My Best Friend

I know I'm doing something right when my girls hug and kiss me and tell me that I am their best friend, and that I'm the best mom in the world!  It makes my heart burst with love and pride for my sweet babies!  All 3 of them!  And I know that all of the yelling, slapping butts, and disciplining is working, because they respect me, and love me.  I couldn't ask for anything more than that.  I am truly blessed!

Captain Underpants!

My wonderful little 1st grader came home early on his last day of school, and sat down at the table and did his homework.  Then, he grabbed his latest Captain Underpants book and started reading.  He read the entire book (190 pages) in an hour and a half!  Not bad for only being in 1st grade!!!!  Now, it's a comic book, but I read a little bit of it to see what the heck had all of his attention, and this series is so great for his level!  Lots of reading, but pictures too so the reader understands what's going on.  At one point, he turned to the front cover of the book and said, "Oh!  So THAT'S what the monster looked like!"  So funny!

I absolutely LOVE that he LOVES to read!  I have read to all of my kids from the time they were newborns until now.  And now they can read to me!  Even the younger ones who can't really read, but know the story, spin it to suit their own imaginations and let the story take flight! 

"I'm gon! I mean it! I hop your happy!"

The title just says it all!  My wonderful, sweet, loving son got mad at us tonight because we both yelled at him for two different things.  He wouldn't get in the shower, and my husband yelled 4 times to get in there, and in the end, sent him to bed without a bath.  Then, he wanted to be tucked in, and he wouldn't go, and was dilly dallying and so I yelled at him.

So, about 10 minutes goes by, and a paper airplane lands on my desk.  It says, "I'm gon.  I'm leaving.  I hop your happy!  I'm going to live with Mimi and Papa.  I mean it!"  It was just so sweet!  I love that he felt that way, it will undoubtedly help him when he's an adult.  Although right now, it's a bit misplaced!  So, we had to admonish the behavior.  I said to him, "What if I told you one day that I was tired of being a mom?  That I just said, I'm gone! and went to the beach by myself.  How would that make you feel?"  He said that he would be sad, and I told him that that's how we are feeling.  I told him that he broke our hearts.

He came downstairs and said that he thought about it and he's sorry.  He's just SO darn sweet!  I can't stand it!!!!  I told him that there are going to be a lot of people yelling at him throughout his life.  Us, coaches, bosses, etc., he can't get upset and want to leave every time someone says a cross word!  It turns out, that he was upset because I was joking around w/ the girls as I was tucking them in, but I didn't do that w/ him.  I actually didn't have a chance to do that, because he wouldn't go to bed for me to tuck him in first!  He bowed his head sheepishly when I told him!  Poor kid!!!!  Now I feel bad!!!!

Singing when you're bored

Yesterday we were on our way to preschool, and E. started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and it came out, "Finkle Finkle Little Tar"!  Then she started belting out Mary Had a Little Lamb, and it came out, "Little lamb, little lamb, Murry little lamb!  Goin' school, little lamb, little lamb"

Today we're sitting here at the kitchen table eating lunch, and she starts singing randomly, "Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, PaPa, Mommy, Daddy, PaPa, Green, Purple, Blue, Greeeeeeeeen!!!!"

O. was just showing me her school work, and one of her papers had a favorite song, and she wrote, "What do you want from me".  I asked her what song that was, and she had no idea?????  SO random!

Ten minutes later, as I'm writing this, E. is still sitting in her chair, just singing a melody, whatever is in her head.  I absolutely LOVE it!!!!

The jokester

O. is my comedian.  She tries and tries and tries to tell us jokes, and she just thinks she's the best at telling jokes ever!  Here's a sample of her hilarity!

What did the cucumber say to the other cucumber?  -  Good luck!

What do you call a chicken in the street?  - chicken street

What do you call elephant boogers?  - hair gel

Why did the pickle cross the road?  - to go see the other pickle.

I hope you have had your laugh today!  ;D

Are you kidding?!

Today I am making cards, and I'm working w/ my cuttlebug.  I have my die and the paper, and the sandwich I need to get the paper through to cut my swirl die out.  I got up from my desk to write something down, and E. dropped everything on the floor.  When I said her name exasperatingly, she said, "Are you kidding? What?  Shhh!"  That was NOT said in the correct context, but it's so funny that she said that!  Her little eyebrows were knit together and it was such a teenage look!  Like, how dare you call me on the fact that I did something I wasn't supposed to?!

