don't trust her with state secrets

On Sunday (Christmas Eve Eve), John and I had to run to the mall to pick up some things we needed for the funeral. When we got home, John took E upstairs and I settled in on the couch to veg for a few seconds. Suddenly, E comes bounding into the room.

"Mommy, I've got a secret! You've got Crocs!"
"Huh?" I asked.
"It's a suprise. Daddy bought you Crocs for Christmas! And I helped hide them. It's a secret, Mommy! You're getting Crocs! Right, Daddy?"

quick little update

I've really not had a chance to post for a while...we've been very busy here with both Christmas and everything surrounding Maud's passing. The funeral was on Monday. It was very nice. John and his brothers spoke. A and E were (relatively) well-behaved during it all.

Christmas was great. E was definitely psyched to see that Santa had been there. "He ate the cookies, and the reindeer ate the carrots!" she said as she checked the plate by the fireplace. "And look! He made a fire for us!"

She also really loved the dress-up clothes that Santa brought, prompting a new rule of "no dress up clothes outside the house". I don't mind going places with her dressed in her crazy fashion sense, but I refuse to be seen in public with a 3-year-old saloon beer wench.

A also liked Christmas. Her little piano has gotten lots of use, and she was very psyched about the Curious George DVD and the Diego coloring book in her stocking (though we've had to "read" her the coloring book a few times). But she had the most fun in a big box with a ton of tissue paper in it. Hours of fun for her!

We'll be heading back home on Saturday, so hopefully I can post some pictures or videos soon.

car trip + portable dvd player = trouble

What do you get when you combine a 6-hour car trip, a portable DVD player playing Dora the entire time and a 15-month-old?

A serious addiction, apparently.

We made it to Ashland in relatively one piece. A got car sick with about 45 minutes to go in the trip. Ritz Bits cheese crackers and the WV Turnpike do not mix well, apparently. But, they were pretty entertained with the DVD player. No big deal, right? Well, A now loves loves loves Dora and Diego. The last two days we have had to physically restrain A from the presents under the tree with Dora wrapping paper. And when we were in the Kroger, she started screaming bloody murder for the Diego yogurt. Apparently, she's going to be more of an addict than E. That's what you get for starting them young.

Oh, and E is becoming her mother's daughter. When I was a little girl (okay, even last year) my dad would tell me nightly that we could open a present early...and I would fall for it every time. Since we've gotten to Ashland, E has asked me approximately eleventy thousand times if we can open presents now. In a few years, I'll have hours of fun tormenting her in the same way.

In sad news, John's grandmother passed away yesterday. She was 94 years old. John's parents, his brother Dave and John were all there. The funeral is tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

when all else fails...

Pack everything you own. I've...um...gained a few pounds of late, which has limited my already limited wardrobe. So packing for this trip has been a little more stressful than usual. I've just laid out most of what I'm going to pack on my bed. It's litterally anything I've bought in the last 5 months, as well as anything that recently has fit me, sort of fit me or I wish would fit me. I've also thrown in my workout clothes, for good measure. Because, really, being on vacation over Christmas is the perfect time to start an exercise routine!

conference call fun, part two

It's haiku time!

My house is filthy
Cleaning ladies did not come
No clean house for me

Update!
Cleaning ladies came!
Yay! Better late than never!
My house will sparkle again!

conference call fun

Thus far, while on my morning conference call, I've:

• Put away my dishes


• Addressed two more Christmas Cards


• Elfed the Slackers


• Refilled my coffee mug


• Cleaned off my desk


• Wrote this post

If they ask me a question, I'm so screwed.

you. must. comment.

I was all set to write a woe-is-me post about how I'm overworked, underappreciated, overweight and undermedicated. But then, I dropped the girls off at daycare. And, A's teachers had a little present for her. And John and I have not gotten the girls' teachers anything yet. So I need to. Today.

According to my elementary school teacher sister, gift cards are always appreciated rather than random crap. So, I'm thinking Target gift cards. Unless you think Panera or Starbucks will be better. (What if they don't like overpriced sandwiches or coffee, though?) But how much? Remember I have to buy four teacher gifts. Is $15 too cheap? $20? $10?

So, comment. Now. Tell me your vote on Gift Card store AND denomination.

Miss Anya, Idalia, Elizabeth and Robin thank you in advance.

are quirks genetic?

The reason I ask is that two of E's quirks are now starting to show up in A.

First of all, both girls love love love the shower. If they see you are in the shower, they are either stripping down and climbing in before you know it (in the case of E) or trying to climb in fully clothed (in the case of A). And now getting them out has become a struggle. This morning, they both joined me. I got out, dried off, put my robe on and went to get A. The little booger stood in the far corner of the stall so I couldn't reach her without getting totally soaked again. When I opened the shower door to get E out, she tried to get *back* in. Two little water monkeys we have.

