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This song always makes me think of my family and then makes me cry...in that order.

Updates

I'm tired tonight. My brain is mush and my thoughts aren't really coherent but I did remember that I had a blog and that I wanted to update so here goes nothing!

Where to start. Logan stole a pair of girls panties from Kohls yesterday. That was good times. He is in love with Boots from Dora the Explorer. Boots is Dora's sidekick. I remember him pointing and yelling Boots as we walked by the girls section. I tend to just say Yes, and repeat whatever he says when he is going off about Thomas or Boots. So basically I think I gave him permission to steal the panties. I didn't notice until I was putting him in his carseat. There they were, tucked into the back of his pants. Pretty smart to tuck them in so that I wouldn't find them. It was somewhat embarrassing to have to apologize to the customer service staff as I returned the Dora panties.

Kylie is getting excited about preschool. We went to the Disney store and picked out a new lunchbox. She chose Tinkerbell. She tried to talk me into buying her a ballgown for school but I was able to talk her down from ballgown to short dresses aka skirts. Kylie is amazing lately. Kylie has been learning about Jonah and the Whale. She can recount the story and understand that Jonah didn't obey God at first but then asked for forgiveness. She does ask really hard questions though. This week included such topics as: What Does God look like? How does God get into the sky? Who lives with God? Can I talk to God? She keeps us on our toes for sure.

Sweet Sophie Bug is wonderful too. I just glanced down at the playmat to see what she was up too and she is fast asleep. The child will sleep ANYWHERE except her crib. I understand why the youngest child sometimes gets away with a little more than the others. We are so tired at night and sometimes we just give in and let her sleep in our bed. She scoots under the covers and puts her arms over the blanket and goes right to sleep. I love watching their personalities evolve.

We have had a wonderful summer full of ice cream tours, library storytimes and playdates with good friends. I'm so happy I am staying home with the kids this go around. I can't imagine missing out on all the fun!

Sophie is Here

Sophia Anne Johnson graced us with her presence on April 9th, 2010. She was 8lbs 4 ozs. If you are my friend on facebook, you have already been bombarded with millions of pictures and comments about our girl. I'll save you from that here. I would just like to put Sophie's birth story down before I forget and someday I'm telling her about the day she was born and pause and say, "Wait, was that you or was that Kylie?" or "My bad, LOGAN was born in July!"

So here goes Sophie:

We will start with your name. Sophia was pretty much our only pick. I really liked that name for a while and your daddy didn't really complain. This is a big deal because for some reason he feels the need to be the name giver of the family. He wanted to name you Sophie but I felt like you needed a proper name instead of a nickname. The compromise is that your birth certificate says Sophia but you are Sophie....unless you do something really wrong...then it is Sophia. That's how you will know you really messed up.

Your middle name is the same as my sister Lori. Lori, as you will soon learn, is perhaps the best person in the world. She is full of love for all of us and was a mother to your mommy. I think she taught me how to be a mommy. I wanted to somehow pay tribute to her. Just like Kylie has Rachel as a middle name you have Anne. These are two strong women who you can be proud to know and I know you both will have their strength and character.

The weeks before you arrived were NOT fun for me. Not trying to make your birth story all about me but it was HORRIBLE. I'm not sure if I emphasized that enough...it was HORRIBLE. I can say this because it had nothing at all to do with you. I had kidney stones that were more excruciating than I can put into words. Because of this our doctor decided to change your arrival day from April 15th to April 9th. At first I was relieved because I was in so much pain.

April 9th arrived and suddenly I was a little nervous about your early arrival. I knew that 38 weeks was full term but something in the back of my mind didn't feel good about our decision. I can't explain that. I talked to the nurses in the pre-op room about the probablility of you having any breathing issues. They said that while it was possible it was not the norm. That made me feel better. I asked the doctor the same question and he gave me the same answer. Everyone was very reassuring so I decided that I was being crazy and didn't talk anymore about my worries.

The c-section was fast and very easy. You were my easiest baby. We talked about golf (it was the during the Masters) and your daddy was laughing because they were playing 70's rock in the operating room. It was a very laid back experience. Everyone was shocked that you were already 8lbs and two weeks early!!

