The Fort

Okay, two posts in one day...but this is what I had originally planned. You see, our computer is in the basement. Our unfinished, remnant bits of carpet, dusty exercise equipment, and cat "feeding" area. I don't love being down here, but it is the only option right now.

While I am checking my mail and blogging, Lachlan is usually taking her nap, but the past couple of days she has been hanging out with me. So today I made her a fort. I turned her playpen on its side and draped a blanket over the top. I knew that she would love it. What I didn't anticipate is that Bruce would also love it. And the two of them together have literally worn each other out.

Bruce crawls in one end of the fort and hides under the blanket while Lachlan squeals and runs around to the other end of the fort and peeks in at him. Then she crawls in towards him and he quickly slips out (Bruce is not an idiot-he know that if she gets a hold of him while in the fort he will have to defend himself). Then while she is under the blanket he jumps on top and paws at her underneath. She thinks that he is so funny. She laughs so hard when he crawls in the fort. Check out these cute pics of her finding out that he is on top of the fort.

Can I also just say that my husband is so good to me?? I was having such a rough morning. Jack has been so sick with a coughy cold. I was literally standing over a sink full of dishes while the two of us (me and Jack) were crying when he called to say that he was coming home for lunch to help me do the dishes...and he brought flowers. Auughgh. I needed that so badly. Happy Anniversary- I love you, too.

I Know an Old Woman...

Who Sat on a Cake...ha.ha. Sorry mom, but I couldn't resist.

Yup, Nanny Nancy sat on the twins' (Brooklyn & Chris) birthday cake last Saturday. Again, this is a post-dated blog, but I totally forgot that I had these pictures on the camera. I wanted to get a few of these moments from the party. We also attended the Summit County Fair Parade (downtown Coalville). Jeff thought it was a very short parade until I told him that you get to watch it twice because there is only one road in town and everyone has to get back to their cars at the starting point. Only in small town America...

Chris shares his birthday balloons with Uncle Jeff.

Jack, Chris and Brooklyn waiting for the parade to start.

Lachlan putting on her Mardi Gras beads.

For Sara

My sister, Sara, had surgery this morning to remove cancer from her thyroid gland. She is only 27 years old and the mother of three. The surgeons had to take her whole thyroid because of the deterioration of the organ. It is still inconclusive as to the specific type of cancer and we still don't know if it has spread to her lymph nodes or if she will need further radiation for treatment.

That being said, I'm going to honor her with a tribute of my most favorite things about her (27, one for each year of her life).

27: She was brave enough to call and tell me that she thought I was suffering from post-partum depression (which I was) and that I should get some help, immediately.

26: Her perfectly straight and white teeth. She still wears her retainers!! That is serious dedication.

25: She had the first grandchild and really took one for the team...some of us were scared of motherhood.

24: She can keep a monthly budget- no, seriously, this girl probably has 10K in her deep freeze (leftover birthday money from her childhood).

23: Patience. Probably will never have a fist to cuff with my folks...and they practically live together.

22: Always calls to let me know about the hot small town gossip--even if I don't even know the people.

21: Was a big supporter (maybe my only supporter) when I really got into scrapbooking.

20: Can eat an entire pan of mashed potatoes and gravy.

19: Loves games, a decent rummy opponent and always up for "name that movie"

18: Thinks that Tremors was actually one of the greatest movies of all time--which, it may have been.

17: Always gets misty-eyed when she hears "Clancy's Song" or the poem "El Dorado"

16: She holds Jack like he is her own child. She snuggles all babies and always says that your kids are the cutest and smartest.

15: Never apologizes for the condition of her house or appearance.

14: Puts her kids to bed on a schedule. A Babywise bible beater. Amen, sister.

13: A long-time subscriber to People Magazine. Oh, how I wish I were brave enough to just buy it instead of pretending not to look at the checkout line.

12: Bakes a wonderful peach pie

11: Pumped breast milk for an entire year for her twins--think every 3-4 hours for a year!!

10: Willard, sweatpants and cowboy boots. You'll never live it down.

9: Recognizes the importance of eyebrow waxing

8: Helps my mom give her cats pills and then calls to tell me how funny it was...

7: Always makes time for family portraits, birth announcements and Christmas cards.

6: A good reader and speller, but would never point out someone else's mistake.

5: A great friend

4: An even better mother

3: Loves Shane, always

2: A brave face and lots of faith

1: A survivor--soon to be cancer survivor.

I love you, Sara. You can get through this-one day at a time.

Good Lord, I might be a Redneck

Okay, so last night at the county fair Susan asked me if I had gotten a hair cut or color--um, nope, just finally washed and did my hair. It made me think of this add Jeff sent to me. It is from one of our old ski school friends. He sent a bunch of redneck jokes. My other favorite is the deer butt doorbell. Totally gross, but I laughed out loud because I can think of several Judd relatives who would fight for this at the jackpot Christmas party.

