Happy Birthday

Happy 26th Birthday Little Brother!

Wish we could spend it with you! It's been a fun 26 years!

Watching Clare and Gregory gives me so many insights into us when we were little. Makes me love you even more.

Our Pet Caterpillar

The latest obsession at our house is a little caterpillar.

Clare found it yesterday. She dropped it in the middle of a road and we saved it. It went with us to get our free ice cream. It had a place at the dinner table. It watched Clare and Gregory's bath (thankfully it didn't decide to go swimming). And it slept in a place where it could see Clare and not be afraid. Clare even gave it a name - Wiggly

Today Clare has been contemplating letting the caterpillar go free. It is a very emotional thing for her. Twice she has put Wiggly down outside and then come in and burst into tears. After much weeping we convince her that she can keep Wiggly and she goes out and gets him. Once John had to go out and find him in the grass.

The funniest moment was when Gregory picked up Wiggly. It was only for a second, but Wiggly disappeared. Clare was freaking out, and John started stripping Gregory convinced that the caterpillar had climbed up his sleeve. Gregory was clueless and so was Wiggly. He was sitting outside on our doormat.

I'm surprised that Wiggly is still alive (3 year-olds aren't that gentle), and am curious what adventures a girl and her pet caterpillar can get into tomorrow.

A bit Squirrely

So random fact about me - I love squirrels.

My brother and I used to squirrel fish - it's fun, try it with a string of dental floss and a peanut.
We loved putting stuff out for the squirrels and watching their reactions.

And for some reason in college I decided to do a demonstration of how a squirrel acts...and how an ADD squirrel would act.

Well, Stephanie was thinking about me today, and sent me these links, and I just have to share with you, so you may know the extent of my nuttiness.

Ah nuts, An ill timed run in with Rusty
Scampering Away with My Heart (Now I'm not quite this eccentric, but then we don't have any squirrels near my condo - maybe next year)

5 days and counting

5 days until the kids and I go visit Grandma and Grandpa

# of boxes left to pack - well there are about 8 or 9 empty boxes in the condo - so that's it. I think we may only have about 4 or 5 more boxes of stuff.

# of things left to do - many many many
Dentist Appointment for both kids
Doctor Appointment
Car Appointment
Appointments at the Church
Dance Recital
Various odds and ends to get through this week
Utilities - lots to call and cancel and to set up
Book Club Dinner

# of budding climbers who keep trying to fall off of boxes or dining room tables - 1 Gregory

# of 3 year olds testing every limit they can find and laughing about it - 1 Clare

How much sanity I'm keeping - lets just say I'm hanging by a thread.

And worst of all, my prayer time has slipped away and I know that's part of my craziness.

But this too shall pass, thankfully.

Stormy Weather

We had scattered thunderstorms yesterday.

Clare and Gregory went out on the porch while it poured and blew. Clare was so excited with the wind and rain, the lightning and the thunder.

Gregory alternated. He wants to do everything Clare does these days, so he wanted to be excited, and sometimes was. Sometimes he was also quite upset with the wind and the rain. His whole attitude was - this is my porch and I will stand here, wind and rain go away. At one point he was bawling, but wouldn't budge an inch. Then Clare laughed and he smiled and stopped crying.


Later we went and got frozen custard at Kohr's brothers. They have a little carousel, but Gregory was too small to ride it. Whoa, did I see some stormy weather then. The boy was very mad that he couldn't ride it when Clare could. He fought me kicking and screaming the whole time. I'm discovering what a temper he has, and how different that is from his sister.

Fashionista II

Clare did her own hair the other day.

With each clip she assured me that she was adding more style to her hair.

(A least she hasn't tried to give herself a hair cut yet.)

Not jealous

Yesterday, I was thinking about how big Clare was. John and I were both saying it's crazy, she's seems so old, not little at all.

She seemed to think so too, or at least she must have picked up on the vibe.

