OCD Addi

Maybe it's normal for three-year-olds to be mildly OCD, or maybe it's just my kid. But either way, Addi likes things in a certain way and she can freak out if they aren't "just so." It's kind of weird because Jay and I are not like this at all. Just look around on any given Tuesday... The house is a disaster and things definitely aren't right where they should be.

When Addi still used a paci, she lined them up in her hand in a certain order each night and would kick and scream if they weren't the way she wanted them. It was aggravating but also a little funny because she was so obsessed.

Earlier this spring we moved Addi to big girl furniture and added some butterfly stickers to her wall. It took me a long time to get them evenly spaced out until I liked the way it looked. They can be easily removed and I figured she'd try to pull them down so I made sure she knew not to touch them.

Addi has done a great job of not touching them at all. Here's what it has looked like for the last few months...

And here's how it looked last weekend after Addi "fixed" them.

The entire wall looks like this. She moved some into a line... others are grouped by color with their "friends."
I don't have the heart to move them back since she worked so hard to get them just right. But honestly, them not being evenly spaced out is driving me nuts.

Maybe she's not the only OCD one in this house after all.

Independant Woman

Sam's newest hobby... Throwing herself to the ground in a fit of rage every ten minutes. Every. Ten. Minutes. Or sooner if the mood strikes her. She's independent all right.

Life is still good. But it's a tad more frustrating.

She's a giver

Sam is very considerate. When she's eating mac n cheese on the sly she makes sure to share some with the dog.

She also doesn't worry about germs.

This might be part of the reason my carpet is stained.

What a wife!

When I married Jay, I hit the husband jackpot. He cooks... he does the grocery shopping... We never go hungry and always have fruit snacks. What could be better?

My job is to keep up the kids alive and the house picked up. And I take both of these jobs very, very seriously.

Who wouldn't want me for a wife?

Our last summer evening

For our last official night of summer the kids and I spent some time riding bikes with the neighbor kids last night. Addi is quickly brushing up on her pedaling skills and of course now Sam wants to ride bikes too.

Addi was very quick to show off her expertise... about two minutes after I took this picture she rolled backward into the street and couldn't figure out how to stop.


Then, she said, "Take a picture of me looking really really mad!"


She loves her bike... but not the helmet. The other kids don't wear it so it spent a lot of time on the ground.

That is, until Sam spotted it.

Pedaling skills... CHECK. Scooter riding... CHECK. Clothes not covered in smashed banana.... Um....

Bump, Set.... Drink: Our Volleyball journey begins

Each year Caterpillar has several intramural sports, including volleyball. This year I was bullied into happily joined Team Dig This! with my friends and coworkers Melissa, Ashley, Erin, and a few other employees from the Peoria area. Since I was named "Blog-aholic" I will happily post our team adventures here. Enjoy!

Team Dig This stormed the court Monday night (*NEW* Blue Shirts & All) only to get its 'Dig Kicked' by Notorious Dig.

Before the game, team captain M-Dawg could be overheard cursing all of the peeps who bailed on the team at the last minute. When confronted about her outbursts M-Dawg said, "I think we're going to have to explore disciplinary action this year. I mean 'Net Man' Legner forgot his jersey and tennis shoes. If that happened to Michael Jordan he would had sent Krause to get his gear. I'd hope next time this happens Legner would demand that Bill Springer go get his gear! And Michele Morgan...don't even get me started!"

While Super Barron calmed the captain down new team members 'Blog-aholic' and 'Tall Boy' met for the first time and talked about some 'explosive topics' before hitting the court with 'Team Fouts.' This new 'Team Fouts' added some depth to team Dig This, but half of the duo couldn't keep her eye on the ball. Please see below:

Top Ten Reasons team Dig This got its Dig Kicked Monday Night!
10. A serve hit 'One Hot Pocket' square on her noggin
9. It's suspected that 2 players came to the game with the H1N1 virus
8. M-Dawg's knee pads are bad luck
7. Chad Fouts knew well in advance that he was going to have to go home and watch 'Gossip Girl' with 'One Hot Pocket.' Enough said!
6. Michele Morgan thought it was better to 'calculate our volleyball odds' in AB with her accounting friends than come to the game
5. Our Khaki Jack's waitress doesn't work Monday nights
4. Gary implemented a new scoreboard and it's ridiculous
3. Bump, Set, Spike strategies are ridiculous and should be banned by "Gary's World Federation of Volleyball"
2. No pre-game Foster's meeting at Khaki's
1. Change plan not executed for 2009 season

Stay Tuned: Team Dig This takes on the Court Jesters next week. And M-Dawg says, "If no one shows, it will be no laughing matter!"

Walking to cure diabetes

Last weekend Addi and I headed to the park with our good friends Jill and Jenny to help raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes organization. The day was a great success!

You can read all about it (and about how Addi called a Caterpillar VP fat) here.

