Who Are These People: Kate

It's been so long since I've given you the details on these people!!  While they change so quickly this will be untrue in about 4 seconds - here's Kate today.

Kate loves life.  She wakes up laughing most mornings.  She says "Good Morning!" to each member of our family, even if Jack is still sleeping or Dan is gone for work (very Walton-esque).

Her hair is straight out of control!!  It is curly and thick and unruly.  She refuses to leave bows, clips, or ponies in.  Wild, but oh, so fitting!

She flashes thumbs up like it's a gang sign.

She speaks pirate.  "Jack's a pullin' a me hair!"  "Momma, where's me shoes?"

I straightened her hair at Christmas time.  When we were at Meme's someone commented that it was harder to tell them apart when you couldn't count on Kate's curls.  THEN, sweet child attempted to 'run' across the living room to the front door...bounce, bounce, bounce, trip, slide, giggle, up, bounce, bounce, bounce.  I don't care if they look IDENTICAL, watch her move for 7 seconds and you can tell it's Kate.

They run circles around our living room often.  They always say, "Momma, I so fast!".  Without fail, Kate has to add, "I falled."

I already embarrass/irritate her (motherly duty, you know!)  I'll be singing along, or dancing, or trying to play with them...Kate sighs, says "No, Momma" eyebrows down, serious style.

She LOVES to sing.  She can sing all of the words (and pretty on pitch, I might add) to the A-B-C's, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Little Star, and The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

She's busted out a few 'Moms' lately.  I hate it.  I want to be 'Momma' even when she's 40.

She loves her sister BIG time.  Lauren was sick a few weeks ago.  She didn't eat dinner with Kate, instead let me rock her in the living room.  She was lethargic at bathtime, laid right down in her bed and closed her eyes.  I put Kate to bed too, then went in to the next room with Jack to nurse him down.  I could hear a little voice from their room.  I thought it was Lauren moaning or whining.  Not loud enough to be my Kate.  After I got Jack down, I went back into their room.  Lauren was asleep.  Kate was as close to Lauren as her crib would allow, arm stretched out in her direction, and was saying over and over, "Sissy, you ok?  Sissy, you ok?"  Sissy was fine, I walked out sobbing.

She loves to pray.  Any time of day, for lots of reasons.  We pray a lot while going to the bathroom.  I sit on the edge of the tub across from them and it's just a good place to chat!  While we were so worried about Pop, I may have passed some of my crazy on to Kate.  Still, to date, 24 days after we no longer pray for Pop's throat, Kate still starts every prayer with "Dear God, Help please Pop's throat." and then goes on to whatever else might be on her mind.

She is a BOSS.  First born, and maybe a little like her Momma, FOR SHIZZZZ.  "Warlen, come here."  "Warlen, sit down."  "Warlen, let's go!"  She has no regard to personal space while bossing either.  She gets up in 'Warlen's' face, about an inch and a half from her nose and delivers her directives.  I haven't told her yet that there's a chance that Lauren and Jack will be bigger than her someday and then...

She makes me laugh EVERYDAY.  And most of those laughs have to behind my hand or shirt or in another room because I'd hate to promote such behavior.  She hugs TIGHT.  She laughs with her head thrown back and so hard she always has to stop to come up for air.  When she cries in public it's so loud and emphatic that I'm certain someone reaches for their phone to call 9-1-1.  She is soft and uncoordinated and strong willed and has a sweet tooth.  I've said many times about lots of children that I could just eat them up.  But with Kate, I mean it.  If I wouldn't miss her SO much, I would eat her.  Delicious.

A friend said about her daughter on Facebook today, "If you don't know her, you totally should."  I couldn't agree more.  I hope you've had the pleasure.

Love,

Momma.

Annual Review

2012.

Farewell 2012.

Looking back, the word for 2012 was survival.

We survived a sudden death in the family.

We survived our house being on the market for what seemed like FOREVER to me at the time (pregnant, chasing 2 toddlers, and having to leave the house looking like only a single, home decorator lived there every time we ran to the grocery store.  Ugh.)

We survived moving, three times.  1) Half of our stuff into a storage shed.  2) Essentials into our Albuquerque rent house. 3) Everything to Edmond.

We survived losing a chunk of money on the sale of our home.

We survived (and loved) the birth of baby Jack.

We survived leaving our friends and patients in Albuquerque.

We survived opening a new practice in Edmond.

We survived the threat of a serious disease in our family.

I think if we did one of those stress quizzes, we might have topped out.

But we did survive.

Who wants to just survive, though?

Thrival

Thrival is the *made-up* word for 2013.

