Wii Fit - Fun (at my expense) for all

I found out a sure fire way to make the girls laugh. Just pull out the Wii Fit....

I got the Wii Fit for Christmas. It was not exactly a surprise, given that I actually purchased it myself. Apparently neither was the Guitar Hero I scored for him on Black Friday, which was, might I add, hidden waaaaaaaay back in the bottom of Einey's closet. But it was, a very much appreciated gift. I first tried it out after they were in bed, Christmas night. Then, we were busy so I skipped it for two days. Know where this is headed? Yeah, it yelled at me. You should come back everyday, yada yada yada.

So back to the kids. I turned it on and waited for it to load. And then the lionesses started stalking for the kill.

"What happened to your Mii?"
"Why is it so fat???!!!"
"Look at your Mii"
"Heehee, it's belly is sticking out"

Kids, you know, that's not very nice, your mom doesn't actually look like that does she.

All eyes gravitate to my middle.

"No, not really"

And then the games started. I started with hula hooping, since I didn't do too bad on that the first night and I knew they'd like it. Of course, I did okay, but there was alot of snickering from the peanut gallery. And when I inevitable missed a hula hoop Moe's mii threw at me - there was no stopping them.

Next was soccer, where they took turns lobbing balls, cleats and panda heads at my head. Seriously, these kids.... Oh and Einey, "I can't wait to play soccer again, I can throw my shoes at people..."

"Mom, does your head hurt from getting hit with the shoes? Do you need boo boo bear?"
"Mom, you should avoid the shoes..."

Then it was onto ski jumping where they laughed their little asses off everytime whenever I missed a jump and ended up rolling down the hill as a giant snowball.

"Hey mom, can you see with that helmet on?"

You mean, can I see standing right here? Um yeah, the mii on tv, doesn't have to see...

Running wasn't bad, and they actually lost interest once they lapped me.

Then the strength training exercises, they tried to mimic, often taking up my space. And yoga, forget about it. I had little hyena's crawling into my space, standing on the balance board and knocking me off of balance. Which in turn, made Jeremy, my personal trainer (what, you didn't name your trainer??? Well neither did I, but they did) tell me I was a bit shaky. Well, yeah, but he wasn't working out with three little beings who insisted on climbing on and knocking over him.

So all in all, while I enjoy my Wii Fit, I think I'll be leaving it alone until when they aren't around. That way, Jeremy doesn' think I'm some kind of unbalanced couch potato....

We have a winner

We have a winner for the dropps laundry detergent giveaway. I'm just waiting to hear back from them before I post!

The winner was comment number 11, picked using a random number generator.

Reva Skie said...

I wash for two. I like washing and folding ok, I detest hang up clothes. I avoid it til the piles mound up and spill out of the basket.

Congratulations and thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Einey

Happy birthday, Einey. I still can't believe that you are now seven. No longer a baby nor toddler nor little girl. Recently, we gave you your own room and transformed it from the nursery to a room fit for a tween like you. Your growing up fast, as is evidenced by your tastes in clothes, music and playthings. Sometimes we get glimpses of the little girl you were and other times of the big girl you are yet to become. There are days where it seems like you are stuck in the middle, not sure which way to embrace. But overall, you are a fantastic daughter. You are polite, smart and not afraid to stand up for yourself. This year, you made sure no one forgot that you share a birthday with Jesus. And so, tonight after our Christmas dinner, we will dine on birthday cake. Lemon creme if I recall.

Merry Christmas!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Flake watch 2008
I like snow. Really I do. But I don't like it all at once. As I write this, Sunday morning, it's pretty much been snowing straight since Friday afternoon. We've probably got 10-12 inches (give or take a few because I can never tell) with another 4-8 inches set to fall today, before turning to sleet and freezing rain. Unless of course, the forecast changed, I haven't actually checked this morning.

Anyway, Friday was a snow day. The kids had no school, despite the fact that the flakes didn't start falling until 1:33 pm (exact time I posted on Facebook). The kids literally asked every 2.5 seconds where the snow was. They accused ME of lying to them. "I thought YOU said it was going to snow". "Are you sure we didn't have school, it's not snowing". We had friends come over while waiting for the flakes because both of our sets of kids were going stir crazy with anticipation of the non-existent promised snow. But finally it started. And it hasn't stopped.

And I haven't left my house since. Oh sure, I did go outside to shovel three times already (after all, Husband needed a place to park his car when he got home from work). And we played outside for hours. And we fell dove walked across the yard to our neighbor's houses bearing gifts of fresh baked breads and muffins as Christmas gifts and so the girls could hit them up for GS cookies. And we refilled the bird feeders. But that's it. We have yet to travel out of the roads. The roads, which BTW, are craptastic at best. I've barely seen a town plow on our road (we live on a main road through town) and when I do, they're driving around with their plows up. And judging by the amount of hard slop that wasn't at the edge of my driveway this year, I didn't miss seeing them. Call me crazy, but I think you remove more snow/slush/ick with the plow down.

