overheard...

so i'm sitting down to share my life with the blog world, and my eye catches this title in the headlines on my computer: "researchers find brisk walk can curb chocolate cravings." hmmm... really? i can't imagine why i would want to go out for a brisk walk when i can just eat my children's halloween candy and accomplish the same thing.

anyhow... so ella and bennett are playing in ella's room today and conversing back and forth. truthfully, i really wasn't paying attention to them because there was no screaming or crying. but at one point, i tuned in and heard ella say, "bennett, the little kid died. we need to pray for him." and then i hear bennett say, "oh." clearly they have my attention now, so i venture back to spy on them from the hallway.

"bennett, we need to pray for him. lets get on my bed and pray." bennett, the compassionate man he is, has clearly moved on to something else by this point because i hear him say, "look at this, ella!" to which she replies, "get on my bed right now! we need to pray for him." a little bit of time passes. "bennett, sit down on my bed! we are going to pray!" more time passes. "bennett! we need to pray right now! get on my bed!!!"

finally i see him climb up on the bed. and i see her settle in next to him. she is about to start praying when he shouts out, "hide!" and dives under the blanket to start hide and go seek. ella just stares at him for a moment and then folds her hands and closes her eyes and prays: "dear Lord, please help bennett to cooperate with me. please help us to be brave. and please help the little boy that died in my bed."

WHAT?!?! as she says amen i come in her room and nonchalantly-like ask her who she is praying for. "oh, mommy, remember that little boy that was playing and the bed came down on his head and then he got stuck and couldn't get out and then he died?" oh yeah... so her bed was recalled and a replacement part was shipped to us because the toy chest part at the foot of the bed did actually cause the death of a little boy. this happened like a year ago now and apparently she retained way more information about it than we would want her to.

and in mason news... he just had his 2 month check-up. the most memorable part for ella (and probably for him too) was that he had 5 shots and she was fascinated to watch. later she said, "maybe he could have 12 shots next time." should i be worried that she would want to inflict this kind of torment on her infant brother?

he now weighs 8 lbs 9oz. yes, i realize many of your babies may have been close to this size at birth. but someone has to even out the averages. mason is currently at the 1% for his weight. yes, out of 100 boys his age, he is the smallest.

now if only those m&m calories i just consumed could make their way into my breast milk and not my hips...

jake

this morning we said good-bye to jake...

i would like to say that i am really going to miss him, but that would be lying. i am, however, very sad for my husband who has had jake longer than he has had me. and although i am looking forward to no more dog hair, slobber, or fears of him ripping someones face off, i do have some fond memories of our very lovable, goofy dog.

as anthony drove away with jake, i was left to attempt an explanation to the kids. not sure if bennett really cared; he was too busy jumping off the ottoman. but as i informed them that jake was old and it was his time to die, ella actually had a big smile on her face as she realized that now maddie would have some company... you know, besides just Jesus and God. so here is a little snippet of our conversation:

ella: oh, is daddy driving him to heaven?

me: no, just to see dr. kc.

ella clearly is confused by this.

me, trying to explain more clearly: dr. kc will give him a shot and it won't hurt at all.

ella: so then why does it hurt when we get a shot?

me: well, his shot might hurt a little, but the rest of it won't.

ella: so will he die right away?

me: umm... yeah, i guess.

ella: will we see him when we go there (heaven)?

me: uh, yeah, i hope so. (hey, if i'm lying she won't be sad about it then because there are no tears in heaven...)

ella is quiet for a long time: i want jake to come home.

jake, in his better days, getting a very loving check up from his favorite vets:

a cheerleader, a dog, and pea in the pod