But I YIKE Makeup!

This is Little Sissy's new favorite phrase. I don't know where my prissy girls come from. I like to look pretty. It just doesn't fit into my life right now. I wear make-up an average of once a week--when I'm going to church usually. And I had to have my ears re-pierced recently because I wear earrings so rarely that my holes closed up. But my girls LOVE makeup. Just ask them. Little Sissy has a whole spiel, which she will share with anyone who will listen (including her pediatric opthamologist, who made the mistake of asking what the pink stuff all over her cheeks was).

"Girls wear makeup. Boys don't wear makeup. Boys wear chapstick. Daddy a boy. Daddy don't wear makeup. I a girl. I yike makeup."

Today I went into the dining room where the girls were coloring and found this.

It was all over her lips, too, in various shades of Crayola Washables. She hurried and licked it off when she realized she might get in trouble. "But Mommy, I YIKE makup!"

First Time Sledding

My dear friend Amy called this morning and invited us to go sledding with them. THANK GOD. We love these friends. I met Amy when our firstborn little baby girls were in music class together at Covenant. Then we ran into each other at tumbling at the Y, then we had several classes together. We were pregnant with our 2nd babies at the same time. Both of our husbands were getting MDIVs (Masters of Divinity), and we both were getting masters degrees in counseling (before God changed my plans). In short, we have a lot to talk about.

I thought perhaps I was going to go crazy this week. Between Hubby being sick, Beth breaking her elbow (sorry, Beth!!!), and the snow; everything we were supposed to do this week was cancelled. I love last-minute plans. Little Buddy stayed home with Daddy and took a nap while we went and had a great day of sledding, crafts, and lunch with Amy and her girls.

Who needs a sled, anyway?

Avery and Big Sissy

Amy, Avery, and Skylar

Me and Little Sissy. Don't make fun of my hat. Someone gave it to me in seminary, and I still wear it when I want to be warm.

Tandem Sledding

Angel Baby

If you've been following this blog for a while, you are probably aware of the issues we have had with our firstborn. She is smart, thoughtful, perceptive, adorable--and hard. At least she has been. I've been noticing lately, though, that she is really growing up and becoming quite a delightful Big Sissy. She is maturing in her emotions, and though she still has occasional tantrums, she is much more likely to be able to express what she is feeling with words or even tears rather than angry outbursts.

Some examples of her recent sweetness are (1) offering to hold Little Sissy when she's sad and I can't get to her immediately and (2) telling me not to talk to Little Buddy about needing to throw my socks away. They had huge holes in them. She said, "Mommy, he really likes socks and I think that would upset him if he heard you say you were going to throw socks away." That sensitivity made me smile.

In other exciting news, she has kept her panties dry at night for 2 weeks in a row now. I do take her to the bathroom before I go to bed, but I prefer that to buying pull-ups! She also figured out how to pour cereal and milk into a bowl and get a spoon. Thankfully I did not know she was doing it the first time or I might not have let her try, but she only spilled a couple of drops and she cleaned it up herself before she even told me. I love that we are moving toward independence. The more independent she gets, the sweeter and more cuddly she gets at the same time. I am loving the phase we are in!!

It's All About the Packaging

I ate a LOT of chocolate when I was pregnant. I always loved chocolate, but when I was pregnant I craved, no I just needed it. I was shopping at Babies 'R Us recently, when this bar caught my eye.

A Belly Bar. This particular one is called "Baby Needs Chocolate." How clever. I bought it and ate it. It was actually pretty good, although not as good as chocolate chips straight out of a bag. See...all my chocolate chips would have needed was an extra label to make me feel better about the sheer numbers of them that I ate during pregnancy. Not that Hershey needs any help in their marketing, but they could have eased pregnancy guilt for a lot of closet chocolate chip eaters with just a little extra label. Like this...

Pregnancy Chips. "Mama's Having One of Those Days." The big Sam's Club bag could be called "Mama's a Little Out of Control." It's all in the packaging.

