Julianna's interview about Mommy

Meet My Julianna's Mom

What is Mom's name?
Taylor

What does Mom do for fun?



She plays hide and seek with me.

What does Mom do at work?
She doesn't have any works

What is Mom's favorite thing to eat?
Carrots


What does Mom like to drink?
I don't know. She likes everything.

How old is Mom?
I don't know.

Where did you and Mom meet?
At the lake

What is Mom really good at?
Macaroni and cheese and I help her


What does Mom look like?
Like me!


What makes Mom the best?
When I help her.

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Play hide and seek

How long have you known Mom?
For a really long time!

romantic painting

Tom and I do not celebrate Valentine's Day like other couples. We do not do flowers and candies. This year we decided to direct our Heart Day funds into our home remodel budget. So on Valentine's Day the whole family had dinner by candlelight and I gave the kids a small gift to celebrate. (Drew and Julianna got goggles and Lily a swim cap.) After we gave them the gifts we explained to them that mom and dad were going to be painting the living room for our gift to each other. We explained that it was a lot of work to paint a living room and wasn't that a nice gift?

Last weekend Tom finished the living room painting (including two coats on the ceiling) and this week he had moved on to the kitchen. Last night he finished the kitchen and had moved the painting down the stairs and started on the family room. Tom is doing all the painting himself, as he is very particular about how perfect it needs to be. I am helping in other ways. I'm the gofer and the 'help wherever I can' person. But, to be clear, Tom has shouldered the brunt of the project, obviously.

Ok, now that you have the background of our Valentine's Day, you can fully appreciate the conversation I had with Drew this morning. Drew came down into the kitchen and looked around this morning. When he went to bed last night the kitchen was half done; and when he woke up, the kitchen was completely finished.

Drew: Geez, Mommy. You're going to have to do something really big for Valentine's!

Me: What? Why?

Drew: Because Dad has, like, painted the whole house!

I wish you could hear how flabbergasted Drew was that Tom had 'like, painted the whole house'. It is still making me laugh right now.

my name

I've been thinking about blogging about the sweet difference in the way my children address me. They each call me something different and it seems to fit with who they are and where they are in life. Julianna calls me Mama and I love it so much. It's the sweetest thing ever to hear, "I love you, Mama." Drew calls me Mommy and, again, the sweetest thing ever and so short lived. I know it's only a matter of time before he only calls me Mom. Lily calls me Mom. She has done this for a very long time. She started calling me Mom while most kids at her age were still saying mommy and daddy. She just is too grown up for mommy now.

I was going to write all about this very thing....until today. Today Julianna started calling me Mom Stivers....and that just doesn't have the same ring to it as Mama.

Oh how I love my children.

Help Wanted?

I don't think I really want one....a job, that is. But good heavens. Five straight days home for snow days can make a person really consider going back to work. I love my children with all of my heart. We are all doing our best to get  along and make the best of the situation...but I really feel like my kids aren't getting the best of me today. I've been a bit grumpy and snappy with them and it breaks my heart. BUT GOOD HEAVENS! WE HAVE HAD FIVE STRAIGHT DAYS OF SNOW!! Plus, the kids are only going to school two days this week because of parent teacher conferences. I will get a 30 minute break on Thursday -- total.

As we all know, I do not do well with dreary weather. Nor do I do well with hanging around the house all day long. I am just ready for an outing and something new to do. I'm also ready for children to stop hanging on me and whining and asking for snacks.

Whew. That was super whine-tastic. I hope you can forgive me for that. I just really wish my kids were at daycare right now and I was off doing some productive thing with grown ups. This feeling will pass. I promise. I much prefer being productive with my children, than without. I know that working moms often wish they could stay home on certain days or not miss the class parties or field trips. I wish there was a way to share a job with someone so that we could both get the perfect balance between staying home and working outside the home. Does that exist? If it does, I want one of those.

Thanks for listening. I'm feeling much better about the day. A little over two hours and my husband will be on his way home, dinner will be on the table, and all will be right with the world. But I better go now -- it's snack time again.

The full report

Dear Reader,

The good news is: I have migraines.

