Goodbye 2009

Since I have been terrible at posting lately I thought I'd jump online and say farewell to 2009! Happy New Year to everyone and I'll post more next year. That statement probably jinxed me.

Here are a few things that have kept us busy during the past week:

1. Christmas Eve activities - baking cookies, decorating a gingerbread house, candlelight church service.
   
2. Christmas - Santa was very good to us.
3. Pink eye - Flower's Christmas gift to us.
4. Knee surgery - Keilie dog blew her knee out Christmas day. We saw our vet yesterday for x-rays and have a consult with a surgeon on Monday.
5. Trip to the northland to visit Grandma and Grandpa - with the pink eye kid and limping dog.
6. Desperately trying to find new homes for all the wonderful presents we received.
7. Great grandparents - the girls have five greats, one fell off a stool and broke some ribs yesterday and another one had a minor heart attack. I'm happy to report only one is in the hospital, due to be released tomorrow and the other is home resting.
   

'Tis the Season

December is half over. Only ten days until Christmas. I’m not done with my Christmas shopping. I’m still trying to figure out where the last 15 days went.

In case you are wondering what we have been up to (I’ve been a slacker, heck I almost forgot the password to my blog!), here it goes: craft/bake sale at Princess’s school; holiday open house at Dear Husband’s office; holiday skating party; festival of trees to see Santa; practice for Christmas program at church; homeowners association meeting; church membership meeting; DH’s office Christmas party; special movie night with a friend; sledding/tree hunting; and the church Christmas program.

This week we have a Christmas party and program at school. Then I think we may be done. Now to get on the shopping, wrapping, decorating, and baking. Ho, ho, ho!

Just Pretend

We are still working on potty training Flower. It's a long story.

After dinner tonight Flower was sitting on the couch next to Dear Husband. Her diaper looked a little saggy so I asked DH to check it.


Dear Husband Flower, are you wet?

Flower No, I dry.

Dear Husband Are you sure you're dry, you look wet?

Flower Just pretend I dry.

Progress Report

Princess received her first progress report at school this week. As I read through it I forgot all the "little" things children are graded on in the early years. The progress report consists of a hundred lines of very small print and lots of Rs (Regularly), Ss (Sometimes) and Ns (Not Yet). I'm not the kind of parent to get worked up over progress reports....at least I'm trying not to be....but we had a lot of Rs and a few Ss so I think Princess is doing well.

I sat in the parking lot reading the report Monday morning. Thinking I was done I turned to the back page and had to laugh. Mrs. F sure has Princess figured out. Her final comment was this:

"Princess is my little Mom and could easily take over my job. She is very serious, listens, and takes in everything. She can play as hard as anyone when given the chance. She always tries her hardest."

When you thought I wasn't looking

I had a long day at work and my brain is not capable of composing something interesting right now. Instead I'll share an email my father-in-law sent us today. I thought it was something worth sharing...especially for those of you with children.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my

favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'

I AM SENDING THIS TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I KNOW
WHO DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS,
BUT THINK THAT NO ONE EVER SEES.
LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT.

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend)
influences the life of a child.

How will you touch the life of someone today? Just by
sending this to someone else, you will probably make
them at least think about their influence on others.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.


Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

Here Comes the Sun

The Princess pick of the week Here Comes the Sun.

Sprouts

About a month ago, or maybe longer, we brought some peas home from Nana's garden. They were shelled in a plastic baggie. We put them in the crisper drawer and forgot about them. You'll see where I'm going with this in a minute.

Last weekend I was rummaging through the crisper drawer looking for a veggie to accompany our pb&j sandwiches for lunch. I grabbed a bag of carrots and discovered the peas.

The peas were a bit moldy and many of them had sprouted. Normally I would have thrown them out, but the day before Princess brought home a book she made at school about a boy who planted pumpkin seeds which sprouted, grew vines, flowered, and grew pumpkins...or something like that.

When I saw the sprouts on the peas I got out the book and we read it again. When Princess got to the page about the sprouts I showed her the sprouts on the peas. We discussed how the seeds sprout, grow plants, flowers, etc. Then we decided to leave the peas in the fridge for a while and see how much they would grow. I should also add Flower was sitting right next to Princess at the counter and was party to the entire conversation.

Last night we were watching TV and Flower was in the fridge. I heard her open the crisper drawer but didn't think much of it. I asked her to get out of the fridge so she shut the door and walked over to the living room...with a mouth full of sprouted peas. That kid will eat anything.

Huh?

We went to a Halloween gathering at Princess’s school Saturday before trick-or-treating. The event was hosted by the church and many members of the congregation were there. Since we are members of another church I don’t know many people besides those who also work or volunteer at the school.

I have yet to meet the church’s pastor. I have probably seen him at different functions and didn’t know it. There was a friendly man at the party on Saturday so on the way home I asked Princess if he was the pastor. She said he wasn’t. I was still curious about the pastor so I asked Princess how old she thought he was. Dear Husband rolled his eyes and reminded me I just asked a 5 year old to estimate the age of a man she barely knows.

DH had a valid point so I rephrased my question. I asked Princess, “Does Pastor M look like a daddy or a grandpa?” I thought it was an easy question. She often refers to men in their 50s as grandpas. Princess thought for a moment and said, “He looks like an uncle.” Hmmmm, I had not considered that option.

Happy Halloween!

We're done trick-or-treating for another year. The girls are shoveling the candy in as I type. I'm trying to decide if we should just let them eat it all right now and put them to bed when the sugar coma hits, or make them save some candy for the rest of the year.

Princess went as a doctor and Flower was an elephant. Flower has been telling everyone we've seen (including strangers on the street) for the past week "I a erwa-phant".



We carved pumpkins last night. Dear Husband pulled a fist full of pumpkin guts out and moved his hand towards Princess who immediately shrieked and began to cry. DH didn't meant to freak her out so he told her it was just a vegetable. Flower looked at her and said "Yeah, no cry Princess, it just a vegetable!"

Finally, we had a photo session outside in the wind today so I thought I'd post a couple pictures.




Oh yeah, don't forget to set your clocks back an hour tonight....unless your Auntie C!

Sometimes He Has a One Track Mind

Dear Husband got home from his hunting trip last night. He got a nice 6x6 bull and he is very proud of it. We had to take a pickup to town this morning so the girls and I followed DH to town so he could drop off the pickup.

