M

The first time I held her, I was honestly taken aback. Her tiny pink hands were curled into tight fists and tucked beneath her perfect chin. Her nose wasn't smooshed or wrinkled like most newborns. It was this adorable little button that I couldn't help but kiss over and over again. The RN suggested that I try to nurse her right away, so I tentatively held her to my breast trying to figure out what exactly the two of us were doing. But M knew what to do, and with a grunt she latched on for dear life. It was amazing. She snorted like a little piglet, sweet and pink and apparently starving! Now, so many years later, I fall in love time and again as I sneek into her bedroom to kiss that sweet little nose. Some day, not so very far away, M will be grown...too old for secret kisses.

Fee Fi Fo Fum...I smell...chocolate?

Some days, asking my children to make their beds AND pick up the floor of their bedrooms is a battle that I simply choose to ignore. While straightening B's bed the other day, I reached for her pillow and threw it onto her sister's bed while I began to strip the covers from her own. There was a slight waft of chocolate in the air. I dismissed it entirely, thinking clearly that this low-carb re-diet of mine was truly getting to my head. As I fluffed and tucked and made less-than-spectacular hospital corners that would have my grandmother clicking her tongue at me, but the job was nearly complete. I reached for the pillow to remove the pillow case when that familiar scent again filled my nostrils. Knowing full well that this is not a scratch 'n sniff Dora pillow case, I lifted the pillow toward my face to investigate. Suddenly my fingers felt a strange crinkling like paper...foil paper. I reached into the pillow case. When I removed my hand, there were several wadded foil papers, the remnants of my secret (or not-so-secret) stash of mini Snickers candy bars!!! MY PMS STASH!!! My boiling point screeched above the thermometer...and then it was gone. I was suddenly dumbfounded by how devious my otherwise innocent daughter had suddenly become. She is the second worst liar of the three, and always breaks under pressure. I never would have expected this from her. And then I began to wonder what else she had hidden and where...I've been missing a few things...

To Each, His Own

M. Sweet, sassy, sensitive M. She is small in size, but gigantic of heart. And her heart is filled with the love of basketball. Her talent is incredulous, given her inexperience and size. But she really is a natural. The only element missing, a good 15 inches in height. And still she's learning how to use her size to her advantage. In soccer, she managed to weasel her way in and out of the clusters and come out on the other side with the ball and a smile. In softball, she manages to make her strike zone nearly non-existent. In basketball, she has found that when you are closer to the ground, it is heck of a lot easier to steal the ball. And then away she goes...Now, if we could work on that fast-break lay-up.