Ten on Tuesday

1. Finally the girls took naps. It only took separating them and banishing one to her bed for them to relax enough to sleep. But it was just what the doctor, and more importantly the mom, ordered. This is how recovery rolls.

2. I'm increasingly disappointed in the lack of professionalism in the service industry. I've long understood it is the responsibility of the person providing the service to guide the patron.... if the doctor's visit is over, stand up, doc; don't sit closer to me and stare at me while you wait for me to say something. And then there was the service manager at the dealership today. Seriously buddy, you came into the waiting room to chat to someone else. Then you sat down and just looked at me, saying nothing. And THEN you tell me you'll wait for me to finish texting. First of all, I wasn't texting, I was loading coupons. Second, if you want to talk to me about my car, address me as Mrs. Zahn and spill out the words. Grrrrrrr.

3. I'm currently in possesion of a Chevrolet Sonic. It looks nice, it's cozy to sit in, but it is not the car for me. Admittedly, it does feel nice to be behind the wheel of a car again. I feel like a sports car driver. No worries, I'm not giving up my Acadia any time soon.

4. LOVED Hatfields & McCoys. I know, that was on in May, but for one reason or another I wasn't able to watch it before we went to Minnesota for the summer. Today was my super, super lazy day, so I watched the last four hours. Well played, History Channel.

5. Lauren told me when they took out her tonsils they also removed all the naughty. We shall see. A mom can hope!

6. Geoff has been extra kind to me today. I'm not complaining, but part of me wonders what he is buttering me up for. Maybe he feels bad for me. Is it that obvious that I'm exhausted?!

7. LOVED our health care staff at Dayton Children's yesterday. Our nurse was awesome. So attentive, kind and caring. Maybe she was grateful to have easy-going patients. I imagine that is not always the case.

8. I'm nearing the halfway mark in the last of the Fifty Shades series. I'm most definitely savoring it, and equally anxious to see how it ends.

9. I had raisin toast this morning made from Purple Wheat. A first to my knowledge. And delish.

10. The girls are stuck like glue to the stuffed animal buddies we got them after surgery. Melts my heart.

Two by Two

Two little girls.  Two tonsillectomies.  Two adenoidectomies.  Two waiting parents.  Two hour recovery until we were sent home for two weeks of calm, peaceful rest.... Is that two much to ask?!

As the rest of Dayton enjoyed a sunny day, we left our house just before 10 am bound for Dayton Children's where both of the girls were admitted for routine, outpatient surgery.  Boy was I relieved when they led us down the hall to a cozy room for two.

Lauren was a nervous wreck.  Not sure of what to expect, and not willing to be away from her mama in times of uncertainty, she was less than thrilled about the impending procedure.  The medicine did little to calm her nerves; in fact I'm pretty sure she was coherent enough when I walked her back to surgery that she remembers our entire trek & good-bye.

Abby, on the other hand, was giddy with excitement at the thought of a new adventure.  She was also not giving into relaxation, quizzing me until the moment she left with clues to whatever word she had on her mind.

Once both girls were gone, Mom & Dad waited patiently for the results of the surgery, enjoying every ounce of peace & quiet.  And once the good word was received, it was time for our first date since we've been back in Dayton: the hospital cafeteria!
When they wheeled Lauren back into the room for recovery after she came to, she was a quiet, pale shell of her former self.  It wasn't until her big sister was escorted in happy as a clam that she began to perk up.  If slushies were made with booze, Abby would have been sloshed.  She pounded one white cherry slushy before dozing into oblivion, than three more after the nurse finally woke her up.

Lauren also got into the act, and my dynamic duo were back in business, taking full advantage of slushies & Sprite with a Scooby-Doo Meets Batman & Robin chaser.  Somewhere along the way Lauren gave in to the day's events, and before it was time to go she admitted, "I had fun."

And so it is.... Our summer is going out with a bang that sounds like cauterizing tissue.  Another adventure. Another life experience.  Another moment that ties these two lovely girls of mine together.

