Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Ok So I May Have Lost It....

that's if I still had it I guess. I don't know really what happened but it started out as a regular day and ended up somewhere else. The girls played most of the morning drawing with their markers, watching their cartoons, playing with their puzzles, and just being the little angels that they are. Then like a freak tidal wave came the arguing over whose toy belonged to whom, the whole not sharing dilemma, the phone trauma, and finally the well deserved timeouts. We did a few timeouts ineffectively on the living room floor for poor behavior and then thankfully it ventured into lunch time. Thank god for lunch time because shortly thereafter comes nap time.

So the girls slept their usual 2 and a half hours and woke up ... oh let me choose my words wisely... well they woke up like little pains in the butts. Neither of them could agree to play nicely, stay out of the kitchen, stop running in the house, spitting on the floor, talk at a normal tone instead of super freaking loud, stop whining, and my personal favorite- both girls would begin fighting as soon as the telephone rang. Now I know they want attention and they will stop at nothing to get it but they get it all the time all day long. There are some moments of the day that I may have a need too. You know... like the need to pee without being watched, the desire to answer the phone when it actually rings and have contact with the outside world of humans older than 3. Is that asking too much? According to my masters they would say yes.

So when Dave called home and Olivia immediately jumped up and tried to take Ava's toy away from her I hung up the phone and explained to Olivia that she was being rude to the person on the phone and that she needs to be quiet when mommy answers it so that we can both hear each other. "Ok mommy." Yeah it was ok until a few minutes later when I called Dave back to see why he had called in the first place. Immediately Olivia started talking loud, running through the kitchen, and taunting Ava.

That's when I lost it the first time. I felt so frustrated with Olivia and yeah I know she's acting her age, but- and this is a big but, she still needs to learn that there are times when she needs to be quiet for a few minutes and play nicely. I felt so defeated. The small chance I had with the outside world came to a crashing halt and all the focus was back on Olivia. Sometimes I do take my phone calls in the garage but even with that it's still hard to hear because the girls stand on the other side of the door and pound on it while calling or crying for mommy.

Since I was on the verge of my own meltdown I made the girls dinner. With their dinner came a bowl of cottage cheese which Olivia loves to eat. So during dinner Liv looks at me and tells me that the cottage cheese is hurting her stomach and making her sick and then she dumped it on the carpet under the table. Oh no she didn't. Oh yes, yes she did. I walked over to her, explained why that was not ok, and told her she was doing a time out in her room while I cleaned up her mess. Usually they do their timeouts on the floor in the living room so this was a whole new ball park. She marched upstairs, went into her room, and I shut door letting her know I'd be back when I finished cleaning the floor. She cried for her daddy the entire time she was in her room.

And here's the topper: When I walked back into her room and asked her if she knew why she was in there she told me it was because I put her there. Ok true enough. So I asked what did she do to earn a time out and she told me that she put her food on the floor and that she should leave it on the table. Ok good so far right? Then she tells me that she wanted daddy to drive home in his little car and pick her up and NOT Ava, reasons unknown, and take her back to work with him.

I felt about 2 inches tall.

Guilt creeping up my back and with a sympathetic look I explained that daddy couldn't come home at this minute but he would be home later on. Then I hung my tail between my legs and we went down stairs together. It was heart breaking seeing Olivia want someone else and to know that I made her feel miserable. Fast forward to today... I know that she was working me over with guilt and that she wasn't going to enjoy a timeout in her room but it was very effective.


Later on that night I was talking with a friend of mine on the phone... yeah go figure after 9PM I'm allowed phone privileges again... and during a lot of the conversation she was arguing with her son. I know it must have been difficult for her but I felt absolved. It was justified that this wasn't just happening to me, that every mom gets tired, annoyed, or just plain worked over. Partly my OCD adds to my frustration but just the every day happenings of life with kids is hard for everyone. She talked with me for a long while and talked me off the edge and back to reality. I woke up today feeling better and more at ease. Dave brought me home a giant hamburger which also helped and he was really concerned and sweet to me.

But to set the record straight: I blame my mom for all of this. When I was young she used to say, "one day you'll have kids and I hope they treat you like this..." Umm ya, thanks for that.

Monday, April 27, 2009

What We Did, Who We Saw

Last weekend we went Saturday to visit with the new baby "L". Dave actually dropped me off at L's house and I visited her while he took the girls out for breakfast. They had a great time with their daddy gulping up every bite of food and leaving him with just a plate full of hash browns. Meanwhile I had my first real glimpse at the newest member of the "princess" world because let's face it- despite her mom's belief inside that little girl is a pretty pink little princess just waiting to come out:) Oh I see visions of pink tutu's, ponytails, and tiny pink high heels... HAHA.



