Things that go bump in the night

Abe the mischevious

May I take a moment to talk about Abe. He confounds us lately. Tonight I go in to check on him before I go to bed and as I walk down the hall I step in a big soaking wet puddle on the carpet. It ain't water. I go and check his clothes while he's sleeping and they're completely dry and yet I know he just peed on the ground. I begin to clean up the puddle and notice sprays and a smaller puddle and I grow in annoyance. You want to know why I'm annoyed???? It's because Abe's been peeing everywhere lately! For example, just a couple of nights ago Kelly and I hear Abe's grunts and moans which means he's awake and needs something, usually the bathroom but he's too out of it to get there himself. So Kelly goes and checks on him and sees Abe buck naked standing in the middle of his room with the light on just going to the bathroom as he twists to and fro. Kelly rushes him to the bathroom where he finishes and while I clean him up Kelly cleans up the carpet (aka Abe's new toilet). We get him back in bed with new pajamas cause we can't find the old ones. Where are they? Are they wet? We don't know. It's a mystery. A while later Kelly goes into the loft and lo and behold there are the missing pajamas. So, that means that Abe woke up, had to go to the bathroom so he went to the loft, took of his pajamas, walked right past the bathroom on into his room and peed...all over...the floor.

It's the case of the sleep walking pee monster. When will he strike again? We don't know but we've got carpet cleaner handy just in case...

To be continued. Probably. Unfortunately.

Back to Lilly #4

And we're back. This post is dedicated to Lilly's stylish ways. Since toddler-hood, Lilly has had an affinity for fashion and accessories and I've always kind of let her choose her clothes. Now, this has led to somewhat embarrassing outfits, but I'm hoping it places me in the "cool" mom category and when she becomes a famous designer she'll say she owes everything to her wonderful mother who alawys let her express herself through clothes. At least that's what I'm hoping for...

enjoy the gazillion pictures

She often wore her princess gowns and glass slippers to stores such as Target and Ikea.
Lilly always wears her jewels.

This is the day I had Abe and Lilly is waiting oh so stylishly in the waiting room

Not only does Lilly like to dress up, but she also does her own hair and has for quite awhile. She really has impressed me with her abilities. One thing I don't have pictured here but would like to mention is that Lilly wears her strand of (fake) pearls almost everyday because her Principal wears them everyday. I think that's very sweet.

I've been a bit under the weather

I haven't been blogging about my little pip squeak cause I don't feel well and I'm a baby. Good thing nothing is really wrong with me or else I'd probably give up on life all together. I will return to finish the most important posts about my daughter, but til then I bid you farewell. I also know this only matters to like...two people.

Day 3

Some favorite past quotes from the archives by my DD

(that's darling daughter in case you're not in the know)

-I asked Lilly to do something and she said, "But I don't have to do what you demanded for me to do." 8/30/07

-After Lilly learned that her ballet outfit that she wore the day before was still dirty and hadn't been washed she was very upet with me and this is what she said in her prayer at lunch that day, "...Please bless the prophets that they won't be sad when I'm mad at someone." Hint hint. 8/7/07

-Lilly wanted Kelly to stay in her room and sleep on the floor next to her bed one night. While he was laying on the flooor, she leaned over and sweetly said, "Dad, do you need a pillow for your big head?"

-Lilly got herself ready for bed and she came out with a bandaid on the middle of her forehead and I asked what the bandaid was for and she said, "My head wasn't working well so I put a bandaid on it so it will work well." 3/29/07

-Lilly saw some teenagers at the mall one day dressed in what's popular today: skinny jeans, long shaggy hair (boys and girls), dark colors and some had chains on and she said, loudly, "Look, pirates!" 2/12/07
-I was brushing Lily's hair and she said, "You're pretty momma," I said thank you and gave her a hug and a kiss. I thought it was such a sweet thing to say and then she said, "I'm not going to say I'm prettier than you." I paused and asked, "Do you think you're prettier than me?" She said no but not very convincingly. I explained that one person doesn't have to be prettier than another. Each person can be pretty in their own way. Lilly's response was, "Oh, I didn't know that!" 10/13/07

-"I like shows (TV shows) so much that I have this feeling that I'd like to watch them all day and all night." 10/23/07

