Category: Isaiah

Avery, Carter, Confessions, Eliott, Isaiah

Life with Eliott and Carter, 2015

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I have been mostly out of the blogosphere for several weeks now and getting back into it is a lot like deciding to go to the gym after weeks of physical inactivity. Nothing is comfortable. My work-out pants don’t look right, I can’t figure out what to do or where to start, and at the end of the day I’m left wondering if I should have just skipped it after all.

But this post has been long in coming. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t just sit around trying to get my kids to say funny things. And when I’m not on my A-game, I actually forget to write down plenty of what comes out of their never-silent mouths. Also, I keep waiting for the day that Eliott outgrows this list, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe that is completely impossible.

The following memories are things I jotted down directly after their original occurrence or utterance by one of my children. All statuses are cut and pasted directly from my Facebook feed. At this point, Eliott is 7, almost 8, and in 2nd grade at Calvary Baptist Day School and then 3rd grade at Clemmons Elementary School. Carter is 5, turning 6, and in 1st grade, also at Calvary, then 2nd grade in public school. Isaiah has just turned 2 and Avery turns 1 in August.

January 20, 2015
A little Tuesday afternoon visual for you: Isaiah, his cherub chub in all its naked glory. A bubble bath. Water mostly all over the bathroom floor, walls, mirror… At the top of his lungs, singing on repeat, “Let it go, let it go-oh…”
You’re welcome.

April 8, 2015
Today I told the girls about a friend (of our family) who is pregnant with her 5th child. Their responses:
Eliott: What?! Mommy she’s winning! You gotta catch up.
Carter: Oh no, Eliott. Mommy is NOT having any more babies. She wants no more little terrorist-es.

April 13, 2015


May 13, 2015
2nd grade “Author’s Day” is Tuesday. The name of Eliott’s story is “Lalaloopsy Missionaries” and I am so proud, for all the wrong reasons.

June 26, 2015
Segment of recent discussion with Eliott, about the neighbor’s escaped dog:
“…then me and Anna, like a dog and a farmer moving the cows over to the next field, just led Buddy over to the porch and had to haul him in there…”

July 7, 2015
Overheard from the playroom, decibel level exactly what you’d expect:
“ISAIAH! Argh! THIS is why I’m never having children! Not even a girl. And DEFINITELY NOT A BOY!!!!”
Happy birthday Carter Wait. May all your dreams come true.

July 30, 2015
So I’m officially done problem solving for my bickering daughters. Today’s moment of clarity comes after a physical (slap) fight where both girls are mad at each other and neither has apologized.
Me: Fine. Carter. What do you want? What do you want from Eliott right now that would make this all better?
Carter: Her money.
The birth of the American justice system right there, people.

August 13, 2015
Eliott in the backseat, doing “cootie-picker” fortunes with Carter: Three? Uno, dose, trace…. okay. Roe-joe? You will be rich when you grow up.
Me: Roe-joe?
Eliott: Yes. Mom. It means “red” in Spanish.

September 2, 2015

September 4, 2015
Isaiah: Mommy. Where’s my toast?
Me: I haven’t made breakfast yet. It’s not even 8 o’clock. Do you want a bagel?
Isaiah: Yes. I want tater tots, and ketchup, and strawberries. And blueberries or something.
*Or something.*

October 6, 2015
A glimpse into Eliott’s transition from Baptist school to public school:
Me: No, it isn’t Spirit Week, it’s a thing for ‘Say No to Drugs.’
Eliott: Say no to drugs?! Like we’re going to eat drugs?
Me: Do you even know what drugs are, Eliott?
Eliott: No. Not really.

November 15, 2015
Standard, contextually irrelevant conversations with Eliott:
E: Mommy. What are cappuccinos?
M: Coffee. Like the kind of coffee you get at Starbucks but without any milk.
E: Is there another kind of cappuccino? Like, parents or grownups or something?
M: Chaperones?
E: No. It started with a ‘ch-‘
M: Chaperones?
E: It was c-h- … cappuccinos.
M: Eliott where did you read this? Was it like, chaperoning a dance or something?
E: Diary of a Wimpy Kid. They were cappuccinos for a lock-in.
M: Chaperones.

