it's the little things

Someone asked Eliza her name today and she answered, "popcorn".
and she was not eating at the time.

Sunday, Sophie was looking for E and trying to describe her to an adult ... it went something like this:
Adult - who are you looking for?
Sophie - My baby Eliza. Um, she's kind of like a heavy brick.

and one more thing I want to remember about this week ...

Maddie had her first big girl play-date (that means no big sisters around) with Lauren today. I lost count of how many times they would stop what they were doing, giggle, and say, "we're best friends". Pretty cute stuff.

I want to m-m-m-m-marry you

B-Ba b-ba Bobbie Sue (written by Heather Eaton.)

Some thoughts on my beloved Oak Ridge Boys (or ORB, as they like to be called).

This was NOT a get out of your seat and boogie concert. Totally okay with that, I am an accomplished chair-boogier. And, I chair-boogied quite a bit. Love that my husband accepts this about me. It's possible that I look ridiculous.

The ORB is getting old. They are aging well, except for the bass singer who doesn't want to admit it. Hair doesn't get darker after 40, dude. Also, lose the perm. No offense. Great voice.

Experiencing "Elvira" in concert is very very close to congregational singing.

There was one woman who stood up after every song. We called her "ovation lady". She was impressive.

I was the youngest person at the ORB concert, tonight. The very cool thing was, I bet the crowd was at least 25% veterans. It was kinda like Branson.

Loved it so much.

p.s. I have a cheek-ache from all the smiling.

p.p.s. I have a crush on Joe Bonsall. Jeff knows and is surprisingly cool about it.

the Oak Ridge Boys (and 9 other things to be thankful for)

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. Craighead Forest Rotary Park. And the fact that for the first time ever, I did not have to hold a baby or keep a toddler from running toward the lake. My youngest played just as hard as the big kids! Go Miss Eliza Pants!


2. I get to see the Oak Ridge Boys in two days. Sing it with me now, "El-vi-ra! a oom boppa mow mow..."


3. I am slowly making my way through the Christmas shopping list. This is good because I usually do not begin until after Thanksgiving. That's much harder on the old budget, you know.


4. Talked to an old classmate today!!!!!!! I love her.


5. The kids were really good during puppets tonight at church. Love little kid enthusiasm.


6. FRIED CHICKEN for supper tonight, folks.


7. Friends who are full of encouragement.


8. A wonderful quick weight-loss plan for my upcoming reunion : starving myself! just kidding


9. be-yoo-ti-ful weather!!!!!!


10. Halloween is over, dudes!

The Punkies

aka: The Punkin Funkies

Evidently, that's what you call it when you clean out a pumpkin.

Highlight for the girls - sticking their fingers through the nose hole picking Pumpkin Boogies...

Which led me to ...

start singing "Pumpkin Boogies!" (to the tune of Jungle Boogie, obvs.) ...

Which quickly deteriorated into ...

Pumpkin Bootie as my girls marched off to their bath.

Pumpkin nose picking, songs about booties ....

having all girls sure is precious, I tell ya. :)

a 5 yr old's take on marriage

Going through my "nice" (read: almost never worn) jewelry today, Sophie holds up my anniversary ring and asks -

"How many times did you get married?"

me, distracted-like, "uh, one"

"But you have 3 kids."

"yes"

"Daddy only loved you ONCE?"

finally paying attention, "no, Daddy loves me every day."

S. walking away, "yeah, but he only gave you one married ..."

to Jeff later, "how many times have you been married?

Jeff (Mr. Hilarious) says "5"

"WHOA! YOU HAVE 5 MOMS?!?!?!?!"

remember: can't joke with Sophie, can't joke with Sophie, can't joke with Sophie, ........

Miss Eliza Belle turns 2

Okay, so last year when my baby turned one, I wrote about her - calling it a love song for Eliza.

This year if I were to write her a little song, it would definitely be something you could dance to.

Two weeks ago, someone remarked that it was cool that God gave us two little girls ... and a Tasmanian Devil.

She thinks she is a kitty. Did you know that? And she's much more obedient when she's being "Kitty Kitty". Kitty Kitty will go get her diaper when you ask her to. Eliza will probably not.

Although she can say the "m" sound, she thinks it's funny to call Maddie - Daddy. She calls Sophie - Sophie Jane or sometimes just Jane. When she's upset with me, she calls me Mommy BELLE.

She likes baby dolls. I never did, and my older two didn't either. This is something of her very own and boy, do we indulge it.

