IQs

I'd like to start adding little interesting/entertaining sayings/quotes that I hear from the girls from time to time. Things that make me laugh or melt my heart, or maybe roll my eyes. LOL!
Who knows if it'll last long, but here goes....

IQ (interesting quote. you follow?) for today. From Miss E.
me: Would you like a string cheese for a snack?
E: No, I don't like string cheese.
me: Well, what would you like then?
E: I don't know. Anything but string cheese. Maybe I'll try some brussel sprouts.

???????????

A Beary Nice Nap

I don't exactly encourage Miss A to nap anymore. She's at that stage where, if she does nap, she's up till after 10 at least. And I very much enjoy our 8ish bedtime. SO, we've sort of strayed from her daily naps. But, I really have to watch her in the mid afternoon hours and on. She needs to stay reasonable busy. Cannot veg in front of a movie, etc. or she'll fall right off.
Today there was a movie on TV around lunch time, so I let the girls sit and watch the end of it after we ate. It was, after all, before 1:00. I thought I was safe!
I went to my room..for something. I can't even remember why I was in there. Anyway-it wasn't long. Maybe 15 minutes? When I came out this is what I found. How sweet!
She does need a little more rest, sometimes, than a good nights sleep. She had a busy day w/her daddy yesterday and was up fairly early, so I'm glad she took a good nap.
2 1/2 hours!

Bumper Babes!

July is "letter X" month for our playgroup, and we've really been stretching it for some playdate ideas.
SO, we decided to add a "X is for STRIKE!" day to the calendar, and headed to The Main Event for some bumper bowling!
We had so much fun! The girls were very into it. I was secretly disappointed that Miss A was so into it. I really thought that she would lose interest (it goes VERY slowly with the little ones) and I would end up taking her turns. No such luck!
She would anxiously await her turn each time around, and even once bowled for someone else when they took too long to get to the plate!
Oh-Miss E enjoyed it too...but when it wasn't her turn, she was very much occupied with her Root Beer. Her FIRST Root Beer EVER! Oh my goodness. I had to pry her away from that thing!
Anyway-this playdate totally took me back to my bowling days. At most of the bases overseas, there are two forms of entertainment.
#1-The movie theater. We would get the new blockbusters around a month or so after the rest of the world...
#2-The Bowling Alley! This was always THE place to be. THE hangout for the teen/preteen crowd. Oh, the days of over carbonated sodas and goopey chili cheese fries. YUM!
And everyone who was ANYone, was on the bowling league! Man, that place would be packed from morning till night on league days. SO much fun!! We'd hold friendly competitions against the neighboring teams, and my sisters and I always kept up with each other's high scores. And, if I remember correctly (and because neither of them really read this blog...) I'm pretty sure that I was usually in the lead. :)
J and I used to bowl too, in our kidless days. -ahem-I always beat him too-
I would love to start going again. We'll have to pick one of the "specials" nights and go to town. Let the girls keep busy with the bumpers and set up our own lane next to theirs and get our BOWL on!!
I ended up there without my camera, so here are some shots the lovely Miss M snatched.



(those are Miss A's droopey sock feet. Love it!)

Summer Days. Drifting Away....

I cannot, WILL not believe that our summer is almost over! What happened to my weekly schedule of events? Of having productive, active days and taking advantage of this precious free time?? It seems many of our days have just drifted away...
Last week I was reminded of the free movie program at Lakeline Mall. This has been going on all summer and I completely forgot about it! I remembered from friends' experiences last year that if you don't get there early and claim your spot in line before the doors open, that you may not get a seat. Soooo...I woke the girls from their sweet dreams (the movie starts at 10:00, but the doors open at 9:00. Which meant we needed to leave about 8:45!), dressed their sleepy bodies, brushed teeth and hair like zombies, and fed them toast in the car.
All in the name of a free movie!
We arrive at about 9:10 to a semi-full parking lot and no line at the door. Sigh, I'm thinking the line has already made it's way in and the show is full. Oh well, we can walk the mall, I guess. But ABsoLUTely no funds to shop! :)
I guide the girls into the empty lobby and must have looked lost because one of the teeny-bopper boys pointed me towards the concession counter. Still hopeful, I ask if there are any seats left for the "free movie".
And the girl behind the counter tells me...(with just a hint of that 'are you for real?' look, "Um, no one's here for that yet".
Really.
SO...we have 45 minutes to kill in an empty, un-opened mall.
Thank goodness for Chick-Fil-A. It was the only place open, and they had relatively cheap coffee and a yummy bagel. We sat and enjoyed our little breakfast then hit the 25 cent candy machine on the way back. Miss E chose Chicklets and Miss A chose peanut M&Ms to add to the apple slices and Teddy Grahams I had stashed in my purse.
The movie was AWESOME! Everyone's Hero. SO cute, and clean, and funny! Both girls laughed throughout, Miss E exclaiming several times, that "this is a funny movie!"
It had humor that they could get, but that was also entertaining for the adults.
The most graphic language may have been a couple of 'stupids', and a very funny part where the talking baseball says, "Ow! My head! My butt! My head!" as he bounces down some stairs.
I think the main character gets taunted and called 'loser' once or twice, but it was so quick I can't even remember.
After the movie we went for the promised stroll around the mall, stopping to "only look" at the Webkins in Hallmark. Miss E understood that we were not buying, but Miss A made a nice little scene as we left after I pried three or four of the little plush animals from her grip!
A quick stop at the Dollar Store for a prize apiece and we were headed home. A really nice, summer morning.
And we were even treated to a small shower over lunch! Rain, rain...come again!

