California Dreamin'

This past Thursday morning, I heard my Little quietly walk into the bathroom and make a noise that every mother dreads hearing.  At least she had sense enough to walk to the bathroom and politely make her deposit into a trash can, a pretty big thing for an almost four year old.  The stomach bug has been rearing its ugly head among our circle of friends so I guess it was only a matter of time before someone in our family contracted it.

The only part that made me nervous about it was that Saturday we were headed to California with my mom to visit my sister.  Foolishly, when we made these plans I thought to myself, "self, we flew to England surely we can make a easy flight across the country to California."  Hey self, in case you were wondering California is basically as far away as the mother land.

 Anyway, back to the sickness.  I carefully disinfected everything in my house, only kissed Libs on the back of the head and prayed that if anyone else would get it, we would get it on Friday and not on Saturday when our journey was starting.

Saturday morning as we were headed for the airport I looked at my mom and said..."hmmmm, I just don't feel quite right."  I ignored it and blamed it on nerves.  Half-way through the flight, I knew it wasn't nerves.  I knew I was going to be sick and the line at the airplane bathroom wasn't going to disappear fast enough, so I asked Babette to hand me one of those handy little in flight sick bags.  It was great.

Then we had a lay-over in Las Vegas, the hottest airport on the planet.  I could feel my body telling me that I wasn't over the sick hump, but we still had to get to California.  So one more time up in the air, and yes, one more time sick in the plane and we finally made it to Burbank.

Thank the Lord.  Thank the Lord for my mom who managed my kids for me because all I could do was hold my head...and there was a lot of managing that had to be done.  Maggie Bell is terrified of flying or just of taking off?  I don't know, but on top of my sickness, there was a lot of screaming.  It was a rough day.

  We are are on this side of it now and I'm glad.  We are loving California and having a great time with the cousins and my lovely sister.

Mom got sick yesterday.  I'm praying that no one else gets it...especially anyone who has to fly back across the country on Saturday:)
If I get a chance to post again soon, we had an epic beach day yesterday.  New favorite place, Carpenteria, CA.  Gorgeous.
Grace and Peace.
xxx

Don't Quit

"Don't Quit" that was the title of a poem I had to memorize when I was in school and it went something like this,
"when things go wrong as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging is all up hill,
Don't quit!"

Nothing is going wrong exactly, but I did think to myself  today that with all the things I want to get done before Christmas I should maybe I should quit the blog for a while to free myself up a bit.  Fall is always such a busy time and I feel like our calendar is already filling up.  Then I remembered that I love this blog and it makes me happy (and sad sometimes too) to go back a read where our family has been.  Not ready to quit yet.

Last week my children and I got to spend some days with my Grandmother.  I love to be around her.  She tells me stories about raising her girls just like it was yesterday.
She told me that one of her little girls was tough, and that the other one was shy and quiet. She told me that when her girls were little she lived with her parents so that she had help.

She also said that because of this she doesn't know how I do it...I really appreciate when people make comments like this to me, it makes me think that they appreciate my profession.

This is a picture of the shy daughter now...she's not shy anymore:)

Not a lot of words tonight.  Just a reminder for my girls, if they ever read this blog one day, that one week in August they spent time with their Great Grandmother, they called her G-G, and they loved her.

Also, a reminder to myself that I love this blog and quitting isn't an option...

Grace and Peace
xoxo

Warning Girls: Your Mother is Ridiculous

I remember so clearly the first night I tried to put  Libby to bed in her crib.  I missed her so much that I went and got her and put her back in her spot next to me.  Her nursery right across the hall from our bedroom just felt too far away.  After all, she was part of me at one time.  So began my journey into the ridiculous, known as, I just might love my kids a little bit too much.  Let me just stop your reading here if you don't want to read a post on how much I love my kids.

My parents came and picked up my girl today.  I knew that I would feel sad and most likely cry a lot, which I did, but what I didn't know is how deafening the silence would be once she was gone. I told Kev that I felt like someone turned the clinky-clanky princess music off and switched off all the sparkly lights.

For the first moments that she was gone all we heard was quiet.  In the absence of my Little I realized things about her that I'm sure I didn't realize before.  I know that she lives up to her name, and  I know that she is excellent at being little, but what I didn't realize was the energy she brings to our family or that  her vivacious spirit lights up the room.

I want to climb to the top of a really tall mountain and scream at the top of my lungs to the world "do you have any idea how special she is?!"  This girl talks to rabbits, she has a very deep relationship with an invisible plastic space man, and she is totally fine wearing one silver shoe and one blue.

 She is so fearfully and wonderfully made....While the ridiculous mother that I am wants to hold her close to me and keep her safe from harm, the little twinkle in her eye that looks over her shoulder at me and takes just one more step further away  tells me that this free spirited girl will have no problem telling the world herself just exactly who she is.

She is amazing to me.
I miss her.

I know what you're thinking...it's not that big of a deal, she will have a blast, it is good for her, it is good for me, it is good for Maggie.  I know these things and I agree with them.
But I love her like crazy...

Crazy, probably being the most important word in that structurally incorrect sentence.
 

 

Grace and Peace

Rabbits

 "Mommy, why do I have to get big?"
"Well honey, it's just the way it is."
"But when can I get earrings?"
This was the conversation I had with her at bedtime tonight.

 These pictures were taken last week after we spotted a billion rabbits hopping around the neighborhood.  Really there was only 4, but to her they were everywhere.  She was singing a song about them and dancing.

 She was talking about the cats that would sneak up on them and kill them.  She was trying to sneak up on them to them about about that cats that would kill.

 And then she would sing the song again...It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.  She talked  to and about the rabbits for a good 20 minutes.   She wasn't really talking to me.  I don't know who she was talking to, she just talked, in the middle of the driveway, about rabbits.
For the record,
Right now she talks about her button arrow (bow and arrow) all the time.
Always, always, if she is naughty, she tells me about Buzz and how he was naughty.  For example, yesterday she cleared her bookshelf for no apparent reason. She emptied everything onto the floor, resulting in a consequence.  When I tucked her in for her nap she said that she put Buzz in a time out because he threw all of his toys off  of his book shelf...then she laughed.
She also has one volume when she talks to you about something she is passionate about.  Example, tonight in Walmart I am certain that the ENTIRE store knows that the box of Frosted Flakes has pictures of the Lmypics (Olympics) on them.
She is one special girl.  If you take the time to just listen to her you will find that 95% of what she says is not only very clever, but absolutely hilarious...The other 5% percent is whining and or crying which would take this post in a whole different direction if I elaborate on that.

 While I'm putting things down for the record, Maggie is the sweetest girl I know.  We have gone a whole week with out nursing.  Sad as it is that she is growing up, it was time for us to be done and I feel proud of her that letting it go went so smoothly.

Now, when she starts to get tired rubs the back of my arms and lays her head on my chest and I know its time fir her to rest...seriously, sweetest girl I know.

We have a big deal coming up this weekend.  My Little will be going to my parents house for a couple of days WITHOUT me so that she can attend VBS.  I don't want to say that I'm freaking out about it, but I"M FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT.  Glad I got that off my chest.  I know she will have a blast, but I'm so nervous to be here in the evening with out her.  It will give Mags and I some one on one time, which we have never had.  We may not even know what to do with each other.

Pray for me, this is a BIG, HUGE deal for us!
Life is full of first, and celebrating them and commemorating them.  Staying with Babs and Grandad should be a fun one.

Grace and Peace
xox