4 AM Wake Up Call From Elijah

He was having trouble with the letter R.



That's right. At 4 AM he was practicing drawing his letters on his magna-doodle, and he always gets stuck on the letter R.



So, he comes into our room dragging the magna-doodle, climbs onto our bed, and says, "Mommy, I need help with the letter R."



I look at the clock and cannot believe it is 4 AM. The light is on in the living room and obviously Elijah has been up long enough to practice each letter leading up to the letter R. And, he erases each letter before moving on to the next one.



I then inform him that it is way too early for me to help him with his letter. His response, "Okay." He walks back out to the living room to continue on his own.



I don't know what happened between then and 6 AM when he crawled into our bed and went back to sleep.



I now wonder what else has gone on in the middle of the night that I don't even know about. Elijah is known now for waking up and helping himself to his soy yogurt. He will eat as many as his little heart desires if we don't wake up in time to limit him.



In some ways this is nice. You know, a little independance is okay. In other ways this is a little scary.

Who doesn't love a peaceful boy reading a book though?

I'm Still Learning

Notice the dog ...

I caved.

But, on a different note, I totally dropped the ball. You know I've only been a parent for 6 years so I'm still trying to figure out how to handle the whole surprise aspect of gift-giving now that my oldest is old enough to figure some things out.

I remember the days fondly of being able to shop for Christmas gifts with her in the cart!

So, I mentioned the ugly stuffed dog in the last post and how I would end up at Marshalls to get it right? Well, that's exactly what I did. I also went to Ross to buy the husband pillow that will go nicely in her dormer. I was so proud of myself for doing Christmas shopping early.

I did soften on the dog though because I started to think I would just say that she was able to get it because she had some other birthday money she could use.

My original plan was to drop the stuff off at home and hide it so that she didn't see it, but I ran out of time. I put the pillow in the back of the car because I figured she never looks back there anyway.

It was fun because when I picked her up at school I put the dog in her seat so when she got in she would see it right away. She was so happy. Madelyn is very reserved so you don't get the big reaction. You get a very happy face and a quiet kind of excited sound, and it's very sweet. It's like it takes a bit to sink in.

The whole way home we talked about the dog. The dog was dancing. The dog was missing her friends, but looking forward to making new friends. The dog was getting lots of hugs. It was very cute.

Meanwhile, Elijah is sleeping through all of this.

We get home and I tell Madelyn that I'm going to take Elijah in and then come back for my purse and things. She is getting her backpack and things together to get out. When I was walking in the house I saw the package that her Aunt Pam sent her (an angel pillow just like the one I had when I was little - so sweet!) had come in the mail.

So, when I come back out I yell, "Madelyn, you have a package here too!"

To which she says, "I saw my other surprise too!"

Um ... "What?"

"My other surprise! I saw it in the back! ... The pillow!?!"

uh-oh.

"Um ... (nervous laugh) ... YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT!!" The little stinker.

She just giggles.

"That was supposed to be for Christmas!"

More giggles. "I saw it!"

So, now I have no early Christmas gifts. Madelyn has 3 more Birthday gifts, and I'm not sure how Dan is going to take all of this. I'm just glad we didn't give her the desk we wanted to give her for her Birthday. That will definitely wait until Christmas, but I am going to have to hide it REALLY well. Hopefully, I've learned that lesson now. Oy.

The best part was that Madelyn and I giggled the rest of the afternoon. She was so happy to have a late b-day and early Christmas that involved 3 new things. She was dancing with the pillows, hugging the pillows and the dog, saying goofy things, giggling and giggling and giggling some more. It was all just really funny and fun.

And, Elijah was still sleeping.

I mean, how cute is this girl and her dog (Spottie is her name).

UPDATE: So, as the night went on Madelyn seemed to just gain more an more energy. It's not every day she gets 3 new things at once! I really am not the type of mom who just buys my kids things all the time so even a dollar store item is a special treat. She literally did 100 laps back and forth across the kitchen after dinner.

Madelyn's Love For Animals

Fake ones, that is.

A little background. When Madelyn was a year old we were at Marshall's. She found this cute brown teddy bear that she then carried with her through the store. I mean, she was ADORABLE being so tiny and carrying this teddy that was almost as big as her around the store. Well, I caved. I had to buy it for her. I knew she and this teddy could not be separated. He was later named Papa Bear.

Another time we were at Target (she was almost 3) in the dollar section (BEST THING TARGET HAS EVER DONE!) and she picked up a little stuffed dog. She was playing with it and when I was ready to move on I told her to put the dog back. She did and before she walked away she gave it a little talk about how she had to go, and on and on in a cute little way that only little girls can talk to stuffed animals in, before she then came over to me.

