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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Not bad for a 3 year old


Today Hannah made Jackson his apology card.
She asked me how to spell 'I'm Sorry' so I wrote it out on a piece of paper and handed it to her. 
This was her doing it all by herself!
I shouldn't be so shocked, after all she is 3 1/2, but then again could most 3 1/2 yr olds do this?
Maybe not most but I am sure a lot of them probably could.

The other side of the card says Love,Hannah and on the front she drew two kids playing in the mountains.

I hope this week goes better than Friday did.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Making amends in 2011

Today when I picked the girls up at daycare, Jackie asked Hannah to tell me what happened today.
Hannah immediately clamed up so I knew that I wasn't going to hear something I was going to be proud of.
Apparently when one of the little boys got to daycare today Hannah stood at the top of the stairs, pointed at him and said "Go away!  We don't like you and we don't want you hear! (then started giggling and got the other kids to join in)"

This little guy started to cry and his mom was not happy either.  Then his mom starting telling Jackie about how he talks at home about how mean Hannah is to him and how she is always leaving him out. 
Jackie was disappointed which didn't help things since I was disappointed too.

Hannah and I have talked a lot about how we should treat people and how this behavior is unacceptable.
She didn't get a treat when we got home and we cancelled movie night tonight.
We also talked about how we are going to make this right.
She will be making him a card this weekend and including stickers in the card because 'he likes stickers'.  Each day until Tuesday (the next day he comes to Jackie's) we are going to think of 2 things that we can do with him next week to be extra specially nice and go out of our way to make him feel special and be his friend.  Today's ideas were play Legos with him.  'He likes legos'
"I know what else, mom, I can read him a story- he would like that."

So, I guess this is a test of my parenting skills.  I feel sick.
On one hand, they are kids.  This isn't the first time she will say hurtful things to someone and she will get her fair share of kids saying hurtful things to her too.  Doesn't make me feel better- where is that baby that everyone just smiles at and pats on the head?   The one that doesn't hurt peoples feelings...
On the other hand it sort of bothers me.
When this boy started at daycare, Hannah would come home and tell stories about how he was mean to her,  he would push her, or call her names.  For a few months, off and on, she would talk about how she didn't want to go to Jackie's because he would be there.  I chalked these times up to kids being kids and figured it would work itself out. 
The feelings that I have today are
a) I should have done something a year ago when she was upset about him and the way he was treating her.  Maybe then Jackie could have dealt with them and worked it out before this much resentment built up.
-According to Jackie he was a little mean and misbehaved when he first started there at Jackie's but he is not that way anymore. 
b)  I feel like because I didn't pay too much attention to it, I wasn't protecting my daughter like I should be.  I am haivng those 'what an awful mom' thoughts of she was trying to tell me something and I didn't help her get through it.

I am probably thinking too much about this.  I consulted with my mom's group (a.k.a. Stacey) and she made me feel better but I still haven't been able to stop thinking about it all night.
My kid was a bully today and that does not sit well with me.
This is not who she is.  It is not who she has EVER been (except for one day when she was calling the kids meanies and poopy heads).  She plays with others well and usually is making sure everyone is included. 
This was not my child today.

She hung her head most of the evening and then I caught her 'texting'.

Me:  "Who ya writing to?"
Hannah:  "Jackson, to tell him I am sorry and I won't do that again."

I guess it's another sign of the times.



Thursday, April 28, 2011

Road Closed

If it's not a toddler, dog, cart, or stroller.....


Reason #7 why I would love a bigger house.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

This makes me jealous

Brian is leaving tomorrow to go to Detroit for work. 
This is a picture of the backpack that he has packed for his 3 day/2 night stay. 
Do you notice that there is still about 5-6 inches of room left?  
 If I were going  When I go out of town for an overnight (1) I have more than that.  Going out of town for 3 days/2 nights?  I would for sure have at least a full suitcase!  Maybe the small one but no doubt it would be jam packed.   After all, I have gotten my fair share of heavy stickers.   
REAL jealous that he can
a) know ahead of time what he will be 'in the mood' to where to only pack what he will need
b) have no worries or concern about 'what if it's cold?' or 'what if it's hot?' 
 c) do I even have to mention the shoe situation?
d) no need for a straightner, make up bag, 4-7 bottles of hair products
e)  no purse = no need for a 'back-up' purse
f)  obviously doesn't plan on changing outfits mid-day....(how do they get away with that?)

