Christmas Card Photo Shoot

This morning we had our annual Thanksgiving weekend Christmas card photo shoot. We attempted to do this last night, but Dave had a photography accident and hurt his knee (and this is why we don't do sports). He always sets the camera up on something and puts the timer on, and then he runs and slides into place next to the three of us. We wait for the little red light to flash, and then we say cheese! I am always impressed at how natural he manages to look in the pictures after he repeats this process over, and over, and over. It's a good thing I married a patient man, because about certain things, like getting the Christmas family photo just right, I could really drive a person crazy. So this morning, we started over. First we took pictures outside, under the orange tree. We drag the wagon out that the kids can barely fit in anymore, put the Christmas quilt inside, and prop the camera up on the car. I think the kids were fairly tolerant and cooperative, considering we took pictures for over an hour. I did bribe them with a toy about 30 minutes into the process. We were going out to Target anyway, and they probably would have gotten a toy regardless. First we got several pictures with the four of us, and then we decided to try Daddy and Bubba together, and then Mama and Anna. Dave and Jonathan took 2 pictures together, both of which are great. Anna and I took probably 50, including different poses, props, and settings. None of them are very good. I have never seen such unflattering pictures of myself! Well, except maybe ones from my last trimester of pregnancy! I am having a wild hair day, and my face is just so much fatter than it usually is! I look like I am retaining water in my face or something! Probably all the leftover Thanksgiving ham I've been eating. Yuch!

Then we came inside, and propped the camera up on a stack of books on a chair. We sat under our tree (which is assembled and pre-lit, but still, no decorations. I sort of like it this way. It's very clean and uncluttered, unlike the rest of our house!) We took many pictures this way also. Still, nothing that makes me want to upload to Winkflash and order 100 cards or anything. The best ones are probably the ones where I was holding Dave's hand, so the kids decided we should all hold hands, and they are even holding each others hands. That was a little precious. So maybe I could overlook my wobbly gobbly chin and pick one of those.

Alright, never mind about all that! We had some relatives come to pick citrus to take back to Georgia, and sweet Sarah took a whole bunch of pictures of us! There are many to choose from, and my face seems to have lost some poundage since this morning! My hair also calmed down. Anna had her hair down and she was holding her Princess blank-blank (her favorite blanket). We were not wearing our matching scarves, but oh, well! The light was much better, which meant less flash and more natural colors. Also, we weren't squinting into the sun as much. So I am very excited now! I am going to make dinner and then pick The One to make our photocard! Yay!

Saturday

Jonathan and Anna are inventing their own Christmas songs. Anna is playing the piano and they are making up their own words. O Train, O Train, Don't run over me! O Train, O Train, Don't run over me! is one of their favorite songs they have wrote. It is cracking me up because Anna keeps stopping her piano playing so they can brainstorm about their next song. They sound so funny! No, Bubba, how about this? No, no, Anna, I've got a good idea!
Now they have switched to, O Christmas lights, O Christmas lights, please don't you buuuu-rrrn me!
I came in the living room a little while ago and Jonathan was lounging in the chair, sipping a Capri Sun, and watching football. This is wierd. Probably the first time a football game has ever been on at our house. He watched it for about an hour, and so did Anna. Dave said, maybe it skips a generation. Jonathan's Papa Larry likes football and sports, as do his uncles. Dave just has no interest in it (praise you, Lord!).
We spent an hour this morning taking photos for our annual Christmas photocard. Unfortunately, I am having a bad face day. And a bad hair day. And in some of the pictures, Anna does not even look cute. That is really unusual. We always take our family picture on Thanksgiving weekend. As usual, we took at least 100, I would guess. And I am not sure if any of them are acceptable. I am trying to decide between two in particular: one where I look OK but the kids look crazy, or one where the kids look darling but I look sort of special. Special, not in a good way. You'll have to see what you think when you get our card in the mail! The kids are now karate chopping and punching each other. Boy, the mood changes quickly between those two. One minute, composing songs, laughing together, next minute, they are duking it out. Guess I'd better log off.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

Anna and Dave playing the piano together. They were playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This picture makes me so happy! A long time before I ever got pregnant with Jonathan, I had a dream during which Dave was playing the piano with our future little girl. In the dream she was a brunette, so clearly, my vision was a little off.

I just want everyone to know that I managed to stay on task with my weight loss plan today! This is no small feat for Thanksgiving, if I do say so myself! It helped that my Mom, in my honor, banned pecan pies from the house. I will never forget the Thanksgiving of 2003, when I ate an entire pecan pie. That is like 68 points, at least, I think. Roughly three days worth of alloted food. I was very remorseful, and very sick to my stomach afterwards. But today! I was very under control. I did not even feel like I ate that much more than a normal meal. I did enjoy a slice of apple pie. It was very nice, but it did not drive me to madness the way pecan pie does.

Sometimes, I feel like a teacher without a classroom. So I am going to "assign" you guys some "homework." At our MOPS group Thanksgiving meeting, our mentor mom, Dianne, gave us a lesson on Phillipians 4:6-7:

"Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Then she asked our group to complete this simple activity:

List some blessings.

List 4 people that love you.

List 10 times that God has answered your prayers.

This activity is simple, but deceptively so. It really helped me to stop and think about what my blessings really are, and one of the things I noticed was every single one of my blessings involve people that love me and/or instances where God answered my prayers. Take a few minutes this evening, or even if you read this sometime next week or next month, and jot down your answers. It made a difference in how I view this holiday. Thanksgiving should be a daily action, rather than an annual event.

