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!"

and they're off!!!

John just took A and E Trick or Treating...they'll be lucky if they make it off the pipestem! A's not too keen about going somewhere where I'm not and E was terrified of the first group of trick or treaters, two of whom were dressed in scary costumes.

A's dressed as a pumpkin and E is an elephant. At one point, I had her almost convinced to go as the Hershey Kiss...but in the end, she resisted. "I don't want to be a horsey kiss, mama." She did try to go as both a Hershey Kiss and a elephant, but the kiss didn't fit over her trunk.

I'll post pictures later, but I don't think they are any good...the bad news is that I have the world's suckiest camera. The good news is that John whole-heartedly agrees after the photo shoot, so fingers crossed that we'll get a new one soon!

who's on first?

This is the conversation E and I had on the way home from my birthday dinner.

"How many are you, mommy?"
"How old am I? I'm 33."
"You're 3, just like me. We're the same!"
"No, E, I'm 33."
"Yes, just like me!"
"No dear, I was your age 30 years ago. I'm 33."
"Am I 33, too? 'Cause we're the same."

Later, she asked me if we were going home. I told her we had to stop at Target.

"Oh good. I have to get you a present, mommy."
"Really? What are you going to get me?"
"A water bottle. Maybe a Dora water bottle."
"Wow! That sounds great!"
"Maybe I'll get lots of Dora toys. That'd be great, mommy! If you buy me lots and lots of Dora toys?"
"If I buy you toys? I thought you were buying me a present?"
"No, you should buy me lots of Dora toys. I had a birthday, I turned 3!"

boo!

Nonna and Pop-pop took A and E to Boofest, our community's Halloween Party, on Saturday. Here's a picture of the girls dressed up in their costumes. E insisted on being an elephant despite the fact that (1) she was an elephant last year and (2) the costume was entirely too small for her. A wasn't thrilled about the hat aspect of her costume.

happy birthday, kiki!

Today is my sister's 33rd birthday. Damn, she's old. You know what's worse? I'm four minutes older than that!

I hope she has some fantastic plans for her birthday up in the Windy City. She's travelling back to this neck of the woods on Friday to see the family and head to the UVA v. Wake game and I'm so excited!

my money's on john

This morning, as I was getting A dressed, I went to put our diaper remedy on her little tush (A's been battling diaper rash so we use a mixture of Maalox and Benadryl at home...I highly recommend it). Anyway, E comes on over, peeks onto the changing table and asks me,

"So, mama...are you going to put the pink sh!t on A?"
"What!?!?" I ask her, not sure of what I heard.
"The pink sh!t, mommy? Are you going to put some on A's heiny this morning?"

As of this posting the party responsible for calling the concoction "pink sh!t" within earshot of E has not been identified. I'll keep you posted on the investigation.

where in the world is slacker mama?

As it is Friday, it's time for my requesite post where I tell you what far-reaches of the universe I am headed off to this weekend. For those of you who haven't kept track, here's a schedule of what the fall has been like for us:

September 8-9: Me @ Atlanta for Wedding; John @ UT
September 9-15: Home for John's B-day
September 22-23: Family @ Charlottesville (UVA vs. GT)
September 29-30: Me and John @ NYC
October 6-7: Me and E @ Home; John and A @ UT
October 13-14: Fam @ Charlottesville (UVA vs. UConn)
October 20-21: Me and John @ Asheville for Wedding

So this weekend's destination is...drumroll please...HAPPY VALLEY, for the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game.

"Wait a minute, Slacker Mama," you ask. "Penn State? Ohio State? Haven't heard those teams mentioned before. Why are you headed there?"

Well, dear reader, our friends (and frequent partners in crime) Sean and Autumn have invited us to the game. Sean's parents went to Ohio State, and therefore, Sean is a big Ohio State fan. (Seriously, is it any wonder that he and John got along so well first year, with their mutual hatred of Notre Dame and their similar love of schools that they do not attend?)

Anyhoo, we're shipping the girls over to Nonna and Pop-pop's tomorrow morning and headed up to Penn State for the game. For Sean's birthday, Autumn got him this awesome grill, so we'll be tailgating it up before and after the game. On the menu:

• Brats and kielbasa
  
• South Georgia Caviar
  
• Hummus and pita
  
• Veggies and dip
  
• Pasta salad
  
• Grilled veggies
  
• Steaks
  
• Chicken wings
  
• Brownies
  

Gluttony, thy name is Slacker Mama.

diagnosis: brilliant

I just got back from taking A and E to the Ped's office. A needed a ear recheck (she had fluid at her 1-year) and a flu shot. E needed a flu shot and got her 3-year-check up...E turned 3 in August, but I totally forgot until September that she needed an appointment, hence the tardiness of it all.

E was ultra-psyched for the trip to the doctor's office...until we got there. She was definitely a little nervous. I tried to make her feel better by singing her a song.

"When you get in to start, she'll listen to your heart.
Then, she'll check your toes and then she'll check your nose!" I sang.

"But mommy! I don't want to her to check my NOSE!" she exclaimed. Not sure what her nose-phobia was...but there it was.

The rest of the appointment was uneventful. At the end, the doctor asked me if I had any concerns. After being reassured that the occasional clobbering of A was developmentally normal for a 3-year-old, I asked the doctor if there was anything that I should be concerned about in the next year development-wise.

"Not that I can think of," said the doctor. "I mean, she's a really smart girl."

Dude...when the DOCTOR says she's smart, you KNOW she's smart!

Oh...and for those who are curious, here are the heights and weights:

E: 32.5 lbs, 39 inches
A: 25 lbs, 31 inches

dixieland delight

We had an absolutely fantastic weekend! We arrived in Asheville around 5 or so. John's parents were five minutes behind us, so we met up and did a little Chinese firedrill for the last hour of the trip. Their car is in the shop, they had a new Volvo XC90 as a loaner car, which I got to drive. I love love love that car and totally want one now! My birthday is coming up next week....


Anyway, we checked into the Grove Park Inn, which is gorgeous. We met up with John's parents, Matt and Noreen, and Sam and Dave for a Seafood Buffet. I ate way too much (quelle suprise!), but it was yummy. After dinner, the guys headed back to the main bar to meet up with the wedding party while Sam, Noreen and I made our way to Elaine's Piano Bar. We had an absolute blast singing and dancing along with the dueling piano guys.

