It's Just Not Fair

My day started reaallly early.  As in 3:45 early.  After I made the mistake of giving in to naptime for Leah yesterday, she was up until 9:30 last night, playing with toys and basically doing whatever she wanted upstairs.  Then she decided that 3:45 in the morning was the ideal time to take a trip to the bathroom, only to inform me that she needed some, ahem, personal attention. 

Around that same time, one of our 6 smoke alarms started chirping, begging for new batteries.  (6?  Really?  Is there such a thing as too many smoke alarms?  I think yes.) 

Then Leah appeared in our bed around 6:00, and I finally gave up and got out of the bed at 6:45.  I folded some laundry, put away the dishes, CLEANED THE STOVE, and took a shower, all with no effort to be the least bit quiet.  But nothing.  Suddenly sleep is the most important thing in the world.

At 8:05, she looked like this.

We had to leave for Joy School at 8:40.  So I turned on the ceiling fan in hopes of freezing her out of my bed (I'm a mean, mean mommy, I know).  It worked, and we were on our way. 

Cut to this afternoon, when I'm dragging like a zombie (why?  why did I got to bed at 11:30 last night?) and Adam has gone down for a nap.  Determined to not let Leah sleep, I set her up with books, crayons, coloring books and snacks.  I sit down to check my email, and turn around to find this.

I'm trying to get her on a normal schedule.  (One in which she goes to bed at a decent hour and I don't have to wait until 10:00 in the morning to get anywhere.)  Really I am.  But it's not working, and it's just not fair.  That should be me on that couch!

The Seven Year Itch

When Jason and I got married, we dreamed big. We dreamed about building a family, a home, a life together. We were going to travel, get rich, and have a love story that would make others chartreuse with envy. And we were surrounded by loving family and friends who were (and still are!) cheering us on, praying we would make it. The best part was that all of these people were giving us- just giving us!-gifts to show their support. It amazed me that people were giving us dishes, lamps, even cash, just because we had fallen in love.

Of course, we scrimped and saved for all of the big ticket items- the kitchen table and chairs were on layaway for a month before we saved up enough to take them home, our couches were serendipitously selected and paid for with cash, and our bed was the first purchase we made after our honeymoon (it should have been taken care of well before that!).

Everything was new! And clean! And fingerprint smudge-free. Setting up house was exhilarating, and a great symbol of the fresh new life we were beginning together.

And now, nearly seven years later, everything is old, tired, and dirty. The trade-off is, of course, completely worth it, but it has really come to my attention lately that we just don't have many nice things. We haven't replaced much of anything since we've gotten married- the carefully selected couches are now threadbare and stained on both sides of the cushions (darn it, we can't just flip them over anymore!), the surround sound DVD player that we bought on a great sale with a few wedding gift cards doesn't play any sound for the first 5 minutes it's on, and the matching coffee and end table that my brothers and sisters gave us as a wedding gift are No. 1 on my list of things that will not make the next move with us. Everything is just worn.

I look around and get the itch to throw it all out and start over again. This sounds familiar... Have you heard of the concept of the 7-year itch? According to Google-

In short it is a relationship term - usually after 7 years people tend to re-evaluate their relationship. Supposedly, after being married for seven years, you start looking at other options. Hence you have an itch to scratch. In layman's terms, one is expected to leave/cheat at this time.

I've evaluated our relationship more than once in the last seven years, and I'm quite happy to report that there is no itch to leave. While getting a sneak peak of this post, Jason gasped and said, "That's horrible! I had no idea that even existed!" Apparently it's not a concern for him, either.

The abandon hope feeling about our stuff is a complete contrast to the way we feel about our commitment to each other. Thankfully.

I love this talk. I especially love this quote:

If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently.
You shield it and protect it.
You never abuse it.
You don’t expose it to the elements.
You don’t make it common or ordinary.
If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new.
It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.

I'm realizing that even though the stuff around us is beginning to really show the wear and tear of the years as they go by, our relationship is different. We won't be trading in for something new, we'll continue to work together and become even better than we were before. It is wonderful to realize that this investment is one that will bring us many returns, instead of many replacements.

