I'm not a complete dweeb...but I have my moments.
At a party in middle school a magician asked for someone to yell out a geometric shape. Having just studied geometry that week in math, I yelled out "parallelogram!" to which the magician ignored. He proceeded to look around the room and say, "does anyone know a shape?" To which I replied even louder, "rhombus!" At this point the whole room of parents and middle schoolers are laughing at me, but I didn't care. I knew that those were geometric shapes...I just didn't know the magician was looking for someone to say "square" or "circle".
I was proud of my knowledge!
And I had no idea that you could pass down nerdiness...until about a week ago.
At a birthday party for my godson I saw a piece of my nerd-gene that was passed to Lilly.
We were doing a treasure hunt at the party and Eric, the birthday boy's dad, was reading the clues out to all the kids. One clue said something about finding the biggest nerd in the crowd and that was who had the next clue. All of the preschoolers looked at him like a dummy, so he had to elaborate. He said, "Who is the biggest nerd here?" (Implying his teenage nephew) Well my innocent little Lilly shot her hand up so fast and proud she almost fell over. We all giggled under our breath. Eric, trying not to burst into laughter, repeated himself, "who is the biggest nerd here?" To which Lilly shouted "ME!" and raised her hand even bigger.
At this point I had a flashback.
My palms were sweaty.
I held my breath.
I didn't know how she would handle everyone laughing at her.
But to my surprise she was super proud to be a self-proclaimed nerd.
And I proudly said, "That's my girl!"
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Good Day
This is what I call a productive day...
First, we played mechanic and fixed an airplane.
Once it was safe to fly...the kids took it for a spin!
Then we journeyed out into the rain for some strolling...rain boots make the best for pedaling.
Then I cooked a FABULOUS dinner for all of us to enjoy.
And we finished the night with a game of Pretty Pretty Princess.
I call this a super successful day.
First, we played mechanic and fixed an airplane.
Once it was safe to fly...the kids took it for a spin!
Then we journeyed out into the rain for some strolling...rain boots make the best for pedaling.
Then I cooked a FABULOUS dinner for all of us to enjoy. 
I call this a super successful day.
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Early Bird Gets Wet
I love being a mommy. I have always known that this was what I wanted to do, and I receive great fulfillment at the end of each day. The part that I have always struggled with in being a mommy is the lack of sleep.
For some reason my children do not sleep well.
Lilly started off her little life sleeping great. At five weeks she was sleeping through the night. I remember thinking...no patting myself on the back...what a wonderful job I was doing as a mom. HA...that's all I can say about that. Then she became a real baby and woke up all hours of the night for months and months.
Then my little Graham came along. He didn't sleep well from the beginning. We are starting to get somewhere now. He's nine months old and only wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat.
So Graham wakes up once a night to eat, and Lilly wakes up once a night to either go potty or to just make sure we are still there. And then there are the occasional storms in the middle of the night, the dog needing to go out, or the guy in my attic that always drops his left shoe (at least that what it sounds like to me). Couple that with the fact that I can't ever seem to get into bed before 11 and that my kiddos can't seem to sleep past 6:30am...and you've got one tired little mama.
I don't mean to sound like I am complaining. I know most of the world is up at 6:30, but I've just never been an early bird.
I proved that to Lilly and my dog Beans the other morning.
It had been one of those nights where I was up about five or six times, and sure enough at 6:15 Lilly came strolling in my room. I told her to go away...but that didn't work. So then I said she could get in bed with me. First, she ran to her room to get her two favorite pillows and stuffed animals. When she came back I was already back asleep. I felt her climb into bed and knew that I needed to move Tim's pillows to make room for half of her own bed that she brought with her. As I rolled over to lift Tim's pillows (which, by the way, is one of those super heavy pillows made of that molding foam or something) up over me and off the bed I lost my grip and the pillow came crashing down on my nightstand. This is how it all went down:
First it hit my glass of water. And it didn't just gently knock it over, it LAUNCHED the cup halfway across the room and hit three pieces of furniture on the way down. This caused water to pour out all over my unsuspecting sleeping pooch. This caused her to leap out of bed with a yelp and violently shake water all over my room. At the same time, my Bible fell off the nightstand and whacked Beans in the head. So now I have a wet dog whose been hit with the Word of God...and not happy about it. She proceeds to leap into bed and lay on top of me because she has no idea what is going on. As all of this unfolds, Lilly is laughing hysterically which wakes Graham up for the day. Now the Holland house is up.
As I look back on the series of events I cannot help but think it all could have been avoided if I would've just pushed Tim's pillows off his side of the bed instead of trying to pick it up over my side. But I blame that on my lack of sleep.
For some reason my children do not sleep well.