I had my appointment today with the specialist. After a full examination of my eyes and asking me lots of questions, she announced that my eyes are perfectly healthy and that the eye trouble I was having were actually migraines. I know that this doesn't sound like good news, but it is. When thinking back to what it could have been, migraines are easy. I am looking forward to finding ways to manage the migraines with some lifestyle changes- like no more caffeine.

In other news regarding my eyes, the doctor did say that the surgeries I had as a child usually work for about 15 years and then the eyes start to drift out again. I do have some trouble with this, however she did say that if I do Drew's eye exercises then my eyes should stay straight for longer. I also learned that eventually having glasses again is inevitable. I can deal with that. After the news I got today, I feel pretty good about just about everything.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me during this time. It was a stressful ordeal that I'm happy to say is over. It is always nice to be reminded of all the amazing people and family I have in my life if I ever need anything. Thank you so much.

Love,
Taylor

The Queen

Drew woke up on the wrong side of the bed. This is the conversation we had at 6:40 this morning.

Drew: Can I watch TV?

Me: When you're ready for school. You need to have your shoes on, teeth brushed, and eye exercises done.

Drew: UGH! Why do I have to do my eye exercises? I HATE that!

Me: Sorry. It will only take you 15 minutes and you'll still have time to watch TV afterward. Bring me the ball for you first exercise.

Drew: Why do I always have to do EVERYTHING?! You never do anything! Do you think YOU'RE THE QUEEN OR SOMETHING?!

Me: In that case, you can spend some time in your room adjusting the way you speak to me. I'm going to have my breakfast.

I want everyone reading to understand that I in no way condone this behavior. However, it does make me laugh to think about it. It's funny to me because I understand it. I know what it feels like to be so sensitive and emotional. I know what it feels like to think that your mom does nothing for you and is only there to make your life more difficult. I knew I would have a kid similar to me in this way. I just didn't think it would be my son.

The lame ophthalmology update

My appointment with the specialist was cancelled for the third time today.

I did talk to my regular eye doctor. He said based on my history with strabismus (lazy eye), and the fact that I had Lasik eye surgery two years ago, that this neuro ophthalmologist is the best doctor for me to see. This recommendation actually made me feel a little better. His assessment means that he thinks that the trouble has to do with my eye history and not the development of a new disorder. I feel better about the possibility of eye trouble than brain trouble.

It's with this attitude and recommendation that I will wait another week to see the same doctor that has cancelled three times. I am going to let the kind part of my heart assume that she is in fact very sick, and really can't help the situation that she has put me in. However, if it turns out she's just a pansy, I might have to punch her in the face. I probably won't punch her, but I might give her the mean stare down.

what it feels like to me

My blog is where I go to record my life. I love this blog and what it means to my family. As I type this I'm thinking a lot about the idea of having a chronic illness and how that will effect my life. This blog is where I go to put thoughts out there and words onto a screen, so I'm going to share my thoughts tonight.

I am wondering if I'm really ready to face that I could have multiple sclerosis? Am I prepared for what that really means? I'm not sure. But there is no way of knowing until I know, ya know?

The chances of me having MS are low. That's what I tell myself. I remind myself that there aren't millions of people walking around with this disease. There are actually only 400,000 people in the United States. That's a small number when you think of the millions that live here. These are things I tell myself during the day as I try not to think about it at all. However,  two hours later of the same day I can be knee deep in  information about MS and see that I have many of the symptoms. In the good moments I think, "I can't have it. Everyone I know has at least a few of these symptoms." and then in the bad moments I think, "Oh my god. I have several of these symptoms. I very well could have MS." There seems to be no way of controlling where my mind wanders. I can turn off my computer and try not to think about it, but the unknown kills me and drives me back to the internet to search for a little shred of evidence that will say: "You don't have MS, Taylor. Don't be a crazy person." I am still looking.

Tom tells me, 'If we find out in a few months that you do actually have MS, we are not going to change the way we are living now. There is no reason to worry about it. You can't change it and you can't make yourself crazy over it.' I love Tom for telling me this. I love that he doesn't allow me to sink into crazy town where I drown in the depths of WebMD. But Tom can't crawl inside my brain. He cannot get me to actually stop thinking about these things. I wish he could. I wish he wasn't in Kansas City tonight so that I wasn't sitting here writing these personal, terrifying things onto my blog for everyone to read. But alas, he is not here. So I continue typing and sharing what it really feels like to find out you *might* have a scary, lifelong illness....but maybe you don't.