DH then did the morning drop off circuit in reverse. My office, Princess's school, Flower to daycare. Since I didn't have a vehicle at work DH had to pick up Princess after school and take her to daycare. I called him to make sure he didn't get sidetracked. He said he was on his way so I asked him how the drop off went this morning. He began telling me it went fine and they didn't care about the extra meat, at which point I went, huh? Then he realized we were talking about different drop offs....I was asking about the girls and he was talking about his elk.

Sometimes I forgot his world revolves around hunting this time of year :)

Our Annual Tradition

Today is opening day for big game rifle season. Dear Husband embarked on his annual week long hunting trip with Papa, Uncle B, and a family friend. It’s a small crew this year. Papa has been taking this trip for years. I’m not sure of the exact number of years, but I think it’s pushing 30.

The guys look forward to their trip every year. I’ve never minded a week to myself but apparently Flower is opposed to DH going hunting. This is the second year in a row she has had a little intestinal bug when DH was hunting. In case you forgot, go read this.

Princess missed her daddy Friday night at bedtime but she seems to have moved on. She hasn’t given me any good one-liners like she did last year. http://pinkis4girls.blogspot.com/2008/11/daddy-went-hunting.html

So rather than going to church this morning we’re watching cartoons and drawing pictures. Flower’s tummy seems to be better this morning but with all the junk going around right now I thought we should probably stay home rather than pass our bug around the nursery at church.

Speaking of all the stuff going around right now, I’m not sure what to think about the flu pandemic. We all got our seasonal flu shots. Flower is in the first group for the H1N1 vaccine but we missed the clinic last week because of bad information on the health department website and hot line. I’ve never visited our health department website until this year. So far I’m not impressed.

Last week I was a little concerned about the flu virus. I am trying not to buy in to the media frenzy even though 3 teachers at Princess’s school have the swine flu and four of her classmates were absent all week. We are trying to be vigilant about washing our hands, coughing in our elbows and following the other preventative measures.

Then I sit down with my coffee and the paper yesterday morning and see this. 6-year-old died from H1N1 A perfectly healthy child, no underlying medical conditions. I know the statistics, the flu (any strain) is serious and healthy people die from it every year. But it is just not fair. My thoughts and prayers are with the family who lost their son.

Breakfast Chitchat

Princess is having her first fire drill at school next week. Her teacher asked us to talked to her about what to do if there is a fire in our house. We've discussed it before. We have a meeting spot across the street. Princess seems to know what to do.

At breakfast this morning Princess explain to Flower what to do if there is a fire at night. She told Flower if the fire was outside her bedroom door they would keep the door shut, open the window, and yell for help while they pushed the screen out and crawled out on to the roof. Then they would wait for someone to help them down from the roof.

Flower listened intently and then looked at Princess and said in her most serious voice, "OK, I can do that." I think she was serious (for a change), but you never know with that little joker.

A Co-Worker Told Me This Today....

....regarding an IT issue.

Turns out the underlying problem is that it is a computer and people are trying to make it do something logical - at least to them. Not necessarily to the computer. Kind of like herding cats - it is theoretically possible, but not really worth trying to do.

This is one of those classic "tech" problems that can be analyzed according to the "syllable test":

cus-tom-i-za-tion = 5 syllables = bad
de-fault = 2 syllables = good

Nuff said.

Status Report

It has been so long since I posted I almost forgot my password. Not a good sign. So you are probably wondering what we have been doing and why I have not let you in on it.

Truth is, we have been staying home, laying low, and it has been lovely.

The Princess Birthday Weekend Bash took a lot out of us. We spent the following week recovering. I did not clean anything because I was just plain tired of cleaning. According to Dear Husband I went a bit overboard trying to keep the house in order while we had guests and he is probably right. It is a bad habit I need to work on.

Last weekend started Thursday when I picked Princess up from school. She had a tummy ache and with all the bugs going around I wasn't sure if she was sick or not. We headed home for the afternoon and after a long nap she was better. Friday evening we attended a fund raiser at school. The dinner was awesome (roast pig, twice baked potatoes, pineapple upside-down cake) and we bid on a few items at the silent auction. There were so many items to bid on it was a little overwhelming but I think the fund raiser was successful and we enjoyed the evening.

Saturday we ran errands and had a movie night. Sunday we went to church. Princess had school Monday but DH and I were off so Flower and I stayed home and DH went fishing. The weather has been cold lately so I am going in to winter mode; staying home and cooking meals in the crock pot.

This week flew by. The weather is back to normal fall temperatures. DH has hunting on the brain. I am waiting for a load of laundry to dry so I can fold it and through it in a bag for the weekend. After lunch we are headed north to R-town for the weekend. We haven't been up in months and DH has an antelope tag which must be filled.

That's it. Pretty boring, I know. If DH has a successful hunt this weekend maybe I'll post a photo of his antelope and see if I can get some nasty comments from some animal right activists:)

Flower’s Bed

Flower has spent five nights in her “new” bed and hasn't rolled out yet. This morning around 1:30 AM she did start crying. I woke Dear Husband to go check on her. I thought she had finally fallen out of her bed.

Turns out she hit her head on the aquarium instead. The aquarium I bought for Princess when she was an infant and wouldn’t sleep. The aquarium which has not worked for almost a year because the batteries are dead. The aquarium which we will take off and box up for future nieces and nephews tonight.

Flower

Last weekend we decided to convert Flower’s crib into a daybed. Actually, convert probably isn’t the correct word. We didn’t bother to purchase the guardrail for the bed; we just put pillows on the floor so when she rolls out of bed her landing will be cushioned.

We have been talking about moving Flower to a regular bed for some time now. Flower will be three this spring and Auntie A will need the crib….she’ll need two cribs actually, but that’s her problem :)

I have been reluctant to give Flower the freedom to get out of bed at night, fearful of what she might get into before I hear her. Flower always needs something during the night. A drink of water, a different blanket, woof-woof, a Kleenex…you name it, she will think of it. My personal favorite was a couple weeks ago when she called for me to come in her room around 4:30 AM. Dear Husband was just getting up so he went in to check on her. A moment later he returns to our bedroom and tells me Flower wanted us to know she bumped her head and she’s ok. Thanks for the update kiddo.

Saturday night DH took Flower upstairs to start her bedtime routine. She hasn’t been allowing DH to get her ready for bed lately so he was trying to make her happy. All of the sudden I hear squealing and Flower is running around upstairs screaming about a big girl bed. I’m surprised she didn’t need a new pull-up after the excitement was over.

