P.O.S.T... post!

Connor impresses the bejesus out of me almost every day. Lately he's been pointing out the letters of a word and then saying what he thinks the word is. Just now he said, "D.E.L.L.... computer!" LOL. I think that is so smart! He knows that letters make words. It's pretty cute that he thinks the computer would actually say computer on it. hehe.

Maddy has an appointment with the lung dr tomorrow. I hope that he says she doesn't have to take her meds anymore. That would be super. Actually, speaking of that I was going to refill her prescription tomorrow but I think I'll wait til after the appointment and see what he says. I doubt he will take her off of it, but maybe!

Oh, and the lasagna I made the other night came out awesome. I'll post it online when I get a chance.

Haircuts

In honor of the approaching school year I took Maddy to get her hair cut. While I was there I just went ahead and did Connor too. He needed it, badly.

Maddy looks adorable! I got it cut just above her shoulders. It's short enough to bring out the curls and it's cute! I love it, she loves it, all is good.

Then I got Connor's hair buzzed for the first time. He looks like a totally different kid. Seriously, I hardly recognize him. His hair is so blond you almost can't see it. He looks bald. lol. But the upside is that he has a perfectly round head. It was able to form nicely since he insisted on being held for the first year of his life. Oh, and he didn't cry during the haircut! Not once. Amazing. That is the first time ever. Part of it is that it's much quicker to just buzz the whole thing AND they didn't have to spray him with the water bottle. Which he hates! That really gets the whole haircut off to a bad start.

Anyways.... so my kids no longer look like homeless folk.

Tears of the overtired

I have two tired kids on my hands.

Maddy burst into tears because we had to go grocery shopping. She seriously cried for like 30 minutes over it. Not a pouty whining cry either. Oh no, the big someone-broke-my-heart wailing cry that she has perfected over the past two years. When she finally picked up the pieces of her broken spirit she said "I'm not going to talk for the rest of the day." (LOL!) 30 seconds later when she started talking I said "Ohhh... your talking!" Which started another round of tears.

Then when we got home from the store Connor just walked around crying for no reason what so ever. He started crying because I wouldn't give him some of my lunch. I tried to explain that he had the exact same thing as I did, his was just cut up. But it didn't matter. Then he dropped his napkin and Maddy got it for him. This was a very upsetting event. Apparently he wanted Mommy to get it. Sorry bub, if you want your napkin you will just have to deal with your sister handing it to you. That pretty much ended lunch... but not the crying.

Luckily "Word World" is on for the 30 minutes before nap or I don't know how I would get through it. That show is like kiddie crack, and my kids are hard core addicts.

But on a happier note; I actually have stuff to do this whole week. I have out-of-the-house plans every single day and it's only Monday. Wow! And yes, grocery shopping counts as plans. Hey, I have to leave the house so it counts! Oh, and I'm making home made lasagna tonight for the first time. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes.

The library

I took the kids to the library today. I don't think there is a more difficult place to keep an eye on a two year old. Seriously. Connor would totally disappear every two seconds. Look down for a half a second and boom... gone. He could be two feet from me but between the aisles I couldn't see him one bit. I would follow the trail of books that had been pulled off the shelves with a stern "Connor!" in the loudest whisper I could manage.

I had signed Maddy up for a project they had there. "Bug Barrettes" So cute. They do some really cute things at our library. I've never been disappointed. Maddy made two butterfly barrettes, complete with yellow feathers. The feathers were pissing me off though. The glue wasn't dry when it was time to leave, and I'm telling ya, it's hard to carry 6 books while balancing feathers on a napkin. Every other step the feathers would fly off and I would have to put everything down and put the dang barrettes back together again. It was frustrating, but we finally made it to the car.

A nice day

What a good day. Seriously. We didn't do much, but everything went smooth and happy. Connor slept til 8:00 and then we went to the mall. They have a little song and dance show they put on on Thursdays. It's the first time I've taken Connor. I always forget about it. Anyways, he loved it. They have a guy dressed up as a prairie dog, Connor liked that but he thought it was a bear. The bear was giving hugs and Connor wanted one. So he goes over and stood so cute and sweet off to the side and waited his turn. I'm glad the guy saw him cause Connor wasn't making a move to go in and get one. He was just waiting sweetly. Maddy danced her butt off the whole time.

Then went home and had lunch. After lunch Maddy played the Wii and Connor took a three hour nap. Awesome! I think he is still catching up from the party the other night. He was pooped when we got home.

Larry took Connor to the store after nap while I cooked dinner. Dinner even went smooth. Connor ate and ate and ate. He loves noodles!

I know that doesn't sound like an especially good day, but it was. No fighting, no bad moods, no attitude. It was nice.

One thing leads to another

I got a bug up my butt this weekend and cleaned all three bathrooms. And I mean cleaned them. Every surface was wiped, every shelf, cabinet, drawer, and closet was culled. The kids bathroom looks huge! I had like half a hamper of clothes and towels and bathing suits. And the floor in their bathroom has never looked right. It didn't look clean no matter what. So I got on my hands and knees and figured out there is glue (probably from laying it) which is stuck to it and dirty. So I scratched off every little piece and wow. It's shining. I was kinda mad at myself for living here for 4 years and never really getting down and figuring out why the floor always looked dirty. But that's why.

