i knew they'd come around

With faces like these...you can't *not* want to be photographed.

Thanks, Grandmom, for the bows. They were (obviously) a big hit.

no love for the paparazzi

Some mornings, my girls are just so cute and adorable and loving and funny that it takes every inch of my being to drop them off at school and kiss them goodbye.

Yesterday and today were not those type of days.

Dear lord, have these two have been cranky crank-meisters this week. Yeah, yeah, yeah...they were sick, they're tired, they're out of sorts. But, knowing why they are cranky doesn't help when you are actually trying to deal with them.

The unfortunate thing in all of this is that they have looked *absolutely adorable* the last two mornings. So freaking cute that I went to grab the camera so that I could show you all. Alas...that was not meant to be. It's hard to take pictures when your subjects are hiding their faces and yelling "No!"

So take my word for it.

Slacker Kids = Cute as buttons.
Slacker Kids' Attitudes = On the verge of being sold to the gypsies

Sigh. I guess there's always tomorrow.

we survived the plague of 2008

Sung to the tune of the Dora the Explorer theme song.

We did it! We did it! We did it...yeah! Lo hicimos!
E and A are back at school!
We did it! We did it! We did it...yeah!
John's at work and I am, too!
We did it! We did it! We did it...yeah!
I did a million loads of laundry along the way,
I've got a million more to do...but that's okay!
We did it! Lo hicimos!

That's right...the Slackers are fully recovered from the stomach bug that gripped our house over the weekend, with me narrowly escaping even getting sick. No one had much of an appetite last night, but after a full nights sleep (14 hours in the case of a sleepy-head E who fell asleep on the couch last night) we were all up and at 'em this morning.

I wish I could say the girls were rarin' to get to school...but after spending the last 48 hours playing with Nonna and watching TV, they were less than psyched. But nothing that a bribe of chocolate chip cookies for the ride to school couldn't overcome.

I did have to laugh at the sign hanging on A's classroom this morning.

We have one confirmed case of Pink Eye in this classroom.

Hopefully, she'll miss this one since she wasn't in school. But if we get pink eye, too? Fire up the DVDs...it's gonna be a looooong week!

the ecstacy...and the agony

So the fun girls weekend we had planned did not go according to plan. Shortly after her arrival to my house on Friday, Autumn was stricken with a stomach bug that left her pretty much incapacitated. Jenn and I ended up going to out to dinner without her and hoped that when we returned she would be feeling better.

Upon our arrival back at Chez Slacker, we found that not only was Autumn still not feeling well...Maggie was also afflicted with The Bug. Then, when we woke up on Saturday, Maura had also fallen prey. While the Party of FiveSoon-to-be Six got ready to pack up and head home, Jenn and I reluctantly headed to the spa...we couldn't cancel our treatments, but we did cancel the room for the night.

Our day was fun, but not nearly as fun as it would have been if Autumn had joined us. We had facial treatments at 9...then lounged...then headed out for some lunch and shopping...then returned back for a massage in the late afternoon. I dropped Jenn off and then returned home.

On Sunday, we slept in (relatively speaking...as A has been getting up in the 6 o'clock hour) and then ate a nice little breakfast together. We then headed out to pick up a few things from The Teets in anticipation of my parents coming over for the Skins game and then headed to a playground where we ran around like banshees and had tons of fun.

After a Web-cam call with Kiki, A asked to be put down for a nap. We thought it was odd, but figured she was tired from the frolicking at the park. Not so. About an hour later, she was up...and covered in puke. She ended up puking once or twice more, but was in relatively good spirits. About 5 or so, it was John's turn to join the puke party. And, during a commercial break of Desperate Housewives, I went in to check on E to find her just waking up after puking on herself.

Luckily, it's a quick bug, and everyone seems to be feeling okay now. No one has puked today (knocking on wood) and everyone is in better spirits. Once again, I have to thank Nonna for watching the kiddos today. And the entire Nick Jr. team for keeping them occupied throughout the day.

