yo shorty! it's your birthday!

What a difference a year makes! No, I'm not talking about how much E has grown and changed...I'm talking about how the Slackers went from small birthday celebrators to a 3-day birthday extravaganza! It was tons of fun but am I ever exhausted.

The festivities started on Saturday morning, when A and E woke up to find that Grandmom and Granddad had arrived while they were sleeping. Over the course of the day, both girls opened presents from them, including an Ariel gown for E and a Minnie Mouse outfit for A. Expect to see the Ariel gown in many pictures in the months to come, and A to be the cutest damn Minnie Mouse come Halloween time.


In the afternoon, my parents came over and bestowed their gifts upon E, including an Ariel lunchbox and slightly creepy Ariel doll that talks. (Noticing a theme, yet?)

Then it was party time! We had set up the neighborhood waterslide in our backyard and the kiddos had tons of fun on it. My mom made a chicken and rice salad, and John's mom made a pasta salad. I made my 9-layer dip and South Georgia caviar, and my mom made some dip that might have been entirely made of cheese. I also might have eaten half that dip over the course of the afternoon. We also had a wide selection of adult and kiddie beverages.

Before we knew it, it was time for cake! We ordered a Princess cake from Cold Stone which was a hit...most of the kids asked if they could have a Princess figure from the cake. Since E had no say in the flavoring, we were spared blue ice cream with gummy bear fillings, instead getting chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate cake.



After cake, E opened her presents. She got tons of cool gifts that I amE's totally psyched to play with. People started heading out, so we passed out the favors, which were cookies frosted in glass slippers, E's and stars. (Thanks, Nonna!) My parents stayed around to help polish off the dips and the wineclean up, and we had a great time chatting and watching Michael Phelps make history.

On Sunday, we headed out to brunch with John's parents before they left for home. We got home and everyone took naps, except for E, who played in her room while John and I were passed out on her bed. We took a nice walk around the neighborhood, and then came back home where we opened the family presents before dinner. E loved her Ariel t-shirt and nightgown, as well as her Princess tea set. She loved her UVA cheerleading outfit, but not as much as A did. Guess I know what to get A for her birthday now.


On Monday, the girls headed to school, with E carrying her new Ariel lunchbox. She walked into her classroom with the thing held over her head like it was the Stanley Cup and showed all of her friends in class. I came back with ice cream cups for her class' afternoon snacks. Honestly, I felt like a rock star and am seriously considering doing it more often, just so I can be considered the "Cool Mom."

Unfortunately, my plans to finish up a bit more work before picking the girls up for the day were thwarted by both girls (A's class came out on the playground and she saw me). John made it home early, and we headed out for E's birthday dinner. She picked a local dive pizza shop as her "special place." And because we are the biggest pushovers ever, we stopped at the soft-serve place next door for a final birthday treat.

We came home, got cleaned up and ready for bed (including extra long teeth-brushing!), and the birthday celebration (finally!) came to a close. We're definitely doing something low-key for A's birthday in September, but I must admit I had a lot of fun and E really enjoyed it.

I'm just glad I have 365 days until the next go-round.

four

My dear, sweet E,

You are four years old today. Just yesterday I was pregnant with you and now you are four. It's been a dizzying four years, and it's amazing to see how much you have grown and changed.

The first year, you went from needy, crying newborn to an energetic toddler. You learned many skills...you rolled, then sat, then crawled and then walked. You learned to communicate, first by crying and then smiling, babbling, and signing...and by your first birthday even said a word or two (I think...I wasn't blogging back then so we have no record. Sorry about that.)

Your second year, the words really started to come out. The experts talked about a language explosion...and sure enough around 19 months you started talking and have never looked back. Seriously. You talk *all* the time. I've even heard you talking in your sleep when I come in to check on you at night.

In your third year you became the big sister. You (sometimes begrudgingly) learned to share...especially, the time and attention and spotlight that you once had all to yourself. You became more independent, learning to entertain yourself while we were putting A down for a nap or changing a diaper, and then (finally) you were potty-trained.

