sleepover fun

 matching suits...NOT planned,  just proof these girls have a lot in common.

 I know, I'm such a bad mom for letting my 2 yr old run around w/ a passy in her mouth.  But she was a little overwhelmed with the loud and rowdy kindergarteners , she wanted the security!  I indulged her.

 movie time!

 Emma was fascinated with Mr. Brian's Star Wars game.  It was so cute!!  I love so much how he protected himself from the loud squeals and giggles and hid in the bedroom all night.  (He had lots of distant support from Emma's dad Jim (who was home relaxing with mojitos on his back porch!)  Brian  did emerge randomly in support and  to help me cook and get a good laugh.

 The first attempt to leave them and say goodnight.  I thought the evening was done at this point...probably 9:30ish.....I was so "dary" wrong!

We had Abigail's first little sleepover this memorial day weekend and the girls had an absolute ball!  I must say I was a bit nervous for them and hoped I could keep the excitement and party alive enough to keep little Emma from getting homesick, but they both did great.   Emma is such a sweet friend of Abigail's that lives just 5 or 6 houses down our street. They are too tiny peas in a pod.   We love her mom and dad and so it's a friendship we are very thankful for and want to grow.   The girls were complete pills counting down to the big event and mutually her mom and I were glad when we finally got the little monkeys together.   We started with a sprinkler party in the backyard complete with loud music from my ipod station. The video of the 'dance party'  as Abigail named it was a riot.  I will try to post a clip of it. The girls had fun running around until they got too cold then came in for Kool Aid and princess tu tus.   I fed them hot dogs and tater tots and with a big mouthful of dinner and ketchup showing  Emma announced in her own dramatic way complete with eye roll for emphasis "oh Abigail....you are so my BFF!"   [translation 'best friends forever' for 30 yrs from now when I have no idea what that means]
  We did cookies and popcorn for movie time on the living room floor.  Chloe did not understand why we were enjoying so much festive food and play time but she was very into it.  The big girls did so good to be patient with the tiny 2 year old shadowing behind them all evening.  Only once did they have a game they wanted privacy on so I sent the Chloe bird back to hang with Daddy who had quarantined himself to the back with his star wars game.  He lovingly put on the movie Star Wars and good old handsome Han Solo held Chloe's attention nicely for 30 min.  
   As the evening drew to a close Emma began to announce how "weird" it was to not be at home with her mommy and daddy.   Desperately trying to get her through her first sleepover we pulled out all the stops to keep the party going until she absolutely passed out with exhaustion.  I allowed both Emma and Abigail to climb back into bed with me (Brian took the computer game back to the living room when the coast was clear), where me and the little ladies stayed until after 11 o'clock watching Wall-E until they literally  passed out.  I was so proud of Emma.  I knew she wanted so badly to be a big girl and make it all night.  I carried the little stick insects (what I loving refer to the girls at the knees and elbows stage) back to the Bit's big bed.  They slept like little logs all night.  Although Abigail did complain at the lack of space when I snuck out of her room that night.  My squirmy worm needs ample space to flail but she did ok and no one woke up with a shiner thank goodness!
  We did waffles with red white and blue sprinkles on top for a patriotic breakfast.   Then we let Emma's parents pick both girls up and drive our Bit to church then we met them there to  make the switch after their time in Kings Kids.  In the lobby afterwards both girls begged to keep it going and spend Sunday afternoon together but we drew the line for sanity and made them say goodbye and part ways.  It was a great success and I'm sure the first of many girly invasions and sleepovers.

mothers day 2012

  


