An Extra Excuse ;)

Yeah, yeah, like so many others, I default to Facebook, but in an effort to have a backup for memories of what my kids have said and done (usually to throw me under the bus), I'm going to make an try and post them here too.

Let me start with updated info and pics.

Linus is now NINE.  How'd that happen?  She looks and acts like a big girl now.  She's an amazingly loving big sister.  She's a great student, and she's a tremendous help to me whenever I ask.  She is still full of energy, and when she loves something, she loves with all her heart.  She will be in fourth grade in the fall.

Lolly, who is rarely now called Lolly and often answers to Cakey or Bear, is three.  She's growing up way too fast!  Her humor rivals that of Linus, and she's completely aware of how funny she is.  If somebody stops her to tell her she's adorable, she smiles and says, "I know."  We're working on being a bit more gracious.  :)  She will be in PreK in the fall.

Helloooooo?????

Long time no post!

Hello to all. Not sure if anyone checks anymore, but I take a peek back at my blog on occasion, and I kind of miss blogging. And my memory...sheesh! My memory. Or lack there of. Each time I read an entry or two, I'm reminded of things Linus has done that I had forgotten. It makes me mad to think of what I might have "lost" in the past year and a half. Thinks like the fact that Lolly can't say sandwich, and instead calls it a dammit. ;) Or that when I took Lolly's temperature the other day, she asked me if she had Bieber Fever. Yikes! And Linus! My sweet Linus. You know she's been cracking us up for the past 18 months.

Time for me to get back to it!

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have continually checked in on me. When I'd see an email pop up here and there, it truly made me smile. They always seemed to come when I needed them most. Thank you!

My Amazing Dad

I'm having trouble going to sleep tonight. My mind won't give in and let my tired body sleep. I'm painfully aware that by going to sleep tonight, I'll wake up tomorrow, and with tomorrow's dawn brings the new part of my identity--the part I never wanted to have. This morning was the last day I got to wake up without a huge hole in my heart. I don't want tomorrow to come. I want to hold on to today as long as I possibly can. Technically it's already tomorrow (I tweaked the date stamp on this entry), but since I haven't slept yet, I can still pretend it's not. Today, I can say I saw my dad. I touched my dad. I kissed his forehead. I hugged him. It all ended today though.

Today my dad passed away.

Today my heart broke.

Today I woke up as a girl with a living father. Beginning tomorrow, and for the remainder of my life, I'll be a girl with a father who is no longer living. A girl who can never again hear his voice. Hear him tell me how proud of me his is. I can no longer watch him dissolve my girls into precious giggles with his antics. I am so thankful that I did have those opportunities despite the pain I feel right now.

As thankful as I am, though, I just can't give in to sleep. I want to hold on to today as long as I possibly can...

The day I got to be with my dad.

The last day he was alive.


To see what an amazing man he was, read here and here.

The Power of Seven

Linus had an amazingly good day today. She's my spirited child, and many of her days are spent bouncing from one thing to the next. Today she made an effort to enjoy life like only Linus can, yet do so in a calm manner. She did a fantastic job. Seriously fantastic. When we talked about what a great day she had, I asked her if she noticed the difference. Yes, she did. I asked her if she felt any different during the day. Yes, she did. I asked her how she felt different. Seven. Seven? Yes, seven. "I felt seven years old, Mama. Not six and three quarters, but seven!" Ahh, to look forward to counting each and every fourth of a year! :)

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year to everyone in blogland!

I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging. In the past I've used it as a way to remember the cute things Linus said. Lolly has joined the cute sayings now, and remembering for two is twice as hard (duh!), so I've GOT to write it down.
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We had a fantastic Christmas. Linus loved every. single. thing. she got. Lolly still has one unopened present. She only got five things total from Santa and us, so it's not like we went overboard. I simply forgot how long it takes my girls to open presents. They give each gift due time before moving on to another. Lolly thinks her world is complete with a phone, remote, and purse though. :)

Merry Christmas from my two favorite kiddos and me...

Linus, 6 yrs


Lolly, 16 months

Kids Live Here!

How to tell children live in this home:






Why, yes, that is a frog in our fan. Which one do you think is responsible for this?

By the way, the fan looks dusty, but I promise it isn't. I'd freak if I had dust blowing around!

Hello Again...Again!