In your fourth year, you became a big girl. You enjoy going to school and all the things that come with it, like friends and learning. You are well liked among your friends and play elaborate games of house in which you declare "I am the mommy." You are a wonderful big sister...you are A's biggest cheerleader, her protector, her teacher and, most of all, her friend. You are incredibly affectionate. Today, during your naptime when I was asleep on your bed and you were playing quietly in your room, you woke me up several times just to give me a kiss and tell me that you loved me. You are developing a sense of humor, learning knock-knock jokes and funny songs, and you have an infectious laugh that never fails to make me smile.

This year you have learned all about The Princesses. Long gone are the days of Dora (for you at least...A is just getting started) and all hail the doe-eyed Disney gals. At least once a day, you ask me if you are my princess and I always tell you that you are.

So happy birthday, Princess. I love you and am so proud of you.

the more things change, the more they stay the same

In true Slacker-style, I just realized that the anniversary of my first post came and went with no fanfare or celebration on my part. Maybe next year I'll get it together and do something cool.

I re-read some of my old posts. It's funny what a difference a year makes. Last year, I was talking about potty training E and buying her pull-ups...this year A's in the pull-ups. A was just learning to walk last year...now she's a running, jumping spitfire.

On the other hand, I remember that this time last year I had just gone back to work after taking time off when A was born. I remember thinking to myself that the balancing of work and home, the getting the kids to and from daycare, doing the day-to-day chores...all of it was *so* hard, but surely would get easier as the days and months went on. Unfortunately, this one hasn't changed so much.

Sure, it's gotten a bit easier. Both A and E love their school and their friends and their teachers...so there's not a lot of drama in drop-off anymore. But fitting everything in...spending time with John and the girls, work, getting stuff done around the house and maybe even eeking out some time just for myself...that really hasn't gotten any easier. It's really tough to do it all.

To quote Mary Chapin Carpenter...sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're bug.

This week I have feeling very very very bug-like. It all culminated last night, when E threw a tantrum outside of Pizzeria Uno. I told her we would not go in if she didn't shape up in 3...counted...and then all hell broke loose. I had to carry her kicking and screaming back to the car along with A. I had to strap her into her seat as she tried to hit and pinch and scratch me. When I finished and went around to strap in A she had gotten out of her car seat. So, I threw a tantrum, too.

I yelled at her when I should have just hugged her. I buckled her in and slammed her car door shut rather than closing it like an adult. And while her tantrum was longer and bigger and louder...mine was a thousand times worse because I'm the parent and I should know better.

On the ride home I apologized to her for acting the way I did, and drove one-handed so that I could hold her hand with the other one. We hugged and snuggled and played the rest of the evening after a dinner that she devoured in the comfort of her own home. I imagine for the most part that what happened last night barely registers in her memory any more. Oh, how I wish I could say the same for me.

Luckily, we've got a big weekend planned for her birthday. Her party is tomorrow and she is super-excited for that. And her actual birthday is on Monday...I'll be bringing in a snack and possibly a craft in for her class. I still need to figure out what the Food Nazis will and will not allow snack-wise, but she's very excited about that as well.

I'm sorry this is such a downer of a post...it's just been a really tough couple of weeks in Slackerville. So, in effort to look at things on the bright side...at least E's tantrum meant that we wouldn't have to suffer like we did last time we went to dinner at Pizzeria Uno.

like christmas in august

When we pulled up the drive today, there was a big box on the front step. Both E and A got out of the car and went directly to see what it was. By the time that I got all of my work bags and their lunch bags out of the car, they had torn open the box and were screaming wildly.

"Dora, Mommy! It's Dora!" they squealed.

So what got delivered, you wonder...an early birthday present for E, perhaps?

Nope. Two packages of Dora Easy Ups for A.Hmmmm...perhaps I can lower my standards when trying to find the perfect gift for E.

three cheers for dramamine!

On Friday, the Slackers hit the road again to head back to Kentucky. John and his brother were hosting a birthday party in honor of his parents' 60th birthdays. I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing because A threw up on every leg of the trip we took back in July. So I called the ped and got the OK to give her Dramamine though she isn't quite two. When E saw me give A her dose, she immediately started begging for one. Since drowsiness is a side-effect E has on occasion gotten car sick, I gave her one, just to be safe.

