snow much fun

I haven't done much blogging lately because I haven't been sleeping much. Annabelle is on day 17 of not having at Mr. Lion at bedtime and night 16 (not that I'm counting) of not going to sleep before 10 o'clock at the earliest. My formally excellent sleeper has turned into a night owl. I know that she used Mr. Lion to fall asleep for almost 3 year and she won't adjust overnight, but it's been an exhausting process. Most nights she doesn't fall asleep until close to or after 11. Her eyes glaze over and she is beyond tired but she won't sleep. I talk to and play with her all day long, but come 7:30 (glorious bedtime) I'm ready for a break. She spends the hours calling for me to rock her to saying she has "just one sing to tell you, ok? I am all my children's mommy! I want a green frozen thing at my Frozen party. I want a Mr. Potato Head and a Mr. Potato Head wife and a potato baby. Which should we pay wif first, Mama? The baby one? The mommy one? I waked up! I want to build a sandcastle at the beach. Can you build one wif me? Where should my Potato Head baby go to sleep? Can you tell me about da bears story? Rachel is my friend. Can you kiss ALL my babies goodnight?"

Except for the not nursing part it's like having a newborn around. A newborn who talks about having a tea party then throws her cup out of bed. I can't sleep until she's asleep to needless to say I'm not fresh as a daisy in the morning.

Me: Do you know who has been keeping me awake every night?
Sesame: I dunno. Maybe it's somebody over there.

I'm still finding beads under the stove and in corners from The Spilled Bead Incident last month. Annabelle decided to add to the mess by pulling a bowl of coins off the counter and spilling them all over the floor. She then thought it would be fun to "go swimming" and spread them around even more. IT WAS NOT FUN FOR ME. 

This is what 980 spilled coins looks like.

It snowed that night which was much more fun for both of us than playing with money. Too bad AB didn't enjoy it more. 

birthdays and dates

Every time I go home for a visit I envision lots of time to read and blog. There are always people around to watch AB so I assume it will pretty much be a mini vacation. I was there for two weeks and I only blogged once. I wanted to finish my 300 page book but I'm only reached page 86. I'm achieving my goals at every turn!

We had a wonderful visit. 

Grandma's 88th birthday party went well. Annabelle now understands what a party is and she's talking nonstop about her Pooh Bear party in March. Believe it or not, Grandma wasn't the oldest party-goer. Aunt Peg was there in all of her 105 year old glory. ONE HUNDRED FIVE. She's so spry she didn't even need a wheelchair. She just pulled out her walker and off she went. I hope I look half as good when I'm 70. Or 50. My gray hair is coming in at such an alarming rate I'm afraid soon people will think I'm 100.

Mom drove back with us and last night she babysat while we went on a date. We went to the movies to see Sisters. It was such a waste of $20. I'm fine with some off-color content but this made me want to wash my brain out with soap. We left thirty minutes in. I'd like to point out that this means we've made great strides in our relationship. In days of yore neither of us would have said anything in case the other was enjoying the show. This time all I could think was I didn't want to waste the one time we have a babysitter on a stupid movie. We hightailed it out of there (I resisted the urge to shout "take note of us and our good morals!" as we left) and walked around the mall for a while. 

We stopped at Lush so I could pick up a birthday gift. The smell of the store almost knocked me over. Last time/my first visit there the sales lady reached up and tucked in the tag on my shirt. Then she asked me what type of hair I had and I said, "The dark kind." I WANTED THE FLOOR TO SWALLOW ME WHOLE. Needless to say I haven't been in a rush to return to the store. All I needed this time was a bath bomb. I didn't need soap that looked like a unicorn horn or a green macaroon. The sales lady descended on my like a fly to honey. Did I want to look at the gift sets? Would I like to try the cocoa lotion? Did I want the soap wrapped in a scarf made from 100% recycled plastic bottles? Did I want to purchase some lip balm? Am I signed up for the Lush newsletter? I didn't think I'd make it out of there alive. An hour later I was still trying to wipe the oily lotion sample off my hands. 

Now that we're home it's back to the usual activities of grocery shopping, cleaning the bathroom and picking teddy grahams up off the floor. I've also spent some quality time watching The Bachelor. It's important to have balance in life.

f-r-e-e that spells free

Friday morning we watched the inauguration. I always enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony and was very excited to share it with Sesame. Inaugurations always make me long for my coveted job of First Lady. Christopher still isn't on board with being president but while there's breath there's hope. I suspect a First Lady wouldn't eat fried onions straight out of the can like I may have done but if that's the worst skeleton in my closet I think we'll be ok.

Annabelle has a fairly strong grasp on states and recognizes a number of them. She does get confused about how she can live in a state and "in a sta-reet (street)" at the same time, but I frequently forget where I live when I come out of Walmart so I understand. I had been telling her about the special song we sing about our country so I made us stand in the living room with our hands over our hearts during the National Anthem. 

