Spring break

This week is spring break, so I've been planning to take the girls to Grandma and Grandpa at the Beach's house tomorrow. I decided to check the weather forecast, fully expecting to see a seven day forecast of rain and mild temps - pretty typical for this time of year. Instead, I see that there is a severe weather watch for the area. I wouldn't personally categorize it as severe, but we are expecting snow down to 500 feet! That would include my house as well as the coastal range I have to go over to get to the beach. How wild is that?! While I'm sure this won't provide the snow event I've waited all year for, it certainly will make our trip in the minivan more interesting.

By the way, my folks have dial up internet - so I probably won't be posting any updates until I return.

Hold the salad

Last night P was running errands with the girls while I was still at work, and he decided to stop at McD's to pick up something for them to eat. While P and I aren't fans of that establishment, the girls love it!

While I was getting C ready for bed, I asked her how she liked her dinner.

She said "Daddy got me a salad burger, and I don't like salad burgers! He forgot that I only like cheeseburgers."

Salad burgers on McD's menu? That was a new one for me, so I asked P a little later what a salad burger was. The kids cheeseburgers just come with ketchup and pickles. (No onions for us!) Lately C can eat one of those and want more, so P decided to get her an adult hamburger, which comes with lettuce, tomato and pickles. Apparently lettuce and tomato = salad.

Happy Easter!

Having young kids makes every holiday that much more fun as compared to when it was just P and I. Sometimes I think I may even be more excited than the girls are. This especially seems to hold true when we are trying to get out the door to do anything fun that is a little out of the ordinary. In this case, we were trying to go to the Easter Egg Hunt at the church yesterday morning. In my mind, I'd tell the girls to go get dressed so we can go find Easter eggs, and they would happily skip off to their rooms and emerge five minutes later in the clothes I laid out for them the day before. They'd be begging me to comb their hair, and then eat breakfast eagerly and without complaint. Next thing I'd know, they'd be standing impatiently at the door waiting for mom and dad to finish getting ready to go.

Yeah, that never happens. Although they express excitement at the thought of an Easter egg hunt (or any other fun activity), it doesn't actually translate itself into cooperating when it comes to getting there. The reality of the matter is that we beg, plead, cajole and then threaten in order to get them dressed, combed and fed. C is by far the most difficult in this department. We have whining and crying and "I can't do it by myself", basically a total meltdown on her part. Sometimes it makes me wonder why we even try. But being an optimist, we do keep trying and hoping it will eventually get easier. Yesterday, I finally sent P ahead with M so that she wouldn't miss the egg hunt on account of her sister. Although there were still tears, that seemed to do the trick as C pulled it together enough that we could leave shortly thereafter. Luckily for C, the egg hunt started late. Once we got there and she could see that it hadn't started without her, she was perfectly happy and had a great time.

One of my favorite aspects of this holiday is picking out the girls' Easter dresses. I actually buy several because the girls love to really dress up for church, so they just wear "fancy" dresses all summer long. I'd be perfectly happy with skirts and tops, but no, they want to feel like princesses. Since it's not difficult to pick up dresses for probably even less than what a more casual two piece outfit costs, I'm really pretty happy to indulge them in this area. This morning I tried to get the perfect picture of them all dressed up, but it is remarkably difficult to get a shot with both of them looking happily at the camera at the same time.

Tonight we had Easter dinner at P's sister's house next door. One of the great things about P's family living so close is that everyone brings something for dinner, and no one is burdened with having to cook a huge meal themselves. One of the best things about family functions in the cul-de-sac is that if one person wants to stay behind to socialize, everyone else doesn't have to wait on him. Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner and a fun time. I really do feel blessed to have as good in-laws as I do.

The flip side of those beautiful curls

I mentioned in one of my first posts that M gets compliments constantly about her beautiful curly hair. I also love her hair, and the longer it gets, the more manageable it becomes too. In case anyone is curious, her hair is very soft - not at all coarse.

