In "The News"

Last night we took both girls to their first concert... and I'm not ashamed to admit it was Huey Lewis and the News. We weren't sure how they'd hold up (especially since they didn't come on until bedtime), but Katie and Sadie LOVED it. Sadie was bobbing her head and smacking her thighs, Katie was mesmerized by the musicians and loved shouting, dancing and clapping with the crowd. When we got home, I asked her what her favorite parts were, and she said she loved the guitars and when they sang "with just their voices" (accapella). She asked what the name of the band was, and when I told her, she said "Mommy, when I grow up I want to be in The News and sing too." Watch out rock'n roll hall of fame, here comes Katie.

Overall, it was a fair show. Huey's showing his age a bit, but vocally sounded as good as he did in the 80s. Katie was very impressed that he sang the songs in Disney's Oliver and Company, which I have a feeling we'll be watching a LOT in the weeks to come. This morning she asked for "The News" over her favorite Gwen Stefani track on the way to school. Yikes. We might have created a monster.

Total LOST junkie...

I don' t know how I'm going to get my fix... I'm a total LOST addict, and this was the best season ever. Now I have to get through the summer without it. Not to mention Heroes is done (what a lame way to end the season) and Idol is finito. What will I DVR now? Two episodes of Sopranos. Then I guess I'll start reading through my normal TV fix in the evenings. Summer can be so cruel.

In one of the last episodes of Lost, Charlie, knowing he was about to die, wrote down his five best moments in life. Being the total dork I am, I decided to try it myself. The amazing thing I discovered is that my top 5 those things happened in the last 4 years of my life. The other thing I realized through this exercize is that many of my happiest moments came at the expense of major "tragedies" in my life. I guess it was a reminder for me that, even in the midst of grief, loss, fear and sadness, great things and beautiful moments still happen.

I could easily come up with top 10 (actually, the list ended up being around 25). There are so many other favorite memories... happy childhood moments, beach vacations, my first kiss, the concert I met Jason at (Lollapallooza!), road trips all over the country with Cristen, my dad teaching me to dance, going to Longwood with Mom, the girls calling me "mama" the first time... it took me forever to narrow down the five "best." But this is the list I ended up with in the end. What are yours?

Here's what I came up with:
1. Katie's birth. That first time around is such a miracle - you have no idea what to expect and how your life will change. Katie looked up at me, and I've been her slave ever since.
2. Holding Sadie the first time. Imagine having a newborn and not holding her... watching her suffer, worrying she wouldn't survive. Then, magically, one day she is better and you get to hold her. She screamed the entire time, but it was magic, none the less.
3. Sadie's birth. Even though bittersweet, the actual process of giving birth without any drugs, in hindsight (not at the time) was a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. Would I do it again? Heck no. Hook me up to the drug machines. But the pride I felt for getting through it and living was immense.
4. The final moments I had with Nana. Jason's grandmother will have a lasting and lingering effect on my life. The communication we shared near her final days, both verbal and non-verbal, will stay with me forever. I always felt at peace in her home with her, and I miss her.
5. Getting my degree. Walking down the aisle, knowing I'd done it on my own, albeit the hard way, and that it was worth all those years of headache, debt, etc.

OK, and now because I know you care, here's the update on the girls the last few weeks. Katie came down with the flu on Mother's day. Sadie joined the party a few days later, followed by me. We all started feeling a bit better on Sunday of last week, when Jason suddenly threw out his back by picking up something off the lawn. He was just feeling left out, I think.

Katie is getting super excited about summer. She's got a million things lined up - classes (Tae Kwon Do, ballet, swimming, Spanish), play dates and other fun stuff. We're debating doing KD passes again this year. She had a blast going there last year. I'm hoping to work only 3 days a week (meaning working nights even longer hours, but at least i can get out), so that will be nice.

Sadie is "talking" up a storm. She's doing all kinds of sounds, and has mastered "Hi" and "Mama" - often using them together when I walk in the door, and waving like mad. She looks like if she keeps waving so hard she'll take off and fly. She's still not crawling, but that's ok. I know it's coming soon enough. She's decided to wean herself, which I'm kind of sad about. Actually very sad about. I feel like it was way too short. But she hasn't been gaining weight like she should, and she wants more than I can seem to keep up with, even with pumping in odd hours. So, I guess I need to just accept the inevitable. Next week she'll be 9 months!