Saturday we went to the mall to visit the cats and bring my rings to the jewelers. Annabelle was thrilled to see the cats and she wanted to bring home both Pumpkin and The Great Catsby. Millard T. Fillmore our fish is still alive and swimming but apparently he doesn't provide enough excitement.

Sunday morning I squeezed AB into a handmade outfit I wore when I was around two. The outfit was much less puff and didn't snap all the way but it made me so happy to her wearing it. She can go creek wading without worrying about getting the pants wet. 

Mother's Day Out is still going well. Annabelle loves the teacher and snack time and I love the alone time. After I dropped her off this morning I headed to one of my very favorite spots in town (besides Dunkin Donuts). I went to Delta Sonic to use their free vacuums. I love a clean car and not having to dig quarters out of my glove compartment to achieve said clean car is the best. I used to get excited about real things, now I get excitement over a free vacuum. How the times have changed.

Annabelle went on the potty at school so I rewarded her with something from the prize box and some chocolate. "Oooh, Mama! I YOBE chocolate."

 "Do you habe anymore?"

WHEN DID SHE GET SO TALL?

Free chocolate is almost as exciting as a free vacuum.

Thursday Tidbits

I had big plans to blog yesterday afternoon but the morning exhausted me and I had no energy left. Why was I so tired? Because I hosted a play date. It was only 4 kids total but you'd have thought it was 34. I had a bad nights sleep, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and I didn't feel like having company. I felt so bad about it because they're a sweet family and good friends but I didn't even want to get out of bed, let alone prepare peanut butter sandwiches and strawberries for extra people. They didn't leave until after I had put Annabelle down for a nap. Isn't there an unwritten code that says play dates end before nap time? I can only be friends with fellow nap nazis. 

I've always been introverted but since having Annabelle it's gotten worse. I LOVE knowing all about people and what they do, what they like and their favorite flavor of ice cream. I don't like having to carry on endless conversations. I like the idea of having people over better than the actual having them and the small talk the comes with them. It's a complicated relationship.

On Monday I made a big deal about our fun activity of the day being a trip to the library. Sesame loves the dollhouse and play food in the childrens room so she was very excited. We got there only to discover it was closed for Martin Luther King Jr day. I'm as anti segregation as the next person but I don't appreciate that the country celebrating his birthday meant I couldn't visit the library. We walked around the pet store instead and ran into a friend from school MOPS. If you're looking for a gift for Annabelle just buy a dog toy. She's obsessed with them. 

Some big news around here is we're trying to wean Sesame of her pacifier. On Sunday night I made Mr. Lion a special bed out of a cardboard box and put it on her shelf. Mr. Lion said told Sesame he wants to start sleeping in his own bed. She was on board with the idea until she realized it meant he wouldn't be in her bed. He stayed in his bed for a while then went back into hers. The time they spent apart was very traumatic for all of us.

Last night he went on a vacation to the safari aka the living room. 

Every three minutes she'd ask what Mr. Lion was doing. "MAMA! You check on Mr. Lion! Mama! What's Mr. Lion doing? (Eating an apple.) Moooom! When is Mr. Lion coming back? (Tomorrow morning.) Mama! What's Mr. Lion doing? (Eating a marshmallow.) Is Mr. Lion on vacation with the giraffes? (Yes.) What's he doing now? (HE'S TRYING TO SLEEP BUT CAN'T BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING TOO NOISY.) She didn't go to sleep until 11 but she fell asleep without him for the first time in her life. No such luck so far tonight. It was too exhausting playing travel agent last night so he's staying in the guestroom tonight. Annabelle is none too pleased with this arrangement and she's letting us know it. 

They go way back.

This morning at MOPS we were discussing prayer. You know how people say not to pray for patience because you'll get a chance to practice it? The same applies when discussing prayer. You'll immediately find yourself in a situation which requires praying. We had a MAJOR toilet malfunction during lunch. I am not kidding when I say I was standing in the bathroom in my snow boots dealing with the situation for half an hour. I had to take water from the toilet with an old bucket and pour it into the sink. THEN THE SINK CLOGGED UP. I won't share anymore details. I don't want to relive the experience. Christopher came home with Draino which I poured into the toilet. He used the plunger one time and it was working again. After all my slaving and gagging and bleaching and praying for it to stop HE was the one who fixed it! 

Life can be so unfair. I'm sure Mr. Lion-less Annabelle would agree. 

this post has no real point

I'm glad I didn't broadcast my intentions to blog more this year because the month is halfway done I'm only dusting off the old keyboard for the second time.

(We're already off to a bad start. I dropped my memory card and had to go searching for it under the couch. Someone tell the maid to vacuum under there!)

Before we left Massachusetts we celebrated Grandma's birthday. We all brought a food Grandma likes and I made a batch of her beloved liverwurst sandwiches. I'd be happy to share the detailed recipe. 

