It's out of control!

I vividly remember Valentine's Day parties in elementary school. The older you got, the more likely you'd take home a couple of sticks of gum and a couple suckers. Not every Valentine had them. I don't think I ever got to give candy. Maybe you'd score a sticker or two. Or a couple of conversation hearts (certainly not a whole box). Ella had her first Valentine's party today. Oh my goodness. She brought home a brown lunch sack FULL of candy. Twenty 3 and 4 year olds made for quite a haul. One kid gave out those heart-shaped, frosted brownies on his Valentine's. There were a few that actually came attached to small goody bags, with several snack-size candies inside. Small bags of Skittles, Runts, Bottle Caps, Nerds, some Reese's peanut butter cups, suckers galore, pencils, stickers and temporary tattoos. This amount of candy will last both girls to Easter.

I remember the most fun part was making a Valentine's mailbox. Although many years it was a "Oh, no! What on earth will I throw together by tomorrow??" All the kids made paper bag Valentine holders today. They cut hearts out themselves, and glued them on. And Ella made the cutest Valentine for us. It's 4 pieces of paper taped together accordian style. One piece has her picture on it in a heart shape, the next is her left handprint in paint, then a note that says "My childhood days will go by fast. But my love for you will last and last." which Ella has signed, then the last paper is her right handprint. Such a cute idea, I had to share it.

Happy Valentine's Day to you! (all 3 of you!)

You just never know

In an effort to keep Natalie awake til we pick Ella up from school, I let her open the "hair stuff" box in one of the recliners. She wasted no time dumping out all the tiny hair ties and clips (none of which will she tolerate actually being IN her hair), and after playing with them she started to put them back in the box. I went over to help her, and reached down in the corner of the chair to get a stray clip that was about to fall into the inner workings of the chair. As I reached further, I made quite a discovery. I found the nail polish I spent 20 minutes looking for yesterday. I found a Mickey Mouse figurine. More hair ties. A pair of small-child sunglasses broken in half (this explains a horrible snapping sound I once heard as I put the footrest up on that chair). And the kitchen timer that has been missing for a good 3 months. That's in one of two chairs. I have since gone on a recovery mission in the other recliner, finding a comb, a set of baby keys (LONG time no see), a toy necklace, a matchbox car and another hair clip.

I am constantly amazed where things show up. As I sort laundry, I will find in the clothes basket some tea party plates, a bottle of baby powder and a nightlight. There are socks everywhere, and yet, no matches. Take two little girls and add one sneaky cat, and the mysteries really add up. A magnet from the refrigerator is downstairs by the washing machine (I'm guessing a girl took it off the fridge, and a cat batted it down there -- nice team effort). Our crazy cat has a throw blanket she likes to move around the house. I mean a full-sized throw blanket. It starts in the downstairs playroom, and she will drag it all the way upstairs. Sort of funny until Brennan tripped on it carrying a load of laundry downstairs, and fell down a couple of stairs. Now every time we see the blanket halfway up the steps, it feels a little like the cat is out to get us.

In any case, never a dull moment.

Potty. This post is not for the faint of heart.

I'm not going to say that Natalie is potty training, because she's not really. But she likes to do everything Ella does, and Ella uses the potty. So yesterday, Natalie used it twice. This morning she came to me and said, "I poop." So I said, let's go sit on the potty. Natalie said ok, and I was thrilled when I took off her diaper -- we'd made it! So she sat on the potty. Then she stood up and said no. So I tried to put her back on the potty, and she panicked and stood up. She said she didn't have to go. Chaos ensues. (this is the part not for the faint of heart) I start to grab her diaper, when poop falls on the floor. She refuses to sit down, I grab poop with some toilet paper and toss it in the potty, and suddenly, she pees all over herself, and then more poop. Now's when I give up. This moment can't be salvaged. I start the bath, and put her on the rug while I clean everything up. Rug? Have I learned nothing? She pees on the rug. You're kidding. These are the moments when my former life as a newspaper employee almost looks good. ALMOST. Soon she'll say something cute and sweet and I'll forget all about it. Now I will be afraid to ever take her diaper off again.