It has been two nights and Flower has not gotten out of bed, at night anyway. She did try to get up from her nap after about ten minutes yesterday. As I’m writing this I just realized that the light was on in her room this morning and the blanket I covered her up with last night was hanging on the end of her bed so she must have gotten up during the night. If she came out of her bedroom I didn’t hear her. Now I’m wondering what else she was up to last night. I think I’ll have Keilie-dog sleep outside Flower’s door tonight.

Another Birthday in the Books

We survived another birthday weekend. Princess is five. We are all still recovering. It was a busy weekend but it was great to see everyone.

Princess summed it up pretty well Sunday night. As I was tucking her in to bed she looked at me and said, "Mom, we need three days to stay home and not do anything." I totally agree. I considered calling in sick on Monday but Flower is still fighting her cold so I am counting the days until we will be home sick.

I'm sitting here eating a piece of leftover birthday cake and trying to think of something witty to say. It's not working so I think I'll just post some pictures and go to bed.

Hump Day

Last Wednesday Princess heard someone say it was hump day so I had to explain to her what they meant. Here it is, Wednesday again and the week is going by so fast I thought I better check in. I don't have much to say because my brain is full of lists. The grocery list, the party list, the to do list....

Princess turns five on Friday. I can't believe it's been five years. I know I'll be saying the same thing five years from now but time really flies once you have kids.

As usual, we're having a birth-weekend instead of a birth-day. Auntie A is flying in late tomorrow night and Grandma L is driving down tomorrow night as well. The rest of the family will roll up throughout the weekend. We're planning a family dinner Friday night, party for Princess and her friends Saturday afternoon, and another family dinner on Sunday. I'll let you know how it goes next week.

Dead Deer

Princess is enjoying pre-k very much. This week they are learning about the letter B. Our homework assignment is to make a list of birds we see in our yard. Unfortunately our trees are not large enough to support many birds so our list is short.

Last night we saw a killdeer and a couple other birds. As I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner tonight I told Princess and Flower to go look for more birds. Princess walked over to the patio door, looked out and said "There's a dead deer." It took me a moment to realize she meant killdeer....

Day One

Our first day of pre-k was a success. Princess had a fabulous time. Dear Husband and I dropped her off this morning and she gave us each a hug, or two, or three (she was stalling), and then she let us go with barely a lower lip quiver. We just kept walking and by the time we got to the parking lot we could see her checking out the play kitchen.

Surprisingly I wasn't sad at all. I was almost excited as Princess because I know she is going to have a lot of fun. When I picked her up at lunch to drive her to daycare I asked her how she liked school. She told me it was a lot of fun. Then she thought for a minute and said "The first couple minutes were a little rough, but then it was good."

YNP

We’re home. We got home last night around suppertime. We unloaded the pickup, started the laundry, unpacked everything (except Dear Husband’s duffel bag which is another post), gave the girls a bath, and made smores before bedtime. It was the perfect way to end a vacation in my opinion.

The weekend was fabulous. The girls loved the hotel. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Flower asked, “Where are we going? The hotel?” She wasn’t thrilled to be home last night. Princess wants to live at a hotel. I’m not sure what their favorite part was, the swimming pool or staying up past their bedtime and eating popcorn in bed.

Yellowstone was busy, but not as bad as I thought it would be for a major holiday weekend. There was a lot of traffic but it was due to a road closure because of a construction project on a major road. We didn’t see many animals this trip, the usual big game….but no moose or bear this time. Princess was tired of buffalo after the first day.

The nice lady who took our reservations kept her word. We had a bear peeking in the window of our room. It was little disconcerting the first morning I looked out to check the weather without my glasses. The girls loved him however.

Princess wanted to go hiking so we found a couple short trailers filled with squirrels. Flower is the best bear repellant you can get. She talks or sings the entire time. At one point she was yelling “Squirrel, where are you?” over and over and over. Hiking also meant Flower got to ride in the “pack-pack”. She loves the pack-pack, who can blame her? She has the best view and never gets tired. I’m not sure I can say the same for Daddy since Flower has a hard time keeping her hands to herself.


Today includes laundry and a short trip to town for some school shopping. Princess starts pre-k tomorrow and I haven’t really bought her any school clothes. I don’t think she really needs any, but I’m going to use this opportunity to see if I can convince her to wear some pants or skirts….anything but the same three pairs of shorts and t-shirts she has been wearing all summer. Wish me luck!

Weekend Plans

Labor Day Weekend. The last weekend before summer is officially over. Anyone have plans? We didn't until yesterday. Now we're going to Yellowstone National Park with millions of other tourists.

Dear Husband and I are both planners. Me more so, but he has been known to make a few lists of his own. We talked about taking a road trip this weekend earlier in summer but didn't make any arrangements.

I was dragging my feet because I'm trying to save a little money since we'll have another monthly expense when Princess starts pre-k next week. DH finally had a free weekend so he wanted to get out of town.

We talked Nana and Papa into watching Keilie dog. I reserved one of the last hotel rooms in West Yellowstone. The lady on the phone promised me a bear outside our window. I'll post photos next week.

Buckleberry Diversion

It was supposed to be a fishing trip. We headed out Saturday morning with the poles and lunch in the cooler. Dear Husband wanted to take the girls fishing. He found a lake up in the mountains about an hour and a half from home. We got a late start and figured the campground would be full on a beautiful Saturday morning in August.

We were surprised to find the campground empty less one couple that was occupying the only decent spot. We doused ourselves in bug repellant and ate lunch. DH baited the poles with worms and we headed for the lake.

It was a beautiful little lake tucked up in the mountains, the only problem being 95% of the shore is private property and the water is about a foot deep on the 5% you can access from the campground. So DH hiked out into the lake to cast a few times because Flower want to go “fissin”. Princess reeled her line in a couple times before she realized there was a gross and disgusting worm on the end of it. After that she decided it was more fun to search for pretty rocks in the water.

After about 10 minutes of “fissin” it was evident we were not going to catch anything. We decided to pack it in and head for home. Maybe find a milkshake or ice cream cone along the way. There was more than one road to this lake and at the junction we decided to take the other way back to town. As we were driving along DH and I spotted some wild raspberry bushes that weren’t in season. Then we spotted the huckleberry bushes.

