Things that Make Me Happy

I haven't posted anything for over a week. I could blame that on the cold that's gripped my sinuses and won't let go. Or maybe I'm a little burned out from blogging. (And I'm anticipating an anxious call from my grandparents wondering when I'll post something next. Sorry guys. . .)

Nah, it's probably the cold, which makes me lazy, which keeps me from blogging. Ya, that's it.

Here are a few things that make me happy lately. . .

Sophie and Ivy love books and love reading together. I love peeking into the living room while I'm making dinner and seeing them like this. It may be the only 5 minutes during the day that someone isn't crying or whining, so I'll take it and be happy. At least they like to read, eh?

A friend of mine gave me this. Every time I look at it it makes me smile. . . and crave bacon. Thanks Kathryn! :)

"Bacon is like a little hug from God". . . why yes, it is.

And no, the newness of my new little toy hasn't worn off yet. People still ask me if I got a new camera -- probably because I wasn't too direct about announcing it. So here's an obligatory "take a picture of myself in a mirror because I have a fancy camera" shot that everyone seems to have.

To answer some questions, it's a Canon 30D. I got it off craigslist (body only) for a 1/3 of what it costs new. And I got a new 50mm 1.8 lens to go with it -- mostly for close up/low-light shots. Perfect for things that sit quietly. Like food. And occasionally my children.

I like this shot, actually. The only parts of me that are clearly visible are also the most slender parts of me. And that camera does a good job of hiding the bags under my eyes. . .

. . . which will soon be gone because Miss Ivy has begun to sleep through the night. We're working on weaning, but I haven't nursed her at night for about a week.

I love Sophie's drunk/falling asleep face.

How could I leave this handsome guy out? He's been really patient with my crabby self lately, and he's to thank for the seven consecutive hours of sleep I've been getting almost every night. (I need to go to bed earlier.) He got up with Ivy a few nights in a row, and kept trying despite Ivy's best efforts to duck from his grasp and holler for mama.

And I have complete faith that he'll find the remote control to the DVD player so we can watch Chuck on TV instead of on my computer.

Ivy and the Sunglasses

Have you ever sat and watched your kids (or grandkids) with your teeth clenched? Like they're being so cute that you just want to eat them? I tend to get that way around Ivy, in the least cannibalistic way possible. The emotion is hard to explain. Maybe it's just the women in my family. . .

I love Ivy. I especially love having one-on-one time with her because she's so happy-go-lucky when there isn't a big sister bossing her around, taking things from her or knocking her over. (I've been struggling with Sophie lately. Anyone want to borrow her for a while?)

Ivy is fearless, impulsive and a complete tease. She's very expressive and you know exactly what she's thinking or feeling at any given time. I guess what she lacks in stature, she makes up for in personality. I sat and watched her one afternoon playing with the glasses my mom sent the girls for V-Day.

I about died from cuteness overload.

Oh my gosh, these teeth. . . I love them so much. And they make me laugh every time she smiles.

My jaws are getting sore just looking at these again.

My Favorite Laundry Stack

I think it's safe to say (I hope I don't jinx myself) that Sophie's completely potty trained. She hasn't worn a diaper in 3 weeks (we didn't do pull-ups) and has only had a handful of accidents.

She's such an independent little one. After going on the potty for just a couple of days, she started doing it all by herself. No announcements. Sometimes I didn't even knew she did it until she started yelling for help to pull her pants back up.

I only have one kid in diapers. Hallelujah.

Love

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day.



Full of love . . .



kindness . . .



and hugs.



We really love each other around here.



We always share . . .



and speak nice words to each other.



We always say "please . . . "



and "thank you".



and take turns.



Sometimes feelings get hurt, . . .



but luckily . . .



kids are good at forgiving others.

To be honest, I had a pretty crappy weekend. Steve was out of town, Ivy was sick & teething, and I got very few hours of sleep (thank you, neighbors). Plus I had menstrual cramps and hip pain. (Avulsion fracture. Long story.)

But I also found lots of love note Post-its from Steve hidden in the kitchen, received lots of texts and phone calls from friends and family. The girls got Valentine surprises from the grandmas and were surprisingly well-behaved.

We survived.

"How To Make a Flower Arrangement" by Sophie

Step 1: Go out into the yard and find the only shrub that has flowers on it. Cut them all off. Bring them in the house and tell mom to get a bowl of water.

Step 2: Put all the flowers in the bowl.

Step 3: When all the flowers are in, stare at it for a few seconds to make sure everything looks OK.

Step 4: Blow. Because that's usually the first thing you do when mom gives you a bowl of something.

Bathtime Bonding

Wishes Sophie didn't splash water in her face all the time.

Wishes Ivy didn't poop in the tub every other night.

A Free Man

February 9, 2010, was a day that I'd been looking forward to since Steve and I started dating.

