I have a crazy, loveable sister.

Betsy called me late last night and said, “Hey, I’m in Chicago and I have to fly out tomorrow at 11 a.m. Can I come and visit you guys tomorrow morning?” My sister is a pilot who flies private jets around the country and sometimes internationally. She hadn’t seen Clara yet and wanted to visit both girls.

Chicago is three hours (and one time zone) away.

She arrived at 5:45 a.m., with Steve her boyfriend (he’s a pilot too and often flies with her). We greeted them with sleepy eyes and bed head. Fortunately they were bearing Starbucks coffee with them. We woke Clara up at 6:00 and Meredith at 6:30. Clara was her cute self and gave her aunt several smiles. Meredith sang some songs and read a few stories with Betsy.

They left for Chicago O’Hare at 7:30 a.m.

My sister is crazy and I love her. I love people who do spontaneous and impractical things just for the sake of good times. That just about sums up Betsy.

Sick baby, sick toddler, sick mommy.

Ugh.

If you’ve noticed my absence on Blogger, it’s because last week I was super busy and this week we’ve all been sick.

This was my first time to have two sick kids and be sick myself. Meredith had a nasty head cold which she generously passed on to her mother and baby sister. Then Meredith got the flu. We changed her bed sheets five times in one night. The second time she got sick, I got smart and put a plastic bag over her pillow before putting her pillow case on top!! Fortunately no one else got the flu. I think God knew I was at the limits of what I could handle.

But I have to say … caring for kids while you are sick yourself is the pits. Mommies don’t get any “sick time” off to sleep and drink chamomile tea when they’re under the weather.

Kevin’s wonderful mother brought us chicken pot pie last night for dinner. Let me just say that, when you’re sick, there’s nothing better than having yummy, homemade chicken pot pie delivered to your doorstep. Mmmm. Good, healthy comfort food!

Company Picnic

Bounce Fun

At the pinata with daddy.

She was so happy to get ONE piece, she got up and left the group to show me!

Kevin plays "Egg Toss"

Yep, caught it!

Clara at her first Company Picnic

Clara loves her toys!! I often catch her smiling at this bug.

I think we've got another blue-eyed girl on our hands.

In Stitches

I realize that my blog is starting to get lopsided with all these entries about stuff Meredith is saying. But just in this past week I cannot believe how much she is talking. Basically, she never stops. And I’m having a hard time keeping a straight face when she needs discipline. She tries to talk her way out of everything and she uses her own little two-year-old logic to do it.

A (calling upstairs): “Meredith, where are you?”

M: “I’m giving Clara a massage.”

A: “WHAT are you doing?”

M: “I’m just playing with my sister!”

And then, as if anticipating my response, she says: “Yes. I am being nice to her!”
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M (setting some pretend food on the table): “THAT is for potty train. It is a treat.”

A: “When can I eat it?”

M: “You have to pee and poop FIRST. It is for potty train.”

[She understands the concept, it's just the execution that she has a problem with.]
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M (to her grandpa as he was leaving): “See you in a while alligator!”
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M: “Do you want an egg sweetie?” (She uses terms of endearment a lot, including “babe.” For instance, “Where is babe?” meaning Kevin.)
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M: “I want a bottle of milk.”

A: “Remember? You got big and you don’t have any bottles anymore.”

M: “But I can’t reach the sky yet [pointing up]. I have to get another birthday and then I can reach the sky, like mommy. I want a bottle of milk!”
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And then, this just happened a few seconds ago:

A (sternly, because Meredith was up from her nap): “What are you doing?”

M (stuffing tights down her PJs): “My baby sister is in there.” (i.e., She’s “pregnant.”)

A (pointing to tights): “What are those?”

M: “Those are my bras. For pretend.”



And here is a picture of Clara. I love her too! Honestly!! It’s just that, like I said, Meredith has been providing all the commentary lately.

A dream is a wish your heart makes …

Cinderella has become Meredith’s all-time favorite movie lately. I let her watch it a few times a week while I take a shower or work on the computer.

You know how little kids often like to describe events and movies to you and you have to sit there and listen, being bored out of your mind because you weren’t there and it isn’t even interesting? Well, Meredith has started doing this! And it’s all about Cinderella!

