Stay Golden

The best thing about the Olympics (other than the fact that they get my emotions ripe for the pickin', and I weep every time they cut to a parent in the stands) is last night while we were watching diving. Charley started counting to three and would then break out into her somersault. Hadley, not to be upstaged, climbed onto the couch to perform her front rolls. She proclaimed, "Mama, look at my Olympics!"

The North Country

Well, we're back. The whole fam went to Carthage, NY for a few days. Here's the skinny.

Kairos

• roasting marshmallows and making smores (despite HC almost catching Cousin Veronica's face on fire)
• reading in the sun without having to jump in and rinse off every few minuts (low 80's)
• catching up with the cousins, in-laws, sister-in-laws, and more
• listening to HC comment on all the people she observed at the airport (the girl with pink hair was a HIT)
• sunsets while in air after storms-GORGEOUS (a red sky I've nver seen before)
• salt potatoes (if I can sell these bad boys in the South, I'll be rich like woah)
• pineapple upside down cake cocktails with sisters-in-law
• amazing views for a few windy, sunny, and warm runs (green cornfields, pastures, dirt road)
• the horse "biting" Charley's hand while she fed him apples
• HC gettng her picture made with the silo with her name on it
• dancing at wedding (even with no AC, still a cool time)
• Mason being a true delight 97% of the time (was great with girls)
• eating Grandma Kay's chicken recipe with the Hadley crew

Chronos

• TSA confiscating Mason's two LAX sticks and throwing those bad boys right in the trash
• being last people on the plane (paging the Ashcraft family) and getting The Look from all other passengers
• containing CB on plane (her yelling AVERY to John and AL from the front of the plane to the back was annoying but cute)
• passing a kidney stone (I think) felt like labor pains/contractions, running some tests to see what's up
• two hour delay on way home (although we made the best of it the Game Room at the 'Cuse airport)
• wrestling kids to sleep at night and nap while outside of their routine
• convincing TSA to let me on the plane once I realized my license was not in my wallet (oops)
• a few meltdowns on plane (HC didn't like her seat, CB wanted more M&Ms, Mama wanted peace/sleep)
• seeing a fox on while running (seriously, I'm scared of most things furry)

Quotes

HC

• on flying: "This is exciting. I'm so exciting."
• on "Rumor Has It": "What does rumor have? Is rumor a boy or a girl?
• on camping after two days: "I'm done with this camping. I'm ready to go home."

CB

• to Poppa: "I love you."
• on sunsets: "ooowww"

Little Things

Things I Love Right Now:

• Charley saying thank you for everything
• Mason finishing the first year of middle school relatively unscathed
• Last Saturday: run, pool, nap, date (steak, cheesecake, Hunger Games!)
• Sunday afternoons at the lake
• A fresh crop of summer magazines
• Charley's hand gestures when she asks a question
• The tiniest bell peppers ever growing in my "garden"
• Hadley and Charley running races on the sidewalk
• Chocolate cake from the deli section at Harris Teeter
• Audio books
• Metal chairs I painted Tiffany blue
• Ponytails
• Pinterest
• My new sweatshirt/verse/motto

Chatter Boxes

Today as I listened to Charley babble (Daddy, runned fast!), I remembered how Hadley would go away from us and whisper new words to herself until she knew she had them right. Then we'd hear her say them out loud a day or so later. I'm so happy they are voracious little ones.

Daddy did run fast. He killed a 5K in 20:03. Holla.

Good Stuff

Happiness:

• Mason's EKG came back great
• Spring has sprung
• Job is going super good
• Planted some fruits and veggies
• Signed up to train for another marathon with Jeff Galloway
• Days are getting longer: lots of sun
• Charley will now watch tv
• Mason is loving lacrosse
• Hadley had the "best Easter egg hunt ever"
• They were the fanciest girls on Easter Sunday
• Mase is signed up for a mission trip this summer
• Bring it On the musical with Suzie-Q
• Bought a pair of Keds: life is full circle

Revelations of the Week

Kids
I can no longer keep a running list of what Charley says. She can now say it all. Clean and cook were the words of the weekend. and Boom. :)
Three is just a preview of the teen years. One minute this child is a small adult with thoughtful things to share with the Earth. The next minute she is irrational, screaming, and out of control. Good times ahead!
Mason's teacher said he is an angel at school. I have my doubts. Love you, Mase.


