When she is 16…

I will TRY to not remind her of the time we went to dinner with Mommy’s coworkers and Addi said, “Hey guys, do you want to see my tiny boobs?” and then proceeded to lift her shirt and show them.

Shopping just got a whole lot cuter

You know they are smiling like that because they are parked in front of the jewelry case. Smart cookies.

Dollhouse Time out

After dinner last night Addison and I went upstairs to play with her dollhouse. I haven’t had the chance to play dollhouse with her (usually Jay gets dragged in) so I was excited to see what she would do. After taking all the furniture out and putting it all back in (at my insistence… there’s something about a bathtub, kitchen table, and piano in one room that really bugs me!) we got down to the business of playing.

I put one girl at the piano and Addi tucked several “babies” into bed. A few minutes later Addi made the “mommy” get out of bed and climb the stairs. Then she yelled, “You go to time out. Quit playing your piano and waking up the rest of us.” So my girl went to time out.

Next, a dog climbed on the couch and Mommy yelled again, “You get down and go to time out. Bad dog!”

Next to succumb was a bunny in a dress. Standing on the kitchen table. Never a good thing.

Seeing this trend, I ran downstairs to get the camera, leaving “Mommy” in charge. When I came back, this is what I saw:

I'm not sure what the hamster did but it must have been bad.

King Obama

On Monday Addi came home from school talking about Martin Luther King Jr., who they talked about in school. It only took us about 10 minutes of her rambling before we figured out what she was talking about. Anyway she kept saying they learned about him at school and he was great because he saved us. Jay and I weren't sure that he actually saved us, so we talked about how he was a great man who changed the world in many ways.

The next day was of course inauguration day. I was home with Sam, so I watched the events all day long. And like many people I was inspired and hopeful about this new change in the world. When Addi got home, she saw our new President on TV and asked who he was. I explained to her that he was the new president and said his name was President Obama.

Addi looked at me like I was nuts and said, "No Mommy, he's not the president, he's the King."

After I stopped laughing I tried to explain his name to her again, then gave up. But I am happy that she's getting some (albeit, confusing) education.

Are you smarter than a pre-schooler

As I have mentioned, Addi and Sam started a new daycare a few weeks ago. So each night we get a report on how Addi has been, then we have a few hours at home to work on slight behavior modifications before the next morning. Right now we are working on having good "listening ears" and "using our words." Addi has a tendency to get frustrated and just start crying, then freaking out, when usually it's not a huge deal at all. Jay likes to take these little moments and remind me that she's just like me.

Case in point: This past Saturday the Dettman's came over for a few hours. The guys moved some boxes over to the new house while Jenny and I refereed spent quality time with the kids. Usually the girls get along pretty well until nap time, then the fighting begins. Mostly just like sisters so it's always quickly resolved. And Sam and Ryan are the same age, so I'm sure the trend will continue.

Anyway, the girls had been playing nicely for a few hours when Addi came tearing downstairs, crying. Jill followed her with a perplexed look on her face. After calming Addi down we asked her what the problem was and she said that she was sad because Jill wouldn't call her "Mommy." Jill said, "She's NOT Mommy. She's Addi." And every time Jill said that, Addi got more upset.

Poor Jill. It's hard to explain to a 3 year old that Addi is just nuts.

Growing up... and sick

This weekend while we were hanging out at the house, I looked over and Sam was crawl/scooting over to her play table. Then, she pulled on up and looked over at us with a look that said, "What. I've been doing this my whole life."

Monday night Sam came home from daycare with a fever, and by morning she was pretty sick. A trip to the doctor and we found out she had a double ear infection. And just like last time, she hates the antibiotic, so getting her to take them is a struggle.

Doesn't she look sick?

I was getting a little frustrated because I am the only one Sam wants. She won't sleep unless she's laying on or beside me. Which I know I should just relish, because in a few months she will want nothing to do with that and I will be on here, crying about my long lost cuddly baby.

I did have a few brief moments of solitude yesterday... If I was quick enough I could lay her down for a few minutes before she woke up.

My First Baby

Nicole did this fun little e-mail meme and I decided to do it too . I'd love to hear your answers too, so if you complete it on your blog, leave me a comment so I can come read about your first baby too.

1. Were you married at the time? Yes, had been for 2.5 years.

2. What were your reactions when you found out? Excited and surprised.

3. How old were you? 27 when I got pregnant, turned 28 a month after she was born.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? A pregnancy test at home.

5. Who did you tell first? Jay

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes - I figured it was a surprise no matter when I found out. And it didn't seem real until we saw it was a healthy girl.

7. Did you deliver early or late? 4 days early.

8. Due date: February 5

9. Did you have morning sickness? OH yeah... for a good 8 weeks I wanted to die.

10. What did you crave? Fruit nonstop. One week I ate a gallon (literally) of fruit salad and an entire watermelon alone. Jay was shocked.

