A new season

I know I've reached another new and exciting season in my life when:

• The 3.5 year old has become the house's #1 bossy tattle-tale: (referring to Nathan...) "Mommy, I think he's not chelling the truth" and even the dog mopes around more because there's another person to boss her around, "No, Gracie! Go lay down! Put your head down and be still. Don't eat my food. Eat your own food."
• She is starting to get the concept of germs, "Are germs reeeeeeeealy little?"
• I find myself teaching her the concept of rhyming by conjuring up silly sentences like, "Once he peered, he feared the weird beard." "The king is going to sing with a ring on his wing." "The deli gave Kelle a smelly jelly belly." (That's her favorite) and "The fat cat wearing a hat sat on a rat lying on the mat." She did point out two rhyming words I unknowingly said this morning, so something must be working.
  
• She referred to me as "Your Highness" this morning (I'm sure it's too many times watching Cinderella).
• Nathan is letting me hold and cuddle him. He's also becoming interested in books.
  
• He bites his sister's arm, 1) out of pure frustration with not being able to communicate anything other than his normal high-pitch "Uhhh!", or 2) he's just plain rotten.

• My beautiful little girl is showing fashion-goddess tendencies that would give Tim Gunn the chills. (This morning was red, green and white striped velour pants, a shin-length teal summer dress with cupcake smocking, a pink polar tec coat and tennis shoes with pink and brown tiger-striped print socks). I know my mother is truly enjoying watching all of the fashion struggles in our home because it happened 30 years ago to her.

• It really is finally getting cooler.
  

Priceless memories & frogs

"Mommy, I'm ready to go to church" she said. I just had to get a picture.

plastic blue Cinderella shoes - $1
Mommy-made princess skirt - $20
cute plaid butterfly shirt - $15
pink bead necklace - party favor from BDay party yesterday
Cinderella wedding veil - $12
Disney Princess backpack - gift from grandparents
Watching my daughter's fashion expertise mature - Priceless

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Things I'm going to miss when my little ones grow up:

• Carrying my still-sleeping little girl to the potty at least once in the middle of the night, gazing at her petite face in the warm soft glow of the bathroom night light and carrying her to put her back in bed, totally oblivious of her nightly escapade.
• Having to very quietly tip-toe across the carpet to turn off little man's ocean sounds so as not to stir his wake-at-any-minute-sound self; and also lying my hand on his chest to feel him breathing.

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With all the rain here lately, we have a new adventurous animal that has invaded our side door at night: Kamikaze Frogs

One night last week, Jim got home late and as I was opening the side door to let him in, he unusually and quickly jumped back outside. At that moment, a frog about the size of the palm of my hand jumped off the outside of the door, into our house, straight toward my head (but over it) and landed on the wall directly behind me. Oh, approximately a 7 foot jump. I immediately did the ridiculously delayed scream and jumped, which frightened the frog perched on our wall and caused him to jump again, this time whizzing by my face. I screamed and jumped again, but the frog was safely hidden somewhere in our desk area. Needless to say, Jim thought this was HILARIOUS! It's not often I bring him to tears of laughter, but this was certainly one for the record books. He was laughing so hard, he said he was unable to find the frog and get it out. (Whatever, I think if he didn't have a wife that was so stubborn and intent on proving to the world that she's not a typical girly-girl, he'd find a way to rescue his helpless family from ferocious flying frogs, 5" black snakes on the back porch or an occaisional stray lizard in the house). So my brave and determined self calmly got a cup, trapped the frog, slid a piece of paper under the opening of the cup and released our Kamikaze visitor back into the wild of our camellia bushes.

That wasn't the end of it though. More rain and three nights later, Kamikaze frog's younger and smaller brother proceeded to jump from the outside of the door again, when I was letting Gracie outside to relieve herself, and this time the brave little amphibian landed in my hair. A crazy, possessed, stomping, head-flailing dance ensued until the frog was catapulted from my trying-to-hie-the-grey locks. After catching my breath while keeping an eye on the intruder, I again calmly trapped and released him outside in the bushes.

AND, the younger sister frog must live in our mailbox. She occasionally will land and latch on to my hand while I'm reaching in to pull out the mail. I jerk it out usually scraping or hitting some part of my appendage and do my best to watch my language because a little person is usually around.

I'm looking forward to it getting cooler. Don't they hibernate or something?