Airing My Dirty Laundry

Here's to a fresh new week! Happy Monday, Ya'll!

Amelia Through Hot Hubby's Phone

'Till My Sides Hurt: Rinse and Repeat

There was a time, many years ago it now seems, when I was teaching Abiah to read and I asked him what it sounds like I'm saying when I say the sounds C-A-T. His answer? Alaska!

 I laughed and cried at the same time. I had been working with him for quite a while and I couldn't seem to help him understand what I was trying to say.

Fast forward to present day and Abiah is an excellent reader. His little third grade self is just devouring books. I love it!

At the same time it is now Hazel's turn to join the ranks of learning. I have slowly introduced letter sounds and reading concepts to her in the past year and have just recently been introducing her to actual reading.

Just recently I was working with her and had her write the letters C-A-T out on her Doodle Pro. When I sounded them out and asked her what it sounded like I was saying she enthusiastically replied, "Andy!"

This time I just laughed.

Have you ever...

...realized that since you've been forced to take the last few weeks easy because of the surgery you had you've been able to get more accomplished during the day and still have time to chill out, maxing, and relax all cool and maybe even have time to shoot some b-ball outside of the school so you promise yourself that you won't let your schedule fill up so much anymore only to turn around and realize that you have something planned every day from Tuesday through Friday and you are so glad you only promised yourself and not the Hot Hubby so you didn't disappoint anyone by breaking a promise?

...set out to make a batch of cookies for your Hot Hubby who asked that you make them since he filled your flour bucket with the 25 pound bag of flour and then you decided to also make a batch of Just For Me Brownies because you just need some and you have people coming over almost every day this week who you think might need some to and when you pull the butter out to add half a cup to each recipe you marvel at how much butter you go through when you bake and figure that's probably the reason you don't bake much only to realize later, when you go to make two batches of corn bread, that you actually put one full cup in each of the previous recipes which may be why the brownies tasted so buttery rich and why the cookies just wouldn't set up right?

...had a moment when you realize that whether your Hot Hubby works nights or days, because it's just a stupid schedule no matter which side you're on, you'll still end up bearing a good portion of the domestic load which is the same load you've been bearing all along and two seconds ago it was light and easy and suddenly it's heavy and daunting and you wonder how things changed so drastically in two minutes and you frantically fight to go back to the weight of two minutes ago and then you remember that while some things remain the same other things change and the four of them won't always be this small and they won't always need you to do the brushing and dressing and nagging and reminding and plus... they won't always be this small?

'Til My Sides Hurt

The girls were playing house and HH over heard this conversation:

Amelia: Moder, why do I have to go to school?

Hazel: Because I'm a ridiculous mother!

I'm glad she understands the importance of education. Of course now they are using that response for the answer to all commands.

Hazel: "Come here! I'm a ridiculous mother and I said come here!"

Amelia's turn being mom: "Honey, go to bed. I'm a 'diculous moder and I said go to bed!"

So maybe it's not their view on education as much as it's their view of motherhood. Great. Who'd they get that from?

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Before HH there was one other man besides my dad who played a staring role in my life. My Uncle Steve. Uncle Steve is my dad's best friend from high school. He was a constant in our lives, entertaining us with silly songs and an Uncle-like relationship of teasing and affection.

Between the four of us girls he has stories of laughter, tears, and sweet relationship. In the story I often hear him tell on me I'm perched on his lap facing him when I look in his eyes, smile real big, and with a laugh I announce, "I'm gonna bite your nose!"

This last week Uncle Steve's two daughters came to stay with me as I recovered from a little surgical procedure. After we drove the girls home we were standing in their driveway visiting when Uncle Steve started teasing and tickling Hazel, who was in the back of the van.

Through her laughter she pleaded that he stop. In true Uncle Steve fashion he asked, "Or what?" And Hazel said, "Or I'm gonna poke your eyes out and smoosh them!"

I laughed so hard I was holding my stomach (thank you surgery for sore muscles). Thankfully Uncle Steve has history with feisty little four year old girls.

'Til My Sides Hurt: A Hazel Funny

When ever she is talking about something that happened before the current day, Hazel says, "It was nast light" instead of last night.

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With a sad little face Hazel told me, "Mom, Abiah said I'm not smart because I don't know what's plus plus one!"


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I keep a cold-air humidifier going in the girl's and Jackson's bedroom to hopefully help Jackson sleep better at night. I think the only thing that has truly come out of the experiment is the girls discovering how to get the water out. All over the linoleum floor (awe.some.).

This morning the girls woke up at 5:30. Fantastic, I know. Trying to encourage them to let me get a few more minutes of sleep I asked them to stay on their beds and talk to each other. They weren't to thrilled with my request but I was desperate. After about three times of reminding them that they were supposed to be on their beds Hazel asked, "Mom, what would happen if a little girl took a machine with water in it and threw it on her mom?"

I had no response. Except laughter. Her frustration with me was obvious, but she was so clever in her delivery. She's obviously smarter than her brother gives her credit.