I don't want a marriage that just survives.

I don't want to raise kids who just survived.

I don't want to have a business that just survives.

Thrival.

That's not to say that there won't be stuff that comes up that we'll have to survive.  It'll come.

But, it's time for there to be some fun in The Prince House!

And that would be my only resolution for 2013!

Happy New Year!!!  (Seriously, so happy to see you, New Year!)

-Erin

The Remedy

There was a time, BC (before children), that I did not believe in the Germ Theory of Disease.  I believed that sickness happened when your body was unable to fight well, not when the germs were present.  Then, I had babies.  They are cesspools of cooties.  (I say most of this in jest, I really still think as I did BC - our bodies are just tired and therefore, truly, unable to fight well.)

We have all had a cold.  Well, all but Kate - she fights well.

Colds are really nothing more than a nuisance, right??  They don't hurt that bad, they usually don't last that long, but while you are in the thick of it - it is just no fun.

We try to just let sicknesses run their course.  We don't pop many pills here in the Prince House.  I have, however, tested and tried a few helpful things to speed the inconvenience along...

**The Neti Pot
I cannot tout it's praises loudly enough.  It's gross and weird and not talked about in polite conversation, but if you don't Neti, treat yourself.

**Homeopathics
Oscillococcinum by Boiron is the one of the only things in my medicine cabinet.  Works well and quickly and doesn't make you feel stoned.

**The Sweat Bath
My recipe is 1 cup Epsom salts, 1 cup baking soda, 10-20 drops essential oil (lavender is my favorite, but eucalyptus is super helpful for congestion.  We like Young Living oils) in a full, hot as you can stand it, bath.  The key is to sit there long enough to sweat and then to just keep sitting there and keep sweating.  I usually add hot water to the bath a few times and stay in about 30-45 minutes.  I take a glass of ice water with me and usually then yell for Dan to bring me more - parched.  It's gotta be good for you.

**Hydrate
I'm a water fan.  If it's cold out I try to have less coffee and down some hot tea.  Regardless, hydrate up.

**If-it's-not-the-holidays-and-you-are-smarter-than-me...Avoid Sugar
I hate this one.  For years I argued that this was a myth.  It's not.  You will feel better and your immune system will work better if you avoid refined, processed, sugary things.  Boo.

In health,
Erin

Lord, Have Mercy

I fear that if I were taking a seminary class and had to write out the definitions of 'mercy' and 'grace' I would have trouble.  I think I could make them sound very much the same...or maybe put the wrong definition on the wrong word...or something like that.

This week, though, I got to see one or the other or neither, I'm not quite sure.  Did the Lord have mercy on us and spare us?  Or did He give us grace and protect us?  Or was it just that He did one of those super cool compound karate moves where He allowed us to witness a miracle AND smack us (ok, maybe just me) upside the head with a little 'Are you listening, at all????'?

My dad doesn't have cancer.

Yip, that's how the story ends.

He did have a giant mass on his thyroid, though.
And he did answer all the questions incorrectly to calm any fears about it being a cootie.  (Does it hurt?  Were your thyroid levels affected?  Does it make you have a tickle in your throat?  Did it slowly show up or just appear one day?)  Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong answers.
I paid just enough attention in pathology class to be dangerous.  Well, that, and I have a neurosis called 'ImagineTheWorstScenarioAndThenMultiplyItBy49-itis'.

By all accounts, we should be making appointments with oncologists this week.  And learning details about a disease.  And preparing ourselves for a new normal of prescriptions and doctor's appointments and illness.  (And by we, I mean just him physically and the family at large in action and spirit.)

Even the surgeon was suffering from a case of 'ImagineTheWorstScenarioAndThenMultiplyItBy49-itis' and was blown away.

We witnessed a miracle.
And we were blessed beyond measure by that miracle.
And none of us did anything to deserve that blessing.

And I learned a big lesson.
You can deal with witnessing something like that one of two ways.

You can be of great faith, and say, 'Well, yes!, of course, God healed him!  That's exactly what we have been praying for!'.

Or you can be of lacking faith and witness the same miracle but instead answer, 'Are you sure?  Should you check again?  How can that be?  But I thought you said...'.

I want to be of great faith...and just like my daddy.

-sis

Choo Choo!

First of all, let it be said that there are no original ideas from my little noggin represented in our afternoon.  Thank you Pinterest and Facebook, and creative mothers everywhere.

Polar Express is a BIG DEAL at our house.  I think the girls have watched at least parts of it everyday.  They love the train and the kids and the 'Hot Chocolate' song and the carribou!  Just in the last day or so, they really like 'Santy Cwaus' too!

