The Clodhopper and the Grasshopper

We took both girls to Baby Loves Disco today. I took Sasha last year and she loved it. Eliana LOVES music and loves to dance. I convinced Matt to make a family trip of it and so we went.

It just so happens that today they were having "The Best Little Dancer in America" contest sponsored by Stride Rite. Eliana's age category went first. Her signature dance consists of hopping, skipping and jumping across the floor, a grasshopper of sorts. She slipped on her first pass-by and spent the rest of the song crying on my shoulder. If I had been the judge, I would certainly have voted her on to the finals. I mean she really was the most beautiful Little Dancer in America. Sheeesh.

And then came Sasha's age group. Poor, poor Sasha. She's gorgeous and has a winning personality but this child has the rhythm of a clodhopper. Her platform sandals made it much funnier. Needless to say, her floor pounding and dizzying spins didn't earn a nod from the judges. One of these days, she'll find her footing. I just know it.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I found some online baby/toddler games for Eliana. She loves them and was cracking up. Since she likes to play with my computer anyway, I thought she may as well learn someting while she's at it. She still somehow manages to shut my computer down just as often as before. But still, she's learning. Right?

The games are on the Fisher Price website. They have Infant games, Toddler games and Preschool games.

Princess Eliana

Ellie loves to watch Sasha play dress-up but everything in Sasha's box is waaaaay too big for her. I was at TJMaxx yesterday and they had little girl princess dresses for only $7.99!!! Of course I bought one for her and she loves it. She walks around and keeps twirling her dress and saying, "Princess! Princess!"

Sharing

Didi--after you make one for Juliana and Eliana, Dudley would like one, too!

Big School, Little Girls

It was Book Fair week at Sasha's school last week. On Wendesday, they invited families to have lunch with their child so Eliana and visited Sasha at lunchtime. Sasha, of course, LOVED having her Mom and baby sister there and Eliana liked sitting with the big kids.

Assumptions

You know what happens when you assume something right?

One would ASSume that hearing the words "wash hands" coming from the mouth of your almost 2-year-old who just loves to wash her hands would be a normal thing, especially when those words were coming out of the bathroom. So I was fine with it and continued putting away Sasha's clean clothes.

Oh, oh, oh. But then I realized that I hadn't turned on the water for her and, it was suddenly very quiet in the bathroom.

You should always ASSume that your almost 2-year-old who just loves to wash her hands and who is saying "wash hands" while in the bathroom by herself is washing said hands...

....in the toilet,

with toilet paper,

the WHOLE roll of toilet paper.

Yes, that is what happens when you ASSume.

The *$@%$%^$*^ Joys of Motherhood

I am a light sleeper. I wake up at the drop of a hat or a baby's cry or a dog's snore....well, you get the picture. I rarely sleep through the night without waking up once or twice and on many nights, I spend an hour or more trying to go back to sleep.

I slept all night last night and was still sound asleep this morning, with my arms curled up under my pillow. I was so sound asleep that my arms were asleep, too. At some point early this morning Sasha came into bed with us. I didn't even hear/feel her until at 5:40AM, she tapped on my shoulder and asked me to "tickle her back". I couldn't move my arms, they were asleep but I wanted to tickle her back quickly so I could go back to sleep. As I dozed in out of back tickling, I realized I was writing in cursive on her back. I was really writing something, too, but I have no idea what. Maybe this blog post? What the heck was that? I was so confused that I woke up because I really wanted to figure out what I had been writing.

Then I had to pee.

Then, Murray and Dudley thought it was time for their morning pee.

Then, Sasha came out to talk to me while Murray and Dudley were going potty outside.

Then, I sent her to her room to go back to sleep, I took the boys back to our bed, I was ready to drift off quickly and Matt's alarm went off.

Then, his alarm went off again, and again, and again. It's annoying.

Then, I got up.

Now, I'm so tired and I still don't know what I was writing on Sasha's back, in cursive!

#1=Super Glue?

Eliana surprised me with her first Urgent Care visit was yesterday. I was hosting playgroup at my house yesterday and she tripped on the patio. No one saw exactly what happened. We just heard her crying and saw the trickle of blood running down her face as she walked to me.

I didn't over-react, I swear. There were 3 other mommies here and we all believed it was fine and she didn't need stitches. Everyone left about an hour later I decided to take her to Urgent Care. Have you ever met my husband--he's the one who always over-reacts to things like this so it was better for me to cover my bases, I mean, it's always important to have a head wound checked out by a doctor.

