Frank the elf....

Last year we decided to start a new holiday tradition. We decided to get an "Elf on the Shelf". We brought our elf home, named him Frank, and read the book that accompanied him. The book explained that Frank is a scout elf, this means that he watches the children during the day, then he reports to Santa at night, reappearing in a different spot around your house every morning. Certain rules have to be followed in order for Frank to keep his magic strong, no touching being the biggest. The problem is we got a defective elf, every morning Laura wakes up and hunts for him, but he isn't always in a new spot. To make matters worse twice Laura has woken up and confirmed Frank was in the same spot, then left the room. When she returned Frank had moved to a new place, never very far from the original spot though. The only "reasonable" explanation for this is that Frank the elf has been falling asleep on the job, and not reporting to Santa during the night like his job description states he should. Then when Laura wakes him up early in the morning he waits til she leaves then quickly sneaks to a new position. I'm considering writ ting a strong worded letter to Santa reporting Frank for dereliction of duties.

The Battle of Good vs Evil

I am currently caught up in the battle of good verses evil. I'm not reading a book or watching a movie, it isn't Harry against voldemort or Aslan against the white witch, it's Mom verses dirty five year old. I'm fairly confident that good will prevail using the argument "you have leaves in your hair", and clean hair will be smelt across the land. But the said truth is I can't be certain.

My plans thwarted..

I had wonderful plans for today, after traveling last week and spending the weekend catching up on the mountain of laundry, I was pleased that I would have today to take it easy. Well at least a couple hours to myself after I dealt with Laura's large(considering she isn't even in a numbered grade yet) pile of homework, got Laura dressed for school, and then actually drove Laura to school. After that, the next 2 1/2 hours would be all mine. This plan was suddenly thrown off course when Sam informed me,before I even got out of bed, that he would be staying home today and working on Sunday, he went on to list all the things he planned on getting done on his day off. It sounded like Sam had a pretty productive day lined up. This of course ruined my strategy of reading a book while Laura was at school, then working fast to straighten up and throw together dinner the last hour before Sam got home. When he got home I would explain how busy I had been, therefore he would assume my busy day was what kept me from mopping or folding that last load of laundry. This was a great plan, but it just doesn't work the same when Sam is doing yard work on the other side of the glass doors.

Unexpected Return....

This weekend we took out our Christmas decorations. Decorating for Christmas has put Sam and I in a strange mood. Having the house set up for the holidays again reminded us of last year at this time. When we hung our three stockings by the chimney with care 12 months ago, we were already planning on where the fourth stocking would go. When we wrapped the presents for Laura we were already discussing buying presents for a baby again. Of course a couple of weeks after the decorations where up we learned we would not have a 7 month old in the house during the next holiday season. What followed in the next couple weeks was some of the worst times in my life. the memory of the grief I felt in those couple of weeks is still very clear, but I haven't thought about it much lately. It was astonishing how clear some of those feelings returned, by putting garland up on the mantel and bulbs on the tree we were reminded that a whole year has passed.

Thankful...

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what we have. Instead of being thankful recently I have dwelled on what I don't have. This year I'm thankful for many things, but in light of everything we have been going through to have another baby I'm most thankful for Laura. She is a smart, beautiful, and independent big girl who is developing quite a sense of humor. I have always taken for granted how easy Laura has always been. She became a part of our lives as the best surprise I've ever received. There were no hormone tests or pills to conceive Laura and after an uneventful pregnancy she came into the world quietly. She continues to surprise us every day with her eagerness to learn and empathy for others. She defiantly has her moments of trouble, but I'm very thankful she is part of our small family.

Unready for change....

This afternoon, my baby, my one and only child will start “Big Girl” school. I’m wavering between disappointment that she is ready to move on from staying home with mom all day and excitement that I will now have 2 ½ hours a day to myself. Most of the time I’m just scared to death of the idea of my little girl, she’s only 5, going to school with the big kids. GULP!
I’m not ready for her to move on, this year ½ day kindergarten next year college, especially since I’m unsure if I will every get another chance to have someone at home with Mom all day.

Meal planning...

Everyone pretty much knows that Laura is an extremely picky eater. We aren’t certain where she got this trait from, with the exception of only a very few items Sam and I eat everything. Her pickiness started pretty much the day she started eating solid food. She refused to eat most of the baby food including the “desserts”. The only thing she would eat out of a baby food jar was sweet potatoes, witch could account for her lifelong obsession with the color orange. Unlike most picky eaters Laura isn’t swayed by sugar content, she knows what she likes and therefore it doesn’t matter if you call what she refuses to eat a “treat” or a “desert”. The only thing that she will eat under any circumstance, weather it was covered in frosting or dirt is chocolate.
As you can imagine because of this life can get pretty difficult at our house around meal time. But in the last month a strange phenomenon has happened, Laura, one of the most stubborn children in the world, has started trying new things. I wish I could brag and tell you that being the wonderful parents that we are Sam and I came up with a creative way to gets Laura trying new foods. But the truth is like potty training Laura decided when she was going to do this on her own. Therefore I’m proud to announce that Laura, world’s pickiest eater, now eats “sausage sandwiches” or what the rest of the world refers to as hamburgers, with actual ketchup on in.