Her favorite song is "I love you a bushel and a peck".

She is my little breath of fresh air. :)

Here I go again

Confessing.

I "over-cheese" when I'm cooking.

I have become re-obsessed with Hayseed Dixie. Especially the bluegrass version of Walk This Way.

Secretly, I'm glad our GNO discussion last night did not revolve around our kids' bowel movements. Like last time.

I suffer from Judgy Mom Syndrome when I am out late getting groceries and see tons of little kids running around. One of these days I am going to blurt out, "PUT THOSE KIDS TO BED!" or something equally harsh and judgmental.

I .... do not enjoy fall festivals, anymore. What do you call a halloween-scrooge, I wonder?

you have to do it

Ah... October ...

We woke up with no plans on Saturday! So we donned our best pumpkin-picking duds (which, to my older girls means a splash of orange to go along with their usual princess/clown mash-up) , loaded up the family roadster and headed out to that Great Pumpkin Patch, that Mecca for all serious pumpkin pickers ....

the Wal-mart on Highland.

Seriously, dudes, the pumpkins elsewhere were expensive this year.

Anyhoo, we brought them back and then used them as leverage to get the girls to take a nap.

After this, we painted. Guess what colors they chose? Sparkly pink (obvs.), turquoise, purple, and ... orange. Great choices, really. Only, uh, they turned out looking a little ... what's the word ... .........

moldy.

At least Sophie's was in a moldy "pattern" this year. It was a moldy rainbow. We are very, very, very into rainbows.

Maddie's was moldy blobs. I think she might be into blobs.

Eliza preferred painting with a popsicle stick. And she ate some.

It was non-toxic. This is not a scary story.

brave

Today was the Race for the Cure.

I've lost count how many people have asked me why I did not go.

Seriously? Like I would boycott something as wonderful as that?

I always forget when it is. And it's more fun to go with a group. But the main reason was that I've never done it before, and the first time I go I want to go with my Mom.

People find it shocking that we don't "think pink" every waking minute. For a long time, I pretended like I never thought about the fact my mom has cancer. When we got so much bad news all the time, it was so much less complicated to say, "she's okay!" and change the subject.

This would actually be the first year that the race would seem like the celebration it's supposed to be, and not a huge reminder of what we're facing.

Yeah, so we weren't in Little Rock this weekend.

But, every day she gets up and goes to work, stays out late at my sisters' ballgames, teaches Sunday school ... all after a round of chemo, I promise you she's racing.

More dinner chats, this time about babies

Tonight we were eating tacos for supper.

Sophie picked hers up and a little piece fell out in her hand.

She says (sincerely), "Ooooooooh, a little hamburger baby! Look, Mommy, my taco had a little baby."

Maddie, with a mouth full of taco, says, "So .... what? It just popped out?"

Sophie turns and says, "Mads, you need to learn that babies don't pop out. This sweet baby was born."

And then she ate it.

Costume idea

There must be a special chemical in Eliza's skin.

Food sticks to it like glue.

Tonight we were eating chili, looked up ...

and she had a frito stuck to her lip.

Right above her lip, actually. Like a little frito mustache.

She... was oblivious.

Stinking broken camera. :(

It's sad, really.

So, there I was at the Wal-mart ...



I'd put the kids to bed, grabbed my grocery list, and now there I was.



Lookin' at the toothpaste.



And then ...



my pupils dilated



my body went numb



and I found myself on the Christmas aisle.



Didn't seem to matter that what they had out was hideous and tacky. (no offense Wal-mart Christmas decoration designers)



It just sucks me in. Can't explain it.



I was this close to buying a Disney princess commemorative ornament.

If I were a muppet, I'd be Miss Soggy ...

Rain makes me feel heavy. And not in a good way.

Supposedly, we have gotten 22 more inches than normal.

Duh.

One of these days ... sigh ... I will have a free hand to hold an umbrella and not stay completely soaked at all times.

Today, Eliza ran and leapt into a puddle.

I've never seen her leap before. Interesting. Two foot landing.

Recent photo:

The Full Effect

Here is my dear, dear child formerly known as my baby.

Now, let's get the full effect:

Notice anything?

Here's a hint - it WAS NOT raining in Jonesboro this morning.

Can our footwear ever be normal, I ask you?

Happy first day of school!

