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(I'm feeling much better after five days of Claritin and three nights of Tylenol PM.)

sick

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling terrible. Lightheaded, weak, exhausted, and achy. A sore throat developed as the day wore on. I spent the day trying to take it easy, which is challenging with two little ones. Melody and I napped together while Leah napped in her crib. I love napping with Melody. Her three year old body is so much bigger than the weightless newborn who used to sleep on my chest/tummy in the wee hours of the morning.

Tylenol helped me get through the day.

Last night I was worse, and this morning I thought I had strep throat. My ongoing challenge of deciding if I should go to the doctor or not began. Growing up my mom was the type to wait thing out. We were all pretty healthy so this approach worked well. Once in high school I suffered with the flu for a full seven days before we finally went to the doctor. I had bronchitis. (My first time.) A rumor started at school that "Rebekah Kotter's family doesn't believe in doctors."

Nice.

Back to today's happenings...

I decided to go to the doctor because it is Friday and I didn't want to suffer with worsening strep throat the the whole weekend. I loaded the girls up and we made the 35 minute drive to Fayetteville. (I could go to Siloam which is closer, but I prefer a Fayetteville group of doctors.) On the way there I responded to Melody's comments with a low, slow voice because I was really weak. I was lamenting the days when Chad was unemployed and able to help out with parental duties during the day.

We did the whole wait-for-the doctor in both waiting rooms thing. They did a strep test. Negative. I have the beginnings of a viral infection caused by allergies. (It makes sense because we spend the first three days of this week outside at the park and farmers market and I was not taking my claritin.)

$93 later we drove home, me still talking in my slow tired voice. Melody and Leah did great and once we got home, we all crashed for naps together. I'm watching the clock for the moment Chad will arrive home after a long two days.

another poop ball story

This morning I took the girls to the park. As we were playing Melody said with fervor, "I HAVE TO PEE!" I scooped her up and we jogged over to the public park restrooms. (Ick.) The women's was occupied. Mel said again, "I HAVE TO PEE!"

I made a split second decision and said, "Let's see if you can just pee on the grass right here by the wall." Hahahaha. She was wearing a long dress with leggings underneath. I took the leggings and panties all the way off and had her squat low. I held her dress out, to protect her from anyone's view. We stayed in that position for about 30 seconds. I said, "Did you go pee yet?" She responded with a low grunt, "I'm not peeing. I'm POOPING."

Right. Great.

Another 30 seconds went by before Melody popped up, ready to return to the playground.


"I POOPED!!! I POOPED!"

"Shhh!!! Okay. Don't say it again."

I pooped, I pooped, I pooped!!"

"OKAY, SHHH! I said don't say it again."

"But mommy, I pooped on the GRRAAAAASS!"


I send her running back to the playground (under the supervision of a friend within sight) and started the lovely task of transferring the poop ball pile into the restroom with wads of toilet paper. Fun, fun.

more mel sayings

Said from the couch to Chad as he walked in the front door, "Hey kiddo."

Said as she was jumping on the bed, "Mommy, I have so much energies."

Yesterday afternoon we were all working in the front yard. Melody was picking wild flowers. After a few minutes I began to worry about snakes in the tall grass of the wild flower area. We told her it was time to stop picking flowers and to come back to where we were in the yard. She was super upset to stop her activity. She said through tears about 25 times, "Daddy, why did you take away my job?" (We talk about 'jobs' a lot around here. This my Mommy's job. This is Daddy's job. This is NOT Melody's job. ie: washing Leah's hair in the tub, etc.)

One of my favorite Mel sayings is when she calls her sister, Leah Sagey. (Leah's middle name is Sage.)

some relief!

My mom is here today. She visits every other week. Today she is helping me retain some sanity. I'm hulled up on my bedroom. iTunes is playing loudly (to drown out the noise in the rest of the house). I have a painting spot set up in front of a window with the late morning sun pouring in. Coffee and water are within reach. I'm ready to create something!!!

I hope someday I can be the type of grandma that rescue's Melody and Leah in the midst of their crazy mommy/toddler days. I'm so thankful for my mom's help.... both emotional and practical. I only wish my MIL lived so close! She is an amazing grandma as well.

introducing....

Sally Jane Gowan!!! She was born today at 12:12. She weighs 7 pounds, 4 ounces and is 21 inches long. We are so proud of you Laura!!

