Adventures with Olive and Georgia

This morning, like every morning, I got the Facebook notification that I had memories with so-and-so and yadda yadda. It is one of my favorite parts of the day; to see all the fun pictures, reminisce in the sweet memories, and laugh at the silly old jokes. Some posts from the past bring back bad memories though. Even when looking at photos of seemingly joyous times, the senses remember the negative feelings that no one else could see. I might have hid it from everyone else by smiling in the photo or typing up a cute and lighthearted caption, but I remember. "On this day" three years ago I was SUFFERING from what some people call the Baby Blues. I'm not so sure it was bad enough to be Post-Partum Depression but I was terrified, anxious, lonely, sometimes angry, and mostly hopeless. I felt all this even with two healthy babies in my arms that I wanted so desperately to love better, and this only added a heaping amount of guilt to my list of bad mommy feelings. Good ...

My Ollie Sue Magoo, You are growing, and learning, and becoming more and more yourself everyday. I hate to see the sweet little you go, but I'm so excited to see the bigger, independent (hopefully even sweeter) you come out. You are silly. You love to make everyone laugh. You change the lyrics to songs, you play tricks on us and say "Just kidding!" and you just make me laugh all day. You are into bathroom humor lately. Everything ends with "poop" or, the double whammy, "poop and pee". You are probably the sweetest person I know. You care about everyone's feelings and health and well-being. The other day I had scratch on my hand, and you kept looking over at it and saying "Let me see that. Does it hurt you?" After about 5 times, you hugged me and said, "I don't want you to have a boo boo, Mom." When we go out in public, you are my calm and cool child. At home, you are NOT. You tend to whine and pout a lot. A few days a...

My sweet little Peach, You are growing up. I didn't realize it as it was happening, but now when I look back at photos of the past year, I can see that you have gone from a little, chubby cheeked, short haired cutie to a tall, lanky, knobby kneed, red locked beauty (still a cutie though).  You are still my assertive, sometimes aggressive, diva. You change clothes about 8 times a day and you love pink, wearing twirly dresses, glitter, sparkles, and sprinkle donuts. You are a boss. You tell everyone what to do, and you always know what's best for your sister (so you think). You are also a good little mommy. You check on and console Ollie when she is sad or sick. You call her "Sweet Honey" and tell her what she should and shouldn't do and take care of her when she needs someone to pick out her clothes for her. You have a sweet smile, and the cutest little lone dimple. You're talkative and outgoing, but you have a raspy little whisper voice. You have been s...

I did’t see it coming. I had ignored the glaring warning signs. I thought I had time.  The other day I was walking down the hall, and I turned to see it behind me, following me… A LITTLE GIRL.  Olive was following me to the bathroom, and when I glanced back at her, I was shocked. The saying I have heard so many times became truth right before my eyes. They really do grow up too fast! So fast, one day you don’t even recognize them. At that moment, I didn’t see my chubby baby. I saw a tall lanky girl. I didn’t see sparse red fuzz on her little round head. I saw a mass of messy strawberry locks. I didn’t hear coos and giggles and baby jabber.  I clearly heard and understood, “Wait Mom. I need to use the potty too.” She was suddenly not a baby anymore. She had become a kid! It had seemingly happened over night.  Apparently, when I normally look at my girls, I must choose to see them as my cute little babies and refuse to see these big girls that they are becoming. They s...

I've been cooped up in the house for the majority of this week with Strep Throat and then with three snow days and a pretty snowy Saturday. It's been a pretty delightful break from work and daycare, other than the coughing and snotting and refusing to nap. I've gotten to spend lots of quality time with my little cheese balls as well as watch and listen in on their personal arguments, discussions, role playing, and problem solving (in totally wonder and amazement, and while totally biting my tongue to keep form laughing out loud). I've tried to keep some of these little scenarios listed in the notes on my phone so that I could compile them and share them. I'm sure I'm missing a lot and some are just those "You gotta be there" moments, but here you go... From the Lives of Georgia and Olive at 2 years and 8 months  (Yes, that means they are going to be THREE soon. It's just not fair.) Olive's usual prayer: Thank you Goddess for this...

“They may be heathens, but they’re my heathens.” Or from Dolly Parton’s new special Coat of Many Colors- “You’re my worm.” We loved them before they were born, and we fall in love with them when we meet them in person, when we get slobbery kisses, when they hug our necks, and when they learn to be sweet all on their own. But what about when our children are mean, hateful, aggravating, and not at all what we have been trying to teach them to be? We still love them. We love them because they are ours to love. How does God love us? We are sinful and wretched worms. We are heathens. Even in our sin and shame, we are his creation. He made us and he knows us and he still loves us (Jeremiah 1:5, Romans 5:8). It's pretty astounding to imagine that love. Google Search: How long to punish a child I can’t bear to punish the girls all evening for something (even something terrible) they did at school.  At some point in their little brilliant minds, it stops being a less...

Matthew 25 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.   35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,   36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?   38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?   39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Just tonight I watched my daughters t...