Another great picture

I was scanning thru my pictures a while ago and I came up on this one.. Tripp was just over 2 years old. He went thru a phase where he wore socks on his hands. He still does it sometimes to go to sleep at night.

Must be a boy thing, because Eli did the same thing. I thought I would be a cool mom, so I took buttons and sewed them on for eyes, made a mouth and used yarn for hair. I stuck them on Eli's hands and showed him how they could talk - "Look, little puppets!!!" I was so excited - I knew Eli would LOVE these. But, no, I still see the evil look that he gave me. It will stay with me forever. He pulled the socks off his hands, and then, he flung them down. He never picked them up again. And I learned a lesson. Don't mess with your kids imaginations. They can make things up by themselves.

Girlfriends.

Throughout life, girls need to have friends. Throughout life, the roles of friends change. I have decided there are several categories of friends. I am going to break them down.

This is for my pleasure and enjoyment. Here we go.

1. The Grow up with ya girlfriend. - This friend has known you since birth. You played fake cabbage patch babies together, she gave you your first bloody nose. As teens, you envision yourself as the two old ladies playing slots in Vegas wearing polyester pants and crazy flowered hats, packing large purses. But, somewhere along the way, something changed. Maybe a boyfriend. Maybe she had issues she couldn't let go of. Maybe she acted as though she was superior, but really felt inferior. This friendship hurts the worst when it ends. There is nothing left to say in end. And, when you run into her years later, there really is nothing left to say.

2. The High School girlfriend. - This is the girl you meet your first day of class your freshman year of high school. She stays with you thru your high school days of first loves, first responsibilities, first jobs, until you grow up (or, so you think) and your interests change. It is kinda painful when things dissolve, but you get over it. Years later, you figure out you didn't really know her at all. And you really weren't missing anything.

3. The Oh, I am ALMOST an adult girlfriend. - This is the girl you meet in college. She is more sophisticated/cooler/has better clothes. She is a fun party girl. She gets the cute boys. You shop together, have sleepovers, cry together when you lose boyfriends, throw up together. Then one day, one of you actually grows up more than the other. And someone ends up moving on. You never see her again. She probably ended up working a stripper pole in LA or Vegas. You always wonder what happened to her. And you realize that all the fun times were not so fun after all.

4. The I AM AN ADULT girlfriend. - This is the most important of all. You have kids. She has kids. You have a husband. She has a husband. EVEN if you didn't have kids the same age, she would still be your friend. You are adult enough not to revert back to being girlfriend #1, 2 or 3. If a week or two goes by, and you don't speak, the next time you talk you are able to pick up where you left off. When you are having a bad day, you can call her and cry. When she is stressed out, she sends you a text or email. And, you take the time to reply. It is important. No pettiness enters the relationship. These are few and far between.

5. The I am a petty female girlfriend. - These girlfriends don't even deserve to be capitalized. They look at what you drive, what brand of clothes your kids wear. What does your husband do. They are miserable in their marriages. They want you to be, too. If you gain weight, they are happy. If you lose weight, they are sad. Yet still, you associate with this type of female at playgroups, moms night out, and various clubs. They are not really girlfriends. They are venomous snakes. You know the ones. The obligatory - we have kids the same age - "friends".

I have been thru all of these. I have learned that girlfriends come and go. What are important are the ones that hang around to become #4. I have some of these. I love you all.

Nothing new.

Not much going on today. Tripp did, in fact, have another double ear infection. So did I. I didn't know that ears on adults became infected, but they do. So, I got both of us antibiotics for our ears. Tripp says he gave me my infection. I told him thanks for sharing. :)

I just checked the weather and the county next to us is already closed or late for school tomorrow. I guess if I would watch the news/weather, I could find out what is going on. Instead, I am trying to study... wait, I am procrastinating at the study thing. I have 9 hours of school this semester. One of the classes is Spanish 1 - online. See, I was dumb and didn't know that one day I would actually need to have taken Spanish 1 AND 2 in high school. So, here I am, paying the consequences. I am old and in Spanish. Online. I have 54 college credit hours. But no forign language. How dumb is that?

We are hoping to be completely moved by the weekend. As we speak, my sweetcutewonderful husband is up at the new house painting the bathroom. I am at the old house, trying to figure out ways not to do homework and not to give the small kids a bath.