I am feeling discouraged today. Life is suddenly overwhelming. The majority of my angst is related to Melody. We have been at odds with each other for several days in a row and it's wearing me out. My times with her are either wonderful or terrible. One second she is whining for me to hold her, "Mommy, you haven't holded me yet." The next moment she acts as if she wants me to leave her alone. I can't win. Until now my instincts have served me well. This is the first time I feel at a total loss as a mom.

In other news, one of my closest friends is in labor! Laura and Neil are expecting their first baby and she will arrive any time today! I got the call that she was in labor this morning and ever since I've felt emotional and excited and nervous.

photos and etsy

I'm changing some things on my blog. I might even go as far as to change the entire design. I'm excited to write more and finally start posting pictures. I've always held off on the picture part of blogging because I felt like this was a place for me to practice writing. Well, writing is definitely taking a back seat to everything else these days, so this is becoming more of a place to talk about my kids. I might as well show how cute they are too!

Another thing I'm working on right now is an etsy shop. I'm pretty far off from setting up shop, but I've started some projects. I need name ideas, if any of you have some.

"Mommy, I'm so worried about myself," Melody said as she laid in bed for a nap after a rough morning.

My new adjective for her is SPUNKY. I like this word because it describes her craziness without being negative. Spunky is good, right? I told one friend, it's as if I give her a gallon of sugar every hour. She is 1000% alive with energy, loudness, opinions, demands, and nonstop talking. It is hard to think straight in the midst of such a whirlwind. Today I put the peanuts in the fridge!

She says repeatedly as she walked aimlessly through each room of the house, "I don't know what I'm suppose to dooooooooah."

She is so much like me! We both do better when we're not at home. Some moms lament going to the grocery store, but for us, we get along BETTER when we're in public. This is a good thing until I try to stay home for a few days in a row! Then I begin to feel like a hostage. I do my best to keep the B-word (boredom) at bay. As a kid, I REMEMBER being sooooo bored. It was the worst feeling ever so I'm continually trying to help the girls find new things to do. Lately Mel and I have been doing more artsy stuff.

This morning our one pleasant time together was at the kitchen table. She made a necklace with multi-colored plastic beads while I painted something for her room. (Leah was napping.) We worked together for about a hour, listening to Waterdeep the whole time. Last week I downloaded one of their worship CDs (You Are So Good To Me) and we've both been enjoying it a lot. Music is one of the only things that calms her down when things are spinning out of control.

This one hour of positive time together was great, but what are we suppose to do with the REST OF THE DAY?! Tonight she went on a date with daddy. Whew.

more thoughts on the leah honeymoon

Since I wrote yesterday's post, I've been feeling uneasy about my words. I did not explain my feelings about Melody very well. I do not want to leave the impression that I favor one of my girls over the other because thankfully that is NOT the case. They are both delightful to my heart. One of the coolest things about them is how DIFFERENT they are. Anyone who knows us, exclaims about their opposite dispositions. Perhaps this makes it easy for me to love them both with everything in me?

After I wrote yesterday's entry I was thinking about it more. I think the reason I'm having a Leah Honeymoon is because right now she is in a much easier stage than Melody. Leah is 17 months today. She is barely walking, not really talking, and fun fun fun. Melody is three and a half. Every second with Mel is an opportunity for lessons on obedience and cooperation. Discipline happens as often as eating and it WEARS ME OUT. Since Chad went to back work three weeks ago, I've had to step it up in the discipline arena with Melody. Even on a good day with Melody, it is work, work, work.

During it all, Leah slowing walks around the house, her tiny hands balled into kickboxing fists in front of her face. She is SO MUCH EASIER than Melody right now. I realize that every month is a phase with them and soon they will trade places. Soon, Leah will go to Grammy's house to make s'mores with grandad and Melody and I will have the time of our lives here together.

leah honeymoon

Today my mom took Melody home with her. Grammie lives one and a half hours away. Since Melody turned two, she frequently spends one or two nights there. Tonight I called to chat with her before bedtime. She had a limited amount of time to talk to me because she was making s'mores over the stovetop with grandad!

