The Annie Post

This post has been a long time coming. We have known for six months that the show Annie was coming to Manhattan, Kansas, which is a little over two hours from where we live. I have been looking so forward to this because Lily was going to turn five just in time (the perfect age for your first big show!) and Tom's cousin Lynn plays Miss Hannigan.


It was amazing and so many things happened that day, it's hard for me to remember it all. So, I thought I would just give you the highlights.

• We got to go backstage for the grand tour. It was so cool to see all the props, the actors, sound crew and everything else that goes into such a big production.
• We got to have lunch with Lynn. She gave us the scoop (aka gossip) on the tour. I will leave it at that. I doubt any of the people on the tour will ever read this, but I would hate to rat Lynn out!! I loved getting the behind the scenes gossip and trying to keep it straight as we watched the show.
• Lily was bursting with excitement the whole time. It was such a dream come true for her! With the make-up, costumes, dancing and props....she couldn't have been happier. She was all business and focus on the tour. She was really taking mental notes and has been acting out all that she learn since the show.
• When the curtain went up Lily said, "Oh, that's not how this show looks on my TV!"
• Lily met Daddy Warbucks back stage. Later, when she saw his picture, she exclaimed, "There's DOCTOR WARBUCKS!"
• Lily kept telling people that she'd seen Annie (the movie) '100 times'.
• Wigs are a big deal on the tour. They have a girl whose job is to take care of the wigs. I think Lynn called her The Wig Mistress. Lynn's wig has a name, Marge. Lily spent a lot of time asking questions about the wigs, as well as studying them up close.
• As the show began, Lily kept saying over and over, "That's Lynn. She's nice and she's just acting mean. She's not really mean." However, by the end of the show Lynn was actually Miss Hannigan and Lily was saying, "I want Miss Hannigan to go away!! Why is she so mean?" I think that's not only a testiment to Lily's inmagination but also to Lynn's talent.
• Speaking of Lynn's talent. She was amazing and hysterical in the show. She's truly awesome! Plus, she's really cool off stage, too.

This experience was well worth staying up WAY past our bedtime!! Thank you, Lynn!!


Lily posing for a picture with Madison Kerth, or THE Annie.

Posing with Lynn (and Marge).

Where art thou.....

We are getting a new dog!! His name is Romeo and he was a perfect fit for our family. He was a good size and had a good disposition. The first thing I noticed about him was that when he was coming up to our house on a leash, he wasn't pulling. He was just staying with the person at the other end of the leash by choice. Coco fought walking on a leash and was always looking for a way out. Out of the house, the car, the backyard and off the leash. I like that this dog really enjoys the kids and I rather than always hunting for another place to be. He was a medium sized dog which is good because we have a small house but we don't want a tiny dog that the children might injure!! Just the right size.

One of the coolest things about this dog was the way Drew reacted to him. When we have met dogs in the past, Drew is his characteristically cautious self. Drew hasn't ever really warmed up to a dog very easily. However, he took to Romeo right away. His whole face lit right up and loved feeding him treats.

We are very excited to have a dog in our family again. We are happy to be working with the same program that we got Coco through. They have taken time with us and worked hard to find a dog that would fit in our family perfectly. They've done it again. I am really looking forward to taking Romeo for runs and out to the lake this spring and summer!

Apparent blog slacker

I am always bugging Tom to comment on my blog. He never does. Until last night when he said, you want comments? Here are my comments: You're slacking on the blog! How do you expect to support this family with only one post a week!? So, here is my post. Hoping to make my usual 2 cents from ad money. ;)

Quiet moments with Lily are rare. She is full of energy, ideas, spark and general intensity. Yesterday, while Drew and Julianna were napping at the same time (for a whole TEN MINUTES), Lily and I got a moment of peace together. It was lovely and I soaked every ounce of sweetness I could out of her for that minute or two.

This morning, around one, Lily was up and ready to go for the day. We sent her back to bed....she didn't go. I came upstairs to find ALL the lights on. She was on the couch with a bottle of hairspray, the box of hair ties, and a comb. She said that she had some bad tangles that she needed to take care of RIGHT NOW. I escorted her to bed.

