It's not you, it's me.

I'm too tired to blog.  There.  Life is really great right now, but REALLY exhausting.  More exhausting than when I had 3 babies?  In many ways, yes.  When I get that coveted free hour before I go to bed I prefer to lose myself in True Detectives or House of Cards instead of sit with the computer.

I used to be motivated to blog as a way to remember these days and remember our journey.  But now I capture that with my snippet emails to the email address I set up for the girls in the future (for those of you who are too lazy or exhausted to do a baby book or real journal, I highly recommend this method).

So I may blog more.  Or I may not.

I'll leave this post with a portion of a recent email I sent to the girls.  Mornings are hilarious and my favorite part of the day.  You walk in their room and you are immediately immersed in multiple really random conversations happening at the same time.  I took a recorder with me one morning and then tried to transcribe a few minutes so I could capture what these days are like.  Below is my transcription attempt - word for word  It really doesn't capture the true essence because it is actually simultaneous not singular as it is written, but gives you an idea.

(before I walk in)

All:  Oh mammmmmmmmmaaaa.  Oh mammmmmmmma.  Where are you??????

(open door)

I.  Hey Mommy!!!

A.  I want dadda.  I want dadda.  Where's dadda.  Dadda's at work?

B.  I want get down.  I want get down.  I want get dooooowwnnnnnnn!!!

I.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it of Momma.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it off Momma.  Turn it of Momma.  Turn off!  Turn off! (talking about the 3/4 noise makers).

I.  Turn that one off.  Now turn that one off.  Now turn that one off.

B.  I dropped passi!  I dropped passi!  Oh no, dog hair.  Clean it off.  Its dirty.  Yuck. It's dirty.  Clean it off.  Please?  Please? Please?  It's dog hair.

(Open closet door to get some clothes for the day).

I. I wear clothes mamma? 

B.  I wear pajamas today.

A.  No, I not want pajamas.

(I pick out clothes for the day).

A.  No, I not want those.  No, Anna not wear that.  Anna wear THAT (pointing at something else).

All:  Oh no, door open!  door open!  fix it!  Oh no, fix it momma! (When I accidentally leave door open).

I.  I want teetee potty.  No, I not want new diaper.  I want teetee pottyyyyyyyyy.

(go get her out of bed).

I:  No,  I want stay in bed.  I not get up.

(get her undressed and head to bathroom).

A & B:  I want teetee potty too!  I want teetee potty too! (this continues the entire time we are gone).

I.  I be right back girls.

(I on toilet)

I.  I want pole paper?  More pole paper?  More pole paper?  I flush it?  You flush it mamma?  I flush it mamma?  More pole paper mamma?  Not yet.  Not yet, right Momma?  Yeah, not yet.

(nothing actually ever comes out)

Me:  Good sitting on potty Irene, that's a big girl.

I:   No, I not big girl. I baby girl. Waahh, Wahh.  And Anna's a peanut, and Brooksie's a monkey.

A.  Yeah, I'm a peanut.  No, I'm not a peanut.  I'm a nugget.  Anna's a nugget.  I like purple.  I wear purple.  No, I wear blue.  No, I not wear blue.  That's cute.  No, I need new socks.  

B:  Shhhhhhh, Anna, Shhhhhhhhh.

I:  I got clothes on momma?  I go get milk.  I need elephant.  I need animals.  Okayyy.

B.  Irene?  Ireeeennnnne?  Ireennnnnnnnne?  Where are you?  You get milk Irene?

Me:  Brooksie, you ready to get up?

B:  No, I stay in bed.  NOOOO.  NOOOOO.  No thank you momma.

A:  Myturnmyturnmyturnmyturnmyturnmyturnmyturn

(I get Anna up repeat teetee potty situation with Anna)

A:  I not want cookie monster diaper.  I want diaper with elmo.  I want elmo.  I want elmo.  I want elmo. I no like cookie moster (in cookie monster voice).  I don't like those pants.  I want blue shirt.  No, I want pink shirt.  Anna likes pink.  Anna's a nugget.  Anna starts with A.  

B:  Anna, you like those pants?  You get dressed?  

(look over and B is inverted in crib)

B:  I poopoo momma.  I need new diaper.  It's wet.  It's dirty.  I need new diaper.  It's yucky.  

(try to get B up)

B:  No, I stay in bed. I'm upside down.  I'm a monkey.

That's about five minutes but pretty much represents what all waking hours are like these days.  Fun, but exhausting.

Christmas 2013

I feel like Christmas was just yesterday, but apparently it was almost four weeks ago.  Or so says the calendar.  It was really wild and fun this year.  Lot's of family time and a good break from work.

I've posted some of my favorite pics below.  While I captured many moments, thank goodness I did not capture moments from the Christmas Eve church service.  Those precious moments are reserved purely for the memories of us and the other fortunate (unfortunate?) parishioners.  Normally the girls go to the nursery but I decided to bring them into the service for Christmas.  It was about what you would imagine bringing three two-year-olds into a quiet church service for an hour and a half.  We should have had a better game plan.  When the first child had to be removed, we did not have a plan for the person left with the other two (one who was distraught the first one left and one who did not want to leave).   Let's just say thank goodness for a sweet friend who came to my rescue and another sweet friend who tolerated objects being hurled from our pew to hers, including a passie to the eye of her child.

