Princess Problems

Humph.

I don’t know where to start. Last time I checked in was Friday morning… so I guess that’s somewhere. Friday I invited myself and the girls over to the Gronau residence for a play date. It was snowing buckets (wait – I think buckets are only supposed to be used when referring to rain – oh, well,) but I couldn’t bear the thought of sticking around home for the whole day, and didn’t feel like driving too far in the snow. Jo gets a little antsy and likes to know “where we are going today.” So I bundled the kids, brushed the van, and bustled the 4 blocks in the blizzard. Friday night was book club. An evening filled with snacks and drinks and friends and all the loveliness that follows when the three are combined. Oh – and the book. Of course.

Saturday morning the girls and I dyed Easter eggs. Josie loves a project. It’s her favorite. Along with everything else, lately. Dressing up is her favorite. Irish dancing is her favorite. That green stuffed bunny that she hasn’t touched in 2 years is her favorite. Some cheesy romance paperback novel off my bookshelf is her favorite – remember, from when she was a little girl. Anyway - so we colored a couple dozen hard-boiled eggs (minus the few that I ate during the couple days prior) and Josie got to sticker them up any way she liked. Eve didn’t last long – she wanted to chuck the eggs into the cups from across the table, and then drink the “juice.” And since I’m all anal and wouldn’t let her turn coloring eggs into the game of Beirut that she wanted (there are a handful of you who will know what I’m talking about there) – she went off in pursuit of more fun endeavors. This suited Jo just fine. When we ran out of eggs, she wanted me to “find other things to color.”

I think I mentioned that our washing machine started sounding like someone was pulling its toenails out and sucker punching it right in the bread basket. And it wouldn’t drain. So I pulled out a few items, wringed out what water I could before my frozen hands felt like they were going to fall off and dried a few clothes at a time. Pat took a look at it on Saturday, used the wet vac to get the water out, consulted the internet gods and then called his uncle for help. They tore it apart and found one of my granny trouser socks stuck in the pump, clogging up the works. And now it’s happy again. Thank the internet gods. After the cost of getting the van fixed and buying a new water heater… we’d prefer to wait a bit before shelling out more dough for a new washer.

And meanwhile, during all this fun, Eve skipped another nap, and her poor little right eye starting getting all red and watery and gooey. This happened to her over Christmas, too – when she gets a cold, it seems to settle in her eyes and they get all gunk junky. It was getting pretty bad – so Pat ended up taking her to urgent care, and got her on meds. While they were off doing that – I decided to take Josie to her first movie in a theater. After a few recommendations for Horton Hears a Who! I thought I’d give it a try. She was pretty intrigued by the whole theater experience, of course, the popcorn helped. But we didn’t make it through the whole movie before she was asking to go home. I thought the movie was a bit boring, personally, but then again – I didn’t get to see the whole thing. I think it was a combination of being tired, and missing her sister that didn’t bode well. She kept asking about Evie during the ride home, and wondering why she wasn’t there with us. I was a little disappointed – well, a lot disappointed, as I don’t really get to do much with Josie alone. But she is more of a “live action” movie kid – and next time we’ll stick with the dollar theater, just in case.

Sunday… oh – yeah, Easter! We were up and found Easter baskets, and fed and dressed and made it to St. Jerome’s for 8:30 a.m. mass. Then we went to Gulden’s for brunch with Pat’s family, and back to his parents for an egg hunt in their basement. Home for naps, then over to the Dwelly residence to catch a quick visit with Ryan before he went back to college. It was kind of a bummer that it was snowy and wet and mushy outside – but Easter won’t be this early again for a long, long time. Josie did make it outside to use some of the bounty of bubbles that she got as Easter presents. It was a hectic one, but a really fun day. And the girls looked extra cute in their frilly dresses and Easter hats. I’ll post some pics sometime.

Here are some other random things that I wanted to make sure to get down:

· Josie was “reading” her new Princess book that she got in her Easter basket. She was reading it to herself at the kitchen table, then told me that I needed to sit down so she could read it to me. It went a little something like this:

“There was this princess, and she had a problem. And this princess had a problem. They needed to help her. And this princess. She had a problem. The end.”

Those Disney Princesses. And their problems.

· Grandma Dianne gave Josie this adorable little gold purse that used to be her mother’s. It’s now her most coveted possession. Her favorite, if you will. She wanted to take it to Betty’s today, and asked me if I would carry it to the car for her. She handed it over to me, with some trepidation regarding its safety. We started the freak show that is our procession out of the house and to the garage, and she kept looking over her shoulder at me. Each time, she’d throw out a warning: “Don’t drop it in the snow!” “Don’t let it get wet!” “Don’t put it in the tree!” Geesh. I carried HER around for months on end without dropping her in the snow or letting her get wet or putting her in trees. Where’s the trust?

· Eve has a shoe obsession. Not a bad obsession to have, mind you. She tries on everyone’s boots, shoes and sandals, and tests them out around the house. Sometimes, she’ll come out with only one on, then next time you see her, she’s found an entirely new pair to test drive. She found a pair of Lucy’s pink cowboy boots and managed to get one on. On her short little legs, they were more like a boot/chaps combo as they covered her entire leg. Super cute. She’ll try and try and try to do it herself, and usually manages. Especially helpful when we’re getting ready to gear up for outside – love having her put on her own boots!

· Eve is pouring out new words. I can’t remember them all – but I know we’ve heard “kitchen,” “napkin,” “lay down,” “awake,” “bad dog,” “be nice,” “we go,” “where’d it go,” “apple,” “my window, too…” That last one was in the car this morning. The girls watch for buses, and Josie always has to know whose window we see them out of. She was laying claim to all the buses – and Eve finally saw one – out “my window, too.”

Reunited, and it feels so good.

Thanks to Super Dave, aka Paige and Addy's Daddy - the glory of hot water has been returned to the Daly household. He'll never know the breadth of my gratitude this morning as I showered in my very own home. Maybe I'll let him sniff me sometime. That's just how clean I am.

The spring snow is falling - and Josie can't stop asking if it's summer yet. The girls got a lovely Easter package from Amma Ue yesterday. Inside were these bunny bubble wands, which I promptly dubbed "outside toys." So now Josie is holding her bubble wand, staring out the window, waiting for the snow to be gone. Speaking of the lovely Easter package - just how much chocolate does it really take to kill a dog, anyway? Because Brewster ate every ounce you sent, Mom. I left the box on the counter when I left the house yesterday - and when I returned, he had torn the box open, and eaten all the candy. Guess he's just looking out for my weight loss efforts. I could tell it was a crapload of chocolate - and it didn't seem to phase him one bit.

So I do indeed have a sinus infection. A couple doses of meds in me and I already feel TONS better. The girls both have little hacks of their own. If nothing else, Eve's raspiness has toned down the shrillness of her yelling. So that's something.

Out of nowhere the other night, Eve started having actual conversations with us. We'd ask her questions, and, miracle of miracles, she's answer with the real answer, and not just "no." So that's fun.

As I type this, I am wearing a pair of Josie's sunglasses, because, well, I was ordered to by her highness, because "it's almost summer out, Mommy, and I don't want the sun to hurt yours eyes balls."

The girls just got done watching Super Why. I can't even tell you how much I love this show. My kids really dig it, will sit and watch the entire thing the whole way through, and Josie can now totally recognize all the letters of the alphabet. It's just a warm, fuzzy, all-around good show. It's on at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. You should watch it sometime.

The natives are getting restless. Gotta go.

Don't. Have. To live like a refugee.

Day 4.

It's cold in my heart. Cold in my sink. So very cold. In the bathroom, in the kitchen - the water is so cold. How I long for the warmth again. Will I ever feel the warmth again? It's a dark time in my life. A cold time. Someday, I dream that my dishes will be clean again. That my children will be clean again. A warm bath sounds so far away. I will never again take for granted the luxury of hot water. But now. I wait. I will wait for you, oh sweet water heater.

