Scary cookies

After I went to Maddy's room the third time last night, around 5am, I asked her what she dreamed. It went something like this:

Me, "What did you dream about this time?"

Maddy, with terror in her voice,"Cookies!"

Me,"Cookies are NOT scary."

Maddy,"A dinosaur ate up all the cookies and then he ate ME!"

Sigh. I so wish I could just turn her imagination off at night.

Seven Quick Takes (Vol. 11)

1. We have been sick for a LONG time now. I had a cold leading up to Maddy's birthday, Katie caught that cold the day AFTER Maddy's party which turned into a sinus infection (I think); then we both picked up a nasty stomach bug. Tomorrow makes two weeks since Maddy's party and we're just now all getting back to normal. I'm feeling just a wee bit cracked after all of this.

2. Speaking of stomach bugs, I highly recommend that anyone with children keep a supply of hospital-type gloves on hand. (Literally! I love puns.) Anyway, everytime something disgusting happens that I REALLY don't want to touch, those gloves save me.

3. Katie has a tendency to throw up in her bed in the middle of the night. (She didn't this time around but it's something she's done since she was itty bitty.) I never have a clue until I get her up the next morning. She's very neat about it, I have to say. She obviously sits up, makes a deposit at the far corner of her crib, and then lays back down to sleep. She usually just has a tiny bit on her sleeper at her feet. Clean hands and face. I don't know how she does it, but I appreciate not getting a 2am wake up call.

4. Another thing I love when the ickies are at our house is my ultimate crib sheet. Anything gross goes down in the crib and you've got this great waterproof sheet attached by snaps around the crib bars that shucks right off.

5. Maddy, on the other hand, is a hysterical puker. (Probably why Katie's method always leaves me so surprised.) She only does it about once a year and she has to be really sick for it to even happen. It is always spectacular (in a bad way) and extremely upsetting to her.

6. Don't you hate carseats that are never the same after you've had to majorly dissassemble and the reassemble? We found a great deal on a carseat/booster, but after one big mess, it was just never quite the same again. Note to self: Always stick with Graco.


7. I guess that's all for today. I'll have summer fun to blog about next since we're attempting a Dollywood trip next week. This will be both girls' first go at a theme park. God be with us. You can see everyone else's Quick Takes at Jen's blog.

Definitely a dog

This little post is about my two girls' first experience with kittens, as in just a few weeks old, still teeny-tiny kittens. We went to visit a friend of mine whose cat had had five kittens. They were finally old enough to be petted and such, but still really small. Maddy of course was all gung ho and picked one up immediately. I was a bit distracted with Katie and all the kittens running around, but I thought I saw her unceremoniously drop it onto the floor. Since I wasn't 100% sure, I didn't say anything, just watched her more closely. Sure enough, she picked up another one, and suddenly tossed it onto the floor. I realized that since these kittens were so young, their claws were doing that little pokey thing when you picked them up. Maddy would pick one up, get poked by their claws and throw it down. I took her to the side and explained the new "only holding kittens while seated and no tossing them" rules. Meanwhile my friend's daughters looked vastly relieved when they heard me say that we couldn't EVER have a cat since my husband is allergic. I'm sure they would have lost sleep if we'd taken one of their kittens home. Heck, I would have lost sleep, too.

Katie, on the other hand, was very gentle with the kittens and would mostly bend over and squeal at them as they played, earning her suprised little kitten expressions that probably meant, "Why are you screaming at me? What did I ever do to you?". She would occasionally touch one, but usually with only one finger. She could definitely do the cat thing. Alas, with Maddy's tendencies toward wild enthusiasm and playing rough, we will have to eventually get a dog. A very sturdy dog.

Encourage me!

I think the girls and I need more structure. I've always been good about mealtimes being fairly regular and bedtimes being strict, but in between it's always been kind of a free for all. I think that's one reason I don't get as much done as I should. So, today after I fed them breakfast, instead of getting sucked into blogs, I actually stole that moment's peace and read my Bible a little. (I think even that was interrupted by a fight between the girls, but at least I got some Proverbs in.) And then, hold your breath....this is kind of miraculous....we went for a walk! It has finally occurred to me that the easiest way for me to exercise will probably be WITH my children. (I tried the other day to grab 30 minutes of treadmill in the basement during Katie's nap, but it's unnerving to know that Maddy is up here skipping through the empty house even though it's kid-proofed. Yes, I told her to stay in her room and threatened her soundly. It didn't work. Plus, she had to go potty, etc. It's always something.) Anyway, Katie enjoyed kicking back in the stroller, and Maddy walked. She's finally old enough to obey and not get herself flattened in the middle of the road and the exercise was good for both of us. So here's to more structure in our day! Today was a good start. I'm hoping to continue until we get into a new routine. If I can get in daily Bible reading AND exercise, I'll be a whole different person.