Lilly started off her little life sleeping great. At five weeks she was sleeping through the night. I remember thinking...no patting myself on the back...what a wonderful job I was doing as a mom. HA...that's all I can say about that. Then she became a real baby and woke up all hours of the night for months and months.
Then my little Graham came along. He didn't sleep well from the beginning. We are starting to get somewhere now. He's nine months old and only wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat.
So Graham wakes up once a night to eat, and Lilly wakes up once a night to either go potty or to just make sure we are still there. And then there are the occasional storms in the middle of the night, the dog needing to go out, or the guy in my attic that always drops his left shoe (at least that what it sounds like to me). Couple that with the fact that I can't ever seem to get into bed before 11 and that my kiddos can't seem to sleep past 6:30am...and you've got one tired little mama.
I don't mean to sound like I am complaining. I know most of the world is up at 6:30, but I've just never been an early bird.
I proved that to Lilly and my dog Beans the other morning.
It had been one of those nights where I was up about five or six times, and sure enough at 6:15 Lilly came strolling in my room. I told her to go away...but that didn't work. So then I said she could get in bed with me. First, she ran to her room to get her two favorite pillows and stuffed animals. When she came back I was already back asleep. I felt her climb into bed and knew that I needed to move Tim's pillows to make room for half of her own bed that she brought with her. As I rolled over to lift Tim's pillows (which, by the way, is one of those super heavy pillows made of that molding foam or something) up over me and off the bed I lost my grip and the pillow came crashing down on my nightstand. This is how it all went down:
First it hit my glass of water. And it didn't just gently knock it over, it LAUNCHED the cup halfway across the room and hit three pieces of furniture on the way down. This caused water to pour out all over my unsuspecting sleeping pooch. This caused her to leap out of bed with a yelp and violently shake water all over my room. At the same time, my Bible fell off the nightstand and whacked Beans in the head. So now I have a wet dog whose been hit with the Word of God...and not happy about it. She proceeds to leap into bed and lay on top of me because she has no idea what is going on. As all of this unfolds, Lilly is laughing hysterically which wakes Graham up for the day. Now the Holland house is up.
As I look back on the series of events I cannot help but think it all could have been avoided if I would've just pushed Tim's pillows off his side of the bed instead of trying to pick it up over my side. But I blame that on my lack of sleep.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A 9 Month Blur
-wrinkles his nose when he smiles
-claps at everything
-crawls like a bulldog
-loves playing with his nightlight...while it's plugged in
-can't stay away from the toilet
-loves his stuffed animal monkey by attacking it
(I have to wash this poor little guy every few days because it is always covered in slobber!)
-yells while eating
-loves bath time...and splashing
-impossible to change
-plays in dog food
-loves absolutely everything about life
I've loved every second with him and I cannot wait to see what new things he will discover tomorrow!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
It's All in a Name!
From left to right:
Baby, Froggy, Piggy, Nemo, Sheepy, Pibblesquash, Odette, Carol, Blueberry II, Bee, Blueberry I, Baby Addie, Minnie, Cinderella, Gumby, Obaheeta.
I had no part in naming any of these...they are all from the mind of a four year old.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
One Little, Two Little, Three Little...WHAT?
(This entry comes with a disclaimer...we do not talk like this in our home)
Lilly loves to sing...she always has. Even before she could speak words she would babble (in Chinese I think) different songs.
The other day she said, "Mommy, let's sing!!" Thinking back to the other day when she busted out with the Flo Rider song, I was wondering where this road would lead us. I said, "Ok baby, you start." This is what she sang:
"One little, two little, three little midgets. Four little, five little, six little midgets. Seven little, eight little, nine little midgets...ten little midgets now!"
Ok...this time there was no hiding it...I busted out laughing in complete shock. I said, "Lilly, where did you hear the word midget?" She said, "Chief told it to me (chief is my dad)."
I proceeded to call Chief and tell him...to which he vehemently denied.
So without making her feel bad, I asked if she meant to say ingene instead and she said "oh yeah!"
BUT...when you ask her to sing the song...she still says midget.
I guess I'll correct her later...it's just too cute.
Lilly loves to sing...she always has. Even before she could speak words she would babble (in Chinese I think) different songs.
The other day she said, "Mommy, let's sing!!" Thinking back to the other day when she busted out with the Flo Rider song, I was wondering where this road would lead us. I said, "Ok baby, you start." This is what she sang:
"One little, two little, three little midgets. Four little, five little, six little midgets. Seven little, eight little, nine little midgets...ten little midgets now!"
Ok...this time there was no hiding it...I busted out laughing in complete shock. I said, "Lilly, where did you hear the word midget?" She said, "Chief told it to me (chief is my dad)."
I proceeded to call Chief and tell him...to which he vehemently denied.