Well this was an interesting mothers day weekend for us this year.  Holding very true and consistent with the current trend of the year we found ourselves once again in the throws of a sick little girl with the stomach flu.   We seem to have stayed sick all year, I really think the sickest we've ever been since having kids and maybe ever.  Poor Abigail woke up Saturday morning with a fever of 102 and then the fun followed close behind. We had grand plans to attend 3 birthday parties through the course of the day and it just broke her heart to have to miss them all for "the quizzies" as she lovingly refers to them.   The poor kid threw up probably 6 or 8 times by bedtime Saturday.  She had melted into her almost non responsive zone she gets into when she is that sick.  The first time she did it it scared me to death.  It's almost like she just goes away to another place when she feels that bad.  She doesn't make eye contact with you when you speak to her, she won't speak, won't smile.  Just a very flat affect until you can get her hydrated and feeling stronger.   That unfortunately wasn't until mid morning on Sunday when we finally got some Gatorade  into her.   Brian did a very sweet job of making us all breakfast and taking care of his girls and wife on mothers day. 
     We had a funny spin on the day that I have to remember.  That morning over coffee and a flaccid pale Bit in my lap I noticed what I swear sounded like a duck in our air vents.  The annoying thing was it ...honked or quacked every 45 seconds or so.  Brian remembered that he had attempted to change the air filter last weekend , got the wrong size and had left the system filterless for the week.  Fearing the worst I of course started to fret that we had blown it and would face another huge home expense.  He picked at that furnace all day long, even cutting the power to it at one point and the dern thing still quacked. Meanwhile I took the girls outside for some much needed fresh air.  I laid a blanket in the back yard and brought out coloring books and saltine crackers.  Even sweet Chloe remained low key for the most part for her sister being very content to just sit and "coyer".  We enjoyed the breeze for a while then the Bit admitted she was done and needed to head in.
    Poor Brian had still been working on the mystery.  He had gone to the hardware store,  he called the heating company, his company, and even his trusted google let him down without a solution.   By mid afternoon after our naps he told me he even took my stethascope to the hot water heater and the furnace to make sure where the noise's origin was.  You see since his surgery Brian has lost the ability to determine direction to sounds.  It can be very frustrating for him at times.  He asked me to once again walk downstairs and see if I could tell with certainty which appliance the noise was coming from.  When I did  crawl all the way over to between the 2 machines I busted out laughing.  I called for him to come down and showed him the wicked culprit to our problem.... an old ratty looking smoke alarm that was mounted behind some duck work and must have a dead battery.  We couldn't see the thing until we were all the way behind the heaters and Brian couldn't tell the noise was overhead.   Relieved we removed the very inexpensive 9volt battery with a smile.   Ahhh,  for once the expense wasn't what we feared.  We have lived here for 3 years and never knew there was an alarm there.
     As the day was drawing to a close.  I threw the girls in the tub to get the stomach cooties off of them and discovered  the poor Bit had a tiny tick on her hip.  Of all the days, she was NOT in the mood for tick removal in her state.   I did the hot match, and then alcohol soak to get the thing out with her wailing in pitiful exhausted drama.  Her scrawny little bony  body just didn't want any more insults.  We got through it and she and Chloe forgot their woes and played in the bath together.

 the sweet girls got excited at Daddy's magic even though they knew it was just for mommy after they went to bed.

   Brian made us a wonderful roast for dinner.  The clean wet headed kids actually ate it (amazing) and then we put the girls to bed early.  Brian finished the night with an amazing from scratch puff pastry desert, filled with bananas foster complete with rum,  topped with home made whip cream and chocolate sauce.  Then he iced a bottle of my favorite desert white wine for me and we celebrated getting through the weekend together.  Go team!   Puke, mystery ducks, ticks and all we were a very tired  happy couple.  We watched a Will Smith sci fi movie and headed to bed.  Not my most glamorous mothers day ever.  But you know,  to see my family pull together to take care of one another, work problems out, to just be able to sit for 48 hours straight and hold Abigail in my lap, in her limp wet rag state was well,  what it's all about after all isn't it!?   She told me that night as I put her to bed through her fearful tears.  She said when she laid in her bed she felt bad again but if I laid with her it went away,  she looked at me with big weepy eyes and said "mommy, you have the power to make me feel all better again".   I guess I couldn't ask for much more could I?   :)

random spring photos

 Abigail's own style,  I love it.  School socks and sweaters.  :)

 Chloe and all her "Miyaa Moww's"  every day she waddles down the hall when she wakes up with her arms full of her blankets and 3 Minnie Mouse toys. 

