School Conferences

Tonight we visited our children's classrooms and had discussions w/ their teachers.  We received great reports!  Which makes us happy that we seem to be doing an ok job of raising our kids!  Personality quirks that we need to work on, but overall, we have smart kids who are respectful to others, participate in class and are overall good kids!  :D

Since we visited each of the older kids' schools, E. kept asking to go to HER school!  She's in 2 day preschool.  She kept saying that we have to go to her classroom and talk to her teacher.  She was SO mad when we drove home without driving to her school!  Haha!

J. and O. were reminiscing about their preschool days, and singing songs that they learned then, on the way home.  J. said that he remembers playing the dumbbells.  I said to him, "Um, don't you mean the hand bells?!"  He burst out laughing!  So funny!

Pretend I ate my dinner!

You know, sometimes being a parent is really hard.  Here's one example:

Last night we had marinated grilled pork chops, green beans and brown rice for dinner.  We had to leave by a certain time so that I could read at church.  Everyone ate everything on their plates except E.  She wasn't hungry, she kept saying.  She would ask how many more bites.  We told all of them that if they ate their dinner and were good in church, we would get them ice cream sundaes at McDonalds.  THAT didn't even sway her!  She would NOT eat.  So, the time came that we HAD to leave.  E. ran away from the table and started to cry because she wanted ice cream.  I said, "You have to eat your dinner and then you can have ice cream."  She said, "Can't you pretend that I ate my dinner?"  OH it's so hard to say no!!!!!  Who thinks like that?!  She's only 3!!!!!  I guess I'm in a world of trouble if she already out-thinks me at 3 years old!

We did buy her ice cream, and it's currently in the freezer, waiting for her.  She did come home and eat SOME of her dinner, but then quickly fell asleep. 

Keeping busy

Today the big toy book arrived in the mail. My older two flew through it, circling their Christmas wish list items like experts. Then it just sat there. So, E. picked it up after dinner tonight and starts circling things as well. I asked her if she knew what she was doing and she said, "yes, i'm circling things.". I asked her if she knew why she was circling things, and she replied, "i need something to do."! Ok then! Circle away Ms. Know it all!

Art and Jesus are cool!

Tonight J. wanted to look up Leonardo da Vinci and his art. We viewed the Mona Lisa where the girls asked who that lady was. Then we looked at The Last Supper and I was explaining what it represented. I said that Jesus was in the middle and E. exclaimed, COOL!"
Yes, Jesus is very cool! :)

That's how we roll...

Tonight as I was tucking J. in, I arranged his buddies incorrectly.  He showed me exactly how the Blues go, along w/ his dinosaurs and little bear go.  All in a row on his pillow.  There's barely room for his head!
And then he said that the stripes in his comforter go by his pillow, because "that's how I rock this party"!
I started to laugh, so he started spinning some more cliches:
"That's how this skateboard rolls"
"That's how I put the book on the shelf"
"This is how the coin drops into my piggybank"

He lives to make me laugh!  Doesn't usually take much!  ;D

Classical Music

It's so refreshing and makes me smile when I hear my sweet E. who is 3, humming along to Peer Gynt - Morning by Edvard Grieg.

Here's a visual for you!  This is one of my favorite classical songs, and every time I listen to it, this YouTube video absolutely captures what visions I have in my head!  It is purely relaxing!

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/gH1JMdWpJ54

Creepin' Me Out!

Today I picked up my little E. who was shopping w/ my mom after preschool today.  They were at the dollar store and near it was a Halloween store that was inhabiting an empty storefront.  On the sign, there was a pumpkin and maybe a ghost?  I can't even remember now!  Anyway, E. said, "That place is creepin' me out, Mommy!"  Then, she thought for a minute and said, "Hey!  I got a idea!  We can just get the monster and then it won't get us!  We'll hurt him and then he won't be creepin' me out!"
Intuitive thinking for a 3 year old!

Funny E. Sayings!

Tonight we are hanging out in our hotel room while K, J and O are swimming downstairs.  We were tired of being in our bathing suits, so we came upstairs to watch some tv and for me to catch up on emails.

Here are some things that E randomly said:

I asked her if she was hungry, and she said, "I am like totally completely full."