Then I was in a cleaning mode so I organized the downstairs closet where the kids have all their games and art supplies. I didn't plan on doing it but I went to put away a coloring book and couldn't find a place to put it. Yeah, I couldn't fit one thin coloring book in the closet! So I got a trash bag and started going through everything. It looks so nice now! There is even spaces where you can see the shelf!

Larry was so inspired that while I was putting Maddy to bed he went through and organized the kids toys in the family room. We got rid of about one trash bag worth of old broken toys. What's nice is that you can actually put all the toys away now. The lid on the toy box closes! And even better is that the kids can actually play with the toys they like, instead of having them buried under who knows what.

Time

Sorry I haven't written in like a week but seriously, nothing has happened. I would much rather say "Sorry I haven't written in a week, I've been so busy." But that would be a huge lie.

Larry finished his Jury Duty thing. It was a murder trial. Negligent homicide actually. A 16 year old kid was going like 60 on a residential street and caused an accident and the other driver died. They voted guilty on negligent homicide but not guilty on the dangerous act part of it. I guess to be considered a dangerous act you have to knowingly be putting someone's life in danger and they didn't feel that at age 16 he fully realized that he could kill someone by doing that. He was just an inexperienced kid. I was looking around on the internet and it seems like the kid will get sentenced to about 3 years in jail. The sentencing isn't for a few more weeks though.

What else? Maddy is getting ready for school. I think she is ready school clothes wise. She has a backpack and a lunch box. All she really needs are some supplies and a haircut and then we are good to go. I believe. I'm sure I will think of some more stuff as the time draws closer. But it's only 18 days and 17 hours of summer vacation left. But who's counting?

I also made a very yummy cheesecake. You can get the recipe right here. Enjoy!!

Mommy Dating

Being a stay at home mom makes you very aware of the exact amount of social interaction that you require. At least it does me. I recently read that seniors are happiest if they have 3 "play dates" a week. I can't imagine it's much different for stay at home moms. Maybe they could get by with a little less since they have the kiddos to fulfill their every need. (They do fulfill your every need don't they?) Someone should do a study.

So lately I haven't been getting anywhere near 3 play dates a week. In fact, I've been averaging about zero. This week I made an extra effort and had all 3. And yeah, it made a huge difference in my mood. I felt much better. But I need more friends if I'm going to maintain a 3 play date a week schedule. I mean, I don't think Jennifer wants me randomly showing up at her house twice a week. :)

About a year ago I made an analogy that making friends is like dating. I mean it is called a "play date" right. It's a date. But the more I try to make friends the more it really is like dating. The thing is that I was good at dating and I suck at making friends. So I'm going to try to take the dating approach to making friends. Maybe that will help me know "the rules". Maybe I'm taking it to seriously, but taking a laid back approach has made me exactly zero friends.

I hesitate to talk specifics in case things work out and one of my dating potentials actually reads this. But I guess relationships aren't much different regardless of the players. Boy or girl, it's hard to start a relationship with a stranger. A few weeks ago there was one mom at Chick-fil-A that seemed very nice. I don't remember her kid details but our kids played nice, and we just sat and chatted the whole time. It was fun. I thought it would be cool to get together again, but what do you do? It's weird to just be like "hey, here's my number, call me." But I guess I need to suck it up and do exactly that. That seems better than asking for her number. lol (see it's so like dating) At least then if she thinks I'm a freak she doesn't need to worry that I'm going to call. haha. She can just toss my number in the trash and forget all about me.

The Unicorn and the Girl

The other day I decided Maddy should start her own blog. It was going to be called "A one woman show". Which if you know Maddy at all you know that is a fabulous title for a group of stories about her life. lol. But she wasn't interested in starting a blog. So instead I asked her if she would write a story for me. She said she would but then never did, despite my pestering. But yesterday she was bored so I just got out a piece of paper and she told me this story...

The Unicorn and the Girl

Once upon a time there was a unicorn. The unicorn took Nikki to a magical land. The magical land had beautiful butterflies and sparkles. There was a castle in the middle of the island. And the unicorn took Nikki inside. It looked beautiful. There were some princesses and little unicorns. Then the princesses said "You may have this beautiful dress. It will help you go home." But the little girl said "No, I can't have this dress because I want to stay here." The princesses said "Ok, you can stay here." And then when she went to sleep the dress flew her away home. Then she woke up and looked around. She was surprised it was the same room as when the unicorn picked her up.

The End.