Anyone want to guess how many times my kids have pee'd in their snowsuits? Two. And anyone want to guess who didn't grab laundry soap Friday before the snow started falling? Yeah me. Speaking of laundry... So yeah, I'm snowed in, in the sense that I could leave if I had to, but then I'd have to take the car and use only 2 car seats and I don't want to unless I have to, and running out of laundry soap, contact solution, mayo, hot cocoa and dog food. We can make it until tomorrow though, when either the kids have school and I can go to the store, or when Husband is only working four hours and will be home before lunch to you know, help.

And I'm about ready to staple a fleece blanket over the playroom doorway. The door, it behind the tree so I cannot isolate that room. The windows, are super duper drafty which means, it's making other areas drafty. Not that they need much help because we need to update our windows. I think this summer we're going to start two rooms at a time because we cannot afford to change all 28 windows at one time. But the playroom - freezing!

So yeah, my muscles ache and I'm cold (my next house is going to have a garage and insulated walls!). But overall, for being snowed in with my girls for the last few days, we're all in pretty good spirits. We're enjoying out hot cocoa (like the one on the left) which is probably why we are almost out and have enjoyed playing outside. Today's agenda is more shoveling, more playing outside and more baking.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Here's to a cleaner New Year

With Christmas just seven days away and New Years right on it's tail, now is the time to start thinking about your New Year's resolutions. Maybe your going to try and save money, spend less, lose some weight or just be less stressed. Maybe your going to vow to volunteer more and work less. Maybe your going to live greener. Or maybe your going to try and keep your laundry down to a minimum.

If your like me and have multiple little beings running around, you know they wear tons of laundry. And chances are, if your like me, you procrastinate until their laundry baskets are overflowing. Or you go to grab a school uniform only to find out their isn't any clean and you have to pull your cleanest one out of the hamper. ***ahem, not that I know anyone who does that***.

Well, if laundry's in your New Year forecast, then stick around. The lovely ladies at Mom Generations have set up The Giveaway Connection and have given me the opportunity to give something to you, my readers. Wanna know what your playing for?

Two 2-Packs of Scent + Dye Free dropps, which will cover 4 loads of laundry

Dropps is a biodegradable, phosphate-free, chlorine-free and NPE-free laundry detergent, and they can be found at http://www.dropps.com.

Here are the rules:
You have from today, December 19th until next week December 26th at midnight EST. Winners will be announced during the day on Saturday, December 27th. You need to leave an email address or link to a valid blog so that I can contact you for shipping information.

That's it.

The task?

You need to answer a few questions (answers can be found on my blog)....

1) I have three daughters, they go by the names Einey, Meenie and Moe. How old are they and when are their birthdays (and yes, since I'm sure you'll say no fair, it could be TWO answers fro Einey depending on when you answer, let's go with her age she will be on her birthday this year).

2) How many pets do we have? Bonus points if you can name their species.

3) Did I ever resolve my issue with the Christmas card from Hell?

4) When did I get my Christmas tree this year?

5) How many times has Moe cut her hair?

6) What did my kids want for Christmas this year?

7) If my kids had an Ipod, what type of music would they want added?

8) What is Moe's favorite drink?

All answers can be found on my blog. You may need to did harder for some. In the event that more than one person gets all the answers correct, I'll randomly draw a name for the winner.

Seems like I didn't think that through very well. Leave me a comment about how much you love doing laundry (because we all LOVE laundry, right ?) and how many people you wash for. And EVERYONE gets a chance to win. All comments left will be eligible to win, I'll pull it randomly from everyone who comments.

Worth playing for? Good then go! There can only be one Survivor winner. Good luck!

All I want for Christmas is....

Baby go pee-pee ~ Moe, age 4
Easy Bake Cupcake Maker and an American Girl Doll ~ Meenie, Age 5
A turtle ~ Einey, age 7*

Unfortunately, Santa has no plans to actually deliver said wants. So we'll probably have some disappointed kids on Christmas morning....

There are 11 days until Christmas and we were pretty well done all our Christmas preparations.

Tree ~up and decorated~ check


Cards ~issue resolved and mailed ~ check
Cookies ~ made ~ check

Holiday Festivities ~ Light Parade ~ check


Snow ~ check

Stockings ~ hung by the chimney with care ~ check


Presents ~ brought and mostly wrapped ~ checked
Letters to Santa mailed ~ check


Visit with Santa ~ Ah shit. Um.. no.



Oh wait, does Santa riding on a firetruck around town count? They didn't get to sit on his lap or tell him what they wanted though. I'm working on trying to get Santa to visit the house, but I think a trip to the mall may be in order. We missed visiting Santa a few weeks ago due to icy weather.

After leaving Santa (we ambushed him in the village because we were late for Einey's game and they had heard him coming and wanted to wait. So we drove down and met him in the village behind us), Moe looked at me and said "That wasn't the real Santa. He didn't talk like Santa". That and they commented on his fire boots....

And Holiday outtakes....

Did you know Menorah is another word for poop? ~ Einey
Um, no, but manure is another word for poop. A Menorah is a Jewish candle holder.
Oh, yeah...

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"Heart the Herald angels sing..." ~Meenie
It's Hark.
No it's not.
Yes it is.
No it's not.
Moooo-oooom....

