Cape Optional

There's no easy way to say it.  Being a one family that lives in two separate houses doesn't add up.  So, it was time to buy me and the twins a new ride.  And though I'm a cheapskate on gas, I decided an SUV would be wonderful, especially after 9 months in a teeny tiny Saturn. 

There are things that you can learn from small cars:
1. Children who can touch each other in the car....WILL!
2. If you blew out your knee in college, you shouldn't drive a stick shift.
3. Headlights smaller than a house will not illuminate a deer playing hide-and-go-seek on the Trace.
4. Strong winds can make you a rodeo cowboy as you "white knuckle" on the way home.

So, after taking Kid home last week and visiting the house of Js (super fun!), I paid a visit to the lovely folks at a car dealership in Collierville.  In the rain.  At night.  Honestly, I was just looking for a distraction, so I didn't have to sit at home alone without the twins.  Yet, there they were....car salesman...waiting for the gullible woman to walk in A-L-O-N-E.  Bless their hearts.  When I walked out....albeit several days HOURS later, I was the proud new owner of an SUV.  Don't worry, ladies.  I got them 10K off the sticker price.  That's right.  I did WELL!  (Who's up for some shopping?)

Sure, it's the base model.  Not a lot of frills going on here.  But I have XM Radio, radio controls on the steering wheel with Bluetooth phone, and 3 rows of seats...who needs leather, sunroof, and power everything?  I needed safety.  So kbb.com, consumer reports, and just about every other publication said that's exactly what I'm getting.  Happy! 

But the biggest happy was from a free year of OnStar.  That's the single mom's guardian angel. The little blue button with all the power.  It's like the bat signal.  If you land in trouble, you press that button, and someone will come to rescue you.  Sing it with me!  Da-na-na-na na-na-na-na ONSTAR!  Whether they get to you dressed in tights and a cape, who knows....but the point is....they get to you.  Even on the Trace in Mississippi.

What I've Always Wanted

Christmas. 3 years olds. Presents.  Need I say more?

Yes, if Lola is involved.  Everytime she opened a gift, she would shout "It's what I've always wanted" before the paper was even off the present.  It got to be hysterical.  We were all saying it with her by the time the last of the gifts were unwrapped.  Apparently, like her Mama, there is a LOT that Lola wants.  But luckily, what Lola wants, she got.

That's B2Fs

Best Friends.  Some days I think they are what gets me through it.  And I'm lucky enough to have more than just one. There's Kel. The BFF from way back when we were skinny with big hair and thinking we were the coolest things to walk the middle school halls.  And I'm quite lucky to say, she's still there (and she's still skinny!).  There's Lisa, my sister for all non-blood related purposes, with an extra 10 years of wisdom and a set of twins to boot. She gives me the best advice, and is just a little bit devious.  Love it! Then, there's the newest member of the club, Kimberly.  I'm not sure I'd survive down in the wilderness of Mississippi without her.  Only 9 months, and it feels like it's been nine years of friendship.  We finish each others sentences. But more importantly, she is the most positive person I know, and it makes me want to be better...at everything.

These girls have always been there for me, and that is especially true lately, when I've needed it most.  So, Lola and I were talking about friends the other day, and she told me "Mom, you my best friend."  Once I recovered from the tears (yep, still on the edge of the crying cliff), I told her she was my BFF, too.  She wanted to know what that meant.  I told her BFF was Best Friends Forever.  Because she's 3 with lots on her mind, she couldn't remember it, so I told her to just say BFF.  I wrote it on her dry erase board, so she could understand what I was saying.

As she got out of the car in the carpool line at preschool the next morning, she went through her daily ritual of giving me a kiss and hugging my neck. But instead of telling me she loved me, she said, "Mom, you my B2Fs!" and hopped out of the car.

I love that kid!  Talk about putting a smile on your Mama's face all day.  And with Lola of course, she had to put her on spin on it.  Who needs a B-F-F, when you can have a B-2-Fs?

Seen and Most Definitely Heard...

Black Friday I told Lola I saw Santa at Walmart and "he" wondered if a pink guitar was ok since "he" was having a hard time finding red. Without even time to stop and think, she says "Yeah, that's okay. I make music on pink guitars, too. But Mom, I better ask him for pink boots cause red ones no match my guitar."

Confused. I ask, "Boots?"

She says, "Yeah, Mom, cause when I sing "Hey, y'all, I'm going out with my boots on" (which she sang), I gonna need some boots to have my boots on.

Makes perfect sense to me.

SO...

Lola (today at Walmart): Mimi, do you think that Santa will be here today? Cause I need to talk to him....

What do y'all think she was wanting to discuss? Love it!

Death to Nemo

On the way to work last Monday, Lola decides she is NOT going to preschool. More so, she is not going without Bear. To make her point, she worked herself up into a 102 fever. That's right, en route! Therefore, she was a guest in my class until my substitute arrived. While I was at my duty post in the hall, she is alone with my students. As we left school, she cheered up with a million questions about my "kids."

