Funnies

A few things the kids have said lately have been too precious to forget, but then when they are finally in bed and I try to remember...I've forgotten. Tonight I came straight here to write it all down. This might be a little long because Hannah was the one talking. :) At bedtime tonight she said, "I'm gonna talk to God. 'God, I want to be an artist and paint and I really like to srite songs and play music. I want to be an artist and play songs for you. I want to be a preacher when I grow up.'" Then she said to me, "God can give me the words to say when I'm and adult and I tell others about Him. I want to be a preacher 'cause I know lots of Bible stories. I know all the Bible stories. I'm going to talk to God now, but I'm not going to pray because I'm not going to say dear God or Amen. 'God, I love you. You are so good and you can do anything we "axe" you to because you're so smart and strong and good. You're the only one that's good...and me. Please help Alli's cold and Carrie's cold to go away. And help Daddy to sleep a long time in the morning. amen.'" Then she said, "You know God is so strong and so big He's bigger than everything. In the morning I'm going to talk to Him some more. I'm going to axe him to help me not be bad to my sister. You know when you give away love, your heart gets bigger. It's like paying for something and they give you change back. When you give away love, you get more love and your heart gets bigger."

Yesterday at bedtime, Alli said something really quietly, but I didn't hear her. She repeated it really quietly two more times before we figured it out: "I saved the day." She said it so quietly! She mixes up the words to songs all the time. "Do you know the muffin man" becomes
"Oh do you know the muffin man,
the muffin man,
the muffin man
Oh do you know the muffin man,
so you can have some cake?"

Carrie has been saying lots of words lately. She can say "baby" and blankie (which sounds like "cakie")and she can repeat "I love you" one word at a time, but maybe I'm just anxious for it to sound like I love you 'cause it really sounds like "I fuff bbbb." Lately she's been taking all the canned food off the shelf and taking it all over the house. You can track that child pretty easily since she leaves a trail of things she gets tired of. She'll pick up something and seem really interested in it, but throw it down behind her as she's walking off to another room to find more adventures. She doesn't care about a room full of shiny toys, she'd rather dump a whole container of Q-tips on the floor, or play in the potty, or unroll the toilet paper, or take the pots and pans to her bedroom, or chew on the remote, or put anything in the trash can, or carry her "treasures" in a "purse" which can be a bag or basket or shoe. She puts the treasure in and then slings the "purse" onto her shoulder and walks around proudly.

And we did have an exciting day a week ago. Last Wednesday I took the girls to Angie's house so I could get a haircut. When I got back I watched her kids so she could take one of her kids to afternoon Kindergarten at noon. No sooner did she leave and Carrie fell HARD on their wooden deck step. She banged her lower lip really hard and it was bleeding everywhere. They didn't have any popsicles and she didn't want any ice on it, so I soaked a paper towel in lemonade and wrapped it around ice for her to suck on. But I could see cuts on the inside and outside and I thought she bit through her lip! When Angie got back, she watched my kids again so I could take Carrie to the doctor. The doctor said it was just a bad cut and didn't need stitches! It's still a little swollen today, and it's still scabbed up. But she doesn't mind!

I'm never leaving the house again!

Last week I scheduled doctor appointments for this week for Carrie's one year check up and Alli's three year check up. Monday morning I got the kids dressed and got their coats and shoes on and buckled in the van (with quite a bit of arguing)and came upstairs to get a cup for one of them. I decided to check the calendar for the appointment time, but it was for TUESDAY! So we went to Wal-Mart instead. There's no way I would let a van load of buckled-down kids go to waste. Then Tuesday, we started over again to go to the doctor. We made it there in good spirits, everyone was happy and behaving. I was feeling pretty about it. Well, pride comes before a fall...as soon as the doctor came in the room, someone replaced my sweet children with some of those other rowdy, misbehaving, rude, screaming kids! I was so embarassed! All three of them were awful! And is there a worse place to have your kids misbehave? There's no place for time-out, and even if there was, no one in the entire building could hear over the screaming. I couldn't spank them, of course, the doctor is right there. What's a calm, collected, patient, kind mother to do? I don't really know what happened next. The doctor took Alli on his lap and held her while I dressed her. All the while she was kicking and screaming. Meanwhile, Hannah was trying to take his otoscope! He sternly told her no at the same time as me, and she burst into tears. Carrie was on my lap until, during Alli's kicking, I had to put her down so she began to scream and melted into a little lump with her face on the floor. AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! When it was all over, the doctor said, "You know how to tell the difference between a terrorist and a toddler? A terrorist wears the diaper on his head." ha. ha. ha. Not too funny at that moment, but at least he was trying to lighten the mood instead of giving me a lecture.

