A Girls Best Friend

What a blessing my lil Riley has been over the past 12 years. She's quickly approaching 14 years of age and we're not sure how much longer she'll be with us. She has some health issues that are making me think her time with us is coming to an end.

Riley and I became a pair when she was 2. I was 19. She helped me stay sane and calm during finals in college, we would decompress at the dog beach during crazy wedding planning, and after Russ and I were married she helped our first apartment feel like a home. She moved with us to Virginia and I'd hold her and cry because I was homesick. She would always know when I was feeling sad.

Riley knew I was pregnant (both times) before I did. She would follow me around and stay put on my heels. She'd lay over my tummy and growl at Russ when he would walk by (this was soooo not like her). She'd nip at anyone who would try to touch me. She would follow me to the toilet and stay at my feet when I puked. And when I brought my babies home she loved them instantly. Jayda and Lilly have never known a world without Riley. She just sits and takes the ear tugs, the hair pulling, the kisses, and the rough hugs. She's put on a few lbs (she went from 6lbs to 8lbs) once the kids started self-feeding. She follows them around and shares their snacks all day. She often has sticky stuff on her fur from Lilly's dirty little fingers petting and loving on her throughout the day. When the girls run and play, Riley is right there in the mix barking and nipping at their heels. They all love it.

She sulks and pouts when she sees our luggage and crawls inside the bags while we try to pack...she knows we are going somewhere and chances are she's not invited. She gets sad. Her entire attitude changes and she mopes around till we return.

She's truly more than a pet. She's a friend. She's my buddy. She's irreplaceable. She'll be loved for every minute of every day until that time comes when she is ready to go to doggy heaven....which I'm hoping will not be for about 60 years.

Jayda-isims

Jayda lets a really loud "toot" while in the car yesterday. Then 2 minutes later she did it again with an even bigger one. I look at her in the rear view mirror and while rolling her eyes and letting out a deep sigh says, "Ugh. I can't take my butt anywhere."

___________

At the dinner table Jayda asks:

J: Mommy...am I like you or daddy?

Me: You're like both of us. You're half daddy and half mommy because we both made you with our hearts and bodies.

J: (exasperated while saying) How can I be half dad if I'M A WOMAN (she yells while slamming her fist down on the table).

___________

I picked Jayda up from school today and she was quite melancholy. This was our conversation about why she was so sad:

Jayda: MOM! I had the worst day of my life today! I'm just heartbroken!

Me: WHY?? What' happened at school?

Jayda: Christopher doesn't want to be my boyfriend anymore! He has been my boyfriend my whole life...for like almost a week since I was 4 years old and I don't even remember being 4 years old...that's how long he's been my boyfriend and now he's being mean. It hurt me bad!

Me: I'm sorry baby. Did it hurt your heart?

Jayda: Yes. And it hurt me here, and here, and here, and here (each "here" was said as she did the sign of the cross over her body). Remember when Jesus died on the cross?

Me: Yes.

Jayda: Well it hurt me like that!...ONLY WORSE!

Me: (dying of laughter): I'm so sorry honey. That's really tragic.

Jayda: I know! And it's also sad because he stabbed me with a pencil in my nickel (which is what jayda calls her nipples)! I had to have an ice pack and have my teacher look at my boobie.

Me: What? Were you okay? Why would he do that to you?

Jayda: I don't know. I don't know anything anymore.

_____________

Jayda got a new necklace with three charms...

Jayda: "Mom, see this key charm? Do you know what it reminds me of?"

Me: "what babe?"

Jayda: "the keys to the gospel." "and do you know what this heart charm reminds me of?"

Me: "what?"

Jayda: "It reminds me that Jesus loves me so much." "and do you know what this peace sign charm reminds me of?"

Me (as I prepare to hear more about jesus or church): "What does it remind you of?"

Jayda: "it reminds me to NOT watch Hanna Montana because it's so trashy."

__________

Russ and I were getting ready to go on a date the other night and she says, "I'm so glad you guys are leaving because I need a serious break from you."

Russ: "You do? Why do you need a break from us?"

Jayda: "because you guys are killing me today."

__________

Jayda did something really nice for her sister without being asked and cleaned her room without being asked so I surprised her and gave her a dollar bill as a reward. She got a big smile on her face and said, "thanks mom! I'm saving up to buy a cat when Riley dies."

_________

My mom is visiting and Jayda gets so excited that she forgets I'm even alive. I gave her a hug yesterday morning and said "Jayda, I miss you. I haven't had any time with you since Gram has been here because you just spend all your time with her. I wanna snuggle." To which Jayda replied, "sorry mom. life is full of disappointment."

_________

I was on my way out the door to present to about 100 teenage girls on how to dress modestly and fashionably. As I'm running out the door, Jayda says "mom. is that what you are wearing?"

I reply "yes."

Jayda then says, "interesting choice" and walks away.

Great. Now I'm second guessing my decision because of what a 5 year old said. (and yes, in case you're wondering...I ran upstairs and changed!)

interesting choice.