Playing "chest"

This weekend, my husband introduced the game of chess to our son.  He loves it now and after just an evening of playing, was able to explain the game to me perfectly!  Well, I was teasing him yesterday about playing chess, and he said, "I love chest and I have feelings too!"  I cracked right up!  He has been calling it "chest" instead of chess!  LOL!

Today, my youngest was in the backseat as we left school, and she was whining and carrying on, and I said, "What is wrong w/ you?" and she replied, "I'm not sure!!!!!"  She's only 2!  How does she know those words?!

Praying

A couple weeks ago, my son started whining and complaining about going to church.  I told him, "Listen, do you like all the toys that you have?  All the clothes that you wear, the food that you eat, the house that you have?  How about how smart you are?  Do you think you got that on your own?  God gave that to you.  God gave everything to you.  And do you know what He asks for in return?  ONE HOUR!  Do you think you can handle that?!"

Well, after that, J. has been praying quite often!  He prayed for my husband to come home from his meeting.  And he did!  LOL!  J. was so surprised that his prayer worked!  And then tonight I had a church meeting, and was coming home in the rain.  Well, J. prayed that God would put a shield all around my car and keep me safe and dry all the way home.  And he prayed that I would come home safe and sound.

I guess my little tirade worked!  Now he prays and his prayers are answered every time!  He's a true believer!

Whatever, Mom! Ok?!

This evening, I prepared Chicken Marsala.  The directions say to pound the chicken before breading and frying.  I laid it on the table and started pounding out my agression!  I had a crappy day today, so this was the perfect outlet!

As I was pounding away, E. came strolling in, took one look at what I was doing and yelled, "WHATEVER!  WHATEVER, MOM!"  and ran into the toy room!  For absolutely no reason! 

Meaner than a junkyard dog!

My older two children are very sweet.  They can be stubborn at times.  And they definitely are not angels.  But, they are pretty good.  And then God gave me my youngest.  Holy Moly!  She is SO mean one minute, and SO nice the next!

Here's one example:  The other day E. and O. were sitting in front of the tv.  E. was sitting on a play dress up stool.  She was playing w/ O's hair.  O. has REALLY long, thick beautiful hair.  So, I'm standing behind them watching in awe at how nice they are being w/ each other.  She's playing, playing and then all of a sudden O. moved, and E. yanked on her hair so hard she screamed in pain!  And why, you might ask?  Because she wasn't done playing w/ her hair and she wanted her to stay sitting in front her her!

The other day my husband took them to the natural history museum by himself.  He does this quite often.  He's a great dad!  He told me that O. must have done something and E. was struggling to get out of the stroller.  He finally let her get out, and E. walked right over to O. and kicked her in the leg!  My husband was astounded!  I just laughed when he told me!

Last week O. was teasing E. about her stuffed animal that she loves.  It's name is Honey, but she started out w/ Goggy.  O. was saying, "No E., your dog's name is Goggy" and E. got in her face and sreamed, "NO!  IT'S HONEY!"  O. said it again, and E. screamed, "HUSH!  IT'S HONEY!" right in her face again.  She's just so mean!

The stories could go on and on!

Is routine really a bad thing?

So, last month I fell outside of Macy's and hurt (bruised) the whole right side of my body.  I felt like someone ran into me w/ a truck.  Man is concrete hard on your body when you fall and bounce and fall again!  LOL!  Darn summer dress that's made for a 7 ft. woman!  I'm only 5'3" for heaven's sakes!  Plus I'm a klutz!  I was rushing into Macy's to buy my favorite perfume, and wasn't paying attention.  I thought I had pulled up the hem of my dress enough, but no.  The toe of my sandal caught the hem and down I went.  W/ flying arms.  And boy did I fall hard!  OMG!
Ok, so fast forward.  I have been going to my chiropractor's office since the fall because it essentially screwed up my back.  So I have been going 3 days a week, and now we're finally letting off and going 2 days a week. 
Now that it's kind of our routine at this point, E., who travels w/ me EVERYWHERE I go, should pretty much know what's coming next.  We pull into the parking lot of the chiropractor's office, and she starts to whine!  She doesn't want to go in.  She wants to go home.  She wants to go get her brother and sister from school.  ANYTHING except go in there!  And really, it's not that bad!  Well, she might be bored, even though I bring toys in w/ me.  So, I promised her suckers when we got in there.  That always does it!