The downside of the curly hair is that it has a tendency to get very puffy, often quite fast - even when we do put lots of gel in it. It was more challenging when her hair was shorter and didn't have the benefit of the length to add weight. Even though her hair looks like it just skims the shoulders most of the time, when it is combed out wet, her hair reaches her mid back. So just for fun, here's a few photos of the flip side of those beautiful curly locks. (I do have to admit that I helped out a bit in the photo on the left. I wanted to see just how big it could get.)

Enchanted

I've been counting down the days to the DVD release of Enchanted today. I loved this movie! It was corny. It was funny. It was sweet. It was romantic. And it was a musical. C'mon, what more could a girl ask for?! Part of what made it so delightful was to see Disney poke some good natured fun at their own formulaic princess movies. My favorite parts were seeing where the main character, Giselle, found the material to make each of her dresses. (Think Sound of Music, but far more visual.)

I took the girls and Grandma at Home to see Enchanted on Thanksgiving Day (while our husbands worked at the restaurant). It was M's first movie in a theater and C's second (her first was Ice Age 2). C was absolutely entranced, and M clearly enjoyed the movie but, as usual, had a hard time sitting still. I felt a little bad because M kept bumping the seats in front of us where a pair of nice ladies were sitting. After the movie I apologized to them for the jostling. They assured me they were fine, and said how much fun it was to see the movie from a child's perspective (based on the comments the girls made during the film). For instance, when Giselle was wandering the streets of New York in her fluffy white wedding gown, C repeatedly asked me with great concern whether her dress was ruined. And M laughed so hard at the antics of the squirrel that even the most stoic adult would have to laugh along too. (Remember opening night of Peter Pan in Finding Neverland?)

So as soon as I get off work tonight, I'm off to pick up a copy. I'd highly recommend you go do the same!

Welcome to Opposite World

M has taken up residence in an alternate reality I call Opposite World. As the name implies, when I tell her to do something, the answer is inevitably "no". However, when I tell her not to do something, she desperately wants to do it - even when it is the same thing I asked her to do 30 seconds prior.

Although the temptation is there to use this reverse psychology to get her to do everything I want her to do, I try to resist. I don't want her to think it is okay to actually be disobedient every time I tell her not to do something. However, it is great fun to make a game out of it when it comes to things that aren't that important. Luckily she realizes it is a game and plays right along with us.

"M, do NOT kiss daddy. Don't you do it! No, no, no!"

Little M, who had absolutely no intention to give her father a kiss when he asked for one, then giggles and looks over her shoulder at me the whole way over, puts her hands on dad's face so he can't move away, and then plants a big one on him. The more I protest, the more kisses dad gets.

It's cute now, but I sure hope we've got this all straightened out though by the time she's ready to date.

Bad mom

Yet again, I felt like a terrible mom today. C's preschool class had a field trip to a gymnastic center. As many of the field trips have been, siblings are invited - so both girls got to participate! As the kids started the first group of activities, out came the cameras and the moms started shooting away. But not me. Oh, no. I'm the loser mom that doesn't love her kids enough to document all of their firsts. I've arrived empty handed. This time, I had at least thought about packing the camera. But that was a week ago when I first heard about the field trip. The thought never crossed my mind today as I was struggling to get the kids out the door with a minimal amount of fighting and tears.

Obviously this isn't the first time this has happened. A couple of weeks ago the class had a paramedic come and talk to them. As the parents arrived to pick up the kids, C got to ride out to the ambulance on a gurney and each kid got to sit in the driver's seat and turn on the siren. Guess what? The moms pulled out cameras! At Thanksgiving the kids put on a surprise one minute skit dressed up as Indians and Pilgrims, and the moms pulled out cameras! The list goes on. Seriously, does every good mom carry a camera in her purse at all times? These aren't just camera phones, but real cameras.

I'm tired of feeling like a loser, and I do love new toys - so I'm thinking that maybe I should be in the market for a new camera. I like my current camera, but it's a bit clunky and now that I can see an end in sight for diapers - I'm really looking to downsize the purse, not find more ways to fill it up. So does anyone have a recommendation for a great, small, not terribly expensive camera? One that I won't have to edit every picture afterwards to make it look decent, and that takes videos too? Let me know so I can start trying to sell P on why I need a second camera.