Yeah. Still no new water heater in the Daly home. That's all I'm going to say about that. Except that thank goodness for the graciousness of wonderful friends who will share their bounty of hot water with you so that you can bathe yourself. You know who you are.

And as I sit here typing this (I'm home today. I think I have a sinus infection. I see my doc later.) the washing machine is grinding and groaning and making truly horrific noises. Would anyone else like to line up at my front door and kick me in the shins? Feel free. Must be the season.

I'm a ramblin' man. Or something.

I don’t know what my deal is. While I love to try to keep you entertained with somewhat witty accounts of the happenings in our lives and the chaos that consumes our family – lately, it just makes me a little… tired. So until I climb out of this slump – I will continue to log events and post a few pics. I’m sure the inspiration will return, so don’t fret, dear reader. I can’t even muster the energy to format this post into anything resembling coherent. So here is a bunch of rambling stuff from the last few days, in no particular order.

Our water heater decided to spring a leak last night. Tons of fun. The poor girls, and dog, were all geared up and excited to go out for a walk, and I was busy putting away goods from my grocery shopping trip and had run downstairs quick to throw a ham in the freezer. I almost wiped out, and my slippers were soaked as I found myself standing in half an inch of water in our basement. So we un-geared the girls and Pat headed down with the wet-vac to clean up the mess. Water heater shopping is not my idea of a good time.

We brought the girls downtown St. Paul on Saturday for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. It was a lot of green craziness. We met up with Pat’s dad, brother and nephew to watch the hour-long hoard of shiny, “happy” people parading and pretending to be Irish. This is now Eve’s newest addition to her vocab. “I-Wisshh!” Brian brought Josie a beaded necklace with a big “Irish Princess” sign attached – kind of like the fancy necklaces old school rappers wore with dollar signs and hub caps. She wore it all day. Later that afternoon, she told me I needed to call her Cinderella, the Irish Princess. I didn’t know Cinderelly was so ethnic. I don’t think either of the girls really knew what to think of all the people, and noise, and greenness of it all. Of course, neither did I. Times have changed. 7 years ago, we had a keg on ice in the bathtub of our apartment downtown. Now, we had to hustle to leave because it was naptime.

Our daycare provider was on vacation last week. So we divvied up the week with Pat’s parents – they took the girls Monday and Tuesday, Pat stayed home on Wednesday, and I took Thursday off. Pat may as well have worn a cape that said “Super Dad,” as he made their day by taking them to Como Zoo, and to get ice cream at Dairy Queen. I’m not sure who had a better day, the girls or their dad. On Thursday, I took the girls to run a couple of errands, then to visit the Central Library downtown. It was a lot of fun – they kept bringing out loads of toys for the girls to play with, including these adorable hand puppets and stage that Josie absolutely loved. But the downside is the parking situation – while I got a great spot right out front of the library at a meter… I missed the expiration by like 3 minutes, and got a parking ticket. I swear the cop must have been sitting on the hood of my van, wringing his hands in excited anticipation of that meter expiring. Bastard. I’d like to see him wrangle two crabby-squirmy-hungry-tired girls into their coats and check out movies and herd them out the door before the meter expired. Next time maybe we’ll take the bus. THAT would be an experience. Actually – I bet it would be the highlight of the girls’ week.

The church just down the road from us has an annual fish fry on Friday nights during lent. We met up with the Gronaus and ate some fish. Well, the adults ate some fish – I think the kids enjoyed the mac and cheese and pudding much more. And figuring out how they were going to escape the giant dining room and make it to the glory of the large, long hallway where they could run and run. I didn’t even realize that was the last Friday before Good Friday until Pat mentioned it when we got home. Easter being so early this year is really throwing me off. We made it to St. Jerome’s for 10:30 mass Sunday morning. Woo doggie, that Palm Sunday mass is a loonnnggg one. Eve pooped about half way through – and announced that she pooped, just in case anyone's olfactory senses weren’t working, so I took her out to change her, and we kind of hung out in the lobby for a while watching a mom with an unhappy newborn little boy, otherwise, there was going to be trouble with a capital T. It’s already hairy making through an hour service – and this one rang in at about an hour and a half. After I returned to the pew with Eve, Jo had to go potty, so I took her out. I guess while we were gone, Eve called out for Josie over and over again, found a picture of a camel in her animal book and made spitting sounds and then started banging her cup on the wooden pew. I’m sure there are more than a couple of people who find her very distracting to the service – but she’s pretty funny. If nothing else, she’s entertaining. There was a picture of Jesus on the cross hanging just behind us, and she kept pointing at it saying “dressed!” – as in, that guy needs to put some clothes on. Whenever the choir would finish a song, Eve would announce “all done,” then ask “bye bye?”

As I was changing Eve on the landing of the stairway leading down to the basement – because the church doesn’t have a baby changing station in the bathroom or significant counter space in the bathroom, which drives me INSANE – I was struck by how that particular landing holds a couple pretty significant memories for me. I can remember taking that stairway down with Pat to my RCIA (right of Catholic initiation for adults) classes the year before we got married. Then I distinctly remember standing and waiting with my brother on that landing on my wedding day while the procession into the church began. We were talking with Ben, our ring bearer, and Emilie, our flower girl about art classes at school. I was starting to sweat, and I remember wondering if I put on enough deodorant. And now – there I was sitting on my knees, changing a poopy diaper. I find it interesting that I can’t remember what household items I need from Target unless I write them down – but I can recall memories with vivid detail like that as if they happened yesterday.

I mentioned to someone just a bit ago that Josie hasn’t really thrown us for a loop with any deep, death-type talk or questions, yet. But I guess I spoke too soon. Not too long after that, we were sitting at the kitchen table, and Eve must have said “kitty.” We used to call our cat, Buford, who died a year ago, Kitty-Kitty, sometimes. Keep in mind – Josie was just over 2 when he died. Right after Eve said “kitty,” Josie paused for a few moments, and asked me where Kitty-Kitty went. I said, “Do you mean Buford?” She said she did – and I told her that he got old and died and went to Kitty Heaven. Then she asked if we’d be able to see him again. I told her we would, someday. Then she countered by asking if he would come back again. I told her no – he wouldn’t be coming back, once you go to heaven, that’s where you stay. She asked again where he went, mulled over my answers for a bit – then asked if we could go to “Kevin’s” and see him. *sigh* So now I have a 3-year-old who’s walking around thinking that when pets die, they go to our friends Tricia and Kevin’s house - and Kevin is some sort of keeper of dead pet souls. They’re going to have some explaining to do when we visit them again and Jo is walking around looking for Buford.

Chipping away... slowly...

Another 2 lbs. gone. Sounds like a broken record - but I'll take it! I don't think I posted last week about how I had a bit of a rough week and only lost 0.2 lbs. A loss is a loss... but that was a measly one. So I kicked things up a bit for this last week - took the dog for a wog (that's a walk/jog) around Lake Phalen, made sure to work out both days last weekend, and added another flight of stairs to my work climb. I also religiously drank enough water each day and watched my calories a little closer. This was our week 9 weigh in... so we're closing in on the end of the 12 week challenge! I am now 10.8 lbs. away from my goal... crazy.

Peanut Gallery

Evie loves to brush her teeth. All you have to say is "brush" and she comes running from wherever she is in the house. Usually it's a foot race between her and her sister for who can get on the step stool first.



Eddie and Evie on Josie's bed. They were adorable wrestling around. I won't be taking this so lightly in a few years. I hovered - making sure she didn't hurt him. She's kind of a bruiser, for such a peanut.



Eve giving Will a kiss. This was immediately after Will shoved Eve (in an effort to get her out of the way so he could get to the stuffed animals) and Eve bounced a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle off his head in retaliation. I think they parted on good terms.



