Wishing...

My morning started off the same as most mornings do-- waking up to the sound of Clyde walking across the hardwoods in the great room to come stand by my side of the bed and shake all of his 72 pounds, thus waking me completely with the sound of his jowls flapping in the breeze. While this is always somewhat annoying, I very much prefer this to the smell that would awaken me if he didn't come to get me-- which would be piled up right in front of the back door-- as if to say, "If you'd get me a doggy door, I could've done this outside." Well Clyde, if we had a doggy door that you could fit through we'd be inviting every human under 6 feet and 170 pounds to enter and take what they'd like-- not to mention all the other beasts that could use it-- like bears or anaconda type snakes! So~ as I left my bedroom and entered the den, something large and sharp entered the heel of my left foot. And no matter what I tried I could not get it out! It stayed there all day until Micky got home and could surgically remove it-- and wouldn't you know, today was his late day and he didn't get home until after 7! So I spent the day limping, or what Chloe calls doing my "pirate walk". We're still not quite sure what it was-- not a splinter as I had thought-- luckily I'm up to date on my tetanus shot! Anyway-- back to the point-- my day didn't start off too well. Then, Mom called to see if she could take me and the girls to El Chico's for lunch! And seeing how I strongly believe that guacamole serves some type of medicinal purpose, I quickly accepted the invitation. As we were leaving El Chico, my day took a fantastic turn for the better-- thanks to a fountain and the sweetest 3 year-old I know! They have a small fountain in their entryway and Mom always gives Chloe a few coins to toss in as we leave. Well, today we could actually hear what she wished for and it went a little something like this.
She had several coins and each of these phrases was accompanied by her tossing in a coin.
C: "I wish I will always wuv my mommy, daddy, grammy, and my baby." toss
C: "And my Papa." toss
C: "My Tywer." toss, "Christy" toss, "Nano" toss, "My Nonnie" toss
Then she looked down to see she only had one left and said, "And I wish they wuv me too." Then she kissed that coin and tossed it in. I gave her a quick hug and she said, "Those are my best wishes."
It only took her about 30 seconds to do all that, but in that time I was able to picture her through all the stages of her life so far-- and all I could wish for is that time would SLOW down. She's growing up so fast, and she's just as sweet as she is beautiful!

Is there something in my teeth?

Micky and I are out of town at the state dental convention (without the girls :-( or :-) )-- can't decide if I'm happy or sad about that. But-- once again, I forgot my toothbrush! I guess if I had to forget something I'd rather it be that than birth control pills or the box of Hostess cupcakes I brought! At least it was no trouble finding a new one. As a matter of fact, I think the Colgate rep and the Oral-B rep were about to fight over who could give me a new toothbrush! Don't worry, I calmed them down and took 2 from both of them! I'm such a peacemaker!

Peru: The Land of the Sick?!?

Last year, Chloe's Papa (my dad) traveled to Arizona 3-4 times for business. When he would go, we would always tell Chloe about him flying in a plane to Phoenix. No matter how we explained it, she always believed that he was on the plane the whole time he was gone. She thought he would just fly around non-stop for 7 days and then come home. Every time she saw a plane she would say, "There's my Papa. Wave to him."
This year, Chloe likes to inform me if anyone in her class is absent from school. And if they're absent, she automatically assumes they're sick-- and then she'll talk about "poor Joseph(example), I sure hope he feels better soon-- it's not fair he had to be sick today."-- It usually goes a little something like that. So~ today when she told me to ask her if Robbie was absent, I was surprised to hear he was in Peru. But according to Chloe--he's still sick. Here's how it went down:

C: Ask me if Robbie was there today?

me: Was Robbie at school today?

C: No, he's in Pewu.

me: Peru? That's cool!

C: (loudly) That's not tool mom-- he's vewy sick.

me: He's sick? In Peru?

C: Yeah, that's where all the sick people go.

me: Are you sure about that?

C: Yeah, he flied on a plane there-- on Papa's plane to Pewu. And Pewu is FULL of sick people.

me: I see. Well, I hope he feels better.

C: He will when he gets to come home and go to school. Too bad Pewu is so sick.

Wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so I just let it go at that. I guess I should try to explain to her that you don't always have to be sick to miss school, all of the planes in the sky aren't her Papa's, and that Peru is actually a very healthy country :-)

A Fungus Among Us

Last night Chloe and I (along with her Nonnie, cousin Reagan, bestest friend Nina, and her mom Carla) went to see the Disney Princess on Ice show. Trust me, you've never seen so many princess dresses in your life! The girls loved it-- even the fire breathing dragon... on ICE! didn't bother them. They had a blast, and were completely juiced up on snacks and the $50 cotton candy! (obviously I'm exaggerating, but I bet it'll reach that price soon!) I've got some pics to share, and if you're trying to figure out what that is on the ice-- Chloe picked it up in no time. Her first words upon seeing the ice setup (which was a sea setting) were, "Oh no, there's some fungus here!" I told her her Dad would be so proud! I love my nerds :-)

Deep Thoughts... with Pinocchio!

