What is it with little girls loving to put in make-up and such? On Friday, Charlotte came running downstairs yelling, "Mom! Gwennie has your special white stuff all over." It sounded dangerous and I didn't even know what she was talking about. I ran upstairs and found Gwen with my Mary Kay facial lotion with SPF 15 lathered all over her right leg. It was thick enough I could have mistaken it for shaving cream. (Note to my Mary Kay lady.....I need more lotion and cleanser ASAP!)
Yesterday I took the two little girls to Target so Charlotte could pick out something using a $15 gift card she got for her birthday. We stopped in the shoe section 1st. She was debating a cute pair of pink sandals. While we were weighing the pros and cons, Gwen took off her own shoes and found a pair of cute, pink, sparkly Hello Kitty shoes -- and they were just her size - all without my help. Charlotte decided against the sandals, but I could not get Gwen to take off the sparkly shoes. She wore them around Target with the little stretchy chord between them, making her take little shuffle steps. When we got back to the toy area, Charlotte quickly found a pretend hair styling kit (hair dryer with batteries that make it really blow, a curling iron, straightening iron, brush, pretend lipstick, etc.). She was SOLD. Thinking that Gwen would be sad because Charlotte had a whole new bag of goodies, I bought her a tube of Lip Smacker chapstick.....THE ENTIRE TUBE OF LIP SMACKER WAS GONE - TOTALLY GONE - BEFORE WE GOT HOME. It was in her hair, around her eyes, on her chin. There were chunks of it on the floor and in her car seat. She had been digging pieces of it out with her little finger. Stinker. So much for trying to be nice Mommy.
While the girls got the hair stuff out and started playing, I made mac n cheese for lunch. When I served them, I told them that the macaroni was a little warm and to eat their strawberries first. Then I heard the mini blow dryer going. Charlotte was cooling off their mac n cheese with her it! Genius.
As I was starting to type this out, Charlotte came running up to my chair, grabbed it and swung herself around. The chair back split in two. She stood totally still, not even blinking, knowing she was about to get it. I turned around and said, "How many times have I told you not to yank on the chair??"
"About a hundred," she replied. Ohhh. It's so hard to keep a straight face when they answer you so seriously.
Tomorrow at our pool is the annual Fourth of July party. They have all sorts of games throughout the day. My older kids have been counting the days. Gretta is anxious for the Starburst toss (thousands of candies thrown in the water followed by a free-for-all) while Joel and Ben have literally been practicing for days for the Big Splash Contest. The winner gets $5 to spend at the concession stand - which is equal to 5 candy bars! It will be a nail-biter, I'm sure!
Happy Fourth of July!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Trufe
Yesterday, as the little girls and I were in the car, they told me that their babysitter had taken them out for ice cream while I had been gone. Then they told me that she had take them to a new hamburger/hot dog/ice cream place in town. They continued to elaborate the story telling me they had actually eaten lunch there - and Charlotte went into great detail about the hamburgers they had gotten and how Gwen had to eat two more bites before the babysitter would let her get ice cream. The babysitter had not said anything about taking them out to lunch, so I was trying to figure out what the truth was. I asked them, "Are you guys making up a story or are you telling me the truth?"
Gwen replied, "I do trufe you."
Still unsure, I called the sitter to get the full explanation. They had gone to the new place for ice cream, but had not eaten lunch.....so Gwen was not "trufing me" after all.
Two and a half is a great age for funny sayings. I love to hear her little sentences and phrases....like the things in front of buildings that squirt water up in the air = "Water Mountains"
"Where Wobber" = Where's Robert (her favorite lifeguard at the pool)
On a different (and heart-melting) note, when Gwen got out of bed on Tuesday, she went into the boys room. "Ky-o?? Ky-o?? Where Ky-o?" She had forgotten that he was at camp and was searching him out. She misses him. They all do....and so do I!
Gwen replied, "I do trufe you."
Still unsure, I called the sitter to get the full explanation. They had gone to the new place for ice cream, but had not eaten lunch.....so Gwen was not "trufing me" after all.