Also on the agenda? Figuring out when the next girls spa weekend will be. Since Autumn couldn't make it, it clearly didn't count and we get a do-over...right?

rules of conversation

The Party of FiveSoon-to-be Six is heading down today for a weekend of fun. I'm not sure who's more excited...me for getting a spa getaway with Autumn, John for getting a football-watching-buddy in Sean, or E and A for getting to stay-up-way-too-late and play-all-weekend buddies with Maura, Maggie and Bridget. Oh wait...I *do* know...E and A are about to pee themselves with excitement. (Well, A's probably just peeing herself 'cause she's not ready to potty train, but I digress...)

E has been announcing the impending arrival to all the teachers at school this whole week...but today she decided to tell her friends at school. Apparently, her friends at school are socially inept, as this is how the conversation went

."Guess what Grace? Guess what Kenzie?" E said to her pals.
[Silence]
"Uh, guys! You're supposed to say,'What?' When I say 'Guess what?' you say 'What?'"
[Silence]
"My friends, Maura and Maggie, are coming to visit. We're having a slumber party and watching the new Ariel movie."

So there you have it...when you are out and about this weekend, you know know how to make a little small talk, courtesy of my little social butterfly.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

like cheers...with milk instead of beer

At about 4AM, A was up and yelling for me. It was either her teeth or the cough she has or the fact that her feet were little icicles...but I brought her into our bed. She tossed and turned for over an hour before going to sleep. While John and I tried to ignore her...neither of us slept until she finally settled. So, when E bounded into our room at 7AM, A was ready to play...John and I not-so-much.

At some point the girls decided to get dressed and I was woken briefly to a pair of My Little Pony panties shoved in my left eye and A saying, "Panties, mama?" Too tired to argue, I told her she could wear them since it was really the school's problem and they had asked to try again. So, after asking her 100 times before we got in the car if she had to go potty (mind you, it's a 2 minute drive to school) and grabbing 4 pairs of extra pants, we went to school.

So...you know how on the show "Cheers", every time Norm would walk in everyone would yell "Norm!" and then Norm would say something really funny back?

Well, when, we walked into A's room at school and all her friends were sitting around eating breakfast. They all turned around and yelled "A!" And, A went sprinting over to the table yelling "I wear panties!" in return.

I wonder which kid is the Cliff Claven of the group?

nothing doing

The past few days round the Slacker house have been relatively uneventful. Just a lot of the same old, same old -- work for me and John, school for A and E, meeting up for dinner and little playtime before we head off to bed...only to wake up and do it all over again.

I notice that on a lot of blogs...people mention something going on, only to never mention it again. I'm sure I'm guilty of this as well...so I thought I'd give a little update on past topics here on the blog:

• How's A's potty training going?
  After much hoopla about A needing big girl panties, it turns out that they did not really put them on her and kept her in pullups. Why? Well, as a class, the kiddos were uber-successful at pee-peeing on the potty, but not so good at pooping. So they kept them in pullups until after they pooped twice that day. Now, I'm not potty training expert, but isn't the point of potty training teaching them to poop on the toilet? Anyway, she's been uber-gung ho about the pee-peeing (even going by herself and telling them afterward at school), so they've re-requested panties. Since she hasn't ever asked to go potty at home, I'm not holding my breath.
  
• Did E and Paige ever get to have an out-of-school playdate?
  Not yet. The last few weeks we have had pretty full weekends, so a meeting at the park really didn't fit in. But, after talking to my friend who had a successful drop-off playdate, I have determined that this is the way to go. So, I plan on calling Paige's mom next week to see if I can pick her up on Friday afternoon so they can play for a bit. However, E and Paige ask me every. single. day. if Paige can spend the night at our house. I'm running out of reasons why not at this point.
  
• How's John doing, now that his teams have won a collective 2 games between them?
  It's not pretty. However, this has not stopped him from adding a 3rd UT game to his roster. What can I say...he's a glutton for punishment.
  
