The 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the second day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the third day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me eight diapers stinking, seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me nine “Whys?”-a-asking, eight diapers stinking, seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me ten fingers pinching, nine “Whys?”-a-asking, eight diapers stinking, seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me eleven words a whining, ten fingers pinching, nine “Whys?”-a-asking, eight diapers stinking, seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me twelve teeth a drooling, eleven words-a-whining, ten fingers pinching, nine “Whys?”-a-asking, eight diapers stinking, seven socks-a-missing, six shoes-a-laying (around), FIVE GOLD(en) FISH! (buh-dum-bum), four calling “MOM!”s, three french fries, two snotty noses, and a Dora toy that will not turn off. (That’s it AMIGA, time for you to vaminos!!)

On the thirteenth day of Christmas, our dear Dora toy mysteriously disappeared and was thankfully never heard from again. Adios mi amiga! (Oh, and Feliz Navidad to you too).

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The Christmas Edition

Caed was, well, like a kid at Christmas. From the moment he woke up to tucking him in that night, I’m pretty sure his eyes didn’t stop twinkling.

Some of our favorite quotes from the day include:

“I’m a doc’or, not a kid!” - Caed, upon being offered instruction from Dad in how to use his new doctor’s kit.

Caed was subsequently “paged” on his new Thomas phone to come into the hospital, to which he responded, “Ok, sick people, I will be right there. Love you. Bye.”

“It’s a toothbrush....and chocolate!” - Caed, explaining the gift he had carefully purchased for Dad.

"Look at all these exciting things to go into my mouth. I wonder if I can get to that wrapping paper before mom picks it up. Mmmm, this cardboard cover to my new Curious George book is just DElish.”
- Sheridan, pretty much all day long.

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A Memorable Birthday

So Dani, being the wild child that she is, brought in her first birthday with a memorable trip to the ER. It was actually quite ironic to be back in the hospital with her--exactly one year later at around the same time of day, holding her in her birthday suit while she squirmed and fussed. Deja vu all over again.

After a rousing celebration with her play group friends this morning (and ingesting enough red-frosted cupcake such that her cheeks rivaled the rosiness of Rudolph's nose), Dani went upstairs with her mama to get ready for nap. But not before mom got some laundry put away. And while that laundry was disappearing into the drawers, Dani made a dry-cleaning tag disappear--which may or may not have had a staple in it. Only time (and her diaper) will tell.

So next on the docket for the razzle dazzle birthday extravaganza was an encore of her cupcake and everything else she'd had that day--including a few papery scraps of the dry cleaning tag. (Note: it will be a long time before I ever eat another cupcake.) She continued to gag and hurl for the next two hours, acting as if there might be something stuck, so our pediatrician sent us off to the ER to get an Xray and a doctor's eye on our birthday girl. I guess Sheridan, knowing her Daddy had to work late, was determined to see him on the evening of her birthday. So we all spent the evening in the ER, with "the sick people at Daddy's work" (as Caed labeled them).

She's off to a great start, eh? Gotta say though, today was a wonderful albeit smelly reminder of what a precious and beautiful gift God has given us in Sheridan. I'm so thankful for her health, her spunk and her twinkly big blue eyes. And so glad to be celebrating her first birthday--no matter where!

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Welcome to Winter

The first few flakes of the season danced down from the sky onto our driveway early Monday morning. With barely four inches on the ground by 8 a.m., I set out to take the kids to school, their bags packed with every last item of winter gear known to mankind. The snow was still falling, but lightly, and the roads were plowed and easy to navigate. So imagine my surprise when we turned into the preschool parking lot and saw (gasp) NO cars, no lights, and ughh....no school. Seriously? This is northern New England. Surely they don’t cancel school for a few inches of fluff?

Bitter at the unnecessary schlepping in the snow that I had been forced to do (thanks to my failure to consult the cancellation list before setting out) I did what any parent would do. I swore under my breath with a decidedly “unhappy heart”. So much for getting oodles of work done at home with a hot cup of coffee, while the snow fell beautifully outside.

Well, as it turned out, Plan B was much more fun anyway. After spending what felt like an hour donning our winter garb, we finally made it out to play in the snow. Of course, 10 minutes later Caed announced he had to pee, and thus, a new challenge ensued of how to get out of 5 bazillion layers of clothes....only to put them right back on and go back out.

Potty breaks aside, we had a ball playing in the snow, making train tracks (snow angels are apparently sooo last year), throwing snow balls for Calli to chase, and sipping snowflakes with our out-thrust tongues.

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Halloween

My eager fireman and reluctant butterfly skipped and squirmed their way up the driveway. The fire fighter’s hands were full--the left holding Daddy’s hand, the right clutching the fire ‘mergency bag full of candy. The butterfly, being escorted home in Daddy’s other arm and thus concluding there was absolutely no use for her wings, was using every last hand, bootie and antennae to pry them off. Hence the squirming.

I asked Caed if he had a good time trick-or-treating. And he replied, “I was scared, but Daddy kept me safe. I went behind Daddy’s leg and he p’otected me. And then I got candy.” I guess even brave firefighters need someone to protect them sometimes.

The butterfly, now resigned to the fact that the wings were not coming off by any act of her own, gave me her “glazed-gaze” and implored me with her half-hearted kicks and cries to start the bedtime routine. And so Sheridan went off to bed, happy to be rid of her wings.

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Pumpkin Land

Grandma Myles came for a visit and we took advantage of another classic fall day in New England. We took a tractor hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and picked out our very own pumpkin, right off the vine!

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Myles to Go Before I Sleep

A famous New England bloke once wrote, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” Clearly Robert Frost didn’t have the advantages of the Burley D’lite bike trailer.
Twas a beautiful fall week when we found ourselves biking up and down the hills of Acadia National park, throwing an endless amount of pebbles into the ocean, and strolling the shore path along Bar Harbor. It was an amazing few days, and yet, when Caed was asked what his favorite part of the vacation was, he replied, “I got to go to McDonalds and play in the playplace, and make new friends.” Apparently when you are three years old, french fries trumps spending a few days by the sea.

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I'm Six!

Actually, he’s only three. But he likes to tell people he is six years old. (He got the “making random stuff up” gene from his dad.)

We had a birthday party at the local fire station, joining together with our new friend Sayre, who was also turning three/six. Max and Becky came to visit, and we had a blast. The evening ended with a ride in the fire truck around town.

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Kuplink, Kuplank, Kuplunk

These, the sounds of blueberry picking on a gorgeous Maine morning.“Mommy, I am doing what Sal doos!”, Caed exclaimed as he dropped blueberries in his pail, referring to his well-worn book, Blueberries for Sal. I managed to pick one quart of blueberries while Caed managed to eat (or drop) at least a pint. The bright sun seemed to be burning blue right onto the berries as we picked, working in tandem with the cool breeze to wave the blue-dotted branches like flags of tribute to a beautiful summer day.

I watched Caed skip back and forth among the blueberry bushes, yelling "kuplink, kuplank" in between gulps of blueberries, taking a break only to play in the dirt with his friends Joseph & Graham. And I thought to myself, I love this place. I love driving a half hour away and finding myself in the pages of a storybook. I love having time to see and savor the sparkle in my children's eyes, as they experience the wonders of childhood in a place that brings me back to those same simple pleasures.

This little sliver of paradise, far from the horrors of the nightly news and the frantic race to get ahead on the path to nowhere, this little moment of beauty, brings me back to a place where I can believe that there is a God who is indeed good.

Kuplink. Kuplunk. Kuplank.

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