Leap year, fall day

I have two little girlies that I love so much my heart and mind can't comprehend.  They are wonderful and smart and the best gifts.

They are also little petri dishes... bringing home every germ and virus possible. Something settled in and made a home of me last night.

Siobain is such a big girl and once I e-mailed sick in to work I rolled over and let her get Caitlin ready for school. She woke me when it was time for me to drive them to school.

On the way to the car I rolled my ankle, went down hard on my knee and (gracefully?) landed on the lawn.  I was 75% sure I was nowhere near the ant pile that we hadn't killed yet... and so, here is the deal... It wasn't that I couldn't get up, I didn't WANT to get up.  I was finally laying down again.  Which is how my body really wanted to be.  Yes, a pillow and bed would be preferred but "the sick" was okay with the front lawn.

My girlies were worried about me and hovering. Any other time I would have loved the attention... but their worried questions were ruining the peace of closing my eyes and just laying there.

Ugh, once I got up my knee and ankle pain registered. I should have stayed on the lawn.

The Doctor diagnosed me with general crapola.. sinusitis and some other -itis, basically an "acute" sore throat.  She gave me two shots, a steroid and an antibiotic, three prescriptions, and an okay to go back to work tomorrow.  As she was leaving the room she said "Your work is really lucky to have you."

Okay, this is without doubt true, because I'm awesome :) But I don't get where it was coming from.  Was it because I said I really needed to be able to work tomorrow? Was it because she could tell while listening to my heart, that I am "all in"? Or do I just have "the look"? Whichever, I liked her.

I've slept 9 out of the last 12 hours. 15 minutes falling and dropping the girlies off at school. 1.5 hours with the doctor. I don't know what I did the rest of the time.  Checked some emails.  Was cranky with my husband, cause that's what I do when I'm really sick.

My falls are always funny.  And I'll get a giggle out of it in four years when I say, remember what happened last February 29th?

Back to bed. (But thankfully the shots have kicked in!)

Uranus

This morning was a perfect example of the hurry-up-and-wait production day.  I had some time on my hands while the script was being rewritten (to a much improved version) and after I caught up with all the work I could from the studio I played with my new phone... again...

I happened to be on a swivel chair and was able to capture the studio using the 360Panorama app! Here is the "flattened" version:

But if you go HERE, you can see the room 360 surround from my POV.  Totally fun!

... poor Ed was cut in half in the process...

Once the script was corrected the rest of the shoot went really quickly.  

Later that afternoon... I was visiting Karen's office to ask some invoicing questions, very work related, and... I wanted to see HER new iPhone with Siri!

I must have overstayed my welcome and asked Siri too many questions because Karen said...

"Oh, I know a great question for Siri! Siri, how do I get Kathleen out of my office?"

Well, this girl can take a hint... as long as it is delivered with blunt force ;)

For some reason I was really dreading one of my regular tasks today... the project system update.  It's not hard. It's not complicated. It was just giving me a yucky feeling.  But they don't pay me to avoid yucky feelings... so I turned on ANOTHER of my new favorite apps to listen to while I did my data entry!

5-0 Radio!

That's right, a police scanner app.  Who knew? So far my favorite channel is St. Louis Police and Fire. Yeah, I did my job AND heard about the woman who wanted to have the six teenagers removed from her driveway but was not willing to answer the door to the officer. Drama radio! I think there might seriously be something wrong with me for liking this app so very much.  Yesterday, a woman shot her boyfriend in the leg and the boyfriend took off in a red pick-up truck.

I just pretend it's a very well written crime show.

Speaking of crimes... Have you seen how adorable my hubby is?

Yes, I got a cartoon app too.  I hope this novelty wears off soon.

The girlies returned to school today.  Over dinner Michael says, "Ask Caitlin what she learned about Uranus at school today..." and then snickers.

Caitlin immediately responded with "Oh! Three planets in a row have first letters that spell Sun: Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune."

My husband... is a dork.

Siobain brought some artwork home today.  Here is "angry man"...

This is the face I'm gonna make if hubby tries another Uranus joke.

... or a sleep mask

Both girlies were home sick today.  So I did what any good parent would,  I made them take naps. Yes, it was an added benefit that I got to take a nap too... but it was for them... really.

Caitlin is very sensitive to light and sound when sleeping and it was pretty bright at 10:00 this morning, even with the blinds closed.  So she improvised...

This is her very favorite Jack hoodie... which is a little large on her.  

