Ellie Update

There have been several comments asking how Ellie is doing since her accident on Monday.

She is fine. She was immediately better after seeing the doctor Monday afternoon and hasn't complained about her arm at all. She is also back to using it normally.

Now this is the conversation she and I have.

She points to her elbow and says "bobo."

Me: That's right. Elbow. You got an owie, didn't you?

She nods her head, "Ow."

Me: Is your elbow owie or is it better now?

She smiles and says, "ba-erd." (That's the closest spelling I can come up with for what she actually says.)

We've Entered the Barbie Stage

Makayla is really into Barbie right now. Whenever she sees Barbie anything, she thinks she needs to have it: Barbie toothpaste with the matching toothbrush, Barbie panties, Barbie plates, Barbie blankets, Barbie alarm clock, Barbie movies, etc.

This morning when Makayla woke up, the first thing she said to me was, "May we go to the movie store and get that Barbie mermaid movie?"

I figured since yesterday was such a rough day for us (hence no post yesterday), it would be nice to just relax a little and have fun today. So, while Makayla was at school, I stopped at Red Box to pick up a Barbie movie. Of course Red Box didn't have the Barbie mermaid movie, but there was no way I was going to pay $4.50 at Blockbuster. So I got the Barbie butterfly movie. (I'm sure they all have more specific names, but I don't know what they are.)

After lunch, I told Makayla that I rented a Barbie movie for her to watch while Ellie took a nap. She was so excited that she immediately changed into her "Beautiful Barbie Dress" so she could get ready to watch her show.

"Look Mom! I have Barbie hands!"

These last three pictures are of Makayla giving me her best Barbie poses.

She cracks me up!

It Must Be Monday

I always think it's so sad when my kids get hurt. We've never had any major trauma, just a few bumps and bruises here and there.

I cringe whenever I hear about the battle wounds acquired by my sister's two little boys. Um hi--reconstructive surgery on her baby's nose when he was not quite 2? A 3-year-old with a seizure? Yikes! I always wondered how I would react in a situation like that.

Well, I guess today I got my chance to find out. I was walking into our apartment this morning, holding Ellie's hand. She caught her toe on something and fell. The problem is, I was still holding onto her hand. I heard a loud pop, and she started to cry.

She continued crying and whimpering for the next hour until she eventually fell asleep. I noticed in that time that she wasn't using her arm. So, I called the doctor's office. They couldn't get her in until tomorrow. Ugh!

Luckily, I have a friend who is a nurse. I called her to see what she thought I should do. Her advice was to take her to an orthopedic doctor today, if I could. Her reasoning: the pediatricians in this area would not treat her if it was a break. I might as well save myself some time and an extra doctor bill and just take her to the surgeon in the first place.

A break??!! Aaaa! How could my baby have a broken arm!

I have to confess, I went into panic mode a little bit when she told me that was a possibility. I, thankfully, was able to schedule an appointment for this afternoon. Kasey came home from work to hang out with Makayla so I wouldn't have to take her with me. (Fortunately, he wasn't working on location today.)

After lunch we drove over to the doctor's office. Poor little thing had a dislocated elbow. OUCH!! The doctor popped it back into place, and now Ellie is doing great! Of course, the sucker that she got from the doctor didn't hurt things any.

If You Haven't Laughed Today. . . .

Last week, I was digging through the change in my wallet. Makayla said, "What's that?"

"It's my change. It's money."

"Show me the money."

I started laughing and said, "What did you say?"

She shouted, "Show me the money!" in a very Tom Cruise kind of way.

But I swear, she's never seen Jerry Maguire before.

Learning New Words, Saying Cute Things

Ellie's vocabulary is really taking off. I can't believe how fast she is learning new words. I'd forgotten about this stage, I guess.

Now, that I'm sitting here typing, I really can't remember anything specific that she says (of course), but it's all very cute.

She is a little crazy about shoes right now. She loves to put her shoes on, take them off, put them on. . . . you see where I'm going with this. She also loves to sit in Makayla's closet and pick up each shoe, point to it and proudly pronounce "shoe."

