What's the magic word?

Today, Joe and I were reminded yet again of how old we are by little Kate. Not in the sense that we think we are old, but that we are truly of different generations.

Growing up, our parents taught us about good manners and good values...respect your elders, treat others as you would want to be treated, use Mr and Mrs when speaking to adults, and always say please and thank you.

In turn, Joe and I have tried to instill those same values in our children. So, tonight, when little Kate asked for a snack, I said what our parents would have said, "What's the magic word?" I expected Kate to respond with "Pleeeaaaase..." based on all our hard work encouraging good manners. But instead, she sweetly responded with..."Meesca, Moosca, Mickey Mouse!"

For those of you who don't get the humor in this, I have attached a link for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ODPtsAJXgM


I suppose I should have known Mickey Mouse would have the greater influence. ...

May I have this dance?

1,2,3....1,2,3....1,2,3...Katie has always loved to dance. Whether she is pretending to glide through the woods with Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip, or waltzing with Cinderella, dancing has always brought a smile to her face. Last night, she asked to stay up and watch the "Princesses dance." By this request, she was asking to watch "Dancing with the Stars". All of her favorites were making an appearance..."Belle" (yellow dress-Lil Kim), "Cinderella" (blue dress- Julianne Hough)...even "Sleeping Beauty" (pink dress-Kym Johnson).

So we agreed to let her watch the first half hour. For thirty minutes, she quietly sat on my lap and waited for the music to start. Then one dance at a time, she walked over to her Daddy, and said, "Daddy, May I have this dance, Daddy?" Her Daddy then swooped her up, and they begin dancing...1,2,3....1,2,3...1,2,3...so cute!

Patience is virtue

My husband, Joe, is a saint! Perhaps some would disagree, but yesterday, he had the patience of a saint! I have been talking about trying some new colors for the living room for quite some time. Yesterday, Joe kindly agreed to try the colors I had picked, and paint a wall for me. He painted the wall for me not one, not two, not three, but four times, only to return it to the original color it had been painted in the beginning.

Katie stood ever so quietly in his shadow, hands clasped behind her back, in observation of his effort. "That is beautiful, Daddy," she kept saying with every new color application. Despite all my in-decisions, Joe still found a few laughs to offer to her repeated compliments. With every offering, she would inch a little closer in hopes that Daddy would hand her a brush to paint with. With the final color on the wall, he did.

I learned a bit about patience yesterday from two of my favorite people, and in the end, we all celebrated. I was happy with the color on the wall (even if it ended up being the same as it was when we started), Joe got "his choice" for dinner, Katie celebrated by twirling her Dora ribbon, and Conor found entertainment in his sister. In the words of Will Ferrell, "It was a nice little Saturday..."

A child's prayer...

My husband and I are Catholic. Although we don't both make it to church on Sunday as much as we would like (or should), we do understand and agree on the importance of instilling religious values in our children. We plan on sending them to private school (for now), and will begin taking them to Sunday mass when they are old enough to sit still for an hour and not crawl under the pew(s).

During our weekend visit to GrandMom and Pop's house, I was tucking our little Kate into bed when she pointed to a picture on the wall, and said, "Look, it's Jesus!". On the wall over the bed hung a wood carving of Jesus. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to start the religious introduction with a simple child's prayer before bedtime. So, I proceeded to relay how we talk to Jesus through prayer and recited the simplest child's prayer I could remember...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord, my soul to keep;
Guide and guard me through the night
and wake me with the morning's light
Amen

When I was done, I explained how important it was for us to recognize the blessings in our lives too, and to be thankful for each other. I then asked her, "Katie, do you want to say a prayer and talk to Jesus? What are you thankful for?" She looked directly at her Minnie and said, "Dear Jesus- Thank you for my presents. Amen. "

I would say it's a start...

Irish Blessings on St Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish blessings from our family to yours...

May you always have work for your hands to do.

May your pockets hold always a coin or two.

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.

May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way-

good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day.

To GrandMom's house we go...

It's St. Patrick's Day weekend, and we are all heading down to "GrandMom's house" at the beach for some relaxation, a parade, and maybe even some beer.

Note: I am aware that Pop lives there too. However, if you have been following this blog, you will know that Pop is simply GrandMom's friend, so the house must belong to GrandMom...duh?

I thought you all would enjoy what Katie insisted we pack for the trip:

1. Dumbo DVD
2. Nemo snacks for Pop
3. Princess snacks for GrandMom
4. Cup for Conor
5. Princess sleeping bag
6. Blue Minnie
7. Pink Minnie
8. Princess pillow
9. Princess jammies
10. Sleeping Beauty
11. Boozie (our dog)

Check, check, and check.

Princess Katie and Conor-saurus

In the tale of Princess Katie and Conor-saurus, the beautiful Princess sits in her castle admiring her precious jewels. The aggressive and young Conor-saurus is attracted to the Princess' beautiful jewels and tries to invade her castle for a peak every chance he gets. Princess Katie's loyal subject, Boozie the Dog, occasionally protects her from the fast approaching Conor-saurus, by smothering him with kisses. However, this defense does not always stop the yelling intruder, therefore causing Princess Katie to flee the castle.