No pennies allowed

Yesterday I was sitting in the living room and Larry was in the family room. He yells in to me "Connor isn't allowed to have pennies anymore!" I was like "I know, I already told him that. I didn't know he had a penny." I thought he had put it in his mouth or something. Nope. Larry had been trying to take the pictures off the SD card and found a penny in the SD slot on the computer. Nice! Luckily he was able to get it out and all is well, but jeeze. I had told Connor he wasn't allowed to have pennies because he would take them out of my purse and then lay on the floor in the kitchen and put them in the air vent at the bottom of the fridge. lol I swear, that boy is going to destroy every thing we own. He's just so... so... I don't know... determined and curious.

It's such a range of emotions when they get that way. Maybe not when I find a penny in the computer, but lets say when he climbs up the pantry shelves to get the cookies. I'm proud, impressed, frustrated, laughing, powerless, mad, ect. I just can't believe how big he is getting.

Jury Duty

Larry had jury duty yesterday. He actually got on a trial. He can't tell me what the trial is about. But he was telling me about the other jurors and how it all works. I've only been to jury duty once and that was a loooong time ago. I didn't even get called, I sat in the first room watching TV for like two hours and then they sent me home. So it was interesting to hear what happened.

The trial he got on lasts for two weeks. Dang. So he is there again today. And here I thought he might even get a half day yesterday. hehe... silly me. What's good is that his job pays for 10 days of jury duty and he can still work overtime this weekend. So there won't be any loss of money.

I'm not surprised he got on a jury. He's a good responsible guy. He's smart and makes good fully thought out decisions based on factual information. I think he will make a very good juror. It's so crazy to be part of such a big serious thing. When I think jury duty I think it will be more DMV than Law and Order. Ya know? More sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs complaining about the air conditioning than jury box and objections. (over ruled!) But he's there right now. Looking at exhibits and hearing testimony. Deciding someone's fate. Weird. So so weird.

I am going to try to refrain from peppering him with questions today when he gets home. I know I will be just dying to talk about it. But the rules are in place for a reason and I respect that. I'm sure I will hear all about it when it's over.

Dust Devil

I was consumed by a dust devil yesterday. I was putting Connor in his car seat in the Costco parking lot and Larry said "Here comes a dust devil!" and before I realized what he was saying a windy burst of dirt, sticks, and leaves surrounded me.

For those who are not fully aware of what a dust devil (or dirt devil; but that makes me think of a vacuum cleaner) is let me explain it. It is a wind that swirls around and around, like a very mini tornado, picking up dirt, gravel, sticks, leaves and what not. When one comes up on you its like 40 hair dryers blowing on you all at once and you have no choice but to close your eyes because of all the dirt blowing in your face.

Since I had the door to the van open a whole bunch of dirt got blown in the van. The dashboard was covered in gravel. And since it was blistering hot I was sweating so I had dirt and little sticks stuck to my back. lol. Such fun, living in the desert.

Alligator tears

How was everyone's 4th? Ours was ok. We went bowling. It was tons of fun. Maddy did really well. I totally suck. Maddy kicked my butt and I only beat Connor by like 2 points. lol. The kids had bumpers though. Maddy's dad took her to see fireworks so we just stayed home and cooked some hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and generally just hung out in the backyard.

The plan for tonight was for her to sleep over at Trent's (her cousin) house. They came and picked her up at 4:30 and at about 4:45 they called and said they were bringing her home. So there goes that. I knew it wasn't going to go well. At 4:15 I sent her upstairs to get her bag packed. I went up to check on her at about 4:20 and she was bawling her eyes out. She was frustrated that she couldn't find any shorts to wear. Tired much? So I warned Uncle Scott that she was tired and that if she cried any alligator tears that's why. And it didn't take long. I think it was alligator tears as soon as she walked in the door. She was crying that she wanted to come home, so they brought her right home again. Oh well... I was disappointed for her because she had been really looking forward to it. So Trent slept over here instead.

Growth Spurts

Maddy got huge all of a sudden. I weighed her the other day and she has gained 10 pounds since the beginning of the summer. From 52 lbs to 62 lbs. Crazy! We went through her clothes a few days ago to get rid of everything that doesn't fit anymore and I have two trash bags full of clothes to give away. All she has left is 10 shirts, one pair of pants, and two dresses. That's it. Which 4 of those shirts I just bought.

She got really chunky a few weeks ago and I was actually kinda worried about her. She just chunked up all of a sudden. But I can tell she has been getting taller recently so I guess she was just gearing up for a growth spurt. And she has been eating like mad. Last night I made her a hot dog. I always put her plate down first because she takes forever to eat, if she eats at all. So I get her set up, make Connor's plate, then Larry and I get our plates and by the time we sat down there were nothing but crumbs on her plate. Larry said later that he thought her hot dog had fallen on the floor. lol. She just inhaled it.

But she isn't the only one. Connor has gotten big too. We went through his clothes and have one trash bag to get rid of. He has plenty of shirts, but needed some shorts. We were at Target and bought him two pairs of pajamas and two pairs of shorts. We also got Maddy a shirt and three pairs of shorts. UG... kids clothes are cute and I don't mind buying them here and there when I see something cheap and cute. But I hate just going to the store and dropping $100 on clothes because they've outgrown everything they own. I need to stop feeding them. That would cut out two huge costs. :)