My Baby Daddy

I'm going out of town next week, to visit my darling Stephanie, her dear Mike, and their precious little children. While I'm away, my husband, Neal, will be guest blogging here on flowerchain! Man, it was like pulling teeth to get him to do it. Well, not really, and apparently pulling teeth isn't all that hard anyway. I just had to bat my eyelashes a little and poof! He agreed. Plus, guest blogging IS all the rage, and ya, I like to mix it up a little.

Here I am petitioning you, dear readers, for questions or topics about which Neal could blog. You can ask him things about himself (he's fascinating), the genetic probability of us having three red-haired children, about what it's like to be married to a girl with *seven blogs, his interesting childhood growing up in what I consider the semi-old South, his thoughts on cultivating plumeria trees here on the mainland, how fun it is to do root canals all day, why you should be using Listerine, etc. He has loads of opinions on politics, child-rearing, responsible calling-fulfilling, and many other topics. You may submit your ideas or questions for Neal in the comments below.

If we don't give him any ideas, Neal just may blog about his mini-reef saltwater aquarium, or better yet, how to feed live crickets to our pet tarantula.

Hooray for guest blogging! I can't wait to see what he writes about.

* four of my blogs are family history blogs with other contributors. I'm not THAT addicted.

Homework

If you haven't been researching the presidential candidates, you might want to start thinking about it and talking about it with your friends and/or your spouse. (Not that you both have to support the same person, of course, but you know, those husbands come in handy for political discussion, at least mine does. In fact, we spent all our pillow talk time last night talking about this very thing.) Although it is early in the process, this part of the election is actually much more important than you might think. The funds raised by each candidate this early on pretty much determine who can go the distance. Sad, but true. Money does make the world go 'round. So go read my dad's blog first (hehee), then click

Here for Mr. Romney.
Here for Mr. McCain.
Here for Mr. Giuliani.
Here for Ms. Rodham-Clinton.
Here for Mr. Obama.
Here for Mr. Edwards.

Read up a bit on each of them and how they feel about the issues that are important to you. Or go here (or somewhere like it) and read about others who are considering a bid. It's our country, guys, we're grown ups now, and we need to know about this stuff. Don't just choose someone because someone else did, make up your mind for yourself. I'm not a huge political junkie, but I do think it's fun and necessary to know what's going on. At least so you can carry on an intelligent conversation about the state of things, in case the opportunity arises. Be a good example for your kids and take a stand on something or someone! Talk about it in your families, it's important for our kids to see that we are involved in some way, even if it's only a trip to the voting booth a year and a half from now. Ok, enough pep talk. Get to work!

Quotes of the Day XI

Parker ran into Miles' room while I was changing his diaper today, and said, in an alarming tone,

"Mommy, I thought of something weird! If there weren't ever any more june bugs, there would never be another June!"

Another Parker thought to get you thinking today,

"Mama, why don't girls ever have beards?" Except say beards like this: beeyahds.

This question resulted in a cursory discussion about these things called male and female hormones and what they do (cursory, remember), and the many ways in which boys and girls are different. He's also been very interested lately in how electricity and magnets work, how big germs are, if we live on the inside or the outside of the earth, what's under hot lava and what eyeballs are made of. Those I can answer correctly (I think), but electricity? I think I remember something about electrons, but I did get a C in Physical Science. I told Parker that these teeny little things called electrons bounce off of each other really fast and that results in electric power being created. Totally wrong, apparently. I need to start studying just so I can talk to this kid. Luckily, his daddy is a brilliant science-minded person. But then, after easily answering Parker's questions, Neal looks over at me and says, "you really don't know how electricity works?"

Nope.

A really quick one from Audrey, and actually not a verbal quote, but a written one. I was reading through her new Junie B. Jones Top Secret Personal Beeswax Journal she got for her birthday. (I totally believe in invading my children's privacy.) On the page where you're to describe your family, it prompts you to enter three words that describe your mother. And I quote:

1. Prettyish
2. Loving
3. Nice

Three words that describe your Daddy: "I love him."

Prettyish? Are you kidding me?

Our Invisible Fence

Every so often, like once or twice a week, the neighbor kids end up in my backyard. Totally fine with that, as long as they stay outside. Braeden and Brent are their names. And they have a little brother, Bryson. They're nice enough kids, but the funny part is how passive-agressive they are about the whole thing. Either they climb over our shared back fence and jump down into my yard, and I don't know they're here until I hear them, or they come to the front door, claiming to have accidentally thrown something over the fence, and by the way, can we stay and play? Today, Braeden (9), came to my door wondering if it was possible that his glasses were in our lawn somehow. Umm, eyeglasses? I don't think they are, but I know you're really just here to play, so out you go!

