Okay, so this is going to be one of those sappy entries where I write about life and children and blah blah blah, whatever else comes to my head.  Don’t say you weren’t warned.  But Eli and Jake left with Daddy today, and I am emotional!

What is the point of spending the first three decades of life trying to be a strong, independent person, only to then become a mother and be reduced once again to crumbled shreds of a self that you hardly recognize anymore?  What is independence, again?  The ability to sleep past 7, or go to the bathroom by yourself?  What about reading something that requires more than 2 minutes of attention, or eat something other than cupcakes for your birthday dessert?  Because I know that before I was a mother, I thought that “independence” had something to do with having choices and not relying on others to take care of you, maybe even having some economic freedom.  Now I have those things, but I still can’t go to the bathroom without first explaining what I’m going to do in there.  The irony is that the needs of these precious little people represent so much more to lose!  And though I struggled with the first four years, it is unbelievable how much I love this Mommy thing now.  So what was that “independence” thing for, anyway?

I wouldn’t trade any of these guys for all the independence in the world.

The best part of having kids that are 5 is listening to the things they say.  It is constant, but I wrote a few things down so I will remember their cuteness:

Jake:  “Our friends at school need to grow more.”  (Jake and Eli are off the growth chart; Azerbaijanis are not generally known for their height).

Friends names:  Nigar, Suleyman, Lady Bee, Malahat, Merhiban, Morat.  Jake and Eli are always telling Mommy and Daddy that we say their names wrong.  We are trying guys!  But our accents are really bad!  Daddy taught them the Neil Diamond classic about Suleyman, and now it is one of the most requested songs in the car.

Eli is always going “to the Vugle.”  This means “in the corner.”  He tends to vent his anger by hitting, not that he is always the guilty one, but we are trying to teach him that if he hits, he will always be the one that gets caught.  It is a slow lesson learned…

Eli:  “Quick, quick, wrap me in my towel, I’m freezing freezing like an ice cube!”

Jake:  “Knock knock!  Who’s there?  Ach!  Achoo!!”  Jake is really into jokes these days, and he is ALWAYS joking.  “Why did the boy throw the butter out the window?  Because he wanted to see the butter fly!”

Look a bug!  Do you guys like bugs?
Eli:  “Yeah, I like to kill ’em.  I’m a bug killer.”  Jake:  “Well, I like princesses better.”

Eli:  “Mommy, does the potato have an eye on it?  One eye?  Does it speak?”  and “look, I have two dogbones!”  (pointing to his collarbones).

Jake, saying good morning the the guards:  “Salami!!!”  (hysterical giggles).  I believe Salaam is sort of a reverent way to wish good morning.  Not sure how they take to a 5 year old turning it into a joke about a long meat sausage.

Not sure it really matters, though!  Being cute means you can get away with it!!!

Jake and Eli, I am really missing you guys today.  I hope you get to go see the cockpit, I hope the Chipmunks Movie is playing, and I hope you get nothing but window seats.  Mike, come back soon!  I hope you get a chance to sleep a little bit!  Isn’t it great that they can walk by themselves now?  We were remembering that always before, we had to use part of our baggage allowance for car seats.  Now they are just regular dudes, sitting in airline heaven.  Juice, movies, airport trucks; life is an adventure lived in the simple pleasure of a 19-hour plane trip.  We are lucky they love to travel as much as their Mom and Dad!!