I Hate Germs

I really hate germs. I even hate my own kids' germs because I don't want to be infected or keep passing the germs around the family for the entire winter and spring. One or the other of us has been sick for a few weeks now. I already posted about sleeping through Sesame Street Live because I was sick, then Little Buddy got it. The poor thing had a 102 degree fever on Sunday and didn't want to eat or play at all. He seems better now. He finally ate at suppertime and was crawling around. Yay!!! I haven't even been to the mall to play all winter because I just know that we might as well be spitting in each other's mouths for all the germs we're going to come home with.

THAT is why this is the most hilarious blog I've read for a while. I've found my match. Even though I don't go to the mall, I still take my kids to church and let them lick on the pretend food that the other preschoolers have already licked. I'm pretty sure they just pick up random sippy cups, too, when they get thirsty. That happens at home, with much fewer children and fewer sippy cups to choose from!

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/01/478-sitting-next-to-sick-people-at.html

New Look

I didn't really have anything to say today, but Hubby went to Dave 'n Busters to play with the boys, so I had time to play. What do you think of the new look?

Elmo's Green Thumb

Today was a big day. Our friend won 4 Sesame Street Live tickets on the radio. Since she is a teenager and that is on her "opposite of cool" list, she gave the tickets to us. Unfortunately, I am sick. Thankfully I stayed well through everyone else's "stuff" at Christmastime and Hubby's surgery. But today I definitely would have called in sick if being a mommy were a "regular" job. I woke up all achy and sneezy and tired. The kids LOVED it, though, so I'm so glad I went. We treated the kids with cotton candy and a $10 Elmo balloon (yikes!). Then we had lunch at Amighetti's, my favorite bakery on The Hill (the Italian district). If you saw my "25 Random Things" list on Facebook, you already know that I can sleep anywhere, any time. If I don't feel good, that includes the Scottrade Center with screaming children and dancing monsters and loud music. Here's proof.

Little Buddy was tired, too, since he missed his morning nap, but he hung in there. He danced to the music and tried to touch all the kids around us. It was a great show about taking care of nature. They sang one song about not wasting water. I wish they would have had another one about not wasting soap, another about not wasting toilet paper and tissues. Somehow I think they might get it if Big Bird sang about it. Here's another picture of all of us awake and excited.

Special Reading

This is Little Sissy "reading" The Three Little Pigs, her favorite book for the past couple of weeks. You probably won't be able to understand much of what she's saying, but if you know the story you'll get most of it. In the beginning, she is saying she needs to put her thumb on the book because it keeps wiggling around. I posted it so you can see her personality and funny expressions--and the fact that she practically has this book memorized! We've had to take a break from it, though. We read it so much that she has it practically memorized, I am starting to psychoanalyze the pigs, and Big Sissy has started having Big Bad Wolf nightmares. Too much!!!

Who's On First?

We got several new "Little Critter" books by Mercer Mayer from my niece and nephew. Today we read one called "I Just Forgot." A few minutes later, long after I'd forgotten the title of the book, I had this confusing conversation with Big Sissy.

Her: That doggy in I just forgot looks a lot like Dasher (her new spotted doggy from Santa).
Me: Which doggy?
Her: I just forgot.
Me: Well, think about it. Was it a doggy from a movie? A doggy from a book? Biscuit?
Her: I JUST FORGOT!
Me: That's OK. You can tell me when you remember.
Her (several decibels louder now): No, that dog from I Just Forgot!
Me (finally glancing down at the floor and seeing the title of the book): Oh, the dog in the Mercer Mayer book "I Just Forgot"?
Her: Yes!

Who says communication is easy???

Little Buddy's New Happy Laugh

Longing for Warmth

We're all missing the warm weather here. The coats are uncomfortable. The seat belts are too tight. The socks feel funny. The tights are the worst. The skin is itchy. The cars are touchy. The bodies are flabby (well, just mine). Today Big Sissy was playing quietly for a long time. When I went in, this is what I found.

These are Hello Kitty dominoes. It's a playground with 4 slides, complete with a cushion for landing. There's even a bench for the mommies and babies to sit on. Oh, spring, come quickly!!!

Vignettes from the Day

Since I didn't have a vehicle today, I entertained myself by taking pictures of random things throughout my day. Sorry to all the real photographers out there. Maybe you can give me some pointers.

