Read my lips

The princess was caught doing her own makeup again...

Flooding in South Bend

Stuck here all alone

I'm stuck at school, babysitting a few computers who have been almost done for several hours now. I miss my family. But hooray for great pictures.

Mother Goose!

We've had a fun new year so far. We toured the hospital this evening, and Chayce was very upset because she missed the event. You see, we brought her with us, but she fell asleep as we pulled into the parking garage, we carried her (OK, Stephen carried her) for the whole tour, and then, as we were getting our parking validated, she awoke. She wanted to know when she was going to get to see the babies in the nursery, but unfortunately, she would have been disappointed even if she'd been awake, because due to the new policies of letting the mother have the baby immediately after birth (yes, before clean up, isn't that great?!?), and then letting the mother decide how much rest she wants before getting the baby back after the bath (unless she wants to help there and not rest...), the babies don't spend much time on display in the nursery window. While that's great for both mother and baby, I was a little disappointed as well. We did see one woman walking up and down the halls in labor, in obvious immense pain, and as the other mothers in our tour (first-timers) cringed, I turned to Stephen emphatically--"I can't wait!! I wish it were tomorrow!!!!" I'm really that excited. Yes, I know it's not a pleasant experience, I've been there, done that, remember? BUT, I also know what happens right at the end...I get to hold my baby!! I really can't wait. Of course, Mother Goose has to have a little patience, right...
Let me explain:
My dear Zachary was teasing me at lunch time (common, he's found his sense of humor and can keep me laughing most of the day, I love it!) and when I attempted to make a joke (mine have been falling a little flat lately...mainly I think it's that he's four and doesn't get them, we'll keep working on it), he called me a "Silly Goose". Anyhow, I responded with, "I'm not a goose!! I'm a mother!!" My dear Chayce drops her fork, eyes pop from their sockets and she exclaims, "YOU'RE MOTHER GOOSE!?!? Do you know the mulberry bush song? Will you sing it?" I explained (or tried to) that of course I knew the mulberry bush song, I was the one who taught it to her, and it wasn't because I was mother goose. I was treated like a celebrity that day!! Next, maybe I'll confess that I'm the tooth fairy...

As for the rest of our day, we went puddle hopping...it was odd to do in the middle of January, but yet so nice and refreshing to have a day to air out the house, turn off the heater, pull back blankets, etc right in the middle of winter. I'm sure it'll be cold again (supposed to come this weekend) but we are really enjoying our warm spell. The children were covered in mud, and I actually got the leaves raked that I didn't rake this fall. They were a little heavier due to being wet, but I was happy to see my yard and not dead leaves. It'll make spring that much better. Of course, I wish I could communicate to my bulbs that they MUST stay underground until March, as they are trying to pop their heads up. I considered pouring a lot of ice over the garden...maybe I'm a bit too zealous, though, eh?

Well, the late night is here, and if I rest now, I'll be able to jump in more puddles tomorrow. Maybe even take up an indoor mess or two, like painting with the kids...

Extreme Faces

Last night I caught this hilarious pose by Chayce. Zachary then gave me his 'toughest tough guy face'.

Baby Busting a Move

Our Little Cinderella and Cowboy/Baker

The days of pretend play are upon us, and it's WONDERFUL! It's so great to see our kids take on multiple roles throughout the day as they try to understand how to interact with the world around them. Chayce is often a princess...whether it be Cinderella, or just dressed to the hilt (including some of Mommy's red lipstick...), or she's a mermaid, or an astronaut--yes, that one's a bit different, but so cute. She'll run around saying "Aster-nuts never give up!!" Then we count backwards from ten and blast off!!
Zach has been a chef today, helping me make my first turkey (which turned out pretty good, I might add...thanks Mom! I did everything your way, and of course, it worked!). Zach wondered why we had to mix the stuffing with our hands instead of a spoon, and I told him it was because food tastes better when you get into it. I think that's true...at least I appreciate food when I've been a little closer to it. Zachary has also been a superhero for the past week, saving the world from bad people. I keep trying to tell him that the world is more good than bad, and you find what you look for (yes, I know bad things happen, but that doesn't mean you have to seek them out). I've attempted to tell him his time would be better spent thanking those who are genuinely good, than trying to annihilate those who are bad, but it doesn't seem to be as interesting.
Our Chayce has been a bit literal lately...today she yelled to me from another room, "Mommy, can you open this?" I yelled back, "What is it?" (not wanting to say yes until I knew what I was getting into, if you have ever dealt with a toddler, you know why). She replies, "Closed." Her voice had an air of exasperation to it, kind of like, "if it were open, I wouldn't be asking, duh." She's also taken to maiming me so that she can kiss me better. Scenario as follows:
Chayce--I'm gonna crush your foot!
Me--OW! Chayce, that hurts mommy.
Chayce--I'm gonna give you a hug and kiss it better now. See? All gone!
Me--Yes, but can we offer the kiss without the crushing next time?
Chayce--OK, Mommy.
Note: ten minutes later I hear...I'm gonna crush your foot! Where does she get this stuff?

We heard this song today that reminded us of little Chayce, you can watch the music video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtOy8R01fTA

Zachary has been a huge help lately, especially since one of his new favorite things to do is vacuum. What mother can argue with that? I love it. He also enjoys cooking, and I'm trying to let him, often. Our dinners have started coming out of books instead of my head. For example, we read "The Princess and the Pizza" the other day, which led to making a homemade Chicago deep dish pizza--which, you CANNOT beat with some lame takeout pizza. This stuff is wonderful! I highly recommend going to one of the famous Chicago pizzerias first, then making it at home...the experience is great. I don't think Zach will ever forget his first piece, nor his second or third, as one slice stuffs Mommy, and Zach could keep going as long as sausage was involved. He's definitely growing, getting taller almost daily. Family won't recognize him when we come back to visit. I almost don't, and I catch myself staring. He's one handsome kid, if I do say so myself.

Tomorrow is my last "every 4 weeks" doctor check up, and then we switch over to the every other week check to see if I'm ready to go check ups. Mentally, I could have this baby any day. I realize she needs a little more time to grow, and so I will be patient...62 days, and counting. As for the weather, for those who always ask, we got about a foot of snow here this week, but it's supposed to rain this weekend and get back into the 50's next week, so it won't last long. As of now, the roads are icy, and I'm trying to avoid much travel (which is why I set up two appointments for tomorrow...silly me).