what can i say?

the answer to the title question: NOTHING! i have lost my voice. no, not my ability to give my opinion to an audience, but my actual voice is gone & barely audible (this is a first). i started to get a wee bit sick on thursday, friday it hit me hard, saturday my voice started to crack like a teenager & this morning i woke up & can barely whisper. crazy, crazy, cray. so besides the fact that 2 of my 5 senses have been compromised (not counting my dire need to have glasses or contacts lest i walk into walls or think clouds are truly marshmallows), now the ability to speak has been temporarily taken away from me as well. you know, half of my head is numb to touch, i can't hear a whole lot out of my left ear, & now i can't talk. what next? i've always been afraid of going blind...lol. besides my throat hurting like someone has poured boiling oil down it, i'm feeling better & sort of think this no talking thing is kinda *funny*. i mean, it has to be wes' favorite day yet since our marriage! lol...his wife can't tell him what to do or how to do it. (i'm sure he doesn't quite feel that way, but i *bet* there's a part of him that's like 'hhmm, this isn't all too bad for me' *smile*).

so don't call me. i can answer, BUT...you won't hear me. it will be a pointless conversation, a waste of our time. you can text me! or email! i can barely even discipline the kids, so i'm sort of removed from most things, lol. you know i can still give that MAMA MEAN LOOK, though, right? the look that should send shivers of fear up & down adeline & amelia's spines? yes, i can still do that. but don't ask me for directions or advice. you'll be lost.

so how am i still a bit happy & finding humor in really annoying things? well, we have house guests ?? technically, not house guests, just guests b/c they live in their rv & it's parked outside our house. they were our next door neighbors in boise & have kept up a email & facebook friendship since moving. then they rented out their home & followed jesus' lead that they were to travel the great u.s. of a. serving others ( http://www.share5.org/ ) they have amazing stories about jesus sending them to certain places to help people & just plain serve others. share their time, share their jesus joy, etc. plus we just really love the houcks! so they are here to stay for about a week to sorta help us out while i'm recovering & getting back into the groove of stay at home mamaness. chad (the hubby/father) helped wes do some deck demolition yesterday while amy & i went to trader joe's & then she got a very beautiful hair cut from my stylist. good things for everyone.

another fine part of the houcks being here is that adeline has become fast friends with their kids (girl age 5, boy age 4). when she wakes up in the morning she points outside to their rv (what she views as a train, lol) & starts going CHOOO CHOOOO, hhhmmm, emy, emy (a version of their daughter's name) & is quite taken with the boy. they are both some of the sweetest, most tenderhearted kids i've ever met. wes & i have always strived to be parents like chad & amy (since we knew them & their kids before we had kids). know what i mean, it was the thought 'we want our kids in the future to be like their kids in that our kids will love others & feel secure enough about themselves to be kind & mind their parents, etc etc' & OHMYGOSH, these kids are amazing.

their boy in a play hat, w/ griswold
me pushing the dress-up girls. they even had play names! adorable.3 musketeers watching tv. adeline will be so sad when they leave.so the houcks & their share5 rv are here, helping us out & rekindling a friendship from a few years ago & still inspiring us along the way. amazing.

***
did i mention that amelia is (supposedly per pediatrician...i dunno) teething 8 teeth including her molars all at once, plus has an ear infection & a 104.3 fever when not inundated with motrin & tylenol? wes & adeline are mostly healthy (wes has a minor version of my virus). i 2nd kristin brandt's wish: i hope this is not an indication of how this winter will go as well (they had a winter of illness misery last year as well). or i will lose it (my mind).

in other news, adeline had her first smore last night during our bonfire. wes has found a lego fanatic friend in the houck's boy & i just found out that trader joe's has a version of THE OREO! what next?!

***

i'm off to eat a popsicle!

old friends, new friends.

last night we had a double girl family over. it was wes' childhood (& adulthood!) friend, erin (toomey) byne & her hubby, matt, & their girls kierra & reilly. kierra is about 2 (or 3?) months younger than adeline & reilly is 4 months younger than amelia. in a few years when we get together its just going to be GIRL time.

so i told adeline that two little girls were coming over & it was time to pick a special outfit. i gave her total control & usually that produces at least a semi-matching outfit. not so today. it's okay adeline, everyone makes a fashion faux pas but, wow, was this one a doozy. she was proud of it, which is what matters. i told her she was beautiful no matter if her outfit was a bit mi-matched. well, if she was going for a floral theme, this worked for her.

every year when we all get together wes & erin & their kids get a picture. it's becoming more difficult to get a good one, though. these are just 2 out of about 50.

last year, adeline was screaming while the pics were taken, so these are an improvement. lol.
i hope matt got some better ones than we did.

kierra & adeline

kierra & amelia

it has been discovered that sisters prefer other girls' baby sisters. sometimes. really, it was relieving to observe another two year old in action; you know, our child isn't the only one who does things to their sister or to other kids or acts like a 2 year old does. addy didn't get a nap (despite my best effort to do an adeline-nap-put-down with amelia playing in the hallway, throwing toys against the wall next to addy's room, squealing) so adeline was a but easily saddened & angered & just plain emotional. but, the girls loved on each other even!

here is a wonderful dad-of-the-year picture.

so erin handed over a gift from her church. there's this lady who knits/crochets prayer shawls. as someone who knits, i know how long it can take to make one little scarf, so this entire shawl is pretty amazing...what is superbly amazing is that this woman was praying (for me) the entire time she knit this. the entire time. hours & hours & hours. yea, i think this will come to the hospital with me, eh? when erin told me this, i immediately teared up & repeated my mantra (don't cry, not right now) but i did a bit & that was over. for as sad, depressing, anxiety-ridden as yesterday was, the evening was much better.

this morning is going good, as well! it is now confirmed that amelia is attempting to sing with me while i rock & sing to her prepping her to fall asleep for her nap. i sing three songs & this is the only time amelia does this opera-like, uh, noise. it's hilarious & i have to focus on singing myself to not bust out laughing b/c it just sounds terrible. like a frog? she has a cousin who does this as well, tries to sing. it will be a good memory. one day, amelia may be a good singer, but right now, oh my, no she is not. (not that she has a mama who can sing well to imitate, right?)

***

for the record, anyone who is hating this cool spell of weather can blame me. i think god heard my pleas for cool weather & has said 'let it be done just b/c you have harold to deal with'. lol! i am in sweatpants, tshirt, sweater (that has bleach stains SOMEHOW?! b/c we hardly ever use bleach!! & so is deemed by 'house sweater') & then booty slippers.

today i have decided not to investigate any AN forums or blogs. maybe i will try to tackle part of the basement? maybe go to the mall with the girls? hhmm...what would you do?