Rainy Day Painting

It dawned on me in the last week or so that I have 19 months until Abby Jane is in kindergarten five days a week and the twins will go to preschool.  There's a lot of living that needs to happen in that period of time, and I'm going to be more intentional about making it happen, rather than playdating it through the week. Maybe I'm running more of a socialite factory than a home.

Secondly, my favorite discovery in the last month is the fabulousness of doing crafts and anything messy in footie pajamas.  When you're done, just peel the PJs off and put on clean clothes, and the only thing you're cleaning on your kids are their hands.  Or additionally, your cheeks and hair if you're Joy. Because who cares if there's some paint on your pajamas?

Please note: everyone is still in PJs (clean, non-painty ones).  It was a rainy day, we weren't going anywhere, and they really wanted PJs.  This is what I'm talking about: a lot of living has to happen in the next 19 month, even if it's just saying, OK, cool, wear your footies all day long if we're just home.  You're only two and four once.

Watching

Sometimes the best way to part with the things in our hands before a meal is if the animal, book, binoculars, or bucket, as the case may be, watches us while we eat.

Just wondering...

Anyone else's kids been playing with scissors lately?

Cattywampus Princess

A little friend of ours from church had a princess party last weekend.  As Jake received compliments on being one of only a very few brave dads there, he said, "My life is a princess party." Yes, I know, I've got a good man!

Meet Joy, the cattywampus princess, who adamantly did not want to take off the Auburn shirt she slept in and was still sporting that black eye. Like I said on facebook that day, there are some things that even tutus and butterfly wings can't change. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's Abby Jane and the birthday girl, Andie. Abby Jane borrowed a Snow White gown from a friend who has five dresses as we haven't given in yet to the slippery slope of princess- land (which only really will last a few more weeks, since she's having a family princess party herself next month).

 It would be truly impossible to articulate the degree of her elation and delight in wearing this dress. Let's just say it was a good call to accept our friend's offer of the dress. The "two year" post below shows Blythey in her own wings and tutu, going as a fairy princess.  She actually pulled off the look sweetly, made easier with a pink shirt vs. Auburn shirt and minus the black eye.

As I congratulated Andie's mom and dad on having a three year old, there were a few things that went through my head to mention about the age of three.

...

But since, as always, the fantastic and precious has outweighed the, shall we say, challenging... though the margin there was closer at times than in years past... I kept those thoughts to myself and just cheered.  Yea for turning three! YEA that our family almost only has a four year old and two two-year-olds.  Seems easier than having a "three".  We'll see.

They're Two...

They've been two for three months, but maybe if you have three kids, you can be three months late in a post?!

Joy: tempestuous, headstrong, physically strong and coordinated, family clown, hearty-voiced, loud laugh, kind and gentle-hearted, mostly likely to say "I love you", "Where's Daddy?", "Where's Bop Bop?", "Happy birthday _____!", and "Lockamy!" = "Look at me!" Loves riding tricycles, imitating Abby Jane, asking about Jake, horseplaying, building towers and train tracks, reading books.  Has a morning rest time if we're home and take a fat three- four hour nap in the afternoon.  Runs like a linebacker. Eats sandwiches from the flat part towards the center (as opposed to the side like most people), then peels it apart for an open-face sandwich.  Eats a small breakfast, medium lunch, huge dinner and is generally a very messy eater. Pulls out any bow or clip in her hair most of the time, thus the classic Joy crazy unkept look.  She's concerned when others get injured.  She ends a lot of sentences and questions with "okay" or "mkay".  She still is a pansy about elephants and trains, but she's getting better about diggers and loud noises. Most important bed buddies: blanket, Sally dog, and Muffin McLay (another dog), and... her paci (don't judge- we'll get to that at some point). We call her Joy-bird, Bird, Birdie, Joy Joy.  She calls us Mama/Mommy, Daddy, Abby Janie, and Byffe/Byffey or Bow (for Boo).

Blythe: delicate, feminine, giggles, quiet and high-pitched voice, likes to stick close to Mama, not usually going to join in the fray, independent heart that is completely content to do her own thing, not easily influenced by her sisters.  Loves baby dolls, baby strollers, all animals, shopping carts (which she always says she's taking to Costco), building towers and train tracks, reading books, wearing "bling" of any sort.  Same nap schedule as Joy. L.O.V.E.S. breakfast (always out-eats the other girls) and fruit.  Drinks one or two sippy cups of smoothie a day. Calls them "seemies".  After the big breakfast, eats a medium lunch and a small dinner (opposite of Joy.) Most likely to say, "Hosey mice!"= "Hold me!" (Incidentally, she is now capable of saying "hold me" but chooses to stick with hosey mice), "Wappened?"= "What happened?" "Big one, Mama!"= "look at my big bite!" Thinks it's really funny to show a mouth full of food.  She doesn't run... she scampers. Very, very ticklish and the girly giggle dissolves into a helpless/hoarse laughter when you're really getting her. Is physically ready to potty-train but absolutely does not want to sit on the potty.  Most important bed buddies: blanket, Polly horse, Minnie Mouse, and her paci. We call her Blythey, Boo, Boo Boo (when we're not thinking, it can accidently become Boozer or Boozie).  She calls us Mom, Daddy, Ah-Jane, and Jew/Jo or Biddie (for Birdie).