Let's refresh our memories: my kids are 6 and (almost) 4. These kids are 9 and 10. And boys, really loud boys. They're very polite, the few times they actually do come to my front door, and if they haven't "accidentally" thrown something into my yard, they ask kindly if they can play, to which I always respond, "sure, as long as you stay outside," because, undoubtedly, when they come in the late afternoon, the baby is sleeping. And did I mention how loud they are? :)

We're friends with most of our immediate neighbors, we watch their kids, they share their electric 4x4s, but we actually don't know these kids' parents. Surely they're nice people, their boys are courteous, but would you just agree to let your kid go play at someone's house who you don't even know? I don't really do that. I try to make a point to meet the parents of our kids' playdate partners, just as a matter of courtesy, not to mention safety. Anyway, I'm not mad about it or anything. I just think it's funny that they want to come over here and play. (And why am I defending myself to my own blog? Guy.) Audrey (who they constantly call Abbie) and Parker like it, too. In fact, Parker wants to invite Braeden, the 9-year-old, to his Teen Titans birthday party. And you know what? Even though Braeden will be the only kid there over the age of 4, he'd probably still have fun.

Speaking of neighbors, we just found out that a few months ago, our next door neighbors woke up to a 3-foot alligator in their driveway. And somehow we didn't hear about it! Apparently John, the husband, called a friend over and they killed it. But our source didn't know how. I don't remember hearing any gunshots, so I'm not sure I want to know how it died.

Ah, suburban life. Isn't it just jaw-droppingly thrilling?

Do you have any good neighbor stories?

Oh, image from the ever-sharing flickr.

Children's Book of the Week: 6

This week, I'm featuring one of the many fabulous works of Todd Parr:

Reading Makes You Feel Good
by Todd Parr

All of Todd's books are complete feasts of color. All the people are different colors, with crazy hairdos, and his message usually focuses on the fact that being different is good. This book touts the many advantages of reading and how it can make your life better, even if you're a little kid. The pictures have lots of little text details, like labels on books in the library, signs, and an funny food (like worms) on the counter in the kitchen. My kids love these silly details, and they encourage you to slow down and read each page slowly with your kids. It's a really fun book, and one of the many Todd Parr books in our collection!

Here is Todd Parr's website, fun for the kids! You can find this book, and all of Mr. Parr's others, here!

The Governor's Favorite Baby

Neal and I had the distinct honor of acting the part of Dr. & the Mrs. by attending a Mitt Romney reception here in town this evening. I met my very sharply dressed hubby up in the ritzy part of town, and, with baby-in-tow, we met Mitt Romney. We entered the designated hotel, donned our nametags, and, since we couldn't think of anything else to do once we went into the reception room filled to the brim with people we don't know, we headed for the hors d'oeuvres table. Delicious. Then over to the bar to get some bottled water, chilled.

We sat down, and felt out of place in a room full of very well-to-do business suits and fancy cufflinks. It's at times like these that I feel I have much more in common with the bus boys and the bartender than I do with the people we're supposed to be talking to. Ever felt like that? I thought, for a moment, "I wonder if I'm the only one here who was in their pajamas until noon today . . . " Miles and I sneaked off to find a quiet place to "be alone," and when I returned, I found Neal schmoozing it up with some high-falutin' lawyer guy who had trendy glasses and smelled a little like white wine. He was nice, though, we talked about his fiancee's daughter's dental problems (Neal actually knows the guy's dentist), and he politely excused himself to mingle.

Soon the room quieted down, and a nice white-haired man introduced Mr. Romney, who took the microphone, thanked everyone profusely for being there and supporting him, and proceeded to give a very impressive speech, sprinkled with a few jokes in just the right places. Apparently Mr. Romney and John McCain have both been in Texas the past two days, and he said every night, they call each other up, compare donation amounts, and then split them half way. Well, I thought that was funny. He seems friendly to the other Republican candidates, only really criticizing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He described how the Democratic way of changing things is to say, "Hey, they're doing this and such in Europe, let's try it here!" Ya, well, we all know Europe, as pretty and historic as it is, is not somewhere we really want to live. He also mentioned how Obama, Clinton, and Edwards haven't any experience running so much as a corner store, let alone a government or nation. He really is a great candidate, and I enjoyed hearing him speak sort of casually about issues like

• health care: He did an awesome job overhauling the system in MA, helping people pay their insurance premiums (after changing policy provision guidelines which subsequently lowered said premiums) instead of the government paying their hospital bills outright. It ended up saving the state money, and more people were insured. Plus, he said what I always say, which is, "if 45 million people don't have health care, how come they can all go to the hospital and get free treatment and walk out with medicine (my words)?!" Sounds like health care to me! But then, he added, that the people in that room were the ones paying for it, etc., and so obviously the system isn't working. Best health care line, quoting someone else: "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's FREE!" Oy.
• the military/Iraq: He believes there have been mistakes made in Iraq [don't we all], and that there needs to be a high bar set before we engage our young troops in conflict. He believes the military's equipment is out of date and needs a large investment in new technology, etc. Much more info about this on his website. I'm just recalling what he said tonight.

