It’s Over Already?

December 31, 2008. Wow. That’s all I can say. Seems like Flower was just a baby and we were getting ready for her first birthday and now the year is almost over and we’ll be getting ready for her second birthday pretty soon.

Princess has turned into a lady this year….at least sometimes she acts like a lady. She is a wonderful big sister. She is very patient with Flower. She is always explaining things to her and trying to teach her things like what a cow says or colors.

We have a houseful of family right now so I don’t have much time. We received a Wii for Christmas so everyone is huddled in the living room around the TV. Just wanted to post one last time in 2008 and wish everyone a safe evening. Not sure if we have plans yet, it will depend on the weather. We’ll probably be eating junk food, watching a movie, and hopefully we’ll be able to find a channel that will show the ball dropping in NYC so we can go to bed before midnight. That’s how we celebrate New Year’s Eve around here.

We Were on the Nice List

Santa stopped at our house on Christmas Eve. Princess was very worried that night because she hadn’t been very cooperative getting dressed for church. So at bedtime she and Daddy set out some milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. As I was snuggling her into bed she confided in me that she hoped she was on the “Nice” list.

Turns out we made the Nice list this year. Santa was very nice to us. Princess found a dollhouse waiting for her under the tree and Flower got an inchworm. We spent the morning opening gifts and playing with our new stuff and went to Nana and Papa’s for more gift giving and dinner. The snow started to fall around noon and we got a few inches yesterday. It was a beautifully white Christmas.

We had an amazing day and today we are recovering. The girls put their snow gear on this morning and we headed out for 4 wheeler rides, a little sledding, and to try out the new cross-country skis. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well. Enjoy and photos.

We’re Patiently Awaiting His Arrival

Santa that is. As the girls get older we realize how important it is to teach them there is more to Christmas than receiving gifts. Christmas is, most importantly, a time to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. Flower is still a bit young to understand Christmas, but Princess needs to know that Christmas not about getting the best gift or the most gifts. So that’s my objective. I want to keep all the magic of Santa for the girls but I also want them to know how truly wonderful it is to give to others.

I need to come up with a game plan for next year but for now we’re trying to focus on making and giving to others. Last weekend we made fudge, caramels, cookies, and caramel corn. Flower thought caramel corn was the best thing she’d ever eaten, or at least that’s what it looked like as she was shoveling it in. We assembled some goodie bags for friends, co-workers and relatives to enjoy. Princess wasn’t sure about giving away so much of our treats, but in the holiday spirit she complied.

Princess and I are planning a scavenger hunt for Daddy on Christmas morning. I’m not very good when it comes to shopping for Daddy. He always thinks of wonderful things for me but I can never seem to find that perfect gift for him. Although this year I did get something he’s going to like. He’ll be surprise too because I had to do some leg work and ask his buddies to help me pick it out.

Santa came early for me this year. I won an iPod nano at a conference a couple weeks ago so I’m set. Princess asked Santa for a dollhouse….one with a round thing that makes the other thing go up….aka an elevator. Flower isn’t old enough to ask Santa for a gift so I suggested an inch worm to Princess and she told Santa on Flower’s behalf. Hopefully “Santa” will check the boxes tonight to make sure all the required parts were included in the boxes so assembly will be successful tomorrow.

That’s it for another year. I think we’re ready for the big day. Ho, ho ho! Merry Christmas! Happy holidays from our house to yours.

Deck the Halls

Earlier this evening Princess and I were in her bedroom getting ready for bed. We can hear the Monday Night Football halftime show in the background. Chris Berman says, “Deck the Halls” and Princess starts to giggle. She looks at me and says, “Mommy, did you hear him? He said ‘Deck the Halls’. He meant to say ‘Shrek the Halls’.” And she rolls her eyes as if to say “Boys can be so silly sometimes….” Apparently we’ve been watching too much of the big green ogre lately.

We're Quarantined...

...or we should be. Just a quick note to let you know that if you were planning to stop by our house, don't. There has been a stomach bug going around and it finally found us. Princess showed us her skills in projectile vomiting last night and managed to shower Flower, me, the sofa, the love seat, decorate pillows, blankets...you get the picture. Today we're just staying warm and trying to predict and confine bodily fluids to washable things around the house.

We're Frozen

Well, we survived another weekend. This one wasn't as busy as last weekend due to the weather. An arctic blast rolled in Friday night and it dumped a little snow, blew it around enough to make traveling dangerous, and dropped the temperature a million degrees.

It was a good weekend for hot chocolate and movies. Unfortunately we had practice Saturday morning for the Christmas program at church so Princess and I donned our winter wear, put the pickup in four wheel drive, and backed out of the garage. Seriously, there was a 4 foot drift in front of the garage door. We spent the morning in town and made it home for a nap and hot apple cider.

Sunday morning we headed back to church for the early service and Christmas program. The program was originally scheduled for the evening but with the weather so frigid it was moved up to the morning. We were thrilled because it meant we didn't have to go out in 20 below temperatures. Princess was an angel. Nana was in charge of the program this year and it went very well despite lack of participation from the older kids at church. Basically half of the kids who could read backed out at the last minute so Nana had to improvise. Those of you who know Nana know that the program was wonderful, despite what she might tell you. I'd post the video but I doubt you want to see all of it so you'll have to settle for a photo.