-Lilly whispered this to me tonight as I was putting her to bed, "It's hard to sleep without you." I melted. 4/21/08

Day 2

(This sign doesn't apply to me...I think)

Lilly loves her little brothers and is quite gracious with them except for one thing...she does not share her room nor anything in it. Her door is kept locked day in and day out, even when she's in it. If Abe (who the sign is really for) ever dares enter, and he does dare (often), then there are screeches and whines and cries for help til he departs, usually with my help. Her room is her sanctuary. Once in a journal assignment for first grade she was asked what her favorite room in her house is an why, and she answered her bedroom and the reason is because she gets to be alone. This is one girl who needs her Abe-free zone. I don't blame her.

Day 1

I don't know why but I'm having a hard time writing this post. I've started over several times and end up deleting each attempt. There are so many things I could write about Lilly that it becomes overwhelming and at the same time I have such a depth of feeling for her that it's hard to articulate it on a blog. It's too public. I've tried to write about how good she is and how kind but I don't really think I can do it justice. There's just something about my Lilly, from her name to her delicate frame to her bright eyes that makes me feel like I'm the luckiest mom in the world and that I don't always deserve her.

I'll share this: Kelly and I haven't ever found out the sex of our babies. The surprise of it all is something I had always looked forward to. We were unsure of a boy's name, although Finn was my top pick, and we had a few girls' names that we liked. While talking on the phone with my sister, she mentioned the name Lilly. At the sound of that name my whole body got chills and I knew it was the one. I told Kelly and he, too, knew that would be the name for our baby if it was a girl. For me it was a profoundly spiritual experience finding the right name to match our little girl's spirit and Lilly was it. I also had dreams about Lillybefore she was born. I had a dream of what it would be like to touch her for the first time and when I did touch her little body on my chest it was the same magical sensation I had dreamt of...and then she screamed for the next three months.

Please stay tuned for another installment tomorrow and I'll try to be more light-hearted!

A week to celebrate my first born

HAVE YOU EVER...

IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE...

SEEN A FACE...

AS SWEET AS THIS????
i declare it impossible!

starting today and for the next 7 days i declare it LILLY week. although she is much loved, she certainly doesn't get enough face time on the old blog and so i hereby proclaim this

WEEK O' LILLY

And the reason why all the mothers gave a collective sigh of relief

School is wonderful. I love school. For my children. To attend as often as possible. I just think it's a marvelous thing when we can send our children off to learn, to play, to develop social skills and call someone else poopie face for awhile. It actually makes me love my dear Abe even more. Lest someone think I'm a calloused, hard-hearted person who doesn't feel even a twinge of sadness when I drop off my four year old, I assure you I do get a twinge, a tightened throat, a pain in my chest, but it goes away and then I go get a diet coke and walk the aisles of various stores with ONLY ONE CHILD. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's why Abe is in TWO preschools. Hooray!!!!

Above is Abe on the first day of the Joy School. It's a co-op so I'll have my week to teach. Poor children. Hope they like mopping floors.
The pics above and below are from today when he started his other preschool where you have to pay but it's 3 days a week so...we'll take it. I was cruel and made them face the sun trying to get good light for the picture. The picture below was taken right before Abe went into preschool. He was so excited with his new backpack. I love this kid.

p.s. Dear Abe, there may come a time when you'll read this and think that I was so happy to ship you off, but to be honest, as much fun as it was to get all my errands done and to not have to chase you around the store, I was so happy to see you and eat lunch with you and hear about your day. I hope you always hold my hand. I'm going to make you...especially when you're 16.

Look at this face

This, my friends, is the face of a soccer champion! Her team, the Sparkles, played their little hearts out last Saturday at their first game. I couldn't believe how well the girls played and I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, they've decided to try winning this season. Truthfully though, even if they hadn't won, I was so excited by how aggressive they all played and how determinded they all were. I hope it will be a good season!

My nest

I just checked on my little birds all snug in their beds. My heart aches a little each night as I look at them one more time before I go to sleep. Moments of the day come back to me, some good and some not so good. Tonight I'm reminded of getting after Abe in front of everyone at Lilly's school. I'm also reminded of him coming over to me later that morning and putting his arms around me and nuzzling his head into my neck while i gave him kiss after kiss.

