Flat Stanley'd

We drove the kids to Mount Diablo for the day figuring “what the heck let’s get out of here” and we had been FLAT STANLEY’d by Dave’s nephew so I figured what a great place to take Stanley. It’s a kids book about a boy who was shrunk down and at first he was sad but then realized it was kinda cool that he could fold himself and stuff himself into an envelope and travel. Anyway after they read the book, they make their own flat Stanley and mail him to family members and then the family takes Stanley somewhere cool, takes a photo, writes a blurb about what he did, and you send him back. He arrived today so we figures we should just get this over with plus it was a nice day to get out…

I guess that’s all really about how you look at the situation.

So as we were driving home I said to Dave that I was impressed. He got us there and relatively home without getting us lost AT ALL. Big thing for us without GPS. Until we hear, “BAM” and the truck was jilted forward. I asked if we had just been rear ended and Dave said there wasn’t anyone behind us. OF FREAKIN' COURSE NOT.

So it happened again… you know everyone loves a little whiplash in their day….

So I’m like, “are you going to pull this freakin' thing over or what?” He takes the next exit and we pull over in an empty parking lot.

Moral of the story… AGAIN AAA comes to haul away our vehicle, AGAIN the neighbor had to come pick me and the girls up….who cried the entire way home for their father… Dave gets the car to the shop and then discovers that duh AAA won’t drive him home. Had to call another neighbor to go pick him up.

The truck won’t get looked at until Monday and I can’t pay for it anyway.

This is what makes make question if there really is a God. Why would God make us keep going through this misery? Wouldn't God want us to be happy and offer us a brand new SUV with all the cool amenities so our kids could ride safely in their vehicle?

Well God, I'm waiting for your answer. Please reply in person as I don't really care for ghosts.

Where Art Thou Red Velvet Cupcakes?

I don't know. Perhaps ALL over my kids faces. As soon as I got the little monkeys dressed in their new pretty princess dresses and sent them downstairs this morning a shadow of silence graced my house. Now why should I complain? It is what I have been asking for lately, right? Except when I asked for silence, I also meant without mischievous hands doing dreadful things to the once beautifully decorated cupcakes that used to lay on my kitchen counter.

I knew it had to be too good to be true. Of course today they slept in. Of course. It should have been a big sign but I got greedy and over looked the obvious. Then upon sending the snackers downstairs without turning on the TV they began playing quietly. Sign number two. Duh. Then when it became totally silent in the house I had a fleeting thought to run my ass down stairs and check on them but just at that moment I heard Olivia laugh and knew things were ok. Sign number three. Someone should put me out of my misery.

So I finished up and headed down stairs and noticed the dog eagerly licking the sliding glass door from the outside while glaring into the kitchen. Uh-oh. That can't be good. I hurried into the kitchen and found the red velvet cupcake stained faces of what used to be my freshly cleaned children. Those little boogers climbed up on the kitchen counter and snatched the cupcakes, licked off all of the frosting, and tore the rest of the cakes into iddy bitty pieces. Oh did I forget to mention that I just had a new rug delivered yesterday or that they are wearing BRAND NEW CLOTHES. Sprinkles were every where. My sanity- gone. The clothes remained unharmed due to the fact they gorged themselves and snarfed the cupcakes down practically whole. It took a very long time to clean up, and thankfully I didn't have to make breakfast.

Gives a new meaning to the phrase, "Go find YOURSELF something to eat."

Monkeying Around

Who's that hangin' from the monkey bars???







Took the monkeys to the park to play with their twin friends. They had a blast. Everyone had to show off their skills jumping from the highest points they could find. Here's some action shots:

Ava showing her upwards sliding capabilities...

A little boy had found some lizards and of course all the girls had to pet them.

Panty Parade

It's been a few weeks now and Ava has been a rock star wearing her panties. The first few days she had the occasional accident because she didn't get to the potty on time and therefore left a shmear in her panties followed by her saying, "ooooh shoot..." but since then it's been smooth sailing. I think we are adventuring out of daytime pull-ups, and she will just need to wear them for naps and at night but even the last few days she has woken up from her naps totally dry. I'm not one to wash sheets everyday so that pull-up will be worn until she can go a few months without wetting the bed.

Anyway, Ava now takes herself to the potty or she tells me when she needs to go. She loves loves loves to put on and wear her panties and reminds me every few minutes about how she is now a big girl. We have also been going on small shopping excursions in the panties and so far so good. I'm happy, she's happy, and my wallet is happy. What more could I ask for... well actually...

Princess Day

Today is princess day. I bought the girls a few dresses over the weekend and a few sun dresses for myself. When I showed them to Olivia she immediately wanted to wear them but the weather outside was a bit chilly so I told her she'd have to wait. Then I tried on one for Dave to see if he liked it and the girls went nuts over mommy being a princess. They grabbed my hands and began twirling around, hair flowing in the breeze…you get my drift? But again I was merely showing it to Dave and not intending to wear it because it was freezing outside.