When Melody is gone, Leah and I have a great time together. Our relationship changes. It is simple, easy and fun. Melody demands my undivided attention all day long, and Leah tends to be in the background. I struggle to give them both what they need and by the end of the day I'm exhausted and they still want more, more, more of me. In having just Leah for a day or two, it's easier. Today we played and played and played. We enjoyed the warm, windy, spring afternoon by swinging high and throwing rocks in the creek behind the house. She jabbered away at me. Her baby words are softly spoken compared to Melody's boisterous ongoing stories. It was so much fun to laugh and converse with Leah and have no toddler interruptions, tantrums, discipline, or fussing. (And at the same exact time, I'm totally thinking about Melody and missing her and wondering how she is doing.)

I know I want to have more babies. (Adopted or biological, I'm not sure.) There are days when I think I'm ready to add a third child. Then I think of Leah and her struggle to be heard, seen, held. The idea of waiting a few more months or a year or two is appealing. Perhaps we'll wait awhile and have two more who are close in age. Two boys, perhaps? (From Sudan, perhaps?) By then, I'm sure Leah will have plenty to say on the subject.

mel sayings

“Look mommy! Storm hay!”

Melody has been saying the funniest things. The above statement is referring to hail. She also says, “You’re right.” after I’ve spoken a fact such as, “It’s time to eat lunch.” Or, “You took a long nap!” Her tone carries authority as if she is teaching me something when she says it.

One time I was correcting Melody’s behavior and I said, “Melody. Are you obeying or disobeying?” She immediately responded in the exact same tone, “Mommy. Are you being nice or mean?” Her statement stopped me in my tracks and I lost all mommy momentum in teaching/correcting. How am I supposed to respond to that? Some days I feel like her little brain is sharper than mine.

She has begun to emphasize the word “so.” She’ll say, “Mommy, thank you soooooo much for my new toy.” Or, “Mommy, I’m soooooo sorry that happened to you.” She also loves to use the word disGUSTing. She’ll say, “Poop is disGUSTing!!!” She sounds like a teenager already.

warning - poop stories

Melody is finally succeeding at potty training! I am very happy about this. She is three years and three months old. She has been quick in language skills and fine motor skills, but more relaxed about physical milestones. She rolled over at 5 months, crawled at 11 months, and walked at 13 months. Each milestone was preceded with much caution. She is like her daddy in this way.

This is our third attempt at potty training. In the first two attempts she would pee on herself every single time. She would look down at her wet self with surprise and say with alarm, "Somebody peed on herself!" Pooping was even worse. One time when she was naked, so pooped all over the rug -- little balls of hard poop. Before I could get to it, Leah put a piece of it in her mouth. Yes, that's right, my second born has tasted poop. I did a good job of not freaking out until Melody let out a peel of laughter. I was digging around in Leah's mouth and scraped poop off her teeth, when Melody gleefully said, "SHE'S EATING MY POOOOOOP. HAHAHA!!!!!!!!" To that I responded loudly, "THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"

Later that day as I was telling the story to Chad, I said, "Potty training is a good time to get me flowers." He heeded the hint, and bought me some later that week.

This morning I was vacuuming the girls' room with the door closed. They both hate the loud noise. They were in the living room watching a movie (of course) and I heard Melody yell, "MOMMY!!!! I peed and pooped in my potty!!!" Her little potty is in the living room (in front of the tv, of course). I turned off the vacuum and ran into the living room to find her sitting on the little blue/white plastic toilet. Under her in the removable container was pee and a huge piece of poop!!! Hoorrray!! She immediately got ice cream and made two phone calls to daddy and grammy about the big news. "I peed and pooped on the potty and now I have ice cream. Bye."

I hope Leah is easier and younger at this potty-training game.

me again

Where to start? After months of not blogging it's time to jump back in. Melody is a spunky three year old. Leah is 16 months. They play together everyday which brings me endless joy. I'm so happy when they entertain themselves in the playroom. Several months back we changed our office to a playroom. Now my laptop resides in our master bedroom, and all the toys are in the playroom. (At least that is the idea. Every few hours the living room and hallway become littered with stuffed animals and blocks. If I attempt to move them Melody pipes up, "But my bears are watching the MOVIE.")

Chad started a new job last week. He's working at a place that builds eco-friendly homes. He is excited to learn about new technology. Evening conversations consist of topics like solar hot water heaters and spray foam insulation. At the end of his first week he said he was looking forward to work on Monday for the first time in his life! This is music to my ears.

