come clean.

It was lunch time. Delaney was hanging in her entertainment center, gnawing on one of her many teethers, while I was scrounging to make a last minute meal. Emme had wandered to her room to change clothes because she was "just too hot!" I opened the fridge and noticed the pineapple I bought on Saturday that still needed to be cut.
I was avoiding the pineapple like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I love fresh cut pineapple. But I love it when I don't have to cut up the darn thing, it's time consuming! And anything that diverts my attention from the girls for more than five minutes means I am playing with fire. However, I still grabbed the stinkin' pineapple and decided to cut it or risk having it go bad. As I hacked into the thing, I kept an eye on Delaney and an ear toward Emme's room. It was too quiet. I call for the big girl, "Emme! What are you doing? Come see mommy, please." No answer. I call again, "Emme! It's almost time for lunch. Come to the kitchen, please." Nope, no response.
I grab Delaney and we haul off toward Emme's room. As I round the corner, I see two of Emme's pillows on her floor by her bed. There are five or six dolls laying on them. Her Cabbage Patch Kid is laying on a smaller pillow wearing a pair of my sunglasses. As I come to her doorway, I see her clothes scattered about the floor, undies & all. Then there's Emme. She has emptied the toy box that houses her dolls and is sitting in it - naked. I spot her water bottle sitting on the floor next to the toy box. Then I see a towel. A closer look reveals that Emme has emptied her water into the toy box and is taking a "bath". And of course the dolls are laying out to dry because they got a "bath" too.
I couldn't get mad, she was just too proud of the entire scene. She even offered to give Delaney a bath, too :)

Katy Perry.

Nearly every Saturday morning Clay & Emme have a standing playdate. The morning begins with a shuffle to the kitchen for Clay's cup of coffee and Emme's cup of warm apple juice. Then they shuffle back to Em's room to set-up camp.

I'll hear Emme's closet doors pop open and the pink treasure chest of Barbie gear is dumped on the floor. Emme will choose the Barbie(s) she wants to play with then directs Clay to the Barbie(s) she recommends he play with. Usually Clay ends up with a Barbie donning a wedding gown and "Ken Metro" (Emme's new -age Ken doll with actual hair and skinny jeans).


Side note- Clay has taken it upon himself to name two of the four male dolls Emme has in her doll collection. One would be "Ken Metro" and another, smaller doll house sized one is "Stinky Don". Emme respectfully refers to these two dolls by their given names.

Anyway, for some reason, Clay's dolls are always getting married and Emme's dolls are the entertainment or guests at the wedding. On this particular Saturday morning, Clay's Barbie's were getting married and Emme's Barbie was Katy Perry. Luckily, I was in Delaney's room next door to hear the scenario play out. First I hear the directions from Emme. She tells Clay where his Barbies have to stand and what they need to say. Then Emme's Barbie chimes in, "Baby, you're a firework! Baby, you're a firework!" Ken Metro cheers for Katy Perry. Emme stops singing. She tells Clay that "Ken Metro" is not supposed to talk when Katy Perry is singing, he is just supposed to dance. Clay apologizes and Emme begins Katy Perry's song again. Clay remains silent. When Emme finishes the song, Clay does not make a sound. I can almost hear the shrug in Emme's shoulders as she says, "Dad, Ken Metro is supposed to cheer now!" Clay follows direction and shouts, "Whoo hoo! Katy Perry!" Emme is pleased and Clay is off the hook...at least for a little while.

For a fella that is stuck in a house full of estrogen, Clay sure is a great sport and one very fantastic dad! XO

thanks.

Today was the kind of day that makes the difficult ones fade from memory. Clay had a house full of buddies to kickoff March Madness so the girls and I made ourselves scarce and headed outdoors to enjoy the unseasonably gorgeous, summer-like weather.

Delaney & I fetched Emme from school around noon, but hung around the school playground to get in a little more time with Emme's friends before Spring Break. I had the pleasure of chatting with some of her classmate's moms and joked about some of the stories the kiddos bring home from school each day. Then we headed to the Transportation Museum to explore the train yard and have a picnic lunch. We lucked out and got a personal "VIP" tour of a new addition of the museum and a little ride on the museum shuttle. The grin on Emme's face stretched from ear to ear as the shuttle puttered around the park. Delaney's feet dangled and kicked in excitement while she was strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn. We just had a good time. No melt downs. No power struggles.