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* we'll just call her seven, she's close enough!

What a weekend!

It's been a busy weekend. Our weekend started Friday as the girls did not have school. In true fashion, we invited some friends over for our annual cookie decorating party. We supply the cookies and usually the frosting, and they all bring toppings. This year, I realized too late, that we were out of some ingredients to make frosting and the frosting I had hanging around was old. Very, very old. So I asked a friend who was coming to bring some. No problem. Only, it started to get late, so just as I was sending another friend out to get some, he arrived. The kids, I think, had a blast. And of the 5- 6 dozen cookies I made, we had only a handful left that didn't get decorated. And true to fashion, my younger two girls put frosting on their cookies and then dumped heaping piles of toppings on top. Even Einey was stuffing handfuls of sugar into her mouth.

After that, we had to head over to school for parent teacher conferences. Einey is doing great. Her test schools for her first standardized tests surprised us. Her language skills are just way up there. Her math skills are normal for her age, but it's something we need to work on. Overall, she's doing great in school.

Next came Meenie. She's doing as well as she should be doing. She had some issues adjusting to kindergarten at first and took her teacher a little bit to figure it out. You see, while Meenie is very outgoing, when it comes to new situations, she withdraws. She watches and observes and once she reaches her comfort level, she starts to come out of her shell. Now that she's comfortable, she isn't as nervous in the class anymore. Her biggest issue is speed. She races through things just to be done and move onto the next task. So, we need to work on getting her to slow down.

Moe is doing okay as well. Her evaluation was done in October, right after she turned four, so there were some things she didn't know. In just a few short months, we've watched transformations. She went from hieroglyphics with writing her name, to actually writing her name so you can understand it. It's still rough, but it's getting better. She never wanted to write before and even now, it's hard to get her to pick up a pencil and do her homework.


Saturday, was, by Einey's opinion, the best day ever. We had her seventh birthday party and she didn't stop smiling the whole time. The house, while a bit crowded, didn't feel overwhelming. We had her friends arrive an hour before the entertainment. We did cake and presents, and as she was opening the last presents, the entertainment arrived in the form of a man and his reptiles. So we all went down to the basement, which was a little more crowded then I expected, but not overly. Einey got to be the helper with every reptile and invertebrate he had, holding it first and then bringing them around to her friends. Every time she was asked to reach into a bag to pull something out, she didn't hesitate at all. Seriously, she just reached into bags of snakes to pull them out. Even when she was told, "Our next creature is a carnivore, and do you know what carnivores eat? meat. Yeah your made of meat, so just put your hand out like this" she didn't flinch. We had everything from geckos to an alligator. From the sounds of it and the looks on the girls faces, they had a blast!

And this morning, we woke up to a slight covering of snow. Einey has her first cheer leading game this afternoon (she missed yesterdays game) and then hopefully, if the weather holds out, we'll be able to go to the light parade tonight.

I hope everyone else is having as great of a weekend as we are. I don't remember the last time I've been so relaxed on a weekend so full of activity!

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Congratulations to Lauren and Karen who were winners of my blog giveaway.

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I posted a review of the party over here.

On the second day of Christmas...

...my babycakes gave to herself. Today at school was the annual children's craft fair, where the kids could bring in money and buy gifts for their family members. I sent each girl in with money and instructions to try and get something for each member of their immediate family. And if there was any money leftover, they could spend it on themselves. Moe came out and said she got me something, and her sisters something and herself two somethings. When I asked if she got her dad anything, she said she "trogot". These gifts, while different always hold a special meaning because they are something they picked themselves, without any influence from family members.

So I asked her to show me what she got for herself and sh pulled out a hair thing-a-ma-bob and a tea cup, filled with biscotti, tea bags and a honey spoon. She was sooooooo happy and asked if she could open it RIGHT NOW. Once I stopped laughing and I told her it was tea and that it wasn't, in fact, a lollipop in there, she still wanted it open. I convinced her that maybe, just maybe, we could give that to daddy since she "torgot" him. She agreed and I offered up a lollipop at home instead.

When we got home, she watched me pull out a gift for Husband that I picked up from a friend who braved the Black Friday madness (of which I will not name in case he actually reads this). She looked and exclaimed "you got something for daddy!". And then was happy that her daddy wasn't "torgotten".

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The winner of my NaBloPoMo posting everyday is C Sierra from Suburn-dwelling Sierra . Congratulation's!

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Only two more days to try and win free stuff! And only one person has left a comment to win over here. Seriously, if you click over now, you'll have great odds of winning!

The first day of Christmas

When did Christmas get extended from Twelve Days to Twenty Five? And if there are twenty five days to Christmas, why has ABC been airing Christmas show for the last two weeks (as their countdown to the twenty five days of Christmas). And on the subject of ABC, why for the love of god, do they start their programming at 8-9 pm? My kids are in bed at 7:30 pm, so it is entirely frustrating to them that I won't let them stay up (no way are they staying up to 10 on school nights watching TV!) and frustrating to me for being the bad guy for telling them to go to bed!

Back to the subject of Christmas....