Secondly, A is starting to display E's...uh..."colorful" fashion sense. We were downstairs getting our shoes on and I ran into the laundry room to get a pair of socks for A from the laundry basket. A followed me in, and came out with a pair of E's crazy socks -- pink and yellow and green and white with polka dots and stripes and wavy lines. When I tried to put the white socks on her, she shook her head vigorously and handed me the crazy pair.

They can be so different from one another...it's kind of cracking me up how they can also be so alike.

houdini in shopping cart

Last night, John had a business dinner so it was just me and the girls. We didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping this weekend, so I needed to run to the store and pick up a few things to get us through the week. So, I picked the girls up from school, and off we went to Panera for a little dinner.

Panera was the same old, same old. E kept trying to steal A's yogurt. A kept trying to steal E's PB&J sandwich. E had to potty which meant that I uttered at least a thousand different variations of the phrase "No touching anything!" Then we headed on over to Giant.

Giant has tried to renovate to keep up with the new Harris Teeter and the impending Wegmans...but it still sucks in my book. For example, the car carts were tiny and the three that I saw all had broken seatbelts. Undeterred, I shoved the girls in the car and off we went.

There were the requesite "Mommy, A's taking up the whole car" complaints from E, a few howler monkey screeches from A, but it was fairly uneventful. Until we got to the dairy section, where E and I had to go through every option of yogurt available to her. Diego or Yo baby? Diego. Cup or tube? Cup. Peach or Strawberry? Strawberry. Satisfied with her choice, I started walking toward the milk. Until I heard A yelling...and walking toward me.

She apparently had slipped out of the cart and was checking out the refrigerated foods, completely unbenknowst to me. Granted, she was only 3 feet away from me, but MAN did my heart skip a beat...and did I feel like a bad mommy. So for the rest of the trip, I held her tight and navigated the 10 foot cart with one hand.

Good times, I tell you.

e's great idea, part 2

Today, E came downstairs wearing her brand new sock monkey PJs, courtesy of Nonna and Pop-pop.

"I have a great idea," she said.
"What's your great idea, E?" I asked.
"How about if we wore our pajamas all day long and slept really late. Maybe when I get bigger I can sleep in your bed with you and daddy, too."
"That sounds like a great idea, E."
"Can I wear my pajamas and bathrobe to school today?"

Unfortunately for E, her uniform shirt, jeans and running shoes had to do.

e's great idea

E came downstairs this morning, came over to me on the couch, snuggled up close to me and said,

"Mommy, I have a great idea!"
"What, E?" I asked.
"How about for breakfast we either have cookies or chocolate?"

Unfortunately for E, Honey Bunches of Oats had to do.

Oh, my dad has "Elfed" himself, my mom and the girls. Check it out!

click!

E's had her digital camera for less than 24 hours...and she has taken over 125 pictures. Granted, there are a lot of shots of the floor, the couch, the ceiling. But there are also tons of shots of our noses, chins, hands, necks and feet.

The funniest thing? E busting while John was potty and yelling "I wanna take your picture!"

I'll try and download some of her pictures today. Ansel Adams she is not.

are we in the north pole, mama?

So today was our big Breakfast with Santa. Luckily, we avoided a huge "E is terrified of Santa" crisis by getting that out of the way on Friday night instead. The local fire department drives a decorated fire truck with Santa around the neighborhoods in December, and last night they came to ours. John and I raced the girls outside when we heard the sirens.

"Where are we going?" E asked me as we went outside.
"To see Santa, E! He's coming here on a fire truck!" I told her.
"NO MOMMY! I'M SCARED! I WANT TO GO INSIDE!"

Luckily she put on a brave face while hanging out with the other neighborhood kids. And then he came. He stayed a far distance away (on the top of the truck), but threw out candy, so E instantly loved him again. Though, John said that she told him that she didn't want to eat breakfast with him, but he could stop by her house and leave her presents.

This morning, though, she sang a different tune. She happily put on her Santa dress and we piled in the car for breakfast. We headed to the next community over, and when we stopped, E asked me, "Are we in the North Pole, mama?"

The breakfast was great, and the girls ate a ton. The Santa was very nice, and you could take your own pictures. And, since there wasn't a line to see him, all my babes got a turn with Santa, letting the big guy know what they wanted under the tree this Christmas.

Two Girls and a Claus

"I'd like a baby in a box with milk in a bottle..."

