Princess Henry

Quote of the day: Henry was convinced by his sister Evelyn to put on a pink ballet skirt. He told me numerous times, "I a princess." He wore it for quite a while and kept it on during his nap. When he awoke, I entered his room and said, "What are you doing? Boys don't wear skirts." He smiled and said, "Yes, Henry does." Robbie got home early and found Henry in his princess attire. He promptly took him for a haircut, and Henry wore shorts to the barber shop.

Henry has been really trying to work it with me when he gets into trouble. After I scold him, he'll say, "Oh, Mommy. You are SOOO pretty. You are not so mean. You pretty!" He even cocks his head to the side in an attempt to look extra adorable. He's easy to love.

Robbie is easy to love too. Last week he announced plans to use Grandma Gloria's recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs. He spent all of Friday afternoon cooking. Saturday he got up and began baking Uncle Lee's recipe for homemade bread. We had a feast that night, and he saved dough for Sunday's homemade pizza with fresh mozzarella. I felt like I'd won the husband lottery all over again! His food was wonderful, and I got a break. I'm one lucky woman.

Henry still sits on the potty and takes care of business from time to time. The girls are very interested in his successes since they often receive M&Ms when Henry produces. The other night Henry lifted his unmentionable, and Evelyn got a good look at the little hole down there. She said, "Is that where his pee comes out...and his poop?" Olivia and I almost died laughing.

Speaking of laughter, I just heard an outburst, and now Vivian is screaming. She's been asleep for over an hour. Poor little baby girl. I'm off...

Cicada Terror!!!!!!!!!!

I have been awake since 3:56 am when Henry screamed bloody murder from his crib. I ran in there, hoping he wouldn't wake the whole house, and I still don't know what was wrong. I changed his diaper and held him as I patted his back. He went right back down, but I am AWAKE.

It has been a long and hard couple of days with the Overlease children, and I haven't been able to find time to write. My "to do" list has been too long to allow for writing. I went to bed at 11 pm with clean laundry all over the living room...unfolded and folded. I stayed up late to work on a "Julie shirt" (as the Finlason girls call my creations) for the little Lucy who started this blog. Rather, Evelyn chopping off Lucy's long locks while playing salon back in May started this blog. At any rate I really like Lucy and her mother, and I decided to make her a cute little shirt for her birthday party today. I think they'll like it. Ev gets to attend a princess party.

Okay, so a couple of days ago I decided to spend the morning playing Academy de Julia, aka Mommy School, with my kids. The blueberries were a steal at the store, my kids' favorite, so the math/science cooking lesson involved making Lemon-Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze. This is the recipe which the girls used to win 3rd place in the Holy Smokes Kids Bake-Off this summer. They are goooood muffins. Right from the start the girls absolutely would not stop fighting. They argued about who was going to do each and every task to "help" me. "I want to crack that egg." "It is my turn to dump the measuring cup." "Move, you're crowding me!" "Let me hold the mixer," and on and on and on it went until Henry entered the picture. We put an Elmo library DVD on for Henry, and he entertained himself by crawling on the couch cushions and pushing cars around the floor for a spell. However, it took him all of about 10 seconds to climb up onto the chairs with his sisters and wield the longest and most ominous looking knife from the knife block. Olivia screamed. I looked up from my recipe and about died. Evelyn tried to get away, and Henry pointed the knife away from himself with his arm straight out in front of him. Seriously?! Olivia yelled, "Henry almost killed me!" I took the knife and explained, "NO, NO, NO!! Knives can hurt Henry." We all survived, including Vivian. She was being held in my Hotsling during all of this. She sucks her thumb, plays with her toes, and takes in all of the entertainment. There is a lot of entertainment around here. If you're bored, then have four small children. That will cure you.

The muffins were super yummy (See Henry as proof.), and we followed our baking with reading time. Evelyn had gotten into a string of trouble. I removed her from her time-out spot and put her on my lap on the couch with the other children for a story. We're getting ready for preschool, so I pointed to the first letter of the title to indicate that I wished for her to state the letter. She was mad and pouty, an unfortunate and common theme as of late. She protested. I persisted. Finally, she started loudly naming off the letters in a story entitled, "Mama Loves You." How ironic. Her voice was cranky, and she shot each letter at me. God help me.

