What's for dinner?

I'm glad McKenna isn't in charge of planning dinner.  If we had it her way, we be eating "homemade deep fried fish stick soup with carrots". 

The future cost of free-right-now

I could go a couple ways with this post...but I'll stick with the one I originally intended.  Anna and McKenna had dental visits today.  (I think I owe Kate Gosselin a thank you for showing our girls that her kids did so well at their televised visit.)  McKenna was a champ.  Anna was, as usual going into something stressful, anxious.  The verdict on Anna is that, even without her molars in, there's not much room in the back of her mouth.  Enter molars.  Enter wisdom teeth.  I'm no dentist, but that sounds like the making for braces or something in the future.  Since neither Chris nor I had braces, I was hoping we could get through without the kids needing them.  Things could change, but it didn't sound good today.  Free (nice insurance!) today never sounded so expensive in the future.  

Note to McKenna.

Do not open until you turn 12.

I was studying last night and you wanted to help me.  We finally decided that the best way for you to help me learn neuro and fluid/electrolyte material was to draw eyes and ears.  That didn't satisfy you for long, but knowing that you couldn't read, and didn't have the knowledge bank to quiz me...you had to be more creative.

Please remember that you said, "Mommy, you don't need to study.  You're already a nurse.  (with emphasis...) AND YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING!"

Love, Mommy

Little memories

It's hard to imagine the future.  I often wonder what things will be like, but it's hard since we never really know what will happen.  Sometimes I think that McKenna will just be 4 forever because I can't imagine anything else.  The real challenge, I guess, is in the remembering.  Remembering the little things.  Like how the kids imitate the noise of the coffee grinder...perfectly.  Like how Anna doesn't like to have her hair brushed.  Like how McKenna much prefers a barette over a ponytail of any sort.  Like how Samuel says "twains".  Like how sad it is when dress up clothes go from too big to too small.  Like how McKenna agrees with me mid meal every night, "You're right!  It is good!"  Like how Anna sleepwalks into our bedroom every night.  Like how fun it is to watch Samuel identify letters and the girls to identify words they know as we read.  Like how amazing their memories are.  Really, I don't want to forget any of it.  The kids' scrapbooks are evidence of my not wanting to forget.

E.C.G.

Tonight I was so honored to be a part of something special.  My friend, my sister in Christ, asked me to come be with her for the birth of her beautiful baby girl.  It was so simple, so painfully beautiful.  I walked in having the experiences of birthing three children, but never having witnessed a birth without being the laborer.  What a joy...  

Reality

McKenna now knows that The Disney Store is not the same as DisneyWorld.  We kept it going as long as we could!  Now she wants to go to the DisneyWorld that's outside...with REAL princesses.  We had a good run...

What we need...

Tonight was "sugar cookie night" at our house.  The dough was ready and the kids were chomping at the bit to get going.  The first order of business was to choose the cutters.  We have a set that is used every year and some years we throw in a few extras.  This year McKenna insisted that we use the cat.  "We (she says with a sadly sincere face) need a Christmas cat."  Huh.  If only she knew how hard I'm working to keep the secret of the Christmas cat that is waiting to come home to us this week!  We've been getting daily updates on how our little no-name feline is doing at our cousin's house across town.  At any rate, doubling the recipe sounded like a great idea...until midway through the icing.  We'll be finishing that tomorrow.