They Teach Me a Thing or Two

As I was getting Eliana ready for bed tonight I heard a great commotion upstairs; there was banging, and slamming, and scooting.  I was a little nervous about all that noise.  What could it mean, other than the contents of all of the bins of toys and paraphernalia were being emptied out onto the floor into a huge pile in order to rid me of my sanity problem once and for all.  

Oh, wait.  I am actually without any trace of sanity, so that couldn't be it. 

Maybe they were going to jump in it, like a leaf pile.  Or maybe they were going to try to catch it on fire by rubbing two Lincoln Logs together.  Or make a maze out of it.  I tried to quell my fears as I waited for Eliana to be sound asleep.

They finally came downstairs, calling for me softly.  Eliana was out so I walked into the hallway and prepared myself for this adventure.  (Read:  I quickly grabbed the camera.)

When we got to the top of the stairs Michaela opened her bedroom door and I saw...

the floor! 

It had been a while.

I was very proud that they had been up there cleaning, sweeping, and putting things away rather than emptying, spreading, and messing.  She even made her bed.  Sort of.  It's very hard to make; I am not quite sure what to do about it, actually.  That's another post, I suppose - Bedmaking 101.

Her room is a work-in-progress.  And it's been in progress for almost a year now.  When I think that we have lived in this house for a year (in about a month) it boggles my mind.  (Say that word over and over, and it no longer sounds like a word...boggle, boggle, boggle.)  All that is still left to do.  Again, another post for another time.  Or not.  You don't really want to know.

Back to Michaela's room...there are quite a few things left to do in there.  We have a fun print to hang on one of the walls (once we decide where all the furniture will end up).  Her desk needs to go back in there (it was relocated for the Valentine's Day surprise) and we need a chair for it (the desk) (it is very hard to find a reasonably priced desk chair for a kid).  There are also a few things that need to be weeded out just because she has gotten big for them (like the doll furniture, which will eventually end up in Eliana's room.  Which is a storage area right now.  Help!).  (Do the parentheses bother you?  I'm sorry.  I interrupt myself a lot.)

She was very excited about her clean room tonight.  She kept saying how much fun it was, and how she would help me clean the rest of the house now that she knew how much fun it was to clean. 

I'd better get started on my list for her!  It's going to be a long one.

Watching

Watching the Olympics is hard for me.  Here are the best of the best, gathered to fight for the top spot in their sport, to reach the highest level of achievement personally, or work with their team to get the highest honor.  There are always those who, for reasons that commentators can only speculate about (and do they ever...CAN YOU JUST BE QUIET FOR TEN OR EIGHTY MINUTES), falter or even fail altogether.  It is so painful to watch someone's dreams shatter in such a public venue.  Of course, the risk of failure is always there when one undertakes such a thing...they know that.  But does the cameraman have to linger on the devastated face of a very talented person who just made a mistake (or mistakes) that no one can believe, and about which everyone has something to say, keeping the camera trained on that face to the point that the viewer becomes uncomfortable.  It seems so intrusive.  I get it that they put themselves in the public eye, but in that very personal moment it seems right to give someone a little privacy. 

While there are the heartaches, the things that go so unexpectedly wrong, there are also the triumphs that bring tears of joy.  How wonderful are those moments!  I found myself literally clapping and crying tonight during the men's ice skating when Evan Lysacek finished, and even before.  Watching him skate with that fabulous smile, because he knew he was doing it, he knew he was achieving the goal, was so great.  He looked free.  It was a powerful performance; I missed the first round of skaters, and the ones that followed got significantly lower scores.  I kept wondering what in the world the earlier skaters had done to earn such high scores.  When Lysacek skated (and please keep in mind I don't know ANYTHING about skating, except that my kids can do it better than I) the choreography was so good, the way he interacted with the music was so good, and all that technical stuff was so good...I thought,"Ooooh, that's what!"  I loved watching him succeed. 