I hope everyone spent their holiday in peace and surrounded by the ones they love.

Mama Scarf/ Baby Scarf

My dear (!) friend Lara sent us a package with a scarf she had knitted for me inside. When I opened it up, there were actually two scarves! The one I expected, and also a tiny one just right for Anna Banana. When Anna saw them, she said, Oh! A Mama scarf, and a baby scarf! Anna is always trying to find little families like our own in everything. If she sees four squirrels, she'll say, That one's Dada, that one's Mama, that one's Bubba, and that one's me!

She was just thrilled at having her own scarf. I was telling Lara that the scarves are knitted out of this fabulous yarn that feels like the softest cat fur ever! So it's like having your own cat at your disposal, except without the allergies and the litter box!

I expect that our matching scarves will be featured in our upcoming Christmas photocard!

Sunday

Anna picked her clothes out this morning for church. The manatee Webkinz and the Hello Kitty stocking cap were accesories she picked out. I went through Starbucks drive-thru this morning, and Anna got a kid's milk in a Starbuck's coffee cup. She walked into church looking like something else! When she had the coffee cup in her hand, she said, I just like you, Mama! (I'm not sure if this makes me proud or a little ashamed of my Starbucks "problem"!) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Communion service. Check out our virtual campus: http://www.findhopehere.com/internetcampus/

They post the sermons online every Sunday. This was the second time in about 3 days that I heard teaching on Phillipians 4, and boy, have I ever needed to hear this lately! They played an old hymn while we took Communion, Jesus Paid It All, which I thought was very powerful and very appropriate for Thanksgiving. Then I got to serve in the nursery second service. I adore serving in there! I love being with the babies, toddlers and other volunteers so much. I get so much joy out of the nursery ministry, even when things get a little wild and stinky in there. After church we came home and had leftovers. Dave made dinner last night and it was so good. Then I took a little nap. I LOVE Sunday afternoon naps. They are so much better and more satisfying than a nap on any other day. Anna and I took a little outing to Target (in my attempts to pinch pennies, I have banned myself from Target lately, but I decided just this once couldn't hurt). Anna got a pair of Princess Belle sunglasses. She put them on in the store, with the big plastic display tag still attached, and said, Now I look like a movie star! Anna does not have self-esteem issues thus far, that's for sure.

For dinner we are eating Chinese takeout. The kids love this more than Happy Meals. I am having plain steamed vegetables and rice to avoid MSG. This means I will be super hungry about 20 minutes after I finish eating. So far, I have been trying really hard to eliminate or reduce all of those headache triggers the neurologist told me about, and it has made a big difference in my headaches. I have not even gotten the migraine prescription he wrote me filled yet! I really am glad my MD referred me to him, since he is an osteopath, and is into a more holistic approach to treatments. He said the more important thing is to try and figure out what is causing my headaches, rather than to keep throwing medicines at them. Imagine that.

You wanna know what our fortunes were from our fortune cookies?
Not even a schoolteacher notices bad grammar in a compliment. (Dave)

May the rainbow always touch your shoulder. (Jonathan)

The coming year will bring you much happiness (Anna)

Financial hardship in your life is coming to an end (Jamie) (Dave says this is good, since we have lost 30% of our 401K over the past year!)

Not that I put any stock in these fortunes (ha, ha, ha. I'm turning into Dave with the bad puns!)

An Indian and a Turkey

My two babies: Jonathan, 5 years, and Anna, turning 3 soon!

Jonathan was an Indian today and Anna was a turkey at their Thanksgiving show and feast. It was really sweet. I expected that Jonathan would not sing, which he did not, but I was proud of him just for being up on stage! I would have been so intimidated as a child. There was quite a crowd. Even my little extrovert, Anna Banana, was very wide-eyed when they led her class up on the stage.

Jonathan's class sang this song:

Pick the corn and pick the beans,pick the squash and other things, it is harvest time you see, Pilgrims and Indians come and give thanks to God this day, Something like this... he won't sing it for me right now. Sigh. I can't remember the words on my own, but it is a really good song. The faculty did an awesome job coordinating this whole event. It was so well-organized and the food was delicious.

And at the end they all sang this song:

Oh, sing, oh sing a song of Thanksgiving, God has given us all good things, oh sing, oh sing, a song of Thanksgiving, God has given us eve-ry-thing!

Anna's class sang a song about turkeys:

A turkey is a funny bird

His head goes wobble wobble

He only has one thing to say

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Anna knows the words to this, but she kept telling me she was singing something about chickens, but it was a SURPRISE, and she could not tell me! Check out the video below. Doesn't Anna remind you all of one of the Olsen twins, from their Full House days? You can't hear very well, but they are singing the song I wrote out above. At the end of this clip, she spots me in the crowd and gives a tiny wave! Jonathan looked around until he saw me at the beginning of his song, and then he waved at me! I was waving like a lunatic and grinning ear to ear! They make me SO PROUD!

Thursday

Jonathan was eating dinner tonight. We put a reasonable amount of macaroni and cheese on his plate (like a half a cup!) and we expected him to eat all or most of it. We don't believe in force-feeding the kids, and normally I just completely ignore what they do or do not eat, and they actually eat more and better foods. The minute I turn it into a power struggle, it becomes, well, a power struggle! Dave brought home a chocolate fudge cake and the kids wanted some for dessert. I knew they were just completely focused on the cake (who wants to eat dinner when you've got cake staring at you from the kitchen???) and therefore did not believe them when they said, I'm full! I told Jonathan, just take three more bites, buddy, and then you can have some cake. (The irony of this, me pleading with him to eat his non-nutritious mac n cheese, is that this is one of his favorite things to eat! I was not asking them to eat Brussel sprouts, or some other quintessential anti-kid food!)
Did Jonathan take three bites, and then get cake? No. Did he refuse to take any bites, throw himself down on the floor and then not get any cake? No. He took two bites, but he told us that one of his bites was "two bites at a time." For a total of three bites. Hey, hey, hey, pretty clever, JonJon! Needless to say, he got the cake.