I waited for you while I was in the recovery room. I knew that I would wait about a half hour and then you would be able to come join me. A half hour came and went, then a hour...
Finally the nurse came in and told us that there was nothing to be overly alarmed about but that you were breathing really fast and needed to be monitored. I was allowed to hold you in the transistional nursery but had to give you back before I went to my room. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I felt like I needed you to know that we were there and that maybe if you were around us you would start to feel better. I also knew that it was better for you to be monitored by nurses than an overwrought mother. Everyone said we would probably see you in a hour or two.

Six hours later you were still in the nursery. The nurse told your daddy that you were still breathing very fast and that you would need to be moved to the NICU. You needed to eat and you needed an IV. Everyone assured us that this was common with c-section babies and that you just needed a little time. You will learn someday when you are a mother than nothing is common or normal or ok when it is your baby.

When I held you in NICU you had a tube in your nose for feeding and an IV. You were the biggest baby in there! This helped put our situation in persepctive though because I had to walk by many very sick babies to get to you. We had a small scare with a heart murmur but everything checked out ok and after three days you were able to come out of NICU and home with us.

Kylie and Logan were very excited to see you. Kylie held you and proclaimed you to be SO CUTE. Logan just pointed and said baby. He is a little jealous that you get a pacifier but he is working through it. You have been such a gentle baby. Not much fussing (yet) and ok to sleep through the madness that is our house. There is something special about each of my children. Kylie is my oldest and my princess girl. Logan is my middle and my only boy. You are my baby, the last sweet newborn that I will ever cuddle. So, I hold you a little bit more than I should, I kiss you one more time before I put you to bed. I touch your feet and try to remember them since I will never have another little one to hold.

I look forward to watching you grow over the next few years. Welcome to the family....and good luck with your brother and sister.

-Mommy

So It Has Been Awhile

I was doing so well updating at least once a month. Here we are almost five months later. I'll try to be better in 2010. As I sit in the recliner writing this Logan is hitting me across the face with his blankie and laughing hysterically. Kylie is building a "girl" out of mega blocks and asking me to hold the pile of blocks while it sleeps. Finding time to sit down and write anything that is remotely coherent is tough these days.

We have had a very busy Fall. Kylie is now three, into princess anything and girl anything. She is still taking dance once a week. This Spring we are going to let her try T-ball. It is a three and four year old league. We figure at the least, it will provide good comedy for us. Christmas was great this year because she understood all the traditions. It was kind of odd this year because she knew that it was Jesus Birthday but she kept walking around saying, "Jesus is coming soon."

Logan is into anything that has wheels or rolls. He likes to throw things at all of us. That's a lot of fun. We all flinch when he walks by us. He will throw anything, toys, remotes, bottles of lotion. Doesn't matter. If he can pick it up, he is going to lodge it at your head. He is all boy. He does like to dance though.

Baby Sophia is coming right along. Just had my 2nd ultrasound this month. Everything was fine, just needed to double check some things. She now weighs in at over a pound. The ultrasound tech did a close up of her face for Kylie. She has fat cheeks just like the rest of us. I wonder if she'll be Kylie Version Two. I have given up hope for any child with dark hair.

This post is sounding like an annual Christmas letter. Life is just calm right now. I'm not complaining. I mean, I just asked Kylie if she was REALLY head butting Logan and now he is chasing her to the play room. I expect screams in the next five minutes. Other than the normal noise that we are accustomed to, life is quiet here. I do get nervous thinking about how I will handle three kids, but I was nervous about two kids. I'm not sure we do everything "right" or like everyone else does it. How I see it, at the end of the day, if everyone is fed, clean, and relatively uninjured, I consider it a success. Hopefully we'll be able to maintain the same high standards when Sophie gets here.

I'll try to be better with the updates.

