The Crafts

One of Kate's new things is to write songs. She grabs a sheet of paper, a marker and writes down her ideas. Once finished she'll usually sing me the song while 'strumming' the guitar. Most songs go something like this, "one, twelve, pit, stop, mom, love, park!" (Sung at the loudest volume possible, of course.) Her songs are simple because she only knows how to spell a few words. But this morning she made up a new song and it went like this, "Peace and quiet. How do I find peace and quiet? I really want peace and quiet." And like her previous songs, this one too is sung at full volume. A song about peace and quiet sung unbelievable loud; she doesn't get the irony. The past few months have felt mind-blowing busy. Our schedule has begun to slow and it is mostly a great feeling. But it's still winter outside and the little legs in this house are spinning out of control for spring. Mine are too, really. I've been longing for green grass, ...

If you have not yet heard our news, the Crafts are expecting another baby. Little Craft #3 is expected to debut late September and we couldn't be more excited....and nervous...and thrilled....did I mention nervous? I love my sweet children and cannot wait to add a third but the newborn no-sleep phase is always a challenge.  But I have to remember that the no-sleep phase doesn't last forever (although it may seem that way) and we will one day soon successfully transition into a household of three small children and two "adults." (I italicized the word adult because there are times I still awake surprised that I'm supposed to be a responsible adult. Sometimes playing is so much more fun than working.) And the big belly! I'm going to have a giant belly again! Aye-aye-aye! I carried both girls like giant basketballs. I could have very easily been mistaken for a female Santa Claus. But it is all worth it because those once sleepless, cryin...

"Woof" is a bit of a weird subject heading for a blog post but to be frank, it's been kind of a weird week. CJ has been cycling through various phases so fast my head is spinning. Some phases are great and they make my melting heart burst with pride and other phases are beyond cringe worthy. Right now CJ has entered what I have lovingly coined as the "caged dog phase." Let me break down like this: Whether in person or in a movie, we've all seen a dog race. The greyhounds are lined up inside metal corrals, salivating, jumping, flopping to get their hands on the fake rabbit. The metal gates rise and the dogs burst off the starting line with wild fury. CJ is a lot like those dogs right now. Look away for one second and her metal gate is lifted. She sprints for the first visible exst sign and with the strength of 10 greyhounds throws up the heaviest of doors into the wide open freedom of a parking lot or street. The girl is greyhound fast and if you've seen...

Typically I sit down to write blog posts during the sweet, sweet, peaceful moments of nap and quiet time. CJ is snuggled in bed with her blanket and stuffed dog while Kate dances 'gracefully' in her room upstairs for quiet time. (When you read 'gracefully' you should really read, like an 800 pound elephant in a tutu. We're still perfecting the art of not landing on our heels.) So during this precious time of the afternoon I sit down with good thoughts in my head and a dessert on the table next to me while I cheerfully adore pictures of my sweet girls on the computer. Children are great but they're even more wonderful when they're sleeping.  Well today instead of my typical cookie/hot chocolate/brownie dessert I am enjoying a bowl of broccoli and sugar snap peas with ranch. Between errands and meetings, the girls and I just returned from a cookie tasting contest and I was a judge. Delicious cookies but I don't want to see any more sugar for a very lo...

Do you remember the movie "Legally Blonde" where Reese Witherspoon's character teaches these beauty salon patrons the most ridiculous move to grab a man's attention? It was called the bend and snap. I'm one thousand percent sure it wouldn't only turn a man's head, it would also make him run the other direction. This week I've felt like I'm bending and snapping, and not in a good way. It's more like I bend to the right to accomplish all of task A only to quickly bend the other way for task B while task C is pulling me in a whole new direction of it's own. And now with the weekend light peeking over the horizon I unfortunately see more bending and I'm pretty certain I am just about to snap. Like a stick thrown over someone's knee I can only bend so far before I snap in two. CJ willingly eating veggies is always reason to find the camera. It seems to me an invisible, fine line exists between volunteering and over extending yours...

Today I had one of those reassuring I'm-so-glad-I-stay-at-home-with-my-kids kind of moments. It happened while one of my girls was in preschool, which always makes these peaceful, ah-ha moments more possible when you're only dealing with one child at a time. So CJ and I left Kate at preschool and returned home to make a tent out of dining room chairs and old family quilts. I suggested we read books beneath the tent, CJ agreed. I told her to grab the newest Minera Lousie book from the library (because that funny chicken can really give me a chuckle) but CJ instead chose her children's Bible. Props to her for the choice and I quickly felt guilty for wishing she had pulled out Minera instead. So CJ opens the book and says, "I'm going to find my Jesus." Cue my melting heart. Then she starts to 'read' a story. "Once upon a time there was a guy named Jesus. The end." Now the story wasn't much and she sure isn't ready to start prophesiz...

Iowa State to Matt is like the American flag to the United States; synonymous in every way. He loves Iowa State so much that I swear he switched out Iowa State for my name in our wedding vows. "I, Matt, take you, Iowa State University, to be my..." If I wasn't in the room after Kate was born he probably would have penned CY on her birth certificate. These may be slight exaggerations but for anyone who meets Matt, one of the very first things you'll learn is his passion for all things Iowa State. From his shirts, to his jackets, ball caps, golf balls, tea mug... name a possession and it probably has the ISU logo on it. So when Matt caught wind of an Iowa State women's basketball clinic for girls you better believe he signed up Kate's name as fast as he could find his Iowa State pen.  And I believe there is mutual affection by Kate as well. Her dad has brain washed her good. While I help her say prayers at night, Matt can be found singing her to s...

I've never been a big shopper. I'm also not much of a girly girl. Bows, ruffles and ribbons have never been my best friend. But, shopping for my own two little girls has brought out a new side of me. I bought them new springy, Easter-y clothes today and immediately forced them to play fashion show. My heart is in a big, mushy pile on the floor. Yeah, the tags are still on. I think we'll skip the socks next time. This one is blurry but I had to share. She was pouting over me wanting her picture.   Big sister is never mad when I want to take her picture. Obviously not camera shy.   And she is still posing... Like I said... big, mushy, melted pile.

For the past couple of days I've been working on this post about Florida and lemon trees and bad guys (sounds interesting, right?) but it just isn't coming together. So I'm bailing on creativity and instead tossing in pictures from the week. Because sometimes pictures tell a better story than the thoughts in my head.   Notice a foot in the background. That's Kate performing ballet moves. The girls love to dance. Although I'd call it intrerpretive performances. While the big kids dances, this one can usually be found walking around with something over her head and covering her eyes. I like to imagine she's working on her senses as opposed to performing her interpretation of a drunk guy with a lamp shade on his head. What I really should be doing is laundering of busing the lunch dishes from our dining room table but once I got the wee one to nap I knew my body wasn't passing go. It's going to find it's way to the couch and sit for awh...