Ok, trying again. Things are really busy here, but I'm petrified that if I don't make the time to blog, I'll forget the things my kids do. So, here's to another go at making an effort to blog and read blogs.
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Just in case you thought life might be easier at my house with Lolly than Linus, I present How to Know You've Lost the Sippy Cup War, Vol 1.

I've tried casually to introduce the sippy cup to Lolly a few times. She's less than thrilled with them. I tried again today. I believe this qualifies as a fail: I handed the sippy to Lolly. She handed it back, shook her head no and said, "bot bot."

More proof:
While Army, Linus, and I sipped on the most delicious milkshake ever (we split it, one sip in and we all knew splitting was a huge mistake!), Lolly was finishing off her lunch. She had a huge lunch--pasta, turkey, carrots, peas, and crackers. The kid can eat! Once she ate her last bite, she looked at a piece of bread and began her efforts to let us know she wanted it. In the meantime, I asked her to point to the light. "No, no, no" she said as she shook her head. I repeated, "Lolly, where's the light? Show me the light." Since "no, no, no" didn't work on me, she tried another approach. She lifted her palms, shrugged her shoulders, and made an "I don't know noise." Army then asked her if she wanted bread. Immediately she shook her head yes. After he gave her a piece, he asked her to point to the light. And she did. Then she laughed. Little stinker! She already knows how to bargain.
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A little Linusism:
Linus asked for cinnamon toast for breakfast. I'll admit I usually cut her sandwich into however many slices she wants (or even shapes when she was younger or on holidays). She asked for it to be cut into quarters. Since I knew that meant more chances for her to spill the cinnamon, I said no. She grinned and said, "Ok, then, how 'bout fourths?" :P

Well Hello Again!

I finally remembered my blog address, so here I am. Just kidding. We've had a LOT going on. In the past few weeks:
*Linus had surgery
*Linus had surgery issues
*Army had a birthday
*I took the girls to my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday
*Linus cut the ever living daylight out of her finger
*Linus had more surgery issues
*Linus started first grade. FIRST GRADE!!!! How'd that happen?
*Linus had a project for school
*My dad spent a week in the hospital in congestive heart failure (he's still there)
*Linus had another project for school (seriously--two in the first three days!!!)
*I've had four meetings
*I've been preparing for Lolly's first birthday, yes it's been a year. She'll be one (sob!)

Sooo, I've been busy. I've checked blogs, but probably only once in the past few weeks. I've got a load of emails to return. I've got more work to do with Linus, and I've got to finalize things for Lolly's birthday. Thankfully we only do family for first birthday parties. I can't imagine planning a huge party right now.

Oh, and did I mention I had house guests for a total of eleven of those days (not eleven days straight though).

I should be around more now though, complete with first day pics, birthday pics, pics of Big L's new haircut, etc. :)

Catfish Anyone? How 'Bout a Side With That?

Two years ago, I posted my first real post here. Things haven't changed too much at my house...
Here's the first post:

An Extra Dose of Embarrassment!

(at the time this occurred, Linus was about 3)

I took Linus to lunch at a local restaurant that I love in the town where my parents live. It was just the two of us. Here's our conversation:

Linus: Mommy, look at his pecker.
Me: Linus, let's play I spy. I spy with my little eye something green.
Linus: Is it the leaf, Mommy? Look, he has a pecker too!
Me: Ok, Linus, your turn. What do you spy?
Linus: I spy something blue. (then a guy walks by and she looks in his direction). Look Mommy he has a big pecker!
Me: (thinking...blue...blue...find something BLUE!)
Linus looks in another direction and says, "and he has a small pecker"
Me: Um, blue! Uh, could it be that chair?
Linus: No
Me: (BLUE, BLUE, find something blue!), could it be that picture?
Linus: No, look mommy, his pecker is hard and looks old!
Me: Linus, shhh, we'll talk about that later!
Linus: Why Mommy, don't you see his pecker?
Me: Linus, ssshhhhh!
Linus: Look, Mommy, his pecker is different colors! And llllooooooonnnnnggggg! Then she points up near the ceiling.

I looked up and there was a parrot! The restaurant has fake trees with lots of parrots! She was talking about the parrot's beak!

Whoosh, big sigh of relief! Still embarrassed, but sooo glad my 4 year old princess doesn't know that kind of pecker!