-J

August is now September

So, I missed the cut off for August. We've been a little busy this month so you'll have to forgive me. Hmmm, lots of fun and exciting things to report. We had Logan's birthday party the first weekend in August. I WILL NEVER AGAIN HOST A BIRTHDAY PARTY AT MY HOUSE. Well not until next year, right? We invited way too many people, I had way too many margaritas and it rained. The first two hours were fine but the last hour I had fifty plus people crammed into my downstairs. I vaguely remember yelling, "TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES," but it gets a little foggy after that. My favorite part of the party is when the breaker blew and the kids started crying as the castle deflated. Luckily, that only happened once and no one was hurt.

That aside, the kids had a great time and Logan seemed to enjoy his birthday cake. It was nice to see all of our friends and family come out and celebrate with us. I just never want to see them all in one place again. No offense, of course.

Kylie is wearing big girl panties and is about 90% potty trained. It's nice because my diaper bill has been cut in half. It is scary because now every time we are in public I am asking her if she needs to potty. She always says no. I take her to the potty, she cries and goes to the bathroom while Logan tries to infect himself with every germ known to man by crawling around on the floor. I'm hissing at him to stand up while he is poking his head under the stall. Not good times. I have to hose them down with antibacterial soap after the potty trips.

I am incredibly exhausted right now. I have more to update, but I'll save it for another day.

-J

To Logan

Almost a year ago you made your entrance into this world. We knew you were coming. No surprises, no dramatic c-sections, just a planned, calm entry into the world. You didn't cry much. You just kind of looked up at me as I sat in the recovery room getting to know you. We knew right away you would have a kind spirit. You didn't cry much when Kylie tried to poke your eye out with a Cheese-It. You also didn't get too mad at me when I had to ask the nurse how often to change your diaper. You see, although it had been only twenty months since your sister made her dramatic entrance into the world; I felt like a rookie all over again. I was hoping you didn't notice. You pretended not to....even if you did sense the fear in my eyes.

You slept for three days in the hospital. We oohed and ahhed over how sweet you were. We were amazed when you ate 4ccs instead of the expected 2ccs each feeding. That should have been our red flag that you were going to like to eat. I am sitting here trying to think of one food you do not like. I can't think of anything! That's not a bad thing. I never have to fret over how much dinner you are eating.

You fit right into our family. Kylie spent her days entertaining her Grandma Overton while you and I hung out in your room. At first, you liked to stay awake about every 45 minutes. I would like to tell you I didn't mind. I didn't really care for it after two or three weeks but you would snuggle next to me and look at me with those huge blue eyes and I would decide I didn't mind so much after all. You spent a few uninvited months in our bed until you were evicted. Kylie was evicted too. You liked to roll around and kick your daddy at night. That is a one way ticket out of the comfy bed. It was funny how smart you were. You would just roll over and go right to sleep. I think you were aware that the quiet baby usually gets their way in this house.

As you grew the next few months, we were all so in love with you. If we went to the store, Kylie demanded that "baby" go too. You were "baby" instead of Logan to us for a long time. Your sister decided that your name was baby, so we all ended up calling you baby too. Two days before your first birthday....you are finally "Ogan"

You begin to crawl at seven months and decided that you liked it so much you would wait until 11 months to being walking. When you walk, both hands go up in the air. You are so much more adventurous than your cautious sister. Climbs up the stairs at six months, splish splashing in the toilet at eight months, using the push car as your old man walker.....I could go on and on. You are a true free spirit, but you are also a a loving child. You have this amazing smile that makes everyday, no matter how long, tiring, or aggravating, just worth it.

Last week, I was taking you and your sister to Ms. Jean's. You were facing forward in your big boy seat, Kylie was beside you. Both of you were eating Cheerios and drinking juice and I had an a-ha moment. This is what my life is about. Logan and Kylie. My two best buddies. I hope that someday you two can commiserate over your crazy parents and childhood stories while your kids play together. I love you buddy, thank you for a perfect year.

-Mommy.

American Girl Meltdowns and ENT Visit

Kylie actually liked the doll....believe it or not.

Logan enjoyed the muffins, milk, and breakfast potatoes.


More Kylie and the 5 billion dollar American Girl Doll.

Group shot with me praying for peace in the Middle East or at the very least, peace on the drive home.

