Show and Tell

My friend Annie tagged me for this meme. I've enjoyed seeing some of you play, and have probably been tagged before. I generally don't play along, but if Annie does something...well, then I'll definitely do it.

And no, I'm not easily influenced by friends. Not at all.

Unless you ask my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Yergensen, who wrote that very thing on my report card, the mean old witch.

I just wait for cool friends to do things before I do them. That way I'm sure things are cool, and I don't make the mistake of doing something un-cool. I like to think of it as having patience.

Anyhoo, here is my show-and-tell tour. The rules are that you may not tidy things up, just take the pictures as-is, and give the internet a peek into your life.

THE FRIDGE:
The only thing I allow on the outside of my fridge are these cute magnet letters made for me by the one and only Mique. They match my kitchen perfectly, and I think they're just darling. One of my best mail days ever.

The inside of my fridge? It is not so darling.

Let's just say that you can all sleep well at night knowing that there are parts of my life that remain very unorganized. The inside of the fridge is always one of those things. It will, however, never be without a large stash of diet coke. So come on over anytime, and we can chat over a cold one.

Next up is THE SINK. It, fortunately, will almost always be clean and dishes-free.

Don't hate me. I'm just annoying that way.

THE TOILET, and this is one I was unclear about. Do I take pictures of the entire bathroom or just the throne? I went with the throne in the master bath. Very boring, very toilet-like. (Have I just sunk to taking pictures of my toilet for the internet? Apparently so. Oy).

Moving on to THE LAUNDRY:
Tomorrow is laundry day, but that only means that our clothes are in our bedroom closets, in baskets with lids, waiting to be washed. Very uninteresting. But, I do have to take this moment and praise my dryer. As I mentioned before, scooting it out a few inches from the wall has miraculously reduced my drying time from about 1 1/2 hours to 37 minutes. And that's big loads of jeans, towels, you name it. This dryer is my new best friend.

And yes, I do realize that I am giving Daniel lots to make fun of here, what with all the pictures of toilets, laundry facilities, and sinks. But I like to live dangerously sometimes.

WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING RIGHT NOW:

Don't tell the Husband. We just got home from the pool, it's 1,237 degrees outside, and I need a break. Sometimes Sponge Bob is my best friend. Most days not.

[Also, please ignore the multi-colored wainscoting/walls behind the couch. We just put it up and have yet to get it painted. It will look really good when it's done. But that's unfortunately not today.]

MY FAVORITE ROOM:

I know I have shown pictures of this room like a million times, but I do love it. It's our formal living room, and it's the place I like to curl up with a good book. I love the picture wall, the furniture, the colors. Everything. I feel that room is more me than any other room in the house. Or at least the me I want to be. A nice me. Who takes good pictures. And reads lots of novels. And hardly ever yells.

MY CLOSET:

Yet another dark secret in the life of Stie. My closet does not look good, and today is no exception. This is a good reminder to straighten it up. Which I will do. As soon as I finish blogging about it.

MY FAVORITE SHOES:

Hello, lovelies. I got these shoes at Nine West two summers ago. I still get giddy for warm weather, because I can't wait to break them out. Sure, I don't really wear them anywhere but church or date nights (seeing as how they are the most uncomfortable shoes ever created), but they are oh, so pretty. And they show off a pedicure like a good pair of summer shoes should. And if we can't endure a little pain for a pretty shoe, then what good are we?

SELF PORTRAIT:

Here is me in my master bathroom, Yes, still in my swim dress. Sometimes it's just too hot to wear real clothes.

And sometimes, after swimming with the kidlets, I'm just too darn lazy to get dressed again. No, I don't run around nekkid anymore. Lesson painfully learned.

Lastly, MY DREAM VACATION:

I would say my dream vacation would be Paris and London. There are about a million other cities I want to visit, but those two are at the top of my list. Someday (hopefully next spring) I'll get there.

But I definitely won't be wearing my brown ballerina wedge shoes.

**********************

Consider yourself tagged, if you want to play along. It was surprisingly fun. And productive.

Now I've got to go clean out that closet.

To my three babies

Here we are, in the second full week of our summer vacation. The first few days were a little rough on me, I'll admit. I have been so used to spending several hours a day all by myself - doing what I wanted, when I wanted. And then suddenly, here are you three little people.

Here. In my clean house.

And you are always hungry. ALWAYS leaving things out. And not the least bit concerned with the trail of crumbs behind you.

But in spite of this, I think we've found our rhythm, you and I. I'm looking at your cheerful faces across the table, listening to your chatter, and I find that my heart is full.

With each various stage of life that we've gone through together, it seemed to me that I would always remember. I'll be honest - sometimes, it felt like your less-desirable phases would never end. I can definitely think of at least one that is irrevocably seared into the recesses of my mind.

But there are so many more that I know I have forgotten.

Long ago, as I held your baby selves, smelling your sweet little necks, I promised myself I would never forget. That these moments, like the thousands of photos I've taken of you, would always be permanently etched in my mind. But now that a little time has passed, I find that I just can't quite recall your baby smells. I have all but forgotten the sounds of your newborn cries. And it hurts my heart to think that I won't ever again hear your bubbly toddler voices.