"I'd like to get off your lap, scary guy with the beard."

"I'd like Gator Bowl tickets and a case of Coors Light..."

Afterward, John's Aunt Kathleen came to exchange gifts. The girls got tons of cool stuff, including some puzzles, musical instruments and E got a kid-proof digital camera. Aunt Kathleen brought her fancy Digital SLR camera, and got a decent family shot of us in front of our dinky little tree.

not so slacker after all...

Oh yeah...we're on top of it this year. After a morning trip to Target, I am D-O-N-E with Christmas shopping for the girls. All presents AND stocking stuffers have been bought. I even found baby dolls for the girls that were less-creepy than I had anticipated.

Almost all of the other Christmas presents that we need to buy are bought. Just two more to buy (and we know what we are getting them!), and then we just have to wrap, which shouldn't take too long.

My MOMS cookie exchange cookies have been baked and are cooling. I ended up doing Nutella Kiss Cookies rolled in red and green sugar. They are a little flat, but still pretty tasty.

The Christmas cards have been addressed, stuffed, sealed, stamped and SENT. Expect the cuteness that is Hurricane E and Sweet Baby A arriving in your mailbox shortly!

And...tomorrow we are having breakfast with Santa! So, John and I won't burn in the firey pits of hell by denying our children the opportunity to see Santa...and we won't have to go to the mall to do it! And, there's breakfast, to boot!

oh what fun!

Things E did to entertain herself this morning while John and I got ready:

• Watched Curious George

Things A did to entertain herself this morning while John and I got ready:

• Watched Curious George


• Turned TV off


• Turned TV on


• Carried pair of socks around room


• Attempted to put socks on


• Opened bathroom cabinets


• Turned TV off


• Dumped out bag of hangers (going to be recycled)


• Carried empty recycled hanger bag around room


• Turned TV off


• Picked stuff out of trash can in closet


• Yelled in protest when mommy takes away trash and puts trash can out of reach


• Turned TV off


• Turned TV on

it's date night!

Nonna and Pop-pop are picking the girls up from school today. John and I are meeting at the mall near where I work to (hopefully) finish up Christmas shopping and then we're headed out to dinner for a little mid-week date night.

So, if you get crappy gifts from us, you'll know that we got hungry. Thanks in advance for your understanding!

it's just nuts!

Friday night is our MOMS Club Cookie Exchange. I'm excited because I actually get to go to an event...although by the looks of the evite response list, I don't really know many of the other moms who are coming. But, for wine and cookies, I'll meet some new people!

Anyway, the big debate is whether or not the cookies we exchange can have nuts in them. We are a nut-free group for regular gatherings, which I totally get, especially since E's friend Madelyn has a nut (and egg) allergy that requires epi-pens. But, do you know how hard it is to think of good Christmas cookies that don't have nuts in them?!?!?

Luckily, the moms in attendence have thrown caution to the wind and we are going to allow nuts in the cookies. We're ANIMALS, I tell you!

sit right down

So A is getting bigger and bigger these days. This weekend, she reached two milestones concerning where she sits. On Friday night, John was playing around with her, and sat her in E's cushy booster seat right before dinner. When we tried to sit her in her high chair for dinner, she pitched a fit. So we broke out our other booster seat and set a place for her at the table. She was happy as a clam, and has been sitting there ever since. It's so cute...when you tell her to "Go get in your seat" before a meal, she stands patiently by her booster.

The second milestone is that we flipped her carseat forward. She started to do the "straighten her body out so you couldn't put her in the car seat" thing last week. So on Saturday, we turned her around. Now she's happy. This will also be nice over Christmas so they can both watch the portable DVDs when we travel.

Seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home. She's such a big girl now!

good thing it was warm out today

When I picked A and E up from school, they were wearing their Orange Birginia jackets. They could be described as windbreakers, actually...but certainly not coats.

"Daddy let us wear these to school today. He's a good daddy."

i shouldn't have asked

Last night, E and I were talking, and (of course) our conversation turned to Santa. I asked her what she thought Santa was going to bring her. Usually, her answer is "I don't know" and I use that opportunity to "suggest" fun items that Santa might bring her (that may or may not already be stashed in the trunk of John's car). But, tonight, instead of "I don't know" she said,

"A baby in a box with a bottle of milk and a bottle of orange juice."

When we went to the toy store on Saturday to pick up presents for Madelyn and Ellie, E was fascinated with the baby doll section. Apparently, it was more than a passing fascination, and she might actually want a baby doll for Christmas. The only problem? Those plastic baby dolls freak me out. I mean, they are really, really creepy to me.

Oh the sacrifices that motherhood forces you to make...