DH stopped and we jumped out and picked a handful. The girls thought the huckleberries were delicious. We continued down the road looking for more bushes. We found another little spot to pull off so we stopped and picked more. Flower kept yelling “Buckleberries, more buckleberries!” DH picked a few cups of berries while the girls and I ate whatever we could find. By the time we were done Flower had a purple ring around her mouth. We all had purple hands.

We finally hit the road again with a tupperware full of huckleberries to snack on. We skipped the milkshakes because the berries were much better. Princess is already making plans to return next year with buckets for everyone. No one even remembered we didn’t catch a fish.

Drawing a Blank

I can't think of a title for this post. I'm tired. We're tired. I'm sick. We're sick. None of those sound remotely interesting. Accurate, but not interesting.

Last week the girls had vacation bible school every night so we were exhausted from late nights by the time Friday rolled around. Dear Husband picked up a nasty cold again so he was miserable all week and still is.

Last Friday DH had a major event at work. You can see it here. The girls and I got up before the sun and went to watch from a friend's house. Flower is still talking about the "Tacks falling mama, the tacks falling!"

Two AM Sunday morning Flower woke up and puked all over herself and her bed. DH and I cleaned everything up and Flower assured us she was fine and wanted to go back to bed. I should have known better. I crawled back in bed and didn't get the covers pulled up before she was screaming again. Round two and another set of sheets and blankets. By some miracle Princess didn't pick up the bug but I've felt a little off all week so I'm afraid I was unable to avoid it.

And finally, our biggest news. We got a piano yesterday. I have looked all over the internet and cannot find a photo if a similar piano so I guess I'll have to post one myself. A former co-worker is moving out of state next week and she was looking for a good home for their piano. They didn't want to move it and the used piano market is not so good right now. They figured if they were just going to give it away they wanted to give it to someone they liked. We were those lucky people.

The girls love it. I remembered I can play. Not well, but I can. I bought a few books and I've been plunking away. I'm not sure Princess is old enough for lessons yet but we'll see.

Now I Understand

I was craving a glass of iced tea yesterday afternoon so I jumped in my pickup and headed to McDonald's. Where else can you get a huge glass of brewed iced tea (not that disgusting fountain stuff posing as iced tea) for $1?

I pulled on to the one-way street next to my office at the same time a lady pulled on from the mall parking lot. I needed to get in the left lane and so I slowed to a crawl waiting for her to accelerate so I could change lanes. She went a few yards down the street and stopped eight car lengths behind the car waiting at the stop light in front of her....leaving me hanging in the middle of the street still trying to switch lanes.

I don't think she even noticed I was two inches from her bumper. As I was cursing her in my head I saw her license plate frame. "I can do anything....I'm the mother of 3 girls!" Ok, so I'll cut her some slack.

She Lost It!

Princess lost her tooth today. It fell out during snack time while she was eating an apple. She is contemplating waiting until tomorrow night to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy because she wants to show Nana first. We'll see what she decides.

In the mean time, she wanted to show the world the empty spot in her mouth where her first adult tooth will soon reside.



Flower wanted to show you her teeth as well.

This Just In….

....Princess has a loose tooth!

As the girls were brushing their teeth this morning Princess told me her tooth hurt. I asked her which one and she pointed to one of the bottom teeth and said it felt like it had a hook on it. Upon further inspection I noticed a gap between it and the next tooth. A gap that was not there yesterday. I touched her tooth, not expecting it to wiggle, and it did. A lot.

I was completely unprepared to discuss the tooth fairy this morning. I thought I had another year to plan my story and in true Princess fashion she had a ton of questions. I’m thinking Princess might join her Auntie A in the same profession because she has some attorney-like qualities. I explain to Princess that when her tooth falls out she should keep it so we can put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. As we were leaving the house Princess looked at me and said "Maybe I should take a snack bag with me just in case." That's my little planner.

For me this means my baby isn’t a baby anymore. According to Princess this means she is a big kid now. Princess is so excited about her loose tooth she can hardly stand it. It's bedtime now and the tooth is still hanging in there, not by much, but it's hanging in. I think the tooth fairy has one more day to prepare.

The Potty Training Saga Continues

In case you are wondering how Flower is doing with the potty training I thought I'd post a quick update. I chickened out on panties for Flower on Saturday. I had too many things to do and not enough time to wash a car seat. Flower donned her pretty pink princess pull-ups instead and the girls and I headed to town for a morning of shopping. We visited the restroom in every store we shopped, sometimes twice, and Flower stayed dry all morning.

I took the girls to a birthday party Saturday afternoon. It was an outside party with kiddie pools, sprinklers, and a slip-n-slide…a really cool slip-n-slide I might add. I have a post on slip-n-slides bouncing around in my head but I'll save it for another day. Anyway, I put Flower in a little swimmer because I don’t trust her. I’d hate to make that kind of a memory at a birthday party. I couldn’t tell if Flower stayed dry at the party but I have my doubts. I imagine the lawn didn’t care.

Sunday morning she was dry during church but once we got to Nana and Papa’s house she immediately forgot to use the potty. So we’ll keep working on it. She picked out new princess panties so maybe those will do the trick this weekend. I do know one thing…I’m tired of buying pull-ups!

Happy August!

I was looking at the number of posts I made the last few months and June was my personal best.....as far as quantity. No comment on quality. Anyway, since Princess got up early, Flower and Daddy are still sleeping, and I have a hot cup of coffee I thought I'd try to think of something interesting to write this first day of August.

Yesterday the girls and I stayed home for the entire day. It was the first Friday in months we didn't have an appointment or trip. After some quality time on the Internet I spent most of the morning cleaning the floor and as I look at it now, you can't really tell. Sigh.

Flower has been on the verge of potty trained for months, the problem being our schedule. I'm not up for potty training while traveling so we've bought a lot of pull-ups lately. She's interested in using the potty, she just forgets until she has already dripped a little. That's how Flower says it "Mommy I dripped!" which means she needs to go potty.

Since we had no where to go yesterday I decided to give panties a try. She picked out some Care Bear panties and we headed downstairs. I headed back to the bathroom to get the little potty (it lives in the dining room when we're potty training because I'm too old to make 100 trips up and down the stairs carrying a two year old) and before I got to the bathroom Princess was screaming, "She peed on the floor!" Poor Flower has this look on her face like, "What happened?"

