A quiet romantic dinner for two who are two. I wonder if these little ones will remember laughing with each other.

Who knows, maybe they will share another delightful dish of mac n cheese together 20 years from now.

Until then...

The antithesis of Lavendar

Today was one of those days. I just have to laugh because if I don't I will cry. My life isn't very 'lavendary' right now. In fact, it smells like pee, poop and puke. Nice, huh. Eric has been going through this phase where he just will not take a nap. He goes in his room and plays for about an hour and a half. Usually what happens is that he goes in his room, lays down on his bed, and as I rub his back and sing to him he says "bye, Mommy". He wants me to leave the room so that he can get up and play or read. So I leave and when I peek in a few moments to check on him he is playing cars or doing something out of his bed. Oh, I almost forgot. He has pooped in his pants. No, he won't poop in the potty before naptime. He somehow likes to go in his pants after I leave the room. So, today was one of those days where I put him down for a nap and naturally he poops in his pants after I leave. A few moments later when I peek in on him, he says "Mommy, poo poo potty". Great. I then take him to the bathroom and clean him up and as we flush the toilet, I see that it is not working. So of course the toilet overflows and there is a terrible smell coming from the bathroom. Eric is absolutely enthralled with this contraption and the fact that the toilet water is not going down as it usually does, but is coming up and over the brim of the bowl. "Mommy! Water" All the while, my little Amy Charlotte has been fussing because she is hungry and waiting for me to feed her. At this point, she is full on screaming and I am in the middle of poop and a curious little two year old. Tim, who has been trying to nap himself, comes to the rescue and cleans up the bathroom, while I clean Eric. He goes back into his room and I go into feed Amy. (Yes, I did wash my hands). Tim eventually goes back to take a nap and the world was still for a few moments. Amy must have sensed the commotion because after I fed her, she spit up all over me. Ahh the lovely smell of baby puke. So this is one of those Tales where life isn't very lavendary. I write this in hopes of comforting those who are having a not-so-smooth-day. Rest assured that pee, poop and puke happens to us all.

People ask me why I named my blog "Lavendar Lane". Well, on the night that I started this, I had just put on lotion with a hint of lavendar fragrance to it. Lavendar has a healing, calming and peaceful quality to it. The scent of it is pleasurable and whenever I smell it, it just brings peace and a calm reassurance to my soul. On that night, it was late and everyone in my household was asleep and I had the scent of lavendar wafting into my nostrils. However, there are many times in my life where things are the exact opposite. It is loud, chaotic and the scent of poop fills my nostrils. Hence the name, Tales from Lavendar Lane. Sometimes it is 'lavendary' sometimes I want it to be.

Now is one of those peaceful times. Have you ever just stood over the bed of a sleeping baby, staring at that precious life? Have you ever cried as you did that? I walked into my son's room and just stared at him. He is so precious. He fills up his toddler bed so much that I can't believe he is only two! Then I walked into the room of my baby girl and just stared at her. How is it that I am blessed to be the mother of these two lives? If only God knew what crazy days I have had in the past. If only He knew how irresponsible I have been, He wouldn't have given me these gifts. But yes, He knows all about me. He knows my past and He was right there when I was in the midst of making some very poor choices. Yes, He was there and still He gave me the privilege of being a mother to some very precious people. I hope I don't mess up. Wait... too late on that one. I have messed up in the mothering department and I think it is safe to say that I will make a few more mistakes in the future. God is good, because as I stare at my sleeping children, it seems to me that they are perfect, so something went right. Not me though. it is the nearness of God that is my good. The nearness of God in me has done good to my children.
The next time you go check on sleeping babies, take a few minutes just to stare at them. But remember to take a Kleenex.

Hello. This is my first blog. Hello to all of my family and friends that are reading this. It is about 9:45 at night and my children and husband have been in bed for almost two hours now and I am so thrilled to have this time on the computer by myself. I have been checking emails, reading the blog of my sister-in-law, and surfing the net. My sister-in-law, Manuela (the one with the blog) has inspired me to step out and start this blog. It is definately a positive thing to take advantage of since so many of my loved ones live all over the place. This is a tool that lets us share with those far off. I will probably post a lot of cute things my children are doing and saying and I hope they make you smile just as much as they did me.
To start with, Eric, Amy and I were in his room cleaning up. I was sitting on the floor, Amy was on her tummy on the floor andEric was being his busy self all around us. Well, he came up behind me and was putting his hand on my back and I said "Eric, scratch Mommy's back like this". I then proceded to gently scratch Amy's back and he started to mimic me by gently scratching my back. Then he did a most PRECIOUS thing, he said "Mommy shoulder" and put his cute chubby little hands on my shoulders and, as best he could, massaged my shoulders. He was imitating what I do to Tim, my mom and dad when they ask me to rub their shoulders. Is he just the most precious boy, or what! It just goes to show that he sees and takes in SO SO much more than I verbally teach him. May every move I make be healthy, virtuous and pleasing to God. Therefore, Eric will see these moves and imitate them and as he grows he to will be a healthy, virtuous little man of God.