Heard at our house...

Little Sister:  Dad, can we jump on the couch?
Daddy: No.
Little Sister:  (turning to Big Sister) Let's jump on the couch!!
Daddy:  Noo!
Little Sister:  I wasn't talking to you.



Mommy: (wiping Little Sister's nose) Is your nose still icky? The medicine I gave you should help it to stop running.
Little Sister:  Yeah, we just want to help it to be walking.



(Mommy is closing the windows and curtains in the girls' bedroom before tucking them in.)
Big Sis:  Mom, why are you closing the windows? If I get hot, I might have a bad dream.
Mommy:  I know it's hot, but I can't leave the windows open in your room at night.
Big Sis:  Why? We don't want stuff to get in?
Mommy: Yeah, sort of.
Big Sis:  Like bugs? And bees?
Mommy: Yes, we don't want that-
Big Sis:  And ninjas.



Little Sis:  Mom, get your hug & your kiss & your cheers!
(Little Sis gives Mommy the most precious kiss & hug, and then sticks out both of her hands.  One is saying "I love you" in sign language.  The other is... trying. )
Mommy: Cheers. (she presses her "I love you" fingertips against Little Sister's tiny ones).
Little Sister:  You can just kiss this hand.  It doesn't work.  It's not cheers.  It's... cheerios.

Wee little greetings

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Why is it?

There are a lot of big things in the world I don't understand, like the tsunami in Japan or cancer or hunger. I can (and do) get pretty depressed thinking about those things.  But there are also some smaller, sillier things that keep me up at night. I thought I'd share some of these perplexing questions.  

Why is it...

• that daylight savings time even still exists?! I mean, I'm glad Little Sis isn't waking up with the sun anymore, but now she won't go to bed while it's up, either.  And Big Sis tries to insist every morning that she is "more tired" than anyone else. I'd LOVE for her to hop inside this old mama body for a few minutes.  I'm pretty sure she'd never, ever say that again.
• that my children are suddenly waking up in the night again?  In two weeks, I've had ONE night where I didn't have to put one or both of them back into their beds. 
• that I could be dead to the world, but as soon as I'm awake, I can't go back to sleep without an act of congress?  
• that Big Sister keeps her bike helmet on even when she isn't on her bike anymore?  How does she not feel that ginormous, pink & purple Barbie monstrosity when she is running through the yard, swinging at a baseball, or (seriously) eating dinner?!
• that every outdoor cat in our neighborhood acts like our backyard is a major thoroughfare?  It's like we've got catnip growing in the wooded area behind our fence! Poor Sophie absolutely loses. her. mind. when she sees a cat.  And the thing is, the people who would probably complain about our barking, squealing, out of control dog are most likely the ones whose cats are trotting past at all hours of the day.  Don't get me wrong, we have a cat.  I'm a cat person.  That's why I'd prefer my dog not eat one. Kitties be warned!
• that (speaking of cats) the water in the glass on my nightstand is so much more appealing to the cat than the water in her bowl?  I'll admit it was kind of cute the first time I woke up in the middle of the night and found Keaton getting a drink with her head so far in my big glass that I thought she might still be there in the morning. But when the cup happened to be a disposable one and she spilled it over the floor, or when she jumped up last night as soon as I set it down and before I took my medicine...  well...  listen, cat. You've got your own water.  Stay out of mine.  Unless you want me to turn you loose in the backyard to fend for yourself like apparently every other cat in the neighborhood. 
• that I have already eaten the two boxes of Thin Mints I ordered this year? I am a walking target for those sweet girl scouts sitting outside the grocery store.
• now that Big Sister is taking dance on Tuesday evenings, that everything seems to be on Tuesday night? Tuesday never felt like a popular day before, but now, I seem to be missing out on everything!
• that I paid someone $10 plus tip to "trim" Little Sister's hair so little that I had a hard time even finding a lock of hair to put in her baby book.  Seriously.  It looks like NOTHING happened.  And I was so confused I just said, "um... sure" when she asked (after cleaning her up, taking her out of the chair, and ringing us up) if she "took enough off." If by "enough" you mean "nothing", then my "um... sure" stands. 
• that with the girls in two different schools, the number of fundraisers seems to have quadrupled?  Is there some sort of exponential equation for this?  And does anyone want to buy a candybar, cookie dough, magazines, flower bulbs, or some random food item like gummy bears or chocolate covered pretzels?
• that I thought giving up Facebook for Lent would be a good idea?  

And finally, why is it

• that I just spent time constructing this silly list of things that make me wonder (and grumble) when I have so much housework left undone, so many errands to run, and so much for which to be thankful? I gotta go. I have other lists to make!

In like lions

March weather has definitely roared around here lately.  This evening the girls made some cute (and not at all ferocious) lions.  Here's what we used:

 

Light brown/gold paint, yarn, red paper triangles, squares of orange tissue, 

small paper plates, and googly eyes.

We painted the plates.

Then we used the paint to adhere the tissue paper "mane."

Finally, we added our eyes, nose, and whiskers.  You can use the paint to make them stick. If your kids are OCD like mine (they come by it naturally) and take so long with the mane that the paint is dry, use glue.

Roar!

They each have their own personalities.
The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking Mufasa and Scar.

I hope next week the weather will suggest we make lambs...

Envy comes in shades of... white?