Today was the best, though. I took her to a friend's house while I got my eyes checked. When I came back, Ellie and little Sydney were "playing" or in other words, trying to trade binks and poke each other's eyes, noses, etc. During this little baby bantering, Ellie stopped to examine Syd's shoes. She looked at my friend and said "Cute Shoes!" It was so adorable! We just laughed.

I'm sad that she is growing up, but I absolutely love this stage (18 months - 3 years). They learn so much so fast, and it's entertaining to watch it all happen.

One Tough Critic

I love American Idol. Unfortunately, I don't have cable, so I have to settle for watching AI clips on YouTube. I guess that's okay, though, since I get to watch my favorite people sing over and over.

This afternoon I was watching clips from last night's show. This video is David Cook singing Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera.



Makayla heard the music, ran into my room and exclaimed, "He's singing Phantom of the Opera!"

This girl LOVES The Phantom of the Opera. She waltzes around the house singing it. She hums it while she is eating dinner. She begs and begs her daddy to let her watch it. She knows every word to the entire opera. She likes to pretend that I'm the Phantom and she's Christine, and we act it out. She is obsessed!

So she was listening to David sing the song. When he was done, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Hmmm, I like the Phantom" and walked out.

I guess we'll stick to the original version.

Weekend Getaway

We went on a mini vacation over the weekend and got to see some of our good friends. We had so much fun. It was really nice just taking a little break from life to recharge and spend time together as a family. I could have sworn I took a lot more pictures than I actually did. Oh well! Here are a few of the ones I did get.

feeding the geese & ducks

Sofia & Ellie

Peyton, Makayla, Halle & Brian

Makayla leaving a bread crumb trail for the birds

Ellie with Patty, her namesake

The amazing view from our hotel room

This also seemed to be the week of hometown reunions for me. In addition to the people we meant to see, I ran into 6 other people from my hometown, none of whom I have seen since high school. It was a little weird, but at the same time cool to see what different people have been up to since graduation.

You Can Only Type One Word

I received this as an email and thought it worthy of posting. It's fun, but some of these are kind of tricky. I had to think about some of them for a while before I could come up with only a 1-word description.

1. Where is your cell phone? nonexistent
2. Your significant other? Kasey
3. Your hair? short
4. Your mother? honest
5. Your father? witty
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? peaceful
8. Your favorite drink? diet cherry Pepsi
9. Your dream/goal? house
10. The room you're in? bedroom
11. Your exes? none
12. Your fear? pain
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? L-town
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you're not? skinny
16. Muffins? poppy seed
17. One of your wish list items? house
18. Where you grew up? BL
19. The last thing you did? shopped
20. What are you wearing? casual
21. Your TV? Sanyo
22. Your pets? peeves
23. Your computer? new
24. Your life? hectic
25. Your mood? thoughtful
26. Missing someone? always
27. Your car? Durango
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29 Favorite store? Target
30. Your summer? full
31. Like someone? possibly
32. Your favorite color? blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? Saturday
35. Who will/would re-post this? unknown

Notice

I've upped the security features on my blog because of some random, somewhat inappropriate comments.

From now on, I will be moderating all comments. Any comments that refer to my personal information (ie my last name, place of residence, etc.) will be read, but not accepted for others to read.

I love reading every one's comments, but please respect my desire for a small amount of anonymity in the blogging world. Thank you for your understanding.

Crazy Day

Things are a little crazy around here today. It's payday which means I have to pay bills and go grocery shopping. Since we are going on a little trip this weekend, I need to pack for all 4 of us. Additionally, I need to clean before we leave this evening. I hate coming home to a messy house!

Sorry for the boring post. I'll be back Tuesday with pictures from the zoo. Can't wait. Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

Just for Fun

Yesterday as I was going through my Pampered Chef order (see previous post), Makayla and Ellie were entertaining themselves with the box that the stuff came in. What? Kids playing with an empty box? I've never heard of such nonsense! Anyway, I got some cute pictures and thought I'd share.

These last two pictures of Ellie make me so sad. When I look at them I realize that my baby isn't a baby anymore. She's a toddler.

Happy Holidays 2008

I just got my Pampered Chef order this morning. I am beyond excited!! I love cooking and baking, and Pampered Chef just makes that so much easier for me. I don't think I realized how much I got until it actually came and I was sifting through everything. I also got a salad & berry spinner and a cookbook which will be coming shortly. I guess this pretty much takes care of every gift-giving holiday for me this year. Oh well, it's worth it!