Yesterday we decorated the tree. For the first time since before kids, we put glass ornaments on it. Within a half hour, Moe broke one. This morning, Einey ran by and broke another one.

Broken ornament total: 2

The perfect tree

Yesterday, we took the girls to the local Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree. It's a bit earlier than usually, but with Einey's birthday party next weekend and Husband working the following weekends, we wanted to go when we weren't rushed. We grabbed a saw and walked down towards the back of the farm. The day, was thankfully, not to bad out. It was in the mid 40's, so definitely not "oh my god, lets grab a tree and go" weather.

We found a great tree and the kids had a blast running up and down and across the rows. Einey thought it was great - just like a maze. And while we didn't take the wagon ride, choosing to walk instead, and Santa wasn't there yet - he arrives next weekend - the girls had fun. I believe this was only the second year we actually cut down a tree (the first year being the year we were married and only because the place where we had our reception gave us a free tree). I think it will be a tradition from here on out.


Today, we decorate!

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I did it! I made it to the end of NaBloPoMo with posting every. single. day. So I guess that means I owe you reader's something. So, tonight I'll draw a random number based on comments and will award one reader a Starbucks gift card. So leave a comment by midnight tonight and I will draw the winner in the morning when I awake. Winner will be announced upon notification of the winner.

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I can't believe you guys don't like free stuff! Not a single person has left a comment to win over here. Seriously, if you click over now, you'll have great odds of winning!

'Tis the season

Do you want to know one of my favorite things about this time of year?

Baking with the girls!

The hottest Christmas toys

Who needs to stand in line all morning for Black Friday deals?

The hottest new toys can be found just about anywhere. IN fact, I'm sure you have them laying around your house, in the basement, garage or attic. You may even have them in other rooms of your houses!

Who needs toys when you have these?

Yup, a plain old cardboard box. Currently being used as a secret hideout - for a secret bonus, when you close it up, you can see a starry sky!


And a smaller version currently being used as a doll house.

That's right, this Christmas season, forget the toys and just wrap those empty boxes!


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Speaking of inexpensive, do you want to win a free tune up for your computer? I'm giving four away over here, so click on over!

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for:

• waking each morning
• the sun shining
• the off-key notes sang through the house
• the giggles of little girls
• grass beneath my toes
• family and friends
• health
• a warm fuzzy dog
• a warm home
• laughter and love
• kisses and hugs
• hearing "mommy, I wuv you"
• not needing to worry about jobs
• food in the pantry
• birds chirping outside

Wishing you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving!

What's on the menu today? We are having:

Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Sweet potatoes
Green bean casserole
Wild rice stuffing
Bread stuffing
Corn
Broccoli
Rolls
Cranberry sauce
Kielbasa
Pirogies (blue berry, mushroom and sour kraut, and potato)
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Salad

This is the first year in nine years we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner. We've invited over his parents and my parents. The girls are very excited and cannot wait!

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Do you want to win a free tune up for your computer? I'm giving four away over here, so click on over!

The wisdom of a six (almost seven) year old

Is insert name here your boyfirend?

No, he's my husband.

You can't get married.

Why not.

Because, you need to be footloose and fancy free right now. You can have a salty husband later.

(conversation between Einey and Meenie, overheard while they were doing crafts)

What do you do in that unexpected time alone?

You play with play dough, of course!

Today, found Meenie and myself alone after school. Einey had pep squad and Moe was invited over a friends house for a play date. So I picked one kid up at school, left one at school, and sent the other on her way from school with another mom. I told Meenie was could do anything she wanted, after all, it's not often that we get to spend time together alone. She thought and thought.

First she suggested the Wii.

The she mentioned play dough.

Once we arrived home, she decided play dough was it. So we pulled out all the beautiful colors of containers of purply-brown play dough and we created. We made chocolate chips. We made hair for Pinkie Pie. We cut, we squished we had fun.

Then we made hot chocolate. Hot chocolate with whipped cream and Halloween holiday sprinkles on top.

And all to soon, it was time to pick up the other two.

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This morning, I had my mom all to myself. She came over after I dropped the kids off at school. We went Christmas shopping. It's not to often that I see her without the kids around. Or one of my siblings. Or my nieces and nephews. It's not to often that we go and do something together, usually our visits are at one another's house. And usually they involve one of us doing housework. Or a party. Or busy with something.

It was nice. Very nice.

And all to soon, it was time to pick Moe up from school.

The Christmas Card From Hell

I thought I was on top of things.

I had my Christmas photo taken.

I had my cards designed by a friend who is a graphic designer.

I went to print them....

And holy crap. They look like shit. I've opened them in numerous programs. My friend opened them in other programs. Amazing. Truly amazing. Go to upload them to any site to print them. Shit. Crap. No way am I purchasing them.

I spent over a half hour on the phone with Shutterfly tonight only for them to tell me that my boarder won't work and to try and use on of theres. Um no. I want MY pictures dammit!

So now I have a a few things to try, but none of them involve spending $500 on pictures (which printed professionally would solve the issue). Tomorrow is another day, right?

Oh and the kicker, I usually mail them the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. So not going to happen.