Our house is finally wallpaper free!  It has only taken us about 5 1/2 years, but it's all down.  The halls, kitchen, dining room, girls' room, and two of our bathrooms have all been painted and otherwise loved in the past few years.  Our living room and guest/playroom still need a new coat of paint, but they've gotten new furniture and are good for now.  That leaves one big project on my immediate agenda: Our master bedroom and bath.  Hubby and I have always been terrible about letting our bedroom become a) the place to stash any and everything, b) the room that we neglect when updating, decorating, or even cleaning, and c) the exact opposite of the haven it should be.

So, I've been looking for ideas. I'm one of those random people who likes a little bit of anything and everything, so deciding on what to do with a room can be overwhelming.  I flipped through a few pages I tore out of Better Homes or Midwest Living over the years (yes, I know I live in the south. I'm just not sure I decorate like it...) and watched countless slideshows on hgtv.com.  And then I found it.

I have never, ever, ever, ever found a room more... well... me. 

 

This bedroom comes from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors.  I hope she doesn't mind me linking to her blog post or posting this photo, because I claim NO credit for it's fantasticness.  Yes, I made that word up.

There are a few details in the other photos of the room that are a little more feminine than, well, me.  And they definitely would be a little filly for the hubs.  

But the style, the color, the roughed-up, unique, story-to-tell pieces...  I'm kind of drooling on my keyboard.

Here is a post that includes more of her home.  More to love.  And, those of you who have seen my house, work-in-progress that it is, will notice a lot of similarities in the color schemes.  I just wish I were as creative as she is!  Below is her blogging space.  AH-mazing.

 So... anyone want to hit the antique mall with me?

Song for Sunday: But we'll stay...

This isn't a really profound choice.  It's just a fun love song, and I love my husband.  Getting away to the mountains really did make "everything look perfect from far away."  Now that we've come back to life (back to reality...  Does anyone else randomly start singing En Vogue?  No?  Just me, huh? Oh well.)  things are definitely not perfect.  But we're home.  Together.  And even if we had to come down from the mountains, that's how we'll stay.

Such Great Heights

By Iron & Wine, or The Postal Service, or Ben Folds (see Youtube video below)...

I am thinking it's a sign
that the freckles in our eyes
are mirror images
and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned. 

And I have to speculate
that God Himself did make
us into corresponding shapes
like puzzle pieces from the clay. 

And true it may seem like a stretch
but it's thoughts like this that catch
my troubled head when you're away
and when I am missing you to death. 

And when you are out there on the road
for several weeks of shows
and when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home. 

they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay 

I tried my best to leave
this all on your machine
but the persistent beat
it sounded thin upon the sending. 

and that frankly will not fly
you'll hear the shrillest highs
and lowest lows with the windows down
and this is guiding you home. 

they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay 

they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay 

they will see us waving from such great heights
"come down now" they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away
"come down now" but we'll stay

Isn't that a great version?  Is it okay to end a post about how much I love my husband by admitting I have the teensiest crush on Ben Folds? No? Okay.  I won't do that... 

Get away

 My husband and I ran away for a few days!  We took advantage of a Groupon deal and stayed for two nights at Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA.  It was wonderful to get away from everything and relax.

We rode horses for two hours the first day.  I hadn't been on a horse in about 7 years. And this one kept tripping on the trail.  Yes, tripping.  I had to alternate between standing in the stirrups and gripping the saddle tightly with my legs.  So, yeah, I feel like I did about 2,317 plies.  (That should be read like the french ballet term, not the word that rhymes with "dies," although there were times I wondered if that was what might happen to us on some of the steeper mountain trails.... but I digress...)

The hotel had a great heated indoor pool, whirlpool and sauna.  We took advantage of those every day, in part to recover from our trail ride.  I also enjoyed the most indulgent spa experience I've ever had.  I'm going to recount it here, just so I remember it when the laundry starts piling up and the kids are attacking each other with the ferocity of rabid raccoons.  Indulge me, will you?  And try not to be jealous...

I started off with a half an hour before my appointment to soak in a Eucalyptus steam room, take a Swedish shower, relax and change into my robe and spa shoes.  Next I went to the "relaxation room" (which was a fancy waiting room, pictured above) with the most comfortable adjustable chairs, delicious hot and cold herbal teas, trail mixes, relaxing fountains, and a smoky fireplace/incense smell.  Then came my massage.  I love, love, love getting a massage.  I love everything about it, from the enya-esque music to the aromatherapy oils to the amazingly comfortable table.  I even love the way my eyes look all scrunched up from the face rest when it is over.  And I especially love the relaxation.  (I do not, however, express my love for massages like Claire does...)

After the massage I sat a little longer in the relaxation room.  I stood at the windows and looked out at the sundeck with its hydrotherapy pool and the Cherokee style hothouse and then to the golf course where Hubby was playing his 18 holes. It was too windy for me to go out and enjoy the outdoor portion of the spa, and nearly too windy for his golf game, but otherwise the weather was beautiful.  And, because it was cooler and "off-season" we had almost the entire resort to ourselves.  In fact, when we went to breakfast the first day, we found that they did not even set up the buffet because there were less than 30 guests in the whole place!

We spent a lot of time enjoying the views, reading (and soaking) in the quiet, and even star-gazing.  I also beat my husband (badly) in a game of checkers in the fireside lounge. It was relaxing, romantic, and reinvigorating all at the same time.

 I appreciate my parents for coming down and staying with the girls and the dogs and making it possible for us to get away.  Little Sis was worried the first night when we called to check-in, asking me where we had gone and then saying, "but we don't have a mom and dad anymore."  Even if she didn't understand when I said we'd be right back, she knew she was in good hands with Nana and Papa.  And we could relax because we knew it too.  Thanks again, guys.

It was just what we needed!