The Family Garden

Tonight we embarked on our first gardening journey. As you can see, we have a very long way to go! We planted some raspberry shoots and a bunch of strawberry plants. In the coming weeks we will add vegetables. We also need to level the area and get LOTS of good dirt to import and offset the thick red clay. Emily gave a cute family home evening lesson on what plants need to grow and then we went out. So, wish us luck! Hopefully something will grow for us!

This is the sunset from yesterday. The storm was moving East in a solid mass and it looked really cool.

Puppy Love

Last night, we went to a friend's house for the evening. We had a wonderful time. They have a dog, and Mary spent the first 45 minutes or so haunting my side and watching the dog and our friends, making sure everything was okay. Slowly, she started edging her way over toward the dog and finally touched her nose lightly and retreated. She found some puppy beanie babies, and went over to the dog and touched them to her nose making kissing noises. By the end of the night, Mary was running around after Berkley, much to the dog's dismay! The other two kids have been a little more than just wary of dogs, so it was funny to see her so excited about one.

All things Seuss

So, I love Dr. Seuss. We read Dr. Seuss books at bedtime almost every night. I just love the feel of the words as you speak them and the chance to be silly for just a few minutes. And, most of them are long enough that it gives the girls ample time to settle down.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from various Dr. Seuss books. Can you guess what books they're from? Some are pretty obvious, but they're still quotes that I love.

1. "And don't be dumb like Katy Klops.
Don't try to chew off bottle tops."

2. "In the beginning, Bartholomew Cubbins didn't have five hundred hats." (I just think that is one of the best opening lines. I love it!)

3. "Did he run?
He did not!
HORTON STAYED ON THAT NEST!
He held his head high and he threw out his chest
and he looked at the hunters as much as to say:
'Shoot if you must But I won't run away!
I meant what I said and I said what I meant
An elephant's faithful One hundred per cent.!'"

4. "And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.
He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king!"

5. "Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE_____ GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!"

6. "From there to here,
from here to there,
funny things
are everywhere."

7. "And, under the trees, I saw Brown Bar-ba-loots
frisking about in their Bar-ba-loots suits
as they played in the shade and ate Truffula Fruits."

8. That black-bottomed bird flapped his wings in fast flight,
While___ chased after, with groans, over stones
That tattered his toenails and battered his bones..."

9. "That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars
And whether they had one, or not, upon thars."

10. "I said, 'I do not fear those pants
With nobody inside them.'
I said, and said, and said those words
I said them. But I lied them."

11. "So, be your name Buxbum or Bixby or Bray or Mordicai Ali Van Allen Oshea you're off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting so get on your way!"

12. "Tomorrow will come. They'll go back to their chore.
They'll start on the road, Zizzer-Zoofing once more
But tonight they've forgotten their feet are so sore.
And that's what the wonderful night time is for.

So, what's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

answers:
1. The Tooth Book 2. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins 3. Horton Hatches the Egg 4. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories 5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas 6. One fish, Two fish, Red fish Blue Fish 7. The Lorax 8. Horton Hears a Who! 9. Sneetches and Other Stories 10. What was I Scared Of (from Sneetches and Other Stories) 11. Oh, The Places You'll Go 12. Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book (side note. Every time we get to the page with the "collapsible Frink" Emily says it is her. She has been saying that for well over a year. I have no idea where she sees the similarity.)

Mommy Days

While doing some shopping today at Walmart, I put the girls in one of the double carts where they sit diagonally from each other. About halfway through our trip, they started holding hands and singing "Ring Around the Rosies". I don't know why, but it was one of those moments where I just thought "Man, it is great to be a mom!"

I have been blessed so much and continue to be blessed so much, and I so very rarely stand back to appreciate it. I am so thankful for three adorable, amusing, loving, intelligent children and an amazing husband. I lead a pretty charmed life.

Night Terrors

Just over three years ago, Joe went through a stage - albeit it short lived - of having night terrors. The first time, I had no idea what was going on. All I could tell was that my preschooler was seeing something that I couldn't see, it terrified him, and I had no power to comfort him. Luckily, in a month or so, the night terrors stopped.