Clare: Mama, I don't want to get married.
Mama: Oh?
Clare: When I grow up, I'm going to stay with you. Unless I can marry Gregory, then we'll both stay.
Mama: Well, you can't marry Gregory, what about Paul?
Clare: No I'll stay with you. I love you.

Mama's heart melts.

And therefore she won't be jealous of Paul and his new girlfriends.

School Group Pics

I got some pictures of the little girls in our school group. It was such a lovely day we got to spend lots of my last class of the year outside. I can't believe how the year has flown, and how big all of the girls have gotten.

The flowers the little girls picked me - so sweet and tiny. What small blessings the Lord has made with wild flowers, weeds and pine needles.

A Child's Prayer

God, make my life a little light,
Within the world to glow;
A little flame that burneth bright,
Wherever I may go.

God, make my life a little flower,
That giveth joy to all,
Content to bloom in native bower,
Although the place be small.

God, make my life a little song,
That comforteth the sad,
That helpeth others to be strong,
And makes the singer glad.

M. Betham-Edwards

I needed this today, and wanted to share.

Miscalculation

Last night Gregory woke up around 2.

I brought him to bed and nursed him. He was awake, and I was wondering if he would just fall back asleep or if I should put him back in his bed.

He was pretty calm and peaceful and I had decided to leave him alone when he made a critical strategic error.

For some reason he got up and sat on my head.

At this I picked him up and dropped him off in his bed. Good night, buddy, it was funny, but not really what I was looking for at 2am in the morning. He seemed to take it quite well.

Bubble Reflections

Sometimes to change things up a little, I blow bubbles for the kids in the bath. Clare and Gregory love it.

Gregory really tries to catch the bubbles. Eventually he will get one to stay on his hand or chest or somewhere wet. His eyes completely light up and he usually moves in to bite or poke his precious bubble. Of course it pops, and he always looks so surprised. For a moment or two he flounders about looking for the popped bubble, and then he starts over. He appears convinced that sooner or later he will be able to manipulate a bubble to his whims.

Clare on the other hand is a bubble hog. She wants me to blow the bubbles right on her face. She doesn't want to catch them, she just wants to enjoy the feeling of the bubbles popping against her cheeks over and over and over again. She really doesn't want to share them or wait for them to come to her - it's not nearly as exciting.

Tonight these actions really struck a cord with me.

I was realizing that all of the gifts we've been given by God are like those bubbles. They are beautiful and special, but they will not last forever. Unlike Mama getting tired of blowing all those bubbles, God will continue to send us gifts - different beautiful gifts for the different periods of our lives.

Sometimes we will feel like there are less bubbles in our lives and sometimes more. And sometimes just when we think we really have a bubble - we won't any more.

Today in the midst of our packing, preparing, and planning, I am really longing for a non-popping bubble. To trust more, and to take more delight in what I have. To know concretely and completely the plans the Lord has for me and my family. Like Gregory I want to control my bubble and like Clare I want lots of them.

Lord, help me to enjoy the gifts You place all around me.

Help me enjoy the gifts of today, not yesterday or tomorrow.

When something I love changes or is taken away, teach me to trust in You.

To know that You will always provide for us

And that one day, I may be with You in Heaven where all of Your goodness and gifts last forever.

Memes due

I'm behind...I have 2 memes waiting for me...so I will try to do one tonight and get to the other tomorrow or after tomorrow.

I'm going to do this one from Muddy Mama first because it seems shorter and easier tonight.

Here are the rules:
1. When tagged place the name and URL on your blog.
2. Post rules on your blog.
3. Write 7 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Name 7 of your favorite blogs.
5. Send an email/comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged.

And on to 7 things about me:

1. My comfort food of choice is whipped cream straight from the spray can.

2. I never clear the microwave clock when I'm making something and stop it. So whenever my husband looks at the clock it drives him nuts.

3. I finish almost any book that is given to me to read - I can't stand leaving books unfinished - even bad ones (unless it's really really bad).