She has started telling me and Kevin about the Cinderella story while we are at the dinner table or riding in the car. The other day she said, “That stepsisters ripped Cin-erella’s dress [hand motions included] and broke her necklace. It spilled everywhere. Cin-erella was very mad. She cried in the garden.”

She has started wearing her dress shoes constantly. She says, “These are my glass slippers.”

The other day while she was watching it (you know the part where Cinderella is dancing with the prince at the ball and they are singing “So this is Love”?), she looked over to my direction and said, “Look, mom. Cin-erella is singing with her daddy.”

More Sayings and Doings of Meredith

The other day as I worked in the kitchen, Meredith was talking in the background. Suddenly her voice got louder and she said, “Mommy, I’m talking. Now you listen!”

This morning she told two-month-old Clara, who was innocently sitting in her bouncy seat, “Hey! Look at me. You listen when I talk.”
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Kevin recently read a picture book to Meredith about Indians. In the back was a map with the names of various Indian tribes printed on the map. One was the Kickapoo tribe. Meredith then interrupted him and said, “I kick. I kick Winnie the Pooh!”
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The other day I told Meredith to drink some milk because it will make her grow big and strong. (Since we took her bottle away, she’s nearly stopped drinking milk altogether.) She looked up at me and said, “But my food will make me strong. I already healthy.”

It’s so annoying having a logical child.
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These are things Meredith often says these days:

“It will be fall soon!” [Then she explains that the leaves will change and it will snow soon.]

“Someday when I be three …” [Usually she adds that we will go to the state fair again after “I be three.”]

“Someday when Trara gets big …”

“Hey Trara, someday when you get big, you can play with [insert name of toy] too!”

The Wind in Our Ears

United Way of Central Indiana gives a free book of the month to preschoolers in Marion County. They are brand new, beautiful books. Meredith always loves receiving these in the mail. I keep thinking that one of these days I’m going to write a gushy thank-you note to the donors who make it possible for young kids to have a decent home library. It’s fabulous! The books have quickly become some of Meredith’s favorites.

The book for September is about a wild, little pony that “feels the wind in his ear” and goes on an adventure. The morning after I read the book to Meredith for the first time, we went on a walk to the park. As we were walking along, a gust of wind picked up and Meredith laughed and said, “I feel the wind in my ear!”

Well, today I’m feeling the wind in my ear too!

Here’s why: a family member generously enabled us to have a second car. It’s something that will get us through the end of Kevin’s schooling until we can buy a larger vehicle for our family. I’m so grateful. It’s so freeing to know that I can grocery shop during the day, or go meet up with a friend for a play date, or take the kids to the Children’s Museum, without having to go downtown two or three times in a day to transport Kevin.

So, yes, both me and Meredith are feeling the wind in our ears!

Dear Good Food, I Miss You

Lately I’ve really missed cooking nice meals. I love quality food, fresh ingredients, and complex flavors. Really decent dinners have been hit and miss lately—it’s been hard to find the time to be consistent. Hopefully my life will get saner soon because my taste buds are going on strike.

Friday night was a really low point in our family cuisine standards. Kevin had class until late. I decided to take Meredith to the park at 4:30 since none of us had been outside all day. So, I figured we’d just make grilled cheese or something quick for dinner. When we got home from the park, hungry, I discovered that our loaf of bread had some mold on it. So, we ended up having grilled cheese on hamburger buns. Blah. As I sat there flipping grilled cheese on hamburger buns, I tried to be cheerful about our prospective dinner but it was really hard.

When Kevin got home, I announced, “Welcome to my gourmet kitchen” and handed him this plate.

So, after this low point I decided I’d had enough and planned an entire week’s worth of really yummy food. Tonight we’re having honey baked chicken with parmesan zucchini chips. So far so good. At least I have the chicken thawed already.

My fingers are tightly crossed, and my taste buds are hopeful.

Potty Training, First Attempt

For those of you women out there who have accomplished the task of potty training a toddler, wow, I really respect you a lot. You are an amazing person who is completely underappreciated by the masses. You are an attentive, creative, gifted, articulate, persuasive, and most of all patient person. If the world won’t sing your praises, I will do it here on my blog.

