Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

Since we've been talking about da Boo quite a bit around here, let's continue, shall we? She's had a pretty exciting time lately.

At her last eye doctor appointment, she got a new prescription. Also, she needed new frames (the previous ones she had for two years and they were starting to dig into the sides of her head). We browsed for a bit but just couldn't find a pair that we both liked. Then we saw these:


Pink, sparkles, and bows. AND the case looks like a purse. Perfect.

June 24th, Boo lost her first tooth.


Actually, she didn't lose it. Her father pulled it out using needlenose pliers. Fortunately, he waited until I left for a hair appointment. Unfortunately, I came back sooner than expected. The tooth had been loose for weeks but the adult tooth was growing in behind it, not knocking it out. It was either the Man or the dentist who had to do it. Then she wanted to hide the tooth so the Tooth Fairy wouldn't take it before she had a chance to show it to her very best friend. The following night, she got four quarters from the Tooth Fairy. Tooth Fairies apparently don't carry dollars.

Then? Boo got a haircut.


She's been begging for months to get a short haircut. I said she could during the summer...then kept putting it off until her bangs were so long that she couldn't see through her hair. I'm not gonna lie; it was a little heartbreaking to watch those beautiful locks fall to the floor.

My toothless, hairless, sparkly Boo.

What does the Tooth Fairy leave at your house?

Pout

I'm a big fan of the comic strip, Baby Blues. I can completely relate! Especially now that I have three kiddos around the same age. Then I saw this one:


Which made me nearly laugh myself out of the chair because just recently, the Man took this picture:


We love it! Every time we look at it, we giggle (yes, the Man giggles). He even made it his profile picture on Facebook (because if it's not on Facebook, it's crap!).

Poor, poor Baby. She just wanted out of her carseat and here we are, taking pictures of her grumpiness. I bet we won't be taking any pictures of her when she's a sullen teenager...

April Fool's! What? I'm not late...just building the suspense

Yeah, so I finally got the April Fool's Day pictures on my computer! I think I might have had a little too much fun that day...

First off, I switched their clothes in the morning. I usually lay out both of the kids outfits in specific places so when I tell them to go get dressed, there's no whining about what to wear. They thought that was all I was going to do to them.


While da Boo was at school, her room was quarantined and the door locked. She didn't notice until nearly dinner time. Not the most observant of children. Would have been better if I had some yellow "caution" tape on there, too.

The Boy and I played a joke on the Man. He gave him a card that was glued shut. Then the Man played a joke on me. I have a wireless mouse and he put a sticky note on the sensor. Unfortunately, he did this after the kids had been playing on my computer so I thought they had done something to it. Not as funny as he intended but I'm proud of him for getting into the spirit of the day.

Dinner was normal. The kids were looking at me out of the corner of their eyes by now, wondering what I was up to. But all seemed well. Then the Boy asked for a drink. I told them that since they'd been pretty good all day, I had strawberry soda for them.


So what's so tricky about this? Well, the picture is upside down. That's strawberry jello in their cups!

Then came bedtime treat. Imagine their surprise when they sat down to this:


Chicken nuggets with french fried? Has Mom completely lost it? Actually, it was Oreo cookies covered in peanut butter and coated in crushed corn flakes. The fries were made from thin strips of breadstick dough that had been rolled in sugar and baked. The "ketchup" is strawberry jam. These are all ideas from FamilyFun magazine.

Reason #427 Why I Love My Husband

Because he makes Baby smile.

And? Happy Birthday to the Co-ed!
Go over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday, too.

Foto Friday: My Sister's Keeper

This week brought us a visit from a punk leprechaun, among other things. It could have been worse. At least our little green guy didn't carry an explosive device.

Maybe it's because I just booked our Caribbean cruise (feel free to envy me) to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and we are so not taking the kids...but this week, it seems like the kids are enjoying having their little sister around.


This was the scene on Sunday. It was only Baby's second trip to church since our pediatrician forbid us taking her out in public until the weather warmed up. Boo was singing songs to her while I was getting dinner ready. It was very sweet so I had to take a picture. And if you have a Bumbo chair, don't you just love it? Baby likes sitting in it almost as much as her swing. Oh, and did you notice how they have matching socks? My cute sister-in-law sent them adorable crochet bead socks in matching colors for big sister and little sister.


