The World's Richest Woman

Yesterday Jake asked me if I like my job. It was early, everyone else was still sleeping. He had the day off from school and Brad had the day off of work. I was the only one who had to work and I was trying to get some work done from home before everyone woke up. I smiled at him, and said, "yes, I do like my job but I wish I didn't have to work. If I could afford it, I would quit so I'd have more time to be a mom". Jake, in his almost eight year old wisdom replied, "you are rich mom". When I gave him a funny look he explained that while I might not have a lot of money, I am rich because I have a wonderful husband who loves me, three great kids..especially one awesome son, and two big dogs. He laughed at himself, and I scooped him into my arms to give him a great big hug (not an easy feat, he's very big for his almost eight year old age!). That brief conversation with my son set the tone for my entire day, and I thought of him many times yesterday..whenever things didn't go quite right, I'd remember how rich I am and it was all better.

Someone once told me kids don't lie until we teach them to lie. So what Jake said about me being rich, is truly how he feels. How lucky am I to have such a smart kid? And he's right.. I am rich.. I do have a wonderful family and as I celebrate my 34th birthday today, I vow to remind myself of that each and every day, and to make this year the very best year ever. Afterall, what more could I ask for? I'm already the world's richest woman!

Dancing Kerzmans

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Dancing Kerzmans Explained

Ok, did you watch the above video? Stop laughing...and read my explanation! Brad and I don't dance. Lexi doesn't like to dance either. Jake, on the other hand, is always a hit at a wedding dance. He usually dances his way into the middle of a circle and gets cheers from everyone on the dance floor. Lizzy... it's a little too soon to tell, but I have a feeling she will be a dancer, the center of attention, just like her brother. That's what makes this video so funny. I can totally see Jake and Lizzy doing this in real life! Jake is studying the video very closely and practicing his dance moves. Next time you see him, ask him to break dance for you. Until then, enjoy! Yes, you can watch it again...you know you want to...

Surrounded by Love

Lizzy loves people, and she loves dogs even more. When she sees a dog, she does a goofy little dance, approaches the dog with absolutely no fear, and grabs his face. She does this with our dogs, with my brother's dog, with Madonna's dog, with Sheena's dog....pretty much every single dog she's ever met has experienced the face grab. So far, no pooch has minded. Amazingly, she's never been biten, or even snapped at.

Her love of dogs has now turned into a bedtime ritual. I'm on a big kick to get her to fall asleep in her own bed at night, and stay there all night. I figure this is the only way I'm going to remain sane during the upcoming construction season (trust me... despite all the snow, it is right around the corner! Before we know it, Brad will be working long days and I'll be on my own at bedtime). If I can get her to go to bed at 9:00 on her own, I'll still have an hour of "me-time" this summer. I'm dreaming big, but I think with Bob's help, my plan just might work. You see, Lizzy doe not like to be alone, especially not alone in her bed (something I hope she gets over before she leaves for college). So the easiest solution, is to let Bob sleep with her (Windsor is still way too hyper..he would destroy every toy in her room, her bed and probably Lizzy too by morning). When I first thought of this sleeping arrangement, I thought Bob would sleep on the floor beside her bed. Lizzy would have none of that. She calls him into her room, pats her hand on her bed and instructs Bob to 'mon (that's Lizzy-speak for "come on"). He obediently jumps onto her bed, and curls up the best he can. As you can see, she snuggles right up to him, and the two fall fast asleep. I don't think she even minds that on this night, she was snuggling up to his rear end.


But, while Lizzy loves her puppy, she really isn't that picky about who she sleeps with. These next photos prove that. We had people over on Friday night and Jake and Lizzy were totally wired. Everyone finally left at about 11:30 and while I cleaned up, they both sneaked into our bedroom. I went in to check on them a few minutes later, and both were fast asleep. Neither bothered to get under the covers, and Jake didn't even bother to get undressed. He also didn't seem to mind that Lizzy's feet were in his face. I think they would have slept like that all night.

Unfortunately for them, I also wanted to get some sleep, so I hauled them each to their separate beds. Sure enough, Lizzy didn't stay in her bed for long. You see, she was all alone in there... so she found her way to our bed. This time, she managed to get under the covers... but her feet were in my face for the entire night. While it would be easy to get angry with her for crowding me out of my own bed, I just can't get mad. She only wants to be close to those she loves, whether that's me, Jake or Bob. And I can't help thinking that before I know it, she's going to be all grown up and the snuggling will be over. So, I'll bite my tongue, and welcome her into our bed whenever she wants.

Diva

I knew they were up to something, but I had no idea what. On Friday evening, they both disappeared downstairs after Lizzy's bath. That isn't unusual..Lizzy is usually in either Lexi's or Jake's shadow . When they reappeared, I couldn't believe my eyes. My baby girl who freaks out when I comb her hair in the morning was wearing a headband, a scarf, a necklace, a bracelet..and fake nails! Lexi claims it was all Lizzy's idea. I'm not sure I believe that, but it sure was cute! The nails lasted for about three minutes, the rest of her accessories about four minutes...just long enough for me to snap some pictures!

An Unlikely Source of Inspiration

It's not usually tough for me to think of a topic for this blog. My life usually presents at least three possible blog topics each day. But lately, I've come up short whenever I've sat down to write something. It's not that we haven't been busy... we've actually been crazy busy. Maybe that's the problem. At any rate, I've finally been inspired to write something. If you watch any home decorating shows, you know designers always talk about their "inspiration" piece, the one thing that inspires them to decorate a whole room. It's much the same with this blog. Today, my source of inspiration is this toilet:

This, however, is no ordinary toilet. It is a right-height, elongated, comfortable toilet. Or so the box promises. The official color is bisquit, it cost way too much money and it is guaranteed to flush just about anything. I sure wish our last toilet would have had that guarantee. You see, there is a very good reason that we have this brand new toilet in the boys' bathroom. I have yet to use it, but I've heard it's very nice.

I will give you a hint. The reason behind this new state-of-the-art toilet has curls, a killer smile, and her name starts with an "L" and ends with a "izzy". Yes. We have Lizzy to thank for this toilet.

Several weeks ago Brad noticed that the toilet in the boys' bathroom wasn't flushing well. I had no idea, because I really try to avoid that bathroom at all costs. We have three bathrooms: one is mine, one is Lexi's/laundry, and the other is the boys'. The boys' bathroom is also sort of Lizzy's, because it is the only bathroom with a bathtub. Anyway, Brad is not a plumber, but he tried his very best to fix the old toilet. He spent about $75 on new plumbing tools that should have unclogged it. We even paid Jake to stick his skinny little hands down the toilet. He got a dollar just for putting his hand in there and $5 for everything he pulled out. He only managed to find a tiny little screw.

After weeks of not using the toilet (Jake made a condemned sign for the toilet to remind himself not to use it) and when the air plunger didn't work, we finally decided to buy a new toilet. Still determined to find out what was in the old one, Brad put the snake in one last time after he took it out of the bathroom. He got pieces of Ivory soap. Apparently a whole bar of soap was lodged in the toilet. You would think that would dissolve, but it never did.

So, thanks to Lizzy, who is just now getting interested in potty training, we have a brand new toilet. We have learned our lesson, and watch her like a hawk whenever she goes near the toilet. I have caught her headed toward the new toilet with toys, and fortunately have snagged them before they took a swim.

It's amazing to me though, that this has never happened before. Jake used to love to empty out the fridge (at one point I had a lock on the fridge!) and Lexi loved to sit on the toilet. But neither of them ever flushed anything down the toilet, especially not a bar of soap! I wonder if this is a sign of what the next 17 years with Lizzy will be like?