When They Put Their Minds to It!

When these little mice put their minds to something, it happens! Our most recent accomplishments are:

*Sunny Mouse is trained! As with her sister, there seemed to be a window of opportunity which presented itself around her second birthday. Miss Mouse's window started around Christmas, but Sunny really seemed to get interested around her birthday in February. Now around Memorial Day, we have transitioned to regular "little girl underpanties". Sunny is so proud! Miss Mouse is so proud! We still have the occasional accident, but for the most part, both girls were Christmas-Memorial Day in training pants and then transitioned to the, ahem, grown up world from there. Sunny is also exceedingly proud that she is nappy-free for naptime, as well!

*Miss Mouse can tie her shoes! She just decided she wanted to, so we worked at it. She learned to tie her shoes, and I got in some extra practice in keeping-my-mouth-shut and patience-to-not-help. It's really almost easier for me now to do something in the kitchen and let her tie her shoes at her pace and in her own way than to sit and watch her. She knows the steps, and I know I don't benefit her by hovering and needing to nearly bite off my hands to keep from "helping" her. She's incredibly proud of herself, as she should be. My little lefty basically had to develop her own style, too, since all I could do was show her how I do mine and then attempt to help her do it "backwards". I guess it worked because I have one proud little Miss Mouse! She even gave what appeared to be her first 4-H demonstration tonight to Grammy and Grandpa Bob over Skype. She showed them on her little lace-up cards how she ties. It was complete with phrases such as "Well, I think we are ready to start.....First of all, I cross the laces over....Next, I.....Now, I'm going to do.....Do you see how I'm?.....And here we are!!" It was hilariously sweet.

To my mind, the most awesome thing about both of these accomplishments is that I didn't push for either one. Not once did I tell them that either of those things were tasks that they needed to focus on or attempt. I did encourage them once they decided to "go for it", but that was it. For the most part, these Mice make my job so easy!

Girls' Road Trip

Recently, I felt brave, really brave. In fact, there was no lost sleep, no worrying, no fretting. I was brave.

I set off on a 420 mile journey.

We're no stranger to this journey, but this time, it was only a girls' journey.

Yep, 420 miles alone with the two Mice in the backseat.

We checked out somewhere near 10 books on cd from the library, packed ourselves up, and headed out.

We had a great trip, made easier by the fact that we met Grammy and Grandpa Bob at about the 300 mile point on the way, and Grammy rode with us for the first 120 miles of the return journey.

But still, the Mice and I made it 300 miles on the way and 300 on the way back by ourselves, and it was really, truly the cutest trip I could have ever imagined. They danced together in the backseat (carseat dancing - arms and legs going only); we sang; we played "What am I hiding in?". It was lovely.

These are some of my favorite pictures. I should have had my camera out to take some with other family; I was lax on that this time.

Miss Mouse desperately wants to be a farmer when she grows up.

I remember the few times I played in mud as a child. Growing up in the drought of the 1980s meant mud was a special thing, an uncommon commodity. Never have I seen water like this around the farm. As far as I've heard, no one up there remembers water like this.

It was par for the course for these Mice, though. For them Spring=Water.

I'm fairly sure a cat brought out that sweet smile. Her favorite is still missing (we're going with "missing" for now since there is no real evidence to the contrary, and anyone who went to the same elementary music class I did will certainly break into song with "The cat came back, the very next day; the cat came back; they thought he was a gone-r, but the cat came back; he just couldn't stay awaaaaaay. Meow."), but adaptable little Miss Mouse has just warmed up to Jeeves now like he was always her love.

They're trying really hard to enjoy the "spring" weather on the deck.

Grown in Grammy's garden.

Picking crocuses in a beautiful spot. There are fields all around this hill, but my Dad chose to not till up this ground. Crocus bulbs from seed catalogs are beautiful, and I admire them in the yards of my friends. But there's nothing like a wild crocus persevering through repeated harsh winters, cold springs, and dry years bringing the promise of spring.

I love this picture. I wanted to include some of Sunny and Grandpa Bob together, but in most of them Sunny was trying to squint away the sunshine and not looking very happy in doing so. I really love this picture, though. Since my Dad didn't get to wear his wedding ring much while I was growing up (it isn't very safe for farmers to wear them), it makes it special to see it in this picture. I also love hands that have been worked so hard for so many years and yet are still so gentle to pick wildflowers with the fourth 2-year old now (Me first! Then came Auntie Laura, and, after quite a hiatus, Miss Mouse, and now Sunny Mouse).

Since my parents visited at Easter, Mr. T and I have learned that no one can push a swing like Grandpa Bob....even if we do it the same way....at least according to Sunny. This picture is Miss Mouse, but I thought it was fun.

Somehow Grammy escaped most pictures.....This will have to be rectified in the future.

Another World

Nope, I am not talking about an old daytime soap opera.


I'm talking about the world in which the two Mice live these days.


It is precious. Truly, I've dreamt of these moments from the time we found out we were having another little girl with Sunny Baby Mouse. Moments of girly giggles, twirling dresses, and high-pitched squeals....sisters and best friends.