Weekend review

The leaves have fallen.
The weather is cold.
Christmas is almost here.
Nerves are fried.
I can't remember a thing.
There's frost on the windows.
Husband is off of nights.
Moe has a PPT for speech finally this week.
Were hosting Thanksgiving.
Followed a few days later by a cookie party.
Followed a day later by a birthday party.
Christmas shopping (for the girls) is done.
The room renovation is causing me to pull my hair out.

The end.

Photo Hunt Saturday - Reflection

Tis the season!

This was Moe checking out a new christmas ornament today. I love how I caught her reflection in the ornament.

PhotoHunt

All it took was a simple question..

"Mom, can we stop there one day? "

As I looked out the window on the way to bring the girls to school, I saw where Moe was pointing. She was pointing to the small building on the right, across the street from the post office. Already at 8:30 am, there was a line forming in the cold air. It didn't matter that the temperature was a mere 26 degrees. The people in line was waiting, waiting for the door to open at 9:00 am. The building was painted like no others in the area, with murals on the outside. One was a picture of God, and that was the picture that caught Moe's eye. They weren't standing, waiting to see Twilight. Nor were they waiting to buy the newest, hottest toy on the market. Today, like many other days, they were waiting. Waiting in the cold. Waiting to pick up food for their families.

"Mom, I really want to go there. I want to see God."

And in that moment I knew. We would go there. That day. That morning. After we dropped the older two girls off at school. We ran some errands. And before we headed back home, we stopped at the grocery store. My cupboards were full, there was nothing we needed. But we filled the card. Potatoes. Vegetables. Stuffing. More vegetables. Gravy. We filled the cart to the top. And then we checked out. Today, I didn't pull out my bag of reusable bags. I let the fill our cart with paper and plastic.

And then we drove to our last stop of the morning. We stopped at the small building across from the post office. The one we usually drive by. We pulled in and walked inside. The waiting room was full, two hours after we passed it this morning. We went in and said we had some food and could we get some help bringing it in. And older lady stopped Moe to talk to her. And so, back out to the van, with three volunteers in tow, we filled their arms with the food we had. Back into the small building we went. And then, we silently slipped out the door.

"I didn't see God, but I'm happy we gave them some food".

Such a simple question but it inspired me to act. To do something for those people standing in the cold. It something we could do. Moe and I talked the whole morning. She knows why we brought the food and who it was going to. And now, she knows what that little building on the corner is for. It's the local food bank. It's where people who need it, go and get food. For themselves and their families. And we'll go back. Keep going back. As much as we can.

Thank you Moe.

The photo shoot

Last week, I dressed the kids up and we headed out into the woods for our annual quest for the perfect holiday photo. Of course, since they are my kids, there was some complaining. Before they even got dressed, there were complaints of not liking the outfits I purchased "This makes me look fat" and "I don't like the color". Once I wrangled them into their outfits and we arrived at our destination, I heard complaints of "I'm cold" and also, much to my surprise, "I really like this, it keeps me warm".

Here are a few shots that didn't make it to the final for the card.




I thought about bringing the Dog but am so glad I didn't try it. All in all, I got some really nice shots despite not taking too many pictures.

My pictures are now at the graphic designers, awaiting to be turned into a beautiful card. Hopefully I'll have them back tomorrow so I can place my order. You'll have to wait and get the results in the mail!

Taking the day off

I have nothing better to say today - except that I found a dead mouse while cleaning today.

So here, checkout how we recycled a jack o' lantern into a bird squirrel feeder. We filled it with raisins, pumpkin seeds and peanuts.

The Process

My daughter's are not special needs children, however, they have required different services over the years.

Einey, while she didn't qualify, was evaluated for speech issues last year. She speaks great, however, some sounds (mainly her "th's") do not come out as they should. But, it was just that one blend and she didn't qualify. And it's getting better. We make sure we try and correct it. She's also gotten a bit older -part of the reason was it was borderline on the age appropriate list of things she should say at her age.

When Meenie was three (one month after her birthday - which meant she no longer qualified for the birth to three program) she was sick. She contracted encephalitis and as a result, needed OT and PT. it was interesting to watch the process- the initial evaluation with the different therapists. The different session (each, thankfully, in our home) and then the discharge from services- another evaluation with the different therapists.

When Moe turned three, I had her speech evaluated. I took her to our early education center and had her evaluated. Again, they did a full work up, with four different therapists. My reason for having her evaluated - she had poor pronunciation and people had a hard time understanding her. The result - they felt, for her age, she was on target. And ahead in word usage. So no services. Fast forward to this year. She started preschool and within a month, the teacher asked if I minded if she had an evaluation. Of course not. The pronunciation issues were still there and many, many people make comments about not being able to understand her. A few weeks went by and she finally got the evaluation. The result - they'd like to do a more comprehensive evaluation. For what? Pronunciation issues. I believe (but I haven't heard) - that she had the evaluation Wednesday - (her sister informed me she saw her sister in the hall with "Mrs. Speech"). I'm hoping that she qualifies and that she can get the help she needs. But part of me wants to scream and pull my hair out! I wish we could have gotten her in services sooner.