By the way, the girls had an awesome time at the gymnasium today. With an obstacle course, rope swing, super swing (three person swing that spins), and a tumbling trampoline - what's not to love? I just can't prove it.

To redeem myself, I'm going to leave you with a few pictures from the one time I did remember to pack a camera - the Children's Museum field trip last month.

Puppy love

We have a sweet ten year old black lab named Jasper. I really couldn't ask for a better dog. Well, okay, maybe a little less shedding - but beyond that, I think he's perfect. He has always been great with the girls, even when C was younger and was, shall I say, less than gentle. You can tell that he likes C, and he even does pretty well minding her, but he truly adores M. I don't know if it's because she has always been very nice to him, or if it's because she is a sure bet for getting a bite of people food. At any rate, he would follow her to the ends of the earth.

The last several nights when we have gone upstairs to go to bed, M's door has been open. When we go in to investigate, Jasper is in there sleeping on her floor. He has learned to lean on her door enough for it open without turning the knob. I think it's sweet that he just wants to be near his "person". What a good dog! I guess it's no wonder that M's favorite book right now is "Good Dog, Carl".

Hello Spring, farewell Winter

Spring is definitely in the air. We've had a string of nice days where we could comfortably play outside without coats. I caught my first frog of the season, and the sound of croaking frogs fills the valley several hours before dusk. (I love that sound!) My bulbs have sprouted and the mini daffodils are already in full bloom. Jasper and Jinx are often to be found sunning themselves on the deck off the master bedroom. Based on the rabbit droppings I'm seeing in the backyard, I suspect we may have another bunny nest again this year. Oh, and I had to start taking my allergy medicine yesterday.

Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. I love, love, love sunny 70 degree days! I'm still happy up to 80, but anything over 85 is downright miserable in my book. While I'm ready to embrace Spring and break out the capris, tees and flip flops, I am experiencing a little sadness that Winter is moving on without giving me a major snow event this year. I realize that I'll get no sympathy from those of you who may still be inundated with snow. I should also clarify what qualifies as a "major snow event" around here.

As far as I'm concerned, a respectable snow event will leave a good three inches of snow - causing both school AND work (a much harder feat) to be closed, and the snow should stick around all day. There has to be enough snow to sled down our street without scraping the whole way down. I do have to say that this year we had more snow flurries than I recall ever having before. We even had snowfall on Christmas Day, which is VERY uncommon in these parts. Few of the flurries left accumulating snow, and those days that the snow did stick, we only had about an inch and by mid day it was pretty much gone. Making soggy snowmen is about all we were able to do in the snow.

So since I don't have any fun snow photos to share, I'm posting a video from last year's snow day!

More basketball pics, different family

One of my brothers lives about an hour away. My parents were given an invitation to come see a basketball game and I decided to tag along and bring the girls as it's been nearly two years since they last saw their cousins. Since other family members see them even less frequently, I thought I'd post a picture of each of them. They are great boys, and my girls had a riot playing with them and my brother!

Skills

Our new basketball hoop is getting some good use, and I must say that my girls've got skills! C is great at making baskets, and M's got an amazing dribble for one so young. Check it out for yourself! As a proud parent, I should also point out that both girls made all the baskets attempted during the filming of this video : )

Since I'm on the basketball theme, I thought I'd post this pic of my adorable little ballerina basketball star.

Doppelgänger cake?

Tonight we went to a church dinner and auction fundraiser. C went to check out the baked goods and came running back to the table. "Mommy! Somebody made a cake of me! Come see!!" How could we not buy it?

At home, as she was heading off to the shower she said, "Don't worry, when I get up in the morning, I won't sneak any of my cake." It came totally out of the blue and, quite frankly, I didn't find her promise very reassuring. In the last few months, after every holiday that involved receiving candy, she and her sister sneak down before we get up and have chocolate for breakfast. I need to remember to lock the pantry tonight.

