Soccer Stars

I must admit, Ava can really chase a ball and dribble it across the lawn. Olivia's no rookie either... she just kicks it harder and farther away so it makes dribbling and keeping possession of the ball a little bit tougher.

The Weekend

The weekend went by fast. Faster than most. I think this one felt so quick because we didn't have a huge conundrum to deal with. Speaking of, Ava's leg is healing up nicely and she can play around for the most part. This is a huge relief from the previous week where I felt I was going to lose my mind trying to keep her still.

Dave and I finally sat TOGETHER in the hot tub Friday night and had a little date night. That was long over due and much needed after all the illnesses and hospital stuff we've had to deal with over the last few months. Actually spending time together was like that, 'Hey, I remember you...' moment you have one morning a few months after you give birth. AHHH!

Saturday Dave was in kid mode. He saw, he conquered, he fed, and they played. He took them through their favorite buffet a.k.a. Costco, then to an arts and crafts thing at the toy store. I, lucky me, went shopping ALONE and it felt GREAT. Not once did I have to bend over and pick up something that had been pulled off the clothing rack or dumped off a shelf. It was great knowing I was having a good time and the kids were out too having a good time with their Daddy and not sitting at home waiting for me to return.

Then in the evening we all regrouped and took the girls to church, Olivia's new favorite thing. She's been going when she's with my parents and has loved it. We had always said if they ever want to go we'd take them and she asked a few weeks ago so we've been going. There's been a lot of shuttling to and from the restroom but otherwise things are okay so far. I think Olivia just likes it because it is the one place that she can sing really loud and no one cares.

Sunday we went to an Egg Hunt at one of the nearby schools. The girls filled their baskets and snarfed down a lot of candy. We saw their little twin friends there and they played for a moment. Then we came home and signed up for ballet and swimming for April and May so they can do the Hip Hop class at the end of May and fit everything in. We will not be sitting in this house any longer. I feel like we have all been suffering from house arrest due to the LEG. Not any longer! Then we BBQ'd with some friends and relaxed the rest of the day. The weekend was just plain fun.

FUN.

Like every weekend should be except we have so much crap to do all the time that sometimes it feels like we don't have enough time for fun.

On a side note:

I need to add in the kids height and weigh measurements because I haven't done that lately.

Olivia is 43 1/2 inches tall and 38 1/2 pounds. (14.3 BMI or 20 percentile)

Ava is 39 1/2 inches tall and 40 pounds. (18.1 BMI or 94 percentile) Yes, we will be shedding some of these pounds as soon as she can officially run around again.

Happy Birthday

Grammie!!!

We didn't forget you. We just don't have a birthday picture to post. But when you come down to bake the cake we'll snap one then! We love you!

Crazy Hair Day

Yip. This is what Olivia looked like when I dropped her off at school today. It's a good thing it was CRAZY hair day.


Liv had been waiting for this day all week. She's loving it!

All Bandages Removed

OK so it is obvious I am the only person who cares about this big slice on Ava's leg. She could care less. Hasn't even looked back there to see what all the fuss is about. Nope.

What does she care about you might ask? A teeny tiny little cut on her third toe that makes her hobble around like she's missing a leg. You can't even see the dumb thing and it happened 4 days ago. Please. For the love of God just forget about it.

On a different note...

Tuesday afternoon Ava and I went to pick up Olivia from preschool and I talked with one of our mom friend's there about having the big bandaid on Ava's leg to cover the surgical tape. She was telling me that her dog just was operated on and they told her to leave the bandaid off so the wound could dry. I told her the area did look wet like it may have oozed. She said her husband would look at it and see if we could just leave the bandaid off. So I unstrapped the ever unsuspecting Ava from her car seat and plopped her feet on the ground. Kevin removed the bandaid, took a glance, and said, "Yeah she doesn't need that bandaid. It looks fine. Just let the surgical tape fall off on it's own." And then he folded the bandaid up and handed it back to me.