The bathroom is one of the only rooms in our house that gets delicious sunshine around midday. Maybe that's why the girls were hanging out in there for so long.

I was searching for some corn starch in our pantry yesterday afternoon, and ended up with a mountain of bags of flour, powdered sugar and sugar all around me. I did, finally, find the corn starch - by the way. The girls were at the table having afternoon snack. Jo looks over and sees me struggling and searching and accumulating quite a catastrophe around me on the floor.

Jo: "Whoa. Mommy. I have to tell you something. (pauses for a couple of beats.) That's a giant mess."



Eve looks up from her snack and sees the mess. Without missing a beat, she chimes in with the Barney song: "Clean up! Clean up!"



Josie and I were snuggling on the couch the other night. She likes to have me lay on my side with my legs bent, then she makes a "nest" on the couch in the crook of my legs. She got herself situated and told me, "Mommy. Please call me Honey. I'm Honey, the Nest Girl."



Eve has been dragging her blankie all over the house for the past couple of days, yelling "Pull! Pull!"



Josie pulled a no-napper on me yesterday. Both girls went down as usual - Eve conked out, but I could hear Jo singing songs to herself for about 40 minutes. Finally - she asked me to come back in and sing her a couple more songs. I left - and Eve woke up. They stayed in their respective beds for another half hour or so, just chatting and singing. And I had just told Meg earlier that morning that Jo was still a napper, and I didn't imagine that she was going to ditch them any time soon. Guess I spoke too soon. But an hour and a half of quiet time in her room is better than nothing.



Eve is big into baby dolls. She carries them around with her, comforts them, pretends to feed them, and now they "bite" her. She'll put her finger by their mouth, then pulls it away quickly while saying, "oh - ow!" and presenting it to me for a make-it-better kiss.

Ah. Everyone's asleep. I think I'll join them. Perhaps if I hibernate a while, I'll wake up and it will be spring.

Better than tequila...

This definitely just brightened my day. Yadda yadda yadda. Yeah, I know he was kinda good, I guess. Still doesn't mean I had to like the guy. "Mentally tired." Buck up and join the club, mister.

And this always helps, too...

Objects in the mirror.

I’m sure, or pretty sure, that most working-outside-of-the-home parents have struggled with the same feeling that I found myself fighting this morning as I walked up the steps to my work building.

It was relief.

Then it was the guilt that followed, BECAUSE I felt relieved. Relieved to have dropped my children off to be cared for by someone else for the day. That so goes against the natural grain of the warm, fuzzy, motherly feelings that I have most days.

But not today.

I couldn’t take another minute of the screaming. I couldn’t take another minute of the whining. I couldn’t take another minute of not being able to finish ONE STINKIN’ TASK that I started because someone needed something from me. Right now. My super-mom cape is feeling pretty worn and tattered today. In fact, it kinda feels like it’s been run over by a couple of Mack trucks. And then pooped on. I don’t know if it’s the weather, or just a phase, or what. But my patience is not just thin lately, it’s pretty much gone. Hopped a plane to somewhere warmer. With room service.

There are days when being at work is like a magical little oasis. An oasis where I can go to the bathroom (by myself) and not have to answer a hundred questions about where the pee goes when I flush the toilet and is it here in the tank, or is it here underneath the toilet, and WHY CAN’T WE SEE IT ANYMORE??!! An oasis where I can have a snack all to myself and not have to try to hide it from anyone for fear of them wanting the same snack and having to reason and justify why they can’t have any more yogurt because they just had yogurt and we’re going to be eating lunch in just a little while, so just go play for a few more minutes, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY. An oasis where I can write in a notebook with my very own pencil and finish a thought and not have to make sure that everyone else has paper of their own to make their own lists and get them pencils, not black pens because I don’t like black pens, remember, and oh – great, now you want to make a list, too, so here is some paper – oh, well, you threw it on the floor and no, I’m not going to pick it up for you, again – FORGET IT. I’ll make my list later. After I drink this bottle of tequila. Never mind. I can’t even do that. Because that’s waaayyy too many calories.

My kids are not bad kids. They’re actually pretty darn good kids, if I do say so myself. They’re fun kids, funny kids, and I love to be around them. I have to be okay with the fact that sometimes, I need to not be around them. I *guess* that doesn’t make me a bad mother, does it? Because society, or something – we’ll just call it “society” for lack of better understanding, sure makes me feel that way sometimes.

I know I divulge more on this site than a lot of others do on their own sites. But life isn’t always pretty. Or perfect. Or happy. And maybe I need to find a different outlet for some of this pent-up stress and frustration. Or… maybe there’s someone else out there who feels exactly the same way today, and is reading this and realizes that they’re not the only one. I hope that’s the case – because it’s sure easy to feel like the only one sometimes. I know it helps me a lot to know that someone else has days like this, too, and maybe, just maybe, normal is a little closer than it appears in the mirror.

Fine way to make an exit

We spent much of the day on Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center downtown St. Paul to cheer on my cousin's son, Ben, in the championships of the 112 lb. weight, Class A state wrestling tournament. He's a senior this year, so no matter how the match ended, his high school wrestling career was going to be over. He has made it to state individually three times... and pulled off a victory this time. Pretty sweet. Josie summed it up best when she asked me, "is he the best of everyone?" Yes - he is. :) Then she was very concerned about when he was going to take a shower. Nothing gets by that kid.

Daddy Made Toots.

We're so proud. "Daddy made toots" was Evie's first full subject-verb-noun sentence uttered last night at the dinner table. And I don't even think that Daddy was the culprit- it was Eve. That time, at least.

Eve is changing by leaps and bounds. Almost as much as she's trying to leap. And bound. She has no fear. She climbs her crib, removes items from bookshelves so she can climb them - then gets stuck and yells "UH OH!" until we come in and rescue her. She tosses herself on the floor, then giggles and gets up to do it again. Her head is a mess of bruises all the time. She steals Josie's pajamas before she has a chance to put them on, giggling like a mad-woman the whole time, and runs through the house, hoping to be chased. She actually runs everywhere, now that I think about it. This adorable, tiny little body, just sprinting from place to place. And I'm holding my breath the entire time because at any moment, she's sure to trip or stumble or ram her head into the wall. She's struggling with the last of her molars - she's been a little extra grumpy and unfortunately, Jo sometimes takes the brunt of her ill temper. And we've had a few extra-fun diapers, too. The doctor was able to see that one of the stubborn molars was about half-way in during her 18-month visit - but I can't get in there to get a progress report without losing a finger. Hopefully once they're in, she'll sleep a little better and be all sweetness, again.

She hasn't come out of her daddy phase, yet. I can't look at her, or touch her, or her blankey during the nighttime rituals. It's all Daddy. If he's gone, and she doesn't have a choice, then I will do. But certainly not if "M'Daddy" is an option.

She's talking. A lot. "Look, Look!" When she finishes her cereal. She can identify most animals, and "sing" a few songs. She'll repeat just about anything you ask her to try to say. Or anything she overhears. Like when she was yelling "Farts!" for 20 minutes the other day after Pat bumped his knee or something getting in the car.

She gives kisses, but they have to be done her way. On the lips, not too messy - and no cheeks. If you turn your head so she has to kiss you on the cheek, she'll get mad, grab your face and turn it so she can kiss you on the lips.

No one can make her laugh like her sister. It's one of the most awesome things in the world right now to hear those two playing and laughing together. There is a distinct belly laugh that Josie manages to get out of Eve that no one else can.