L-R back row: mini muffin pan, cutting board, basting brush, small bar pan & scraper.
middle row: food chopper, mini tart shaper, classic scraper, egg separator, twixit bag clips, small scoop, flat whisk, crushed peppercorn & garlic rub, Moroccan rub
front row: all the bamboo utensils with the exception of the small tongs.

Now I just have to wash everything so I can use it to make dinner.

My Daughter, The Fashionista

I don't let Makayla choose what she wears when we are going someplace because she usually ends up looking something like this.

Hair: "I want to leave my hair down today." Which translates roughly to "If you bring a brush within 3 feet of my head I will flail on the ground while screaming bloody murder!"

Shirt: turquoise and purple stripes. Not a bad shirt in and of itself. But it definitely does not go with

Skirt: Green and Cream. It's actually a really great skirt that my sister made. Ellie and I each have one like it. We look pretty cute in our matchy skirts.

Tights: Pink. They go great with her pink dress. Not so much with her green/cream skirt and turquoise/purple shirt.

Shoes: Well, those are fine. Black goes with just about anything around here.

Pretty much the only reason I let her wear this today is we are all sick--each with a different illness, which is a little weird if you ask me. When my girls and I don't feel well, I pretty much let them do whatever they want. Within reason.

And today, mismatched clothing is totally reasonable. After all, it's almost 5pm and I'm still in my pajamas.

I hope we start feeling better in a hurry. We are supposed to go on a little trip this weekend. We've been looking forward to it all month.

What Can I Say? I'm a Fan!

I'm so excited for the new Twilight movie that's coming out in December, as I've mentioned before. I love watching and reading interviews with the cast, director and producers. I'm a little bit obsessed!

I found this little clip on MTV.com, and I think it's probably one of my favorite clips about the movie. The last line especially made me laugh!

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

A Little Moment of Joy

Hooray for new shoes that I bought on sale!!

Hubby of the Year

I seriously have the best husband ever!

Despite working 80 hours per week for 4 weeks in a row, he still helped me all weekend. Last night he stayed up late finishing the laundry so that I could go to bed early. Today he washed a sink full of dishes and helped the girls pick up their toys so that I could relax and read my book. And just 20 minutes ago, he helped me deal with Ellie's explosive diarrhea (of which I'll spare all the disgusting details) when he should have been going to bed.

He works so hard at his job. And even though he comes home exhausted every night, he still makes time for me and our children. He is, without a doubt, the biggest blessing in my life!

Spelling Bee

I went to visit my sister yesterday. When were deciding what to do for lunch, my brother-in-law poked his head out the door and said, "Well, it's too cold to eat at the P-A-R-K."

Then my little nephew, Emery, said, "P-I-W-L. That spells park."

My sister quickly said, "That spells pillow, not park."

Emery: "No, it spells park. I want to go to the park!"

Oh dear! He is not quite 4 and he has sooo got them figured out!

Her New Tooth Is a Sweet One

Every morning, I ask Ellie what she wants to eat for breakfast. Usually she points to the pantry and says, "Bee." So I pull out the Honey Nut Cheerios and pour her a bowl.

Today when I asked her what she wanted to eat for breakfast, she ran to the kitchen, pointed to the cupboard and said, "Cookie!"

I think she learned that from Makayla.

Sharing a Love of Music

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved music. I love to sing it. I love to play it. I love to listen to it. In my home growing up, there was a lot of emphasis put on music, which is probably why I love it so much.

Kasey grew up in a very sports-oriented family. Although they listened to music, there was little or no emphasis on learning it. Everything was basketball and baseball this, soccer and tennis that.

I bring this up because it is often a point of disagreement when we discuss how we are and will raise our children. I, obviously, want our children to take piano lessons when we get a piano and to be involved in a school choir. He wants our kids to be more active and pursue whatever sport suits them.

And while we both agree that we don't want to force our children into doing something they don't want to do, I sometimes sense that we are both secretly pushing our own agendas.