Disappointing
Not to mention annoying. An empty box of Quaker Morning Minis to start the day.

Disturbing
Baby doll hanging by a pig snout on a string.

Dangerous
Big Sissy took this one of Grassy the Crocodile.

Distressed
Big Sissy watching the scary part of The Tigger Movie. She picked out her socks.

Darling
Little Buddy awakes from his mid-day slumber.

Distracted
Oooo, shiny!

Drowsy
Trying to wake Little Sissy up from her nap.

Daddy
Our favorite part of the day: When Daddy comes home!

Disgusting
In an attempt to be healthy, I am substituting ground turkey for ground beef to make taco soup.

Dirty
Little Buddy is having a ground turkey/taco meat tactile experience.

Delighted
Little Sissy enjoys her first sip of Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate from a Dixie cup.
We're not THAT healthy.

How to Spend $850 in 5 Seconds

I can do it. We have had that money saved for exactly 24 hours, and it's gone. No, I didn't go buy those amazing boots I wanted or get a new oven. Instead I paid a tow truck driver and got new tires and rims. What a disappointment.

Something has happened to my driving skills lately. I used to be a good driver. OK. I used to be a REALLY BAD driver, then I became a good driver, and now I'm back to being a bad driver. I think it could be the distraction of children, or maybe it's the lack of sleep. Whatever it is, I got a speeding ticket fairly recently. I just paid that about a week ago. Today we actually had plans to get out of the house...early. I was a little concerned because we haven't gone anywhere early for a really long time. Miraculously, the kids woke up on their own. We would have left on time if it weren't for the winter coat fight. We were at least close.

About 10 minutes into our drive, Little Sissy started wanting her milk cup. Then the whining started. "I want my milk cup, my milk cup, my milk cup." Sometimes I calmly tell her I can't reach it and that she needs to wait until we get there. Today I was tired and not in the mood to hear whining, and I reached over my seat full of bags (Big Sissy's MOPS bag, my purse, Little Buddy's diaper bag, Little Sissy's diaper bag) to dig out her cup. In a matter of seconds, I hit the curb, heard a loud pop, and my car sensed that I was going to slow down and pull over because it just did it for me. In fact, it leaned us over in case I still wanted to get the milk cup. What a thoughtful van we have.

I called Hubby, who is only in his 2nd day back to work after surgery and probably has a few things to catch up on. In heroic fashion, he dropped everything and came to rescue us in his little Mazda Protege, which all the car seats will NOT fit in. He called our insurance company to take advantage of our roadside service, which apparently got dropped in the buying of the van. At least they called a tow truck for us. We had to call our dear friend Derrill to the scene in order to get all of us home. In the middle of that, Little Buddy started throwing a "hold your breath, arch your back so you can scream better" fit. I was so nervous to change his diaper (which he really needed) and feed him because I was in the middle of the road with my flashers on, but I was able to do that before all the extras arrived. Thankfully, we are all fine. The girls thought we pulled over just so they could watch 3 episodes of Dora the Explorer on the DVD player. Little Buddy thought I just wanted to feed him so he could take a nap.

The bad news is...the repair bill. Ugh. I'm just sick about it. Somehow this happens every time we put anything in savings. But we have lots to be thankful for--that we actually had the money without resorting to credit, that Hubby's job is flexible enough to allow him to rescue us, that he is recovered enough to come, that Derrill was home and could help, that we're not hurt, etc. I certainly can think of more fun ways to spend that money though!!!

Recent Discoveries

I've discvered several things this winter about each of us in our family.

Little Buddy:

1. He can eat more than his sisters. I think I knew that intuitively, but now that I'm trying not to buy baby food, I can prove it. Today for lunch he ate half of a grilled cheese sandwich and a whole serving of sweet potato fries.

2. His name, an Old Testament name and also a family name, comes from a Hebrew word meaning "attached." That seems very appropriate right now.

3. He has a new way of feeling secure: sucking his fingers and sticking his hand down my shirt. I'm trying to redirect this behavior before someone gets embarrassed and all the necks of my shirts get stretched out. Somehow he managed it with a turtleneck on Sunday.