Gym, as Olivia calls P.E., was the most fun. We turned on the iPod and rocked out to songs from the Lambda Chi Alpha party songs playlist that Robbie made for us. Henry got to do his back and forth shoulder dance to YMCA. We jumped and jumped and jumped to Jump Around. The girls each said, "I'm getting sweaty." Olivia asked me why my boobs bounce when I jump. Oh, gosh. What's a nursing mom to say? We burned some steam, laughed a lot, and had fun. While I showered, Vivian napped, and Henry got his sometimes daily dose of Barney ABCs, the girls played Store. They shopped for fake food and DVDs, placed the items in a miniature and real metal shopping cart, itemized and priced them on a list, and used a cash register to ring the total. This activity brought with it a fair amount of screaming on Evelyn's part, but they had to work it out themselves. They played tag at recess and ate a picnic outside for lunch. The relief of naptime is always welcome in our house. Olivia and I snuggled up on the couch and each read our respective chapter books together. I loved it. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is really, really fun to read. I recommend it, and I hope to complete it today.

Yesterday the fighting began again, and I couldn't take it. The thought actually went through my head, "I am going to go nuts. Robbie has to come home right now! Wait, Robbie is in Sedalia. I'm stuck alone with them. Ahhhhhhh!" I think that crossed my mind around 8 am. My solution was to kick everybody out of the house. I told Olivia and Evelyn to put on their running shoes. I packed water for all. I strapped Vivian to my chest, and we went outside for a walk. Our walks always refresh our bodies and MY mind. The girls were both on foot, which was a first. I told them how I carried Olivia every morning of her first summer in Milwaukee seven years ago. Now she's a walking and talking school girl, and I welcome the walking company and companionship. So special. I often imagine the days ahead when I walk with my daughters and listen to their thoughts on life and love. They aren't far away.

The morning was beautiful...lovely sky, gentle breeze, and a slight break from the heat of summer. However, the cicadas were humming. They are humming now, and I can hear them while I'm writing in my basement at 5:20 am. All was well until the girls noticed them about a mile from home. Our route is 3+ miles, mind you. I explained how the cicadas leave behind a shell. Olivia related it to snakes shedding skin. We talked about molting. This was fine until we saw a live one. Then we heard it vibrate its wings. Then we came upon a handful of shells in a single sidewalk square. Evelyn froze and ended up 10 feet behind us. She threw her body onto her toes with her arms in the air Michael Jackson style, and began to whimper. I went to her, held her hand, and helped her navigate through the cicada shell laden path. Olivia then began to notice that the shells her EV-ER-Y-WHERE...no joke. She flipped out. She cried. She screamed. She asked me to carrry her. She really did. Her face showed utter terror, and I couldn't rationalize with her. "The shells are empty. Nothing will hurt you. I'll hold your hand. Please stop screaming. You're scaring Vivian." She freaked out for the duration of the three longest blocks of my life, and there were cicada shells everywhere. It was so gross and thick in some places that it was hard to step without crunching one, and my stroller wheels could not always avoid them. A passerby on foot stared at us, and I simply smiled and responded, "Cicada terror. What can I say?" Evelyn was pretty good through all of this. She was nervous, but she rose to the occasion. I was impressed. I never liked those locust shells as a kid either, but I don't recall going stark raving mad over them like Olivia did. I was so grateful when my attempt at distraction worked, and we played I Spy the rest of the way home. What a journey.

Henry is doing really well on the potty. Don't be fooled by the photos. I promise he wears shorts when we leave the house. His current obsession is Cars shoes. My friend threw them in a bag of hand me down dresses that she was loaning for Vivian, and Henry found them. He loves them. However, he complains they they are too tight. They are larger than his current size and can't be loosened, so this creates drama. He woke up from his nap while I was out of the house with Olivia yesterday, and Robbie said Henry said, "I want my car shoes," over and over and over ad nauseam until I returned and located them. I tell him that he has to wear his shoe store shoes when we leave the house. He asked to hold his Cars Shoes in his carseat and later in the stroller in the optical store. Henry removed both nose pieces from my frames, bent them, and the man broke the hinge off the temple while adjusting it Thursday. That's another sorrow. Anyway, back to potty training, Henry drinks enough during the day that he can practically pee at will for M&Ms. I'm running with it. Robbie will just be happier once his son stops calling his underwear "baseball panties." Oh, the joy of two older sisters. Poor Henry.

And...Vivian calls.

Shake What Your Mama Gave You!

As evidence that 2-year-old Henry indeed takes in all that he hears I will share a story from this morning. I was sweating to death in front of the t.v. doing a hard circuits workout. The instructor explained that even in winter one can accomplish a great workout indoors without fancy equipment by using our own body weight. She told the other girl on the screen, "Just shake what your mama gave you." Henry said, "I shake what mama gave me?"