It could be months before we know anything definitive. I could go to this appointment and have the doctor tell me that there is a reasonable explanation for all of this. If that happens, I will breathe a sigh of relief and be grateful. I will kiss my husband, hug my kids and take the next step forward in my life. However, if we go to this appointment and they tell me that they need to run more tests, or that there isn't a clear answer, I will take a deep breath. I will then kiss my husband, hug my kids and take the next step forward in my life. Even if it means I will be stepping into the unknown.

Outtakes of the Family Photo Shoot

 



These are the outtakes from our recent family picture session. We didn't hire a fancy photographer because it was last minute, for fun, and we wanted to try out my sister, Aunt Flash's, new camera. We took the pictures at the shop of Johnson Sheet Metal, my dad's family business since 1921. It was lots of fun and we got some great shots. Julianna (I know she wants to be called Jae, but I'm going to secretly call her Julianna for as long as I can...but that's another post.) Anyway, Julianna gave us the best outtake faces. She is one expressive child!



 

 

 

This is what we did when we were told to be goofy.

My sister accidentally turned on her automatic picture feature and it took 10 or so pictures right in a row. Julianna and I decided to be goofy for all the pictures.

There could be a whole book of Julianna faces. She is possibly the most expressive person ever.

Aren't we so funny?

Someone said something hilarious.

This is Tom's favorite picture of me from the day. Don't I look cool?

I don't know where Lily learned this goofy face.

I love this picture.

I guess this is where Lily learned that goofy pose from earlier.

Oh, Julianna!

I hope we take more time to take these family pictures. They are priceless. They will look great in the next edition of my blog book. My goal is to turn each year of the blog into an actual book. I love the idea of having a collection of my writings in an actual book for my children to hold onto and read in the years to come. Actually, they aren't really allowed to read the blog yet. I'm not always sharing things on the blog that they are ready to read about. They will have to wait a few years before they can see what Mom really thought about this stuff. :)

Wait... what day is it?

We recently hung a giant chalkboard in our kitchen. I love it so much. Tom painted a calendar on it so that we could keep track of the days and activities for the kids. Every day I post what we are doing that day, and what we are planning for tomorrow. It is hard to miss, as it hangs right by our kitchen table and we can see it several times a day. So what I can't understand is how I still do not know what the date is from one day to the next. Like this Monday, for example, I had to sign some papers with the correct date and without even thinking about it, I signed them all with the wrong date. It's the story of my life.

When Lily was in first grade her teacher told us at conferences that Lily was always on top of the facts of any lesson they were learning in school. She knew so much about everything they covered in class. However, the teacher said, if you ask her what day it is, she will look at you like you're speaking another language. For the life I of me I do not know where Lily inherited that trait from.

Oh, Drew

Today I am working on allowing my children to suffer consequences that are natural to their choices. They love to push my buttons by acting crazy and not doing what they are supposed to do at dinner and bedtime. Tonight Julianna and Drew were up to no good while brushing their teeth. We heard it turn into an argument and then we heard Drew start whacking Julianna pretty hard and yelling. I went up into the bathroom and told him that because of that, he was losing his bedtime story. He was inconsolable. Out of his mind. I sent him to bed. And the following sequence of events happened:

I took him to his room and told him to calm down or I wouldn't stay and snuggle with him for bedtime. He did not calm down. I gave him another chance to calm down. He did, so I laid with him for a couple of minutes. The whole time I was with him he was complaining that he had a very bad day and nothing was good about it. I didn't really want to listen to the complaining, so it was a short snuggle. He became irate at the duration of the snuggle and began his meltdown all over again. You get the picture. I left the room and told him that I would shut his door if he didn't stay in bed. He didn't. I shut his door. His life ended. Okay, not really. But he was screaming at the top of his lungs. This went on for awhile, until he finally understood that his door would be open if he laid in bed quietly. He finally did. I left to put Julianna to bed.