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December 15, 2015
When an older woman pointed out baby Jesus in the manger-scene table decoration at a Christmas party last weekend, Isaiah rolled his eyes and very calmly replied: “No. That is not baby Jesus. That is Avery.”

December 18, 2015
Quote of the night: “I’m a first-grader! How am I supposed to know all this stuff?!”
Touche.

December 27, 2015
Eliott’s dinner table discussion about how she’s basically the only white girl in her class who is friends with these two specific black girls ends with, “Well it makes sense because I’m pretty much black. I mean, when we put our arms together they are practically the same.”
#somuchtruth

There’s More Where This Came From

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Avery, Confessions, Isaiah

Passing Notes

Me to John:

Had the most annoying day today at Walmart.
Well. Actually that’s wrong.
Had a STANDARDLY annoying day today at Walmart.
But that damn kitty litter box is returned and I got two tomato cages for my big plants and was judged by what I can only assume was a mom from Clemmons….
“IF MY KID WANTS TO IMPALE HIS EYEBALLS ON A TOMATO CAGE HE WILL DAMMIT. STOP BEING SUPERMOM FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S KIDS. NOBODY NEEDS YOU.”
Things I maybe almost said.

John to me:

Ha.
I had a similar incident at Home Depot when Isaiah was helping me carry that long piece of metal in the garage by the diaper pail.
The cashier was freaking out that he would cut his hand on it.
Me to John:
Yes well, after the eyeball moment, Avery snatched a plastic bag out of the cart and decided to eat it.
So you can imagine how well THAT went over.
John to me:
She is so QUICK.
Best friends, y’all.
Confessions, Isaiah

Things I Don’t Want To Forget

November 18, 2014

This evening Isaiah was left alone for a few minutes in the bathtub while John had a heart-to-heart with Carter and I was feeding the baby downstairs, listening to Eliott read. I heard him call my name a few times, but the sentiment seemed more like his “Mommy, what are you doing right now?” tone of voice rather than his, “I just fell and hit my head” tone of voice, so naturally I ignored him. When the baby finished eating I took her to bed.

I popped my head in the bathroom to find Isaiah perched on the edge of the tub, one foot in the water, the other dangling over the side. There in front of him, neatly lined up on the outside edge of the tub, were several turds, ranging from average and healthy sized, to peanut sized. He looked up at me, not sheepishly but with a very serious expression and continued to repeat the word, “Stink.”

I have no idea where this child came from. A few weeks shy of two years old and the kid already cleans up his own fecal messes with such a matter-of-fact attitude that I wonder if he should be the one keeping an eye on his seven year old sister and not the other way around.

Avery, Carter, Confessions, Eliott, Isaiah

The Wait Family Christmas Card, love John

I was just cc’ed on an email from John to an old friend – a general life update, if you will. I realized I haven’t done one of these in a while and the email is so lovely that I’m reposting it here and considering using it as the letter that accompanies the Christmas cards we never send.

photo-35
Carter (5yo), Eliott (7yo), Isaiah(2yo), Avery (2 months old)

[Dear family and friends,] *I added this.

[Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We sure have a lot to celebrate this year.] *I also added this because the email seemed to start in the middle of a conversation that might have otherwise seemed confusing to someone on the outside. Everything from here on out is all John.

Eliott and Carter are both playing soccer now and are clearly the best on their respective teams. I think they have both scored all the goals for their teams this season. I coach Carter’s team, the Pink Sparkly Unicorns. Carter named the team. Their uniforms are orange. I’m not sure if they really like soccer or if they just like the attention that comes with being superior. Probably the latter knowing their parents. The boy is nothing like me or Claire. He’s more like my dad and my brother, very smiley and usually happy. There’s not much brooding or darkness in him. That’s bound to change since he only has sisters though, so we’re enjoying it while we can.