1. Don't they go sit on their numbers when they come in class.
2. Why are they so big?
3. Where did I get my big tv screen? (aka SmartBoard)
4. Can she come back and touch the tv screen sometime?
5. Why were we going to the doctor? (seriously???)

Now, let me tell you. There is nothing to do on a Monday morning in town with a sick baby while you are waiting for your appointment time to draw near. We killed some time at Cracker Barrel (food & toys), drove to Barnes & Noble and wished like the devil it was open. Then we drove around looking at cars (yep, still haven't bought one...sigh). Lola talked the whole time...about everything.

Finally we arrived at the doc 30 minutes early..(I was out of ideas, it was cold, and I really wanted to get her seen by the doc and get home). We filled out the small novel of paperwork, found a seat, and began what I'd only wished I'd known beforehand was the first of TWO viewings of Finding Nemo!!! That's right. We had an appointment at 10:30, but we waited until 12:15 to be seen by the doctor. Maybe this is a Mississippi thing, but I'm not used to it. (Everyone loves to tell me it is because there are so many people sick this year....BUT I took them to the doc in Collierville in October and NO WAIT!!! Like always....spoiled I guess).

Anyway... We sat through most of Nemo. Talked to some other moms. And another movie starts. All the kids are excited. You know, something to do in the boring doctor's office. Then, it's Nemo AGAIN. There was a collective groan from all the parents...especially the dads in the room. I tell you, by the time they came to get us, I wished that Nemo had been eaten by those sharks! (Bad Mommy Award!). Again, she rarely stopped talking or singing.

Then, the talking stopped. The doctor saw us for 10 minutes. I kid you not! And sent us on our very unmerry way. (By the way, she continued to have fever Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! Stupid doctor. Mimi had to come from TN, so I could go to work. Getting fired would truly suck.)

So, after leaving the house at 6:45 that morning, we were on our way home around 1 pm. As we were driving home...listening to "Holly" on our XM radio (cause I NEEDED some Christmas spirit at this point), Lola finally speaks again.

Lola: Mom, we have been in this car all day!
Me: Yes, sweetie, it does feel that way.
Lola: And Mom...
Me: Yes?
Lola: I wike spending the day with you..just gurls, but sometimes can we do it when I no sick and when we no in the car all da time?
Me: Yes, baby....I want that, too. (almost as much as I wanting to stop singing "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming" out of my head!!! Thanks Dory and Ellen!)

By the way, Lola is feeling better. No fever Friday night or Saturday. Her double ear infection is down to just one ear...and the cough is getting better. School on Monday!

Gold, Frankincense and Fur

I have this great friend; she's like a sister to me, which is why I refer to her that way often in conversation. She is also the mother of twins...two boys, preteens. She is a great listener and very supportive, in a way that only another mother of multiples can be. But she also gives the best advice. A few years ago, she told me a story about how they were handling the insane commercialization of Christmas and presents at her house. Basically, Jesus received three presents for Christmas, and you shouldn't ask for anything more than that. I recently decided to take her idea and teach my kids. They have been studying about all the things that God created. This is part of the conversation that took place:

Me: Did you all know that God had a son?
Lola: What his name, Mom?
Me: His name is Jesus.
Bear: That a weird name.
Lola: Jesus (sounding more like she was preaching...Je-Sus!) I wike that.
Me: Okay, Well, He was born on Christmas day.
Lola: Did they have a birthday party, with hats and balloons?
Me: No, but people did come to see Him and some brought presents.
Bear: What day bring?
Me: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
Bear: Fur?
Me: No, myrrh!
Bear: Like fur on a puppy dog?
Me: No, myrrh!!!
Lola: Dose, no sound like fun presents.
Bear: Me tink Jesus no have fun wit dose presents.
Me: He was a baby, and they were very special gifts.
Lola: I hope Santa don't bring me no fur.
Bear: Yeah, me too. I want a bike. Jesus would have fun wit a bike. Next time, he should tell Santa.


Love to be a fly on the wall at preschool when they repeat this as they begin their studies of Christmas and Jesus in the next few weeks!

But, they did get my point that at Christmas we should not focus on all the stuff we want to "get" but focus on what we can give and do for others....sort of....Bear asked later, "Mommy, we still get twee presents right? And no fur!"

Rock N Roll Christmas

I knew this day would come. They are Santa obsessed. Sure, they don't want to go sit on his lap, but it's all Santa Santa Santa. A few weeks ago, Lola told me she wanted a guitar from Santa. She picked it out at ToysRus: small, red, fire streak. Yep. That SCREAMS Lola. So, the next day she asks "Have I been bad?" As I was about to answer "You think?" (imagine house hunting for 2 hours with hyper 3 year olds...that's right), I decided to ask the 3 year old mantra "WHY?" She responds that Santa "no bring me my 'dittar' and was no bad" Trying to contain my laughter, I explained that he wouldn't be bringing it until Christmas. To which, darling Lola exclaimed, "Well, he needs to hurry up, cause I need to make some music."