Those of you who know Chloe know that there are some days where she's very talkative and some days where not so much talking goes on-- usually just deep thinking and a lot of drinking (juice that is)! On her "deep thinking" days, I try really hard to pay attention when she does decide to start a conversation because you never know what random piece of information you're going to hear! Yesterday was a deep thinking day and here are just a few of the topics she felt were worthy to discuss(and I thought were pretty funny):
1. On the ride home from school:
Chloe: Mom, ask me who the line leader was today.
me: Who was the line leader?
Chloe: MEEEEE!!!
me: That's great-- how did it go?
Chloe: well, I walked outside and down the hall,and to the bathroom-- and everyone followed-- because I was the leader.
me: I see.
Chloe: It was a good day.

For those that don't know, in Chloe's world, being the line leader is about the best thing that can happen to her at school-- unless it's Donuts for Dads day-- which is next week and she has informed us that her dad is supposed to take chips... for Donuts for Dads day. Who are we to argue?

2. I took her and Emma by Micky's work to see everyone, and the first thing she said to them was: "I'm going to be a mermaid at my church and my baby is going to be baby Jesus." They were a bit surprised by this random piece of news, but apparently she'd been thinking about this the whole way there and explained to us that mermaids were indeed there when Jesus was born. She thinks they should get to be in the church play too. Again, how do you argue with that?

3. Chloe got to go to church with me last night while I practiced handbells. I told her to sit very quietly and eat her snack (Goldfish) while we practiced. That worked for about 4 minutes... then she had to go potty twice in 7 minutes. After the second trip, she did sit quietly and play with stuff in her bookbag. After practice, our music director let Chloe play on the organ for a few minutes. That was a LOUD couple of minutes, but she was rocking the organ out! When they got done-and I got my hearing back- this was our conversation:
me: Did you like playing the organ?
Chloe: I was just showing him how to do it.
me: (trying not to laugh) Really? I think he knows how to play the organ very well sweetie.
Chloe: But he can't dance and play at the same time like me-- so I was showing him how to shake his head and move his shoulders.
me: I'm sure he appreciated that.
Chloe: well, he said thank you so that means he LOVED it!

So, remember if you LOVE something-- be sure to say thank you!

4. For a few weeks now Chloe's had days where she wants to be a boy like her daddy. We usually just play along, but yesterday it got pretty interesting on a trip to the bathroom. She had to go potty and was very quick to say, "I can do it myself mom." So, I let her go. When I walked by the bathroom she had her pants off and was STANDING on her stool in front of the potty. Here's how that went down:
me: Chloe, what are you trying to do?
Chloe: I'm just going to potty mom. Pwease shut the door.
me: Well, you've got to sit down
Chloe: I'm a boy remember, and this is how we potty.
me: Well.... only REAL boys get to potty like that.
Chloe: (almost in tears) but I am a real boy... see-- and she straddled the potty and went.
I about had a heart attack but guess what-- not a drop hit the floor. Apparently girls can stand to potty if the aim is right. Who knew?!? Luckily, 5 minutes later she decided it was more fun being a princess and was a girl again! We definitely have to get Pinocchio for her to watch!

If Only I Could Bottle and Sell It...

Chloe's "bestest" friend Nina came over yesterday for a much overdue, and much needed, play date. As I've mentioned on here before, I love watching and listening to the two of them together. They are so smart and sweet-- I strongly believe they'll grow-up to be either doctors or Academy Award winning actresses! The drama these two exude is quite comical. You never knew how important it was to have the "right" Princess cup full of Cheez-its until one of them got the wrong one. Apparently Chloe was Sleeping Beauty yesterday and my Nina (which is how Chloe refers to her) was Cinderella. I'm the crazy lady who got them mixed up. What was I thinking?!? But don't worry, we quickly switched cups and I reminded them that a real princess doesn't fuss at the hired help for making a mistake :-)! They didn't think that was so funny. Anyway, the best part of the day for me was watching them play outside. They would run back and forth between the princess castle and the swing set rescuing each other. They took turns being in the castle yelling, "Help, please save me my dear Prince." With the other one responding, "Don't worry, I'm on my way!" This went on for a good 10 minutes and it never got old to watch, and they were completely committed to their characters each time! Their flair for the dramatic is matched by their sweetness. Usually by the end of the play date they're both so tired that at least one of them isn't wanting to give hugs or give a proper goodbye-- luckily Carla and I don't think this is a big deal and are usually very excited to know they're so worn out they'll be taking a great nap! But, before fatigue sets in, they are so sweet together. For example, as they were swinging and climbing the ramp to Chloe's clubhouse, this is the conversation that took place:

Nina: Can I have a turn on the swing?
Chloe: Sure, I'll go in the cwubhouse.
Nina: Oh, thank you
Chloe: no pwobwem, I wuv sharing with you
Nina: you're my bestest friend
Chloe: Your bestest?!?
Nina: yeah
Chloe: thanks, that's great!

If only you could have seen their faces and how happy this exchange made them, you probably would've wanted to eat them up too! It took all I had not to jump off the deck and wrap them both up in bear hugs! That's good stuff!:-)

Hi, I'm Grace. Nice to meet you...

Those of you who know me well, know that I am about as coordinated as a 3 legged dog on skis! As a matter of fact, some of my close friends don't even bat an eye when I fall face first walking in the mall-- tripping over nothing but my own feet and hopping back up faster than any bunny can hop-- they're just used to it. And they know that unless I mention it, then it didn't hurt a bit and we can just keep talking about whatever and not even break stride in the conversation. :-) One of my most memorable falls was from about a year and a half ago. Micky and I went with Carla and Ross to a concert at the Newberry Opera House. As we were leaving and walking to the car (completely sober mind you) I fell full body, face first on the pavement. My hands actually got caught up in my jacket so I wasn't even able to use them to break the fall. Again, I hopped up in record time, but that fall actually left a few marks and drew a little blood. I do have to give those guys credit-- they were actually nice enough to make sure I was ok before they busted out laughing. Not sure if I could have done that-- I've imagined what it must have looked like and I think it's HILARIOUS! My most recent fall happened tonight at aerobics. Yes, I said aerobics. Don't be so shocked! I've been going to work-out for a few weeks now, and I'm really terrible at it! But I like it-- I feel good when I leave knowing that I've done something good for myself-- and it helps me feel better when I dive in to a hot fudge sundae for dessert! They do a lot of step aerobics, and for someone with my great coordination that can be a challenge at times. Tonight as we were going over the box (from one side to the other) I caught my left foot on my right heel and just about hit the floor. Luckily, I was able to catch myself before I went down too far, but unfortunately, Jane still saw me and I could tell she was dying laughing on the inside-- not that I blame her, it was pretty funny and I got a chuckle out of it! I'm just impressed I didn't end up eating the floor! Oh, Jane is a lady that has been in every class I've taken. I only get to go a couple of times a week, usually late in the day after Micky gets home, and she's been their every time I go. She loves to tell me how she's been doing it for years and to just stick with it and I'll love it. I have no idea what her real name is, so I refer to her as Jane, short for Jane Fonda. After our hour long workout, she still looks like she just came from the salon-- fresh makeup and all-- and I'm standing over there dripping sweat like I've been working on the chain gang all afternoon by the railroad tracks! Oh well, I do think she means well and I do admire the way that woman can work out-- it's impressive.
So, I've been thinking about this falling addiction of mine lately, and hoping that it doesn't pass on to my daughters. So far, so good with Chloe. The jury's still out on Emma. We've been having "Dance Parties" just about every night for awhile now, and lucky for Chloe she seems to have inherited her Dad's smoothness. Again, if you've seen me dance, you may have wondered if I was hurt-- don't worry-- that's just how I roll. I'm well aware that I'm no Paula Abdul in the dance department, but I guarantee you that I have more fun dancing than her. I have several theories on people who just stand around and watch other people dance: #1 they're just taking notes on some dance moves to use for the next video they're choreographing #2 they are such good dancers they don't want to make the rest of us feel bad and #3 (this is the one I believe in the most) they just have a huge stick up their a** and think they're too good to look silly and have fun with the rest of us! I realize that some people aren't as willing to embarrass themselves as I am, but sometimes you just got to let go and see what happens when you swing your arms this way or that! Life's too short, and besides, Chloe thinks I'm an AWESOME dancer and Micky loves me enough to tell me I look great! That's all that really matters to me!

She must work out!

Check out that bicep! Yeah... she can curl at least 2 rattles at once-- without breaking a sweat!





Just in case you're counting, there are indeed at least 4 sausage links on her left arm :-) More to snuggle with I say!