You just never know...

Usually Lucy wakes up full force, ready to talk and with a list of things she would like to do or have me do...

This morning Lucy stumbled out, curly wild hair covering most of her face and eyes mostly shut. She climbed up into my lap and we snuggled, and I started to ask her how she slept, what she wanted to do today, etc. (because this is our normal routine).

"Mommy," she whispered, "pretend like I'm still asleep. That means you need to be quiet. Shhhhh."

Point taken.

Milo has been super interested in babies, probably because most of the people I know are pregnant! (That may be an exaggeration, but seriously, so many preggos!!!) We have talked a lot about babies growing in their mommy's tummy, but (thankfully) never about how they get out. Little did I know, Milo was developing his own theory.

"So, Mommy, when the baby is ready, a doctor cuts open the tummy and pulls the baby out, right?"

"Milo, who on earth told you that?" (because that pretty much describes a c-section)

"I just thought about it."

"Oh. Okay. Well, only in a dire emergency would that happen. But God designed a mommy's body so the baby comes out naturally." (I was hoping that would suffice.)

"Well HOW does it come out?"

I try to just let my little people be little, sometimes to a fault. In fact, they still don't realize that chicken comes from, well, chickens. But this seemed like a conversation for another day. Or, honestly, another year (or ten). I told Milo it was a conversation that was a little too grown-up for him, so it would have to wait, and then I held my breath, wondering if that would be enough.

"Okay, Mommy."

Whew. Bit the bullet on that one. For now.

But you just never know what little people are going to come up with.

Kate's little helpers

I have a routine in the mornings. I get up for my morning walk, do my study time, and get a shower, all before my little people wake up (in theory). The time change has destroyed my routine, and I find myself scrambling to be prepared for the day. I have a two and a half year old and a five year old, so if I miss my shower, I just miss my shower (EEEEEEEEK!!!!!). Yesterday they were both up bright and early, and I was panicking because Michael and Jen and the kids are in, so I actually had to leave my house. With no shower. Completely unacceptable (and honestly, no shower is ALWAYS completely unacceptable - it throws everything into a funk for me).

I decided to just take a quick shower so as not to be offensive, and I left my little people with a stack of books, instructions for no fighting, and a promise to be back in five minutes.

As soon as I turned off the shower, there was a knock at the bathroom door, and I saw four little sets of toes peeking under the door.

"Mommy! Can we come in?" I hadn't even managed to grab my towel yet, so I called back, "No! What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Well, it's just that our bathroom floor is soaking wet!"

I paused, took a deep breath, and knew I had to ask. "Why is the floor soaking wet?"

"We were mopping, and now the floor is soaking wet!"

Mopping? "Why were you mopping? Did someone have an accident?"

"No! We just wanted to be helpers so we're doing chores around the house. We cleaned the back door, too."

I'm not sure how they managed to get so much done in the under five minutes I was in the shower, but I need to hone these amazing skills. I convinced them to just sit down and read while I dried off and got dressed, and when I came out, I couldn't even be upset. My little sweet peas had attempted to mop their bathroom, even though they don't know how to wring out the mop (that was an easy fix). And they wet washcloths and filled them with soap to wash my back door (my back sliding GLASS door - still a decently easy fix, though). Who knows what else they would have done had I taken the time to wash my hair?

Here's to my little helpers!

Texan March

If you know me at all, you know that I gripe about the weather far too much (to be fair, though, Texas weather and my hair are comletely incompatible). So I thought I would document a special moment for you.

At this very moment, I am sitting outside in Milo's old glider that I dragged onto the back porch, drinking coffee and thinking. It is cloudy, in the 70's, and a gorgeous, fresh breeze is blowing. I am so completely content that I don't quite know what to do with myself. I could 100% live like this (you know, spending time outside on purpose and without a headache on a regular basis) all the time (minus even the iPad), and even the swampy jungle that my backyard has become after a week of solid rain can't spoil my mood. These are the days when I think that living in the solitude of the country might not be such a bad idea after all.