I was snuggling with Julianna a few minutes later and Drew started yelling at me from his bed: "YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME HAVE BAD DREAMS! IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT AND I WILL NEVER HAVE A GOOD DREAM AGAIN BECAUSE OF YOU! I JUST WANT ONE THING I ASKED FOR. JUST ONE!!! I WANT A BED TIME STORY!.........YOU ARE THE WORST MOM I EVER HAD!.....Well, that's not true.....You're my only mom.....So you can't be the worst. BUT THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I WILL NEVER DREAM A NICE DREAM AGAIN!!"

The part about me being the worst mom ever made me laugh so I came downstairs and was whispering the story to Tom, who'd been in the garage during the screaming part of the meltdown. Apparently I am not quiet because Drew started again as soon as I was finished with me story, he said, "I CAN HEAR YOUR WHISPERING DOWN THERE! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WHISPERING ABOUT ME! Well, I guess you could be if you were talking about Christmas presents or my birthday....or maybe if I was having a party. BUT NOT ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE! YOU SHOULD NOT BE DOING THAT WHISPERING! I AM NEVER GOING TO SLEEP! NOT ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS....I NEVER GO TO SLEEP ON NIGHTS LIKE THIS."

Oh, Drew. I dare say you might be more emotional than your sisters. I don't know where you got your sensitive-middle-child-complex-my-parents-don't-love-me attitude from. It couldn't be from me! *wink*

Nerd Day Update

I don't know how many of you read my Nerd Day post and are now wondering how it all turned out. But I thought I would share how everything went down.

That night while I was putting Drew to bed, we had this conversation:

Drew: A lot of kids were wearing glasses today. A. Lot.

Me: Hm. Why do you think that is?

Drew: Well, they probably saw me and thought, 'Wow, he's pretty cool and he wears glasses all the time. I want to be like him and wear pretend glasses!'

Me: Oh, Drew. I love you!

Clearly I am lucky that the nerd thing went over the heads of my kids. They never really understood it, so it was hard for them to become offended. However, I am sure there are families with older children where this wasn't the case. I hope that the situation was handled in those homes in an uplifting way. Drew is usually very sensitive about fitting in. He wants to blend in with his peer group as much as possible. So it turns out everyone wearing glasses like him was a moment of feeling accepted instead of being left out. For that I am very grateful.

I did not receive an email back from Mr. Principal Man. He said he didn't receive one. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he is telling the truth. However, he and I have exchanged emails before so it seems odd that this one would have gone missing.

Mr. Principal Man and I did chat while I was at the school the next day. He said that the PTO plans the days for Red Ribbon Week and that it was an oversight on his part. He said it didn't occur to him until Monday morning that this could be a negative thing for a school so concerned with anti-bullying. He assured me that it would not happen again and encouraged me to join this particular committee on PTO next year.

My bullying post was my most read post in my blog's history. Thank you for reading! My hope is that my post served as a reminder that kindness and respect do not need to be compromised in the name of fun.

voting 'yes' doesn't mean you have to wear rainbows and dance in a gay bar...

I wonder if  anyone even reads this little blog anymore.....I'm sorry. Our computer hasn't been working the way that it should for a couple of months now. There are times that I sit down to blog and it doesn't work out because our computer won't cooperate.

I have been wanting to blog- really I have! Like yesterday, Drew was telling me about how much fun he had spending the night at Mimi and Papa's house over the weekend. He said: It was too much fun! Like a jug of fun! I asked him to repeat it, and he did indeed say jug. So I asked what he meant by that. He said that, well, he decided that a jug of fun is a whole lot of fun because, you know, milk comes in a big jug, so if you have a lot of fun it can also be called a "jug of fun." So yes, my children have given me material. I promise our computer will be fixed soon...as you know, my husband has a computer science degree...he does know about this stuff. But his life in consumed with asphalt until mid-November. I'm hoping that our computer will be on the mend by Thanksgiving. 

I am compelled to blog tonight for a very important reason. I am chancing our computer crashing to get this post out into the blogosphere. Time is running out to get the message out about this. There is a question on our local ballot regarding extending protections for gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals in our community. What the movement  is asking for is really very simple. They are asking to be afforded the right to file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission if they are discriminated against with housing or employment. That is all, really. After I explained this to Lily and Drew, Lily asked, "But Mom, why would someone say no to being fair?" Good question, Lily.