But, it's the same thing when I go to work out!  We pull into the parking lot, and she starts to whine!  Is it because we're not going home?  Or just the fact that she's not getting her way?

Who knows when you're talking about a two year old!

Pink Nail Polish + a 2 year old + beige carpet = .....

A VERY mad Momma!

My darling E. was playing upstairs w/ my other darling daughter, and all was quiet on the homefront.  I was downstairs, enjoying the quietness because it doesn't often occur.

Then, all of a sudden, O. comes tearing down the steps calling for me, and behind her at a slower pace was my sweet E. w/ a line of hot pink nail polish down the center of her face, all over her fingers and toes.  She was happier than a pig in mud and couldn't understand my distress when I saw her face!  And then it hit me!  If her FACE looks like that, where is the bottle and what does her room look like?! 

I raced upstairs to find a nice size area right on the edge of her room in the hallway.  Of course she had to play RIGHT THERE!  NOT on her DARK GREEN CARPET that could be covered by a bed or something!  NO!  Right in the hallway at the top of the stairs.  For everyone to see.

I screamed because I knew that cleaning it up was going to be a nightmare.  And E. took the bottle that I had not found yet and ran into her room and smeared it on her green carpet in the middle of the floor because she was mad that I was mad! 

I called my mother, of course.  Who tried to help me.  Really, she did offer sound advice.  But, to no avail.  So, I called our carpet cleaning person that we have used in the past, and he gave me some advice too.  However, he said that if the polish has dried, it's a lost cause.  I rushed off the phone and ran down into our scary basement and grabbed our shop vac.  He said that if we had one, we could try to PULL the polish up.  I poured water over it.  I poured polish remover over it.  Nothing has worked.

So, now I am back at square one.  And E. has moved on to make 2 more messes in our house.  It's just going to be one of those days, I guess.  And my husband is going to freak when he gets home.  I don't know what to do though, other than get new carpet before we move out.  If that ever freakin' happens.  But, that's for another post! 

Well, the lesson learned today is that 2 little girls are going to have to wait a very long time before any nail polish is purchased and adorns their pretty nails.

I'm a Jedi, Mom!

Yesterday my kids and I went to Chili's for dinner. O. wanted to go, so we went!  I'm always a sucker for Chili's!  I love that place! 
We sat near the hostess stand, and as we were eating, J. noticed that the menus that were jam-packed into their holder were leaning to one side.  So, he closed his eyes and moved his hand to one side, and down, and looked again at the menus and saw that there were fewer menus and they were all in the stand properly!  He exclaimed, "Mom!  I'm a Jedi!  I closed my eyes and the menus MOVED!"

Then, after dinner, I was texting my mom on my phone, and trying to put my food into a leftover container, and I asked J. to hold the container so I could hold the plate and put the food in.  He said, "Mom!  I knew that you were going to be texting Mimi and that I had to hold this for you!  I'm a Jedi!  I just can't believe that I knew that you were going to be doing that!"

I was rather speechless!  What do you say to something like that?  "Um, I'm glad the Force is with you?!"

Being 2 and having an attitude just isn't a good mix!

I love all of my children!  They are all wonderful in their own way, and I love all of their strengths and weaknesses, their sparkling personalities, and their less than perfect flaws.  But, neither of my older two ever acted the way that my 2 year old acts.

I don't know if it's because she's the third child, or because she thinks she can get away with it, or that she's a baby and that's how she's supposed to act?  Who knows, but I'm SO ready for her be 3 and MAYBE she'll get over this horrible behavior!

Here are some of the things that my little angel w/ a tarnished halo has done:
1.  She slaps me when she's trying to get her way and I want her to do something different.
2.  She puts her finger to her mouth and says, "Shhh!" when I tell her to stop doing something she's not supposed to do.
3.  She tells me to "relax" when I tell her to stop saying "Shhh"
and now I'm feeling like I've blogged about this before!
4.  She is VERY stubborn and STRONG!

Now, to someone outside of our family, that may seem minor, but if you would see the faces that she makes when she's doing this, or the pure evil attitude that pours out of her when she's acting this way, it's not minor.
And I am trying my hardest to nip it in the bud, because I can discipline her now.  I can't discipline her for this type of behavior when she's 15.  But, OH it's hard!

