I don't think this one is in Webster's.

This morning, Sarah wanted me to "play puzzles" with her. "Not right now, sweetie. It's time to get dressed and go to school." She looked a little disappointed and sighed. "Okay, Mommy. We can to it nexterday."

"Nexterday?"

"Uh huh. Nexterday."

"Is that like tomorrow?"

"Yep. Only it's nexterday."

Monsters and Babies

Last week I took all the artwork off the walls so they could be packed for moving. We have one particular painting in our room Pete bought some years ago that, frankly, I have never really liked. A friend of his painted it so I couldn't just throw it away or make it disappear. However, when we lived in the red house, it did reside behind the front door. ;)

Here's a meager description: It's an unframed square canvas. The background is a mottled gray. The figure in the painting is a disembodied head the resembles a crash test dummy and has an ethereal cross "shooting" from its mouth. Really, you need to see it, because it's quite creepy.

In this house, the blue house, I relented and hung it over our bed. I refused to have it in a public area of the house. Sarah has always been creeped out by the painting too so it's not just me. When she noticed it was gone she asked me, "Mommy, where did the monster go?"

ROFL!!!

Ahem. On another note:

This morning Sarah asked me, "Mommy, are you going to have another baby?" Where did this come from? Did she think I was pregnant? I looked down at my pooch - not that bad. I've lost all but 4 pounds of Christopher weight.

"Um, no sweety, I'm not."

"But I want another baby!" Pete had walked up by this time and said, "Why? Is there something wrong with your brother?" Sarah nodded. "Is it because his hair is too spikey?" She nodded again. Hehehe. ;)

"I want another baby! I want a baby sister!" Oooooh.

"We're not having any more babies. But Angi is going to have a baby girl. And maybe one day Eliot will have a little brother or sister."

"She's my best friend!"

"Who, Lauren?"

"Uh huh. And Angi's baby, too!"

Poor Sarah. I wish I could give her a baby sister, but it's not in the cards. I think 2 kids are enough for us. But I'll tell you a little secret - I wouldn't mind having another one. I just love babies, really I do. ;)

Beach Trip

We all had a great time at the beach. Sarah had the best time hanging out with Lauren! They made sand castle after sand castle, splashed in the water and helped collect sea shells. They also enjoyed having "sleep overs" in alternate rooms of the house.

Sarah got knocked down by a wave while we were looking for shells and went all the way under, but handled it very well. My heart leaped into my throat, but I didn't panic and we all told her she did a super job! I didn't want her to be scared of the water! However, the next day she got a good slap in the face by another wave and decided she had had enough. Hehe. ;)

It was the perfect weekend - the weather was super! I've never seen so many BIG shells in my life! It was awesome! I hope we can do it again soon. :)

I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

Mommy, take heed!

"Mommy, my tummy hurts."

I must, MUST, remember those words and what they mean! And it's not the first time she's ever said it to me - I should know what happens afterwards. But I ignored the warning bells going off.

Sarah said that exact phrase to me as we were walking out of her school to the car. I asked her what she had for lunch: oranges and goldfish. Of course, lunch and snack are the same thing in her world, so I asked her what else she had to eat. "Tuna sammiches." And even though she claims her tummy hurt, she popped into the school office and pilfered a piece of candy from the bowl sitting on Ms. Rosiland's desk. Yum!

We had to run by Daddy's office to sign some papers before going home. "I want chicken nuggets and french fries, Mommy." "I don't have any money, sweetie." "We can ask Daddy for some." Such a smart girl. ;)

Pete gave us some money and Sarah was happy. I asked her if she wanted Wendy's or McDonald's. "McDonalds!" Truthfully, the only reason she wants to get them is for the toy. But then, what kid doesn't?

We had just passed Homewood middle school when I heard something... wet... splat. I look back at Sarah - she had just thrown up! Ack! "Did you throw up?" I asked. She looked a little shocked, glanced down at her lap and began to cry. "I threw up, Mommy!" Another wave erupted. I had to roll down the window - phew!

