me, my redhead, and so on: September 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013

it's been said :: lou lou

So Lou has now started talking enough to get her own "it's been said" column. She's at that funny age where she can totally communicate, but with only the words she has locked up in her silly little mind. Also she's kind of a pathological liar AND she has a flaming temper. All of this results in total hilarity, several times a day. Here are a bunch that I took the time to write down.

Lou: I wanna see the play dough!

Me: Okay, I'm cooking it. It's almost done!

Lou: Cooooool!

{after biffing it, which happens at least a dozen times daily}
Whoa. I okay. I a-right.

{every night when she should be sleeping}

Mom...where awe you?

Me: Lolly, did you poop?

Lou: Nooo.... {while holding the Woody toy}

Me: You stink!

Lou: Noooo, Woody poop!

{as Lou walks by without pants}

Me: Lolly, did you poop your pants?

Lou: Yeah...no. I no wearing pants.

yo-yut = yogurt

{after burping}

'Cuse meees.

{after 45 minutes of crying while her blanket washed and dried,

and then getting her blanket back, all the while shoving her face into it}

I miss you blanky! I miss you!
+

{while hiking in Yellowstone}

Hi peoples! I Lou Lou!

{after seeing a bison in Yellowstone}

Oh! {holding her hands out} I wanna hop on!

{while sniffing the sulfur in Yellowstone}

Lou: Mells like poop.

Me: No, that's sulfur.

Lou: Suh-fuh?

Me: Yes, sulfur.

Lou: Mells like poop.

Me: No, it smells like sulfur.

Lou: Mells like suh-fuh poop.

{while rehearsing the First Article of Faith,

this isn't including her epic words

and lisps that are really hard to spell out}

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son,

Jesus Christ, and Goldilocks, and the Three Little Pigs. And so forth!

{while playing with cousins}

Me: Lou, be nice to Peter!

Lou: I hit Peter.

Me: At least you're honest?

{she has a FLAMING temper - it ain't no joke}

{after a little hike}

I climbed HUUUUUUUGE rocks Momma.

{they were small}

{after Annabelle threw a hand weight and got a stern talking to}

Lou: Sissy, you be naughty. You go to yo' room. No trowing weight! No!

Me: What's my name?

Lou: Mommy

Me: Or????

Lou: Gone-Shell

{every time, it's my favorite, I never want her to get it right}

I wanna go backside. {outside}

Hey, Mom? I need Nemo very bad.

{she wants to watch Finding Nemo, very bad}

Me: Lou, don't poop in the tub.

Lou: Okay, I will!

Me: Lou, don't hit your sister.

Lou: Okay, I will!

Me: Lou, don't dump your water on the couch.

Lou: Okay, I will!

{she means "I will not do the thing you're saying"...I think?}

Me: Do you need to go potty Lolly?

Lou: No way Jose!

{voicing her Lalaloopsies}

Doll One: Okay, time to get up and do eck-er-sizes! {exercises}

Doll Two: But Mudeerrrrr!!! {Motherrrrr!}

Sissy go to school in a house made of bricks.

{which is actually a factual statement}

{after I do ponytails in her hair}

Bootiful! I like Ree-punzle!

{Rapunzel...I have no idea.}

{if anyone touches me - Jess, Annabelle, other children}

She MY MOMMY!!

{with the fire of Mordor in her eyes}

Me: Hey, give me your binky.

Lou: Noooooooooo.

Me: You don't need it girl.

Lou: No Mom. I NEED it. I do. I do need it.

{after seeing Gram for the first time without her hair done or a wig on}

Lou, pointing at Gram's hair: I no like it.

Gram: You don't like my hair?

Lou, scrunching her nose in distaste: No, I no like it. No like it.

Gram: Me neither! I need to find someone to do it!

{Gram has a broken shoulder and can't do her hair.

Gram and I got a pretty good laugh out of this.

So glad she has a sense of humor!}

{after she poops in her dipe}

Lou, sniffing: Mells like?...Mells like horsey poop.

Me, laughing: Um. No. That's you. You pooped in your dipe.

Lou, laughing: Noooooo. That horsey poop!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

busy, busy, busy

Busy, busy, busy. Like a really tall bee.

Fifty points for anyone who catches that reference. Besides you Danielle. You knew it before you finished reading it.

So busy. We've been.

+ I recently started working for the PR team that is responsible for the Jess and Shauntel union. That's right. My boss at Intrepid set me up on a blind date with Jess over six years ago. It really backfired for him as I ended up marrying the kid and leaving the firm.

But good news. I'm baaaaackkkk. I'm editing for them again. It would be an understatement to say I'm so happy. Flexing my editing muscles is far more gratifying than I remember. (I'm working from home too, which is pretty perfect. I edit while crafting and other such activities are going on right behind me or during nap time.)

+ Belle's in preschool. We covered this, I know. But it involves mental preparation, scheduled mornings, cheerleading routines. The good news? She's a champ, and she loves it. We've even added a day per week. Today when I dropped her off, as I signed in, she goes, "OK BYE MOM." Well then.

