Sweetness

Ahhhh.

We just had a very... satisfying... weekend. The house is *somewhat* clean. Kenny was washing the dishes when we left this morning. Laundry is done and put away. Eve has been sleeping soundly through the night for the past few nights. A few inches of snow trapped us at home, but that was okay. We played and played and played with the girls, and I think it was just what we all needed. The girls and I had wonderful playdate at the Gronaus on Friday. Jo and Lucy play together so well - they cook, (and thanks, Meg for the tasty pancakes, I think you have definitely assured that Josie will love you forever!) they play ring-around-the-rosy, they run around and they giggle and giggle, and it's awesome. Then I got to have a wonderful playdate with my friends on Friday night. We don't run around much, but we do cook and giggle and giggle!

Josie is still occasionally using the potty chair. She asked to go potty this morning, and she did sit down and tinkle. But then we struggled with getting her convinced that it was time to get dressed and go to daycare. She preferred to just sit naked on the potty and finish snacking on her dry cereal. She has just been so fun. I can't even describe all the things she's doing now - it's mind-boggling. OH - I don't even know if this is appropriate, but I need to get it down so we don't forget... so now when Pat um, toots... Josie runs over to *sniff*, so that she can say in a disgusted tone, "Da-aad-ddy." It's so inappropriate. And so hilarious. :)

Eve is figuring out how to sit on her own, unsupported. She's doing pretty well, with a flop on her face or side once in a while. I don't know when she's going to get interested in crawling - she's pretty efficient at getting where she wants to go by rolling. She was all over the place last night, even under the couch! She's eating a ton, smiling a ton and changing so fast. I just love her to pieces and can't get enough of her chubby cheeks.

So there's your kid update for Monday morning. Have a good one!

Snaggle Tooth

Here you can *kind of* see her poor, lonely, one little toofer on top. Still waiting for the other one!

More than meets the eye.

Do. Something.

These are the words that have been knocking around in my head like tumbleweeds on a windy day. I've been in a "funk" lately, to use a phrase frequently uttered by my bookclub friends. We seem to spend a lot of our time figuring out the complexities of "funk-ness." What causes it? What fixes it?

Sometimes, the answers to both questions are the same. The weather - dreariness can cause a funk while a sunny day can fix it. Family duties- the drudgery of daily tasks can cause a funk while caring for and supporting those we love can fix it. Career decisions - feeling "stuck" in your current role can cause a funk while doing what's necessary for the betterment of yourself and your family can fix it.

In my ponderings, I consulted Merriam-Webster. Here's what (s)he had to say:

Main Entry: 1funk
Pronunciation: 'f&[ng]k
Etymology: probably ultimately from French dialect (Picard) funquer
1. to give off smoke or a strong offensive smell.

Well - that's not quite the "funk" I was thinking of. This one's better:

Main Entry: 3 funk
Etymology: perhaps from obsolete Dutch dialect (Flanders) fonck
1 a : a state of paralyzing fear b : a depressed state of mind
2 : one that funks : COWARD
3 : SLUMP 1

While I've not been paralyzed with fear, and I don't really think that a "depressed" state of mind quite fits... and I really don't like to think of myself as a coward - although maybe that one will take some more thought... perhaps "slump" is a more fitting description for what I feel on occasion. That would accurately indicate the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the rollercoaster of emotions that comes from being a mother and a wife, of a coworker and a friend and all that these roles entail and the ways they intertwine.

Back to the "Do. Something." part of the post. So I've made a conscious decision to not sit around in my funkiness any longer. And I document it here today to hold myself accountable for it. I get so sick of myself sometimes that I can hardly stand it. Perhaps Webster's first definition is accurate and I am giving off an offensive smell - and the only way I'm going to change it is to shower it away, shake it off, change directions so the funk is downwind. And the most effective way of changing anything is to first change my attitude. I try, but I too easily allow myself to fail. So I'm going to try harder. To be a mother and wife my family will be proud of, a coworker and friend that others will be happy to have touch their lives, to be a positive person that I will want to be around. Choices, choices - it's all about choices. And I have to do a better job of remembering that.