Umm... how's she gone get back in car and ride with the surgical tape rubbing up against the seat? Since we didn't have a choice, Ava got back in and Olivia climbed in and I drove home hoping everything looked okay when she got out of the car. Thankfully it did. Only once did Ava notice that the big bandaid was gone and there was something funny like sticky tape on the back of her leg yesterday.

So here's a picture of the real deal. The surgical tape fell off this morning.

Ava heads to the plastic surgeon today for an evaluation but it looks like all things are a go... as if it ever wasn't for her.

Play Play Play

If only playtime lasted forever.

Today is such a nice day outside but instead of being outside and enjoying it we are trapped inside until Ava's checkup tomorrow. The doctor said to keep her still until then and to keep her free from dirt. To him, this probably seemed like two simple requests. Not so much. All Ava wants to do is climb and jump on the stairs, run around, and I don't know- be 3 years old.

And then there's Olivia who doesn't get the, "all for one and one for all," concept of being trapped inside with Ava. Together they are getting on each others nerves, my nerves, and our pets nerves (yes, the cat has been puking... which has now become the most widely used verb in the house today... PUKING). Because that's exactly what you want your kids running around in house yelling about. Oh I feel like an expert parent. I've tried to compensate for saying 'puke' and bring back the concept of 'throwing up' but I was disregarded and outnumbered and now PUKE has found it's place in our house.

This is what being trapped inside in the house for a week does to a family. We end up posting about puke, the girls are talking in robot voices because that is their second passion of this minute since Olivia learned 'the robot' in dance class, play-doh has become the center of our artistic lives, and well we simply cannot watch anymore TV. Oh and earplugs come in handy when you feel like you might crack.

Cheers to earplugs and play-doh and to everyone who gets to enjoy the beautiful world outside today. Secretly we are inside loathing you.

Happy Birthday Sugar!!

Sugar is officially a dog. Two days ago she was merely a puppy and now she is 1 year old. We sang happy birthday to her and gave her special birthday treats.

JB Field Trip

Olivia and Dave went to the JB Factory for a class field trip. Here's a few friends standing with her in front of the sign. Daddy and his Olivia getting their picture taken before entering the factory.

Olivia standing in front of the candy dispensers... She was so excited to be on this trip especially since she was all by herself with Daddy.
Olivia and the Jelly Belly.
After the tour Olivia picked out treats for each of her family members.
Then the class headed over to a huge park and had lunch and played together. This picture is of Olivia going down the big cement slide.
And here's the hot dog lunch.
Olivia and her classmate on the teeter totter enjoying the sunny day.
Another friend with Olivia riding the bouncy circle thingy.
And a great day was had by all.

Ava stayed home resting her leg, she got her toenails painted, had lunch in my bed, watched her movies without any interruptions, and was given a JB treat when Olivia arrived home. She was in heaven.

Cute Pictures

I haven't had a whole lotta time to post lately so here's a few cute pictures of the girls being themselves.

Olivia had missed a day of school due to her illness so her teacher had sent her schoolwork home. Olivia completed all of it happily especially since it involved scissors and glue. This is the day Olivia's school celebrated St. Pat's Day. The girls made sure to wear their green.
Olivia was showing off her cute outfit and tattoo on her check.
A close up...
My other cutiepatootie
The sisters on a family room camp out.
No camp out would be complete without dinner in the tent.

Ava's St. Pat's Day Surgery

Here's the bump Ava had removed. Ava's arrival for surgery... and the only person smiling in the waiting room.
The gown is small and allows for her buns to hang out. Very cute on a little person, not so cute on the guy across the hall.
My lovely Ava ready to go.
All hooked up and being monitored.
Ava paid close attention to what the nurses were doing while holding her baby.
It was finally her time, she had taken her medication to relax and was ready to have that bump be gone forever.

See you real soon Sweetpea...

