A Visit from Pop-Pop

Last week my dad came to town to visit. He was passing through on his way to Lorelai’s Baptism and is already back OUT of town (and conveniently stuck because of the situation in Fargo) so his visit was short and sweet.

Addi and Sam both love him to pieces. I only managed to get one good picture of them but I think it’s pretty sweet.

Retaliation

When you mess with Addi's baby, watch out. Last night she brought me her Care Bear who had previously been involved in an altercation. Now, said Care Bear has two broken legs that she insisted I bandage up.

It's ruthless around my house, I tell you.

The child formerly known as "Addi"

Addi has quite the imagination - that's really no surprise. For example, she carried a football around all day today as her "baby" and at one point was holding a cold rag on it's 'face'. When I asked what she was doing I got the infamous eye roll and, "Mommy, my baby has blood on her face. THAT baby (points to offender) hit my baby in the mouth. Send her to time out!"

So of course I did. I have NO patience for abusive Care Bears in this house.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, we were in Indy last night. In an attempt to play cards we set Addi up with some markers and paper and suggested she color a card for Lorelai. And she did! And then she asked if I'd help her sign it "Kiki". Who's Kiki? Apparently, Addison. She insisted that I call her Kiki off and on all day.

I am a TAD afraid of that, because Kiki (or is it KiKi?) seems to kind of be a slutty name. And as we all know, my kid is already working towards a career in the "entertainment" industry.

So please, call her Kiki if you see her. And pat Jay on the back when you see him too. His self-proclaimed "one job" as a parent is to keep his daughters off the pole. Quit falling down on the job, Jay!

(Completely random side note: I am up at 1 a.m. updating my blog because Sam just woke up hungry, so I had to feed her a bottle. THEN I got freaked out because Smokey is at the kennel and for the first time in three years, I miss him and his contribution to our family. Something I can't believe I'm saying but it's true. Turns out when he's not here, every noise I hear is a murderer coming to kill me. SHOCKING I know but I'm afraid of the dark. Yes, along with my other irrational fears of choking and wearing my shirts inside out, this 31 year old is afraid of the dark. So, Smokey, come home soon! Oh but if you get dirt on my clean floors your contribution will be minimized to me once again. :) )

Murphy and his stupid law

I blame Murphy and his stupid law on a lot of grief around this house. You go shopping with some money to burn... and can't find a thing to wear. You buy an awesome singing bunny for your kid and five minutes later in a rage the thing is broken.

Or, like today, you spend hours and hours cleaning your carpets. You even go out of town for a night to give them extra time to dry (oh, and see your niece get Baptized) and five minutes after you get home your baby throws up all over you. Hotdogs.... YUM.

Sam, pre-puke:

And after, taking a dip in the sink to get clean.

All in all, not a bad weekend. At least Murphy didn't screw that up!

Unemployment Benefits

Like many, many people, I am currently laid off from work. Fortunately it's a temporary layoff and I get to go back to work on Monday.

When I heard I would be laid off, I had visions of sleeping in, napping in the afternoon, and scrapbooking all day for a week in my head. Oh, to be able to have a vacation from work while Jay and the kids are gone all day... who cares if I'm not getting paid when I can enjoy myself, right?

It only took about 15 minutes for me to snap out of it and realize I would not be living the life of leisure this week. Probably because it only took Jay about 10 minutes to compile a list a mile long of things I needed to "work on". I swear he thought I'd be laid off for a month, not a week!

So I have taken the pets for their shots, taken Addi to the dentist, and scrapbooked for one whole day (had to fit that in somehow!). Jay took vacation Wednesday, Thursday and today and we went to Ikea, bought Addi new bedroom furniture, spent an entire day putting the furniture together, and spent all day today cleaning the carpets. At this rate my back is aching and I am so tired I can't see straight.

There were many benefits to being unemployed:

Watching Jay try not to strangle the she-male Swedish hero at Ikea. We still don't know if it was a boy or girl....
Not putting makeup on in the morning.
Clean carpet.
Applying for unemployment is surprisingly quick and easy.

Um. OK, maybe being unemployed isn't as great as I thought.