On Saturday morning, I woke up and headed down to the Spa for an 80-minute hot stone massage. It was absolutely amazing. If she had asked me if I wanted to pay $500 for 20 minutes more, I would have done so in a heartbeat. After the massage, I stuck around the spa for a few more hours. I did the contrast pool (alternating pools of 64 and 100 degrees), the sauna, the outdoor hot tub and had lunch on the sundeck. Then I headed back to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was gorgeous. A friend of the groom is a minister and performed the ceremony, and his dad played the piano. The food was fantastic and their band was incredible. Lots of dancing by the entire Short clan. A couple of the wedding guests told us that they recognized Sam, Noreen and I from our hijinx at Elaine's the night before...slightly embarrassing, but whatever. After the wedding, we headed back to Elaine's and closed the place down. The end of the evening was a little fuzzy for me, but I'm pretty sure I had a great time despite EVERY request that I made to the piano guys being shot down. Bastards.

Today, we woke up and headed home. There was one 20 minute stretch where I thought I was going to die, but because John is AWESOME he did most of the driving and let me sleep pretty much the entire way home. The girls had a great time with Nonna and Pop-pop....but they definitely missed us. A didn't let me get more than a foot away from her without screaming bloody murder, though she's kind of a mess because all four of her molars are coming in.

But, everyone else is tucked in their beds and asleep...and that's where I'm headed as well. I have work meetings Monday through Wednesday that include dinners and the like, so most likely I will not be posting until later this week.

road trip!

John and I are headed off to Asheville, NC for his friend's wedding. It should be a good time. We're staying at the Grove Park Inn. John's parents, both brothers and their significant others will be there, too. Tonight, we're meeting up for a seafood buffet dinner. Tomorrow, I've got an appointment for a massage while John golfs, and then the wedding. We'll head home on Sunday.

happy birthday, sean!

It's our friend, Sean's birthday today! He's an old man today...33 years old! We celebrated with him in New York a few weeks ago, in Charlottesville last weekend, and next weekend we are headed to Happy Valley!

child geniuses

A's new trick is giving us kisses. It is so freaking cute I can hardly stand it. Her version of kissing is opening her mouth up wide and slobbering on your face. She mainly does it when asked...but tonight she grabbed my face and planted one on me. I was in heaven!

Her other trick is that she's starting to sign a little bit more. Tonight she used milk, more and all done. I tried to show her book and fan...she seemed to understand. She's about the same age as E when she started picking up a few signs, so we'll see. While somewhat helpful in figuring out what they want when they can't talk, I really think signs are more of a cool party trick than anything else.

Not to be outdone...E has a new vocabulary word, too. It's "wedgie" and it gets used a lot in our house. Mainly, when I see her dancing around or fidgeting with her pants our conversation goes like this:

"E, what's going on? Do you have to go potty?"
"No, Mommy."
"Whatchya doing then?"
"Oh. I just have a wedgie."

Classy. That's what we're teaching our kids to be.

slacker mama = sucky photographer

So Gap is having some sort of photo contest where your kids can be the next models for the Gap. Since I clearly have the cutest kids ever, I'm entering E and A. The only problem is I do not have singluar pictures of each girl that fully illustrates just how cute they are. And, since I own the world's worst digital camera ever, I haven't been successful in taking new ones. I still can enter three more photographs, but this is what I've submitted thus far.


Oh...the other thing that sucks is that the age groups are 0-4 and 5-12...so I'm pitting sister against sister. What will I do if only one of them wins?!?!?

just like mommy

E has definitely taken note that she is not the same age as me or A, and based on that, we all do different things. "Maybe when A is my age, she'll get to ride my Dora bicycle," she'll tell me. "Maybe when I'm your age, I'll drive the black car," she'll say as we drive in the car.

This morning, as I was getting dressed, E comes in holding a bra.

"Can I try this on?" she asked me. Not quite knowing what to do in this situation, we slipped it on over her Dora pajamas and clasped it closed.
"Does it fit?" I asked her.
"No, Mommy, it doesn't fit," she told me. "But maybe when my boobies get bigger I can wear it."

my mother is evil

How else could you explain her leaving a batch of brownies with chocolate drizzled over the top at my house yesterday? Especially when I had to work at home today...so I was home alone all day long with the brownies.

Luckily, they will no longer be able to tempt me...I ate most all of them over the course of the day. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.

a fun, fall weekend!

How do you know when you've had a fun, action packed weekend in the Slacker house? When the kiddos don't wake up until 8:15 on Monday morning! They were two tired pups, I tell ya.

We had a blast this weekend. On Friday night, everyone converged upon Chez Slacker...the entire O'Reilly clan, and Rick and Mark. The youngin's went off to bed, while E and Maura played and the adults had a late dinner. The girls headed off to bed while the boys stayed up 'til the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday, we got up, piled into the cars and headed down to Charlottesville for the UVA game. We had a prime tailgating spot and the weather was gorgeous! Though it was thrown together at the last minute, our tailgate was pretty nice. We had a sandwich platter from the Teets, Autumn brought cookies and made a 7-layer dip, and I contributed a spinach dip and one of my faves, Paula Deen's South Georgia Caviar!

Everyone had a blast at the tailgate...and then it was time for the game. The boys headed in, and the girls loaded up into the Suburban to head home. E was a bit confused.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" she asked.
"We're going home," I told her.
"But I thought we were going to the Orange Birginya?" she asked.
"We did, sweetie. But we're going to go home now."
"No, Mommy! We need to go IN! We have to go into the Orange Birginya!"

The girls all passed out on the way home. We picked up some Foster's on the way home, threw the girls in the tubs and then went to bed.

On Sunday, there was lots of playing outside, football watching, and finishing off of the dips from Saturday. The O'Reilly clan left in the late afternoon...we polished off leftovers from Friday night, and then the Slackers headed off to bed.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Good times were had by all.

E and Maura's Pajama Party

E, Maggie and Maura at the Tailgate

Watching the Band Play

E and Daddy

A and Maggie Hanging Out in the Shade

channelling katie holmes...

Alright...after about eleventy thousand attempts to come up with a half-way decent picture of me and the new 'do, this is the best I could come up with. I know that most people don't comment on my blog, but do me a favor and tell me you love my new do...even if you are lying! I'm still unsure about the shortness and darkness of it all...

Oh, here's a "Before" picture, so you can see what I used to look like.

girls! girls! girls!

John is having a boys' weekend this weekend. His college friends -- Rick, Snell and Sean -- are coming in town tonight, and tomorrow they are headed down to the 'Ville for the UVA game against UConn. Sean's wife, Autumn, had college friend plans of her own that fell through...so she's loading up the Suburban with her three girls and headed down with Sean for the weekend.