Well we had great news at the ENT this morning. One of Kylie's tubes is in and the other is not in but not out either. It is stuck in the canal but the ENT isn't worried about it. Eardrops here and there and it will come out. She had a hearing test and passed with no problem. We have to go back in December since the tubes are still in place but hopefully that will be our last visit.


It took me a hour and a half to get from where I live in Atlanta (the sticks) to the doctor's office (the snooty patooty part of Atlanta). Both kids were real troopers so I have no complaints. Kylie was half in half out about American Girl. She is too young for the stories but she did enjoy holding the doll and rubbing her hair. I bought her a blue eyed/blonde hair (non American Girl we cost 1.3 million dollars per doll brand) from Target and she is showing her a lot of love. The food was pretty good which made Logan happy. It was fun to see the girls all dressed up and enjoying running around the table screeching "I SEE YOU!!!" It was funny.

Not much else to report, back home, waited on Eric to get home and grilled out. I love weekends when we can just hang out and enjoy just being with each other. I know that sounds mushy smushy but those weekends are so rare these days. Sometimes its just nice to hang around the house and watch the kids harass each other.

Mid-June

All that talk of potty training? Yes, you can put THAT in the toliet. My daughter has decided she does not like the potty. I will ask her if she wants to go potty, she replies, "NO Mama, I'm FINE, KYLIE FINE!!" She always ends with Kylie, just in case I'm not sure who the "I" is in "I'm FINE!!" We'll get there, college is only 16 years away, right? That is plenty of time to master the potty.

Logan is crawling everywhere, into everything. He is also teething four teeth all at one time. I'll give it to him, he doesn't do anything halfway. All or nothing with that boy.

We had good doctor news this month. The pulminologist took Kylie off of her inhaler. Provided we have a good summer with the nasty ozone (or lack of) in Atlanta, we will not have to make any more visits to the pulminologist. Tomorrow we go to the ENT for a tube check. I'm a little split on this visit. I kind of hope the tubes are gone and she is really doing well without them. A little part of me is nervous that the tubes are gone and we will have more ear infections. Some kids have to get tubes more than once so here's hoping we are the exception.

The fun part of the ENT visit is that it is in Alpharetta. We are going to go to American Girl Cafe for brunch after the doctor visit. We have a couple of friends meeting us so the girls can have brunch with their dolls and have a yummy dessert. I'm (I mean Kylie is) really looking forward to this. I can't wait to see her reaction. Poor Lo will be along for the ride but someday Kylie will have to go to sporting events with us and she can whine while he has a great time. We are going to eat so I'm sure Lo will be just as happy as Kylie.

We are coming up on Logan's first birthday! I cannot believe that little guy has been in our life an entire year. I can't imagine a day without his little smile. We are having a carnival themed birthday party in August. While the activities will be for Kylie's age group, I will have a special cake for Logan to eat. He will be thrilled I'm sure.

This was a quick update. I'll post more after American Girl.

May is Here

We have had a busy month here in Johnsonland. Kylie started dance classes...Logan started sleeping through the night.

Kylie's vocabulary is expanding a crazy rate. I use the word crazy because that is now what she calls Logan, crazy. It is my fault because I'm always picking him up and saying ARE YOU CRAZY? as he climbs the stairs or tries to pull the vacuum cleaner on top of his head...etc etc. I'm trying to drop that word from my vocabulary. He is crazy though.

We are full speed ahead on potty training. Just started this week with Ms. Jean on Mon/Tuesday and me the rest of the week. She is actually not complaining as much as I thought she would. It would be nice to only have one child in diapers.

We are going to start taking more time at home starting in June. I'm struggling with our social calendar at the moment. Either Kylie has a great time (while I'm trying to keep one eye on her as Logan attempts to eat wood chips) or Logan is stuck in the stroller the entire time while I keep two eyes on Kylie. I'm not sure either is a perfect situation ALL THE TIME. I would imagine this summer will be the hardest since Logan is still crawling. Hopefully next summer it will be more manageable with an almost two year old and almost three year old. With that said I'm thinking we are going to cut our calendar in half. If we are home I feel like both kids are happy doing their own thing. We are still going to be in our group, just a little less visual. I'm tired too. After working two days and then juggling two kids, sometimes I just want to stay home and let them veg too.

