Happy Birthday to My Girl

"You won't remember how it started with us, the things that I know about you that you don't even know about yourself. 
We won't come back here."

Kelly Corrigan - Lift (2010) 

Dear Ella,

Today you are 7 years old! You have been waiting and wanting your birthday to get here for months. And today, as you celebrate being 7, a part of me mourns just a little bit. My heart catches to think of you another year older, another year closer to growing up, and there's not a darn thing that I can do to slow it down. You've prepared me from Day One though.  Your independence has been fierce since the day you were born.  One thing that you don't know now but I'm sure I will hold over your head many times down the road:  you almost killed me within your first 6 months of life.  You never slept (okay, you actually slept about 14 minutes a day). Within the first 6 weeks of you being home I had mastitis, strep throat, a uterine infection and felt like I'd been tortured by the Mafia. I was so rundown and exhausted.  Oh, but you were such a beautiful baby those minutes that you did sleep.  I could hardly pull my eyes away from you  as you slept, to finally get some sleep myself, because you were so peaceful and perfect (and I was probably in shock that you were actually sleeping).  You slept propped up in my arms at night for months on end, and Dad and I did try tough love.  We tried to let you cry it out but you won, always.

Your sense of adventure started early. You loved to stand on Dad's hand and balance. Nothing frightened you.  When we look through your baby book, this is one of your favorite pictures. You love looking at your baby pictures - "why didn't I have any hair?" is a favorite question.  I guess because I didn't either and you seem to be looking a lot like me (so I've heard).

You might look a lot like me, but you've definitely got your own personality.  You play hard.  And you crash hard. You sing, you dance. I call you Crazy Girl at least 5 times a day. You were never a good napper, but sometimes you exhaust even yourself. 

You have your own sense of fashion.  From the time you were old enough to walk, you've fought me tooth and nail about what you would wear.  Sometimes nothing but dresses, sometimes nothing but capri's.  Wool tights in August.  But it's always YOU. I even ask you what I should wear sometimes...

You have a beautiful spirit. You don't seem to fear hard work if it gets you what you want.  It used to scare me because often when you fell down or got hurt, you wouldn't cry.  But now I know it was your pride that stopped you from crying. Pride and stubbornness -you've got a lot of that too.

One thing that often amazes me and Dad is your focus and determination when you are working on projects. You can work on art projects or play with your dolls for hours. You really only get bored when you aren't doing what YOU want to be doing.

You are still at the age where you want to sleep with me and Dad some nights. Sometimes it's you AND Silas wanting to sleep with us - that gets a little crowded. As much as I fight to keep you in your own beds, I'm often secretly happy when you win, or find your way into our bed in the middle of the night. When you do, you usually hold my hand as we fall asleep. You snuggle in and again, I find myself fighting my tired eyes so that I can watch you as you sleep, just like when you were a baby.

As much as I want to keep you little, keep you safe, keep you mine...I am also excited to think about the person, the adult, that you will be someday. You will have the world by its tail. You've got a lot of drama and a lot of queen in you but you say you won't be an actress. Maybe not but whatever you decide to do with your life, it's going to have to be big enough for that personality of yours.

(Melissa Jones Photography)

"Remember this. This is what love feels like. 
Don't take less." 

(Kelly Corrigan - Lift)

 

I feel like it's my special day on your and your brothers' birthdays. You are the gifts that dad and I get to celebrate over and over. We thank God for you every day. My birthday wish for you is that you enjoy every moment of your 7th year and that your passions, tenacity and rambunctiousness grow right along with you.

Happy Birthday sweet Miss Boo. 

We love you!

 

Literacy is Great!

Until your 6 year old reads your card and 
asks "what's a lap dance??"

My Valentine's day card from JP

The Weekend that Wasn't

This will be a grumpy post - because this past weekend just blurred right into last week and makes it feel like I've just had a super, duper long week with no end in sight. My fun for the weekend included lots and lots of work and tons of laundry.  Justin worked all weekend too.  All I could envision is what it might be like to just go away someplace tropical, with a book in one hand and a big drink in the other. With or without kids but definitely without the computer and the washer/dryer. The most exciting thing this weekend is that Columbus (and most of Ohio) broke the February snowfall record with 30.1 inches.  I suppose that could be why I feel so cooped up and antsy - I'd just like to hibernate.

Silas even asked me on Sunday "can't I just sleep until summer gets here?" 

- my feelings exactly!! I don't think that in my 40 winters in Ohio, I've ever wanted spring to get here as much as this year!

 Even the snowmen have had enough...look how depressed he looks...

 

The leaning pile of snow. It stayed that way all night.

One thing that I've been trying hard to work on around here is some of our eating habits.  I've been reading some books on nutrition and preventing/fighting cancer.  There are a lot of things that I had no clue about. It's been very helpful.  I have switched our pasta to whole grain, trying to cut out as much refined sugar as possible and this week we've eaten apples, bananas, oranges, tons of blueberries, other berries (lots in smoothies), broccoli, carrots, brussel spouts, orange peppers, tomatoes and lots of avocados and salads.

I am having a hard time working more fish into our weekly menu though...maybe tomorrow we'll have fish tacos. And more beans...less meat. Yikes.

The animals continue to be loved...very loved to the point of suffocation.

 And they have claimed the kids' couches as their own...

Silas has been a good sport when I put his hat on...and he looks like a lump-head. He calmly reminds me that his mittens are still in his hat.

An Ella funny:

me: don't lick your sunglasses

Ella: I'm not licking them, I'm cleaning them (with her tongue...)

ick.

