Schleprock

If there was ever a day when I would qualify to be Schleprock, it was today! It started off to be a fun, day after birthday day. The belated birthday wishes were coming in, I was enjoying my flowers and sign from Iain and the kids and had a good work out at the gym. An overall good morning. Then our computer crashed. Have any of you had the blue screen of death flash on your computer? The message that says something along the lines of you're about to lose everything you've ever done on here and we're going to laugh at you? Nothing like seeing that!! At the same time I'm trying to save our computer files, I get a call from the campground I've been trying to get a reservation at. We're planning a trip for the summer with some families from Iain T.'s school. I finish up with the arrangements and as the lady is giving me the confirmation number she tells me we just took the last trailer. She then precedes to tell me it was the one our friends were calling back for!!! Hello!!!?!?! If she knew they were calling right back why did she just give it to me! Our whole process was done too!! That then leads to several more calls, me having to call our friends and tell them we 'took' their trailer, the last of the size we all wanted!! After those lovely phone calls I go to put Sara down for nap. As we're walking upstairs, my cell phone falls out of my sweatshirt pocket (I forgot it was even in there) and it falls, in what seemed like slow motion, down the stairs and into the cat's water bowl! SPLASH!! Sound like a fun day so far? Fast forward to naptime. I get Sara in her bed, get Sean cozied up for some quiet time and I get busy on drying out the cell phone. 15 minutes later, still hear Sara. 30 minutes still hear Sara. 45 minutes later still hear Sara. She finally falls asleep and then wakes up 30 minutes after that! 30 minute nap and a two year old...never a good combination! It was then almost time to pick up Iain so I had no choice but to get her up. Thank goodness all went well with picking Iain up from school! On the way home we stopped to get a newspaper for a homework assignment Iain T. has. I put my two quarters into the machine and the door doesn't lift up. I try giving it the give me my newspaper shake,nope no paper!! It stole my money! They were my only two quarters too! We went home without a paper!!! Okay, at this point I was laughing hysterically! What a day!

The afternoon did get progressively better! Right now I'm sitting in a quiet house, the kids are in bed and I'm waiting for The Biggest Loser to come on...

Happy Mommy

Yes, yesterday was Happy Mommy. Not to be mistake with Happy Ya-Ya that we had a few weeks ago. It was a nice day! On Sunday night, the neighbors all got together and had a surprise dinner for me. Iain was in on the whole thing and was very pleased with himself for pulling it off. They did such a good job in fact that I actually had dinner cooking! Iain didn't want to give it away so he didn't interfere when I started some Turkey Chili. The dinner was quite delicious and the gifts more than generous!! Then on Monday morning I woke up to this hanging up downstairs...the flowers are each made up of all three of the kids hands. The snake was made by Sean, the butterfly by Iain and the smaller flower was colored by Sara. Iain is always so good about wonderful gifts made by the kids! When Iain got home from work, we went to my favorite restaurant and had a yummy dinner! Fresh fish, yummy! The best part of the day...Iain told the boys that all day long their response to me needed to be "Yes, Mommy, I love you, Happy Birthday". Whenever I asked them to do something, get ready for school, get shoes on...whatever it was, they gave me that answer! No arguing all day, the best present ever!! We ended the evening with a few more presents. It was a wonderful day! Thank you everyone!!!

Not the best picture, but isn't this hat fantastic? Iain forced me to wear it! I managed to talk him into giving me a reprieve for dinner though!!

Wet Fun

I must start this post by saying that Southern California children don't see much variation in the weather. Just as I got overly excited to see snow on Iain and the car, the kids get very excited to have rain puddles to stomp in. The clouds have opened up on us this past week. I can't remember a time when we had rain all week long. I'm not complaining though. We really need it and getting wet isn't a problem. This afternoon the kids decided to try this puddle on for size!

Iain joined in at the very end

One thing I learned...take off the new sweatshirt before playing in puddles. I was able to get it all out after some stain remover, soaking it and a cycle through the washer!

These were Iain's white socks. Now they are Iain's grey socks!