Anyway, the ladies finished their breakfast with their daddy and came by to pick me up and get a quick photo taken with the baby. I wouldn't let them touch her since she's only a few days old and they had been to several kid germy places in the last few days but they got to sit next to her for the photo which was like a dream for Olivia. All she could talk about the entire drive home was holding the baby when she gets bigger. So when we arrived at our castle I immediately printed out a picture of the baby with each of the girls so they could carry it around the house and look at the baby. They were so cute. Then they went upstairs for their naps and saw that I also taped the same picture on their bedroom door. "Look mommy, it's me and baby L" Olivia exclaimed. Now every day she wakes up and stands in front of her door admiring her new friend. So here's the pictures of the girls with the newest princess:

On Sunday the girls stayed home with their favorite sitter "T" and Dave and I went to see my Uncle perform in a Senior Play. He was fantastic as actor and a singer. I never knew he was such an awesome performer. Afterwards we went to dinner with my Aunt, Uncle, and two of my cousins. It was really good to reconnect with my family and we have made plans to bring the girls the next time so that they can meet their family too. It was a very nice day all around. Dave fits in great with my entire family. They just love him, but then again who wouldn't- he's a great guy, husband, father, and friend.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Finger Lickin' Good

Boy, with dinner like this who needs a bath? We could just let Lady lick her clean.
Check out the pony-tail daddy put in Ava's hair... Daddy's amazing.

The New Teacher

Apparently Dave isn't the only teacher in the family. Miss Olivia is a born natural. I had walked upstairs to get a few things and ended up being up there a little longer than I had thought I would be. This is what I had found when I made my way back downstairs...




Olivia had been playing her computer game and Ava had been watching a cartoon on TV when I went upstairs. While I was there Olivia moved Ava's chair and helped her get in and buckled. She moved her chair over to where Ava's was to be close to her. She also moved the computer and the mouse so that Ava could use it. Then she showed Ava how to solved the game. She was very patient with her and very helpful. It was very sweet to walk in on them playing together so nicely. Olivia made a great teacher. Look out Dave- you have competition!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Almost...

Upon putting the ladies down for their naps I thought I'd go back and check on Ava just to see if she fell asleep really fast or if not I'd give her a quick kiss goodnight. I walked into her room to find her butt in the air without a diaper. I said, "what are you doing and where's your diaper?" Ava giggled, "I dunno mommy." And then it hit me- I totally forgot to put a diaper on her for nap time. She had been wearing panties but used the potty after lunch and I took them off and threw them into the washing machine because she had sat down on her macaroni and cheese. Since she had a dress on I didn't notice that I forgot the panties...

Well that could have worked out mighty interestingly had she slept for the next few hours buck naked. I could almost guarantee that her bed would still have been dry but I also don't want to take any chances. I really hate washing the sheets and blankets and remaking the beds. It's a really daunting and un-fun chore.

Today feels like it's going to be another scorcher. Yesterday since Dave came home early we were able to BBQ and let the girls run around in the sprinklers. Today, since it's just me, we've stayed inside and played Playdoo ice cream shop and geared up for Grammie and Papa's visit tomorrow. They are vacationing again so they are stopping by on the way to the airport. When the girls get up later we will probably do some puzzles and color. Olivia said she wanted pizza for dinner... It appears to be a lazy day.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Saturday Fun

We drove to Berkeley to visit Habitot's 11th birthday celebration. The girls were excited to be celebrating yet another birthday and with the hopes of eating cake the smiles were just beaming off their faces. Of course when we arrived the first thing the girls wanted to do was paint.



After adding a little bit of color to her hair, Ava moved on to the arts and crafts table. She was super excited to be using the ink dot pens.


Olivia was in charge of her own project. She was gluing, drawing, and sticking, everything in sight. Her creativity juices were flowing and her projects were coming out splendidly.


I supposed the smelling of glue starts at an early age...right?
Ava said it was stinky... ewww.


This is the ginormous birthday cake that the kids get to help decorate. Ava wanted to eat the frosting (paint) and was told no several times. Doesn't hurt to try again anyway. I mean after you glue your lips together with the glue stick why not eat a little paint?



Now, it's baby washing time and boy are these babies dirty and slippery.


Olivia likes to suds them up. She also poured a bucket of very cold water on Ava twice and served a very unfortunate time-out. Ooops.

After playing in the water, we all ate our lunches and watched the clowns perform. Then the girls trotted on over to the farm area where they played in the barn, collected eggs, and rode the horse.