4. He can get all the way up the stairs by himself. He cannot, however, get down. Sometimes he gets distracted on the way up and tries to sit down--backwards.

5. He might make it to a year without some kind of "lovey." I have mixed feelings about this. The things he seems to like most are burpcloths and socks.

Little Sissy:

1. She is finally getting her 4 canine teeth. These normally come in between 16 and 23 months. She is 28 months. I was starting to get worried.

2. She can open the refrigerator by herself. She can also use her stepstool to get most things she wants. Putting it on a higher shelf no longer works.

3. She has most of her book "The Three Pigs" memorized.

4. She finally recognizes the letter "G" and says "G is for me!"

5. She has gone from calling Big Sissy "Awa" to "Ca-o-wine." She has also progressed from calling bananas "baba" to saying it the right way. She still starts most things with the "h" sound, though. (ie. Dat hory ho hunny=That story is so funny, and "I eed oap" means "I need soap.") Tricky...

Big Sissy:

1. She has some sort of allergy to her new Christmas makeup. I am finally figuring out that this is the cause of the rash that breaks out all around her mouth and on her cheek--where her lip gloss ends up.

2. She can write all of her capital letters except the ones that require a diagonal line (K, X, Z). She is learning to make dots and follow her own dot-to-dot to make those letters.

3. She is very into noticing and creating patterns. I used to call this baby OCD, but I think she's just really observant and perfectionistic.

Hubby:

1. He needs to go to work to feel productive. After his surgery, he was too weak and tired to lift a dirty fork and take it to the sink before Monday. Now that he's back at work, he can do anything he used to do except lifting the kids. One night when I was feeling weary from doing everything, he tried to encourage me that I can't do everything that I normally do AND everything he normally does. My smart alleck answer was, "That's true. I can't take care of the kids, do all the housework, AND lay on the couch and watch football all night!" The truth is that he is such a great help to me, which is why I feel out of sorts when he is unable to help.

2. He is also the most patient and forgiving person I know. Twice in the last month he has had to come rescue me in my vehicular distress, and he never complains about being interrupted or bothered. And he's not mean when my accidents cost us our whole savings.

Me:

1. Apparently I've forgotten how to drive this winter. My next post will be about today's frustrating incident, but I also got a speeding ticket (which I hadn't had for several years).

2. I am definitely not called to be in the healthcare field. I am totally grossed out by puke (even my own kids'), and I tend to think grown-ups are being whiny when they express their discomfort. I need to be more compassionate, for sure!

3. I have a very bad habit of staying up too late, which I have had most of my life, but I can't seem to break it. I am thinking of setting a timer for myself to go off at a certain time. When it goes off, I need to stop what I'm doing and go to bed. We'll see how that works. :)

Trader Joe's Favorites

One thing I love about living in St. Louis is Trader Joe's. For those of you who haven't had the privilege of trying it, it's a grocery store that is sort of a World Market, Whole Foods, and Shop 'N Save rolled into one. They have the best chocolate, the cheapest wine (from what I hear), and the most fun healthy snacks of anywhere I've been--with the best prices! That's my commercial. I love trying things that other people recommend, so if you too are a Trader Joe's fan, I'd love to hear your recommendations. Some things I buy regularly are jasmine rice (thanks to Christa), BBQ shredded chicken (thanks to Dawn), cornbread mix (thanks to Amy), Joe's O's (their version of Cheerios but much cheaper--thanks to Laura), mandarin orange chicken and sweet potato fries (thanks to Elissa), and dark chocolate covered caramels (thanks to my husband).

So far, these things top my favorite list:

Carrot Ginger Soup (Big Sissy has loved this since she first tried it in her sippy cup)

Spiced Apples. They taste like apple pie, but there's no sugar added.

Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels. Yummm.....

Salt & Pepper Potato Chips. This is a new endeavor. The jury is still out on this one. Big Sissy said they taste like chicken. She must mean they taste like chicken fingers. They do, actually--a little.