I'm happy to report that there was no puking in the Slacker car this entire weekend! The drowsiness claim is kind of buptkus...neither kid slept all that much, which meant we got to listen to The Little Mermaid/Dora/Max and Ruby/Lauri Berkner for hours on end from the portable DVD players. Guess who's getting new DVDs for their birthday? Because really, if I hear Dora's City of Lost Toys one more time...I'm going to puke.

And the rest of the weekend? Great fun! The party was a success...with tons of people there to wish Grandmom and Granddad happy birthdays. Earlier in the day, Grandmom, Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Paul wore the girls out with back to back trips to the park and pool...resulting in THREE hour naps for both girls. So, the girls were totally adorable and well-behaved throughout the evening. E even made it without *touching* the two cakes...though she kept bringing random people by to see them like a pint-sized tour guide.

So we are home and totally exhausted. But there's no rest for the weary. E's birthday party is this weekend. So we have to do stuff in preparation for that...you know, little things like send out the freaking invitations!

One of these days I'll get it together...I swear!

five rings at four in the morning

So the opening ceremony of the Olympic games is tonight. Four years ago, the Olympics were held a little later in August. How do I know? Well, I spent countless hours of the day and night with the Olympics on as background noise as I took care of a newborn E.

Okay, so this really isn't a newborn E...she's about 2 months here...but how damn cute is this picture?

In the days before we had TiVo/DVR, we welcomed Greco-Roman wrestling, track and field, swimming, diving and other summer sports being broadcast at all hours of the night. John and I would evaluate sports on whether or not we'd want E to play in between feedings and pumpings and rockings-back-to-sleep (and massive bouts of crying on both my and E's part...but I digress).

Now, four years later, that 8 pound baby we were so in awe of is a four-year-old girl who sleeps like a rock, eats like a champ and loves any and all sports we throw her way...and still perpetually awes us with the things she says and does.

The Olympics this year (and in four years and four years after that) will likely go fairly unnoticed in the Slacker house. Sure we may watch an event here and there, but we're just not Olympics people. But every time the summer Olympics start from now on, John and I will sit back and remember those Olympics in Athens...where we were and what we were doing.

charm school teacher, i am not

So a few weeks back, I posted a video of the girls in which I tried to use The Princesses and Diego to encourage good manners. Here's a video where I kind of completely do the opposite.

This was shot when I was recovering from my sinus infection and had discovered that gargling made me feel better. E can gargle like a champ...and A gets bogged down by the details (namely: needing a water to gargle...apparently her sippy of milk didn't make the grade). What cracks me up in this video is you can see A's famous "mouth-nod" right at the end. Enjoy!

eyes on the prize

I have a confession to make. A few weeks ago, my sweet, loving E hit the terrible twos, about two years too late. Tantrums are not cute in a 2-year-old...but they are just a big pain in the ass in an almost-4-year-old. Not only that, she was starting to misbehave in school, which presents a special challenge in trying to discipline since (1) I was not there and (2) it occurred sometimes hours before I got there.

Enter the Good Day chart. Nonna reminded me of this little gem that Kiki uses in her classrooms. (I'm sure Kiki would have reminded me herself if she hadn't been gallivanting all over Asia...but I digress.) The concept is simple enough: everyday we ask the teacher how E behaved. If she had a good day, she gets a sticker. Five good days earns a prize. Prizes could be anything from going to get ice cream, eating out, a new book, staying up later than A, watching a movie.

The chart itself is a piece of construction paper with "E's Good Day Chart" on the top, and some boxes across it with the word PRIZE! after every 5 boxes. I would show you a picture but it's kind of embarrassing on how shoddy it looks -- I mean I didn't even use my best sorority girl penmanship to put dots at the end of the letters or anything. But, it's serving it purpose and E is totally psyched to get stickers on it.