Mother's Day Saved at the bottom of the 9th

So, I had a very crappy Mother's Day this year for the most part. I'd had no sleep the night before, was up early with the girls, they were both cranky and sick most the day, Jason didn't pitch in... it just sucked. That is, until toward the end. I was about in tears because it had been such a bad day, when all of a sudden Sadie looked up at me, threw up her hands for me to pick her up and said "Mama." That's right... dog be darned! I got to be Sadie's first word! (Katie said "Darla" (our dog) first). She's made the mama noises quite a bit lately, but I never could be sure before yesterday that she had connected that mama=me. There was no doubt in her actions yesterday! It instantly went from being my worst day to one of my best. Jason's very lucky, because he was inches from sleeping in the garage.

Katie is currently on this kick about asking questions concerning reproduction. She wants to know where everything comes from. Questions this week have ranged from "Do lady bugs carry babies in their tummies?" to "Do horses push babies out of a hole in their bottom?" to "Can cats have their tummies cut to pull the babies out like some mommies do?" Usually these conversations take place at inappropriate times when in public. I'm loving it. On the plus side, I find myself looking up things like insect reproduction late at night so I have some valid answers the next morning.

Sadie's getting long and remains fairly thin for a baby. I think she might be 17 lbs now. Length-wise she's outgrowing those 6-12 month sleepers, but they're still baggy around the middle. Of course, I worry myself sick over how much she eats. She still only eats small quantities every couple of hours. She's babbling a lot these days, and does this crazy rocking number that has caused quite a few bruises already. Mostly on me. She also pinches everything - me, the dog, her sister - and it really hurts. I'll be glad when this phase passes. No crawling yet, but she's inching forward on her belly.

Here are some bragging photos. I've been failing miserably in my mommy duties of posting them lately.

Katie, 4 1/2 yrs. And yes, those are weeds galore in the rock bed. Oh well. At least Katie looked pretty! This is one of the very few times she's worn a dress in the last year or two without fighting it.

Sadie, 7 months in a gorgeous dress a friend gave (thanks, Patty! Both girls' dresses were beautiful!). She ate the bow about 10 minutes into the pictures.

Good Morning, PoPo!

I awoke this morning to a series of beeping noises. I listened, didn't hear the kids moving (it was 5:45 am), so kept snoozing... too tired from the frequent wake up calls from the night before to get up and turn off (what I assumed) to be the alarm clock. Little did I know that the beeping noises were prelude to the loud alarm that was about to go off. Katie had opened the front door to "look outside at the weather", which had tripped our alarm. I ran downstairs to a hysterical 4-year old covering her ears and rocking in a corner, tears streaming down her face. I punched in the code, only to hear a woman's voice come over the system - "Are you OK?"
"Yes"
"I hear screaming"
"It's my 4 year old. She's scared of the alarm."
"Please give me your verbal password"
Ok, well, I set up this system almost 2 years ago, and have never used a verbal password. Great. I run through my list of passwords that I commonly use (there are like a million) until the frustrated woman on the other end of my alarm system sighed in exhasperation and said she'd call the number I had listed to verify. She called, I answered. Talked. Still didn't know the password. She said she'd call another number. No other phone rang.

A few minutes later, a nice police officer showed up. Again Katie began to panic and ran to her room crying loudly. I explained what happened (by this time I was holding Sadie, also crying), and he was kind enough to believe me. I then fixed the strongest cup of coffee known to man and gave up on further sleep for the day.

Sadie is now 8 months - it's hard to believe. She's scooting forward on her belly and starting to "talk" more. Today we went to NoVa to see Jason's brother's 50th birthday (Happy Bday Carl!) and she clearly said "mama" several times when she was being held by others and wanted me. Yay! I've been seriously worried she's autistic, so this is a very good sign. I guess she's just not the talker Katie was. Of course, it's hard for Sadie to get a word in edgewise with Katie around...

Jason was out of town last weekend to visit in Blacksburg, and was out of town for the last 4+ days to a boys weekend in Vegas. I've had nonstop drama for 3 of the 4 days. Puking, Pouting, Hurt Knee, Screaming, Leaky Fridge, Sleepless Nights, Low-flying Military Helicopters Circling for an Hour at Bed Time, Police Visitation and Outlandishly Early Mornings are just a few of my favorite highlights. He owes me SOOOOOOO big.