Together...

When one wakes up, they call for the other one and says, "Get up, ____!" They also like to play peekaboo in their cribs, and Sally dog and Polly horse have some very high-pitched conversations with each other from across the room.

Sometimes they have a VERY VERY hard time sharing, and other times they are so self-less and eager to help each other.

The two best parts about this age are:

 1. hearing their little conversations: "There's a pumpkin patch." "I see the pumpkin patch right 'dere'." "Don't touch my knee, okay?" "I won't touch your knee, mkay." "I need my milk!" "I get it. It right dere." [someone crying] "You okay?" "____, c'mere!!" and it goes on and on.

2. Shrieks of laughter at each other , especially when they're by themselves in their room during their morning rest time as they chat about seemingly hilarious stuff.  To be a fly on the wall and to understand their every word would apparently be to experience the comedy routine of the year.

That's not to exclude the obvious tantrums and the drama that accompanies this age and gender, but the fabulous part outweighs the not-so-fabulous almost all the time. I love my sweet girls!

Growing

Joy feet now...

Joy feet two years ago...

Wrong Way

It's usually better to go down a slide on your backside or your belly.

 Not on your face.

Brothel

The most impactful Christmas gift I received was a stocking stuffer called "God in a Brothel" by Daniel Walker.  I heard about the book last fall from Hagar International, the ministry 418 Stitches supports. This is what Hagar had to say about the book:

"God in a Brothel is the true story of an undercover investigator's experiences infiltrating the multi-billion dollar global sex industry. It is the story of a rescuer who freed hundreds of trafficking victims leading to the prosecution of dozens of perpetrators. It is the personal story of Daniel Walker, a New Zealander who followed a path of costly discipleship, agonizing failure and unlikely redemption. Perhaps most importantly, it is a story of triumph for the victims released from lives of slavery.

At Hagar, we treasure this story because we witness the transformation of clients released through Daniel Walker’s good work, every day. We highly recommend that you read this book."

I used my Christmas sewing break to dive right in.  My take on it?  The book is painfully difficult to read from absolutely cover to cover, and there's much of it that is just so heartbreaking that I have no words of my own to describe.  But it is impossible to read the book and not be impassioned to have a hand in the rescue of these women and children. With that in mind, I highly, highly recommend this book as well. 

Many of you have probably heard about Passion Conference 2012 that happened here in Atlanta.  Over $3 million was raised from 42,000 college students to be given to end human slavery.  

That is mind-blowing.

I was thrilled to see that Hagar International was one of the ministries blessed by those funds raised.  This is what they had to say about their experience.

It's so easy to get in our day-to-day schedule and routine life in suburbia, and there is such a world of hurt beyond the bubble of our own realities.  Reminders like reading "Brothel"and like learning about all the ministries that Passion gave towards are so vital to keep our focus on our purpose here on earth- to glorify God and be used by Him... 

to be vessels of God's love to the ends of the earth and used by Him in whatever way He chooses.  

Each of us are made perfectly in His sight to have our own specific way to give and serve others, and no one else can give and serve in the same way you can. 

To not find what your specific gift is and a specific place in which to invest of yourself... and to not then pursue that end... is to miss out on great blessing indeed.   

The Art of Stealing Creativity

At the risk of sounding like I'm older than I am, I have to say a few things.  When the kid in the blue polka dot jacket was born almost four years ago, I had never read a blog and there was no such thing as pinterest. How. on. earth. did I ever make a decision about anything for her nursery on my own ability? I formulated what my style was based on Pottery Barn Kids.  Though I love that store and love finding knock-offs from their style even more, how limited was I in my opinion with just one store to go on?

Beyond that, when we were engaged and registering, my view of what I liked then was also basically based on Pottery Barn.  I still like most of the things I registered for, but JUST THINK how creative and more unusual our style choices could have been if we had the wide world of blogs and Pinterest to steal ideas from????

I think we all got gypped.

My mom was looking at Pinterest the other day, and she commented that she had to make up all her own creative stuff.  Shoot, I personally feel like a dinosaur that I actually had an accordion file of wedding information, pictures torn out of magazines, etc.  And that was just 7 1/2 years ago.

I have a dear friend who can't stand her everyday dishes.  She says she just didn't know what her style was then, so she went with what her mom suggested.  NO ONE getting married right now or decorating their first nursery right now can have that excuse!  I look at some of these new nurseries that friends post about and think OH MY, how incredibly amazing is that?!  But no kidding, the ability to borrow ideas from fabulously creative people is given to us on the silver spoon of the blogworld and pinterest.

I'm not bitter.  And I don't even spend much time doing either because it sucks me in like a vortex, and I just don't need to spend the time doing too much of that.

But it's there, ready, when I need to borrow someone else's amazingness.

Probably when my girls are getting married (Lord help us) (and our wallets) or setting up their own nurseries, they'll just have to think "perfect idea for ______" and the thought will just get beamed into their heads.