I had to step out of the room for short intervals so Miles could smile at himself in the mirrored hallways, plus, he was trying to grab people like Neil Bush. Then a nice volunteer lady offered to hold him so I could listen to the speech. I took her up on it, and snuck back in, catching the last few minutes and a few impromptu questions, which he answered very smoothly, of course.

When the applause started, I ran out and grabbed my "sweet baby" from the lady, and Neal and I made our way to the governor's side so we could meet him. I was behind a portly man who reminded me a bit of a brunette Rusty Trawler. The governor asked him if I was with him, and I quickly said, "NO! No, no, (nervous laugh)." He said, "oh no, but what a compliment!" How nice. Then our conversation went like this:

Mr. Romney: Hi Neal (peeked at nametag while hand-shaking), thank you for coming.
Neal: Hi! Glad to be here, this is my wife, Leslie.
Me: Hi Governor (shaking his hand). We're so glad to be here. My dad wanted me to say hello to you, David P*?
MR: David P*! (throwing his head back in instant recognition of my dad's name) Well, he's heading up the whole LDS effort in California, in the whole country, really! He's a wonderful man! And who's this? (gesturing to adorable baby on my hip).
Me: This is Miles. We brought the token baby.
MR: Miles? That's my family's name! I keep trying to get my kids to name a baby Miles. There are tons of Miles Romneys in my family!
Me: Oh really? That's great! Thanks again, we're so glad to be here. (another hand shake)
MR: It was so nice to meet you.

Turn away, me to Neal: Ok, let's go.

Ok, so that was a really long and detailed rundown of our evening, but come on! That was so exciting! It's not often that I get to put on cute shoes, curl my hair and go mingle with the wealthy and powerful! We came home and jumped right back into real life, throwing the kids in the bath, making bedtime snacks, and scooting them off to bed.

Check out Mitt Romney's website when you get a minute, everybody. As far as we can tell, he's by far the best candidate, red or blue. We need to get talking about him to everyone! As my dad's email signature says,

"Critical times demand leadership, experience, values, vision and doing the right things for the right reasons."

Go Mitt! He loves my baby, he's got my vote.

My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday, and he's celebrating it in paradise, lucky duck! My dad's the kind of person that once you meet him and spend any time with him, you know you'll never forget him. He genuinely cares about so many people, both those he loves and strangers in need. His example of generosity beyond belief and true, Christ-like love for his fellow man is truly admirable and something I'm so grateful for. He has incredible perspective and enjoys life to the fullest, any time he can get off that darned cell phone. :) He writes beautiful talks and has a way with words that any english professor would envy. He's been all over the world, and I mean EVERYWHERE, but his favorite place is napping on a couch with a grandbaby or holding my mom's hand on a peaceful walk in Sundance. His almost 13 grandchildren never go more than 2 months without seeing him, because they are his number one priority. Dad will drop everything to talk on the phone to Parker for 10 minutes in the middle of a work day. Currently, he's doing everything in his power to get Mr. Romney to Washington, and I have a feeling that if Mitt goes, so will Mom and Dad, or at least they'll add it to their Indiana-Arizona-Texas-Utah-California round they're constantly making! :) I can't really say enough about him, because he's one of the most tremendous people I know. I'm so proud to call him Dad.
We kind of joke around that my dad has nine lives. He's had several opportunities to leave this world, but has been blessed and willed himself to stay here with us. And that's a birthday gift we all get to enjoy.

I love you, Dad!

Click here to see last year's tribute, complete with adorable pictures of our Pa in action.

The Party!

Waiting for the party to start. Audrey's idea for the pose.

Audrey's birthday party on Saturday was so much fun, even for the parents. We had it at a privately-owned ranch, just south of our neighborhood, and run by a very friendly couple. It was homey, quaint, and perfectly cowgirlie. Mr. Donny ran the show, taking the girls on a tour of the barn and saddling up two ponies for them to ride, taking us all on a hayride in the pasture, where we saw their resident alligator and some pretty wildlfowers. The kids even got to chase a goat around in a ring, trying to take a ribbon of its tail to win a prize (see video link from Audrey's blog). We finished the evening with cake, then smores around the firepit and some good laughs.

Basically, it was a dream day at the ranch for little Audrey and her friends. Here are some pictures, and for a more personal take on the evening's festivities, check out the birthday girl's blog.

My super-awesome horsie cake. I know, it's good, huh. Those boots bigger than the horses are the candles, fyi.

The gazebo, all decked out.

The girls and Parker on the hayride.

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• the happy news we received from the doctor about Miles' heart. Yay!
• that Audrey's party was a roaring success, and that it's over.
• a nice calm week ahead, and a trip to Arizona after that!
• a totally inspired and beautiful Relief Society lesson today, and that I could actually listen to it, thanks to Miles' new best friend, the graham cracker.
  
