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.

I'm huge with the preschool crowd

Last year I worked in Anna's classroom and got to eat lunch with her every day. This year is different and so when I was packing her lunch for the first day of school I got a little sappy and put a note in her bag, written on a paper towel and printed as neatly as I could manage.

I hope you are having a great first day of school! I love you, Mommy. She liked it so much she refused to throw it away and kept it tucked into a pocket of her lunch bag for two weeks.

I didn't want to start doing it for every lunch - too much pressure. Like I need one more thing to remember to do every day. So I've made it an occasional thing, once every week or so. Sometimes I include a little reminder, like swimming lessons tonight! or play date tomorrow! She always keeps them.

Yesterday after school I was cleaning out the lunch bags and found the note I'd written that morning. I called Anna over to see if she could read it to me.

"Dear Anna," she read slowly with a tiny bit of assistance. "I love you so much! I hope you are having a good day. Love, Mommy."

"And what about this down here?" I asked, pointing to another line of writing next to a silly sketch of a fairy.

Anna smiled and rolled her eyes. "Eat your lunch!" she quoted. "The kids in my class LOVED that! They really laughed."

What can I say? I know my audience.

Take Us Back In Time Tuesday - 9/29/09

I sort of can't believe I haven't already used this picture for Mrs. Schmitty's Take Us Back In Time Tuesday project.

Because it quite simply is one of my all time favorite pictures, ever.

There are so many things that make me smile when I look at this picture, which was taken in the summer of 2007. Anna's bedhead, Rachel's toddler potbelly, those sweet little jammies with the tiny satin bows at the necks.

Mostly I love that Rachel is watching her big sister's tearful reaction to this odd scene with a curious expression, like "What, he totally had it coming. Plus, he fits."

In later months I'd begin to worry that Rachel had some hostility issues with Elmo as I came across several other gruesome scenes, including a near-suffocation with her overturned snack bowl but it must have just been a phase. I'm pleased to report that Elmo is well and still residing - now peacefully - with our family.


If you would like to take part in this project - and I highly recommend that you do - the participation rules are here and the Mr. Linky link can be found here.

Then and now

While looking through my archives I discovered further proof of my whack blogging skillz. Specifically, I never posted anything at all about my girls first-ever day of school. LAST YEAR. Not one word or picture. How awful am I?

Of course I love to find the silver lining and I quickly realized that this is a perfect opportunity for a comparison photo situation and everyone knows how much I love that. And so I give you First Day of School 2008:

The apprehension in Anna's eyes is palpable. She loves adventure and new experiences but is very cautious in the transition phase. She's just waiting to see what this preschool thing is all about exactly. When I look at her careful little face my heart just swells a bit.

And when I look at Rachel I just want to giggle. Not even three yet, so little with her unruly pigtails and experiencing another milestone with her big sister. Just happy.

It was an awesome school year. It took about three months for Rachel to stop screaming every time I got more than two inches away from her but once we got past that little bump in the road it was golden.

By comparison we have here First Day of School 2009:

Sometimes I wonder why they have to get bigger at all. But then the universe drops me a nice little reminder that the getting bigger part - getting to watch our helpless little babies grow and gain confidence and overcome fears - that might be the best part of all. Even if it occasionally makes you cry.

Take Us Back In Time Tuesday - 9/22/09

This week's entry for Mrs. Schmitty's Take Us Back In Time Tuesday project features four generations of women from my mother's side of the family. In a good way.

Rachel was several days old and still in the NICU but Grandma Edith was not waiting until we took her home to get her hands on her newest great-grandchild. So she and my mom came to visit and I swear we did not plan the blue-gray color scheme. I'll blame genetics on that fabulous style choice.

If you would like to take part in this project, the participation rules are here and the Mr. Linky link can be found here.