After our house emptied out for the night and Clay had gone to bed (over-served himself during his get together!), I got the girls in their pj's. Emme then settled on the couch to watch a movie while I put Delaney to bed. Delaney's little fingers wrapped around my thumb as she dozed off, nursing. I savored the moment, feeling her belly inhale & exhale against mine. After Delaney was nestled in her crib, I returned to the "big girl". She climbed into my lap the minute I sat down. I could not help but press my nose onto the back of her head and breath in the smell of outside that still clung to her hair. So sweet, so pure.

Finally, it was time to close up shop for the day and Emme & I shuffled to her bedroom. I didn't even get midway through her latest Pinkalicious book before I felt her body go limp in my arms. Sound asleep. I tucked her in and laid one last kiss on her forehead.

Tonight, when I pray, I will be thankful for today. Amen.

car facts.

It is always surprising what a little small talk with Emme can produce. Sitting on the couch Friday night, Emme turns to me and says she thinks I should get a new car. Oh, really? She thinks I should get a mini van. That's a fair suggestion since three quarters of her friend's moms drive a mini van and I did (for a blink of an eye) consider trading in my little SUV for the convenience of a power tailgate & power sliding doors.

So, a mini van, eh? But Emme's suggestions didn't stop there. She suggested we get a pink mini van. When I inquired where one might find a pink mini van, Emme looked at me like, I had three eyes. "At Sweet & Sassy, Mom. Duh!" Silly me, of course the overly glitzy, pink, sparkly salon for little girls that are too young to be worrying about their coif in the first place would also sell a pink mini van. Emme then told me that Barbie, herself, would help me buy one.

Hmmm, Barbie, the car sales woman. Mattel, I think we may have your next hot seller :)

lip smacker.

We didn't see it coming. It was a usual, busy Saturday afternoon. Clay was loading the car with the loot for our friends' baby shower as I attempted to get dressed, brush my teeth, pack the diaper bag and wrangle the troops (all at the same time). Emme was stationed in our bathroom with her eyes fixed on my make-up bag.

Emme: "Mom, can I have the lip stuff you got from Santa? The one with the little brush?"
Mom: "Emme, I know you like the lip gloss. If you can be patient and wait until we are in the car, I'll let you put some on."
Emme: "But I just need to put on some lip stuff for the party because I want to be fancy."
Mom: "Emme, I understand. I said if you can be patient, you can have some when you are buckled in the car. Please be a good listener."
Emme (beginning tear up): "But I want to have some lip stuff. Please."
Mom (starting to tense up): "Honey, I promise you as soon as we are in the car you can have it. We're running late. Please try to go potty before we leave."
Emme (falls to her knees with her head in her hands): "NOOOOO, MOMMY, NO! NO, MOMMY, NO! NO, MOMMY, NO!.........."

The tantrum of the century had taken over my little girl's body. It was as if she was possessed. We had never seen anything like it. Emme continued her protesting rant, "No, Mommy, No!" in an almost sing-songy way for the next 20 minutes. Her face was red and streaked with tears. She was trying so hard to force a cry that we were afraid she was going to make herself sick. She ran from room to room, screaming at the top of her lungs. Delaney just laughed each time Emme'e frenzy ran by. I am quite confident the neighbors heard this activity going on since the back door was wide open as Clay loaded the car. I won't be surprised if they act a bit cautious the next time I call out a neighborly, "Hello!" as I fetch my mail.

Clay & I used our only defense, we ignored her. We went about loading the car and finished gathering our belongings as Emme and her cosmetic crisis tore through the house. When all was said and done and Delaney was snug in her car seat, I went to search out my deprived diva. I found her sitting in her closet. She had regained control of her body & mind and was ready to be my buddy again. We successfully made our final pit-stop then hopped in the car.

Just as we were pulling out of the driveway Emme's little voice pipes up, "Mom, so can I have the lip stuff now?"