monkey see...

"YOOK, MOMMY! I'M BRINGIN' A PHONE JUST YIKE YOU!"

I think I had a mom moment

I don't usually blog before 7 am, but I'm hoping the Lord will use the process of jotting down this quick story from yesterday to soften my heart towards a certain two year-old who coughed herself awake at 5 am (sad) and then proceeded to lay in bed with us and kick us and demand beverages, nose wiping and TV for the next 1.5 hours (not sad, just annoying).

During our usual afternoon park visit, three middle school girls were also there, hanging out after visiting the pool on its opening day. L was, of course, fascinated by the big girls, and was so thrilled to point out the bunny rabbit on her t-shirt when one of them talked to her. Totally made her day. Thank you, random tween girl, for speaking kindly to a little one. Anyways, later on we were swinging and L was watching them sit on top of the monkey bars and talk--powwow, if you will. Naturally she wanted to climb up there with them. I told her that someday she would be a big girl and could sit up there, but not yet. She broke out in this huge grin and said, "YEAH, I can sit up there with you, MOMMY, and El-we-ut!" I smiled back, but it hit me hard that her constant desire to be my side is a season, and one that will probably look fleeting in retrospect. I didn't have the heart to tell her that at that point in life, she won't want to be caught dead with her mom and baby brother while she's hanging out with her friends.

It was a good reminder to stop and enjoy (or try to) all of these close-together moments that make up life right now. And so far I'm doing a good job.

Except maybe between 5 and 7 am.

Monkey-ing it up recently

life lately

This conversation sums up the last four days or so:

Ashley and Thomas are in the kitchen, cleaning up from lunch, picking up toys, etc. Elliott is down for his usual afternoon nap. Lillian is also sleeping; she is sick, so her mean parents forced her to take her first nap in her bed in 3+ months. She "happily acquiesced" after 20 minutes of hysterical screaming and then stealth ninja moves by mommy to leave the room. 

Ashley: Wow, both kids are asleep at the same time! I don't even know what to do with myself. Perhaps I'll nap, too.
Thomas: I know! The only good thing about Lillian being sick is----

[crying from upstairs MOMMMMMYYYYY! MOMMYYYYYY! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU?!]

face palm.

We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow to check and see if E's nebulizer has helped his wheezing and to ascertain why L is on her third straight day of fever. Womp womp.


BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS.


The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers....Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  (from Psalm 27)

Holy Week is here. We celebrated Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem yesterday by commemorating Palm Sunday (btw L loves to play "hosanna" and pick up random things and wave them while shouting HOSANNA at the top of her lungs. Love that kid.). And on Friday we will remember when Jesus bowed his head and took our punishment, but thankfully we know that SUNDAY'S COMING.

Trips to Trader Joe's

Ah, Trader Joe's. Purveyor of "unconventional and interesting products," as well as everyday basics, this specialty grocery store has a cult-like following, and we have definitely "drunk the Kool-Aid" so to speak. Or maybe the TJ's strawberry lemonade.. We happily shop at this store once a week or so because of their inexpensive produce and interesting products, and also because their marketing is just so dadgum good. The vanilla coconut milk has transformed my morning coffee; the organic polenta is delightfully cheap; the bags of avocados and apples are winners; our hands have smelled of fresh linen all week; and we can't live without their veggie straws.

Lillian loves going to "Twaduh Does" for several reasons: first and foremost, the sucker she gets at the end of every trip for being a good listener--negotiating with two-year olds usually involves bribery of some kind. Second, the seasonal stickers given out by the incredibly (sometimes overly) friendly check out people. And finally, the lure of the tiny cart. TJ's made a genius move by providing tons of these (our Harris Teeter only has one). True, every aisle is a potential death trap of small children pushing unwieldy metal vehicles and my ankles/calves rarely make it out of the store without being hit at least once, but it entertains L to no end and allows me to gauge just how much (or little) parental control I have during any given week. Thanks, Trader Joe's, for never failing to entertain and educate us!

Here is a picture walk through some highlights of a TJ's trip.

E can't wait until I give him actual samples instead of just the containers. This picture was taken by the bathrooms, also a necessary stop on any TJ's trip. Try negotiating two children and two carts without losing your mind or your groceries.

Can you hear the metaphorical birds bursting into song as L finds her prize? Also, can't get enough of this guy's baby blues. 