Til next month!

We're Back!

So, I guess this is turning into a monthly update. That's ok. I have more to say.

It is 730am and I HATE our new sleeping schedule. Logan wakes up at 5, plays until 730, goes back to sleep. Kylie immediately wakes up at 745 and demands breakfast. So, this means my new wake up time is appx 5am every morning. I am learning to go to bed earlier though.

We have had an eventful month. We went to the zoo yesterday. This is Kylie's favorite place in the world right now. She wakes up, demands to go to the "ooh" and see "ebahs." That's zebras for everyone out there. She loves zebras and teddy bears (Panda Bears). Sometimes Aunt Lori meets us at the zoo. Lori and Kylie love the zoo much more than Mommy and Logan but that's ok. Speaking of Lo...Logan is crazy. I think it is a boy thing but that child is into EVERYTHING. He is already pulling himself up on furniture and if there is something within a 50ft radius that could cause him harm...it is his favorite toy.

Eric is good, running another 7k this month. He is really into this running thing right now. He will be out of town in April and I'm already dreading it. I am still working PT and it is a really good fit for us. I feel like I have the best of both worlds. Kylie loves going to see Ms. Jean and actually gets excited to see her every Monday and Tuesday.

We have friends coming in for Easter....so EXCITED! We are going to have an egg hunt in the backyard and also take the kids somewhere for a public egg hunt. We are fencing in the yard next week....landscaping to come.

Wow, not much to report for a month. Maybe I should only update once a year!

I'm supposed to be working. I'll get to that in a minute. Sorry no update in February. We had a Valentine's Party, I went back to work, Eric ran a 10K. That is pretty much the month in a nutshell. Going back to work made life a bit more manic, but in a controlled, two days a week and then it is over kind of way. The kids love their sitter and I love her too. That makes all the difference. I don't want to work full-time for a long time though.

Things are just good right now. I love our little family as incredibly lame as that may sound. Logan is getting bigger every day. We are looking at a home equity loan to finance our grocery bill for that little guy. My little baby girl is growing into a sassy little girl with a wicked sense of humor and I still think Eric is pretty cool. Life is just good.

We may be coming home for Easter again this year. Kylie had a great time last year going egg hunting with Emmett and all her cousins. It's been a while since we've been up. I miss you guys!!

January

Yes, I know it's been a while. I just haven't had much to write about. Logan's six month checkup was yesterday. He is 19lbs 7 ozs (80%) and 27 and 3/4 inches (90%). We picked up Kylie's new glasses today. The shop repaired the old ones so that we would have a back-up when (not if) but when she breaks the new pair. Winnie the Pooh now has the old pair tied around his head. It looks ridiculous but she refuses to wear her new "eyes" unless Pooh wears "eyes" too. Whatever works, right?

We had company in town last weekend. Selena, Tyson, Emmett, Angie, Cory, and Alex came to visit. I love watching the kids play together. We went to eat Mexican Saturday night and I couldn't believe we had to get a table for TEN! We are multiplying. We left the men in charge on Saturday night and went to see Twilight. I have read all four books in the series and loved them. The movie was odd. I might go see New Moon but it will probably be more of a wait for DVD movie.

Hmm, What else? I'm going back to work next month. Not full-time. Only two days a week. I have a friend that is going to watch the munchkins two days a week on Mondays and Tuesdays. As with every decision I make, it took me forever to decide, and I still don't know if it is 100% the right decision but I'm tired of going back and forth about it. Eric said it must be exhausting to be me. Yes. It is. I'm not good with decisions, but he is on board with it and the extra money will be nice. It is hard to turn down any work in this economy. Eric's job is secure for now but who knows what the future holds. I'm sure a lot of the 70,000 people laid off on Monday thought their jobs were secure too. Better safe than sorry.

Lazy Post

So it's been a while. I'm reposting a 25 Things About Me post from Facebook because I am lazy.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.