And in a fantastic leap of topics, I'm excited to announce that today, for the first time in quite a while, we acquired a shiny new (to us) something!
A piano has been on my list of dreams that I hope come true someday for quite a while now, and today, Jason made it happen. You could say this piano represents the realization of dreams coming true together, even (or especially) seven years later. Another dream come true. Another piece of furniture to smudge. It's a wonderful dream we're making come true, and I'll take it all!

(Assuming that no one really wants to see pictures of my dirty furniture, this post is instead sprinkled with pictures of our first family trip with the Morales Ladies- St. George 2004)

Weekly Update

I used to capture so many snapshots of my days on this blog. Lately, it's been one or two mass postings a week to catch up on the goings-on of our family.

This post is no exception.

I have discovered three things that have made our weekly grocery shopping trips much more endurable- 1. Aldi's. 2. Giant carts with seats for all. 3. Letting Leah wear dress-ups to the store.
She was so shocked when I told her she could wear her "Odette from Swan Lake" costume to the store, she double checked to make sure she heard me right.

"This is a real dress-up, Mama. And I can wear it to the real grocery store?"

She was in heaven. Totally worth it.

Leah's absolutely loving Joy School, as am I. It is just what I was hoping for- a blend of play time in someone's home, exposure to new ideas and activities, and the structure of a preschool experience. Last week I told Leah that she was going to be learning about the 5 senses, and then listed them off for her (in secret hopes that she would have the answers in class). Her response?

"Don't tell me any more, Mama. I want it to be a surprise!"

As for Adam, he's just growing like a weed... one that likes to hang out in the garden. He's really into climbing all of the sudden- onto the picnic bench, over the couch, up the slide, even out of his swing. He's always so proud of himself, too.
And he's started throwing horrific fits when he doesn't get his way. Have I ever mentioned that Leah never threw temper tantrums? Apparently that doesn't run in the family. He's got the head-flinging, body-collapsing, crocodile-tearing production down to a science. No pictures of that just yet.

We went another week without Jason (or the car!) last week, and rewarded ourselves with another trip to the Children's Museum. I'm slightly obsessed, yes. I'm amazed at how quickly my kids are growing, just based on what holds their interest. When we first went to the museum, Adam was all about the crawling mazes and balls. Now he's moved on to the water table-
and the sand table.
And Leah has moved on to the Barbie exhibit and the planetarium. But they are still my little babies, sweet enough to give me a 45 minute break in the middle of the crazy day.
And that is the end of this weekly update.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

When we finally finished up touring the big cities, Allison and I spent the rest of our time together enjoying small town Indiana. It might have been my favorite part about the trip... but haven't I said that about the whole trip?

We checked out the university campus,
put the dirt roads to good use,
and tasted sweet corn fresh from the stalk.
We picked peaches at a local orchard, and discovered the BEST tasting peach in the world. See below.
We visited the petting zoo
which Jason joined us for. Yes, that is a goat balancing on his leg.
Al and I went on a date one night- dinner and downtown window-shopping, topped off with a terrifying visit to the wrong side of town. Sorry about that!
And we enjoyed a tasty Bon Voyage cake the night before she left. I love these pictures of Adam with his Auntie Al- who wouldn't love an auntie who lets you poke her in the eye just for a laugh?
As is the Henscheid general rule, we had a craft-ivity and ended up with some adorable headbands. Aren't we crafty? And don't you think I would be one hot blond? Just check out my sister!
And before we were ready, it was time to head back to the airport. That morning ranks among the Top 10 Worst Days of My Life, as we almost didn't get Allison to her plane in time. It was the classic airport nightmare, including racing down the airport corridors, cutting through the security line, and shouting out "DON'T SHUT THE DOOR!" as we raced up to the gate. It was awful. I am terrible at math, and apparently that includes calculating an appropriate amount of time to allow for leisurely airport good-byes. Thankfully she got on the plane. I'm sure my mom would have KILLED me had she not gotten on that flight.