Ella's Helper

I was the helper again yesterday at Ella's preschool. Just another confirmation that we don't pay these teachers enough. So I got to be "Ella's Helper" for the morning. It's a constant stream of "Stand up please. Sit down please. All the way on your bottom please. Hands to yourself. Eyes up here. Sit down please. Sit down please." I'm so impressed with her school and teachers, though. It's a Christian preschool held at the Assembly of God church here in town. After they do attendance, they pray together for the kids who weren't there. Miss Heidi leads them, and they repeat after her. They say grace before snack. They have a time when they sing songs with cds together, and do actions, which is referred to as "worship time." They do creative activities, and I've seen progress in Ella's learning. Miss Heidi and Grandma Lora Lee handle the kids lovingly, but with firmness when necessary. And both of them seem to have a real joy for working with kids.

I have one more class that I have to help with, as part of the school requirement. On the one hand, I sort of dread the time. I am not a preschool teacher for a reason. But on the other hand, it's really good to see what's going on at school, and it's a special time with Ella. And when we get in the car to go home, Ella says, "Mommy, thank you for coming to school with me." It's worth it right there. The other great thing is feeling so reassured that we made the right choice for Ella's school.

So, two down, one to go.

BRRRRR

Oh that's right. This is what a Minnesota winter is. As I drove to Target today, it was -15. The wind chill was in the -40s. What I found most amusing, was the number of people who left their cars running today in the Target parking lot. Did they have 2 sets of keys so they could lock? Did they just leave running, open cars in the lot for the taking? Of course, this is a trusting area. We always know out-of-towners at the Pizza Ranch because the women take their purses with them to the buffet. I always leave mine on the table to reserve it. When I was at Joann Fabrics today, a woman left her purse at the fabric measuring area, and went with a store clerk to look at something, her husband started to follow her and said, "Do you want me to grab your purse?" "Nah. It's fine." This is why I live in a small town.

The cute moment of the day with the girls: I invited Ella to go shopping with me, so she could pick out her Valentines for school. Natalie needed to stay home, as she's been a little under the weather again. Ella asked, "Can Natalie come?" I told her not today. "I think I'll stay home and play with Natalie." So they both stayed home and played, and played and played.

Success! And by that, I mean today, not overall.

The watch did the trick, and both Ella and Natalie had much needed naps. I had an afternoon of quiet, so I could make a dent in my work. I took a little quiet time for myself, too!

How does she not sleep?

For Christmas I got Ella a digital Dora watch. She doesn't seem to have as much of a concept of time as of accessories, but I can understand that. Long ago, Ella gave up naps. I have finally decided to take rest time back. Mommy needs it. So I give her the watch, and a post-it with the time on it that she has to wait until before she can get out of bed. I've thought of setting timers, but then won't the timer wake her up if she falls asleep? So for 2 days, we've done the watch. I gave her 30 minutes yesterday that she had to stay in bed quietly. Today was 45. She came out a minute ago whispering, "Mom! It's 1:45." So I went in to check her watch, 1:25. I tell her she still has 20 minutes to lay down. So Ella lays down, staring at her watch. How can she possibly stare at a watch for 20 minutes and not fall asleep (which is my true goal)? Time will tell....

