Do You Believe in Karma?

So I am a big believer in "what comes around, goes around" and it always amazes me when Zach is doing something he shouldn't be, karma always seems to have a way of getting him. If he's not listening the first time I tell him to go inside, he'll wind up slipping and falling. If he lets the dogs in when we don't want them in, they wind up taking his toys and he gets mad. The list goes on and on and it's a shame I can't recall some of the "finer karma" moments - because they have been classics. So I have been known to use the phrase, "karma is biting you in the butt." For a while he would get really mad and say "karma is not biting me" but somewhere along the way it sank in.

Tonight 14-month-old Natalie was standing in her high chair and after looking at me, I would tell her to sit down at which point she would get the sweetest grin and sometimes sit and sometimes remain standing. So after going to her maybe 7 or 8 times and helping her back on to her bottom, wondering why I am ready to part with the strap-in high chair, she stood up and then slipped a little and bonked onto her bottom. It didn't hurt her much, but she looked a little shocked. And then Zach chimed in, "Natalie, that is Karma biting you." It was so cute and nice to know that he is listening.

No more grandparents for me

Zach at 3 weeks with Grampsie
The last of my grandparents has died. My Grandpa (Zach & Natalie's Maternal Great Grandpa) - Grampsie - passed away last Thursday. He turned 99 last month. He had lived with my parents for the past 18 years - pretty amazing. The last couple years have been pretty tough on my parents and my brother Travis who helped care for him up until they had to put him into an assisted living facility 5 weeks ago. Tonight Zach said, "Mommy when do I get to go to a funeral?" I told him he goes in a couple weeks to celebrate Grampsie's life. His response, "O.K. Mom, I'll bring him a card and a picture and a toy I don't like." Hmmm, thoughtful, confused, bratty or just 3? He was pleased because Grandma gave him the tractor that was decorating Grampsie's room at the new home. He thinks Grampsie is playing with Parker (old dog who died in February) in Heaven - which is very sweet. Truly a life lesson for the little ones when someone they know dies. Zach still talks a lot about a dear friend's baby girl who died after 18 days. "Mommy, you went to a funeral and you cried for baby Willoughby." I do love that about Zach, he truly says it like it is - no filters, no holding back.

So I better get back to yoga soon since 99 is 66 years from now and that sounds like a long time.

Why is it hard to make decisions?

I have difficulty making decisions because I'm a Libra - or so the excuse goes. But when it comes time to pick out pictures of the kids, it's no wonder. My friend came to our house to take shots of Natalie before she started crawling. Now the hard part is figuring out what to order - I want them all, but that's not very financially responsible.

These 3 don't even scratch the surface. I love the candid shots - looking back through them reminded me a lot about life with a 3 year old and 8 month old . . . WHOA. That day of the photo shoot, Zach got into Ryan's hair gel and put goo all over, it was a complete mess. Fortunately it doesn't show in most of the photos. Everyone says it is harder to go from 1 child to 2 children but I never got it until #2 arrived. Easy as she was and continues to be, 2 kids is no walk in the park.

Natalie is almost 14 months. She has much more (and curlier in the back) hair, many more teeth - the last of her molars broke through last week. She is on the verge of walking, is the speediest crawler, loves crawling up stairs, is signing anything we teach her - she is pretty amazing. Zach is still showing me light at the end of the tunnel, started soccer today and LOVED it and is a fantastic brother. Today we worked on how to trade toys with Natalie to get the one he wanted. It was a success - for now at least.

Many Rants...all at once

Where do I start:

1. AAARRGH - nothing like computer problems to completely throw my week off. I downloaded a new program that is ginourmous. It completely messed up my computer. I have since taken it off, lobbied work for a more powerful desktop and have been able to resume productive work.

2. I am also trying to sell our old Volvo and thought I had it sold, but winds up not. Huge pain. The guy had it inspected and found too many problems - that was in the contract that he could return it but then tried to say he wanted me to drive to Chehalis. Is it my fault he lives in Portland - I don't think so. We said NO. We'll see if he caves.

3. Also, several weeks ago, I bought new shorts for Yoga only to put them in the Washing Machine and never see them since then. This happened to me once before when a brand new shirt and tights for Natalie stuck to sheets that were put away folded for 3 months.

4. I keep telling all my friends who have difficult 3 1/2 year old little boys (I know, I know, Difficult 3 1/2 year old boy is redundant) that I am FINALLY seeing light at the end of the tunnel with you know who and then he decides to say "Oh yeah, Mom, you think so, eh, well how about this . . ." So more bedtime battles, more tantrums. They sure know when the reserves are down. Smart little critters. This is a picture from one of our previous bedtime battles. I had friends over that night and he kept getting out . . . finally, i went upstairs to find this . . . .

5. We have volleyball games scheduled for Monday & Tuesday. We find the other team cancelled the Tuesday game for no apparent reason. Then we call to confirm Monday's game and find out the other team has it down for Tuesday. OK - workable. Then the school bus breaks down on the way to said game on Tuesday. At least we won!

The good news . . . I did tear my house apart looking for a library book that was due that I could no longer renew - I was beginning to think I was just losing it. Alas, I found it - sitting on a bookshelf of all places - darn housecleaners. I know I am not the most orgnized person in the world, but seriously, I usually keep track of these things.

Circus Time

So Zach and I went to his first Circus - Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey were visiting Everett and we went with Nana (Ryan's mom), cousins McKenna, Kiley, Bella, & Mia. It was great entertainment for a wide eyed 3 year old. His favorite part was the motor bikes and "the elephants pooping while the guy was catching the poop" (it was pretty funny). So it was entertaining as well for the 2 adults . . . except when we asked how much the programs were - $15. Holy cow. We passed. The kids were all great because none of them got any toys, snowcones or cotton candy ($12) - HIGHWAY ROBBERY. The animal part was neat for the most part - horses, llamas, dogs, pig, ponies - except I did feel badly for the poor elephants and tigers. It made me think a lot about when circuses began - i don't even know how long ago - I think I have a great, great aunt on my dad's side that joined the circus. The high flying trapeze artists were pretty impressive. All in all a fun night - fortunately Zach had napped so he wasn't a complete mess since we didn't get him home and in bed until 11:30. Thanks Nana for a fun night!