My Love Bug

Lina: Do you know what my yellow heart is missing?
Mommy: What is your yellow heart missing?
Lina: You.

Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah

Lately Lina’s songs have taken on a new form.  Where it used to be mostly just sounds or bits of songs she already knows, she now sings what she’s doing.  She used to just stand up and perform, now she has added a whole new level of theatrics.  If it’s a sad song, a hand will be on her forehead, or she lean against the wall for a moment.  She’ll look up to the sky instead of at your face to show you that she is truly in the moment.

“I a princess.

I don’t have a crown.

I cried.

Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah

Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah

Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah

Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah”

It took me awhile to figure out that Ahh-Nay-Noo-Nah was actually Hallelujah.  And then it took me even longer to figure out where she learned that from, I mean we’re talking days.  I had it narrowed down to a pop song we’ve been hearing on the radio, and then my sister reminded me that the song is in Shrek and she does like to watch Fiona.

The Tornado

On May 31^st, I experienced my first tornado.  The young single girl who put this on her bucket list of things to experience had a slightly different version of what it would be like in her head.  In her head, it was much more like being a tornado chaser, where you get to see the twister from a relatively safe distance.  It certainly wasn’t the image of kneeling in the laundry room holding onto your terrified two year old while watching the giant 26 year old tree being ripped from the earth.  I certainly do NOT need to do that again.

I knew it was coming.  After picking up Lina, the nice weather robot broke into my radio and told me I had just enough time to get home, let the dogs out and get settled in before the danger set in.  I turned on the TV as soon as I got home and let the local weather people tell me about where the danger was headed.  When the first sirens started, we stayed upstairs while Lina ate her cold left over noodles.  The danger was still far enough away.  There were two spots in the storm where rotation was present.  One was expected to hit my area, the other was expected to hit my parents area.  I barely remember hearing the second siren, I was too busy listening to the weather man.  He said the danger spot was headed towards the street a mile away from my house.  But there is also a town of the same name nearby, so I hesitated in going down stairs, waiting for him to clarify.  I heard a POP and the power went out for a full second then came back on.  That’s when I decided it was time to go downstairs.  About 15 seconds later the power went out for good.  I quickly told Lina to go down stairs while I ran to get the iPad (to keep Lina entertained) and my phone.  Lina had only gone down two steps so I asked her if she wanted me to carry her down.  Fortunately she said yes.  I quickly scooped her up and ran down the steps.  My arms and hands were full, so when my pants started falling down, I was unable to grab them.  By the time I reached the laundry room, they were half down my tush.  I set Lina down, dropped the iPad on the hamper, set the phone on the washer, pulled up my pants and knelt down to hold my scared baby.  We heard a giant crack and we both looked out the tiny plexiglass window as our large tree came crashing down.  That’s when I started shaking.  I quickly shoved the over full basket of clean clothes out of the room so I could shut the door.  My whole body trembled uncontrollably and Lina climbed higher into my lap. 

“I scared Mommy, I scared.”

“It’s okay baby, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

“You have me?”

“Yeah, I’ve got you baby.  I’ll keep you safe.”

“Okay.  I’m just gonna watch the rain.”

“Okay, let’s just watch the rain.”

As we held onto each other and my shaking subsided, I quickly grabbed my phone to call Mason.  I knew he was on his way home, if the storm hadn’t sped up, he would have been home just before it hit.  As soon as he answered I told him “Don’t come home!”  But it was too late.  He was already in it.  He was trying to pull into a do it yourself car wash, but couldn’t see far enough ahead of him to see the entrance.  After I got off the phone with him, Lina had relaxed enough to venture from my lap and started playing her fish game on the iPad while I tried to call my parents and sister to make sure they were all okay.  But the lines were clogged and that was the last I was able to use my phone until a few hours later when I was able to send out some text messages.  Eventually I was able to use Mason’s phone to talk to my sister to find out that the other rotation went south of my parents.  They were safe.

It was a few days before I was able to confirm that it was in fact a tornado, and not just severe winds.  I got my news in tiny bits from friends and family who held us in their hearts while watching the weather man.  While driving around the next day to get drinks for all the people who came to help chop up that tree, there was a distinct path of huge trees that were pulled from the ground, roots and all.  The path of the tornado was less than a block away from our home.  The tree fell towards the twister, we were definitely in the “suck zone.”  If it was that scary being a block away from a mild tornado, I don’t think I need to worry about missing out on the thrill of being a tornado chaser.

