Good Parents

I'm going to go ahead and give a Good Parenting Award to both Troy and me today. I think we deserve it.

Troy gets his award for Outstanding Excellence in the Effort to Spend Time with Your Children. He's been working so hard lately - work, church, baby, wife, house, bike and kids. Not in that order. There is no order. It's all mixed up. But he's been making a real effort to do some fun stuff with the kids this last month before school starts despite his exhaustion. Last night he took the kids up to Strawberry Reservoir to go crawdad fishing. This is not a trip to Disneyland, I recognize, but the kids were almost as excited. And I know they will always remember it. I can't give you many details of the trip because Bundle and I took a rain check and enjoyed a snuggley evening at home together. I will say that apparently there is a learning curve to fishing for crawdads because they came home with, count 'em, FOUR crawdads. (I guess you can't get much fishing done when you spend half the night walking to and from the car with your daughter meeting her various needs, according to Troy.) Yes, just four. But those were the four most beloved crawdads in the world. The kids were so excited they could barely contain themselves, and this morning when they got up, I did not hear a single request for "can I watch a show?" They, especially Stomper, spent the entire morning out on the back porch playing with the crawdads. ("And when there was no crawdads, we ate sand." "You ate sand?" "We ate sand." Anyone who can name that quote is awesome.)



I confess that I started to feel a little sorry for the little beasts. Stomper played with them like toys. And I knew we were in trouble when he started giving them names. Oh no you don't, buddy. Time for the boiling water. Which is where my award comes in. Mine is really an Honorable Mention in the area of Doing Something You Don't Want To Do Because You Know It Will Make Your Kids Happy. Yes, I was the crawdad boiler, cooker and tear-aparter. I get only an honorable mention because I made Stomper put the crawdads in the water. For some reason, meat eater that I am, I had a hard time actually killing the poor little bugs. I thought Stomper would get all sad, but he was willing to toss his playmates into the pot without a second thought. What this means I'm choosing not to think about. Then I had to take care of getting the 1/2 oz. of meat out of each little one for the kids to dip in butter and eat. Bad news. They loved it and can not WAIT to go again. Oh, Man!

By the way, I couldn't help but think of Homer and his darling Pinchy throughout this experience...

The Hat Trick

I think I've mentioned that I have a great baby at least once or twice. Well, I do, and to prove it, I'll tell you about the three miracles she performed in the past two days.

First, The Becky invited me to go with her to a matinee of "Julie & Julia." I've been dying to see this ever since I saw the previews. I mean, I read the book and liked it okay, but when I saw Meryl Streep pulling off a perfect Julia Child without mocking her in the slightest, I knew I had to see it. Especially since I'm such a total foodie. Do you know how hard it was to go see that show without bringing a picnic with me? Well, it was. Anyway, I've never taken Bundle to a movie - I just didn't think she'd do well, especially in the afternoon. But, for Meryl, I was willing to try it. I can't believe it. It was perfect. The theater was packed, so I sat in that single chair right up front that's meant to be next to a wheelchair. (There weren't any people in wheelchairs there, so I didn't feel bad.) Bundle sat happily on my lap staring at the lights during the previews. As soon as the movie started she politely asked for her binki, rolled over in my arms and snuggled down right to sleep. She isn't a lengthy napper, but she zonked for the whole 2 1/2 hours and even nursed in her sleep. It was awesome. The movie was too. I was so happy to be sitting there, so happy with my sweet baby in my arms, that when Meryl/Julia came on screen she was so awesome I actually cried a little. (Shocker.) It was a great show.

Miracle two: Bundle slept 9 hours last night. Need I say more? I don't think so. Nine to six, baby!

Miracle three: After a somewhat rocky but manageable church day I came home with the kids, fed everyone a pb&j and got Bundle down for a nap. Then both the older kids asked to watch a show. I saw my chance and took it. I got them settled and slipped into my room to read a book for a few minutes. Sadly, Bundle stirred just then, but I didn't despair. I scooped her up and snuggled down with her myself. And I fell asleep. She slept for another hour. I woke up and groggily wondered where my other children were. Admittedly, they played a major role in miracle 3 because 1) they left me alone to sleep and 2) they were playing happily and quietly with their toys with no conflicts for an entire hour. Did you hear me, people?!? An entire HOUR!!! It made for a great day. Thank you, Bundle, and thank you, children. Happy day. Now I'm going to go out and get me a copy of Julia's cookbook and try out a few of those recipes. I could tell that they must have been amazing when I almost ran to the front of the theater and started licking the screen.....