This morning was my first attempt at trying to potty train Meredith. I read up on the subject, armed myself with all the necessary materials, created anticipation on Meredith’s part, and after only three hours I decided that if she gets potty trained by age 13, just in time to switch from diapers to maxi-pads, that’s okay with me.

At this precise moment in time, if you were to ask me which task do you think would be less challenging, potty training a two-year-old or negotiating with a hostage-taker, I would likely choose the hostage-taking situation.

We did have one successful time, first thing in the morning. That was followed by three “number one” accidents and one “number two” accident. Never mind the fact that she had been sitting on the potty for lengthy periods of time before each accident. Just before one of the accidents, she started getting off the potty and I told her, “No, you need to stay on the potty.” Meredith looked up at me and said, “But I can’t get no pee out!” Oh, okay honey, I guess you can get up to play for five minutes. Within thirty seconds there was a puddle on the floor the size of the Atlantic Ocean.

While on the phone trying to explain all this to Kevin, I told him, “You know, there’s only so much a girl can take. After three hours of getting peed on, pooped on and spit up on [because of caring for Clara too], I can’t take it any more. It’s not THAT important to me right now. It’s a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining. I’m getting out of this house and I’m going to take advantage of that sunshine.”

So I think we’re going to take a break for a few months, or maybe until 2010.

Double Fun

Here’s an update on my girls—Clara is getting so chubby lately. She’s a tank compared to what Meredith was at her age. We are enjoying her so much! She is so fun to hold and is cooing and smiling a lot these days. Meredith keeps cracking us up with her verbal expressions and fresh take on life. I think I’m finally going to (for real) start potty training her. Paying for diapers for two is getting old. As you can tell from the picture below, she is still enjoying choosing her own clothes to wear. She is very opinionated about this area of her life. And whenever she is wearing something with a princess Disney character (or her Minnie Mouse dress, which is under the sweater in the picture below), she thinks she is the most beautiful person in the world.

Book Club Miscellany

This is probably the worst time in my life for me to start a book club. “Do not stop” has become my mantra lately just so I can get through the busy days. But I really do enjoy the club. It’s fun! And in ten years I’ll remember the books and the conversations a lot better than fatigue. So, there you have it.

Last night we discussed Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Catherine told me that her husband calls our club the “Jerks Around the World Club” because three out of the five books we’ve read so far have, in some way, dealt with the oppression of women. Honestly, we all love our husbands. So, it’s not like we’re purposefully looking for a forum to besmirch the male species. But it is funny to think about. We’ve read books on women in China, India, and now Tehran, all of them experiencing various forms of oppression. So now Josh asks, “Where’s the Jerk from this month?” Ha!

There are two things I really appreciated about Nafisi’s book. First, it made me think more deeply about the purpose of fiction and its value. The women in Nafisi’s reading group were able to survive their bleak circumstances mainly because the novels they read offered them beauty, truth, and hope. Like the book says, we don’t look for realism in fiction but for the epiphany of truth. Fiction provides an outlet into another world, one of beauty. By offering us the ability to surpass the limits of reality, fiction offers freedom and hope. The author also noted that “empathy is at the heart of the novel.” Fiction makes us more empathetic people.

The second thing I appreciated was the author’s ability to convey exactly what life is like under an Islamic fascist regime. Nafisi articulated what she calls “the small horrors of every day life” in Tehran. When you think about government oppression, it’s easy to focus mainly on things like house raids, executions and tortures. But I never really deeply thought about the constant, overwhelming oppression of having all you freedoms of expression taken away. These women were forced into uniformity, without being allowed to define themselves. All of their freedom to imagine, to be unique and creative, had been suffocated by the regime. They weren’t allowed to wear color, to show their hair, to lick ice cream in public, to publicly express emotions. Men were not allowed to look them in the eye. Nafisi did a good job of helping me to understand a little bit about what this oppression must be like. The young women in her book seemed very realistic; they were people I could easily sympathize with.

One fun thing! I found a new favorite coffee dessert idea by reading the book! The author described on several different occasions how she liked to take a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a scoop of coffee ice cream, pour coffee over it, and top it with toasted walnuts. We tried it last night and it was fabulous. I’m already looking forward to making another one. Soon. Very Soon.

You know it’s a good book when, once you’ve reached the end, you realize that you have been holding your breath for the last few pages. So, yes, I really enjoyed Reading Lolita.

