because there was no room for them in the inn...

first of all...apparently, the shoes are/were a hit. thanks for all the affirming comments. :)

sometimes big h blows me away. this is the kid who at 2 years old was saying, "chugga chugga" and "ah-buhl" (translation: thomas). nothing else. you get the theme we had/have going.

today i pick him up from school. i didn't have the goo with me. she was napping at home. i left the monitor with my next door neighbor, and she has the code to the garage. works out lovely. i pick him up and he immediately tells me he wants me to see his "cammmaaaa cameeeeyeee." right. you got out of that about as much as i did. his teacher proceeds to tell me that he made a camouflage chameleon today at school. of course. because we always use those words. together.

so we get in the car, and i asked him how school was. he normally responds with "um, we did puzzles and read books and played and eated." today, his response was too much. "um....

wait...first i have to mention that big h begins every sentence or thought with either um or hey and a person's name. anyway...

"um, i played chase with boy (name not used to protect said boy) and girl. we runned real past (fast). boy tried to hold girl's hand, but girl said 'um, no thank you, boy. i don't pink (think) i going to need your help.'"

and then, he said, "hey mommy, bad boy hit other boy today on the playground." "oh no, big h. was he ok? did he tell the teacher?" "um, yes, he do ok. and i say 'bad boy, dass (that's) probably not nice.'" "that was so nice of you, big h." "yeah, it was."

he's so humble.

then, we get home and he is DYING to get into baby's room and get her out of her bed. but, as usual, he got sidetracked. he found a nativity scene that kelly gave buz and me when we were first married (maybe just engaged?). it's a little wooden barn. when you open the doors, the characters come out. he began to play with it and ask questions. (luckily, the goo was still asleep, so i didn't rush in to get her.)

"mommy, what is this?" "it's the manger scene." "what's a mager (manger)?" "it's kind of like a barn where animals lived, and that little manger is like a little baby bed full of hay, and it is where jesus was born." "does it hurt?" "well, i don't think so." "why didn't he get borned in a hopissel like baby gree-ya?"

ok, hmmm...trying to figure how much to give him at this point.

"well, because they didn't have hospitals a long time ago when jesus was born. and his mommy and daddy walked and walked and couldn't find anywhere to have the baby. and the only place was at this barn with all the animals."

"oh. poor jesus. mommy, they not have a car with a carseat like mine?"

i told him no, and that was it. all of the sudden, i think something clicked. and he RUNS through the house straight to the goo's room, opens the door ever so quietly, and screams, "gree-ya, gree-ya! you know what? jesus wasn't born at a hopissal!!!!! and his mommy and didn't have a carseat for him."

mind you, the goo couldn't care less. but God love him. i love that he wants to share things with her.

ok, fast forward to tonight. since daddy is working late being head honcho in charge of the hospital's project, we (ok, I) decide to take the family out for dinner. it is a nice enough day. i am trying to be positive here. it is "nice" enough to sit outside, and big h is thrilled about this idea. so the employees, who by the way are some of the nicest around, help us with our high chair and food and drinks. we sit outside, and we start listening to the music they have going. my kid has some rhythm. he did NOT get it from his papa. :) all of the sudden while eating his rice and cheese, he starts bopping his head, not knowing that i was watching. then, he starts shimmying (word?) his shoulders to the beat. and then he says, "mommy, this is my faborite song i ever heard in the whole world. is it yours?" note: neither henry nor i have ever heard this song before, but it has a great beat. and then, he proceeds to say, "yeah, yeah, get it on, mommy." there is nothing sweeter or more innocent? :) by the way, the "that" he is referring to is "my groove." yes, kids do pick up on what you say. and apparently, buz and i say "get your groove on" when someone is dancing.

love it.

took these yesterday when we went to visit my old presby buddy, lowra, and her kids. her youngest is 5 days younger than the goo.

i LOVED their brick. obvious, i know.


"don't mess with my sister"






he is so tough. (or just thinks so.)

to help me get over the hump

my buddy, bitsy (aka "biscuit" around our house) decided i needed a pick-me-up from the recent trauma, otherwise known as the weather change. so she bought me these:

she found them on sale for $24.83. TWENTY-FOUR DOLLARS.

i couldn't be more tickled. my spirits have been lifted. now, don't go thinking that i am pumped about having to sweat profusely and always wear my hair curly because drying it is pointless, among other unpleasantries that "summer" here in north texas brings. but if i can do it a little bit cuter, i am better off.

thanks, biscuit.

so long, farewell...

to winter janet.

it's been a tough day around here. one sign read 80 degrees. that's EIGHT-ZERO! february.

my heart is sinking as write this.

supposed to be only 73 tomorrow. whew -- so glad we are having such a cold front. my mother-in-law has to tell me today, "oh honey, it snowed here today." that's just salt in my wound.

now, you might say, "keep your chin up. surely, there is more of winter left." hmmm...you've never lived in north texas. once it hits the 70s, it'll never go back down. never.

so tonight, as i sit in my own depression, i will mentally prepare to say goodbye to her. winter janet, we hope you enjoyed your stay here, ever so short. we love you, and you will be greatly missed. go ahead -- pack up your sweaters. put away your cute little black boots. lock the closet door because there is no need for coats for a long time. and tell summer janet she's back in business. let her know that the season in which everyone throws caution to the wind with regards to "fashion" is upon us. go buy mosquito spray for big h. because every summer of his life, he has gotten that one mosquito bite that has led to a massive scar on his cute little face, due to his picking habit. i have no idea where he gets that. get out the sunscreen. put away the recipes for soup and casseroles. and look for the ones containing fruit and yogurt. get out the razor. better start putting it to use again. go buy "summer deodorant." you know...the kind that works even in the 41 straight days of 100+ temperatures.

ugh...just writing all of this has given me an upset stomach.

i realize some of you live where you get snow, and i have read your blogs. i know you're complaining because, what, you can't get out of your driveway or something? please. there is no sympathy from me coming your way.

all that to say -- let's have a moment of silence for winter janet's departure. we'll miss you.

p.s. and for those of you praying today, big h's haircut went fine. even though he now looks like he's 17. (yes, people were praying about big h's haircut. he's weird. i've said it before.) his last haircut was when the goo was 2 WEEKS old. that's how long it's been. it was time.

before:

after:

big h *WANTING* to take a picture with the goo!!!! this is HUGE!

nothing good happens after midnight

dear parents of our babysitter last night,

what can we say but wow? your daughter is nothing short of amazing. i pray tonight that others will talk of the goo and big h like we are talking about your daughter. you've done great work to raise such an incredible young woman. she was courteous, very cute (not that it matters but an added bonus), excited about being here, polite, had a great work ethic, and was extremely caring.

i know we came home late tonight -- the first night to have her over -- but the way she handled herself was incredible. i will apologize over and over again for staying out as late as we did. i promise, we had NO idea our movie would be so long. i hope you felt safer knowing i was following her home.

what a heart for Christ. i don't know what you prayed about for her when she was little (or hadn't even been conceived yet), but things are going to be great for her, and you should be SO PROUD!

thanks again for letting her come over, and we hope to see her very soon.

love,
big h and the goo's parents...





we had a new babysitter last night. we have been searching for a babysitter for a while. (don't get your panties in a wad, biscuit -- i'm talking high school girls.) i have asked said babysitter several times, but she has never been available. last night, she was available. and to say we liked her would be an understatement. she was so prompt and when she walked in the door, she hugged me and said, "oh, it is so good to finally meet you and put a face with a name." i'm serious. she really did. i showed her around. in the midst of us redoing the floor, the house has become, should we say, um...cluttered? now, i am obsessive-compulsive about some things but having an immaculate house is not one of those. i really, really wish it was. but it's not. but to have clutter on top of normal clutter. well, that makes for a lot of clutter. but, i digress. i told her that if she wanted anything besides dr. pepper, she would be up a creek. her response was, "oh, that's ok. i'm not a soda drinker." she proceeded to tell me that our home was beautiful and so nicely decorated and that we had such great taste. i tell you that not to brag because those of you who know me know that decorating is definitely NOT my strong suit. (you're wondering what in the world buz saw in me? i don't clean. i can't decorate. oh, and i don't like to cook. it's like a bachelor pad around here.) again...off the subject. she asked us what we were going to do and told us to have fun. we showed her where the remotes were for the tv as well as where the computer was. and her response was, "oh, that's ok. i brought my pre-cal homework to work on." i wanted to check her pulse but thought that might be inappropriate. we got ready to leave, and i can't explain how good it felt to know that big h and the goo would be in her hands. so we walked around a couple of stores without anyone wanting to touch anything. so liberating. then, we had dinner, and we got to eat it right when it came out, and it was still hot. and then we headed to our really long movie. i don't remember the last time buz and i held hands in a movie theater. and now for the part where you learn how incredibly hip i still am. when we were sitting in the movie theater, i thought it would be a good idea to let babysitter extraordinaire know our plans and our ETA. so i "texted" her. now, before you start thinking i'm still in my 20s or something, i don't know if you say, "i texted her" or "i sent her a text."