Now, that time is here. They are creating a world of their own, a world which I have to wait for an invitation to enter.

I.Love.It.

The other day, they raced outside with their light-up Easter decorations, a green frog and a yellow chick, to "show the birdies". They ran around the yard together shouting "Birdie! Birdie!" or "Beedie! Beedie!" This was entirely their doing, and the only part I played was to open the door for them to go in as they conspired with each other about what they were going to do. Unfortunately, there were no birdie takers to look at the toys.

Miss Mouse has been getting a bit overly helpful to Sunny lately. She absolutely loves to care for her smaller sister, but we've had some confusion when smaller sister wants to reciprocate. Case in point: The other night, Miss Mouse, um, "helped" Sunny when she was done with a bathroom visit. In Sunny's opinion, it was only natural to show her elder sis appreciation by attempting to help her in return. That did not go over so well. Miss Mouse and I had a discussion about how Sunny is her friend and wants to be a helper, too. My sweet Miss Mouse is, of course, patient with this situation, although she seems to have backed off on her bathroom helpfulness toward Sunny lately!

On our way to Auntie Laura and Uncle Jon's hotel to swim on Easter Sunday, Grammy and I overheard this conversation in the vehicle:

Sunny: "Blah, blah, blah, blah - tine."

Miss Mouse: "Daddy drinks wine?"

Sunny: "No!"

Miss Mouse: "Uncle Jon drinks wine?"
Sunny: "NO!"

Miss Mouse: "Well, I don't know what you are saying."

Sunny, obviously distressed: "I - not - whining!"

Miss Mouse: "No, not crying whining, wine that you drink!"

Sunny: "No. No wine." - - Sunny notices Grammy is shaking with laughter in the front seat and asks in an offended, serious voice, "Grammy, what you laughing 'bout?"

--A bit later, Grammy found that Miss Mouse was so knowledgeable about wine because she and I take it to give for home Communion for two women in the congregation.

Last week the girls disappeared into Miss Mouse's room. I heard Sunny's toy boombox being cranked, and I went to investigate. Sunny met me at the door with a "Mommy, go out!", and Miss Mouse explained, "Mommy, she wants you to go out so that she can have her singing lesson. She's going to have a singing lesson now." Um, okay. Out I went to do up some dishes! Ten minutes later, Miss Mouse and Sunny both came out to invite me back in. I was told Sunny was done with her singing lesson, so they were ready to put on their performance. Apparently, there were dancing lessons going on, too, because after I was politely seated on the loft bed steps, they turned on the music, started "singing" along (singing the words they know, humming through the rest), and dancing around in fluffy costumes - Miss Mouse had a tutu; Sunny had a shawl. I clapped and ooed and awed so thankful that I have the amazing opportunity to be kicked out of their room and invited back in at 10:30 a.m... It's like sitting in a warm ray of sunshine through the window on a cold January day....something one doesn't want to end, and yet something that is so very fleeting.

Compassion

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=10150159530731106&oid=195418685157&comments

If you watch the video on the link I posted, you'll hear and see (most unfortunately, see) me talking about why our family supports a Child Survival Program through Compassion International.

There is so much more I wish I could have said about the CSPs. In the video, I focused on the fact that they will provide prenatal, delivery, and post-delivery care for moms. The reason I chose to focus on those functions of the CSPs is that having access to those types of medical interventions - basic though they are in this country - has saved my life several times. The physical complications of having a stillborn baby, complications after a miscarriage, progesterone supplementation through two healthy pregnancies, complications after one of those healthy deliveries....at any of those times in my life, without the care that is accessible here, life would likely be a lot different for us.

Rather than sitting here, typing out a blog post on my laptop, I would at best be a divorced, shunned outcast of my community, shouldering the blame and the wrath for the losses we've experienced.

The CSPs provide so much more than what I had time to share in the video. They provide education - for women mainly, but that translates into the whole community - about why losses occur, how to prevent them, and what does not cause the loss of a baby (i.e., something innately bad about the mother). Women are taught basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills so that they can read the Bible which is being shared with them by the Compassion Int'l employees, so that they can sign their name to contracts of business, so that they can understand some of what their children will be learning when they hopefully are healthy enough to be enrolled in the Compassion Int'l sponsorship program to pursue their own formal educations.

For me, being born in a place where, in the lowest parts of my life, I have had the support of understanding friends, the support of several loving congregations, the necessary medical care means that I have a responsibility to those who were not born in such a place.

As I tuck my girls in at night, after helping them put away all their developmentally-appropriate toys, after reading to them from our virtual library of books, after feeding them their well-balanced bedtime snacks complete with fresh, clean water.....I want to know that I am doing what I can to help those mommies whose evenings looked so different from mine and to help those babies who face statistics like 72% mortality rates by age 5.

That treatise - THAT is why my husband had to hold me down to 1 minute and 21 seconds for a video.....I could talk all day....