Nothin' but trouble... and a little bit of cuteness!

Other possible blog title: Lacey in all her glory.


A few months back Lacey had Croup. No fun, lemme tell ya! ESPECIALLY since she got Croup TWO DAYS before Joe's new job benefits kicked in (meaning, we had NO HEALTH INSURANCE). Long story short? She needed a breathing treatment and they let us keep the mask. At the time of the breathing treatment Lacey was totally FREAKED OUT about the mask. But not anymore... as you can see, it has become a regular toy around our house. A regular toy that makes my kids sound like baby Darth Vader's and constantly has the other kid giggling at how silly they look...




Lil and her friend were playing on Lil's computer the other day when I hear Lil's friend come runnin' toward me. She said, "Lilia's mom (That's what my name is- "Lilia's mom") Lacey is STUCK!" Now, I was not watching them too closely (I think I MAY have been blog hopping) but I was LISTENING, and Lacey sure didn't SOUND stuck... she was jabbering away in what I can only imagine is the Adamic language, and just doing her own thing- no crying or grunting as most one-year-old's do when wedged someplace uncomfortable...

But since Lil's friend INSISTED that she was stuck, I went to investigate... And THIS is what I found:


Of course I wasn't worried. She got herself in, she can get herself out! So I called her name and sure enough, out she crawled!




I later went back to investigate and found a TON of "lost" items- including a remote control for the DVD player, Joe's second set of keys, and a dollar bill! Little pack rat was hoarding all her treasures in her little hide out! :) Cute little monster!

Tea, Anyone?

Last week my neighborhood had a party. All little girls (and their brothers if they really wanted to) were invited. It was a Princess Tea Party, and it was AWESOME. The girls were all encouraged to dress up as a princess, and come for an hour or more of little girl fun...

There was, of course, "tea" (it looked like pink koolade, or maybe strawberry lemonade), and "pastries" (cookies of all sorts- Lil preferred the M&M chocolate chip cookies).

But they also had face painting, fingernail painting, colored and sparkly hair spray, and well, what party would be complete without PRINCESS TATTOOS!?

Oh, and in case any little brothers showed up, there was a bounce house for them and balloons for everyone. We even had a special guest- CINDERELLA! (Okay- so it was one of the drop dead gorgeous young women in the neighborhood dressed up like Cinderella... but what little girl CARES who she really was- today she was Cinderella!)

There was music, and dancing, and food and fun to be had by all. I didn't take my camera, but Shauntell (the mom that threw this awesome shin-dig) was nice enough to take this shot of my girls and email it to me...




Of course, neither girl was looking at the camera, but whadda ya do, huh?





After the party, I took the girls home for a "proper" dinner. I decided to let them stay in their dresses and we had a "picnic" in the front room. WELL- while I was getting dinner finished I put Lacey in her high chair. She managed to wiggle and squirm her way out of the belt holding her in place and when I returned from the kitchen with food in hand, THIS is what I found:


AACK! She was sitting on the VERY EDGE of the TRAY watching TV. Not a care in the world...
Little Stinker!

Lil's Dissapearing Rabbit Act...

Yesterday Lil runs up to me in the kitchen and is in near hysterics. She is repeating over and over again something about her pink bunny. Its missing, can't find it... She just had it then it was gone... I finally get her to calm down and I ask what happened. She said she was tossing her pink bunny up in the air and then it "dist-appearded!"

Now she is not such a great tosser. She usually throws it up and back a ways so she has to turn around and pick it up off the ground behind her where it lands. Well, when she did that the last time she turned around to pick it up and it wasn't there. She looked EVERYWHERE for it! Any guesses as to where I found it?






Poor bunny! Good thing its not scared of heights!

I...

I AM ... thinking that tonight is a good cookie and ice cream night... (Hush tummy! I know you won't appreciate all the yummy cool goodness that is ice cream, but darn it! I will NOT give up my creamy cold treats for you!)

I WANT... to take a big ol Advil (yum! Candy coating!) and ignore the pain in my back.

I HAVE ... to ask myself exactly HOW I managed to fall down the stairs today. My dear sweet brother asked me how I fell and I told him, "Well- I was walking, and I was walking, then I was falling, then I was falling more, then I stopped." And THAT is exactly what happened. Ask Lil. She saw the whole thing.

I WISH I COULD ... have the courage of my 4 year old. She totally stood up in a restaurant tonight and danced her little heart out for everyone to see, and trust me- with her dance moves, EVERYONE was watching.

I HATE ...talking. So why can't I shut up?!

I FEAR ... that people only pretend to like me, but really don't. If that's what you are doing, please, PLEASE stop. For both our sakes...

I HEAR ... that the thing people most fear is public speaking, the second most feared thing is death. So at a funeral, most people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy...

