No Stepford Children Here

I am so proud. Aubrey IS normal. Until last night I had a little fear that Aubrey might be a stepford child. She is polite, smart, funny, loving, and beautiful. But FINALLY she is a kid!

The last few nights Aubrey has been asking to do homework at bedtime. I kinda laughed it off, put some extra books in her bed and we were done. Last night Aubrey was a little more adament about the homework and I said, OK, "do your homework and then go to bed".

A couple hours later I go upstairs and on the hard wood floors outside of Aubrey's room there was a lovely mural in green crayon. Aubrey's name, the letter M (over and over again), and a lifesize portrait of Aubrey. Right there. On the floor.

Oh, don't forget the one bush on the wall.

And in her room, crashed out is the sweetest little girl.

Next morning, Aubrey comes in and looks at my face and says, "mommy why is your face like that". I said, "Aubrey where do we color?". She says, "oh, I was doing my homework I had to practice my M's.". She proceeded to show me a book cover (one of my hardback books, she took the cover off) and showed me how she practiced her M's, drew a dolphin, and drew a picture of me in my wedding dress from my wedding weekend. I reviewed with her where we color and where we don't color and she helped me clean it up. It all came off the floor easily and we still have a bush on the wall. She was told no TV and no dessert for the day. She kept insisting she was just doing homework. But I think she got it.

So, LA and I implemented real homework for Tues and Thurs nights - tonight Aubrey was given a piece of paper with the letter Z. She had to write her name in the upper right hand corner, write the letter Z twice and she has to take it back to school tomorrow. She very much enjoyed the activity! And hopefully no crayon on the floor when I head upstairs in a few minutes.

AND, this morning Molly decided to say "I love you" clear as a bell this morning. Ahhhhhh.

Can't Not Share

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/04/crockpot-play-dough-recipe.html

This is the first recipe I have seen that I understand all of the ingredients. I am excited to do this with the girls!



The title of this post reminded me of an Aubrey story...
Aubrey was singing a made up song, "I don't not share, it isn't not fun"
I said... Aubrey that doesn't sound like a nice song.

MY THREE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER says, "I said, I don't NOT share, so that means I do share"
And then I swear she rolled her eyes at me and flipped her hair.

Sum Up May

My To Do list for my lunch hour today includes the following things I need to pick up for the next month:

• 3 Graduation Cards
• 10 Birthday Cards - TEN, not a typo
• 1 get well card
• 1 Anniversary card
• 2 Mother's Day cards
• 3 Kid's birthday gifts
• 3 bigger Kid Birthday gifts
• Mother's Day Gifts

So if you want to know what I am doing any day in May... all summed up in the above.

Update: I spent 71 dollars on CARDS, this is ridiculous! How did that happen??

Help Yourself

On the way home this evening:

Mommy: So, who is going to help me when we get home, Max needs to be let
out.

Aubrey: Molly will help you.

Mommy: Aubrey, why don't you help mommy and let Max out when we get
home.

Aubrey: No, thanks Mommy, you can help yourself.

But what a great evening. Picked up the girls and LA offered me a glass of wine - YES please, and some dinner, YES please, and some lovely catch up time. The girls and I had a casual evening and then came home and let the dog out and then we swung on the hammock until daddy got home! Ahhhh.

Dude, Where's My Life

So on Sunday evening I did 3 blog posts and used the new nifty draft blogger to schedule them. Pretty cool, huh.

In the mean time my job gets more insane every day. I tried and failed to make carmel corn twice - I have now given up. I did go to the gym Monday, and brought my gym bag today but no way I can get there... and does one carrott stick each count as my kids eating vegetables?

Also, I wore a skirt and forgot to shave my legs... do you think anyone will notice?


The weather is nice, so that's good.

Our 5 year wedding anniversary is this weekend. That is very good.

Ladew Gardens

Ladew Gardens had a free weekend, last weekend. My mom came up on Sunday and the girls and I headed over with her. It was a lovely day - until the skies turned dark and the lighting and rain came. The gardens were beautiful and I think we all had a great time.

Some of my favorite pics - days like this that I wish I knew how to use my camera!

Hunt Scene

Topairies
The Great Bowl

Pirate Day

Saturday we headed to Fells Point for the 4th Annual Pirate Festival. We had a fun time - lots of walking. Aubrey got a tattoo... which she was very excited to tell everyone about. We also got our pictures taken with some parrotts. April 2008

This was kind of a full circle moment - a few days after Doug and I got engaged we headed to Vegas for a Jimmy Buffett concert. We got our pictures taken with some parrotts and that picture became our engagement announcement. So you might be seeing the new one next Christmas as our card :)

May 2002

Just Eat Em Up

Seriously, aren't they cute?