Well at least Addi has a cute room now!

Brusha, brusha, brusha...

Addi's first dentist appointment was today. She was a total rock star and did great!

Enemy #1 – The Moon

Some mornings are better than others. As a rule, Sam wakes up with a huge smile on her face and just goes with the flow all morning long. Addi either wakes up happy or wakes up like a bear coming out of hibernation… Mad, hungry, and growling at everyone.

Once the kids are up, it’s time to get dressed, brush teeth, grab breakfast for Addi, then get shoes and coats on and get out the door. Add in the assorted missing shoe, the wrong paci for Sam and you are looking at an extended stay in the kitchen. Really, it’s like herding cats most mornings.

This morning was no different. Sam, happy as can be. Addi, crying for every reason under the sun. She didn’t like her pants. I hurt her when I brushed her hair. She wanted a red juice box not a purple one. And a purple cereal bar, not an orange one. We finally got into the car and down the driveway when the waterworks really started. Addi couldn’t see the moon. It was on Sam’s side and was SO UNFAIR. Chaos ensued and I started to get a headache.

Once we got to school, Addi was still crying. As soon as I got her out of the car I pointed to the sky and said, “Look Addi! There’s the moon! Say hello!” I grabbed Sam and started into the building when SPLAT, then SCREAM! While chatting with the moon, Addi tripped. And scraped her chin. And was bleeding. Poor thing.

Come on moon, work with me a little. Would it KILL you to just move to the other side of the atmosphere once in a while and make a three year old happy?

We pee green on 3-17

We love Saint Patrick’s Day. A few years ago it meant a keg of green beer and wandering around the bars downtown, wearing anything green. Now that we have kids it’s still fun, just a lot more low key. And we still wear green but rarely pee it. ;)

Yesterday when I picked Addi up from school, she regaled me with tales of the playground and painting. Then she said, “Tomorrow Mommy the leprechaun will come into my room and bite me in my sleep! I’m scared!” I convinced her that we would keep her safe and she spent the rest of the night saying she would be fine because leprechauns don’t have teeth and therefore couldn’t bite.

This morning when we woke up the leprechaun had been to our house! Green footprints down the counter led to a big bowl of candy.

Addi was super excited about her candy.

Sam got in on the act by wearing green (and even had a bit of green coming out of her nose). What that girl won't do for a holiday. Commitment, I tell you!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Hair gone bad

Lunch + nap = crazy crunchy hair

Fruit Spray PSA

Have you ever used this Fit fruit/veggie spray? I bought this a while back because, unlike my husband, I actually want to WASH stuff before we eat it. And overall I've been pretty pleased. I don't feel as if I've eaten harmful pesticides and at least the food I prepare is a little cleaner.

But, since I'm such a nice person I wanted to give you the whole scoop. I'm a giver after all.

If by some chance your three year old decides to help you clean and wants to use this spray, go against your initial thought of "we eat it so it can't be harmful" and don't let her use it. Because what I found out is if someone sprays half a bottle of this all over the tile on the kitchen floor, the stuff is SLIPPERY. And it DOES NOT come up easily. At least I know the floor is pesticide free.

Now I'm off to perform my rendition of "Dora On Ice."

Addi's Answers

1. What is something mom always says to you? nothing

2. What makes mom happy? funny face

3. What makes mom sad? sad face

4. How does your mom make you laugh? funny face

5. What was your mom like as a child? i don't know

6. How old is your mom? [blank stare]

7. How tall is your mom? [arm way up]

8. What is her favorite thing to do? um, um, waldo pushed those people!

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? run

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? for fave

11. What is your mom really good at? wa wa

12. What is your mom not very good at? growls

13. What does your mom do for a job? growls again

14. What is your mom's favorite food? tissues

15.What makes you proud of your mom? eye roll

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? um, Me!

17. What do you and your mom do together? ride bikes


Maybe I'll try this again in another year. Maybe sometime after I buy Addi and I bikes.

Rules of Possession

Addi's rules for sharing:

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

My Little Pony

Sam came home from daycare today with her first ponytail. I guess she's growing up. What's next, a tooth?