So now we wait. Wait to see if she'll qualify or not. I am thankful, though, that they have access to the speech (if needed) at their school. Since it's a private school, they don't usually have any special services.

The Motrin Saga

I am not a conformist. I make my own rules. I do not follow the crowd. But according to the makers of Motrin - I wore my girls to be fashionable. To be cool. Here's the ad if you missed it before it got pulled.



In reality, I wore my babies for convenience. For ease. To be close to them. For safety. I had three daughters in under three years. By the time the third arrived, I had a 33 month old AND a fifteen month old. Keeping my daughter in a infant seat, didn't always mean she was safe. Same goes for a pack and play. There was always a big sister waiting in the wings, to gently push the baby in the swing, to rock and tip the baby in the infant carrier and to smother climb in and play with the baby in the pack and play. So for her safety (and my sanity) I wore her. She was happy, and I was happy. I was comforted in knowing she was somewhere safe and I was able to get things done around the house.


When we were out, I carried them for a variety of reasons. First, to be able to accomplish simple tasks as shopping. When Moe was born, it was hard to find a shopping cart to hold two toddlers, an infant car seat and the actual items I was buying. Second, Do you know what type of germs live on carseats> Yeah, me too. Third, have you ever actually tried to lug around an infant car seat with a child weighing more than 10-15 pounds? Talk about pain! Fourth, Have you ever tried to cross a parking lot with two toddlers while carrying an infant car seat? As you can see, I still have all three kids, so having my hands free must have been a good thing. Fifth,chasing after two toddlers on the playground while pushing a stroller, only to have them zip under something and head further away from you? Totally not happening on my watch. And lastly, I live in New England. It gets cold for 6 months of the year. My last daughter was born in September. So yeah, keeping her warm was a concern as well.


Now, I didn't start wearing babies on my last child (although this post is mainly about her), but with Einey, my first. The ease and convenience of knowing she was safe was top of our list. We like hiking. Have you ever tried lugging an infant car seat or stroller through the woods? You haven't? Well maybe you should try it!

I've got the best seat in the house!

We started with Einey with a Graco front pack. It wasn't the greatest. She was supposed to fit in it until 20 pounds, but for some reason, once she hit 10, she got stuck in it. We waited a bit and purchased the Kelty Backpack. It is great! I used it for all three of them until they were close to thirty pounds. So we purchased a Kelty Kangaroo when we found out we were expecting Meenie - best purchase ever! Did my back ever hurt? Yes, sometimes, but it was usually when I didn't have the straps adjusted right. If I felt my back hurting, I'd usually remove the carrier and make some adjustments. Many times, I didn't feel anything until I took the carrier off. And that feeling - not pain, just the feeling of having 20 -30 pounds removed from your body. A sort of tiredness, but definitely not pain.

So Motrin - you can suck it.

Video made and originally found here

If I can find other pictures (I know I have more - they just are not digital) I'll add them later!

Left out

Friday was a first for us. The first day of consoling a child who didn't get invited to a good friend's birthday party. I picked up Einey from school Friday and she asked if she was going over to the birthday party of Cookie ofter school. I told her no, we didn't get an invitation and asked her how she knew there was a party. She said all the girls were talking about it at recess today. You see, they have a class of 15 kids, 10 of them are girls. I saw the mother hand out the invitations the week before to at five girls. It was the first girl sleep over. When we arrived home, Einey was in tears and didn't want to get out of the van. She wanted to play with a friend.

I told her we'd call a friend and see if they could come over, but it would have to be a non-school friend. Because all the girls were going to the party. And her two best friends were playing together already and the other three boys usually stayed for extended day. She didn't want that. In the end, we went over to a friends house. Einey was shy and still sad, but quickly came out of her funk and had a really good time.

I get that parents can't invite everyone to parties. And we don't always attend every party we go to. With three kids in school and involved in other activities, we just can't do it. But it's so hard when you child is the one left out. Left out from a good friend's party. A child who she's been in class with for two years, cheered with for two years, been in brownies with for two years, whose come to her parties for two years and whom she's visited their house a few times in the past.

It's not going to be the last time she's disappointed. But it was definitely the first time I've seen her crushed like this. And it's hard. Her tears broke my heart.

Edit: Things are good now. Einey talked it over and she understands, her feelings are no longer hurt. She's happy and out of her funk.

Photo Hunt Saturday - Ruin(ed)

We love to hike. As a result, we've come across many ruins in the woods. From old home foundations in empty, overgrown fields to old dams to many stone walls. We've found broken crypts in some of our cemetery jaunts and broken picnic tables off the beaten path. There are many oddities out there, you just need to find them.

Here is a picture of an old dam, taken at our favorite hiking spot.



PhotoHunt

The power of six

Motherbumper put this out to anyone interested. Since I've been posting everyday and I'm running low on ideas..... I'm in! Here's the deal:

• Go to your Sixth Picture Folder then pick your Sixth Picture.
• Pray that you remember the details.
• Tag 5 others.

Since I'm really low on space on my hard drive (all my pictures are on CD's except my current one's) my picture will be fairly recent. I tend to categorize pictures by month and then date. I used to be able to get a year's worth of picture's on a Cd. Then six months. Then two months. Now I'm lucky if I get one month. I think I need to get an external hard drive.