And here's what just happened at our house:

Linus used a back scratcher and attached some of the hook rings from Lolly's toys to create a fishing pole. She'd "catch" other items by attaching them to the rings. When she hooked a cat, she announced that she caught a "catfish." When she hooked a sword, she caught a "swordfish." Then she decided to cook her catfish. I asked what she was cooking, and she said, "I'm cooking catfish with a side of potato wedgies."

Poor girl, she's got great ideas, and she even has a pretty extensive vocabulary, she just gets the words wrong sometimes.

ROARRRRR!

Lolly has a new trick. She imitates everything, and I do mean everything. She's pretty good at it too.

For a while now, she's been making a "roar" noise which she learned by imitating Linus. She just started crawling a few feet, stopping, lifting up to a kneeling position, putting up her "claws" and saying "ROARRRR!" Then she drops back down to all four and crawls some more. It's so cute hearing her sweet little baby voice try to roar with effect. :)

Extra Effort

We went out to dinner tonight. It was actually our first time going out to dinner in quite a while. We went to a quaint little burger place that has a deck that overlooks a beautiful waterfall. Linus was mesmerized. Lolly didn't care about the waterfall at all...the cafe lights on the porch held her attention. Well, that and food.

On the way home, we had to drive through a very dark area. Because there's little interference from city lights, you are able to see the stars very well. Linus announced she that it was so clear and beautiful that she could see God. I was touched. Until...

Me: You do?
Linus: I sure do. I can hear him too.
Me:You can?
L: I sure can.
Me: What's he saying? (Will I EVER learn?)
L: He's saying that he's disappointed.
Me: Really? (Right about then we were passing some road construction where they're cutting into the trees--looks like they are expanding the road. Linus is a big tree hugger, so I thought she was going to make a comment that God was upset that they were cutting down his beautiful trees).
L: He said he's disappointed that you took away my puppy and bear (stuffed animals) today.
Me: He was? I was disappointed in your behavior too.
L: Um, Mama? He was disappointed in YOU not me. He was disappointed that YOU took away something that your child loves so much.

MORE Sweet Lolly!

Linus and I were discussing how much I love her this afternoon. She'd open her arms and say, "This much?" and I'd say, "No, more." After a few rounds of this, Sweet Lolly starts making the /m/ sound and signing "more." She's been able to sign more for a few weeks now, but so far it's only been when she wanted more food. :)

Oh Lolly, My Lolly

My sweet Lolly has really blossomed lately. She continues to be the complete opposite of Linus, but that just makes being their mom even more fun.

A few weeks ago, Lolly learned to say "hi." More accurately, she learned to whisper "hi." Poor baby had been with me on errands most of the day, and she crashed in her carseat on our way home. Since she's rather small for her age (10 months, can you believe it? I can't!), she still fits in the infant carrier. I didn't want to wake her, so I quietly brought her in and put her carrier down right outside the bright lights of the kitchen. I could still easily see her, but the lights wouldn't wake her up. I was surprised when she still hadn't woken up when we finished dinner. I debated waking her so that I could feed her, but I decided to wait until after I finished cleaning the kitchen. As I'm wiping down the table, I thought I heard something. Neither Army nor Linus were near, so I decided I imagined it. A minute later, I heard it again. And again. And again. I looked over at Lolly, and she was grinning ear to ear and whispering, "Hi!" It was so adorable, and it completely melted my heart. I really wish I'd had the video camera nearby.

Extra Embarrassing

Shortly before Army and I met, a friend tried to set me up with her friend. I don't think either of us was interested in the other as anything more than friends, but my friend really did have good intentions in her attempt at playing cupid.

A few of us (girls) met him and a few of his friends at his apartment. The deal was they'd make us dinner if we'd make dessert. Sounded like a good trade off to me. I was surprised at how incredibly delicious their dinner was. As a freshman in college, I fixed a small plate so I wouldn't look like a complete pig. Although I would have loved seconds, I didn't dare go back. I had a very small light lunch that afternoon because I knew I'd be eating whatever they cooked for dinner and whatever we cooked for dessert. I. Was. Starving.

I had grand ideas for dessert. We were going to make a dessert that the guys thought they could only get in New Orleans. As we cleared the table, I noticed the mess the boys left in the kitchen. I was secretly pleased because I realized that I could snag another bite or two of the delicious dinner while they ran out to pick up a movie for us to watch after dessert.