John
He's the bomb. He brought me home a butcher block island as an early Valentine's Day present. I am spoiled...but I'm worth it. What a surprise! It is beautiful and fun.

GF
Canned icing is almost across the board without gluten. Hallelujah. The GF brownie mix I've been buying is amazing.
I was okay with the whole G-free movement until I opened up this month's Southern Living. I had a breakdown. I'm also not sure how my identity will survive without glutens, but we'll see. Things seem to be better. No headaches and no acne. That's worth it!

Me
I've had a case of the January's. I'm already feeling better with February knocking on my door this week. It is great for my psyche that the daylight is getting longer again. That alone creates a smile.

Chicas

Out to eat adventures always end in a good story.

Last night we went to our favorite mom and pop Mexican restaurant. It is a small place, nothing fancy. It's clean, simple, and yummy. I said to Hadley, "We really like this place, don't we?" Her reply: "It doesn't look that fabulous." Her intonation and face were honest yet forgiving. It is amazing what kids pick up on. Once she settled on a chicken taco for her meal, she ended up devouring my avocado delight. She preferred its salsa, jalapeno, and avocado make up far more than her carbs and cheese. She is her daddy's girl when it comes to palette.

Another revelation would be Charley's first three word sentence: "One chip, please." Her favorite part of the meal was the limes.

Heard and Said

Charley

poop

night-night

drink
up
out
down
off

Mason

Mom, those are some tight jeans.

Heard and Said

Hadley
Merry Christmas, Mama.
Santa's the best.
Jejus helps us.
Everything is so beautiful. (at the movie theater)
Merry Christmas Eve (for three days straight)

Charley
help
one (for phone)
don't

Mama
For the third time, stop eating pencils.

Heard and Said

Charley
elf
hot
hat
out
toe
eye
moo
milk
cup
up
boot
me

Avery
Daddy, Santa is watching you.

Heard and Said

Hadley

• Mama, you're my best friend.
• My mama is the best cooker in the whole wide world.
• This purse makes me interesting.

Charley

• duck
• nose

Baby Laugh

We just spent 15 minutes watching this over and over. Just "one more time" according to Hadley. Charley would laugh and laugh but only after Hadley stopped. We should have videoed that, I guess.

Source: youtube.com via Margaret on Pinterest

Heard and Said

Hadley

• No more potty talk.
• Mason's teacher won't be happy for that, will she Mama?
• Do you forgive me?
• That's not a nice word. Stupiding. Is it, Mama?

Charley

• bath
• Avery (it doesn't really sound like Avery, but it's what she means)
• yes/yeah
• snack
• eat
• cheese (when she sees a camera...or a phone)

Heard and Said

Hadley

• My uncle from Texas who is a true cowboy, kissed her goodbye on the cheek. Her response, "Why do cowboys always lay on me?" This is slightly alarming but also funny.
• She was referring to bar-b-q sauce, but was calling it "fire mustard". It took us a minute to figure it out.
• She's ending sentences with "or not?" and "or something".

Charley

• mess

Mason

• "Why are you wearing that to my game?"

Heard and Said

Hadley

• Can I watch Care Bears? I'll be your best friend.
• Kyle is my best friend. A little.
• As we are making peanut butter bars: "Are you going to add armadillo to these?" After she asked me 103 times, I realized she was calling vanilla, armadillo.
• That doesn't make any sense.
• Can we go to a Huskie dog game on Friday?
• What is it time? 20 Seven o'clock?

 Charley

• Haddy!
• dog
• baby
• shoe!

Picasso or Out of Control?

