Old Man

Donny was watching television when Abigail entered the room and began talking loudly.  "Abigail! Please be quite, I can't hear my program."  Sometimes I think there is a little old man trapped in Donny's body.

Out Smarted

I was wiping dirt out of Abigail's eyes and she asked me how it got there. I told her I suspected it was from the dirt her brother threw in her face.  She said, "Donny is so stuuu" I gave her a look and she said, "What?  I was just going to say he was stupendous."  She out smarted me on that one.

Beverage

Donny was trying to decided what he wanted to drink.  He was going through his options when Abigail interrupted him, "Donny, this is not a restaurant, it's our home."

Flower

Abigail and I were standing at the teller counter in the bank when the bank manager told Abigail she liked her bow.  Abigail asked if she could go talk to that lady. I gave her permission and off she went.  She stood at the door removed her headband, held it out for the lady to see and said, "It's not a bow, it's a flower.  Bye."  She replaced her headband, turned around and walked away. Enough said.

Sick House

Donny came home from school with a fever ten days ago. I started his breathing treatments again because he had a small cough.  He stayed home Thursday and Friday, but was back to school on Monday.  Wednesday I got a call to pick him up because his fever was back.  Meanwhile, Abigail spiked a fever and was also home.  We all went to the doctor on Thursday and Abigail was diagnosed with Croup and Donny just had a fever with cold like symptoms.

Abigail was prescribed a steroid.  The first night on the steroid, I had to change her clothes twice because she was soaking wet.  Last night, she spent about three hours off and on, screaming and shouting orders...HOLD ME, DON'T TOUCH ME and on and on.  She was having night terrors and we just needed to let her work it out.  Big Daddy had another idea. He was certain what she really needed was a pattern interrupt.  All of the sudden he starts yelling, "TINKERBELL!  TINKERBELL! TINKERBELL!" "What are you doing?"  "I'm trying to distract her."  Of course, screaming at her will really calm her down.  It did have one positive result, every time I think about it I can't help but laugh.

Both kids had a fever this morning so we returned to the doctor.  Abigail has an ear infection and Donny has pneumonia. I guess that's the way it goes.

Add the Cracks

I find it ironic that Abigail seems to be so sympathetic to the cracks around my eyes considering she has become the main reason for the newer cracks.  I was do a bit of spring cleaning and came across two luggage keys.  I gave one to each child and they ran off to play.  I entered the living room about ten minutes later and Abigail said, "Hey Mommy, look at this."  She walked over to the outlet and pulled her key out of the socket.  Add three cracks to my face.

Today, I was sitting on the couch talking to Donny because he was tired and upset.  Abigail walked into the room carrying a banana that was perfectly cut into two pieces.  She handed Donny a piece and told him that would make him feel better.  She sat down and started to eat her banana like she was the queen.  I asked her what she used to cut the banana.  She told me she got a knife out of the drawer.  I went to the kitchen and this is what I found on the counter...

Add seven more cracks.

Cracks

Abigail was holding my face in her little hands and looking deeply into my eyes.  "Mommy you have hazel colored eyes and black specs."  I was so happy sitting there with my sweet little girl looking into my eyes with her warm little hands cradling my face, until she tilted her head gave me a sympathetic look and said, "You also have a lot of cracks around your eyes."  Moment over.

Molly is 10!

Big Daddy, the kids and I met Miss Molly, Aunt Kee-Kee and Uncle Jim for dinner to celebrate Miss Molly's 10th birthday.  Dinner was great, but the company was wonderful.  Hoping she had a great time. Happy Birthday dear Molly.  xoxoxo

Lego Meltdown

I bought Abigail her own Lego set because she has so much fun playing with Donny and his Legos.  I had no idea she would take the picture on the box so literally.  She wanted to her setup to look exactly like the box.  I spent an hour trying to play with her before I put her in the bath and then bed.  I have a feeling outside playtime at school was a bit longer today since the weather was so beautiful because somebody is a bit cranky.

I

Cows

We drove past a pasture full of cows and Donny asked if cows were like people.  I began to list features that cows and people have in common such as ears, eyes, nose, etc. Abigail added her words of wisdom, "Cows also have big, round, pink things on their butts that you go like this." Then she proceeded to demonstrated how to milk a cow.  Not to be out done Donny added, "Abigail they use machines for that now, not hands."

Abigail's Big Heart

Big Daddy and I were kneeling down trying to help Ashley on Monday when she was bleeding from her nose and mouth.  Abigail walked up to us and said, "Hey guys. I'm really sorry about that, it's my fault...because I punched her in the face!"  Big Daddy and I just looked at her.  I thought about starting a therapy fund for her because she's clearly a little crazy.

Upon returning from school today, Abigail ran into the house very excited.  I asked where she was going and she said, "I'm going to see Ashley." I looked at her, tilted my head and thought how sad this moment really was, so as I moved to hug and comfort her she said, "Oh ya, she's dead. See ya." All I saw was her little fanny running off to play.  That girl is hard core.

Notes

I found this note Donny wrote to Big Daddy and me.