It's over, it's done, and she is ready to get the heck out of the hospital. All she kept saying was, "I want to go home now."
At home with the balloons her Daddy gave her, Ava rested and recovered just fine. She watched cartoons, read her books, and played her Leapster. She has not once complained of pain and is walking around just fine.
The end result... it doesn't look as scary as I thought it would. The stitches will dissolve so a few more days and her leg should look pretty good.

The Squeeze

We squeezed in Six Flags Sunday. Well, we were there practically the entire day so I don't really know if it qualifies as being squeezed into our plans but we had fun. We walked the entire park and back again so Ava could get some exercise before she has to lay around for a week.

We began with the whale and tiger shows. Then we rode some basic rides like the trains or the other easy ones for kids Ava's size. Then we rode some other family rides like Thrilla Gorilla. This ride doesn't have a height requirement oddly enough since it goes really fast. Ava loved it at first but about two thirds of the way through she was done. It lasts a little too long in my opinion but Olivia loved it of course. The higher, faster, bumpier, spinnier they are the more she loves the ride. We then rode the waterfall raft ride and a roller coaster and then moved on.

Then we went to pet the elephant, touch the butterflies, view the shark tank which Olivia could not have cared less for...strange since she normally loves fish, sharks, or any other aquatic life. Ava wanted to pet the string rays so we went there for awhile and then headed home. It was a long day of walking. The girls enjoyed themselves and it was a fun family outing.

Yesterday we squeezed in a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We had a few tokens left from the last time we were there so we brought those along. The girls played a few games, found some extra tickets, crawled around in that tube thing, probably got infected with a bunch of germs, and then spent the tickets to buy Olivia a pair of earrings and Ava a pink lizard. Then back home we went to eat lunch and take a nap.

Today the girls are playing in the tent that is set up in the livingroom while we are waiting for the hospital to call since they called this morning and said they would be calling after 11 A.M. today with Ava's appointment time. Then afterwards we are going out to ride the bikes and play outside for awhile.

Tomorrow we have Ava's shindig and St. Patrick's Day. I will be making corned beef in the crockpot in the morning before we leave so it will cook all day while we are at the hospital so no one has to come home and think about, "what's for dinner?" Tammy is watching Olivia tomorrow and since today is Tammy's birthday I set out a cake mix and frosting so together they can bake her a cake while we are gone. Olivia loves being in the kitchen and helping and this will be nice for her to have time without Ava trying to stand on the chair next to her.

Friday Olivia and Dave are headed to a class field trip to the Jelly Belly Factory. Ava and I will be sitting around watching movies all day, playing our games, and reading our books. Doesn't sound too exciting I'm sure but having a day with one kid all day and the ability to sit on my ass in the process- priceless.

Hopefully we are done squeezing in going anywhere else in for this week. The weekend is already full from Olivia's eye appointment on Saturday, we have to go back to the accountant as well to get our tax results, send my mom a birthday card, and attend to anything extraneous that may pop up. I think I need a vacation day without kids but to be able to be home alone to "just be". That would be nice. I bet Dave wishes for the same thing...

Happy Birthday

To my Dog.

She's 6 today!!!! We love you!

Wha Wha

It's a sad day in Dave history today. He got denied by his Olivia to take a ride to the recycling place to drop off the cans. She preferred to stay home and finish building her Lego castle. Oh how sad. I get denied all the time. I'll ask either one of them if they want to go with me somewhere, or stay home with me, or whatever, and sometimes they choose me and sometimes they don't. It has just become my reality. But TODAY.... HA HA HA. It happened to Dave and now the world is complete. Oh Almost forgot the best part... usually when Dave's finished with recycling with the girls he always gives them a dollar each to put in their piggy banks. When he returned home Olivia promptly told him, "I don't want my dollar Daddy." Wha Wha.

Clowned.

By a 4 year old.

I shouldn't gloat.

But it feels so good.