P.S. we are going to miss him

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Actually left me speechless...giggling, but speechless

So here I am blogging about how sweet and caring Hannah is.  I talk about it almost every week.
About how she helps around the house, how she treats her sister, how great her manners are, etc.

Tonight we were watching Blues Clues.
The original host is Steve.


Then something happened and all of a sudden there is a new host, Joe.


We don't usually watch this show and it is just a new recent interest of Hannah's so we don't have the history of who, how, and why.  That part isn't important for this story anyways.

So tonight we are watching an episode and it was an older one so the host was Steve. 
Half way through the show Hannah looked at me and said "Mommy, you like Steve or Joe better?"
I reply with "I think Steve."
Hannah replies with "Joe is an ass."
Me:  "WHAT?!  Excuse me, what did you say? (said very calmly the second time- I am sure that I misheard her)
Hannah replies with "Joe is an ass, mom.  You know, like he is mean to his friends and stuff."

"Ummm, Hannah, please don't say that about anyone, that is not a nice thing to say."
(OMG!)


Yep- outta that sweet, adorable mouth

Monday, April 25, 2011

It says so right here


Hannah:  "Mommy, see on that box it says that your sweetie can help you.  That means I can help you, right?"

Another little sign that I must be doing something right. 

Many nights Hannah will want to play house or 'picnic' (that is another blog entry comin' up).  She usually starts with "Mom, how 'bout we play ___insert game here____ .  I will be the mom and you be the sweetie."

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

Brian and I hosted Easter this year.
I appreciate our family trucking out to Champlin so that we could have the kids at home and not have to run around today.  It is so much easier for us at our house- thanks guys for makin' the trip!

We started our morning with a basket hunt.  Hailey's was hidden in the glass cabinet of the entertainment center.  Hannah went looking for hers and after about 3 minutes, she was stumped.  "I wonder where he could have put it?"  I started to sense that she was ready to give up.  She appeared as though she was just going to start playing and if she stumbled across it, well-ok.
Me:  "Hannah, how about we clean up a litttle bit and then we can keep looking for it."
Hannah:  "Ok, what should we do?"
Me:  "Can you get some toliet paper for us and replace the roll in the bathroom for our company?"
Hannah:  "Sure"
She opened the cabinet and there it was!
Five minutes later she found baby Emerson's basket hidden in her room behind her laundry basket- no candy for Emerson but she did get animal crackers and some new outfits.

We had great food, great company, and spent about an hour on Skype with Kari, Andy, Kas, and Tin.


I really wanted to get a family picture today but Hailey was not real interested in pictures today.
This was the best we could do.






It was so nice today we were able to spend a good chunk of time outside.
Could spring finally be here?

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Grammy's Easter Day


Today Grammy Judy had the kids over to color eggs, go on an egg hunt, and have lunch at Culvers.
We weren't going to see each other on the actual holiday so this was next best.

The kids had fun coloring their eggs although a few of them didn't quite make it...


After the eggs were colored they were off to find their eggs that were hidden in the living room.

Not so fast....not without a picture first!


Hailey didn't make it today.
We were up past midnight with the Busta's last night and she needed a nap today.  
We were going to try and bring her anyways since I feel so bad leaving her home but then she took a bite out of Hannah's arm and at that moment the decision was easy. 

Friday, April 22, 2011

Tags, hangers, and safety pins, Oh My!


Tuesday is drop off day.
The sale begins on Wednesday and lasts through Saturday.
I am NO WHERE NEAR being ready.  Surprised aren't you?!  (quiet!)

I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew and then getting so overwhelmed with my plan to work on 'projects' little by little and then never finding the time (or motivation). 
So, here I sit, 4 days before drop off trying to start getting things ready.

Stacey and family came over tonight to help me.
THANK YOU STACEY!
She was such a great help.  After all, she worked at Stuarts at the mall in high school- you know :-)  She was an expert tagger.  I love working on projects with Stacey- we balance each other out perfectly.