I am writing about this because I think there is a huge misunderstanding happening in my community. Well, I really hope that it's just a misunderstanding- fueled by a few hateful people. I really hope that it's not people actually thinking that another human being should not be afforded the same simple, personal right to have a job and safe housing. Surely there isn't anyone against making sure that their neighbors may feel safe in their community. Surely...

Please, if you live in Hutchinson, please inform yourself about the local issues. Please do not let hate groups educate you on an issue. Please know that if you are concerned about your religious liberties being infringed upon by allowing protections for all individuals, your religious liberties are safe. Not only is religious beliefs already listed as a protected class in this community, but this ordinance EXEMPTS churches and other religious organizations. 

Please consider voting yes. We are a small community and I hope that we prove ourselves to be an inclusive community with this vote. This is not a vote on how you feel about homosexuals. This is not a vote to determine the fate of gay marriage or accepting an invitation to a gay pride parade. The people supporting this ordinance are simply asking for a fair and level playing field in this community. By voting yes you will be extending a basic kindness to your neighbor. All of your neighbors without exception. 

where the cool go to school

Dear Parents of Elementary Schoolers,

Yesterday Drew dressed in a typical fancy outfit. He wore suit pants, a polo, and a suit vest. He loves to wear fancy suit clothes, and especially vests. I felt a little apprehensive about it, as he is very sensitive to what people say about him. It turns out, by allowing this expression, I sent him to the wolves. He won't tell me who said it or even what they said. I only know that for picture day today he  changed his mind from the polo/vest combo to something seemingly trendy. He looked adorable. But it made me sad that some twit made him feel uneasy about dressing is his favorite outfit.

I'm mad at the kid. But I'm more mad at you. I want to know at what point it became important to make your kid the "cool" kid in kindergarten. When did your self confidence become so low that you felt it was necessary to groom your kid for cool? I thought kindergarten was a time for fun and learning and making friends. I was under the impression that middle school was when we started to worry about fitting in.

Kids do not bully naturally. It is a learned behavior. My kids are not learning to bully in my home. We do not make fun of each other. We find other ways to laugh. We teach acceptance and allow our kids to be anyone they choose to be. My kids are told they can try whatever interests them. They can grow up to be anything they want. Kids learn to love themselves by watching us love them and from watching us love ourselves and our neighbor. 

Fellow parents, you need to take your ego down a notch. The goal in life is not to be the cool grown up. As you raise your kids you need to remember that confidence born from other people's opinion is false. Why don't we, for the rest of elementary school, allow our kids to be kids. Let's let them decide what to wear, what games to play and what friends to choose. They have their whole lives to decide who they are. Let's not confuse them early by forcing them to do what you have deemed the cool thing to do. 

Sincerely,
A fellow parent...who will kick your ass if you don't teach your kids some manners soon

Gift ideas

I am hoping that if I write this down I will remember not only the conversation, but the way Drew speaks sometimes. There is no way to describe it on the blog, so somewhere in my brain i hope to save his tendency to speak with a southern twang and use such expressive words and faces.

Me, as I backed out of the driveway: Did you guys know that the guys from Daddy's work are going to be working on our street someday soon? They have their trucks right around the corner so they can do our neighborhood.

Lily: yeah...they are coming in December?

Me: not quite. It will be in September and October...hey, October is Daddy and my anniversary month!

Lily: do we have to get you a present?

Me: no, it's just between daddy and I. But I hope daddy gets me a present.

Drew: like what?

Me: I don't know....something nice....

Drew: oh, well, maybe a back scratch or something!? I don't know!!

Me: yeah, maybe. That is nice.

I might actually have time to blog this school year

Lily is loving her teacher as far as I can tell. She doesn't share much about her days. So far I know that Lily likes to pull weeds during recess, that it's not totally against the rules to wear flip flops and that she only has to practice the challenge words on her spelling list. You can decide for yourself how true each of those things that she shared actually are.

 I do know that on Drew's first day of kindergarten Lily inhaled her lunch so she could get out to recess to see Drew. The kindergarteners usually go in just before the second graders come out so it was a thoughtful thing for Lily to do. I know that it meant a lot to Drew.