Operation Mi-Mi Day Two

This morning when Sara woke up, she was sure to tell me something was not right with Mi-Mi. She held it up and said "fix it Mommy" then said "broken". I looked at it and very sympathetically confirmed that it was indeed broken. The rest of the morning went by without much discussion about it. I was a bit nervous to see what naptime would hold for me though. We went in and I did the usual tuck in routine. She was asking for Mi-Mi which I gave to her. She again announced that it was broken as she inspected the hole. I agreed again and reminded her that she had her blankets. She didn't make a peep! Yep, she went right to sleep again! Wow, that's 3 for 3! I'm thrilled to say bedtime was pretty much the same. She pulled the nipple apart and said "oh oh" while showing it to me. As I tucked her in, she was putting it in her mouth but she was chewing on it not sucking. A few minutes after I walked out she started crying. I went back in to reassure her and she asked me to put her music on! She didn't even mention Mi-Mi! She was asleep moments later! So far so good!

The Eagle has Landed

Today was the day. It wasn't suppose to be the day to launch Operation Mi-Mi but I decided to go for it. Sara was up last night for an hour and a half. She kept telling me she wanted to go downstairs and play! I wasn't about to venture down that slippery slope so I just rocked her and tried to convince her how nice sleep would feel right about then! At about 3:15am, she finally agreed! I did however come up with a fabulous idea. Why would I want to launch Operation Mi-Mi on Friday night and risk being up again? (I really like my sleep) Why not start at naptime? That way if she doesn't sleep the first time, it's mid-day! I also decided not to put it off any longer...today would be the first day of Operation Mi-Mi!

Step One: Maim the Mi-Mi

I have to laugh that I'm even sharing all this. Okay, I thought a thumb tack would work best (sterilized of course). It would leave small holes that she wouldn't be able to see but would still do the job. I poked one, then actually sucked on it to see if the sensation changed! It didn't...so I poked more and tried it after each hole. Can you even believe I'm telling you this? After 5 or 6 I realized my pin holes weren't quite doing the job. My new technique was to go in one hole, out another and tear the rubber between the two. This seemed to work well! After about 10 minutes I thought I'd done a pretty fabulous job!

Step Two: The Nap

We followed Sara's normal naptime routine. After tucking her all in, I handed her Mi-Mi. It went straight into her mouth. She instantly got a confused look on her face and pulled it right out. She looked at me, while I tried not to give myself away, and put it back in her mouth. She did this a few times as I walked out! I could hear her grumbling through the door but nothing too serious, no tears! Within a few minutes she was sound asleep. She ended up sleeping for 2.5 hours! ONE POINT FOR ME!!!!

Step Three: Tweaking my Work

Sara woke up, the afternoon went on and I couldn't stop thinking about how well the whole thing went. Did it still work for her or did it go flat? Why did she sleep so well without really complaining? So I did what all crazy, obsessed moms do, I tried the darn thing out again! It did indeed go flat when I sucked on it but not very quickly. It needed a few more holes. I went to work with my mighty thumb tack again. By the time I was finished the nipple was flat as can be!

Step Four: Bedtime

You're never going to guess what happened! Nothing! She put it in her mouth, took it out a few times, gave me the confused looks, then put it back in again, but said nothing! She is now sound asleep! Go figure!! I'm still not claiming victory but I'm pretty darn pleased!!

Silly Sara

Let's go back in time...back to the day of my baby shower when I was pregnant with Sara. We had been talking about names for her but still hadn't agreed on one. Iain was pretty set on Sara(h) but I had a new favorite every other day that I had to throw in the mix. Each one he'd veto and I'd go back to the drawing board. I did like the name Sara(h) but wanted to keep options open. Then the day of the shower. On the way home we stopped at Target with the boys to pick up a few things. As we're shopping Iain finds this and holds it up but says nothing. That was it! I don't know if it was seeing it in writing without an "h" that did it or if it was that I know she'd be a silly, silly girl... I smiled and said "that's it, Sara with no h". We bought the book and the rest is history! Here's the silly girl in action...

Mi-mi's D-Day...well almost

Do you remember this post, 5 months ago when the dentist said we needed to get rid of Sara's pacifier? Well, we weren't the most obedient patients. I have to defend us to say we tried to get rid of Mi-Mi once. We went the cold turkey route and it was brutal! We did try for a week but I caved! I know, I know, I'm a wimp but she was crying for over an hour at bedtime each night and waking up 3-4x a night. After several nights of that I gave her the darn thing back. She smiled, rolled over and went right to sleep.

Score: Sara - 1 point, us - nothing

Since then, Iain and I have come up with every excuse we could get our hands on to not kick Mi-mi out of here. She's too little, she's teething...the list goes on and on and on...

