What's that smell?

It seems with children there is always an odor of some sort. Maybe it's food, dirty diaper, old milk sippy, etc. I walked into the playroom and the odor was there. I couldn't figure out what it was and suddenly I looked at my little tykes gym from the consignment sale. Apparently it came with a free odor.. Will washed it out before we brought it inside but it still had an odor. We started debating what to do.

1. We could leave it. Maybe it's water that soured from the wash outside.
2. We could put it outside and wash it again.
3. Give it to my parents..Okay that was a joke. I wouldn't do that to them.

Will brought up the possibility that a dog teed on it. That was all I had to hear. Even though it was a joke the thought was still there. GET THAT THING OUT OF MY HOUSE!!! We laughed at how now we know why the gym was only $15.00 I wondered why every one else had passed up this beauty of a deal. Now I know why. Have I lost my sense of smell. I have the best sniffer ever. I have an over sensitive sniffer if anything. I don't know where Will put it but it's not in the living room. We will see what happens.

I've been thinking. Yes, scary isn't it. If I could have one super mom accessory like inspector gadget, I would have a camera that would be on me at all times. I could pop it out and take pictures at any moment. I could capture a funny face on the kids, great accomplishment, or proud moment. This came to me when I was drying my hair and I looked over at Victoria sitting on my bed. She was looking at a picture of her and Scott from Rockapella. She had this sweet look on her face and all I had in my hand was a hairdryer not the camera.

Steph, our conversation inspired me to clean

Today was a typical day at our house. I played with the kids, cooked dinner, played outside, talked on the phone, and cleaned. I got to talking with Steph about cleaning and organizing and realized my sock drawer hadn't been organized since May 8, 2005. That was the night before David was born! So while I talked to Steph I organized it. How exciting!!! I cleaned my sock drawer. I must be pretty boring to blog about my sock drawer. Anyway, it motivated me to clean out the basement closet. It looks great! The best part was coming across some old photos. I found an old frame and a picture of a four small children (I didn't recognize) from Will's family. One looked just like David. Same teeth, nose, legs, oval face and turns out it was a picture of Willy at 14 months. It was incredible how much David looks like Will. I think it made Willy so proud to see it!

Victoria and David had fun playing on a little tykes house/slide that I got for $15 at a consignment sale. David is so brave. He walks up and down the slide sending me into a panic that he is going to fall and bust his teeth like Victoria did at this age. We placed the ball pit at the bottom of the slide so at least there is something to fall in.

Victoria pretended to be a cheerleader at dinner. I don't know where she got the idea. She kept cheering something about "outside yeah outside" and asking to put on her cheerleading costume. She doesn't have one so that was a bit of a handle. It was so annoying that it became funny. Now that I write this, I realize I do have an old Halloween cheerleading costume from last year that she refused to wear. I bet she remembers it. I guess this means I will be cleaning her closet tomorrow.

Rockapella

We went to the Rockapella concert and had a wonderful time. Victoria was a trooper considering the show didn't get started till way past her bed time. Towards the end, she kept telling me she was thirst, hungry, and ready to go. The guys do a great job of keeping the show upbeat. She would cheer, clap, and dance with the rest of the crowd when ever she got the cue. I haven't been to a show in over two years. It seemed like a totally different experience especially taking my daughter. The songs were different. Their look was different and there is even a new tenor in the group. It was fun to hear new songs and some of my favorites that I have never heard live before. I sing "Up A Lazy River" to Vic before bed every night. They sang it and she was so excited. She also loved "Carmen Sandiego" and "Papa Was a Rollin Stone" by George. I hope this was the first of many shows with Victoria. I hope we can enjoy the same things in life and that one day she will appreciate staying up late for a concert! We got to meet the group after the show and Victoria got to meet Scott. She tells me that he is her favorite and she asks to see his picture on the website almost daily. I told him that he was her favorite and he got up from the table to get a picture with her. It made her night! Such a small gesture really excited this little girl and her momma! It was the perfect day! What a blessing to sing, clap, laugh, and smile till my face hurt.

Bla Bla Bla

Deer! We were lucky enough to see two deer come right up to the house on Sunday and Monday mornings. Victoria was just tickled to see a deer standing still looking right at her. The first one must have been about 20 feet from the house. It is just so rare that a wild animal stands still for so long. It was a real treat. Victoria then had questions like was it a boy or girl, does it have a baby, and where was its mommy. She then put her little fingers on side of her head and jumped around like she was a deer. We tried to explain that boy deer have antlers and girls don't. It was so funny to hear her explain the difference to my mom the next day about how boy deer have "amplers".