I wish that the losing did not have to hurt so much.  Those who win earn it.  But it still leaves someone with broken dreams.  While I so love to see a person who has worked unimaginably hard to achieve a goal and been so passionate about their training attain the prize (or be well on their way), I also want to give the proper respect to those who have trained and carried their passion with them to these Games only to leave with empty hands...we can't know all that is going on with the athletes as they embark on their particular journeys, as they work toward that medal.  We should not take it upon ourselves to judge.  There are judges for that!  And no matter what happens once they get to the Olympics, they did manage to get there, after all.  You don't get that chance by sitting on the couch eating brownies (and if you did then I would certainly be stepping up on the podium for the gold).  I say,"Way to go!" 

And then I take another bite of my brownie.  You should see my form. 

Sweethearts

For days the kids (Michaela and Christian) have been plotting secretly, decorating sneakily, squealing,"Don't look!" when we go up the stairs.  We knew they had a Valentine's surprise for us, but that was all.  Except it was requested of me to make brownies for "refreshments".  After much twisting of the arm, I obliged.  I'm no spoil sport!

All day they asked me,"Can you make the brownies already", and "Could we have the surprise party now?", and "Did you see the invitation?!"  We went out to lunch first, which was very nice, and ran to the SuperWalmart so that I could hop in there by myself and grab some things for the week.  As we pulled up to the storefront Christian said,"What are we doing?" indignantly.  Believe me, I'm not taking them in there if I can help it, ever again.  Last week I went in with all three, and there is not enough chocolate in the world for me to do that again.

We finally got home and I began my part of the preparations in earnest.  I whipped up those brownies and cut them out into heart shapes.  Michaela was set on having cut-out somethings.  I told her about her Aunt Wendy's plan to cut footballs out of brownies and Michaela was excited about brownies, and it was decided.  I was happy with that.  I hate making cookies.  I was also inspired by Wendy to frost the brownies.  Let the dinosaur experience be revisited!  I am no good at frosting.  However.  The kids loved it, and that's all that matters, right?

The hearts were a little smaller than I thought, so when I wrote "Be Mine" it looked more like "Be Mike"...so he ended up with that one.

Mike and I were summoned upstairs and greeted with their singing.

They had set up our goodies (note the fancy milk container)...

And we were served as soon as the entertainment portion of our party was over...

We were also given a special Valentine...

as well as a Valentine presentation...

I have to tell you that I had tears in my eyes as we sat there eating brownies and drinking milk.  I looked at Mike and we shared a quiet smile.  Then Christian got up and gave me a hug, and then he hugged his dad.  Eliana followed on his heels, and Michaela after that.  It is a moment I will never forget, one that is etched into my heart forever.  I couldn't have asked for a sweeter Valentine...but I have four!

Snow Day

Oh, yes, even in Texas we get snow days.  And today's snow was perfect.  Not that I went out in it, but a few crazies other people that I know could not be stopped from heading out (while it was still coming down!), getting soaking wet, and loving every second of it.

Christian went to school this morning even though quite a bit of snow had already fallen by 8:00.  Michaela and Eliana stood at the door like sad puppies whining waiting to go out until finally I said,"Okay!  But you can't stay out long.  It's so cold!  And you're going to get so wet!"  (What a fun mom!)  I got them ready, put on my coat, grabbed the camera, and we headed out into the front yard.

Well, technically, they headed out into the front yard; I stayed on the porch and took pictures.  The camera couldn't get wet!

They didn't waste any time...Michaela immediately began making a pile of snow on the sidewalk, and Eliana tromped through the yard like a merry little elf who had finally come home from a tropical island.

They started their snow pile on the sidewalk; I said,"Why don't you put that in the yard and roll it into a ball?"  I am an expert on these things, you know.  And experts know that making a ball of snow is much easier to do in the snow than on the concrete.  I know, so smart.  And I don't even have a degree in snowball engineering, or anything!

Eliana was happy to move into the white stuff.

When I say this snow was perfect, I mean that it was just the right amount of sticky and just the right amount had fallen.  It wasn't overwhelming and they could do fun stuff with it.

What you cannot see here (and what I brilliantly did not catch with our handy-dandy Flip video recorder, the easiest video recorder ever) is that Eliana is screaming with laughter, total glee, that Michaela is on her back in the snow.  A snow angel, of course.  And she was making a snow angel.  Of course.