The Magic of Mozart

Earlier this week I came across some of my classical/instrumental music CDs that I used to play in my classroom. I decided to play some each afternoon to help enforce our "quiet time" activities.
WOW!
What a difference! The girls have colored, done puzzles, drawn, and even just sat and listened to the CDs. It is so soothing and calming, but gives just enough 'noise' in the air to keep them distracted from whatever I'm trying to do.
And they're being introduced to the classics. Hey-it's a win-win!
Like I said, it's Magic!

From teeth to...well....I give up.

I should know by now, that a quiet house usually means trouble. But it always takes a minute to sink in. Like, I realize, "wow-it's really quiet" after it's been quiet for a couple of minutes already.
Anyway-just had one of those moments.

"Wow-It's really quiet", I think to myself.
I find Miss E quickly. Laid out on her bed reading her latest chapter.
Where's Miss A? Well, I last sent her to brush her teeth.....
And then I see her. Sitting quietly in the family room floor. I walk towards her and ask,
"Miss A, did you brush your teeth?"
"Yes I did."

And then I see.

That she is cleaning her toes with her toothbrush.

And this is why I keep spares on hand.

BLUE GOO!

Today we made BLUE GOO!



While the girls were gone to B'town I picked up a little science workbook from the $ spot at Target. Miss E read through a bunch of it last night and decided that today we would make Blue Goo. A group in our playgroup has done this before, but I have never made this stuff with the girls.

It was SO WEIRD!
If you just poke at it, in the bowl, you can't really break the surface. It seems solid. But if you dig down into it and lift it up, it drips like a liquid. Strange!

Miss A did not want to touch it and was VERY unsure about it.



Miss E, on the other hand, played in that gunk for 20 minutes!



Blue Goo Recipe:
1 Cup Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Water
Several drops of blue food coloring
Mix with hands and have fun!

First Of All....

YAAAAAAY!!

We got rain!



Yes, this is a picture of my neighbor's house. I don't care! We got some rain!
It was a nice little downpoor. Short but strong. I have some new flowers in the front, and did some weed 'n feed in the back a few days ago. And now a nice little shower to give it a kick start. Hopefully we'll have more over the next day or two. We NEED it!

Good Sleeps

It has taken me a few weeks to realize I'm sleeping better and feeling better in the mornings. I know I shouldn't even say anything or discuss this out loud...but Miss A is sleeping so well through the night! And pretty consistently doing a good job of going down at night! YAY!

Double YAY!

She's 3 1/2 years old, and it's just hitting me....Oh My Goodness! 3 1/2 years of several trips to her room. Almost. Every. Night. It just became normal to me.
Miss E started sleeping 10-12 hours straight at about 10 week old. The few weeks before that it was usually 8.
Miss A is just a whole 'nother ballgame, in every little way. Some days I literally say to her, "It's a good thing you're so cute...", and some days I say, "That's not cute or funny!" and I'm ALWAYS telling her, "Stop and look at me and LISTEN!"

