Those Sweet Bedtime Moments

I just put Jordan Ann to bed. I was kneeling beside her bed, going through our bedtime ritual. For more than a year now, I have had to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb and You are my Sunshine to her and it has to be in that order. This has to happen at naptime and at bedtime. I can't add another song, I can't skip one of those. She's such a creature of habit and bless her heart, she's my child.

Tonight I'm exhausted. It's been a mentally challenging afternoon with these two children I have. So as I was singing our three songs, I layed my head across her chest. She took her precious little hand and started rubbing my face and hair. She was oozing goodness. When I finished, I told her, "Jordan Ann, when you grow up, if you decide to be a mommy, you'll be such a good one." She said, "I don't want to grow up big." I said, "You don't? Why not?" Very quickly, she replied, "I just don't. Will you please tell God that? Tell him that I want to grow little."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I don't want her to grow up either.

a little randomness

I haven't posted all week. Obviously. I really haven't had much to discuss or document. It's been hot and we've been...well, just here.

This week:

• I've been exercising and the kids have been playing every single morning.
• I've cooked real dinners every single night.
• I have finished smocking another dress for JA.
• I'm caught up on laundry.
• My house is relatively clean.
• I've cleaned out and rearranged three kitchen cabinets and my big pantry.
• Jordan Ann and I have colored just about every single picture in her Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony coloring books.
• Jack has carried around three or four "mens" everywhere we have been.

With the exception of a few minor meltdowns and sessions in the "no no corner", it's been a wonderful week at our house.

Just to follow up on the potty training (as if you care, but I'm pretending you do). I'm almost embarrassed to admit how well it's going. It's been a breeze. Today's his second day of big boy underwear all day with no accidents. Except for naptime and nighttime, he's been dry. Can I tell you how much easier this has been than potty training JA? Two completely different children, to say the least.

We spent the afternoon yesterday outside playing in the water. I sat and watched my two children in an imaginary world of play. It was heavenly. Somehow Jordan Ann talked Jack into sitting in her lap in our "big red car". Then she drove him around, asking an imaginary lady about tickets and getting directions on where to park. There was so much discussion, thank you's and byebye's, I could hardly keep up with whether they were coming or going. Such fun play!

While they did their thing, I sat in the sun and took advantage of the sprinkler beach ball. It simultaneously kept me cool and watered my flowers. Plus, my toenails (OPI Don't Be Koi With Me, the very best summer color ever!) were the exact same color as the orange in the beach ball. I was very pleased.

About Michael Jackson. I've never really been a huge fan. But hearing the songs played on every single channel last night, I realized that his music is really a soundtrack for my life, in an unintentional and very odd sort of way. Thriller reminds me of first grade. That Pepsi commercial when his hair caught on fire was in fifth grade, I think. Black and White, that was junior high. The song and video with Lisa Marie? Oh, the memories from my freshman year of college. And, why do I remember this --- The interview of him in the red/pink shirt talking about how he was innocent from every allegation against him reminds me of one Saturday when I spent the day scrubbing tubs and toilets in the first house Wes and I lived in. He's made an impact no matter how you look at it.

Wes and I were commenting last night about the LACK of news on (we're very much news junkies around here!). I'm thinking that Jon and Kate must be thrilled that they're no longer making headlines anymore.

Which brings me to my next topic. That show. I'm so sad for that family. I have been watching the show since the beginning and feel like they are my friends, in a very stalkerish sort of way. I have noticed Jon wearing tshirts with scripture, and seen notecards taped to their kitchen cabinets with verses, almost like memory verses. What an opportunity they have! I was just hoping that this week's big announcement was going to be that their marriage was worth fighting for and that they would be turning off the cameras to focus on what was best for their children. It's my opinion that continuing on in the path they are going is NOT what's best for their kids, despite the hundreds of times they say it to themselves, each other and the cameras. I'm done watching them. And so sad for them.

And what's worse? That people will continue to tune into this train wreck of a show and ratings will continue to drive their decisions. I just wish they would turn their backs on the cash so that they can better the lives of those eight children in ways that matter.

So there you go. Bits of randomness for today.

It's Potty Time

So now that we're home from our vacations, I can face the inevitable. It's time. I can't ignore it any longer, as much as I'm NOT ready for this.

It's time to potty train Jack. He's constantly asking to use the potty and he's usually right on. He's going before bathtime regularly and I've just been pretending it's not happening. Isn't he too young for this? Don't boys potty train later than girls? Didn't I just finish potty training Jordan Ann? Are you serious?

I've gotten him those thick training pants that I loved for JA and a set of the cutest tighty-whities. I just couldn't introduce him to Cars and Transformers via his underwear. And there's something weird to me about having Elmo on your britches. So plain ole tighty whities it was.

Here's my dilemma, though. And if you have potty-trained a second child, please leave a comment and let me know what to do here. JA is Jack's biggest encourager. She's right behind me like a little duckling helping me do everything for him when it comes to pottying. She thinks she needs a reward when he goes, too. So, do I need to share with her, too? It seems like the same concept as giving every child in the family a present on a sibling's birthday. And that has always seemed ridiculous to me. But I have to admit, I do feel bad about dishing out candy rewards (even if it IS just two smarties or two m&m minis) and constantly telling her she can't have any. Your thoughts?

I seriously can't believe it's time! It seems like just yesterday I was making bottles for this baby!

Things to Remember About This Trip

1. Jack won't know he's sleeping in the closet if you don't tell him.

2. There ARE people who are sporting Kate's "porcupine" hairdo. I promise, I saw it with my own two eyes. I nearly fainted.