Rain, rain, go away

We love water. Swimming in lakes, pools, oceans... they are all great to us. Jay swam competitively in high school and I was a lifeguard for several years, so it's rare for a year to go by when we don't hit the pool. Addi loves the water too and will play in her pool as often as we let her. When it came time to bring it inside at summer's end, she cried, so we actually just put the empty pool in the basement so she could go down the slide and pretend to swim.

Addi and Jill, last summer

Last weekend we cleaned out our basement and deflated the pool but kept the slide at Addi's request. With the new play area set up (complete with carpet), it's definitely a great place for kids.

However.

When you open your basement door after being gone for the weekend and see the inflated slide float by the stairs, that spells trouble.

Yup. The sump pump broke, leaving about 3 inches of water in the entire basement. Jay got to spend all afternoon and night yesterday installing a new pump and Shop Vac-ing up the water. He came to bed about 11 p.m. last night and when I talked to him this morning his back was aching.

And remember that new carpet we JUST installed last weekend? It's drying out, as we speak. Luckily since we just cleaned the basement, we lost very little. Things could have been a lot worse and for that we are grateful.

Now, we still love water, mind you. But we prefer it be outdoors from now on.

And so it begins...

While driving to school, Addi started yelling, "Mommy! Sam won't stop staring at me! Make her stop! I don't want her looking at me in the car!"

I was instantly taken back to me and Lee, riding in the car, and me saying the same thing. Here's to a LONG 10 years of car rides.

20 Addisons

Addison is in LOVE with her teacher, Miss Maryann. She sometimes calls ME Miss Maryann, then giggles at her mistake. She also constantly corrects things Jay and I do if they are not up to Miss Maryann's standards.

As a parent, I am constantly worried that people won't like Addi. No one wants to have their kid come home from school and hear "so and so doesn't like me", etc. I'm not one to dislike little children but it's amazing how angry you can get at Andrew/Emily/Tyson completely based on word of mouth. So Addi's adoration of Miss Maryann has me crossing my fingers daily that the feeling is mutual.

And, apparently, it is mutual. Last week I picked Addi up and stopped to talk to Maryann, asking her how Addi behaved during the day. Bracing for the worst, she said, "Oh, She was GREAT. Just wonderful. I wish I had 20 Addison's in my class."

"Seriously???!?" asks the bewildered mom, looking for sarcasm in the comment and really not seeing much.

"Oh definitely! She is so nice to the other kids and helpful with me. She is a joy to have in class."

Speechless Mommy here. But a very, very proud Mommy at that.

24 hours later

Sam is 99% back to normal. After a four hour nap, Sam woke up appearing as if nothing had happened. She's not a fan of the mandatory ear drops but other than that, she's fine. Whew!

Patient Sam

Sometimes being a baby is hard work. Sam has been sick for about two months now with reoccurring ear infections that never go away, so after five rounds of antibiotics it was decided she'd need tubes in her ears.

This morning Samantha had to be at the day surgery building at 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. surgery time. No food or drink after 2 a.m. (we woke her up to feed her then) but she was all smiles when we got to the office.

She was NOT a fan of the garb they made her wear. I think she was embarrassed that the gown opened in the back - my little modest child! And notice the obviously necessary grippies on the bottom of her socks - I asked the nurse of she was going to learn to walk during surgery as well as get tubes.

Once I gave her a toy, she cheered right up.

We hung out in the pre-op waiting room for a few minutes, then a nurse came and asked to hold Sam. I handed her over and she said, "OK, we are going back. See you."

What?!?!? I wasn't expecting that quick of a goodbye, but it was probably better that way - less chance for me to get upset. Sam of course went off smiling.

For tubes, patients are knocked out for about 20 minutes, then they are taken to recovery. Sam was able to recover in an adjoining building instead of the regular recovery room - I guess old people just out of surgery get a little shaken up by screaming babies.

After surgery Sam was upset and cried for about 30 minutes. Once she drank a bottle we headed home and she and Jay are napping away. Surgery is hard on all.

She should be able to return to daycare tomorrow! We shall see!