I have to admit that Eve has challenged us in ways that I couldn't even imagine over the last 19 months. It hasn't been easy. I have to constantly remind myself that we wouldn't have been given something that we couldn't handle, and that she was sent to us for a reason. To learn to pull patience from places deep down inside, to ask for help, to throw expectations out the window and learn to be present in each day, and to remember that tomorrow is a new one. There are days when I'm not sure I'm going to survive, when I'm pretty sure my eardrums are going to explode and my brains are going to ooze out. But then she says "Look!" and does something miraculous like putting her spoon on top of her head and giving this smirk that only she is capable of - because balancing a spoon on top of your head is the most miraculous thing in the entire world. And then things don't seem so bad. And on those eardrum popping days, I thank God that I went to a particular house party in Winona in January of 1995. I don't know how I would ever do it without you, Chip.

With a little help from my friends

It's Wednesday! What does that mean... that's right, folks - it's time for the Wacky Wednesday Weight Woss Wesults! Drum roll, please...

Another 2.6 lbs. gone. Trust me - I don't think I would have pulled that number if it weren't for the time I spent in the bathroom over the last couple of days. If you know what I'm sayin'. Sick of me saying that, yet? Good. Me, too.

So far, I've been fortunate enough to be able to put up pretty consistent numbers each week. I'm preparing myself for the fact that it could all come to a halt and get a lot tougher at any moment. Preparing for the worst... hoping for the best...? Is that how it goes? Not really true - because I'm working my butt off (literally) and preparing for the best and to be successful each week. But sometimes the scale just doesn't cooperate. Case in point - watch "The Biggest Loser" sometime. These people are working out all day long, eating right and living in a controlled environment, and sometimes they're only able to lose a pound or two. Crazy.

This challenge has seriously been a very life changing event for me. I haven't talked about it all that much except to update on my progress. And I still can't quite find the words to describe it. Or, should I say, if I get started, I just may not stop. I can't give enough credit to my friend, Nicole, enough for starting this challenge and for being everyone's cheerleader, motivator and role model through it all. You amaze me. Thanks for making me wake up and take control of my life.

Stuck.

I've got a bug. An annoying little bug. I've got a tummy ache, and uh, don't want to be too far away from my own bathroom. If you know what I'm sayin'. Drives me crazy. There's so much to DO - unfortunately none of it is that close to my bathroom. At least I can sneak downstairs to switch laundry, so that's something. Rest assured - I'm not typing this from the bathroom.

Yet.


We had a weekend in there somewhere, didn't we? Let's see... we went to Chatfield on Friday afternoon for a fast and frenzied overnight visit to see my brother, Steve, and his wife, Amy. They drove up for a long weekend from Cookeville, Tennessee. Saturday we came home, fed the girls some lunch, put 'em down for naps and that night went to a 50th bday party for Pat's aunt, Val. Sunday - uh, Sunday... Oh - our friend Dave came over and installed a baseboard heater in the dining room/Eve's room/playroom. Currently, it's still the playroom. If Eve doesn't straighten up, it may become her room, again - now that she won't freeze. She's decided to scoff at going to bed, again - and has kept her sister awake much past bedtime for the last couple of nights. *sigh* One night at a time, I guess.

Otherwise, same old. Gotta go. If you know what I'm sayin'.

Brainwashing

Another 2 lbs. gone.

We're halfway through the challenge, and I'm pretty pleased with myself so far. I think that makes 14.4 lbs gone so far. It's hard. Especially considering that my brain is all programmed to be like "Hey! Congrats - you're breathing today. Let's celebrate with a King Size Twix."

Funny thing is - my clothes are fitting better, but I don't really think I look like I've lost 14 lbs. Then again, pregnancy and childbirth has left various parts all mangled and twisted - anyway. I'll probably never recognize some things ever again, regardless of how much weight I lose. I'll have to make sure to add that to Josie and Eve's bill.

Out and about.

We took both girls for well-child visits on Friday morning. Jo's 3-year stats: Height: 37" (50th percentile.) Weight: 36 lbs (90th percentile.) Eve's 18-month stats: Height: 31.25" (25th percentile.) Weight: 21 lbs. 2 oz. (less than 10th percentile.) Head: 48.6 cm (95th percentile.)

It was a good visit, overall, for both girls. Jo did remarkably well (at least that's what the nurse kept telling us) at the hearing screening and pretty well at shape identification during the eye test. Both girls were reasonably chipper and well-behaved. The doc said as she came in the room that she was told there were a "couple of rays of sunshine waiting for her."

By the time we left - one of the rays was considerably less sunny and shiny than before. Eve showed off her screaming abilites while we were waiting for their shots, then had to endure the agony of being restrained on the table with that horrid paper covering to add insult to injury. Needless to say, she was not a happy camper. But she survived unscathed. And Jo was very tickled with the Tinkerbell sticker she got as a reward.

Friday night I got to go out with some friends. We ate at Don Pablo's, then went to play Bingo. That's right - you read it correctly. B. I. N. G. O. And it was a blast. A bit stressful at first - that's a lot of pressure and a lot of things to keep track of when you really don't know what the heck you're doing. I'll have to find a lucky charm to bring with next time - I didn't win a darn thing. Or maybe I did... and I just didn't know what the hell was going on.

Saturday we took the girls to the mall (which is just about as close to The Best Place On Earth, as far as Josie's concerned) so we could get mamma a new pair of shoes. Tennis shoes, that is. I've plum worn mine out. Granted, they were over 3 years old to start with, and then I started to really give them a workout as of late. I'm gellin' in my new Asics. Love 'em.

Pat and I got a little outing all to ourselves after dropping the girls off at Grandma Di and Grandpa Mike's house Saturday afternoon. Brian and Sara bought us tickets for Christmas to see the comedian Frank Caliendo at the Orpheum in Minneapolis. So we had a couple of drinks and some appetizers at Rossi's first, then took in the show. He's the guy who does the impressions for the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show, and has his own tv show, Frank TV on TBS. He's hilarious - and we had a blast.

And here we are today. Another laid-back Sunday. Love it. I'm itching for the weather to get warmer. And stay warmer. Can't wait to be outside more.

I'm not sure what flip got switched in Eve's head all of the sudden... but for the past couple of days, she's decided that maybe it's actually okay to eat. A lot. She's even having seconds. And sometimes even thirds. We're not sure where our finicky Evie went, but we're going to cram as much fat in this new kid while we can. It's been fun to see her enjoy a meal. Pat's parents said they actually ran out of food when the fed the girls supper last night. That's a first.

Overheard.

At the table during lunch on Friday:
Josie: "Santa knows if I been good or bad so I better be good. For goodness sake. Or NO PRESENTS."

At her 3-year checkup on Friday:
"I want the doctor to give me a ketchup now."

After lunch on Friday:
Josie: "I wanna sucker."
Me: "No. You're all done."
Josie: "NO. I not. You're mistaken."

Playing with Eve on Friday afternoon:
Josie: holding hands up, exasperated. "Why are you so CRABBY?"

Playing in the living room, directed at me after I asked her to stop standing on the couch and falling down:
Josie: in a very serious, deep tone. "Don't ever say that again."

Every time she needs to use the bathroom for number 2:
Josie: "Please close the door. I need privacy."

Playing with her baby:
Josie: "WHOA. This baby's diaper is LOADED."

In church today. Pat promised her that they'd get to have donuts and juice after the service.
Josie: whipsering, right after the service started. "Daddy. When do we get donuts?" a few minutes later, leaning in. "Psst. Daddy. I have a question. Come here. Is it almost time for donuts, yet?"

During the nighttime ritual a couple of nights ago. I was singing songs. Pat was snuggling with Eve, when he, uh - tooted. Loud.
Eve: in a perfectly clear, matter of fact voice. "POOP." a couple of seconds later. "ICKY POOP." then, still not ready to let it go. "'TINKY POOP."
It's awfully difficult to jump back in the middle of a quiet, calm rendition of "Silent Night" when you're crying from laughing so hard.

Hello, Darlin'.

It's nice to see ya. It's been a long time. Finally found the time to download some pictures today. Haven't showered or gotten dressed... but one thing at a time, right? Pardon the random nature of the pix. You get what you get and you don't have a fit. Various stuff from January, and the first part of February, I guess.

