DO THESE THINGS ONLY HAPPEN TO ME?

My lovely daughter, Harley. That girl never ceases to amaze me. Last night we went to Eastland Mall.

Of course, as soon as we walk in the door the girls had to go to the bathroom. I can't wait until they are disgusted instead of intrigued by public bathrooms. Anyway, after the ritual cleaning, Vanessa goes in one stall and Harley goes in another. Sometimes Harley needs help getting herself back together. Not last night though. She had it all taken care of. She was a big girl.

Fast forward past seeing Santa Claus and a little shopping. We are standing in Lane Bryant looking for something for my niece. I'm talking to my sister-in-law on the phone to see what size to buy. I hear Harley say "mama" for the MILLIONTH time since we walked into the mall. Finally, I look down and her pants are at her knees. Bare behind showing.

Her pants had fallen down. Her panties too.

I quickly got off the phone, pushed Harley into a private nook and fixed her.

Apparently she neglected to pull up her panties in the bathroom and that caused her pants to fall down.

Why me?

Fa-La-La

My baby like Christmas songs.

While driving home from work the other day I had Christmas songs on the radio. I was singing along. The baby was dancing in my belly.

When a commercial came on and the music stopped and I stopped singing, she stopped moving.

Apparently she loves Christmas music. Or maybe she was mad because my bad singing was disturbing her sleep. It really could go either way.

Snow Day

Everyone loves a good snow angel.

"My hands are FREEZING!" (she had gloves on, she took them off to feel the snow)

ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO...

Vanessa can be a girly girl. She loves clothes, make-up, hair. Even though I try to keep my make-up out of their reach, Vanessa found some eye shadow and decided to try it out. When I saw her, she was scared she was in big trouble. I told her if she wanted to play dress up, just let me know. I'll put make-up on her and Harley and they can put on their dresses. Here are the princesses, make-up and ball gowns over sweatshirts and t-shirts.

Vanessa received a lot of money for her birthday. She chose the Bratz Make-up doll to buy with all her money. Harley got into the make-up......... which included glitter......

Baby Needs Her Space

Yesterday morning I was lying in bed, propped up and I brought my knee up. The baby started kicking. At first I just enjoyed the movement, I like it when they kick. Then I realized that she was actually kicking my leg!!! Apparently she didn’t want my leg there and was trying to tell me to move it. I moved my leg, she kicked one more time where my leg was and then stopped.

My girl needs her space!

Harley-ism

I took the girls to the dentist yesterday. They like going to the dentist. However, Harley had this question after her visit yesterday:

-"Why do we have to go to the dentist? I can brush my own teeth! I don't need him to brush them!"

Halloween 2007

I am getting so much better!! It's November 2nd and I'm putting up the Halloween pictures! I think last year I put them up with the Christmas pictures!

This year the weather was perfect. Sunny, slight chill but warm enough that they didn't have to wear a jacket.

We went into Groveport this year instead of just walking through our neighborhood. A friend of mine has always said what a great time it is in Groveport. We gave it a try this year.

On our way into Groveport we were stopped a light. A lady in the car next to us was staring at Harley. So Harley, being Harley, yells out the window "TRICK OR TREAT!!!" I asked her why she said that and she said "The lady was staring at me so I yelled 'trick or treat'" Now where does she get that smart-mouth?

We had a great time. The girls got lots of candy. I saw so many adorable costumes. One family dressed as the Flinstones with their little 1 yr old as Pebbles. so cute!

Harley had one of the funniest comments of the night. A teenage boy was dressed as a "rocker" (I'm assuming that's what he was). He wasn't wearing a shirt. Harley looked at him, got on the other side of me and said "I'm scared of him, he's NAKED!" That's right, baby girl, you be afraid of naked boys! Be very afraid!

Vanessa was Ariel, The Little Mermaid this year. She didn't want a wig so I spray painted her hair red.

Harley was a clown. I didn't need to buy a wig for her 'fro so I spray painted her hair blue. She was the cutest clown!

HOW CUTE IS SHE?!

Pumpkin Show 2007

It was a really good year for Pumpkin Show. The weather threatened a few times, but every day turned out to be beautiful. We had such a great time. We were there every day, of course.