How wonderful is it that an Urgent Care Facility just opened across the street from our neighborhood? Let me tell you. We all know what it's like trying to get a doctor's appointment these days. Unless you are dying, but then you should be calling 911, you're lucky to be seen the next day, let alone the same damn week. Our closest hospital is 25 minutes away without any traffic, like that EVER happens, and then you wait for 25 hours to be seen by a triage nurse who decides you aren't an emergency even though you came IN AN AMBULANCE after your husband called 911 because you were completely-numb-unable-to-speak-or-move-vomiting-up-your-entire-insides. So you can see that it IS wonderful that we now have an Urgent Care facility as long as you are sick or get hurt between the hours of 8am and 7pm.

I digress.

So we went to the, I shall now call it, The Wonderful Urgent Care Facility Across the Street, and Eliana was in heaven. They had a TRAIN TABLE in the waiting room. Chooo! Chooo! The only time she cried is when she had to leave the train table to be seen by the doctor.

The nurse cleaned up her boo-boo and the doctor put some medical super-glue on it. Don't ask. He said she might lose a bit of hair when it comes off. Now, that is one thing we aren't worried about; Eliana losing a "bit of hair". Please.

A little bit of Motrin and a good night's sleep and she's as good as new. Now, if we could only stop this runny nose.

The Call Heard 'Round the World

Three years ago yesterday morning, I didn't think we would have kids anytime soon. In fact, it almost felt like it would be NEVER. Three years ago yesterday afternoon, I was so excited to fly to PA to meet my new niece.

3 YEARS AGO. THREE!!!! THREE years ago yesterday, we got the call about Sasha. I won't post the story again, I'll relive it in my mind and read it here on my blog. I do however, have to share the first picture I ever saw of Sasha! This picture took my breath away and changed our lives. We love you Sasha!



***I didn't post this yesterday because I really thought that today was the "Call" anniversary. But it turns out that Mothers (thanks Mom) know everything and she reminded me that it was September 21.***

I can't believe she is 3!

Juliana (my favorite niece) turned 3 yesterday! I can't believe it.

Isn't she gorgeous??

LOL

You may have had to be there for both of these conversations but humor me!

Yesterday afternoon, Sasha had an upset tummy. A mom's first line of defense is to always ask, "Do you have to go poo-poo?" Before I could even open my mouth to say it, Sasha beat me to it, "And, no I don't have to go poo-poo." Ellie was standing with us and she walked over to Sasha, lifted up Sasha's shirt and pulled out the waist-band of her pants. She looked down Sasha's pants and said, "Nope, no poo-poo." Sasha and I couldn't stop laughing.

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Last night at bedtime, Eliana was fighting sleep, as usual. (She goes to sleep just fine for Daddy but I was feeling brave last night.) I closed my eyes as she had a one-sided conversation with herself. I had to squeeze my lips shut too, so that I wouldn't Laugh Out Loud.

Ap birday uana. Ap birday to you. (Yesterday was Juliana's birthday.)

Murrrweeeeeee!!! Murrrweeeeeee!!!! Ap birday Murweeeeeeee!!

*Burp* *Giggle* Coos you.

Ap birday uana.

*Fake Burp* *Giggle* Coos you. x100

No, no, no, nope, nope, no, nope, no, nope.

Ahhhhh toft (petting my hair) Mommy toft.


At this point, I called Matt upstairs and I gave up. I went downstairs and Laughed!

My mom went to see Elmo's World and all I got was this stupid hat.

I knew Sasha wouldn't be interested in seeing Elmo's World at all. She overheard me talking on the phone about it and of course she wanted to go. "But I really love Elmo's World, Mom!" Whatever. So I promised her a present.

I really should have stuck with my first idea which would have been a box of popcorn for her. We all know how much she loves to eat and a box of popcorn from an arena would be like hitting the lotto for her. But, I felt bad that she didn't come so I headed over to the overpriced souvenir stand. T-shirts too small for her, binoculars (she has 2), CDs, Sesame Street figurines, and million dollar 2 inch tall stuffed animals were not going to cut it. Then I spied the furry red Elmo hat. Cute! She and Eliana love to play dress up and this would be a perfect addition to their stash, so I bought 2.