I'm not sure what the plan is...I mentioned us tagging along to the game to John and it went over like a lead balloon. So we might still go, or we might stay a little more local, like go to the Cox Farms Fall Festival. But, it should be a good time!

i hardly recognize myself

One of the great things during my tenure as a SAHM was "Cuts and Coffee." Maritza, a hairstylist at a swanky salon in McLean, does haircuts and colors at someone's house for a lot less than you would pay at the salon. You bring your kids and a snack to share and hang out. While it's not nearly as relaxing as a trip to the salon, you don't have to worry about finding a sitter or going on the weekends.

Anyway, today was Cuts and Coffee, and I popped over during lunch to get my hair done. I had taken a quick gander through InStyle's Celebrity Hair gallery, but didn't see much in the way of frizzy medium length hair styles. So I figured that I'd just be getting a trim and my roots done. I was wrong.

"What are we doing with color?" Maritza asked.
"I guess the usual." I told her.
"Since it's fall, why don't we do something darker? And warmer?" she said.
"Okay" I said...though not really sure how hair could be warmer.

As she was applying the color, I mentioned how there weren't any cuts that I saw for my hair texture, except maybe Katie Holmes' hair.

"I love her hair!" Maritza exclaimed. "Let's do that!"
"Okay" I said.

So, when I woke up this morning I had medium length, medium brown hair. I now have a dark (almost black) brown chin-length haircut. A little shocking, but I'm getting used to it.

political pop quiz!

With the presidential elections a mere 13 months away, do you know which candidate you are most in line with? My mom sent me this link to a quiz to help you find out!

While I didn't shock the heck out of myself and find out that I'm for Romney or Giuliani in '08...I did find my bleeding heart liberal self is a Kucinich supporter.

my babes at bedtime

I brought the camera upstairs last night at bedtime. Here are a few pics of the girls.

Wrestling with Taggie

Sweet Baby A

Dora PJs and a Stuffed Horse...what could be better?

Happy Girl!

dumbest. parenting idea. ever.

The Today Show ran a story today on the practice of Elimination Communication where by insane earthy-crunchy moms don't put diapers on their kids. Rather, they wait for the child to give visual cues that they have to go, run their kids to the bathroom (or bowl or whatever) and give some sort of audio cue to their children to go.

Advocates say it's better for the environment and is in practice in other areas of the world where they can't afford diapers...yadda yadda yadda. But really, aren't their laundry bills through the roof? What are they using to clean the inevitable accidents that occur? And, furthermore, don't these parents not have anything better to do than look for every grunt, grimace and scowl as a possible sign of having to go?

Last night, we let A have some bare-bottom time since she has a diaper-rash. The entire time she was pants-free, I was stressed that she was going to poop on her carpet, or even worse, me. I guess I'm just not mentally tough enough for this trend.

playing "waitress" with e

I was just IM-ing with my friend and co-worker, UT, who just returned from a two-week European vacation with his wife and 2 1/2-year-old. Luckily, all three lived to tell the tales! One of the things he mentioned is that Gasahn was "making" cappucinos for him by the time they left Rome. It reminded me of one of E's favorite ways to play with the stacking cups (besides making towers for the "Tower Eating Baby" A to knock over)...she likes to play waitress.

"Can I get you a drink, Mommy?" she'll ask me as she breaks out the biggest of the cups.
"Sure, E!" I tell her. "A drink sounds fantastic!"
"What do you want, Mommy? Coffee? Diet Coke? Wine?"

I tell you, once I train her on fetching me the actual drinks, I'll be set for life.

who are you? and what have you done with my husband?

This was an actual phone conversation that took place between me and John this morning:

John: I think we should have salads tonight for dinner.
Me: Yeah, I was thinking salads and that fettuccine alfredo that I made last week.
John: That sounds awesome! I could defintely use a meat free dinner.

belated weekend update

It was a great weekend in the Slacker house. John and A had a fantabulous time in Knoxville. A wore the "Go Vols" dress and tailgated at Calhoun's on the River until about 2 or so. She got lots of good stuff from Grandmom shopping, as did E. Daddy also loaded them up with UT stuff -- including a Smokey toothbrush and an Eric Ainge football jersey for E -- which she has worn non-stop since receiving.

E and I had fun -- the slumber parties were successful, though E did wake me up at 4 am on Saturday night to tell me that Daddy and A were home. It took a bit of convincing that it was the middle of the night and they would not be home until later that day. But other than that we had a great time.

Day care was closed and I had the day off yesterday for Columbus Day. We went to Heidi, Madelyn and Ellie's house in the morning, came back to our house for lunch and nap, and then went to Jenn, William and Julia's house in the afternoon. It was great to catch up with everyone. After dinner, we piled the girls in the bathtub for tubby time. After we lathered the girls up, E started yelling "I want a moo hoo! I want a moo hoo!" Took us a minute to figure out what the heck she was talking about.

what goes around comes around...

I was a picky eater as a child. Not nearly as picky as my sister, but picky nonetheless. I remember my mother muttering "My mother [an Italian immigrant] would roll over in her grave" as we eschewed regular pasta in favor of Chef Boy-r-dee Ravioli, and then my mom's homemade pasta sauce in favor of Prego jarred stuff. So, I was always pretty amazed that E has been a pretty adventerous eater. My three-year-old lists tomatoes as one of her favorite foods -- I didn't even try one until I was ten or so.

Last night, as part of our girls weekend, E and I did some cooking. She always wants to help, but usually when I'm cooking I'm trying to slap something on the table as fast as possible with both her and A underfoot, so it doesn't work. So last night, we made our own pizzas and ice cream. E was a great help with the pouring and mixing. We had tons of fun, until it was time to eat the pizza.

"I don't like it." E said after one bite.
"What? You don't like it?" I asked.
"No. The cheese is yucky." E said. The cheese was mozzerella slices from a ball of fresh cheese instead of shredded cheese. You know, the mozzerrella she at about half of while we topped the pizza.
"Can I have dinosaur chicken nuggets instead?"

Sigh.

On the bright side, she did devour the ice cream for dessert.

we're having a slumber party!

This weekend, John and A are headed to Knoxville for the UT v. Georgia game. Grandmom, Granddad, Uncle Dave and his girlfriend Sam will be in attendance. E and I are staying behind, after we decided the logistics of packing up the entire family for the weekend was going to be ree-diculous!

Since it's just me and The Hurricane, we're going to have a slumber party tonight! We're going to get into our "matching" PJs (well, she calls them matching, they're really just both pink...remember, she has her daddy's fashion sense!), climb into my bed, read tons of stories and then hit the hay! This could be either wildly successful or an absolute nightmare...wish us luck!