But the perfect size to use as an eye mask.

Also, it's a little creepy.

Today is also a big day for my bro-in-law, JD! Happy Birthday Dude!  Wish Siobain didn't have bronchitis so we could party like it was 1979!

He makes gold chains look gooooood!  Caitlin selected this photo.  We had a lot of fun on Jib Jab... until my sister Siobain called and said "Stop sending the Jib Jabs now. Right now. No more." Bah-birthday-hum-bug, we only sent 7... there were thousands more I could have sent.

It's okay, my other bro-in-law, Peter, has a birthday in two weeks.  Jib-ya-jab!

Harmonica - Photo 52: ABCs

My bed was full of people last night... so I retreated to Honey's empty bed.  Spartacus agreed with my assessment and joined me.

Siobain is still sick, I wasn't feeling well this morning either so we didn't have our guitar lessons today.  But we still had lots of music practice going on.

The girlies gave Hubby a top-of-the-line harmonica for Christmas...

He played a little for me while I was eating some soup.

It was so pretty today. Spartacus, Caitlin and I played ball with Spartacus until he got too tired to do all the work.  The rest of the day I just chilled.  Some silly moments with the girlies... but mostly chilling.  So I had an opportunity to play with the free photo apps on my phone.

ColorSplash

BeFunkyFX

PixelWorks

Sketch Me!

Hello, my name is Kathleen and I'm addicted to silly photography apps.  It's true.

I also put together a little video...

Handsome Hubby plays the Harmonica

Sick Girlie - Haiku

home sick she may be

suffering coughs, fever, aches, pains

she's still a beauty

Siobain is performing the "elbow cough"... the new school way of covering a cough.

My poor baby has missed two days of school... 

sometimes she feels perky enough to enjoy it.

Ummm.... Awkward

I spent the evening with a charming group of young men and a lovely young woman.  The Venturing crew invited me to speak about the production process.

What am I going to talk about? Write, shoot, edit.  That's it  in a nutshell.  How am I going to extend this visit beyond three words?

The only other time I've done something like this was career day when Siobain was in third grade.  I used props and assigned rolls... not appropriate for this age group.

I would just have to do the best I could.  If it is only 10 minutes long, well, that's the way it goes.

... I went 45 minutes over my allotted time.  What the ha-shizzle!  It must have been that anxiety pill I took. And the fact that I talk a lot.  And I'm pretty sure that if I could edit out all the "ums" I would have finished with time to spare.  That's right, 45 minutes worth of ums.

All the while this wonderful group was attentive and polite.

Several golden moments of awkwardness too... I wish I could remember them.  Between nerves and the medication I'm kind of hazy on the whole thing.

I completely blame my buddy Ryan for not telling me to "rap it up"... sigh.

Here are my cuties Ryan and Tinker... 

I was so embarrassed for talking so long I couldn't hold my camera steady.

I can't wait for my girlies to be old enough to join this great group!

You talkin' to me?

Crazy morning.  Honey's school was delayed 2 hours because of electrical problems... one would think I could accomplish a lot in two extra hours.  Instead I am running out the door as frantic as if school hadn't been delayed.

My car is still loaded with all my scrapbook supplies.  Neatly stacked in the middle seats. Caitlin refused to sit in the front seat for the short drive to school.

"It's not safe"... but it's just down the street, "no, it's not safe"... we could have walked there by now... "it's against the law"

Fine.  I rearrange the boxes for my law-abiding-safety-loving-eight-year-old girlie. Technically, having her sit in the front seat would not have been against the law. It just would not have been the safest place for her in the car. (I know this because I just did a bunch of curiosity-satisfying-research on TxDPS website.)

I've just been telling the girls it's against the law so they will sit in the back seat and not whine for turns up front. This is not something I feel bad about... but I did rethink my dishonesty this morning when my daughter was looking at me like I was willing to risk her life and my liberties.

Anywho.

On to the older girlie...

She's been using my phone again. She used her extra 2 hours this morning to engage in this exchange with hubby... Imagine my surprise to stumble upon this in my phone. sigh. goofballs. 

Roll of the dice...

I am addicted... to iFrakle.  Thanks a lot Karen! She loaded my new iPhone with a bunch of apps that I told her I would not use.

Why did I click on that little dice icon? 1st game was confusing. 2nd game I "got it" and became addicted.  I must promise myself never to Frakle and drive!

