existent nap, bouncing-off-the-wall crazy...sometimes it really just pays to stay at home.

4. The girls are full of "I want" today. Actually, every day. What do they want? Whatever the other has. Or whatever you have. It doesn't matter if they are eating their fave food in the world...if you open something else for yourself, they want it. It is maddening.

5. I've been productive in projects this week. Maybe I'll get around to posting pics of those later in the week.

Happy Tuesday!

Seven picture takes

1. Last weekend, while we were failing miserably at the yard sale venture, I sent my Mom out to other yard sales in search of a play kitchen for Olivia. This is what she found. Olivia likes it, but she's a little rough with it. I've already had to remove the stove door to keep her from breaking it. See how she's finally learning how to pose and smile appropriately when asked? Too bad my camera sucks.

2. This is how I usually find the Dora kitchen. I have threatened to take it away and give it to some other little girl if Olivia can't seem to take care of it, but she sees right through my empty threats and knocks it over anyway.

3. Speaking of our failure at yard sales...does anyone want to buy a home gym? You must come here to pick it up, 'cause there's no way I'm shipping this thing.


4. In a fit of frustration, I went shopping yesterday and devised my own fridge strap. We've tried one from the store, and it was a waste of money. This is a tote strap with some self-adhesive velcro sewed to the strap and adhered to the fridge. Olivia can open this, but it takes time and makes noise, so it is a deterrent that helps me intercept her attempts to get into the fridge by herself. Perhaps I won't wake up at 4:00 a.m. anymore to find her standing in front of a wide-open refrigerator.

5. The children...they are making me crazy. It has been raining all week, which means that we spend all of our time inside. The girls have decided to retaliate against me and my inability to control the weather by being as defiant as possible. They've been hitting and screaming and talking back, and I am losing my patience. And then, in a moment of sweetness, they do this:
Olivia said "Let's hold hands and dance, Addie." And they did.

6. It's not jacket weather yet...in fact it's been rather warm and muggy here. But Addie and Olivia have insisted on trying on several of Olivia's jackets this week (she has about a dozen...all hand-me-down). They look cute in these little hooded sweatshirts, but now there are jackets scattered all over the floor. Oh well...whatever keeps them from screaming and hitting and driving me insane is fine with me.

7. Evidence. Olivia is a month younger than Addie but two inches taller. Forgive my inadequate camera and my unimaginative attempts at concealing Addie's identity.

Thoughts on a rainy day

It has been raining for most of the week, and the girls have been feeling the cabin fever. To pass the time on these dreary mornings, we've been watching whatever will pacify them. This morning, it was a rerun of Full House.

In this particular episode, the family is throwing a surprise birthday party for Danny, who is turning 30. (Random side note...did people really dress like that in the early 90s? Because it's not a good look...AT ALL.) Everyone, including Danny, seems to think that turning 30 is a big deal. And the only thing I could think was, Dude, you have three kids and a house that makes mine look like a closet. It's about TIME you turned 30!

It occurred to me that I'm almost 33, and I'm OK with that. My 20s were a rough decade. There's the uncertainty of singlehood, the bright spot that was our engagement and wedding, and then the ugliness of coming to terms with infertility. Yep, though I enjoyed much of my 20s, it's not a decade that I'd be willing to repeat.

I can honestly say I've never been more content with my life. I enjoy being a Mom. I love my husband. I can't remember a time when I've been happier just living in the moment instead of waiting for what comes next. (Another side note: It's too bad that so much stupidity is going on in America and politics right now...things that can always make me pause and worry about the future of our country. However, being a SAHM allows me to largely ignore the news or at least be distracted from it, a luxury I never had when I was working, so at least there's that.)

So, 30? Yeah, it's no big deal.

Yard sale, baby shower, etcetera

This weekend was BUSY. It started early on Saturday with us setting up for our property association's annual yard sale day. They only allow us to do a sale one day a year, and it is a BIG day with lots of people coming from all over to shop at the houses in our community. Unfortunately, we are at the back of the property, and people tend to get stuck at the sales near the front of the property. So we spent most of the morning cleaning out the garage with all of our free time while all of our sale items sat on the driveway and baked in the sun. We made a whopping $10 all day. What a colossal waste of time!

Saturday evening redeemed the day for me. The whole family was in town for my sister-in-law's baby shower. Olivia and the cousins had fun playing together, the parents-to-be got lots of pink sleepers and other baby essentials, and I enjoyed the din that is created by putting almost a dozen small children in a room together with a bunch of adults. Exhausting, but fun.

Sunday was family day. We all went to early Mass, and then we headed to Local Theme Park together. It was a dreary, drizzly day, but plenty warm. The clouds and rain drove the crowds away, so we didn't have any lines to contend with, and the kids had a great time. As a bonus, the lack of crowds made it easier to move around with eleven adults and seven kids without losing anyone.

Olivia and her cousins got to enjoy activities like this:








Boy, did they have fun!

It was a great weekend. We won't have another opportunity to all be together again until Christmas, and by then there will be two more little ones (for sure) to add to our number. There will be lots of big family fun to be had in the coming year, I'm sure!

What you get on 4.5 hours of sleep.

