Obligatory Door Sign

I have to admit how proud I am that one of Julia's first solo-writing projects was this lovely sign for her bedroom door, sounded out and written with no help from moi.

"Yes grls oulad. No boes ulad."

Need she say more?

Have You Contemplated Your Belly Button Lately?

So, I was writing a paper for my English class tonight, and I was using the thesaurus feature to find a different word for "introspection." (Yes, we are old friends, computer thesaurus and I. Just what I need when the inevitable Marshmallow Brain sets in.) You will never guess what suggestion Number 7 was.

Navel-gazing.

That's right...staring at the belly button. Evidently it's the same as self-examination, meditation, reflection, and solipsism. (Just imagine the trouble an English language learner could get into with that tricky thesaurus...)

It's good to know that spending time staring at your belly button means that you are self aware.

So, I have to ask...when was the last time you gazed at your navel?

How Babies Care for Their Young

This is why babies shouldn't have babies.

(Among other reasons, of course.)

And the Pendulum Swings...

I come from a family that had a pretty rigid breakfast schedule...hot cereal on Mondays, eggs on Tuesdays, cold cereal on Wednesdays, hot cereal again on Thursdays, eggs again on Friday, then cold cereal, pancakes, or french toast on Saturdays and Sundays.

For a cereal lover like me, the lack of cold cereal in this breakfast scenario is just not acceptable. So, as an adult, I have tried desperately to make up for the striking imbalance that I experienced growing up. I think so far I've done pretty well accomplishing my goal. Especially when cereal is on sale. I'm like a mad woman, filling my pantry shelves with all the yummy (gasp!) name-brand cereals I never got as a kid. (I think our new all-time high for boxes of cereal at one time is 38.) (But believe me: I do not hold the record among my siblings.)

My poor mom. I am sure that all she was trying to do was to teach us healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, all that she really accomplished was to raise 5 cereal-hoarding candy fiends that sometimes eat dinners with no green vegetables, and rarely eat whole grains.

And, undoubtedly, my own children will resent the fact that all we ever had to eat for breakfast was cereal, and that waffles, eggs, and french toast were reserved for Sunday night dinners on the fly.

Why You Should Never Leave Your Children Unattended Around Dinnertime

Seems there's always trouble brewing any time I go in the other room for any amount of time, especially when there are empty tummies about. It sure doesn't take long for my hungry little monkeys to get into something they shouldn't be in...and then eat all of the marshmallows out of that something.

The Carnage.

I know, she looks guilty, but she was just
holding the box for a friend.

Seriously, she didn't even inhale.

Notice there are literally no marshmallows left.

The actual culprit (Vanna) is out of the shot...

Lex just happened upon the right place at the right time.

Losing the Blankie: The Ultimate Betrayal

Alexa got pretty attached to the blanket that I used as a nursing cover. And when I say "pretty attached" what I really mean is very attached. She loved that thing. Loved to eat it, squeeze it in her little fingers, and play with its frayed, raggedy edges...

Notice how I'm talking in the past tense.

We took that beloved blankie with us on a Saturday shopping trip and it vanished. Into thin air. All we know is that we had it when we got out of the car, and we didn't have it when we got back in. Retracing our exact steps, and several calls to two Lost & Founds have sadly yielded no results. Alexa is left blankie-less. And I feel horrible.

Obviously, she's young, she will never remember that old blanket, and will probably be over the whole ordeal in a couple of weeks. But right now, she knows. She knows that the blanket I've been giving her is not the real thing. She knows it's a sorry replacement for the beloved comfort object that she has been using for the last ten months. She'll actually grab it, thinking that it's the one, and then push it away when she remembers that it's not. If I try to cover her with it, she takes it off. If I put it in her hand, she lets go. And sadly, she's left comforting herself by rubbing her own eyelashes, because there are no frayed edges to play with on the Impostor Blanket.

I'm not giving up quite yet. I'll call those Lost & Founds a few more times, but I'm afraid that my worst fear will eventually be confirmed: It's lost forever and there's nothing we can do about it. And that's probably the saddest thing ever to happen in Lex's little life.

A Very Merry Christmas Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, realizing that it was almost time for Christmas, I was reminded that it was time for me to haul out the other kind of Holly...yes, I needed the help of my friend, Holly, who takes kick-trash pictures of even the most hard to photograph children (a.k.a mine.) I loved all of the photos she did, but so as not to bombard you with her talent and my kids' cuteness (a lethal combination, I tell you) I have selected my very favorites. (Minus the Christmas card pic. You'll just have to wait for that one.) Enjoy!

(All of the photos are so beautiful, but I bet

you can guess why I think this one is the best.)

A New Tradition?

I have always wanted to think of a fun way to count down to Christmas with the girls. Well, that's not entirely true...I do think of fun ways to do it, I just never think of it enough in advance to actually plan something. (I blame genetics. We are not great planners in my family. Just ask the people who ate Thanksgiving dinner with us...two hours after we told them to be there.) So you can imagine how pleased I am with myself for thinking of something to do (and getting it ready!) before December actually started. Pleased as punch, that's me.

So, we rounded up all of our Christmas books and wrapped them last week. ("We" being Savanna and me. But mostly me.) 24 books in all. We numbered them and we're going to open one every night in December and read it before bed. The smaller the pile gets, the closer to Christmas we'll be. Woo Hoo!

As great as this idea sounded in my head, I will admit I was a little overwhelmed when it came time to actually do it. By the time I was wrapping book #6, I was seriously questioning my sanity. By book #13, contemplating giving up. Book #24, just glad it was finished. I'm so glad I followed through, though, I think it will be a super fun and tangible way to count down to the best holiday ever.

 Who knows? Maybe I'll be crazy enough to

pick this tradition again next year.