Let me tell you, the difference in her behavior has been amazing. She has almost totally stopped the tantrums, the teachers at school have been reporting good behavior and use the stickers as a warning to her to shape up. This week she became eligible for her first prize. What did she get? A package of Ariel (and only Ariel) underwear. Girlfriend was uber-psyched and told me that she was going to wear the first pair for a week, and then change into the second pair.

I smell an "E's Good Hygiene Chart" coming on...

dear sweet baby a's molars...

I know that you are called two-year molars and all, and A doesn't officially "get 2" (to quote her sister) until the end of September...but could you just hurry up and come in? This teething thing is getting really really really old.

First of all, A is not her usual jovial self. In fact, I'll be blunt here...she's pretty damn cranky. It's hard to cook dinner, get dressed in the morning, or even wash my hair in the shower if I have to hold a 30 pound toddler at all times. But any time I try to put her down there's just too much squawking and it hurts my ears.

Secondly, she's back to not sleeping as well. Sure...she's only whining once or twice a night and only needs a pat on the heiny or a quick rock to return to slumber land. But that is interrupting *my* beauty sleep. And preventing me from getting up early in the morning so I can work out (hmmmmm...maybe this one isn't so bad).

Then there's the drool. Dear lord, the drool! Drool is not cute in a 5-month-old baby...it is downright disgusting in a toddler. When I picked her up at school yesterday, she had drooled through *three* shirts. Three! She's the Niagara Falls of saliva at this point.

I know you aren't supposed to want your baby to grow up too fast...but puh-leeeese let's just get past this whole teething stage, okay? Four more teeth...that's all I ask.

Thanks for your consideration,

eight is great! (and keeps us up late!)

So on Friday, the Slackers headed into DC to see the Reds take on the Nats. After a pretty whiny drive into the city, John and I were a little nervous on how it would all play out. Turns out we had nothing to worry about. In fact, the worst part was the few harrowing minutes when I had to wrangle both girls on a city street while John ...ahem... purchased tickets from a nice young man who could not make it to the game. During this time, E stuck her hand in gum (not her own) and A thought she'd play a few rousing games of catch me if you can while sprinting into a crowd of people towards the street.

We had great seats in the lower level. The girl in front of us was picked for one of those time-fillerr contests, so our section won gift certificates to the ESPN Zone and the whole fam made it on the JumboTron when she was on camera. Then, in true It's a Small World fashion, our friends John and Courtenay ended up sitting two rows in front of us...so we were able to spend a good portion of the game chatting with them. (Well, John chatted, I entertained the girls...)

And the girls? Total rock stars. They had a great time eating their stadium food dinner (hot dog for A, pizza for E) and then cotton candy for dessert. We actually convinced E that the cotton candy guy checks to make sure you have eaten your dinner prior to giving you the cotton candy, which worked well in our favor. They watched some fo the game, played with the ample amount of toys we brought and generally had a good time. The lady sitting behind us remarked at how well behaved they were, which is always a bonus.

At the seventh inning stretch, we took a potty break, stopped by to say HI to another friend at the game, and then decided to head home. It was 10 PM and the eighth inning. The girls both crashed on the way home and got carried up to bed without a peep. Here are some pictures from the evening.

On the way to the stadium...


Sharing the $6.00 bottle of water (yikes!)

The Slackers

Cotton Candy!

Mama's Sunglasses provide an inning's worth of fun!

The rest of the weekend was pretty fun. John took the girls on a little bonding trip on Saturday while I got to go shopping and get a pedicure. Pure heaven. We made pizzas on Satuday night (E was a big help) and then John and I watched The Other Boelyn Girl with a bottle of wine. On Sunday, the girls and I made pancakes, and then they played most of the day on the water slide with the neighbors. All in all a good summer weekend.

don't believe the hype

So the Cincinnati Reds are in town for a weekend series against the Nats. John is pretty psyched about it. I know, you're thinking "Cincinnati? I thought John was from Tennessee?" Well, John's actually from Kentucky, but is a huge Tennessee fan despite having actually matriculated at Virginia. But because Cincinnati is the closest MLB city, there's where you have the undying loyalty. But don't worry, even I get confused and I've been putting up with this shit with him for 10 years now.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right. The Reds are in town, and John reeeeeeeeally wants to go to the game tonight (and Sunday, too, but that's not important right now). We did try to call our babysitter, but she works until 6:30, which is too late for us to get to the game. So we decided that we are going to take the girls to the game!