Only when I creep to your bedside at night do I see traces of the babies you once were. Even you, McKay, still sometimes purse your little lips together, making that all-too familiar puckered face. It's when you're in that angelic, dreamy state that it all comes back to me. And it brings a smile to my face every time.

Right now though, I want to freeze this. I don't want these days, and these people you are today, to be only a memory.

I want to remember how Hannah's voice sounds when she's just woken up and has a head full of morning hair. I want to remember the way Chase lights up when he talks about conservation or a new story he's written. I want to always see McKay's crooked smile, and feel the swell of pride when walking by him curled up, reading a book. Because I just love that he's a reader. Like me.

I am in love with the phase that you're all in. You've suddenly, and without warning, become very interesting people to be around. You're growing more independent every day. Your opinions are all your own, and not reflections of what you hear your dad and I say. You see that your life will not always be dictated by me, and you really like the idea of that.

You are doing what children should. You are doing what I want you to do. You are growing up.

I am just so afraid that I will forget.

And I probably will.

But if I've learned nothing else as a mother, it's this: I will always mourn each phase as it passes me by, leaving me standing on the sidelines. And although it leaves my arms a little more empty each time, it leaves my heart a whole lot more full.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Proving the nut and the tree theory

This morning, I stumbled upon a little list.

A Monday morning to-do list.

Written, unbeknownst to me, by my eight-year-old, Chase.

He had carefully laid out his plans and must-do tasks for the day. They are:

1. Wake up (already done and crossed off)
2. Eat breakfast
3. Do jobs
4. Do mathsheets
5. Read Chet Gecko #3
6. Play with McKay and Hannah?
7. Eat lunch
8. Specile [special] family outing
9. Come home
10. Eat dinner
11. Read the Little House in the Big Woods?
12. Go to sleep

What I love more than just the fact that he's actually written this list himself (which, I'll be honest, does make my heart go all a flutter), is that he put a question mark on playing with his brother and sister, and reading a book before bed.

Because one certainly cannot count on later wanting to do these items.

One must always leave room for changing one's mind.

I think we definitely got the right baby at the hospital. No doubt in my mind.

Inquiring minds want to know

In lieu of anything monumental to blog about tonight, I thought I'd take a page from Gabi (our own personal Bawbwa Waltehs) and conduct a little interview of my own.

With one of my own.

Clicked off to hunt for free porn yet?

No? Good, here goes.

Tonight I will be interviewing my youngest, Hannah, who for some reason seems to think that bedtime does not apply to her tonight.

Name: Hannah.

Nickname: Odette (Watch Swan Lake much? Me thinks a little TOO much).

Middle name: Ruby (in real life, she doesn't have one).

Favorite color: Pink. P-I-N-K, Mom. That spells pink. Ha ha ha ha ha. (She finds herself quite hilarious)

Favorite animal: Bunny. (If you only knew my girl, you'd know how vast of an understatement this is. Someday I will blog about her love of bunnies)

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher because I want to learn lots of things. But a teacher really only teaches things. So, I guess I don't want to be that. Maybe I'll just be a mom. And really beautiful. I'll be really, really beautiful and have lots of children. My husband will be just like Daddy, except maybe not with brown hair. He'll probably have gray hair. And he'll be handsome, just like Daddy.

What do you think I was like as a little girl? Just like me, only not as pretty. Ha ha ha ha ha. (Nice one, kid.)

What kind of a mom do you think you will be like? A nice mom. I will take my children out to dinner at fancy restaurants like McDonald's. I will buy my little girls lots of Webkinz. And I guess for my little boys, too. I think I will have two girls and one boy. That's the opposite of our family.

Am I a nice mom? Yes.

Be honest? YES, GEEZ!

What's your favorite food that I make? Umm...[crickets chirping in the background, then a long pause]...panacakes.

What do you think Daddy does for work? He helps the hospital, and he gets people to the hospital. (Close, except that sometimes health care consultants have to FIRE people working in the hospital. I won't tell her if you don't.)

Who is your best friend? Jilian.

What is your favorite thing about me? [Long disapproving look] Umm, you smell good?

What are you afraid of? The dark because I think ghosts will pop up, but I know they're not alive.

If you know they're not alive, why are you afraid of them? Because I can't get rid of that feeling.

Why are you still awake right now - it's 9:58? Hee hee hee. Cause I want to sleep with you. (Husband is out of town, of course, which leaves me with a six-year-old bunkmate)

Are you waiting for me to come to bed before you will fall asleep? Yes.

Who is the mom here, me or you? ME. Ha ha ha, hee hee hee.

All right. Time for bed.

So concludes the end of this highly important interview in which I learned that I smell nice and am not in charge around here.

Now tell me something I didn't know.

What happens when Spiderman has a major growth spurt

I tried to make him promise never to wear this EVER. AGAIN.

He simply couldn't imagine why.

Don't give up on me

I'm not ignoring you, interpeeps; honest I'm not. Just been really busy.

School ended last week.

I took on some new work projects.

I got a new camera lens that I am wanting more time to play with.

We started a basement project that is requiring a lot of my time.

Oh, and did I mention the kids are home now? For the whole summer?

I promise, little blog, I'll be back soon. Lots of pictures and stories to tell.

Stay tuned...

P.S. For those of you that are interested, the mohawk lives on. Essentially, I am powerless on this subject. I've accepted it.