So let's see - 2008. My sixth file folder is currently August. And here is the sixth picture:



This picture is of Meenie. it was taken August 2nd (I know - I've dated the pictures) at my parent's house. My parents put in a new pool this summer and I believe it was our first visit over there. I'm pretty sure she was either saying "there's no way I'm going in the pool so take this off" or "I have to go to the bathroom so take this off". Eventually she warmed up to the pool (I think on our second or third visit) and loved swimming around. Einey took to it like a fish to water of course. Moe, I think she screamed every time we dragged her in. Maybe next year....

So, now I'm tagging Binky, Toyfoto, Sci-Fi Dad, Fairly Odd Mother and Stimey.

Moe and Mommy coffee time

With the hustle and bustle of back to school time and Halloween, Moe and I had yet to start up our mom and me coffee dates. It's hard with her being at school three mornings a week now. So this afternoon, we met up with this lovely lady and her beautiful daughter for coffee, hot chocolate and tea, donuts and muffins. We met at Starbucks as it was convenient to both of our needs. We had a great conversation and I really enjoyed just sitting and talking (and listening).

Moe was, well, four. She got up and danced. Opened (and threw away) about six dozen straws. Walked over, grabbed a milk and opened it. A tiny box of $1.60 organic milk. Which she declared to be the best milk she's ever tasted.

Then we walked around and I picked up a few things I needed (someone's having a baby soon! - no not me).

It was a great way to spend time.

BTW - Moe informed me as we walked to the car that "it was getting dark because it was raining. Not late. That's all." I guess we just have to ask her the time next time!

Life's little irritations

Yesterday, my mom came over to visit the girls. She doesn't live far away, but hasn't always had a car to come visit with and our schedules have been so busy and her work schedule's been erratic. So our days aligned and she came to visit. I took her upstairs to show her progress on Eineys room and it was about then that it dawned on me. A full sized bed will not fit in the room. At least, not if we want her to keep her bureau/bookshelves. It would give her only 10 inches between her bed and bureau. Holy freaking shit. I already had all the bedding. Almost (thank god I didn't) ordered the mattress/box spring/bed frame. Grrrr! The reason we were going to go with the full sized bed was the crib converted to one and it would save us from buying a headboard and foot board.

But yeah, now we have too, although we did see a bed we liked recently and had commented that it would be great IF we didn't already have a bed for her. It's a bed (up high like a bunk bed) with a build in bureau/bookshelf/computer desk/ secret cubby area in one. So now I guess we have to see if she wants to sleep up higher again. And order a bed. Along with a mattress. And new bedding. I returned the one I had already purchased this morning. I'm not too worried about it as I know they still carry it online, but it's a pain anyway!

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This morning, Husband and I ran some errands. Since he's been on the South Beach diet as well, he's finally been able to drink coffee again. Something he's ecstatic about. So he asked if we could pick up some K-cups he could bring to work.

We were at the little coffee shop in town browsing the K-cups.

Me: That sounds good.

Him: Get some if you want some.

Me: ???? ......................

Me: We don't have a Kuerig (it's on my list!) machine at home.

Him: Oh yeah. Well, um sorry your out of luck then.

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And to continue on....

Today when I picked Einey up from pep squad (cheerleading) they handed up or scedule for times we are required to work the concessions area. I don't mind working, really, however...

They scheduled me on for a time in the middle of Einey's birthday party. So yeah, totally not happening. Nor will I ask family members (which is allowed) to miss her party to sit and collect tickets at the basketball game. Totally not happening.

For the record, I had already informed the coaches that she would not be at that game for the above reason.

Thank You

Thank you for fighting for our freedoms.

Freedom where little girls can walk down the street without fear.

We read the names and we thank you.

Know that you died for us. For us to be kids. For us to grow up. To be free.

We place our hands over our hearts. We clap.

This Veterans Day, we thank you for the sacrifices you made to ensure that we can grow up without fear. To grow up happy and healthy. To grow up free.

What's in a name?

My good friend Binky posted this meme the other day and since I'm totally running out of things to write about, I decided to follow the leader on this one. Unless of course, you'd rather me write about all of the items I've recently purchased at Target now that we have one real close. Too close, if you ask me. Or about how Moe made the first letter of her name in poo the other day. * Total talent there.

*No hands were used in the creation of said letter

Lauren tagged me for this meme I was going to steal...

1. ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Prince Town and Country

2. GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Latte Flip-Flop

3. NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Monkey

4 SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Banana Daiquiri

5. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Laurent Lloyd

6. STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Rose Twix

7. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): God, I can't remember, but I'll guess on this one Lavelle Las Vegas

8. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Daisy

9. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Apple Socks

10. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Muffin Willow

So now I'm passing the game and tagging Jennifer A., Clink, and C Sierra.

The perfect Christmas Portrait

The last few years, like many other people, I have gone to photo Christmas cards. I like seeing how my friends and family member's kids have grown and love sharing how my kids have grown.

