Happy Birthday, Granny

Today is my Granny's birthday . . . it is the first one she is celebrating in heaven and the first one we are experiencing without her. In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday and how much I am missing her, I thought I would dedicate this post to her. I am so thankful for the 33 1/2 years I got to spend with her, though I would have relished 33 more.  She taught me so much and loved me even more. Granny was someone who got it . . . she knew that real wealth was found when you invest in people. And she gave away herself and her money and her time and her love. I am a richer person for it. Granny was fun, too. She loved a good joke and a good laugh. I am so thankful that she had a relationship with Caroline, Tru, Bo, and Sascha. They all adored her and she showered them with love and affection. They brought each other a lot of joy and the four of them cracked her up. There have been countless times since her death in May that I have wanted to call her to tell a story on one of them. There is a longing for eternity in all of us and I am so thankful that this life is not all there is. I cannot wait to see her again and hug her neck in a place where we will never again have to say goodbye. Happy Birthday, Granny. We miss you so much. Thanks for your love and legacy. We are better for having had you in our lives. I love you.

I've heard it said 

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow 

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you:

It well may be

That we will never meet again

In this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me

Is made of what I learned from you

You'll be with me

Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend:

Like a ship blown from its mooring

By a wind off the sea

Like a seed dropped by a skybird

In a distant wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you:

I have been changed for good

(From Wicked)

He said, she said

Bo and Sascha are both at great ages where they say things that are almost right and way to cute to correct! Here are a few of my favorites (and their translations) . . .

Bo:
"Will you buckle me off?" (Will you unbuckle my carseat?)
"Can I to have a purple towel?" (I need a paper towel.)
"Can I to hold you?" (Will you hold me?)
"Yook, Caroyline, that you school bus!" (For EVERY bus we see!)
"Hi, Mommy! I had a good nap!" (This is what he says when he wakes up....even in the morning.)

Sascha:
"That you rink?" (Is that your drink?)
"Dat our Tardet! YAY! Our Tardet!" (Is that our Target? YAY! Our Target!)
"Pubup" (Pull up)
"Oh, my piddy!" (Oh, a hair bow, known as a pretty around our house.)
"Fire ***k" (Fire truck . . . yes, we now call them fire engines and so sorry for those in Chik-Fil-A who were unable to translate . . . the little boys name is Tucker, despite what it sounded like she called him!)

They are not easy kids by ANY stretch of the imagination . . . 

but they are easy to love and so dadgum cute and cuddly! 

I couldn't have put it better

This morning Tru had what is known around our house as a "Truism". His sweet little face tilted sideways and he said in an angelic voice, "Mommy?" (Yes, baby?) "Mommy, you are the nose of our family and we are the boogers that came out of you." Then he died laughing and ran off.

Yes. They are all little boogers. But they are my boogers and I love them dearly and I wouldn't have picked any other ones. (I couldn't resist.)

Wicked Awesome

This is Caroline with the Wizard . . . you know, the wonderful one . . . behind the curtain . . . in the Emerald City.

Last night, Josh and I got to take Caroline to see Wicked. Wow. It was AMAZING!! From the moment the curtain went up until it went down, we were all captivated.

Caroline is on a musical theatre dance team and often lives her life as if it is a musical, singing her answers and dancing around our house. So last year when we were offered the chance to go to a brunch promoting Wicked's run in Little Rock, I did not think twice about checking that girl out of school and enjoying some muffins and songs. She was hooked and spent the next several months asking when tickets went on sale.

There are times in life when the actual event does not meet your expectations and anticipation, but this was not one of them. It is an amazing story with a beautiful and important message coupled with songs you wish you had a Broadway voice to sing, lots of humor, and clever details. When we got out to the car, Josh was marking his play bill up with all of the songs he wanted to download . . . I think I will just buy the soundtrack because I am not fancy and technological. Plus, the Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast) has Kristen Chenoweth on it and I ADORE her!!

Have you ever been somewhere like that and been equally annoyed and charmed by someone sitting in front of you? There was a couple in front of us who were probably in their 50's. He was SO TALL (annoyance #1, although I know he couldn't help it) and she was so small. When he looked straight ahead, I could see just fine. But when he turned his head sideways, the angle didn't work for me. After intermission, he could not quit staring at his date (I have no idea if they were married or not). He would stare and stare at her watching the musical (annoyance #2, but also SO sweet). One of the last songs is called "For Good" where Elphaba (aka, Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda sing a sweet tribute to their unexpected friendship and how they have been changed for good by each other. I was distracted, however, by this couple in front of me who stared into each other's eyes throughout the entire song and then, dramatically toward the end put their heads together. It was sweet, a little private, and a little annoying because I couldn't see Elphaba and Glinda singing to each other. But what a great thing to be distracted by because they seemed to have such a sweet, tender adoration for each other.