The level of my addiction is affecting my children...

Caitlin watched over my shoulder a few times and is now a pro herself... we may need an intervention.

Guilty Pleasure

I've had a headache for 24 hours now... and no Excedrin to be found, arg.

Michael just rolled over and said "Is this a guilty pleasure? Because it sounds like the worst television show ever."  He said it in an Australian accent... to match the terrible acting.

It's true.  This is my guilty pleasure. A horrible Australian television show... love Netflix, but I would never have been caught in this compromising position if it weren't for instant streaming.

6 eggs and 4 chicks

We started the morning transporting some eggs... into our tummies... and drinking some mimosas... (that's champagne and orange juice!)

Rain, rain, rain, I found the rain very comforting and it was a great day to stay in... until we went for some supplies.  But I received door-to-door service, lucky girl!

We've been singing along with the 80's channel all day but I'm the only one busting any moves... I gots some mad skills.

I need to get back to my drinking and scrapping, errrr...I mean scrapping and drinking ;)  I'll leave you with this image...

Gangsta Scrapper, Photo by Stacy!

Girls weekend - Photo 52: ABCs

Drinking with Scissors!

I'm having so much fun with the scrappy girls tonight! Started our weekend with pom martinis, then some cutting, some Italian food and champagne, and back to the scissors.

Only band aid needed so far :)

I'll get some pictures of the ladies tomorrow, hopefully! They are always camera shy... the irony!

Caitlin has let me know that I'm not allowed to come home unless I've finished the 2011-2012 school year books for each of the girlies.  She's gonna be super excited!

I'm Sexy and I Know It...

Siobain went to her first 7th grad dance tonight, she went casually dressed.  Some people dressed up... kinda a free-for-all. She met a bunch of her girlfriends and had a good time...

"The craziest part was when 'I'm Sexy and I Know it' came on and EVERYONE stood up to dance!" What? What is this song? She started singing it. Then says, "It's a little inappropriate, I know."

I just youtube-ed this song, by LMFAO... and I like it.  But I don't know if I want her to like it. "I got passion in my  pants and I'm not afraid to show it..." I assume that means what I think it means?

Does this face look old enough to hear this shiz?

No, she does not look old enough.

Hubby is going out with a friend tonight and is finally wearing the Les Mis shirt I bought him.  Isn't he handsome?

'Course, he actually posed this way.  I waited until he lowered his eyebrow.

such. a. goofball.

Caitlin walked in as I was taking the photo and said "why are you wearing a girl's shirt?"

It's not a girls shirt!

Speaking of goofball... apparently hubby had some time on his hands this afternoon.  Poor Spartacus, such a good sport.  Hubby put this pink supergirl cape on him and took several photos.

Super Sparty!

The Thing

Today was fun!  Very productive morning at work then the afternoon off to help Gorgeous. I wasn't much help... but I was hi-ghly entertaining, I was able to gross out and cause laughter at the same time. That's some mad skills.

First fun thing... photos of Gorgeous' frankenfoot.  I l-o-v-e her new foot.  I love it so much that the photos made me light headed. She is actually considering letting me post the photos on my blog, which would make me giddy!  Even if she just lets me post the before and after x-rays I would be very happy... all my toes are crossed! (te hehehehehe!)

Second fun thing... My phone decided to die several weeks ago and has been a zombie phone since... moving and moaning in a poor imitation of a working phone.  hubby said we should just go ahead and get me a new one, after lots'o complaining from me.  I got an iPHONE! I'm so excited! I loves me a mac for shizzle... so I think I'll love the iPhone, but it is not as super easy to use as I thought it would be.  I'll have a little bit of a learning curve.  Some of my iPhone pals might have to help a girl out.

Third fun thing... and this was so wonderfully awkward that I wish it was recorded!

I stopped getting acrylic nails several months back for three reasons: 1. they're expensive, 2. I always wait too long in between appointments, and 3. it hurt like %&(^ if they broke. So now I'm getting gel (jel?) manicures on occasion. Hassle free.

I always go to the same place and usually have the same nailtision (made-up-word.) She is really nice.  I decided to get color instead of a French manicure today.  I was torn between two colors. Sue speaks with a very thick accent and our communication is often nodding and single words.

"Pick color?" she asks.
"I'm torn between these two, but I'm going to go with this pink one" I reply.

Sue nods her head and pulls to two samples aside...
"You think about it."