1. I have a girl crush on Carrie Underwood. Eric is fully supportive.
2. I would rather have two or three really good friends than a huge group of 20 aquaintances.
3. My best friend is really my husband. He is my favorite person in the world
4. I prefer Elvis to the Beatles.
5. I hated E. TN while I was there, but now wish I could raise my children there.
6. I was the first in my family to graduate from college, but not the last. My two brothers are currently getting degrees. Go education!
7. I wouild rather eat at Chipotle than Chops.
8. I hate wearing shoes, even in the winter.
9. I hate wearing coats too.
10. I would rather tell you how cheap something is than how expensive something is.
11. My dream job would be full time student.
12. I tried to learn German in college. It didn't work out so well.
13. I thought I was a socialist for one semester sophomore year at UT.
14. I credit Selena for keeping me on the straight and narrow in college. She was my mama.
15. I do not like wine, I prefer beer. Black and Tan to be specific.
16. I would rather have Dunkin Donuts coffee than Starbucks, even if that isn't so cool.
17. I think my brother Ron is the best parent of all of my siblings. Thankfully none of the others have facebook.
18. Fall is my favorite season.
19. Keri is my favorite in-law.
20. I have a scar over my left eyebrow from my brother pushing me into a table when I was a toddler.
21. I think Jessie's Girl is one of the top 10 songs of the 80's
22. I have horrible short term memory.
23. Eric and I have become addicted to VH1 reality tv.
24. I would rather be a parent than a president
25. I prefer mama to mommy.

No More Monkeys in the Bed.....

I think we might have a neon Vacancy sign flashing over our bed. Logan is finally sleeping peacefully in his own bed. I actually think he prefers it. We were laughing last night as we watched him stretch and roll around in his crib. However, this morning around 5am Kylie wakes up and says she wants to go to Mama's bed. I'm trying to send psychic messages to Eric---don't bring her in here, do not bring her in here. Then I see them coming around the corner. At least he pretended to look apologetic as he dumped her in the bed and went back to sleep. She is a smart cookie.....goes right to sleep. I let her get nice and groggy and then put her back in her bed. The goal is to have them sleeping in their own rooms at night, maybe by the time they go to college right?

The thing I'm enjoying right now is that Kylie seems to like classical music. We have a couple of soft classical cds that I put on at night before she goes to sleep. Now she asks for them. I hope she has some sort of interest in music someday. I'm not going to push it but if she (or Logan) is interested, I will certainly support it! I remember my dad listening to classical cds and telling us which ones were his favorites. I liked marching band so that I could go to the sporting events but my love was in the symphonic band. I enjoyed knowing the stories behind some of the pieces. My favorite piece to this day is Caccia and Chorale by Clifton Williams.

You can read the story here: http://catpages.nwmissouri.edu/m/ewoodru/caccia.htm

And hear the piece here: http://www.auburnschools.org/ahs_band/piece/c.html
It is a high school band, so you will hear some bumps and squeaks along the way....

It is a beautiful day today. I'm waiting for nap time to be over so that we can get out and enjoy it. That's the great thing about living in Atlanta. It can be winter one day and spring the next. I think I'm going to go to the park and let Kylie kick the soccer ball around a little. She starts soccertots in the spring. It is going to be a Kylie/Daddy activity. I know they both will enjoy the time together. He is the first person she asks for each morning. She thinks he drives a trash truck for a living....which is hilarious. Every morning she asks if da da went to work in his truck. I say yes Daddy is at work...she then replies Dada at work in trash truck? I just say yes. I wonder if she will be disappointed someday that he isn't a trashman?

Long Ramblings About a Book

My sister-in-law gave me a book titled My Sister's Keeper for Christmas. I picked it up today and just finished it. In the process of putting Logan in his crib I have confused my days and nights. No, I am not sleeping all day, I am just not sleeping at all!

This isn't a book review but I am going to talk about the book so if you haven't read it and wish to, don't read this post.

I have never been so affected by a book in my entire life. It was such a tough read that I had to walk away from it a couple of times and then come back. The ending left me crying off and on for about a hour. Eric, my gentle, sweet, husband says to me, It's fiction Jennifer, not even a true story, get over it. This is why women give birth to children and not men. I honestly do believe that while men are connected to their children in a way that women may not understand, the bond between woman and child is not stronger per se, but different?