I woke up at 11:30 last night (after having been asleep for only about 40 minutes) with the vague feeling that something wasn't right. Then I saw light coming from the kitchen and went in to find my toddler standing and staring into a brightly lit, open refrigerator. I don't know what she was looking for, but she settled for milk.

I spent the next two and a half hours waiting for her to fall back asleep.

These nights are few and far between, but they never fail to infuriate and exhaust me. I could not understand what would be running through her head to keep her from falling asleep. I dozed off at least a dozen times in the first hour, while she stared at the ceiling, wide awake. She did fall asleep a couple of times, but then she woke up shrieking in terror a few minutes later. It seemed that she was afraid to fall asleep.

Lest I excite her more, I could do nothing about this but lay there and fume. My mind kept repeating a mantra of "Please, please, please God, please, please, please help her fall asleep." I kept counting the hours I had left to sleep before I had to get up and greet Addie and face the day with two toddlers (one of whom would likely be throwing tantrums all morning because she didn't sleep well, ahem). As the clock ticked, I got more and more frustrated and upset about being trapped while my precious sleep hours slipped away.

And then something occurred to me. Two things, actually. It must have been a bit of Grace, a little glimpse from the Holy Spirit.

First, I realized that Olivia wasn't trying to be difficult. She was lying still and trying to get sleepy. She knew it was time to be asleep. But she was dealing with some sort of terror in her mind that I didn't understand, and my job as Mom was to be her calming presence until she could fall asleep and stay asleep.

Second, I realized that caring for a newborn was and will be a much greater disruption to my sleep than Olivia's occasional sleeping difficulties.

So, the next time I have to lay awake while Olivia tries to go back to sleep (and please, God, don't let it be soon), I will try to remember these things and be thankful for the fact that we usually all sleep very well, and also thankful that I have a toddler who finds me to be her greatest comfort in the night.

And now I'm going to go take a nap.

Five reasons

We took Olivia to a high school soccer game last night, and I'd like to list five reasons why it is NOT a good idea to take a toddler to this or ANY sporting event.

5. When a toddler sees people playing some sort of game with a BALL...especially a game played on GRASS, she is overcome with an overwhelming desire to run out onto the field and join in. No matter how many times you tell her, she does not understand that the white line that designates the boundaries of the field means "DO NOT CROSS" for anyone not wearing a uniform.

4. When people in the stands start shouting cheers, like "Go Defense!" or "Good shot!", your toddler is likely to start shouting too. Except that she doesn't really understand that the point is to cheer, so she starts shouting, "No Screaming!" over and over in response to the cheers.

3. When you stop to talk to people you know, your toddler is unlikely to stand or sit quietly while you make small talk. Instead, she will see it as an opportunity to make a break for it and try to run onto the field.

2. It is a waste of money to pay for two adults to see a game. What ends up happening is that one person has to chase the toddler to keep her from running onto the field (or into the parking lot), climbing off the side of the bleachers, or stealing other people's concessions. The other person might get to see some of the game...until the child-chasing person gets so tired of chasing the child that she demands a break. And, of course, you go home at half time in order to get the toddler in bed on time, so you miss half the game anyway.

1. It is nearly impossible to discipline your toddler at a ball game. If you try, she will scream bloody murder until people look at you like you must be a child abuser to have elicited such a response from that dear, sweet child.

And we've tried this with two soccer games AND two football games already this season. You'd think we'd learn.

Comparisons

I know that in a perfect world, we wouldn't compare our children to other children because everyone grows and develops at their own pace and, especially at this young age, there are bound to be variances. But Olivia is just so tall and verbal that people think she's at least three or older, so I can't help but wonder what other almost-two-year-olds are like and what is considered "normal".

Example: Addie and Olivia are just a month apart in age (Addie is older), but Olivia's two inches taller. That can be attributed, of course, to her genes. But what about their verbal skills? At lunch, Addie said, "I want Hot Dogs!" And Olivia repeated what she said (because one can't live without something the other has...sheesh!). And then I said, "I'm warming up the hot dogs, just a minute." Olivia said, "I want ketchup too, Mommy." Me: "Ok, ketchup too." Olivia: "It's in the refrigerator. The ketchup is in the refrigerator. OK Mommy?" She was strapped into her chair or she would probably have gone to get it herself. Olivia was not satisfied until I put the ketchup on the counter, at which point Addie shouted, "Ketchup! Want ketchup!"

And when we go outside, I always sit the girls down and remind them that they need to stay in the playset area or we are going to have to come back inside. I can't exactly run after one kid (Olivia) who's trying to sneak off to the front yard and leave the other one to fend for herself on the slide tower. So we must stay in the rock/playset area.

Now, every time I say we are going outside and sit them down for their lecture, I say, "Listen, girls..." and Olivia cuts in to say, "Stay in the area! Stay in the rocks!" I know they both understand what I'm saying, but Olivia remembers and can converse on a level I have never seen with most three-year-olds.

It makes communication with others in her age group rather frustrating. I have a hard time remembering when Olivia couldn't tell me exactly what she wanted or was thinking.

Now I'm going to get off of here before Olivia wakes up and catches me on the computer and starts demanding, "I want to play 'puters, Mommy!" until she wakes up Addie. It's best around here if the computer is OFF when the kids are up.