The scene: Taylor and Maddie are at the table, snacking on some chips (yes, I let them snack on junk food but only after they have had fruit. I whole-heartedly believe that bribery has it's place in the job of parenting). Overheard: "Mommy is my best friend." (Taylor speaking to Maddie) Beautiful to hear, but finite I know. My 12 year old doesn't hate me yet, so parents of teenagers out there tell me at what age can I expect it to start?

I have removed the huge picture at the top of the page in the hopes that my grandparents can once again access the blog. A picture that big takes too long to load, and some computers/internet connections can't handle it at all. I realize that the blog looks rather plain now, but this is too important to worry about such trivialities.

Grandma...please let me know if you can see the posts now.

Sometimes I Wonder...

~If I am always going to have to choose between financial survival and being basically a single mom or having my husband home with us in the evenings and on weekends and not being able to pay our bills.

~If prayer really makes a difference. I mean, if everthing is preordained and God already knows everything that is going to happen, what is the point of praying for someone to not have cancer? Or for that person with cancer to be healed? Or really for anything not to happen in general?

~If other stay at home moms who spend much of their time alone (husband at work) struggle during the dinner-to-bath-to-bedtime routine like I do? I'm fine all day and then bam! When the time of day comes that he usually comes home and he doesn't, I fall apart.

~If other mothers despise Playdoh as much as I do. My kids love it, but jeez cleaning it up sucks. Especially if you have all the little tools and stuff that turns the big balls of Playdoh into tiny little pieces, spread from here to kingdom come.

~What I am going to do with myself when my kids are grown. Oh wait...I don't wonder about that at all. I know. I am going to have a life!

The time has come to say goodbye to the crib. It is not one that converts to a toddler bed, like we had thought (we bought it brand new, why did we think this when it wasn't stated on the box?). Since Maddie climbs out, we leave the rail down so she has less distance to fall and place 4 bed pillows stacked in twos right on the floor. Aren't I a great mom? So safe, so conscientious. There should be awards for mothers like me. Soooooo, we will find her a new bed. With Taylor we went straight from the crib to a twin. I'm not big on the toddler bed, seems silly to buy a bed only to have to buy another one in a year.
Also, does anyone know (you--I'm talking to you, my four readers out there) if there is a childproof cover for light switches? Maddie will not stop climbing out of bed and turning the light on at bedtime, so we have had to use black electrical tape and tape the switch down. We pray, we read, then she gets a few minutes of lights-on time to read on her own, then we have last potty, then the lights go off while I sing her like 10 songs. But, she keeps getting up after lights out and turning them back on. The electrical tape works, but I have to use a lot to keep her from being able to just pull it off, and we can't go on like this using 1/4 roll of tape every night. Hints?

The worst part of checking your credit report? You find old medical accounts that you didn't know were on there and then pay them.

The best part of checking your credit report? You find old medical accounts that you didn't know were on there and then pay them.

The Biggest Gap Ever

Taylor lost her first tooth today. It was barely wiggleable (wiggable? wiggly?) for months, and then suddenly yesterday it was extremely loose. This afternoon she was complaining that it was hurting, so I told her I needed to pull it. Needless to say, she was not quick to jump on that bandwagon. After explaining to her that if she wouldn't let me pull it, then she couldn't complain to me that it hurt, she gave me the go ahead. You should have seen her face! Although who was more nervous, her or I, is anybody's guess. (I didn't show it, though, I had to act sure and confident and tell her that it is completely normal for her mother to grab ahold of her tooth with a piece of toilet paper and rip it from her mouth.) After slipping off the tooth twice, I managed to yank that puppy with no tears from either of us! And here she is....

It must be the biggest gap ever from just one missing tooth.

I told her she looks like a pirate. Captain Taylor Sparrow.

The Tooth Sisters

Spring Break then....



Spring Break now...

Leave it to Taylor to dip grilled scallops in ranch dressing.

Old

I'm wearing one of my few pairs of designer jeans. They are some skinny slouchy "Lucky's" that my husband bought me a couple of years ago. They are lightly distressed, a few strategically placed worn out spots.

Taylor says to me: "Why you got holes?" (ok, we need to work on grammer)
I say to her: "Because it's cool."
She responds: "But it's not cool. How do you think it's cool?"

Huh. Aren't they supposed to be teenagers before they start to question your definition of "cool"?

Taylor, yesterday morning at about 8 am, from the bathroom:

"Mommy, it is so great to be alive!"



Taylor is one super balloon-blower-upper.

I warned her that it was going to pop. What is that look on her face...is that disbelief? No way...

It popped, of course. Cue much broken-hearted crying. Sigh. I hate knowing everything.

Random Ramblings

* Fear. It's alive and well. Actually, not quite fear yet. Anxiety. Nervousness. See, they have been cutting hours for technicians at Corey's company. There's just not enough work right now. Until today, he has escaped unscathed. He's actually had quite a bit of overtime the past few weeks. This morning, they told him to come in an hour late. This afternoon, they told him he has tomorrow "off". This could pass, or this could be only the beginning of a disasterous decline. It's scary, though. The worst part of being a SAHM? The helplessness. The dependency. The inability to bring in some money to help alleviate some of the stress on your husband. (BTW, I am very open to keeping a working mother's child for extra income, I just have to find the child!)

* Maddie was on the toilet and asked me why I have lines on my knees. I told her they were wrinkles and I have them because I am old. She reached for my knees from her sitting position on the toilet and said "I will rub them out."

* Maddie said at dinner "thank you for this meal" again, only this time I admit I only served hot dogs. Hmm. I cook that bad?

* I admit that I am only watching American Idol this season so I can see Steven Tyler.

* I love 5. Taylor is 90% wanting to please me and make me happy, and only 10% naughty. You can't ask for more than that.

* My husband rocks. Seriously.

* The songs I have to sing to Maddie before she will go to sleep at night are Jingle Bells, Silent Night, a long-added-on-to-version of The Barney Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

* Every night after I finish singing and leave the room, Maddie starts forcing out coughs and calling "Mommy I'm siiiiiicccckkk." "No, you are not." Cue more forced coughing, and around and around we go.

* I'm well aware that this new blog design is ugly. The previous one stopped loading, so I had to set up a new one, and I can't get it right. I finally got so frustrated that I just threw this up (literally. ha.) and will fix it when I feel like trying again.