That's my girl

I'm in the kitchen making dinner while the girls play in the next room under Dan's supervision. The vent over the stove keeps me from hearing too much of what is going on but eventually I recognize the unmistakable sounds of my girls dissatisfaction: Rachel's foot stomping and Anna's screech.

I assume it has something to do with the mermaid Barbie outfit that has been causing familial strife for two days now and I inch closer to the melee to see how the girls are working things out. Almost anything short of physical violence is preferable to their normal course of action, which is to run screaming to Mommy.

As I peer around the corner I see Anna defiantly facing off against her sister. Rachel is standing with her hands on her hips, leaning forward as she yells, "Anna! You have to be NICE TO ME!"

Anna turns and walks away as she declares, "I don't want to be nice."

She may have muttered it but she was heard loud and clear.

Take Us Back In Time Tuesday - 10/13/09

My photo this week for Mrs. Schmitty's Take Us Back In Time Tuesday project was taken on December 4, 2005.

Seriously, are words even needed? Rachel was twenty days old. Anna was one year, three days. We were admittedly lucky that either one of them was sleeping at all, let alone both at the same time. Dan had been holding Rachel when Anna fell asleep on the couch and he placed the baby next to her "big" sister. You can see how Rachel's knees are still pulled up in the position she'd been in on her Daddy's chest. Dan took the picture and called me over and I do believe that I burst into tears at the sight.

This photo is pure love and joy. I would totally wallpaper the house with it if my husband would let me. But he won't. Heartless, right? So for now I'll just post it forever on my little corner of the interwebs.

If you would like to take part in this project - come on, do it, you know you want to - the participation rules are here and the Mr. Linky link can be found here.

Sometimes it really is the little things

The other day Anna fell asleep on the couch while I was preparing dinner and I had to wake her up or risk a very late, frustrating night.

As expected, she woke up cranky - who doesn't after only being allowed a 20 minute nap? - and as I already had a headache I tried to soothe her with, well, bribery. Luckily it only took a lemon popsicle and I watched as she ate it, bleary eyed and still mildly offended at being woken up.

When a few drops of popsicle melted onto her shirt I got one of her favorite nightgowns for her to change into, a brown and pink polka dot number. With ruffles. "I wish you washed this," she told me.

I was confused. "I did wash this honey, it's from your dresser, it's clean."

"But I wish you put it in the dryer."

I smiled. I've been known to pop the towels in the dryer before bathtime because I'm awesome like that. "Do you want me to make it warm, honey?" I asked. Her smile was my answer.

So I put it into the dryer and we chatted for a few minutes in the laundry room. When I retrieved the warm mass of fleece and started to pull it over her head I heard a sharp, high-pitched shriek and feared for a moment that I'd caught the fabric on her earring.

But then her head appeared, all pink cheeked and smiling and she immediately squirmed her body around inside the nightgown. "I LOVE warm!" she announced and ran off to advise her sister to do the same with her nightgown. She does love to share the wisdom.