But the best was yet to come... the clowns brought bubbles.





It was a very fun Saturday morning- afternoon. We drove back home and brought out the grill. The girls ran in the sprinklers with the other kids and we barbequed and lounged around for the rest of the weekend as a family.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Oops!

Ava had her first potty accident in a while this morning. Oops... It was probably avoidable had I paid attention to the way she was standing but I was distracted and then it was too late. She pooped a little bit in her panties at which time she became frantic about getting it removed. I put her on the potty and she finished. I felt bad for her that she looked so miserable when she saw her panties but after she finished she demanded her sucker and things were back to normal.

Still feeling like I let Ava down I decided to take the girls to play with their twin friends at the monkey bar park. The twins had ridden their scooters to the park so all four girls were able to switch off riding them. Wouldn't you know it I turn my head to see what Liv's was doing and I turn back around and Ava had climbed this curvy ladder all the way to the top and then shout, "Mommy I did it. Yea Ava." Oops. After my heart attack I gave her a high five and told her she is too young to climb that particular ladder but she can climb on the smaller one. The park is rated for kids five and over. I really feel that some of the obstacles are too advanced for a 2 year old's dexterity. Obviously I am the only person who feels that way because the little booger ran right back over to it and climbed it again. I've seen kids with broken bones. I NEVER want to see either of my kids with anything more than a broken fingernail. Again I told Ava that she is not allowed to climb this particular ladder and then my friend chimes in with, "you know last week she climbed that like 5 times when you were on the other side of the playground and she did just fine." Ummm, did I ask for your advice? No. I didn't thank you very much. So I replied simply, "Ava is still a baby and she doesn't need to be on this ladder." And she said, "yeah she isn't a baby anymore expect for in YOUR mind." Fine. Two against one. You got me beat.

I know Ava isn't really a baby, but I feel like there are things that Liv can do that Ava is chronologically too young for even if she can really do it. Maybe it's just me wanting to keep from growing up too fast. I want to protect them both for everything and I know it is humanly impossible but the things that I can shield them from I will. Honestly I am quite surprised either one of them has learned to walk let alone climb since I was always so worried about them falling down and skinning their knees. But even with my resistance they learned. It's amazing how much you can worry about your kids. I think about them wanting to leave home one day and go off to college and I worry... How many years away is that? Exactly.

I asked my mom how she let my brother and I leave for college and she said it was rough at first but that's why you have 18 years to instill good values. I guess what was good for my mom is that I stayed close to home, I check in often, and she still usually knows where I am at or where I am going. She's like my best friend. I tell her everything. I hope that I create a bond with my girls that wherever they go to college or whatever they do in life we will still be emotionally close and connected to each other. Wow do they grow up fast.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter Weekend Recap

I feel like a bad mommy. I know Easter was a few days ago and we had an exceptionally long and fun-filled weekend and perhaps that's why I can't wrap my head around writing this post. Maybe it should just be broken down into events so it makes sense to girls one day years from now when they read it. So here it goes...I'll give it a shot.

SATURDAY

The Eggstravaganza Hunt: Saturday morning at the crack of 9 AM the family piled into the car and headed for the huge hunt. The girls were pumped up and Dave and I were unaware of what was going to lie ahead. Thinking back it was probably a good thing. We arrived and there were fields FIELDS of eggs everywhere, 50 bouncy house jumpers, free food like hot dogs, cotton candy, drinks, and popcorn. You know there's just something to be said about watching your 2 year old suck down cotton candy at 9:15 AM. Not to mention there was a spin the wheel for a prize and Ava won an enormous Easter basket. Even more toys and candy. Now it's roughly 10 AM and Dave and Ava had to make a trip back to the car to drop off all the gifts we had received. While we waited Liv got to meet Snow White... a real princess... ahhh. They were a match made in heaven. We saw a few other characters but she didn't even want to look a them.

Dave and Ava returned shortly so we lined up for the egg hunt. About 20 kids 4 and younger were able to hunt the eggs every 15 minutes at a time. It was awesome. The kids didn't get trampled, they could take their time and pose for pictures. The hunt was really well put together. Afterwards we meandered over to the petting zoo and the pony rides. I think this was the highlight of Olivia's whole weekend. Not only did she get to pet the horse she was able to sit on top of it and ride. She was literally beaming. OK the sugar high probably helped a little bit too but Livy was in heaven. Ava loved the horses too but I don't think she grasp the concept of how great an experience it was to be able to ride a real horse.



Soon it was lunch time and then it was way past lunch time and wandering into nap time and the girls were still jumping in the bouncy houses and big slides. Dave and I looked at each other and agreed to make a break for it and headed home.