While we were at church the power went out at our house so it was a little chilly when we returned. Luckily the girls went to Nana and Papa's for the afternoon so we headed to town for a little shopping. Then back to Nana's for dinner. The power was on by the time we got home so we didn't need to break out the propane heaters and long johns.

This morning our daycare lady informed us that some of the other kids were home with a stomach thing that didn't sound like much fun. I'm headed out of town for a meeting tomorrow so cross your fingers the girls didn't pick up the stomach bug because Daddy's in charge!

We’re Exhausted

We had a busy weekend. I knew it would be, I just didn’t realize how busy. Friday we did a little shopping in the morning and daddy hit the road in the afternoon. He had a project that only he could do 4 hours from home. He was bummed about missing Princess perform at the festival on Saturday but that’s life. We have video.

Saturday morning we headed to the festival to watch a friend dance. I called Nana and Papa to make sure they would be there to help coral Flower. Things took a little longer than I expected so we barely had time to eat a quick lunch and get Princess dressed for her performance. She was fabulous. Her leotard was adorable, she didn’t complain once about it or her hair. She was in the front row so Nana was able to get her on video. After the little girls did their thing the older girls performed their routine. Then they all grabbed a little girl and did the chicken dance. Apparently it’s a tradition for this group. It was definitely entertaining. Flower loved all the girls and she was moving her arms and dancing right along with them.

Next item on our agenda was Santa. Princess remembered that Santa was at the festival last year and there was no way we were leaving without seeing Santa. Luckily he was available and there was no line…amazing I know. Princess got right up in his lap and immediately started smiling for the camera. Flower was ok with sitting in his lap, but she just wanted to stare at him so we had to coax her into smiling for the camera. Last year all she wanted to do was pull his beard so I guess we’ll consider staring progress. She eventually looked our way and the photographer got a great photo. Princess told Santa she wanted a dollhouse and Flower wanted an inchworm. I breathed a huge sigh of relief because I’ve already ordered those items so a last minute change of heart by Princess would not have been good. After Santa we checked out the craft tables and decorated cookies.

Sunday we headed out to harvest a Christmas tree with friends. I’ll admit, I was a little apprehensive because Princess has issues when it comes to wearing warm clothes and this outing would require snow pants. After a minor meltdown she got dressed and we took off. It was in the 30s with a light snow falling….a perfect day for some sledding and hot chocolate. We found a nice place and the kids played on the sleds for an hour or so. Then we set off in search of the perfect tree. Actually, we were just looking for a decent tree that would fit through the door and not take up the entire living room. We hunted for about an hour and made a decision. Hopefully we’ll get it in the stand tonight to see if we made a good choice.

Flower went to bed early last night and did not want to get up this morning. Princess was a bear this morning but we eventually got out of the house. I’ve been moving pretty slowly all day too, but I have another excuse. I tripped on the stairs at 4 am Saturday morning on my way down to let the dog out and stubbed my little toe pretty bad. Of course I had to pick one of the busiest weekends we’ve had lately, but it’s healing. Hopefully I’ll be mended by this weekend because we still have a lot to do!

P.S. I know, I know....those of you with more kids or older kids are reading this going "That's all....we do all that in an afternoon." We're more of a 'hang out around the house' family so this was a lot of activity for one weekend!

It Was A Quiet Week

It’s Thursday again and time for another quick update from our house to yours. We had a quiet week. Flower has had a cold with a bad cough for three weeks now so we went to the doctor on Monday. She’s got a little bacterial thing going on so we have 10 days of amoxicillin. It’s orange these days, at least at our pharmacy that’s the standard flavor and Flower loves it. She starts to wiggle and squeal when she sees the dropper of orange delight headed her direction. Princess was really good about taking medicine until recently so we’ve been lucky in that area. Princess still takes her medicine when needed, but now she requires a chaser such as peanut butter or milk. I’ve tasted some of their medicine and I can’t say as I blame her.

We’ve managed to catch a “classic” Christmas program on TV every night this week. Last night Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer was on and Flower really liked Rudolph. We watched the Santa Clause 2 last weekend and Princess liked that movie. We watched a bit of The Christmas Story the other night. It’s one of our favorites and I’m sure we’ll watch that a few times this month.

Princess is having sock issues again. After a lull in the sock department for a month or so she once again has decided that all her socks “don’t feel good”. I have yet to figure out how something which is perfectly fine for weeks all of the sudden becomes unacceptable….when absolutely nothing has changed. Heavy sigh.

Tonight starts the parade of holiday activities. We have an open house tonight. Princess performs at the local Christmas festival on Saturday. Daddy will be out of town for work this weekend so he’s bummed he’ll miss her first performance. Papa will be running the video camera so we can relive the 2 minutes over and over again when Daddy returns. I’m a little uncertain about the performance because it will require a specific shirt, leggings, and hair style. Princess tends to have issues when required to wear something specific that’s not her blue New Mexico tourist t-shirt and purple sweats so we’ll see. I’m not even going to think about her hair. I figure we’ll go, give her the opportunity to dress like the rest of her class, and if she freaks we’ll just watch. There’s always next year, right?