I put on my new Williamsburg sweatshirt that I picked up today, and she said, "I love that!  It's so beautiful!"

She turned to me and said, "Don't touch the bears at the zoo!  You could get your hand bit off!"
Guess we won't be petting any bears at the zoo!  ;D

Bunker cars

Today we were talking about our local amusement park and who could ride what ride and who was too big or little for other rides. E. said, "I'm big enough to go on the baby bunker cars!!!"

Get me off this Potty Train!

E. is potty training.  It's a joy at our house!  NOT!  I HATE potty training!  It's so frustrating!  I am forever saying, "Do you have to go to the potty?"  She's probably as tired of hearing that, as I am of saying it!  But, we are on a mission to be fully potty trained by the end of summer.  Which is my husband's goal, not mine.  I don't know why, it's not like HE has to worry about her!  He works all the time!!!! 

So, the other day, we were swimming, and E. said that she had to go to the potty.  So, we ran in to the bathroom, and she's sitting on the toilet and she says to me, "Mommy, I'm done with this potty train!" 

I, of course, had to remind her that she was in fact NOT finished w/ the "potty train", but would continue on it until she was successful!  Well, we went home and as soon as my husband came through the door, she told him the same thing!  And he told HER the same thing that I said!  LOL!

So, my little E. is stuck on the Potty Train a while longer!  I'm such a mean mom!  ;D

Musings of a 3 year old

Today was a nothing day.  It was so nice to do absolutely NOTHING!  I sat on my front porch and read from my phone all day today.  While sitting outside, a thunderstorm rolled in.  E. (who is now 3 and lets everyone know that she just had a birthday) came outside and after hearing the thunder said, "That storm is a girl storm."  I said, "How do you know?"  She answered, with her hands around her mouth like she was shouting, "Because she said, 'I'm a girl and I want to talk to you!'"  :D

Earlier this morning, I was getting E. dressed for the day.  She didn't want to have her hair combed, so she ran into my room and said that Daddy told her that she didn't have to comb her hair today.  (He was already at work by this point and had not seen her before he left!).  I said, "No he didn't!"  She replied, in a fake deep voice, "Mommy, you don't have to comb E.'s hair today!" as if Daddy was telling me himself!  I cracked up, and still combed her hair!

Later today, she was running through the house, and she tripped and fell in the kitchen.  I picked her up and kissed her and soothed her.  I asked what hurt, and she told me her leg, or "weg".  I kissed her weg and she asked, "Is it broken?"  I told her it wasn't.  She asked, "Can I walk?"  I told her she could.  She got a look of horror on her face and asked, "Can I run?"  I laughed and said that she could, and so she wriggled out of my grasp and ran off, the fall completely forgotten!

Don't Learn Me!!!!

Today J. and I were playing Bananagrams.  E. decided that she wanted to play.  She started spouting off letters, even though some of them were incorrect.  I started grabbing tiles and seeing which ones she knew and which ones she didn't.  Finally, after getting quite a few correct in a row, she looked up at me and  said, "Don't Learn Me!"  And kept repeating it!

Impossible!

The girls had such a wonderful day today on a field trip! They both behaved beautifully and it was a great day!
We come home, have dinner, and my husband and I go in to the living room to relax while the girls went in to the toy room. Well, it wasn't even a minute that my husband sat down that they were already fighting over a barbie. The fight ensued and traveled to where we were. We tried to tell E. that she needs to SHARE her barbies with her sister; but she was having none of that! She flew back in to the toy room and apparently hit her sister with a book. O. ran in to the living room and tattled on E. E. came in and exclaimed,"Impossible!" We were laughing too hard to make her say she was sorry!

Talking on the phone

This morning I called my house to talk to my husband, and my 2 year old answered the phone.
Me: hello!
E.: "hi!"...silence..."who is this?"
Me: it's your mother!
E.: "i don't want to talk to you!"

And my thoughts were, "well, I really wasn't calling for you in the first place!"