11. Who irritated you the most? My first overnight nurse in the hospital. She yelled at me for not getting out of bed and I still had a catheter so I couldn't.

12. What was your first child's Sex? Female

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25 or 30

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Non-stop contractions from week 25 on. Boy that was fun.

15. How long were you in labor? 6 minutes. Love me a c-section!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Jay

18. Who watched? Jay and 20 nurses and doctors.

19. Was it natural or c-section? scheduled c-section. They estimated a large baby.

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? A lovely, lovely epidural and lots of pain meds after.

21. How much did your child weigh? 9 pounds, 4 ounces. Turns out they knew what they were talking about.

22. What did you name him/her? Addison Marie

23. How old is your first born today? Will be 3 in two weeks

The Eye Roll

Addi will be three in a few weeks, and in her few short years on earth, there is one thing she has perfected beyond a reasonable doubt: The eye roll. The eye roll is usually reserved just for me to show me exactly HOW stupid I am at any given point. And obviously at almost three, she is much smarter than I.

We are still working on potty training. Now I really think it's just a battle of wills. At school Addi is potty trained with minimal accidents. At home, it's like I have two of Sam. In an effort to make Addi more comfortable, we moved her potty seat to the dining room for privacy (per a potty training book). She will use the regular potty but sometimes she prefers the old style potty seat. It's pretty basic... she does her business and then Jay or I (read: ME) pour the business into the regular toilet. And it is as much fun as it sounds, believe me.

Last night Addi came running out of the dining room yelling, "Mommy, I pee-peed in the potty! I get an M&M!" Because I had doubt that she actually did go I asked her to show me. She proudly took my hand and guided me into the dining room. I bent over to get a good look at said pee pee, and saw.... a dry potty. I said, "Um, Addi, you didn't go potty. That is empty."

She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said, "Mommy. I already flushed."

Miss Mommy

The good news is, I have upgraded from Addi calling me a dog. I'm now a sister.

The bad news is, she is still "Mommy." And according to Mommy, this baby has diaper rash and really needed diaper rash cream.

Not sure why the baby needed Desitin IN her mouth too. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation.

I'm starting to get the feeling that not all kids are like mine. This could get tricky....

'Tis the Season... To be Freezin'

Driving to work this morning was a tad on the chilly side.


It really wouldn't be that cruel if less than two weeks ago, this was the snowman I made.


Brrrrr.

She's doing some learnin'.... and some lovin'

As I previously mentioned, the kids started a new daycare this year. It's just a daycare for Sam, but for Addi it's also preschool. Lots of structure mixed with plenty of time to be free and creative, plus Spanish and music class. It was definitely time for Addi to start this and she (so far) really loves it.

Last night she came home and rattled off the days of the week for us, albeit in a mixed up order. This morning while driving to school I asked Addi what she was going to do today and asked her if she knew what day it was. "Snow," she said. "No, that's the weather, not the day. Today is Tuesday. What is tomorrow?"

"Rain!"

Sure, why not.

Tonight at dinner she kept talking about her new friend Tyson. He is her "best friend" and according to Addi, he likes to poop in his pants too! Right before bed, she was struggling for a word.... and finally managed to say "Tyson? He's my boysfriend. My Boysfriend, mommy!" When I asked her where she learned that word, she said, "Sami." I'm pretty sure she did NOT learn it from her, since Sam doesn't talk, but she wouldn't tell me where she really heard it.

Now I have that 70s song in my head...

Poop, Poop will keep us together, Think of me babe whenever, Some sweet talkin´ girl comes along, singin´ a song.....

Patience Update

Well, the good news is my bad mood on Saturday finally passed. And I found out there was a full moon that day. Explains it all.

According to Wikipedia, Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity (hence the terms lunacy and lunatic) and various "magical phenomena" such as lycanthropy.

See? It's TOTALLY not my fault I wanted to strangle my husband. It was caused by the moon.

Here's hoping, anyway.

Patience is a virtue

And I am SO not virtuous today.


Let me back up a bit. Last Sunday, we made the trek home from Indy after our glorious vacation. We then spent the rest of Sunday running around like maniacs, preparing for the week ahead. Not only did we have to go back to work after our two week hiatus, but the kids started a new school on Monday, so we had to mentally and physically prepare the entire family for that too. I also had to "come down" from our travels, which apparently has taken much longer than I would have thought.


Here's something most people know about me: I'm pretty superstitious (read: neurotic). For example, prior to us flying to Florida, I insisted that we get our Wills in order. Just in case.

Because THIS is the only type of plane I am totally comfortable with.

See, even though I have jumped OUT of a plane before, I hate flying. Now I DO enjoy the speediness of the plane, assuming there is no fog in Atlanta. And I am very much aware that I am more likely to die in a car accident versus a plane crash. However, I don't like flying now that I have kids. So the wills were necessary because, superstitiously, I thought if we had them in order, we wouldn't die. If we spit in the face of fate, then of course we'd die in a fiery crash.