Anna's new thing is galloping. She is suprisingly graceful while she gallops. I sometimes wonder if she missed the spazzoclutzo gene from me and will actually enjoy taking a dance class or two during her childhood. I told her, Wow, Anna, you are really light on your feet! She stopped, mid-gallop, and turned around and looked at me, and then at her feet, very thoughtfully. Then she went over and stood with her feet in the shadow of the car. She said, Not anymore! I not have light on my feet anymore, Mama!

Sigh, my kids are so cute. You would never guess (except for I am going to tell you) that I had a complete mommy-meltdown about an hour ago, and Dave took them to story hour at the library. They (well, really, Anna) have been driving me nuts! Anna came up to me and hugged my knee and said, I love YOU, Mama! And what did I say in return?
I shrieked, Stop touching me! A second later, I realized that she was actually being sweet and I regretted the way I reacted. I don't know, I guess my brain just registered a sticky little hand pawing at my leg, and that shrill little voice piercing my ears, and I guess I just could not take one more little bit of annoyance from my child! Even if it was her being super sweet, and normally, on a better day, I would just melt into a puddle of ooey-gooey I love you, kiss, kiss, kiss, you're Mama's girl!!!! But no, tonight, apparently, I had reached my limit! I needed a break! Thank GOD FOR DAVE!! He gave them their baths and took them to story hour. I like to think that he did it out of love for me, but maybe it is really more out of fear for his children. Either way, I got a couple of hours of free time. I have mostly worked during it, but now I am goofing off and blogging. How did people used to relax? Blogging just has such a cathartic effect for me! It's like an emotional purge. Lovely. Although, I have to say, nowadays I consider any sort of solitude relaxing. When I was straightening and sweeping a little while ago, I was thinking to myself, now isn't this nice? That's what happens when you've stayed home for five years in a row! You start to think cleaning in peace is a real vacation.

PS Be prepared for some serious cuteness! Thanksgiving feast is tomorrow at the preschool! Expect pictures/video of them singing up on stage!

WWWWWednesday!

Wednesday
Woke up late
Was really cold outside
Wanted to stay in bed and snuggle my sleeping kids but instead I
Whisked them off to school
With much grumbling and complaint (from all of the Dooleys!)
Wish I could find my sunglasses
Watched Anna gallop all day (she no longer walks, but gallops instead. Totally Monty Python and the Holy Grail)
Was so happy to see my stepdad up and around when I got to my Mom's today!
Went to tutor Jacob, who did a great job on his book report! Well-done!
Went to Panera for lunch, which was wonderful!
Walked to Publix, was amazed at how well-behaved one of my kids can be, while the other one is defiantly digging around in ashtrays (guess which kid is which!)
Went to pick up JoJo.
Waited for the longest and slowest train in the history of my life to pass by and then stopped at 7-11 for treats (not for me! I'm on Weight Watchers!)
Wondered why I am not feeling well, think I am getting tonsilitis again (same symptoms)
Worked with JoJo on her spelling (which makes me exceedingly happy, spelling was my FAV in elementary!)
Was so grateful to come home to Dave and Domino's pizza, because I am tired out!
Who's sick of the Ws?
We all are!

Rosebud Glazewear

Anna is modelling AVON's Glazewear Liquid Lipcolor in Rosebud. Notice how it brings out her blue eyes. This lipcolor is longlasting (especially on clothing and furniture) and easy to apply (even a 2 year old can use the applicator with ease!). If you would like to order some of this fabulous lipcolor, click onto your local Independent Sales Representative's site:

http://www.youravon.com/jamiedooley

PS Anna got into my lipstick TWO times today! The first time she smeared a big streak of it all down the center of my bedsheets! Those have been Oxy-cleaned and are in the wash. Now she came around the corner and startled me because I thought she was bleeding! Apparently, Mama needs to be more careful where she leaves her makeup. I was really exasparated from the bedsheets being stained, and ready to yell at her, when she said, Look, Mama, I just like you. I wear lips ick. Why are kids always so cute when they are in trouble? Is it some sort of defense mechanism they have? So that they survive childhood?

Happy Monday!

So last night I spent about an hour crying my eyes out on the phone to my big brother Cory. He helped me considerably (enormously is probably a more accurate word), but I woke up this morning with my eyes swollen and that kind of headache you have after crying your eyes out. Kind of like a crying-induced hangover headache. I was feeling VERY grumpy and very pitiful. And I have nothing but stupid decaff coffee in my house. Stupid. I am not usually a big fan of Mondays anyways (except I love Monday nights, 7 PM, fabulous small group at New Hope Church, childcare provided!) but today I woke up feeling awful. The kids were also grumpy and not wanting to go to school.
But I got an e-mail from my friend Amanda, and we agreed to meet up at the mall to walk (it is actually COLD outside here, for once!). After getting the kids to the school late, I was also late to the mall. But then there was Starbucks! And after I got that grande Americano in my system, my headache got MUCH better. We walked and talked for almost 90 minutes! Then we went back to Starbucks and hung out for a bit. When we got out to her car, she was putting her stroller in the trunk and I spotted the cutest pair of Crocs! Being me, of course, I grabbed them and I was like, Oh my! These are SO CUTE! And she was like I am giving them to Goodwill, you could have them but I know they'd be too big for you! (Everyone always assumes I have smaller feet than I really do, partially because I am so short, and also because my feet are so stinkin' beautiful!) And I say, Oh, no, these are my size!
So go figure, I woke up expecting to have an awful day, and had actually planned to just come home and sulk around the house, but thanks to a good friend, I wound up spending the morning exercising, enjoying time together, and drinking Starbucks! And I also got my dream Crocs out of it for FREE! How many people are lucky enough to go to the mall, spend only 2.50 and get a pair of shoes and coffee out of the deal? My new Crocs are the same color as my big ugly ones (PINK!) but they are the Mary Jane style, with the straps? They are so cute and comfy and don't give me Frankenstein feet like my other Crocs do. Thank you, Amanda!

