Quiet Time

It's been quiet on our block lately. If you recall, there are four carriage homes on our block, each with two units. Right now, ALL FOUR GROUND FLOOR UNITS are for sale! And, all four owners have moved out! Our neighbor to the right of us rarely ever speaks and our other two neighbors are gone frequently on business. That leaves us. Like I said, it's been quiet.

There is a bonus to the lack of activity, however. As our homes are fairly close together, I have always been conscious of Sofia crying, screaming or making generally loud toddler noises. But the other night as she was protesting in earnest about going into time out I thought, let 'er rip, kid. Maybe this will tire you out and we won't distract the neighbors! Double bonus!

On a serious note, we do love our neighbors and have written about them often. We were extremely fortunate in our move to our neighborhood three years ago to develop a wonderful set of friends who will remain so despite the distance that now exists between our addresses. We miss them when they are gone and treasure the time when they are here. :)

Bringing Back Old School

This is just funny.

Going Bananas

Sofia has been demonstrating particular moments of independence lately. These include such activities of wanting to get dressed on her own, buckling her car seat, putting on her shoes and even getting her own drinks from the refrigerator. "Sofia do it!" she'll say with gusto. We do our best to encourage and guide her in these moments so that she learns to make independent decisions wisely and politely, but sometimes, she doesn't like our guidance.

Last night, as it was nearing bedtime, such an instance took place. While walking through the living room, holding a banana, Sofia decided that she didn't like one of our requests to steer her independence. She walked closer to me saying, "No!" which I promptly responded, "I'm sorry, Sofia, but Mommy and Daddy have asked you nicely."

We watched in slow motion as she took her banana and began to rub it into the arm of the couch. Nooooooooooooooooooooo! Chris and I both belted out and lunged for the banana at the same time. Sofia looked at us, then the banana on the couch, then us again and started to cry. We felt bad, she felt bad and I'm guessing so did the banana.

Needless to say, the tears didn't last long, the banana cleaned up just fine thanks to the miracle fabric known as microsuade, and within 20 minutes Sofia was on her way to choose her own bedtime story.

A Bedtime Conversation

Me: Sofia, do you know how old you are?
**slight pause for thinking**
Sofia: Sofia!
Me: Okay, let's try again. Sofia, do you know how many years you are?
**slight pause, again, for thinking**
Sofia: Sofia!
Me: Hmm. Sofia, when some asks you 'how old you are or how many years you are' it means you have to tell them a number about you. You have lived for 2 years. You are 2 years old! Look at your fingers...see, count....one, two! You are two! So, let's try again...Sofia, how old are you?
Sofia: Six!

We'll try again tomorrow...

This much really can happen!

**This post will chronicle a series of odd events providing proof that when it rains, it POURS!**
Tuesday afternoon I recieved a phone call from Chris.

Chris: Hi Honey. I think I just hurt myself.
Me: Are you okay?
Chris: Umm, I'm not sure.
Me: What happened?
Chris: I fell off the ladder in the garage.
Me: Funny. You're not serious are you?
Chris: Um, yeah. (with a quiver in his voice)
Me: Do you need me to come home?
Chris: I think so.

So, off I flew to grab Sofia from daycare and get Chris to the doctor. After a quick call to my friend Kerry to see if I could have Sofia play there while taking Chris to the ER (THANK YOU!), we were off to grab Chris and get him to see a doc.

We were really lucky when we arrived at the hospital; a slow ER and super kind staff. We were seen right away and within 2 minutes of the doc looking at Chris's swelling-by-the-minute knee, she said it was a classic MCL (medial cruciate ligament) and meniscus tear. Yikes! A leg immobilizer, crutches, pain meds and staying off his leg(!) were ordered. He was a great student as the tech had him practice with the crutches before we left and loaded into the car. We then had to go get Sofia, fill my running-on-fumes car with gas, hit a drive-through for some dinner and pick up Chris's prescription. By the time we got home around 9 p.m., all three of us were exhausted!

But that is when the real fun began...

Chris still needed to send off some instructions to his nighttime engineer and of course, our internet was NOT coorporating with his computer. After messing around with it for nearly an hour, I finally just re-typed the entire to-list on my computer and sent it off to his engineer. I got Chris settled into bed, went to let the dog out and tied up the loose ends around the house. At 10:30, I climbed into bed barely able to hold my eyes open when suddenly, I. Woke. Up.

I tossed, turned, heard every noise in the house, and just could not sleep. At all. Ugh! I was soooooo frustrated! Poor Chris was grunting (unknowingly) with every turn he made. I could just tell he was in so much pain and felt awful! I think I spent the better part of an hour just staring at him because I didn't know what else I could do to help him while he was sleeping. :(

The last time I looked at the clock, it was 1 a.m. ahhh

2 a.m. Maaaaammmmmmaaaaaa!

And, I'm up!...and was up for 2 more hours. Turns out, Sofia was having sympathy pains for her Daddy. It was not a happy night for legs in our house!

4 a.m. Like a ton of bricks, my head hit my pillow.

4:30 a.m. Thank God Chris chose a decent song for the alarm clock to play this morning! And I'm up once again! I helped Chris get his things together, ice his knee, get dressed and into his truck...and it only took an hour! I felt pretty good about that, so decided to reward myself with a quick 30 minute nap. I could wake up at 6 and still be out the door by 6:45 for work.