One parade there was a very large 'elf' kind of guy with long fingers that dragged the ground. Harley was standing, not paying attention to the parade in front of her. When she turned the giant elf-like guy was nose-to-nose with her. She was so startled she fell straight back. Luckily Tony caught her.

Here are a few pictures. There would have been more, but our camera is old and the pictures are not as good as I thought they were. (Donations will be accepted for the purchase of a new camera. ~smile~)

Riding the roller coaster for the zillionth time

The girls both got their faces painted. Vanessa showed her Buckeye pride!

Harley went with the Pumpkin Show design

Here the girls are playing the "stick game" for the very first time. I won a stick for Harley. Tony didn't have any luck winning one for Vanessa. Luckily, she has a wonderful cousin named Amanda and Amanda gave Vanessa one of the many she won. We certainly couldn't have only one child with a long, dangerous stick.

This is Harley at her finest. The girl knows how to chill.

Laughter is the best Medicine

I'm not sure if these are due to pregnancy, aging brain cells or dead brain cells. The other two options I'm just not ready to acknowledge yet, so because I'm currently knocked-up that is the excuse I am going with.

Dork Moment #1 - My glassed had been 'lost'. When I found them, I put them on. I couldn't see a thing. So I wiped them off with my shirt and tried them again. Still, everything was blurry. I washed them off in the bathroom, dried them with care and put them on again. It was like there was a film over the lenses; I couldn't see anything. Then it dawned on me................I still had my contacts in.

Dork Moment #2 - I needed to pay the Dispatch bill. I kept forgetting to put it in the mailbox. Finally, I just grabbed the envelope and ran out to the mailbox, so happy with myself that I had finally taken care of that.

Several days later I was looking through my wallet and lo and behold the CHECK for the Dispatch bill was still in my wallet!

It's okay to laugh at me; I do it a lot!

Art Work

The Columbus Muesum of Art has a wonderful program called 1st Saturday. The 1st Saturday of every month they have a special program for children 3-6 yrs old. They look at a specific artist and then do an art project. This past Saturday they also had an African drummer who told a story.

Harley's picture is of Kathy, Vanessa and her.
Vanessa's picture is a family portrait.
I know, it's a blurry picture but Harley is on the left in a pink shirt. She was a dancer on stage. Some of the other children were drummers.

JUST PICTURES

Harley constructed her own drum set with kitchen chairs. Even though Vanessa was a very sick little girl at the time, she HAD to be in the middle of it all just to see what was going on.

Yodle-lay-he-ooo!

S'up?!

First Parent/Teacher Conference

Last night was our first parent/teacher conference.

Vanessa apparently tells her teacher every day that she is getting married. Her teacher reminds her that preschoolers don't marry. Vanessa isn't phased by this. She is getting married and she is marrying Saleem and that's that.

Harley likes it when there is only 1 or 2 children around. The teacher actually said that. See the posting below about my conversation with Harley and how she wishes there was only one other child in her class. The teacher said that she is a very pleasant child and follows direction very well.

Immediately upon leaving the school, Harley runs around the school yard, wouldn't listen to a word me or Tony said all night. She was a demon child. I must have brought the wrong child home. I want the one who follows direction very well!!!

How Sweet

I called home this morning to make sure everyone was awake and starting to get ready for school. Usually I just talk to Tony. Today though, the girls both wanted to talk as well.

Vanessa was first. She was telling me how Harley was crying for me and she really wanted me to come home and she missed me and just wanted to give me a hug (makes it REALLY hard to go to work everyday with that kind of information).

Vanessa tried to calm her by saying that she could be the mama. Harley pointed out that she was just Vanessa. She agreed that she was just Vanessa but she could be the mama.

Sometimes Vanessa is just so sweet. She's going to be a good mama some day.

Oh Harley, What Am I Going To Do With You?

Saturday was clean up day. We went through the girls bedroom and playroom cleaning out the toys.

We had 3 piles, Keep, Throw Away or Give Away.

Vanessa, turning into a pack rat just like her daddy, wanted to keep everything.

Harley on the other hand wanted to give away or throw away everything. Everything.