Who's that girl?

My niece, Justine, at about age 2/3. Does she not look remarkably like Anna?

THE Headache

My aunt Vernie used to complain of THE headache. As in: I've got THE headache. It was never, I have a headache. No, it was THE headache. I never understood this until the past few years when I found myself afflicted with my own THE headache. I finally went to see a neuro guy about my headaches. I've been suffering for over two years with these right-sided, behind my eye headaches that often go on for days at a time. I have them more days than I don't. I would most accurately describe the pain as an ice-cream headache peppered with sharp stabbing pains. I get a numb and tingly sensation that goes down the right side of my face and spots in my vision. Even when the headache goes away, I still have a nagging pain where it used to be. Nothing I take over the counter really seems to bother my headaches. They just continue to go about their business of stealing the joy from my days and making me slowly lose hope of ever feeling good again. I go to sleep with a headache, I wake up with a headache. (For someone who "doesn't really like to complain," I certainly do it a lot, don't I?) I've had numerous tests (like MRIs and CT scans), and I have even tried a few prescription medications for my headaches. But I finally found my way to a neurologist. He was really nice. He sat down with me for a long time and checked out my whole history and gave me a thorough exam. I feel confident that he is a good doctor. I felt really comfortable with him, which was a big relief. I am starting to get paranoid that people just think I am crazy. I mean, if I weren't inside my own body, I would probably even accuse myself of being a hypochondriac! I know I probably sound crazy or just whiny and wimpy to some people. But he seemed to totally understand and recognize my headaches. He said my condition (or what he suspects to be my condition) is sometimes hard to treat. He said the type of headaches I have are sometimes tricky to treat with migraine medicines. He did give me a script for Imitrex, which I somewhat doubt I am going to try. He wanted to see if my headache would respond to it. (I got the feeling he was just like, hey, let's see what this will do! Eenie Meenie Minie Mo.... OK... Imitrex it is!)
The further along this road I go, the more I am starting to question modern medicine. And I mean literally modern medicine. Most medications I have taken have seemed to cause more harm than good. Of course, I believe in preventative healthcare and all that. I'm not practicing colon hydrotherapy or chugging blue algae and wheatgrass juice yet. (Notice I say yet. I can't predict how desperate I could get in the future!) He also wants me to keep a detailed headache calender and a food diary. Some sort of spares for a little headache and strikes for a bad headache marking system. I figured, they are all bad headaches! What's the difference?
He told me to try to avoid: wine (even in recipes), aged cheeses, MSG (no more Chinese takeout), chocolate, and hot dogs (and all other nasty meats, or even deli meats, or even pepperoni). The nasty meat and MSG thing, maybe I can see. But cheese? Chocolate? C'mon! I felt like saying, I came to you for help and you are just trying to add more misery to my life! I have eliminated wine already, but I do like to use it in cooking. And this means no pizza? No Vermont sharp white cheddar? No Parmesan? No chocolate chip cookies? No mochas? No salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks? No Cadbury Dairy Milk with almond bars? NO REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS?????????????
I guess I am trying to lose weight. Maybe this is all working together for the good!

Tender

This morning I was driving past the daycare center near my house at about 7:45. I always pass by this center and look over at it, and I almost always see a working mom or dad bringing their child(ren) in or out. I always think of what their days must be like, how long and hard it must be for their whole family.
Today I glanced over and I saw a father, who looked like he probably worked construction, standing by the open passenger side door of his truck. He was gathering his daughter's hair up into a ponytail (and doing a really good job, I have to say). She looked like she was probably about four and they looked like they probably were not the wealthiest people. But the way he was fixing her hair up so nicely, it was just so tender, and well, maternal. I drove north down Wickham with a big lump in my throat. It brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to pull the car over and tell him, look, you may not have everything, you may struggle to provide for your family, but what you are doing is really important, and every kindness and care you show your little girl, that counts for something. Every little girl should be so blessed to have a good father who not only provides financially for her and her family, but is also emotionally involved and participates in the day to day stuff, the little things, like fixing her hair up in the morning. Little girls grow up and they remember things that their daddys did or did not do. They remember ways that their father was either present or absent from their lives. I know this is true.