• our wonderful friends and our peaceful suburban life here, all of which I will be most sad to leave when we move next year.
• Neal, who kept trying to get me to have a pedicure this week, even though I never really had time to do it.
• chubby legs and dimply forearms, which make the world a happy place to be. (See below.)
  

Goals for the week!

1. Catch up on the housework I neglected last week, because I was too busy.
2. Get that darned pedicure.
3. Make some new, yummy dinners for my family.
   

The moment I've been waiting for

One of the reasons that I am supremely happy that I was blessed with two little boys is this:

Little League.

I have so many memories of Stephanie and I, piddling around the little league fields at our local junior high for hours, not really watching our brothers play their games, but enjoying the freedom of wandering around without our parents, spending spare change at the snack bar, secretly wishing I was old enough to work in said snack bar or that our dad would let us buy Big League Chew, playing on the high bars on the other side of the schoolyard, filling Lemonhead boxes with white field chalk and trying to trick our grandpa into thinking it was candy, and eventually getting tired enough to actually sit down in our little chairs until the game was over.

So, since the day Parker was born, I have longed for the day when he was old enough to play baseball, put on those cute little white pants and mini-cleats, and know what it's like to be part of a team.

Today was the day. He's on the Rangers, and had a great time at his little "game" today. He was the last batter, but made it to first base before the seven little Tigers who thought they had the ball in their hands could tag him. Neal coached second base, and we all loved it!

Manning second base with a friend. It takes 2 in t-ball.

Up to bat. He got a single, but the coaches sent him all the way home. :)

Rounding third!

The spectators

If the cowgirl thing doesn't work out,

Audrey could always work at J. Crew.

She laid out her and Parker's clothes for the birthday party tomorrow. I think she's a little excited. Note the use of the baseball uniform belts we picked up at the sporting goods store last night. Audrey won't be playing t-ball, but they had dark teal uniform belts, for the little Marlins, I suppose. So we caved.
Looks like we'll have perfect weather for her party at the ranch, cloudy and about 80 degrees, but no rain! Thank goodness!

Speaking of J. Crew, and for a little cross-over from my other blog, I really like this.

A big, big PHEW

The crazy old lady Russian cardiologist just called with good news. Miles' echocardiogram was pretty much completely normal. He has a "functional heart murmur" (click to read more), which is quite common, does not have an ASD (atrial septal defect or hole in the heart, thank you for clarifying, Neal), and does not require any special treatment or prophylactic antibiotic treatment later in his life before dental work, etc.

Hooray, what a blessing. Thank you all for your concern and prayers!

On giving my kids the best . . . (long)

I have a philosophy in parenting that my kids deserve the best chance they can get. In anything. I want to provide them with every opportunity to make the most of themselves and their lives. That's why I'm a religious prenatal vitamin-taker, that's why I breastfeed my babies for at least a year, that's why we still have the two older kids in 5-point harness car seats, and that's why we're having a really hard time deciding what to do with Audrey and her education.

We think it's important for our kids (my opinion) to spend at least one year before kindergarten in a structured preschool outside of the home. I've found (in my experience) that kids who do this learn to successfully handle many situations (like church) because they know how to respect authority figures such as teachers (not just other moms), and they know how to act in groups of children. Not that kids can't learn those things without preschool, of course. I'm not here to kid-bash. The kids I know who have attended preschool seem better equipped to deal with separation before the first day of kindergarten, because they have experienced it. They are used to being away from home for a few hours at a time without their family. They know how to sit quietly on the floor and listen to someone reading to them, they learn to eat their lunch by themselves, how to participate in large groups such as "chapel" meetings, how to speak respectfully to adults who ask them questions, and how to do all this without their mom nudging them along. (Again, please don't comment about how preschool is unnecessary for these skills to be learned. I'm just stating what I've seen in my experience.) Of course, having our children in private preschools has been a financial sacrifice, but one that we have decided is worth it for our family.

Both Audrey and Parker will have attended 2 years of preschool before kindergarten. This may not be right for everyone, but we have seen how it helps our kids. We have sent them both to smallish Presbyterian church preschools, where they attend chapel, pray before meals, talk about God and the Bible, etc. The religion part isn't something we feel is necessary, but a perk of church schools. Parker only goes 2 days a week, so it's just enough that he gets the experience we think he needs, but still spends the large majority of his time at home with me. Next year (the year before kindergarten), he might go three days, we'll see. I don't agree with stay-at-home-moms who send their 18 month-old and 2-year-olds to "preschool" just so they can go to the gym and out to lunch with their friends everyday. A very common occurence among women around here. Anyway, that could be another post altogether.

