a good day after all

Today I. . .
Got a ticket.
Ruined my cell phone when I let Claire play with it. Not a good idea, I guess. It's now sitting in a bucket of rice because someone said that would help.
Almost cried a few times because I miss Courtney so much. I was sad because he was gone last week. And he'll be gone the next. I was feeling sorry for myself.
Was a bit too uptight about our messy house and chaos. I spoke unkindly a few times.
Which almost made me cry again.

But now the house is quiet and I'm thinking about my day.
Here's what I remember. . .
Dancing with Emmy and Claire this morning.
Laughing with Emmy on my bed when I asked her if she could hug me forever.
Going with Kate for pie for "Kate Day". She was so thrilled and talked non-stop. I loved listening to her over banana cream pie and brownie sundaes.
Being thankful my mom watched the girls so I could take Kate out.
Feeling OVERJOYED to see that she (my mom) had inspired Emmy to clean her room when I haven't been able to all week. (The things Grandmas can do.)
Having a clean kitchen to wake up to. (I'm doing better).
The girls and I dancing with our sparklers on the front porch. Giggles. Magic.

And the day seems much better.

Just goes to show. . .it wasn't too bad of a day, after all.

my little g.i. girl

So, I'm thinking that maybe Emmy will one day become a gastrointestinal specialist. That's an awesome thought. This comes because I have realized that she is a wee bit (no pun intended) obsessed with what is inside of Claire's diapers. If I am changing one and she finds out, she must see what is inside. Drops everything to do so. Is that weird?

Having been to a GI specialist a time or two herself, perhaps she has an interest in such things? Plus, she is the only four year old I know who's had a colonoscopy. Maybe it's fate.

Is there a therapy/playgroup for such things?

time-out essays

Three little girls can get a little silly. Especially after they have been cooped up in the house all winter. Add to that 30 sugar filled valentine cards (from the highly anticipated school Valentine mailboxes), and you can imagine the incredible running, chasing, giggling, and screaming, which-all leads-to-someone-crying, going on at the W house.

To help ease some of the craziness, Courtney has recently taken to having the girls write essays while they are in time-out. These are typically assigned as 100 word essays on topics such as "WHY I AM IN TIMEOUT" or "WHY I NEED TO CALM DOWN". The actual completion of the 100 word criteria for an essay to be considered adequate seems to depend on how much time Dad needs in time-out (if you know what I mean).

You can laugh if you want, (because we are too) but it's really a useful little tool for helping us to maintain a little bit of sanity.

In fact, I've come to the conclusion that the essays come in handy for several reasons:
1. to extend the life of a time-out.
2. to help the timeout patron think things through.
3. perhaps it gives the sugar time to digest and therefore brings the said girl down from the bouncing-off-the-wall sugar rush.
4. if nothing else, it provides us with a little peace and quiet. (Don't you remember the excruciating pain of trying to hammer out 100 words in one sitting?)
5. most importantly, the essays guarantee some good laughs.

Here's a sampling. Enjoy.

Kate:

Dear Mom and Dad, I am in time-out becose, I was to
wild. I am going to be com and I wont come back in timeout. And not run. it is
inprnt to obay becose, if we don't obay we will get in trubble. To make our
house better. I can lisstin. and not fight. I love mom very much! and I love dad
very much! and I love Ryenne very much! I love Emmy very much! I love Claire
very much!

Ryenne:

Becase we were being wiled and not listening to you so you
put us in timeout. so that we will listen to you, and how I'm supposed to act.
and that I shouled listen to you. and I shouled always listen to you and make
good choices. And that I shouled always follow the rules. And I shouled try not
to go to timeout. So I shouled listen to you the first time. And I shouled try
better to listen and I think we all shouled, because that way we all fill
happyier and we can all golden rule. And I love all of you. Dad, Mom, Me, Kate,
Emmy, and even Claire. I really love our family. We have a WONDERFUL family.
Ryenne.