Mer and "Trara"

Meredith calls her little sister “Trara.” Clara doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, Meredith is quickly becoming her favorite person. Meredith can already make her smile faster than anyone else in the room.

Meredith is very affectionate and sweet toward Clara. The other day I saw Meredith stroking Clara’s head and saying to her, “Hi Trara! You’re so precious. You’re my sweetheart.” It was music to my ears. I hope they always love each other. They probably won’t on a lot of days. But I hope they can be lifelong friends. Having a sister is a gift from God.
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Last night while I had book club Kevin took Meredith on a “date” for ice cream. When she heard that daddy was taking her out, she said: “Let’s take our purses and go shopping!”

This morning Meredith came into my room and said, “Mom, go take a shower. You’re dirty. I need to watch Cinderella. Cinderella is my friend!” (I let her watch a video while I’m in the shower. Can you tell what her new favorite is?)

It Must Be Fall

I’m back at MOPS and back to work. Kevin is back in school. And Fantasy Football has begun.

I really wish I had a picture of the guys on Monday when they were doing their Fantasy Football draft. There were like ten of them sitting around the table, each with a laptop in front of them, agonizing over their next pick. Us girls were upstairs in the loft visiting and conducting our own draft, occasionally hearing squeals of delight or dismay, whatever the case may be, from the men folk on the first floor.

Next year I’m definitely going to bring my camera so you can see how cute they were all huddled together around their technology taking their draft so seriously.

I’m not really into gambling but I do think the winner of Fantasy Football should get something. Not that I’ve personally ever been the champion of a league but I think it would be a let down to win and not get anything for it. Your friends should at least take you to dinner. Or something.

Oh, the baby ...

Since having a second baby I’ve had lots of flashbacks to my life two years ago, to the time right after Meredith was born. What a difference!

As we were sitting in church on Sunday, with Meredith squirming between me and Kevin, I looked over and noticed Clara lying peacefully in her carrier-seat, her eyes moving around to focus on various objects in the room. It’s often easy to forget that Clara is around when we take her to public places. That was never the case with Meredith.

I was always so tense when taking newborn-Meredith to public places, like a church service, where she might make noise and be a disturbance. What if I couldn’t control the crying and make it stop? It was the unpredictability of this new little creature that made me nervous.

I remember trying to coordinate Meredith’s feedings so that we wouldn’t have to move her from her carrier-seat during the service hoping against hope, tightly crossing my fingers, that she would just sleep and not cry. Every newborn grunting noise emanating from her mouth set me on edge. It was like I viewed her as a time bomb waiting to go off. We kept her swaddled tight with a pacifier in her mouth the whole time. Even then, I was nervous. (Yes, I know, I seriously needed a chill pill.)

Clara, on the other hand, just sits there without a pacifier, peacefully moving her hands about, and probably making noises that I’m unaware of at the time.

Nowadays I’m too distracted with a toddler to worry about the newborn acting up. I’m also more experienced and therefore more relaxed. It’s nice to have finally arrived at this place.

Finally!

Clara has been smiling for a few weeks now but it wasn't until today that I was able to capture it with the camera. (It's harder than you might think.) It's sad to see all traces of the newborn phase go away. But this is a fun phase too.

Transitioning to Two

Before Clara was born I was really overwhelmed at the thought of having a newborn and a toddler, plus juggling everything else with Kevin’s schedule and my side job.

Now that Clara is nearly six weeks old I can say that the transition has been a lot better than I expected. This is partially due to the fact that Clara is a much easier baby than Meredith was. Compared with an active toddler, she’s hardly any work at all. She eats and sleeps and rarely ever cries for anything. She also has this totally relaxed personality, in contrast to Meredith’s Type A.

And, of course, God gives grace for the moment. We often can’t foresee the extent of that grace when we are peering into the future.

One caveat to my “glowing report” is that I’m still relying on some freezer meals and I haven’t technically started back at my job yet. That happens next week.

So, next week you can ask me how I’m doing and maybe you’ll get a different story.