Grace each day

I had a co-worker a couple of years ago, who was a truly amazing woman. She was in her 40s, and was a raging diabetic. She had divorced within the past couple of years moved back to her hometown, and had ended up having to go back to work, so we hired her for our front office at the newspaper. I have never met anyone more full of joy and peace than Jean. Even with her health problems, she still seemed to find immense joy in every day -- every day was truly a gift. Just having her around calmed my spirit. She just never got upset. Even when an angry customer would call because their bill had a mistake, she'd calmly handle it. Afterwards she'd come tell me about it, giggle, say she'd take care of it, and go on with her day. After she'd been with us a few months, she called me at home on a Friday to say she wouldn't be in -- she was too sick. She said she just didn't feel right. I told her to take care of herself, we'd see her Monday. By Sunday she was in a coma, and on that Tuesday, she passed away. I still miss her. At her funeral her sister said that Jean used Max Lucado's "Grace for the Moment" devotional, and she read the beginning prayer every day. I wanted to share it with you (all 2 of you):
I Choose Love...
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I Choose Joy...
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of a lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I Choose Peace...
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I Choose Patience...
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I Choose Kindness...
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I Choose Goodness...
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I Choose Faithfulness...
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I Choose Gentleness...
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I Choose Self-Control...
I am a spiritual being... After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

I love the internet and I'm raising a bilingual child

I love, love the internet, and I'll tell you why. I have spent January re-establishing contact with long-lost friends. Between myspace, email and the blog, I am having a fabulous time. Just this morning I got a comment from my dear sweet Shawna on my blog...it's been just ages, and I was so thrilled to see pictures of the little munchkins! My good friend Nita keeps me posted on her NC adventure, which I love reading about. I love catching up with what Amy has been doing.

I adore talking on the phone, but I have reached a phase of life where I don't want to call anyone. As soon as I reach for the phone I start thinking "Is she busy? Changing a diaper maybe? Is it naptime?" I don't know anyone's schedules, and it just makes me so hesitant to call. Honestly, I don't know what my problem is, since I love when people call me. So I love being able to keep up with people. I love feeling like I'm still in the middle of people's lives. I'm learning to seek out joy, and right now, the internet is one of the gifts I am thanking God for.

On another note, I am raising a bilingual child. Natalie has a deep love for all things Dora and Diego. She's almost 22 months. The other day at the doctor's office she wanted to climb on the table, and looked at me, "Suben?" Now, she's not getting the tense right, but she isn't in English either. Then yesterday morning she got in a box and said, "Push me Mommy?" I had to sadly explain to her that Mommy can't, because Mommy is now old with back injuries. So instead she got out, and started pushing it herself, "empujen, empujen." I haven't had a Spanish class since 1995, so I know I'm probably not spelling it right. But still. Spanish for push. All I can say is, Noggin really is like preschool on tv.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS...

but not so much the digging out of the tree. Our tree looks more and more sad every year. If I had all the money in the world, I would get something prelit. I enjoy putting up ornaments, but the branch fluffing and bending and light stringing leaves something to be desired. You know, if I had all the money in the world, I would probably also hire a decorator. And a maid.

When my husband was little, he asked his parents why people put stars and angels on top of the tree instead of baby Jesus (good question), so from then on a small baby Jesus topped their tree. When I was growing up, my sister had the angel to put on top of the tree. So when I grew up I couldn't wait to have my own tree, and my own angel. And yet, how do you trump a baby Jesus? Perhaps this year an angel with a baby Jesus directly underneath, so the angel can "announce" the baby. We'll see.

Anyway, this year I have been bitten by the FaLaLa bug, and I am so very excited to get into the Christmas season. I have downloaded MercyMe's Christmas cd from itunes, and I nearly had chills down my spine when I stumbled upon all of the Christmas decor at Target *gasp* WELL BEFORE Thanksgiving. I have nearly all the Christmas presents planned, and many purchased.

Since having kids of my own, the Nativity has become more and more of a miracle to me. I was proud to endure labor twice with no epidural, and yet Mary could bring the savior of all mankind into the world in a stable. I love Sara Groves song "Child of Love", imagining what it was like for Mary to hold her precious child who she knew would one day save the world. Mary must have been a truly, truly amazing woman, with incredible faith.

So Jesus is coming, and I can't wait. The spirit of the season is alive and well. Sparkles and music and cinnamon, and the best gift of all.