• Have you decided on a name that Cousin Slacker will call you?
  Not yet. The Italian term, Chi chi, has been bandied about. People seemed to like Kay Kay, too. Any other suggestions out there?
  
• Have all of A's teeth come in yet?
  Negative, ghostrider. Though one molar seems to be through, we've still got three more to go. She's been getting up early this week, which makes me think there's some teeth movement going on. Luckily, she isn't drooling nearly as much now...because man that was just *nasty*.
  

So, there you have it. That's what the Slackers have been up to of late. I hope to have a more exciting post tomorrow...I'm going to force my kids to do something funny tonight if it kills me!

slacker mama: it's not just a name, it's a way of life

The entire Slacker clan descended upon the Hair Cuttery in Slackerville for a little hair cuttery-ing. As soon as the hair stylist came at A with the spray bottle, she freaked out...necessitating me to don a drape and have her hair cut while sitting in my lap. As I was putting on my drape the hairdresser asked me,

"Has she gotten scared like that before getting her hair cut?"
I replied, "Well, this is her first haircut...so no."
"Her first haircut! Do you want me to take a picture of you two in the chair?" she squealed.
"Uh...well...I didn't bring a camera."
"Oh...OK. Should I save a lock of hair for you?" she asked, excitedly.
"Uh...well...we don't really keep baby books."

The cut itself went fairly well...it looks a little straighter and darker than before...but also looks a lot tidier in general. I fear that A's curls will be somewhat like mine and will be gone by Kindergarten, only to revive at random intervals througout her life. I would show you a picture of the new 'dos, but I forgot to take one this morning. Yep...I really do need to turn in my Mommy badge.

Despite The First Haircut milestone coming and going, the rest of the weekend was uneventful. John's work had a crab-feast up in Maryland...so we sent the girls to Nonna and Pop-pop's for the night. Let me just say to use up a Free Night Out on a work event is just plain wrong. Alas, we did get to stop in and see some friends of ours (Hi, Bettie!) and their adorable son (who I might have considered taking home with me), and it did allow John and I to sleep in and go grocery shopping alone, which was nice. Yesterday, E and I had a little fun in the kitchen as she helped me make both the chili for dinner and some Rice Krispy treats for dessert. She's becoming quite the helper, I must say. I also tried to watch a little football (Go Skins!) and do a little laundry...I was marginally successful at both.

This week will be a busy one work-wise...but my reward will be Friday, when a little girls weekend filled with pampering begins! I can't wait!

orange's anatomy

After a few rounds of "Go Hoos Go!" and "Go Vols Go!" Cheerleader E started feeling sick. Luckily, Cheerleader A was also a doctor and rose above their differing allegiences to provide the best medical care possible in the Slacker house.


Cheerleader E returned the favor by settling the tired Doctor Cheerleader A down for a nice long nap.

these girls know how to tear it up!

Last night we had a little party for A's birthday. My parents came over and we had pizza (A's fave) and then cake, and opened presents. A loved everything she got and had a great time -- no signs of feeling unloved because she did not have a moon bounce princess extravaganza like we threw for E. All in all it was a great evening. It was great to see how happy A was to get her presents, blow out the candles on her cake and sing "Happy Bird-day" to herself. But, what was even more entertaining was watching E react to all of this. E wanted *so bad* to be in the thick of the present opening and candle blowing. She kept saying, "Oh, it looks like she needs help..." when A would open a present so that she could tear the paper off herself. When we told her A was fine, she would provide friendly advice from the sideline, like this:

Watching the two of them be so excited for presents made me get totally pumped up for Christmas, since this year they will both get it. I don't know about your house, but in our house Santa's gifts were unwrapped. However, after watching them tear through the gifts this time...Santa might have to rethink that strategy.

look who....is turning two!

There was a little girl

Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,
She was very very good

But when she was bad
She was horrid still pretty damn cute

Sweet Baby A, you are two years old today! And with your head full of blond curls...this nursery rhyme is so you (horrid reference notwithstanding). Everything about you is one way...or the other.