I Love Youisms

Lauren.  If I had to describe the child in one word it would be Difficult.  All.  Summer.  Loooong.  Last summer was a challenge for Abby, so I am taking a leap of faith in casting Lauren's behavior in a light I can swallow.... This is just a phase.  And most likely it is.  But it isn't a phase that is easy for any of us to live through; ask my parents.  Or honestly, anyone who has come in contact with the child for any length of time.  Difficult is being kind.

Underneath it all is a smooshy, mooshy, loveable little girl who oozes kind words just when you need her to fill up your heart in a way that only she can.  Mixed with a shot of sarcasm and that little stinker of a smile, here is a list of Lauren's recent I Love Youisms:

"I love you a hunderd million.... Even when you're dead you'll still be in my heart."

"I love you, but today you're making me have a issue."

"I love you more than a Kleenex."

"I love you more than your dog."

"I love you more than a leaf."

....and last but not least, the ever confusing

"Even I love you more than five."

Seriously.  Where or where did this child come from?!

The Adventures of One Earring

Before the girls and I left Ohio for the summer Lauren made a decision: she was ready to get her ears pierced.  I was suspect to this conclusion, mostly because I had overheard bits & pieces of a conversation she had with Abby focusing on the glory of wearing earrings.  But there was something else, watching Abby get pierced in December prompted Lauren to declare she had no intention of getting her ears pierced until she was older, at least 10 or 21.

Practicality outweighed intuition, and I scheduled Lauren to have her ears pierced when we arrived in Minnesota for our haircuts.  And on June 11, 2012 after two attempts in the chair, Lauren left our favorite little salon with only her right ear pierced.

From there our summer took off with one adventure after another.  That single earring accompanied Lauren as she mastered riding her bike on the gravel road, enjoyed countless trips to ice cream shops all over the country, flew to and from Washington, made several trips to the pool & water parks, joined her family for our annual Cousin Time sleepover, and traveled up north to the cabin where she swam, jumped off the dock, fished, made a new friend and then attended his memorial service four days later.  This summer that one earring went with Lauren to seven different states, spent countless hours in the sun and served proudly as a bracket to one side of a beautiful smile enjoying the glory of summer.

But in spite of the bond Lauren shared with her right earring, she could not bring herself to muster up the bravery to get her left ear pierced.  I know the torture I felt when she went into her crying fit of refusal at the moment she faced piercing earring left.  I can only imagine the nerves that raced through her belly every time it was mentioned ALL SUMMER LONG.

In part because I could not allow her to be tortured any longer, and in part because I was not going to have "that kid" that walks around with only one earring for life, I served her up an ultimatum and made it entirely her decision: Either get your ear pierced before we leave Minnesota, or take it out, let it grow shut and pierce them again on your dime when you're ready.  Minutes before we left for the salon on the morning on July 31st to get our final hair cuts before departing the motherland, she confided that she wanted me to take her earring out.  It's funny how even when you know it's coming, hearing the words you don't want to hear can make your heart drop.

We kept that earring in at the slight chance she would change her mind.  We even kept it in on our drive back to Ohio, just to add that last little bit of adventure to its short-lived life.  But last night I stood true to my word and took that earring out, where it was secretly deposited in Mommy's jewelry box for posterity.

In the end I think we all learned a few things from the adventures of that one earring.  As to who learned more, Lauren or I, that remains to be seen.  When will Lauren finally take the leap and get her ears pierced?  I think that one will be a sore spot for quite some time.  The One Earring Wonder.

A Summer of Life Lessons

This Summer the Girls Have Learned....

............How to pee outside
..............................Older people move at a much slower pace
......It's important to pick the cherries with the stems on
....Words like snarf
...........It is possible to dance off the drips when wiping is not an option; we're still on the peeing outside thing.
.........................................97 isn't necessarily old
...................How to Cannon Ball off the dock
.......People die.  Even young people.  You can be roasting marshmallows & swimming with them one day and the next they are gone.  It's the one thing worse than leaving the cabin.
...Good things do come to an end, even things that seem to fit perfectly together.  Like Great Grandma living on the farm.  Consequently, they've also learned that her apartment building in town is a hotbed for new adventures.
..........Games like Sequence & 31 with quarters
....................................Spinning quarters
.....We always stop at Dairy Queen on our way home from the cabin.
.............................How to swim, swim, swim!
...............................................How to shuffle cards
.........Conquer fears: Abby's overcome her fear of dark enclosed slides. It's still TBD for Lauren & the second ear piercing.
..................How to ride bigger bikes
....Where the wild raspberries are on the back hill
.........Little birdies take pictures
........................How to make rolls
..................Friends from China bring a whole new element of fun
............Some chairs come with remote controls and they are FUN!
............................How to poop outside