Last night, shortly after putting the girls to sleep, we heard Emily screaming. She has had nightmares periodically, so it wasn't alarming. When I got there, she was sitting straight up in bed crying histerically. I tried to calm her down, but she just kept screaming (again not THAT odd - Emily tends to allow herself to get worked into a frenzy). After a few minutes, she let me lay her down, but a second later started screaming again. She was screaming about her fingers and something else completely unintelligible. The more I tried to talk to her the louder she got. Dumb me, I couldn't figure out for several minutes what was going on. Matt came up and held her and she freaked out and tried to get away. Finally, she calmed down a bit and he picked her up and she woke up. Almost immediately she went back to sleep. She slept the rest of the night. If only as much could be said for the charming sister who was awakened by the espisode!

It is just the weirdest thing. They look like they're awake - there's eyes are open and they're looking around - and they are reacting to something but they don't acknowledge anything you say or do. It's horrible feeling helpless as a parent, especially when you're child is so distressed.

Hopefully this was a unique incident. Joe's pediatrician said that there have been some links made between night terrors and nasal congestion or other breathing problems. I found that very interesting. And, it would fit. Emily is still congested from her cold three weeks ago. Poor baby! At least she is still asleep, I may have to wake her up for her 10:00 preschool!

Nutrition Education

Tonight at dinner, Joe said, reading the words on the Ranch dressing bottle, "That says less fat." After a moment's comtemplation he turned to Matt and said "Hey! That means you can be less fat!" We continued having a little conversation about eating good things and how being strong is more important than not being fat, blah blah blah. I stood up and (I was wearing a double layer of shirts) took off my top shirt that had been slimed by Mary. Joe stared at me with his eyes bugging out and he said "Mom! Your stomach is really fat!" He then informed me that I needed to eat more healthy food. Matt said I should have more of the Ranch dressing. If only it worked that way! We explained about the baby, but I'm not sure he believes me.

Reading and Running

This post is for my own personal satisfaction. I haven't really talked about Joe much, because everything is just day to day routine. But, I don't want to forget those things and what he is like right now.

For the last month or so, Joe has been practicing running. He wants to get "really fast". He runs around the living room and he runs laps around the yard. He loves it.

He sings in the shower. He's been doing this for awhile. In fact, we went swimming with friends last year, and Joe was in the men's changing room for like 15 minutes. I was getting nervous so my friend stuck her head in. She said that he was just in the shower singing away. He also loves making up songs.

He is doing really well with reading. He enjoys it and reads everything he sees. Matt also reads with him every night. He loved reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. They just finished The Magician's Nephew and now are starting The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. He tells me every morning about what's going on in the book they're reading. It is so fun to be able to share these stories with him. Some of my greatest memories growing up revolve around books and it is awesome to be able to start sharing those with Joe (even though Matt's the one doing the actual reading).

He loves superheroes (of course). His favorite is superman, but others take the forefront periodically if he sees a cartoon of any of them. Like this morning, it was Captain America. I think he was disappointed to learn that the Hulk was bad sometimes.

I love Joe. He was my buddy for almost three years before his sister was born. It's weird that over three years have gone by since then, and I wish I could still devote the same undivided attention to him that I used to. I would of course never trade our family now, but I wish I could split myself into five sometimes so that I could fully appreciate and focus on the important parts of my life. I suppose that is the challenge of motherhood.

Sisters

Mary and Emily haven't been getting along well lately. Mary is starting to get quite fiesty and I feel like I'm in referee mode all day long. So, when I saw this, I just had to get a picture. It's nice to chronicle the sweet moments. Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder that they do happen.

Good Dad

So, Mary finally got the bug. It's been almost week, so I thought she was safe, but apparently it was just incubating. She's had a fever for a little less than 24 hours. Matt stayed home with her from church and she has been pretty attached to him all day. There's nothing sweeter or more endearing than watching your husband take care of your sick babies.

I have nothing clever to say. I just thought this was a cute picture of Mary

Can't Get No Respect!

So, Matt is constantly teasing the kids and pulling their legs. Joe has started to be able to figure out when Dad is kidding and when he's not, but I usually have to give him some signal like a wink before he realizes it. You'd think that since I'm the one who always eventually debunks Matt's fun that I would be the beacon of truth in our household. No. If there is ever a fact to be verified, they always have to check with Matt before they believe me. What's that about? I have no idea when Matt became the one who knows everything. Ah well.