All Swum Out

I knew at the beginning of the summer that we wouldn't be doing much traveling, and big outings like trips to the zoo were out for a couple of months at least. I also knew that just hanging out at home all day wasn't going to cut it either. So, I signed us up for swimming lessons, all summer long. Today was the last day of week six of lessons. It has been really fun and the kids have made a lot of progress. But I'll confess, I'm about all swimmed out, and I wasn't even in the water! I'm sure Troy will take the kids to open plunge a couple more times before school starts, because they certainly want more, but I'm ready to bid goodbye to the constant cycle of hanging up wet suits and towels to dry, packing up the swim bag every morning and making sure everyone has enough sunscreen on. Really, it's been great. And really, we'll see you next summer.

Le Budding Artiste

So I'm kind of winding down now after one of those evenings where, as the kids and I were getting home from an outing, Bitty began a sentence as we walked in the door and didn't finish it until she was asleep: .........and .............and ..............and .................. Oh my. She had a lot to say this evening. At least she and Stomper weren't fighting for a change. Anyone have any advice on that front?

So the other day Bitty was asking us to provide her "hat that makes her look like an artist." I couldn't figure it out, until she found it herself and showed us:



Yes, that's a potty seat on her head. I see where she's coming from, though. This happened not long after she did that amazing thing she does where I take one step into the kitchen to quickly prepare a little food for the hungry masses and she's instantly by my side asking, "Can I help?" For the record, I never turn her down, no matter how much I sometimes want to. I mean, I want to only because her helpfulness adds at least 20 minutes to the prep time, you know? But I can't deny her. I just have too strong a belief in kids helping in the kitchen, no matter how big a pain it can be. Besides, you'll find that Bitty is rather hard to turn down. She just won't have it. Anyway, she pops in during a super busy morning, steps in front of me so I trip, then grabs a chair to stand on and shoves it into my bare toes. I holler in pain but try to keep things moving anyway, just as she climbs down to kiss my foot where she hurt it and I trip again. She smiles up at me from the floor and says, "See Mom? I was thinking of your feelings!" How can she be so sweet and wonderful and I'm so exhausted all at the same time? Hard to tell.

2 Months Old

I can't stand it! I can not get enough of this little Bundle of mine. Thank you thank you that she is in our family and is such a delightful baby. I spend my time wishing she was still as tiny as the day she was born, looking forward to her growing and meeting new milestones, and trying to suck up every single second of the present. Her rough moments have been very few and her disposition seems to be calm and happy. I miss her while she's sleeping! This is awesome.

On the same day that Bundle turned two months old the final new baby arrived, born to Adam and Whitley. So even though Bundle is a couple months older and the two nieces are only three days apart, officially, we have a June baby, a July baby and an August baby in the family this year. I hope I get to meet her soon, although I hear she's giving her parents a bit of a run for their money these first few days. I send them good sleeping wishes and thoughts.

Out With a Bang

July ended with excitement around our house! On Friday morning I was having one of those mornings where I had to be someplace (the dentist) and I felt like I spent the entire morning just getting ready to go to my 11:00 a.m. appointment. I did manage to get my teeth brushed, but just barely. As I was pulling out of the driveway, I got a phone call from my youngest brother, Peter, who let me know that they were going to have their baby that day. Whoa!!! I had told them that I'd take their 1st daughter while they were at the hospital, and I was very glad that I wasn't getting this call in the middle of the night. So after my dentist appointment, I headed over to the new Intermountain Medical Center (aka the Death Star...) to see Peter and Sheri and take Siena home with me. We spent the day together, and Siena held it together pretty well. Baby Cara (pronounced like Car, not Care...) was born at almost six that night, and I brought Siena back to the hospital around 7:30 or something. When I first got there Cara was out of the room getting all fixed up with immunizations and such, and I got to sit there and chat with Sheri for a bit while I held my sleeping Bundle.