Ten on Tuesday

1. I'm a sucker for popcorn.  Kettle corn not excluded.

2. Maybe it's a Midwest thing.  That was always our Sunday night supper.... and I don't think we were alone in that one.  I seriously love popcorn.

3. After the Obama's were caught on the Kiss Cam at the basketball game in DC last night I got to thinking.... How many people get put up on Kiss Cams who don't know each other?  And how awesome would it be to be sitting next to a total hottie and end up on one of those?!  Ewwww, or if you end up on one with the guy you've been watching pick his nose the entire game.  That one would be ishy.

4. Crazy 8s & 31.  Abby is a rock star at both of them, thanks to Papa.  She's also become an expert at spinning quarters, gambling and peeing in the yard.  As soon as she takes her ACTs she should be ready for college.

5. I cannot get that stupid Call Me Maybe song out of my head.  And thanks to the many versions on YouTube I am now seeing Big Ten mascots dancing my head.

6. Giant.  Screw.  In.  My.  Tire.  Not happy.  Thanks to the friendly service crew at my uncle's shop, a patch & I'm good to go.  Whew!

7. Six hours we spent at the water park with friends yesterday afternoon.  Life is good.  It's moments like this I appreciate the opportunity we have to spend our summers at home in Minnesota.

8. Among Lauren's many talents: fashioning a diaper for her bear out of paper & tape.

9. I can still hear the words Lauren said to her Grandma Phillips, "Someday you're going to find out I went to space."  My heart swelled with pride!

10. And then she told her sister that when you go to space you also have to work.  Something tells me the child was born with work ethic.  Love that child!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Is it Tuesday?  I was pretty good on what day it was right up to our trip to Washington.  Ever since I've been living in the land of calendar oblivion.  I love it!


2. Listening to the girls ride their bikes up and down the driveway.... I wonder if my parents wore the same smiles as my sister & I cruised up that same gravel path?


3. I found a hide-a-bed in the People's Press' bargain section, which got me thinking.... do they still make hide-a-beds?


4. Abby never stops singing.  Well, almost never.  Maybe that's why she doesn't like brushing her teeth, it stifles her inner songstress.  Perhaps it can also explain the talking in her sleep.


5. Hey, I just met you.  And this is crazy.  But here's my number.  So call me maybe.  That would be Abby's, and now Lauren's favorite never-ending song.  And now you can have it stuck in your head, too.  You're welcome.


6. I am finally on the third installment of the Fifty Shades trilogy.  I didn't expect to be saying this, but I've enjoyed it most when it got past the dirty.  And the second book was better, hands down.  I can't wait to see where the third book leads!


7. What do people in Owatonna do for fun on a random Monday night in July?  Attend Dancing with the Steele County Stars, of course.  It was quite the evening of entertainment, and best of all I finally got to check out Medford's new school; I was impressed!


8. I've been on the lookout for cute and simple sewing projects to get myself acquainted with my new sewing machine.  Enter the Ric Rac Flower.  UCreate is loaded with adorable tutorials.  love. Love. LOVE.


9. At six & seven, the girls still love to play cars.  What once was downtime spent lining up their four-wheeled toys is now an elaborate society constructed out of their imaginations.  I could listen to them play for hours.


10. My heart weighs heavy with equal parts disappointment and wonder.  It's hard not to be saddened when you find out people aren't who you thought they are.  And yet I wonder if the nature of growing up will reflect kindly on them.  It certainly gives me a lot to think about when shaping the path my children follow. a lot. A Lot.