The thing is, she's like Jekel and Hyde.  She can tell you "bless you" when you sneeze, and turn around and slap you on the face if you tell her no!  She's such a beautiful little girl, and when she's good, she's really good.  But when she's bad, she's really bad!
And it's so hard to be stern w/ her when she shh's you and tells you to relax!  What 2 year old does this?!

I just had to vent a little.  I'm not trying to air my dirty laundry, but she is just such a pistol, I had to vent!

I hope that I'm doing the right thing and that this is just a phase.  I'm hoping that she will start to see things my way and will change her behavior.  Her personality of a spitfire should stay the same, because that's just who she is, and I really wouldn't want that to change.  But, her attitude better change!  And fast!!!!  I'm becoming quite exhausted from dealing w/ her!

Ok, I feel better now! 

Odd ramblings

My youngest daughter has a coughing/cold virus and so she's sleeping w/ us.  I don't really understand why.  Last night I could see, because she was coughing really bad, and had a low grade fever.  But, tonight, she seems to be on the mend.  Other than the droopy eyes.  Not even a lot of coughing.

Anyway, that's not why I'm typing this.  Here's why.  I'm laying here in my bed, checking my email on my laptop, and E. is laying next to me w/ her stuffed dog Honey and her blankie and she can't fall asleep.  She wanted the light on, then she wanted it off.  She wanted my laptop to go away.  Then she started talking and talking.  I told her to be quiet and she told me to "Shh"!  Then she started singing.  Row Row Row Your Boat; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; The Alphabet, and then she FINALLY fell asleep!  How funny though that she didn't cry because she couldn't fall asleep, or whine.  She just amused herself and got herself to sleep!  I LOVE IT!!!!

On to the next child!  My oldest is a pretty smart kid.  He's very smart in math, and has common sense, which will take him far in life!  But yesterday he astounded me!  I was trying to get E. off the porch and J. was doing something on the sidewalk and he said, "Mom, are you going to acknowledge me?"  How smart that he knows what that word means and knows the context!

And then there's my sweet O.  She is my little comedian!  She has my sense of humor, which I love to see!  I laugh at everything, and I think a lot of stuff is funny or humorous, and she's the same way!  Even J. will crack up over something that I say that he wasn't expecting me to say!  They are funny kids!

Let the wind blow through your hair

Yesterday we traveled home from sunny SC after a fabulous vacation w/ family!  We were traveling along the interstate and E. decided to put her window down.  She then put her head close to the open window and let the breeze (is it still a breeze at 70 mph?) blow over her face and hair!  Then she put her little tiny fingers towards the window and tried to capture the breeze.  She turned to look at me, and as I watched her, she started to giggle and have such a blast with the wind!

As I was watching her, she totally took my breath away.  What an angelic and beautiful picture she made!  I hope to keep this image in my head for a very long time.

Go Away Bugs!

This evening my husband and I were sitting out on our patio in the backyard, and E. was with us.  The other two were already inside the house. 
As we were sitting there, relaxing after doing some yard work, the locusts started their mating calls.  Well, E. just hated that sound!  She said,"Stop it bugs!  That's enough!  Shhhh!"  And when they started back up, she said, "Stop it! Bugs! Good bye!  See you soon!"  And then spit her tongue at them!

This is the same girl who, when she sees any type of bug, it's always an 'ant' and she is determined to kill it!
My crazy 2 year old!

Please and Thank You!

I love when I offer some sort of food to E. (the 2 yr. old) that she doesn't like.  She'll say, "No thank you, Mommy!"  She is so good w/ her manners!  She is like a sponge and just picks it right up!  She says please (sometimes I have to remind her), thank you (almost all the time), and when you sneeze, she'll automatically say Bless you!  She's my little Emily Post!  LOL! 

I cannot discount the fact that the older two are just as well mannered.  But....it took them a little longer to grasp when it's appropriate to say everything.

Now, I just have to pray that they use these manners out in public when I'm not around!  That might just be a mother's dream!

Thank you for stopping by!  ;D

Golf clubs

My son and daughters celebrated their birthdays this past weekend together.  They were all born in June, so we have one big party!

One of the gifts that my son received was a set of real golf clubs from my brother.  My brother works for a well known golf company, and knows the ins and outs of golf.  He purchased a set and once they came in, took him out to the driving range to show him some techniques and general use. 

That was yesterday.  Today, my son is outside on the porch cleaning his golf clubs for the heck of it and telling his baby sister all about golfing and everything that he learned from his uncle yesterday!  :D

Don't you roll those eyes at me!