And here is another reason why it's not safe for me to shower...I put Baby on her little floor gym (I know, I know...easy access for a three-year-old) and asked the Boy to talk to her so she wouldn't be lonely (she's very much a people-person - must get that from me). When I came out of my room, this is what I found. Hey, at least she was happy and having fun, not covered in marker or hidden under a pile of toys.

Boo had an "Art Night" at her school, with different crafty activities in various classrooms. Her first choice? The computer lab. So it's not just her toes that she gets from her father. She didn't want to use the paint program and draw pictures. She wanted to type.


I asked her want she was doing. Her answer? "Posting on my blog."

Maybe I do this too much...

Foto Friday #27

Wow, have I really put up 26 Foto Fridays? Doesn't seem like that many...maybe because not all of them were posted on an actual Friday.

Monday, Boo didn't have school. Rather than declare another pajama day so we could lounge around eating ice cream, we gathered some friends and headed to the aquarium. This is not a large facility. In fact, it is housed in what used to be a grocery store. Yes, it's small but they do have a shark tank and three different kinds of jellyfish so we love it.


Doesn't look posed at all, does it? I really ought to cut them some slack. I was making the kids look at the camera when all they could think about was the sting ray pool, where they'd get to dip their hands in water, splashing each other when they thought I wasn't looking and then jerking their hands out as soon as a sting ray came anywhere near them. Good times.


One of my favorite things about this place is a station where they have creatures you can touch. Sure, feeling the strange animals is fun but there's also a staffer there who answers questions from the kids and then gives unusual trivia about other sea creatures. I'd tell you about the pom pom crab but you probably wouldn't care.

Baby slept virtually the entire time, waking up only long enough to give me the stink eye because her lunch was late. What does it say about my mother abilities when my three-month-old gives me dirty looks? Instead of at the aquarium, I did a mini photo shoot with her in another exotic locale: my kitchen.


She can't quite laugh but it's rather entertaining to watch her try.

Favorites (Foto Friday)

Hey, I still have a few minutes left on Friday to get this thing posted!

Today's feature are the kids' current favorite things. Let's start with the eldest, shall we?

At Boo's school, they were asked to dress up as their favorite character from a book. I had her look through her books and we'd discuss which one she thought was her favorite. She picked a cat and then expected me to just whip out a full cat costume in a couple days. I may be good, but I'm definitely not that good. This was her second choice:


Can you guess who she is here? Here's the answer:


The Boy - as I've mentioned before - likes trains. It goes beyond a favorite, though. I think "obsession" is more like it.


Recently, the Man took the Boy to a miniature train show held locally. We kept it a surprise, just telling him that he got to go somewhere special. When he saw all the trains, his head nearly exploded. They spent almost two hours at the show - a lifetime for the attention span of a three-year-old - looking and looking again at all the displays. That was a few weeks ago and he still talks about it daily.

Then there's Baby. She has very simple needs. But here is her very favorite position:


Tightly wrapped in her blanket (so her arms can't move), binky firmly in place. And no siblings in her face. I think we can safely say that the question about her eye color has been resolved.


P.S.
In regards to my last couple of posts...if the Man had been out of town for an extended period, then it would be really, really wonderful that he came home today!

Foto Friday: Baby's Blessing

In the LDS faith, we do not baptize infants. For more on that, please visit here. Instead, we give them a name and a blessing. And we dress them up in fancy clothes. Then we all leave church early, go home and eat lots of funeral potatoes. Mmmmm....potatoes...

Sorry about that...I get distracted easily.

We blessed Baby G a few weeks ago when we had all the grandparents on town. Then I neglected to post pictures. In my defense, I didn't get that many good photos. My camera was used as a bribe. The Boy was refusing to have his picture taken because he is three years old and likes to make Mommy cry do his own thing. So I gave him my camera and let him take pictures of everyone else. He happily clicked away while the grandmas worked their cameras. Everyone was happy. Unfortunately, those same grandmas have not sent me copies of their pictures (and I know you're lurking around here so consider this your gentle reminder, ladies).

Here are the pictures I do have...


I cannot tell you how much I love this picture! This is going to be one of my favorites for years to come. Boo is wearing her Christmas dress and Baby is in her blessing gown. It's the same one that Boo wore and I just love it.


Like the shoes? I saw these little socks when Boo was a toddler and have been coveting them ever since. So of course I asked Santa to bring them for Baby. She got six pairs: all with black "shoes" but different colors for the sock portion.

And this is what the Boy was doing while the rest of us were standing for photos:


The picture is blurry because he was constantly in motion (just one more reason why I'm glad Baby is a girl...).