she was supposed to be home by midnight, and when our movie was over, i looked at my watch and it said 11:55! i felt so horrible. i called and told her we would get home as fast as we could. on the way home, buz and i talked about we would both feel better if i followed her home. because you know, my dad was FAMOUS for saying, "nothing good happens after midnight." i hated it when i was a junior in high school, or say a sophomore in COLLEGE, but now that i am a parent, i feel the exact same way. don't tell him -- it will give him a big head.

all in all, wonderful evening, and i pray her parents let her sit for us again. or that she even wants to sit for us again.

made it to church today. much needed. always. dropped the goo off, and the girl signing her in to the infant class asked if there were any specific instructions. nope. "does she need a bottle?" nope. "anything we should know?" nope. this is so foreign to me. when we would drop big h off, our instructions went a little something more like this.

"ok, he will probably cry. and it will probably be pretty loud. but i swear he's not hurting or in pain. and he isn't sick. he just has a loud cry. he will probably never smile, but i promise he's not upset. now, if you want to try a pacifier, you can. but he will probably not take it. there is really nothing you can't try. swing. bouncy. exersaucer. your arms. whatever. just know that he will probably cry. and it will probably be really loud. but...he really is a sweet baby."

and to this day, we have NEVER been paged for either of our kids. and yes, i am knocking on wood as i write this.

headed to the mall for some play time for big h. i promise we have made it to at least 4 different malls in the past week for various needs. needs being a loose term.

random note: listening to "waiting for a star to fall" by boy meets girl on the ipod right now. anyone wondering at this point if i have any friends?

hmmm...miscellaneous thoughts running through my head. have NO theme for tonight. no one funny story that will take up six paragraphs. just things i was thinking about tonight.

1. the goo is brilliant. in the morning, she wakes up *early* and rolls to her side where she is somehow able to turn on her own mobile and put herself back to sleep and sleeps for another hour and a half. love it. genius. where does this fall in the philosophy spectrum? sleeping "props" or soothing herself to sleep. don't know. don't care.
2. big h has begun telling us stories at bedtime. he clears his throat (i'm serious) and begins with "unce upon a time." tonight it was "unce upon a time, there was a boy named me, i mean, ah-nee." he always ends with "and wivved happuwee ebber affer. dee in." i love it. it is priceless. the kid is a riot.
3. i've happened upon a new (not really new, just noticed lately) phenomenon. it's the stay-at-home mom sense that even though you are in your 30s, you often feel like you're in 7th grade. this being evidenced by the fact that most of the kids in big h's class this year are going to new schools next year because of some changes in his current school. and i was so the last to know. seriously, i felt like it was monday and i was overhearing the details of the sleepover that i wasn't invited to that had occurred on saturday night. everyone was telling me that "my kid and her kid are going to the same school next year" and "well, i talked to sally sue's mom and we've decided to put our kids in the same school." i wanted to come home and tell my mom that the girls left me out. so dorky. and then at the end of last week, the mom of one of big h's friends came up to me when we were picking them up and told me that the school that she was going to put her kid in had an opening and she gave me the info. i felt like the head cheerleader had just asked me to the homecoming after party with her and her friends. ugh -- takes me back. to a place i don't ever want to go again. and i'm 31 years old. what in the world? and i promise i have no deep-rooted self esteem issues. i really don't.
4. listening to "suddenly" by olivia newton-john on my ipod right now.
5. big h is starting to have a compassion that i am so moved by. today, we were at the mall (shocker), and he had obeyed for several days in a row and so i told him we could get a toy at the toy store. his first question was "hey mommy, did baby obey? i've always wanted her to have a toy." melt. and his second question -- "hey mommy (everything starts with hey...), we get dr. g (pediatrician) a present today? i must get him a fun toy to play with." all this from the same kid who is very clear about what's his is his and what is someone else's is also his. laws of a toddler.
6. the goo has just started laughing. not cute little giggling. no. FULL ON laughing. hysterical. and was it me? think again. buz? nope. big h. he was playing peek-a-boo with her, and i promise she was at the peak of her happiness scale. the girl is madly in love with that boy. she has the key into his world. no one else does. NO ONE.
7. my valentine's day was perfect. my husband is the best around. (i say that as though i have never said it before.) big h, the goo, and i went to bible study and lunch with our buddies, brooke and mason. buz took the afternoon off. i got to go help weentrab with a wedding. mainly provided some moral support and hopefully some comic relief. when it was over, i called and asked buz what he wanted for dinner, and he let me get whatever i wanted. so for our romantic valentine's day dinner, we enjoyed some delicious cuisine. put the kids to bed and opened presents. we got really romantic this year. i got him a white dress shirt and some trousers, and he got me a bowl to put mail in and a big frame for the hallway. we discussed that valentine's day is just one of those holidays that come and go for us. we normally eat at souper salad because he says, "that is the biggest gesture of love i can offer -- to eat somewhere i can't stand." guess that's one way of looking at it. :)
8. this picture is for my dad. here's to you, ace.