Okay, I guess she didn't understand me. But she's got some work on those cuticles before she applies color so it doesn't matter right now.

"Pick color?" she asks after my nail beds are all set for the application.
"I'd like the pink one" I say with a smile. (a very nice smile with actual lipstick!)
She nods her head and walks away.

She re-appears with two bottles of polish and paints one of her nails in each color.
"Pick color?" she asks...

At this point I realize that she really does not like the idea of the pink color on me.  Honestly, I could go either way. I think it was more important to her than it was to me.

The little devil in me wanted to see how far I could take this.  If I chose the pink again would she cave? Or would she "accidentally" spill the bottle? Or maybe she would just shake her head and put the other color on anyway?

But she's so nice.  So I said, "oh, I think I'll take the darker color."

Lots of nodding.  "yes, wise choice" the nods seemed to say. But she just smiled and painted my nails.

"Such a pretty color" she says when she is through.

"Yes, such a good choice" I reply.

I took a photo of my nails... and here is the deal.  I've got some weird looking hands. No hand modeling in my future.  Tomorrow I'm going to really look at my co-workers hands... do they all look like wrinkly sausages? All those creases? And you can't even see all the veins in this photo.

The more I look at them... the less a part of me they feel. These four piggies are now their own entity, sitting on my keyboard, typing away... I shall keep them in a box and call them The Thing!

I've Got You Babe!

Just another day of love in our house... but with Godiva Truffles :)

We gots burnin' love!

We didn't do anything special, just dancing and singing in a beautiful field.  The girls took video for us...

Oh Boy!

I've been in bed elevating my knee all day and pampering my hand, which feels like a gorilla stepped on it... so I'm not really properly dressed to say...

FINALLY! My sister has announced to the world, well at least Facebook, that my 5th girlie Kate is getting a little brother.

See, I can keep a secret.  I can respect my family's privacy.  Even if it is killing me inside.  These months of silence have given me time to accept that a male will be born into the family.  I was really mad at Jason and his sperm when we found out we were having a boy.  I wouldn't deny it if someone asked if there was a tiny tear shed, no 6th girlie for me.

But now I'll have tales of the boy and his 5 girlies to tell.  Given the personalities of girlies one, two, three, four, and five I expect hi-larity for years to come.

Siobain looks beautiful with our baby boy...

Photo taken on Feb 3rd.

Siobain was in the middle of an animated conversation with Sarah when I took this photo.  She looks lovely... but is really much lovelier than this. She certainly doesn't have a double chin, raised eyebrows, or an open mouth.  Okay, her mouth is open a lot, but you know what I mean.

"Let me take another picture, this one did something weird with your chin."

"No. I am not posing. You should just capture candid moments."

"Hmph, fine."

Anyway.  Hurray ME, I'm getting a baby boy with out any of the delivery pains, late night feedings, or diapers... I'll take the fun time, thank you.

I'll need to search through the photos I haven't been able to share... like how we found out... project!

Hurray!

Spartacus

The hits kept coming this weekend... hi-larity ensues.

We took Gorgeous back to the open arms of Eleanor and Mia. I learned that on the nurse scale I am below Eleanor (age 6) and above Mia (age 3)... but only because Mia sometimes says "no."  Apparently my clumsiness is a liability.

I think my handsome boy was happy to see me.

He's been cuddling my knee (from yesterday slip 'n slide injury.)

Oh, and it's snowing outside.

I wonder if my handsome boy will write a post about the snow... I am Spartacus.

Wipe Out!

Soooo, I'm spending the weekend at Gorgeous' tree house to help out since she's only got one foot to work with. (Due to her toe surgery, she's got two rods sticking out of her toe... awesome!)

Anywho... as is my tendency, I just completely... Bit the dust! Wiped out! Went down for the count!

I'm pretty sure I dropped some F-bombs on my way down, but that GOD I did not take Gorgeous down with me.

Unfortunately I did not get video of this highly entertaining event... no worries, there are bound to be many more falls, splats, stumbles, trips, and rolls for everyone to witness.

Glad the girlies are sleeping over tonight, they can be our gophers. I've got my knee up and Gorgeous has her foot up... the family that kick-backs together stays together.

Me 'n my ice bag.

Note: If I ever say "I'll take you down!" assume that I mean "I"ll take you down with me"... literally! Tehe.

