Happy Birthday, Big Sister!!

"I Mickey Mouse my birthday?"

That's all I've heard for a week. Mickey Mouse this and Mickey Mouse that. Mickey Mouse's house is my own personal hell. Why? Because his name is not Mickey Mouse. It's Chuck E Cheese.

I am not a fan of robotic rats, crappy pizza, and generic silly bandz that cost 100 tickets each.

But....a certain someone's birthday was made. Morning to night it was a good day. Birthday Girl shirt announcing the day, cookies with her new class at daycare, a trip to "Mickey Mouse's house", yummy cake with too much frosting, and a few presents to unwrap.

The last words out of my overtired now-three-year-old tonight? "Mama, I not two more, right? I three now. It my birthday. My Mickey Mouse pink birthday."

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Just the Right Spot

I don't always feel like I am there. But then there are days like today where I feel that I am in just the right spot. Crazy fish bowl life, adorable kids who will one day leave, court dates and parent visits, social network equaling caseworkers in their cubes. It's not always a bad thing living this different life. I am grateful for days where I feel fully present in today and not worried about good-byes ahead.

Not Guilty

...this time.

Admittedly, when Little Guy turned three, there was much guilt about his birthday cake. He had no strong opinions (that he could communicate in English) and I was dog tired with Night Owl still being very nocturnal. Dog. Tired. So, after much internal debate, I used the idea that he didn't care to sway myself to Central Market for cupcakes. As luck would not have it, Central Market was only making burnt orange and white cupcakes that day. They didn't even have sprinkles (we added those at home). Lame, lame, lame. Guilt, guilt, guilt.

Big Sister is turning three tomorrow. I'm pretty confident she doesn't really care about her cake either, but now I have the energy to do what I know how to do pretty well. Her only request? "Pink!"


I can't wait for the little easy-to-please birthday bunny to hop out of bed tomorrow to see it.

Crazy Cat Lady in Training

It started as a shriek of terror on her first night here. But now, the littlest member of the house is obsessed with the cats. Her bionic ears pick up the sound of their feet hitting the floor or of their collars shaking. She knows that the clink of plates followed by the squeak of the utensil drawer means that it's feeding time (and thankfully, she has outgrown her desire to eat their food all the time). She wants to know where they are every minute. She follows, pets, screeches, and calls them. Little one has maybe six or seven words but the most frequently used one is "kitty cat". Unfortunately for other animals she may run across, she has not yet figured out exactly what a cat is. So, sorry Shamu, dolphins, sharks, whales and sea lions at Sea World. Sorry llamas, tigers, pigs and lemurs at the zoo. For today, you too are a "kitty cat."

Merry Christmas

Our morning started out magical. Open one present, play with it for 20 minutes, and then "oh, we can open another one?" Then the idea kicked in that ALL of those things under the tree (and admittedly there weren't a ton this year) would get unwrapped and the slow paced portion of "magical" disappeared. Big Sis got fast at unwrapping. Little Sis had no interest whatsoever in the entire event, not even the paper. In the end, there was paper everywhere, toys hidden underneath, cookie crumbs here and there, and three happy girls enjoying the morning.

The day ended just as fun with dinner with friends, little girls coveting a piece of birthday cake and crowns from Christmas crackers, and staying up way past their bedtime.

I love Christmas.

Christmas Eve

There is nothing I like more on Christmas Eve than having gifts and wrapping and stocking stuffers strewn about the house waiting to be organized for Christmas morning. Christmas morning is always chaos, with unwrapping, cookie eating and playing. But Christmas Eve is just me, staying up late, enjoying what I can do to make things special for the kids in the house. Candles lit, Christmas music in the background, some assembly required--I love that for three Christmases now, I have been given the gift of kids a week or two before Christmas.

Two New Sisters

...arrived a little over a week ago. I had five weeks of the single life--sleeping in, sleeping through the night, going out without investing in a babysitter, and hardly cooking at all. As lovely as all that sounds now, it wasn't what I wanted, so I was happy to have two new ones coming up the walk.

And yet again, I find myself breaking my self imposed rules on age limits. The younger sister is the youngest to ever come into the house. At 14 months, she is so much a baby. But so far she is fun. I am finding I have to childproof in ways I have never done before. Canned cat food is a huge draw, as is anything in the washing machine. I am wondering how many random items (pecans, rocks, Little People, magnets, etc.) I will wash before she loses interest in that front loading machine.

Older sister (almost 3) is a love bug already. My arms are never empty, my body is never still...she's either snuggling or making me play with all the toys. Her favorites so far are the Dora puzzle and the dress up bin. She, like most of the preschoolers who have been here before, loves my repertoire of kid songs and rhymes, finger plays, and silly sayings.

Welcome to both cuties. I am so glad you are here.