***Update - 2/18. Yeah. So we're idiots. Whichever one of us set the date on the camera last set it for 2007 instead of 2008. That's really going to throw us off in like 40 years. Dammit.

Contemplating.


Silence.


She's got places to go.



A "hat girl" through and through. Just like her sis.



Watch out. She might try to sell you a used car.


Apparently I'm not allowed to have picures of my kids without food on their faces.


Shocked.


Dismayed.



The 3rd birthday party.


You can't see it, but I just shat myself. My new laptop.


Jo and Great Grandma Janet.


Busted. Doing what, I'm not sure.


Pretty Princesses.



I'm 3 today. Where are the presents?


Baby Will. He's going to be president someday. And Jo will still call him "Baby Will."


The Family.


Sesame Street Live.


Jeremy. The newest Sandeen. His brother, Matthew is in the red shirt in the party picture above.



Sisters.


The Gifts. Trevor and Paige, with Josie.


More friends. Vivian and Addy Jo.


Godfather Ryan.


I couldn't make up hair like this. I promise - I didn't do this on purpose. It has a mind of it's own.



This is all natural, too.

"Can I have a cupcake now?"

Josie's words when we walked in the door at daycare this morning. She'd been talking all night and morning about the lovely pink frosted cupcakes she saw in a container at Betty's house before we left yesterday. Cupcakes for breakfast. The perfect day. Thankfully, Betty was on the same page as us, and told her that she needed to have breakfast, first. Then maybe lunch, and a nap, THEN a cupcake. *sigh* It just may be the longest day of Josie's little life.

Happy Valentine's Day! We're having a super-romantic day. Pat is going to have lunch with his supervisor's supervisor. Then we're going to get crazy and go have our taxes done this afternoon. That's hot.

Oh, yeah! $350 worth of puddin'.

Who's 2.2 lbs. lighter today?

Hmm... hmm... OH - would you look at that, I'm raising MY hand!

That's right. Since the initial weigh-in on January 9th, I've lost a total of 12.4 lbs. That means I'm 17.6 lbs. away from my goal, with 7 weeks of the challenge remaining. Not quite where I wanted to be at this point... but it takes a while to figure out what works and what doesn't. You know - like finding out that the cream filling in Oreos doesn't really count as dairy.

Winding down

So my afternoon is winding down, and I wanted to jot down something Josie said on the way to daycare this morning before I forget.

Since we're *usually* on the road between 7:00 and 7:10 going to Betty's, it's prime school bus sighting time. Counting buses is a good distractor from taking off mittens or complaining about how they were still sleeping and does it have to be "awake time?" And the girls enjoy it, too. :)

Josie has been counting everything lately, and usually does a pretty good job getting all the numbers in the right order. So she was excited about counting buses this morning, and we finally saw one... and then watched for the next. She spotted one out the window - and when Pat asked her what number that was, she said, "One... and.... that's a COUPLE of buses!" Where do they get this stuff? Just like the other day when we picked her up and were reciting the usually breakdown of where we live... our street number... city... house number... and she says, "in Minnesota, right?" It's just funny when you don't expect it. She doesn't miss much, anymore! Not good when I use my favored phrases. Like "oh, crap." Then I hear a little voice behind me, "Why you say oh, crap, Mommy?"

So we're going to tour a preschool next week. It's only a mile or so from daycare, and is supposed to be a pretty good program, and a good private K-8 school. We'll see. I'm hoping it's just going to be one of those gut reactions that tells us if it's a good decision or not. We have some other options to explore, too. Who says kids have to go to school, anyway? Oh, yeah. I guess there are laws and stuff about that, huh. Oh, crap.

It was a day.

My favorite kind of day. The kind of day in Minnesota that is so cold it’s labeled “dangerous.” The kind of day where an empty calendar is a joyous event because it means that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Yesterday was one such day. Yes, dear reader, I remained in my pajamas ALL DAY LONG.

The constant hum of the washer and dryer was masked only by the sounds of oh, so happy children who got to play, play and play some more with their own toys in their own house and not be bundled up and rushed about to anywhere. It was the kind of day when Josie didn’t answer to anything but “Doctor” as she made her sick baby dolls better, and her little sister, too. If I mistakenly called her Josie, she’d gently remind me that “I’m the Doctor, ‘member?” It was the kind of day when Eve finally was herself again after a marathon cuddle session with Daddy on the couch in the morning followed by toast and banana and a healthy dose of water. She graced us with “normal” diapers after 4 days of ungodly alien poops capable of bringing those with the strongest of stomachs to their knees. It was the kind of day when I was able to workout. Twice. And who would have ever thought that would be my definition of a good day. It was the kind of day that the clock didn’t consume too quickly. Josie bowled in the basement while Eve snuggled on Brewster and watched the Barney movie for the 417th time. It was the kind of day that allowed Josie to ask Daddy to make pizza for supper, and demand that we eat it in the basement. And we did. It was the kind of day where supper was done, and the kitchen was clean and the noise of the dishwasher was battling the hum and rattle of the dryer by 5:45 pm. It was the kind of day where Monday’s lunch and healthy snacks were packed and assembled and in the refrigerator by 6:00 pm. It was the kind of day when Mommy and Daddy got to say “yes” when Josie asked if she and Evie could play just a little while longer after supper.

It was a day. My favorite kind of day.

Pluggin' Along

It's February. And that's about it. If there's a large time lapse between posts on my site, you can safely assume that there just isn't that darn much going on with us.

Eve's vocabulary is growing as fast as her hair. Which, finally, has decided to thicken up. She's watching and copying her sister and the kids at daycare. Josie likes to jump, and Eve tries so hard to do it, too. She puts all her effort into bending her little knees and concentrates on getting those tiny feet to leave the ground - but to no avail. But it doesn't discourage her, she just lifts one leg in the air and pretends. The drama is thick in this one - she can throw a tantrum quite unlike anything I've seen before. (I can guarantee a couple members of my family just gave each other high-fives as they celebrate the sweet justice of history repeating itself and biting ME in the butt.) She got so mad when I took the bag of suckers away from her last night before supper without letting her have one that she banged her head against the wall. Hard. Twice. Guess what? It hurt. But just as quickly as the anger consumes her, she's back to her charming, sweet self. Every day is an adventure. Some days the adventure is like muddling your way blindfolded through a dense, scary forest while getting kicked in the shins and wearing cement shoes. And then the next day, not so much. It's the "not so much" days that keep me going. The tide finally turned for me this morning as she made me the Chosen One over her Daddy for snuggling. She has had nothing to do with me for the past couple of weeks - making Daddy the sole object of her affection. While it does free me up a bit, I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't sting just a little. But she turned her little back and cuddled in on my shoulder when Daddy held out his arms for her while she was visiting with me after waking up. Ahh.

And Josie. She's counting everything, and saying her ABC's, and "reading" books, and singing songs and soaking up anything that we throw at her. She wants to know what everyone's full names are, what our address is, where everyone lives... and on and on. She just "gets" so much - it blows me away that her 3-year-old brain is capable of reasoning and justifying and contemplating and processing. She's so sweet and sensitive that it makes my heart hurt. I know I'm going to shed a lot of tears over her tenderness in the years to come. I'm really going to have to toughen up. Or buy stock in Kleenex. As much as I try to talk to her about sticking up for herself, joining in and not being afraid to speak up, she continues to let her shyness overcome her. All this is pointing us in the direction of searching out and researching our preschool options. She's ready for more challenges and in need of more socialization, no doubt about that. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to handle letting her go.

My "get-healthy-and-lose-my-butt" challenge continues. Another 1.2 lbs gone. I sabotaged my week, which was going quite well, at an awards banquet for work on Monday night. But amazing (meaning rich and creamy and chock full of a bazillioin calories) food catered from the St. Paul Hotel, an open bar, and waiters who won't let the level of wine in your glass dip anywhere near empty will do that to you. *sigh* But that is what this challenge is all about. Living life and finding balance and being healthy while doing it.