My theory was that if Flower felt pee running down her leg she would remember to hold it because I know she's capable of holding it. I was partially correct. Flower wasn't thrilled about pee running down her leg, but not as disgusted as I'd hoped. None the less, we cleaned her and the floor up, and picked out a pretty green pair of Ariel undies for round two.

The rest of the day went well. Flower used the potty every 20 minutes and she was dry all day. Until Daddy came home from work. I'm not sure what happened, maybe he jinxed us, but Flower had a little accident during dinner and then pooed in her pants after dinner. Ugh. But all in all, she did well for her first day of wearing big girl undies.

Today we have to run errands and then we have a birthday party this afternoon. Flower just got up and informed me she wants to wear panties. This could be interesting....

TGIF

Friday
57 degrees
Raining lightly
Dora on the television
A cup of hot coffee sitting next to my laptop
Absolutely no where to go today

This is what I call a perfect Friday.

Gone Like A Flash

This post sounds a little familiar. It seems I feel this way at the end of every month.

Tomorrow it will be August. At the end of the month Princess will start school. Ok, so it’s just pre-kindergarten, but still, it’s a big change.

I’m looking forward to the end of August because I think Princess will really enjoy pre-k.

I’m not looking forward to the end of August because that means summer is officially over. The habitual planner in me is not looking forward to change, however my work schedule may change for the better so that will be nice. My schedule change is still up in the air but I’m hoping for a couple less hours a week which will help our daily schedule immensely….not our checkbook, but my life will be less hectic. I hope.

I’m also not looking forward to the end of August because I’m sure preschool will bring a entirely new list of things Princess will learn and I’m not talking about reading, writing and arithmetic if you know what I mean. There will be 11 other kids in her class and I’m sure some of them will be more “seasoned” than Princess. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t shelter her from the world, but we use avoidance as a means to make life less complicated some times.

For example, Princess will be five in a couple months. She has only drank soda a handful of times. She has had a root beer float for a special occasion at daycare once and 7-Up at two or three birthday parties. We’ve never given her a drink of our soda and she knows soda is not for kids. Flower is two and she has never had soda. I’m not opposed to soda. I drink soda. Not a lot, but I do enjoy a Dr. Pepper on occasion. I think children don’t need any more empty calories which rot their teeth. They get enough sugar in all the candy we eat :) I have a dreadful sweet tooth and I’m trying not to pass it on to my children.

Enjoy the last days of summer. Don’t blink because Christmas will be here before we know it.

Tidbits from Last Weekend

Princess and Flower were standing in front of the bathroom sink brushing their teeth Friday morning. Princess was making faces in the mirror accompanied by this weird groaning/grunting noise. Flower looked at Princess and said “What wrong Princess? You pooin’?”

Sunday dinner was at Nana and Papa’s house. Traditionally we begin our meals with Flower mumbling something no one can understand and then Princess blesses the food by saying “Thank you Jesus for this food. Amen.” We like to keep it short and simple. We sat down to the table and Papa asked Flower if she would like to say the blessing. Flower folds her hands, bows her head, and very, very seriously says “Thank you Jesus for Daddy’s birthday. Amen.”

The girls and I were enjoying strawberry shortcake with Nana and Papa on their deck after dinner. We were discussing the fruit trees and when the cherries would be ready to pick. Nana and Papa were saying they should find the tags from the cherry tree so they knew what kind if tree it was. Then they might be able to find out when to pick the cherries. Princess looked at them and said “Just google it!” as if she knew exactly what she was saying. Heck, she probably did.

It Was a Wet and Wild Kind of Weekend

It’s Tuesday. I’m not really sure where Monday went. Before I know it the weekend will be here again. That’s a good thing. Summer is flying by. That’s a bad thing. Last weekend was the first in almost 3 months which we’ve been home and cold/stomach virus free. Rather than sticking around a house in terrible need of a good scrubbing we played at the lake and on the river.

Friday the girls and I went out for lunch at a new bakery. It was delicious. Princess takes after her parents and enjoys dining out. Flower just likes to make a mess with her food so I say dining out is one less time I’ll have to clean the floor. That afternoon we met Homestead at the lake for some fun in the sun. The kids had a marvelous time wading in the water and playing in the sand. We will definitely put the lake on our list of things to do again before the summer is over.

Saturday was Dear Husband’s birthday so he went fishing while the girls and I watched Saturday morning cartoons. We were completely worn out from our outing on Friday. There was a commercial for a hotel on TV with a line about going out or staying in and Princess looked at me and said “We are not going out today….I’m exhausted!” After a long nap Princess felt better so we dropped the girls off at Nana’s for the evening. DH and I ran some errands and went out for pizza.

Sunday we took the raft out for a little fishing. We had a big crew. Nana, Papa, Grandma M, and the four of us. We packed a lunch and took the fishing poles. It was Flower’s first trip in the raft. She did ok but we’ll probably wait until next summer to take her again. Sitting in one place for more than 30 seconds isn’t really her thing yet. Princess is a little better in that department so she and Papa fishing off the back of the raft. Grandma M, Nana and I tried to entertain Flower in the front of the raft. DH rowed. We saw river otters, pelicans, geese, a bald eagle and deer. Princess and I each caught a fish. Actually Papa hooked the fish and Princess reeled it in. I was getting lunch out of the cooler and missed it but DH said she gave the poor little fish the ride of its life. A good day was had by all. Nana and Grandma M made a delicious birthday dinner for DH to finish off our day.

That was our weekend. The girls are still exhausted and so am I. It seems like all we do is try to catch up on sleep and rest during the week so we can go like crazy on the weekend. I love summer but sometimes I long for winter so I have an excuse to stay home.

Flower The Entertainer

Let me set the scene. The girls and I are sitting at the counter finishing up our dinner tonight. Daddy has already finished and is cleaning up the kitchen. He has the water running in the sink and Princess is talking.

Flower "Daddy"

Pause.

Flower "Daddy"

Pause

Flower "DADDY! Listen me! I tell you something!" (Me laughing in the background)

Daddy (standing directly in front of Flower) "Yes Flower?"

Flower "I tell you something."

Daddy "What?"

Flower (with a mischievous grin) "Ummmm"

Long pause. Now that she has his attention she doesn't know what to tell him so she sings a bunch of jumbled words to a tune she made up instead. Flower is our little entertainer.

Happy 90th Birthday Great Grandpa!

July is a busy birthday month for us. Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and Dear Husband are July babies. DH and I were married on Great Grandpa's birthday 13 years ago. We reminisced over a bottle of wine and chicken alfredo last night. It was lovely.