Ezekiel Bread. This is on the "opposite of my favorite" list. This is the worst thing I've ever tasted. And it goes moldy in about one day. It's supposed to be a biblical recipe. Whatever. If that's true, it's no wonder the Israelites complained to God and asked to go back to Egypt. Maybe they had peanut butter and jelly on honey wheat there??

Psychoanalysis of the Three Pigs

A few years ago, when I was working on my master's in counseling (which I never finished because I had to go on bedrest when I was in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy--right before I got real live clients), I took a class on Psychological Disorders. It was one of my hardest classes and one of my favorites. The problem was that I was always trying to diagnose people, including myself. I became quite the neurotic hypochondriac for one semester. Maybe because of that class or maybe because I am naturally very analytical, or perhaps because I sometimes drink way too many Pepsis and stay up way too late; sometimes I psychoanalyze fictitious characters.

So for your entertainment, here's my analysis of the Three Little Pigs. You know, the ones that their mother had to force to leave home even though she warned them that if they did they would get eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

Mother piggy was clearly suffering from an anxiety disorder spurred by the impending loss of her 3 beloved piggies and the fear of being alone. She was trying to appear that she was ready for them to leave home while instilling paranoia in them in hopes that they would stay in the pen forever.


As a result, two of her 3 little pigs developed a dependent personality disorder. They had difficulty initiating the project of building their own house and were secretly hoping that their 3rd brother would notice their helplessness and take them in. They could have also had attention deficit disorder, as they showed lack of attention to structural details and were easily distracted by the desire to sing and play all day.


After the volation of their personal property, their DPD became even more exaggerated. They suffered from brief episodes of panic attacks and clung to the 3rd brother in fear of separation. Their co-dependency and their brother's enabling led to a permanent cohabitation of all 3 little pigs.


The third little pig appeared to be the stable one of the group. He was able to focus on building a sound home and delay the gratification of singing and playing all day. He potentially suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, though, judging from the way he carefully applied the mortar between each brick. He had a deep desire to be needed and was probably trying to take on the role of the father piggy, who was conspicuously absent in this story.


The wolf, clearly a stalker, is every pig's nightmare. His antisocial personality disorder is evident by his desire to live alone at the top of the hill, his failure to conform to social norms, deceitfulness, aggressiveness, reckless disregard for safety of himself or others, and lack of remorse. Signs of a conduct disorder are also present when you examine his aggression to animals, destruction of property, and conniving in order to break into someone's house.


After the final falling into the pot of boiling water, the wolf seemed to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. He continued to live alone but he never went down the hill again. In fact, he was so fearful of pigs that he switched to an all-chicken diet.


And they all lived neurotically ever after. The end.

The Brown Sheep of our Family

Most of you have met Lamby by now, or at least read enough about him that you feel like you know him. He is Little Sissy's best friend, confidante, sleeping friend. She takes him everywhere. She chews on his tail, she rubs her face with his matted fur while she sucks her fingers, she reads him books. It's really sweet, but he looks nasty. It's like old carpet that even though you shampoo it, it still makes your socks brown. I bought a replacement several months ago, but she wouldn't touch him because he was too new, was still pink, still had a blanket and said a bedtime prayer, and still had all of his facial features. Here's a picture of the difference then. Over a year later, you can imagine what he looks like now.

Lately, though, it seemed like she was ready to move on. Big Sissy was about this age when she voluntarily traded her beloved Dog Dog for a new mangy cat she calls Caroline Pudding. One day recently we briefly lost "Brown Lamby," as she now calls him to distinguish him from the despised newer "Pink Lamby." Seemingly undeterred, she picked up her plush Veggie Tales guy, Larry Boy, and said, "That's OK. He can be Lamby." I took that as a sign that she might be OK with cuddling with other friends. So two nights ago we lost Brown Lamby again. Our house is not big, but he was nowhere to be found. She cried briefly but seemed OK when I told her I would bring him in if I found him.