Days Like This

Days like this are so few and far between. Spring has hit and she is lovely today, warm air, light breeze, clear skies, not a hint of humidity. She has the world turned happy, everyone is smiling and a little lighter in their step as they walk towards the water, eat their sandwiches and salads on a brick wall. The harbor gleams with diamonds on soft blue waves.

Sometimes the city is amazing - especially when the weather is perfect.

Makes me feel less frazzled and more excited about what this summer will be like - with Aubrey swimming and Molly following.

Molly has really - over night - started putting words together and repeats everything she hears. On the way to school in the morning I hear,
"Look, alpacas" "ook alpaccccaaaas".
"PINK TREES" "ink ees ink ees"
"but why mama" "ut i ama"

Pretty cool :)
and now back to the land of no internet connection... which is where I have been spending my days. BLAH!

Pay It Forward

Post from Anne:

I saw this posted in the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry and decided it would be fun.

The idea is based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds
of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on,
with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a knit gift to the first 3 people who
leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I
do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month,
probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a
promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the
same promise on your blog.
I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?!
And, remember…you have 6 months to get your gifts done!
Come on, you know you would love to be one of my angels. Then, one day, but you
don’t know when….you will get a gift that I have made especially for
YOU!
Please remember, you don’t have to knit or crochet to participate,
anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join

I am going to change it up a bit... 'cause I am gangsta that way. If you aren't good at MAKING things, jump in for a service oriented act. But come on, join in the fun :)

**Updated: Becky, ITFL, Kelly you are it :) You should see something soon :)

6 Word Meme

I was tagged by Ali who was tagged by HOT! HOT was tagged by Major Bedhead. So here are the rules. You can see the history of this meme on HOT’s site as well.

Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir;
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like;
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere;
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links; and
5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play

My memoir:

Dirty Floors, Happy Kids, True Love

It's So Easy

On March 1 I ordered Crocs for the girls from crocs.com. Those crocs were for their Easter Baskets. Aubrey's didn't fit. Then I ordered Crocs for my niece and nephew and went ahead and ordered the right size for Aubrey. And I still have the original ones. So today - because I put this task on my Rememberthemilk.com To Do list- I went to the croc website and in less than a minute I have a return label.

It was that freaking easy... and now I am kicking myself that I didn't do it originally. I put it off and put it off because I just figured it would be a PITA.

Happens a lot, right... you procrastinate something for some made up reason in your head and it is never as bad as you predict it will or could be. Do you do that? Is it just me?

When was the last time you went, DOH, I should have just done that instead of worrying?

Life. Falling. Apart.

I am usually known as the one that has it all together, I never forget a birthday or a big event, I am never late with gifts and cards and I somehow always keep a smile on the public facing side of me. Lately, well..... not. so. much.

My niece and nephew turned 6 on the 8th. While I did order their gift prior to that, it wasn't delivered to our house until AFTER that and now it needs wrapping and shipping. The girls made cards but I still haven't BOUGHT a card.

My brother in law had a birthday on Friday. And not until after leaving their house where HE watched my kids during a Pampered Chef party did it click in my head that it was the 12th and his birthday was the 11th and then I felt so awful I didn't call and apologize. Ugh.

At home, it is 10 times worse. I am completely flakey. My hubby is about to shoot me. And it would probably be well deserved :) Is it the ebb and flow of me? Is there something bigger going on? Is it the stress of a new job? Is it the increased work hours? Is it the freaking media saying we are in a recession or heading there that is making everyone crazy?

I am doing the bare minimum in each part of my life and that just stresses me out. So why unload here and now? Well... Accountability of course.

I need to get back on track!
1) I need to get my phone synced up to my computer and calendar - I have been putting this off but need to just DO IT. So I will install HotSync on my work laptop TODAY
2) I need to get a list started (per hubby) that we can share and both see - rememberthemilk.com looks awesome and I created an account today.
3) I need to get to the freaking gym. So next week - I will go twice. Monday and Friday are good days in terms of meetings for next week so those will be my goal days.
4) I need to let my hubby know how much I appreciate and am aware what he has been dealing with :)

What do you do to "keep it all together"? Does anyone really have it all together? Why does it have to be so hard sometimes?

Nauseous News

I have big news I have been holding on to.

Do you know who?

someone is nauseous
and I love her very much
she's having a baby and is sick a bunch

it's a girl I am hoping
but a boy will work too
come november she will need sleep - could it be you?

there are clues in the comments
of food posts that I had
she wanted food mentioned really bad

and now she wants none
cause she's sick as a drunk clown
with a toddler running all around.

So... any guesses?

Bedroom Ideas

Molly is at the point where we need to get her out of the crib. Aubrey was in a toddler bed at 18 months and I think Molly is ready now (she is 20 months). Currently each of the girls has their own bedroom.