I'm not sure how this is all going to play out. I'm not concerned for E...the kid has been to tons of sporting events in her life (college football, college basketball, NFL, NHL, MLB). She actually was put up on the JumboTron one time at a baseball game. She also has the ability to stay up until midnight and wake up the the next day as refreshed as if she got a full night's sleep. But, A's a bit more of my pumpkin. She gets tired, and she lets you (and the 50 people immediately surrounding you) that she's tired. And, while she's been to a couple of games here and there, but still doesn't have a long attention span.

I think John is a bit nervous about how much of the game he'll actually get to see. So, he started the Baseball Games are F-U-N! campaign this morning.

"Hey, girls! I was thinking...do you want to go to a place tonight that serves pizza?"
"Yes!" E screams, while A mouth-nods furiously.
"How about pizza AND ice cream AND pretzels?"
"Yes!" the girls scream.
"How about pizza AND ice cream AND pretzels AND cotton candy?"
"Yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeessssssssss!"

Needless to say, the girls are very excited about going to the game tonight. I'll be bringing my camera, so hopefully I'll be able to capture the family fun.

Wish us luck. Wish us all, lots and lots of luck.

the understudy

Last night, I was cooking while A was playing quietly with the dollhouse and E was peppering me with an endless string of questions regarding the specifics/reasons/motivations behind the food preparation (What's that Mommy? Garlic. Why is it garlic? It is. What's that, Mommy? A garlic press. Why are you putting the garlic in a garlic press? To squish it. Why is the garlic squished? I put it in the garlic press. Why are you putting the squished garlic in the pan with the spinach. Why are we eating spinach? Why? Why? Why?). Suddenly, E and I heard a yelp from the family room.

"What's the matter, A?" I asked.
"Kneeeeee," she replied.

I started to wash my hands to tend to my ailing daughter when E said,

"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll get her."

She walked over to A...squatted down in front of her and asked in her best sing-song voice,

"Ooooooo, A. Are you hurt?"
A responded with her mouth-nod (she opens and closes her mouth when answering in the affirmative).
"Can you show me where it hurts?" she asked again.
A pointed to her knee.
"Do you want me to kiss it?"
A responded with her mouth-nod. E bends over, gives A's knee a big, slobbery kiss.
"There you go! All better!" E shouted.

Once she learns the fine art of diaper-changing, I'll be ready to hand over the Mama role to E a night or so a week...the leading lady needs a rest every now and again, ya know?

a bunny tale

As I was cleaning up after dinner and the girls were coloring, I noticed a bunny hanging out in our backyard near the slide. With the kitchen window muffling the screams of "BUNNY!" and "BE QUIET, A! YOU'LL SCARE THE BUNNY!", he felt comfortable enough to lie down with his legs splayed out in all four directions and his little cottontail sticking up in the air.

Me: Look at that bunny just maxin' and relaxin'.
A: Mack-in an re-ack-in.
E: Yeah, that bunny's Jackson and ...what did you say was his brother's name?

i wanna do-over!

So the weekend wasn't all it was cracked up to be as I was sick the entire time. Doctor Nonna diagnosed me with a sinus infection...and I got a second opinion from Doctor Google which confirmed that. So, our date night on Saturday night? Cancelled. Plans for a pedicure? Gone. Escaping over to Marathon Mom's house to buy cute jewelry? Nope.

John was a total super dad on Saturday and took the girls as I wallowed about the house in my own misery. And the girls and I headed down to Nonna and Poppop's on Sunday which was nice. I must admit, the girls are getting to be totally easy and portable. All I did was fill up a sippy cup of whole milk for A, buckle the girls in their seats and we were off. Gone are the days of packing lists, diaper bags, toy bags, etc. for a little jaunt somewhere.