Last night Anna fell asleep next to Dave on the couch and she slumped over, leaning on him as she slept. He picked her up and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight as he carried her to her room. He said, Poor baby! You're so tired. The way he said it touched me because there was just so much love in his voice. He's so tender with her. I am so grateful that my little girl has such a loving daddy. I have scars on my heart from my own relationship with my father. But everything that was lacking between my Dad and I, I can see now between my own daughter and her Daddy.
She does not have just a father, or a Dad, but a Daddy who loves her with his undivided attention and entire heart. My Dad did the best he could, I really do believe that he did, and I am grateful for what he did provide for me. But his addiction and his struggles fractured his heart into pieces, and he only had so much to offer to me. My own mother's father was much, much worse than my Dad. He was an evil man to his very core. I fared much better than my mother did, as far as who my father was.
But I am so glad that the cycle of broken father-daughter relationships stops here, stops right here with this generation. My daughter has a good Daddy. They laugh and play together. He knows her. And she knows him. And that love between Dave and Anna is like a soothing balm to my own aching heart. I can't get back the years with my Dad. I wish sometimes we could do things over, and I really hope that he wishes that too. But I can gain peace and joy from the present.

Mama ALWAYS wins!

We read a lot of Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer. They were always my favorites as a child, and my kids really love them now also. I think we own almost every single one.

At the end of Baby Sister Says No, there is a scene that has made a big impact on my kids. Baby Sister always says no to everything in this book (which you probably already gathered from the title!). At the end, Baby Sister does not want to take a nap, and she says NO! to her Mama. "But Baby Sister takes a nap, because Mama always wins." I always shut the book, and say, That's right! Mama ALWAYS wins!

This morning Jonathan was arguing with me over something (it was about the color of Robin's hair, you know, from Batman and Robin?) and when he realized I was correct, he said, Oh, you're right, Mama. You win. Anna overhead the conversation, and she said (with her hand on her hip), Don't you remember that Little Critter book, Bubba? Mama ALWAYS wins!

That's right, Anna! Mama always wins!

Jonathan Quote

Last night Jonathan was telling me that he did not want to go to bed because then he would have to wake up and go to school! And I said, You always have fun at school, Buddy. You like school. And you have to go everyday that school is open.
And then he said this:
That's why I don't like going to school! You start over again, you start over again, you start over again, you start over again!

Isn't that funny? Two months into half-day school and he's already weary.
Welcome to life, Jonathan! That's just how it is! You go to bed and you wake up every day and you start over again, you start over again, you start over again!

Tuesday with Baby Hope

We got to watch Hope today! First she went along with us to get Jonathan a haircut. He looks pretty sharp, don't you think?

Then we came home and Anna quickly got busy feeding Hope a bottle (she REALLY wants to feed her all by herself, but for safety reasons (as in 2 year olds aren't exactly competent caregivers) I only let her do it for this photo opportunity!)

It is so funny how differently the two kids interact with Hope. Anna wants to take care of her all day, and Jonathan, not so much. He did give her an instructional speech on different kinds of monster trucks a few minutes ago. They are both very concerned if she fusses at all though, and very quick to tell me what they think is wrong. She's hungry, Mama! She's bored! I don't think she likes Barney either, Mama! (That last one was from Jonathan.)

Good Morning!

Here's how the first five minutes of my day went:

Anna: Wake up, Mama! It's not night outside! The sun is out the window! I want pancakes! Get OUT OF BED! Please.
Me: Wordlessly, stumbling to the bathroom to take care of business (I had to go pee).
Anna: Following me into the bathroom, thrusting her little hands right in my face, so close that I can't see anything!
Look! I got two beautifuls out of my box! These are my necklaces (on her wrists, and they are ponytail holders)! This one is bright blue and this one is light blue. This one has the Princess, not my Belle, but Cinda-rell-rell? She has yellow hair like me. I like yellow. You have yellow hair here, but it turns brown (scrunching her face up at my clearly inferior two-toned hair) here. And this other necklace is light blue and it has a little star on it. Seeeeee?????
Me: Putting my clothing on.
Anna: You got bigger! You got bigger?
Me: (Grumpily, because I just weighed myself, and I did NOT, in fact, get bigger!) WHAT??
Anna: See, those underpants, are too little for you Mama. You got bigger.
Me: (Still grumpy, but a little humored) No, honey, these are just a different style than what Mama normally wears (they are just cut very skimpy and I am sure they do make me appear to her that I grew out of my underpants overnight).
Anna: (Following me out to the kitchen, where I stumble around and try to make coffee without putting water in the machine) Let me think. Hmmmm. What I want for bedtime snack (she still calls breakfast bedtime snack!)? I think I want pancakes.
Me: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. (I did not really growl, but that's how I felt. I am NOT a morning person, unlike Anna! I do not want to be talked to or have someone request complicated breakfast dishes when I first wake up! Jonathan and I are equally grumpy and withdrawn in the morning. Therefore, we get along much better!)

When did it happen?

How did my little girl's hair get so long? Sigh.

This Weekend

Friday was a most excellent day. Dave and I finally got to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary. The kids stayed for Lunch Bunch and it was Dave's off Friday, so we had 5 whole hours together! We had a great date. We hung out at home for a little bit, and then we went out for brunch and went to a movie. Not just any movie, but Fireproof. We have just wanted to hug and hold hands all weekend after seeing that movie. It really reminded us of how grateful we are for our marriage and how it is something entirely worthwhile and worth fighting for. We are so blessed to have each other! For any married couple, or anyone that intends to get married someday, or really just anyone and everyone, I think it is an important movie to see. And, on a less important note, the brunch was excellent. Harbor City Diner is one of our favorite places and the only place I have found that seems to understand what "well-done scrambled eggs" means. The waitress actually writes it down and I never get nasty wet eggs. And I love their home fries! I don't know why I do, because I really think that they just scrape all the stuff that falls out of all the omelettes off the grill and into the home fries! Like this time I had sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and onions in my home fries!

