Brain Damage

These are the shoes that I wore to church this morning. Together. At the same time. I would like to say that I was being a sacrificial mom who let her children pick out her clothing. I would also like to say that I realized it quickly, like when we got in the car, but J said we didn't have time for me to run back into the house and change shoes. Alas, neither are the truth.

The truth is I slipped my shoes on (thinking they were both the black shoes on my right foot), grabbed my purse and diaper bag and walked out the door to get in the car. I didn't realize it when I was in the car. I also didn't realize it while I walked through the house to the car, on the way to church, as I carried brother to the nursery, or as I walked into the sanctuary......even though they have a slight difference in heel height. No, I didn't realize until there was about 10 minutes left in the service. I thought, "huh, why do my shoes feel weird? Are my pants caught in the back of my shoes? Why does it feel like I have one backless shoes on and one with a back?" Oh, that would be because I WORE 2 DIFFERENT SHOES church...that are 2 DIFFERENT COLORS!!

This is what it actually looked like at church. Maybe not TOO terribly noticeable. Right? Right?!? Well, if it was noticed, nobody said anything to me. Probably because they were snickering as I walked away :). I'm pretty sure they weren't wondering if I'm on the cutting edge of the newest fashion trend.

Does anyone else out there feel like your IQ has plummeted since you had kids? And does it get worse with each subsequent child? J has a theory that those stinkers somehow suck your brains out when you're nursing. He may be onto something there.

Playtime

We have a little demolition/reconstruction project going on in the playroom, so other rooms in the house are now getting their fair share of playtime. Somehow our bathroom gets a large percentage of it.
It's actually sister's favorite spot to practice gymnastics {even though she has a mini trampoline and a balance beam J built for her in the basement}. It's oddly large for a bathroom. Even enough space to throw the tennis ball with Lily, which is quite entertaining to brother.
Sister, who used to be quite camera shy, is always interested in having her picture taken now that there's another kiddo around.
She has a knack for jumping in front of camera right before I snap a picture, which is OK since it makes me giggle right along with her.
So what do you think about the bathroom? If you're wondering, yes, in fact that IS carpet in my bathroom. It's a little strange to me, but at least my feet stay warm in the morning. I recently read that Heloise {the cleaning queen of Good Housekeeping} has her entire house, including the kitchen, carpeted, so it could be worse I suppose.
Can you tell it was done in the 90's? Carpet, gold fixtures, and wallpaper, oh the wallpaper. It's blue, forest green, cream, and maroon striped. But it gets better. There's also a foiled/reflective flower pattern on it along with the stripes. If only it were also textured, that would really seal the deal. I hope to change some things eventually.
In the meantime I'll just have to ignore the background and focus on those blue eyes and rosy cheeks instead, which isn't too much of a challenge for me.

Sally sells seashells..

We have a slight seashell obsession in our house. I thought this would be a fad of sister's, but this fad has lasted for over a year now. I find them in her play kitchen, by the bathtub, in her dress up, in my purse, decorating the table, you get the idea. The most common use for them is play food, specifically Creme de La. At least according to sister they are. You might think "Creme de La what?" Creme de la creme? No, just Creme de la, as in "Mommy, I made creme de la for you and all my babies, come have some." Here's what she had prepared for us on the coffee table recently.

I should be used to all of this by now but I have to admit that this surprised me:
This was a new one. Seashells might not be a common find in the average produce drawer, but not around here. Sister walked in right as I opened the drawer and {in a very proud of herself manner} announced "I made you apple pie with sauce and ice cream!!!!!! Eat some Mommy, it's delicious!" I love how she even put spoons in all the containers.
I certainly get my daily dose of laughter from her. She melts my heart and brings me more joy than I can put into words. She's also a REALLY great big sis.

Don't worry, she's not feeding brother creme de la here, just oatmeal :).

More Conversations

Yes, I know the last post was also a recent conversation with A, but these are the things that I never want to forget. I LOVE this age. I can see that she is trying so hard to process life and make sense of everything. I love that she has questions and opinions and is still at the age that almost anything and everything that comes to her mind also comes out of her mouth.

Between she and J (Papa to her) in the car recently

A: Papa, when I grow up I am going to get married, my husband's name will be Fritz and we will live in Arizona. We are going to have 2 kids, a girl named Abby and a boy named Shepherd. I am going to drive a red car with musical stickers, a crown, boots, and a veil on it. Fritz is going to be a, um, a, uhh, Papa what are you?

J: I'm a project manager

A: Fritz will be a project manager and work in Connecticut. I'm going to be a nurse-doctor-nurse. We are going to have 17 cats, named Abby (even though her daughter will also be Abby), Sninka, Nina, and, um, 13 others. [I guess she got tired of coming up with names, but at least her math was close :)]. Mommy won't be able to come see us since she's allergic to cats, but you can come over!

J: Ummm, well good, I'm glad I'll be able to come and visit you.

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Another one in the car with me recently. I'm seeing a theme here. I think maybe she knows that in the car she has our full attention-no phone ringing, dinner cooking, laundry folding, etc, and I think she also knows that, in a sense, she has us cornered!

A: How do we get to heaven?

Me: Well, when you know Jesus, you go to heaven when you die.

A: Right, but how do we get there?

Me: To heaven?

A: Yes

Me: (totally dumbfounded on how to answer this and starting to sweat at where this conversation is going) I don't know exactly, but Jesus will take us to heaven after we die, and we'll know then

A: Hmmmm, I think {pauses as she comes up with an answer, because she always has an answer} that he comes down with a rope and takes us up to heaven.

Me: Well, maybe that's what happens.

A: And I think there are lots of cats in heaven.

A couple things I gleaned from that discussion (1) A apparently thinks Jesus bungee jumps out of heaven, grabs you, and flings right back up (2) she is not pleased with the fact that I'm allergic to cats and therefore we don't have any.

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Again, in the car. Last week we took A, G, and our nieces to the zoo. Our niece, O, was in the third row seat, behind A and G. O propped her feet up on the armrest of G's seat, but not touching A or G.

A: Papa, O has her feet on brother's seat!

J: Don't be a tattletale, O is fine. You don't need to worry about what's going on behind you, just worry about yourself and what's going on in front of you.

A few minutes later J reprimanded A about something, can't remember exactly what it was....A's response?

A: Papa, don't worry about what's going on behind you, just worry about yourself and what's going on in front of you.

I'm impressed J didn't wreck the car he was laughing so hard!

Sometimes I wish I could just jump inside her head and experience what's going on in there.