Oh and the "potty training" for A? Let's just say that her newest trick was to run to the bathroom yelling "Pee pee on pah-tay", so I would come in and yank down her pull-up...only to have me realize that she had pooped. Ew. Let's just say she'll be wearing diapers at home for the forseeable future.

my (other) girl wants to potty all the time

So, apparently some of A's friends at school are in the beginning stages of potty training. So, for the last few days, A has been joining them on their frequent jaunts to the pint-sized potty in their room. And a couple of times, she's actually gone pee pee in the potty. And they've been throwing her in the spare pull-ups they have in the room (bonus! pullups get pricey!).

So, the teachers now have hoop dreams of A potty training soon. Me? I'm thinking I still have a few months. Because she for all of her success at school, she hasn't actually peed in the potty at home. And, it's not like we don't put her on the thing.

Here's the problem...all this pottying is kind of annoying. She asks to pee in the potty *all the time*, only to do nothing, shove half a roll of toilet paper in the toilet, flush 7 times, and get water all over the sink in an effort to wash her hands. And yesterday, while I was using the potty myself, she flung open the door and shouted,"Pee pee in pah-tay!" all the while yanking on my saddlebags legs to try to physically remove me from the toilet.

And have I mentioned her penchant to strut around the house with the Elmo potty seat around her neck like a necklace? Ew.

In other exciting news, it should be a great weekend in Slackerville. We are picking the girls up early from school and heading to the pool. Then we're making homemade pizza for dinner. We've got date night on Saturday night. (thanks for all of the advice! So helpful...though I feel slightly freakish that I've never really done this before!) John's playing golf on Sunday morning...so I think I'm going get a little pedicure on Saturday (tit for tat, you know).

And the potty...I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time in the potty.

the babysitter's club

One of the "teachers" in A's class in the afternoon is this super-cute teenager, Miss Jessica (or "Meece Jay-he-ka!" if you ask A). She's a recently graduated high-schooler and works there in the afternoons. And she looooooooooooves A (and has told me as much). Well, we found out about a month ago that she lives around the corner AND does outside babysitting! So yesterday, I finaly worked up the nerve to ask her if she was free to watch the girls on Saturday night.

Lo and behold, she said YES!

Now I'm super-excited that we have a night out...but I'm also kind of panicking. Because, even though they go to daycare every damn day...the girls have really never had a non-family member babysitter at night or on a weekend. Crazy...I know!

So, you ladies who are regular babysitter users...give me the scoop!

• What's the going rate for a babysitter?
  
• If she comes over at 6PM, I'm assume that we provide dinner (i.e., pizza) for her and the girls...or is that dumb?
  
• Anything else I should know?
  

my girl wants to party all the time

Lest you think I do not live up to my name of Slacker Mama, I have a confession to make. I have never thrown either of my girls a birthday party. For E's first birthday, we did have a shin-dig, but it was more of a house-warming thing as most of our friends had not been to our house yet. Sure there were cupcakes, but the beer-to-sippycup ratio took away any sort of official "kid's birthday party" status we had hoped to achieve. For her second birthday, it was a playdate, really, that John didn't even attend. And last year, we had a small family bar-b-que for E and poor A got cake with her immeidate family and Nonna.

But this year, things will be different. Not because I am hankering to throw some sort of elaborate birthday party...but because E is well aware of the concept of birthday parties. Pretty much everyday, she will talk about something that will "be at my birthday party when I turn 4." She also is aware that other parents actually celebrate birthdays at school, too...which means I will also be forced to schlep some sort of healthy, individually-packaged, nut-free celebration treat (damn you, school food nazis!) for her classmates to enjoy. Apparently when I said, "Oh I'm not going to do anything big for her birhdays until she notices" really meant "until she turns 4."

Yesterday, a copy of Oriental Trading Company's catalog came in the mail. Not sure how I ended up on this mailing list...but a copy usually shows up every other week and promptly ends up in our recycling bin before even making it into the house. Somehow, E got her hands on it...and has been poring over it like it was the most intriguiging novel ever written. She took it to bed with her last night, and wanted to show her friends at school today. She has determined that she will have The Princess crap stuff at her party when she turns four. To make matters worse, even A has been looking at this thing and points at the Dora and Diego parties while squealing.