Then I got to go out to eat with my friend Amanda, and we had a very nice time! Then I got to go scrapbooking (it was just party day for me!). I got to scrapbooking, pulled my stuff out and sort of stared out it for a half-hour, feeling completely uninspired! So I just left and went to my Mom's and spent the night pricing stuff with her and my niece, JoJo. (For those of you who don't know, I only have one niece, Justine and JoJo are one and the same. I refer to her as JoJo most of the time and Justine the other half. Jonathan could not say Justine so he named her JoJo and it has just stuck!)

The next morning, Saturday, we had our annual garage sale! It has been our sixth consecutive year! The first year, 2003, Jonathan was only about a month old, if that even. He was all bundled up because we had a little cold snap that November! It's a tradition, but a big pain in the rear, and every year, I say, why do we do this to ourselves? It is totally exhausting! And this year was a record low for us moneywise. We just did not have the customers we usually do! Is the recession affecting garage sale sales also? Part of it was that my heart just was not in it this year. I guess because we were both sick all week (well, I was actually sick for almost two weeks).
I sort of left most of my stuff bundled up in bags and barely priced anything. Jonathan walked around pricing stuff for us during the sale! He came up and he said, I am just putting 2 dollars on everything, Mama! (He was actually putting 20 dollars on everything... Whoops!)

Today (Sunday) was a good day at church. Everything went really well, and I was glad to be back. I missed being there when I was sick last week. Then we went to my Mom's for lunch, made some lemon bars, and hung out there until it was time to go the baptism. We have never attended a New Hope baptism, and it was pretty awesome! Now we are back home and I just made banana bread with an improvised recipe (we'll have to see how that goes!) Anna just smacked me in the eye with a notebook and it really hurts! I am thinking she mostly just hurt my eyelid, but my actual eye hurts too. What is it around here lately???

Something else... I went back to Weight Watchers on Saturday. I am the same weight I've been since the spring of this year, and I am tired of not feeling good about myself.
I am feeling pretty good about getting back on track. I know I can be successful with the program, because I have been in the past. After both the kids were born I lost the baby weight, plus some! I have also successfully maintained a significant weight loss on Weight Watchers before (about 30 pounds, which even though I never reached their goal weight for me, I liked the weight I was at and it was relatively easy for me to maintain). At the very least, I am going to fight to maintain my current weight through the holidays. I would like to lose, though, of course.

Dave just fought off a nest of hornets in the backyard. He was cleaning the pool when he discovered it on Anna's window. Right now, he is trying to look online to figure out what sort of wasp it is, but he just told me he keeps getting stuff about how to co-habitate with them. We want to know how to destroy them, not live with them! Anna and Jonathan are both rioting for dinner! I had better go figure out what's on the menu.

Daddy's Little Helper

Anna loves to be helpful! Here she is, all ready to go to school, helping Daddy get papers out of the printer. I love how her backpack is as big as she is!

Wacky Wednesday

The raccoons are at it again. I left my house at 9:00 AM this morning. The kids are supposed to be in their classrooms at 9:00 AM. I had to be down in Palm Bay for an appointment by 9:30. I needed to be pulling out of the driveway by 8:45 to have any chance of sticking to this time schedule. But first I had to pick up nasty wet trash full of sodden, disintegrating bedtime diapers and rotten broccoli and Oh, I won't go into any more detail. I'll spare you. I'll have some compassion where the raccoons certainly did not. Did it take me 15 minutes to pick up this trash? No. I was late for lots of reasons, but I am happy to place the blame solely on the raccoons. It makes me look better.
So I was running late. I had a wierd morning. I got to meet Dave for lunch which was good, and I ran into TJ Maxx and finally captured the perfect purse! I have been looking for a Kathy Von Zeeland one, you know, the kind of tacky ones that are all shiny and have lots of silvery jingle jangle bits hanging off of them? And I found the MOST gorgeous one. I keep petting it. Today was a day where I needed to be able to delude myself into thinking that happiness can be bought. I came home, and had this endless stretch of the day to fill. My Mom picked up the kids from preschool, so I had the whole afternoon to myself, which is normally like my dearest dream. But today I just felt strange. I don't know if I am lonely, or what. I couldn't get anything accomplished. Not even relaxing, which is what my Mom wanted me to accomplish. I am still running a fever and feeling awful. In spite of all of this wonderful medicine I have ingested. The doctor called in some heebie-jeebie cough syrup for me yesterday. It had codiene in it and it should have knocked me out but I could not go to sleep last night. I wept during McCain's speech and during Obama's speech. I don't remember an election night ever inspiring so many emotions in me. So I was sitting around the messy house with a long list of to-dos, too distracted by guilt at not getting anything done to actually give myself permission to relax. (I do think some of my feelings could be attributed to the steroids they gave me. I'm all revved up but too sick to enjoy it.)
I talked to my Mom on the phone, and she casually mentioned that she had to sign an incident report when she picked Jon up from preschool. Why? Because some kid punched him in the face. I asked Jonathan about it when he came home. Did he hit you with a toy? No, I just got a punch. Then the teacher gave me a sponge.
Hmmm.
I got a phone call today. Someone asking me if I was still looking for a teaching position. I said, yes, possibly. Even though there is no way I could take a job right now. I am not going to yank the kids out of school to find a full-time preschool daycare, especially not with my stepdad being so sick. So somehow I would up chatting with this person like I was actually interested (because right at that moment, I was caught off guard and did feel like I was actually interested), agreed to send my resume right over. Now I need to figure out how to extract myself from this situation without leaving a crazy trail behind me, since I might actually want to get a job sometime (like maybe next fall). I guess I should just e-mail her and say never mind. In a more wordy way, of course.
I looked out the window today while I was talking to my brother on the phone. The people who live across the street, well, let's just say that I think they are good people, but they will send me into total anxiety and despair whenever we decide to sell our house. I looked out the window, and I saw one of the little girls that lives there lying under the back tires of their Grandma's van. Two of the foster kids who live there were swinging at her. I would have gone out to help the little girl lying under the tire, but she was laughing hysterically and the two other kids are much younger than her. One of them is a tiny little curly-headed toddler. He was trying his best to beat her with a broom that he could barely pick up. Then their mangy one-eyed dog got in on the fun, rolling around in the gravel driveway and trying to bite them all.
When Dave got home, I was whining about having to pick up the raccoon trash. He always apologizes for this. I don't know if he feels responsible for us having to live with so many raccoons, or if he feels bad that I had to pick it up because he considers it a manly chore and one that I should not have to do. But the funny thing was, is that he had already picked the trash up once this morning! Are the raccoons just trying to make sure they are driving us as crazy as possible?
Jonathan got his finger hurt at my Mom's house. Some sort of Little Tikes Cozy Coupe accident. Anna is coughing her head off (which I think might just be allergies?). Dave is really sick. We have no groceries at all in the house. But I did mop the floor and wash one afghan today! That's something, right? And I wrote this amazing, utterly fascinating blog.

