Chicken little. That'd be me.

I have been attempting lately to get the kids in bed an hour earlier than their old bedtime. I am pretending this gives me an extra hour of quiet time and that I can also go to bed earlier (and thus wake up earlier)... so far I'm not entirely certain it's working but I'm going to pretend it is.

Yesterday I went and fed my friend A's dog because she went to the hospital to have her baby. When we went into the house he started barking like crazy and when I went in to get him out of his cage to feed him and let him go to the bathroom he bared his teeth at me... friend L told me that maybe he was just smiling but I'm not convinced. he was barking and when he bared his teeth like that he looked like Satan's dog.

When I went back to let him out at noon he jumped up and knocked me into the wall (I was secretly terrified he'd bite me and I'd be alone, mauled by a large dog... I left my kids with a friend the second time I went over because he scared the poo out of them). I managed to arrange to not have to go back over at all. L was originally supposed to go over but she had to go a couple hours away for her dad's birthday and then wound up needing emergency dental work done so I agreed to fill in for her.

Then I chickened out. But, it worked out in the end because A's parents were going to be coming into town and were taking care of the dog after that. And, I will forever have the story of Satan's dog to tell. Of course, I never want A to know I said that about their dog, but that encounter seriously freaked me out. I plied the dog with treats and tossed them ahead of me on the ground so he'd go after them and not jump at me.

I'm such a chicken shit. lol

Peaceful moments.

I love walking around my house after my family has fallen asleep. I love looking in on them and seeing them all resting safe and peaceful in their beds. I love them in all sorts of moments and times and ways, but I think there is a special sort of pride-love-my-heart-is-about-to-burst feeling when I look at them while they sleep. They are mine and they are all so sweet and beautiful. Even when they lay there, mouths agape, and I chuckle a little, it moves me. I just want to squeeze them tight and never let them go.

I cherish the moments when out of the blue they come up to me for hugs. I love the way they make me feel special and important. No matter how tiring all the day to day junk is, even if they don't realize all the stuff I do for them, somewhere along the way they still end up thinking I am pretty great. It moves me; I know that I am terribly flawed and that I should be doing so much more for them, and they still think that I'm the best mother ever. They tell me so. They make me want to try harder and do better so I can prove them right. I hope they always love me this much and never see the ways in which I fail. Or if they see them I hope that they at least forgive me for it and still appreciate all the good things I have tried to do for them. I'm going to vote yes. haha

So big.

That's really big.

behorgous

bignormous

e-monge-ous

These are just a few of the words I have heard Genevieve use to describe something that she thought was very large recently. I love the things little kids come up with.

Deprived little things.

This Christmas I realized my children, the oldest of whom is 6 years old, have NEVER EATEN JELLO. Ever. (At least I'm fairly certain of this fact.) I came to this realization on Christmas day when a family friend brought jigglers in holiday shapes (Santa included) to Matt's parent's home for Christmas dinner and my kids pretty much went nuts.

"What IS this stuff?"

"Mom, I REALLY like Jello!"

"Can I have some more JELLO!?"

Well shit. I didn't realize how deprived they were. I mean, I hate the stuff. The consistency is gross. My mom always made us eat it when we were sick. I always hated it when it wasn't fully dissolved and there was that nasty grainy layer on the bottom. Pure disgusting. Anywho. I hate it and I don't buy it and I don't make it. Hell, I rarely even make pudding. But today, because I love my children, I bought jello Snack Packs. They pretty much think I'm the most amazing mother EVER. And that's alright by me.

After feeding them each a cup and realizing that they won't eat a whole Snack Pack I got the brilliant idea of making mini jigglers out of them. What little girl could resist butterfly and flower shaped jello, right? So I shook out a cupful of the stuff, sliced it out, and let them cut out shapes with the mini cookie cutters. They had a blast. They refused to eat the edges, so a fair amount was wasted. And Genevieve wanted to save hers because they were so pretty. Adrienne and Charlotte pretty much cut and scarfed. Xander crawled around and got his clothing dirty.

I need to mop my kitchen floor.