Before I get on with the purpose of this post, I'm going to take a moment to brag a bit. DH and I have been married for 13 years but we've been together since the 80s. I know, that makes us really old. November 1989 to be exact so this winter we'll celebrate 20 years of togetherness. Seems like a long time but it's flow by rather quickly. I wonder where we'll be 20 years from now?

Back to my original post. Yesterday Great Grandpa (my grandpa) turned 90 years old. He's amazing. I might go as far as calling him my hero. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. No matter what happens he always makes me feel like I'm the most important person in the world. Most, if not all, of my childhood memories involve my grandpa and I would not be the person I am today without him.

My mom and my aunt planned a party for my grandpa last weekend. The girls and I spent most of the week at my parents house with Auntie C, Future Uncle P, and Cousin H. The big bash was on Saturday and over 100 people came to help us celebrate. We had a wonderful day visiting with family and friends. The most repeated phrase at the party was "I hope I look half as good as Grandpa when I'm that age." Here's to another year Gramps! I love you! K-

Dog Tired

We got home late last night from a family reunion. We had a great time but by Sunday evening we were beat. We were still three hours from home so we stopped at a McDonald's to grab a couple Happy Meals and take a potty break.

The three of us girls were in the handicap stall using the facilities while Daddy was ordering our food. The girls were done going potty and it was my turn. Flower was exhausted. She was so tired she couldn't hold her head up any longer so she walked over to me and laid her head on my lap to take a quick nap....while I was peeing. Seriously. If we would have had a camera I would have let Princess snap a photo. It was a true Kodak moment.

Now, to clear that image from your brain, I will post something cute.












Oh yeah, and we saw a black bear....

and a grizzly bear....

and a few other random animals but I'm tired of waiting for blogger.

An Identity Crisis: Part Two

Earlier this year I shared a couple stories about Flower taking offense to being called something besides her given name (here and here). Last night as I was getting Flower ready for bed Princess came into her room to say good night. Princess said, “Good night cupcake!” Flower replied, “I not cupcake, I pie!” That’s my girl…two years old and she knows her desserts.

Happy 1st Birthday Cousin Halle!

Exactly one year ago today Cousin Halle graced us with her presence. Auntie C and Uncle P are busy celebrating today. We are busy wishing we could be there to witness the mess of little fingers eating cake. Enjoy every moment Auntie C because you’ll blink and she’ll be getting ready for kindergarten.


In other news, we had a busy weekend. We are all exhausted. Flower seems to be coming down with a cold. Friday we ran errands and took Flower back to the dentist so he could check her front tooth. It’s doing fine. Saturday the girls had a sleep over at Nana and Papa’s while Dear Husband and I went fishing/rafting with some friends. Today the Thunderbirds were in town so we had a picnic at DH’s office, which is very close to the airport. We had great seats and didn’t have to battle the crowds. I snapped a ton of photos but thought these were noteworthy.

Wildflowers

As I mentioned earlier, we spent last weekend at Great Grandma C’s. A lovely time was had by all, except Keilie dog of course, but I’m sure she’s forgotten about the little poisoning incident by now.

GGC always plants a wonderful mix of wildflowers in her backyard and the girls love them. I’m not a great photographer, or even a photographer at all for that matter, however I did manage to catch a few shots I wanted to share with you.

Just an Observation

OK, I’ll admit I am a fan of the show Jon and Kate Plus 8. I think it is mostly because I am in awe of anyone who has multiples, let alone two sets. The show gives me a small glimpse into what life might be like with multiples. I’m not going to ramble on about the Gosselin’s current situation because you can read the tabloids.

I did want to share this article, however, because there is one line in it where the author points out something that occurred to me just last night as I was reading Snow White to Princess at bedtime. "Look at Walt Disney cartoons: It's always the wicked stepmother and the hero father." I have been reading Walt Disney stories to Princess for over four years. Last night was the first time it occurred to me how similar most of the story lines were. That’s it. I have no point, just an observation.

Doggie Update

We are still a happy family of five. Keilie Dog spent the afternoon at the vet. Her blood work looks good. Her clotting rate was 12 (normal is 11-18, the lower the better) so we were happy to hear that. Dear Husband said the girls are probably going to attend a 2 year college since this dog is costing us a small fortune.

The Dog with Nine Lives

For those of you who don't know this already, 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide with a warm water chaser makes a dog vomit almost immediately. Don't ask why I know this.

Pre-Weekend Update

Things are looking up around here. In case you were wondering Princess is feeling better. No emergency trips to the bathroom in 18 hours. We're busy packing this morning. We are headed to Great Grandma C's this afternoon for her surprise 80th birthday party. Auntie A is flying in for the weekend.

Saturday we'll make a short road trip to attend an annual memorial walk with Auntie A and Uncle L. Back to GGC's Saturday night to visit with all the out of state relatives. Home on Sunday. At least that's the plan. We'll see who gets the stomach bug next.

An Early (or Late) Visit from the Tooth Fairy

I’m sure you think this is going to be a post about Flower’s front tooth but it’s not. Flower still has both of her front teeth. Yes, one is a little gray, but it’s still intact and that’s the best we can hope for right now.

This post is actually about Princess. Monday after her doctor appointment we stopped by the library on the way home to pick up some books. Princess chose a book about a little girl named Jane who had a loose tooth but didn’t want to lose it. It’s actually a good story if you have a little one who is starting to lose their teeth and not thrilled about it. If you’re interested I found it on Amazon Jane Vs. the Tooth Fairy.

Daddy left early this morning for his annual office fishing trip and on the kitchen counter was the contents of his pocket….a huge pile of change. Princess was thrilled when she spotted the change and immediately asked if she could have it. When it comes to change lying around the house I figure, finders-keepers. I told Princess it was all hers but she must share it with Flower.

Princess and I went upstairs to wake Flower up and give part of the money to her. As Flower was stuffing her riches into her piggy bank I noticed Princess was in our bedroom rearranging the pillows on my side of the bed. She doesn’t know I saw her but I’ll bet the tooth fairy made a special visit to our house this morning.

Round Two

Daycare called me at work about an hour ago. Princess was on the potty all morning with diarrhea. We're home now preparing for round two. Need I say more?

There are no words….

