Kids Say Funny Shit!

We went over to my parents’ house a week ago Saturday, to have one last swim before the cold sets in (which may be soon or may be two months from now).  Plus, they’re closing the pool so they can go gallivant elsewhere!  Last Hoorah!

 When I arrived, my Mom was obsessed with “Untold Stories of the ER.”  She said she’d been watching it all day.  I wanted to go swimming, but I need a cup of coffee because I was tired that day, and the next, and then the boys came down with strep, so yeah, I was fighting off something.  

 

We all sat around and watched “Untold Stories of the ER.”  Then we put on swimsuits, went swimming, and enjoyed a glass of wine each and chatted about family and ancient history.  Don’t worry Mom, I won’t spread any of your stories for the Internet world to read!

We went on about our business for the rest of the weekend.

So imagine my surprise on Monday. 

We’re driving to school and listening to MY FAVORITE: Raffi.  In between “If You’re Happy and You know It Clap Your Hands,” and “Baby Beluga,” Darling Daughter blurts out, “MOM—remember this weekend on the TV.  That girl had a worm crawling out of her butt!” 

I laughed so hard, I almost ran into the car in front of me.  She has mentioned this about fifteen times since.  Apparently, Untold Stories of the ER made a huge impression on her.

This morning she says, “Why was there a crowbar on the ground, and how did that guy get it into his head?’ 

 I said, “Darling Daughter, do you want to be a doctor when you grow up?”

 

“No thanks,” she said. “I’ll be a mom.” 

There are worst aspirations!

Darling Daughter Turns 4!!!

Today is Little Bit/Shoo Shoo/Darling Daughter's birthday.  She is four.  I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  I feel like only yesterday, I was holding her sweet newborn body in my arms.  I stared down at the lump of baby in my arms and looked into her blue eyes, and I could not for the life of me believe she was a girl! 

When I found out I was pregnant with Darling Daughter, I had mixed emotions.  Three children seemed like an awful lot.  I finally got used to the idea though.  On the day of my ultrasound, my Mom and Hubby met me at the doctor's office.  We had to wait and wait, because they were super busy. 

Mom said, "Now, Lauren--I don't want you to get upset if it's another boy.  Do you have any boy names picked out?"

"I know, Mom," I said.  "I'm fully expecting it to be another boy."

We were ushered into the back, cool little room.  The ultrasound tech went through measuring all the bones: the skull, the femur, etc. 

"Do you want to know what it is?" she asked.

We nodded, and she looked. She slowly but deliberately typed out: IT'S A GIRL across the screen!

My Mom and I both started crying and hugging each other.  I love my boys, but there's nothing like having a daughter.  My Mom and I are so close to one another, and I wanted a daughter I could share that bond with.  It was like a dream coming true. 

Darling Daughter was born on May 21st at 12:15 PM.  She was a content little thing, and so sweet!

 

 

Babies are like little lumps who can't do anything.  Your goal in life is to shape them and help them make the right decisions: give them the tools they need to succeed.  When I held Darling Daughter in my arms, I could see how sweet and special she was.  (So could everyone else, and that's why her nickname now is Spoiled Rotten!!!)  It was so funny putting dresses on her at first, and it seriously took me a month to get used to dressing her in girly clothes.  I'm all for gender equality, but after having two boys, I wanted dresses, frills, pink and bows. 

 

 

 

Darling Daughter has grown so quickly.  From her 1st birthday where she cried and only perked up when she saw the cake and opened a few of her presents. 

 

After that birthday, she developed an intense stranger anxiety.  The only people she was not afraid of were me, Big Mommy and Big Daddy.  She didn't even want to be around Hubby.  I can tell you--there were many days when I had trouble with this cling on. She would hold me, as if I was going to walk out the door forever.  We did Baby Gym, and she could not stand it when Coach Ken would get to close to her.  After three months of screaming through it--I decided we would just wait.  Stranger anxiety had to end at some point, right?

 

 

 

And it did.  By about 2.5, she was everyone's best friend.  We switched daycares, and I saw her become another person. She opened up.  She was bright and bubbly.  She also got the tubes she badly needed, and the quiet child I once had became an incessant talker (just like her Mommy). 

 

 

 

And now year three has come and gone in a flash.  This year Darling Daughter became so independent.  She loves her babies, and she often creates elaborate stories with them.  She uses her imagination all the time, and she walks around the house belting out songs.  She acts like a little Mommy to the boys (who despise it)!  She also likes to put on my high heels and say, "Now I'm the Mom."  She is stubborn, and if she ask for something and you say no, she'll keep asking hundred times until, exasperated, you have to walk away!  She loves princesses.  She loves Frozen.  She sings, "Let it Go," about a million times a day--almost as many times as we've watched the movie!  She can also keep up with the boys!  You'll often find her pedaling the spin bike right behind her brothers, flip flops on, and dress blowing in the wind!  How I love this sweet FOUR year old girl! 