Last week while I was cooking dinner, Hadley went outside with Mason and his buddies. They were all right in front of the house. I assumed he was watching her closely like I asked him to do. I'm not sure why I would assume something so out of control. I'm not a rookie, but I did. So, Mason brings a screaming Hadley into the house. Her knee was scraped and bleeding. I figured this warranted the crying, but again, no. She was crying because Mason yelled at her (and while crying she fell down). Why was he yelling? She took a rock to a BMW SUV parked in front of our house. She drew vertical zig zags for about a foot on the side of the vehicle above the tire. I was MORTIFIED. She got in trouble again. We wrote a note and placed it on the car's windshield. A few days later I got an email from the owner. She was insanely nice calling my little lovely a future Picasso and saying not to worry one bit. I was stunned. This kind of neighborly karma doesn't occur too often. I'm thankful for honestly and forgiveness!

Daddy Duty

John has daddy duty at night. He does baths (with my help because with two it is seriously impossible), brushes teeth, gets pajamas, and reads stories. I really love that he spends this time with the girls because I think it is so important for them to have one on one time with their daddy. It is just different than being with me. It seems more special when they get daddy-daughter time. Also it gives me a few minutes to get some other things done so I can go to sleep myself! I'm never far behind them when it comes to bed time. Charley is not overly interested in books, but she is getting better. Books with dogs in them seem to keep her attention for like 3 seconds, so that's an improvement.

Last night two special things happened during Baths, Books, and Bed time.

1. I had to settle a dispute over whether an ! is in fact an i or not. Hadley was literally crying because John told her this ! is an exclamation point, but she thinks it is an i. She was not convinced when I tried to confirm his fact. She adamantly claimed that ! is an i. She was not caving.

2. Charley pooped in her closet. Without a diaper on.

Lil' Punkins

Today was the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. To be quite frank, John and I were really resistant. We've had a busy weekend with football and fall fests and running (the exercise) and running (the errands). That said, I was feeling guilty about not taking them even before we had made a final decision for or against. Also, Mason was opting out of going this year as he thinks he's too grown for a good ol' hayride and punkin' pickin'. This was a reminder that soon enough no one will want to go to the patch, and John and I will drive up to Harris Teeter and get one on sale while we're getting booze and fiber. So, off we go. A trip to the pumpkin patch includes a hayride, a petting zoo of farm animals, picking a pumpkin, and apple cider. It is actually super fall fun.
The petting zoo was a serious riot to Charley. I can't describe the noise she made to every animal. It was like a happy, shrill, yoga ommm.This is the face she made when she did the noise.

Hadley so badly wanted to ride every little goat and cow. We were the last ones to get back on the hayride. I had to drag a screaming Hadley away from the baby goat.

I'm not sure where they get this animal love. It ain't from me. Avery was not impressed. She wanted to go straight to the vegetation. That's my girl.

Moral of the story: we had a great time. Time goes by too fast. It cost too much money, and we could have gotten a bunch of other stuff done (like clean the wretched bathrooms. curses.), but making memories is much better.

Let's Pretend

Right now Hadley is playing "grandma". Like one would play school or house. She is snuggled up on the couch with her blanket trying to go to sleep, and Charley is tormenting her. Hadley keeps saying to Charley, "Grandma is trying to go to sleep!" Earlier "Grandma" had to go to the doctor which consisted of Hadley packing up her purse and traveling to the stairs where she sat at the bottom waiting to be seen by the Grandma's doctor. This is the most boring game of imagination ever but equally entertaining for me. Charley apparently does not understand how to play Grandma. Unless she's playing the role of rambunctious grandchild which is plausible, I suppose.

Heard and Said

Hadley
Is your mom's name Ke$ia (not sure how to spell with wingdings but I think that's it)?
Mason is a stinkerbutt, isn't he?
Can we go to Grady's party (which was in April)?
Can we go to Kate's party (which was this summer)?
We're gonna celebrate Aunt' B's birthday, are we?
I'm gonna run away to your room, Mama.
I'm gonna scream (and then she did for a long, loud time).
Stop snoring. (while making snoring sounds and giggling)
Are you going to bring your phone into my room every night?
I want to be a superhero, okay Mama?

Charley
ooowooowooowooo (in the style of "Moves Like Jagger")

We didn't see Avery this week, but one of my favorite quotes of hers is:
Unicorns are real. They live Arkansas and Louisiana (I think those are the states she names. It was definitely a Southern one and a Mid-West one).