The Girls In Their Summer Dresses

Come Fly With Me

Sweet Thing

We had just found our seats on the hay rack and we were on our way to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. Seated fairly close to us was a father and a sweet baby about 9 months old. The little girl had a huge growth on her face about half the size of her own head resulting in the disfigurement of her face. I was quickly preparing for the answers in my head that Ava, then 2, would inevitably ask.

Ava got sight of the baby and tugged on my arm and said, "Mom, look!" pointing at the baby.

I took a deep breath and before I could reply back, she exclaimed " Isn't she just so cute!"


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I was in full election fever this past fall and had the television turned on to CNN every chance I got. Now Ava had already become very familiar with Barack Obama when she got the chance to go to the caucus for Obama earlier in February with Ian. She had been chanting "It's Obama for dis widdle mama!" for quite some time now.

Ruby was in bed for the night and Ava was sitting at the coffee table having a little snack while I caught the start of the presidential debate.

She looked at the television and then looked down at her arm and then looked back to the television and nonchalantly said, " You know what Mom? Me and Barack, we don't look the same.....but.that's.okay. Ending with a thumbs up.

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Last Wednesday, was our last day of preschool and I had just returned from the parent educational portion part and we were getting ready to go outside to play. Miss Heather, Ava's teacher, pulled me aside and wanted to talk with me about Ava and Loic. "Uh oh, what happened now?" I thought to myself. You see, Ava and Loic (my part-time son) had been butting heads lately, it's like one minute they adore each other and the next...well, they don't. I thought for sure they had brought their fighting into the school arena.

Miss Heather proceeded to tell me this.

Ava and her classmate, Jada, were playing house together, ironing blankets. (I rarely iron.this. she did not get from me). Loic was off playing with the toy trains with some of the boys that had just come in. The girls were having a great time together and Jada wanted to know if she could be Ava's best friend. Ava replied, " I already have a best friend." Pointing repeatedly over at....Loic.

My heart melted.

Minimum Wage

I have two toothbrushes. One in the upstairs bathroom and also one in the downstairs bathroom. I went to use my downstairs toothbrush this morning and it was damp. Hmmm....weird? I thought. Then it dawned on me while halfway through my cleansing routine that I had used my upstairs toothbrush last night and the day before that. Are you still with me here?

Somebody had MY toothbrush in their mouth.Ick! I dry heaved a few times and quickly rinsed my mouth out a million and two times.

Don't get me wrong...I love my kids something fierce...I just don't want to share toothbrushes with them. I've seen what they put in their mouths (namely boogers) and I don't particularly care for it. It's the same reason I can't stomach sharing the same drink with them..I can't get past the floaties and backwash.

I know it's my job to teach them how to share but this, this is a bit too much.

I'm a Wheel Watcher

Not by choice just by proxy.

I like to catch the 6pm local news and then afterwards I busy myself with cleaning up the kitchen and whatnot. I just leave the TV on while the girls play among themselves and it just so happens the following program is "Wheel of Fortune." I, for one, am not a big game show kinda gal so I never really paid any attention...it was merely background noise that was being drowned out by the "magical" swiffer vac.

Well in a matter of days the girls got bit by the Wheel watching bug and now they must watch the "Wheel" every day. As soon as it comes on Ava jumps up and down shouting with glee " My show! My show!" Ruby runs around the table excited and pulls a chair up close to her beloved "Wheel".

Ruby has become the designated clapper and cheers for everyone while Ava is the letter SHOUTER and puzzle solver. Ava has dreams of her and I participating in a mother-daughter episode one day. I say she has more luck getting her sister on show with her than me...a sibling episode would be preferred.

But because I'm such a good mother and like to foster my children's interest (gag)... we are now proud owners of a SPIN ID. If I must endure the "Wheel", I might well try to win some money....for the therapy they'll need later.

"Pat, I'd like to buy a vowel."

"Big money , big money!"

Who knew? The "Wheel".... it brings families together....

What!? "Wheel" are YOU mocking ME?

Hard To Handle

I was thisclose to not writing a blog today. I usually like to write once the girls are tucked away in their beds for the night, it gives me uninterrupted time to think and reflect. But for the last month or so I have been just too emotionally spent to even get the gumption to want to write, read, or finish the home projects that are piling up fast. Get this. I bought a label machine about a month ago and I, little miss organizing queen, haven't even used it yet!


Ruby had entered the terrible two's combined with the up and coming incisors that her mood was changing faster than the blink of an eye:

THIS.fifty.times.a.day. I was going bonkers. Made me even wish we were back to this:

The "stink-eye"

At least it was quieter....

Ruby seems to have passed that little hump but now all of sudden Ava is starting the tantrums. I asked her why this was happening and said she learned it from Ruby. yikes! Does this mean that Ruby is going to re-learn this all over again. *Sigh* I just can't win.

"Keep calm and carry on, Keep calm and carry on, Keep calm and carry on"

Baby Come Back

Long time no see? For the hundredth time, I will attempt to keep up on the blog. I'm just the kinda person who goes gung-ho with something new until it wanes or until I find something new to occupy my time...that still being the Crackbook.