I think of Lilly reading to Abe in the back of the car and how she always looks after her brothers and loves them tremendously. I also remember how her heart broke when Abe grabbed her unicorn silly strands bracelet and it broke. It was such an honest devastation with big tears and slumped over shoulders. And I think of how bright her eyes were when she told me she had finished reading a book we had started together earlier in the evening.

Then Oliver...is there anything sweeter than the sleeping little body of a baby about to turn 1? My favorite thought of him today was when I put him in the swing for the first time at the park. He loved it and as he'd swing forward I'd give him a kiss and he'd laugh and show his teeth, which make him look so much older. And then when I'd turn my head to check on Abe and then look back at Oliver, his eyes would be wide with apprehension and his little fists would be clinging tightly to the icky blue swing. Then I'd smile and give him a kiss and the laughing would begin again.

And now I'm thinking of my 4:30 wake up call to run with friends, something I dread and look forward to all at once. And I'm thinking how utterly exhausted I feel and so...good night

The birthday boy

Abe's birthday was on the 1st of the month. He's now a super cool four year old. Since we'd already had a party and he didn't even really get all the excitement that belongs to celebrating a birthday, we got pretty lucky and didn't have to do anything fantastic and he was just as happy. The morning started with his breakfast of choice: lucky charms. Then I took him to the park to play with a friend for a bit while we moms died in the heat. Next, Kelly took him to Costco to get his lunch of choice: a hotdog. They also went on a daddy/son date to Barnes and Noble where Abe got hooked up with some superhero books and then they went to the pet store.

After Lilly came home from school, we had presents which included (amond other things) this Star Wars shirt from Grandy...

an Iron Man costume from Grandy as well and the main gift from me and Kelly was this Paper Jamz guitar. He's been asking for a guitar for months and we hoped this kind would do the trick. There are no strings but when you play it it sounds like a real guitar and Abe is just born to be a rocker.

The next stop was In & Out for his dinner of choice: a flying dutchman, fries and an ice water.

Then, of course, his dessert of choice: a Mcflurry!

We love this little buzzard! He's clever, funny, loving, protective, friendly, puzzling, crazy and wonderful. Happy Birthday Bud!

It's late and I shouldn't be blogging

Kelly's at work and the house has been quiet since 8 o'clock. I should have gone to bed, but instead I watched Mad Men, ate good n' plenties, some m & m's and some other weird yet tasty candy bar thing. Then I promised myself to start eating better tomorrow. Then I started watching the critically panned Jersey Girl with Bennifer and I texted Kelly asking him how sad would he really be if I kicked the bucket. He didn't respond right away. In fact, I think it was hours later and with a phone call saying that he didn't have a good reason why he didn't call earlier, but holy cow, they've got a great selection of candies in the vending machine. "So what about my text?" I asked him. "What did you ask me?" he said. Good thing he is too far away for me to kick him, I thought. I explained that I wanted to know exactly how sad he would be if I died giving birth. He said he'd be really really sad but should he spend 2 dollars on a new candy that promises to be sweet and spicy at the same time? I told him to do it if he took the money out of his budget. I was not impressed with his answer. He promised me love and we bade farewell.

So now I'm on the computer reflecting on my life. I downloaded some new music, checked out some art work I want to buy and thought about my neglected blog. I don't feel so pizzazz-y lately. Often there are things I'd like to write and don't because, well, i feel inhibited by my own...inhibitions. I enjoy writing even with my bad grammar and my hyper-usage of the comma. I feel so inspired by other people's creative voices and it inspires me to exercise mine. I'd have to say that that's the only time I really feel like myself. I wouldn't call myself a creative person, but when I do make something new, however poorly, and whatever it may be, I begin to feel like me. It's a fleeting feeling and constantly has to be cultivated and yet doesn't get the time it deserves. For as long as I can remember I've just wanted to be free. ( I'm rambling. ) Sometimes I just want to get on my pink cruiser and ride with the wind in my hair and sing a song at the top of my lungs. That, my dears, sounds amazing. I want that feeling everyday and at every moment be grateful for my children and for my husband who may not answer a silly text but will write me love poems upon request.

I don't think I'm making much sense but I'm finally ready for bed and will press "publish post" before I chicken out.

click!