My days may not be productive, but they are happy. Mostly.

I used to use toilet paper that I unrolled myself. I no longer have to do that. As soon as I replace the empty roll with a new roll, Lila senses this and immediately comes to disperse it throughout the house. She sends it rolling down our 20 foot hallway. She eats some. She wipes her hair and her face with it. Public restrooms actually have a perk now- whenever I have to use one, I feel just a bit special because I get to use brand new, perfectly rolled up toilet paper, instead of picking a piece from our basket of crumpled overflowing stock.

I used to be able to take out a recipe and start cooking right away. I now find myself spending several minutes to locate each needed kitchen gadget.

"Anabelle, where is my ladle?"
"I don't know"
"You had it last week"
"What's a ladle?"
"Where is your fish pond?"
"Oh, well, that's in my room"
"Please go get it for me"

She brings me my ladle. The whole inside is covered in hot pink crayon.

"What is this?"
"Oh those are just my fishies"
"Fabulous. Now where is my whisk?
"Your what?"
"Your magic powers wand. Go find me your wand"

And so it continues until I reclaim, at least for the night, enough of my items to get through a task.

And my bed time routine is longer now too. You think it is finally that moment when you get to climb into bed and sleep, only to realize that 16 stuffed carnivores have been tucked in there for hours. Sometimes we laugh to find more and more things in our bed as we keep nestling in. And we now know better than to toss them on the floor next to our bed. That would not be worth the tragic breakdown you will witness in the morning. Better to take a minute and tuck them snugly on the futon.

I used to be able to load the dishwasher whenever there were dishes in the sink. Now I must only load it if it is between the hours of 12-2 on weekdays and 1-3 on weekends (the napping hours of the sworn enemy of productivity). Otherwise you are certain to have a Lila unloading faster than you can load. It takes her about 45 seconds to make her way there from the time she hears you begin. And in an instant there are silverware strewn about the entire kitchen and you find yourself trying to free beaters that she jammed in the wiring of the dishwasher just to get it closed so you can stop the madness. And excitedly, she now knows how to open it herself and will just climb in, have a seat, and start throwing.

And there is just no end to it- my shoes are lined up in Anabelle's room and stuffed full of Lila's socks ( I can find neither when I need them), we have no band aids because Anabelle thinks "Band-aid" is a synonym for "sticker". My chapsticks have all but been eaten or sucked to death and my phone is constantly being taken over and stashed secretly by Lila, sometimes missing for a week at a time. On average I pick up at least 56 hair contraptions of one kind or another each day. My purse is full of crumbs and snacks and books and bouncy balls and diapers.

And on and on and on....

Never in my life did I dream that my days would be filled with so much joy and laughter because of these little people. I've said it before, I'll say it again, Aint nothing better than being a momma.

Quick rewind, if I may

Winter doesn't officially start until December 21st. Trust me, I googled it. Which, if my calculations are correct, means that it is still fall and I am not late at all in posting all of our fabulously fun fall festivities (say that 10 ten times fast. OK, I just did it and it's actually not that big a deal. It was however, fun to write).

Tim and Katasha came to visit us for a few weeks in November. We candied apples and nuts, played at the park, carved pumpkins, and caused general uncategorical ruckus. We always love these visits.




By the way Tim, that lamp IS broken- I'll just put it on your tab






See what I mean about always hiding one eyeball?

Vertical

Lila is vertical! About 3 weeks ago she took her first few steps and has been stepping here and there ever since. In the last few days she has given up the incredible speed crawl (for the most part), and walks. If that's what you want to call it. She walks like you imagine a giant with a wet diaper would- toddling back and forth on big square, box-like feet. Less a forward motion, more sideways back and forth. But she does in fact move forward. All the while bearing her new adorable beaver teeth in a HUGE face-wide grin. She is so excited for her new skills. As are we. Not to complain or anything but, my arms are tired. I also feel like I owe her a small Thank You. Kids who are good eaters but not good walkers means Moms who have respectable biceps. So thanks Lila, for that, but good heavens girl, it was time. I will miss seeing her crawling a million miles an hour, only to see her stop suddenly, hang her head down for a minute-totally relaxed, then resume crawling. Her big head is quite a heavy load apparently.

She is 18 months old today. To celebrate, she pooped in the shower (on Anabelle!) and pulled my Christmas tree over (for the second time, thus crunching my remaining ornaments that survived her first attack). And that is why I am at the computer looking at endearing pictures of her- trying to feel the love.

She continues to be a cuddlebug to the max and is just so playful. She is always looking for a reason to laugh. And if she can't find one, she will just laugh out loud over and over until you start to laugh with her, giving her an actual reason to laugh. What joy to my soul is Lila.


Watching something furry on TV

Total apathy towards things without fur

See it? There's the neck I told you about

Veterans Day 09

I am patriotic. I would even say fiercely patriotic. I think my Dad gave the old America tree that grows in my heart it's tender little roots. For that I will always be grateful. I know something of what the Marine Corp has meant in his life and I know how he cherishes freedom of choice. I too have come to realize and feel so indebted for the sacrifices made on behalf of my freedoms.