Today we went to town again to pick up the prescriptions for Alli and Carrie (they had ear infections). While in the pharmacy drive-thru Alli said she had to go potty. I asked her to hold it a little while since we were going to Wal-Mart next. When we got there, she had already wet her pants! I didn't have any spare pants, so I tied a jacket around her waist and took her straight to the clothes and got the cheepest pair of pants we could find.

So between mistaken appointments, meltdowns, and wet pants, I think I'll stay at home a few days!!!

The Big 3-0!

Well, the big milestone has arrived, I turned thirty on Thursday. I had a great day! It started the night before when some friends surprised me with a birthday party at Applebee's. We sometimes go there for half-price appetizers after 9pm, but this time they were all there before me and yelled "Surprise!" when I walked in--fun! Then yesterday, Julie Proctor invited me to a cute little cafe called the Bread Basket. http://www.breadbasketcafe.com/ Mark had the day off so he watched all the kids while we ate really great sandwiches and salads and huge pieces of dessert--yummy! The kids had a great time with their cousins, too! When I got home, there was a bouquet of flowers from a friend who couldn't make it to Applebee's the day before. And Mike got me a new washer and dryer that I really, really like! And a couple at church offered to babysit this weekend, so they're coming this evening! Plus all the cards, phone calls, and emails from family and friends. So, I think I'm stocked up on pampering for the next few years! Thank you to everyone who made my day special. Here are some cute pictures we've taken lately.

Birthdays, Revival, Easter, etc.

Wow! It's been a long time since I've written. We've got a lot of ground to cover, are you ready? OK... We celebrated two birthdays in one week--Alli's March 9th, Carrie's March 13th. Carrie didn't seem to care that she was given a big piece of chocolate cake, she just ate it like it was the rest of her dinner. She did make a mess, though.
Then we hurried up and packed up and went to Iowa last week for revival at New Testament Christian Chruch (Mike's home church). His brother Matt was preaching, and his brother Mark was leading worship. We had a great time visiting with family and friends there. The church provided lots of lunches and things, so it was fun to have a chance to catch up with the folks there. The cousins enjoyed hanging out, too. I think the highlight was the last day when Papa Gene pulled them around in a wagon behind his lawnmower. They loved it! On our way to Keokuk and on our way back to Inidana, we stopped at my parents' home. My sister Sarah and her husband John were there the first time we stopped. We had fun talking with them. They just bought their first home, and Mom and Dad had been "dog-sitting" for them while John installed their new electric dog fence. While we were there Carrie took her first steps! She took three tiny steps! I think it was being cooped up in her carseat that inspired that. On the way back to Indiana we stopped in La Harpe again. We stayed two nights there. That way we could go to Burnside Christian Church's revival one night. Again, it was great to catch up with the friends we saw there. During the day, the girls had fun feeding the cows and playing with the toys I used to play with as a kid. I always love going home--it's such a sweet place, isn't it? Anyway, then we came back to Indiana. We've been desperately searching for signs of spring lately. It seems like such a long winter. We've been seeing robins for a while now, and today I saw a butterfly! The irises are starting to come up, and I saw someone elses crocuses blooming yesterday! So not much longer, right? And since we've been home Carrie has been practicing her walking relentlessly. She will stand up and fall over and over and over until she gets her balance. Then she can take up to seven steps without falling. She's enjoying carrying things around now. What an inconvenience crawling must be. You've just got to deal with things being where they are and you can't take your favorite toy to your favorite spot. Or like yesterday, you can't take your diper rash cream into the living room and throw it at Daddy! She's also getting really good at throwing a ball. She's always been interested in chasing one around the room, and now she will stand up and throw it, saying, "Uuup!" And at one year she can say lots of words: hi, bye-bye, dada, mama, tickle, What's that ("a dat"), no, uh-oh, woof, Bible, boom, and she revs like a car when she's pushing something ("v-v-v-v-v-v" usually with a lot of bubbles coming out her mouth!), and she can repeat lots of words.