With her birthday passing, we've been talking about it a bit more. The time is near. (May have something to do with her 6 month checkup at the dentist coming up!!) We decided that this weekend we will do it. We won't go the cold turkey route again though, way too traumatizing. We planned on going the poking the hole route. Our pediatrician, who also gave me a hard time about it last week, said to poke a small hole in the nipple so it will slowly deflate. She will then still have the actual pacifier to hold for security if she wants it. Well, Sara had different plans. She caught a stomach virus (I'm convinced she caught it on purpose!)! She knew that her parents are wimps and couldn't go ahead with Operation Mi-mi when she isn't feeling well. So after 3 days of around the clock diaper changes and an exhausted Mommy, she wins again.

Score: Sara - 2 points, us - still nothing

We will postpone Operation Mi-mi once again. We are actually seeing now that it does need to happen sooner than later. She is getting very attached to it and asks for it several times a day. We still only allow it in her bed but she now asks to go to bed when I won't let her have it. How sad is that? Here is another thing she has started doing. She'll stick her little arms between the slats of the crib to find it and sit in her room with the handle in her mouth. I guess to her this doesn't technically count!

On another note here is a picture of her new kitchen and table. Several times each day she's in there making 'tea' or 'chicken' (her two favorites to prepare) for us.

Not much going on

Just a few pictures from today. Not much going on, just enjoying the slow pace we've had the past week!

Sara took it upon herself to get more snack. Think she was hungry?

Sean pulling Sara around the house on a blanket.

Sara trying to pull Sean! Sara chose to wear this jacket out this afternoon. Didn't matter that it was in the low 70's and not raining!

Enticing

At Sara's two year old well-check this week, the Dr. mentioned potty training. I had to laugh when she asked if she is showing interest. My answer was that she is showing disinterest! We have the book Once Upon a Potty which we actually read often. In the book, Prudence learns to use the potty. Sara cheers and even yells "Yay Prudence" while throwing her arms up in the air. She LOVES reading that book, often choosing it herself and is so happy for Little Prudence's potty successes! But if I ask if she would like to use the potty, she will reply with an, "oh no"! Anyway, the Dr. said we can keep panties that she likes around to entice her. Obviously no pressure but maybe one day she will want to wear them. Not sure if it would work and I'm in no hurry but can't hurt right!? So the next day we went to Target and I decided to visit the itty-bitty pantie aisle. There wasn't any lag time in deciding that we needed a few pairs of Dora and some Diego underwear! Well, first I'll tell you that Diego underwear is for boys. There is no doubt when looking at the two kinds that one is made for girls and the other for boys. Hey, Sara wanted Diego, so Sara got Diego! Here she is showing off her new "panties"...
We literally hadn't even walked in the door at home and she wanted them on! She was so proud!!

Side note: she did sit on the potty for a few minutes. Nothing happened and right after she asked for a diaper, which a gladly gave her!

Like this Mommy

I love this dress! I bought it for Sara a few months ago and it finally fits now! My mom bought her some leggings and they match perfectly! I thought the outfit (and little girl) were so cute that I had to get a picture. As I was getting the camera, she leaned to the side, stuck her arms out and said "like this Mommy". She was holding the position while I got the camera ready! The best part, that expression on her face is so her! We captured her look of mischief! She is such a funny little girl!

Randomness

On Christmas morning, one of the local tv stations aired this fire crackling with Christmas songs playing in the background...all morning long! We thought it was hysterical!! Leave it to me to take a picture of the tv!!This was a picture on the wall at the cabin we went to this past weekend! I thought it is so scary that I had to get a picture! Not only are the cats dressed up, but one of them has an open mouth like it is talking! Cats in dresses, aprons, ugly hats...who thought up this one?!?!? And what were they on???

I love this one! We were at a party where a photographer was walking around trying to get pictures of the kids. Sean was trying to 'hide' from the camera but all he did was close his eyes and giggle! I think it actually made the picture.

For the love of Dora

Right before bed on her birthday, we realized we forgot to give Sara her card. Much to our surprise, once she opened it she didn't want to let it go. She even asked to take it to bed! I snuck in 30 minutes later to take it out of her crib. She was cuddled up, half asleep still holding the Dora card! Of course I had to run and get the camera! Look at that tired, cute little face!

Snowy Day Part 2

(Continued from Snowy Day Part 1. Read that post first...)