It’s December Already

Where did the time go? I seems like it was just….September and we were getting ready for Princess’ birthday. Now we’re talking about Santa and giving gifts and Christmas programs and it hasn’t even snowed yet, at least not enough to stick around for more than a day or two.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Wonderful meal, well behaved girls. Princess decided she prefers the “brown” meat on the turkey. Flower discovered Daddy’s homemade cranberry sauce (with a little orange zest….it was tasty) and pumpkin pie. I ate way too much but we only get meals prepared by my grandma and great aunt once or twice a year so who cares? Their style of cooking is different than ours, but it’s what I grew up with and it sure is good. Let’s just say if there’s a way to add butter or cream to a dish in order to make it richer they’ve perfected it. I’m still amazed that my grandpa’s arteries aren’t completely clogged after eating my grandma’s sinfully delicious cooking for 60+ years.

Flower also discovered Christmas lights. Her new favorite word is “Ligh! Ligh! Ligh!” so we indulged her and hung our lights yesterday. That is after we bought new LED lights. We needed new lights because we've had ours for years and they are mostly broken from the wind so we invested (and I truly mean invested because they are expensive) in LED lights. They are really pretty though….I love the “clean” white light look….and you can plug 21 strings together so we didn't have to drape the house in extension cords! Now all we need is some snow.

Happy Turkey Day!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? What I’m really asking is “Are you ready for Christmas?” because on Friday the Christmas frenzy will officially begin. I think I’m ready. I have a list; I’ve checked it twice, or three or four hundred times. I have a gift next to everyone’s name except for a couple of the cousins. (Auntie C, are you reading this?) I’m a list person so I enjoy this part of Christmas. I love making a list and marking things off….it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Flower hasn’t quite caught on to Christmas yet, but she LOVES to open gifts so we’ll definitely have to dust off the video camera on Christmas morning. Princess remembers last Christmas vividly and has been fine tuning her list for a few weeks. I’m still trying to get her to nail down what she will tell Santa so Santa can start shopping. We’re having a little trouble trying to figure out what Flower would like from Santa since she doesn’t have a list. Last year Flower was a baby and Princess decided Flower wanted a teddy bear from Santa. Perfect. Santa loved that idea. I’ve been trying to get Princess to think of something Flower might like again this year but so far I haven’t had any luck.

We’re heading north to Grandma and Grandpa’s (and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa’s) for turkey day. This will allow Daddy to get in a few more days of hunting before the season ends. It will also provide ample opportunity for our dog to “meet” Grandpa’s new puppy. Our dog will be wearing her training collar so she’ll be on her best behavior all weekend. I can’t remember a time that our dog has been around a very young puppy so hopefully she will succumb to her maternal instinct and love the puppy….not confuse it with an appetizer.

Flower’s Fetish

Flower has a fetish….an underwear fetish. We can’t leave our undies on the floor at our house because Flower likes to wear them on her head. I think it’s her recent interest in dressing herself, which she can’t do yet, but she likes to put her shirt on. So anything she finds with a hole large enough to accommodate her little melon goes over her head.

She’s not interested in Daddy’s boxers, but Princess and I have to keep a watchful eye on our undies. It makes sorting laundry a little challenging and folding laundry nearly impossible. I had to rescue my undies from all over the house the other day as I was folding a load of whites. I just hope I found them all because that might be a little embarrassing the next time we have company over for dinner and they find a pair I missed.

A few weeks ago Princess needed new underwear so she picked out a package of Ariel panties at Target. I was taking them out of the package and removing all the tape, etc. before I put them in the laundry and Flower came running from across the room wanting to help. So I gave the little bundles to Flower so she could peel the tape off of them and before I knew it she had them over her head. I guess when she grows up I can tell her therapist it all started with the underwear fetish.

Another Mama and Her Babies

I know this video went around the Internet a few months ago but I just received it again from a friend. I forgot how much I enjoy watching it. The mother in me can't help but get a little teary eyed watching the twins play in the sprinkler....and that song always gets me too. The girls and I have watched it a few times this morning and we thought you might enjoy seeing it again as well.

The Week in Review

I know the week isn’t officially over yet, but it seems I like to wrap things up on Thursdays. I work four 10s so my work week is over and it’s a good time to post a status report, if you will.

Flower and Princess both have a cold. Princess has had a nagging cough for a few weeks that just won’t go away. She doesn’t really have any other symptoms and she only coughs occasionally so I haven’t worried about it much. Flower came down with a bad cold last Thursday night and she was pretty miserable on Friday and Saturday. I spent the better part of both days following her around the house with a Kleenex because every time she sneezed a big ball of snot shot across the room….well sort of.

By Saturday night I had caught Flower’s cold, even though I must have used a bottle of hand sanitizer after wiping her nose. Needless to say, we didn’t leave the house last weekend except for a trip to Nana and Papa’s for dinner Sunday evening. Side note: Grandma M roasted chicken with all the fixins’ and baked a peach cobbler….it was delicious!

