Thursday, November 29, 2012

The things they say (and the cute ways they say it)!

 Sometimes is the mispronounced words that are the cutest.
Tonight, at dinner, Tori was telling us, "It smelled like a stinky stunk."  Dani kept correcting her, saying, "No, Tori, it's a skunk," to which Tori would say, "no, it's a stinky stunk".
 






And Dani is just downright conversational these days.
And. She. Never. Stops. Talking.
Tonight, as I was changing after work, she came bounding out of my bedroom saying, "Mommy, I put chap-stick on my face so it wouldn't get cracked up."
This morning, we were driving to Miss Ruth's house, listening to nursery rhymes.  "This Old Man" was on.  Dani yells out, "Mommy, stop the music!"  I mute the sound and she exclaims, "Mommy, knee sounds like three!  You can turn the song back on now."
 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

It starts with a turkey.

 A big turkey, deep fried with love.  Well maybe not love, it was mostly deep fried so the oven was free for ham and other yummies.  But damn, it was tasty.
 
Add a side of grandma and grandpa, and after the turkey, you just NEED a nap.
And, don't forget grandma--she's good at snuggling too!
 
 And cousins, even though you don't see them often, there is just an intangible bond.
 Not to mention, a bitchin' 'fro to check out.
 A pause for a group photo of most of the kiddos!
 A little time for telling secrets.
And woosh, it's over.  Everyone heads out and says goodbye.  But, when they return, it will feel as though they never left.

And then life gets back to normal again.  We feast on leftovers and pack up table leafs, until next time.  And we go back to the day to day.

Some days, like today, just start well. 
I was having a conversation in the kitchen this morning with the Big Man, and he just interrupted me.
"Doll, you look so pretty," he said as he put his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek.  (He's super sick, so no real kisses.)  I smiled all morning, literally.  Too often we are headed in different directions.  I walk in the door, attacked by kids, and the "I'm home" kiss that was always for Big Man, never makes it to him these days, because I can't make my way through the cries of "Mommy's home!" and running and hugging little people.  I hope he knows, I'm kissing him in my mind, even if I don't make it to him.  He's still the guy that gives me butterflies in my tummy, and makes me feel like the prettiest girl at the ball, even if there's no ball, and compliments are rare.

It's the little things, folks.  In every thing you do.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

We blink.

"We blink so our eyes don't get frozen'd," says Dani.
"Can we get a pet goldfish when Scrubbie cat doesn't meow anymore?" said Dani.
You can't make this stuff up.
We had a busy week. 
Getting ready for a houseful of family for Thanksgiving was a challenge.
Tommy challenged Daddy to a stare-down.
 
 And, I tried to get a group shot of my little turkeys.  Tori is all, "WTF is this", while Dani sings some opera...while Tommy is mister, oh yeah, baste me.
 And in typical Tori fashion, she smiles while everyone else is distracted.
 Dani, famous for her "crazy eyes", finally convinces Tori to just hide.  Tori's had enough.
 But WAIT!  Three little kids, in three silly hats, all looking at the camera at the SAME TIME?
 And Tommy is all "Screw this, I posed long enough.  I'm out."
Christ on a cracker, I'm going to need an intervention for the Christmas photo!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mouths of babes.

Dani:  " I wish Daddy wasn't sleeping so he could have dinner with us tonight."
Tori: "Yes, Daddy has a good moustache."

"Can I be a lawyer like you when I grow up mommy?  Will you share your dresses with me, because I will need them to be a good lawyer?"  (Dani)

"Teeth are white because they've been in your mouth."  (Dani)

While watching Sprout last night, I pointed out to Dani that the host was pregnant.  Dani asked how I knew and I told her to look at the woman's big round belly.  "But mommy, you have a big, round belly.  Are you pregnant too?"  When I told her that I was not pregnant, but that when you have had a number of babies in your tummy, that sometimes it can still be big for a while.  With an apologetic face, Dani told me, "I'm really sorry we did that to your belly, mommy."

Monday, November 12, 2012

Back to Normal.

I haven't posted in a bit.  We had a rough week last week--sneezy kids and mommy and daddy had strep.  I've never seen Big Man so sick as he was last week.  Lucky for us, the kids didn't get it.  So, now that we are back to normal, here's a little update.  Tommy has been cutting a mouthful of teeth.  He's been a little fussy from time to time, but I would be too if 8 teeth were trying to pop out of my gums all at once.
We've turned into a creative little bunch.  Dani and Tori love to sit for hours and draw and color.  Dani drew this last week--she said it was our family.  I expressed concern that there were only four people in it.  She pointed them all out, "This is Dani, Tori, Daddy, and Mommy, with Tommy in her belly".  So, she didn't forget anyone after all.
I thought the one below was a teddy bear, but Dani said it is her and daddy.  Every day, the kid does and says things that absolutely amaze me.  I should do a better job of writing it all down.  Tonight at dinner, we were having spaghetti, which was cut up for her and Tori.  When she had finished her bowl, she asked for more, but not cut, "like mommy and daddy have it".  We gave her some, with a fork, and watched as she twirled the spaghetti around the fork, and put it in her mouth.  Then she'd grab a napkin and wipe her face, after each bite.  When she finished, she proudly showed off her belly and remarked to us that she had been careful and there was no sauce on her shirt.  She was so proud of herself!  I'm ashamed to admit that when I was putting the girls to bed, Dani said something so brilliant that I scooped her up, and told her I was so proud of what a smart little girl she is...however, I cannot remember what the heck she said.  Bad mommy.

And some things are just silly, because they are, the frank observations of an almost four year old.  Watching Sportscenter last week, Dani notices Herman Edwards doing some commentary.  She gets very serious and leans over to me, "Mommy, do you know who that is?"  I tell her I can't remember (because his name was escaping me), and she leans over and says earnestly, "Its the president."
And, Tori, she's the comic relief as always.  She wanted to show me how much she was enjoying her broccoli.
We took the family to the opening of a veteran's park this weekend.  The girls had fun--there were planes flying overhead, and lots to see.
Tori loved the planes!  And there were flocks and flocks of geese overhead as well that just captivated the kids.
Tommy was a little harder to manage.  He's not a fan of the stroller, so Big Man had to miss most of the ceremony, and instead corralled Tommy in the ballfield, where he could just run and run.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Spooky kids!

Halloween started out with a grumpy little ghost.
 
 And ended with happy crayons.
 And the cutest bumblebee ever!
 Daddy took the girls down the block for a bit of trick or treating.  They were back relatively quickly, and took over handing out vampire teeth and lollipops.
 We took the glass out of the storm door so they could just pass the candy through.  Dani was literally yelling to kids on the street to come over.  She was telling kids they looked cute, and had a blast.  She was a tad slow in the handing out of candy, not realizing the kids were there for the loot, and not to be her friend.  Tori was more interested in what kids had in their buckets and tried to help herself to it a time or two!
 Even Tommy had fun buzzing around and watching all the kids.  We had tons.  I had over 750 items to hand out, and in less than 90 minutes it was gone!
Cutest Halloween ever.