Yesterday I used the Exercise TV feature of our digital cable and completed several short workouts to sample things. The final one had the word Bootylicious in the title. I know. That is so embarrassing that I shouldn't even admit to it. The neighbor girls were over, and they were playing Play Doh at the kitchen table. Naturally, when the program began the girls turned their heads as the title was announced. The six-year-old said, "Bootylicious? That's funny." They all erupted in giggles.

That evening Emily called from next door to offer my family some extra chips and salsa. Now I love, love, love salsa. I could not say, "No." After we devoured it the big girls were playing walkie talkies from inside our neighboring houses. (Doesn't that sound amazingly fun? I got so excited when Olivia came up with the notion, and then it actually worked!) I told Olivia to tell Emily that her chips and salsa ruined my bootylicious workout results. The dad in the house told his daughter to tell me that the Mexican food ruined his P90X. All of us were laughing.

I have BIG news, grandparents! Henry started to pee on my bathroom mat today after his shower, and I quickly put him on the potty. He succeeded!! I gave him M&Ms (just 2), and he was very motivated. Right after lunch and before his nap he asked for more candy. I explained the incentive. He sat on the potty and produced #1 and #2. This blog is about to get much funnier. My potty training days with the girls were hilarious. Henry actually reached behind his behind and got poop on his hand as he pottied. Olivia and Evelyn laughed and laughed, and I thought, "Well, here we go."

We went to Emily's sister's wedding Saturday night, and the reception was a blast. Our big girls' best friends were in the wedding, so they were thrilled to attend the party. Robbie and I danced with the girls until well after midnight. I absolutely love watching him shake what his mama gave him on the dance floor. That's where it all began for us back in 1994...on the dance floor of his fraternity at TU. Evelyn lost steam around 11 pm (which is when I handed over the camera, and let Ev take pictures of us on the dance floor), but Olivia didn't even act tired. She never sat down once the dancing started. The reception began at 5:30 pm with a cocktail hour. We ate dinner around 7 pm, and then we danced the night away. Robbie and Mike found it very strange, but Emily and I had a pumping party around 9 pm. The seams of our dresses wouldn't have lasted much longer without taking action. I turned out the lights in the hotel at 1 am. The terrible news is that after nursing Vivian around 4 pm between the wedding and the reception, she refused all means of food until I returned and nursed her again at 10 am Sunday. My mom tried to give her baby food for the first time, and she shoved it out of her mouth with a protruding tongue. She didn't care that there was breastmilk in the bottles. She wouldn't drink it. My poor baby cried a lot, and I fear we're losing overnight grandparent babysitters one by one. However, she is sleeping through the night. Robbie booked a hotel on Michigan Avenue for a conference in Chicago in October. We have two flights booked. I won't get to go if she won't start taking a bottle soon. Honestly, she went 18 hours without eating. I ALWAYS maintained that a hungry baby would eat. I hadn't met Vivian when I made that comment.

Finally, we recently attended an outdoor picnic for KU attendings and residents. Robbie is going to begin seeing patients in their glaucoma clinic, and we were invited to meet everyone. The outdoor area was lovely, but dangerous for Henry. They had drainage issues at one point, so they landscaped a hilly paved walkway with running water down one side of it. There was a clearing below, followed by a large footbridge. Enormous rocks lined the canal. If Henry even began to walk quickly the slope propelled him into a run on the paved path. I really didn't think we'd escape the picnic without leaving some blood hehind. We have to watch him every minute. At one point I turned from a conversation to discover him climbing stone blocks that had been built to form a narrow stairstep up to a cactus. I got to him just as he grabbed the shaft of the sharp thing, yelled, "Ouch," and fell backwards from the jolt of yanking his hand away from the plant. I caught him before he fell, and I had Vivian in my arms. My word. We got lucky. Again, no blood.

The guests were all down to earth, and we enjoyed our time socializing with them. Vivian's big blue eyes and precious baby smiles charmed women and men alike. Our cuties even got us an offer for free babysitting from a sweet older couple. The funniest part of the evening was when one of the younger doctors asked me if I have help. I told him that we don't have any family in town. He then practically insisted that Robbie must get me a nanny to help with our four little children. "You don't have a nanny? You're crazy." I laughed, then I told him, "This is my work. I love it." I should have told him that with a husband who is as involved a father as Robbie, I don't need a nanny. Robbie rocks. And he can dance. I'm so lucky.