Our Elf has been showing up sporadically this December - he helps us talk about Santa Claus and naughty and nice and being good even when Momma isn't watching.

Today, Elf showed up with Tickets for the Minivan Express!!

The girls immediately recognized that they were tickets, and we were headed to the Choo Choo train!

Daddy was the Conductor and was yelling "All Aboard!!".

After getting buckled in, they had to show their tickets to get punched (fake style - turns out there is NOT a hole punch in this house.  Trust me.)

And then they got their refreshment!  Hot Chocolate!  (Kate says Chocolat very French-like - adorable!)

Here, they are 'cheers-ing' their Hot Chocolates!

We headed out and looked at Christmas lights.  They loved it!  They were so excited about Chesapeake's trees and the houses with Santas and reindeer!  There were shouts of 'Merry Christmas!' and 'Awesome!'

But Jack was there too.  He put up with our fun and games for a while...and then he didn't anymore.  The ride home was loud and the Hot Chocolate ruined their supper, but this little outing is definitely on our Christmas Traditions list.

Merry Christmas!

The Conductor's Wife

iBite

Karma.

Kate is learning about karma.

About a month ago Jack had just woken from a nap and all of us were playing in his room.  I had changed his diaper and left to go to the laundry room (cloth diapering now...another post, another day).  The girls were up on the big bed with Jack and all three were playing nicely.  I had walked about 4 steps when Jack starting wailing.  Sobbing.  Crying.  He was hurt.

My first thought was that he had rolled off the bed.  At that point he hadn't proven that he was that mobile, but that is where my brain went first.  I high tailed it in there to find all three still on the bed.  I immediately went to Jack and bent to pick him up....and saw four tooth indentations in his little forehead.  Momma saw red.

I asked who did it.  No answer.  Kate was closest, I scooped her up, spanked her, set her in the hallway and told her to go to her room.  When I stepped back Lauren was saying, "I sorry, Jack.  I sorry, Jack."...so I scooped her up, spanked her, set her in the hallway and told her to go to her room.  It was the first time in my adventures in parenting that it was a very good thing that there was another crying baby who needed me...I might still be yelling and spanking.  Whoa.

Jack calmed almost immediately.

The girls and I had a BIG talk.  About biting, and lying, and someone else getting in trouble for our bad choices, and babies versus big girls, and anger, and forgiveness.  I'm sure they soaked it all up.  Momma was on a roll...and still shaking mad.  It was good for me to just keep talking.

About a week later I came home from work and Hope was chuckling that Kate had told her a big story that day.  I had already told Hope about the incident, and that my suspicions were still on Kate, but I really had no way of proving it.  Kate confessed.  To Hope.  In detail.

Almost every day Kate goes through the pictures in my phone...pauses on the picture below and says "I bite.  Sad day.  Sorry Jackapoo."  If you look up contrite in the dictionary....there's a picture of Kate.

A little boy bit Kate at 'school' last week.

Karma.

Love.

Momma

I'm BAAAACK

When I was in college and then in chiropractic college, I developed then perfected a specific procrastination technique.  A big test would be looming in the near future, and I would begin to plan be able to study.  Notice that I didn't say, "I would begin to study".  Nope, not me.  The prep went something like this:

*Organize notes, books, study guides, notecards, etc.
*Buy new highlighters, pens, notebook, etc.
*Sit down with syllabus and begin the higher math process that would help me arrive at the exact grade I needed to score on specific exam to get an A, B, or C (whatever the case may be).
*Use even higher math skills to determine just how much studying would be required to achieve exact score.
*Clean room
*Clean house
*Be certain all dishes and laundry were done
*Grocery shop and prepare a few meals
*Coordinate with friends to ensure availability for study party group
*Exercise/stretch

THEN, I could get to work.

Well, friends, I have completed the aforementioned tasks to now be able to blog again.

I got out of the habit.  We moved, and much settling in was required.  We opened a business, and much work was/is required.  We have three kids still...

Everyday, 4pm, naked.

First I had to organize all my pictures.
Then I had to research new websites to see if I needed to change the way I blog.
Then we had to get family pictures.
Next I had to beg a friend to put family picture on the blog and re-vamp it. (THANK YOU, DAISY!!)
Then I had to buy a desk and lamp and power strip.
Then I had to set up an 'office' in our bedroom....
You get the idea.

I've missed this.  I NEED this.  I need your sweet comments.  I need a record of the fiasco that is everyday life here.  I will (hopefully) one day need a reminder of how hard we worked to achieve our dreams, both professionally and for our family.

So, friends.  I'm back.

Missed ya!
The Momma