Meet Super Rat

"Ducks and Mud Prove Stronger than Blood."

That was the headline to an article that my friend Julie wrote about us our senior year of college, in Union's stellar student newspaper The Cardinal and Cream. By us I mean my college roommates Jeanna, Rebekah and Elizabeth. We met by chance our freshman year when a piece of paper or some computer or maybe a person with a pencil assigned us each to a separate tiny room in Blythe 11. With no kitchen. And only one bathroom. There were 5 of us at first. (Hey Abby!) But the rest of us managed, somehow, to remain roommates through all four years of college. Through ducks and mud.

Ducks? Our freshman year, Elizabeth and another friend of ours were driving back to school from a break, and it somehow coincided with my birthday, and they just so happened to pass someone on the side of the road selling ducks and they thought, OF COURSE, Ellen would love these for her birthday. So, they brought me two ducklings that lived in our dorm room for a couple of days, and we named them Amadeus and Mozart (I think I was taking Arts in Western Civlization at the time) and wow! Those ducks made a big mess. And we finally had to give them to a family with a pond so they could swim around in something larger than our dorm room bathtub. Not to mention, we weren't allowed animals in the dorms.

Mud? The details of this are kinda hazy. But I distinctly remember dressing in clothes that I didn't mind ruining, and trekking across campus in the dark with several other crazies, and we played some kind of mud- tackle -run and act silly game in which we became mud-caked and awfully messy. And then proceeded back to the dorms to shower and clog up our drain.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the antics of my roommates and I. How we laughed together, cried together, prayed together, and acted So So silly together. Not to mention...no, I won't mention... the boy drama! Oh dear, there was always boy drama going on! (Fortunately for me, I didn't have too much boy drama since I met Joe during my sophomore year, and that was all she wrote!) My memories of those years are very precious.

Shortly after we met, we were walking back to the dorms after a really yummy manicotti dinner in UU's cafeteria and having a silly conversation. It had something to do with what kind of nicknames we had in the past. Or maybe what nicknames we thought we should have. Who really knows after all this time? I THINK that it is because I was telling them how, when I has in high school, I had a friend who used to call me Fievel after the mouse from An American Tail. Remember that movie?

Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight...

I was in the band in high school (Yes, the BAND. But, I still assert that it was COOL to be in band.) and in my really cool band hat, I guess I looked something like this:

Who knows? Regardless, I was telling this story to my new friends, at the time, and they laughed! Who would want to be nicknamed after a mouse? Why not be called RAT! Ha!

And who knew? That it would stick! And over the years, it became more than just rat. It turned into SUPER RAT, and became such a funny inside joke for us.

But, let's put childishness behind, right? We are all grown-up now, with kids of our own. No time for fun and games anymore. Ha!

I can't help but think of my roommates often...

Especially when I have a near heart attack after seeing this on the floor in my bonus room.

Super Rat still lives.

Apparently, my room mates wanted to make sure that I would never, ever forget them!
And the legacy will continue!

How to feel like a teenager again...

Go and see this movie:

Ahh, young love. And throw in a few pretty cute vampires and a muscle-y werewolf, and you've got yourself a great teeny-bopper flick.

Regardless of how you feel about vampires...or werewolves...or young love, for that matter, I truly enjoyed feeling like a teenager again!

Don't worry. The feeling went away as soon as I walked back in the door to the mess in my kitchen.

So, thanks Amy for coming with.

And thanks, Joe, for letting me get out of the house for a couple of hours!

She's Gone And Done It

I am pretty sure it's what she intended from the very start.

To make sure that we could no longer consider ourselves a family of 3.

Say what?! That's right. We are a family of 4, and now, we couldn't imagine it any other way.

Happy 4 months Audrey Kate! I think we're gonna keep you.

Being

A day doesn't go by that I am not knee deep in spit-up or that I haven't wiped someone else's bottom, cleaned someone else's nose, dressed someone else, fed someone else or dried someone else's tears. Usually at the expense of myself, of course. (Please don't ask me how many showers I take each week! Ha!) Life as I know it, these days, is pretty much about someone else. There are times when I, and probably reasonably so, can feel, well, resentful? Purposeless? Frustrated?
I find myself saying no to so many opportunities. No thanks, I have two kids that I can't just leave at a moment's notice. Thanks for the offer, but my husband is working late tonight and I can't. Sorry, but I am exhausted since I was up at 2 am.