Hodge Podge

Ava saw her pediatrician today and was given the green light for Wednesday as long as she doesn't get sick between now and then. I have my fingers crossed and am praying for a Hail Mary.

The appointment went well. I had to take Olivia with me since she didn't have school. I was telling her before the doctor walked in that the appointment was not for her or about her and that she needed to sit and be quiet so he could talk with Ava and give her her physical. So the door opens and the doctor walks in and he looks at Olivia and says, "Hi."

Olivia says with a big grin, "Hi doctor, How are you doing today?"

And he tells her, "Fine. Thank you for asking."

And then he looks at me and says, "Wow mom, you are doing a great job. In my 3 1/2 years here she is the only kid who has ever asked ME how I'm doing. Your kids are very polite."

I must say- they are very polite and have great manners. They both know how to use 'please, thank you, I'm sorry, you're forgiven, may I be excused from the table?, cover their faces when they sneeze or cough,' and all the other niceties I can't think of at the moment. Don't get me wrong though. They know how to fight and squabble just the same and give the remark, 'you're not my friend anymore' at the first instance of not getting their way. It was just nice today to see Olivia be kind and chatty even after I told her this appointment was not about her and she needed to be quiet. She wasn't intrusive during the exam. She was really quiet and good. And she knows the difference between when and what she can say and when to not speak in public. She really is learning every day.

I look at her and sometimes I think about how trying it can be being a SAHM and then she does something like this and I remember why it is so important to be there and teach her the things I want instilled in her. And on days like today I feel like, "Yeah. I did make the right choice for myself and I'm doing a good job at it."

Sometimes I question if I'm teaching them the right stuff. If I'm doing enough or playing enough. I'm sure there's a lot of different techniques I could use to educate my kids but so far things appear to be on track. Olivia can write all of her letters, she began spelling 4 letter words awhile ago and now will come up to me in the kitchen or somewhere and say, "Mommy, how do you spell water?" Then I tell her and I can hear her walk away chanting W-A-T-E-R all over the house. She can read some words by sounding them out too. It's kinda scary because Dave and I have become used to spelling everything out in front of her and soon we won't be able to anymore.

And then there's Ava. She didn't want to listen to books in the same way Olivia would so I figured she would struggle to learn but then she surprised me. She just has a different way of learning and completely different interests. We were walking down the street the other day and she pointed at the stop sign and told me, "Look mommy, it's an octagon." Baffled she knew that I asked her what other shapes she saw. She named them all. Then she saw the letters that are sometimes carved into the sidewalks for the power/water companies and she begins walking and reading the letters out loud. She knows all of her letters.

I've asked her so many times, "What is this letter, Ava?" when we are in the house and she looks up at the ceiling, cocks her head to the side, and puts her chubby little finger to her cheek and tells me something random. I end up thinking, 'oh well she'll learn them at some point she just won't know them all before she starts preschool like Olivia did.' But she does know them- capital and lower case. She just doesn't spew it out in the conventional way. She even knows what sound each letter makes. Ironically, Dave and I believe she is farther ahead of Olivia when Liv began preschool. With the help of Olivia's constant practice Ava has reaped all of the rewards. The proof is that Ava did Olivia's dance routine after only seeing it performed a few times. She picks stuff up so quickly. It's so exciting and so terrifying at the same time. I look at Ava and my baby is gone and she has been replaced by a developing 3 year old.

I am so happy that I spend every day with her and Olivia. I get to see it all. I get to be there for all the 'moments' and that makes me very happy. I know too soon I'll be hearing about them second hand from the backseat of the car on the way home from school. So I'm not trying to brag about my kids. I just think that they rock. And when they read this later they will see why I stayed home with them and how much I enjoy it as well as how very deeply I love them.

It's Coming

Next week is only a few days away and Ava will forever be without her bump. I think that she is happy about it's final departure even though she doesn't have any idea HOW it's going to happen. But whatever. She lives in bliss and I'm happy to pull up a couch and have a seat next to her.