Thankful Wednesday

10 Things I am so thankful for

1. Our Sunday School Class. It was announced that we would be doing service projects during class time this past Sunday, and instead of everyone using that as an excuse to sleep in an extra hour, we were filled to overflowing. And BUSY! It was very encouraging. :)
2. Bath time after the girls go to bed. Current favorite thing: black rasberry vanilla bubble bath.
3. Last night Sophie got teary when she thought she might not get to have her t-ball game (rain). I am thankful for her commitment to things.
4. Inflatable swimming pools
5. How Jeff proudly wears his "#4's Dad" shirt to all of S's games.
6. Speaking of Jeff, I'm thankful that we are such good friends.
7. Spray sun-screen.
8. Maddie's hair is so easy to comb the tangles out of!
9. Eliza put herself in time-out, today.
10. Play-dough. (I love the smell of it, too!)

This might make you a little jealous

You'll never guess what Mother's Day brought me this year!

I mean it. You'll never guess.

2 BOXES OF MACARONI AND CHEESE!

It gets better.

One box had High School Musical 3 shapes.

And one had Hannah Montanas!

Of course, not to be super-cheesy (ooh, a pun!), but nothing will ever top these gifts:

Unless, of course they come out with some Twilight shapes ...

hold me closer, Tony Danza

Here's my little ballerina girl after her first and last ballet recital. (why no pictures of her during the performance, you ask? Because I ALWAYS forget my camera, that's why.)

We got her progress report, and I pored over it like it was a real report card - all 5's, I was so proud of her.


Okay, it was almost all 5's.

The first thing I noticed about her report was that it was COVERED in writing. Front and back.

uh-oh.

It doesn't take front and back to say, "good job!"

She got almost all 5's. One little problem. According to the report, she's not flexible at all. And her teeny little hips rotate in, not out. Evidently very important stuff in ballerina-ville.

I was so sad for her! Nobody wants to be told that their child can't do something!

But, what can you do? So, I built a bridge and got over it.

Okay, so I built a bridge and am now standing at one side looking at all the mature people on the other side.

It's a start.

Fortunately, Sophie informed me the week of her recital that she didn't want to do ballet anymore. She wants to do tap.

The shoes "make more sound."

Oh. Okay.

I wonder how flexible your hips have to be ...

Works for me Thursday

Joint birthday parties.

Yes, it's the best invention of all time.

This year Sophie and Eva Grace Barrett held their "friend party" together.

Here's what made it great (oooh, I feel a list coming on!):

• shared expenses. It's ridiculous how much b-days cost. (Birthdays? More like broke-days. heh heh)



• shared duties. Sometimes it's not how much you are spending, but how much you have to do that's overwhelming. (check out these awesome party gifts Barrett made!)



• Someone to reign you in. For example, in the beginning stages of the party we were going to take all the girls to get mani-pedis and then meet up with the boys out at the park. Yes, we were seriously planning a "2 location party" for a bunch of 4 and5 year olds. D-U-M-B.


• Someone to reign your child in. Anybody else have a child who changes their mind about their party every other day leading up to it? Now you have an excuse to stick to a plan.

• And of course, the memories. Sharing an event with someone helps you remember it.

Of course, I did forget my camera and the candles (so they just kind of blew on the cake) but, really, that was to be expected.

Daddies grilled, kids played, mommies chatted. Super fun.

Eliza, workin' those heels

She's got my eyes and she's got my thighs ~ Granddad (Dan Stokes)

She's going to kill me for this some day ~ Danna Ramsey

ketchup

A few things I've forgotten to post this week:

Easter photos. (I feel compelled to point out that these were taken after church due to a dead camera battery. It was windy and rainy. And they were hungry. Okay, okay, enough excuses.)

In other news:

• Mads insisted on calling Eliza - "Diego" for a few days. I guess that's better than when they play house, because then they always make her be the "Mom".


• Wednesday morning we were almost completely without food, so for breakfast I spread jelly on buns. The girls ate two a piece. Sophie called them "jelly burgers". I called them "gross", but whatever.


• I, unfortunately, have gotten sucked into the whole "Twilight" thing this week. Yes, I know it's soooooo 2008 to be into Twilight. I've always been a late bloomer.


• Sophie can tie her shoes. Up next: washing her own hair! (just kidding)


• I no longer think I look like Suri Cruise. Tonight we decided I look like "Boof". You get a special prize if you know who that is!

I'm a little teapot ...

Let's see...

Sophie in her new pink accessories? check

Mads in her cowgirl boots? check

Eliza with a mouthful of dirt? check!