Daddy's girl

Last night Jay and Addi went on her first real bike ride. She wore her helmet and was really excited to ride a real bike, not just her Big Wheel. Because I went out with some friends I didn’t get to see how the whole trip went, so this morning while driving to school, I asked Addi how she liked it.

She told me it was really fun but she fell a few times and she even scraped her knee. I said, “Don’t worry about that, you will fall many times but it’s not scary.”

She said, “I already know that. My Daddy told me that yesterday. And my daddy is really really smart.”

Then she said, “But you, Mommy, you are only a little bit smart.”

It's finally happened

As everyone knows, Addison has a paci addiction. Not only must she have one pretty much 24/7, she is OCD about it. At night she lines up 4, 5, or 10 pacis in her hands, in a certain order, and calls them her "boomers". And if one paci is in the wrong place or (God forbid) missing, she flips out. We've been planning a visit from the Paci Fairy for some time and our last few attempts have been wrecked at the last minute. And really at this point if I thought it would work I'd buy her a Lexus. The orthodontics bills are looming in the future and it's SO time to say goodbye. So we all decided, this Friday was THE day.

Addi had other plans. Last night about 6 p.m. she said, "Mommy, the Paci Fairy is coming tonight!"

We thought we had a few more days to prepare but hey, you have to seize the moment. So we went on a paci hunt, found eight of them, and tied them to strings. Since Sam was already in bed with a fat lip (received after falling face first off a kitchen chair) we let her keep the paci that was in her mouth plus one additional one "for school."

Then we went to the backyard and hung them from the tree. Addi made sure to get her very last few seconds in with her favorite paci. And no, she's not wearing pants.

After we came inside, Jay headed to Walmart (for "something" Mommy needed, aka Paci Fairy presents) and I tried to put Addi to bed. Then she realized she didn't have a paci and freaked out. But, the enticement of a surprise was enough to keep her from going totally berserk. Instead, she asked if she could "Just hold" Sam's school paci for awhile. No way. Finally at 10:30 she drifted off to sleep in our bed and we all had a few solid hours of rest.

At 6:30 this morning she woke up and yelled, "Did the Paci Fairy come??!!?", then ran to the window to see. "No paci's on the tree Mommy, she came here!" and we ran downstairs.

As she saw the gift that was left for her, she started yelling, "Oh my gosh Mommy look! LOOK!!! The Paci Fairy left me a WATER BOTTLE! Wow!!"

Yes, there was a water bottle. See it below... attached to the BRAND NEW BIKE the Paci Fairy also brought her. [geesh]

She eventually saw the bike too and we dragged it inside so she could ride around the kitchen.

On the way to school she asked, "Mommy, how did the Paci Fairy get my bike here? Isn't she really small like Tinkerbell?" Before I could answer her she answered her own question. "Oh Mommy, she MUST have rode the bike here."

Of course she did.

Tonight will be the true test I'm sure. But we've made some pretty significant progress. And had I known the Paci Fairy brought such sweet gifts I might have kept mine a little longer. Like say till college.

Barbie Samantha Jane

Sam walked into the kitchen yesterday and attempted to sit in Barbie's chair.

She's always thinking

While discussing the inevitable visit from the Paci Fairy, I told Addi that if she gave them up on her own we would buy her anything she wanted, anything at all. This offer to her almost always ends with her saying "Candy!" or "Gum!" or the occasional "More Pacis!"

This time, Addi said, "Oh Mommy! I want a purple motorcycle!"

Um, no.

The big shell

On Friday afternoon I picked the girls up from school and told Addi that we should check on her hermit crabs when we got home. I told her that they looked sick the last time I looked at them and they might have died, so she should be prepared. Of course I knew they had passed on to a better place but I wanted to make the shock easier for her.

We got home and [shocker] Tyrone and Austin were gone. Addi said, "Oh no!" then asked if she could hold them. You can see the sadness filling her eyes - so sad she even took the paci out of her mouth.
Next, we had to decide what to do with said dead pets. A small, tasteful memorial perhaps? Or just (gulp) toss them in the trash? I suggested burying them in the backyard but Addi freaked about that. Jay suggested that we flush them, explaining that it would send them back to sea with their family, but Addi said they needed to go to heaven.

Enter Plan B.

We had some leftover helium from Sam's birthday, so we blew up an orange balloon for Tyrone and a purple one for Austin, wrapped the carcasses in Saran Wrap, and tied the little bundle to the string.

Addi said her goodbye, then let go.

She waved and waved and yelled, "Bye Austin! Bye Tyrone!" until they were just a speck in the sky.

Not exactly a funeral for a king, but I think it was a pretty touching goodbye. Addi seemed happy that Tyrone and Austin went to heaven and said she looked forward to seeing them again someday. But later that day I caught her in the dining room, handing Sam a helium balloon and saying, "Bye Sam! Go to Heaven! See you later!"

We might have to have a few more chats about that.