I SEARCH ... for true friends. So far I have found two. And those two are the most awesomest greatest, most wonderful people I know. Now if only I could find one not related or married to me.

I DON'T THINK ... I will ever get tired of hearing "I love you" from Joe and the girls, and homemade bread. Yup won't ever get tired of homemade bread.

I REGRET ... growing up as quickly as I did. I understand the reasons I felt I had to, but looking back, I didn't need to. Not really... I should have enjoyed my teenage years a bit more.

I LOVE ... the smell of freshly bathed babies (Baby Magic smells WONDERFUL),the feel of my husbands 5 o'clock shadow (that's 5 o'clock the next day...), the taste of oatmeal bread, the sound of sleeping children breathing steadily (if not a bit heavily), lightning storms.

I ACHE FOR ... the loss of my dad. Still.

I ALWAYS CRY ... when I hear these two songs: Love, Me by Colin Raye and Missing You by Jem (if you click the Jem link, pay no attention to the video- its the song that is awesome... this is the only site where I could find the whole song)

I AM NOT ... a crook! (picture me giving the peace sign)

I DANCE ... pretty well, but I would LOVE to take some classes to learn more...

I SING ... THIS to my daughters every night before bed.

I NEVER ... thought I would find myself saying this but... I actually don't mind Barney (as in the purple dinosaur...)- HE really isn't so bad if you can block out that curse-ed "I love you" song...

I RARELY ... drink caffine. Last time I knowingly drank caffine, I was pregnant with my now 4 year old...

I CRY WHEN I WATCH ... my husband cutting up onions. Yeah- what a tear jerker.

I AM NOT ALWAYS ... the best mom I can be, and that bothers me. Luckily my girls love me none the less.

I HATE THAT ... I was never given the chance to be in a sport or dance class or even gymnastics when I was a kid. I feel like I missed out. And so- I signed Lil up for a dance class today. :)(Must live vicariously thru my kids, right?)

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT ... well, lots of stuff. But my biggest puzzler for now is that I want to take up running. BUT- My lungs can't handle cold well, and I don't know where exactly I can run in the winter that is free. :S

I NEED ... to take that Advil and crawl in bed with a good book. OR at least a good magazine.

I SHOULD ... remind you that you are more than welcome to steal this from me and do it on your blog. After all, I did. (And though I can't remember who I stole it from - I "thank you" nonetheless.)

(I am adding one-)

I WAS ... a pretty cute baby, huh?!

This. Is. Awesome.

I just HAD to send this on for all you readers (you know, all three of you) can see, and possibly participate! I have already signed up to be a part of the "My Favorite Things swap."



Go check it out! Love to ya'll!

Lilism's (and friends)

So a friend (or maybe a group of friends) of mine coined a phrase that I now use quite often. When our kids do or say something totally unique and most often funny, we refer to it as an _____ism (insert child's name in the blank). Well- My children are full of "ism's"- for example...


Lil-ism's:

called about: "Mom, what is that thing called about?" (This is also used to ask what something is for (about))

long minutes vs. short minutes: if she is enjoying her play date she asks if she can stay for long minutes, if she doesn't want to nap she asks if she can sleep for short minutes...

a LOT a lot a lot (heavy emphasis on the capital letters): Mom I love you a LOT a lot a lot (as opposed to just a lot- its the equivalent of bunches and bunches and/or very very much).

air donitioner (conditioner)

I'm still in a bad mood: translation: I am not getting my way.

I wanna look like _____: translation: I think ______ is cute. (She currently wants to look like a neighbor boy...)

Sure (pronouced shu-er): This one really makes me laugh. Instead of okay or yes she says sure. If I tell her its bedtime she says "sure" instead of "okay". If I ask her to clean something, or help me with her sister, or even if she wants ice cream (or some other yummy treat) she replies with "Sure!" (Perfect example! She just asked me if we could play at the park, and her sister is asleep, so I told her, "Not right now sweetheart, why don't you put on a show." To which she replied, "Sure!")

ed: This one is funnier than it seems. She adds an extra ed to MANY MANY words. Such as, "I flushed-ed the toilet." "I wanna be held-ed." Basically any past tense word where the "ed" sound is not very pronounced (or should I say pronounced-ed) she adds an extra "ed" (She is fine with words like wanted, and hated).

Yesterday, I was abruptly woken up by a 4 year old waxing philosophical on me... She didn't say, "Good morning Momma!" nor did she say, "Momma, its time to wake up..." (her two usual responses). She walks right to the side of my head and whispers in my ear, "Momma, if you love me, then you want me. If you DON'T love me, then you DON'T want me. At all." Then she left the room and started a cartoon for herself. Say WHAT??