"A big ball!"  She was adding this to the snowman's bottom.  I mean the bottom ball, not his bottom.  Oh, that doesn't sound any better, never mind!

I have no words.

They were working together to get the ball rolling.  (Are you rolling your eyes?  Are you rolling on the floor laughing?)

I am so sorry.  There is an inordinate amount of pictures.  You can either enjoy them, or gag.  This post is for the grandparents who are far away, and they need to see every other minute of our outdoor adventure.  Especially my mom and dad (they are in Virginia), who are not at all sick and tired of looking at snow by now!

"I love the snow!  I love snow!  I love it!"

Tromping in circles could not look cuter than it did today.

"Rollin', rollin', rollin'..."

"Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!
Set 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, let 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in Rawhide."

She was wrastling that snowball like nobody's business!  Like cowboys round up the herd.  Or something like that.

And don't think Eliana didn't think she had everything to do with it.

That girl in the red coat is one persisitent child.

Now it was time to get the second snowball on top of the first one.  I cannot tell you how long she struggled with that humongous and very heavy ball of frozen vapor.  She called out,"Mom!  Can you come and help me?"

"No!  The camera can't get wet!  You can do it!  Hold it underneath!"  See?  I am a great cheerleader!

And she did it! 

And then she fell down, exhausted.

But she recuperated quite quickly, and made the final snowball.

At this point, they were soaking wet, and I was freezing (at least my fingers were...I had the camera, see), and Eliana said,"I don't want to play in snow."  She was all done.

We came inside and had hot chocolate (duh) and I got all their things in the wash and we heard from the school that afternoon class was cancelled.  At noon we headed over to pick up Christian, and do you know what they wanted to do when they got home?!

What kind of kids am I raising?  Are they double secret Eskimos?

Double secret somethin'.

Oh, but I do love when they get along.

And work together.  Tra, la, la.

He's got a smile that is so charming.

He gave Eliana this snowball...

and told her to drop it on his foot.  She screamed, and laughed, and did it!  Hysterical, I tell you.  Hysterical.

Delight.

Joy.

And this is where I said,"Everybody look at me and smile!" 

What was I thinking?

I just kept clicking.

Aren't you glad?

She was.  Not necessarily that I kept clicking.  Just to be alive, I think.

Yum.

"Don't eat the snow!"  (Guess who said that?)

"But I like it!"  (Guess who said that?)

I don't like it.  Laundry, that is.  But it was so very worth it.  And I've already got all that cleaned up!  It's not even midnight!

I can't say that the whole day went well.  I can't say that the living room, the dining room, the kids' bedrooms, or even one single bathroom out of five (I know.  Five!) is clean.  But they had fun today...and that makes me feel good.  I have a feeling there is more of this in store for tomorrow...but I promise I won't make you look at so many pictures at once again.  Maybe.

What

What am I going to do with her?

I think it is pretty clear that I am in trouble.

What does it mean that Michaela doesn't like spaghetti with meat sauce (she will eat it when I serve it, but she would MUCH rather have plain pasta)...but this is how she likes to eat her chili...

Maybe I should put beans in her spaghetti sauce.

What were they thinking when they put cheese in the middle of a chocolate?

Eliana pulled this one apart and laughed and said,"Cheese!"  (Just so you don't think I'm a complete idiot, I am aware that it's not really cheese, but orange creme...I did not correct her, though.)

What about that tortilla chip looks like a lollipop so that when I ask her to show me her lollipop, this is what she does?

What am I trying to take a picture of the lollipop for, and why can't I just let her eat it in peace?

What are her sweet little fingers trying to do to me?

What do people get all bent out of shape about using a flash for? 

I like it.  So there.

What a difference the light makes! 

 This is too dark, man.

What is her deal?

I would like a smile, please.  And I want to see your lollipop!

What does it say on that stupid lollipop?!  

It says,"Hug Me".  I tried to get a picture of it, because I thought it was cute.  Here is the ironic twist.  Just after I took this picture she held out her arms and said,"I want a hug you!"  I laughed and said,"You are so sticky!  I will hug you after your bath!" 

What a lovely mother.