We also made the mistake of watching The Wizard of Oz Saturday evening and Princess has been having nightmares all week. I was a little hesitant to let the girls watch it but when the munchkins started singing there was no going back. The girls were glued to the TV. Even when the witch appeared they didn’t seem frightened and normally if there is a scary part in a movie that Princess doesn’t like she will ask us to forward through it. But she was ok during The Wizard of Oz. I asked her a couple times if she wanted to forward the movie and she said she wasn’t afraid.

All week Princess has been waking up four or five times during the night thrashing around in her bed and yelling. I’ve tried to wake her but it’s useless. She’s talking like she’s mad, not scared, but when I ask her about it the next morning she doesn’t remember a thing. I’m not sure what to do (we’re definitely not watching The Wizard of Oz again for a few years) but I need to think of something soon. Princess’ room shares a wall with our bedroom and she wakes me up all night long. I need some sleep. So if anyone out there has a suggestion I would love to hear it.

Tuesday night we had tacos for dinner. Princess must be growing because she’s been eating two helpings of everything this week. Flower, however, not so much. I normally don’t inventory everything they eat because generally they eat well and I don’t worry about it. But that night Flower hadn’t touched a thing by the time we had finished our dinner. Princess decided she was going to feed Flower and proceeded to feed her everything on her plate and three more spoonfuls of taco meat. Princess made funny faces, flew the airplane full of food into the hangar and the girls giggled. It was pretty entertaining to watch as I cleaned up the kitchen and I was happy Flower went to bed with a full tummy.

Chatty Cathy

Flower is….let’s say blossoming….when it comes to communication. She still has a few months until her second birthday and she’s really starting to chatter. She was a slower talker, at least compared to Princess. I know you should never compare skills such as walking and talking at certain ages because every child acquires these skills at a different age, but when you only have two girls it’s hard not to.

Princess was an early talker. She wasn’t interesting in walking, heck she wasn’t interested in rolling over or anything which required movement. But the girl could talk. Before her first birthday she was speaking in phrases and within months she was speaking in complete sentences. Princess was easy to understand. She annunciated her words well and never really “baby talked”. People that didn’t know her thought she was a lot older than she really was. I’m saying this not so much to brag but to give you some background as to the only standard we have for comparison.

Flower hasn’t really been interested in expressing herself with words. She’s content to point and whine until we give in and play the game of guessing what she wants. I’m sure she enjoys watching us try to figure out exactly what she wants by holding up every item on the table during dinner. I’ve tried to hold out and force her to “tell” me what she wants because I know she can but I always give in. I think its part of what I call the second child syndrome. When you only have one child you have more time to spend dwelling on the details. Once you introduce subsequent children your time diminishes exponentially so you give in more quickly, at least we do.

I also blame some of her opposition to words on sign language. When Princess was a baby we bought the My Baby Can Talk DVD that was suppose to teach your baby to sign which would allow them to express themselves before they were able to talk and eliminate some of the communication gap. Princess learned to talk before we had a chance to learn to sign be she did enjoy the DVD none the less. So I decided to give it another try with Flower. Flower immediately learned how to sign “more” which she used (and we encouraged) extensively. But when we tried to encourage her to ask for things using words rather than signing she refused and would only sign. So that idea backfired on me. I’ve read about how signing can help children talk sooner and increase the size of their vocabulary but in our case it didn’t work that way.

In the last couple months Flower has started babbling and using a few words here and there. Every now and then she’ll put a few words together in what sounds like a phrase and she can mimic you very well when she wants to. She likes to pretend she’s talking to you by mumbling a bunch of sounds really fast and then smiling….kind of like she’s teasing us. She follows directions really well so we know she understands what we’re saying, she just chooses not to indulge us by answering our questions. Flower likes to babble on about something as if we’re having a conversation. I guess we are in some ways. I respond to her babbling and ask her another question to which she responds. If I only knew what was going through that little head. When we try to get her to say something she gets a mischievous glimmer in her eyes and I’m afraid when the time is right she’s going to be quite the little chatterbox.

The other day I was getting ready to take her upstairs for a nap. I told her to head up to her room. She walked over to the stairs, started to climb up and then stopped, as if she forgot to do something. She turned around, walked over to her baby doll that was lying in the middle of the floor, leaned over the doll, pointed her finger at her and babbled some instructions very seriously. I guess it was time for her baby doll to lie down and go to sleep too.

We'll Miss You Ritz

Grandpa's dog Ritz made the unfortunate mistake of crossing the street in front of a car last week. She was a cute little thing and we'll really miss her. We decided it was time to break the news to Princess last night because we're heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving next week and figured Princess might need some time mourn.

As we were finishing dinner last night I looked at Princess and said I had some really sad news. I said Ritz accidentally ran out in the street a few days ago, was hit by a car, and now lives in heaven with God. Princess was really quiet for a minute and said "I'm really going to miss her" and I told her I would miss Ritz too. Then she looked at me and said "You need to tell Flower, she really likes dogs too."

Flower took the news pretty well. She didn't know what we were talking about.

The Grass is Always Greener....

Or in our case the apple is always better when it comes from your sister's bowl. It's snack time (a bad habit we started with Princess but that's another post) and tonight the girls are eating apples. I sliced, quartered, and then halved an apple (Princess prefers her apple in 8 pieces) and then sliced off a few edge pieces for Flower. Flower isn't quite ready for big slices of apples yet so I slice her pieces pretty thin so we can avoid an ugly choking incident.