Fairy & Princess - Photo 52: ABC

Princess Mia and the Fairy Book

Little Miss Mia came to visit Gorgeous today.  "Yes, yes, yes" to Gorgeous. "No, no, no" to Aunt Kathleen... but I think she's just playing and secretly wants to say "yes, yes, yes" to me too... mhmmm.

She and Gorgeous read all the Robert Sabuda pop-up-books... they are beautiful.

Precious Cargo

I am a really bad driver.  I admit it.  I think hubby just kind of accepts that we have to do wheel alignments every couple of months... he loves me that way.

But today I was super careful... I had precious cargo in the back seat, Gorgeous was heading home.

The last time I felt this nervous driving was when I had my little girlies as little babies.. when every bump and turn feels like a roller coaster.

The difference between that precious cargo and today's precious cargo... they didn't "backseat" drive. This is the first time EVER that mom implied I was going too sloooooooow. She said it in a nice way.

I so wish I could share a photo of her toe, it is awesome and would explain my need to drive carefully.  But I'm not the boss of her toe, so you don't get to see a picture.

I am happy that Gorgeous gets to sleep in her own house for a couple of nights... so, shhhhhhh!

We don't want to wake Gorgeous!

Family Circus

This morning was more 3-ringed than usual. I'll just go ahead and admit that Caitlin did not get to school on time... and then there was an email from her teacher, to all the parents (but we know it was meant for me), about "tardies"... awkward!

1st Act: The Girl in the Locked Box

In the center ring this morning was Caitlin (surprise, surprise.) I was putting my dress in the dryer, because that's how I iron, when I heard screaming and banging coming from the general direction of the bathroom. Then the sound of the dryer muffled the screams and it was easy to ignore.

But when I needed to get into the bathroom myself the screaming needed to be addressed. The girls aren't allowed to lock the bathroom door because the last time they did they accidentally shut the door behind them with no one on the inside to UNlock the door... and I had to remove the door knob... during a slumber party.

Anyway, they are not allowed to lock the door... but Caitlin has figured out how to block the door from opening with the drawer:

Very effective!

Fortunately "open the damn door" is a magic phrase.

2nd Act: Amazing Toothpaste

Caitlin hates brushing her teeth. I suspect her "locked" door maneuver is a ruse to give the impression that she has brushed her teeth while alone.  Her back-up ruse is to rinse all the toothpaste off the brush before putting it into her mouth... this doesn't work so well when I'm standing there brushing my teeth too.

We had a stare-off in the mirror. She knew she couldn't stop brushing before I did... so I brushed for an extra long time :) I'm evil that way.

Somehow we (the unidentifiable we) manage to get toothpaste everywhere... everyday.  How did we get it on the toilet? Or on the upper right hand side of the mirror? Seems to be everywhere except in the tube and on the brush.

This morning there was a huge smear of toothpaste on the back of the hairbrush. Yuck, with some of Siobain's hair already stuck to it.  Have I mentioned that I have hair issues? I rinsed the brush off... and then decided to clean the hair out of the bristles.

Bad move. I didn't dry my hands first so the ball of human hair kept clinging to my hands. This would usually make me barf, but I didn't.

Instead I decided we better leave the house before anything else happens...

3rd Act: The Strongest Girl in the World

"Where's my lunch?" Caitlin asks from the middle of the living room. She loves to park herself in the middle of the living room.

After determining that Daddy didn't make lunch for Caitlin I told her she could just buy lunch today.

"I only like to buy on Tuesdays and Friday" Caitlin states from the middle of the room.

"What are they having today?" I ask, standing in the open front door.

"I don't know" Caitlin states, firmly rooted to the center of the living room floor.

"Maybe you'll like it. We GOTS TO GO!" I said sternly, gesturing out the door.

Blank stare from Caitlin... and this is why the middle of the room is Caitlin's favorite spot... she knows I"m not going to pick her up or drag her by her hair or yank her by the feet, no matter how much I REALLY REALLY WANT TO. All she has to do is root herself and not budge.

I gave up. She's gonna be late. We fixed her lunch and finally headed for the car.

4th Act: Clown Car

"Since you are already late, I'm going to drop Siobain off first because her school is on the way" I say, standing at the front door (again.)

"Daddy said we aren't allowed to let you do that anymore." Siobain says breezily as she walks past me.

"I AM THE MOMMY AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!" I screamed so all the neighbors are sure to hear this declaration... Unfortunately I was a bit worried that Siobain would refuse to get out of the car if I tried to drop her off first... so to Caitlin's school I drove.