Two carts, two kids. It's a workout. And a lot of fun!

For once, L has a modest selection of mom-approved dairy products in her cart. I think I managed for the first time ever to remove all the "impulse buys" before we reached the checkout. #victory

TJ's also has a great flower selection when you first walk in. We always end up with at least one bundle or plant. You can see the blue hydrangea being "gently placed" into the cart by L behind my stylin' little boy.

Scrubadubdub

Who doesn't love a good (and tasteful) bathtime picture? Love them.

something marvelous

Just a quick insight the Lord gave me this morning from Psalm 22.

First David's lament and later Jesus' well-known cry from the cross, verse 1 reads: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This gut-wrenching question is immediately followed by, "Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" In short, the psalmist wants to know where the Lord is in the midst of his deep sadness, of his visceral pain.
But skip down and Psalm 22 ends with this verse: "[Future generations] will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn--for he has done it. It's the phrase, "He has done it" that really strikes me. It can't be a coincidence that Jesus, as He agonized in His final moments on the cross, bearing the unbearable weight of sin, quoted a psalm that ends with the simplest description of our redemption: He has done it. And we get to rejoice in this ending to the sad story of this world; we can quietly marvel at the wonder of this gift, today and every day. Hallelujah, He has done it! He is risen.

Have a wonderful day!
ps) I am very excited that this post had nothing to do with kids and no pictures. I'm sure I'll be back with my regularly scheduled programming (so to speak) soon, but I do hope to do more of these types of posts.

April 2, 2014

April 2, 2014 was a great day for a number of reasons.

We started the day with Winnie the Pooh. The old school, 1970s Winnie the Pooh that I grew up watching. I love the way she says "Pig-eh-wet" and "Winnie DA Pooh." And of course "Wabbit" and "Tiguh."

Yep, she watches TV pretty much every morning. Sorry we're not sorry?

\\

Later, we painted nails. Lillian would do this activity every morning if I'd let her, but my nerves are only up for it about once a week. She loves to paint nails with my mom, too. Thank goodness. If you've ever painted nails with a wiggly two year old, you'll know there is lots of cajoling and threatening involved as you paint teeny-tiny surfaces that are continually moving and smearing.

The color is "Green with Envy." And I'm sure you feel just that way about our AMAZING carpet.

Then Elliott went down for a nap and Lillian requested (read: demanded) some strawberry pancakes. While this wasn't what I had envisioned for the morning, I tell her "no" so often that sometimes it is fun to say yes just for the heck of it. In true toddler fashion, she ate three bites and declared them to be "yucky," but I thoroughly enjoyed them. So much so, apparently, that I didn't take a picture.
Next up was painting with some new Walmart supplies. Looking at this picture is probably more fun than the actual activity, which takes a good bit of set up, clean up and supervision (the Toddler Trifecta for measuring how worthwhile an activity is), but it is fun to watch her create and play with color.

My sweet girl hard at work.

Around 11, a friend texted and asked if we wanted to go to the beach. Since Lillian had pretty much run through all of my ideas for the day in about two hours, I figured why not? So after a little lunch and some careful packing up of the usual suspects (snacks, toys, diapers, etc.), we headed to Isle of Palms for Elliott's inaugural beach trip.

This guy loves the beach, ridiculous hat and all.

Especially the consumption of sand. 

Proof that I was there

L and her slightly tacky tutu swimsuit. She was really excited to be there, which was fun.

BUT the most important reason why this day was special....

WAS THE ARRIVAL OF MY NIECE, HAILEE MAE SANDBACH!! After 22 hours of labor in the hospital--not including BEFORE checking in to L and D--this sweet little girl made her way into the world (such a beautiful euphemism that in no way captures what it's really like!) and made my little sister a mommy! When I actually get the chance to sit down and think about this, it makes me cry. She is already a miracle and I can't wait to watch her grow up. And good job making it through a long and frustrating labor, Hillary. I am so proud of you! I am counting down the days until June when I will finally get to meet Miss Hailee Mae. Lillian is really excited about "Aunt Hurry's baby," and someday Elliott will know how awesome it is that he has a cousin who is only 7.5 months younger than him. 

I definitely think she looks like her mommy! Sweet face! And apparently there is a dimple that I can't wait to see!

Yep, that's my sister holding a baby. Her baby. Amazing!