Parenting

Laylee’s got a chunk missing. If you spent less time going to work and more time sculpting piggy tails, you might know that already. [read more]

Seriously.

“I like to tell people that Laylee sleeps in until 8 or 9 every morning but to be honest, that’s not the whole truth anymore. It is something but the truth. ” ~Kathryn Thompson

To read the rest of that post and see Magoo’s latest video masterpiece, head over to that one other blog.

I can safely say the best part of the weekend was listening to Laylee say “Mudder’s Day” around 400 times. Happy Mudder’s Day. I’m so glad it’s Mudder’s Day. Did you know I get to sing in church because it’s MUDDER’S DAY??!!! You are a wonderful mudder!

Ah. I hope she’s still pronouncing it that way when she’s 15. By age 16 the other kids might start making fun of her.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve watched the 4-12 year-old kids at church go up to the front and sing to their mothers on Mudder’s Day. I cry every time. This year Laylee was finally old enough to go up and sing. She was almost ¾ as excited as I was.

She stood in front of the group of kids, her chin resting on her folded arms up against the short wall next to the podium. Luckily her jaw is strongly hinged (she gets that from Dan) so her face didn’t actually split in two from the gigantical grin. As the other kids started to sing, she jumped a few inches and looked back with furrowed brows, like “what is all that RACKET?”

As far as I could tell, she didn’t sing a word, just stood there grinning and waving at me. It was truly one of the best moments of my life. She had asked me to bring my Mudder’s Day card and wave it while they were singing so she could tell which one was her mudder. I forgot. But I’m pretty sure she could tell. Her eyes stayed locked on me for the few minutes they were up there… and when they finished singing… and when the other hundred and thirty kids had left the stage… and a teacher had to lift her up by her elbows and point her towards the exit.

She ran to me for a hug and drew me this picture. I chose not to guess what it was so she told me. It’s a WHOLE sack of frogs!

We’ve all been a bit sick and a lot lazy the past few days. Our throats are scratchy, our noses runneth over, and we’ve all complained of a shortness of candy. […more]

Then you should join me for lunch today. I just boiled some noodles for about 45 minutes before I remembered they were on the stove. They are now drinkable and have lost all nutritional value. I’d be happy to share.

On Wednesday Laylee and I were doing step aerobics, I on my stepper and Laylee on the bathroom stool. Laylee was hardcore, arms pumping, bouncing, huffing and puffing. I was rendered temporarily blind by the sweat glistening down my face and into my eyes.

As the blindness set in, Perky Aerobics Lady worked us up to a frenzy of complicated, lung-crushing moves and told us that we were doing great. I’m surprised she had time to notice little ol’ us when she was currently leading women in thousands of homes across the country but maybe she’s magic… like Santa Claus. We were doing very well. No coal’s gonna be shoved in MY orthopedic insoles.

A moment later, PA Lady beamed, “If you want to make it harder…..” and Laylee yelled, “Ugh! I don’t want to make it HARDER!”

“Me neither Laylee. Why would anyone want to make it harder?”

Later we had a talk about how sometimes hard things can be fun, discussion led by me. (I had finished working out and, having regained my sight and my breath, was feeling like a fitness goddess by this time.)

I believe it’s true that some of the hardest things in life are the most rewarding but I also think sometimes we make things harder then they need to be.