is it sad that this is all i can come up with? so for you, grandparents, i will leave you with some recent pictures.

(big h watching "gree-ya's" show with her. making LOTS of comments throughout. surprise, surprise.)

(see...she smiles. smiles BIG.)

(the girl loves the moment right before bath.)

(no, i did NOT put lipstick on my daughter. look closely. that is spit up.)

(such a tough guy.)

Dedicated to the hardest job: motherhood

I have to admit I was very nervous taking care of both kids when Janet left on Friday night. To review some past performances when Janet ventured out:

1. When Henry was about 6 months old I gave him 2 tablespoons of Triaminic nighttime instead of 2 teaspoons. (Poison control said he may just be sluggish).

2. When Greta was 5 months old I laid her on the side of the bed, not realizing she had learned to fall forward. (and off the bed onto the ground).

3. When Greta was 5 months and 5 days old I learned that the BUMBO does not prevent falls off of the couch. (even with that wide base)


Needless to say, I implemented some very successful strategies you can share with your spouse the next time you want to go out of town for a few days.

10 keys for successful weekend

1. You can never watch enough Veggie Tales. Most DVD's now have a REPEAT feature.
2. 7:30 am may be too early to put the baby down for morning nap, but 8:30 is okay.
3. 5:30 pm is not too early to put the baby down for the night. (see infant Motrin or children's Benedryl label)
4. Blockbuster Video opens at 10:00am. The animated section is usually to the left by checkout.
5. Toys being saved for potty training rewards can be used for bribes in an emergency.
6. If you move the exersaucer to different parts of the same room during the day, you can maximize the time the baby will stay quiet.
7. Bath time is a privilege. It can be taken away if you decide the Henry, eerrr, your child needs to be put to bed early.
8. There is nothing wrong with pajamas during the day. (this helps the child adjust to the mothers absence).
9. Call your wife periodically during the time she is gone and tell her how well things are going. (this will decrease phone time during BONUS HOURS).
10. Finally, clean the house Sunday afternoon, and remind the 3 year old how much they miss mommy. BIG DIVIDENDS once she walks through the door. (This also buffers reaction to keys 1-9)

BONUS HOURS: It is possible to rent two movies (SAW 3, X-Men) and one Playstation video game and enjoy all three between Friday night and late Sunday afternoon uninterrupted. Pay attention to KEY #9.

BONUS BONUS: Remind your wife every day how special she is, and how difficult her role is. Remember she pulls it all together. You're just a part of her day. I love you pretty.

buz

dedicated to all things buz

no, this is not because wednesday is valentine's day. (honestly, buz and i spend valentine's day at souper salad. i know, he is for real. we both hate crowds. and so the first valentine's day we spent together, he suggested we go somewhere that i wanted to go that he didn't. you know...to show his love for me. you should have seen his face when i said, "souper salad." hysterical.)

my spouse kicks A! this weekend was very big for all of us. especially for the goo and for me. this was the first weekend we were away from each other overnight. (well, other than when buz was in cardiac ICU. but that doesn't count, right?)