 

Forever and always, my baby. 

 

 





 



Living in a Material World

Last night, I took Darling Daughter to see Disney Live at MPAC.  They were having a Sofia the First and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates show.  Darling Daughter loves Sofia the First.  I indulge that love.  I know a lot of moms are anti-princess these days, but I guess I look at princesses different.  I look at them as make-believe.  I look at them as embracing yourself and your inner beauty.  I really do think, with Sofia the First, Disney is trying to "makeover" the princesses from girls who need a knight in shining armor to someone who can be helpful, sweet, and beautiful: inside and out.  Plus, I'm all for imagination and if my kid wants to pretend to be a princess then so be it. 

Darling Daughter and I had a great time, but when we walked into the show we were assaulted by the plethora of materialistic objects for sale: dolls, purses, and spinning lighty thing-a-mabobs to name a few. 

I told Darling Daughter we would get some popcorn, so I asked the guy how much the popcorn cost and he says back to me, "Twelve dollars, but it comes with a princess crown!" TWELVE DOLLARS for popcorn!  That princess crown better be pure gold, but I can tell from where I'm standing that it's made of cheap Styrofoam.  No thank you.  Ridiculous, price gouging around parents who can't or won't say no to their kids or just want to avoid a temper tantrum and get to their seats and see a show!

I told Darling Daughter, "Sorry, no popcorn."  She commenced to whine about it for about half of the show, but I told her during her break she could pick one toy.  She picked the $18 Sofia purse, and I was okay with that because at least she can play with it at home: it's not something she's going to eat.  Still--I felt like a little bit of a sucker, like the materialistic world had won out against my own sense of judgment. But I justified it: I was having a date with my daughter, and I wanted her to have a good time and get her way, and I didn't go overboard like some of the parents: buying toys and popcorn and lighty thing-a-mabobs, possibly spending up to or over $100 on pure junk!

As we were driving home, Darling Daughter said she loves princesses.  She said she didn't know the princesses were actually real.  She drifted off to sleep.  I listened to the music on the radio, and I thought to myself: when did childhood become so much about things?  Every event, everything you go to you have to buy something else..  We live in a material world, and when you're constantly being assaulted to buy things, sometimes it's hard to say no and it sometimes makes it hard to treasure the moments that should have more meaning than the things. 

I want my daughter to enjoy the little moments.  When we were watching Sofia the First, I was enraptured by the ballet and the true skill of the dancers.  Cinderella came out to help Sofia decide what gift she should buy her friends.  At that moment, Darling Daughter's eyes lit up, and the smile on her face was so real, as one of the characters she reads about in story books came to life.  That was the moment I took home with me, the moment I'll hold onto when she's sixteen and isn't my best friend anymore.  That moment is better than anything that can be bought in the store, and I know it will last forever unlike the $12 popcorn. 

My Baby is Three!

Today Darling Daughter turns 3!  Three years of sugar and spice and everything nice.  Three years of kisses and hard squeezes around the neck.  Three years of her sweet giggles and joy.  She is the happiest child I have ever met. 

Darling Daughter's favorite color is pink.  Imagine that?  For the first year of her life her wardrobe only consisted of pink, as I could not get over the fact that I had a girl.  She loves princesses and baby dolls, especially the Julie doll handed down from her older cousin.  She also loves the leap pad.  She likes drawing.  She loves television, especially D-d-d-ora!  She loves to eat, especially nutella toast, but will try almost anything you put on her plate.  This girl will not miss a meal

For the first two years of her life, she didn't really like anyone except me, Big Mommy, and Big Daddy.  She has warmed up to her Daddy so much this year that he is almost the center of her world.  She is slowly becoming less and less of a Mommy's girl and becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl.

She is sensitive and sweet and she is stubborn too, just like her Mommy.  She loves to sit on my lap and just be with me.  She loves to give kisses and show affection.  I love this girl with all my heart, and I'm so glad she completed my family.

Happy Birthday BIG Three Year OLD!!!

 

 

 

 

Random Rambles

I've been slacking in the running department this week.  Yesterday, I swore I would wake up today (Friday) and go for a run, and I didn't.  Last time I ran I had a horrible shin splint, and I thought I would just rest it.  Well, I haven't run since last weekend.  It's not like I haven't been active though.  I went to Taekwondo on Monday and Tuesday and then kisado on Wednesday.  I skipped yesterday and went out to Mexican with the family instead. 