I called Pete and told him that we weren't going to be able to make it to the pumpkin patch this weekend because of the vomiting. :( "Does she have a fever?" "I don't know, I'm driving!" Gaw!

I swear, there must be some kind of alert that goes out to all horrendously slow drivers when something like this happens, because they just knew that I was in a hurry to get home. But no... they all had to get in front of me. My car must have sent out signals to all the red lights, too, telling them to make sure and catch me. Arrrrggggghhh!

I got her cleaned up and settled when we finally got home. She never had a fever and didn't throw up again, thank goodness. She also decided to carry around the hospital barf bag I gave her all weekend. She even took it to bed with her just in case.

I hate that we missed the pumpkin patch, but I wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to be sick again, because a kid puking in the back seat while you're driving certainly is not fun. And I will remember the words of warning!

She's so fickle

Sarah told us this weekend that she has a boyfriend. His name is Angus.

I've met Angus. He's 5 years old and towers over her (she's so petite). When I picked her up Friday they had their arms around each other's waists ... wait, let me correct that. She had her arm around his waist - his was around her neck and he was practically dragging her around the room because he's so much taller. It was pretty comical, to tell the truth.

I guess her "love" has grown since last week, because he was only her best friend then. Now he's her boyfriend. She informed us last night that they are getting married... well, she said she was going to marry him. I don't know how he feels about this. ;)

I tell ya, Sarah's pretty fickle. Last year she said she was going to marry Santa Claus. I thought that was a good choice - all the presents you could ever want and all. Then, right after Christopher was born, she said she was going to marry him. I told her that yes, in some states you can marry your brother, but Alabama isn't one of them.

At the dinner table last night she was pooching her tummy out and said there was a baby in there. Another Cloostifer, to be exact. I asked her if there was a daddy. She said no. "Good," said Pete. Heh.

Invitations

There is some trouble brewing like a lava dome growing on a once dormant volcano. Just about every day when I pick Sarah up from school, she tells 5 or 6 kids that they can come over to our house "tomorrow" and spend the night. Naturally, being the young pre-schoolers they are, they believe it's going to happen! Yikes!

When she was still at Ms. Georgia's house, Sarah would invite everyone to spend the night. "I want Brianna and Dacey and Ian and Ms. Georgia and Mr. Pat and Mr. Don to spend the night, Mommy." Ummm, yeah right.

So now there are at least 25 kids in her class that she wants to spend the night- oh, and Ko-Chon of course. I cringe when I hear her tell them. She's so excited and insists that they are coming over. They look up at me with hope in their little, puppy dog eyes. "Can we come over to your house?" they ask. I hate to burst their bubbles, but I'd rather have those pop than the lava dome.

Jesus!

I must repeat myself a million times a day when I tell Sarah to do something. And, as always, it doesn't seem like she's paying attention or hears me or understands when I know she does. Of course, the eternal question of "Why?" follows every sentence I spout:

"Daddy's going to take you to school this morning," I'll say. "Why?"
"I need to go to the grocery store." "Why?"
"Let's brush your hair." "Why?"

I think it's an automatic response now. What really drives me up the wall is when I take the time to really explain something to her, in a manner that she will understand, she'll come right back around to the first question and ask "Why?" again! ARRRG! "I JUST told you!"

*sigh* What's a mother to do?

Anyway, last night, she proved to me that she actually does listen - and picks up on things when you aren't thinking about what you're saying. We were eating dinner last night - lasagna, to be exact. Sarah was having a hard time getting the slippery noodles on her fork and up to her mouth. She kept trying and trying. Finally, after another noodle slithered off her fork, she looked down at the elusive pasta and muttered, "Oh, Jesus!"

We couldn't help but laugh. Naturally she took that as a cue to repeat it several times. I finally told her that it probably wasn't a good thing to say. She said "Okay," but I won't be surprised if I get a report from school about it. Well, there are worse things she could be saying, I suppose.