We waited...and waited...and waited anxiously for you to arrive. You were four days late. But when you decided to enter this world you decided you wanted to come *right now*...within three hours of labor beginning, before mommy was an actual hospital patient or could receive any sort of drugs. (And, yes, I will remind you of this every single year. You were 9 lbs 6 oz. I'm still waiting on my medal.)

And today you are still a walking juxtaposition. You love to play princess and dress up with your sister...but refuse to wear anything but t-shirts and shorts. You beg to watch your beloved Dora...but rarely make it through an episode without running off and playing with something else. You scream "I DO IT!" several times a day...but are perfectly content to let E feed you like a baby if she does it airplane-style. You are becoming fiercely independent...but still sometimes want to be picked up and carried around like a baby.

You are the second child. There won't be many things that you will be the first to do. But that doesn't make the accomplishments you have made any less special. This year you have gone from tentatively walking to running, dancing and jumping. Last year, you had a few words and signs; now you talk in full sentences. You sing all the time, the ABCs and a few other songs learned at daycare are your favorites. Once content to play with a toy alone, you play with your sister and your friends at school.

It's amazing to see how much you've grown and changed. I cannot to see what you do in the next year.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby A! I love you!

the excitement never ends

So my parents have returned from their month-long jaunt to the West coast, including book-end visits to see Kiki. Yesterday, they came over to pick up Frank the Cat before we could lose him again. My parents (and I, for that matter) are really dog people...so they were expecting Frank to show them how excited he was to see them by barking or jumping up and down. I tried to explain to them that Frank was sitting on the couch in the same room as A and E so that they could pet him was sign enough, because he spent the majority of his time at our house running from the girls. Alas, they weren't buying it.

But, you know who was excited to see Nonna and PopPop? My girls. They showed how excited they were by running around like banshees from the time my parents picked them up from school until bedtime. I got tired just watching them literally run laps around the first floor of my house screaming. Bedtime, thankfully, was a breeze.

The other excitement at the Slacker house is that everyone is gearing up for the big birthday tomorrow. And by everyone, I mean, A. If you ask her how old she is, she says "Toooo!" though, sometimes, she does say "Fooooor!" because she wants to be *exactly* like her sister. And if you ask her what she wants for her birthday she says, "Uh...uh...uh...Dora birthday cake!" What's so funny about this is this is her answer every single time, uh's and dramatic pauses included. If you ask her what else she wants she says, "Uh...uh...uh...ice keem!"

I'm just happy that she'll be happy with Dora cake and ice cream as we still need to buy her presents. Luckily, I still have 24 hours18 hours to get it done!

girls just wanna have fun

My friend, Beth, sent around this picture of the ladies from the wedding on Saturday night. I'm the one in the center of the front row. The bride is in white (obviously) in the second row. My friend, Susie, is missing from this picture since it was taken somewhere in the 11 o'clock hour...she's pregnant with twins and made a valiant effort to stay up until 10:45.

The reception was an absolute blast. There was much dancing and a little too much wine consumed. It's always great to get together with everyone, which we manage to do about once a year.

Next year's event is *Baby Shower 2009* which will fete Kiki, Susie and our other friend, Jena (in the black strapless dress on the right), who are all due within weeks of each other next spring. There's been a question of whether or not a bar is appropriate at a baby shower, but because the event will (1) be hosted by yours truly and (2) attended by these jokers...it's a pretty much certainty that there will be one.

I can't wait!

the cat came back (just not the next day)

So, it was a crazy busy weekend in the Slacker house. John left on Thursday night to go to Knoxville for the Tennessee v. Florida game. E and I had dentist appointments on Friday morning. The cleaning ladies let Frank out of the house on Friday as well, causing him to be lost and me to be nominated as The World's Worst Catsitter. I spent a good portion of the day taking walks around my neighborhood and posting lost cat signs without much success.