A little kid's version of Jesus' last days on Earth

This morning was a stellar morning for conversation on the ride to school!  J. is off the whole week due to no snow days!  So, he was in the car w/ us as we took O. to preschool. 
O. must have had this on her mind, because she blurted out when no one was saying anything, "J. thinks that there are 13 brothers, but he's wrong.  There are 12 disciples."  I told her that she was correct and asked her what else she knew.  Here's what she had to say:

"They didn't drink God's blood, it's just wine, Mom!"
"They teared the bread and shared it with everyone."
"Jesus died on the cross."
"He rised from the dead."

Which, this last statement brought up the conversation topic of Jesus going to the cave and the rock door that was mysteriously moved.

J. said, "The King put Jesus in the cave and then put the rock over the door so that He couldn't get out.  But Jesus just punched His way through the rock to get out.  Or He just walked right through the rock.  He was super strong!"

O. of course didn't believe it, so she said, "No.  That is NOT what happened!  There were two girls that came to the cave, one had black hair and one had red hair, and they moved the rock out of the way.  THEY were super strong!"

I love when they pay attention in school and church!
Happy Easter!

Hold on tight, Mom!

E. is "fixing" my shoulder with her play drill. She has a flashlight and drill and locates my problem. She says, "hold on tight, Mom!" and proceeds to drill into my shoulder. I wonder if she'll become a surgeon or a construction worker! At least she has a nice bedside manner! Lol!

Crayon out of carpet

When your little darlings bring you a box of melted crayons to show you, and then accidentally DROP them on your carpet, don't scream in horror!  I have found a solution!

http://www.ehow.com/how_10695_clean-crayon-carpet.html

When you're done, your carpet will be back to the state it was before the 'crayon catastrophe'!

Have a nice, crayon free day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This year the Lucky Leprechauns took it easy on our house!  They wrote a note saying that when they got home last year after tearing our house apart, they were chastised by their parents.  So, they just came and played cards and drank their green beer, and left a much smaller mess to clean up!  When the kids woke up this morning, they flew down the steps to see what havoc those Leprechauns played!  They checked the bathroom, and just like last year, the potty was green!  They loved it!  LOL!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I made breakfast, and made green pancakes!  I'll have a picture of them up later, probably on my Pampered Chef blog:  http://thepamperedchefblogger.blogspot.com/

Erin Go Bragh!

My BEST Day Ever....this week

My friends at More Than Mommies blog are challenging their blog readers to write about (blog about) their BEST Day EVER...This week!
I think I'm going to have to say that today is my best day ever!  Now, granted, I have a TON of work to do today, but I'm pushing it all off until tonight and all day tomorrow to make some headway.  It is just too darn nice to stay inside and craft!  So, I'm taking my Kindle and iPhone outside and I'm sitting on my front porch and gliding the afternoon away!  I'm not worrying about dinner.  I'm not worrying about anything today!  I am savoring this glorious day!  The sun is shining, my kids are having fun playing outside, and I am going to enjoy it!

I love the talk of a 2 year old!

I'm sitting here listening to my music on my phone w/ my headphones and working, and E. walks up to me and taps me on the arm.  She said (in her 2 year old language), "Can I talk you a minute please?  How you turn this off? (meaning my phone)"  And proceeds to take my temperature w/ her play thermometer, and then gets her play saw and revs it up on my head.  She grabs her play flat iron and starts to do my hair.  I love it!!!!

A field trip!

I just heard my middle child tell my oldest child, "We're going on a field trip.  And we're going to the Science Center.  And we have to pack a lunch.", in the most snotty, rub it in way!  It never even phased the oldest!  He just said, "That's nice.  I've been there for field trips before."

Another story because we can't just have one!

After I typed up O.'s story, J. decided that he wanted to create a story!  Here's his creation!

Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away; Yoda and Commander Cody wrecked into the Ice Planet Hoth.  Yoda was talking and he was talking funny and Hahn Solo said, "Hey, at least I know how to talk right, I do."  Yoda said, "Abandon you, we must!"  And then Hahn Solo said, "No more!" And then an At At Fighter comes and steps on Yoda and Commander Cody flies out of the plane yelling, "I can see my house from here!"  Hahn Solo said, "I warned you!" to Yoda.  And then Yoda gets up and they walk through a blizzard.  There was a frozen animal on the ground.  Yoda said, "Keep our heads in here to stay warm, we must!"  A battle droit comes out and said, "Uh oh!" And then Indiana Jones comes in and he sees Yoda, and Yoda said, "What the heck! You're on the wrong set!"  There were Germans chasing them, and then Spongebob walks in and says, "Hello Citizens of Bikini Bottom!"  Then Squidward says, "You barnaclebrain nincompoop!"  Luke Skywalker and Mr. Crabs come in and clear everyone off the set, and ACDC comes in and plays "Back in Black."  The End!

All the while J. is telling me this story, E. is sitting on O.'s bed singing into a microphone at the top of her lungs, "My name!" Over and over and over again!  LOL!

I think this story sounds more like a nightmare than a bedtime story!  O. is listening to me retelling the story, and she turns to J. and says, "Seriously?!  Seriously, J.?!"  I just love their imaginations!!!!

A story to get rid of hiccups

O. was laying in bed w/ hiccups tonight and could not fall asleep!  I told her to tell me a story so that her mind would stray from the hiccups and she would forget all about them!  Here's the story:
Me: Ok, who are the characters?
O.: Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin
Me: They decide they want to go and pick berries, so they walk down to the berry patch and....?
O.: they bump into Apple Dumplin', and they get into a fight.  They are throwing berries and apples at each other, and gum.  And the gum walks away.  Then Blueberry Muffin says, "Stop!" and they all stop mid-throw.

Then Apple Dumplin' kicks Blueberry Muffin in the leg because she's mad at her.  After that, they all run home to their porches and kick their houses.  All of a sudden, a boy comes running down the street and Apple Dumplin' says, "Come here and give me a big hug!"  Then, a dog comes running down the street and Apple Dumpin's cat says "Come here and give me a big hug!" to the dog.

Everyone goes into Apple Dumplin's house and has a Pampered Chef party!

At the end, Olivia said, "I told you this would be a funny story!"
She was cracking up like crazy when I read this story back to her!  The kind of laugh that I have when something really tickles my funny bone!
And guess what?  The hiccups are gone!

Ramblings of a 2 year old

1.  We were in the car this morning waiting for J.'s bus to come.  We were listening to George Strait, and one song came on, and E. said, "This song is about Jesus, Mommy!"  It wasn't.

2.  I was laying in my bed w/ E., trying to get her to sleep for her nap.  I'm reading my Kindle, and she turns over and says, "Mudder!"  I turned and I say, "Are you trying to say 'Mother'?  She says, "Yes, Mudder!  I don't want to go to sleep!"

3.  The other day, we were on our way home from a family birthday party, and O. was whining like crazy.  So, E. was tired of it, and said to me, "Mommy, O. is still whining"!

Happy Presidents Day!

This morning J. went downstairs and outside to shoot his confetti gun that he received last night at a family birthday party, for the 2 presidents!  LOL!  George Washington and Abraham Lincoln!  The only ones that count in a 7 year old's mind!

Ships

J. was reading about the Titanic today and told me about it.  He said that there were only 711 survivors, and that the two captains went down with the ship.  He said that he just couldn't believe that they did that.  He said that he would never go on a ship like that.  And that when someone asks him to go on a ship, he always says no!  He said that he could only go on little boats relating to the Civil War.  He said that he could only ride in a boat for 30 or 20 minutes.  He couldn't stand to be on a boat any longer than that.  Then it would have to turn around.

Farmer in the Dell Meets The Yellow Submarine

E. is playing w/ my ink pads (re-organizing them), and she's singing to herself, "Hi ho the derriero, a yellow submarine!"  LOL!  I just thought that that was so funny! 

The kids have a microphone and speaker and the girls are usually fighting over it.  Today, O. was singing along to Taylor Swift!  I videotaped it, it was just so darn sweet!  Then, a couple minutes ago, E. was singing into it, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and her own song about a baby.  She was looking up at J.'s baby picture above her.

Today I woke E. up from her nap, and asked her what she had dreamed about.  She told me a story about a moon and Strawberry Shortcake!  I thought that for a 2 year old, that was pretty ingenius!  Maybe I'm just biased!  ;D