Three Things about Tuesday

1.) I can't believe how much fun Jonathan is having with Silly Putty! I bought it for him in a weak moment at Wal-Mart yesterday (YES! JUST PUT IT IN THE CART! I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS! I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS FRIGGIN' PLACE!) I can't believe how many things he has thought of doing with it. It is such cheap fun! Go buy your kids some Silly Putty and watch the fun unfold.
2.) Anna and I went to vote. Once again, we had the voting/boating misunderstanding. This is the third time we've had this misunderstanding! First with Jonathan in 2004! I told Anna we were going to vote, and she crinkled up her nose and said incredulously, We're going on a BOAT, Mama? She was pretty bummed with the whole experience. I mean, democracy's great, but it sure isn't any boat ride. She said as we were leaving, They didn't have any candy this time and these stickers won't stick (with her trademark stomp of the foot!). I agreed with her that the stickers were not so great. I think they must be from 2000 or something. I wore mine on my forehead to be silly, and then I forgot to take it off before preschool pickup, so now Jonathan's teacher and several other people probably think I'm a little nutty!
3.) Our new TV is here! Samsung came through for us and honored their warranty. It is sitting in a long, slim rectangular box and can be lugged with one hand. LCD TVs are wierd. What kind of TV doesn't weight 200 lbs? I'm a little unsure about this newfangled technology.
PS Jonathan, not knowing that I was blogging about him and his Silly Putty, just came up to me and shoved a pink, elongated Silly Putty oval in my face. He said: Look, I can even make poop!

Wow. Making poop is a very cool thing to a preschooler, and to be able to make it with something other than poop? Super cool.

Carschooling

I saw this in a parenting magazine once and I had to laugh. Carschooling is the education and instruction you give to your children when they are strapped into their carseats or booster seats. We don't spend TOO much time in the car, since the kids aren't in any activities like soccer yet, but we do go back and forth to preschool, church and Nona's house quite a bit, so it does add up. This morning we talked about several important things on the way to preschool. I said what does B-A-T spell? Sound it out. And Jonathan worked it out with me, and his face lit up and he said it spells, BAT, Mama! I almost drove the car off the road, I was so happy! i told Jonathan, omigosh, buddy, I'm so proud of you! You're so smart! And he said, Yes. It's like when I am good at those video games, I think my brain is activating. (He is so funny!)
I think this is probably one of the most amazing processes to watch in my children, their journey towards literacy. One day they can recognize one letter, maybe two, and then suddenly they are building on that into actual words. I think the first time I hear him read a sentence out loud I will just be awed!
We also sounded out several other words. Then we talked about penguins for a while. Jonathan said, do you remember when I drew that penguin? And I said, yes, I certainly do! I was so proud of that penguin. I started telling them that I am always so amazed at what they can do because I can remember when they were tiny babies. When they had just come out of my tummy, and they could not do anything at all, and then slowly, they could lift their head, and then roll over, and then crawl and walk and talk... That led to us talking about the time they spent in my tummy, which always seems to boggle their minds a little. And it boggles me a little too, honestly. I told them how we saw them on the ultrasounds and they did not even look like babies at first, but then every time we went back they got bigger and bigger and then they were suddenly out and into the world! Even though we had seen them on the ultrasounds and heard them on the monitors so much, it was such a shock to me when they were actually born. I don't know what I was expecting, but I just remember being totally shocked when I saw them for the first time. It was surreal. It is hard to believe that the whole deal actually works, and works so well, from conception to birth. It really is such a miracle. It always amazed me when I was pregnant with them how I had to do absolutely nothing. It was just automatic, once everything was set in motion, it required no effort on my part.
Then I started telling Jonathan how he was my hiccup-er because he constantly had hicuups in utero and I could feel them all the time. And I told Anna how she was my little kicker because she was always in action and liked to kick me a lot. I think she was just so much smaller, she just had more room to do acrobatics in there. She looked at me in the rearview mirror and said, I still kick you sometimes Mama. Like when you do my eye drops.
This is true! I am so glad that's over with! She said, Me too. I hate those drops in my eyes.
Later, on the way home from school, I was telling them that they needed to wash their hands when we got inside (I always make them come straight in and wash their hands). Jonathan was picking his nose a little and I said, Buddy! Get your fingers out of your nose! That's how you get germs! And Anna said, Yeah, Bubba. You better wash your hands, or you might get the pink eye!
I love driving up and down Wickham with them. They always bust out with some of their best stuff in the car. They are so fun to talk to. Even though I only got three hours of sleep last night, because I am coughing like crazy, and even though I am still running a fever, they make life such a joy.