Nap time. Oh glorious nap time. Two solid hours of uneventful bliss.

The Barbeque: We had all ready made plans to bbq with the neighbors late Saturday afternoon so while the girls recouped upstairs we set up the garage with the kid's table and chairs and before we knew it we had 3 bbq's burning in the driveway, the neighbors were here and having a great time. We cooked chicken, tri-tip, ribs, hot dogs and links, macaroni and cheese, beans, and a few different kinds of salads. Everyone brought booze and finally our girls woke up and came down to join the party. Oh Olivia was so happy to sit next to her little next door boyfriend "B". They were so cute together. And Ava had her little friend "G" so everyone was happy, well fed, and buzzed.

SUNDAY

I think the girls are going through a growing spurt again because they have been sleeping in bed until almost 9 AM every morning. I expected Easter morning to be an exception but it wasn't which I guess was a good thing since I still needed to dispense the eggs around the backyard. So Dave snuggled the girls when they woke up and I went down and hid eggs and made breakfast. The girls ran downstairs and saw their baskets and of course wanted to eat their chocolate bunnies. Didn't we just do this yesterday? So the girls inhaled a boat load of candy and chocolate between bites of muffin and eggs at 9:30 AM and then Olivia noticed the eggs in the backyard and off they ran. I love the fact that they are both old enough to run around and collect eggs on their own. They are so grown up and yet they are still so young. In my mind I guess I always thought that a 2 year old was still such a baby but they are SO not. And 3 years old is so far from babyhood, Olivia really doesn't need help with anything.




After the hunt and the girls had a chance to play with their new toys we headed to the park to burn off some of the extra sugar packed energy. The girls showed their daddy how they have mastered the monkey bars and the big slide and we got to soak in the purity of being a kid. Afterwards we went out for lunch and then headed home for a BIG nap. This was a great holiday weekend, but I sure enjoyed Monday when everything went back to normal and the candy inhalation had ceased.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Bunny'd Again

Went shopping with the girls today for random household items and ran into the Easter Bunny again. Oh boy, do we love the Easter Bunny especially when he hands out tootsie rolls. It was such a cool experience that I suddenly remembered that yes I did need to buy some of those flushable toilet wipes as brown goo ran all down Ava's face and hands. How wonderful. Maybe we should hit him up for two more pieces so I can really go out of my mind with brown goo and two small kids. Thanks for that Easter Bunny. Don't be surprised when you find your own brown goo left in our yard from the dog that I just decided NOT to pick up for you.

Anyway, I am over my tantrum. Ava loved the BunBuns and wanted to sit with him and posed for a picture. Olivia got close enough to him to snatch the candy but quickly moved away. Later she told me she did not want the Easter Bunny to come to our house and she did NOT like him. Huh... I told her he had to come so he can hide the eggs and bring the baskets. She thought about it and decided he could visit as long as she didn't have to see him. Phew... Good.

Tomorrow we are off to another huge Easter egg hunt. Apparently it has the bouncy slide jumpy things and other carnival attractions besides just the hunt so it should be awesome. Maybe when we run into this Easter Bunny Olivia will have a different reaction. Who knows. Her mind changes so often... Then if the weather is still dry we will barbeque with our neighbors and their kids. It should be a fun day as long as it doesn't rain.

Yesterday we went to play in the inflatables with all of the neighborhood kids. The girls were so excited that they came too. It's fun when all the moms are home and we can get all of the kids together outside of our neighborhood. The inflatable place was packed with kids too. Apparently a preschool was rained out so they all came for the fun. The girls ran, jumped, and screamed their cute little heads off. When we got home we had lunch and they went right to sleep. I love that place. The girls come home exhausted. Whoever thought of creating that place deserves a metal.

And on that note... the bowling pins have been set up and the family is ready to play. Must go for now.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Yes, I am very proud

If everyone could have my good fortune the world would be a better place...literally- there would be less diapers in the landfills, happier parents without smelly kids, fatter wallets in parents' pockets from their savings, and the candy factories would be making even more of a killing.

Here's why: For the last 6 months Ava has been using the potty for all of her bodily functions. This is an exceptionally great thing. I hated changing diapers, especially pooped filled ones. Honestly, the smell of someone else's poop makes me want to vomit. When the girls use the potty I flush it as soon as the poop hits the water then I wipe their bums and leave the paper floating in the bowl until the next time someone uses the potty so I don't waste any unnecessary water. (Ironically in the middle of creating this post Ava had to poop.) Afterwards we all get to indulge in a small sucker for a reward.

