Getting To Know You...

Birth month: April

Height: 5'6”

Eye color: Grey-blue

Hair color: Strawberry blonde with a lot of gray that I cover up

What does your name mean: “Youthful spirit”

High school graduated from: Lake Braddock

Summer memory: We took this awesome trip to NE and Canada when I was going into 10th grade and my brother was going into 5th grade. It was so fun – I think my brother and I fought most of the time but the sights were cool and we both remember it as our favorite vacation ever – my mom, on the other hand, remembers it as the “vacation from hell.” Not sure why…

Favorite TV shows: The Closer, CSI Miami, Friends

What's on your mouse pad: It's sapphire blue – very plain

In the car- AC or windows: Definitely AC...I hate being hot (I know, we’re crazy to be moving to TX)

Favorite game: Rummikub – used to play it all the time with my grandmother – some of my best memories at her house are her and I sitting at her kitchen table, drinking Diet Coke and playing Rummikub

Favorite drink: Diet Coke, hands down – with lots of ice and a bend-y straw

Favorite food: Fajitas, chocolate, ice cream from Chik-fil-A

Favorite colors: Turquoise, hot pink, orange and black

Favorite sounds: My girls laughing, my husband coming through the door

Favorite smell: Fresh strawberries and blueberry muffins

Favorite thing to do on a weekend: Anything that doesn’t include laundry

Favorite soundtrack: Footloose

Where do you see yourself in 10 years: Married with maybe one more baby

First thought in the morning: Am I going to have to change the sheets on one of the girls’ beds

How many rings before you answer the phone: Depends if Leah has hidden the phone in her toybox or under a couch cushion. I call the house from my cell phone (and vice-versa) all the time so I can find the other phone.

Chocolate or Vanilla cake: Vanilla with chocolate frosting and sprinkles

What do you drive: 2003 Toyota Camry. Hoping to get a minivan soon

Thunderstorms cool or scary: Very cool

What is your zodiac sign: Aries the bull (no comments from the peanut gallery, please)

What do you wear to bed: Sleep pants and a top, unless I’m going to work out in the morning – then I sleep in my workout clothes (running bra and all) so that I’m all prepared – I’m much more likely to actually work out if I’m already dressed for it

Do you eat stems of broccoli: Blech – they’re stringy

If you could dye your hair one color, what would it be: I’ve always wondered what I would look like as a true blonde

Favorite brand of gum: Orbit peppermint

What is your favorite quote: Other than some favorite Bible verses, “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” - Oprah Winfrey

Have you ever been in love: Absolutely, and I still am

What's on your walls in your room: Pictures of my kids, my dried bridal bouquet, other dried flowers, a clock, and an impressionist painting

Is the glass half-empty or half-full: Half full and lots of ice :)

Which do you prefer - Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese Doritos: Neither – I like plain corn chips

Which kind of milk is your favorite: 1%

Are you a righty, lefty, or ambidextrous: Mostly a righty, but I eat with my left hand and do a lot of other things equally well with my left hand. When I was a figure skater, I jumped and spun in the direction of a lefty

Do you type with your fingers on the right keys: Yep – I can hold a conversation with someone and look at them at the same time I’m typing an email to someone else about a completely different subject. It freaks my coworkers out

What's under your bed: Maternity clothes, clothes that used to fit me when I got married, a couple of magazines, some of Anna Claire’s ponytail holders, a binky, some of my china, and a bunch of keepsake stuff

What's the best number in the world: 19 – my birthday

What is your dream car: Anything that has room for a 3rd car seat :)

Nickname: J, JJ, Jillian

Bacon Bits Or croutons: Neither - sunflower seeds

Favorite Salad Dressing: French

What type of Shampoo/Conditioner: I have some natural organic stuff I bought at Wegmans – I like it because it smells fresh. There’s a lot of shampoo I can’t use anymore because smells really get to me ever since I had chemo. We went through about 14 brands of soap when I was doing chemo – EVERYTHING made me sick

One pillow or two: 3 regular, plus one body pillow

Currently in your CD player: The soundtrack from Hairspray

Hobbies: gardening, shopping, playing with my kids, blogging, selling stuff on eBay, reading

Do you get along with your parents: Yep – they’re awesome and I’m blessed to have a great relationship with them

Pet peeves: Poor customer service, cloudy/rainy days, warm drinks, junk mail, the month of March (it seems as if spring will NEVER arrive), products that don’t live up to my expectations, people who are mean to my husband

Other favorite things: Remission, Easter decorations, summer glassware with patterns, open-toed shoes, capri pants, the sun on my face, hugs from my children and husband, a nap on the couch with the window open, BBQs, picking berries, climbing into bed with a good book or a People magazine, a trip to the grocery store by myself

Most humiliating moment: When I was in my 20’s, I interviewed internally for a promotion, and during the interview, I fell out of my chair onto the floor – feet up, skirt down, with the lady peering over her desk at me, saying “Honey – are you OK?” I didn’t get the job.

Favorite holiday: Easter

Does Anyone Have a "Get Out of Jail Free" Card?

So, Anna Claire was sent to bed early tonight because she'd been disobedient. She climbed in bed, and asked me to tuck her in. She said, "Momma, let's say our prayers." I said, "You might want to ask God to help you be a little more obedient." She said, "OK."

She began to pray..."Lord, thank you for Daddy, Momma, and Leah. Help the bad guys get out of jail tomorrow - and help them to be more obedient and listen to their Mommas."

The irony of her prayer was not lost on me.

I'm thinking we'll let her out of jail tomorrow. :)

18 Months Old!

Leah is 18 months old! Her 18-month mark was actually on Monday, but I didn’t get a chance to post anything until today.