The parents in the story have two children, one created to save the other who has cancer. The younger child decides she doesn't want to "save" her sister anymore. We find out later that the older sister doesn't want to be saved anymore and as usual, the youngest is fulfilling her role of being her sister's watchdog.

If I only had one child, I think I would have come away from this book angry at the younger child. I mean who wouldn't want to save their siblings life? How would I look at and care for the younger child if she didn't want to save her sibling who was the other half of my heart? Since I have two living breathing individual children whom I love so deeply for such different reasons (other than the fact that they are my children of course) I felt differently. I can only hope that I would never place that type of expectation of either of my children. More than that, I can only hope that we never have to even think about something like this.

I felt such sorrow for Anna, the youngest, who had such adult decisions placed upon her at such a young age. She never was an individual to me, only a body to be harvested for the older child's relief. I wonder if her mom truly looked at her that way or if she thought of her as being even more special, because she could do what the mother yearned to do....cure her child. I would imagine she thought of her as being more special but was so wrapped up in the illness of her eldest that she forgot to be a mother to all her children. When one of your babies are ill or upset, you just want to fix it. I think the guilt the mother carried had to be immense.

I told Eric that I think this book affected me so much because I was afraid that I would have reacted like the mother. We would be faced with a crisis, there would be an obvious answer, and I would just expect everyone to fall into place and do what I expected of them. I know Eric would be Brian, the father who would be able to step away from the emotional whirlwind and see the points of view of all of the children. It made me love Eric even more for being our moral compass but it made me so sad for the mother and the struggle she had for both of her children.

As a side note, the ending was so traumatic that I don't even know what to do with that. I mean really? You are going to kill Anna anyway? So much for happy endings. The interesting twist is that all the guilt that Anna carried was transferred to Kate. So really, in the end, no one really "won" I guess that was the point though.

Ok. I got that off my chest now I'm going to sleep.

Someone Else's Commentary on Toddlers....

I just read this one someone else's blog but thought it was pretty hilarious so I'm reposting....this is not from me, but I can relate to every one of these....

Ten Comments to not say to a Toddler's Mother while Shopping...
Strangers' Comments Couldn't Be Stranger

The little guy looks like he needs a nap.
But it's only eight o'clock in the morning!

I'll pray for him!
Recently, as I was leaving the store pretty thoroughly embarrassed, my usual state these days, a woman turned to me and said, "I'll be praying for him. I always pray for the little ones that cry." I wondered as I took my exit why she wasn't praying for ME. I was the one dealing with the little terror.

And on a related note...
Sure makes you believe in original sin...
I kid you not. Someone really said this to me. Actually I don't believe in that but let's not go into that here.

Tell your mama to hurry up and finish shopping!
Today when a "nice lady" directed this comment to my 21 month old son, I turned to her and said, "ma'am, I'm almost seven months pregnant and moving as fast as I can." If you must direct a snide comment at a kid's parent, through the child, don't expect him to pass it on.

What did you do to him?
I have heard this question so often now that I have a standard response. "I've been beating him with a wet noodle." Once someone didn't hear the wet noodle part and responded, "Oh, well I wouldn't do that if I were you."

What's wrong with him?
Do you mean besides the demon child inside of him that's making his head rotate 360 degrees on its axis? I have never actually said this to anyone, but the temptation grows stronger each time the question is posed to me.

Staring and head shaking
This one falls more into the category of non-verbal communication. I don't have a comeback for this one, but it isn't helpful. Save your disdain for the trip back home in the car.

And you're having another one?
Sheesh. Gimme a break, will ya? Don't kick a pregnant woman while she's down.

MY grandbaby loves to go to the grocery store!
"...His mother has really trained him well to sit quietly in the cart." Obviously, people who say such things are just looking to affirm their own positively perfect parenting skills. But every once in a while, just for a moment, I think, "Oh yeah? Wanna trade?"

