The Wet Crystal

We were running late this morning. I say "this" morning like running late is something out of the ordinary. It's not. But, I digress. Brad had taken a shower and I was in the process of getting Lucy dressed. Getting her dressed usually isn't a problem but lately, changing her diaper is a problem. She hates it. She screams, she twists, she screams, she flails and this morning, she kicked like a mule.

The mule reared back and kicked violently at whatever was within her range. Unfortunately, her soaking wet diaper from the night was in my hand and well within said range. What happened was something I've never seen before. Her tiny little foot connected with the diaper and the next thing I know, it's snowing. No...it's slush...no...it's...

*ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww*

Pee crystals!

::gag::

Did you hear what I said? PEE. CRYSTALS. No, no, wait...wet. pee. crystals. It was a blizzard of wet pee crystals!

She stopped crying instantly. This might have something to do with the screech that I let out. I made the unfortunate mistake of yelling to Brad to "get a towel because Lucy just kicked her diaper and there is shit everywhere." In hindsight, "shit" was not the appropriate word to use because you know what Brad was expecting to find. But no, it's just an inch of pee crystals on me, the hardwood, the blanket, the towel, Lucy's hair, Lucy's face, Lucy's body, Lucy's clean clothes. Sigh.

I've seen these pee gemstones before of course. When the girls were little, I would sometimes see a crystal or two in their diaper at changing time. They are nothing to worry about (says the mom who was covered in them this morning).  The crystals are actually a product of the chemical that makes diapers “super-absorbent:”  sodium polyacrylate.  These polymer beads, which absorb 200-300 times their weight in water, leak out of the paper fluff when diapers are very full or if there is a little tear in the lining.

I'm not opposed to the bling in the diaper, but why didn't anyone ever tell me that a violent shake/kick would release the gems and send them flying all over the room? That information, my dear diaper companies, would have been uber-helpful.

This is a snow cone without a cone as seen through Toddler Vision (TV)

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

Have you ever heard that saying "Live like there's no tomorrow, love like you've never been hurt and dance like nobody's watching"? It's one that I think of often...for no reason than I do try to live like that. I was going through pictures from this summer and I realized that the one that I don't do often enough is to "dance like nobody's watching". I didn't realize it until I saw a photo of Lucy doing just that.

Case in point:

Go girl!

Look at the sheer joy on her face. While the two boys (sons of a high school friend of mine) were banging on the keyboard like madmen, my little Lucy just got down and dirty on the dance floor. She was shrieking with delight, arms flailing and legs stomping. She was jumping and laughing and twirling like nothing I've ever seen. I realized when looking at this picture, I don't remember the last time I danced that hard and lived so loud. She is happiness personified and I need to be like that more. While this picture isn't professional by any stretch of the imagination, I captured something. It's a beautiful portrait of youth and life and being so happy, you want everyone to witness it.

I need to do more of this.

Night-Night Nemo

We have had houseguests since last Sunday. A buddy of Brad's is in town with his two boys (6 and 3). Needless to say, our house has been a zoo this week with all these kids running around and my girls beating up on Kurt's boys. But I digress...

Last night Kurt & Brad took the older kids to the Splash Park (Hayden says "Splashcart"). I decided to stay home with Lucy since she isn't all that thrilled about water parks to begin with. I thought it would give her some quiet time too.

She had her tubby and then brought me the little portable DVD player and asked for Nemo. Why not? I put Nemo in the player and put Lucy in her room to watch. The quiet was soooo nice for both of us.

Pretty soon, I hear her:

"Momma! Momma! Whe'areyou? Whe'areyou?" 

"I'm right here"

"Nemo go night-night. Night-night, Nemo!" 

So I grabbed the player, turned it off and put it on her dresser. She smiled at me and I said "Night Nemo!" and she looked up and said...

"Night-night! Byeeeeeee!" while waving at me from her bed.

I took the hint and walked out to her "Byeeeeee! See soon!"

At the door I stopped and started to say "I love you" but all that I got out was "I...." and she yelled:

"YOU!"

And then it was bed time.

Times the are a changing...

It's been almost two months since I've posted. I've had plenty to say, do and talk about but we were traveling the month of July. In fact, July gave us 30 days, 18 states and 6792 miles on our new Toyota Tundra. Brad and I are still happily married and we did not leave either girl on the side of the road. In fact, Brad was ready to buy BOTH of them cars after a long 15 hour day from my mom's house in VT to Elkhart, IN.

Hayden has grown up so much in the last couple of months. Her ability to speak is getting better and better as she continues to add lots of words to her vocabulary, including "dumbshit", compliments of Meg after we almost got run over by an idiot in a truck - though we convinced Hayden she said "jump ship". Now Hayden will say "You jump ship!" Yeah...oops? She has also become relatively infatuated with all things princess. Cinderella is high on the list right now as THE movie to watch. The summer was great for her and she spent a lot of time running and playing with lots of family members. Going back to work was sad for me because there is nothing like watching your children all day and seeing them learn and grow.

Ben, topless Lucy, Hayden the Princess, Kaylee & Bradan.

Contemplating life over a bottle of water - State College, PA

Exercising her right to wear what she wants on her head - Maine.

She's growing and changing so fast. She was this adorable baby and has turned into a beautiful little girl who is happy, adventurous and very sensitive. ♥

Miss Lucy, of course, has changed that much more as well. Her vocabulary sky-rocketed over the summer after spending so much time around Hayden and the other kids. It's clear that she understands virtually everything we tell her but she doesn't always admit to it. She has more facial expressions than a mood chart and I swear that Brad and I missed her calling for her to be on the big screen.

Chillin' like a villain at Eastern Point Beach, CT

Sweetness

Hiking to Glacier Lake in the Beartooths, MT

Lucy is a character...she is active and fearless and as funny as they come.

The girls have become sisters in so many ways over the summer. The crying, screaming and fighting that turns into laughing and playing instantly. They kiss, scratch, hug and pull hair but there is no question about their love for each other. Hayden will wake up and say "I need my Lucy. Where's my sister?" Lucy will wake up first and within minutes will open her arms in a shrug and say "Where Hay-en?" They are sweet.

Examining flowers in State College, PA

Beach combers in CT

"MY BALL!" fight in Maine

Settling in to watch a movie together ♥

Fishing in Red Lodge, MT

This will be a fun year...