In other E news, she woke up this morning and told me that she didn't want to wear her uniform to school today. "That's fine, E." I told her. "It's Friday...you can wear whatever you want." She took me at my word...she's wearing a flowered dress, plaid shoes and a tutu to school today. I did draw the line at the visor, sunglasses and raincoat, however.

so long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen!

When you are a working mama (or daddy), daycare drop-offs are often a lose-lose situation. Either the kid is upset and you are therefore heartbroken because you feel terrible that you have to leave...OR the kid is fine and you are therefore sad because perhaps they aren't sad to see you go (as silly as it sounds). Luckily the latter is only a fleeting moment, and then you can leave knowing your kids are happy and well taken care of.

This week has been a surprisingly easy week in terms of daycare drop offs. A has been walking straight over to Miss Anya or Miss Idalia, and hasn't been crying, which is nice. And E is no longer stalling your imminent departure by wanting to talk about school, work, Daddy's work and A's school, or by recounting the plan for the day. In fact, today after I fed her three bites of her applesauce for breakfast, she looked at me and said, "Bye bye, Mommy! It's time for you to go!"

And, yes, I was a little heartbroken that she wasn't begging for one more bite from me.

dancing queen

A loves music. Just loves every instrument in our house: the maracas, tambourine, shaky eggs, cow bells -- even the pots and pans qualify as instruments. So it's no suprise that now that she's walking, she's learning how to dance.

The other day at Heidi's house, she had music on in the playroom. A got this huge smile on her face and started bouncing to the music. Then she started walking around in tiny little circles -- she was trying to spin around but doesn't have the turning radius quite yet. It was so cute. The smile on her face showed how proud she was of her "dancing".

i love new york

This weekend, John and I headed up to New York for a little couples weekend/early birthday present. Saturday morning, we drove up to Philly where we met up with our friends Sean and Autumn and Jenn and Andy. (Interesting trivia: we have SEVEN girls aged 3 and below between the three couples.) This six of us piled in a limo and headed up to NYC.

We caught the matinee show of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which was really cute. For dinner, we went to Mesa Grill, one of Bobby Flay's restaurants. I had New Mexico Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon-Ancho Chile Sauce and Sweet Potato Tamale with Crushed Pecan Butter while John had the spice crusted swordfish steak with Charred Jalapeno-Basil Vinaigrette...both were divine. Afterwards, we went to the Comedy Cellar, where we saw Sherrod Small (a regular on VH1's The Best Week Ever) among others perform.

I'll post the one picture we took this weekend when I get it (it was on Jenn's camera). But, all in all, it was a great little trip!

wacky week continues

So, today's theme for wacky week was "Rainbow Day" in which kids wore as many colors as possible. In the Slacker house, this is also known as "Let E pick her own clothes out" day. She definitely has her daddy's (lack of) fashion tendencies. Since it's still pretty warm this week, the girls took the opportunity to get one more wearing in of their Lilly dresses, and lord knows they are pretty darn colorful.

It also had rained here last night and was slightly overcast this morning. This coupled with Rainbow Day presented E with the perfect opportunity to wear her new rainboots and raincoat that Grandmom bought her to school (and also wear crazy colored socks on underneath). Poor thing has been itching to have an opportunity to wear this stuff for weeks...but we're in the midst of a drought.

Anyway, I took a picture of the girls before they headed off to school. I'm picking them up before lunch and my friend Heidi and her girls, Madelyn and Ellie are coming over. Then, Grandmom comes in town this afternoon. Should be a good day, indeed!

she's nothing if not inventive

When we moved into our current house, E was 11 months old. So, theoretically, we had to babyproof to a level that should be suitable for A. But, kids are like Cabbage Patch dolls and no two are alike. Things that escaped E's wonder and amazement have thoroughly captured A's, including the fireplace screen, electrical outlets and whatever is in cabinets.

The previous owners had latches on the cabinets when we moved in, but since E didn't care, we didn't bother to replace them when a couple of them broke. Until A got mobile. Give her 5 minutes in the kitchen and every piece of tupperware was pulled out as would the pots and pans (loudly). So we finally replaced the latches a few weeks ago.

Since then, A has not been happy. First, I found her hanging on the cabinet knob trying to open it. And then, tonight, A opened the cabinet as far as she could within the length of the latch, shoved her tiny little hand through the opening and pulled out a pot top.

The look of glee on her face as she banged it on the ground was just priceless.

oh noooooooooo!

It started out innocently enough. I started to love wine. Then, occasionally while watching the news, I'd start talking back to the TV. Next, one of the girls would have something on her face, I'd lick my finger and wipe it off. Then, when E became potty trained, I started ensconcing public toilets in layers upon layers of toilet paper prior to her using them so that she wouldn't come in contact with the seat. But the final straw was this morning as I frantically ran around cleaning my house in anticipation of the cleaning lady coming.

I'm becoming my mother!

I'm just joking...since becoming a mother, I've looked back on how my parents raised me with a sort of amazement that they did it with what seemed to be such ease and grace. I would love to be half the mother she was to me. And if you know or have heard stories about my mom, you know that she's much cooler than I ever will be.

But still, if I start telling really boring stories about Baton Rouge or getting in political arguments with anyone and everyone, you'll know the transformation of me into my mother will be complete.

when your life is a song...

We sing a lot here in the Slacker house. Not well, mind you...but there's a lot of singing going on. So, it's always funny how song lyrics slip into our everyday conversations.

Like tonight, E, A and I were playing with the fake food. I was "cooking" up some dinner, A was chewing on a corn cob, and A was making me a picnic. She was putting food into a basket, and when it was full she handed it to me.

"Here's your Easter joy, Mommy!" she said.

happy birthday, sweet baby a!

Today is A's birthday. And, in typical neglected second-child fashion, she is celebrating by getting shots and sent off to daycare...what fun! Tonight, we'll probably head to our favorite haunts -- Foster's Grille and Pickle Bob's for dinner and ice cream, and then home again to open the rest of her presents.

Honestly, I don't think there is anything more amazing that the changes that a baby goes through in the first year of life...and A is no exception. Here's a little snapshot of what A was like on September 25th, 2006 compared to today.

A: Way Back Then...

• Weight: 9 pounds 6 ounces (and no drugs for Mommy!)
  
• Length: 21 3/4 inches
  
• Hair: Short, straight and black
  
• Eyes: Dark gray, not open for too long of stretches
  
• Health: Not good. Spent first week in NICU with lung infection.
  