Today the weather is fantastic so we all put on our princess dresses and have been acting the way princesses do- very pleasant and twirly. So on the wonderful princess day we played Legos, read stories about the other princesses, played with the new race track, had princess sized snacks, and best of all we danced and sang our songs. Princesses do have to take naps though, so while mine were tucked tightly in their beds I enrolled my oldest princess in a hip hop dance class. Yip that's right… she's gonna learn to shake what God gave her for the next 7 Tuesdays. I can't wait until she wakes up to tell her the good news. She will be so excited.

Wordless Wednesday #28 Why Don't These Come In Pink?

These images are for this week's Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Wordless Wednesday.

I have Pee Pee Daddy...

Gotta love the sounds of those words. Our little Ava "candy addict" has come to love her 'big girl' panties. She definitely recognizes the difference between them and her pull-ups and favors the panties. Along with them comes a pretty big responsibility of keeping them dry and clean so as an incentive I've offered the ultimate... candy. She chews a few Smartees after she pees and gets to have a sucker when she poops. Several times in the past few days I have been walking through the house and have come upon her standing by the toilet trying to get her pants down. It is so cute to watch her struggling and wiggling around. I offer her my assistance and then I am quickly and sharply told, "no help mommy, I do it...I pee pee." Every day isn't perfection but she is making tremendous strides and a huge effort to be clean and initiate her own potty time.

Olivia has been a big help too staying out of Ava's way while she attempts to get on the toilet, she cheers and claps at every occurrence only reinforcing to Ava that using the potty is the way to go, and she gladly accepts a candy after Ava earns hers for being a big helper and great big sister.

Potty Talk

Yesterday Ava and I made a pact that if she told me when she needed to go potty then I would give her a candy. Lately she's been going potty every time I put her on the toilet but I think it is time she starts to initiate it for herself. Last night she told me three times and she was so proud of herself to get her candy. Today she has told me once and was grateful for her candy but I think she needs to poop and she is trying to hold it in.

She's doing so well using the potty but I'm running out of new ideas to get her to go to the bathroom by herself. Hopefully when the weather warms up I can dress her just in her panties and let her run around so she knows when she's wet. That is still a couple of months away though. In the mean time we will work on just telling me when she needs to go but I will still be putting her on the potty every hour regardless.

My little big girl. She's so grown up.

Dinner

Yip Ava is back in the chair. For a few months she was sitting with Olivia at the little table but she became such a nuisance that Dave and I decided she needed to be strapped down for meals. At least now she isn't under the table or pushing it into Olivia. She also can't eat Olivia's food anymore which was really a problem. Poor little Liv would be minding her own business when all of a sudden a hand would come across her plate and swipe away her food. I was having a hard time distinguishing between who's food was who's. Problem solved. We regressed but we can enjoy eating dinner now.

Pumped Up...Daddy's Day Out

While I was at home recovering from vertigo...

The girls were getting pumped up with Daddy!

The Dentist

The girls first trip to the dentist chair. They both were willing and jumped right up into the chair. The dentist also said their teeth looked great...nice and white!

Cheers!!! To my 200th Post

The Happenings of Today

It didn't rain today but with the ground being so wet and the grass being so muddy we stayed inside and played with our train set. Olivia had put together most of the track before I had even gotten downstairs to join her. Ava was on the other end taking it apart. A scream was let out of Olivia's mouth that was so high pitched I think only dogs should have been able to hear it but unfortunately we all heard it. Ava was quickly removed from the train track area and put in charge of turning on the trains. Much better to have them on different projects than to have them always fighting over the same thing.

Soon Ava had to make her potty. She's doing really well. Most of the time now she is pooping in the potty and about 95% of the time she pees in the potty. Oh what joys of the stay at home mom- to be able to having bragging rights to how often your kid uses the crapper. Yea, who thought it could be so great! (add sarcasm here).

Then it was hot dog eating time. Hot dogs, grapes, pickles, cottage cheese, milk, these two couldn't scarf it down fast enough. I think Liv is going through a growth spurt because she keeps telling me how hungry she is right after every meal. It's like I can't feed her enough. I told Dave that I thought she had a tapeworm...I'm sure that HAS to be it. Ava wanted another hot dog but she is on a one dog limit. So instead I gave her a haircut while Livynut finished her food. She looked bea-u-tiful afterwards and then repeatedly told me she was ready for bed. So she went and stood by the stairs while I gave Olivia a quick snip of the bangs. She too looked bea-u-tiful and then they both ran off up the stairs and went to bed.

And now there's SILENCE. I love silence. I never knew how much I really enjoyed it until I had two kids. With one kid there's still a lot of sanity silence in the house on any given day but with two kids there's usually one talking, crying, or whining when the other one is quiet. I swear they double team me and give each other breaks all the while keeping me filled with high pitched singing or story telling. They know what they are doing and I'm on to them. That's why they nap at the same time. Oh yeah, you can't fool the mommy.

So that was our day so far. Not much happened that was overly exciting but we had a good time together. Maybe when they wake up we can bake muffins or something else for dinner. They both love to cook while standing on the kitchen chairs at the stove. Liv gets to stir the pot and Ava gets to sample the food. We shall see...

Wordless Wednesday #27 Rainy Day Art Project

Photos are for this week's Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Wordless Wednesday.