The girls are sitting around their little table eating their designated apple slices and Flower wants the big slices that Princess is eating. I try to distract Flower but she's not buying it. Princess turns away from her bowl of apples to check out the football game on the TV and Flower sneaks around the table and snags a big apple slice from Princess....without being detected by Princess. There was a very mischievous twinkle in her eye and I'm sure that one slice of apple was the best slice Flower ate all night.

Our Week

Not much new to report. Daddy returning from his annual hunting trip last week so Princess no longer misses her daddy. We had another play date with Homestead last weekend and the kiddos had a blast. It was a cool fall day and they found a lot of mud. I’ll leave it to your imagination as no one had a camera. Princess, Sweet and Tuff (Flower was in the house getting the mud removed from her hands and mouth) decided 40 degrees was the perfect weather to run around the yard barefoot and bury your feet in the sandbox. I can’t help but wonder what effect that little antic had on the cough Princess has had for about a month and is now wet and chesty…..

I had Tuesday off so we made a trip to the dollar store and Target in search of items for a Christmas shoe box project. Every year our church prepares and sends boxes to children in Mexico. I intended to have Princess help me put a box together last year but it didn’t happen so this year we got it done with two weeks to spare before the deadline. Princess did really well picking out items for a little girl who she affectionately refers to as “the little girl”. I thought it would be a good way to teach her about the gift of giving. We followed our list and purchased the basics (undies, socks, t-shirt, hygiene items) and a few fun things like a tiara (every little girls needs a tiara), jump rope, colored pencils, paper, and finished up with some snowman suckers. I only had to remind Princess a couple times that we were shopping for someone else and if she really liked the swimming pool baby doll she would need to add it to her Christmas list. We went home and packed up the box. Princess hadn’t said much about it until last night when I walked in the door and she was sobbing “I wanted some snowman suckers like we sent to ‘the little girl’!” How long has she been thinking about those suckers?

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, Flower isn’t much fun at the dollar store. I don’t go there often and I think it’s because it’s so chaotic. The isles are barely wide enough to meet another cart, the shelves are piled with stuff (I had a better word but I don’t want to lose my G rating), and there doesn’t seem to be much along the lines of organization. I suppose it’s ok if you are just browsing, but when I’m looking for something specific, it’s just too much for my brain to handle. Chaos is NOT my thing. Anyway, as I mentioned the isles are narrow and full of crap. This causes a bored toddler to hang over the side of the cart and grab anything she can get her grubby little paws on….so we came home with a stuffed animal that is either a bull (of the moo-cow variety) or a buffalo….the jury is still out. This time of year at our house the word bull is usually in reference to a male elk.

Yesterday Princess woke up really early and walked into our room just in time to see her daddy walking into the shower….naked. She was still a little sleepy and came downstairs to find me. She looked up at me and said “Mommy, I saw Daddy’s bum and I thought it was you getting in the shower.” Just as I was about to tell her that’s not really a compliment she said “First I thought it was you, but then I thought it (daddy’s bum) was too big so I knew it was Daddy.” Phew! For a minute there I thought I was really going to have to start using that gym membership again.

It Was Our First Play Date Too

Homestead, Sweet and Tuff came out for a play date this week. You can read the synopsis here. It was our first play date too. Princess waited all weekend for Sweet to come visit. We’re not sure exactly what they discussed at the Blackfoot last Friday, but whatever it was, Princess could barely contain her excitement to see Sweet again.

We don’t get together with Homestead nearly as often as we should. We are similar in many ways….which is the main reason we don’t make time to visit. That and geography. We both live a few miles out of town in almost opposite directions so dropping by to say hello isn’t really an option.

The kids had a wonderful time. In fact Princess is still talking about Sweet and Tuff. I guess Homestead and I need to make an effort to “play” more. It’s not the New Year yet, but maybe I’ll make an early resolution to invite Homestead and her family (yes, Hot Stuff is always welcome too) over more than once a year.

What Does It All Mean?

I saw this video at a conference I attended a few months ago and just received the same file from a friend yesterday. I don't normally post about anything besides Princess and Flower but I find the stats very interesting….and sort of scary.

Don't get me wrong, I love technology. It's amazing. I remember the first "computer" class I took in high school and in college. I don't remember anything I learned because as the video says, that information was obsolete before I finished my studies. I barely remember the internet in the 90s and now I can't live without it. My job used to involve multiple people with numerous spreadsheets and now I manage all the data with the help of the internet and a database. I'm not in the IT field….maybe someday I'll pursue another career in that direction because it does interest me. I think about all the possibilities and the things my kids will experience in their lifetime because of technology and it's awesome. However, I can't help to shake the feeling that all the advances in technology are a little frightening as well. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to admit I love texting my family and friends just to say hi. But is too much of a good thing....bad? If things are moving as fast as the video says….what does it all mean?

