While They Were Sleeping » Familia

New things

christina — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:39:37 +0000

We have had a lot going on, so I thought it was past time for an update. We moved,finally, just before New Year’s. So we’re in an apartment in Baton Rouge and friends of ours are renting the house in Marrero. Not as good as sellng, but much better than living in two different cities. We have not gotten a washing machine yet, though, so we’re still imposing on Craig’s parent’s hospitality for that. The girls are starting ballet. Lucy’s first class was lastnightand Samantha starts later this morning. Lucy really enjoyed it and did very well, I thought. We’ll see how Samantha does. She im not as eager to follow directions as Lucy is.
Clare has been busy. She signed her first word at dinner yesterday, “more”. She wants to eat everything. She is also making a lot of progress standing on her own – and she likes to throw her head back and wave her arms around and roar, “Look at me!” And she wants to help put her clothes on, so she spends half the day trying toput different things on her head – socks, hats, hair ties, blankets, you get the idea. And she’awake now, so I guess I’m done.

go fish!

christina — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:49:31 +0000

The scene: Lucy andSamantha sittiginthenew prayer space with fans of saint cards in hand.
Lucy: “Do you have a Saint Rose?”
Samantha: “Go fish!”

A lot of name for her size

christina — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:18:24 +0000

Samantha can write her name now…kind of. She writes “Samo”. Don’t ask me where the “o” came from. But lately she’s added an extra circle to the end as a period. So now she signs her name “Samoo”.

But she has requested not to be called that.

Nor, sadly, Samwise Gamgee.

It’s been two years, give or take

christina — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:34:20 +0000

I was noticing as I got out the winter clothes a couple of weeks ago, that Clare now fits (although barely!) in the dress I bought for Samantha for Dad’s funeral. It’s funny the way time works, and the things that remind us.

Ah, Clare

christina — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:28:53 +0000

Regarding a diaperless Clare…

Lucy: “That is a pretty big bottom. I’d like to keep looking at it. ’Cause it’s pretty big.”

To Clare playing in the living room…

Samantha, in her sweetest cajoling mommy voice: “I appreciate you doing good. Thank you.”

There were never such devoted sisters…

christina — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:39:12 +0000

I was innocently, or at least unsuspectingly washing dishes. The girls were playing outside. Lucy came in to finish preparing the “tea” for her tea party in the back yard, and she calmly announced that Samantha was on the truck.

“On top of the truck?” I asked, sure she must mean something like “tricycle”. ”The one we drive around in?”

“Yes.”

I blinked in disbelief, and headed for the door. Sure enough, as I walked out, Samantha was sliding down the windshield. She didn’t make a fuss, just slid down off the truck like she had done it every day of her life.

I wasn’t sure how she could get up there in the first place, since she is only as tall as the tire. So I asked. Did she climb the wheel or the front bumper? Wheel. Wasn’t it high? Yes, she couldn’t do it on her own. So how did she get up there?

“Lucy helped me.”

So much for my faith in the common sense of almost-five-year-olds.

“Lucy, how did you help her get up there?”

“She couldn’t do it, so I gave her a push on the bottom so she could get up.”

I’m seriously starting to be worried about being outnumbered by these three. Clare is about to start crawling, and then there will be no stopping them.

At least I won’t have to spend much time teaching them about cooperation.

Would you prefer peas?

christina — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:11:46 +0000

Me: Would you like some broccoli?

Samantha: I don’t like broccoli.

Me: What do you like? Besides cookies and candy.

Samantha: I like ice cream and cake. And icing on cake.

My mom claims she gets it from her, and that she got it from her mother. I think it’s time to start making some “nutritional” cookies. ;) (= sneaky mommy face)

Holy Water

christina — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:41:18 +0000

Lucy has a theory. She thinks that all we need to do to make the world a better place starts with a little Holy Water. You take some of this “magical” stuff in a cup, and go find a bad person. You have two weeks to do this, as she assured us this evening that the water stays good for two weeks. When you find the bad person, you have them drink the Holy Water. Then they won’t want to be bad any more.

I want to live in her world.

But I Nana!

christina — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 02:32:33 +0000

That was Samantha’s explanation. Now for the story.

I was next door at Bob and Mary Lou’s house, with Clare. I thought that Ben and Helen (Craig’s parents) were at the store, and Lucy and Samantha were swimming with Uncle Sean. When I came back, I found that Ben and Helen were back and Samantha was in trouble. Apparently after they had finished swimming, she had put on a pair of Nana’s shoes, which meant she was Nana, with all the rights and privileges accompanying that. So she unlocked the back door, went out and got herself a beer out of the mini-fridge by the pool, because, as she said, “I thirsty.”

(Fortunately, she’s not as good at opening cans as she is at unlocking doors.)

Earth Bag Houses

christina — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:00:36 +0000

For those of you we haven’t talked to in a while, this is our plan for the next several years. Why would we want to do this, you might wonder? Let’s just say we’re tired of spending $400 to fix our AC, and $300 for plumbing, and lining banker’s pockets with our mortgage interest, and wasting energy, water, building materials…it’s a long list. But go check it out:

http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/

The hope is, once we sell this house, to get some land probably in Livingston Parish (between N.O. and Baton Rouse) and get to building. If you know anyone looking to move to Marrero, let us know!