Audrey currently attends the public school about a mile from our house. But she's not really enjoying school, and, evidenced by the work she brings home, she's pretty much coloring, cutting and pasting most of the day. Her teacher even agrees that Audrey's needs aren't being met, and when her teacher and I talk about it (and I talk to her often), she seems apologetic, like she wishes she could do more for her, and kind of acts like, "that's what you get around here." I realize that it's just kindergarten, she's only six, etc., but I don't want Audrey to dislike school already! Save that for 10th grade! She loves to learn, loves to write, loves to read, etc., she shouldn't dislike school of all places.

We are considering placing her in private school for first grade. She would attend the same school she attended for preschool, and the same one Parker attends and will attend next year. It's about 8 miles away, but takes about 20 minutes to get there in the morning traffic. It costs a pretty penny, but we could barely afford it if we made some lifestyle changes to our (already "modest," at least to me) student family lifestyle.

We're just wrestling with the question of is it worth it: to pay for Audrey's education in the first grade, to spend several hundred bucks on school uniforms, to drive that far twice a day, and 4 times a day on the days Parker goes, to forego public school already, to give the impression that Audrey's "too good" for that public school, etc. so that she will enjoy school and learn!? Probably is.

At the private school, Audrey would be in a class of only 15 children, which would mean more individual attention and a better relationship with her teacher, the school already has an accelerated curriculum, she'd go to Spanish twice a week, be able to do self-paced reading tests, go to PE every day (yay), have unlimited library access (her dream), and be in school with other children whose parents take an interest in their education (seems to be the minority in her current classroom).

We walked out of that school after meeting with the registrar today, and I thought, "I want to go to school here! I can't stand knowing that this could be available to Audrey and not letting her take advantage of it." What to do! We're leaning toward the private school more each day, and we're kind of pressured for time since there's only one spot left. What would you do?

kids au chocolat

We have a long-standing tradition in our house called the "bedtime snack". As soon as the kids are out of the tub, Audrey's hair is braided, and the towels are hung up, the kids make their way to the kitchen, claiming hunger. Since they're both too skinny, we indulge a bit. :) It all started back when we lived in Lost Angelish (as Parker calls it). The kids were one and three, and they usually ate dinner around 5:00. In the summer, we'd be out on the playgrounds at UCLA housing until about 8, so a bedtime snack was a necessity. Sometimes it's string cheese, sometimes it's yogurt or a tortilla, but the best bedtime snack, at our house, hands down, is chocolate-covered strawberries.

Here are the kids in our LA apartment, two separate occasions in August 2004, covered in chocolate, eating their favorite treat on the floor.

I love that chubby Parker.

Well, tonight, Miles was officially let into the chocolate face club. He sat on my lap as we all dug in, and tried to grab every strawberry that made its way to my mouth. He loved every minute of it.

And yes, that is a bird on Neal's shoulder. Our little Twiggy, who hates and bites everyone but Audrey.

And now we wait . . .

Miles had his echocardiogram today. It went very well, he was great through it all. He had to strip down, get hooked up to some monitors, drink some yucky sedative and then we got to hug and rock until he fell asleep. An echocardiogram is kind of like a fancy sonogram of your heart. It takes 20-30 minutes, and the tech (who needed a refresher course in what NOT to say to nervous parents in a hospital, btw) took pictures of different parts of his heart, made sound recordings and other recordings (I'm so not up on my terms), and they were transferred to a cardiologist in another room. After it was done, Miles started to wake up, but fell back asleep and stayed that way until we were home about an hour later. By this evening, he was back to his normal little self.

It's a very strange position to be in, sitting there in the dark with your sleeping baby, watching intently as the tech meticulously records every move his heart makes, and having no idea what you're looking at or if it's normal. She would draw a box around a certain part, zoom in, take a picture, etc., and we had no idea what she was thinking or if she was concerned about that section or anything. We could pick out valves and chambers, which looked normal to us, of course, but we don't really know what to look for. And you hate to ask the tech anything because she was concentrating so hard, and I'd really hate to break that up. It wasn't fun. So who knows.

We should hear from our pediatrician about the results by the end of the week.

Special thanks to friends Natalie and Rebecca for taking care of our other two children so Neal and I could both be there for Miles. :)

Children's Book of the Week: 5

Taking Care of Sister Bear
by Ursel Scheffler

"Hold me, too, Mama!" cried Little Bear. "But you're too heavy," said Mama Bear, and she rocked little Sister Bear back and forth. "Little Bear,you're not a baby anymore! You're big enough to play outside while I feed your baby sister," said Mama Bear.

"Having a little sister was no fun at all! She ruined everything, and everything revolved around her."

Poor little bear, living the plight of older siblings everywhere: ignored and pushed aside while the baby is tended to and cuddled. In this sweet book, Little Bear is asked to care for his little sister while his parents go off to pick berries and mushrooms. When he gets tired of the responsibility and stops paying attention to her, she wanders off into the forest! He searches until it gets dark, when he starts to get scared. He hears his parents calling his name, and they are holding his sister, who had wandered back home alone. He ends us realizing how much he really does love his baby sister, even if "little sisters can really be a pain."