***I have to add here-yesterday Miss A wandered into my room where I was folding laundry on my bed. She was snacking on a cheese cracker. The dog (Missy) was laying right at my feet as usual. Miss A walks up to the dog and calmly says, "Missy, you need to look at me and listen to me. I have a cheese cracker. And I am going to eat it. And you may not have any."***
:)

Anyway, some things have slowly been changing and it's time I celebrate and share them! She actually ate a few bites of Tilapia the other night! And some brisket before that! (all smothered in Ranch dressing of course...)
But this morning it just hit me-I got out of bed without having to FALL out. It was pretty easy to get up and get going. And I realized that it's been that way for at least a week or so. "Why so?" I ask myself. I'm not going to bed any earlier...not sleeping any later.
And then it all made sense! Miss A and I have not had the night-fights that we had become so accustomed to! And that was just getting her to stay in bed at bedtime! On top of that, I have not had my 3 or more trips to her room every night to pat her back to sleep or climb in with her.
So this is what "rested" feels like? Wow-I'll enjoy it...for a month or so anyway. Then we're back into the craziness of school schedules. Where has the summer gone???

Shoppin'

I guess today I made up for my sluggish self from yesterday...
I met my MIL at IKEA to continue my search for Miss E's desk accessories. I did find a cute little pink desk lamp and some storage bins to help contain the mess that is the floor of her closet, but not what I had in mind for her desk.
So from there, we grabbed some lunch. I was treated to some yummy Chile's and a tasty 'rita! :)
Then we hit Garden Ridge, tried Hobby Lobby (closed on Sundays, FYI), Target, a little discount gift/toy store, another Target, Walmart, and....oh, Michael's. I didn't buy something at EVERY store...but close! But I did good-one stop yielded the PERFECT calendar for Miss A (I searched all over at the beginning of the year for one just like this) for $2!
I did find 2 things to help organize E's desk at Michael's. I just need to paint them. No biggie.
Found an adorable quilt/comforter set at Target for Ally (she's yet to have one for her 'big' bed), but after passing on the rain check, found one just as cute and half the price at Walmart!
I got home and was exhausted. Put a couple of things together and sunk into the couch for Sunday night shows, and enjoyed a chocolate Drumstick. Undisturbed. :)

Idle

I'm moments away from twiddling my thumbs. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty to do. Dozens of things I SHOULD be doing. I'm sitting in a quiet house. Alone. J's dad picked up the girls just before 2 today and I don't know what to do with myself! I sat down and channel surfed for about 20 minutes. Nothing good to watch on a Saturday afternoon. Tried to read some.
It is way to quiet to read!
So I took a nap.
I was not the least bit tired.
And I slept for an hour and a half.
How. Lame.
I did decide in the late afternoon/early evening to drive down to the Container Store to scope out some desk accessories for Miss E.
Yes, the kids are gone, and all I can think about is what I want to get for them! I didn't end up getting anything at the Container Store-I wouldn't even pay their SALE prices for what they have there...though I did see some cool stuff.
BUT...on my way out of the parking lot I saw an Old Navy. (grins!)
I got several things for Miss E and a couple for Miss A that I'll probably put back for school. They had most shorts and lots of tops at 50% off. I did get some super good deals.
One day down, one to go.

4th Fun!

We had such a nice 4th of July! An entire day with the daddy...these girls were SO excited to have some chill time with their daddy. We had a late breakfast, a snacky lunch, then did a couple of errands. Came home and put on a movie to help the afternoon pass. We were very anxious for fireworks time!
Before we knew it we were rushing through a quick dinner and loading the car!
A short wait for the shuttle, and a VERY exciting ride to the site...


(Miss A was BESIDE herself on the little bus ride. Beaming and wide eyed the whole time!), and we were there! We found a good spot to spread our blanket and set up chairs and headed for the big blow-up slides and jumpies.
We were about 4 people down the line when everything deflated! I guess it all shut down about 8 o'clock! The girls were disappointed but handled it very well. We went back to our site and snacked until fireworks time! There was a live band that played some good tunes. The kids danced and played around until dark.





I had cotton balls for the girls to help muffle the noise...this worked wonderfully for Miss E. She kept exclaiming, "That one came right at me!!", and saying how beautiful and amazing the fireworks were.
Miss A enjoyed it too, but was still very unsure about the noise. She had her hands over her ears the whole time and was VERY tensely snuggled deep in my lap, but she did say that she liked it, and that it was "so bootiful!" The show has been rained out the past two years, so this is her first experience with real fireworks. She did great!
I laughed at this pic when I saw it. I snapped it in the dark, while we were waiting for the show. I had no idea she was covered in blueberry juice from the Italian Ice she shared with Big Sis!



After it was all over, we had to wait, standing, shuffling along with a herd of thousands of people...for over an hour before we got on the shuttle home. I was tired, cursing and questioning WHY we brought all this STUFF! that we were now having to carry back...and I was impatient. The kids?? Did great! They played with their glow in the dark bracelets and bounced around as much as they could.
Another fun trip back and home after 11:00....we all slept till after 9 the next day!