The Ferens Farm

This week I had a mommy “freak out” moment in the Safeway parking lot.  I had dropped the two older kids off at pre-school and was preparing to go grocery shopping.  Ally and I were hanging out in the parking lot while I nursed Austin.  She was “looking around” the car, talking to me and asking questions.  I told her, “Mommy is going to put Austin in the Ergo and then we will go in the store.”  She said, “okay” and moved into the passenger seat so I could come over and get her out of the car.  Holding Austin I got out of the car, closed the door and went to open the back drivers side door where the Ergo was.  Right when I closed the door Ally pushed the lock button and locked up the car, with my keys, purse and phone inside with her.  I had a momentary freak out and then proceeded around the car to ask her to push the button again to unlock the car.  I raised my voice (so she could hear me through the car window) and asked her to push the button again, which she did, but she would only push the lock side of the button.  I stood outside the car and continued to explain what I needed her to do.  After a few minutes the gravity of the situation started to set in…she was in complete control, something you don’t want a 2 year old to be in, and I had NO WAY to get into the car.  For several minutes I tried to get her to push the button but she did not understand what I was saying.  Then she tried to manually unlock the door which set the alarm off.  Now she started to get upset.  She was saying, “Mommy, Mommy” as the horn honked on and on…of course no one looked or came to see what was going on.  Finally the alarm stopped, thank goodness, that noise just intensified the situation.

So hear I am, at the mercy of a two year old, holding my baby, trying to rack my brain on what to do.  Ally finds the gum and starts eating her first piece…something she is not allowed to have, and she knows it.  As she begins to chew she has a large smile on her face  Now it has been about 10 minutes and we are no closer to getting the car unlocked.  I scan the parking lot for someone I know that can help me, I see no one. What are the chances that I recognize no one in the Safeway parking lot in Port Townsend? Slim…but alas there is no one.  Finally a slightly scetchy guy walks past my car and I decide to take my chances and explain my situation and ask him if he has a phone I can use, thankfully he does.  I call Brandon, very briefly explain my situation, and he says he is on his way.  This brings a bit of relief, but not too much because I know he doesn’t have a key to the car on him.  Our only spare key is at home, 20 minutes (one way) away.  I continue to try and explain to Ally what she needs to do.  I try and get her to find the keys in my purse and push the unlock button on the remote but because of the position of my purse she can’t find the pocket the keys are in.  Just as Brandon pulls into the parking lot I am blinking back tears and Ally is opening her second piece of gum, the first one has been swallowed already.

Once Brandon (and my dad) arrive I feel a sense of relief.  At least now there are other adults on the scene, I am not left to decide what to do about  this situation alone.  Ally is confused as she sees Daddy and Pappy , why aren’t they getting her out of the car? but she remains calm.  I talk with my dad about possibilities of what we can do and Brandon tries to explain to Ally how to unlock the car (for probably the 100th time sense this situation began.)  Finally, after over thirty minutes of trying, Brandon gets Ally to find the keys in my purse and once she does she knows just what button to push on the remote to unlock the car.  With one beep the doors are unlocked and Ally is in our arms again.  I was very shaken up by the situation.  We said thank you to Daddy and Pappy and proceeded into the store, but I could not focus on my shopping, I just kept replaying the situation.  Ally remained calm but kept bringing it up for the next couple of days.  Upon reflection I was so thankful for how the situation was, it could have been much worse.  It wasn’t cold or rainy, Austin was not locked in the car too, Ally remained calm and helpful, Ally didn’t have to go potty, Brandon was working in PT that day, Ally was old enough to understand and follow directions…the list could go on.  I just kept thanking God for how uneventful this situation was compared to how it could have been and I am already laughing about it…oh the ups and downs of motherhood!

Zoey is SUPER emotional.  She cries at  the drop of a hat, but she also laughs uncontrollably.  Her emotions are “on her breath” as my brother would say.  She has been known to burst into tears just at the thought of something happening, even if there is NO chance it will happen.  When she was about two and a half I was laying on the couch, she was standing next to me and we saw a plane in the sky.  For some unknown reason I started singing, “I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again…”  I look over at her and she has tears streaming down her cheeks, she either thought I actually was leaving or just the thought of it made her cry, either way, wow!  I think this strikes me as so unusual because I would put myself in the even keel catagory when it come to emotions.  I don’t cry easily, but I also rarely burst into laughter.  I have never been one of those girls who cry during a semi sad movie or during commercials. (Don’t get me wrong, I have emotions, they are just a bit harder to drag out than I would say the typical female.)  If I cry, or laugh, you know it is REALLY affecting me.  Anyway, Zoey and I are different and I love the way she is, I find a lot of joy watching the world and joys of life affect her (it is a bit harder watching the sad things in life bring her to tears.)  I think this trait of Zoey’s will bring her many laughs, and also many tears, in the years to come.

