Can you say "triste?!"

Here is how you know that your daughter has watched a few too many episodes of Dora:


I was pushing Little Sister on the swing, after we walked through the yard and navigated through a portion of the yard that the dogs especially like to use for their, er, potty.

Little Sis says, "Watch out for dog poop!"

No big deal. I say that all the time.  (Too much really.  I should probably get out the pooper scooper more often instead of advising my kids to tread carefully. But I digress...)

But then she said, "If you see dog poop, yell, 'Dog Poop!'  Do you see some? You do?  Where is it?  Is it in the tree? When you see it, say 'Dog poop!' Okay?"

It was less of a conversation and more of a recitation.  An incredibly silly and kind of gross recitation, at that. But creative, right?  And cute.

But... yeah, we should probably say, "Adios" to that show for a little bit.

Church Easter Celebration

 

Song for Palm Sunday: We long for You

 Hosanna

by Paul Baloche

Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You

Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

Hear the sound of hearts returning to You, we turn to You

In Your Kingdom broken lives are made new, You make us new

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away

Hosanna, Hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, Hosanna

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus

Catching up

Here are the highlights (and some lowlights) of the past few weeks:

• Big Sister had her first dental appointment.  Yeah, we're a little late on that, but she got a great report.  I however, had to come back to get my gums cleaned.  It was not fun, and I didn't even get a cool dolphin toothbrush or Spongebob toothpaste like she did. 
• The weather has been crazy! When it wasn't raining, we spent lots of time outside. Big Sis is getting great at riding her bike and Little Sis is working on the tricycle.  When it did rain, well, it poured. And stormed.  Which leads me to the next thing:
• We're getting a new roof.  Only, our insurance will only pay to replace the front side.  Fun.  
• I had a doctor's appointment, followed quickly by an ultrasound and mammogram, followed almost as quickly by a biopsy.  Scary times, but the results were good. 
• Big Sis had strep. Only her throat didn't hurt at all and her only symptom was an increasingly stubborn and high fever.  She made her first visit to PM Pediatrics.  She also found out that she is allergic to yet another antibiotic. Yay.
• Little Sister started talking like Adelaide from Guys & Dolls.  Or one of the three stooges.  I can't decide. Her R's are more like Y's. She says things like "foyst" instead of "first." I don't know where it came from.
• My Hubby is gearing up for softball.  Which means our lives are about to get crazier.  And we're about to be eating a lot of pizza and hot dogs leftover from the concession stand. 
• Big Sister was referred to be tested for the accelerated program at school.  We're super proud.
• The girls spent Spring Break in Ohio with my parents.  They had a lot of fun and got to visit with lots of special people.  Hubby and I used the child-free time to paint our bedroom and master bath and get ready for more home improvements.  Then we went up to get the girls, at which time I cleaned out & packed up my bedroom at my parents' house and we brought home a U-haul of boxes and furniture.  Which are now sitting in our garage...
• The girls are slowly returning to whatever semblance of routine we have here in crazytown.  I'm having to fight & win a lot of battles.  Little Sis says she "doesn't like me."  But then she wants me to sit in her room while she falls asleep.
• I consigned a lot of clothes at the Spring sale in town, but didn't work this year.  I'm expecting a good check when everything is all said & done!
• We've been working in the yard a lot.  We planted another pear tree, started some veggies in pots, set up a hummingbird feeder, and made one more attempt at a flower bed in the backyard.  After about three days, Sophie dug up both rhododendrons and "pruned" them.  To nubs. Argh.
• The girls have watched Tangled over & over again since we bought it. It's okay, though.  Even I was started to get tired of Ponyo. 
• I wrote a post about depression in mommyhood on our Muddy Mamas blog.  You can read it here.  And while you're there, check out what all the other cool gals have posted lately.
• I'm finally getting the Easter decorations out and rethinking this whole "seasonal decorations are so much fun" thing I went through a few years ago.

 There.  Now we're all caught up.

A month

I know.

It has been almost a month since I last updated this blog. Why?  I'm not sure.  A combination of busy-ness, preoccupation with other things, and a classic case of writer's block, I suppose.

For starters, I gave up Facebook for Lent.  Those of you who know me well know that this was almost like trying to give up sweets. (Which my husband attempted, by the way. It didn't last.)  I am a Facebook addict.  I actually deactivated my account so that I didn't 1) accidentally forget and check it one day since it is my "default" setting and 2) find some "legitimate" reason to check it that was work or emergency related.

What I've found while away from Facebook is that the ego-centrism that Facebook promotes (getting on facebook and telling the entire world that you accidentally bought whipped peanut butter or cried during Gray's Anatomy, as if anyone needs to know these things) has become the opposite.  Now I feel disconnected and insignificant.  Other people, my friends, are sharing jokes and swapping opinions that I am missing.  And they are not missing me.  The Facebook world goes on just fine without my sharing the cute little things my kids said throughout the day. 

It made me wonder if blogging was equally insignificant.  If it really mattered at all.  Try posting cute pictures of your kids with that going through your head.

The truth is that I started this for myself and for my girls.  To remember these quickly passing years in our family with more than just pictures, but with scenes and reflections.  So, I guess I'll go on sharing that Sophie stole the snack bag from our Ohio trip out of the pantry while we were watching Rio with friends, and that she ate three bags of trail mix, a pop tart, and lots of applejacks.  I'll write about how I woke to find Little Sis standing in my doorway last night, and when I asked her why she was in my room and what she needed (like ten times) she finally answered, "I don't know the truth, mom."

Neither do I, Little Sister.  But I'm trying to figure it out.  And put it into words to keep.  For you. For me.

We care.

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!