I will leave you with some pictures that I love oh. so. much.

My ballerinas

The Hair Triangle

This picture was taken on a Sunday morning last September while we were all trying to get ready for Sunday School.


Don't they look like that man and woman with the pitchfork standing in front of the house?




Notice Eli's sarcasm toward Dave?



Anyways - I took this because I saw how Eli had grown recently. Dave is a little over six feet tall. Eli was about 5'7 ish ( a couple of weeks ago). I am sure it has changed from then to now.


We have had an ongoing love/hate triangle in our house for a long time. It is between Dave/Eli/Eli's hair.



Dave would love for Eli to have the flip (if you are not familiar with the flip - it is the flip of Dave's hair he has had since, oh, about birth). Eli rejects the flip. Dave tries to overcompensate for Eli's flip rejection by brushing the hair over to the side. Eli settles for the side-brushed hair - until we are out of site. Then, the hair mysteriously changes to a brushed down front look that all young boys are going for.

You know, this story is not really going anywhere.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, the hair has been cut recently. Needless to say, the hair drama still goes on. Does it look right? Is it shiny enough? Does it smell good?
Who knew teenage boys cared so much?

A Sick Baby

Look at this face.. how sweet. I love this little boy so much. His personality is so funny. Even when he was very little, he made me laugh. He is quite the cuddler. He always asks if he can hold me. He even comes up and says, " I need a hug." But, the little guy has been battling ear infections for some time now. I noticed that he was not acting right on Saturday. So, it was no suprise on Saturday night that he didn't sleep well. He got up thru the night - several times. I asked him what was wrong. His reply - get this - was, "I want to take care of you."



He felt bad all day yesterday. Needed lots of extra hugs and kisses. Isn't it funny when they are sick you can see it in their eyes? Well, it was definantly there last night. He said his ears and his legs hurt. So, I tylenol/motrin-ed him. And, this morning, he is still sleeping in. No school today. We are probably off to the doctors again. More antibiotics. He just finished a round on Wednesday.

This is kind of a rambling post. Oh, well. My whole thought was - why is he still the baby? He will be FOUR in June. I can't believe my baby will be FOUR (!). I guess he will always be my baby.

Conversations

Setting: Lunch after church

Family time - talking - laughter - bored kids.

Conversation goes like this -

Emma: Mom, will you raise me the way I need to be raised?

Me: What?!?! (Imagine me choking and sputtering)

Emma: I said, will you raise me the way I need to be raised?

Me: (not breathing right) ask your daddy.

Emma: Daddy, will you raise me the way I need to be raised?

Dave: Emma, how do you think you need to be raised?

Emma: Without spankings.

Dave: NO.

Crisis averted. Now, Emma knows whats coming to her.

I Love this Picture.
I have to say that this is one of my favorite pictures ever taken. This was last June, and Dave and Emma were going to the Cinderella Ball. They had a date planned, and boy, was she ready. Emma loves going on dates. Especially Daddy Dates. Since she was little, he would take her on these outings, whether it be to the Dollar Store or just to the Shell Station to get Bug Juice after work.
When she was smaller, she would dress in her Old Navy "I LOVE MY Daddy" matching shirt and baseball cap. And, she always had the biggest smile on her face. Her Daddy is her first love. What a beautiful relationship he has with her. Everything he does sets the tone for what she looks for in future relationships.

So, what are they talking about in this picure? I have no idea. I like to imagine she is telling him about her gloves - how she loves that they come all the way up to her elbows. Or maybe she is
asking him about all the things they will do - the dancing, the singing, how many of her friends will be with their daddies. She just looks as if she is explaining something so important, and he is listening to her so intently.

Thanks, Dave, for being such a good daddy. They all love you so much. And so do I.

Kid Differences

It is funny to me how three kids from the same family can have such different personalities.

Tripp with his homemade "eyecape"

Tripp, for example, is the funny kid of the bunch. He is very quick to speak his mind and has a very active imagination. Always playing a superhero, he has been his made up version of Powerman to regular old Superman/Spiderman. As of late, he has been a new hero called Sharkboy. With a scrunched up face, he announces that he is Sharkboy and now asks "do you want to tussle?" Seriously, why would a 3 year old ask for a tussle?

