just want you to know

We were driving in silence when Lauren spoke up.
"Mom."
"What, Lauren."
"You're my pal."

bonnie jumpers

Last week my Scottish Aunt Liz emailed to ask for our address so she could send us "a wee something." Well, it arrived today and turned out to be a package with three beautiful aran sweater vests inside -- one for each of my "lassies." When I called to thank her she said, "I didn't have time to do it for you when you were wee, but now I'm an old lady, I have time to do it for your girls. Just knitted at night while I watched me soaps." They fit perfectly, and they're absolutely gorgeous. Treasures. Heirlooms. We love them. Thank you, Auntie Liz!

progress report

Ms. Lynn sent home Lauren's progress report today:

"Lauren is an exceptionally sweet and good-natured child. She seems to enjoy school and is always busily engaged in productive play. She loves the housekeeping area and dolls, she enjoys arts and crafts, but she explores all the various activities available in the preschool room. I have no concerns about her development. She has made a very good adjustment to school." 

Way to go, Lauren!

happy birthday to daddy

He's 31 today! To celebrate, we went out for Mexican food and gave him his gifts. The girls made him cards (Ella's included a piece of gum taped on the front and Lauren's featured a very good drawing of "Mike" from Monsters Inc.) and we gave him some of his favorite golf balls emblazoned with the words "PRACTICE MAKES AWESOME." After a nice dinner we went home, built a cozy fire, and roasted marshmallows for dessert. It was a fun night.

Happy birthday, Kim!

ma . . . ma

Lauren rushed into the kitchen with that wild excitement in her eye. "Mama! Audrey said your name!"
"She did? What did she say?"
"MA . . . MA. She said it, Mama. Your name."
Ella confirmed it, so I guess I missed it. But I will be listening for that sweet sound. I love that my girls call me "mama." I hope they always do.

you what?

I explained to Ella that we were having a family over for dinner so that the missionaries could teach them about Jesus. She immediately volunteered, "I can help! I can read the First Article of Faith. It was really hard at first, but I persevered."

bling

Tonight Ella came to me and said, "Lauren said she wants two of her baby teeth to come out, and they aren't even loose!"

"Really, Lauren? Why?"

"I want to go to the doctor so he can take two of my white teeth out. And put in golden ones. Just like Grandpa."

"Really? Which ones do you want out?" She pointed to her molars.

"These ones. It won't hurt."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know I'm brave."

practically perfect

The girls were watching Mary Poppins while I worked in the kitchen. Suddenly, Ella burst in and announced, "I can say it!"

"What?"

"Supercalafrajalisticexpialadocious!"

She certainly can. And she does, quite often lately. It's fun to see Ella fall in love with one of my favorites and find, as I did, that Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way.

mind your manners

I tried a new recipe for homemade whole wheat pizza crust and it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Still, it was edible, so I sat the girls down for dinner and this conversation ensued between Ella and me:
"MOM! I TOLD YOU! You should have just ORDERED a pizza!"
"Ella, that's not polite. Don't speak to anyone that way, and especially not your mother."
"Sorry. Next time, I would pre-fer not homemade."
"That's a much nicer way to say it."
"But really, Mom. It tastes horrible." I shot her a look.
"Just kidding! It's . . . just . . . a little bit good."

roll over

Today Audrey surprised us all by rolling from her back to her front. Lifted both her legs, threw them to the side, and over she went. Ella lured her with some toys and she practiced a few more times before she got tired of finding her face in the carpet. But hooray for Audrey! She's on the move.

destiny

We returned from a fun dinner out and turned on the TV so that we could watch Kung Fu Panda (On Demand) and there, on Animal Planet, was a program all about the origins of kung fu and the inspiration drawn from the various animals that lived near the monastery where it was developed. Did you know that each of the animals in the Furious Five is an actual style of kung fu? Neither did we! But our newly discovered wisdom made it even more fun to watch Kung Fu Panda. It was like adding . . . a secret ingredient.

hope chest

As a young beehive, I set a goal to create a hope chest and put to good use the beautiful, antique cedar chest left to me by my grandmother, Marie Humble. As the decorated 3x5 notecards (from my Evening of Excellence presentation) still inside the chest explain, it was really a fun experience. Today I took out the remnants of the hope chest, and a few other sentimental items I've stored inside, to make room for bed linens. And I have to say, I think it was even more fun taking things out than putting them in. The chest's contents included the following:

Some of Grandma Humble's porcelain dolls. The girls gasped and put both hands to their mouths when they saw them, so awestruck were they by their beauty. I think they look lovely on a high shelf.