Tonight I was tucking her into bed.  We visited for a minute and then I prayed for her.  After the prayer I looked at her and could see something was affecting her emotions. Then she asks me, “When am I going to heaven?”  I told her that it probably would not be for a long time, but God only knows when.  Then she gets the chin quiver and the watery eyes and asks me what heaven will be like.  I tell her it is going to be so good, no sickness, nothing will hurt, she won’t get in trouble because she will do nothing wrong, I explain that we will be with God and it will be happy, with good food and people she loves.  Then she asks me, “Will there be waffles in heaven?”  At this I begin to chuckle…I ask her if waffles are her favorite thing, she replies yes, and I tell her I’m not sure but there probably will be.  This seems to pacify her for the night…until tomorrow when the questions start again and the emotions are ripe.  I love my Zoey, she is so real and has gotten me much more in touch with my own emotions.  Thanks Zoey for the smiles, laughter, and tears you have brought into my life.

Brandon is all about tradition, and he has taught me to love it as well.  One of the traditions we have in our house is themed birthday cakes.  I make the cakes and frosting from scratch and Brandon designs and decorates it, to be WHATEVER the kids want.  Our tradition has been that at three you get  to pick your cake design, prior to that, we just make a “regular” cake.  We broke our rule this year, Ally got a themed cake for her second birthday but she didn’t get to pick it, we used a Build-a-Bear cake pan and decorating kit that my aunt had given us.  It turned out really cute, but took Brandon three and a half hours to decorate!  Normally Brandon designs and carves the cakes, no directions, just from his own creative mind, so this cake was a bit different.  Although we like how this one turned out, he decided making it up himself is still the way to go.  Enjoy these cakes from years past as well as this years creation below.

Zac’s 3rd birthday, a front end loader cake, Brandon’s first cake ever and still my favorite!

The Monster Truck cake, Zac’s 4th birthday.

Zoey’s first cake, on her 3rd birthday, she wanted a pink heart with raspberries and blueberries, that is what she got!

Zac’s 5th birthday, a Dinosaur Volcano cake.

Finally, Ally’s 2nd birthday cake, a Teddy Bear Princess!

Austin fits in the doll stroller, but just barely!

We now officially have a two year old in our home, yesterday Ally turned two.  She was so excited about her party and her birthday, it isn’t everyday that #3 gets all the attention, so she lived it up.  We had a small family birthday party on Saturday with Ally’s one friend, her best friend, Sierra.  These two are 5 weeks apart and have known each other since they were in utero, they play better than any two year olds I have ever seen, it is really sweet.  Ally spent most of her party glued to Sierra, at one point they were in her bedroom playing and my mom went to check on them and Ally closed the door and said, “no,” I guess they were having girl talk!  At Ally’s request we had chicken legs and homemade macaroni and cheese, and of course cake (that is all she really wanted!)  Ally got a few presents but by far she is most excited about her new socks…go figure!  She wants to wear them all, asking me to change colors many times a day.  She has even figured out how to put them on herself!

Now that Ally is two she is offically out of the baby stage, even though she will always be my baby girl.  I can’t believe how fast these two years have gone…it makes me tear up thinking about it.  At two Ally is extremely capable.

• She can dress herself as well as pick out her own clothes, most of the time the clothes are on backwards or she has two legs in one hole or the outfit is terribly mismatched, but every now and then it is all put together right.
• She puts on her own shoes, and almost always gets them on the right feet!
• We are on day 5 of panties with no accidents, totally motivated herself to be potty trained.
• This girl is verbal, she gives me a constant narration of the day and her thoughts about it.
• Ally is tender, she tries to act tough with her “mean voice” but she crumbles when reprimanded.
• What a jokester, she loves to make people laugh and her favorite activity is torturing her big brother and sister.
• Austin is well taken care of by Ally, she likes to  bring him toys, burp clothes and give him his binky when he is crying.
• Ally loves to wear glasses, hats, necklaces, or anything else she can find to make her feel “big.”
• Talking on the phone and pushing strollers around the house are her two favorite past  time activities (well, besides tormenting Zac and Zoey.)
• Ally is probably the toughest girl you have met, she has been known to fall, tumble, bump, roll, skid, crash, and bang without so much as a grunt or wale afterwards.
• She is a cuddle girl, before nap or bed she wants to rock and sing and pray, all with her special cozy blanket.
• Her smile and attitude about life makes me melt and when I am having a bad day I just need a few minutes with her to remind me it is all worth it.

Those are just a FEW of the things I love  and know about Ally.  She makes my life so full, her joy is contageous and I thank God daily for sharing her with me.