Today I found him. He was in the bathroom cabinet with all the bath toys. I almost took him in to her, but then I hesitated. This is a good time, I thought. After all, I don't want her to take him to college, and I'm getting bombarded with suggestions for his demise (send him on a "trip" that he never comes home from, dismember him piece by piece until he's just a lamby torso. These are lamby haters, I'm telling you!) Here's how it went down. Nap time was a nightmare. She cried. Daddy laid down with her. I laid down with her. She never did go to sleep. By nighttime she was so tired I thought she would surely just grab something to cuddle and go to sleep without a fight. What I didn't expect was that she would break my heart. She didn't throw a fit or get angry. There was no tantrum. She cried as though her heart would break and kept saying through her tears, "Brown Lamby. Brown Lamby. I really like him. Brown Lamby." At prayer time she even prayed that God would help her find him.

OK. Dagger through the heart. I couldn't stand it. Brown Lamby is back. My daughter loves him, so I might as well embrace him, nasti-ness and all.

Some Changes are Coming

The first change is that my "new" FREE bookshelf has made its way into the girls' room. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that the people not only gave it to me, but they also delivered it to my house and put it in my garage since it wouldn't fit in my car. Everybody was happy that day. They REALLY didn't want to go back home with it. Daddy let the girls help paint it, and they are very excited that they still get a book at bedtime even if they forgot to get one out of Little Buddy's room before he fell asleep. This is a really good change. Unfortunately, the cute bins from Target were not free, but they'll just be super cute once I actually label them.

The second change, much more significant, is that I am determined to get some discipline in my life. I've mentioned in previous posts how this does not come naturally for me. I don't do things the same way twice. I have to keep my vitamins by my bed so I see them in the morning, or I won't remember to take them. Here's a really embarrassing confession from a person who has been a Christian for a VERY long time: It's been a year since I've read my Bible with some kind of regularity. I'm serious. After I graduated from seminary, I "took a break" because it still felt like homework, then I had a baby, then I just never found a way to get back into the habit. I'm very externally motivated--like I'll do it if I'm getting graded on it or there's a chance I'll be really embarrassed if I don't do it. Taking seminary classes was perfect for me because I actually do cherish the Bible.

I love the New Year because it's a chance for a fresh start. Somehow getting a calendar with nothing written on it feels like the right time to undo some bad habits. So I'm going to try to read the Bible through this year. I mentioned to my husband that I'd like to do it chronologically, and he went downstairs and came back up with this.

Two seminary graduates in one house--we do not lack for Bibles. We have no excuses. Since the one thing I seem to be consistent at is getting on the internet (blogging, looking at Facebook, etc.), here's my new plan: I am not coming downstairs to the computer until I've first done my Bible reading. Today was my first day. According to research, it will be a habit in 20 more days. I love fresh starts! Now if I can just fit exercise in there too...

What I'm Looking Forward To

I feel good about 2009. I don't know why. Maybe partially because I'm not pregnant. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my babies, and I actually am sad about not having a new baby to look forward to, but at the same time it feels kind of freeing to have a break. Like I can go on a roller coaster if I want to this summer. And I can enjoy the development of the children I already have without being self-absorbed or pushing them ahead to make way for a new one. And Hubby can take vacation time to actually relax instead of just helping out while I recover from giving birth. And MAYBE I can get my body back (we'll see...). Right now I feel really content about where we are. Here are some things I'm looking forward to in 2009.


1. Big Sissy starting school in the fall. I don't know if this will be preschool or what. I just think she's ready for some sort of formal education.


2. Little Sissy getting potty trained. Don't hold me to this one. It could take a while.


3. Little Buddy learning to walk and start to talk. He's already pulling up on everything and pulling things off shelves, opening cabinets, etc. Yikes. We're in a whole new world.


4. Our Simmons family weekend in January and a trip to the Smokey Mountains with the Brimm family in October.


5. Taking the kids to the pool this summer. I was too scared to take them all by myself last summer. I was surprised how much we missed it. I think this year we'll be ready.


6. Big Sissy has grown out of her tantrums (for the most part), and I look forward to spending time with her on a new level. She is becoming such a great helper and loves doing things with us. She always comes up with new and interesting ideas, and I love hanging out with her.