P went a little crazy tonight, buying far more than we could possibly eat - so he decided to give a pie to one of our neighbors. At first he was going to give it to someone a few doors up, but then he saw that Mr and Mrs Neighbor had company and thought it might go to better use there. Mr Neighbor answered the door, and when P told him he brought them a pie, he asked incredulously "Are you kidding me?" I laugh out loud everytime I think of what his face must have looked like.

Cleaning with flair

Cleaning the house is not my strong suit. Actually, I have yet to figure out what my strong suit is. However, I take great comfort in the sentiment I once heard from another mom - that in the afterlife it's unlikely I'll look back and wish I spent more time cleaning. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we live in squalor, but if I know someone is coming by I usually do take a few minutes to straighten up and maybe run a quick vacuum. If I'm doing major house cleaning all at once, the girls have been known to ask who is coming (to which the reply is usually my parents).

This is in sharp contrast to the way my mom kept house. She followed a system called the Sidetracked Home Executive, and you could seriously eat off of the floor on any given day. But for the average visitor, I don't think they would think twice about the usual state of my home.

To make my job easier, I try really hard to teach the girls to pick up after themselves, and particularly to be responsible for keeping their own rooms clean. I have been quite pleased with C's efforts in this department. While my reminders to clean up her room may not be well received, once she puts her mind to it she really does an excellent job. I do get a big kick out of her finished product though. Everything gets put away, but not necessarily where it normally belongs. I remind myself that it doesn't matter that much in the scheme of things and I should just be thankful that she's doing it herself. She gets excited that she's rearranged things and can't wait to show mom and dad her "new" room. I wouldn't dream of bursting her bubble so I wait several days before rearranging things back.

Yesterday her task was to put all of her stuffed animals away that had migrated to the middle of her floor. In addition, she moved out the contents of the bottom two shelves of her closet to her armoire. The gloves on the drawer knobs made me think of the cloak room of Willy Wonka's factory.

Excuses, excuses

Last Friday we had oven roasted chicken for dinner. P was the first to take a piece out of the pan and start cutting it up for M. As I observed him at the far end of the table, I inquired if the chicken appeared a little dry, to which he responded in the affirmative. I then took a piece and started cutting it up for C.

C took a couple bites of her chicken and then stated that she could eat no more as it was just too dry.

Saturday evening P and I were going out to eat with friends, so I made mac and cheese for the girls' dinner. After all, it's quick and easy, and requires no coercion to get them to eat it. Once again, C took a few bites of my succulent creation, and then spit it out. When I asked what was wrong, she told me that it was too dry!

From bad to worse

We got new next door neighbors about a year ago. Things started out great and we all got along. They have a daughter that is about a year and a half older than C, and a son that is six years older. C plays well with the daughter, but she has a tendency to be a bit of a pest with the older boy - kind of like a kid sister would be. Well, one day last summer, the kids were out playing and I was standing on the sidewalk talking to my sister in law and keeping an eye on the girls. Mr Neighbor came over demanding to know what had just happened with our kids. I was confused as I hadn't seen or heard any altercation, and C had been just out of my line of sight for a only a few moments while she was in his driveway. He relayed that while I was providing inadequate supervision, my four year old daughter had called his ten year old son a name and he had run into the house crying. Of course, I apologized profusely and addressed the issue with C.

From that point on, Mr Neighbor no longer said hello, waved or made eye contact with me. One strike and you're out, baby! He did still talk cars with P, since he's a car man himself, and I'm not quite sure when P fell out of his good graces, but it wasn't too much later. Since then he has gone out of his way to call the city to complain when P has too many cars in front, or is doing any kind of work on a car - even if for only five minutes. Apparently, in our little community, we actually are not allowed to work on a car outside of the garage. This isn't just something with the homeowners association, but the city. Who knew the city could regulate what we do in our own driveway! Since his wife runs a successful internet business, and he doesn't work, he's around a lot to monitor things.