For the love of PETE...

JUST GO TO SLEEP ALREADY, Genevieve Kathryn!!!

As I sit here, Eve is singing E-I-E-I-O, saying "uh oh," calling for me, calling for her Daddy, saying Josie's name... all the while, Jo is blissfully, quietly, contentedly... asleep. How she can sleep through all this is completely beyond me.

Wait... wait... can it be... I think I hear... nothing. THANK GOD. They're both asleep. I swear. I was going to have to go into the kitchen soon and crack a cold one. If I survive parenthood without a drinking problem, it's going to be a miracle. (I'm *mostly* kidding. Please don't plan an intervention. Yet. And seriously, I don't have the calories to spare right now to start drinking. Heavily.)

Belated congrats to Dawn and Gary on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Brynn. I can't wait to squish her little cheeks and put her little feet in my mouth! Okay, I won't actually put her feet in my mouth. But I'll want to. Love you guys!

Baby, it's cold outside!

I love Minnesota. I love Minnesota. I love Minnesota.

I have to keep repeating this mantra to myself. If I keep saying it, I may start to believe it soon. Frickin'-A. It's cold out there today!

Really not that much new to report. The girls and I met a friend of mine from work and her two adorable little girls at an indoor playground in Woodbury last Friday. It was nice to check out a new place. We trekked to Chatfield on Saturday for a quick belated birthday celebration with my family. Against my better judgement, we didn't let the girls nap - and suffered the consequences. Evie slept the entire way home in the van - but Jo did not. Lesson learned. My girls need their regularly scheduled naps. Sunday was beautifully warm - I got a crapload of laundry done in the morning, and then went shopping at Woodbury Lakes. As much as I've proclaimed my distaste for the outdoor shopping mall trend, I actually found myself really enjoying this one. Of course, it wasn't -40 below windchill, either.

Oh - last week sometime Patrick decided that we needed to move Eve into the same room with Josie. I have to admit, I wasn't really on board. But it's stinkin' cold in Evie's room, and she doesn't like to be covered up at night and was frequently waking up - we think because she was cold. So I told him if he was willing to bear the brunt of any adverse effects - then fine. Go for it. So we dismantled her crib and set it up in Jo's room. Josie was very excited. And so far, it's been okay. Eve slept great through the night for the first couple of nights. Getting the two of them to go to sleep can be a struggle - the novelty of being in the same room was pretty exciting for both of them. We'd hear them talking - and sometimes Jo telling Eve to shush and go to sleep. It's going to take a bit more adjusting to get them used to each others' routines - especially in the morning. Jo will usually wake, then go back to sleep for a while... but if she wakes up Evie, then it's all over. Eve is up, then we're all up. So it's still going to take some getting used to for all of us, but I think it will be a good move, overall.

Josie-ism for today: Last night both girls were a bit irritable - whiny, crabby... whatever. Eve was whining about something, and Josie told her, "oh, Evie. Zip it."

Evie-ism for today: I think I mentioned her new affinity for the word "no." Her latest game is to say "no" to everything you ask her. Josie has caught onto this one, and will ask her something like, "Evie, are we going to Betty's house today?" while we're in the van, on the way to Betty's house. To which, Evie answers, "No." And on and on and on. They both think they're pretty hilarious. So I guess that was a dual Jo/Eve-ism. :)

My "Healthy Loser" challenge is still going well. I lost another 1.4 lbs. this week. Not a huge number - but any loss is a good loss! So I think that brings me to 9 lbs. lost so far. I'll take it. I'm noticing differences already in my endurance, and the way my clothes fit. One day at a time!

Reason #142 why I need to drop a couple of pounds.

As I undressed in preparation to hop in the shower this morning, Josie asked to see what undies I had picked out to put on afterwards. (Undies are a big deal in our house.) I pointed her in the right direction, she picked them up and said, and (unfortunately) I quote:

"Whoa. Mommy, those are some BIG undies."

Oh my. The truth certain stings sometimes, doesn't it?

By the way... I am typing this on my new laptop, in the comfort of my own home, with the ease of our new internet. Life is good. :)

Happiness is...

... sliding your feet into comfy, fuzzy, warm slippers that have been hanging out in front of the heat vent while you get ready for work. (Of course - the very unfortunate counterpart to this is the sadness that comes from having to take off these comfy slippers and actually GO to work.)

... a moment of silence in between non-stop bouts of whining and crying from both your daughters, FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

... stepping on the scale with your eyes closed because you're pretty sure it's not going to show you a very good number, only to sneak a peek and realize that you've lost another 3.6 lbs. AND it's your birthday. BONUS.

... being able to sleep in until the luxurious hour of 7:30 a.m. ON YOUR BIRTHDAY.

... being the recipient of a brand spankin' new laptop computer and all the fixins for a wireless connection ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. Man. Someone must have been a good girl this year. AND. AND... joining the rest of the population in the year 1999 with high speed internet.

If you couldn't tell, yesterday was my birthday. 32, if you really must know. And yes - I'm not even kidding you - Patrick (and the girls, of course) got me a laptop. I cried. Trust me, not because I'm going to miss my lightning fast dial-up internet. We had an awesome day. I always take my birthday off work. It's against my religion to work on my birthday. So we putzed around home in the morning, took the girls to daycare and went to the mall. We shopped, we had lunch, we ran some errands and we came home and just... were. It may sound crazy, but it actually felt really good to throw in some laundry and clean up the house a bit. I never said it was a glamorous life, but it's all mine. And I like it.

The three-ness of it all

Josie May - you turned 3 on Saturday.

At certain points during the day, we'd stop and remember what we were doing at that time on the day you were born - while there were still only two of us and we were so scared and so excited and so... naive about what our lives were going to be like with a baby. At a little after noon, we recalled how I was eating a lite lunch, then watching "Days" while trying to relax on the birthing ball. (For months after you were born, you'd perk up at the sound of the "Days of Our Lives" theme song.) At a little after 6:00, how we were push, push, pushing, hoping to meet you sooner rather than later. And at 6:29 p.m., how our lives changed forever and our hearts were no longer our own as the doctor told us we had our very own pink, squirmy baby girl. And now, three years later, you are Josie. An independent, stubborn, thoughtful, careful, funny, insightful and so, so caring little girl. You may not talk to people right away and shy away from attention until you feel comfortable, but everyone is sure to get a "hug unna tiss" before they leave. Your thank-yous may be be too quiet for anyone to hear, but at least you say them. I'm afraid the close proximity of the hoopla surrounding Christmas and the hoopla surrounding your birthday may leave the rest of the year seeming very barren - but someday you'll realize that having your birthday so close after the holidays is especially advantageous due to two special, magical words - clearance sales.

I love birthdays, and always want to make your birthday something special. You may not remember this one - but it was quite a weekend. I think you realized that something really was up when you woke up from your nap on Friday, came out of your room to steal some precious snuggle-time on the couch with me while your sister was still sleeping and saw the giant bouquet of balloons I had almost given myself a heart attack to blow up and hang in the kitchen. Your eyes got big and you said in an awed tone, "I was not having balloons before, Mommy." We had a little shindig for you on Saturday at one of your favorite places, the indoor playground. And if I never smell another hot dog again, it will be fine by me. (One of the traits you're sure to inherit from me, just as I did from your Gramma Sue, is the fear of not having enough food. So we now have enough leftover hot dogs in our fridge to feed a small army.) And of course, because you are who you are, you really started to party it up at about 7:59 p.m., and the place closes at 8:00 p.m. So it was a battle to get you convinced that you couldn't stay there by yourself and sleep in the ball pit and had to endure the agony of putting on your coat and coming home with your family, instead. I hope that we are able to instill in you the gratitude and ability to realize how lucky you are to be surrounded with people who love you, especially those who braved freezing their nose hairs off to come out in subzero weather and celebrate you and your day. It definitely was a "primpess" birthday this year, which suited you just fine. You have enough Barbie, princess and fairy gear to last you, well, probably until next year.