Loss

This summer has brought us a birth, a wedding, and a death. Right now we are mourning the loss of Kevin’s grandfather. I watched Kevin stand at his grandfather’s bed several days before he passed away. When is grandfather stirred, Kevin went to hold his hand. He said, “I never want my grandfather to think he is alone.” He wasn’t alone. His family lovingly surrounded him in those last moments. It was precious to see the legacy of a man who poured his life into his family. He was there for them and they were there for him. We will miss you grandpa. And someday we will be with you again.

Another Week in Pictures

Jazz band at the Artsgarden.

Downtown Indy

One snowcone, two straws.

At the Dior exhibit of the Art Museum—this one says “feel free to touch” in case you were wondering.

Sibs and Nieces

At the Lilly Grounds

Christy

Clara with Grandma W.

Clara with Grandpa W.

Meredith and Melissa at Conner Prairie.

Meredith is truly an animal lover. She’s never met an animal she hasn’t wanted to kiss.

Yes sir, that’s me! This girl from Los Angeles milked her first cow. Everyone should do it once in their life, right?

This Week in Pictures

Enjoying Mommy-Clara Time

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Meredith at the State Fair--the cows were her favorite.

The baby chicks were a close second--she laughed and laughed.

At West Park with Aunt Melissa

We're so glad my family is here to visit for ten days from CA. We enjoyed a hike at Turkey Run State Park on Saturday.

Yes, all FOUR of us went on the hike.

Clara Faith was baptized on Sunday.

After the baptism.

Meredith enjoyed playing with Aunt Christy's shoes, hat and glasses.

Six Random Things

Icy Cold Milk—I have really fond memories of my mother putting individual glasses of milk in the freezer for us, to get them really icy cold, whenever we ate homemade cookies and other desserts. (This is probably akin to when mothers put bath towels in the dryer to get them warm for their kids after their baths.) Milk is the best when it has sat in the freezer for ten minutes so that a ring of icy milk forms along the glass. Last night we had chocolate chip cookies with icy cold milk from the freezer, while watching the second Bourne movie. Thanks mom, for this great childhood memory.

Curiously Strong Peppermints—Yesterday Meredith ate nearly half a container of Altoids while I was in the shower. As soon as she heard the shower water turn off, she ran upstairs and said, “I ate my mints!” She had found the brand new container of Altoids on the computer desk and managed to remove the shrink wrap by herself. Many of the mints left in the container had been bit in half. I guess she decided to sample as many as she could. To my surprise, she never got sick to her stomach. But the sugar did have its affect and she was WILD for the rest of the day and evening.

Free Fair Tickets—Every year there are free fair tickets in the Monday Indy Star newspaper. Yesterday I loaded both kids in the car, which was quite the ordeal and took forever (if you’re a new mom of two kids, you understand), and went to the local gas station to get the paper. I would have walked except it was probably 125 degrees outside. (Slightly exaggerating.) Unfortunately for me, the paper announced that the free tickets would be in Tuesday’s paper this year, instead. Today I ran out and got the tickets before Kevin left for work. I’ve come to greatly appreciate anything that has a drive-through these days!

Canines—Meredith told us yesterday, in no uncertain terms, “I want a dog to keep at my house.” We knew this day would come sometime soon, since she loves dogs so much, but we didn’t think it would be this soon. We are going to try to hold her at bay for a while. Like 16 more years, hopefully.

Squashing Bugs— This morning Meredith saw a piece of black string on the bathroom floor. When she pointed it out to me, I asked her to pick it up and throw it in the trash. She gasped, “No! I need to kill it first!” She ran and got a tissue, smooshed the piece of string with the tissue, and said, “There. It’s dead now.” Then she threw it away, along with the tissue. Meredith totally cracks me up. She makes me laugh, usually hard, every day.

Facebook, Again—Okay, I’ve had the weekend to digest Facebook a little bit more. It’s in no way a comparison to Blogger. Blogger is for people who enjoy writing. (I’m too much of a journalist to not use Blogger.) Facebook is for everyone. One thing about Facebook that I find interesting is this whole “writing on the wall” thing. When I read other people’s walls I often feel like an intruder. It’s like I’m spying on private conversations—like reading people’s personal e-mail inboxes or something. In fact, I found out by reading someone’s wall that a mutual friend is expecting a baby. X wrote to Y that she is pregnant. But because the wall is public, I got to read the note. Weird. But, whatever. Despite this little quirk, I think Facebook is great and I am definitely having fun with it, when time allows.