The Winter Games

Tonight Katelyn asked if I would buy her a "Russian" four-man bobsled for her birthday. Later, she asked if I would buy her skis. We were really enjoying watching the Olympics, but I decided to put her to bed before she could ask me for a pair of speed skates!

Congrats to all the athletes!

Crazy Black Eyes

Today I made Katelyn's movie wish come true. Will giving in finally cure her tummy ache, or will it most likely cause more tummy aches in the future? Stay tuned to find out!

Ha! Sometimes I spoil that girl! We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakwel. Oh, the things we do for our children!

My kids were crazy tonight. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I gave them ice cream and pudding for dessert? At any rate, Katelyn just ran to me from the bathroom where she had probably been making silly faces in the mirror. (She likes to do that)

"Mommy. Why do I have these crazy black eyes?

...They look kind of wild!"

And thanks to the "Chipettes", Zachary has been singing All the Single Ladies all night long.

...Oh, Oh, Oh...Oh, Oh...Oh-Oh...

But all joking aside, today was a perfect day with the kids! Adam is gone at an ALL day seminar in Santa Monica. He's still there as I type this. Waiting for him to come home. The kids are in bed now and I am bored without him. Anyway, I decided to make it an ultra-busy Saturday so that we wouldn't have too much time to sit around and miss him.

A few years back a good friend of mine gave me a copy of "The Secret" and wrote in it, "Do what you love every day." I love that inscription, and I try to live it. Most often, I feel like I succeed. Sometimes, though, I get caught up in all my responsibilities...things I "have" to do, or things I feel "expected" to do...and I lose track of "myself" and I forget what I love to do every day. But thankfully, days like this come along and I remember what fulfillment is. For me it is Adam, and for me it is my kids. Being present with them all the day through. Noticing the things that make them happy. Having no distractions, no other responsibilities. Having no plan, but going out and allowing the day to unfold. That is my heaven. That is my happiness. I have a good life, but on days like this I feel like it might be perfect. Tonight I feel grateful...and I miss my husband. (Please come home soon!)

P.S. Katelyn, those "crazy black eyes"...You get them from me! :)

...In Which I Come to Terms With La-La-Land

Did you know Michael Jackson died? I'm sure you did. I think I was the last to know. I found out Saturday morning from my friend, Bertha.

I was shocked.

For me, the news carried a bit of the same disbelief and confusion I felt when I woke up on 9/11. I was still dreaming. It couldn't be real.

Want to know how I felt? Well. Imagine waking up one morning to find that McDonald's no longer exists. You thought it did, but you were wrong. The world I knew had changed.

I didn't even realize I had such strong feelings about MJ, but I suddenly found myself defending him, and fighting the urge to break out in "Dirty Diana." I just couldn't help it.

At the beach Saturday night I saw a kid trying to moonwalk near the bathrooms. I thought about how the whole world must be affected by his death, and I felt a little bummed and awkward for being the only one who hadn't known.

I wondered, Is there something wrong with me? How could I be so out of touch with the world outside my own? And the scariest question of all: Do I live in La-La-Land?? Because that would not be cool.

But tonight as I was reflecting on Katelyn's latest picture, and what a truly creative kid she is, I figured it out. It was simple. She and I hadn't heard the news because we had been too busy listening to our new Adele CD, which we love!! (Also, I am ashamed to admit, we have been spending a lot of time taking care of Katelyn's virtual Wii kitten. We named her Kitarita, after our neighbor's cat, which means "I'm happy/contented" in Arabic. I get so tired of "brushing" her hair and "petting" her, but without me she would probably die, and that would be tragic.)

Anyway, we have been enjoying Adele so much that we didn't even notice all the other forms of media we were missing. We just listened, and sang, and occasionally danced. It was a blast!

So I suppose the answer to my question is that yes, we are living in La-La-Land, but at least we're having a good time there!

I'm including the story behind the picture that triggered the answer to my burning question--because I think it's cute:

This morning Katelyn sat at the table, drawing.