Well, I guess it must be T-ball season!! (or as Maddie calls it, "teapot" season)

Scenes from our very first practice, ever:

Sophie wore this goofy grin the entire time... even when I was cheering for her nice and loud, which usually makes her incredibly embarrassed. (already embarrassed by me at age almost 5. Man, the teen years are going to be awesome.)

She did it!

Now, I have talked before about how I feel some milestones are more important and relevant than others.

Admittedly, I celebrated Sophie's first sneeze, her first splinter, her first spit bubble, etc....

I was being ridiculous.

As each of my children have learned new things, I have realized that some really are worth celebrating.

Such as: holding their own bottle, eating finger foods, being potty-trained.

See a pattern?

All of these things make my life a little easier!

(Some of you may be saying to yourself, "she's so selfish."

And I say to you, "Oh, stars. I don't have time to be selfish.")

So, guess what!

Mads hit one of my favorite milestones yesterday!

She learned to "pump her legs".

Again, some are saying, "whaaaaa?????"

But, I have a feeling that a lot of you are giving me high fives. You know the number of hours we spend listening to these words - MOM, PUSH ME! And when you have more than one and you are doing the "pushing juggle", standing between the two swings and trying to push each with one hand. That never really makes anyone happy.

So, there you go. Yesterday was a really good day. Maddie can swing by herself.

Two down, one to go.

10 Things Wednesday

It's been a while!

10 things I am thankful for over the past couple of weeks:

1. Our anniversary weekend. We hung out and did home improvements while the girls went to Nana and Papa's. I laughed until I cried at least 15 times a day. Some handiwork: (All furniture built by Jeff, bedding and fabric by Danna. we're slightly Amish.)





2. The girls' music program this year was it's typical cuteness. Even better, didn't have to sew any costumes!





3. Speaking of sewing, I am thankful that I have finished all Easter orders! Everyone I sewed for was absolutely fantastic. Such pleasures to work with! Now to work on my own children's dresses ...





4. I am thankful for Dave Ramsey and FPU. We are turning a corner in responsibility.





5. Fridays, because that's when my People magazine is delivered.





6. My children are finally all healthy. I feel like I have only gone to church every other Sunday for the past two months.





7. I am soooooo pumped about Sophie's upcoming birthday party!





8. My eyebrows have been tamed. Man, they can get bushy.





9. My new haircut! I have suspicions that I look like Suri Cruise, but really, don't care. It takes me less than 2 min. in the morning. 5 if I actually want to fix it. (which.... I don't.)





10. Our baby chickies. They have given us a lot of joy.

On a sad note, we couldn't find them last night. They were at the back door, chirping to come in (they are like dogs, I tell ya), and I didn't put them in the garage right away. When I went back to get them, they were gone. Jeff and I were both out there in our pajamas with flashlights searching and calling them. No luck. I am a little devastated. surprisingly so.

One last photo. Eliza, starring in The Great Jello Massacre. I do not know how she always gets food on her forehead.

I love today!

I have happily been known as "Jeff's wife" for 7 years. Woo woo!

It's official. I'm a woman.

Guess what I got to do today?

It's something special for just us ladies.

I got my boobies squished.

My mother is going to love that I just said that.

Yep, I got my first mammogram today.
When I walked in they handed me a list of things for me to check yes or no on.

• Has anyone in your family had cancer? yes
• Was it BREAST cancer? yes
• WAS IT YOUR MOTHER?!?!?! ack! yes! I get it, I'm high risk! Stop shouting at me stupid questionaire!

So, there I was, high-risk patient, 32 years old, getting my first mammogram.

It wasn't bad at all.

But I did celebrate when it was over.

Cheetos were involved.

photo op. I'm thrilled. really.

The Ramsey family was ambushed and forced into getting their picture made Sunday night. (for the church directory.)

First, the girls.

1,2,3...squish Eliza! Sophie was tickling her. These shots are edited because E kept hiking her dress up to show off her Luvs. My fave. Just look at them! They could be triplets. *cough,cough*

The lovely group shot:

Some things I'd like to point out:

• This was after the banquet. I'd already eaten my lipstick off.
• Mads is covered in Wal-mart stickers. She wears them like some kind of redneck badge of honor.
• I'd let them pick out whatever they wanted to wear, so Sophie is wearing a way-to-short sundress with a pair of Maddie's pants on underneath and some sandals that were 2 sizes too small. Maddie of course chose purple shoes to complete her outfit.
• None of this seemed to matter, because all the people standing around could say was, "Man, are you sure that baby is yours?"