The list goes on.

But it struck me recently that this poured out feeling, this drained state of being, will only last so long. I was tucking my 3 year old into bed the other night and kissing her on the cheek, and I noticed that something felt strange. Oh my! Her cheek. Do you know, that only at 3 years of age, her cheeks aren't puffy, smushy, fat, dimply cheeks any more? Not like the 3 month old's cheeks that are so squishy and just so very...kissy! You know what I mean?

Don't get me wrong. I love to kiss my daughter's cheeks. And I will kiss them until she refuses me (hopefully never!) but it is an all too telling sign that my oldest baby is not a baby. And she never ever will be again. Her cheeks are big girl cheeks. So are her legs. And arms. And knees.(However, she still has that baby belly and hopefully for her sake she'll get rid of that by the time she's 16!) She is only 3, and I am reeling a little bit from the whoosh of time as it just flew past me. I found a video of her when she was 18 months old, running through the house, taunting her daddy to "chase you, chase you. Get Abby!" And then she would take off running, pumping her chubby legs.
Well, her legs aren't chubby anymore. And I felt myself thinking that I would give just about anything to go back and squeeze that little girl, and kiss her chubby baby cheeks, and savor those moments...

And yet, I continue to spend time saying things like, "When the girls are older I will have a clean house all the time." or "When the girls get a little bigger we can take that trip we have been wanting to take." Or "If they were just a little older we could..."

It's like I'm trying to just wish it all away. Oh dear.

I really only have this one chance to be a mom to these small, precious people that God was (crazy?) kind enough to entrust to me. Not that I think I have to be perfect. But I certainly don't want to miss it, all because I wanted a cleaner house or a fuller social agenda.

Pretty soon those chubby little feet will grow bigger, big enough to walk away and start a new adventure that doesn't include me. At least not in the way it does now.

So, for the time being, I am going to try to enjoy it. All of it. The fingerprints on the coffee table, the goldfish cracker crumbs on the floor, the spontaneous dances, the made-up songs. I will take a deep breath...well, I currently can't breathe because of the cold that Abby and Audrey Kate gave me, but if I could...I would take a deep breath, and soak it in.

I mean, how long will it last that their favorite people are mommy and daddy and that the favorite restaurant is Chick Fil A?

Abundance

I have so many things to be thankful for! If I ever am feeling sad or sorry for myself, I try to remember the blessing of my wonderful family, great home and good friends surrounding me.


But there are a few things that I have been thankful for lately that I could most definitely live without...but they are just nice to have around.


I LOVE candles and having seasonal scents around the home. Joe got me this candle. It's called Christmas Eve, and I can't wait to turn on the Christmas music and decorate the tree and smell Christmas-y scents!




I really can't think of an organization that I am more thankful for than Compassion International. I could go on and on about how great it is to know you are helping a child and how special it is to actually hear from your sponsored child and his or her family every few months. It also reminds me how blessed I am as an American and how much we have. Compassion is one of the best organizations out there.



There is something wonderful about feeling as if you are walking around on a cloud with toasty warm feet.

This time of year, I can always talk myself into a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. I am thankful for chocolate. Aren't we all?

How could I not be thankful for these? Hair bows really brighten my day, and I will be so sad when my girls decide they are too big for them!

Ok. THIS, my friends, is snoogle. I bought a snoogle during my pregnancy with Abby when I just could not get comfortable at night. It was a life-saver and, pregnant or not, I have slept with snoogle ever since. Snoogle is just as it sounds... Very snoogle-y!

I am already hungry for Thanksgiving dinner! (No pressure MeMe). I am thankful for this time of year and spending time with family and, of course, eating...

Abby wanted me to let you know that she is thankful for this:

I want to let you know that I am NOT thankful for this:

Joe got me this (similar) necklace when Audrey Kate was born. Mine says Abby and Audrey Kate on one side, and Beautiful . Sweet . Girls on the other side. I love it! Lisa Leonard Designs.

I am thankful for cute hats to keep my child's head warm when it's cold out. It's both functional AND cute! How can one not be thankful for that?