Foto Friday: Master Card Edition

One Baby: $15, 678 delivered by c-section


Diapers for one month: $50

Baby Wipes for one month: $7

Having a Big Brother who begs to watch Baby


And a Big Sister who loves to change diapers

PRICELESS.

Foto Friday #23

Hooray! I'm posting this on an actual Friday! Aren't you so proud of me?

We've got a full house this weekend. Baby G will be blessed in church on Sunday so both sets of grandparents are here for the event. The kids are in heaven.


This was the activity for the morning: playing the Boy's fishing game that he got for Christmas. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Grampas down on the floor, trying to catch fish with those little bitty rods.

Oh, and Grampas?

Watch out.

The Boy cheats.

Foto Friday: Toes!

Yeah, I know it's not Friday...I'm still trying to catch up.

The Boy and I were playing Hi Ho Cherry-O. He lost interest (after I won the fourth time in a row) and wandered off. I picked up the book I was reading ("Eclipse." Yes, for the third time. Shut up.) and quickly became absorbed in the agonizing teenage drama. When the Boy returned, I noticed but didn't stop reading. Then he starts playing with my feet. But Jasper was telling Bella his story so I couldn't look up for the next several minutes. When I did, this is what I found:


Those are cherries from the game stuck in there. Do you like my pedicure? I asked the pedicure lady to give me something fun and pink, since I was just about to have a baby girl. Anyway, this got me thinking about the kids' feet. I joke that the kids belong to the Man, but I'm not sure they're mine because they look just like him and his sister. And it's not just their faces. Check out their toes.


These are da Boo's toes. I had a picture of the Boy's but his were all blurry because the concept of "standing still" is so foreign to him. Look how long her toes are compared to my short, stubby ones. They're already almost as long! I call 'em Monkey Toes. She uses them to pick up toys and that kinda creeps me out. Despite the fetish some have, I'm just not into feet. Maybe it's also why I don't really care about shoes. Feet are just weird. Especially those feet with Monkey Toes. Toes are for balance and for painting, not for picking up stuff!

There's been some debate as to whom the Baby resembles most, since she has brown hair and an as-yet-undetermined color of eyes. But all I needed was a look at her toes.


Et tu, Baby?

Foto Friday #21

Its been a busy week around here with non-stop action every moment - for everyone else, not so much for me. Seems like every event for the kids happens while I am stuck at home. Not that having a wee baby fall asleep on you isn't the best feeling...still, I kinda feel guilty for some of the things I am missing out on.


It SNOWED!! I love the snow. Grandma G bundled up the kiddos and took them outside - along with a random collection of items from the kitchen - to make a snowman. We had to hurry and take a picture before the candy facial features melted. And yes, Boo is wearing pajamas. She went with her class that morning to ride the Polar Express. Pajamas were mandatory, apparently.


Boo made a snow angel. She did a pretty good job of it, not leaving too many footprints when she stood up.


The Boy had his class Christmas program. I stocked up on the pain killers and went. I was a little woozy during the songs but perhaps that made it all the more enjoyable. Afterwards, he got to sit on Santa's lap. He keeps asking for a spider web. Wha...? When I ask him to explain it to me, he says he wants a red spider web he can throw. Any ideas on this one?


And then there's Baby. Boo and Boy went to the mall with Grandma G and Aunt Denise to make Baby a special Build-A-Bear on the day she was born. Here she is with her bear. I wonder how long before she's bigger than that stuffed animal...AND! She slept six hours straight last night! Woot!

Foto Friday #20

How was your Thanksgiving? Did ya burn anything? I almost did...but just for the record, the smoke alarm was going off because its also heat sensitive and beeps whenever the oven is at 450 degrees. Then, toward the end of dinner, Boo realizes that I never made the stuffing. Oops! I promised to make some tonight when we eat leftovers.

Want to see some pictures?


In honor of Thanksgiving, Boo decided she needed to dress up as an Indian. But not just any Indian...an Indian Princess. And the Boy is just being his usual self in the background there...geesh.


Of course we played Rock Band before and after. The Co-ed asked the Boy to make a "cool face" as he wore the guitar and this is what he did. Not so much "cool" as "constipated."

The Man and the kidlets went to Costco a few days ago and brought me back these:


Rather pretty, aren't they? The colors are perfect for the season. But did you notice those little yellow things down at the bottom there? They aren't flowers. They're peppers! Interesting...and actually, kinda cool, too!