 Watching Snow White on Mommy and Daddy's bed

Having a good spring so far. These are just some random pictures of play time with friends and some down time sweetness at home. 

"I'ya pooh pooh!!"

Well we finally buckled down and got Chloe potty trained this week.  It took me a while to gutsy up and make myself do it.  She's been complaining when her diaper is wet for a while now.   I finally got the hint when she would spread her legs and say "Uh Oh!" while looking down to see if she was peeing on the floor but still safely wearing her diaper.   I truly hate potty training so I had to get my nerve up.   I had a long stretch off of work so it was time to face the music (insert obnoxious Elmo background accompaniment).    With out coursing a grueling play by play of how the week went down I am happy to announce we have ended in success.  The cutest end to the tense week was Sunday morning when it was not only clicking for her but she was darn tootin proud of her progress.   After pooping in the training potty with all of us present, we all 4 of us danced with joy at her ....deposit.   So elated with the entire family dancing in celebration of something she had done she insisted on continuing the party.  I promise I can't make this stuff up,  the child proceeded to poop 7 more times in the next hour.  Not loose,  7 more .... substantial deposits all ending with a time to dance a time to flush into the big potty, rinse wipe and re don her Minnie Mouse panties.   Each time I stood amazed at her ...ability thinking no way could she do it again!  My girl has some super parastaltic skills and that is just one amazing colon.   She will hate me one day for cataloging such details of something so personal.  But come on?!  7 times,  7 full times,  naked baby dancing cheeks flapping cuteness.  Mommy has to remember that sweet Sunday morning that our Chloe Brianne proved she was a big girl.  So proud!     And I would be dishonest to leave a legacy of handling it all with perfect southern grace and patience....mommy enjoyed a nice couple of grape juice and vodkas to celebrate her own survival and completion!   Whew!

More snow fun

I know I have a lot of pictures of the trees in this post but they really were so beautiful with this one snow we got this week.  It was a heavy wet snow and no wind so it stuck to every tiny branch.  As the sun began to peer through it was just pristine out and I couldn't stop taking pictures.  The girls didn't last too long.  To be honest playing in snow is not mommy's favorite past time so I only could muster up supervision and trying to stay warm.   We enjoyed the beauty for a while then headed in to start up the gas logs and pile on the blankets.  Sorry kiddos,  other then the beauty of snow it's not my thing to be in it!  Luckily it was a slow day on L&D and my unit let me stay home.  Brian got his game face on and took the girls to Chris and Natalie's for some sledding down the mountains.  This was a special treat to me staying behind since I got to enjoy a couple hours in the house all by myself.  I never knew what a beautiful thing that could be until I became a mom.  It was a good close to the winter season.  Now bring on Spring!

We got a nice surprise today as we near the end of winter.  I guess Punxsutawney Phill the ground hog was right this year.  This Sunday I spent the afternoon enjoying the snow fall from the hospital windows and it was just beautiful blanketing the city.   It was a slow day on L&D so I was able to leave a little early.  I made it home to a cozy content family.  I'm not sure why but Abigail waited until 6 o'clock to express her desire to go out and play in it all.  Not wanting to miss our one opportunity to play in snow this winter we geared up and headed out in the night to let the girls have their fun.  Chloe mostly liked to scream and run and eat the snow.  Where Abigail for the first time seemed to enjoy the idea of playing it.  Usually she whines with in minutes of the cold air but maybe a wild sister is loosening her up some.  They had a nice snow ball fight with Brian.  Luckily no body got too aggressive attacking mommy hiding out in her pajama pants under the eave w/ the camera.   We came inside to Brian making everyone hot chocolate, a  fire in the fireplace and he popped us up a big bowl of popcorn while I snuggled the red faced children.  It was a great night.  A phone call from the county announcing no school Monday morning made it complete.