3. Don't try to be supermom and plan to take pics of your children swimming, forget and end up with the CAMERA swimming in two inches of water at the bottom of the pool bag. Broken. On the first day of the trip.*

4. Do try to take as many pictures as possible of all the landscaping (on the first day!) so that next spring, you can copy their flower bed and hanging basket combinations.





5. Bring twice as many drink boxes as you think you will need because mommy and daddy will want to drink them, too.

6. If travelling with two little ones, plan on not getting much nighttime sleep. Sleeping in one room = hard-to-settle for everyone.

7. Relax. Relax and enjoy all the simple things about family vacations. Such as climbing trees. Watching the fountains from our windows. Quacking at ducks. Sliding together down the waterslides. Reading stories with two babies in my lap at bedtime.





8. Take time to see vacations through your children's eyes and at their speed. It would be ridiculous to think you could linger over dinner and use linen napkins instead of scarfing down a $40 entree and mopping up with wet wipes.

9. Room service for breakfast beats the breakfast buffet every single time. Plus, when you take it out onto the balcony on a beach towel blanket, it's a wonderful breakfast picnic.

* Seriously. The camera is gone. The only way I have these pictures was because the card INSIDE the camera was not damaged and I used my parent's camera to download to my computer. Take pity on me and buy me a new camera. Please.

A Grand Affair

We just returned from our second and last family vacation (AKA conference for Wes) for the summer. This time, we were at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember about a post I wrote last year (on the old blog) about the wonderful spa day I had and the time I spent in the Quiet Room. If I close my eyes tight, I can still go there in my mind. Needless to say, this trip was fun, but not quite as relaxing, with two children in tow.

We arrived on Thursday night around 5:00. We checked in, found our way to our room (that's right, one single room for all four of us) and then to find some dinner. We ate at in the Grand Dining Room and the kids were as good as could be as expected, considering they were "road weary" and hungry.

Towards the end of our dinner, I looked over at a table of 7 girls my age. Each one looked like she could have been my friend. Two were pregnant and all of them were having fun. I watched them, longing to be sitting at THEIR table. (Don't get my wrong, I love being with my family and this vacation was wonderful. But sometimes the grass is greener, right?) There was an empty chair at the their table with my name on it, I was sure of it.

As we were getting ready to leave, I stopped at their table, smiled and said, "Can I pull up this chair and be your friend? I'm so envious of your girl-time and I just know we would be friends!" They were hilarious and told me to have a seat! Too bad I couldn't, because I know it would have been a ball!

I'm sure they spent their girls' weekend at the spa and quiet room. Not me. I was at the romper room on the second floor.

the old becomes new again

My mother is back. She decided after her hiatus that she wasn't ready to quit blogging. She thought she deleted it, but we found it. It's been restored and she's writing again.

If you get a chance, go visit her. She just wrote about her sweet dog Ellie Mae. She's the best four-legged sister a girl could ask for.

You Get What You Pay For

Consider this a fair warning. I feel like it's my civic duty to fill you in on this.

Tonight we had what was called a "snick-snack-snupper" when I was a child. Daddy's not home for supper and mommy doesn't really want to cook. So a frozen pizza it was. My children typically eat pizza with no problems and it was a dollar something at Walmart this morning. (Just call me el cheapo.)

At our regular dinnertime, Jack alerts me with constant whining. The child has an alarm strapped to him for every mealtime everyday. I knew they would both be hungry.

I popped in the pizza and 15 minutes later, voila. Supper.

I got out my cute pizza cutter and made adorable triangles for their plates. After I burned the fingerprints off my thumb and first finger, I thought it would be a good idea to cut Jack's up in little pieces. Jordan Ann requested full triangles.

Add some fruit and a cup of milk and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Not the most wholesome, but sufficient.

I called them in to the table and they anxiously climbed into their chairs. I put their plates in front of them and Jordan Ann popped her thumb in her mouth and laid her head on the table. Jack ignored the pizza and put away the strawberries faster than you could say "strawberry."

"What is the big deal here?" I thought to myself. So, I tried a piece of it. Cardboard. Cardboard with nasty pizza sauce and cheese that resembled styrofoam, even cooked.

Neither of them would eat it. I couldn't blame them, though. It was terrible.

All the books say that if your kids don't eat what you put in front of them, don't give them another option. I stretched it a little on this one. I didn't want them to go to bed starving because I purchased a frozen pizza for a dollar something.

Yogurt for supper.

(I hope that doesn't make me a terrible mother. I'll try better tomorrow.)

And for future reference, don't buy frozen pizza for a dollar something, thinking you can take the easy way out and provide a fun meal for your children. Or if you do, be sure you get some yogurt, too.

Vacations and Colors

It's been the longest blog vacation I've taken! I'm back now.

We've been on a "real" vacation to Florida --- heavenly. We played, swam, ate, slept, watched movies, rode bikes, found parks, hunted for seashells, rode merry-go-rounds and enjoyed every second of it. The highlight of the vacation was the hour-long nap I got on a porch swing in the breeze. I didn't want it to end.

But we're home now. And you know when you come home, you have just as much work to do putting everything back where it belongs! That's what I've been up to this week.

Now that birthday party season has come to a conclusion around here (thank goodness!), we're easing into summer. Most days lately have consisted of this:

I have more pictures than I can count plastered to my fridge. I'm loving it!

I'll be back soon.