Today, I bit off more than I can chew and find myself with two extra kids. Both are 4. Both are Lil's friends. One is a little girl in her preschool. She is a spunky cute kid. The other is a neighbor boy I promised to watch weeks ago... Well I offered them all some cereal this morning. Lil and Jan* both said "Yes!" since it was Barbie cereal (it really is- and I personally think the stuff is awful, its berry flavored, presweetened cereal with marshmallows, so its like crunch berry cereal with lucky charm marshmallows...). Well I offered Jon* some as well and he said, No, its "gril" cereal for "grils". "Gril's" need "gril" stuff, I don't. This started a debate between the three of what is "gril" stuff and what is boy stuff. Turns out that macaroni and cheese is boy stuff and milk is "gril" stuff.

(names changed since I don't have their parents permission to write about them)

Joe and I were discussing the other night Lilia's butt. Yes- we know. We are so weird. But bare with me. She was trying to squeeze into a space she was too big for and I said to her it was because she had daddy's butt. To which Joe and I discussed how we both hope both kids get his butt instead of my non existant one. I know, I know, TMI. But there is a point here, I promise... So while we are talking about it, Lil walks up and matter of factly stated, "I don't have Daddy's butt. It's too BIG for me! I have MY butt. And Lacey has her butt. She would look funny with Daddy's butt." Awesome. She had us both laughing pretty hard. The rest of the night she kept talking about Lacey has a small butt, she has a medium butt, mommy has a big butt (nice) and daddy has (hehehe) a "Big, big, BIGGER butt." (Think of this like "a LOT, a lot, a lot.")

Picture Blog... haven't done this in a while!

Most of these pictures are of Lacey, but Lil is part of most stories...

First up:
I put the girls to bed the other night, like usual, and, like usual, they wouldn't go to sleep. I expect it from Lilia, but Lacey too?! Finally I went to find out why Lacey wouldn't go to sleep and THIS is what I found...

It seems big sister Lil decided it would be fun to take ALL the stuffed animals and dolls and put them in the crib with Lace! No wonder she wouldn't go to bed! She had no where to lay down!

Next up:
The other day I saw Lil carrying around my sewing marker (its a disappearing ink marker. LOVE IT!). I asked her what she was doing with it. "Writing Lacey's name." Oh? Awesome! I asked to see it and she took me to Lacey. Who was nekid and branded...


Third in line:
Not much of a story here. Just a kid soooo tired she didn't even manage to get a bite in before falling asleep...


And Next we have:
Today Lil took our dog out for her morning constitutional. Nothing new. Part of the routine. Well, when she brought the dog back in, she forgot to take the leash off. And well, Lacey took over from there. It was awesome watching her lead the dog through the house... Midge is a very patient dog...




Up next:

They finally arrived! And sleep has become the new "in thing" in this household...

Check out those MONSTER Top teeth!

And last but not least:

A picture of two of the cutest things to grace this place we call Earth...

Some friends in need... possibly...

So I sit here pondering a troubling situation. Something happened a while back and I had a HUGE run-in with someone I thought was a friend. This "friend," in reality had been spreading some fairly vicious lies about me and MY HUSBAND (and most likely still is), and did a VERY GOOD job of putting me down. Basically calling me a bad mom, wife, friend, person, etc. Can we say "OUCH"? Yeah- she really hurt me. I was beyond depressed for quite some time after the fact, and am still struggling with the after effects her words have had on me. It turns out I am not the only person she has done this to. I have now talked to two other people who have had startlingly similar stories as mine. (I am jokingly considering starting a support group about it!!) Now here is the real problem...

Two women I greatly respect and really like (lets call them Melissa and Janet) have started spending time with said "friend," and I really would hate to see them suffer the same fate as me and these other women I have talked with. So what should I do... Should I talk to Melissa and Janet? I mean, if I did, I would in no way tell them the details of what "friend" did to me (I have promised myself and my husband not to spread the details to anyone that didn't need to know), BUT- I could at least tell them that they should be a bit wary because "friend" has a reputation building of how she befriends people, makes them feel special, and valuable at first, followed by feeling indebted to her due to lavish gifts, then feeling inadequate for not being able to keep up with the lavish gifts, and finally she snaps and basically kicks them to the ground? OR- do I keep my mouth shut and PRAY she hasn't told the lies about me to Melissa and Janet... Did I mention that Melissa and Janet are exceptionally sweet, nice, giving, and thoughtful? Well they are.

I think my biggest concern here is that if I do approach them, how do I do so without sounding like I am exacting revenge on "friend"? It has nothing at all to do with "friend" other than that I would hate to see anyone else subjected to the same things I was... I really like Janet and Melissa! Now, I know that even though Janet and Melissa are everything I said a few sentences back, I also know that both are totally capable of handling themselves in bad situations... I just would like to help them avoid being in this situation in the first place.


Any suggestions? Should I intervene with good intentions or keep my yap shut and be there with open invitations for the support group when it happens to them too?