_________

I took Jayda shopping last Friday night for a backpack for kindergarten. After going to about 5 stores she says "these backpacks are lame! I just wanna take a coach bag."

Last Day of Preschool. :(

The second to last day of school was "pirate day."

Then, the last day came. The very last day of pre-school. ever.

Jayda thought it was fantastic.

I cried.

This is all going waaaaaaay too fast for me.

I can only imagine what it will be like on her 1st day of kindergarten. I may need to be sedated.

Easter

We had a great Easter again this year!

We enjoyed a fun egg hunt and picnic with friends and then celebrated His Resurrection on Sunday. It was a great weekend filled with friends, family, and gratitude.

Spring Concert

Jayda had her very last preschool spring concert. It was so sweet to see her sing her little guts out on stage. She has been at that preschool for 3 years! She was 2.5 when she started going to Living Savior. She still had tiny dimples in her hands and arms from baby fat. Her hair was just long enough to put into a tiny pony tail. She was the cutest little bug ever! Now she's 5. She'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall. She's learned so much and has grown in leaps at bounds. We feel so blessed that she was able to spend such quality time with the staff and her friends at Living Savior. It was a great 3 years!

Can you see Russ and Lilly? It's like playing Where's Waldo, but instead of finding Waldo you have to find the pissy baby and the daddy rocking her on his shoulders trying to keep her quiet.

Jayda and her best buddy, Christopher. They've been "dating" now for 10 years (according to Jayda). He says he's going to marry her when he grows up, but he has to "learn to drive and learn to play golf before he can get serious." (those were his exact words to me...he's too cute!)

Miss Micki - the lead teacher in her class (the Turtles)

Miss Kristi - the helper teacher in the Turtle class.

Twice Blessed

Sometimes I can't believe they're mine.

Sometimes I feel so blessed it takes my breath away.

Sometimes I can't believe these two little spirits came to be sisters because Russ and I fell in love and started a family. Then I watch them together and realize that Russ and I may not have had much to do with it. Their connection seems to be more of a heavenly creation.

I could be their mom for a million more lifetimes and still not get enough.

They mean the world to each other. They cling to each other when they're sad. They run to each other when they want to share a giggle. They snuggle first thing in the morning and right before bed each night. They were meant to be sisters. Sometimes I think that me being their mom was just the price they had to pay to get to this earth to be together again. They seem to have known each other prior to being sisters here. They seem to have loved each other since the stars were created.

My wish for them is to find happiness in each others successes and hold each other during their failures. That they'll cry together, laugh together, plot and plan together, and pray together.

Love you girls...

A Day In the Life of LILLY MAE

7:15 wake up angry.

7:16 immediately begin yelling for daddy.

7:17 mom enters room to get me out of bed and explain that daddy is at work.

7:17-7:27 walk around the house looking everywhere for daddy because mom is a liar.

7:28 realize mom was telling the truth and begin to cry because "i wamma dadddeeee"

7:29 climb on top the kitchen table to pound on the computer. mom takes me off the table.

7:30 - 7:32 repeat table/computer activity repeatedly till mom threatens to duct tape me to the wall.

7:35 breakfast.

7:37 throw breakfast on the floor.

7:38 scream for more breakfast.

7:39-7:45 eat food, throw food, feed Riley, throw cup, repeat.

7:45-8:00 scream bloody murder as mom changes diapers, clothing, and puts on shoes. Oops, mom put on the shoes that I hate today (even though I LOVED them yesterday), pick out other shoes and make mom put them on immediately.

8:01-8:45 generally speaking just make trouble for mom and do things such as jump off the couch, climb back on the table, bounce a bunch on the dishwasher door while it's open, find a butter knife on the counter (which mom still has no idea how I even got it down) and throw it at the dog, finger paint the tv (don't ask what I used to finger paint. Let's just say it's light green and salty and comes from my nose).

8:45-9:005 Ride along in the car while we take Jayda to school. If there's no movie on the in car then I scream like someone is pulling each hair out of my head very, very slowly.

9:00 - 9:15 drive back home after dropping Jayda off at school. Yell "SHESHE" (or sissy/jayda) for the entire 15 minute drive because I'm extremely ticked off she's at school and I'm stuck with my mom.

9:15-9:20 mom runs up stairs to pee. Silly lady. I use this time to pick up the dog food bowl and dispense dog food anywhere and everywhere I can think of. I also dump all the dog's water on the kitchen floor so I can pretend it's a slip'n'slide. Later, mom will find dog food in the pots and pans (which were inside the cabinet) when she goes to cook dinner. Surprise!

9:20-9:25 mom runs downstairs to start a load of laundry. HA! She'll just never learn. I use this time to open the refrigerator and place the shredded cheese, milk, and pickles all over the kitchen floor. Then I poop. I run like clockwork. Every morning at about 9:30 OR 11:30 I make a dookie. Then I scream while mom changes my diaper.

9:26-10:00 watch The Fresh Beat Band on tv because mom needs a few minutes of "downtime" to get stuff done without me trying to pick the dog up and put her in the dishwasher.