I know that with running, I really need to keep it up for my mileage.  I was disappointed this week though.  I had intentions of signing up for the Shamrock Shuffle.  I even blogged about it: Right Here.  Well, I double booked.  I can't run that day, because Number One's State Meet for gymnastics is that day in Birmingham.  It's more important for me to support Number One than to go run a 10K.  I think the disappointment led to me making excuses about why I couldn't run this week.  I just need to get myself back out there.  No excuses, right? 

Darling Daughter woke up early this morning too, at 4:45.  Right now she's parked in front of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playing with her beads and her Mardi Gras money.  I told her if she wakes up that early she needs to be quiet so I can write.  I have my headphones on, and I'm listening to "Skinny Love," by Bon Iver over and over again.  I love this song.  There's something about his voice and the pure emotion that emanates from the song that makes me want to listen to this song over and over again.  The loss of love, something turning out the opposite way of what you expected, everyone in the world has had those feelings before.  I can relate.

Anyway, I totally digressed and this blog is just one big ramble so I'll just keep going with it. Yesterday I tried some of Darling Daughter's summer clothes on her.  I went a little crazy buying for her this year, because I haven't bought clothes for her in about a year (or just a few clothes to fill in where we didn't have hand-me-downs).  Hubby took this fantastic photo of Darling Daughter and me last night, and I just love it.  I never realized how much she and I look alike, but we totally do.  Two peas in a pod.  My sidekick.  My shadow.  I love this girl so much.

I think I'm going to end my reckless ramblings and go work on my novel for an hour before it's time to get ready for work, and make it through Friday.  I won't be blogging this weekend, because Number One has another meet, and we'll be out town.  A Florida meet, so the competition will be even harder than Georgia. 

Moving Through The Week

I slept until 6:15 AM this morning, the latest I've slept in a long time.  Some of our friends took Number One to spend the night with their son last night.  And...wait for it...Darling Daughter slept through the night in her own bed for the second night in a row!  I've probably jinxed myself by writing this, but this is a small miracle in my life.  Now, if only we could get her fully potty trained, and I'd have three kids in their own beds and three kids out of diapers!  That will be an amazing day for me. 

I'm letting Hubby sleep in, and the kids are non-ideally parked in front of the television watching Ninjago.  My boys love Ninjago. Darling Daughter likes it too, but her favorite is Mickey Mouse.

Today RunKeeper says I need to do a 45 minute SLOW Jog/Walk.  I've never run 45 minutes, so this will be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it.  I ran a lot this week, and I went to TaeKwonDo three times this week.  I'm still sore from Taekwondo, all the way up my arms and on my chest and back.  We killed the push ups this week, and I have terrible upper body strength although I am making strides in that department.

Last week I ran 6.8 miles at a snail's pace according to RunKeeper, but that was my goal with my training program.  There's nothing wrong with a snail's pace!  By the way that was 11 minutes 25 seconds average miles per minute.  I'm slowing my time to achieve longer distances.  This works wonders.  Usually by the time I make it to 20 minutes I don't feel like stopping.  Hopefully this means 45 minutes will be easy for me.


I enjoy running so much.  I love the way it makes me feel.  I feel like I own the land I run on.  I know that's sort of a crazy phrase, but when I drive the roads I run I feel like I've accomplished so much. Running in the morning is amazing too, watching the sun come up is like greeting every single day.  I feel like I've already started my day on the right foot (pun not intended) when I begin my day with a run.

Sleep, oh Sleep

I woke up with great intentions to run this morning, but Darling Daughter woke up at the same time too.  I cannot keep the child in her bed.  I decorated her room, and it is adorable.  I mean, I'd like to have her room as my room.  I love her so much, but she is so super attached to me.  She follows me around all day when she's awake, and she likes to sleep right next to me.  Right now she's laying on the couch, in need of a few more hours of sleep, watching Dora.  I need suggestions on how to get the child to stay in her own bed.  Cry it out does not work for her.  She'll generally fall asleep up there, but join me in my room at some point in the middle of the night.  I know I just need to get up from my sleep and put her back, but I get so little sleep that I value every minute of it!

And speaking of sleep, one of my friends told me about this SleepCycle app for the iphone.  I downloaded it for .99 cents.  It was the first app I've ever spent money on (yes I'm that cheap!). 

Here are my graphs for the last two nights:




When I look at these graphs, it's blatantly obvious to me that I'm not getting enough deep sleep at all.  The first night, I spent the majority of the night towards awake.  The second night, I began waking up around 1:00 until finally my alarm clock woke me up at 4:58. 