I'll confess that when Peter came in with little Cara I just had to cry a little. Bundle is already so big - she looked like a monster next to this little 6 1/2 pounder. And it hit me like a ton of bricks that it would never be me in the hospital with a new baby again. Never would that tiny tiny little lizard-legged suckling little creature be mine again. And it kind of took my breath away. Troy and I really feel good about Bundle being our last, and I still don't want one more baby. But I think there's not much I wouldn't give to have one more day with each of my babies as a 1 day old. (Okay, Stomper, being a premie, wasn't too fun on his first day, but I'd take him a few days after that!) Anyway, it's hard, even when you feel that your family is all here, to let go of that part of your life. But you know, Bundle is getting funner by the day - smiling and laughing, making little noises, trying to hold up her head, and it looks like she's going to keep her blue eyes - it's fun to see our babies get bigger too.



By the time I got home from the hospital, it was quite late. Troy had been considering taking the big kids for a little crawdad fishing that evening, but the day was just too nuts, so he ended up having a sleep out with them in the back yard. So cute. I love my husband. We planned a bunch of stuff like this for the last few weeks of summer, and he gets excited whenever one of the events comes up. He loves his kids. And I love him.



And now we wait to hear from my OTHER brother, in LA, whose wife is to be induced in the morning. Granddaughter number three, finally to arrive! I can't wait to see her little face and get her here safely. It seemed like it would be so long before all three babies were here, and now there's just one day left. Pretty exciting.

The Corker Corks On

So I mentioned in my happy list post that we like listening to CDs by Laurie Berkner - she's great. We just got a new one last week - Victor Vito - and we're really enjoying it. So the other night the whole family was driving along, listening to the tunes, when on comes this great song. The lyrics go:

I'm not perfect, no I'm not.
I'm not perfect, but I've got what I've got.
I'm not perfect, no I'm not.
I'm not perfect, and I hope you like me that way.

Cute song. It goes on for a while about "you're not perfect" and stuff, and then when the song ends, Troy and I hear this quiet but rather stubborn voice from the back seat.

"Well I AM perfect."

We looked at each other with wide eyes. I started to giggle. Then chuckle. Then I started to laugh so hard I almost couldn't drive. The fact that Bitty thinks she is perfect is the summation of our problems, I think. Do you know, one day last week I actually engaged in an argument with her about whether or not she could speak Korean. And she thinks she won the argument! I'm still wondering why I got into it with her. Because I'm an idiot, that's why. An idiot who can speak a little Korean, but an idiot none the less. And apparently my 3 year old daughter can speak better Korean than I can anyway so why bother?

On a more positive note, Bitty's summer ballet class wrapped up this week and we got to go to the parent observation class. Stomper was less than thrilled about it, but hey, Bitty goes to all his soccer games so I guess he can handle one ballet class. Bitty obviously loves ballet, and especially excels in the "sunburst arms" area. Skipping is not her strong suit. (We'll do some drills at home to catch up.) I think we're going to continue on in this or a similar class. My sister was a dancer when she was young and some of the pictures we have of Bitty remind me a lot of pictures I've seen of my sister. I used to love going up to Margaret's ballet studio. Mom signed me up for one ballet class but I believe I complained that it hurt my back too much and that was that. Anyway, I LOVE watching Bitty dance. It obviously thrills her to death.

Happiness is....

...today! A mostly-manageable church day (I only got a little baby poop on my skirt), a visit to my brand new niece (more details on her arrival in an upcoming post), and a baby who goes to sleep in her own bed just in time for me to make a really yummy dinner. I don't do a lot of cooking these days, but this afternoon all the stars aligned. Bundle stayed asleep, and we all sat down at the table together, which I actually set. With real dishes. We ate farm-stand corn, shrimp cooked on the grill, brown rice and 'shroom pilaf with herbs from the garden, and vanilla yogurt with fresh blackberries. Rock ON.

Now we'll see if the goodness continues and I can post a few other things that have been going on....

My Happy List

The Misty occasionally posts on her blog a list of the things that are currently making her happy. I have noticed that I have a happy list also these days and so I'm going to copy.

What's making me happy?

