Tonight is what I LIVE for!!!

Oh my gosh, tonight is what I LIVE for!!! Both girls snuggled up in the big chocolate brown leather chair in my (okay - just in case Matt is reading "our") bedroom, reading a book.... yummy!!!!! I love it - no one is hitting, pinching, pulling hair --- it was absolutely PERFECT! And I didn't even mind that we read the same book three times;-)

Seriously FOUR??? She's not joining the ARMY!!!

Oh no, I knew this day was coming, and it upsets my stomach as if it were ME going through it... I know, anyone who knows me, is probably like, "now what???" So here is the scoop...

I pick the girls up from preschool, and the FIRST thing Jyllian tells me is, "I got FOUR shots at the doctors office and now I can go to kindergarten."

Grace IMMEDIATELY, says "Mommy will I have to get shots to go to kindergarten???? [PANIC etched in her face].

I said, "I'm not sure sweetheart I'll have to call the doctors office and see."

Jyllian (who must have been feeling rather brave) then goes on to say "I got FOUR in one leg, and FOUR in another - I really cried!"

So after we drop Jyllian off, and Grace is still panicked over it I called the doctors office (praying that Grace has already had some of these shots, I mean, seriously??? FOUR?? Come on she's not joining the army!) only to learn that YES she has to get four shots - oh my! I, not wanting to lie to Grace told her the truth -- I don't want her to be afraid when we go to the doctors office on other visits thinking, last time Mommy said I wasn't getting a shot and I had to... so I said, "yes you'll have to get four shots just like Jyllian did to go to kindergarten". I thought at this point Grace might cry, but instead she asked, "will it hurt?" I said, "yes, but it won't hurt long (hoping that was the truth!)" She then wanted to know if it would be "the front of her leg? or the back" I told her I didn't know - she could probably pick:-)

I think Matt will have to go with us on that doctor trip... I might need to be sedated.

Long time, no write...

Oh my gosh, I'm utterly embarrassed at how long it's been since I've blogged... how do you go from a total blog addict to this? I have no clue, other than to say between work, home and photography things have been C R A Z Y!!!! If I weren't sitting at Nanni's house waiting on her to get home from the hospital w/ nothing else to keep me busy (beyond two fussy girls) I'm sure I would have found something else more pressing to be doing. Even now as I type Eva is unloading the drawer in Nanni's desk. Maybe she'll open it tomorrow and realize how much she's missed having us live here:-) It's a maybe at least.

So today Nanni had her third surgery, breaks my heart just thinking about it. I so wish there was something I could do to make it all better. For me at least this surgery is harder as once she heals from it all the really nasty things start. It was easier before to live in a little bubble pretending that somehow this roller coaster you got on wasn't going to come crashing down... strange as it might sound - just thinking about it and I can hear that dreaded "click, click, click" the noise that takes you to the top before you plummet over.

So as I was saying Nanni had her surgery today and both girls are sick - doctors appointments in the middle of all of it... Eva w/ a double ear infection & cold, and Grace w/ a cold... just want you want when you're supposed to, well trying to be a rock. I know that since Mom has to focus a lot on Rob I often don't realize how much she does to help - but today just thinking about losing her terrifies me. I want her to be there for everything, for me and the girls and I just can't even begin to think that she wouldn't. Sometimes it just doesn't feel fair, everything she's gone through - we've gone through w/ Rob, and now this. I know, I know, "life's not fair" but doesn't it just seem like it should be??

Okay enough moping! I'm going to work at being better about blogging - we'll see if I can stick to that;-)

I'm going to steal your ears...

Today we went to Grandma Great (Helen Lux's) 90th birthday party. While we were there, Frank Lux teased Eva and told her he was going to "steal her ears". Well Eva apparently took him VERY seriously b/c she spent the next HOUR -- no kidding, the next hour w/ her hands over her ears!

**Later we did learn that she had a double ear infection... maybe that was why she was so protective of them! Or it could just be, that's Eva as we are always saying!

A new gymnastics teacher!!!

Okay so I don't think we are alone here in thinking Grace's current gymnastic teacher (who will remain nameless) kind of, well.... sucks. So they have agreed to see if Grace could move up -- yippee!!! Matt took her early this evening for her gymnastics class - w/ the sucky teacher, but they tested her and said she could move up w/ the bigger girls! Hopefully this will help, b/c Grace is really good - especially since she's not had much direction.... and she LOVES doing it. I've been looking into classes in Indy, no I'm not a stage mom or anything, but as long as she's interested in going I feel obligated to try and facilitate her learning;-)

Grace's Valentine's Party...

Grace has looked forward to Valentine's day all week -- she's wanted to have her party at school, get a "prize" from me, and take her Hanaha Montana cards to all her friends! Last night we worked on cutting out heart shaped rice crispy treats for the girls to take to Brenda's. They turned out soooo cute! And were SOOOO YUMMY! Both girls loved them.

Brenda wrote and said, "Grace said her party was fun. Her top she has on today is adorable. She thought you forgot to bring her hearts today. YES, they were yummy. I gave Eva a half of one and she only picked at it. Really didn't eat it or seem like she wanted it. They had fun passing out their stuff here at me house. Eva had a blast. Grace passed out the cards so Eva was the only one that didn't have anything so I took the stuff I had for all of them and let her pass it out. She thought that was pretty special. She wants to be just like the "big girls". Mollie gave the littler girls (Eva, Grace, Alyssa, Riley and Ella a necklace and bracelet set that had little hearts on it. Eva LOVED it and wanted it on right now."

Breaks my heart to leave her...

Matt's away working the wind storm so I have to take the girls to Brenda's in the morning... and while I LOVE seeing their cute little faces first thing in the morning, it BREAKS my heart to leave Eva at Brenda's crying... ugh! Like pulling it out and stomping on it.

When I left this a.m. Eva was crying, and it was even worse b/c Grace was at Nanni's house so Poppy could take her to school, so no big sis there to comfort her. When I wrote Brenda to check on her she said,

"She is fine. She cried longer yesterday than today. As soon as she saw I was getting her something to eat for breakfast she was fine. She went upstairs with me while I finished getting ready. Breanna is helping them decorate a valentine's bag to put their treats in. Eva is having fun. She has already pooped a nasty one but didn't put her hands in it. Everyone was talking about their clothes and the hearts for valentine's day and she went and got her clothes out of her bag and wanted them on. It was too cute."