4. I tend to set all of the clocks in the house forward 5 minutes - because I don't like to be late for anything.

5. When my kids start fighting diapering on their backs, I diaper/change them while they are standing up.

6. Once when I was little I received an ice cream sundae with green chilies in it at a Mexican restaurant. I still don't know how they ended up in there. (No I didn't eat it, I refused.)

7. For the longest time I didn't like spaghetti sauce, instead I would pour ketchup all over my pasta.

Now I have to choose 7 of my favorite blogs -
Becky at the Virginia Reeds
Kate at La Vita Bella
Carole at A Light to the Nations
Sheila at Agape Livin'
Walking Shadow
and Jen at This Family of Ours

Oops that's six, but I'm going to let it go at that. Good night, I'll leave notes where I am supposed to tomorrow.

Counting Sheep

Clare was(is) having a problem falling asleep tonight.

Me: Clare count sheep.

Clare: One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep, five sheep, six sheep, seven sheep, eight sheep, nine sheep......Mama, I can't count enough sheep.

Sunshine and Fair Skin

In my last post, I was mentioning how much we enjoyed the sun. Well, I was giving the kids their bath, I kept wondering why I felt so warm - my face anyway.

Then I looked in the mirror. I am all sunburned.

For goodness sakes, I was only outside for 3 hours, and it was only 71 degrees if that. I didn't even take off my sweater.

I'm really not sure how the English colonized and won the United States with their fair English skin.

Luckily neither child has even a tint of red to their skin. Hopefully all our children will inherit their father's skin.

Sunshine and Spring Cleaning

It's turned into a beautiful day here. I was afraid it was going to be cold like yesterday.

We went to the park for almost 3 hours - which the kids enjoyed very much. And the sun felt so good, and the birds were singing. And it was nice to spend time with our friends from playgroup - which reminds me...

I'm so excited - I think our housing is back on track for next year. We have a lease to sign, and here's the best thing.

A good friend is going to be living across the street. I've always wanted to have a friend that close, to chat with while the kids play outside, and to be a motivation for me to keep things tidy just in case she should pop in to visit.

Also the beautiful weather helps me get motivated to clean. We're about 60% packed - but our van needed a little work.

I didn't quite realize that there was enough cereal, raisins and crackers on the floor of the back to feed a preschool for a week. And enough coats, sweatshirts, and blankets to keep that same preschool warm. It's nice seeing the floor of the van again.

Hope you are having a nice day wherever you are.

Can you guess?

Can you guess what Gregory has gotten all over himself?

My only clue is that it is not blood. I jumped about mile when I saw him, being surprised at this sight.

The Boxes Cometh

The boxes are multiplying in our house. And Clare loves it.

Of course she doesn't actually want me to pack any of her stuff, but she really does want to make a box tunnel from one side of the condo to the other.

Papal Menus

Since we can't make it to DC, I wanted to do something to let Clare know about the Pope's visit to the United States. This is very exciting and I don't want it to completely pass her by.

She's still pretty young and not that interested in old men - unless they are Grandpa (not that either Grandpa is actually old) or Santa Claus. So instead we will do some activities that are more geared to 3 year old level.

In honor of the Holy Father's visit to the United States, we are going to have a few themed meals/days. This will help me to remember also that Pope Benedict is here, and we'll pray for him at each meal.

The first day: German Bavarian theme. The Pope grew up in Bavaria as a boy.
Menu: Schweinebraten-Marinated Pork Loin Chops (they take 3-5 days to marinate, so I am going to have to plan ahead - it's also a great way to pray for the Pope's travels every time I see it in the fridge.)
Bayrischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad)
Bavarian Apple Torte (Clare's going to love helping with this)
(a much simpler version of this would be any type of pork/sausage, potato salad or sauerkraut,)

The second day: Italian Roman theme.
Menu: Lasagna or some other pasta dish
Gelato/Ice Cream

The third day: Washington D.C. theme
Menu: Hot Dogs - and various all-American foods - since the Pope will be at the Nationals stadium.