So today is the day after Christmas. I think I am a bit hungover from the holidays but we had a great one. We spent Christmas morning with the kids. Eric brought Kylie downstairs and she ran to her Rose Petal Cottage and pretty much stayed there all morning. Logan seemed to like tasting his new toys as well. It was peaceful, the kids played with all their new treasures, and Eric and I sat in the living room and enjoyed the morning with coffee and Christmas music. It's funny how we wanted to find our traditions but sometimes traditions just find you. I imagine all of our Christmases will be similar to this year.

My sister came over later in the afternoon on Christmas and Kylie had a great time hanging out with Uncle John. He is her buddy. They went outside and walked around and John told Kylie the names of all the plants and such outside. He was then allowed to come inside the cottage (first person all day) and enjoy some snacks with Kylie and Winnie the Pooh. I've never seen such adoration on that child's face. I love it. With our shortage on grandfathers, I am happy that John is such a willing volunteer.

We are spending New Year's with Selena and Tyson. The boys will watch bowl games all day while Selena and I explore Chattanooga with the kids. I'm looking forward to it. I miss my best buddy and since we have already arranged Kylie and Emmett's marriage, it is important for them to know each other as well. KIDDING. They are great friends though.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. This was our best yet. Kylie understood what was going on and having Logan this year made it very special.

In Search of Christmas Traditions....

So this year Kylie is a little older and understands the gist of Christmas....the commercial part anyhow. She can say Santa and Ho Ho Ho. When Eric brought the tree inside on Friday she was really excited about the Kissmiss Tee. She told me where to place the ornaments and while the tree isn't pretty this year, it is exactly as Kylie wanted it....as it should be.



We are trying to come up with our own unique family traditions this year. We are going to leave cookies for Santa, presents in the stockings, the normal stuff....but we thought it would be fun to take the kids out to see Kissmiss lights too. I googled a couple of places online...Stone Mountain was expensive, Tanglewood Farms too far away, and then I found it, the perfect place and only 45 minutes from home! It is an operational farm that has reindeer, camels, a live nativity (for the real meaning of Christmas) and 80 acres of lights. I'm not going to name it because it isn't fair to poke fun at a place online. People can make up their own minds without my input....



So, it looked something similar to this



Kylie was relatively indifferent to the whole experience. There was a Winnie the Pooh at the entrance and that was about all that caught her eye. Logan slept the entire time. I told Eric that I now understand why parents are bummed when they take their kids out and the kids are just like whatever mom. It wasn't Kylie's fault, I mean it was a little country and slapped together, but one ooh would have been enough :) So for this Christmas, the tally is as follows: Santa (check, hated it), Christmas cookies (check, hated it), Christmas light display (check, hated it). I'll update as needed.

Only Daddies Know How to Brush Teeth....

Our night routine is pretty much like this---I take Logan up at 730. He fusses a little so I stay upstairs until he is asleep. At 8, Eric brings Kylie upstairs, brushes teeth, and puts her to sleep. Tonight, Logan went to sleep pretty fast and Eric was watching something on TV so I went downstairs to put Kylie to bed. We go to the bathroom and I pull out the toothbrush. She immediatly starts screaming Noooooooo and crying. I had to call Eric upstairs because I do not know the ritual of brushing teeth. Apparently, you first sit on the counter, attempt to turn off the light and then turn the water on yourself (no help from Mommy or Daddy). Daddy brushes teeth and then wipes off hands because hands are messy (repeat this ten times) and then you kiss yourself in the mirror and go night night. I did not know any of this. Good thing I got a lesson tonight since Eric has a work thing tomorrow night. Toddlers are so ritualistic.

Not much new to report in the Johnson household. Logan is FINALLY on a sleep schedule. I know that could change at any moment but for now he is taking an afternoon nap at the same time as Kylie and both are going to sleep at 8pm. He has adjusted well. Both kids are in good health too.

I'm looking forward to the holidays this year. Kylie is still a little young, but I think I'm going to let her help me bake cookies and such for Santa this year. She pretty much hates Santa, but it will be a fun tradition to start. Logan is growing so fast. I accidentally typed fat instead of fast...both apply. He is now eating first stage baby foods, and loves everything, even the green ones.

This year has been full of changes for us, new baby, new stay at home mom, Kylie is a new big sister, etc etc....but it has been a good year.....probably our best yet as a family.