nance (my mom, for those of you who don't know) asked me to go to an arts and crafts fair this weekend. (stop laughing.) i dragged my feet forever because i was really nervous about being away from the goo. but finally this past week, buz threw out the "why don't you leave on friday and come back sunday morning?" i'm sorry, what? after a "discussion" about him not making me feel guilty about being gone (cue back of the hand to the forehead), i decided to go for it. some of you with older children are feeling so sorry for me right now. he got home on friday afternoon and was kindly nudging me to go. i kissed the goo and told big h i was going to spend some time with nana. "um, ok, mommy. see you ya-yer. i wub you." i just kept telling buz thank you and i love you over and over again. and then i did it. i got in the car. and of course, i started crying. sometimes i really love being a girl. what, with all the emotional freedom and all.

arrived in oklahoma city and went to straight to old navy without having to get anyone out of a carseat. i SO live on the edge. met up with nance and we headed to target. i mean, i was out of the house and i wanted to close the shops down.

sheer craziness walking up and down aisles reaalllly sllloooowllly. with no agenda.

went to breakfast yesterday morning with nance and her friend and her friend's daughter and niece, neither of whom have children. what would i say to these girls? would i have lost all socialization skills? i was surprised -- i managed to carry on a conversation about something other than pee-peeing on the potty and amoxicillin and nap time and car seat safety. i was so proud of myself.

arts and crafts fair was a huge success. seriously, stop laughing. it really was a great time. then, nance and i just piddled for what i think may have been 17 hours straight. we lingered at dinner and did everything at such an incredibly beautiful pace. woke up this morning at EIGHT THIRTY! had some breakfast and headed home.

oh...the point of this post. the whole weekend, buz kept calling me. not to ask questions about basic baby care or tell me both kids were crying at the same time. just to tell me they were having a great time but that they really missed me.

sometimes i forget to tell him. buz, i love you. i appreciate you! i am so glad you are my best friend! you are the best daddy around!

manly man

i just know my son will be a manly man.

this evidenced by his response to my question this morning. today we had bible study at church, and he LOVES going to the nursery. picked him up and asked if he had fun. "oh yes, mama." what did you do today?

"well, i did crafts. i can't believe i've always wanted to do that."

(one of my favorite things he says is that he can't believe he's always wanted to do something. we're not sure exactly sure what it all means. but coming out of his mouth is so stinking funny.)

and when buz got home and he told him that he had made crafts, he was quick to tell him he made crafts with PINK! HEARTS!

and the absolute highlight of my day yesterday (and the answer to buz's "what was the best part of your day" question) was when big h and i started talking to jesus. i was thanking him for some things, and then he interrupted. "um, ze-zus, sank you YOTS for me getting to be line leader at school. amen." i mean, doesn't that pretty much sum it all up? yeah, and he wore his buz costume and boots to school yesterday. one of his teachers was out last week because her son was sick. and so i asked him as we were getting out of the car if he was planning on wearing it the entire day. "nope, i must just show ms. kyra. she was at home last night." (translation: last night means anytime in the past.) so when we got to school, he said very LOUDLY and in all seriousness, "ms. kyra, i sorry you not here last night. you better? i show you my buz costume. now i take it off, ok?"

yeah, that's me. rolling. on. the. floor.

and for those of you dying of curiosity...yes, we got the door unlocked. with a screwdriver. ???

never a dull moment

about an hour ago, henry was trying to decide what snack he wanted and managed to lock the pantry door. thankfully, he wasn't inside. but hmmm...anyone know how to pick a lock? it's the door with a lock that we haven't changed, so we don't have a key for it. nice.

she did it!

we, the wisners, are a family with "milestone delays." big h didn't roll over until he was 9 months old and didn't crawl until he was 10 1/2 months old. (of course, he decided to walk around 11 months. stinker.) and didn't talk until about 2 1/2 (and that's pushing it.)

today was an incredible day! first of all, we got up and made it to church. (ok, that wasn't really what made it so incredible.) but gosh, we have been missing it so much! we got dressed and ready, and (drum roll please) big h was excited to go!

of course, our super crazy church decided to "observe" superbowl sunday with only 3 services. which meant that our normal 9:00 service that we are always so proud to make was at 8:30. darn them. oh well. such is life. left the goo in the nursery to get some lovin'. dropped big h off in his class (proudly carrying his backpack and all). and headed in for all of our 30 minutes of the service.