As I am freaking out about never-in-a-million-years being able to get this done she is don't-worry-we-will-get-it-done.  She was so helpful getting me organized and helping me figure out a place to start.  Figuring out prices and hanging items on hangers......all. night. long...

We didn't get everything done but we tagged and priced over $600 worth of items (130 total).

Instead of working like a dog until the wee hours of the nights the next few days, I decided to enroll in the Blaine/Andover sale as well.  Bought myself another weekend to get more things ready.

And the BEST part about that is that I spoke to the lady who runs the Blaine sale and she had made my consignor number the same so whatever I don't sell at Elk River I can bring to Blaine and won't need to re-tag ANYTHING! 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

T.G.I.T.

Today is only Thursday but it is 'Friday' for all of us.

No daycare tomorrow, no work for mom or dad.
We celebrated by going to Chicken Wild for dinner.
While we were waiting for our dinner, Hannah wanted to practice writing our names.

She wrote her name all by herself and then needed me to spell the others for her.
There were a few letters that she needed me to write first (on a napkin- of course) and then she was able to write them herself.

Pretty good, eh?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Enough already...

April 20th and we woke up to snow on the ground.
It melted by the early afternoon but that didn't help things....I think we get it....we live in Minnesota, it snows here...blah, blah, blah.

Now get it out of your system and bring on the sun!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Diabetes in a bowl


It's Tuesday!
You know what that means?!

Yep- The Grandpa Dan Show and ice cream!!!

Tonight's choice= Wendy's Frosty with mini-chocolate chips.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Something's missing...


Both kids were taking a nap yesterday afternoon so I decided to sneak out and run to Target (for the 1st time for this week and the first time in 24 hours).
It started off amazing!  I could take as long as I wanted.  I didn't have to talk to anyone.  I didn't have to keep reminding the kids in the cart to 'keep it down' or 'use their inside voices'.
Going down the aisle, realize it's the wrong one? No problem, turn around and go down the right one.  No need to explain myself. Just do it.

Then about half way through my trip it made me a little sad.

Where were my little friends?
Who was going to keep track of my list, what we bought and what we still have left to get?
Who was going to be the tie breaker when I had choices to make?!

Note to self:  next time kids are sleeping, use the time to get something done in the house- the kids are actually very helpful shopping buddies

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mutt and Jeff

Yesterday we were at Denny and Judy's for a family get together.

Within minutes of arriving, Hannah was gone- only seeing the side of her as she ran by us the rest of the night.

I was walking past the bathroom and heard Hannah and Adam inside.  

Hannah:  "Adam, wanna take a bath with me?"
Adam:  "Sure!"

I had to look inside to see what was going on.
Hopefully their clothes were still on and hopefully the water was off.


Whew!  Walked in to find this

These two played together all night!
At one point Judy made a comment about how they were just like "Mutt and Jeff".
It was fun seeing them communicate and have so much fun together.
Hannah is now planning a time when she can invite Adam over for their very own sleepover.

Here they are sharing a chair, a plate, and a snack :-)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Uno, dos, tres

Place:  Target deli counter
What:  Waiting for the lady to finish packaging up our items

Me:  "When she is done we should have 5 packages.  Wanna help me count them?"
Hannah:  "Can we count them in Spanish?"  (said in a way that was more of an I will if....)


Friday, April 15, 2011

Hope it's worth it

I signed up to be a consignor at the April 28-30 Just Between Friends Sale in Elk River.

 Interested?    http://elkriver.jbfsale.com/pages/home

I have been working little by little to go through our 'baby things' and make decisions about what items to sell, what items to donate, what items to graduate to the world of shop-rags, what items should just make their way to the landfill, etc.

This is what I have to show for about 20 hours of work....

 

MUCH harder than I anticipated.
First I had to ransack the house to find all the places that could have stuff stored away.
Then I had to look at every item and inspect for stains, holes, etc.
Then I had to determine if I was going to keep or sell.  (still working on this one)
Then I had to pack back up in some sort of fashion so when the day comes that I can finally iron (yikes!) and tag everything in a somewhat organized manner.