And, as if Caroline needed more sass, she picked up a new move, which I have to say, she is quite good at. I present to you . . . the hair flip . . .

To infinity and beyond!

Sascha and Bo felt that one viewing of Toy Story 3 just wasn't enough, so I declared Tuesday night to be "Toy Story" night . . . we ate Woody's Cowboy Chili (ok, it was just chili, but I had to theme it), Toy Story Mac-n-Cheese, and ate cookies shaped like Buzz, Lotso, and Woody's boot. The kids spread a blanket out on the family room floor and we turned off all the lights and watched the movie while we ate. I cried like a big baby at the end of it and honestly found myself wondering if Bonnie would keep the gang together as long as Andy had and hoped he had made her promise (off "camera") that she would never split them up. Really?!

It was a great night . . . one of those I dreamed of having with my little family when I was pregnant with Caroline and one I know I will remember for a long time.

Here is a picture of my pitiful, but homemade, cookies and our themed mac-n-cheese.

I love it when a plan comes together

Today is Tuesday and I normally have a sitter (a WONDERFUL GIFT FROM GOD WHO I WOULD PAY TWICE WHAT I PAY HER FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE FOR MY SANITY) but we switched to Thursday this week. Sadly, despite my best Maytag Repairman by Internet efforts, I was unable to revive our cheap washing machine. I learned many things yesterday.....(1) always, always, always have a bowl (or something) under the drain when you remove it from the back of the washing machine or you will be running around like a crazy person trying to catch the water before it runs back into the garage (2) always unplug the machine before working on it (water+electricity=DANGER) . . . thankfully I learned that by reading, not experiencing and (3) the only thing worse than manually draining the washing machine cup by cup, bucket by bucket is doing it a second time because you thought you had fixed it and were wrong and had to use up what few towels and sheets you had left to clean up the water after you forgot you had started the machine you thought you fixed back up. SIGH.

Anyway, that was Monday and I was telling you about today. Today, I needed to buy a new washing machine and visit the laundromat so I didn't wear my new machine out by doing 52 loads on the first day. Bo and Sascha and I started our errands at Target to purchase, among many things, TOY STORY 3, because we are big fans of Buzz, Woody, and "Zessie". By the end of our short time in Target, I was considering taking up all manner of vices to cope with our 30 minute shopping extravaganza and I know that almost everyone in the store was glad to see us go. And though most of what I purchased could have waited until Thursday, there was a method to my madness. I needed to work on my Bible Study and entertain 2 young, active, precious goblins while the laundromat worked its super extra large magic on my laundry. Praise the Lord the giant wash (and I mean GIANT) and 2 huge dryers took exactly the same amount of time that it took Buzz and Woody and the gang to go from Andy's room to the daycare to the incinerator back to Andy's room and then to the sweet little girl's house. And who knew, but  today ALL the dryers were free and automatically ran for 35 minutes. Yesterday, I spent a small fortune in change and found myself running back and forth from my car to the dryers as I incrementally increased the drying time in 7 minute segments. Yay for small favors because, much to my dismay, NONE of the washing machines were free at Sears.

Now it is time to make chili and celebrate the first truly cold day of the season. And probably time to let the kids in before they freeze.

New Math

Here is a word problem I got to solve today . . .
Q: There are 15 cups in one bucket and 8 buckets in one what?
A: One really stupid washing machine.

Last year our washing machine broke and we went to Home Depot to buy a new one. We sort of agreed on one (I wanted nicer, Josh wanted cheaper). Reluctantly, we ordered it and waited amongst piles of dirty laundry for the new machine to arrive. We waited and we waited and when Josh called to see where they were, OOPS, they forgot to order it and it would be at least another week.

Here is some more math for you, how many loads of laundry do 6 people go through in a week? Too much to wait for a machine I wasn't excited about anyway. So we told them to forget it and we would go somewhere else. Miraculously, when it looked like they had lost our business, there were a few machines in stock at the very store we were in--not our exact washer, though, a slightly more expensive one! Desperate to start washing clothes again (now there's a phrase I never thought I would type), I agreed to the one they had even though it wasn't a brand I liked. They could get it to us soon. They were sooo sorry. I am a sucker.

They brought us our new and improved machine and then had to load it back on to the truck because it was damaged. They went back to the store and got another new and improved machine (why did I ignore all the omens?!). Now here we are, 13 months later, 1 month past our warranty, solving math problems in the laundry room while wearing rain boots and sopping up water that somehow made it all the way to the garage.

Here is my next math problem . . . how too work a new washing machine into our budget the month before Christmas!