Yes, Yes, I know I tend to go a little overboard when it comes to baby and little girl clothes. However, I just love the designer Erin Murphy and the Baby LuLu clothing line. I recently got coordinating outfits for the girls and I can't wait to get a chance to put them on. I am thankful for cute girl clothes! ha!

In all seriousness, I am very thankful this season for the health of my husband and two girls. That we have good food to eat and a nice home and an abundance of good things. That is probably a very good word to describe my thankfulness: abundance. I have more than I need. Friends came over recently for dinner and the husband went to get something from the pantry. The desired item could not be located and when I went to help find it I aplogized for the state of my pantry (very full and crowded!). He said(ever the optimist!), "Oh, you just have an abundance!"

And that is the truth. Just recently I got a letter from one of the children we sponsor through compassion. He just turned 7 and shares a birthday with Abby. As a birthday gift, I sent his family a donation through the organization. It really wasn't more than maybe $100 or so. What could you buy with $100? Some shoes? A few new sweaters? A nice dress?

Well, they sent me a glowing thank-you letter, with pictures and everything, of how they had used my donation...part of it went to buy a mattress for the 3 kids to sleep on. At that moment, I felt a little ashamed that they were even thanking me! For a mattress!

I have been given much. I pray that I reflect on that, not only this Thanksgiving, but every day!

The Things They Say

You know, as tough as it can be sometimes, when both kids are crying at the same time OR I am cleaning one room only to find a big mess left in the next room OR I just can't seem to get out of the house to get places on time OR when I get somewhere only to find I've been sporting spit-up down my back and I've forgotten the wipes....you get the picture... It can feel like running a race against yourself in a circle with no starting or stopping point...


As tough as it can be, I still get to have the funniest and sweetest moments that I wouldn't trade for anything. First of all, Audrey Kate is not talking yet (she's concentrating on advanced calculus for the moment) but she is giving me the most precious smiles and coos! I love it! She smiles at her daddy and sister, too, but her biggest smiles are reserved for her bless-ed mother. And, oddly enough, the ceiling fan. But we won't count that.


Abby, on the other hand, when she isn't taking something apart or playing make-believe with anything she can get her hands on (seriously, the other day she made a "family" out of the paper towels I was using to clean the glass tables. I kinda felt bad throwing them away afterward. "Mom! Where'd the dad go?" ...Uh, in the trash. Oops.) she is saying the funniest things.

When I was getting on to her about something the other day she said, "Mom, you make me so fursted!" Fursted? You mean frus-tra-ted? "Yeah, you make me fursted."


She asked me why the man painting our house had a stamp on his arm.


The other night when we were eating sushi, she pointed to it and asked if she could taste some of our smushy.

When Audrey Kate is crying, Abby will rush over to her and say, "Don't worry baby. Abby is here." Yes, we should all feel better now. ha!

I caught her the other day changing Audrey Kate's diaper. Even though she got in trouble for it, she had actually done quite a good job!


I've shared this with several people--- but she had been in the fridge and some milk was spilt. I asked (a silly question) WHY did you do that, Abby?

Her response: "I didn't do it, God did it. That's the way He wanted it." Hard to argue with that.

"Mommy, is the baby still in your tummy?" (as she pats my mid-section). Truly, a question every mom wants to be asked.


If I ever tell her that she can, indeed, have a desired object/food, she will hug me and say, "Oh mom. You are the best mom. I just love you!" Ha. This child knows how to manipulate, huh?

Joe usually wears scrubs to work since he is in surgery most days. Occasionally he puts on a nice suit when he is going to meetings, dinners or conferences. On one of these days Joe walked downstairs to breakfast all dressed up. Abby looked at him, obviously in awe of his new look, and declared, "Oh, daddy! You look...comfortable!" (She just couldn't think of the right adjective!).

She's gotten frustrated at us a few times, when we wouldn't give in to her demands, and she storms off crying, hands on her hips, and says, "I'm leaving. I'm going to my room!" And we think, that's ok with us! Ha!

Joe and I were having a conversation once in which we were teasingly disagreeing with one another. (I think it might have had to do with who was going to get up and get the channel changer.) Abby is her daddy's girl, so she looked at me and said, " My daddy is a beautiful man! He is nice to me! He loves me! You listen to him!"

"She has started telling me, when she gets in trouble, "You are a bad mommy!"