Two and a half is a great age for funny sayings. I love to hear her little sentences and phrases....like the things in front of buildings that squirt water up in the air = "Water Mountains"
"Where Wobber" = Where's Robert (her favorite lifeguard at the pool)
On a different (and heart-melting) note, when Gwen got out of bed on Tuesday, she went into the boys room. "Ky-o?? Ky-o?? Where Ky-o?" She had forgotten that he was at camp and was searching him out. She misses him. They all do....and so do I!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A College Prank
Today I took the kids to see Cars 2. It was fun. We got there early enough for the $5 show. Gwen fell asleep on my lap and the other kids only went through 2 large popcorns. All in all not a bad morning!
When we got home Gwen wanted to ride her bike - which is a Strider. It's a mini two-wheeler with no pedals. She pushes with her feet. She really wanted our cat to watch her...??? But, the cat had other interests. Gwen was pushing along and looking backwards over her shoulder to make sure the cat was paying attention when WHAM!, she ran into our car. The cat didn't even seem to care.
On a totally different note, my husband was a part of a very funny prank in college. He and his teammates took apart and reassembled a VW Bug in their coach's office at Wheaton College. This is his coach discovering the Bug....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOSaGvMchEU Enjoy!
When we got home Gwen wanted to ride her bike - which is a Strider. It's a mini two-wheeler with no pedals. She pushes with her feet. She really wanted our cat to watch her...??? But, the cat had other interests. Gwen was pushing along and looking backwards over her shoulder to make sure the cat was paying attention when WHAM!, she ran into our car. The cat didn't even seem to care.
On a totally different note, my husband was a part of a very funny prank in college. He and his teammates took apart and reassembled a VW Bug in their coach's office at Wheaton College. This is his coach discovering the Bug....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOSaGvMchEU Enjoy!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sorry. I'm Back.
Wow. Has it really been 6+ weeks since I last posted. We have been so busy around here. I have started trying to work a few hours from home each day. Two hours. Really shouldn't be that hard to put in 2 hours worth of work (data entry on my computer), but I am struggling!! I can only do it during nap time when my little ones are asleep. But then all of my other chores like cleaning my house, doing dishes, laundry, etc get pushed aside. It's like every single minute of my day is accounted for. We are trying to figure this out...is it worth it?? Is the relatively paltry amount of money worth it??? I'm starting to think not. In the mean time, I have had a few of you very kindly ask me if I was going to continue blogging. Yes, yes, yes. I want to! I'm glad you enjoy reading my posts and it's cathartic for me! I have to tell someone about the crazy things that happen in my life!
So what's going on with our family?? Kyle just left on Monday to go to camp for 3 weeks. Yikes -- 3 weeks!! It's way up in Northern Wisconsin. I'm sure he's having a ball. It's right up his alley. This is after a week long fly fishing trip with his grandfather. He will be a freshman in the fall. Believe me when I tell you I am not old enough to have a freshman in high school.
The other kids have quickly busied themselves this summer with the local swim team. They walk over to the pool for practice and then go back later in the day to hang out. They had a swim meet last night and it was 65 degrees and rainy. YUCK. But they all got up this morning to go back over to the pool. I was going to let them sleep in. Gretta has been involved in horse camp both as a camper and a helper. Charlotte has started swim lessons and within 8 lessons has gone from being afraid of putting her head under water to being able to do a front and back float!! She's quite proud of herself -- and VERY buoyant!
I took the kids up to a friend's lake house in Northern Indiana. This woman has been my friend since we were 12!! We had a ball (at least I did...not sure how she felt about the 6 of us invading her beautiful home!!). She treated us royally -- took the kids tubing and feeding us. Even Gwen went tubing...my
2 1/2 year old went tubing. It was hilarious. She's a daredevil. And seriously cute. It's a scary combination.
As I write this, my husband is outside on the front porch with a few children telling them stories about his days as a sniper in the army. This is a fictitious story, but they are asking him questions. I just heard, "Dad, were you really a sniper in the army?? I just can't imagine!" This all started a few months ago when we played 2 truths and a lie at dinner. If you've never played, it's pretty self-explanatory. You tell the other people 3 things about you they don't know. Two of them are true and one is made up and everyone else has to guess the lie. Better with adults because kids aren't great at lying -- especially our own kids because as parents we pretty much know everything about our kids. But it's still fun!
I promise there is more to follow. I'm back. Thanks for being patient!
So what's going on with our family?? Kyle just left on Monday to go to camp for 3 weeks. Yikes -- 3 weeks!! It's way up in Northern Wisconsin. I'm sure he's having a ball. It's right up his alley. This is after a week long fly fishing trip with his grandfather. He will be a freshman in the fall. Believe me when I tell you I am not old enough to have a freshman in high school.