Drew gave me lots of feedback about his first day. His favorite part was playing super hero with the other boys at recess. He also shared that he didn't eat his whole lunch, but did eat it as soon as he was in the van after school. He doesn't remember any of the other boys' names, except one. He remembers the name of the boy who didn't get his good behavior sticker on the first day of school.

I think that Drew had fun at school but he was exhausted after. Yesterday, while the girls had their turn to go to school, Drew was pretty grumpy and a little anxious about going back to school. This morning Tom said Drew was tossing and turning starting at 6 am and last night he came out of his bedroom after I tucked him in. This is a rare occurrence and he was claiming bad dreams, which is even more rare. I think he was just nervous about going back to school. But this morning he got ready just fine and even had time for a few minutes of TV before we left.

Julianna's first day went well. She actually talked while she was there and that fact was not a given. Shanna said that Julianna followed her around during recess but was brave during inside play and left Shanna to play with the toys. Julianna said she made friends and had fun. They played with shaving cream, an obvious hit with her. I am so glad she enjoyed her first day. It makes leaving her way easier.

Tomorrow is my first kid-free morning. To celebrate I am joining my running partners for a ten mile run. It will be good for me to have a place to go and an activity that will help me work through all of my emotional energy. I will really treasure my alone time and hope that it will make me a better mom to my kids before and after school. It's going to be a good year.

bookworms

I am a reader. It is possibly my favorite thing to do. I would read for a job if I could. My dream vacations involve a quiet mountain deck and a good book or a comfy beach chair, the ocean and a good book. If I run out of things to do with the kids or they are driving me crazy, I pick up a book to read to them. When we go on long car drives my children's favorite form of entertainment is a good audio book. So, yeah, obviously I love a good book and my kids know that.

Tom is not a reader. Tom thinks that books require too much work. He is not patient enough to wait for the words to reveal their story. he would rather be doing something. Building something. Fixing something. Discovering something. Tom falls asleep while reading the kids their bedtime stories. Not kidding. So, yeah, obviously it comes as no surprise that my kids know that Dad is not a reader.

So, all of your non-readers out there, the ones who think that they can teach the importance of reading by telling their kids to read and sending them to school to do it. Know this, non-reader: Your children notice. They see how you spend your time. They see what is important to you. Now, don't worry, you do not have to be a nerdy bookworm like myself to create an environment that celebrates reading. You can do so by providing opportunities for your kids to discover new books. You can do so by reading; even if what you read is the newspaper or a magazine with topics that interest you. No matter what, your kids need an example.

I realized just how important that lesson is today. Tom is reading Treasure Island right now. Well, he was reading it this weekend in Colorado. I think he started it so that he would have something to do on the train when he rode home Sunday night. Whatever the reason for picking up the book, it was important. Today, while at Target, Lily dug through a dollar bin of classic books that have been adapted to her reading level. She picked Treasure Island. She picked it because she wanted to read the same book as Daddy.

 I think that is an excellent example of just how much our children pay attention to what we do. It's another example of how reading and books help to connect people. Our children are always finding ways to connect with their parents. What better way than a good book?

longest break ever

So I guess I like reading more than I like writing. Every time I have a minute to sit down in the quiet this summer I'd rather reach for a good book than sit down at the blog.

It's not like I haven't had stuff to write about. Lily had her first dance recital and I haven't blogged about it. Yeah, it was in May. That's how bad I've gotten at this blogging thing.

The summer is flying by and we are staying completely busy with all sorts of fun. This summer has been full of moments where I know that I am doing the right thing for me by staying home with my kids. We are having so much fun together and they have so much to do that we have very few days when I want to rip my hair out and send them to boarding school.

We spent all of our afternoon at the lake today. This is the first summer that I can go to the lake and not worry about someone taking a nap or having to hold a child in the water the whole time. The kids are all swimming on their own now and I can skip naps at my leisure. It's been delightful. I basically can float on a raft and remain conscious and I'm doing my job.

We took a boat ride and all of the children took a ride on the tube. Drew and Julianna still hasn't mustered the courage for a solo spin in the tube but I'm guessing it's just around the corner - for Drew, at least.

Tom tried to teach Lily to ski today. He was very tired before they even started the lesson and he deserves a huge gold star for remaining calm and helpful during her lesson. He was fantastic. It's not easy to teach a kid to ski. So to do it, without losing your cool, is pretty spectacular.