One HUGE tote and a laaundry basket FULL of toys.
One tote of maternity clothes.
Four totes of baby clothes 0-12 months (summer and spring only)
One tote of shoes, socks, hats
One container of blankets
One box of onsies, socks, tights, washcloths
I have two bathtubs, a bathseat, a swing, a boppy pillow, a Boppy seat, an activity table, an exersaucer, and a car seat with two bases.

It was a very emotional process but at the same time I handled it better than I thought I would.  I only teared up a few times and at one point actually told myself to turn the emotions off so I could get through this.
I think when I actualy make the decision to tag, determine a price, etc, it will be MUCH harder.
On one hand I have so much nice stuff that I would love to keep it- just in case we have another or just in case one of my sisters has a little girl.
Trouble with those feelings- I have an opportunity to get rid of these items when they are still 'in style' and worth something.   Who knows if we will have more kids.  Who knows when my sisters would have kids and when they do, it's only 50/50 chance it would be a girl.
I know it would really help them out, etc but at the same time I loved getting things for the baby and going shopping. There will be plenty of showers and plenty of people spoiling those kids once they are on their way.

Our house isn't big enough to store all of this stuff for a case of the what ifs.
I need to take my chance at selling it.

I have to keep telling myself  "You are selling clothes, NOT the actual children.  They do not fit in these clothes and never will again."   It doesn't make me feel better.

I haven't even started the hard part yet...

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Signs of love

These poor books.
I was organizing and cleaning up the girls books and came across a little stack of them that sure needed some TLC.
Covers were ripped off, pages ripped out, bindings were coming apart.
I started getting mad and then it hit me.
These books wouldn't look this way if they weren't loved.
I am sure that the books in perfect condition in the pile right now wished that they looked like these guys....

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Not a fan


I don't mind doing laundry.

 Hanging and folding shirts?  No biggie.
Folding and putting away towels?  Sure.
Matching the white socks?  No thank you.

It is hard for me to just grab two socks and put them together.
I need to at least do my best to match the shade of white.
Yup.

Gets worse....
After I get the shades matched up I am not satisfied until the softness is compared.


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Just like that

About three weeks ago we were talking again that it is probably time to start thinking about weening Hailey from her nuk.
Of course Brian was much more equiped to deal with this than I was and knowing that eventually she would have to deal it was still hard for me to start this process.
We should wait until after all of her teeth are in.  We should wait until we get her into a big girl bed.  We should wait until she starts talking more and then we can bribe her like we did with Hannah.....do I need to continue or do you get it?

One day when I picked the girls up from Jackie's, Hailey was standing at the diaper bag.  As soon as she saw me she started running in place with excitement and then reached into the front pocket of her bag where the nuk waited everyday for her because after 12 months they aren't 'allowed' at Jackie's anymore.
What? Was? That?
At that moment the decision was made (in my head) to start the process.  Not really sure how yet but at least start.
The next morning when I dropped the girls off, I placed Hailey's nuk inside in the insdie pocket of the diaper bag.   At this point it was more of an out of site, out of mind thing but I knew that if she asked for it or wanted it when she went to bed we I would cave.

One little step of the plan I forgot.....I didn't tell Brian my thought and didn't tell him that the nuk was in the bag.

He picked the girls up on that day, Hailey reached in the front pocket and no nuk!  She was NOT happy and she let daddy know.
Brian texted me to ask me where the nuk was.  By the time I responded to him he had already made up his mind that on his watch today she was going to have to learn to deal because he was done with this nuk obsession.
That night I got home, Hailey whined a tiny bit for her nuk but then the art of distraction took over and she soon forgot about it.
That night, Brian put her to bed without her nuk.  (There was NO way that this would work)

or would it?

She feel right to sleep and the next day would mark the first day of her life as clean and sober.




It's official.  The stash that has been hanging out waiting for the ultimate breakdown is getting thrown out.

Monday, April 11, 2011

It's all fun and games until someone gets to the bottom


This time two years ago, Hannah wore that exact same jacket and played on that exact same slide.
My oh my, how time flies!

When Hailey gets to the bottom, she does not appreciate having to put her hands down to get herself back up.  She tries really hard to land on her feet at the bottom but when she doesn't, she usually just sits there and waits for someone to help her get up so she can climb back up and come back down.
Too bad for her that got old after about 10 times so the next few she was left to figure it out.

