The Lowdown on Arkansas

After a little over a week away from all their earthly belongings, I can safely say that no toy, book, blanket, or inanimate object in casa de phillips has been overlooked by either Isaac nor Evelyn today. They were on a mission to re-familiarize themselves with every square inch of our property in the past 24 hours and were quite successful.

Now that we are home, everything is unpacked and put away (including the things we did not take, which were pulled out yesterday in a frantic manner by two children who shall remain nameless), and the cupboards are no longer bare, I finally have time to blog about some funny events that occurred while away.

*Evelyn's vocabulary grows by the day. She has been saying "T-ank tu (thank you)" for a few months now whenever she hands you something or has been given something. This past week she began saying "Tank-tu wa-wa". It took me about half a day to realize she was saying, "Thank You, Your Welcome." simply because she hears us say "Your welcome" to her many "thank-yous" during the day. So "Tank tu wa-wa" has become a common phrase around our house.

*During my great-grandmother's funeral and memorial service, several of my mom's friends came over to watch Isaac and Evelyn (four to be exact...just because they are such sweet friends and hopefully not because our children require a 2:1 ratio). Isaac informed one of these ladies that he "just needed to check his email on the 'puter." I was quick to inform her (later) that my almost three year old does not have his own email account as of yet and we have no plans to explore such options in the near future.

*One day as Isaac, Tobe, and I were entering the nursing home to visit my Grandmother (who is there doing rehab after breaking her shoulder in April), Tobe let out a burp. Isaac quickly turned to look at him and exclaimed, "That sounds like you are throwing up, Daddy!"

*Isaac and Evelyn were big hits at the nursing home anytime we went to visit. The night that Tobe and I took Isaac by himself, we left just as my Grandmother was being seated for dinner in the dining room. Isaac hugged and kissed Grandmother good-bye. Suddenly the dining room was filled with requests of "Come hug me, Baby!" and "Come tell me good-bye!". Isaac sweetly went around and hugged several of the elderly people good-bye before Tobe realized he was going to have to intervene or we would never leave. It's amazing how children can lift one's spirits.

*The morning of the funeral, my mom and I were both the first ones up and were chatting in the laundry room while she perked the coffee. Mid-sentence she told me she felt nauseous and asked if I would finish making the coffee. Then she proceeded to pass-out. I grabbed her and started yelling for my dad, my brother (who had slept on the couch the night before), and for Tobe. My mom managed to come to enough to ask "Why are you hollering?" and then passed out again. That time she crumpled into me and I was able to lay her on the floor, managing to only hit her head on the laundry basket. After an enormous amount of time, all three men appeared in the laundry room doorway (Tobe says it was 30 seconds...I swear the whole event lasted over a minute and a half to two minutes). Mom came to, wondering why she was in the laundry room and why the family had gathered over her. After my nerves were calmed and Mom was up walking again, we were able to laugh about the event. We think she passed out simply because of fatigue and stress, but it was quite the unnerving experience at the time.

*On Saturday our family of four, along with my parents, attended a VBS carnival hosted by my parents' church. The event was great fun...until someone asked me when I was due. This question came less than 24 hours after Isaac had mistaken me for Kathie Lee Gifford so I was not able to laugh it off. Rule of thumb: never, never ask any woman if she is pregnant or when her baby is due unless you are in the delivery room and actually see a baby crowning. It just isn't a safe question, people.

*Evelyn's back molars decided to make an appearance this week. All I can is say is bless all of our hearts because that girl screamed, cried, and fussed more than I thought possible. At one point as I rocked her, my mom sang, and my dad fetched the Infant Motrin, I commented on how E. requires a staff of three at all times (Tobe was entertaining Isaac at the time). It was a full-team effort this past week to keep her happy and pain-free. Most of the crying occurred in the middle of the night and I feel like I have a newborn again. We are praying the teeth finish coming in and nothing else decides to make an appearance for the next few weeks.

*Yesterday our one-stop in our six hour drive was at a Burger King in East Texas. The plan was for Tobe and me to eat an early lunch while the kids played and then they would eat their lunch in the car. As we feasted on burgers and fries, we hear this little voice come from the depths of the play place saying, "Mommy, I am in trouble here!" I have found that most Burger King play places are incredibly tall and this one was no exception. Seems like Isaac scaled to the top of the play tunnel and then became confused as to which tube to crawl through in order to reach the slide. Such confusion resulted in me crawling up into the play equipment, figuring out the maze (it was confusing), and then sliding down the slide with him. Have I mentioned I have a touch of the claustrophobia and my idea of fun is NOT crawling through hot, closed tubes?

*This same Burger King's clientele also came to understand Evelyn's great fear of public diaper changing tables. I rarely have to change Evelyn's diaper in public bathrooms, but she still has a great fear of the changing tables that pull down off of the wall. She immediately grips hold of my shirt the minute we approach one and then cries during the whole diaper changing experience while holding on to whatever is in her reach with a death grip. It is slightly amusing considering she will attempt to climb anything. Yesterday her fear of the changing table was emphasized by loud screaming during the entire process of changing her diaper. I changed it quickly and then made a quick get-away to the car, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the restaurant.

*Last night after the kids were in bed, I made a grocery store run (we were going to have to either eat a can of Great Northern Beans or frozen potato skins for breakfast if I didn't). After the long process of shopping for the family's food, I pushed my loaded cart to the checkout line. Despite the fact it was late and I likely looked like something that had been run over by that point, the cashier was uber-perky and felt the need to comment on each of my purchases. When he came to the containers of baby food, he asked if I had kids or not and then proceeded to tell me all about his nine month old daughter. I was a bit shocked to hear he had a child because he looked quite young. The cashier went on and on about his beautiful daughter, telling me that she was born on September 11th. Unsure as to how to respond to such a statement, I simply said, "That is an interesting birthday." The cashier exclaimed that he and his wife were so excited when the daughter was born on 9-11 because it was a holiday and she would like have school off on her birthday each year. Huh?? All I could do was stare at this boy as he went on and on about how cool it would be to have a school break on one's birthday. I decided to forgive his ignorance, coming to the conclusion that he was likely on 14 on the actual 9-11 and thus lacked even a tiny bit of perspective about that day.

*Evelyn has a few baby dolls and demonstrates quite the mothering skills with them (except for when she bites them, which she does a lot). She calls a particular one "Baby" who accompanied us on our trip. By the end of our time spent in Arkansas, she had someone managed to morph the word "Baby" (which she could say quite well) into "Bah-by" which sounds scarily enough like JR Ewing on "Dallas" when he said, "Bobby." So her baby doll, dressed in pinks and purples, is now called "Bobby" with a sad little accent.

*Yesterday evening as I was putting the children's things away from the trip, I happened to pass Isaac in the hall. He informed me that he loved laundry. I smiled a weary smile and kept putting things away. Ten minutes later, after I had stored the last of the clothes away into drawers, I came to realize what he meant by this little statement. Seems that while I was putting clothes away, Isaac and Evelyn were unloading one of her dresser drawers (something they have never done) and putting the contents of it in the middle of the living room. I about laid down in the pile and cried.

It is 8:30pm and I am off to bed, simply because I know Evelyn will be up crying in about five hours.