Kid Music! I have found that listening to great kids' music in the car greatly reduces the back-seat brawl. Our very favorites are the Snacktime album by the Barenaked Ladies, various Laurie Berkner CDs, and the music I'll listen to even without the kids, Justin Roberts. I especially love his Pop Fly album, though Meltdown is climbing the charts. It's so funny to see and hear the kids singing along at the top of their lungs, and Bitty will often do a very energetic lip synch.

A baby who sleeps! Never before have I experienced the miracle of having a baby whom you can put down for a nap or to bed at night and who then goes to sleep and stays asleep. I'm really not sure what the trick has been, but I'm loving my sleeping Bundle like crazy. She went like 8 1/2 hours the other night, and most nights are close to 7!!! (Please tell me I didn't just jinx myself...)

Waiting for nieces! Both of my sisters-in-law are due any moment now, and I really can't wait to meet my two new nieces. Of course it will be a while before I meet the LA baby, but I hope it isn't too long. I love this picture of Sheri, Peter's wife, holding Bundle. You can tell she just can't wait for her own baby to arrive. Plus she's got that convenient little shelf to rest the baby on. Wish I had that too...oh wait. I do. Mine just isn't so firm anymore.



Swimming Lessons! We've had many weeks in a row of swimming lessons. It's kind of been our major summer activity since I'm not really in a good place to do any big trips. The kids have both really come quite a long way. I think my favorite part of swimming this year is maybe all the teachers. They're all these adorable young adults - probably in college or late high school, and they all flirt terribly with each other. It's kind of fun to sit at the side of the pool and watch. They're great with the kids and apparently enjoy each other too!

Wednesdays! The Becky and I don't get to do many playdates during the school year so in the summer time we end up getting together a lot. This summer we've had a standing Wednesday lunch date while the kids play. Sometimes lunch lasts until dinner, which is a bonus. Our kids play so well together, thank heavens, because Becky and I play very well together too. Then on Wednesday evenings comes my show. I'm really only into one show right now - So You Think You Can Dance - the title of the show is kind of lame, but I absolutely love it. Great great dancing, for the most part. Becky plus SYTYCD make me really look forward to Wednesdays.

Blueberries! I just love buying that big box of berries every couple of weeks at Costco while they're in season. I can not get enough of them. Try this - equal parts fresh blueberries and Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal with milk and a sprinkle of brown sugar. The cereal claims to have "just a hint" of brown sugar but Troy taught me that a hint just isn't enough. Tasty. Now I can't wait for breakfast.

The "Hawk"

Oh boy. Stomper's friends' mommies are not going to like me very much, I'm afraid. Too bad. What is summer for, I ask you? Weird haircuts, that's what! Stomper asked me if he could get a mohawk. I thought about it and decided that if Stomper wanted a mohawk he could darn well have one! Well, that is, he can have one from Monday to Saturday night. I don't think I'm taking Stomper to primary with a mohawk. So tonight Troy took him on the back porch and tried to give him his desired hair do. Frankly, it looks a little weird. Okay, trashy. It just needs to be a bit more of a mullet in back and he'd be set. And truthfully, Stomper was a little disappointed. Troy finished shaving his already very short hair off and Stomper asked, "Okay, now can I have a mohawk?" I think he was thinking of the big tall punker-varieties, and we had to explain that just because we shaved the sides of his head bald doesn't mean that the middle part will be long and spikey. We'll save that look for next summer, I guess! And now I kind of can't wait for Saturday night to get rid of the thing.

The Dark Lord

You may think I'm referring to "You Know Who," lately of Harry Potter fame. But I am not. This dark lord is much more powerful than that old Voldemort guy. It's got me in its throws, and my husband too. And now it seems to be roping in my sweet little three year old daughter. You may recognize that cunning little silver label in the photo above. Oh how we love the diet coke at our house.

Bitty has been getting chomped by the mosquitoes lately. You may notice in the picture that she's got a huge red welt on her elbow. That's from ONE bite, poor little thing. She's been doing a lot of moaning about her terrible itches. Troy asked her what he could do for her and she said that the only thing on earth that would help her was a drink of diet coke. Having felt the same way so many times before myself, how could we deny her?