• Diet: IV fluids, then breastmilk
  
• Skills: None
  
• Likes: None
  

A: Today...

• Weight: 24 pounds even
  
• Length: 32 inches
  
• Hair: Crazy, light brown and curls
  
• Eyes: Big, beautiful blue eyes
  
• Health: Perfect!
  
• Diet: Anything and everything! Particular favorites include bananas, yogurt, pasta, and Pickle Bob's ice cream
  
• Skills: Impersonating Frankenstein (aka, walking); talking ("Uh oh!", "Mama", "Dada"); climbing the stairs; pulling sister's hair; playing musical instruments (cowbell and maracas are favorites)
  
• Likes: Laughing, music, peek-a-boo, chase, knocking over towers of legos and stacked cups
  

pictures!

As promised, here are some recent picture of the girls. Sunday, we celebrated A's birthday with presents and cake. (In case you were wondering, the boo boo on her nose is from a run-in with the pavement while honing her walking skills last week.)

Playing with A's present

Unsure about this cake thing

This stuff's not half bad

MMMMMMM...Cake!

Proud Big Sister

This week is "Wacky Week" at school, and today was Pajama Day. I'm not sure if we'll particpate in the other days of this week, but I jumped at the opportunity to cut out the extraneous step of getting the girls dressed this morning. E was pretty excited about Pajama Day, as she likes to wear her pajamas on a regular basis. In fact, she had me bring a spare pair of pajamas, in case she had an accident in the ones she wore.

Sitting on her new chair

Psyched it's not her uniform

is that a lizard in your pocket...

Yesterday, E and I went to Target to pick up a few things. One of those "things" ended up being a package of Dora puffy stickers. As we were headed through the store, E was checking out the stickers.

"It's erectile!" she said rather loudly.
"Uh...what?" I asked.
"It's erectile!" she answered.

I looked down and she was pointing at an Isa the Iguana sticker.

"OH!" I said "You're right! Isa is a reptile!"

what weekends were made for...

This weekend was absolutely fantastic in the Slacker house. No work and all play. Lots of football, good food, and time spent with family and friends.

Date night on Friday was fantastic. We went to the Rail Stop in The Plains...a town about 15 miles west of it. It was a very quaint little place and the food was fantastic....especially my salad (warm spinach with sauteed mushrooms, smoked bacon, goat cheese & balsamic vinaigrette). After dinner, we came back home and had some more wine and chatted with my mom.

On Saturday, we woke up, dressed the girls in their finest UVA garb (courtesy of my friend Liz) and headed down to "the Orange Birginya" (what E calls Charlottesville) for the UVA/Georgia Tech game. We were a little behind schedule, so we weren't able to get to some of the tailgates that we had wanted to. But we did get to see my friends Jenn and Brian who were up from Texas, which was good. The girls were absolute troopers. It was blazing hot, and they really were well behaved. A did conk out for most of the third quarter and with about 7 minutes to go in the game, E wanted to leave. But, they both had a great time and we would definitely take them again.

Today, we woke up and made blueberry waffles for breakfast. Then, John took A to the Teets to grocery shop and I took E to get her haircut and to Target. We played in the afternoon and had a small celebration for A's birthday. My mom came back over and we cooked out, gave her presents and had cake. She was a little unsure about the cake thing until she had a taste and then she went whole hog. We got pictures, and I'll try to post them soon.

All in all...it was just a great weekend. I'm sad to see it come to an end.

a year ago today...

I was pregnant. And bitter. Today was A's due date. And after being told week upon week that I could go any minute...there I was, still pregnant. And huge. This picture was taken in August, about a month before I was due.
Today is also E and A's friend Maura's 3rd birthday. Maura and E are beach buddies -- they've spent every New Year's together in Ocean City along with their friend Isabel, and they've been to the Outer Banks twice together. Happy birthday, Maura!

Maura and E at the Outer Banks, May 2006

Maura, Maggie, E, Chloe and Isabel, New Year's Day 2006

Maura and E at the Outer Banks, August 2005

Maura, E, and Isabel, New Year's Day 2005

the babysitter's club

Pop-pop is in Colorado this week enjoying a hiking trip with some high school friends leaving Nonna at home to hold down the fort. So, Nonna has graciously offered to watch the girls while John and I have a date-night tonight. We're headed out to The Plains for dinner at The Rail Stop. I'm excited.

Now, if you are familiar with the wedding and football habits of the Slacker family, you know that John and I travel sans E and A quite a bit. You also know that the girls go to "school", my euphemism for day care (this is a family trait...my mom would call the kennel where we would board our dog, Guinness, "camp"). So, what you might find surprising is that A has never been babysat by someone other than a relative, and E has only been watched by a non-relative once. (I'm not counting the couple of times we put E to bed and left her with a babysitter while she was sleeping.) Thanks family! You're the best!

The couple that holds the honor for the only non-relative to watch E are Bettie and David, and they watched her overnight while John and I went to his company Christmas party. Bettie had just moved to Dallas at the time, so we flew her up using frequent flier miles. The outing was very much a success, we returned in the morning to a happy, well rested E. But there were two minor problems: (1) they couldn't figure out the high chair, so the girl had to eat in a reclined position and (2) her diaper was on backwards. But, all's well that ends well...and if we could rope them into watching the kids again we'd do it in a heartbeat.

We keep saying that we need to find some teenager in the neighborhood -- although I think the sticker shock of the what they charge as opposed to our current babysitters (thanks again, family!) would be quite great! What IS the going rate these days?

e's new fashion obsession

So the other day I stopped in Target after a dentist appointment. I was going to get some new sippy cups for A and some shampoo for me. Easy peasy...so off I went without a cart or a basket.

Well, 20 minutes later I arrived at the checkout counter with the sippy cups and shampoo...as well as some night cream (and bonus body lotion), the economy package of tissues, four pairs of tights for the girls, a new spare outfit for A (leggings and a T) and one of these dresses for each of the girls.I thought these dresses were so cute and very Fall-like (it's been cool here, so I've got Fall on the mind). Apparently, E thought likewise. As soon as I showed it to her, she stripped down and put it on. This morning, she wanted to wear it to school. When I told her she had to wear her uniform, she wanted to put it in her Dora backpack to bring to school. When I got home from work today, she was already home and in the dress. She's been saying she wants to wear it on Friday when she doesn't have to wear her uniform...but it's supposed to be in the 80s. Guess I'll have to hide it before then.

little miss fickle

As we approach A's first birthday, we are starting to transition her over to whole milk. John and I determined that she was ready for this change in diet by looking in the cabinet, realizing we were almost out of formula, and figured buying a $5 gallon of organic whole milk was a lot more palatable than the $30 can of formula. Anyhoo...I decided to try to time the switch to formula along with a switch to the sippy cup. So yesterday I loaded up her lunchbox with two different sippy cups full of milk and sent her off to school.