So last week when Veteran's Day showed up I was game for a parade. Until Lila fell asleep in the car 30 minutes before it was time to leave. We all know what one 15 minute cat nap will do to your night. It will force you into the bag of Halloween candy and a diet Coke (and don't judge me because I use caffeine and or chocolate as a coping mechanism- I could smoke you know). I wondered if dragging my kids to downtown B-ham to watch boy scouts march around tossing tootsie rolls was really worth it. Turns out, it was.

As the parade started and the first troop of uniformed soldiers marched by I told Anabelle what they were. I told her when soldiers came by to clap for them and thank them and tell them good job. She asked me, "Mom, why is that guy a soldier?" And that's when the tears started. I couldn't explain to her why he had chosen to be a soldier without emotion (I didn't throw in the fact that possibly paying for college tuition might be a contributing factor). The parade was three hours long and every time a troop walked by we clapped and said 'Thank You'. I couldn't help but become choked up each time. Seeing them in uniform made everything so real, so personal- they were husbands and Dads and sons.

At one point a truck went by with vets from World War 2. It was driving very slowly and I had time to make eye contact with them (it has to drive extra slow- they are like a million years old now. It would be a shame to injure them in a parade when they made it through Normandy). I looked up and made eye contact with a wrinkly old man. Through tears, I mouthed, "Thank You" to him. Through tears, he mouthed back, "Your welcome". What an experience. I had the opportunity not just to feel grateful in my heart, but to be able to express it. In that act, I realized how deeply I love this country and how much I appreciate the men and women of the armed forces and their families. (Phil & Jaime!)

I admit that I stared a little longer when the Air Force guys went by. Trying to prep myself for that. Braden will be entering Officer Training for 13 weeks on March 1st of next year. Visitors welcome from the 2nd of March through May 27th. Must be willing to eat Captain Crunchies for dinner and pop my back.

There isn't a better thing I could have done that day. I don't know that Anabelle will remember it at all. But doing things like that keep it fresh for me. It was important for me to see the eyes of those who have fought. To clap for those who are still fighting. And to say 'thank you' for a life and a country that I love.

God bless America and those who fight to keep it free.




This is what Tim looks like. Not many people know what he looks like with two eyes. Usually one is hiding behind a camera lens. Tim let me take over his camera while he was here and I'm positive I took more pictures of him in a week than he's had in his whole life.

People who do

I have a friend from college named Val. She had biological triplets who are now 4. When they were about two she adopted two more children from Eastern Europe with special needs. Now she is trying to bring home three more from Bulgaria. That makes 8 kids, five of them with special needs! I think of her on the days when I lose patience with my two. The first time Braden and I saw her blog, there was a slide show of one of her little boys in the orphanage where he spent his infancy. Braden walked by the computer and saw a picture of her in the orphanage and said she truly had an angelic look about her. He was so right. I am inspired by people who do- not just think nice thoughts or have sweet intentions, but people who take action and DO something to change the lives of others, especially when it involves a great personal sacrifice.

As you can imagine, international adoption is expensive so she is having a silent auction on her blog to try to raise the money she needs to bring them home. It ends tomorrow night so if you can help her out, find her blog at www.fromthetrenchesofadoption.blogspot.com

If nothing else, maybe she will inspire you too!

Sprouts!

Lila has begun to sprout fun things all over the place. Some teeth here, some hair there- she even grew a neck! It's all very exciting. Now, lets hope she can come up with some walking legs soon.


See the chomper? She got them all at once...she now has four teeth and she knows how to use them. She crawled under the table this week unbeknownst to me, and bit my toe. Hard. It hurt immensely. Let me take a moment and give thanks that the breastaurant has been closed.

First ponytail

It's all good in the{candy collecting neighbor}hood

The only thing that distinguishes Halloween from every other day at our house is the fact that people give you candy for wearing your costume. I think they wore different costumes to every party we went to, compliments of a costume box made of many yard sales. Once Anabelle grasped the concept of trick or treating she was all about it. I did have to talk her into going though. She first told me that she didn't need candy. But I did so I made her go. Why does she always think everything is about her? She sauntered slowly from trunk to trunk complimenting others on every piece of their costumes while eating a sucker. The strategy of speed and efficiency was lost on her. We went to a fun neighborhood and once she got the hang of it, it was fabulous to watch.






Braden thinks its funny when the girls pick their noses, but does he think its funny when they pick his? I do.

Unwilling to temporarily release her grip on the bag of candy, her usual signature silly face suffers a bit

Blowing kisses as we left a house while trick or treating

Cute baby chicky-Colton style

This is Lila dressed as the child of a mother who neglects her for sewing projects. This is the scariest outfit of all- what if I did that more than once a year? Yikes. Good thing that never, ever happens.

Lila dressed as "Super Lila" at the Blankenship's fall feast

Pictures of hot chicks

You'd be hot too if you stepped into this feathery little sweat factory of a costume.

I'm on the edge of my seat wondering what the next Reynolds baby will look like on Halloween.

Half of these are Anabelle and half are Lila, can you tell which ones?