My friend Michelle recently posted about how she is not an open book and that there are many things in her life and in her family's life that she doesn't write about - and I feel the same way about myself. Looking back on my entries, it all seems somewhat superficial. I give you a quick peek, a summary of our days and updates on my kids with some recent pictures - and that's about it. And a lot of the time, that is enough for me. But sometimes, there is more going on, and pouring it out here is exactly what I need.

So there. With that said, I wash my hands of this current slump. Onward and upward.

French Fries and Doggie-do

Children are always listening. Of course, everyone knows this, but we tend to forget. We are reminded frequently, like when we go through the drive-thru at Wendy's on Saturday, place our order, and pull up to the window to get our food. The lady leans out and recites the order back to us, and all of the sudden, Josie is yelling "French Fries! French Fries!! Yea!" And when Pat was going to bundle up the girls and take them outside for a little while and I told him to watch out for the dog puke on the sidewalk and for all the dog crap in the yard (can you tell that perhaps I thought going outside wasn't that great of an idea?) and then Josie is walking around saying "dog crap, Mommy." Oops.

(Changing the subject.) I did something yesterday that I have never done before. I honestly didn't think that I ever would do it, or if I did, that I would enjoy it so much. I'd heard others talking about it, and I was a little puzzled that they seemed to like it. But now that I've tried it, I'm hooked, and I want more. I went to a movie... by MYSELF. And it was fabulous. Not even the movie so much, (I saw the cheesy chick-flick "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore - which was cute and enjoyable and the perfect mix of everything that I needed and wanted from a movie yesterday) but the experience as a whole. The freedom of walking out of the house, alone, with only my wallet and keys, the luxury of a small popcorn and pop all for myself, and the satisfaction of 2 hours of doing... absolutely. nothing. productive. It was heaven. Don't get me wrong, I love going to movies with friends or Pat... and I would relish the opportunity to accompany someone again, someday, but I think for now, I've found my new guilty pleasure. :)

Lovely Girls

Could they look any more alike?

Note the red cheeks on Evie. Those are her "teething indicators." :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy is bad-bad, and Daddy is a good girl!

Not much for news here, so I'll give a few kid updates.

Both kids have coughs and runny noses, again. Therefore, we had a quiet weekend at home. Well, we probably would have had a quiet weekend at home, anyway - but now it just sounds like we were trying to be good parents and keep our germ monsters contained. Not that you can escape the crud this winter, it's everywhere.

Josie is... well, just Josie. We've entered the "terrible twos," and it certainly can be. Terrible, that is. But it can also be terribly fun. She was Daddy's girl this weekend, and for some reason, I got told repeatedly that I was bad. And when Daddy cleans his plate, or goes pee-pee in the potty, he gets a very vehement "good girl, Daddy!!!" Guess we should start working on gender differentiations. Although she is able to distinguish between mommy/daddy and grandma/grandpa, and likes to label everyone she sees in a store or parking lot. Hopefully no one gets offended if they are, in fact, not what Josie has labeled them to be.

And as Evie ages, so begins the sister-relationship. They love to be able to ride in the van together, and since Eve is still facing backwards, they can see each other easily. They giggle and smile at one another and it's very cute. Josie now wants to show Eve everything; she points out the window at whatever fascinating thing she sees and exclaims "Evie! Evie!" or wants her little sister to acknowledge the amazing feats she's accomplishing at home like feeding her baby doll or stirring the cereal and milk in her bowl. But it's definitely not all fun and games. Like when Eve grabs hold of one of Josie's baby dolls. Or Josie's hair. Or Josie's blankie. Eve frequently is on the receiving end of little shoves. And dirty looks. Oh - the looks that eldest daughter of mine can give. We might be more effective disciplinarians if she weren't so stinkin' cute when she's being naughty. Like when she "accidentally" gets marker on her shirt, and you ask her who did that and she says "Evie." How are you not supposed to laugh at that?? But we try not to and say "No, Josie, I don't think Eve did that." Then she stops for a minute while staring at her shirt and looks at you and says, "Brewster!" It's a losing battle. :)

Her vocabulary is skyrocketing. And I'm already finding myself wishing sometimes that perhaps she couldn't talk so much. Not that she even talks THAT much, but it's... enough. "No," and any variation thereof, is her fav. "Nope" is used a lot, and sometimes we even get a "naw." And as she's sassing away, Evie is just sitting back, taking it all in. Waiting her turn. :)

Speaking of Eve... she growing. Fast. She's still holding (and biting) strong with 3 teeth, and is learning to drink from a cup. She'll end up in a completely different part of the room (via rolling and scooting on her back or tummy) if you leave her along for a minute and I feel like she's doing so much so soon. But I guess she is creeping up on 7 months here soon. *sigh* It goes by so fast.

