He Says...

Tonight as I was putting Briggs to bed, we had this conversation:

Briggs:  "I need a huggy, a kissy, a lullaby, and the people thing."
Me:  "People thing?  What's the people thing?"
Briggs:  "The people thing."
Me:  "I don't know what the people thing is.  Is it a stuffed animal?"
Briggs:  "No!  It's the lullaby and the people thing."
Me:  "Oh!  Do you mean when we pray and thank Jesus for the people we love?"
Briggs:  "Yes!"

It's a good thing I speak Briggs.

 And tonight when I say my people thing, I'll be sure to thank Jesus for this boy!!

Hello, Old Friend

The sun was out.  The temperature was in the 40's.  I had a little time before dinner.  So I went to visit a special friend who I haven't spent much time with since the weather turned cold.  And I realized just how much I had missed him.

My running shoes and I are ready for spring when we can resume our regular visits and, once again, foster this special relationship.

She Says...

The other night Staley came downstairs about 30 minutes after we'd put her to bed.  I asked her why she was still awake.  She said, "I like that Briggs is growing up and sleeping in his big boy bed, but sometimes I worry about him getting out of his bed at night when he's supposed to be sleeping.  I can't sleep because I feel responsible to make sure that he stays in his bed at night."  I assured her that I could take responsibility for Briggs's nighttime sleep habits, but love her heart and how she is such a great big sister.


I usually sing the kids a lullaby each night at bedtime.  Tonight I sang 'A Few of My Favorite Things' to the girls.  In the song, there is a line that says 'When the dog bites/when the bee stings/when I'm feeling sad/I simply remember my favorite things/and then I don't feel so bad.'  After I had finished singing, Staley replied, "When I'm feeling sad, I don't like to think about my favorite things because that makes me feel more sad since I don't have them right then.  I like to think about worse things because then being sad isn't the worst."  I can't argue with that logic.

I love her heart.  I love her mind.  I love this girl.

Little White Lie

The other day I was playing a game with the girls.  Adelie was crying because she was losing.  I said, "Adelie, crying makes the game less fun.  The fun part of the game is just playing.  It doesn't matter who wins."

I lied.  Winning is the most fun part.  Any competitive person knows that.  I always try to be honest with my kids, but sometimes a little white lie just makes things easier.  (You know, like when I say, "I'm not sure what happened to all the Easter candy.")  I was trying to make Adelie feel better so she would stop crying and we could enjoy finishing the game.

But Adelie and I both know the truth.

Games are fun, but winning is even better.

Question of the Day

Would you consider it a waste of money if your son found the ice skating Disney characters a bit on the scary side and chose the Zamboni clearing the ice during intermission as his favorite part of the Disney on Ice show?

We could have saved a little money on his ticket, but then he would have missed out on a fun family activity, even if it did include frightening skating characters.

This Girl

The other day we were eating at a restaurant and we let the kids order milkshakes.  When Adelie ordered, she said, "Since this milkshake already comes with sprinkles, I think I'll be more healthy and just get vanilla."

Now that's my kind of health food!

Love this girl!!

Future Planning

Last night, Staley told me that she has 6 different things that she might be when she grows up.

1.  An author
2.  A chef
3.  A fashion designer
4.  A famous actress
5.  An actress at Disney World--either being a princess, a character, or performing in one of the shows
6.  A trick rider at a rodeo

I'm all for chasing your dreams, but she might want to come up with a plan G.

Honesty

This morning Adelie and I did a little more exercising together.  I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt while she had on another leotard.  After our exercises, she climbed onto my lap and then exclaimed, "Your legs are really pokey."  Then knowingly she added, "It's your hair."  Rubbing her own leg, she said, "My hair is soft, but your hair is hard."  And then she finished with, "But it's okay.  I still like you."

I still like her too!!

Fun Surprises

This weekend we surprised the kids with a big room change-up.  While they were busy having fun sleepovers with grandparents, Zach and I (and his dad) made some major changes to the kids' rooms.

We moved Briggs out of his crib and into the toddler bed that Adelie had been sleeping in.  He likes his big boy bed and LOVES his new vehicle sheets and cover, although he has asked several times to have his crib back.

Since Adelie no longer had a bed, we removed Staley's bed from their room too and gave them this instead.

The girls were ecstatic about their new bunk beds.  They've had just as much fun playing in their beds as they have sleeping in them over the past few days.  And Briggs keeps calling them "the sisters ginormous bunk beds."

Staley had also been asking for a desk for their room, so the fact that the beds also have 2 little desk areas has been icing on the cake.  The girls have been working on a book together.  Adelie illustrates the pictures, puts them into Staley's mailbox (one of the drawers), and then Staley writes the words.

Everyone has been sleeping great in their new beds.  After the first night, I asked the girls how they slept.  Staley said, "Great!  I didn't think I'd be able to sleep very well my first night that close to the ceiling, but I did."

The kids have been sleeping great.  Their rooms are a little more spacious now.  And the kids were all excited about their fun surprise.  Winner, winner, winner!!

Life is Rough

Life is rough when you are 2.  There are so many injustices, so many demands, so many concessions you have to make.  You are forced to stop playing in order to do horrible things like eat meals, use the bathroom, get dressed, transport your sisters places, take baths, and take naps.  Sometimes your parents refuse to play with you just so they can do unnecessary things like make meals, take showers, use the bathroom, do laundry, and attend to the needs of someone else.  Your parents don't care enough to attend to your every demand at the exact moment you make it.  They are always putting incredibly high expectations on you like "use your manners," "stop biting your sister", "don't drink the bath water", and "don't keep doing what I just told you not to do." And then when you decide to take a stand against these injustices with very rational behaviors like yelling "no", running away, screaming, writhing, throwing things, hitting, kicking, and throwing yourself on the ground, your parents act as if there is actually another way to respond in situations like these.

Obviously they don't understand how tough it is to be a kid.

February Resolutions

February just might be my least favorite month.  It's cold, dreary, and blah.  The thrill of winter has long since passed and it's still too far from spring.  I have too many days spent inside but not enough motivation to brave the cold when it's not essential.  This winter has just been bringing me down.  I'm unmotivated.  I'm sedentary.  I'm tired.  I'm relying too much on my yoga pants and sweatshirts to hide the fact that I've been combatting my winter blues with ice cream and cookies.

Staying in bed has definitely been winning.

I'm not a resolution kind of person, but I need to do something about my winter blahs.  I've decided that my February goal is to exercise for at least 10 minutes each day.  I think that 10 minutes is doable.  I don't have to go outside.  I don't have to set aside a big chunk of time.  I can fit it in before bed without sacrificing my sleep.  Just 10 minutes a day to fight back against the February-ness that makes me just want to sit on the sofa with a blanket and a roll of girl scout cookies.

Today since it was yet another day that it was too cold and I was too unmotivated to get out of the house, I decided that the kids and I could exercise together.  I put on some "workout clothes", Adelie put on a leotard, and Briggs stayed in his pajamas.  I put on a work-out video and we worked on beating those winter blues together.  Briggs quickly lost interest and spent most of the time asking me to play, climbing on my back, holding onto my leg, and generally getting in the way.  But Adelie was in the zone.  She did a full 20 minute cardio workout plus a warm-up and cool down, and then she asked for more.  She kept cracking me up.  At one point she exclaimed, "I can really feel this in my body."  The first time the person on the video talked into the camera like he was talking to us, Adelie asked, "Why is he talking to us?  Does he know us?"  She kept telling me what a good workout it was, how sweaty she was getting, and insisted that she needed a bath when we were done.  If I need motivation to get off the couch and get moving, I think I've found her.

My work out buddy