Took her a few minutes to figure out that instead of having to touch the ground she could just turn around and use the slide to stand herself back up.

Seems strange for a little girl that likes to get into everything...

Sunday, April 10, 2011

aaaaand....we're back

This weekend we had great weather.
It rained and overall wasn't the best of weekends for weather but considering that it wasn't snowing or requiring anyone to wear hats and mittens, it's my favorite of the year so far!
The weather was nice enough that you could actually get away without wearing jackets.

We spent Saturday morning outside in our 'usual' weekend positions.
Lawn chairs out, bubbles in hand, watching daddy do yardwork.


Hailey is getting her last four teeth.
This has made her nose like a faucet lately.
Today while we were outside, Hannah ran in to the house to get something.
She came out with a Kleenex and each time she saw Hailey's nose running she ran over to wipe it.


"Hold still baby, I will wipe you nose for you."

Another meltable moment.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Yep- that's what you think it is


Emerson joined us today on our daily trip to Target.
Hannah climbed in on her side of the car and then immediately crawled over to Hailey's seat to buckle Emerson in.

Over the top? 
Maybe, but it isn't hurting anyone :-)


Friday, April 08, 2011

Suppertime Blues

I wonder if she thinks that I actually enjoy this?!



This is Hannah sitting at the dinner table, crying because we are making her eat before she can get down.

Suppertime is not always fun at our house.
It usually starts out stressful before I have even left for work.
The daily question 'WFS?'  (what's for supper?)
Shame on me (us) that we don't plan ahead and lay out a schedule but it never really sounds like a 'fun' thing to do.  I know that the pay-out would be well worth it and start our evenings out on a better course but it is hard to come up with new ideas, etc.
Not my favorite thing to do.  I have tried different websites and other ideas for trying to get more organized about this but just like everything else, sometimes I have TOO many ideas that I end up doing nothing because I start with a small idea like 'I should plan a weekly meal calendar, go shopping to make sure we have all ingredients' and it turns into I should go through all of our cookbooks strolling for ideas, print them on recipe cards and then hang them on the fridge- in the meantime we should take an inventory of all the food we already have and find a way to catalog, etc, etc, etc.
Great ideas and intentions.  Not so good with execution.  I need to work on that but that will be for a different day....

Anyways, back to the point.

Daily question of what to have for supper.  Sometimes tons of ideas, other days struggle.
Then I get home from work, usually between 5 and 5:30, and I walk into a house of hungry people.
Brian is usually already in the process of making supper, the kids are either trying to get his attention, fighting, playing, or watching tv.
Within about 30 minutes of walking through the door (usually less) we are sitting at the table eating.
Hannah goes through these spurts where she won't eat.  She is always talking throughout dinner and saying she isn't hungry.
Of course the minute she were to get down she starts begging for a treat.  Yeah right, little one!  Nice try!

We have tried various things and usually the only thing that works is to tell her without eating there is no treat.  That usually does the trick but it can take a long time some nights.
Brian is much more strict than me in this area.  He would like to set a timer and if she isn't done eating in that timeframe than her plate goes away, she gets down and no treat. 
I am much more relaxed about it.  If you don't want to eat, get down, you won't get a treat and if you ask to eat something later you can finish your dinner.  I like to think that it is patience but when I think about it I am sure that he is probably right.  We need to just have a few nights of fits and fussing and she will see that she has one chance to eat.  When she gets to kindergarten they aren't going to let her sit at the table and eat for 45 minutes. 
It's hard for me.  I want her to eat but at the same time don't want her to get some type of 'issue' with food because she is forced to eat or forced to shove food in 10 minutes.  It is a tricky situation for me.

I do know that we need to do something different it's just finding the right balance.

I don't normally think that she is intentionally 'playing' me.  I know sometimes she is, probably most of the time, but overall she is a good kid so I don't find the need to be so hard on her and things she does. 

A timer is probably a really good idea but now trying to determine how long it should take.  That's the tricky part.

Wish me luck!

She was not happy with me when she saw the other pictures and asked me to take another one.

P.S.  She ended up eating everything on her plate but it took her about 45 minutes.
Got down and immediately said 'I'm hungry, I need a treat!"