Then there's Easter. We came back in time for the kids to hunt eggs at our church's huge Jesus is Alive party. It was freezing! But we went anyway, grabbed a few rained-on eggs, went inside to dump the candy into their baskets, and left. I had a bad cold on Sunday, so we had Dairy Queen burgers for lunch, and we went back in the evening to get ice cream. Not a bad Easter dinner after all!

flu, prayers, and puddles

We finally got the flu bug! Just the cold/flu type thankfully! I came down with it on Monday, then Alli got it yesterday. So far that's it. I'm starting to feel a little better, though, so I should have some energy back to deal with the sick kids as they all get it...it's inevitable isn't it?

When I have strange things the kids say, I don't know the best way to lead into it, so here's one thing: Whenever Hannah prays she says, "Dear God, please watch over the people in Haiti and Africa, and the people who Joy prayed for." Her cousin Joy prayed for the children in Cambodia once while we were visiting, and Hannah hasn't forgotten it--except where they were from.

Last week (or was it the week before?) when it was warmer I let the girls go out to splash in the puddles. I thought that would give me a chance to clean the house up a bit. It worked for about 10 minutes! Then Hannah came to the door saying Alli needed my help. I went outside to see what the problem was and Alli was stuck ankle deep in sticky mud! I went after her and got my shoes ankle deep in sticky mud, too. But we got out and came inside and cleaned up. Needless to say, the "cleaner house" wasn't anymore!



We have been playing with these silly balloons lately. We figured out how to make several animals with them. Hannah likes to play with the finished animals. Alli likes to twist them over and over fearlessly until they pop!

Bedtime buddies

The girls always want to take something to bed with them. After they get their PJs on and they're in bed, right as we begin the story, they usually "remember" they forgot a toy they wanted in the living room. So we let them have one trip to get one toy they "forgot" to bring to bed. Hannah's bed is half-full of stuffed animals and dolls. Alli, on the other hand, likes to bring the strangest things to bed with her. The crazy things she has brought to bed have been: a pair of toy garden clippers, the lid of a watering can, a can of pretend soup, a dump truck, a xylophone. Last night she wouldn't go to sleep without a bandaid right across the end of her nose. Usually when she comes in the room carrying her treasure Hannah, Mike, and I can't help but laugh! I can't remember all the funny things she likes to get for bed. I'll have to keep you updated.

Some things I don't want to forget

Lately Hannah has wanted to play "Queen Esther" ALL THE TIME. She dresses up in a fancy dress-up dress, walks regally, and asks if anyone knows a king that she could marry. Sometimes she's playing and I don't know it until she solomnly hands me a rolled up piece of paper as a scroll. Almost every time it says "QSD" which is how she spells Queen Es-Der. This week she has been adding the letters "RRRRR W M K." I thought she was writing that (Haman)Wants Me Killed. But luckily I asked her what it spelled first because she said, "It says, 'I Really Really Really Really Want to Marry a King."

Alli LOVES to help in the kitchen. Anytime I'm in the kitchen she runs to the bathroom, grabs the stool, and joins me. And she's really good help, too. She doesn't mind running things to the trash can, throwing things in the sink, or even just standing and watching. But often I have her shake the spices or stir or taste or spread things or set the table. She and Hannah really like it when I make yeast bread/rolls. (We've been making a lot lately.) They each get some dough and flour and make a big mess, but then who doesn't make a mess with that?

Carrie has been trying to say a few more words lately. She says "daaa" for Yeah when she gets something to work right. Mostly she immitates me still, but she does a good job of getting the important sounds right. Today she copied me saying "pretty." She can already pull up and walk around holding on to a table, chair, etc. She's starting to let go and stand briefly. Today she stood for about three seconds. She really wants to walk, and loves walking while holding on to my fingers. When she was just learning to push up on her arms she would rock back and forth, shifting her weight from one arm to the other. And when she learned to sit she would rock back and forth. Now that she's learning to stand/walk she gets so excited that she straightens out her legs and shifts her weight side to side!