And really, to go along with all of that, I killed a wood roach the other day without crying. It will still probably be a few days before I can eat salad, but small steps, right? I mean, we're even to the point where I tell my little people to let bugs live if they're outside (it is, after all, where they belong), so I can't be too mad at them. Except for the red wasp that chased me around the yard, refused to let me get my mail, and made me the laughingstock of the neighborhood the other day.

Texas, you and I might end up getting along after all.

It's good to have a friend

It's good to have friends, and in Lucy's mind, it's even better when they're babies. I give you Anyah and Lucy, two little cuties in yellow. One dark and straight-haired, one light and curly; one dark-eyed, one blue-eyed. These two will definitely be full of "good" ideas. I can feel it already.

Deep thoughts by Milo Jackson

Milo stared at me on Saturday morning with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Mommy, you know what's weird?"

"What is it, buddy?"

"I have brown eyes, but I don't see everything brown. You have greenish-brown eyes, but you don't see everything greenish-brown. Lucy has blue eyes, but she doesn't see everything blue. And Daddy has British blue eyes, but he doesn't see everything British blue!" (for the record, Nate's eyes are hazel and I have no idea where Milo came up with the "British blue eyes")

Deep thoughts by Milo Jackson.

And sometimes, you just have to make a Mexican flag out of Legos.

TGIF

It's Friday. Thank goodness! I'm looking forward to some much-needed rest over the weekend. How about you? And just so you know, THESE people always have big plans in mind...

Stormy weather

So after I told you to "get outside" the other day, now we're forced to do the exact opposite. TAKE COVER! It's monsoon season in Texas. The time of year when I can't see the grass in my backyard because it's all underwater.

I was feeling irritable and frustrated earlier today (partly the weather and partly my plugged sinuses that are forcing me to breathe through my mouth, which makes me feel panicky), and I knew that my little people needed something fun to work on. For all of our sake. Out came the banner paper, the crayons, the markers (oh yes, it's like that today), scissors and paste and stickers, and we have been crafting ever since. Hooray!

Here's hoping your rainy day is peaceful and content.

Get outside!

Gorgeous weather calls for a little time outside, don't you think? We put Milo on his bike and realized that it is now TINY for him. So we put Lucy on instead and Nate started to teach her to ride. No worries, though - Milo has his awesome birthday scooter.

First up - knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet.

SUPER pleased.

Doesn't Milo make this look awesome?

And so delighted now that he's mastered it.

Total cutie.

 After the bike and scooter riding, we took some time to just run and play. Milo and Nate have been playing catch here and there, and then Nate timed both little people running on a little course in our front yard.

This is how Milo looks at Nate. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

Serious running.

Look at that form!

This is how Lucy runs. Girly beyond girly. We'll work on it.

And this is how Lucy looks at Nate. Also heart-melting.

Houston Rodeo 2016

It's rodeo time of year here in Texas, and may I be honest with you?
It's one of my favorites. We're on the rodeo circuit, just as fans instead of competitors, and we started it out yesterday in Houston. What a chill day for us! Our little people rode rides, pet animals (if I could have fit a tiny little solid black goat kid into my backpack, I would totally have had a new pet), rode ponies (Lucy decided to do it all by herself this year!), devoured cotton candy, sat enthralled through the entire rodeo, and yes, Milo and I milked a faux cow. Success!

First ride of the day.

Carousel!

Milking like a pro. Lucy refused to touch it.

Thumbs up!

I think Milo was BORN liking horses.

This child LOVES a ride. The faster, the better.

Concentration.

WHAT??? Family photo? This never happens!

Such cool seats!

This photo melts my heart.

Oh, Lucy Jane. So very tired, but still smiling and giggling at everything.

Milo's face here cracks me up. He was SO tired and had eaten SO MUCH cotton candy. It made for an interesting demeanor...