I sat down next to her and watched. I noticed that the way she placed her circles was different than the usual faces that she draws.

"What are you drawing?" I wondered out loud.

"Notes," was her reply.

I've been teaching her piano, and I was pleased with her answer.

"Is this a song you're going to play?" I asked.

"No. It's what she's singing," she said, motioning with her head towards our CD player, where bass beats from Adele's Best For Last (love it!) were churning.

She pointed to her picture.

"These are all notes...except for that one," she said, pointing to one near the top that had a line coming up from the middle. "That one's a pumpkin."

Of course, I thought, and smiled.

As the music got more intense, Katelyn drew a frenzy of notes around the edges, and as the music relaxed, so did she.

It was quite fun to watch!

P.S. Tonight I heard that Billy Mays, the bearded infomercial person, died. Katelyn LOVES him. Should I tell her? I don't think I will. We are living in La-La-Land, afterall... ; )

"Mommy, I probably need your help..."

Q & A

**When she said this I just had to laugh...I remember asking myself the same sort of thing in Junior High. Too funny!!

"Mommy, why did Jesus make me small private parts?"

Katelyn, on Dying

Mommy, are you going to die?

Yes. Everyone dies sometime.

Mommy, how do you die?

Well, usually people die if they get really sick or get hurt really bad. And a lot of times people die because they get too old.

Oh. Mommy I am getting older, aren't I?

Yes, everyone is getting older.

Mommy, will you hold me when I die?

Yes. If I’m there I will hold you.

Mommy, is dying scary?

No. Dying is not scary because when you die you go to be with Jesus.

But Jesus is up in the sky. And I don’t have any wings. How can I die without any wings?

Honey, you don’t need any wings to get to Jesus. When you die your spirit will go wherever he is.

Oh.

And then she went off to finish watching High School Musical 3. Later she came back.

Mommy, make sure you die and make sure you hold me. And make sure Daddy holds Zachy when he dies, too.

Okay, we will.

(Should I be concerned about this?)

Katelyn-isms

*Shrek*

Kids say the darndest things. Here are a few that made me laugh yesterday:

*Warning-this one is a little gross*

Katelyn runs in excitedly with something on her finger.

Kate: Mom! Look at this!!

Me: What is it?

Katelyn: Well...It's not a booger.

Me: Then what is it?

Kate: It's NOT a booger.

Sometimes you need to acknowledge what they're saying before they can move on. So...

Me: Okay, it's not a booger. So what is it?

Kate: It came...(dramatic pause)...from my toenails.

That one still makes me chuckle. Here's another:

Sometimes when we say a word we say it twice and that makes it sound cuter. For example, out loud say "What a big bum." Now say "What a big bum-bum." Which sounds cuter? Now imagine Bam from "Viva La Bam". Then imagine Bam-Bam from "The Flintstones". Which is cuter? Get my point?

Also, Katelyn enjoys finding rhyming words, but she's not always perfect at it. For instance: "Hey! It rhymes! Park...Let's go to the park."

And we just bought a new Wii.

Now you'll understand our next conversation a little better.

Me: Let's go play with the Wii Wii.

Katelyn: Hey, it rhymes! Let's go play Wii Wii...Zachy has a wee wee!

And last of all...this one took place after I gave my bedroom a quick "cleaning" by stuffing everything in the closet. Katelyn came along and opened my closet door and...

"HO-ley SHOOOT!!! Mom! Come look at the mess in here!!"

Birds and Bees

Katelyn: Why do boys and girls go to the bathroom in different bathrooms?

Me: Because boys and girls aren't supposed to see each other's private parts...Until they're married.

Kate: Are you married?

Me: Yes.

Kate: To daddy?

Me: Yes.

Kate: So daddy gets to look at your private parts?

(I guess I walked right into that one.)

Life...According to Katelyn

"Grandma, I know what we need to put out these fires. What you need is (are you ready for this?) WATER."

"Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a BABY."

P.S. This, my favorite park with the spinning things--this park is now burned down :(