Talkin' Dirty

God sure got me good. He gave me two shiny, sweet smelling baby girls first. They wore beautiful dresses to school and ALWAYS had coordinating hair bows. I reveled in giving them teensie weensie manicures on their itty bitty hands. Life was peaches and cream.
I was excited about having Charlie; up for the challenge. I heard all of the cliches that compare boys to girls. I was not going to buy into those horrid stereotypes. I was, after all, Supermom.
At a really early age, (I'm talkin' fresh outta the hospital, people) I was amazed how sweaty Charlie's little feet were; sweaty AND stinky! My newborn son had smelly feet! Surely not, but oh, yes. Over, the next weeks I was amazed how much dirt would accumulate in his tiny fists and between his toes. I bathed this kid on a regular basis, and it wasn't like he was running any marathons. Dirty, dirty, dirty.
To really drive home the joke, God bestowed upon us a second little stinker. We hadn't seen anything yet! Patch, or Patchy-Poo, as he is commonly referred to, has been the end all be all of dirty, little boys. Picture this Rockwellesque painting: adoring family sitting, gazing at the newborn longingly when suddenly out of nowhere emanates a strong sulfuric odor slowly filling the room. One by one, family members tuck their noses in their shirts and exchange their loving glances to ones of horror. How could that smell come from such a tiny person!!!??? Patch's "teachers" at school quickly realized the ONLY way to feed him without ruining his clothes, was to strip him down to his diaper; even then, somehow he managed to soil clothes that were 10 feet away.
Boys are just like that, I am learning. They thrive in filth and stinkiness. I would love to say my husband is different, but the truth is that he is "just one of the boys." No matter how many toys, books or games they may have, at the end of the day nothing beats a puddle of water or a pile of leaves. The more "one with the filth" they can be the better. A truly successful day is one where they are able to turn their bath water several shades darker.
Despite the seemingly magnetic reaction boys(and men) have to all things gross, we members of grime-opposed gender still love them. Perhaps because of their "condition" we love them more because it gives us something to work on with them. There is a definite sense of accomplishment when you pluck one of these playful ogres out of the swamp and turn them into Prince Charming- even if only for a few hours!

Friends Forever

I'm super duper lucky. I actually can "grow" my own friends. What a cool trick, huh?
Today Emily came home from school feeling just horrible. After two solid weeks of sick kids, I knew I couldn't risk not having her looked at so we called to see if she could be seen. To my surprise, they told us to come in at 7pm. Our amazing pediatricians office was offering extended hours because there had been so many sick kids!
After a long day, she and I headed back out to see what was going on. On the way there we talked about how her heart has grown since going through the confirmation process at church and how cool it was that we could now share shoes. She told me how some of the kids at school are really starting to create serious trouble for themselves, and I shared how shocked I was when I was her age and saw the same thing happen with kids I had known from an early age. When we finally got to the office we sat and we talked, laughing the entire time about nothing and everything. And once in the examining room, we talked and we talked and we talked some more. Even though we were there because she was sick, it almost felt like a special one on one girls night out!
After her appointment we ate dinner in the car while we were waiting for her prescription to be filled. The entire night should have been a chore for both of us really, but it was such a blessing.
Emily is still a kid and I need to remember that sometimes, but every day she is becoming more and more grown. Not only do I love her as my baby, but I am beginning to really appreciate her as a friend. Although she is very much her own person, she also possesses qualities of both Tucker and I which of course I am very much compatible with. It is just really cool to think that out of the love Tucker and I have for each other came this sweet, special person who is fast becoming one of my most respected friends.
There is a well known cliche that says that we pick our friends not our family. How special is it when we choose to have our family BE our friends!

My Superman

Tucker really amazes me. He is just an incredible person. Back when we were mere little babes in college, he waited patiently by my side as I sowed my wild oats. I asked him once why he stuck around and he answered very simply, "I knew you would need me." On our wedding day as we were toasting I stood up and gave a teary, somewhat incoherent speech about the hell I put Tucker through in those early days. Everyone kinda laughed and smiled, but he knew what I was talking about. What is amazing to me, is that he always knew the day would come where I would just chill out and fall in love with him. He was there through it all.
In a few weeks we are going to celebrate 13 years married. That really seems like a lifetime to me. (more than a third of my life) He is still every bit the Superman to me now as he was back then.
He takes such good care of me. Today it was his turn to stay home with the sick kids. When I got home from work, the house was clean and the laundry done. He grabbed the baby from my arms and put him down for a rest. Then he walked me back to our room, turned down the bed and tucked ME in for a rest. He knew just what I needed, like he always has. No matter what is going on, he always is thinking about me.
I can go on and on and on about times when he has put me above himself. He's just that kind of a person. It amazes me, that somehow I, who had always had an uncanny ability to make horrible choices, at 20 years old, found Superman.

Top Ironies of the Week

1. We are actually way FURTHER behind on things that have to be done after being off work for a week.

2. I am looking forward to returning to work so that I can rest a little.

3. My dogs are currently the healthiest members of the household.

4. The two children I took to the doctor this morning, are now sicker than they were when they were seen.

5. Every year around tax refund time, something catastrophic falls into disrepair around the house. This year the air conditioner died before the ink dried on our balance statement. I'm wondering if this is what is referred to as a "Government Stimulus Package." I have been secretly looking out the window for little men in dark coats and black sunglasses trying to damage my property.

6. My husband, who rejected youth in favor of acting "wise beyond his years," has now decided to grow his curly hair out so he will more closely resemble his two year old son.

7. My daughter received some misguided information that Tina Fey was actually a political factor in the past Presidential election. As I explained to her Tina's real role, I felt an odd sense of pride that perhaps her spoofs did turn things in Obama's favor.

