Great-Grandma

My grandma passed away over the weekend. Over the past few days I've had several conversations with Makayla and Ellie about death and funerals and being sad about how much we are going to miss great-grandma.

Tonight I found this note that Makayla and Ellie wrote.

I'm criing Grat Gramma
I misse you sooo much Grat gramma
See you ladr grat gramma
Luve Miss Makayla and Ellie.

What sweet girls I have!

Future Aspirations

Ellie bounded in the kitchen where I was working and announced, Mom, when I grow up I want to be a Musketeer.

You do?

Yep.

But I would be afraid of you getting hurt.

Welllll. . . . . I would have special power if I was a Musketeer.

You would? What kind of power?

Hairspray power!

Hairspray power?! What kind of power is that?

It's magical power that will help me kill all the bad guys.

And where did you learn about that?

On Barbie and the Three Musketeers.

Then she ran into the living room shouting, One for one, and One for all!

Pregnancy Update--25 weeks

Several people have inquired, so I thought I'd give a quick pregnancy update. It turns out that all the symptoms I was experiencing before were due to an infection and dehydration. Once I finally went to the doctor and got some medicine and started drinking more water, all of the discomforts magically disappeared.

Now I'm feeling great. In fact, this is probably the best I've ever felt during a pregnancy. I have the energy and the motivation to actually do things--take my kids to the park, clean my house, make dinner, get down on the floor and play with my girls, volunteer at Makayla's school, shower get dressed and put on makeup all in the same day. It's great!

I'm just enjoying this stage as much as I can now. Next month could be a whole different story.

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On a side note, does anyone have any good girl names they aren't going to be using? Kasey and I are kind of at a loss for another girl name. I've asked Makayla & Ellie, but after going through every name from the Barbie movies and all their favorite TV shows, I'm convinced we aren't going to get anything good out of them. And I've told Ellie on more than one occasion that we are not going to name her new sister "Andralecia" no matter how many times she suggests it. Thankyouverymuch.

Help

Has anyone else had a hard time uploading videos to blogger recently? I've been trying to upload a video for several days, but I keep getting an error message.

Any suggestions?

The Way to My Girl's Heart

The remote and Dora the Explorer.

Kimberly loves, loves, loves to watch Dora. She sings the song. She does the little dance. She yells "map" and "backpack" at the appropriate times. When she doesn't get what she's reaching for, she sighs "oh man!" just like Swiper. It's actually really cute.

However, things have gotten a little out of control. I have several episodes of Dora recorded on my DVR and when Kimberly wants to watch Dora, she starts singing the Dora song and then runs for the drawer with all the remotes. I'm somewhat amazed that out of the 5 or 6 remotes in the drawer, she always knows exactly which remote turns on the tv and which one starts Dora.

This morning after breakfast she wanted to watch Dora. Of course. I decided to try my luck at getting a couple snuggles in exchange for an episode of Dora. I asked Kimberly for a hug. "Uh uh!"

"Do you want to watch Dora?" (nods her head) "Then I need a hug first." She gave me a half-hearted hug while reaching for the remote. And that's when my mama smarts kicked in. I turned around so my back was to the remote. "Can I have another hug?" She leaned in for what was sure to be another short hug when she saw the remote behind me. I got the best. hug. ever. So what if she was only trying to reach the remote to turn on Dora. A hug is a hug is a hug. And I'll take them anyway I can!

Housework: I'd Rather Have a Root Canal

Sometimes housework is so depressing. Like today. After 4 days of doing absolutely no cleaning except washing dishes, there is so much to catch up on. And even though I've been working all morning (picking up, wiping down, filing away, washing and folding) it still looks like I haven't done a thing all day. I guess that'll teach me to procrastinate!

I'm Not Alone In This Parenting Thing, Right?

I just stepped outside for a minute and heard my neighbor's little girl throwing an absolute screaming tantrum. I heard something, a toy I imagine, get thrown across the room and hit the window with a thud. I also heard the voice of a mother who was completely out of patience with her daughter, but trying so hard to remain calm.

As I walked up the sidewalk, I chuckled quietly to myself. Partly because this was so very similar to the scene that unfolded in my own house just 2 hours earlier tonight, and partly because I was so glad not to be the only one that this happens to. It made me feel just a little bit better knowing that I am not alone.