David finally got that tooth on the bottom. He is sleeping better at night and waking up at a good time in the morning. David is attached to a little blue lamb we call "Lammy Lamerkins" I am convinced he said "Lammy" the other day when I put him to bed and he saw it in the crib. He loves Mr. Lamerkins. The only problem is that Lammy has a box that says a prayer when you squeeze it so it is not washing machine safe. I tried hand washing it but it still didn't get it really clean. David loves to bite Lammy's nose and walk around with Lammy dangling from his mouth. Needless to say, Lammy is always soggy! Will even suggested that I take pictures and do a "Lammy" page in the scrapbook. I've got him thinking like a scrapbooker!

imaginatory

Victoria is having a fun time this summer. She loves the piano in the play area and using the big foam mats from the basement floor for making forts and tents. Today she made a "capitol" William asked her if she meant "castle" but she said no it was a capitol. I guess that makes her the president of the playroom. I don't want to even ask what my role is. I'm sure it's custodian. To enter her capitol you had to tell the password which was "squeaky". It was funny to watch her go in and out of her capitol and casually telling David "squeaky" every time.

Victoria is going through a stage where she wants to take everything home that she likes in a store. We went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and she just HAD to have a bag of pom poms. I gave in and bought the 1.19 bag of 50+ red pom poms. I even broke down and got a green bag. (You will probably get a Christmas ornament from us this year with pom poms on it.) We used a lot of these last Christmas for ornaments so I figured it was a good deal. Anyway, there are pom poms every where! I keep finding them in the kitchen, bathroom, office, high chair, under the couch, etc. She is staying with my parents tonight so it is a sweet reminder of her every time I turn around.

Vic started Dance today. She LOVED it. She couldn't wait to wear her "ballet costune" She was the first one in the room and the last one out. After class, all the little girls came running out of the room to their parents. I turned to look for Victoria and she never came. I could see down the hall and into the room Victoria talking to the teacher. I wonder what they did and what Victoria said in class tonight. It is so hard to get that kind of info out of them at this age. I'm so glad we are doing this.

David is a free man! I decided not to send him to school this year. I signed him up but didn't feel right about it. Unfortunately the school only offers TTH or MWF and no drop ins. I would have to pay for three days just to send him one that matched with Victoria's schedule. His tuition is more that hers too! I just couldn't pay for three and only go one. I also didn't feel right about sending him yet. He is so little. If I can find an occasional "drop in" at another school that would be great. I feel so much better about officially taking him out.

The title of this blog is from Victoria. She loves the Charlie and Lola show and book series from Disney. One of the characters has and invisible friend. I was reading Victoria the Charlie and Lola book about going to school. It is a story about Lola going to school with her invisible friend. Victoria stopped me in the middle of the book to explain that the friend was "imaginatory". I got so tickled! I was also proud that she knew invisible and imaginary had similar meanings in the story. I'm so glad I'm writing this down!

Everyone Can Rest Easy

Just wanted you to know that the Rockapella purse is complete. I know you were getting worried with the concert right around the corner that I wouldn't have it ready. Well, it's ready.

Victoria Funnies and a David story

Victoria is always saying something that cracks me up. I think most of these fall under the "You had to be there" category but I will give it a shot. Will was making chili for lunch. He added a few circle slices of onion to the bowl and was adding slices of cheese when Victoria looked wide eyed into his bowl and said, "Are you putting cheese on your worms?" Every time I see an onion slice I will think of worms.

Victoria loves baby Einstien videos. She is amost 4 and all of a sudden loves the baby vidoes. She calls it "Baby Linesteim."

Brother Mike, our pastor, passes out candy to the children every church service. He stands by the door with a embroidered denim bag lets the children pick out a treat. Victoria is still down in the preschool dept after church so she misses getting a treat. A few Sundays ago, we decided to get her so she could visit with Miss Mary (pastor's wife) and Brother Mike. She was so excited to get a smartie from the "candy bag." Later that week I was using a similar denim bag for a purse. Victoria had a good day at school so I pulled out a smartie from my purse. She looked at me and said, "Is that the candy bag?" It took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about but I said, "Oh, no Victoria this isn't Brother Mike's bag. This is my purse." She looked at me like she didn't believe me then kept asking, "Did you go to church today?" I was then shocked. My child thought I took the candy bag! From church no less! I finally convinced her that I didn't.