My wonderful almost 5 yr. old daughter has a teenage attitude!  Have I shared that on here?!  I think I have!  This is the same one who had to have her Barbies taken away for the attitude in the mornings.  Which, by the way, has totally stopped and the Barbie plan worked!  YAY! 
Now, though, her latest thing is the rolling of the eyes.  Why?!  Why does she have to roll her eyes?  Well, the topic came up in conversation the other morning.  Here's how it went:

Me: You know that when you roll your eyes, you are sending a message saying, "I'm bored and I'm not doing what you want", or "I don't care what you have to say".  You have to stop rolling your eyes!  It's disrespectful and I will NOT have you rolling your eyes at me when I ask you to do something.
O.: Well, I'm not REALLY rolling my eyes.  There's just something wrong with them.  When I see rainbows, my eyes just have to roll because I just see the purple and the pink and [my eyes] get so crazy!

What do you say after that?!  I just said, "Well, whatever your reasoning, I don't want you rolling your eyes at me anymore."  End of conversation!  Honestly!  Where does she come up w/ this stuff?!

4 going on 14

I'm sitting here putting stuff away from my stamping weekend away, and O. is talking my leg off (which I LOVE) about her Doggy Doo.  This dog is her best friend.  It's not a real dog.  It's a stuffed Dalmation from 101 Dalmations.  She just absolutely takes this dog EVERYWHERE and LOVES this thing to pieces!  All the stuffing is gone, and it's beyond dingy from the endless hugs and kisses it receives from this special little girl.
And now that this special little girl has grown a bit, so has the Doggy Doo image in her head.

So, Doggy Doo has lost her mother, but got her back.  O. is the primary babysitter for Doggy Doo because her mom works, and goes to birthday parties all the time.  Doggy Doo is sometimes a teenager, then sometimes a baby, and I think is currently 4 years old.

Tonight, here's the conversation:  It's all O.  I don't say anything except Uh huh and Mmm hmmm and the occasional that's crazy!

"So, like, Doggy Doo is going to school, and I'm going to take her there myself, because I'm her babysitter and she needs me.  And there's Sara, and Julie, and Alaina, and Elizabeth in her class.  And there's only one boy in her class.  All the boys in her class can speak Spanish.  They say stuff like Hola and see you later.  I'm just so freaked out.  It's just so crazy!  And when the boys go home, their parents can't speak Spanish.  They speak Italian.  It just freaks me out!  You know?  And then when we're in school, it just freaks me out that we have all this stuff to do.  I'm too busy to go to school right now....."

That was the summation of what she was telling me.  I can't remember the rest.  It was like listening to a teenage diatribe about the goings on at school!  Which, it won't be long until that is really the case!  Oh, I can hardly wait for THAT to occur!  But, the whole "freaks me out" thing is hysterical!  What 4, almost 5 year old, talks like that?!  My husband and I don't say that around the house!  Weird!  I'm sure she picked it up on tv or something.

Well, back to unpacking!  When I left my house Thursday, I had 2 bags.  When I came back this evening, I had like 6!  How does that happen?  And my wallet is a lot lighter too!  :(  Darn Archivers!

My Baby is 2!!!

Yesterday, June 3rd, my baby turned 2! I can't believe it! I feel like I just came home w/ a new baby! And now that baby has become her own person! It's amazing to see the changes happening before my eyes!
Here are some things that she can do now!  Come on, I have to brag!  ;)

1.  She can sing the alphabet!
2.  And Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!
3. And catch the melody of any song that you sing to her!
4.  If you take a toy from her, watch out!  The hands start swinging, and the face gets dark and angry!
5.  She completely feeds herself now!
6.  Her favorite word is NO!  Even when she means yes!
7.  She loves her stuffed dog Goggie, and takes him everywhere!  He's as tall as she is!
8.  She can dress herself (I still dress her, but she likes to take her clothes off and put something SHE picked out on) and can put shoes on herself (wrong feet!)!
9.  She does not like to go barefoot in the grass, or get dirty.
10.  She is very opinionated, and will let you know if she likes or doesn't like something!  (Example: my dress one day for church.  She told me it was a cute dress!)
11.  She likes to think she's as old as her brother and sister and can do everything that they can do!
12.  She can count to 10 and can sometimes count backwards, but you really have to coax that part.
13.  She is VERY verbal, however, most often, she just goes back to No. 6!
14.  She LOVES to watch Sprout on tv, and can recognize shows immediately.
15.  When watching tv and cruising through the channels, she knows what channel Spongebob is on.  I don't know how she does it.  O. can do that too.  And she can't read either!  LOL!
16.  When we don't march to her orders, she'll pull our clothing and say, " 'O mere, Mommy!" (Come here).  Or, she calls us by name!  That's always nice that our 2 year old knows our given names instead of just Mommy and Daddy!
17.  She doesn't just walk, she runs, climbs, scoots, crawls, jumps, and dances her way through life!
18.  Anytime she hears music, anytime, she starts dancing!
19.  She loves and adores her PaPa!  Hero worship to the extreme!  ;)
20.  She knows how to rhyme!  She breaks out w/ "Uncle Brian cryin' " all the time!  Who knows where that one came from!