Oh, that's another neat thing about this app.  If you set a wake up time for 5:00 AM, it will wake you up at the lightest stage of your sleep when you're closer to awake than deep sleep from about 30 minutes before until your latest wake up time that you set.  So, on Thursday it woke me up at 4:38 AM and then today it woke me up at 4:58 AM.  This supposedly leaves you feeling more rested during the day then being woken up during a deep sleep phase. 

I've always thought I was a light sleeper, but these graphs confirm it. I now know why I don't wake up rested very often.  I need to figure out how to get better quality sleep.  Maybe get Darling Daughter out of my bed?

Darling Daughter's Day

Darling Daughter and I drove up to Birmingham to see my friend, Cecilia, who I've known since high school.  The drive was wonderful.  I listened to music: Snow Patrol, Mumford and Sons, Keane, Pavement, Flaming Lips.  I sang.  Darling Daughter slept the whole way.  

We arrived in Birmingham around 1:15 and promptly went to Cecilia's house to pick her up.  We were starving.  Darling Daughter was chirping, "Eat" from the back seat every few minutes as we made our way to a little Greek restaurant in Homewood.  I love Greek food, and there is only one place you can get it in Montgomery, so when I go to Birmingham I always want to eat at this little restaurant.

We had an appetizer platter with hummos, tzatziki, and some pink dip that was delightful (and salty!).  I ordered a gyro.  Darling Daughter loved the tazatsiki and dipped several pita chips into it.  She also liked the gyro meat.  She is my best eater by far.

After lunch, Cecilia and I took Darling Daughter to the playground across the street.  She enjoyed herself immensely, all while maintaining a firm grip on the red lollipop I had bought for her at the restaurant! Cecilia snapped this great picture of her using her iphone. I'm still amazed at how well cellphone photos turn out.  Technology is improving so quickly!

The little red bow in her hair (that you can hardly see) stayed there for a few hours.  She was wearing blue, so with the lack of hair everyone thought she was a boy.  While at the park, two people called her a boy then corrected themselves when they saw the little red bow.  In my opinion, she's too pretty to be mistaken for a boy!

Darling Daughter also dragged her pink blankey around while she was playing.  She is a attached to her blanket, just like her Mommy and her Aunt before her.  Cecilia snapped this photo of us together, and I love it.  We look so happy, me to be with her and she to have her lollipop and blanket!

After the playground, we decided to go to the outlets.  Cecilia and I discussed kids, love, and life.  I love the fact that she and I have been friends for so long.  Even when we don't talk for awhile, we can still come back and enjoy each others' company and it's as though we were never apart.  There's a lot of value to be found in lifelong friends.  They know you better than anyone else in your life, and they're accepting of your flaws and your enthusiasm!

We visited a few stores at the outlet.  We talked some more.  Darling Daughter walked around and danced in the corridors while singing her favorite song, "Baa Baa Black Sheep."  Then Cecilia and Darling Daughter played in the play area by the food court.  They enjoyed canoeing.

(And yes, I did change her outfit.  At the Greek restaurant, Darling Daughter had managed to stick her sleeve into the tzatziki, so I changed her clothes during a quick diaper change! No one can mistake her for a boy with that outfit on!)


Then it was time to go home.  We swung by Cecilia's place to pick up my ipod, which was charging while we were hanging out.  Darling Daughter fell asleep within five minutes of being placed in her carseat.  I enjoyed some Fleetwood Mac, Beatles, and Elliot Smith on the way home.  What a fun way to spend a Saturday!

Febreeze

Hubby and I were doing our usual morning shuffle, trying to force three kids out of the house who usually don’t want to go.  He had picked out clothes for the boys, and I picked out Darling Daughter’s outfit.  (It’s best when I pick it out, because then she matches and doesn’t look like a boy).

I put her in this cute Hanna dress with jeans.  I could not find the Hanna leggings for the life of me.  They are probably stuck somewhere in our always-full laundry baskets that sit undisturbed in the laundry room for a week (or sometimes weeks) before being washed.  I went digging through the laundry basket in her closet.  Yes, sometimes I stoop this low.  There is not enough time in our day to get everything done.

I found a perfectly “clean” pair of jeans for her to wear, except for one piece of oatmeal stuck on them, which I promptly picked off and put into the trash.  I dressed her, and we went downstairs.  Then it was shoe time, and as I sat her in my lap to put her shoes on I realized that she smelled.  Or rather, the jeans smelled, somewhat like mildew, which makes no sense, unless something in her laundry basket was wet and set upon them. 

I looked for Hubbyand asked, “Can you bring me the Febreeze?”

Yes, I confess: I febreezed my Darling Daughter’s pants.