Blessings

We say (or rather, sing) one of these two blessings before dinner every (well, we try to remember, sometimes the kids have to remind us) night.

God Our Father was taught to me by my niece Justine, who learned it at preschool. She always sang it at family dinners and I thought (and still think) that she was the best thing since sliced bread. She was cute as a bug's ear (one of my Mom's expressions) as a toddler.

God Our Father
God Our Father
Once again, once again,
May we ask your blessing?
May we ask your blessing?
A-men. A-men.

Thank You, Jesus was introduced to us by Karen from New Hope this past summer. This is the one I prefer, since I refer to Jesus almost exclusively when I pray with the kids at night. Now don't think I am snubbing God or anything, it's just that I think Jesus is a little easier for them to understand than God, or Heavenly Father, or Father God, or Lord.

Thank you Jesus
Thank you Jesus
For our food,
For our food,
Bless it to our bodies,
Bless it to our bodies,
A-men. A-men.

Both blessings are to the tune of Frere Jacques.
Jonathan has started correcting us lately that we should say AHHH-men instead of A-men. He says his teachers at school say Ahhh-men. He is already starting to figure out that his teachers know a lot more than Mama and Daddy about a lot of things. Which is good.
To me, Ah-men is like sort of snobby and Northern, and A-men is sort of downhome and Southern. I know I am basing this on absolutely nothing and it does not matter one bit. I grew up with Ah-men, but now I like A-men better. I remember the first time Dave went to New York with me to meet my Dad. We went to a Methodist church service and everyone said Ah-men, and Dave lets out this big, booming A-men! It was so funny at the time and one of those wierd little moments that I'll never forget. I had brought this Kentucky boy home and it just made him seem so Southern and so Baptist (which he is very much a Southern Baptist) even though he does not have an accent.

Does anyone else have a different blessing they say or sing at the dinner table? Or a good prayer for kids for other parts of the day?

Oh! My dearest friend Lara left this blessing as a comment, but I just wanted to include it here also, because I think it is the cutest and most fun thing ever, esp. for a family of boys.

Lara: We sing the Superman blessing. Did we teach you that one? It goes to the tune of the Superman theme...
Thank you Lord for giving us foodThank you Lord for giving us foodand our daily breadwhich we must be fedThank you Lord for giving us foodA!! MEN!!

Merry Halloween 2008!

Trystan as Wolverine, Justine as ?, Jonathan as Optimus Prime, and Anna as Belle.

Dave and me.

Anna and me.

Jonathan in his Optimus Prime costume.

Biscuit dressed up as a hot dog. Mutton dressed up as a pirate. (Gotta love Target clearance!)

Justine in her costume. I did her makeup, and she was trying to look sort of goth and scary. But I think this picture is proof that this girl can't be anything but beautiful!

Anna adding some finishing touches to Justine's makeup.

Justine and me.

Justine with the two dressed-up dogs.

Poor lil' Biscuit.

Biscuit and me.

Anna taking a pre-Trick or Treating nap.

Me and Jonathan (in the backseat) on the way to my Mom's.

Dave and me.

What I forgot to remember....

What I forgot to remember is that I am allergic to three types of antibiotics: penicillin, Ceclor, AND sulfa. My mother apparently remembered this, but assumed that I would remember it also. I had completely forgotten. My doctor even asked me yesterday, but you can take sulfa drugs right? And I was like, oh, yeah, sure! So now I have a swollen face and eyes, and a rash and I am very itchy everywhere. I felt like my throat was swelling shut so I went to an urgent care clinic (where the Dr. who treated me, strangely enough, was named Lawrence Smith, which is my dad's name) this evening. He said, Does your face normally look like that? Which I think is sort of like asking someone, listen, how ugly are you normally, anyways? He said my tonsils were very swollen (and we have now officially identified what is growing on my tonsils: the correct term is puss! I was hoping for something a little snazzier, with a little more sophistication to it), which is probably why my throat feels like it is swelling shut. Right after he said how digusting my puss-laden tonsils were, he looked over at Dave and said, and it's very contagious! Now, was that REALLY necessary? Does he really think Dave is going to want to kiss me right now anyways? Dave probably thought, oh yes, I'll try to control myself! Hold me back!
Now I am on Cipro, and steroids, and lots of Benedryl! Yay for me! But at least I did not wind up in the emergency room tonight! I've certainly had enough of this for one week. It's gotta stop. It's getting ridiculous!

Facebook Pictures of Halloween

I'm too lazy to upload and post the actual pictures from Halloween yet. We had a great night, even though I am still really sick (on antibiotics now for tonsilitis and a bladder infection). The kids were adorable and we got to have all four cousins together. It was highly bloggable. So expect a post later today. But if you just can't wait, check out the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37980&l=73f1a&id=592074394

PS I think I look better with kitty cat makeup on. I wish I could just wear kitty cat makeup and ears everyday. It was so depressing when I scrubbed all that makeup off. My regular face was so boring. Next year, we are all dressing up: I am going to be Cat Woman, Dave will be Batman, Jonathan wants to be the Riddler, and Anna will be Poison Ivy. That's the plan. I will not look like Michelle Pfieffer though. Obviously.