came home and played. big h played puppet show and the goo played with big h's trains (without him completely LOSING it). i put her on her tummy, which she despises with all that she is. and all of the sudden, plop! there she is looking at me again! i didn't know what to do with myself, other than call everyone i know (or just the grandparents). get after it, goo! we are so stinkin' proud of you!

then, it was becoming quite clear that big h was not going to be taking a nap. he just wasn't "weepy, mommy." and if big h has not taken a nap by about 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon, we would rather him not take a nap at all rather than take a nap that late or we know nighttime is going to be a bear. so we either give him a car nap (that is a very real word around our house) or do our very best to keep him up all day, so he's ready for bed around 5:30. ok, not really. (not too far off, though.) we always ask each other if there are any errands that need to be run. and today, i had some. so big h got in the car and before we were out of the alley, he was gone. so i ran some drive through errands and then headed down to return something of the goo's. this was one of the coolest experiences i have had with a child. big h and i just hung out together. like buz and i do. we went inside and he played while i made my return. since we had nothing else to do, i decided not to watch the clock. we would move from section to section, me looking and big h playing. and he was totally cooperative. (notice the surprise in my voice?) we had such a great time. then, i decided to push the envelope and go shopping for a minute. he was fixated on getting green apples. he had asked for those before he ever fell asleep. so he assumed every store we went in was the "apple factory." we went inside, and it was clear that this was not the apple factory. so i was going to ask one of the salesman something, and he walks up to her and says, "hey lady, you know where my apples are? the green ones?" i so wished she was someone who would have appreciated his age and humor and just plain cuteness. but since she was all of 19 and didn't own anything in her closet that was NOT black, she wasn't amused. it was funny. it was.

finally, he was getting weary of going into stores that were clearly NOT apple factories. so we got in the car and headed for the nearest "grokey" store. and his response -- "oh, mommy, we are prolly goinga find some lots of apples. lots of green ones. lots of big ones!" and everyone at the grokey store knew exactly what big h was looking for. and lots of people hoping to help up find those green apples. he was just about as happy as a 3-year-old can be.

headed home and the whole way big h was saying, "oh mommy, we prolly must tell daddy we brought some green apples. and we didn't brought any for baby gree-ya cuz her is too yittle."

i. love. this. kid.

i have to say -- i didn't watch one SECOND of the super bowl. don't feel bad for me. we tivo'd it. i will watch commercials later. i know the colts won. seriously, don't feel bad for me. i'm ok with not watching it. we decided not to do anything for it either because our previous plans got "cancelled" because our date apparently had other stuff to do. like, i don't know...buy and sell a house. whatever. (bff, we saved you and bob some superbowl sandwiches.)

both kids are in bed. my sweet buz is sound asleep. and i sit here with a smile on my face. i love my little family.

i love big h. i love that he only gets his hair washed about every other week. i love that he makes up conversations with each and every one of his toys. sometimes they are not even with toys. can be tables, water cups, shoes, seat belts, etc. i love that when he gets hurt, he calls it an "ow-see." i love it that it has been 5 straight days of not wearing his normal shoes. i love it that his entire body lights up when "baby" wakes up in the morning. i love that the first thing he wants to do every day is watch baby einstein (and it's typically the same one everyday). i love it when he sings. i love it more when he dances. i love it EVEN more when he *lets* me dance. and i love it that he never eats a meal or goes to sleep without wanting to "sank zeezus."

i love the goo. i love that she saves her smiles for special occasions. i love that she has a dimple and no one knows it other than mommy and daddy...because of the previous reason. i love that one of those special occasions is when big h is around. i love that she has about 7 teeth and she's only 6 months old. (she probably does NOT love that.) i love the 3rd toe on her right foot. it kind of sticks out more than all the rest. i love that her hair is finally starting to SLOWLY come in. i love that she goes to sleep in my arms. and i love that someday, some boy who loves Jesus is going to fall in love with her.

and finally, oh how i love my sweet buz. i love that he continues to change jobs just to get us in a "better place" than before. i love that he is an incredible daddy. i love (most of the time) that he's a softie with big h. i love it even more that he has no idea how much of a softie he's going to be with the goo when she gets older. i love how he looks in a long-sleeve t-shirt, old grungy khakis, and running shoes. i love that the last moment of our day is the question, "what was the best part of your day?" i love that he loves me and would do absolutely anything for me and loves me for the woman i am. and i am madly in love with how much he loves Jesus.

sap. i know. it doesn't happen often, but boy, when it does. it flows, huh?

out of nowhere

yesterday, out of NOWHERE, it started snowing! i mean, what would my life be like as a meteorologist?