With that explanation, imagine how my heart sings when I see my girls wanting to play the piano instead of kicking the ball that's resting next to it. Can you guess how much I love listening to Makayla sing The Phantom of the Opera as she dutifully picks up her toys? or watching Ellie hum and bop her head in rhythm with the music?

Now that I see my girls may very well share my love of music, I'm perfectly happy to encourage them to be more active and pursue whatever sport they choose.

My Tuesday Morning Indulgence

I have been looking forward to today for a whole week now. Last week I scheduled an hour-long massage for myself. I've only had one before, and it was amazing!

So I found a babysitter for my girls and headed down town. I told the lady that my shoulder has really been bothering me so to please focus her attention there.

It was absolute torture!! I didn't realize how much my shoulder had really been bothering me until she started working on it. Oh! The Pain!! I knew she'd have to work to get the knots out, but I think I was sort of hoping for relaxing, fall asleep kind of massaging. That's definitely not what I got. This was a detoxifying, deep tissue massage.

It's now been a couple of hours since the massage; I can tell that my muscles aren't so tense, which is good, but I hurt so bad! It hurts to pick up Ellie. It hurts to turn my head. It hurts to be typing this. It even hurts to have the weight of my shirt against my skin.

I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow when every muscle in my neck, back, and shoulders is not screaming at me in protest. And maybe I'll schedule another massage. Not the kind I had today, though. I think next time I'll go for what my massage therapist sister calls a fluff massage: the kind that does no real good, but just makes you feel good all over.

Cutting. . . My Least Favorite of Makayla's Newly Learned Skills

In one of my favorite movies from my childhood, there is this line, "I'm so mad I could just spit."

Well, yesterday, I was so mad that I really just wanted to spit!

This is Makayla's Christmas dress. I loved it so much that I paid full price for it at the store. I loved it so much that I didn't feel bad having paid full price even when it was on sale the following week. That's a pretty big deal for me!

Knowing how much I loved this dress, you can imagine how mad I got when I saw it looking like this

My only guess is that Makayla ran out of paper to cut and decided to test out her scissors on fabric. That or she has a deep, burning desire to one day be a great seamstress.

Sunday Morning Crafts

Since we didn't have to get ready for church today, I decided to break out the craft box--so out of character for me. I thought it would be something fun and quiet for the girls to do while Kasey was still sleeping.

What could be more fun than cutting up paper into microscopic pieces?

Gluing those pieces to a blank piece of paper.

Ellie: not too crazy about the crayons.

Taking the caps off markers--much more entertaining.

A Huge Surprise For Me

My husband did something today that he has not done in our almost-six-year marriage: he surprised me with flowers.

It's not the first time he's given me flowers, but it's the first time I didn't know he was getting them for me. It was a complete surprise.

The first time he gave me flowers was when I told him "I just expelled a 9-pound baby from my womb! You had better buy me some roses for this!"

They were delivered shortly after dinner.

The other time he got me flowers was after I had been complaining to a friend that Kasey never gave me flowers. She called him at work and told him to pick up some roses from her yard on his way home from work. So he did. (Thanks Amanda, they were beautiful!)

In Kasey's defense, when we were first dating I did say something to the effect that flowers were a waste of money, and I'd rather go out to dinner or a movie. I was still getting to know him and didn't realize that he would take it so literally. And up until recently, we could barely afford food, let alone a bouquet of flowers that would wilt and be thrown away in a week.

Because I know it may be awhile (another 6 years?) before I get any more flowers, I'm smelling them and looking at them every chance I get.

Birthday Party Dilemma

Makayla is turning 4 next month. I can't decide if I should throw her a birthday party or not. Some days I think it would be a lot of fun for Makayla since she has some pretty good friends, now.

Other times I think I'm insane for even considering having 6 screaming 4 year olds in my living room for an hour. And then add on top of that the mess of cake and games. Yikes! I'm not sure I'm up for that.

But then I think about all the cute things I could do to decorate and give as party favors and I start leaning towards a party again.

Then again, there is the incident from last month to consider, too.

Please tell me what you think because obviously I'm incapable of making my own decisions.

ABC Tag

I read this on Rebecca's blog earlier this week and thought it was a pretty cute tag. So I'm doing it.