We saw the Plastic Surgeon today. Everything is set and ready to go. Tomorrow she sees her regular Pediatrician to get the finally 'go ahead' and as long as she doesn't get a cold between today and then she should be fine.

Daddy Dave is going to buy some balloons for her during the surgery so when she wakes up she has something else to focus on other than the annoying tape and stitches around her leg.

So here's to hoping we can get this over with and move on and still have a little bit of time to enjoy the end of the spring. I mean, c'mon. We missed the last five weeks due to respiratory issues, diarrhea for Liv, then for Ava... oh and let's not forget that the cat had it this morning and stunk up the entire downstairs. So officially I think the entire house is now okay. I don't want to jinx us and say great, so I'll still with, "we are okay."

I Guess This Makes Sense

Upon waking up from her nap, I found Ava standing at the top of the stairs. I greeted her with the normal, "Good afternoon Ava. Did you sleep well?"

And she responded with, "Mommy, can I have some bread?"

"What do you need bread for?" I asked.

"My crotch really hurts and bread will make it feel better." She replied holding her belly as if in so much agony she was about to die.

Why did I not know this? All the times that my crotch hurt I could have just fixed it with bread. Duh.

Olivia had diarrhea all last week and was eating Pedialyte Popsicles which Ava wanted but she was told they were to make Olivia's belly feel better. Apparently this act has now takes it own unique turn into Ava's belly needing a cure too- bread. She settled for a noca bar instead.

Recital

This is the stage of the theater Olivia had her very first dance performance EVER. I didn't realize it was taking place at an actual theater with the entire audience filled with people. Somehow I was thinking more on the lines of parents and a few extra family members... maybe 30 people maximum. This is where Ava was sitting with Dave 30 minutes before the show started. Not too many people. But then 5 minutes before the show began I turned around and glanced back and saw that the theater was full. I was nervous for Olivia. She could have cared less. Oh to be 4 again and oblivious.
And here she is... ready to begin her first performance ever. I couldn't have been more proud of her. She was so brave and did her dance so well with a smile on her face.
She's waiting for her solo...
It was exciting for her and for us. I asked her how she felt on stage afterwards. She stated very calmly, "I was nervous with all those people out there..."

Uh yeah... I would have freaked out...

I mustered up the courage to say, "So do you want to do this class again?"

"Oh yes, it's so fun!" she cheers.

And so it begins...

Out of the Woods

Or so I thought.

Of course when Ava finally finished all of her medications Olivia began coughing and sneezing. Of course.

But that I could handle.

It was the last six days of diarrhea I couldn't. Wednesday she had it 11 times. 11. I didn't think that was humanly possible for someone so little. Thursday she seemed like she was feeling better and only went twice. I felt very relieved when Liv didn't wake up in the night and cry to go to the potty last night. I was sure she was going to make it through today without diarrhea. I was sure of it.

Until.

She ate breakfast.

And then it happened.

Again.

Maybe it will only be one time today. One can only hope. It would be nice if both kids could be well at the same time. Plus Ava cannot get sick from here until her surgery or we will have to reschedule. We want to get it over with before summer so she can play all summer long.

Somehow I think it's going to take a miracle.

Superstar

Last day of hip hop class before the recital this weekend. Olivia struck a pose before class started. These the kids practicing part of their routine.
Olivia and the other girl perform part of the routine together. She jammin'.
And the others join in to finish it off.
Not all the kids were here yet but the parents took a few pictures of the kids posing anyway.
And a special one with their favorite teacher.
Look at the love...
And then they began dancing freestyle to another song which they LOVED.
And then one other girl showed up so it was another photo op for the parents while the kids struck yet another pose.
Another picture with the teacher with the other student added in.
Dance class was a lot of fun for Olivia. I wish now that I would have signed up Ava too. She knows the whole routine just from seeing the kids do it the last 5 minutes of class every week. Next time Ava... it will be your time to shine.