And the cherry on the sundae... your very first Sesame Street Live show last night. To be in the same building with Elmo, and Oscar, and Bert and Ernie- was almost too much. Although I'm not sure who enjoyed the show more, you or your sister. I have to admit that I didn't see much of the beginning as I was enjoying watching the expressions on your faces as you realized that Elmo was right there in front of you. Although you would have been perfectly happy with half an Elmo show as you asked me at intermission if we could go home now. And because anatomy is still such an important topic in your life right now, you told me as we were getting ready to leave for the show that "I think Oscar is having boy parts." If he'd ever get out of that damn can, we could be sure.

Josie, you are the best birthday gift I've ever received. Happy Birthday. Daddy and I love you more than you can ever imagine.

Eve is 18 months old!

Hard to believe that my little doodle is already 18 months old.

Her new favorite word is "no." She usually delivers it in a series of three, "no, no, NO." Or as in the instance last night when I asked her if Josie could have a turn pushing the baby in the baby stroller, she mulled it over for a few moments, turned and looked at me and simply said, "No." And walked away.

She so loves to laugh. And loves her big sister. And loves to make her big sister laugh! They are a riot to watch play together. It's going to be hard to separate them when they are school-age.

And we are frequently reminded that "it's almost my birthday," from Miss Jo. We made a paper chain to count down to her birthday, because she loved the Christmas one so much. So this morning we were taking a ring off - we forgot to before bed last night, and after she took it off she said enthusiastically, "Merry Birthday!!" So fun.

Wonderful Wednesday Week 1 Weigh (W)In

4 lbs. gone, gone, gone!

OMG

This made me laugh. Really hard. Don't drink any beverages while you're reading it. Unless you like having green tea come up your nose. I'm not saying that just happened to me or anything. You know.

Are we there, yet?

Holy moly, Rocky. I'm doing it. I'm actually doing it. I'm challenging myself to lose some weight, make better food choices and get off my duff... and it doesn't... suck. I'm hard-wired to allow myself to defeat myself, almost before I even begin. So for me this challenge is more about changing the way I think as much as the things I do. And I'm going to be successful, I can just feel it. The coolest thing of all is the support network involved. That was the missing piece for me. I'd always think - oh, I can do this on my own. My thoughts stayed in my own head, where they were always quickly trampled by excuses, excuses, and a hoard of excuses. No more.

So I'm controlling portions, nixing unhealthy and unnecessary snacks and moving myself more than I have in a long time. I'll saddle up on the scale tomorrow and see if we have any results. But no matter what the number I see... I've already won. I'm finally holding myself accountable - and that means more than anything.

Oh no you di'nt!

Eve, who will be 18-months-old on the 17th, just up and decided that she would prefer not to nap yesterday afternoon. Seriously, kid. Who do you think you are? A 6-year-old? Talk about throwing the earth off it's axis - my afternoon was all out of whack. What in the world are afternoons for if not to revel in the peace and quiet of a midday slumber? I know, I know. Someday - my children will no longer require naps. I'm choosing to file this away with other "Things I Care Not to Discuss," like how someday my girls will want to do other absurd things like go to school, not hold my hand in parking lots and poop without my knowledge. So in order to quiet the house and salvage what naptime Jo had left, Evie and I bundled up and went shopping. Oh, sure... being urgently requested by my youngest daughter to pick up merchandise that had fallen to the floor in Factory Card Outlet or else her head might explode was tons more fun than remaining cuddled up on the couch under a blanket reading a book.

Oh - how I'll miss the sweet caress of your antler on my cheek

I just realized this morning... the fine folks at Caribou are going to miss me. But when they know you by name, and notice when you get a haircut... it's probably time to cut back, anyway. Don't get me wrong - it didn't go there every day or anything... but since I enjoy the fancy drinks, going less often enough will save me some precious calories!

I've joined the weight loss challenge not only to lose some weight and the chance to win some cash in the process... but to jump-start changes in my lifestyle and choices that I make every day. So I dusted off the scale this morning, and the challenge is officially on as of today. I'll be posting some updates about how things are going for me, personally, but the on-going actual site will be a private blog - by invitation only.

And in other news - Josie discovered a new favorite word, or phrase. So she was being a stinker last night about going to sleep... she did nap until 4:30 at daycare yesterday, and that probably did it. She pulled out all her tricks last night to delay going to sleep - and Pat finally just came upstairs in the hopes that she'd drift off. We could hear her on the monitor saying "Awwww. Awww - shit." I tried to convince myself that she was saying "shoot." But no. It really wasn't.

Hilarious? Yes. Appropriate for a 3 year old? NO. Hopefully the technique we've used by ignoring her potty-mouth will work with this one, too.

So much to lose

January 8, 2008.

The first day of a healthier me. I'm finally going to get off my duff and DO SOMETHING to make myself a better, happier person. And I'm going to talk about it. If it's out there, and in writing for the world to see, then I have to be accountable for it, right? So here we go.

In only about 2 hours, I've been invited to the challenge, accepted the challenge and have started the challenge. I've got a secret weapon, and his name is Trainer Patrick. He's fully on board with me, and I can't even tell you how lucky and thankful I am to have his support. So today he took a walk with me during lunch, and made me take the stairs.

Wish me luck!

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding, and a cup of good cheer!

Oh my. Where to begin?

The holiday season of 2007 was… well, I don’t really know if I can adequately describe. So I’ve posted a bunch of pictures (in no particular order... stinkin' Blogger) and give you a few highlights. Oh - and notice Jo's ultra-cheesy smile, in almost every picture. Any tips on how to get her to stop... pass them along. Please. Some things I mention are not Christmas or New Year’s related whatsoever, but are thrown in because if I don’t mention them now – they’ll be lost forever in the vast expanses of my forgetful mommy-mind.

This was the season of Santa Claus for Josephine. Everything was focused on his mysterious arrival, and the bringing of the magical presents. This came in handy when we needed a quick threat. “Go to bed, or Santa won’t come.” “Be good, or Santa won’t come.” “Eat your broccoli, or Santa won’t come.” Evil? Yes. Effective? YES. We did make it to see Santa at the mall. Jo was full of questions the whole way there. “Where will his sleigh be parked? Can we see it? Where are the reindeer? Will you stay there with me?” Apparently, she was afraid that we were going to find Santa, plop her on his lap, and make a mad dash. Tempting? Maybe. But we’re not THAT evil. And she did, in fact, sit on his lap, and ask him to bring her a rocking pony. Then she proceeded to ask him - no, not about his boy parts as I spent so much time fearing – but if he remembered the time the Central Park Rangers tried to get him on their horsies. If you haven’t seen the movie “Elf,” do so right quick. It’s Jo’s new favorite. We’ve watched it many, many times over the past few weeks. And the part at the end where the horsies try to “get Santa” is the source of much contemplation in Jo’s almost-3 year-old world. Thank goodness, Santa rolled with the punches and replied that he did remember, and then we forked over our life savings and gave vats of our blood for our 2 5 x 7 pictures of the girls on Santa’s lap, and went on our merry way. Oh – and in case you were wondering, Josie did remark as I was buckling her in the van that “Santa was having boy parts.” Sigh.

The constant drone of Christmas carols have helped urge Jo to sing. Now she’s singing all the time. Which is awesome, and I can’t get enough. But, painfully, she’s also asking us to sing all the time. More painfully, her only requests are “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Jingle Bells.” Over. And over. And over, again.