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Kasey, but I have best girlfriends for different areas in life.
C- Cake or Pie: I like them both equally
D- Day of Choice: Saturday, even though it ends up being one of my busiest days. I like spending the time with Kasey and the girls.
E- Essential Item: I feel old saying this, but I couldn't survive without my orthotics.
F- Favorite Color: blue
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Aren't they essentially the same? I guess I like worms because I get 2 flavors with each worm
H- Hometown: Montpelier, ID
I -Indulgence(s): I will be indulging myself with a massage on Tuesday. I can't wait!
J- January or July: I actually like September the best, but since the letter is J, I'll choose June. It's pretty mild weather wise.
K-Kids: Makayla & Ellie
L-Life is incomplete without: love, laughter, music, and books
M- Marriage Date: June 14th (even though I swore I would never be a June bride.)
N-Number of Siblings: 4
O- Oranges or Apples: I love oranges, but think apples are easier to eat.
P- Phobias or Fears: Spiders and bugs of any kind. I never think I'm afraid of heights until I get some place high, and then I freak out!
Q- Quote(s): I don't really have a favorite quote, but, sadly, one that seems to accurately describe my life is, "Life is just a chair of bowlies."
R- Reason To Smile: It's payday!
S- Season: Autumn
T- Tag Five: I'm not really into choosing someone specific and then guilting them into it. Do it if you want to.
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I hate shaving my legs. If I wasn't afraid of the pain, I'd just wax and have it over and done with for a while. Don't misunderstand. I like having smooth legs, I just don't like the process of making them smooth. Was that a little too much information? Sorry.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I have no problems eating a steak or wearing leather!
W- Worst Habit: Interrupting people when they talk. I learned it growing up in a family of talkers. If I wanted to be heard, I had to add my 2 cents whenever someone took a breath. I'm still trying to break that habit.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasounds are fun when I'm pregnant, but one time I had to have an ultrasound of my stomach and intestines. It wasn't that spectacular, and in that case the speed of an x-ray would have been appreciated.
Y- Your Favorite Food: I really love spaghetti with garlic bread
Z-Zodiac: Scorpio

Makayla's Funny of the Day

This morning Makayla pulled a dime out of her pocket and squealed in delight, "Mom! Look! I found a baby quarter in my pocket!"

Makayla's Class Featured in School Paper

The preschool that Makayla attends is actually a child development center which is run by the state. There are 12 to 14 different classes in our town and about that many in the next town over. The 2 schools work together to make this preschool newsletter. Each month, The Play-Dough Chronicles paper highlights a different class. This month Makayla's class, The Explorers, was chosen for the main article. The top picture is the morning class and the bottom picture is the afternoon class. I pointed out Makayla and her little friend Wyatt, who is, of course, standing next to her.

By the way, Wyatt's affections did not wane over their 10-day Spring Break. He came back with a little Easter basket for Makayla. It was so sweet. He even included an extra treat for Ellie.

Makayla was so excited to show this paper to me that I thought I'd post a little something about it. I think if you click on the picture, you can get a closer look and actually read the article.

April Fool's Day

Today is April Fool's Day. I never did understand the point behind playing tricks on other people simply because of the date. Or saying something untrue just to take it back with the declaration "April Fools!"

It's not just a "holiday" that I've contemplated as an adult. I can remember April 1st in my 4th grade class. Some of the kids in my class did not like our teacher (which I don't understand either. She was an amazing teacher. She is now my mom's neighbor and is such a delightful person.) and thought it would be great to play some tricks on her ranging from Vaseline on the door handle to changing the clock to "trick" her into letting us go to recess early.

Wow! Fourth graders are soooo sneaky! Even back then I thought it was stupid.

My cousin's birthday is today. I remember her getting gag gifts when we were younger, and it always seemed so mean. Why shouldn't she get real gifts for her birthday? It's not like she had any control over the day of her birth.

And speaking of giving birth on April 1st, a friend told me that she went into labor on April 1st and no one believed her. They thought she was joking because of the date. I would have been so angry!!

In my opinion, today is just an excuse for people to be mean without having to answer for their words or actions because "It's April Fool's Day." I just want to say to those people, "Grow up, already!"

This concludes my rant for the day.