thank god for collage christmas cards

This morning, the girls were looking cute (and somewhat festive) in their matching outfits, so I decided to try to take a picture of them for consideration for the Slacker family Christmas card. How did it go? Not well. The pictures contained A in various states of trying to get off the couch with E alternately trying to yank her back onto the couch or sitting there looking cute as a button. I plan on trying to take some pictures this weekend in their Christmas dresses, but I think the idea of having a picture of the two of them looking cute together is just a pipedream.

So, thank you Snapfish, Shutterfly, and Ofoto (or EasyShare or KodakGallery or whatever your name du jour is) for providing me with the option of showing friends and family how cute my kids are in two separate pictures on the same card!

party girl

Last night after school, E ran upstairs and "changed into something more comfortable" as she is one to do pretty much every day. Last night's outfit actually matched (a rare occasion for her)...it was a t-shirt and matching peasant skirt outfit that her Grandmom had given her. While the t-shirt fits perfectly, the skirt is still a bit big on her, so she kind of looks like Stevie Nicks in it when she wears it (which is often).

Anyhoooo, she comes downstairs and twirls around in her skirt.

"Guess what, mommy?" she says. "We're having a princess ballerina twirling party!"
"Wow, E!" I tell her. "That sounds like fun!"
"Whatchya doing, mommy?" she then asks.
"I'm making dinner. We're having quesadillas with guacomole."
"Even better!" E yells. "We'll have a princess ballerina quesadilla guacamole twirling party instead!"

I've been to my fair share of parties in my life ... but never one like that!

guess she has a sweet tooth

I picked up a couple of E's "art" project from school today and was thumbing through them. Of course, she had the requisite handprint-as-turkey craft that every preschool kid must complete in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. On the top of the paper, the teacher had written "I'm thankful for ... " and then filled in the blank with what E had said.

So what was E thankful for, you ask. Her family? Friends? Cute clothes? Dora and Diego? Nope. E was thankful for candy.

break out the guinness!

The Slackers and the O'Reillys are headed to Ireland in the late Spring 2008. This trip was originally scheduled for this spring as a celebration of our respective 5 year wedding anniversaries, but since Autumn was pregnant, we decided to hold off for another year so that I could have a drinking buddy we could all fully enjoy the trip.

As with all trips we take, John has made all the arrangements on our behalf. Therefore I don't know any details on where we fly into (Cork? Dublin? Shannon?), where we are staying or how we are getting around...so don't even ask. What I do know is that we are flying Aer Lingus...and I giggle everytime I say it.

sweet baby a (and her big ole belly!)

I couldn't have a picture of E without including one of A...so here's it is! Thanks to Nonna, who got the girls the polka dot t-shirts (on A) and dresses (on E in the post below).

I love me some polka dots. I love me some matching outfits for the girls. Not one, but two matching polka dot outfits for the girls? Pure heaven!

she's a child genius

E on Turkey Day

Since we were out all last week, I didn't get a chance to pick up E's report card until today. E's report card is based on the child development milestones from 36 to 48 months, and she did really well. Pretty much everything was an S (sometimes displays mastery of skill), with quite a few A's (always displays mastery of skill) especially with regard to cognition and general knowledge (i.e, counting, naming shapes, etc).

I think the two I'm most excited about are "Develop friendships with one or more peers" and "Demonstrate confidence and pride in accomplishments", both of which she got A's. Because, at 3 years old, I don't want her in some rigorous academic program. But it makes me very happy to know that she's a friendly and confident girl.

I did have to laugh that she got an A in the "Demonstrate personal health and hygiene skills..." task. Maybe she's got them fooled at school, but girlfriend asks me if she has to wash her hands every time she goes potty.

gobble gobble

Well, we survived the Thanksgiving weekend! Turkey Day itself was fun, if not a total whirlwind. The hostess' house had lost (and regained) power, the weather was in the 70s so the kids were playing outside all day, and A spent 60% of the day asleep on John's shoulder. E became a cranberry sauce-aholic (just like her mom...I LOVE that stuff), and had fun at the kids table with Anna and Charlie and James.

I ended up taking A to the doctor on Friday, and she had double ear infection. Poor thing. So I did what any loving mother would do...drugged her up and left her with a babysitter so I could hit a bar. Except that the babysitter was Nonna (who I'm beginning to suspect the girls might like more than me) and the bar was Champps so we could watch the LSU v. Arkansas game with my dad's high school friend and his family.

Saturday could be easily summed up in one word, FOOTBALL. We watched UVA lose to Virginia, UConn lose to WVU and Tennessee win in OT to Kentucky sending them (and John) to the SEC Championship in Atlanta next weekend.

On Saturday night, I checked on the girls before I went to bed. When I walked into E's room, she was not in her bed. I totally panicked. Was she kidnapped? Had she wandered into another room? Drowned in the bathtub? Luckily she was on the floor by her bed. She had either fallen asleep there or rolled out of bed. I put her back into bed, thinking to myself "That's about the worst thing that could happen when you check on your kid."

Of course, I was wrong. I opened A's door and smelled vomit. She was sound asleep...and covered in it. I grabbed John, and he cleaned up A while I cleaned up the crib. I then got her settled down for the night.

Sunday was relatively uneventful, if you overlook the Exorcist-style puke that A had when I put her in her high-chair. The on-call ped assured me that it was not a reaction to the antibiotic, but a stomach bug. Luckily for us, she did not puke anymore, slept most of the day and seemed to be in better spirits. E had a bout of Attention Withdrawal Disorder, where she acted like a holy terror because she no longer had Kiki and Uncle Steve and Nonna and Pop-pop to pay attention to her. She did nap for a bit, which was pure heaven.

And today, we've returned to normal. The girls are back at school, and John and I are back to work. Only, now, both John and I are sick as dogs as we've both caught the cold the girls had. Should be another productive work week, I'm sure!

well crap...

I thought we were on the mend. Then A woke up from her 2 hour nap (her second of the day!) about as ornery as she's ever been in her short little life and E is fast asleep on the couch. Fun times Chez Slacker!

it will be a miracle...

...if I don't catch this cold the girls have. I've been coughed on more times than I care to admit. Sweet Baby A has become even more of a snuggle-bunny now that she's sick, and has been showering me with her big ole sloppy wet (and germ-infested, I'm sure) kisses.

On the bright side, the girls seem to be on the mend. E is almost 100%, spent most of the day wearing a sequined tutu and calling herself "Princess E." A seems to be feeling better, laughing and playing a bit more, but she's definitely not school-ready. So, Nonna will be coming over tomorrow and I'll be working from home. Good thing it's a "light" week at work.

sick day

Both girls have a bit of a cold right now. Mainly, it's just coughing and a runny nose, with a bit of crankiness thrown in. Nurses Nonna and Pop-pop are over here watching the girls today rather than send them to school so they wouldn't (1) feel worse and have a miserable Thanksgiving and (2) infect other kids and make their Thanksgiving miserable.

And, somehow, wiping noses and dealing with cranky kids seems like much more appealing option than working today. Go figure.

walking wounded

Yesterday morning, A was playing around in the "sitting room" off our master bedroom, tripped and her cheek hit our elliptical trainer. She cried for a second or two and then was fine, but she did have a bruise in a straight line on her cheek. Well, when John picked the girls up from school yesterday, A had a bruise and a cut on her eye...apparently she tripped at school and hit the bookcase there. Not sure which parent we can blame on A's apparent clutziness/lack of grace as John and I run neck and neck in this department.

This does put a damper in the one thing I had planned to do this weekend, however. My mother-in-law sent the girls not one, but two, adorable Christmas outfits last week, so I was going to break out the new camera and attempt to procure a Christmas card picture. I still might try to do this, and just try to get a shot of A's good side (both bruises are on her left). Or maybe I could Photoshop the injuries away. I mean, if they can make Britney Spears look like this, I can figure out how to remove a bruise from Sweet Baby A's face, right?

it's not officially straight a's

But, A got her report card yesterday and she ROCKED! Who knew....they evaluate the infants and toddlers as well. The "report card" was a list of standards for 0-18 months old, and rather than grades, they assessed them on Totally Mastered, Sometimes Mastered, and Not Yet Mastered (or something like that).