Sooooooo...check your mailboxes...'cause if I can't figure out a way to get out of it The Princess Party of the century is coming soon!

hey, look! it's the slackers!

A while ago, I complained that despite being A and E's actual parents, there was very little documentation via photographs of this point. So, on Sunday before we left for home, I forced A and E's Grandmom to take a few.

Apparently as a familial unit, we do not take good pictures. This would be our best photo:


Actually, the rest of the family looks cute. But, for the love of all things holy...why didn't anyone tell me that my two-tone hair is in desperate need of a root touch-up? Not to mention, what's the dealio with the triangle-ness fof the style? And, at 5'7", I should not look that much shorter than John. Am I going to have to go to Tom Cruise's cobbler for heel lifts?

Anyway, it's day 2 of my meeting, so hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post about all of the funny and cool stuff the girls have done and said of late. 'Cause there's lots.

just another manic monday

We are back from our four-day trip to Kentucky. It was tons of fun...John got some golf in, the girls have bonafide tans (despite liberal sunblocking) from all of the time spent in the pool and we got to spend some quality time with Uncle Dave before he moves to the Lone Star state to start business school.

There are so many things I could talk about, but alas, I'm stuck in a 2-day-long meeting for work, including a dinner tonight...so I can't (not right now, anyway)! I will point out there are so many ways that I see myself in the girls...like A's tendency to get car sick, since I spent the better part of family roadtrips nauseous and in the front seat. And then, they'll do something where John and I look at each other and ask if there was a mix-up at the hospital...like when we were standing in Mincers, on our dinner stopover, having E beg us for a UVA cheerleading outfit (we relented and got it for her).

Edited to Add: I re-read that last sentence and thought it sounded snarky and anti-cheerleader. I have nothing against cheerleaders, in fact some of my best friends are cheerleaders. But John and I are constantly baffled how such a definitively non-girly couple such as ourselves can produce such a pink-, Princess-, dress-, and all-things-girly loving *girl*.

Hope everyone had good weekends!

phone-it-in friday

I've been working like a dog this week, combined with a little road trip...I'm just not feeling inspired today. So here's what Monday night's dinner looked like Chez Slacker. John worked late, so it was me and the girls. We're trying to get E to eat less like a neadrthal toddler, so the focus is on manners. And who better to teach manners than the glamorous, beautiful Princesses? According to A...everyone's favorite animal rescuer.

who wore it best? another fashion face-off

Proving once again that Jennifer Garner and I would *totally* be best friends if we knew each other in real life, my girls and her girl are both rocking the same head apparel again! Back in December, it was winter hats. Now? It's Sesame Street piggles. While A stays loyal to Elmo...Violet likes a little Elmo / Oscar tag team.

Who wore it best? Sweet baby A or Violet?

I think this is also a great time to clarify my stance on character clothing...as I'm sure you are clammoring for my definitive word. Before I had children, I was against character clothing on all levels. However, since I had children who are capable of throwing temper tantrums in the middle of Target, I allow character clothing in three areas: pajamas, hair accessories and (totally against my will) bathing suits.

How about you? What's your character clothing stance? And, how much has it changed since children were born?

One thing that will never change for me...adults in character clothes. No thank you...not even at Disneyland. And, yeah, Mariah Carey...that goes for you, too.

monkey see, monkey wear

You might know how E and I feel about her school's uniform policy. You also might have noticed that I'm a big fan of the matching outfits. So, when E came in and saw what A had picked out to wear today, she insisted on wearing her version of the outfit today as well. And since we are seeing Grandmom, purchaser of said adorable outfits...how could I refuse?

I thought the bananas were a nice touch, considering the title. Get it? Bananas...monkey. Damn, I'm *funny*

wishful thinking, meet reality check

Just an FYI...when your just-in-from-the-waterslide 21-month-old daughter tells you "Pee pee pah-ty", by all means, plop that little heiny on the toilet. But don't leave her unattended while you go answer the phone. Otherwise, you might come back to this:Sigh. Another roll of toilet paper down the drain.