Mama Mama Quite Contrary

Five years ago today, I became a mother to this little creature: I loved her instantly.   Somehow that peanut turned five. Today, like each day before, I love her even more.   (Even when she decides that the best place to pose for her "5" birthday photo is next to the potty.)

In a couple of weeks, my husband will be heading down to New York City to attend his 25-year medical school reunion.  As part of the event materials, graduates had to send little biographies of themselves as well as photographs which would be included in an alumni directory.  Simple right? Well, we got the directory in the mail the other day.  Everyone sent in photos that looked like this: Source Everyone... except my husband.  This is his photo: He and I had a good laugh over this and hopefully the folks at Columbia will too.

What?  You mean you didn't potty train your child while she was fully-clothed and holding a pan intending to make "crazy-dillas?" Oh, I guess that just happens in our house.

It's barely 9 a.m. and I am processing three distinct interactions with my twins this morning. Here is the first: Ellie wakes me up every morning after she and Jude have breakfast with their dad.  She usually comes in like a tornado and then climbs on the bed yelling, "Ake up Mama!  Ake up Mama!" When I begin to stir, she burrows under the covers and changes her battle cry to "Nuggle Mama!" while she settles her head next to mine on the pillow.  Despite the ruckus, I love starting my day this way. This morning Ellie came in with the usual commotion but instead of telling me to wake up, she was barking like a dog.  She got up on the bed with her stuffed puppy and started bouncing it on my head while she was growling.  When I looked up, she said, "Mama,  Puppy poop on head."  Then she put her nose to my scalp and proclaimed, "Oooooh,  stinky!" This is a long way away from the usual snuggling. Before today, Ellie would lie next to me, stroke ...

It's been a rough week around here.  Vivi came down with her first ever ear infection which has left her miserable and whimpering in pain.  She would be okay during the day but around dinnertime she would spike a high fever and then descend into a pit of discomfort. We all have been paying the price with lack of sleep and short tempers.   The challenge for us is that we didn't really know what to do.   Antibiotics generally aren't prescribed for ear infections and my husband's homeopathy was not working.  We finally got her some liquid children's Tylenol to cope with the pain but I cringed after reading the ingredients. Is it really necessary to put in parabens, high fructose corn syrup, and red #40 in there especially when your kid still says, "Mommy, why do they have to make it taste so gross?"  The medicine seemed more harmful than the infection so that's when I decided to put some olive oil and garlic in her ear.  Vivi's nursery school teache...

Sometimes underpants are just that. Sometimes underpants are the BEST. PLAYTHINGS. EVER. See what I mean? Linking up to Simply Modern Mom this week.

It isn't everyday that I think about how lucky I am to live in the good ol' US of A.  Sure, I enjoy paying through the nose for our exceedingly crappy health insurance.  I swell with pride when I hear that my husband and I pay more taxes than General Electric.  I feel a sense of calm when I remember that Haliburton has an exemption to the Clean Water Act.  I mean if the government recognizes that it can't keep our water safe at least it has the good sense to pass off the responsibility to a multi-national company. Right?   Even with these comforting thoughts, I sometimes take my freedom for granted.  I mean how lucky am I to get to drive on the superbly maintained roads in my neighborhood?  Isn't it great that I get to go to bed every night and know that giving my daughters an exemplary education will only cost around $20,000?  Thank goodness I have my freedom-loving children to remind me of what it is like to live with liberty. If you didn't...