This photo is currently being submitted to the Horrible Food Photography of America magazine.

Annabelle was front and center during the gift opening. I kept telling her the gifts were for Memere but she held onto the hope she might get something. 

You're not truly dressed for a party unless you're wearing a spool necklace.

Grandma's birthday party really kicked off Sesame's excitement about her upcoming birthday. She chose a Frozen theme (raise your hand if you're not surprised) and talks about it every single day. "You make an ice cream cake for my Frozen party? You have baa-yoons at my Frozen party? I wanna caterpillar at my Frozen party. Is Grammy be at my Frozen party? Can Mr. Lion come to Frozen birthday party?" If I got a quarter for every comment she makes about her Frozen party between now and March I could afford the tropical vacation Olaf the snowman sings about.

One of our Christmas traditions is to sleep in the living room by the lit Christmas tree. We didn't get to do it before Christmas this year so we did it last week. We laid seven blankets out on the floor and attempted to go to sleep. Less than an hour later, Christopher announced that he was going to sleep in our bed because the floor was making his hips hurt. I made a bunch of old people jokes in my head but the joke was on me because you know what happened two hours later? I moved to the couch because the floor was hurting my back. Then I moved to the guest bed because the couch wasn't comfortable enough. I'm only a few steps away from having to use a stairlift.

Yesterday we tried the Sunday school at the church we've been attending. The teacher made us go around the room and say something we obsess over. I HATE any scenario when I'm asked to speak in public. It makes me feel sick and like I might pass out. 

To make matters worse, I couldn't think of anything good to say. I didn't want to say "I'm obsessed with expanding my nail polish collection" even though that's very true. I could never say something so worldly when the man across the aisle said he's obsessed with reading the Bible from front to back. Too bad AB wasn't in the class. She's been talking about her obsession for weeks. 

it's all fun and games until you forget you're a mother

I spent part of Monday morning cleaning up a vomit covered child, car seat and sippy cup. I used every single wipe I had. Happy new year to me!

It hasn't been all gagging and throwing up. Our calendar has been quite full. I've become so popular since I moved away! Grandma Connie came up for Christmas and we had a super quick visit on Christmas Eve. Grandma confirmed that you can wear big earring and a big necklace at the same time. She's a true fashion icon.

Last week we decorated gingerbread cookies. I told everyone to "not stress and keep it low key." I did not take my own advice. I made a cookie of Princess Charlotte coming out of church after the Christmas service. My obsession with the royals may need to be reigned in a little. 

Mom got us and Grandma tickets to Disney on Ice for Christmas. It was so good. Annabelle saw the other kids eating giant snow cones from overpriced souvenir cups and kept asking for one. She said, "I'd yike somesign cold, dee-yicious and refreshing." I gave her a bottle of water instead.

She looked like this almost the entire time. It was priceless when she saw Minnie and Mickey. I love that she's young enough that she truly believes it's them and not people in costumes.

I was so impressed with the skaters. I can barely skate but Pumba back there had on FOUR skates. That's why he gets the big bucks and I hope to make it down the stairs without falling.

The show was held at the same arena where Dad I saw saw Josh Groban many years ago and it brought back so many wonderful memories. We sat next to the aisle about 10 rows from the front. At one point Josh walked down the aisle next to us as he was singing and momentarily held my hand. I repeat, WE HELD HANDS. It was one of the best moments of my life. If the security guard hadn't pushed him along I might have proposed. 

Autumn and Joanna came by for lunch one day. We named ourselves The Single Ladies Club back in the day before I got married and Autumn met Nick. Now Joanna and Autumn are both single again but it's too complicated to keep changing the club name to match our relationship statuses. I always think of Katie as my oldest friend but in reality it's Autumn and Joanna. I've known them since they were born. I used to think they weren't cool to hang out with since they're younger than me, but I finally started hanging out with them more when I was around 12 and we've been together ever since. We made our traditional bacon macaroni and cheese with a side of roasted cauliflower. Annabelle wasn't impressed with our meal so I took a DNA sample to find her real mother. No child of mine is allowed to dislike that meal! 

We were too busy showing pictures of our nieces and nephews to take an updated SLC picture, but here's one of Autumn and I from a few years ago when she got a snuggie. I hope someone decorates a gingerbread cookie to look like us.

Last night I went to the movies with Grandma and Janet. We saw Lion and loved it. The scenery was gorgeous and the main character adorable. When I got home I was telling Mom all about it and how it cemented my desire to adopt a little girl from India. I got so caught up in talking about her I forgot I already have a child until Mom said something about Annabelle. Who forgets they have a child?!?! I shouldn't think I can be responsible for a second child when I don't even remember I have one in the next room! And just like that I lost my chance of receiving the 2017 Mother of the Year award.