Emma rocks Ethan to sleep. They are almost the same size.

Emma is the type A personality of the group. Ever the controlling kid, she always asks if she "can be the boss," and if she can "be in charge." She is the caretaker, the know it all, and she loves to ALWAYS be right. She does not like to be neglected. And heaven help us if she thinks that someone (meaning Eli or Tripp) is getting something she is not. When I was sick, she always liked to take care of me, lay in bed with me and make sure I was OK. She is going to be a very strong woman. I look forward to seeing what she will become.

Eli watching music at a family function.

Eli is our fly by night, hanging on by the seat of the pants, what can I do to make you laugh kid. He contemplates the stars, the moon, and the planets. By age of three, he discussed the gravitational pull of the moon. He wonders about the most obsolete things. At the same time, you can see his brain working. He is our most serious thinker. A lover of the Discovery Channel, he would choose to watch Mythbusters with his Daddy over cartoons. He is a book of useless information with no logic about him. The world is his oyster. He will achieve so much because there are no limits.

everyday is a new adventure with these blessings.

Prayertime at Dinnertime.

Dave and I don't really push bedtime prayers. Bad, I know. What we do observe with all the kids is sort of a family prayertime at dinner. Dave always likes family dinner together. We all have our plates, we sit down and NO ONE LEAVES THE TABLE until everyone else is finished. (If you do try to leave early, you are accused of ruining the whole dinner. Yep, I have been a known dinner-ruiner.) Then, one - by - one, everyone says their own individual prayers so we know what is on their minds and hearts. Here is the usual play-by-play.

Tripp (prayer #1 - he drops his head quickly as soon as he sees all hands are joined) - "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day, Help me be a good boy, Help the boy at football feel better, Help Pa's heart get better" PAUSE - (at this point he looks up at Dave and says "Whatshernameagain" and Dave replies either "Aunt Joyce" or "Miss Judy") Then, Tripp resumes," Help Aunt Joyce and Miss Judy feel better, In Jesus name I pray, Amen."

Emma (prayer #2 - she looks around to make sure all eyes are on her) - And then she repeats what Tripp has said - except she asks to be a good girl instead of a boy. Somehow, she tends to add her own special flair to her prayers and what she says is so sweet. For instance, one night, her prayer "add on" went something like this. " ... and God, please take care of the people in heaven with you. I pray that they are having a good time."

It just makes me cry.

How pure are my babies' hearts? What if we, as adults, could share their faith? Wouldn't the world be so much better?

OK.

Eli (prayer #3) the recited teenage, typical mymomsmakingmeprayatthetableinfrontofpeopleandIdon'twantto prayer.

Then, it is Dave's turn.

I will say that sometimes it gets a little crazy. If Emma prays for something that Tripp did not, Tripp has to do a revision prayer after Emma is finished. And, just so you know, the boy at football - he was hurt LAST YEAR at a game. My kids still remember him in their prayers.

Cold. Snow. No school.

All the kids have been out of school since last Friday. I enjoy letting them stay up late and then sleep late. Translate that to mommy language - I get to sleep late and not get out of the house at 7 am. We have kinda been just hanging around, watching movies and playing.

Tripp decided today that he was going to surf down the stairs. He has a little boogie board we bought when we went to the beach last - last summer. So, with Eli cheering him on at the bottom of the steps and Emma hanging out on top, Tripp became his own stuntman. It was hilarous! He would start out standing on top of the board like he was surfing, and then he would wiggle - just so - the board would start down the steps. Then, he let go, rolled down the steps on his belly and finished off with a grand finale of a double roll at the bottom.

Dave came in during the performance and Tripp paused so his dad could watch. After a couple of flips, both Dave and I walked off. I heard Emma tell Tripp to "do it again - you are losing your audience."

Ah, they are awesome.

Well - Here I go...

So, I realize that my children are growing up. Quickly. And, even though I intend to write them little letters on their birthdays each year or sometimes I want to jot something down that is amusing, I sometimes (usually always) forget. I have been trying to come up with a way to document all day to day happenings, sayings, and catastrophes that make my family what it is.

I have decided to blog.

This way, maybe when they are older, I will be able to let them read what they did to me to make me lose my mind because I probably won't be able to tell them.

There are so many things I would want my kids to know.

And I hope this is going to be the best way to get to them.