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Dankie Monster

Guess who?


It's the DANKIE MONSTER!




Hannah was still sitting at the dinner table finishing her lunch and while Brian and I were cleaning up Hailey was entertaining Hannah.

Nothing brings two sisters together like a good 'ol game of peek-a-boo!

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

(cue music) Money, Money, Money


On the weekends when Hailey goes down for her nap Hannah likes to play with our change bucket.
She practices counting or gets creative with sorting them to develop different ice cream flavors.

Hundreds of dollars worth of toys around the house and she has most fun with $30 in change.

She usually ends up making a mess and the next morning we are never surprised when we wake up with a quarter stuck to our leg but that's ok.  At least it's a clean mess :-)

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Wonder if there is a market for this....

I love to write on napkins.
Everyone that works with me knows it.
It's just something about the way that the pen glides across them that I love the most. 

The other thing that I love about them? 
Try to write yourself a note on a napkin and then not pay attention to it.
It's impossible. 
You will try to throw that note/list/thing away all day forcing you to touch it, pick it up, read it, and remember that you have something to do.


Works like a charm!

Monday, April 04, 2011

Family popcorn


The girls worked up an appetite tonight playing 'Monster' with daddy. 
They wanted to have a snack.  After talking them out of more chocolate or cookies, we settled on popcorn.
Hannah and Hailey went to the cupboard to get bowls for the popcorn.
I overheard Hannah telling Hailey that they needed to get bowls for the 'whole family', 'a daddy bowl, a mommy bowl, and kid bowls'. 

Sunday, April 03, 2011

My birthday letter

The letter reads...

I was going to go shopping today to buy you something fun for 'you'.  Maybe a purse, sandals, necklace, shirt, or whatever caught my eye.
But then I called you last night while you were trying to have a little 'me' time (which wasn't working so well for you).  You told me about how you tried to have your 'me' time at 5am and that didn't work either.
It made me remember when my kids were little and how hard it was to get even a minute to yourself to do something you like doing.
That's when I decided that you can buy your own purse, sandals, necklace, shirt, or whatever catches your eye!
For your birthday I want to give you some 'YOU' time!
My gift to you is...
  • 2 Twins ticket to the Saturday May 14th game
  • A round trip ride to/from the Anoka train station
  • A nanny for the day/night (me, of course!)
From one mom to the next "YOU DESERVE THIS!"

This is my birthday gift from Stacey.  I absolutely LOVE it!
I am so excited to have a date with Brian and enjoy doing something together all while knowing that the girls are taken care of and having a good time.  Although, that isn't my favorite part of the gift.
My favorite part of the gift is the fact that my bestie acknowledged that I needed this.

It is no news that having two young children can be tiring and being the mother of those two children can be overwhelming.  You start to look for any moment that you can be alone.  The bathroom becomes your 'getaway' and usually you aren't even safe there. 

I know that there are 50 people in my life that would watch the girls for me.  It's not that I don't know that- but- it is awesome to have someone offer to take them.  Not just an open offer of  "I will take them anytime" but an acutal "Why don't you go do this at this time and I will watch the girls" type of offer.  Takes the mommy-guilt out of the equation.

Thank you my friend- this means a lot!

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Ta-Da


We were shopping at Target last night and passed by these bikes.  
Hannah looked over and said " Mommy, those bikes look cool.  Take my picture with them while I ta-da!"

This picture makes me giggle. 
She acted like such a big kid having such a big idea tonight.
The pose just kills me :-)

Friday, April 01, 2011

The best part

This girl loves her Dankie.


She loves to smell him.  She loves to snuggle him.  She loves to put him in her ear.

Tonight we were driving home from Target.  She found 'the best part' on Dankie (he was allowed IN the car for the ride but NOT in the store for shopping).
For fear of losing 'the best part' she asked if I would hold him while she got out of the car (this time no orders to not smell myself, although, I wasn't tempted either).
When we got in the house she was looking around - "here Dankie, you wait here".

She shoved 'the best part' in the cabinet handle so she wouldn't lose it...

She went potty...



and got her jammies on...



You hear me say it all the time but it is necessary for these situations.....

you can't make this stuff up!