Avery is an annoying, crying infant. I have no hope for her yet. Claire is the only one who likes her on any sort of regular basis. However, to be fair, she’s only been alive for 8 weeks. I’m trying to keep an open mind when I’m not walking around half asleep. When she cries, it sounds like a mangy, angry cat. Very raspy, contemptuous, and demanding. She does smile on occasion to remind us not to chuck her out a second story window or a moving car.

We still call Carter the “Tiny Monster.” She is tall, thin, and weighs only 32 pounds. Isaiah is like a cinder block at over half Carter’s height and weighing 28 pounds. He likes to wrestle, and he does so often with Carter who is closest to his weight division and age. *Me again. Just want to note that Avery is actually closer to Isaiah’s age-division but John doesn’t currently count her in the kid line up yet because he is still undecided on whether to keep her. 

Eliott is a bit of a space cadet most of the time. She often gets this far away, blank stare when we tell her to do something. She uses these times to enter “LaLa-Land” where she is an only child, a princess, and has no responsibility whatsoever. LaLa-Land is aptly named after Claire’s sister, Laura, who also frequents LaLa-Land. I’m not sure if Eliott communes with her aunt there or not. I prefer not to know the details.

Eliott, Carter, and Isaiah all love books. Eliott reads chapter books whenever we are not yelling at her or making her clean up one of her siblings’ messes. Carter is learning to read this year, and so she is still mostly into picture books. Isaiah likes to have books read to him as he repeats selective words back to the reader at a very loud decibel. I think he believes that words can only be spoken by yelling, which is probably my fault.

[We hope this letter finds you warm, well-fed, and Ebola free. Here’s to a great 2015!

Love, The Waits] It seemed like it needed a better ending. Man-to-man communication is so strange and free of the expected cordiality.

Carter, Confessions, Eliott, Isaiah

Life Checklist and a Moment of Positive Creativity

It’s official.

I can die now.

John and I finalized (and signed!) our wills today.

Continue reading “Life Checklist and a Moment of Positive Creativity” →

Carter, Confessions, Eliott, Isaiah

It’s The Most Wonderful Time….Of The Year

A few nights ago, I noticed that it is finally getting dark out when the girls go to bed.

A helpful bonus in the transition from late nights and sleeping in. It seems I’m the only one left in this house still having a hard time with the before seven wake-up call.

Continue reading “It’s The Most Wonderful Time….Of The Year” →

Carter, Confessions, Eliott, Isaiah

Cheerios and Pancakes

In the last month or so, my almost eight month old son has slowly been transitioning away from a predominantly milk-filled diet, to a predominantly food-filled diet. Because he’s my third child, and because he does not go to daycare, I have not been paying much attention to exactly how much I feed him during the day. This is why up until about two weeks ago, I mistook his crying and screaming for personal mommy-hatred, when in truth, he was just starving.

It is far too easy to take things personally in stay-at-home mommy land.

This morning I was feeding him Cheerios one-by-one in the high chair while I ate pancakes. He had just finished a big bottle, yet I still underestimated his hunger. When I ran out of Cheerios, instead of getting up to get more from the pantry, I simply gave him a bite of my pancakes. And then another. And then we were sharing my pancakes. And then the pancakes were gone.

Continue reading “Cheerios and Pancakes” →

Confessions, Isaiah

The Day All My Dreams Came True

First, the Chinese were wrong.  Freaking finally.

Second, I will not be scanning and posting any ultra sound pictures.  If you want to see what the baby looks like, Google “ultra sound picture.”  Yes.  It looks just like that.  Only cuter, probably.  (As I described to Eliott, “We’re going to see the baby, but really, it is going to look like a bunch of thunderstorm clouds on a black and white TV and will probably be really boring, so I’ll bring the iPod for you to play games.)

Continue reading “The Day All My Dreams Came True” →