And, so the story continues...

"AHH! Conor-saurus is coming!" yells Princess Katie as she tucks away into her Princess castle!

"Yah, yah, yah", replies Conor-saurus as he plows through the door.

"AHH! Conor-saurus is coming! Conor-saurus is coming!" she announces out the rear door.

"Yah, yah, yah! Ahh"

Human Anatomy

You all must know this is not the post I had intentions of sharing tonight. However, as I sat here in bed typing a story of "friendship realized", a sweet story of Katie acknowledging her first "best friend" and all it meant to be declared as such, the conversation I overheard from the bathroom down the hall left me cupping my mouth in laughter with one hand and hitting Delete on my sweet story with the other.

So, before I share the conversation, what you need to know is that "Daddy" just came home from a Trade Show in Philly. He has been gone since Friday morning, and the kids were both standing at the door to greet him when he pulled in the drive. They miss him dearly when he is away. Therefore, it was no surprise that at Kate's request, it would be "Daddy" that put her to bed tonight. So, off they went to the bathroom to change her into her pull-up and brush her teeth. And with that said, I share the conversation that followed with you...

Kate: Daddy (pause), you have a penis?

Daddy: Uh (pause), yes, I do.

Kate: Yes. Mommy has a hoo-ha.

Daddy: Um.

Kate: I have a hoo-ha, too.

Daddy: Um (pause), yes. You just figured that out, huh?

I was in hysterics from the first question out of Kate's mouth. So simple, yet so complicated.

THIS IS A HIJACK!!

Jill, I see, beat me to the punch, but I just want to let everyone know that I'VE MARRIED THE GREATEST GIRL IN THE WORLD! Such a kind heart, sweet soul and a great mom to boot.

Happy 5th! Love you baby!

(P.S. Now back to my cave)

On this day five years ago

On this day, five years ago, my best friend and I stood face to face, hand in hand, vowing to support and love one another for the rest of our lives. We had no idea what lied ahead for us, nor did we care. On that day, five years ago, it was all about the two of us.

Today, and every day since, we look back on that day and smile. Sure, our lives have changed a bit. On Friday nights, we usually head to bed at 10pm , instead of to the bar. Our cups have changed from glass to plastic, and our backseat is filled with fruit snack wrappers and lost cheerios instead of beer cans and cigarettes. But despite the fact that we have shifted into fourth gear (I am not in denial that there is a fifth), it is comforting to know I can still look over and see my best friend, right beside me, holding my hand.

Happy Anniversary, Dear!

I love you more and more with each passing day. XOXO

These Boots are made for walking

Conor has been cruising along the tables and sofas for little over a month now. As a result, this weekend, we thought it was finally time to have his feet measured, and purchase his first pair of walkers.

This was our first time to the family-owned shoe store, and unlike the outlet store we usually go to for Kate, this store had the shoe displays at the child's level. Therefore, Kate proceeded to entertain herself with trying on each and every shoe she could get her hands on. The "Crocs" display and all its choices were her favorite! Only, with the Crocs, the two shoes were connected, therefore limiting her to shuffling around the store.

Meanwhile, we wrestled with shoe sizes for Conor for almost half an hour. Seven boxes and three sales consultations later, we finally settled on a 3.5 XW. Yes, a 3.5 Extra Wide. He stepped left, stepped right, bounced a couple of times and looked up at me with a scrunched nose and huge smile, as if to say, "They feel great, Mom!"

Watching Conor get accustomed to his new shoes one small march at a time almost brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me that he is on the verge of hitting yet another major milestone. It's moments like these I wish I could bottle up and keep forever. The time passes too quickly.

Cecil, The Killer Turtle

This is him, "Cecil, The Killer Turtle". Our 2" wide remorseless eating machine. A few weeks back, I wrote about how Daddy had brought home three new fish for the kids for Valentines' Day. As you may recall, Bubbies was Conor's fish, Red was Kate's, and Whiskers, the housekeeper of the bunch, a sucker fish to assist with keeping the tank clean. Well, today, we mourn the loss of two of those fish, Bubbies and Red. And, judging by the green tint of water in these pictures, Whiskers is on his way out, too. This ferocious little turtle has consumed almost the entire new lot of fish in only two short weeks.

Bubbies was the first to go. He was a small little fish, so his demise was not surprising. Red, on the other hand, was half the size of Cecil and a heck of a swimmer. We noticed he might be in trouble when his back fin began to get shorter and shorter (as if small bites had been taken out). Today, both Bubbies and Red have disappeared, and poor Whiskers has an injured right fin. I am afraid he just might be the next casualty in the Clark Family fish tank. Needless to say, Joe and I have agreed to get more fish. Although, this time, we will refrain from naming them. Clark Infested Waters indeed.