State of Obvious

Carly has been fascinated with pumpkins this fall season. Everywhere we go: "Look! Punkys! Punkys!" Josh went to a pumpkin patch for cub scouts and got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Tonight we gutted and carved it. Carly's fascination is henceforth fear. Perhaps it was wiggling the dangly pumpkin guts in her face, or the insistent command "Not too close, Carly!" repeatedly issued from her brother while I carved out the face. Maybe it was the candle inside, or Josh jumping out from behind tables, chairs, corners every time she entered a room. Any way you slice it, Carly decided pumpkins were scawy. Some pictures of the fun: Josh's best scary face Carving it up: A pretty good impression of our pumpkin face: Carly "washing"...I'm not sure why she called it washing: The Headless Horseman: Happy Halloween!

I am very fortunate that both of my children have been willing cuddlers. I love snuggling up with them, feeling the smooth plump baby skin they both still have, hearing them breath, listening to the fast thumping of their hearts. Today, Carly and I are both sick. Not just "oh my nose is runny sick". Oh no! Sick like "I sound like I have typhoid, stay away" SICK. I've been teetering on the sick side of things for a couple of weeks now. I haven't been able to sleep enough and normal every day activities leave me on the bad side of functioning. Carly started with the sniffles last week and passed them on to me (why oh why must I kiss those sweet infected cheeks and fingers so often!), the sniffles have bloomed into a hacking cough and on/off fever. What makes this doubly joyful is that I have a choir concert Friday and Saturday night! But back to the subject at hand. Eric put the feverish and sniffly Carly in my bed with me before he left for work. I enjoy havi

Snippets from our drive home: Carly was singing, mostly baby babble for the words but clearly a mimic of her brother's favorite song "Any More" by Maroon 5. Unfortunately for Carly, her rendition sounded more like "la la la en ee mo en ee mo" which sounded a bit more like "enima enima" and was the cause for much laughter from her fellow passengers. Eric and I were teasing Josh - big shock I know - about girls. While denying, for the most part, that he even thinks about them, I did get him to confide in me that he thinks a certain girl is prettier than another. Eric also tried to get him to divulge who is prettier than who, to no avail. However, as we were getting out of the car, Josh turned to his dad and said "I'll tell you if you buy me a new toy." Slick, very slick. p.s. We have a Ford Edge...so ya I'm amused with my title for this post. It doesn't take much, I know. p.s.s. Here is the promised pictures of Carly in the "li

Some days I feel like.... ...a servant. The floor is never swept unless I sweep it. The clothes are not folded unless I fold them. The windows are not washed, the shelves are not dusted, the floor is not vacuumed unless I do it. ...a carpet. Come spill your juice, your complaints, your frustrations upon me. Stomp and grind and flop down right on top of me and I will take it with bland silence and perhaps a stray tack or two sticking out. ...a megaphone. My voice will rise and rise until it soars above the noise, until those that hear it want to run with their ears covered, until every word - happy, sad, mad or otherwise - is a yell meant to silence those around me and proclaim my rightness . ...a failure. Like I am never enough, like my habits are too ingrained, my ticks are too quirky. I know the right things to do and yet cannot do them. Perhaps will not do them is more accurate. ...I am blessed. In spite of it all - maybe because of it all, I am amazingly blessed. The children I yel

A couple incidents that I found very amusing: Today, after bringing in a mountain of groceries, Eric said to Josh "Stay here and help your mother put away the groceries." Josh grumbles for a few minutes (surely he is just toooo tired to help after his long long day!) and then Eric says again "just stay and help her." Josh turns to him and says "And what are you going to do dad?" Eric, who had every intention of going in the other room to play on the computer, turned a little pink and stayed to help. We are starting to try and potty train Carly. She is telling us after she goes so that is a step forward. Yesterday she wanted to go potty and so Eric took her to the bathroom. She sat down and immediately grabbed a book to read. Eric was so proud. I did get a pic with my phone and will upload it soon.