8. In a news story on the Today Show this morning, it was revealed that people who get enough rest are less likely to gain superfluous weight. Dude, I could be killing two birds with one stone. Sign me up.

9. The fact that all the kids have been sick is actually affording Tucker and I more face time with one another.- No Soccer!

10. Despite all the germs, fevers, lack of money, superfluous poundage and all of the political tensions existing in the world, (read:Don't defriend me and I won't defriend you) I am so very thankful for my life and am pretty happy with the way things are.

Joke's on Me!

I love to whine and complain. Well, not really, I just seem to do it a lot, so here I go.
I feel like I NEVER see my husband between our myriad of extra jobs and various extra curriculars for the kids. We are constantly busy and are often two ships who pass in the night only to make sure that we are indeed coming home at night. In moments of clarity I tell myself that this is the life we have chosen to provide the best we can for the family while not ultimately selling out ourselves and our dreams. There is something almost romantic about working your tail off to join forces and raise a family with the guy you met when you were 18 years old. That being said, the more realistic and bitter Caroline, the one who usually dominates, is just really irritated that we work twice as hard for half as much, but whatever....
Tuck and I have been so looking forward to this week off; talk about visions of grandeur. We were going to sleep in and work on the house and have awesome quality family time. We were determined to not feel as though our precious time off was squandered.
God has such a sense of humor!
Immediately after Spring Break began kids began getting sick everywhere. Every time I turned around a coughy, sneezy offspring turned up with a fever. Easter morning brunch consisted of everyone slouching in the booth at the restaurant and our entire meal being boxed in to go containers. Later that afternoon, Tuck took the "least ill" of the kids to his dad's house for the festivities. As I sat in my house that afternoon, I began to wonder if I too was getting sick. "Boy, I'm starting to feel really hot. I'm like Waaay hot! What is the deal?" Yes, friends, that's right the air conditioner decided to die at that very moment. Sigh.
Two days and two thousand dollars later we once again have cold air.

So, the best made plans are not written in stone. Sometimes good intentions remain intentions only. The reason we work twice as hard is so that when emergencies arrive, we will only be half as much behind.

I'm sure glad God has such a sense of humor, it makes me feel like maybe mine won't get me in as much trouble!

Happy Easter

When I was a kid, dyeing eggs was always such a big deal. We would all have our allotment of eggs to dye and we would try to make it last forever. For that half an hour or so my sister and brother and I would use perfect manners; "I need the yellow when you are done," and "ohhh, that is so pretty!" Every year my brother saved his last egg to be the "ugly egg." He would systematically dye it in each of the colors as many times as it took for it to turn brown. Usually, by the time he was done, not only was the color hideous, but the shell was smashed as well!
Preparing the egg dye for my kids always brings me back to those days. Last night the four of them sat at the kitchen table and colored their eggs. The techniques surely differed from child to child, but the results were all marvelous! Patch especially got into the action this year, dumping multiple eggs in the same cup at the same time. It seemed his goal was not a pretty egg, but rather a large, messy splash. (He succeeded in both fronts) Even Em, who is increasingly becoming way too cool to take part in such family togetherness, seemed to really enjoy herself.
So now we have just under 2 dozen beautiful eggs in the fridge. (a few didn't make it passed the dyeing process) I see a lot of egg salad in our future.

My Lou

Remember when we were kids and we would go to those little junk stores and buy those "grab bags?" That sealed paper bag with unknown contents would make my imagination soar. Although the price was usually right around a dollar or so, I would just know that MY bag would contain some very marvelous and valuable prize. The element of surprise was really the treat, because the contents were usually something that would easily break or otherwise be deemed useless in a matter of minutes. I felt that same sense of excitement with every pregnancy. You just never know what you're gonna get!
From the moment I found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth, our lives changed. My pregnancy with her was wrought with danger and I was put on bed rest for many weeks. Tucker and I could not believe how we could have such complications after such an easy pregnancy with Emily. When we finally were told we were "out of the woods" with the pregnancy scare, we began to imagine what our new little girl would be like. We already had a beautiful curly-headed blond who was the apple of our eyes, and we felt sure that the birth of Elizabeth would ensure us another one, just like the first; a matching set!
I delivered Elizabeth and the doctor immediately handed her to me. Wow. This baby was beautiful, but so unexpected!! Instead of the fair skinned baby I was imagining, I had in my arms a perfect dark-complected, brown eyed, baby with a fine, silky layer of dark brown hair covering her head. I was so shocked at her coloring, because I was always the most pale person anywhere. Within days it was very evident that the baby did not take after her parents but rather her Aunt Barrie. (Tucker's sister) To this day everyone jokes that it may be impossible for Barrie to ever have a child that looks more like her than Elizabeth does!
Everything about Elizabeth has been a surprise. She is quirky and smart and has the most hilarious sense of humor. She is more sure of herself and who she wants to be than most adults I know. She developed an athletic spirit before she could walk as she began scaling bookshelves and tabletops when no one was looking. Her adventurous streak even led her to break her leg when she was only 4 years old! Now she is in her 7th season playing soccer. Somewhere along the way she became Lou, (a name given to her by her brother who couldn't say Elizabeth) and she feels more comfortable with it than any of the millions of variations of Elizabeth and nicknames she has acquired over the years. I am amazed by her. She is everything I would have loved to be when I was that age. She is truly the type of person who will write her own story instead of having it dictated to her. I admire her so much for that.
In many ways having her has been like getting one of those mystery grab bags. I could have never imagined what was inside. Thankfully, though I finally did get that marvelous and valuable prize!