This process has been so easy with Ava. It wasn't exceptionally hard with Olivia but Ava just doesn't like the feel of anything in her panties which has helped tremendously. I think she's been wearing her panties now for 3 months. The first month she wore them in the house only and whenever we left I put on a pull-up and then took her to the potty at every store or place we went. She had an accident every couple of days at home but did really well overall. The second month I took her to the park and for quick trips to places like the post office in her panties. Ava never had an accident. Then I just started forgetting to change her out of panties before we left the house because she stopped having accidents and we'd be eating in a restaurant and Ava would say she had to pee and woops there were the panties. So now she wears her pull-up for sleeping only and not for outings too.

This is the best part: Ava's been waking up from her nap 6 out 7 days completely dry. She's been waking up in the morning dry probably 3 days a week. She wears the same pull-up everyday for nap until she pees in it so we end up using maybe 3 or 4 pull-ups a week. Awesome. Simply freakin' awesome.

Olivia has been dry during naps for a while now too. She re-wears her pull-ups until she pees. She probably uses 1 pull-up a week for naps and she's wakes up dry on most mornings too. Livy also gets out of bed at night and uses the potty when she needs to. What has happened??? Did the potty fairy come and sprinkle magic dust over our house and create good fortune? It definitely feels like it. And I am SOOOOO thankful. I didn't mind so much changing pee filled diapers but if I don't have to, why should I? I put an extra change of clothes in the truck for Ava and can now ditch the diaper bag for good. Traveling has become a grand opportunity again. I needed that. It's hard enough taking two small kids to any place by yourself but then when you have to pack a lot of extras...well let's just say that I am not a pack mule.

I wish everyone could have a potty trained 2 year old. I have been fortunate enough to have two of them and it has saved us a bundle of time and money. It also has shown me that kids are much cleverer than parents give them credit for and when given the opportunity to achieve a goal they will. Ava tells me she does not want to wear diapers. She loves her panties and can't wait to put them on. For this I am thankful. Now if only they could learn to share as easily as this process has happened I'd really be stoked. Patience and age. I'm sure it has something to do with that.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Pre-Easter Hunt

The girls are gearing up for the Easter Egg hunt. They just met the Easter bunny and were quite impressed.


No one really knows why Ava's tongue is wagging but it could be from the anticipation of tasty candy.


The race is on. Olivia is hunting with her twin friends.


It was fun but we had to go home for our nap.

Friday, April 3, 2009

They say a picture says a 1000 words...

In my case it proves who done it...






Gotcha Ava!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Fancy Pants


Livynut has dressed herself today with the help of some of Mr. Potato Head's accessories.


Today, while dressed so fancy Olivia and I had an interesting conversation that went something like this:


O: Daddy is my Daddy because you're my Moe-ther.
Me: Yes, I'm your Mother, Daddy is your Father.
O: Daddy is my Fadder, yes that's right. (finger pointing up in the air like she has just had this grand idea) Daddy has babies in his belly.
Me: No, Daddy does not have any babies in his belly and neither do I. I used to have babies in my belly but then you were born and Ava was born.
O: I have a baby in my belly.
Me: No you don't but you are a BIG sister. You are the oldest so you are a BIG sister. Ava is your LITTLE sister.
O: Right! Ava is my LITTLE sister. I have a baby in my belly.
Me: No you don't have a baby in your belly. You have to be a Mommy. Daddies can't have babies either, BUT your Daddy is a BIG brother and a LITTLE brother. He has a brother and two sisters. Mommy is a LITTLE sister because I am younger than my brother.
O: When you have the baby I will get to hold her like this...(tightly squeezing).
Me: Are you Nostradamus and making some sort of prediction that we will be having another baby and it will be a girl?
O: What Mommy?
Me: Never mind.
O: You are my Moe-ther!
Me: Yes, I will always be your Mother and you will always be my daughter. I am Grammie's daughter. You are my daughter. Ava is my daughter too. Can you please take all your fancy stuff off while we have this conversation? It is hard to take you seriously.

I Snuggle Daddy

My little cupcake woke up last night and needed some extra daddy time. I asked her if she wanted to snuggle with me too and I was sharply told, "I snuggle daddy" and then she rolled away from me. Thanks, I felt about 2 inches tall. The power of a 2 year old.


When I asked my little cupcake if Mommy could take her picture with Daddy I was given this:



I would really like to mention that 95% of the day Daddy is NOT home. Why is this pint sized munchkin giving ME the stink face? Is this at all fair- I think not.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

She's just so dang cute...

If she weren't all ready mine I'd want to keep her.