It's a really sweet book that I think most kids can relate to. You can get it here!

She's Six!

Our precious little Audrey is six today, and we're so proud that she's our one and only little girl. From the moment she was born, actually before that, she has made it known loud and clear that she is an individual, that she has her own ideas about things, and that is something we have grown to love about Audrey. She's growing into such a beautiful girl, inside and out. She loves to care for other children, and is so gentle with her brothers. She loves to learn almost as much as she loves to teach. Her kindergarten teacher puts her next to the kids in her class who are struggling, either with the material or with discipline. She told me that after two weeks of sitting by Audrey, each of those kids has started to do better in school. What a wonderful compliment. I'm so proud that she is helpful, empathetic, and understanding, and that other kids want to be around her.

We think she's a very special girl, and such an important part of our family. After all, she is in charge, at least she likes to think so.

Here is a link to last year's birthday post. And here are some more of my favorite pictures of Audrey!

newborn announcement picture

fourth of july, 2002

second birthday

halloween 2003

audrey's gorgeous curls, 2004

Grateful Sunday

I love this picture, because it's so indicative of my kids' personalities. Here, Audrey is busy telling Parker everything he doesn't know about horses. Because, well, she knows pretty much everything, at least according to her. He, in typical Parker fashion, is loving all the learning he's getting from his big sister. Plus, she's standing like her Daddy Jeff, hands on hips.

This week, I'm grateful for:

• my sister's return from Mexico. Even though she lives two states away and I haven't seen her since October, I still miss her when she's on vacation. Plus, she's going to have a baby before the year's out. Another thing to be thankful for.
  
• Texas winter. I was sad to put away my sweaters this weekend. I think I might be the only blogger who wants winter to stay. Summer here is dreadful.
• the fact that my internet was down all day Friday. My house is (was) so clean and my closet organized. It's sad that that's what it takes, but, alas.
• My darling Audrey, who is now six.
• This song, which we listened to four times on the way to church, and I could see Audrey in the rear view mirror, singing along. Made me cry. :)

Goals for the week:

1. Sleep, in between the craziness that is going on around here this week. I WILL make myself go to bed before 10:00.
   

Go Audrey!

Audrey has successfully and very happily completed Spring Break Horse Camp. She had her horse show today, and came home with her very first ribbon. I'm sure it's going to be one of many, the way this girl loves horses. You can get more details, in the little horsewoman's own words (with a little grammatical assistance by me), over at Rainbow Flying Unicorns.

A to Z

I'm finally getting around to doing this all-about-me meme. Because I know you're just dying to get to know more about me, me, me! Blogs are so selfish, but oh well, here goes!

* ACCENT: I guess deep down I talk like I'm from Southern California, and after having moved from there, I realized there's totally an accent. But 7 years in Texas has taken its toll. I even say "wreck" instead of "car accident." Neal thinks it's funny how I say "Augist" and "laigs" instead of "legs."

* BEST FRIEND: My boy, Neal. My girl, Natalie. My sis, Steph.

* CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: All of them. I think that's why they're called chores.

* DOG OR CAT: Neither. I have 3 kids. Two of whom really want a doggie. Maybe one day we'll get a really small one that doesn't shed. Or bark. Or chew. Or maybe not.

* ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: DVR, the compeetah

* FAVORITE SALAD DRESSING: Brianna's Blush Wine vinaigrette

* GOLD OR SILVER: I don't think either flatter my skin all that much, but I wear more silver-colored metals.

* HANDBAG OF CHOICE: a really little one.

* INDULGENCE: real orange juice, the kind that's 3.50 for a half-gallon carton.

* JOB TITLE: mama

* KIDS: Audrey, 6 in 2 days; Parker, 4 next month; Miles, 7 months (!)

* LATEST PERSONAL PURCHASE: Cute new shoes at DSW. I had a coupon and a bad day. That helped tremendously.

* MOST FREQUENTLY CRAVED SNACK: Cereal or chocolate, or chocolate cereal!

* NAIL POLISH OF CHOICE: None. My fingers are chew toys of late, and I don't think Miles would like the taste. I'm kind of natural when it comes to nails. If I get a pedicure, I usually choose a nude color. I'm always inspired by all the naked toenails in the J. Crew catalog. I know, that's kind of sad.

* OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: 3 c-sections. 3 nights each time.

* PHOBIAS: None. I'm brave.

* QUOTE: I stink at remembering quotes! But there is one from Shakespeare's Henry VIII, I really like which, although it's not referring to children or even about physical size, talks about "the blessedness of being little."

* REASON TO SMILE: my sweet baby and the sunshine outside

* SIBLINGS: Elliott, Matt, Stephanie, Lincoln, and Julianne, who, sadly, has deleted her blog. I know, an abomination!