Now, the thing is, she was fine with leaving the dog. She had said her good-byes and then just skipped over to me ready to go, but I could not get over the fact that she was so sweet with the dog! We had to go back and get it. It was only a dollar! I used my card for $1.06 that day at Target b/c I bought nothing but the dog that she had already told me would be named Bambi.

Let me tell you, both Bambi and Papa Bear have been big parts of our lives. For a long time she had to sleep with them. I can't believe how much Bambi has been loved being that she is a dollar section dog from Target, but don't mutts from shelters make the best dogs?

Well, we were at Marshall's yesterday and she picked up this stuffed dog. There are a lot of cute stuffed animals, but I have to be honest here and say that this dog just was not cute. It was a dalmation looking dog, but it had funky eyes, like really big eyes or something. I don't know, but something didn't sit right with me and this dog.

Anyway, she had just bought a fairy barbie with her b-day money thankfully because she then wanted this dog. I don't even know how much it was, but I was able to tell her no because she just bought the barbie.

She carried the dog with her for the rest of the time in the store. When we were going to leave she said, "Oh, I have to put the dog back!" I told her I would wait for her and looked at some fun (too expensive) coats while I waited. When I turned around to see if she was coming I saw her walking, but turned back gazing at the bin where she had to leave the dog.

Oh my. If that dog hadn't been so ugly I would have been tempted to buy it for her right then.

I didn't say a word though because I could tell she could cry over this one. So, I just reached for her hand. She grabbed my hand and laid her head on my arm. I still said not a word. I could not believe she was so smitten with this dog.

Meanwhile, I'll be driving back to Marshall's tomorrow and buying the dog. It can be a Christmas gift right? I mean she probably won't even remember it, but I'll feel better.

Bambi is the little dog right near her face. Cute huh?

You'd think she'd be just as smitten over live animals, but she's not.

Gift of Mediocrity

My dear friend Kerry once mentioned this gift before and I thought, "Yes! That's me!"

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be so proud of it, but don't you feel better when you go to someone's house and you see that they too don't have a place for everything, or maybe they left a pile of things lying on the table or floor?

I do.

So, for that reason I will share with you something that I did that I have never done before.

But, wait. Before I do, I would like to state that I do like a generally straightened house. I have learned to keep my house at the point where if someone calls to say they are stopping by I can get the main areas in order within 15 minutes. I usually don't even need fifteen minutes, but lately things have been a little crazy. I went away, got sick, gave away a dog, had 2 birthday celebrations, doc visit, etc. so things have gotten a little out of control.

(Sidenote: If you leave your children with your husband for the weekend, don't expect a clean or even just a straightened, house when you come home unless your husband is already a proven neat freak. Don't get me wrong. I was thrilled to go away for a long weekend, and it was well worth the effort and cleaning up I am still trying to catch up on. I'm just sayin' ...)

So, on top of whatever cleaning that was needed I also had laundry to do. Laundry is my biggest challenge, just ask my mom and mother-in-law. They usually are very sweet and try to help me when they come visit. I always feel bad though and now try to have it all caught up before they come because I feel badly.

Anyway, I had a couple loads (maybe more) that needed to be folded that I had thrown onto our bed. My thought behind that is I can't go to bed unless I fold my laundry right? Well, Dan was falling asleep in the chair he was sitting in so being a nice wife I quickly got to the laundry pile so he could go to bed. I wanted to get it all put away so that when we had our fun day with friends I wasn't coming home to huge piles in my bedroom.

Well, okay. Here is what I did ... I actually just threw my husband's underwear into his drawer without folding it. Not only that, I threw towels into the linen closet without folding them (there were only two of them, but still). I also threw dish towels and cloths into the kitchen drawer without folding them. And, lastly, I threw sheets into our closet without folding them. They'll probably be on the bed soon anyway right? And, I won't confirm this, but there may still be a basket of kids clothes that are waiting to be folded.

So, yes. Yes I did do all of that. But, you know what? I didn't come home to piles of laundry in my room.

All this to say, if you ever come to my house, especially if your one of those "peeker types" (you know the ones, they peek in the medicine cabinet, linen closet, or under the bathroom sink. did you see that oprah show?), you just may find some unfolded towels or things of that nature, but I bet it will make you feel better.

And, that's what I'm here for.

A Great Day

Friends are so fun.

We had a wonderful time at the Hands-on Museum (is that what it's called?) in Lancaster. The best part about it is that we had our two six year olds who were thrilled to be reunited so Kim and I just sat and talked while the girls played like crazy with all the fun things. The place isn't too big so they were always nearby.




These girls are so cute together. They were in the stalls in the bathroom when Abby says, "I love you Madelyn." Madelyn just sort of giggled. She's my shy one. Then when it was time to leave Madelyn handed Abby a note that said I love you too Abby.

Have I mentioned how cute they are together?




I know friends can come and go throughout life, but these ones are keepers.