The Madame Alexander dolls given me by Grandma Humble. Their posable limbs may prove too tempting for awhile yet, and I'm out of high shelves. I've chosen another safe place for them in the meantime.

A note card revealing the steps required to make one of the girls' most favorite quilts. They couldn't believe I'd made it for them when I was just a young girl.

Two framed embroideries my mom stitched -- one of a little girl kneeling at her bed and another of a little boy with a fishing rod. When she saw them Ella exclaimed, "What's going on here? Why aren't you giving these to me!"

And, finally, a tooled leather belt made for me by my dad when I was Ella's age, along with two belt buckles -- one with flowers and the other with a horse head in turquoise inlay. Judging by her reaction, I think she loves them as much as I did.

So, it turns out that my hope chest is a treasure chest. And not bad for storing linens, either.

when i grow up

Today I overheard this conversation between Ella and Lauren:
"When I grow up, I want to be an opera singer and an artist."
"When I grow, I want to be a fish."
"I don't think you're going to get that wish, Lauren."

a likely story

While the girls were at school I decided to do them a favor and tidy their room. Just an hour after they returned home there were clothes and toys everywhere. I asked for an explanation from Lauren.
"What happened in here? I left this room nice and clean, and now it's a mess."
"I don't know, Mom. We didn't do it. It just . . . pooped out."

lost and (really) found

Blankie was under the couch cushions. How did we not check under the couch cushions? Lauren hasn't stopped smiling, but did say she wants to sleep with her old blankie AND her new blankie. Maybe there's still hope.

observation

Today at church, Ella said, "Look at Audrey. She's so cute, and fat, and round and squishy. All that milk is really paying off!"

chatter box

Tonight in the car Ella asked me, searchingly, "Mom, do penguins and polar bears live in the same place?"
"Um, I think they do, honey. But I don't think they're friends." I had barely uttered the words.
"They ABSOLUTELY do NOT! Penguins live on land and polar bears live on the ice." And then, sounding quite disappointed, she added, "I thought you knew everything."
"Well," I said, "I certainly don't know everything. And I think you are a clever girl for teaching me something."
"All of my favorite animals are going extinct."
"Really? Like what?"
"Elephants and Giant Pandas. The pandas are dying because people are cutting down their habitat. I want to go to China and talk to those people. And then I'm going to plant some bamboo."
"Well I think that's a good way of thinking, Ella. When you see a problem, do something to fix it."
"I had pizza for lunch today. Very yummy. And green beans and peaches. NO ONE ELSE wanted to eat the green beans! Can you believe that? Ha."

Q & A

Today as I was feeding Audrey and flipping channels, I paused on Oprah at exactly the wrong moment. A preacher pronounced, "Being gay is a gift! People are born gay!" I turned off the tv and was about to begin a brief line of questioning when Ella asked, quite seriously, "Mom, was I born hungry?"

lost and found

Last Sunday as were walking out the door to church Lauren asked, "Can I take my blankie? I'll leave it in the car." Those of you familiar with said blankie know that it more closely resembles a loose pile of pink yarn. I agreed it should be left in the car, and off we went. When we arrived home at noon, Lauren was tired and wanted to take a nap. Where was blankie? We searched the car, and then the whole house. It was nowhere to be seen. We tried to console an exhausted, sobbing Lauren and she eventually, reluctantly drifted off to sleep. We were sure blankie would turn up, as it had countless times over the three years of its precious existence. But the days went by and still, no blankie. We offered a substitute -- another pink crocheted blanket. She would sometimes snuggle it a little, sometimes throw it angrily to the floor, depending on her mood. Well, tonight as we were leaving the house to run errands Lauren brought me the substitute blankie, held it up as high as she could, and with a big smile on her face said, "Smell it." I held it to my nose and breathed deep. Sure enough, it had taken on a familiar, slightly stinky fragrance. "It smells great," I said. And she replied, "Can I take it with us? I'll leave it in the car."