Mom Magnet

I've noticed that my kids tend to gravitate closer and closer to me as the night wears on. Sort of that "getting ready for bed" routine in which they shower, brush teeth, start to settle down, and then look for me to give it all some closure. Except in the rare instances when I go to bed first. Like tonight - I just lay down on the bed waiting for the kids to finish doing something in my bathroom (shower, use all my makeup, destroy my sink area) and eventually they all ended up in my bed, reading their journals. When they were little, I got this fabulous idea to keep a regular journal of the daily ups and downs of their lives. Well, if you think that actually happened, you don't have kids! Because in between actually LIVING those ups and downs, no mother really has time to write about them. But I tried. And succeeded in some ways. Like, I have a very detailed chronology of my pregnancy with Harrison but after he was born, I skipped to 3 months, then a few more months and at one point, I skipped three whole years of writing! Same for the girls, as I usually write in all their journals on the same day. Three years? What the hell was I doing for three years that I didn't have time to write about their days? Their cute little sayings? When Arlie came into our lives, she came up with some pretty funny sayings of her own, so I got a journal for her too. While it's not full of details about her early days, we are trying to make up for lost time by recording the sometimes hysterical things she says. And once in a while, I find time to update a little about their lives. I'm hoping this give them an insight into how they were at different ages. It's actually an education for me too (reading about Hayley at age four is like reading about her now! Some things don't change and you really see how ingrained a person's personality is. At four, I was writing about Hayley's "take charge" ways and at 15 she's still a take charge girl). So, I really treasure these books and more than that, the memories of the kids hanging out on our bed, reading and laughing hysterically at their books. To that end, I leave you with some memorable quotes:
"Daddy, I will walk on your back for you. But first I will walk on Mommy's back because no one rubs mommy's back. It won't take long because Mommy is so short." - Hayley, age 4
"Why do they call it a restaurant? I mean, people rest there, but what is a 'raunt'?" - Hayley, age 5
"I'm a Cancer, Hannah is a Leo, and Harrison is a.......cappucino!" - Hayley, age 9
"Thank you, God, for shirts and daddy and trees and me. Amen." - Hannah, age 2
"Mommy, you have monkey tree hair." - Hannah, age 3
Hannah: "I'm bored." Mom: "I really hate it when you say that! You are lucky to be alive!" Hannah: "I said I was BORED, not DEAD!" - age 4
Arlie: "I want to ride my red truck" Dad: "It's not charged." Arlie: "Well, get off your a** and charge it!" - age 2
"He was smiling cheek to eye" - Arlie, age 9, describing her cousin, DJ
Scene - Jeff in the kitchen, eating spare ribs, sauce all over his face and hands. Enter Arlie "So, dad, how's that Weight Watchers working out for you?" - age 10
Scene - Harrison on the bed by mommy, pushing on her stomach. When asked what he was doing he replied "trying to push all the air out so you won't have a big tummy but it doesn't seem to be working!" - age 3
"Mommy, what's God's middle name?" - Harrison, age 3
"I am the king. I rule this house" - Harrison, age 4