I waited for the bus in our front yard as usual. As soon as she was within SHOUTING distance of me, "MOM! DID YOU GET ME A PRESENT TODAY AT ELMO'S WORLD?" When she came in, I told her to close her eyes and I put the hat on my head. When she opened her eyes, I said, "Look it's a funny hat you can use when you play dress-up." She replied, "You got me a stupid baby hat?" Really, she said that!

We had a talk about how we don't use the word 'stupid' (we have that talk every day) and then I told her that if she wanted me to, I would give it to a child who really wanted an Elmo hat. Everybody knows when you use that line, a child would want anything that you were planning on giving away. So, she humored me for a bit. Both hats are now resting peacefully in the dress-up toybox. The good news is that they fit me so maybe I'll be wearing when we go to PA this winter. Just kidding. I won't be wearing a stupid, baby Elmo hat. Who do you think I am?

La La LaLa...La La LaLa....

...Elmo's World!

Oh yes, I have become an Elmo's World Mama. I know I must have mentioned it on here before how much I used to hate Elmo. His voice...oh it just made my skin crawl. But then my nephew Jakob became a toddler and I was forced to watch Elmo's World with him. Seeing his joy made me appreciate Elmo but I was so glad I didn't have to watch the tapes (this was back in the VHS days) all day at MY house. I still didn't like the little red guy.

Then came Sasha. Sasha couldn't concentrate on a movie for more than 5 minutes until I thought to try Elmo's World. Much to my dismay, Elmo (and, unfortunately, the Wiggles--who I annoyed me even more, but that's a whole other post) were the only shows that would keep her attention. I grew a healthy appreciation for Elmo and I started to like the little guy but I have to admit I wasn't too upset when we put him on the back shelf and moved on to real Disney movies.

Then came Ellie and Elmo had to be revived. No, my kids aren't in front of the television all day (usually *wink wink*) but a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do to takeashower/cleanupthemessfromlunch/dothelaundry/makedinner/insertyourownchorehere. Eliana sings the Elmo's World theme song all the time. You will be happy, or maybe not, to know that I sing along with her.

Needless to say when I got an early invite to purchase tickets for Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up, I grabbed the phone and scored us floor seats! She had a great time. At first she was fascinated by the giant characters who she recognized. Then she was obsessed with eating the popcorn. During intermission, I spent $8 on a balloon (I really thought the guy said $3, I mean $8? For a balloon?) and watched her jump all around with it. Other than falling through the back of the chair into the row behind her , we had a GREAT time.

Apparently, I am NOT the Next American Idol

I was rocking Eliana right before putting her down for her nap. She likes to listen to CDs while she's falling asleep and a few months ago, I got a little bit tired of the same old CDs, so, I made a Mommy's Lullabies CD for both girls. It has all of my favorite "Light" rock songs on it (Wild Horses (Rolling Stones), Landslide (Stevie Nicks), Rainbow Connection (Sarah McLachlan), etc. etc. etc.). So they are my favorites and I really can't help it when I break into song. Can you blame me?

I started singing to her today, as she relaxed before naptime. She pulled her bottle out of her mouth, gave me this look, this look of disdain and quietly said, "Shhhhh. Quiet!"

Here she comes!

Here comes Speed Racer!

A Good Reason for Orange (?) hair!

All proceeds from getting this $10 extension went to the local animal shelter. Out of all the available colors, Sasha chose orange.

In case you didn't know...

...the King of our house IS Murray. I have no idea how he got on top of the pillows by himself.

Baby's Best Friend

Baby's best friend or maybe he was just ready for naptime. Ellie was in our bed because we had to have the AC fixed upstairs and there was a weird smell. I was worried about it so I put her in our bed for her nap. I was actually able to fit in between them. Dudley even snuggled close to Eliana. Love my naps with my boys but having Eliana there made it even better.

What could more fun?

What could be more fun than playing with a stinky sock and then passing out

Buddies

More Ball Pit Pictures

It just makes such a good background. I'm not so sure I like these pictures though. They really make her look like a big girl. :(

Salad Dressing

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy....

Sasha was on yellow again today.

I asked her why:
S: I went to lunch and I had a salad and I took the dressing to my classroom and I was chewing on it and it spilled.
My hand flew to my mouth as I quickly tried to replace my guffaw with a cough and a look of dismay.
M: So you got on yellow just for spilling your dressing accidently? Did your teacher say anything?
S: Weelllllll she did tell me to put it away.
M: And you didn't?
S: Ummmmmm not really.