Well, A pretty much totally mastered everything. She had a couple of somewhat mastered, and 3 or 4 not yet mastered. So, she's got the skills of an 18-month-old and she's not even 14-months! Woo hoo! Child genius, I tell you!

In other A news, she'll be moving up to the next classroom, Toddlers, in January. She was supposed to be moved at the beginning of this month, but the class is full, so she goes over in the afternoons occasionally. I'm excited because I think she'll have more fun (she's the oldest in her classroom now), they only take one nap there (rather than the 10 am and 3 pm schedule in infants), and I don't have to label her foods every day (seriously...I have to write A's name and the date on every banana, yogurt cup, cheese stick and sippy cup in her lunch bag!). On the downside, A and I really do love her current teachers, Miss Idalia and Miss Aniya. And, hopefully we won't have to go through a whole new transitional period...I like dropping the girls off with no tears!

wonder what the real party will be like

One of A's classmates turned 1 yesterday. How do I know? Well, she had a favor bag in her cubby. It was a little pink lunch bag with yellow tissue paper that said "Thanks for celebrating Carly's 1st birthday!" on it. Inside the bag were pre-packaged snack bags of goldfish and Gerber fruit puffs (in adherence to the schools no fun food food allergy sensitivity stance) as well as a cute little pink and yellow polka-dot hair bow.

I mean, how bad of a mom am I that I don't even have real birthday parties for my kids...let alone give out favors at their non-parties. I didn't even attempt to do something fun at school because of the stupid rules behind what you can and can't serve. And here comes this other mom color who coordinates her favors to her favor bag!

Oh well, at least my kid is cuter.

she'll never be a UT cheerleader

E was singing "Rocky Top" on the way home. It's funny what a few changes in lyrics can do to the meaning of the song.

Wish that I wasn't on ole Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Smoggy smokes all over Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills

ew! ew! ew!

There's been a confirmed lice case at A and E's school, in a class that E occasionally goes to. Apparently it was just eggs(ew!) and the dirty bastard kid was at school for 2 1/2 hours before being sent home.

Should I scrub them down with bleach in garage when I pick them up? Or should I do it in the parking lot before I let them in the car?

report card time!

Today when I was dropping E off at school, her teacher (Miss Elizabeth) told me that report cards were coming out on Monday. She wanted to let me know that I shouldn't get too concerned if E hadn't done all of the skills, etc., because she was young and doing really well. The report cards (in her opinion) were silly and very specific. Things like: Does the student ask about math? Does the student know her full address? Does the student ask about weather?

Now, I'm not too concerned about how E does on this because we all know she is brilliant. But I'm with Miss Elizabeth...I think it's a little ridiculous to send home a report card for a 3-year-old. I just want her to make friends, have fun, and if she learns a few things...great! But she's going to have enough time to study and learn, I'm fine with letting her be a kid for a while longer.

I wonder if A will get a report card, too?

what goes around comes around

Poor little A has always been pushed around by her older sister. Sure, we're (usually) there to intervene, but she has been pushed out of chairs, had toys taken away from her and has generally been terrorized by her loving older sister. And, in correcting E's actions, we've always warned her that one day the tables would be turned.

On Saturday, that day came.

E and A were playing at the table and chair set at Nonna and Pop-pop's house. A got off her chair to get a toy, and came back to find E sitting in her seat. A then grabbed E by the shirt and proceeded to pull her off the chair, and sit happily down.

Now I know I need to stop A from manhandling her sister, but it was so funny to see it all go down...and I feel like A should get a few good jabs in to make up for the last 13 months. But perhaps I need to change my posting label...Sweet Baby A might have to be Big Bruiser A from now on!

herein lies the problem

This morning, I got to get up and work at 6 am. We released a new version of the Web site, so I had to test that it was successfully launched, among other things. John took the girls to daycare and has since headed out to the airport (where he will be having his annual Father/Son trip in Knoxville -- sports, beer, and meat -- oh my!).