As of yesterday, Steve's 8-year contract with the National Guard is over. He's no longer property of the US Government. We had an "Emancipation Dinner" last night in honor of his freedom from the military.

Instead of a slim chance for another deployment, there's a zero chance. That's a big difference.

I'm sure Steve's grateful for the training and the things he learned from his military service, but he has no intention of reenlisting. (Whew.)

Steve will never get pulled out of school and sent overseas, and he'll never have to leave his family or miss out on his children growing up.

Or leave his wife again. Another 18-month deployment might send her to the nut house.

I feel like I've been holding my breath for the past several years and can finally exhale.

What Sandwich Families Do on Monday Nights

"Mommy! They're having family night!"

(Is that how we look on the couch?)

According to Sophie

I didn't think I would get this look for at least another 10 years. She's getting quite an attitude. But she also makes me laugh a lot. It seems the harder they are to handle, the better the good times get. (And the more entertaining they become.)

I've been keeping a running list of funny things Sophie says for the past couple of months, and I'm sure this won't end for a while, so here's the first installment.

Sophie: "Ivy's a rhino."
Me: "Why?"
Sophie: "Ivy has a shoe on her hand. Means -- leave her alone. She's a rhino. She's crawling."

* * * * * * * * *

"It's dark outside! Time to have breakfast!" (At 6:30 PM. She's an early riser, so it's often dark when we eat breakfast. Ugh.)

* * * * * * * * *

"Don't make Sophie sad!!"

* * * * * * * * *

(First prayer all by herself)

Thankful for this day.
Help us be reverent. (I think they say this at church a lot.)
Don't pull out the shoes. (From the basket by the front door. She used to always get into those.)
Name Jesus Christ, Amen.

* * * * * * * * *

(I'm raising a little foodie.)

Sophie noticed a small bowl of feta cheese sitting on the counter while I was making dinner. She asked for some. I gave her a bite and she says, "It's goat cheese!"

"Actually, it's feta," I corrected her.

"No, it's goat cheese."

* * * * * * * * *

She comes over to me with a toy cell phone that's a flip phone. She opens it up and says, "Mommy! I made you waffles!"

Lately

It's been an eventful month at the Perry house. I already mentioned the mess with our car, which we'll get back early next week -- almost 4 weeks after it was hit. Ridiculous, I tell you. I'm just grateful we get it back at all.

There were some good things that happened, though. . .

With all the rain we've been getting lately, and having only one car, Steve's been taking it to school a lot. (Otherwise he'd drive his scooter.) That means a lot of time going nuts at home. I took advantage of our homebound days and got serious with Sophie about potty training. I have no idea what happened, but she's suddenly doing it. Most of the time. Number One is totally taken care of. Number Two is being a stinker. (Ha) If you noticed my facebook status recently about Sophie going poo in the potty, it was a false alarm. It's a long story, but after reviewing some facts surrounding the incident (I wasn't there when it supposedly happened) and a round of questions, Sophie indeed "put her poo in the potty", but it made a pit stop somewhere else before it got flushed. So technically . . . it didn't happen the way it was supposed to, but I didn't realize that until much later.

The reward for putting poo in the potty around here is ice cream. (Excessive maybe, but I'm getting antsy to get this stuff over with.) So here she is with her celebratory ice cream -- before I realized she hadn't actually done it.

Somehow I missed two chances to take pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses, so we dressed them up again on Sunday. Luckily they weren't obviously Christmas dresses. It is February now.

Ivy's been eating a lot better (no, not bubble wrap) the last couple of months, but now she either walks around or climbs on stuff every waking moment. So much for those extra calories.

Ivy's started sleeping through the night, (8:30-5 -- I count it), but she's fighting tooth and nail against weaning. I've got her down to once a night (at 4 or 5) and once or twice during the day, but she's not giving those up easily. I don't have the heart to cut her off cold turkey.

She's still a complete momma's girl. She loves to lay/crawl/walk all over me and the couch. I love watching her personality come out, she's such a little tease sometimes.

And I love her "hippo teeth". The first time I heard someone say that I thought it was the funniest thing ever. It still makes me giggle on the inside when I say it.

Some days I wish that her body would divert some of the energy it's expending making eyelashes into growing more hair on her head. I'm just used to Sophie's curly mop. I love her little wisps, though. They make her seem more baby like (that and she's the size of a 9-month-old).

Steve's plugging along in school. He's gotten pretty busy with loads of homework and time spent in the school's clinic. He's learning a lot, though, and trying to figure out how/where we're going to spend the next couple of years when he graduates this summer.

This summer. That freaks me out a little.

Oh, what's that he's looking at? Hmm. . . it looks like a manual for something. Something black and pretty.

Something that did this today. . .

And this, too. . .

Something that I'm totally in love with and have wanted for a very long time. Thank you Craigslist, and thank you kind, generous man, who took very good care of my new friend for the past couple of years.