And now you know a little bit more about our darling daughter of 2!

E., we love you to pieces!  Cut the attitude a little bit, and we'll have a nice easy childhood!  (I'm not holding my breath!)

Pork chops and other funny things!

This was the conversation this morning on the way to preschool:
O.: Do you know the pork chops that they give you when we go to that steakhouse?
Me: Yes
O.: Well, the next time we go, I'm going to put all of my rice on the pork chops and suck it all up in one giant bite!
Me: Um, ok...?!

She's talking about chop sticks from the Japanese steakhouses where they cook right in front of you. Apparently when she goes there, she has a hard time eating w/ the chopsticks and is mad that she has to resort to using a fork.

In other news, E. has now learned to snort when she laughs, and does so at every opportunity! She sounds like a laughing pig half the time!

And J. made the cutest book in school about his family! The pictures that go w/ the story are so perfect!

Enjoy this sunshine that we have today!!! We may not see it for a while again!

The toilet. How clean is the water?

While I was working, my lovely 1 1/2 year old decided to have a party in the bathroom. She has been known to throw all kinds of things in the potty, including a small Vera Bradley mirror yesterday, just because. Well, today, she got the Clorox Wand and swirled water all over the floor, all over the toilet paper, and toilet paper holder, all over the magazines on the side, and all over the potty.
Then she grabbed a drinking cup and was trying to drink the water. That's when I caught her. I cleaned and disinfected as best I could, and gave her a bath and bedtime for her! Ah, peace and quiet and I know that she's not getting into trouble!

I swear, the other two NEVER did anything like this! And I'm SO getting a potty lock tonight!!!!! Her potty days are OVER til it's time to SIT on the potty! God help us when that time comes!

Locks and Keys Project!

I was asked to create a piece for an artist in MA who is doing a fence project w/ locks and keys.

Go here to see what I've created! It's the first post - pink and green key w/ individual hearts!

http://locksandkeysproject.blogspot.com/

Dinner was a Riot!

Tonight at dinner, we conversed about a myriad of topics from Presidents (J. has a Presidents placemant),to what was for dinner to what went on at gym class.

First up, George Washington. The kids couldn't figure out why they could see George Washington on tv, but not in real life. We reminded them that we saw his burial place near his home. O. said to J., "Don't you remember when were in George Washington World w/ Aunt T.?" Like Mount Vernon is like Disney World!

Secondly, K. was asking who wanted bacon bits on their salads and J. said, "Absolutely NOT!" and covered his bowl. O. said, "Come on, they decorate the salad!"

Enjoy your evening!

Age and Thinness

Today J. and I are hanging out together. E. is sleeping and O. is with Daddy shopping. Perfect rainy afternoon to hang out and get something accomplished! Still working on that!

Anyway, J. gave me a chocolate bunny that he got from Easter to open up. He asked me if I would like to have some. He's always good about sharing! I told him no thank you. He kept asking, so finally I said, "No thank you! I don't want to get fat!" And he said, "Well, I think you're pretty skinny, Mom." And then he amended his statement and said, "I think, for your age, that you're pretty skinny."! So, I'm guessing I was either fatter or skinnier when I was younger! LOL!

El Nail Salono

My middle daughter is a diva.  She's 4, but she's a diva.  She's into Princesses, hair, glitter, makeup and nail polish.  She doesn't wear makeup, but knows that it's important in looking good.  But, her father and I do allow her to wear nail polish.  We of course approve the colors first.
She keeps her polishes in a little metal case.  Today she brought them out, and proceeded, in her pretend world, to say, "Would you like to have your nails done?  I can do nails, toes, and ocho, sinco, nuevo, gracias" and kept saying spanish numbers as if she was talking to someone in spanish!