Every year, I try to get the pictures taken in early fall, so that they can be mailed out the day before Thanksgiving. My plan this week was to take the kids out today and try to get "the perfect picture". Unfortunately, Meenie still wasn't feeling up to it today. With it getting dark early in the afternoon, by the time the girls are home from school and changed and we drive to the location, the sun is already setting. So that leaves me with Tuesday as my next viable day., when the girls have another day off of school. I've already got the outfits and accessories. I plan on dong some with them in their Corky coats as well.

This year, I've also enlisted the help of a friend who is a graphic designer to help design the rest of the card. I have some ideas floating around and then just need to figure out what sizes I want and where I want to print them.

What about you, have you started thinking about holiday cards yet?

Photo Hunt Saturday - Together

It's been awhile since I participated in Photo Hunt Saturday. I really enjoyed it and felt like it was time click back into it.

This is one of my favorite photos of my two older girls together. It was taken last year when I was taking their pictures for our annual holiday picture.















Here is a picture of the three of them together, taken at the same time last year.

The one thing we've been very fortunate with as a family, is we all generally like being together, no matter what we are doing. And the three girls, love playing together. I just love catching them reading, playing, creating together, without any adult interference.


PhotoHunt

Making a list, checking it twice...

Can you guess what my kids are doing?

A week ago, Husband and I had no clue what they wanted. They haven't asked for anything specific and seem pleased with the toys they do have.

But, ever since they found the toy books that have started arriving in multitude, they have been meticulously going though them, writing their initials next to much coveted items. Now they've started cutting them out to make sure we see exactly what they want. Einey has taken to writing her lists. And she's smart too, she thinks if she asks for a specific Wii game she wants for her dad, she'll get extra stuff. And while she wants Lego Indiana Jones, I can't see buying it for the Wii as we already have it for the DS. apparently Husband says it's different.

Their list, so far contain everything Barbie and the Diamond Castle related, various Wii games, a doll that uses the potty, a cupcake maker and a three hundred dollar triceratops (which is seriously cool and I actually joked with Husband when we first saw it that if we had a different house/bigger yard, i would buy it)! Also a pet turtle. Which is still under consideration. Do you know how long those suckers live? I still need to do more research on this one. If not, then the grow your own frog kit from tadpoles is a definite.

As for myself, I have actually found some items I would like for Christmas. Too bad they are all fairly expensive (so family, if your reading this, Target gift cards would be greatly appreciated!!!)

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Click on over to my review site to check out my latest review of Barbie and the Diamond Castle on DVD!

Want to make my kids cry?

Tell them they cannot go to school.

Meenie complained of a stomach ache yesterday when I picked her up from school. I told her to use the bathroom and she's probably feel better. It worked for Moe earlier when her tummy hurt.

This morning, she called from upstairs. "Mooooom". When I got there, I was greeted by two stinky piles of vomit on the floor. I'll spare the details, but needless to say, once it was all cleared up and she was dressed, she told me she was feeling better. I told her she had to stay home today (and tomorrow's a day off, so no issue with that). She immediately burst into tears. It took me awhile to get her to calm down. We talked about how when your sick, you stay home, even if your feeling better. We even talked about the kids who were out this week already sick.

But it brought back memories from two years ago, when Einey was in kindergarten. Einey loved school so much, she wanted to protest weekends and school vacations. She too cried when she was sick and had to stay home from school.

Here's to hoping she feels better soon and no one else gets sick!

Weird blog searches take 1

I've finally gotten some strange blog searches so here we go.

child's breath smells when she's sick
Wanna know something else, if she's puking, it smells even worse

betty crocker vegetables
I didn't know Betty Crocker grew vegetables. I tend to just buy whatever the grocery store has

toddler stuck smarties up her nose
That wasn't very smart of her now was it? My girls tend to stick peanuts up their nose. I'm sure the solution is the same though. Cover the unblocked nostril, open their nose and blow hard. It should dislodge the object. Unless your like Einey and shove it really far up. Then you need to go to the ER, get put to sleep and have it removed. Try the first method though, it will save you ER fees. Better yet, just send those ER fees to me.

oct. 30 2008 trunk or treat ohio
I have no clue on this, but if they did have trunk or treat then, I'm sure it was fun.

redneck halloween decorations for trunk or treat
I'm sure rednecks use skulls from their roadkill and string up their empty beer cans. They may even have real caution tape hanging around. But I don't know any rednecks, so I can't ask.

silverware thief
Why are you missing silverware? I'm pretty sure Moe only tried to steal silverware once, and she wasn't actually trying to steal it. We don't have any extra hanging around. Sorry.

fire diaper severe burns mother
Huh? What? I'm sure they are flammable. Not sure how that led you here though

somebody puking
Here's some advice. Step away from the computer, grab some towels, plastic bags, and spray cleaner and start cleaning it up. Throw the laundry) if they got any) and put it in the washing machine. Don't let it sit.

and the most often searches which leads people here:

coffee toddlers
Okay, so I know Moe's a coffee addict, but are there that many other toddlers addicted to coffee? This search comes up almost every day, sometimes several times. For those of you searching for giving toddlers coffee? my suggestion - don't. It's not really good for them.