Now I'm off to eat the rest of the sweet potatoes for lunch...

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

Foto Friday #19

Almost missed it! I bet you thought I forgot...well, actually, I've had it planned out all day but had to get some time to post the darn thing. I've been fielding phone calls about my Twilight movie experience.

I was goofing around with my camera, trying out the different features when I discovered that I can take black and white photos. You probably already knew that because you are so very smart (and pretty) but I, obviously, am not. So of course I practiced on my two favorite subjects.


I really like this one of da Boo! She humored me and let me take lots of photos (I was also messing with the macro function) and seemed to have fun. Almost makes the Patsy Ramsey in me come out and start demanding she learn how to strut the catwalk.


And here's a typical Boy grin. He didn't want his picture taken and when I asked him to "Look at Mommy!" he would just kinda turn his chin a little, eyes glued to the Wii game he was playing. Don't you think his glasses are looking a little small? He's getting new ones but we probably won't have them until after Thanksgiving. They are the super-bendy kind. Hopefully, we won't have as many emergency trips to the eye doctor to get them repaired...

What cool thing can your camera do?
(And does anyone know why my camera is now taking pictures that are a much larger print size?)

Foto Friday #18

Well, most of the week, my camera's battery was dead so I don't have anything to show ya.

Pictures I missed getting this week:

• Boo with her hairbrush stuck in her hair and her apparent obliviousness. And then she kept asking me where her brush was, getting all the more frustrated whenI just kept laughing.
• Boy, after pulling the bed railing off and setting it on the floor at bedtime, wedged firmly between his bed and the displaced railing while still staying fast asleep. He doesn't wake up for much.
• My totally awesome assortment of stretch marks. And no, I will not be posting a pregnant belly picture. Ever. Don't ask. It's ain't gonna happen, not even if you get me drunk on dark chocolate - although you're welcome to try it .

To make up for no photos on Foto Friday, check out the Cake Cow later tonight (or possibly tomorrow) to see what I've been up to today.

Foto Friday: Boo's Birthday Week

Well, it's been an action-packed week and frankly, I'm looking forward to having the Man home this weekend so I can get a nap!

First up, the bunkbed:


When it arrived, the kids were very excited and couldn't wait to sleep on it. That's when I realized that the only sheets we had that would fit the Boy's new mattress were pink and purple fairy princess sheets. One trip to Wally World later and the Boy was the proud owner of Spiderman sheets (and a vinyl mattress protector).

Since I am currently "great with child," we had da Boo's party at Build-A-Bear Workshop, so someone else had to do all the work. And I must say, it was worth the money spent! I've been to a couple of these before and this time, it was by far the best! The guy they had as the "party host" knew how to keep those kids entertained and paying attention. And? They recently lowered the price to $10 on a few more animals so there was more to choose from. Meet the new additions to our family: Belle and Dongo!


Have you seen da Boo's birthday cake yet? Its...an interesting one. I let her pretty much design the cake. Maybe next time, I'll offer a little more guidance. But my favorite part about making a bear cake? Serving it to the guest of honor.

Foto Friday: Halloween Edition

Kids are in bed.
Sign on the door reads "Out of Candy."
Raided the kids' bags for Dots and fun size Snickers.
Finally, I can get to the important stuff, like posting on my blog.

I am lame; we all know this. I make my kids go with a theme for Halloween every year. Last year, they were members of the Royal Court. Year before that, Boo was an angel and Boy was a devil (why, yes, I was type casting...why do you ask?). This year...we went back in time to the 1950s.


Boo wasn't sold on the "poodle skirt" concept until I showed her the different poodles she could get. She named her poodle Franzeeza. I have no idea where she got that. And I made the skirt. Aren't I awesome?


The Boy is a little easier to get to do my bidding to influence. All I had to do was tell him he was a "motorcycle guy" and he was all over it. Back of the jacket says "Thunderbirds." Getting him to sit still while I combed his hair like a "Greaser" was another challenge...

Then there was my costume. I make it a point to dress up every year, usually in outfits that are a little out of the ordinary and/or funny. Well, at least I think they're funny. The Man usually just rolls his eyes at me. I've been an icing bag, a deviled egg (complete with horns and a tail), and a pumpkin "pi." This year, I had planned on being a sandwich/witch but being pregnant, that didn't sound as funny. Second choice was to recycle a costume from years gone by, but again...big belly makes it hard to squeeze into things. Since my acquired girth was an issue, why not make it into an asset? Maybe I could go as a nun! That would be funny. Kind of. But since I've been obsessing lately, the idea suddenly came to me...