And last week at the store Bitty was in the cart pretending to be a munchkin. She already has a pretty cute little squeaker voice, but when she tries to speak 'munchkin' it really goes up a notch. It was so cute. I was the queen munchkin, and she was the princess munchkin, of course. As we wound our way through the isles conversing in munchkinese, we eventually strolled pass the drinks. She squeakily asked me if diet coke was good for you. I replied that it really isn't, but it's a little treat for grownups sometimes. She assured me that diet coke is actually very good for munchkins and we should go get some. Done!

Just so you know, I don't actually let my children consume diet coke outside the occasional sip, (okay, swallow...s...) and I try to not have more than one or two every week myself. But why oh why does it have to be so delicious and refreshing? I will forever be enslaved, my dark master!

Holy Green Thumb!

Troy took over the gardening this year, and I don't think he's going to get out of doing the job ever again. He's terrific at it! We've had so many bad tomato years lately; everything from seemingly "failure to thrive" plants to big plants that just produced no tomatoes all. Well, check these babies out! They're almost as tall as I am and are covered in hundreds of little green promises of wonderfulness. They're our favorite variety: the brandywine. Oh, baby. We'd better start stocking up on bacon right now!!!

And take a look at these:



Our neighbor gave us two seeds. Two measly little seeds. We planted them, thinking that with our track record we'd be lucky to get even one plant to grow. Well, both the plants flourished, and now we've got two enormous pumpkin plants taking over both our house and our other neighbor's. When I say "enormous pumpkins" I don't mean it is an enormous plant that produces pumpkins, I mean that it's a plant that grows enormous pumpkins. You know, those 500 lb. monsters? Well, so far it looks like we're going to get four of them. It's only July and they're already as big as a regular pumpkin at Halloween, and we've got three months to go! We're really pretty excited. I'm sure you are too. We'll keep you posted.

The Corker

Remember that movie, Far and Away, with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (before she had her face rearranged?) Sure you do! Who didn't see that? Well, it actually has entered our 'most quoted movies' list lately, all because of one little line hollered by Tom towards the end of the show. "You're a corker, Shannon Christie!" You'll never guess who we shout that at around here! Yes, Bitty could be classified as a true corker. Here's her latest:

"Mom, if you get it wrong, you're fired." (We were playing a game and in the game she asked me a question. I know she meant that I wouldn't be allowed to play anymore if I answered incorrectly (promise?) but taken out of context I thought it sounded pretty awesome. Yay! I'm fired! Can I go to bed now?)

In a very concerned voice: "Mom! Your leg has so many slivers!!!" Getting a sliver removed is quite a production around our house - poor Bitty thought my little leg hairs would all have to be removed with daddy's pocket knife while someone held my hand and told me a story. That would have to be one seriously long story. I guess I'll just go shave instead.

Bigger Bundle

Well, in that irritating habit children have, Bundle is insisting on growing up. She has passed her six week milestone, and I can't stand it! Time is racing like never before, I'm sure partly due to Bundle's calm and flexible nature. She's just not making life that hard. Of course, we've had a couple of rough evenings recently, (most notably last night,) but I've tried to gently remind her that we've already settled on her good sleeping habits and she isn't allowed to go back on it now. We'll she what she says about that tonight. We're getting smiles on demand now, and I especially love squeezing her ever-thickening thighs. Ooooh, they're juicy. I love them. She has a very nuzzle-able neck. I think she'll be keeping her blue eyes, though her hair color is still up for debate. It looks lighter some days and darker on others. Mostly, she is adored by everyone in our household. Well, everyone but the dog, who ignores her in as dignified a way as he possibly can.

Money Well Spent

I think it must have been about 8 years ago, before we had kids, that Troy and I decided to invest a whopping 40 dollars into an inflatable swimming pool. I guess we just wanted something somewhat substantial that we could cool off in on a hot summer evening. I was hoping it would last a year or two, but I'm happy to report that the thing is still going strong. I can't believe we still have it, actually. It serves us well year after year. Yesterday was our city's first day in the 100's and we were so happy to have that pool! We invited some friends over and the kids had an absolute ball. The water was kind of grey and very grassy by the time we emptied the pool last night, which is always a sign of a good time had by all. I have to post some pictures of my friend's boys because they are a trio of future heart breakers.