On Saturday, our living room furniture was (finally) delivered and I went to a wedding in Richmond which was tons of fun. There's a veritable baby boom among my friends at the wedding...two other ladies are pregnant (one with TWINS!) and due right around the same time as Kiki. (For those of you not in the know, my sis and I both went to UVA and were in the same sorority, so Kiki is friends with this crowd but couldn't make the wedding because my parents are visiting. It sound like we are losers who do everything together, I know...but we really are relatively normal.)

On Sunday, I got back from the wedding and spent the rest of the day hanging out with the girls. E and I spent A's nap time making pizza dough and playing board games. We also went for a walk looking for Frank and playing outside in the gorgeous weather. I got the girls to bed a little later than normal (what can I say? I wasn't feeling 100% on account of the wine wedding). I came downstairs and guess who was peeking in my front window? Frank! He was hungry and tired but no worse for wear. John returned home from Knoxville about 10 and the three of us (me, John and Frank) headed up for a little shut eye.

I'll be spending a good portion of this week recovering from this weekend and gearing up for A's birthday on Thursday! We're not going to party, but there might be an Ice Capades trip if we can get our act together. We also have to figure out the snack we're bringing to class on Thursday and buy her presents.

'Cause that's how we roll in the Slacker house.

future policewomen

Sure...they aren't so hip on following the rules, but they certainly love them some donuts!





Happy Saturday!

oh, baby!

There's baby news in the Slacker house! My sister is pregnant! She's due March 20, 2009...so we could have a St. Patrick's Day baby in the hiz-ouse!

So far, the pregnancy has been treating her right. She has been feeling pretty good other than some minor bouts of nauseau, including one parking lot puke-fest after a particularly tasty Cuban meal. The only cravings she has been having are of the bad-chain restaurant type...forcing her husband, Steve, to bypass all of the great, locally owned restaurants they live within walking distance of to go to Chevy's and Chili's.

While I have certainly reaped many benefits from being the first in the family to have kids, I must say that Kara definitely has an edge in a few areas, including the following:

• The better name. When I was pregnant with E, my parents agonized over what Baby Slacker should call them...before finally settling on Nonna and Pop-pop. Kara, jealous that everyone else got new monkiers, named herself Kiki. I really didn't think it would stick...but it has and now both girls call her Kiki. But, now *I* need a name, and since our first names are similar, I'm stumped. Auntie K? Kay-Kay? Thoughts or suggestions?
  
• Better gear. The Bugaboo was the *it* stroller when I was pregnant with E. But the thought of dropping $900 on a stroller was unheard of back in the day. Now? Not so much. Not only that...she has a veritable basement full of stuff that A or E *had* to have...only to be used once or twice. (Bumbo seat? I'm talking to you!)
  
• Expert advice. Now that I've had two kids, I'm clearly an expert, right? RIGHT?!?!? Okay, I'll admit that I don't know (or remember, for that matter) everything...but that's where YOU guys come in! You all get to be blogger aunts to Kiki's baby! Think of the fun we will have deciding on Cousin Slacker's name...deciding on the nursery...picking out the gear! It's going to be a blast!

So there you have it...a little good news! And just for fun here's a picture of me and Kiki when I was pregnant with E. Since we share the same DNA, she can look forward to being as big as a house having quite the belly on her!

counting my blessings

I was in the midst of writing a post about how last evening was a comedy of errors in the Slacker house...one that involved cat puke, whiny kids and John eating all of the rice.

But then, I read my e-mail.

A mom in a neighboring mom's group had a heart attack early last Thursday, which has left her comatose with a grim prognosis. She has two girls, 2 1/2 and 6 months. The family has started blog which details what they are going through, and I found myself crying as I read it in in my cubicle. Her mom's club is spearheading gift card drive that the Nolan family can use to buy essential items. If you want to find out more information on how to donate, please go here.

So if you are the praying type, please put the Nolan family in your prayers. But whatever you do, take a moment to hug your loved ones. I know I certainly am going to.

meet the parents

E really likes school. She has lots of friends who eagerly greet her in the morning when she arrives, and friends she hugs and waves good-bye to in the evening. She even has a BFF, Paige. E and Paige get along famously...so much so that her teachers mention that they do *everything* together. They are always together on the playground, and must give each other 100 hugs before we can leave.