And they'll say, wow, my mom had to actually move her fingers on a keyboard to tap into the world of other people's brilliance...

By the way, I know the raincoat picture actually has nothing to do with this post, but the girls were all walking around like ducks in a row with their hands in their pockets this morning, and I just had to share.  The little mod squad.

#11 and #12

Well, I jumped the gun with my Top Ten, because two more blog-worthy events happened on Monday and Tuesday. 

11. On Monday, Abby Jane opened her birthday present one month early- ballet lessons and all the pink fancy trappings that go with it!

 Daddy was "there" to be a part of the gift.  The somewhat last-minute decision on which program we were going to enter was actually made Monday afternoon because her first class was Tuesday.  Nothing like a buzzer beater. Of sorts.

 I just so happened to guess at what she might need if we happened to decide on a class for her, and I conveniently made a few of those girly purchases last week.  Turns out I guessed right, except for the wrong kind of shoes. It didn't matter b/c they got her through the first class yesterday, and she pretty much couldn't have loved them more.

 We needed to put on our things right away.

She started practicing some ballet moves right away.  I don't know that I've ever seen her so genuinely and deeply thrilled with a gift in her life.

 12. We picked Jake up from the airport last night, and we had a wonderful night of reunion as a family of five.  Having Daddy be a part of our morning routine today was lovely for everyone.  I would like to say especially me, but the other three girls were also pretty thrilled with his special attentions.

Tonight, there was entertainment for the girls while I fixed dinner.  Wow.  The small things you take for granted.

I love that man, and I love that his absence is so gaping when he's gone.  That in itself is something to be immensely grateful for!

Top 10

Some of the following may have come to light in the previous post, but here's a few stories for you that may be been missed...

10. Whenever Jake heads out to SoCal or anywhere out of town in January or February, the mercury always plummets ridiculously.  We get snowed/ iced in. Thankfully this year, it didn't get worse than the 20's, and things got back to normal after just a couple of days.

9. Abby Jane chose this week, of all those in the last 19 months of being daytime potty trained, to adamantly decide to be night time potty trained.  We are thrilled for her choice, but I wouldn't have minded if Daddy could join in the fun.

8. On the first night of this new venture, and the only night to have an accident thus far, I was evidently not fast enough in the clean-up process to prevent Abby Jane from waking up completely.  This was proven when, an hour later at 2:30 a.m., she showed up, fully alert, in my room asking me to help change her doll's dress.  UMMMMM NO MA'AM!!!!  Thankfully, that hasn't happened since.

7. Blythe's aforementioned first haircut, and me learning how take care of her hair.

6. At the zoo, Joy pinched her finger so badly that I thought it was broken.  It was not, but it looks awful. She's a trooper.

5. Abby Jane, in a slightly fussy moment, ran into a door I was opening, and has a resulting really sad -looking injury. These two injuries add to the list of those happening under my supervision, far outweighing those under Jake's! That's one competition I would love to lose.

4. We started a new tradition of Sunday morning shows.  Simply put, we sit on the sofa, and Joy does crazy dancing and running around while we sing "Away in the Manger" or "Joy to the World", depending on her request. She asks, "Am I funny?"

3. Skyping with Jake. Joy asking, at least 50 times a day, "Where's Daddy?" Me: "In L.A." Joy: "In ELLL-lay?"

2. Tomorrow is Abby Jane's first cleaning at the dentist's.  I'm going to proactively put that on the list.

1. Grandparents, friends, a responsible three year old, good-natured two year olds, and the prayers of a good man that have made this week work!

While you've been gone...

Jake's been in L.A. since last Monday, and our house of girls will be rejoined by our man in just two more days!  The following week in review is for you, babe.  We've missed you, but we're glad for the week you've had.

In the last week...

We hit Mimi and Bop Bop's for dinner, no photos, just good food and good times.

The Boutwells came to play.  I love any time spent with Jane, and she has two very special, sweet kiddos.  Here is Anna, rocking Blythe's birthday hat at a tea party.

An afternoon of train time one afternoon...

We rolled down to Mom's house for a few days to split up my single mom-hood, and our favorite hair stylist came over for a playdate and a couple of haircuts.

 Can't beat a haircut with a lake view!

Blythe got her first little trim, and the girl glowed while she received that special attention. I had decided Ericka better teach me how to take better care of Blythe's curly little head, so get excited about seeing that little head at its full potential!

This is for Aunt Betsy, who gave us this fabulous sweater for Christmas.  Binoculars and sparkle shoes courtesy of Grammy's house.

 Abby Jane decided to become night time potty trained this week.  So, just like that, she's done it.  This is licking fingers after a congratulatory chocolate chip pancake.

 My happy girls and their bedheads.

We hit the zoo with Katie's family, and Carlton's Mimi, who I've also known since I was four, made a cameo appearance on our playdate.  This turned out to perhaps benefit me more than Katie, as Miss Pam filled "Mimi shoes" for both families.

 There were just plain some sweet sister moments in the course of the week.

 Grammy's flat street is just right for improving our bike riding skills.

 Racing Grammy...

Tonight at dinner, during a fun evening at home with Mimi's wonderful company... and extra set of hands. Lots of giggles involved.