When I got to school to pick her up, it turns out that A had other plans. She had flat out refused to drink anything all day until the teachers broke out the "emergency bottle" and put the milk in that. She then proceeded to drink both cups full of milk.

Her fickleness in what she drank from reminded me of when she first started at school. While she was eating some finger foods, but I packed her lunchbox with baby food figuring that it would be easier for all involved. However, one of the teachers pulled me aside after a week or so.

"We're having a lot of trouble feeding A," she told me.
"Oh, really?" I asked. "What's going on?"
"Well," the teacher continued. "She wants finger food. Cooper is eating things like Mac-n-cheese. When we try to give A a bite of her food, she pushes it away and starts pointing at Cooper's food."

The thought of my daughter saying in her best grunt and point "None of that pureed crap! Give me REAL FOOD!" cracked me up. But, it's pretty typical of A...she knows what she wants and lets you know what it is (and what it isn't).

Come to think of it...maybe I should find out what kind of sippy cup Cooper is using.

short end of the stick

So last night after dinner, John had to run up to the tire place to fix his tire (there was a nail in it). We decided to take the divide and conquer approach with the kids -- he took E with him and they went to "Cold Stuff" (as E likes to call it) while they waited, and I kept A with me for some playing and bed time. I certainly thought I had gotten the better deal in this exchange -- I could put A to bed, finish getting ready for tomorrow and even sit down and relax while John would be entertaining a sugar-hyped 3 year old that had the potential to be more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde when it came to waiting in the tire store.

However, as with many of my estimations in this variety, I was wrong.

It started off pleasant enough...we played chase and peekaboo. We shook the maracas and tambourine. We had some bottle. Then it was bedtime. I put her in her pajamas and she finished guzzling the bottle. We brushed her teeth and came back to her room. So far so good. Then A started crawling and making a beeline for E's room. I gave chase, swooped her up and carried back to her room with her facing out like in a baby bjorn. Apparently this performed the equivalent of the Heimlich maneuver on A, because she started spitting up all over her, me and her room.

Instinctively, I thrust my hand under her mouth and tried to catch some of it -- why is it that when your kid spits anything out of their mouth, you try to catch it? I mean unless it's money or diamonds it'll do fine on the floor -- but of course caught 1/30th of what came out. So I quickly changed ino my jammies, stripped A into her diaper, threw her in the crib and set off on trying to clean the whole mess up. A did not take kindly to being put in her crib prematurely and started screaming bloody murder so I took her out of the crib and went to grab jammies for her.

Since it's been pretty cool at night, I wanted her to wear long sleeves and pants. But the one that she was wearing were her only clean pair that still fit in this batch of clothes. So I had to run to E's room to grab a pair of her 2T PJs. During this time, A knocked over the lamp in her room, causing her to start crying because of the loud noise/utter darkness. So I run back in, turn on another light, throw the PJs on, get depressed because my sweet little baby can wear in 2T (they were big, but still!) and try to continue with the "bedtime routine" which has now gone to hell in a handbasket. By the time I get her settled and on her way to dreamland, I hear an ice cream covered E pounding up the stairs yelling "Mommy, I want FOUR stories tonight!"

So much for my relaxing evening.

hail to the redskins...

My 'Skins played a little Monday Night Football last night, where they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 20 - 12. While it certainly wasn't a pretty win and was way too close at the end, I love that I have some bragging rights when we go to NYC with the Philly crew in a few weeks.

that would be cool...

Every night before bed, E and I talk about her day and what's up for the next day. Last night I was giving E "the plan" for tomorrow. She asked me if I was going to work at home or go to my classroom (aka office).

"Where's your classroom?" she asked me.
"Ashburn," I told her.
"Where's Daddy's?"
"Herndon."
"Where's Grandmom's?"
"Shawnee, Ohio."
"Granddad's?"
"Ashland."
"Where's Kiki's?"
"Chicago."
"Uncle Steve's?"
"Chicago."
"We're going to visit Kiki and Uncle Steve." she said.
"Really?" I asked her. "Who's going to go?"
"You and me and Daddy and Baby A. We're going to get on a plane and Kiki will pick us up," she replied. "Or...Kiki and Uncle Steve could come visit me. That would be cool, too! Actually, that would be much better."

C'mon, Kiki and Uncle Steve...E wants you to visit!

weekend update

In honor of not having to work non-stop through the weekend, I actually took the weekend off from my computer. This was surprisingly less difficult than I had imagined (though I did peek at my e-mail on Saturday afternoon). I spent a lot of time playing with the girls, which was nice. Suprisingly, drop-off today was no worse than a usual Monday...sometimes when we have a lot of fun on the weekends, they are especially tear-y on Monday.

Saturday was John's birthday, and while we couldn't procure a victory against Florida for his beloved Vols....we could at least make the viewing a little more pleasant. For his birthday the girls and I got him a new TV for our family room. It's a bigger, flat screen thingamagig -- this is one aspect of technology that I defer to John on. But it sure is pretty, and we no longer have a need for the massive TV currently taking up 1/2 of my "formal" living room. Woo hoo!

E had lots of fun playing this weekend. She helped me make queso dip for the games on Saturday. Granted this involved emptying some cans into a bowl and the occasional stir, but she had to put on her apron and get a new spoon for each stirring session. She also went with me to the new Harris Teeter on Sunday. It was Sample-rama there for E -- she had free ice cream as we walked in, a sugar cookie at the door, and then samples of (and I'm not exagerrating) turkey, cheese, german chocolate cake, more cheese, bread and butter and then a big gulp of my coffee.

A is a walking machine these days. I would say she's about 50/50 walking to crawling now. She is also a big climber...she makes a beeline for the stairs whenever she gets a chance and is trying to figure out how to get herself up on the couch. We started the process of transitioning her over to whole milk (my baby is almost one!), with mixed results. She likes milk, but was not enraptured with the sippy cup it came in. She walked over to the kitchen island, where one of her earlier bottles was and started pointing and crying. Her other big thing is shaking her head no. When you tell her, "No thank you, A" as she's about to climb the stairs/pull her sister's hair/play with the electrical outlet/whatever mischevious thing she's about to do, she smiles, starts shaking her head and continues with whatever it is you are trying to get her to not do. Oh well, understanding is half the battle, right?

