Made My Day

I don't know what else to say. Obviously she's not potty trained, but she had to go and when I stuck her on the toilet--she went! That is one less poop I need to excavate from the nether regions! And this is so much more exciting to me than it should be.

More Stella-isms

Upon discovering something is amiss/out-of-order/unexpected:
"Dear me! Wha happen? Wha happen, Mutter?"

***

When being put down for her nap, usually after much protesting and some tears, as soon as her head hits her pillow:
"Goo' night. Goo' night, Mutter."

***

After I hang up the phone up:
"Whas that, Mom? Whas that? That Jesus? That Jesus, Mom?"

***

While getting her poopy diaper changed:
"Gross. Gross, Mom. My deepah'"

Photographic Evidence: The Silence is Not Golden When Two Toddlers Are Concerned

April 2008
Originally uploaded by alishialinn

If you have been or are the parent of a small child you certainly know that silence is a treasured state. Of course, it is not easily won. And it is rarely a good thing when small children are awake or in pairs. It is with such knowledge that my friend Tara and I went in search of our wee ones when we had been enjoying a rather focused and lengthy--albeit three to five minute--conversation the other day.

This is what we found. Not bad, mind you. No damage done, just belongings hastily strewn about the room. We stuck them in the bed afterward. They couldn't quite figure out how to climb into it on their own so we helped tackle that temptation.

I am suddenly reminded of an afternoon a few months ago. Stella was playing alone in the living room while I was in the kitchen having some lunch. Since much of her solo play involves lots of noise--little people chattering, sound effects and the like--complete silence is rare. So after a few silent minutes passed I went to check on her only to find her slumped against the couch. She had fallen asleep in the middle of her activities and surrendered to her exhaustion.

That was a good kind of quiet.

The Best Day At My House in 2008*

I have just enjoyed ninety minutes of middle-of-the-day solitude WHILE MY CHILDREN SIMULTANEOUSLY SLUMBER! This is a first.

Other things that make it the best day: went to Mass and Stella was good, Gianna cooed and blurbed her way through, a clean house, my freshly cleaned and folded laundry, a soda for no reason, picked some weeds, watered some plants and noticed new plants sprouting from the ground, found Stella some cute flip flops, Stella calls me "Mudder," sister comes in two weeks, friend coming next week, two months from now we will be in San Diego and my dad and his wife are buying us tickets to Sea World!

And other great things pending.

All this on the heels of some not-so-great times makes it even sweeter. Sweeter than my sister's Diet Dr. Pepper.

*To be said in Kyle Dwyer's voice, for those that know him.

April 2008: What We Like

Gianna, 9 months: her paci, standing up, probing orifices (orifi?) with he sharp-nailed index finger (beware of your gums when she approaches your mouth!), peas, her sister*, drinking from a cup thank-you-very-much, being awake at naptime, saying "Yayayayayayaya!" and gurgling

Stella, 2 years, 4 months: her sister ("John-Ah")*, her DAD!!!! thank-you-very-much, licking rocks, picking weeds, watching Peter Rabbit and Curious George, talking, Autumn Wheat, tacos, saying "NO!", her friends, "Abah, EEek, Mamy, Mace, Cahtah," her cousin "Camren," baby treats

Jamie, 28 years, 2 months: reading, his punching bag, talking to other men who like to talk about philosophy, tea in a green mug, preparing for law school ("Babe, I'm in it to win it!"), 30 Rock, Lost, sauerkraut, roasted chicken, New York Times over the Wall Street Journal, his Geeg, his Stell, belching in videos*

Alishia, 33 years, 3 months: sewing, looking at craft books on amazon, reading A Tale of Two Cities, sitting in Jamie's office looking out the window at her plants, drying clothes on the clothesline, virtual shopping at Barney's, whiskey sours, Scrabulous, chatting off the record, morning coff, showing off my large feet*

****

Yesterday Equals Frustrating, Today Equals Better

Staying home with children is a series of minor failures and victories. Sometimes they balance out in the course of a day. Sometimes they most definitely do not. Yesterday morning was a crucible of wills (is there such a thing?) that set the tone for the rest of the day--it was only seven and I was exhausted.

Stella awoke in a crabby, desperate mood. It perpetuated my mood. I was mean and impatient as I tried to ride her wave of early morning "decisions" in a period of ten minutes: get dressed, wear a dress, eat Aunumn Wheat, no Aunumn Wheat, shoes, no shoes, yogurt, "Stop IT," go outside ,ad nauseum.

I hard-boiled some eggs for an entire hour. At least. And I did a host of other annoying lame and poorly executed tasks that I am thankful I cannot recall. We were on pins and needles waiting for 10:00 to roll around so we could go invade our friends' house with our pleasant demeanors and morning breath.

This morning has already been an improvement. We had a good breakfast without travail. I cleaned up the kitchen with the use of a timer: only fifteen minutes at a time so my children don't fall into a morning of parental neglect. We all got dressed without drama and we went on a bike ride. Now Gianna is sleeping and it didn't take a magic voodoo dance to get her to bed and Stella is playing peacefully with her toys so I can record the minutiae of my days.

At least Jamie is ever-patient and always forgiving. I might have been fun and easy-going before we were married, but I'm not always a peach these days. And he doesn't always remind me of this fact.

My Poop: Exclamation Point

This is the time of year where Stella likes to run around in the backyard after dinner. Tonight she did so without a diaper on.

We were inside with our friend Michael. Every now and then we caught a glimpse of Stella running around. Suddenly she yelled something incomprehensible. We didn't think much of it. Out friend's dog, Doodle, was running around back there, too. We figured she was shouting at him or just playing around.

I peeked out the window to ensure myself that she was indeed safe. I caught a glimpse of our dogs chomping on something. Some food? A toy? A lizard or bird? They frequently catch critters. Who knows what it was.

We carry on with our visit.

Stella continues to yell--lamenting almost--something that is now making sense.

Jamie says, "Is she yelling, 'My poop!'? Stella, did you poop?"

"Yes!" she replies, somewhat alarmed.

In a flash it all computes.

I now know what the dogs were chomping on earlier--Stella's poop.

Yes indeed.

"Stella, did the dogs eat your poop?"

"Yes! Yes! My poop! My poop! Oh. Oh no. My poop!"

Michael acts quickly, "Doodle, get in here."

Stella continues to talk about the social affront committed against her and her feces. It's not disgusting to her, it's more like when a playmate steals a favorite toy. She feels wronged. She runs around repeating it as if she wants her poop back.

Michael comforts her, "I would be upset, too, if that happened in my immediate company."

Totally Pleased With Herself

Totally Pleased With Herself
Originally uploaded by alishialinn

The girls love to play with their empty diaper boxes. Stella makes cars, towers, baby beds, hiding places for her people, general merriment is had by all. This morning while Gianna was playing with hers and I stepped into the adjacent bathroom to brush my teeth, etc, she pulled herself up to stand.

I was so overcome with excitement for her that I started to loudly praise her. This pleased her enough to try again so I could capture it on film. Isn't that face just the SWEETEST thing?

Yes, sweeter than the faces of all your children.

My Dad's Flickr

He's all growed up: his own flickr account.

In addition to which he sent me an email that ended with these words, "THERE, PUT THAT IN YOUR BLOG."

Oh, Dad, I will. Thank you.