Relatives

My wonderful Aunt Genevieve and Uncle Mike were visiting California this past week and got the chance to admire the girls. Maggie loved them instantly and is already asking when she'll get to see them again.

Maggie's lullaby

Maggie loves to make up songs. Usually she will sing the tune of a song she knows and change the words, interjecting "la la" or nonsense words when she runs out of ideas. A lot of times the lyrics are pretty good, but this morning she reached a whole new level. She was asking me how she can help with the new baby is born, and I suggested she could sing lullabies to the baby. She then extemporized this song:

Twinkle twinkle little baby,
Baby baby in the sky,
Around and around when the moon shines bright,
In the twinkle twinkle night,
In the morning butterflies
Buzzing around the bees tonight.

That's really how it went--I wrote it down immediately and the only editing I did was to remove a few extraneous words (like repeating butterflies, butterflies) to improve the rhythm.

Hoping for snow

Next week we're taking a vacation to Lake Arrowhead, renting a house for a week to get away and enjoy a change of scenery. We were originally assuming there'd be snow, but even with the rain we're getting in Southern California it doesn't look like they're getting any snow. Bummer. We're planning to visit a snow play area (where they make snow) so the girls can play (Maggie is very much looking forward to making a snowman).

Our Sunday

Dressing up, going to the playground, dancing, singing, whining, grumping, eating bacon for dinner.

A good day.

Science Museum

A better day

Maggie was sick all week with a stomach virus and missed all three days of preschool. I managed to get out with the girls once or twice, but mostly I just sat around the house while poor Maggie felt terrible and Audrey got into trouble. We watched way too much TV and got very bored.

Today is SO MUCH BETTER I can't even tell you. For one thing I almost slept well last night, by which I mean I went to bed at 11, got up at 1 to deal with a screaming Audrey, and then slept till 6:45. That's the best night I've had in a month. How sad is that? But it's an improvement anyway.

More importantly, Maggie has finally recovered so we celebrated by getting out of the house all morning. We went to Noah's for a snack (bagel dog at 9 a.m.? why not?) and then to Michael's where I went nuts and spent (actual amount removed to protect the innocent) on kids' art supplies, stickers (40% off! as my wise father would say, I couldn't afford not to buy them!), and materials for making Maggie's valentines. Later we'll be going to my parents' house to have dinner my aunt and uncle, who are visiting from North Carolina.

Definitely a better day.

Audrey is 19 months old

Happy 19th monthday to Audrey!

Nature walk

Yesterday the girls went on a little nature walk down my mom's (rather urban) street. They each had a plastic bag to fill with leaves, twigs and flowers (not the nice garden-y ones, or at least I tried not to let those be picked). Pretty impressive how much "nature" you can encounter even on a street lined with apartments and townhouses, if you just look for it. Also impressive how well good ol' Elmer's glue works for making nature collages.

It's a ...

... ???

Just like big sister Audrey, little Baby #3 decided not to cooperate at the ultrasound today, so we still don't know if it's a boy or a girl. We did get confirmation that the AFP scores were negative and the baby appears to be growing normally. We're being referred for a 3-D ultrasound that will hopefully happen in about a week, and should reveal who this baby is!

Resistance is futile

Just when I thought the whole family was finally getting well, Maggie is sick again with something new. She threw up early this morning and has been running a fever and not feeling well at all. Despite this, I had a terrible time getting her to take a (much needed) nap. I tried making her comfy on the sofa with a pillow and blanket. I tried driving her around for 2o minutes. I tried putting her in my bed and laying beside her until *I* was half-asleep and she was giggling.

Finally I let her sit in the family room and watch enough TV to rot her brain--or more to the point--to make her fall asleep in her little chair.


Reminds me of Ryan, who often doesn't need naps either.

Joshua Tree

Yesterday we went on a day trip to Joshua Tree National Park. It was too cold and windy to spend much time outside, but we enjoyed looking at the sights from the comfort of the minivan. But I think the girls' favorite part was the McDonald's playground we stopped at on the drive home!

Bagel dog make pregnant lady happy

Have a camelia. Have two!

Musings on clean houses

I hosted Audrey's new playgroup today for the first time. Only two ladies (and toddlers) came over, but I'd never met them before so of course I frantically cleaned house, hid clutter, lit candles and baked blueberry scones in preparation.

Are you ever amazed when you go to someone's house and it's obvious they didn't do ANYTHING to prepare for guests? Or is that just me? I was over at someone's house recently for a get-together, and she hadn't even cleared the clutter from the coffee table, or washed the dishes in the sink, or wiped the bathroom counters. The house wasn't dirty, but it would have benefited greatly from a 10-minute clean-up. That's usually how I get ready for people coming over--I whip myself up into a Mad Cleaning Fit (name courtesy of Laurel) and get as much done as possible to make the house presentable. When time allows, I like to make sure the house smells nice (viz. candles and scones) and has a few extra touches (I cut a bunch of lavender to put in a vase today).

But maybe this just reveals something about my psychology--that I need to appear like I have things pulled together, for example. Hmm.

Dancing queens

And then, we put away the toys and dance.

Mess, glorious mess

Sometimes, all the toys just have to come out for air.

Brrr

Our heater stopped working last night, right in the middle of a rare Southern California cold spell (by which I mean it's been getting down to 28 or 29 degrees at night--like Alaska or something). When I got up at 6 this morning with Maggie, the thermostat said it was 60 degrees in the house, though to me it felt even colder. Robert's trying to find someone who can come repair it today.