Daddy Went Hunting

Quotes from our house this week:

• Mommy can I call Daddy?
• I miss Daddy (we’ve heard this one about a million times).
• I don’t like folding Daddy’s socks when he’s gone.
• Mommy can I call Daddy?
• I like Daddy more than pizza (this one is my personal favorite so far).
• Daddy didn’t kill anything yet (no comment....that's another post).
• I forgot what Daddy looks like (he’s only been gone for 3 days).
• Mommy can I call Daddy?

In case you can’t tell, Princess will be happy when Daddy gets home.

What’s a Snow Princess?

Princess was a snow princess for Halloween. I thought her costume choice was quite appropriate. Initially both Princess and Flower were going to be Disney princesses since, well; we own most of the dresses already. I was happy about this because it meant I’d get off cheep this year. Then I made the colossal mistake of letting Princess see the costume section at Target and her eyes lit up when she spotted the snow princess costume….and I have to admit….it was totally her.

So one snow princess and one pumpkin costume later, we were set. Halloween arrived and I didn’t think anyone would know what Princess was….I’ve never heard of a snow princess. My search of wikipedia and came up dry. Then I asked my co-workers and one of them vaguely remembered a fairy tale about a snow princess. So I went to google and according to amazon.com there is a Russian folktale based on the Tchaikovsky opera-ballet The Snow Princess. Who knew? Apparently most people we saw on Halloween because everyone knew she was a snow princess.

Halloween is Upon Us

Are you ready? So far this week we’ve gave the costumes a dress rehearsal, hung the ghost and pumpkin lights in the front window, and carved pumpkins. I have a giant leftover bag of candy from Princess’s birthday. I think we’re ready.

So far the weather seems to be cooperating. In this neck of the woods Halloween usually comes with freezing temperatures so costumes with fur and hoods are usually a safe bet. The forecast for tomorrow is in the 60s so we’ll see. Our downtown merchants have treats for the kids in the afternoon so I’m hoping to take advantage of that and get some of the trick-or-treating out of the way early.

Princess is excited. She remembers Halloween from past years. She knows the amount of candy she will rake in tomorrow. Flower is clueless. Up until this point in her life her candy consumption has been minimal so I’m not sure how she’ll do when faced with a plastic orange pumpkin full of sugary treats. I can see her sitting on the curb shoving it in as fast as her little hands will go….wrappers and all.

I’m hoping for healthy kids. Last year and the previous year Princess was sick and running a fever at Halloween. Nothing serious, just a little virus and she was still in a fairly good mood so we took her to the homes in our neighborhood. If she’s not sick this year Daddy may have a more difficult time convincing her that it’s time to come home. I’m glad I get to man the door and hand out the treats at our house.

Rock Hard Music

Princess is a dancer so we regularly have the stereo on so she can glide around the room. Currently she prefers a cd of lullabies which is nice and soothing….great after a long day of work. She must have been perusing our cd collection, which is very outdated since we haven't bought a cd in years….at least 5 years, maybe more since we almost exclusively listen to XM radio….and she must have come across some of our 80s hair band cds. So she's sitting on the toilet the other night (that's another post) and she says to me "Mama, do you know what kind of music my daughter likes?" (Side note: Princess has two daughters who are ALWAYS doing bad thing….interestingly the exact same things she gets in trouble for….) Anyway, I said no, what kind of music does she like, to which Princess replied "Rock Hard Music!" I said "Really?", and she said, "Yes, do you know what it sounds like?" so of course I had to find out what rock hard music sounds like, and Princess scrunched up her nose and eyebrows and started making this deep pounding bump-a-bump-a-bump noise.

Do you suppose Princess will have the same aversion to rock hard music in 10 years?

Poo, Poo, and More Poo

Another post about sick kids. We had a fun weekend at our house. Daycare was closed last Thursday and Friday so Grandma came to stay and babysit…..just in time for the poo-party. Flower seemed to be having a few “issues” Wednesday night but I thought she probably ate more than her fair share of fruit that week because she’ll do that if you let her. Thursday things were a little questionable and I thought she might be coming down with a little stomach bug. Friday she had a check-up so I ran my theory by our doctor and he confirmed that a GI tract bug was going around and she would be better in 24-48 hours. So we took it easy and stayed close to home.

There was a lull in the action Saturday and I mistakenly took it as Flower was feeling better so we headed to town for some shopping and pizza. Let’s just say we didn’t get much shopping done and dinner wasn’t very relaxing because Flower took a turn for the worse right after we ordered pizza. Home we went and back to the bath….or sink as the case may be. Flower’s little bum was pretty red from all the activity and scrubbing so I was soaking her in the kitchen sink with baking soda in the water. Let’s just say the giant box of baking soda I thought would last for months only made it about a week. But if you are dealing with some serious diaper rash I highly suggest a baking soda bath.

Sunday morning Nana and Papa picked Princess up for church because I didn’t think it wise to take Flower out….oh, did I mention Daddy went hunting last weekend….yeah, flying solo in the parent department, thank goodness for Grandma…..but Grandma had to leave early Sunday morning. So far Flower was doing well and Daddy called to say he was on his way home (4 hours away) around 10:30 am. I brought him up to speed on our weekend and told him to hurry; I was tired of changing diapers. Just as I was ending the call, Flower gave me the “look” and grabbed her diaper. The poo was back….with a vengeance.