The daycare families all brought home paper chains to countdown to Christmas. Josie loved pulling off a chain each night, and saying, “It’s almost Christmas time!” I’m sure this will be a continuing tradition in our house in the years to come.

The family celebrations kicked off Christmas Eve with the Daly family gathering at Pat’s uncle Bob’s house. A good time was had. Josie and Eve left with a whole lot of loot – including very coveted play cell phones for each of them, which I think – judging from time spent playing with, and fits had if someone else touches, and the fact that Josie slept with her phone Christmas Eve - probably win the prize as best gifts of the year. We continued the night in Centerville for the Ashton family get-together at Pat’s aunt Val’s house – and envied immaculate, decorated, roomy, heated, attached garage. Perfect set-up for such a large brood. Jo is obsessed with babies right now, and Pat’s cousin Abby has an adorable little girl that fit the bill. Jo followed whoever was holding baby Ava EVERYWHERE. Didn’t matter if they left our sight or not, she was following that baby. Eve (why, yes, Evie was part of our holiday this year! I fail to mention her much only because all the hoopla is still a little over her head. Next year will be a blast for her when she gets all of it a bit more) had a good time sticking her fingers in, something, on the garage door that left grease all over her hands. It was a very late night getting back home – but we had so much fun.

Christmas morning we went into Josie’s room, and her first words were, “Is Santa here now?” And because she was a good girl and went to sleep, and ate her broccoli, she got the coveted rocking pony. Oh how fun it is to see someone whole-heartedly BELIEVE. And so the magic continues.

We opened gifts, ate waffles (made with Pat’s new Belgian waffle maker) and made it to church on time. Thank goodness for lots of music at the Christmas mass. The girls took much-needed lengthy naps, and then we went to Pat’s parents for dinner. And lots more presents. Bedlam ensued during the kid gift-opening portion of the evening, and thank goodness Sara suggested we take a 5-minute breather because I was getting really warm and my heart was starting to race and I think we all may have imploded if the excitement level reached any higher. It was a wise decision this year to let the kids open first, and play with their gifts while the adults opened. Although the excitement level escalated again when Pat’s dad opened his very own “leg lamp,” like in the movie “A Christmas Story.” I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so excited over a gift before.

And so it begins… Josie got ice skates from Gramma and Grampa. She and Daddy went on her very first skating outing the day after Christmas down at Eastview, and she was able to stand up and glide a little. And more importantly, she loved it. Looks like Mommy is going to have to learn how to skate right along with the girls. Good thing I’ve got plenty of padding on my behinder.

On the Thursday following Christmas, we trekked to Newburg to stay for a few days with Gramma Sue and Erwin. There are cows there. And lots of snow. And tractors – one of which Jo got to ride with Erwin. And Eve decided to be Erwin’s buddy this year, sitting on his lap and letting him hold her without complaint. Maybe it was the fact that he gave her potato chips and cookies, and held her up to see all the birds at the feeder and the cows in the pasture that helped bring him into higher esteem in her toddler mind, but whatever the case, he was alright with her.

My family got together on Saturday, and it was so nice to visit and relax and eat without being rushed or thinking of where we needed to zoom off to next. An impromptu trip to Winona occurred in the middle of the day as Val needed to cheer at a basketball tourney. So Bob, Pat, Val and Em went on an outing while the rest of us stayed back for naptime.

Eve is talking up a storm. She’s added tons of words to her vocab – including “dressed,” “Elf” (gee – I wonder why?) “Santa,” “get up,” “talk quiet,” “stop,” “couch,” “ouch,” “moo,” “door,” “off,” “eye,” “nose,” “mouth,” “neck,” “doggie”… and the list goes on. We spend much of the time during our meals doing “cheers” with our cups, plates, and forks. That girl sure does like a toast. And toast. I think she’d eat toast all day long, if she had her druthers. Actually – she’d be most happy on the BRAT diet. That’s banana, rice, applesauce and toast – usually the recommended diet when one is sick. Throw in the occasional cookie, hot dog and pudding snack – and Eve would be happy. She eats about one solid meal a day. The rest of the time we spend watching her chew up her food and spit it out on the floor for the dog. Her eating habits are eerily similar to her cousin Emilie’s. There are a few similarities between my sister’s girls and my girls – including matching scars on Eve and Em’s foreheads from daycare mishaps. I only hope that we’re noticing the first of many similarities to such fun, pretty, and well-rounded siblings as my nieces.

As I mentioned before, Eve’s cell phone is the coveted toy above all others. A while ago, for some unexplained reason, phones became “Grampa.” She doesn’t talk to her Grampa on the phone, or anyone else for that matter, and it’s not like Grampa is calling us all hours of the day… so I’m not sure where this came from, but her phone is Grampa. And it makes her very, very happy.

Eve is a challenge sometimes in church, but we can usually manage to make it to the end without a major meltdown. Fruit snacks help. We’re the stereotypical family hoarding the back pew with the noisy toddler. When the singing stops, there’s Eve yelling “E-I-E-I-O!” One of us will whisper “shhh” or “be quiet” in her ear and she’ll exaggeratedly whisper right back at us. Or she’ll notice something out of place or a piece of paper on the ground and yell “UH OH!” until we acknowledge the offense and make an attempt to fix it. I have a hard time not busting up, and can’t say that I usually can follow along very closely. Eve’s favorite part is sharing a sign of peace with those around us. She continues to shake her hand at everyone until mass is over, and sometimes beyond. We even have to give “peace” at home and shake each others’ hands. We took the girls to church in Mabel while at my mom’s, and afterwards Gramma Sue mentioned something to the priest about her granddaughters being there and hearing Eve during the service, and the priest remarked, “oh, yes – the EIEIO prayer.” She’s a hoot, and she knows it.

We had a low-key New Year’s Eve. We took Josie and Eve to Como Zoo's Noon Year's Eve celebration, played and had dinner at home, an early to bed night for the girls, a movie, Matt Damon – well, IN the movie - Dick Clark and a shared bottle of champagne at midnight. It really couldn’t have been more perfect. New Year’s Day I woke up to Josie on top of me yelling “Happy New Year! It’s almost my birthday!” and Eve excitedly chanting “Mama, mama!” Again – couldn’t imagine it being any more perfect.

Now that I’ve bored you to tears with this never-ending novel – I wish you and your families a happy, safe and fun new year. And only 6 days late. Not too shabby.

As if there were any doubt...

It's confirmed. Josephine is definitely my daughter.

While enjoying our after-dinner treat (ice cream) at the table last night:

"Mommy... I'm sick. I need medicine. Mmmmm. This ice cream is my medicine. I feel better!"

He must be a South Pole Elf

As tends to happen when one takes 2 weeks off work... one needs a shovel to find one's desk upon returning to work. That someone is digging out today. Nobody checked my email or did my job for me while I was out. Who the heck signed me up for this?

It's 2008 and we're here. And we're happy. And we're (mostly) healthy. We had an absolutely awesome Christmas. I can't wait to tell you all about it... but I'm going to have to.

More later!

There's a partridge in my pear tree.

And I think I like it. Only 1 more day of work in 2007!

Conversation on the way to Betty's house this morning:
Jo: "Eve is my baby sister."
Me: "Well, yes, Jo... she is your baby sister."
Jo: "And I'm going to have a new baby sister."
Me: "Oh. Really?"
Jo: "Yes. At Christmas. A Christmas Eve."

I don't know with how many people she has shared this exciting news. But again, I'm setting the record straight right here and now. No new baby sister (or brother, for that matter) for Josie. And apparently we're going to have to find a different name for Christmas Eve.

Seeing that this may be the last chance I have to post in a while - I'll throw a coupla Merry Christmas greetings and Happy New Year good tidings at ya. Now duck.

Spittin' Images.

I knew it!! I always saw Barack and thought - WOW! We must have been separated at birth!!

Thanks for the fun idea, Meg. :)