I'm too tired to get the pictures uploaded tonight. I promise they are coming. With plenty of stories to go along with them.

the next chapter

Reading chapter books with my kids is something I've looked forward to since the day Lily was born...Actually, that might not be true. I think I've looked forward to reading chapter books to my kids before I'd had any kids at all. I love children's books, but there is something magical about reading a book with your kids that you can both gain something from, a book that your child has grown mature enough to understand on a new level.

Recently, Lily and I have started reading the long, lovely chapter books that I'd been dreaming about. Lily became so engrossed in the first two that she would bring me the books on Saturday afternoons and ask me to read. The second Harry Potter book so captured her imagination that when I checked out the audio book for a long car ride, she brought the tape in the house to continue the story after we'd arrived home. She got up early to finish it and find out what happened in the story. I am so excited by this hunger for stories and reading.

Our most recent book was Anne of Green Gables. I wasn't sure if she would understand everything, so I got the more elementary version of the book. ***Spoiler Alert*** I was wrong about her understanding and emotional connection to the book. I was shocked when I read her the chapter where Matthew, the man who had adopted Anne, died. I was shocked because when I said the words, "And then Matthew died." Lily burst into tears. She sobbed for several minutes and the tears continued as I finished the book. She was so connected to the story and the characters that she was truly sad. She asked me why Matthew couldn't have died sooner in the book, when she didn't know him and like him so much. Why did they make him die?

The experience of reading that book together opened some discussions about hard topics, bonded us in a new way and gave us a history of hard topics that will allow me to bring the hard stuff up again later.

Reading to my kids is my favorite part of most days. Now that Lily and I are reading alone together every night, it has given us something to share, a quiet time to be together. I am cherishing the time and hoping that this is one of the routines from her childhood that she remembers most and continues into adulthood.

What are some chapter books that you enjoyed during your childhood? I would love some recommendations!

I'm guessing there will never be medical school in Drew's future

Today I had a fasting lab. So, since I couldn't eat anything before of after my run this morning, I was very quick to Lily off to school - 10 minutes early! After dropping Lily off we hurried over to the clinic to get in line. I wanted to be there as early as possible. My mom had warned me that the crowd at the lab first thing in the morning is like a herd of turtles.

All morning Drew had been telling me that he did not want to go with me to the lab. Did. Not. I kept telling him that it wasn't going to take long. Don't worry, it will only take a few minutes. Being the compliant child Drew is, he came along without too much of a fuss. He had dressed himself this morning in his Darth Vader costume and when we arrived in the parking lot he told me he didn't want to wear it in to the building. Turns out, he had to because he was wearing his pajamas underneath, which happened to be what he worn all day yesterday. I told him to keep it on - we'd only be a minute!

It really didn't take long at all. I think we waited about 10 minutes before they called my name. The kids came with me and stood right by my chair. They looked worried, but I was trying to show them that it's not too big of a deal to get a shot or blood drawn. See? Mommy is brave!

Drew stood there. They poked me. He asked me if it hurt. I said, oh, just a tiny pinch. It doesn't hurt me right now. Drew went pale. Drew swayed. Drew went blank. Drew fell foward just as I caught him. They boy had fainted. The lab tech were very nice. She got him an ice pack and offered him juice. He sat on my lap with no color anywhere on his face. His whole body had broken out into a cold sweat, so much so that his hair was wet and he kept saying he was hot. I told the lab techs that I'd carry him and we'd go straight home for some juice. I think he wanted to get out of there.

On the drive home I explained to Drew that what had happened to him was called "fainting" and that it happens to Daddy too. I apologized about 1,000,000 times. He explained the experience to me. He said that everything went blank and then he saw spots all over his body and shoes. He said it was like going blind for a minute. "That's when I got scared."

When we got home I made him a bowl of oatmeal and a tall glass of orange juice. He keeps telling us he's never "failed" before. He keeps forgetting it's called fainting. So, after he finished his oatmeal he asked me if he could watch a little TV. I told him yes and Julianna said she wanted to, too. He said, "No, Julianna. I am the one who failed. I am the only one who can watch TV. I'd never failed before today."