Silas has been his rotten self lately.  He is quickly learning the art of manipulation, especially if it involves the Wii or DS.  We really have to watch how much he plays because if we'd let him, he'd stay on it ALL day long!
I've been going into his classroom once or twice a month to help the kids do activities on the computer. It's fun to get to know the kids in his class and his teachers.  His teacher is pregnant and the kids all ask her a bunch of questions about the baby. One girl asked her to open her mouth so that she could see the baby in her belly :)

I am VERY proud of Mason right now.   He's done a good job of keeping his grades up all year, but for some reason, seemed to be slacking in the effort last semester.  When he brought home his interim grades this time he has all A's and today he got a postcard in the mail from his World Studies teacher:

Your student, Mason, has been recognized for...

turning it up this quarter! Mason has really applied himself and is performing at the level we all knew he could.  Great job!!

Yes, GREAT JOB!  I love my kids.  I'm not nearly as grumpy now :-)

Snow Dog, BEPs, Fat Cat and Glam Girls Pictures

This winter is the kind of winter I remember having as a kid - LOTS of snow! Zoe hasn't really wanted to spend too much time outside playing in it. She goes out, does her business and hightails her behind right back inside.

I can't say that I blame her with snow like this. 

 The day after the latest of the big snows, I had tickets to see the 

Black Eyed Peas - they were awesome!

 Miss Cleo has been renamed "FAT CAT" 

And no wonder since this is what we find

around the house...

  

We're learning to never leave any food out on the table, counters, anyplace that Fat Cat is..

The minute that we leave the room, she gets it!

On Friday I was lucky enough to have a case of wine delivered to my doorstep, thanks to Grandpa J.  It couldn't have arrived at a better time - after spending so much time with the kids out of school the past several weeks!
 

Ella soon asked me to empty the box out so that she could 
"make an airplane".

She cut wings out of paper and then taped them up, 
took a piece of tinfoil and cut out a microphone to talk to her passengers. 

  

She made tickets to "the Sun Spa", made a ticket holder to put them in

and also drew a TV inside the box for her 2 passengers, AND 

she served them spaghetti and meatballs at NO extra charge! 

  

She spent a good 2 hours piloting her plane to and from the Sun Spa.

Today she decided that her Barbie needed a bouquet of flowers.

She spent an hour coloring, cutting out and making these flowers.

They are less than an inch long. She took a tissue, twisted it up and put the 

flowers down in it so that Barbie could carry the flowers. 

Not having much patience or artistic talent myself, it amazes me when she does stuff like this!

On Saturday night, Ella went to a Red Carpet gala at Abbi and Alli's.

She got all gussied up in her dress and tiara, spending the evening with the big girls.

  

It was quite chilly but the girls had a great time strutting on the Red Carpet!

Happy Birthday to My Love

Happy  Birthday to Justin Paul!

What cute little piggies he had as a newborn. 

They are NOT so cute now!

Thanks to Mammoo and Grandpa J for producing 

just a fine human being. Ya done good!

I know he was quite a handful as a child

(as he still can be). 

Happy Birthday - we love you!!!!

Speaking of Odd...and dumb....

I know that I've mentioned a time or two that my children are odd, but they always seem to be proving the point.
The last 2 days Ella has been reading to me the step-by-step instructions (from a book that she got at the school library) on how to "wrap a mummy" - did you know it takes 2+ weeks to wrap a mummy? and that they remove the brains first?


Silas has taken to singing "Oh Cannon Bomb" at the top of his lungs while doing his business.  Not sure of the connection there.  Maybe it's all the snow because Jingles Bells has been a favorite this week too.

Ella is still working on her art work.  She drew a picture for her cousin recently.

 

For some reason this reminds me of Dolly Parton...

Maybe the apples don't fall far from the tree around here. 

I've also been educated by my eldest child that "crack is no worse for you than alcohol". HUH?  What ARE they teaching the kids these days in DARE??  

Come to find out he meant marijuana and NOT crack - "I always get those 2 confused!" he says. Yep, grounded for life...

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was having some bouts of stupidity and so it continues.  I ran a load of laundry today and it got most of the way through the cycle before I realized I forgot to put the clothes in the washer...

#2 today was not only stupid but dangerous.  After making the kids scrambled eggs this morning, I left the stove burner on (low) from 10am - 5pm and I was home pretty much that entire time but didn't realize it until I came home from getting the kids... 

Not only would I like to know Who Moved My Cheese, but Who the Hell Stole My Brain??

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

What a wintery winter we've had this winter! We got another snowfall - a good one this time!  It started on Friday, late morning and snowed pretty continuously until Saturday afternoon.  About 8-15" in the area - the snow in our yard is about a foot deep.  

By Friday afternoon there was already enough snow to make a snowman. Justin, Ella and Si went out and made a snowman with cranberries for eyes and mouth, a pointy carrot nose and broccoli for hair.  There was also a lot of shoveling going on Friday and Saturday (yeah, Justin was real happy about that).

On Saturday, Ella and Si played outside for HOURS.  Ella started digging a tunnel and worked on it diligently until it was big enough for them to squeeze into.  She kept "firing" Silas from helping because he wasn't working very hard on it. But he decided he'd rather work on snow angels.  Notice the pink gloves he's wearing.  He DOES have his own blue gloves but they got too wet and we had to swap out for some dry ones - so it was pink or nothing...

It was a snowy, cozy weekend.  A fire to warm up frozen toes and fingers, homemade soup, hot cocoa, and very worn out children at bedtime. (And very worn out mom and dad too just from taking all the snow clothes on and off of them a million times). I hate to see the weekend end so soon!