Anyway, being a very non-confrontational gal, I'm a little intimidated by our angry neighbor. My little C is a very social being. When we come home and she sees Mr Neighbor working in his driveway, she bounces on over to talk or ask where his daughter is. Of course, she is oblivious to the fact that she is not well received. Not wanting her to get her feelings hurt by him, and trying to avoid aggrevating him further, I've repeatedly asked C to not go over there and finally explained that Mr Neighbor doesn't like us very much and to please just leave him alone. Mrs Neighbor has remained friendly and approachable, so I don't try to stop any contact there - although we hardly ever see her.

Last week P and the girls headed out for a walk. He paused to do something, and next thing he knew, he could hear C talking to Mr and Mrs Neighbor.

"Why don't you like us anymore?"

Mrs Neighbor responded that that wasn't true, and asked who told her that.

"My mommy and daddy" said C.

P jumped in and apologized. It was a short exchange. Later he gave a sugar coated explanation of how we just try to get C to leave him in peace. They said it was fine. I guess we'll see how things shake out when the weather warms up and there is more opportunity for our paths to cross.

On one hand, I feel bad. I certainly don't want things to get worse. However, we've never said anything bad about our neighbors. We hold no ill feelings towards Mr Neighbor. We mostly just feel bad for him because he is such an unhappy man, and if he had a change of heart and started being nice to us again, we'd be perfectly happy to move forward.

The good news is that the neighbors brought over a check that afternoon for the balance P had been carrying on a car (several months beyond what had been agreed upon) that they had asked him to find for Mrs Neighbor's employee.

C's photos

C had her photo session today. She did really well, and even suggested her own poses. The photographer did a good job capturing real smiles and not just the cheesy grins C flashes for the camera.

M's photos

We go to Sears four times a year for photos. Today we went for M's birthday photo. I did have it scheduled for last week, but then she and C were playing and she got a huge scratch on her forehead the day before the appointment. (You can really see it in the 2/19 blog pics.) While she wasn't particularly cooperative, she still did well and the gal got some cute shots.

Happy 3rd Birthday, M!

M is so funny! She doesn't grasp the birthday concept yet, nor is she overly excited about presents. What she is interested in is the cake! When I wish her a Happy Birthday, she responds with "Happy Birthday, Mommy". She also still wishes me a Merry Christmas each night after I put her to bed.

We finally worked out what she wanted for a birthday lunch (since Grandma and Grandpa At Home couldn't make it for dinner). She kept insisting that she just wanted cake, but finally agreed to Dad making hamburgers in addition to the cake.

She seemed to enjoy her presents, but after receiving her doll from Grandma she had no interest in opening her final present. C finally got her to open it several hours later.

We did take a break in the afternoon to go to her cousin's baptism, and then that night she got to pick any movie to watch. So we watched Night At The Museum, (sigh) again. I guess I should just be thankful it wasn't Jumanji.

Happy Birthday, my love! You bring such a wonderful spirit to our family, and it is my great privilege to be your mother!

Happy Birthday C & M!

P's family is quite large. When all of his family attends a function, we have 12 adults and 17 kids - which feels a bit overwhelming for me at our house. I should also point out that the extended Mod family is not a quiet family. If members of my family attends, it's an even larger group. Since our girls' birthdays are only five days apart, we just opt to have everyone get together once, off premises. Meanwhile, we still celebrate each birthday quietly at home on the date of birth. Anyway, this is the reasoning that leads to what feels like a busy week of birthdays!

Once again, the girls chose to celebrate at Chuck E Cheese. I remember I dreaded family birthday parties at Chuck E's before I had kids. Now it's payback time. This year we lucked out and the place was relatively quiet. C had a great time making new friends, M enjoyed playing the games, and I loved leaving the mess behind!!!

It appears that the best gift this year was the basketball hoop. It was a joint gift for them, and each girl got her own basketball.

My mom is back home

I guess a lot of family members have been getting their updates here, based on the calls my parents have gotten. So mom was released out of ICU this AM, and then released from the hospital at noon. She's really happy to be back home and she sounds pretty good. They told her it would be a few weeks before she's feeling back to normal.