And Katie, too!!!

Lest you think it's "all Maddy, all the time", here is a little update on Katie-isms.

Katie has started singing the theme song to Elmo's World, except she sings "la, la, la, la ...... ELMO!". It's really cute.

Katie is also starting to sport some terrible two's attitude here lately. One of her new things is throwing herself in the floor and rolling around to express her displeasure. If she were actually screaming, I would have to stop it and punish her; but as it is, she just sort of flings herself onto her stomach and rolls around while giving me this challenging look as if to say, "There, mom, what are you going to do about that?". I usually end up laughing because she just looks silly.

I'm thinking of seeing if I can sell Katie's scream to some sci-fi special effects guy to use for some kind of alien. You know, the kind that usually emerge all icky from some poor unsuspecting persons stomach and emit strange hideous shrieks. When she's really ticked off or hurt, it's amazing the sounds that can come out of her. Luckily, she usually saves them for home-use only, so most people are unaware that my sweet girl can sound so other worldly.

The girl loves black olives. Great, big, black olives. I can just cut 'em up and throw 'em on the high chair tray and she will scarf them down. Just like her mama.

Kate shares with Maddy. Yes, they fight the normal amount, but nine times out of ten if you give her two crackers, she'll take one to her sissy. I like that.

Four year appointment

Maddy had her four year check up today. We didn't see our usual doctor, a very sweet man with a calm, quiet demeanor. We saw a doctor that we had only seen briefly during her babyhood, a gregarious, Scooby Doo-tie wearing doctor. It was kind of funny because Maddy's naturally boisterous ways seem to elicit an "Oh my!" reaction from our usual doc, but since today's doctor and Maddy were like peas in the same outgoing pod, he actually said he was "thrilled with her social and developmental progress". Ha! It's funny to me how some people think she's a bit much and others revel in her craziness. She weighed 43 pounds, putting her at about 95th percentile for weight , and was 40 1/4 inches tall, putting her around 75th percentile for height. Quiet doc told me last time to keep an eye on her BMI, gregarious doc told me this time that she obviously wasn't fat, just solid. Isn't perception a funny thing? I kind of agree with both of them because I know she has a deep and enduring love for all things salty and crunchy ( ie. fries, chips, popcorn, etc.) but I also know that she has been on the upper end of the scale since she was about six months old. So I will try to be a better mother and cut back on some of the salty, greasy goodness, and, if this monsoon comes to an end, give her more outside playtime so that she can chase butterflies and run herself ragged in the backyard.

Oh, the drama...

Dear Maddy, who will be four next month, has more drama in her pinky finger than I have in my whole, still need to lose pregnancy weight and wasn't skinny to begin with, body. We had a lovely outing at the park today with our playgroup from church. It was a great park with lots of slides, swings, and a good sidewalk for scooter-riding. We brought Maddy's scooter along since I knew that two of her friends were bringing theirs and wanted to avoid being the heartless, forgetful Mommy that doesn't remember all things that bring her joy. Anyway, we had been there only a few minutes when she fell and scraped her knee grandly. Blood and all. However, she was too intent upon scootering and such, so she ran off before I could even produce a wipey and survey the damage. We continued to have a good playdate and came home. She went to her room for "quiet time", which is just time in her room during her sister's nap during which she is expected to amuse herself and give me a modicum of peace. After being in her room about five minutes, she emerged hysterical, condemning me for not snuggling her after she had been hurt "real bad". After examining her knee, she decided that she was horridly injured, needed a bandaid, and may even have to go to the hospital. Oh, the tears and drama and snot that ensued! She is now ensconced in her bed with a snack of blueberries, grapes and crunchy carrots within reach since she may never walk again. Bless her dear little overly dramatic heart. God help me to help her. I have a feeling the teen years are going to be epic.