After we all dried off and warmed up we had a little birthday party for Sara. Luckily our friends had rented a cabin for the weekend so we had a nice place to hide from the rain! The boys played for hours while the girls roamed through the house. There were 6 kids total (they also have 2 boys and a girl...the exact same ages as our kiddos).

At about 1:30 we thought it was time to pack up. Sara was getting tired since she had been awake for 7 hours with no nap and we wanted to get her in the car and asleep. As we were packing up the cars...it starts to snow! We just had to laugh!! Look what else happened (picture above and to the left, look closely)...I know it's not 32 but pretty darn close!! Look at these pics...snow on my car and my silly hubby!!! Hee hee - that doesn't happen very often around here!

We had a great time! We've already booked a cabin for next month. Back up we go!! Don't expect a move to a colder climate though! As much fun as we had, we were all thrilled to be back to our beach weather, rain and all!

Snowy Day Part 1

Yesterday on Sara's actual birthday, we drove up to the local mountains to meet some friends. All week the weather was calling for 4 days of snow. We were packed and ready for a day in the snow. The day before we left, the weather changed and now called for 3 days of rain! The boys were too excited to cancel so we still went. We woke the kids up at 6:00am, got them all cozied up in the car and started on the 3 hour drive. It was pouring rain here but we still had high hopes for the day. The boys were watching the car thermometer hoping for a 32 to come flashing up. We thought maybe that would raise our chances of the darn rain turning to snow. It was dancing around 35-36 degrees for most of the trip. Which is still quite cold (remember I was complaining about our 60 degree days a few weeks ago). About 3/4 of the way up, we stopped to put on chains. We weren't sure when to put them on. When the other cars pulled off, we did too! We were the followers from the beach!!! Here's a wet and cold Sean at the chain stop.

The rain did let up a bit so the boys got the sledding they had hoped for. It was a bit slushy but we all had a great time. Iain was throwing snowballs at everyone and diving down the hills on the sled. He had a fantastic time. Sean was wandering around, touching the snow and exploring more than anything else. Picture on the left, a freezing cold Birthday Girl. Even bundled up, she didn't last very long. Maybe she has her mother's tolerance for cold!!!

Happy Ya-Ya

Goodness gracious I can't believe my baby is 2! We've been telling her for a few days now that her birthday was coming. We were hoping if we told her, she would understand it a little more when the day came. She definitely understood it! The night before we went to dinner to celebrate with family. People would ask her why we were having the special dinner and she'd answer "Happy Ya-Ya". (she calls herself Ya-Ya) It was so cute! Then yesterday whenever her birthday was mentioned (if she was sang too etc) she would get a huge smile on her face and say "Happy Ya-Ya". It's not a Happy Birthday, it's a Happy Ya-Ya!

She was of course spoiled silly by everyone. Having a birthday 10 days after Christmas makes coming up with gift ideas a bit difficult. She already received everything a little girl could ever wish for. Well, now she has everything plus tons more.

Since we had a trip to the mountains planned for her actual birthday, we let her open presents the afternoon before. The boys had gone out and picked some special play food and pots/pans for her new kitchen. They were very excited for her to open them. Afterwards they all went upstairs to play! I love watching all three of them play together!

Here she is telling us that in the morning she was going to be two. One finger on each hand is a lot easier than two fingers on the same hand!!

Let the dress up begin

For Christmas we gave Sara a bin filled with dress up clothes. I had been collecting cute little outfits for months. Consignment stores, Halloween costumes on clearance...it was all fair game. Each time I brought an outfit home, Iain would roll his eyes at me and laugh. This is all new territory for him. Little girls and all the accessories that can be involved, it's a fun new adventure for us!

Tonight was the first night Sara wanted to put the clothes on. First she wanted to change the clothes on her new doll, Willow. We picked out a new outfit, then she said she wanted to change too. I pulled out "the bin". She was squealing as I helped her get dressed. Oh' my goodness, she loved it! She was bouncing and screaming "pom-poms" over and over! She ran to her Daddy with a very proud look! I think he melted into a puddle of mush...

Right before bath, we tried one more!

Aquarium

This morning we ventured out to the local Aquarium. We haven't been in a few months, thought it would be a nice change of pace.

Wow, look at all the fish!

This little guy kept coming up to the window. We thought he might want to have his picture with us.

And another one...

The Shark Petting Tank. Sara decided it was better to be a Shark Watching Tank!

Iain was petting enough for everyone