She’s a heart breaker

It’s not news to anyone that I adore my kids. Seriously, Sam is so stinkin' sweet that I could eat her with a spoon. Her walking up and giving me a hug is enough to make me melt into a little puddle on the ground. And her open mouth kisses? Icing on the slobbery cake.

Addi, too, is sweet in her own way. But she’s kind of like those Sour Patch Kids candies… you have to get through the bitter tartness to find the gooey sweet center.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to pick the kids up from school. I was really excited to see their reactions to seeing me, since it had been almost four full days since they last laid eyes on my glorious face.

I walked into Addi’s room, bracing for the inevitable run and hug she does when she seems me. I said, “Hi Addi!” and waited for the squeal.

And she squealed, all right.

In fact, she threw herself to the ground and started screaming, “You are not my Daddy! I wanted Daddy to pick me up! Go away, you are not my friend anymore!”

And my heart broke into a million tiny pieces.

After several hours of the cold shoulder she finally “friended” me again and even gave me a hug and kiss before bed. And the next day all was right in the world and she was crying when I left her at school, just like normal.

The pieces of my heart aren’t fully mended, but there’s hope.

It was nice knowing ya'

While I basked in the Florida sun, Jay played the role of Mr. Mom with the kids. He obviously can handle both kids on his own, since he does that all the time, but for four days alone with them we both knew things could get tricky. As far as feeding the kids and the house, Jay’s the master. However, there are a few things that are strictly my expertise, so we planned for the worst and hoped for the best.

Saturday morning as I was heading out the door, Jay asked me to fix the girls hair so he didn’t have to worry about it. That’s when I decided what we needed was a lesson on doing the 'do. According to Jay it all went fine the rest of the weekend – according to Addi, Daddy made her cry daily.

Clothing could be an issue but I decided to let him wing it. If we have big plans I usually dress them myself or lay out their outfits for him, but even that can prove tricky. The last time we headed out to dinner I laid clothes out for both kids – jeans for Sam, capris for Addi – and Jay accidentally switched them up. So yes, Addi had on capris, but only because she was wearing 18 month jeans which were 4 inches too short. I assume the kids looked fine but Jay did request “clothes matching lessons” when I returned.

While I was gone Jay and the kids pretty much stayed around the house. The did drive down to visit Papaw and Grandma Carol for the day on Sunday, and I was pretty excited to get picture messages from Jay throughout the day showing me what they were up to. They are blurry but you can tell the kids had fun.

I assumed there would be no need for discussion on the pets. Keep them alive, in the house, and make sure they have food and water. Not difficult in the least. The day I left I checked on the hermit crabs and noticed that Austin was crawling around… without his shell??!?! I assumed he was looking for a new one so I made sure the extras were accessible to him and headed to Florida.

I was thrilled to come home to a happy household on Tuesday. Maybe their outfits didn't match and their hair was a mess, but they had fun and that’s all that mattered.

However, when I checked on the hermit crabs I noticed that Austin was still perched on his water sponge, just like when I left. A slight shake of the cage and he toppled over, crunchy and dead. I picked up Tyrone to see how he was handling his brother’s death and he, too, had croaked, hanging half out of his shell.

I haven’t told Addi yet that her first pets have gone to the big shell in the sky. Hopefully it’s not traumatic… Maybe I can blame it on the Pet Fairy?

RIP Austin and Tyrone. It's been nice knowing ya'.

Sorry for the delay

But I've been a bit too busy to blog.

You know, staring at the ocean at sunset....

Hugging good friends on the beach - namely Melissa, Erin and Ashley...

Making Melissa wear a goofy veil everywhere we went...

Meeting some new people, like Melissa's mom Barb, her sister Kimberly, and her bridesmaid JoEllyn...

Watching dolphins play in the surf...

and having strangers take many pictures of us doing all these fun activities, like cruising on the Little Toot!

All in all I do have to say, spending Labor Day weekend in Florida for your friend's bachelorette party is a great way to spend a few childless days! More on Jay and the kids' adventures once my tan begins to fade....

Not all fairies are good

Well, for those of you wondering, the answer is NO. The Paci Fairy did not come visit us this weekend. Unfortunately her evil cousin the Stomach Flu Fairy stopped by instead.

On Thursday, Addi had to come home from school with a fever and the flu. By Saturday, she was on the mend.

Saturday night, Sam promptly threw up in her bed and had the flu full on by Sunday.

Sunday night Smokey ran out the front door, got shocked by the fence, and kept running.

Monday around noon, we finally caught him. I called animal control and they worked their magic.


Tuesday morning, both kids were healthy, the dog was home safe, and Jay and I both trotted off to work, excited to have an uneventful day.

Tuesday afternoon I barfed at work, then came home. And wanted to die.

Now I am on the mend but still not 100% better. We are ALL hoping this skips Jay, since I am headed to Florida on Saturday for a bachelorette party and he will be alone.

The smell of hope and Lysol fills the air at the Ralph house these days. Fingers crossed the rest of the week is super boring!