Back to the whole Walmart comment- uugh, I hate that place, but I do find that I shop there lately with alarming frequency. Just a little flash back, when I started working for the university I had to do the bulk shopping for teacher workshops and generally this included a "big shop" at the Walmart. Oh, how I hated it because I had to wait in the customer service lane (used to have purchase orders) with two carts full of pipe cleaners, scented markers, rubbermaid tubs and chocolates. I don't know how many of you have ever waited in the customer service lane, but it is an eternal process and inevitably there is a woman who smells like she bathed in old popcorn butter, an overweight individual in a rascal and one man with his pants unzipped. It is unnerving to the most patient person (which as some of you know, I am not). At any rate, these reflections have given me renewed strength to overcome my downgraded appearance. So the next time you see checking out the "George Collection" in the Misses department I won't be wearing the black stretch maternity pants...BUT you might see me in them at the Dollar Tree.

Just kidding (sort of).

Back to the county fair--Lachlan LOVED it! What's not to love? She patted the cows, the sheep, the goats. She poked a chicken in the eyeball and stared a pig square in the face (it then grunted and she ran to her dad and needed some hugs). Oh, and she looked at the rabbits, but I don't think that rabbits are her thing because she didn't seem very impressed. It was so fun for us to watch her figure it all out. She loved hearing the cows and sheep talk to each other. She said, "moo" and "maa" and she would have fed the goats all night long. She loves to drop little bits of hay into them and then watch them nibble at it. At one point, I caught her trying to climb over the fence to get in the pen. To top it all off, she even got to boogie to some country music and eat a red sucker ( she looked like a bloody disaster victim). Even Jack enjoyed himself, he kept singing and kicking his legs. We had a great time.

Sierra's No. 2

I forgot to post a few pictures of Sierra's second birthday party. Despite the massive power outage (due to a fire), the party went off without a hitch. And I can't forget to mention that Lachlan enjoyed the new Ken doll almost as much as Sierra did....

A First Fall

Yesterday, Jack had his first big fall....and it was my fault. I have known for some time that I needed to get rid of his changing table arrangement because he can completely flip himself over on it. Which he did, when I had my back turned. The good/bad news is that he landed on Lachlan's wooden rocking horse. It broke his fall, but I'm certain from the way he screamed that it didn't feel good either. I was so glad that he didn't have any broken bones or bruises. It mostly just scared the both of us. So I guess from now on we will be changing diapers and getting dressed from the safety of his bedroom floor.

Jack is almost a "sitter". Today, he sat up and read his board books while I supervised Lachlan with her afternoon potty break. He didn't even wobble, he just sat there and smacked the pictures like a real big boy. I took this picture last week while tackling the largest pile of laundry we have ever had in the house (couldn't find the couch). He always wants to sit up and do what everyone else is doing. It makes him so angry when I lie him on the floor. I wish that I could get that excited about folding 75 pairs of socks!

Jack has also moved from his blowing bubbles/spitting phase. I'm sure that some of you will enjoy his company a bit more. It has been replaced by the "tongue poke-out" phase. He pokes his tongue out all day long. It's not really the Gene Simmons/KISS tongue that Lachlan occasionally finds so amusing. It's more of a peek-a-boo/snake-testing-the-air type of deal. Kids are really weird.

Also, a special shout out to cousin Mel-thanks for the pep talk. I realized this morning that it must have been after midnight (your time) when you called. I'll cross my fingers for a visit in the fall.

Mama's Limits (R-Rated)

If you are truly fulfilled simply by living your role as a mother, than you needn't read any further....because in the last couple of days I have come to realize that this cannot possibly be all there is to this part of my life. sigh. And yet, the hardest part is that I really can't do anything about it (a quote: "So this is my life, I didn't plan very well, did I").

Uugh. Let's just start with the fact that Lachlan is REALLY into whining. Not just when she's tired or hungry...it is seriously all damn day. It is so exhausting to have to wake up in the morning and listen to her start in her crib and then just have it move with you throughout the day. Okay, I know that she is two and kids are supposed to whine when they are two--it doesn't change the fact that I want it to freaking stop! She has also started to throw these mini temper tantrums when she doesn't get her own way. Last night she didn't want her nose blown (even though it was running down her face in a thick line of snot)--she threw a fit and then held her breath until she passed out....when she came to, of course, she went right back to her old stand-by...whining and crying. I was so angry, frustrated and oh, so sick of it. Jeff's family probably thinks that I am the biggest bitch of a mother because I made her go sit all by herself until we were done eating. And to top it off, I was so out of sorts that I ate two pieces of non-weight watchers approved cake and helped myself to two servings of chicken enchiladas (whoa, can you say point overload).

Where does a mother draw the line between just saying "I've had #$@! enough" and "I should try harder to be more patient with my children"? I'm sure that my own mother would reiterate something along the lines of "What would Jesus do?" To which, I might say, "Cram it" because I am not even in the same ballpark as living like He did. I've got to have more realistic expectations than that! Am I the only one that feels this way??

There are days when I would actually pay someone to let me go back to working in an office and traveling around the state in a mini-van preaching the gospel of agriculture.

Final thoughts: "Ever since I walked through that door, I have cooked, cleaned, scrubbed, chopped wood. I've waited on you, your dogs, your kids and your friends...In hopes of remembering some shred of my life. And now it is entirely clear to me why I have chosen to block it out!!" Goldie was really on to something when she coined this phrase. I do not find it ironic that she finally came to understand just how good she had it until she became a mother.