Well, I have one or two more things to finish up before I can log off. Which means it will be a bit after 12 when I'm ready to pick up the girls. So what do I do? Do I pick them up in the middle of lunch (pizza day!) and potentially nap for Sweet Baby A? Or do I let them nap/rest at school (something Hurricane E refuses to do at home)?

Whatever decision I make, I guess I need to change out of my PJs at some point this morning. Oh the joys of working at home.

i tumble for you

A is big into tumbling right now. She'll back into you and bend over. It took a few times to figure out what she was trying to tell me (first thought: diaper change). But now...she loves it when you flip her over. And then, of course, E gets a turn. The only problem is she tried to tumble on the hardwood floor last night and bonked her head. Not fun.

In other exciting A news, she is starting to understand simple commands. If I tell her "Go get Taggie" or "Sit in your high chair" she will do them, which is convenient and pretty darn cute.

Oh, and speaking of high chairs, they put A in a real highchair at school now, as opposed to the seats in the table contraption that all the other kids in. It's a space consideration really -- both that are too many kids eating to fit them all at the table and that there's too much of A's belly to fit in the table. But now A has gotten all territorial with the high chair. One of the other kiddos was waiting to get in it to have a snack, and A came running over and pushed her away. Luckily, at 13 months old, this still falls within "cute" realm not the bratty realm.

teach your children well

Our poor girls have grown up in a house divided. From the beginning, they have had to cheer on both the University of Virginia and University of Tennessee. I hate to admit that the first school song was "Rocky Top" rather than the "Good Ole Song" (though in my defense, John plays the Appalachain Stomp version of that song non-stop during football season).

Anyway, this year, A and E have attended two football games and a tailgate in "the Orange Birginya." And the tide has turned. The other night, when we were walking to my car, E pointed to my Virginia medallion on the back of my car.

"Look, mommy!" E yelled. "You have a Birginya car! The black car is a Birginya car!"

And, during their trip last weekend, John outfitted the girls in new windsuits. E loves hers, and put it on tonight as soon as she got back from school.

"Do you know what this says?" she asked me, turning to see the back of her coat.
"No, what does it say?" I asked.
"Hoo rah ray, hoo rah ray, UVA!" she said.

100

Woo hoo! It's my 100th post! Does that officially mean I have no life?

the divas

This picture that Kiki took of the girls just cracks me up. I mean, E is channelling Posh Spice with my sunglasses on. A has been carrying her pumpkin "purse" around non-stop since Halloween. She holds it in the crook of her arm a la Lindsay or Jessica or Nicole -- pretty much any starlet with a purse the size of Rhode Island. She's taken it to school twice this week and ate dinner tonight while wearing it.

she puts her pants on one leg at a time

E is really into dressing herself. And by that I mean both picking out her clothes as well as putting them on. For the most part, she's pretty proficient at putting on her clothes by herself (putting together a reasonably matching ensemble, on the other hand, is another story altogether). Occasionally, though, she'll end up putting both legs in the in one pants leg, as she did the other day.

"Mommy!" she yelled in frustration. "My pants aren't sharing my legs."

we are family...i got all my sisters with me

So this weekend was a bit of a mini-reunion of ye olde sorority sisters for the UVA v. Wake Forest game. It was tons of fun to see everyone...and while we certainly can't party like it's 1996 anymore, we still can give it a whirl. Kara acted as picture nazi weekend historian, and as soon as she uploads her pictures, I'll post a few.

Oooo! I also got myself a new camera! I've taken a few pictures on it, and I'll take some of the girls this week. It does the mini-movies with sound, so expect more videos of A and E coming soon, as well.

my favorite picture from last night

After a whopping 30 minutes of Trick or Treating, the girls came back. They actually got a pretty good haul. I'll post more pictures later, but this one cracked me up. E's looking at A like, "Nice job, newbie. Next year we'll really knock 'em dead!"