I waited until they were safely out of the apartment and on their way to the store, and then I spooned a HUGE mouthful of dinner into my mouth as I danced around the kitchen. With a full mouth, I encouraged my friends to have another bite too. As I shoveled another bite in (and I'll shamefully admit that at this point I had a spoon in one hand and a fork in the other), I saw lights flash and heard a horn. My friend looked out the window of the apartment towards the parking lot, and there the guys were...watching us inhale their delicious food. They were cracking up. I was not. I have always turned red rather easily when I'm embarrassed. Thankfully they couldn't see me that well.

When they got back with the movies, they were greeted with a yummy dessert. They teased us unmercifully, then we watched the movie. The teasing went on for quite some time, and any shot we'd had at dating before was completely blown at this point.

About two and a half years later, Army got a fabulous summer job through a connection his brother had. He had a great boss, and really enjoyed getting to know him. Every time he mentioned his boss's name, I cringed. The guy had the same name as the person my friend tried to set me up with. I knew it couldn't be him though because he didn't know Army's brother and the guy had moved back to his hometown after college. Eventually he and Army began doing stuff outside work, and he invited us to his apartment one evening before going out. As we pulled up to the apartment, I was visibly squirming. I tossed question after question at Army about this guy because he lived in the same apartment complex as the guy from college. I kept reminding myself that I knew he had moved back home, so this guy could not possibly be the same guy from dinner. He also didn't work in the same field as the guy from college. As we walked up to the apartment door, I thought that it was a rather odd coincidence that Army's boss lived in the exact same apartment that I'd been in two and a half years before. Again, no way this guy could be the same guy...he'd moved back to his home town, he didn't know Army's brother, he was in a different field of work. Then he answered the door. The same guy answered the door. In lightening fast though, I debated acting like I didn't know him, but I was busted when he said, "Hi Lanny! I haven't seen you in ages. Come on in. Can I get you anything to eat?" I wanted to melt into the ground!

I never went out with them again. I decided it was a friendship Army could have, but I'd stay out of it. That worked well for me. Army's job was only a summer job, and although he and the guy remained friends for a while, they rarely saw each other once Army started med school. A few years later, my friend mentioned that the guy had once again moved back to his hometown. Dang if he wasn't in my town for a conference last week. Of all places, I ran into him at a restaurant. Lovely. Just lovely. Thankfully I had two adorable little girls with me. They were a great distraction from the fact that I just don't have my college body anymore...very likely due to that food shoveling I did in an apartment once upon a time.

I Love Linus!

A few days ago, Linus and I were chatting. I don't even remember what we were talking about, but I made the comment, "Well, that's just ridonkulous."

As seriously as can be, Linus looked at me and said, "Mama, the word is ridicleeus."

Poor girl; she's always had difficulty with ri-dic-lee-us and fab-lee-us. Honestly though, I think I prefer her way anyway. ;)

Remember When...

Linus has been reminding me that we haven't followed her dreams yet. Little turkey. She knows how to get her way.

Who's On First

My life appears to be a daily Abbott and Costello routine. When Lolly has a bottle, it's a Dr. Brown's. They have a million parts, and it takes me forever to load them in the dishwasher. Linus was watching me load the other day, and she has some questions. Apparently she thought Dr. Brown was a person we know.

Linus: Mama, how many bottles did Dr. Brown give us?
Me: What?
Linus: Dr. Brown. How many bottles did he give us for Lolly?
Me: Twelve.
Linus: No, not Dr. Telf (her pediatrician), Dr. Brown.
Me: No, not Telf, Twelve.
Linus: Mama, bottles. How many bottles did Dr. Brown give us for Lolly. Not Dr. Telf, but Dr. Brown.
Me: Twelve, Linus. Not Dr. Telf, but twelve Dr. Brown bottles.
Linus: Nevermind.

Extra Happy

Linus got an award at the Awards Day assembly at school today. I'm curious what kind of award y'all might think she received. Sooo, what's your guess?

Extra Thanks

A very heartfelt thanks to the many men and women who have served our great country and provided us the freedom that we enjoy. For personal sacrifices you've made, as well as the sacrifices your families have made, I am forever grateful.

Among other family members, my father, grandfather, uncle, and great uncle were service members. My grandfather was among those storming the beaches of Normandy. Oh how I wish I had been able to hear his stories first hand.

Guess Who

Guess who said the following tidbit. Bonus points if you can tell me what the person was talking about.

These nipples are hard, but when you suck them they go down.