rainy days

i'm sitting in the dining room, sipping coffee and listening to my kids playing happily downstairs. i love days like this.

yesterday, e decided to work from home so he could concentrate and not be distracted at work (to which i thought, really? because it's so much less distracting in a house of toddlers). but he actually DID get work done, and the kids played nicely by themselves. because he does it so infrequently, i really, really appreciate when he works from home. because at 4:45 yesterday, he took belly out to the playground and then proceeded to keep both girls busy until i had dinner ready at 6:15.

of course, though, the day could not go by without drama... because belly took her nap so late, she wasn't tired when it was time for bed at 8. she told me she was hungry and wanted "noodles and soup" even though - for once - she finished her entire dinner (but maybe that's because it was her favorite, piccadillo and rice). so i gave her a banana instead and she ate the entire. thing. which she normally never does. so i'm laying with her and i notice at 9pm she's still not asleep. and i have a laundry list so long of my "to-do's" that i can only get done once she's sleeping. so in my frustration, i yelled at her (not my proudest mom moment), put her in her own bed, locked the gate at the top of the stairs and went downstairs. left her up there, crying, for about 10 minutes. as i was cleaning up the kitchen, i can hear a phone ringing... turns out she had grabbed my cell phone and was calling her grandparents for comfort, to tattle tale, i dunno. she tried every one of their numbers, getting voice mail. she must've given up because i heard the crying stop all of a sudden and, "mommy? mommy! i'm done crying now, come and sleep with me." i guess at that point, my dad called her back and i could hear my mom telling her that "mommy would be back." (she had no idea what was going on, since all ella was saying was, "i want mommy!") even though i was still upset, i couldn't help laughing. apparently my daughter is not only strong-willed but pretty resourceful.

the sleeplessness then spread to bulilit. who, by the way, loves our love sac so much that she doesn't really sleep anywhere else. but last night she decided she didn't want to sleep and kept daddy up until 2:30. not very helpful when daddy still had work to do and, oh yeah, sleep to get. i attribute it to teething, a tummy ache and walking. i remember reading somewhere that once babies learn a new 'thing,' they would rather forego sleep to practice their new skill. so because bulilit is finally toddling all over the place - without the help of a walker - i think she wants to be up and practicing. funny thing is, she would rather walk while holding on to things (i.e., her juice cup, a ball, whatever) than by herself!

p.s. i'm starting to think this blog was inaccurately named (as my husband and brother like to point out since i don't blog every day). not because of the number (or lack) of posts, but because it's seriously all about my kids. i've found though that this is a nice way to remember all the millions of little things that make up a life, and the memories are too precious to lose. okay, end sappy thought.