Nine

Top nine reasons my life is enhanced nine years later…

 

9. I now have more patience than I’ve ever thought myself capable.

 

8. I have two beautiful daughters of my very own.

 

7. My “what if” ways have blossomed into “then we’ll just” ways

 

6. I feel “complete”.  I’ve got my perfect family.  Loving husband?  Check.  Terrific kids?  Check.  Sweet dog?  Check.  Mortgage?  CHEEEEAAACK.

 

5. I have never felt more beautiful.  (Though my exterior may disagree, I certainly feel more beautiful on the INSIDE.)

 

4. My wits have never been sharper.  (They’re a must for survival around these parts.)

 

3. There is never a dull moment in my life.

 

2. I feel secure.

 

1. I get to do some pretty awesome stuff with a pretty awesome companion.  Vegas, here we come, Baby!

 

 

Happy 9^th Anniversary, honey!  Marrying you was one of the best decisions of my life.

 

wedding day 7-17-99

 

 

Is it sad that a picture from last summer is the most recent one of us I could find???

See you all in a week~

Glamour is a scarf

Andi from Poot and Cubby said it best when she said,  ”What do I do when I have nothing to say?  I exploit my children for gain because that’s what Mommy Bloggers do.”

Truer words were never spoken.

So, in true Mommy-Mandy form, I’m taking these quotes from my 4 year old’s mouth (and from the various Post-Its cluttering up my desk).

 

Daddy: “Kae, you look so glamorous today!”  ~commenting on her outfit consisting of a straw hat, painted fingernails AND toenails, a tinkerbell purse, (fingerprinted-to-the-point-of-opaqueness) dinosaur sunglasses, and a pink sundress with matching blue flip flops.  She was styling. 

Kae: words dripping with attitude ~ “Daddy!  I’m not glamorous, because I don’t have a scarf! - *heavy sigh*”

 

Kae: after seeing the commercial for the 40 bajillionth time ~ “Mommy, when WILL we get those FIREWORKS, FIREWORKS, FIREWORKS?”

 

Kae: calling from the bathroom ~ “Moooom!  I need some help in here!  I had another one of those slobbery poops!”

Don’t lie.  You know EXACTLY what she’s talking about.

You’re weird! No you are!

As I was writing my Quirks post the other day, I couldn’t help but to think of all the quirks my two girls possess.

For instance, every day when we finish our lunchtime prayer, I must immediately follow “Amen” with “Tuck in!”  The ritual phrase used to be “Dig in!”, but C mentioned that “in Harry Potter and in England”, they say “Tuck in!”  So, “tuck in” it is.

Noelle may be 7, but she still sucks her thumb at night.  We’ve tried so hard to break her of this habit, but to no avail.  I just have to sneak in and pull it gently out of her mouth after she falls asleep.  (Which is generally 3.2 seconds after her head hits the pillow.) I figure her teeth won’t be forever deformed with 3.2 seconds of guilty pleasure every night.  Her dentist might disagree.

Kae needs me to escort her to the bathroom for her very first trip to the potty every morning.  The rest of the day?  She’s on her own, but she always needs me that initial time.  Not sure why.

When I hand the phone to Noelle to talk, she ALWAYS wants me to hand it to her on her right ear.  If she gets it on her left ear first, she says, “Hold on” to whomever she might be speaking with, and they must wait for her to switch ears.  Sounds familiar…  And what is it with the RIGHT side???

Kae can remember any random fact from any random time.  She’ll bring these facts up at random times, too.  Like in bed last night, she asked me, “Mom, why did you leave those angels on all night long that one time?”  Speaking of a time LAST CHRISTMAS when I accidentally left on her fiberoptic angels in her room, rending them unuseable for the remainder of the season.  (Since Mommy was too lazy to find the right kind of batteries to replace the ones she burnt out.  Oops.)  WHY did she remember that at that moment?  She does that all the time!  Very much like her father. 

All three kids have an uncanny knack for knowing when I’m on the phone.  They can be perfectly entertained, having a blast, and be fine with their own devices, until BAM!  I’m on the phone, and there they are!  Where did they come from?  Why do they NEED me right now?  And silent, rude gestures for QUIET! don’t seem to work for these kids. 

The same applies when I venture quietly to the bathroom.  I think they have radar.