10 Things You'll Never Hear Your Kids Say(and mean): but that would make life much easier

- Mom, my larynx is feeling a little swollen.
- You know that earring you've been looking for for two days? I swollowed it a day and a half ago.
- The reason I'm screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night in the absence of a fever, a runny nose, a nightmare, or an empty belly is...
- That full bowl of soup sitting on the table, yeah, it's going down all over your newly cleaned floor in about ten seconds.
- The form of discipline that I would respond to most effectively is...
- THIS time I really do have to go to the bathroom, those other times, I was just kidding.
- The second you're elbow deep in bread dough, I will let my little sister through the three closed doors that lead to the medicine cabinet and let her loose, then let out an urgent scream that the baby is covered in your lotion/BenGay/fill in the blank.
- I know the magic trick to getting me to eat healthy food WITHOUT a hassle, and I will be happy to tell you.
- I turned on the faucet in some undisclosed location, and if you don't catch it, it will probably flood the whole house.
- Tonight is the night that I will sleep undisturbed, so don't worry about staying up later, it's not going to bite you in the morning.

update

Matt and Emily just got home and she's fine. Everything seems to be progressing quickly and nicely in the right direction. She looks SO tired, though. We will be having a little naptime, she and I!

Just Breathe!

Last night was a long night. Yesterday, Emily started getting a cold. She was really lethargic, with red watery eyes and a slight cough. By afternoon, she was having a little trouble breathing, and by bedtime she was practically gasping for breath. We watched with her all night, trying to get her to sip lemon-honey tea and we took her for two trips to the bathroom steam closet. Nothing really helped. There was no improvement this morning, and she still wouldn't eat and only drank a little bit more tea so we took her to the dr. (Thank you Matt for staying home! I've got the same thing as Emily, so it's nice to have someone to take care of ME too!). The test came back negative for strep, so that's good. But, she has a really bad case of Croup - obviously. They gave her a steroid shot and then put her on the nebulizer for almost an hour, but there was no improvement. She would start getting better, but then she would start panicking again and saying she wanted to go home, so she would work herself up and put herself right back where we started. Finally, the doctor said we had to take her to the ER. We put Em in her car seat and gave her a drink. Then she asked for the Subway sandwich that Matt had bought while I was in with Emily. By the time we got to the hospital, her breathing had completely cleared, and her talking even sounded almost normal. I'm thinking the combination of the steroids, getting out of the doctor's office, and having a nice big drink did it. Matt is with her at the ER right now just to be sure, and because they were expecting us. Hopefully they will be home soon and she will be cleared!

Treasure Hunt

Occassionally, when I'm looking for something that is supposed to be only for my personal use, I will realize that it isn't where I left it. It's such an epiphany to realize at these moments that my children aren't just little creatures who require feeding and bathing and entertaining and cleaning up after, but they are little people with their own thoughts and their own ideas about how THEIR world works and what they have planned. These moments are becoming more and more common as my children get older. As they pull further and further away from me and form more of their own identity, it has been such a joy to see little evidences of it around my house. Evidences that little people walk and play and think. (or I suppose it's evidence that they're taking my stuff with increasing frequencey!!) Here are two of my favorite discoveries.

I often find piles of books on my bed, Emily's bed or Marys bed, with the blanket pulled down just enough for cute Mary to scoot underneath to read herself a story.

I was cleaning Joe's room the other day, and I found a song he had written about getting an Iron Man toy for his birthday. He usually shows me his songs, but he hadn't shown me this one. I just loved that he had done it, not for my benefit, but for his own.

Beautiful Snow

I have no pictures. We had the best by far snow we have had since moving to North Carolina and I didn't get a single picture. I watched it come down all through the night and stared at it all morning. It was absolutely beautiful! It's not that I didn't think about it; I actually went out with my camera Monday morning to document it, but returned unsuccessful minutes later. My little camera and lacking photography skills just couldn't capture how wonderful and awe inspiring and amazing the snow looked that morning. Nothing in my camera display even came close. So, I have nothing. Unfortunately, the kids were sick so I didn't even get a chance to let the kids' cuteness make up for my ineptitude. Even if they hadn't been sick, Joe informed me that they needed boots before they could go out. He said it was just too cold and no fun without proper footwear.

So, I just wanted it noted that I was so pathetically ecstatic about the snow, even though I didn't share pictures of it. I suppose most of you are living better snow storms than ours right now, anyway.