Yankee Drawl

Posted By jayna on April 22, 2012

This weekend. Oh, this weekend.

One? I’m now petrified of what my future holds with a boy in the family. I thought I had rough girls, but man, two hours with a handful of preschool boys and rough has a whole new meaning. Handing them bats to beat the pinata certainly didn’t help matters.

And two? Definitely sticking with that whole “invite as many as their age” mantra for birthday parties from now on. Either that or the husband may move out for the entire birthday month.

So tired. So, so tired.

(both of us adults getting sick last night and today didn’t help matters either)

 

Category: She's Lazy (on sundays) | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By jayna on April 17, 2012

Five years ago, I was sitting alone in a hospital room staring at my newborn daughter, wondering what in the hell I was supposed to do with her. After 18 hours of labor, she was finally here. Her daddy got to hear her first cry over the phone, as he sat in the mwr on an Army base in Iraq. Her grandmothers got to bathe and love her, grandpas held her and then passed her back, aunts and uncles came to meet her. And then they all went home, leaving us to figure each other out.

For the next year, she was my sidekick, my buddy and my source for the greatest snuggles of all time. She turned me into a mother and has spent every single day since then teaching me that I really don’t have any idea what I’m doing here. Envelopes are pushed and boundaries are stretched. Our sensitive one, she’s shown us the world through a completely different view. And at the end of each day, I still can’t believe she’s all ours.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful first-born.

***************************

Our birthday interview (it’s long and all over the place, but that’s just how our conversations are anyways) . . .

How old are you today?

Five!

What are you hoping to get for your birthday this year?

A castle cake.

What is your favorite color?

Purple.

And your favorite thing to wear?

My new blue striped dress.

What are your favorite toys to play with?

Barbies.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Red Lobster! Can we go there today?

No, sorry. Maybe next time. You already picked your dinner for tonight.

Oh. Yeah.

What do you want for your birthday dinner again?

Clam chowder and pizza. But only the soup from the can and can we buy the pizza?

Absolutely. Now, what is your favorite thing to find in your lunchbox?

Wrapper cheese.

And your favorite fruit?

Blueberries, but not the squishy ones.

Any other favorite foods?

Cupcakes. Definitely cupcakes.

What about foods that you hate?

Hot peppers!!

Who is your best friend?

Anna.

What would your name be if you could change it?

Alisa.

Do you have any favorite memories?

Going to the beach.

What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Fly kites, even though we always forget to go.

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

To the beach.

What is your favorite game to play?

Candy Land.

And your favorite music to listen to?

The whistle song.

What is your favorite movie?

Emmet Otter.

What is your favorite thing about school?

Playing on the playground.

If you could wish for anything right now, what would it be?

A phone and a wallet and a car and money with credit cards just like you.

Why would you want that stuff?

To be like you.

Fair enough. What do you want to be when you grow up?

A horse rider with my kids.

Aww. Alright, last question. Can you think of three words to say about yourself?

*long pause as I give examples and she thinks hard about it*

Loving. Beautiful. Big sister.

 

 

Category: She Writes! | 4 Comments »
Tags: Miss E

Posted By jayna on April 16, 2012

Does anyone else remember when rollerblades came out? How all the cool kids would fly around the roller rink, adorned in slap bracelets and pacifier necklaces. And the rest of us would slowly creep around, envying them each time our wheels got tangled and knocked us down.

No? Just me?

I’ve wanted to take E out to the ice rink and let her try to ice skate, see if she likes it. We don’t have a roller rink, and I have a pair of ice skates sitting in the closet, so we might as well have a bit of fun. But every time I have that thought, it’s just gone the next half hour. Eaten up and shoved to the back of the line by all those other pressing things.

Tonight I mixed up a batch of pink lemonade cupcake batter and painstakingly filled a dozen ice cream cones to bake it in. Double the cook time later, and they were a soupy mess, not even cooked. Poof! Away went that half hour. Poof! Away went another half hour as I redid another batch in regular cupcake tins. Iced and sprinkled, they’re ready in the fridge for preschool tomorrow as E celebrates her 5th birthday.

There are sixteen items on my dry erase board that hangs in the kitchen. Tomorrow will start with a birthday breakfast, a fight over properly combed hair and catching a cat for a trip to the vet. Writing that just reminded me that the cat carrier is outside, waiting to be bleached from the last trip to the vet, three weeks ago. So, I suppose that will fall in line there. Sometime before preschool is over, presents will get wrapped and hopefully a few more things can be crossed off the list. There is a doctor’s appointment and grandparents to call and thank. A birthday dinner and something has to be done about another batch of cupcakes. After bedtime, there will be a paint brush calling my name to finish four dining chairs that I’ve been working on for a week.

Somewhere along the way, I’m sure I’ll think of it again. I’ll make a mental note to call and find out the times of open skating and the costs of rentals. And then I’ll cross something else off my list and the day will be over before I think of it again.

 

Category: She Writes! | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By jayna on April 11, 2012

 

Sorry, dude.

Category: She Takes Way Too Many Pictures | No Comments »
Tags: Miss E, MJ, Tater, Wordless Wednesday

Posted By jayna on April 10, 2012

Sometimes, we all need something to believe in.

MJ finished the last spoonful of cereal and gulped down her juice. Sliding down off the chair with a flurry of crumbs, she turned around and pressed her sticky face up against the sliding glass door. Peering intently out onto the patio, she turned around to catch my attention.Intrigued by the pure joy in her eyes, I set down the dishes I was pulling from the dishwasher and walked over to the door as well.

“Tum-ble-din-ahh!!!Mommy! Tum-ble-din-ahh is home! She just picked da berries and went in da house!! And LOOK MOMMY!! Now she’s in her swimmin’ soup and she’s a goin’ swimmin’!!!”

I swear I saw her, too.

****************************

On our last trip to Ohio, I finally managed to fenangle a pit stop at Michelle’s house. She’s lovely and wonderful and I plan to try and bug her every time I end up that way. It may have just been the swing set and gorgeous backyard, but I’m pretty sure the girls loved her as well. True to how sweet she is, there was a bag that left with us containing all the fixings for our very own fairy garden.

I’m not sure who was more excited, me or the girls, as we started preparations for a humble little house in our own garden. I may have stayed up til 2am one night painting and surprising them with the finished product in the morning. Maybe.

The next day we had a light weight pot ready to go, and a quick trip to the garden center found us with all the necessary plants. Strawberries to snack on, Apple Mint for cleansing the palate, Verbena for some bright colors, Snapdragons for shade and a few more for the landscaping. A stone patio, a bench to relax on, a windmill for power, a fence to keep out riffraff and a pool to cool off in. This place is rather posh.

Thumbelina has it goooood.

 

Category: She's Crafty | 3 Comments »
Tags: