Crazy, Beautiful Life

Tonight, I decided to call my dear friend, Katy, that I hadn't really had a chance to talk to in several weeks. I love talking to her because she truly knows me and we always laugh hysterically everytime we talk. The girls were playing nicely in their playroom so I snuck upstairs to talk while Brett put away the dinner dishes. Well, time flies when you are having fun...I decided to check on the girls. I came downstairs and the love of my life was playing Farkle by himself at the table with no children in sight. I went downstairs to find Sweetie Pie dressed up in her Zoo Keeper Costume from top to bottom and dancing around the playroom in her Sleeping Beauty High Heels. Cupcake was wearing her pajama top and no bottoms (and I do mean NO bottoms) and Snow White High Heels while she "swept" the playroom with the very tiny plastic broom from her dollhouse. Ahhhh! Have I mentioned lately how much I love my crazy, beautiful life?

Happy Girl and Her Prince

Yesterday, I started coming down with a cold and today I feel like I was run over by a train. Needless say, today was declared Pajama Day in our house. The girls have been playing with each other quite well and have watched Cinderella twice. While we were eating lunch, I asked Cupcake what she thought of the movie. Here's the conversation:

Cupcake: Cinderella lost her shoe and then it broke. Her had another one in her pocket and the prince was happy. Her feelings were not hurt anymore. I like that.

Me: Her Prince sounds nice. Did you know Mommy has a Prince?

Cupcake: Mommy, you not have a prince, you are Happy Girl (She used my real name) not Cinderella.

Me: I have a Prince, it's Daddy.

Cupcake: That is silly, him not a Prince, Daddy is Brett.

We continued eating our lunch. Cupcake must have been thinking about what I told her because then she asks me, " Did Daddy bring you a shoe?"

Red Store and Sink Water

For some reason, my little Cupcake never wants to come home after running our errands. Without fail, as soon as we turn into our subdivision, from the backseat I hear, "I don't want to go home, Mommy". Sweetie Pie would never leave the house if it was up to her. This has been going on for months. Last night, Brett and I brought the girls to Toys R Us to get their friend's birthday gift and then we went to Target for my beloved coffee creamer. The girls call Target the "Red Store". They also associate the Red Store with Red and Blue Icees thanks to a trip to Target with my parents a few months ago. My Dad bought an icee for himself and let the girls try it. It was love at first taste and now I have an icee battle everytime we go to Target. So we finish up at Target and head home and as soon as we pull in the subdivision, my little blue lipped angel tells me, "I don't want to go home, Mommy". "Where do you want to go, Cupcake?" She thought about it for a second, realized that we had just left her favorite red store and said, "I want to go to the blue store". Ha, Ha! Did she mean K-Mart?

Later that night, Sweetie Pie had wiped chapstick all over her face and broke out in a rash, we gave her some Benadryl which wore off around midnight when Brett and I were going to bed. She woke up and said she wanted to lay in our bed. I was laying down with her and she asked for some water. We keep little plastic cups under our sink that the girls use when brushing their teeth so I brought her some water in that. She tells me, "I not want that, it is sink water". I asked her what was wrong with sink water? She tells me, "Myles said sink water is yucky, I not want yucky water". So now I know, peer pressure begins at age three.

The Sea Witch

This past Christmas, we brought the girls to the Disney Store and let them each pick out a gift for each other. Cupcake picked out a set of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse figurines for Sweetie Pie. Sweetie Pie picked out a set of Little Mermaid figurines for Cupcake. They had just gotten The Little Mermaid DVD for their birthday and loved it. It was so cute to see them exchange the gifts. They were so proud to present it to each other and made sure they named each character for each other. This past weekend, my parents were visiting and Cupcake was pulling out all the figurines for my Dad. When she gets to the Sea Witch, she tells my Dad, "She's the Sea Bitch". My Dad and I did a double take and asked her, "Who is that?". She was so proud that she knew, "She's the Sea Bitch". I sounded out the "w" sound for a couple times and had her try to say it again. Cupcake says, "I know, Mommy, wa wa, sea bitch". Oh well, hopefully, she will eventually get it.

As Good As We Once Were

So, we had a great New Years Eve with some friends. They came over with their super cute kids to celebrate. We were kind of playing the night by ear given that we had 3 three-year-olds and a 6 month old. We ate a bunch of yummy appetizers and the drinks were flowing. The kids did awesome playing and getting along for the most part. Before we knew it, it was almost midnight so for the first time in their short little lives, I got to celebrate the new year with my sweet girls! The kids had a blast shaking their instruments and telling everybody, "Happy New Year"! Next thing I know, it's 3am! Say what? The kids were still wide awake! Our friends packed up and headed home and we passed out cold! Man, oh, man, I was hanging my head the next day! Before I knew it, Monkey Kyle showed up to babysit because we had dinner plans with the same friends to celebrate her birthday. We pulled ourselves together just in time, ready for another night out. I took this photo of Brett 5 minutes before our friends got there to pick us up. Napping while his 3 year old looked on! We were going to Benihana and bowling. So fun! Here's what actually went down: Went to Hooters, stuffed ourselves, all of us almost fell asleep at the table, we were back home by 8:30pm. So this is it? There were times, that Brett and I would go out on Friday, go out to breakfast first thing on Saturday, nap during the day and were back out hitting the town again Saturday night and would spend Sunday watching football. Wow, things change but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Naughty List

So this Holiday season, we incorporated The Elf on the Shelf into our household. For those that have never heard of it, here is how it works: There is a book called The Elf on the Shelf that comes with a little elf. The story tells children how their elf sits in their home and watches their behavior and listens to their wishes. Each night, he flies to see Santa and gives his reports, good and bad. He then returns to the house and finds a new place to sit and watch. Rules: You can talk to him but he can't talk back, kids can't touch him or his magic will go away and he can't go to Santa. Our elf, Andy, has been quite effective and the girls have fun trying to find his new hiding spot each morning. However, a few days ago, Cupcake yelled at him as she was on her way to timeout for the millionth time that day, "Andy, don't look at me". Yesterday, we went to visit Santa at the mall. Both girls were very excited. When our turn came, Sweetie Pie jumped right on his lap and Cupcake proceeded to pull apart all the snow (cotton) on the display (right in front of Santa) She refused to stop so Brett had to pull her away kicking and screaming. Enough that a mall security guard came over and asked if she was okay. MYOB Today, my mom sent me a link to a website, Portable North Pole. I was able to create a personalized video for each girl. The video was amazing! Santa actually says their names and references personal information. He opens his book and shows them their "page" in his book. I was able to upload their pictures so they could see their name and face in his book. They were amazed! Sweetie Pie got a great report from Santa and was told to keep up the great job. Cupcake was told she was on the naughty watch list and that she needs to try harder if she wants a surprise from Santa. She looked at me like I was a traitor for revealing to Santa that she was naughty. I blamed Andy. After watching the video, Cupcake goes to her toy box and pulls out the envelope that we made to give to Santa yesterday. She asked me to give it to Santa and tell him she is better. I told her I would and finished what I was doing. I didn't even look in it until just a few minutes ago. She stuffed it full of her Cinderella doll jewelry. Great, my child is trying to bribe Santa. She knows more about the real world than I have given her credit for. Final note, take a moment and imagine what I am in for when this girl turns 16. Now stop rolling on the floor laughing and go about your day.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

We survived! Our very sweet but very busy girls turned 3 and what a whirlwind it has been! I can tell you that most of the first year of their life is a blur of diapers, feedings, schedules, and lots of oohs and ahhs! Thank goodness I took so many photos to clue me in on what happened. The second year was much better in that we started to get the hang of things and realized we could handle this parenting thing...most of the time. The third year was a blast. They are all about inquiring and exploring. I don't want to say that things have gotten easier but the challenges are different. I love that they can tell me what they are thinking and feeling. I love that they enjoy playing together and play well with other children. I love that they are great sleepers. I love that I have focused so much on nutrition because they are really good eaters and eat a variety of foods. Did I mention that they are good sleepers? ;) I am so thankful to have them in my life because there were times when I truly didn't think it was going to be possible. My heart goes out to the families that continue to struggle with infertility. So the photo, this was taken on their very last night as 2-year-olds and my very last night of having 2 2-year-olds. We were putting them to bed when Cupcake asked if she could sleep with Sweetie Pie. Normally, Sweetie Pie really appreciates her very own bed and prefers to only have animals stuffed with fluff keep her company. On this night, she agreed and they slept together. My heart melted as I listened to my sweet girls giggling and being silly in their bed until they fell asleep. They slept like this all night along with their many Georges and Taggies! Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweetie Pie and Cupcake!