OOOOOO-EEEEEEEeeeeee!

This weekend, Oo-Eee went missing for a full 24 hours.

That's one nap, and one bedtime.

Anyone who I tell that knows about Ben and Oo-Eee's relationship looks at me and gasps, "No!" As in, how did you make it?
How did Ben do?
Was there screaming?
And crying?

And did Ben get upset?

Actually, Benny did great. I think I was more worried about Oo-Eee's whereabouts than Ben was.

Oo-Eee's getting pretty threadbare, and I think when he's done, I'll have just as hard a time accepting it as Ben will. Or actually, probably a harder time.

Anyways, Oo-Eee is safe and sound and ready for more adventures.


Phew.

So happy I could cry.

Back when Ben was a newborn, my Grandma sent me a card with a little bit of money in it to get my house cleaned. Back at that time, I couldn't really find anyone, so we tucked the money away. Well, we actually spent it, but I had in the back of my mind that we'd use it SOME day.

That some day was Monday.

My mom's friend Ann, who has been cleaning their house for 7 years had an opening! And I took it!

She cleaned behind the toilets, people. She cleaned under the microwave (and in it). She cleaned out the seal around the fridge and freezer doors. She vaccuumed, and she mopped. She cleaned the WINDOWSILL ABOVE MY SINK!!!!!!!!!!!

When I came home, I felt like a 20 pound weight was lifted off my shoulders. Between hanging out with my kids, working, cooking, shopping, running kids around and rennovating our house (inside and out) and the plex, I just couldn't do it all. Cleaning just wasn't happening.

But now it is, and I would recommend it to everyone.

Now I just need to get the basement dried out and back to normal (our hot water tank broke last week, and the basement has been a disaster zone since then. I'm thinking of changing the theme of my blog (life) to 'it's always something') . But that's another story. :)

Happy Wednesday!

Faith like a child.

Sometimes she stumps me.

I wonder, when did it get so complicated? I can't even answer a simple question, or a question simply.

How do you answer a three year old without insulting her intelligence by giving too little or freaking her out by giving her too much?

When did I decide that there can be no simple answer? Are there only simple answers? Do things have to be more complicated than they seem? Does the complicated stuff really matter, or is there only a level of simplicity that we have to worry about?

She asks me questions, and I give her the best answer I can, though it seems lame to me, and all the while I'm thinking in my head, "yes, but....."

How do I decide what to teach her, or how to teach her, or where to start, or what parts to leave out or in when things seem silly or crazy or wierd or just don't come out in quite the right way?

We were talking about heaven the other day, and she was telling me that you could get there by plane.

"It's way up in the sky," she said, "past the clouds."

She was going to take all her friends in the plane, me, daddy, and Ben, and we were going to go visit Jesus in Heaven. "Well," I asked, "how long do you think it will take us to get there?"

She paused. "About twenty minutes" she replied.

Putting it simply, or rather, getting it simply from a three year old is teaching me more than it is teaching her, I think.

So when are we going to start sleeping through the night?

In keeping with her tradition of holding Travis and I at the brink of not knowing what to do as parents, Sarah has entered the land of 'bad dreams'. She is up at least once a night (up to 3 !!!!!!) at least half of the time (and that is me being optimistic). It started with her wanting to sleep with us, but I am the kind of person who needs peace and quiet and stillness to sleep well.

So, we thought we'd try the cuddle in her bed.

But then, I'm up twice a night (once to get to her bed, and once to get back to mine).

We tried to ignore her.

Then, it just lasted longer.

We tried locking our door.

Then she would bang on it.

Then, we made a bed on our floor.

Theoretically, she would have her bad dream, wake up, open our door, and quietly go to sleep in her 'baby tiny' bed.

I should mention that when she wakes up, she is not the type of kid who just stands there, in front of you, until you open your eyes because you feel someone there.
No.
She is the type of kid who cries. And whines. And fake cries. And sobs. And whines. And then gets louder (especially if you ignore her).

Back to the baby tiny bed in our room.

She thought that was a treat! She joined us three nights in a row.

We have threatened spanking. (Do you see our desperation?)

That one works sometimes.

But then, one night, when we went to go give her a kiss before we went to bed, this is what we saw:

She has been sleeping on the floor for a week.

Her baby tiny bed.

I asked her, "why do you sleep on the floor?"
She replied, "Because I have bad dreams on my bed, but not on the floor."

It has helped a bit, but the problem is still not solved.

After one epidode the other night, I was in talking to her, and I asked her, "Why do you think Ben sleeps through the night?" She told me, "I'm just not very good at sleeping all night long."

Tell me about it!!

Last night, we resorted to offering her $1 for her Africa jar if she slept through the night.

Now, that one seemed to work, but it's going to cost us alot of money.

It just might be worth it, we're that desperate!!

Easter and everything after

Well, since Easter was a week ago, I thought I'd get my act together and post some pictures. Seems like I've been a little preoccupied lately, and no, I'm not pregnant, but kind of the opposite, but more on that another time.

Anyways, Easter was a really great weekend, we actually took the whole weekend off. Well, except for putting in a few windows on Friday morning. It was a good time. Lots of family and food and most importantly, CHOCOLATE!!!

Opi and Sarah.

The boys.

In Sarah's words, "I won!"

My matching boys.

Sarah's bee-u-ti-ful dress. I had a hard time getting a still one of her -- she was too busy spinning and twirling and dancing. I think she'll like the music and movement class I've got her in on Wednesday mornings!

This was up at my cousin's property on Saturday. Ben was in heaven with the free flowing chocolate that was happening, and he took full advantage of it.
That, on Ben's hand, is a mix of chocolate and dirt, and apparently that tastes just as good as chocolate alone.
Maybe even better!