Stomper Updates

How cute is this picture? I'll tell you. It's very cute, in case you were wondering. I did feel like a bit of a sucker when I was writing out a check for the soccer pictures. After all, this little summer soccer league isn't especially glamorous or super competetive or anything. But it's Stomper's first soccer experience and he's loving it. I just had to have the pictures, and I'm so glad I did because this picture turned out 10 times better than his school picture. I just love it!

Stomper was playing around on pbskids.org the other day and I guess one of the games is a little cooking thing where you help find the ingredients for something. Stomper got so excited because at the end of the game you can print out the recipe for the food you made. He really wanted to make this recipe for tuna salad. It had these strange ingredients in it. Things like green pepper and tomato. Honey, you recognize that there are actual vegetables in this, right? Well, I'm no dummy. I didn't actually ask him that. I just got him the ingredients and we made it together and then, (you'll never believe this,) he ate it. Well, most of it. I love you, pbskids.org.

Totally Hosed

I am in so much trouble! What am I going to do? I'm going to need some help, that's all I can say. Especially in about 10 years.

What's all the fuss about, you ask? This is what. Yesterday morning Bitty had ballet class, and it overlapped her swimming lesson by about 5 minutes. I was trying to get her to wear the bottom half of her swimming suit under her ballet leotard so the change could happen really fast. She refused, and when I asked her why she said, "Because all the kids in my class will think I look funny." (Oh man! Already?) I tried to assure her that she wouldn't look funny at all, that her leotard would cover the suit bottom. Then, get this. She says, "But mom! It will make my bottom look big!"

Oh crap. She's three.

A Baby Blessed

As was noted on facebook, I was still working on Bundle's blessing dress at 11:00 the night before her big day. Luckily the dress had been mostly finished since before she was born. I just had to add a lining, ribbon and a button. The reason I was doing it at 11:00 at night was because I had spend the rest of the weekend getting ready for the lunch after church at Peter and Sheri's place. Thus the procrastination. I suppose I couldn't possibly have done it any sooner than this weekend, right?

So yes, on Sunday, July 5th, we had the opportunity to give Bundle a special baby blessing in church. I really missed having my parents there. I was so happy my brother Peter was there to represent both my Dad and other brother Adam in the blessing, both of whom are far away right now. Peter is a rock. Troy's family were almost all there, and I thank them for taking the time to make it to us from near and far to be there. It was a lovely meeting, and the time spent afterwords eating and talking and being with beloved friends and family was wonderful. Unfortunately, my sweet mother in law was ill and couldn't be there. You were missed, Carol.


I'm so grateful that Bundle is here, safe, sound and sweet. I feel like I've learned a lot about faith in the past couple of years. When I got pregnant with Matthew and then when he passed away, I felt like Heavenly Father put the floor under my feet before I could even take a step. Does that make sense? The spirit was around me and Troy and helping us before we even had the chance to ask. I knew of His love for me and my family without a doubt, so much so that I actually treasure the experience of losing Matthew. And then when I felt that it was time to try for one more baby I learned (again - it's a lesson to be learned over and over) that sometimes I'm asked to take a step ahead before I know if there's a floor there or not. Bundle's pregnancy was much harder than I expected it to be, as far as trusting that she would make it here to our family if she was supposed to. And there was nothing I could do to control that, just trust in my Heavenly Father and put my fears in His hands. And now here I am with this warm pink Bundle and I am just thrilled. Matthew was certainly on my mind more than usual on Sunday, and in a good way. I celebrate what he gave me as much as I celebrate what Bundle now brings. I'm very grateful.

The First Annual, The...Fourth Annual?

I hope everyone had a lovely Independence Day this year - we did. Frankly, at this point in my life I was just hoping for a low key day that made my kids happy but didn't require much out of me. I'm pathetic.

This year we had a first. It was the First Annual Neighborhood Pancake Breakfast, hosted by our church. I think a lot of other churches/neighborhoods host something like this on the 4th of July every year, but with Troy being in our ward's bishopric he was quite involved in the planning and carrying out of the breakfast. Sorry honey, it was a total success and I'm sure you'll be doing it again next year! It was a lot of work for a lot of people but I really thought it was fun and went really well. Face painting, a 5K, pancakes and sausage and fruit - how could it go wrong?

