three things....

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Leah
2. Mommy
3. mamamamamamammaaa

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. LeahES
2. Leah
3. Leah5472 (I’m so high security!)


THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my eyes
2. my ability to run with my kids in the jog stroller!!!
3. having given birth total drug free


THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my flabby, post-baby belly
2. all things jiggly
3. my addiction to sweets


THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Irish
2. Scottish
3. French Canadian


THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Anything bad happening to my Scott or the boys
2. Fire
3. Paris Hilton


THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stain
2. Coffee
3. Loving my houseful of boys (including Scott!)


THREE THINGS YOU’RE WEARING NOW:
1. the essential ponytail
2. running sneakers
3. watch

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTIST
1. Blues Traveler
2. Alana Davis
3. Pearl Jam

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS
1. When you became king
2. Regarding Steven
3. Here Comes the Flood


TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: (Which is a lie?)
1. I’ve hitchhiked - more than once.
2. I really want a baby girl.
3. I’ve published research.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. smile
2. smell
3. hair

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. photography
2. running
3. crossword puzzles

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. be on a tropical beach
2. sleep
3. promote to Director

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING:
1. Ass-kicker at the Body Shop
2. Fundraiser
3. Barker’s Beauty

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. France
2. Cuba
3. India

THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Samuel
2. Noah
3. Aidan

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Run a marathon
2. Publish some photography
3. Learn how to dance really well - like "people watch you at a wedding" well

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL/BOY:
1. lipsticks, lip liners, lip glosses and lots of ‘em.
2. love love love to be absolutely spoiled & treated like a queen (I think Scott actually created that characteristic)
3. perpetually concerned with the size of my ass

THREE CELEBRITY CRUSHES
1. John Cusack
2. Jude Law
3. Ron Weasley

You and you

I've always been a little concerned about Aidan and Noah developing their own identities. I have to make sure that I call them by name, avoid refering to them as "the twins" to often and really see them for their own individually emerging little selves.

Sam has always been outstanding at this, though not always correct. He almost always calls them by name, just not always the right one. He will ask, "is that Aidan or Noah?" or "what's his name?". Usually this is in the morning, and the answer is followed by a joyous, "Good morning, !!!" Sometimes he calls them "the babies", occassionally, "the brothers", when he's ticked off at one, it's "that baby" and when he's in a goofy mood, "bacanos". Don't ask. I don't know. He's into rhyming and silly words. I overheard him clearly singing "the eensy weensy spider" in the dark, in his bad, except he was making up his own words.

So it was the morning of their birthday and Sam was out of his skin waiting for his own birthday, which comes mercifully the next day. We had decorated their high chairs and opened presents, all before breakfast. We were in the middle of eating and Sam decided that we needed to sing "Happy Birthday". We got going in the classic format until the first "you", when I hear his little voice continue through the pause with, "and you". Forget the finer points of grammer that would allow us to sing one "you" for both babies. Sam wasn't interested. There are 2 babies, they each get called out. And that was how we finished the song.

A friend wrote in her blog about crying during childbirth. That profound and powerful experience is just blown out of the water, when I think about the wet, bloody, crying old man face developing into a sweet, funny, thoughtful, rambunctious little boy. Is that reason enough to admit that I welled up during "Happy Birthday"?

Lisa

Sam (now age 3) met Lisa (20-something), when he was roughly 18 months old.

Lisa: vibrant, energetic, sweet, and most of all, outrageously wonderful with children.
Sam: outgoing, flirtatious, funny, engaging.


You would think this was a match made in heaven. You would be wrong. Sam went out of his way not to encounter Lisa at all, going so far as to make a gesture I’d seen before or since. He put his hand to his face, palm out, as if to shade himself from Lisa. As his mom, this was terribly embarrassing, not to mention I felt really bad for Lisa. All she hoped to do was to be his friend. This behavior went on and I wrote it off to the notion that he can’t love everyone, still secretly disappointed that it was Lisa he sent to the outer circle. Given the choice, I would have steered him away from a few other people!

Fast forward 18 months, give or take, and Sam is like the dog in the Beggin’ Strips commercial, who associates everything with bacon. You can mention people, things, events that he connected with Lisa and he’s a single-minded boy. You mention, “Mikey”, he says gleefully, “LISA”. You refer to Mary, he sings, “LISA”. You say, “party”, he shouts, “LISA”. You get the idea. Last night we were going out and Mary was babysitting. Occasionally, she’ll bring Lisa with her. I explained to Sam that he had to have a good nap or I’d tell Mary that there was no movie. He grabbed his blankets, launched onto the pillow and went on a diatribe about where Lisa would sit when they watched the Thomas movie and what would happen in the movie and what Lisa would think.

I had to fake-call Lisa, because half-way to my mom’s house to go for ice creamone night, after he said firmly, “Lisa can come with us and she will get an ice cream come and sit next to me.” How am I supposed to respond to this?! As I said, I fake called, complete with pauses, like I was on tv and then “hung up” and explained that Lisa had to go to work. This is, according to Sam, the only acceptable excuse for not complying with a request.

I am just happy to report that Sam understands that Lisa and Mikey "go together". So that when they get married - VERY SOON :-), he shouldn’t be crushed that he’s not (at least in the eyes of God and the law), her first choice.