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Sleeping Face

Maggie has a series of faces that she can run through to practice any of her emotions. The one that always gets me is her Sleeping Face because she scrunches her face and eyes up and pokes her lips out while making a tiny snoring sound. It is by far her best face. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to ask her to do Sleeping Face too often because when I need a laugh she can bust it out and I’m bustin’ a gut. 

Yesterday was a planned rest day – still recovering from last week’s events – and after a long nap and as much food as a teenage boy would eat, I felt like Maggie was ready to go in the afternoon. One of her favorite activities to do is work on puzzles together. We’ve got some that are a bit advanced for her, but if we help her she’s willing to work on them. It’s a nice activity. After we’d completed one of the puzzles, Maggie started to joke about my mom and Sparky coming to visit, checking out the window and cracking herself up when they weren’t there. 

I half-heartedly went along with her. But Maggie just keep getting more and more goofy, eventually claiming that she was Sydney. She then proceeded to climb into Syd’s dog disc and pull her face into Sleeping Face while cranking out HUGE snores. I about melted onto the floor laughing. She kept doing it, even while I went to track down my camera. I love Maggie’s sense of imagination coupled with sense of humor, I hope she never tries to hide either. 

And speaking of Sydney…my dad called this past weekend wondering how Sydney had done during The Week Of Sickness, he loves that little pup as much as we do. Of course Syd was the very best Therapy Dog anyone could ask for. She stayed closer than usual, which means that she was never, ever far from our side. I’m pretty sure that she could sense the tension a few times. There was one specific time when Maggie’s temp was not coming down and I called Barry in a panic –  not sure what to do, fearing another seizure.  Sydney, who often ignores us when we’re on the phone, was staring at me as if I were talking to her, tilting her head from side to side. I wished in that moment she was Dr. Syd, but felt comfort in the fact that she was not going to leave Maggie’s side for any reason. 

She’s a very, very good dog and we’ve been telling her that often. We’ve also been trying to get her back on her two-a-day walks, which she deserves after last week’s chaos. Maggie has a great Sleeping Face, and I’m certain that Syd does too, but check out these images of Sydney’s Game Face. So rough and tough. 

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The Answer is Always Yes

A couple weekends ago Barry and I were sitting on the couch on Saturday morning looking out our windows watching the rain come down….again. Out of nowhere Barry said the very best words to me:

“Do you want to go somewhere?”

Without hesitation I answered with a fist-pump and a ‘Yes!’. Going somewhere – anywhere, really – sounded so much more appealing than sitting on the couch and watching the rain come down while Maggie ran circles around us for what might have felt like the millionth hour.

We quickly packed our bags with the essentials, a change of clothes, swimming suits, diapers and a few snacks, and we were on the road within minutes. (Reality Check: With a dog and a kid, we really weren’t on the road in minutes, but we bustled around and were pretty quick. Alright? Alright.)

We decided to head South and sent some quick texts to Brian and Darcy, only to determine that they were busy and not ready for visitors….which nixed our initial plan in the bud. Plan B turned into finding a hotel in the Olympia/Lacey area that was pet friendly.

And this is where I emote about La Quinta. Last summer we stayed at La Quintas on our ND road trip frequently because my grandparents have points and they know exactly what they’re getting. We also stayed at La Quintas on our road trip down to CA last fall.

As much as I love a hidden, off-the-beaten-track cabinish type of place, I really love La Quinta because we know exactly what we’re getting: fresh cookies at 7 pm, a pool, a place that likes pets, a pool, breakfast, a refrigerator in our room, and….a pool.

We used that pool until we didn’t have anymore swim diapers and we bounced on the beds as if we don’t have beds at home – we pretty much had the vacation that we didn’t have in San Diego at La Quinta in 24 hours. We also discovered nearby Saint Martin’s University and wandered the beautiful campus stopping to boogie on down to the church bells every half hour.

On Sunday morning we packed our bags and headed practically straight to Brian and Darcy’s, but not before we stopped and bought half a dozen donuts at a place called The Donut King or something awesomely creative like that. We were at Brian and Darcy’s before they were home from their morning walk with Dexter and we got to send one of the best text messages ever:

“We’re at your house with donuts.”

By the time we rolled into our driveway, the skies had cleared and our minds had as well and we were ready to get down to business and get some work done. I felt as refreshed as I had been hoping to feel upon our return from SD.

Here’s what I want to remember about our quick vacation trip to La Quinta: Sometimes just going anywhere can be enough to feel like you’re going somewhere. 

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Random Thoughts on a Monday

SYDNEY

Syd is staying with my parents for a few days and they came and picked her up while Maggie was sleeping, after my cousin Danielle’s fabulous wedding. The next morning when Maggie stood at the back door yelling for Sydney to come chase the crows and squirrels out of our yard, she seemed saddened to hear that Syd was visiting Grandma and Grandpa without her. Having Sydney be gone while we’re all at home really reminds me how much she is woven into the fabric of our lives. When food drops to the floor, we all think Syd will be there to snorffle it up. And when we snuggle up on the couch, we wait to hear her running down the hall to join in. The day after she left, I found 4 bones in our bed – one of her favorite chewing places. 

ART

We picked up a box of sidewalk chalk a few weeks ago at a garage sale and we’ve already burned through it. We just got a bigger pack and I don’t think it’ll last that long. Around her second birthday, we made Maggie an Art Basket that houses her crayons, paper, stickers and whatever else finds its way in there. Phil gave Maggie a HUGE stack of paper for Christmas and we’ve hardly made a dent, but Mags gets so into drawing that she looks like a mad scientist with papers flying around her head while she’s busy pushing her crayons to paper. Every so often she’ll accidentally make a shape and announce what it is – so far she’s drawn a heart, a leaf, an apple, and a bbq. (Sometimes she tells us that she’s drawing people she loves, but as far as we can tell, we’re just jagged lines.)

LOVE

I still rock Maggie to sleep most every night and it is part of the nightly routine. Part of that routine also includes giving Barry massive hugs and kisses and a few “Love yous” and “Bye-byes”. Without a doubt, seeing their night-nights makes me hurt inside – because I love to see two of my very favorite people love on each other in such a tender way. Every single night. But after we’ve read stories and Maggie’s snuggled into the crook of my arm, I get to sit there for some time (sometimes much longer that I’d like) and think about whatever I want. I loved that about nursing – that it completely stopped me in my tracks and gave me a moment to sit with her, attention undivided. 

Lately I’ve been thinking about our little bubble – our family and how I appreciate the simplicity of our lives right now. I started to think of Maggie as a bigger girl and trying to navigate the world of friendships, heartache and independence and it made me feel extremely heavy. How do parents do it? The letting go part? How do we know that what we’re doing – the hugs, conversations, snuggles, questions and life lessons – are enough? It really scares me. Because we love our little girl so much and the idea of her out in the big, scary world – outside of our bubble – is a tough pill for me to swallow.