The other thing they do when they see me? Ask me when Paige can come to our house and play.

Herein lies the problem. While Paige's mom seems nice enough (we've chatted in passing every now and again), I'm not sure she's the type of mom that will kick back and drink wine with me as our kids run around the house like banshees play (like some of my real-life mom friends would). So, I'm a bit hesitant to play-date it up. On the other hand...E and Paige *are* really good friends and they would be totally psyched to see each other outside of school.

So, I ask you, wise moms of the internet...do you have playdates with your kids' friends whose moms aren't your friends? What do you talk about? Or, do you do a drop-off playdate (or is 4 too young for that)?

You got opinions...I want to hear them!

reason #467 why i consider him a third "child"

Shopping for E and A is pretty easy. Sure, they would be happy with a new bathing suit/pair of pajamas/ponytail holders. But, if it is a Dora the Explorer or Princess bathing suit/pair of pajamas/ponytail holders...well then, they will love it that much better.

In fact, on a recent outing to Super Target, they had a display of Dora Spaghetti O's at the register we were checking out at. A was flipping out at the chance to get some of those bad boys. They totally ignored things like candy and soda and cheap plastic toys in favor of canned Swiper-shaped pasta. A even refused to let go of her can during the checkout process, the walk to the car, the strapping into the car seat, and the ride home, relinquishing her prize only so I could make it for her.

But it's not just character clothing. When the recent copy of Lands End Kids came, she chose it as a book she wanted to "read" with me. And, by reading I mean flipping through the pages and having her point to everything that she wanted me to buy her on each page. The theme of her desires? Pink. Pink t-shirts, pink skirts, pink coats, pink shoes. In fact the *only* page that she didn't want anything on was the one pink-less page in the catalog.

And then there's John. Sure, you could buy John a new shirt or fleece jacket, and he'd wear them without second thought. But, buy him an orange shirt or fleece? He'll actually debate the merits of whether the orange is more of a Tennessee orange or a Virginia orange.

So when it came time to buy him a present, I knew *what* I was going to get him. Imagine my surpise when I found out that I could select what color I was going to get him.
(For the record, the girls got John this as their gift. My gift to him was setting it up, downloading songs and pictures and giving him the 3-second tutorial on how to use it without getting too annoyed that he kept asking me to get off the computer so he could check his fantasy scores.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN! WE LOVE YOU!

don't be fooled by cute exteriors

Sure, on the outside, Sweet Baby A looks like your typical almost 2-year-old. Maybe a little droolier than most, but typical.
But on the inside lurks the heart of a killer...a Jibbitz killer. She is the perpetrator of The Great Jibbitz Massacre of 2008. Behold the photos from the shocking scene of the crime...her pink MaryJane Crocs:

The only Jibbit left unscathed was the faux gemstone, perhaps proving once and for all that diamonds are a girls best friend.

A, of course, denies responsibility. "A-yex-a did it," she says, blaming her BFF at school (Alexa, for those who don't speak toddler) as she points to the Jibbitz stub where a (non-Princess) mermaid used to be. But, what about Dora...or Boots...or one-eyed, one-legged Diego? For the love of all things holy...WHAT ABOUT DIEGO?

And where did she learn about such atrocities to shoe decorations? Her older sister E, of course. E decapitated Cinderella within days of putting her on her Crocs in May. Cinderella is no longer with us because as creepy as the Nick Jr. crew is...a headless bust of Cinderella ends up just being Cinderella's boobies on your shoe. Which is just pervy when you look at it.

And, to add insult to injury, A came home with Flounder on her shoes the other night. We've never bought a Flounder Jibbitz. So she's expanded this reign of Jibbitz terror into burglary. Will the madness ever end?

I'm thinking that, come November, when it's too cold to wear Crocs...it finally will.