I'm excited to fulfill my stay at home mom duties again. For five months Chad and I have both been at home. While this arrangement had it's perks, it was difficult for me to find my role. I was torn between freelance design work and housework and cooking. I'm trying to use some tips from flylady.com to keep things running more smoothly. I'm trying to have a morning and an evening routine. So far the morning one looks like this:one or two loads of laundry (including putting the clothes away!), make my bed, and one major cleaning chore. The evening routine is: clean up kitchen so it's ready for the next day, make Chad's lunch, tidy living areas. These things probably sound ultra simple to those of you who keep a clean house without pulling your hair out. For me, this stuff isn't natural or easy. I'm excited because I think the morning/evening routines have promise. If I can maintain discipline to do these routines the majority of days, I know it will make a big difference.

Happy April!

reading all things by kaye gibbons

In the past few months I've managed to read ALL of Kaye Gibbons books. This includes the following: Ellen Foster, Charms for the Easy Life, On the Occassion of My Last Afternoon, A Cure For Dreams, A Virtuous Woman and Divining Women. I love this author. Her work drew me in. At the end of each book, I sighed with satisfaction. I liked her work because despite it's difficult themes, it did not make me depressed. Often, books I love end of making me sad. This has been true of authors Ann Lamott and John Steinbeck. Also titles: Snowflower and the Secret Fan, The Kite Runner, and A Thousand Splendid Suns have left me feeling down. Chad will notice me moping around the house and say, "Are you reading a sad book again?"

The thing is, I like sad stories. My favorite thing about Kaye Gibbons is her ability to weave goodness and triumph into a sad story. There is something about sad stories (and sad music) that I enjoy. Chad thinks I'm crazy. He watches movies to escape and he dislikes unhappy endings. We watched Cold Mountain last night and he was not a happy camper when the credits were rolling at the end of that story.

My Kaye Gibbons roll is over. If anyone knows of similar authors, please let me know.

the girls in october

Melody, you will turn three years old in two months. We have been talking about your birthday party almost everyday. The plan is to do a ball theme with a polka dot cake. Your fascination with balls is still at an all time high. A few weeks ago we were at the park taking a walk when community soccer games began. We stopped the stroller to watch through the chain link fence. You sat upright in your side of the stoller and watched with perfect attention. You immediately said, "I want to kick that soccer ball too!" I told you that you'd have to wait until you were older. A few minutes passed and you said, "Mommy, am I older yet?"

Other new discoveries include the stars, moon, ice cream cones and corndogs. You love to go outside at night and looked at the stars while we sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to you. You get very excited when you find the faint moon in the sky during the day time. MOMMY! LOOK! THERE'S THE MOON! OVER THERE! LOOK LOOK! While eating your first ice cream cone you were full of giddy joy, probably the most happiness you've ever experienced. It was so much fun for you that I wanted to start giving you ice cream cones everyday. You said, "Look, there is the ice cream in there. It is COLD. And there is the cracker park on the outside. It tastes like a cracker and is CRUNCHY." (You use the word 'park' instead of 'part.')

-----

Leah, you will turn one in about three weeks. I cannot believe this is about to happen. Yesterday we went to a gift shop in Siloam to buy you a nice Jellycat brand stuffed animal. Melody received one as a newborn from a DaySpring friend. It is a panda and it's her favorite stuffed animal. I realized that you don't have anything that is really "yours" so I thought a nice stuffed animal for your birthday would be a good place to start. Grammie decided it will be from her, but of course I wanted to pick it out for you. We bought the penguin and the clerk took about 20 minutes to wrap it up for you. During that time I told your big sister to not touch anything 1045 times. You are the easy one these days. Except at night. Last week you slept all the way through 5 times in a row. I felt like a new woman! I got up with daddy every morning at 6am and the week was easier and happy for me. You started crawling last Thursday and after that the sleeping through the night ended. Now you're waking up twice a night. Dragging myself from sleep to get up and go to you is so hard. But once I'm up, I enjoy our middle of the night moments together. Maybe you just want more mama time and that's the only way for you to get it.

I worry about you because I don't give you as much attention as I would like. You love your DVDs so much that it is tempting to let you watch too many of them. We play games together on the floor. I stack up a wooden ABC block tower and you shyly knock it over with a grimace on your face. Then I do it again and you knock it over faster. Soon, I can't build the towers fast enough because you are so crazily distructive. You smile and giggle when I say, "Hey!" in response to the downed towers.