And so, we said good-bye. And we still miss you, Al! Almost as much as we miss Ermentrude.
We can't wait to do it again next year!

I Paid Money To Do This?

When I started running earlier this summer, I decided that I needed to cap off the summer with a race of some kind. Not wanting to commit myself to anything too intimidating, I chose the local Apple Popcorn Festival 5K. And it was NOT intimidating. Sandwiched between the bubble gum blowing contest and the hairiest leg contest, it was about as low-key as I could have asked for.

It felt more like a regular morning run than anything else.
Except for the fact that BOTH of my shoes came untied just minutes into the race, and I had to stop to tie them up again.

And the fact that there were real runners passing us up on the left and the right. Oh, and cars. We ran through the tiny little town and they didn't even bother to block off the road, so we had to run around the cars that were driving by. We headed straight out of town, took a right at the cornfields, and headed back again after another mile down the winding country road. Only in Indiana.

My generally laid back running partner had enough "race day" adrenaline for both of us, and she kept me from walking over the finish line. Thankfully. My only goal in this race was to run the whole thing, and although I tried otherwise, she kept me going the whole way.
What really kept me going was the fact that my little family would be cheering us on at the finish line.

(This picture was posed... the shot that should have been.)

Only we just ran too darn fast, and they weren't there when we finished. Literally 3 minutes after we finished the race, Jason found us, encouraging sign in hand and sleepy-eyed kids dragging close behind. They're really just not morning people.

It was slightly reminiscent of my first birthday as a mom. I had great plans for Celebrate-Melanie-Day-2007, and 3-month-old Leah had the audacity to get her first ever cold that day. How rude! Don't kids know that parents occasionally like to do something for themselves? Umm... nope!
But, the moral of the story is- I did it! I don't know that I'm hooked on racing now (I really felt like an impostor on the starting line), but it feels good to say that I ran a race. Me! Running! I really never thought I would be able to say that- but now I've even got the t-shirt to prove it!

It's All Talk

Thankfully potty words aren't the only ones Adam has picked up on. His list is getting longer every day, although most of what he says still requires a family translator.

Grandma
Clean up
Cookie
This
Up
Ball
Hat
Honk Honk
Out
Apple
Juice

Mama, Dada, and Leah are still his favorite words, and we have entered into the sibling tormenting phase. Leah has started saying classic lines like, "He's looking at me! Stop touching me!" On the way to the library last week the backseat conversation went like this-

A- "Leah!"

L- "Stop saying my name, Adam!"

A- "Leah! Leeeeeah!"

L- Stop it! Mooooom! Adam's saying my name!"

A- (pause.... pause... pause...) "LEEEEEAAAHHHHHH!"

And so it begins... Jason and I were wiping away tears as we tried to stifle our giggles in the front.

One concept in the English language that continues to allude Miss Leah is that of being "rich" or "poor". I explained to her once that when you are rich you have a lot of something. She has taken the definition beyond money, and says things like

"Mom, the honey's almost gone. We are so poor."

or

"I am rich with books. I love the library."

So the idea is there, it is just funny to hear her take on it. I wish I could view wealth so simply.

Earning Keep

One of Adam's newest words is "poop!". Thankfully, he uses the word appropriately. I didn't realize how entrenched we are in the diaper change routine until he started taking charge of it. I ask him if he's pooped, he says, "poop!" and pats his tummy. We head to the bedroom and change out the old for the new.

Then Adam takes the rolled up diaper to the top of the stairs and chucks it down.

He turns around, waits for me to pick him up and we head down after the diaper.


He then picks the diaper up, carries it around to the garage door, and waits for me to catch up.

I open the door and get a trash bag.

He puts the diaper in the bag, I tie it up and hand it back to him.


He carries the bag over to the garbage can and hoists it in.

Then he claps and we head back inside.

And it MUST. HAPPEN. THIS. WAY. EVERY. TIME. Or there will be crying. Lots of crying.

Not that I'm complaining- it's nice to get a little help around here! And the routine-following- he's a little man after my own heart.