We were mostly finished when I finally asked her, "Harley, why do you want to get rid of all your toys?"

"So we can get NEW ones!!", says Harley.

Awfully clever 3 yr old.

BABY WOODS

WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!

We had the ultrasound today. This baby was as active as my other children; bouncing around everywhere. The baby showed us her fingers (very long ones) several times. Other than that, she didn't want to cooperate. She kept hiding under my belly button. It took a while to get all the measurements and to get a good picture of the heart.

It took even longer to find out the gender. By this time, Tony had fallen asleep. We can always count on him to keep on top of things! I saw the screen, told Tony he better wake up so he can find out if he was having a girl or boy. I looked at the tech because I knew at that point that it was a girl. She winked at me and told him it was a girl.

It took a long time to sink in. You see until that point he (and most everyone else) was CERTAIN it was a boy. Turns out she is a shy girl. Is it possible for us to have a shy child? Maybe she's just practicing for when she becomes famous and has to hide from the paparazzi.

This little girl is so different from her sisters. Completely different pregnancy. Different position in my belly. Different demeanor. I can't wait to meet her!!!!!!

I get to see her again in 3 weeks. They want to get a better picture of her spine. They may move up the due date, seems she is a little bigger than my original date. Looks like another 6-footer!!

The Singing Bee

Last night Harley was singing. This is what I heard:

Frere Jaques,
Frere Jaques,
I think I pooped,
I think I pooped,
da da da da
da da
da da da da
da da

After I stopped crying from laughing so hard and nearly peeing my pants, I had her repeat it (of course). Tony's big concern was "I hope she doesn't sing that at school".

HARLEY - So much like her parents...

My 2 girls are so very different. Vanessa has been a challenge for me. She is VERY outgoing, very social and loves to be with people. It's hard for someone like me who is anti-social. Vanessa is more like my cousin Terri or my friend Lisa H. They will stand in line at Burger King and talk to total strangers about hemorrhoids. Not even joking.

Harley on the other hand is a Little Tony and so much more like me and Tony. She's VERY independent; she doesn't need anyone to play with or talk to. This first full week of school has really been interesting for her. She's forced to be sociable with 8-9 other kids every day. After school I always ask her about her day. What they did, what they talked about, did she make any friends. Yesterday she says "I wish there was only 1 other kid in my class". I suggested that it's more fun if you have lots of kids in the class. She said "Maybe 2 kids in class". Again, I tried to change her mind and said that it's interesting having lots of different people in class. Finally, she says "OK! 3 kids, but that's IT!!!" I could argue no more.

6 FT TALL

How long are Vanessa's legs??!!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2007

On Friday the girls went to the school to meet their teacher. It was an open house so kids came and went. Here the girls are sitting in the office. Let's hope this won't be a regular occurrence. (smile)

Wednesday was their actual first day of preschool. This is Vanessa's second (and last) year of preschool. She is in class with Miss Spero. This is Harley's first year of preschool. She has Miss Kim.

They were both more excited about wearing their new sneakers than anything else.

How cute does she look?! Can you believe she's old enough to go to preschool?

This was just so sweet.

After school, we asked the girls all about their day. Their favorite part was recess. Vanessa told us all about the snacks and things they did in class. Harley said absolutely nothing. We couldn't drag anything out of her. Nothing happened in class. They didn't do anything. Did they play in the kitchen area? No. Did she see the weather bear and talk about the weather? No. Did she sit at the table with her name on it? No. Oh, that Harley is going to be a difficult one!

BELLA BELLA DANCE-A-RELLA

Vanessa started dance class at BalletMet this past Saturday. She looked so much older in her dance outfit. She did very well listening to the teacher and following instructions. You know that's always a parent's fear that their child will act up in public. One poor couple did have their daughter running in circles doing whatever she felt like the whole time. But it wasn't mine! Ha!



All are sitting in a circle. Vanessa is the one at bottom left.
The teacher is telling the children how to sit and breathe. Apparently this involves putting your finger on your bellybutton. (Vanessa is the first in line on the left side.)
Here Vanessa has just finished hopping across the studio with a ball between her legs.