* TIME I RISE IN THE MORNING: usually between 630-7, and a couple of times before that, too.

* UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I really can't think of anything interesting that's not embarrassing, but I have flown a small airplane. Even if it was for just a few minutes.

* VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: Cauliflower. It's a white vegetable, for crying out loud! Eew!

* WORST HABIT: combing my hair with my fingers, and pulling out the excess. I know, it's really annoying.

* X-RAYS: just the dental kind.

* YUMMY FOOD I MAKE: everything posted by moi over on this blog.

* ZOO ANIMAL I MOST LIKE: monkeys and their mamas.

My Little Alarm Clock

Miles is ultra-happy in the morning. He's pretty smiley all of the time, but when he first wakes up, the joy is just oozing out of him, and you can't help but be glad that it's morning again. Even if it's 5:45. I snapped some pictures of him this morning, and here are a few. He's seven months old now, sitting up and playing with toys all day, eating lots of baby food, kind of figuring out how to drink out of a sippy cup (bottles are out, he says), talking a lot, and still crazy about Audrey.

I love this baby's back. The back of his neck, the back of his arms, the back of his head . . .

Audrey had just walked into the room. Can't you just feel the love?

Cute lips. This baby is Neal made over, seriously.

The red hair is really, really trying.

Yum.

This new cereal is delicious. I was skeptical, I was hesitant to give up my other favorite nighttime snack, but this Special K chocolatey delight has now found its way into my nighttime routine.

You need to try it.

Just so you know.

This is important stuff.

Children's Book of the Week: 4

Okay, I've calmed down a bit after our miserable day yesterday, and have found a reason to blog. It's another Children's Book of the Week! This is one of Audrey's favorites:

You're Different and That's Super
by Carson Kressley

This book may look kind of silly. Well, it is kind of silly, and it's written by Carson Kressley, the tan, blonde man of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" fame. Yep, he wrote a children's book. The book is a little bit humorous, I don't love the illustrations, but the message is a good one, and it's a funny idea. This is the story of Trumpet, who lived among horses, and was ostracized and teased for being a little different. When he turns one year old, he starts growing a horn, and even though he's really a unicorn, his friends tease him even more. One fateful day, the barn catches fire and the horses inside are doomed until Trumpet arrives, unlocks the door with his horn, and instantly becomes a hero. He's finally accepted because of his difference, and that, I believe, is a good lesson for my little ones to learn.

Find this book here!

Thank You and Drama Postponed

Thank you all so much for all your kind words, prayers, and thoughts sent our way. It makes me feel so wonderful to know that other people care so much. This is why blogs are wonderful. :)

Luckily for Miles, and due to unforeseen imcompetency on the part of our majorly idiotic and impossible insurance company, we had to postpone the echocardiogram until next Tuesday. Of course, in true fashion, we were not made aware of this until we were already at the hospital, Miles had his little bracelet on, and was already getting hungry. I am not a cursing woman, but I was very, very close to lashing out at somebody today. Words came into my mind that I have never uttered aloud. So after some phone-yelling, mad elevator button-pushing, and a few (a lot of) tears, we're home, un-echoed, and a little worse for the wear. And now I have nothing to do with all this pent up emotion and anticipation, except go on with the day like nothing ever happened, so here we go.

I need to make some more hateful phone calls to the rejects at the insurance company. I hope your day was better than mine was today. Maybe tomorrow will be great for all of us, but then tomorrow might just be the day for my nervous breakdown. The "supervisor" of the person I spoke to on the phone is calling me in the morning.

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, I'm grateful for:

• Sunday. It's so nice to know that one day a week, I can actually sort of slow down, and take a proverbial deep breath before jumping back into the craziness of life again.
• Neal's safe trip home last night.
• doctors and hospitals. Even though I really don't want to take Miles to the hospital tomorrow to have his heart checked, I'm just really glad to know that there are people who can help us, if we need them to. Even if they do charge us an arm and a leg.
• a whole week (spring break) of not forcing Audrey out of bed for school. We're all excited about that one. She has horse camp every day, but it doesn't start until 10. Hallelujah.

Goals for the week:

1. Get through tomorrow. After that, maybe I can think about other things.

Pros & Cons

Neal is out of town for an Endodontist meeting dealie in the Big D. Sounds fun, doesn't it? He hardly ever goes out of town, and I really hate it when he does. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I really admire all you wives who have to do this on a regular basis and for several days at a time! It's not fun to have no hubby here. I tried to cheer myself up last night, and composed a list of the pros and cons of having a husband away. Feel free to add to my list, since you probably have more experience this way than I do.

Pros:
1. I get to sleep with all four pillows.
2. We can have cereal and spaghettios for dinner, and I don't feel guilty.
3. Less laundry to do.
4. I get to bed at least an hour earlier.
5. That's all I can think of.