All in all, a good weekend indeed!

e's no picasso

A and E's Uncle Dave's birthday is next week, so last night John broke out the crayons and paper for E to make a birthday card. When I dropped her off at school yesterday, they were working on drawing lines and circles, so I told E,

"Maybe you should draw some lines and circles."
E happily obliged.
"Ooooo! I have an idea," I told E. "What about drawing a birthday cake?"
"Mommy, I can't draw a cake. I just learned how to draw circles and lines." she told me.

No wonder whenever you ask her what she's drawing, her answer is always "A rainbow." It is only made up of colored lines.

a first in the slacker house

Last night, I was finishing up with work when John went to give the girls a bath. I'm usually off-the-clock between 5:30 and 8:15 regardless of how busy I am so I can spend time with the girls and help put them to bed....but last night I just wanted to get the site launched. All of the sudden I hear John yelling.

"Alright girls, out of the tub! Uh...Katie...I'm gonna need some help up here."

Yep. A had pooped in the tub. Luckily both girls were swiftly removed and the offending items made it down the drain easy-peasy. But I had to laugh because in the three years that we've had kids, that was the first time that someone has pooped in the tub. Even as newborns, neither girl ever did. Hopefully, last night was the last time it ever happens as well.

5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Launch!

My project at work has finally launched. Hopefully things will finally settle down now.

she's a player

So A has really started to play with others more. When I picked her up at school today, her teacher mentioned that she and her boyfriend Cooper were racing today across the room. A was a bit of a cheat...they would both start out walking and then A would switch to crawling to win.

Tonight after bath was another rousing game of peek-a-boo while I was getting her dressed. She was covering her face with her towel while I said "Where's A?" So, cute.

This then evolved into Peek-a-boo, Mama edition. After I read her a story and sang her the bedtime song I always sing, she was fidgeting around to get comfortable while I rocked her. Suddenly, she sat up and shoved her Taggie in my face.

"Where's Mommy?" I asked...and she pulled down the blanket and laughed. We did that again and again (and again and again) for another 5 minutes before she finally put her head on my shoulder to start the rocking again. So cute.

pictures from the wedding

On Saturday, I flew down to Atlanta for my friend Steger's wedding. I met up with my sister Kara and friend Susie for a girls' night out (we left the husband and kids at home...or in Knoxville in the case of John). The wedding was tons of fun. The reception was held at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It just so happened that the Allman Brothers and The Dave Matthews Band where having a concert in Piedmont Park...so during the cocktail hour and whenever we went to get a drink at the bar (which, if you've been to a wedding with me, you know happens quite frequently), you could hear the concert. I also had fun catching up with our friends, Kerrie and Stacia and their husbands.

It was a whirlwind of a trip...but fun nonetheless. Here are a few pictures that Susie took!

Stacia, me, Kara, Susie, Kerrie

Steger, Kara, me, Susie

enough about me

The last few posts have really been all about moi, so I thought I'd give you a quick rundown on the girls. Exciting happenings in their world and, really, that's why I started this blog.

E is doing really well with the potty training. She's pretty much accident-free (except for poops) and stays dry at night. We're trying bribery for the poops -- but any and all suggestions from those who have been there/done that are welcome. She's also warming up to her new class -- even Miss Elizabeth (her teacher) said that she was suprised how well she has adjusted. She looks like such a little girl in her uniform and backpack. I'll try to post a picture as soon as I get a new battery for my camera.

A is walking more and more every single day. Before this weekend, she would walk if she was already cruising or if you stood her up...but now, she stands herself up and goes. This morning she made it from our bed into the bathroom without falling! At this rate she'll be full-blown walker by her birthday! She's also becoming so much more of a toddler. She loves to play chase and peekaboo...she just laughs and laughs. Oh...and she has a sign for milk...she goes to the cabinet where we keep the bottles, starts banging on it and whining. Not as elegant as the actual milk sign, but it gets the point across.

Anyway, I'll try to upload pics and/or videos this weekend. It's looking more and more (fingers crossed!) that I'll have some time!

diet starts tomorrow

So, I certainly haven't been eating so healthy in the past few weeks. And exercise? No way, no how. I'm well aware that I've probably gained a few pounds of late.

Last night the girls and I were playing chase/peek-a-boo around the kitchen island. This involved me at one point crawling on my hands and knees. E comes running over and starts to climb on my back.

"Mommy! Mommy! I want a ride. It's a cow ride! Moo, Mommy, moo!"

Uh, yeah. Diet starts tomorrow.

damned if you do...

So, I've been complaining about this to anyone within ear shot (or reading this blog), but work is absolutely crazy busy right now. Hopefully, the project will launch by Thursday and things will return to normal, but until then it's just overwhelming.

Anyway, after working 60 hours last week, flying to Atlanta and back in 24 hours over the weekend, working all Sunday evening, and then working a full day in the office yesterday, it would be an understatement to say I didn't want to cook. (Also, I would have been forced to McGyver some meal out of a can of artichokes, three overripe bananas, a carton of yogurt and frozen waffles -- which is about all we have in our house right now.) On the other hand, taking the girls to some sort of public eating establishment after a long day of school by myself (John was working late) wasn't exactly my idea of a good time either.

It was the classic dilemma -- which mode of feeding your children will be the least heinous choice? I chose Panera. I chose wrong.

First of all, E ran staight for the bread sample basket and grabbed four pieces, and touching countless others. She then proceeded to tell me she had to potty, which meant that I had to negotiate the three of us in the public restroom touching as little as possible without the aid of a stroller/sling/means of putting A down. Then, as I was ordering, I noticed E was touching the bundt cake that was not fully behind the sneeze guard. Once we finally got our food, A decided that every other piece of food was not worthy of her mouth and dropped it on the floor. The excursion was rounded out with one more trip to the potty and a tantrum about wanting a cookie.

But, we made it home in one piece, had fun playing chase around the kitchen island and having A show off her walking and climbing skills. (I turned around to make her a bottle and found her standing on one of E's chairs.)

And tonight for dinner, we're ordering pizza.

reunited...and it feels so good!

E-mails are flying fast and furious among ye old Kappa Deltas. Looks like we've got a little reunion in the works for November 3rd. Good times are sure to be had.

And tomorrow, I'm headed to the A-T-L for a wedding...going stag along with Kara and Susie. I need a girls night out (and an open bar) like nobody's business.

