Skylar and the Bean

Once, there was a girl who liked the color orange. She had curly hair, big blue eyes, and could hug you like nobody's business. She had a twin sister who liked to talk a lot.

One day, the girl went to Cafe Yumm with her family, and was enjoying a nice meal, including brown rice, Yumm sauce, a pb&j sandwich, chips, and milk. Delish! She had a small bag of things she was playing with toward the end of her meal, and in the bag was a red bean, about the size of a pea. The girl liked to play with the bean, rolling it between her fingers, and apparently, seeing what would happen if she stuck it up her nose.

"Mommy!" said the girl. "Bean up there!" pointing to her nose. Panic. Laughter! Panic. Concern. Perplexment. Distress!

The bean had been lodged up the girl's nose, and mommy couldn't even see it. What to do? Call the after hours nurse? Attempt to blow it out or otherwise remove it? Drop everything and race to Urgent Care? The family opted for options one and two.

Where could it go, anyway? It could get snorted up into a sinus cavity. It could come shooting out upon a forceful sneeze. It could get blown out eventually, or it could just stay in there for a while. Which sounded uncomfortable. Imagine the conversation at day care drop off: "She's doing great this morning. She has a bean up her nose, but we're not concerned. Just so you know."

So the family raced home. Found a flashlight. Googled "bean up the nose." Called the night nurse. Google said to attempt suction. Which the family did - a nasal aspirator brought the bean into view. Progress! The sister helped by bringing various medical instruments to the dining room table, the scene of the extraction. The girl did not want the nasal aspirator or earwax removal tool anywhere near her nose, but was enticed by the promise of a cookie, and so relented.

Dad held the girl. Mom held the flashlight and the earwax removal tool. The bean was within easy reach. The earwax removal tool was pure genius! Bean removed!

Cookie consumed. Girls tucked into bed. Giant glass of wine consumed. The end!

Fabulous! Awesome!

I have discovered there are some words I must use more often than I thought.

Skylar, after Paige did something good, but not that exciting: "Good job, Paige. Awesome!" Repeated several times that afternoon.

Paige, later the same day, either commenting on something pretty cool or to be slightly sarcastic, I can't remember (she's used it correctly both ways): "Fabulous. That's fabulous!" Sometimes she'll just repeat the word fabulous after I say it; she must like how it sounds.

At least they aren't swear words my girls are repeating! :-)

And, Skylar and Paige are pretty fabulous and awesome. They are the super sweetest girls ever created (okay, they are both sleeping like little angels right now, which basically makes me cry over how beautiful and precious they are).

I'm going on my first trip away from them for more than 24 hours on Tuesday. I'll be away for four days. Gramma Rotzie will be here, Daddy will be here, and they will be fine...and I'll have a great time with adult interaction all day, dinners with adults, and evenings and nights all to my adult self (gasp!) which sounds almost dreamlike, but I will miss them so. I already do. And, this trips marks then end of the infrequent nursing we are still doing, which makes me sad and proud and glad and nostalgic all at the same time. My babies are growing up!

So Long, Vacation; Happy New Year!

Two weeks of vacation end tonight, and we have had a really wonderful time! Traveling is significantly easier than last year. The girls were absolute sweethearts in the car all the way to the Bay Area, through 9+ hours of driving. We got to see Cousins Katie and Anika, Uncle Tom and Aunt Anne (and their fabulous new house), Gramma Mary and Papa Mike, and numerous other California friends. Here's a sampling of photos from our travels, including some taken with my awesome new iPhone :-). I especially love the video of Skylar with the Ukelele, rockin' "Here Comes the Sun" like she's been doing it since the day she was born. Priceless!



Happy New Year!