For today's post I was going to write about taking the kids to zoo to view the baby tamarins. But guess what? Miss Erinn beat me to it and wrote all about it on her blog so I'm just gonna link you over there http://lettsdish.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-babies-at-como-zoo.html

She's a much better story teller than I. Did I ever tell you the story about how I avoided taking college Freshman Composition for as long as I could because I hated writing so much?

Let It Snow

It's been so cold here on the Tundra but the past week in a half we have been blessed with temps above 20 so the outdoors was the place you were likely to find us. I enjoy winter sport activities and look forward to introducing snowshoeing, ice skating, and cross country skiing as the girls continue to age.

Here are some pics from some of our outdoor adventures:

Ava was fearless on the hill.

Bundled up and virtually bump proof.

Run Ruby Run!

Tandem sledding

Mush mister, mush!

Going vertical

Wheeee!

It's what all the cool kids are doing: ice surfing?

Promises

This year I resolved to start my yearly resolutions on February 1st rather than January as to really think thru some goals I wish to accomplish this year.

1. Buy myself fresh cut flowers weekly- I work hard all week the least I could do is reward myself with something that makes me happy.very happy.

2. To be more present in the moment. - I need to stop looking to the past to define me and the future to full fill me and enjoy just being in the now. This is one is actually a lot harder than it sounds.

3. Pick up sewing again- Okay, so the last time I sewed was in my 7th grade Home Ec class but let me tell you while everyone was completing their final project of sewing together a stuffed animal, I got all ambitious and made a sweet pair of stirrup pants. Perhaps, this is the exact push the stirrup pant needs to make a comeback this year. oops! this year's Christmas presents revealed.

4. Try to make up a catchy phrase or new slang word- I've tried this once before...let's hope this time it sticks. I personally think "fancy" and "prime" was way ahead of it's time.

5. Find the perfect bra.- I took the pencil test and for the first time I failed. My lovely lady lumps cannot endure the no-bra life... no more.

6. Learn a new dance move.- Must find new move to display when in Walmart as krumping has lost it's appeal.

7. Ditch my mommy uniform in favor of cool and current threads.- goodbye black pants and zip up hoodies hello stirrup pants and hi tops. white Reeboks of course.

8. Do 10 pushups.- non-girly style. I have the weakest arms. ever. 10 may be a bit lofty... I would be happy with 7 solid ones.

9. Stick to my blogging and cooking schedule- Hello? I have 16 weeks of meals planned and a long list of blogs to write...great at planning, not so great in the executing part.

10. Play more kickball.- need I say more?

Once In A Lifetime

What's the last thing you expect to find in the coldest of all winters?

What is that fuzzy blob on that there newspaper, you ask?

A caterpillar!

While we at Ian's parents house over the Christmas break, Papa surprised Ava with a caterpillar that he found in the basement. Ava named him Fuzzy Wuzzy and liked taking him on walks and rubbing his tummy.

" Wow Mom, Fuzzy Wuzzy sure has lots of teats, where are his babies?"

"Those are feet not teats."

"I bet he can run fast!"

As a child I loved playing with caterpillars and it was fun to see Ava enjoying that same love.

Unfortunately, Fuzzy Wuzzy died a week later due to an accidental drowning caused by the poor dexterity of an over enthusiastic 3 year old.

Body Movin'

Not to be outdone by her big sis, my littlest adventurous spirit kept herself busy trying out all the fun things at the indoor gym too.

Run-Around

One of the things I love about living in Minnesota is the plethora of kid-friendly activities available. When the weather is breezy -22 degrees(-40 with windchill)...what's a mother to do?

Make use of our season pass and head on over to Edinborough Park and partake in it's wondrous indoor playground.

Last week we joined our good friends Sammy, Sophia, and Stacey for some nap inducing fun.

Now that the kids are older and a lot more adventurous they are able to play in the structure by themselves which in turn saves me from emptying my pockets at the chiropractor afterwards.

Here's a short video of some of the fun we had:

One Moment In Time

At Last

So..I've been hiding over on Facebook hoping that my blog would write itself but, alas, that has not happened so here is a quick recap on our holiday festivities.

Holiday visiting will result in:

Lots of smiling

Santa loving

tree touch sneaking

deer spotting

peek-a-booing

uncle hugging

Nana bonding

good cheering

cosmic bowling

car ride home crying

angry cat scratching.

We had a wonderful time and thank everyone for taking time out in their day to spend it with us.

We love you all and can't wait to do it all again next year!

Handle With Care

We are all packed and ready to go! We had planned on leaving early tomorrow morning but with the impending snow storm due tomorrow, we decided that tonite we will be making the 7hr trek home.

It'll be a crazy busy two weeks but I look forward on spending time with friends and family. I am especially excited to see two friends (Maggie and Meghan) that I haven't seen in well over 12 years. I am a little nervous but sure that once we see each other it'll be like old times and the banter will pick up where it left off.

Since I have two sisters that are not able to make it home, I plan on blogging throughout our vacation in hopes that they feel like they are a part of our holiday celebration.

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful weekend!