I was able to take off work the day before Christmas Eve to spend at home with the girls.  We had fun with cookies and play-doh and were finally able to wear some cute Christmas aprons given to us when the girls were born by a family member.

Christmas morning was a blast.  

We had a great family Christmas in Memphis before Christmas and Birmingham after Christmas.  Meme and Grump were kind enough to keep the girls in Birmingham for an extended stay while we went on a little vacation.

A Public Apology

Have you ever judged someone without really knowing them?  Maybe you laughed at their expense and ridiculed their actions.  Maybe you called them an idiot.  Maybe you just thought you would never stoop to their level.

I am guilty of this and I owe someone a big apology.

Clark Griswold, please forgive me.  I have laughed at you many times over the years.  I have laughed at your adolescent need to decorate your house with a million lights.  I have laughed at your over-reaction when things go awry.  I did not understand your frustration.  So what if you put up a bunch of silly Christmas lights and they don't work?  Big deal.  How childish.

I have just spent two full days playing the female version of Clark Griswold - only with 10% of the lights and 1000% of the frustration.  I don't know if I can ever watch that movie again without curling up in the fetal position and crying.

Here is the short version.

I decide last week that I need to go a little bigger with Christmas decor this year.  You know, it makes perfect sense because we have three two-year-olds and they have been asking for it non stop.  How do I know?  Because they say "light!" "light!"  7,587 times a day pointing at the ceiling.  They may get Santa and Noah confused but they are very clear on this topic, obviously.  So I hop over to Amazon Prime (where everything is free with just one click!) and purchase all the white wire white Christmas lights I can find.

Nap time comes around on Saturday and I'm ready for my big project.   Coincidentally, my sister had just sent me a picture of her fabulous front porch and I was all inspired.  I figure it will take me about 2 hours. I get my lights and my step ladder and head to the front porch.  My plan is to wrap my four columns in lights and line the roof line above the columns with lights.  About 10 minutes in, I realize I need a few more things - a real ladder, about 3x more lights, and plastic hooks to help things stay.  No big deal.  I send a begrudging Jack to the Dollar General and make a new game plan.

I do every thing right.  I test every strand of lights before they go up. I put sticky hooks all over the front of the house to help the lights in place.  I overcome all sorts of obstacles such as carefully arranging the strands so that they connected in the perfect spot.  Columns can be quite a challenge.  Two hours turned into six hours, but I finally finish the job.

So there I was, ready for the grand reveal.


Ta-da!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Ha-lle-lu-jah!  


Okay that's not my house.  This is.  Almost the same.

And then something happens.  The lights go out.  All of them.  Surely it is just that the plug is not all the way in or something minor like that?  I check everything and finally I figure out that the last strand of lights is bum.  Easy fix.  I take it down and I replace it.  Wonderful!  They all work again!  And then they go out.  Again.  It was the last strand of lights, again.  What a coincidence.  Repeat that sequence one more time.  Then I change my plan and instead of replacing the last strand I remove it and just plug into the next one.  And that works!  And then they go out.  Again.

Jack, full of that look that says "I told you so" as well as that look that says "I am going to go run-away if you don't come inside and help me with these kids", finally convinces me to give up until the next day.  I silently wonder if I should just accept defeat and take them all down.

Sunday morning at church we listen to a great lesson about the real meaning of Christmas.  I take in every word....and then find the strength to try my lights again.  As we drive back to the house, I ask Jack to go past the front so I can at least see how the light arrangement looks on the columns.  Suffice it to say that my hooks did not hold.  It looks like I decorated for Halloween with an attempt to create cobwebs out of lights.

Once again it is naptime and I'm back on the ladder.  This time with a hammer and nails, not hooks.  And instead of all four columns I settle for just the middle two.  Despite the fact that I have to stand on the top rung of the ladder and hammer with my lefthand backwards while balancing on one foot, the lights are hanging again.  Now I just need them to work.

There is one last setback (and perhaps a clear sign from God that I should throw in the towel) as I am moving the ladder to my last location to plug in the lights.  I forget that I left the hammer up on the top of the ladder and it falls straight on my head.  Luckily it is my just my mallet and so the damage is minimal.

I plug them in.  They work.  The damn lights work.  God help those around me when they either a) go out, b) fall down, or c) both.  24 days.  Maybe I'll incorporate that theme to our Advent calendar.

At this point, although I am not happy with the final product (the spacing is all off!), I decide to let them be. Besides, I need to go inside and hang some new pictures using those 3m adhesive things.  Those have only fallen a few times so far and as of now they are up, so I'll call that a win.

Two Year Olds

Two weeks ago the girls turned two.  I still can't believe that I have three two year olds and not babies.  They are very much two year olds - running, talking, frequently melting down.  To prove their age they even had quite a few meltdowns at their own birthday party.  Luckily we decided to do a small family affair so there were not many witnesses.  This is an exhausting yet really fun age.  They say and do some really funny things.

Here are some pics of how much they have grown in two years and their birthday party.

Irene, my sweet sweet girl

Anna Banana, my little drama queen

Brooksie, my energizer bunny

My girls were not impressed with cake and candles.  Frances was.  She was yelling "I want cake!"

Brooks made me wear all the crowns.

Strolling Mickie is a favorite activity.

Frances definitely loved the crown.

Brooks with her crown and a car.  Perfect.

Learning colors

Fran and Brooks playing dress up