At 7:30, I woke up. s#!t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I threw on a shirt, a pair of jeans, grabbed my coffee cup, Sofia, the dog, my computer bag, the kitchen sink and ran out the door. I let Sofia play in the van while Layla did her business quickly. After locking the dog inside, I took my coffee cup, placed it on top of the car (like I do every day) and leaned in to fasten Sofia into her carseat.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, shall we cue the INSANELY HUGE WIND GUST FROM OUT OF NOWHERE!!! Yes, I think we shall. AND, let's make it so it knocks the coffee cup directly over my head over so that it falls down my head, back, legs and ricochets into the front passenger seat so that the lid falls off and coffee empties into my purse, floor, diaper bag and seat. Awesome.

****

So here we are now. It's Thursday night. We have all survived the last day and a half without any more major mishaps. Chris's knee is still swollen, but not nearly as painful as it was on Tuesday. Sofia managed to sleep through the night last night (yay!) and we are going for night #2 tonight. Tomorrow (Friday) we have our annual 8th grade dinner and formal dance which I have been planning for the past 3 months. It will be lots of fun, but I will be really glad when the week is over. (This dance is comparable to a wedding in size, food, entertainment, etc.)

The weekend has never looked so good. I am actually looking forward to the rain that is being predicted...movies, the couch and a whole lot of 'nothing are on my agenda! :)

Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day weekend. Not only does my husband always make me feel like a queen, but I love that during one day each year, I can feel connected to women all over the world in such a unique way. :) Here's a glimpse into the past few days...

With my classes beginning in just two shorts weeks (YIKES!), Chris got to work on building me a custom desk so that I could have my own space to ready, write and study. It is sooooooo cool! We designed it together and Chris built it from scratch! Once he installed it, we painted it. It was a total team effort and so much fun to do together. The best part is that the desk is a complete space-saver as well! When not in use, it just folds right down against the wall.

Now you see it... Now you don't!


And, this is what I will be looking at while I am studying...

This BEAUTIFUL, white lilac tree right outside the window of the stairwell!

Sofia has had a little bit of a difficult time sleeping the last few months. About twice a week, she walks into our room around 3 a.m. Half the time, I wake up to her staring right at me from the side of the bed! This was the card I opened up from Chris this morning and it couldn't have been any more appropriate...
It says, Lately, I feel like something's come between us.
On the inside, it said, I'm cool with that. Happy Mother's Day from the other side of the bed. It was PERFECT! :)

My gift this year for Mother's Day was getting to choose and plant flowers for our house. The three of us went to the coolest nursery to pick out flowers. We spent almost an hour and a half just going up and down the isles, smelling and feeling all the beautiful blooms. Sofia particularly loved the coy pond. :) It was SUCH a fun way to spend the morning after church. Here's what we ended up doing around the house...


Yup! We planted everything ourselves! It's the little things that make you feel so grown up. :)

We also picked up the Topsy Turvy Tomato Plant. It is a tomato plant that you grow upside-down! We are growing cherry tomatoes and bell peppers from it. I will post a picture of it soon simply because it is hilarious!

And, of course....what post would be complete without a picture of Sofia displaying her personality that is emerging more and more each day.


Happy Mother's Day to all the women in our lives who have touched us in so many ways. We love each and every one of you!

The Ten Best Things About Sofia.....

From Grandma Debbie......
I've had the great experience of visiting Denver this week, and so would like to offer......

The Ten Best Things About Sofia
10. She has a clear fashion sense and the confidence to choose to wear plaids and stripes at the same time
9. She models Tinkerbell underpants ( do they come in my size?) and fairy wings
8. She can show Grandma how to work the DVD / BlueRay player ( this is really embarrassing,....)
7. She feeds Layla treats, and she's the only family member that Jack doesn't bite
6. She sings the Classics loudly, as taught by Little Einsteins ( their words are better)
5. She taught Curious George to do "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" ( He's quite limber...see video below)
4. She showed Grandma how to buckle her bicycle helmet ( okay, I have a masters degree but some things are beyond me...)
3. She experiments with seventeen sleeping positions each night, taking full advantage of her big girl bed
2. She has a taste for fine literature, such as the BEE book and The Wee Little Chick,

And the number 1 best thing about Sofia.....
She has joy in all the small moments in life: the peanut butter sandwich, ( " I LIKE it!"), drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, looking and smelling each flower along the sidewalk, going on the swings, and kissing her Mommy and Daddy. She's an absolute living doll, and a wonderful gift from God.

Thanks for the wonderful time, Meghan and Chris. May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Love,
Mom Debbie

You Know You Work In A School When...

The other day while talking to a teacher in his classroom, a student farted...and I mean FAR-TED! The response from the teacher was "That's right. That's how *Johnny rolls" and then continued right on with our conversation.

There is a 42-inch plotter outside my office. A while back, I heard two boys walk by it.
Boy A: What is that?
Boy B: It's a tanning bed for little people.
Boy A: Ohhhhhh!

Hey, Mrs. Daniel.
Oh hey, *Sarah. How are you today?
Good.
So do you have soccer practice tonight?
Oh. I guess I do! I forgot until you asked me. I should come in your office more often so you can ask me questions. Bye!

*names have been changed