Whoa - and so does a quick break at work. Gotta go for now!

Ni-Night, Kitty-Kitty

He may not have been the brightest cat in the world, but I'm pretty sure he was the sweetest. Goodbye, Buford. We'll miss you. Even Baxter, even though he says he won't.

Winter 1994 - February 8, 2007

Josie's 2 year check-up

Josie got to see her new doc yesterday afternoon. It was actually fun to take her - I can't remember the last time we got to do anything just "mommy and Jo." Anyway - the appointment went well, except when Josie decided she didn't want anything to do with getting undressed or taking off her boots to get weighed. But who can blame her - it's winter in Minnesota! She did eventually decide it would be okay to have her boots off after I stepped on the scale and told her that she could have a turn, too. But we never did get her undressed. She was 28 lbs., which is just a bit over average for her age, and 33 1/2 inches, which is just a bit under average for her age. So I'd say she's just about perfect :)

Happy Anniversary to us!

12 years ago today in a little town called Winona began the "official" dating days of Patrick and Carol. He suckered me in by cleaning his dorm room and inviting me over to watch "Sleepless in Seattle." And as they say, the rest is history :)

Who knew something so magical could start with a Bonkers candy wrapper?? Boy, I tell ya, smooth to the groove. Like sandwich bread.

This made me chuckle

So my mom has been emailing a very select and privileged group of individuals over the last year with daily "Bushisms." It started because, knowing how much she adores our fine leader, I gave her a daily calendar so that she could ponder and wonder over his intelligent witticisms and profound thoughts each and every morning, and she loved them so much that she decided to share them. So now we've continued into the next year, and she's added Dave Barry quotes, as well. The one for today really cracked me up, so I thought I'd share with the masses:

"Hygiene is not the only area where parents of babies have to lower their standards. There is also the area of intellect. When I'm home alone with my daughter Sophie, there are entire days when the single longest sentence I say is: "Down came the rain and washed the spider out!" Also I am reading a lot of books with names like 'Conrad Cantaloupe Has a Sad Day.' As far as I can tell, modern children's books are written by people who (a) get paid by the page, and (b) are hitting the bourbon pretty hard."

Happy Wednesday!

HOW could I forget??

Dishwasher update:

It's a large monstrosity.

But it's fabulous.

We've been running it after the girls go to bed. So nice to just load the dishes in after dinner - out of sight, out of mind, and let the beauty of Kenmore do it's work for us. And having a bit more "counter top" is always a good thing. Of course, it's a good thing as long as it doesn't become a "catch-all" for the mail and various other assorted crap. Which is probably exactly what's going to happen. :)

I am SO. COLD.

It is our right as Minnesotans to complain about the weather non-stop, right??! But seriously - it's flippin' cold out there this morning. Remind me about this next July when I'm complaining about how hot it is.

Another crazy weekend has passed. Julie Zarn and I threw a baby shower for Tricia (Burk) Mathews on Saturday. It went well. Lots of food and friends and lovely gifts for Baby Mathews. We hung out at the Mathews residence Saturday night with out-of-town friends, the Speth-Mikolajczaks, and in-town friends and their kids... as always, complete chaos when the kidlets are involved, but so much fun. Sunday we went to a Super Bowl party - again, kiddy mayhem ensued and Josie decided it was time to go home. Which was perfectly fine with me since we had a late night on Saturday and an early bedtime was just what the doctor ordered.

As we were getting ready for bed last night, Josie sat on the potty chair... and tinkled!!! We made a huge deal about it and she was so proud she almost burst at the seams. She wanted to keep sitting on the potty, but kept getting up to look at the pee-pee. And so the potty saga begins. Wish us luck. :)