The other kids have quickly busied themselves this summer with the local swim team. They walk over to the pool for practice and then go back later in the day to hang out. They had a swim meet last night and it was 65 degrees and rainy. YUCK. But they all got up this morning to go back over to the pool. I was going to let them sleep in. Gretta has been involved in horse camp both as a camper and a helper. Charlotte has started swim lessons and within 8 lessons has gone from being afraid of putting her head under water to being able to do a front and back float!! She's quite proud of herself -- and VERY buoyant!
I took the kids up to a friend's lake house in Northern Indiana. This woman has been my friend since we were 12!! We had a ball (at least I did...not sure how she felt about the 6 of us invading her beautiful home!!). She treated us royally -- took the kids tubing and feeding us. Even Gwen went tubing...my
2 1/2 year old went tubing. It was hilarious. She's a daredevil. And seriously cute. It's a scary combination.
As I write this, my husband is outside on the front porch with a few children telling them stories about his days as a sniper in the army. This is a fictitious story, but they are asking him questions. I just heard, "Dad, were you really a sniper in the army?? I just can't imagine!" This all started a few months ago when we played 2 truths and a lie at dinner. If you've never played, it's pretty self-explanatory. You tell the other people 3 things about you they don't know. Two of them are true and one is made up and everyone else has to guess the lie. Better with adults because kids aren't great at lying -- especially our own kids because as parents we pretty much know everything about our kids. But it's still fun!
I promise there is more to follow. I'm back. Thanks for being patient!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Phonetic Spelling At It's Best
COWQUELATER --- that small thing with number buttons that you push when you have to add up big numbers. This was Joel's attempt at spelling "calculator". One of the best phonetic spellings I have ever seen.
This morning while I was in the shower, Gwen and Charlotte were playing in my room and pretending to go on "dates". They would come in and tell me they had gone to a restaurant or the park, etc. and tell me all about their adventure. During this, Charlotte came in and said, "We went to have noodles and then we had bubble stidey." I did not know what she was talking about and asked her if it was a dessert. "No. Bubble Stidey. You, know. At M-mas (what she calls her grandma)."
I was still not clear. "Like when you blow bubbles with M-ma??"
"No. Bubble... Stidey. (Said very s-l-o-w-l-y and with much emphasis) When M-ma has her friends over in the morning and they talk."
Ahhhh....got it!! (Bible Study)
This morning while I was in the shower, Gwen and Charlotte were playing in my room and pretending to go on "dates". They would come in and tell me they had gone to a restaurant or the park, etc. and tell me all about their adventure. During this, Charlotte came in and said, "We went to have noodles and then we had bubble stidey." I did not know what she was talking about and asked her if it was a dessert. "No. Bubble Stidey. You, know. At M-mas (what she calls her grandma)."
I was still not clear. "Like when you blow bubbles with M-ma??"
"No. Bubble... Stidey. (Said very s-l-o-w-l-y and with much emphasis) When M-ma has her friends over in the morning and they talk."
Ahhhh....got it!! (Bible Study)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Oh, and I Forgot to Mention....
In my last post I forgot to mention that this morning Ben decided to make some juice. We buy the frozen concentrate and this variety was Strawberry, Kiwi, Apple....dark reddish/purple. He was having trouble with the lid of the concentrate container and it was already thawed out because I had set it out early for the kids. He decided to pop it off really hard. SPLAT! Purpleish red concentrate all over the countertop, running down the cabinets, splattered all over me and Gwen (on her face), all over the floor. I kept stepping in sticky spots all day. I even found a patch on the other side of the kitchen about 2:30 this afternoon. Ugh.
Gretta Made Me Do It
Yesterday during nap time, I could hear Charlotte banging around in her room. Occasionally, she does not sleep, but she will stay in her room and look at books or play quietly - which is totally fine with me. When I went to get her up, she sat up in bed and said, "Gretta came in my room and told me to mark on my bed." Gretta had not even been home during nap time, so I knew this was an invention of her mind. I started off by asking her to tell me why the support board for Gretta's uppper bunk was lying on the ground. "It just fell out, " was her response. Hmmm. Everything was sounding very suspicious! She had spread out a small blanket on her bed and was sitting on it. I then asked her where the mark that Gretta told her to make was. She stood up and lifted the blanket up. There on the sheets was a 6 inch mark from a red pen. (The pen was still in her hands). Hmmm. Now, I'm no detective, but I started to put the puzzle pieces together. I told her that I knew that Gretta had not been in her room and asked if the mark was an accident or on purpose. "On purpose," she answered. "And I found your red pen, Mom!" Not really a big deal in the scheme of things, but the lying could not go unpunished. Oh, it's so hard to spank a really cute, sorrowful 3 year old.
