3 Days for the price of one

So... I haven't really posted anything about "preschool"... that's a my bad. I really don't know where my week went, or why it has been so rough since the family returned from NY... I have a few ideas why (they may or may not involve Sophia being allowed to stay up until 1am and watch not so good TV)... Yeah so a few moments of this week have been great... other's about as far from great as humanly imaginable. So... rather than dwell on the negative (which I would rather not remember anyhow)... I shall do a "Week in Review" of pictures... even though it really is only hump day. (It should be Friday though... don't you think?)One day this week... Monday perhaps? Sophia decided that it was only appropriate to eat breakfast outside since it was really nice outside and not too hot and not to cold. She tried to convince me that she needed coffee in a mug to enjoy while listening to the birds sing... I compromised with a Juicy Juicy instead. *Notice the super tacky yet totally awesome metal porch circa 1927) Another day this week... we finger painted. I have no clue what day this was... only that it wasn't the same day as the outdoor breakfast. Sophia somehow managed to make a really pretty shade of teal out of Blue, Green, Red and Yellow. I know she mixed them all together... I was there. Yet the result was quite surprising... I think she was a bit taken back herself. After that she said she needed to make orange, but to just give her yellow and red because she didn't want to end up with the Ocean again (as she appropriately named her color). Later some night (not tonight, maybe Monday)- She had a total and complete melt down. She's usually a verbal melt down type of person... alas, here she is laying on the floor having a complete tantrum because she wanted to do another letter. What?! I bought her a pre-K hooked on phonics because it was a) on sale and b)mis-shelved at target so I got it for $15 (I couldn't pass that up). She found it in my closet while looking for my high healed shoes so she could "practice being a princess" (I must say she walks better in them than I do). So she opened it up and saw that there was a CD-ROM. Now this little girl has never shown interest in letters, let alone their sound. Now... she is having raging fits because she can't do more letters? At least she's not screaming for Spongebob Squarepants (Thanks DH for introducing that one). Same day... an hour later.(yes that would put it at about 11pm... thanks again DH for the 1am bed time in NY)... Much calmer with a pile of books on my bed. I was tired... I wanted to sleep... I was told I was not invited and that I could sleep with Brenna. Gee... thanks but I think the crib has like a 75lb limit. So.....another day, another puzzle. Must have been the finger paint day. I like puzzles. I wanted to "help" her, or at least participate. I was not allowed. She informed me that if I wanted to do a puzzle I should do an adult puzzle because this was a children's puzzle and I needed something harder. Not very friendly now is she? Hmmph. After finishing her puzzle she took her counting bears and decided that they were going to drive in the taxis and eat ice cream.She said they weren't going to the toy store because they weren't for sale. Keen observation.I know this day... this was today. We made a huge mess making paper mache beads balls of goo. She had a grand ol' time. I didn't even get mad when my computer ended up covered in glue... I should have moved it. She really liked the ball she made. I liked it too, until she squeezed it. Now that she was effectively covered in glue. She decided she needed a bath, but not to wash her hair (we did that last night)... rather she wanted to stop being sticky while blowing bubbles. While in the tub (in her bathing suit of course because this was not a "bath" she just didn't want to be sticky) she noticed that her car would float from the back of the tub to near the faucet when she lifted the stopper. She asked me if I knew why it did that - I told her I was totally baffled and asked if she had any thoughts on why the car was drifting without her splashing it or pushing it. She told me it was because of the current. For that I say thank you Kate for mentioning Peep and his big big world... I forgot all about the link until Monday when we watched "Current Event" (like 10 times)... and everyday since the first thing Sophia says "is there a new Peep?" yup sure is... She especially liked today's about shadows. Although, she's not to keen on using her "imagination" about Peep, Quack and Chirp. She's actually pretty adamant that Quack is not a duck... he is an egg with legs. I tried to explain that he was not a real duck, but just a cartoon duck and she should use her imagination. She still wasn't feelin' it. So I said, well his name is quack so why wouldn't he be a duck? She said "You can name a chicken quack but that doesn't make him a duck".... game, set, match - I couldn't even argue with that.

101 Things About Me

I saw this on someone else's blog. I am sure that not everyone wants to know 101 things about me... I'm looking at this as more of a challenge for myself to a) come up with 101 "things" about me (that is a big number) b) do some "self reflection" and c) procrastinate finishing my "to do" list that has barely been dented... 'cause lets be honest - when is the next time I'll have "me" time... like never. So where is the desire to spend the entire time cleaning? exactly. 1. I am 25. 2. I was born and raised in Southern California. 3. I was adopted at birth. 4. I was in the Air Force. 5. My husband and I got married when I was 21 and he was 18 (yes, he is younger than me). 6. My pre-pregnant size was 4. 7. I am not a "happy" pregnant person. 8. I am bi-lingual, as is my husband. 9. I am addicted to medical & forensic TV shows. 10. I am a total science geek and proud of it (although you wouldn't guess it if you saw me). 11. I am very organized... 12. ... in theory. In reality - something seems to have gotten lost in translation. 13. I am not a social butterfly. 14. I ramble a lot 15. I have lived in CA, NY, FL, TX, and MD. 16. I like CA the most. 17. I like TX the least. (no offense Texans - we were in San Angelo) 18. Before pregnancy #2, I was going to school to be a nurse. 19. My GPA was 3.94 20. I am deathly allergic to Ibuprofen, penicillin, spiders and stinging insects. 21. I am stubborn. 22. I am either ultra focused or completely scattered... there is no in between. 23. I can't believe I'm only on #23. 24. I am easily frustrated. 25. I have low no tolerance for "stupid" people, rude people, and bad drivers. 26. I enjoy procrastination. 27. I love the "pressure" of a deadline. 28. I hate beer. 29. I do enjoy red wine. 30. I will rarely answer a question unless I am 99% certain of the answer. 31. I detest being wrong... but when I am I'll suck it up. 32. I love being right. 33. I am loud. 34. I am very loud when fueled by emotion. 35. 11:45am is my favorite time of day. 36. That's when the mailman comes. 37. I am horrible about mailing things. 38. I love reading children's books. 39. I like reading in general. 40. I enjoy watching movies... 41. I tend to get my best sleep during them. 42. I am an aspiring hobbyist. 43. I often forget my daughter is only 3 and that I need to treat her like a 3 year old. 44. I absolutely hate doing the dishes. 45. I am scared of what lurks in our basement. 46. As a result my husband does most of our laundry. 47. I am scared to death of lightening. 48. I give everyone a chance, but when I'm done I'm done. 49. I am a pretty good cook. 50 I'm only half way done. 51. My daughter (Sophia) is allergic to peanuts, eggs, shellfish, milk (casein), wheat, and until recently soy. 52. I am very interested in allergy research as a result. 53. I need a cup of coffee. 54. I have been to Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. 55. I would like to go to Ireland, Scotland, Croatia, and Montenegro. 56. I am a realist. 57. My husband is a dreamer... we but heads often but keep each other in check as a result. 58. I am a military wife. 59. I am very behind on household chores. 60. I enjoy reading other people's blogs because I enjoy peeking into other people's lives. 61. I feel a bit voyeuristic when doing so. 62. Although I enjoy most types of music, I do not like Rap, nor do I like R&B. 63. I rarely go to bed before midnight. 64. I enjoy photography. 65. I am creative. 66. I enjoy exercising, but have fallen off the horse since having Brenna. 67. I do not like the "idea" of change... I like things to stay the same. 68. Once they do change I see it's not so bad. 69. I'm running out of things about me. 70. My favorite color is maroon. Followed closely by green. 71. I do not wear jewelry other than my wedding ring. 72. My husband lost his wedding ring 2 years ago in Bosnia and I am still pissed that he hasn't replaced it yet. 73. I bring this up when I am especially frustrated with him. 74. I love icons. 75. My father passed away when I was 16. 76. Daisies and sunflowers are my favorite flowers. 77. I love going to museums. 78. I hate going to the park. 79. Swinging and watching people swing give me motion sickness. 80. We have lived in our house 6 months and I still haven't put the shade in the window of our upstairs hallway. 81. I do not like the sun, I am very fair skinned. 82. I get carded at R-rated movies. 83. My first car was a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. 84. My favorite season is Fall. 85. My 2nd favorite season is spring. 86. I have ridiculously curly hair. 87. I wear bandannas every day (well... most every day). 88. I enjoy any type of pizza as long as there is pineapple on it. 89. I am very competitive. 90. Pat (my husband) will not play scrabble with me because of this. 91. I swam competitively for 9 years. 92. I liked playing water polo more. 93. I also played soccer. 94. I have no hand eye coordination. 95. I could live on quesadillas. 96. I don't eat enough fruit. 97. I will spend hours coming up with a "plan" only to find it's a waste of time every time. 98. My mom and sister still live in CA and we're going for a visit soon. 99. Pat is a New Yorker. 100. I am 5'4'', Pat is 6'4''. 101. I need to get back to my cleaning. C'est tout. To je sve. That's all folks!

Positive Energy

There sure is a lot of positive and kind energy floating around this past week. It warms my heart and makes me smile seeing so many people (some longtime friends, some people that have only stumbled upon each other through the awesome power of a little free time and a great big internet) offering such kind gestures and word to one another. I am of course referring to the current circulation of the "Nice Award". Now... I don't know how it got started, and I definitely don't know how I got nominated for it (although, it had been a bit of a rough week and it really did make me feel so much happier to know someone thought I was nice. So, thank you very much Amber and Yasmina.) I was a bit delayed in passing it on because I didn't want to neglect anyone. I can honestly say I would have to nominate every person whose blog I have ever bookmarked to sneak a peak at when I find a free moment. So, rather than have to choose I would like to pass it on to anyone and everyone who has ever inspired me, made me smile, or encouraged me through the words they have written in their blog. Given that I am somewhat "young" as far as a parent of a 3 year old and 4 month old go, most of my friends don't have kids and simply don't understand what the challenges and joys of being a parent are yet - so I truly value and appreciate finding other people that I have never met but seem to know so well. gosh I feel mushy PS My goals of cleaning have yet to be accomplished. I indulged in my guilty pleasure of Monk and Psych instead. *tee hee*

Peace, Quiet and a To-Do list

Well... after leaving for NY last night, we got as far as Northern MD when suddenly there was some crazy traffic. 1 hour later, we had traveled 1 mile and I was a very very unhappy Daphne. Especially since it was 11pm and all we could see was tail lights as far as the eyes could see. Needless to say, we turned around. Given my horrible terrible no good very bad allergy to dogs, and the fact that his family has several - my hubby reminded me that I didn't have to go (I have cranky tendencies when unable to breath). I felt pretty bad because I know that his family wanted to see Brenna, and I didn't think he'd be able to handle want to take both girls with him. On the other hand I didn't want my crankiness to ruin their trip. Well I stayed, and he took both Brenna and Sophia with him. Until about noon, the peace and quiet was nice. Now I'm bored. I have decided that I'm going to totally clean our house, since that never seems to happen with the kiddies are around. We'll see how well that works out. And since Sophia's not here, I'm going to sort through some of her toys for Freecycle. Perhaps I'll even do some sewing! (wow It seems I may be getting a little ahead of myself). I might even re-organize our craft stuff since right now all the supplies seem to be a bit nomadic in that they really don't have a "permanent" home. 2 Whole days! I just hope everything goes OK for him *fingers crossed*

Porridge, Libraries, and trips to NY

So, today was mildly more eventful it seems than the rest of the week... that really doesn't say much though. Last night was another late night so rather than letting Sophia sleep until she felt like getting up, after Brenna ate and was sound asleep I went to lure her out of bed. Now... I don't know how it works for anyone else out there, but the waking of my child is like opening Pandora's Box... it really isn't a good idea - but oh so tempting. Well today I decided to go with a different method. Rather than be nice and rub her back and talk softly and try and sway her with the thought of pancakes - I thought perhaps if I just opened her shades and said softly "I know you're sleepy, but its time to wake up. You can keep your eyes closed, I'll just read you stories until you feel like getting up". Holy cow. Talk about working like a charm. I've never known that child to resist a story. Even if she says she doesn't want to read.... if I start reading to Brenna, or her dolls... or the monster that was hiding in the hallway - she always ends up listening (although if you ask her if she is she'll act like she's simply too busy for a story). So that worked swimmingly. I thought perhaps she would enjoy a change from the normal oatmeal/kix/pancakes for breakfast so I made some Scottish Porridge. Talk about another smash hit! I hate letting her watch TV, and since the porridge did require a bit of attention, I set her down at the kitchen table with 5 types of pasta, some markers, paper plates and some glue. What resulted was "daddy" - mustache and all (only to find out he finally shaved the icky thing this morning while we were still sleeping). So then while eating our porridge of course we had to be the 3 little bears - well I doubled as mama and papa bear, and Brenna was baby bear (even though she was sleeping) - Sophia was Goldilocks. Needless to say she ate all her porridge, and when I went to check on Brenna she finished mine too. (Sneaky girl) So we played and frolicked a bit, read a few more books - practiced cutting a bit (my over zealous daughter loves to cut, but doesn't like to stop... it is a process). Then I decided since the library near us is so close yet so so worthless if I was going to continue my quest to read the 100 books all children should read before school I would have to find a better library. And I did! Oh my gosh it is awesome. I didn't know this, but MD has a state wide library card, so I can check out books anywhere! Even in the super awesome huge library that is only 5 minutes driving from us! Oh my gosh. (Yes I really am that excited that I can't form sentences) I got a whole new library card since my old one expired anyhow, and Sophia got her very first library card. When I signed the back of hers I gave it to her and said she could print her name if she wanted - she said she should sign like me... she tried and it was cute. They even gave her a backpack to carry all her books in for free (my favorite word). We were directed to the children's section... my hopes were not high - I was just hoping for a library that didn't have an armed police officer in it. Oh it was fantastic! There was the young readers section, and then in a room all of its own was a brightly colored adorable room with nothing but picture books. And not just the junky ones - good picture books! Sophia was so excited she wanted to take them all home with her. I told her that wasn't fair to the other children that might want to borrow some. She agreed and instead we came home with 11. All the way home she asked when we would get to read them. I was very happy the car ride was only 5 minutes. Needless to say we read them all when we returned home, with the exception of Mother Goose (illustrated by Mary Engelbreight) which we only read 4 or 5 before we headed off to play with Brenna. I have never been so happy to find a library in my life. New York. We are going to a wedding on Long Island. I am not thrilled. I don't like functions in which I must look nice. I don't do it well. Brenna has just fallen back asleep (it really has taken me that long to type this... much coming and going) and I do suppose DH would like some help with the dishes that I am "making" him do. (I may have signed up to cook and raise the kids - but I did not see "dishes" in the contract). I hope this 5 hour trip plays better than our last long car ride. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Lazy Monday? How about lazy week.

I don't know what happened... Ever since we got back from PA it seems that we're way out of whack. Sophia has been up way,way to late. Therefore, I have been up way to late... which definitely makes for a cranky mommy. Cranky mommy means lack of creative juices flowing. Perhaps the reason she is up so late is because I'm so tired I can't tire her out enough. Talk about a vicious cycle! And how did it get to be Thursday? What happened to Tuesday and Wednesday? Oh my word. I guess although it doesn't seem like I've done much with the little ones I've been busy busy planning various ventures. I'm not too keen on diving head first into things without careful research and planning- no wonder I'm so exhausted all the time, my poor brain is overworked. Anyhow. So I decided that Sophia is in need of a gymnastics class. Partly because she showed great interest before she even knew what gymnastics was, and partly because she just needs to work off some of that energy so I don't end up with permanent sleep deprivation. I didn't want to enroll her in the first class I stumbled upon, so of course I had to spend a great deal of time researching that. Then, my DH reminded me that we were going to be super busy with mini trips to visit family and have family visiting us, so I had to plan for that. We're going out to CA to visit my family in mid September and every time we go for a visit we spend the entire week sitting in my mom's living room saying "ok so what do you want to do?" " Hmm I don't know, what do you want to do". Talk about a waste of time. So this time, I'm coming armed and ready for any free moment. I would like to thank Chere Mere immensely for her links of things to do in LA she has on her blog. I had totally forgotten about all the awesome museums for kids in Exposition Park and what's even better is ever since Sophia remembered she had Danny and the Dinosaur she has been saying how Dinosaurs aren't real because they're too big and would trample all the people. I explained to her that they are real, but the are extinct so all that is left are their great big skeletons. She's a seeing is believing type of girl so the LaBrea tar pits and the Natural History museum are totally right up her ally about now. I must say, when I left LA I was ready for a change, and now that I'm gone I miss all the great stuff it had to offer. So yes, as off now our list of "things to do" consist of The Long Beach Aquarium, LaBrea Tar pits, Disneyland (DH tries to get out of this, but it never works.... he's a sport), Museums in Exposition Park, and whatever else we can cram in, I think Sophia wants to go to the Zoo too. I'm thinking up hitting up the mini golf at Mulligans - for old times sake. And although Mexican food is not "Sophia friendly", I will definitely get a Mexican food fix while the kiddies are babysat (I love how family = free babysitting). So, all in all, this time around will hopefully be quiet eventful and we'll walk away saying "wow what a great trip" rather than sitting on our rumps doing nothing. Hmmm I wonder if the LA County fair will be going on! OK enough brain vomit. A list of the books we read well past "bedtime" which seems to be non-existent at this point - Strega Nona, Danny the Dinosaur (and the birthday one, and the camping one), Three Billy Goats Gruff (twice), Caps for Sale, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Snowy Day, A National Geographic Kids magazine and the 11th Hour (her new favorite, and mine too because it put her to sleep tonight). Its almost a shame I feel bad putting a cap on the reading - I just can't tell a her "no more books" because I love them so much too!

Lazy Monday

I must say.... today was possibly the laziest day ever. Aside from Brenna's doctor's appointment this morning and a trip to target for necessities, we really did absolutely nothing it seems. Everything I usually say "hey! lets do...." Sophia said "no I don't want to do that" and when I said ok well what do you want to do (which usually is the highlight of her day) all she would say was "nothing. I don't want to do anything". What?! While at target I noticed this set of 500 of those beads that click together to make bracelets and necklaces and what not, and it was for 4+, but its not like my kid is gonna put the stuff in her mouth. So we paid with that for quite some time, I guess we did get in some fine motor (so the day wasn't completely worthless). I made a necklace for her (while I was supposed to be cleaning up her messy messy room), and then she decided that she needed to put on her snow white dress, but she needed earrings (oh but of course). There were no earrings in the set so she took some of the rings and made them into earrings (hey whatever works right?) She got bored with that after dumping out all 500 beads and deciding she had enough already. So then we usually read a million stories or so (ok that is an exaggeration for dramatic effect) but today I was like hey! lets read some stories and she said "um no i don't like to read". What?! At this point I feared my child had been abducted and replaced by a clone. She told me that there was a monster in her room, but he wasn't mean- just lonely. Then she told me he needed to take a nap and to be very quiet. So I asked the monster if he wanted to read a story ... I took silence as consent. I started reading "him" Today I feel silly, then I started reading him Animalia but he was scared of the dragons and the elephants were just too big. So we read Danny and the Dinosaur instead. Sophia had to keep scolding him because he wouldn't sit still and listen (he just liked the stories too much). I think tomorrow (if all goes as planned which it never does) will be a fun filled day of crafts and art. Perhaps we shall make some Jell-O. Since I hardly ever talk about Brenna I shall interject a little B here. (Just in case any family folk read this and think... hmmm I thought she had 2 daughters) Well she had her 4 month well baby today. That meant shots. Sophia was quite concerned about her being hurt from the shots, but she said as long as she had band aids after Brenna would be ok. She is 25 inches long, but only 10lbs 14oz. That did not make the doctor happy. Not one bit. At 2 months she weighed 10lbs and at 1 month she was 9lbs2oz. Our little B is not getting bigger! She looks healthy (by mommy and doctor standards) and she has hit all the other milestones for her age like responding to my voice and lifting her head up 90 degrees and all that good stuff. And she laughs up a storm and smiles and coos all the time. She's just not growing. And this little kid eats. Holy Cow does she eat, and never spits up or anything! Needless to say we are quite baffled. The Dr. decided perhaps she has reflux so she prescribed her some meds but we're going back in 2 weeks and if she has gained some weight that's great and she probably had reflux and we didn't even know it. If she doesn't gain weight the poor little thing is going to need lots of blood work. After the allergy adventure when Sophia was little bitty this is like a walk in the park - I just hate seeing the little ones poked, its so sad.

Overdue Camping Pictures

First I would like to say that arranging these pictures took me a very long time, as I am not very blogger savvy yet. So they are in no particular order, but I shall describe each for you... since they probably don't make too much sense on their own. There was much fun had... which is the one thing I'm fairly certain you could gather from the pictures :) So the first is of Sophia in front of our lovely little cabin. We were

going to tent camp, but thought perhaps that wasn't the best of ideas with Brenna being only 4 months old and what not - so we were definitely living in the lap of luxury as far as camping goes. I mean it wasn't the Ritz... but we're camping! It was exciting that we had a bathroom and little fridge for good eats. The next picture is Pat and Sophia after their adventure in the creek. (when I say creek I mean little trickle) He found some Indian face-paint rocks and with a little water and a lot of love my family came back looking like warriors. Pat did Sophia's face, and she did his face. I never would have guessed. Not only did we have a nice cabin, but there was a little playground to keep the kids occupied during those moments when running around in nature wasn't ideal (IE when mom was prepping dinner) So to the ship they went. Sophia never called it the playground, she always referred to it as "her" ship. The first of this group is her and Pat having a jolly good time. She is actually pointing her "wand" at me saying "expeliramous" (which bless her heart sounds a little more like "fairyanus", but that's OK). I don't know where this kid gets this stuff! So then after Pat made a great demonstration of how not to go down a slide, they decided to play in the sand at the bottom of the slide. Good thing they were the only ones there or perhaps they would have gotten a bit in the way. The last of this group was when I first came upon Sophia. Even though the little play area was in sight of our cabin she discovered and and disappeared for a couple seconds (so she thought). I followed her and snapped this one of her swinging all by herself. I didn't know she knew how to do that. So as if a cabin, creek and play area weren't enough... they had a pool! I'm telling you - lap of luxury. I not being one for being seen in a bathing suit in public (ever) hung out with Brenna while the 2 adventurers went swimming. Brenna and I got bored by ourselves so we went on a walk and came across the 2 of them. Now... I had warned them that I heard the water was very very very cold and not for the faint of heart. They did not believe me and both froze their little butts off. When B and I came up they both looked miserable - I told them to pretend they loved it and were happy. This is the best they could come up with... I do give them credit for trying though. A for effort! So while I was hangin' out they got bored of "relaxing" and went off to find something new... What exactly I can't recall, but few things in the world are as adorable as little girls on their daddy's shoulders. In addition to canoe-ing - rafting was also added to the list of things Sophia absolutely hates to do. As I went wandering I saw them coming ashore from the lake. I said to go back out 'cause I wanted a picture. Sophia was not happy about it. I was mean and said I wouldn't help her out until she looked happy for the picture. We seriously need to work on her faking it! Geeez. Pat was having a grand time and asked if I would mind if he stayed out a bit longer. I had a moment of weakness and said fine - I then had to give Sophia a piggie back ride all the way back, while being choked to death and trying to carry the life vest and something else, can't recall what. Not an easy task but she enjoyed our little bout through the trees so it's OK. This would be Sophia playing her harmonica and singing. She has no clue what the heck she's doing on that thing... but I must say she makes it sound better than either me or Pat would. Its actually much less annoying than one would think and I don't much regret buying a 3 year old a harmonica. I do however regret that she likes to share with daddy. *sigh* oh Patrick. And lastly, since there are hardly any pictures of Brenna since she slept the majority of the time I though perhaps she should be included since she is just really cute. She really was quite good given that she's bitty and it was really freaking hot. She was definitely not a happy camper the last day. And since there is a HUGE bluegrass festival that went on that weekend (we left before it started) and our cabin was designated as HQ for the whole thing we didn't have it the last night. After realizing it was virtually impossible to get her to sleep without the awesomeness of the bed I decided it would just be best to rent a hotel room in town. Very very cute town. Wellsboro, PA. So cute. And it was perfect because it was right across from a CVS so we could get some nice clean nipples for her bottles and not even have to worry if they were clean enough because they just needed a good rinsing, AND there was a heated pool and a little swing set there too. We got a nice full night's sleep before our long (LONG) drive home so none of us were too cranky (except Brenna who was definitely NOT feeling the 6 hour trip) and the pool was open 24 hours so the minute Sophia woke up she was in the pool where I literally had to drag them out because we needed to load up an check out by 11. Very very fun trip. Next year when B is not so bitty we're going to stay for the festival and tent camp. We are all very very VERY excited for Brenna to be less fragile because we had a great time and can't wait for the less foo foo version.

Why is my child still awake?

This is a question I find myself asking ... well myself - on a somewhat regular basis. Tonight we read - The Little House, The Lorax, Animalia, The 11th Hour and then Miss Nelson is Missing (twice). One would think that would be enough. So Pat (aka DH) brushed her hair and she brushed her teeth and off to bed. Oooh if only it were that simple! I hear her calling my name at 11:30ish so I go up to see what exactly all the fuss is about and she is sitting (in the dark) with the Little House and when I ask what she's doing she says "trying to read but I don't know how yet". Alrighty. So I agreed to read it to her 1 more time if she pinkie swore to go to bed afterwards (yeah right). So we read the Little House, then we read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble... and THEN we read the Jolly Postman (TWICE!). I left her room because I am really just too tired for all this reading! Why oh why is my 3 year old still awake at 12:30?! Its not like the child naps. I think I need a permanent coffee IV or something. I sent DH up there to squash the tears - 10 to 1 odds he is now asleep on her bed. If only I could find my camera, that would make for a good picture (since he's a good foot longer than her bed) - snides.

Long day of "recovering"

Well.... I have yet to find my darn camera. So I do believe that the camping post shall have to wait one more... well I don't know if its a day - just until my DH returns from Saturday training. Sophia is still so wound up from the adventure of camping that she is driving me absolutely batty. The things she usually loves.... not so much. I swear this little girl is on speed or something. We tried reading... no, coloring... no, collages (she even got to do the cutting!)... no. All she wanted to do was watch Spongebob.... I don't think so! Maybe when dad is home and in charge of the entertainment but not so much when I'm around. I had reached the end of my rope (which happened to be a bit shorter than usual today. Then... she came up to me with a VTech game. We'd never opened it, it was a Christmas present from my mom but I didn't want her getting "sucked in" to the whole video game crazy - that and she was too frustrated when it took more than 3 seconds to figure out how it work the joystick. Well I decided today was a great day to give it a whirl. To much amazement it really is so much better than I thought! The color stuff and numbers is really easy for her but its good for the alphabet because she flat out refuses to say what letters are when I try and go over it with her. Perfect. Although she must be tired because she is acting like a super cranky.... I do suppose I should tend to her before she wakes Brenna. *grumble*

Camping... Part I

Holy Cow did we have a good time. I somehow missed the memo stating how difficult camping with a 4 month old would be (chalking it up to experience). I think the "worst" part of it all was definitely the drive. 7 hours there and 6 hours back. Needless to say I am very super tired so once I am done unloading the car I shall post pictures and a (hopefully not to long) play by play. I will say this.... canoe-ing has been added to the list of things Sophia hates to do.

Busy weekends and furry friends

Well this past weekend went by really quickly. We didn't get too too much done which I don't understand. How is it that I get more done during the week when DH is at work? upload the Hmmm. I don't know but that's ok. I figured I should at least pictures I took before we leave for out awesome camping trip. Other than the pictures I took I don't have much recollection of this weekend. We mostly hung out and read stories, cleaned the house (not as much as I would have liked.... but I'll survive), we watched a couple movies. Sophia picked Harry Potter and Eloise. I started reading her Harry Potter (she requested it since daddy is reading it), but I was getting annoyed because she was asking too many questions since there are no pictures.... who am I kidding she asks that many questions anyways. So sometime on Saturday we decided it was time to have a water fight and make some bubbles. Sophia kept me posted until we got to 50 water balloons (we decided that was enough) and then we made bubbles (pic.1). Later in the day I snagged a picture of Brenna and Sophia looking at something, I don't know what but I thought it was a cute picture. I said "Hey girls why don't you turn around and smile... they both did (sorta) I asked Sophia if she could pick out any of all of her books which were her favorite right now. She told me she couldn't pick one and I said that was fine. I asked her why each one was her favorite... She said she like the Kumon because they were easy and fun. Eloise because she is always going on adventures and never getting in trouble, the Lorax because the once-ler was bad but tried to fix it. The Cat in the Hat because he causes trouble, On Bugs and the Space one because the cat in the hat doesn't get in trouble and Brain Quest because she knows the answers.... We're an hour late for leaving for our camping trip now. I really must go. PS Anyone that replies to the previous post please know I'll be camping in PA until Friday. So please don't be sad if I don't respond.

Nifty Gifties

Today is a day of idea pillaging apparently. Whereas I "borrowed" the book list. I also stealthily acquired this gifting scheme from Cher Mere she got it from Here’s the deal, from Kim at Relaxed Homeskool If you are one of the first three commentors on this post, then you are in. I send you a homemade gift sometime, er, soon. When inspiration and time collide for me (usually 2am). [As in, let’s all be patient with each other.] In return, you go to your blog and make the same offer. So, you’ll be making 3 things and receiving one. Kim’s list of useful FAQ’s: What if you don’t have a blog? Well, if not, I’ll host your request here. But only if you are a really awesome knitter. Haha. Okay, I’ll do it no matter what. If you join the exchange on your blog let us know here! What if I don’t like my gift? Too bad. Mom taught us all how to be gracious. What if I’m not crafty or artistic? So? Do it anyway. There are millions of things to be made and some part of you needs to get in to the process of creating something with your hands. It is therapeutic and eye opening. Even if it is a paper airplane. You could always do an artist trading card…they can be easy or hard, depending upon your effort. What about shipping? Like I said, an artist trading card? That might cost one stamp or less. But if you want to make a bust of the recipient out of pine, go ahead. [And yes, I will ship overseas! ] What? I have to give someone in cyberspace my address? Well, yeah. So you should probably only sign up here if you have read or known me for a few months, that way you know I am a fine upstanding citizen who will only plague you with annual Christmas cards after the exchange. Also, you don’t have to be a homeschooler, but you can’t be related to me by blood. You can be a lurker, but then you will have to emerge from the shadows at least temporarily. Come on, you know you want to! I don't knit either. Not in my skill set. Lets do it! Everyone loves little surprises! And snail mail makes everyone feel special! That's lots of exclamations!

Book List

I tactically acquired this list from Kate who borrowed it from Nina. A good number of these books are beyond Sophia, so what she has read with me is in Pink and what I have read shall be in a lovely shade of maroon. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown I Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss The Lorax by Dr. Seuss The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo The Mitten by Jan Brett Crunching Carrots, Not Candy by Judy Slack Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willlems Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman Corduroy by Don Freeman Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes Stellaluna by Janell Cannon Tacky the Penquin by Helen Lester The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (*sidenote* this was my favorite as a little girl, I had all but forgotten about it! ) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Doreen Cronin Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (another favorite) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann Olivia by Ian Falconer The BFG by Roald Dahl The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Bark, George by Jules Feiffer Bunnicula by James Howe The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary Frederick by Leo Lionni Frindle by Andrew Clements Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino Jan Brett’s books Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George No David! by David Shannon One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch Swimmy by Leo Lionni The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper The Empty Pot by Demi The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop The Giver by Lois Lowry The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements The Napping House by Audrey Wood The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt Holy Moley do we have some work to do! Some of these books I haven't even heard of (shame on me). I wish I could find versions of some of these books with pictures. Sophia will sit and listen to any story... no matter how long or "adult" as long as it has pictures so she can connect the dots. Right now she is on a Lorax kick... she made me read it to her 3 times yesterday alone. And she gets so upset with the Once-ler every time. She made me read her Eloise too, which is very (very) long. It wouldn't have been tragic had she not made me go back and read her the part about Saylor (who was in a very bad accident and bleeded so much that she had to go in the ambulance to the hospital because it was an emergency... ) every 5 pages. (That's her favorite part). She's very into ambulances and hospitals and doctors helping people when they get hurt to try and make them better. I do think it is time for a trip to the library!

No Brainers and Puzzles

Well, our great Brain Plans for the day fell through. Needless to say Sophia and I both were quite disappointed, but We were hoping for Brenna to take a descent length nap so that we could do our experiment without interruption, but the whole teething thing seems to be dampening our plans lately. We decided that since DH is going to be home not only all weekend but is on leave Monday and Tuesday (in prep for our awesome camping trip)so we're going to hopefully enlist his help in occupying Brenna while we have our hands at some mad science. We did however have a nice relaxing and fun day. Sophia decided Friday should be "fancy" day, so she put on her "wedding dress" (she wore it to DH's uncle's wedding in September 06, hence the reason her "wedding dress" doesn't resemble a white wedding dress). I decided it was time for our kitchen to have a nice thorough cleaning. I don't know what DH was doing this morning when leaving for work but it looked like a wild boar had ransacked my counters. Not cool. Sophia helped empty the dishwasher but decided she would much rather take part in her "fridge quiz" as she calls it. I think it's meant to be a learning tool, which is what I thought she was doing with it - until I realize she was "quizzing" herself. It asks questions (not hard ones obviously) like "can you find the food that is yellow, or can you find the fruit that starts with the ggggg sound" etc, and she would keep going until she got one wrong. Then she would close it and then open it again and start over. It took me the entire time I was cleaning to realize why she kept closing and opening the door, I figured it out after a while (I'm a clever one) Once our kitchen was in order I made lunch, she didn't feel like helping, she worked did a Winnie the Pooh puzzle instead. The first shot was a candid one, when I realized she decided to work on the puzzle, the 2nd was her finished product. I must say that girl works fast because she was finished with her puzzle before I was finished making lunch.... she wins. I asked her if she would mind if I took a picture of her with her puzzle. She said it was OK and she was going to take a picture too with her phone.... It seems her phone is more fancy than mine. She asked if we could go buy more puzzles that make pictures because she already knew how that one "worked". I agreed but we never quite made it to Target. I think if I wake up early I should be able to snag some at yard sales for a quite pleasant price - or perhaps I can find some online. I don't feel like paying 5 bucks per puzzle if she's going to do it once and after finishing it be finished with it. Perhaps she'll change her mind, we'll see. For now I'm not going to risk it though. After that we had another go at Ants in the Pants. We decided to cheat. We pretty much set it up, dumped out the pieces, started to try and make them hop. Both lost interest (again), and went upstairs to read some books instead. We read some poems out of Where the Sidewalk ends (Sophia always asks for the same two... Crocodile Toothache and I must remember...), then we read The Jungle Book 2, and Larry Boy and the Golden Bumblegum. We only got half way through Larry Boy when Brenna woke up and I told her alas she would have to fend for herself and it was "nap" time anyways. She wasn't very happy that she didn't get to hear the end of the book (its OK because we read it again later). Some might think that reading stories would take 10-15 minutes tops. Oh no. She asks at least 10 questions... PER PAGE. Its great that she's curious, but she doesn't settle for "hold on lets keep reading you'll find out". So the reading of 1 story can take half an hour. That's OK though (as long as Brenna is sleeping). The rest of the day pretty much consisted of "entertaining" Brenna (read as Sophia singing and dancing in front of her rocker) and going to Barnes & Noble. Since there were no other kids in the children section at all I let her play with the train for a good half our since theirs is bigger than ours and she likes the table it's on (I can see why; it's easier to push a train when you can walk around rather than have to nearly demolish the track while crawling on your knees). *note to self* buy train table. Well that about does it, DH got home at 7 and decided that he'd rather go out to eat than wait for me to finish making dinner (grumble). So that made for quite a late evening. Perhaps the kiddies will sleep in tomorrow! fingers crossed

Bouncy Balls and Books

Today went a million times better than yesterday. Thank God! I really think that she just needs to have stuff to do, and she likes having company to do it. Today Brenna was awake but quiet until about 10am and then slept until we woke her up after Sophia's "nap time" at about 3pm. Sophia even stayed in her room and was quiet the entire time. I actually even got her 5 minutes before her alarm because I was so happy that I didn't hear "my nap is over" every 2 minutes for an hour. While Brenna was sleeping we had quite an eventful day. We played Ants in the Pants, that's quite a hard game for a 3 year old. The concept is easy enough, but even I have the darnedest time getting to ants to hop! They are so temperamental! Too much pressure and they flop, too little pressure and they flop. Very frustrating! So that didn't last long as we both lost interest. So then we decided it was time for "science" and we made bouncy balls which she loved. We had a really good time and that lasted for almost a full hour and a half. After we made our bouncy balls she decided we should make one for daddy too or else it wouldn't be fair. The bouncing of the balls kept her occupied while I made lunch (another bonus). After lunch she wanted to look at her activity book we bought during our trip to Toys R Us yesterday. I thought it was a bit above her (its K - 1 and she's only 3), but she was very persistent and I gave in. Much to my surprise the only part of the book she doesn't know how to do is the writing of the alphabet. I don't know if this is normal, but that's OK. She has known her left and right since she was probably 2, maybe a little after that. She has no problem with finding "which 2 are the same size" which is smallest, largest... all that stuff. She can count as high as she wants, the teens trip her up but once she gets to the 20s its smooth sailing from there. She proudly informed me tonight that I have 2 Hun-der-ed and 6 bones in my body and that boy mosquitoes don't bite, only girls. (She has a taste for the Dr. Seuss books that are "about" topics like Inside my Outsides, Oh my a Butterfly, etc). So after she realized she knew stuff in her workbook she asked me if it was 2 o'clock yet so she could go to her room. It was about a quarter till so I said, not yet but we can read some if you want. Sooo, she wanted to "read" her "princess words" book which isn't so much a book as a picture dictionary. I never realized how long that darned thing was! Gosh. We had a bit of a debate about cauliflower and broccoli. She said looked at the picture and said, mommy this book is wrong broccoli is not white it is green. So after explaining that it wasn't broccoli, it was cauliflower but they looked similar because they were part of the same family of plants she told me that it should just be called white broccoli because that is easier. Good point. Not like I eat it anyways. By the time we got to the page of instruments it was already 15 minutes into nap time and she was over it and told me I could leave and she was going to be quiet (*gasp* who is this girl and what has she done with my daughter). Nothing eventful went on after that, just some more building and pretending we were little red riding hood - we played with phonics cards a bit but after B-E-E and C-A-T Brenna woke up and put an end to that. We went grocery shopping and she helped me count out how many cans of fruit we needed and how many bananas we should get. I tried to trick her but it didn't work. She helped me load up the conveyor belt and headed home. No outside play today as it rained really hard all day long and even when I tried to get her to the front porch to watch the misc. trash sail down our street she told me the lightening and thunder was not safe to be outside and scary. Best to stay indoors. Brenna was back to her usual self. Mostly slept or watched us. Didn't fuss to much, not a single peep in the grocery store (rock on). Pat is taking leave all next week so it should be a good one - and Wednesday is our big camping trip! We pretty much didn't stick to the theme because she learned everything there was to learn pretty much the first 2 days. Tomorrow we are going to make brains, she was so excited she didn't want to sleep (OK that's not new). I told her if she didn't sleep she would be too tired to make brains - that ended that and off to brush her teeth she went. The End.

Who we are and what we do

I figured that perhaps a family history/overview would be in order. After all - its always nice to know about the person/people you're reading about. I'm Daphne. I'm 25 and a native Southern Californian. I met my husband Pat when I was in the Air Force and we were both stationed in Monterey, CA at the Defense Language Institute. He is still in the Army, but I separated when I was pregnant with Sophia (apparently pregnancy is a "get out of the military free" card). I loved being in the AF and miss it lots. I've never been a stay at home type of person, I always felt most comfortable working hard or learning hard. I don't like doing anything half-assed. Up until getting pregnant with Brenna I was a nursing student and I was happy as a clam going to school full time and working PT as a manager at a Yankee Candle. Right after I quit my job to go to school more I found out I was pregnant and due before the end of the semester so I dropped out of the program. I was pretty upset but got over it. I like staying home most days, some days (like yesterday) are harder than others, but everyone is adjusting well... better than I anticipated. As far as hobbies/interests I like to think of myself as an "aspiring hobbyist". I have the desire to keep up with hobbies but usually end up having to put it aside due to lack of time and then I forget about it or lose interest. Examples of past ventures failed are Scrap booking, Crocheting, Knitting, and Cross stitch. I really really enjoyed Cross stitch, but when I would get going I don't like stopping projects (or anything really) until I'm finished, so Pat would get a bit frustrated with my "absence" for a couple days (or perhaps several) at a time. I really enjoy stamping, and making mini cards as well as gardening, canning, garage sale hopping, and reading when time allows. I most recently read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, busted through it in 3 days so Pat wouldn't get disgruntled. Before that I hadn't read a book that wasn't school mandated since Middlesex - but I must say it is one of my all time favorite books EVER. I really really loved every line of that book. I do enjoy more classic authors like Salinger, Steinbeck, Kerouac... you get the idea. Patrick- talk about an awesome hubby and daddy. He's 22 and just got promoted to Staff Sergent in the Army (that's an E-6). He's a really smart and creative guy, although I think the whole army thing and the family thing hinders it a little as he can't really spend time on his hobbies as much as he would like. When we met he swept me off my feet with his guitar playing, I wish he would play more because its almost like you can feel how much he enjoys it by listening to him play. As much as I am an aspiring "hobbyist", Pat is what he deems an aspiring reader. He loves reading, loves thinking, loves debating (just not with me because I don't take kindly to the devils advocate which is his favorite position regardless of what he actually thinks), after much nagging he JUST started reading the Harry Potter series and has read the first 3 books in the past 5 days.... that's fast readin' for him! Anyhow...Sophia is definitely a daddy's girl. She is so crazy about him its almost nauseating. Its sweet though because the goof off like only a daddy and daughter can. Every day she'll randomly ask if I'm comin' to the wedding - everyday I ask whose getting married and she looks at me (as if we've been over it a thousand times before... because we have) and says, I am! Me and Daddy are getting married in the back yard and you're invited. When I ask well why can't I get married too? She explains that she can't marry me because I am a girl and I can still be married to daddy but I can't get married in the yard. Cute kid. Sophia - Oh my. Our little 3 year old princess. I love that little girl but sometimes I think she might be the death of me. She is always coming up with things that blow me away. She's pretty bright for a girl her age, but the poor thing is allergic to just about every food you can think of... She's severely allergic to - Peanuts, shellfish (iodine), casein, and eggs. She'll get hives but not go into anaphlyaxis from wheat, peas and high fructose corn syrup... and up until about 3 weeks ago Soy was on that list too. Talk about a limited diet! When she did go to daycare while I was in school full time I packed her lunch everyday, and if there was a party of any kind at all I would make her cupcakes to bring in for her to eat (most of the time the "teachers" didn't tell us about the party and the poor child had to sit alone and not get a treat). Every day she would sit alone at a table because even though she knew not to eat anyone else's food or even touch it, the staff was scared of the liability and would isolate her. Talk about a sad experience. She never seemed to be phased by it though. Whenever we go out to eat she'll always order for herself and she will tell the server "I'd like a hamburger with no bun and no cheese. I'm allergic" Hopefully she'll outgrow some of the allergies. She is a thinker too that little girl. Always scheming and coming up with ideas. Endless energy though - runs me into the ground. Brenna - Well she's only 4 months, what could I possibly have to say about her? We barely know what color her eyes are heading towards (looks like green). I can say is very quiet. She sleeps very well, eats very well. Is long and darned skinny and always has this look on her face like she is seriously thinking about what is going on. I get many comments from random ladies standing behind us in various lines that say "ooh it looks like she's going to start crying but she doesn't" I tell them its her thinking face. Well that's us

The good gone bad

Holy Bananas. Where do I even begin. Our day started out flawless. Brenna woke up at 6:30a but looked so so sleepy that after changing her I brought her into our bed to play and snuggle a few minutes before heading down to feed her and she fell right asleep. Awesome, half an hour more sleep for me! So exciting. So I ended up waking her up at 7a so she could be all fed and happy in her chair before Sophia woke up. Which happened at 7:40a, just as I was putting B in her seat and about to start getting breakfast ready. Usually she doesn't have specific breakfast requests (Sophia that is... Brenna has no choice -ha) so I just serve up whatever I feel like, but when she came down the stairs she asked if she could please have a blueberry muffin and she would wait (I had to thaw it since we stash them in the freezer). So she sat and loved/played with (translate as "smooshed a little) Brenna, I went and fetched the paper and when I walked back in Sophia informed me that her muffin beeped and Brenna pooped but she would change her stinky nasty poo. Thanks but no thanks kiddo. Sophia asked if it was going to be hot and yucky like yesterday and when I said "yes its going to be really hot, probably too hot to play outside much" she replied "with oh that's ok, I'll just wear my bathing suit"... She wasn't kidding. (She wore it all day long, and then complained about wedgies) So after breakfast we went out and watered the garden and I found 2 renegade veggies, a cucumber (pickling variety) and a summer squash. Sophia laughed at how huge they were so we decided they needed to be documented.

Its kinda hard to see how big the squash is, but I usually don't let them get larger than 6 inches long, and I get the cucumbers when they're 4 - 5 inches long. Both are way bigger than that, she had serious issues holding both. So a bit later after some bingo B was hungry and when I put her bottle in the mason jar I use to warm it up Sophia looked at it and said "mommy! Her bottle, it looks bigger". So she asked if she could borrow my jar and proceeded to drop random little toys in to see what they looked like. After putting a teacup in to see what it looked like she decided to use the water to fill up all her tea cups and have tea. When she realized she had made a huge mess she went and got the bar of soap out of the bathroom and used it to clean her table when I realized what she was doing I asked her about it and she said she had everything under control but could I please get her a towel to get the soap off and a towel to dry. Crazy kid.

We went to Toys R Us to get some large building blocks and a train set, we saw a mole running wild in the parking lot.. its the large brown mound... talk about an action shot. So things even went well after we got home, she was really good in the store - only asked for a princess dress about 10 times when finally I told her her options were to get what we came for or to put everything back and go home.... she stopped asking (victory for me). When we got home Brenna was screaming, she was hot, and tired and hungry and that is a lethal combo. So usually Sophia understands that the baby is needy ("since she's a baby and can't do things herself like a big girl can" in Sophia's words), but today she was super not happy whenever I had to do anything with Brenna, which unfortunately was quite a bit since she had killer baby gas. Then when 2pm came and it was quiet bedroom play time (which she has been doing well with since I instituted a small present bribe- candy didn't work, but small dollar store toys wrapped up work(ed for 2 days)) everything went from bad to worse. I really needed that hour today too! It took 30 minutes of the time just to get her to go to sleep since every time she would start to drift off Sophia would burst in yelling... thanks a lot! So eventually she got so tired that she just passed out. Sophia continued to scream over and over and over and when I tried to explain that part of the reason I needed her to stay in her room was that I was trying to assemble her 45 newly acquired blocks (very not adult friendly) so we could build with them after. So she started screaming about her alarm not going off yet but it was so close it should blah blah blah blah BE QUIET!!! my goodness. I wanted to put a pencil in my eye. Then I got a call from my super awesome (not so informative) husband (with a horrible memory) saying he forgot to tell me BUT (my favorite way to get a phone call during a near mental meltdown)... he had Sergent training today and he forgot to tell me and then he had formation so he probably wouldn't be home until 6:30pm (It was 4pm - he usually is home by 5pm to save me and let me actually cook dinner distraction free). Well at 6:30pm he called to say he just got done and he'd be home in an hour. I had already relayed to him my crankiness, yet upon returning home he read Harry Potter while I fed Sophia and myself and continued to do so as Sophia pretended he was the big bad wolf and She was a little pig and Brenna and I were her brothers. She got the brick house (which we built with her new blocks) while I had the straw house and Brenna the sticks.... why did I get shafted? She literally recited the book word for word and corrected me when I said "No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin"... apparently its "No, I will not let you in, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin"... my bad. After the entire story ran it's course we then played little red riding hood and when it came time to clean up she had the largest melt down of the day (I didn't even kow that was possible) so I told Pat I was done and she was all his before I lost it. And here we find ourselves.... 2 1/2 hours later. Hot damn that was long. I feel better though! I don't blame anyone who quit reading an hour ago ;)

Postponed adventure

Our super awesome grand geocaching adventure (aka our search of hidden treasures) had to be postponed until tomorrow. Hopefully it will not be so overcast. Apparently GPSes don't like to work when they can't actually find a satellite to bounce off of. Hmmph. That's ok. We decided to put together our own treasure for people to find! So far we've decided to include a spongebob disposable camera (so people can take pictures and we can see who has found our treasure!), an Air Force coin and a littlest pet shop cat. That's about it for now. I think we'll add to it as we think of bitty things that would be fun to find. Perhaps I shall take a picture later. Sophia came up with the idea that we should have a notebook with pictures of the places we found our treasure so we could remember it always. I thought it was quite a good idea so we found a little blank notebook and labeled it and bright and early tomorrow (before it gets up to 98.... ouch) we shall embark on our 1st treasure hunt. We did however bake some sugar cookies today, quite tasty considering they lack all ingredients one would usually find in cookies. We did decorate with sprinkles and crystal sugar though! I should have taken pictures of those too, but I think they got devoured once daddy got home - I shall ask and perhaps update. (No promises though)

The start of our GRAND adventure

I was up into the wee hours of the morning having discovered a link to "geocaching" on a blog I stumbled across while waiting for my laundry to finish. After reading about it and checking things out I decided it was the absolute coolest most awesome adventure EVER! And since many of the caches are easy to get to it is definitely a good adventure of the whole family. I am going to acquire a GPS today and we're going to hopefully start our adventure today (maybe tomorrow... I do have to learn how to work the darned thing). I'm so excited I just can't hide it!!!!

Lazy day of re-organizing

So I guess the task of re-organizing a 3 year old's bedroom isn't so much a "lazy" day, but it sure felt like it. Perhaps because it was so nasty and humid that we hardly went outside at all. Pat went outside with Soph when he got home and came back inside with 6 mosquito bites that I counted on his back, 2 on his tummy, and 3 on his arms. I surely would have ended up a swollen mass on the floor had it been me. Anyhow, Sophia played in her room while I fixed our organizational issues. Some water company guy came to drain or pump or so something I don't know what with our main water lines and was in the manhole right in front of our house so Sophia got out a stool and stood at her window watching and giving me the play by play of what he was doing. Very informative. All the while she was drawing on her windows. (I bought some "window markers"... her special window washing day treat... I figure if I have to clean them that day anyways I may as well let her have fun messing them up first).

When she tired of that after a while she decided to "help" me, which mainly meant sitting in the bins and blindfolding herself with Pat's tie while asking me to take pictures so she could see what she looked like when she wasn't looking.

Then she decided to get to work and helped me put the little pegs in the big holes, she did a pretty good job for a 3 year old I'd say.

Brenna helped too by passing out in her carrier after watching us quietly for a long while... I must say the poor little girl probably slept better in that darned carrier than she has since getting her cold.

After all, it is much easier to sleep sitting up when the head is filled with snot. When I had my wretched cold I would wake up constantly from the pressure in my sinuses, I imagine it is the same whether you're 25 or 3 months.