We also enjoyed the ongoing (third? fourth?) annual tradition of spending the afternoon and evening at the home of The Becky. It's so mellow there - the kids just play and Becky and I can sit and....just sit. That's all we want. Her hubby grills up some burgers and then we have a lovely 7 p.m. fireworks display. It's not dark yet, but we're not telling the kids that the fireworks look better at night. It's not worth staying up for. Okay, maybe someday it will be, but not yet! Other years we have come home and had front-yard fireworks with our next door neighbors, but their son is growing up and spent the holiday with a friend, so we missed out on that impromptu tradition this year. Also in other years we've climbed up in the attic and watched the fireworks at the stadium from our attic window, but they didn't have them there this year. Fine by me. It was a nice day without a ton of hoopla. Just enough for the kids to enjoy it, for sure. We'll have more hoopla-filled Independence Days in the future. And for a funny and sort of true history lesson on the 4th of July, check out The Misty's Blog. I enjoyed that quite a lot.

The Hairdo

Oh Bitty. I love this picture. She was plugging her ears because Troy was on the back porch using a very loud chop saw. But that's not why I took the photo. I took it because it was about five in the afternoon and she still had a hairdo. You may not consider this to be miraculous, but around here it is, for a couple of reasons. One is that she let me put something in her hair in the first place. Most mornings it's all I can do to get a brush through her hair, not to mention any sort of accessory such as a pony tail or clip. And she's got this kind of thin straggly hair that always manages to look quite unkempt. It's lovely, don't get me wrong, it's just that I'd love to keep it out of her face. That would have been a whole lot easier since her bangs finally grew out except that I, for the second time, caught her red-handed with scissors in hand and hair on the floor. This time it was her freshly grown-out bangs. But that's another story.

The second reason that a hairdo is miraculous is that on the days I do convince her to have a clip or something, it generally lasts about an hour. Tops. That is because she has this funny way of coping when she gets really distressed about something. If she gets sad or upset, the first thing she does is tear out whatever is in her hair. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the living room to see her standing there, tears in her eyes, absolutely enraged and pulling out whatever rubber band I had put in there along with a few hairs and stating, "I am never going to ________ again!" What's really funny is that if it's a no-hairdo day, she'll shed her clothes. What is it about removing clothing and/or accessories that helps her express her extreme sorrow and anger? It's pretty funny. And also frustrating.

But yesterday she went the entire day with her cute little ponies! I love them. I love how she looks with her hair pulled back. I'm so glad I caught this photo because it all got ripped out about 10 minutes later.

Afloat

I am so happy to report that my nose is above the waterline. It has taken a dip under a time or two, but since I foresaw eyeballs only above the line, I'm feeling pretty good. Bundle is 4 weeks old today, and it feels like I've never been without her. What a good baby. She has been our easiest baby by miles. I don't know if it's because I have mellowed out a great deal since we brought home Stomper, who was 4 lbs. 12 oz., 6 weeks early and born in the winter, (I was a little tense!), or if I've learned so much about baby care that I'm just better at it, or if Bundle is just naturally calm and a good sleeper. I think it's a combination of all of the above. (Okay, I have to admit that both Troy and I are a little alarmed by how little of Bitty's infancy we remember.) I'm just grateful that I get to enjoy Bundle as much as I do. And I SWEAR she is smiling regularly now. Anyway, things are good. Of course I do have those days where I'm all excited because everyone is dressed, I managed to shower and eat breakfast, and the dishes have not piled up beyond the top of the sink when I suddenly realize around mid-afternoon that I never brushed my teeth. But hey, that's still accomplishing an awful lot, even if I may be emitting offensive odors.


In an unrelated story I do have to report a statement made by Bitty. We were at her ballet class when I saw her doing a little mining. We've been doing battle over her booger consumption, but perhaps being in her lovely ballet clothes changed her image of herself because she pulled out a big gooey one, looked at it, handed it to me and stated, "Mom, this one is too yucky to eat." Whereupon the woman behind me promptly started choking.