Kat dropped by this weekend and it was lovely. There is absolutely nothing like an old friend. Lately, I’ve been busy trying to find new girlfriends here in Sherwood and I forgot the comfort of talking to someone who knows you inside out.

First, when an old friend comes over, you don’t have to clean your house. Or even comb your hair or make sure your outfit matches. All this is irrelevant as you have seen eachother at your worst and haven’t been scared off.

Second, you don’t have to fill in the back story. Conversations go like this…. “remember X? Well, here’s the latest….” You can jump right to the good stuff without trying to explain who is who and what happened when. It means converstation just flows right along and you can truely speak your mind.

Finally, you don’t have to worry about offending. You know you old friend’s likes and dislikes. If they are politically active or religous. You don’t have to hesitantly put forfth your views on the world, worried you might stick your foot in it. Because lets face it, the main requirement for a friendship that stands the test of time is the ability to forgive and forget.

While I’m enjoying making new friends, there truely is something golden about the old.

Part of being a parent is have to read the same books over and over and over and over

I barely remember watching Sesame Street

I’m exhausted.

Munchie has been down for a week with the Daniel virus. Fever of 103+, vomitting, stuffed nose, and no appetite. Every day I chant to myself, “tomorrow will be better” as I attempt to hold down my screaming, flailing child and stuff medicine down her throat. And each day, no improvement. So it was no surprise really, when she woke every 45 minutes last night to wail out a pitiful ……

“Moooooooommmmmmmy……noooooose…..boooooogers.”

Of course, there’s nothing I can do except lie there in bed hoping she’ll fall back asleep which she does only to wake again with the same complaint. Kevin managed to sleep through the softer cries. Maybe it’s because she’s calling for “mommy” that I can’t tune it out. Anyway, this morning both Leina and I were a total and complete wreck. But the good news is that her fever is gone! Yes, that’s right, she appears to have finally turned the corner. I’m so relieved I could cry. She’s asleep now and I’m about to follow suit.

These baby germs, I tell you, are deadly.

My house in empty. Rooms that once held sleeping babies have reverted to mere storage units. My kitchen cubbards are full of dishes and there are more than enough forks to go around. Even the dishwasher sits idle, waiting for a load.

Unc-a Dan and Auntie Suzy are back home and Tutu and Papa are in LA leaving Leina and I to our own devices. While they were all here, it was chaos. Eating in shifts, shuttling kids to and from parks and stores, trying to nurse the sick one and keep the other two entertained with different toys. Chaos. But it was also wonderful.

Yesterday, as Kevin and I sat down to a very quiet and docile dinner, I told him that I understand now the benefit of having a big family. There’s a kind of chaotic love that only manifests itself when you have siblings and cousins and aunts and grandpas running around under the same roof together. As my due date approaches, Kevin and I had begun to wonder if maybe we’ve messed up a good thing. Leina is so happy and easy. Adding another girl to the mix will mean disrupting our lives and well oiled routine. But after this family visit, we realized that sure, it’s tough to have siblings, but there is also something magical about family that outweights all other burdens. So bring on the little sister!

Leina adored her cousins. Daniel was sick the whole time and pretty much stayed on the sofa with a parent and some kleenex but Leina still found him fascinating. She’d go up to say “hi” and ask how he was doing. At one point she told him to “wait” while she went to get something to make him “feel better.” She rummaged around in the other room and returned carrying Daniel’s favorite stuffed animal, Spot.

Sammy was a ball of fire. He ran about, babbling in his big baby voice, and showing Leina all kinds of neat tricks she didn’t think about before. Like climbing up on her kid table, playing with sticks, and pounding on the sliding glass door with various objects. One thing we quickly realized is that Leina is quite the bossy boiler (to quote Thomas) and she adored mothering Sammy. She would direct him where to sit, or run after him to make sure he had his hat on outside. She did pretty well with sharing but there were the unavoidable pulling matches which I thought here pretty darn cute. Usually, Sammy would win and toward the end he’d learn to grab and run. Of course, Leina’s running commentary helped. Once, Leina watched Sammy playing with some plastic worms. She must have decided she wanted to play with them too because suddenly she announced, to no one in particular, “Weina gwab it” and then she proceeded to do just that. Adorable.

Leina also adored Unc-a Dan. She would lie her head on his lap and rub his leg with unfettered affection. Auntie Suzy was the song lady who could amaze Leina with a song for just about every situation. Papa retained his title of “silly” and Tutu introduced her to her latest favorite book, The Hungry Catapiller. I can’t even count how many catapillers I have drawn to date but I will soon pass my previous Frosty record at this rate.

Yes, bringing our whole family together was a recipe for disaster that turned into a resounding success. Don’t know when it will happen again, but I sure am grateful that everyone took the time and hassle to come and visit. And, as Leina asked me this morning after seeing no one downstairs to greet her, “back soon?” To which I could honestly reply, “I sure hope so.”

Leina woke up from her nap yesterday and settled into the rocking chair with Elmo and a book. It’s this lift the flap farm animal book that she loves and she spent the next few minutes opening flaps and showing Elmo all the animals.

She reached the page all about shapes and started naming them. Circle, triangle, square. I consider these the “primary” shapes – sort of like red, blue, and yellow. You know, the basics. She then lifted up the picture of the watermellon and looked inside. She thought a moment and then said….

“Oval.”

I was over-joyed! An oval! This was big stuff! I gave her a big hug and beamed at her while she sat, watching me.

“Mommy,” Leina began thoughfully, “duckies pull.”

She sat there, her thought voiced, and watched me with her big blue eyes.

“Ummmm,” I began and looked down at her book. I didn’t see any ducks or pulling going on so I responded with the answer most favored by mothers of toddlers. “Uh huh, sweetie.”

Leina was unimpressed. She tried again. “No mommy, duckies pull oval….. silly duckies.” I swear she let out a ruefull chuckle and shook her head after this comment and proceeded to flip to a new page. I was still a step or two behind my small daughter and then the clouds parted and it hit me. In one of her Baby Einstein videos about shapes, two duckies pull on a circle to make it an oval. Yes, that’s right, an oval. I was stunned.

As she continued to rock and baby talk to Elmo, I leaned in close and whispered, “honey… you had me at oval.”