(Back story)
Okay, yesterday I freaked out a little during drop-off and called the school to ask them what the ha-shizzle the new drop off routine is.  Here's a sketch:

Lane 1 is the drop off lane.  Lane 4 is the "park, pick-your-nose, apply make-up, do whatever" lane.  Lane 2 and 3 are confusing.

People have been using lane 3 as a drop-off lane lately... because it kinda looks like one now that the school added all those safety cones in lane 2. So I started using it but got SERIOUS ATTITUDE from the crazy lady with the "stop" sign. When I spoke to the office yesterday they said "those people (which would include me) are WRONG and we have been sending notes home trying to get them to stop." A-w-k-w-a-r-d.. basically, if I'd paid attention to some of that paperwork sent home in the folders then I would know what the ha-shizzle is going on.

(Back from the back story)

Are you still with me? As we are approaching Caitlin's school the voice* in my head starts talking to me...

"You're a bad Mom who doesn't read the paperwork sent home!"

"You've been doing drop-off all wrong!"

"ALL the other moms have seen your car in the wrong lane!"

"They think you think you are better than them!"

I had to silence the voice, ASAP. I started making a very loud humming noise... my version of "lalalalalala I can't hear you!"

This worked! I calmed down... but then the girlies started humming with me.

We were a car of crazies!

And THAT happened before 8:15 am.

*We all have that voice in our head. This was not a "crazy" voice... although my response may have been questionable. :)

A Love Story

Hubby took today's picture for me.  He walked into the living room to this scene...

Spartacus and Chocolate (the bear) both look exhausted. A little afternoon delight perhaps? For sure I've seen dogs become frisky with inanimate objects, although my handsome gentleman has never stooped to such levels.  Did Chocolate take advantage of Spartacus... slip a little something in his water bowl and ply him with promises of love and happy endings?

It's like Toy Story... gone wrong.

Size Matters

Siobain brought home a permission slip to watch Super Size Me at school tomorrow. I think this is really great.  She is a healthy size and I want her to stay that way forever. So I love that nutrition, healthy eating and exercise is something they are discussing at school.

I've set a very bad example for her.  To say I have an unhealthy relationship with food is an extreme understatement.  Food eases my anxiety and fear and yet fuels it with weight gain, which causes anxiety... an evil cycle.

I've yo-yo-ed to extremes, and in dangerous ways that I won't go into here, and I can't seem to strike the healthy balance that I want my girlies to have... and that I hope to have for myself.

It is an extra weight on my shoulders every moment of every day.  If that "weight" could be weighed I think it would match me pound for actual pound. I've an invisible scarlet letter on my chest and it is "O"... the letter of the heaviest word I know. But it's not really invisible... because everyone sees it.  It is a fact that I can ignore but not hide from.

"Just start!"
"Baby steps!
"One day at a time!"
"One decision at a time!"

Yes, to all of those. I believe them. Want to act on them. Will NOT eat after the anxiety of publishing this post. My baby step.

Because size does matter.

The Hubby

is...
so much more than we could pray for.
so much more than I dreamed of.
laughter.
music.
love.

Plus he is handsome AND makes lunch for the girlies every morning... :) Kiss!

Spiral

About to get out and do a little shopping to make Gorgeous' life a little easier. Hopefully I can find a lap tray with legs. Caitlin needs new jeans, she's got holes in both knees. And lunch.

The girls are following the "hair deal" really  well... except we have "lost" all our barrettes. Tehe, mommy was smart enough to buy bobby pins that will work just fine for the bangs.

So, I decided to try a new braid on Caitlin this morning, the spiral:

So, I love this braid. But, as is evident in the 3rd photo, Caitlin does not.  At first she said it hurt... then she admitted she just didn't like it, with a pitiful "can I please take it out mommy?"

Double sigh.  I tried to bribe her to keep it in until Aunt Sarah got to see it, that's ONLY 2 hours, pa-leeeeeeease? No go, another pitiful "please take it out mommy..."

I thought about doing it to Siobian's hair but I'm really hungry and need to get going.  At least she let me take pictures.

4 minutes to braid, 2 minutes begging her to keep it in, 1 minute to take photos, 30 seconds to remove braid... the braid took longer to create than she actually wore it...

"Beat that!"

Lots of laughter going on here at the Medina casa tonight.  Hubby and the girlies are playing some game called Gnomes.  Lot's of screaming and laughing. Sounds to make the heart happy.