You are MUCH LOUDER than your sister. When you get mad and scream it sounds like someone dropped you or broke your leg. I used to rush into the room when I'd hear you screaming like that. I'd say, "What happened?!" to Grammie or daddy as they changed your diaper or dressed you. Now I know that nothing probably happened... that is just you! It makes me wonder what type of two year old you are going to be?! You seem to be more sensitive and more stubborn than Melody. Perhaps you are going to take after your mommy instead of your daddy.

Leah's nine month letter

Dear Leah,
Early this morning around 3:30am (I can never remember the exact time) I was rocking you in the polka dot glider in your dimly lit room. Moments before you had guzzled 8oz of formula as you always do during your night time feeding. I lifted you from the feeding position and pulled you close to my chest. Your fuzzy head settled heavily on top of my shoulder. Your long toes spread apart like a fan, as your feet felt for a place to rest. Your body relaxed and you drifted back to sleep within seconds. This middle of the night time together is my favorite time with you. The house is silent and dark and we are uninterrupted. We slowly rock back and forth and I soak up the moment in my half-awake state.

You love to clap. You have not figured out how to do it by yourself yet, but we have a fun time doing it together. We sit face to face and I clap first. Your mouth opens wide and a massive grin spreads across your face. After a few claps I take your hands and clap them together for you. This sends jolts of joy through your entire body. You can barely contain yourself. Bursts of giggles erupt from your belly and you laugh and laugh and laugh. I stop and you ponder what to do next, trying to figure out how to clap independently. You bang on my belly with both hands, as if saying, "Let's do it again!"

You and Melody are starting to play together. You lay side by side on a quilt on the living room floor or in the bathtub. Melody mimics your full body kicks. Her body is long and thin compared to your rollie-pollie tummy and legs. Sometimes you want a ball or a bear and she insists that you want something different because it's the toy she wants to play with. Soon you'll be too smart for her manipulative toy switching.

You sit up like a pro now and I don't have to worry about you falling over anymore. You're trying to figure out how to crawl. You scoot backward instead of forward and usually end up stuck halfway underneath the couch or coffee table. You enjoy watching movies with your sister and no one can make you laugh like her silly shrieking can.

Love,
Mommy

a fun friday morning

We've been home a lot this week because the girls both have a cold. I've attempted to catch up on laundry and cook some good meals as well as watch a couple movies. I saw Catch and Release and Dream Girls. They were both okay; good movies to watch by myself during the day as I folded clothes, held babies and played with playdoh. I hit the pause buttom about 100 during each movie to fetch a bottle, answer the phone, talk to a toddler, rescue a baby from scooting backward under the coffee table and so on.

When Friday morning rolled around I was hoping to go to our weekly playgroup. But the runny noses were still with us, so I decided against it. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but two of the playgroup mamas are within weeks of their due dates and no one wants to get a fullterm pregnant friend sick with a cold. Can you imagine dealing with a cold DURING labor?

I shuffled around the house in my pjs, unsure of what to do. Stay home and work on things around here? Go to the mall? The pool? The park? Anything outside was a hands down no. It's the hottest week of the summer, so far. The mall was out because I am pretty sure the kids area there is where Melody got the infamous cold in the first place. (This is the cold that has spread to the whole playgroup. Sorry guys!)

Finally I decided to load everyone up in the truck (it has better AC than the car) and see where we ended up. I had a feeling garage sales would be the order of the day. We ended up having a wonderful time. Melody and I chatted the whole way to Fayetteville while Leah took a nap. Mel and I have REAL conversations these days. It's crazy. Today she saw a wagon and said,

"Remember when my got hurt in the wagon?
At Anna's house...in the backyard.
My cried... Jason stopped the wagon... he kiss it.
Then my got in the wagon again.
My got hurt in the wagon."

The crazy thing is, this incident happend LAST summer when Melody was just 19 or 20 months old. (!) I was floored. I kept asking her questions about it and I'm fairly sure it was the only time she's ever been in a wagon.

We went to McDonalds where I bought an iced coffee. They are pretty good. Especially for $1.66. Then we drove around looking for garage sales. It was a very successful shopping time. I bought Melody books, colorful plastic bowls for her kitchen, a kite, a music box from 1983, and a puzzle. For myself I bought a $15 quilt, a couple vintage linens, two homemade aprons (also vintage), and a DVD (Meet the Fockers). My most exciting purchase of the morning was a piece of stained glass that is perfect for our living room. It's about 8x10 inches and is orange and blue of a flower. It was marked $!0 which I was totally going to pay.