"oops, we didn't see this one coming. but we talked for DAYS about arctic craziness 2007 (which was equivalent to 1 day of temperatures below 38). we apologize to you, the public."

so don't think we didn't take advantage of it. now, this will come as a surprise, i'm sure. but big h wore his buzz lightyear costume. and his new boots.

can we talk for a moment about these boots? he wore them to school yesterday. THE FIRST TIME HE HAS EVER WORN ANYTHING OTHER THAN HIS *SHOES* TO SCHOOL! and he's been going to school since august '05. this is big. wore them to school. showed everyone at school -- teachers, friends, administration, custodial staff. you name them, he showed them. and for almost 510 days, give or take, i have been trying to get him to wear ANY OTHER SHOE. and all of the sudden 2 days ago, he meanders into the goo's room and takes what we thought were going to be her shoes and decides they will be his new kicks. (big sigh) not only did he wear them to school yesterday and the entire time he played in the snow, he wore them to the mall today. (shaking my head in disbelief and a smidgen of frustration.)

i digress.

anyway, it snowed yesterday. if you live in chicago, please don't laugh at us down here. when it snows, we're talking about a 1/18th of a half inch of snow. but if it's white anywhere outside, we run for the coat closet and put on all of our winter garb. because who knows? tomorrow it may be 69 degrees, and we will have to locate our capris and flip flops.

he had a great time with dad. and since i brought my camera, he had to bring his. (translation: thomas the tank engine view master) so hilarious!

today was an incredible day. nothing was done prior to 1:30 in the afternoon. stayed in our jammies, laid around, played with trains and all of the lightning mcqueens we own. you're thinking, "there is only one lightning mcqueen." yes, but they make so many versions of that same car for the parents of boys to make more $$. we headed to the mall. didn't go with anyone, so we weren't rushed to get out of the house, which meant we weren't late. just the 3 of us. and big h is starting to really care about the goo. i mean, he wanted to make sure she had a toy before she got in the car. after all, he had a toy before he got in the car. he wore his winter hat, and so he wanted to make she wore her winter hat. and so on.

made it through pottery barn kids without getting out of the stroller. 1) yes, my 3 1/2-year-old still rides in a double stroller with his 6-month-old sister. back off. we're keeping it that way until he decides he's too big for it. 2) our pottery barn kids excursion usually somewhere around the 6 or FOURTY-SIX minute mark. literally, act of congress to leave that store. "mommy, there's so much neat things here. i can't believe i've always wanted to love this store." (i love my child's grammar. we'll work on it later. right now, we're just pumped that he expresses himself period.) walked out with only 2 things for the goo. clothes. played at the play area without telling anyone how to do so. also a big accomplishment. my kid has a tendency to be a know-it-all. lunch and sprinkle cookies and multiple elevator rides. you can't beat a day like that.

yes. you can. daddy arriving home from work EARLY!

two posts in one 12-hour period.

i don't know what to do with myself. it is 8:19 in the morning, and BOTH of my children are still asleep. i had to make sure it wasn't 8:19 at night. but i have checked so many sources that tell me it is 8:19 in the morning.

.............

spoke too soon. doesn't it always happen that way? and so now, big h is in our bed watching "glass slipper ball" with his cinnamon rolls and no-nee (aka milk).

but let me tell you what i accomplished this morning before everyone woke up. got to talk to buz. so much fun! got to tell him about my dream which included getting in an argument with my husband because he didn't support my being a back up singer for lionel richie as a career choice. :) don't ask. showered (HUGE). made my bed. made big h's lunch for school. made sure there were plenty of diapers with his name written on them. prepared his snack. read my bible study book. checked email. packed the goo's bag. she and i are going to my friend elizabeth's to see her 2-week-old. and loaded the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher. people, that's more than i get done in a DAY!

off to get the goo out of bed. great start to my day. i should do this more often.