Caitlin just said "yes, 2nd place, beat that!"... didn't the person in 1st place already do that?

Siobain keeps saying "oh yeah baby" and Caitlin just said "this game is so fun, it's perfect for us."  I should run the video camera but I'm afraid that would slow down their fun a little.

Meanwhile... Sarah reported that Gorgeous is doing really well.  Mom did great last night... I spent the night, completely unnecessary because Sarah had it all under control, but it made me feel better.

I'm going to have to convince Gorgeous to let me share a photo of her toe... it is awesome! There are two metal rods sticking out of the tip of her toe. I don't know when they are going to pull those out. Medical science is amazing.

Meanwhile... I missed this Saturday's guitar lesson because I crashed when I got home.  Hubby said the girlies did a great job and their fingers are not hurting as much. :)

father and daughter guitars

Hubby loved it when he noticed Caitlin had place her mini guitar right next to his.  "Take a picture"... all children deserve a daddy who loves them as much as hubby loves our girlies.

Eleanor - Photo 52: ABCs

Gorgeous came through her foot surgery great and is all settled at Eleanor's house.  Eleanor and Mia are the best nurses ever! Gorgeous might never go home after this...

Today was cowboy day at her school and she looks great!

"I'm gonna rustle me up some grub."

Urban Legends...

I've heard and shared many, many, many of these in the last 30 or so years... from age 6 and 7 when sleep overs and sharing scary stories where fun...

Gang Initiation... a car comes speeding up behind an innocent driver, high beam lights flashing. You are murdered if you pull over. You are murdered if you don't pull over. Either way you are dead.

Killer in the Backseat... a woman is driving late at night and a car pulls up close behind and then falls back... over and over... all the way to her house. He was saving her from the crazed killer in the back seat.

These came flooding back to me tonight as I'm driving down a dark bumpy road... a car closes in on my bumper. Did they just flash their lights? Or was it a trick of the lighting because of the bumpy road?

Double flash.

Double flash.

No, this car is definitely flashing lights at me. I check my speed, am I going too fast or too slow?

No, the speed limit is 35, so I'm just right. Double flash. Double flash. My heart is now double time the high beam signals. I'm scared but not in a panic.  I forgot my phone this morning. I have my little girlie with me. I'm very close to a populated road (although not necessarily a good one.) I'm thinking of escape routes... I don't want to lead this car to my mother's house.

Double flash. Double flash. The car is now swerving trying to get around me.  The road has widened to a double lane... please let them speed past me.

They don't. The car has pulled up parallel to mine.  I'm avoiding looking to my right and am about to slam on the breaks when the other driver lays on their horn.

I'm scared and startled and quickly glance at the driver...

...who is... HUBBY.  Really? ...Really? ...REALLY?

Diarrhea! All his fault.

Top Secret...

Today started off  interesting... and by "today" I mean just barely! At 12:45-ish this morning my littlest girlie walked into the living room and began sorting through the clean clothes pile that was on the couch.

Side note: I don't know why I was up so late and I'm not going to mention how long this clean clothes pile has been on the couch.

Back to Caitlin... as she is sorting through clothes I am trying to talk to her, "Caitlin?... Caitlin are you okay?... What's the matter baby?" no response.  Not even a glance in my direction. Ah, she's sleep walking again.  (Keeps things interesting around the house.  She likes to talk in her sleep too.  Both my girlies talk and walk in their sleep...)

She has grabbed a pair of panties and is walking out of the room... "Caitlin? Did you wet the bed?" I give her a little squeeze... she looks up at me in a very dreamy way, "Not the bed."

Hmmm... Not the bed? As I'm pondering this she walks down the hall.  I get her back into bed... and she's right, the bed is not wet.

I love this wonderful, weird world.

***

Meanwhile... Here is my little Caitlin with her Top Secret book...

This is such a fantastic, clever, and funny book.  Completely created by Caitlin. I begged her to let me take some pictures and share the content, but she said no.  And I really try to respect their privacy on this blog.

She said I could share this picture of her holding the book, and she even requested this frame around the photo... But I have to say "top secret book, only for family!"

This is the first photo of my girlies, to my recollection, where I thought "wow, they really look alike!" It's the eyes... and the grainy quality of the photo... and that you can't see any other part of her face. But mainly it's the eyes.  My girlies have the same beautiful eyes.