To do list

Things I needed to accomplish / things I accomplished:

• fix a nutritious breakfast to start our day off right! / allow my older two to binge on nutrigrain bars while I try to sleep in until at least 6:45.



• settle any and all disputes calmly and impartially / get sucked into a debate on who is more "Belle" than the other



• feel great that I am within single digits of my goal weight / wallow in guilt and misery for eating half a box of donuts yesterday in celebration



• spend 15 minutes unloading and loading the dishwasher / spend 15 minutes convincing my children that last years bathing suit is not appropriate wear for playgroup up at church



• sweep the floor 1 time / check facebook 100 times



• do at least one load of laundry / accumulate at least two loads of dirty clothes



• grill out in this nice weather / give in to my children's wishes and fix chili on the warmest day of the year so far



• love every second of being a stay at home mom / wish Jeff got off at noon every day

We were sitting together on the couch ...

Sophie - Do you think Mella yella looks like me?

Me - uh... what?

Sophie - you know, Mella yella. I think she looks like me.

Me - who's Mella yella?

Sophie - pause .... roll eyes ... Mom, Troy and Mella yella?

Just a little High School Musical reference for you. We are sooo hip around here.

And don't you dare tell my kids there are 2 more of those movies out there.

I AM A RUNNER AGAIN.

Women Can Run started tonight!!!!!!

I love the first night of anything, because I am an unapologetic people-watcher.

There are always certain people I like to look for. It's kind of like a check list.

• The lady in bike shorts with panty-hose underneath. Check!
• The elderly lady who is always going the opposite direction than the rest of the group during stretches. Check!
• The ones who show up in full make up and bling-y jewelry. Check!
• And the ones who come to work out in street clothes. (and by street clothes, I mean jeans and khakis. Not hooker ensembles.) Check! Check! Check!

It's good to know some things never change.

Know what this is?

It's Eliza's first tangle!!!!!!!

We knew it was only a matter of time. Actually.... we were wondering what was taking it so long.

Tonight, while we were doing the nightly after-bath comb out, Maddie turns to me, puts her hand on the comb, and says, "I'm okay with the tingles. Go comb Sophie's hair."

Sigh.... glad somebody's okay with those tingles.

Completely unrelated - why is it that kids like to dress so very weather-inappropriate?

Last summer, Sophie and I battled almost daily over a brown sweater that I had forgotten to put away. It makes me sweat a little just to think about it.

Today, it was in the 30's, and so of course, this is what she picks out to wear:

Not only are they summer clothes, but they are Eliza's. And yes those are Eliza's little legs there in the back. She took advantage of "Mommy holding the camera in front of her face" to sneak up the steps.

Sigh again ...

One last photo. Sophie was invited to a Pump it Up Party for her friend Peyton a week ago. As is always the case, Maddie thought it was a party for her. I do believe that she and Lauren had the best time of anyone there!

Oh, and before I forget, guess what movie I watched today!!!!!

I'll give you a hint:

"I want a C..O,O...L! R..I..D..E..R!"

It was awesome.

10 Things Tuesday

Here we are again, folks!

Today I am thankful for:

1. Caffeine free Mountain Dew. It's not as good as regular, so I think it's weaning me off my dependency.




2. These two girls:




3. And, this one...




4. That my parents finally have a generator out at the farm!




5. Jeff's new work schedule - off an hour early! Woo woo! An extra hour of togetherness... I hope we can survive it. :)




6. Ladies class and Beth Moore. (even though I have a friend who thinks Beth shouts at her. which I think is pretty funny)




7. There are no holes in our roof from the ice storm. (It's been raining for two days)




8. Little Debbies.




9. Finally bought the fabric for the girls' Easter dresses.




10. I'm convinced that my friends are the cutest, funniest, sweetest ladies in all of Jonesburr.

Near-death experience. okay, not really.

So...

Today I am out in the f-ree-zing cold pumping some gas.

First, I thought I was going to pass out from the pain in my fingers (no gloves).

Then, I realized that I was getting sleepy... "oh, no!" I thought.

They say when you get sleepy, you are freezing to death and are near the end.

I turned and mouthed my goodbyes to the 3 oblivious little girls in the van, tears streaming down my cheeks, so much I want to say ...

And then the pump clicked and I was finished.

I slide back in the seat, keenly aware that I had just cheated death.

And, I may have exaggerated the tears part.

10 Things Tuesday

Oh, baby!

Today I am thankful for ...