10 Ways To Hide Food

You know, a couple years ago I made a comment to Kathy that Vanessa would be my anorexic and Harley would be my bulimic. She asked if one had to have each of those. I said 'of course!'.

Harley, from a very early age, was able to make herself throw up. Not for any reason other than she wanted to. Vanessa on the other hand has never been a big fan of eating. She's one of those annoying people that forget to eat or just don't feel like it. It'll be great for her when she's older. It's hard for me now as a mother because it's our job to make them eat.

Lately, Vanessa has taken to creative means to get rid of food she doesn't want to eat but we try to make her. So here are some suggestions if you are in need of hiding food.

1. The old standard, give it to the dog.
2. Put most of your food on your little sister's plate and then claim you've eaten it.
(note: in order for this to work, your sister can't be a tattletale)
3. Put it in a napkin and claim you HAVE to throw away the napkin.
4. Drop it on the floor. You can't eat food off the floor, right?!
5. Stuff your mouth with the food then run to bathroom "to go potty" and then flush it down the
toilet.

All of the above Vanessa has tried. She hasn't gotten away with it yet, but practice makes perfect.

You'll Never See THIS on HGTV

Last Tuesday I had the cerclage put in to make sure I don't have any problems with an early labor. While Tony and I were at the hospital, my brother, Scott, watched the girls at our house. Later that night my dad called Scott and asked if the girls had taught him anything. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "Yes! Actually I did learn something."

Scott let the girls color and draw on paper. Later, he was walking through the house and one of the pictures Harley drew was on the wall. He thought she had wedged it into the light switch that was right above it or maybe she found scotch tape somewhere. He didn't see evidence of either so he asked Harley how she stuck the picture to the wall. She took the picture off the wall, looked at him with that 'DUH' look and said "Uncle Scott, you just spit on it and stick to the wall!"

Share and Share Alike

We teach our children to share. If they don't share like we think they should, they get in trouble. Sometimes they share MORE than we think they should, and they get in trouble...

Vanessa was sitting by herself at the table eating mashed potatoes.Laying under the table at her feet was our dog, Sydney. (You can all see where this is going) I look up and I see Vanessa holding her spoon down and letting Sydney lick mashed potates off and then lifting the spoon up and eating what was left on the spoon! ewwwwwww

New Pictures of Harley

A lady I work with recently took some pictures of Harley. Unfortunately, she has a 7 yr old step-daughter and all the girls wanted to do was play with her.

Here are the best photos.

The Haircut

Well it has happened. Vanessa cut her own hair.

I discovered it when we went upstairs for bathtime. There was a clump of hair on the floor. I asked the girls about it. Vanessa insisted it was her barbie doll's hair. Nice try, but barbie's hair is a different texture. Harley informed me it was Vanessa's.

I checked her head. Sure enough, shorter hair in places. Then while washing her hair and then brushing it more clumps came out.



I thought Tony was going to cry. Somehow he recently turned into an old coot by proclaiming that "girls should have long hair!".

I was just disappointed in her. She loves her long hair. Why did she cut then? She wanted to look like the singer Rhianna. (Rhianna recently got a bob cut).

I took her to our hairstylist. Turns out Vanessa didn't do a bad job on her hair. It's a rather nice angle in the front. All that was needed was the other side to be angled. So alls well that ends well I guess.

Frankly, I wish she had cut Harley's hair! I've been wanting the cut that child's hair for a while now. I have opposition from the old coot and his mom. If Vanessa would have hacked off Harley's hair that would have been my excuse! Darn. Maybe next time (smile).

My Granddad

In Memoriam to Robert Willison, my granddad.
March 14, 1919 - July 24, 2007

The most respectable man I've ever known.

You will be greatly missed!!! We love you!

The Lewis Family Reunion June 23-24, 2007

Vanessa was the photographer for the Lewis Family Reunion (most of the photos are from her point of view so it's a good thing everyone had a clean nose!)

Uncle Wayne and his high school buddy

Uncle Wayne's wife Barb

Uncle Eddie

Liz

Harley and Tyler

Scott

Mom

Tony

Josie

Lady running the VFW in Nelsonville and Uncle Wayne's friend's wife.