In other news, we're all still getting over colds, but Maggie was well enough to go back to preschool today (yay). Audrey will be spending some time with her grandparents this morning so I can run a couple errands, including looking for a pair of maternity pants that actually fit. I have a small rant on this subject, but I think I'll write it up over on Trilogy's website.

Hey, got any book recommendations? I just finished the Thursday Next series and now I'm doing my annual read of Jane Eyre, but I need some new stuff lined up and ready to go.

Busted

It's always a painful reckoning when I witness my shortcomings being mirrored by my child. Two examples:

After making a batch of sugar cookies together, I told Maggie she could have one and then sat down with my own cookies and my book. A few minutes later Maggie said "I'm having a STACK of cookies, just like you!" I glanced over and she had a neat stack of four cookies ready to go. I had to explain why Mommy gets four and she gets only one while confiscating the booty. (Then I snuck an extra one in the kitchen when she wasn't looking.)

Later, Maggie was busily setting up a picnic of play food on the floor and asked for help. I asked what she needed help with. She threw up her arms, sighed and said, "It's just SO much work, and I'm just SO tired," before flopping down for a rest.

Like looking in a mirror, I'm afraid...

More sick

Maggie has joined the ranks of the ill, spending last night coughing, feverish and pitiful. After 3+ years of having NEVER slept in our bed, Maggie has spent time in our bed the last two nights in a row. It happens at about 4 a.m. when she tries to convince us it's morning and time to get up, and the only way I can get her to go back to sleep is if it's in our bed. Not so bad, except she insists on sleeping right up against me. I kept rolling and pushing her away but she always migrated back, and I found myself desperately trying to catch a few more minutes' sleep while perched on the tippy edge of the bed with this too-warm little person smashed into my back.

Yet another parenting thing I didn't realize I'd signed up for. In fact, I think that subject deserves a post all its own. I'll work on it and publish soon.

Fraternal blogs

Both of my brilliant brothers are also bloggers. I've had a link to Dave's blog, Crime Fiction Dossier, for a while already but am now adding a link to Bob's blog, Good Food. As long as the posts stay current, he keeps the link! It's a good site, and who doesn't like reading about food? I just wish he would cook for me more than once or twice a year. Why do my brothers have to live so far away?

Dress up

Princess ensembles designed exclusively by Maggie and Audrey:

An unhappy first

Audrey has an ear infection, the first in our family, and the first time one of the girls has needed antibiotics. I'm a little bummed about breaking our streak, but as long as Audrey starts feeling better I'll be satisfied. The poor thing napped from 7:30-9 this morning, then fell asleep again after the doctor at noon. She's still sleeping now but I have to get her up so I can go pick up Maggie at preschool.

Sick (again, always, etc)

I think this is the fourth cold I've had since October. Ridiculous. This time I have completely lost my sense of smell. I've tested it on perfume, bleach, everything strong I could find around the house. I smell nothing. It's very weird. It also means I can't really taste anything beyond sweet or salty, so my appetite has been sadly curbed.

Poor Audrey is even sicker than I am. She's been fighting the same cold, and last night ran a high fever and today is miserable. I'm taking her to the pediatrician later today.

Fillmore & Western Railway

We took the girls to ride on an old fashioned train yesterday. It was fun although they were both so tired and antsy by the end that it was challenging keeping them happy. My favorite part was eating lunch and dessert in the dining car (surprise surprise). Maggie liked sitting in the open air car and looking at the mountains and orange groves. All of us liked the roving guitar/banjo/fiddle player who serenaded the passengers. Maggie did a little dancing in the aisle, showing off her newest hip-shaking moves.

My Friday afternoon

I have undertaken a massive toy organization project. I don't know if this is early nesting or just a reaction to Christmas excess, but I'm seized with the need to clear out the house and make things more organized and lean. I've tackled all the nooks and crannies of the family room (including our behind-the-sofa emergency storage area) and even dipped into the girls' bookshelves and a couple of especially heinous piles in their rooms. Next I'd like to sink my teeth into their closets, which have been sadly neglected (read, stuffed to the brim) in recent months.

The only problem is that at this point the house looks WORSE even though I've already filled three bags for donation and one for garbage. As I've unearthed toys I plan to keep and placed them where they belong, the girls have gleefully rediscovered them and spread them around, so the family room is once again a mine field. Plus I've had to lie to Maggie about where the bagged toys are going. Simply packing a toy into its box is enough to send her into tearful vows that it's her favorite in the whole world and she needs it right this minute. When she's in a better frame of mind I'll tell her about the donations (we've been through this before), but for now I'm being sneaky.

Cheese!

Artists at work

Back to normal

After all the excitement and visitors over the holidays, it's nice to have some normal days at home with the girls. The house is a wreck, the girls are filthy, we've had too many afternoon snacks, Maggie is making Audrey cry repeatedly, I'm watching the clock and wishing for bedtime...yep, back to normal.

I keep finding myself daydreaming about sleep and food.

I'm 17 weeks pregnant today. I have more energy now than I did a few weeks ago, but I still get really tired by the end of the day. In a perfect world a woman pregnant with her third child would get to sleep nine hours a night and lie down for an hour every afternoon. And be served with delicious snacks all day long, including the plate of fries topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup I keep weirdly fantasizing about.

It's not just me, right? That actually sounds good?

More from the Rose Parade

Here's Mom and me at the parade. The weather was beautiful, but I forgot my sunglasses and had to squint the entire time.

I bet when the Stormtroopers take over Old Town Pasadena for real, it won't look this nice and orderly.

Think one of the girls will ever be Rose Queen?
This one's for Jenny:

Happy New Year

From the Rose Parade.