rivalry and a wall

There is a wall that separates our living room from out kitchen and it's about four or five inches thick. And as of yesterday, this has become the most coveted part of our house, and you're really special if you get to sit against that part of the wall. Or, at least, according to the two siblings who fought over who should get to sit there. Isabella was sitting against it, minding her own business, watching Diego, when Isaac innocently scooted over and decided to start pushing her out of the way. Once Isabella realized what he wanted, she was gung ho on holding her ground which only led Isaac to become more persistent, which then led to screaming and protesting from both of them. You know how is goes.

And there you have it, the sibling rivalry has begun. Which, in part, is great, because it means that Isaac is meeting some developmental milestones. On the other hand, it makes me want to lock myself in my room, put in ear plugs, burrow under the covers and read The Hunger Games while they duke it out...for a chance to sit against the wall. Hmmm...how ironic, reading The Hunger Games while my kids fight each other.

By about 5:30 p.m. yesterday I'd had it.

"Isabella, we had Isaac so that you could have a brother. Someone to play with, all the time. Now, you're going to be friends, and you're going to get along, or else you'll be alone and you won't have anyone to play with." So there.


It's true though. I'd like to say we had another baby just because I really wanted another baby to hold and love and keep me awake night after night for two years just so I could watch Mad Men. Not so much. Being pregnant makes me feel like a beached whale, and I don't know about you, but I don't like feeling like a beached whale. So yeah, we didn't want Isabella to be an only child, and we didn't want her to be alone after we are long gone. SO THEY BETTER CUT THIS NONSENSE OUT AND GET ALONG!

They do have moments of sweetness but like I told Isabella yesterday, "No, we are not going to the library because you and Isaac are really frustrating me and all you're doing is arguing. So, because of your behavior, you don't get to go to the library." How's that for punishment. No library books for you.

I've spent most of this week trying to remove dog hair from our house. This is an impossible task since our dog drops clumps of hair every time she walks across a room. But since one member of our house (ahem, Walter) was very fed up with the "hair ball" on legs, I've tried to help Stella get back on his good side. I would also like to mention that our vacuum is available for use by anyone. I promise, I don't keep it locked away with sign, "For Sierra's use only, because she really loves to vacuum and will hurt you if you even think about using me." I like to share and I'm pretty good at it.

I don't have any of my own pictures for this post, so I thought I'd share some from Isabella's camera.

Isabella was really excited that Stella has one yellow eye.

According to Isabella, this next picture is very important...

 At yet another appointment for Isaac last week. This one to get his breathing re-checked. We're still continuing breathing treatments which he tolerates unusually well.

Did someone say, "blackmail"? 

Siblings...no rivalry. I've finally accepted, Jesse's the smart one, Josh gets whatever he wants, Jesse is Josh's favorite, and I'm mom's favorite...duh.

Will there ever be a family picture where my kids don't look like we drugged them?! 

This is an old one from Isabella's other camera. Isaac must have been about seven months.

From, One Thousand Gifts...


"I have to see God beauty. Because isn't my internal circuitry wired to seek out something worthy of worship? Every moment I live, I live bowed to something. And if I don't see God, I'll bow down before something else."

--counting to one thousand...

69. my first loaf of whole wheat bread turning out well
70. sunny days
71. Isabella's excitement over matching up socks
72. the fact that I remembered "Pajama Day" at preschool
73. warm winter days
74. the song, Hosanna