See what I mean about the intensity?

The classic battle

What if you have a child who claims to be a picky eater? Who N.E.V.E.R. eats his dinner unless you are having pasta or pizza? You place dinner in front of your otherwise endearing child and he claims, "I'm not eating this! I am all done!" This child at our house is named, Drew.

We have approached this battle many ways so far. We hold strong and say, "this is what we're having for dinner. take it or leave it." We've tried feeding him a banana before he goes to bed so that he doesn't go to bed hungry. We have also tried tempting him to eat his dinner with a yummy dessert. The only thing I've never done is make something else for him to eat. I just don't think it makes sense in a family to make several meals. I know that when he's a grown-up he can decide what he's going to eat. However this is my chance to build healthy eating habits and expose him to healthy options. That boy will NOT waiver!!

Tonight we had potato soup. It's yummy and the rest of us were eating away. Lily finished a huge bowl and so did Julianna. Tonight I tempted Drew with a cookie for dessert. When Lily finished her soup I brought her a big chocolate chip cookie and a new glass of milk. Drew tried every way around eating the soup, all while asking for a cookie.

Finally, after everyone had left the table, except for him and I, I told him he needed to eat four more bites. I hate doing that! But! Dude!! I just want the kid to eat!! So, he started eating and I started counting. One.....Two....Three....(then I stopped counting and just kept telling him over and over that he was almost done. I got him to eat at least 10 bites this way)!! He finally earned that cookie.

There has GOT to be a better way!!

Frustrated and Devastated

I've been taking a break from blogging. I've been dealing with some stuff that I'm just not comfortable sharing on the blog, so I haven't had anything 'normal' to blog about for a bit. I'm back and have been working on a couple of posts in my head.

Drew has started to use bigger and bigger words around here. A few days ago, Tom and I were both too busy with something to help him right when he asked. We both told him to wait just a minute. He wasn't satisfied with that answer and said to us sternly,"I am so Frustrated!" I couldn't help but laugh. How many frustrated three year olds do you know? Well, if you know any at all, you know that being three can be very frustrating for a person. Usually, at this age, it comes in the form of whining, screaming and tantruming. I'll take verbalizing frustration any day! Although Drew can whine with the best of them...at least his expression of his emotions is moving in the right direction!

Today, Drew, Julianna and I went to story hour at the library. We checked out a few books to take home. We got a few on tornadoes per Lily's request. A couple on dinosaurs per Drew's request. And one fire fighter book, because we can't go to the library without leaving with at least one fire book. On the way to pick up Lily after story hour Drew was studying the fire book. It had lots of photographs in it of fire fighters on the job. He spotted on picture and said to me, "That fireman looks devastated!" When I asked why he said,"Because he is done fighting a fire and he's sad because he doesn't want to go back to the fire house." Really? Does Drew really know the proper use for the word 'devastated'? Wow.

FIVE

Here she is, my five year old. I can't believe it. She has got to be one of the most unique people on the planet. She is strong, independent, creative, competative and bossy. I think those qualities will serve her well in junior high school. As long as she can keep herself from blurting out everything that she is thinking...that's not always a good thing when trying to make friends in 7th grade!

Today she woke up and came in my bedroom. She announced to everyone, "Today is my BIRTHDAY! I am FIVE!!" Then she crawled in bed with me and said, "I think I feel different." How do you feel different I ask, "I think my feet are bigger!!"

Today I thought I would ask her a few questions and document her answers here. It will be so fun to read her answers in 10 years. So, here you go:

What are you going to be when you grow-up? A trash picker upper princess.

What does it feel like to be five? I don't feel different. Maybe when I'm 10 I feel different.

What's favorite thing to do? Play. No, actually, watch TV and eat candy.

How do you help Mommy? By eating candy. And that's all.

What do you want for your birthday? Make-up. All kinds of stuff. Mommy, do I get to keep the make-up you get me?