10 - 11:35 run errands with mom. I hate it. So I scream. And scream. And throw things out of the cart. Then I wave at people walking by so they think I'm cute and angelic and that my mom is a big ol' meanie. It's kind of evil of me. But hey, that's how I roll.

11:35 - 12:15 drive to and from getting Jayda from school. Repeat activity done during 8:45 - 9:00 time frame.

12:15-12:25 mom helps Jayda get in some comfy clothes, go pee, wash her hands, yada yada yada. So, while I'm not being watched like a hawk I find a marker that my sissy left out. I use it to draw all over every one of mommy's checks in her checkbook.

12:25-1:00 lunch time. It's just like breakfast, but with lunch food.

1:00-1:02 my mommy tries to do the dishes. While she turns her head for a minute, I kick down the baby gate that is blocking me from getting out in the front yard. I escape for about 60 seconds (which makes my mom feel like the WORST parent ever because something very bad could have happened). While I'm FREE for 60 seconds I decide to run over to my next door neighbors house and play, while still in all my clothes and shoes, in their hose. I'm soaking wet.

1:02 -1:05 My mom comes and picks me up. She's pissed. And scared about what could have happened. And mad at herself. And I think its funny. So I laugh and giggle the entire time I'm being scolded.

1:05 - 1:15 While we were outside drying me off, a neighbor came over to say hello. While my mom was holding me and talking to the neighbor, I unzipped her sweater and showed the neighbors my mommys boobs and bra (keep in mind these are her boobies that were a 34c, but after she had me they became a 34long...not pretty). My mom was pretty mortified. I found it hilarious!

1:16-mom mumbles something about one of us needing a nap.

1:17-3:00 I sleep. My mom recovers (and by "recovers" I mean does the dishes, laundry, plans dinner, pays bills, reads to Jayda, and vacuums).

3:00 I wake up angry.

3:01-3:20 snack. you can guess how this goes based on what breakfast and lunch were like, right?

3:20-4:00 play with my sissy. There'a lot of screaming and hair pulling involved (from me). My sissy takes it like a champ because she's awesome...but I sense she's getting a bit tired of my attitude.

4:02 (notice the missing two minutes??) I escape for two minutes only to have my glorious alone time shattered when my sissy screams for my mom to come help. My mom finds me standing in the bathroom sink drawing on the bathroom mirror with toothpaste. It was fun AND it tasted good.

4:03-4:05 My mom starts dinner and finds the dog food everywhere. I try to help by pulling out pots, pans, and pantry items. I can tell my mom is thrilled. Mommy looks so defeated when she's happy.

4:06-5:00 Mommy calls this the "witching hour." It's when I'm at my finest and she "barely holds on till daddy gets home." I try to make this time go by super fast for her so I keep her busy and entertained by trying to ride the dog, climbing up on the barstools and getting stuck and them screaming for help (I do this one over and over and over again till mom throws the bar stools on the front porch out of desperation), then I throw my gold fish snack on the ground and step on them to make sure they're really smashed into the carpet. I take a few minutes to find two rolls of toilet paper. I drop one in the toilet and it gets reeaalllly big! Then I take the other one and toilet paper sissy's bedroom. My mom starts yelling at my sissy for leaving the bathroom door open allowing me to do said activity.

5:01-5:10 play with mommy for a few sacred minutes, change diaper and get ready to go pick up daddy.

5:10-5:30 pick daddy up from the bus stop. I tend to yell a bunch while we drive there. Then I see him and act really, really angelic. Again, sorta evil of me to do, but it's worked for me thus far so I'll probably keep doing it. Dad gets in the car and says "what smells in here?" Mom looks like she's gonna cry.

5:31-6:00 eat dinner. yes, it goes about as well as breakfast and lunch. Only now daddy's home so he's angry because I keep throwing my food and screaming like a banshee.

6:00 - 6:30 play with daddy. It's my favorite time of the day. Mom usually rocks back and forth in a corner sucking her thumb during this time. I hear her repeatedly ask herself why she even bothers to clean or straighten throughout the day since it looks like WW3 in our house...which is CRAZY because it was clean 2 hours ago.

6:31 - 6:55 shower, brush teeth(try to throw my tooth brush in the toilet, but mommy catches it), put on PJ's.

6:55-7:00 song and prayer. Yell at anyone who doesn't have their arms folded just right. Yell Amen. Give kisses. Go night night.

7:01 - 7:09 - cry and whine that I'm in bed. then scream for help because my blanket is not exactly over my feet the way I like it. Dad comes in and fixes the blanket once last time.

7:10 fall asleep and prepare my body to do it all again tomorrow.

Luckily for us all, there are a TON of sweet kisses, big hugs, priceless smiles, and warm embraces that make this all enjoyable and very, very sweet.

WE LOVE YOU LILLY. WE WOULDN'T TRADE YA FOR THE WORLD (I was just kidding earlier today when I said I'd trade you for a half eaten girl scout cookie). :)