I lost count of how many people - who obviously hadn't read the Twilight Series - asked me if that was my baby's name. No. I try not to subject you to pictures of me, being "large with child" or otherwise. And by the way? Whoever came up with the phrase "you look ready to pop!" ought to be drug out into the street and shot.

Happy Halloween!

What treats are you raiding from your kids' goody bags tonight?

Foto Friday #15

I better hurry and get this posted or it won't be Friday anymore...

First, a picture of the frenzied festivities from PAJAMA DAY!


They are a blur of motion, are they not? So full of vim and vigor! So much like myself these days...

Sunday night we carved pumpkins, since the Man was going to miss out on FHE due to a business trip. But the good news is that is his last one until well after the baby is born. Hooray! I drew the pictures, he got to do all the yucky stuff.


The kids were fascinated by what was inside. Once the initial "ewwwww!" wore off, they were quickly getting bored, so I suggested they pick out the seeds so I could roast them.


The Boy though this was the coolest thing ever. Parental permission to get all gooey is a moment little boys live for.

We were joined by the beloved Aunts. I was taking pictures with my camera and Aunt Denise's and apparently, I got better pictures of the pumpkin massacre on Denise's (I think she was deliberately making herself blurry in all my pictures so I wouldn't post any of those). Sorry about that. Just so you don't feel entirely cheated, here's a shot of the Co-ed:


Now, does anyone know if there is a trick to roasting pumpkin seeds? I've never done it before...

Foto Friday #14

Well, folks, there almost wasn't a Foto Friday today. Not because I forgot (again) but because I didn't take any pictures all week. And nothing really remarkable happened. It was kinda a slow week (my two sisters-in-law who had babies this week are going to hate me for saying that...).

One big thing that's going on: da Boo is now sharing her room with the Boy. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to my children's well-being that they always have their own room. I didn't have my own room until I was halfway through high school and even that didn't last. I shared again in college and then when I got married.

Another reason for them to share? Bunk beds. The kids' rooms are rather small so bunk beds are really the only way to go if they still want to be able to open the closet or look out the window. I searched high and low for a bunk bed that I liked. I thought my requirements were simple: unisex with storage space in the headboard. That's the kind of bed I had as a kid. Didn't think it would be so hard. Yeah...it's now four months since I began my search with no luck. Then I found loft beds.


Seems ideal right? Has a desk, additional dresser and shelves! Maybe I could just hang some mini shelves for the top bunk to have storage space. No problem. But...it's a little pricey, with most of these coming in around $1,500. And most of them were definitely on the masculine side. It doesn't look that boyish in the picture but in real life (after I drove 30 minutes to see one), very male.

Then I found my dream bed:


Perfect for little girls, right? I loved it! The second bed is hidden up there in the "attic." Unfortunately, the Man said no. He doesn't want his son sleeping in a doll house for two years or something. Couldn't have been the $3,000 price tag. Loft beds, while great, were a little pricey. So the search continued.

But the Boy couldn't wait. He was tearing apart the crib, far too big/old/ornery to be in it. Then the Man made a deal with the kids: if they cleaned up both their rooms and the toy room, then the Boy could start sleeping in da Boo's room on the floor. And you know what? They actually did it! I hardly had to yell help. So last night, we moved the Boy's mattress.

I gave them the rules: you can talk but I don't want to hear it so whisper, get out of bed only to go to potty, and absolutely NO JUMPING! And they obeyed. Sure, they snickered and giggled way past bedtime but I only had to tell them once to keep it quiet. Then, just before 10 p.m., I snuck in to check on them. This is what I found:


Boo out cold. Boy still awake and extremely amused that I was taking their picture. He did go to sleep shortly after this. But they were both awake and bouncing off the walls way too early this morning. And he does have a real pillow...he chooses to use this fish one instead because he's weird. (I say that with all the love in my heart.)

This afternoon, we picked up the Man from work and went to one last furniture store to have a look before I decided to give up and just get a "normal" bunk bed. And wouldn't you know it...they had one bunk bed that looked a lot like the set I had as a kid but in a yellowy pine finish. Sure, it's more feminine but hey! It was only $500. It arrives in a little over one week.

Any suggestions on how to tame the morning crazies?