We cleaned and soaked her little bum and I headed down to the laundry to get some clean clothes from the dryer. I was having a hard time keeping up with the laundry at this point. I dressed Flower and grabbed the basked of clean clothes and took it upstairs to fold. I went back downstairs to see what Flower was doing and she wanted me to pick her up. I carried her upstairs and when I put her down my arm was wet. Seriously. So, back upstairs we headed for another round of cleaning and soaking. Oh, and the smell. I’ve never smelled anything so horrible. Through it all though Flower was a trooper. She wasn’t too fussy. She never got a fever or anything, just the runs….in the form of a marathon.

Flower is all better now. Her appetite came back on Monday and she practically ate us out of house and home. Now I’m just waiting for Princess to start vomiting…. By the way, if you have trouble getting a little one to drink pedialyte, try buying the unflavored stuff and mixing a small packet of their favorite jello with it. Flower drank an entire bottle of cherry jello pedialyte and let’s just say we had some colorful diapers….

Still Here

Just another week around here. Princess picked up a little bug somewhere and spent Sunday and Monday on the couch with a fever. We made a trip to the doctor and ruled out strep.

The physical therapist we saw over two months ago to evaluate Flower's walking skills finally called to say the inserts had arrived. A little background. At Flower's 15 month check up I told her doctor I didn't think she was walking as well as she should be at that age.....as if I really knew how well she should be walking.....anyway, her doctor agreed but since she had only been walking for a month we decided to give her another month to see if things improved.

After a month, she was walking much better but still turning one foot out slightly. It was barely noticeable, but sometimes she would catch the side of her foot and fall flat on her face. Luckily she didn't take any big spills, but when she ran on concrete or equally hard surfaces I was a nervous wreck. So we went to see a physical therapist for a professional opinion. The PT agreed, she did turn her foot out slightly, and recommended inserts for her shoes which should fix the problem almost immediately. Ten weeks later they are finally here. Of course Flower's walking has also improved and she doesn't fall down nearly as much as she did two months ago....but we'll try them out anyway. Better to be safe than sorry.

Tumbling It Is

So dance class was a bust. Princess decided it wasn't her thing. After spending 10 minutes in the waiting area with the other mothers I decided it wasn't my thing either. So I called the dance studio and told them we wouldn't be attending tonight.

One of Princess' friends at daycare takes tumbling so I asked Princess if she would like to try tumbling with L. She thought that sounded good, especially when she found out tumbling does not require tights. We went tonight and it was a hit. Princess informed me she would like to go to tumbling every night!

I'll post more details later but right now I'm just happy to report Princess is happy. Yeah!

We Did It!

Just in case you were waiting with bated breath....I wanted to let you know the cake turned out great! Princess loved it and is still trying to figure out where exactly the cake is. We'll wait to lift her skirt up until tonight.

Wish Us Luck

Princess had a lovely birthday. Pizza, rice crispie treat cake, and gifts with her Nana and Great Grandma (and us of course). Tomorrow is the big bash at a local kiddie attraction for all her friends. Her aunt and uncle from Denver are flying in late tonight for the occasion. After the party we're having dinner with the family at Nana and Papa's house and we are in charge of the cake.

Princess is all about Barbie and princesses these days so what could be better than a Barbie birthday cake. It sounded like a good idea last week, but after I've made two trips to a cake decoration store, spent $30 and found a lovely picture online to copy http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/barbie-cakes.html#Barbie23, I'm a little apprehensive. Her daddy and I made a pretty awesome candy land cake last year so we have a reputation to uphold. I hope this doesn't flop. Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Today is Princess' 4th birthday. It never ceases to amaze me how fast they grow up. I remember when I was expecting Princess, the most common words of advice I received were "Enjoy them while they are little, they grow up fast" and I underestimated the truth in that statement. It seems like just yesterday we brought this tiny, helpless baby home from the hospital and our lives changed immensely. No more lounging around on the weekends and staying up late watching movies. We had a baby to take care of and activities we use to enjoy took a back seat to Princess.



Now we have Flower who loves her big sister and mimics Princess' every move. They sing, they dance, they chase each other around the house and feed the dog way too many treats. They seem to be friends and I hope they grow up to be the best of friends.



Today finds me feeling a bit nostalgic, or even sad. Being a mom of only 4 years I still consider myself somewhat of a novice. This is only my 5th birthday so maybe it will get easier to see them grow up but I have a feeling it won't. Princess isn't a baby anymore, some days I think she's started adolescence with her attitude. I already miss the baby stuff. Then again Princess is an incredibly sweet and considerate little girl when she wants to be and I thoroughly enjoy every moment. Luckily Flower is still little but I know she'll be going to school before I know it. I know we have lots of things to look forward to….heck, there's a lot of shopping that will need to be done….but today part of me misses my babies.

Dancing Queen

I'm glad nobody is reading this because I haven't posted anything in the last two weeks. We haven't done anything exciting, but it seems we're always busy.

Flower's head healed quite nicely. She didn't enjoy the staple removal, but the nurse was quick and the cut looks great. Even if it leaves a scar her hair will cover it up so no worries. Flower is also teething. Again. She's been up a lot at night so hopefully her molar will make an appearance soon so we can all get some sleep.