What makes you happy? Letting me do stuff I want to do. Like going to Mimi's house.

What's your favorite toy? Doing art. I don't like doing anything at this house. Doing Art is playing. Oh, and also playing with the Barbies. Why do you not let us do Art in this house?

How are you special? Because....what?! Because I am having my birthday. Because I am a GOOSE!!

What's your favorite food? Potatoes and pizza.

What are you scared of? Monsters. And Bad Mans.

Why? Because I am just afraid. They are both scary.

What's your favorite animal? I don't know. All pretty animals. I will show you in a book (runs to get a book) well, butterflies aren't animals. They are bugs. I like birds. Birds birds birds.

Happy Birthday, Lily.

Tough life

Being the youngest child has it's perks. However it can be rough on a person.

Both of these things happened to Julianna in one day. Drew used her as his canvas during art time...and Mommy forced her few little hairs into a tiny ponytail.

Mama Julianna

Lily has informed me on more than one occasion that she will not be having babies. Will. Not. She said that it hurts to have a baby and she doesn't do pain. In fact, she would go right now to have her ears pierced if it didn't involve pain. So, since Lily is not doing the baby thing, she has decided that Julianna will be. She says that when Julianna has a baby she will help name it but that is as much responsibility she wants.

I think Julianna has the nurturing thing down just fine.

House Fairy

We have a fairy at our house that visits and leaves treats for kids that clean up, make their bed or generally help around the house. She usually comes when Lily cleans her room by herself or gets an itch to make her bed.

Yesterday, Lily offered to help me pick out my clothes for the day. She came downstairs with me (to the walk-in closet that Tom built for me in our basement). She was standing there pointing out shirt options when she says to me, "The House Fairy will not bring you any treats." When I asked why not, she said that I was too messy and that the house fairy wouldn't bring treats to someone who left clothes all over the floor of their closet.

She's right. The house fairy has never visited me. Even though I clean the kitchen 3 times a day. And change diapers at least 7 times a day. And I run the vacuum at least 5 times a week. No, the house fairy has never visited me. What's up with that?

Laundress

The best argument I can come up with for a large capacity washer and dryer. (this is the laundry left over AFTER I had done 2 loads).

Why i do what i do

Spontaneous hugs.

The smell of their heads after a bath.

Answering the questions like, "where did people come from?" myself; rather than having my children learn someone else's theory of where people came from.

If I don't want to get dressed to go to work, I don't.

Snuggling on the couch during a long afternoon.

The smell of their sweet breath. (Yes, I like the smell of my children's breath).

Flexibility. Most days, the day is what I make it.

If a child is sick, I don't have to worry about calling my boss to ask for a day off.

I look forward to my husband coming home from work.

More opportunities to find out what my children are thinking. About life and themselves.

A chance to teach what is important.

***Just so you know, when I wrote this, I was not thinking that a mom who has a job outside of the home can't do all of these things. I simply was sharing (and reminding myself) why I have children and why I am so grateful to be home with them.

More Conversations

Yesterday I was loading Drew in his carseat and he had food all over his face. This is how the conversation went.

Me: What is your mother feeding you little boy! You have lunch all over your face!

Drew: Who's my mother?

Me: I am!! I'm called Mother, Mom or Mommy.

Drew: And Taylor!

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We now have Netflix. It has a feature that can instantly download movies for you to watch. Lily and I were choosing a movie today. She saw a picture of the Care Bears and exclaimed, "OH! It's the CARE BEARS!! I haven't seen them in YEARS!"

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Lily (to Drew): You are the king and I am the princess. That means you have to do what I tell you.

Drew: Okay. I am the king and I will kiss you.

Lily: Yes, I am Sleeping Bootie.

Drew: Yeah, and I will kiss you when you are laying down.

Lily: Yeah, but that's not until the end.

A year ago...

This picture was taken exactly one year ago. I'm pretty sure at that point I was just trying to survive. One minute at a time...



I'm doing much better now. I love my life!