Speaking of Brother Mike... I called their house last week wanting to talk to Miss Mary. Brother Mike answered and we chit-chatted a bit then he asked, "Well, how are the little animals?" I answered, "There taking a nap right now." He said, "No, not your children! I was talking about the animals at your farm! I would never call your children animals!" How embarrasing! My pastor asked about "little animals" and my first thought was the children! I hope some of you mothers out there feel my pain! It had just been one of those crazy days with kids.

David loves to dance like his sister. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing but every time music comes on, he spins in a circle. That is how he dances. Sometimes I just look over and see David slowing spinning then I realize he hears a commercial or a song come on the radio. It is almost like a sound activated toy. Music on-David spins....Music off- David goes back to activity. I need to take a video.

I guess that is all I can think of for now. The children are in bed now so I need to be close behind. loove

Back to School!

I'm not going back to school this year but I helped a friend decorate her classroom yesterday. I had so much fun talking bulletin boards and room organization. I also enjoyed the company. I said a prayer for all of my teacher friends today. Teachers are just as nervous as parents and studens. I could never sleep the night before I began a new year. I remember going to school and talking with the other teachers about how we tossed and turned night before. We all made excuses for it but we were just nervous.

I spent the morning playing with the children and cleaning up the house. Victoria went to stay with my parents and I miss her so much. She was a sweet girl today. While David napped, we danced to 'Pella. She likes "Keep on Smilin" , "Lazy River", and "Dance with Me." I can't wait to see how she does at the concert. Hopefully, she will last the whole show. It will be her first real concert. Wiggles don't count right?

I have stalled out on my organizing. It is not perfect like I imagined. I need a organizing fairy godmother to wave a wand and Poof! make my house organized! It is workable so I guess It is fine for now. I tried on a welding mask tonight. It really wasn't as exciting as it sounds.

DeeDee24: Here, there or in the air

Why am I up at night?

I have a difficult time going to sleep. Sometimes my little boy wakes up and I have to stay up with him. It seems I don't get enough sleep each night. I was rocking the little man at 3:00 am on Saturday morning and found myself praying. I was tired but I think I prayed for him, my daughter, family, etc. Then I questioned "Why am I up?" and it occurred to me that I would never have prayed that prayer if I was asleep. I started thinking about all the time I spend rocking my teething child at night and that is the only quiet time I have to pray. There is just something special about holding a baby snuggled up in your arms and rocking them. It just makes me so thankful I have to pray.

Speaking of children, I watched Super Nanny with my three year old. She gasped as the children in the show behaved so badly. I wasn't sure if I should let her watch (make it a learning experience) or if I should turn it off in a hurry (don't want to learn any bad tricks!) We didn't watch long but it was funny to hear her talk about the children jumping on beds, coloring walls, etc. It made an impression on her and she was an angel going to bed.

Here, there or in the air

"Here, there, or in the air, we will meet again my friend." For some reason I kept singing this song by Dana Degarmo. It was popular when I was in high school and I loved it. It is flowing through my heart now because I just said goodbye to one of my closest friends. She and her family are returning to the mission field in Africa. They are due to return to the states in four years. They may come for a visit but maybe not. Wendy is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. I have known her 18 years this August. That is a long history to have with a person, especially when you are only 31. I am so excited for her family to return for this exciting work but I will also miss our time of fellowship face to face. Wendy and Jeff came over for dinner and fun and we ended up talking about the Lord and I could just sit and listen to them for hours. I wish I had a tape or a pen and paper in hand when they talked. God just spoke through them and really touched my heart. We shared what we meant to each other. It was so neat because rarely I tell someone how much they touch my life and how much I love them. I think about it all the time but I don't always share my thoughts. After our time of fellowship, we prayed for each other. Will and I prayed for their return trip, upcoming birth, ministry, and family. They prayed for our families, our ministry as Christians to reach others, and for our children. It was so anointed and I felt the Holy Spirit so strong as Jeff and Wendy prayed. After the prayer, we gave our hugs and said goodbye. I smiled and blew kisses out on the porch and as soon as we closed the door, I cried in Will's arms. I will miss my dear friend but I know God has a purpose for her in Africa and I would rather her be in God's will serving him that here with me everyday. I pray for her family because I know it's hard for them too.