Funny Stuff

I keep a baby book for Madeline and Charlie -- not very well, but I do try to tape in their birthday party invitations, document my best guess at when they took their first steps, and stamp their little hands and feet in the hospital. They've both got a sappy letter from a hormonal moi.

But this blog is where the joy, humor and absolute raving chaos of our day-to-day springs to life. Here are some of the tidbits that have happened in the last two weeks (and a few random things that I forgot to write up when they happened months ago):

• Madeline was racing the older kids outside when she wiped out, scraping her knees and hands on the pavement. She was hurt and very upset. Charlie, who was dripping in blue popsicle juice from the Ice Cream Man's recent visit, walked up behind her, peeked his head around like a little ferret, and gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek.
• I discovered Charlie stumbling around the playroom double-fisting a couple of Maple turds. There's just nothing quite as horrifying or nasty, as any dog owner with kids will agree (specifically, my friend Jo, who just had a similar experience)...
• At the indoor mall playground (a favorite on rainy days), I asked Madeline if she needed to use the restroom. She loudly announced to everyone within earshot, "Nah. I'm just itching my little peepee."
• Our cul-de-sac had a wienie roast Tuesday night. Charlie, who helps blow out candles at our daily birthday parties for Madeline's dolls and animals, tried for at least 15 minutes to blow out the fire. Rob said he looked like he was in a trance. But he just kept trying.
• We love watching all the bunnies in our yard. One day, Charlie started going nuts at the window. There was a baby bunny just 10 feet outside our front door! And if you think Charlie was excited, you should have seen Maple. For over an hour, we took pictures, talked about bunnies and ran from window to window to look at it from different angles, not wanting to scare it away. Eventually, the wind tipped it over and I realized it was my neighbor's dog toy.
  
• Every time we hop in our car, I ask Madeline for the magic word to open or close the garage door. She says something silly and acts amazed when the garage door magically opens. About three days ago, I said, "Does anyone know the magic word?" She casually answered, "Mommy, that's okay. You can just push the button."
  

Lunch with Daddy!

About once a month, Madeline, Charlie and I drive the short 25-minutes into downtown Nashville to meet Rob for lunch, which we did today. Madeline buzzed with excitement all morning about seeing her daddy and bringing his work friends the cookies she baked. By 9:45am, she was dragging my giant purse to the garage door, asking if we could get in the car.

Sometimes we make the office rounds first, shaking Rob's boss' hand, meeting his new co-workers, congratulating the ones who have gotten married, had a baby or moved since our last visit. And we chuckle while Madeline eyes the lollipops on someone's desk and Charlie wanders into strangers' cubes. Today, he was taken with a five foot tall stuffed lion someone was using for a fundraiser.

We crossed the street and had a shady picnic lunch under the magnolia trees in front of Vanderbilt's Welcome Center. The kids smash PB&J into Rob's dry-clean-only clothes and run in circles until we pile into the car and zip back home again just in time for afternoon naps.

Madeline and Charlie

Madeline recently renamed the dog, Sniff Sniff. Now she often corrects me when I call for Maple. Here are a few other funny things she's said recently:

• Today, she leaned over and put her nose to a gorgeous purple Iris that just bloomed. Then she told me it smelled like rice and beans.
• At bedtime, I was closing the door behind me and I heard "Mommy...?" Here it comes, I thought. More water? Don't go! Can you tell me another story? "I have sausages in my ears," she said, then giggled her maniacal throaty laugh she saves for things that are especially funny to a three-year-old.
• The other day she propped open the front door and bellowed (past the neighbors who were chatting in the street), "Maple, you little stinker (pronounced stinka). Get back in here!" Then she did it about three more times so that the little veins were popping out of her neck. This was all before she renamed her Sniff Sniff.
  
• After calming down following a bath time fit, Madeline said, "Mommy, I forgot." Naturally, I asked her what she forgot. "I'm sorry I forgot my manners."

Even though Charlie can't talk yet, he's cracking us up too! He wants to try everything, but has no idea he's still a baby -- almost every day, I help him "ride" Madeline's two wheel bike (after lots of grunting and pointing). And he runs around with the big kids on our street and at the playground imitating everything he sees. Tonight at Chick-Fil-A, there was a giant dancing cow, a balloon man and a guy on guitar. Charlie followed around the cow like she was his long lost mother. And he clapped his hands and danced to the music inbetween repeated attempts at running behind the counter. Yesterday, I came into the kitchen after stepping away for a few seconds and he was standing on Madeline's craft table in a surf stance. The best is how mad he gets sometimes, especially during a diaper change. He throws his little body down on the ground and flops around, howling -- how do you not laugh at a cute little bare bottom jiggling and flexing in his pint-size anger. That said, he's turned me into a Diaper Jedi. I simply don't remember the last time I changed him lying down. And almost every time I lie him down for a nap or bedtime, he waves goodbye with a giant smile on his face.

Lakefront Property

A storm cloud blew over Nashville and stayed put. Now it's been declared a disaster area and there are flood warnings in every county; there are 36,000 people without power. Our street looks like a river with white caps and mini-rapids -- moments ago, we watched a turtle, two garbage cans and a potted tomato plant zip by and pool in the thigh-deep puddle at the end of our cul-de-sac. The thunder is so forceful that it shakes the floor underfoot and rattles the windows. There have been more than 600 rescues around town as the water swallows cars and homes, and there was a tornado warning seven miles from our house. The creek behind our neighbor's house flooded yesterday and ran down her front lawn so that you can't see any grass -- it looks like the Mississippi. And if we have a river out front, it looks like a lake out back...

Needless to say, we haven't ventured out of the house this weekend -- we barely bothered to get dressed. It was disappointing to cancel all our plans with friends, but fascinating to watch nature unleashed from behind the safety of our glass door. So we've been playing Tinker Toys, riding bikes in the garage, preparing wonderful meals, watching the Kentucky Derby and listening to the rain fall and fall and fall like lovely background music.