1. Electricity, e-lec-tricty... (anybody else been singing the School House Rock song all week?)


2. One Mrs. Jenny Box and her mad cupcake skilz


3. Heat... and light... and cable... and internet. Pioneer woman, I am not. :)


4. All the quality time I've gotten to spend with my parents and sister this week. Now, if only we can get my brother up here ...


5. M & M's. Can I get a woowoo?


6. Yummy smelling candles. We may not have had all those things on #3, but our house smelled good!


7. My hubs grilled steak tonight. I ate so much I might vomit. In a good way.


8. Laundry that is semi-caught up. (that's as close as it ever gets.)


9. No holes in our roof!


10. The girls are back in school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's the night that the lights went out in Jonesboro...

I've been reading all these "what an adventure we had!" blogs tonight and I am so greatful that all my buddies have had a wonderful week.

But...

Since this is like my on-line journal, I need to write down how I have felt this week.
In one word - emotional.

After an hour or so of off and on black-outs, we lost power for good around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan 27.
We have water and we have a gas fireplace, so my mom and sister came to stay with us. My dad stayed back at the farm, to watch the pipes and to keep the fire in their furnace going (because if it goes out...something bad happens, I don't know.)

Being cold and in the dark for a couple of days does weird things to a person. When our power finally came back on... I cried a little. I only admit that because there were witnesses.

So, we've had our power back on today, and I don't take it for granted. Tonight my dad came over, ate supper, watched a movie, and then headed back out to the farm with no water and very little heat to spend the night by himself in complete darkness. The whole idea of this makes me want to cry some more.

Sorry if this is a downer, but these are my thoughts right now.

The big one

Mads turned three, today.

Three is a big deal in our family. It's the first actual birthday party with friends. Which, in turn, has made it a magical age.

Maddie had been planning her party for a long time. She knew exactly what she wanted: pancakes and pajamas.

So........ here I go, wracking my brain trying to come up with the perfect "First Party". I had a theme, "Not Quite Spend the Night". I had decoration ideas using sheets for the tablecloths and cute little happy birthdays spelled out on pillowcases. I had games. I had crafts, people!!!!

And I scrapped it all.

Because remember what Maddie said she wanted? Pancakes and pajamas. She couldn't give two hoots about crafts or decorations. And really, did I honestly think I was capable of organizing 10 or so little ones for a game? I can barely get through one round of Candy Land with my girls.

Therefore, we went up to church, ate pancakes, and played in the gym in our jammies. No meltdowns, no mess, ....... pure bliss. :)

And Maddie was happy.

The crew at the end of the night. Notice the smiley faces! (except for Eliza...)

2 1/2 hours is a LONG time ...

So, yesterday morning we wake up to two sick girls.

Well, one sick girl and one tired,cranky girl.

I decide to take Sophie (the sick one) to urgent care. The cranky one starts coming down with all kinds of symptoms, so I agree to take her, too. She had been coughing the last two nights (see:tired,cranky).

It is literally standing room only at the Urgent Care.

Two and a half hours later ... we are finally called back.

Scenes from a waiting room...

• Maddie is coloring. She asks me, "what does this crayon say?" "Fuschia", I say. "POO-SHA? I'm coloring POO-SHA?!?!?!?!"
• Maddie, to the elderly lady sitting next to us, "Why are you sticking your tongue out at me? I'm Maddie Claire."
• After about an hour and a half plus two potty breaks, Maddie announces, "Mommy! I just pee-peed on my leg!" Mommy is horrified. Then she says, "Just kidding." Now, Mommy is even more horrified - she realizes Maddie has inherited her daddy's sense of humor.

All of this with a shaking, whimpering, feverish 4 year old in my lap.

Long day.

Quick question:

If, hypothetically, your mommy caught you with a few (open) bottles of nail polish, what would you do?

If you answered "immediately wipe your hands on the carpet", you and my dear Maddie think alike.

It's Monday...

Even the Barbies are feeling it.

I want to thank everyone for the kind words and clear up some misconceptions.

I am not grappling with my self-worth. My husband thinks I am cute. My family and my in-laws think I am cute. My three little girls think I look like a princess. (well, at least right now they do...) Personally, that's all I care about. The rest of the world can think I'm a Plain Jane. It really doesn't matter, it's not like I'm trying to make a living as a super model. :)

Still, the sweet words of my girlfriends out there were so awesome! I wanted to print them out and put them in a little file (decorated with glittery stickers).

Then I got tickled thinking about Jeff having a little file with notes saying "Jeff, I think you are as handsome inside as you are outside. XOXO, Jason"

*Sigh* It's good to be a girl.