Here are my different thought processes:
1) give Molly Aubrey's adjustable toddler bed and get Aubrey's room a double or queen sized bed so we could have company or just to have another big bed in the house
2) get bunk beds and move Molly into Aubrey's room and create a play room in the smaller bedroom
3) get Aubrey a regular twin bed and give Molly the little bed
OR...

What are your thoughts on sharing bedroms with a sibling? A big bed for Aubrey?

Thanks for any insight :)

Pre-School Process Proves Painful

We have enrolled Aubrey in pre-school, starting in mid-August. This is not as easy as one would have hoped. After months of calls, waiting lists, follow-ups, harrasing various family and friends about their opinions I made a call today and BAM, we visited this afternoon, put down a deposit and are good to go. sigh of relief

Aubrey will go on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I was concerned about having to pack her lunch each day - and then they told us about how they offer pizza on Mondays and Fridays so I only need to worry about lunch on Thursdays :) Also, they have a class that is Sept birthday types so Aubrey will be in with her age range rather than only based on the state cut offs... a big relief.

3 vs 7

Which do you think is yuckier... the 3 dead squirrels on the one mile stretch of road we live on OR the 7.2 lbs of ketchup my husband picked up (to clarify the ketchup is in ONE container not multiple)?

Keep in mind that every time I drive on the road I now sing:
Three dead squirrels
Three dead squirrels

See how they're squished
See how they're squished

They ran around and now they're dead
Getting frisky didn't pay in the end

Three dead squirrels
Three dead squirrels

On our stretch of road
On our stretch of road

The cars don't stop and they don't slow down
and now these squirrels are upside down

Three dead squirrels... and it goes ON and ON and ON.

It's 8:17 am, do you know where your kids are?

'cause mine were in bed sleeping.

A new era has approached this family.

An era where children sleep past 6:45.

An era where sleeping in can be said without a manical laugh and bags under all eyes.

An era where, by god, the coffee might be COLD because we didn't make it downstairs in time.

I am poised to live in this era, to be one with this era, and I hope the rest of my family embraces this new time upon us. There might be challenges and there might be hills we will need to climb but we are strong and we are loving and I BELIEVE we can do it.

Hairdryer Pictures

This morning was exciting for 2 such simple reasons. For the past 5 months I have been held hostage and not able to use my hair dryer around Molly because she. freaks. out. She would freak out at any very loud noise -vacuum, tractor, hair dryer, it goes on. She has also, for the past 3 -5 months NOT enjoyed getting her picture taken. Who could forget this?

Well, today I showered, gave the girls baths, blew dry my hair while they were around and took the girls for a portrait session and Molly HAMMED. IT. UP. It was fun, easy, delightful and lovely.

At some point I will try to upload some shots, cause I bought plenty :)

Bullet List Mania

I know you have missed my trip to the randomness that can be my bullet lists.

• I owe a couple of memes/posts, I have not forgotten!
• I started this post 3 hours ago. This is my life right now.
• I need to get back to the gym. I have been 2 or 3 times since January and it is effecting my mood, energy level, etc.
• I freaking love spring. I mean like it is a life changing thing for me each year seeing the Daffadils and Forsythia. Like yellow hope springing forth from the ground.
• I love spring because it reminds me of my best day ever. I was married in the spring and on our first wedding anniversary (I was preggers) we had the best day ever. My hubby got me 60 parrott tulip bulbs - the flower from my wedding - and then planted them that fall so every spring I see the flowers I carried at my wedding - the best gift ever.
• I get teary when I think about that and I remember how much I am loved.
• I am going to the gym today with a co-worker - the only other woman - we are hitting a yoga class. That should be fun.
• I am starting to enjoy my job. A LOT.
• Laundry has taken over my house and my husband has cooked all week. I am a bad housewife.
• I have a pair of shoes in at least half the rooms in my house.
• My daughters GREW so much in Florida none of their winter pants hit their ankles. How does that happen???
• I am not a good friend. Someone calls to vent and get a shoulder and I monopolize the entire conversation with my weirdness. How do I stop that?
• Aubrey asks me each night and each morning, "when is our next trip cation"
• I miss my blog. Actually I miss emails in my inbox from comments on my blog.
• I need to understand HOW working women, with kids, get to the gym during the week. Seriously - PLEASE tell me when you go and how that fits into your families lives.
• I was in a meeting from 1-7 last night without a bathroom break. It was kinda funny. And weird. And interesting. I don't think I need to mention I was the only woman? So at 7 when I stood up and said, "is this a test of endurance" they guys had NO idea what I meant! Dudes, I need to pee.
• At 5:30 I asked if we could institute a corporate policy that beer is required at meetings past 5:30 and they looked at me like I had 7 heads. They think I am weird but I think you all know that it must be them.

And that concludes my stream of consciousness.