WOW

I just reread my post about Ashley.  I think I spelled everyother word incorrectly. I am so sorry to those of you who had to suffer through my post full of landmine misspellings.  I was sobbing while writing so please forgive me for the mistakes.  The sad truth is that I reread  the post several times before I published and thought it was perfect.  I hang my head in spelling shame.

Goodbye Ashley

On February 13, 2004, I drove to Pine Plains to get a Valentine's Day present for Big Daddy while he was at work.  A lady met me at  the door and told me there were four black puppies and I should take them into the yard and choose one.  We were in the yard less than three minutes when the decision was made.  Three of the puppies ran away and the last one stayed at my feet and wanted to play. I didn't choose at all, she chose me. 

The woman suggested I bring a rubber bin for the car ride home.  I placed her in the bin and started backing out of the driveway.  When I turned around, she was gone. I found her wedged between my seat and the door, she rode the remaineder of the drive on my lap.  Keeping her a secret until Big Daddy came home the next morning wasn't easy.  She was so sweet and had that puppy breath that probably really stinks, but for some reason smells good when you are nose to nose.  I put a red ribbon around her neck and shoved her out the door when Big Daddy got out of the car.  She ran right to him and he was so happy.

Her favorite spot to play outside was the fire pit, thus her name Ashley.  Her paws always had ashes on them.  Big Daddy and I treated her like a child.  I must admit, we were a bit ridiculous.  At one point, we were feeding her out of our hand because she wouldn't eat.  While at one of her check-ups, we spoke to the doctor about her eating habits. (Yes, we both went)  The doctor asked us a very profound question, "Has it ever occurred to you that she might be full?"  We left the vet feeling like the biggest asses and I'm sure they were laughing at us as we drove away.

Ashley became my companion when Big Daddy was at work.  She sat with me through two pregnancies.  We shared Popsicles and popcorn, two of her favorite foods. When Donny and Abigail arrived, she was so good with both of them.  There was one thing she did that Big Daddy and I always loved.  When the kids were very little, Ashley would go up to them when they were sitting in the little swing.  With her teeth, she would bite the very tip of their socks and slowly pull them off and then lick their feet.  Her teeth never touched their toes.

Today didn't start well for Ashley.  She was bleeding from her nose and her morning walk took a lot longer than it should. Big Daddy stayed home to keep an eye on her.  Around one o'clock he coaxed her off the couch for a walk.  They were gone a very long time and I began to worry.  I went to the window to look for them and saw Big Daddy carrying her home and I knew that was their last walk.  He brought her to the steps and Kitty came over and sat beside her.  Ashley spent the rest of her time with us on a blanket in the yard.  I sat with her for several hours  and fed her Popsicles until it was time.  Thank you for being part of our family Ashley. You gave us so much more than we gave you. We love you and will miss you everyday.   xoxoxoxo

Dr. Seuss

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, today was dress as your favorite character day at school. I asked Donny what he was going to wear, thinking his answer would be George Washington, I was shocked to hear he wanted to go as a cowboy from the book Magic Tree House.  He was dressed and ready to go in record time.  Abigail was thrilled because her school had PJ day today.  She took the day very seriously because she wouldn't let me brush her hair.  She looked like a crazy girl when I dropped her off, but she was very happy.

Great Fun

Big Daddy and I told Donny if he worked really hard during his swim lessons, he would be rewarded.  I made the reservations for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge weeks ago and had a very hard time not telling him.  Imagine his surprise when we picked him up from school at noon on Tuesday.  After we convinced him we were not going to the doctor he asked, "Did you pick me up from school for quality family time?"  We didn't tell him where we were going, he figured it out when we arrived.  The two of them were so excited they could barley contain themselves.

Big Daddy took the kids for a walk to check things out while I checked into the room.  When we met up with each other, Donny asked me if we could go to the water park that he saw through the window.  Big Daddy and I had a nice chuckle.  The kids went crazy when we got to the room and really didn't want to leave for awhile.  I loved that they played in their little room and had so much fun together.  Abigail's favorite part of the trip was her "little bed." 

We had a blast at the water park.  Donny and I went down the big slides three times.  The look on his face was priceless.  Of course, the downside to the water park was the high levels of chlorine which gave Donny a cough that lasted the entire stay.  We just made sure he got a treatment before we went to the park.

 We have told Donny many, many times the importance of staying with us and always being aware of his surroundings.  Well, all that went out the window the second day.  Big Daddy and Donny were having a great time and it was time for lunch.  Big Daddy turned around and Donny was gone.  After about ten minutes of frantic searching, he came looking for Big Daddy.  Apparently, Donny thought the next stop for the two them was the Crooked Creek, Donny calls it the river, so he went on over to the river.  He told me that "while I was lost I was a really good boy.  And I had a lot of fun."   He was in trouble for quite awhile.

The kids were so disappointed today when we told them we had to leave.  Donny's biggest concern was missing the bus.  I informed him he would be missing school today and he was shocked.  The further we drove from the resort the less he coughed and by the time we got home, he was finished coughing.