Ahhhhhhh Sasha. Sasha, Sasha, Sasha.

First of all, I know it's weird but she does like salad. Second of all, she does NOT like dressing. Why the girl would feel the need to save her dressing is beyond me. We have no shortage of here at home so I thoroughly checked her backpack for Sweet N Low packets. Thank goodness, there weren't any there. We talked about not listening to the teacher and that we don't need any more food in our house.

Of course, because of our reaction to her last apology letter, she felt the need to run upstairs to her "office" and write another one. It was very cute but then I sent her back up to write one to her teacher. This one is priceless!

"I am sare four spilingy the salidy desing" (Just in case you need a translation: "I am sorry for spilling the salad dressing.") Then, take a look at the picture. It cracks me up. I am not quite sure which person is her teacher but I imagined her as the character on the left, the one running towards Sasha screaming in slow motion, "Nooooooooooooo!!!! You're going to spilly the salidy desing!" Or that could be her on the right just throwing her hands in the air. (2 positions, I often use when parenting Sasha) For the second time, I was trying to change my guffaw into a scowl when Sasha showed me the card. I didn't have the heart..I mean, the straight-face to ask.

Quote

I embarassed to say that it comes from a People Magazine article (my weekly Friday night date). Regardless, it came from Sheryl Crow who adopted her son as an infant.

"Little souls find their way to you, whether they're from your womb or someone else's."

Isn't that just so true?

Sometimes Parenting Stinks

Literally

I'm not sure what it is about frog poop but it seems to attract dogs and kids. If you have never smelled frog poop, don't. It is a horrible, nasty smell. Our dogs like to roll in it and apparantly, Eliana likes to play with it, in the house. No need for a picture, I don't have a scratch and sniff feature on my computer. Just close your eyes and imagine for a moment, will you?

Ouch!

Sometimes parenting hurts.

Much to our surprise, Sasha had a rough start to first grade. It really threw her for a loop, and us too. She wasn't herself and spent the first two weeks of school making our lives miserable with her bad manners, attitude and crying jags because of her punishments. The 2nd week of school, she came home on YELLOW two times. Think of a stoplight. Yellow means warning. I guess we should have been happy that it wasn't red, right?

The Friday of Labor weekend, I picked her up early, so we could go to PA, only to learn that was one of her yellow days. Needless to say, I was so upset and let her know it in no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, her Yellow behavior continued in the car on the way to the airport. Without going into details, you can just picture a threatening Dad, a screaming 6-year-old, a crying mom, and a very confused toddler pulled over on the side of the road. It continued all the way to PA.

TOTALLY NOT our Sasha.

You will be happy to learn that Sasha's behavior has been back to normal since that Saturday morning. I guess she just needed a good dose of country air or some faily lovin'.

Since we are good parents, both Matt and I let this lapse in Sasha-ness go. We'll always remember it, you can never be too sure of who your child will become but we put it behind us and hope that she always remains her happy-go-lucky self.

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Sometimes, parenting so sweet you can hardly stand it!

Yesterday, Saturday, a week after the screaming-in-the-car incident, Sasha was creating something upstairs during her rest time. I heard her calling me from the top of the steps, "Ohhhhhh Mooooomy, I have something for you. You'llllllllllll be sooooooo surprised. It's about when I screamed in the car."

What?

I asked her to come down because I didn't quite believe my ears. After all, the grown-ups had let it go, we just assumed she had, also. Matt and I both had tears in our eyes, even more so, after she took the card and read it to Eliana, too. Never underestimate the memory of a child.

Translation for those of you who don't read 6-year-old: I am sorry for screaming in the car. I am trying harder." (The best part is that she had 2 quarters and a few nickels and dimes in the card.)

Handy Ellie

Sadly, Eliana is much better at using the drill than her Daddy.

More PA Pictures

Uncle Josh --->Chick Magnet or just good with the bubbles?



Sasha, Kris and Jake stayed in the pool for hours. Notice that no grown-ups were in? The water temperature was 70 degrees! We stayed on the deck and supervised. ***Correction*** I have been reminded that Nutty Uncle Josh did get in the pool with the kids. Now whether or not he is a grown-up is another discussion.


Bubble Beauties


Look, Ellie, I found this stuff in my parent's cabinet. Just try it.

Another Happy Visit to PA

Goofy Cousins



More pictures later...