So without making her feel bad, I asked if she meant to say ingene instead and she said "oh yeah!"
BUT...when you ask her to sing the song...she still says midget.
I guess I'll correct her later...it's just too cute.
Friday, September 24, 2010
A Rich Tradition
As long as I can remember, traditions have been a HUGE part of my family. We have always done the holidays the same way, we said our dinner blessings a certain way, we even vacationed in the same spots. We weren't boring...we just loved our traditions! One tradition that stands out in my mind, and is still a tradition, is the Mulkey Family Reunion.
Every third Sunday in August was dedicated to my grandmother's side of the family...the Mulkey's. We would wake up early and get ready for church, like normal, but instead of going down the road we would drive an hour and a half north to Nelson, GA. The only thing in Nelson is a marble factory (where my great-grandfather worked), a few homes, and Bethesda Baptist Church. The church is one room with two bathrooms and it sits right in the middle of a large mountain cemetery.
The reunion worked like this:
We would all arrive in the church and sit on or designated sides...Georgia folks sat on the left side of the church, and the Tennessee folks would sit on the right. We would then begin by standing up and introducing ourselves...to our family members...even as a kid this baffled me. After formal introductions, we would listen to the Treasurer of the reunion deliver the minutes from the previous years' reunion. The minutes are approved and new business is brought to the pulpit. After all of this we would sing and have a sermon. All the while the kids would be STARVING! Once the church service was over we would dash out the doors to the open pavilion where we would eat AMAZING southern food. The problem with the pavilion was the only table was used for the food...so we had nowhere else to sit. The kids would all pick a tombstone and eat on it, while the grown ups stood around balancing their plates and drinks. (This must have been before lounge chairs were invented).
Once we were done eating the Georgia cousins were forced to play with the Tennessee cousins in the graveyard. There was not much to do except play hide-and-seek, or pick a lovely bouquet of grave flowers for our moms. (This must have been before bringing-toys-with-you-to-things-like-this was invented). Then it was time to leave...until next year.
That is how I remember the reunion as a kid.
Now I am a grown-up...and we just celebrated the 53rd Annual Mulkey Family Reunion last Sunday.
Only a few things have changed. We now celebrate the reunion the third Sunday in September (so it's three degrees cooler than August), and we eat first (they got tired of hearing us whine). However; the introductions STILL take place, we are still segregated to the GA and TN sides of the church, and the children still love to play in the graveyard. Watching Lilly pick me flowers from someones grave made me smile and cringe at the same time.
Although I make light of my family tradition I know that it is an important one. Each year I see how deeply rooted we are and how my family is truly centered around Christ. I am a very lucky girl.
Every third Sunday in August was dedicated to my grandmother's side of the family...the Mulkey's. We would wake up early and get ready for church, like normal, but instead of going down the road we would drive an hour and a half north to Nelson, GA. The only thing in Nelson is a marble factory (where my great-grandfather worked), a few homes, and Bethesda Baptist Church. The church is one room with two bathrooms and it sits right in the middle of a large mountain cemetery.
The reunion worked like this:
We would all arrive in the church and sit on or designated sides...Georgia folks sat on the left side of the church, and the Tennessee folks would sit on the right. We would then begin by standing up and introducing ourselves...to our family members...even as a kid this baffled me. After formal introductions, we would listen to the Treasurer of the reunion deliver the minutes from the previous years' reunion. The minutes are approved and new business is brought to the pulpit. After all of this we would sing and have a sermon. All the while the kids would be STARVING! Once the church service was over we would dash out the doors to the open pavilion where we would eat AMAZING southern food. The problem with the pavilion was the only table was used for the food...so we had nowhere else to sit. The kids would all pick a tombstone and eat on it, while the grown ups stood around balancing their plates and drinks. (This must have been before lounge chairs were invented).
Once we were done eating the Georgia cousins were forced to play with the Tennessee cousins in the graveyard. There was not much to do except play hide-and-seek, or pick a lovely bouquet of grave flowers for our moms. (This must have been before bringing-toys-with-you-to-things-like-this was invented). Then it was time to leave...until next year.
That is how I remember the reunion as a kid.
Now I am a grown-up...and we just celebrated the 53rd Annual Mulkey Family Reunion last Sunday.
Only a few things have changed. We now celebrate the reunion the third Sunday in September (so it's three degrees cooler than August), and we eat first (they got tired of hearing us whine). However; the introductions STILL take place, we are still segregated to the GA and TN sides of the church, and the children still love to play in the graveyard. Watching Lilly pick me flowers from someones grave made me smile and cringe at the same time.
Although I make light of my family tradition I know that it is an important one. Each year I see how deeply rooted we are and how my family is truly centered around Christ. I am a very lucky girl.
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