Lina's Quote of the Day

Tinker Bell, you don't have to be sad, you're nice.  It's going to get better Mom.

It's Raining

Me: Hey Lina, go ask Pop if he’s hungry.

Lina: Pop?

Me: Yeah, he’s in the garage.

Lina: Oh, okay.  (pauses at the door)  You stay there, so you don’t get wet.

Me: Okay, I’ll stay here.

Lina: Sometimes I get wet.

Me: You do?

Lina: Yes.

Me: Like when you take a bath, or when you go to the beach?

Lina: Yes.  (Looks up) It’s dark outside.

Me: Yes it is.  Hey Lina, go ask Pop if he’s hungry.

Lina: Okay!

(A moment or two later just out of sight) Ahh! I wet! 

Lina: I got wet.

Me:  I know I heard.  Did you get rained on?

Lina: Yeah.

Me: Did you ask Pop if he was hungry?

Lina: ----

Me: Yeah, I didn’t think so.

You Want What??

Lina: I want a sister.

Me: You want a sister?
Lina: Yeah, I want a sister.
Me: Do you want a real sister, or pretend?
Lina: Real sister.
Me: Wait, do you want a sister like Alyssa or a sister like your baby?
Lina: (Thinks for a moment) A sister wike Awyssa.
Me: What about a brother? Do you want a brother or a sister?
Lina: I want a sister.
Me: Wait. Do you want a sister like Alyssa or a brother like Luke?
Lina: Wuke? (thinks for a moment) A sister wike Awyssa.

My Life Is Complete

While taking a break from a cookie decorating marathon, my mom, my sister, her two girls, Lina and I all hop in my car and drive to Culver's for dinner.  While we are standing there, looking at the menu I start getting frustrated with Lina because she won’t tell me what she wants to eat.  She’s whiney and fussy and just being plain disagreeable.  Eventually she says, I just want to be held.  So I pick her up to talk to her more about what to order for her and then it happens. 

She throws up all over my left side and fills up my purse.  I have a moment of “oh crap, what do I do now?” before I dash her off to the bathroom before any more could come out.  The worker behind the counter just stares dumbly at the situation and does absolutely nothing.  I get her in the bathroom in time for round three, but both stalls are taken.  There is now a pile in the restaurant, a pile in the bathroom and a purse full of barf.  I sit her on the sink and do my best to get us cleaned up.  I care more about her being clean because I know how miserable it is to be sick and to be covered in your sick.  Plus, she’s my baby.  Besides, the more I try to wipe off my shirt, the more it seems to get stuck in the fibers.   I manage rescue my keys from my purse, but the rest is going to have to wait until later.

Finally the young idiot from behind the counter is cleaning up the mess and is practically kicking me out of the bathroom so he can mop.  I mean, come on.  You can see that I am trying to clean up my child, so just wait a minute dude.  Eventually I get us cleaned up enough to go sit in the car while the rest of my family gets their food.  Strangely, my appetite is gone.  I strap Lina in the car as carefully as her messy clothes will allow.  I contemplate having her ride home in her underwear, but decide against it.  I climb in the driver’s seat  to wait for the rest of my family, that’s when I realize I can’t buckle up.  I am still covered in wet, stinky barf. 

Soon everyone is piling back in my car with their food, the car is getting a very interesting smell.  Jess sees my predicament and offers to run into Walmart to get me a shirt.  After changing my shirt behind Walmart, using the car doors as shields, we head back to my parents’ house where Lina and I strip down the rest of the way and toss our clothes in the wash before jumping in the shower together.  After we are both clean and mostly dressed, I start going through my purse.  A daunting task to be sure.  I salvage what I can, bag what I can’t save or clean but need to keep and toss the rest.  Unfortunately it’s one of my favorite purses and my only wallet, thank goodness they are both fabric and not leather.  So into the wash they  go.  It takes two washes to get the purse smelling fresh again, but it survives.  Finally I’m able to help with the cookies again and it isn’t long before I hear this sweet little voice…

“Mom, I’m hungry.”