The fourth day: New York theme
Menu: Pizza and Bagels and possibly cheesecake.

I'll post some of our planned activities in the days to come, and I'll definitely have pictures.

Arms Full

Grandma loves her grandbabies, and they love her.

Technological Whiz-Gregory

About a week ago, Gregory woke up at 4am.

He didn't really want to be awake, but didn't really want to go back to sleep either.

I brought him to bed, and basically tried to ignore him scrambling around the bed and his failed attempts to fall asleep. We dozed off and on until about 5:30 - at least that's about when I don't remember looking at the clock again.

I was dreaming deeply. In the dream I was in a car driving away from the bad guys - when suddenly a strange noise interrupted the dream. I couldn't figure out what in the car would make the noise stop.

Actually it was 6am, and my alarm clock was going off.

In his meanderings the boy had turned on my alarm clock. Trust me, I never turn it on.

The worst part for me, was that I couldn't figure out how to turn it off. Imagine me in the dark, with a sleeping Gregory next to me, scrambling to turn off this wretched machine, praying that it or I did not wake him up.

He must have been tired by then because he didn't wake up.

The boy should never be allowed to touch electronics. And he does have a past in it.

Technological Whiz - Clare

Today, Clare decided to play answering service while I was digging boxes out of our storage unit. In the middle of trying to pull a box out from underneath of huge pile of baby accessories, I hear Clare's voice.

Scrambling out, I push open the door to make sure she doesn't need anything.

"Mama, some one's on the phone for you"

"What? You answered my phone? That's cute Clare, who are you talking to"

Part of me is thinking that she's just playing a game, my kids love playing with my cell. And part of me thinks if she's talking it must be John.

When I grab the phone, sure enough it's on and one of my friends is on the phone.

I'm just so grateful that it wasn't one of the rental companies, or some other random person who doesn't know I have kids.

What we're up to

It's been a busy few days.

I'm working to make sure we have a condo in Dallas this summer. It's only a month a away - crazy! We don't have a condo there at the moment and I'm finding that and the all the details a little stressful.

Added to that - today we found out that our housing for next year just fell through. Now I am also working on finding housing here. It's just something else on our plate. At the moment I'm feeling like my plate is quite full.

There may be light blogging in the weeks ahead as exams loom, boxes need to be filled, children want to be played with, and housing crises appear (hopefully no more of those).

I am at peace - just a little stressed.

School News

The Catholic school here in Charlottesville called yesterday.

A spot opened up for Clare in the Preschool program.

I am so excited, and I feel like that is where she is supposed to be for now.

Bowler Hats, Boxes, and Bed Balls

Today, before bed, Gregory decided to try out a new look - his incredible pajamas (because he is Mr. Incredible), and to top it off - a green plastic bowl that he just emptied of grapes. He put it on several times, but it just wasn't the right size for his head.

In the background you can see boxes. I have begun packing our things for storage. I refuse to be stressed out the week or 2 before we move. Or if I must have something to stress about, it will not be that I have not packed.




Here is Clare all dressed up and ready for (a ball) bed. She tried to insist that she be allowed to take her purse to bed with her. She had filled it with bracelets, rings, and toy cosmetics. What girl wants to find herself in bed without some makeup to apply to her morning face? Certainly, not Clare!

She was also telling me all about her dollies today - Anna and Lucy (named for our dear friends' little girls).

It turns out that the mess in Clare's room today was actually put there by her daughter - Anna. And no matter how much Clare reasoned with Anna, threatened Anna, and punished Anna, - Anna would not pick up the toys on the floor.

I mentioned that Clare might want to help Anna, since Mommy helps Clare pick up her toys. But Clare insisted that Anna had to learn to pick up her toys by herself.

By bedtime, Clare had picked up all of her toys, but I kind of felt sorry for poor little Anna. It must be hard being a doll and having to clean up your room.