Then the lady said, "Oh you can have this for $5."

"Okay!"

I love garage sales because it's like you're doing the people a FAVOR to buy their stuff for next to nothing. They just want to get rid of it. Of course there is the occasional sale where people are trying to get $30 for a fushia prom dress from 1991.

We came home just in time for me and Melody to NOT get into a fight. When I push our outings too long, the 30 minute drive home is a nightmare. Maybe that's why I've been annoyed about living in the country lately. I should just come home sooner everytime we're out and about so that we're not pulling each other's hair our by the time we reach our country lane.

cleanup or stay up?

Melody has a fascination with balls. It began a long time ago and everyone who knows her is aware of it. Every time we go to playgroup, she makes a beeline to the first type of ball she sees. For the next two hours she clutches this precious treasure and refuses to play with anything else. Balloons are the only object that can top a ball.

So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised the other day when our Number One disaster (to date) involed balls. She informed me that she had made a big mess in the living room. Upon entering the room, I spied marble sized, peanut butter colored balls all over the rug. I stepped closer with a look of suspition on my face and in an instant the smell of poop filled my nostrills.

"MELODY! Did you get poop our of your diaper?!"

"My made a mess Mommy!!" She informed me with glee. Then she added, "YUCKY!!!"

"That's right, it's yucky...." I replied and continued muttering all sorts of things about just how yucky it really was. Then I stopped. I realized she had most likely TOUCHED the poop. Her diaper was still on, so I assume she reached inside and removed the balls of poop one and a time. They were scattered all over the room. I had been talking on the phone in the neighboring kitchen. I thought I was keeping an eye on her, but obviously it wasn't enough. I stood there unsure of how to proceed. Then I saw Melody take her hand and wipe it across her face, under her leaky faucet nose. I sprang into action, "Don't touch your nose! Let's go wash you NOW."

The hot water hand and face washing that followed involved levels of tears and shrieking and dismay that a spanking could never match. After she was cleaned up, I had the fun job of hunting down all the marbles of poop in the living room. I grabbed a paper towell and a plastic walmart bag and got to work. Thankfully, her poop is always on the constipated side, so it was easy to handle. (EW!) After using three paper towels and picking up about 12 balls of poop I thought I was finished. The room still reeked so I decided to vacuum the rug. I moved the coffee table and found MORE marbles of poop. Nice.

It is a story fell out of my mouth the instant Chad walked in the door from work that evening. I couldn't even wait until he had finished eating to give him all the nasty details. He just kept shaking his head and closing his eyes. That same night Leah was up with a cold. We only slept about three hours. The next morning I felt 100 years old and decided that I'd rather pick up poop than stay up all night with a sick baby any day of the week. Although when these are one's choices, one realizes quickly why God made babies and toddlers so cute and lovey.

adjusting

Life has changed so much for us since Chad started his new job. It’s been about three weeks and our old life is already a foggy memory. There are things I miss and things I’m excited about. The thing I miss the most of spending so much quality time with Chad. I miss leisurely breakfasts where we work together in the kitchen and then sat down together to eat and talk. These days we still eat breakfast together but it’s about 3 hours earlier, I’m barely awake, and he’s already thinking about work. Thus, there's not much talking going on.

Another big change is that I’m not doing freelance design work anymore. I miss it and I’m also relieved to be free of it. I got a call from DaySpring the other day. They were looking for someone to do a fast track project. I was both happy and sad to say no thanks. I miss the thrill of getting work, the dressing up and going to meet with people about projects, and having a reason to walk away from parenting and household duties for a couple hours with no guilt. I do not miss the pressure of deadlines, uncertainty of more jobs, horrible health insurance, and computer/font problems.

Because I’m not hanging out with Chad or working, I have more time to hang out with other stay at home moms. This opportunity is a good thing. This week I have spent time at the park and the library with other moms and their kids. Melody has enjoyed it too. This morning after an last minute bath (she soaked through her diaper last night) she was standing on the bathroom mat, naked and dripping wet.

I said, “Let’s go to your room now…”

She replied, “But I want to go to Fayetteville!!”

“We will go to Fayetteville, but we have to put some clothes on you first.”

Perhaps she could sense my urgency to get out of the house. We dressed her quickly and got the heck out of here. Our outing to the yarn store, the library and the health food store went well. On the way home she said, “I ready to be home now. I want to see Montana.” (Our dog.)