Hey, I said I was neurotic.

And obviously, we were perfectly safe and made it home fine. But I really and trully think that the stress of the layover mixed with being stressed over crashing totally wore me out in ways I had no idea would happen.

Monday was fine, the kids loved school, blah blah blah. Tuesday was fine, albeit a bit... longer than Monday. Kids still loved school, hooray. But by Wednesday, I felt as if I had been hit over the head by some sort of tired stick. Concentration took a backseat to pure survival, and sleep was all I could think about. Until 10 p.m. of course when I'd be wide awake each night.

Fast forward to today. The kids were both up by 8. By 8:30 Jay had asked me to go back to bed and wake up on the good side of the bed because I was a grump. And it just went downhill from there.

By noon, I asked if it were Monday yet, so we could go back to work. Now I love my kids. But everything they did today (OK, everything Addi did) drove me nuts. And I know it was way more ME than THEM. And everything I did drove Jay nuts.

We are the picture of harmony at the Ralph house.

Kum-by-ah, my Lord.... Chant with me! Kum-by-ah!

Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better.....

Halfway to Paradise

Several months ago Jay and I made a conscious effort to take a trip in 2008. A trip with no kids, lots of relaxation, and several adult beverages. After talking to several of our friends we got five friends to agree that this trip was a great idea, so Jay got to work planning our getaway. Instead of a hotel, we rented a fabulous house with three bedrooms, three baths, a pool, hot tub, dock, ocean access, and we rented a boat for a few days for some ocean adventures.

Fast forward to December 27th. Jay and I woke up and headed to the airport for our 6 a.m. flight, sad to leave the girls but very excited for the warmth to soon come. Jay even refused to wear socks and a coat because we were "already on vacation", despite the freezing Indiana temps. We landed in Miami and headed to the car rental place, where we waited for four hours for a car. Apparently Alamo overbooked the cars so we were happy to drive away with an upgraded convertible vs. being bussed to Orlando (as some other customers were).

The drive to Marathon Key was beautiful to say the least.

Once we got to our house we were happy to see that it very much resembled the pictures we had received. We quickly got down to the serious business of the week… eating, drinking and relaxing.

Our pool, hammock, and yard

One of the many lizards that lived in our backyardOn Monday our boat was due to be delivered and the boat company had trouble finding our house. Jay kayaked out to sea to meet the boat (literally kayaked, I only wish we had pictures!) and his only issue was a Man of War jellyfish (put to death with an oar) and a giant bird that flew out of nowhere, scaring and almost capsizing him. Once we got settled on the boat, the seven of us boated out to sea to do some snorkeling and fishing.

View from our dock

Captain Jay and his passengers
Here’s a few ocean tips, brought to you FREE by our group: When planning a sea adventure, take a few minutes to check out the tide times and rules of boating in the ocean. We had a few moments of "what does that sign mean?" and "What side of that buoy should we be on?" After snorkeling and boating for a few hours, the girls planned on heading back to the house but were unable to, due to the giant sandbar now visible between the ocean and our house. Back to sea we all went for some fishing fun. And the fish tasted yummy too.

On Wednesday the seven of us loaded into the minivan and drove to Key West for New Year’s Eve festivities. We had two options for that night – party on one end of Duval Street, where at midnight they dropped a red high heeled shoe with a drag queen inside, or the other end of Duval where they dropped a Conch shell. We opted for option 2 and enjoyed a relaxing day.

Captain Tony's - Greg, Jason, Mitch and Jay

Jodi and I on the balcony of the Whistle Bar

Watching the conch shell drop

The remainder of the week was spent relaxing, playing cards, and on the beach.

At the end of the week, we were well rested and sad to leave the warmth of the south. However, the best was yet to come. After an eight-hour layover in Atlanta due to fog we finally landed in Indianapolis and got back to my Mom’s house.

By far the BEST part of vacation was seeing our two kids again.

Jay's Big Catch

After a day at sea, Jay had much to show off.

OK, OK, MAYBE that's not quite how it happened. I admit, I did enlarge the fish to make it seem more impressive.

Popcorn

What happens when you tell your daughter NO to making her microwave popcorn. She just "makes" it herself.

Welcome to 2009!

Well, we are officially back to reality here at the Ralph house. Jay and I had seven WONDERFUL days in the Florida Keys (more on that later) and the kids had a great time with Grandma. We got home yesterday and have been attempting to get organized and on a regular schedule ever since. The girls helped out by refusing to go to bed and then partying at 3 a.m.

Perspective always helps... Like rereading this post I did back in June when the girls refused to sleep. Several things have changed but frighteningly, many of them are being repeated on a very regular basis.

http://lifewiththeralphs.blogspot.com/2008/06/im-reliving-my-college-years.html

I hope 2009 brings great things to our family and to you. My only resolution is to try to achieve balance in my life. Balance in every aspect of our lives.

Here's to a great year!