Princess started dance class two weeks ago and it's not going as well as I'd hoped. She loves to dance. She dances everywhere. Around the house. At the grocery store. Anywhere, especially if there is music. If there is no music she sings as she glides around the room. So I thought, dance class, she'll love it. Boy was I wrong….very, very, wrong. I'm not sure exactly where things went bad, but the other night Princess informed us she was never, ever going back to the dance studio. End of discussion.

I knew it would be an uphill battle due to Princess's aversion to tights, and leotards, and ballet slippers, all of which are meant to fit snugly and she is all about loose fitting apparel. But, when she saw all the other little girls dancing around the room she put on her leotard and tights (the slippers were not part of the deal) and went into class. She wouldn't join the class, which was in the middle of stretching, but I figured getting dressed was a good start. About ten minutes into class she leaned over and said, "Mommy, I'm not going to dance until they turn on the music" and she wasn't joking. As soon as the teacher started the music she got up and join the class. She danced around the room grinning from ear to ear. I smiled too.

Last week didn't go as well. To make a long story short, there were a couple little girls in the class who didn't want to participate and unfortunately we were stuck next to them in the hall. After a few seconds of pleading to go home and some loud sobbing from another little girl, Princess was beginning to have second thoughts as well. We went into class and Princess almost let me leave the room (parents are suppose to watch from the viewing window), but the sobbing from the other little girl worried her and she decided to sit it out again. Princess was interested in class and was stretching on the floor next to me for a while, but eventually quit because she couldn't hear the teacher's instructions over the sobbing from the little girl and prodding from the other mother. I was starting to feel bad for the little girl because she was clearly not going to dance class that night, and her mother was not getting it.

Finally, after a good ten minutes of crying, the teacher told the mothers she had to close the door, which meant we had to leave the room. Princess panicked and clung to my arm so we went home…..danceless. Princess cried most of the way home and never wants to go back. I'm disappointed. I know she would enjoy dance class immensely if she would just give it a try. I understand her angst. I'm the exact same way in some situations. I prefer to learn by example. I don't blame her for wanting to watch class for a minute before joining. Now my task is to figure how what to do this week. I don't want to push her because she doesn't respond well to being forced into things; I've learned that lesson in the past. On the other hand, I don't want to give up too easily. Maybe I should just cut my losses….or maybe I'll give it one more try. This week dance class is on her 4th birthday. I might bribe her with a trip to Dairy Queen if she'll just go watch the class one more time before we drop out. There's always next year, right?

A Quick Trip to the ER

Just a quick post to let you know I haven't given up on this blog yet. It's been busy around here. My sister and 9 week old niece from Arizona paid us a visit last week so we've been gone a lot. We're all exhausted so I hope things settle down soon. I'll post some photos of the girls soon.

In other news, Flower made her first visit to the Emergency Room (we actually went to the new Urgent Care, which are the exact same place....the only difference I found was my insurance co-pay.....$15 for Urgent Care and $50 for the ER but they are located in the exact same place....same registration desk.....same everything....go figure) today. She took a fall at daycare as soon as I dropped her off this morning and cut the back of her head open. Two staples later she's as good as new. The little trooper only cried once....when I had to pry the sucker out of her sticky little hand to put her coat on to leave. Ouch!

The Train Ride That Wasn't

Let me start by saying I will get to introductions in a bit, but right now I'm going to jump right in with a little story from last weekend.

Big, see previous photo, loves trains. Last summer we rode a little tour train and it was a big hit. The town we live in also has a tour train which is a nice ride, from what I've heard, so all summer I've wanted to take the girls on the tour train around town. Last Sunday we decided to pack a picnic lunch and take a ride on the train. I missed one small detail on the brochure. Closed Sundays. Luckily we didn't tell Big our plans, so she wasn't disappointed. Instead we promised her a tour of the state capitol building.

A few weeks ago I came up with a brilliant idea. Every summer I would bring the girls to the Capitol and take their picture on the front lawn by the flowers (they are different every year and thought it would be a nice chronological history). So we set the girls in the flower bed and started clicking. See the two little girls below the O and above the 2? That's my girls holding very still for the picture. Actually, there were bees all over the flowers and they were too frightened to move....but hey, it's a good picture!

After the photo op we headed for the Capitol. We practically had the entire place to ourselves, it being Sunday afternoon, and Big couldn't help but ask "Mommy, are we supposed to be in here?". We made our way to the back corner to check out the House Chambers and the cool green chairs. Little wasn't thrilled....but Big was.

We followed the Capitol up with a trip to the dump (always fun for all) and Dairy Queen. What else could you ask for on a hot August afternoon?

*Please note, the photos aren't exactly where I wanted them but I can't figure out how to edit my posts and I'm tired so it will have to wait for another day.

That Wasn't Too Painful

First post done. Check that off my list of things to do before I die. Actually, it wasn't too hard at all. Maybe I'll start this little adventure off with some more photos from last weekend. Stay tuned.....

Here we go.....

Welcome to my blog. I finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog. I envision it will be dedicated to the girls but you never know where it might lead.

So for now, hello, and here's a photo to get you started.