Kate:

It is inpprnt to be nice becase, if you'r not nice you will
get in trubbel. that is bad. and we will get in a fight and go to time-out it is
bad. I hate it! and if I am nice I don't haft to come in time-out.

Ryenne:

I was in timeout becase Kate had to put her book away so I
laid down Kate came back and said in a mean way, "I was here first" so I said
"you say that if I leave then the other person can have it" and she didn't say
anything. so she laid down and elboed me in the chest.

(the previous essay must not have gotten Dad's okay, because the whole thing was crossed out.) The following essay was then written:

Because that way we all feel better and we have a better
family and we can follow the golden rule and we also feel a lot better.

Kate:

I love my sisters and I don't wont to have them think that I
don't love them. I love Ryenne and Emmy so much. It is true!

I'm thinking that Kate must really like writing essays. Last week, I sent her to time-out. Courtney was out of town, so I know he didn't assign her an essay, but as I was tidying up that evening I found this note:

Dear Dad I am in time-out. I hope you come back sune. I mish
you (dad) croutney. From Kate Jeannett. by Dad.

So, there you have it. Someday we may write a book titled, "Essays, Bribery, and other Parenting Techniques Devised Out Of Sheer Desperation".

politically correct

Kate has the funniest, cutest way of saying things. She has an incredible vocabulary, and is always making us smile with her choice of words.

The night before Presidents Day, I was telling the girls how excited I was to have them home from school the next day for the holiday. Kate then mentioned that most of the kids in her class were also very excited and had cheered when they found out about the little holiday.

But not Kate.

I then asked her why, teasing "Don't you want to stay home with your super fun mom?"

To which Kate paused, and then replied, "Mom, I really do like you. It's just that I adore learning."

And that's okay, because no matter what- I adore Kate!

happy heart day!

Valentines Day makes for such a fun day! The night before Valentine's Day, the three older girls had a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa C's house, so early that next morning, Mr. Cupid (Daddy) was sent to do a little doorstep "ring and run" where he left a secret message for the girls and Grandma & Bop and another at Aunt Andrea's house.

The message read:

Happy Heart Day!

You are hereby invited to a valentine

day brunch. You will be sampling a

delightful array of tantalizing red and white concoctions.

(Bacon may or may not be included).

We anticipate your arrival at approximately 10:30 am

at the Courtney Wood House.

We eagerly await you.

With love,

your secret admirers

Promptly at 10:30 am, our guests arrived. The short ones even delighted us with a little "valentine caroling"! (Ever heard a valentine rendition of The Spirit of God?)

They were tickled pink with the brunch and festivities. In fact, Courtney whispered to me at one point, "You'd think it was Christmas morning!"

There's nothing quite as nice as sharing happy times with the ones who make my heart smile!

six months already?

I can't believe it, but it's true. Claire has passed the six month mark already! We went to visit Dr. Brown for her well check. Six (ouch!) shots later, she was given the thumbs up sign. Her poor little legs were plastered in band aids, and we were all very sympathetic.

What did we find out? She's definitely a growing gal! She is 26" tall (56%), and weighs 17 lb, 8 oz. (77%). It's been fun to look back and see what the other girls were at this age. Claire and Ryenne are pretty consistently the same, Emmy a little less, and Kate a little more. What a healthy gaggle of girls!

old man no more

It's true, Claire has been looking a bit like an old man. Her baby hair has fallen out most everywhere except for a nice little ring around the back of her head, making her look a bit like my Papa. (No offense, Papa. It looks very nice if you are a male senior citizen.) To make matters worse, what remained is very dark and getting very long, so it hangs over her ears. (This picture really does not do justice!)

So, Claire and I paid Aunt Kelsey a little visit at her salon. Some handy-dandy clippers and five minutes later and Claire looks like a new woman! (Unfortunately, the official first haircut pictures are on Kelsey's camera. What kind of mom forgets a camera on the first trip to the salon?)