….to describe our weekend. Dear Husband summarized it best last night after the girls went to bed and we were sitting on the couch. “This weekend sucked.” It really wasn’t bad every minute, just a few really, really bad minutes and of course, those are the ones still fresh in our mind.

Flower woke up around midnight last Thursday with a tummy ache. I hoped it was something she ate but at 7:00 am Friday morning she was standing in her bed calling for me. There was a stench coming from her room. You guessed it, diarrhea. We stuck close to the bathroom for a couple hours and she seemed to be better. The rest of the day we took it easy and played outside.

Saturday morning Flower still had a little diarrhea and Princess limped into our room crying. She told me her leg hurt and itched on the inside and her body wouldn’t let her scratch her leg bone. I wasn’t completely awake yet and I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. When we got up I saw a hard, red slightly swollen area on her leg and arm. DH and I poked around and figured she must have been bitten when she was outside the previous evening. I applied some prescription crème left over from a similar incident last summer and forged ahead.

We had a birthday party to attend for Sweet Boy Saturday afternoon. Flower was better by late morning but we didn’t want to share our good fortune with Homestead so Flower and DH went to Nana’s while Princess and I went to the party. Princess had a blast at the Adventure Zone (large climbing gym with a pool of balls) and is thinking about having her birthday party there.

DH called just as we were leaving the party and was going to pick up dinner on his way home. Princess and I headed home. About 15 minutes later I get another call from DH. His voice was a little frantic and Flower was sobbing on the background so loud he couldn’t hear me. This made my blood pressure skyrocket and I was yelling back into my phone (as if that would help). DH was finally able to hear me and Flower was sick. Puke everywhere. They were in the drive thru. It wasn’t pretty.

I won’t go into the gory details but let’s just say DH scooped handfuls out of the car seat and I emptied her shoes when they got home. It really wasn’t pretty. After we got Flower cleaned up she appeared to be feeling much better so I mistakenly thought we were on the downhill slope.

Sunday morning DH got up early and went fishing. The girls and I hung out again. Flower’s stomach seemed ok so I was hopefully we’d be ok on Monday…until Princess showed me her arm. Her leg was better, or at least the same. Her arm was not. The redness and swelling had gone from slightly larger than a golf ball to softball size or more. It was warm to the touch and tender. I’m not a doctor but this made me worry. DH got home at noon and I called the doctor. I knew he was on call this weekend and I really wanted to talk to our doctor. (insider info from Homestead) His nurse told me to get to the clinic ASAP so Princess and I dropped what we were doing (eating lunch) and headed to town. The doctor confirmed my suspicion that her arm didn’t look good and prescribed some heavy-duty antibiotics. We also have to go back and see him this afternoon.

We spent the afternoon on the couch watching movies and relaxing. DH started dinner and Flower’s tummy took a turn for the worse. Again, I won’t go into the details in case anyone is reading this over lunch, but I will say I lost count on diaper #5 about 30 minutes into the marathon. Flower’s bum looks like a tomato even after the soda bathes. We finally got around to dinner. Nana and Papa stopped by to say hi. I was cleaning up the kitchen and Princess came to tell me something. All of the sudden I can feel something wet splashing up on my feet and legs. Dose #1 of the antibiotics was all over the kitchen floor and fridge and Princess was a mess. Did I mention our house already had a residual diarrhea smell? Now we can add vomit to the aroma. Nice.

So more bathes, more antibiotics, yada yada yada, and we finally got everyone to bed. I called work to tell my boss I wouldn’t be in today. Oh yeah, and one last call to our doctor to make sure more redness and swelling wasn’t cause for a trip to the ER. By some miracle everyone except me (Did I mention my cough came back so I had to refill my antibiotics yesterday also?) slept well last night. I have my fingers crossed Flower is past whatever took over her tummy and Princess keeps her antibiotics down. So far so good.

Are You Sure This Is A Dental Office?

Two weeks ago yesterday Flower fell down and hit her two front teeth on our wood floor. Her teeth were pretty sore for a few days but we thought everything would be fine and really, there isn’t much we could do anyway. A couple days ago one of her front teeth started to turn a little gray. I spoke to our dentist two weeks ago and he assured me she most likely didn’t do any damage to her permanent teeth and to call him if anything changed.

This morning I called our dentist to tell him her tooth is turning gray and he referred us to a pediatric dentist in town. The only pediatric dentist in our region I was told. I called the pediatric dentist and they had me bring Flower in at noon. It was quite the experience. Completely different from any dental appointments with Princess.

The office was wild….as in jungle wild. Murals on every wall, movies playing everywhere you look (including in the ceiling above the chairs), video game stations in the waiting room, two huge fish tanks with colorful fish and bright, cheery dental assistants. It felt more like a carnival than a dental office. To tell you the truth, it was sensory overload for me. Flower, however, loved it.

Flower sat still for an x-ray and didn’t hesitate at all when the dental assistance asked her to come back to one of the animal theme rooms. Flower played with the chair and looked all over the kid friendly room. By the time the dentist got to us Flower was completely comfortable in the chair and didn’t mind one bit when he raised her up, tipped her back, and poked all around in her mouth.

I learned Flower has a crossbite but will mostly likely out grown it in a couple years. Her front teeth are a little loose so we have to go back in two weeks for a quick check to make sure they tighten up. The x-rays showed her root wasn’t completely straight but it may have been that way before her fall. We go back in 6 months for another x-ray to see how it’s doing. The dentist said there is a 98% chance her tooth will eventually lightened up to it’s normal color and fall out normally in a few years but we’ll have to wait and see.

I was so proud of how well Flower did today. She followed instructions and wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Maybe it was the atmosphere; after all, we were dealing with professionals. I think Flower really enjoyed her dental appointment. Flower sat still in the chair and let the dentist examine her teeth which is way more than Princess has done in any of the four dental appointments she has had to date. I like our dentist but I’m thinking I might take Princess to the new dentist for her next checkup and see if she enjoys the experience as much as Flower.

June 6th

For my readers who don't live in Big Sky Country, it's snowing and 36 degrees right now. Just so you know....

Flower Girls....

....and Daddy.

An Identity Crisis

As you know Flower is potty training. A couple minutes ago I asked the girls to head upstairs for their bath and this is what I heard.

Flower "I wet."

Me "Flower, I thought you just went potty and you were dry."

Flower "I dry."

Daddy "Flower, you don't know what you are."

Flower "I FLOWER!!!"