7. Little Sissy is 2 now, so who knows what the year will hold for her. She is gaining independence--learning to dress herself, use her stepstool to turn on lights, wash her hands, get things out of the cabinets, etc. I am enjoying watching that aspect of her development (while I am a little nervous about the tantrums starting again). Maybe I've learned a little and will handle it better this time around when/if it comes.


8. The unknowns. I look forward to the things that will take me totally by surprise. I love that I can't plan everything. And I'm glad to have my friends and family that I can share those things with as they come.


Thanks for joining me in the journey and reading along as I share. I love having you all as part of my pilgrimage through life.

That Darn Muffler

I've heard missionaries talking about their country and its corrupt government--how if you have money you can buy your way out of punishment for any crime, etc. I'm just thinking that it's not so different in the good 'ole USA. We've seen plenty of examples of superstars getting away with things, but how about our traffic ticket system? I got a speeding ticket a few months ago (yes, I was breaking the law and had to explain that to my children). We paid into something called a prepaid legal plan, where money comes out of our check monthly and then we get "free" legal services. We did this because we had 3 kids and no will. We decided we should probably have a say in what happened to our children and money in case something ever should happen to both of us.

So...after I got the ticket, we contacted our attorney who did our will. He said he would "take care of it" for us. There are no legal fees, right? The next thing that happened was that I got a letter in the mail saying my charge had been reduced to a noisy muffler violation and that I owed the city $175. The speeding ticket wasn't nearly that much. This is all so weird to me. I got charged with a lesser "crime" and now I'm paying someone a lot more money. This isn't corrupt, right?

2008: The Year in Review

Happy New Year, everyone! I just bought Time Magazine's Year in Review, and I thought I'd do that before I throw out my old calendar.

January: This month was mostly about getting ready for the new baby, constantly checking my blood pressure and sugar levels, fretting about clothes not fitting, excited about the new child coming. Of course we did our January family weekend...AND Big Sissy had her first dentist visit. Little Sissy also moved out of the crib and into her "big girl" bed.

February: Little Buddy arrived and we spent the month getting adjusted to our new "normal" in our family. We were so blessed with meals and visits from friends while I recovered. We fell in love with this little boy immediately.

March: My parents went to China, Hubby's aunt Grace passed away, and we celebrated a snowy Easter. We started practicing getting out with all the kids.

April: I discovered a twist in my spine and started my VERY frequent chiropractor visits. Big Sissy reached the peak of her 3-year-old tantrums and nearly drove me insane.

May: This was a big one. I celebrated my first mother's day as a mother of 3, I attended my graduation ceremony, and we did a family vacation to Arkansas and Branson. Chiropractor visits continued, and Hubby went out of town for the last week. I survived.

June: We joined Hubby for a business trip to Springfield, and we went back to Silver Dollar City. We were otherwise busy with normal summer stuff: zoo, buttterfly house, parks, VBS.

July: I started working at Mother's Day Out on an as-needed basis. It was nice to have a little extra income, but after a few months I realized it wasn't working very well. This month my dad retired, Little Buddy moved out of his baby carrier and started solid food, and we celebrated Independence Day with Hubby's brother and family in Indiana.

August: More summer stuff--Muny, Raging Rivers, Bethalto Homecoming, Hope Church shindig. Little Buddy finally rolled over, and his laugh became the highlight of our days.

September: Little Sissy turned 2, we decided not to send Big Sissy to preschool but she started her preschool choir, I became a discussion group leader for the new year of M.O.P.S. Big Sissy's tantrums seemed to get better, but then all the deep questions of life started. And so did the rain in Missouri. We experienced a lot of flooding in our area.

October: We started our weekly excursions to Pizza Street, we enjoyed dressing up in preparation for Halloween, the rain continued...

November: Big Sissy turned 4, the girls got bunk beds, we had a monumental presidential election, and we went to Branson again with Hubby's family. The stock market dipped to an all-time low, and the holiday festivities began.

December: Shopping, cookie days, celebrations. An official recession was pronounced, and the year finished as Missouri's heaviest rain year in history, including the flood of '93.

As with all years, this was a year of great highs and unsettling lows. I'm thankful for perfect peace that sustains us through both, and I look forward with anticipation to what 2009 will bring.