Today we went to Target for our grocery run (one of 3 places we are now stopping - Aldi is now making the list + Costco -- if you've never been to Aldi, it's an experience, but prices are really good, especially on produce). To begin, there were no double carts on the grocery side of the store, so we had to trek to the other side. Gwen has figured out how to "houdini" out of the straps and was standing in the seat within minutes. I knew she was due for a BM and although I was hoping it wouldn't happen there, I was pretty much counting on it. Sure enough...middle of the produce section, I caught a wiff. So off to the bathroom we went. Good thing I caught it early or it would have been U-G-L-Y. Not that it was pretty to begin with, but if you have toddlers, you know what I mean. Then the girls kept getting out so they could "help" me get things. At one point, Gwen pulled marshmallows off the shelf and started trying to chew through the package. The entire time Charlotte kept asking to go to the candy section because she had earned $5 at her grandmother's house. So as we made our way to the check-out, we stopped by the candy area. She made a bee-line for a big box of Starburst. You should have seen her beaming smile as she paid her $1.07 for her box of candy. She was so proud that she even got her own bag and receipt. We finally finished and rushed home to take naps so that I could turn around and pick up Kyle and Gretta from school. Grocery stores are much easier to navigate solo....as are most things.
This weekend we will be going to Home Depot to pick out all of my annuals. That's my traditional Mother's Day gift. We pick them out on Saturday and then my gift is that the kids plant them on Sunday. I just spread them out where I want them and then sit on the front porch and watch them work! I love it!
Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers. You are doing a great job. If you can get to the end of a day and say that you fed your kids, clothed your kids and loved on them a little, it's a good day -- and you are doing the right thing. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "woulda, shoulda, coulda", that we beat ourselves up. We get paralyzed by our to-do lists. But, step back and look at your beautiful children. Go give them a big hug, tell them they are special to you and that you love them. Then sit down and take a load off. You deserve it!
Today we went to Target for our grocery run (one of 3 places we are now stopping - Aldi is now making the list + Costco -- if you've never been to Aldi, it's an experience, but prices are really good, especially on produce). To begin, there were no double carts on the grocery side of the store, so we had to trek to the other side. Gwen has figured out how to "houdini" out of the straps and was standing in the seat within minutes. I knew she was due for a BM and although I was hoping it wouldn't happen there, I was pretty much counting on it. Sure enough...middle of the produce section, I caught a wiff. So off to the bathroom we went. Good thing I caught it early or it would have been U-G-L-Y. Not that it was pretty to begin with, but if you have toddlers, you know what I mean. Then the girls kept getting out so they could "help" me get things. At one point, Gwen pulled marshmallows off the shelf and started trying to chew through the package. The entire time Charlotte kept asking to go to the candy section because she had earned $5 at her grandmother's house. So as we made our way to the check-out, we stopped by the candy area. She made a bee-line for a big box of Starburst. You should have seen her beaming smile as she paid her $1.07 for her box of candy. She was so proud that she even got her own bag and receipt. We finally finished and rushed home to take naps so that I could turn around and pick up Kyle and Gretta from school. Grocery stores are much easier to navigate solo....as are most things.
This weekend we will be going to Home Depot to pick out all of my annuals. That's my traditional Mother's Day gift. We pick them out on Saturday and then my gift is that the kids plant them on Sunday. I just spread them out where I want them and then sit on the front porch and watch them work! I love it!
Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers. You are doing a great job. If you can get to the end of a day and say that you fed your kids, clothed your kids and loved on them a little, it's a good day -- and you are doing the right thing. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "woulda, shoulda, coulda", that we beat ourselves up. We get paralyzed by our to-do lists. But, step back and look at your beautiful children. Go give them a big hug, tell them they are special to you and that you love them. Then sit down and take a load off. You deserve it!
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