Good Morning Merry Sunshine

Mornings around our house can be a little unpredictable. Some days everyone gets up and going without any crying, whining or complaining. Today was not one of those days. It wasn’t a bad morning per se; it just wasn’t one of our best mornings.

Over the last two and a half years Princess has had clothing issues. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that Princess won’t wear anything that….well….fits her. She doesn’t like her clothes to touch her so last summer she only wore sundresses. That was fine until winter rolled around and a sundress and flip flops would get you frostbite, and probably a visit from the child welfare people too. Princess has come a long way in the last year and with a little coaxing and bribery she has been wearing some new summer clothes lately but that’s a whole other post.

Morning with Princess is a crap shoot. She either wakes up very pleasant or very grumpy. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. I have yet to figure out how to make our mornings cheery so I just grab a cup of coffee and go with the flow….to the best of my abilities. Princess picks out her clothes before she goes to bed so theoretically all she has to do is get up and put them on. Today that didn’t work so well.

Normally Princess wakes up about 15 minutes before Flower which gives me time to help Princess get going. Today the girls woke up about the same time and Princess was not ready to start her day. From the bathroom Flower and I could hear growling and groaning coming from Princess. Flower looked at me and asked “What wrong Princess?” to which I replied “Princess is grumpy this morning.” Flower jumped off the potty and trotted into see Princess. I could hear Flower ask Princess if she was grumpy. This evoked another growl from Princess and a “NO!” Flower came back into the bathroom and informed me that Princess was not grumpy. I’m not sure Flower understands the true meaning of grumpy…..

Ideas...anyone?

We are attending the wedding of a high school classmate this weekend. It is the second marriage for both of them. They both have kids. They combined households last year. They are not registered anywhere. I need a gift. So far all I have come up with is a picture frame, pilsner glasses or wine glasses. I'm sure everyone other person attending the wedding is thinking the exact same thing.

We Had Fun, Fun, Fun!

Princess and I headed to Phoenix to visit Auntie C, P and Cousin H last weekend. We had a blast and will be recovering from the heat and activities for a while. We flew down on Thursday and back home yesterday. Flower, Daddy, Nana and Papa had a fun filled weekend of bathroom demolition at Great Grandma C’s. I’m pretty sure Princess and I got the better end of the deal, even if it was 100+ degrees in Phoenix.

Our weekend went something like this.

Thursday – Head to airport 90 miles north. 10 minutes from home Princess began to ask “How much farther to the airport?” and continued to ask every 3 minutes until we arrived. Princess navigated airport security like a seasoned traveler. The TSA lady looked over her boarding pass, asked Princess her name, and then asked her if she knew where she was going. Princess gave her this look like “Duh, you’re the one holding the paper!” but she replied “Phoenix” very politely. The TSA lady looked a tad surprised and didn’t know what to say, and let her through security. We boarded the plane and Princess couldn’t quit smiling. Her grin grew as the plane ascended and she must have told me how much fun she was having a million times. I sprung for the kiddie snack pack which was actually pretty good. It had more stuff to eat than we wanted and it came with a cookie she could color with special markers and then eat. We arrived mid afternoon, went to Auntie’s C’s place and then out for pizza.

Friday – Up at 5:00 AM (we didn’t adjust to the time change very well) and off to the zoo. I’m going to take this opportunity to brag about Auntie C’s bargain hunting skills a bit. She found out it was free admission with a Fry’s card so we saved $36 at the gate. She also found coupons in the phone book for free rides on the carousel and a customer appreciate coupon for the Rain Forest Café. When it was all said and done we saved over $50 on Friday and didn’t have to pay for anything at the zoo except the giant snow cones. BTW-that was the best $2.99 I spent all day because in 100 degree heat you can’t beat a snow cone the size of your head. I think Princess enjoyed the snow cone more than the animals. Friday afternoon we hit the mall for some shopping. As we were walking across the parking lot Princess looked at Auntie C and asked “It’s so hot, how do you live here?” I was thinking the exact same thing. That night we went to P’s softball game and met some of Auntie C and P’s friends and relatives.

Saturday – Slept in until 5:40 AM and then took off for the downtown area to ride the Light Rail. Princess loves trains so we took a little ride through Tempe and back. Then we headed to the Children’s Museum for a couple hours of madness. We grabbed a late lunch and back to the house for some time in the pool. We thought about going to the theater (one of my favorite musicals was in town) but the tickets were sold out so we went to an early movie and then a graduation party to round out the evening.

Sunday – Auntie C drove us to the airport bright and early and we headed home. Princess bought a stuffed elephant and gummy bears for Flower and she couldn’t wait to get home and see her little sister. We beat Daddy and Flower home by an hour so we had time to unpack. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch and turned in early.

I asked Princess what her favorite part of the trip was and she said playing with Cousin H. When we were reading stories last night she was a bit emotional because she misses everyone. I guess that just means I’ll have to start looking for cheap airline tickets again…..

We’re Late, We’re Late…

…for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye we’re late, we’re late, we’re late. Any Alice and Wonderland fans out there?

This seems to be our mantra lately. Remember that cold I was complaining about a couple weeks ago. I still have it. It got much worse last week, then Flower picked it up, and Princess has been coughing as well. So we’ve been home coughing and feeling generally miserable. I’ve had this nagging feeling that I’m behind on everything for the last couple weeks. I’m going to use our current health status as my excuse for not posting just so you know.

Now I’ll bring you up to speed. We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s last weekend to help my great aunt celebrate her 80th birthday. The girls love to visit because Grandpa bought Princess a little red corvette when she was about 18 months old and she’s finally big enough to drive it. She and Flower terrorize the streets until the battery dies.

Tomorrow Princess and I are flying south for the weekend to visit Auntie C and Cousin H. Princess is pretty excited as this will be her first plane ride. I’m excited too. I’m also feeling some guilt because we’re leaving Flower home. She and Daddy are going to visit Great Grandma C with Nana and Papa this weekend. Flower will have fun, but I’m still sad I’m such a wimp and didn’t buy three plane tickets. I’ll let you know how the trip goes next week.

Photo Op

Princess is a poser. Flower refuses to look at the camera. Getting a photo with both of the girls looking at the camera is nearly impossible these days. Since it's been a long time since I posted any photos I thought I'd post a sequence I shot last month. It was a futile attempt to grab a quick picture of the girls on our way out the door one morning. BTW-I accidentally posted these in reverse order so if you want to see them chronologically start from the bottom and go up.