Adios, Amigos!  ;)

Attitude of a 1 year old

My one year old is rather vocal.  She is a HUGE mimicker, and repeats everything you say.
So, tonight, my older daughter didn't want to eat dinner, and so E. turned to her and said, "Via, shuh up and eat!"  Hmmm, guess she's heard THAT before!

Then, I'm trying to work on a project, and I have the gate up so I don't get any little wanderers in.  Well, E. came over and was trying so hard to pull the gate up.  I went over and asked her what she wanted, and she said, "Gate up!"  I told her no, that I wasn't going to pull it up, and she said something unintelligible, but it had a touch of meanness to it, so I told her that she wasn't allowed to talk to me that way.  She put her finger up to her mouth and said, "Shhh!  Ok?"  "Shhh!"  and walked away.  Needless to say, she is NOT happy w/ me!  And it's the funniest thing!!!!!

The microphone and other latest stories

O. has a Disney Princess cash register that has a microphone, so she can say, "Price check on eggs!" Although, she doesn't say that!  She doesn't know anything about that.  No, she sits at her desk and in her little world, she pretends that she is in school.  And she says into the microphone, "So and So, please come down to the office.  You are in big trouble and your mom is going to be really mad at you."  And continues on this tirade about what this kid did, and how much trouble he's in!  And the minute I make eye contact w/ her, she buttons right up!

Oh, and the other day, we were driving to school and she was talking about something.  She was off on some tangent, and she said, "Well Mom, it's complicated."  WHAT?!  She's 4!!!!!  How the heck does she know what that word means?!  Well, it turns out that she has no clue!  Hahahahah!  She just heard it somewhere and you know how kids are like sponges, she just sucked that word right in to use later!

J. came home from school yesterday and said that his friend [at school] was 'impressed' that he has watched every Star Wars movie except one.  And that this friend has only watched the second one.  But, that was his word, not the friend's!  His friend just said, "Wow!", but J. said that he was impressed.  I'm impressed that he knew what that word meant and that he used it properly in a sentence! 

When my youngest is getting yelled at, or talked to about her behavior and she doesn't like what you're saying, she'll put her little tiny index finger up to her mouth and go, "Shhh!"!!!!!  You just can't help but laugh!  LOL!

Medicine?

O. has been on medicine these last few days, and after her last dose, she asked if she had to take any more.  I told her no, that she was finished.  E. came up and said, "Medicine?"  I said, "No, you're not sick.  No medicine for you."  In response to that, she pointed to her throat and started coughing!  At 1 1/2!!!!!  SO SMART!!!

Struggle to be positive

My middle child has a real problem when things don't go her way.  She gets whiny, bratty and just miserable.  By the time I get all 3 in the car to take them to school, I'm worn out mentally and emotionally.  And it's only 9am!  So, we sat down last night and laid some ground rules.  Pretty much, every time someone says something negative, they get something taken away.  So far this morning, and it's 8:30am, O. is the only one w/ things taken away, and she's up to 16 little people (Imaginext), and 6 Barbies.  She gets them back when she does something positive.  One at a time.  If she is positive and there's no whining or no complaining or no negativity all day, she can have them all back at once.

J. and E. have been pretty good this morning.  E. didn't even drop her food on the floor this morning!  That's what she was in trouble for last night.  I mistakenly gave her one of my good plates w/ her breakfast on it yesterday because I had to use the microwave and didn't feel like moving the food to one of her plastic plates.  Well, I should have taken the time, because as soon as I put the plate on her tray, she pushed it and dropped it on the floor, breaking it.

So, hopefully this is a new beginning for being positive and happy!  And hopefully the collection of toys each day will dwindle....  I'm not holding my breath though!  It might be a long journey!

J. and the BFI

We are cleaning my dad's office, and J. is acting up.  He told O. that she could not come into the back room because he was w/ the FBI and he was working on a problem.  He recruited E. to be the General, and she kind of made bad decisions.  So he says!  So, anyway, he was being mean, and O. said, "Well, I don't care about you and the BFI!"

Doggy Doo

This was the conversation between O. and me.