UPDATED: I just realized that I look really fat in that picture. In case you didn't know, the picture was taken at my sister Kara's wedding last year when I was 6 months pregnant with A. Little piece of trivia...that maternity bridesmaid dress was the only bridesmaid dress I ever wore after wedding.

shake that booty!

I love my husband. He's wonderful. But, if you know him, you know that he is absolutely, postively a guys guy. He lives and breathes sports -- basketball in the winter, baseball in the spring and summer, and then in the fall, it's football season.

Because of this, most people assume that John wants (or needs) a son. We get the "When will you be going for the boy?" question quite frequently. He's had people ask him if he was disappointed that A or E wasn't a girl. That last one he finds particularly offensive, because it couldn't be farther from the truth.

Granted, neither of my girls are truly girly-girls, but they aren't tomboys either. And John is wonderful with them. Today was a prime example. He was in charge of pick-up. When I got home, he and E were playing "fashion show". This involved strutting across the living room, shaking their booties and spinning. Even A was getting in on the fun.

Sure, on Saturdays he dresses them up in their Tennessee and Virginia garb...but it certainly is sweet to see him playing girlie stuff with the girls.

if my day job doesn't work out...

I can always consider becoming a sherpa. Why is it that the smaller the person, the more stuff you have to carry? Yesterday, when I picked up the girls from school, I found myself carrying:

• One set of car keys
  
• One cute 20+ pound toddler squirming to get down
  
• Two daycare issued lunch boxes
  
• One grocery bag filled with A's poop-covered clothing
  
• One grocery bag filled with E's pee-covered clothing from that day's accident
  
• Thirty-seven various art projects completed by E at school. (On a side note, what do you DO with all of them? I mean, I should probably keep a few around for the memories...but how do you determine which ones -- the crayon scribbled on construction paper or the macaroni and cotton balls glued to a paper plate?)

As we set out across the parking lot, E decides that she wanted to carry her own lunch box and she wanted to carry it right now. As it so happened, the strap to hers was wedged between A's heiny and my arm, which was also carrying the precariously stacked art projects. A's lunchbox, however, was easily accessible on the arm with the car keys and the grocery bags.

"Here, take this one," I say, offering her A's.

E took one look at the nametag and screamed, "No! I want MY lunchbox." And with that, she threw herself to the ground in protest.

After kicking myself for teaching her to read her name, I did what any other harried working mother of two would do...bent down, scooped her up and added one 30+ pound, kicking and screaming three-year-old to my load.

So after carrying all that to the car, I'm pretty sure with a yak and a pair of snowshoes, Everest would be a piece of cake.

milking it for all it's worth

I got home tonight right before it was lights out for E. Though Daddy had already read three books, I told her I'd read one more. I asked her which book she wanted to read, and she grabbed two of our current favorites are Owen and In My Heart (thanks, Kiki for the birthday gift!). I told her to pick one since it was so late and she had already heard some from daddy.

"How about two stories since I pee peed in the potty?" she asked.

Girlfriend has been pretty much accident-free since we went cold turkey last week. I wonder how long she's going to milk the praise and rewards for potty training?

she walks!

A is really mastering that whole walking thing. Here's a quick little video I took. She claps every time she stands up by herself...she's used to the cheers from Mommy and Daddy, I guess. (Sorry about the sideways-ness of the video...I can't figure out how to rotate it!)

labor day

Today, in honor of Labor Day, I'll be working all day long. The project I was hired to work on supposedly launches either Friday or Sunday (depending on who you ask), so I'll be busybusybusy working until then.

Daddy has whisked the girls out of the house for a day of fun and adventure. In typical Daddy fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants fashion, Daddy wasn't quite sure what they were going to do. Definitely breakfast. Maybe a playground. Maybe a trip to DC to see Bettie and David Dansby's new house. But, I sent them on their way prepared. E's got two spare outfits (including shoes) in her Dora backpack. A's got a bunch of diapers and a bottle in the diaper bag. Silky and Taggie are along for the ride in case a nap is needed. And they look cute as buttons. Here are pictures I took before I sent them on their way.

Have backpack, will travel

All dressed up and ready to go

The Three Musketeers

happy birthday, autumn!

Autumn and I met through our husbands (then boyfriends), who have been friends since they were roommates first year together at UVA. Friendships between signficant others is always a dicey prospect...it seems that a lot of time even though the guys get along, the girls not so much or vice versa. But not so with Autumn...I consider her to be one of my closest friends.

In the course of the 8 or so years that we've known each other, we've been through a lot -- engagements, weddings, pregnancies, trips to Antigua and the Outer Banks, a stolen golf cart -- to name a few. We have five beautiful girls between us. We have plans to hit NYC this fall and Ireland in the spring. And yet, the only picture I have of just the two of us is this:

That picture was taken in July 2004, when I was pregnant with E and she was pregnant with Maura...before she started lapping me on the kids.

Have a happy birthday, Autumn!

no one likes a napping a

A is down for a nap right now. Hopefully, she'll get a good one in, since yesterday she didn't get one in the morning (we were out running errands) and her afternoon one was cut short by E running in and yelling "Is Baby up from her nap yet?" in her face.

But, apparently, E isn't the only one who would rather play with A than have her sleep. On Friday, Miss Anya was telling me that her boyfriend Cooper kept crawling over toward her crib while she napped. And, when she finally did wake up, he started clapping.

On the walking front, she's been taking tons of steps today. It's so cute because every time she stands by herself, she starts clapping. I guess a girl can get used to all the applause.

guess i need to wear more sunscreen ...

During breakfast E yelled, "Look it's a picture of Mommy!"

And what was she looking at? This bottle.

you know what happens when you assume...

When E was about 5 months old, John gave her a bath by himself. He had done it before, but this time he couldn't find the usual bottle of baby shampoo. He picked up what he assumed was a new bottle and went about with the bath.

Needless to say, it wasn't shampoo. Rather, it was baby oil, and the result was this:

Well, tonight we noticed that E's eczema had flared up a bit. No biggie, it occasionaly happens. I asked John if he could put her special cream on, referring to the Rx steroid cream that we use when her ezcema really flares up.

"Yay! You have white legs!" I hear John yelling.
"That's funny, I thought the steroid cream was clear," I say to myself.
"White legs! White legs!" Elizabeth yells as she comes running in.

As she danced around I smelled the distinctive smell of Desitin.
It turns out John had rubbed diaper cream all over her legs. Granted, I had been raving that this stuff was practically a miracle cream in clearing up A's diaper rash, but I had assumed that he knew that wouldn't clear up eczema.

But, like they say, you know what happens when you assume.