Secret Meetings

I don't know when they have time to have these secret meetings but I know my kids have them. The plan: to overtake Tim and I, most of the time they are conspiring against our sleep.
I think the last few meetings must have gone something like this.
Carter: I will take the first shift, I have got this awesome trick that I don't even have to be awake for. I call it my ha ha you thought you were going to be at a decent time trick. I'll wake them about 15 minutes after they fall asleep by crying and whining and walking around in circles. It totally freaks them out.
Naomi: I will take the next shift. Since it has been barely 3 hours since I last ate and I am starving to death and withering away in my sleep. I just have to have some milk at 11:45 or I just can't go on.
Molly: That sounds great. I have this lingering cough that I can throw in all night long that keeps the fear in them. You know how they can't sleep when they are afraid of me screaming out for no reason at all.
Naomi: I think I will take the next shift at 2:00 because I will be so hungry I can hardly scream at the top of my lungs, But I will give it my best. I make this one a good one because I don't think I will want to go right back to bed after that. It's another fear tactic that I have mastered.
Molly: I guess I will take the 3:00 hour and I will wake up a few times crying for dad. I like that extra piece that you added Naomi, I don't think that I will really want to go back to bed either.
Carter: That sounds like an excellent plan. Molly you just need to add a few more coughing fits with some light whining and with my guided trip to the bathroom around 4:00, my snoring and teeth grinding through out the night I think we are set.
I know dad has to get up at 5:00 so I will be the one to wake up mom at about 6:50.

And when all has gone as planned I am exhausted the next day.

I think my favorite part of it is when I have lost my pleasant disposition sometime though out the day Carter says "mom you sound like you need a nap."

If only he were offering to baby sit Naomi for me so I could. Ha!

Who is that girl?

It is Carter's new love. Her name is Word Girl, she's from the planet Lexicon, she has super-powers, and she "looks just the way I want her to" at least that is what Carter told me when I asked him why he liked her so much. Word Girl is actually a show on PBS. It is on at 4:30, just about the time when I am as my weakest, so Carter and Molly have become regular Word Girl watchers. Almost every half hour today Carter has been asking me "Is Word Girl on yet?" He, like any other child enjoys watching the TV, but today's interest was far beyond normal levels. Finally the hour had come and it was time to watch Word Girl save the city from Two Brains, and Tobey. The Molly & Carter sat entranced and I was able to get Naomi fed and a head start on dinner. When the final credits rolled and the TV was turned off I noticed something different in Carter's eyes. Then he started asking questions and I knew what that something different was. It was love, not the love of television. It was love for her, love for Word girl. I did, like any mother of a love-sick son should do, started asking some questions so I could see how deep this love was. First, "Why do you like Word girl?" "Because she looks just the way I want her to." The words say "like" but the tone, the light in his eyes, and the silly little smile all said LOVE. Then my next question: "What would you do if you saw her?" "I would just follow her around wherever she goes" (in a dreamy, twitterpated voice). The conversation went on. I tried to start to explain that she so 2 dimensional and that nothing could ever happen between the two of them (because she is not real) but I just couldn't break his sweet little heart. But tears soon followed when I told him that I don't know where Word Girl lives and if we went to try to find her we might get lost. So in the end I just broke his heart anyway, and I am sure I will get to do it again tomorrow.

Pomp, Christmas, & Our Circumstances

One might think that because our last post was before my thesis defense and we have not updated it since that I failed miserably. Well check the picture you fools, this freak has a Masters Degree (apparel donated by Mike Anderson). I thought that getting my masters might feel anti-climatic since I have already started my doctoral work in August and I will be in school for at least 2 more years. Well it was very fulfilling and good fuel to keep going. Jodi deserves to share in all the congratulations and praise as she has been an absolutely amazing wife, mother, and friend during my graduate studies thus far. My parents and my sister Debbie (w/ Toby) came out for the festivities and we had a grand ole' time.

For the holiday season, Jodi and I decided to stick around here and do our own thing. Now we both love being with our families, but I must say that we had one of our best holiday seasons ever. This was largely due to the following:
1. Avoiding 32 hours in the van w/ an infant, toddler, & preschooler
2. Having total control over the kids schedule (& our own)
3. Visiting Kansas City & Liberty, MO to do some stuff together
4. Completing many projects that gives more order to home & life
5. No detoxing the kids from the incessant spoiling from grandparents
6. Spending time w/ friends who stuck around here as well
7. Feeling relaxed yet productive
8. More time to get ready for the coming semester
9. You are probably getting bored of the blog now so.....

Needless to say it has been a good break. What made this break even better is to watch the #2 Utah Utes give a thumpin' to the Alabama Crimson Tide!!! There is much more to tell but this will have to suffice for now.