O.: "I have to go to school w/ Doggy because I have to be the teacher.  Her teacher broke her leg.  And I have to be the teacher, and the chef and the principal.  I just have to be everything to her.
And then, she has to have surgery because her brother [name same as O.'s brother.  Coincidence?  I doubt it!] hit her w/ a dart in the eye and the head and even her ear!  And I have to take care of her, because her mom passed away, and now I'm in charge of her."  (This is a summarization of what she said.  It WAS a whole lot longer!)

The whole time I am listening to this diatribe, I am just agreeing w/ her and shaking my head, like poor doggy!  And she just kept going and going and going!

Doggy Doo is her alter ego.  Whatever Doggy Doo doesn't want to do, O. really doesn't want to do it.

For example, me: "Come on guys, let's eat!"  O.: "What are we having?"  me: "ham bar-b-que"  O.: "Oh, Doggy doesn't like that, so we're just going to eat something different."

So funny though to hear her talk and say these big words like surgery, and know what that means!  Or that Doggy Doo's mom passed away!  We were just at a funeral last week, so I guess that drilled that fact home for her.

My little girl is growing up WAY too fast!!!

Birds and electricity

O: I know something about electricity.
Me: Oh really, what?
O: It can electric you!

O: Birds can be on electricity.
Me: No they can't.
J: Yes they can, they have special feet!

Jaba in the toilet

Today we are traveling, and after taking O. to the bathroom, she stood up to pull her pants up and looked in the toilet.  "Wow, that looks like Jaba the Hut in there!"

Hair dresser!

OMG, O. just said the funniest thing!  She was a hair stylist today, and when she was done, she said in my ear, "When your hair is bad, call me!  I'll answer.  Every time.  Here are your ingredients for your hair."  And she pointed to her play brush, hair straightener and curling iron!

Short sleeved pants

Last week it was unseasonably warm, thank God!  The kids wanted to wear short sleeves and shorts after school, so I let them.  What could it hurt?  It's 66 degrees!  After so many snow days, and cold weather days, they deserve it!  So, the older two went upstairs and changed their clothes and on the way back down, I heard O. say to J., "I'm wearing a short sleeve shirt AND short sleeve pants!"  So there!  ;)

Dislocated elbow! OW!

My youngest daughter was playing and running through the house, slipped on a toy, fell, and landed on her head and arm.  Thus, dislocating her elbow/forearm.  We thought she had broken it!  Took her to Urgent Care (LOVE that place!) and the dr. popped her elbow/forearm back in place!!! YAY!!!  What a scare though, for us AND for her!  She's only 1 1/2!!!!  My poor little angel!

Insurance commercials

Is it bad when your kids can recite insurance commercials at the dinner table?  I guess that just goes to show you who's got the most commercials running through kids programming these days.  It's a shame, but I guess someone has to fund these cable networks.  Maybe THAT'S why we are charged so much for insurance!
Still though, I love the sound of kids playing in the next room WITHOUT the tv on!  It's a welcome change every now and then!
My sweet little E. is so darn cute!  And getting older by the minute!  Today she wanted down and wanted to walk by herself!

My darling daughter

I can't believe my sweet baby is 20 months old already! I remember when she was born!  And as I sit here watching her play, I replay in my mind her last 20 months.  Time certainly flies by!  She's so independent now!  Walking, running, playing on her own, talking is coming along very nicely, getting along w/ her siblings.  She's developing into a beautiful little girl!  She's a great snuggler, and just sweet, sweet, sweet!  Unless you get on her bad side!  Then, she's not so nice!  She gets frustrated over the simplest things, because she's still too little to understand how some things work.  And if she doesn't like something, she'll let you know!  Her personality is really developing, and it's so fun to watch!!!!

The first recipe!

My kids like to help out in the kitchen.  And now that my son is in kindergarten, he thinks that he's an expert at everything!  Food included!

Here's his recipe:  Chocolate milkshake
Chocolate Ice Cream
Milk
Ice

Mix altogether and serve w/ whipped cream on top! 
LOL!

Sickness!

Wintertime seems to be the breeding time for illness.  And my children are no exception to be being exposed to sickness.  Unfortunately!  It seems like the illness this year is lingering as well.  My son started feeling sick last Thursday, and today it came back.  And has passed it along to my youngest daughter.  Fun fun stuff!  At least they are in good spirits!!!  And at least we have stuff going on all week, so I won't have to hunker down and stay at home all week!  And Friday I get a break, and am going scrapbooking Fri into Sat.  I need a vacation!!!!  LOL!