+ We went on a road trip again. I know, you're like, so what. You do that every day. Yes, true. This time we went to visit Grandma Lichelle and the aunties in St. George. Jess and I took a quick trip to Las Vegas for his firm's annual work retreat. We left the girls with my mom and sister, and believe me when I say, the girls didn't even notice. In fact, when I got home, Annabelle saw me, threw her head back in the air and groaned in despair.

+ How to Train Your Dragon. This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but really, best movie ever. Go watch it. Santa is going to bring it to me, pretty sure.

+ I'm done Christmas shopping. I had this moment last week when I realized my Chase points (from my credit card) could be used as straight cash on Amazon. It was like lightbulbs and fireworks and fuzzy puppies in my head, and ten minutes later, Christmas was done. I still need to round up a few things for he who wants nothing (Jess), but the girls' Christmas gifts are finished. (Don't forget - I've had a dollhouse for them for over a year now as well, so I wasn't buying a whole bunch.)

+ I've been spending spare minutes designing Christmas cards for the shop. I'll bring back some of the favorites from last year, but I'm going to throw a bunch of newbies out there too. You good people deserve some variety. My goal is to get these live by the end of the month. And a coupon code too for early birds...stay tuned. :)

+ Kettlebells. My Achilles tendons decided to take a hiatus. They do this about once a year. This time it's pretty bad, and my normal rehabbing isn't cutting it. I can't do any cardio that involves, well, feet. So yeah. But kettlebells? My sister sent me one for my birthday (it was on my wish list, she wasn't just sending me a heavy hint, pun intended). I'M OBSESSED. Single most effective work out I've ever done. It involves chucking a cast iron bell around, so it has its hazards, but seriously. Awesome. Love.

+ This fudge. This fudge alone is a good reason to go buy yourself some coconut oil (if you haven't yet bought into this trend, which by the way, is a good one to buy into). I feel only minor guilt in consuming an entire panful by myself in 24 hours. Minor guilt, because it's healthy fudge. Right?

+ These two photos are by my sister. I know. They capture the essence of each of my babies, well, perfectly. Here's the fun story. Many moons ago, before digital photography existed, I thought I'd be a photographer. I had a fancy SLR and everything. But I gave it up when I realized the darkroom was, well, dark. My poor night vision impaired my ability to process film in a major way. I also found editing and found myself pursuing that instead. But I kept the camera. When my sister took up the hobby, I passed the camera along. And now, of course, she's doing it better. She's so extraordinarily talented. These are film photos. I think I love them. A lot.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

growing pains

For the last four years, I've spent the better part of nearly every day with a little girl who shares a semblance of my face (but mostly her grandma's) and has her Daddy's tender heart. We have been side by side, best friends separated by only a few decades.

Today my Belle started preschool. It's just two days a week, and I know I'm maybe the sappiest mom in the world, but it was hard, walking away. Leaving my baby to fend for herself. Especially because I left her with tears spilling down her face. I left her in the care of probably the sweetest preschool teacher on the planet, and I'm confident that preschool is the perfect step for her right now. But still. I'm a self-admitted helicopter mom. I hover. Unabashedly. I know the world will have its way little by little, and so I soak up my minutes, the time that is at least partly in my control. And so today, my heart aches a little. My constant companion is off doing her own thing. Growing up.

Yesterday, in the midst of her intense nerves, I waited for her baby sister to take a nap and pulled out a gift I'd been waiting to give her for weeks. I showed her the necklace I wear around my neck every day - the one with an A for her, an L for Lou and the picture of tiny Daddy. Some of the people I love the most, around my neck, always with me. She then unwrapped a tiny silver heart pendant necklace.

She was so excited and asked if she could wear it to preschool. I told her she could, and that she could wear it every day. I told her that when she was feeling a little nervous, she just needed to remember her necklace. I told her the heart on her necklace could remind her that even when I'm not with her, I'm in her heart. Always.

I then took out a second necklace. One just like hers. I put it on and told her she'd always be in my heart as well. My baby, the tiny adult, the four-year-old with a soul as old as the earth, stared out at me through glassy eyes. She understood. I noticed as the day went on that she often had that tiny heart between her fingers, rubbing its smooth shiny surface, her concentration fixed on something intangible.

I know her, and I know that she was gathering the bits of courage scattered about her soul, the ones we've worked so hard on cultivating these last few months. And I hope that while she did, she was remembering how much I love her and that she is always always in my heart.

When Lou woke up from her nap, Annabelle showed her the little necklace. Lou proclaimed a hearty and appropriate, "Wow!" And Annabelle said, "It's so I can remember Mommy's always in my heart. And you Lou! And Daddy!"

I am the luckiest mom in the world. I spend my days with two brown-eyed babes who are not only my charges, but also my best friends and my teachers all at the same time. Today marks the beginning of my first baby's "official" growing up. I'm so proud of her already. In just four short years, she has taught us so much and blown us away by her propensity to learn and her unparalleled ability to love. How lucky I am to have this little lady in my heart. Always.