A quick learner

Sometimes it completely takes me off guard how smart Lilia is! She amazes me on a daily basis. She is so funny, too! And sociable... I have no idea where she gets that trait... :)

The other day (Saturday) I was sitting on the couch dealing with a fussy baby. Lacey was teething, and in desperate need of some Orajel. So I said to Lilia, "Lil hun, can you do me a really big favor? Will you run out to the car and grab my purse for me? Lacey needs some medicine in my purse." She said, "Okay momma!" And there I sat, with a crying baby on my lap thinking to myself what a good big sister Lilia is, and how lucky I am to have such a good helper. And then, what is that I hear? Lil heading to the Master Bedroom (NOT the same direction as the garage) and then I hear this, "Daddy, will you do me a REALLY big favor? Can you go out to the car and get me mommy's purse please? Lacey needs some medicine in Mommy's purse..." I don't know what she said past that as I was laughing too hard to hear her. She is a smart little stinker!

So not cool! (WARNING POSSIBLE BREAKING DAWN SPOILER)

I am still waiting for my darn book to come. Trust me, I am not happy that I haven't received it yet. But such is life. I am patient (or at least PRETENDING to be patient... I have plenty to do, so I am not needing a book to read right this minute). I have been very careful to avoid certain blogs, and certain websites so I am not spoiled for the book. I am talking VERY careful. I am refusing to read ANY BLOG from ANY FRIEND I know read the book. I am so proud of myself for being surprised when my book FINALLY arrives!

Well, I have an account on Facebook. I have even stopped reading peoples moods and such so as to avoid any possible hints... Well, on Facebook, I was looking for a piece of Flair to send to my bestest friend and cousin, Ju. For those who don't know, "Flair" is basically a little virtual blurb or funny that you can send to your friends on Facebook in the shape of Buttons that they can stick on a virtual cork board on their Facebook profile... For example, I have one sent to me by a good friend that says "Join the Dark side- we have cookies" my cousin sent me one with a picture of the Disney Characters Copper and Todd and they are saying "Your my vest friend Todd" "Your my best friend too Copper." Another good one says, "Voldemort carries Twilight in his purse." etc. WELL- As I was searching for a good piece of flair for Ju, I happened across two pieces of flair that have pretty much ruined my day.

WARNING- STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON'T WANNA HEAR A SPOILER FOR BREAKING DAWN

"The Lion + The Lamb = The Loch Ness Monster" My first thought was hmm, wonder if that was related to Twilight?

Then I saw this one, "Renaesme- What kind of name is that?!" And I thought, AW CRAP! They get pregnant before she is turned into a vampire and its a girl and they name her after her mom and his... THAT IS A HUGE SPOILER FOR ME!!! Grrr...

I bet I am right too, huh? Don't answer that people. I don't wanna know til I read it for myself... :S

Grandpa would be so proud...

Have you ever noticed that some of your best conversations with your kids happen in the car? Something about being stuck in an enclosed space with you, watching the scenery fly by forces them to open up their tiny minds and show you glimpses of their thought process in action.

Now, we have been working with Lilia these last few months on her name, phone number, and address... She has her name down. Check. She knows her phone number. Check. But her address? Now that one is a bit harder. She really wants to know MORE than just the numbers and street name. She wants to know the city, state, country... the whole bit.

The conversation in the car the other day:

Lilia: Momma, where does Aunt Janet live?
Me: California, hun.
Lil: How about Melissa?
Me: Oregon.
Lil: Grandma Your-Momma? (as opposed to "Grandma Daddys-Momma")
Me: Utah.
Lil: And we live in PRIMERICA! In the middle! And Josh lives on the left and Andy lives on the right, and WE live right in the middle! Huh mom? And we live on "Big Hill Next To The Park"

Now what makes this such a great conversation is that she meant AMERICA, but Grandpa works for an insurance company called Primerica. :) She doesn't know that, but its still quite the coincidence. Also, she is exactly right! Our neighbors are Josh (on the left) and Andy (on the right). And we do live on a hill across from a park. Such a smart kid for being almost 4, huh?

Another car conversation recently:

Lilia (while staring out the window at a field of livestock): Momma, did you know Cows pee milk?
Me: Really? No, I didn't know that! Are you sure?
Lil: Yup! Milk!
Me: Oh... well if Cows pee milk, what do horses pee? ( I couldn't resist...)
Lil: Orange Juice.
I was laughing too hard to finish this conversation...


Lil at 6 months old.

So DARN Excited!

Joe and I get to go see Dave Matthews Band! FREE! YAY!

Okay- so its not a totally sweet deal since our "free" ticket in is to work the beverages at the concession stand... but hey, its still a free concert!

BTW- if anyone in this area is interested in working concession stands in return for free admittance at concerts anywhere in the state, lemme know. My SIL and BIL are in charge of finding people to work the beverage stands at all the venues in the area...

DMB here we come!