I took the video with my little camera, so it's not great. That's Leo in the red shirt. The whispering you hear is Eleanor, who had for days been telling us Leo was going to "sing to Jesus" at his program. And she thought that meant Jesus would be attending. In person, in a nice white robe and sandals. As soon as they began "Jesus Loves Me" she started frantically looking around the room and wondering (loudly) why Jesus was late. "I'm tired of him being invisible all the time!"
Nonna and Grandpa gave Madeline this Madeline doll when she was very little. She (the doll) has been spot cleaned here and there, but after more than a decade of near constant handling, she really needed a bath. She came out unharmed, thanks to the hand wash cycle, and looks quite nice. Not new, but clean and nicely broken in.
Did you watch? What did you think? I loved it. I cried when it was over. I'm becoming quite a sap.
It's online (until the 23rd, I believe) if you missed it on PBS. The DVD is available now. I think that I will save my pennies for this one, though. Maybe the birthday fairy will bring it. *cough 48daysfromnow cough*
I'm so grateful to have a teenager. How else would I ever be able to look in my rear-view mirror and see my husband's face, with my sister's dimple, giving me my mother's evil arched eyebrow ?
Forf is dead, he’s in Heaven.
Who?
Forf. He lives with God in heaven, so that means he’s dead.
What?
Forf. He lives with God in HEAVEN! God showed him the things. But it’s sad he had to get dead to go to Heaven. You have to be dead.
Um...huh?!
FORF. HE lives with God. God showed him his good stuff. I think there's a lot of good stuff, like John said from his book.
Do you mean, "God made me to show forth His goodness and to make me happy with him in Heaven?"
Yes! He made me to show to Forf and that made them happy in Heaven. And me too. When I'm dead. And in Heaven.
A Mother's Day Questionnaire, answers dictated to teacher by Leo, real story from Mom in red
What is your mom's favorite song? "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Would that be the Sting version, or the Bon Jovi one?
How old is your mom? "100 years old" Sometimes, after a day with Leo, I feel like I am!
What is your mom's favorite food? "Steak" Okay, I really do like steak.
What does your daddy call your mom? "Andrea" Yep.
What does your mommy call your dad? "Matt" Whew! THAT could have been embarrassing.
What is your mom's favorite color? "Blue" I don't have one, so blue's as good as any.
Why does your mommy love you so much? "Because I don't do bad things and I don't go in her room" Just call me Mommie Dearest!
What is your favorite thing to do with your mom? "When my mommy tosses me up in the air 100 times." Do you know how much this kid WEIGHS? I haven't been able to toss him for two years. He's sort of fixated on 100, isn't he?
What makes your mom so pretty? "When she puts pretty dresses on." Close call. What if he'd told them what I look like in the morning?!
How does your mommy make you feel better when you are sick? "She gives me medicine" Benadryl is our friend.
What TV show does your mom like best? "Cases. Whenever they choose cases they get a million. Sometimes, that's bad." Okay, this one burns my butt. He's talking about Deal or No Deal, which I have NEVER WATCHED. He's watched it at my mother's. He's confused me with MY MOTHER. ::shudder::
When are you the most proud of your mom? "When she gives me the tightest hugs and the biggest kisses." I can't believe he didn't mention my Nobel Prize. Kids.
What does your mom do best? "She picks me up and spins me so fast." He thought it was a game?! I was trying to shake some sense into him.
Where does your mom work? "Just my daddy works. Mommy works at home." I wonder if the teacher prompted him to add that second sentence to protect him. Last year, he asked when I was going to get in the car and get a job.
How do you show your mom that you love her? "I just smile at her like this..."
to Eleanor, who (will have) turned 3 (after 9:58AM Tuesday)!
Sometimes, birthdays have to work around Daddies.
She's grown an awful lot since last year. (And so has her hair!) She seemed to like her gifts better this year than when she turned one, and I think her face has thinned out a bit since this shot was taken, don't you?
Happy "fird birfday" to you, Eleanor!
The kids are all asleep. If another eight minutes pass, we'll have a 2008 record for Leo! He's not made it to 7:05 all year, and the 7:04 day was when he didn't feel well. Seven minutes...
Okay, no more real-time blogging.
I feel so much more human if I have even just half an hour of time alone before they wake up, but I'm usually awakened by Lightning McQueen making a run for the Piston Cup on my bedroom floor, or I'm stared awake by a very short fellow in a Batman mask. (He's under strict orders to come right to my room when he wakes up. Eleanor does NOT enjoy the sunrise like Leo.) I've been forcing myself into bed early this week so that I can get up at insane times that start with 5s and 6s. ::shudder:: But, I think it's worth it.
Three more minutes...tick, tick, tick...
So, blogging. Yes, look at me, I am blogging! Now...what do I SAY? That's the problem, I go too long and there's so much to say that I don't know where to start. Let's see...
Eleanor turns three on Tuesday. THREE. I have no plan, and only the vaguest idea about a gift, and no idea about a cake. So, that's proceeding right on schedule.
The husband doesn't live here anymore. I do think I covered that, though. He STILL doesn't. Weeks are l o n g. Months are longer. But we only have 32 more days to go, and I can't whine try not to whine should not whine, but still do, even though it's a small sacrifice compared to others..
Hey! 7:12 and still no pitter patter of little feet. I even went to listen at the steps-silence!
What else? I fell off the wagon as far as dieting goes for...two, maybe three-ish weeks or so, but am back on track. I've lost 30lbs since January 23rd. I probably didn't blog about that, either, did I? Consider yourself updated. See? I have to count calories, now. It cuts into blogging time.
Leo will be done with preschool in May. He never once got kicked out. His teachers love him and his manners. I love that my kids have manners. I know, because all the strangers they show them to tell me about them. Me? I get, "Look how much peanut butter can stick on my nose without falling off!" and, "I can make food pop out of the hole where my TOOTH WAS!" Lovely.
John's First Communion is Saturday. Saturday, because it's too much bother to expect the whole parish to celebrate this with the children. There are nearly two dozen of them. Imagine the delays in line if they kept it on Sunday! They'll add two minutes to the wait, easy. And, the kids sing a song, and do the readings themselves. That's got to add ten minutes, at least, and those restaurants fill up fast. The Methodists are always out early and get the first tables, anyway. Did I mention they always reserve the two best pews for the kids? So the children have been bumped to Saturday, and I'm going to start working on my attitude. Really.
I have breakfast to make and laundry to change while I can still do it without someone hanging on my leg.
Happy Wednesday!
UPDATE: He slept until 7:33! We'll turn him into one of us yet!
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