It’s so funny how different she is from Anna Claire. While Anna Claire was more than a pound heavier at birth, Leah is clearly a much bigger baby. Anna Claire is more petite in features, foot size, head size (she was in the 5th percentile). Leah, on the other hand, is in the 49th percentile for weight, the 85th percentile for height, and a whopping 95th percentile for head size. She had her checkup yesterday and all went well. We had to laugh when the nurse practitioner referred to Leah as “highly spirited.” We would completely agree. We have our hands full. She is in the throes of tantrums, and shows all the signs of being extremely strong-willed. She also has a much more active temper than Anna Claire. But you know what? Honed correctly, and used for good instead of evil, these are great traits that I want my little girl to possess. I want to raise daughters who know right from wrong, aren’t afraid to be vocal about it, and who have a clear sense of themselves. So, Gary and I have some work ahead of us, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Leah now enjoys playing with her baby doll, her Fisher Price Little People, and doing anything her big sister is doing. Leah especially loves to hunt down magic markers that Anna Claire may have left lying around, and colors on anything she can get her hands on. She is also experimenting with our reaction when she turns the TV off, dunks her head in the toilet, and stands on the dining room table. So far it hasn’t been favorable. She can’t stand to wear clothes, so we’ve had to cut the feet off of her sleepers and turn them around backwards so she can’t get them unzipped and take her diaper off.

A big thank you to my cousin Autumn for her encouraging words about tantrums last week. Because Anna Claire never did that, it’s hard not to take it as a personal failure when you have another child who constantly makes her displeasure known. Autumn gave me some great tips for how to deal with them and they’re working well (and I’m a little more relaxed). Autumn and I have children who are similar ages, so it’s been fun to compare notes.

On Saturday night, while Gary was still in Houston, the girls and I went out to dinner with our good friend, D. for some fajitas at Rio Grande. Leah LOVES fajitas. When I asked her if she wanted more, she did the sign language sign for “more”! You have to know how long I’ve been signing to her to really appreciate the magnitude of this. Until Saturday, she had looked at me like “Momma, you can sign ‘til the cows come home, but I am not a trick pony and I’m not going to do sign language.” Seriously, she’s quiet in her defiance but makes it clear that she has no intentions to comply. Anyway, I was very excited and she is now so proud when she makes the sign for “more.” The only problem I’m finding is that she often signs “more” and then gets frustrated when I can’t figure out what she wants “more” of – she does it somewhat randomly.

Leah’s vocabulary also continues to expand – something we were concerned about at her 15 month checkup. She’s just talking a little later than Anna Claire did. Her pronunciation is getting better and sounding less garbled, so it’s evident that she’s hearing better as a result of the tubes we had put in last October. She still says just a few words, but she is showing some improvement.

That’s about it on the Leah front. I can hardly believe she’ll be two in August – where did the time go?

Nancy Drew, Super Sleuth

I absolutely love Nancy Drew. I received my first Nancy Drew book as a gift when I was 8 years old - Nancy's Mysterious Letter. I read it in the back of our station wagon in 1979 as we drove across country, listening to Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, and John Denver. Ah - those were the days! We were in the process of moving to Spokane, Washington.

When I was little, I always wanted to be Snow White - she had jet-black hair that I thought was so stunning, and porcelain skin. Well, I had the pale skin, but not the hair. I was so excited once I realized that Nancy Drew had titian hair (I finally figured out it meant "strawberry blonde.") I had found my new hero now that we had the same color of hair.

I love Nancy because she's decisive, independent, and not afraid to confront the tough stuff in life. And, she always has the perfect frock for an Emerson College dance in case Ned is in town. :) I like a woman who's well-prepared. She and her loyal friends, Bess and George, can solve basically any murder, with just the contents of their suitcases (they travel a lot). They always seem to have the right tools to do their sleuthing - even though they didn't carry big purses. I've always been amazed by that.

I now collect the original Nancy Drew books. I've learned a lot about them, and love to poke around in antique shops to find volumes to add to my collection. I'm working on collecting the entire series. I'm currently searching for #5 (The Secret of Shadow Ranch), #13 (The Mystery of the Ivory Charm) and #23 (The Mystery of the Tolling Bell). If anyone spots one of them, pick it up and I'll reimburse you! I'm looking for the yellow book club editions published in the 1950's and 1960's. The books have a matte finish, not the shiny finish that the current publications have.

Gary bought me an awesome Nancy Drew trivia book for Christmas - it's very cool. It was definitely one of my favorite gifts. Did you know that Carolyn Keene, the author of the Nancy Drew books, was actually many people working as ghost writers? My sister-in-law even gave me some fun Nancy Drew fold-n-seal stationery a couple of years ago - it is so fun! She and I have a shared love of a hot cup of tea, a warm blanket, fuzzy socks and a great book - especially our latest find of a Nancy Drew mystery.

Leah's First Haircut

Leah had her first haircut today. Here are the before pictures: Her hair had become very long in the back, and because she absolutely refuses to let me put a barette or bow in the front, her hair hangs in her face all the time.

The temper tantrum before we left:

She was fine until she sat in my lap at the salon. Then she began to scream - the paint was peeling off the walls, she was screaming so loud. She screamed through the entire haircut. Do you have any idea how crowded my salon is on Saturdays at noon? I felt so badly for all the other patrons. Anna Claire, being the consumate "cruise director," went around to each person, helpfully explaining that Leah is shy and this was her first haircut. Needless to say, we caused quite a stir.

As soon as the lady finished, Leah stopped crying and was completely fine. Here's her new "do" - her bangs look crooked but they're really not - she ran her fingers through her hair right before I took the picture. It really shows off her "baby blues"! Isn't she yummy?