Cons:
1. I have to sleep alone.
2. I get nervous and set the security alarm when I go to bed, and will inevitably set it off in the morning.
3. I have to put all three kids to bed. At the same time.
4. My car has to be all alone in the garage. No little black Batmobile car ('96 Civic) to keep it company.
5. I have to take out the trash.
6. I have to take Audrey to school (usually accomplished by my darling Neal on his way to work).
7. I worry incessantly about him and his safety.
8. I'm the only parent, hence I am outnumbered by little people.
9. No hi-honey-I'm-home-kiss around dinnertime.
10. We only have one charger for both of our cell phones, so someone's battery will die.
11. I have to field all the EQ calls. And emails.
12. I can't vaccuum. I can only do that when Neal is here to hold Miles. He's afraid of it.
13. No one is here to feel sorry for me when I have to get up three times a night to feed the baby. Oh wait, Neal doesn't do that either.
14. The kids really miss him.
15. I have to kill all the bugs.

Come home, baby!

Party, anyone?

Quotes of the Day X

Ah yes, another installment of my favorite blog feature here at flowerchain, Quotes of the Day. This one even includes a quote by my dear husband.

Out on the trampoline, watching Neal light the charcoal grill:

Parker, to Audrey: How bad would it hurt if you got burned by that fire?
Audrey, because she knows everything: A lot. But not as bad as dying.
Parker, after a moment: I wonder how bad it would hurt to swim in hot lava.

ouch.
Parker, after discussing how we signed him up for gymnastics: Mommy, I wish daddy didn't sign up to go to work.

Me, too, Parker, me too.

Me, to Neal one evening: Did you hear that Britney Spears shaved her head? What a psycho.
Neal: Ya, I think she's gonna turn up dead soon.

You heard it here first!

*images courtesy of miss natalie and my backyard fence.

Fun with the Candidates

Just wanted to share a few fun goings-on in the 08 Presidential race. You may have seen some of these things, but, then again, maybe you haven't, and I just need to make sure that everyone has a chance to see this and this:

Who knew that Southerners talked like that, with a little Chicaaaahgo accent thrown in to words like "faaaahr?" Also loving this, on Mindy's blog, and this, on Audra's.
Oh, so fun. And last, but not least:

This is a picture of our favorite presidential candidate Mitt Romney with my parents and my brother in Boston a few weeks ago. Just had to brag a bit: my dad has been asked to organize, set up, and chair the National Outreach/Grass Roots campaign effort for the entire US!
Go Dad! Go Mitt!

Rodeo Day: The Rest of It

The rest of our time at the rodeo was spent doing a little lasso-making, riding carnival rides, eating cotton candy, and enjoying the atmosphere.

The kids were able to pick out their own colors and make their own ropes, for lassoing purposes, of course. They were really excited about having their very own personal lassoes. (these are my kids, right?) Luckily, since their grandpa's not close-by, their daddy knows how to "rope stuff." You can see a video of them making their ropes here.

Miles and I couldn't ride the carnival rides. But that's okay. We got to hug in the sunshine, and later, Miles had his very first bite of funnel cake.
(btw, some brilliant person at The Children's Place finally figured out how to put a strap on a baby baseball cap. Yay!)

We walked out of the rodeo with the two big kids piled on top of each other in the stroller hugging their lassos, me carrying the sleeping baby, and big-time "rodeo legs" (the Texas version of "Disneyland legs"), but we had so much fun.

Until next year, yee-haw!

Rodeo Day: With the Animals

On Saturday, we packed up and headed to the Rodeo, a major event held here every year. This was Parker and Miles' first time, and we had so much fun. The weather was gorgeous, and we even had a ride right to the entrance, thanks to a certain friend of mine. The first thing we did upon arriving was to check out the livestock show. We petted at the zoo, rode the ponies, saw the baby chicks poking out of their eggs, saw some bees in their little honeycomb, and the highlight of it all (at least for me), was that we actually saw a calf being born, right in front of our eyes! It was amazing to see that little (big) baby slither out of his mama into the warm hay.

Here are some highlights.

Cowpoke #1. You would think that after horseriding lessons on a real, very large horse, Audrey would think pony rides were kind of silly. But she doesn't.

Cowpoke #2

Cowpoke #3. He was more into his banana/mixed berries second breakfast.
(and we know he looks cross-eyed in this picture. he's not.)

Luckily, Miles was a good excuse for me NOT to enter the petting zoo. Daddy's job.

Parker with the big fat piggie, whose belly scraped against the ground.

This was the baby we watched being born, about 20 minutes later, getting all clean from mama cow. (Rodeo factoid: Did you know that a female cow is only called a cow once she has given birth? Before that, she's called a heifer. I learned that at the Texas beef council booth. We also got beef pencils. Daddy Jeff would be so proud.)

More rodeo pics to come! I know, you can't wait.