(Just for the record, she doesn't get to talk to us like that without being chastised in some way, but sometimes it makes us laugh--when she isn't looking, of course.)

She told me recently "Mom, it's ok. I'm just a little girl. I'm gonna be a little girl forever, ok?" And she hugged me. I think she was just trying to get out of being punished for something, and I think it worked.

Sometimes I do wish she could stay a little girl forever. I'm sure that one day I'll look back and wish these days hadn't gone by so quickly. Hopefully moments like this will tide me over during those days that just won't go by fast enough!

Here's to toddler-hood!

What Little Sisters are Good For.

UP

Joe took Abby to see Up this summer, and they both haven't been able to stop talking about it since. Once it came out on video, we decided to buy it.
It's an extremely rare thing for us to watch a movie during the middle of the week, so I declared a celebration (it doesn't take much!) so we could bake some cookies.

Abby helped stir the mix. I don't know much about the outfit except for that she was cold and the boots made her feet warm. Good old-fashioned logic doesn't always work with 3 year olds.

We made the cookies to look like the bright balloons from the movie. Abby helped (ate) with icing.

This is what Audrey Kate did.

Abby took this picture of Audrey and me. Pretty good. (Picture taking, that is. NOT how I look! ha!)

What a good movie! I highly recommend it. It's actually a very sweet story!

And yes, the cookies were extremely sweet and we could only eat a few bites. But they were a few very yummy bites!

I really really need an elliptical

That's what I told Joe the other day, since I am currently waging war against my post-baby "curves." (That's what I'm choosing to call them.)

So what does this picture have to do with that?

This is my mantle. I really like my mantle. I was sitting on the couch the other day looking at my mantle and thinking to myself how peaceful and calm my mantle helps me to feel. The entire rest of the room could be an absolute den of chaos and the mantle usually (unless Abby gets the urge to rearrange the candles) remains virtually the same. I occasionaly change some of the decor to go with the season. Since my mantle was making me happy, I decided to take a picture. When I looked at the picture, I was (not) surprised to see these: What are they? They are called the "perfect push-up." What does that mean? I don't know. But apparently, according to Joe, it helps his push-ups to become perfect. How often does he use them?
Well, do you see the dust?

So, that finding led me on a search around the house for all the exercise equipment that we JUST HAD TO HAVE and well...you'll see...

This is currently in our guest room. I have no idea what it does, but I'm pretty sure I've seen Joe hanging on it at least 3 times. And it serves as a nice indoor jungle gym for Abby. It makes our guest room look very inviting.

This is an exercise ball. It is also a chair to bounce on while watching TV and a giant breaker of lamps when kicked a certain way at a certain velocity. It is the bane of my existence. Where do you keep a thing like this?!

This is our treadmill. On top of this treadmill is a box of Christmas decorations...from last year.

This is Joe's weight bench. In all fairness, I do see him use this every once in a while. But, it's definitely been a while...

So, as you see, I really really need an elliptical.

Also--- change of direction--- I love Fall. And since I was taking pictures of my mantle, and other things around the house, I decided to take pictures of my Fall decor...oh, just for your enjoyment.

Blurry, but I'm no photographer people.

Our kitchen table. It rarely stays like that, but I love how it looks when it does.

Dining room...I want to change it, but I'm not sure quite what to do. Maybe I'll just wait until Christmas and pull out the red and green.

Anyway, if you need me, I'll be online researching ellipticals. I want to get a good deal, ya know.

The big 0-3!

3 months, that is!

Audrey Kate was 3 months on Halloween (the 31st). I forgot to get her special picture until she was already out for the night. She wouldn't even wake up when I was changing and feeding her, so I stuck her back in the duck and took pictures. I figure asleep pictures are better than No pictures.
The next day she let me, very briefly, play dress-up.

She is getting so big--almost 13 pounds--and she's "talking" all the time, smiling lots, staying awake much longer, and just over-all doing great. She did have a little virus over the weekend, but the DR couldn't find anything wrong. Just a product of being a little sister to Abby, the most hands-on 3 year old EVER who just can't get enough of her little sister.

Happy 3 months Audrey Kate! You are getting so happy and chunky and fun. You sleep great (12 hours at night waking only one time to eat) and you eat great and you don't spit up nearly as much as Abby did at this age! Ha!

We love you lots!